| |  | | | | | 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 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Cuts in corporation tax, higher infrastructure spending and delay to fuel duty rise among measures announced by chancellor George Osborne has announced deep cuts in welfare and Whitehall spending after admitting Britain's malfunctioning economy had left him unable to meet the government's targets for repairing the public finances. The rating agency Fitch responded instantly to the chancellor's news that his austerity programme would be extended until 2018 – well into the next parliament – by warning that the UK was at risk of losing its coveted AAA credit rating. Osborne announced cuts in corporation tax, more generous investment allowances for business, higher infrastructure spending and the scrapping of next month's planned 3p fuel duty increase in response to heavily revised-down forecasts from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) that the economy will contract by 0.1% in 2012 and grow by just 1.2% in 2013 – the weakest post-recession performance in Britain's postwar history. But the chancellor said limiting benefit increases to a below inflation 1% (saving £3.75bn), a fresh £31bn squeeze on government departments after 2014 and tax increases aimed at the better off, were unavoidable if Britain was to cut its borrowing. He sought to soften the blow by raising the tax-free personal allowance on income by £235 to £9,440. "It's a hard road, but we're getting there. Britain is on the right track – and turning back now would be a disaster. We have much more to do," the chancellor said. Fitch expressed concern at Osborne's decision to put back by a year to 2016-17 the date by which Britain's national debt will start to fall as a proportion of gross domestic product. "In our view, missing the target weakens the credibility of the UK's fiscal framework, which is one of the factors supporting the [AAA] rating," the ratings agency said. Although two years of zero growth will mean that the government's budget deficit next year will be almost double the £60bn predicted in Osborne's first budget in June 2010, the chancellor said progress was being made. By including the expected £3.5bn proceeds of the auction of the 4G spectrum he was able to say that the deficit was coming down in each year of the current parliament. The OBR predicted that it would take until late 2014 for the economy's output to return to its pre-recession level in early 2008 and that borrowing would be higher in each of the next four years than it expected at the time of the budget in March as a result. But while warning that job losses in the public sector will top 900,000 by 2018, the OBR backed the chancellor's view that the 2012 downturn was caused by factors beyond the government's control and would not increase Britain's structural budget deficit. Osborne said the cut in welfare spending was justified because those in work were seeing their incomes rise more slowly than those on benefits. But Julia Unwin, chief executive of the anti-poverty thinktank, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: "Austerity is here to stay, and growth is as elusive as ever. That is tough for everyone – but hardest for the poorest. The uprating of benefits by 1% will increase poverty. Poorer people are facing destitution, perhaps a decade of destitution, felt by future generations." In a shaky Commons performance the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, said: "Growth down, borrowing revised up and the fiscal rules broken: on every target they have set themselves, they are failing, failing, failing. They are cutting the NHS, not the deficit; they are borrowing £212bn more than they promised two years ago; and they are cutting taxes for the rich, while struggling families and pensioners pay the price – unfair, incompetent and completely out of touch." Facing what the Conservatives clearly intend to turn into a wedge issue, Labour refused to say whether it would back the three-year squeeze in welfare benefits – including jobseeker's allowance, tax credits and child benefit – when the government puts the issue in the form of a bill to a Commons vote early next year. Labour claimed 60% of those expected to suffer the squeeze are not benefit scroungers but people in work, including 3.7m on child tax credit. Balls said Labour will assess whether to vote for the squeeze when it has seen the government's legislation, but the opposition claimed the welfare changes meant that in 2013-14, along with all other changes to taxes and benefits which are set to take effect in April 2013, a one-earner family on £20,000 with two children will lose £279 a year. Osborne also faced an attack from the right for dragging about 400,000 more people into the 40p rate of income tax and reducing the amount of tax relief those on higher incomes receive on pension payments. Despite the welfare squeeze and the failure to persuade Osborne for the second time in a year to back the mansion tax, the Liberal Democrat leadership embraced the autumn statement as a joint enterprise. The party's deputy leader, Simon Hughes, said: "We specifically won our battle to get the tax threshold raised, that was in our manifesto last time and out of all the policies that was our biggest commitment." On welfare he said: "We fought our corner for people on lower incomes and won considerable battles." Vince Cable, the business secretary, said: "The worst thing to have done would have been to impose more austerity, more cuts now, in the middle of a very difficult period of slow growth. So we're spreading it out over a longer period, rather similar to what the Labour party are arguing, though of course they now criticise us." The need to extend the point at which austerity ends to 2017-18 has required Osborne to set out further spending cuts worth over £31bn between 2014 and 2018 or a real-terms cut of 19% if health, schools and international development continue to be protected. The Social Market Foundation predicted that the budget for the Home Office and Ministry of Justice would be more than 40% smaller in 2018 than they were in 2010.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Law takes effect on Thursday when gay and lesbian couples can collect wedding certificates and licences from county auditors Govenor Chris Gregoire has signed into law a measure that legalises same-sex marriage in Washington state, which now joins several other US states that allow gay and lesbian couples to wed. Gregoire and Secretary of State Sam Reed certified the election on Wednesday afternoon, as they were joined by couples who plan to wed and community activists who worked on the campaign supporting gay marriage. The law doesn't take effect until Thursday, when gay and lesbian couples can start picking up their wedding certificates and licences at county auditors' offices. King County, the state's largest and home to Seattle, and Thurston County, home to the state capital of Olympia, will open the earliest, at 12:01am, to start issuing marriage licences. Because the state has a three-day waiting period, the earliest that weddings can take place is Sunday. Same-sex couples who previously were married in another state that allows gay marriage, like Massachusetts, will not have to get remarried in Washington state. Their marriages will be valid here as soon as the law takes effect. "This is a very important and historic day in the great state of Washington," Gregoire said before signing the measure that officially certified the election results. "For many years now we've said one more step, one more step. And this is our last step for marriage equality in the state of Washington." Last month, Washington, Maine and Maryland became the first states to pass same-sex marriage by popular vote. They joined six other states New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia that had already enacted laws or issued court rulings permitting same-sex marriage. Nearly 54% of voters approved the referendum in Washington state. The law doesn't require religious organisations or churches to perform marriages, and it doesn't subject churches to penalties if they don't marry gay or lesbian couples. Maryland's law officially takes effect 1 January, however couples can start picking up marriage licences on Thursday, as long as the licence has an effective date of 1 January. Maine's law takes effect on 29 December. There's no waiting period in Maine, and people can start marrying just after midnight. In addition to private ceremonies that will start taking place across Washington state this weekend, Seattle City Hall will open for several hours on Sunday, and several local judges are donating their time to marry couples. Washington state has had a domestic partnership law in place since 2007. The initial law granted couples about two dozen rights, including hospital visitation and inheritance rights when there is no will. It was expanded a year later, and then again in 2009, when lawmakers completed the package with the so-called "everything but marriage" law that was ultimately upheld by voters later that year. This year, lawmakers passed the law allowing gay marriage, and Gregoire signed it in February. Opponents gathered enough signatures for a referendum, putting the law on hold before it could take effect. There are nearly 10,000 domestic partnership registrations with the secretary of state's office. Most same-sex domestic partnerships that aren't ended prior to June 30, 2014, automatically become marriages, unless one of the partners is 62 or older. That provision was included in the state's first domestic partnership law of 2007 to help heterosexual seniors who don't remarry out of fear they could lose certain pension or Social Security benefits. Marcy Kulland and Terry Virgona, both 59 and from Tacoma, said they plan to get married on 28 September, 2013 to celebrate their 22nd anniversary. "I'm just ecstatic. Now we're legitimided," Kulland said. "It's just absolutely wonderful." However, she that while the state law is a great step forward, as long as federal law continues to deny federal recognition of same-sex marriages, there's more to be done. "This completes us, it doesn't complete our work," Kulland said.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Software millionaire fled there from Belize where he claimed corrupt officials were framing him for neighbour's murder The anti-virus software millionaire John McAfee has been arrested by Guatemalan police for illegally entering the country, the interior minister, Mauricio Lopez Bonilla, has said.
McAfee crossed into Guatemala to evade authorities in Belize who want to question him in connection with the murder of his neighbour. There is no international arrest warrant for McAfee. McAfee declared himself a fugitive, changed his appearance and went on the run after claiming he was being set up by corrupt Belize officials for the murder. McAfee made his millions as founder of the antivirus software company that bears his name. He sold the company in 1994 and then invested in other tech ventures before retiring to Belize in 2008. More details soon ...
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The architect known for his distinctive and frequently curvy style designed the main buildings of capital city Brasilia Oscar Niemeyer, the Brazilian architect who helped to shape the 20th century and mankind's vision of the future, died on Wednesday aged 104, according to Brazilian media. Niemeyer died of respiratory failure in Botafogo hospital in Rio de Janeiro, the city where he was born in 1907, studied architecture and that he helped to shape with famous landmarks, such as the Sambadrome, notoriously modelled - like much of his work - on the body of a woman. But his influence spread much further to the design of the capital Brasília and many of its landmarks including the cathedral and Congress building. Overseas, he designed the United Nations secretariat in New York, the Communist party headquarters in Paris and Serpentine gallery summer pavilion in Hyde Park, London. Brazil's biggest newspaper group announced the death at the top of its website with a photograph of the country's celebrated intellectual and two articles lauding him as "the concrete poet", "the pessimist who loved life" and the "traditionalist for tomorrow." Other stories recalled his nickname as the "Picasso of concrete". Veja magazine also led its news coverage with obituaries for Niemeyer under the headline "The great name of Brazilian architecture" and photographs of some of his greatest works. The domestic media have devoted considerable coverage to the architect since he was hospitalised on 2 November. One of the pioneers of modernist architecture, Niemeyer was hugely influential with his designs of buildings and urban landscapes from the 1930s onwards. Much of his work still looks futuristic today. He is said to have influenced numerous architects in subsequent generations, including Zaha Hadid, Toyo Ito, Tadao Ando and Christian de Portzamparc. Though some critics said some of his later work was inferior, few doubt his reputation as one of the 20th century's great architects will endure. "The work of Oscar Niemeyer is a celebration of technological knowledge that poetically transcends the everyday," wrote Lauro Cavalcanti, the director of Rio's Imperial Palace and author of a book on the architect. "His architecture introduces today the tradition of tomorrow." Niemeyer leaves more than reinforced concrete. The 104-year-old had one daughter, five grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and seven great-great grandchildren. After his first wife, Annita Baldo, died, he remarried at the age of 99. In works from Brasília's crown-shaped cathedral to the undulating French Communist party building in Paris, Niemeyer shunned the steel-box structures of many modernist architects, finding inspiration in nature's crescents and spirals. His hallmarks include much of the UN complex in New York and the Museum of Modern Art in Niterói, which is perched like a flying saucer across Guanabara Bay from Rio de Janeiro. "Right angles don't attract me. Nor straight, hard and inflexible lines created by man," he wrote in his 1998 memoir, The Curves of Time. "What attracts me are free and sensual curves. The curves we find in mountains, in the waves of the sea, in the body of the woman we love." His curves give sweep and grace to Brasília, the city that opened up Brazil's vast interior in the 1960s and moved the nation's capital from coastal Rio. Niemeyer designed most of the city's important buildings, while French-born, avant-garde architect Lucio Costa crafted its distinctive aeroplane-like layout. Niemeyer left his mark in the flowing concrete of the cabinet ministries and the monumental dome of the national museum. As the city's population grew to 2 million people, critics said it lacked "soul", "a utopian horror," in the words of art critic Robert Hughes. Niemeyer shrugged off the criticism. "If you go to Brasilia you might not like it, say there's something better, but there's nothing just like it," he said to O Globo newspaper in 2006 at age 98. "I search for surprise in my architecture. A work of art should cause the emotion of newness." After a 1964 coup plunged Brazil into a 21-year military dictatorship, Niemeyer, a lifelong communist, decided to spend more time in Europe. While living in France in 1965, he designed the headquarters of the French Communist party. During the dictatorship he also designed the centre of the Mondadori publishing house in Italy, Constantine University in Algeria and other projects in Israel, Lebanon, Germany and Portugal. He won the gold medal from the American Institute of Architecture in 1970, the Pritzker architecture prize from Chicago's Hyatt Foundation in 1988 and the gold medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1998.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | President Morsi accused of 'vicious and deliberate' attack as activists killed in Cairo and more than 300 injured Egypt has been rocked by further clashes between supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood-led government of Mohamed Morsi and opposition activists. Four people were reported to have been killed and more than 300 people injured in Cairo during the violence which centred on the district around the presidential palace. The interior ministry said at least 32 people had been arrested and three police vehicles destroyed. In the city of Ismailia, east of Cairo, protesters set alight the headquarters of Morsi's Freedom and Justice party which is dominated by the Brotherhood. Mohamed ElBaradei, a leading opposition advocate of reform, accused Morsi's supporters of a "vicious and deliberate" attack against peaceful demonstrators. "We hold President Morsi and his government completely responsible for the violence that is happening in Egypt today," he said. "A regime that is not able to protect its people and is siding with his own sect, [and] thugs is a regime that lost its legitimacy and is leading Egypt into violence and bloodshed." The opposition National Salvation Front, which ElBaradei is part of, is demanding Morsi rescind decrees giving him near unrestricted powers and shelve a disputed draft constitution that his Muslim Brotherhood allies passed last week. The opposition says dialogue on Egypt's future can only begin once the decree has been rescinded. The decrees grant Morsi judicial immunity in all decisions and extended this legal protection to the constitutional assembly and the upper house of parliament, the shura council. Morsi has always insisted that it is a temporary measure that will automatically rescind when a constitution is passed. The clashes in Cairo began after the vice-president, Mahmoud Mekki, spoke to the press to say that there would be no backing down by Morsi. But in a conciliatory gesture he added that amendments to disputed articles in the draft constitution could be agreed with the opposition. A written agreement could then be submitted to the next parliament, to be elected after a referendum on the constitution on 15 December, he said. Shortly after, the president's supporters moved against the opposition activists camped outside the presidential palace and the clashes, which lasted late into the night began. Witnesses said the two sides threw petrol bombs and stones at each other. Mina Nader, an anti-Morsi protester, said: "The Brotherhood must be dragged in the streets like dogs, there is no salvation without blood after what they have done. Morsi must fall." Other protesters were heard chanting: "The people want the fall of the regime." Morsi's supporters shouted back: "Defending Morsi is defending Islam." Earlier in the day three members of Morsi's advisory team resigned over the crisis. Seif Abdel Fattah, Ayman al-Sayyad and Amr al-Leithy all tendered their resignations, bringing to six the number of presidential staff who have quit in the wake of a decree that has triggered countrywide violence. The previously announced resignations included a Christian and a woman. They were part of a presidential staff assembled by Morsi in an effort to build an inclusive administration. State institutions, with the partial exception of the judiciary, have mostly fallen in behind Morsi. The army, the muscle behind all previous Egyptian presidents in the republic's six-decade history, has gone back to barracks, having apparently lost its appetite to intervene in politics. The US, worried about the stability of a state that has a peace deal with Israel and to which it gives $1.3bn in military aid each year, called for dialogue. The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton said dialogue was urgently needed on the new constitution, which should "respect the rights of all citizens". Clinton and Morsi worked together last month to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. William Hague, the foreign secretary, called for restraint on all sides. He said Egypt's authorities had to make progress on the transition in an "inclusive manner" and urged dialogue. "We call on the Egyptian authorities to make progress on transition in an inclusive manner, which allows for a constructive exchange of views. "We urge all parties to resolve their differences through a process of dialogue which allows all voices to be heard.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | President Morsi accused of 'vicious and deliberate' attack as four activists killed in Cairo and more than 300 injured Egypt has been rocked by further clashes between supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood-led government of Mohamed Morsi and opposition activists. Four people were reported to have been killed and more than 300 people injured in Cairo during the violence which centred on the district around the presidential palace. The interior ministry said at least 32 people had been arrested and three police vehicles destroyed. In the city of Ismailia, east of Cairo, protesters set alight the headquarters of Morsi's Freedom and Justice party which is dominated by the Brotherhood. Mohamed ElBaradei, a leading opposition advocate of reform, accused Morsi's supporters of a "vicious and deliberate" attack against peaceful demonstrators. "We hold President Morsi and his government completely responsible for the violence that is happening in Egypt today," he said. "A regime that is not able to protect its people and is siding with his own sect, [and] thugs is a regime that lost its legitimacy and is leading Egypt into violence and bloodshed." The opposition National Salvation Front, which ElBaradei is part of, is demanding Morsi rescind decrees giving him near unrestricted powers and shelve a disputed draft constitution that his Muslim Brotherhood allies passed last week. The opposition says dialogue on Egypt's future can only begin once the decree has been rescinded. The decrees grant Morsi judicial immunity in all decisions and extended this legal protection to the constitutional assembly and the upper house of parliament, the shura council. Morsi has always insisted that it is a temporary measure that will automatically rescind when a constitution is passed. The clashes in Cairo began after the vice-president, Mahmoud Mekki, spoke to the press to say that there would be no backing down by Morsi. But in a conciliatory gesture he added that amendments to disputed articles in the draft constitution could be agreed with the opposition. A written agreement could then be submitted to the next parliament, to be elected after a referendum on the constitution on 15 December, he said. Shortly after, the president's supporters moved against the opposition activists camped outside the presidential palace and the clashes, which lasted late into the night began. Witnesses said the two sides threw petrol bombs and stones at each other. Mina Nader, an anti-Morsi protester, said: "The Brotherhood must be dragged in the streets like dogs, there is no salvation without blood after what they have done. Morsi must fall." Other protesters were heard chanting: "The people want the fall of the regime." Morsi's supporters shouted back: "Defending Morsi is defending Islam." Earlier in the day three members of Morsi's advisory team resigned over the crisis. Seif Abdel Fattah, Ayman al-Sayyad and Amr al-Leithy all tendered their resignations, bringing to six the number of presidential staff who have quit in the wake of a decree that has triggered countrywide violence. The previously announced resignations included a Christian and a woman. They were part of a presidential staff assembled by Morsi in an effort to build an inclusive administration. State institutions, with the partial exception of the judiciary, have mostly fallen in behind Morsi. The army, the muscle behind all previous Egyptian presidents in the republic's six-decade history, has gone back to barracks, having apparently lost its appetite to intervene in politics. The US, worried about the stability of a state that has a peace deal with Israel and to which it gives $1.3bn in military aid each year, called for dialogue. The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton said dialogue was urgently needed on the new constitution, which should "respect the rights of all citizens". Clinton and Morsi worked together last month to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. William Hague, the foreign secretary, called for restraint on all sides. He said Egypt's authorities had to make progress on the transition in an "inclusive manner" and urged dialogue. "We call on the Egyptian authorities to make progress on transition in an inclusive manner, which allows for a constructive exchange of views. "We urge all parties to resolve their differences through a process of dialogue which allows all voices to be heard.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Findings from US science agency Noaa suggest widespread and irreversible changes because of a warming climate The Arctic lost more snow and sea ice between October 2011 and August 2012 than any year other on record, a premier US science agency reported on Wednesday, delivering the fullest picture to date of a region in the throes of rapid, system-wide change. The Arctic lost record snow cover and sea ice last year – even though air temperatures were not unusually high. By the end of August, several weeks before the end of the summer melt season, Arctic sea ice had retreated to its smallest extent since satellite records began in 1979. In Greenland, virtually the entire ice sheet – 97% – sustained some degree of thawing during a period of a few days in July, including on some of the highest peaks. Meanwhile, blooms of algae sprouted beneath the permanent sea ice in the middle of the Arctic ocean, feeding off the sunlight filtering through melt pools. The report cites a massive bloom of phytoplankton beneath the Chukchi sea ice stretching for more than 60 miles, as well as algae blooms near melt holes in the central Arctic. On land, shrubs are spreading across the lower Arctic because of a longer growing season, but other tundra plant types – such as moss and lichen – are declining. The change in vegetation is also creating favourable conditions for wildfires, the report said. In northern Europe, the Arctic fox is heading towards extinction because of the advance of the red fox. The findings, prepared by a team of 140 scientists overseen by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), suggest widespread changes in the Arctic, because of a warming climate. The changes are unlikely to be reversible. "What we have is a body of evidence that the Arctic is changing in significant ways and throughout the system," Martin Jeffries, a co-editor of the 2012 report and an Arctic science advisor to the Office of Naval Research, said. "It is system-wide and these changes feed on each other." It is also unlikely the Arctic will recover in the near future, he said. Those changes, in the form of retreating summer sea ice and snow cover, in turn make the region even more vulnerable, exposing more of it to the sun's rays, Jeffries warned. "As the sea ice and snow cover retreat, we're losing bright, highly reflective surfaces, and increasing the area of darker surfaces – both land and ocean - exposed to sunlight. This increases the capacity to store heat within the Arctic system, which enables more melting –a self-reinforcing cycle." The report, an annual exercise by Noaa since 2006, was presented at the meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. It further consolidates the growing body of evidence that climate change has exacted significant effects on the Arctic. Some of those changes are already altering political calculations – with Russia, Canada and America trying to stake their claims to the vast oil and mineral potential of an Arctic that could be entirely free of summer sea-ice within a matter of years. The gloomiest scientists say that summer sea ice could be entirely gone within the decade, other predictions stretch to mid-century for an "ice-diminished" Arctic. "What it seems now is that even if we have a modest increase in greenhouse gases that that gets amplified in the Arctic," said James Overland, a Noaa oceanographer. "We are going to continue to see an increase in all of these changes at least for the next few decades." Jason Box, a polar researcher at Ohio State University who oversaw the Greenland portion of the report, told the meeting the widespread melting last summer could signal a climate tipping point. "In 2012 Greenland crossed a threshold where for the first time we saw complete surface melting at the highest elevations in what we used to call the dry snow zone," he told reporters at the AGU. "As Greenland crosses the threshold and starts really melting in the upper elevations it really won't recover from that unless the climate cools significantly for an extended period of time which doesn't seem very likely."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Cuts in corporation tax, higher infrastructure spending and delay to fuel duty rise among measures announced by chancellor George Osborne has announced deep cuts in welfare and Whitehall spending after admitting Britain's malfunctioning economy had left him unable to meet the government's targets for repairing the public finances. The rating agency Fitch responded instantly to the chancellor's news that his austerity programme would be extended until 2018 – well into the next parliament – by warning that the UK was at risk of losing its coveted AAA credit rating. Osborne announced cuts in corporation tax, more generous investment allowances for business, higher infrastructure spending and the scrapping of next month's planned 3p fuel duty increase in response to heavily revised-down forecasts from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) that the economy will contract by 0.1% in 2012 and grow by just 1.2% in 2013 – the weakest post-recession performance in Britain's postwar history. But the chancellor said limiting benefit increases to a below inflation 1% (saving £3.75bn), a fresh £31bn squeeze on government departments after 2014 and tax increases aimed at the better off, were unavoidable if Britain was to cut its borrowing. He sought to soften the blow by raising the tax-free personal allowance on income by £235 to £9,440. "It's a hard road, but we're getting there. Britain is on the right track – and turning back now would be a disaster. We have much more to do," the chancellor said. Fitch expressed concern at Osborne's decision to put back by a year to 2016-17 the date by which Britain's national debt will start to fall as a proportion of gross domestic product. "In our view, missing the target weakens the credibility of the UK's fiscal framework, which is one of the factors supporting the [AAA] rating," the ratings agency said. Although two years of zero growth will mean that the government's budget deficit next year will be almost double the £60bn predicted in Osborne's first budget in June 2010, the chancellor said progress was being made. By including the expected £3.5bn proceeds of the auction of the 4G spectrum he was able to say that the deficit was coming down in each year of the current parliament. The OBR predicted that it would take until late 2014 for the economy's output to return to its pre-recession level in early 2008 and that borrowing would be higher in each of the next four years than it expected at the time of the budget in March as a result. But while warning that job losses in the public sector will top 900,000 by 2018, the OBR backed the chancellor's view that the 2012 downturn was caused by factors beyond the government's control and would not increase Britain's structural budget deficit. Osborne said the cut in welfare spending was justified because those in work were seeing their incomes rise more slowly than those on benefits. But Julia Unwin, chief executive of the anti-poverty thinktank, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: "Austerity is here to stay, and growth is as elusive as ever. That is tough for everyone – but hardest for the poorest. The uprating of benefits by 1% will increase poverty. Poorer people are facing destitution, perhaps a decade of destitution, felt by future generations." In a shaky Commons performance the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, said: "Growth down, borrowing revised up and the fiscal rules broken: on every target they have set themselves, they are failing, failing, failing. They are cutting the NHS, not the deficit; they are borrowing £212bn more than they promised two years ago; and they are cutting taxes for the rich, while struggling families and pensioners pay the price – unfair, incompetent and completely out of touch." Facing what the Conservatives clearly intend to turn into a wedge issue, Labour refused to say whether it would back the three-year squeeze in welfare benefits – including jobseeker's allowance, tax credits and child benefit – when the government puts the issue in the form of a bill to a Commons vote early next year. Labour claimed 60% of those expected to suffer the squeeze are not benefit scroungers but people in work, including 3.7m on child tax credit. Balls said Labour will assess whether to vote for the squeeze when it has seen the government's legislation, but the opposition claimed the welfare changes meant that in 2013-14, along with all other changes to taxes and benefits which are set to take effect in April 2013, a one-earner family on £20,000 with two children will lose £279 a year. Osborne also faced an attack from the right for dragging about 400,000 more people into the 40p rate of income tax and reducing the amount of tax relief those on higher incomes receive on pension payments. Despite the welfare squeeze and the failure to persuade Osborne for the second time in a year to back the mansion tax, the Liberal Democrat leadership embraced the autumn statement as a joint enterprise. The party's deputy leader, Simon Hughes, said: "We specifically won our battle to get the tax threshold raised, that was in our manifesto last time and out of all the policies that was our biggest commitment." On welfare he said: "We fought our corner for people on lower incomes and won considerable battles." Vince Cable, the business secretary, said: "The worst thing to have done would have been to impose more austerity, more cuts now, in the middle of a very difficult period of slow growth. So we're spreading it out over a longer period, rather similar to what the Labour party are arguing, though of course they now criticise us." The need to extend the point at which austerity ends to 2017-18 has required Osborne to set out further spending cuts worth over £31bn between 2014 and 2018 or a real-terms cut of 19% if health, schools and international development continue to be protected. The Social Market Foundation predicted that the budget for the Home Office and Ministry of Justice would be more than 40% smaller in 2018 than they were in 2010.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Progress made towards creation of new regulator, but group refuses to sign up to recommendations proposing role for Ofcom National newspaper editors on Wednesday accepted the challenge laid down by David Cameron by agreeing to create an independent press regulator that meets all but the most contentious of Lord Justice Leveson's recommendations. Normally fiercely competitive tabloid and broadsheet titles agreed at a breakfast summit to 40 of Leveson's first 47 proposals – paving the way for the creation of a new regulator with powers to levy fines of up to £1m. It would also operate a low-cost tribunal system to handle libel and privacy claims. However, the editors refused to sign up to seven of the recommendations, unveiled in a 2,000 page report last week, that proposed a role for Ofcom or another statutory body in auditing the work of the regulator. They agreed to wait and see what proposals No 10's fixer, the Cabinet Office minister Oliver Letwin, would offer in the coming days as an alternative. Those present effectively adopted the same anti-press law position outlined by Cameron in his response to the judge's report. Chris Blackhurst, the editor of the Independent, described the meeting and its spirit of co-operation as historic. "What happened this morning was really quite remarkable," he told Radio 4's The Media Show. "I've never seen anything like it in my time as a journalist. We are all used to the sort of annual fisticuffs at press awards, and all the shouting matches, and we all hate each other." There were bacon rolls at £5.75 each according to the menu, and granola with yoghurt (£5.25) on the table at the Delaunay restaurant on the Aldwych – a rendezvous frequented by London's business and media elite – for the meeting which was chaired by the editor of the Times, James Harding. Meanwhile, press reform campaigners cautioned against backroom deals. Evan Harris, a director of campaign group Hacked Off, said that a statutory body to recognise the effectiveness of the regulator is "the most essential part of the Leveson report. Victims and the majority of the public expect to see the report fully implemented and there to be no secret deal between the prime minister and his friends in the press." Editors had intended to a release a communiqué summarising the progress of the meeting, but with the chancellor's autumn statement dominating the work of newsrooms on Wednesday there was no sign of an agreed statement emerging by the early evening, although its wording was not thought to be contentious. But the agreement in principle allows the press to say it has met a 48-hour deadline to show culture secretary Maria Miller that the industry had made progress. Those attending included Paul Dacre, the Daily Mail editor-in-chief, who was absent from Tuesday's editors' meeting at No 10. Dawn Neesom, the editor of the Daily Star, was one of only two women around the table. She had been represented at Downing Street by her publisher's editorial director the day before. Lord Hunt, the chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, will continue his work in setting up the new regulator and liaising with politicians. But it is understood he will be asked to work to the Leveson proposals agreed by the editors, rather than the framework proposed by Hunt and Lord Black. Hunt will no longer appoint the chair of the appointments panel which will chose the chair and board of the new regulator. Among the recommendations that were accepted was agreement to allow the planned regulator to set up a whistleblowers' hotline for journalists who believe they are being asked to breach the industry code of practice. In a concession to a historic National Union of Journalists demand it was also agreed that newspapers consider introducing a "conscience clause" to the effect that no disciplinary action would be taken against journalists acting in a way contrary to the code of practice. Other newspaper editors present included Alan Rusbridger from the Guardian, Dominic Mohan from the Sun, Tony Gallagher from the Daily Telegraph, Lloyd Embley from the Mirror, Lionel Barber from the Financial Times, and Sarah Sands from the Evening Standard. Fraser Nelson from the Spectator was also present.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Australian radio presenters phone King Edward VII hospital and get put through to Duchess of Cambridge's private nurse The royal family's favoured hospital has apologised after its staff were fooled by an implausible impersonation of the Queen into divulging intimate details of the Duchess of Cambridge's medical condition to hoax callers from an Australian radio station. The King Edward VII private hospital in Marylebone, central London, where the duchess is being treated for acute morning sickness, said it "deeply regrets" what it described as "a foolish prank call that we all deplore". Two DJs from Sydney's 2Day FM Summer 30 show Googled the hospital's number and rang in the early hours of Tuesday morning, posing as the Queen and the Prince of Wales. While two colleagues yapped like corgis, presenters Mel Greig, as a Queen with a thinly disguised Australian twang, and Michael Christian, as a particularly guttural Prince Charles, managed to speak to the duchess's duty nurse. During a surreal two-minute call, with "Charles" shouting "mummy, mummy" and "the corgis" barking audibly, a flustered nurse updated them on the duchess's condition. Alarm bells failed to ring even when "the Queen" asked when was the best time to visit "because I'm the Queen so I need a lift down there," before barking at Charles, "when are you going to walk those bloody corgis?" As the Twittersphere reacted with incredulity and outrage in equal measure to the hoax, the presenters offered their "sincere apologies" but admitted they were surprised they had got through to the nurse because of their "terrible accents". Even as the duo dialled the number on air, and Greig heard herself being put through to the duchess's private ward, Christian tells listeners "if this has worked, it's the easiest prank call we've ever made," before telling his co-presenter "your accent sucks, by the way, I just want you to know." The hospital's embarrassment is compounded by its longstanding close relationship with the royal family, who have favoured it for years. Royal portraits adorn its corridors, and the Queen has been both in-patient and visitor on several occasions. It has served as backdrop for many royal dramas, including the late Queen Mother's lodged fishbone, the Queen's knee-op and the Duke of Edinburgh's bladder infection. It said in a statement: "King Edward VII's Hospital Sister Agnes can confirm that an Australian radio station made a hoax call to the hospital in the early hours of Tuesday morning. This call was transferred through to a ward and a short conversation was held with one of the nursing staff. King Edward VII's hospital deeply regrets this incident." John Lofthouse, chief executive, said: "This was a foolish prank call that we all deplore. We take patient confidentiality extremely seriously and we are now reviewing our telephone protocols." He later filmed a video message in which he said: "Our nurses are caring and professional, and not used to coping with this sort of journalistic trickery." Admitting that "technically it is a breach of patient confidentiality", he maintained that the information given in the hoax call was "already in the public domain". "I've received advice that what the Australian broadcasters did may well have broken the law. On the other hand they've apologised for it so we're going to have a long and careful think about what, if anything, we do," Lofthouse said. A spokesman for the royal couple said they would not be making a comment. Prince William visited his wife on Wednesday on her third day in the hospital, where she is receiving treatment for hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe form of morning sickness. Her younger siblings Pippa, 29, and James, 25, also visited, and it is understood her parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, visited on Tuesday night. Outside the hospital, journalist Brett Mason, the Europe correspondent for Network Ten Australia, who was sent to the hospital to cover the story, said the reaction in Australia was one of shock. "It's quite extraordinary that two particularly bad royal family impersonators with distinctly Australian accents have been put through. I think we're probably having a bit more of a chuckle than our British comrades, who are still trying to see the funny side. "But we also get the seriousness of it and given the timing of Leveson it's probably gone down like a lead balloon over here," he said. The prank call was, reportedly, pre-recorded and vetted by lawyers before being broadcast in Sydney. It begins with Greig asking the hospital switchboard operator: "Oh hello there, could I please speak to Kate please, my granddaughter?" to be told: "Oh yes. Just hold on, ma'am", before being put through. The presenter is then given details about the duchess's condition by the nurse, and replies: "OK. I'll just feed my little corgis then," as pretend barking can be heard in the background, while Christian – aka Charles – shouts "mummy mummy!" At one point Christian asks "is Wills still there, or has he gone home? I haven't spoken to him yet." The nurse informs him Prince William left at around 9pm – although in fact he left at 6pm – and suggests the Queen visits after 9am. The nurse discusses the difficulty of the duchess sleeping in a "strange bed" to which Greig agrees: "It's nothing like the palace, is it Charles? When are you going to walk those bloody corgis?" "Mumsy, I'll go and take the dogs outside," says Christian, before the two thank the nurse and hang up. "She was giving us real information," marvelled Greig after the call ended. The station said: "2Day FM sincerely apologises for any inconvenience caused by the inquiries to Kate's hospital. The radio segment was done with lighthearted intentions. We wish Kate and her family all the best and we're glad to hear she's doing well." It is not the first time a member of the royal family has been the subject of a prank call. In 1995 a Canadian DJ pretending to be Canada's then prime minister, Jean Chrétien, was put through to the Queen and spoke for around 15 minutes, during which he asked her to record a speech in support of Canadian unity before a referendum in Quebec. Could I please speak to Kate please, my granddaughter?Receptionist Hello, good morning, King Edward VII Hospital Mel Greig [Impersonating the Queen with Australian twang] Oh, hello there. Could I please speak to Kate please, my granddaughter? Receptionist Oh yes, just hold on ma'am Greig Thank you Michael Christian: Are they putting us through? Greig Yes Christian [Laughs] If this has worked, it's the easiest prank call we've ever made. Your accent sucked by the way, I just want you to know. Greig [Laughs] I'm not used to playing old 80-year-olds. [Phone picked up] Greig Kate, my darling. Are you there? Nurse Good morning ma'am, this is nurse [unclear] speaking, how may I help you? Greig Hello I'm just after my granddaughter Kate. I want to see how her little tummy bug is going? Christian [In cod Prince Charles accent]: Mummy! Mummy! Nurse [Deep breath] She's sleeping at the moment Greig OK I'll just feed my little corgis then. When is a good time to come and visit her, because I'm the Queen and I need a lift down there? Christian Mummy, mummy, is everything ok? Greig: Prince! Charles - Charles! When can you take me to the hospital, Charles? Christian When will it be all right to come down and see her? Maybe in the morning or something if that's OK? Nurse I would suggest that any time after nine o'clock would be suitable. Christian Wonderful. Is Wills still there or has he gone home? I haven't spoken to him yet. Nurse He went home at about half past nine, probably at about nine o'clock last night, to be fair. Christian Lovely, but are they all ok? Everything is all right? Nurse Yes. Christian Wonderful. Nurse I think it's difficult sleeping in a strange bed as well. Christian Of course, it's hardly the palace is it? Greig It's nothing like the palace, is it Charles? When are you going to walk those bloody corgis? Christian Mumsy, I'll go and take the dogs outside Greig I need to go visit Kate in the morning. My dear, thank you so much Nurse You are very welcome Greig Thank you. Bye. Bye Christian Goodbye Nurse Goodbye [Both presenters burst out laughing] Greig She was giving us real information Christian Mumsy, I think they just believed everything we just said Greig I am the Queen, bow for me, bow for me Christian Bow for you and your terrible accent
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Fugitive software pioneer seeks asylum from Belize 'persecution' after hideaway is revealed by data in online photograph The fugitive software pioneer John McAfee, on the run from authorities in Belize who want to question him about the death of a neighbour, has surfaced in Guatemala, where he has announced his intention to seek asylum. In the latest development of an increasingly outlandish story, chronicled on his blog and in interviews, McAfee said he could now "speak freely" about corruption in Belize, and claimed he feared he would be killed if he turned himself in. McAfee has been declared a "person of interest" in the death of Gregory Viant Faull, who was shot dead early last month on the Belizean island where they both lived. After weeks of speculation about his whereabouts, his presence in Guatemala was revealed by accident: journalists from the magazine Vice, who were with him, mistakenly failed to delete location metadata from a picture they uploaded to the internet. Speaking in a restaurant near a hotel where he is staying in Guatemala City, McAfee claimed the Belizean government was persecuting him. Claiming he had sensitive information about official corruption, McAfee said: "I need a safe place where I can actually speak out. Now that I'm here, I can speak freely. I can speak openly." The Belizean police have denied they are persecuting McAfee or are motivated by corruption, saying they have simply been investigating a crime about which McAfee may have information. There are no restrictions on his travels, so it was unclear why McAfee believes he requires special status to remain in Guatemala. The prime minister of Belize, Dean Barrow, has expressed doubts about McAfee's mental state, saying: "I don't want to be unkind to the gentleman but I believe he is extremely paranoid, even bonkers." In a blogpost, McAfee said he would meet Guatemalan officials, and planned to hold a press conference. "I apologise for all of the misdirections over the past few days," he wrote. "It was not easy to exit Belize and required many supporters in many countries. I am in Guatemala and will be meeting with Guatemalan officials this morning." McAfee's location was uncovered when a Twitter user spotted embedded location data on an iPhone photo accompanying a Vice article from Monday headlined: "We are with John McAfee right now, suckers." As news of the technological mistake did the rounds online, McAfee went on the blog chronicling his life on the run to say he had doctored the photo to include false location data. The post has since been deleted, as have all posts written between 1 and 4 December. The deleted posts included claims that McAfee had been caught at the Mexico-Belize border. McAfee made millions as founder of the antivirus software company that bears his name. He sold the company in 1994, and then invested in other tech ventures before retiring to Belize in 2008. He was living on a beachside compound on a Belizean island when Faull was found dead with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head. McAfee has expressed fears that he was the attacker's intended target, and reportedly buried himself in sand when police sought him for questioning in the case. Vice has established itself as the most recent confidante of McAfee, who has also given interviews to US cable news outlets and talked often to Wired reporter Joshua Davis when he initially went on the run. Vice said it had been documenting McAfee's journey for the past several days. After mistakenly revealing McAfee's location, Vice posted a story on Tuesday night that included a now-broken link to McAfee's blog under the headline: "John McAfee Update: Quite Frankly We Don't Know What the Fuck Is Going On." Vice Magazine's editor-in-chief Rocco Castoro posted his first dispatch on his experience with McAfee Tuesday and reported that the fugitive multimillionaire had hired Guatemalan lawyer Telésforo Guerra. The lawyer is the uncle of McAfee's 20-year-old Belizean girlfriend Sam Venegas and the former attorney general of Guatemala. According to Castoro's report, Vice reporters crossed the border into Guatemala with McAfee and have been with him for five days. The reporters are keeping details about their time on the road with McAfee under wraps as they prepare to release a magazine piece and documentary about their time with the fugitive millionaire. Castoro said: "I have been with John and Sam for the last five days, and very soon the world will be able to watch everything that happened along the way. It has been dangerous, amazing, touching, and many other adjectives that I cannot remember right now because I am so exhausted and blown away by it all."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Photographer who captured scene just before train hit Queens man defends his actions as Post again publishes image New York police have charged a 30-year-old man with the murder of a father of one who was pushed onto the tracks at a New York subway station on Monday. The suspect, named as Naeem Davis, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with depraved indifference murder and attempted murder. The death of Ki Suk Han, from Elmhurst, Queens, gained widespread attention after a chilling photograph showing him about to be run over by the train was published on the cover of the New York Post on Tuesday. The photographer who captured and sold the image of Han has defended his actions in a series of interviews, as the Post re-ignited controversy over the issue by publishing it on its cover for the second day running. R Umar Abbasi, a freelance photographer for the Post, said he was too far from Han to be able to help him and said he was being unfairly stigmatised by "armchair critics". Police said Davis had implicated himself in the death. He was taken into custody on Tuesday after investigators recovered security video that showed a man fitting his description working with street vendors near the Rockefeller Center, New York police department spokesman Paul Browne said. In an interview on the Today show, Abbasi said he did not see all of the altercation between the two men, and was hundreds of feet away "It took me a second to figure out what is happening," Abbasi said, after seeing Han being pushed out of the corner of his eye. He said he saw Han try to get back on the platform. "I saw the lights in the distance of the approaching train. The only thing I could think of was to alert the driver with my flash," Abassi said. He said he didn't realize until much later, when he showed police his camera card so they could examine it for images of the suspect, that he had photographs of the unfolding tragedy. He told the New York Times that his arm was fully outstretched with the camera far from his face, as he flashed his camera at the driver to alert him that something was wrong. In an 11-minute interview on Today, Matt Lauer pointed out that Han was on the track for 22 seconds – "a long time" before the train hit him. Lauer asked Abbasi. "Was there nothing you could have done?" Abbasi replied that the people standing closer to him nearer the 50th Street exit could have. Holding up the Post picture of Han with his arms on the platform as the train is bearing down on him, Lauer said: "It looks like you're very close." Abbasi said that the train hit Han a second later. "There is no way I could have rescued Mr Han," he said, and said he would have if he could. Abbasi also said that after the train hit Han, scores of people on the platform began taking videos of the body and the doctor who went to his aid. He acknowledged that he had sold the photograph for the Post but that he had no control over where it appeared in the newspaper. He said he had not been paid for the Today appearance. In an interview with the Post on Wednesday, which was trailed on the cover, Abbasi talked about being haunted by what he had seen. He said: "It was one of the most horrible things I have ever seen, to watch that man dying there. "When it was over, I didn't look at the pictures. I didn't even know at all that I had even captured the images in such detail. I didn't look at them. I didn't want to. It was just too emotional a day. "I brought the camera memory card back to the office and turned it in. Two detectives came and looked at the photos and I just sat in a chair. "When I finally looked at them late that night, my heart started racing. It was terrible, seeing it happen all over again. I didn't sleep at all. All I can hear is that man's head against that train: boom! Boom! Boom! "I have to say I was surprised at the anger over the pictures, of the people who are saying: why didn't he put the camera down and pull him out? "But I can't let the armchair critics bother me. They were not there. They have no idea how very quickly it happened."
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Egyptian president's supporters accused of 'vicious' attack against those protesting over decrees and draft constitution Supporters and opponents of President Mohamed Morsi threw rocks and firebombs at each other during violent clashes outside the presidential palace in Cairo on Wednesday, as a new round of protests deepened Egypts political crisis. Mohamed ElBaradei, a leading opposition advocate of reform, accused Morsi's supporters of a "vicious and deliberate" attack against peaceful demonstrators. "We hold President Morsi and his government completely responsible for the violence that is happening in Egypt today," he said. "A regime that is not able to protect its people and is siding with his own sect, [and] thugs is a regime that lost its legitimacy and is leading Egypt into violence and bloodshed." The opposition is demanding Morsi rescind decrees giving him near unrestricted powers and shelve a disputed draft constitution his Muslim Brotherhood allies passed last week. The political crisis has divided Egypt. Islamists and an opposition made up of youth groups, liberal parties and large sectors of the public have dug in their heels, signalling a protracted standoff. The latest clashes began when thousands of Islamist supporters of Morsi descended on the area around the palace where some 300 of his opponents were staging a sit-in. Members of the Brotherhood chased the protesters away from outside the main gate and tore down their tents. The protesters fled into side streets where they chanted anti-Morsi slogans. After a lull in fighting, hundreds of young Morsi opponents arrived and began throwing firebombs at the president's backers, who responded with rocks. No casualties were immediately reported but witnesses said they saw several bloodied protesters. Several opposition groups said they were calling on their supporters to head to the palace. "I voted for Morsi to get rid of Hosni Mubarak. I now regret it," Nadia el-Shafie yelled at Brotherhood supporters from a side street. "God is greater than you. Don't think this power or authority will add anything to you. God made this revolution, not you." By nightfall, there were about 10,000 Morsi supporters outside the palace. They erected metal barricades to keep traffic off a stretch of road that runs parallel to the palace in Heliopolis district. Some of them appeared to plan staging their own sit-in. "May God protect Egypt and its president," read a banner hoisted on a truck. On top of the vehicle was a man reciting verses from the Qu'ran via a loud speaker. "We came to support the president. We feel there is a legitimacy that someone is trying to rob," said Rabi Mohammed, an engineer. "People are rejecting democratic principles using thuggery." At least 100,000 opposition supporters rallied outside the palace on Tuesday and smaller protests were staged by the opposition elsewhere in Cairo and across much of Egypt. It was the latest of a series of mass protests against the president. Buoyed by the turnout on Tuesday, the mostly secular opposition held a series of meetings on Wednesday to decide on next steps in the standoff that began 22 November over Morsi's presidential decrees. It escalated after his allies hurriedly pushed through a draft constitution. As well as more demonstrations, activists said opposition leaders were discussing whether to campaign for a "no" vote in a constitutional referendum scheduled for 15 December or to call for a boycott. Brotherhood leaders have been calling on the opposition to enter a dialogue with Morsi. But the opposition says dialogue is pointless unless the president first rescinds his decrees and shelves the draft constitution. Mahmoud Mekki, Egypt's vice-president, called for dialogue between Morsi and the opposition to reach a "consensus" on the disputed articles of the constitution and put their agreement in a document that would be discussed by the next parliament. He put the number of clauses in disputes at 15, out of a total of 234, but said the referendum must go ahead. The draft constitution has been criticised for not protecting the rights of women and minority groups, and many journalists see it as restricting freedom of expression. Critics also say it empowers Islamic religious clerics by giving them a say over legislation, while some articles were seen as tailored to get rid of the Islamists' enemies. If the referendum goes ahead next week and the draft constitution is adopted, elections for parliament's lower chamber will be held in February.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | American jazz pianist and composer who annoyed the purists by finding global fame When the end of the 20th century came, some aspects of jazz began to be given the status of a classical form. In the reassessments that followed, the work of the American pianist and composer Dave Brubeck, who has died aged 91, was a major beneficiary. He was a figure simultaneously feted and mugged by ecstatic fans and infuriated purists during the years between 1954 and 1966 – the time when his catchiest and most deftly composed records were pop hits. Like the Modern Jazz Quartet, which enjoyed similar commercial success in that period, Brubeck's music flattered and engaged the young white middle-class, and particularly the student population, much as the classical-sounding clarinettist Benny Goodman's work had done in the mid-1930s. Brubeck intertwined jazz swing with time-signatures that looked like algebra, and mingled standard song-forms with rondos and fugues. All kinds of music fans who would not be seen dead with a jazz album owned Brubeck records in the 60s, just as they own Diana Krall, Jan Garbarek or Keith Jarrett discs today. But if Brubeck's success, and the repertoire that achieved it, could be fighting talk among music-lovers 40 years ago, now time, and the eclecticism and fluid collaborations of a shrinking world, have healed his estrangement from the jazz audience. Brubeck's pieces are now recognised for the harmonically subtle, melodically devious and original works they are, and his most classically oriented works (such as the soft-winds Bach tribute Chorale) as triumphs in a treacherous territory in which short-changing jazz or dumbing-down symphonic composition is very hard to avoid. The Brubeck debate eventually vanished into the archives, and his real gifts – as a composer, and a charter of new rhythmic waters as inventive as the brilliant bebop drummer-composer Max Roach – came to be appreciated for what they always were. Unlike Goodman and his college audience triumphs of the 1930s, Brubeck discovered his jazz in the postwar world – in a very different climate, which initiated the unusual chemistry of his music by a very different route. Jazz, pop and dancing were synonymous in the 30s. But Brubeck emerged a decade later, after the more cerebral and exploratory modernist idiom of bebop had profoundly influenced the music. To make jazz popular again, to haul it out of the bare-bulb, hipster-subculture cellar it had holed up in during the late 1940s, would require a different approach. Brubeck, who grew up on a California ranch and initially trained as a vet, certainly made no such opportunistic calculations in the beginning, and wanted only to pursue his abiding passion for music any way he could. However, the populist approach found him in the end, whether he was looking for it or not. Born in Concord, California, he was originally trained in classical music, at first by a piano-playing mother. His environment cut him out to be a cowboy more than a musician – and with two older brothers on their way to music college, he was initially happy to embrace the alternative of working on the land himself. Though he resisted leaving the family ranch, his parents persuaded him to enrol as veterinarian major at the College of the Pacific. Brubeck's musical enthusiasms then overtook him, and he switched courses after a year – to the mingled delight and anxiety of the music faculty, which welcomed someone clearly cut out to be one of its most naturally gifted students, but whose notation-reading was so poor they made him promise never to teach music before they had let him graduate. During this period Brubeck led and played in jazz bands most nights of the week, and also met Iola Marie Whitlock, who ran the weekly campus radio show. Brubeck proposed to her after a two-week relationship, and she survives him, along with four sons and a daughter. Brubeck was a conscientious objector during the second world war, but was eventually given an army band to run on a tour of Europe in 1944. His superior officer, a jazz fan, repeatedly intervened to prevent the musician being sent to the front. After demobilisation, he studied at Mills College with the classical composer Darius Milhaud, who revealed the intricacies of polyrhythm and polytonality to him, and influenced his music for life, telling him that if he wanted to express America, he would always use the jazz idiom. Brubeck then founded an experimental collective, the Jazz Workshop Ensemble. It was dedicated to exploring forms of jazz less hidebound by orthodox "swing" and Tin Pan Alley-derived harmonic structures. In 1951 he formed his first quartet, including a feathery-sounding alto saxophonist called Paul Desmond, a confirmed disciple of the undemonstrative, dynamically restrained white "cool school" variations on bebop whom he had briefly worked with in San Francisco in 1947. The pianist set up his own record label, Fantasy Records, and released Jazz at Oberlin (1953), the quartet's first album. This exploration of live recording, rare for the time, secured a deal with Columbia Records – and the ensuing Jazz Goes to College (1954) sold over 100,000 copies. The success made Brubeck the first jazz musician to be featured on the cover of Time magazine, which said he was ushering in the birth of a new kind of jazz age in the US. In the late 1950s the first quartet lineup, with bassist Norman Bates and drummer Joe Dodge, was transformed by the remarkable drummer Joe Morello and the bassist Gene Wright, and the most popular and influential Brubeck quartet was born. The familiar four-on-four metre of straight-ahead jazz time was augmented by complex tempos like 9/8 (as in the engaging Mozartian Blue Rondo a la Turk) and 11/4, though the improvising sections of Brubeck's pieces frequently loosened into regular swing, which ingeniously balanced their appeal. The album Time Out (1959) turned out to be the group's biggest landmark, unleashing the first million-selling post-bebop jazz records with singles of Blue Rondo and the Desmond composition – triggered by a 5/4 Morello drum exercise – Take Five. Between 1959 and 1965, the Quartet won Down Beat magazine's readers' poll five times and was Playboy readers' favourite jazz group for 12 years running, from 1957 to 1968. By the early 1960s, the New Yorker announced that the quartet was "the world's best-paid, most widely travelled, most highly publicised, and most popular small group now playing improvised syncopated music". But this success had not come without reservations in the jazz world. Brubeck was on the wrong side of the purists almost as soon as his discs started to become hits – for what were seen by some as three betrayals. First, and maybe worst, he made money, which was a form of notoriety usually regarded as a sell-out by hardline hipsters. Second, his conspicuously complex tempos paraded cleverness and a fondness for European classical devices at a time when black American jazz was dumping much of its formal baggage, and fiery, impassioned and unpredictable improvisors such as Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane were on the rise. Third, he was portrayed by the cognoscenti as wasting the talents of a truly great improviser in Desmond, his lyrical and delicate alto saxophonist. Such generally perspicacious writers as the late British critic Benny Green were merciless with Brubeck. But the band was a huge success all around the world, and toured constantly. The jazz-loving American comedian Mort Sahl once remarked of American cold-war foreign diplomacy that "After John Foster Dulles visits a country, the State Department sends the Brubeck Quartet in to repair the damage." The quartet finally disbanded in 1967, rejoining only once, in 1976, for a 25th anniversary tour. Brubeck branched out, concentrating increasingly on large-scale composition, writing ballets – Points on Jazz (1960) entered the repertory of the American Ballet theatre – a mass, various cantatas, and combinations of jazz musicians and symphony bands. He also began performing with his highly musical family, his sons Darius, a keyboard player; Chris, a trombonist/bassist; Danny, a drummer; and latterly the youngest, cello-improviser Matthew. He also worked effectively with the saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi in the 80s, and the uncannily Desmond-like Bobby Militello in the 90s. Brubeck's landmarks, awards and citations became too numerous to count – he played for presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Reagan and Clinton, appeared at the Reagan-Gorbachev Moscow summit in 1988, and composed a score for Pope John Paul II's visit to San Francisco in 1987. All his life, Brubeck continued to regard himself as "a composer who plays the piano". Though much was made of his piano-playing by his early fans, Brubeck's solos relied heavily on riff-like block chords and rather relentless dynamics, though they became more varied and unpredictable in the later stages of his career and remained so into his 80s. But Brubeck's real achievement was to blend European compositional ideas, very demanding rhythmic structures, jazz song-forms and improvisation in expressive and accessible ways. His son Chris was to tell the Guardian, "when I hear Chorale, it reminds me of the very best Aaron Copland, something like Appalachian Spring. There's a sort of American honesty to it." However difficult Brubeck's pieces became, they could still be whistled at the bus-stop. That's likely to go on happening for a long time. • David Warren Brubeck, composer and pianist, born 6 December 1920; died 5 December 2012
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | President tells CEOs in Washington 'that is not a game I will play' and stands firm on requirement for higher earners to pay more Barack Obama has issued a stern warning to Republican leaders that they should not contemplate a repeat of last year's disastrous fight over the US debt ceiling as part of their strategy over the current talks to avoid the fiscal cliff. Obama said that the 2011 debt ceiling crisis, which culminated in the historic downgrading of the Standard & Poor's credit rating of US government bonds, was a "catastrophe" that he would not allow to happen again. He cautioned Republican leaders in Congress against assuming they could accede to his demand for tax increases for the rich in the current fiscal cliff talks, with the intention of hitting back in 2013 with a call for stringent spending cuts in exchange for raising the government's borrowing limits. "That's a bad strategy for America, and a bad strategy for your businesses," Obama told the CEO association, Business Roundtable, in Washington. "That's not a game I will play." With the standoff between the two main parties continuing, and the 1 January deadline approaching for the automatic advent of $607bn of tax rises and spending cuts, Obama is standing firm on his central negotiating requirement: a tax rate rise for the top 2% of earners. He said that if Republicans were prepared to make a "conceptual breakthrough" on the need for an increased tax burden on the wealthy, then "we can solve this in a week. It's not that tough." But the GOP leadership believe they have done enough for now to move in the president's direction and are arguing that the ball is back in his court. They point to the release of a joint letter from House Republican leaders setting out their latest offer that includes increased tax revenues through closing loopholes and deductions. John Boehner, the speaker of the House and the letter's lead signatory, called on Obama to respond to the proposals. "We can't negotiate with ourselves," Boehner said. The letter, released on Monday, falls short of Obama's declared minimum position because although they offer $800bn in new tax revenues, the authors refuse to accept a tax hike for the top 2%. Even so, the joint letter has sparked considerable in-fighting within Republicans circles, with ultra-conservatives accusing Boehner of betraying the cause by accepting any revenue increases at all. Senator Jim DeMint, a leading figure in the once dominant Tea Party faction of the party, said: "This isn't rocket science. Everyone knows that when you take money out of the economy, it destroys jobs, and everyone knows that when you give politicians more money, they spend it." Prominent conservative thinktanks, such as the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity, and Heritage Action for America, also put out statements accusing Boehner of reneging on the promise to resist tax increases on all Americans. Fiscal conservatives also want to see more pressure put on Obama to come up with tougher spending cuts. "It can't be revenue now, spending reductions later," said John Engler, president of the Business Roundtable that includes the chief executives of companies such as Boeing and GE that collectively have annual revenues of more than $7tn.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Disaster response agencies report nearly 300 dead in Philippines, and officials fear more bodies may be found Parents searching for missing children examined a row of bodies while other survivors dried belongings on roadsides a day after a typhoon killed nearly 300 people in the southern Philippines. Officials fear more bodies may be found as rescuers reach hard-hit areas that were isolated by landslides, floods and downed communications lines. At least 151 people died in the worst-hit province, Compostela Valley, when typhoon Bopha hit on Tuesday. The victims included 78 villagers and soldiers who died in a flash flood that swamped two emergency shelters and a military camp. Disaster response agencies reported 284 dead in the region and 14 fatalities elsewhere from the typhoon, one of the strongest to hit the country this year. In New Bataan, a town of 45,000 people, 319 remained missing, said the interior secretary, Mar Roxas, on a visit to survey the damage. "These were whole families among the registered missing," Roxas told the ABS-CBN TV network. "Entire families may have been washed away." Bodies of victims were laid on the ground for viewing by people searching for missing relatives. A father wept when he found the body of his child after lifting a plastic cover. A mother went away in tears, unable to find her missing children. "I have three children," she said repeatedly, flashing three fingers before a TV cameraman. Two men carried the mud-caked body of an unidentified girl that was covered with coconut leaves on a makeshift stretcher made from a blanket and wooden poles. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies issued an urgent appeal for $4.8m to help people directly affected by the typhoon. The deaths came despite government efforts to force residents out of high-risk communities as the typhoon approached. On Wednesday evening the typhoon was over the South China Sea west of Palawan province. It was blowing northwestward and could be headed to Vietnam or southern China, according to government forecasters.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Mark O'Mara says photograph released after months of asking is 'significant' in supporting defence in Trayvon Martin case Lawyers for George Zimmerman have accused a Florida prosecutor of deliberately hiding evidence, which they say is frustrating their attempts to build a strong self-defence argument for their client over the death of teenager Trayvon Martin. The claim relates to a new colour photograph of Zimmerman's facial injuries taken soon after the neighbourhood watch captain shot and killed Martin, 17, during a confrontation at a gated community in Sanford in February. The picture was released by the Duval County state attorney's office only after months of asking and the intervention of a judge, Zimmerman's lawyer Mark O'Mara said. He accepted that the photograph was "not a game-changer" but was "significant" in supporting the defence assertion that Martin was the assailant during the encounter and that Zimmerman, 29, had to pull the trigger to save his own life. Under Florida law, prosecutors are required to provide original photographs among "discovery" evidence released to the defence but in this instance, O'Mara said, he had been working since April with only a grainy, black-and-white photocopy. The picture, which was taken by an officer in the back of a police car, shows the defendant with a cut, bruised and bloodied nose, injuries sustained while Martin was slamming Zimmerman's face on to a concrete pavement, O'Mara has insisted. "I get frustrated when certain evidence gets out and other evidence is withheld," he told reporters. "It just seems like it's been pulling teeth for discovery in this case. This case is the opposite of any I've normally taken. Usually, discovery is dumped on your desk, because it's normally good for [the prosecution]. They usually try to shove it down your throat." In an earlier brief to circuit court judge Debra Nelson, which included a request for the release of other reports, witness statements and audio recordings he said were being suppressed, O'Mara wrote: "The state should not be allowed to play hide and seek with the evidence." There was no response to his claims from special prosecutor Corey, who charged Zimmerman with second-degree murder in April, weeks after Sanford police released him without charge and sparked a series of public protests. But Benjamin Crump, the lawyer representing Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, the dead teenager's parents, said he had offered numerous times to provide one of the key items O'Mara was complaining about, namely a clear recording of an interview with a teenage girl who claimed she was on the phone to Martin when the fatal confrontation took place. "The family can't control the state's case against George Zimmerman. They are powerless. They are not focused on anything negative, or any distractions," he told the Miami Herald. Verbal sparring between the lawyers is becoming increasingly frequent and hostile as the case works its way towards a trial scheduled for next June, unless Nelson first dismisses the charge under Florida's stand-your-ground law that justifies deadly force in certain situations. Last week, responding to criticism over Zimmerman's newly announced strategy of selling signed thank-you cards to those who donate to his depleted legal defence fund, O'Mara said it was Crump who was cashing in on the case. "If profiteering is a concern, that analysis should begin with those who crafted the misinformation blitz and racially charged rhetoric, shouted with reckless disregard for the truth, the result of which has been significant financial gain, not ruin," he said in a statement. "We speak not of the Martin family, who have suffered the tragedy of losing a son; we speak of the family's handlers and attorneys." Crump replied in a tweet that he had no comment. "Staying focused on justice, no time to waste on distractions," he wrote. Meanwhile, Corey released public a new round of discovery evidence on Wednesday, including testimony from an FBI civil-rights investigation that heard an accusation that the Sanford police department, which released Zimmerman without charge, was "a good ol' boys' network" ingrained with racism. "It is hard to be an African American male in Sanford and not have a criminal record," one witness told agents.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Plan by bank to shed 4% of its workforce comes amid report of a negative impact on economic growth from October storm Citigroup has announced it will cut 11,000 jobs in an effort to cut costs, adding to the chances that the thorniest problem in the economy – unemployment – will only get worse by the end of the year. Citigroup, no stranger to slashing headcount, expects to save $1.1bn a year from the cuts – about 4% of the total workforce – starting in 2014, according to its filing with securities regulators. It is an early move by the bank's new chief executive Michael Corbat, and will result in pre-tax charges of $1bn against fourth-quarter earnings. The bank did not spell out how many of the jobs will be in the US. Most of them, about 6,200, will come from Citi's consumer banking unit, which handles everyday functions like branches and checking accounts. Exactly a year ago, the financial giant announced it would reduce its headcount by 4,500 jobs. December is usually a month of deep cuts for big banks, as they review yearly performance and set bonuses. Like many banks, the group has been announcing job cuts regularly over the past few years, although arguably it has made deeper cuts because of its enormous personnel. Citigroup's peak headcount, in 2007, was 375,000 employees. It cut that down to 267,000 employees in September 2011; now, over a year later, that number is about 260,000. In a statement, Corbat said the bank remains committed to "our unparalleled global network and footprint". However, he added: "We have identified areas and products where our scale does not provide for meaningful returns." He promised that the bank would reduce "excess capacity and expenses, whether they center on technology, real estate or simplifying our operations".
Corbat became CEO in October after his predecessor, Vikram Pandit, stepped down. Pandit had reportedly clashed with the board over the company's strategy and its relationship with the government. The Citigroup move adds further pressure on the unemployment problem in the United States, which has been hard to shake. Currently the US unemployment rate stands at 7.9%, with about 12 million people out of work. New employment data today suggested that hurricane Sandy is hurting already tenuous US job growth. That, in turn, could ratchet up the pressure on Washington lawmakers to come up with a deal to resolve the fiscal cliff to prevent further economic pain. Payroll provider ADP estimated that the US economy gained a modest 118,000 jobs in November. The ADP results were disappointing because economists had expected job growth of 125,000 jobs. The ADP estimates suggested that 86,000 jobs were lost due to hurricane Sandy during the month of November, particularly to jobs in leisure, travel and hospitality. Sandy, cutting a 900-mile swath, temporarily crippled the economies of coastal New York and New Jersey and destroyed homes, offices, restaurants and with them, many jobs. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg estimated that Sandy cost the city $19bn, and New York State governor Andrew Cuomo put bill to the state at $41bn. Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey put New Jersey's cost at around $40bn, and is looking for 100% reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), compared to the usual 75% payout. As with much recent economic data, economists were divided on whether the report indicated good news or bad. There were dark spots. Small businesses, for instance, added only 19,000 jobs, which is a poor showing. And real wages fell 1.4% in the last three months, which means less money in workers' pockets. Peter Tchir, of TF Market Advisors, wrote to clients today, "no matter how much you huff and puff and blow your hurricane stories, a negative [payrolls report] will be horrible for the markets." The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were all down in morning trading. But there were bright spots, too. US productivity appears to be gaining, according to Erik Johnson, the US economist for IHS Global Insight. He said productivity growth has strengthened to 1.7% compared to last year, which would be the fastest pace since the fourth quarter of 2010. Johnson also noted that output is growing far faster than hiring, indicating that "firms have continued to squeeze more out of their workforces". Economists believe that hiring grows only after employers continue to put pressure on their current workforces to do more and work more hours; when they can't do any more, new hires come in. Subtracting the jobs lost to Sandy, the employment report could have indicated some economic health, according to Jim O'Sullivan, chief US economist for High Frequency Economics. O'Sullivan estimated that US job growth would have been "a fairly healthy 204,000" without the storm. The ADP report is a measure of private payrolls. It is usually considered a bellwether of the official employment numbers, which will arrive Friday morning from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The ADP and the BLS numbers often don't match, by a large margin, and so the data provider and ratings firm Moody's has recently taken over analyzing the ADP numbers. Both surveys have flaws, however, and are expected to be revised at least once, if not twice, before we know the real results. They also have a big margin of error – around 100,000 jobs – which could swing the numbers dramatically. The next employment report, however, is widely expected to be grim, with major employment losses coming. Major firms have cut or lost jobs; Hostess Brands, which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, could represent the loss of thousands of jobs. Johnson wrote today that "with fiscal cliff concerns mounting and European growth and debt issues persisting, we expect growth to slow considerably in the fourth quarter, and pick up only gradually thereafter." If the official Bureau of Labor Statistics employment report on Friday is as disappointing as the ADP numbers, it will increase pressure on lawmakers to come up with a deal for the fiscal cliff or risk endangering the tenuously recovering economy. Some economists and investors have predicted that failure to resolve the fiscal Congress-created crisis would create a shock in the markets and to businesses.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Plan by bank to shed 4% of its workforce comes amid report of a negative impact on US jobs growth from October storm Citigroup has announced it will cut 11,000 jobs in an effort to cut costs, adding to the chances that the thorniest problem in the economy – unemployment – will only get worse by the end of the year. Citigroup, no stranger to slashing headcount, expects to save $1.1bn a year from the cuts – about 4% of the total workforce – starting in 2014, according to its filing with securities regulators. It is an early move by the bank's new chief executive Michael Corbat, and will result in pre-tax charges of $1bn against fourth-quarter earnings. The bank did not spell out how many of the jobs will be in the US. Most of them, about 6,200, will come from Citi's consumer banking unit, which handles everyday functions like branches and checking accounts. Exactly a year ago, the financial giant announced it would reduce its headcount by 4,500 jobs. December is usually a month of deep cuts for big banks, as they review yearly performance and set bonuses. Like many banks, the group has been announcing job cuts regularly over the past few years, although arguably it has made deeper cuts because of its enormous personnel. Citigroup's peak headcount, in 2007, was 375,000 employees. It cut that down to 267,000 employees in September 2011; now, over a year later, that number is about 260,000. In a statement, Corbat said the bank remains committed to "our unparalleled global network and footprint". However, he added: "We have identified areas and products where our scale does not provide for meaningful returns." He promised that the bank would reduce "excess capacity and expenses, whether they center on technology, real estate or simplifying our operations".
Corbat became CEO in October after his predecessor, Vikram Pandit, stepped down. Pandit had reportedly clashed with the board over the company's strategy and its relationship with the government. The Citigroup move adds further pressure on the unemployment problem in the United States, which has been hard to shake. Currently the US unemployment rate stands at 7.9%, with about 12 million people out of work. New employment data today suggested that hurricane Sandy is hurting already tenuous US job growth. That, in turn, could ratchet up the pressure on Washington lawmakers to come up with a deal to resolve the fiscal cliff to prevent further economic pain. Payroll provider ADP estimated that the US economy gained a modest 118,000 jobs in November. The ADP results were disappointing because economists had expected job growth of 125,000 jobs. The ADP estimates suggested that 86,000 jobs were lost due to hurricane Sandy during the month of November, particularly to jobs in leisure, travel and hospitality. Sandy, cutting a 900-mile swath, temporarily crippled the economies of coastal New York and New Jersey and destroyed homes, offices, restaurants and with them, many jobs. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg estimated that Sandy cost the city $19bn, and New York State governor Andrew Cuomo put bill to the state at $41bn. Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey put New Jersey's cost at around $40bn, and is looking for 100% reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), compared to the usual 75% payout. As with much recent economic data, economists were divided on whether the report indicated good news or bad. There were dark spots. Small businesses, for instance, added only 19,000 jobs, which is a poor showing. And real wages fell 1.4% in the last three months, which means less money in workers' pockets. Peter Tchir, of TF Market Advisors, wrote to clients today, "no matter how much you huff and puff and blow your hurricane stories, a negative [payrolls report] will be horrible for the markets." The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were all down in morning trading. But there were bright spots, too. US productivity appears to be gaining, according to Erik Johnson, the US economist for IHS Global Insight. He said productivity growth has strengthened to 1.7% compared to last year, which would be the fastest pace since the fourth quarter of 2010. Johnson also noted that output is growing far faster than hiring, indicating that "firms have continued to squeeze more out of their workforces". Economists believe that hiring grows only after employers continue to put pressure on their current workforces to do more and work more hours; when they can't do any more, new hires come in. Subtracting the jobs lost to Sandy, the employment report could have indicated some economic health, according to Jim O'Sullivan, chief US economist for High Frequency Economics. O'Sullivan estimated that US job growth would have been "a fairly healthy 204,000" without the storm. The ADP report is a measure of private payrolls. It is usually considered a bellwether of the official employment numbers, which will arrive Friday morning from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The ADP and the BLS numbers often don't match, by a large margin, and so the data provider and ratings firm Moody's has recently taken over analyzing the ADP numbers. Both surveys have flaws, however, and are expected to be revised at least once, if not twice, before we know the real results. They also have a big margin of error – around 100,000 jobs – which could swing the numbers dramatically. The next employment report, however, is widely expected to be grim, with major employment losses coming. Major firms have cut or lost jobs; Hostess Brands, which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, could represent the loss of thousands of jobs. Johnson wrote today that "with fiscal cliff concerns mounting and European growth and debt issues persisting, we expect growth to slow considerably in the fourth quarter, and pick up only gradually thereafter." If the official Bureau of Labor Statistics employment report on Friday is as disappointing as the ADP numbers, it will increase pressure on lawmakers to come up with a deal for the fiscal cliff or risk endangering the tenuously recovering economy. Some economists and investors have predicted that failure to resolve the fiscal Congress-created crisis would create a shock in the markets and to businesses.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | US science agency Noaa to deliver annual report on polar region after year of record-breaking and extreme weather events The full extent of the extreme loss of Arctic ice cover is due to be revealed on Wednesday when a premier US science agency delivers its annual report on the polar region. The report, overseen by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), provides the most comprehensive review so far of a year of record-breaking and extreme weather events in the Arctic. Some scientists have warned the changes in the Arctic recorded this year – particularly signs of thawing permafrost – could bring the planet much closer to a climate tipping point than previously anticipated. "Climate change is taking place before our eyes, and will continue to do so as a result of the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which have risen constantly and again reached new records," the World Meteorological Organisation's secretary general, Michael Jarraud, said. Nowhere has that been more apparent this year than the Arctic, according to scientists. Noaa's administrator, Jane Lubchenco, and other scientists were due to deliver their own assessment at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon. The scientists will outline the record loss of summer sea ice – which reached its lowest value on the satellite records of 26 August 2012, the decline in spring snow extent, rising temperatures in the permafrost in northern Alaska, and the dramatic melting of the surface of the Greenland ice sheet, according to the AGU website. Some of those findings have already been made public, reinforcing the already extensive evidence – in real time – of climate change. New satellite and aerial data presented to the AGU week earlier this week suggested that the entire Greenland ice sheet was losing about 22 gigatons of ice a year, with rapid thinning in the northern edge of the ice sheet. The entire ice sheet experienced rapid melting over a four day period last July, in an event that stunned and alarmed scientists. The melting ice in Greenland has added to global sea-level rise over the last two decades. Future melting is also expected to add to rising seas. The UN's weather agency, the World Meteorological Organisation, told negotiators trying to reach a global climate agreement in Doha, that an area of Arctic sea ice bigger than the entire United States melted this year. Meanwhile, the United Nations Environmental Programme released a report warning scientists may have been underestimating the melting of the Arctic. Large-scale thawing of the permafrost, the frozen soil that traps vast amounts of carbon, may already be underway, releasing more of the gases that cause climate change. This year is predicted to be one of the warmest on record, with global land and ocean temperatures in the first 10 months of 2012 about .45 degrees celsius above the average recorded even in the mid-20th century. America and Europe baked under heat waves, the American midwest weathered its worst drought in a generation, and parts of Brazil and China also went without rain. Pakistan, meanwhile, lost hundreds to floods caused by epic monsoon rains. West Africa also experienced floods. But it was the Arctic that exhibited the most staggering changes, according to scientists, and which dominated the United Nations' annual climate change report.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Witnesses say Muslim Brotherhood supporters stormed sit-in by 300 anti-Morsi protesters outside Egypt's presidential palace Egyptian protesters demonstrating against Mohamed Morsi's assumption of sweeping powers have clashed with the president's supporters in Cairo, as Morsi's deputy predicted a imminent breakthrough in resolving the crisis over the country's draft constitution. The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, expressed concern about the unrest, urging urgent dialogue between the sides. Witnesses said Muslim Brotherhood supporters stormed a sit-in by about 300 opponents of Morsi outside the presidential palace, beating participants and destroying tents. Rocks were thrown and people fought with sticks. The Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, who helped form the National Salvation Front coalition to co-ordinate opposition to the president's declaration, accused Morsi's supporters of a "vicious attack" on peaceful protesters, who he said were afforded no protection by police. He said that the president should protect protesters to preserve "what remains of his legitimacy". It was ElBaradei's Constitution party that had announced the sit-in outside the palace, and another mass rally is planned for Friday. The Brotherhood's political arm, the Freedom of Justice party, had called on its Facebook page for a counter-protest in response to the sit-in. It was the second successive day of clashes outside the palace. On Tuesday security forces fired teargas to disperse protesters. The vice-president, Mahmoud Mekky, said a referendum on the draft constitution would go ahead on 15 December, despite opponents claiming Morsi was attempting to rush the document through. "I am completely confident that if not in the coming hours, in the next few days we will reach a breakthrough in the crisis and consensus," he said. He denied the president's office was a party to any street violence. Clinton said the unrest showed that dialogue between the two sides was "urgently needed". She called for a constitutional process that was "open, transparent and fair and does not unduly favour one group over any other".
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Follow how the day unfolded after Haaretz reported that Bashar al-Assad is considering fleeing to Latin America despite his pledge to live and die in Syria
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Exiled leader to visit Palestinian territories for first time in 45 years to mark anniversary and repair split in ranks The Hamas leader, Khaled Meshaal, is set to visit Gaza for the first time this week to join celebrations marking the Islamist organisation's 25th anniversary and to offer congratulations on what it regards as a victory against Israel in the recent conflict. The visit of Meshaal, who has been in exile from the Palestinian territories for 45 years, may also signal a rapprochement between the internal and external leaderships of Hamas, and a new enthusiasm for reconciliation with rival West Bank-based faction Fatah. Thousands of people are expected to attend a triumphant rally in Gaza City on Saturday, which Meshaal is due to address. Cities throughout the Gaza Strip have been decked out with green Hamas flags ahead of the celebration. A huge mock rocket, emblazoned "M75" – the name Hamas has bestowed on its new long-range missiles – and "Made in Gaza", reaches 50ft into the air at the rally site. Hamas is in buoyant mood following the eight-day war with Israel despite the destruction of its offices, training grounds and weapons stockpiles, and the deaths of more than 160 Palestinians, most of whom were civilians. Hamas believes it held its ground against Israel's military onslaught and forced the Israeli government to accept its conditions for a ceasefire. Negotiations on the details of the agreement, including a further significant easing of Israel's blockade of Gaza, are continuing in Cairo, Egypt. "We believe Israel lost this war, and that victory is ours," said Hamas government spokesman Taher al-Nounou. "Not a military victory, but a victory for our will. At the end, the Israeli side accepted our demands for ending it." Following the ceasefire deal, Meshaal told a press conference in Cairo: "We have come out of this battle with our heads held high." His expected visit illustrates an apparent new harmony in relations between the exiled Hamas chief and the Gaza-based leadership, which has been strained over the past year on the issue of reconciliation between the Islamist organisation and Fatah, the dominant faction in the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority. Meshaal has been a strong advocate of rapprochement between the two factions. Despite both Fatah and the Gaza-based Hamas leadership publicly saying they favour reconciliation, in practice both sides hitherto resisted. This week Nounou listed reconciliation among Hamas's top priorities. "We will do our best to implement it. We are ready," he said. Hamas believes the recent conflict strengthened its hand vis-a-vis Fatah. It claims demonstrations in the West Bank during the offensive signalled support for armed resistance over Fatah's preferred political and diplomatic strategy. And, despite Mahmoud Abbas's recent successful bid to win recognition for the state of Palestine at the UN, Hamas regards the Palestinian president as weak and unpopular. Signs that the two factions may be moving closer towards reconciliation include Abbas conveying congratulations to Hamas on its "victory" in the eight-day war, and Hamas's belated support for Abbas's UN statehood bid. This week Hamas allowed 12 members of the rival faction to return to Gaza for the first time since bloody street battles between rival members in 2006. More are expected in the coming weeks. Both factions have agreed to the reciprocal release of prisoners held in jails in the West Bank and Gaza, according to the Palestinian news agency Ma'an. Hamas also feels emboldened and legitimised by recent regional engagement, including several high-profile appearances in Gaza of Arab and Turkish politicians during the recent conflict, and a visit this week by a delegation of European parliamentarians. Cairo is heavily involved in attempts to reconcile the two factions. The emir of Qatar, on a visit to Gaza before the recent conflict, said the division harmed the Palestinian cause and "it is time you end the chapter of differences and open a wide chapter for reconciliation". Earlier this week, Abbas was quoted as telling a meeting of the Palestinian Authority leadership: "It is time to seriously deal with reconciliation … this question has gone on for too long." However, past attempts at reconciliation have foundered despite encouragement by Arab nations.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The fiscal cliff face-off continues as John Boehner meets conservative critics and President Obama addresses business leaders
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Move by new CEO Michael Corbat will slash 4% of the bank's workforce and is intended to save $900m next year The US banking group Citigroup has announced that it will cut 11,000 jobs around the world, around 4% of its workforce. It is an early move by the bank's new chief executive Michael Corbat, and will result in pre-tax charges of $1bn against fourth-quarter earnings. The bank did not spell out how many of the jobs will be in the United States. Most of them, about 6,200, will come from Citi's consumer banking unit, which handles everyday functions like branches and checking accounts. Citi said that it will sell or scale back consumer operations in Pakistan, Paraguay, Romania, Turkey and Uruguay and focus on 150 cities around the world "that have the highest growth potential in consumer banking". About 1,900 jobs will come from the institutional clients group, which includes investment banking. The company will also cut jobs in technology and operations by using more automation and moving jobs to "lower-cost locations". Citi said it expects the cuts to save $900m next year, and slightly more in the following years. In a statement, Corbat said the bank remains committed to "our unparalleled global network and footprint". However, he added: "We have identified areas and products where our scale does not provide for meaningful returns." He promised that the bank would reduce "excess capacity and expenses, whether they center on technology, real estate or simplifying our operations".
Corbat became CEO in October after his predecessor, Vikram Pandit, stepped down. Pandit had reportedly clashed with the board over the company's strategy and its relationship with the government. While the job cuts are among the first major moves by Corbat, they are in line with Pandit's blueprint. Citi nearly collapsed during the financial crisis and had to take two taxpayer bailout loans. It has been shrinking ever since, shedding units and trying to find a more streamlined business model. It has been a bumpy transition: earlier this year, when Citi negotiated the sale of its stake in the retail brokerage Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, it got far less than it wanted from the buyer, Morgan Stanley.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Dublin announces billions of euros in fresh spending cuts today as the pain of austerity continues
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Media mogul's mother Dame Elisabeth Murdoch dies peacefully at home in Victoria, Australia, survived by 77 direct descendants Rupert Murdoch's mother, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, has died in Australia, aged 103. She died peacefully in her home at Cruden Farm, outside Melbourne in Victoria and is survived by three children and 77 direct descendants, including five great-great grandchildren. She would have been 104 in January. Rupert Murdoch, 81, regards his mother's long life as evidence that he will be able to carry on running News Corporation – the global media company he founded and where he is chairman and chief executive – until an advanced age. Murdoch visited her recently in Victoria, posting pictures on Twitter of himself and his son Lachlan, who is based in Australia, during the trip. His mother married Keith Murdoch in 1928 and they spent 24 years together before he died when she was just 43. Elisabeth Murdoch was renowned for her charitable works and helped create the Royal Children's Hospital in Australia and the Murdoch Children's Research Institute. She was made a dame by the Queen the day the hospital opened. Murdoch is reported to have frequently stood in firm maternal opposition to Rupert, the second of her four children. Nine years ago, she told Julie Browning, author of the book A Winning Streak: The Murdochs, that Rupert's purchase of the News of the World "nearly killed me". Journalist David Leser added on the Daily Beast that, in an interview he conducted with her a year later, she described her concerns about the invasive journalism practised by certain of her son's publications. "I think the invasion of people's privacy is the worst thing," she said. "I think privacy is anybody's right. I really do." If her remarks about the News of the World cut deep with her son, those about his private life would have proved more painful. A formidable character, she did not approved of his decision to divorce from his second wife Anna, mother to Lachlan, James and Elisabeth, and to marry 30-year-old Wendi Deng, 17 days later. "Rupert had a wonderful marriage to Anna and it was a terrible thing to just end it," she said. "When you take a vow to be loyal to someone for all your life, you don't hurt other people for your own happiness. I'm still so fond of Anna that I find it hard to accept Wendi, but I must, of course," she remarked in an interview with the Guardian's Angela Neustatter, conducted on the eve of her 100th birthday. Rupert has called her "the disciplinarian" and Dame Elisabeth remembers at least one occasion when she took a slipper to his backside. She also had little truck with modern liberal attitudes to bringing up children. "Children are defiantly disobedient if never checked. I think today's young people are having the most hideous time because they are confused. Parents seem frightened to be in control with their children and don't understand that is what makes them feel cared for, and I think it's the secret to our family closeness," she told Neustatter. But she was also determined to be a role model for women and, long before the women's liberation movement, had decided she was not going to be a housewife and made history when she became the first woman trustee of the National Gallery of Victoria. "I'm not a feminist," she once said, "but it's nice to show that women can be useful. And I've tried to be an example to my children – three of them daughters." According to Bruce Paige, author of The Murdoch Archipelago, she saw to it that Rupert would be fashioned as a continuation of his newspaper baron father, Keith, but it wasn't until the day before he died that he was convinced his son had journalism in him. He received a letter from his son, who was then at Oxford University, describing the British Labour Party conference and remarked to his wife. "Thank God, I think he's got it." Born in 1909, Dame Elisabeth had an extraordinary life which involved encounters with kings, queens and prime ministers, but started out less auspiciously. Her father worked for the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Company, but the family were not wealthy. She caught the eye of her husband Keith Murdoch at the age of 18, when he spotted a photo of her as a debutante in one of his magazines, Table Talk, and announced he wanted to meet her. At age 41, and one of the most powerful men in Australia, he was considered one of the country's most eligible bachelors. They married a year later when he gave her a wedding present of the 153-acre Cruden Farm where they raised their children. It was "an utterly committed" marriage, she told Neustatter, and she was bereft when he died of cancer in 1952. Lady Elisabeth, as she then was, threw herself into developing the children's hospital and carried on there as president for 33 years. In Australia, she is not seen simply as Rupert Murdoch's mother, but is regarded as a national treasure after decades of charitable work and contribution to the arts. She was the chair of the committee which established the Victorian Tapestry Workshop; trustee of the regional McLelland Gallery and a benefactor of organisations ranging from the Australian Ballet and Opera Australia to the Bell Theatre Company. According to the Murdoch-owned Herald and Weekly Times, she was known to have contributed to 100 organisations. Chairman of the Herald and Tribune Times, Julian Clarke, said: "History will long remember Dame Elisabeth Murdoch's extraordinary contribution and generosity to this state and the wider Australian community. "Undoubtedly, Dame Elisabeth has been one of the great Australians whose intellect and keen interest in others, particularly their welfare, has endeared her to so many throughout her long and remarkable life." Kim Williams, chief executive of News Corp's Australian subsidiary, News Ltd, said all who worked at the company mourned the loss of "an extraordinary national figure who inspired generations of Australians through her selfless devotion to helping others and by her leadership and her remarkable generosity in fostering both scientific research and the arts". Williams added: "We feel the loss intensely because she was the wife of Sir Keith Murdoch and mother of our chairman, Rupert Murdoch, both towering figures in our national story and the builders of our own media heritage here at News." • 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.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Agency said it reconfirmed the lair of one of the unicorns ridden by the ancient King Tongmyong but the story is not true Mystery surrounds what really goes on within the borders of North Korea, from the number of political prisoners held in brutal labour camps, to whether Kim Jong-un has really tied the knot. It was nonetheless surprising to read last week that archaeologists in the secretive totalitarian state had claimed to have found a unicorn's lair. There is only one problem with the story: it isn't exactly true. It appears a combination of mistranslation and journalistic wishful thinking may be to blame for the fantastical claim, which was made in an English language report from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The report, published on the KCNA's website last week, revealed that archaeologists from the History Institute of the DPRK Academy of Social Sciences had "reconfirmed a lair of the unicorn rode by King Tongmyong, founder of the Koguryo Kingdom (BC 277-AD 668)". But as a Korean scholar called Sixiang Wang explained to the i09 website, a glance at the original Korean version of the story made clear that North Korean archaeologists were claiming no such thing. For starters, there was no talk of unicorns, but of "kirins" or "Qilins" – which James Grayson, emeritus professor of Korean studies at Sheffield university, describes as "a four-legged beast with a dragon's head". His Sheffield colleague, Sukyeon Cho, said Kirins have "the body of a deer, the tail of a cow, hooves and a mane", as well as a horn jutting out from the top of their heads. The kirin is important in North Korean folklore because it was the preferred mode of transport of King Tongmyong, the founder of Koguryo, an ancient Korean kingdom. The North Koreans, said Sixiang Wang, were laying claim to a place called "Kiringul" – literally Kirin's lair or cave or grotto, according to Grayson – 200 metres from the Yongmyong Temple in Moran Hill in Pyongyang City. There was no suggestion unicorns really lived in the lair. It was just a mythical name, said Grayson. Just as only small children expect to find giants at the Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland or fairies at the Fairy Steps in Beetham, Cumbria, North Koreans are highly unlikely to believe that kirins have ever actually lived in Kiringul. As i09 puts it: "The thrust of the North Korean government's announcement is that it claims to have discovered Kiringul, and thus to have proven that Pyongyang is the modern site of the ancient capital of Koguryo." Sixiang Wang is sceptical about the timing of North Korea's announcement, reported i09: "The Kirin was supposed to appear to wise rulers. North Korean officials may have been hoping to secure Pyongyang's connection to the ancient kingdom of Koguryo, while creating an association between their own president, Kim Jong-un, and the larger-than-life rulers of old."
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Follow live updates as Haaretz reports that Bashar al-Assad is considering fleeing to Latin America despite his pledge to live and die in Syria
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | • Austerity plans extended until 2017-18
• Higher-rate taxpayers to lose out
• Fuel duty increase scrapped
• OBR predicts 0.1% contraction in 2012
• National debt will peak at 2015-16, rather than falling George Osborne has announced that he will slash almost £4bn a year off the government's welfare bill by uprating benefits for Britain's poorest families by just 1% a year until 2015. Declaring himself to be on the side of those "who want to work hard and get on" he also risked a backlash from middle England by raising the tax threshold for higher earners, pushing thousands more into paying higher taxes. The chancellor was forced to admit there is "much more to do" to balance the books against a backdrop of grim economic data revealing higher borrowing and lower growth expectations and a deficit that is "still far too high for comfort". Osborne told MPs in his autumn statement to the House of Commons he would extend his austerity plans for another year, until 2017-18, deep into the next parliament. Osborne said measures to tackle the country's debts needed to be done in "a way that is fair". He told a packed Commons: "In everything we do, we will show today we are on the side of those who want to work hard and get on." He insisted that this would ensure that "those with the most contribute the most – and they will". He then went on to resurrect his scenario of the ordinary worker who sees their neighbour "still asleep, living a life on benefits", to announce measures to cut almost £4bn a year off the welfare bill by uprating benefits for Britain's poorest by just 1% a year until 2015. "As well as a tax system where the richest pay their fair share, we have to have a welfare system that is fair to the working people who pay for it,"said Osborne. Measures targeting high earners included cutting the amount they can put into their pension pot tax-free from £50,000 to £40,000, from 2014, raising £1bn. The threshold for paying the higher rate of income tax will increase by just 1% a year – lower than the rate of inflation – raising £1bn. He also announced a raft of measures to clamp down on tax avoidance and evasion. To the delight of the motoring lobby and despair of environmental campaigners, he cancelled a planned 3p rise in fuel duty for January. Business groups were also cheered by news that they can offset up to £250,000 of investment in new machinery and equipment against their tax bill. Despite public outrage about the rock bottom tax bills of large international companies, the corporation tax rate will also be cut by 1p, to 21% in 2014. To the raucous laughter from the Labour benches the chancellor insisted the British economy is "on track", despite conceding that the Office for Budget Responsibility is now predicting a contraction of 0.1% in 2012, down from the growth of 0.8% it forecast alongside the chancellor's March budget. "It's taking time but the British economy is healing," he told MPs. The independent forecasting body also slashed its forecast for GDP growth next year to 1.2%, down from 2%. Despite the weaker-than-expected economic outlook,the chancellor reaffirmed his determination to press ahead with the coalition's deficit-cutting strategy, insisting that, "turning back now would be a disaster". Osborne conceded that the OBR has judged that he now looks likely to miss his promise that the national debt would be falling by 2015-16. Instead, the OBR believes debt as a share of GDP will now peak at 79.9% in 2015-16, instead of 76.3%, a year earlier, as it predicted in March. However, the OBR's assessment does show the government meeting Osborne's other target, the so-called "fiscal mandate", of balancing the budget over the next five years. The deficit is expected to fall as a share of GDP over the coming five years, from 6.1% this year, to 1.6% in 2017-18. It was previously expected to be just 1.1% by 2016-17. "The deficit is still far too high for comfort; we cannot relax our efforts … the road is hard, but we cannot relax our efforts", he told the Commons. In a nod to critics from the left and right who are respectively calling for deficit reduction to be slowed down or accelerated, Osborne said "we are no going faster or slower" and made clear he intended to stick to his plans. While insisting "we need more from the better off" to close the deficit, the chancellor stood firm on his decision to cut the top rate of income tax from 50p to 45p next April, despite the derision which met his budget announcement last March as Labour accused him of delivering "a millionaires' budget". "Punitive tax rates do nothing to raise money and simply discourage enterprise and investment into Britain," he said. "Other countries on our doorstep are trying that approach and are paying the price. We're not making that mistake."
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Closure of factories and businesses in wake of storm hurt numbers but report says job market otherwise in good health A private survey shows that US businesses added fewer workers in November, in part because superstorm Sandy shut down factories, retail stores, and other companies. Payroll processor ADP says employers added 118,000 jobs last month. That's below October's total of 157,000, which was revised lower. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, says the storm cut payrolls by 86,000 jobs. Excluding the effects of the storm, "the job market turned in a good performance during the month". ADP is calculating job gains with a different methodology than it had previously used. The new report covers more businesses. The report only covers hiring in the private sector, so it excludes government job growth. The Labor Department will offer a more complete picture of October hiring on Friday.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Bosses of every significant Fleet Street paper back 40 out of 47 measures, but not proposals for statutory intervention National newspaper editors signed up to implement all Lord Justice Leveson's non-statutory recommendations at a breakfast summit in central London, with those present effectively agreeing to kill off the Hunt-Black plan as a template for reform. The editor of every significant Fleet Street title signed up to 40 of Leveson's first 47 recommendations – paving the way for the creation of an independent regulator with powers to levy fines of up to £1m and operating a low-cost tribunal system to handle libel and privacy claims. The editors did not sign up to seven recommendations that proposed a role for Ofcom or some other statutory body in auditing the work of the regulator, agreeing to wait to see what non-statutory proposals Downing Street would have to offer in the coming days. There were bacon rolls and granola with yoghurt on the table at the meeting at a restaurant in central London. It was chaired by the editor of the Times, James Harding. Those attending included Paul Dacre, the Daily Mail editor-in-chief, who was absent from Tuesday's editors' meeting at No 10. Dawn Neesom, the editor of the Daily Star, was one of only two women around the table – she had been represented at Downing Street by her publisher's editorial director the day before. Lord Hunt, the chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, will continue his work in setting up the new regulator and liaising with politicians. But it is understood he will be asked to work to the Leveson proposals agreed by the editors, rather than the old Hunt-Black framework. Hunt will no longer appoint the chair of the appointments panel which will chose the chair and board of the new regulator. Editors also agreed to wait for Oliver Letwin, David Cameron's policy-fixer, to come back with proposals on how to toughen and support the planned new regulator without recourse to statute. However, it was unclear what would happen if newspapers deemed the Letwin plan to be unattractive. On Tuesday, at a meeting briefly attended by the prime minister at No 10, Letwin told the editors that he would introduce proposals for a non-statutory "verification body" that would take on the role Leveson proposed for Ofcom in certifying the work of the revamped press watchdog. He also said he would introduce incentives that allowed judges to favour publications signed up to the body, and ensure that the proposed tribunal had the status of a court. Other newspaper editors present included Alan Rusbridger from the Guardian, Dominic Mohan from the Sun, Tony Gallagher from the Daily Telegraph, Lloyd Embley from the Mirror, Lionel Barber from the Financial Times, and Sarah Sands from the Evening Standard. Fraser Nelson from the Spectator was also present. Offering his own summary on Twitter, Andrew Neil, the former Sunday Times editor, BBC presenter and chairman of the Spectator, said: "Editors meet. Hunt-Black dead. Leveson principles accepted in entirety. Issue of who verifies remains unresolved, if not statute."
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Nurse gives private details about Duchess of Cambridge's condition to Australian radio show presenters pretending to be Queen and Prince Charles The King Edward VII hospital, where the Duchess of Cambridge is receiving treatment for acute morning sickness, has admitted it fell victim to a prank phone call from an Australian radio show The presenters, who pretended to be the Queen and Prince of Wales, were put through to the duchess's private nurse and given details of her medical condition. The 2Day FM announcers Mel Greig and Michael Christian called in the early hours of Tuesday morning and managed to convince hospital staff despite putting on ridiculous comedy accents, complete with pretend corgis yapping in the background. The hoax caller said at one point to the nurse: "When is a good time to come and visit her because I'm the Queen and I need a lift down there." The callers were put through to the nurse after Greig, co-presenting the Summer 30 weeknight show, rang to ask to speak to her "granddaughter Kate". She was put through to a duty nurse who told Greig how the duchess was faring. During the two-minute call, Greig said to the hospital switchboard operator: "Oh hello there, could I please speak to Kate please, my granddaughter," and was told: "Oh yes. Hold on," and was then put through to the duty nurse. The hoax Queen said: "Kate my darling, are you there?" The nurse replied: "Good morning ma'am, this is a nurse speaking. How may I help you?" Greig said: "Hello. I'm just after my granddaughter Kate. I wanted to see how her little tummy bug is going." The presenter was given details about the duchess's condition, and then replied: "OK. I'll just feed my little corgis then." Pretend barking was heard in the background, with a pretend Charles shouting 'Mummy mummy!" At one point Christian asked: "Is Wills still there, or has he gone home. I haven't spoken to him yet." Greig then said: "When are you going to walk those bloody corgis?" Christian replied: "Mummy, I'll go and take the dogs outside." In a statement, the hospital said: "King Edward VII's hospital Sister Agnes can confirm that an Australian radio station made a hoax call to the hospital in the early hours of Tuesday morning. This call was transferred through to a ward and a short conversation was held with one of the nursing staff. King Edward VII's hospital deeply regrets this incident." John Lofthouse, chief executive at the hospital, said: "This was a foolish prank call that we all deplore. We take patient confidentiality extremely seriously and we are now reviewing our telephone protocols." A spokesman for the royal couple said they would not be making a comment. Greig and Christian later apologised. They said: "We were very surprised that our call was put through. We thought we'd be hung up on as soon as they heard our terrible accents. We're very sorry if we've caused any issues and we're glad to hear that Kate is doing well." The prank call was pre-recorded and vetted by lawyers before being broadcast to listeners in Sydney. A spokeswoman for the station said: "2Day FM sincerely apologises for any inconvenience caused by the inquiries to Kate's hospital. The radio segment was done with lighthearted intentions. We wish Kate and her family all the best and we're glad to hear she's doing well." It is not the first time a member of the royal family has been the subject of a prank call. In 1995 a Canadian DJ pretending to be Canada's then prime minister, Jean Chretien, was put through to the Queen and spoke for around 15 minutes, during which he asked her to record a speech in support of Canadian unity before a referendum in Quebec. On Wednesday William was again visiting his wife in the hospital, where she is receiving treatment for hyperemesis gravidarum. Meanwhile the Earl and Countess of Wessex became the first members of the royal family to comment on the duchess's pregnancy. Sophie told journalists she was "absolutely thrilled". "It's the most perfect end to an amazing year," she said. Edward said he had "deep, deep sympathy" for the duchess over her morning sickness.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Few people embody the corporatist revolving door greasing Washington as purely as Elizabeth Fowler When the legislation that became known as "Obamacare" was first drafted, the key legislator was the Democratic Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus, whose committee took the lead in drafting the legislation. As Baucus himself repeatedly boasted, the architect of that legislation was Elizabeth Folwer, his chief health policy counsel; indeed, as Marcy Wheeler discovered, it was Fowler who actually drafted it. As Politico put it at the time: "If you drew an organizational chart of major players in the Senate health care negotiations, Fowler would be the chief operating officer." What was most amazing about all of that was that, before joining Baucus' office as the point person for the health care bill, Fowler was the Vice President for Public Policy and External Affairs (i.e. informal lobbying) at WellPoint, the nation's largest health insurance provider (before going to WellPoint, as well as after, Folwer had worked as Baucus' top health care aide). And when that health care bill was drafted, the person whom Fowler replaced as chief health counsel in Baucus' office, Michelle Easton, was lobbying for WellPoint as a principal at Tarplin, Downs, and Young. Whatever one's views on Obamacare were and are: the bill's mandate that everyone purchase the products of the private health insurance industry, unaccompanied by any public alternative, was a huge gift to that industry; as Wheeler wrote at the time: "to the extent that Liz Fowler is the author of this document, we might as well consider WellPoint its author as well." Watch the five-minute Bill Moyers report from 2009, embedded below, on the key role played in all of this by Liz Fowler and the "revolving door" between the health insurance/lobbying industry and government officials at the time this bill was written and passed. More amazingly still, when the Obama White House needed someone to oversee implementation of Obamacare after the bill passed, it chose . . . Liz Fowler. That the White House would put a former health insurance industry executive in charge of implementation of its new massive health care law was roundly condemned by good government groups as at least a violation of the "spirit" of governing ethics rules and even "gross", but those objections were, of course, brushed aside by the White House. She then became Special Assistant to the President for Healthcare and Economic Policy at the National Economic Council. Now, as Politico's "Influence" column briefly noted on Tuesday, Fowler is once again passing through the deeply corrupting revolving door as she leaves the Obama administration to return to the loving and lucrative arms of the private health care industry:
"Elizabeth Fowler is leaving the White House for a senior-level position leading 'global health policy' at Johnson & Johnson's government affairs and policy group."
The pharmaceutical giant that just hired Fowler actively supported the passage of Obamacare through its membership in the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) lobby. Indeed, PhRMA was one of the most aggressive supporters - and most lavish beneficiaries - of the health care bill drafted by Fowler. Mother Jones' James Ridgeway proclaimed "Big Pharma" the "big winner" in the health care bill. And now, Fowler will receive ample rewards from that same industry as she peddles her influence in government and exploits her experience with its inner workings to work on that industry's behalf, all of which has been made perfectly legal by the same insular, Versailles-like Washington culture that so lavishly benefits from all of this. It's difficult to find someone who embodies the sleazy, anti-democratic, corporatist revolving door that greases Washington as shamelessly and purely as Liz Fowler. One of the few competitors I can think of is Adm. Michael McConnell, who parlayed his military and intelligence career into a lucrative gig at Booz Allen, one of the nation's largest private intelligence contractors; then became George W Bush's Director of National Intelligence (where he spearheaded a huge gift to the telecom industry - retroactive immunity shielding it from all accountability for its participation in the illegal Bush NSA eavesdropping program - as well as continued his Booz Allen work of privatizing intelligence and surveillance functions); then returned to the loving arms of Booz Allen, where he now exploits his national security credentials on behalf of industry interests (by, for instance, spearheading the fear-mongering campaign about cyber-warfare in order to advocate for security programs that would amply enrich Booz Allen's clients). This is precisely the behavior which, quite rationally, makes the citizenry so jaded about Washington. It's what ensures that the interests of the same permanent power factions are served regardless of election outcomes. It's what makes a complete mockery out claims of democracy. And it's what demonstrates that corporatism and oligarchy are the dominant forms of government in the US:
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Dublin will announce billions of euros in fresh spending cuts today as the pain of austerity continues
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Death toll from typhoon Bopha climbs to more than 270 across south of country after 170,000 flee homes The death toll from a powerful typhoon in the southern Philippines climbed to more than 270 people on Wednesday and officials feared many more bodies could be found as rescuers reach hard-hit areas that had been isolated by landslides, floods and downed communications. At least 151 people have died in the worst-hit province of Compostela Valley since typhoon Bopha began lashing the region early Tuesday, including 66 villagers and soldiers who perished in a flash flood that swamped two emergency shelters and a military camp in New Bataan town, provincial spokeswoman Fe Maestre told the Associated Press. About 80 people survived the deluge in New Bataan with injuries, but an unspecified number of villagers remain missing. On Wednesday, the farming town of 45,000 people was a muddy wasteland of collapsed houses and columns of coconut and banana trees felled by Bopha's ferocious winds. Outside a town gymnasium, several mud-stained bodies were laid side-by-side, covered by cloth and banana leaves and surrounded by villagers covering their noses to fight the stench. A man sprayed insecticide on the remains to turn away swarms of flies. "It's hard to say how many more are missing," Maestre said. "We're now searching everywhere." In nearby Davao Oriental, the coastal province first struck by the typhoon as it blew inland from the Pacific Ocean, at least 115 people perished mostly in three towns that were so battered by the wind it was hard to find any building or house with a roof left, provincial officer Freddie Bendulo and other officials said. "We had a problem where to take the evacuees. All the evacuation centres have lost their roofs," Davao Oriental Gov. Corazon Malanyaon said. Disaster-response agencies reported 13 other typhoon-related deaths elsewhere. Unlike the previous day's turbulent weather, the sun was back on Wednesday, prompting residents to lay their soiled clothes, books and other belongings out on roadsides to dry and revealing the extent of the damage to farmland. Thousands of banana trees in one Compostela Valley plantation were toppled by the wind, the young bananas still wrapped in blue plastic covers. After slamming into Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley, Bopha roared fast across southern Mindanao and central regions, knocking out power in two entire provinces, triggering landslides and leaving houses and coconut and banana plantations dishevelled. More than 170,000 fled from homes to evacuation centres. The typhoon, one of the strongest to hit the country this year, had blown past southwestern Palawan province into the South China Sea by mid-Wednesday. The deaths came despite efforts by President Benigno Aquino III's government to force residents out of high-risk communities prone to landslides, flash floods and storm surges as the typhoon approached. Some 20 typhoons and storms lash the northern and central Philippines each year, but they rarely hit the vast southern Mindanao region. A rare storm in the south last December killed more than 1,200 people and left many more homeless and traumatised, including in Cagayan de Oro city, where church bells rang relentlessly on Tuesday to warn residents to scramble to safety as a major river started to rise.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Forthcoming biopic Jobs joins a great tradition of film and TV geekery from The Social Network to The IT Crowd Ashton Kutcher as Steve JobsAs well as the (admittedly quite freaky) physical resemblance, Ashton Kutcher is perhaps the most qualified actor around to play Steve Jobs. After all, they're both technological visionaries: Jobs being the brains behind Pixar, the Mac, the iPod, iPad and iPhone, and Kutcher being an early investor in startups such as Skype, Airbnb and Foursquare. What's more, Jobs was known for his obsessive perfectionism and ability to convince the public of a product's desirability. Having been the host of Punk'd and the star of Dude, Where's My Car, Kutcher also ... no, I don't know where I'm going with this one. Jesse Eisenberg as Mark ZuckerbergJesse Eisenberg only shares a handful of obvious traits with Mark Zuckerberg – like age, hair colour and the last syllable of his surname – but that didn't stop him from doing a bang-up job of playing the Facebook founder in The Social Network. Eisenberg perfectly captured Zuckerberg's short-fuse nervous energy and jumpy intellectualism. Perhaps it's because they both share humble beginnings; Zuckerberg was raised in a small upstate New York village and Eisenberg starring in Lightning: Fire From the Sky, a terrible TV movie about lightning, which came in the form of fire from the sky. Justin Timberlake as Sean ParkerNapster's Sean Parker was often described as a "rock star", so who better to play him in The Social Network than frizzy-haired pop crooner Justin Timberlake? Timberlake absolutely nailed Parker in the movie, provided that the real-life Parker is a swaggering tool who lives his life like it's the world's worst Puff Daddy video. He may not actually be like that, but let's assume he is. After all, Justin Timberlake is the star of In Time, so we can't really doubt his acting credentials. Alexander Armstrong as Clive SinclairIn 2009, Alexander Armstrong starred in BBC4's Micro Men, a biopic of Clive Sinclair, the inventor of the pocket calculator. Painfully conspicuous slaphead wig aside, the casting was inspired. Armstrong managed to channel Sinclair's blind devotion, volcanic temper and awkwardness around women magnificently. Perhaps he was able to access the mindset of a compulsive attention-seeker such as Sinclair so easily because of his own determination to present every single television programme that has ever been made. Martin Freeman as Chris CurryMeanwhile, the more mild-mannered Martin Freeman played Acorn co-founder Chris Curry in Micro Men. Curry, in a sense, was an amalgamation of every character that Freeman has ever played. Like John Watson, he's a quiet pragmatist sidelined by a more charismatic partner. Like Tim from The Office, he enjoys a flirtation with a secretary and aspires to a better future that exists just out of his reach. And like Bilbo Baggins, his prosthetic eyebrows are incredibly off-putting. Perfect casting, really. Bill Gates in The SimpsonsAlthough Bill Gates made a fleeting appearance in The Social Network (played by a professional lookalike), his greatest onscreen moment came in The Simpsons episode Das Bus. Voiced by Hank Azaria – who plays Moe, Apu and Comic Book Guy, among others – Gates's appearance is brief and incendiary. He marches into the Simpson household and acquires Homer's startup by ordering some hired goons to smash up his office. Is this realistic? Would Bill Gates ever make a business decision as bad as acquiring Homer's Compu-Global-Hyper-Mega-Net in real life? You only have to look at the infamous Zune to know that the answer is probably yes. Richard Ayoade as MossHe may not be based on anyone from real life, but Moss from The IT Crowd is just about a perfect blend of any number of famous nerds. He's got the glasses of Steve Jobs, the uniform of Bill Gates, the slightly inept never-say-die attitude of Clive Sinclair and the vast haircut of Steve Wozniak in the 1970s, although back then Wozniak wore it as a beard.
 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Dublin will announce billions of euros in fresh spending cuts today as the pain of austerity continues
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Suspect Liu Shuangyun tells TV station he started blaze at clothing factory because he was angry about unpaid wages A former factory worker is believed to have started a fire in China that killed 14 workers at a clothing factory because he was angry about unpaid wages. The suspect, Liu Shuangyun, told the Guangdong TV broadcaster in an interview from jail he started the fire "because I couldn't get my salary", which he had been owed since quitting the factory three years ago. Sitting on a chair with his hands in handcuffs, Liu said the factory's boss owed him 3,000 yuan (£286). Asked whether he regretted the loss of life the fire had caused, Liu said, "I didn't think about these things." Fourteen people were killed and one person was seriously injured in the fire on Tuesday afternoon in Shantou city in Guangdong province, the provincial emergency department said on its microblog. Senior provincial officials set up a team to investigate and step up safety measures to avoid similar fatal fires, Guangdong's emergency department said. The 14 victims were all women aged between 18 and 20, the Southern Metropolis Daily said in an online report, while the official Xinhua news agency said the victims were 13 women and one man. It said Liu, a 26-year-old migrant worker from Hunan province, had been arrested but it did not specify what charges he faced. A photo accompanying the Guangdong TV report showed a four-storey building, lined with windows on each floor, its front completely blackened. The fire had not spread to an adjacent building. Geoffrey Crothall, a spokesman for China Labour Bulletin, a Hong Kong-based workers' rights group, said that judging by the photo the factory, which made underwear, looked like "a fairly typical manufacturing workshop". "In many of these places health and safety is not a priority," he said. "Many of these factories are very unpleasant places to work in." Crothall said unpaid salaries were a major source of worker discontent in China. "A lot of this is related to the current economic climate," he said. "If companies are not getting paid for their products then they're not going to pay their workers." Building fires are common in China because of lax safety codes and unsafe construction work. A fire in April 2011 at an unlicensed clothing factory in Beijing killed 17 people. The fire happened in the middle of the night and anti-intrusion bars over the factory's dormitory windows were blamed for trapping victims inside.
  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Supermarket group to announce 'strategic review' of its loss-making chain after pouring in £1bn to take on Wal-Mart Tesco will on Wednesday signal an embarrassing retreat from the US after pouring £1bn into a bid to take on the mighty Wal-Mart in its own backyard. The UK's biggest retailer will announce it is launching a "strategic review" of its loss-making US chain, Fresh & Easy. Such reviews usually mean a sale or outright closure. The review has been ordered by Tesco's chief executive, Philip Clarke, who took over from Sir Terry Leahy last year. Tesco had hoped to build Fresh & Easy into a business as big as its core UK chain. The first Fresh & Easy opened amid much fanfare five years ago and there are now about 200 stores in southern California and Nevada. But Tesco's plans were far more ambitious. Within weeks of the first store opening, in Hemet, east of Los Angeles, Fresh & Easy bosses were voicing ambitions to have 1,000 stores across California and then take Fresh & Easy to the east coast. The retailer built a vast warehouse, complete with America's biggest expanse of solar panels to help power it, and a food factory next door to make the ready meals that UK shoppers buy by the million but were almost unknown in the US. The plans came after two years of intensive research which involved Tesco sending senior executives from the UK to live with Californian families, assess they way they shopped and ate, and to build secret test stores. But their research proved faulty. Almost every aspect of the shops, from their interior decoration to the pack sizes and self-serve tills have been changed. Fresh & Easy also opened as the subprime mortgage crisis and subsequent economic downturn took hold, hitting US consumer confidence and spending power. The chain has also faced opposition from US trade unions. The business is estimated to have cost Tesco nearly £1bn of investment and accumulated losses. It lost £74m in the most recent six months. Clarke will confirm the details of the review as he unveils what City analysts believe will be a gloomy trading update for the past three months. The group is expected to say like-for-like sales, which exclude business from new stores, fell by up to 1% on the same period a year ago. That figure includes the effect of inflation, so the real decline is greater. It compares with a 1.7% increase recorded recently by rival Sainsbury's. Tesco, which employs nearly 300,000 staff in the UK and operates more than 3,000 outlets, has had a grim 2012. In January, after a poor Christmas last year, Tesco was forced to issue its first warning of falling profits for two decades. Its shares have fallen 19% this year. Last spring Clarke launched an overhaul of the British business and is pouring £1bn into revamping the stores, sharpening prices and improving products. He is scaling back store openings and said there would be very few new superstores as shoppers increasingly move online for fashion and homewares. Clarke said that "apps are the new high street". Tesco has problems in other parts of its global operations. Its mainland European stores have been hit by the eurozone crisis while in Korea it is facing a £100m hit to profits as a result of new laws that limit trading hours. China is growing far less rapidly than expected. One leading City analyst downgraded the firm and urged investors to sell Tesco shares. Caroline Gulliver of Espirito Santo said a survey carried out for the bank made "worrying reading". The survey showed that only 29% of shoppers now choose to make most of their purchases at Tesco, compared with 35% last year. "Rather than seeing improvements, UK consumers perceive that Tesco's offer is becoming less competitive on price and quality," said Gulliver. A survey published on Tuesday by Kantar Worldpanel showed Tesco's market share has slipped to 30.7% from a peak of nearly 32%. The retailer is losing out to Waitrose at one end of the price scale and to discounters like Aldi at the other. The Aldi chain has 10% more shoppers than a year ago, who are spending 17% more.
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