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The US and EU say they will be “taking additional steps” against Syria over its violent response to anti-government protests.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The Queen is to visit sports stadium Croke Park in Dublin, where 14 spectators were killed by British forces more than 90 years ago.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
By James Landale
Nick Clegg’s stance on the NHS watchdog places him in direct opposition to the health secretary Nick Clegg will oppose the idea of a regulator to promote competition in the NHS as part of government health reforms, the BBC has learned.
It places him in opposition to Health Secretary Andrew Lansley who wants more competition to drive down prices.
He also criticised David Cameron for declaring his love for the NHS while taking advice from people talking up the potential for private profits.
The regulator Monitor already scrutinises hospital finances.
Mr Clegg’s intervention marks an escalation in negotiations with his Conservative partners over the Health and Social Care Bill which is currently on hold.
It will also been seen as a rebuff to the prime minister who used his speech on Monday to try to assert his political authority and ownership over the changes being made to the bill.
Addressing Lib Dem MPs and peers on Tuesday night, Mr Clegg agreed that Monitor should have a duty to push NHS collaboration rather than competition.
He has signed off a policy document, obtained by the BBC, which states that Monitor should not be established as an “economic regulator” and should instead promote and protect the interests of the patient.
Mr Clegg told party colleagues: “People get confused when one day they hear politicians declare how much they love the NHS and the next they hear people describing themselves as government advisers saying that reform is a huge opportunity for big profits for health care corporations.”
This was a reference to the prime minister’s speech in which he said it was his love for the NHS that drove him to change it, and a former NHS official now working for accountants KPMG, Mark Britnell, who is part of a group of people advising the PM on health.
Mr Britnell was quoted as saying last October that the government’s health reforms would be “a big opportunity” for private health firms who would show “no mercy” to the NHS.
Downing Street is trying to kill the idea that a “listening exercise” over the health bill is being driven by the Lib Dems.
But Mr Clegg hit back, telling his colleagues he would “never let the profit motive get in the way of the essential purposes of the NHS”.
“There must be no change in the way competition law operates in our NHS. No to establishing Monitor as an economic regulator as if health care was just like electricity or the telephone and no to giving anyone in the NHS a duty to promote competition above all else.”
The Lib Dems’ policy document, which Mr Clegg signed, is specific.
It says: “We cannot treat the NHS as if it were a utility, and the decision to establish Monitor as an “economic regulator” was clearly a misjudgement, failing to recognise all the unique characteristics of a public health service, and opening us up to accusations that we are trying to subject the NHS to the full rigours of UK and EU competition law.
“I have come to the conclusion that we must not make this change.”
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Strauss-Kahn was refused bail on charges of trying to rape a maid
Dominique Strauss-Kahn is “not in a position to run” the International Monetary Fund after his arrest over an alleged sexual assault, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said.
Mr Geithner said the IMF’s executive board should designate an interim head.
The alleged assault on a maid happened at New York’s luxury Sofitel hotel on 14 May.
Mr Strauss-Kahn – who denies the claims – has been put on suicide watch in the city’s infamous Rikers Island prison.
As a precaution, guards are required to check on him every 15 to 30 minutes.
The 62-year-old, who had been seen as a favourite in France’s 2012 presidential elections, faces seven charges and could be sentenced to up to 25 years in jail.
The defence offered to post $1m (£617,000) bail, with Mr Strauss-Kahn to stay at his daughter’s address in New York until the next hearing on Friday. However, a New York judge rejected the application.
Addressing the Harvard Club in New York on Tuesday, Mr Geithner said the most important thing for the IMF was that it found a leader to fill Mr Strauss-Kahn’s shoes.
“He is obviously not in a position to run the IMF,” Mr Geithner said.
“It is important that the board of the IMF formally put in place for an interim period someone to act as managing director.”
Mr Geithner refused to be drawn on the legal challenges facing Mr Strauss-Kahn It is the first time that a top official from President Barack Obama’s administration has publicly spoken about the impact of Mr Strauss-Kahn’s alleged sexual assault.
However, Mr Geithner refused to comment on the case or the details of the charges against Mr Strauss-Kahn.
Since Mr Strauss-Kahn’s arrest last Saturday, his deputy John Lipsky has been serving as acting managing director of the global lending agency.
Washington has a major say in determining who runs the IMF, because it has the largest number of votes in the organisation.
Mr Strauss-Kahn is not due back in court until Friday – and there are growing calls for the IMF to fill the leadership vacuum, the BBC’s Steve Kingstone in Washington reports.
Earlier, Austrian Finance Minister said Mr Strauss-Kahn was “hurting” the organisation.
Meanwhile, more details have emerged about Mr Strauss-Kahn’s alleged victim.
One of her lawyer said she was currently living through an “extraordinary” trauma.
Jeffrey Shapiro said the 32-year hotel maid – who has not been named – was now in hiding and felt “alone in the world”.
He said she was an immigrant from the West African nation of Guinea. She arrived in the US seven years ago and was living with her teenage daughter.
“It’s not just my opinion that this woman is honest. The New York City Police Department reached the same conclusion”
Jeffrey Shapiro Accuser’s lawyer
Mr Shapiro said her story of being assaulted by Mr Strauss-Kahn in the hotel suite near Times Square was “consistent” because she was telling the truth.
“There is no way in which there is any aspect of this event which could be construed consensual in any manner. This is nothing other than a physical, sexual assault by this man on this young woman.”
The lawyer added: “It’s not just my opinion that this woman is honest. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) reached the same conclusion. This is a woman with no agenda.”
Mr Shapiro also said that his client only became aware of who Mr Strauss-Kahn was after the police were called.
The charges relate to an alleged assault at the Sofitel hotel, which is located in the heart of New York.
Source: New York County District Attorney’s Office
Spotlight on France’s ‘macho’ political culture New York DA’s news release on charges
According to the NYPD, the maid told officers that when she entered his suite on Saturday afternoon, Mr Strauss-Kahn emerged from the bathroom naked, chased her and sexually assaulted her.
The woman was able to break free and alert the authorities, a NYPD spokesman added.
Later on Saturday, Mr Strauss-Kahn was detained on board an Air France flight at New York’s John F Kennedy airport minutes before take-off.
The IMF chief underwent medical examinations on Sunday. Police were looking for scratches or any other evidence of his alleged assault.
He was later charged with a “criminal sexual act, unlawful imprisonment and attempted rape”. Police say the maid formally identified him in a line-up.
Until he was arrested, Mr Strauss-Kahn was considered a favourite to become the Socialist candidate for the French presidency next year.
Opinion polls gave him a good chance of defeating President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Mr Strauss-Kahn’s wife, French TV personality Anne Sinclair, has also protested his innocence.
Meanwhile, another allegation against Mr Strauss-Kahn has emerged. French writer Tristane Banon, 31, says she may file a complaint for an alleged sexual assault in 2002.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Analysts are warning that an improvement in sales at Scotland’s shops in April may only be temporary.
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Alex Salmond is expected to be voted in as first minister of Scotland by MSPs SNP leader Alex Salmond is to be re-elected unopposed as first minister of Scotland, heading Scotland’s first majority government.
The move comes in the wake of the party’s stunning election win on 5 May, in which the SNP won 69 of the 129 Scottish Parliament seats.
MSPs are expected to vote in Mr Salmond as first minister at Holyrood.
He will begin setting out his plans, which include an independence referendum, later this week.
It was thought Green MSP Patrick Harvie may also stand for first minister to force a contest and debate, but decided against the move.
None of the other opposition parties will put forward candidates – as has been the case previously – in the light of the SNP’s clear election victory.
The Scottish election saw Labour emerge with 37 seats, the Conservatives won 15, the Liberal Democrats have five seats and the Greens have two MSPs.
Independent MSP Margo Macdonald was also returned to parliament.
First ministers are voted in by MSPs in an election held in the Scottish Parliament main chamber.
MSPs make nominations, which must be seconded, with each candidate allowed to make a speech, ahead of voting.
Where there is only one candidate – as is the case this time round – MSPs are asked to vote or abstain, and the contender must win a simple majority to be successful.
The first ministerial process at Holyrood is a recommendation to the Queen for final approval.
If a first minister is not elected within 28 days of the election (1 June), a fresh election must be held.
The SNP will return to government for the next, five-year parliamentary term after forming a minority administration in the wake of its 2007 election win.
The first two parliamentary terms saw the election of a Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition.
On Thursday, Mr Salmond will use a Holyrood debate to explain his vision for government and is due to announce his ministerial team, which also needs parliamentary approval.
Last week, MSPs elected SNP backbencher Tricia Marwick as the new presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament.
You can watch the first minister election as it happens on the BBC’s Democracy Live service.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The Prince of Wales’s charity for young unemployed people warns the UK is developing a “youth underclass”.
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A black lion tamarin monkey is the first born outside of Brazil for eight years.
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It could take weeks for flood waters to return to normal levels The US Coast Guard has closed a section of the swollen Mississippi River to shipping, in an effort to reduce pressure on flood defences.
The authorities said barge traffic at the port in Natchez, Mississippi, could increase pressure on the levees.
The move could cost shipping companies and exporters millions of dollars, as the Mississippi is a vital route for grain shipments.
It is unclear when it might re-open, leaving some barges trapped upriver.
The river near Natchez is already 3ft (1m) above the record set in 1937, and is not expected to crest for several days.
It could take weeks for water levels to return to normal.
The Mississippi is a highway for barges carrying corn, soybeans and other crops brought down from the Ohio, Missouri and Mississippi river systems on their way to the Gulf of Mexico, so the closure will have far-reaching economic effects.
The halt in shipping is one more measure in a growing list of attempts to prevent massive flooding in heavily populated areas like New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
The Army Corps of Engineers opened the Morganza Spillway at the weekend, choosing to flood more rural areas with fewer homes.
That decision forced nearly 5,000 people to leave their homes across Louisiana, many of whom say they are worried about whether they will be able to return.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Life inside Europe’s biggest Hasidic community
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More than 400 of the migrants were said to be from Guatemala More than 500 illegal migrants have been discovered crammed into the trailers of two trucks heading from Mexico towards the US.
The 513 migrants, from Latin America and Asia, were found travelling in “inhumane” conditions, police said.
Police made the discovery in the state of Chiapas, close to Mexico’s the border with Guatemala.
Officials say the number of people involved makes it one of the biggest cases of suspected human trafficking.
The trucks were stopped on a highway near the state capital of Chiapas, Tuxtla Gutierrez.
The drivers tried to escape but police arrested them before they could flee.
Police said the migrants, including women and children, were about to be smuggled illegally into the US.
They believe the foreigners had to pay $7,000 (£4,300) per person to the alleged traffickers to take them into the US.
While most of those on board were thought to be from Guatemala, there were others from Ecuador and El Salvador as well as smaller numbers from as far afield as China, Japan, Nepal and India.
“It is the largest ever such operation to rescue illegal migrants travelling in inhumane conditions,” a police spokesman told the AFP news agency.
Around half a million illegal migrants try to cross Mexico each year in a bid to reach the United States.
Human rights groups say many fall into the hands of organised criminal gangs who exploit and abuse them.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
University leavers are making many more job applications than last year Students leaving university this year are going to face intense competition for jobs – with a survey indicating a 33% increase in applications.
The High Fliers recruitment survey suggests students are applying more often and earlier for graduate jobs.
The survey was based on the experiences of almost 18,000 final-year students at 30 leading UK universities.
The study also indicates confidence is returning in the graduate jobs market after the gloom of the recession.
Students in the universities taking part are expected to send out a total of 343,000 applications – up by a third on last year and 75% compared with 2004.
And 40% expect to begin graduate jobs this year – compared with 36% last year, 25% expect to move on to postgraduate study, and 35% are planning to travel or take temporary or voluntary jobs or have not yet decided.
Source: High Fliers UK Graduate Careers Survey 2011
For the first time in three years, graduates are expecting starting salaries to increase – and investment banking has once again become a popular careers option.
Public-sector jobs, a more attractive choice during the recession that followed the financial crisis of 2008, have less appeal for this year’s university leavers – with applications dropping by a fifth.
While many students in Belfast and Glasgow intend to stay and work in those areas, the survey shows a strong pattern across England for new graduates to gravitate to London.
In 25 of the universities surveyed, London was the first-choice destination for jobs.
Martin Birchall, managing director of High Fliers Research, said: “During the worst of the recession, many of the country’s brightest university-leavers opted out of job hunting and instead enrolled for further study or went travelling after graduating, in the hope that employment prospects would be better when they returned.
“Our latest survey of final years students shows that confidence in the graduate job market is finally improving.”
Universities Minister David Willetts said: “I am pleased to see indications of increasing confidence in the graduate employment market.
“As this report demonstrates, graduates are rising to the challenge of a difficult market with a record number making early job applications. A degree remains a good investment and is one of the best pathways to achieving a good job and rewarding career.
“Improving information for prospective students about what they can expect at university and from their degrees is a key part of our future plans for higher education.”
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
People suffering from serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder have a life expectancy that can be 10 to 15 years lower than the UK average.
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NHS hospitals are failing to provide adequate care for elderly people who have suffered falls and fractures, an audit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland finds.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Anthony Andrews admitted 25 child sex offences A council has said it was horrified to discover a convicted paedophile had downloaded more than 250,000 indecent images on its library computers.
Anthony Andrews, 49, was jailed indefinitely, with a minimum term of 27 months, at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court on Monday.
He was caught downloading images at Old Trafford library on 11 December 2010.
Trafford Council said it took “robust measures to prevent this type of content being viewed or downloaded”.
Under his previous name of Gary Salt, Andrews was jailed for 12 years for raping four children in 1998. He had shared images of the abuse with a paedophile network called the Wonderland Club.
Andrews, of no fixed abode, had joined Manchester library service the day after he was released from prison in April 2010.
He later joined the Trafford’s library service. Several months later, a member of the public at Old Trafford library saw him looking at indecent images on the public computers, near the children’s section.
Andrews was arrested two days later.
As well as the 250,000 indecent images, police discovered journals with lists of images, handwritten stories which included sexual fantasies involving children, and encryption codes for computer files.
They also seized a guide on how to groom and abuse children, how to survive prison and what to do when released.
A spokeswoman for Trafford Council said: “The council was horrified to learn of the extent to which its equipment had been abused given that we take appropriate and robust measures to prevent this type of content being viewed or downloaded.
“The council utilises sophisticated filtering technology that prevents access to inappropriate content and alerts security staff if access to this kind of material is attempted.
“Despite the sophisticated methods employed by the offender, the council was still able to provide evidence of the offence to the police, to secure his arrest.”
She said the material was not accessible by anyone else using council or public-use computers.
“The council continually reviews security across our public access network to ensure we provide the best possible protection for our customers,” she added.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.