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AV voting campaigns step up gear

Postal ballot paperThe referendum on changes to the voting system for Westminster elections takes place next month

Campaigning on changes to the UK voting system will step up a gear later when senior politicians go head-to-head.

Prime Minister David Cameron and former Labour cabinet minister John Reid will share a platform to argue the case for the current first-past-the-post system.

Labour leader Ed Miliband and Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable will urge a switch to the alternative vote.

The cases will be made at separate events in London less than three weeks before the referendum on the vote.

BBC political correspondent Gary O’Donoghue says the campaign has thrown up some strange alliances – none more so than the prospect of Mr Cameron getting on first name terms with one of Labour’s most ferocious anti-Conservative attack dogs of recent times, Dr Reid.

The prime minister will acknowledge that he and Dr Reid agree on almost nothing, except that changing to the alternative vote (AV) system would be bad for the country.

Mr Cameron will also argue that politics should not be some mind-bending exercise but more about what you feel in your gut – and he feels that AV is wrong.

The referendum choice

At the moment MPs are elected by the first-past-the-post system, where the candidate getting the most votes in a constituency is elected.

On 5 May all registered UK voters will be able to vote Yes or No on whether to change the way MPs are elected to the Alternative Vote system.

Under the Alternative Vote system, voters rank candidates in their constituency in order of preference.

Anyone getting more than 50% of first-preference votes is elected.

If no-one gets 50% of votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their backers’ second choices allocated to those remaining.

This process continues until one candidate has at least 50% of all votes in that round.

Q&A: Alternative vote referendum AV referendum: Where parties stand

Meanwhile, the “yes” campaign will see Mr Miliband rub shoulders with Vince Cable, who has found himself at odds with his Conservative coalition colleagues in recent days over immigration policy.

Mr Miliband will say that while AV is not a panacea, he believes it will improve politics.

As well as Mr Cable, he will share a stage with comedian Eddie Izzard, the Green Party’s Darren Johnson and Billy Hayes of the Communication Workers’ Union.

Mr Cameron has said that the campaign will not break the coalition – he and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg are in opposite camps when it comes to the issue of the voting system.

Both party leaders put opposing cases in television interviews on Sunday, ahead of the 5 May referendum.

The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are coalition partners but are on opposite sides of the campaign on changing the voting system for Westminster elections from first-past-the-post to the AV.

The Conservatives agreed to the referendum as part of the coalition deal, which also allows both parties to campaign on opposing sides.

Labour is split over AV – Mr Miliband is campaigning to change the system but other senior Labour figures, including former deputy PM Lord Prescott, want to keep first-past-the-post.

Labour MP and former minister Pat McFadden said he would be voting against AV, but he has not been impressed by either campaign.

“I don’t think the ‘yes’ campaign or the ‘no’ campaign have done a great job,” he told the BBC.

UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage said his party was backing a change to AV.

He told BBC Radio 4: “We’ll vote for it because first-past-the-post is broken, it’s hopelessly outdated in modern politics.

“From UKIP’s own perspective, I think AV will help us enormously because the wasted vote argument in general elections will be gone”.

Under the first-past-the-post system voters put a cross next to their preferred candidate while with AV voters rank candidates in order of preference.

These preferences could be used to decide the outcome in places where no candidate wins more than 50%.

A ComRes survey for the Independent on Sunday and Sunday Mirror – weighted to reflect those certain to vote – found 37% backed AV with 43% against, compared with a 36% to 30% split the other way in January.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Mexico state police chief sacked

Mexican marines escort Martin Omar Estrada, alleged mastermind of the killings in San FernandoThe Mexican navy captured the alleged mastermind of the killings on Saturday
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The Mexican state of Tamaulipas has dismissed its head of security following the discovery of 145 bodies in mass graves earlier this month.

Former army Gen Ubaldo Ayala Tinoco has been replaced by another former soldier, Capt Rafael Lomeli Martinez.

The state governor said the new chief would improve coordination with the army and federal police in the fight against drugs gangs.

The killings have been blamed on the Zetas drug cartel.

More than 20 suspected cartel members have been arrested in connection with the killings, including the alleged mastermind of the massacre.

But 16 state policemen have also been arrested on suspicion of protecting the criminals.

Outgoing Tamaulipas security chief Gen Ayala said he was stepping down because the state government had failed to provide increased pay and better equipment for the state police.

Map of Tamaulipas, Mexico

His replacement, Capt Lomeli, was previously head of the Federal Police in Nuevo Leon, another northern border state where drug-related violence is rife.

He said he was committed to pacifying Tamaulipas, which is the scene of a bloody battle between the Zetas and the rival Gulf cartel, who are competing for control of drug smuggling routes into the US.

The mass graves containing 145 bodies were found in the municipality of San Fernando, near the US border.

Most of the victims are thought to have been abducted from long-distance buses travelling north to the US border.

The motive for the murders is unclear, but there is speculation the cartel gunmen may have killed men who refused to join their ranks.

The bodies of 72 Central and South American migrants were found in the same area last year.

On Saturday the Mexican navy captured Omar Martin Estrada – alias “El Kilo” – the suspected leader of the Zetas in San Fernando and alleged mastermind of the killings.

Forensic scientists have been working to identify the bodies, some of which have been taken to Mexico City.

Hundreds of people whose relatives have gone missing have gone to see if they can identify their family members among the dead.

The Mexican government says around 35,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence since President Felipe Calderon began deploying troops to fight the cartels in December 2006.

More than 5,000 people have been reported missing, according to Mexico’s human rights commission.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Jobcentre staff to go on strike

Jobcentre logoSome 70% of Jobcentre staff who voted were in favour of strike action
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Thousands of Jobcentre staff are to striking in a row over working conditions and management targets.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) in 37 call centres are staging a 24-hour walk-out on Monday

They have accused management of showing “little willingness” to try to resolve the dispute.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has said it is disappointed at the decision to take industrial action.

The action follows a two-day strike by union members at seven centres in January.

The DWP announced a revamp of its telephone and benefit processing service in October 2009.

The January action started after a decision to convert seven benefit processing offices into “contact centres”, with staff re-allocated to taking calls from the public.

Since then the dispute has broadened to include staff at all 37 contact centres.

In a March ballot of the union’s 7,000 members who work in call centres, 70% of those who took part voted for strike action. The vote had a turnout of 43%.

Although talks continued, they broke down earlier this month.

The PCS says it wants to end a target-driven culture, particularly by changing the way “unrealistic” average call times are used.

“We entered into negotiations in good faith because we care about the help and advice we give to some of the most vulnerable people in society,” said Jane Aitchison from the union.

“It’s very disappointing that our management didn’t do the same.”

The DWP says its staff have good terms of employment, and states that it uses performance measures “to ensure that performance and productivity are high”.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Nationalists gain in Finland vote

True Finns leader Timo Soini (left) debates with Centre Party leader Mari Kiviniemi in Helsinki, 14 April Timo Soini (left) debated with Centre Party leader and prime minister Mari Kiviniemi this week
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Finns have gone to the polls to elect a new parliament in a vote that may affect future EU bail-outs if a rising nationalist party does well.

Opinion polls suggest the True Finns have nearly quadrupled in popularity since the last election though they are unlikely to enter government.

Analysts see mainstream parties taking a harder line on the EU as a result.

Unlike other eurozone states, Finland can put requests for bail-out funds to a majority vote in parliament.

Since any bail-out must be approved unanimously by all 17 eurozone members, a hostile Finnish government could theoretically veto it.

The outcome of Sunday’s election may affect EU plans to shore up Portugal as well as impacting on stability in debt markets.

Polling stations in the Scandinavian nation of 5.3 million people opened at 0900 (0600 GMT) and are to close at 2000, with first results expected to be announced around the same time.

Finland is currently governed by an EU-friendly four-party coalition led by Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi’s Centre Party and the conservative National Coalition Party (NCP).

Opinion polls suggest the NCP will have a narrow lead, just ahead of the Centre Party and the opposition Social Democrats, making a new coalition the most likely outcome.

“The bigger parties have no reason to invite the True Finns into any coalition if they can make up the numbers without them,” Olavi Borg, professor emeritus in political sciences, told the Associated Press news agency.

Polling organisations have given the True Finns more than 15%, a leap from the 4% they actually won in 2007.

With its charismatic leader Timo Soini, the party rejects rescue funds for EU “squanderers”, as well as opposing immigration.

Analysts say many Finns have become disenchanted with the big three mainstream parties who have run the country for decades.

“Whether the True Finns will really [emerge] as champions of the elections is still uncertain but I think we will clearly get a more nationalistic, more conservative, less European-oriented government in Finland,” ING senior economist Carsten Brzeski told Reuters news agency.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Police ‘too focused on kettling’

The marchPolice were praised for their “proportionate” response to the march
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Senior police officers focused too much on the potential use of “kettling” during the TUC march against government spending cuts in London last month, human rights campaigners have said.

A review by 120 legal observers from Liberty said the containment tactic was “under near constant consideration” when potential trouble spots emerged.

They also found problems with police radios at the march, which was marred by violence by a breakaway group.

Scotland Yard welcomed the report.

The observers were provided by the human rights group Liberty at the request of the police and the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

Kettling is a police tactic in which protestors are contained in one area by a cordon of officers.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said: “The preoccupation with kettling and political pressure for knee-jerk public order powers continue to threaten the right to peaceful dissent in the oldest unbroken democracy.”

“The question seemed to be more ‘when’ than ‘if’”

Liberty report

Liberty’s report and the observers’ role was restricted to the policing of the official TUC “March for the Alternative” event, on 26 March, and did not cover the policing of the violent disturbances by the splinter group.

It comes after the Metropolitan Police said it would appeal against last week’s High Court ruling that kettling tactics used against demonstrators during G20 protests in London in 2009 were unlawful.

The legal observers praised police for their “restrained and proportionate” response to the TUC march.

But they said containment, or kettling, was under “near constant” consideration.

At various times the police control room approved its use only to withdraw authorisation because of practical problems, it said.

The report said containment was now widely anticipated by people at demonstrations, who moved away whenever they saw a cordon of officers.

Officers “used a feigned, or threatened, containment to their advantage at times (for example to disperse a group)”, the report said.

It concluded the tactic was undermining trust in the police.

The report said: “It was clear from our observation of senior officers that containment was a tactic under near constant consideration as soon as it became apparent that a breakaway group were committing damage to property and behaving violently towards police.”

“The question seemed to be more ‘when’ than ‘if’.”

It added that the focus on kettling “does appear seriously to undermine the relationship of trust and confidence between peaceful protesters and the police”.

The report on the event – attended by more than 250,000 people – also said some officers had to use mobile phones because their police radios failed to work properly, hampering their ability to deal with breakaway groups.

Communication problems arose between the special operations room, bronze commanders and police officers on the ground, with officers having to resort to using mobile phones because radios were not working, which “often led to confusion”, Liberty said.

Groups of protesters and policeViolence broke out on the same day as the TUC’s anti-cuts march, which passed off peacefully

Assistant Commissioner Lynne Owens said: “We were faced with the difficult task of striking the right balance between ensuring the vast majority of people were able to peacefully protest whilst managing the small number of criminals intent on disorder.

“We had officers along the whole route who could move in quickly, as the report recognises we did, to manage local break-outs of disorder.

“In what was a significant and challenging policing operation we welcome Liberty’s overall conclusion that the policing was proportionate.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

President ‘headed for Nigeria win’

A woman casts her vote in Bayelsa state, 16 April 2011New transparency has been introduced to the electoral process

Nigeria is counting tens of millions of votes cast in the country’s presidential election, with early indications suggesting a close contest.

President Goodluck Jonathan is facing a challenge from Muhammadu Buhari, an ex-military leader popular in the north.

Early results showed Mr Jonathan with a lead, but saw Mr Buhari with a substantial lead in his heartland.

Mr Jonathan has staked his reputation on the the election, repeatedly promising it would be free and fair.

Counting began as soon as polls closed on Saturday, and the BBC’s Caroline Duffield, in the Nigerian capital Abuja, says most votes have now been counted. Official results are expected on Monday.

Reports of partial results showed that Mr Jonathan was leading the field in the south of Nigeria – he hails from the oil-rich Niger Delta region – but that Gen Buhari was mounting a strong challenge in the mainly Muslim north.

He is maintaining a wide lead amid a high turnout, our correspondent says.

To win at the first round a candidate needs at least 25% of the vote in two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states.

Analysis

Already this vote is being hailed as a turning point in Nigeria’s history. The surprise and delight of people here is understandable set against the stolen votes and thuggery of the past.

In the capital Abuja there was a sense of thrill and excitement as people poured out to vote. Across the country, there were occasional disturbances.

But, overwhelmingly, signs of a calm and a peaceful election are encouraging election observers who say that this day could be a historic step forward for Nigeria’s democracy.

Voting was reported to have generally gone smoothly, despite some reports of fraud and incidents of violence.

Some violence was reported on polling day, with a woman said to have been killed in the central city of Jos and two bomb explosions in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri.

Dozens of people were killed in the run-up to the vote.

Mr Jonathan cast his ballot in his home state of Bayelsa in the oil-rich Niger Delta.

After voting, he said the election was a “new dawn in Nigeria’s political evolution”.

“If the ballot paper means nothing then there is no democracy… Nigeria is now experiencing true democracy where we the politicians have to go to the people,” he said.

Election Season20 presidential candidates74 million registered votersParliament, president and local elections on three consecutive weekendsRuling PDP dominated every vote since end of military rule in 1999Previous elections plagued by corruption and violenceNew election commission head has promised clean voteIn pictures: Nigerians vote Viewpoint: Bloody politics Maiduguri: City of fear

He said he was confident of victory, and said he would leave office if he lost.

Other challengers for the presidency include former anti-corruption chief Nuhu Ribadu and Kano state governor Ibrahim Shekarau, though both are seen as rank outsiders.

In Daura, home to Gen Buhari, crowds waited for hours despite the intense heat to cast their votes. He insisted the election was not as clean as Mr Jonathan was suggesting.

“There’s a desperate attempt by the ruling party to rig this election in a more sophisticated way,” Gen Buhari told the BBC.

“This time around – the level of awareness and commitment by the masses is what has given me some relief.”

Gen Buhari added that he had more faith in the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) this time round, adding that “probably 60% of the election will be credible”.

Africa’s largest oil producer has long been plagued by corruption and has a history of vote fraud and violence.

Presidential CandidatesGoodluck Jonathan, president – PDPMuhammadu Buhari, former military ruler – CPCNuhu Ribadu, former anti-corruption fighter – ACNIbrahim Shekarau, Kano governor – ANPP16 others

Allegations of ballot-stuffing plagued the 2007 election, which brought Mr Jonathan to power as the vice-president.

He took over as president in 2010 when the incumbent died, becoming the first leader from the oil-producing Niger Delta region.

Mr Jonathan’s People’s Democratic Party lost seats in a parliamentary election last week.

But he remains favourite in opinion polls, and his chances have been boosted after Mr Buhari and Mr Ribadu failed to agree a formal alliance to run against him.

The relatively successful conduct of the parliamentary election has increased confidence in the ability of the electoral commission, Inec, to ensure a fair presidential vote.

With 74 million registered voters, Nigeria has the biggest electorate on the continent.

Nigeria: A nation divided

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has won all elections since the end of military rule in 1999. It won two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states last time. But having a southerner – President Goodluck Jonathan – as its candidate in the presidential elections may lose it some votes in the north.

Nigeria’s 160 million people are divided between numerous ethno-linguistic groups and also along religious lines. Broadly, the Hausa-Fulani people based in the north are mostly Muslims. The Yorubas of the south-west are divided between Muslims and Christians, while the Igbos of the south-east and neghbouring groups are mostly Christian or animist. The Middle Belt is home to hundreds of groups with different beliefs, and around Jos there are frequent clashes between Hausa-speaking Muslims and Christian members of the Berom community.

Despite its vast resources, Nigeria ranks among the most unequal countries in the world, according to the UN. The poverty in the north is in stark contrast to the more developed southern states. While in the oil-rich south-east, the residents of Delta and Akwa Ibom complain that all the wealth they generate flows up the pipeline to Abuja and Lagos.

Southern residents tend to have better access to healthcare, as reflected by the greater uptake of vaccines for polio, tuberculosis, tetanus and diphtheria. Some northern groups have in the past boycotted immunisation programmes, saying they are a Western plot to make Muslim women infertile. This led to a recurrence of polio, but the vaccinations have now resumed.

Female literacy is seen as the key to raising living standards for the next generation. For example, a newborn child is far likelier to survive if its mother is well-educated. In Nigeria we see a stark contrast between the mainly Muslim north and the Christian and animist south. In some northern states less than 5% of women can read and write, whereas in some Igbo areas more than 90% are literate.

Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer and among the biggest in the world but most of its people subsist on less than $2 a day. The oil is produced in the south-east and some militant groups there want to keep a greater share of the wealth which comes from under their feet. Attacks by militants on oil installations led to a sharp fall in Nigeria’s output during the last decade. But in 2010, a government amnesty led thousands of fighters to lay down their weapons.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Shooting victim dies in hospital

A man died in hospital after being shot in south London.

The victim, in his 30s, was attacked in Brixton at about 0650 BST on Sunday, the Metropolitan Police (Met) said

He was taken by ambulance from the scene in Marcus Garvey Way to a south London hospital where he died at about 1230 BST.

Detectives from the Met’s Trident unit, which investigates murder and gun crime within London’s black communities, have begun a murder investigation.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Best before date changes proposed

Women with supermarket basketThe existing labels are said to confuse shoppers
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“Best before” date labels could be scrapped in an attempt to cut the £680 worth of food thrown away by the average UK household each year.

New government guidance to shops aims to put more focus on “use by” dates on items such as prawns and yoghurt which have a definite shelf life.

The initiative follows consultation with manufacturers and retailers.

It will also target “sell by” and “display until” labels which it is thought add to consumers’ confusion.

These labels are generally used by shops for stock control.

The changes will be brought in over the next month and will not involve new legislation.

According to the advisory body Waste and Resources Action Programme, households can end up binning up to a quarter of their weekly food and drink purchases.

A spokesperson for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “By law, pre-packed food must show a ‘best before’ date – even though many foods are still safe to eat after that date.

“This is very different from the ‘use by’ date that shows when food is no longer safe and should be thrown away. Being clear on the difference between the two could help us all to reduce our food waste.”

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said: “I am dismayed so much food goes to waste and if the date labels are part of the problem, it’s one thing we should be able to improve.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Tut’s toot

Bandsman James Tappern plays Tutankhamun's trumpet at a BBC recording in 1939Tutankhamun’s trumpet had remained silent for 3000 years
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Tutankhamun’s trumpet was one of the rare artefacts stolen from the Cairo Museum during the recent uprising, adding poignancy to a story from the early days of BBC Radio and an attempt to recreate its original sound.

Among the “wonderful things” Howard Carter described as he peered by candlelight into the newly discovered tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922 were two trumpets, one silver and one bronze.

For more than 3,000 years they had lain, muted, in the Valley of the Kings, close to the mummy of the boy king. Found in different parts of Tutankhamun’s tomb, both were decorated with depictions of Egyptian gods identified with military campaigns.

Both became exhibits at the Cairo museum, but when it was broken into during the recent uprising, the bronze instrument vanished. Luckily, the silver one was away on exhibition tour.

“The loss – and return – of such a celebrated artefact is convincing some of Tutankhamun’s celebrated curse ”

Egyptologists were already reeling from the loss of many of the country’s antiquities, and many found the theft of one of the oldest surviving musical instruments in the world particularly poignant.

Many such objects would have been looted and melted down in ancient times, says Oxford Egyptologist Margaret Maitland. “There was a real lack of precious metal so there was systemic retrieval,” said Ms Maitland.

The trumpet was recently found – reportedly with other Tutankhamun artefacts in a bag on the Cairo Metro.

Due to the fragile nature of the trumpets, their sound has only been recreated on a few occasions.

Early radio broadcasters saw the potential for an extraordinary recording, and in 1939 the Egyptian Antiquities Service was persuaded to take part in a BBC broadcast to the world from the Cairo Museum.

Rex Keating, a radio pioneer who helped convince the museum, was chosen to present it to an estimated 150 million listeners worldwide one Sunday afternoon.

Tutankhamun's gilded bronze trumpet and other objects from the Cairo MuseumThe gilded bronze trumpet was recovered recently along with several other missing objects

To set the scene, he first interviewed Alfred Lucas, one of the last survivors of Carter’s team, and the man responsible for restoring Tutankhamun’s treasures.

With five minutes to go before the trumpet sounded, the watchmen’s lanterns failed, and the museum was plunged into darkness. A candlelit Cairo was put through to London.

Mr Keating then counted down to the broadcast: “One minute to go. From the corner of my eye I can see Lucas, striving to look unconcerned – but the quivering of the script in his hand betrays his agitation…”.

Mr Lucas’s concern was understandable given the story Mr Keating once told about an earlier attempt to play the silver trumpet in front of King Farouk of Egypt.

His story goes that the precious instrument shattered, possibly because of a modern mouthpiece being inserted to play it. According to Mr Keating’s colourful account, Mr Lucas was left as shattered as the trumpet and needed hospital treatment. The instrument, at least, was repaired.

“It is very tempting to want to hear what these instruments would have sounded like, but it’s just too dangerous”

Margaret Maitland Egyptologist

And then the moment came. Listeners were enthralled.

The musician chosen for this legendary broadcast was bandsman James Tappern. His son, Peter, also a trumpeter, recalled how this was the story of his childhood, and one his father loved telling:

“He was actually quite proud of it,” he says.

But the only recording his parents had of the original broadcast, a fragile 78 record, was broken in a house move. It was to be decades before he finally heard the original BBC recording.

“I was astonished with the quality of it,” he said. “How the original trumpeters played them is totally beyond me… [my father] used modern mouthpieces but the actual expertise he used is quite astonishing”.

The good news of the trumpet’s return is unlikely to herald a rush of archaeologists trying out ancient instruments in museums, says Ms Maitland:

“It is very tempting to want to hear what these instruments would have sounded like, but it’s just too dangerous, especially when these are some of the only examples.”

King Tut’s curse

A whole science has sprung up around the study of ancient music, where the original instruments are too fragile to play or no longer exist.

Archaeologists and archaeomusicologists are still able to get a sense of how they might have sounded.

Richard Dumbrill, considered the world’s leading authority on the Music of the Ancient Near East, is one. He reconstructed the Silver Lyre of Ur, discovered by Leonard Woolley in modern-day Iraq around the same time that Tutankhamun’s tomb was excavated.

The BBC recording of the trumpets took place in 1939 in the Cairo MuseumThe trumpets were first played just before World War II broke out, but could they really summon war?

Mr Woolley, a brilliant archaeologist, recognised a pile of twisted metal in a tomb as the remains of a 5000-year-old lyre. He poured wax into the space where the instrument had lain to recover the shape.

Mr Dumbrill used the cast and Mr Woolley’s notes to recreate the lyre, including the animal gut strings. The sounds it makes conjures up a world even more ancient than Tutankhamun’s.

The Lost Sound Orchestra, as its name suggests, aims to bring other ancient worlds to life. Using laptops, experts try to make digital sound from virtual instruments – such as those shown on ancient Greek vases. They started with the epigonion from 2nd Century BC.

But this is not just an academic exercise – the project creates the possibility of an orchestra of lost sounds gathered from all over the world via digital technology.

As Tutankhamun’s trumpet echoes once more, the loss – and return – of such a celebrated artefact is convincing some of Tutankhamun’s celebrated curse. Not least the trumpet’s apparent ability to summon up war.

Bandsman Tappern had, after all, played the trumpet shortly before World War II broke out. Cairo Museum’s Tutankhamun curator claims the trumpet retains “magical powers” and was blown before the first Gulf War, and by a member of staff the week before the Egyptian uprising.

Ghost Music is on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday 19 April at 1330 BST, repeated Saturday 23 April at 1530 BST. Listen online via the BBC iPlayer.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Staff demand at ‘three-year high’

computer keyboardIT and computing saw the strongest rise in permanent job vacancies
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Demand for staff in the past quarter increased at its fastest pace for more than three years, according to the latest Bank of Scotland jobs survey.

The report also signalled a further improvement in Scottish labour market conditions during March.

The number of people placed into both long and short-term jobs rose as demand for new staff continued to grow.

Both permanent and temporary candidate availability rose last month, keeping pay inflation subdued.

Permanent placement was strongest in Glasgow, while Dundee had the fastest increase in temporary vacancies.

The Bank of Scotland labour market barometer – a composite indicator of labour market conditions – suggested staff demand was down on February’s reading.

However, it was the highest quarterly reading since the first quarter of 2008.

Donald MacRae, chief economist at Bank of Scotland, said: “Recovery from the recession is extending to the labour market, with the demand for permanent staff rising at the fastest pace for three-and-a-half years.

Permanent staff appointments also increased for the sixth consecutive month, although growth eased from February’s 14-month high.”

He said all eight sectors covered in the survey registered a rise in permanent job vacancies during March, with the strongest increase occurring in the IT and computing sector.

Average salaries awarded to permanent staff increased only modestly.

Mr MacRae added: “This latest report on jobs provides further evidence of the recovery in the Scottish economy.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Human healer

Arthur Wilson

Arthur Wilson, a Pakistani Christian, has been counselling prisoners in Pakistan’s overcrowded jails for 25 years. He helps both Muslim and Christian offenders, including those on death row. Nosheen Abbas finds out how his compassionate approach cuts through the religious divide.

In a country where extremism is on the rise and religious intolerance is a common theme, Arthur Wilson ventures into inhospitable prisons to provide solace to both Christian and Muslim offenders.

A tall Pakistani-Christian living in Lahore, he speaks in calm tones about how he has dedicated 25 years of his life to helping prisoners.

Thousands languish on death row in filthy and overcrowded jails – prison rights group Reprieve says Pakistan has the largest number of people on death row in the world.

“When they know they are on death row, then some go into deep depression and lose their mind completely”

Arthur Wilson Prison counsellor

Most prisoners awaiting the death sentence are incarcerated in the jails of Punjab province, of which Lahore is the capital.

“Whenever I go to the jail it upsets me to see the dehumanisation of prisoners, the bad staff behaviour, their living conditions are deplorable. There are so many people who are put in jail wrongly,” Mr Wilson says.

It is not a place for justice, he says, but a place where he can bring some hope and humanity. He has set up counselling sessions – a practice not common in Pakistan – for prisoners who want to make something of their lives.

“When the authorities allowed the counselling sessions, I remember initially facing a tough time. There were times when I was made to stand outside the jail for two hours before a senior officer would show up and allow me in.”

Mr Wilson’s most fulfilling work is with prisoners on death row and he says he has been able to help more than 20 prisoners come to terms with their fate.

Arthur WilsonArthur Wilson says he believes in helping offenders make more of their lives

“When they know they are on death row, then some go into deep depression and lose their mind completely, some become physically paralysed, talking abnormally knowing that they have no way out.”

And Mr Wilson says he wants to help prisoners regardless of their faith. Initially he worked only with Christian prisoners, but seven years ago he started working with non-Christians as well.

Arthur Wilson detects a “major divide” between Christian and Muslim prisoners.

“There are a few Muslim prisoners who accommodate, maintain relations and drink and eat with Christian prisoners, Otherwise the general trend is that Christian prisoners must be kept separately.”

Sultana Noon of Reprieve says segregating Christian and Muslim prisoners only occurs in blasphemy cases when there is a clear risk to those accused of blasphemy, although not all authorities separate prisoners.

But, she says: “It was amazing to see a church and mosque right next to each other in Kot Lakhpat [jail]. It shows the possibility to co-exist peacefully.”

Prisoners Arthur Wilson has helped say his therapy is not faith-based and that it is simply about thinking positively in the face of adversity.

He says he has never been accused of proselytising and he remains confident of his work despite the sensitive climate in Pakistan surrounding controversial blasphemy laws.

“I don’t feel threatened by the blasphemy law because I wouldn’t be disrespectful about another religion. However, I am afraid of those who misuse this law.”

Dr Zulfiqar is a Muslim prisoner in Islamabad currently on death row for murder and in regular touch with Mr Wilson. He has received a lot of coverage for helping his fellow prisoners get an education.

He too has found solace in Arthur Wilson’s care: “He believes in positive thinking by asking for forgiveness from the depths of one’s heart,” says Mr Zulfiqar.

“There is a lot of extremism in the country now, to be honest. ”

Arif Shahzad Prison officer, Camp Jail

Arif Shahzad, prison officer at Camp Jail, which Mr Wilson frequently visits, says his sessions have a positive impact on the prisoners.

“He comes every Sunday and although he teaches some things relevant to religion, his topics are mostly about ethics and life in general.”

Even though Mr Wilson has not barred non-Christians from attending his sessions at Camp Jail, Mr Shahzad says he does not allow non-Christians to attend because security could not be totally guaranteed.

“There is a lot of extremism in the country now, to be honest. We just don’t have the environment because non-Christians may want to question and confront someone like Wilson.”

However some slip through and sit in during his sessions, many of whom remain in touch with him.

This is clear at St Andrew’s church in Lahore, where Mr Wilson still meets up with prisoners who have been released.

Sitting with one group of former inmates, each with extraordinary personal tales, the important role Mr Wilson has played in their lives becomes clear.

Showing me a half-filled notebook, one former prisoner said: “I can’t explain to you the effect Wilson has had on my life. That’s why I’m writing a book on him.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Red or dead

Call of Duty: Black OpsTreyarch’s Call of Duty: Black Ops includes display options designed to help colour blind players
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Next time you are playing a video game online and a member of your own team shoots you – spare a thought: they could be colour blind.

The inability to easily distinguish between certain colours is a problem that affects about one in 20 men, and one in 200 women.

For video gamers, it can mean some parts of games become vastly more difficult – such as when opposing teams are distinguished by the colours red and green, or if other crucial on-screen indicators feature similar shades.

Despite the large numbers of gamers affected, awareness among the development community is comparatively low. Only a handful of publishers make concerted efforts to cater to people with this genetic condition.

“It is not possible to cater to the needs of all the players 100% of the time”

Nintendo statement

Graham Hodson, a gamer from Stockton-on-Tees, was so frustrated at the use of red and green in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 that he and his wife started a campaign to get colour blind-friendly features added.

The game, developed by Infinity Ward, part of games giant Activision, was one of the biggest sellers of 2009 and is referred to by critics as one of the best games ever created.

In multiplayer mode, team-mates appear with green tags above their heads, while enemies are in red.

Mr Hodson found that he struggled to play the game online because he simply could not work out who was on his team quickly enough.

“With the pace of the game, taking that extra second isn’t really possible,” he said.

“Otherwise, I would just shoot at everything, causing our position to be given away on the map and team-mates to be not too happy with me!”

The three images below show screenshots from Call of Duty Modern Warfare, Killzone and Lego Indiana Jones – three games that have caused problems for colour blind players. Drag the slider or click on the buttons above the images below to see how three different types of colour blindness affect viewers.

The enhanced functionality requires Javascript to be enable on your browserOriginal

Deuteranopia

Deuteranopia
Original

originaldeuteranopia
originalProtanope
originalTritanope

Deuteranopia is the most common kind of red/green colour blindness.

Original OriginalDeuteranopia Deuteranopia

Deuteranopia is the most common kind of red/green colour blindness.

Original OriginalProtanopia Protanopia

For a protanope, the brightness of red, orange, and yellow is reduced.

Original OriginalTritanopia Tritanopia

Tritanopia is rare – blue is confused with green and yellow with violet.

Jagdeep Lall, a final-year information systems student at City University, studied colour blind gamers as they used a variety of games. Among them was Formula 1 2010, produced by Codemasters.

Mr Lall discovered that a guide on the race track for when to brake and accelerate was almost useless to colour blind gamers.

“You have a racing line which starts red – for when to hit the brakes – and changes to green as you come out round the corner.

Am I colour blind?

Blobs of colour in a test for vision deficiency

Can you see a number in the image above? If not, you may suffer from colour blindness.

Take a colour blind test Learn more on BBC Health

“The gamer [in the study] found he was unsure where it changed from red to green, so he waited a little bit longer until he was sure it was green.”

Kathryn Albany-Ward is the founder of Colour Blind Awareness, a UK group seeking charity status. She said that examples like this were common, not just in games, but in other walks of life.

Her colour blind son had great difficulty carrying out some of the puzzles featured in Lego Indiana Jones.

She believes that games companies should be doing more to cater for the condition, and that in cases where a game has colour-dependent features, warnings should be placed clearly on the box.

“I think they have a duty to do it because of the numbers [of people] involved,” she said.

“It’s like a ‘contains traces of nuts’ label, so at least you know you’re not wasting your money.”

Mr Lall agrees.

“I think that’s something that should maybe become industry standard.

“It’s a shame for someone who’s spent £40-£50 on a game which they didn’t know they were going to have so much difficultly playing. It’s not even enjoyable.”

A source at PEGI – the group which rates games for objectionable content – told the BBC that colour blindness, like other disabilities, would not come under their rating remit.

However, David Vonderhaar, lead programmer at Treyarch, had a different suggestion.

“Don’t do that!” he told the BBC.

“Have good design that lets the game have multiple visual clues and uses colour in a way that’s beneficial but doesn’t restrict colour blind gamers. It’s frankly not that hard.”

Treyarch, also part of Activision, is responsible for Black Ops, the most recent incarnation of the Call of Duty series and now the biggest-selling game of all time.

Expert view

John Edwards, director of Robert Stanley Opticians

“I think it’s a big challenge for games designers.

There are thoughts about using coloured lenses and contrast filters within spectacle lenses that try to push the red and green wavelengths further apart.

Even just adjusting brightness or contrast on screens can just push any specific colour problem slightly apart and give you more contrast than you’d normally perceive.

I would have thought the games designers could be given an ‘avoid these colours’ chart to help most colour blind problems.

You won’t solve it for everyone, but you could at least put some effort into the design to make it better. Colour blind people seem to be neglected and forgotten about in the day-to-day world.

It’s perhaps not seen as a very sexy place to invest money, but it should be.”

Like Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2, it uses red and green to distinguish teams.

However, a feature accessible from the in-game pause menu allows players to change the typical on-screen notifications into orange for enemies and a high-contrast sky blue for friends.

In addition, Mr Vonderhaar’s team introduced factors other than colour to make things easier.

“It’s all about combining clues. It has to be a combination of profile shape, uniforms, names above their heads. All of these things make a big difference in helping you make that distinction.”

Mr Vonderhaar’s team’s judgement on colour issues is helped by one highly innovative cog in the design process.

“Our lead tester is colour blind,” he said.

“Basically we wait for him to be miserable, and if he’s not, that’s how we know we’re getting somewhere. That’s almost how simple it is for us.”

Activision as a whole does not have a policy regarding colour blind-friendly features in its games. And while previous Call of Duty games by Treyarch have incorporated colour blind aides, others created by Infinity Ward have not.

The publisher would not confirm which developer is creating the next game in the series, widely rumoured to be Modern Warfare 3.

While many gamers find Treyarch’s approach refreshing, other games companies are reluctant to follow suit, stressing that it is not as simple as changing the odd colour.

In a statement, Nintendo, famed for its vibrant, colourful games, told the BBC that its developers try to make their games as accessible as possible, but said it was “not possible to cater to the needs of all the players 100% of the time.”

Meanwhile Guerilla Games, creators of the multi-million selling Killzone series – another troublesome game for Mr Hodson – said that it was looking at the problem for future updates and releases.

“Changing the colour for one person does not automatically mean that everyone with colour blindness can now see the HUD correctly,” explained David Wilson, a spokesman for Guerilla Games’ parent company, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.

“What we are going to do for Killzone 3 is underline all enemies and enemy objects. This will happen within the next month probably.

“This required new code and testing (with colour blind people in the office). We also had to make sure that adding these lines was not so obvious that people without colour blindness could use it to their advantage.”

Ms Albany-Ward from Colour Blind Awareness believes that the simplest solution is to increase awareness of the issue and to make sure that colour blind gamers are considered in the design process.

“The only way to convince people to change it is to say ‘would you please…’ from now on,” she said.

“There are so many colour blind people, not knowing how much they’re missing because they can’t ever see what we can see.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Syria protests despite Assad vows

People gather during a demonstration in the Syrian city of Suwaida, April 17, 2011.Syria has witnessed weeks of protests against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad

Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in Syria, despite promised reforms by President Bashar al-Assad.

Witnesses said at least three people were shot dead at a funeral outside the town of Talbiseh, north of Homs. Rallies were reported in Aleppo, Deraa and nearby Suwaida.

Some 200 people have been killed and dozens arrested in weeks of protests.

On Saturday, Mr Assad said he expected the country’s 48-year-old emergency law to be lifted by next week.

The BBC’s Owen Bennett-Jones in neighbouring Lebanon says the reaction so far suggests that at least some people are not yet satisfied with the extent of the concessions made by the government.

Witnesses said demonstrators in Deraa gathered in a main square after noon prayers and were heard calling for “the downfall of the regime”.

The rallies were held on Syria’s Independence Day, which marks the anniversary of the departure of French soldiers 65 years ago.

Meanwhile, a woman at the demonstration in Suweida said they had chanted “God, Syria, freedom, that’s all”, but then were confronted by supporters of President Assad.

“They came at us with sticks and also hit us with the pictures they were carrying of Bashar – the same president who was talking about freedom yesterday,” she told AP.

Map of Syria

In Hirak, 33 km (20 miles) north-east of Deraa, angry Syrian mourners chanted slogans against Mr Assad at a funeral of 20-year-old soldier Mohammad Ali Radwan al-Qoman.

A relative of Qoman said the authorities had told them he had been accidentally electrocuted at his military unit, but that they had seen signs of beatings and believed he had been killed by security forces.

Demonstrations were also reported in the port city of Baniyas and Syria’s second city, Aleppo.

On Saturday, Mr Assad told the cabinet a legal commission asked to examine the lifting of the emergency law had come to its conclusions.

“I think the commission has finished its work, on Thursday, and the recommendations will be given to the government so that they become law immediately. I don’t know how many days it will take you and I think that the maximum deadline for the lifting of the state of emergency will be next week,” he said.

New security legislation would be introduced in place of the law, he said, adding that the new government should also study ideas for a multi-party system and greater press freedom.

The lifting of the emergency law – which bans public gatherings of more than five people – was a key demand of the protesters.

Mr Assad’s speech followed a massive demonstration on Friday after prayers, when tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied in the capital, Damascus.

Mr Assad blames the violence in recent weeks on armed gangs rather than reform-seekers and has vowed to put down further unrest.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.