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Weir sorry over Saddam kickbacks

Men making machineryWeir admitted it had made irregular payments to an agent in Iraq
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Glasgow-based engineering business Weir Group has been ordered to pay almost £14m after admitting to breaching UN sanctions against Iraq in the 1990s.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, the firm admitted charges of paying kickbacks to Saddam Hussein’s government to secure business.

The court heard that Weir abused the oil-for-food programme.

The programme was set up in 1995 to allow Iraq to sell oil in exchange for food and medicine.

Prosecutors have argued the firm should also be fined for making the illegal payments to agents in France and Dubai.

The trial continues.

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

Berlusconi wins confidence vote

Italian parliament

The BBC’s Duncan Kennedy on what the vote means

Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has won a vote of confidence in the lower house of parliament.

He won by a margin of three votes, following a tense session of the house and amid large protests in the capital.

Mr Berlusconi also won an earlier vote in the Senate. He had urged MPs not to jeopardise the country’s stability by ousting him.

His critics argue he is too mired in personal scandal and corruption allegations to remain in office.

Mr Berlusconi, 74, is halfway through a five-year term but his position has been weakened by a series of scandals largely involving his relationships with women.

Analysis

Mr Berlusconi’s endless lobbying and pressure has paid off. But the margin was very thin – not enough to give him the new mandate he had wanted.

That means his immediate political future is secure, but the long-term pressure on him is unlikely to subside, and this crisis will be postponed until the new year.

He has also lost the support of his closest political ally, Gianfranco Fini, along with dozens of his supporters, depriving him of his automatic majority in the lower house.

But in the final vote, two opposition deputies switched sides and he won the vote by 314 votes to 311.

The BBC’s Duncan Kennedy in Rome says although Mr Berlusconi’s lobbying has paid off for now he will still face considerable opposition to his leadership.

Thousands of people have gathered in Rome and Italy’s other major cities to demand a change in government.

Police have fired tear gas on the protesters and several explosions – thought to be fireworks – have been heard.

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

Reid warning over ‘policy vacuum’

Lord ReidLord Reid said Labour was still recovering from the “worst election defeat in its history”.

Ed Miliband faces a “huge challenge” to get Labour back on track, a former senior Cabinet minister has said.

Former Home Secretary Lord Reid said the party had had “no strategic direction” for three years.

There had been a “vacuum in policy”, he told the BBC’s Daily Politics. Mr Miliband has launched a policy review.

Lord Reid, who stood down as an MP at the election, also praised David Cameron – saying he had been “astute” since becoming prime minister.

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

Nepal ex-prince held over gun row

Paras ShahParas Shah was unpopular among Nepalis for his drunken antics

Police in Nepal say they are investigating an incident in which the former Crown Prince of Nepal, Paras Shah, fired his gun at a jungle resort.

The former heir to the now abolished throne was reportedly drunk, and threatened relatives of the deputy prime minister who were staying there.

Son of ex-King Gyanendra, Mr Shah was unpopular among Nepalis for his drunken antics and playboy lifestyle.

His cousin shot dead nine family members before killing himself in 2001.

An official inquiry blamed Prince Dipendra for the royal massacre which shocked Nepal and the world.

The 39-year-old Mr Shah moved to Singapore with his family in 2008.

Reports say that he fired a gun in the air after an argument with the daughter and son-in-law of Nepal’s Deputy Prime Minister, Sujata Koirala, at a well-known jungle resort on Sunday.

He was reportedly drinking when the incident occurred.

“We are investigating the case. The government has also formed a commission. I am sure the government will take appropriate action as nobody is above the law,” Kathmandu police chief Ramesh Kharel told the BBC.

The Himalayan Times online quoted Mr Shah as admitting that he had fired into the air “in a fit of anger”.

“I fired a shot in air from my pistol in a fit of anger as I could not bear the insult of myself and the country,” Mr Shah was quoted as saying.

He said the incident was prompted by “derogatory remarks” against him, his family and Nepal by “two foreign nationals”.

Mr Shah, who suffered from a heart attack two years ago, moved to Singapore with his family, reportedly for medical treatment and for his children, whose education was being disrupted by constant strikes and traffic problems in Nepal.

He was a controversial and unpopular figure who had been at the centre of a number of scandals.

Last year he spoke out on the 2001 royal massacre in which his cousin killed nine family members before killing himself.

He said his cousin Prince Dipendra was angry at a failed arms deal, and also unhappy at his family’s rejection of his choice of bride.

Mr Shah said a second motive for Prince Dipendra was his anger King Birendra’s decision to end absolute monarchy in Nepal.

He had also dismissed the notion that Prince Dipendra was drunk or that he had shot his family – his parents, the King and Queen of Nepal and seven other royals – on impulse.

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

Wikileaks founder in new bail bid

Julian Assange in his prison van en route to court (pic: Dec 14)Julian Assange was photographed inside a prison van on his way to court

The founder of whistle-blowing website Wikileaks is due to appear in court in London in a fresh attempt to secure bail.

Julian Assange, 39, denies sexually assaulting two women in Sweden and is fighting extradition.

Mr Assange was refused bail last week despite the offer of sureties from figures including film director Ken Loach and journalist John Pilger.

His mother said he was “heartened” by the support he had received.

Christine Assange told Australian television station Channel 7 on Tuesday that she had spoken to her son in prison.

“I told him how people all over the world, in all sorts of countries, were standing up with placards and screaming out for his freedom and justice and he was very heartened by that,” she said.

“As a mother, I’m asking the world to stand up for my brave son.”

Ms Assange also read a statement from him, which she had copied down when he spoke to her from Wandsworth Prison. In it, he defended the actions of Wikileaks, adding: “My convictions are unfaltering.”

His lawyer Mark Stephens said he had not been given any of his post – including legal letters – since being remanded in custody.

“He has absolutely no access to any electronic equipment, no access to the outside world, no access to outside media,” he said.

Mr Stephens said the only correspondence his client had received was a note telling him that a copy of Time magazine sent to him had been destroyed because the cover bore his photograph.

Protesters supporting Julian Assange outside City of Westminster Magistrates' Court Protesters have gathered outside City of Westminster Magistrates

In his first appearance at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court last week, District Judge Howard Riddle refused Mr Assange bail on the grounds he could flee.

He is accused of having unprotected sex with a woman, identified only as Miss A, when she insisted he use a condo

He is also accused of having unprotected sex with another woman, Miss W, while she was asleep.

Mr Assange claims the charges are politically motivated and are designed to discredit him.

In recent weeks, Wikileaks has published a series of US diplomatic cables revealing secret information on topics such as terrorism and international relations.

The latest release, published by the Guardian newspaper, shows that the US had concerns after the 7 July bombings that the UK was not doing enough to tackle home-grown extremists.

Another cable claims British police helped “develop” evidence against Madeleine McCann’s parents after she went missing.

Protesters from the Justice for Assange Campaign gathered outside the court last week carrying banners bearing slogans including “political prisoner” and “gagging the truth”.

Jemima Khan, sister of Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith, was among those to add their support.

Journalist John Pilger, who like Ms Khan had offered to pay a surety to secure Mr Assange’s release on bail, told the BBC. “I spoke to Julian Assange in Wandsworth Prison and he told me they put him in solitary confinement in a punishment block. This is ridiculous.”

Asked about Wikileaks, Mr Pilger added: “This should be the heart of journalism. The really great stories – the ones that tell us how the world works, help us to make sense of the world – invariably come from whistle-blowers.”

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

Twelve dead in Dhaka factory fire

Fire at the garments factoryFire safety at garment factories has often been questioned

At least 12 people have been killed and many more injured in a fire at a garment factory near the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, police say.

Dhaka police spokesman Iqbal Bahar told the BBC that the casualty figure was likely to rise, although the fire was now under control.

Mr Bahar said that people trapped in the 11-storey building had to jump to safety, injuring themselves.

Police say that some people could still be holed up in the premises.

They say that so far they have reached the 10th floor of the building but have not yet been able to gain access to the 11th floor.

The fire broke out in a factory in the Ashulia industrial zone on the outskirts of Dhaka and smoke can still be clearly seen billowing around the complex.

The army has joined the rescue operation and fire engines from all over Dhaka have been deployed.

Mr Bahar said the search for survivors was continuing at the multi-storey building.

Bangladesh has about 4,000 garment factories that export more than $10bn (£6bn) worth of products a year, mainly to the US and Europe.

The plant is owned by one of the country’s largest exporters, the Ha-Meem Group, which employs some 14,000 workers in the Ashulia industrial hub north of Dhaka.

“Some were injured in a stampede [to escape the building], some inhaled too much smoke, I saw at least six people jump from the roof,” police sub-inspector Mostofa Chowdhury told the AFP news agency.

Mr Chowdhury said that some workers had complained that emergency exits from the building were locked.

One witness who works at the factory told AFP that he had seen at least three people jump from the building.

“The fire originated at the canteen on the 11th floor and quickly spread. People could still be trapped because the factory often locked the exit gates,” he said.

Fires caused by short circuits and sub-standard electrical wiring are common in Bangladeshi garment factories, which often have inadequate fire escapes.

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

UK inflation rate rises to 3.3%

Christmas shoppingRecord price rises in three categories pushed the inflation rate up again

The UK Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation rate rose to 3.3% in November, up from 3.2% in October, official figures show.

The increase was driven by a record rise in food, clothing and furniture prices, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

CPI inflation remains well above the government target of 2%.

Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation – which includes mortgage interest payments – rose to 4.7% from 4.5%.

Food and non-alcoholic drink prices were up by 1.6%, compared with a rise of 0.6% a year ago, the ONS said.

Clothing prices also rose by a record amount – of 2% – between October and November, with the biggest price rises found in men’s outerwear.

Furniture, household equipment and maintenance also showed a record price rise of 1.6%.

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

Weather response changes outlined

M8 at HarthillScotland’s busiest motorway, the M8, was closed for two days as a result of the freezing conditions
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The Scottish government will face further questions over its handling of last week’s severe weather which saw the country’s busiest roads gridlocked.

Finance Secretary John Swinney, and not the new Transport Minister Keith Brown, will give evidence to Holyrood’s transport committee later.

Convener Patrick Harvie said he was keen to hear what could be done to better prepare the country.

The SNP government have already said that lessons will be learned.

As a fresh blast of snow is expected later this week, ministers have said that every “sinew is being strained” to be ready.

A heavy snowfall last week – which appeared to take the authorities by surprise – caused the closure of the M8, M9 and A80, as well as gridlock on many other routes across Scotland.

Thousands of vehicles were abandoned and hundreds of people were stuck in their cars overnight.

The M8 was closed for two days between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

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

Publisher seeks to offer degrees

Graduation ceremonyThere is unprecedented demand for university places
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One of the world’s largest publishers, Pearson, looks set to be given degree-awarding powers, as the government seeks to open up the university sector to more private providers.

Pearson, which owns exam board Edexcel, plans to start by offering four vocational degrees with a further education college.

But it wants to award degrees itself, which would require a law change.

The government says it is considering this.

The news comes less than a week after MPs voted to allow universities to raise tuition fees to a maximum of £9,000 a year.

This sparked fears that many youngsters from deprived backgrounds would not be prepared to take on the accompanying higher level of debt, although ministers insist a revamped repayment system is fairer.

Pearson anticipates it will be able to offer degree courses in business, engineering, IT and health and social care at first at “very competitive” prices.

It is also considering offering degrees in nursing, education and hospitality and tourism.

A Pearson spokesman said the courses would be highly flexible, would be available part-time and might suit those already working or with children.

Rod Bristow, president of Pearson UK, said his firm had a strong track record of providing high quality vocational education in the UK, through BTECs and HNDs.

“Now we want to take the next natural step to award full degrees.”

He said the firm would create a vocational degree that demands students meet rigorous standards.

These would “help fulfil the aspirations of those who want to get a vocational degree in order to progress to highly skilled technical careers, and who also want the flexibility to study part-time, or without moving away from home,” Mr Bristow said.

Universities Minister David Willetts has made no secret of his plans to open up the university sector to private providers.

A white paper is expected to set out plans to do this in the new year with legislation likely to follow.

Mr Willetts is said to be encouraged that firms like Pearson are interested in taking a bigger role in higher education.

He is expected to mention the firm by name in a speech to an education conference in central London later.

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

S4C boss sacking explained to MPs

Iona JonesIona Jones was sacked by a majority vote of the authority, Mr Tomos said
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S4C’s chief executive was sacked as a “casualty” of a management breakdown, MPs have been told.

The vice-chair of the S4C authority, Rheon Tomos, said Iona Jones had to go in July after the Welsh TV channel’s governing body reached an “impasse”.

He told MPs on the Welsh affairs committee at Westminster the body believed it couldn’t scrutinise its management effectively.

He also denied former chair John Walter Jones was bullied into resigning.

Mr Tomos told the official inquiry into S4C that the authority had unsuccessfully demanded information from the channel’s board of directors on several occasions.

A corporate governance review carried out by its in-house auditors early this year recommended a fundamental change in the way decisions were taken.

In July this year, the authority decided to make the changes but the S4C management board wanted to continue with a system that separated day-to-day management from the governing body.

Mr Tomos told the committee at Westminster: “There was therefore a total impasse because we didn’t feel our scrutiny role was being carried out in an effective way.

“One of the casualties, yes, of that decision was that the chief executive – her employment was terminated.”

“”The authority tried to demand information on several occasions but unfortunately it didn’t happen, it just didn’t happen”

Rheon Tomos Vice-chair of S4C authority

He said S4C management were not providing the authority with sufficient assurances in the conduct of its scrutiny role.

“The authority tried to demand information on several occasions but unfortunately it didn’t happen, it just didn’t happen.”

Mr Tomos said Iona Jones was sacked by a majority vote of the authority.

Arwel Ellis Owen, the interim chief executive, denied that he was in the S4C building at the time of Ms Jones’s sacking.

Solicitors advised the authority not to comment on the decision to sack Ms Jones.

Mr Tomos also admitted that there had been discussions between John Walter Jones and other members of the board before his resignation but denied that he bullied him out.

John Walter JonesJohn Walter Jones was not bullied out, according to Mr Tomos

Giving evidence, Mr Tomos said that Mr Jones “had undermined his position as chairman through his actions”, adding that his resignation “gave us far greater clarity moving forward”.

However Vale of Glamorgan MP Alun Cairns challenged Mr Tomos’s view and said that Mr Tomos had publicly appealed for Mr Jones to go on the CF99 programme.

Referring to the confusion over Mr Jones’s initial resignation at a meeting of the authority, Mr Tomos said that John Walter Jones informed the authority that it was his intention to leave immediately.

However he explained that when he got up the next morning “it was a bit of a shock” to hear in the press that the chairman had changed his mind and was informing press that he was continuing as chairman.

Mr Owen also gave evidence to the committee and denied accusations made in a previous committee meeting that the organisation was “bloated”.

He said that this was not a term he understood and in fact S4C was “a very lean and mean operation”.

Discussing the relationship with the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS), Mr Owen said that despite weekly contact with civil servants, the first he heard about the cuts to the funding of S4C was on BBC Radio 4 while travelling down the M4.

He added that they initiated the judicial review because S4C “were not consulted, were not informed” when the deal was struck with the BBC.

Mr Owen informed the committee that the judicial review will remain in place until the meetings between DCMS, S4C and BBC begin.

That meeting is due to start at 1600 GMT on Tuesday, and according to Mr Owen once that meeting starts “the judicial review will cease to exist”.

Mr Owen said that two previous meetings had been cancelled for unknown reasons but stressed that “we are very hopeful we can come to an agreement”.

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

Swine flu cases at city school

The Cathedral School, Llandaff, CardiffThere are 650 pupils at the Cathedral School in Cardiff
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Health officials are investigating a high number of cases of flu, including swine flu, at a school in Cardiff.

More than 120 cases of sickness absence have been recorded at the independent Llandaff Cathedral School in the last two weeks.

Headmaster Stephen Morris said there was a “high number” of pupils ill.

Of a sample of six tested, three were confirmed as having the H1N1 – or swine flu – virus. However, health officials stressed there was no need to panic.

“Over 120 cases of sickness absence have been recorded in the school in the last two weeks, not all of which are associated with influenza like illness,” added Mr Morris.

Public Health Wales is investigating the illness at the mixed school which has 650 pupils and caters for students aged three to 18.

BASIC HYGIENE ADVICECover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, using a tissue when possibleDispose of dirty tissues promptly and carefullyMaintain good basic hygiene, for example washing hands frequently with soap and waterClean hard surfaces (e.g. door handles) frequently using a normal cleaning productSource: Public Health Wales

Dr Gwen Lowe, consultant in communicable disease control, said: “In order to prevent further spread of this illness parents should not send their children to school if symptomatic, and keep them away until recovered.

“Symptomatic individuals should also be excluded from school attendance for any other events including cathedral services, concerts and other performances.”

Laboratory testing were conducted on a sample of cases associated with the school.

These tests confirm that Influenza A (H1N1), also known as swine flu, is circulating in the school.

Health officials said there was no need to panic. Doctors now have vaccines for swine flu and anyone particularly vulnerable can get treated, and swine flu was one of the illnesses currently spreading around Wales.

There are no other known clusters and there have been no deaths they are aware of at this time.

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

Man, 81, jailed for rape attempt

Cyril Hewitt arrives at courtOdd job man Cyril Hewitt has a previous conviction for a sexual offence in 1946
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An 81-year-old man from Bedfordshire who admitted attempting to rape a 92-year-old woman in her home in 2000 has been jailed for five-and-a-half-years.

Cyril Hewitt, of Hawthorn Way, Silsoe, was 70 when he attacked the woman – who died in November 2005.

Odd job man Hewitt had a previous conviction for a sexual offence in 1946, Luton Crown Court heard.

He was identified after DNA was re-examined in a cold case review.

The attack happened at the woman’s flat in Ampthill, Bedfordshire on 7 January, 2000.

Prosecutor Camilla De Silva said Hewitt’s estranged wife knew his victim did jobs for her.

During the attempted rape Hewitt left DNA at the scene.

His victim was unable to identify her attacker and Hewitt was not asked for a DNA sample at the time.

But there was a suspicion that the attacker knew the lay out of the flat.

It was this that led to him being asked to give a sample for analysis in 2009.

Christopher Strachan, defending said: “This is not an easy case to sentence. He is in poor health, he has a heart condition and poor eyesight and old age itself can be a mitigating factor.

“He probably does not have many years left.”

Hewitt, who had a conviction for a previous sexual offence in 1946, must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

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