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Nobel ‘not a prize against China’

Poster of Liu Xiaobo at Oslo ceremony venueThe Nobel committee says the award is about universal human rights

The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to an imprisoned Chinese dissident is not an attempt to enforce Western values on China, organisers say.

The award to Liu Xiaobo was about universal human rights and “honouring people in China”, Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said.

Beijing has said nations which attend Friday’s award ceremony in Oslo will be showing disrespect to China.

At least 18 nations are set to boycott the ceremony.

Liu Xiaobo, 54, was a key leader in the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.

Last year he received an 11-year sentence for “inciting subversion”. The Nobel Foundation has praised Mr Liu for his “long and non-violent struggle”.

After Thursday saw China stepped up its campaign to try to discredit the Nobel Committee, Mr Jagland insisted the award was “not a prize against China. This is a prize honouring people in China”.

He said: “This is not a protest, it is a signal to China that it would be very important for China’s future to combine economic development with political reforms and support for those in China fighting for basic human rights.

“This prize conveys the understanding that these are universal rights and universal values, they are not Western standards.”

Countries boycotting Nobel ceremonyChina, Vietnam, the Philippines, KazakhstanRussia, SerbiaVenezuela, CubaTunisia, Morocco, SudanSaudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, EgyptPakistan, Afghanistan, Sri LankaWho is staying away? Media reaction to Nobel row

Mr Jagland said all members of the United Nations had signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and they had “certain obligations because of this”.

He said Mr Liu’s empty chair at the awards ceremony in the Norwegian capital on Friday would be “a very strong symbol [that] shows how appropriate this prize was”.

It will be the first time since 1936 that the prize, now worth $1.5m, will not be handed out.

Burmese Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi has expressed solidarity with Mr Liu, saying that as one human being to another she would like to hold out a hand of sympathy.

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay on Thursday again called for Mr Liu to be released “as soon as possible”.

China’s foreign ministry called on countries to boycott the ceremony.

Spokeswoman Jiang Yu said: “We hope those countries that have received the invitation can tell right from wrong.”

At least 18 nations are set to boycott the event. Ukraine, which had earlier declined an invitation, will now attend, the Nobel Committee said.

However, it is thought Algeria will not attend. The attendance of Argentina is also in doubt.

Amnesty International accused China of pressuring members of Norway’s Chinese community to join protests on Friday against the awards ceremony.

China’s foreign ministry insisted Mr Liu had not been convicted only for his calls for more democracy but had actively tried to subvert state power.

Earlier this week, Ms Jiang referred to the members of the Nobel committee as “clowns”, and accused them of orchestrating an “anti-China fuss”.

Separately in Beijing, a group of academics has awarded the first Confucius Peace Prize to Taiwan’s former vice-president Lien Chan for brokering warmer ties between Beijing and Taipei.

The head of the prize jury, Tan Changliu, a professor at Beijing Normal University, said the award had planned for “a long time” and denied it was a stunt.

Meanwhile, the BBC website appears to have been blocked in China.

Users in several parts of the country have reported that they are unable to access the BBC’s internet site and the BBC has noticed a steep drop in traffic from China.

It is the first time the BBC’s English-language website has been blocked since the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Access to other international news sites such as CNN also appears to be blocked.

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

Students block city centre road

Danny KennedyDanny Kennedy said third level fees are “likely” to rise in Northern Ireland

Third level tuition fees in Northern Ireland are “likely” to rise, according to the new Minister for Employment and Learning.

Danny Kennedy said the outcome of a vote in Westminster on plans to increase fees in England to £9,000 a year will have a knock-on effect for Northern Ireland.

He added: “I think my instinct is that it is likely there will be an increase to the tuition fees and I have been warning of that for sometime.

“But the situation is not entirely clear.”

A review of student finance has already concluded that NI fees should remain at current levels. However, Mr Kennedy said this is now being looked at.

He added: “I have asked Joanne Stewart to update her report on student tuition fees as they apply in Northern Ireland in the light of the Brown report.

“I am awaiting the outcome of that.”

All of Northern Ireland’s MPs are expected to vote against the rise in fees in the House of Commons on Thursday but the coalition is expected to win the ballot.

Although the proposals deal specifically with universities in England, politicians have warned this will affect thousands of Northern Ireland students who study there.

Assembly ministers will also have to decide if they plan to follow suit and increase fees across Northern Ireland.

While Mr Kennedy admitted this is “likely”, he said he cannot make a final decision without a budget and hit out at Sinn Fein for holding things up.

He added: “Northern Ireland needs a budget. I do not know how much money my department will have particularly in respect of tuition fees.

“It is vitally important that the party that is holding up this process up of getting a budget, remove their blockages and bring forward a budget so that the Northern Ireland departments, the Northern Ireland ministers and the Northern Ireland people can be made aware as to the implications of the current economic problems we face.”

He denied claims that he has resigned himself to the fact that tuition fees will have to rise but admitted if his budget is cut then it is a “real possibility”.

“The process is and will be, that the executive will take the final decision on this and refer it to the Assembly for endorsement so everyone will share in this,” he said.

“While we are interested in the outcome of the Westminster vote later today and what is happening in Scotland and Wales, we have an real opportunity to create conditions in Northern Ireland and bring forward a Northern Ireland made solution.

“A solution that protects our students and makes it possible that students can obtain places, not on the basis of paying money but on the basis of having the ability to earn.”

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

Freezing conditions hit supplies

A man walks past a sign at a petrol station which reads "Sorry No Diesel" in PeeblesFuel shortages have been reported at some petrol stations
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A third of Scottish garage forecourts have been closed after they were unable to receive fuel supplies.

Brian Madderson, chairman of RMI Petrol, which represents 6,000 independent forecourts in the UK, said 300 out of 900 were shut.

He said this was not due to a shortage but was a supply chain problem.

Meanwhile, soldiers will be on the streets of Edinburgh helping to clear up after major snowfalls as Scotland continues to battle the big freeze.

The Army has been given formal clearance by the Ministry of Defence after a request from the city council.

The National Farmers Union said milk collection in some parts of the country was now a major issue, with many dairy farmers having to dispose of milk in recent days.

Meanwhile, some schools are set to shut for a fourth day this week.

East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire all have blanket closures.

Thursday is set to have a cold, icy start, with freezing fog, but temperatures will slowly creep up above freezing.

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

Man held over politician’s murder

Dr Imran FarooqDr Farooq had lived in London for 10 years

A man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of a Pakistani politician stabbed to death in north London.

Dr Imran Farooq, 50, a senior member of the MQM party who had been in London since 1999, was stabbed in Green Lane in Edgware on 16 September.

Officers arrested the 34-year-old man in Camden at 1000 GMT. He has also been held on suspicion of a robbery in October 2009.

In October police found a kitchen knife and brick used in the stabbing attack.

The arrested man remains in police custody in north London, the Metropolitan Police said.

Dr Farooq, who was attacked on his way home, was found with stab wounds and head injuries.

Dr Imran Farooq's funeral in Karachi, PakistanThousands of people attended Dr Farooq’s funeral

Police, who had issued an e-fit of a suspect, said they still wanted to speak to two men of Asian appearance in connection with the fatal attack.

Following the murder, Raza Haroon, a member of the MQM (Muttahida Qaumi Movement) central co-ordination committee, said Dr Farooq – who was living in exile in London – had sought asylum in the UK as he was under “threat”.

Tens of thousands of mourners attended Dr Farooq’s funeral held in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, in November.

Dr Farooq, who was married with two sons, was buried in a graveyard close to the party’s headquarters.

Violence broke out in Karachi following his death.

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

Croat ex-PM leaves amid inquiry

Ivo Sanader in office as Croatian prime minister (image from 2006)Mr Sanader is now an independent MP
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Police in Croatia say former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader has left the country as MPs prepare to vote on removing his immunity from prosecution.

Parliament’s immunity commission is due to take a vote as early as Thursday after a request from prosecutors, commission spokesman Arsen Bauk said.

A corruption inquiry is focusing on officials from the ruling HDZ party who were in office under Mr Sanader.

Brussels has put pressure on EU hopeful Croatia to stamp out corruption.

Mr Sanader stepped down as prime minister in July of last year in a surprise move and was expelled from the HDZ in January.

As an independent MP, he still enjoys immunity from prosecution.

A police spokesman was quoted as saying that the former prime minister had crossed into Slovenia on Thursday and police had no legal reason to stop him.

Media reports said he had Austrian citizenship.

“The request for lifting Sanader’s immunity has arrived, after which the relevant court will decide on his possible detention,” Mr Bauk said without giving further details.

On Monday, former Defence Minister Berislav Roncevic, who served in Mr Sanader’s cabinet in 2003-07, was sentenced to five years in prison for corruption on Monday.

Since Mr Sanader’s departure from office, a dozen managers of banks and state companies have been arrested for corruption but in most cases indictments are still pending, Reuters news agency reports.

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

Jail for pregnant woman attacker

A man given a suspended sentence for repeatedly kicking his pregnant girlfriend in the head has been jailed for four years after an appeal.

The Court of Appeal ruled the sentence imposed on Matthias Dawson, 29, was “significantly unduly lenient”.

The woman had a miscarriage soon after the attack at Kings College Hospital in south London in June 2006.

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, ordered Dawson, who was not in court, to surrender to a police station.

The appeal court heard that doctors could not establish whether the miscarriage suffered by Dawson’s girlfriend – who was 20 at the time – was as a result of the attack.

Dawson was given a 12-month suspended sentence in August after admitting GBH with intent at Inner London Crown Court.

The appeal against the sentence was brought by the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve QC – the first time he has taken such action since taking office in May.

Following the ruling a statement from the attorney general’s office said justice had been done.

It said: “Matthias Dawson carried out a brutal assault on this young woman, and were it not for public spirited individuals who intervened, the consequences of his actions might have been even more serious.

“I am pleased that the Court of Appeal has quashed his original 12-month suspended sentence and replaced it with one of four years imprisonment.”

Lord Judge ordered Dawson to surrender to police by 1630 GMT.

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

EU cash question over wealth gap

European flagDecisions about European funding from 2014 have yet to be made
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Wales may qualify for the highest level of European funding for the third time, according to new figures measuring the wealth of the nation.

Provisional statistics from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) suggest Wales will fail to reach 75% of the average UK figure.

The 2009 statistics suggest the gross valued added (GVA) figure per head for Wales is 74.3%.

Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan called it “hugely disappointing”,

Ms Gillan said the figures, which were released on Wednesday, “show that under the final year of the previous government Wales was still the poorest part of the UK and the prosperity gap with the rest of the UK is widening”.

“The prosperity level in Wales is now below what it was when the Welsh assembly was created in 1999 and is significantly below the level it was at in 1989 under the last Conservative government.

“This coalition government will continue to work with the Welsh Assembly to take direct action to restore business confidence”

Cheryl Gillan Welsh Secretary

She added the “figures show the scale of the task in front of us to turn the Welsh economy around and will only harden our resolve to tackle this stark prosperity gap between Wales and the rest of the UK”.

“This coalition government will continue to work with the Welsh assembly to take direct action to restore business confidence, encourage more private sector growth and inward investment into Wales,” she said.

Whilst decisions about regional EU funding for 2014 onwards have yet to be made, it’s likely that qualification for the next round of aid would depend on GVA statistics for a three year period such as 2007 to 2009.

The GVA for Wales in 2007 was 74.6%, 74.1% in 2008 and 74.3% in 2009 – giving an average in the region of 74.3%.

If this level of GVA continues, then it is conceivable that the poorest regions of Wales would qualify for the highest level of aid again.

This is despite the investment of billions of pounds of European funding in the poorest parts of Wales since 1999.

About £3bn in Objective 1 European funding was received in 1999 to 2006 and another £2bin in convergence funding from 2007 to 2013.

The ONS statistics reveal that west Wales and the valleys – which benefited from both types of European funding – has the lowest GVA per head of all the comparable regions in the UK.

GVA per head in 2008 was just £12,860 – which is 62.6% of the UK average.

This is likely to lead to further questions about the way in which European funding has been spent in Wales over the last decade.

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

John Lennon: Where you were

John LennonJohn Lennon’s death prompted radio stations to switch to rolling coverage

It’s 30 years since John Lennon was murdered in New York – an event so shocking and unexpected that many remember exactly where thet were when they heard the news.

Earlier this week, the Magazine reflected on those global news events that have become “where were you when” moments. Here are some of your accounts of where you were when you heard about John Lennon’s death.

“I was 10 and we filed in to school assembly with “All You Need is Love” being played. One of the teachers, Mrs Jackson, was crying. She was the teacher that organised the choir and all the school productions and had grown up the 60s. She told us what had happened and how the music we were listening to was all influenced by John Lennon. I remember it so vividly – you never saw teachers cry.” Cogsi

I was driving a taxi in New York City when I heard the news over the radio. I immediately drove to Roosevelt Hospital where I arrived in time to hear of John’s death, as a physician announced that Yoko had left the grounds. Reporters and others groaned. It was wildly out of control emotionally for one and all. Outside the sadness was palpable… the disorientation in the air very real.” Richard Oxman

“I was 18 years old and in my senior year of high school. I was at the kitchen table doing homework when the network broke into regular programming with the news of Lennon being murdered; I was so distraught my mother had to call the school the next morning to let them know I wouldn’t be in. When she gave the reason, they were a bit confused by ‘John Lennon’s dead!’ but they let it go as excused.” MnDina

“I was in my first term at Oxford and was up very early studying for a History exam I had that day. When I went to breakfast in the college dining hall I told a fellow examinee the news. I had not realised that Lennon was his idol. He failed, reputedly only writing ‘John Lennon is dead’ at the top of his paper. I did rather well. He later went on to a successful career as an academic. I did not.” Niloc

“John Lennon has played a major part in my life and still does today. At the time of his death I was working on the record counter at WHSmith in Church Street, Liverpool, and I can still remember my mother waking me up early because the manager of the store had phoned to say all staff had to report to work as soon as possible due to the amount of customers already there! Lennon still is my hero.” TRFC

“I was driving on a busy street in Toronto. It was about 11pm and I was with a friend with whom I had originally bonded due to our shared passion for John Lennon. When I turned on the radio, the announcer said: ‘This is a night you will remember all your lives – this is the night John Lennon died.’ I burst into tears. My friend started screaming. I pulled the car over and we just sat and wept.” Carolyn

“I was 13 and got in from my paper run around 7.45am to be told by my mother. Our teachers seemed shocked, one of their heroes and their generation was gone. When I saw my father’s tears, watching the evening news, the depth of it all really hit home. The anniversary brings back the senselessness. My generation’s JFK moment, especially as we’d been taught the songs from birth.” Ok12comp

“I was 17 and staying at New College, Oxford being interviewed for a place to read PPE. I remember hearing John Lennon music being played all night by the few students who were still in residence, and feeling very connected to these invisible people because my family were passionate Beatles fans, and played their music constantly. It was a memorable day – I felt that I had suddenly grown up.” Kate Bristow

“I was working at Astor Wines in Greenwich Village, NYC. Still a student at NYU. I remember I was pricing the wine bottles in the cellar when the radio announced his shooting. We all stopped what we were doing and looked at each other in shock. No one was able to continue working that evening. We closed the store early and some of us headed up to the Dakota for the vigil. We all loved John so much!” JorgeI

“I was 23 and living in a house in Surrey with three guys. I was lying in bed, when the first one up that morning heard the news on the radio and told the rest of us. We were all big music fans and we decided immediately not to go to work that day. We sat around playing John’s music all day. As three of us worked at same place we had some explaining to do, but it was a day I’ll never forget.” lennybang

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

Call of Duty cyber attack arrest

Call of Duty: Black OpsThe cyber attack affected online players of Call of Duty

A teenager has been arrested in connection with a cyber attack which put the online version of the computer game Call of Duty out of action.

The 17-year-old was arrested in the Beswick area of Manchester by the Metropolitan Police’s central e-crime unit earlier.

It followed a “denial of service” attack, which saw large numbers of people unable to play the game online.

Games company Activision contacted police in September this year.

Denial of service attacks are aimed at making websites unusable.

The attack was facilitated via a malicious programme called “Phenom Booter”, which was also being offered for sale on a web forum which allowed those playing Call of Duty to score more points while stopping other people playing the game.

Detectives established that the server was hosted within the UK and further investigation traced the IP address more specifically to the Greater Manchester area.

The teenager, arrested on suspicion of offences under the Computer Misuse Act, is currently in police custody.

Det Insp Paul Hoare said: “Online gaming is a major retail sector with millions of titles being sold in the run-up to Christmas worldwide.

“Programmes marketed in order to disrupt the online infrastructure not only affect individual players but have commercial and reputational consequences for the companies concerned.

“These games attract both children and young people to the online environment and this type of crime can often be the precursor to further offending in more traditional areas of online crime.”

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

Latin America drug laws ‘failure’

Women inmates at a prison in Ecuador (file)An increasing number of women are imprisoned for drug offences, many of them single mothers
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Drug laws in eight Latin American countries have exacerbated their prison overcrowding problems and failed to curb trafficking, a study says.

The Transnational Institute and the Washington Office on Latin America say most of those convicted are not high or medium-level drug traffickers.

Imprisoning minor offenders is “useless”, as they are easily replaced by the bosses at the top, they warn.

But for most of those locked up, they add, “prison can destroy their lives”.

On Wednesday, a fire at an overcrowded prison in Chile killed more than 80 inmates.

Officials said the blaze at the San Miguel jail in the capital, Santiago, was started deliberately during a fight between rival gangs.

President Sebastian Pinera has promised to end overcrowding, calling the current system “absolutely inhumane”. Officials say there are 24,000 more inmates than places in Chile’s prisons.

Prison overcrowding is widespread in Latin America and the study by the TNI and WOLA – covering Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay – draws a link between the problem and counter-narcotics policies.

“The drug laws impose penalties disproportionate to many of the drug offences committed, do not give sufficient consideration to the use of alternative sanctions, and promote the excessive use of preventive detention,” it says.

“Many drug users end up in jail – even when their country’s law does not provide for imprisonment of users – as they are taken for dealers”

Pien Metaal Transnational Institute

The report also says that those who are incarcerated tend to “occupy the lowest links in the chain”, such as users caught with small amounts of drugs and street-level dealers.

These laws have overcrowded the prisons – with a high human cost – but have not curbed the production, trafficking, or use of drugs, it argues.

“Imprisoning minor offenders to restrict drug trafficking is useless, for the next day the bosses at the top replace them. But for the persons locked up, prison can destroy their lives,” said Pien Metaal, co-ordinator of TNI’s drug law reform project.

“The criminal law approach to these persons also swamps the systems of administration of justice, thereby negatively impacting society as a whole,” she added.

The study concludes that those charged with and convicted of drug offences are often denied penalties that constitute alternatives to imprisonment.

And in most of the countries the severity of the sentences is grossly disproportionate to the crime, it says. In Ecuador, a low-level drug transporter, or “mule” may receive a longer prison sentence than a murderer.

“Many drug users end up in jail – even when their country’s law does not provide for imprisonment of users – as they are taken for dealers,” Ms Metaal said.

“To re-establish proportionality in sentencing, it is important that the authorities introduce clearer guidelines to identify the different levels of trafficking and the different types of drugs and to keep users from ending up in prison.”

Those imprisoned typically come from the most vulnerable sectors of society – those with little formal education, low incomes, and limited opportunities – and include an increasing number of women, many of them single and poor mothers.

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