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Sri Lanka declares war on wheat

Sri Lanka woman behind rice stockpileThe government is urging people to use rice and wheat flour to make bread

Some 2,000 bakers across Sri Lanka have been forced to close their businesses, the industry says.

The closures come as the government campaigns against the consumption of products based on wheat flour.

Eighteen months after defeating Tamil Tiger militants, the government seems to be intensifying its struggle against an unlikely enemy.

In recent days it has been banning wheat products from various public institutions.

Nationalistic elements of the governing coalition even speak of “wheat terrorism”.

Wheat products enjoy great popularity in Sri Lanka – whether it is the rotis, widely eaten with curry, or breads, cakes and savoury pastries which are common here.

Now, though, wheat products have been removed from government hospitals, and fast foods – many made of wheat – have been banned from schools.

The government has also slashed a subsidy it used to apply to the wheat price.

It says this is because wheat is a foreign import, alien to an essentially rice-eating society and costly for its economy.

Opposition politicians like Sunil Handunetti accuse it of piling on the misery as food prices rise in general – and they object to the rhetoric the government is using.

“The cost of living is shooting up,” he said.

“They’ve put up the milk powder price and increased the bread price four times. They even labelled bread-eaters as terrorists.”

All Ceylon Bakery Owners’ Association President NK Jayawardena, told the Colombo-based Sunday Times newspaper that hundreds of people who depended on the bakery industry, including bakers, have lost their jobs.

The National Freedom Front, one of the government parties, is leading the anti-wheat campaign.

The strongly nationalist faction says wheat is part of a “conspiracy” by multinational companies to undermine Sri Lanka’s food security.

It is urging bakers to use wheat flour and rice flour in making bread – something bakers say is difficult to do.

The government also says phasing out wheat-based products will lead to healthier diets.

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

Banks have to lend again – Foster

Arlene FosterEnterprise Minister Arlene Foster has accused banks of undermining economic confidence
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The Enterprise Minister, Arlene Foster, has called on banks to help the economy by starting to lend to NI businesses.

The minister was answering questions in the assembly about reports published by banks on the NI economy.

Responding to a question from DUP MLA Jonathan Bell, the minister said she was “fed up” with economists predicting weak performance.

“It is about time they (the banks) helped the Executive and the whole of the NI economy”, she said.

On Monday a report published by the Ulster Bank said that October saw the sharpest decline in business activity in NI for three months.

The report stated that NI saw the fastest rate of decline in new orders of all the UK regions in each of the last 20 months.

Meanwhile Northern Bank was more upbeat in its latest assessment on Friday, forecasting annual growth of 1% this year, rising to 1.8% next year.

Ms Foster said it was “very difficult and confusing” for businesses hearing “conflicting evidence”.

“It does frustrate me when I hear banks talking about the lack of confidence in the small to medium size enterprises throughout NI.

“Well who is causing that lack of confidence, it is the banks causing that lack of confidence.”

The minister said it was time that banks helped the Executive and the economy by starting to lend money.

Commenting on the Ulster Bank’s report, the bank’s chief economist for NI, Richard Ramsey, said: “Whilst the October survey saw the UK post its strongest rate of growth in three months, Northern Ireland’s private sector firms reported their sharpest rate of decline over the same period.

“This highlights that the two economies continue to move in opposite directions.

“To date, there has been only one month during the last 35 months when Northern Ireland firms have not posted a fall in business output.”

He said manufacturing remained the only sector continuing to report growth in Northern Ireland.

On Friday Northern Bank reported that people staying at home rather than going on holiday was helping to boost the local economy.

Hospitality as well as manufacturing, agriculture and retail are all still growing despite a weak recovery overall, the report added.

Following the publication of the “Quarterly Sectoral Forecasts” report, Ms McGowan said that rebalancing the economy from public to private sector growth is “no longer an aspiration, but a necessity”.

The report said that 2.5% growth in manufacturing was a scale of growth not seen since 2005, with 700 new jobs created.

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

Whitehall website ‘a revolution’

A website where government departments’ business plans set out their policies and timetables for achieving them is being launched.

Prime Minister David Cameron said it would be a move towards greater transparency in Whitehall.

Analysis

The government’s business plans have been given an awfully big political build-up. In the prime minister’s words they represent “a power shift” from government and “one of the biggest blows for people power”.

But haven’t we been here many times before? First, we had John Major’s much mocked Citizen’s Charter, then Labour’s Public Service Agreements and only this summer the coalition launched a series of Structural Reform Plans.

Government sources say the difference between the coalition’s approach and that of previous governments is targets.

The business plans don’t contain targets. Instead they have timelines and milestones.

What’s the difference? Government officials say milestones empower the public to assess what progress has been achieved. Targets are Whitehall-imposed.

Somehow, one suspects, it is a difference that may still elude many.

He describes the move as a “power shift”, giving people enough information to hold government to account.

Plans for the website were first outlined in July.

Mr Cameron said at the time that the idea was to bring all the data together in a single website.

Each department will have to produce a monthly progress report – and the secretary of state will have to account to the prime minister if they are not on track.

The government dismisses suggestions that Labour had a similar scheme, with its widespread use of published targets. They say their approach is democratic while Labour’s was bureaucratic.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander told the BBC: “All departments in previous governments have had plans for what they are going to do.

“The difference is that we’re making our plans public, so that the public can see how we intend to go about our business, what we intend to do in any department, any area that people are interested in.

“It’s about transparency, it’s about giving the public the chance to really scrutinise government, not just once every five years at election time but step by step on each of the policies that people care about and want to see, they’ll be able to hold us to account.”

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

Collider produces ‘mini-Big Bang’

One of the lead-ion collisions, as seen by the ALICE experimentOne of the lead-ion collisions, as seen by the ALICE experiment
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The Large Hadron Collider has successfully created a “mini-Big Bang” by smashing together lead ions instead of protons.

The scientists working at the enormous machine on Franco-Swiss border achieved the unique conditions on 7 November.

The experiment created temperatures a million times hotter than the centre of the Sun.

The LHC is housed in a 27km-long circular tunnel under the French-Swiss border near Geneva.

Up until now, the world’s highest-energy particle accelerator – which is run by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (Cern) – has been colliding protons, in a bid to uncover mysteries of the Universe’s formation.

Proton collisions could help spot the elusive Higgs boson particle and signs of new physical laws, such as a framework called supersymmetry.

But for the next four weeks, scientists at the LHC will concentrate on analysing the data obtained from the lead ion collisions.

This way, they hope to learn more about the plasma the Universe was made of a millionth of a second after the Big Bang, 13.7 billion years ago.

One of the accelerator’s experiments, ALICE, has been specifically designed to smash together lead ions, but the ATLAS and Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiments have also switched to the new mode.

‘Strong force’

David Evans from the University of Birmingham, UK, is one of the researchers working at ALICE.

He said that the collisions obtained were able to generate the highest temperatures and densities ever produced in an experiment.

“We are thrilled with the achievement,” said Dr Evans.

ALICE experiment, CERNThe ALICE experiment has been designed specifically for lead ion collisions

“This process took place in a safe, controlled environment, generating incredibly hot and dense sub-atomic fireballs with temperatures of over ten trillion degrees, a million times hotter than the centre of the Sun.

“At these temperatures even protons and neutrons, which make up the nuclei of atoms, melt resulting in a hot dense soup of quarks and gluons known as a quark-gluon plasma.”

Quarks and gluons are sub-atomic particles – some of the building blocks of matter. In the state known as quark-gluon plasma, they are freed of their attraction to one another. This plasma is believed to have existed just after the Big Bang.

He explained that by studying the plasma, physicists hoped to learn more about the so-called strong force – the force that binds the nuclei of atoms together and that is responsible for 98% of their mass.

After the LHC finishes colliding lead ions, it will go back to smashing together protons once again.

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

Obama backs India’s UN seat bid

President Barack Obama addresses India's parliament in Delhi on 8 November 2010President Obama’s remarks will delight India, which has long lobbied for a seat at the UN’s top table

President Barack Obama has backed India’s ambition for permanent membership of the UN Security Council.

In an address to India’s parliament at the end of a three-day visit, Mr Obama lavishly praised India’s development.

His remarks will delight India, which has been lobbying for a seat at the UN’s top table for years.

Analysts say it does not mean India will get a seat on the Security Council immediately; the unspecified reforms Mr Obama mentioned could take years.

Mr Obama also said the Washington-Delhi relationship would be one of this century’s defining partnerships.

He was applauded as he told dignitaries: “As two global leaders, the United States and India can partner for global security – especially as India serves on the Security Council over the next two years.

“Indeed the just and sustainable international order that America seeks includes a United Nations that is efficient, effective, credible and legitimate.

“And that is why I can say today, in the years ahead, I look forward to a reformed United Nations Security Council that includes India as a permanent member.”

The US president is next due to visit Indonesia, South Korea and Japan on a 10-day Asian tour designed to boost US exports.

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

Hilton ‘kept black staff in back’

Comedian Richard Blackwood and his mother Juliette GiscombeJuliette Giscombe had worked at the central London hotel for 10 years

Comedian Richard Blackwood’s mother has accused a top London hotel of recruiting black members of staff for back-room roles only.

Juliette Giscombe was giving evidence at an employment tribunal in which she is claiming racial discrimination by the Hilton chain.

She is also claiming constructive dismissal from her job of 10 years as a telephonist at the Park Lane branch.

The 57-year-old said the conditions resulted in her being signed off sick.

Mrs Giscombe, from Streatham, told the hearing in London she was ignored for promotion and that black members of staff were deliberately not put in positions where they would be visible to the public.

She said: “My observation of my time there was that the respondents did not recruit black staff to the front-of-house positions where they would be visible to the public.

“During the period of time I was complaining, there were no senior black members of staff in front-of-house positions.”

She acknowledged this had since changed, but said she had been signed off work for months with depression and ill health as a result of the working conditions.

Mrs Giscombe also claimed another member of staff had “used abusive language” towards her.

The tribunal continues.

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

Bush decision ‘angered Cheney’

Former Presidents George W Bush and George HW BushMr Bush threw out the first pitch at a World Series game last month, but has largely kept a low profile since leaving office
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George W Bush had a falling-out with Dick Cheney over Mr Bush’s refusal to pardon the vice-president’s top aide in a spy-outing scandal, Mr Bush has said.

Libby was convicted of perjury and obstruction in a probe into the leaking of CIA spy Valerie Plame’s identity.

Mr Bush told NBC News his decision at the end of his presidency merely to spare Libby a prison sentence rather than pardon him angered Mr Cheney.

But, in a interview to promote a book, he said the friendship had recovered.

“We are friends today,” Mr Bush said. “I was a little concerned at the time. It was a hard decision at the time but that’s what you do when you’re president, you make hard decisions.”

Lewis Libby, also known by his nickname, “Scooter” Libby, was found guilty in March 2007 in the case connected to Mr Bush’s decision to invade Iraq. He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison and a $250,000 (£155,077) fine. Mr Bush said the prison sentence was excessive and commuted it.

Libby’s trial stemmed from the accusation that the White House had illegally made public the identity of Ms Plame, a serving CIA agent, in an effort to embarrass her husband Joseph Wilson.

Mr Wilson was a diplomat who had publicly challenged the White House’s claim that Saddam Hussein had sought uranium from Niger in Africa.

Libby was found to have lied to investigators about conversations where he mentioned Ms Plame but he was not convicted of having directly leaked her name.

In clips from a wide-ranging interview in advance of the publication this week of Mr Bush’s memoir Decision Points, the former president also discussed his widely-reported decision to give up drinking at his 40th birthday.

“I didn’t like the person I was,” he said, noting his preference for beer, martini and bourbon. “I was a drinker. Now, I wasn’t a knee-walking drunk.”

Mr Bush agreed with interviewer Matt Lauer’s suggestion that he was a “habitual drinker” rather than an alcoholic.

“In either case alcohol becomes central to your life,” he said, “and I finally woke up and I realised that if I did not want to live a life where alcohol was central.”

Mr Bush credits the decision to give up drinking with his success in life, including winning the presidency in 2000.

According to advance excerpts from Decision Points, Mr Bush describes a “sickening feeling” about the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and reveals he briefly considered replacing Mr Cheney ahead of his 2004 re-election bid.

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

Anglican bishops join Catholics

The VaticanThe Vatican has invited disaffected Anglican bishops to join the Catholic Church
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Five bishops are to join the Roman Catholic Church under a Vatican scheme intended to provide a welcome for disaffected Anglicans.

The move was announced by the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales.

The Vatican has said groups of Anglicans could join Catholicism, but maintain a distinct religious identity.

There have been splits among Anglicans over homosexuality and the ordination of women. The Archbishop of Canterbury said the resignations were a “regret”.

The move involves three serving bishops and two retired bishops.

The serving bishops are the Rt Rev Andrew Burnham, Bishop of Ebbsfleet, the Rt Rev Keith Newton, Bishop of Richborough and the Bishop of Fulham, the Rt Rev John Broadhurst.

They will be joined by the Rt Rev Edwin Barnes, former bishop of Richborough, and the Rt Rev David Silk, former Bishop of Ballarat in Australia.

Bishops Burnham, Newton and Broadhurst were all acting as so-called flying bishops – ministering to Church of England parishes where congregations voted not to allow a woman priest to preside at services.

Bishop Broadhurst, the leader of the traditionalist organisation Forward in Faith, had already announced in October that he would become the fourth Anglican bishop to convert to Rome.

‘Devoted labours’

In a statement, the five bishops said: “We have been dismayed, over the last 30 years, to see Anglicans and Catholics move further apart on some of the issues of the day.”

They said the Vatican’s proposal was “both a generous response to various approaches to the Holy See for help and a bold, new ecumenical instrument in the search for the unity of Christians…”

The Archbishop of Canterbury said: “I have today with regret accepted the resignations of Bishops Andrew Burnham and Keith Newton who have decided that their future in Christian ministry lies in the new structures proposed by the Vatican.

“We wish them well in this next stage of their service to the Church and I am grateful to them for their faithful and devoted pastoral labours in the Church of England over many years.”

Bishop Alan Hopes, Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop in the Westminster Diocese, said the Church welcomed the decision of the five bishops

He added: “At our plenary meeting next week, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales will be exploring the establishment of the ordinariate and the warm welcome we will be extending to those who seek to be part of it.”

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

Anger as rape case woman jailed

Victim (posed by model)Rape Crisis said it ‘flies in the face of any progress’ made in dealing with victims Photo: Posed by model
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Rape charities have reacted angrily after a woman who accused her husband of rape was jailed for falsely dropping the charges.

The woman, from Powys, was given an eight-month sentence after changing her mind about pursuing prosecution.

Dyfed-Powys Police decided to investigate her for perverting the course of justice.

The End Violence Against Women Coalition said the verdict sent out a “chilling message” to rape victims.

Director Holly Dustin said it also showed parts of the criminal justice system are “still in the dark ages” when it comes to sexual violence.

And the charity Rape Crisis, which operates throughout England and Wales, said they were “outraged” a woman was being criminalised for choosing not to pursue her case.

The 28-year-old woman was jailed at Mold Crown Court on Friday.

She wept as she was led away from the dock and relatives also shouted at the judge for his decision.

During the hearing prosecutor Simon Parry told how the woman had made a 999 call to Dyfed-Powys Police in November last year claiming she had been raped six times by her husband.

But in January 2010 she told officers she wanted to drop the charges – although she still maintained they were true.

Detectives said they would continue with the prosecution and by February 11 the wife changed her mind, this time saying the original allegations were false.

She was arrested and charged with perverting the course of justice.

By July 30 she said the rape allegations were true and the retraction was false.

She told police she had been raped by her husband but he and his relatives had convinced her to drop the charges.

Judge John Rogers QC told her: “Despite all the support and time taken in the investigation you eventually made a retraction.

“I now have to deal with you because you made a false retraction.”

Her husband has since appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to rape.

Mr Parry told the court the woman had been moved to a safe refuge while police investigated. Then she attempted to withdraw the allegations.

“There was a conference between the police and CPS and in the light of the fact she said the allegations were true they said the case would go ahead,” said Mr Parry.

He said alarm bells started ringing for prosecutors when the woman admitted she and her husband had consensual sex soon after the alleged rapes.

“The crown started to worry about their case,” said Mr Parry.

Gordon Hennell, defending, said: “When she embarked on making a false retraction she did not realise the seriousness of what she was doing. She does now.

“She perverted the course of justice in relation to a series of events in which she was the victim.”

Mr Hennell said the woman had been in an abusive marriage which has now ended.

He alleged the defendant changed her mind as the result of “emotional blackmail” from her husband and his sister.

Judge Rogers said: “If you had to be dealt with for making a false allegation of rape you would be looking at a sentence of two years.

“The position has now changed but there are two aggravating features.

“One you have caused a substantial amount of wastage for the CPS and police, and two you have had to admit that retraction was false, perverting the course of justice, and for that the imposition of a prison sentence is inevitable.”

Speaking after the sentence, Ms Dustin said: “Imprisoning a woman for a ‘false retraction’ of a rape allegation sends out a chilling message that parts of the criminal justice system are still in the dark ages in relation to sexual violence and do not understand the pressure women come under from perpetrators during the legal process.

“The potential threat of prosecution makes it less likely that women will report.

“Victims of rape already have little confidence that the police and courts will treat them fairly which is why only around one in 10 report the assault to the police.

“Resources should be focused on improving the very low conviction rate of just 6% of reported cases, and ensuring that all victims have access to specialist support from a Rape Crisis Centre whether or not they choose to report.”

A spokeswoman for Rape Crisis said: “Rape Crisis are outraged that yet again a woman is being punished and criminalised for choosing not to pursue her case through the criminal justice system (CJS).

“This flies in the face of any progress that has been made in the last few years around how the CJS responds to women who have been raped.

“We are shocked that this woman has received a custodial sentence and by the length of it. It highlights a complete lack of understanding of the complexity and reality of women’s experience of violence in their lives.

“The act of making a false retraction is not an offence in its own right and we are calling for her immediate release and for an investigation into how this shocking situation has arisen.”

A spokeswoman for Dyfed-Powys Police confirmed they had investigated the case and charged a woman with perverting the course of justice after an allegation of a serious sexual assault in November 2009.

Detective Inspector Ian Andrews added: “I would like to reassure the public that Dyfed-Powys Police, in line with national requirements, treat, and will continue to treat, all allegations of sexual assaults seriously; this involves the use of specially trained officers to support victims during what is a traumatic experience.

“I would encourage victims of sexual assaults to contact the police and not suffer in silence.”

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

Warner Bros to build UK film base

Artist's impression of Warner facilitiesThe local authority recently approved plans to re-develop Leavesden
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Film-makers Warner Bros will announce plans to develop a permanent UK studio base, including a visitor centre for its movies including Harry Potter.

The complex will be built around existing facilities at Leavesden in Hertfordshire where production on all eight Harry Potter films took place.

A new area to house props and costumes from Warner films made in the UK will be constructed.

The new £100m complex is due to open in 2012.

The current workforce of 1,500 people is thought likely to be retained, while 300 additional jobs will be created.

Warner Bros is due to announce on Wednesday that its purchase of Leavesden has been finalised and confirm its plans for the site.

The proposed new visitor centre will give film fans the chance to see sets and costumes made famous in releases including Harry Potter and Batman movie The Dark Knight, also produced at Leavesden.

A range of movie production services including prosthetics, animatronics and external filming areas will be expanded under the plans.

It is also set to make Warner Bros the only Hollywood film studio to maintain a dedicated and permanent home in the UK.

Warner chief Barry Meyer said the plan “demonstrates our long-term commitment to, and confidence in, the skills and creativity of the UK film industry”.

There was recent speculation that The Hobbit movies would be produced at Leavesden until a deal was struck to retain New Zealand as a production base for the two films.

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

Sheridan friend denies ‘sell out’

Gail and Tommy SheridanMr Sheridan said the tape Mr McNeilage sold was “a phoney”
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Tommy Sheridan’s best man has denied being “a grass” for selling a tape in which the former MSP allegedly confessed to visiting a sex club.

At the High Court in Glasgow, George McNeilage denied his “testimony had been bought” by the News of the World, which paid £200,000 for the tape.

Mr Sheridan and his wife Gail, both 46, deny perjury.

They are accused of lying at his successful defamation case against the News of the World in 2006.

The former Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) leader won £200,000 in damages after the newspaper printed allegations about his private life, claiming he was an adulterer who had visited a swingers club.

Following a police investigation, Mr and Mrs Sheridan were charged with perjury.

Mr McNeilage was returning to the witness box for a second day.

The jury earlier heard how he is alleged to have secretly filmed Mr Sheridan in 2004, following a story in the News of the World about an un-named MSP visiting a swingers club.

The footage claims to show Mr Sheridan confessing to visiting such a venue during a chat with Mr McNeilage at his home.

Mr McNeilage said he only released the footage after the ex-MSP called SSP members “scabs” following his win at the defamation trial.

“I knew that this would be the consequences of it all. I was not going to let you away with what you done”

George McNeilage Witness

Under questioning from Mr Sheridan, who is conducting his own defence, Mr McNeilage denied being “a grass” for selling the tape to the News of the World.

Mr McNeilage was said to have given a statement to police claiming he never handed the film over before the defamation case in 2006 as he had “never shopped anyone” before.

Mr Sheridan asked him: “You were not prepared to ‘grass’ at a the civil case, but are prepared to ‘shop’ someone for money?”

Mr McNeilage replied: “This was to clear the SSP’s name. I did not want involved at that time.”

Mr Sheridan then asked: “You do not mind being a ‘grass’ as long as you get your money?”

Mr McNeilage: “No, I knew that this would be the consequences of it all. I was not going to let you away with what you done.”

Mr Sheridan – who denied being in Mr McNeilage’s home during the filming – claimed “deceit and dishonesty” were part of the witness’s “nature’ and the money he received had undermined his testimony.

The former MSP also accused Mr McNeilage, the best man at Mr Sheridan’s wedding, of taking money “from the News of the World to send a former friend to jail” and claimed his testimony had “been bought”.

Mr McNeilage replied: “No, not at all. They were not getting that from me to go through this.”

George McNeilageMr McNeilage said the tape showed him and Mr Sheridan

Mr Sheridan said his former friend was “a dishonest and disloyal person and would say anything for your money – including lies” but Mr McNeilage replied: “My loyalty was not to you, pal.”

In earlier exchanges, the witness told Mr Sheridan that the sum he was paid was not relevant. He claimed the tape being “bona fide” was more important.

Mr Sheridan challenged Mr McNeilage over a part of the video that had been taped over.

Mr McNeilage said it was deleted because it had him “losing the plot” with the ex-MSP.

He claimed Mrs Sheridan was also mentioned as well as other people that were going to be “put through hell”.

Mr Sheridan said there may be evidence there had been “selected editing” of the film.

The former SSP leader previously alleged Mr McNeilage had worked with party colleagues Alan McCombes and Keith Baldassara in “scripting” the footage.

Mr McNeilage said: “Nonsense – you know that it is you and me, Tommy.”

Mr Sheridan suggested a segment was deleted because it “exposed the tape as a phoney”.

He went on: “Did the actor remove from the script and undermine the recording?”

Mr McNeilage replied: “Fantasy, Tommy.”

The witness also accused Mr Sheridan of abandoning the people he grew up with in the city’s Pollok area to play football with celebrity side Dukla Pumpherston.

It is alleged that Mr Sheridan made false statements as a witness in his defamation action against the News of the World on 21 July 2006.

He also denies another charge of attempting to persuade a witness to commit perjury shortly before the 23-day legal action got under way.

Mrs Sheridan denies making false statements on 31 July 2006, after being sworn in as a witness in the civil jury trial at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

The trial, before Lord Bracadale, continues.

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

George Galloway considers MSP bid

george gallowayGeorge Galloway was a Labour MP in Glasgow for more than a decade
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George Galloway is considering a return to politics by standing for a seat in the Scottish Parliament, he has revealed in his newspaper column.

The Scottish politician was the MP in London’s Bethnal Green and Bow seat until May’s general election.

In his Daily Record column he wrote that he was under “serious pressure” to be a candidate in Glasgow for the Holyrood elections in May 2011.

He said he thought securing a regional seat was possible.

Mr Galloway wrote: “I’d need 5% of the total Glasgow vote to get elected – somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 votes.

“My friends don’t think it’s beyond me. Neither do I. What about you?”

The 56-year-old politician was born in Dundee but served as a MP in the west end of Glasgow for 18 years.

He was a Labour MP until he was expelled in 2003 over his opposition to the party’s actions on Iraq.

Mr Galloway was a founder member of the anti-war Respect party and won a Commons seat in London’s east end in 2005.

He switched to a neighbouring constituency in May’s election but was defeated.

Mr Galloway is also an author, columnist and radio broadcaster, with a show on TalkSport.

He wrote in the Daily Record that the Scottish Parliament needs “heavier-weight members” if it is to develop as a real parliament “worthy of the name”.

“it needs members who might be recognised outside their own living rooms, members with principles on which they stand, come what may,” he added.

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

Painkillers ‘risky in pregnancy’

paracetamolParacetamol is currently recommended as “safe” to take in pregnancy
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Prolonged use of paracetamol and other painkillers during pregnancy may pose a health risk to baby boys, warn experts.

Research suggests the drugs increase the risk of undescended testicles in male babies, a condition linked to infertility and cancer in later life.

Doctors already advise pregnant women to avoid taking painkillers if possible to protect their unborn child.

Experts said the Human Reproduction journal findings warranted further research “as a matter of priority”.

But they reassured women that taking the occasional painkiller for a headache should not cause any harm.

Current advice from the NHS is that women should avoid taking medicines while pregnant but that paracetamol is considered safe if used in small doses for short-term pain relief.

Yet more than half of pregnant women in Europe and the US report taking mild painkillers.

“Clearly further research is needed as a matter of priority”

Dr Allan Pacey Andrology expert at Sheffield University

In this latest investigation, researchers from Denmark, Finland and France studied more than 2,000 pregnant women and their babies.

They found those women who used more than one painkiller simultaneously, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, had a seven-fold increased risk of giving birth to sons with some form of undescended testes, or cryptorchidism, compared to women who took nothing.

The second trimester – 14 to 27 weeks of pregnancy – appeared to be a particularly sensitive time.

Any analgesic use at this point in the pregnancy was linked to more than double the risk of cryptorchidism.

Of the individual painkillers, ibuprofen and aspirin use were linked with a quadrupled risk.

Painkillers in pregnancyIdeally avoid all medications when pregnantParacetamol seen as “safe” in small doses for short periods of useExperts currently say ibuprofen may be used sparingly during the second trimester to ease pain and inflammation

Paracetamol alone also appeared to raise the risk, although this result was not statistically significant.

Simultaneous use of more than one painkiller, including paracetamol, during the second trimester increased the risk 16-fold.

Taking painkillers for more than two weeks at a time also appeared to raise the risk significantly.

The researchers suspect that painkillers upset the natural balance of male hormones at work in unborn baby boys and this hinders normal development. Studies of rats back this theory.

Analysis

This large study, while interesting is not without limitations.

Of the individual painkillers, ibuprofen and aspirin approximately quadrupled the risk of cryptorchidism. Paracetamol doubled the risk, but the was not statistically significant.

This suggests that a link between paracetamol use in pregnancy and male fertility problems is not clear-cut.

Pregnant women who are alarmed by these studies should note:

It is only prolonged use that has an effect, and most women in this study who used paracetamol did not have a baby boy with cryptorchidism.

Dr Henrik Leffers, senior scientist at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, who led the research, said: “If exposure to endocrine disruptors is the mechanism behind the increasing reproductive problems among young men in the Western world, this research suggests that particular attention should be paid to the use of mild analgesics during pregnancy, as this could be a major reason for the problems.”

Despite some limitations in the study – not all of the women may have accurately recalled how often they took painkillers, for example – the researchers say their findings suggest that advice to pregnant women on analgesic use should be reconsidered.

They called for more research into the link.

Dr Allan Pacey, senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield, said: “Scientists have been concerned for some time about chemicals that the mother may be exposed to during pregnancy having the potential to cause reproductive problems in male babies.

“However, there are relatively few concrete examples and much of the work to date has been theoretical.

“That makes these studies somewhat alarming as I doubt that anyone would have suspected that common painkillers would have these effects.

“Clearly further research is needed as a matter of priority.”

Cryptorchidism affects about one in 20 boys in the UK.

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