Category: news

Kay Russell suffers from Foreign Accent Syndrome – an extremely rare neurological disorder.

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Labour leadership candidate Andy Burnham is calling for a review of the leadership election rules.

Mr Burnham says the current contest is too heavily influenced by union funding and benefits the leadership favourites.

He also wants to change how a new leader is chosen, but insists he is not criticising his rivals and will support whoever wins under the current rules.

The final hustings of the leadership campaign is due to be held at the TUC in Manchester later.

Mr Burnham intends to set out plans for a shake-up after a new leader is chosen at the party conference later in September.

He believes the contest is skewed by the advantage given to those candidates who get the backing of the big unions – which guarantees them generous funding.

Mr Burnham is also critical of the high number of nominations required for a candidate to stand – currently 12% of the Parliamentary party or 33 MPs – which he believes acts as a barrier against less-favoured candidates.

He also believes MPs should not have their votes made public, arguing it encourages them to vote for who they think is going to win rather than who they actually want to back.

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Japanese authorities have released the crew of a Chinese fishing trawler seized last week in the East China Sea, Chinese state media says.

The news comes a day after China’s top diplomat appealed to the Japanese to free the crew.

The fishing boat reportedly rammed Japanese coast guard patrol boats which had been trying to intercept it.

The incident occurred off an island closer to Taiwan than to Japan, and claimed by both Japan and China.

Xinhua, the Chinese state broadcaster, said 14 crew members had been released, but did not specifically mention the captain, who has been formally arrested by the police.

On Sunday Chinese diplomat State Councillor Dai Bingguo warned Tokyo to make a “wise political decision” over the matter.

China cancelled a series of diplomatic negotiations with Japan over oil and gas fields in the region in protest.

The Japanese had said the men could be held for 10 days while evidence about the collision was collected.

The Chinese foreign ministry said any evidence collected by Japan on the collision would be “illegal, invalid and in vain”.

The area where the Chinese trawler was seized on Tuesday is close to uninhabited islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, which are controlled by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan.

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Warnings by trade union leaders that they intend to fight the public spending cuts with a campaign of co-ordinated action lead many newspapers.

“Are we heading for another winter of discontent?” asks the Independent.

The Times says union leaders have set themselves on a collision course with the government.

Meanwhile the Guardian reports GMB union research that councils, courts, hospital trusts and police are laying off workers already.

Cuts to the Army are the Sun’s main story, in a “Betrayal of our heroes”.

It says leaked army documents reveal a plan for servicemen to be secretly selected for redundancy while fighting in Afghanistan.

The Daily Telegraph says the Pentagon has warned the government inflicting deep cuts on the armed forces could threaten the special relationship between the UK and US.

Officials are concerned cuts could widen a military power divide, it says.

The Daily Mail leads on claims of lavish expenses by executives at the Commonwealth Development Corporation.

“Sure is fun,” it says, pointing out that most people will never have heard of the organisation before.

The Guardian believes former Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin is showing signs she is ready to run for the White House in 2012.

It cites her plan to speak at a dinner in the politically crucial state of Iowa later this week as evidence.

The Independent reports the council in Lymington, Hampshire – which it says is known as “too posh for Argos” – has rejected a planning application by pubs chain JD Wetherspoons.

“Is this the snootiest place in Britain – or just the most discerning?” it asks.

Finally the Daily Express is outraged by soaring housing benefits.

It raises fears the bill will hit £30bn a year and says only radical cuts can avoid the huge burden by 2020.

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Two High Court judges are due to begin hearing evidence to decide whether former immigration minister Phil Woolas can remain an MP.

Defeated Liberal Democrat candidate Elwyn Watkins wants a re-run of May’s Oldham East and Saddleworth contest.

He claims the result was swayed by Labour campaign leaflets containing false claims about foreign donations and support from Muslim extremists.

Mr Woolas, who won with a majority of just 103 votes, denies the allegations.

He says he will “robustly defend” himself.

The case has been brought under the rarely-used section 106 of the Representation of the People Act (1983).

Under the act, anyone involved in an election who “makes or publishes any false statement of fact in relation to the candidate’s personal character or conduct” is guilty of an illegal practice – unless they can show “reasonable grounds for believing, and did believe, that statement to be true”.

On Monday, Saddleworth Civic Hall will temporarily become a election court – in the first case of its kind in 99 years – for the hearing.

Legally, the onus is on Mr Watkins to prove his case if he is to win.

If found guilty, Mr Woolas could be fined and barred from public office.

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Nelson Mandela felt so betrayed by Tony Blair’s decision to join the invasion of Iraq that he made a furious phone call to a UK minister to protest.

Labour MP Peter Hain, whose biography of the ex-South African president is published on Monday, said Mr Mandela was “breathing fire” down the line.

The former Welsh Secretary said Mr Mandela felt Mr Blair’s good work was “blown out of the water” by the war.

Mr Hain said the criticisms were made formally, not in a private capacity.

He said: “He rang me up when I was a cabinet minister in 2003, after the invasion.

“He said: ‘A big mistake, Peter, a very big mistake. It is wrong. Why is Tony doing this after all his support for Africa? This will cause huge damage internationally’.

“I had never heard Nelson Mandela so angry and frustrated.

“He clearly felt very, very strongly that the decision that the prime minister had taken – and that I as a member of the Cabinet had been party to – was fundamentally wrong and he told me it would destroy all the good things that Tony Blair and we, as a government, had done in progressive policy terms across the world.

“He was always full of praise for the way our government had trebled the overseas aid and development budget for Africa; he just felt that all of this had been completely blown out of the water by the Iraq invasion.

“I know Nelson Mandela quite well. He was virtually breathing fire down the phone on this and feeling a sense of betrayal. It was quite striking.”

Mr Hain said he told Mr Mandela that he respected his feelings but that the prime minister “acted out of conviction”.

“I think I said we would simply have to judge it historically whether it was the right decision. But he was adamant that we could not wait for history.”

Mr Hain grew up in South Africa, where his anti-Apartheid campaigner parents knew Mandela – whom he now describes as “a friend and a hero”.

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The UK’s trade unions are to demand an all-out assault on the government’s spending cuts programme when they gather for the TUC’s annual meeting.

Delegates in Manchester will accuse the Tory-Lib Dem coalition of failing the poor and damaging public services in its bid to reduce the public deficit.

They will vote on holding “joint industrial action” if the government does not change its mind.

But ministers insist they will protect vital public services.

The opening of the TUC’s 142nd congress – the first under a non-Labour government since 1996 – comes amid concern among unions about the speed and scope of the coalition’s programme to reduce the £155bn deficit.

Most Whitehall departments have been ordered to plan for savings of between 25% and 40% ahead of the comprehensive spending review of 20 October.

On Monday the congress will debate a motion calling for “joint industrial action”, potentially leading to strikes if the cuts are not scaled back.

This follows Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers’ (RMT) leader Bob Crow calling for a campaign of “civil disobedience” in protest.

However, in his speech, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber is expected to speak against a purely critical campaign, asking unions to promote an “alternative to austerity that encourages growth and jobs”.

He will add: “We have to start and win this great debate about the country’s economic future.

“We have to mobilise in every community and every constituency so that the cuts become the issue that decides the next election.”

Dave Prentis, general secretary of the Unison public services union, will call for united action to defeat the government’s “austerity agenda”.

He will say: “This is the most important congress for a generation. Already we are seeing the signs of blight hitting the poor hardest and creating a north-south divide…

“We are in no doubt that the coalition government’s cuts agenda is driven by ideology, not necessity.”

Mr Prentis will add: “Our counter-coalition can start from strength at this congress and build a movement for an alternative vision.”

Unite, the UK’s biggest union, says it wants a “robust campaign” to protect public services, while the GMB argues that three-quarters of a million jobs could be at risk.

The RMT accuses ministers of launching “all-out class warfare”.

The government is not sending a minister to address the congress but Business Secretary Vince Cable has said he would be willing to speak to representatives to discuss their concerns.

On Sunday, the Conservative mayor of London, Boris Johnson, urged the coalition not to cut large-scale projects in the city, such as Crossrail.

He said: “The point I’m making to government is that you’d have just got to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water. This is a sensitive time for the economy…

“You’ve got to make sure you protect those things that are going to deliver long-term growth not just for London but for the whole of the UK economy.”

The five candidates to become Labour’s next leader will also take part in a hustings on Monday, the last such meeting of the campaign.

It comes less than two weeks ahead of the party announcing a successor to Gordon Brown and with trade unions making up almost a third of the electorate in the contest, the contenders keen to make a good impression.

Acting Labour leader Harriet Harman will also address delegates on Monday.

The TUC congress is the curtain-raiser for the party conference season and will be followed over the next three weeks by events held by the Lib Dems, Labour and the Conservatives.

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Executive bonuses are close to their level before the financial crisis, a survey by business advisory firm Deloitte says.

It found that the average bonuses for directors of FTSE 100 firms amounted to 100% of their basic salary – 140% in the top 30 public companies.

However, Deloitte said the days of fast increases in executive salaries were over for the present.

And in mid-sized FTSE 250 firms, one in seven paid no bosses’ bonus last year.

The survey found that more than 50% of top companies will not increase the pay of executive directors in 2010 – which will be the second year in which many executives have had their wages frozen.

Any pay increases this year were likely to be around 3%, it said.

Stephen Cahill, of Deloitte, said: “Last year we saw a very large number of companies freezing executive salaries, but at the time it was difficult to predict whether this was a one-off.

“Now it appears that the years of executive salaries increasing at rates far in excess of inflation and the increase in average earnings are, at least for the moment, well and truly over.

“Companies are now recognising that increases for executives must be considered fair and reasonable in the context of current business circumstances and the pay and conditions for employees more generally.”

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Seven police marksmen who shot and killed a 32-year-old barrister will hear later if they will remain anonymous in an inquest into his death in a siege at his London home.

Family law specialist Mark Saunders was hit at least five times to end the five-hour siege in May 2008.

Prosecutors have already ruled there was insufficient evidence to charge any of the men who fired 11 bullets.

The lawyer’s family have criticised police conduct during the incident.

They maintained Saunders, who had been drinking heavily before he started firing from a window of his Chelsea home, posed no real risk to the public and should have been taken alive.

But the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) found no “realistic prospect” of proving beyond reasonable doubt that the armed officers did not act in self defence.

The CPS also considered charges of gross negligence and misconduct, and health and safety charges against those in charge of the operation.

Former Met commander Ali Dizaei who is serving a four year jail term for perverting the course of justice in an unrelated case, was in overall charge of the operation.

It is thought the hearing will examine his command of the siege and that he will be called on to give evidence.

A preliminary hearing will take place later but the full inquest is due to resume at Westminster Coroner’s Court on 20 September.

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Philosophers and singers were among those taking part in a demonstration in Paris in solidarity for an Iranian woman on death row.

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International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell has ordered a review of the work of the Commonwealth Development Corporation after reports of lavish expenses claims.

A government spokesman said Mr Mitchell thought the claims were “unacceptable”.

It came after the Daily Mail claimed it had seen large restaurant, hotel and taxi bills from CDC officials, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

A spokesman for the CDC said the report included many mistakes.

The CDC, which is owned but not run by the Department for International Development, helps provide finance to businesses in some of the poorest parts of the world.

Ash cloud

The Mail claims executives have run up big bills at some of London’s finest restaurants and hotels, including a £700 dinner for CDC non-executive directors at the Michelin-starred L’Autre Pied restaurant.

But a CDC spokesman said the story contained mistakes and a £300 claim for a taxi from Brussels to Paris was made because flights were halted by the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland.

He added that the CDC’s policy was to ensure all expenses were reasonable.

Confirming the review, a government spokesman said: “Lavish expenses are completely unacceptable. The Secretary of State has set up a review of all aspects of CDC’s work, including pay and remuneration.”

Last year the Public Accounts committee criticised the ineffective oversight of the company after reports that the salary of its chief executive Richard Laing had risen to £970,000. He has since taken a pay cut and waived bonuses.

The BBC’s political correspondent Carole Walker said the story would be embarrassment to the International Development Secretary, who has had his budget spared from cuts.

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The US and Germany have welcomed the result of the Turkish constitutional referendum.

The US President Barack Obama and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle have issued statements commending the vote.

Voters in Turkey gave strong backing to a package of changes to the country’s military-era constitution.

The changes are aimed at bringing Turkey in line with the European Union, which the government wants to join.

With nearly all votes in the referendum counted, about 58% had voted “Yes” to amending the constitution.

Prime Minster Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the result meant the country had “crossed a historic threshold toward advanced democracy and the supremacy of law”.

The opposition argues that the governing party, which has its roots in political Islam, is seeking dangerous levels of control over the judiciary.

Mr Obama called Mr Erdogan to congratulate him.

The US president “acknowledged the vibrancy of Turkey’s democracy as reflected in the turnout for the referendum that took place across Turkey today”, a statement released by the White House said.

Mr Westerwelle said the vote was critical for Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.

“This discussion in society, also about the concrete form of the balance of power in the state, is very much to be welcomed,” Mr Westerwelle said in a statement.

Analysts say the strong “Yes” vote will boost Mr Erdogan’s government.

His Justice and Development Party (AKP) will be seeking a third consecutive term in office in a general election due to take place before July 2011.

The AKP has clashed repeatedly with Turkey’s highest courts, which see themselves as guardians of the country’s secular values.

The opposition say two of the 26 planned amendments would give the government excessive influence over the judiciary.

They accuse the AKP of trying to seize control of the judiciary as part of a back-door Islamist coup.

In Istanbul – the most Westernised city in Turkey, where many are suspicious of the AKP’s religious agenda – Ozgur Deniz voted “No”.

“The bad thing about this referendum was that we had to either choose or reject the whole package,” he told the BBC.

“This is a package where some things are good for democracy – such as less power for the military. But there are some items which might be used by the government to use democracy for non-democratic purposes, like the item regarding the judiciary,” he said.

“This election shows the commitment of Turkish people to a more democratic Turkey, and the army has not got the same power as before,” wrote Ahmet from Eskisehir in an e-mail to the BBC.

The Turkish President, Abdullah Gul, appealed for national unity. “From tomorrow onwards, Turkey needs to unite as one, and look ahead.

“The public has the final say in democracies. I would like to remind everyone to welcome the result with respect and maturity.”

The present constitution was drawn up by a military junta which seized power in a coup exactly 30 years ago, on 12 September 1980.

In all, the reform package includes 26 amendments to the 1982 constitution, many of them backed by the EU.

Civilian courts will have the power to try military personnel for crimes against the state, while sacked military officers will have the right to appeal against their dismissal.

Gender equality will be strengthened, and discrimination against children, the old and disabled banned.

Workers will be allowed to join more than one union and the ban on politically motivated strikes will be removed.

In parliament, elected lawmakers will be able to stay on if their party is disbanded by the court.

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The Mexican authorities say they have arrested one of the country’s most wanted drugs traffickers.

Sergio Villarreal – known as “El Grande” – was detained by navy marines in the city of Puebla, east of Mexico City.

He is alleged to be a top lieutenant in the powerful Beltran Leyva cartel.

His arrest comes two weeks after the capture of another drug kingpin, Edgar Valdez, known as “Barbie”, who led a rival faction of the same cartel.

The navy said Mr Villarreal was arrested “without a shot being fired” following an intelligence operation.

Two other people who were with him were also detained.

A reward of around $2.3m (£1.5m) had been offered for information leading to his arrest.

His capture will provide a boost for President Felipe Calderon, who has faced growing criticism in recent months from opponents who think his military-led campaign against the cartels is not working.

A former policeman, Mr Villarreal is alleged to have worked for a number of criminal organizations before joining the drugs cartel led by Arturo Beltran Leyva.

Mr Beltran Leyva was shot and killed by the navy last December, sparking a brutal fight for control of the cartel.

Sergio Villarreal is thought to have remained loyal to Mr Beltran Leyva’s brother, Hector, while Edgar Valdez, who was arrested on 30 August, led a rival faction.

Drugs-related violence has left some 28,000 people dead in Mexico since President Calderon took office in 2006.

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Why bother setting production records in wartime?

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These days there is a heavy police presence in Bekasi, a fast-growing suburb about an hour outside Jakarta.

Every Sunday, officers gather here and are given orders by their superiors to guard against any sign of violence.

For the last few weeks, a group of Christians have been holding their Sunday prayer services on an empty plot of land – resulting in violent clashes between them and the majority Muslims.

The Christians say the land belongs to them, and they were given permission by the local government to pray here.

The Muslims say that according to Indonesian law, the Christians need to get the approval of residents in the area before they can make the land a place of worship.

They have even put up signs warning what will happen if the Christians continue with to pray here on Sundays.

“Stop these illegal prayers right now, or the public will take action,” one reads.

Another proclaims, “The people of Bekasi reject the construction of a church on this land.”

There has not always been this sort of deep suspicion between Muslims and Christians in Bekasi.

Like much of Indonesia, it is an area dominated by Muslims but the two faiths live side by side.

Risomas is from the Christian minority but has never felt out of place.

But this religious quarrel is threatening to rip the community apart.

“They are very narrow-minded,” she tells me as we sit down in her home, decorated with images of Jesus Christ.

“I don’t know how they see God. I feel that my God protects me but they seem to think that they need to defend their God. I guess that’s the difference between us”

But on the other side of Bekasi, I hear a radically different interpretation of events.

Khairul Fuad, a longtime resident, is a devout Muslim, and a family man.

He says their peaceful lives have been disturbed by the Christians’ insistence on using the empty plot of land in Bekasi as a place of worship

“The non-Muslims should understand the feeling of the Muslims here. We are the majority here,” he says.

“The land belong to us, and the majority of the people who live around it are Muslims. There was a rumour that to get that land, those Christians didn’t tell the people they wanted to build a place of worship.”

Murhali Barda, the local leader of the hardline Islamic Defenders’ Front, has taken up the Muslims’ cause.

The Christians believe the group is behind the clashes in the area, inciting hostility between the two communities.

“There is no problem with praying. But when they are there with a mission to build a place of worship, it is unacceptable,” he told me as he showed me around Bekasi’s oldest mosque.

I asked him what he would do if the Christians paid no attention to his warning.

“If we start calling for Holy War, it doesn’t matter if we live or die,” he said, smiling. “If there is violence that results from this, then the Christians only have themselves to blame.”

The problems in Bekasi have caught the attention of the entire nation.

In Jakarta, the capital city, Indonesians of different faiths joined forces, raising their voices in unison in support of a more secular Indonesia.

The constitution guarantees the rights of citizens to practise their religion freely.

The protesters say they want their government to take action and uphold the principles of this country.

In an interview with the BBC, the Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalagewa told me authorities are not shirking their responsibilities.

“I don’t think we lack any political will,” he said. “I don’t think we lack resolve. On the contrary, we are doing what we can.

“But we must do these things in a democratic way. It must be a democratic response as well. There’s a fine balance, in ensuring that everyone’s civil liberties are upheld.”

But the concern is if the government is too slow to act, this local problem could become a national issue.

Ten years ago, Indonesia stood on the brink of a religious war. A local brawl between Christians and Muslims in the Maluku islands threatened to split the country apart.

Thousands died in the violence. Troops were called in to quell the unrest, which took years to resolve.

Bonar Naipospos, vice-chairman of the Setara Institute, which works to promote democracy and peace, has been documenting cases of religious conflict across Indonesia.

There were far more attacks on churches and religious minorities in the first six months of this year than in the last two years, he says.

“This has happened in the greater area of Jakarta,” Bonar tells me. “Jakarta is the capital city of the nation. If the government cannot solve the problem near the capital city, how can it solve the problem outside of Java?”

Back in Bekasi, the congregation have held yet another Sunday service on their land.

The police are out in full force, standing guard.

But this is not a permanent solution.

Indonesia must find a way to ensure that its minorities can worship without fear, or else this local brawl could turn into a national nightmare.

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