Category: news

Why Chelsea could win the World Cup

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The Trades Union Congress claims the UK is at risk of being “irreparably damaged” by government spending cuts.

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President Santos has said he is determined to defeat the rebels

Colombian left-wing rebels have killed at least six police officers in an attack near the border with Ecuador.

The Farc rebels used gas canisters stuffed with explosives to bombard a police station in the Putumayo region.

Fighting continued in the surrounding jungle. At least two guerrillas are reported dead.

It is the latest in a series of rebel attacks that have killed more than 30 security personnel since President Juan Manuel Santos took office a month ago.

Analysts say the Farc and the smaller ELN rebel group may be seeking to show the new president that they are still a force to be reckoned with.

But President Santos said the latest attack would not weaken his resolve.

“If they think that with an attack like this they are going to weaken us, they are completely wrong,” he said.

“We will respond with more force and more determination. We are not going to rest a single second until we have peace in this country.”

The attack happened outside the town of San Miguel, close to a bridge linking Colombia with Ecuador.

A bi-national security commission is to investigate whether it was launched from inside Ecuador.

The police said they had foiled a rebel plan to occupy the town after intercepting radio communications.

Troops and air force planes were sent to pursue the rebels in the jungle.

The Putumayo region is a traditional stronghold of the Farc, as well as a major cocaine-producing area.

Both the Farc and the ELN were severely weakened by the tough security policies of President Santos’s predecessor, Alvaro Uribe.

Both groups have indicated that they are prepared to begin peace talks.

But Mr Santos has said that he is only prepared to talk to the rebels if they release all of the hostages they hold and stop attacks.

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On the ninth anniversary of 9/11, many papers consider whether an anti-Muslim sentiment has burst on the scene.

The Independent says the familiar ritual of remembrance may be drowned out by the roar of maddening squabbles around the threat to burn the Koran.

“Burning Hatred,” declares the Daily Mirror, which sees the stand-off as a symptom of a wider disease “gnawing away at democracy”.

It says the far-right is gaining ground across the US in an alarming trend.

Meanwhile, the Daily Express reports the threat to burn the Koran is sparking world riots.

Attitudes towards the Roman Catholic Church are another topic for discussion as the papers look ahead to Pope Benedict’s visit to Britain.

The Guardian warns he will be greeted by atheists, activists and apathy – quite unlike the rapturous reception for Pope John Paul in 1982.

The Financial Times blames the scandal of the sexual abuse of children at Catholic schools and institutions.

But Charles Moore in the Daily Telegraph urges people to give the Pope a fair hearing.

The Times leads with the prime minister’s poverty adviser, Frank Field, recommending the school year be broken into four or five terms.

He believes poorer children fall behind during long holidays – because they are not read to or tutored at home.

Meanwhile the Sun appeals to its readers not to “wobble” in the face of public spending cuts.

The Daily Mail reports that the family of murdered MI6 spy Gareth Williams have demanded his body back.

It says they are running out of patience with the police investigation and want to commission their own post-mortem examination.

Finally the Telegraph and the Mail ask if Christmas has arrived too early.

They report that mince pies, Christmas puddings and chocolate Santas have already gone on sale at some supermarkets.

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Gillard said Swan would stay as treasurer

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has named her cabinet, four days after returning to a power with a tiny majority backed by independent MPs.

Kevin Rudd, the man she displaced as Labor party leader, two months before the election, becomes foreign minister.

Former Foreign Minister Stephen Smith moves to defence.

Penny Wong, who had a troubled spell as climate change minister under Mr Rudd, becomes finance minister.

Her deputy, Wayne Swan, remains as treasurer.

Presenting her cabinet choices, Ms Gillard said: “This is delivering on the focus that I agreed with the independents in the house of representatives, it is delivering on a promise to regional Australia to focus on their needs.”

The support of two rural MPs, Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor, gave Ms Gillard’s Labor party its wafer-thin majority, after several weeks of talks following inconclusive election.

A “regional package” worth A$9.9bn ($9bn; £5.9bn) was critical in securing their support.

Ms Gillard plans a broadband network for rural areas, a 30% tax on iron ore and coal mining companies’ profits, and a tax on major polluters to help cut carbon emissions by 5% by 2020.

Chris Bowen becomes minister for immigration, a key portfolio in a country where asylum seekers arriving off Australia’s vast coastline by boat have become a major political issue.

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Strike ballot rules should be changed so it is tougher for unions to call strike action, a think tank has said.

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Defending champion Kim Clijsters survives a test of endurance to beat Venus Williams and reach her third successive US Open final.

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The fear is that unscrupulous clampers will now turn to ticketing

Motoring organisations are warning that the scourge of cowboy wheel clampers is likely to continue, despite new laws designed to stop them.

The RAC says unscrupulous private parking firms will still be free to hassle motorists, even though clamping itself will soon be made illegal in England and Wales.

It says operators are finding a new tactic to get around the law.

Their weapon is legal, and low-tech. It is a parking ticket.

“The fear is that unscrupulous clampers will now turn to ticketing,” says Philip Gomm of the RAC Foundation.

“And it’ll be the poor motorist who’ll end up paying.”

Victims

Taz and Fam Khalique already know what that feels like.

In an underground car park in the east end of London, they show us the car-parking bay that they own outright.

Taz and Fam Khalique have been issued with six tickets so far this year

Signs warn about clamping, but the couple have been issued with tickets.

Six of them so far this year.

Each one asked them to pay £60, or double that if they didn’t pay within 28 days.

“I’m disgusted by it,” says Tam.

“To them it’s a money-making machine. They put a ticket on, and you end up paying for it.”

The pair have not paid these demands, which total £360.

New laws

The Home Office is currently drawing up legislation to ban wheel-clamping on private land in England and Wales.

It’s already been banned in Scotland.

Under the Freedom Bill, towing cars away or blocking them in will also be illegal.

But so far tickets are not included in the Bill.

Issuing tickets is already much easier than positioning clamps.

Parking firms that clamp have to be registered with the Security Industry Authority, a government body.

But firms which issue tickets don’t have to be licensed at all.

In fact anyone can issue tickets, providing they own the land involved.

DIY enforcement kit

To prove how easy it is to do that, we purchased two “DIY parking enforcement kits” on the internet.

One cost £60, the other £30.

The kits comes with a book of tickets and waterproof envelopes

For that outlay, you get a couple of signs to warn motorists that the land is private, and that parking is not allowed.

One set of signs indicated that the fine would be £90.

The kits also come with a book of tickets, and waterproof envelopes.

To complete the effect one of them also contains a yellow high-visibility jacket.

If the parking enforcement firm is registered with the British Parking Association (BPA), it can track down any offenders through the DVLA computer.

If it is not registered it can just chance its arm by placing a ticket on your windscreen.

30% of offenders just pay up, with no questions asked, to avoid the hassle of challenging the ticket.

Compulsory registration

The BPA is also concerned about the rights of landowners, many of whom have to put up with motorists parking illegally on their property.

Keith Banbury, from the BPA, is keen to see some compromise.

“We’re looking for something that’s fair to the landowner, who needs protection, and the motorist, who should be treated fairly.”

What he proposes is a compulsory membership scheme, which would establish a proper code of conduct.

This would include standard charges, and an appeals procedure in the case of disputes.

‘Breach of regulations’

The Home Office had no comment to make about the issue of ticketing, or whether it may eventually be included in the Freedom Bill.

However a spokesman at the Department for Transport told us there is another route for anyone who feels badly treated by a private parking firm.

“Where signs or information for motorists in a car park are misleading, unfair or aggressive, this is likely to be a breach of the unfair trading regulations.”

But at the moment there’s little practical advice for motorists who feel they’ve been given a ticket unfairly.

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Mr Musharraf says there is a good chance he may be president again

The former military ruler of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf has said he is forming a new political party with a view to returning to politics in the country.

He said he will be going back to Pakistan before the next elections which are due in 2013.

Pervez Musharraf who now lives in London has for some months been talking about the possibility of returning but now his plans are firming up.

He said he will be standing for a seat in the next parliament.

From there he hopes to become either prime minister or president.

“I believe very strongly that it’s better to try and fail rather than not try and go down without trying,” he said.

“At this moment we see darkness all over in Pakistan, we have to show light, we have to show an alternative, a viable alternative where the people see light and gain some confidence.”

Asked whether he had already has his chance and that it was time to give others an opportunity to lead he said last time he lacked legitimacy internationally because he was in uniform.

“I cant be sure of becoming President again but I believe there is a good chance of my winning” he said.

He dismissed his low standing in the opinion polls saying that polls can be manipulated and that his popularity is increasing.

The retired general acknowledged that if he did go back he would have to face some legal cases and he said there would be risk of his being killed.

But he said he would answer every allegation against him.

“A time has come in Pakistan when we need to introduce a new political culture, a culture which can take Pakistan forward on a democratic path, on a correct democratic path, not on an artificial, make-believe democratic path,” he said.

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Dave Hartnett is the senior tax professional at HMRC

The UK’s top tax man says he has no need to apologise after taking incorrect tax off six million people.

Dave Hartnett, Permanent Secretary at her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, also claimed media stories of blunders and IT failures were wrong.

And he warned those who owed £2,000 or more in back tax they would have just over three months to repay it in full.

But John Andrews of the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group said this could penalise some widows and pensioners.

Speaking exclusively to Radio 4’s Money Box programme, Mr Hartnett said: “I’m not sure I see a need to apologise.”

He added: “I’ve read the papers, listened to the media and heard stories of HMRC blunders and IT failure – neither of those are true.”

He said the 5.7 million letters that he would be sending out to taxpayers before Christmas were the result of a normal process of reconciling the tax deducted from each taxpayer with their circumstances.

Some taxpayers can expect more letters and tax returns from HMRC in the coming months

He confirmed that 1.4 million people would be told they had extra tax to pay.

And he revealed that those who owed the most tax would have the least time to pay.

“Those [who owe] more than £2,000… will be given an opportunity to pay based on a notice from us, or, failing that, they will be brought within self-assessment.

“People who enter self-assessment are expected to pay within three months and a little bit more.”

Tighter deadlines

Those owing below £2,000 will have the money deducted from their pay or pension over 12 months, or three years in cases of hardship.

Mr Hartnett said that system would apply to “more than 80%” of those who owed money.

But he defended the tighter deadline for the biggest bills.

“I think owing the most may actually mean they’re earning the most… I think it’s very unlikely that a low earner will owe us more than £2,000 as a result of the process we’re going through.”

But John Andrews, chairman of the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group, was not convinced.

“The £2,000 procedure gives me concern,” he said.

“There are circumstances in which over a two year period, for example on a bereavement where a widow suddenly inherits part of late husband’s pension, it is quite easy to run up this amount.

“I hope that HMRC would live up to the Your Charter expectations and look at individuals.”

Mr Hartnett said that the main batches of letters to taxpayers would start going out “early to mid October’ and he still intended they would all arrive by Christmas.

Three quarters of those written to – 4.3 million people – will get a rebate averaging £400.

The rest, 1.4 million, will be told they have to pay the extra tax.

None will have to pay less than £300 and the average will be £1,428. Up to 250,000 could be asked for £2,000 or more.

BBC Radio 4’s Money Box is broadcast on Saturdays at 12 noon, and repeated on Sundays at 2100 GMT.

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2001 winner Brian Dowling is the favourite to win Ultimate Big Brother

Channel 4 bids farewell to one of its biggest brands later tonight with the final of Ultimate Big Brother.

The long-running reality game show has been a summer staple on C4 since 2000.

Big Brother has been a huge ratings hit for the channel, with peak viewing of around 8 million in 2002, but audience interest has waned in recent years.

Former air steward Brian Dowling is the bookies’ favourite to win Friday night’s show – which features favourite housemates from the past 10 years.

“Not in my wildest dreams did I ever think it would go for 10 years,” host Davina McCall told the BBC’s 5 live Breakfast programme.

“I’ve loved this show and I’ve been a fan. If you’re going to work on this programme you have to be a huge fan… you have to know and love and live and breathe it.”

Some production staff at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire were reported to be tearful as they turned up for work on the final show.

Channel 4 announced last summer it would not be renewing its deal with programme-maker Endemol. At the time it said the show “had reached a natural end point on Channel 4 and it’s time to move on”.

The show – and its celebrity spin-off – has been an important source of advertising revenue for the broadcaster. C4 has said it is allocating funds which would have been spent on Big Brother into new drama.

The channel’s autumn season for 2010 includes docu-soap Seven Days in Notting Hill, in which viewers will be able to follow the lives of people as they actually happen.

Sam Dowler, features writer for Now magazine, told the BBC: “Big Brother has changed the way that celebrity is seen in this country.”

He said that when the show first started in 2000, it was the first time people on TV had been seen all day long. Viewers “almost became friends with these people”, he said.

“As the years have gone by, the people have become more fame-hungry – they know what they are in there for and it’s not the same show.”

However, Big Brother may not be gone for good. Five TV’s new owner Richard Desmond is reported to be interested in reviving the show.

Race row

Big Brother winner Brian Belo on the significance of the Channel 4 reality show

Big Brother thrust previous unknowns like the late Jade Goody, “Nasty” Nick Bateman and Kate Lawler into the media spotlight.

It has also courted controversy, including in 2007 when Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty won Celebrity Big Brother following a series of rows with Goody, who was accused of bullying and racism.

The 11th and final series of Big Brother began in June and ran for 76 days until 24 August.

This winning housemate, Josie Gibson, from Bristol, immediately joined the Ultimate Big Brother show after her victory, but quit after just two days.

Brian Dowling, who won the second series in 2001, is expected to beat competition from other former contestants who include Ulrika Jonsson, Victor Ebuwa, Nick Bateman and Nikki Grahame.

Bookies Paddy Power and William Hill both made Dowling the favourite to win, with odds of 2/9.

The other two finalists are Chantelle Houghton, who won Celebrity Big Brother in 2006 despite being not actually famous, and her ex-husband, former Ordinary Boys singer Sam Preston.

Housemates held a “funeral service” for the show on Thursday, and a group of 18 former housemates – including first series winner Craig Phillips – have recorded a video miming to Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman’s Time To Say Goodbye.

The video, which also includes footage of Jade Goody, who died in 2009, will be screened on Friday’s Big Brother’s Little Brother show on E4 ahead of the final.

Speaking about Goody, Davina McCall said: “We’re going to celebrate her tonight and the mark that she made on this programme.

“She’ll never be forgotten – she was a huge, huge, huge part of this show.”

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MPs held back in an inquiry into phone-hacking allegations for fear that their own private lives could be targeted, a former MP claims.

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Staff may be offered shares as part of the government’s plan

The government is to press ahead with privatising the Royal Mail.

Business Secretary Vince Cable made the commitment after receiving updated recommendations from the businessman Richard Hooper.

His latest report says the universal postal service can only be maintained by an injection of private sector money and expertise.

He also repeated his call for the Royal Mail’s pension scheme, which has an £8bn deficit, to be nationalised.

“Royal Mail is facing a combination of potentially lethal challenges – falling mail volumes, low investment, not enough efficiency and a dire pension position,” said Mr Cable.

“We will come forward with new legislation in the autumn.

“It will draw heavily on Hooper’s analysis and recommendations and the government’s wider objectives, including the need for employees to have a real stake in the future of the business.”

The plan was immediately denounced by the main trade union at the Royal Mail, the CWU.

Its general secretary, Billy Hayes, said privatisation would lead to higher prices for customers and job losses for staff.

“It’s the failed politics of history which brought disruption to Britain’s utilities and railways and astronomical prices for consumers,” he said.

“Dangerously in this case, we fear the government may also be plotting to seize the pension assets.”

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The couple said they had a right to discuss “these matters” in private

England striker Wayne Rooney and his wife Coleen have asked the media to respect their privacy following allegations about his private life.

“The last six days have been extremely painful for us and for our families,” the couple said in a statement.

They added that it was impossible for them “to attempt to resolve any issues in the current media glare”.

Earlier, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson refused to discuss his player’s off-field problems.

The Rooneys’ statement, released six days after a series of allegations were published by the News of the World, added that they were facing a “backdrop of so many inaccurate and intrusive stories”.

It concluded: “We would therefore ask that the media now respects our privacy and the right of our family to discuss these matters in private.”

Wayne Rooney has played for Manchester United since 2004, when he signed from Everton for £20m.

He is also a regular in the England national team and scored as England beat Switzerland 3-1 in a Euro 2012 qualifying match on Tuesday.

Coleen Rooney is a TV presenter and columnist.

The couple, who met as school children in Liverpool, have been married for two years and have a 10-month old son, Kai.

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Castro invited Jeffrey Goldberg to Cuba for the interview

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has said that his recent comment about Cuba’s economic model was misinterpreted by a US reporter.

Mr Castro was quoted earlier this week by journalist Jeffrey Goldberg as saying that “the Cuban model doesn’t even work for us anymore”.

But speaking at the University of Havana, Mr Castro, 84, said he meant “exactly the opposite”.

Mr Castro led Cuba for almost 50 years after the 1959 communist revolution.

He fell ill in 2006 and handed power to his brother Raul in 2008.

Since then, his public appearances have been rare, but in recent months he has made a series of public speeches and televised appearances.

Mr Castro was speaking at the presentation of his autobiography at the University of Havana on Friday.

On Wednesday, Mr Goldberg, a journalist with The Atlantic magazine based in Washington, DC, wrote that he had asked Mr Castro during a recent interview if Cuba’s model was still worth exporting to other countries.

The journalist, whom Mr Castro had personally invited to Cuba, wrote that Mr Castro answered: “The Cuban model doesn’t even work for us anymore.”

The alleged comment came as the current Cuban leader, Fidel’s younger brother, Raul Castro, is reducing the state’s control of the economy and allowing private ownership on the communist island.

Last month, Raul Castro announced to the National Assembly that small businesses would now be permitted and small business owners would have the right to employ and pay employees.

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