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Poor ‘not cleansed’ from London

Boris Johnson said he was in talks with the Conservative-led coalition

London Mayor Boris Johnson has said he will not accept “Kosovo-style social cleansing” of the capital due to a government cap on housing benefits.

Prime minister David Cameron said he did not agree with Mr Johnson’s view, or the words he had used.

The government has limited the amount paid in benefits according to the size of a property, including a cap of £400 a week on a four-bedroom house.

Mr Johnson’s comments came as MPs were set to debate the issue in Parliament.

The Tory mayor said he was in talks with the Conservative-led coalition government to “mitigate the impact”.

HOUSING BENEFIT CAP£250 for a one-bedroom property£290 for a two-bedroom property£340 for a three-bedroom property£400 for a four-bedroom propertyNick Robinson’s Newslog: Boris v Dave Housing benefit: Who loses out? Commentators debate cap

He told BBC London 94.9FM there was an “anomaly” in the housing benefit system which allows some landlords to make profit as “hard-working Londoners” pay.

Mr Johnson said: “The last thing we want to have in our city is a situation such as Paris where the less well-off are pushed out to the suburbs.

“I’ll emphatically resist any attempt to recreate a London where the rich and poor cannot live together.

“People will always cry and say that I am at war with [the Prime Minister] David Cameron and try and get a headline out of that, but the fact is we are in detailed negotiations with the DWP, Iain Duncan Smith and his officials.

Analysis

Ross Hawkins

Political correspondent

A source close to the London mayor says Boris Johnson held a “formal meeting” on housing benefit with the Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith last month and expects to hold another next month.

Mr Johnson’s team are understood to be arguing for three options to ease the impact of housing benefit changes on Londoners.

They would like either direct housing benefit payments to landlords prepared to drop their rents below the level of the cap, or the doubling of a hardship fund known as the discretionary housing payment to £20m, or some exemptions for working households with children in schools for a limited period.

“What we will not see and we will not accept any kind of Kosovo-style social cleansing of London.

“On my watch, you are not going to see thousands of families evicted from the place where they have been living and have put down roots.”

A spokesman for prime minister David Cameron said: “The prime minister does not agree with what Boris Johnson has said or indeed the way he said it. He thinks the policy is the right one.”

Following the Spending Review, London Councils – which represents the capital’s 32 boroughs – said up to 82,000 households could become homeless by next year due to the changes.

A spokesman said: “Boroughs are now talking to private landlords outside of the capital about procuring private properties in case they need to use them as temporary accommodation.

“This is of course a last resort. Boroughs don’t want to move people into different homes outside of the capital – this causes disruption and comes at great cost.

“But unless the government takes on board the proper measures to prevent this housing crisis – like increasing a special hardship fund to help tenants who can’t afford their rents – they might have no choice.”

Labour mayoral candidate Ken Livingstone described this as “huge social cleansing out of central London”, adding: “It’s going to be a human tragedy on an amazing scale.”

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

Merapi erupts as victims buried

Indonesian soldiers stand on the ash-covered slopes of Mount Merapi on 27 October 2010

Ash now covers the slopes of Mount Merapi in central Java

In Indonesia a mass burial is being held for many of those who died when Mount Merapi erupted in central Java.

Thirty-two people were killed when the country’s most volatile volcano shot out clouds of searing ash and gas on Tuesday evening.

Vulcanologists say activity at the mountain has reduced since the eruption.

But tens of thousands of residents remain in temporary shelters as officials urged them not to go home.

Volcanic ash covers the interior of a house in Kinahrejo, Yogyakarta

Indonesian volcano: Your stories In pictures: Mount Merapi erupts Spiritual guardian of volcano dies

“The volcano has been relatively calm. Its activity has slowed down since the eruption. We have to evaluate its activity in the coming days,” said vulcanologist Subandrio, who goes by one name.

At least 20 of those who died were to be buried in the grave in Sidorejo village, south of the smouldering volcano.

Officials said most of those killed died from burns or suffocation.

Teams are continuing to search the ash-covered slopes of the volcano for more victims.

Officials issued the highest alert for the volcano on Monday and told residents to evacuate, but some stayed behind to look after crops and livestock.

Some of those who did evacuate are reported to be suffering from respiratory and other ailments caused by the volcanic ash.

“The dust gave them throat burn, influenza, respiratory problems and conjunctivitis. That is what we have found so far, most of them children,” one paramedic told Reuters news agency.

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

Oxford warns of fees funding gap

Oxford students are staging a protest against the Browne review

The vice chancellor of Oxford University is warning the institution will face a funding gap if ministers adopt the proposals of a review into higher education funding.

On the university website, Professor Andrew Hamilton writes that, even if tuition fees rise, those funds could be cancelled out by teaching grant cuts.

Oxford students are staging a protest about the Browne Review.

Business Secretary Vince Cable has cancelled a planned speech there.

He called off his visit to a university event after taking advice about the security situation and likely disruption a mass student demonstration would cause.

Students say the protest will go ahead without him.

In his website posting, Professor Hamilton said the Browne Review had brought “a significant piece of analysis and broader thinking about higher education funding”.

But even with the higher tuition fees recommended by Lord Browne, the university looked set to face a shortfall in the funding of its distinct tutorial system – where students are taught one-on-one or in very small groups.

This was because of the 40% cut to non-research university funding announced in the Spending Review, he said.

Funding for research and science is being maintained in cash terms.

Professor Hamilton wrote: “Put simply, the money the state would make available in loans to support the higher fees envisaged under Browne would be largely recycled from the deep cuts to the teaching grant that flow from the CSR [Comprehensive Spending Review].

“This means that, if fees were raised to £7,000 a year – a figure that has featured prominently in Browne and in government comment – no additonal income would come to the university.”

He said it cost about £16,000 a year to teach an undergraduate at Oxford, with half of that coming from tuition fees and public funding.

“The reality is that current proposals – the combination of Browne and CSR – do little to significantly narrow the gap and, in some variations, actually increase it.”

He said the university was going to have to do all it could to find additional resources to make the tutorial system more financially sustainable, saying philanthropy would play a key role.

The government broadly supports the findings of the Browne Review, released earlier this month, which said tuition fees should rise.

But the coalition partners have been wrestling with the details – particularly with where a cap on fees should be set.

The government is expected to set out its official response next week.

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

Growth plan for England unveiled

Many English regions are desperate for new private sector investment

Senior ministers are to set out their vision for promoting economic growth across England and assisting areas set to be worst hit by spending cuts.

Business Secretary Vince Cable will outline details of local enterprise partnerships chosen to replace existing regional development agencies by 2012.

And deputy prime minister Nick Clegg will spell out how the coalition’s new £1.4bn regional growth fund will work.

Labour say the plan is flawed and will not camouflage the impact of the cuts.

The government announced in May that the eight regional development agencies (RDAs) established by John Prescott in 1999 would be abolished and replaced by joint local authority and business partnerships.

Unveiling a white paper on regional growth in Parliament, Mr Cable will reveal which of the 56 bidding groups have been successful.

The BBC understands about 23 are expected to be given the go-ahead.

Ministers say the new bodies – which will spearhead regeneration projects, seek to attract inward invest and promote skills development – will cost less to run and be more accountable to local residents than their predecessors.

But critics say that, unlike RDAs, they will not receive any central government funding and councils – which are facing a 7% cut in their annual grants – will be hard-pressed to deliver an equivalent level of service.

Asked about the subject on Wednesday, Prime Minister David Cameron said the LEP proposals received so far were “extremely encouraging” but it was important that the assets owned and operated by the RDAs were properly managed during the changeover.

“The transition from the regional development agencies to the local enterprise partnerships has to be handled carefully,” he told MPs.

“I think they [LEPs] will lead to more…local control rather than distant regions that people don’t identify with.”

The eight RDAs outside London have a combined budget of £1.1bn this year after their funding was cut by £270m.

Although many of their functions are expected to transfer to the new organisations, some could taken on by government departments and up to 2,700 jobs are at risk as a result of the shake-up.

The new LEPs are among organisations which will be encouraged to bid for funding from the regional growth fund, the coalition’s flagship initiative to support jobs and business in some of the most deprived areas.

During a visit to Manchester, Mr Clegg – accompanied by former Conservative deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine – will give details about how firms and individuals will be able to bid for money and what conditions will be attached.

Mr Clegg has said the money – to be spread out between 2010 and 2013 – will help boost diversification of business in those areas of England with higher than average levels of public sector employment – such as the North East, and parts of the North West and the Midlands.

An estimated 490,000 public sector jobs are expected to go as a result of cuts announced by Chancellor George Osborne last week and recent BBC research suggested Middlesbrough, Mansfield and Stoke-on-Trent are among the towns most vulnerable to economic shocks.

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

Torrent of abuse unleashed on unsuspecting wedding couple

People in the Maldives were reported to be furious at the possible damage to their reputation

Police in the Maldives are to launch a formal investigation after a foreign couple were verbally abused during a ceremony to rewew their wedding vows.

A video has emerged of the unidentified Western couple taking part in the small ceremony at the Vilu Reef resort.

But instead of words of blessing, the celebrant calls the couple “swine” and “infidels”, and says their future children will be illegitimate.

The hotel has apologised for the “unforgivable conduct” of its staff.

“The management of the resort is deeply saddened by this humiliating event,” the hotel management said in a statement.

“Most of the children that you have are marked with spots and blemishes”

Vow renewal celebrant Vilu Reef

The Maldive’s Deputy Tourism Minister, Ismail Yasir, told the BBC the government was “very concerned” by the incident.

“We had asked the resort to inform us what action they have taken. We have also requested a formal enquiry into the matter from the police,” he said.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed said the incident could damage the country’s reputation as a tourist haven.

The amateur film of the ceremony, which was posted on the video sharing site Youtube a few days ago, shows the couple sitting in a makeshift shelter on the beach, surrounded by local people.

The bride is wearing a white dress and carrying a bouquet, while incense, official looking documents and wedding rings lie on the table in front of them.

‘Frequent fornication’

The celebrant explains the ceremony in English before everyone stands and holds their hands up to pray.

But instead of words of blessing, the celebrant uses the intonating style of prayers to unleash a torrent of abuse about the couple in the local Dhivehi language.

“We don’t want for such incidents to be characterised as normal in the Maldives and I am sure it is not so”

Ismail Yasir Deputy Tourism Minister

“Your marriage is not a valid one. You are not the kind of people who can have a valid marriage. One of you is an infidel. The other, too, is an infidel – and we have reason to believe -an atheist, who does not even believe in an infidel religion,” the Minivan newspaper quotes him as saying.

“You fornicate and make a lot of children. You drink and you eat pork. Most of the children that you have are marked with spots and blemishes. These children that you have are bastards.”

The camera focuses on the paperwork in front of him, which local media say was not a marriage document but employment contracts – he then begins to read from these.

The celebrant also makes references to bestiality, sexual diseases and “frequent fornication by homosexuals”.

After the ceremony, the couple are taken to plant a coconut tree together, during which various comments are made about the bride’s breasts.

Mr Yasir told the BBC most people in the Maldives were furious about what had taken place and that he hoped the couple would be given compensation.

“We are embarassed as well, and very outraged,” he said of the tourism ministry.

He said tourism was vital for the country and denied that the incident was a symptom of antagonism between local people and tourists.

“I am sure almost all Maldevians are aware that tourism is the main industry in the Maldives and is very important.”

Mr Yasir said wedding and vow renewal ceremonies were held successfully all the time and that he was sure the incident at Vilu Reef had been a one-off.

“We would like to assure everyone who would like to come to Maldives that we will take such incidents seriously and we will take action.

“We don’t want for such incidents to be characterised as normal in the Maldives and I am sure it is not so.”

Vilu Reef hotel, run by Sun Hotels and Resorts, charges $1,300 (£820) for the ceremony, which it says offers couples the chance to “mark a milestone in your amazing journey together”.

The company says the celebrant has been suspended and it is taking disciplinary action against staff.

Manager Mohamed Rasheed told the AFP news agency: “The man had used filthy language. Otherwise the ceremony was OK.”

He said the couple had received an apology.

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

Civil servants face forced cuts

The head of the civil service has said he cannot rule out compulsory redundancies to reduce staff numbers.

It is estimated that 490,000 public sector jobs could go over five years, due to spending cuts.

Sir Gus O’Donnell told MPs it could not be done just “through natural wastage” and compulsory redundancies “would be part of the answer”.

He said departments were still working out what new spending limits, unveiled last week, would mean for jobs.

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

Hodgson warns Man Utd off Reina

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson tells Manchester United that goalkeeper Pepe Reina is not for sale.

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

Freeze ovaries to boost fertility

Many women choose to concentrate first on their career, leaving motherhood for later

Young women should freeze parts of their ovaries if they want to postpone motherhood until later in life, a US fertility expert has said.

Dr Sherman Silber told the American Society for Reproductive Medicine meeting in Denver a woman could freeze her ovary at 19 to use when she was 40.

Dr Silber, who says the procedure would work better than egg freezing, did the first full ovary transplant in 2007.

But UK experts warned ovary freezing had not been sufficiently tested.

Six water firms miss leak targets

Burst pipe spews water on to a street near Lancaster Gate in London on 16 May 2006

Last year’s bitter winter saw a surge in the number of burst pipes reported

Nearly a quarter of all water companies in England and Wales failed to do enough to tackle leaks last year, the industry regulator Ofwat has said.

Its annual report said while companies continued to deliver safe, reliable supplies, six out of 21 companies did not meet their leakage targets.

The worst offender was Yorkshire Water which lost on average 295 million litres a day last year, Ofwat said.

This was 20 million litres more than the level set by the regulator.

This is the first time so many water companies have failed to hit their annual leakage targets.

But it is thought last year’s harsh winter, which saw a surge in the number of burst pipes being reported, may have played a part.

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

Somalia Islamists ‘execute spies’

Fighters from al-Shabab control much of southern and central Somalia

Two young women have been publicly executed by Somali Islamist group al-Shabab, reports say.

They were shot dead by firing squad in a square in the central city of Beledweyne.

The pair, who were aged 15 and 18, were sentenced to death on Wednesday after being accused of spying, AP reports.

Somalia has had no functioning government since 1991. The al-Qaeda-linked group al-Shabab and its allies control much of the country’s south.

The two young women were named by AP as 18-year-old Ayan Mohamed Jama, and Huriyo Ibrahim, 15.

Al-Shabab militiamen walked through the town’s streets, telling residents about the executions by loudspeaker and ordering everyone to attend, reports the agency.

The militia group’s regional commander, Sheikh Yusuf Ali Ugas, said the two had been found guilty of spying and being what he described as “enemies of Islam”.

But a woman who saw the execution, Sadia Osman, said one of the young women had said she was innocent of the charges, AP reports.

One eyewitness described how people in the crowd were shocked by the sight of the killings.

“One of the women who saw the execution today collapsed and lost consciousness after she saw the cruel way the girls were shot,” Da’ud Ahmed said.

Somalia’s UN-backed government authority only controls parts of Mogadishu and a few other areas, although it has been gaining ground from al-Shabab in recent weeks.

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

New France strike as protest ebbs

A striking worker in Nantes (26 October 2010)

Striking workers are still angry about the plans for pension reform

French unions and protesters are mounting another day of strikes and action over the government’s pension reform, despite the plan being passed.

Public transport, including flights to and from Orly airport in Paris, are expected to be disrupted.

But support for the strikes is said to be waning after the National Assembly voted on Wednesday to raise the pension age by two years, from 60 to 62.

The bill faces a legal challenge before France’s president can sign it off.

President Nicolas Sarkozy aims to sign the bill into law in November.

Thursday will be the seventh day of action since the beginning of the dispute over pension reform.

Protest leaders are aiming to organise marches in about 100 French towns and cities, in concert with strikes by public sector unions.

Aviation officials predict half of flights at Paris Orly airport will be cancelled and 30% at other airports.

Trains, post offices, schools and public services will all be affected again.

Union leaders say they will also pursue the protest in other ways.

“I don’t want to work until I’m 67 years old and I don’t what my son to be unemployed”

Jean-Luc Hacquart CGT Union

However, the BBC’s Christian Fraser, in Paris, says the momentum has been with the government for several days now.

The final vote in parliament on Wednesday means pension reform is now inevitable – unless the president performs an unlikely u-turn, he adds.

The unions say the marches in Paris and all the provincial cities will be smaller than those seen in recent weeks.

They blame the half-term school break, but they also know the sprit of the protest has been drained by the unstoppable political process, our correspondent adds.

Rolling strikes and blockades at oil refineries are continuing and are now into a fourth week, continuing to inconvenience travellers and businesses.

Eleven of France’s 12 refineries were closed on Wednesday and fuel imports into France have now risen to more than four times their normal levels.

The National Assembly, France’s lower house, voted the bill through by 336 votes for to 233 against.

The upper house, the Senate, backed the bill by 177 votes to 151 on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon sought to draw a line under the protests, urging opponents to respect the will of parliament.

“It was right to have a vigorous debate but the law of the Republic should henceforth be respected by all,” he said in a statement.

Jean-Luc Hacquart, a representative of the CGT union in Paris, said he opposed the pension reform because it was “unfair”.

“I don’t want to work until I’m 67 years old and I don’t what my son to be unemployed,” he said, speaking at the Grandpuits oil refinery.

“That’s why I’m here. It is not legitimate. They do what they want. We knew that this bill would be approved but democracy is not carte blanche given to people who do what they want in-between each election.”

Opinion polls suggest that the pension battle has sent Mr Sarkozy’s approval ratings to record lows of below 30%, 18 months before the next presidential election.

An Ifop poll taken last week also suggested that 59% of French people opposed the blockade of refineries, road junctions and companies by strikers.