#NWYR.lifestyle.dynmc.entertainment.feed DCSIMG Dynamic Dart Advertisement IFRAME: http://yrnweb.co.uk/puffs/sen/1 IFRAME: http://yrnweb.co.uk/puffs/sen/2 * News + Local + Regional + National + Business o Jobs + Health o Local o NHS + Education + Environment + Letters + Features o Cafe Vox Pop o Garden Guru Sponsored by Ford Focus * Sport + Football + Cricket + Rugby + Other Sports + National Sport + Leeds United Sponsored by Orangewheels.co.uk * Lifestyle + Entertainment + What's On + Big Night Out Gallery + Your Photos Gallery + Sportograph Gallery + Wedding Planner + Tide Times + Reader Offers + Reader Competitions + Showbiz + Home and Garden o Property o Private Lettings + Motoring + Bingo + Wine Club + Reader Travel + Buy A Photo Sponsored by Used Ford * Community + Find It + Local Focus + Announcements o In Memoriam o Birthdays o Weddings o Anniversaries o Special Day Notices o Best Wishes + Public Notices + Local Businesses Sponsored by Nissan Search site ____________________ Search Button Tuesday 31 January 2012 Log in Register Welcome Change profile Log out Welcome Log out * Find it * Jobs * Property * Motors * Announcements * You are here * Lifestyle * > * Entertainment Sponsored by Used Ford Art class ‘draws’ a big following Artwork by Muriel Griffiths Artwork by Muriel Griffiths Published on Wednesday 21 September 2011 12:22 RESIDENTS at a Scarborough care home have been showing their artistic skills. Scarborough Hall Care Home, in Mount View Avenue, runs an arts and crafts class, which has proved a great success. Recreation co-ordinator Eli Figueiredo said: “There is always a great turn-out for this weekly event. We strongly believe that keeping residents mentally active is as important as general good health.” A refurbishment of the home, which was taken over by care provider Avery Healthcare last December, will be completed shortly with 85 en-suite rooms, flower gardens, a hair salon and hotel-style catering. Manager Charlotte Thompson said: “The injection of cash has not only raised general standards but also improved the quality of ‘softer benefits’ such as well considered recreational and leisure activities, the value of which are often underestimated.” Organisations interested in becoming involved with the home can call (01723) 381594. * * Email to a friend Email to a friend * Print this page Print this page Logged in as: Comment here. 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A version appeared on p27 of the Main section section of the Guardian on Monday 10 January 2011. It was last modified at 12.35 GMT on Tuesday 11 January 2011. The following correction was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and clarifications column, Tuesday 11 January 2009 Speaking of a man charged in connection with the shooting of 20 people, six of them fatally, in Arizona on 8 January, a comment piece asked, "Is he a nut? Of course he's a nut." Whatever feelings this event arouses, the Guardian's guidance on language involving mental health is unaltered: offensive and stigmatising terms are greatly to be avoided __________________________________________________________________ It was instructive to read elected Republicans' official statements in response to the Gabrielle Giffords shooting for what they did not say. The House Speaker, John Boehner, said: "An attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve. Acts and threats of violence against public officials have no place in our society. Our prayers are with congresswoman Giffords, her staff, all who were injured and their families. This is a sad day for our country." Arizona Senator John McCain issued the following: "I am horrified by the violent attack on representative Gabrielle Giffords and many other innocent people by a wicked person who has no sense of justice or compassion. I pray for Gabby and the other victims, and for the repose of the souls of the dead and comfort for their families. Whoever did this, whatever their reason, they are a disgrace to Arizona, this country and the human race." All well and good, and I have no doubt every word is sincere. But you'll note that they are silent on the question of the violent rhetoric that emanates from the rightwing of American society. You don't have to believe that alleged shooter, Jared Loughner, is a card-carrying Tea Party member (he evidently is not) to see some kind of connection between that violent rhetoric and what happened in Arizona on Saturday. Is he a nut? Of course he's a nut. By definition, anyone who shoots innocent people like that has a screw loose. But nuts come in many varieties. There are some who think Dick Cheney planned 9/11, others who believe the CIA has installed eavesdropping devices in their fillings, and still others who insist they're the reincarnation of Mary Queen of Scots. So what particular type of nut is Loughner? We don't have a full picture yet. But we have enough of one. His coherent ravings included the conviction that the constitution assured him that "you don't have to accept the federalist laws". He called a female classmate who had an abortion a "terrorist". In sum, he had political ideas, which not everyone does. Many of them (not all, but most) were right wing. He went to considerable expense and trouble to shoot a high-profile Democrat, at point-blank range right through the brain. What else does one need to know? For anyone to attempt to insist that the violent rhetoric so regularly heard in this country had no likely effect on this young man is to enshroud oneself in dishonesty and denial. I would like to report to you that my nation is in shock, and that we will work together to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again. Alas, neither of these things is close to true. Of course an event like this is hard to believe in the moment; but in the context of our times, it's really not surprising at all. Last summer, a California man armed himself and set off for San Francisco with the express intent of killing liberals at a nonprofit foundation that had been pilloried by Glenn Beck and others. Only the lucky accident of his arrest en route for drunk driving prevented the mayhem then. The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence has documented more than two dozen killings by or arrests of rightwing extremists who intended to do serious political violence since 2008. One Tennessee man killed two worshippers at a liberal church, regretting only that he had not been able to ice the 100 liberals named by author Bernard Goldberg as those most responsible for destroying America. Giffords herself received threats after voting for the healthcare reform bill, and shots were fired through the window of her district office. An event like this has been coming for a long time. As to the future, some things will change, at least for a while. Sarah Palin will be deeply diminished by this. Speaking about the now well-known cross-hairs imagery over the map of Giffords' congressional district on Palin's website, Giffords herself last year expressed concern about "consequences". Palin pooh-poohed this at the time. Her unctuous and hypocritical "prayer" for Giffords and the other victims will mollify only those who think she can do no wrong. But in general, this hastens that blessed day when we no longer have to pay attention to her self-serving lies and idiocies. Republicans and even Tea Partiers will have the sense â again, for a while â to steer clear of directly gun-related rhetoric. We won't be hearing much in the near term about "second amendment remedies" and insurrection and so forth. But this will be temporary. Guns are simply too central to the mythology of the American right, as is the idea of liberty being wrested from tyrants only at gunpoint. For the American right to stop talking about armed insurrection would be like American liberals dropping the subjects of race and gender. It's too encoded in conservative DNA. In addition, contemporary American conservatism has been utterly arrested by this ridiculous paranoid fantasy that our government is a tyranny. Here was Republican Congressman Paul Broun of Georgia, speaking in Washington last April on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing: "Fellow patriots, we have a lot of domestic enemies of the constitution, and they're right down the Mall, in the Congress of the United States â and right down Independence Avenue in the White House that belongs to us. It's not about my ability to hunt, which I love to do. It's not about the ability for me to protect my family and property against criminals, which we have the right to do. But it's all about us protecting ourselves from a tyrannical government." The year before, this same Broun singled out then-Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, as one such "domestic enemy of the constitution". He was re-elected last November with 67% of the vote. This kind of rhetoric will go into hibernation now, but only for a bit. Because not only is it too central to rightwing mythology; it is central to Republican electoral strategy. This is one of those things that no one says, because it can't really and truly be proved forensically, but everyone knows. Get people to hate liberals. Get them to think not only that liberals have ideas for the country that are wrong â get them to believe that liberals despise the country and are actively attempting to hasten its demise. Say progressivism isn't just invalid or even dangerous, but "evil" and a "cancer," as Glenn Beck says. Fear gets people to the ballot box. Direct responsibility for what happened Saturday? No. Mentally ill people are mentally ill. The Beatles weren't responsible for the messages that Charles Manson heard in their music. But there's a difference. Paul McCartney had no earthly reason to think that an innocent song about a fairground ride (Helter Skelter) would lead a man to commit barbarous acts of murder. Today's Republicans and conservative commentators, however, surely understand the fire they're playing with. But they do it, and a tragedy like Saturday's won't stop them, as long as they can maintain a phoney plausible deniability and as long as hate continues to pay dividends at the ballot box. * Print this Printable version * Send to a friend * Share * Clip * Contact us * larger | smaller Email Close Recipient's email address ____________________ Your first name ____________________ Your surname ____________________ Add a note (optional) _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ Send Your IP address will be logged Share Close Short link for this page: http://gu.com/p/2m9te * StumbleUpon * reddit * Tumblr * Digg * LinkedIn * Google Bookmarks * del.icio.us * livejournal * Facebook * Twitter Contact us Close * Report errors or inaccuracies: reader@guardian.co.uk * Letters for publication should be sent to: letters@guardian.co.uk * If you need help using the site: userhelp@guardian.co.uk * Call the main Guardian and Observer switchboard: +44 (0)20 3353 2000 * + Advertising guide + License/buy our content World news * US politics · * US Congress · * United States · * Tea Party movement · * Republicans · * US healthcare · * Gabrielle Giffords More from Comment is free on World news * US politics · * US Congress · * United States · * Tea Party movement · * Republicans · * US healthcare · * Gabrielle Giffords * More on this story * Tributes to congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords outside her district office in Tucson, Arizona Jared Lee Loughner note reveals aim to assassinate Gabrielle Giffords Investigators examine whether far-right organisations played a role in Tucson shooting that killed six * Video Video: Gabrielle Giffords shooting: reaction in Arizona * Gunman linked to grammar extremist * Interactive Gabrielle Giffords's injury explained * Shooting reignites row over rightwing rhetoric * 'Does she have any enemies?' 'Yeah. The whole Tea Party' * Editorial: Wild west politics * Martin Robbins: The quest for the mind of Jared Lee Loughner * An act of political violence in a polarised country * Jessica Valenti: Shooting highlights 'man-up' culture in US politics * Alex Hannaford: The targeting of Gabrielle Giffords * Gallery The shooting of Gabrielle Giffords * Gabrielle Giffords: Liberal, but a pro-gun pragmatist * Jared Lee Loughner: erratic, disturbed and prone to rightwing rants * Online reaction to shootings * Congress security under review after shooting Related * 9 Jan 2011 Tucson shootings: the online reaction * 11 Jan 2011 Arizona shootings fallout â live blog * 1 Aug 2011 US debt limit deal - as it happened * 12 Jan 2011 Sarah Palin's 'blood libel' blunder * Print this Printable version * Send to a friend * Share * Clip * Contact us * Article history Email Close Recipient's email address ____________________ Your first name ____________________ Your surname ____________________ Add a note (optional) _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ Send Your IP address will be logged Share Close Short link for this page: http://gu.com/p/2m9te * StumbleUpon * reddit * Tumblr * Digg * LinkedIn * Google Bookmarks * del.icio.us * livejournal * Facebook * Twitter Contact us Close * Report errors or inaccuracies: reader@guardian.co.uk * Letters for publication should be sent to: letters@guardian.co.uk * If you need help using the site: userhelp@guardian.co.uk * Call the main Guardian and Observer switchboard: +44 (0)20 3353 2000 * + Advertising guide + License/buy our content About this article Close In the US, where hate rules at the ballot box, this tragedy has been coming for a long time | Michael Tomasky This article was published on guardian.co.uk at 17.37 GMT on Sunday 9 January 2011. A version appeared on p27 of the Main section section of the Guardian on Monday 10 January 2011. It was last modified at 12.35 GMT on Tuesday 11 January 2011. Comments 889 comments, displaying oldest first Sort comments by [Oldest] Submit * This symbol indicates that that person is The Guardian's staff Staff * This symbol indicates that that person is a contributor Contributor * Latest * 1 * 2 * 3 … * 16 * 17 * 18 * Next * Corcoran 9 January 2011 5:42PM This is a truly scandalous piece of writing smearing any kind of thought that is, these days, classed as 'right-wing'. I would like to remind you that * + Recommend (512) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * shrikandushma 9 January 2011 5:43PM Yet when a muslim army shrink goes postal he's just a nut. * + Recommend (687) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * reallyevilmonkey 9 January 2011 5:44PM I am not a fan of the Republicans but this this incident isn't their fault. * + Recommend (445) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * EgotisticalUsername 9 January 2011 5:46PM This is a disgusting article, making cheap political points before the bodies are even cold. Shameful. * + Recommend (748) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * GermanicusRex 9 January 2011 5:47PM So it has been proven that the gunman was influenced by "right wing" rhetoric and that his motivations were entirely political, inspired by The Tea Party? No thought not. * + Recommend (392) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * EgotisticalUsername 9 January 2011 5:47PM And can I remind this author that there was plenty of equally violent rhetoric issuing from the left when Bush was in power. But maybe that's "different"? * + Recommend (421) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * kikithefrog 9 January 2011 5:48PM "You don't have to believe that alleged shooter, Jared Loughner, is a card-carrying Tea Party member (he evidently is not) to see some kind of connection between that violent rhetoric and what happened in Arizona on Saturday." When the Ford Hood killer was reported as saying "Allah Akhbar" as he killed, everyone from President Obama down was saying, "don't jump to conclusions" and urging people not to judge the majority of Muslims from the actions of this one man. Yet your "some kind of connection" is, so far, based on nothing. "Evidently not", indeed! From his ravings this Loughner, who listed both Mein Kampf and The Communist Manifesto as favourite books, along with Alice in Wonderland, seems to have picked up his mad ideology from anything and everything. The references to currency were vaguely right wing. The anti-religion vaguely left wing. He sounds like just a madman to me. * + Recommend (391) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * ohsocynical 9 January 2011 5:48PM Well said MT! * + Recommend (695) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * GermanicusRex 9 January 2011 5:49PM After Stephen Timms was stabbed I didn't see a mass outcry about Islamic rhetoric regarding Iraq and Afghanistan. Funny that. * + Recommend (259) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * Corcoran 9 January 2011 5:49PM This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn't abide by our community standards. Replies may also be deleted. For more detail see our FAQs. * hermionegingold 9 January 2011 5:50PM Today's Republicans and conservative commentators, however, surely understand the fire they're playing with. But they do it, and a tragedy like Saturday's won't stop them hear, hear!. i'd like to think the likes of bill o'reilly & ann coulter would be laughed at were they to operate their particular brand of hatred in the british media. good article. brace yourself michael, i suspect this is going to get messy. * + Recommend (977) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * LucyQ 9 January 2011 5:50PM I am thinking about the violently obscene social problems in Pakistan and can't find too many degrees of separation between that culture and the American one. Must Right Wing equate with socially dysfunctional, violent religious cultures? It was a lot sickening to turn on the TV news of America and see/hear the usual invoking of the gods for the dead. Doesn't everyone know that the gods don't exist and that is why there is no special, magical intervention for your football team or to protect a child in the line of fire from a bullet? * + Recommend (222) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * ClowninAround 9 January 2011 5:51PM Mr Tomasky; You do remember that pseudo documentary "The assassination of George Bush" don't you? Maybe you missed all those "Bush - kill yourself" T shirts. This is no time for bipartizan rhetoric. * + Recommend (294) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * toesion 9 January 2011 5:51PM We dont know anything about this guys motivations, his reading list has a whole range of ideological leanings and his youtube videos are just random thoughts with no bias toward left or right. It seems you have just made up that he had right wing leanings. * + Recommend (198) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * UnashamedLibertarian 9 January 2011 5:51PM This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn't abide by our community standards. Replies may also be deleted. For more detail see our FAQs. * ClowninAround 9 January 2011 5:51PM Ooops I meant partizan rhetoric. * + Recommend (8) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * adastram 9 January 2011 5:53PM The shooting of Gabrielle Giffords may lead to the temporary hibernation of rightwing rage, but it is encoded in conservative DNA "Rightwing rage" as you call it, is a relatively new phenomenon. Has it crossed your mind that there are genuine reasons why many ordinary people are very angry? * + Recommend (122) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * Contributor RedMutley 9 January 2011 5:53PM This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn't abide by our community standards. Replies may also be deleted. For more detail see our FAQs. * BritishHonduras 9 January 2011 5:53PM What a load of crap....sir...we have no idea what drove this man to kill! You are worse than the nut cases over here who jump to conclusions without facts! All we know is that this dude is a leftwing nutcase, who burn our flag, is anti government and takes anti-depressant medication.... In America, we have the freedom to debate...like it or not! With our gun laws we will have murders committed because of our freedom to debate....We are use to it and will get over it! You should take a chill pill, get some facts before you blog! * + Recommend (189) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * Fulton 9 January 2011 5:53PM The role of the media in amplifying these voices doesn't seem to have been given enough weight in the article. It's not just that you have the likes of Sarah Palin painting crosshairs and talking about "don't retreat-reload." The media consider her good television and copy and promote her. The Guardian not excluded, there's times I've thought some Guardian journos must have a crush or something. Instead, of challenging the extremism, the extremists get injected into the mainstream because wackjobs means ratings or page views or whatever. So you have a situation where the demands of 24/7 news cycles encourages giving a prominence to people who talk in violent terms. It's a vicious cycle. Inevitably, a paranoid nut is going to start thinking "heh! it's not just me thinks like this, it's senate candidates, and ex-governors and talking heads on tv shows!" and that nut is one step nearer to shooting someone. And the media are just as much enablers of that as those who use hatred as part of their electoral strategy. * + Recommend (364) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * Aspadana 9 January 2011 5:54PM You don't have to believe that alleged shooter, Jared Loughner, is a card-carrying Tea Party member (he evidently is not) to see some kind of connection between that violent rhetoric and what happened in Arizona on Saturday. As the Tea Party is made up of different groups whose only commonality is they've had it with the two mainstream parties, and as Loughner evidently isn't a Tea-Party member, why ask your readers to imagine that he is or that he represents the DNA of a loose coalition which doesn't share a DNA, political or otherwise ! You know what they call this kind of thing ? Spin. You know what caused this massive public cynicism with our political process ergo the Tea Party ? Spin. * + Recommend (163) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * MacRandall 9 January 2011 5:54PM In sum, he had political ideas, which not everyone does. Many of them (not all, but most) were right wing. He went to considerable expense and trouble to shoot a high-profile Democrat, at point-blank range right through the brain. The Guardian has reached a new grubby low with this piece of trash. Six people died yesterday Tomasky, none of whom had anything to do with Glen Beck, Bernard Goldberg, HCR, or any wing of any political party, your complete lack of reference or attention to them notwithstanding. * + Recommend (251) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * wotever 9 January 2011 5:55PM LucyQ Must Right Wing equate with socially dysfunctional, violent religious cultures? Fraid so, just check the comment on this thread. * + Recommend (586) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * Drewv 9 January 2011 5:56PM "Hate at the ballot box", and by extension in the public realm, is such a common thing. So many democracies have regular punch-ups, physical fights, in parliament for example, of which the US Congress - oddly - seems to be spared completely. The thing that politicians all over the world will say of their opponents, burning your ears is the least of it. So I don't think that the degree to which political opponents throw vitriol and hateful speech at each other, says anything about the likelihood of lone citizens resorting to violence. For that, it makes more sense to look to the America-specific culture of anti-government rhetoric, guns and militias. * + Recommend (25) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * whizgiggle 9 January 2011 5:56PM Whether or not this incident was inspired by the truly despicable rhetoric that passes for acceptable in US politcal discussion, it has brought the issue into public debate. To an outsider, the tone of some of the statements and posturing among US politicians and commentators is genuinely disconcerting, and I think a bit of reflection on the part of those that engage in it will help everyone. * + Recommend (197) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * LordPosh 9 January 2011 5:56PM This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn't abide by our community standards. Replies may also be deleted. For more detail see our FAQs. * Contributor RedMutley 9 January 2011 5:57PM It's almost as if Egotistical Username and Germanicus Rex feel like they need to be extremely defensive about this. * + Recommend (401) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * Continent 9 January 2011 5:57PM Reading this McCarthy era comes to mind. McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism * + Recommend (155) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * kikithefrog 9 January 2011 5:57PM Lucy Q asks, "Must Right Wing equate with socially dysfunctional, violent religious cultures?" A couple of sources are saying that Loughner was anti-religious. His videos say something about how he won't trust in God. This does not make other anti-religious people responsible for his mad actions. Though if it turns out the anti-religion part of his views was significant I will await with interest all the demands from the Guardian's writers for atheists to turn down the rhetoric. * + Recommend (75) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * Raymond82 9 January 2011 5:58PM This is a disgusting article, making cheap political points before the bodies are even cold. Shameful. As cheap as some comments on the events in Egypt or Pakistan Yet when a muslim army shrink goes postal he's just a nut. If anything mass shootings in America in the media are often written off as just loners, mentally ill and completely unavoidable * + Recommend (74) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * peacefulmilitant 9 January 2011 5:58PM Michael Tomasky All well and good, and I have no doubt every word is sincere. But you'll note that they are silent on the question of the violent rhetoric that emanates from the rightwing of American society. What about the violent rhetoric that comes from your side? Every tread here on CiF that mentions âthe Bush and Cheney war crimesâ (and God know there is at least one of them every week) contains at least half a dozen calls for their execution. Have I ever heard you or any other CiF contributor condemning that (for its not so implied violence)? What about the original engineers of leftwind hatred â Marx and Engels â that apparently served as inspiration for this excuse of a human being? What about the fact that your side immediately pinned the outrage that happened yesterday (committed by a mentally disturbed person with leftist/anarchist views) on the Tea Party and the evil Republicans (Palin, Limbaugh, etc.)? Wasnât that a clear case of incitement (or at the very least symptom) of hatred? * + Recommend (147) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * dynamic22 9 January 2011 5:59PM Looking at the the shooter his leanings seem to be particular anti-religious and anti-government of the "Anarchist" sort. These political leanings are very idealogically disposed from a heavily Christian Republican and within that a Tea party movement who seem to be targeted here. Why is this point not made yet ? Are journalists too silly to recognize an anarchist from a republican? * + Recommend (55) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * Celtiberico 9 January 2011 6:00PM Well, it's not a bad article, but it didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. Obviously, the likes of Palin and Beck have been ratcheting up the Goebbels act, but the trouble is that this is only accepted by their enemies, just as the problem of Islamist violence is denied by many who are afraid of being seen as 'Islamophobic'. Nothing Orwell wouldn't have recognised... * + Recommend (41) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * RightWingTroll 9 January 2011 6:00PM LucyQ Must Right Wing equate with socially dysfunctional, violent religious cultures? Not at all. Have you been to right-wing Singapore and right-wing Switzerland? * + Recommend (71) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * kikithefrog 9 January 2011 6:00PM RedMutley, "It's almost as if Egotistical Username and Germanicus Rex feel like they need to be extremely defensive about this." That's because Mr Tomasky's article is attacking them. Note the use of war metaphors. It does not signify any propensity to violence on your behalf, or theirs, or Mr Tomasky's. Politics as War, like Sport as War, is just a metaphor in common use. Same goes for Sarah Palin's "targeting" metaphor. No one but a paranoid should think it means that she actually wanted harm on Ms Gifford. * + Recommend (56) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * Contributor RedMutley 9 January 2011 6:00PM British Honduras says: What a load of crap....sir...we have no idea what drove this man to kill! You are worse than the nut cases over here who jump to conclusions without facts! And then immediately follows it up with: All we know is that this dude is a leftwing nutcase, who burn our flag, is anti government and takes anti-depressant medication.... Is this intentional irony? Almost certainly not. Then this - which I think is quite superb: In America, we have the freedom to debate...like it or not! With our gun laws we will have murders committed because of our freedom to debate....We are use to it and will get over it! This is brilliant. Freedom to debate = shooting people and shooting people = freedom to debate. * + Recommend (592) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * EgotisticalUsername 9 January 2011 6:00PM This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn't abide by our community standards. Replies may also be deleted. For more detail see our FAQs. * thegreatfatsby 9 January 2011 6:00PM The shooting in Pakistan of Salman Taseer and the shooting of an American Congresswoman are related by mindless, extreme and imbecilic stupidity. The far right in America run on rails as distanced from reality and sanity as the Islamic extremists in Pakistan. Each are Anchored in ridiculous adherence to religious mantras far removed from sense and reality. Each demonise their perceived enemies. Each offer scope for violent corruption. Yin and Yang. * + Recommend (231) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * noorjivraj 9 January 2011 6:01PM so whats the difference between the blind hatred of Al-Qaeda and the Tea Party, Palin, the Bible Bashers and Co?? This is demo-crass-y?? Keep it ... * + Recommend (60) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * Contributor teaandchocolate 9 January 2011 6:01PM So, as I thought, you can only have a say in American democracy if you are right-wing and you have a bigger gun than your neighbour. Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and the res of the right-wing nuts should apologise. They are an abomination. * + Recommend (485) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * megasox 9 January 2011 6:01PM maybe such a dreadful act might make Sarah Palin think thrice before putting target imagery on her web site * + Recommend (122) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * lefthalfback 9 January 2011 6:02PM Mike Tomasky has accurately stated the issue. We have had 20 years of increasing rage from the Right. the loathsome comments of Congressman Brown-on the anniversary of the first major Right-wing Terrorist strike in those 20 years- are not atypical. And he was re-elected by 67% of the Georgians in his District. look at these comments demanding "...proof..." that the shooter was motivated by Right-wing hatred. What would satisfy you? A confession? A Liberal by the standard of arizona, Jewish Congresswoman gets shot in the face. The Sherriff of the County decries the fact that certain radio and TV hosts have made the County an epicenter of bigotry and prejudice. Res Ipsa Loquator. rave on conservative loonies. Your own words condemn you. * + Recommend (534) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * Contributor RedMutley 9 January 2011 6:02PM Kikithefrog Politics as War, like Sport as War, is just a metaphor in common use. Same goes for Sarah Palin's "targeting" metaphor. No one but a paranoid should think it means that she actually wanted harm on Ms Gifford. There are an awful lot of paranoids with guns in the US. I know this. You know this. Sarah Palin knows this. Pretending otherwise is sheer dishonesty. * + Recommend (394) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * harryboy 9 January 2011 6:02PM The year before, this same Broun singled out then-Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, as one such "domestic enemy of the constitution". He was re-elected last November with 67% of the vote. So what ? In November Obama was calling Republicans 'enemies' - or doesn't that count ? Also MT forgot to mention Gifford voted against Nancy Pelosi last wweek for speaker - wonder if that had anything to do with the shooting. It's as valid a question as any from MT. * + Recommend (42) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * MotorBacon 9 January 2011 6:02PM I'm glad we have right wingers to blame for this. Otherwise people would be blaming heavy metal and video games. Which honestly, is so ten years ago. We just need a good narrative, facts be damned. Among the suspect's favorite books were The Communist Manifesto, and Mein Kampf. One of his old friends says he was politically liberal. But who care it's Sarah Palin and other conservatives who are at fault for this. Just like Marilyn Manson was at fault for Columbine, and we all knew that a day after. * + Recommend (100) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * lightacandle 9 January 2011 6:03PM This is what happens when you follow the politics of 'hatee' we can see it happening in this country with the right wing's targeting of the more vulnerable in society who make easy targets. Even here on Comment is Free we are seeing an increase in traffic of offensive remarks targeted at those columinists who are more to the left and likewise against any commenters. We need to tread very careful here - and I hope the right wing here take note of what this sort of talk and campaigning can do. This is the latest on this sorry affair ........ "Giffords was also the target of a campaign event advert for her opponent, Jesse Kelly, which invited supporters to fire a gun with the candidate. It read: "Get on Target for Victory in November. Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office. Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly". John Ellinwood, Kelly's spokesman, said he did "not see the connection" between fundraisers featuring weapons and the shooting. It's a disgrace, inhumane and totally immoral - is this really the sort of society we want to live in? I hope lessons are learned. * + Recommend (363) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * whizgiggle 9 January 2011 6:04PM PeacefulMillitant I think there is a difference between what anonymous commenters on a newspaper website say, and what popular political commentators say. Try and find examples (and I'm sure they exist) from well known leftist commentators if you wish to make a fair comparison. (Am I the only one that finds the left/right false dichotomy embarrasing and childish?) * + Recommend (99) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * mintberrycrunch 9 January 2011 6:04PM I'm glad the American right have turned their hatred on their own people for a change instead of murdering thousands of innocents across the world. * + Recommend (89) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * masaski 9 January 2011 6:05PM You cannot hold your inflammatory tongue for one second can you? When are you going to realise that the left/right are the same in American politics? And yet you still roll out the standard literary red/blue bitch fight as 6 people lie dead. You are a disgrace to start using this already for political gain and there are many like you already across the controlled media doling out this dangerous rhetoric... You should be ashamed. * + Recommend (125) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * jereboam 9 January 2011 6:05PM When everybody who wants a gun gets one, when your 'media' is controlled by right wing head cases and Fox 'News' bubbles up from your sewers everyday, when Republican ideas of political campaigning include cartoons of Obama dessed up as Hitler, when nut jobs like Sarah 'cross-hairs'' Palin are funded by looney billionaires, and when your educational system produces some of the most stupid people on the planet .......... well, it was just a matter of time. Time we had a serious debate in the UK about whether we still wish Cameron/Clegg to drag us into becoming the 51st state, or whether we turn towards the light, and Europe. * + Recommend (138) + Responses (0) + Report + Clip + | Link * Latest * 1 * 2 * 3 … * 16 * 17 * 18 * Next Comments on this page are now closed. On Comment is free * Most viewed * Zeitgeist * Latest Last 24 hours 1. [Daniel-Pudles-3001-003.jpg] 1. 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Sree Ram Edition: May, 2010 IFRAME: http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http://businesstoday.into day.in/story/mutual-funds-have-a-small-following/1/8704.html&layout=sta ndard&show_faces=true&width=219&action=like&font&colorscheme=light&heig ht=28 Tweet STORY TOOLS * Change font size * Print this story * E-Mail this story * Comment What will you do if you land a windfall? Buy a gadget or a mutual fund? If you spend it, you're one of a million who would do so, but if you invest it, then you belong to an elite category--the 10 per cent Indians who have invested in mutual funds. This is the result of a study conducted by Boston Analytics, which has revealed that mutual funds are still an alien financial product for 90 per cent of Indian households. The study, based on 10,000 respondents in 15 cities and towns, has found that most of the participants do not have sufficient knowledge about mutual funds and, hence, consider them to be a risky proposition. A majority of the people in tier II and tier III towns do not know where and how to invest in such assets. However, the study discovered that the opinion of existing investors was diametrically opposite. Nine out of 10 respondents cited professional management and benefits of diversity as the reasons for investing in mutual funds. These investors are active in tracking the performance and net asset values of funds. On the flip side, 15 per cent of the existing investors do not fully know about the funds they have invested in. They seem to have little or no information on the kind of funds (growth/dividend) and their risk profile. 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All rights reserved. * Terms of Use * Privacy Policy (none) Mobile BBC Home > BBC News > Middle East Menu Bahrain voices: How are the Gulf forces viewed? 17 March 11 15:34 GMT Gulf Co-operation Council troops with APC guarding financial district Bahrain's mainly Shia protesters, inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, have denounced the presence of troops from Gulf states - mainly Saudi Arabia and the UAE - invited by the government after weeks of unrest. Meanwhile supporters of the government hope the forces will bring the protests to an end. BBC Arabic spoke to a number of Bahrainis about whether the arrival of foreign troops is part of the solution to the crisis faced by their country. The following is a translation of their comments. Batool al-Ajaweed, 18, university student Internal security forces are already using brutal methods to crush peaceful demonstrations using unnecessary excessive force. We are not already happy with our own Bahraini forces, let alone the intervention of foreign forces. The ruling family has used all of its cards and is now resorting to severely repressing the protests, and this will not pass off peacefully. Like with Egypt and Libya, everyone is sympathetic to the legitimate demands of protesters. Everyone has so far condemned the killing of civilians in Libya, but when it comes to Bahrain, some describe the crackdown as a security necessity. The February 14 movement is a grassroots movement that started as a Facebook group. Initially, I did not take them seriously. But after the killing of civilians, I decided to join them by volunteering in the Sulaimaniya hospital. The protests in Bahrain are not of a sectarian nature. They are Bahraini protests, there is the Sunni as well as Shia demonstrating in Pearl Square. Iran has nothing to do with it except that the Bahraini regime is using Iran and sectarianism in its state media as scapegoats. The government should respond to the demands of the protesters by stepping down, starting with the prime minister. Dialogue can be a solution, but the government does not want true dialogue - when the opposition parties presented its conditions, the government did not respond. Nihal Hamza, 31, central bank employee We are very happy because the GCC forces have arrived. We will receive them with flowers as they protect Bahrain from the behaviour of the opposition. The protests were not peaceful at all. The opposition violated our rights to freedom and security, as we cannot go to work out of fear. Also, students at the University of Bahrain were intimidated. Bahrain is part of the GCC, it is time for the Gulf States to help their brothers in Bahrain, and we criticise them because they were late to help. I do not know how events will develop, but I am confident in the government and the Peninsula Shield forces in maintaining security. I heard a statement by the Iranian foreign minister in which he said that Iran is not meddling in Bahrain, and it is purely an internal affair. I wish he would be honest in his words. The opposition has to co-operate with the dialogue initiative launched by Crown Prince Sheikh Salman to end the crisis. We do not accept anyone but al-Khalifah as Bahrain's rulers. Jalal al-Majed, 30, consultant The arrival of the GCC troops in Bahrain is in the interest of the ruling family and for its protection only, and not in the interest of the country, as promoted by the official media. The regime continues to kill unarmed citizens, but this time with the help of the Gulf states. There is no other explanation. In fact, I'm not surprised that most of the troops are from Saudi Arabia, and I think that those who attacked protesters in Manama on 17 February were Saudi soldiers despite the denial of the government. I participated in the protests from the beginning, and have always been peaceful. Our demands are purely national, but the government insists they are sectarian. It seems that the government is imposing one option on the protesters, a marginalised life. When we raise our legal demands the government accuses us of trying to topple the regime. The only way out of this crisis is to hold a general referendum, excluding naturalised citizens, on how can we run our country. It should be monitored by international bodies. Diaa al-Jabr, 37, government employee The Peninsula Shield states that GCC should help any of its countries which is facing any form of insecurity. I am very happy that the treaty is activated as the situation in Bahrain is unbearable. We suffer from insecurity and now finally we will get our rights. Peninsula Shield did not come to kill Bahrainis, and I feel that when the protesters see those forces, they will be afraid and go home. Prince Salman called on the opposition to start dialogue and gave them 25 days to reply but there was no response. The government offered incentives and subsidies, but the problem is that most of the opposition are sectarian. I do not expect Iranians to intervene, if they do, there will be devastation. They do not have the right to intervene. It is an internal matter between the king and his people, and we do not want outside interference, except in the framework of international conventions. Share this Share via Email Share to Facebook Related to this story: * Britons urged to flee (17 Mar 11 | UK) * Clinton criticises Bahrain force (16 Mar 11 | US & Canada) * Splits in Bahrain's ruling family (16 Mar 11 | Middle East) * Special report: Bahrain unrest Top Menu * BBC News * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Middle East * US & Canada * Business * Entertainment * Health * Sci/Environment * Technology * Also in the News Related BBC sites * BBC Sport * Weather * World Service Top __________________________________________________________________ * Middle East * BBC News * BBC Home * News in your language * Preferences * FAQ * Contact Us * Terms of Use * Privacy policy BBC (c) 2011 * #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News UK Politics * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video * England * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * UK Politics * Education 29 September 2010 Last updated at 16:11 GMT Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print Extracts from David Miliband's letter David Miliband David Miliband said his brother needed to be "as free as possible from distraction" Continue reading the main story Labour Party conference * Labour are fortified, says Harman * We're a new generation - Miliband * The Ed Miliband Story * Mixed mood at Labour 2010 David Miliband has announced that he will not be submitting his name for Labour's shadow cabinet, and therefore will be walking away from front-line politics. The following is an extract from the letter he wrote to the chairman of his South Shields constituency, Alan Donnelly, to confirm his decision: "On the day that nominations closed for the shadow cabinet, I think it right to explain to you and party members why I think I can best support him [Ed] from the back benches. "The party needs a fresh start from its new leader, and I think that is more likely to be achieved if I make a fresh start. "This has not been an easy decision, but having thought it through, and discussed it with family and friends, I am absolutely confident it is the right decision for Ed, for the party, and for me and the family." "This is now Ed's party to lead and he needs to be able to do so as free as possible from distraction. "Any new leader needs time and space to set his or her own direction, priorities and policies. "I believe this will be harder if there is constant comparison with my comments and position as a member of the shadow cabinet. "This is because of the simple fact that Ed is my brother, who has just defeated me for the leadership. "I genuinely fear perpetual, distracting and destructive attempts to find division where there is none, and splits where they don't exist, all to the detriment of the party's cause." More on This Story Labour Party conference * Harriet Harman Labour are fortified, says Harman Harriet Harman says Labour will be "fortified" by its new leader, after a "roller coaster of emotions", as she closes the party's conference. ______________________________________________________________ Latest News * We're a new generation - Miliband * The Ed Miliband Story * Mixed mood at Labour 2010 * Clickable video of leader's speech * Miliband quits frontline politics * Ed Miliband: 'I will get married' * Shadow cabinet: 49 MPs in ballot * Nick Brown not standing as whip * Kinnock: We've got our party back Features * Labour leader Ed Miliband Landale's View: What Ed meant Labour leader Ed Miliband has set forth the changes he'll make as the optimistic new guy in charge, writes BBC deputy political editor James Landale. ______________________________________________________________ * The David Miliband Story Video and Audio * Labour Party unveiling new leader * Kuenssberg meets: Andy Burnham Watch * Kuenssberg meets: Ed Balls Watch * Kuenssberg meets: David Miliband Watch * Kuenssberg meets: Ed Miliband Watch * Kuenssberg meets: Diane Abbott Watch Related Internet links * The Labour Party The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print More UK Politics stories RSS * David Cameron PM facing backlash over euro pact David Cameron is accused of a retreat by Conservative Eurosceptics after he agreed to the use of the European Court to enforce a new eurozone fiscal pact. * Gove: Academy opponents 'Trots' * Change bonus rules, says Miliband Top Stories * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) UN action 'could spur Syria war' * Euro unemployment hits new record * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Republican rivals in Florida vote * French win India fighter jet deal Features & Analysis * Model cars and houses Golden salary What do people earning £1m ($1.5m) spend it on? ______________________________________________________________ * Planet Earth Planet mass Do rockets fired into space make the Earth lighter? ______________________________________________________________ * Occupy DC protesters shout slogans Day in pictures 24 hours of news photos from around the world ______________________________________________________________ * A foreclosure (repossession) sign in front of a house Money talks Has wealth become a liability in the US Republican race? ______________________________________________________________ Most Popular Shared 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: Skin transformed into brain cells 3. 3: Policeman who became a pole-dancer 4. 4: How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election 5. 5: Pythons link to mammals decline Read 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted 3. 3: French win India fighter jet deal 4. 4: Navy sends destroyer to Falklands 5. 5: What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? 6. 6: Search of cruise ship abandoned 7. 7: Pythons link to mammals decline 8. 8: Snake bursts after gobbling gator 9. 9: Is the Earth getting lighter? 10. 10: Euro unemployment hits new record Video/Audio 1. 1: 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' Watch 2. 2: One-minute World News Watch 3. 3: One way to find a rich Russian husband Watch 4. 4: Europe struggles in grip of snow Watch 5. 5: How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors Watch 6. 6: Mystery illness at US high school Watch 7. 7: Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide Watch 8. 8: Life after death faces legal battle Watch 9. 9: Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman Watch 10. 10: India's richest shrine goes green Watch Elsewhere on BBC News * India's Tirupati Temple. Photographer: Ashok666 (Flickr). Licensed under Creative Commons Lighting the way Why India's richest temple is adopting new technologies and going green Programmes * Bed in an ice hotel, Sweden Click Watch How ice sculptors in Sweden are making use of computers to complete their cold creations Services * News feeds * Mobile * Podcasts * Alerts * E-mail news About BBC News * Editors' blog * BBC College of Journalism * News sources * World Service Trust Mobile Search term: ____________________ Search bbc.co.uk navigation * News * Sport * Weather * Travel * TV * Radio * More * CBBC * CBeebies * Comedy * Food * Health * History * Learning * Music * Science * Nature * Local * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * Full A-Z of BBC sites BBC links * About the BBC * BBC Help * Contact Us * Accessibility Help * Terms of Use * Careers * Privacy & Cookies * Advertise With Us * Ad Choices BBC BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News Africa * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video 7 April 2011 Last updated at 08:38 GMT Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print Libya: Text of Muammar Gaddafi's letter to Barack Obama Continue reading the main story Libya Crisis * Libya's ex-rebels reluctant to down arms * Libya's Amazigh demand recognition * Libya economy banks on cash for recovery * 'Cleansed' Libyan town spills its terrible secrets The following is the text of a letter sent to President Barack Obama on Wednesday by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, published by the Associated Press news agency. The misspellings and grammatical errors are in the original letter. Our son, Excellency, President Obama U.S.A We have been hurt more morally that physically because of what had happened against us in both deeds and words by you. Despite all this you will always remain our son whatever happened. We still pray that you continue to be president of the USA. We Endeavour and hope that you will gain victory in the new election campaigne. You are a man who has enough courage to annul a wrong and mistaken action. I am sure that you are able to shoulder the responsibility for that. Enough evidence is available, Bearing in mind that you are the president of the strongest power in the world nowadays, and since Nato is waging an unjust war against a small people of a developing country. This country had already been subjected to embargo and sanctions, furthermore it also suffered a direct military armed aggression during Reagan's time. This country is Libya. Hence, to serving world peace ... Friendship between our peoples ... and for the sake of economic, and security cooperation against terror, you are in a position to keep Nato off the Libyan affair for good. As you know too well democracy and building of civil society cannot be achieved by means of missiles and aircraft, or by backing armed member of AlQuaeda in Benghazi. You - yourself - said on many occasions, one of them in the UN General Assembly, I was witness to that personally, that America is not responsible for the security of other peoples. That America helps only. This is the right logic. Our dear son, Excellency, Baraka Hussein Abu oumama, your intervention is the name of the U.S.A. is a must, so that Nato would withdraw finally from the Libyan affair. Libya should be left to Libyans within the African union frame. The problem now stands as follows:- 1. There is Nato intervention politically as well as military. 2. Terror conducted by AlQaueda gangs that have been armed in some cities, and by force refused to allow people to go back to their normal life, and carry on with exercising their social people's power as usual. Mu'aumer Qaddaffi Leader of the Revolution Tripoli 5.4.2011 Libya air strikes map 5 April More on This Story Libya Crisis Features and Analysis * New recruits training in Zawiyah Libya's ex-rebels reluctant to down arms The BBC's Mark Lowen finds the threat of a return to civil war hanging over Libya, with the government struggling to control armed groups. ______________________________________________________________ * Libya's Amazigh demand recognition * Libya economy banks on cash for recovery * 'Cleansed' Libyan town spills its terrible secrets * Heroes of the Tripoli underground * Going home to the new Libya * Libya's rebels without a cause * Women battle for empowerment * Fighting for youth jobs in Libya * Counting the cost * Libya explained * Key figures Profiles & Maps * Gaddafi family tree * Gaddafi's co-accused by the ICC * Profile: Abdurrahim al-Keib * Profile: Mustafa Abdul Jalil * Libya: Facts, figures and dates Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print More Africa stories RSS * Riot policemen sit on the back of a pickup truck as they patrol the street in Dakar on 28 January 2012 Senegal police deploy to block rally A large number of Senegalese police are deployed in central Dakar to prevent a banned opposition rally from taking place in the capital. * Somalia hostages returning home * Sudan win sparks Khartoum party Top Stories * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) UN action 'could spur Syria war' * Euro unemployment hits new record * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Republican rivals in Florida vote * French win India fighter jet deal Features & Analysis * Model cars and houses Golden salary What do people earning £1m ($1.5m) spend it on? ______________________________________________________________ * Planet Earth Planet mass Do rockets fired into space make the Earth lighter? ______________________________________________________________ * Occupy DC protesters shout slogans Day in pictures 24 hours of news photos from around the world ______________________________________________________________ * A foreclosure (repossession) sign in front of a house Money talks Has wealth become a liability in the US Republican race? ______________________________________________________________ Most Popular Shared 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: Skin transformed into brain cells 3. 3: Policeman who became a pole-dancer 4. 4: How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election 5. 5: Pythons link to mammals decline Read 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted 3. 3: French win India fighter jet deal 4. 4: Navy sends destroyer to Falklands 5. 5: What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? 6. 6: Search of cruise ship abandoned 7. 7: Pythons link to mammals decline 8. 8: Snake bursts after gobbling gator 9. 9: Is the Earth getting lighter? 10. 10: Euro unemployment hits new record Video/Audio 1. 1: 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' Watch 2. 2: One-minute World News Watch 3. 3: One way to find a rich Russian husband Watch 4. 4: Europe struggles in grip of snow Watch 5. 5: How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors Watch 6. 6: Mystery illness at US high school Watch 7. 7: Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide Watch 8. 8: Life after death faces legal battle Watch 9. 9: Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman Watch 10. 10: India's richest shrine goes green Watch Elsewhere on BBC News * India's Tirupati Temple. Photographer: Ashok666 (Flickr). Licensed under Creative Commons Lighting the way Why India's richest temple is adopting new technologies and going green Programmes * Bed in an ice hotel, Sweden Click Watch How ice sculptors in Sweden are making use of computers to complete their cold creations Services * News feeds * Mobile * Podcasts * Alerts * E-mail news About BBC News * Editors' blog * BBC College of Journalism * News sources * World Service Trust Mobile Search term: ____________________ Search bbc.co.uk navigation * News * Sport * Weather * Travel * TV * Radio * More * CBBC * CBeebies * Comedy * Food * Health * History * Learning * Music * Science * Nature * Local * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * Full A-Z of BBC sites BBC links * About the BBC * BBC Help * Contact Us * Accessibility Help * Terms of Use * Careers * Privacy & Cookies * Advertise With Us * Ad Choices BBC BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. 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And the Archbishop of Canterbury answers Comments Feed Tuesday 31 January 2012 | Blog Feed | All feeds Website of the Telegraph Media Group with breaking news, sport, business, latest UK and world news. Content from the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph newspapers and video from Telegraph TV. ___________________ Submit * Home * News * Sport * Finance * Comment * Blogs * Culture * Travel * Lifestyle * Fashion * Tech * Dating * Offers * Jobs * UK * World * Politics * Obituaries * Education * Earth * Science * Defence * Health News * Royal Family * Celebrities * Weird News Blogs Home » News » Religion » Damian Thompson Damian Thompson Damian Thompson is Editor of Telegraph Blogs and a leader writer for the Daily Telegraph. He was once described by The Church Times as a "blood-crazed ferret". He is on Twitter as HolySmoke. IFRAME: http://platform.twitter.com/widgets/follow_button.html?show_screen_name =false&show_count=true&screen_name=holysmoke [damian_thompson_140_big_v2-21-34-16.jpg] A six-year-old girl writes a letter to God. And the Archbishop of Canterbury answers By Damian Thompson Religion Last updated: April 22nd, 2011 Comment on this Comment on this article Archbishop Williams plays God (Photo: Getty) Archbishop Williams plays God (Photo: Getty) There's a charming article in today's Times by Alex Renton, a non-believer who sends his six-year-old daughter Lulu to a Scottish church primary school. Her teachers asked her to write the following letter: "To God, How did you get invented?" The Rentons were taken aback: "We had no idea that a state primary affiliated with a church would do quite so much God," says her father. He could have told Lulu that, in his opinion, there was no God; or he could have pretended that he was a believer. He chose to do neither, instead emailing her letter to the Scottish Episcopal Church (no reply), the Presbyterians (ditto) and the Scottish Catholics (a nice but theologically complex answer). For good measure, he also sent it to "the head of theology of the Anglican Communion, based at Lambeth Palace" â and this was the response: Dear Lulu, Your dad has sent on your letter and asked if I have any answers. It's a difficult one! But I think God might reply a bit like this â 'Dear Lulu â Nobody invented me â but lots of people discovered me and were quite surprised. They discovered me when they looked round at the world and thought it was really beautiful or really mysterious and wondered where it came from. They discovered me when they were very very quiet on their own and felt a sort of peace and love they hadn't expected. Then they invented ideas about me â some of them sensible and some of them not very sensible. From time to time I sent them some hints â specially in the life of Jesus â to help them get closer to what I'm really like. But there was nothing and nobody around before me to invent me. Rather like somebody who writes a story in a book, I started making up the story of the world and eventually invented human beings like you who could ask me awkward questions!' And then he'd send you lots of love and sign off. I know he doesn't usually write letters, so I have to do the best I can on his behalf. Lors of love from me too. +Archbishop Rowan I think this letter reveals a lot about the Archbishop of Canterbury's sort of theology â more, indeed, than many of his lectures or agonised Synod addresses. I'd be interested to know whether readers of this blog think he did a good job of answering Lulu's question. But what the letter also tells us is that the Archbishop took the trouble to write a really thoughtful message – unmistakably his work and not that of a secretary â to a little girl. "Well done, Rowan!" was the reaction of Alex Renton's mother, and I agree. Tags: Alex Renton, Archbishop Rowan Williams X Share & bookmark Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz What are these? * Share: Share Tweet Recent Posts * Alternative medicine is looking a bit sickly January 13th, 2012 21:29 Comment on this * Tragedy! Sexism row 'splitting UK Uncut' January 9th, 2012 10:32 Comment on this * Opus Dei and the patron saint of electronic eavesdroppers January 6th, 2012 21:28 Comment on this * How the BBC sucked up to the eurozone December 30th, 2011 18:30 Comment on this * When Islam met the diversity industry… December 23rd, 2011 21:21 Comment on this X Share & bookmark Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz What are these? 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live chat with Malcolm Gladwell about social media on Wednesday, September 29th, at 3 P.M. E.T. Keywords Twitter; Facebook; Civil-Rights Movement; Revolutions; Activists, Activism; Iran; Technology At four-thirty in the afternoon on Monday, February 1, 1960, four college students sat down at the lunch counter at the Woolworth's in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina. They were freshmen at North Carolina A. & T., a black college a mile or so away. "I'd like a cup of coffee, please," one of the four, Ezell Blair, said to the waitress. "We don't serve Negroes here," she replied. The Woolworth's lunch counter was a long L-shaped bar that could seat sixty-six people, with a standup snack bar at one end. The seats were for whites. The snack bar was for blacks. Another employee, a black woman who worked at the steam table, approached the students and tried to warn them away. "You're acting stupid, ignorant!" she said. They didn't move. Around five-thirty, the front doors to the store were locked. The four still didn't move. Finally, they left by a side door. Outside, a small crowd had gathered, including a photographer from the Greensboro Record. "I'll be back tomorrow with A. & T. College," one of the students said. By next morning, the protest had grown to twenty-seven men and four women, most from the same dormitory as the original four. The men were dressed in suits and ties. The students had brought their schoolwork, and studied as they sat at the counter. On Wednesday, students from Greensboro's "Negro" secondary school, Dudley High, joined in, and the number of protesters swelled to eighty. By Thursday, the protesters numbered three hundred, including three white women, from the Greensboro campus of the University of North Carolina. By Saturday, the sit-in had reached six hundred. People spilled out onto the street. White teen-agers waved Confederate flags. Someone threw a firecracker. At noon, the A. & T. football team arrived. "Here comes the wrecking crew," one of the white students shouted. By the following Monday, sit-ins had spread to Winston-Salem, twenty-five miles away, and Durham, fifty miles away. The day after that, students at Fayetteville State Teachers College and at Johnson C. Smith College, in Charlotte, joined in, followed on Wednesday by students at St. Augustine's College and Shaw University, in Raleigh. On Thursday and Friday, the protest crossed state lines, surfacing in Hampton and Portsmouth, Virginia, in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and in Chattanooga, Tennessee. By the end of the month, there were sit-ins throughout the South, as far west as Texas. "I asked every student I met what the first day of the sitdowns had been like on his campus," the political theorist Michael Walzer wrote in Dissent. "The answer was always the same: `It was like a fever. Everyone wanted to go.' " Some seventy thousand students eventually took part. Thousands were arrested and untold thousands more radicalized. These events in the early sixties became a civil-rights war that engulfed the South for the rest of the decade--and it happened without e-mail, texting, Facebook, or Twitter. The world, we are told, is in the midst of a revolution. The new tools of social media have reinvented social activism. With Facebook and Twitter and the like, the traditional relationship between political authority and popular will has been upended, making it easier for the powerless to collaborate, cooerdinate, and give voice to their concerns. When ten thousand protesters took to the streets in Moldova in the spring of 2009 to protest against their country's Communist government, the action was dubbed the Twitter Revolution, because of the means by which the demonstrators had been brought together. A few months after that, when student protests rocked Tehran, the State Department took the unusual step of asking Twitter to suspend scheduled maintenance of its Web site, because the Administration didn't want such a critical organizing tool out of service at the height of the demonstrations. "Without Twitter the people of Iran would not have felt empowered and confident to stand up for freedom and democracy," Mark Pfeifle, a former national-security adviser, later wrote, calling for Twitter to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Where activists were once defined by their causes, they are now defined by their tools. Facebook warriors go online to push for change. "You are the best hope for us all," James K. Glassman, a former senior State Department official, told a crowd of cyber activists at a recent conference sponsored by Facebook, A. T. & T., Howcast, MTV, and Google. Sites like Facebook, Glassman said, "give the U.S. a significant competitive advantage over terrorists. Some time ago, I said that Al Qaeda was `eating our lunch on the Internet.' That is no longer the case. Al Qaeda is stuck in Web 1.0. The Internet is now about interactivity and conversation." These are strong, and puzzling, claims. Why does it matter who is eating whose lunch on the Internet? Are people who log on to their Facebook page really the best hope for us all? As for Moldova's so-called Twitter Revolution, Evgeny Morozov, a scholar at Stanford who has been the most persistent of digital evangelism's critics, points out that Twitter had scant internal significance in Moldova, a country where very few Twitter accounts exist. Nor does it seem to have been a revolution, not least because the protests--as Anne Applebaum suggested in the Washington Post--may well have been a bit of stagecraft cooked up by the government. (In a country paranoid about Romanian revanchism, the protesters flew a Romanian flag over the Parliament building.) In the Iranian case, meanwhile, the people tweeting about the demonstrations were almost all in the West. "It is time to get Twitter's role in the events in Iran right," Golnaz Esfandiari wrote, this past summer, in Foreign Policy. "Simply put: There was no Twitter Revolution inside Iran." The cadre of prominent bloggers, like Andrew Sullivan, who championed the role of social media in Iran, Esfandiari continued, misunderstood the situation. "Western journalists who couldn't reach--or didn't bother reaching?--people on the ground in Iran simply scrolled through the English-language tweets post with tag #iranelection," she wrote. "Through it all, no one seemed to wonder why people trying to coordinate protests in Iran would be writing in any language other than Farsi." ILLUSTRATION: SEYMOUR CHWAST "Small Change" continues Page ____________________ of 5 Next > Last >| View as a Single Page To get more of The New Yorker's signature mix of politics, culture and the arts: Subscribe Now Search newyorker.com (Submit) Go Most Popular MOST E-MAILED This Issue This Issue * Steve Coll: Obama's Iran problem. * Ian Parker: A gay freshman and the online world. * Sasha Frere-Jones: Lana Del Rey's fixed image. * Ben McGrath: Yoga gets hotter. * Jacob Sager Weinstein: "Before the Movie Begins" THE MAGAZINE: FEBRUARY 6, 2012 Table of Contents | Online Archive | iPad Subscribe to The New Yorker Tablet Editions Follow Us Follow The New Yorker on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Google + iTunes, Foursquare, RSS IFRAME: http://www.facebook.com/plugins/activity.php?site=www.newyorker.com&wid th=300&height=350&header=true&colorscheme=light&font&border_color&recom mendations=true Newsletters * [ ] This Week: Links to articles and Web-only features in your inbox every Monday. * [ ] Cartoons: A weekly note from the New Yorker's cartoon editor. ____________________ (Submit) Podcasts Podcasts * Fiction writers read favorite stories, author interviews, a weekly political roundtable. 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Is he right? by Larissa MacFarquhar September 5, 2011 Subscribers can read this article on our iPad app or in our online archive. (Others can pay for access.) September 5, 2011 Issue * * * * Print * E-Mail * Single Page Keywords Derek Parfit; Philosophers; Brain Transplants; Personal Identities; Moral Truths; Morality; "Reasons and Persons" (1984) ABSTRACT: ANNALS OF IDEAS about the moral philosopher Derek Parfit. Most of us care about our future because it is ours--but this most fundamental human instinct is based on a mistake, Derek Parfit believes. Personal identity is not what matters. Parfit is thought by many to be the most original moral philosopher in the English-speaking world. He has written two books, both of which have been called the most important works to be written in the field in more than a century--since in 1874, when Henry Sidgwick's "The Method of Ethics," was published. Parfit's first book, "Reasons and Persons," was published in 1984, when he was forty-one, and caused a sensation. The book was dense with science-fiction thought experiments, all urging a shift toward a more impersonal, non-physical, and selfless view of human life. Parfit's view resembles in some ways the Buddhist view of the self. After Parfit finished "Reasons and Persons," he became increasingly disturbed by how many people believed that there was no such thing as objective moral truth. This led him to write his second book, "On What Matters," which was published this summer. Parfit lacks the normal anti-social emotions--envy, malice, dominance. He is less aware than most of the boundaries of his self, and he is helplessly, sometimes unwillingly, empathetic. Parfit was born in China, in 1942. The following year, his family moved to England. In the early summer of 1961, he went to work at The New Yorker, as a researcher for The Talk of the Town. In the autumn of 1961, he went up to Oxford to read history. After Oxford, he went back to America for two years on a Harkness Fellowship. He decided to study philosophy, and he won a Prize Fellowship to All Souls, at Oxford, which entitled him to room and board at the college for seven years, with no teaching duties. He also had appointments at Harvard, Rutgers, and N.Y.U. Sometime around 1982 or '83, the philosopher Janet Radcliffe Richards moved from London to Oxford, and, after she attended a seminar that Parfit was teaching, they began a relationship. Around the mid-nineties, Parfit started reading Kant. He became more and more troubled by the ways in which Kant diverged from Sidgwick, and by the way that modern Kantians disagreed with modern consequentialists and both disagreed with contractualists. He came up with what he called the Triple Theory: An act is wrong just when such acts are disallowed by some principle that is optimific, uniquely universally willable, and not reasonably rejectable. Mentions Bernard Williams. Parfit moved out of All Souls last year. Since then, he and Richards have been living together in a house in Oxford. Last August, after nearly thirty years together, they married. Meanwhile, Parfit experienced an episode of transient global amnesia. He recovered his memory, but smaller aftershocks have continued. read the full text... read the full text... Larissa MacFarquhar, Annals of Ideas, "How to Be Good," The New Yorker, September 5, 2011, p. 42 To get more of The New Yorker's signature mix of politics, culture and the arts: Subscribe Now Newyorker.com has a complete archive of The New Yorker, back to 1925. The complete archive is available to subscribers in the digital edition. If you subscribe to the magazine, register now to get access. 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Search newyorker.com (Submit) Go Most Popular MOST E-MAILED This Issue This Issue * Steve Coll: Obama's Iran problem. * Ian Parker: A gay freshman and the online world. * Sasha Frere-Jones: Lana Del Rey's fixed image. * Ben McGrath: Yoga gets hotter. * Jacob Sager Weinstein: "Before the Movie Begins" THE MAGAZINE: FEBRUARY 6, 2012 Table of Contents | Online Archive | iPad Subscribe to The New Yorker Tablet Editions Follow Us Follow The New Yorker on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Google + iTunes, Foursquare, RSS IFRAME: http://www.facebook.com/plugins/activity.php?site=www.newyorker.com&wid th=300&height=350&header=true&colorscheme=light&font&border_color&recom mendations=true Newsletters * [ ] This Week: Links to articles and Web-only features in your inbox every Monday. * [ ] Cartoons: A weekly note from the New Yorker's cartoon editor. ____________________ (Submit) Podcasts Podcasts * Fiction writers read favorite stories, author interviews, a weekly political roundtable. 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Ad Choices [ad_choices_arrow.png] msext REFRESH(1200 sec): file://localhost/home/thomas/PROJET-MOT-SUR-LE-WEB/PAGES-ASPIREES/1/21. html Fox News - Fair & Balanced Fox News Digital Network Fox News Fox Business Small Business Center Fox News Radio Fox News Latino Fox Nation Fox News Insider * Register * Login Account You're logged in as Account * Edit Profile * Logout Search Site __________________________________________________ Search On Air Now » On Air Personalities » * * Home * Video * Politics * U.S. * Opinion * Entertainment * SciTech * Health * Travel * Leisure * World * Sports * On Air Previous Slide Next Slide FOX Fan Central * SCHEDULE * NEWS ARCHIVE * * SECTION MAP [SEE MORE_____] WMD Found in Iraq * Print * Beware of sweeping moral judgments on the Iraq war — pro or con — based solely on new findings of weapons of mass destruction. It's not so simple. Yesterday Republican members of Congress called a press conference to read portions of a Defense Department intelligence unit report. Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania read the following statement. “We have found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, chemical weapons… Since 2003, coalition forces have recovered approximately 500 weapons munitions which contain degraded mustard or sarin nerve agent”. Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, continued: “This says weapons have been discovered, more weapons exist and they state that Iraq was not a WMD-free zone, that there are continuing threats from the materials that are or may still be in Iraq” To some this will sound like a slam-dunk justification of President Bush's and Prime Minister Tony Blair's decision to invade Iraq in March of 2003. A senior Defense Department official, however, made the following clarifications: • These findings do not reflect a WMD capacity that was built up after 1991. • These are not the WMDs this country and the rest of the world believed Iraq had. • These are not the WMDs for which this country went to war. This new information allows us to make important distinctions. Here's one: The moral value of a decision is not determined by its consequences. Pundits on both sides of the political spectrum talk as if the president's moral justification, in relation to Iraq, will be determined sometime in the future. If Iraq eventually becomes peaceful, the president will have made a good (just) decision and if, on the other hand, the country spins out of control into a full-blown civil war, he will be smitten by God. That's not the way morality works. While we have a responsibility to weigh carefully the possible consequences of our actions before proceeding, our actions are justified by obedience to a well-formed conscience (note carefully the term “well-formed”) in the moment of decision. Column Archive * Hollywood and Religion Meet in Rome * Hope, Obama Style? * Burma and China: Does God Care? * Sounds Unheard: China Goes Religious? * Why Black Liberation Theology Matters Full-page Father Jonathan Archive Video * Okay To Cheer? * Haditha Aftermath * 'Da Vinci' Debate * Fr. Jonathan on the Gospel of Judas * Da Vinci Code Protest * Is Hollywood Out of Touch with America? * Father Jonathan talks with Martha MacCallum * Father Jonathan Sits Down With Laura Bush * Going to Venezuela Photo Essays * In Venezuela In other words, we can make a morally just decision that turns out very badly, and we can make an immoral decision that turns out good results. In the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq we all took sides. That's what thinking people do. We tried to sift through both hard news and politics to decipher what would justify or rule out military force. We listened to the president and his advisers. We listened to the international community. Then we each applied our moral principles about war and peace to the information at hand. Good people came to different conclusions. During those months we questioned whether Saddam Hussein posed a sufficiently grave and imminent threat to our nation or our indefensible allies. We asked if we had exhausted every other peaceful option. We wondered if there was a high probability for attaining the stated short- and long-term objectives of peace and democracy. Here are some of the conclusions I came to during those months of deliberation: • President Bush, his administration, and allies based their argument for war primarily on the claim of an imminent and grave threat from Saddam Hussein to our country and our indefensible allies. They implied America's action was not aggression, but rather an act of legitimate self-defense, given the unique nature of terrorism, including its unpredictability. • In my opinion, they did not prove to the general public the threat was of this nature. The evidence they showed was incomplete, by the administration's own admission. • Without this proof, I could not see a justification for military action in that moment. Saddam Hussein certainly had bad intentions, had the capacity to inflict harm on our allies, but it was unclear whether his capacity to inflict grave harm on our country or allies was imminent (soon to happen) and thereby justify a full-scale invasion. Even considering the nature of terrorist threats, we had to prove there was something so serious in the works it could only be stopped in that moment and that way. • I was keenly aware, however, that the administration may have been withholding some of its evidence about the nature of the threat for national security purposes. With this in mind, I suspended any sweeping public judgments. It is the ethicist's role to outline principles for action, but it is the politician's responsibility to act. When we elect a president and a congress, we give them access to more information than anyone else and ask them to make some decisions for us, based on their best judgment. Some of you will be jumping out of your seats at this point. That's okay. Another distinction must be made. Whether the decision to enter Iraq in March of 2003 was a good one has little to do with the good work our soldiers are doing right now. Those who say we should leave now because we should never have entered in the first place are acting out of emotion or for political gain, but certainly not based on sound principle. Packing up and leaving from one day to the next, as some are requesting, would be an irresponsible and selfish act of cowardice on the part of the allied forces. Our present objectives of providing stability, freedom, and democracy to the region are good ones. They will take a very long time to achieve. The new findings of weapons of mass destruction can teach us many things. We now know more about Saddam's diabolic regime. We question again the efficiency of the many years of United Nations' weapon inspections. But what they can't give is a slam-dunk justification of the invasion of Iraq. Remember, the eventual good or bad consequences of our decisions don't determine the moral value of the choice itself. That's just the way it goes. God bless, Father Jonathan P.S. Looking forward to your reactions! __________________________________________________________________ This article is part of a regular blog hosted by Father Jonathan Morris on FOXNews.com. You can invite new readers by forwarding this URL address: www.foxnews.com/fatherjonathan. Write to Father Jonathan at fatherjonathan@foxnews.com. * Print * See Father Jonathan Archive FOX NEWS VIDEOS TOP VIDEOS John Stossel takes your questions! 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All rights reserved. All market data delayed 20 minutes. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News Asia-Pacific * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video 31 October 2011 Last updated at 04:45 GMT Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print PM Atambayev wins Kyrgyzstan presidential election Voter in Bishkek Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. The BBC's Natalia Antelava has been to a polling station in Bishkek Continue reading the main story Kyrgyzstan Turmoil * Kyrgyz election: Key candidates * Q&A: Kyrgyz presidential election * Violence mars search for justice * Language tests for Kyrgyz runners Kyrgyzstan's Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev has won the presidential election. The central election commission said with 95% of the votes counted, Mr Atambayev was holding a commanding lead. Election commission chief Tuigunaly Abdraimovwon said with Mr Atambayev taking 63% of the vote, there would be no need for a second round. His two main rivals were each polling just under 15%. They are both nationalist politicians from the country's south - Kamchibek Tashiyev and Adakhan Madumarov - who had vowed to contest any result they believe to be unfair. Earlier they had alleged fraud. Mr Abdraimovwon said several isolated incidents of voting irregularities had been reported that included attempts to stuff ballot boxes in some regions. But he stressed that the violations were small in scale and would not invalidate the overall result of the vote. Sixteen candidates were standing in the election in the former Soviet republic of 5.3 million people. Mr Atambayev, 55, is a wealthy businessman from the north of Kyrgyzstan, who promised to bring prosperity and stability to this impoverished Central Asian nation. He had the best-funded campaign and enjoyed significant public exposure by serving as prime minister until last month. Mr Atambayev voiced his hope for an outright victory. "It is time for our country to live, achieve harmony and flourish. People are tired of political battles and meetings," he said after voting. Just over 60% of the Kyrgyzstan's three million eligible voters had cast ballots, election officials said. The poll comes after the ousting of former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev in a violent uprising in April 2010 which left more than 90 people dead. In the following weeks, over 400 were killed in ethnic conflict in the south between Kyrgyz and Uzbek communities. International observers said they were unable to comment on the conduct of voting, but that there were scattered media reports of voting violations throughout the day. 'Violations' Almazbek Atambayev is leading the race for president of Kyrgyzstan - 27 October 2011 Almazbek Atambayev may have enough votes to avoid a run-off election. After the polls closed, Mr Madumarov told reporters that there had been "unprecedented violations" which compromised the legitimacy of the process. "We have have never seen such mayhem and disorder before," the Kyrgyz nationalist candidate said. He promised to fight for his supporters' voting rights "through every legal mechanism possible". Mr Madumarov urged authorities to form a commission made up of party officials and candidates' representatives to investigate the alleged violations. The other leading southern candidate, former emergencies minister, Kamchibek Tashiyev, has said "millions" would take to the streets if they believed the elections to be unfair. The last two presidents were ousted by popular street protests. Just over 60% of the Kyrgyzstan's three million eligible voters cast ballots, election officials said after polls closed. Roza Otunbayeva, who has led the country since Mr Bakiyev was ousted, was not contesting the polls. Her administration strengthened parliament at the expense the president's powers. Speaking after casting her ballot at a music college in the capital, Bishkek, Ms Otunbayeva said the election would consolidate the parliamentary system adopted under her reforms. "What is important is that we have chosen parliamentary governance in our country," Ms Otunbayeva told the Associated Press. "People will choose the route of freedom - freedom of speech, freedom of assembly." The United States will be watching this vote closely. Some of the candidates, including the former prime minister, have vowed to shut down an American military base outside the capital, Bishkek, which is crucial for operations in Afghanistan, and to President Barack Obama's planned withdrawal. Protest culture Kyrgyzstan's Central Asian neighbours, such as Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, are all still ruled by strong-arm leaders, who have been unchallenged since Soviet times. In contrast, Kyrgyzstan has seen two leaders removed by violent protest in the last six years. Public protests, from picketing parliament to blocking main roads, are a daily occurrence in a country which has gained a reputation for both instability and relative openness. John Heathershaw, an international relations expert observing the poll in Kyrgyzstan, said that the protest culture was a sign of democratic development in the country. "Because there are significant civil society groups, political parties that have the freedom to operate, have the freedom to speak out about their concerns, that means they do take to the streets," he said. "You would not find this in Tajikistan or Kazakhstan even, because there is no such political culture." More on This Story Kyrgyzstan Turmoil * Kyrgyz election: Key candidates * Q&A: Kyrgyz presidential election * Violence mars search for justice * Language tests for Kyrgyz runners Features & Analysis * Kyrgyzstan 'risks more violence' * Kyrgyzstan marks Osh anniversary * Charred scars of Kyrgyz violence * Kyrgyzstan's anger boils over Background * Profile: Roza Otunbayeva * Country profile: Kyrgyzstan Watch/Listen * Kyrgyzstan's 'endemic' public protests Watch * Kyrgyzstan future: What you need to know Watch Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print More Asia-Pacific stories RSS * In this handout photograph released by Pikiran Rakyat, an unidentified survivor carrying a child is escorted at a marine police station on the coast of Pangandaran town in Indonesia's West Java province on November 1 Australia shock at asylum tragedy Australians are shocked after a boat filled with asylum seekers capsizes on its way from Indonesia, and at least eight people die. * Xenon detected at Fukushima plant * China schools closed after blast Top Stories * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) UN action 'could spur Syria war' * Euro unemployment hits new record * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Republican rivals in Florida vote * French win India fighter jet deal Features & Analysis * Model cars and houses Golden salary What do people earning £1m ($1.5m) spend it on? ______________________________________________________________ * Planet Earth Planet mass Do rockets fired into space make the Earth lighter? ______________________________________________________________ * Occupy DC protesters shout slogans Day in pictures 24 hours of news photos from around the world ______________________________________________________________ * A foreclosure (repossession) sign in front of a house Money talks Has wealth become a liability in the US Republican race? ______________________________________________________________ Most Popular Shared 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: Skin transformed into brain cells 3. 3: Policeman who became a pole-dancer 4. 4: How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election 5. 5: Pythons link to mammals decline Read 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted 3. 3: French win India fighter jet deal 4. 4: Navy sends destroyer to Falklands 5. 5: What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? 6. 6: Search of cruise ship abandoned 7. 7: Pythons link to mammals decline 8. 8: Snake bursts after gobbling gator 9. 9: Is the Earth getting lighter? 10. 10: Euro unemployment hits new record Video/Audio 1. 1: Europe struggles in grip of snow Watch 2. 2: 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' Watch 3. 3: One-minute World News Watch 4. 4: Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman Watch 5. 5: One way to find a rich Russian husband Watch 6. 6: How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors Watch 7. 7: Mystery illness at US high school Watch 8. 8: Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide Watch 9. 9: How to play 'kung fu' piano Watch 10. 10: Life after death faces legal battle Watch Elsewhere on BBC News * India's Tirupati Temple. Photographer: Ashok666 (Flickr). Licensed under Creative Commons Lighting the way Why India's richest temple is adopting new technologies and going green Programmes * Bed in an ice hotel, Sweden Click Watch How ice sculptors in Sweden are making use of computers to complete their cold creations Services * News feeds * Mobile * Podcasts * Alerts * E-mail news About BBC News * Editors' blog * BBC College of Journalism * News sources * World Service Trust Mobile Search term: ____________________ Search bbc.co.uk navigation * News * Sport * Weather * Travel * TV * Radio * More * CBBC * CBeebies * Comedy * Food * Health * History * Learning * Music * Science * Nature * Local * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * Full A-Z of BBC sites BBC links * About the BBC * BBC Help * Contact Us * Accessibility Help * Terms of Use * Careers * Privacy & Cookies * Advertise With Us * Ad Choices BBC BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News South Asia * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video 24 July 2010 Last updated at 06:48 GMT Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print US military curbs 'reduce' Afghan attacks in some areas US army soldier runs up to a position near Kandahar. Photo: July 2010 Some soldiers say the curbs make their jobs more dangerous Continue reading the main story Taliban Conflict * Who are the Taliban? * Pakistan on the brink * 'Taliban' villages * Haqqani militant network Attempts to reduce civilian casualties caused by US-led forces in Afghanistan have led to a decline in insurgent attacks in some areas, a report says. The document by America's National Bureau for Economic Research analysed incidents involving more than 4,000 civilian casualties in Afghanistan. The curbs on aerial bombing and mortar fire were introduced last year by the recently sacked Gen Stanley McChrystal. The general ended his army career at a ceremony in Washington on Friday. Meanwhile, military officials confirmed on Saturday that four US personnel were killed in southern Afghanistan - continuing a recent upsurge in violence there. Gen McChrystal was fired from his job as commander of multinational forces in Afghanistan by US President Barack Obama last month over a magazine interview in which he made disparaging remarks about the president and senior colleagues. In an emotional farewell speech at Fort McNair parade ground, Gen McChrystal said his service had not ended as he had hoped, but he regretted few decisions he had made on the battlefield and was optimistic about his future. Gen McChrystal, his wife Annie by his side, was given full military honours including a 17-gun salute. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates paid tribute to him, saying: "Over the past decade, arguably no single American has inflicted more fear, more loss of freedom and more loss of life on our country's most vicious and violent enemies than Stan McChrystal." Gen McChrystal's successor, Gen David Petraeus, is reportedly considering loosening the restrictions on international forces. 'Primary driver' The authors of the report by the Massachusetts-based National Bureau of Economic Research say they analysed 15 months of data on military clashes and incidents totalling more than 4,000 civilian deaths in a number of Afghan regions in the period ending on 1 April. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote When Isaf units kill civilians, this increases the number of willing combatants” End Quote National Bureau of Economic Research * Afghan bombing kills US personnel They say that in areas where two civilians were killed or injured by Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), there were on average an extra six violent incidents between insurgents and US-led troops in the following six weeks. The report concludes that civilian deaths frequently motivate villagers to join the ranks of insurgents. "In Afghanistan, when Isaf units kill civilians, this increases the number of willing combatants, leading to an increase in insurgent attacks." "Local exposure to violence from Isaf appears to be the primary driver of this effect." The curbs were imposed by Gen McChrystal in an effort to win more Afghan hearts and minds. Those rules ban air and mortar strikes on houses unless allied troops are in immediate danger. But some soldiers have complained that the restrictions make their jobs more dangerous. More on This Story Taliban Conflict * Who are the Taliban? * Pakistan on the brink * 'Taliban' villages * Haqqani militant network * Will US cut reverse gains? * Taliban tactical shift * Why target Afghan Shias? * Q&A: Fighting the Taliban * Turbulent Kandahar * Meeting Wali Karzai * Eight weeks to face the Taliban * Af-Pak border 'house without door' * Can the insurgents be defeated? Watch Key maps * Drone and militant attacks * US and Nato deployments * The militant nexus Watch/Listen * Challenges facing Kabul police Watch Related Internet links * National Bureau of Economic Research * Isaf * President of Afghanistan (official site) The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print More South Asia stories RSS * US soldiers headed for Afghanistan 4 November 2011 US general in Afghanistan fired A US commander in Afghanistan is dismissed after making disparaging comments about Afghan President Hamid Karzai in an interview. * Karzai warning at Afghan summit * Cricket verdict 'hurts' Pakistan Top Stories * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) UN action 'could spur Syria war' * Euro unemployment hits new record * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Republican rivals in Florida vote * French win India fighter jet deal Features & Analysis * Model cars and houses Golden salary What do people earning £1m ($1.5m) spend it on? ______________________________________________________________ * Planet Earth Planet mass Do rockets fired into space make the Earth lighter? ______________________________________________________________ * Occupy DC protesters shout slogans Day in pictures 24 hours of news photos from around the world ______________________________________________________________ * A foreclosure (repossession) sign in front of a house Money talks Has wealth become a liability in the US Republican race? ______________________________________________________________ Most Popular Shared 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: Skin transformed into brain cells 3. 3: Policeman who became a pole-dancer 4. 4: How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election 5. 5: Pythons link to mammals decline Read 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted 3. 3: French win India fighter jet deal 4. 4: Navy sends destroyer to Falklands 5. 5: What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? 6. 6: Search of cruise ship abandoned 7. 7: Pythons link to mammals decline 8. 8: Snake bursts after gobbling gator 9. 9: Is the Earth getting lighter? 10. 10: Euro unemployment hits new record Video/Audio 1. 1: Europe struggles in grip of snow Watch 2. 2: 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' Watch 3. 3: One-minute World News Watch 4. 4: Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman Watch 5. 5: One way to find a rich Russian husband Watch 6. 6: How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors Watch 7. 7: Mystery illness at US high school Watch 8. 8: Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide Watch 9. 9: How to play 'kung fu' piano Watch 10. 10: Life after death faces legal battle Watch Elsewhere on BBC News * India's Tirupati Temple. Photographer: Ashok666 (Flickr). Licensed under Creative Commons Lighting the way Why India's richest temple is adopting new technologies and going green Programmes * Bed in an ice hotel, Sweden Click Watch How ice sculptors in Sweden are making use of computers to complete their cold creations Services * News feeds * Mobile * Podcasts * Alerts * E-mail news About BBC News * Editors' blog * BBC College of Journalism * News sources * World Service Trust Mobile Search term: ____________________ Search bbc.co.uk navigation * News * Sport * Weather * Travel * TV * Radio * More * CBBC * CBeebies * Comedy * Food * Health * History * Learning * Music * Science * Nature * Local * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * Full A-Z of BBC sites BBC links * About the BBC * BBC Help * Contact Us * Accessibility Help * Terms of Use * Careers * Privacy & Cookies * Advertise With Us * Ad Choices BBC BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News UK * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video * England * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * UK Politics * Education 7 July 2011 Last updated at 15:54 GMT Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print James Murdoch: News of the World statement in full James Murdoch Continue reading the main story Phone-hacking scandal * Hacking scandal: Who's linked to who? * Q&A: Phone-hacking scandal * Key people and profiles * Timeline News International has announced that it is closing the News of the World - Sunday 10 July 2011 will be its last ever edition. James Murdoch, chairman of News International made the following statement to staff: "I have important things to say about the News of the World and the steps we are taking to address the very serious problems that have occurred. "It is only right that you as colleagues at News International are first to hear what "I have to say and that you hear it directly from me. So thank you very much for coming here and listening. "You do not need to be told that The News of the World is 168 years old. That it is read by more people than any other English language newspaper. That it has enjoyed support from Britain's largest advertisers. And that it has a proud history of fighting crime, exposing wrong-doing and regularly setting the news agenda for the nation. "When I tell people why I am proud to be part of News Corporation, I say that our commitment to journalism and a free press is one of the things that sets us apart. Your work is a credit to this. "The good things the News of the World does, however, have been sullied by behaviour that was wrong. Indeed, if recent allegations are true, it was inhuman and has no place in our Company. "The News of the World is in the business of holding others to account. But it failed when it came to itself. "In 2006, the police focused their investigations on two men. Both went to jail. "But the News of the World and News International failed to get to the bottom of repeated wrongdoing that occurred without conscience or legitimate purpose. "Wrongdoers turned a good newsroom bad and this was not fully understood or adequately pursued. "As a result, the News of the World and News International wrongly maintained that these issues were confined to one reporter. We now have voluntarily given evidence to the police that I believe will prove that this was untrue and those who acted wrongly will have to face the consequences. "This was not the only fault. "The paper made statements to Parliament without being in the full possession of the facts. This was wrong. "The Company paid out-of-court settlements approved by me. I now know that I did not have a complete picture when I did so. This was wrong and is a matter of serious regret. "Currently, there are two major and ongoing police investigations. We are co-operating fully and actively with both. "You know that it was News International who voluntarily brought evidence that led to opening Operation Weeting and Operation Elveden. This full cooperation will continue until the Police's work is done. "We have also admitted liability in civil cases. Already, we have settled a number of prominent cases and set up a Compensation Scheme, with cases to be adjudicated by former High Court judge Sir Charles Gray. "Apologising and making amends is the right thing to do. Inside the Company, we set up a Management and Standards Committee that is working on these issues and that has hired Olswang to examine past failings and recommend systems and practices that over time should become standards for the industry. "We have committed to publishing Olswang's terms of reference and eventual recommendations in a way that is open and transparent. "We have welcomed broad public inquiries into press standards and police practices and will cooperate with them fully. "So, just as I acknowledge we have made mistakes, I hope you and everyone inside and outside the Company will acknowledge that we are doing our utmost to fix them, atone for them, and make sure they never happen again. "Having consulted senior colleagues, I have decided that we must take further decisive action with respect to the paper. "This Sunday will be the last issue of the News of the World. Colin Myler will edit the final edition of the paper. "In addition, I have decided that all of the News of the World's revenue this weekend will go to good causes. "While we may never be able to make up for distress that has been caused, the right thing to do is for every penny of the circulation revenue we receive this weekend to go to organisations - many of whom are long-term friends and partners - that improve life in Britain and are devoted to treating others with dignity. "We will run no commercial advertisements this weekend. Any advertising space in this last edition will be donated to causes and charities that wish to expose their good works to our millions of readers. "These are strong measures. They are made humbly and out of respect. I am convinced they are the right thing to do. "Many of you, if not the vast majority of you, are either new to the Company or have had no connection to the News of the World during the years when egregious behaviour occurred "I can understand how unfair these decisions may feel. Particularly, for colleagues who will leave the Company. Of course, we will communicate next steps in detail and begin appropriate consultations. "You may see these changes as a price loyal staff at the News of the World are paying for the transgressions of others. "So please hear me when I say that your good work is a credit to journalism. I do not want the legitimacy of what you do to be compromised by acts of others. "I want all journalism at News International to be beyond reproach. I insist that this organisation lives up to the standard of behaviour we expect of others. And, finally, I want you all to know that it is critical that the integrity of every journalist who has played fairly is restored. "Thank you for listening." More on This Story Phone-hacking scandal Background * Headshots of key people Hacking scandal: Who's linked to who? An interactive guide to the phone-hacking scandal, which has revealed a web of relationships between senior figures in the worlds of politics, the police and the media. ______________________________________________________________ * Q&A: Phone-hacking scandal * Key people and profiles * Timeline * Inquiries and legal challenges * Murdoch's media empire * How PM has defended Coulson * Committee hearings: Key quotes Demise of the News of the World * Paper Monitor: Final edition * In pictures: The News of the World * The birth and death of the NoW * Insider's account News and analysis * Mulcaire wins legal fees action * NoW phone-hacking claims settled * Guardian Milly corrections call * Crone tells of hacking suspicions * NoW phone-hacked 'more than 800' * Phone-hacking police clear woman Video and Audio * PM's phone-hacking statement in full Watch * Skinner confronts PM on BSkyB Watch * Key moments as MPs grill Murdochs Watch * Brooks on Milly hacking claims Watch Blogs * Nick Robinson * Torin Douglas * Robert Peston * Rory Cellan-Jones Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print More UK stories RSS * Charlotte Thompson and Olivia Bazlinton Guilty plea over rail death girls Network Rail admits health and safety breaches over the deaths of two teenage girls at a level crossing in Essex in 2005. * Murder accused found dead in cell * Vocational exams cut from tables Top Stories * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) UN action 'could spur Syria war' * Euro unemployment hits new record * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Republican rivals in Florida vote * French win India fighter jet deal Features & Analysis * Model cars and houses Golden salary What do people earning £1m ($1.5m) spend it on? ______________________________________________________________ * Planet Earth Planet mass Do rockets fired into space make the Earth lighter? ______________________________________________________________ * Occupy DC protesters shout slogans Day in pictures 24 hours of news photos from around the world ______________________________________________________________ * A foreclosure (repossession) sign in front of a house Money talks Has wealth become a liability in the US Republican race? ______________________________________________________________ Most Popular Shared 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: Skin transformed into brain cells 3. 3: Policeman who became a pole-dancer 4. 4: How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election 5. 5: Pythons link to mammals decline Read 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted 3. 3: French win India fighter jet deal 4. 4: Navy sends destroyer to Falklands 5. 5: What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? 6. 6: Search of cruise ship abandoned 7. 7: Pythons link to mammals decline 8. 8: Snake bursts after gobbling gator 9. 9: Is the Earth getting lighter? 10. 10: Euro unemployment hits new record Video/Audio 1. 1: Europe struggles in grip of snow Watch 2. 2: 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' Watch 3. 3: One-minute World News Watch 4. 4: Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman Watch 5. 5: One way to find a rich Russian husband Watch 6. 6: How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors Watch 7. 7: Mystery illness at US high school Watch 8. 8: Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide Watch 9. 9: How to play 'kung fu' piano Watch 10. 10: Life after death faces legal battle Watch Elsewhere on BBC News * India's Tirupati Temple. Photographer: Ashok666 (Flickr). Licensed under Creative Commons Lighting the way Why India's richest temple is adopting new technologies and going green Programmes * Bed in an ice hotel, Sweden Click Watch How ice sculptors in Sweden are making use of computers to complete their cold creations Services * News feeds * Mobile * Podcasts * Alerts * E-mail news About BBC News * Editors' blog * BBC College of Journalism * News sources * World Service Trust Mobile Search term: ____________________ Search bbc.co.uk navigation * News * Sport * Weather * Travel * TV * Radio * More * CBBC * CBeebies * Comedy * Food * Health * History * Learning * Music * Science * Nature * Local * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * Full A-Z of BBC sites BBC links * About the BBC * BBC Help * Contact Us * Accessibility Help * Terms of Use * Careers * Privacy & Cookies * Advertise With Us * Ad Choices BBC BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use British Broadcasting Corporation BBC Home Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help Press Office Tuesday 31 Jan 2012 Press Statement Statement on BBC News channel interview with trader Alessio Rastani Date: 27.09.2011 The BBC have today issued the following statement regarding an interview with trader Alessio Rastani on the BBC News channel yesterday (Monday 26 September): "We've carried out detailed investigations and can't find any evidence to suggest that the interview with Alessio Rastani was a hoax. 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Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use Atom RSS British Broadcasting Corporation BBC Home Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC BLOGS - Peston's Picks IN ASSOCIATION WITH « Previous | Main | Next » IMF vs Treasury and FSA Comments Share this page Robert Peston | 19:07 UK time, Tuesday, 21 April 2009 The International Monetary Fund has published some big and scary forecasts of losses banks and other financial institutions are likely to make in the coming couple of years. And the emergency service for the global economy has also made some eye-watering estimates of additional capital that banks may need to raise. Here are the headlines: 1) total losses for banks, insurers and other institutions from loans and investments in the US, Europe and Japan from 2007 to 2010 will be $4.1trillion or £2.8trillion - which is the equivalent of writing off the entire output or GDP of the United Kingdom for two years (a big number); 2) in the UK, the eurozone and what the IMF calls "other mature Europe", banks will need to raise a further $875bn of additional capital by the end of 2010 and perhaps as much as $1700bn - which implies that we'll see a good few more banks taken into public ownership. Specifically on the UK, the IMF estimates that the costs to taxpayers (or us) of bailing out our big banks will be 13.4 per cent of GDP or around £200bn, rather more than the Treasury has been estimating or will factor in to tomorrow's budget. On the IMF's figures, only Ireland will suffer greater taxpayer costs as a proportion of GDP. In the US, the so-called stabilisation costs would be 12.1 per cent of GDP. However, the Treasury says the IMF ignores the fees it has received for some of the financial support to banks that's been provided and it thinks the IMF is being too pessimistic on potential losses. The Tories of course argue that the IMF's assessment is just another manifestation of the costs to us all of the authorities' failure to rein in the lending bubble before it became almost lethally super-sized. Meanwhile the Financial Services Authority is not overjoyed that the IMF says British banks will have to raise a minimum of $125bn of additional capital and perhaps as much as $250bn. The City watchdog would make the following points: a) it wouldn't disagree with the IMF's estimate that banks will incur further huge losses in the coming year or two; b) it believes British banks have already raised sufficient capital to absorb those losses safely; c) in measuring the capital ratios of banks (their capital resources relative to loans and other assets) the FSA is a bit bemused that the IMF doesn't seem to weight assets by their riskiness; d) the FSA would not disagree that over the long term banks will have to hold more capital relative to assets than recent norms, but the FSA believes it would be bonkers to force banks to raise this additional capital until the recession is over - because to do so now would further deter banks from lending and would deepen and lengthen the recession. Here's the bottom line. Many may agree with the IMF's analysis and its desire that banks, including British ones, should raise more capital sooner rather than later. But the power to force banks to raise additional capital rests with national regulators, such as the FSA, not the IMF. And if the FSA doesn't believe that banks have an urgent need to raise capital, then banks won't raise massive amounts of additional capital (barring the disclosure of booboos that have somehow remained hidden). UPDATE 00:05 The Treasury has shouted very loudly at the IMF. And the IMF has tonight withdrawn from the online version of its Global Financial Stability Report the table showing the costs to the British taxpayer of the bank bailout as being 13.4 per cent of GDP. That table is now, according to the IMF, "embargoed" - whatever that means. Share this page Comments Post your comment Sign in or register to comment. * Comment number 1. At 19:25 21st Apr 2009, Optimist wrote: To commit over 13% of GDP to bailing out the banks is terrifying. But the fact that other nations are spending similar amounts really goes to show that this crisis is not of our government's making but is a truly global one. Complain about this comment (Comment number 1) * Comment number 2. At 19:25 21st Apr 2009, rvpisneverinjureds wrote: splendid article,all we now need is brown and his rag bag shower of a government to go and get lost or preferably call an election.brownwatch 405 days. Complain about this comment (Comment number 2) * Comment number 3. At 19:55 21st Apr 2009, prudeboy wrote: Just more and more stealth taxes to be extracted from the hapless voter. Somebody has to pay. Cough up. It is your patriotic duty to pay the state and your betters. Do you not know your place by now? Complain about this comment (Comment number 3) * Comment number 4. At 19:58 21st Apr 2009, U5755491 wrote: #1 "But the fact that other nations are spending similar amounts really goes to show that this crisis is not of our government's making but is a truly global one." It is a tragedy of the commons. When everyone else is raking in the money on risky behaviour you'd be a fool to turn it down. But then when we get systemic collapses the individuals involved are indeed to blame. We had a decade of prosperity, there should have been foresight and provisions. Hell, I'm certainly no financial genius and I predicted the housing meltdown years ago. Others were trying desperately to sound the alarm about the sub-prime crisis that triggered all this toxicity, but nobody would listen, why would they, they were making wads of cash. It *is* a global failing, but it is also a local one. We wouldn't be in half such a bad state if "prudence" Brown hadn't run up the debt like a kid with his dad's credit card during the boom years. Complain about this comment (Comment number 4) * Comment number 5. At 19:59 21st Apr 2009, 2trueblue wrote: Yes, it is frightening and in response to comment 1, no we are only one place above Ireland in how bad our situation is. The disease is hitting us harder because we have a government that have totally mismanaged our finances, and that on top of the global situation means we will be paying for it longer. People are not stupid and saying global every five seconds does not abslove anyone from responsibility for the mess. Complain about this comment (Comment number 5) * Comment number 6. At 20:01 21st Apr 2009, lordBeddGelert wrote: When are we going to get a National Debt Clock so that we actually KNOW how much borrowing is being racked up on Great Britain's 'Access Card' ?? Complain about this comment (Comment number 6) * Comment number 7. At 20:04 21st Apr 2009, lordBeddGelert wrote: And dare one ask whether the IMF has a vested interest in putting us into penury so that we have to ask for a huge loan so that we are indentured to slavery to them for our lifetimes ? Complain about this comment (Comment number 7) * Comment number 8. At 20:08 21st Apr 2009, kaybraes wrote: Who would you rather believe Mr Peston, the IMF or Eyebrows Darling and his sorry excuse for a prime minister ? Tomorrow's budget statement will be a short term fix aimed at trying to avert the demise of the Labour party as a credible political force rather than an attempt to get Britain out of the excrement Gordon Brown and his witless colleagues have dragged it into. Complain about this comment (Comment number 8) * Comment number 9. At 20:09 21st Apr 2009, stmewan wrote: So it appears the nation has lost at least 2 years of its normal earnings, albeit spread over 15 years or so. Ideally this pitfall should have been avoided. Nevertheless the only way from here is onwards and upwards. One hopes the nation will be wise enough to expect the next and subsequent First Lords of the Treasury to use whatever it takes to restore and maintain the nation's finances to a fit and proper state. Without sound finances all political parties manifesto hopes will be no more than hot air. Complain about this comment (Comment number 9) * Comment number 10. At 20:10 21st Apr 2009, Slungiehill wrote: I had wondered if the government had been playing down the true extent of the debt mountain. Clearly they have, the next questions are: 1. What other matters are still buried or not recognised as yet? and 2. Assuming we are at the end of the financial melt down; what are the UK politicians going to do to turn Britain into a cash positive economy? Complain about this comment (Comment number 10) * Comment number 11. At 20:12 21st Apr 2009, jd6969preston wrote: RBS_temp You always seem very quick to defend the Brown Govt and make the point that it is a "global" problem. I don't ever recall seeing anyone on here trying to make the case that the Govt actually caused the problem. This Govt have been at the wheel for 12 yrs which is a long time in anybody`s book. Do you honestly feel that they have done a stellar job in running the economy over that period and could not have done anything differently which would have left us in a bit better position? I accept that there are other countries which are in a worse position but amongst the G20 nations we are worse placed. Would you not at least expect a little better housing keeping from a country that is the 5th largest economy in the world? Complain about this comment (Comment number 11) * Comment number 12. At 20:13 21st Apr 2009, lordBeddGelert wrote: Well, here's a 'Debt Clock', but it looks to be using last year's figures. So the 'Debt per head' is just over £ 10 k each - one suspects that it may be approaching £ 15k per head now, and heading fast to £ 20k per head. But who knows ? Perhaps the BBC can enlighten us ! http://cluaran.free.fr/debt.html Complain about this comment (Comment number 12) * Comment number 13. At 20:17 21st Apr 2009, Diversities wrote: The IMF is: a) aware that it is a bit out of its depth in understanding the present mess; b) determined to show a view of economic prospects which is no longer denatured by politically driven prettying-up imposed by the US and British Treasuries; and c) aware that it is all too likely that politicians will want to ignore the risks of things getting even worse. So they have produced a forecast which is worse than the least unlikely outcome, but well within the range of possibility. We should be grateful. Complain about this comment (Comment number 13) * Comment number 14. At 20:22 21st Apr 2009, johnmkeynes wrote: In an economic and statistical debate between the IMF and the FSA I know which, based on its track-record, I would judge to be the more credible and reliable....and it isn't the FSA. Complain about this comment (Comment number 14) * Comment number 15. At 20:23 21st Apr 2009, shireblogger wrote: Robert Dominique Strauss Kahn warned of the unresolved banking black hole in his interview with Paxman last week. Ken Clarke and Sushil Wadhwani warned that more could and would be needed on toxic assets on 20 April Newsnight. Wadhwani spoke of the central/eastern european debt farago washing onto our shores in a second shockwave. Its not at all certain that the Geitner JV plan for purchase of toxic assets will work. You need to read the Trends in Lending report of the BoE just published April 2009. Flow of net lending to uk businesses was close to zero in February 2009. BoE corporate bond asset purchases have helped to repay some of the bank debt ( yipee for the banks) for the privileged footsie companies.Everyone else makes do the Enterprise Finance Guarantees. It claims that it finds it difficult to disentangle the separate influences of changes in the supply of and demand for credit. Growth of Lending to business has severely fallen back.This could throttle off recovery.Net mortgage lending has collapsed with annual growths in lending falling to its lowest rates since series figures began in 1988. If there is a collective lack of will in the political / regulator classes to recognise the urgency and need to deal with bank balance sheets, there will be a worse outcome for all of us. The banks hold us to ransom - this should never be allowed to happen again.Why should we trust the FSA calculations, when in October we were told that capitalisation phase one would restore lending after their stress testing at that point. What are we on now? Phase Four? Complain about this comment (Comment number 15) * Comment number 16. At 20:31 21st Apr 2009, lordBeddGelert wrote: Right, Peston, it is time to come clean. Andrew Neil on his Daily Politics Blog says that 'the markets' are already factoring in the potential for 'Borrowing' [by which I mean total debt, not the ridiculous use of 'borrowing' to mean 'just this year's slice'] of up to 100% of GDP !!! That means we are already heading for a figure of £ 20, 000 PER PERSON. Is this right ? Why on earth isn't the BBC zoning in on this, and why aren't people making much much more of a fuss about this, if this is really the case ?? It is a dereliction of duty if this is not covered properly and gets camouflaged with all the other 'Budget Day' figures. Scandalous !!! Complain about this comment (Comment number 16) * Comment number 17. At 20:31 21st Apr 2009, moraymint wrote: My money's on the IMF's assessment (and similar third-party assessments). The amount of 'bad stuff' still undisclosed (deliberately and inadvertently) in the global financial system is huge. The risks to the global economy remain truly enormous and unprecedented. The last analysis I would trust these days is anything coming from the Treasury or the FSA. Both organisations are utterly discredited and politically biased. Why on earth would either of them want to put out anything other than the most optimistic (ie unsubstantiated) of messages? People must bear in mind that we are ruled by an incompetent, deceitful and, latterly, desparate Government. The citizens of this country would do well to proceed with their lives on the basis that the next 10 (or even 20 years) are going to be extremely difficult economically and socially. The global recession has barely started (let alone coming to an end, as some politicians would try to con us into believing) and we have yet to experience the forthcoming horrendous impact of the end of cheap energy, coupled with the UK's appalling levels of energy (in)security. Tomorrow's budget will be the usual nonsense that we've come to expect from The Brown Terror. The global reality of what lies ahead will unfold against the laws of diminishing natural resources, supply and demand and overpopulation regardless of the frantic and ultimately futile lever-pulling by our politicians. We've reached the end of mankind's era of debt-fuelled (fantasy) economic growth predicated on infinite supplies of cheap energy. The next 10 years and beyond will be the payback and the transition to a new world order: but not the world order that Gordon Brown keeps banging on about. Complain about this comment (Comment number 17) * Comment number 18. At 20:32 21st Apr 2009, renwood wrote: The IMF warned several times about the housing bubble but they were igonored. Now they warn about something else and they are ignored. It seems the government and FSA messed up before and they'll mess up again. The former, to try to secure reelection, the latter because they're trying to please their political masters. Complain about this comment (Comment number 18) * Comment number 19. At 20:32 21st Apr 2009, whatevernext1 wrote: The same IMF forecast 1 trillion a year ago - has it any credibility? Forecasts are that - forecasts. Sadly the UK economy is underpinned by house prices, rather than more productive manufacturing etc sectors. Look at a few agents websites - the proportion of properties under offer has increased enormously over recent weeks - a sure sign confidence is returning, but who knows for how long? - however with low interest rates, increased mortgage availability and favourable demand/supply perhaps it will last, in which case many of those UK toxic debts will become non-toxic. Complain about this comment (Comment number 19) * Comment number 20. At 20:36 21st Apr 2009, riverside wrote: When there are banks still to fail, truly colossal losses in the system and unemployment only just getting rolling and house prices still falling I find it hard to believe that the worst of the recession is over, particularly when those saying this have such an absymal record of forecasting. It all smacks of lets say its stopped and maybe it will. Complain about this comment (Comment number 20) * Comment number 21. At 20:42 21st Apr 2009, Nick Drew wrote: The IMF's findings support the idea that there are more dominos to fall. No-one need be surprised by this, not should anyone be taken in by rosy-tinted pictures painted by Darling tomorrow: the fact about dominos in a crisis like this is that they fall slowly. Complain about this comment (Comment number 21) * Comment number 22. At 20:53 21st Apr 2009, chriss-w wrote: It's been pretty clear for ages that no-one has really "come clean" about the full extent of the banks exposure - and our exposure to the banks. I guess this is partly to protect the guilty (in both the financial and the political classes) and partly because to do so would bring the whole edifice crashing down. The Government and the FSA are simply doing nothing in the hope that something (preferably the economy) will turn up. If it does not, and if the IMF are right - I'm not in a position to judge - then another grim day of reckoning lies ahead when the banks find they are writing off further bad loans/assets and don't have the resources to meet their liabilities. It seems to me they may already know this. They are, shoving up banks chages and screwing their customers for every penny (presumably all "for a rainy day".) It beggars belief. Banks, for example, charge extortionate interest on credit cards while charging retailers 15% - effectively a form of VAT - for the privilege of selling and still they have no money. So lets start a fight back. Let everyone stop using their credit cards and start using cash. It may be modestly inconvenient - but if everyone joined in it would hit the beggars where it hurts: and they might have to start paying attention to the paying public for a change. Complain about this comment (Comment number 22) * Comment number 23. At 21:19 21st Apr 2009, Optimist wrote: #11. jd6969preston wrote: "RBS_temp You always seem very quick to defend the Brown Govt and make the point that it is a "global" problem. I don't ever recall seeing anyone on here trying to make the case that the Govt actually caused the problem." Are you serious? There are many, many regular contributors to this blog who are repeatedly claiming exactly that. They blame Messrs Brown and Darling for everything. I did not vote Labour at the last election, and certainly do not wish to see them win the next one, but I accept that the cause of this global crisis was a combination of greed (by the banks) and a global lack or regulation and oversight. For all its faults, this government is not responsible. Or are you suggesting that the UK has such influence that it can precipitate financial crises right across the globe, from Iceland to Australia, Latvia to Japan? Complain about this comment (Comment number 23) * Comment number 24. At 21:26 21st Apr 2009, Optimist wrote: #22. chriss-w wrote: "Let everyone stop using their credit cards and start using cash. It may be modestly inconvenient - but if everyone joined in it would hit the beggars where it hurts: and they might have to start paying attention to the paying public for a change." So tell me how I will pay for that next flight on Travelocity, or those CDs from Amazon, or that computer from Dell. Should I walk into town with a thousand pounds in my pocket just in case I decide to buy something? If you pay off your credit card each month you do not pay any interest - so the banks are effectively offering you a safe, convenient way of paying for purchases for absolutely nothing. Why is that bad? Complain about this comment (Comment number 24) * Comment number 25. At 21:27 21st Apr 2009, U9388581 wrote: The grasp of macroeconomics shown by the bloggers here is very thin, they have no idea of what the numbers mean. They have no idea of the size or elasticity of either the global product, the American economy by itself or the volumes that can be brought to bear by BRIC. A simple look at for instance UK and USA housing stock asset valuations and what the implications of even a 5% rise means in terms of equity available to the economy. If you translate the debt per gnp figures of the G20 and the projected ongoing defecits, then it is the same as many domestic familly budgets; i.e overstretched but manageable. The major problem is the short termism engendered by the limited terms of the political/executive leaderships when we should be looking at a 10 yr and beyond structure they perforce must keep an eye on the next election and the ignorance/incapacity of the electorate to do much more than count on their fingers. A substantial number of bloggers seem motivated by a venal hatred for this government (who I hold no torch for) that has exceeded anything I have witnessed in 45 years of following politics/economics. From the day of the Blair Accession I have heard, been told or witnessed extremes of loathing that the same people (in the Main)would hesitate to heap upon Himmler,Goebbels or Hitler. Whilst disagreeing with much of what the liberal/labour/leftist clique have done I can not think of any life or nation threatening activity or omission that could produce such rage, even the unfettered immigration and failure to apply just deserts to immigrant criminality, while annoying does affect so few of us that I wonder if I have missed some momentous sins of the socialists. Calm down people; its only a recession! Complain about this comment (Comment number 25) * Comment number 26. At 21:32 21st Apr 2009, nautonier wrote: All the more reason for GB government to 'nudge' the banking sector into consolidation - ease the burden on the taxpayer. Too many banks in the UK or affiliated with the UK being improperly managed. We need fewer banks of the right size, with the right management and appropriate British focussed business plans. This can be achieved by putting them all under control of the Bank of England which is 'half-way house' and cheaper and more efficient than wholescale nationalisation of anything that looks like a bank which would not work because nationalisation would bring the country to a grinding halt under incompetent government. The UK banks should now have to feed on each as take-overs/merger in a vulture frenzy for value and not keep going for innocent home owners - this all needs to be done quickly as 5 months overdue already. The difference is ask yourself - What is more efficient? e.g. 20 UK banks keeping correct capital reserves/ ratios or 200 + UK banks trying to keep suitable capital reserves - this is not rocket science - much of this is common sense. It is probably not possible for all of these UK banks to do everything financially as best practice in a recession - their business models only have one 'top gear' - accelerating growth and they simply do not have enough money coming in to maintain reserves, overheads, sort out toxic assets, etc etc. Some of the the banks need culling either in whole or part and most need breaking up and right sizing. We have too many bankers in the UK and most of these should now be looking to retrain. We're trying to support too many banks as most banks rely on the big four or five banks for inter-banks loans - the whole banking sector is too big and cannot be regulated and is unsustainable without major consolidation. We may have rescued the banks but by rescuing them haven't we now inflated the huge over-sized bloated UK banking mess and made things worse for many years to come? Too rebuild and restructure our economy I think that we need a smaller more efficient and well regulated banking sector serving the needs of the country, economy, business, people and not just the banksters. Government/politicians talk about this but do nothing about it. Robert, - I think your are hinting at this 'bank sector resizing/efficiency/control issue' in your review of the IMF forecasts but I'm wondering why you have not said this directly? (Actually, you may have said something like this elsewhere on the blogs?) We need a list of banks for the chop! Anyone going to have a bash at a better banking sector structure/profile? Complex problems of global goon banking finance can have simple solutions like e.g. a change of government, fewer banks, fewer bankers, fewer speculators - we need a government that can get control and means business - to do what is necessary and not goon around like Goondog Trillionaire Brown. Complain about this comment (Comment number 26) * Comment number 27. At 21:41 21st Apr 2009, amacd2 wrote: Is 9/15/08 the “Second Shoe Dropping” after 9/11? The greatest impact of the ‘financial crisis’ or ‘economic shock’ that began on 9/15/08 (with the collapse of Lehman) may signify something more important than even trillions of dollars of money for our country. It may signal a relationship between the shocks of 9/11 and 9/15. An unguarded comment that Daniel Yergin made recently at a conference about the precipitous impact of 9/15 (08), when the Bush Treasury Department's Hank Paulson made the preemptive decision to drive Lehman into bankruptcy, and unleashing an extreme 'shock' (bordering on an ‘economic attack’) on the US economy, caused me to consider the possibility that the events of 9/15/08 may very well parallel the suggested 'shock doctrine' (as Naomi Klein calls it), and of the 9/11 ‘kinetic attack’ (as the intelligence community calls it).. A recent article in the NYT reporting that the Defense Department and various intelligence agencies have just now run the first 'war games' focused on economic warfare, which was planned initially in September of '08, further caused me to consider the obvious linkage in US intelligence planning between what they call 'kinetic attacks’ of shock and awe, and of the more modern ‘economic attacks’. Such perception and understanding of these attack profiles of old fashioned 'explosions' and new style 'economic explosions' against or by the US would seem to indicate that a 9/11 style attack and a 9/15 (08) style attack are both on the minds of these 'defense' planners, intelligence experts, and security analysts ---- let alone their overseers. It would seem that those working on the 9/11 issue might gain considerable supporting evidence of any conspiracy (if one exists within the US or other imperialist governments) by comparing factors and decisions involving the US role in 9/11 and in the events of 9/15 (08). I have recently written speculative suggestions such as, "9/15 (of 2008, the collapse of Lehman, and the beginning of this economic 'shock doctrine') is clearly the 'second shoe dropping' in this tragedy begun on 9/11 by the ruling-elite 'corporate financial fascist Empire' that currently controls our country behind the facade of its two-party, 'Vichy' sham of democracy. It is more than ironic that even Hitler did not need two Reichstag fires to transmogrify the German Republic into the Nazi Empire.” In other words, 9/11 research and 9/15 (08) research might very well complement each other in establishing evidence of whether such attacks on our country can be better understood, explained and exposed to patriotic American citizens. Alan MacDonald Sanford, Maine Complain about this comment (Comment number 27) * Comment number 28. At 21:48 21st Apr 2009, Jericoa wrote: The FSA ' does not believe the banks have an urgent need to raise capital' The IMF says they do. On track record and grounds of self interest who should we believe do you think? The whole system is shot, held up by past momentum only like some cartoon character running off the edge of a cliff he is only just realising there is nothing underneath him but thin air. rbs- temp I agree with you it is not the UK's fault exclusively, it is a global systemic failure we in the uk are particularly exposed to through poor management. We also proportionally carry a higher proportion of the blame globally as the problems and imbalances have largely been as a result of the gravy train created by wall street and the City regulators. Other financial centres were bewitched by the illusion of success and jumped on the bandwagon too but are slightly less exposed. Jericoa Complain about this comment (Comment number 28) * Comment number 29. At 22:05 21st Apr 2009, U9388581 wrote: THe conspiracy gentleman from Maine has surely missed a couple. 1st shoe JFK 2nd shoe Refusal of Bush snr to take Baghdad (allowing jnr his shot) 3rd 9/11 4th Lehman 5th Another "Grassy Knoll" for Obama? The Americans have a delightful cache of fantasists that can always make me chuckle! Complain about this comment (Comment number 29) * Comment number 30. At 22:12 21st Apr 2009, alain_williams wrote: What we have seen is a sudden devaluation of assets that had an overinflated value, ie a price correction. The over inflation was as a result of the bubble going back many years. A bubble is an increase in price of something that is more than the underlying worth of the asset. The underlying worth of something is the price that can be reasonably afforded by those who need to buy it. What I would like to know is: if these assets had not had their prices over inflated, what would their prices be ? Where are they with respect to their underlying value ? This is important because: * if the assets are still over priced, in spite of the fall, then they still have further down to go. * If the price is about right have we really lost anything at all ? The price of things is as it should be. We are all feeling poor because we had got used to assets having too high a value. It is like getting out of a hot bath: the bathroom fees cold in spite of us being happy with it before we got into the bath. Then we can look to see who benefited and who lost as a result of the bubble. The big problem is that some will have benefited hugely - which must be matched by others suffering an equal sum of losses. It would be interesting to see this net flow of value. I suspect that many who, as a result of the bubble, found much more cash in their wallets went and squandered it on items that they really should not have afforded - they spent beyond their true earning ability. It would be easy to blame them for this, but for years the spend, spend has been encouraged by the banks and high street - who benefited from it. Neither can we allow them to avoid all blame, everyone should know that you don't get owt for nowt. Many who were careful with their spending are unfortunately caught up in this, they have had to buy houses at inflated prices and are now loosing their jobs through no fault of their own. The worst culprit is our government who cashed in on the boom years and did not put anything away for the bad years. They could not claim ignorance, they had access to the best advice. The story of Joseph's interpretation of the pharaoh's dream of 7 fat and 7 thin cows is well known. In a few years they will leave office on a good pension while we continue to pay for their profligacy. This is on top of the up coming financial head aches that will be caused by an aging population and global warming. Complain about this comment (Comment number 30) * Comment number 31. At 22:14 21st Apr 2009, jd6969preston wrote: RBS_temp "For all its faults, this government is not responsible." I'd say half the Labour MPs don't even genuinely believe that one. Brown could use you at number 10 - I heard he has a vacancy for a new side kick. Complain about this comment (Comment number 31) * Comment number 32. At 22:21 21st Apr 2009, ClubDeckBlade wrote: Robert, Got to ask the question. Whom has any validity here as a substantive commentator/source? All these organisations/individuals MISSED the crash so why should we believe ANYTHING they say about depth/extent/recovery? it seems to me that the entire financial sector has no legitimate commentators!!! As for Mervyn King, the sooner he is gone the better.....; Complain about this comment (Comment number 32) * Comment number 33. At 22:21 21st Apr 2009, John Moss wrote: Of course, if Brown hadn't run up debts of almost £200bn between 2001 and 2008, before the bungs and bali-outs even started, then we might have been able to afford the bail-out, or potentially not even needed it in the first place. anagram: I AM GORDON BROWN = MAD ON BORROWING Complain about this comment (Comment number 33) * Comment number 34. At 22:49 21st Apr 2009, seeclearlynow wrote: I agree with Moncursalion-Monochrome! in that the hatred felt towards this government is enormous, but to put this anger down to being caused only by the recession is totally incorrect. The man on the street has been warning of over fuelled house prices, making money from `thin air` being unsustainable, the eradication of freedom of speach, wastage of tax payers money through hair brained schemes such identity cards, to name but a few. But this has been ignored and we have been belittled by an arrogant un-elected PM. I wish that we could be rid of career politicians and actually have somebody with real world experience and common sense running this `democracy (?)` Complain about this comment (Comment number 34) * Comment number 35. At 22:53 21st Apr 2009, onward-ho wrote: Well I actually believe the Treasury know more about the UK economy than a bunch of pessimistic postgrads reading internet blurbs in the NY office of the IMF. And secondly , who the heck is going to default on a business loan or mortgage at 1, 2 or 3% over base rate? Hardly anyone. So move over, gloomsters, the recovery is on its way and I've been telling you this for ages. Complain about this comment (Comment number 35) * Comment number 36. At 23:06 21st Apr 2009, nichomach wrote: It's worth noting that according to Newsnight, the IMF have pulled the 13% figure - something about a "drafting error", according to our lot? Apparently, they meant to indicate a range of between 6-13% - again, I'm just going by Newsnight, and I may have got hold of the wrong end of the stick. Complain about this comment (Comment number 36) * Comment number 37. At 23:10 21st Apr 2009, chriss-w wrote: 24# rbs_temp In case you did not know this, the banks also charge retailers, and anyone else you pay by credit card a rate of 15% odd for the privilege. This is the same as the Govt's VAT take at the moment: and the more everyone uses their credit cards the for "convenience" the greater the share of public spending that's subject to this surcharge. would it be worth your while carrying cash if retailers offered you a 15% discount - as many do on the continent? Complain about this comment (Comment number 37) * Comment number 38. At 23:36 21st Apr 2009, whitelight68 wrote: Ridiculous. People swallow whatever the Tories tell them to because Brown lacks charisma while Cameron has a winning smile and the Telegraph - who says personality politics died with Blair. These IMF figures stink of reactionary hyperbole - we STILL have lower debt to GDP figures than the majority of the G20 (believe we were 16th at last count) and the sheer amount we have spent on bank equity and credit insurance is due to the size and previous success of our financial sector. The shares we now hold in our nation's banks are highly likely to go up in value again and the government credit insurance only becomes a risk if the banks collapse again - which by all recent accounts seems unlikely: bank lending up, mortgages up, the downward spiral slowing. These two major expenditures are still pie-in-the-sky figures (and, in the case of equity, may actually turn round a tidy public profit when the upturn inevitably comes - as happened in Sweden (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/ba nking_and_finance/article5580831.ece). It's a sad fact that people are willing to believe what George Osborne tells us to because talking down the economy gets the most coverage. Yes, public debt will be huge - it generally is after a recession - but to claim that somehow it is Brown's fault is truly naive. Post 1930s depression we introduced regulation to stop it ever happening again. Heath started chipping it away, but it was our first female prime minister who big banged all these safeguards away. Labour's mistake was to never reverse her mad decision. Complain about this comment (Comment number 38) * Comment number 39. At 23:38 21st Apr 2009, Sasha Clarkson wrote: #35 onward-ho Well I actually believe the Treasury know more about the UK economy than a bunch of pessimistic postgrads reading internet blurbs in the NY office of the IMF. Well, I'd rather believe a Nobel winning economist, or James Galbraith, than someone who resorts to insults when the facts are inconvenient. After all, the treasury forecasts 18 months ago were rather less than accurate. Also, the people you seem to be insulting are probably industrious postdocs who do their research properly, and don't have a pecuniary interest in the outcome, except that the extent to which they get things right might improve their future employment prospects? http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/ http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-03-24/the-geith ner-plan-wont-work/ Not that I'm against the odd insult, but that should be a Curzonesque venting of spleen, rather than a pretense of reasoned argument? COME ON GORDY, ADMIT YOU'VE BEEN CLUELESS! HEY OSBO - WHAT HAVE THE HEDGIES TOLD YOU TO THINK THIS WEEK? There - that made me feel better! Complain about this comment (Comment number 39) * Comment number 40. At 23:39 21st Apr 2009, Optimist wrote: #37. chriss-w wrote: "rbs_temp In case you did not know this, the banks also charge retailers, and anyone else you pay by credit card a rate of 15% odd for the privilege." Retailers do pay a fee for the "privilege" of accepting a credit card in payment, but it is nowhere near the 15% you quote. Try 3-5%, and you might be somewhere close to the actual figure. And that seems to me to be a reasonable sum of money for handling the transaction on the retailer's behalf. "would it be worth your while carrying cash if retailers offered you a 15% discount - as many do on the continent?" If retailers offered a 15% discount for cash than I would certainly take advantage of that where possible. But that's not going to happen and, as I have said, for the majority of transactions in today's sophisticated society paying cash is simply not a feasible option. I really don't know where you're going with this argument. Complain about this comment (Comment number 40) * Comment number 41. At 23:41 21st Apr 2009, Scott wrote: It feels like Billy Bunter has been put in charge of admitting banking losses: "We haven't made any losses...well the rights issues will cover the losses...well there are a few more losses but that really is it...OK we need to be nationalised but only part nationalised....well actually mostly nationalised..." Where will it end? Complain about this comment (Comment number 41) * Comment number 42. At 23:45 21st Apr 2009, Cloud-Cuckoo wrote: So who has gained the £2.8 trillion that the banks are supposed to have lost? Come on, own up, you know you're out there somewhere. It can't be all in Fred's pension. Who's sitting on a big fat mattress stuffed full of cash? It must have gone somewhere - or is it just a paper loss? Complain about this comment (Comment number 42) * Comment number 43. At 23:45 21st Apr 2009, fazza42 wrote: All that piling money into the banking system does is save the banks because they are keeping the money to themselves and not lending it. We are not creating demand for products or services so how are we goiong to pull ourselves out of the recession?. Therefore we should implement a building programme, on a massive scale, to rebuild schools, hospitals, prisons etc and carry out rail upgrades. This will create demand for construction and infrastructure products/services, create jobs and produce add-on benefits such as increased demand for cars and high street sales plus reduce the increasing social benefits bill. It will cost money, however, rather than just saving banks, it would be producing something worthwhile and tangible at the end and if my tax is going to be used for something, then I want it used for something I can see. Complain about this comment (Comment number 43) * Comment number 44. At 23:48 21st Apr 2009, Aah tea wrote: Robert, to really make your point at what an absolute catastrophe of years of financial management this is, state the numbers properly in full. I believe your abbreviation $4.1 trillion (what does this mean written like this, it has no impact) should be $4,100,000,000,000. Or approximately the value of 23,000,000 (23 million) houses at the average house price, ie, most of the private property in this country. It would be hard to imagine being the person most responsible for this level of ineptitude. Complain about this comment (Comment number 44) * Comment number 45. At 00:00 22nd Apr 2009, U9388581 wrote: 37 # Chriss-w Having run several small businesses I have never been charged nore than 2% by any credit card company for transactions, although at one time the AMEX card was an extortionate 4.5% and I would not accept them. 75% of Tesco t/o is via credit cards and I would image they pay a fractin of one percent. The ludicrous nature of your claim for a 15% transaction fee simply confirms my earlier assertion regarding the innumeracy and ignorance of most posters to this blog. Please go onto a site that welcomes the " All immigrants get a free car when they apply for asylum, yeah, and a 6 bedroom house, yeah and £1,000 a week in benefits for each of their 96 relatives,yeah." ; you know the type. Complain about this comment (Comment number 45) * Comment number 46. At 00:02 22nd Apr 2009, blog_bob wrote: 37# - chriss-w Where are you getting this ridiculous 15% figure from? Are you just guessing? Interchange fees, to which you are referring, consist of a fixed fee and a small percentage of the transactional value. Granted, if you are making transactions of low value this means the percentage charged is higher (ever wondered why pubs ask you for a minimum spend on card?), but to put this figure at an average of 15% is plainly wrong. A more realistic estimate would be at most 2%. Complain about this comment (Comment number 46) * Comment number 47. At 00:30 22nd Apr 2009, chris wrote: At least in the US they're going after the banksters for fraud. Here the useless FSA has been tasked with looking into the reasons for the collapse of RBS, but what's the betting they'll do a Hutton and be unable to nail the guilty parties ? Complain about this comment (Comment number 47) * Comment number 48. At 00:56 22nd Apr 2009, nick_se wrote: chriss-w wrote: 24# rbs_temp In case you did not know this, the banks also charge retailers, and anyone else you pay by credit card a rate of 15% odd for the privilege. Correction most retailers pay the credit card companies 1.5% commission on sales and at most 4% to american express whom we stopped trading with many years ago as a small retail outlet, and by the way in the real world we are fast approaching hyper inflation due to the weak £ to euro. 30% rises in costs are the norm since jan 2009, were is the deflation coming from certainly not in my high street. Complain about this comment (Comment number 48) * Comment number 49. At 01:10 22nd Apr 2009, stilllitterarty wrote: Their are/were too many banksters trying to get rich in Gordonziland ,and with no new tranches made up of the ones born every minute ,they should be downsized [or taxipayers will be turned into the ones born every minute] The effects would include a collapse in city office prices and collapse in GDP ONCE BRATAINS FANTASY things can only get better ECONOMY IS FACTORED OUT turning the %debt reality from a kerbstone into a mountain. One only has to look at the face of the great leader to see the seedy inkrusted embodyment of the seven debtly sins that should have been replaced by the honourable Frank Field a decade ago. And today ,budget day they shall contiue to fart in taxipayerrs faces to the tune of Land of Hope and Glory and show the world that Britains got tallent. Complain about this comment (Comment number 49) * Comment number 50. At 01:54 22nd Apr 2009, Joseph Postin wrote: I reckon my house is valued at about 2 trillion quid. I fully intend to leverage this to 50% of value and am actively looking to finance a 1 trillion quid loan against the properties value. How many lenders in the World do you think would lend me the money? I undoubtedly believe it would be none. Why, because my 'notional' self deemed value of my asset is worthless as an opinion of real value, yet, with the clear abandonment of the mark to market accounting rules, this is exactly what the banks are doing. Here in Australia there is a NSW local government that has on paper lost hundreds of millions of dollars investing infrastructure fees paid by developers into CDO's. It is still valuing these at the purchase prices and is refusing to re-assess for 'real value'. The CDO's typically of the type purchased are running between a 75-80% loss. The council is stubbornly refusing to accept that they have lost this money and the longer they wait the closer they get to their maturities and being forced to realise their losses. Till then let's ignore the problem and hope no one notices. Perhaps the election cycle is at play here. Not liking the result of a formula, it is not an accepted scientific principle to change the formula in order to derive the required result. Who cares about accounting rules when you don't like the numbers they spit out, just change the rules. This doesn't change the fact that banks have assets on their books they do not acurately record a value against. All financial statements issued by banks now can be trusted even less than they could be when off-balance sheet loss hiding was rife. I'd go with the IMF on this one, whilst not the most reliable of predictors it stands head and shoulders above the FSA on any measure of financial reputation. Complain about this comment (Comment number 50) * Comment number 51. At 03:16 22nd Apr 2009, saga mix wrote: rbs temp @ 23 There are many, many regular contributors to this blog who are repeatedly claiming exactly that. They blame Messrs Brown and Darling for everything yes, that's an accurate observation - there's plenty of that type of comment and it's driven by partisan politics rather than any semblance of objective analysis - nothing wrong with that so long as it's seen for what it is Complain about this comment (Comment number 51) * Comment number 52. At 04:42 22nd Apr 2009, stilllitterarty wrote: This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain. Complain about this comment (Comment number 52) * Comment number 53. At 04:48 22nd Apr 2009, stilllitterarty wrote: 51 SAGAMIX ,WHO WOULD YOU PREFER TO BLAME ,ADOLF HITLER AND GOERING ? Complain about this comment (Comment number 53) * Comment number 54. At 05:10 22nd Apr 2009, saga mix wrote: still @ 53 I do indeed! - at least for the second world war - however, for this banking meltdown and consequent economic downturn, I mainly blame a combo of lax central bank monetary policy and the ridiculous bonus culture in the financial services industry - in both cases US originated, with the UK (as is our habit) slavishly following on Complain about this comment (Comment number 54) * Comment number 55. At 06:10 22nd Apr 2009, stilllitterarty wrote: 54 The bonus culture based on 57 varieties of alphabet soup was originated[packaged] in london not New york, hence Roubini's observation that the Anglo Saxon model is dead [and not pining for the fjords ] The love affair with piracy fuelled[levered] by central banks has finally ended in tiers for souveneers. The Labour government relied on the lucre now no longer coming in to the city from every scaaam on the planet and soon the true debt to gdp figures will emerge .http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8004567.stm Perhaps you would like to blame Laurel and Hardy [thats another fine mess they got us into] Complain about this comment (Comment number 55) * Comment number 56. At 06:36 22nd Apr 2009, stilllitterarty wrote: This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain. Complain about this comment (Comment number 56) * Comment number 57. At 07:05 22nd Apr 2009, Optimist wrote: #50. SoapboxJoe wrote: "I'd go with the IMF on this one, whilst not the most reliable of predictors it stands head and shoulders above the FSA on any measure of financial reputation." Well, it looks like the IMF has accepted that their calculations were incorrect on this occasion and they have withdrawn the estimate they made yesterday... Complain about this comment (Comment number 57) * Comment number 58. At 07:09 22nd Apr 2009, Optimist wrote: #50. SoapboxJoe wrote: "Here in Australia there is a NSW local government that has on paper lost hundreds of millions of dollars investing infrastructure fees paid by developers into CDO's. It is still valuing these at the purchase prices and is refusing to re-assess for 'real value'. The CDO's typically of the type purchased are running between a 75-80% loss. The council is stubbornly refusing to accept that they have lost this money and the longer they wait the closer they get to their maturities and being forced to realise their losses." But a loss is not a loss until it is realised, just like any increase in asset values is only notional until the asset is sold. Perhaps the approach the local government is taking on this occasion - which, dare I say it, you may have somewhat oversimplified for the purposes of making a point - is simply standard accounting practice? Complain about this comment (Comment number 58) * Comment number 59. At 07:12 22nd Apr 2009, rvpisneverinjureds wrote: if mr fat man takes that new fat pill it will be a true brownwatch 404 days. Complain about this comment (Comment number 59) * Comment number 60. At 07:21 22nd Apr 2009, rvpisneverinjureds wrote: the only people i can see supporting this crxx government are the people that have their mortgages paid for by the sensible savers. Complain about this comment (Comment number 60) * Comment number 61. At 07:32 22nd Apr 2009, stevewo wrote: An historical change has happened. Whilst profits from property "booms" go into private pockets, the eventual massive losses are now handed to the taxpayer. This has never happened before. EVERYONE is now at risk. Anyone who wants to see another surge in property prices must be off their rocker. Complain about this comment (Comment number 61) * Comment number 62. At 07:37 22nd Apr 2009, skynine wrote: "However, the Treasury says the IMF ignores the fees it has received for some of the financial support to banks that's been provided and it thinks the IMF is being too pessimistic on potential losses." The Treasury is muddying the water. I understand that the losses incurred are not only in Sterling, 2/3rd of the Banks liabilities are in hard foreign currencies. If Sterling goes down the pan the size of the liabilities will grow. Why is the British taxpayer underwriting the losses of American subsidiaries of RBS? Willem Buiter's blog well worth a read. http://blogs.ft.com/maverecon/2009/04/ruminations-on-banking/ Complain about this comment (Comment number 62) * Comment number 63. At 07:41 22nd Apr 2009, Decentjohn wrote: Robert do really believe that the IMF is frightened of the Treasury? Personally i don't think so. Quite simply the IMF have taken the gloomiest view possible and given figures to so called finacial journalists who have then gleefully published the IMF's guess at the future. The IMF have had to quickly withdraw their silly predictions. How much more sensible to look at the facts rather than speculation - but then what would you do without a scare story? Complain about this comment (Comment number 63) * Comment number 64. At 07:55 22nd Apr 2009, chriss-w wrote: OK - thanks to all and I stand corrected. For the record, the 15% figure was not a guess. It is what what I was told I would have to pay in charges on an internet payment scheme I was trhinking of setting up. (I note that wikipaedia says that internet charges are higher than mormal retail which may be some explanation). Even at say 2% the charge means the banks are skimming a couple of billion £ a year. Whether this is reasonable depends on your definition of reasonable. I note the many references to anti-trust actions in this area so someone is not so sure. Is there a differential cost depending on the value of a transation that would justify a % fee? As for where I was going with the argument. My original point, lost in the debate about fees, was that people are being treated as passive players in this crisis - and they are expected to go on paying for it - and that perhaps there is something they can do (a form of mass action that goes to the heart of the matter (ie the pockets of the banks)) to make their presence felt in the debate. Complain about this comment (Comment number 64) * Comment number 65. At 07:59 22nd Apr 2009, saga mix wrote: still @ 55 exactamundo ... boni and Central Banks (UK and USA) with Brown happy to go along for the ride ... passenger on take off, in the air, and on landing - no clue but where do Laurel and Hardy come in, for Heaven's sake? - the only pair of retired, over the hill Clowns you might look to blame are Greenspan and Thatcher Complain about this comment (Comment number 65) * Comment number 66. At 08:31 22nd Apr 2009, Optimist wrote: #60. rvpisneverinjureds wrote: "the only people i can see supporting this crxx government are the people that have their mortgages paid for by the sensible savers." Whether they voted Labour or not, there are a lot of people who understand that the current financial crisis is not of this government's making and that they are doing the best they can to get us out of the mess caused by the astonishing collective greed and poor judgement of almost the entire financial sector. #62. skynine wrote: "I understand that the losses incurred are not only in Sterling, 2/3rd of the Banks liabilities are in hard foreign currencies. If Sterling goes down the pan the size of the liabilities will grow." On the other hand, I presume that the IMF and Treasury are calculating the cost of the bail-out at current exchange rates...? In that case, the final cost is just as likely to shrink, as Sterling really only has one place to go from here and that is up. (And let's not forget that it has been this low - and lower - before, under governments of both left and right). We must also remember that the stakes the government has acquired in our biggest banks are likely to produce massive profits in the medium- to long-term. This crisis may yet end up costing us nothing at all. :-) It's such a pity that the blinkered, relentless sound-bite partisanship on this blog (which is demonstrated beautifully by post 60) makes mature economic discussion and debate almost impossible. Complain about this comment (Comment number 66) * Comment number 67. At 08:41 22nd Apr 2009, Luke wrote: The question I would like to see answered is - Where has all the money gone? The banks/building societies don't have any, so they ask for more from the government/shareholders/savers. The Government doesn't have any money, so it needs to lend more. I'm sure as hell that the ordinary 20% rate payer, like me, doesn't have the money, but I've got a bad feeling about this - we'll be forced to pay for it. Also, for all those who want Brown out, are you really sure that bringing in a Conservative government will make any change at all? The one voted out 12 years ago for its own failures? Complain about this comment (Comment number 67) * Comment number 68. At 09:02 22nd Apr 2009, qsolkew01 wrote: Well this crisis is global and politicians and to some extent the public, the sensational press are not getting the perspective for whatever reason have not yet grasped "global" and reconciled it with "national" The governments of the glabe have been loosing fiscal power since the electronic internet age. There is still yet more fanancial woe to come as the dirty linen is exposed at the bank. HOw come the American banks aree turning losses into profits in such a short time/ Are we gwettign short changed again? To add to all this rumours in the USA are coming in that Saudi Arabia has not been forth coming with their oil reserve stats which have remained the same year on year for the last twenty years even though no significant finds have been made. Whats going on? Complain about this comment (Comment number 68) * Comment number 69. At 09:09 22nd Apr 2009, AndyG wrote: For Heaven's sake, isn't it about time we stopped all the doom and gloom talk... it's just becoming a self-fulfilling prophesy. House sales are up, (some) companies are announcing record profits... yet there are those who STILL persist in trying to drag us all down. But then good news and putting a positive slant on things doesn't sell newspaper inches or TV seconds... or get Mr Peston's face on the front page of the BBC website every day! Complain about this comment (Comment number 69) * Comment number 70. At 09:10 22nd Apr 2009, mantis569 wrote: This is very scary indeed! The public takeover of corporate bodies can only lead to one thing in the long run, fascism! This seems to be happening globally with government bailouts coming from everywhere! To keep a healthy balance in society between public and corporate interests we need to let some the big corporate players fall on their own sword and start again with a clean slate. Gerald Celente (Trend Analyst) gives a very good oversight of what is happening with this here: http://www.freenation.org.uk/?p=698 Complain about this comment (Comment number 70) * Comment number 71. At 09:49 22nd Apr 2009, the-real-truth wrote: Robert, I am surprised you don't know what 'embargo' means. In publications it generally refers to information that should not be published yet. That is, the information is not wrong or in any way questionable, it is merely not to be publshed yet, for potical/commercial reasons. I would surmise that the figures are not disputed, but publishing the facts too early will make it difficult for the government. If they had told the truth as soon as they knew it, they would expect to be thrown out immediately - but by gradualy drip feeding ever higher figrues they hope to retain power just a little bit longer. Complain about this comment (Comment number 71) * Comment number 72. At 10:04 22nd Apr 2009, Sasha Clarkson wrote: #62 skynine Thank you for the link: Buiter's article is, as you say, well worth a read. One little headline: Too big to fail means too big. Discuss? #69 Sorry Andy, despite my best efforts, even through rose-tinted spectacles, the emperor does not appear to have any clothes - at best a g-string. Why? because confidence can't pay the UK's massive import bill. We have to provide goods and/or skill that the rest of the world wants. And I can't see them wanting our financial "services" any more. Complain about this comment (Comment number 72) * Comment number 73. At 10:16 22nd Apr 2009, JavaMan wrote: 1. rbs_temp, lol, your labour ramblings get funnier by the day!!! I wonder why it is you support them so much? Complain about this comment (Comment number 73) * Comment number 74. At 10:20 22nd Apr 2009, angryCB wrote: This must be the worst blog debate ever for the quality of factual comment, starting with # 1 which is off in a world of its own. Only an idiot would claim that the current crisis is not global. There are many borrower nations (eg UK and US) which have significantly over-borrowed and there are many saver/exporter nations (eg Germany, China) which are suffering huge falls in demand for their goods. And there are nations (eg in Eastern Europe) which have borrowed in non-domestic currency which cannot devalue their way out of trouble. Very few nations are not in serious difficulties. Having identified the global aspect of the problem, only a complete idiot (aka Crash Gordon) would claim that there are no things done by the government in the last decade which have not worsened the problems for the UK. The list of Crash's mistakes is very long, with some having a major impact, others a minor impact. Some have only emerged as "bad" with the benefit of hindsight but most were heavily criticised at the time. Critics of the government would like Crash to acknowledge his role in making these errors (and preferably put the matter to an election vote) since acknowledging past mistakes is the first step towards finding a correct new course. Crash's characteristic of taking personal credit for everything good that has happened over the last decade but blaming anyone and everything for all things bad is inexcusable. As the man in charge he is responsible for controlling the country and the economy. On any important measure he has not done well. # 30. These comments are getting to the heart of the matter. Government actions to date have been aimed at short term benefits (and re-election), mainly seeking to re-inflate the bubbles of excess of recent years. In the housing/savings sector the current low interest rates have caused and are causing a massive transfer of value from savers to borrowers. There can be no hope of a long term solution until we start to address the structural problems of the UK economy and asset values reach their long-term sustainable level. Until then we are simply moving the deckchairs on the Titanic. Complain about this comment (Comment number 74) * Comment number 75. At 10:24 22nd Apr 2009, JavaMan wrote: Post 8, NAIL, HEAD HAMMER! Complain about this comment (Comment number 75) * Comment number 76. At 10:24 22nd Apr 2009, pawns_or_players wrote: As Rbs_temp mentions above, the IMF have 'withdrawn' or admitted error in their figures. There is either significant political bias operating within the IMF with regards to GB's figures, or they're simply incompetent. I'm not sure whats worse but on balance and in light of their financial colleagues' abilities, they're probably incompetent. The truth about the current situation is that it is worse that the chancellor says, (as he wants to keep his job)- but its probably not as bad as the IMF make out as they're being manipulated by international pressures from other governments wanting to point the finger so as to distract from their own woes. The position will be somewhere in between. For the IMF to have 'forgotten' to include the bank charges (sweet irony) HMG have charged the banks seems sheer lunacy- how much is the author of that report being paid? Of all the variables that must have been considered in preparing it, surely a cost/benefit analysis was vital? They failed at step one. All of the above doesn't help with the underlying problem here, which is confidence. How can anyone, investors, consumers, banks, governments have confidence in lending or borrowing if accurate facts cannot be clearly stated. It is the lack of confidence which is crippling global liquidity and the IMF merely exacerbate the problem. Ridiculous. Complain about this comment (Comment number 76) * Comment number 77. At 10:48 22nd Apr 2009, Rachel Blackburn wrote: One question I've never seen adequately investigated or answered, Robert. Where's all this money gone? Money doesn't evaporate (however much one might think so looking at our Government's spending over the last decade). If one set of organisations have lost 1700 billion, then somewhere somebody has made 1700 billion. Some no doubt has gone to US householders or housebuilders who sold at inflated prices to people to then defaulted (or to US banks who sold on those mortgages as packaged debt?). Some has no doubt gone to pay a decade or more of excessive salaries and bonuses to bankers (borrowed from now!) or indeed went in taxes to fund Brown's spendthrift ways. But do those account for all of it? Or are there some very happy organisations keeping very quiet right now? (Good for them, but it'd be nice to know!) Complain about this comment (Comment number 77) * Comment number 78. At 11:33 22nd Apr 2009, writingsonthewall wrote: Forecasts? These forecasts are about as good as the Bill Giles one of the 80's where he didn't predict the hurricane winds. The IMF are guessing The treasury are guessing The Government are guessing The CBI are guessing It's funny how most of these 'reassuring predictions' have to be revised downwards (i.e. worse) This week alone we have seen downngrading of forecasts by the CBi, the IMF and today it will be the treasury. The IMF have quadrupled their forecast in les than 6 months, from a cost of 1Trillion to about 4 Trillion. How could they get it so wrong? How can you people still believe a word the Government says? Are your memories so bad you cannot remember last week - let alone last year? What happened to Baroness 'belly laugh' who stated she could see 'green shoots' out of her window. What so many people don't realise is that the efforts to reverse a much needed devaluation are going to cost us all very dearly in the future. Even the US banks 'good day' recently was under-analysed by the 'desperate to believe' crowd who missed the fact that their profits and good results may have actually had something to do with the 150 billion Dollars the US Government has just handed them. I shall be interested to hear what 'magical Darling' produces out of his hat today and more importantly how long before the markets discover there is no substance to it and that you cannot 'talk your way out of recession' and you certainly cannot 'lie your way out of recession'. It's all about maths - anyone who understands numbers can see this clearly. Complain about this comment (Comment number 78) * Comment number 79. At 11:47 22nd Apr 2009, armagediontimes wrote: #74 angryCB. You note: "This must be the worst blog debate ever for the quality of factual comment..." Yeah, maybe, but as no-one seems to know what is going on, getting hold of facts is not that easy. The UK Govt. seems to be changing their forecasts more regularly than Newcastle change managers. Anyone that comes out with a forecast that some vested interest doesn´t like immediately becomes subject to the full forces of smear and spin. Accounting rules have been changed for short term optical benefits for the accounts of banks. This is clearly bananas - imagine if Drs. changed their medical diagnosis for the short term optical benefits of the patient. "I´m sorry Mr. Smith you don´t like the idea of having a broken leg, no problem let me just change my notes. There you are, you now have a slight nose bleed - nothing to worry about off you hop" When is the last time the UK decided it was a good idea to reduce interest rates to effectively zero and embark on money printing? Answer never, so how is anyone supposed to provide facts that will inform the likely outcome? Japan tried something similar (albeit with the benefit of strong savings and an export focused economy), and it didn´t work - and so because it didn´t work no-one can talk about it. Bankers get paid large amounts of money because of their special skills -so how come these special skills led RBS to a GBP 12 billion rights issue about a year ago and effective bankruptcy a few monts ago. Do you think their business benefited from the application of facts? There are some facts. Politicians and the media bang on about global warming and the consequent need to reduce emissions, even if this entails short term costs. Large swathes of the motor industry finds itself in economic difficulties - so the immediate answer is to force taxpayers to subsidise this industry. This has the consequence that taxpayers have less disposable income to fund purchases such as, oh I don´t know, say new motor cars. These are facts, but how they string together to lead to any rational conclusions escapes me, and I´m sure pretty much everyone else. Then you´ve got politicians with their seemingly endless stream of profound insights. "British jobs for British workers", "The abolition of boom and bust." What do these soundbites mean? Who knows, but hey let´s move on. You have the effective officially sanctioned subversion of the English language. All kinds of expert braying sheep are on the TV opining that UK unemployment may rise to 3.5 million. Yeah great except that in the UK there are already nearly 9 million people of working age who are not working. Whatever else these people may be they are unemployed. But they are non people, not worthy of either comment or of being counted. For some their only purpose is to be on constant standby for officially orchestrated vilification whenever it is deemed expedient for the general population to ritually boo the scroungers and the workshy. Complain about this comment (Comment number 79) * Comment number 80. At 11:56 22nd Apr 2009, IR35_SURVIVOR wrote: BBC R4 TODAY John Moulton talking about a long drawn out "L" shaped recession. very good analysis on the subject. he thinks we are in deep trouble, I think he thinks someone was trying to buy an election by proping up the banks, Complain about this comment (Comment number 80) * Comment number 81. At 11:57 22nd Apr 2009, IR35_SURVIVOR wrote: #1 lemming and cliffs come to mind. maybe they all need to win elections ? Complain about this comment (Comment number 81) * Comment number 82. At 12:01 22nd Apr 2009, FearandLoathing wrote: This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain. Complain about this comment (Comment number 82) * Comment number 83. At 12:03 22nd Apr 2009, U9388581 wrote: When are people going to apply some thought to the oft repeated question "Where has the money gone?" ? NOTIONAL VALUES. If as one poster posited earlier I VALUE my house at £1 Trillion and for some insane reason that figure gets into the system then the whole system is OVERVALUED by approx £1 Trillion less the REAL VALUE of my house. When it is realised that the value is actually £150,000 then there has been a "LOSS" of almost £ 1 Trillion, i.e the perceived value of the housing market is down £1 Trillion. Nobody had the Trillion, it wasn't there, but because it was PERCEIVED to be there, there is a £1 Trillion loss. If people had been trading on currencies or other indicis based upon asset values then they may have suffered real losses when the adjustment is made and those indicis fall. BUT NO ONE had the £1 Trillion, it was a FANTASY figure. The LOSSES we keep hearing about in equities, commodities,gilts, cdo's, cds are all in one way or another caused by NOTIONAL VALUES or NOTIONAL RISKS. One of the biggest of which was AIG's little man who decided that the world was one a one-way upward financial roll. He said you all have lent huge amounts of money but we will insure you in case the person/corporate entity you lent it to defaults (CAN'T PAY YOU BACK). His department took a NOTIONAL view of the risk and chargeda few cents in the dollar to insure TRILLIONS of debt. The fee's amounted to BILLIONS, out of which he got a reasonable personal salary of £200,000,000 in 8 yrs, because the world WAS on an upwards only roll, very few defaulted so very little had to be paid out. End of upward roll, beginning of defaults and AIG did not have, and never had.had any where near the amount of money needed to pay for the debts insured. True beginning of W.W.Crisis. The winners here were apart from the gentleman with £25,000,000 a year pay packet and his bosses with their bonuses, were those that had had the loans and used the money then defaulted, the losers were AIG stockholders, and to an extent the people who paid for this fraudulent insurance, but in the main the US tax payer who is having to directly bail out AIG or stand guarantor to its debts, and of course the rest of us having to survive the global re-adjustment to REAL VALUES. It is just another example of the kind of trading that has been going on. Wheres the money gone? IT WAS NEVER THERE! On a personal level. The payroll computer has a glitch and instead of paying £2000 into your account at the end of the month, pays £200,000. You go out and buy a Bentley continental for £100,000. The computer error is discovered and corrected. You are now £90,000+ in debt to your bank. Whose fault? The original error was the cause, but the fault for this having an effect was you "DECIDING" that the NOTIONAL VALUE in your account was true, in the face of all evidence re past salary etc. Did you "lose" £190,000+ ? NO, it was never their to begin with. There is no little gnome sitting in a cave with the trillions the world has "Lost" it was never there . Complain about this comment (Comment number 83) * Comment number 84. At 14:06 22nd Apr 2009, newProtectorCromwell wrote: Try to get your heads round the simplest fact of all: the banks have debt so huge that it is beyond the ability of ANY and/or ALL governments worldwide to bail them out. We are only seeing the beginning of the problem. It hasn't begun to really bite yet. Everything pales into insignificance beside this fact. There are hundreds of trillions of dollars waiting in the wings for payment. And when the banks eventually do fail, that is the end of every economy worldwide. Only one person in Government seems to understand the depth of the problem, Baroness Vadera. No spin doctor she. When she was asked about bailing out the banks she replied that she wasn't trying to save the banks; she was trying to save the economy from the banks. At least she tells it like it is. Complain about this comment (Comment number 84) * Comment number 85. At 14:19 22nd Apr 2009, ThorntonHeathen wrote: 83 Moncursalion-Monochrome Thank you so much. I always knew the answer was something like this but this blog has been waiting for months and months for someone to explain this in simple English. Though I doubt that it will stop people coming after the "winners"! Complain about this comment (Comment number 85) This entry is now closed for comments Jump to more content from this blog About this blog A picture of BBC business editor Robert Peston I'm Robert Peston, the BBC's business editor. 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The arrangements, announced by the Department for Transport, apply to all passengers starting their journey at a UK airport, and to those transferring between flights at a British airport. All cabin baggage must be processed as hold baggage and carried in the hold of passenger aircraft departing UK airports. Passengers may take through the airport security search area, in a single, transparent plastic carrier bag, only the following items. Nothing may be carried in pockets: Pocket-size wallets and pocket-size purses plus contents (for example money, credit cards, identity cards, etc - not handbags) Travel documents essential for the journey (for example passports and tickets) Prescription medicines and medical items sufficient and essential for the flight (eg, diabetic kit), except in liquid form unless verified as authentic. Passengers are advised to bring medicines in containers where the seal has not been broken Spectacles and sunglasses, without cases Contact lens holders, without bottles of solution For those travelling with an infant: baby food, milk (the contents of each bottle must be tasted by the accompanying passenger) and sanitary items sufficient and essential for the flight (nappies, wipes, creams and nappy disposal bags) Female sanitary items sufficient and essential for the flight, if unboxed (eg tampons, pads, towels and wipes) Tissues (unboxed) and/or handkerchiefs Keys (but no electrical key fobs). All passengers must be hand searched, and their footwear and all the items they are carrying must be X-ray screened. Pushchairs and walking aids must be X-ray screened, and only airport-provided wheelchairs may pass through the screening point. Any purchases made in departure lounges will be permitted onboard aircraft, with the exception of those flying to the US. Those travelling to the US will be able to purchase goods for consumption in the airport but no additional items, other than those on the list, can be carried onto the aircraft. In addition to the above, all passengers boarding flights to the US and all the items they are carrying must be subjected to secondary search at the boarding gate. Extra time Any liquids discovered will be removed from the passenger. There are no changes to current hold baggage security measures. Passengers are being asked to allow themselves plenty of extra time and to ensure that other than the few permitted items listed above, all their belongings are placed in their hold baggage and checked in. If passengers have any questions on their travel arrangements or security in place at airports they should contact their airline or carrier. E-mail this to a friend Printable version UK TERROR TRIALS LATEST NEWS & ANALYSIS Man jailed over terror blueprints 'AL-QAEDA PROPAGANDA' TRIAL Three admit inciting terror acts Trio fuelled al-Qaeda propaganda Trio 'linked to terrorist films' BRADFORD UNIVERSITY GROUP Extremist students are sentenced Students' descent into extremism OPERATION RHYME UK al-Qaeda cell members jailed Al-Qaeda plotter jailed for life MANCHESTER TERROR TRIAL Man jailed over terror cell plans Man 'had bomb-making plans' RELATED INTERNET LINKS Department for Transport BAA The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites TOP UK STORIES Major manhunt for Afghan soldier Unemployment dips to 2.47 million PM condemns sympathy for Moat MOST POPULAR STORIES NOW * MOST SHARED * MOST READ * Snake bursts after gobbling gator * India's richest shrine goes green * Skin transformed into brain cells * How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election * Financial glossary: A-C Most popular now, in detail * MOST SHARED * MOST READ * Brits barred from US after tweet * F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted * Navy sends destroyer to Falklands * French win India fighter jet deal * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Snake bursts after gobbling gator * What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? * Pythons link to mammals decline * Is the Earth getting lighter? * UN action 'could spur Syria war' Most popular now, in detail FEATURES, VIEWS, ANALYSIS Saudi women wait in line in the 'women section' at of a resturant in the 'Faysalia' mall in Riyadh City FROM TODAY >> Secret kingdom Undercurrents in Saudi society Duff McKagan Sobering up Guns N' Roses' bassist McKagan's 'wake-up call' Cybermen in Rise of the Cybermen - from the second series of Dr Who Robots at war When will machines replace soldiers on the front line? Most Popular Now Most Popular Now | 122,843 people are reading stories on the site right now."; PRODUCTS & SERVICES * E-mail news * Mobiles * Alerts * News feeds * Podcasts * BBC Copyright Notice MMIX Most Popular Now | 47,400 pages were read in the last minute."; Back to top ^^ * Help * Privacy and cookies policy * News sources * About the BBC * Contact us #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News Technology * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video 27 April 2011 Last updated at 07:40 GMT Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print Sony's PlayStation hack apology Continue reading the main story Related Stories * Lawsuits for Sony over PSN attack * Data theft hurts Sony's image Below is the full text of Sony's blog posting on the PlayStation Network hack and loss of personal data. The latest information on the PlayStation Network service outage. Thank you for your patience while we work to resolve the current outage of PlayStation Network & Qriocity services. The following email has been sent to all PSN registrants; please read the help and support FAQ for more information. Valued PlayStation Network/Qriocity Customer: We have discovered that between April 17 and April 19, 2011, certain PlayStation Network and Qriocity service user account information was compromised in connection with an illegal and unauthorized intrusion into our network. In response to this intrusion, we have: 1) Temporarily turned off PlayStation Network and Qriocity services; 2) Engaged an outside, recognized security firm to conduct a full and complete investigation into what happened; and 3) Quickly taken steps to enhance security and strengthen our network infrastructure by re-building our system to provide you with greater protection of your personal information. We greatly appreciate your patience, understanding and goodwill as we do whatever it takes to resolve these issues as quickly and efficiently as practicable. Although we are still investigating the details of this incident, we believe that an unauthorized person has obtained the following information that you provided: name, address (city, state/province, zip or postal code), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity passwords and login and handle/PSN online ID. It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained. If you have authorized a sub-account for your dependent, the same data with respect to your dependent may have been obtained. While there is no evidence that credit card data was taken at this time, we cannot rule out the possibility. If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, to be on the safe side we are advising that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may also have been obtained. For your security, we encourage you to be especially aware of email, telephone, and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive information. Sony will not contact you in any way, including by email, asking for your credit card number, social security, tax identification or similar number or other personally identifiable information. If you are asked for this information, you can be confident Sony is not the entity asking. When the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services are fully restored, we strongly recommend that you log on and change your password. Additionally, if you use your PlayStation Network or Qriocity user name or password for other unrelated services or accounts, we strongly recommend that you change them, as well. To protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss, we encourage you to remain vigilant to review your account statements and to monitor your credit or similar types of reports. We thank you for your patience as we complete our investigation of this incident, and we regret any inconvenience. Our teams are working around the clock on this, and services will be restored as soon as possible. Sony takes information protection very seriously and will continue to work to ensure that additional measures are taken to protect personally identifiable information. Providing quality and secure entertainment services to our customers is our utmost priority. Please contact us at uk.playstation.com/psnoutage should you have any additional questions. Sincerely, Sony Network Entertainment and Sony Computer Entertainment Teams Sony Network Entertainment Europe Limited (formerly known as PlayStation Network Europe Limited) is a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited the data controller for PlayStation Network/Qriocity personal data. More on This Story Related Stories * Lawsuits for Sony over PSN attack 28 APRIL 2011, TECHNOLOGY * Data theft hurts Sony's image 27 APRIL 2011, BUSINESS Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print More Technology stories RSS * Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 EU probes Samsung patent 'abuse' The European Commission investigates whether Samsung distorted competition by failing to abide by patent rules. * Brits barred from US after tweet * Bombing survivor's disability app Top Stories * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) UN action 'could spur Syria war' * Euro unemployment hits new record * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Republican rivals in Florida vote * French win India fighter jet deal Features & Analysis * Model cars and houses Golden salary What do people earning £1m ($1.5m) spend it on? ______________________________________________________________ * Planet Earth Planet mass Do rockets fired into space make the Earth lighter? ______________________________________________________________ * Occupy DC protesters shout slogans Day in pictures 24 hours of news photos from around the world ______________________________________________________________ * A foreclosure (repossession) sign in front of a house Money talks Has wealth become a liability in the US Republican race? ______________________________________________________________ Most Popular Shared 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: Skin transformed into brain cells 3. 3: Policeman who became a pole-dancer 4. 4: How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election 5. 5: Pythons link to mammals decline Read 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted 3. 3: French win India fighter jet deal 4. 4: Navy sends destroyer to Falklands 5. 5: What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? 6. 6: Search of cruise ship abandoned 7. 7: Pythons link to mammals decline 8. 8: Snake bursts after gobbling gator 9. 9: Is the Earth getting lighter? 10. 10: Euro unemployment hits new record Video/Audio 1. 1: Europe struggles in grip of snow Watch 2. 2: 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' Watch 3. 3: One-minute World News Watch 4. 4: Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman Watch 5. 5: One way to find a rich Russian husband Watch 6. 6: How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors Watch 7. 7: Mystery illness at US high school Watch 8. 8: Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide Watch 9. 9: How to play 'kung fu' piano Watch 10. 10: Life after death faces legal battle Watch Elsewhere on BBC News * India's Tirupati Temple. Photographer: Ashok666 (Flickr). Licensed under Creative Commons Lighting the way Why India's richest temple is adopting new technologies and going green Programmes * Bed in an ice hotel, Sweden Click Watch How ice sculptors in Sweden are making use of computers to complete their cold creations Services * News feeds * Mobile * Podcasts * Alerts * E-mail news About BBC News * Editors' blog * BBC College of Journalism * News sources * World Service Trust Mobile Search term: ____________________ Search bbc.co.uk navigation * News * Sport * Weather * Travel * TV * Radio * More * CBBC * CBeebies * Comedy * Food * Health * History * Learning * Music * Science * Nature * Local * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * Full A-Z of BBC sites BBC links * About the BBC * BBC Help * Contact Us * Accessibility Help * Terms of Use * Careers * Privacy & Cookies * Advertise With Us * Ad Choices BBC BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News Northern Ireland * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video * England * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * UK Politics * Education 20 May 2011 Last updated at 05:29 GMT Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print RIR parade through Ballymena after Afghanistan return RIR soldiers Royal Irish soldiers will parade in Ballymena later Continue reading the main story Related Stories * RIR parade: Paterson to meet DUP * No RIR 'homecoming' parade - MOD * Army yet to confirm city parade About 200 Royal Irish Regiment soldiers will parade in Ballymena on Friday evening. The troops are being welcomed home from their tour in Afghanistan and exercising their freedom of the borough. The town's mayor, Maurice Mills, will address the parade which will be led by the regimental band. It is the first in a series of parades in NI for the RIR. However, an offer to march in Belfast was declined. The Ministry of Defence said it had turned down the offer from Belfast City Council due to "post-operational duties". There were protests at a previous parade in 2008. On Saturday, Lisburn City Council is to meet in special session to confer the freedom of the city on the RIR and the regiment will then parade through the city. The following day the RIR will gather at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast for a thanksgiving and remembrance service. Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion TA who also served in Afghanistan will exercise the freedom of Castlereagh in a parade the following weekend, before moving to Hillsborough Castle for a ceremony with their families and friends in order to receive their medals. ‪ More on This Story Related Stories * RIR parade: Paterson to meet DUP 23 APRIL 2011, NORTHERN IRELAND * No RIR 'homecoming' parade - MOD 23 APRIL 2011, NORTHERN IRELAND * Army yet to confirm city parade 05 APRIL 2011, NORTHERN IRELAND Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print More Northern Ireland stories RSS * Edwin Poots speaking in the assembly on Tuesday Baby bug inquiry to be 'rigorous' An investigation is to be held into the Pseudomonas outbreak which has claimed the lives of four babies in NI, the health minister announces. * Bloody Sunday 'most terrible day' * McLaughlin Ulster future in doubt Top Stories * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) UN action 'could spur Syria war' * Euro unemployment hits new record * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Republican rivals in Florida vote * French win India fighter jet deal Features & Analysis * Model cars and houses Golden salary What do people earning £1m ($1.5m) spend it on? ______________________________________________________________ * Planet Earth Planet mass Do rockets fired into space make the Earth lighter? ______________________________________________________________ * Occupy DC protesters shout slogans Day in pictures 24 hours of news photos from around the world ______________________________________________________________ * A foreclosure (repossession) sign in front of a house Money talks Has wealth become a liability in the US Republican race? ______________________________________________________________ Most Popular Shared 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: Skin transformed into brain cells 3. 3: Policeman who became a pole-dancer 4. 4: How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election 5. 5: Pythons link to mammals decline Read 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted 3. 3: French win India fighter jet deal 4. 4: Navy sends destroyer to Falklands 5. 5: What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? 6. 6: Search of cruise ship abandoned 7. 7: Pythons link to mammals decline 8. 8: Snake bursts after gobbling gator 9. 9: Is the Earth getting lighter? 10. 10: Euro unemployment hits new record Video/Audio 1. 1: Europe struggles in grip of snow Watch 2. 2: 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' Watch 3. 3: One-minute World News Watch 4. 4: Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman Watch 5. 5: One way to find a rich Russian husband Watch 6. 6: How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors Watch 7. 7: Mystery illness at US high school Watch 8. 8: Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide Watch 9. 9: How to play 'kung fu' piano Watch 10. 10: Life after death faces legal battle Watch Elsewhere on BBC News * India's Tirupati Temple. Photographer: Ashok666 (Flickr). Licensed under Creative Commons Lighting the way Why India's richest temple is adopting new technologies and going green Programmes * Bed in an ice hotel, Sweden Click Watch How ice sculptors in Sweden are making use of computers to complete their cold creations Services * News feeds * Mobile * Podcasts * Alerts * E-mail news About BBC News * Editors' blog * BBC College of Journalism * News sources * World Service Trust Mobile Search term: ____________________ Search bbc.co.uk navigation * News * Sport * Weather * Travel * TV * Radio * More * CBBC * CBeebies * Comedy * Food * Health * History * Learning * Music * Science * Nature * Local * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * Full A-Z of BBC sites BBC links * About the BBC * BBC Help * Contact Us * Accessibility Help * Terms of Use * Careers * Privacy & Cookies * Advertise With Us * Ad Choices BBC BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News Europe * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video 27 May 2011 Last updated at 21:08 GMT Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print Adolf Hitler 'honorary citizen' row grips Austria By Bethany Bell BBC News, Vienna Adolf Hitler. Photo: 1936 The debate has unsettled Austria, which is still grappling with the legacy of its Nazi past Continue reading the main story Related Stories * Vienna to honour WWII deserters * Austria still haunted by Nazi past * Hitler's vision for cultural capital Several towns in Austria have been checking their archives this week to see if Adolf Hitler is still an honorary citizen of their communities. It follows an announcement by the town of Amstetten that - more than 60 years after his death - it was finally revoking Hitler's honorary title. Hitler visited Amstetten - west of Vienna - in 1938, and was made an honorary citizen the following year. The Green Party sponsored the move to strike his name from the honours list. The decision was passed by a large majority in the town council. But two members of the far-right Freedom Party abstained. They argued the move was unnecessary, because they said the title expired with Hitler's death in 1945. Motion filed The debate has unsettled Austria, which is still grappling with the legacy of its Nazi past, and has sent historians and politicians rushing to check their archives. The mayor of the southern city of Klagenfurt, Christian Scheider, did not even wait for a debate on the issue, but used emergency powers to officially strike Hitler's name from the city's roll of honour. He said he wanted to distance Klagenfurt from the crimes of Nazism and had filed the following motion: "If it should emerge that Adolf Hitler ever received an honorary citizenship of the provincial capital Klagenfurt from anyone - a supposition which lies before us - this is officially revoked and disallowed." Historians in Klagenfurt have found Nazi-era newspapers that describe the ceremony honouring Hitler in 1938. Several other Austrian towns continue to argue about whether the honorary titles of Hitler and other prominent Nazis have expired or not. Amstetten shot to notoriety in 2008, when it was revealed that Josef Fritzl had imprisoned his daughter in a cellar in his house there and fathered seven children with her. More on This Story Related Stories * Vienna to honour WWII deserters 23 APRIL 2011, EUROPE * Austria still haunted by Nazi past 07 MARCH 2008, EUROPE * Hitler's vision for cultural capital 03 NOVEMBER 2008, EUROPE * Charges over Austria Nazi salutes 05 SEPTEMBER 2007, EUROPE * Austria probes 'army Nazi video' 04 SEPTEMBER 2007, EUROPE From other news sites * Mail Online UK 'I would do it all again': The last surviving 'righteous gentile' who hid Jews in Nazi Austria 23 hrs ago * Telegraph Vatican 'helped Nazis escape' 59 hrs ago * CHINAdaily City revokes Hitler's honor 26 May 2011 * Reuters UK Austrian town revokes Hitler's honorary title 25 May 2011 * The Independent The News Matrix: Wednesday 25 May 2011 25 May 2011 * About these results Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print More Europe stories RSS * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) Russia: UN action could spur Syria war The Western-Arab push for a UN resolution on Syria could put the country on a "path to civil war", warns Russia's deputy foreign minister. * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Spanish court upholds Garzon case Top Stories * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) UN action 'could spur Syria war' * Euro unemployment hits new record * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Republican rivals in Florida vote * French win India fighter jet deal Features & Analysis * Model cars and houses Golden salary What do people earning £1m ($1.5m) spend it on? ______________________________________________________________ * Planet Earth Planet mass Do rockets fired into space make the Earth lighter? ______________________________________________________________ * Occupy DC protesters shout slogans Day in pictures 24 hours of news photos from around the world ______________________________________________________________ * A foreclosure (repossession) sign in front of a house Money talks Has wealth become a liability in the US Republican race? ______________________________________________________________ Most Popular Shared 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: Skin transformed into brain cells 3. 3: Policeman who became a pole-dancer 4. 4: How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election 5. 5: Pythons link to mammals decline Read 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted 3. 3: French win India fighter jet deal 4. 4: Navy sends destroyer to Falklands 5. 5: What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? 6. 6: Search of cruise ship abandoned 7. 7: Pythons link to mammals decline 8. 8: Snake bursts after gobbling gator 9. 9: Is the Earth getting lighter? 10. 10: Euro unemployment hits new record Video/Audio 1. 1: Europe struggles in grip of snow Watch 2. 2: 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' Watch 3. 3: One-minute World News Watch 4. 4: Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman Watch 5. 5: One way to find a rich Russian husband Watch 6. 6: How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors Watch 7. 7: Mystery illness at US high school Watch 8. 8: Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide Watch 9. 9: How to play 'kung fu' piano Watch 10. 10: Life after death faces legal battle Watch Elsewhere on BBC News * India's Tirupati Temple. Photographer: Ashok666 (Flickr). Licensed under Creative Commons Lighting the way Why India's richest temple is adopting new technologies and going green Programmes * Bed in an ice hotel, Sweden Click Watch How ice sculptors in Sweden are making use of computers to complete their cold creations Services * News feeds * Mobile * Podcasts * Alerts * E-mail news About BBC News * Editors' blog * BBC College of Journalism * News sources * World Service Trust Mobile Search term: ____________________ Search bbc.co.uk navigation * News * Sport * Weather * Travel * TV * Radio * More * CBBC * CBeebies * Comedy * Food * Health * History * Learning * Music * Science * Nature * Local * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * Full A-Z of BBC sites BBC links * About the BBC * BBC Help * Contact Us * Accessibility Help * Terms of Use * Careers * Privacy & Cookies * Advertise With Us * Ad Choices BBC BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News Scotland politics * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video * England * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * UK Politics * Education 5 May 2011 Last updated at 00:15 GMT Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print Scottish election: Voters go to the polls someone coming out of a polling station Polls opened at 0700 BST throughout Scotland Continue reading the main story Scottish election * Brian Taylor's blog * Douglas Fraser's blog * SNP backbencher wins Holyrood job * MSPs swear in for new parliament Scotland goes to the polls on Thursday 5 May to elect a new Scottish government. Polling stations are open across the country from 0700 BST until 2200 BST. It follows six weeks of campaigning among the four main parties; the SNP, Labour, the Lib Dems and the Tories. The Greens are contesting, along with 10 other smaller parties fielding more than five candidates each, and 22 independents are also standing. Results are expected from 0200 BST on Friday. Voters will return 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament to take their seats in the devolved body's home in Holyrood. MSPs are voted in in two different ways - 73 by constituency and 56 by regional vote. The latter system is designed to ensure the number of seats won by each party reflects the proportion of votes it received more accurately than "first-past-the-post" allows. A raft of results are expected at about 0200 BST on Friday, with another lot due about 0400 BST. The full picture on which party will form a government is not expected to fully emerge until late on Friday afternoon. BBC Scotland's election result service on TV, radio and online will run through the night on Thursday and the following day. Live updates Derek Bateman and Kenneth Macdonald will keep Radio Scotland listeners informed during the night, while Sally Magnusson and David Henderson will host the TV special. From 0600 BST Jackie Bird and Glenn Campbell will take over the election programme on BBC One Scotland. BBC Scotland's news website will follow the results story with minute-by-minute updates on its LIVE: Election page and there will also be a live stream of the TV coverage. Political editor Brian Taylor will update his blog from the studio broadcasting the live programme. And correspondents will be tweeting throughout the night and the following day. The vote is taking place on the same day as the AV referendum. A result on that is expected from between 2000 and 2200 BST on Friday. More on This Story Scottish election Latest news * Brian Taylor's blog * Douglas Fraser's blog * SNP backbencher wins Holyrood job * MSPs swear in for new parliament * Labour MSP goes for Holyrood job * Goldie not 'forced' to stand down * Q&A: Independence referendum * Scots Lib Dem leader quits post * SNP press Cameron on powers * SNP prepares to form government * Life and times of Alex Salmond * SNP and the UK Parliament * SNP sweeps to victory in Holyrood * Scottish election: As it happened * Scotland says 'no' to AV system * Lib Dems 'will listen' after loss * Salmond in olive branch to rivals * Labour crashes in Scots heartland * Tories lose out in Holyrood poll * Business leaders react to SNP win * Labour 'class of '99' lose to SNP * Narrow win for Labour's Iain Gray * Former Scots ministers lose seats * UK says 'no' to alternative vote * SNP changes political map in city * South of Scotland seats decided * Major north east success for SNP Views and analysis * Find out the result in your area * Election over, what happens next? * How does the result affect the UK? * Democracy Live: MSP profiles * Successes and stinkers * Who are the Labour losers? * Profile: Scottish National Party * Scottish election: Your views * Scottish election on Twitter * Brian Taylor's blog Audio/video * Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond Victory for 'team Scotland' - Salmond Watch Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond gives a victory address after his SNP party won an overall majority in the Scottish election. ______________________________________________________________ * Gray to stand down soon Watch * SNP achieve historic majority Watch * Election night unfolds Watch * SNP five hail Edinburgh gains Watch * SNP five hail Glasgow gains Watch * Salmond cites 'trust' of voters Watch * 'Tough night' for Lib Dems Watch * Result a 'complete shock' Watch * Sturgeon urges united Scotland Watch * Gray admits to 'bad night' Watch * Fabiani earns first SNP gain Watch Related Internet links * Scottish Conservatives Home * Scottish Labour Party * Scottish National Party * Scottish Liberal Democrats * Scottish Green Party The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print More Scotland politics stories RSS * Wine Experts adjust booze price impact A minimum alcohol price would have a slightly smaller effect on consumption than first estimated, academics tell the Scottish government. * Bid to tackle youth unemployment * Turbine project to bring 500 jobs Top Stories * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) UN action 'could spur Syria war' * Euro unemployment hits new record * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Republican rivals in Florida vote * French win India fighter jet deal Features & Analysis * Model cars and houses Golden salary What do people earning £1m ($1.5m) spend it on? ______________________________________________________________ * Planet Earth Planet mass Do rockets fired into space make the Earth lighter? ______________________________________________________________ * Occupy DC protesters shout slogans Day in pictures 24 hours of news photos from around the world ______________________________________________________________ * A foreclosure (repossession) sign in front of a house Money talks Has wealth become a liability in the US Republican race? ______________________________________________________________ Most Popular Shared 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: Skin transformed into brain cells 3. 3: Policeman who became a pole-dancer 4. 4: How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election 5. 5: Pythons link to mammals decline Read 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted 3. 3: French win India fighter jet deal 4. 4: Navy sends destroyer to Falklands 5. 5: What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? 6. 6: Search of cruise ship abandoned 7. 7: Pythons link to mammals decline 8. 8: Snake bursts after gobbling gator 9. 9: Is the Earth getting lighter? 10. 10: Euro unemployment hits new record Video/Audio 1. 1: Europe struggles in grip of snow Watch 2. 2: 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' Watch 3. 3: One-minute World News Watch 4. 4: Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman Watch 5. 5: One way to find a rich Russian husband Watch 6. 6: How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors Watch 7. 7: Mystery illness at US high school Watch 8. 8: Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide Watch 9. 9: How to play 'kung fu' piano Watch 10. 10: Life after death faces legal battle Watch Elsewhere on BBC News * India's Tirupati Temple. Photographer: Ashok666 (Flickr). Licensed under Creative Commons Lighting the way Why India's richest temple is adopting new technologies and going green Programmes * Bed in an ice hotel, Sweden Click Watch How ice sculptors in Sweden are making use of computers to complete their cold creations Services * News feeds * Mobile * Podcasts * Alerts * E-mail news About BBC News * Editors' blog * BBC College of Journalism * News sources * World Service Trust Mobile Search term: ____________________ Search bbc.co.uk navigation * News * Sport * Weather * Travel * TV * Radio * More * CBBC * CBeebies * Comedy * Food * Health * History * Learning * Music * Science * Nature * Local * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * Full A-Z of BBC sites BBC links * About the BBC * BBC Help * Contact Us * Accessibility Help * Terms of Use * Careers * Privacy & Cookies * Advertise With Us * Ad Choices BBC BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News Birmingham & Black Country * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video * England * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * UK Politics * Education 24 October 2011 Last updated at 16:50 GMT Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print Tauseef Shaukat death: Man jailed for dangerous driving Tauseef Shaukat with his mother Tauseef Shaukat died in hospital two days before his 25th birthday Continue reading the main story Related Stories * Man is charged over crash death * Family appeal after fatal crash * Man killed days before birthday A 33-year-old man has been given an indeterminate jail term for causing a fatal crash in the West Midlands. Tauseef Shaukat, 24, was killed when the Fiat Punto he was driving was in collision with a Subaru Impreza in Churchbridge, Oldbury, on 13 June. Impreza driver Robert Maxfield, of Handsworth, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving in August. He was sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court and told he would serve a minimum of four and half years in prison. 'Tragic loss' Mr Shaukat died two days before his 25th birthday. Two passengers in his car were treated for minor injuries. After sentencing, Mr Shaukat's friend Ricky Muirn released the following statement on behalf of the family: "No sentence will bring Tauseef back and what this man has put us through is indescribable. "He was a much loved son, brother, fiance and friend, whose tragic loss we are still coming to terms with. "He will be forever in our thoughts." More on This Story Related Stories * Man is charged over crash death 25 JUNE 2011, BIRMINGHAM & BLACK COUNTRY * Family appeal after fatal crash 19 JUNE 2011, BIRMINGHAM & BLACK COUNTRY * Man killed days before birthday 16 JUNE 2011, BIRMINGHAM & BLACK COUNTRY Related Internet links * HM Courts Service The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print BBC Birmingham & Black Country * Avtar and Carole Kolar Murder accused found dead in cell A man charged with murdering a couple in their Birmingham home is found dead in prison. ______________________________________________________________ * Defibrillators for m-way police * Ambulance stations go up for sale Travel News * Latest road incidents, public transport information and live traffic jam cameras near you Weather West Midlands Tuesday day weather White Cloud * White Cloud * Max: 2°C * Min: -2°C * Wind: E 9mph Things To Do RUN BY THE BBC AND PARTNERS * Park Hall Conservation Volunteer days WED 1 FEB Park Hall Conservation… The Wildlife Trust for… * Ron Dutton Medals THU 2 FEB Ron Dutton Medals Wolverhampton Art Gallery See B'ham & Black Country Activities > Find activities near you Town, city, postcode Search * BBC WM Live * BBC Birmingham Sport Top Stories * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) UN action 'could spur Syria war' * Euro unemployment hits new record * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Republican rivals in Florida vote * French win India fighter jet deal Features & Analysis * Model cars and houses Golden salary What do people earning £1m ($1.5m) spend it on? ______________________________________________________________ * Planet Earth Planet mass Do rockets fired into space make the Earth lighter? ______________________________________________________________ * Occupy DC protesters shout slogans Day in pictures 24 hours of news photos from around the world ______________________________________________________________ * A foreclosure (repossession) sign in front of a house Money talks Has wealth become a liability in the US Republican race? ______________________________________________________________ Most Popular Shared 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: Skin transformed into brain cells 3. 3: Policeman who became a pole-dancer 4. 4: How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election 5. 5: Pythons link to mammals decline Read 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted 3. 3: French win India fighter jet deal 4. 4: Navy sends destroyer to Falklands 5. 5: What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? 6. 6: Search of cruise ship abandoned 7. 7: Pythons link to mammals decline 8. 8: Snake bursts after gobbling gator 9. 9: Is the Earth getting lighter? 10. 10: Euro unemployment hits new record Video/Audio 1. 1: Europe struggles in grip of snow Watch 2. 2: 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' Watch 3. 3: One-minute World News Watch 4. 4: Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman Watch 5. 5: One way to find a rich Russian husband Watch 6. 6: How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors Watch 7. 7: Mystery illness at US high school Watch 8. 8: Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide Watch 9. 9: How to play 'kung fu' piano Watch 10. 10: Life after death faces legal battle Watch Elsewhere on BBC News * India's Tirupati Temple. Photographer: Ashok666 (Flickr). Licensed under Creative Commons Lighting the way Why India's richest temple is adopting new technologies and going green Programmes * Bed in an ice hotel, Sweden Click Watch How ice sculptors in Sweden are making use of computers to complete their cold creations Services * News feeds * Mobile * Podcasts * Alerts * E-mail news About BBC News * Editors' blog * BBC College of Journalism * News sources * World Service Trust Mobile Search term: ____________________ Search bbc.co.uk navigation * News * Sport * Weather * Travel * TV * Radio * More * CBBC * CBeebies * Comedy * Food * Health * History * Learning * Music * Science * Nature * Local * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * Full A-Z of BBC sites BBC links * About the BBC * BBC Help * Contact Us * Accessibility Help * Terms of Use * Careers * Privacy & Cookies * Advertise With Us * Ad Choices BBC BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News Manchester * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video * England * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * UK Politics * Education 30 October 2011 Last updated at 10:24 GMT Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print David Lees murder: Anniversary appeal over 2006 car killing David Lees David Lees was hit by a car travelling at more than 60mph Continue reading the main story Related Stories * Mother's appeal over car killing * Police frustration at car killing * Parents 'know their son's killer' The mother of a man deliberately run over and killed in Greater Manchester five years ago has appealed for information about her son's death. David Lees, 23, was knocked down by a car on Middleton Road, Prestwich, on 27 October 2006 following a disturbance at a petrol station. He died the next day. Nobody has ever been charged with his murder. Mr Lees' mother Anne said: "It is still as painful now as it was the day he died." Mr Lees had been out with friends when they became involved in the disturbance with a group of Asian men, police said. £50,000 reward He was hit by a silver Vauxhall Vectra, registration number T313 NCR. It sped up to between 60 and 70mph before it drove directly towards him as he stood in the middle of the road. The car was then driven to the gates of Heaton Park where the driver met people in other cars before heading to south Manchester. Det Sup Sam Haworth said: "You cannot put a price on a life, but the offer of a £50,000 reward remains for anyone who can provide us with information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible." In August 2007, Arfan Javed, 30, of Longsight, was jailed for two-and-a-half years after admitting perverting the course of justice in relation to fabricating the sale of the Vauxhall Vectra. More on This Story Related Stories * Mother's appeal over car killing 27 OCTOBER 2010, MANCHESTER * Police frustration at car killing 28 OCTOBER 2008, MANCHESTER * Parents 'know their son's killer' 26 OCTOBER 2007, MANCHESTER * Murder 'may have racial motive' 28 OCTOBER 2006, MANCHESTER Related Internet links * Greater Manchester Police The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print BBC Manchester * Lorry crash on the M60 motorway Lorry crash closes two motorways A lorry crashes and overturns in Greater Manchester, causing severe disruption to traffic on two motorways. ______________________________________________________________ * Five held in council bribe probe * Gallaghers among NME nominees Newsbeat Travel News * Latest road incidents, public transport information and live traffic jam cameras near you Weather Greater Manchester Tuesday day weather White Cloud * White Cloud * Max: 3°C * Min: -3°C * Wind: E 8mph Things To Do RUN BY THE BBC AND PARTNERS * Family Tours WED 1 FEB Family Tours Stockport Air Raid Shelters * Observatory Open Night WED 1 FEB Observatory Open Night Salfordastro See Manchester Activities > Find activities near you Town, city, postcode Search * BBC Radio Manchester Live * BBC Manchester Sport Top Stories * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) UN action 'could spur Syria war' * Euro unemployment hits new record * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Republican rivals in Florida vote * French win India fighter jet deal Features & Analysis * Model cars and houses Golden salary What do people earning £1m ($1.5m) spend it on? ______________________________________________________________ * Planet Earth Planet mass Do rockets fired into space make the Earth lighter? ______________________________________________________________ * Occupy DC protesters shout slogans Day in pictures 24 hours of news photos from around the world ______________________________________________________________ * A foreclosure (repossession) sign in front of a house Money talks Has wealth become a liability in the US Republican race? ______________________________________________________________ Most Popular Shared 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: Skin transformed into brain cells 3. 3: Policeman who became a pole-dancer 4. 4: How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election 5. 5: Pythons link to mammals decline Read 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted 3. 3: French win India fighter jet deal 4. 4: Navy sends destroyer to Falklands 5. 5: What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? 6. 6: Search of cruise ship abandoned 7. 7: Pythons link to mammals decline 8. 8: Snake bursts after gobbling gator 9. 9: Is the Earth getting lighter? 10. 10: Euro unemployment hits new record Video/Audio 1. 1: Europe struggles in grip of snow Watch 2. 2: 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' Watch 3. 3: One-minute World News Watch 4. 4: Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman Watch 5. 5: One way to find a rich Russian husband Watch 6. 6: How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors Watch 7. 7: Mystery illness at US high school Watch 8. 8: Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide Watch 9. 9: How to play 'kung fu' piano Watch 10. 10: Life after death faces legal battle Watch Elsewhere on BBC News * India's Tirupati Temple. Photographer: Ashok666 (Flickr). Licensed under Creative Commons Lighting the way Why India's richest temple is adopting new technologies and going green Programmes * Bed in an ice hotel, Sweden Click Watch How ice sculptors in Sweden are making use of computers to complete their cold creations Services * News feeds * Mobile * Podcasts * Alerts * E-mail news About BBC News * Editors' blog * BBC College of Journalism * News sources * World Service Trust Mobile Search term: ____________________ Search bbc.co.uk navigation * News * Sport * Weather * Travel * TV * Radio * More * CBBC * CBeebies * Comedy * Food * Health * History * Learning * Music * Science * Nature * Local * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * Full A-Z of BBC sites BBC links * About the BBC * BBC Help * Contact Us * Accessibility Help * Terms of Use * Careers * Privacy & Cookies * Advertise With Us * Ad Choices BBC BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #alternate Low Graphics A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use null British Broadcasting Corporation BBC Home Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC Sport formula1 IN ASSOCIATION WITH Sport Homepage Formula 1 Results Standings Race Calendar Drivers & Teams Gossip BBC F1 team Circuit Guide A-Z of Sports Related BBC sites * News * Weather * Sport Relief Page last updated at 08:00 GMT, Sunday, 30 October 2011 E-mail this to a friend Printable version Indian Grand Prix as it happened LIVE TEXT COMMENTARY (all times GMT) To get involved use Twitter [via the hashtag #BBCF1 ] or text us via 81111 with F1 before your message. (Not all contributions can be used. Messages will be charged at your standard operator rate.) By David Ornstein 1200: Time to say goodbye and thank you immensely for your many and varied contributions over the weekend. The F1 Forum continues on the Red Button, and stay across bbc.co.uk/f1 for reaction, quotes, video, blogs and plenty more besides. That was the first-ever Indian Grand Prix. The first of many, let's hope. World champion Sebastian Vettel stretches his standings lead to 134 points with two grands prix remaining, but Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso will be happy too. Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton less so. Next stop, Abu Dhabi on 11-13 November. See you then. Michael Schumacher, fifth place: "It worked out perfectly. My plan was not to use any Kers [power-boost system] around the first few corners and save it for the straight, that worked perfectly and I was able to take some positions. Normally the guys who pit first have the advantage as they can take the fresh tyres first but my tyres were in such good shape I was able to pull a gap. I have big compliments to make to India, I am pretty sure things have been difficult but the circuit is a good challenge to drive and a good spectacle." Paul Di Resta, 13th place: "We maybe underestimated tyre wear. We started on hard tyres and hoped for a safety car, it was a risk but one worth taking. Unfortunately it didn't happen. When we were on track we were quite quick but we spent too much time in the pits changing tyres. The grand prix has been successful, Adrian came ninth which was good for the team." HRT driver Narain Karthikeyan, 17th place: "I finished the race, I was competitive and beat my team-mate. I made my debut in 2005 and the support [in India] is building up. There was a big crowd and it was a big success for India. Having a high profile event like this gives the country a boost, we are passionate people, we are happy with what we have and it is fantastic to have F1 here. Indians are in a buying spree of Formula 1 teams so we will wait and see what happens." SEBASTIAN VETTEL, WINNER: "It obviously was a very good race for us and I enjoyed my time in the lead. I had a little fight with Jenson in the distance but it was crucial to manage the tyres and all in all a very smooth race. The car was well balanced and overall it was a fantastic performance. To be honest, I have mixed emotions because this is the first Indian Grand Prix but looking back at last weekend we lost two of our mates. I didn't know Dan Wheldon but I got to know Marco Simoncelli this year and our thoughts are with them. Yes, we take great risks when we jump in the car and we hope nothing happens but you are reminded of these things, so our thoughts are with them. What the people did here in the short amount of time to put up this arena is incredible. All in all it was fantastic and I'm very proud to be the first winner here. We are still hungry, we are not lacking motivation. I love what I do and we don't want this [season] to end." JENSON BUTTON, SECOND PLACE:"We've had two fatalities and it's very difficult. I knew Dan from a young age - so I think we should dedicate this first Indian race to Dan and to Marco, who was the most amazing man to watch on a bike. The start off the line didn't feel that good but I was able to get Fernando into Turn One. I think he went a bit deep and I was in Mark's tow. he covered the inside but I had enough room to go around the outside. I had Mark behind me for eight laps pushing me really, really hard - we both almost ran wide - but I was able to pull away as I think he had damaged his tyres a little bit. The pace isn't quite there but hopefully in the last races we can take that little step." FERNANDO ALONSO, THIRD PLACE: "We raced with Mark until the second stop, we did two extra laps and were able to overtake him. I'm extremely happy to be on the podium in this first race in India. As Seb and Jenson said, it's mixed feelings with these being sad weeks for motorsport and we all raced for them [Dan and Marco] today. We're always remembering these two fantastic people. The start was not perfect; I tried to recover in Turn One, braking a little late, but there was not the grip so I lost a little bit more. It did not compromise the race as I wasn't able to fight with Vettel [anyway]. We keep having podiums thanks to the people here. We had a little problem with the front wing on the grid and the mechanics did a fantastic job to fix it. Next year is our main target." Jenson Button's girlfriend Jessica Michibata on Twitter: "Wooo hooo another superb drive by my boy @JensonButton! Well done honey!!! Xoxoxo" Text in your views on 81111 (UK) Dan, Nottingham, via text on 81111: "Totally agree with the comment regarding the BBC and Hamilton, been slightly negative all year I'm afraid, would like to see support from them, getting behind Lewis and getting him back to his best. World class driver." LEWIS HAMILTON, SEVENTH PLACE: "There is not much to say. It's a disappointing day and my team deserve better. We had the one minute silence before the race, I was standing next to Felipe. He's not spoken to me for a long time but I made the effort, I put my arm round him and said good luck for the race. Then I tried to overtake him, I tried to come out of it because he didn't look like he was going to give me any space, but we collided. I had some vibrations on the right-hand turns, it felt like the floor was scraping on the ground. I was pushing as hard as I could but I didn't have the performance. I'll fly back and try to get my head back in the game. The Indians did a fantastic job this weekend, we've been treated like kings." Twitter BBC 5 live F1 analyst Anthony Davidson on Twitter: "Great seeing @JensonButton on the podium wearing his black armband. Dan would've been proud of you today mate. Nice one." Red Bull team principal Christian Horner: "It has been tremendous. The reaction we have had from India has been fantastic. It is a wonderful venue and a great first Indian Grand Prix. That race was intense on the pit wall, it looked comfortable but we didn't know how slow we would be on the hard tyre at the end. But Sebastian was inch-perfect today. Mark Webber had a good race, he lost out at the second pit stop but he will bounce back strongly." BBC F1 chief analyst Eddie Jordan: "Whether you like it or not Sebastian Vettel has dominated the championship. It has been one of the best demonstrations of absolute dominance I can remember." BBC F1 commentator Martin Brundle: "I'll be sad to leave India. For me it has been very enjoyable and a great success for Indian motorsport and Formula 1. It's been a bit last minute in certain ways, but I'm sure they will improve what they need to for next year." 1120: Just for the record, were were watching the coverage. We thought it may come in handy to turn our TVs on during the race. Text in your views on 81111 (UK) Seun, London, via text on 81111: "To Anon, the real complaint is that the BBC have refused to publish any opinion rebuking their obvious bias against Lewis Hamilton, as both Brundle and Coulthard were talking up a Lewis penalty, and never once considered Massa could be at fault. Obviously you weren't watching the coverage." 1115: For Vettel, that's 79 starts and 21 wins. WOW. Another fine drive from Button, too. Girlfriend Jess Michibata looking proud as punch down below. Now for the champers... Will they? Won't they? They do, but it's slightly subdued following the recent motorsport deaths of Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli. 1110: Vettel leaps out of his car, celebrates with his team and makes his way inside. He's congratulated by Button and Alonso before they all discuss whether it's inappropriate to spray champagne. On to the podium they go. German national anthem for Vettel followed by the Austrian one for Red Bull. Lovely moment. BBC F1 co-commentator David Coulthard: "Sebastian Vettel is the blueprint for aspiring young drivers. He puts in the hours, he's first into work every morning and he works very hard." LAP 60: That man Sachin Tendulkar brings the curtain down on the race, waving the chequered flag left and right on the start-finish line. "Yes boys, we did it!" says Vettel on the Red Bull team radio. "First Indian Grand Prix! Great job!" Team principal Christian Horner tells the German off for trying to set the fastest lap of the day right at the end. But he managed it, so they can all afford a cheeky grin. Chequered flag SEBASTIAN VETTEL WINS THE INDIAN GRAND PRIX Daily Telegraph F1 correspondent Tom Cary on Twitter: "Battle of the Brits update: JB will have a 38pt lead over LH with two races to go if things stay as they are." BBC F1 pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz on Lewis Hamilton: "He is well and truly slower than team-mate Jenson Button in second place. Lewis felt he turned a corner after the last race but now he's been beaten by Jenson again." Text in your views on 81111 (UK) Anon via text on 81111: "Hamilton should have got the penalty, why have the BBC not published anything on their website which concurs with this opinion? Seems a bit biased towards the British driver." LAP 57: Stunning sunset over the Buddh International Circuit but it looks as though we'll be denied a stunning finish. Vettel cruising to his 11th victory in 17 races this season. Button and Alonso set fair for podium finishes, with Webber, Schumacher, Rosberg, Hamilton, Alguersuari, Senna and Sutil also currently in the top 10. LAP 55: Are the hard tyres hampering Vettel's pace? Er, he's just gone and set the fastest lap of the race. Enough said. LAP 53: Vettel edging further in front but it's only a 3.9-second lead. One last big push from JB? Alonso looking fairly comfortable in third and Alonso is miles ahead of Schumacher in fourth. Rosberg close behind the seven-time world champion but Hamilton nowhere near the Mercedes pair. LAP 51: In comes Schumi... impressive stop but he locks his left rear at the entry to Turn One. No drama. Nine laps to go - will Jenson catch Vettel? Tweet me @bbcsport_david using the Twitter hashtag #BBCF1 or pop over a text message on 81111 (UK). Anon via text on 81111: "Great race so far, don't think Massa deserved the drive-through. Another top performance from Button." BBC Radio 5 Live BBC F1 chief analyst Eddie Jordan: "Felipe Massa has had a weekend to forget. He needs to remember there are a lot of talented young drivers out there and while he has a contract for next year his future at Ferrari is not absolutely guaranteed. You never know in F1. He caused a lot of damage to the right-hand side of the car in qualifying and then did exactly the same on the left in the race." LAP 48: Vettel scorches down the fourth longest straight in Formula 1, 2.9 seconds ahead of Jenson. Alonso 16 seconds further back and Webber in close attendance. Schumi looking good in fifth and he's told to stay out as his lap times are red hot. Rosberg, Hamilton, Alguersuari, Senna and Sutil complete our top 10, folks. LAP 46: Now Button comes in too... and that's another super stop, although he almost collides with the HRT of Karthikeyan as he returns to the track. Nervy moments. LAP 45: Hamilton and Rosberg pit for a fresh set of hard tyres and Schumacher rises to fifth. BBC F1 commentator Martin Brundle: "I was in the gym the other day and Michael Schumacher is in such immense condition. He has such a lot of muscle. Sebastian Vettel looks like stick insect in contrast but somehow it's never been a problem for him." BBC Radio 5 Live LAP 44: A record for Sebastian Vettel as he leads a race for the 693rd lap this season, beating the record set by Nigel Mansell in 1992. BBC 5 live analyst Anthony Davidson says "Vettel is the benchmark. He is in the best car but he is very good and he is a dominant force. He is the world champion and you'd bank on him being world champion again next year at the moment." Text in your views on 81111 (UK) Dave, Bracknell, via text on 81111: "I think Martin and David should be calling the orange curbs, Wotsits as in the crisp, and not baguettes!" LAP 41: Button sets a new fastest lap - he couldn't mount a challenge to Vettel, could he? One man who certainly won't be is Felipe Massa. We've just seen him trudging back to the main building the his helmet still on and visor firmly down. Not a happy bunny. LAP 38: Red Bull bring Webber in for a fresh set of hard 'option' tyres and switch him to a two-stop strategy, hoping that will see him through to the end of the race. Massive performance difference between the two compounds but the hard tyres will last longer. BBC Radio 5 Live BBC 5 live analyst Anthony Davidson: "Very strange goings on with Felipe Massa's Ferrari. They are built to take punishment so you don't expect to see that. But you have around a tonne of downforce on the car at that point, it's a fourth gear corner and it's not an ideal place to be driving over the kerbs." LAP 37: Vettel pulls six seconds clear of Button as Webber slips further adrift. Alonso now pressing hard to pass the Aussie. Team-mates Rosberg and Schumacher sitting pretty in fifth and sixth. Schumi warned about the dastardly orange kerb that did for Massa. Sausage, croissant, baguette... call it what you like, it's a little devil. LAP 34: Massa has to come in for a fresh set of hard tyres at the end of lap 33 and Hamilton scorches past. Chaos averted. And Massa's day goes from bad to worse when he hits the kerb at Turn Eight - just like he did at Turn Seven on Saturday - thus destroying his front left suspension. Game over for the Brazilian. BBC Radio 5 Live BBC F1 chief analyst Eddie Jordan: "The general consensus is that it was Felipe Massa's fault on this occasion. It was close, it was racing. We would have loved this to be an exciting race but Sebastian Vettel has gone into the distance which is what we feared." LAP 31: Massa serves his drive-through immediately, Hamilton overtakes Alguersuari and guess what that all means... Hamilton is a place behind Massa! Here we go again... LAP 30: ***Massa is handed a drive-through penalty for the incident with Hamilton***. Lewis had to come in for a new front wing and that dropped him down to eighth. BBC F1 commentator Martin Brundle: "I think it was close to being a racing incident but I have a feeling he will get a penalty." LAP 28: Massa reports "a problem with my gearbox on the downshift". He's still fifth though, the Brazilian. Up front, Vettel leads Button by 3.2 seconds, with Webber and Alonso in third and fourth. Alonso sets the fastest lap of the day. We've lost Buemi to suspected engine failure. BBC F1 co-commentator David Coulthard: "I think because of the history between the two drivers this season, there could well be a penalty applied. I think racing is racing and sometimes you have incidents and I would put that down as an incident. I don't think there was any malicious intent." BBC Radio 5 Live BBC 5 live analyst Anthony Davidson: "The two just don't mix do they? Lewis was on the inside and Massa just turned in. Massa knew Lewis was there and it was 100% the Brazilian's fault. After the race Massa will be complaining but it was a brilliant move by Lewis." LAP 24: And there it is! Hamilton and Massa collide! Can't say we didn't see that coming. Lewis tries to get up the inside of his old foe, both will argue they had the racing line, Felipe turns in a touch and Lewis smashes into his left-hand sidepod. DRAMA! That incident, at Turn Five, will be investigated by the stewards. TV pictures of Rowan Atkinson squirming in the McLaren garage. Massive talking point. LAP 23: Hamilton has closed right in on Massa. Oh ho ho, here we go again. Sparks to fly? Katie, Woking, via text on 81111: "They have baguettes on the chicanes and what appear to be giant croissants in turns 10 and 11. Breakfast anyone?" BBC Radio 5 Live Williams driver Pastor Maldonado tells BBC 5 live pit-lane reporter Natalie Pinkham: "We had a problem with the gearbox. I'm really disappointed because we had good pace." LAP 19: ... solid pit stop. The new compounds seem to be doing the tick for Hamilton - he's matching Vettel for pace. Shame five places separate the pair. In comes Vettel and with a 21-second gap, he'll return to the track in first place barring a catastrophic tyre change. LAP 18: Massa pits at the end of Lap 17 and almost collides with Ferrari team-mate Alonso on the exit. That would have been nasty. In comes Button... LAP 16: New fastest lap for Vettel as Webber, Alonso and Hamilton all pit for a fresh set of soft 'prime' tyres. We've also lost Maldonado. Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi: "Someone hit me from the back and I spin but I also got a puncture. I saw some smoke from the gearbox or whatever and I had to stop the car." BBC F1 pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz: "Lewis Hamilton was crowded out a bit by Felipe Massa at start but McLaren feel they are quicker than the Ferraris. The team are going to tell Lewis to turn it up now and see what they can do at the pit-stops." LAP 11: Button posts the fastest lap so far to close in on Vettel by a couple of tenths. Still comfortable by the German, mind. Six seconds covers the top three, 10 the top five. Hamilton still in sixth. Senna's Kers power-boost system has packed up while Glock is out. BBC Radio 5 Live BBC 5 live analyst Anthony Davidson: "Sebastian Vettel does the business in qualifying, gets a good start and then clears off. It's the story of the season and he is unbeatable in that car at the moment." LAP NINE: Alguersuari duly passes Senna. Good job by the Spaniard. Team-mate Buemi does Senna too. Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari's pit radio: "Keep pushing Jaime. We have to pass him. We have to pass him. We are losing time. You've got get passed him. You can do it." LAP EIGHT: Vettel's gap still 4.7 seconds as Button continues to fend Webber off. Jenson seems intent on wading through the dust to clear a line of his own. Very bold. Hamilton dropped a place at the start and would like to be lapping a lot quicker, but we're hearing McLaren are content with his progress. BBC F1 commentator Martin Brundle: "Vettel is the thick end of a second a lap faster than anyone else. Soon he'll be saying: 'Come on guys, give me a race. Somebody come and challenge me.'" BBC Radio 5 Live BBC 5 live analyst Anthony Davidson: "I can see clearly that the Red Bull is in a league of its own through the middle sector. Mark Webber is all over the back of Jenson Button and now DRS [moveable rear wing overtaking aid] is activated I expect him to come past." LAP FIVE: Battle royale between Button and Webber, fighting tooth and nail for second place. Button holds first but it's playing into the hands of Vettel, who already leads by 4.2 seconds! Alonso, Massa and Hamilton complete the top six, Rosberg, Schumacher, Sutil and Senna also in the top 10. BBC Radio 5 Live BBC 5 live analyst Anthony Davidson: "Great moves by Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button from the start, using their straight-line speed to good effect. Button waltzed past Mark Webber down the long back straight." LAP THREE: Glock, Trulli and Barrichello all pit. Kobayashi, involved in the first-corner incident, is out. LAP ONE: There's a spin at the first corner as Barrichello is hit. Moments later the Lotus of Trulli shoots on to the grass. Super start for Schumacher, though, up from 11th to eighth. Yellow flags. LAP ONE: Brilliant start by Vettel (as always) but it's a shocker for Alonso in third, who goes wide and allows Button to get through. Button then works his way past Webber for second! 0933: GO! GO! GO! 0929: Engines rev up, pit crews scurry away, formation laps under way. The inaugural Indian Grand Prix is... BBC F1 commentator Martin Brundle: "We've seen the Bollywood stars, we've seen the cricketing stars and now it's time to see what the Formula 1 stars can do." Text in your views on 81111 (UK) Anon via text on 81111: "TOP MARKS Eddie Jordan for your choice of dress today. Definitely one over Jake & David, payable over a long time. I'm not Indian but very good demo of support! Well done." 0926: A warm embrace between Lewis Hamilton and his father Anthony before the 2008 world champion jumps into his cockpit. Lovely touch and one we haven't seen for some time. BBC Sport's Sarah Holt in Greater Noida: "Everyone in the paddock wants F1 to put on a good show at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix but there is also a bit of a worry that Red Bull could be untouchable. Double world champion Sebastian Vettel starts on pole as he targets an 11th win of the season and his team-mate Mark Webber, who is still looking for his first victory, is right behind him. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso starts in third ahead of the McLarens of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. The drivers reckon that it won't make too much difference which side of the gird they start on because there is still so much dust and sand around the edge of the circuit. Pirelli said it had taken a conservative approach to tyre choices this weekend by bringing the soft and hard compounds. The soft tyres are lasting much longer than expected, as many as 35 laps, which means that a two-stop race is likely to be the strategy of choice. The dustiness off line means we should also keep our eye out for the safety car, especially because the inexperience of the marshals here means that the FIA are more likely to send out Bernd Maylander and his machine to slow down the field." BBC F1 pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz: "There is a problem with the front wing of the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso. We've just spoken to team boss Stefano Domenicali and he wasn't aware there was a problem until we mentioned it. The mechanics are now working on the wing. It's like microsurgery trying to get this fixed this close to the start of the race." Force India driver Paul Di Resta: "There's a lot of excitement. It's an important day for the team and hopefully we can secure some points. We've optimised the long run performance over qualifying so it was always going to be tricky on Saturday but we've got to think ahead and stay positive. Hopefully going aggressive might pay off in the race." 0920: BBC pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz reports a problem with Fernando Alonso's front wing. Last-minute tinkering ensues... BBC F1 co-commentator David Coulthard: "It's absolutely fitting that F1 pays its respects to MotoGP and IndyCar and the drivers all wanted to be part of that. They wanted to pay their respects." BBC Sport's Sarah Holt in Greater Noida: "The new Buddh International Circuit has been built on flat farmland about 25 miles outside the Indian capital, Delhi. Each morning en route to the track we've seen workers collecting and beating crops with the help of their traditional bovine helpers. An interesting report by the BBC's Andrew North points out some of the pitfalls of building the new track on previously untouched land with some labourers saying they are out of work now the land has been sold. There have also been reports that some farmers are disgruntled about the price they received for their land. But Indian motorsports chief Vicky Chandhok, who advised grand prix organisers the Jaypee Group and is a friend of F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, described their claims as 'speculation and rubbish'. He added: 'The land was acquired from the farmers 10 years ago. There are places 30 miles up the road where the farmers have issues because they want recognition too. It's not a problem at all.'" 0916: Very emotional. Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli. RIP. 0915: We pause for a minutes silence. Red Bull's Mark Webber who is starting second: "I'm feeling pretty good. It looks reasonably even grid-wise. My last few starts have been pretty good and it would be nice to continue that and have a bit of a crack at Turn One." 0912: Martin Brundle's first-ever Indian Grand Prix grid walk is under way. Special times. Quotes as and when we get them. "A bit chaotic," says Bernie. Plain black shirt for MB today, in sharp contrast to EJ's traditional red number and DC's spotless white slacks. BBC Sport's Sarah Holt in Greater Noida: "Force India boss Vijay Mallya - who is also a billionaire businessman and an independent member of parliament in India - has been reflecting on realising his dream of bringing a grand prix to his homeland. Mallya reckons the new circuit 'has to rate as one of the best tracks in the world'. But he also says the event has great importance beyond the boundaries of F1. 'It puts India on the map as a vibrant, modern country,' he said. 'This event will not only have a great impact on motorsport but the economic benefits from such a mega event means India is going to be the winner.' There has been some bad news though for Mallya, who is known as the King of Good Times. He reckons he hasn't had any time to party because he's been too busy working. Alas." Text in your views on 81111 (UK) Gindy, London, via text on 81111: "Eddie Jordan is a legend for his Kortha (Indian Top) and the way he embraces cultures around the world! A credit to the Irish, a credit to F1 and a credit to the BBC." BBC F1 pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz: "Felipe Massa's crash in qualifying has put Ferrari in a tricky position. Massa's front wing has been generating raised eyebrows here this weekend after it was seen oscillating, flexing and scraping the ground during practice. Rival teams believe Ferrari were pushing to the limit the rules restricting flexible bodywork. Ferrari took that wing off Massa's car before qualifying, replacing it with one that has not been seen to flex in the same way. Unfortunately that replacement wing was destroyed in Massa's accident, so Massa must race the original wing that showed the flexing symptoms. If it repeats what it did in practice it may be deemed to be unsafe, so Ferrari may have to change it to an older-spec front wing in a pit stop. When asked why the original wing oscillated and the next one didn't, Ferrari technical director Pat Fry said "It's a different wing. So that was a different one from what we had on the car later on in the [final practice] session and in the afternoon [qualifying]." Twitter Ferrari on Twitter: "At 14.45 [0915 GMT] there will be a minute of silence to commemorate Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli." BBC Sport's Sarah Holt in Greater Noida: "India's first F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan says it is a 'fantastic sensation' to drive in front of his home fans at the country's first-ever grand prix. But he told me he's had a bit of trouble managing expectations because he is starting on the back row for HRT, who are only in their second season in F1. 'I've done a lot of TV ads and so on and everyone knows my face,' said Karthikeyan. 'People say: "Oh you're going to win for us," but you have to say: 'Hold on guys, we are a small team and obviously Ferrari and the other big teams have much more resources ' It's difficult for them to understand why I'll be at the back.'" 0904: By the way, there has been a change to the starting line-up at the back of the grid with Virgin's Timo Glock now starting 22nd, rather than last 24th as was announced by the FIA on Saturday, with HRT's Daniel Ricciardo and local boy Narain Karthikeyan dropping back one place to 23rd and 24th respectively. India cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar: "It's nice that it hasn't coincided with the cricket and I'm sure that there are many Indians who are F1 fanatics. This is going to be a mega event which will be accepted by Indians. I've been well prepared and well informed for waving the chequered flag. In 2002 I watched my first F1 race at Silverstone and I wondered if it would ever go to India and it has. It's very exciting." Text in your views on 81111 (UK) Ramster, Luton, via text on 81111: "This is the day, here it is, first ever F1 grand prix in India, my dream became reality, proud to be Indian, but will always follow Lewis - go Hami go." A celeb has been spotted Force India on Twitter: "Sharukh Khan has just arrived in the Force India F1 Team motorhome. More power and best wishes to the team." 0850: Just to let you know, 15 minutes before the race starts there will be a minutes silence in memory of Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli. IndyCar driver Wheldon died following a massive 15-car accident at the Las Vegas Indy 300, 12 days ago. Then on Sunday, Italian MotoGP rider Simoncelli died after having his helmet knocked off in a horrific accident at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Motorsport has been rocked by the deaths, but Force India's Paul di Resta insists Formula 1 is safe. Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher: "It's pretty impressive to see the track and a great challenge for us to drive here. There's a good combination of overtaking spots, long straights and slow corners as well as the challenge of high-speed stuff. We had a safety group meeting a while ago before the track was finalised and results of part of the discussion can be seen over here. There has been a widening of the corner entries and opening up of braking zones for tight corners which allows for multiple lines and a good fighting situation." The sun is out BBC weatherman Ian Ferguson on Twitter: "INDIA F1: Dry race; hazy sunshine; 30-31C; light winds. Brightest spells around Eddie Jordan's latest wardrobe selection..." Twitter BBC Sport's Sarah Holt on Twitter: "The drivers are being paraded round the circuit in the back of classic cars. Nice royal wave from Fernando Alonso. I'm reliably informed by old car expert David Tremayne that Alonso is in a Lagonda. The car's slowing down though, hope that's not an omen #bbcf1." 0840: Now for the real reason F1 is in India... the racing. First up for Jake, a chat with seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher. I'll get the quotes over to you fine people very shortly indeed. 0834: We're watching Jake, EJ and DC partaking in full-on Indian dancing inside a beautiful Delhi building. Fair to say the professional dancers alongside our boys are making them look a little better than they are. The words 'two', 'left' and' feet' spring to mind. Eddie looking good in a traditional red sherwani, though, don't you think? BBC Sport's Sarah Holt in Greater Noida: "Here's just a glimpse of some of the charming chaos that I promised. Each of our journeys to the circuit has been a Wacky Races style melee of honking horns and avoiding the odd horse/family/autorickshaw in the road. There have been bats flapping at BBC and Media HQs - and not forgetting the stray dog that scampered on to the track and held up Friday practice. There have been a few cases of sickness in the paddock and McLaren even had to fly in reinforcements. There is only one response to the colour and the chaos - you have to embrace it." 0830: Exactly an hour 'til the lights go out on the Indian Grand Prix and an opportune moment to point you in the direction of BBC One or the video console at the top of this page. The Chain is cranking up as we speak. Look out for EJ's outfit. I hear it's rather special! BBC Sport's Sarah Holt in Greater Noida: "Our first visit to India has seen colour and chaos in equal measure. There have been adventures for BBC F1 commentator Martin Brundle, who has a pair of elephants stationed outside his hotel, Jake Humphrey and David Coulthard, who joined in with a Bollywood dance troupe, and Eddie Jordan as he made an impromptu drumming performance alongside local musicians played shehnais, which are a bit like conical oboes. You can see India in glorious technicolour on the BBC One race show. And I'll have more on the chaos later." 0825: We'll be inundated with comment from the track over the next hour or so, but there's one other party who have a huge role to play in this production. Yes, it's YOU. We want the be hearing your thoughts, suggestions, predictions and India-related experiences. All you need to do it tweet me @bbcsport_david using the Twitter hashtag #BBCF1 or text in on 81111 (UK). Twitter Virgin Racing on Twitter: "Good morning from Delhi. Fantastic race day atmosphere building here at the Buddh International Circuit already." Indian businessman Anand Mahindra on Twitter: "The F1 is a turning point. I see Indians becoming the most car-crazy&car-knowledgeable people on earth..Now,let's build those roads.." Team Lotus on Twitter: "Namaste from BIC on race day at the first Indian GP. It's going to be hot, it's going to be dusty and it's definitely going to be MEGA!" Sachin Tendulkar and Bernie Ecclestone F1 supremo Ecclestone shows cricket legend Tendulkar around A celeb has been spotted BBC Sport's Sarah Holt in Greater Noida: "India is staging its first Formula 1 race and I can't remember the last time I've seen such excitement ahead of a grand prix. Three hours before the race started the paddock was already buzzing with activity, the paparazzi were poised in packs for every car dropping off guests at the circuit and groups of fans were standing on their tip-toes on the roofs of their cars to catch a glimpse of well, anything really. The only thing is that I'm not sure F1 is the main attraction. Indian cricket superhero - and motorsport fan - Sachin Tendulkar has been here very early and attracting plenty of attention as he strolled through the paddock. He is also going to stand behind race director Charlie Whiting and start the race today. But even Tendulkar has to contend with competition from all the Bollywood stars that are here, including A-list actor Shahrukh Khan. No pressure, Formula 1, but the first race here had better be a cracker." 0805: Namaste (hello), and welcome to BBC Sport's coverage of a very special sporting occasion. The Buddh International Circuit is ready and so are we. An hour and 25 minutes from now, the moment we've all been oh so eagerly awaiting will be upon us. Until then, lots and lots and lots of extremely interesting build-up. Stay tuned. 0800: For the majority of Formula 1's 60-year history, this was not even a serious consideration. Once it became exactly that, there were genuine doubts it would actually come to fruition. But with the help of Hermann Tilke, 10bn rupees, 8,000 labourers and the will of the world's second most populous nation, here we are. The very first INDIAN GRAND PRIX. A dream is about turn into reality. Bookmark with: * Delicious * Digg * reddit * Facebook * StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version Print Sponsor After 71 of 71 laps Position Country Driver Team 1 Australia M Webber Red Bull 2 Germany S Vettel Red Bull 3 Great Britain J Button McLaren 4 Spain F Alonso Ferrari 5 Brazil F Massa Ferrari 6 Germany A Sutil Force India 7 Germany N Rosberg Mercedes 8 Great Britain P Di Resta Force India 9 Japan K Kobayashi Sauber 10 Russian Federation V Petrov Renault 11 Spain J Alguersuari Toro Rosso 12 Switzerland S Buemi Toro Rosso 13 Mexico S Perez Sauber 14 Brazil R Barrichello Williams 15 Germany M Schumacher Mercedes 16 Finland H Kovalainen Lotus 17 Brazil B Senna Renault 18 Italy J Trulli Lotus 19 Belgium J d'Ambrosio Virgin 20 Australia D Ricciardo HRT 21 Italy V Liuzzi (ret.) HRT 22 Great Britain L Hamilton (ret.) McLaren 23 Venezuela P Maldonado (ret.) Williams 24 Germany T Glock (ret.) Virgin Fastest lap: M Webber 1:15.324 on lap 71 Position Country Driver Team Points Germany S Vettel Red Bull 392 Great Britain J Button McLaren 270 Australia M Webber Red Bull 258 Spain F Alonso Ferrari 257 Great Britain L Hamilton McLaren 227 Brazil F Massa Ferrari 118 Germany N Rosberg Mercedes 89 Germany M Schumacher Mercedes 76 Germany A Sutil Force India 42 Russian Federation V Petrov Renault 37 Japan K Kobayashi Sauber 30 Great Britain P Di Resta Force India 27 Spain J Alguersuari Toro Rosso 26 Switzerland S Buemi Toro Rosso 15 Mexico S Perez Sauber 14 Brazil R Barrichello Williams 4 Brazil B Senna Renault 2 Venezuela P Maldonado Williams 1 Italy J Trulli Lotus 0 Finland H Kovalainen Lotus 0 Italy V Liuzzi HRT 0 Belgium J d'Ambrosio Virgin 0 Germany T Glock Virgin 0 Australia D Ricciardo HRT 0 Points projected from latest race positions Formula 1 Tweets What are tweets? * To Schumi fans: a) am not biased; b) he will always be a great for what achieved; c) he's obviously not as good as was, which was brilliant andrewbensonf1 @andrewbensonf1 21 mins ago * RT @alanbaldwinf1: More on the Sutil court case and sentence http://t.co/WgSRnHYA@andrewbensonf1 2 hours ago * RT @alanbaldwinf1: The McLaren story has now been removed. Quotes maybe not so eye-catching after all.@andrewbensonf1 2 hours ago * Here's the BBC News story on Sutil conviction http://t.co/MyZ9JjBp@andrewbensonf1 2 hours ago * Most interesting thing in that Autosport McLaren story is team's belief they had best car end of '11 and Vettel was winning on driving skill@andrewbensonf1 3 hours ago see also Indian Grand Prix race results 08 Mar 11 | Results Vettel beats Button in Indian GP 30 Oct 11 | Formula 1 Vettel takes inaugural India pole 29 Oct 11 | Formula One Massa heads Vettel at Indian GP 28 Oct 11 | Formula One Hamilton given India grid penalty 28 Oct 11 | Formula One Drivers praise Indian GP circuit 28 Oct 11 | Formula One __________________________________________________________________ related bbc links: BBC F1 coverage details Formula 1 blog Five Live Formula 1 BBC Languages - F1 quiz BBC Sport's circuit guides BBC Asian Network BBC Hindi Service related internet links: BBC Sport's David Ornstein on Twitter FIA Formula 1 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Skip to top PRODUCTS & SERVICES * Daily and weekly e-mails * Mobiles * Desktop Tools * News feeds * Interactive TV * Podcasts A-Z of Sports * American Football * Archery * Athletics * Badminton * Baseball * Basketball * Bowls * Boxing * Canoeing * Cricket * Cycling * Darts * Disability sport * Diving * Equestrian * Fencing * Football * Formula 1 * Gaelic Games * Golf * Gymnastics * Handball * Hockey * Horse Racing * Ice Hockey * Judo * Modern Pentathlon * MotoGP * Motorsport * Netball * Rowing * Rugby League * Rugby Union * Sailing * Shooting * Snooker * Squash * Swimming * Table Tennis * Taekwondo * Tennis * Triathlon * Volleyball * Weightlifting * Winter Sports * Wrestling Search term: ____________________ Search bbc.co.uk navigation * News * Sport * Weather * Travel * TV * Radio * More * CBBC * CBeebies * Comedy * Food * Health * History * Learning * Music * Science * Nature * Local * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * Full A-Z of BBC sites Site links * News Sources * About BBC Sport BBC links * About the BBC * BBC Help * Contact Us * Accessibility Help * Terms of Use * Careers * Privacy & Cookies * Advertise With Us * Ad Choices BBC (c) 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News UK * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video * England * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * UK Politics * Education 30 October 2011 Last updated at 13:04 GMT Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print Cameron threat to dock some UK aid to anti-gay nations David Cameron The Commonwealth must have strong values, David Cameron says Continue reading the main story Related Stories * Girls equal in throne succession * PM Commonwealth human rights plea * Sri Lanka anger at war crime move David Cameron has threatened to withhold UK aid from governments that do not reform legislation banning homosexuality. The UK prime minister said he raised the issue with some of the states involved at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, Australia. Human rights reform in the Commonwealth was one issue that leaders failed to reach agreement on at the summit. Mr Cameron says those receiving UK aid should "adhere to proper human rights". Ending the bans on homosexuality was one of the recommendations of an internal report into the future relevance of the Commonwealth. Mr Cameron's threat applies only to one type of bilateral aid known as general budget support, and would not reduce the overall amount of aid to any one country. Malawi has already had some of its budget support suspended over concerns about its attitude to gay rights. Concerns have also been raised with the governments of Uganda and Ghana. British empire Mr Cameron told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show that "British aid should have more strings attached". But he conceded that countries could not change immediately, and cautioned that there would be a "journey". "This is an issue where we are pushing for movement, we are prepared to put some money behind what we believe. But I'm afraid that you can't expect countries to change overnight. "Britain is one of the premier aid givers in the world. We want to see countries that receive our aid adhering to proper human rights. Continue reading the main story Find out more Watch David Cameron's interview with Andrew Marr on Sunday 30 October 2011 at 09:00 on BBC Two * Catch up via iPlayer "We are saying that is one of the things that determines our aid policy, and there have been particularly bad examples where we have taken action." Mr Cameron said he had spoken with "a number of African countries" and that more pressure had been applied by Foreign Secretary William Hague, who deputised for him during parts of the summit. Some 41 nations within the 54-member Commonwealth have laws banning homosexuality. Many of these laws are a legacy of British Empire laws. The discussion in the Ugandan parliament of an anti-homosexuality bill in 2009 sparked particular controversy, and earlier this year Ugandan gay rights campaigner David Kato was beaten to death in a suspected hate crime. Nigeria's Senate is currently discussing a bill banning same-sex marriage, that includes penalties for anyone witnessing or aiding a same-sex marriage. A spokesman for the Department for International Development said that budget support, which accounts for about 5% of the UK's annual aid budget of £7.46bn, is conditional direct assistance to governments. To qualify, recipients must adhere to rules on poverty reduction, respect of human rights, good governance and domestic accountability. Malawi recently had £19m of budget support suspended following various infractions including poor progress on human rights and media freedoms and concern over the government's approach to gay rights, the DfID spokesman said. Reacting to the news, Uganda Radio Network journalist, Charles Odongpho, said he was puzzled by the move. "I welcome any move to pressure our government to be respectful of democratic values and human rights but speaking as a Ugandan I think we have much more important issues to deal with than the rights of homosexuals. "This is your money and you know where you want to put it but we face very serious issues of corruption, poverty, education and hunger. These are the most critical issues for us, not homosexual rights." Appointing a human rights commissioner to address this and other human rights issues was one of the 100-plus recommendations of the internal report, by the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group, which includes former UK foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind. However, objections from a number of countries blocked adoption of the recommendation, according to Australia's prime minister Julia Gillard, speaking at the end of the three-day summit in Western Australia. Besides the homosexuality rights issue, Sri Lanka's human rights conduct also came under scrutiny at the summit. The country will host the next head of government's meeting in two years' time. Sri Lanka's army has been accused of war crimes during the civil war with the Tamil Tigers. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said he will boycott the 2013 summit unless there are major reforms in the country. Succession question In earlier comments, Mr Cameron said there had to be a "proper, independent exercise to look into the whole issue of what happened, and whether there were war crimes, and who is responsible" in Sri Lanka. BBC correspondent Nicholas Witchell said the summit had been seen as a "watershed" for the organisation as it "struggles to demonstrate its relevance, particularly on human rights". Though the summit agreed to draw up a written charter and strengthen its ministerial action group, our correspondent said the outcome will be viewed by many "as a disappointing one and an opportunity missed". Two other developments came from the summit - a reform of royal succession and action on polio. It was agreed that sons and daughters of any future UK monarch would have equal right to the throne. They will also be allowed to marry Roman Catholics without giving up a claim to the throne. The move was agreed by the 15 Commonwealth realms where the monarch is head of state. And Mr Cameron joined the leaders of Canada, Australia and Nigeria, in committing tens of millions of pounds towards eradicating polio in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. The campaign will be supported financially by Microsoft magnate Bill Gates. More on This Story Related Stories * Girls equal in throne succession 28 OCTOBER 2011, UK * PM Commonwealth human rights plea 29 OCTOBER 2011, UK * Sri Lanka anger at war crime move 13 SEPTEMBER 2011, SOUTH ASIA Related Internet links * Commonwealth The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print More UK stories RSS * Charlotte Thompson and Olivia Bazlinton Guilty plea over rail death girls Network Rail admits health and safety breaches over the deaths of two teenage girls at a level crossing in Essex in 2005. * Murder accused found dead in cell * Vocational exams cut from tables Top Stories * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) UN action 'could spur Syria war' * Euro unemployment hits new record * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Republican rivals in Florida vote * French win India fighter jet deal Features & Analysis * Model cars and houses Golden salary What do people earning £1m ($1.5m) spend it on? ______________________________________________________________ * Planet Earth Planet mass Do rockets fired into space make the Earth lighter? ______________________________________________________________ * Occupy DC protesters shout slogans Day in pictures 24 hours of news photos from around the world ______________________________________________________________ * A foreclosure (repossession) sign in front of a house Money talks Has wealth become a liability in the US Republican race? ______________________________________________________________ Most Popular Shared 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: Skin transformed into brain cells 3. 3: Policeman who became a pole-dancer 4. 4: How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election 5. 5: Pythons link to mammals decline Read 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted 3. 3: French win India fighter jet deal 4. 4: Navy sends destroyer to Falklands 5. 5: What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? 6. 6: Search of cruise ship abandoned 7. 7: Pythons link to mammals decline 8. 8: Snake bursts after gobbling gator 9. 9: Is the Earth getting lighter? 10. 10: Euro unemployment hits new record Video/Audio 1. 1: Europe struggles in grip of snow Watch 2. 2: 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' Watch 3. 3: One-minute World News Watch 4. 4: Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman Watch 5. 5: One way to find a rich Russian husband Watch 6. 6: How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors Watch 7. 7: Mystery illness at US high school Watch 8. 8: Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide Watch 9. 9: How to play 'kung fu' piano Watch 10. 10: Life after death faces legal battle Watch Elsewhere on BBC News * India's Tirupati Temple. Photographer: Ashok666 (Flickr). Licensed under Creative Commons Lighting the way Why India's richest temple is adopting new technologies and going green Programmes * Bed in an ice hotel, Sweden Click Watch How ice sculptors in Sweden are making use of computers to complete their cold creations Services * News feeds * Mobile * Podcasts * Alerts * E-mail news About BBC News * Editors' blog * BBC College of Journalism * News sources * World Service Trust Mobile Search term: ____________________ Search bbc.co.uk navigation * News * Sport * Weather * Travel * TV * Radio * More * CBBC * CBeebies * Comedy * Food * Health * History * Learning * Music * Science * Nature * Local * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * Full A-Z of BBC sites BBC links * About the BBC * BBC Help * Contact Us * Accessibility Help * Terms of Use * Careers * Privacy & Cookies * Advertise With Us * Ad Choices BBC BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News Asia-Pacific * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video 30 October 2011 Last updated at 08:05 GMT Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print Thailand PM Yingluck hopeful as inner Bangkok stays dry Bangkok residents Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. The BBC's Rachel Harvey looks at how aid is being distributed in flooded communities near Bangkok Continue reading the main story Related Stories * In pictures: Waters threaten Bangkok * Flood relief centre prepares * Floods: 'We may be evacuated' Thailand's prime minister has expressed optimism that central Bangkok will be mostly spared from the city's flooding, as defences held despite high tides. Yingluck Shinawatra told residents in the capital that the country would "recover soon". Floods have inundated over than a third of the country's provinces since July, killing more than 370 people. Correspondents say Ms Yingluck, who came to power in June, has appeared at times overwhelmed by the crisis. Whole towns have been submerged, with some two million people affected across the country since the flooding began, following heavy monsoon rains. Factory closures Officials have been trying to protect the commercial centre of Bangkok after flooding spread to northern districts of the city earlier this month. City residents were urged to evacuate after the authorities warned them that Bangkok's Chao Phraya River could burst its banks over the weekend due to high tides, which are expected to last until Monday. Prime Minister Yingluck said she hoped the sandbags protecting the city would hold up. "It depends on the level of the sea and sometimes it's about the stability of the way we put the sandbags," Ms Yingluck told reporters. "Hopefully, the sandbags are quite strong enough. So if the sandbags don't fall over, it should be OK." On Friday, the Bank of Thailand slashed its growth forecast for the current financial year to 2.6%, down from an initial projection of 4.1% growth. Bangkok contributes almost 41% to the country's GDP, and analysts have warned that any substantial damage to the capital could hit Thailand's growth further. A number of factories in Thailand - one of the world's leading manufacturing bases - have shut down production, and it is not known when they will become operational again. Map More on This Story Related Stories * In pictures: Waters threaten Bangkok 28 OCTOBER 2011, ASIA-PACIFIC * Flood relief centre prepares 27 OCTOBER 2011, SOUTH ASIA * Floods: 'We may be evacuated' 25 OCTOBER 2011, ASIA-PACIFIC * Flood complacency evaporates in Bangkok 24 OCTOBER 2011, ASIA-PACIFIC Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print More Asia-Pacific stories RSS * In this handout photograph released by Pikiran Rakyat, an unidentified survivor carrying a child is escorted at a marine police station on the coast of Pangandaran town in Indonesia's West Java province on November 1 Australia shock at asylum tragedy Australians are shocked after a boat filled with asylum seekers capsizes on its way from Indonesia, and at least eight people die. * Xenon detected at Fukushima plant * China schools closed after blast Top Stories * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) UN action 'could spur Syria war' * Euro unemployment hits new record * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Republican rivals in Florida vote * French win India fighter jet deal Features & Analysis * Model cars and houses Golden salary What do people earning £1m ($1.5m) spend it on? ______________________________________________________________ * Planet Earth Planet mass Do rockets fired into space make the Earth lighter? ______________________________________________________________ * Occupy DC protesters shout slogans Day in pictures 24 hours of news photos from around the world ______________________________________________________________ * A foreclosure (repossession) sign in front of a house Money talks Has wealth become a liability in the US Republican race? ______________________________________________________________ Most Popular Shared 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: Skin transformed into brain cells 3. 3: Policeman who became a pole-dancer 4. 4: How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election 5. 5: Pythons link to mammals decline Read 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted 3. 3: French win India fighter jet deal 4. 4: Navy sends destroyer to Falklands 5. 5: What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? 6. 6: Search of cruise ship abandoned 7. 7: Pythons link to mammals decline 8. 8: Snake bursts after gobbling gator 9. 9: Is the Earth getting lighter? 10. 10: Euro unemployment hits new record Video/Audio 1. 1: Europe struggles in grip of snow Watch 2. 2: 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' Watch 3. 3: One-minute World News Watch 4. 4: Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman Watch 5. 5: One way to find a rich Russian husband Watch 6. 6: How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors Watch 7. 7: Mystery illness at US high school Watch 8. 8: Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide Watch 9. 9: How to play 'kung fu' piano Watch 10. 10: Life after death faces legal battle Watch Elsewhere on BBC News * India's Tirupati Temple. Photographer: Ashok666 (Flickr). Licensed under Creative Commons Lighting the way Why India's richest temple is adopting new technologies and going green Programmes * Bed in an ice hotel, Sweden Click Watch How ice sculptors in Sweden are making use of computers to complete their cold creations Services * News feeds * Mobile * Podcasts * Alerts * E-mail news About BBC News * Editors' blog * BBC College of Journalism * News sources * World Service Trust Mobile Search term: ____________________ Search bbc.co.uk navigation * News * Sport * Weather * Travel * TV * Radio * More * CBBC * CBeebies * Comedy * Food * Health * History * Learning * Music * Science * Nature * Local * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * Full A-Z of BBC sites BBC links * About the BBC * BBC Help * Contact Us * Accessibility Help * Terms of Use * Careers * Privacy & Cookies * Advertise With Us * Ad Choices BBC BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News Europe * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video 30 October 2011 Last updated at 04:03 GMT Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print Planning hurdle for Orascom Swiss Alps luxury project By Imogen Foulkes BBC News, Andermatt Plans for luxury tourist complex in Andermatt Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Supporters of the tourist complex hope it will bring prosperity to the town of Andermatt Continue reading the main story Related Stories * Country profile: Switzerland In the heart of the Swiss Alps, a massive building project is under way, aimed at offering the height of luxury to wealthy visitors. The village of Andermatt, population just 1,300, is hoping the project will revive the flagging local economy. For years the village did well out of the Swiss army, whose mountain regiments were based there. However, following defence cuts, the army pulled out and the village lost a vital part of its income. But help, it seemed, was at hand, in the form of Egyptian billionaire property developer Samih Sawiris, who took a look at Andermatt and decided it was ripe for development. Mr Sawiris's Orascom company has already built luxury resorts on the Red Sea and in the United Arab Emirates. These resorts operate as independent towns in their own right, and this is exactly what is planned for Andermatt - or rather, next to Andermatt. Forest of cranes Cranes outside Andermatt Cranes now dominate the landscape The first key piece of planning permission was granted five years ago, when the Swiss government gave Orascom an exemption from Switzerland's property laws, thus allowing non-Swiss citizens to both buy property in Andermatt and sell it on to non-Swiss. This was a crucial step, because Mr Sawiris's vision for his new Alpine resort includes not just hotels, but 30 upmarket villas and almost 500 luxury apartments. An equally important step was convincing the local population in Andermatt that a project on this scale was really what they needed. At town hall meetings, Mr Sawiris promised the local community would benefit from use of the resorts' new sports and spa centre, and undertook to ensure all new buildings would meet environmentally friendly standards. So now the bulldozers have arrived, and local people are beginning to see just how vast this project will be. Andermatt's Alpine skyline is a forest of cranes, and the air is filled with the noise of cement mixers and diggers. The new resort will be at least as big as the original village. One traditional chalet has already been dug up and moved two metres, in order to make way for a hotel entrance. What is more, the brochures promise the resort will have its own "nucleus", with its own designer shops and gourmet restaurants. Of course, all of this comes at a price. Samih Sawiris estimates his investment at $1.5bn (£1bn) and the smallest resort apartment, just 30 sq m, will cost more than $500,000. 'A brutal change' As the resort takes shape, doubts are beginning to surface. A street in the old village of Andermatt Andermatt had been in decline since the army left Andermatt's local doctor, Andreas von Schulthess, has opposed the project from the start, and now believes his worst fears are being realised. "It's just huge and nothing else," he said. "It doesn't fit in Andermatt as it was before. It's really a forcible development of this originally small place which had a certain charm. For me, it's really a cruel, a brutal change, of Andermatt." Other villagers, like farmer Maja Regli, worry that local small businesses will see little benefit. "We would really be happy if some of the new visitors come to the village and use our shops," she said. "Because in the last few years so many have closed down, we don't even have a chemist anymore, and that's terrible." Cows and golf But Mrs Regli still believes Andermatt had little option but to go along with the Sawiris project. "Something had to happen, there had to be an investor, and now Sawiris has come and the problems are solved… well probably, I don't know," she said. The Regli family are especially happy that they can continue farming, because their farm lies right in the middle of the planned 18-hole golf course. Originally the farmers there were told they would have to sell up and leave, but after talks with Mr Sawiris, some have been able to stay. "This farm has been in my husband's family for ever," explained Maja Regli. "And my daughter wants to continue farming." "But we don't know now what it will be like in two or three years when they are playing golf, yes, we are wondering about that." Ski issue The first five-star hotel is due to open in 2013 and sales of the villas and apartments are proceeding, but apparently not especially briskly. There is one very important obstacle: the key to making the resort a success lies in upgrading and extending Andermatt's rather dilapidated ski area. BBC map Unfortunately for Mr Sawiris, he did not include the upgrade in his original plans, and the ambitious project he has now presented, involving the construction of several new ski lifts, is certain to attract opposition from environmental groups. Laws on extending ski areas are especially strict in Switzerland and any formal opposition could drag on for years. The doubts have caused rumours that the Swedish engineering company planning to build the lifts may pull out. This has led to even more rumours, that Mr Sawiris may abandon the entire resort if he does not get his way over the ski lifts. Some in Andermatt now fear they will be left with nothing more than a vast building site. But Mr Sawiris, while not keen to be seen as the saviour of the village, still insists that everyone will benefit from his plans. "From every project I do, I make sure that everyone around it is a winner," he says. More on This Story Related Stories * Country profile: Switzerland 04 JANUARY 2012, COUNTRY PROFILES Related Internet links * Andermatt * Orascom The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print More Europe stories RSS * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) Russia: UN action could spur Syria war The Western-Arab push for a UN resolution on Syria could put the country on a "path to civil war", warns Russia's deputy foreign minister. * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Spanish court upholds Garzon case Top Stories * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) UN action 'could spur Syria war' * Euro unemployment hits new record * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Republican rivals in Florida vote * French win India fighter jet deal Features & Analysis * Model cars and houses Golden salary What do people earning £1m ($1.5m) spend it on? ______________________________________________________________ * Planet Earth Planet mass Do rockets fired into space make the Earth lighter? ______________________________________________________________ * Occupy DC protesters shout slogans Day in pictures 24 hours of news photos from around the world ______________________________________________________________ * A foreclosure (repossession) sign in front of a house Money talks Has wealth become a liability in the US Republican race? ______________________________________________________________ Most Popular Shared 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: Skin transformed into brain cells 3. 3: Policeman who became a pole-dancer 4. 4: How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election 5. 5: Pythons link to mammals decline Read 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted 3. 3: French win India fighter jet deal 4. 4: Navy sends destroyer to Falklands 5. 5: What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? 6. 6: Search of cruise ship abandoned 7. 7: Pythons link to mammals decline 8. 8: Snake bursts after gobbling gator 9. 9: Is the Earth getting lighter? 10. 10: Euro unemployment hits new record Video/Audio 1. 1: Europe struggles in grip of snow Watch 2. 2: 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' Watch 3. 3: One-minute World News Watch 4. 4: Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman Watch 5. 5: One way to find a rich Russian husband Watch 6. 6: How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors Watch 7. 7: Mystery illness at US high school Watch 8. 8: Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide Watch 9. 9: How to play 'kung fu' piano Watch 10. 10: Life after death faces legal battle Watch Elsewhere on BBC News * India's Tirupati Temple. Photographer: Ashok666 (Flickr). Licensed under Creative Commons Lighting the way Why India's richest temple is adopting new technologies and going green Programmes * Bed in an ice hotel, Sweden Click Watch How ice sculptors in Sweden are making use of computers to complete their cold creations Services * News feeds * Mobile * Podcasts * Alerts * E-mail news About BBC News * Editors' blog * BBC College of Journalism * News sources * World Service Trust Mobile Search term: ____________________ Search bbc.co.uk navigation * News * Sport * Weather * Travel * TV * Radio * More * CBBC * CBeebies * Comedy * Food * Health * History * Learning * Music * Science * Nature * Local * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * Full A-Z of BBC sites BBC links * About the BBC * BBC Help * Contact Us * Accessibility Help * Terms of Use * Careers * Privacy & Cookies * Advertise With Us * Ad Choices BBC BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News Northern Ireland * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video * England * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * UK Politics * Education 29 October 2011 Last updated at 20:19 GMT Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print Maghera family afraid to stay in home after garden collapses flanagan house on glen road maghera The family home sits just beside the collapsed garden A Maghera man has said his family are afraid to stay in their home after their back garden collapsed following two days of torrential rain. The garden which backs on to a fast-flowing river gave way at the property on the Glen Road on Tuesday. Kieran Flanagan said the foundations took about 15 seconds to collapse. He said if anyone had been in the garden at the time they could have been killed or seriously injured. "We're totally scared at the minute because the foundation of the house is sitting here and we're waiting on this whole thing to collapse, but in saying that we're getting lots of help from all the councillors," he said. "We're just waiting now until next week to see what we will do about it." A meeting involving councillors and local agencies is due to be held to look at repairing the damage. More on This Story Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print More Northern Ireland stories RSS * Edwin Poots speaking in the assembly on Tuesday Baby bug inquiry to be 'rigorous' An investigation is to be held into the Pseudomonas outbreak which has claimed the lives of four babies in NI, the health minister announces. * Bloody Sunday 'most terrible day' * McLaughlin Ulster future in doubt Top Stories * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) UN action 'could spur Syria war' * Euro unemployment hits new record * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Republican rivals in Florida vote * French win India fighter jet deal Features & Analysis * Model cars and houses Golden salary What do people earning £1m ($1.5m) spend it on? ______________________________________________________________ * Planet Earth Planet mass Do rockets fired into space make the Earth lighter? ______________________________________________________________ * Occupy DC protesters shout slogans Day in pictures 24 hours of news photos from around the world ______________________________________________________________ * A foreclosure (repossession) sign in front of a house Money talks Has wealth become a liability in the US Republican race? ______________________________________________________________ Most Popular Shared 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: Skin transformed into brain cells 3. 3: Policeman who became a pole-dancer 4. 4: How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election 5. 5: Pythons link to mammals decline Read 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted 3. 3: French win India fighter jet deal 4. 4: Navy sends destroyer to Falklands 5. 5: What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? 6. 6: Search of cruise ship abandoned 7. 7: Pythons link to mammals decline 8. 8: Snake bursts after gobbling gator 9. 9: Is the Earth getting lighter? 10. 10: Euro unemployment hits new record Video/Audio 1. 1: Europe struggles in grip of snow Watch 2. 2: 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' Watch 3. 3: One-minute World News Watch 4. 4: Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman Watch 5. 5: One way to find a rich Russian husband Watch 6. 6: How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors Watch 7. 7: Mystery illness at US high school Watch 8. 8: Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide Watch 9. 9: How to play 'kung fu' piano Watch 10. 10: Life after death faces legal battle Watch Elsewhere on BBC News * India's Tirupati Temple. Photographer: Ashok666 (Flickr). Licensed under Creative Commons Lighting the way Why India's richest temple is adopting new technologies and going green Programmes * Bed in an ice hotel, Sweden Click Watch How ice sculptors in Sweden are making use of computers to complete their cold creations Services * News feeds * Mobile * Podcasts * Alerts * E-mail news About BBC News * Editors' blog * BBC College of Journalism * News sources * World Service Trust Mobile Search term: ____________________ Search bbc.co.uk navigation * News * Sport * Weather * Travel * TV * Radio * More * CBBC * CBeebies * Comedy * Food * Health * History * Learning * Music * Science * Nature * Local * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * Full A-Z of BBC sites BBC links * About the BBC * BBC Help * Contact Us * Accessibility Help * Terms of Use * Careers * Privacy & Cookies * Advertise With Us * Ad Choices BBC BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News Business * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video * Asia Business * Market Data * Economy * Companies 29 October 2011 Last updated at 16:49 GMT Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print Homeserve suspends telesales to probe mis-selling claim Telephone keypad An internal review at Homeserve found sales techniques did not meet the company's standards Continue reading the main story Related Stories * Firms in abandoned calls inquiry * Fines for silent calls up to £2m Insurance and maintenance company Homeserve has suspended all telephone sales amid claims of mis-selling by its call centre staff. The Sun newspaper reported 100 workers at the company's biggest call centre in Walsall, West Midlands, were given the day off on Friday as a probe began. It said an internal investigation had suggested some employees were using questionable sales techniques. The firm has suspended outbound calls and says it is retraining 500 staff. The company said a review conducted over the past month had found that in some cases sales techniques at its call centre did not meet the company's standards. Earlier this year Homeserve and another company, Npower, were investigated by Ofcom after it was suggested call centre staff were ringing homes and then abandoning the calls before speaking, leaving customers with silence. The Sun's story claimed any investigation could look at whether Homeserve's staff were guilty of selling cover without fully explaining what the customer was paying, or the package they were buying. The Financial Services Authority (FSA), which could fine the company if it is found guilty of breaching sales regulations, has not commented. Homeserve said it had been in "regular dialogue" with the FSA, which had been informed of the measures it had implemented. In a statement, Homeserve said: "The review showed that there were cases where its sales processes did not meet the company's required standards. "Following this review, the company has therefore decided to suspend all telephone sales and marketing activity. "The company's service to customers making a claim or renewing their policy is unaffected by this decision." It went on to say that a retraining had started for telephone sales staff and the call centre would be able to take "inbound" calls from 1 November. "The company will not recommence 'outbound' sales calls until relevant staff have been through a comprehensive retraining programme and until it is confident that all sales procedures meet the standards it expects," the statement added. A spokeswoman added there would be no redundancies as a result of the measures. Richard Harpin, chief executive, Homeserve Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. My Bottom Line: Richard Harpin 'Swift action' Homeserve was founded in 1993 by chief executive Richard Harpin as a joint venture with South Staffordshire Water and has grown rapidly in recent years. It sells homeowners insurance to provide them with cover against drain blockages, burst pipes, faulty boilers and electrical problems and describes itself in adverts as "Britain's fifth emergency service". Mr Harpin said: "We are determined to ensure customers receive the highest standards of service and we have therefore taken swift action to address the issues identified by our review. "We have commenced a programme to retrain staff. "We will resume marketing once we are confident that our sales processes meet the standards that we and our customers expect." More on This Story Related Stories * Firms in abandoned calls inquiry 07 JULY 2011, BUSINESS * Fines for silent calls up to £2m 01 FEBRUARY 2011, UK Related Internet links * Homeserve The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print More Business stories RSS * The euro sculpture at the European Central Bank in Frankfurt Euro unemployment hits new record The unemployment rate in the eurozone hit a record high of 10.4% at the end of last year, the Eurostat agency says. * Spain property woes hit Santander * Arm Holdings profits up over 40% Top Stories * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) UN action 'could spur Syria war' * Euro unemployment hits new record * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Republican rivals in Florida vote * French win India fighter jet deal Features & Analysis * Model cars and houses Golden salary What do people earning £1m ($1.5m) spend it on? ______________________________________________________________ * Planet Earth Planet mass Do rockets fired into space make the Earth lighter? ______________________________________________________________ * Occupy DC protesters shout slogans Day in pictures 24 hours of news photos from around the world ______________________________________________________________ * A foreclosure (repossession) sign in front of a house Money talks Has wealth become a liability in the US Republican race? ______________________________________________________________ Most Popular Shared 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: Skin transformed into brain cells 3. 3: Policeman who became a pole-dancer 4. 4: How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election 5. 5: Pythons link to mammals decline Read 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted 3. 3: French win India fighter jet deal 4. 4: Navy sends destroyer to Falklands 5. 5: What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? 6. 6: Search of cruise ship abandoned 7. 7: Pythons link to mammals decline 8. 8: Snake bursts after gobbling gator 9. 9: Is the Earth getting lighter? 10. 10: Euro unemployment hits new record Video/Audio 1. 1: Europe struggles in grip of snow Watch 2. 2: 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' Watch 3. 3: One-minute World News Watch 4. 4: Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman Watch 5. 5: One way to find a rich Russian husband Watch 6. 6: How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors Watch 7. 7: Mystery illness at US high school Watch 8. 8: Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide Watch 9. 9: How to play 'kung fu' piano Watch 10. 10: Life after death faces legal battle Watch Elsewhere on BBC News * India's Tirupati Temple. Photographer: Ashok666 (Flickr). Licensed under Creative Commons Lighting the way Why India's richest temple is adopting new technologies and going green Programmes * Bed in an ice hotel, Sweden Click Watch How ice sculptors in Sweden are making use of computers to complete their cold creations Services * News feeds * Mobile * Podcasts * Alerts * E-mail news About BBC News * Editors' blog * BBC College of Journalism * News sources * World Service Trust Mobile Search term: ____________________ Search bbc.co.uk navigation * News * Sport * Weather * Travel * TV * Radio * More * CBBC * CBeebies * Comedy * Food * Health * History * Learning * Music * Science * Nature * Local * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * Full A-Z of BBC sites BBC links * About the BBC * BBC Help * Contact Us * Accessibility Help * Terms of Use * Careers * Privacy & Cookies * Advertise With Us * Ad Choices BBC BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News Nottingham * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video * England * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * UK Politics * Education 29 October 2011 Last updated at 16:22 GMT Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print Nottingham City Council expects Icelandic investment to be returned Landsbanki logo The council had £11m invested with Landsbanki, one of three Icelandic banks that failed Continue reading the main story Related Stories * Iceland's former PM goes on trial * UK and Netherlands to sue Iceland * Council recoups Iceland bank cash Nottingham City Council has said it expects to get back most of the £41m it invested in Icelandic banks following a victory in Iceland's Supreme Court. The council had deposited the money in three Icelandic banks which collapsed in 2008. The court ruled on Friday that UK councils with money in Landsbanki and Glitnir banks were to be given priority creditor status. Councillor Graham Chapman said he was delighted with the court ruling. The council said it expected to get back 100% of the £11m from Landsbanki and 98% of the £15m from Glitnir now that it had been given priority status. Mr Chapman, the city's deputy leader, said: "This judgment means that Nottingham City Council's claims have been recognised as deposits with priority status over other creditors' claims. "This means we will be paid first when it comes to getting our money back and will recover almost all of the money we had on deposit with the failed Icelandic banks." Under Icelandic law, preferred creditors should receive a full payout before any other creditors are paid. More on This Story Related Stories * Iceland's former PM goes on trial 05 SEPTEMBER 2011, BUSINESS * UK and Netherlands to sue Iceland 10 APRIL 2011, BUSINESS * Council recoups Iceland bank cash 27 OCTOBER 2010, NOTTINGHAM Related Internet links * Kent County Council The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print BBC Nottingham * Flooding in an East Yorkshire street 200,000 homes 'at flooding risk' The Association of British Insurers estimates that up to 200,000 flood-prone homes could face insurance problems next year. ______________________________________________________________ * Civil War centre bid step closer * Lee Hughes on sex assault charge Travel News * Latest road incidents, public transport information and live traffic jam cameras near you Weather Nottinghamshire Tuesday day weather White Cloud * White Cloud * Max: 2°C * Min: -1°C * Wind: ENE 8mph Things To Do RUN BY THE BBC AND PARTNERS * Richard Herrod Centre Health Walk WED 1 FEB Richard Herrod Centre Health… Gedling Borough Council * Arnot Hill Park Health Walk THU 2 FEB Arnot Hill Park Health Walk Gedling Borough Council See Nottingham Activities > Find activities near you Town, city, postcode Search * BBC Radio Nottingham Live * BBC Nottingham Sport Top Stories * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) UN action 'could spur Syria war' * Euro unemployment hits new record * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Republican rivals in Florida vote * French win India fighter jet deal Features & Analysis * Model cars and houses Golden salary What do people earning £1m ($1.5m) spend it on? ______________________________________________________________ * Planet Earth Planet mass Do rockets fired into space make the Earth lighter? ______________________________________________________________ * Occupy DC protesters shout slogans Day in pictures 24 hours of news photos from around the world ______________________________________________________________ * A foreclosure (repossession) sign in front of a house Money talks Has wealth become a liability in the US Republican race? ______________________________________________________________ Most Popular Shared 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: Skin transformed into brain cells 3. 3: Policeman who became a pole-dancer 4. 4: How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election 5. 5: Pythons link to mammals decline Read 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted 3. 3: French win India fighter jet deal 4. 4: Navy sends destroyer to Falklands 5. 5: What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? 6. 6: Search of cruise ship abandoned 7. 7: Pythons link to mammals decline 8. 8: Snake bursts after gobbling gator 9. 9: Is the Earth getting lighter? 10. 10: Euro unemployment hits new record Video/Audio 1. 1: Europe struggles in grip of snow Watch 2. 2: 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' Watch 3. 3: One-minute World News Watch 4. 4: Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman Watch 5. 5: One way to find a rich Russian husband Watch 6. 6: How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors Watch 7. 7: Mystery illness at US high school Watch 8. 8: Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide Watch 9. 9: How to play 'kung fu' piano Watch 10. 10: Life after death faces legal battle Watch Elsewhere on BBC News * India's Tirupati Temple. Photographer: Ashok666 (Flickr). Licensed under Creative Commons Lighting the way Why India's richest temple is adopting new technologies and going green Programmes * Bed in an ice hotel, Sweden Click Watch How ice sculptors in Sweden are making use of computers to complete their cold creations Services * News feeds * Mobile * Podcasts * Alerts * E-mail news About BBC News * Editors' blog * BBC College of Journalism * News sources * World Service Trust Mobile Search term: ____________________ Search bbc.co.uk navigation * News * Sport * Weather * Travel * TV * Radio * More * CBBC * CBeebies * Comedy * Food * Health * History * Learning * Music * Science * Nature * Local * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * Full A-Z of BBC sites BBC links * About the BBC * BBC Help * Contact Us * Accessibility Help * Terms of Use * Careers * Privacy & Cookies * Advertise With Us * Ad Choices BBC BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News Asia-Pacific * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video 29 October 2011 Last updated at 13:20 GMT Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print Thai soldiers detained over Mekong River killings Map Continue reading the main story Related Stories * The stalled battle for the Mekong * China country profile * Country profile: Thailand Nine Thai soldiers have been detained following a deadly attack on two cargo ships on the Mekong river near the Thai-Burma border. Thirteen Chinese crew members died in the attack, which happened in early October, in an area notorious for drug production and smuggling. Their bodies were found floating in the river. A police spokesman in Thailand said the soldiers had surrendered on Friday. The Thai troops were working for an anti-drug task force. According to media reports, some of the dead crew members had been bound and gagged, others had been blindfolded with tape and some had been shot. "Police will prosecute all nine soldiers," National police chief General Priewpan Damapong told reporters, according to Agence France Presse. "Their actions have nothing to do with the Thai army." The soldiers handed themselves over in Thailand's northern Chiang Rai province. China's Vice Minister of Public Security, Zhang Xinfeng, is currently visiting Thailand to investigate the attack. He said the arrests represented "important progress", according to Xinhua. China also sent patrol boats down the Mekong to escort 164 stranded Chinese sailors and 28 cargo ships back home. The "Golden Triangle" - where the borders of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos meet - is a region notorious for drug smuggling. More on This Story Related Stories * The stalled battle for the Mekong 20 APRIL 2011, BUSINESS * China country profile 09 AUGUST 2011, COUNTRY PROFILES * Country profile: Thailand 14 DECEMBER 2011, COUNTRY PROFILES * Burma profile 12 JANUARY 2012, ASIA-PACIFIC Related Internet links * Xinhua news agency * China Daily The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print More Asia-Pacific stories RSS * In this handout photograph released by Pikiran Rakyat, an unidentified survivor carrying a child is escorted at a marine police station on the coast of Pangandaran town in Indonesia's West Java province on November 1 Australia shock at asylum tragedy Australians are shocked after a boat filled with asylum seekers capsizes on its way from Indonesia, and at least eight people die. * Xenon detected at Fukushima plant * China schools closed after blast Top Stories * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) UN action 'could spur Syria war' * Euro unemployment hits new record * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Republican rivals in Florida vote * French win India fighter jet deal Features & Analysis * Model cars and houses Golden salary What do people earning £1m ($1.5m) spend it on? ______________________________________________________________ * Planet Earth Planet mass Do rockets fired into space make the Earth lighter? ______________________________________________________________ * Occupy DC protesters shout slogans Day in pictures 24 hours of news photos from around the world ______________________________________________________________ * A foreclosure (repossession) sign in front of a house Money talks Has wealth become a liability in the US Republican race? ______________________________________________________________ Most Popular Shared 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: Skin transformed into brain cells 3. 3: Policeman who became a pole-dancer 4. 4: How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election 5. 5: Pythons link to mammals decline Read 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted 3. 3: French win India fighter jet deal 4. 4: Navy sends destroyer to Falklands 5. 5: What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? 6. 6: Search of cruise ship abandoned 7. 7: Pythons link to mammals decline 8. 8: Snake bursts after gobbling gator 9. 9: Is the Earth getting lighter? 10. 10: Euro unemployment hits new record Video/Audio 1. 1: Europe struggles in grip of snow Watch 2. 2: 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' Watch 3. 3: One-minute World News Watch 4. 4: Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman Watch 5. 5: One way to find a rich Russian husband Watch 6. 6: How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors Watch 7. 7: Mystery illness at US high school Watch 8. 8: Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide Watch 9. 9: How to play 'kung fu' piano Watch 10. 10: Life after death faces legal battle Watch Elsewhere on BBC News * India's Tirupati Temple. Photographer: Ashok666 (Flickr). Licensed under Creative Commons Lighting the way Why India's richest temple is adopting new technologies and going green Programmes * Bed in an ice hotel, Sweden Click Watch How ice sculptors in Sweden are making use of computers to complete their cold creations Services * News feeds * Mobile * Podcasts * Alerts * E-mail news About BBC News * Editors' blog * BBC College of Journalism * News sources * World Service Trust Mobile Search term: ____________________ Search bbc.co.uk navigation * News * Sport * Weather * Travel * TV * Radio * More * CBBC * CBeebies * Comedy * Food * Health * History * Learning * Music * Science * Nature * Local * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * Full A-Z of BBC sites BBC links * About the BBC * BBC Help * Contact Us * Accessibility Help * Terms of Use * Careers * Privacy & Cookies * Advertise With Us * Ad Choices BBC BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News Tyne & Wear * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video * England * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * UK Politics * Education 29 October 2011 Last updated at 12:48 GMT Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print Two men arrested over assault in Byker, Newcastle Two men have been arrested following an assault on a man and woman in Newcastle. The attack happened at 02:30 BST on Saturday, in the Kendal Green area of Byker. The man and women were treated at the scene by paramedics for head and facial injuries. Police officers, who arrested two men aged 21 and 38 in connection with the assault, said their inquiries were continuing. More on This Story Related Internet links * Northumbria Police The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print BBC Tyne & Wear * James Perkins Quad bike man jailed over death A man is jailed for six years after being found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving. ______________________________________________________________ * Assault trial date for footballer * Speed death 'may be accidental' Travel News * Latest road incidents, public transport information and live traffic jam cameras near you Weather Tyne and Wear Tuesday day weather White Cloud * White Cloud * Max: 3°C * Min: -1°C * Wind: ESE 11mph Things To Do RUN BY THE BBC AND PARTNERS * Alnwick and District Natural History Society: Magic Beneath the Waves THU 2 FEB Alnwick and District Natural… Northumberland Wildlife Trust * Decline of the Common Toad FRI 3 FEB Decline of the Common Toad Natural History Society of… See Tyne and Wear Activities > Find activities near you Town, city, postcode Search * BBC Newcastle Live * BBC Tyne & Wear Sport Top Stories * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) UN action 'could spur Syria war' * Euro unemployment hits new record * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Republican rivals in Florida vote * French win India fighter jet deal Features & Analysis * Model cars and houses Golden salary What do people earning £1m ($1.5m) spend it on? ______________________________________________________________ * Planet Earth Planet mass Do rockets fired into space make the Earth lighter? ______________________________________________________________ * Occupy DC protesters shout slogans Day in pictures 24 hours of news photos from around the world ______________________________________________________________ * A foreclosure (repossession) sign in front of a house Money talks Has wealth become a liability in the US Republican race? ______________________________________________________________ Most Popular Shared 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: Skin transformed into brain cells 3. 3: Policeman who became a pole-dancer 4. 4: How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election 5. 5: Pythons link to mammals decline Read 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted 3. 3: French win India fighter jet deal 4. 4: Navy sends destroyer to Falklands 5. 5: What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? 6. 6: Search of cruise ship abandoned 7. 7: Pythons link to mammals decline 8. 8: Snake bursts after gobbling gator 9. 9: Is the Earth getting lighter? 10. 10: Euro unemployment hits new record Video/Audio 1. 1: Europe struggles in grip of snow Watch 2. 2: 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' Watch 3. 3: One-minute World News Watch 4. 4: Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman Watch 5. 5: One way to find a rich Russian husband Watch 6. 6: How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors Watch 7. 7: Mystery illness at US high school Watch 8. 8: Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide Watch 9. 9: How to play 'kung fu' piano Watch 10. 10: Life after death faces legal battle Watch Elsewhere on BBC News * India's Tirupati Temple. Photographer: Ashok666 (Flickr). Licensed under Creative Commons Lighting the way Why India's richest temple is adopting new technologies and going green Programmes * Bed in an ice hotel, Sweden Click Watch How ice sculptors in Sweden are making use of computers to complete their cold creations Services * News feeds * Mobile * Podcasts * Alerts * E-mail news About BBC News * Editors' blog * BBC College of Journalism * News sources * World Service Trust Mobile Search term: ____________________ Search bbc.co.uk navigation * News * Sport * Weather * Travel * TV * Radio * More * CBBC * CBeebies * Comedy * Food * Health * History * Learning * Music * Science * Nature * Local * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * Full A-Z of BBC sites BBC links * About the BBC * BBC Help * Contact Us * Accessibility Help * Terms of Use * Careers * Privacy & Cookies * Advertise With Us * Ad Choices BBC BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News Tees * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video * England * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * UK Politics * Education 29 October 2011 Last updated at 12:46 GMT Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print Stockton Library to reopen after a £1.9m refurbishment Artist's impression The Central Library has undergone a £1.9m revamp Continue reading the main story Related Stories * Stockton library £1.9m facelift * Building work ends at £2m mosque * £1.9m revamp for Stockton library Stockton's Central Library is to open on Tuesday following a £1.9m refurbishment. The building originally opened in 1967 at a cost of £250,000, but needed modernising. It now houses a customer service centre on the ground floor, where locals can apply for services and make payments to the council. That floor will replace other council desks at two municipal buildings, Gloucester House and 16 Church Road. Councillor Ken Dixon said: "I am extremely proud that we have been able to invest in our libraries, which sharing a roof with the Customer Service Centre has made possible. "Library users will notice many improvements in our service as a result." More on This Story Related Stories * Stockton library £1.9m facelift 24 SEPTEMBER 2011, TEES * Building work ends at £2m mosque 16 SEPTEMBER 2011, TEES * £1.9m revamp for Stockton library 12 FEBRUARY 2011, TEES Related Internet links * Stockton Borough Council The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print BBC Tees * Former Corus plant in Redcar Ex-Corus plant production looms Restarting production at the former Corus steelworks blast furnace in Redcar takes a step forward with the furnace being heated up again. ______________________________________________________________ * 'Low arrests' in Wear-Tees derby * Bishop backing youth jobs drive Travel News * Latest road incidents, public transport information and live traffic jam cameras near you Weather Tees Tuesday day weather White Cloud * White Cloud * Max: 3°C * Min: 1°C * Wind: E 9mph Things To Do RUN BY THE BBC AND PARTNERS * Wild Green Spaces Volunteer Taster Day WED 1 FEB Wild Green Spaces Volunteer… Wild Green Spaces in… * Castle Eden Dene Health Walk THU 2 FEB Castle Eden Dene Health Walk County Durham & Darlington NHS… See Tees Activities > Find activities near you Town, city, postcode Search * BBC Tees Live * BBC Tees Sport Top Stories * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) UN action 'could spur Syria war' * Euro unemployment hits new record * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Republican rivals in Florida vote * French win India fighter jet deal Features & Analysis * Model cars and houses Golden salary What do people earning £1m ($1.5m) spend it on? ______________________________________________________________ * Planet Earth Planet mass Do rockets fired into space make the Earth lighter? ______________________________________________________________ * Occupy DC protesters shout slogans Day in pictures 24 hours of news photos from around the world ______________________________________________________________ * A foreclosure (repossession) sign in front of a house Money talks Has wealth become a liability in the US Republican race? ______________________________________________________________ Most Popular Shared 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: Skin transformed into brain cells 3. 3: Policeman who became a pole-dancer 4. 4: How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election 5. 5: Pythons link to mammals decline Read 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted 3. 3: French win India fighter jet deal 4. 4: Navy sends destroyer to Falklands 5. 5: What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? 6. 6: Search of cruise ship abandoned 7. 7: Pythons link to mammals decline 8. 8: Snake bursts after gobbling gator 9. 9: Is the Earth getting lighter? 10. 10: Euro unemployment hits new record Video/Audio 1. 1: Europe struggles in grip of snow Watch 2. 2: 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' Watch 3. 3: One-minute World News Watch 4. 4: Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman Watch 5. 5: One way to find a rich Russian husband Watch 6. 6: How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors Watch 7. 7: Mystery illness at US high school Watch 8. 8: Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide Watch 9. 9: How to play 'kung fu' piano Watch 10. 10: Life after death faces legal battle Watch Elsewhere on BBC News * India's Tirupati Temple. Photographer: Ashok666 (Flickr). Licensed under Creative Commons Lighting the way Why India's richest temple is adopting new technologies and going green Programmes * Bed in an ice hotel, Sweden Click Watch How ice sculptors in Sweden are making use of computers to complete their cold creations Services * News feeds * Mobile * Podcasts * Alerts * E-mail news About BBC News * Editors' blog * BBC College of Journalism * News sources * World Service Trust Mobile Search term: ____________________ Search bbc.co.uk navigation * News * Sport * Weather * Travel * TV * Radio * More * CBBC * CBeebies * Comedy * Food * Health * History * Learning * Music * Science * Nature * Local * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * Full A-Z of BBC sites BBC links * About the BBC * BBC Help * Contact Us * Accessibility Help * Terms of Use * Careers * Privacy & Cookies * Advertise With Us * Ad Choices BBC BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News Oxford * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video * England * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * UK Politics * Education 29 October 2011 Last updated at 12:22 GMT Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print Lorry driver bailed over Oxford cyclist death A 74-year-old lorry driver who was arrested following the death of a cyclist in a collision in Oxford has been released on bail. The crash happened in Woodstock Road at the junction with Polstead Road at about 09:10 BST on Friday. A female cyclist in her 30s was taken to hospital where she was pronounced dead a short time later. The cement mixer lorry driver from the Banbury area was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. He has been bailed until 6 December. More on This Story From other news sites * Oxford Times Tributes to cycle crash victim 16 mins ago * Road.cc Female cyclist killed by cement lorry in Oxford 3 hrs ago * MyVillage.com Cyclist death lorry driver bailed 33 hrs ago * Cherwell Newspaper Cyclist dies on Woodstock Road 62 hrs ago * London 24 First rider killed on Cycle Superhighway worked at Olympic site 67 hrs ago * About these results Related Internet links * Thames Valley Police The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print BBC Oxford * The house in Souldern where the boy was suffered a gunshot wound Colonel's son shooting probe ends The death of a US Air Force colonel's 13-year-old son who suffered gunshot wounds to his head is no longer being investigated by police. ______________________________________________________________ * Work on £70m town revamp starts * Roof sprayed to deter metal theft Travel News * Latest road incidents, public transport information and live traffic jam cameras near you Weather Oxfordshire Tuesday day weather White Cloud * White Cloud * Max: 3°C * Min: -3°C * Wind: E 9mph Things To Do RUN BY THE BBC AND PARTNERS * Conservation Volunteering SAT 4 FEB Conservation Volunteering Ewelme Watercress Beds Local… * Pitt Stop: Dreamtime SAT 4 FEB Pitt Stop: Dreamtime Pitt Rivers Museum See Oxford Activities > Find activities near you Town, city, postcode Search * BBC Oxford Live * BBC Oxford Sport Top Stories * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) UN action 'could spur Syria war' * Euro unemployment hits new record * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Republican rivals in Florida vote * French win India fighter jet deal Features & Analysis * Model cars and houses Golden salary What do people earning £1m ($1.5m) spend it on? ______________________________________________________________ * Planet Earth Planet mass Do rockets fired into space make the Earth lighter? ______________________________________________________________ * Occupy DC protesters shout slogans Day in pictures 24 hours of news photos from around the world ______________________________________________________________ * A foreclosure (repossession) sign in front of a house Money talks Has wealth become a liability in the US Republican race? ______________________________________________________________ Most Popular Shared 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: Skin transformed into brain cells 3. 3: Policeman who became a pole-dancer 4. 4: How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election 5. 5: Pythons link to mammals decline Read 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted 3. 3: French win India fighter jet deal 4. 4: Navy sends destroyer to Falklands 5. 5: What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? 6. 6: Search of cruise ship abandoned 7. 7: Pythons link to mammals decline 8. 8: Snake bursts after gobbling gator 9. 9: Is the Earth getting lighter? 10. 10: Euro unemployment hits new record Video/Audio 1. 1: Europe struggles in grip of snow Watch 2. 2: 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' Watch 3. 3: One-minute World News Watch 4. 4: Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman Watch 5. 5: One way to find a rich Russian husband Watch 6. 6: How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors Watch 7. 7: Mystery illness at US high school Watch 8. 8: Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide Watch 9. 9: How to play 'kung fu' piano Watch 10. 10: Life after death faces legal battle Watch Elsewhere on BBC News * India's Tirupati Temple. Photographer: Ashok666 (Flickr). Licensed under Creative Commons Lighting the way Why India's richest temple is adopting new technologies and going green Programmes * Bed in an ice hotel, Sweden Click Watch How ice sculptors in Sweden are making use of computers to complete their cold creations Services * News feeds * Mobile * Podcasts * Alerts * E-mail news About BBC News * Editors' blog * BBC College of Journalism * News sources * World Service Trust Mobile Search term: ____________________ Search bbc.co.uk navigation * News * Sport * Weather * Travel * TV * Radio * More * CBBC * CBeebies * Comedy * Food * Health * History * Learning * Music * Science * Nature * Local * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * Full A-Z of BBC sites BBC links * About the BBC * BBC Help * Contact Us * Accessibility Help * Terms of Use * Careers * Privacy & Cookies * Advertise With Us * Ad Choices BBC BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News Essex * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video * England * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * UK Politics * Education 29 October 2011 Last updated at 14:32 GMT Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print Southend Airport runway protesters arrested Continue reading the main story Related Stories * New airport link road is opened * Southend fastens its seatbelt * New Spanish routes from airport Fifteen climate change activists have been arrested at London Southend Airport. Members of Plane Stupid and Climate Rush entered the airport at 09:00 BST and were apprehended by officers. In a press release, the groups said they planned to put solar panels on the runway and do a dance routine dressed as pilots and cabin crew. Police initially said 16 people were in custody, but at 15:00 BST confirmed five men and 10 women were detained. The airport wants to extend its runway by 300m (984ft) to allow larger passenger aircraft to be used. 'Solar power' The Stobart Group, which owns the airport, aims to have two million passengers a year passing through its terminal, by 2020. In a statement before the arrests, a spokeswoman for the protesters said: "Southend Council say the expansion will bring jobs. "But investment in renewable energy would create many more jobs without damaging the climate. "What we need is solar power, not plane power. "The bigger runway is bad for climate change, bad for local residents under the flight path and is not needed to help the local economy." Using Twitter, Plane Stupid said members had invaded the runway at 09:00 BST and remained there "for at least an hour". Essex Police said officers responded quickly to reports of protesters gaining access to Southend Airport shortly after the protesters broke in. Flights 'unaffected' All 15 suspects are being held on suspicion of entering a restricted zone at an airport and aggravated trespass. A 20-year-old man and a 19 year-old woman from Norwich and a 43 year-old man from Whitstable in Kent are among those arrested. The remainder are from various parts of London. Det Ch Insp Stuart Hooper said: "We were on heightened general alert to airports and our response to the protest was very swift. "We have a number of well-rehearsed contingency plans for events such as this and we have launched a criminal investigation following the incident at Southend." An airport spokeswoman confirmed the runway had been closed for a "short period" while police dealt wth the situation. "No flights were impacted by this event," she said. More on This Story Related Stories * New airport link road is opened 01 SEPTEMBER 2011, ESSEX * Southend fastens its seatbelt 30 JULY 2011, UK * New Spanish routes from airport 26 JULY 2011, ESSEX Related Internet links * London Southend Airport * Climate Rush The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print BBC Essex * Charlotte Thompson and Olivia Bazlinton Guilty plea over rail death girls Network Rail admits health and safety breaches over the deaths of two teenage girls at a level crossing in Essex in 2005. ______________________________________________________________ * 'Breathing space' at oil refinery * Cement mixer death probe 'flawed' Travel News * Latest road incidents, public transport information and live traffic jam cameras near you Weather Essex Tuesday day weather Light Snow * Light Snow * Max: 2°C * Min: -1°C * Wind: NE 8mph Things To Do RUN BY THE BBC AND PARTNERS * Everything but the Squeak Week! SAT 11 FEB Everything but the Squeak… English Heritage * Conservation Day SUN 19 FEB Conservation Day Terra incognita See Essex Activities > Find activities near you Town, city, postcode Search * BBC Essex Live * BBC Essex Sport Top Stories * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) UN action 'could spur Syria war' * Euro unemployment hits new record * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Republican rivals in Florida vote * French win India fighter jet deal Features & Analysis * Model cars and houses Golden salary What do people earning £1m ($1.5m) spend it on? ______________________________________________________________ * Planet Earth Planet mass Do rockets fired into space make the Earth lighter? ______________________________________________________________ * Occupy DC protesters shout slogans Day in pictures 24 hours of news photos from around the world ______________________________________________________________ * A foreclosure (repossession) sign in front of a house Money talks Has wealth become a liability in the US Republican race? ______________________________________________________________ Most Popular Shared 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: Skin transformed into brain cells 3. 3: Policeman who became a pole-dancer 4. 4: How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election 5. 5: Pythons link to mammals decline Read 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted 3. 3: French win India fighter jet deal 4. 4: Navy sends destroyer to Falklands 5. 5: What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? 6. 6: Search of cruise ship abandoned 7. 7: Pythons link to mammals decline 8. 8: Snake bursts after gobbling gator 9. 9: Is the Earth getting lighter? 10. 10: Euro unemployment hits new record Video/Audio 1. 1: Europe struggles in grip of snow Watch 2. 2: 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' Watch 3. 3: One-minute World News Watch 4. 4: Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman Watch 5. 5: One way to find a rich Russian husband Watch 6. 6: How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors Watch 7. 7: Mystery illness at US high school Watch 8. 8: Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide Watch 9. 9: How to play 'kung fu' piano Watch 10. 10: Life after death faces legal battle Watch Elsewhere on BBC News * India's Tirupati Temple. Photographer: Ashok666 (Flickr). Licensed under Creative Commons Lighting the way Why India's richest temple is adopting new technologies and going green Programmes * Bed in an ice hotel, Sweden Click Watch How ice sculptors in Sweden are making use of computers to complete their cold creations Services * News feeds * Mobile * Podcasts * Alerts * E-mail news About BBC News * Editors' blog * BBC College of Journalism * News sources * World Service Trust Mobile Search term: ____________________ Search bbc.co.uk navigation * News * Sport * Weather * Travel * TV * Radio * More * CBBC * CBeebies * Comedy * Food * Health * History * Learning * Music * Science * Nature * Local * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * Full A-Z of BBC sites BBC links * About the BBC * BBC Help * Contact Us * Accessibility Help * Terms of Use * Careers * Privacy & Cookies * Advertise With Us * Ad Choices BBC BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News Berkshire * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video * England * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * UK Politics * Education Sir Douglas Bader's log book expected to fetch £30,000 An image of the Battle of Britain Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. 29 October 2011 Last updated at 08:29 GMT Help The log book in which legendary pilot Sir Douglas Bader recorded the crash that led to the loss of his legs is for sale along with other memorabilia. Following his 1931 crash at Berkshire's Woodley Airfield, he wrote: "Crashed slow rolling near ground. Bad show". The crash nearly killed him, but Sir Douglas learned to walk again, in six months, using artificial legs. Read More * Bader's crash log book for sale Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print Most watched/listened 1. Play Europe struggles in grip of snow 2. Play 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' 3. Play One-minute World News 4. Play Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman 5. Play One way to find a rich Russian husband 6. Play How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors 7. Play Mystery illness at US high school 8. Play Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide 9. 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Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News North West Wales * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video * England * Northern Ireland * Scotland * Wales * UK Politics * Education 29 October 2011 Last updated at 15:14 GMT Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print Fire badly damages former Ysgol Glanadda in Bangor Firefighters tackle the blaze at the former Ysgol Glanadda site Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Fire crews tackled the blaze at Caernarfon Road, Bangor for several hours North Wales fire crews and the police are investigating the cause of a fire which badly damaged a former school building in Bangor. They were alerted at about 00:30 BST on Saturday to the blaze at the Bryn Llwyd education unit on Caernarfon Road. The building, which is understood to date from the Victorian era, used to house Ysgol Glanadda. North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said the flames were put out by about 05:30 BST. Fire at Ysgol Glanadda, Bangor Firefighters from Bangor, Beaumaris and Caernarfon tackled the blaze throughout the early hours Tommy Rowlands, of the fire service, said there had been extensive damage to the main hall. He said contractors were also on the site to make the mains electric supply safe. The fire service said later that nobody was injured and the building was unoccupied at the time. Gwynedd council officers were boarding up the building. A Gwynedd council spokesperson said: "Following a fire at the Bryn Llwyd education unit last night, council officers are working with the emergency services to safeguard the site. "The Bryn Llwyd unit provides educational support for a small number of key stage 4 pupils (years 10 and 11) who no longer attend a mainstream school setting." Four pumps were sent to the scene, two from Bangor, one Beaumaris and one from Caernarfon. Eirian Roberts, who lives six doors away from the school, said she became aware of the fire at about 01:25 BST and went out to take photographs. Damage to the roof of the building The morning showed the damage to the roof "I'm gutted this has happened. This is where my grandfather went to school, my mother went to school there, as did her brother, and my brother. "I think the building is listed, as it was built in 1888, and the damage to the front is really bad. "I know it is just a school, but it's part of our history as I can trace my family back in this area of Bangor for 170 years. I'm very upset," she added. Have you been affected by the fire? Do you have any pictures or video you could send us? Please use the form below I only live just doors away from the school and witnessed the fire crew battling with the fire early this morning. It's such a shame to see this 123 year old building go up in smoke. I was a pupil at Ysgol Glanadda from 1988 to 1992 and also attended its centenary in October 1988. Ifan Wyn Roberts, Bangor I live right next door to the school! I got woken up by a knock on the door at 12.20 ish and woke up to find smoke in the street. I ran downstairs and went outside to see smoke coming out of the school. I went back in to get my mobile to ring the fire service and they arrived ten minutes later to tackle the blaze. such a shame this has happened. What are they going to do with the pupils that go here? James Bartholomew, Bangor Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here. Read the terms and conditions (Required) Name ______________________________ (Required) Your E-mail address ______________________________ (Required) Town & Country ______________________________ (Required) Your telephone number ______________________________ (Required) Comments ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ If you are happy to be contacted by a BBC journalist please leave a telephone number that we can contact you on. In some cases a selection of your comments will be published, displaying your name as you provide it and location, unless you state otherwise. 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Terms and conditions (Submit) Send (Reset) Clear More on This Story Related Internet links * North Wales Fire and Rescue Service * Ysgol Glanadda The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print BBC North West Wales * police uniform MPs fear funding impact on force North Wales MPs tell a debate a cut in funding would have a severe impact on the region's policing, and could lead to some crimes increasing. ______________________________________________________________ * Man let boy, 5, use rail crossing * Wounded soldiers' Snowdon beacon Travel News * Latest road incidents, public transport information and live traffic jam cameras near you Weather Anglesey Tuesday day weather Sunny Intervals * Sunny Intervals * Max: 4°C * Min: -3°C * Wind: E 10mph * BBC Radio Wales Live * BBC Wales Sport Top Stories * Soldiers in Free Syrian Army in Damascus (27 Jan 2012) UN action 'could spur Syria war' * Euro unemployment hits new record * Search of cruise ship abandoned * Republican rivals in Florida vote * French win India fighter jet deal Features & Analysis * Model cars and houses Golden salary What do people earning £1m ($1.5m) spend it on? ______________________________________________________________ * Planet Earth Planet mass Do rockets fired into space make the Earth lighter? ______________________________________________________________ * Occupy DC protesters shout slogans Day in pictures 24 hours of news photos from around the world ______________________________________________________________ * A foreclosure (repossession) sign in front of a house Money talks Has wealth become a liability in the US Republican race? ______________________________________________________________ Most Popular Shared 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: Skin transformed into brain cells 3. 3: Policeman who became a pole-dancer 4. 4: How 'Europe' became a dirty word in US election 5. 5: Pythons link to mammals decline Read 1. 1: Brits barred from US after tweet 2. 2: F1 driver Adrian Sutil convicted 3. 3: French win India fighter jet deal 4. 4: Navy sends destroyer to Falklands 5. 5: What do people on £1 million salaries do with their money? 6. 6: Search of cruise ship abandoned 7. 7: Pythons link to mammals decline 8. 8: Snake bursts after gobbling gator 9. 9: Is the Earth getting lighter? 10. 10: Euro unemployment hits new record Video/Audio 1. 1: Europe struggles in grip of snow Watch 2. 2: 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' Watch 3. 3: One-minute World News Watch 4. 4: Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman Watch 5. 5: One way to find a rich Russian husband Watch 6. 6: How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors Watch 7. 7: Mystery illness at US high school Watch 8. 8: Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide Watch 9. 9: How to play 'kung fu' piano Watch 10. 10: Life after death faces legal battle Watch Elsewhere on BBC News * India's Tirupati Temple. 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This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. #A to Z BBC Help Terms of Use BBC Accessibility links * Skip to content * Skip to local navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation * Skip to bbc.co.uk search * Help * Accessibility Help BBC News Middle East * Home * UK * Africa * Asia * Europe * Latin America * Mid-East * US & Canada * Business * Health * Sci/Environment * Tech * Entertainment * Video Syria unrest: Protesters call for no-fly zone Thousands of protesters on the streets in Syria Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. 29 October 2011 Last updated at 01:39 GMT Help In Syria, at least 37 people have been killed in government crackdowns on the now traditional protests following Friday prayers, human rights groups say. Despite the threat of violence, at least 170 demonstrations, many calling for a no-fly zone to be imposed over the country, took place on Friday. Daniel Griffiths reports. Read More * Syria protesters urge no-fly zone Share this page * Delicious * Digg * Facebook * reddit * StumbleUpon * Twitter * Email * Print Most watched/listened 1. Play Europe struggles in grip of snow 2. Play 'Shame on you Simon Cowell' 3. Play One-minute World News 4. Play Beijing's pole-dancing former policeman 5. Play One way to find a rich Russian husband 6. Play How computers help Sweden's ice sculptors 7. Play Mystery illness at US high school 8. Play Fear factor: The science behind America's red/blue divide 9. Play How to play 'kung fu' piano 10. 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