Brothers of Chinese Nobel peace prize winner described him as in good health despite being jailed for subversion The brothers of a jailed Chinese Nobel peace prize winner have said that they were recently allowed a rare visit to see him and that he was in good health. The three brothers also said Liu Xiaobo, serving a jail term for suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power”, was taken to the family’s home in Dalian, in north-eastern China, last month to mourn the death of their father seven days after he died, when Chinese families traditionally gather. In a text message, the brothers said they visited Liu on 28 September in Jinzhou, Liaoning province, also in north-eastern China. They said Liu was healthy. “He’s fine. It is not convenient to accept an interview,” the message said. Liu won the Nobel peace prize last October . Since then, the government has reacted angrily to any support for the democracy campaigner and mostly cut off access to him and his wife, Liu Xia. The brothers’ visit was also reported by the Hong Kong Human Rights Centre, which said it was the first time they were allowed to visit Liu since July 2010. The centre said in a faxed statement that Liu Xia may be allowed to visit her husband this month. Liu Xia has basically been a prisoner for the past year. She has largely been held incommunicado, effectively under house arrest, watched by police, without phone or internet access and prohibited from seeing all but a few family members. Her husband, a literary critic and dogged campaigner for peaceful political change, co-authored a manifesto in 2008 calling for an end to single-party rule in China. That earned him an 11-year jail sentence. Lengthy detentions without arrest are illegal in China, but activists worry changes proposed recently to the country’s criminal procedure law may make it easier for police to do that. Activist Hu Jia, released this year after serving three and a half years in jail for sedition, said in a public letter that the proposals would legalise acts by the police that are now illegal but largely ignored, such as not giving prompt notification to relatives of anyone detained. Liu Xiaobo China Nobel peace prize guardian.co.uk
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US state which calls itself birthplace of surfing is to fund school championships along the lines of pro surf meets Hawaii will soon become the first state in the US to call surfing an official high school sport. Governor Neil Abercrombie and state education officials said on Monday that riding the waves will join the likes of football, basketball, volleyball and swimming as a state-sanctioned prep sport in public schools, starting as early as spring 2013. “It’s quite clear, when you think of Hawaii, you think of surfing,” Abercrombie said with a scenic backdrop of sunbathers and surfers along Waikiki beach behind him. The news conference was held near the statue of island icon Duke Kahanamoku, an Olympic gold medal swimmer known as the father of modern surfing. “Hawaii is the birthplace of surfing. From Duke Kahanamoku to the thousands of residents and visitors who surf both recreationally and competitively, the sport is rooted in our culture and way of life,” the governor said. The Aloha State is known for its world-class surf breaks and competitions. It is home to many pro surfers and has produced several world champions including Hawaii’s Carissa Moore, who this summer became the youngest world champion at 18. “I think it’s awesome, and it will open doors for kids,” said Moore, who welcomed the announcement. She said the sport taught her many life lessons growing up, such as hard work, perseverance, and time management. “Surfing and riding a wave is so much like life. You fall down over and over again, but you keep picking yourself back up until you ride one all the way to the beach,” Moore said. “I know that’s kind of cheesy, but I think surfing is definitely a really good outlet for a lot of teens and young kids. It’s a way to channel a lot of energy into something positive. It’s just really awesome.” Hawaii has the only statewide public school district in the US, which means surfing will be offered across the islands. The state department of education is working with the newly appointed board of education on developing a plan to implement surfing. Judging will be done similar to pro surf meets and there will be an individual boys and girls champions, as well as team champions, similar to golfing, said BOE member Keith Amemiya, the former head of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association. The board approved surfing in May 2004, but funding, safety concerns, liability and other challenges prevented the sport from becoming sanctioned. With the addition of surfing, students in Hawaii public schools will have 19 different sports – believed to be the most in the nation – from air riflery to bowling, producing 44 state champions every year. Amemiya said the estimated cost of surfing in the first year was about $150,000 (£97,210), with $50,000 (£32,410) already committed through private sources. The financially-strapped state is confident it will receive the necessary funding gauging from the interest from the community and corporate sponsors. “Regardless … we’re going to make this work,” Abercrombie said. “We’re not looking at this in terms of if we don’t have all the dollars, we’re not going to do anything. Quite the opposite.” Hawaii United States Schools guardian.co.uk
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Vincent Tabak denies murdering landscape architect, who was found dead after going missing last Christmas The trial of the man accused of murdering the landscape architect Joanna Yeates is due to begin on Tuesday. Dutch national Vincent Tabak, 33, denies murdering his neighbour shortly before last Christmas. The case against him is not expected to open until Thursday. The first two days are to be spent selecting a jury and dealing with legal matters. Prosecutors are to allege that Tabak, who lived in a ground-floor flat adjoining Yeates’ home in Clifton, Bristol, murdered the 25-year-old after she went for festive drinks with colleagues. She was reported missing two days after disappearing when her boyfriend, Greg Reardon, returned to their shared flat after a weekend visiting family in Sheffield. Following a string of appeals by relatives and police, her frozen body was found on Christmas morning by dog walkers three miles from her home on a lane in Failand, north Somerset. Reardon and Yeates’s parents, David and Teresa, are expected to attend Bristol crown court throughout the four-week trial. Tabak is being represented by William Clegg QC. Nigel Lickley QC prosecutes. The judge is Mr Justice Field. Joanna Yeates Crime Bristol Steven Morris guardian.co.uk
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• European Union’s highest court rules it is not illegal for football fans to buy set top box decoder cards from foreign broadcasters • Ruling could have huge impact on the way BSkyB and other broadcasters buy rights to sport, movies and foreign TV shows Football fans will potentially be able to watch cut-price Premier League matches, after the European Union’s highest court ruled on Tuesday that it is not illegal for individuals to buy set top box decoder cards from foreign broadcasters. The European court of justice ruled that the FA Premier League cannot stop individuals from seeking better deals for TV sports subscriptions than that offered by BSkyB – which paid more than £1bn for the UK broadcast rights for Premier League matches – from foreign broadcasters. The ECJ said attempting to prohibit the “import, sale or use of foreign decoder cards is contrary to the freedom to provide services and cannot be justified either in light of the objective of protecting intellectual property rights or by the objective of encouraging the public to attend football stadiums”. However, the court ruled against the bid by Karen Murphy, the landlady of the Red, White and Blue pub in Portsmouth, to be allowed to use a Greek decoder card to show live Premier League matches to pub goers at much cheaper rates than BSkyB charges commercial premises in the UK on copyright grounds. The ECJ said the transmission in a pub is a “communication to the public”, which means that without the permission of the FA Premier League Murphy is in breach of the copyright directive. This directive would not stop individuals buying foreign decoder cards for domestic use. The FA Premier League, which sells TV rights exclusively to broadcasters across Europe on a territory-by-territory basis, has been clamping down on British pubs buying in live coverage from foreign broadcasters. The ECJ ruling could potentially have a huge impact on the way BSkyB and other UK and European broadcasters buy rights to sport, films and foreign TV shows. Sky’s share price was down by just over 3% to 635.50p at about 9.20am on Tuesday, as the City reacted to the European ruling. More details soon… • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”. • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook . Sports rights Television industry BSkyB Consumer affairs Premier League Household bills Consumer rights Mark Sweney guardian.co.uk
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• Meredith Kercher’s father says decision is ‘ludicrous’ • Knox family due to board scheduled flight home to Seattle • David Cameron says people should remember Kerchers’ pain Amanda Knox is due to fly back to the US after she and her former boyfriend were cleared on appeal of the murder of the British student Meredith Kercher four years ago. Knox, now 24, sobbed as the panel of judges delivered their verdict in a Perugia courtroom, ruling that she and Raffaele Sollecito should have their convictions overturned and ending a lengthy legal saga throughout which both maintained their innocence. Prosecutors had claimed the pair and Rudy Guede, an Ivory Coast-born drifter, pressured Kercher into participating in a drug-fuelled sex game that culminated in murder. Guede, who was jailed for 16 years, is now the only person convicted over the killing. Following her formal release from the Perugia prison where she has lived the past four years, Knox spent the night with her family in Rome. Later on Tuesday, she will board a scheduled flight back to her home city of Seattle. Awaiting her is an uncertain future, expected to begin with negotiations over a lucrative TV interview and memoir about her experiences. And while US opinion has been significantly more supportive of the former language student than in Italy, where Knox has been variously portrayed by prosecutors and the media as a sex-obsessed temptress, a witch and a “she-devil”, resuming any semblance of normal life will be difficult. A friend and supporter of Knox, Corrado Maria Daclon, who heads a foundation that has championed her cause, said the Knox wanted to “reconnect with her family, take possession of her life”. The decision dismayed the family of Kercher, the 21-year-old student from Coulsdon, south London, found partly clothed with her throat cut, at the apartment she shared with Knox and others on 1 November 2007. Kercher’s parents and siblings had previously promised to respect the appeal court’s ruling, but her father, John, who did not attend the hearing, said afterwards that it was “ludicrous”. “How can they ignore all the other evidence? I thought the judge might play it safe and uphold the conviction but reduce the sentence. But this result is crazy,” he told the Daily Mirror . “There were 47 wounds on Meredith and two knives used. One person couldn’t possibly have done that. What happens now? Does that mean the police need to look for more killers? It makes a mockery of the original trial. We are all shocked, we could understand them reducing the sentence but completely freeing them, wow.” Amid the media frenzy over Knox and Sollecito, people should consider the feelings of the Kerchers, David Cameron told ITV1′s Daybreak programme. “I haven’t followed every part of this case but what I would say is that we should be thinking of the family of Meredith Kercher because those parents
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Gunmen attacked a bus carrying Shiite Muslims in south-western Pakistan, killing 12 people and injuring six others Gunmen opened fire on Shiite Muslims travelling through south-western Pakistan on a bus on Tuesday, killing 12 people and wounding six others in the latest apparent sectarian attack to plague the country, police said. The gunmen were riding on motorbikes and stopped a bus carrying mostly Shiite Muslims who were headed to work at a vegetable market on the outskirts of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, said police. The attackers forced the people off the bus, made them stand in a line and then opened fire, said police officer Hamid Shakeel. The dead included 11 Shiites and one Sunni, he said. The wounded included four Shiites and two Sunnis. Local TV footage showed relatives wailing at the hospital where the dead and wounded were brought. Shiites blocked the main highway on the outskirts of Quetta to protest the killings and set fire to the bus that took the dead and wounded to the hospital. Sunni militants with ideological and operational links to al-Qaida and the Taliban have carried out scores of bombings and shootings against minority Shiites in recent years, but the past couple weeks have been particularly bloody. Sunni extremists carried out a similar attack on Shiite pilgrims travelling through Baluchistan about two weeks ago, killing 26 people. Pakistan is a majority Sunni Muslim state, with around 15% Shiite. Most Sunnis and Shiites live together peacefully in Pakistan, though tensions have existed for decades. In the 1980s and 1990s, Pakistan became the scene of a proxy war between mostly Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia, with both sides funnelling money to sectarian groups that regularly targeted each other. The level of sectarian violence has declined somewhat since then, but attacks continue. In recent years, Sunni attacks on Shiites have been far more common. The groups have been energised by al-Qaida and the Taliban, which are also Sunni and share the belief that Shiites are infidels and it is permissible to kill them. The Sunni-Shiite schism over the true heir to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad dates back to the seventh century. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, one of the country’s most ruthless Sunni militant groups, claimed responsibility for the attack in Baluchistan two weeks ago. One of its alleged leaders, Malik Ishaq, was released from prison on bail in July after being held for 14 years on charges, never proven, of killing Shiites. Ishaq was re-arrested about a week ago after making inflammatory speeches against Shiites in the country. He was not charged but detained under a public order act, which means he can be held for three months. It’s not clear if Ishaq’s speeches have been connected to the recent wave of sectarian attacks. Pakistan guardian.co.uk
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Whalers will have heightened security after last year’s season was marred by clashes with activists Japan will go ahead with its whaling me in the Antarctic later this year under heightened security to fend off activists who have vowed to disrupt the annual hunt, the country’s fisheries minister said Tuesday. Japan’s whale hunts have become increasingly tense in recent years because of clashes with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. The most recent expedition was cut short after several high-seas confrontations, and it was unclear whether the hunt would be held at all this year. But fisheries minister Michihiko Kano said that measures would be taken to ensure the whalers’ safety, and that the hunt would go ahead. It is expected to begin in December. “We intend to carry out the research after enhancing measures to assure that it is not obstructed,” he said. Commercial whaling has been banned since 1986, but Japan conducts whale hunts in the Antarctic and the north-western Pacific under an exception that allows limited kills for research purposes. Japan’s government claims the research is needed to provide data on whale populations so that the international ban on commercial whaling can be re-examined – and, Japan hopes, lifted – based on scientific studies. Opponents say the programme is a guise for keeping Japan’s dwindling whaling industry alive. The Sea Shepherd group, which is already rallying to block the upcoming hunt, has been particularly dogged in its efforts to stop the kills. Last year’s season was marred by repeated incidents with Sea Shepherd vessels, one of which sank after colliding with a Japanese ship. The boat’s captain, New Zealander Peter Bethune, was later arrested when he boarded a whaling ship from a jet ski, and brought back to Japan for trial. He was convicted of assault, vandalism and three other charges and given a suspended prison term. Bethune has since returned to New Zealand. Sea Shepherd recently announced that it is calling its effort to obstruct the December expedition “Operation Divine Wind” – a reference to the “kamikaze” suicide missions carried out by the Japanese military in World War II. Though vilified by anti-whaling organisations around the world, the government’s strong pro-whaling position has the support of the Japanese public, according to an AP poll conducted in July and August which found that 52% favour it, with 35% neutral and 13% opposed. Once a common item on school lunch menus, whale meat can be found in stores and restaurants in Japan. But, because of its relatively high price, it is generally regarded as a gourmet food by the public. Japan Whales Activism Marine life Protest guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Whalers will have heightened security after last year’s season was marred by clashes with activists Japan will go ahead with its whaling me in the Antarctic later this year under heightened security to fend off activists who have vowed to disrupt the annual hunt, the country’s fisheries minister said Tuesday. Japan’s whale hunts have become increasingly tense in recent years because of clashes with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. The most recent expedition was cut short after several high-seas confrontations, and it was unclear whether the hunt would be held at all this year. But fisheries minister Michihiko Kano said that measures would be taken to ensure the whalers’ safety, and that the hunt would go ahead. It is expected to begin in December. “We intend to carry out the research after enhancing measures to assure that it is not obstructed,” he said. Commercial whaling has been banned since 1986, but Japan conducts whale hunts in the Antarctic and the north-western Pacific under an exception that allows limited kills for research purposes. Japan’s government claims the research is needed to provide data on whale populations so that the international ban on commercial whaling can be re-examined – and, Japan hopes, lifted – based on scientific studies. Opponents say the programme is a guise for keeping Japan’s dwindling whaling industry alive. The Sea Shepherd group, which is already rallying to block the upcoming hunt, has been particularly dogged in its efforts to stop the kills. Last year’s season was marred by repeated incidents with Sea Shepherd vessels, one of which sank after colliding with a Japanese ship. The boat’s captain, New Zealander Peter Bethune, was later arrested when he boarded a whaling ship from a jet ski, and brought back to Japan for trial. He was convicted of assault, vandalism and three other charges and given a suspended prison term. Bethune has since returned to New Zealand. Sea Shepherd recently announced that it is calling its effort to obstruct the December expedition “Operation Divine Wind” – a reference to the “kamikaze” suicide missions carried out by the Japanese military in World War II. Though vilified by anti-whaling organisations around the world, the government’s strong pro-whaling position has the support of the Japanese public, according to an AP poll conducted in July and August which found that 52% favour it, with 35% neutral and 13% opposed. Once a common item on school lunch menus, whale meat can be found in stores and restaurants in Japan. But, because of its relatively high price, it is generally regarded as a gourmet food by the public. Japan Whales Activism Marine life Protest guardian.co.uk
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Finance ministers put off until next month any decision to give the green light for a further €8bn bailout for Greece Eurozone finance ministers have put off until next month any decision to give the green light for a further €8bn bailout for Greece despite recognising that the Athens government had made some considerable progress in slashing the country’s debts. Jean-Claude Juncker, Eurogroup chairman, repeatedly made plain early on Tuesday that none of the eurozone countries was urging a Greek default and categorically denied that there was any question of Greece leaving the euro area. In a move certain to disappoint markets, the 17 finance ministers sent signals they had no intention of agreeing to reboot the zone’s rescue fund of €440bn closer to the €2tn or more demanded by leading investors and analysts. EU officials reiterated that there was “no Plan B”. But Juncker and Olli Rehn, the EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner, indicated that ministers had for the first time discussed measures to improve the bailout fund’s efficiency and effectiveness in order to raise its firepower – code for raising the guarantees it needs for buying up more government bonds in the secondary market. Juncker said: “We consider that we should by no means increase the fund’s financial volume.” He dropped a broad hint that private bondholders would be forced to pay more than the 21% “haircut” agreed at the 21 July meeting that increased the fund’s volume and approved the second €109bn bailout for Greece – ascribing that to “technical” reasons. Juncker and Rehn recognised Greece had made strides towards overcoming its debts and budget deficit but said that the Athens government had to be stricter about structural reforms and more ambitious in implementing privatisations. It emerged that the ministers will be asked to approve the fresh €8bn aid as late as at a new meeting on 13 November once inspectors from the troika of European commission, European Central Bank and IMF have given their latest – and delayed – progress report on compliance. Juncker insisted that Greece could meet all its financial obligations – and suggested the new tranche of aid would be paid out in November. After the Greek cabinet sent the euro and stock markets plunging on Monday by admitting on Sunday the country would not meet its target budget deficit this year or next, Evangelos Venizelos, had sought to win favours by insisting that the new budget was “very ambitious”. Entering Monday night’s talks, he declared that the intention was to present “for the first time after many years” a primary surplus of €3.2bn next year compared with a deficit of €29bn only two years ago. He said the fiscal consolidation had been “very strong and very fast.” On Sunday Greece said its deficit would be 8.5% of GDP this year compared with a target of 7.6% and 6.8% in 2012 compared with a target of 6.5% but Venizelos insisted it had taken “all the necessary and difficult measures to fulfil its obligations”. He said: “Greece is a country with structural difficulties but Greece is not the scapegoat of the eurozone.” Even so, anxieties about a Greek default sent the euro to a 10-year low against the yen and a nine-month low against the US dollar. The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, meanwhile said he would meet the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, in Berlin on Sunday for talks on “ways and means to accelerate the economic integration of the eurozone economy”. Ostensibly, the eurozone’s two most powerful political figures are preparing the way for the crucial summit of the 17 member countries that will take place on 18 October or a day after a summit of all 27 EU countries, including the UK. But the talks are bound to raise market hopes that the pair will come up with an outline plan for substantially increasing the scope of the European financial stability facility (EFSF) that can be put to the eurozone summit without necessarily boosting its funds. Slovakia assured ministers that its parliament would endorse the enhanced EFSF by 14 October. Christian Noyer, Bank of France governor, indicated he was open to a scheme that would allow the EFSF to be leveraged – most likely by increasing the guarantees it can rely on to buy up more bonds and make bigger precautionary loans to countries suspected of being in trouble. European debt crisis Financial crisis Luxembourg Euro Europe Greece Global recession Banking David Gow guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Finance ministers put off until next month any decision to give the green light for a further €8bn bailout for Greece Eurozone finance ministers have put off until next month any decision to give the green light for a further €8bn bailout for Greece despite recognising that the Athens government had made some considerable progress in slashing the country’s debts. Jean-Claude Juncker, Eurogroup chairman, repeatedly made plain early on Tuesday that none of the eurozone countries was urging a Greek default and categorically denied that there was any question of Greece leaving the euro area. In a move certain to disappoint markets, the 17 finance ministers sent signals they had no intention of agreeing to reboot the zone’s rescue fund of €440bn closer to the €2tn or more demanded by leading investors and analysts. EU officials reiterated that there was “no Plan B”. But Juncker and Olli Rehn, the EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner, indicated that ministers had for the first time discussed measures to improve the bailout fund’s efficiency and effectiveness in order to raise its firepower – code for raising the guarantees it needs for buying up more government bonds in the secondary market. Juncker said: “We consider that we should by no means increase the fund’s financial volume.” He dropped a broad hint that private bondholders would be forced to pay more than the 21% “haircut” agreed at the 21 July meeting that increased the fund’s volume and approved the second €109bn bailout for Greece – ascribing that to “technical” reasons. Juncker and Rehn recognised Greece had made strides towards overcoming its debts and budget deficit but said that the Athens government had to be stricter about structural reforms and more ambitious in implementing privatisations. It emerged that the ministers will be asked to approve the fresh €8bn aid as late as at a new meeting on 13 November once inspectors from the troika of European commission, European Central Bank and IMF have given their latest – and delayed – progress report on compliance. Juncker insisted that Greece could meet all its financial obligations – and suggested the new tranche of aid would be paid out in November. After the Greek cabinet sent the euro and stock markets plunging on Monday by admitting on Sunday the country would not meet its target budget deficit this year or next, Evangelos Venizelos, had sought to win favours by insisting that the new budget was “very ambitious”. Entering Monday night’s talks, he declared that the intention was to present “for the first time after many years” a primary surplus of €3.2bn next year compared with a deficit of €29bn only two years ago. He said the fiscal consolidation had been “very strong and very fast.” On Sunday Greece said its deficit would be 8.5% of GDP this year compared with a target of 7.6% and 6.8% in 2012 compared with a target of 6.5% but Venizelos insisted it had taken “all the necessary and difficult measures to fulfil its obligations”. He said: “Greece is a country with structural difficulties but Greece is not the scapegoat of the eurozone.” Even so, anxieties about a Greek default sent the euro to a 10-year low against the yen and a nine-month low against the US dollar. The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, meanwhile said he would meet the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, in Berlin on Sunday for talks on “ways and means to accelerate the economic integration of the eurozone economy”. Ostensibly, the eurozone’s two most powerful political figures are preparing the way for the crucial summit of the 17 member countries that will take place on 18 October or a day after a summit of all 27 EU countries, including the UK. But the talks are bound to raise market hopes that the pair will come up with an outline plan for substantially increasing the scope of the European financial stability facility (EFSF) that can be put to the eurozone summit without necessarily boosting its funds. Slovakia assured ministers that its parliament would endorse the enhanced EFSF by 14 October. Christian Noyer, Bank of France governor, indicated he was open to a scheme that would allow the EFSF to be leveraged – most likely by increasing the guarantees it can rely on to buy up more bonds and make bigger precautionary loans to countries suspected of being in trouble. European debt crisis Financial crisis Luxembourg Euro Europe Greece Global recession Banking David Gow guardian.co.uk
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