Clements Ribeiro, Maria Grachvogel, Julien Macdonald and Jaeger kick off Spring/Summer 2012 at London Fashion Week
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Fractious meeting of finance ministers sees Europeans vow to push on with tax to bolster rescue funds despite UK objections European leaders vowed to press ahead with plans for a new tax on financial transactions to bolster EU rescue funds, despite objections from Britain and the US. France, Germany and Austria said a tax on financial transactions could raise billions of euros to support a Greek bailout, but opposition from the chancellor, George Osborne, and the US treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, undermined progress. The row added further tension to an already fractious meeting of finance ministers in Wroclaw, Poland, which failed to achieve a consensus among EU countries on how to prevent a Greek default. “There are very considerable divisions,” said Jacek Rostowski, the Polish finance minister who was chairing the meeting, commenting on the transaction tax. “It obviously raises a lot of emotions.” On Friday Geithner told European leaders to stop “loose talk” that was damaging the eurozone and bringing “catastrophic risk” to the global markets. Geithner is reported to have said that divisions were “very damaging”. “Governments and central banks have to take out the catastrophic risk from markets … [and avoid] loose talk about dismantling the institutions of the euro,” he added. “What is very damaging from the outside is not the divisiveness about the broader debate, about strategy, but about the ongoing conflict between governments and the central bank, and you need both to work together to do what is essential to the resolution of any crisis,” he said, according to the Dow Jones news agency. The eurozone ministers have been discussing how to end the crisis in Greece that is threatening to engulf Europe. They agreed to delay a decision on Greece’s next bailout loan as part of a complicated political game designed to appease voters in countries sceptical of Greece’s claims that it is doing everything it can to comply with the austerity measures. They also extended the timetable for approval for the new expanded bailout rescue fund of €440bn (£385bn), which many economists believe is not enough to cover the possibility of several countries defaulting on debt. The head of Germany’s Bundesbank, Jens Weidmann, told reporters on Saturday: “The current economic pessimism is exaggerated.” Weidmann said “the growth slowdown” being experienced in Europe and America was mainly based on “temporary facts” such as “supply chain interruptions in Japan” in the aftermath of the earthquake and the high oil prices due to the conflict in Libya and elsewhere in the Middle East. Euro European Union Economics Economic policy George Osborne Financial crisis Global recession Banking Greece Europe Phillip Inman guardian.co.uk
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Nato disputes the claim from former Libyan dictator’s spokesman that strikes hit a residential building and hotel in Sirte The ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has claimed that Nato air strikes have killed 354 people and injured hundreds more in his home town of Sirte. A spokesman for Gaddafi told Reuters that the air strikes had hit a residential building and a hotel, but these reports could not be verified as the town has been largely cut off from communication. Nato disputed the claim, saying it was aware of the allegations but that its targets were military. “We are aware of these allegations,” Colonel Roland Lavoie, spokesman for the western military alliance, said in Brussels. “It is not the first time such allegations have been made. Most often, they are revealed to be unfounded or inconclusive.” Gaddafi’s spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, claimed the former Libyan dictator was still in Libya and was personally directing the fighting in Sirte and in Bani Walid, another loyalist stronghold. In a call from a satellite phone to the Reuters office in Tunis, he said: “Nato attacked the city of Sirte last night with more than 30 rockets directed at the city’s main hotel and the Tamin building, which consists of more than 90 residential flats. “The result is more than 354 dead and 89 still missing and almost 700 injured in one night.” Anti-Gaddafi fighters faced fierce resistance in both towns on Friday and were struggling on Saturday to regroup for renewed attacks on Bani Walid, a mountain town about 90 miles southeast of Tripoli. The fighters withdrew on Friday after facing sniper fire and shelling from loyalist units holding strategic positions above the valley entrance to the town. The anti-Gaddafi forces had entered the Bani Walid a week ago but failed to make the decisive strike they had hoped. Families are fleeing the town during the lull in the combat. Libya Muammar Gaddafi guardian.co.uk
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• Hit F5 for the latest or use or auto-refresh button below • Click here for all the latest scores • Email paolo.bandini@guardian.co.uk or tweet @Paolo_Bandini 4.30pm: “Have I been laid off? Is that what you’re trying to subtly tell me by referring to me as ‘Paul Dole’?” demands my colleague at Villa Park Paul Doyle. Nope, it seems I just can’t type. The offending mistake has now been amended. 4.27pm: Middlesbrough look set to be the only unbeaten team left in the Championship – Marvin Emnes has just put them 1-0 up at Crystal Palace, while Brighton are losing 1-0 at Leicester. 4.25pm: Hmm. Dean Lewington has just equalised for MK Dons at home to Huddersfield, making it 1-1, but I’ve just received an email that our man in Milton Keynes, John Ashdown, sent when it was still 0-1. I’m going to use it anyway. “Not sure if you’re particularly interested in what’s happening here at Stadium MK? You are! Well, that’s lovely. In short, Huddersfield look a team ready for the Championship, are 1-0 up and could be two or three clear. In other news, the tea in the press room has been nothing short of exceptional. Sandwiches a mixed bag – cheese and pickle was poor, but the beef and horseradish very good.” 4.24pm: “Not surprised Newcastle equalised – they deserve it,” reports our man at Villa Park, Paul Doyle. “Not surprised by the manner of the goal either – Cheik Tiote’s cross to Best eluded Richard Dunne, who must surely be knackered after his exertions against Australia earlier today. He did play in that, didn’t he?” 4.23pm: Might we have spoken too soon (OK, fine, might I have spoken to soon) about the prospect of all three newly-promoted sides winning. Martin Petrov slots home a penalty to reduce the arrears for the home side. Bolton 1-2 Norwich. 4.21pm: “I don’t watch Spanish football (although I hear Barcelona are quite good) but I think Gary Naylor might have a point,” opines Ryan Dunne, in response to this pre-kick-off email . “Surely Zlatan’s replacement, Villa, is fairly adaptable to a fluid, 4-6-0 interchangeable in a way that the Kung Fu Swedish Genius was not? Although Craig Levein’s attempts at 4-6-0 were surely more sub Walternaccio than the stuff of Spalletti’s Roma, and I doubt that Moyes has embraced the formation out of idealism.” 4.19pm: Royston Drenthe – or ‘Drenchler’ – as Paul Merson just called him on Sky Sports News, is about to come on for his Everton debut. 4.16pm: Aston Villa and Newcastle could yet both finish the day unbeaten. Leon Best notches his third goal of the season to make it Aston Villa 1-1 Newcastle , slamming the ball in from close range. 4.14pm: Stewart Drummond has extended League Two leaders Morecambe’s advantage at Dagenham & Redbridge, where they now lead 2-0. 4.12pm: Apparently this would be the first time since February 2007 that all three newly promoted sides won on the same day. Well, that’s what the stats bods at Infrostrada Live are saying on Twitter, anyway. 4.09pm: “That is a bit disingenuous,” notes a person named Chiswick (or maybe the email was actually the communal work of the London suburb) in response to Nicholas’s email on the subject of Nigerian goalscorers . “Victor Anichebe doesn’t score anyway …” 4.07pm: Time for some furious face rubbing on the away bench at the Liberty Stadium, methinks. It’s now Swansea 3-0 West Brom , Nathan Dyer taking advantage of a Leroy Lita flick-on to extend the home side’s lead. 4.03pm: Since tweeting pre-match that he had been left out by Everton , Louis Saha has remained hooked up to his social networking tools. He’s now conversing with an apparent fan who responded to his earlier messages by calling him a “spoilt prick”. “im spoil in life but does not give u the right to insult me,” notes Saha. 3.59pm: “I predict Peter Odemwingie is going to have a truly horrid day,” writes Nicholas. “Its the Yakubu hex, you see. Whenever he scores, no other Nigerian in the Premier League does! Just ask Victor Anichebe or Kanu. This fact is ably supported by me very own oracle. Peter the snail. A less humbling mollusc than Paul the octopus but prophet all the same.” Is there any truth in this at all? Who wants to go back through the records? 3.57pm: There were fears earlier this afternoon that Wolves’s match against QPR would not be able to go ahead due to a power cut at Molineux , but if the home fans are wishing now that the game had been postponed, perhaps they’ll be cheered by the appearance of Beverley Knight on the pitch at half-time to sing them a tune. Or perhaps that will make things much, much worse. 3.55pm: Right, this is how things stand at half-time around the country. Premier League Blackburn 4-3 Arsenal (FT) Everton 1-1 Wigan Swansea 2-0 West Brom Bolton 0-2 Norwich Aston Villa 1-0 Newcastle Wolves 0-2 QPR Championship Millwall 0-0 West Ham (FT) Nottingham Forest 1-2 Derby (FT) Leicester 0-0 Brighton Crystal Palace 0-0 Middlesbrough Hull 1-0 Portsmouth Peterborough 2-0 Burnley Reading 0-0 Doncaster Rovers Barnsley 0-1 Watford Leeds 1-1 Bristol City Blackpool 0-0 Cardiff League One Stevenage 0-1 Notts County Chesterfield 2-1 Carlisle Yeovil Town 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday Brentford 1-2 Preston Exeter 0-1 Bournemouth Sheffield United 2-0 Colchester Walsall 1-0 Scunthorpe Hartlepool 1-0 Bury Rochdale 0-2 Charlton Tranmere 1-0 Wycombe Leyton Orient 1-0 Oldham MK Dons 0-1 Huddersfield League Two Port Vale 2-3 Shrewsbury (FT) Dagenham 0-0 Morecambe Barnet 0-2 Oxford United Hereford 0-3 Gillingham Accrington 0-2 Crewe Alexandra Macclesfield 1-1 Northampton Crawley Town 0-1 Bradford Torquay United 2-3 Rotherham AFC Wimbledon 2-0 Cheltenham Burton Albion 1-0 Swindon Bristol Rovers 0-1 Aldershot Southend 0-0 Plymouth Argyle 3.48pm: In fact, there’s half-time whistles going everywhere now, as you would probably expect a little bit more than 45 minutes after kick-off. Round-up of the scores coming up … 3.47pm: Half-time at Villa Park: Aston Villa 1-0 Newcastle. 3.46pm: And if that wasn’t bad enough for Bolton, they’re now down to ten men, as Klasnic is sent off for headbutting Morison . 3.43pm: This day just gets better if you’re a fan exclusively of teams who have just been promoted to the Premier League in the last summer. If you’re a fan exclusively of teams who finished 14th in the table last year, though, it’s not going well. It’s now Bolton 0-2 Norwich , as Bradley Johnson directs David Fox’s cross past Jussi Jaaskelainen. 3.42pm: Some maths to ponder from FourFourTwo’s James Maw on Twitter: “Aguero = 1 goal every 41 mins. Lita = 1 goal every 63 minutes. By my maths that means Lita is worth roughly £25.3 million.” 3.39pm: Time to squeeze in a quick League One update, as MK Dons go 1-0 down at home to Huddersfield. Meantime, here’s Jon Hegglund: “Early morning greetings from the Pacific Northwest! After watching Monday’s match v Newcastle and this first half v Wolves, are the beefed-up QPR playing the most attractive football in London right now? And, no, I haven’t forgotten about that other blue & white side.” 3.37pm: Well, well, well – all three newly-promoted sides are now in front. Steve Morison’s clever pass and decoy run allow Anthony Pilkington to sweeps the ball in and give Norwich a 1-0 lead at Bolton . 3.36pm: Here’s some betting advice from our man at Villa Park, Paul Doyle. “”For anyone who likes to bet in-running, I’d suggest having a punt on Newcastle if the odds are decent: Villa are in front here but the visitors have played the better stuff and are looking dangerous. Villa still threatening on the counter, mind.” 3.35pm: Well that didn’t last long did it? Phil Jagielka heads in from close range to make it Everton 1-1 Wigan . 3.33pm: Oh dear. Everton had been comfortably on top at Goodison Park but it is Wigan who take the lead, Franco Di Santo making it Everton 0-1 Wigan . 3.32pm: For what it’s worth, Leroy Lita followed his goal for Swansea by getting booked for taking his shirt off. On the one hand, that’s plainly silly. On the other hand, I’m quite aware that if I had the physique of a top-flight professional footballer I probably wouldn’t ever put on shirts in the first place, so I shan’t complain. 3.31pm: “I’ll be walking from my flat, in North London, to a train station to get on a train that will, a mere six minutes later, stop at Drayton Park station, from where you can see the Emirates Stadium,” declares Ade Cooper, as AFC Wimbledon go 1-0 up against Cheltenham. “I’m a Spurs fan though so I probably won’t bother with much of a protest. However, if any Arsenal fans would like to add another calamitous French centreback to their ranks, I’d be happy to try and smuggle Younes Kaboul into the ground.” 3.28pm: Well Aston Villa should now be two goals up, but Darren Bent just swept his shot wide of the post with the whole goal at his mercy. Newcastle’s unbeaten start looking shaky. 3.27pm: “To all those fellow Wolves fans who think I’m pessimistic: See? See?” wails Kevin Porter. “As Woody Allen says ‘Most of the time I don’t have much fun, the rest of the time I have no fun at all’. Two-nil down at home to yet another London side. Complete misery. What a horrible start to the season.” 3.24pm: Insert your own “waiting for a bus” line here folks, because Swansea’s first Premier League goal has been followed swiftly by a second. Leroy Lita makes it Swansea 2-0 West Brom at the Liberty Stadium. 3.23pm: And now dipping back into League One, Danny Hollands has given Charlton the lead away to Rochdale with a header. In a similarly dramatic development, I have just changed the picture on this story. 3.20pm: Sheffield United are now 2-0 up at home to Colchester in League One, and cruising nicely. In the Championship, Hull lead Portsmouth 1-0, Peterborough are up by the same margin against Burnley and Leeds v Bristol City is all square at a goal apiece. All the rest in that division are goalless. 3.18pm: “I’m watching Wolves/QPR which promises to be a scrappy, open game,” declares Christopher Price who certainly got the second part right. “Anyway, would you be willing to lead a march in North London from a pub that you would be at anyway to a game you would be going to anyway to urge Wenger to hire a coach for Arsenal’s defence? Our attack was actually pretty good today, but the defence scored almost as many goals as our attack and Mertesacker and Sagna seemed to be the only ones who knew what they were doing. I would try to organise a protest but I’m in Indiana.” Well, I’ll be walking from the Guardian’s offices (in North London) to a tube station later on. Not sure I’d call it a march, mind. 3.15pm: And there it is at last! Swansea have their first ever Premier League goal, Scott Sinclair crashing home a penalty after Paul Scharner had brought down Joe Allen in the box. Swansea 1-0 West Brom . 3.12pm: And now one at Villa Park, where Gabby Agbonlahor, fresh from explaining that Gérard Houllier is to football what James Corden is to intelligent debate, has proved just how rejuvenated he is under Alex McLeish by making it Aston Villa 1-0 Newcastle . 3.10pm: Crikey – make that Wolves 0-2 QPR . Alejandro Faurlin crashes one in on the half-volley from a short way outside the box, and Hennessey is beaten. I dare say we may have found the match that Ms Peters should be watching. 3.08pm: First Premier League goal of the 3pm kick-offs and it’s Wolves 0-1 QPR . The newly appointed captain Joey Barton is the man who provides it, though it’s hardly one for the scrapbook. Adel Taraabt’s cross comes over from the right to Shaun Wright-Phillips on the far side, where the winger makes a horrible mess of his attempted shot. The ball bobbles across to Joey Barton, who also miscues his effort, but somehow succeeds in scuffing it into the bottom left corner. 3.06pm: Sheffield United are off to a quick start in League One – Ched Evans extending Colchester’s run without a clean sheet to 16 games. 3.03pm: Full-time in League Two: Port Vale 2-3 Shrewsbury. 3.02pm: “Which game should i watch for the 3pm kickoff?” asks Diane Peters. “I’m in amsterdam, so i can watch any one of them, but i can’t decide which!” I’ll throw this open to the readers – who wants to make the first pitch? 3pm: Away we go then, but only after a short silence at Swansea City’s Liberty Stadium – in honour of both the miners who died at Gleision Colliery this week, as well the manager Brendan Rodgers’ late father. 2.59pm: Full-time in the second Championship early kick-off: Nottingham Forest 1-2 Derby. Derby on 10 men from the second minute, too. 2.56pm: Here’s Gary Naylor with the alternative viewpoint on David Moyes’s latest tactical innovations. “I like Everton’s 4-6-0 and it delivered two goals last time out,” he notes. “I know I’m coming over all Jonathan Wilson, but goals, at least attempts to force goals, are over-rated. Barcelona look rather better without Zlatan than they did with him, don’t they?” Take your broader point but the Ibrahimovic point has me baffled. They replaced him with another goalscorer and as far as I can see spend a great deal of their time trying to connect ball with net. 2.50pm: Apologies, while I was digging up that team news I’ve failed to tell you that Ben Williamson has got one back for Port Vale, who now trail 2-3 at home to Shrewsbury, while Derby – down to 10 men from the second minute, have taken the lead away to Nottingham Forest through Jeff Hendrick. 2.48pm: And last of the Premier League team news, here’s Aston Villa v Newcastle. Barry Bannan, as expected, replaces the injured Emile Heskey for Villa while Demba Ba replaces Shola Ameobi up front for Newcastle. Aston Villa: Given, Hutton, Collins, Dunne, Warnock, Bannan, Petrov, Delph, N’Zogbia, Bent, Agbonlahor. Subs: Guzan, Ireland, Albrighton, Delfouneso, Herd, Lowry, Gardner. Newcastle: Krul, Simpson, Steven Taylor, Coloccini, Ryan Taylor, Obertan, Cabaye, Tiote, Gutierrez, Best, Ba. Subs: Elliot, Guthrie, Lovenkrands, Perch, Marveaux, Shola Ameobi, Sammy Ameobi. Referee: Neil Swarbrick (Lancashire) 2.43pm: Six changes for Norwich ahead of their game at Bolton, to include the returns of the captain Wes Hoolahan up front and John Ruddy in goal. Owen Coyle rewards David Ngog and Gael Kakuta for their efforts in the reserves this week by giving each a place on the bench, but Tuncay goes straight into the starting line-up. Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Boyata, Cahill, Knight, Robinson, Tuncay, Pratley, Reo-Coker, Petrov, Kevin Davies, Klasnic. Subs: Bogdan, Muamba, Eagles, Mark Davies, Ngog, Kakuta, Wheater. Norwich: Ruddy, Naughton, Russell Martin, Barnett, Tierney, Bennett, Fox, Bradley Johnson, Pilkington, Hoolahan, Morison. Subs: Rudd, Crofts, Vaughan, Holt, Surman, Chris Martin, De Laet. Referee: Howard Webb (England) 2.41pm: Matt Jarvis returns for Wolves as they take on QPR at Molineux, while the visitors are unchanged from their 0-0 draw with Newcastle on Monday night. Wolverhampton: Hennessey, Stearman, Johnson, Berra, Elokobi, Kightly, Henry, O’Hara, Jarvis, Ward, Doyle. Subs: De Vries, Hunt, Vokes, Hammill, Milijas, Foley, Guedioura. QPR: Kenny, Young, Gabbidon, Ferdinand, Traore, Barton, Derry, Faurlin, Wright-Phillips, Bothroyd, Taarabt. Subs: Murphy, Hall, Campbell, Buzsaky, Connolly, Smith, Puncheon. Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire) 2.39pm: Full-time: Blackburn 4-3 Arsenal. 2.36pm: As anticipated, Swansea captain Garry Monk is back from injury to make his first Premier League appearance for the club. West Brom bring in Craig Dawson to replace the suspended Tamas in defence. Swansea: Vorm, Rangel, Williams, Monk, Taylor, Dyer, Britton, Allen, Gower, Sinclair, Lita. Subs: Tremmel, Dobbie, Routledge, Moore, Bessone, Richards, Lucas. West Brom: Foster, Reid, Olsson, Mulumbu, Shorey, Morrison, Dawson, Scharner, Thomas, Long, Odemwingie. Subs: Fulop, Brunt, Dorrans, McAuley, Jones, Cox, Fortune. Referee: Martin Atkinson (England) 2.32pm: In fact, Arsenal had a bit of a habit of giving up more goals than shots on target in 2001, as Oliver Haine notes on Twitter. “Arsenal 0-3 Middlesbrough 14th April 2001. Boro one shot on target”. 2.29pm: Marouane Chamakh has pulled one back for Arsenal at Ewood Park, they now trail 4-3. 2.27pm: At last – the team news you’ve really been waiting for. Tonbridge Angels: Worgan, Beecroft, Heath, Kinch, Judge, Miles, Taylor, Storey, Ade Olorunda, Collin, Browning. Subs: Jones, Walder, Henry, Kember, Main. Salisbury: Gough, Ruddick, Brett, Adelsbury, Hart, Giles, Kelly, Clarke, Fitchett, Reid, Casey. Subs: Stockford, Wright, Knight, Herbert, Smith. Referee: N Lugg (England) 2.26pm: Full-time at The Den, where it has finished Millwall 0-0 West Ham . 2.20pm: Aha – some team news at last. As anticipated, Saha does not feature in Everton’s line-up to face Wigan. “Seems Moyes thinks Tim Cahill is a centre forward now,” notes Martin Cooke, before expressing his feelings on the manager with a word I probably shouldn’t print. have to say I do think it’s a questionable move – while Cahill clearly knows where the goal is, personally I think it’s a huge asset to have a midfielder who can contribute goals like he does, so by moving him forward you’ve effectively taken that away. Everton: Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Coleman, Fellaini, Rodwell, Bilyaletdinov, Osman, Cahill. Subs: Mucha, Heitinga, Drenthe, Stracqualursi, Neville, Barkley, Vellios. Wigan: Al Habsi, Van Aanholt, Caldwell, Lopez, Figueroa, Gomez, Watson, McCarthy, Moses, Di Santo, Rodallega. Subs: Pollitt, Thomas, Crusat, Maloney, McArthur, Sammon, Jones. 2.16pm: This Blackburn Arsenal game rather reminds me of a 4-2 defeat the Gunners suffered at home to Charlton Athletic back in 2001 . If memory serves, Charlton had less shots on target than goals that day, with Richard Wright punching spectacularly into his own net for one of their games. So far today, Blackburn have had three shots on target, yet four goals. 2.14pm: Blackburn now lead 4-2 against Arsenal , Laurent Koscielny recording the visitors’ second away goal of the afternoon. Oh dear. Meanwhile, Lionel Ainsworth has extended Shrewsbury’s lead to 3-1 at Port Vale. 2.12pm: Well, it’s still not official team news, but a look at the Twitter account of Louis Saha suggests he won’t be making the starting XI for Everton at home to Wigan this afternoon. Here are his last three tweets: 23 minutes ago: What can i say. Absolutely destroy me. #gutted. Good luck to the lads 14 minutes ago: Just not good enough. 9 minutes ago: I am not good enough. #Absolutelydestroyed 2.07pm: Still waiting for the first whiff of Premier League team news, but Blackburn v Arsenal is not the only early kick-off taking place in England this afternoon. In the Championship Millwall v West Ham is still goalless, while Nottingham Forest and Derby are also level at 1-1. In League Two, meanwhile, Shrewsbury are 2-1 up away to Port Vale. 2.03pm: Blackburn now lead 3-2 against Arsenal, Yakubu with the 59th minute goal to put them in front. Again, you’re better off joining Rob Smyth for that one though . 2.02pm: Actually, before I go find that team news, a quick plug for the fact that I’ll also be providing minute-by-minute coverage of Inter v Roma in Serie A from 7.45pm this evening right here on this very site. Probably better cancel those Saturday night plans you had now, eh? 2pm: Afternoon folks. Blackburn and Arsenal are level at 2-2 in the early game, which you can follow right this second with Rob Smyth , but shortly it will be time to turn our attention to the 3pm kick-offs. There might only be five of those – you can blame the Europa League for that – but it’s more than enough to throw up some intriguing questions. Who will prevail in the battle of the unbeaten sides at Villa Park? Can Swansea finally get their first Premier League goal against a West Brom team who have kept just two clean sheets in 17 games under Roy Hodgsoon? Will Neil Warnock make Mick McCarthy clean his boots again ? Anyway, back in a tick with some team news, but in the meantime here’s the full list of 3pm games: Aston Villa v Newcastle Bolton v Norwich Everton v Wigan Swansea v West Brom Wolverhampton v QPR Premier League Premier League 2011-12 Paolo Bandini guardian.co.uk
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English-speaking youth found in Berlin after claiming he lived in forest for five years with recently deceased father British consular staff are working with police in Berlin trying to identify an teenager who walked out of a German forest speaking English and knowing only his first name. The boy, called Ray, presented himself to the Berlin authorities last week , saying he followed his compass north to reach the city after the death of his father with whom he had roamed through the woods for about five years. A Foreign Office spokesman said consular staff were assisting officials in Berlin but it was not yet known if the boy, thought to be 17 or 18, was a British national. Berlin police said they had approached Interpol to see if the boy matched any missing person reports. Officers will not know the results of the inquiry until Monday. Detectives are going over everything Ray has told them to establish a picture of his background and biography. The teenager told youth workers that his father, whom he called Ryan, had died two weeks ago and he had buried him in a shallow grave covered with stones. The boy said they began wandering in the woods after his mother, who he said was named Doreen, died. He told youth workers that he and his father never set up home but kept moving, staying in tents and huts in the woods. Claudia Elitok, of Berlin police, said: “He speaks fluent English and a few words in German. “He explained that the last five years were spent in the woods with his father, then his father died and he buried him. “He was walking for two weeks before getting to Berlin. “He has said what happened to his mother but I can’t go into that information. “He was found in good condition and is being taken care of by officials.” The teenager’s story is reminiscent of the “Piano Man”, German Andreas Grassl, who was found wandering the streets of Sheerness, Kent, in 2005. Despite Europe-wide appeals, no one knew who the 20-year-old was. For months he remained uncommunicative except for showing his accomplished pianist skills. Germany Europe guardian.co.uk
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Blackburn Rovers ended up delivering on Chris Samba’s promise to make Arsenal’s life a living hell, something of a surprise given that for almost an hour the visitors looked to have only the weather to worry about. Arsenal twice took the lead here and should never have lost so heavily, yet once again they contributed to their own downfall to the extent that the supposedly unhappy Blackburn fans were speculating before the end that this could be another 8-2. The soggiest Saturday of the season so far all but washed away the protest march against Steve Kean before kick-off. A few hundred bedraggled supporters made their point as they were escorted to the ground by police, and perhaps even succeeded in showing the depth of their feeling by braving a downpour, though there was little sign of dissent inside the ground, and even on the concourses home fans were debating with each other whether Kean deserved more loyalty. When a clever ball forward by Alex Song split a statuesque Rovers defence to allow Gervinho to claim his first league goal for Arsenal after only 10 minutes there were still no dissatisfied rumblings from the terraces, and to their credit Blackburn managed to give their fans something to cheer about by getting back on terms midway through the first half. This time it was Yakubu Ayegbeni’s turn to score a first goal for his new club, and though the former Everton striker was slightly fortunate to be in the right place for Junior Hoilett as he wandered back from an offside position, there was nothing wrong with the deft single touch that stranded Wojciech Szczesny. Players were beginning to lose their footing at this point as rain hammered down from a still-darkening sky, though Arsenal produced some of their brightest football and could have scored through Andrey Arshavin and Gervinho in addition to the goal from Mikel Arteta that restored their lead by the interval. Another first-time scorer for a new club, all Arteta had to do was crash the ball home from near the penalty spot after Aaron Ramsey’s shrewd run and perfect square ball had created the opportunity. So Arsenal had little to excuse what befell them at the start of the second half, especially as their inability to defend set pieces reached ludicrous new heights when Song turned Rubén Rochina’s free-kick past his own goalkeeper under no particular pressure. Now trying to weather two storms at once, with the Rovers fans noisily backing their side. Arsenal simply went from bad to worse. Another set piece led to another goal for Yakubu, standing level on the six-yard line to get the crucial last touch to Steven Nzonzi’s low cross after collecting a corner at the back of the area, then almost laughably Arsenal contributed a second own goal. There was not a lot Laurent Koscielny could do to avoid diverting the ball into his own net once Szczesny had failed to cut out Martin Olsson’s firmly struck cutback from the byline, but the way Yakubu, of all people, had sent Olsson skipping down the right to easily evade Johan Djourou’s rushed challenge and allow the substitute to do as he pleased with the whole of the Arsenal half to run at will give Arsène Wenger sleepless nights. Paul Robinson made a couple of good saves before Marouane Chamakh’s well-taken goal five minutes from time gave the scoreline some respectability from Arsenal’s point of view and a better indication of the balance of the game, though conceding four goals to Blackburn is almost as bad as shipping eight at Old Trafford. That’s not to take anything away from a spirited and energetic Blackburn performance. This always promised to be a day for Kean to remember, and amid incredible scenes the end, after Per Mertesacker had headed over and Robin van Persie struck a shot at Robinson with stoppage time chances to claim a point, it was. Premier League 2011-12 Blackburn Rovers Arsenal Premier League Paul Wilson guardian.co.uk
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Follow all the action, debates and issues on the first day of this year’s Liberal Democrat conference in Birmingham Where are the Lib Dems heading? This time last year Lib Dem relations with the Conservatives seemed to be getting warmer and warmer. At the end of their conference in Liverpool I wrote a “10 things we’ve learned” blog which said that the Lib Dems had made up their minds about the coalition – and that they liked it. Twelve months later, after a crushing defeat in the local elections, the mood is rather different. In the Guardian today Polly Toynbee is floating the idea of the Lib Dems turning left . “Behind the scenes quietly better relations are growing between Ed Miliband’s camp and many Lib Dem MPs, softly anticipating a future together,” she writes. It is possible that Labour or the Conservatives could win an outright majority at the next election. But at this point the chances of another hung parliament seem high and, for that reason, it would be nice to know what this battered, much maligned, but curiously resilient party actually thinks. I’ve just arrived in Birmingham for a conference that lasts until Wednesday. Hopefully, I’ll find out. The conference formally starts at 2.30pm. Here’s the agenda. 2.30pm: Paul Tilsley, the deputy leader of Birmingham city council, opens the conference with a short speech. 2.40pm. A debate on party business. Norman Lamb, Nick Clegg’s chief parliamentary will speak. It is possible too that there might be a vote on the party’s decision not to have a proper vote on the health bill. (Evan Harris, who is leading the campaign to rewrite the health bill, has written about this in the Guardian today.) 3.10pm: Delegates will debate a motion on Lords reform saying elections should start by 2015. 3.55pm: Lynne Featherstone, the equalities minister, will speak. She will confirm that the government will consult on plans to allow gay and lesbian couples to get married . 4.15pm: Delegates will debate a motion criticising the government’s plans to limit the amount of time for which disabled people can claim the contributory employment and support allowance. 5pm: Another short debate on party business, including a contribution from Tim Farron, the party president. That’s the end of the formal conference business. 6.30pm: Nick Clegg, Sarah Teather, David Heath, Don Foster and Alistair Carmichael will speak at the conference rally. I’ll be blogging all afternoon and I’ll post a summary after the conference finishes at 5pm. My colleague Paul Owen will then take over the blog to cover the rally and any other late breaking news. Shortly I’ll post a round-up of the best Lib Dem news from today’s papers. Nick Clegg Vince Cable Liberal Democrat conference 2011 Liberal Democrat conference Liberal Democrats Andrew Sparrow guardian.co.uk
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Deputy PM vows to keep tax level as long it raises revenue, despite calls from chancellor and other Tories for its abolition Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has promised to keep the 50p top rate of tax despite calls from some of their Tory party coalition partners to have it scrapped. However Clegg said the Liberal Democrats would back abolition of the top rate in the long run if it was not raising much revenue and if it was replaced by new taxes on “unearned income”. These could include a 1% annual “mansion tax” on homes worth more than £2m, a land tax, and restricting tax relief on pensions to the basic 20p rate. As Liberal Democrats gathered for their annual party conference in Birmingham, he said cutting rates for the wealthy while millions were struggling to make ends meet could “destroy” public support for the entire tax system. Chancellor George Osborne has made no secret of his desire to abolish the 50p rate on incomes over £150,000 – describing it as a “temporary” measure introduced by the former Labour government. However Clegg made clear that as far as the Lib Dems were concerned, the priority had to be reducing the burden of taxation on lower- and middle-income earners. “We are not there to rush to the aid of the top 1% of very, very rich people who are not in straitened circumstances,” he told the Independent. In a separate question-and-answer session in Birmingham on Saturday morning, for upRising, a leadership programme for young people, Clegg also said the country needed to stop relying on financial services as “the locomotive” of the country and redouble efforts to get growing manufacturing and other services. “What we are going through in this country is not just about balancing the books,” he said. If the country thinks that all it needs to do is “have the City of London … and not worry about the manufacturing … the country won’t move on,” he said. He added: “The need to rebalance, to rewire the country.” In the Independent, Clegg acknowledged that the government had to do more to boost growth in the economy, adopting what he called a “Plan A-plus”. “If millions of taxpayers feel they are being overlooked, ignored and passed over, as preference is given to people who need the least amount of help at the moment, you destroy the very fabric of consensus without which a sensible tax system cannot survive. “It would be utterly incomprehensible for millions of people who work hard, do their best for their families, and play by the rules, if suddenly the priority is to give 300,000 people at the very, very top a tax break. “It is not going to happen – certainly not until there is significant progress on giving tax breaks to those on lower and middle incomes.” While his show of muscle-flexing on the eve of the party conference season will doubtless play well with Lib Dem activists, it will infuriate many Tories who are determined to see an end to the 50p rate. Nick Clegg Tax and spending Tax Liberal Democrat conference Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrat conference 2011 Conservatives George Osborne Economic policy Poverty Lisa O’Carroll guardian.co.uk
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• Press refresh or turn on the auto-update for the latest • Email rob.smyth@guardian.co.uk with your thoughts • Keep up with all the goals across the UK Team news There are debuts for Andre Santos and Yakubu, while Jason Lowe makes his first Premier League start. Jason Lowe is a child of the 1990s. When Jason Lowe was born, this little epiphany-inducer was top of the UK hit parade . This fact makes me feel very old. Blackburn (4-4-2) Robinson; Salgado, Samba, Dann, Givet; Rochina, Lowe, Nzonzi, Hoilett; Formica, Yakubu. Subs: Bunn, Olsson, Grella, Petrovic, Vukcevic, Roberts, Hanley. Arsenal (4-2-3-1) Szczesny; Sagna, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Andre Santos; Song, Arteta; Arshavin, Ramsey, Gervinho; van Persie. Subs: Fabianski, Walcott, Djourou, Gibbs, Chamakh, Benayoun, Coquelin. Referee Andre Marriner Not this game department Wolves v QPR may be off because of a power cut . A power cut! It’s obviously very bad for the paying punters, blah blah etcetera, but of far more importance is whether I should remove Matt Jarvis and Stephen Ward from my fantasy team before the window shuts at 12.30pm. Previously on Blackburn v Arsenal… I wanted to link to Kevin Gallacher’s fantastic goal at Highbury in 1997 – what a crazily underrated player he was – but I can’t find it. So instead, from the same season, here’s a devastatingly economical through pass from Dennis Bergkamp , part of Arsenal’s scary 4-1 mauling of Roy Hodgson’s side at Ewood Park. Preamble Hello. Everything’s BIG in football these days. Teams are never “in trouble” or “enduring a mildly chastening period of strife”; they are invariably “in crisis”. Blackburn and Arsenal, who meet today at Ewood Park, have been the two crisis clubs of this burgeoning Premier League season. And what crises they are: Arsenal may finish as low as fifth, while Blackburn are a point from safety. For what it’s worth (absolutely nothing), I reckon Arsenal will finish fourth and Blackburn will stay up. That said, the latter is dependent on who they appoint if, as seems inevitable, they sack poor old Steve Kean. Given the judgement of Blackburn’s owners thus far – particularly the sacking of the exceptional Sam Allardyce and this finger-lickin’, toe-curlin’ video – they will probably appoint James Corden, Jedward or, more absurd still, John Gregory. Premier League 2011-12 Blackburn Rovers Arsenal Rob Smyth guardian.co.uk
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Average deposit required for a mortgage is 10 times higher than it was 20 years ago, making it difficult for people to buy a house Prospective homebuyers are having to stump up a deposit 10 times the size of that needed 20 years ago, despite incomes less than tripling during the same period. Since 1990 the average housing deposit has risen from an average of £6,793 to a staggering £65,924. During the two decades, house prices have more than quadrupled, while the average household income has grown by just two and a half times, according to research from bank and mortgage lender First Direct . A combination of a rise in house prices and a reduction in the amount banks are willing to lend has meant that those looking to buy a house last year would have found it more difficult financially than at any other time in the last 20 years. Those who grabbed the opportunity to get on the housing ladder in 1995 and 1996, on the other hand, will have found it easier than at any other time over the last 20 years, with house prices at that time closer to three and a half times income and an average 10% deposit required to buy a home. Now buyers are typically stumping up 27% of the property price. “Much has been made of rising house prices, but the average deposit needed in the first place has actually risen more than twice as fast as house prices and almost four times as fast as income,” said Bruno Genovese of First Direct. “This is why we are seeing first time buyers getting older, with more and more people struggling to get on the property ladder.” Alice Murphy, 27, and her boyfriend Michael have been saving for years for a deposit. The couple rent a one bedroom flat in Reading but desperately want to buy in London, where Alice works. “We have a few thousand pounds that we have got from inheritances and from saving, which, if we were anywhere else other than the south east, would be enough to buy somewhere,” she said. “But prices in the areas we are looking in just seem to be going up and up and mortgages harder to get.” The couple are considering getting a “very big mortgage” and buying a property where they could take in a lodger to help pay for the loan. “It’s hard to know what to do. It sounds awful but I have friends who are just waiting for older relatives to die so that they can inherit the money to enable them to buy somewhere to live,” she said. Many prospective buyers who are currently renting are now suffering the double whammy of saving bigger amounts for a deposit while seeing their rent increase. Last month, rents rose by the fastest amount in a year , bringing the average UK rent to £713 a month or just over £1,000 in the capital. The figures, released by lettings agent network LSL properties, also showed the extent to which tenants are struggling to pay their rent. Tenant arrears increased last month for the first time since April, with almost 11% of all UK rent unpaid or late by the end of August. Separate research from the Halifax indicates that those living outside London and commuting into the capital easily offset the cost of the train by the amount they save in buying a home. House prices within a travelling distance of an hour from the outskirts of London are on average £375,000 (60%) lower than in the centre of the city, while the average annual cost of a 60-minute commute is £4,400. Examples of commuters paying more to live out of the capital are rare, said the bank. Those in Beaconsfield number amongst them, however, with commuters paying a higher average house price than central London (£757,097), while also having to pay an annual train fare of £2,972 to get to work. House prices First-time buyers Property Mortgages Renting property Lisa Bachelor guardian.co.uk
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