Former bishop of Derry Edward Daly says allowing the clergy to marry would solve some of the church’s problems A high-profile Irish bishop who tended some of the dead and wounded of Bloody Sunday has called for an end to celibacy in the clergy. Edward Daly, who was bishop of Derry for nearly 20 years, said allowing the clergy to marry would solve some of the church’s problems. He is the most senior figure in Irish Catholicism to challenge the ban. The number of Catholic priests in Ireland is in sharp decline as older clergy die out and very few young men choose to take up a celibate life. In some parishes the church has transferred priests from Poland and the developing world to fill the gap. “There will always be a place in the church for a celibate priesthood, but there should also be a place for a married priesthood in the church,” he said on BBC Radio Ulster. “I think priests should have the freedom to marry if they wish. It may create a whole new set of problems but I think it’s something that should be considered. I’m worried about the decreasing number of priests and the number of older priests. I think it’s an issue that needs to be addressed, and addressed urgently.” Daly accepted he might be out of step with current Vatican thinking but said he was “not engaged in a popularity contest”. He said that during his time as a bishop he found it “heartbreaking” that so many priests or prospective priests were forced to resign or were unable to get ordained because of the celibacy issue. Many young men who had once considered joining the priesthood turned away because of the rule, the cleric said. Daly, now 77, became a recognised figure around the world in 1972 when he was seen waving a bloodied white hankerchief in front of British paratroopers in Derry during Bloody Sunday. The sight of the then priest during the shooting of 13 civilians in the city became one of the most enduring images of the Northern Ireland Troubles. During the 25-year conflict Daly was a fierce critic of the IRA’s armed campaign and a supporter of the peace process. Catholicism Religion Ireland Henry McDonald guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Phone hacking: mother of 7/7 victim to sue News of the World publisher
September 13, 2011 No Comment
High court judge to take Sheila Henry’s case as one of the lead actions over phone hacking at the former tabloid Sheila Henry, the mother of 7/7 victim Christian Small, has launched a legal action against the publisher of the News of the World after she was told by Scotland Yard detectives that her son’s phone was targeted by the private investigator who worked for the paper. In the high court this morning Mr Justice Vos, the judge hearing civil actions against the publisher of the News of the World, said that he would take the mother’s case as one of the lead actions against the Sunday tabloid. It is believed that this is because she was a victim of crime. Vos was hearing the latest procedural action as the civil cases against News Group Newspapers slowly develop. Others bringing actions include celebrities such as actor Steve Coogan and football agent Sky Andrew. Police are understood to have told Ms Henry that her son’s phone was targeted by the News of the World’s private investigator Glenn Mulcaire in the aftermath of the 7/7 bombings in 2005. It is understood that she had left messages trying to find out her son’s location on the day in which 52 people died. Christian Small was 28 when he died on his way into work, when his Piccadilly line train was bombed between King’s Cross and Russell Square stations. An obituary written by the BBC records that family members tried to contact him by phone that day, and his sister Tameka was joined by his friends and his parents in pinning up posters around London. However, it was subsquently confirmed that he had died in the bomb blast. The News of the World only appears to have written about Small once, briefly describing him as one of the missing, in a piece headlined “New pictures of the missing 7/7: Gallery of despair” which appeared on page 4 of the tabloid on 10 July. Vos wants a range of “lead actions” to be the first considered by the courts, including actions from celebrities and politicians. •
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Three men, three women and three young children picked up by coastguard after tipoff from fishermen on Japan’s west coast Coastguard officials in Japan are questioning nine suspected North Korean defectors after they were found drifting off the country’s west coast on Tuesday morning. The group – three men, three women and three young children – were found by a coastguard helicopter 15 miles off the Noto peninsula, in Ishikawa prefecture, after a tipoff from local fishermen. They were collected by a coastguard vessel and taken to Kanazawa for questioning. Their eight-metre boat bore Korean characters along its sides and was stocked with rice and pickled vegetables, Japanese media reports said. A man claiming to represent the group told local media that they had come from North Korea and had intended to travel to South Korea. The man reportedly described himself as a member of the Korean People’s Army, and said the eight other people on board were his relatives. They were fortunate to have survived the long trip east across the Japan Sea. The boat was not equipped with navigation equipment and none of the group wore a life jacket. Japan is an unusual destination for North Koreans hoping to flee repression and poverty in the communist state. The coastguard has records of two other cases: in 2006, when four men and women drifted to the coast of northern Japan; and in 1987, when a family of 11 ended up on the country’s west coast. Most would-be defectors cross the border into China or drift across the Yellow Sea maritime border dividing North and South Korea. Cross-border tensions escalated this year after four of 31 North Koreans who sailed into South Korean waters refused to return home. The South Korean foreign ministry said it expected Japanese authorities to share the results of its investigation. An official in Seoul told the Yonhap news agency: “If they are confirmed to be North Korean defectors and have a clear desire to come to South Korea, we will take all necessary measures in accordance with the law on handling defectors.” More than 21,000 North Korean defectors have entered the South since the end of the 1950-1953 Korean war, according to the unification ministry in Seoul. The boat’s discovery so close to the Japanese coast prompted speculation that it may have continued to drift eastwards after failing to make landfall in South Korea. Japan North Korea Justin McCurry guardian.co.uk
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Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal are to be released, Iranian president says in interview with a US television network Two American men sentenced in Iran last month to eight years in prison on spying charges will be freed in two days, the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has told a US television network. Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were arrested in July 2009 near Iran’s border with Iraq, where they say they were hiking in the mountains. A third American, Sarah Shourd, was freed in September 2010 and has returned home. The US network NBC, which interviewed Ahmadinejad in Iran, said that the Iranian president had told it Bauer and Fattal would be released in two days. The interview was due to air later on Tuesday on NBC’s Today show. Bauer, Fattal and Shourd say they were hiking in the mountains of northern Iraq and, if they crossed the unmarked border into Iran, it was by mistake. Shourd was freed on $500,000 (£315,000) bail. Bauer and Fattal were convicted at a trial held behind closed doors and share a cell in Tehran’s Evin prison. Their supporters say evidence against them has never been made public, and that the sentence came as a shock after hopes for their release had been boosted by positive comments from Iran’s foreign minister. The US president, Barack Obama, has denied that the Americans, who were working in the Middle East when they decided to hike in the scenic mountains of Iraq, are linked to US intelligence. The affair has heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington, which severed diplomatic ties after the storming of the US embassy in the wake of the 1979 Islamic revolution. Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Middle East United States NBC guardian.co.uk
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Mustafa Abdul Jalil, chairman of national transitional council, says women will play a part in the revolution The leader of Libya’s transitional government used his first speech in Tripoli to call for unity and moderation as he sought to allay fears of factional splits among the country’s new rulers. Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the chairman of the national transitional council, addressed a crowd of about 10,000 people in the re-named Martyrs square on Monday night. Amid fears that differences could now spill over between the NTC, which was originally based in Benghazi, and other rebel factions, Jalil was at pains to stress the moderate credentials of the new Libya. He said Islamic sharia law should be the main source of legislation but added: “We will not accept any extremist ideology, on the right or the left. We are a Muslim people, for a moderate Islam, and will stay on this road.” Jalil also emphasised that women had played an important part in the revolution and would continue to do so. “Women will be ambassadors,” he said to cheers from women and girls in the crowd waving flags. “Women will be ministers.” Many of the women were dressed in the red, black and green of the revolution. Among the prominent Islamist figures is Abdul Hakim Belhaj, a former fighter in the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group a militant organisation that long opposed Gaddafi and now the commander of the Tripoli military council, which has called for the resignation of the Mahmoud Jibril, the US-educated acting prime minister. One source close to the NTC told the Associated Press: “Abdul Jalil is trying to keep the peace, and it’s a struggle between both sides, between the two powerful camps. He’s trying to maintain a balance between the two camps, and keep the international community happy. It’s very difficult.” In his Martyrs’ Square speech, Jalil pointedly praised the different groups involved in toppling Gaddafi, including those who were not under the direct control of the council in Benghazi, some of whom feel they have not been given their fair share of credit for their part in the uprising. The co-founder of the February 17 coalition – a reference to the date of the first uprising – last week criticised the performance of the NTC’s executive committee . Saoud Elhafi said he was particularly unhappy about the appointment of ministers “without consulting us or other organisations. From what I see, they are a bunch of business people”. Jalil’s message of reconciliation extended to the remaining Gaddafi forces and the families of former government figures who he said should not be held responsible for the crimes of their relatives. “We are Muslims, people of forgiveness,” he said, urging people to let the law run its course. His appeal came on the eve of publication of an Amnesty International report which found that rebels as well as pro-Gaddafi forces perpetrated killings, torture and other abuses during the uprising against the Libyan regime. Jalil said he was confident that the remaining resistance by Gaddafi loyalists would soon be overcome. “Bani Walid, Sirte and Sabha are now under siege by Gaddafi forces,” he said. “We are betting that our brothers in those cities will fulfil their expectations and you will see them do so soon.” Libya Middle East Africa Haroon Siddique guardian.co.uk
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Rockets are being fired at the US embassy in Kabul, say police in Afghanistan. The Taliban has claimed responsibliity and says the attackers are armed with rocket-propelled grenades, AK-47s and suicide vests 11.31am: The US embassy in Kabul has come under attack. Jeremy Kelly, in Kabul, writes: Explosions and gunfire rattled Kabul this morning after militants appeared to stage an attack against the US embassy and Nato’s main military base in the Afghan capital. Eyewitnesses reported that some of the attackers had taken up a position in a tall, half-complete building behind the embassy from which they started firing. A series of explosions could be heard in the affluent Wazir Akbar Khan area, where many embassies and foreign aid agencies reside. A Western military source told AFP that “ISAF HQ is under attack at the moment,” in reference to the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force. There has been no immediate report on casualties. BBC correspondent Quentin Somerville tweeted that a rocket had landed 100m from the BBC office in Wazir Akbar Khan that could have been shot over the embassy. He said US marines were on the roof of the embassy and sirens could be heard coming from the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force. The Taliban were quick to take responsibility for the attack saying insurgents conducted a massive suicide attack on local and foreign intelligence facilities. The city has been on a heightened security alert in recent weeks following a series of high-profile attacks including on the British Council last month. Afghanistan Taliban United States US foreign policy Haroon Siddique guardian.co.uk
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• High utility, transport and clothes costs behind rise • CPI hits 4.5% for August, up from 4.4% in July • RPI, used for wage negotiations, hits 5.2% UK inflation rose last month as higher transport costs, utility bills and clothing prices all helped to push up the cost of living . The consumer prices index rose to 4.5% in August, up from 4.4% in July, driven by the biggest annual rise in water and energy bills in more than two years. A surge in the cost of clothing and footware last month also drove CPI higher, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. The retail prices index, which includes housing costs and is used for many pay negotiations and pension payments, hit 5.2% from 5% in July. Clothing costs jumped in August, rising by 3.7% compared with July. This is the biggest month-on-month increase since the statistics body started tracking CPI changes in 1997, and reflects soaring cotton prices. This pushed the annual increase in clothing and footware costs to 4%, another post-1997 high. “The largest upward effect came from women’s outerwear, where prices rose at the start of the autumn season,” the ONS said. Colin Ellis, chief economist at the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, suggested that “savvy retailers” had looked to profit from the wetter-than-usual summer. Housing, water and energy costs were 5.1% higher last month than in August 2010, the highest since July 2009. City economists, who generally expected CPI to hit 4.5% in August, believe the rate of inflation will keep rising through 2011. “There remains a very real possibility that consumer price inflation will hit 5.0% in the near term as more utility price hikes kick in and food prices remain elevated,” said Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight. “However, consumer price inflation will hopefully start retreating late this year and then fall back markedly in 2012.” Higher fuel prices also pushed up transport costs, which were 7.4% higher than a year ago. Despite inflation being more than double the Bank of England’s 2% target, there is little sign that interest rates will rise any time soon . Instead, an increase in the Bank’s quantitative easing programme, currently £200bn, is seen as more likely – although the monetary policy committee resisted increasing QE at its last meeting. “Some MPC members will be looking at this figure and it will reinforce their beliefs that inflation is too high for further asset purchases. While some will disregard this figure in the hope that prices moderate,” said Jeremy Cook, chief economist at foreign exchange company World First. “One thing we can be sure of is that the consumer will remain ‘under the cosh’, as wages are not increasing at anywhere near this rate.” Inflation Economics Consumer spending Consumer affairs Household bills Bank of England Interest rates Quantitative easing Graeme Wearden guardian.co.uk
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Gunfire heard after one of the explosions in the Afghan capital’s embassy district At least four loud explosions have rocked the Afghan capital, Kabul, near the embassy district, and gunfire was heard after one of the blasts. Police and other security officials blocked roads around the US embassy and other diplomatic missions, and said the attack had happened at a nearby square. “There has been an explosion and gunfire, there are several armed attackers in Abdul Haq Square,” said Mohammad Zahir, head of Kabul’s crime investigation unit. “There could be suicide bombers but it is unclear at the moment.” Afghanistan Global terrorism guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Novak Djokovic matched his nearly perfect season with an almost flawless performance in tonight’s US Open final, returning brilliantly and swatting winners from all angles to beat Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-1. In a final full of lengthy, mesmerizing points, the No. 1-ranked Djokovic claimed his third Grand…
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Inquiry could cover protections for privacy and the role of the print media’s self-regulatory watchdog The Australian government has promised an inquiry into the country’s media as politicians complain that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp owns too many newspapers. Calls have been growing for an Australian inquiry into News Corp since the New York-based company closed the News of the World in July over phone-hacking allegations . News Corp owns 70% of Australia’s newspapers. The communications minister, Stephen Conroy, told colleagues in his ruling centre-left Labor party on Tuesday that there would be an inquiry into the Australian media. He said the terms of reference were under discussion with the Greens party that supports Labor’s minority government. But Conroy said the inquiry would not be “an attack on News Ltd”, the Australian subsidiary of News Corp. He said the inquiry could cover areas including protections for privacy and the role of the print media’s self-regulatory watchdog, Australian Press Council. Conroy said the government disagreed with a motion to be proposed by the Greens leader, Bob Brown, in the Senate on Thursday. That motion would call on Conroy to “investigate the direct or indirect ramifications for Australia of the criminal matters affecting” News Corp’s British subsidiary, News International. There have been no allegations made in Australia of the type of phone hacking that has led to at least 16 arrests in Britain. Labor politicians have long complained that News Ltd publications are biased towards Liberal party conservatives and that the company has too much control over Australian newspapers. They blame the media for their party plumbing record lows in opinion polls four years after Labor first came to government. The Liberal leader, Tony Abbott, dismissed the need for a media inquiry, saying there was no evidence of any new problems in the industry. “This looks like a naked attempt to intimidate the media,” Abbott said. The prime minister, Julia Gillard, has had an increasingly testy relationship with News Ltd publications and its executives. The Australian newspaper withdrew an opinion piece from its website and published an apology last month after Gillard threatened to sue over an incorrect claim that she had once shared a house with a corrupt union official that had been paid for with embezzled union money. Gillard attacked the News Ltd broadsheet, saying no one had contacted her for comment before publishing “a false report in breach of all known standards of journalism”. “This is a question of ethics and standards for the Australian,” she said. John Hartigan, chairman and chief executive of News Ltd, described Gillard’s comments as “pedantic” and “disappointing”, and said it was accepted practice not to seek comment for opinion pieces. Australia Phone hacking Newspapers & magazines Newspapers guardian.co.uk
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