Statement from conglomerate says she suggested it would be ‘inappropriate’ for her to join board of father’s company Elisabeth Murdoch will not be joining the board of her father Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation conglomerate, despite expectations that she would do so. The company said in a statement that she had suggested to its directors it would be “inappropriate” for her to make the move. She had been expected to join the board after News Corp bought Shine Group, the television production company she runs, in a deal worth £415m. Viet Dinh, chairman of the nominating and corporate governance committee of the News Corporation board of directors, said: “Elisabeth Murdoch suggested to the independent directors some weeks ago that she felt it would be inappropriate to include her nomination to the board of News Corp at this year’s AGM, as had been announced by chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch at the time of the acquisition of Shine Group earlier this year. “The independent directors agreed that the previously planned nomination should be delayed. Both Elisabeth and the board hope this decision reaffirms that News Corp aspires to the highest standards of corporate governance and will continue to act in the best interests of all stakeholders, be they shareholders, employees or the billions of consumers who News Corp content informs, entertains and sometimes provokes every year.” Murdoch founded Shine, which has produced shows such as The Tudors, Ashes to Ashes and Masterchef, a decade ago, and built it into a powerhouse in the British independent television sector and a transatlantic business. Other popular programmes for the group include Merlin, and Spooks. It is understood Murdoch, who owned a 53% stake in the company, with Sony holding 20% and BSkyB a further 13%, made £153m after completing the sale to News Corp. She is is married to the public relations executive Matthew Freud. Reports have suggested that some shareholders believe the 16-member board of News Corp is too beholden to Rupert Murdoch. The Murdoch family controls nearly 40% of the company’s voting shares through a family trust, and Murdoch’s sons James, 38, and Lachlan, 39, already sit alongside him on the board. In February, after announcing News Corp’s plans to buy Shine, Rupert Murdoch said: “Shine has an outstanding creative team that has built a significant independent production company in major markets in very few years, and I look forward to them becoming an important part of our varied and large content creation activities. I expect Liz Murdoch to join the board of News Corporation on completion of this transaction.” Elisabeth Murdoch News Corporation Media business Rupert Murdoch Television industry Newspapers Newspapers & magazines Damien Pearse guardian.co.uk
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Party claims other supermarket chains are likely to lobby for tougher competition laws to keep Tesco in check Tesco has become “an almighty conglomerate” abusing its unfettered market power to dominate towns at the expense of small retailers, Labour claimed as it called on the government to confront the chain. Labour also warned that a government- commissioned review into the future of the high street , led by the broadcaster and retail guru Mary Portas, is likely to involve other supermarket chains lobby for tougher competition laws to prevent the further dominance of Tesco. The shadow local government minister, Jack Dromey, said: “Tesco want to rule retail, in particular the southern swath of England. It is simply not right that you can have one almighty conglomerate using its market power at the expense of the high street, and other retailers, particularly small struggling retailers.” It is unusual for Labour to pick out one supermarket for such fierce criticism, but Dromey said Tesco was the worst offender involved in a chain of events that is destroying community life. He said: “High streets have become like ghost towns with local retailers out of business with dire consequences for communities, the poor, the elderly and those without access to cars. This is a deeply felt issue all over Britain.” Dromey called on the Portas review to recommend a “competition test” to prevent grocery retailers acquiring a dominant position in a locality. He said: “I think Tesco may find themselves in a minority of one trying to object to that, and the government have got to have the courage of their convictions to face Tesco down.” Dromey said the government was facing furious lobbying by Tesco. But he added: “If you want a healthy diverse high street then you cannot have a dominant retailer acting in its own interests, and not the interests of the high street.” He challenged the way Tesco “sell themselves as a major creator of jobs”. He argued the net effect of its expansion may have been to reduce total jobs in the retail sector. “We are not anti-supermarket, but one in six shops are standing empty, so this is serious,” he said. Since the general election the big four multiple retailers have opened 407 new stores, and added more than 5m sq ft of selling space. Many would have received planning permission before the election. Labour’s intervention follows Ed Miliband’s argument that the revival of communities must be underpinned by preserving institutions, including the high street, through competition law. The government announced the Portas review in May, with a report due in October. It is possible that Labour’s call for a competition test will feature in her report, especially if rival supermarkets, such as Asda and Sainsbury, support the measure. Two months ago, Portas revealed her determination to act, saying: “The rise of the supermarket giants – and our love affair with them – is killing Britain’s small shops. We’re sacrificing not just our greengrocers, our butchers and our bakers, but also our communities for convenience.” Dromey remained open-minded about the review, saying: “The thing is we want real shops, not talking shops. At the heart of the decline of high streets all over Britain has been the unchecked flight of the supermarket to out-of-town shopping malls.” In a sign of government concern, the Department for Communities and Local Government announced a ”town centres first” policy in their national planning policy statement last week. The communities secretary, Eric Pickles, has relaxed centrally imposed rules on parking restrictions so that councils can create additional spaces to attract shoppers from the free car parks of supermarkets. Dromey said the measures were a start, but that planning authorities should have to devise retail diversity schemes that put as much emphasis on small shops as big chains, and control the trend to smaller supermarkets in inner city areas, pushing independents out of business. In autumn, a cross-party group of peers will try to insert a version of the clause in the localism bill. The government minister, Lord Taylor, appeared largely unsympathetic to the idea, saying: “Town centre planning policy is not pro- or anti-supermarkets. “Planning cannot seek to restrict lawful competition between retailers; in fact, planning policy is blind to whether the operator of a retail proposal is a supermarket or an independent.” Tesco contends that its inner city convenience stores are good for the high street. “We have brought back into the heart of many towns and district centres the benefits that shoppers expect from a supermarket, that were previously available only in the large out-of-town stores. Supermarkets have increased choice, and hence the attractiveness of local centres as shopping destinations. Tesco stores have been demonstrably good for the high street and neighbourhoods, not a threat to them, just as the planners envisaged.” Tesco added: “Studies have shown that an investment by Tesco in a town or high street means that the town and high street benefits. The reason it benefits is because people stay in the area, they do linked trips and those linked trips cause other retailers to open”. Tesco Supermarkets Retail industry Labour Planning policy Ed Miliband Communities Regeneration House of Lords Patrick Wintour guardian.co.uk
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Click here to view this media Fox News host and former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee defended his series of “educational videos” Thursday by drawing a comparison between himself and Steven Spielberg. Retired New York City firefighter Jim Riches lashed out at Huckabee Tuesday for the latest in his series of “Learn Our History” cartoons, which offers children a slanted retelling of the horrific 9/11 attacks. “I think he has no shame at all,” Riches told MSNBC Martin Bashir . “It’s like blood money… Going out there trying to make money off the bodies of dead people. I saw the video. The video is — it should be done by educators and child psychiatrists, not done by politicians. They don’t know what they’re doing.” Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly allowed Huckabee to respond to Riches Thursday, giving his cartoons a free plug in the process. “Nothing surprises me anymore when we are talking about networks like BS-NBC and others who go after conservatives,” Huckabee opined. “It’s to take kids through American history in a positive way… You know, it’s, again, very frustrating that this network, who has fewer viewers than you have people going to the bathroom during a break, go after us like this.” Riches “looks like he is annoyed that you may be making money from this exposition,” O’Reilly noted. “The irony is Michael Moore made $222 million off of Fahrenheit 9/11 . I don’t remember anybody on that network screaming about blood money or talking about the profiteering,” Huckabee complained. “This is like saying that Steven Spielberg was cashing in on World War II or the Holocaust because he made [Saving] Private Ryan and Schindler’s List . I mean, that’s absurd.” “This is actually helping you because it brings the DVDs to the attention of millions of people who might not know about them,” O’Reilly concluded. “So, it does work in your favor as well.” Huckabee has planned as many as 75 cartoons for $19.95 each. The first episodes, revealed in May , taught kids to idolize Reagan and suggested Hitler worked alongside skinheads in 1938.
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Demonstrators gather in cities across the country while Bashar al-Assad’s troops continue shelling residential areas Tens of thousands of Syrians returned to the streets to denounce President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and declare support for the residents of Hama, where an estimated 200 residents have been killed in a government assault since Sunday. Troops opened fire on crowds of demonstrators after Friday prayers, killing at least 10 people amid mounting international condemnation of the brutal tactics deployed by Assad’s forces in the five-month uprising. In Hama, tanks resumed shelling of residential districts around 4am, as people were beginning their fast for Ramadan, a resident told Associated Press. State-run Syrian TV released footage from inside Hama for the first time, showing widespread devastation on the streets. Scenes of burned-out buildings, barricaded roads and damaged cars suggest the battles have been far more intense than the regime has previously admitted. With journalists unable to operate freely in Syria it is not possible to verify claims by activists that 200 people have been killed by military shelling and sniping in the city during the last six days. The official news agency Sana claimed troops were fighting terrorist saboteurs. “Syrian Arab army units are working to restore security, stability and normal life to Hama after armed terrorist groups perpetrated acts of sabotage and killing,” Sana reported. In YouTube footage purporting to come from protesters in Hama, heavy gunfire can be heard amid improvised road blocks in the street with a tank in the background. A voice says: “Hama, 5 August 2011, severe artillery shooting in Hama … tanks incursion of Hama … gangs of Bashar al-Assad are shooting Hama neighbourhoods.” The date and name of the city are repeated. As the attack on Hama continued, protests took place throughout the country. At least seven people were killed in the Damascus suburb of Arbeen, according to the London-based Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees, a group that tracks protests. Another was killed in the suburb of Moaddamiya and two in the central city of Homs. “Hama, we are with you until death,” a crowd marching through the central Damascus neighbourhood of Midan shouted. In another district, Qadam, protesters carried a banner reading: “Bashar is slaughtering the people and the international community is silent.” There were also protests in the southern province of Daraa and in Deir al-Zour in the east. Other demonstrations were reported in Qamishli, near the Turkish border. There has been a near-total communications blackout in Hama but Gaëtan Vannay, a journalist with Swiss Radio , managed to enter Syria secretly and spent 10 days in the beseiged city. He was there on Sunday when Syrian forces began their attack. “Until then the demonstrations were absolutely peaceful,” he told the Guardian. “They were well-organised, the protesters were always writing new songs, coming up with new slogans against the regime. On the Thursday before the attack there were two speakers with different sound systems entertaining the crowds, playing off one another. It was very festive. On Sunday at 4.30am people gave the alarm, shouting ‘Allah u akbar (God is great)’. People lit tyre barricades to make it difficulft for the tanks and fought back with sticks, stones and molotov cocktails. The fighting lasted until around 1pm in the afternoon.” Vannay left Hama on Monday, the day tanks shelled the city’s two hospitals. “They had positioned tanks at three or four places in the city, strategic locations,” said Vannay, who saw two tank crews leave their vehicles to join the demonstrators.”When I left I met quite a few soldiers and policemen in hiding who said they had been told to kill the population or be killed by the security forces,” he said. “Sometimes we would be hiding in the same house.” Murhaf Jouejati, professor of Middle East studies at the National Defence University in Washington DC, said: “The more the Assad regime is using violence, the more the protests are growing.” “The regime’s violence is increasingly counterproductive and what is remarkable is that there is no protester fatigue.” As the death toll mounted, with US secretary of state Hillary Clinton accusing the government of killing 2,000 people since March, international outrage has grown. Clinton said on Thursday it was time to “send a very clear message to the Assad regime, the insiders there, that there’s a price to pay for this kind of abuse and attacks on their own people”. A group of UN human rights experts again called for an immediate end to the government’s use of violence against protesters. “The indiscriminate use of heavy artillery against demonstrators cannot be justified,” said Christof Heyns, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. “No state is allowed to use its military force against an unarmed civilian population, regardless of the situation on the ground. The killings that result are clearly arbitrary executions and punishable under international law.” Even Russia has sought to distance itself from the regime. The Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, said on Thursday he had warned Assad that he will face a “sad fate” if he fails to introduce reforms and open a dialogue with the opposition. “This is very significant,” said Jouejati. “The Assad regime is even losing its international friends. “Russia was the beacon of support for Syria in the UN security council, not willing to condemn for a long time, but even [they] are coming around.” Syria Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Protest Bashar Al-Assad Mark Tran Paul Owen guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Demonstrators gather in cities across the country while Bashar al-Assad’s troops continue shelling residential areas Tens of thousands of Syrians returned to the streets to denounce President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and declare support for the residents of Hama, where an estimated 200 residents have been killed in a government assault since Sunday. Troops opened fire on crowds of demonstrators after Friday prayers, killing at least 10 people amid mounting international condemnation of the brutal tactics deployed by Assad’s forces in the five-month uprising. In Hama, tanks resumed shelling of residential districts around 4am, as people were beginning their fast for Ramadan, a resident told Associated Press. State-run Syrian TV released footage from inside Hama for the first time, showing widespread devastation on the streets. Scenes of burned-out buildings, barricaded roads and damaged cars suggest the battles have been far more intense than the regime has previously admitted. With journalists unable to operate freely in Syria it is not possible to verify claims by activists that 200 people have been killed by military shelling and sniping in the city during the last six days. The official news agency Sana claimed troops were fighting terrorist saboteurs. “Syrian Arab army units are working to restore security, stability and normal life to Hama after armed terrorist groups perpetrated acts of sabotage and killing,” Sana reported. In YouTube footage purporting to come from protesters in Hama, heavy gunfire can be heard amid improvised road blocks in the street with a tank in the background. A voice says: “Hama, 5 August 2011, severe artillery shooting in Hama … tanks incursion of Hama … gangs of Bashar al-Assad are shooting Hama neighbourhoods.” The date and name of the city are repeated. As the attack on Hama continued, protests took place throughout the country. At least seven people were killed in the Damascus suburb of Arbeen, according to the London-based Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees, a group that tracks protests. Another was killed in the suburb of Moaddamiya and two in the central city of Homs. “Hama, we are with you until death,” a crowd marching through the central Damascus neighbourhood of Midan shouted. In another district, Qadam, protesters carried a banner reading: “Bashar is slaughtering the people and the international community is silent.” There were also protests in the southern province of Daraa and in Deir al-Zour in the east. Other demonstrations were reported in Qamishli, near the Turkish border. There has been a near-total communications blackout in Hama but Gaëtan Vannay, a journalist with Swiss Radio , managed to enter Syria secretly and spent 10 days in the beseiged city. He was there on Sunday when Syrian forces began their attack. “Until then the demonstrations were absolutely peaceful,” he told the Guardian. “They were well-organised, the protesters were always writing new songs, coming up with new slogans against the regime. On the Thursday before the attack there were two speakers with different sound systems entertaining the crowds, playing off one another. It was very festive. On Sunday at 4.30am people gave the alarm, shouting ‘Allah u akbar (God is great)’. People lit tyre barricades to make it difficulft for the tanks and fought back with sticks, stones and molotov cocktails. The fighting lasted until around 1pm in the afternoon.” Vannay left Hama on Monday, the day tanks shelled the city’s two hospitals. “They had positioned tanks at three or four places in the city, strategic locations,” said Vannay, who saw two tank crews leave their vehicles to join the demonstrators.”When I left I met quite a few soldiers and policemen in hiding who said they had been told to kill the population or be killed by the security forces,” he said. “Sometimes we would be hiding in the same house.” Murhaf Jouejati, professor of Middle East studies at the National Defence University in Washington DC, said: “The more the Assad regime is using violence, the more the protests are growing.” “The regime’s violence is increasingly counterproductive and what is remarkable is that there is no protester fatigue.” As the death toll mounted, with US secretary of state Hillary Clinton accusing the government of killing 2,000 people since March, international outrage has grown. Clinton said on Thursday it was time to “send a very clear message to the Assad regime, the insiders there, that there’s a price to pay for this kind of abuse and attacks on their own people”. A group of UN human rights experts again called for an immediate end to the government’s use of violence against protesters. “The indiscriminate use of heavy artillery against demonstrators cannot be justified,” said Christof Heyns, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. “No state is allowed to use its military force against an unarmed civilian population, regardless of the situation on the ground. The killings that result are clearly arbitrary executions and punishable under international law.” Even Russia has sought to distance itself from the regime. The Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, said on Thursday he had warned Assad that he will face a “sad fate” if he fails to introduce reforms and open a dialogue with the opposition. “This is very significant,” said Jouejati. “The Assad regime is even losing its international friends. “Russia was the beacon of support for Syria in the UN security council, not willing to condemn for a long time, but even [they] are coming around.” Syria Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Protest Bashar Al-Assad Mark Tran Paul Owen guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Demonstrators gather in cities across the country while Bashar al-Assad’s troops continue shelling residential areas Tens of thousands of Syrians returned to the streets to denounce President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and declare support for the residents of Hama, where an estimated 200 residents have been killed in a government assault since Sunday. Troops opened fire on crowds of demonstrators after Friday prayers, killing at least 10 people amid mounting international condemnation of the brutal tactics deployed by Assad’s forces in the five-month uprising. In Hama, tanks resumed shelling of residential districts around 4am, as people were beginning their fast for Ramadan, a resident told Associated Press. State-run Syrian TV released footage from inside Hama for the first time, showing widespread devastation on the streets. Scenes of burned-out buildings, barricaded roads and damaged cars suggest the battles have been far more intense than the regime has previously admitted. With journalists unable to operate freely in Syria it is not possible to verify claims by activists that 200 people have been killed by military shelling and sniping in the city during the last six days. The official news agency Sana claimed troops were fighting terrorist saboteurs. “Syrian Arab army units are working to restore security, stability and normal life to Hama after armed terrorist groups perpetrated acts of sabotage and killing,” Sana reported. In YouTube footage purporting to come from protesters in Hama, heavy gunfire can be heard amid improvised road blocks in the street with a tank in the background. A voice says: “Hama, 5 August 2011, severe artillery shooting in Hama … tanks incursion of Hama … gangs of Bashar al-Assad are shooting Hama neighbourhoods.” The date and name of the city are repeated. As the attack on Hama continued, protests took place throughout the country. At least seven people were killed in the Damascus suburb of Arbeen, according to the London-based Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees, a group that tracks protests. Another was killed in the suburb of Moaddamiya and two in the central city of Homs. “Hama, we are with you until death,” a crowd marching through the central Damascus neighbourhood of Midan shouted. In another district, Qadam, protesters carried a banner reading: “Bashar is slaughtering the people and the international community is silent.” There were also protests in the southern province of Daraa and in Deir al-Zour in the east. Other demonstrations were reported in Qamishli, near the Turkish border. There has been a near-total communications blackout in Hama but Gaëtan Vannay, a journalist with Swiss Radio , managed to enter Syria secretly and spent 10 days in the beseiged city. He was there on Sunday when Syrian forces began their attack. “Until then the demonstrations were absolutely peaceful,” he told the Guardian. “They were well-organised, the protesters were always writing new songs, coming up with new slogans against the regime. On the Thursday before the attack there were two speakers with different sound systems entertaining the crowds, playing off one another. It was very festive. On Sunday at 4.30am people gave the alarm, shouting ‘Allah u akbar (God is great)’. People lit tyre barricades to make it difficulft for the tanks and fought back with sticks, stones and molotov cocktails. The fighting lasted until around 1pm in the afternoon.” Vannay left Hama on Monday, the day tanks shelled the city’s two hospitals. “They had positioned tanks at three or four places in the city, strategic locations,” said Vannay, who saw two tank crews leave their vehicles to join the demonstrators.”When I left I met quite a few soldiers and policemen in hiding who said they had been told to kill the population or be killed by the security forces,” he said. “Sometimes we would be hiding in the same house.” Murhaf Jouejati, professor of Middle East studies at the National Defence University in Washington DC, said: “The more the Assad regime is using violence, the more the protests are growing.” “The regime’s violence is increasingly counterproductive and what is remarkable is that there is no protester fatigue.” As the death toll mounted, with US secretary of state Hillary Clinton accusing the government of killing 2,000 people since March, international outrage has grown. Clinton said on Thursday it was time to “send a very clear message to the Assad regime, the insiders there, that there’s a price to pay for this kind of abuse and attacks on their own people”. A group of UN human rights experts again called for an immediate end to the government’s use of violence against protesters. “The indiscriminate use of heavy artillery against demonstrators cannot be justified,” said Christof Heyns, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. “No state is allowed to use its military force against an unarmed civilian population, regardless of the situation on the ground. The killings that result are clearly arbitrary executions and punishable under international law.” Even Russia has sought to distance itself from the regime. The Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, said on Thursday he had warned Assad that he will face a “sad fate” if he fails to introduce reforms and open a dialogue with the opposition. “This is very significant,” said Jouejati. “The Assad regime is even losing its international friends. “Russia was the beacon of support for Syria in the UN security council, not willing to condemn for a long time, but even [they] are coming around.” Syria Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Protest Bashar Al-Assad Mark Tran Paul Owen guardian.co.uk
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Five current and former police officers guilty of human rights violations and trying to cover-up the New Orleans shootings Richard Adams in Washington Five New Orleans police officers have been convicted for their complicity in a series of murders and shootings of residents trying to escape the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. A jury found the five men guilty of covering up the killing of two people – including a mentally disabled man – and the wounding of four others in an elaborate plot that involved creating fake witnesses, falsifying police reports and statements, and planting a gun as evidence. While the men escaped charges of murder, the jury in New Orleans also found Robert Faulcon, Robert Gisevius, Kenneth Bowen and Anthony Villavaso guilty of civil rights violations, while the fifth, Arthur Kaufman – a sergeant who investigated the shootings – was also guilty of taking part in the cover-up. “This was a critical verdict. I cannot overstate the importance of this verdict. The power, the message it sends to the community, the healing power it has,” Jim Letten, the prosecuting US Attorney, said after the verdict was announced. The case is the most high profile of four major federal cases over the use of force by New Orleans police, and is likely to become a landmark civil rights decision. The mother of 17-year-old James Brissette, who was killed on the bridge, welcomed the verdict after “a long, hard six years.” But she questioned why the officers were not guilty of murder. “How are you able to empty a shotgun in the person and it’s not murder?” Sherrel Johnson said to the Associated Press. The shootings took place on the Danziger Bridge over the city’s Industrial Canal on 4 September 2005, as many residents tried to find food and shelter in the chaos only five days after the Category Five hurricane had battered the city and destroyed its system of levees, flooding the inner city streets. The only one of the accused to testify, former police officer Robert Faulcon, told the court he was “paralysed with fear” when he shot and killed an unarmed 40-year-old mentally disabled man, Ronald Madison, in the back with a shotgun from his patrol car. But Faulcon claimed that he believed Madison was armed. Prosecutors said Kaufman later produced a gun he owned and claimed it had been found at the scene, belonging to Madison’s brother, and invented two nonexistent witnesses to the shootings. Sergeant Kenneth Bowen was also charged with civil rights violations for kicking and beating Madison after he had already been wounded by Faulcon. Bowen, Gisevius, Faulcon and Villavaso are all charged with civil rights violations for the shooting of Brissette, the teenager killed on the eastern side of the bridge, as well as for injuring members of another family. Federal investigators reopened the investigation in 2008, which resulted in a series of guilty pleas by other New Orleans police officers involved in what was a systematic cover-up that began as soon as the shooting had stopped. The shootings were prompted by a radio call from an officer nearby, who reported that he was being fired on. Lawyers for the police officers said the men had been under fire, but no guns allegedly belonging to civilians were ever recovered from the scene. Four people were injured in the shootings on the eastern side of Danziger Bridge: Susan Bartholomew, then 38 years old, and her 44-year-old husband, Leonard Bartholomew. Their teenage daughter, Lesha Bartholomew, was injured, as was their nephew, Jose Holmes. United States Gun crime Hurricane Katrina Richard Adams guardian.co.uk
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Riot police clash with protesters calling for education reform as anger with Sebastiàn Piñera’s government boils over It began as a series of peaceful protests calling for reform of the Chilean government’s education system, with students staging mass kiss-ins, dressing up in superhero costumes and running laps around the presidential palace. But on Thursday these surreal protests exploded into violence as school and university students clashed with police and seized a TV station, demanding the right to a live broadcast in order to express their demands. The Chilean winter, as it is being called, appears to have captured the public mood, just as the Arab spring did six months ago. After a day of street clashes, 874 people had been arrested and department store in the capital was smouldering after being attacked by protesters. Outrage against the rightwing government of Sebastiàn Piñera boiled over, with polls showing he is more unpopular than any leader since the fall of former dictator Augusto Pinochet. Striking school students led the charge as they tried to march on the presidential palace early on Thursday, only to be thwarted by hundreds of police in riot gear and clouds of teargas. Tucapel Jiménez, a member of the Chilean congress, called for sanctions against government authorities who authorised what he called “brutal repression” by riot police. “This is unacceptable, the centre of Santiago is a state of siege,” said university student leader Camila Vallejo, tears rolling down her face after being doused in teargas. “The right to congregate has been violated.” “I don’t see any other solution than a general referendum,” said Giorgio Jackson, president of the Catholic University student union as he described the distance between student demands and the government offer. “There are some points of agrement, but clearly there are other points that are very relevant and in which we have grand differences.” News coverage of students being gassed and hauled off buses by police squads led Vallejo to call for the resignation of Rodrigo Hinzpeter, Chile’s interior minister. Government officials insisted the students did not have a permit to march and defended the police reaction as necessary to maintain business as usual in Santiago. Government spokesman Andrés Chadwick estimated vandalism damage at $2m. Marches were held in other big cities, including Valparaíso, Concepción and Temuco. Protests continued into the evening with vandalism and bonfires in various parts of the capital, snarling traffic and highlighting the growing wave of discontent. La Polar, a retail chain recently charged with saddling consumers with outrageous interest rates on overdue accounts, was set alight. The torching was widely denounced by protest groups, but was the latest evidence that long dormant Chilean youth are rebelling against the orthodox free market ideology that dominates everyday Chilean life. In recent years, for example, it was common for private hospitals to impose a 100% surcharge for babies born outside business hours. Students have long insisted for-profit universities and schools should receive no government subsidies. The protest movement, organised largely through Facebook and Twitter, has shaken the Chilean political establishment as up to 100,000 students, usually costumed and peaceful, have marched. With a mix of music and fancy dress, the students have used the streets of the capital as a stage for acts ranging from a 3,000- person re-enactmant of Michael Jackson’s Thriller dance to a “besa-thon”, where young couples kissed for hours in front of La Moneda, the presidential palace. For two months hundreds of high schools have been seized by teenage students. Despite warnings from the government that tens of thousands of students would be forced to repeat the entire school year, high schoolers continue to demand an end to for-profit educational institutions, lower interest rates on student loans and a bus pass valid year round. An opinion poll on Thursday put Piñera’s popularity at 26%. Opposition coalition La Concertacion had an approval rating of just 16% as the range of popular complaints appears to grow daily. One year ago Chile was celebrating its new-found unity and the Piñera administration was lauded by the world media for the teamwork used to save 33 trapped copper miners. Today the heroes are the student leaders, including Vallejo, who wields enormous political power. Piñera has sacked his education minister and promised billions in new government spending for education in an unsuccesful attempt to quell the protests. After being teargassed on Thursday, Vallejo called on citizens to show support for the striking students by banging pots and pans at 9pm – a reminder of the call to the streets used in the Pinochet era. Her call spread like wildfire on social networks and led to a night of clanging celebrations, spontaneous street festivals and a national realisation that Chile is living a historical moment, with a movement that cuts across traditional social and class boundaries. Chile Protest Jonathan Franklin guardian.co.uk
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HMRC crackdown means officers who accepted payments from newspapers or private investigators face prosecution and fines Police officers who allegedly took payments from newspapers and private investigators could face hefty fines and criminal prosecution after it emerged HM Revenue & Customs is reopening personal tax records to check if payments were fully disclosed. It is understood HMRC has already begun probing self-assessment forms from previous years in the wake of new information obtained amid the phone-hacking revelations. Last month Sir Paul Stephenson, the outgoing Metropolitan police commissioner, said documents provided by News International appear to include information on “inappropriate payments” to police officers. It was reported that the company provided the Met with details of payments made by the News of the World to senior officers between 2003 and 2007. Under HMRC rules any payments earned in connection with an individual’s employment are required to be disclosed for tax purposes, even if the payment is deemed illegal. An HMRC spokesperson said he could not confirm the nature or extent of any investigation into a private individual’s tax affairs. But he confirmed that HMRC will act on any new information and that illegal earnings can still be liable for tax. Action to recover tax from police officers paid illegal tip-off fees relies on the precedent set by the “Miss Whiplash” prostitution case of the early 1990s, which has since entered the HMRC rule book. Miss Whiplash, who also went by the name of Lindi St Clair, was pursued for £112,000 in unpaid income tax in the late 1980s. It culminated in a court case in 1990 where she argued that since it was illegal to live on immoral earnings, taxing her would be committing an offence. But she lost the case and was subsequently made bankrupt. An HMRC spokesman said: “If you receive money in connection with your employment then it is liable for income tax. Illegality is irrelevant.” Over the past year HMRC has intensified investigations into alleged tax cheats and promised to increase the number of prosecutions. Since April HMRC has had powers to name and shame anyone found to have deliberately evaded £25,000 or more in tax. The scheme will see names, addresses and details of the evasion made public. But those who come clean can avoid having their details published. Earlier this year the government gave HMRC with an additional £900m to fund more investigations into tax evasion. The aim is to raise an additional £7bn in tax each year by 2014/15. HMRC has also gained new powers to inspect taxpayers’ records and documents. In a typical investigation it will examine income and earnings dating back six years. If it discovers an individual has knowingly submitted an inaccurate return or document, or taken active steps to conceal earnings, it can demand repayment of the tax, plus interest and a penalty of up to 100% of the unpaid tax. The department recently announced the targeting of the restaurant industry with a new task force dedicated to detecting tax and national insurance evasion. But it added that criminal prosecutions were reserved only for the most serious cases of high level fraud. Police Phone hacking Tax avoidance Corporate governance Tax Newspapers & magazines Patrick Collinson guardian.co.uk
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Voters are much more focused on the economy and jobs than they are on the deficit and debt, and they see manufacturing as a key component of improving the American economy. Those were among the key findings of a national poll and focus groups conducted on behalf of the Alliance for American Manufacturing. Poll respondents said they believe that manufacturing is “central and irreplaceable” in determining the strength of the economy of the United States. The results show increasing support for U.S. industry, growing concern over China’s role in our economy and a strong sense that no one in Washington is doing anything to improve the job situation. Nearly 90% of Americans favor a national manufacturing plan that includes “Buy American” provisions, that cracks down on unfair trade practices by countries such as China, and that includes incentives for research and development. The AAM said the purpose of the poll was to send a “wake-up call” to Washington. In particular, the organization points out that Republican leaders (and to a lesser extent, Democratic leaders) are significantly out of touch with their constituents. The polling showed consistent results across party lines and including the majority of tea party-identified voters. Representative quotes from voters in the focus groups were: “We become a third world country if we lose manufacturing” and “The playing field isn’t even, China is cheating.” Other key numbers from the poll: -When given an “either/or” choice, just 29% want Washington to focus on deficit reduction while 67% favor job creation. -Less than a third (32%) believe the U.S. is the world’s strongest economy, with the plurality (39%) saying it is China. Yet, 88% believe it is possible for the U.S. to have the strongest economy in the world and 95% feel that it is either very or somewhat important. -“Creating manufacturing jobs in the U.S.” and “strengthening manufacturing in this country” are the top voter priorities for the President. -Only 50% of voters believe that the President is working to create manufacturing jobs – an 11% drop from 2010. Congress fares even worse – 41% say Democrats in Congress are working to create jobs, and 32% see the GOP working to create jobs. -90% have a favorable view of American manufacturing companies – up 22% from 2010. -97% have a favorable view of U.S.-made goods – up 5% from 2010. -32% identified manufacturing as the “most important” sector for our economic strength – surpassing all other sectors by a wide margin. 54% identified it in their “top two.” -62% say that that manufacturing is a “critical part of the American economy” and reject the view that high-tech and services will replace it.72% have an unfavorable view of goods made in China and 83% have an unfavorable view of companies that go to China to manufacture. -86% favor a national manufacturing strategy “to make sure that economic, tax, labor and trade policies in this country work together to help support manufacturing…” – up 8% from 2010. -87% see a role for government in supporting manufacturing – 49% say “whatever is necessary” and another 38% for limited role of “incentives, and trade policy.” -94% support a tax benefit for companies that conduct R&D in the U.S. and make their new products here. -91% support increasing investment in “retraining and education programs to ensure workers gain the tools they need to compete in modern, high-tech factories – up 4% from 2010. -90% support Buy American policies “to ensure that taxpayer funded government projects use only U.S.-made goods and supplies wherever possible.” -90% support tax incentives for companies that “invest in new equipment and plants for manufacturing.” -89% support investing “more in rebuilding and repairing bridges, roads, and other basic infrastructure.” -95% favor keeping “America’s trade laws strong and strictly enforced to provide a level playing field for our workers and businesses.” -59% say we need to “get tough with China and use every possible means to stop their unfair trade practices…” – only 34% say we need to “be careful…because they own such a significant portion of our debt.” On Thursday, the AAM held a conference call to reveal the findings from a national survey and several focus groups of likely 2012 voters. The results were compiled by the Mellman Group and Ayres & McHenry. AAM will continue to poll these topics regularly to make sure that the media and Washington politicians know what the people’s priorities are in the areas of jobs and manufacturing. The full report is available on the AAM website .
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