Zainab al-Khawaja allowed to spend 10 minutes with her husband Wafu Almajed, who was arrested in April The young Bahraini woman who become a prominent face of the Arab uprisings after going on hunger strike to protest at the detention of relatives has described in a series of heart-rending tweets her first meeting with her husband in more than two months. Zainab al-Khawaja, who staged a 10-day fast in April following the beating and arrest of her father, a prominent human rights activist, and the arrest of her husband and her brother-in-law, described being allowed to spend just six minutes with Wafu Almajed. Much of Khawaja’s overseas profile comes from her much-read and prolific updates under the Twitter moniker angryarabiya . Friday’s brief reunion, in which Khawaja was allowed to bring along the couple’s 20-month-old daughter, Jude, was described immediately afterwards in a series of breathless and emotional 140-character missives. Beginning, “Hi every1, at long last, finally, I have seen my husband ,” Khawaja described being let into the jail in Manama, Bahrain’s capital, by one of the police officers who arrested and beat up her father, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja. He also remains in custody. The description continued: “They took us to a room, after searching us. Then Wafi walked in. I dunno how to explain how I felt … We hugged Wafi, then he was asked to sit on a chair abt 4 mtrs away from us … There were at least 5 police with us in the small room, and 2 by the door. all looking and listening to us … I woke jude and walked over and put her in his lap. I cud tell he’s fighting tears … Wafi started singin Barneys ‘I love u song’ to jude, infront of all the police … Jude had just woken up and was staring at Wafi, probably surprised. Then wafi sang ‘if all the raindrops’ another of Judes favorites.” In tweets before the visit Khawaja had speculated that the 70-day wait before she was allowed to see her husband could be to allow the physical signs of any mistreatment to fade. After visiting him she described seeing what appeared to be a series of old bruises around his face. Her husband did not ask about Khawaja’s father, she added, speculating that this could be because he had been ordered not to do so by police. She ended the description of the visit: “Then he kept saying ‘jude has grown, she’s so much bigger. Does she talk? Wat can she say?’ … he asked abt family, asked me why I had lost so much weight. Asked if I was ok … The whole meeting was abt 6 minutes. The police said ‘visit is over’ … We hugged, he told me to take good care of jude, I told him to stay strong and pray. He smiled ‘don’t worry, all we do is pray.’” Since ending her hunger strike Khawaja has continued to protest at the continued detention of her relatives. On Wednesday she was among three women arrested after staging a sit-in at a UN office in Manama. They were released the following day. Bahrain Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Peter Walker guardian.co.uk
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Angela Merkel admits defeat in struggle to extract money from private sector towards European Union rescue package Angela Merkel has admitted defeat over Germany’s plan to force private banks to contribute funds to a new bailout package designed to rescue the Greek economy. After a meeting with the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, in Berlin on Thursday, the German chancellor said they had agreed that any contribution from private creditors to the package would have to be voluntary. “We want the participation of private creditors on a voluntary basis,” said Merkel, stressing that there was no legal way in which banks could be forced to play along. She and Sarkozy both declined to set a date for the Greek deal to be finalised. But Sarkozy indicated that time was running out. “We want a quick fix … There is no time to waste,” said Sarkozy. The summit was well received by financial markets, which have fallen sharply in recent days as investors feared that Greece would suffer a disorderly default. In London, the FTSE 100 index erased early losses, and the euro strengthened against other major currencies. Greek government bonds also staged a small recovery. The yield, or interest rate, on the two-year Greek bond dropped to 28.6%, from over 30% early on Friday. Merkel’s admission was a significant climbdown from her earlier position. Berlin had lobbied noisily for the compulsory participation in a new Greek bailout of private lenders, many of whom stand to lose heavily if Greece defaults on its €300bn (£265bn) debts. Last year’s first Greek bailout, part-funded by European taxpayers, was hugely unpopular in Germany, and Merkel was keen to send a message to voters that not just they, but also the banks, would be paying this time around. Earlier this month, European Union finance ministers were said to be considering a plan in which private creditors possessing Greek state bonds would be asked to cover €20bn – €35bn of the costs . As Europe’s paymaster, Germany had called for Greece’s private creditors to swap their bonds for new ones with maturities that are seven years longer, but encountered fierce resistance to those plans from France, the European central bank and European commission. France in particular was adamant that trying to force private creditors into any Greek deal would be dangerous for the markets. On Thursday, the head of the eurozone, Jean-Claude Juncker, said that imposing losses on investors could trigger a European version of the Lehman Brothers bank collapse – a so-called “credit event”. “It’s a really ugly situation. The [German] idea is dangerous. It could provoke the gravest risk, that all three rating agencies declare a credit event and then there are big contagion risks for other countries,” he said . Merkel’s meeting with Sarkozy on Friday morning in Berlin was the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders in seven very rocky months in Franco-German relations. On Wednesday, the French ambassador to Germany, Maurice Gourdault-Montagne, told a select group of German journalists that Berlin pays too little attention to its ties with Paris. The ambassador suggested Merkel did not give Sarkozky enough face time, pointing out that the last chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, agreed to more one-on-one meetings with his French counterpart when he was in power . But at Thursday’s press conference at the chancellery, Sarkozy heralded a “major breakthrough” with “our German friends”. In three hours of talks, he and Merkel had at least agreed that there ideally should be some involvement on the private sector in the Greece bailout, he said. The deal was based on four principles: voluntary participation, speed, no payment default and agreement with the European central bank. Both leaders also stressed that Greece had to comply with its obligations. The duo were keen to reach a consensus ahead of next week’s EU summit in Brussels, which will see European leaders try to hammer out a Greek deal. Greece Euro Currencies Euro European Union Economics Germany France Angela Merkel Nicolas Sarkozy Helen Pidd guardian.co.uk
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Most complaints dismissed but 130 fully or partly upheld against company that runs three removal centres A security firm that handles immigration detainees received more than 700 complaints last year, according to official figures released under freedom of information. Most common complaints against G4S related to lost property and poor communication but there were 48 complaints of assault, three of which were upheld. Figures provided to the BBC showed there were 773 complaints from immigration detainees against the private company in 2010, of which 130 were found to be fully or partially substantiated. Around 640 were unsubstantiated. G4S said there were only 25 complaints substantiated that related directly to the conduct of its staff. Two complaints of racism were partially substantiated but six were dismissed. The figures showed there were a total of 1,497 complaints between December 2008 and April 2011. The number of complaints in 2010 were up by 240 over the previous year but the proportion upheld fell. G4S runs three removal centres and until recently escorted detainees during deportation. During the two and a half years about 65,000 people passed through the centres. More than half of the complaints related to Brook House, near Gatwick airport in Sussex, which holds convicted foreign criminals awaiting deportation. A spokesman for G4S told the BBC: “Anyone detained within our immigration facilities is given every opportunity to raise concerns about either the treatment they receive from our staff or the services we provide. “The level of substantiated complaints against our employees over the last three years, at 25, is extremely low and of a minor nature, albeit we take each one very seriously. “The vast majority of upheld complaints relate to issues at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre, which houses some of the UK’s most challenging detainees, including a number of convicted criminals, prior to their deportation.” David Wood, of the UK Border Agency, said: “The way that complaints are processed and recorded has been made simpler in recent years, which has led to a rise in recording. “Complaints range from issues about the food served at mealtimes to more serious issues. Importantly these figures show a decrease in substantiated complaints and that the majority of complaints are minor and relate to availability of facilities at the centres.” Immigration and asylum G4S G4S guardian.co.uk
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Life and Times survey shows 73% of Northern Ireland respondents want to stay in UK rather than link up with Dublin Sinn Féin’s campaign for a united Ireland was dealt a severe blow on Friday when a survey in Northern Ireland showed that most Catholics there preferred to remain within the UK. Fifty two per cent of Catholics living in Northern Ireland wanted that union to continue, while 35% said they desired a united Ireland. Overall, 73% of respondents to the Life and Times survey – one of the main polling bodies in the province – said they wished to stay in the UK rather than link up with Dublin. Although both Sinn Féin and the smaller nationalist SDLP party questioned the accuracy of the poll, the Life and Times survey was commissioned by the office of the first and deputy first minister at Stormont, jointly headed by Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson. In successive Life and Times surveys since 2008, a majority of Catholics taking part have indicated a preference for staying in the UK. Over the last few years, the Irish Republic has been perceived to be less attractive to northerners following Dublin’s fiscal crisis and the ongoing recession. An overwhelming number of Protestants in the north of Ireland continue to support the maintenance of the union with Britain. Only 4% of northern Protestants opted for Irish unity in the poll. The results of the survey come as Sinn Féin prepares to launch another push for Irish unity. The party is holding a rally in Dublin this weekend at which its president, Gerry Adams, will put the case for unification The Democratic Unionist party – the single biggest party in the Stormont Assembly – welcomed the Life and Times survey and said it showed that traditional communal loyalties were “crumbling away”. Although a majority of Catholics vote for Sinn Féin, the most robustly pro-united Ireland party on the island, unionist have argued that this does not necessarily translate into support for ending the union. The Northern Ireland Life and Times survey has been carrying out polls tracking political attitudes in the province since the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998. Sinn Féin Gerry Adams Northern Irish politics Northern Ireland Ireland Henry McDonald guardian.co.uk
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Rents rise 7.8% in London, followed by north-east and east Midlands as tenants are unable to get a mortgage to buy Tenants suffered again in May 2011 as the average rent in England and Wales hit a new record high of £695, a 0.5% rise on April, fuelling increasing incidents of “rental gazumping”, according to the latest LSL Property Services buy-to-let index. During the month, rents increased the fastest in the east of England (1.4%) and the north-east (1.1%), and declined in only three regions: the West Midlands (-0.7%), the south-west (-0.6%) and Wales (-0.2%). This takes the annual rise in rent to 4.4% – below the headline rate of inflation in the UK. Annually, rents rose the fastest in London, increasing by 7.8% during the last 12 months, followed by the north-east and the east Midlands, where rents increased by a respective 6.4% and 6.2%. During the last year, average rents only fell in the south-west and the east of England, where they declined by 0.4% and 1.2%. For landlords, the total annual return across England and Wales remained steady at 2.9%, based on average rent of £4,891-£7,414 against a decline in property values of £2,523. The total annual return in London dwarfed the national average, rising to 9.5% or £22,339 per property. If property values continue on their current trend, LSL said a property investor could expect to make a total annual return of 5.7% over the next year – equivalent to £9,404 per property. Despite the rises, tenant arrears fell in May 2011, with 11.5% of all rent in England and Wales unpaid or late by the end of the month, compared to 11.8% by the end of April. But this figure is well above the 10.6% average of 2010, and takes the total unpaid rent to £277m. David Newnes of LSL Property Services, which owns the UK’s largest lettings agent network, including national chain Your Move, said: “Soaring inflation has taken its toll on would-be buyers’ deposit funds. The rocketing cost of living, combined with ongoing difficulty first time buyers are experiencing in obtaining a mortgage is increasing the number reliant on rental accommodation. “With the fierce competition for homes, rental gazumping is becoming more commonplace and properties are being let beyond asking price, putting further upwards pressure on the market. For tenants unable to buy, renting is becoming less affordable as demand booms. Rents are increasing at twice the rate of wages.” Newnes warned that with tenant finances coming under increasing strain from rampant inflation and soaring rents, as well as public sector squeezes, it is “critical that landlords notice and react quickly to any potential payment problems to prevent tenant arrears spiralling out of control”. Renting property Property First-time buyers Consumer affairs Mark King guardian.co.uk
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Cristina Kirchner dismisses as ‘arrogant, mediocre and stupid’ the PM’s vow that islands should remain British The Argentinian president has criticised David Cameron for insisting the Falkland Islands should remain a British territory. Cristina Kirchner described the prime minister as “arrogant” and said his comments were an “expression of mediocrity and almost of stupidity”. Cameron had been prompted by Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell during prime minister’s questions to remind Barack Obama that the British government would not accept any kind of negotiations over the south Atlantic islands, which Argentina and Britain fought a 10-week war over in 1982. Cameron told the Commons: “I would say this: as long as the Falkland Islands want to be sovereign British territory, they should remain sovereign British territory – full stop, end of story.” In her criticism of his comments, Kirchner said that Britain “continues to be a crude colonial power in decline”. She has insisted that the two countries should negotiate over the islands, which have been a British territory since 1833. The 1982 conflict cost the lives of 649 Argentinian and 255 British troops. It ended when the invading Argentinian forces surrendered on 14 June, now celebrated by the islanders as liberation day. On Wednesday the commander of the naval task force that recaptured the Falkland Islands warned that they had since become “perilously close to being indefensible” against an Argentinian attack. Writing in the Daily Mail , Admiral Sandy Woodward cited the lack of an aircraft carrier and weakening US support for British sovereignty. “The simple truth is without aircraft carriers and without the Americans we would not have any hope of doing the same again today.” Last year, five retired commanders warned that the scrapping of the Harrier jets and HMS Ark Royal as part of defence cuts amounted to an invitation to invade the Falklands . The Ministry of Defence has dismissed Woodward’s articles as “completely without substance”. This week a British man became the first Falkland islander to choose Argentinian citizenship earlier this week. On the 29th anniversary to mark the end of the war, James Peck, whose father was killed fighting on the British side during the conflict, was presented with an identity card by Kirchner. Argentina Haroon Siddique guardian.co.uk
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Rami Makhlouf, a cousin of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, to channel wealth into charity as a concession to protesters Syrian tycoon Rami Makhlouf, a cousin of President Bashar al-Assad and focus of anti-corruption protests, is quitting business, state media said, in a major concession to demonstrations against Assad’s rule. The announcement came on the eve of weekly Muslim prayers, which have usually witnessed the biggest protests and the heaviest bloodshed of the three-month unrest, and as army units circled two towns in the north of the country. Makhlouf controls several businesses including Syria’s largest mobile phone operator, duty-free shops, an oil concession, airline company and hotel and construction concerns, and shares in at least one bank. He has been subject to US sanctions since 2007 for what Washington calls public corruption, as well as EU sanctions imposed in May, but repeatedly maintained he was a legitimate businessman whose firms employ thousands of Syrians. A childhood friend of Assad who has expanded his business since the president assumed power 11 years ago, Makhlouf will channel his wealth into charity and development projects, according to state media. “As for his businesses, they will be directed so that they … create jobs and support the national economy. He will not enter into any new project that [brings] him personal gain,” Syrian television said. State news agency Sana quoted Makhlouf as saying he will put his 40% holding in Syriatel up for sale in an initial public offering, with profits allocated to humanitarian work and families of those killed in the unrest. Syrian rights groups say 1,300 civilians and more than 300 soldiers and police have been killed since protests broke out in March against 41 years of rule by the Assad family. The UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, said he had spoken to Assad and urged him to halt the violence. “I again strongly urge President Assad to stop killing people and engage in inclusive dialogue and take bold measures before it’s too late,” Ban told reporters in Brazil. Syrian forces, which retook the rebel town of Jisr al-Shughour near the Turkish border on Sunday, have circled two nearby towns on the main north-south road linking Damascus with the second city of Aleppo. Army units “have deployed near Khan Sheikhoun and Maarat al-Numaan to ensure the safety” of the highway, Sana said. Thousands of refugees have fled into neighbouring Turkey, many of them from Jisr al-Shughour, but residents have also reported an exodus from Maarat al-Numaan in anticipation of an army assault there. The Turkish foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, held talks with a Syrian envoy in which he called on Damascus to end the violent crackdown and pass democratic reforms. “Yesterday I clearly saw the fear in the eyes of the people,” Davutoglu said in Ankara, a day after he visited a border camp in Yayladagi, about 20km from Jisr al-Shughour, and talked to refugees. Syria says thousands of people have returned to Jisr al-Shughour. But Turkish officials said 8,900 Syrians, many from that town, were still in Turkey. Activists say another 10,000 have been sheltering by the border just inside Syria. “We are hearing that they are calling for people to return, but we know that we will die if we go back,” said a refugee on the Turkish side of the border who gave his name as Ahmed. Activists said the announcement about Makhlouf would not put a halt to the protests unless it was part of a wider package of reform. The local co-ordination committees said that nightly demonstrations, aimed at circumventing heavy daytime security, continued across Syria, including in the Damascus district of Qaboun, Dael in the southern province of Deraa, Deir al-Zor in the east of the country and Homs to the north of Damascus. Syria Middle East guardian.co.uk
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Chief secretary to Treasury to confirm that pension age for public servants will rise to match state pension age, which is increasing to 66 Public sector workers must accept they will have to work longer and pay more into their pension pots in order to guarantee that they continue to receive better pensions than those in the private sector, Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has said. Alexander will announce key details of the new pension plan for six million public servants in a speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research thinktank on Friday. He will confirm that the pension age for public servants will rise to match the state pension age – which itself is rising to 66 – although police and firefighters will spared. The generous final salary schemes will be scrapped and replaced with benefits based on a career average. Most controversially, contributions will rise, taking more money out of civil servants’ pay packets. “People in this country are living longer – we’re seeing longevity increase by 10 years since the 1970s, and that’s predicted to go further in the future,” Alexander told BBC Radio 4′s Today programme. “That’s why we’re increasing the state pension age – it will go up to 66 from 2020 – and that’s why we’re recommending there is an increase in pension contributions. “If we make those changes – alongside changes going on for every other person in this country – then we can protect something which is very important, that people who give their working life in service to the public continue to receive among the very best pensions in retirement.” Unions will hold emergency talks on Friday to decide how to respond to the government’s intervention. Ministers had not been expected to formalise plans until after pension talks have concluded later in the summer, and Alexander’s announcement will anger those who have been holding back from industrial action in the hope that a settlement could be reach. Brian Strutton, a negotiator for the GMB union, told the BBC that if Alexander’s plans were non-negotiable, it would be a “show-stopper”. Under details of the plans, the lowest-paid public servants are to be spared he worst of the increases to their pension contributions in a rush to avoid a mass opt-out, Alexander said. But the decision to protect people earning up to £18,000 from the average increase of 3.2% of their salary – made after warnings that the pension reforms could price some people out of saving for their future altogether – will mean the higher paid will pay up to 5% more. Alexander will announce that workers earning less than £15,000 will be spared any increase, and those earning less than £18,000 will have their contributions capped at 1.5%. The increases will be phased in over three years from next April to lessen the blow. Higher earners –including teachers, medics and local government managers – could face a doubling of their contributions from next April. The move could potentially divide the union movement, making co-ordinated strike action across the whole of the public sector less certain and sector-by-sector action more likely. “If they go down this route, it will mean divide and rule,” one union leader said. Alexander is expected to tell his audience: “It is disappointing that there are a minority of unions who seem hell bent on premature strike action before discussions are even complete. “It may be that those who oppose this change think that they can force the government to change its mind. This head in the sand approach is a colossal mistake. This government will reform public service pensions, and this is the time to shape that change, not try to block it. “People are living much longer … this advance comes at a price. It is unjustifiable to ask the taxpayer to work longer and pay more so that public sector workers can retire earlier and receive more themselves. “The changes to contributions from April next year are vital to putting pensions on a fair and affordable footing. But as we promised in the spending review we will protect the low paid and phase in the changes.” Alexander will promise that “low and middle income” earners in the public sector will get benefits at retirement that are “broadly” as good as they are now. He will stress that all accrued rights will be unaffected, that the police, army and fire service will be exempted from the increases in the pension age, and that defined benefit schemes will remain. There are concerns that a mass opt-out from the local government pension scheme would not only add to the state’s welfare bill in workers’ retirement but could also cause investment funds to shrink or even collapse, taking billions of pounds out of the economy. One union survey suggested that if local government workers had to pay the additional three percentage points into their pensions – the average increase being sought by ministers – four in 10 would leave the scheme. Writing in the Telegraph , Alexander said public sector workers would be making a “colossal mistake” to spurn the government’s pensions deal and would be sacrifcing the best offer they will get “for years to come”. He urged rank and file union members to help “shape” the current reforms or face “uncompromising” change later. Mark Serwotka, the general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, which will strike on 30 June, said: “We’ve been heavily criticised by the government for balloting for industrial action while talks are ongoing, and yet Danny Alexander will apparently admit they’re not planning to change their minds. “Every expert who has looked at this recently has confirmed that the changes we agreed just a few years ago have put public sector pensions on a sustainable footing, so these cuts are unnecessary and deliberately provocative.” Public sector pensions Public services policy Public sector pay Danny Alexander Economic policy Liberal Democrats Liberal-Conservative coalition Trade unions Polly Curtis guardian.co.uk
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Marco Antonio Guzmán is accused of leading the armed wing of the Juárez cartel, which has terrorised northern Mexico Federal authorities have detained a former police officer accused of leading the armed wing of the violent Juárez cartel in northern Mexico, according to the government. Marco Antonio Guzmán, who had several aliases including “El Brad Pitt”, was captured on Wednesday in Chihuahua along with two alleged accomplices, according to a federal police statement. Guzmán, 34, was brought to the Mexican capital on Thursday and shown, handcuffed, to the media. Police said Guzmán was involved in a car bomb explosion that killed a federal police officer and two civilians in June 2010. They also accuse him of being involved in drug-trafficking operations across Chihuahua. Ciudad Juárez is one of the worst-affected areas of the drug war, where an estimated 3,100 people were killed in 2010. A federal official speaking off the record said Guzmán’s nickname El Brad Pitt comes from a disguise he wore when he served as a lookout for the Juárez cartel. To go unnoticed, he tried to look like a tourist wearing his hair long, a baseball cap and a camera around his neck. According to the official, gang associates said Guzmán looked like Pitt in a scene from the American film Spy Game about CIA agents, in which the actor wore a similar outfit. Guzmán had a $42,000 (£26,000) reward for his capture, and may have been planning another such bombing – federal police said in a statement that he had been responsible for acquiring another load of explosives seized in Ciudad Juárez on April 25. He also alleged to have participated in a videotaped killing that was posted online. Also on Thursday, federal police said they arrested a leader of the so-called Zodiac kidnapping gang, whose member used the signs of the zodiac as nicknames. Dhither Camarillo Palafox, alias Taurus, was arrested in Cancun on Friday. His alleged associates nicknamed Sagittarius and Aquarius were arrested in 2009. The group’s other leader, nicknamed Cancer, was detained in 2005. The group allegedly carried out kidnappings in and around Mexico City. Mexico Drugs trade guardian.co.uk
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Click here to view this media Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich appeared on Fox News Wednesday to demand an apology from NBC News for reporting that his wife Callista was at the center of his campaign turmoil. “I believe NBC owes Callista an apology because the fact is my campaign is my campaign,” the former House Speaker told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren. “Yes, we make decisions as a couple but in the end, I take full responsibility and I think the program this morning was totally irresponsible and personally reprehensible and the kind of thing that makes it hard to get decent people to run for public office.” “NBC News, as you know, is standing by its reporting,” Today Show host Ann Curry told NBC’s Chuck Todd Thursday. “Well, this is misplaced anger,” Todd noted. “His anger should probably be at his aides because all of the reporting on this has been about Newt Gingrich was allowing his personal issues — whether it was actions by his wife, whether it was actions by his production company — to somehow be prioritized over the presidential campaign. That’s why these folks left. Newt Gingrich was not putting a priority on running for president and instead was more worried about making money for his production company, going on this vacation, keeping things happy at home. Nothing wrong with those things, but that’s not how you win a presidency.”
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