Energy secretary and his ex-wife reported to have given terse evidence under oath as police prepare to hand file to CPS Police are expected this week to wrap up their investigation into claims that the energy secretary, Chris Huhne, asked his wife to take penalty points for speeding. A file will be handed to the Crown Prosecution Service amid reports that the two key witnesses gave terse evidence under oath. Huhne has denied throughout the last month claims brought by his ex-wife, Vicky Pryce, that he persuaded her to take three points on his behalf – a criminal offence. She alleged Huhne incurred points for speeding on the night of 12 March 2003 when heading down the M11 from Stansted to London after arriving on a plane from Brussels, where he worked as an MEP. It has been alleged that, since Huhne had incurred points previously, he offloaded the new points on to Pryce to avoid losing his driving licence. Pryce was attending a dinner at the London School of Economics (LSE) that night, so the investigation turns on whether she left London with enough time to be driving the car from the airport back down to London and incur the points herself at 11.20pm. The Essex police investigation is reported to have stretched to officers contacting guests who were at the same LSE dinner. Huhne and Pryce were separately interviewed by police last week. Reports have emerged that neither was particularly helpful. Huhne is said to have given terse answers, exercising his right to say “no comment” to much of the questioning, while persistent reports suggest Pryce, who brought the allegation into the public domain, subsequently decided to refuse to repeat the claims. One Sunday newspaper said Pryce refused to do so because her children feared she could be charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, and possibly be sent to prison. Sources close to Pryce said she was “extremely irritated” by suggestions she was unwilling fully to co-operate with investigators. Her lawyer Sarah Webb, said: “Vicky Pryce continues to co-operate with the police, as Chris Huhne MP has indicated he does.” Huhne is believed to have become convinced his wife did not intend the situation to get as serious as a formal court case, and that she wanted merely to “wound not kill”. Friends of the pair have been engaged in a strenuous attempt to broker a truce, attempting to ameliorate the damage to the family. One of the couple’s children is doing his A-levels. The pair have been embroiled in the high-profile disagreement since Huhne left his wife of 27 years for Carina Trimingham, who ran his campaign to become leader of the Liberal Democrats, which he lost to Nick Clegg. Pryce, who immediately filed for divorce, denies floating the suggestion that Huhne passed the speeding points on to her. One friend said: “Vicky is dismayed by suggestions that the speeding affair started because she was seeking revenge. She was not the one to raise it.” One newspaper reported on Monday that the director of prosecutions, Keir Starmer, could personally consider the case because it is so sensitive. Chris Huhne Liberal Democrats Allegra Stratton guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Defence appeal is unlikely to stall process as details emerge of Mladic’s life on the run, including three years in Belgrade Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb general arrested last week on genocide charges, may be extradited to the Hague tribunal in the next four days, say Serbian officials. The officials said that delaying tactics by defence lawyers could not put off the extradition beyond the end of the week. Mladic’s lawyer Milos Saljic was due to file an appeal on Monday against his extradition to the Hague war crimes tribunal, sending it by post in the hope of slowing down the process. Saljic said he would send the document by registered delivery. “I will make the appeal this afternoon to prolong things a bit, so the extradition does not take place right away,” he said. According to Belgrade press reports, lawyers acting for Mladic’s co-accused, the former Bosnian Serb political leader, Radovan Karadzic, attempted a similar ploy after he was arrested two years ago. But the appeal was lost in the post and Karadzic was extradited five days later. In his appeal, Saljic said, he would argue that the former Bosnian Serb general was not in a fit state to stand trial. “His health is in an alarming state; he must be examined by cardiologists, neurosurgeons, orthopaedists, gastroenterologists,” he said. Meanwhile, the Serbian government denied that Mladic’s arrest had been the result of a secret deal with the west to ensure the country’s eventual membership of the EU. The minister in charge of relations with the Hague tribunal, Rasim Ljajic, said: “There was no trade with Mladic’s extradition.” He said Serbia “would probably become a candidate for EU membership whether or not Mladic is extradited”. “We have arrested Mladic when we could, when we could reach him, and when we were sure we were following the right trail,” he said. Thousands of ultra-nationalists rallied in Belgrade on Sunday to protest against the arrest, denouncing the president, Boris Tadic, as a traitor. Ljajic has said the arrest was essential for Serbia’s national interests and for regional reconciliation. At a press conference on Monday, Ljajic gave new details of Mladic’s movements during his years on the run from an international arrest warrant for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. During Slobodan Milosevic’s rule, Mladic stayed in three army barracks, at Stragari, Rajac and Krcmar, Ljajic said. After Milosevic was ousted and sent to The Hague, and a new government signed an agreement with the tribunal to pursue Mladic in 2002, his supporters transferred him to an apartment in Belgrade. In 2005, he was taken to the village of Ljube, and to three more locations before his arrest. One of those locations was presumably the northern village of Lazarevo, where he was arrested on 26 May at the home of his cousin, Branko. There have been unconfirmed reports in the Serbian press that Mladic was sheltered by priests from the Serbian Orthodox church. Ljajic said the government was investigating if members of the state security services and the clergy had helped Mladic evade justice. A friend of Mladic said that in Belgrade he had lived a normal life. “Everybody came to pay their respects. He was not the type to sit around and do nothing,” Aleksandar Mihailovic said. “He loved songs, rakia , eating – he was a normal person.” Ratko Mladic Serbia Europe Bosnia and Herzegovina Julian Borger guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Defence appeal is unlikely to stall process as details emerge of Mladic’s life on the run, including three years in Belgrade Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb general arrested last week on genocide charges, may be extradited to the Hague tribunal in the next four days, say Serbian officials. The officials said that delaying tactics by defence lawyers could not put off the extradition beyond the end of the week. Mladic’s lawyer Milos Saljic was due to file an appeal on Monday against his extradition to the Hague war crimes tribunal, sending it by post in the hope of slowing down the process. Saljic said he would send the document by registered delivery. “I will make the appeal this afternoon to prolong things a bit, so the extradition does not take place right away,” he said. According to Belgrade press reports, lawyers acting for Mladic’s co-accused, the former Bosnian Serb political leader, Radovan Karadzic, attempted a similar ploy after he was arrested two years ago. But the appeal was lost in the post and Karadzic was extradited five days later. In his appeal, Saljic said, he would argue that the former Bosnian Serb general was not in a fit state to stand trial. “His health is in an alarming state; he must be examined by cardiologists, neurosurgeons, orthopaedists, gastroenterologists,” he said. Meanwhile, the Serbian government denied that Mladic’s arrest had been the result of a secret deal with the west to ensure the country’s eventual membership of the EU. The minister in charge of relations with the Hague tribunal, Rasim Ljajic, said: “There was no trade with Mladic’s extradition.” He said Serbia “would probably become a candidate for EU membership whether or not Mladic is extradited”. “We have arrested Mladic when we could, when we could reach him, and when we were sure we were following the right trail,” he said. Thousands of ultra-nationalists rallied in Belgrade on Sunday to protest against the arrest, denouncing the president, Boris Tadic, as a traitor. Ljajic has said the arrest was essential for Serbia’s national interests and for regional reconciliation. At a press conference on Monday, Ljajic gave new details of Mladic’s movements during his years on the run from an international arrest warrant for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. During Slobodan Milosevic’s rule, Mladic stayed in three army barracks, at Stragari, Rajac and Krcmar, Ljajic said. After Milosevic was ousted and sent to The Hague, and a new government signed an agreement with the tribunal to pursue Mladic in 2002, his supporters transferred him to an apartment in Belgrade. In 2005, he was taken to the village of Ljube, and to three more locations before his arrest. One of those locations was presumably the northern village of Lazarevo, where he was arrested on 26 May at the home of his cousin, Branko. There have been unconfirmed reports in the Serbian press that Mladic was sheltered by priests from the Serbian Orthodox church. Ljajic said the government was investigating if members of the state security services and the clergy had helped Mladic evade justice. A friend of Mladic said that in Belgrade he had lived a normal life. “Everybody came to pay their respects. He was not the type to sit around and do nothing,” Aleksandar Mihailovic said. “He loved songs, rakia , eating – he was a normal person.” Ratko Mladic Serbia Europe Bosnia and Herzegovina Julian Borger guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Click here to view this media On Memorial Day, we’ll let the president’s words speak for themselves. But this passage was especially eloquent: That’s what we memorialize today. That spirit that says, send me, no matter the mission. Send me, no matter the risk. Send me, no matter how great the sacrifice I am called to make. The patriots we memorialize today sacrificed not only all they had but all they would ever know. They gave of themselves until they had nothing more to give. It’s natural, when we lose someone we care about, to ask why it had to be them. Why my son, why my sister, why my friend, why not me? These are questions that cannot be answered by us. But on this day we remember that it is on our behalf that they gave our lives — they gave their lives. We remember that it is their courage, their unselfishness, their devotion to duty that has sustained this country through all its trials and will sustain us through all the trials to come. We remember that the blessings we enjoy as Americans came at a dear cost; that our very presence here today, as free people in a free society, bears testimony to their enduring legacy. Our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay. But we can honor their sacrifice, and we must. We must honor it in our own lives by holding their memories close to our hearts, and heeding the example they set. And we must honor it as a nation by keeping our sacred trust with all who wear America’s uniform, and the families who love them; by never giving up the search for those who’ve gone missing under our country’s flag or are held as prisoners of war; by serving our patriots as well as they serve us — from the moment they enter the military, to the moment they leave it, to the moment they are laid to rest. Full transcript below: THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you so much. Please be seated. Thank you, Secretary Gates, and thank you for your extraordinary service to our nation. I think that Bob Gates will go down as one of our finest Secretaries of Defense in our history, and it’s been an honor to serve with him. (Applause.) I also want to say a word about Admiral Mullen. On a day when we are announcing his successor as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and as he looks forward to a well-deserved retirement later this year, Admiral Mullen, on behalf of all Americans, we want to say thank you for your four decades of service to this great country. (Applause.) We want to thank Deborah Mullen as well for her extraordinary service. To Major General Karl Horst, the commanding general of our Military District of Washington; Mrs. Nancy Horst; Mr. Patrick Hallinan, the superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery, as well as his lovely wife Doreen. And to Chaplain Steve Berry, thank you for your extraordinary service. (Applause.) It is a great privilege to return here to our national sanctuary, this most hallowed ground, to commemorate Memorial Day with all of you. With Americans who’ve come to pay their respects. With members of our military and their families. With veterans whose service we will never forget and always honor. And with Gold Star families whose loved ones rest all around us in eternal peace. To those of you who mourn the loss of a loved one today, my heart breaks goes out to you. I love my daughters more than anything in the world, and I cannot imagine losing them. I can’t imagine losing a sister or brother or parent at war. The grief so many of you carry in your hearts is a grief I cannot fully know. This day is about you, and the fallen heroes that you loved. And it’s a day that has meaning for all Americans, including me. It’s one of my highest honors, it is my most solemn responsibility as President, to serve as Commander-in-Chief of one of the finest fighting forces the world has ever known. (Applause.) And it’s a responsibility that carries a special weight on this day; that carries a special weight each time I meet with our Gold Star families and I see the pride in their eyes, but also the tears of pain that will never fully go away; each time I sit down at my desk and sign a condolence letter to the family of the fallen. Sometimes a family will write me back and tell me about their daughter or son that they’ve lost, or a friend will write me a letter about what their battle buddy meant to them. I received one such letter from an Army veteran named Paul Tarbox after I visited Arlington a couple of years ago. Paul saw a photograph of me walking through Section 60, where the heroes who fell in Iraq and Afghanistan lay, by a headstone marking the final resting place of Staff Sergeant Joe Phaneuf. Joe, he told me, was a friend of his, one of the best men he’d ever known, the kind of guy who could have the entire barracks in laughter, who was always there to lend a hand, from being a volunteer coach to helping build a playground. It was a moving letter, and Paul closed it with a few words about the hallowed cemetery where we are gathered here today. He wrote, “The venerable warriors that slumber there knew full well the risks that are associated with military service, and felt pride in defending our democracy. The true lesson of Arlington,” he continued, “is that each headstone is that of a patriot. Each headstone shares a story. Thank you for letting me share with you [the story] about my friend Joe.” Staff Sergeant Joe Phaneuf was a patriot, like all the venerable warriors who lay here, and across this country, and around the globe. Each of them adds honor to what it means to be a soldier, sailor, airman, Marine, and Coast Guardsman. Each is a link in an unbroken chain that stretches back to the earliest days of our Republic — and on this day, we memorialize them all. We memorialize our first patriots — blacksmiths and farmers, slaves and freedmen — who never knew the independence they won with their lives. We memorialize the armies of men, and women disguised as men, black and white, who fell in apple orchards and cornfields in a war that saved our union. We memorialize those who gave their lives on the battlefields of our times — from Normandy to Manila, Inchon to Khe Sanh, Baghdad to Helmand, and in jungles, deserts, and city streets around the world. What bonds this chain together across the generations, this chain of honor and sacrifice, is not only a common cause — our country’s cause — but also a spirit captured in a Book of Isaiah, a familiar verse, mailed to me by the Gold Star parents of 2nd Lieutenant Mike McGahan. “When I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here I am. Send me!” That’s what we memorialize today. That spirit that says, send me, no matter the mission. Send me, no matter the risk. Send me, no matter how great the sacrifice I am called to make. The patriots we memorialize today sacrificed not only all they had but all they would ever know. They gave of themselves until they had nothing more to give. It’s natural, when we lose someone we care about, to ask why it had to be them. Why my son, why my sister, why my friend, why not me? These are questions that cannot be answered by us. But on this day we remember that it is on our behalf that they gave our lives — they gave their lives. We remember that it is their courage, their unselfishness, their devotion to duty that has sustained this country through all its trials and will sustain us through all the trials to come. We remember that the blessings we enjoy as Americans came at a dear cost; that our very presence here today, as free people in a free society, bears testimony to their enduring legacy. Our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay. But we can honor their sacrifice, and we must. We must honor it in our own lives by holding their memories close to our hearts, and heeding the example they set. And we must honor it as a nation by keeping our sacred trust with all who wear America’s uniform, and the families who love them; by never giving up the search for those who’ve gone missing under our country’s flag or are held as prisoners of war; by serving our patriots as well as they serve us — from the moment they enter the military, to the moment they leave it, to the moment they are laid to rest. That is how we can honor the sacrifice of those we’ve lost. That is our obligation to America’s guardians — guardians like Travis Manion. The son of a Marine, Travis aspired to follow in his father’s footsteps and was accepted by the USS [sic] Naval Academy. His roommate at the Academy was Brendan Looney, a star athlete and born leader from a military family, just like Travis. The two quickly became best friends — like brothers, Brendan said. After graduation, they deployed — Travis to Iraq, and Brendan to Korea. On April 29, 2007, while fighting to rescue his fellow Marines from danger, Travis was killed by a sniper. Brendan did what he had to do — he kept going. He poured himself into his SEAL training, and dedicated it to the friend that he missed. He married the woman he loved. And, his tour in Korea behind him, he deployed to Afghanistan. On September 21st of last year, Brendan gave his own life, along with eight others, in a helicopter crash. Heartbroken, yet filled with pride, the Manions and the Looneys knew only one way to honor their sons’ friendship — they moved Travis from his cemetery in Pennsylvania and buried them side by side here at Arlington. “Warriors for freedom,” reads the epitaph written by Travis’s father, “brothers forever.” The friendship between 1st Lieutenant Travis Manion and Lieutenant Brendan Looney reflects the meaning of Memorial Day. Brotherhood. Sacrifice. Love of country. And it is my fervent prayer that we may honor the memory of the fallen by living out those ideals every day of our lives, in the military and beyond. May God bless the souls of the venerable warriors we’ve lost, and the country for which they died. (Applause.)
Continue reading …George Will mocks Sarah Palin’s National Security Creds: Keep her mitts off da Nukes
May 30, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media The Republican establishment is really spooked at the idea that Sarah Palin might run for President in 2012 after she decided to take a long bus ride and George Will didn’t waste any time by throwing a haymaker on ABC’s This Week: Will: There’s no undecided vote in this country anymor eon Sarah Palin The threshold question, it’s not usually asked, but it’s in everyone’s mind in a presidential election. ‘Should we give this person nuclear weapons?’ And the answer [Palin], answers itself.” That doesn’t mean she can’t be without political consequence. When Republicans call into question another Republican’s national security chops you know there’s real animus goin’ on. Conservatives and the media always give the edge to protecting the homeland to the GOP so this isn’t some off the cuff quote. Conservative pundits and kingmakers are speaking out against her hard so maybe the RWNM will focus on the Conserva-bias being dished out against her instead of the usual mean MSM media. Let’s take a quick look at what’s being said by her own. Conservatives have labeled her their ‘Al Sharpton.” Roger Ailes may have called her an idiot. Charles Krauthammer has dismissed her as being not serious. Even Barbara Bush dissed her and now George Will tells the US public that she can’t be trusted with our nukes because maybe she might start an Armageddon. By the way, Will reminded me of the scene with Martin (President) Sheen from The Dead Zone : Martin Sheen as pushes the red button: ‘My destiny.’ Pass the popcorn boys and girls, this is real entertainment.
Continue reading …
Europe’s top DJs have embarked on a musical gold rush, filling clubs and hosting huge parties in the Nevada city In its heyday, Las Vegas swung to the sound of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr and Dean Martin, luring music lovers into its clubs and casinos. But a new star is rising in the desert, one that sees melodies exchanged for beats, and lounge suits for lasers. For the world’s top DJs have landed. Following in the Ratpack’s footsteps, some of the UK and Europe’s most celebrated DJs are now making it big in Las Vegas by taking up residencies at clubs and casinos around the city, and demanding fees to rival the biggest stars in rock and pop, a dance music industry conference heard at the weekend. “Las Vegas has woken up to the idea that for today’s young people it’s not about the spinning of a roulette wheel – but the spinning of a DJ,” said Nick Stevenson, associate editor of Mixmag dance music magazine. “DJs are snapping up exclusive deals, much like they did in Ibiza in the 90s. The new gold rush is all about dance music.” At the International Music Summit in Ibiza – which was also paid a visit by Samantha Cameron, who was holidaying on the “White Isle” with her husband – delegates discussed whether the home of gambling could become the next capital of dance. It has already become the second biggest centre – after Ibiza – and a clutch of acts are crossing the Atlantic, including: • Pete Tong, who last month celebrated 20 years at Radio 1, is billed for his first Vegas residency at Encore Beach Club. • On Saturday, Dutch DJ Tiesto started a residency at the Joint at the Hard Rock Cafe. • The rodent suit-wearing DJ, Deadmau5, can also be found at the Encore Beach Club (he was rumoured to have been paid £120,000 for a recent Vegas set). • French star David Guetta has been hosting his F***Me I’m Famous pool parties at Wet Republic, at the MGM Grand Speaking from the Ibiza summit, Tong said: “I wanted to get in there among it. Something has changed in Vegas recently and electronic music is really starting to take hold. The casinos used to use people like Sinatra and Dean Martin to get people in, but it has evolved and now dance music is the thing.” Where the authorities in Ibiza had banned many outdoor events, pool parties in Vegas can attract up to 10,000 people, he said, adding that the city had become the second biggest city for dance music bookings in the world. Vegas was leading the way with cutting edge sound equipment, super-sized bespoke clubs and dazzling shows, said Tong. “No one puts on a show like Vegas – they take it to the next level,” he said. Big and brash, Las Vegas has never been shy about its love of the dollar, and big name DJs also bring in a young and affluent crowd, said Amy Thomson, manager of Swedish House Mafia, who are headlining dance music festival Electric Daisy – in Las Vegas for the first time this year. “Money talks in Vegas,” said Thomson. “If your act was not bringing in big takings then they wouldn’t be getting booked. “When people go to a show they might buy a drink when they go in and one during the show. When people come to our shows they don’t come to watch, they come to rave for two to eight hours buying drinks at $20 dollars a pop.” It is not usual for the best table at a top clubs to have a minimum spend of $50,000 (£30,300) and when the Swedish House Mafia play they have little trouble in filling them, said Thomson. After a recent gig by the dance act the Marquee club in the city – which calls itself a palace of hedonism – recorded its biggest ever spend on champagne. “We attract lots of young, wealthy entrepreneurs and when they come to see us, they just let rip.” Such is the pulling power of the act that they have deals in place which take a cut of the clubs bar takings, which rise by up to 500% when the Scandinavians play, she added. “We are totally redefining how deals are done.” Las Vegas’s love of electronic music is influenced less by a passion for the genre, and more for a love of the greenbacks, she suggested. “There is no love [in Las Vegas] for growing credible music, they are interested in what sells, and right now that is electronic music.” Some music veterans had reservations about the new craze for beats in Las Vegas, said IMS founder Ben Turner. “One of the fears is whether the Vegas promoters will stick with it,” he said. “But whatever happens in Vegas, electronic music has broken through in the States, it is there to stay.” Dance music United States Las Vegas Electronic music Music industry Alexandra Topping guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
More than 300 seriously ill in Germany as E coli virus spreads to other northern European countries An E coli outbreak that has killed 14 people and made more than 300 seriously ill in Germany has spread to other north European countries and is expected to worsen in the coming week. “We hope that the number of cases will go down but we fear that it will worsen,” said Oliver Grieve, spokesman for the University Medical Centre Schleswig-Holstein in north Germany, where many of those afflicted are being treated. The source of the virulent strain of the bacteria is unknown, German authorities said on Monday ahead of a meeting of federal and state officials in Berlin. Most of the deaths have been in northern Germany. The E coli pathogen has been identified on cucumbers imported from Spain but it is unclear if they were contaminated there, during transport or in Germany. There are 36 cases of suspected E coli in Sweden, all linked to travel in northern Germany. A small number of cases have been reported in Britain, Denmark, France and the Netherlands, all linked with travel to Germany. The German government has identified the pathogen as hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious complication of a type of E coli known as Shiga toxin-producing E coli (STEC), and said it had killed 14 people and made at least 329 ill. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said in a risk assessment that the HUS/STEC outbreak is the largest in the world of its kind. HUS affects the blood, kidneys and, in severe cases, the nervous system and can be particularly serious for children and the elderly. Some 60 cases of HUS are reported annually in Germany, the government said. Grieve said his hospital had 82 cases of HUS and 115 confirmed E coli cases, and said the number of cases there had doubled within the past few days. The northern port city of Hamburg alone has reported 488 cases of E coli since the outbreak began in mid-May and has 94 cases of HUS.A hospital in the city said it was transferring patients with less serious illnesses to other clinics to cope with the flood of HUS patients. German authorities have warned consumers to avoid eating cucumbers, lettuces and tomatoes and have ordered some products removed from store shelves. Austria’s food safety agency ordered a recall of organically grown cucumbers, tomatoes and eggplant supplied by a Spanish producer thought to be the source of the outbreak. It said 33 Austrian stores were affected. E coli Germany Sweden Denmark France Austria guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Italian voters set to reject the prime minister’s mayoral candidates both in his home city and in Naples An exit poll and early projections show Italy’s prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, heading for a humiliating and politically ominous defeat in his home city of Milan. The polls suggested his party’s choice for mayor, Letizia Moratti, would be ousted in a runoff with a local leftwing lawyer, Giuliano Pisapia. An exit poll conducted for Sky Italia gave the challenger an advantage of seven percentage points; and an early projection pointed to an even bigger victory for Pisapia, of almost eight points. Projections also indicated that the left was storming towards a big victory in Italy’s third-biggest city, Naples. There, the opposition candidate was estimated to have picked up over 60% of the vote. Balloting in local and provincial elections ended at 3pm local time after a second, two-day round of voting. Milan, Italy’s business capital, was one of 90 towns and cities where a clear winner failed to emerge in the first round, on 15 and 16 May. The contest there was by far the most important. Milan is the city from which Italy’s flamboyant prime minister launched his political adventure, 17 years ago. It is also the one in which he is on trial for a range of alleged financial and sex-related offences. And, not least, it is the stronghold of his key allies in the populist, Islamophobic Northern League. Federico Manda, a tram maintenance technician, was one of a steady stream of last-minute voters at an electoral college around the corner from the courthouse where Berlusconi is a defendant in three concurrent trials. He had voted for “a change in Milan”, he said. “Berlusconi has monopolised this municipality, putting his men in everywhere, often in the wrong places.” Berlusconi tried to turn the ballot into a vote of confidence on his private life and his government’s performance. All the signs are that that was a disastrous error of judgment. After the first round, Moratti came in six percentage points behind her main rival. In the subsequent campaign, the prime minister and his Freedom People movement tried to make up lost ground with an overtly racist campaign directed at Pisapia’s sympathy for Roma and Muslims. Professor James Walston of the American University of Rome said he feared Berlusconi’s tactics could have a lasting impact on inter-racial and inter-faith relations in Italy. “This type of language has been used by the prime minister, not some neo-fascist maniac on the fringes,” he said. “It will be difficult to bring Italian political language back to acceptable European levels.” A victory for the left would be all the more remarkable, since its candidate was not the choice of the mainstream Democratic party (PD) but was one whose past is tinged with radicalism. Pisapia, a lawyer who once defended the Kurdish separatist leader Abdullah Ocalan, was elected to parliament in the 1990s as an independent on the slate of the hardline Communist Refoundation party. The predicted outcome in Naples would also be as much of an embarrassment to the PD as for Berlusconi. The opposition’s challenge there was mounted by a former prosecutor, Luigi De Magistris, who fought and defeated the PD’s candidate in the first round. Much will now depend on the reaction of the Northern League, which keeps Berlusconi’s government in power. Italy Silvio Berlusconi Europe Race issues John Hooper guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Italian voters set to reject the prime minister’s mayoral candidates both in his home city and in Naples An exit poll and early projections show Italy’s prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, heading for a humiliating and politically ominous defeat in his home city of Milan. The polls suggested his party’s choice for mayor, Letizia Moratti, would be ousted in a runoff with a local leftwing lawyer, Giuliano Pisapia. An exit poll conducted for Sky Italia gave the challenger an advantage of seven percentage points; and an early projection pointed to an even bigger victory for Pisapia, of almost eight points. Projections also indicated that the left was storming towards a big victory in Italy’s third-biggest city, Naples. There, the opposition candidate was estimated to have picked up over 60% of the vote. Balloting in local and provincial elections ended at 3pm local time after a second, two-day round of voting. Milan, Italy’s business capital, was one of 90 towns and cities where a clear winner failed to emerge in the first round, on 15 and 16 May. The contest there was by far the most important. Milan is the city from which Italy’s flamboyant prime minister launched his political adventure, 17 years ago. It is also the one in which he is on trial for a range of alleged financial and sex-related offences. And, not least, it is the stronghold of his key allies in the populist, Islamophobic Northern League. Federico Manda, a tram maintenance technician, was one of a steady stream of last-minute voters at an electoral college around the corner from the courthouse where Berlusconi is a defendant in three concurrent trials. He had voted for “a change in Milan”, he said. “Berlusconi has monopolised this municipality, putting his men in everywhere, often in the wrong places.” Berlusconi tried to turn the ballot into a vote of confidence on his private life and his government’s performance. All the signs are that that was a disastrous error of judgment. After the first round, Moratti came in six percentage points behind her main rival. In the subsequent campaign, the prime minister and his Freedom People movement tried to make up lost ground with an overtly racist campaign directed at Pisapia’s sympathy for Roma and Muslims. Professor James Walston of the American University of Rome said he feared Berlusconi’s tactics could have a lasting impact on inter-racial and inter-faith relations in Italy. “This type of language has been used by the prime minister, not some neo-fascist maniac on the fringes,” he said. “It will be difficult to bring Italian political language back to acceptable European levels.” A victory for the left would be all the more remarkable, since its candidate was not the choice of the mainstream Democratic party (PD) but was one whose past is tinged with radicalism. Pisapia, a lawyer who once defended the Kurdish separatist leader Abdullah Ocalan, was elected to parliament in the 1990s as an independent on the slate of the hardline Communist Refoundation party. The predicted outcome in Naples would also be as much of an embarrassment to the PD as for Berlusconi. The opposition’s challenge there was mounted by a former prosecutor, Luigi De Magistris, who fought and defeated the PD’s candidate in the first round. Much will now depend on the reaction of the Northern League, which keeps Berlusconi’s government in power. Italy Silvio Berlusconi Europe Race issues John Hooper guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Report claims soldiers may be British, possibly SAS – which would break UN resolution over any ‘occupation force’ Armed western men have been filmed on the ground with rebels in central Libya in the first apparent confirmation that Nato has sent military advisers to train anti-government forces. A group of six westerners were clearly visible, according to a report by al-Jazeera from Dafniya, described as the westernmost point of the rebel lines west of the town of Misrata. Five of them were armed and wearing informal sand-coloured clothes, peaked caps, and cotton Arab scarves. The sixth, apparently most senior of the group, was carrying no visible weapon and wore a pink, short-sleeve shirt. He may be an intelligence officer. The group is seen talking to rebels and then quickly leaving on being spotted by the television crew. The footage emerged as South Africa’s president, Jacob Zuma, arrived in Tripoli in an attempt to broker a ceasefire. He described reports that he would ask Gaddafi to step down as “misleading”, and said he would instead focus on humanitarian measures and ways to implement a plan concocted by the African Union, which would see Libya undertake a process of transition to democratic rule but not seek Muammar Gaddafi’s exile. The western men seen by Al Jazeera were present on rebel lines late last week, days before British and French attack helicopters are to join the Nato campaign. They are expected to be active over Libya this week and likely to be deployed on the outskirts of Misrata, from where forces loyal to Gaddafi continue to shell rebel positions to the east. There have been numerous reports in the British press that SAS soldiers are acting as spotters in Libya to help Nato warplanes target pro-Gaddafi forces. In March, six special forces soldiers and two MI6 officers were detained by rebel fighters when they landed on an abortive mission to meet rebel leaders in Benghazi, in an embarrassing episode for the SAS. The group was withdrawn soon afterwards and a new “liaison team” sent in its place. Asked for comment yesterday, a Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: “We don’t have any forces out there.” The subject is sensitive as the UN security council resolution in March authorising the use of force in Libya specifically excludes “a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory”. Despite more than two months of bombing by Nato jets, rebels have remained unable to advance west of Misrata, or west of Brega, 300 miles to the east. The capital, Tripoli, also remains in the grip of Gaddafi, who has defied all attempts to force him to leave. The Benghazi-based Transitional National Council, which is positioning itself as a democratic alternative to the four decade strongman rule of the four-decade rule of Gaddafi, claimed that eight senior military officers, among them four generals, had defected to its side and would announce their new loyalties at a meeting soon to take place in Rome. There was no immediate confirmation from the Italian government. However, air force pilots have landed in Italy and defected earlier in the rebellion. Undertrained and under-manned rebel forces have been encouraging defections, which they see as a way to whittle down support for Gaddafi in the absence of a ground army sent to assist them In April, William Hague announced that an expanded military liaison team would be dispatched to work with the Transitional National Council. The foreign secretary said the team would help the rebels improve “organisational structures, communications and logistics” but stressed: “Our officers will not be involved in training or arming the opposition’s fighting forces, nor will they be involved in the planning or execution of the NTC’s military operations or in the provision of any other form of operational military advice.” There were unconfirmed reports at the time that Britain was planning to send former SAS members and other experienced soldiers to Libya under the cover of private security companies, paid for by Arab states, to train the anti-government forces. Libya Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Africa Al-Jazeera TV news Military Julian Borger guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …