Lawyers for International Monetary Fund seek clarification from managing director amid clamour for his resignation Lawyers for the International Monetary Fund are pushing for Dominique Strauss-Kahn to clarify his position as he sits in jail facing charges of sexual assault with the IMF’s board split on what to do next. IMF officials have yet to speak to their managing director since his arrest on Sunday for an alleged attack on a chambermaid at a New York hotel, and pressure is mounting on the institution, which plays a critical role in global finance, to appoint a new head. The US treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, and European finance ministers have made it clear they believe he should resign. Strauss-Kahn, who was denied bail and is considered a flight risk, is being held in Rikers Island prison in New York. According to city officials, the only people with access to the IMF boss are his family and his lawyers. Sources close to the IMF say its board is split on how to proceed. Strauss-Kahn’s deputy, John Lipsky, has stepped in on an interim basis, but both men had been planning to retire shortly even before the scandal broke. The race to succeed Strauss-Kahn has now intensified with candidates from the developing world pushing for senior jobs that have traditionally been dominated by Europeans. Some IMF members believe Strauss-Kahn should resign as soon as possible, arguing the scandal is damaging the institution. But there are others who argue their boss has yet to give his side of the story and that the IMF should not bow to pressure until more details emerge. IMF officials did not return calls for comment. But the pressure is building on the IMF to do something. At a speech in New York, Geithner made clear the US believed the institution needed to act. “[Strauss-Kahn] is obviously not in a position to run the IMF and it is important that the board of the IMF formally put in place for an interim period someone to act as managing director,” Geithner said. Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers will be in court again on Friday, when a grand jury is expected to announce the decision to put their client on trial, and are expected to press once more for bail. Professor John Coffee of Columbia Law School said Strauss-Kahn could be out of jail by the weekend if his lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, could come up with a plan that appeases the judge. New York chief assistant district attorney Daniel Alonso successfully argued Strauss-Kahn was a flight risk and compared him to film director Roman Polanski, who fled the US after being accused of having sex with an under-age girl. Coffee said Brafman was one of the most experienced lawyers working in the US and would more than likely find a solution that would get his client out on bail. “Even Bernie Madoff got bail,” said Coffee. “And he was a flight risk.” Coffee said that, like Madoff, Strauss-Kahn might have to employ an expensive 24-hour surveillance team to monitor his movements while he is placed under effective house arrest in an apartment or hotel. Dominique Strauss-Kahn IMF New York United States Timothy Geithner Dominic Rushe guardian.co.uk
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Figures from Office for National Statistics show 474,000 women were receiving jobseeker’s allowance in April The number of women joining the dole queue has hit its highest level since 1996, with public sector job cuts starting to bite last month. Attempts by the government to nudge single mothers into the workforce have also pushed up the number of women claiming jobseeker’s allowance (JSA), as they are stripped of income support once their children turn seven. New figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that 474,000 women were receiving JSA in April. While the government took some comfort from the fact that total unemployment fell by 36,000 to 2.46 million in the three months to March, according to the broad International Labour Organisation measure, there was a rise of 12,400 in the more timely claimant count last month, with the bulk of the increase – more than three quarters – among women. It was the 10th consecutive month in which the number of women claiming out-of-work benefits had increased – although there are still more than twice as many men, 994,000, receiving JSA. The Department for Work and Pensions said part of the rise resulted from rule changes that have seen single mothers shifted on to employment benefits to encourage them to look for a job. Since October, single mothers have joined the claimant count when their youngest child turns seven, down from the previous limit of 10. The number of single parents receiving JSA rose by 6,000 in March. The DWP said the number of people receiving JSA was likely to continue to increase as incapacity benefit claimants were assessed for their readiness to work. Since George Osborne announced the tightest fiscal squeeze in a generation last autumn, equality campaigners have been warning that the impact will be disproportionately felt by women, who make up much of the public sector workforce. Anna Bird, acting chief executive of the Fawcett Society, said women were acting as “shock absorbers” for the austerity measures. “We are beginning to see the real impact of the government’s approach to cutting the deficit, and as we feared, women are bearing the brunt,” she said. “Combined with reduced benefits and increasing costs of childcare as state support dwindles, the lack of employment prospects risk rolling back women’s rights a generation.” The figures also confirmed that the pressure on household incomes is intensifying, as salaries fail to keep pace with rocketing inflation. While the inflation rate hit 4.5% last month, average pay rose by just 2.3% in the year to March. Unemployment Unemployment and employment statistics Job losses Women Public sector cuts Public services policy Public finance Work & careers Equality Heather Stewart guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Figures from Office for National Statistics show 474,000 women were receiving jobseeker’s allowance in April The number of women joining the dole queue has hit its highest level since 1996, with public sector job cuts starting to bite last month. Attempts by the government to nudge single mothers into the workforce have also pushed up the number of women claiming jobseeker’s allowance (JSA), as they are stripped of income support once their children turn seven. New figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that 474,000 women were receiving JSA in April. While the government took some comfort from the fact that total unemployment fell by 36,000 to 2.46 million in the three months to March, according to the broad International Labour Organisation measure, there was a rise of 12,400 in the more timely claimant count last month, with the bulk of the increase – more than three quarters – among women. It was the 10th consecutive month in which the number of women claiming out-of-work benefits had increased – although there are still more than twice as many men, 994,000, receiving JSA. The Department for Work and Pensions said part of the rise resulted from rule changes that have seen single mothers shifted on to employment benefits to encourage them to look for a job. Since October, single mothers have joined the claimant count when their youngest child turns seven, down from the previous limit of 10. The number of single parents receiving JSA rose by 6,000 in March. The DWP said the number of people receiving JSA was likely to continue to increase as incapacity benefit claimants were assessed for their readiness to work. Since George Osborne announced the tightest fiscal squeeze in a generation last autumn, equality campaigners have been warning that the impact will be disproportionately felt by women, who make up much of the public sector workforce. Anna Bird, acting chief executive of the Fawcett Society, said women were acting as “shock absorbers” for the austerity measures. “We are beginning to see the real impact of the government’s approach to cutting the deficit, and as we feared, women are bearing the brunt,” she said. “Combined with reduced benefits and increasing costs of childcare as state support dwindles, the lack of employment prospects risk rolling back women’s rights a generation.” The figures also confirmed that the pressure on household incomes is intensifying, as salaries fail to keep pace with rocketing inflation. While the inflation rate hit 4.5% last month, average pay rose by just 2.3% in the year to March. Unemployment Unemployment and employment statistics Job losses Women Public sector cuts Public services policy Public finance Work & careers Equality Heather Stewart guardian.co.uk
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• Hit F5 for the latest or select the auto-refresh button below • Email your thoughts to paul.doyle@guardian.co.uk 22 min: Custodio tries to nick a ball through to Lima, but Helton hurtles off his line to clutch it like a birthday present. Five’s commentator comes up with the stat of the day: Custodio is the 10th player to play in a European final on his birthday. Brian Kidd and Francis Lee also did so, apparently. 20 min: Braga break. But not in numbers. Unless two is a number, which it obviously is … but not a very useful one when they’re up against six Porto players. So nothing comes of the attack. 18 min: Falcao makes his presence felt for the first time … by venturing offside to meet Hulk’s freekick. His header went over anyway. 17 min: Braga have got more of a grip on this game now, and they’re strangling it. And Porto aren’t putting up much resistance. It’s gone all dull. “Re: that betting money burning a hole in your pocket, I’d suggest keeping your powder dry and maxing it out going overs on goals and cards come Sunday,” counsel Gary Naylor. “Half the players are desperate to avoid relegation, get a new contract, settle a score prove the manager wrong etc etc etc and the other half have a cigar on. Cue 6-3 with three red cards and 2-5 with twelve yellows.” 15 min: Nifty play by Vandinho in midfield to make space. Alan then tries to pick out Lima with a long, curling cross, but he overhit it. “You want a tip, yeah?” chirps Paul Taylor. “Portugal is famous, of course, for Port, that wonderful fortified wine that isn’t just for breakfast any more. Put your tenner on a bottle of decent stuff and you will definitely enjoy the result.” 13 min: Scrappy. 11 min: Corner to Porto, who continue to dominate, which is bad news for my betting: I keep trying to back them in-running but because the odds are tumbling so fast my wager can’t get through. Nor did that corner, as Artur surged from goal to clasp it. 9 min: Braga are looking nervous and careless at the back. Hulk and Varela are rampaging down the wings but so far their shooting has been inaccurate. 6 min: Hulk takes advantage of more slack defending, barging his way past Silvio and then scampering into the box and unleashing a fine shot from an acute angle. It flashed inches wide. “I’m supporting Braga as I saw Denmark v Bulgaria in Euro 2004 at their rock face of a stadium,” announces mark Judd. The local people were so friendly, showing us the best place to get high up photos, and giving us bottles of water as it was so hot. Also saw a match in Porto but can’t remember much about that.” Anywhere that has local people showing you a place to get high sounds alright … 4 min: Chance for Braga! A long throw-in was only partially cleared, allowing Vandinho to have a crack from the edge of the area. it was charged down but Braga lofted the ball back into the box and suddenly Custodio finds himself unmarked 18 yards out. He lets fly first time but fails to hit the target. Shoddy defending, shoddy finishing. 3 min: Already the game has settled into the expected pattern, with Porto monopolising the ball and Braga sitting in deep clusters to bar their path to goal. Pace is quite pedestrian so far. 1 min: Porto get the game going, to a tremendous din. Portugal may be broke right now, but not so much that their citizens can’t afford flights to Dublin (which were probably cheaper than the tickets to the match). 7:44pm: Right, I’ve got some money in my online bookie account and I want to invest it wisely: not having seen much of these sides this season, I need tips for this match. Anyone? 7:43pm: Out trot the teams … to kitsch music that sounds strangely like the old Lassie theme tune. Preamble: These teams are from the same country and tonight they seek the same prize – but that’s about all they have in common. On one hand we have Porto, long one of the top clubs in Europe, a side who have just finished their domestic league unbeaten and 21 points clear of their nearest pursuers, and who have a fearsome forward line in the form of Falcao and Hulk as well as the most acclaimed young manager in the continent, 33-year-old André Villa Boas. And on the other hand we have Braga, a humble club whose only major is the 1966 Portuguese Cup (what it about 1966 and minnows winning cups?), who finished fourth in their domestic league this season, and in the process suffered two defeats by Porto. Indeed, that tends to be how their meetings go: Porto have won 92 of the 131 previous encounters between these clubs, Braga have triumphed in just 17. It would be a minor revolution if the underdogs were to prevail tonight. Facts or varying relevance: 1) If Braga win tonight, Domingos Pacienca will become the first manager in Uefa Cup/Europa League history to win in the final against a team he used to play for. He was Porto’s top scorer in the 1995/96 season 2) Porto goalkeeper Helton is 33 today. So is Ricardo Carvahlo. Lady Gaga is not, but I thought I’d mention her just to boost Google click-throughs. 3) Free porn. Oh, and here are the teams: Porto: Helton; Sapunaru, Rolando, Otamendi, Alvaro Pereira; Guarin, Fernando, Moutinho; Hulk, Falcao, Varela Subs: Beto, Maicon, Belluschi, Walter, Rodriguez, Souza, Ruben Michel Braga: Artur; Miguel Garcia, Paulao, Alberto Rodriguez, Silvio; Custodio, Hugo Viana, Vandinho; Alan, Lima, Paulo Cesar Subs: Cristiano, Kaka, Mossoro, Barbos, Meyong, Elderson, Salino Ref: C V Carballo (Spain) Europa League FC Porto Sporting Braga Paul Doyle guardian.co.uk
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Up to 750,000 workers could walk out in June, while action in autumn would bring parts of UK to standstill Civil servants have voted to ballot on strike action in protest against job cuts and changes to their pensions, paving the way for a 750,000-strong walkout from schools, universities, courts and Whitehall on 30 June. The decision at the PCS civil service union’s annual conference in Brighton on Wednesday comes as talks set up to avoid strikes spreading across the public sector are threatening to grind to a halt. Ministers and unions have failed to agree on even the basic starting point for negotiations. Sources close to the discussions – between public-sector unions, the chief secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, and the Cabinet Office minister, Francis Maude – said they still disagreed on the starting principles of the talks after the government announced that an increase in contributions and a change in the way pensions are measured was introduced as a fait accompli. If the talks fail, strikes will hit the public sector in the autumn, with co-ordinated action potentially bringing large parts of the country to a standstill. On Wednesday the PCS union, representing 250,000 civil servants, voted to ballot for strike action. It means that a breakaway group of unions representing up to 750,000 public servants are now balloting for strike action to move towards a strike on 30 June affecting schools, courts, ports and job centres if the talks have not succeeded. The National Union of Teachers and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers launched ballots this week. The University and College Union already has a mandate for rolling strike action. Whitehall civil servants in the FDA union are also voting on Thursday, further raising the stakes for government. Jonathan Baume, the general secretary of FDA, will tell his conference that the negotiations with ministers are “serious and united”. But he will warn: “The government can impose change. But ministers also know that they will pay a heavy price if they do. Those affected would include everyone from the Jobcentre Plus worker in Rotherham to a high-court judge in the Strand. “There would inevitably be widespread industrial action, and damage to morale and motivation for millions of key public sector workers, with a potentially significant electoral price to pay in 2015.” Leaked details suggest the negotiators are struggling to agree the basics. Unions are opposing plans to increase pension contributions by an average of three percentage points from next year – reducing workers’ monthly take-home pay. Protecting the lowest paid will mean that the higher paid will have to pay more than the average increase, presenting a potential rift in the talks. Unions are particularly incensed that the Treasury has set a target of reducing public sector payments by £2.8bn, which they say amounts to an extra tax. Some unions flatly oppose the proposed method of calculating the new career average scheme, set out in the most recent meeting last week, which would replace the more generous final salary schemes some public sector workers receive. Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the PCS, said: “Frankly, I think the talks are a charade. When the government insists on increasing contributions without negotiation we can’t see scope for any change. The government’s starting position is drastic and severe. We are all agreed we should carry on talking, but their proposals are truly shocking.” The government will make a formal offer on pensions in June. A source said: “Both sides are doing what they can to head off industrial action. Government can’t concede on getting the schemes on to a sustainable basis. We don’t want to be in the position in five to 10 years’ time, like Ireland, where you have to cut existing pensions. Contributions have got to rise, we’ve been sure of that from the beginning.” Trade unions Public sector pensions Public sector cuts Public services policy Civil service Polly Curtis guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich says that anyone that uses direct quotes from his Sunday interview about Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) plan to dismantle Medicare is lying. “I don’t think right-wing social engineering is any more desirable than left-wing social engineering,” Gingrich had told NBC’s David Gregory Sunday. “I don’t think imposing radical change from the right or the left is a very good way for free society to operate.” Now the Georgia Republican is worried that opponents might use those words against him or the Republican Party. “Any ad which quotes what I said Sunday is a falsehood,” he told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren Tuesday.
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Amid speculation Putin may stand for Russian presidency again, some claim ‘rift’ staged to hide lack of real opposition Dmitry Medvedev, the president of Russia, has promised to reveal soon whether he will run for a second term, saying at his first major press conference that “silence cannot last forever” on the subject. There had been intense speculation that Medvedev would use the conference on Wednesday to give a strong signal on whether he or his ally, Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, will stand in elections to the presidency next March. Moscow is thick with rumours that there is friction between the two men over who should stand, although some analysts think the ruling elite is promoting talk of a rift to hide the lack of true political competition in Russia. Medvedev, 45, refused to say which of the pair would be a candidate, but indicated he would make his intentions known in the near future. “You can expect an announcement soon,” he told more than 800 journalists in an auditorium at the Skolkovo business school near Moscow. In a wide-ranging question-and-answer session, which seemed tailored to boost his ratings in an election campaign, Medvedev said Putin, 57, was his close ally. However, he made remarks which set him apart from his mentor. Asked if the release of the jailed oil tycoon, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, would present a danger to society, he replied: “Absolutely no danger at all,” in marked contrast to Putin’s statement about the businessman in December that “a thief should sit in jail”. When he came to power in 2008, Medvedev said that he preferred meetings with small numbers of journalists. Then he abruptly announced last month that he would hold his first large-scale televised news conference, something that Putin did annually as president. The decision came after Putin gave a bravura performance in his annual prime-ministerial speech to parliament on 20 April, which contained a raft of social measures and was seen as a pitch for his own return to the presidency. Medvedev’s two-and-a-quarter-hour conference followed the Putin mould: Hundreds of Russian journalists waved signs with the names of their regions and pleaded to pose a question. One woman held up a sheet of paper with a red love heart drawn on it. Several reporters prefaced their queries with adulatory waffle about the president, and a correspondent from the Arctic in a traditional felt jacket asked about the prospects for reindeer herders. Asked about Moscow’s relations with Nato, Medvedev said they were “not the worst” and “a lot of water has flowed under the bridge” since the two clashed over the war in Georgia in 2008. However, he sent a warning to the US not to push ahead with a missile defence system in eastern Europe without including Russia as a partner. “If we don’t work out a model of co-operation on missile defence then we [Russia] will have to take measures in response and then we’re talking about speeding up the development of nuclear strike potential,” he said. ‘That would be a very bad scenario that would throw us back to the cold war epoch.” Medvedev seemed assured as he answered questions and repeatedly stressed his passion for Russia’s modernisation, but he lacked Putin’s salty phrases and demagogic touch. Putin sent a subtle reminder of his superior image with the publication of an interview in Outdoor Life, a US magazine, in which he discussed his macho photo shoots. He dismissed suggestions that a US leader would not pose with a bare chest or a weapon. He said Theodore Roosevelt had been pictured with a lion he shot, and Barack Obama was filmed bathing in the Pacific last year when he was “not wearing a tie, to put it mildly”. Dmitry Medvedev Russia Europe Vladimir Putin Tom Parfitt guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …US to freeze assets of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and senior officials
May 18, 2011 No Comment
Sanctions announced by Washington are sign of increased international pressure on regime over crackdown on protesters The US is to impose sanctions on the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad for human rights abuses in an escalation of international pressure on his regime. The penalties announced by the US treasury mark the first time that Assad has been targeted personally by the international community for his government’s crackdown on protesters. The move freezes any assets of Assad and six senior Syrian officials that are in the United States or otherwise fall within US jurisdiction, and generally bars US citizens and companies from dealing with them. “The actions the administration has taken today send an unequivocal message to President Assad, the Syrian leadership, and regime insiders that they will be held accountable for the ongoing violence and repression in Syria,” said David S Cohen, the acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. “President al-Assad and his regime must immediately end the use of violence, answer the calls of the Syrian people for a more representative government, and embark upon the path of meaningful democratic reform,” he added. The six officials targeted with the Syrian president are vice president Farouq al-Shara, prime minister Adel Safar, interior minister Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar, defence minister Ali Habib, Abdul Fatah Qudsiya, the head of Syrian military intelligence, and Mohammed Dib Zaitoun, director of the political security directorate. Barack Obama, who last month imposed sanctions for alleged human rights abuses on Assad’s brother Maher, his cousin and an intelligence chief, will on Thursday deliver a major speech on the uprisings throughout the Arab world, with prominent mentions of Syria. Assad has said his security forces made mistakes during the two-month uprising and blamed poorly-trained police at least in part for the crackdown that has killed more than 850 people. The protests seeking an end to Assad’s 11-year rule began after demonstrations toppled authoritarian regimes in Tunisia and Egypt. European governments agreed on Tuesday to tighten sanctions against the Syrian leadership, but said they would decide next week about whether to include Assad personally on the list. Bashar Al-Assad Syria Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest US foreign policy guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Will Scott Brown and Other Republican Senators Throw America’s Seniors off the Cliff Next Week?
May 18, 2011 No CommentJust days after thanking God for Representative Paul Ryan’s health care plan and saying that he would vote for it , Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown is facing an intense backlash in the Bay State , so now he is pathetically trying to backtrack : The Massachusetts Republican said in a statement that he favors the overall direction Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget takes toward reducing spending. But Brown declined, through a spokesman, to say if he backs Ryan’s proposed Medicare overhaul, or if he would vote for the Ryan budget plan. Brown’s comments came four days after he told a luncheon crowd in Georgetown, Mass. that he would vote for the Ryan budget. Uhm, someone needs to let Senator Brown know that there are no backsies in politics. He can’t have it both ways. He cannot present himself as supportive of budget cuts while now trying to distance himself from Ryan’s devastating “Robin Hood in Reverse” budget plan that would impose draconian and savage cuts to our Medicare program. So soon Senator Brown and his Republican Colleagues in the U.S. Senate will have a chance to vote for Ryan’s plan to end Medicare as we know it. We will see if they are going to join Ryan and Boehner and throw America’s seniors off the cliff … … Literally. The vote is coming up next week . As Senator Harry Reid warned in his interview with the USA Today: “I think we will see that not all Republicans will vote for it,” Reid said. “If I were running for re-election, Democrat or Republican, I would want to stay as far from that Ryan budget as possible.” Good luck Senate Republicans.
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Former PM, who led country from independence in 1959 to 1990, says it is time to make way for a younger team of ministers Surprises do not come often in the city-state of Singapore, a place so staid that locals and foreigners alike deridingly call it “Singabore”. But after a groundbreaking election in which the ruling party had its first major shakeup after 50 years in power, Singapore’s “founding father”, Lee Kwan Yew, has announced his full retirement from cabinet. The 87-year-old former prime minister cited this year’s “watershed” election as his inspiration, in which the People’s Action party (PAP), which he helped create at independence from Malaysia in 1959, won its lowest ratings yet with just 60% of the popular vote. A decade ago it won 75%. Calling for “a fresh clean slate”, Lee noted that his age distanced him from younger voters and that a “younger team of ministers [should] connect to and engage with this younger generation in shaping the future of Singapore”. Lee is largely credited with turning the small colonial outpost into the financial dynamo it is today. While older generations revere the man for his hard-talking comments and no-nonsense policies, the younger generation – most of whom cannot and do not care to remember Singapore as a hodge-podge community of ramshackle neighbourhoods – has proven less impressed. Critics, many of them voters in their 20s, largely used social media during this election to speak out against Singapore’s high living costs, low wages and lax immigration laws that pit locals against foreigners, who comprise about 40% of the island’s population, for jobs. For them, Lee’s stepping down heralds a breath of fresh air and “is a pretty big deal”, says Nansi Panjar, 27, who voted for the opposition Reform party in the 7 May election. “This shows that the PAP is listening to its voters and that change could finally be in the air.” Once the raison d’etre for the PAP, Lee became somewhat of a liability, alienating voters with comments about ethnic Malays not adapting well to Singapore and the “usefulness” of opposition parties. A much younger cabinet, with an average age of 52, was unveiled on Wednesday. Lee was Singapore’s first prime minister, leading the country from independence in 1959 to 1990. He is the longest-serving prime minister in the Commonwealth and the longest-serving head of government in Asia. He has remained in the cabinet since stepping down as prime minister, first serving as senior minister from 1990 to 2004 and later, from 2004 to 2011, as minister mentor, a post made for him by his son, Lee Hsien Loong, the current prime minister. He has also stepped down as the chairman of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) , which he has ceded to his son. Lee the elder will stay on as senior adviser to the state investment firm, among the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds at $300bn (£149bn). He will also remain MP of Tanjong Pagar ward, a constituency that he won uncontested in this year’s election. Just how far removed from politics he will really become, however, is anyone’s guess. In 1988 he was quoted as saying, that “even from my sickbed, even if you are going to lower me into the grave and I feel that something is going wrong, I will get up. Those who believe that after I have left the government as prime minister, I will go into a permanent retirement, really should have their heads examined.” Perhaps that is why many voters are saying that, while his stepping down is somewhat of a coup, the real change is still to come. “To be honest, we’ll only see true freedom when Lee dies,” said Panjar. “That’s when Singapore will finally be able to take a long look at itself and question where it really wants to go.” Singapore guardian.co.uk
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