Former Labour environment minister pleads guilty to fraudulently claiming more than £30,000 in expenses The former Labour minister Elliot Morley faces a prison sentence after pleading guilty to dishonestly claiming more than £30,000 in parliamentary expenses relating to false mortgage claims. The former MP for Scunthorpe County admitted two charges, one of claiming interest payments on a mortgage he had already paid off, and another of claiming more in mortgage interest than he was actually paying. He was charged with two counts of false accounting under the 1968 Theft Act totalling £30,428 in relation to claims he made against his home in Winterton, near Scunthorpe. The first related to filling out 19 claims forms stating he was paying £800 a month in mortgage interest between April 2004 and February 2006, “when in fact he was paying a lesser amount”. The second related to filling out 21 claims forms for £800 per month in mortgage interest between March 2006 and November 2007, “when in fact the mortgage had been redeemed”. The former environment minister, from 2003 to 2006, and one of Labour’s most eminent voices on green issues, had publicly apologised and repaid the money, blaming “sloppy accounting”. In March 2010, a hearing at Westminster magistrates court was told he would deny the charges. Morley was sacked as Gordon Brown’s climate change adviser and suspended from the parliamentary Labour party after allegations over his expenses emerged. He announced he would step down from his seat, saying he did not want to undermine the strong position Labour had in his constituency in the runup to the general election. He had referred his claims to the parliamentary standards commissioner, John Lyon, to demonstrate there was “no intent” to overclaim. He said in his resignation statement: “I have never tried to duck responsibility for my mistake and have repaid the amount in full. I understand people’s anger over the whole issue of MPs’ expenses and their frustration. For those who condemn me I would simply ask to be allowed the opportunity to present my case.” Morley, a former teacher, was sent for trial after the supreme court in December dismissed the legal argument that the case was covered by parliamentary privilege. Together with David Chaytor, 61, the former Labour MP for Bury North, and Jim Devine, 56, former Labour MP for Livingston, he had claimed any investigation into expenses should be heard by parliament and not the criminal courts. In a statement at Westminster magistrates court in 2010, the three said they “unequivocally and steadfastly maintain their innocence of the charges against them”. Chaytor was jailed for 18 months in January after admitting to claiming £18,350 in bogus rent and IT payments. Devine, the only MP to stand trial, was convicted by a jury in February of false claims for cleaning and printing work totalling £8,385 and sentenced to 16 months in jail last week. Eric Illsley, 55, the former Labour MP for Barnsley Central, who pleaded guilty to dishonestly claiming £14,000 relating to insurance, repairs, utility bills and council tax at his second home, was jailed for a year in February Morley’s guilty plea marks an inauspicious end to a political career that saw the avid birdwatcher elevated to a ministerial post at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when Labour came to power in 1997. In this role he handled the controversies over foxhunting and EU fishing quotas, as well as the government’s response to the devastating 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak. He was promoted to minister for the environment in 2003 and helped launch the government’s anti-coastal erosion programme. In 2005, Morley was named climate change minister and described by one newspaper as having “the most impressive green credentials of any Labour minister”, before leaving the government in a 2006 reshuffle. His case was adjourned for sentencing. MPs’ expenses House of Commons Labour Caroline Davies guardian.co.uk
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Alert for wave of up to two metres issued for area devastated by last month’s quake A 7.4 magnitude earthquake has stuck off the north-eastern coast of Japan, triggering a tsunami alert. The warning has been issued in the same area where thousands of lives were lost last month after a magnitude 9 quake and tsunami which damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The Japan meteorological agency issued a warning for a wave of up to two metres in a coastal area devastated by last month’s tsunami. Officials say Thursday’s quake, which happened late at night local time, hit 25 miles under water off the coast of Miyagi prefecture. People in the area were told to “evacuate immediately” to a safe place away from the shore. Announcers on Japan’s public broadcaster NHK told coastal residents to go to higher ground away from the shore. A wave of up to half a metre was expected in neighbouring provinces. Buildings in Tokyo, more than 200 miles away, shook for about a minute. The US Geological Survey gave the preliminary magnitude as 7.4 and said the quake was off the eastern coast 60 miles from Sendai and 90 miles from Fukushima. Hundred of aftershocks have followed the 11 March quake but few have been stronger than magnitude 7. Officials at the Fukushima plant said there was no immediate sign of new problems. Japan Japan disaster Natural disasters and extreme weather guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …AL Pays $1M To Family of Mother Killed By Concrete Chunk — Due To Lack Of Road Maintenance
April 7, 2011 No Comment
enlarge Jo Maureen Fisher, who died last year in an Alabama road accident. As the person who sent me this asked, is it really cheaper not to pay for infrastructure? I wonder what it would have cost to fix the road. Maybe this young mom would be alive now: (AP) MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The state of Alabama has paid $1 million to relatives of a South Carolina mother of two who was killed by a chunk of concrete from a pothole that flew through the windshield of a vehicle on a bumpy, crumbling section of Interstate 20 almost a year ago, officials said Thursday. The family was paid even though they had never sued the state. Two state officials confirmed to The Associated Press that the money was paid to compensate for the death of Jo Maureen Fisher in the freak accident, which occurred as the 33-year-old woman was traveling through the state with her husband and two young children on their way home to Goose Creek, S.C. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the settlement. Following a review, the state’s Division of Risk Management made the payment for the Alabama Department of Transportation in a negotiated settlement with the family without any lawsuit or administrative claim being filed. State law limits such payments to a maximum of $1 million. The state attorney general can approve such settlements when it’s obvious a lawsuit is inevitable and there’s a “serious risk” of the state losing, one of the officials told AP . They’re fixing the road now . Better late than never, I guess.
Continue reading …In a live stand-up via satellite from the U.S. Capitol, MSNBC's Luke Russert insisted that Senate Democrats were holding up approval of spending bills to fund the federal government through the rest of the fiscal year because they were pro-environment and for “women's health,” the latter of course being code for the controversial issue of federal funding for Planned Parenthood. “Two very partisan political issues are essentially what is holding up whether or not there will be a government shutdown,” Russert told anchor Thomas Roberts (emphasis mine): But when it comes to policy, these are things that both sides do not like to give an inch on, obviously because it caters to both their special interest groups. Democrats are for the environment, Republicans are for big business. Democrats are for women's health, Republicans are pro-life. These are the same arguments we've seen in Washington for years, and they're coming now right here in the eleventh hour in terms of this government shutdown and whether or not it's going to happen. Of course such loaded language skews the controversy in favor of Democrats. For example, conservative Republicans would argue they are not so much pro-big business as
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• Click refresh to update or click the auto-update button • Email your thoughts to scott.murray@guardian.co.uk • Read Lawrence Donegan’s Masters preview • Official Masters leaderboard 4.20pm: Paul Kay had to jinx Na; he’s bogeyed 11 to drop back to even par. No drama to speak of at the moment, but good to note that the aforementioned 2007 Open champion, Padraig Harrington, has birdied 5 after a steady run of pars: he’s -1. 4.15pm: Fisher nearly picks up his seventh birdie of the day on 13, a huge left to right breaker that’s this close to dropping into the hole, but dies right just in front of the cup. That was a fine stroke, though. “I see Kevin Na has moved up to fifth place at -1,” writes Paul Kay. “If he had 10 sons who were all excellent golfers the leaderboard could read like the opening of the chorus to Hey Jude.” Wasn’t that the coda? Hey Jude doesn’t really have a chorus, does it? And Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In called; they want their joke back. 4.10pm: Tiger is out and about; he’s parred the 1st. Behind him is Sergio Garcia, who manages to avoid running up a quadruple bogey on the hole, also parring the first. The only way is down. I have absolutely no expectations for Sergio these days. That way, he can’t hurt me any more. I still haven’t quite got over the 2007 Open, much as I like Harrington. Oh Sergio! 4.05pm: The much-fancied Lee Westwood is out, and his latest bid for second place has started unevenly: a bogey five on 1, followed by a birdie 4 on 2. He’s level par, but then you could have worked that out yourself. Unless you were reading the official Masters scoreboard, which is trying to be too clever for its own good with a fancy new interface offering multiple views: one that looks like the on-course scoreboards, and is therefore slightly confusing if you want facts fast, another more traditionally rendered list that crashes your PC. “What is the story with that Masters website?” splutters Evan Fanning, of this parish. “I was trying to see how Dustin Johnson was getting on before I threw my money on him but it kept crashing my computer. Stuck my money on him anyway and now found out he’s four over after seven holes and has gone from 33/1 (which I took) to 45/1. Balls.” Never mind, he’ll have only found an extravagent way to melt down around Amen Corner on Sunday anyway. If it was possible to find a route through 11, 12 and 13 like this – - he’d manage to find it. 3.50pm: Two putts for Lyle, who stays at +1. Fisher and Goosen lead on -4, after 12 and 4 holes respectively. Here’s Ian Burch on Stewie Griffin drinking soda (see preamble): “I’d be even more excited if Glenn Quagmire was caddying for Tiger this week. Giggity, giggity.” Not an hour in, and you’ve started riffing on his pain already. Can a man not get divorced after crashing into a water hydrant then apologising profusely on live television in order to keep his multi-million pound endorsements in peace? Leave him alone! 3.45pm. Brilliant from Ross Fisher, who is the boss of Amen Corner so far. After that ludicrous birdie on 11, he finds the bunker at the front of 12, just over Rae’s Creek. He’s got a hell of a chip facing him, but with not much green to work with, splashes out wonderfully, the ball rolling to three feet. He saves par. Goosen, meanwhile, has joined him in the lead on -4, having only played four holes! And here’s Sandy Lyle, now one over coming down 11. He’s in the trees, but no matter: he Mickelsons one out of the woods and down the hill, the ball working its way onto the front of the green before breaking left and rolling to 20 feet of the hole. That shot’s been met with warm appreciation by the locals, who probably know a thing or two about hacking around these woods. Imagine having to play this course! I could die happy, even if I carded 150 while doing it. 3.35pm: OK, sorry for the slow updates: technical issues a-go-go. Here’s some vital news, though, relayed by carrier pigeon: Rory McIlroy has birdied three in a row to move to three under after 4, while Fisher has raked in a 60-footer on 11 to move to -4. This is a very promising start for the Europeans already. We’ll be up and running smoothly soon, unless I smash this computer into pieces so small you could sieve them through the airholes in the fingers of a golf glove. 3.15pm: In other news, two-time US Open champions Retief Goosen has come out of the traps flying, holing his second at 1 for eagle. He’s on his own in second place behind Fisher, not that any of this really matters at the moment, a shot ahead of Brandt Snedeker, Aaron Baddeley, Hiroyuki Fujita… and, hello, Martin Laird of Scotland and Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland. Let’s hope everyone keeps this up all weekend. Anyway, it’s 3pm, the tournament is well underway – and who’s this on the leaderboard? Sandy Lyle, that’s who! He started with a bogey on the 1st,then another on the par-three 4th, but has bounced back with birdies on 6 and 8. Admittedly this only puts him at even par, with few players so far out, but whatever: he’s only three off the lead – held by Ross Fisher, who’s only parred two of his first nine holes, going out in 33 strokes – and there’s nothing you can say that makes it not so. The Masters!!! Current levels of excitement = (Open + Ryder Cup) x ( Noddy Holder announcing what season it is + Stewie Griffin drinking soda ). [DISCLAIMER: We have the right to perform a complete u-turn on this when the first players are about to tee off at Sandwich in July, or/and when Mickelson holds a 16-shot lead as he ambles round Amen Corner on Sunday whistling] Sandy Lyle’s bunker shot at 18 in 1988. Phil Mickelson’s six-iron at 13 in 2010. Tiger’s chip at 16 in 2005. Seve’s procession in 1980. Gene Sarazen’s albatross at 15 in 1935. Gary Player’s 64 to come from seven back in 1978. Sandy Lyle’s putt at 18 in 1988. Greg Norman’s collapse in 1996. Jack Nicklaus’s back-nine charge in 1986. Sandy Lyle’s little dance on the green at 18 in 1988. And we’ve only just scratched the surface. It’s the Masters, folks! Masters 2011 The Masters Golf Scott Murray guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …• Click refresh to update or click the auto-update button • Email your thoughts to scott.murray@guardian.co.uk • Read Lawrence Donegan’s Masters preview • Official Masters leaderboard 4.20pm: Paul Kay had to jinx Na; he’s bogeyed 11 to drop back to even par. No drama to speak of at the moment, but good to note that the aforementioned 2007 Open champion, Padraig Harrington, has birdied 5 after a steady run of pars: he’s -1. 4.15pm: Fisher nearly picks up his seventh birdie of the day on 13, a huge left to right breaker that’s this close to dropping into the hole, but dies right just in front of the cup. That was a fine stroke, though. “I see Kevin Na has moved up to fifth place at -1,” writes Paul Kay. “If he had 10 sons who were all excellent golfers the leaderboard could read like the opening of the chorus to Hey Jude.” Wasn’t that the coda? Hey Jude doesn’t really have a chorus, does it? And Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In called; they want their joke back. 4.10pm: Tiger is out and about; he’s parred the 1st. Behind him is Sergio Garcia, who manages to avoid running up a quadruple bogey on the hole, also parring the first. The only way is down. I have absolutely no expectations for Sergio these days. That way, he can’t hurt me any more. I still haven’t quite got over the 2007 Open, much as I like Harrington. Oh Sergio! 4.05pm: The much-fancied Lee Westwood is out, and his latest bid for second place has started unevenly: a bogey five on 1, followed by a birdie 4 on 2. He’s level par, but then you could have worked that out yourself. Unless you were reading the official Masters scoreboard, which is trying to be too clever for its own good with a fancy new interface offering multiple views: one that looks like the on-course scoreboards, and is therefore slightly confusing if you want facts fast, another more traditionally rendered list that crashes your PC. “What is the story with that Masters website?” splutters Evan Fanning, of this parish. “I was trying to see how Dustin Johnson was getting on before I threw my money on him but it kept crashing my computer. Stuck my money on him anyway and now found out he’s four over after seven holes and has gone from 33/1 (which I took) to 45/1. Balls.” Never mind, he’ll have only found an extravagent way to melt down around Amen Corner on Sunday anyway. If it was possible to find a route through 11, 12 and 13 like this – - he’d manage to find it. 3.50pm: Two putts for Lyle, who stays at +1. Fisher and Goosen lead on -4, after 12 and 4 holes respectively. Here’s Ian Burch on Stewie Griffin drinking soda (see preamble): “I’d be even more excited if Glenn Quagmire was caddying for Tiger this week. Giggity, giggity.” Not an hour in, and you’ve started riffing on his pain already. Can a man not get divorced after crashing into a water hydrant then apologising profusely on live television in order to keep his multi-million pound endorsements in peace? Leave him alone! 3.45pm. Brilliant from Ross Fisher, who is the boss of Amen Corner so far. After that ludicrous birdie on 11, he finds the bunker at the front of 12, just over Rae’s Creek. He’s got a hell of a chip facing him, but with not much green to work with, splashes out wonderfully, the ball rolling to three feet. He saves par. Goosen, meanwhile, has joined him in the lead on -4, having only played four holes! And here’s Sandy Lyle, now one over coming down 11. He’s in the trees, but no matter: he Mickelsons one out of the woods and down the hill, the ball working its way onto the front of the green before breaking left and rolling to 20 feet of the hole. That shot’s been met with warm appreciation by the locals, who probably know a thing or two about hacking around these woods. Imagine having to play this course! I could die happy, even if I carded 150 while doing it. 3.35pm: OK, sorry for the slow updates: technical issues a-go-go. Here’s some vital news, though, relayed by carrier pigeon: Rory McIlroy has birdied three in a row to move to three under after 4, while Fisher has raked in a 60-footer on 11 to move to -4. This is a very promising start for the Europeans already. We’ll be up and running smoothly soon, unless I smash this computer into pieces so small you could sieve them through the airholes in the fingers of a golf glove. 3.15pm: In other news, two-time US Open champions Retief Goosen has come out of the traps flying, holing his second at 1 for eagle. He’s on his own in second place behind Fisher, not that any of this really matters at the moment, a shot ahead of Brandt Snedeker, Aaron Baddeley, Hiroyuki Fujita… and, hello, Martin Laird of Scotland and Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland. Let’s hope everyone keeps this up all weekend. Anyway, it’s 3pm, the tournament is well underway – and who’s this on the leaderboard? Sandy Lyle, that’s who! He started with a bogey on the 1st,then another on the par-three 4th, but has bounced back with birdies on 6 and 8. Admittedly this only puts him at even par, with few players so far out, but whatever: he’s only three off the lead – held by Ross Fisher, who’s only parred two of his first nine holes, going out in 33 strokes – and there’s nothing you can say that makes it not so. The Masters!!! Current levels of excitement = (Open + Ryder Cup) x ( Noddy Holder announcing what season it is + Stewie Griffin drinking soda ). [DISCLAIMER: We have the right to perform a complete u-turn on this when the first players are about to tee off at Sandwich in July, or/and when Mickelson holds a 16-shot lead as he ambles round Amen Corner on Sunday whistling] Sandy Lyle’s bunker shot at 18 in 1988. Phil Mickelson’s six-iron at 13 in 2010. Tiger’s chip at 16 in 2005. Seve’s procession in 1980. Gene Sarazen’s albatross at 15 in 1935. Gary Player’s 64 to come from seven back in 1978. Sandy Lyle’s putt at 18 in 1988. Greg Norman’s collapse in 1996. Jack Nicklaus’s back-nine charge in 1986. Sandy Lyle’s little dance on the green at 18 in 1988. And we’ve only just scratched the surface. It’s the Masters, folks! Masters 2011 The Masters Golf Scott Murray guardian.co.uk
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Gambling Commission inquiry finds employees used inside information on phone votes to place bets on eliminations Three Virgin Media employees have been caught using inside information on telephone voting patterns during last year’s series of The X Factor to place more than £16,000 in bets on the hit ITV1 show. An investigation by the Gambling Commission found that three Virgin Media employees accessed company data on the number of telephone votes being registered by customers for each contestant on the show. The investigation found “no evidence that the integrity of the public voting or the TV shows involved were compromised”. Using the information gleaned on voting patterns the employees waged more than £16,000 in bets through online gambling platform Betfair on which contestants would be eliminated from The X Factor. Betfair alerted the Gambling Commission to suspicious activity and following an investigation the bets have been voided. “Following a multiagency investigation led by the Gambling Commission, we are satisfied that the bets placed were substantially unfair as the individuals involved had inside information,” said the Gambling Commission’s director of regulation, Nick Tofiluk. The Gambling Commission has been in consultation with Virgin Media, ITV and media regulator Ofcom to make sure such scams cannot take place in the future. “While we take this matter extremely seriously Ofcom and the broadcaster are confident that TV viewers did not suffer any financial harm, nor were the outcome of any shows or votes affected,” said an Ofcom spokesman. “We also note that Virgin Media has since terminated the employment of the individuals involved and introduced additional internal procedures to improve data monitoring.” Virgin Media said that the scam was an “isolated incident” and offered reassurance that the outcome of phone votes through the company’s system had not been affected. “We can confirm this was an isolated incident where three individuals were found to have misused their legitimate access to internal data to identify the volume of calls being made,” said a spokeswoman for Virgin Media. “At no point was any individual customer data shared and the outcome of the phone votes was not affected. However we have since introduced additional monitoring to our systems to ensure this cannot happen again.” •
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Gambling Commission inquiry finds employees used inside information on phone votes to place bets on eliminations Three Virgin Media employees have been caught using inside information on telephone voting patterns during last year’s series of The X Factor to place more than £16,000 in bets on the hit ITV1 show. An investigation by the Gambling Commission found that three Virgin Media employees accessed company data on the number of telephone votes being registered by customers for each contestant on the show. The investigation found “no evidence that the integrity of the public voting or the TV shows involved were compromised”. Using the information gleaned on voting patterns the employees waged more than £16,000 in bets through online gambling platform Betfair on which contestants would be eliminated from The X Factor. Betfair alerted the Gambling Commission to suspicious activity and following an investigation the bets have been voided. “Following a multiagency investigation led by the Gambling Commission, we are satisfied that the bets placed were substantially unfair as the individuals involved had inside information,” said the Gambling Commission’s director of regulation, Nick Tofiluk. The Gambling Commission has been in consultation with Virgin Media, ITV and media regulator Ofcom to make sure such scams cannot take place in the future. “While we take this matter extremely seriously Ofcom and the broadcaster are confident that TV viewers did not suffer any financial harm, nor were the outcome of any shows or votes affected,” said an Ofcom spokesman. “We also note that Virgin Media has since terminated the employment of the individuals involved and introduced additional internal procedures to improve data monitoring.” Virgin Media said that the scam was an “isolated incident” and offered reassurance that the outcome of phone votes through the company’s system had not been affected. “We can confirm this was an isolated incident where three individuals were found to have misused their legitimate access to internal data to identify the volume of calls being made,” said a spokeswoman for Virgin Media. “At no point was any individual customer data shared and the outcome of the phone votes was not affected. However we have since introduced additional monitoring to our systems to ensure this cannot happen again.” •
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Anti-corruption campaigner says he will continue to ‘fast until death’ as campaign inspires millions to stage their own protests A 73-year-old Indian anti-corruption campaigner has refused to end his “fast until death” despite government concessions on his demands for a powerful new body to stamp out graft in the country. Anna Hazare ended his third day of hunger strike on Thursday saying he had lost weight and “felt a little weak” but could continue without food for at least another week. Hunger strikes – which invoke the memory of those undertaken by Mahatma Gandhi – are popular political tactics in India and are frequent features of public life. However, this most recent campaign against corruption has mobilised millions of Indians. Hazare’s Facebook page has more than 80,000 friends and supporters mobbed the Jantar Mantar observatory, the site of his hunger strike, in central Delhi on Thursday. Tens of thousands also joined the protests, ranging from hunger strikes to candlelit vigils in cities around the country including Mumbai, Lucknow and Jaipur. A number of Bollywood stars have also come out in support of Hazare, a former soldier and veteran social activist. Corruption in India is endemic and ranges from the small fees that need to be paid to avoid fines for trumped up traffic offences to an alleged £24bn fraud in the telecoms sector, which saw a former government minister jailed last month. “This is a corrupt government, full of corrupt ministers in a corrupt country. We have had enough,” said Peta Singh, an 18-year-old student from Noida, a satellite town of Delhi, who had travelled to the centre of the capital with friends to demonstrate. The telecoms scandal was just one of a series to hit the Congress-led coalition in the last year. Others included alleged kickbacks connected with the hugely expensive 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games. The protesters want speedy adoption of a law to create a powerful anti-corruption ombudsman which would be able to ensure rapid investigation and prosecution of offenders. Current authorities – described as either politicised or toothless by protesters – would be placed under the ombudsman’s control. The activists reject the current draft of the law as too weak. It suggests the ombudsman, known as the Lokpal, be a recommending authority without prosecuting powers. The wealthy and powerful in India usually escape any charges against them or succeed in drawing out the legal process for many years, sometimes decades. A bill to set up a powerful anti-graft mechanism has been repeatedly introduced into parliament but has never passed. Many lawmakers make huge fortunes illegally. Keshal Gunjal, 28, had come to Delhi from the southern city of Pune to support Hazare. A science graduate who had given up his government post in protest against “the system”, he said Hazare and his followers would achieve their aims. “We will definitely reach our objectives. All of India is united against corruption – except the corrupt people of course,” he said. Another demonstrator, PN Jha, said he had personal experience of “scams” while working in the oil and gas sector. “No one believes the politicians any more,” he said. In the global list of perceptions of corruption compiled by Transparency International, India is ranked the 87th least corrupt along with Albania, Jamaica and Liberia. China ranks 78th and Pakistan 143rd, local commentators have noted. Brahma Chellaney, a respected Indian international affairs analyst and author, has called corruption an “existential threat” to India. Negotiations between the campaigners and the government are set to continue on Friday. India Jason Burke guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Anti-corruption campaigner says he will continue to ‘fast until death’ as campaign inspires millions to stage their own protests A 73-year-old Indian anti-corruption campaigner has refused to end his “fast until death” despite government concessions on his demands for a powerful new body to stamp out graft in the country. Anna Hazare ended his third day of hunger strike on Thursday saying he had lost weight and “felt a little weak” but could continue without food for at least another week. Hunger strikes – which invoke the memory of those undertaken by Mahatma Gandhi – are popular political tactics in India and are frequent features of public life. However, this most recent campaign against corruption has mobilised millions of Indians. Hazare’s Facebook page has more than 80,000 friends and supporters mobbed the Jantar Mantar observatory, the site of his hunger strike, in central Delhi on Thursday. Tens of thousands also joined the protests, ranging from hunger strikes to candlelit vigils in cities around the country including Mumbai, Lucknow and Jaipur. A number of Bollywood stars have also come out in support of Hazare, a former soldier and veteran social activist. Corruption in India is endemic and ranges from the small fees that need to be paid to avoid fines for trumped up traffic offences to an alleged £24bn fraud in the telecoms sector, which saw a former government minister jailed last month. “This is a corrupt government, full of corrupt ministers in a corrupt country. We have had enough,” said Peta Singh, an 18-year-old student from Noida, a satellite town of Delhi, who had travelled to the centre of the capital with friends to demonstrate. The telecoms scandal was just one of a series to hit the Congress-led coalition in the last year. Others included alleged kickbacks connected with the hugely expensive 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games. The protesters want speedy adoption of a law to create a powerful anti-corruption ombudsman which would be able to ensure rapid investigation and prosecution of offenders. Current authorities – described as either politicised or toothless by protesters – would be placed under the ombudsman’s control. The activists reject the current draft of the law as too weak. It suggests the ombudsman, known as the Lokpal, be a recommending authority without prosecuting powers. The wealthy and powerful in India usually escape any charges against them or succeed in drawing out the legal process for many years, sometimes decades. A bill to set up a powerful anti-graft mechanism has been repeatedly introduced into parliament but has never passed. Many lawmakers make huge fortunes illegally. Keshal Gunjal, 28, had come to Delhi from the southern city of Pune to support Hazare. A science graduate who had given up his government post in protest against “the system”, he said Hazare and his followers would achieve their aims. “We will definitely reach our objectives. All of India is united against corruption – except the corrupt people of course,” he said. Another demonstrator, PN Jha, said he had personal experience of “scams” while working in the oil and gas sector. “No one believes the politicians any more,” he said. In the global list of perceptions of corruption compiled by Transparency International, India is ranked the 87th least corrupt along with Albania, Jamaica and Liberia. China ranks 78th and Pakistan 143rd, local commentators have noted. Brahma Chellaney, a respected Indian international affairs analyst and author, has called corruption an “existential threat” to India. Negotiations between the campaigners and the government are set to continue on Friday. India Jason Burke guardian.co.uk
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