• Willetts holds to claim that most will charge £6,000 • Student numbers may have to be cut as fees rise The universities minister, David Willetts , has refused to withdraw his claim that most universities will charge more than £6,000 a year only in exceptional circumstances, as cabinet ministers privately admitted the plans were in serious
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Supermarket group says Tesco cars will cut out the middlemen – and offer Clubcard points Tesco, which has recently branched out into areas as diverse as banking and pet insurance, has taken yet another step to widen its already dizzying range of products with the launch of a website selling secondhand cars. The supermarket chain, which takes one in seven pounds spent by British shoppers, said it was seeking to compete with used-car dealers, many of whom are not trusted by consumers. Tescocars.com promises to offer thousands of secondhand cars, independently checked for quality and delivered to customers’ homes. The sites will also provide the supermarket group with the opportunity to offer car buyers Tesco purchase financing, insurance and breakdown cover. Andrew Higginson, chief executive of retailing services at Tesco, said: “By supplying directly to customers, there is no middle man, no expensive showroom and no salespeople on commission. Buyers can be sure they are getting the best value out there – and we will say ‘thank you’ with 2,000 Clubcard points.” He said the new site offers dedicated after-sales support from a nationwide network of more than 1,000 independent garages. These will offer servicing and vehicle repairs up to 30% cheaper than franchise dealers. Tesco will buy the cars from rental firms and corporate fleet suppliers and they will typically have had one previous owner. The launch of Tesco’s site on Sunday follows the acquisition of a minority stake in online dealership Carsite. The supermarket group has an option to take full control of the venture over time. Tescocars.com will not provide a forum for private sales in the way that Autotrader.co.uk does and customers will not be able to enter into part-exchange deals. Sir Trevor Chinn, the former RAC boss and chairman of both Carsite and Tesco Cars, said: “Consumers want to know they can trust the information supplied about a used car, that they are getting value for money and good customer service. Importantly they also want to be able to take their time to make the right purchase for them. We are delivering a positive new experience for today’s car buyer.” Tesco Supermarkets Retail industry Consumer affairs Car insurance Motoring Simon Bowers guardian.co.uk
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Army chiefs are worried about the 100ft minarets but local Muslims say they need more space for worshippers Plans to erect a mosque next to Sandhurst that have divided locals and prompted interventions from a Tory minister and the Ministry of Defence are to be considered at a public inquiry this week. The proposals – to demolish a locally listed Victorian schoolbuilding in a conservation area in Camberley, Surrey, and replace it with a £3m domed mosque – have pitted members of the Berkshire, Hampshire and Surrey Bengali Welfare Association against thousands of residents, army chiefs and the constituency MP and education secretary, Michael Gove. The residents say the mosque would be out of keeping with the town’s architecture; army chiefs dislike the idea of 100ft-high minarets overlooking the parade ground of Sandhurst Military Academy; and Gove wants the application withdrawn for the sake of community harmony. The mosque is also described as a “supremacist statement” by a collective comprising local churches. The inquiry, to be held at Camberley Theatre, is scheduled to last six days and is the culmination of a year-long struggle between the association and its equally doughty opponents over the fate of the former Roman Catholic school sitting on an unsightly stretch of the A30. Alan Kirkland, from Save Our School, was among those who gathered 7,000 signatures opposing the radical redevelopment of the site. “There is nothing in the Qur’an that says you should have domes and minarets,” he said. “It doesn’t even have to face the qibla [direction of Mecca]. It doesn’t matter what the mosque looks like if you’re only going to pray there. They need a mezzanine floor that is for women only. To most people, that’s objectionable. “They are trying to target us as racist. I’m slightly offended by that. My ex-brother in law is Muslim, so are my niece and nephew.” The Bengalis say the existing building, designed by Charles Buckeridge, does not suit their needs. Camberley Muslims have used the old school as a mosque since 1996, purchasing it for £300,000 following a generous contribution from a Kuwaiti billionaire. But it is dilapidated, inside and out, and lies empty for much of the week except Friday, when Muslims pour into every available space, including the kitchen, for prayer. The capacity is 350, which the association estimates is a fraction of the Muslim community within a 10-mile radius. The new mosque would accommodate classrooms, segrated facilities for men and women, a morgue, a community centre and thousands of people. The Bengalis agreed to restrict access to the minarets – making them ornamental and partially solid – but only after the Ministry of Defence raised concerns over them. The compromise – the only one to date – has failed to appease to Save Our Schools, which has raised £10,000 to ensure it has legal representation at the inquiry. Ivar Hellberg, also from Save Our School, is outraged at the BWA’s perceived indifference to Camberley’s heritage. “They are bad stewards,” he said. “Why haven’t they looked after the house of Allah?” Abdul Wasay Chowdhury, from the association, said: “It is hard to collect money to renovate the school. It is not a religious building, it is not a mosque. We don’t want to extend from the back because then it won’t be a school or a mosque. It will be neither. If people were so concerned about heritage, why didn’t they buy the building? If we hadn’t bought it, it would have been empty for the last 15 years. That would have been worse.” “The local church is out of keeping with the area. The steeple will be taller than our minarets – why don’t they complain about that?” He points to Robins Cinema, a building with art-deco frontage, and the boarded-up Duke of York Hotel, built in 1816, opposite. Both face demolition. “The problem is, if you try to save everything, you end up saving nothing.” Religion Islam Development Riazat Butt guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Army chiefs are worried about the 100ft minarets but local Muslims say they need more space for worshippers Plans to erect a mosque next to Sandhurst that have divided locals and prompted interventions from a Tory minister and the Ministry of Defence are to be considered at a public inquiry this week. The proposals – to demolish a locally listed Victorian schoolbuilding in a conservation area in Camberley, Surrey, and replace it with a £3m domed mosque – have pitted members of the Berkshire, Hampshire and Surrey Bengali Welfare Association against thousands of residents, army chiefs and the constituency MP and education secretary, Michael Gove. The residents say the mosque would be out of keeping with the town’s architecture; army chiefs dislike the idea of 100ft-high minarets overlooking the parade ground of Sandhurst Military Academy; and Gove wants the application withdrawn for the sake of community harmony. The mosque is also described as a “supremacist statement” by a collective comprising local churches. The inquiry, to be held at Camberley Theatre, is scheduled to last six days and is the culmination of a year-long struggle between the association and its equally doughty opponents over the fate of the former Roman Catholic school sitting on an unsightly stretch of the A30. Alan Kirkland, from Save Our School, was among those who gathered 7,000 signatures opposing the radical redevelopment of the site. “There is nothing in the Qur’an that says you should have domes and minarets,” he said. “It doesn’t even have to face the qibla [direction of Mecca]. It doesn’t matter what the mosque looks like if you’re only going to pray there. They need a mezzanine floor that is for women only. To most people, that’s objectionable. “They are trying to target us as racist. I’m slightly offended by that. My ex-brother in law is Muslim, so are my niece and nephew.” The Bengalis say the existing building, designed by Charles Buckeridge, does not suit their needs. Camberley Muslims have used the old school as a mosque since 1996, purchasing it for £300,000 following a generous contribution from a Kuwaiti billionaire. But it is dilapidated, inside and out, and lies empty for much of the week except Friday, when Muslims pour into every available space, including the kitchen, for prayer. The capacity is 350, which the association estimates is a fraction of the Muslim community within a 10-mile radius. The new mosque would accommodate classrooms, segrated facilities for men and women, a morgue, a community centre and thousands of people. The Bengalis agreed to restrict access to the minarets – making them ornamental and partially solid – but only after the Ministry of Defence raised concerns over them. The compromise – the only one to date – has failed to appease to Save Our Schools, which has raised £10,000 to ensure it has legal representation at the inquiry. Ivar Hellberg, also from Save Our School, is outraged at the BWA’s perceived indifference to Camberley’s heritage. “They are bad stewards,” he said. “Why haven’t they looked after the house of Allah?” Abdul Wasay Chowdhury, from the association, said: “It is hard to collect money to renovate the school. It is not a religious building, it is not a mosque. We don’t want to extend from the back because then it won’t be a school or a mosque. It will be neither. If people were so concerned about heritage, why didn’t they buy the building? If we hadn’t bought it, it would have been empty for the last 15 years. That would have been worse.” “The local church is out of keeping with the area. The steeple will be taller than our minarets – why don’t they complain about that?” He points to Robins Cinema, a building with art-deco frontage, and the boarded-up Duke of York Hotel, built in 1816, opposite. Both face demolition. “The problem is, if you try to save everything, you end up saving nothing.” Religion Islam Development Riazat Butt guardian.co.uk
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Afghan president issues demand despite Barack Obama’s condemnation of ‘act of extreme intolerance and bigotry’ The Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, appears to have added fuel to the violent protests in Afghanistan after calling on the US Congress to condemn a Christian preacher’s burning of the Qur’an. Karzai’s demand came despite a statement from Barack Obama denouncing the behaviour of American pastor Terry Jones as “an act of extreme intolerance and bigotry”. But the Afghan president, in a meeting on Sunday with the US ambassador, Karl Eikenberry, and David Petraeus, the US commander of Nato forces in the country, demanded that the top US lawmaking body should condemn Jones. The report of the national security council meeting, issued by Karzai’s office, highlights the concern of some analysts that the president is pandering to the demands of anti-western protesters rather than attempting to quell violence that has already cost dozens of lives, including the seven UN officials killed by a mob in Mazar-e-Sharif on Friday. On Sunday violence continued for a second day in the Taliban heartland city of Kandahar, with at least one person killed, while protests also raged in Jalalabad where students blocked a road to Kabul. Karzai has been bitterly criticised by some for drawing attention to the Qur’an fire in the first place. Though it was largely ignored by the media, Karzai issued a press release on 24 March, four days after the book-burning in Gainsville, Florida, condemning the “crime against a religion and entire Muslim umma [community]“. He said the US and UN should “bring to justice the perpetrators of this crime”. Western officials showed their dismay. Petraeus issued a statement with Nato’s Kabul ambassador, Mark Sedwill, condemning “any disrespect to the holy Qur’an and Muslim faith”. Jones has claimed the FBI told him a $2.4m bounty had been put on his head in Pakistan. In interviews he said he was “saddened” by the violence. He had promised in September not to set fire to the book, then he and his congregation discussed shredding, shooting, or dunking it in water instead. Jones said his desire to shed light on the “dangerous book” won out, so the burning was streamed on the internet ,with Arabic subtitles to reach Muslims. “For some of them,” he said, “it could be an awakening.” Afghanistan Islam Religion Christianity US Congress United States US politics Barack Obama Hamid Karzai US foreign policy Jon Boone Dominic Rushe guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Afghan president issues demand despite Barack Obama’s condemnation of ‘act of extreme intolerance and bigotry’ The Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, appears to have added fuel to the violent protests in Afghanistan after calling on the US Congress to condemn a Christian preacher’s burning of the Qur’an. Karzai’s demand came despite a statement from Barack Obama denouncing the behaviour of American pastor Terry Jones as “an act of extreme intolerance and bigotry”. But the Afghan president, in a meeting on Sunday with the US ambassador, Karl Eikenberry, and David Petraeus, the US commander of Nato forces in the country, demanded that the top US lawmaking body should condemn Jones. The report of the national security council meeting, issued by Karzai’s office, highlights the concern of some analysts that the president is pandering to the demands of anti-western protesters rather than attempting to quell violence that has already cost dozens of lives, including the seven UN officials killed by a mob in Mazar-e-Sharif on Friday. On Sunday violence continued for a second day in the Taliban heartland city of Kandahar, with at least one person killed, while protests also raged in Jalalabad where students blocked a road to Kabul. Karzai has been bitterly criticised by some for drawing attention to the Qur’an fire in the first place. Though it was largely ignored by the media, Karzai issued a press release on 24 March, four days after the book-burning in Gainsville, Florida, condemning the “crime against a religion and entire Muslim umma [community]“. He said the US and UN should “bring to justice the perpetrators of this crime”. Western officials showed their dismay. Petraeus issued a statement with Nato’s Kabul ambassador, Mark Sedwill, condemning “any disrespect to the holy Qur’an and Muslim faith”. Jones has claimed the FBI told him a $2.4m bounty had been put on his head in Pakistan. In interviews he said he was “saddened” by the violence. He had promised in September not to set fire to the book, then he and his congregation discussed shredding, shooting, or dunking it in water instead. Jones said his desire to shed light on the “dangerous book” won out, so the burning was streamed on the internet ,with Arabic subtitles to reach Muslims. “For some of them,” he said, “it could be an awakening.” Afghanistan Islam Religion Christianity US Congress United States US politics Barack Obama Hamid Karzai US foreign policy Jon Boone Dominic Rushe guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Isn’t this interesting? Wisconsin’s Senate majority leader knew he couldn’t legally order state troopers to go after the senate Democrats — but he did it anyway! You’ll notice you hear very little from Republicans about “the rule of law” these days: Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald was warned by legal representatives of three separate state agencies that ordering state troopers to forcibly return senate Democrats to Madison would place his actions in a zone “outside the law”, according to the Wisconsin State Journal . The Journal has obtained memos and e-mail from Fitzgerald’s office and the office of Sergeant-at-Arms Ted Blazel through a public records request.Fitzgerald now admits in an interview with the Journal that his efforts to compel the Democrats back to the State House were “a mess” and that when he tried to give a statewide order for law enforcement to arrest the missing lawmakers, “There was no cop in the state that would enforce it.” It was Fitzgerald who issued the controversial “call of the House” on February 17th, when Democratic senators fled the state to avoid a vote on Governor Scott Walker’s bill curbing the collective bargaining rights of public employees. Three days after the walkout, Fitzgerald ordered state troopers to the residence of Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller, who wasn’t at home. This prompted a dialogue between Fitzgerald’s office and Wisconsin’s Legislative Council and Legislative Reference Bureau concerning the legality of the Fitzgerald’s actions.The Majority Leader’s office, however, sent troopers to state senators homes again four days later. It was when Fitzgerald attempted to use statewide police warrant verification network to issue an official “Order to Detain” the Democrats that the Wisconsin Department of Justice urged the Majority Leader and the Senate to drop the order rather than force law enforcement personnel to carry out acts that would ultimately prove to be illegal. The State Journal : “We would strongly recommend that you attempt to get the Senate’s Order to Detain out of the system, i.e. to the extent possible indicate publicly that it has been withdrawn so that law enforcement do not rely upon it and attempt to enforce it, thereby creating unnecessary liability exposure to them and the state,” Kevin Potter, an assistant attorney general, said in a March 4 email. Fitzgerald refused to back down. It was only when the Senate stripped out certain provisions of the bill allowing the Republicans to pass it with or without Democratic participation that the Majority Leader’s office stopped trying to pressure state law enforcement to compel the Democrats back to Madison.
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Small majority for Icesave compensation package shrinking before referendum A £2.35bn agreement to pay back the British government after it stepped in to guarantee UK deposits following the failure of online bank account Icesave has split public opinion in Iceland ahead of a critical referendum this week. Iceland goes to the polls on Saturday over the Icesave settlement after opposition to the agreed deal prompted president Ólafur Grímsson to call a plebiscite. He took the unusual step despite the agreement having been passed by the Icelandic parliament. Latest indications suggest a narrow but shrinking majority in favour of the latest agreement, with 55% of voters who have made up their minds intending to back it. A significant proportion are yet to make up their minds. The agreement offers Iceland less severe loan terms than a previous proposed settlement but is still unacceptable to many Icelanders. The earlier agreement was rejected by more than 90% in a similar vote 13 months ago. Frosti Sigurjónsson, an internet entrepreneur and leading “no” campaigner, said: “It is going to be very, very close. We have 45% at the moment but we are hoping perhaps, when it comes to turnout, people who don’t want to pay are more motivated than those who want to open their purse.” He claimed voters were becoming increasingly emboldened, despite the prospect of a jump in Iceland’s cost of borrowing because of probable credit rating downgrades. “In the beginning there was a lot of fear. People felt, although the agreement was not great for them, not to say ‘yes’ would mean something terrible would happen. That’s just not the case.” Landsbanki, the bank behind Icesave, failed at the height of the international banking crisis in October 2008 along with much of Iceland’s over-heated financial sector. The meltdown left the island in effect bankrupt, forcing it to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund. Under pressure from the British and Dutch, bailout loans required Iceland to accept some taxpayer liability for Icesave deposits from overseas. The two government’s had stepped in to guarantee their domestic retail depositors with Icesave after a run on savings. Savers had feared – rightly, it turned out – that Landsbanki was heading for bankruptcy and an Icelandic guarantee fund could not meet its promises. Web pages had told UK savers: “You can also rest assured that with Icesave you are offered the same level of financial protection as every bank in the UK.” As a result, retail depositors, charities, councils and other public institutions, lured by market-beating interest rates, poured £4.52bn into Icesave before Landsbanki went bust. Of these, the UK Treasury ended up guaranteeing in full deposits from 229,000 retail savers. Britain then effectively billed Iceland £2.35bn plus interest for a the partial guarantee that had not been honoured. The British government – and Dutch counterparts who agreed a £1.3bn settlement – are believed to be dreading a “no” vote, which would probably see the dispute thrashed out in court under the auspices of the European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA) authorities. Many in Iceland believe a court judgment could ultimately shatter the assumption at the heart of the Icesave settlement – that, under European law, a state must make up for any shortfalls in deposit guarantee funds. A clear legal ruling on this point would be extremely unwelcome internationally as it would throw a spotlight on huge funding shortfalls in depositor guarantee schemes in Britain, the Netherlands and indeed around the world. In May last year, however, EFTA’s Surveillance Authority provisionally ruled that Iceland was legally required to stand behind its woefully underfunded guarantee scheme. Nevertheless, legal opinion remains split on whether such a finding could be challenge. Sigurjonsson said: “The risk of accepting the current Icesave agreement [which involves an exposure to currency market movements and bankruptcy recoveries] is much greater than taking this matter to court, which is our civil right.” Icesave Banking Credit crunch Financial crisis Iceland Savings Simon Bowers guardian.co.uk
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Programmes such as Glee and 90210 responsible for increasing popularity of US-style school-leaving parties, research shows US television programmes such as Glee and 90210 may have given more to British youngsters than rising intonation, saturated use of the word “like” and a lust for fame. The small screen exports, coupled with the unheralded success of the High School Musical trilogy and other teen programmes, have contributed directly to a rise in the number of UK school-leavers attending proms, according to one hotel chain. Prom attendees are now spending an average of £244 per student on the gatherings, according to research carried out by OnePoll for Holiday Inn, with parents set to shell out a total of £31m in the next year. Holiday Inn says it has seen a 500% rise in the number of proms being booked at its hotels, and the chain says the surge has come as a direct result of the success of US television programming. Glee follows the fortunes of a group of US high school students who sing in a choir. In the TV film High School Musical and its sequels, the decision of a basketball-playing Zac Efron and a bookish Vanessa Hudgens to audition for a musical turns – in Disney’s words – ” their world and their school upside down”. OnePoll’s survey of 1,000 people found that 40% of 18-year-olds were planning to attend prom events this year. “The increase in US TV shows is having a huge influence with American-style proms in particular growing in popularity,” said Holiday Inn spokesman Tom Rowntree. “Over the past year alone we’ve seen a 500% increase in prom bookings at our hotels and each year they become more extravagant.” Pam Jones and Leanna Garant set up their Prom World business , based in the Midlands, earlier this year to respond to the demand for all things prom-related. Jones agreed the exposure to US culture was having an influence on teenagers’ desire for school-leaving parties. “As a teacher myself, I’ve seen it with the kids – it’s becoming more and more important for them,” Garant said. “US programmes definitely have an impact. “The kids are seeing they can have something special at the end of their school life. “It does mark the end of their school life and the start of a new journey and it’s important for them to have that last gathering together.” US television Children’s TV Television Secondary schools Schools Children United States Adam Gabbatt guardian.co.uk
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British Library will display unpublished letters, which show that the dramatist worked on his last play while nearing death The British Library has acquired four unpublished letters written by Sir Terence Rattigan towards the end of his life, when, despite the extreme pain of his terminal illness, he felt driven to finish his last play. A junior curator saw them in an antiquarian bookshop and bought them for £22 – a snip, given their worth, as a link to one of the 20th century’s most celebrated and popular playwrights. The letters reveal that, though suffering, Rattigan maintained his professionalism and passion for the theatre. Leukaemia took its toll on his body, but the show had to go on for the English dramatist who penned classics such as The Browning Version and The Deep Blue Sea. It was in those letters that this master explorer of British insecurities about sex and class fine-tuned his 1970s courtroom drama, Cause Célèbre, revived at the Old Vic last week to rave reviews. The play was based on the true story of Alma Rattenbury, who was tried in 1935 with her teenage lover for murdering her husband. Rattigan was writing from his Bermuda home to Robin Midgley, director of the Haymarket Theatre, Leicester, who planned to stage it. There are moving passages, such as his reference to days when he was drained of energy. “I am stuffed with dope”, he wrote of his medication. “This is the first day of many that I’ve been able to hold a pen … I’ve been officially told I can only get worse.” But he was more concerned about discussing Cause Célèbre, even reworking it once rehearsals had started. The letters reveal the care he took over every detail. There is jocular frustration with a woman who typed his manuscript (a “literary wrecker”), willingness to shorten scenes (“some compensating cuts in the two lawyers’ scenes”) and disparaging views on audiences (“In fussing about the play … I sometimes wonder whether I have … been explicit enough – remembering the stupidity of audiences.” Rattigan attended the play’s premiere in July 1977, but died five months later in November that year. Kathryn Johnson, the British Library’s curator of theatrical manuscripts, expressed excitement at the £22 purchase – it made a change not to have to struggle to raise money. Michael Darlow, Rattigan’s biographer, said: “Rattigan’s archive is very patchy. The more one can fill in the gaps with such letters the better our understanding of him.” The letters, which the library will display from Monday, also reveal his concern about the critics. He need not have worried. Though he had been out of favour since the 1950s, his stature as a master dramatist has been restored in this, his centenary year. As well as a film season at the BFI Southbank throughout April, Terence Davies is directing Deep Blue Sea, and critics have celebrated the latest production of Cause Célèbre. The Guardian wrote: “Rattigan’s final play stands the test of time.” Terence Rattigan British Library Dalya Alberge guardian.co.uk
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