Leaked document shows many parishes in Irish capital close to financial collapse due to child abuse compensation payments Reparations for child abuse victims and the recession have brought Ireland’s largest Catholic diocese to the brink of bankruptcy, according to a leaked document from a group of priests. The paper from the Council of Priests concludes that many parishes in Dublin are close to a state of financial collapse. It cites the ongoing cost of compensation payments made to victims of clerical abuse, the death of the Celtic Tiger economic boom and falling numbers going to mass in the Irish capital. The document, which was leaked to this week’s edition of the Irish Catholic newspaper, proposes imposing a parish-based levy on Catholic families living in Dublin that would raise up to €3m (£2.6m) a year. The priests also recommend cuts in the wages of religious orders and lay people working for the church in line with public pay cuts imposed to trim back Ireland’s massive national debt. A spokeswoman for the Dublin archdiocese has confirmed the existence of the document, saying it was aimed at addressing the economic realities facing the archdiocese. She said making no changes would have serious financial consequences. Two years ago a damning report into clerical sex abuse found that the diocese had covered up the activities of 46 priests accused of abusing children. It found the church placed its own reputation above the protection of children in its care. It also said state authorities including the Garda Síochána facilitated the cover-up by allowing the Catholic church to operate outside the law. Ireland Catholicism Religion Christianity Europe Henry McDonald guardian.co.uk
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James Desborough is arrested by London police investigating UK hacking allegations James Desborough, an award-winning reporter at the former News of the World newspaper, has been arrested by officers investigating the phone-hacking scandal. Desborough was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications, contrary to section 1 (1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977 after arriving at a south London police station on Thursday morning at 10.30am. He had arrived at the station by appointment for questioning about criminal activities at the paper. The allegations are believed to relate to events prior to Desborough being promoted to be the newspaper’s Los Angeles-based US editor in April 2009. He was given the job less than a month after winning the British Press Award for showbusiness reporter of the year. His move to the US makes his arrest, the 13th made by Operation Weeting, particularly significant. If Desborough was involved in hacking while in Britain, as police appear to believe he was, it raises the question of whether he practised those techniques in the US – and if so, whether he was the first and only News of the World journalist in the US to do so. At the 2009 British Press Awards ceremony, Desborough was praised by judges for his series of “uncompromising scoops which mean no celebrity with secrets can sleep easy”. He was presented with his award by Jon Snow, the respected Channel 4 journalist and anchorman. Desborough continued to win plaudits after his move to America. Ian Halperin, a Hollywood author, described him as someone who “never gets his facts wrong. He’s a rock solid reporter.” Hollyscope, an online site, also praised Desborough for “seem[ing] to have information that not even close family members … know.” Desborough joined the News of the World in 2005 and broke stories including “Fern’s big fat lie”, which revealed that former This Morning host Fern Britton’s dramatic weight loss was the result of having a gastric band fitted, not exercise and sensible eating as had been thought. Desborough was writing for the News of the World up until it closed last month. He was among journalists who travelled with Prince William and Kate Middleton on their post-honeymoon trip to Los Angeles. His final story for the online version of the paper was on 8 July, two days before it closed, claiming the new Duchess of Cambridge was to act in a Hollywood film. Phone hacking News of the World Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers London Celebrity Amelia Hill guardian.co.uk
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Morgan Stanley says the world economy is ‘dangerously close to a recession’ Morgan Stanley has warned that the global economy is teetering on the brink of a recession, and slashed its growth forecasts. Fears that the world is sliding into a double dip recession are weighing on global stock markets, which resumed their recent falls on Thursday. Morgan Stanley said the world economy is “dangerously close to a recession”. “While we had been calling for a ‘BBB’ recovery in developed markets all along, the path now looks even more Bumpy, Below-par and Brittle than previously thought,” the US investment bank said in a note, adding that emerging markets were not immune either. It cut its global growth forecast to 3.9% from 4.2% this year, and to 3.8% from 4.5% next year. Growth in developed market economies is now estimated at just 1.5% this year and next. A recession is defined as two or more consecutive quarters of contraction. The FTSE index in London dropped 76 points to 5255 in early trading, a decline of 1.4%, with mining and banking stocks among the biggest fallers. Germany’s Dax and France’s CAC lost 1.6% and 1.5% respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed down 1.25% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.2% and the Shanghai Composite ended the day 1.6% lower. Wall Street closed little changed on Wednesday, with the Dow up just 4.28 points at 11,410.21. Brent crude oil fell 0.4% to $110.16 a barrel. The Swiss franc tumbled against the euro and the dollar amid talk that the Swiss National Bank was injecting liquidity to stop the currency’s surge. The latest UK labour market data painted a worsening picture , with unemployment rising sharply, especially among women and young people. The grim global outlook and turmoil in financial markets prompted the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee to discuss a fresh round of quantitative easing at its meeting a fortnight ago, and its two hawkish members abandoned their calls for higher interest rates. Jane Foley, senior currency strategist at Rabobank, noted that sterling has eked out modest gains against the euro since the start of this week, and strengthened by 1.7% against the dollar. “The better tone in the pound is despite that fact that every piece of UK economic news released this week has layered on even more gloom. Declining house prices, falling real wages, rising unemployment and an increasingly dovish central bank are not usually factors that would be associated with a stronger currency. However, these are not usual times. As ever, it is the nature of the FX market not to view the fundamentals of one currency in isolation. The better tone in sterling this week reflects even greater concerns about the outlook for the euro and the dollar,” she said. At Franco-German crisis talks in Paris on Tuesday, Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy urged closer economic co-ordination and called for a Europe-wide tax on financial transactions to prevent the disintegration of the single currency. Gary Jenkins, head of fixed income at Evolution Securities, said: “The European sovereign debt crisis is likely to remain a feature of markets for some time, but if we see a sharp slowdown in economic activity it could threaten fiscal consolidation in core countries such as France and exacerbate the crisis.” Jenkins noted that one bank borrowed $500m (£300m) for a week from the European Central Bank on Wednesday. “It is the first time a euro area bank has borrowed dollars from the ECB since February. While one shouldn’t read too much into one transaction it could be another indication of tension in money markets.” Global economy Recession Market turmoil Stock markets Morgan Stanley Julia Kollewe guardian.co.uk
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Boys achieve as many top grades as girls – and entries for maths soar A-level pass rates have risen to 97.8% – another record high – but the share of entries getting the highest grade has remained unchanged from last year at 27%. The overall pass rate has risen for the 29th successive year in results published on Thursday for 250,000 candidates in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. This year, 8.2% of boys have achieved an A*, up from 7.9% last year, while girls’ performance has dipped from 8.3% to 8.2%. There has been an increase in entries for maths, biology, chemistry and physics. Maths entries have risen dramatically, up 40.2% over five years. Entries for physics are up 19.6% over five years and chemistry up 19.4% over that period. But foreign languages continued to decline. Entries for French are down 4.7% on last year and German down 6.9%. The number of entries for A-level Chinese is up on last year. The number of entries awarded an A or A* has remained level, the first time since 1997 that the percentage of top grades has not increased. The proportion of candidates awarded an A* has risen marginally from 8.1% last year to 8.2%. This is the second time the A* grade has been included, reflecting a reform that was introduced to challenge the most able candidates with more complex questions. Private schools have taken 30% of A* grades, the same proportion as last year. The scramble for places in clearing has kicked off, with Ucas announcing that 185,000 candidates are chasing 29,000 unfilled places on degree courses. The number of applicants to UK universities has risen to 673,570, a record high, and a rise of 1.3% on last year. There were around 487,000 undergraduates accepted at UK universities last year, and there are a similar number of places this year. In last year’s results, 97.6% passed, and 27% of entries secured an A or A* grade. The A* grade requires marks over 90% in a candidate’s second-year exams. Last year’s results showed that private schools did disproportionately well, getting 30% of the total number of A* grades although their pupils accounted for only 14% of entries. The A* grade is being used to discriminate between the best candidates at an increased number of universities this year. Oxford is demanding the grade for 15 of its courses, while students applying for some courses at Bristol, Exeter and Sussex have been asked for it. UCL, Imperial and Warwick have all increased the number of courses requiring the top grade. Last year, the only universities to demand an A* were Imperial, Cambridge, UCL and Warwick. The standard offer at Cambridge is an A* and two As. Following last year’s results, examiners highlighted a gap in achievement between north and south. In 2010, pupils in the south-east, which accounted for 19% of entries, were awarded 23% of A* grades. By contrast, the north-east achieved just 3% of A*s from 4% of entries. While getting into university has always been competitive, the surge in demand and rising achievement in recent years has led to many qualified candidates failing to win places. Last year, out of 210,000 unplaced applicants for university, around 113,000 either failed to make the grade or did not receive an offer. The remaining 97,000 unplaced candidates declined offers or withdrew, according to figures from Ucas. Places at English universities are capped to control student loans costs. The squeeze on government-funded university places has prompted a growth of interest in alternatives. Thousands of school-leavers have applied for new corporate-sponsored degree courses or apprenticeship schemes that offer a direct route into a graduate level job A new KPMG programme aimed at school-leavers – in which the firm pays fees for sponsored students of an accountancy degree at Durham or Exeter university – has had more than 1,000 applications for 100 places. The students, who become salaried employees of KPMG, will live radically different university lives, sacrificing long summer holidays for a busy programme of combined work and study. Experian is sponsoring 15 undergraduate places on an honours degree in management and leadership at Nottingham Business School, starting this autumn. The accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has received 1,600 applications for 100 positions in its school-leaver programme this year, a 56% increase on 2010, while Network Rail has seen 8,000 candidates competing for around 200 places. Ernst and Young launched a school-leaver programme today. There are 60 places on the scheme which starts in September 2012. A-levels Schools Secondary schools Colleges Higher education Jeevan Vasagar guardian.co.uk
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Simon Richardson, who won three medals in Beijing, is in a critical condition after a van apparently hit him in Bridgend A gold-medal-winning Paralympic cyclist is in a critical condition after a hit-and-run incident with a van. Simon Richardson, who won two gold medals and a silver at the 2008 Beijing games, was cycling near Bridgend on Wednesday morning when he was apparently struck by a white van and thrown to the side of the road. The 44-year-old was taken by air ambulance to the University of Wales hospital in Cardiff, where he is undergoing treatment for multiple injuries. His wife said he was in a “critical but stable condition”. A 59-year-old man from the Cowbridge area has been arrested. Inspector Tony McAlinden said: “South Wales police are appealing for witnesses following a road traffic collision that occurred at approximately 9.40am on Wednesday 17 August at the A48 Crack Hill, outside Crack Hill House, Bridgend. “The Welsh Paralympic cyclist Simon Richardson MBE was involved in the road traffic accident. He was apparently struck by a small white van travelling in the same direction. “The van did not stop and continued east along the A48 in the general direction of Cowbridge.” Two cars were later involved in a crash at the same scene – a black Toyota Avensis, driven by a 43-year-old man, and a gold Rover 25, driven by a 74-year-old woman. McAlinden added: “The ambulance service attended the scene and provided assistance and treatment to both Mr Richardson and the female driver.” Police appealed for anyone who saw the collision or provided assistance, or who saw a white van leaving the area, to contact them. In 2001, Richardson, of Porthcawl, was seriously injured in a cycling incident with a car while out with friends from a cycling club. It left him with serious leg and back injuries and no feeling down his left side. He continued to cycle with an adapted bike powered by his right leg after doctors said it would help his rehabilitation. He won Britain’s first gold at Beijing after setting a world record at the LC3/4 1km time trial and received the MBE in 2009. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact South Wales police in Gwaelod y Garth, Cardiff, on 02920 633438 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. Wales Paralympics 2012 Cycling Crime guardian.co.uk
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Police, firefighters and coastguard battle to recover bodies at the foot of island’s Culver Down Police are investigating the deaths of a man and woman who were killed when their car went over a 100-metre (328ft) cliff on the Isle of Wight. Hampshire police said the pair’s bodies were recovered from an upturned blue car at the bottom of Culver Down cliffs. Emergency services were called at around 8pm on Wednesday and battled against the incoming tide to try to recover the pair from the “very crushed” car, Solent coastguard said. A coastguard spokeswoman said three teams from Bembridge, Ryde and Ventnor were called to the scene, along with the coastguard helicopter from Solent. Two lifeboats from Bembridge also joined the search with fire and rescue, ambulance and police teams. Anne Ricketts, 47, from nearby Sandown, was walking her dog along the beach around the time of the accident. The social worker said she saw a tractor dragging a trailer containing four firefighters towards the beach at the time. Just after 8pm she said she saw a coastguard helicopter drop someone into the water before leaving, while “truckloads” of rescuers from the coastguard were being dropped off nearby. Police are appealing for witnesses to call Newport CID on 101. guardian.co.uk
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Death is 10th fatal stabbing of a teenager in London so far this year and comes after 17-year-old was stabbed to death in Ilford A 14-year-old boy has been found stabbed to death at a park in Enfield, north London, police said. The boy, who has not been named, was already dead when police were called at about 5.30pm on Wednesday to Ponders End Recreation Ground, on the northern edge of London, Scotland Yard said. Officers were called by ambulance crews, who found the boy, suffering a stab wound, alongside a concrete wall in the middle of the park. The victim has not been named, although police know his identity and have told next of kin. Officers have launched a murder inquiry and are awaiting a postmortem investigation. No arrests have been made. It is the 10th fatal stabbing of a teenager in London so far this year, coming less than a week after a 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death in Ilford, east London , following what was believed to be a fight at the end of a party. According to Scotland Yard figures, knife crime involving young people in London has risen almost 10% over the past year , with an even bigger increase in the number of youths injured in knife attacks in the past few years. Enfield, which has significant areas of deprivation alongside streets of comfortable suburban homes, experienced a night of significant riots and looting earlier this month , which spread from the town centre towards Ponders End to the east. Knife crime Crime Peter Walker guardian.co.uk
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Return of otter shows English rivers are healthiest for 20 years, says Environment Agency It has been a long and perilous journey, but otters have finally managed to swim back from the brink of extinction and into every county in England. Two otters have been spotted building their holts on the banks of the rivers Medway and Eden in Kent, delighting conservationists who had previously predicted they would not return to the county for another 10 years. “The fact that otters are now returning to Kent is the final piece in the jigsaw for otter recovery in England and is a symbol of great success for everybody involved in otter conservation,” said Alastair Driver, the national conservation manager for the Environment Agency. Otters have reappeared in places where they have not been seen since the industrial revolution, including Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester, and even on the Thames and the Lea in north London. A recent survey on the river Ribble, in Lancashire, showed a 44% increase in otter numbers since 2008. The Kentish otters herald a remarkable – if slow – renaissance for the sleek, fish-devouring member of the mustelid family, which declined by 95% of its range in western Europe during the 20th century. In England the otter disappeared dramatically between the 1950s and 1970s because of persecution and pesticides washing into waterways. After otter hunting was belatedly banned in Britain in 1978, numbers began to increase – particularly following the withdrawal of organochlorine chemicals and a more general improvement in water quality, leading to more fish in rivers and lakes. The resurgence of the otter, which is top of the food chain in river environments, is an indicator that English rivers are at their healthiest for more than 20 years, according to the Environment Agency. Terry Nutkins, the naturalist and friend of Gavin Maxwell, author of Ring of Bright Water, said he was “absolutely overjoyed” by the return of the otter across England. “They are such a beautiful species of the weasel family and part of our heritage,” he said. “It’s good news and shows that the rivers are clean and there are more people becoming involved with environmental issues.” A spokesperson for The Wildlife Trusts said: “This is fantastic news. We will continue our work to improve habitats for these magnificent animals and to promote the otter as a flagship species of healthy wetland ecosystems. However, we must not be complacent. There is still a great deal of work to do before otters are widespread once more.” The resurgence of the otter has not delighted everyone, however, and anglers have reported otters decimating stocks in fishing lakes. The angler John Wilson recently called the otter “a wanton killer” and some fishing groups have called for a cull. Many angling clubs have been forced to erect expensive fences around lakes to keep otters out. Some conservationists warn that sightings of otters in new habitats may reflect otters roaming more widely in search of food rather than a big increase in numbers. Grace Yoxon of the International Otter Survival Fund said evidence of a surge in otter numbers should be treated with caution. “We just don’t have the data [on population increases],” she said. Otters are slow to reproduce and most mothers only bear two sets of cubs in their lifetime. “It’s not physically possible for them to spread very quickly,” said Yoxon. “The biggest problem is human encroachment and the destruction of habitat, and increasingly many otters are hit on the roads.” Otters are also sometimes caught in crayfish traps. The Environment Agency, working with partners including wildlife and angling organisations, has this year been granted an additional £18m of funding by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to help more English rivers meet new EU targets on the health of rivers. Otters have also benefited from reductions in the volume of water extracted from rivers by water companies, farmers and industry. According to the Environment Agency, around 35m fewer litres a day are now being taken from the River Darent in Kent than 20 years ago, support larger populations of wildlife including brown trout and pike. Wildlife Rivers Patrick Barkham Camila Ruz guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …CBS Comes to Obama’s Defense on Vacation Time After They Cue Him Up to Prognosticate on the Economy
August 17, 2011 No Comment
Just as criticism builds over President Barack Obama’s plan to spend the next week-and-a-half on Martha’s Vineyard while the economy flounders, the CBS Evening News came to his defense, suggesting he’s been a workaholic compared to his Republican predecessors. While “Obama has taken 61 days of vacation so far,” anchor Scott Pelley noted over a photo montage of those he cited, “at this point in their presidencies, George W. Bush had spent 180 days at his ranch, where staff often joined him for meetings, and Ronald Reagan 112 days at his ranch. Among recent Presidents, Bill Clinton took the least time off — 28 days.”
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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has told Ban Ki-moon that military operations against protesters have stopped, according to the UN Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that military and police operations against pro-democracy protesters had stopped, the United Nations said on Wednesday. In a phone call with Assad on Wednesday, Ban “expressed alarm at the latest reports of continued widespread violations of human rights and excessive use of force by Syrian security forces against civilians across Syria, including in the Al Ramel district of Latakia, home to several thousands of Palestinian refugees,” the United Nations said in a statement. “The Secretary-General emphasised that all military operations and mass arrests must cease immediately. President Assad said that the military and police operations had stopped,” the statement added. Residents of the besieged port city of Latakia said on Wednesday that Syrian forces raided houses in a Sunni district, arresting hundreds of people and taking them to a stadium after a four-day tank assault to crush protests against al-Assad. Assad’s forces attacked al-Raml, a seafront area named after a Palestinian refugee camp built in the 1950s, on the weekend as part of a fierce campaign to crush a five-month-old uprising. Latakia is of particular significance to Assad, from Syria’s minority Alawite community. The 45-year-old president, a self-declared champion of the Palestinian cause, comes from a village to the southeast, where his father is buried. The Assad family, along with friends, control the city’s port and its finances. Syria has expelled most independent media since the unrest began, making it difficult to verify reports from the country. The UN statement said Ban repeated his calls for an independent investigation into all reported killings and acts of violence, and for free access by the media. It added the U.N. chief called on Damascus to cooperate fully with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. “The Secretary-General also urged president Assad to engage in a credible and peaceful process of reform towards comprehensive change,” the statement said. Assad enumerated the reforms he will undertake in the next few months, including revision of the Constitution and the holding of parliamentary elections, the statement said. “The Secretary-General emphasized the need for reforms to be implemented swiftly without further military intervention,” it said Ban said a UN humanitarian assessment team, which the Syrian Government had agreed to receive, should be given independent and unhindered access to all areas affected by violence. Assad said the team would have access to different sites in Syria, according to the statement. The UN human rights chief is expected to suggest that the Security Council refer Syria’s crackdown on protesters to the International Criminal Court, envoys said on Wednesday. UN human rights chief Navi Pillay will address the 15-nation council in a closed-door session on Syria on Thursday, along with UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos. Syria Middle East Bashar Al-Assad United Nations Arab and Middle East unrest Protest guardian.co.uk
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