The UK chancellor will update Parliament on the state of the British economy around 1pm today, as Italy and France fight to avoid being dragged deeper into Europe’s debt crisis 12.45pm: In the City, the FTSE 100 just took a nasty tumble – now down 39 points at 4967. The blue-chip index had been 100 points higher this morning — the eurozone crisis continues to chip away at investors. My colleague Nick Fletcher reports that alarming rumours are rippling across the capital’s trading floors: Traders heard a tale than BNP might need to increase its provisions for Greece, while Reuters was reporting that a bank in Asia had cut credit lines to major French lenders on worries about their exposure to Eurozone sovereign debt. Five other banks in Asia were said to be reviewing their positions. More details here on Market Forces Live : 12.23pm: While we wait for Osborne, here are the latest odds on which country might lose its AAA rating (with Standard & Poor’s) next. Via Paddy Power: • 2/1 France • 7/2 Canada • 7/2 United Kingdom • 7/1 Austria •10/1 Denmark •10/1 Netherlands •10/1 Australia Early betting trends suggest that France could be next in the firing line but the USA downgrade shows that that no country is safe. 12.04pm: George Osborne is expected to start his statement around 1pm — Parliament is currently listening to David Cameron and Ed Miliband on the UK riots, and MPs are beginning to give their own responses. But what might the chancellor say? The timing isn’t perfect – just a day after the Bank of England cut its forecast for UK growth in 2011 to around 1.5%, from 1.8% previously. Ed Conway, Sky’s economics editor, appears to have been given some guidance by the UK Treasury: @edmundo : Chancellor to stress that stock market falls are international issue – but thing to watch are measures of sovereign creditworthiness and @edmundo : Chancellor will cite fact that based on CDS prices, UK is now a better credit risk than Germany for first time in crisis Actually, the very latest data from Markit show that UK and German Credit Default Swaps (insurance on a government bond defaulting) are neck-and-neck this morning. That is certainly a reassuring signal from the markets. 11.57am: Sticking with the crisis in the eurozone, there has been a surge in emergency borrowing from the European Central Bank to commercial banks. Banks took more than €4bn of overnight funds from the ECB on Wednesday, the biggest amount since mid-May. This comes at a price, though: banks have to pay 2.25% for the money, compared with 1.5% for regular ECB funding. Banks are waiting for a fresh injection of six-month funds from the ECB and are likely to have used the overnight funds to tide them over. The recent downturn in money markets prompted the ECB to reintroduce 6-month funding a week ago, as well as extending its crisis measure of lending banks as much money as they ask for. 11.49am: Italy’s economy and finance minister Giulio Tremonti has just told the country’s parliament the latest details of its austerity plans. Tremonti said that Italy is ready to act in response to European requests for labour market reform, privations and other measures to stimulate economic growth and balance its budget by 2013. The European Central Bank has demanded large-scale privatisation of local services, pension reform and greater flexibility in the labour market. Tremonti admitted Italy needed stronger austerity measures to meet its target of balancing the budget by 2013, and pledged to step up efforts to fight tax evasion and abuse of fixed-term employment contracts. Silvio Berlusconi’s government has already announced some €20bn of austerity measures, but has come under fire at home and abroad for not providing any details. Berlusconi has made a handful of statements since the beginning of the month and pledged to speed up reform measures, without elaborating. The immediate response from the Italian stock market is not encouraging – having surged in early trading, the FTSE MIB is now flat for the day. 11.36am: In the roller coaster world of the financial markets, European shares surged at the start of trading – with the FTSE 100 up more than 140 points (to 5151 points) But in the last few minutes the rally has fizzled out, as French bank shares took a kicking. Shares in Société Générale just fell by 6.6%, having been 7% higher in early trading. BNP Paribas are down nearly 7%. It doesn’t take much to alarm the London stock market at present, and the FTSE has subsided to 5047 (up 40 points). Traders say the rumours continue to swirl that SocGen and/or BNP are in trouble, despite robust denials. Here’s the view of David Jones of IG Index: The rally has stalled with many traders unwilling to believe that this is anything more than just another dead cat bounce. We could well be in for a choppy few hours until the US opens….. There is still the feeling that there is no smoke without fire [about France] which simply adds to the lack of commitment in the current rally. As we reported last night, there is fevered speculation that France’s AAA rating is at risk – which is forcing French president Nicolas Sarkozy to consider tougher austerity measures. 11.30am: Good morning, on a day when the UK economy and the European debt crisis are both in the spotlight. In the next few hours, the UK chancellor will give a statement to MPs on the state of the economy, and his European counterparts will battle to avoid being sucked deeper into the eurozone debt crisis. George Osborne ‘s address to parliament is due to start around 1pm – sandwiched between a statement from the Prime Minister on the UK riots, and the full parliamentary debate on this issue. Our colleague Andrew Sparrow will be covering all the riot-related action from Westminster – yup, he’s been recalled as well. Elsewhere, the Italian finance minister is presenting a new austerity package – Giulio Tremonti is under pressure to offer more detail about his plans to repair Italy’s public finances, and opposition from union leaders who oppose deep cuts. Meanwhile, the French government has been rattled by speculation that its AAA credit rating is at risk – we’ll be watching the latest developments there too. Financial crisis European debt crisis Stock markets European Central Bank Italy George Osborne France Market turmoil Graeme Wearden Julia Kollewe guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …The UK chancellor will update Parliament on the state of the British economy around 1pm today, as Italy and France fight to avoid being dragged deeper into Europe’s debt crisis 12.45pm: In the City, the FTSE 100 just took a nasty tumble – now down 39 points at 4967. The blue-chip index had been 100 points higher this morning — the eurozone crisis continues to chip away at investors. My colleague Nick Fletcher reports that alarming rumours are rippling across the capital’s trading floors: Traders heard a tale than BNP might need to increase its provisions for Greece, while Reuters was reporting that a bank in Asia had cut credit lines to major French lenders on worries about their exposure to Eurozone sovereign debt. Five other banks in Asia were said to be reviewing their positions. More details here on Market Forces Live : 12.23pm: While we wait for Osborne, here are the latest odds on which country might lose its AAA rating (with Standard & Poor’s) next. Via Paddy Power: • 2/1 France • 7/2 Canada • 7/2 United Kingdom • 7/1 Austria •10/1 Denmark •10/1 Netherlands •10/1 Australia Early betting trends suggest that France could be next in the firing line but the USA downgrade shows that that no country is safe. 12.04pm: George Osborne is expected to start his statement around 1pm — Parliament is currently listening to David Cameron and Ed Miliband on the UK riots, and MPs are beginning to give their own responses. But what might the chancellor say? The timing isn’t perfect – just a day after the Bank of England cut its forecast for UK growth in 2011 to around 1.5%, from 1.8% previously. Ed Conway, Sky’s economics editor, appears to have been given some guidance by the UK Treasury: @edmundo : Chancellor to stress that stock market falls are international issue – but thing to watch are measures of sovereign creditworthiness and @edmundo : Chancellor will cite fact that based on CDS prices, UK is now a better credit risk than Germany for first time in crisis Actually, the very latest data from Markit show that UK and German Credit Default Swaps (insurance on a government bond defaulting) are neck-and-neck this morning. That is certainly a reassuring signal from the markets. 11.57am: Sticking with the crisis in the eurozone, there has been a surge in emergency borrowing from the European Central Bank to commercial banks. Banks took more than €4bn of overnight funds from the ECB on Wednesday, the biggest amount since mid-May. This comes at a price, though: banks have to pay 2.25% for the money, compared with 1.5% for regular ECB funding. Banks are waiting for a fresh injection of six-month funds from the ECB and are likely to have used the overnight funds to tide them over. The recent downturn in money markets prompted the ECB to reintroduce 6-month funding a week ago, as well as extending its crisis measure of lending banks as much money as they ask for. 11.49am: Italy’s economy and finance minister Giulio Tremonti has just told the country’s parliament the latest details of its austerity plans. Tremonti said that Italy is ready to act in response to European requests for labour market reform, privations and other measures to stimulate economic growth and balance its budget by 2013. The European Central Bank has demanded large-scale privatisation of local services, pension reform and greater flexibility in the labour market. Tremonti admitted Italy needed stronger austerity measures to meet its target of balancing the budget by 2013, and pledged to step up efforts to fight tax evasion and abuse of fixed-term employment contracts. Silvio Berlusconi’s government has already announced some €20bn of austerity measures, but has come under fire at home and abroad for not providing any details. Berlusconi has made a handful of statements since the beginning of the month and pledged to speed up reform measures, without elaborating. The immediate response from the Italian stock market is not encouraging – having surged in early trading, the FTSE MIB is now flat for the day. 11.36am: In the roller coaster world of the financial markets, European shares surged at the start of trading – with the FTSE 100 up more than 140 points (to 5151 points) But in the last few minutes the rally has fizzled out, as French bank shares took a kicking. Shares in Société Générale just fell by 6.6%, having been 7% higher in early trading. BNP Paribas are down nearly 7%. It doesn’t take much to alarm the London stock market at present, and the FTSE has subsided to 5047 (up 40 points). Traders say the rumours continue to swirl that SocGen and/or BNP are in trouble, despite robust denials. Here’s the view of David Jones of IG Index: The rally has stalled with many traders unwilling to believe that this is anything more than just another dead cat bounce. We could well be in for a choppy few hours until the US opens….. There is still the feeling that there is no smoke without fire [about France] which simply adds to the lack of commitment in the current rally. As we reported last night, there is fevered speculation that France’s AAA rating is at risk – which is forcing French president Nicolas Sarkozy to consider tougher austerity measures. 11.30am: Good morning, on a day when the UK economy and the European debt crisis are both in the spotlight. In the next few hours, the UK chancellor will give a statement to MPs on the state of the economy, and his European counterparts will battle to avoid being sucked deeper into the eurozone debt crisis. George Osborne ‘s address to parliament is due to start around 1pm – sandwiched between a statement from the Prime Minister on the UK riots, and the full parliamentary debate on this issue. Our colleague Andrew Sparrow will be covering all the riot-related action from Westminster – yup, he’s been recalled as well. Elsewhere, the Italian finance minister is presenting a new austerity package – Giulio Tremonti is under pressure to offer more detail about his plans to repair Italy’s public finances, and opposition from union leaders who oppose deep cuts. Meanwhile, the French government has been rattled by speculation that its AAA credit rating is at risk – we’ll be watching the latest developments there too. Financial crisis European debt crisis Stock markets European Central Bank Italy George Osborne France Market turmoil Graeme Wearden Julia Kollewe guardian.co.uk
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‘I would like to bring attention to the people I’ve written about,’ says working-class writer of role, which commences in October Pulitzer prize winner Philip Levine , known for his detailed and personal verse about the working class, has been appointed the US’s new poet laureate. The Library of Congress announced on Wednesday that the 83-year-old Levine will succeed fellow Pulitzer winner WS Merwin this autumn. The laureate, who receives $35,000 (£22,000) and is known officially as the poet laureate consultant in poetry, serves from October through May. Richard Wilbur, Joseph Brodsky and Robert Pinsky are among the previous appointees. “I’m a fairly irreverent person and at first I thought: ‘This is not you. You’re an old union man,’” Levine said. “But I knew if I didn’t do this, I would kick myself. I thought: ‘This is you. You can speak to a larger public than has been waiting for you in recent years.’” Levine has received virtually every literary honour, but he is the least rarefied of poets. A Detroit native who as a young man worked in automobile plants, he has for decades chronicled, celebrated and worried about blue-collar life. Levine’s awards include the Pulitzer in 1995 for The Simple Truth and the National Book award in 1991 for What Work Is. “Philip Levine is one of America’s great narrative poets,” librarian of congress James H Billington said in a statement. “His plainspoken lyricism has, for half a century, championed the art of telling ‘the simple truth’ about working in a Detroit auto factory, as he has, and about the hard work we do to make sense of our lives.” In “Drum”, Levine writes of a hardware shop and of the men who “sweep, wash up, punch out, collect outside for a final smoke”. In “Coming Close”, he presents a “quiet woman” standing for hours before a polishing wheel. But who is she, really? Levine asks. “You must come closer to find out”: You must hang your tie and jacket in one of the lockers in favor of a black smock, you must be prepared to spend shift after shift hauling off the metal trays of stock bowing first, knees bent for a purchase then lifting with a gasp, the first word tenderness between the two of you The laureate has few official duties and poets have used the job to pursue a range of personal projects, from Billy Collins’s Poetry 180, which encourages the reading of verse in high school, to Robert Hass’s Watershed conference on nature writing. “I don’t want to overextend myself, but at the same time I would like to use the ‘bully pulpit’, as they call it, to bring attention to some of my concerns,” Levine says. “There’s a great deal of American poetry that’s hardly known and that should be known. As a poet who didn’t get published for a long time, I know what it’s like not to be read. The other thing I’d like to do is reach out to readers. I would like to bring attention to the kind of people I’ve written about.” US poet laureate Poetry Awards and prizes United States guardian.co.uk
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Total of £90m spread among 16 NHS trusts to help them keep on track, says spending watchdog A number of England’s NHS trusts needed bailouts and loans to help balance their books last year, according to a new auditors’ report. Spending watchdog the Audit Commission said that while most trusts were able to balance their books, some needed help. Some £90m was distributed among 16 NHS trusts to help them keep on track, while cash was also shifted from underspending primary care trusts (PCTs) to those that had overspent. The commission said the health service delivered a good financial performance in 2010-11, but trusts will face challenges as they try to make savings demanded by the government as part of its efficiency drive. Of 276 NHS organisations in England audited for Thursday’s report , nine (six in the south-east) were in deficit. This means that overall, the NHS, excluding foundation trusts, was able to deliver a surplus of £1.5bn, the same as the previous year. Nevertheless, almost one in four (24%) NHS trusts and 12% of PCTs received qualified value-for-money conclusions from auditors, meaning there were concerns about issues such as weaknesses in financial management and planning, or trusts needing financial support. The NHS has been asked to save £20bn by 2015 – an average of £5bn, or about 5% of budget every year. In 2010-11, PCTs, NHS trusts and foundation trusts saved £4.3bn, through measures such as increased productivity, limits on pay, and cuts to staffing. But the Audit Commission warned that progress in the future could be more difficult, as some of this year’s efficiencies were one-off savings, and no increased funding will come from central government. “Organisations that have, up to now, managed their finances well will find financial pressure increasing,” the study said. “They will need to continue to deliver high-quality services, without the funding growth of the recent past.” The experts behind the study said savings targets for the current financial year are more ambitious. Andy McKeon, managing director for health at the Audit Commission, said: “It is impressive that the NHS overall performed so well financially last year, even if some organisations struggled. “But there is no room for complacency. Tighter funding, and the need to continue to improve services and implement reforms, will make the next three years much tougher. “NHS organisations will need to make a determined effort to find further recurrent savings while continuing to deliver high quality services.” NHS Confederation deputy director of policy, Jo Webber, said of today’s report: “These figures show that many NHS leaders have got their organisations on a strong footing to achieve the £20bn savings required of them. But they are worried that this could be the calm before the storm. “Many of our members have told us they are expecting the financial situation facing their organisations to be the worst they have ever experienced.” She said the “real test” will be over the next 18 months. A Department of Health spokesman said: “The NHS has performed well in the face of a tough economic climate. But we know the NHS is facing even greater pressures, not least from rising demand and costs. “That is why we need to modernise the NHS – improving choice for patients to drive up the quality of care and improve patient experience. “We are also investing an extra £12.5bn in the NHS to improve the quality of services and safeguard the NHS for future generations.” NHS Health guardian.co.uk
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Umar Patek, accused of making devices that killed 202 people in 2002, was found in town Osama Bin Laden was hiding in An Indonesian militant who allegedly made the explosives used in the 2002 Bali bombings was escorted home under tight security on Thursday, more than six months after he was captured in north-west Pakistan. Umar Patek had a $1m (£620,000) bounty on his head when authorities caught up with him in January in Abbottabad, the same town where Osama bin Laden was killed in a US commando raid four months later. Indonesia’s anti-terrorism chief, Ansyaad Mbai, told AP it did not appear to be a coincidence that they were in the same place. “It’s further evidence of the link between the south-east Asian terror network and al-Qaida,” he added, hours before the 41-year-old boarded an Indonesian plane sent to reyreive him from a Pakistani air force base. Patek touched down outside Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, on Thursday morning and was taken straight to a police detention center in the Java town of Kelapa Dua where he will await trial, he said. No date has been announced. Indonesian officials say Patek has confessed to playing a key role in the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people, many of them foreign tourists, including 88 Australians. He also admitted to making the bombs used in a string of Christmas Eve attacks on churches in 2000 that claimed 19 lives, they say. But because tough anti-terror laws passed after the Bali blasts cannot be applied retroactively, he is likely to be charged with illegal possession of explosives, Mbai said. Even though that charge also carries a maximum penalty of death, there are concerns he might get off easy. Indonesia, the nation with the most Muslims in the world, has been hit by a string of terrorist attacks blamed on Patek’s regional militant group, Jemaah Islamiyah, but none as deadly as the Bali blasts. A highly praised anti-terrorism campaign in the country of 240 million has seen hundreds of suspects arrested and convicted in recent years, but Patek is one of the biggest to have been captured alive. His arrest in Abbottabad raised questions over whether he was there to meet bin Laden, something that would challenge theories that the al-Qaida chief was cut off from his followers. US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the issue, have said it appeared to be a coincidence. But Mbai countered that Wednesday. Several other militants from Asia and Europe to the Middle East also were arrested in the same region of north-west Pakistan at the time of Patek’s arrest, he said. They had gathered there in hopes of meeting bin Laden, but it was not clear if they’d succeeded or were planning a new terror strike. “Patek was very valuable for the US.,” Mbai said. “He helped lead authorities to bin Laden.” Bali Indonesia Global terrorism guardian.co.uk
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• English cities were quiet overnight as calm descended • Vigil in Birmingham for three killed in alleged hit-and-run • Clashes with EDL vigilantes in Eltham, south-east London • Parliament meets today after emergency recall • Send us your footage of the riots • Upload photos to our Flickr group and see others’ photos • Read a summary of the latest events 11.18am: One consequence of the riots is that the number of people using the government’s new e-petitions website to sign a petition saying rioters should lose their benefits has gone through the roof. A colleague says it has almost hit the 100,000 mark – which is the point at which the Commons will consider making it the subject of a parliamentary debate. I would like to check for myself, but the website keeps crashing. Grant Shapps , the housing minister, was asked on Sky this morning if he supported the proposal. According to PoliticsHome , he argued that he was doing something similar anyway. Rather than talking in hypotheticals I can tell you what I’m actually going to do, which is I’ve just launched a consultation last week about tackling neighbours from hell where people have already had a conviction for anti-social behaviour in their neighbourhood. Should that then count against them when it comes to being evicted from their council house? Something certainly needs to be looked at so I’ve put it into a consultation last week. Today what I’m saying is I’m going to widen the remit of that consultation and ask the question, if somebody moves to somebody else’s neighbourhood and makes their lives a hell through rioting, for example, should that not count against them when it comes to eviction. Clearly I think that it should, and that’s why I’m putting it into the consultation to discuss it. Shapps also said that around 100 families had been made homeless as a result of the riots. 11.09am: This is Andrew Sparrow , taking over now from Haroon Siddique (who has been writing the blog until now with Matt Wells ). Parliament has been recalled and the politics live blog has been been recalled too. I’ll be blogging for the rest of the day, covering David Cameron’s statement to the Commons at 11.30am and then the debate about the riots which will carry on until 7pm. I’ll also, with help from colleagues, by covering any riot-related developments taking place outside Westminster. But I’ll be focusing on the Commons. It’s unusual for parliament to be recalled during a recess – Jim Pickard posted a list of recent recalls on the FT’s Westminster blog earlier this week – and you can tell it’s a big moment because “scaffold city” has gone up at College Green, where the broadcasters set up temporary studios on major parliamentary occasions. But what are we going to learn today? Here are three things to look out for. 1. What’s the government going to do? Cameron is expected to announce some emergency funding to help meet the costs caused by the riots. But, as the Guardian reports, the most interesting question is whether he will budge on police cuts. 2. Who’s going to win politically? At the moment, it’s hard to call. A YouGov poll released yesterday (pdf) showed that voters think David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson have all handled the riots badly. Since then, Cameron has probably recovered some ground (particularly because his comments about water cannon and rubber bullets yesterday seem to have impressed rightwingers who are too dim to realise that these measures are never going to be used – for the reasons that Sir Hugh Orde, the ACPO president, explains in a powerful article in the Indie.) Ed Miliband seems to have had a good crisis, but that’s largely because he’s avoided saying anything daft. By the end of today we’ll have a better idea of who’s up and who’s down. 3. Can parliament explain the riots? If you are looking are seeking a sophisticated explanation of a complicated event, a debate in the House of Commons is not normally the first place where you would look. Commons debates can be wretchedly banal. But they can also be extremely illuminating. As Alastair Campbell said on his blog yesterday, if parliament wants to be taken seriously, “it must be the place that starts a serious debate as to why this has happened, what it says about what Britain has become, and what if any policy and cultural changes need to be advanced.” 11.03am: There have been a lot of references to Blackberry Messenger being used to organise disorder ( the company behind Blackberry said it would hand over relevant information to the police ) but as far as I can recall this – from Hampshire police – is the first instance of people being arrested specifically in connection with use of the device: Three people have been arrested on suspicion of using Twitter and Blackberry Messenger to incite violent disorder in Southampton. Two remained in custody overnight and will be interviewed today, a third has been release on bail pending further inquiries. Our intelligence teams continue to monitor and take action against anyone using social media to attempt to cause riot. As today’s events are largely happening in the political arena, I’m handing over to my colleague Andrew Sparrow now, although I will be feeding into the blog if there are any other major, non-political, developments. 10.50am: The Guardian’s Jeevan Vasagar has this from Manchester: A woman with 96 previous convictions for theft pleaded guilty to stealing alcohol, cigarettes and mobile phone accessories which had been looted during riots in Manchester. Linda Boyd, 31, was one of a series of defendants who appeared before Manchester magistrates court, which sat late into the night on Wednesday. The court heard that she was drunk and had found an orange bin liner filled with the stolen goods in Manchester city centre, and began dragging it away, intending to share it with friends. Her case was adjourned to 16 August, when she will be sentenced at Manchester crown court. Boyd stalked from the glass-walled dock telling the district judge who presided over the magistrates’ court to: “Go away, shut up.” 10.39am: Jasmine Coleman , at City of Westminster magistrates court, reports that CPS prosecutors have said they have been working work patterns that they have never experienced before, with some having worked two night shifts in a row. She also has details of one of the cases from this morning: A university graduate, who had been pursuing a career in social work, pleaded guilty to theft during the London riots, after handing herself into police yesterday. Natasha Reid, 24, of Rosemary Avenue, Enfield, was in McDonalds on Sunday night when she saw looters ransacking the area and decided to join in. She stole a television worth £269.99 from Comet. Her defence said she was racked with guilt and had not slept since. Reid admitted theft and entering with intent to steal and was bailed to return for sentencing on 1 September. 10.09am: @riotcleanup, has posted a list of places where people in the capital can donate today to help people who have suffered loss as a result of the disorder. The locations are: Tottenham Green Leisure Centre, 1 Philip Lane, N15 4JA from 9am Camden Town 11am to 2pm Outside White Cube gallery/corner of Rufus St/Hoxton Square 11am to 2.30pm Outside the Majestic Wine Warehouse 63-63A, Chalk Farm Road, Chalk Farm, London, NW1 8AN. (Near the Nandos) 11am to 2pm Paddington Library 6pm It is asking for “donations of any kind, from clothes to household goods, new underwear, towels, blankets, baby food, disposable nappies, sanitary towels, toiletries, deoderants, make-up, magazines, entertainment etc”. @riotcleanup is also holding a meeting with the GLA to discuss ways forward on the clean up. The UK riot clean up page, set up by the Guardian’s communities team, also has details of where people can donate or seek help if they have been affected . And a blog – Keep Aaron cutting – has been set up for people to help restore a barber shop featured in the Guardian’s Tottenham riots damage photogallery . 9.55am: We have reporters at a number of courts today, as those arrested come before the authorities. Jasmine Coleman is at City of Westminster magistrates which has been sitting overnight. She says that about 100 preliminary cases have been heard in the past 12 hours or so and the court expects to process further 30 defendants today. Among them are some members of a 16-strong gang standing together over the rioting in London. 9.53am: Nottinghamshire police say an 11-year-old girl has been charged with criminal damage and attempted criminal damage and has been remanded in custody. Three people have been charged with posting messages on Facebook encouraging disorder – one in Sussex and two in Lancashire. Sussex police said Nathan Sinden, 27, who was arrested yesterday has been charged with “intentionally encouraging/assisting the commission of an either way offence, namely burglary and criminal damage”. Sinden, from St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, will appear at Hastings magistrates court today. Christopher Schofield, 25, from, Nelson, and Warren Calvert, 19, from Heysham, have been charged with intentionally encouraging or assisting in the commission of an either way offence, believing it would be committed, Lancashire police said. A spokeswoman for Lancashire constabulary said Schofield was bailed to appear before Burnley magistrates’ court on Monday and Calvert is due at Lancaster magistrates’ court on August 25. 9.30am: West Midlands police say they have been given more time to question a 32-year-old man on suspicion of murder in connection with the death of three men – Haroon Jahan, 21, and brothers Shazad Ali, 30 and Abdul Musavir, 31 – who were victims of an alleged hit-and-run in Birmingham in the early hours of Wednesday. 9.18am: People are starting to emerge from the emergency Cobra meeting, chaired by David Cameron. Outside the meeting, the Acpo president, Hugh Orde, said there had been a return to a semblance of normality but there was no complacency. He also said he expected “hundreds” more arrests. 9.14am: The Metropolitan deputy assistant police commissioner, Stephen Kavanagh told BBC Breakfast more than 100 arrest warrants are being executed this morning ( a raid on an estate in Pimlico has already been reported ). He said there would be 16,000 officers on the streets again tonight and the situation will then be reviewed. Kavanagh also said some of his officers were “disappointed” with the punishments handed out to rioters and looters by the courts. That has been personally raised by me and others, and the commissioner I know has also raised it, so we will move through those issues and I am confident we will get the support of the courts. 9.02am: An estate in Pimlico has been raided by police in connection with the riots, according to Sky News’s Emma Birchley. She has tweeted : 55 met police officers carry out four co-ordinated raids on flats in pimlico’s Churchill estate related to #londonriots. Hugo boss clothes recovered with labels in and trainers in boxes believed to have been stolen during looting in #londonriots. Two arrested so far in Churchill gardens estate. Cash also recovered. Part of wider raids across London. Eyewitness Oliver Munson tweeted : Just seen at least 50 riot police raid the Churchill Gardens Estate, Pimlico. Doors being busted down, thieves rounded up. Good to see. 8.40am: This is Haroon Siddique taking over from Matt Wells. You can email me at haroon.siddique@guardian.co.uk or contact me on Twitter @Haroon_Siddique . After his interview with Radio 5 Live, Nick Clegg moved into the Radio 4 Today programme studio. He reiterated his claim that the cuts to the police force would not undermine their ability to control similar incidents in the future. He presented a number of arguments, including that the cuts to frontline police numbers will not be what people are saying they will be and that officers could also be drafted in from other areas to help when there is a particular flashpoint, as they have been in the past few days. The deputy prime minister was asked whether he agreed with his pre-election comments that that if a society becomes too greedy, it causes “these problems”. Clegg said he stood by those comments but added: None of that can be an excuse under any circumstances for people going out and trashing their own communities. He went on to say: We need to ask ourselves that why it is, why, when they had the opportunity, a number of people took that [and] their first priority was to go out and smash a shop window. But Clegg rejected the idea that the disorder should give the government pause for thought on its cuts programme. Nothing is going to be fixed by shrugging our shoulders and saying that all of the [debt] problems we’ve got now, we’re going to heap on the shoulders of the next generation. 8.01am: Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, is being interviewed on Radio 5 Live now. He’s being pressed on the planned police cuts. In a piece of logic that I somehow doubt will be accepted by his critics, he says the savings will allow police to put more officers on the street. I think it is ridiculous to try and draw a link between out-and-out criminality and savings we are asking police forces to make as if somewhow there’s a link between people smashing windows and savings the police forces have to make which will be entirely manageable and will allow police forces to dramatically increase officers on the street. 7.48am: As the riots die down, the commentators have been having their say. Here is a selection: In the Daily Telegraph, Allison Pearson asks how we ended up “with some of the most indisciplined and frighteningly moronic youngsters in Europe”. In a thoughtful piece, she says parents must take responsibility : What our young people need is adults to stop abdicating authority. They need police to police, teachers to teach, parents to parent, politicians and clergy to give moral leadership, and, above all, they need more people like Pauline Pearce, the jazz-singing Jamaican grandmother who fearlessly took on rioters and saved a white man from the mob. In the Guardian, Zoe Williams warns against the “Blitz spirit” turning into vigilantism . Big society might look like people on the streets with brooms or doner knives; but that’s not what functional society looks like. The New York Times carries a piece by London-based sociologists Richard Sennett and Saskia Sassen . Under the headline ” Cameron’s Broken Windows “, they draw parallels between government cuts here and calls to slash the state. Britain’s current crisis should cause us to reflect on the fact that a smaller government can actually increase communal fear and diminish our quality of life. Is that a fate America wishes upon itself? And finally in the Daily Mail, Melanie Phillips (not predictably at all) blames the riots on the “liberal intelligentsia” So now the chickens have well and truly come home terrifyingly to roost. The violent anarchy that has taken hold of British cities is the all-too-predictable outcome of a three-decade liberal experiment which tore up virtually every basic social value. 7.31am: The focus today will switch to parliament, which has been recalled for a special one-day session to discuss the unrest. The prime minister, David Cameron, will make a statement in which he is expected to spell out further plans to deal with the disorder and compensate riot-damaged businesses. Political leaders have been attacked for being impotent in the face of the riots. There will be intense pressure on politicians to come up with answers about how both to regain control of the streets in the short term, and what to do about the causes and longer-term repercussions. There will also doubtless be pressure over planned cuts to the police force. Our political editor, Patrick Wintour, reports today that Cameron is facing growing cabinet pressure to rethink the policing cuts . A senior government source said the Home Office would be advised to take a fresh look at its plans to cut £2bn from police funding over the next few years. “The optics have changed,” the source told the Guardian. We’ll have full coverage of the statement and debate with our senior political correspondent, Andrew Sparrow , who will be live blogging from Westminster. 7.22am: West Midlands police have issued an update about the situation in Birmingham . It said that officers have been arresting people linked to disorder in the area earlier in the week. Solihull Magistrates Court opened throughout the night to deal with some of those already in custody. Five have been jailed. 7.18am: The magistrates’ court in Manchester has been sitting overnight to deal with 117 people in custody in the city. Early indications are that tough sentences are being handed down from the bench. Owen Flanagan, 28, Levenshulme, was jailed for eight months after he pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary – stealing £75 of clothing from former Oasis singer Liam Gallagher’s Pretty Green fashion boutique and two electrical items. Bernard Moore, 46, of Monsall, pleaded guilty to using threatening words or behaviour likely to cause alarm or distress and assaulting a constable in the execution of their duty. Moore, who was said to have been clearly under the influence of alcohol or drugs, shouted abuse at officers trying to deal with disorder. He then attempted to gouge out the officer’s eye with his finger. He was jailed for 20 weeks. 7.13am: Police believe they now know the identity of the man who suffered life-threatening injuries when he tried to stop teenage rioters during disorder in Ealing , west London on Monday. Detectives investigating the attack on the man have also released CCTV footage of a suspect and a potential witness. You can read the full story here . 7.09am: Scotland Yard has said that 888 people had now been arrested in connection with violence, disorder and looting in London , with 371 charged. 7.03am: The Malaysian student who was mugged in Barking , east London, by young men who appeared to be going to his aid, has been speaking about his ordeal. Ashraf Haziq, 20, told one of his friends who visited him in the Royal London hospital in east London, that they threatened to stab him. His friend recorded their conversation in hospital and posted it on YouTube . Channel 4 News has translated the footage . Haziq said: “Some of them were quite young, maybe still in primary school. They had their hoods on and demanded my bicycle.” 6.45am: Good morning and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the aftermath of riots across England where there calm appears to have descended. Here’s a round-up of the main overnight developments: • There was no repeat of the mass disorder seen previously in London and other major cities, including Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester. There were a few minor skirmishes and a number of arrests but overall the situation across England was much calmer. • Police have been deployed in force in major cities across England. There were 6,000 police officers deployed in Birmingham. . At a vigil in the city for three men who were killed in an alleged hit-and-run incident on Tuesday, the father of one of the victims appealed for calm. • In London there were some clashes between police and EDL supporters in Eltham. Police made a number of arrests. • Special court hearings have been held into the night in cities affected by the rioting. Hundreds of people have now appeared in court. UK riots Crime Police London & South East Birmingham Manchester Liverpool Bristol Matt Wells Haroon Siddique Andrew Sparrow guardian.co.uk
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Huge US study published in the Lancet finds risk of heart disease linked to smoking is 25% higher for women Smoking is more likely to give women heart disease than men, a study has found. Toxic chemicals in tobacco smoke may have a more potent effect on women due to biological differences, scientists believe. US researchers analysed pooled data on around 4 million individuals from 86 studies. After adjusting for other risk factors, they found the increased risk of heart disease linked to smoking was 25% higher for women. The longer a woman smoked, the greater her heart disease risk was compared with that of a man who had smoked for the same length of time. A woman’s extra risk increased by 2% for every additional year she had been smoking. The findings are published on Thursday in an online edition of The Lancet medical journal. Authors Dr Rachel Huxley, from the University of Minnesota, and Dr Mark Woodward, from Johns Hopkins University, of Maryland, wrote: “Women might extract a greater quantity of carcinogens and other toxic agents from the same number of cigarettes than men. “This occurrence could explain why women who smoke have double the risk of lung cancer compared with their male counterparts. “Physicians and health professionals should be encouraged to increase their efforts at promotion of smoking cessation in all individuals. “Present trends in female smoking, and this report, suggest that inclusion of a female perspective in tobacco-control policies is crucial.” In the UK, 21% of women and 22% of men smoke cigarettes. Ellen Mason, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “It’s alarming to see such a large study confirm that women are so much more at risk of heart disease from smoking than men. “Despite women generally smoking fewer cigarettes a day than men, women appear to be substantially more at risk of getting heart disease. Biologically, women seem more susceptible to the dangers of smoking and passive smoking. “There is free support widely available on the NHS to help both men and women quit but more effort needs to be made to encourage women not to smoke in the first place – particularly the many young women who take up this addictive and harmful habit every day. “This is very timely research as tobacco companies are increasingly targeting women with slim brands and slick packaging.” Smoking Health Women Medical research guardian.co.uk
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Former News of the World executive arrested by appointment on Wednesday over phone hacking allegations Greg Miskiw, the former News of the World newsdesk executive arrested on Wednesday , has been released on bail. Miskiw, 61, was arrested by appointment at a central London police station as part of the Scotland Yard investigation into phone hacking at the News International tabloid. The former assistant editor (news) was on Thursday released on bail until October. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “At approximately midday on Wednesday August 10, a 61-year-old man was arrested by appointment at a London police station by officers from Operation Weeting. “He was arrested on suspicion of unlawful interception of communications, contrary to Section1(1) Criminal Law Act 1977 and on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications, contrary to Section1(1) Criminal Law Act 1977. “He has subsequently been released on bail to a date in October pending further inquiries.” Miskiw, who worked under the former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks and her successor Andy Coulson, became the 12th person to be arrested by Operation Weeting officers. Miskiw held a senior editorial role at the now-defunct Sunday tabloid until 2005, when he joined a news agency in Manchester before moving to Florida. He told reporters last month that he was returning to the UK to meet police officers. His arrest came just a week after that of Stuart Kuttner , the long-serving News of the World managing editor who was also later released on bail. Rupert Murdoch on Wednesday vowed to do ” whatever is necessary ” to prevent a repeat of the phone-hacking scandal that has engulfed his UK publishing empire when News International’s parent company News Corporation unveiled its annual results in New York. Phone hacking Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers News International Rupert Murdoch News Corporation Media business Josh Halliday guardian.co.uk
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European markets show gains as concern over France subside and Italy prepares to deliver austerity budget Stock markets rallied on Thursday morning as fears of a French debt downgrade abated, and the Italian finance minister prepared to present an austerity budget. The FTSE 100 index in London climbed more than 100 points to 5108 in early trading, a gain of 2% that wiped out much of Wednesday’s losses . Markets are eagerly awaiting a new austerity plan for Italy, which will be presented by Giulio Tremonti in Rome at 11am local time (10am BST) despite some opposition from unions. George Osborne is due to to speak in London at about 1pm at a special sitting of parliament called after the recent rioting in the capital and across England. He is expected to defend his austerity measures, at a time when Europe’s debt crisis is deepening and Labour politicians have latched on to the Bank of England’s warning that the outlook is worsening . France’s CAC and Germany’s Dax both rebounded 2.4% in early trading, while Italy’s MIB was up 1.3%, Spain’s Ibex added 1% and Portugal’s PSI rose 1.8%. Share prices in Europe had slid on Wednesday when France was sucked into the eurozone debt crisis. Rumours swept the financial markets that Standard and Poor’s (S&P) would strip France of its top AAA credit rating, following its downgrade of the US last week. Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, cut short his holiday and said plans to reduce his country’s budget deficit would be announced within weeks. Shares in Société Générale, which plunged 15% on Wednesday amid rumours that France’s second-largest bank was in serious financial trouble, bounced back with an 8% rise. Its chief executive Frederic Oudea dismissed rumours of liquidity problems as “absolutely rubbish” late on Wednesday. Growth is key Despite speculation about an imminent downgrade of France by S&P, analysts said this was unlikely. “S&P is not going to downgrade France any time soon. Nor are Moody’s or Fitch,” said Gary Jenkins, head of fixed income research at Evolution Securities. He noted S&P’s statement last week when it cut the US AAA rating. “When comparing the US to sovereigns with AAA long term ratings … the trajectory of the US’s net public debt is diverging from the others … in contrast with the US, we project that the net public debt burdens of these other [AAA rated, including France] sovereigns will begin to decline, either before or by 2015.” This statement gives France some time, Jenkins said. “Growth will be the key to the stability of the ratings for France, the UK and the US over the next 12 months. As we have said before significant slippage from agency expectations could well put pressure on the ratings of all three by this time next year and no doubt there will be a lot of attention on the French GDP numbers out this Friday. France faces one extra challenge to the others which is a possible build-up of contingent liabilities in order to assist other EU sovereigns.” Bank of England governor Mervyn King said on Wednesday that the greatest threat to Britain’s economic recovery came from the eurozone debt crisis, and that these “headwinds are becoming stronger by the day”. The Bank signalled that interest rates would stay on hold for a prolonged period as it cut its growth forecasts for the UK. “The downgrade by Fitch of Cyprus to ‘BBB’ with a negative outlook was a timely reminder of the interdependency of European countries and their banking systems,” said Michael Hewson, market analyst at CMC Markets. “Despite reaffirmation by all three ratings agencies of France’s sovereign rating investors remain exceedingly cautious as spreads continue to widen between French and German bond yields. The fact is the European banking system is creaking like an old ocean galleon and despite the largely successful attempts by the European Central Bank to push 10-year bond yields for Italy and Spain lower, the reality is they will need to buy an awful lot more to get them down to sustainable levels well below 5%.” Since the ECB started buying up Italian and Spanish debt on Monday, the yield, or interest rate, on the 10-year Italian government bond has fallen from over 6% to 5.06% while the Spanish equivalent is at 5.02%. Stock markets European debt crisis European banks Financial crisis Global recession Banking Ratings agencies Financial sector Global economy Economics Inflation Interest rates Bank of England Europe Julia Kollewe guardian.co.uk
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Woman, 25, killed herself and one other with explosive-laden vest in Peshawar after 14 people injured in nearby attack A woman carried out a suicide bombing in north-west Pakistan on Thursday, killing herself and another woman, police said, adding to security challenges confronting the country. The bombing occurred near a police checkpost just yards away from where a remote-controlled bomb hit a police van less than an hour earlier, killing four policemen and a child. The woman, said to be 25 years old, was wearing an explosive-laden vest and blew herself up in the heart of the north-western city of Peshawar. “She exploded the vest as she came close to the checkpost. One policeman was wounded,” police official Tariq Omar told Reuters. He said a 60-year-old woman was also killed in the suicide bombing and police were investigating whether she was an accomplice or a passer-by. Fourteen people were wounded in the earlier attack on the police van. The bomb, concealed in a push-cart, exploded as the van passed by. Police said the attacks may have been co-ordinated. Taliban militants have waged a campaign of suicide bombings across Pakistan, killing hundreds of people in recent years. Female suicide bombing is rare in Pakistan, but any increase in the use of women for such attacks may complicate efforts by Pakistani security forces to stem the growing Islamist insurgency. Security officials are reluctant to search women in the conservative country. In December, a burqa-clad bomber killed more than 40 people in an attack on a food distribution centre in Bajaur tribal region near the Afghan border. Pakistan Global terrorism guardian.co.uk
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