Writer warns of increasingly repressive political regime after he is stopped from entering Chinese mainland from Hong Kong One of China’s most acclaimed authors, who is now a British citizen, has warned that its “increasingly harsh” political climate has echoes of the Cultural Revolution after authorities barred him from entering the mainland. Ma Jian, author of Red Dust and Beijing Coma , was prevented from crossing the border from Hong Kong on Saturday. He had previously returned hundreds of times since leaving China in 1986. Officials have given him no reason for the ban or any indication of how long it will last. “The fact that I have been denied entry is an indication of how repressive the regime has become,” said Ma. “It is vitally important for me, both personally and for my writing, to be able to return to China freely, so being barred entry has caused me deep concern and distress. “I suspected that my trip to Beijing this summer might be problematic because of the increasingly harsh political climate in China. And sure enough, for the first time in my life, I have been denied entry.” The 58-year-old said this clampdown felt different to others he had witnessed over the last three decades, and suggested that a lack of international reaction was partially responsible. Citing the imprisonment of Nobel peace prize winner Liu Xiaobo and the two-month detention of Ai Weiwei , he warned: “There are echoes of the Cultural Revolution, when no sounds could be heard other than the deafening voice of the Communist party. This current clampdown began with the Beijing Olympics. The government discovered that they could suppress all forms of dissent, and still receive the approbation of the international community.” Ma is a permanent resident of Hong Kong, having moved there shortly before his first book was denounced by the Chinese authorities in 1987. He left for the UK when Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997 and lives in London with his partner and translator Flora Drew and their children. Although his works are banned on the mainland he has been able to return regularly, but said his movements are closely monitored. Ma added: “When I travelled through the Chinese countryside while researching the book I’ve just finished, almost every friend I stayed with along my route was later questioned by the police.” He was also summoned to see state security officers while visiting Beijing in 2008. They said they were watching him closely but that as long as he stayed away from politically sensitive people such as Liu Xiaobo, and did not contact the media while on the mainland, he could return whenever he wished. Ma said he had been in Hong Kong for a book fair last week and wanted to buy books in Shenzhen before flying back to London. He now fears he will be unable to make a long planned trip to Beijing next week with his family. His 88-year-old mother is in frail health and has yet to meet his youngest children. “Many people have suggested that the clampdown is connected with an internal jostling for power ahead of the change in government leadership next year, but I think something more fundamental is going on, something relating to the nature of the Communist party itself and the totalitarian regime’s inability to adapt to modernity and to respond to natural yearnings for free expression,” he said. “My hope is that the Chinese government will come to realise that it is futile to repress free speech, and that contrary to what they believe a regime’s strength rests not its suppression of a plurality of opinions and ideas, but in its capacity and willingness to encourage them.” China Communism Tania Branigan guardian.co.uk
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José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero brings election forward from March as Spain struggles with high unemployment Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has called an early election for 20 November as the country struggles to cope with soaring bond rates and high unemployment. Zapatero announced on Friday that he had decided to bring forward the elections from March in order to bring greater “political and economic stability” to a country that many see as a key to the future of the single currency eurozone. Zapatero imposed austerity and reforms last year as sovereign debt markets threatened to push his country into a situation similar to Portugal, Greece and Ireland – all of which have needed bailouts. He said key reforms would be completed before November. Unemployment is currently running at 21%. The elections will come six months after Zapatero’s socialist party was roundly defeated at regional and municipal elections in May . A poll by the state-owned Centre for Sociological Investigation this week gave the opposition rightwing People’s Party (PP) of Mariano Rajoy, which won the May vote, a seven-point lead over the socialists. That would be enough for the reformist PP to govern, though it would not win an absolute majority and may have to rely on parliamentary support from conservative nationalist parties in Catalonia or the Basque country. Zapatero, who has served two terms since 2004, is not standing at these elections. He is being replaced as the party’s candidate for prime minister by Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, a former deputy prime minister. Rubalcaba has suggested that he would like to take the party further to the left. Spain Europe José Luis Zapatero Giles Tremlett guardian.co.uk
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Helmand explosions come a day after 12 children were killed in neighbouring Uruzgan province Roadside mines have killed 23 civilians in southern Afghanistan, with a minibus and a tractor struck separately by explosives in Helmand province, according to officials. The minibus was travelling from Nahr-e-Saraj district to the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, when it hit a mine and all 19 people inside were killed, said Kamaluddin Shirzai, deputy police chief for Helmand. When security forces arrived at the scene they were attacked by Taliban insurgents, said Hekmatullah Akmal, a police commander. He said it appeared at least 17 people had been killed but the damage from the blast made it difficult to determine how many people had been on the bus. In Garmsir district, south of Lashkar Gah, a tractor hit a roadside bomb, killing four civilians, officials said. It has been the deadliest six months for civilians in Afghanistan since the war began nearly a decade ago, according to the UN mission in the country. Civilian deaths between January and June were up 15% compared with the first half of 2010 owing to roadside and suicide bombings, increased ground fighting and more deaths from air strikes. The minibus and tractor deaths in Helmand came a day after at least 17 civilians were killed, including 12 children aged between four and 13, when suicide bombers targeted government buildings in neighbouring Uruzgan province. Two policemen were also killed. Helmand has been the site of some of the most vicious fighting of the war. Far more foreign troops have died there than in any other province. There are still several Helmand districts dominated by the Taliban. Afghan security forces took over security control this month for Lashkar Gah, the most contentious of the first seven areas for which foreign troops handed over responsibility. The gradual transition of security control to Afghan forces is due to be completed by the end of 2014. Afghanistan Global terrorism guardian.co.uk
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• Report to require new fit and proper person test • Club licensing and ownership should be a priority An influential parliamentary committee has called for “urgent reform” of the Football Association to enable it to take on the task of overseeing a new club licensing system, including a new and “rigorously applied” fit and proper persons test. The committee’s report says “there is no more blatant an example of lack of transparency than the recent ownership history of Leeds United” and urges the FA to investigate, if necessary with the assistance of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. In May the Leeds United chairman, Ken Bates, was forced to reveal that he was the ultimate owner of Leeds following a Guardian investigation and after the issue became a key theme of the inquiry. As predicted by the Guardian, the committee’s 116-page report into the future of English football recommends a radical overhaul of the FA to enable it to establish itself as an overarching regulator. “No one doubts the success of the Premier League in revitalising English football. But it has been accompanied by serious financial problems throughout the football league pyramid. Significant changes need to be made to the way the game is run to secure the future of England’s unique football heritage, and the economic and community benefits it provides,” said the committee chair, John Whittingdale. “The FA is the organisation for the job, but it has some way to go getting its own house in order before it can tackle the problems in the English game, and address the future. We need a reformed FA to oversee and underpin a rigorous and consistent club licensing system and robust rules on club ownership, which should be transparent to supporters.” The report by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport select committee says the current 12-strong FA board should be reduced to 10 and reconstituted to reduce the power of the “vested interests” that the former chief executive Ian Watmore claimed resulted in an inability to take any strategic decisions. It recommends that the board should be made up of the chairman, David Bernstein, the general secretary, Alex Horne, two professional game representatives, two national game representatives, two non-executives and two further FA staff, one of whom should be the director of football development (currently Sir Trevor Brooking). At present the board is split 50/50 between national game and professional game representatives, often resulting in deadlock. Bernstein has proposed adding a further two non-executives to the board, a measure for which he has won the approval of the conservative FA Council. The 116-strong FA Council should also be reformed “to improve inclusivity and reduce average length of tenure”, says the report. It also recommends that the FA reconsider the current policy of splitting surplus revenues 50/50 between the grassroots game and the professional game in order to take long-term strategic decisions. The call for reform has echoes of the 2005 report by Lord Burns, who lamented the lack of progress and expressed regrets that he had not been bolder when he appeared before the committee. The Premier League has long backed calls for reform of the FA’s governance structure, but is likely to oppose the moves to hand responsibility for club licensing to the organisation. “The licensing model adopted should both review performance and look to promote sustainable forward-looking business plans,” says the report. “We recommend that the FA takes on a strong scrutiny and oversight role in the licensing process and makes the final decision on contentious licence applications.” It also urges the FA to spend more on grassroots football and coach education and says it is “concerned” by the lack of a co-ordinated approach to youth development. In a bid to help the supporters’ trust movement, the report also urges the government to amend the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to clear some of the regulatory hurdles to establishing a trust and calls on the FA to consider a mechanism whereby supporters are given the opportunity to match any other offer for a club in administration. “The reluctance of the FA, Premier League and Football League to devise a formula for the long-term future of Supporters Direct constitutes a failure of imagination and of governance,” it adds. “We urge them to work quickly towards a funding solution, and the government to use its influence with the football authorities to work to this end.” The government is due to respond to the committee’s report by the autumn and is expected to endorse the majority of the recommendations. It is expected to set a 12 month deadline for significant progress to be made. Successive sports ministers have sought to urge the FA to reform, with little success. The report urges football authorities to work together and “to respond positively with an agreed strategy and timetable for change”. Whittingdale said: “Almost all our recommendations could be achieved without legislation, through co-operation and agreement between the football authorities, and we urge them to respond positively with an agreed strategy and timetable for change. Legislation should considered only as a last resort in the absence of substantive progress.” The FA Football politics Owen Gibson guardian.co.uk
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Hollywood’s classic murders, stalkings and deceptions would never have been possible had
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Officials give go-ahead for work on site of Hinkley C in Somerset despite strong opposition Planners in Somerset have given the go-ahead for work to begin on the site of the first nuclear power station to be built in Britain for 20 years. Officials approved the site despite strong protests from opponents who say the preparatory work for Hinkley C will wreck the coastline. The site’s developers, EDF Energy, say the power station will help secure Britain’s power supply and boost the local economy. Anti-nuclear campaigners believe West Somerset district council has been pressured by the government to approve the site, and villagers whose lives will be affected say the project would change the area forever. Crispin Aubrey, of the Stop Hinkley campaign , argued that the work would leave a “devastated wasteland” and said it was “inaccurate” to describe the work EDF has been given permission for as “preparatory”. “The extent of the activity, the clearance of most vegetation, hedges and trees, the excavation of more than 2m cubic metres of soil and rocks, the re-routing of underground streams, the creation of roads and roundabouts, major changes to the landscape … mean it is effectively the beginning of construction of the proposed Hinkley C nuclear power station,” he said. Hey claimed the “over-riding” pressure to proceed had come from the government and asked councillors at a meeting of West Somerset district council’s planning committee: “Are you prepared to over-ride local concerns because the government is leaning on you? “The real purpose of this application is not to significantly advance the timing of the new plant, it is to destroy all that is precious about the site so that when the main application for the power station is made to the infrastructure planning commission [IPC] it will meet with less opposition. “If the site is covered in concrete, then it will be so much easier for the decision to be made in its favour.” Nikki Clark, also of the Stop Hinkley campaign, claimed not enough work had been done to assess the risk of Hinkley C being damaged because of rising sea levels. “Ongoing events at Fukushima are a timely reminder of the consequences of flooding at coastal nuclear sites,” she added. A third group member, Helen Grant, told the meeting: “Nuclear was flavour of the month before Fukishima. Now governments around the world are wobbling on nuclear.” Opponents of the scheme have pointed out that if the government went cold on nuclear energy, or EDF decided to pull out of the project, the area would be left with the “biggest hole in Europe”. However, not all local residents are opposed to the scheme, and many feel it will bring jobs to an area in which they are much needed and which has lived with nuclear power stations for more than 50 years. David Rosser, the south-west and Wales regional director of the Confederation of British Industry, said: “We believe it critical that we are able to guarantee a secure and low carbon energy mix for the UK in the decades to come.” Rupert Cox, the chief executive of Somerset Chamber of Commerce, said: “It’s an opportunity to kickstart the local economy – thousands of jobs during construction, hundreds for the many years of operation and millions of pounds for the local economy and the skills and training provision in Somerset.” EDF will immediately submit applications for various permits required to build, commission, operate and decommission the Hinkley C nuclear power station. It will submit its development consent order – full planning permission – to the infrastructure planning commission later this year. The company has promised to restore the site if the build does not go ahead. It says 500 jobs will be created during the preparatory stage, and it is ploughing £25m into minimising the impact of the work on the local environment and communities. It says the power station will be safe and will help secure Britain’s energy supply. The EDF chief executive, Vincent de Rivaz, thanked the councillors for giving permission for work to go ahead. “They have taken a major decision enabling a project which is vital to the country,” he said. “We are committed to listen to the community and to deliver this investment in partnership with the people of Somerset.” Nuclear power Energy Local politics Steven Morris guardian.co.uk
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Court upholds decision to impose control order on terror suspect A decision by the home secretary, Theresa May, to impose a control order on a terror suspect who is banned from London has been upheld by the high court. A judge said he was satisfied that there were reasonable grounds for suspecting that the suspect, known as CD – who cannot be named for legal reasons – “is a leading figure in a network of Islamist extremists based in north London”. Mr Justice Owen, sitting in London, said the suspect “has been involved in planning an attack or attacks on members of the public”. He said the targets of those attacks were “most likely in London and potentially involving firearms.” The judge also ruled that the restrictions imposed on CD’s freedom, including the decision to relocate him from London to a city in the Midlands, were a “necessary and proportionate measure for the protection of the public from the risk presented by CD and his associates”. Lawyers for CD, a father of two who has joint UK and Nigerian nationality, had argued that MI5 reports assessing the danger he posed were flawed and that the control order itself was causing “disproportionate” distress to his family. The lawyers contended that there was insufficient evidence to justify the restrictions, imposed under anti-terror legislation in February. But Owen rejected CD’s argument and accepted security service evidence that CD presented a real threat to the public. At a recent hearing, an MI5 witness had given evidence that it was “strongly assessed” that CD attended a terror training camp in Cumbria in 2004. Written statements before the judge suggested that four men who unsuccessfully attempted to explode rucksack bombs on the London underground on 21 July 2005 were also at the camp. The judge was told there was evidence that CD underwent further training in Syria for three years and, while there, began planning a terrorist attack against the UK. On his return to Britain in April 2009, the attack planning continued and he and his associates made several attempts to obtain firearms, he was told. The court heard that a key aim of the London ban was to restrict CD’s ability to meet two associates, referred to as TM and MS, and make attack plans. It was also intended to hamper his ability “to procure firearms and carry out an attack in this country”. Lisa Giovannetti QC, appearing for the home secretary, told the court at a recent hearing: “The secretary of state assesses that CD and his associates intend to carry out attacks, most likely in London and potentially using firearms, and that CD may have raised funds for the purpose of procuring firearms. “The secretary of state also assesses that CD has made several attempts to procure firearms since his return to the UK in April 2009.” May was ordered, at an earlier court hearing before a different judge, to contribute to the cost of visits to CD by family members who remain living in London. The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has appealed to government ministers to keep CD away from the capital. Johnson said: “It’s clear from the court papers that he rejects and would like to destroy everything that makes this a great city. We don’t want this man in London.” The relocation powers under control orders are being ditched by the coalition under new terrorist prevention and investigation measures (TPIMs). The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, told the Commons that plans to water down control orders would mean CD could no longer be stopped from living in the capital. Johnson recently urged ministers to “think again”. A Home Office spokesman said: “The new regime of TPIMs will mean suspected terrorists who were unable to be prosecuted cannot go freely about their terrorism-related activities, and we will continue to be able to protect the public from the threat they pose.” Control orders UK criminal justice Theresa May guardian.co.uk
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Eight national newspapers have made public apologies today to Christopher Jefferies for the libellous allegations made against him following the murder of Joanna Yeates, The titles – The Sun, Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record, Daily Mail, Daily Star, The Scotsman and Daily Express – have also agreed to pay him substantial libel damages, thought to total six figures. The solicitor for Mr Jefferies, Louis Charalambous, told Mr Justice Tugendhat in the high court hearing that the newspapers had acknowledged the falsity of the allegations, which were published in more than 40 articles. Ms Yeates, a Bristol architect, was killed in December last year. After her body was discovered, Mr Jefferies, who was her landlord, was arrested by police. In subsequent days, into early January, the newspapers ran a series of articles about Mr Jefferies that were inaccurate and defamatory. Charalambous, of Simons Muirhead and Burton, said after today’s hearing: “Christopher Jefferies is the latest victim of the regular witch hunts and character assassination conducted by the worst elements of the British tabloid media. Many of the stories published in these newspapers are designed to ‘monster’ the individual, in flagrant disregard for his reputation, privacy and rights to a fair trial. These newspapers have now apologised to him and paid substantial damages.” Bambos Tsiattalou, the solicitor who advised Mr Jefferies after he was taken into police custody, said that the media were given a fair warning to be careful about what they published. He said: “We warned the media by letter, immediately following Mr Jefferies’ arrest, in the strongest possible terms to desist from publishing stories which were damaging or defamatory. “We were dismayed that our warnings went unheeded and are pleased that the newspapers in settling Mr Jefferies’ claims have acknowledged the extent of the damage to his reputation.” The papers’ publishers – News International, Trinity Mirror, Daily Mail & General Trust, Express Newspapers and Johnston Press – will now have to fork out substantial sums in damages and legal fees. But Charalambous pointed out that once the rules over conditional fee (no win, no fee) agreements change next year, “the victims of tabloid witch hunts will no longer have the same access to justice.” Joanna Yeates National newspapers Newspapers Daily Mirror Media law Roy Greenslade guardian.co.uk
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Dragged down by banking stocks, Spain’s Ibex index lost over 130 points to 9526.5, a fall of 1.36%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB dipped 1.5%. Germany’s Dax and France’s CAC both fell 1.1% Financial markets face more turmoil after Moody’s put Spain’s Aa2 credit rating on review for possible downgrade while US debt talks are still deadlocked. The news sent the euro falling and stock markets in London and the eurozone down. The euro fell 0.5% to $1.4265. Dragged down by banking stocks, Spain’s Ibex index lost over 130 points to 9526.5, a fall of 1.36%, while Italy’s FTSE MIB dipped 1.5%. Germany’s Dax and France’s CAC both fell 1.1%. In London, the FTSE 100 index opened more than 50 points lower at 5819, fall of 0.9%. The US debt crisis is escalating: US lawmakers postponed a crucial vote on a budget deficit plan last night, heightening concerns over a likely debt default. After chaotic scenes in the House of Representatives , the Republicans who control the House called it a night and scheduled an emergency meeting for Friday morning. “I am no longer sure if this is reality or I am watching a Hollywood summer blockbuster,” said Gary Jenkins, head of fixed income research at Evolution Securities. “With no resolution with regard to the US debt ceiling and with continuing contagion in the European government debt market it is clearly time for the safe haven trade.” He joked: “I will be away for a few days watching the markets from a safe distance and no doubt by the time I return Captain America will have sorted the debt ceiling and the EU will be making plans for ‘Mamma Mia 2 – back to Greece’.” The dollar came under pressure on Friday morning, dropping to a four-month low against the yen. “This is a very serious situation. As long as the wrangling over the US debt ceiling continues, the dollar/yen will be vulnerable to further falls,” Osamu Takashima, chief forex strategist at Citibank in Tokyo told Reuters. In Europe, concern is growing that Spain, the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy, hamstrung by meagre growth and high unemployment, will fail to put its finances in order and need a Greek-style bailout. Nervousness among international investors has sent Spanish government bond yields to their highest level in over a decade. Having fallen below 6% a week ago on relief about the Greek bailout, the yield on 10-year bonds rose again this week to hit 6.158% on Friday morning. Italian yields climbed to 5.934%. Moody’s said last week’s Greek package set a precedent for private sector participation in future debt restructurings in the eurozone. The credit rating agency added that a downgrade is likely to be limited to one notch. It explained: “Firstly, the continued funding pressures facing the Spanish government, which the precedent set for future euro area support arrangements by the official package for Greece is likely to exacerbate, and the resulting increase in risks to bondholders. “Secondly, the challenges posed to the government’s fiscal consolidation efforts by the weak growth environment and the continued fiscal slippage among several regional governments.” The Spanish government has set a deficit target of 1.3% of GDP for the country’s 17 regions for this year and next, but some of their new governors say this will be impossible due to their predecessors’ fiscal mismanagement. Moody’s Aa2 rating for Spain is in line with S&P’s AA setting, while Fitch has the country one notch higher at AA+. All have negative outlooks. European debt crisis Europe US economy United States Spain Market turmoil Stock markets Ratings agencies Julia Kollewe guardian.co.uk
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Questions raised over circumstances of Younis’s death amid speculation he may have been killed by gunmen on his own side The death of the Libyan rebels’ chief of army staff, Abdel Fatah Younis, has raised fears of a rift within opposition forces amid speculation that he may have been killed by gunmen on his own side. The president of the National Transition Council (NTC), Abdul Mustafa Jalil, announced on Thursday night that Younis had been assassinated by pro-Gaddafi agents but the lack of detail, and the fact that earlier that day he had been arrested on the orders of Jalil, has led raised questions about the circumstances of his death. Jalil said that rebels had arrested the head of the group behind the attack but the bodies of Younis, Muammar Gaddafi’s former interior minister, and two colonels also killed in the alleged ambush, have not been found. The rebels said earlier on Thursday that Younis had been arrested on suspicion that his family might still have ties to the Gaddafi regime and rumours swirled that he was involved in unauthorised contact with the administration he dramatically abandoned in February or had even helped to supply Gaddafi troops with weapons . Before the announcement of his death, armed men declaring their support for Younis appeared on the streets of Benghazi, claiming they would use force to free him from NTC custody. Minutes after Jalil’s statement at a chaotic late-night press conference at a hotel in Benghazi, gunfire broke out in the street outside with members of Younis’s tribe, the Obeidi, one of the largest in the east, firing machine guns, smashing windows and forcing security guards and hotel guests to duck for cover. The discord comes just a day after the foreign secretary, William Hague, said that Britain would recognise the NTC as the legitimate government of Libya and painted a rosy picture of the opposition forces in Libya, praising their “increasing legitimacy, competence and success” . Adding to the confusion, a security officer, Fadlallah Haroun, told the Associated Press before Jalil’s announcement that security had found three badly burned bodies. Two of them were dead and one was unconscious, Fadlallah said, adding that one was known to be Younis, though they didn’t know which one. Jalil said Younis had been “summoned” for questioning on “a military matter”, but that he had not yet been questioned when he was killed. He said it was “with regret” he had to announce the death of general Younis. Jalil called him “one of the heroes of the 17th of February revolution” but he was not universally trusted within opposition ranks. Many were suspicious of his past links to the Gaddafi regime and troops in the besieged city of Misrata have conspicuously refused to accept orders from him, to the extent of insisting that their fighters are not part of the Benghazi-controlled national army. Younis reportedly nearly came to blows with his rival for the army command, Klalifa Hefter, during a meeting in late March. For much of that month both men claimed to be in command of the ragtag rebel forces as they raced west towards Tripoli, only to be thrown back towards Benghazi in chaos and confusion. By April, Younis had won the political battle inside the NTC and was confirmed as chief of staff but he failed to use his new position to bring victory on the battlefield. Since April, the frontline has remained largely in stalemate, despite heavy Nato bombing of government forces around the key oil town of Brega. Younis was one of Gaddafi’s most trusted officials and confidants. The general’s friendship with Gaddafi dated from 1969 when he joined a group of fresh-faced army officers in deposing Libya’s king. But when riots came to the streets of Benghazi in February, he dramatically switched sides, joining the rebels and bringing the city’s interior ministry military brigade with him. Libya Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Muammar Gaddafi Africa Haroon Siddique Chris Stephen guardian.co.uk
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