Teen, 14, given three-year jail term for murder and organised crime in Mexico
July 27, 2011 No Comment
‘El Ponchis’, a US citizen who confessed to working for South Pacific drug cartel, given maximum sentence allowed for a minor A Mexican judge on Tuesday sentenced a teenage US citizen to three years in prison for homicide, kidnapping and drug and weapons possession. Authorities say the teen confessed to killing four people whose beheaded bodies were found suspended from a bridge. Edgar Jimenez Lugo, known as “El Ponchis”, was given the maximum sentence allowed for a minor in the central state of Morelos, said state prosecutor Jose Manuel Serrano Falmerol. Jimenez, 14, was tried in a state court because Mexico does not have a justice system to try minors at the federal level. Authorities say the teenager confessed to working for the South Pacific drug cartel, led by reputed drug lord Hector Beltran Leyva. When he was handed over to federal prosecutors, the boy calmly said in front of cameras that he participated in four killings while drugged and under threat. The bodies were found in the tourist city of Cuernavaca. In November, stories of a hit boy, maybe as young as 12, spread after a YouTube video appeared with teens mugging for the camera next to corpses and guns . One boy on the video alleged that “El Ponchis” was his accomplice. Jimenez was born in San Diego, California. He and a sister were arrested in December as they tried to board a plane to Tijuana, where they planned to cross the border and reunite with their mother in San Diego. The teenager has been in a juvenile detention centre in Morelos since his arrest and will serve his time there, Serrano said. The two siblings allegedly worked for Julio “El Negro” Padilla, a reputed drug trafficker who authorities say has been fighting for control of the drug trade in Morelos. Morelos was formerly under the control of the Beltran Leyva gang, which broke up after alleged leader Arturo Beltran Leyva was killed in a shootout with Mexican marines a year ago. The battle among remnants of the gang has caused an unprecedented spike in violence in Morelos and in neighbouring Guerrero state, where the resort city of Acapulco is located. A relative has said Jimenez was nicknamed “Ponchis” by his family because he was a pudgy child. Mexico Drugs trade United States guardian.co.uk
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Embarrassment for Congress speaker John Boehner after budget office finds $350bn hole in his original proposal The US debt crisis has escalated after Republicans were forced to rewrite their proposal to lift the debt ceiling, because they miscalculated how much the original plan would cut spending. In an embarrassing development for John Boehner, the Republican Congress speaker, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) ruled on Tuesday night that his bill would have only cut spending by $850bn over the next decade, not the $1.2tr he had aimed for. Republicans are now racing to rewrite the legislation, and have pushed back a Congressional vote on the plan from Wednesday to Thursday at the earliest. Although Boehner was already struggling to find support for his package, the delay increases the risk that Washington will fail to agree a deal to raise the debt ceiling before 2 August, when the federal government is expected to run out of money. The dollar dropped against other currencies on Wednesday morning as investors faced the possibility that America could default. Several economists believe the country will lose its AAA credit rating within months, which would push up its borrowing costs, even if the $14.3tr debt ceiling is increased in time. The White House said on Tuesday it was working with Congress to devise a “Plan B” that might attract enough support. The two sides have been deeply divided for weeks, with Republicans demanding deep spending cuts and Democrats anxious to include tax rises as a major part of the deal. The US people may be losing patience with their political leaders. The Congressional telephone system was swamped with calls from the public on Tuesday, coming close to collapse. The websites of several members of Congress have crashed this week, after president Obama urged Americans to make their voices heard. Across the globe, there is growing astonishment that the world’s biggest economy is on the brink of a technical default because its elected leaders cannot hammer out a deal. Nouriel Roubini, the leading economics professor, said there was disbelief in China. “Biggest concern in meetings in Hong Kong: will the US default on its debt? Folks here are shocked by the dysfunctional US political system,” he tweeted from Shanghai. In London, the FTSE 100 fell 39 points at the start of trading to 5890, following widespread losses in Asia overnight. Traders are braced for the debt ceiling negotiations to go right to the wire. “Equity markets remain on the back foot as the US debt impasse continues to dominate the agenda. The political spat continues and as a result the expectation is that negotiations will be ongoing into next week, right up to that August 2nd deadline,” said Chris Weston, Institutional trader at IG Markets. Complacency rules, ok? Analysts have suggested that America may have more time to resolve the crisis than the government has admitted, with Barclays Capital calculating that the country might be able to function until 10 August before needing to borrow again. The yield, or interest rates, on US 10-year bonds remained below 3% on Wednesday – meaning America still enjoys some of the cheapest borrowing costs of any country. There are indications, though, that investors are becoming more anxious, with the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) volatility index, which tracks Wall Street confidence, rising by 4.5%. “We are finally seeing a little bit of risk priced in, but not a lot is being priced in yet,” said Louise Cooper, markets analyst at BGC Partners. “There’s still complacency … I don’t think anyone expects this to go wrong.” One possibility is that Obama could approve a short-term rise in the debt ceiling while Congress wrestles with a long-term fiscal plan. “The can would then be being kicked down the road in the States as well as in Europe,” said Cooper, referring to the Eurozone’s own debt problems. The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that banks are now holding onto more cash, bolstering their liquidity levels in preparation for a US credit rating downgrade that could potentially prompt a second credit crunch. “We’ve been here before, post-Lehman Brothers, and we don’t want to be there again,” commented Cooper. The wrangling over the debt ceiling could do long-term damage to America’s economic credibility, warned Christopher Molumphy, chief investment officer of Franklin Templeton Fixed Income Group. “The lack of a credible long-term solution would likely raise questions about the creditworthiness of the US, push up the cost of capital for private and public borrowers and thus prove a further impediment to economic recovery. There is still time for a deal to be reached on raising the debt ceiling, but continued doubts about a longer-term solution to the US’s federal deficit may well threaten the country’s AAA credit rating and the status of US Treasuries as assets previously perceived as virtually ‘risk-free’, and against which many other products are gauged,” said Molumphy. US economy Economics Global economy Global recession John Boehner US Congress United States US politics Republicans Graeme Wearden guardian.co.uk
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Expert believe two creatures found alive in Christchurch survived due to bacteria and algae growing in their tank There were no Scooby snacks to eat – but at least they had each other for company. Two goldfish, named Shaggy and Daphne after characters from the animated television show Scooby Doo, have become the smallest survivors of the devastating earthquake in Christchurch that killed 181 people in February. The fish spent four and a half months trapped in their tank in the city’s downtown area, which was made off-limits after the quake. The creatures had no one to feed them and no electricity to power their tank filter before they were discovered and rescued. “It’s certainly an incredible story. I wouldn’t have guessed that fish could survive on their own for four months,” said Paul Clarkson, curator at the Monterey Bay aquarium in California. “Goldfish are very hardy critters.” Luckily for the fish, they lived in a large 26-gallon (100-litre) tank and had seaweed to munch on. According to Clarkson, the fish may also have gleaned some nutrition from eating algae growing on the tank’s rocks and walls. He said naturally growing bacteria may have helped keep the water clean enough to sustain life. There were six goldfish in the tank when the earthquake struck, but by the time the survivors were found, no trace remained of three of the fish. A fourth was found floating in the tank. Goldfish are, after all, omnivores. The fish had been on display in the reception area of Quantum Chartered Accountants on Christchurch’s high street. Company director Vicky Thornley said she was about to step into the elevator when the quake hit and she grabbed on to the wooden tank surround, to steady herself and stop the tank from falling. “I was clinging on for dear life,” she said. She and her three co-workers made it out of the building as masonry and bricks crashed through a skylight. Thornley’s first thoughts were for the safety of her 5-year-old son, Joshua, who was unharmed. It wasn’t until 6 July that authorities finally allowed her back into the office, escorting her to collect belongings. Her office was in a particularly hard-hit part of the city. Thornley said she didn’t want to look in the direction of the tank because she was sure the fish would be long dead. But Thornley was astounded when an earthquake recovery worker shouted to her: “Hey there are fish here, and they’re alive!” The fish looked dull in colour but otherwise appeared fine, Thornley said. She scooped them out and took them home in a bucket. She gave them to Joshua, who loves goldfish and already had two of his own, Scooby and Fred. It was Joshua who then named the survivors. Thornley said she was nervous about putting Shaggy and Daphne in with her son’s fish, given that they may already have developed a taste for their own kind. But nothing happened and all four are now swimming happily together in a new tank. Although none survived as long as Shaggy and Daphne, hundreds of pets were rescued within the first two weeks of the quake. Carolyn Press McKenzie, who runs the Huha animal sanctuary in Wellington, said she has since found homes for most of the 115 dogs, cats, roosters and turtles she helped rescue from Christchurch. New Zealand Natural disasters and extreme weather Animals guardian.co.uk
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Bomber detonated explosives in corridor of Ghulam Haidar Hamidi’s office in volatile southern Afghanistan city The mayor of Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar city was killed in a suicide bomb attack on Wednesday, officials said. The incident occurred just two weeks after the controversial and powerful brother of Afghan president Hamid Karzai was assassinated in the same city. Mayor Ghulam Haider Hamidi was killed when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives in a corridor near his office, said Zalmay Ayoubi, the spokesman for the Kandahar provincial governor. “It appears the bomber was carrying the bomb in his turban,” Ayobi added. Kandahar police chief Abdul Razaq said the mayor was meeting some elders from a district of Kandahar city when one of them got close to the mayor and detonated a bomb hidden in his turban. Hamidi’s death comes at a time when there is a dangerous power vacuum in volatile Kandahar province, the Taliban’s birthplace and a focus of recent efforts by a surge of US troops to turn the tide against the insurgency. Karzai’s brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, one of the most powerful and controversial men in southern Afghanistan, was assassinated by a trusted family security guard at his home in Kandahar city on 12 July. At a funeral service for Ahmad Wali Karzai, a suicide attacker who appeared to have concealed his explosives inside a turban killed a senior cleric and at least four other people in Kandahar. Kandahar was the site of more than half of all targeted killings in Afghanistan between April and June, a UN report found. Afghanistan guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Bomber detonated explosives in corridor of Ghulam Haidar Hamidi’s office in volatile southern Afghanistan city The mayor of Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar city was killed in a suicide bomb attack on Wednesday, officials said. The incident occurred just two weeks after the controversial and powerful brother of Afghan president Hamid Karzai was assassinated in the same city. Mayor Ghulam Haider Hamidi was killed when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives in a corridor near his office, said Zalmay Ayoubi, the spokesman for the Kandahar provincial governor. “It appears the bomber was carrying the bomb in his turban,” Ayobi added. Kandahar police chief Abdul Razaq said the mayor was meeting some elders from a district of Kandahar city when one of them got close to the mayor and detonated a bomb hidden in his turban. Hamidi’s death comes at a time when there is a dangerous power vacuum in volatile Kandahar province, the Taliban’s birthplace and a focus of recent efforts by a surge of US troops to turn the tide against the insurgency. Karzai’s brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, one of the most powerful and controversial men in southern Afghanistan, was assassinated by a trusted family security guard at his home in Kandahar city on 12 July. At a funeral service for Ahmad Wali Karzai, a suicide attacker who appeared to have concealed his explosives inside a turban killed a senior cleric and at least four other people in Kandahar. Kandahar was the site of more than half of all targeted killings in Afghanistan between April and June, a UN report found. Afghanistan guardian.co.uk
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Energy watchdog said firm breached rules by failing to re-open cases when customers indicated issue was not resolved British Gas has been fined £2.5m by the energy watchdog for failing to deal with complaints correctly. The company, which serves nearly half of the UK’s households, failed to re-open cases when customers indicated their complaint had not been resolved, Ofgem found. The regulator also said the company failed to provide key information about the energy ombudsman to customers when complaints were not resolved or put in place a process to deal with businesses with 10 employees or fewer. Ofgem said British Gas breached regulations setting standards for complaint handling which came into effect in October 2008. More details soon… Gas Energy bills Commodities Consumer affairs Household bills guardian.co.uk
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Welcome to the Guardian’s choice of Britain’s top 50 medal hopes. Our aim is to provide a snapshot of Team GB’s contenders across all 26 sports and rank them on their likelihood of winning gold Paddy Allen Owen Gibson Anna Kessel William Fotheringham Andy Bull Kevin Mitchell Jonny Weeks
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Three also missing after heavy rains swept through the capital Seoul and northern town of Chuncheon At least 17 people have been killed and three are missing after heavy rain triggered landslides through the South Korean capital Seoul and a northern town on Wednesday. Eight of the 12 killed in the early morning landslide in Chuncheon, about 68 miles (110km) north-east of Seoul, were college students who had been doing volunteer work, said Byun In-soo from the town’s fire station. They were staying in a resort cabin when the mud and debris engulfed them. In Seoul, five people were killed in a landslide, according to a police official in the Bangbae area. The dead have not yet been identified. One child was also missing. South Korea has been pummelled with strong rain this week. About 15 inches (nearly 400mm) of rain fell in Seoul in just 17 hours starting Tuesday afternoon. More than 10 inches fell on Chuncheon in the past two days. Weather officials say another 10 inches could fall on Friday in northern area of South Korea, parts of which are already flooded from the rains. South Korea Flooding Natural disasters and extreme weather guardian.co.uk
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Advertising watchdog upholds complaints by Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson that images overly airbrushed L’Oréal has been forced to pull ad campaigns featuring Pretty Woman star Julia Roberts and supermodel Christy Turlington, after the advertising watchdog upheld complaints by Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson that the images were overly airbrushed. Swinson, who has waged a long-running campaign against “overly perfected and unrealistic images” of women in adverts, lodged complaints with the Advertising Standards Authority about the magazine campaigns for L’Oréal-owned brands Lancôme and Maybelline. The ASA ruled that both ads breached the advertising standards code for exaggeration and being misleading and banned them from future publication. L’Oréal’s two-page ad featuring Roberts, who is the face of Lancôme, promoted a foundation called Teint Miracle, which it claims creates a “natural light” that emanates from beautiful skin. It was shot by renowned fashion photographer Mario Testino. The ad for Maybelline featured Turlington promoting a foundation called The Eraser, which is claimed to be an “anti-ageing” product. In the ad, parts of Turlington’s face are shown covered by the foundation while other parts are not, in order to show the effects of the product. Swinson complained that images of both celebrities had been digitally manipulated and were “not representative of the results the product could achieve”. L’Oréal UK admitted that Turlington’s image had been “digitally retouched to lighten the skin, clean up makeup, reduce dark shadows and shading around the eyes, smooth the lips and darken the eyebrows”. However, it claimed there were still signs of ageing, such as crow’s feet, and that the image “accurately illustrated” the achieveable results. The company, which provided the ASA with pictures of both women “on the red carpet” to show that they were naturally beautiful, admitted that digital post-production techniques had been used on Roberts but maintained that the changes were not “directly relevant” and that the ad was an “aspirational picture”. Swinson said it was “shocking” that the ASA was not allowed to see the pre-production pictures of Roberts due to contractual agreements with the actor. “It shows just how ridiculous things have become when there is such fear over an unairbrushed photo that even the advertising regulator isn’t permitted to see it,” she added. In the case of both the Roberts and Turlington ads the ASA said it was not provided with enough information to evaluate what impact the digital enhancements had on the final image. “On the basis of the evidence we had received we could not conclude that the ad image accurately illustrated what effect the product could achieve, and that the image had not been exaggerated by digital post-production techniques,” the ASA said. “Pictures of flawless skin and super-slim bodies are all around, but they don’t reflect reality,” said Swinson. “Excessive airbrushing and digital manipulation techniques have become the norm, but both Christy Turlington and Julia Roberts are naturally beautiful women who don’t need retouching to look great. This ban sends a powerful message to advertisers – let’s get back to reality.” • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”. • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook Advertising Advertising Standards Authority Julia Roberts Models Mark Sweney guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Probation officers spend 75% of time not dealing with offenders, report finds
July 26, 2011 No Comment
Justice select committee report reveals much of their time taken up by computer work and red tape Probation officers spend three-quarters of their time on work that does not involve them in direct contact with offenders, according to a report by the Commons justice select committee. The MPs say they accept that probation officers have to do a certain amount of work that does not involve dealing directly with offenders but are “staggered” to find it can be as much as 75%. “No one would suggest that it would be acceptable for teachers (who also have to do preparatory work and maintain paperwork) to spend three-quarters of their time not teaching,” say the MPs. “The value which really effective probation officers can add comes primarily from their direct contact with offenders.” The report says the rest of the probation officer’s time is split between computer activity, drafting correspondence and reports, meetings and dealing with other red tape. The MPs took evidence from one chief probation officer who said it was true that a routine offender in the middle of their order might be seen for only 10 minutes but a serious violent offender who was coming out of prison would mean several hours a week contact time. The MPs say that a “tick-box culture” imposed by the advent of the national offender management service [Noms], which took over prison and probation a decade ago, is part of the root cause of this growth in bureaucracy. The justice select committee in their report on the role of the probation service also calls for the government’s “payment by results” plans to open up probation to competition to be looked at again. The MPs argue that while there is a lot of scope for new organisations to provide probation services there is a danger that payment by results will overlook the rights of victims and offenders’ obligations towards them. The committee’s report is highly critical about the impact of Noms on the probation service, which it describes as a prison service takeover. The MPs want to see an external review of the future of Noms, saying its creation has not led to a joined-up treatment of offenders and it has not proved itself proficient at handling national contracts such as for bail accommodation and facilities management. Harry Fletcher of Napo, the probation union, said: “The report confirms that Noms has been a major problem from the start. Napo warned in 2004 that Noms would be a bureaucratic nightmare. It is scandalous that probation staff now spend 75% of their time on form-filling and responding to centrally driven emails. Even Daniel Sonnex, who brutally murdered two French students three years ago was seen for just 20 minutes a week. “The last 10 years has witnessed a massive rise in the constant government monitoring of probation staff to the detriment of face-to-face contact with offenders. This does not enhance public protection but undermines it. This flawed historical trend must be reversed,” he said. Prisons and probation UK criminal justice Alan Travis guardian.co.uk
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