Three people arrested on suspicion of operating vice ring said to have used home where Charmaine West was killed in 1971 Three people have been charged with conspiracy to traffic women into prostitution in the UK as part of a suspected vice ring that operated from addresses including the former Gloucester home of serial killers Fred and Rosemary West. Simultaneous raids in Gloucester, south London and Bradford followed an investigation by the Metropolitan police’s human exploitation and organised crime command and Czech authorities into a suspected organised prostitution ring, which saw women trafficked into the UK and forced into prostitution and sham marriages. A further three people were arrested in the Czech Republic. Officers are understood to be aware of seven alleged victims. The police operation was described as being “pre-planned and intelligence-led” after it was alleged female victims were lured to the UK with the promise of a job or holiday. Members of the alleged gang are suspected of using the rundown white two-storey Midland Road house where Rosemary West murdered her husband’s stepdaughter Charmaine in 1971 and buried her beneath the kitchen floor. Her remains were not exhumed until 23 years later after the Wests were arrested over 11 more murders at their nearby Cromwell Road home which was subsequently demolished. The Midland Road house was the Wests’ first married home after a period living in a caravan. Charmaine and Anne Marie, Fred West’s daughter by his previous wife Rena, went to live there in 1970. Ludmila Nistorova, 52, of Raglan Court in Gloucester appeared at Cheltenham magistrates court on Friday. She is charged with conspiracy to traffic into the UK as well as conspiracy to traffic within the UK for exploitation and sexual exploitation, conspiracy to control prostitution for gain and conspiracy to “facilitate commission of a breach of UK immigration law”. She was remanded in custody to appear before Southwark crown court in London on Wednesday. Votjech Virag, a 25-year-old man, and Iveta Viragova, a 43-year-old woman, were arrested at an address in Nutwell Street, Tooting, south London and appeared at Westminster magistrates court on the same five charges. They were also remanded in custody to appear alongside Nistorova in court next week. The three men arrested in the Czech Republic, aged 35, 28 and 41, are currently subject to extradition proceedings. One of them is reportedly Nistorova’s son. Police said further searches were made at another two addresses in Gloucester and one in Bradford, but no arrests were made. All three have been remanded in custody to appear in court next week. Crime Prostitution Human trafficking Robert Booth guardian.co.uk
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Transport group chief, Tim O’Toole, sees 42% of shareholders take exception to ‘retention’ share award worth around £760,000 Tim O’Toole, the chief executive of FirstGroup, suffered a rare public rebuke on Friday after 42% of shareholders voted against the remuneration package at the public transport group. O’Toole was lauded as one the UK’s finest public servants when he stepped down as head of the London Underground in 2009, having won plaudits for steering the organisation through the aftermath of the July 7 bombings. However, the private sector proved less welcoming at O’Toole’s debut annual meeting as FirstGroup chief executive after a bloc of shareholders appeared to take exception to a “retention” share award of nearly 215,000 shares. The award, worth around £760,000 at Friday’s share price, will be triggered if O’Toole is still at the helm of the owner of the First Great Western and First Capital Connect rail franchises, or is not working his notice, on 1 November 2013. FirstGroup’s annual report states that the award was made after consultation with the six largest shareholders in the company, including blue-chip investors such as Scottish Widows and Standard Life. However, the rest of the share register appears to have followed the guidance of ISS, the corporate governance adviser, which told investors to vote against the remuneration package because O’Toole’s award came with few strings attached. ISS said FirstGroup had made the award because O’Toole had received “considerable” offers from US and UK rivals before deciding to join FirstGroup . A FirstGroup spokesperson said: “We are disappointed with the result of the proxy voting in respect of the Remuneration Report. The Remuneration Committee consults with the Group’s largest shareholders on relevant matters relating to the attraction, retention and remuneration of senior executives and will continue to do so in the future.” FirstGroup said 42.6% of shareholders voted against the remuneration package while a majority of 57.4% voted in favour. O’Toole earned a total of £591,000 last year, excluding a housing allowance of £138,000. FirstGroup shares rose 8.18% to 356p on Friday as the rail, bus and coach operator said sales in its rail business rose 8.5% in the three months to 30 June and its bus division saw a 0.7% rise in like-for-like sales. The group added that it had made “good progress” in its main problem area, its US school bus division , while revenues at its US Greyhound coach unit grew by 3.7% in the first quarter. FirstGroup Travel & leisure Transport Rail transport Dan Milmo guardian.co.uk
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UK’s former chief scientist calls instead for a system where each nation is awarded a carbon emissions quota based on population The world should abandon the Kyoto protocol on climate change and move instead to a system where each nation would have a carbon emissions quota based on population, the UK’s former chief scientist has urged, in an explosive contribution to the long-running climate negotiations. Sir David King is one of the most respected figures in climate change policy.He is the architect of the UK’s response to global warming, credited with reviving the flagging climate talks in 2004 when he called the problem “a greater threat than international terrorism “. He told the Guardian: “I can’t see the Kyoto protocol making any headway – there are enough blocks in place, especially from the US and China, that it is wholly unlikely that it will go on. We need to be pragmatic.” He said his proposals – by which countries could take their own actions on greenhouse gases without agreeing them at an international level – offered “a far more realistic pathway than hoping countries will come together in an international agreement at a single point”. “If you say only a full [legally binding] treaty is any good, we will still be arguing about it in 20 years,” he said. King – who was born in Durban, South Africa, where the next round of climate talks will take place this December – will publish a report on Monday intended to inject new life into the long-running United Nations talks. The ultimate aim, he said, should be that by mid-century each country should have an emissions quota based on their population – probably set at around two tonnes of carbon per person – supported by a carbon trading system, by which rich countries wanting to exceed their quota could buy carbon credits from poorer nations. The average UK citizen has a carbon footprint around 4.5 times that, while the average US citizen’s footprint is 10 times as large. In order to get to that point, according to King, negotiators should accept that countries must be allowed to make their own decisions on measures to reduce emissions without the framework of an over-arching agreement. King’s views are an attack on some of the most dearly held tenets of the climate change talks. While the idea of a per capita emissions quota will appeal to some, many developing countries are insistent that the Kyoto protocol must be continued, as the only international treaty that requires rich nations to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. They, along with green campaigning groups, also want any new agreement to be a fully legally binding treaty – not a voluntary system countries can enter if they wish, and under which they can change their minds on emissions targets at any time. But King believes these entrenched positions need to be abandoned and radical new ideas and more “realism” injected into the negotiations, if they are to be successful. He argues that moving away from the goal of a fully articulated global treaty to a system of voluntary actions, and bilateral or multilateral agreements among nations will achieve this. This would mean governments and the United Nations would have to accept some countries – perhaps including the US, Opec countries and others – might effectively opt out of the process. King’s report, for Oxford’s Smith School of Enterprise and Environment, where he is director, shows that the 1997 Kyoto protocol had little effect on emissions outside Europe. This means that in nearly 20 years of negotiations the world has failed to produce an effective and comprehensive global agreement on emissions. “Since 1992 [when the first talks took place], 192 nations have achieved remarkably little – despite the fact that no other single topic in the world has been given so much of policymakers’ time,” he said. “But in parallel, national actions and actions by business have brought about very substantial change.” By scrapping the Kyoto protocol and moving to a voluntary system whereby countries could make commitments on curbing emissions and later revise them – so-called “pledge and review” – the world could build on the progress that some countries have already made, he said. As part of the report, King’s team tracked progress on emissions around the world, producing a map showing which countries have done most. Several Latin American countries, including Brazil and Mexico, and Indonesia, Japan and Norway all emerged as “very good”. The European Union was rated “good” in terms of its progress, and the US, Canada, Australia and parts of the Middle East were classed “very poor”. King’s contribution was welcomed by some observers of the talks who have long argued that the deadlock can only be broken by accepting that a legally binding treaty may be out of reach and concentrating instead on concrete actions that would achieve reductions in emissions. “This report confronts the fact that a binding treaty is not going to occur in the near future, and that the pledge and review approach can bring important gains,” said Paul Bledsoe, a former Bill Clinton White House official on climate change and veteran of the climate talks. “For too long negotiators and activists have let the perfect be the enemy of the good. The motto should be start and strengthen, a method that has worked well for the Montreal protocol process. That said, pressure on major emitters to make cuts must be made in all venues, including the G20 and the major economies forums, to be fully effective.” But King’s proposals are likely to be controversial for many participants, including some developing countries and green pressure groups. “Scrapping Kyoto and waiting for something better to come along is a bit like abandoning your car by the side of the road in the hope someone will pick you up later,” said Ruth Davis, chief policy adviser at Greenpeace. “The new report’s authors are right to stress that global co-operation and common rules are essential, but Kyoto is the only agreement the world has made so far that moves us closer to those goals. Scrapping it would send a destructive signal to investors and undermine the green economy.” She urged governments to agree to a “second commitment period” for the protocol, to continue when the current commitments expire in 2012. “Europe’s leaders can secure the future of the Kyoto later this year, by agreeing to a second commitment period,” she said. “It is in their interests to do so, both to drive much-needed investment in the clean energy sector, and to begin the transition to a comprehensive global agreement over the next decade.” King’s proposal of a global emissions quota based on population has its roots in the idea of “contraction and convergence”, first put forward in the early 1990s, by which countries would reduce their greenhouse gas output and move towards equal emissions across the world. King said the system could be devised in such a way that it did not simply encourage population growth. Kyoto protocol Climate change Global climate talks Carbon emissions Emissions trading United Nations David King Population Fiona Harvey guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …UK’s former chief scientist calls instead for a system where each nation is awarded a carbon emissions quota based on population The world should abandon the Kyoto protocol on climate change and move instead to a system where each nation would have a carbon emissions quota based on population, the UK’s former chief scientist has urged, in an explosive contribution to the long-running climate negotiations. Sir David King is one of the most respected figures in climate change policy.He is the architect of the UK’s response to global warming, credited with reviving the flagging climate talks in 2004 when he called the problem “a greater threat than international terrorism “. He told the Guardian: “I can’t see the Kyoto protocol making any headway – there are enough blocks in place, especially from the US and China, that it is wholly unlikely that it will go on. We need to be pragmatic.” He said his proposals – by which countries could take their own actions on greenhouse gases without agreeing them at an international level – offered “a far more realistic pathway than hoping countries will come together in an international agreement at a single point”. “If you say only a full [legally binding] treaty is any good, we will still be arguing about it in 20 years,” he said. King – who was born in Durban, South Africa, where the next round of climate talks will take place this December – will publish a report on Monday intended to inject new life into the long-running United Nations talks. The ultimate aim, he said, should be that by mid-century each country should have an emissions quota based on their population – probably set at around two tonnes of carbon per person – supported by a carbon trading system, by which rich countries wanting to exceed their quota could buy carbon credits from poorer nations. The average UK citizen has a carbon footprint around 4.5 times that, while the average US citizen’s footprint is 10 times as large. In order to get to that point, according to King, negotiators should accept that countries must be allowed to make their own decisions on measures to reduce emissions without the framework of an over-arching agreement. King’s views are an attack on some of the most dearly held tenets of the climate change talks. While the idea of a per capita emissions quota will appeal to some, many developing countries are insistent that the Kyoto protocol must be continued, as the only international treaty that requires rich nations to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. They, along with green campaigning groups, also want any new agreement to be a fully legally binding treaty – not a voluntary system countries can enter if they wish, and under which they can change their minds on emissions targets at any time. But King believes these entrenched positions need to be abandoned and radical new ideas and more “realism” injected into the negotiations, if they are to be successful. He argues that moving away from the goal of a fully articulated global treaty to a system of voluntary actions, and bilateral or multilateral agreements among nations will achieve this. This would mean governments and the United Nations would have to accept some countries – perhaps including the US, Opec countries and others – might effectively opt out of the process. King’s report, for Oxford’s Smith School of Enterprise and Environment, where he is director, shows that the 1997 Kyoto protocol had little effect on emissions outside Europe. This means that in nearly 20 years of negotiations the world has failed to produce an effective and comprehensive global agreement on emissions. “Since 1992 [when the first talks took place], 192 nations have achieved remarkably little – despite the fact that no other single topic in the world has been given so much of policymakers’ time,” he said. “But in parallel, national actions and actions by business have brought about very substantial change.” By scrapping the Kyoto protocol and moving to a voluntary system whereby countries could make commitments on curbing emissions and later revise them – so-called “pledge and review” – the world could build on the progress that some countries have already made, he said. As part of the report, King’s team tracked progress on emissions around the world, producing a map showing which countries have done most. Several Latin American countries, including Brazil and Mexico, and Indonesia, Japan and Norway all emerged as “very good”. The European Union was rated “good” in terms of its progress, and the US, Canada, Australia and parts of the Middle East were classed “very poor”. King’s contribution was welcomed by some observers of the talks who have long argued that the deadlock can only be broken by accepting that a legally binding treaty may be out of reach and concentrating instead on concrete actions that would achieve reductions in emissions. “This report confronts the fact that a binding treaty is not going to occur in the near future, and that the pledge and review approach can bring important gains,” said Paul Bledsoe, a former Bill Clinton White House official on climate change and veteran of the climate talks. “For too long negotiators and activists have let the perfect be the enemy of the good. The motto should be start and strengthen, a method that has worked well for the Montreal protocol process. That said, pressure on major emitters to make cuts must be made in all venues, including the G20 and the major economies forums, to be fully effective.” But King’s proposals are likely to be controversial for many participants, including some developing countries and green pressure groups. “Scrapping Kyoto and waiting for something better to come along is a bit like abandoning your car by the side of the road in the hope someone will pick you up later,” said Ruth Davis, chief policy adviser at Greenpeace. “The new report’s authors are right to stress that global co-operation and common rules are essential, but Kyoto is the only agreement the world has made so far that moves us closer to those goals. Scrapping it would send a destructive signal to investors and undermine the green economy.” She urged governments to agree to a “second commitment period” for the protocol, to continue when the current commitments expire in 2012. “Europe’s leaders can secure the future of the Kyoto later this year, by agreeing to a second commitment period,” she said. “It is in their interests to do so, both to drive much-needed investment in the clean energy sector, and to begin the transition to a comprehensive global agreement over the next decade.” King’s proposal of a global emissions quota based on population has its roots in the idea of “contraction and convergence”, first put forward in the early 1990s, by which countries would reduce their greenhouse gas output and move towards equal emissions across the world. King said the system could be devised in such a way that it did not simply encourage population growth. Kyoto protocol Climate change Global climate talks Carbon emissions Emissions trading United Nations David King Population Fiona Harvey guardian.co.uk
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PM paid for former News of the World editor to stay over, two months after he quit as media chief amid phone-hacking scandal David Cameron hosted Andy Coulson at Chequers in March, two months after the former News of the World editor resigned as Downing Street director of communications, No 10 has said. In a sign of his determination to stand by the man he described as a “friend”, the prime minister paid out of his own pocket to welcome Coulson for an overnight stay at Chequers. Downing Street disclosed Coulson’s visit to Chequers as it published details of all of Cameron’s contacts with media proprietors and executives since he became Tory leader in 2005. The prime minister had told MPs on Wednesday that he would publish details of the contacts since he became prime minister but he later decided that this should cover all contacts since he became Tory leader. Labour attacked Cameron’s decision to invite Coulson to Chequers two months after his resignation in January, saying it showed an “extraordinary lack of judgment”. Ivan Lewis, the shadow culture secretary, said: “This is yet more evidence of an extraordinary lack of judgment by David Cameron. He hosted Andy Coulson at Chequers after, in the prime minister’s own words, Mr Coulson’s second chance hadn’t worked out. David Cameron may think that this is a good day to bury bad news but he now has an increasing number of serious questions to answer.” The prime minister has come under fire for what Ed Miliband described as a catastrophic misjudgment in taking Coulson into No 10 after the election. Cameron said at a press conference in Downing Street last Friday that he had met his “friend” Coulson since his resignation but not recently or frequently. In the past week he has started to distance himself from Coulson after facing intense criticisms for ignoring warnings from Nick Clegg and Lord Ashdown about the political dangers of bringing Coulson into No 10 after the general election. On Wednesday, Cameron told MPs: “I hired a tabloid editor. I did so on the basis of assurances he gave me that he did not know about the phone hacking and was not involved in criminality. He gave those self-same assurances to the police, to a select committee of this house and under oath to a court of law. If it turns out he lied, it will not just be that he should not have been in government; it will be that he should be prosecuted. But I do believe that we must stick to the principle that you are innocent until proven guilty.” This marked a change in tone from his press conference last Friday in Downing Street. Asked then whether he had been in touch with Coulson, Cameron said: “Yes, I have spoken to him. I have seen him, not recently and not frequently. But when you work with someone for four years, as I did, and you work closely, you do build a friendship, and I became friends with him. I think he did his job for me and the Conservative party and then the country – I think he did it in a very effective way. So, yes, he became a friend and is a friend.” When the phone-hacking affair erupted again earlier this month, Downing Street said that the prime minister stood by a statement he made when Coulson resigned as the No 10 director of communications on 21 January. This said that he had resigned simply because the allegations about phone hacking were making it impossible for him to concentrate on his job. The details of the prime minister’s contacts with media executives will show that he had lunch with James Murdoch on occasions which have previously not been reported. They also show, as the Guardian revealed in January, that he visited Rebekah Brooks at her Oxfordshire home over the Christmas period. A Downing Street source said: “We are releasing details of all of the meetings the prime minister has ever had with media executives. This goes right back to the beginning. David took the view that he should release details of meetings with everyone – every lunch and every dinner. This really is an example of transparency.” Lewis said: “I have been asking David Cameron to come clean about his dinner with James Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks last Christmas for five months. Confirmation that David Cameron attended this dinner two days after Vince Cable was stripped of his responsibility for the BSkyB deal and in the middle of a quasi-judicial process raises further questions about the prime minister’s judgment. People will want to know whether BSkyB was discussed and what messages were then relayed to Jeremy Hunt.” The list published by Downing Street shows: • The prime minister had a second social engagement with Rebekah Brooks over the Christmas period in addition to a dinner in January at her Oxfordshire home attended by James Murdoch. This was disclosed by the Guardian in January. Downing Street has repeatedly refused to answer questions from the Guardian about this second event for the past few months. • James Murdoch and his wife, Kathryn, lunched at Chequers in November 2010. • Brooks visited Chequers twice, in June 2010 and August 2010. • Colin Myler, former editor of News of the World, met Cameron in July 2010. • Editors and proprietors of other news groups, including Guardian News and Media, met the prime minister. Andy Coulson David Cameron Phone hacking Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers News of the World News International News Corporation Media business Nicholas Watt guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …PM paid for former News of the World editor to stay over, two months after he quit as media chief amid phone-hacking scandal David Cameron hosted Andy Coulson at Chequers in March, two months after the former News of the World editor resigned as Downing Street director of communications, No 10 has said. In a sign of his determination to stand by the man he described as a “friend”, the prime minister paid out of his own pocket to welcome Coulson for an overnight stay at Chequers. Downing Street disclosed Coulson’s visit to Chequers as it published details of all of Cameron’s contacts with media proprietors and executives since he became Tory leader in 2005. The prime minister had told MPs on Wednesday that he would publish details of the contacts since he became prime minister but he later decided that this should cover all contacts since he became Tory leader. Labour attacked Cameron’s decision to invite Coulson to Chequers two months after his resignation in January, saying it showed an “extraordinary lack of judgment”. Ivan Lewis, the shadow culture secretary, said: “This is yet more evidence of an extraordinary lack of judgment by David Cameron. He hosted Andy Coulson at Chequers after, in the prime minister’s own words, Mr Coulson’s second chance hadn’t worked out. David Cameron may think that this is a good day to bury bad news but he now has an increasing number of serious questions to answer.” The prime minister has come under fire for what Ed Miliband described as a catastrophic misjudgment in taking Coulson into No 10 after the election. Cameron said at a press conference in Downing Street last Friday that he had met his “friend” Coulson since his resignation but not recently or frequently. In the past week he has started to distance himself from Coulson after facing intense criticisms for ignoring warnings from Nick Clegg and Lord Ashdown about the political dangers of bringing Coulson into No 10 after the general election. On Wednesday, Cameron told MPs: “I hired a tabloid editor. I did so on the basis of assurances he gave me that he did not know about the phone hacking and was not involved in criminality. He gave those self-same assurances to the police, to a select committee of this house and under oath to a court of law. If it turns out he lied, it will not just be that he should not have been in government; it will be that he should be prosecuted. But I do believe that we must stick to the principle that you are innocent until proven guilty.” This marked a change in tone from his press conference last Friday in Downing Street. Asked then whether he had been in touch with Coulson, Cameron said: “Yes, I have spoken to him. I have seen him, not recently and not frequently. But when you work with someone for four years, as I did, and you work closely, you do build a friendship, and I became friends with him. I think he did his job for me and the Conservative party and then the country – I think he did it in a very effective way. So, yes, he became a friend and is a friend.” When the phone-hacking affair erupted again earlier this month, Downing Street said that the prime minister stood by a statement he made when Coulson resigned as the No 10 director of communications on 21 January. This said that he had resigned simply because the allegations about phone hacking were making it impossible for him to concentrate on his job. The details of the prime minister’s contacts with media executives will show that he had lunch with James Murdoch on occasions which have previously not been reported. They also show, as the Guardian revealed in January, that he visited Rebekah Brooks at her Oxfordshire home over the Christmas period. A Downing Street source said: “We are releasing details of all of the meetings the prime minister has ever had with media executives. This goes right back to the beginning. David took the view that he should release details of meetings with everyone – every lunch and every dinner. This really is an example of transparency.” Lewis said: “I have been asking David Cameron to come clean about his dinner with James Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks last Christmas for five months. Confirmation that David Cameron attended this dinner two days after Vince Cable was stripped of his responsibility for the BSkyB deal and in the middle of a quasi-judicial process raises further questions about the prime minister’s judgment. People will want to know whether BSkyB was discussed and what messages were then relayed to Jeremy Hunt.” The list published by Downing Street shows: • The prime minister had a second social engagement with Rebekah Brooks over the Christmas period in addition to a dinner in January at her Oxfordshire home attended by James Murdoch. This was disclosed by the Guardian in January. Downing Street has repeatedly refused to answer questions from the Guardian about this second event for the past few months. • James Murdoch and his wife, Kathryn, lunched at Chequers in November 2010. • Brooks visited Chequers twice, in June 2010 and August 2010. • Colin Myler, former editor of News of the World, met Cameron in July 2010. • Editors and proprietors of other news groups, including Guardian News and Media, met the prime minister. Andy Coulson David Cameron Phone hacking Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers News of the World News International News Corporation Media business Nicholas Watt guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Rebekah Brooks has resigned from News International in the wake of the phone hacking scandal. She released a carefully-worded letter to the staff. Via The Guardian : At News International we pride ourselves on setting the news agenda for the right reasons. Today we are leading the news for the wrong ones. The reputation of the company we love so much, as well as the press freedoms we value so highly, are all at risk. As Chief Executive of the company, I feel a deep sense of responsibility for the people we have hurt and I want to reiterate how sorry I am for what we now know to have taken place. I have believed that the right and responsible action has been to lead us through the heat of the crisis. However my desire to remain on the bridge has made me a focal point of the debate. This is now detracting attention from all our honest endeavours to fix the problems of the past. Therefore I have given Rupert and James Murdoch my resignation. While it has been a subject of discussion, this time my resignation has been accepted. Rupert’s wisdom, kindness and incisive advice has guided me throughout my career and James is an inspirational leader who has shown me great loyalty and friendship. I would like to thank them both for their support. I have worked here for 22 years and I know it to be part of the finest media company in the world. News International is full of talented, professional and honourable people. I am proud to have been part of the team and lucky to know so many brilliant journalists and media executives. I leave with the happiest of memories and an abundance of friends. As you can imagine recent times have been tough. I now need to concentrate on correcting the distortions and rebutting the allegations about my record as a journalist, an editor and executive. My resignation makes it possible for me to have the freedom and the time to give my full cooperation to all the current and future inquiries, the police investigations and the CMS appearance. I am so grateful for all the messages of support. I have nothing but overwhelming respect for you and our millions of readers. I wish every one of you all the best. Rebekah The wording of the letter suggests she had tried to resign already and had her resignation refused. The part about having time to correct the record seems to be CYA language in light of the downward spiral News International has been on over the past couple of weeks. Take rumors for what they’re worth here, but it appears that at least one member of the Murdoch family was quite unhappy about Ms. Brooks . Elisabeth Murdoch is reported to be furious over the scandal. The 42-year-old is said to have privately “railed” against the News International chief executive and former editor of the News of the World. Miss Murdoch, who is set to be given a seat on the board of her father’s News Corp empire, told friends that Mrs Brooks had “f—– the company”. Meanwhile, if one were to watch only Fox News, they would have no clue anything untoward was happening elsewhere, because it’s ” the subject [they're] not talking about today. ”
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Chris and Colin Weir from Ayrshire ‘tickled pink’ by winning Europe’s biggest lottery draw Husband and wife Colin and Chris Weir, from Largs in Ayrshire, have won the £161m jackpot in Europe’s biggest lottery draw. The winning numbers in Tuesday’s EuroMillions draw were 17, 19, 38, 42 and 45, and the Lucky Stars were 9 and 10. The couple banked the entire jackpot – £161,653,000 – after several rollovers. They were unveiled as the winners on Friday at the Macdonald Inchyra hotel in Polmont, near Falkirk. The couple have been married for 30 years and have two children. Colin Weir, 64, who has worked as a TV cameraman and studio manager for 23 years, said: “When we first realised we had won, it felt like a dream. Everything went into slow motion. But it feels like a good thing; something we should not be afraid of but for us to enjoy with the children. “All our lives we have lived within our means and been comfortable. We appreciate that this money brings about a whole new life for us and our family. “We now have so many new opportunities to explore but we won’t rush it. For us, it will be a gradual change with choices to be made.” Chris Weir, 55, a former psychiatric nurse, said the couple were having a normal night in front of the TV on Tuesday evening until she checked the EuroMillions result at around midnight. “We had bought five Lucky Dips, as the jackpot was now so big,” she said. “I started circling the numbers I had matched but wasn’t doing very well. Then on the fifth line, all the circles seemed to join up. “I had all of them but couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I checked them three or four times before going back downstairs to find Colin. He knew immediately by my face and tone that something was up. “After checking many times together, the news gradually hit us. The Camelot line was closed for the night but we couldn’t sleep. We sat up all night and saw dawn come round the next morning. “We were tickled pink. I even had a glass of white wine, which is something I normally only do at Christmas. It really is unbelievable.” The couple, who have both had serious health conditions in recent years and been unable to work, are already thinking about new homes, cars and travel to China and Australia. They plan to buy homes for their son and daughter, who are considering their first driving lessons. The win will catapult the Weirs into 430th place in this year’s Sunday Times Rich List, not far below David and Victoria Beckham. The jackpot was capped at €185m after a series of rollovers made it the largest ever in Europe. Angela Kelly, from East Kilbride, who won a £35,425,411.80 EuroMillions jackpot in 2007, had previously been Scotland’s biggest lottery winner. Scotland Europe guardian.co.uk
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Italian designer celebrated for relaxed tailoring wins commission to kit out national team for 2012 Games Stratford looks set to rival Paris next summer as the most fashionable place in the world following the announcement that Giorgio Armani will dress the Italian athletes at the 2012 Olympic Games. Armani’s appointment will pitch Italy against Britain on the catwalk as well as the running track, as Stella McCartney is already dressing Team GB. It is thought that the Italian designer’s company EA7 – a sportswear line that is part of the brand’s diffusion line, Emporio Armani – will provide specially designed performance wear for the Italians. He is the third confirmed designer at the Games. In addition to McCartney, Cedella Marley, fashion designer and daughter of reggae legend Bob, is known to be kitting out the Jamaican team under an agreement with Puma. There is speculation that more designers might be appointed to design for their national teams. The commission confirms Armani’s status as the king of Italian fashion. The 77-year-old designer is known for his ability to create wearable clothes, and his fashion empire spans all levels of designer fashion – from haute couture to underwear. Armani is no stranger to the crossover between sport and fashion. Aside from his sportswear line and the occasional appearance at his catwalk shows of surf gear and other sports-inspired designs, Armani has recruited sports stars including David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo and Rafael Nadal to front his blockbuster Emporio Armani underwear campaigns. Armani has interests in the business side of sport – since 2004 he has been part owner of the Milanese basketball team Olimpia Milano. It is a considerable honour to be chosen to represent the country in such a high profile way. It illustrates how much a label is considered to be part of that country’s establishment — the very best it can offer in terms of fashion. But it is not just patriotism on the part of the designers – there is serious commercial gain too, a factor the billionaire designer, who privately owns his company, will no doubt be aware off. The exposure and boost to the designer’s profile is huge – there will be an estimated global audience of 4 billion people watching the opening ceremony, and fans are encouraged to buy related products. Fashion and the Olympics already have a proven relationship. At the Beijing Games in 2008, Ralph Lauren was chosen to dress the US team, producing an opening ceremony suit with a preppy feel. In Athens in 2004, Sophia Kokosalaki – a London-based, Greek-born designer – was responsible for overseeing all the costumes for the opening and closing ceremonies as well as the uniforms for both the teams and officials. US designer Vera Wang, known for her wedding gowns and herself a trained figure skater who represented her country, designed some of the skating costumes for the 2010 winter Games in Vancouver. If Armani’s Olympic designs are in keeping with his design aesthetic it is likely that the kit will focus on easy tailoring rather than the racier aspect of Italian fashion. Fashion designers Olympic Games 2012 Italy Stella McCartney Fashion Europe Imogen Fox guardian.co.uk
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UN applauds move to deal with dramatic increase in refugees fleeing drought and conflict in Somalia since the beginning of the year The Kenyan government has announced it will open a fourth refugee camp at Dadaab to accommodate the thousands of people fleeing drought and conflict in Somalia. According to reports on Thursday, Kenya’s prime minister, Raila Odinga, who visited Dadaab this week, said Ifo II camp would be opened on humanitarian grounds . The UN high commissioner for refugees, Antonio Guterres, has written to both Odinga and Mwai Kibaki, the president of Kenya, applauding the decision and promising the agency’s full support. Since Dadaab opened in 1991 to accommodate refugees escaping civil war in Somalia, a steady stream of people have been arriving there. However, severe food shortages and continued violence in Somalia have resulted in a dramatic increase in numbers since the beginning of the year, putting additional strain on already beleaguered resources. Dadaab, one of the world’s largest, most congested refugee camps, was declared full in 2008, but the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, said about 1,300 Somali refugees had recently been arriving daily. Up to five families are sharing plots designed for one family. Thousands of people are currently living in makeshift shelter outside the complex. NGOs have been pressing the Kenyan government to open the extension camp, which is expected to be operational within the next 10 days. The UNHCR said on Friday it expected its first delivery of tents for the new camp to arrive in Nairobi on Sunday. Six subsequent flights carrying equipment are expected over the next two weeks. According to the UN, as of Wednesday the total number of refugees in and around Dadaab was 439,000 – 380,000 registered and another 59,000 new arrivals living on the outskirts of the three existing camps, Ifo, Hagadera and Dagahaley. A UNHCR official at Dadaab, Fafa Attidzah, told AP the agency was “thankful” Ifo II has been given the go-ahead to open. “We are just happy and again we are thankful and we are grateful to the Kenyan government and to the Kenyan people for having allowed these refugees who are suffering to have a little bit of dignity by having somewhere where they could be accommodated,” Attidzah reportedly said. The NGO Médecins Sans Frontières, which has been working in Dadaab for 14 years, reported this week that extreme heat, lack of water and sanitation, delays in the registration of new arrivals and provision of food rations had resulted in difficult living conditions for new arrivals. There are particular concerns over the number of children suffering from malnutrition. MSF said on Thursday that last month’s three-day rapid nutritional assessment, during which 500 children between the ages of six months and five years were measured and weighed, found 37% were suffering from global acute malnutrition; of these, 17% were severely affected, with a high risk of death. Children up to the age of 10 were also showing elevated rates of malnutrition. “There is a high level of malnutrition. We are extremely concerned,” said Monica Rull, head of MSF projects in Kenya and Somalia. “I expected to find a difficult situation but not a catastrophic one,” explained Anita Sackl, the co-ordinator of the nutritional assessment. “The majority of new arrivals actually fled because they had nothing to eat, not just because their country has been at war for decades,” she added. Thousands of Somali refugees have also been crossing the border into Ethiopia and Djibouti. As of 30 June, more than 54,000 refugees had arrived in the Dolo Ado region of Ethiopia since the beginning of the year, bringing the total number of Somali refugees in Ethiopia to more than 135,000. A third refugee camp was opened in Dolo Ado last month. The UN estimates that at least 10 million people in east Africa will be in need of humanitarian assistance as a result of severe food shortages, failed harvest, rising food prices and conflict in the region. The UN and the UK’s Disasters Emergency Committee have launched appeals for funds to address the crisis. On Thursday, Kenya’s government pledged 9bn Kenyan shillings ($100m) to provide supplies to those hit by the drought. Malnutrition Kenya Somalia Africa Refugees Aid Ethiopia Famine Liz Ford guardian.co.uk
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