A whole range of weather will be on display at this year’s Glastonbury festival, from bursts of sunshine to wind and rain This year’s Glastonbury festival will see rain, cool breezes and temperatures as high as 23°C, according to the Met Office. Met Office spokeswoman Helen Chivers told the Guardian that low temperatures and sporadic showers will mark the beginning of the festival on Thursday 23 June, but will improve to finish on a mostly dry, warm Sunday. “Wednesday and Thursday will see a mixture of sunny spells and short, sharp showers. There’s already mud at Glastonbury because it has rained in the run-up to the festival. It will also feel a little cooler than normal for this time of year because there will be a breeze,” Chivers said. “But after that things really don’t look that bad,” she continued. “Friday should be mostly dry with sunny spells. There will be rain overnight, and on and off through Saturday. But the rain won’t be heavy – it will be a humid, damp and cloudy day.” Temperatures will steadily climb over the weekend, with night-time temperatures on Thursday at around 8 or 9°C. By Sunday, the rain is expected to clear and the sun will hopefully come out. “Sunday looks like the best day of the week,” said Chivers. “It is likely to be dry and hot, as high as 23°C. Sunny spells are expected throughout Sunday.” Glastonbury 2011 Glastonbury festival Pop and rock Festivals Weather Rosie Swash guardian.co.uk
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enlarge Credit: AARP As an American citizen, voting in elections is a right and the key to our democracy even if the overall turnout isn’t always what we’d hope for. I’ve said that if at least 75% of the population came out to vote, corporations would have a much harder time getting away with bribing politicians and littering the airwaves with political ads that try to influence your vote. The scam that the media never talks about is the purging of voting rolls to make it harder–not easier as they claim–for Americans to vote in elections. I covered the Indiana Voter ID scam that the Supreme Court upheld on back in 2008 quite extensively. Voter suppression has been a big weapon used by Republicans for decades. In the 2000 election, voter suppression in Florida gave America eight years of Bush. EJ Dione tackles the subject in his latest article, How states are rigging the 2012 election : An attack on the right to vote is underway across the country through laws designed to make it more difficult to cast a ballot. If this were happening in an emerging democracy, we’d condemn it as election-rigging. But it’s happening here, so there’s barely a whimper. The laws are being passed in the name of preventing “voter fraud.” But study after study has shown that fraud by voters is not a major problem — and is less of a problem than how hard many states make it for people to vote in the first place. Some of the new laws, notably those limiting the number of days for early voting, have little plausible connection to battling fraud. These statutes are not neutral. Their greatest impact will be to reduce turnout among African Americans, Latinos and the young. It is no accident that these groups were key to Barack Obama’s victory in 2008 — or that the laws in question are being enacted in states where Republicans control state governments. Again, think of what this would look like to a dispassionate observer. A party wins an election, as the GOP did in 2010. Then it changes the election laws in ways that benefit itself. In a democracy, the electorate is supposed to pick the politicians. With these laws, politicians are shaping their electorates. GOP leadership in more and more states will do everything they can to disenfranchise voters and that should be highlighted by our media as unconscionable, but they are AWOL on this issue, as usual. Washington Monthly: A party comfortable with the notion of limits probably wouldn’t even attempt such an audacious scheme . Under the auspices of rooting out non-existent “voter fraud,” Republicans are passing voter-ID measures, approving new laws restricting voter-registration drives, and closing early-voting windows. It’s not subtle, but it is disgraceful. The GOP fears losing in a fair fight, so the party is trying to rig the game. Dionne added, “In part because of a surge of voters who had not cast ballots before, the United States elected its first African American president in 2008. Are we now going to witness a subtle return of Jim Crow voting laws?” Pretty much. The point of the GOP scheme is surprisingly similar to Jim Crow-era measures — identifying those the right doesn’t want to vote and passing laws that put barriers between them and the ballot box. That this might actually affect the outcome of the 2012 election should be a national scandal. That this is occurring with minimal media coverage is a national embarrassment.
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• Press refresh or hit auto-update for the latest • Email paolo.bandini@guardian.co.uk with your thoughts • Click here for today’s order of play • Check out the latest scores here • You can even follow Paolo on Twitter, if that’s your thing 2.21pm: Rezai has just taken the second set against Williams, levelling things up at 6-3, 6-3. But I know you’re not interested in that – what you want to know is how Britain’s own Daniel Cox is getting on over on Court 14. I’m happy to report that after holding serve, Cox is now just 6-2, 6-4, 5-4 down – and has Stakhovsky right where he wants him. 2.14pm: Andy Roddick is doing his thing on Court 1, fizzing down serves at three times the speed of sound to leave Andreas Beck swishing his racket at thin air. Roddick presently leads 6-4, 4-3. Meantime, Alan McWhinney puts me on the spot. “Who would your preference be for best-looking male tennis player of all time,” he demands. Bjorn Borg, clearly. How can you argue with all that hair? 2pm: Time for an email. “Why are there so many empty seats on centre and No 1 courts? (admittedly there are not so many empty seats to see Serena Williams, but Murray’s match last night was half-empty, as were several singles yesterday),” demands someone claiming to be called DJ Sven. “This is the first week singles, when it is virtually impossible to get on to the show courts without queuing for days. You can only assume that these non-occupants must be there on some corporate jolly and are away in some tent stuffing themselves with smoked salmon and not letting the tennis get in the way of their massively important corporate networking. It is a total scandal (not to mention a good way of completely undermining the atmosphere and the value of the championships) that these fat cats are taking seats away from real fans who are camping on the street to get into the ground. Grrrrr!” Well Wimbledon doesn’t give out Corporate seats in the same way as, say the Olympics, Sven, but there will certainly be plenty of debenture holders who have regular access and therefore feel less anxious about being there all the time. Some, indeed, will use the opportunity to invite business associates here and may be more concerned with the talk over lunch than the tennis itself. But it’s also true that some who spend all that money on tickets for the show courts do so because they want to see one match in particular. When that match isn’t on, they might prefer to watch a match on an outside court than the one that happens to be on Centre. 1.55pm: And now some actual news from Twitter – Jamie Murray has just informed the world that he has found himself a partner for the mixed doubles. I have a mixed partner! I’ll be playing this year with Jarmila Gajdosova! 1.52pm: A most perplexing missive from the official Wimbledon Twitter account. Vote now for the best-looking male player in history of #Wimbledon http://bit.ly/kUQXSk Federer currently leading Nadal. Do U agree? Federer, the best-looking of all-time? Really ? 1.49pm: Yeah, that little run is now over. Williams holds serve to take the set. Over on court 14, Britain’s Daniel Cox is going down in entirely predictable flames against Stakhovsky, trailing 6-2, 5-4. 1.43pm: We return to Centre Court to find Rezai clinging on desperately in the first set – 5-2 down and serving to stay in the set. She gets there, too, watching Williams clump a backhand long at 40-30. Meaning that so far Rezai has won three out of three games when I’ve been watching, and nought out of five when I haven’t. Just saying. 1.40pm: Now for something completely different. Tennis, like it used to be. 1.36pm: Keothavong gets into the spirit of things with a huge “Com’ ON!” as she brings up match point at 40-30, but Broady hangs on in there, bludgeoning a two-handed backhand across from right to left to leave her opponent stranded. No matter – Keothavong quickly brings up another, and seals the match with as Broady’s attempt to parry her serve sails an inch long. It was never really in doubt in the end: Keothavong served better and returned better. But it goes without saying that she may find things rather trickier against the eighth seed Kvitova in the second round. 1.28pm: Serena Williams has broken back to tie the first set at 2-2 against Rezai, but I can’t tell you any more than that because I’ve flicked back to the all-British affair on Court 12. Broady ends a lengthy deuce to hold serve with a deft backhand dropshot, but Keothavong will now have the opportunity now to serve for the match. 1.22pm: That said, it is a shame they couldn’t have got Ms Ross to pitch in with some kind of opening ceremony … 1.20pm: Rezai shows what I know by breaking Williams’s opening service game. Diana Ross has been spotted watching on Centre Court. With rain forecast for this afternoon, let’s just say it’s a more promising start than Cliff Richard. 1.17pm: The first British winner of the day could be confirmed shortly, too, as Keothavong has broken Broady again in the second set and leads 6-2, 6-4. That Glatch win, meanwhile, means Daniel Cox will be up shortly on Court 14 for his match against Sergiy Stakhovksy. 1.15pm: The first two results of the day are in. Petra Kvitova has beaten Alexa Glatch 6-2, 6-2; while Tsvetana Pironkova overcame Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-1. 1.06pm: A lot of people have tipped this match between Rezai and Williams as a potential upset – a comment that surely stems at least in part from memories of the Frenchwoman’s win over Venus Williams in last year’s Madrid Open final. Certainly Rezai has the raw power to trouble anybody, but in truth that is not a quality Serena Williams traditionally has that much trouble with. Of course there is uncertainty over the American given the extent to which the various surgeries to her foot and lung have disrupted her year, but Rezai too has had her share of difficulties off the court – most notably a very public falling out with her father. Earlier this month, she was reported to have contacted the police in France, accusing him of ‘harassment, intentional violence and death threats’, as well as ‘swindling tens of thousands of euros’ . 1.03pm: “I know of at least one underdog who absolutely no one is fond of ,” notes Sam Brydges. Fair. 1.01pm: Unlike her sister yesterday, Serena Williams is out on time to get things started on Centre Court. Also unlike her sister, she has opted for a sensible cardigan. 12.57pm: With the cricket Test series against Sri Lanka finished, my colleague Matt Scott spotted some familiar faces making their way through the gates. He writes: England’s victorious cricketers have headed to Wimbledon this week fter their success in the Sri Lanka Test series. (Actually, it was more of a two-part mini-series than a proper examination of Test mettle, but history records it as a win so who are we to judge?) Everyone from James Anderson to Jonathan Trott, with Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton thrown in, are present. And at 6ft 7in it was impossible to miss Chris Tremlett on the way to his seat. So I confronted him to ask if this was his opportunity to interrogate the royals about the piecemeal distribution of gongs in the recent Queen’s Birthday Honours to the England cricket team, with Alistair Cook MBE and Andrew Strauss OBE the only players recognised from among the Ashes winners. “No, no I won’t be doing that,” said the seamer who has taken 45 Test wickets at 25.20. “But I did notice they all went to the batters,” he added, before remembering he was talking to a journalist. “…Although they did deserve it. 12.51pm: Keothavong takes the first set as Broady clumps a forehand into the net. Does this now make her the underdog? We’re supposed to love them right? Just behind the umpire, a nice lady in a twinset and pearls breaks down at the sheer confusion of it all. 12.44pm: For the record Niland is actually the first Irishman to play at Wimbledon since 1980 – not 1984, as our very own Simon Cambers explains. The American-born and raised Matt Doyle became an Irish citizen in 1985, but his last appearance at Wimbledon came the year before, when he was still a United States player. So instead Niland will be following in the footsteps of Sean Sorensen, who lost to Rod Laver in the first round in 1977 and played for a second time in 1980. 12.42pm: Middle Britain aren’t the only ones with their flags out today, as deeman1782 notes below the line. “Come on Conor Niland, the 1st Irishman to play in Wimbledon since 1984,” he hurrahs. Niland, ranked 184th in the world, is here very much on merit having battled through three rounds of qualifying in Roehampton this week, but his opponent Adrian Mannarino will be the strong favourite when they trot out on Court 17 later today (they are third up on the court). The pair have only played once – Niland losing in three sets at a Futures tournament back in 2006 – but the 22-year-old Mannarino is playing the best tennis of his career, and threatening to break into the top 50. 12.35pm: Scratch that last comment – Broady just lost her own serve to love. Plus she screeched at one point. Terribly un-British. Has she got some foreign parentage this can be blamed on, muses the lady in the floral hat to the plump man next to her, as he chomps into another strawberry sandwich. Keothavong leads 3-2. Elsewhere on the show courts, Radek Stepanek has broken Fernando Verdasco and leads 3-1. Jelena Jankovic, meanwhile, is level at 3-3 with Maria Jose Martinez. Which probably makes a nice change for her from being asked questions about how Jamie Murray used to flirt with her several years ago. 12.31pm: IIt was awful and it cost me £100000000000,” anounces Oliver Lewis in response to my strawberry sandwich review request. “Hand it over!” Sadly Oliver, your ruse has been blown. I have it on good information that the snack in question is available for just a single English pound. Which probably doesn’t say much for the quality of the strawberries. 12.24pm: Conflict is a-brewing on Court 12, as literally dozens of polite middle-aged men and women struggle to determine which out of Broady and Keothavong they should clap more loudly for. Keothavong would seem the natural choice – Broady, after all, is the bad girl of British tennis, one who famously had her LTA funding cut in 2007 after being photographed *gasp* eating pizza and *faint* posing in a flirty manner. But on the other hand, at 21, Broady’s career is the one with greater upside than Keothavong, whose career has been on a downhill curve since breaking into the top 50 in 2009. Plus she’s got a mean serve and meaty groundstrokes, and most importantly … is winning 2-1 in the first set. 12.17pm: The most troubling piece of news to cross my desk so far today: apparently Tesco are flogging Wimbledon-themed strawberries and cream sandwiches . If anyone is prepared to sample said monstrosity, I will happily reimburse the cost of purchase in return for a review and/or pictures. 12.11pm: And they’re off. Broady biffs down a series of big serves to hold her first service game to 15. An awkward camera angle then makes it briefly appear as though the ball boy is giving her a pat on the bum for encouragement. I’m at least 87% sure that isn’t what happened. 12.06pm: Keothavong and Broady are out promptly to knock up on Court 12. Our man Owen Gibson tweets: Combining two of middle England’s favourite things: Queues at court 12 for the guarantee of a British winner between Keothavang and Broady. 12pm: For those who missed yesterday’s action, or simply have very short memories, here’s a quick refresher: • Andy Murray romped past Daniel Gimeno-Traver and into the second round, but not before fulfilling his contractual obligation to blow a set needlessly and get Middle Britain unnecessarily anxious . • Boris Becker made controversial remarks about Murray’s mother . • Rafael Nadal won. Obviously . • Britain’s Katie O’Brien lost to a formerly retired 40-year-old , then drank some Pimms . • Venus Williams wore a playsuit . Up in the Royal Box, so did Rear Admiral Kilgour . 11.45am: Morning folks. The wind is blowing and the sun fighting a losing battle to be seen behind the grey clouds hovering ominously over SW19, but with a quarter of an hour to go before play starts on the outside courts the good news is that there is not yet any sign of rain. Good thing too – after a restless night camped outside the gates, one or two fans are taking the opportunity to get some shut-eye on the outer courts . Best to get it in now, as we have an eventful day coming up, including: • All three of Serena Williams , Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic (in that order) in action on centre court – as well as Andy Roddick, Robin Soderling and the women’s No1 Caroline Wozniacki on court 1. • An improbable first-round rematch between the most gifted undead tennis players you’re ever likely to see . Last year the decaying corpses of John Isner and Nicolas Mahut went at it for an incredible 183 games in a match that lasted 11 hours and five minutes and had to be played across three days. Today they are fourth up on the recently revamped Court 3 – assuming the weather holds. • Most importantly of all, today we will see A British Winner . In fact, we could even see more than one – a total of eight British players are in action today – but with Naomi Broady taking on Anne Keothavong in today’s first match on Court 12, the prospect of a total failure has at least been eliminated. Wimbledon 2011 Wimbledon Serena Williams Roger Federer Tennis Paolo Bandini guardian.co.uk
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• Press refresh or hit auto-update for the latest • Email paolo.bandini@guardian.co.uk with your thoughts • Click here for today’s order of play • Check out the latest scores here • You can even follow Paolo on Twitter, if that’s your thing 2.21pm: Rezai has just taken the second set against Williams, levelling things up at 6-3, 6-3. But I know you’re not interested in that – what you want to know is how Britain’s own Daniel Cox is getting on over on Court 14. I’m happy to report that after holding serve, Cox is now just 6-2, 6-4, 5-4 down – and has Stakhovsky right where he wants him. 2.14pm: Andy Roddick is doing his thing on Court 1, fizzing down serves at three times the speed of sound to leave Andreas Beck swishing his racket at thin air. Roddick presently leads 6-4, 4-3. Meantime, Alan McWhinney puts me on the spot. “Who would your preference be for best-looking male tennis player of all time,” he demands. Bjorn Borg, clearly. How can you argue with all that hair? 2pm: Time for an email. “Why are there so many empty seats on centre and No 1 courts? (admittedly there are not so many empty seats to see Serena Williams, but Murray’s match last night was half-empty, as were several singles yesterday),” demands someone claiming to be called DJ Sven. “This is the first week singles, when it is virtually impossible to get on to the show courts without queuing for days. You can only assume that these non-occupants must be there on some corporate jolly and are away in some tent stuffing themselves with smoked salmon and not letting the tennis get in the way of their massively important corporate networking. It is a total scandal (not to mention a good way of completely undermining the atmosphere and the value of the championships) that these fat cats are taking seats away from real fans who are camping on the street to get into the ground. Grrrrr!” Well Wimbledon doesn’t give out Corporate seats in the same way as, say the Olympics, Sven, but there will certainly be plenty of debenture holders who have regular access and therefore feel less anxious about being there all the time. Some, indeed, will use the opportunity to invite business associates here and may be more concerned with the talk over lunch than the tennis itself. But it’s also true that some who spend all that money on tickets for the show courts do so because they want to see one match in particular. When that match isn’t on, they might prefer to watch a match on an outside court than the one that happens to be on Centre. 1.55pm: And now some actual news from Twitter – Jamie Murray has just informed the world that he has found himself a partner for the mixed doubles. I have a mixed partner! I’ll be playing this year with Jarmila Gajdosova! 1.52pm: A most perplexing missive from the official Wimbledon Twitter account. Vote now for the best-looking male player in history of #Wimbledon http://bit.ly/kUQXSk Federer currently leading Nadal. Do U agree? Federer, the best-looking of all-time? Really ? 1.49pm: Yeah, that little run is now over. Williams holds serve to take the set. Over on court 14, Britain’s Daniel Cox is going down in entirely predictable flames against Stakhovsky, trailing 6-2, 5-4. 1.43pm: We return to Centre Court to find Rezai clinging on desperately in the first set – 5-2 down and serving to stay in the set. She gets there, too, watching Williams clump a backhand long at 40-30. Meaning that so far Rezai has won three out of three games when I’ve been watching, and nought out of five when I haven’t. Just saying. 1.40pm: Now for something completely different. Tennis, like it used to be. 1.36pm: Keothavong gets into the spirit of things with a huge “Com’ ON!” as she brings up match point at 40-30, but Broady hangs on in there, bludgeoning a two-handed backhand across from right to left to leave her opponent stranded. No matter – Keothavong quickly brings up another, and seals the match with as Broady’s attempt to parry her serve sails an inch long. It was never really in doubt in the end: Keothavong served better and returned better. But it goes without saying that she may find things rather trickier against the eighth seed Kvitova in the second round. 1.28pm: Serena Williams has broken back to tie the first set at 2-2 against Rezai, but I can’t tell you any more than that because I’ve flicked back to the all-British affair on Court 12. Broady ends a lengthy deuce to hold serve with a deft backhand dropshot, but Keothavong will now have the opportunity now to serve for the match. 1.22pm: That said, it is a shame they couldn’t have got Ms Ross to pitch in with some kind of opening ceremony … 1.20pm: Rezai shows what I know by breaking Williams’s opening service game. Diana Ross has been spotted watching on Centre Court. With rain forecast for this afternoon, let’s just say it’s a more promising start than Cliff Richard. 1.17pm: The first British winner of the day could be confirmed shortly, too, as Keothavong has broken Broady again in the second set and leads 6-2, 6-4. That Glatch win, meanwhile, means Daniel Cox will be up shortly on Court 14 for his match against Sergiy Stakhovksy. 1.15pm: The first two results of the day are in. Petra Kvitova has beaten Alexa Glatch 6-2, 6-2; while Tsvetana Pironkova overcame Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-1. 1.06pm: A lot of people have tipped this match between Rezai and Williams as a potential upset – a comment that surely stems at least in part from memories of the Frenchwoman’s win over Venus Williams in last year’s Madrid Open final. Certainly Rezai has the raw power to trouble anybody, but in truth that is not a quality Serena Williams traditionally has that much trouble with. Of course there is uncertainty over the American given the extent to which the various surgeries to her foot and lung have disrupted her year, but Rezai too has had her share of difficulties off the court – most notably a very public falling out with her father. Earlier this month, she was reported to have contacted the police in France, accusing him of ‘harassment, intentional violence and death threats’, as well as ‘swindling tens of thousands of euros’ . 1.03pm: “I know of at least one underdog who absolutely no one is fond of ,” notes Sam Brydges. Fair. 1.01pm: Unlike her sister yesterday, Serena Williams is out on time to get things started on Centre Court. Also unlike her sister, she has opted for a sensible cardigan. 12.57pm: With the cricket Test series against Sri Lanka finished, my colleague Matt Scott spotted some familiar faces making their way through the gates. He writes: England’s victorious cricketers have headed to Wimbledon this week fter their success in the Sri Lanka Test series. (Actually, it was more of a two-part mini-series than a proper examination of Test mettle, but history records it as a win so who are we to judge?) Everyone from James Anderson to Jonathan Trott, with Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton thrown in, are present. And at 6ft 7in it was impossible to miss Chris Tremlett on the way to his seat. So I confronted him to ask if this was his opportunity to interrogate the royals about the piecemeal distribution of gongs in the recent Queen’s Birthday Honours to the England cricket team, with Alistair Cook MBE and Andrew Strauss OBE the only players recognised from among the Ashes winners. “No, no I won’t be doing that,” said the seamer who has taken 45 Test wickets at 25.20. “But I did notice they all went to the batters,” he added, before remembering he was talking to a journalist. “…Although they did deserve it. 12.51pm: Keothavong takes the first set as Broady clumps a forehand into the net. Does this now make her the underdog? We’re supposed to love them right? Just behind the umpire, a nice lady in a twinset and pearls breaks down at the sheer confusion of it all. 12.44pm: For the record Niland is actually the first Irishman to play at Wimbledon since 1980 – not 1984, as our very own Simon Cambers explains. The American-born and raised Matt Doyle became an Irish citizen in 1985, but his last appearance at Wimbledon came the year before, when he was still a United States player. So instead Niland will be following in the footsteps of Sean Sorensen, who lost to Rod Laver in the first round in 1977 and played for a second time in 1980. 12.42pm: Middle Britain aren’t the only ones with their flags out today, as deeman1782 notes below the line. “Come on Conor Niland, the 1st Irishman to play in Wimbledon since 1984,” he hurrahs. Niland, ranked 184th in the world, is here very much on merit having battled through three rounds of qualifying in Roehampton this week, but his opponent Adrian Mannarino will be the strong favourite when they trot out on Court 17 later today (they are third up on the court). The pair have only played once – Niland losing in three sets at a Futures tournament back in 2006 – but the 22-year-old Mannarino is playing the best tennis of his career, and threatening to break into the top 50. 12.35pm: Scratch that last comment – Broady just lost her own serve to love. Plus she screeched at one point. Terribly un-British. Has she got some foreign parentage this can be blamed on, muses the lady in the floral hat to the plump man next to her, as he chomps into another strawberry sandwich. Keothavong leads 3-2. Elsewhere on the show courts, Radek Stepanek has broken Fernando Verdasco and leads 3-1. Jelena Jankovic, meanwhile, is level at 3-3 with Maria Jose Martinez. Which probably makes a nice change for her from being asked questions about how Jamie Murray used to flirt with her several years ago. 12.31pm: IIt was awful and it cost me £100000000000,” anounces Oliver Lewis in response to my strawberry sandwich review request. “Hand it over!” Sadly Oliver, your ruse has been blown. I have it on good information that the snack in question is available for just a single English pound. Which probably doesn’t say much for the quality of the strawberries. 12.24pm: Conflict is a-brewing on Court 12, as literally dozens of polite middle-aged men and women struggle to determine which out of Broady and Keothavong they should clap more loudly for. Keothavong would seem the natural choice – Broady, after all, is the bad girl of British tennis, one who famously had her LTA funding cut in 2007 after being photographed *gasp* eating pizza and *faint* posing in a flirty manner. But on the other hand, at 21, Broady’s career is the one with greater upside than Keothavong, whose career has been on a downhill curve since breaking into the top 50 in 2009. Plus she’s got a mean serve and meaty groundstrokes, and most importantly … is winning 2-1 in the first set. 12.17pm: The most troubling piece of news to cross my desk so far today: apparently Tesco are flogging Wimbledon-themed strawberries and cream sandwiches . If anyone is prepared to sample said monstrosity, I will happily reimburse the cost of purchase in return for a review and/or pictures. 12.11pm: And they’re off. Broady biffs down a series of big serves to hold her first service game to 15. An awkward camera angle then makes it briefly appear as though the ball boy is giving her a pat on the bum for encouragement. I’m at least 87% sure that isn’t what happened. 12.06pm: Keothavong and Broady are out promptly to knock up on Court 12. Our man Owen Gibson tweets: Combining two of middle England’s favourite things: Queues at court 12 for the guarantee of a British winner between Keothavang and Broady. 12pm: For those who missed yesterday’s action, or simply have very short memories, here’s a quick refresher: • Andy Murray romped past Daniel Gimeno-Traver and into the second round, but not before fulfilling his contractual obligation to blow a set needlessly and get Middle Britain unnecessarily anxious . • Boris Becker made controversial remarks about Murray’s mother . • Rafael Nadal won. Obviously . • Britain’s Katie O’Brien lost to a formerly retired 40-year-old , then drank some Pimms . • Venus Williams wore a playsuit . Up in the Royal Box, so did Rear Admiral Kilgour . 11.45am: Morning folks. The wind is blowing and the sun fighting a losing battle to be seen behind the grey clouds hovering ominously over SW19, but with a quarter of an hour to go before play starts on the outside courts the good news is that there is not yet any sign of rain. Good thing too – after a restless night camped outside the gates, one or two fans are taking the opportunity to get some shut-eye on the outer courts . Best to get it in now, as we have an eventful day coming up, including: • All three of Serena Williams , Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic (in that order) in action on centre court – as well as Andy Roddick, Robin Soderling and the women’s No1 Caroline Wozniacki on court 1. • An improbable first-round rematch between the most gifted undead tennis players you’re ever likely to see . Last year the decaying corpses of John Isner and Nicolas Mahut went at it for an incredible 183 games in a match that lasted 11 hours and five minutes and had to be played across three days. Today they are fourth up on the recently revamped Court 3 – assuming the weather holds. • Most importantly of all, today we will see A British Winner . In fact, we could even see more than one – a total of eight British players are in action today – but with Naomi Broady taking on Anne Keothavong in today’s first match on Court 12, the prospect of a total failure has at least been eliminated. Wimbledon 2011 Wimbledon Serena Williams Roger Federer Tennis Paolo Bandini guardian.co.uk
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Two guards suspended for offensive comments posted on page belonging to man under investigation for alleged manslaughter A guard under investigation for the alleged manslaughter of Angolan detainee Jimmy Mubenga has used his Facebook page to post a mocking photograph of two other men, assumed to be other detainees, on an aircraft. Terence Hughes, from Portsmouth, who was arrested over Mubenga’s death last year and remains on bail, placed the image of two south Asian men on the social networking site last month. The Guardian can reveal Hughes has permitted a number of friends to post a string of racist and offensive comments below the image. Some of the posters are other guards accredited by the Home Office to escort detainees. The comments include offensive remarks about the men’s appearances, suggestions they should be on the “London to Bradford Express” and a joke that the men should have been in handcuffs shouting “kill me now”. Two serving guards have been suspended as a result of the Guardian’s investigation into the Facebook postings. Jonathan Sedgwick, acting chief executive of UK Border Agency, expressed his “deep concern” and said the Home Office had requested an immediate investigation. Sedgwick said: “None of the staff involved will work for the UK Border Agency while these claims are investigated. The prisons and probation ombudsman will begin an investigation into these allegations, at our request.” Mubenga, 46, a father of five, died on a British Airways aircraft preparing to depart from Heathrow airport for Angola in October. Passengers on BA flight 77 later said guards forcibly restrained Mubenga, who had been complaining he could not breath. One of the witnesses said Mubenga, who was in handcuffs, could be heard pleading for help and screaming: “They are going to kill me.” Hughes and the other two guards on the flight were arrested days later and suspended by their-then employer, the private security contractor G4S. Detectives from the Metropolitan police’s homicide unit are still investigating Mubenga’s death and considering whether to charge the guards with manslaughter. Police are liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service and may alternatively bring a corporate manslaughter charge against G4S, which recently lost its contract with the Home Office to deport foreign nationals. European employment regulations resulted in Hughes and other G4S staff being transferred to rival security firm Reliance when it won the contract for removals. Although their employer has changed, all three guards investigated over Mubenga’s death remain suspended. Two other serving guards employed by Reliance were suspended on Monday after it emerged they were among a list of Facebook friends of Hughes who left offensive comments beneath the photograph. “We are conducting a comprehensive investigation into these allegations and, should these be proven, we will take further steps which may result in the dismissal of those concerned or involved,” the company said. It was not known who the men pictured in the Facebook photograph are, or even whether they were detainees. Sources with detailed knowledge of immigration removals say guards sometimes take “trophy” photographs of detainees in their custody but the image may also have been sourced from the internet. Hughes posted the image on 8 May, along with the comment: ‘come on then….. whats up with this pic!’. His Facebook friends appear to have assumed the photograph to show two detainees, one of whom had mistakenly placed his aircraft seatbelt across his shoulder. The first comment was by a Facebook friend who gave his name as Matt McGrath and joked that one of the men had “Botox on his lips”. Another Facebook friend, Darren Parker, stated that he, too, had escorted a “depo” who had placed his seatbelt on incorrectly. Contacted this week, Parker denied his comment was offensive and expressed doubt over whether the picture was of detainees, adding: “It’s a funny picture regardless who they are”. The comments thread contains a number of references to handcuffs, seating arrangements and codes for notorious flights used to deport foreign nationals, an indication that some of those posting work in immigration removals. Another Facebook friend, Darren Barrow, wrote: “He hasn’t got two hairy arsed escorts either side of him. No cuffs and not shouting “Kill me now, I’m not a hanimal” lol [laugh out loud].” Contacted this week, he also suggested the image was sourced from the internet but gave no explanation for his Facebook posting. Another Facebook friend to post a comment beneath the photograph, Hardy Kohar, wrote: “Such a dumb fuck this bloke, first time on a plane & No Engrish lol.” Facebook has a user-friendly facility for deleting any messages that are offensive, but Hughes, who had Facebook privacy settings that allowed members of the public to see his page, made no attempt to remove the remarks. He has also made a number of other offensive postings on his Facebook page in recent months, including an apparent joke in January about a “smelly Arab”. Jimmy Mubenga Immigration and asylum Race issues Facebook Internet Social networking Paul Lewis Matthew Taylor guardian.co.uk
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TalkSport presenter accepts £20,000 from News of the World publisher, following Sienna Miller’s settlement last month TalkSport presenter Andy Gray has accepted £20,000 from News of the World publisher News Group to settle his phone-hacking claim against the newspaper. The newspaper group reached a similar agreement last month with actor Sienna Miller, who dropped her action and received £100,000 in damages. Gray was one of five phone-hacking test cases that were due to be go to court in January next year. Gray’s legal costs will also be met. News International said in a statement: “News Group Newspapers announces today that it has reached an agreement with Andy Gray to pay him £20,000 in damages plus undisclosed costs. “This concludes the action Andy Gray was taking against NGN over voicemail interception in relation to the News of the World.” News International announced last week that a former high court judge, Sir Charles Gray, had been appointed to administer it’s phone-hacking compensation scheme, which it is setting up to encourage victims to settle instead of pursing their civil claims through the courts. It is offering to pay them 10% more than the amount the courts are likely to award in damages, plus legal costs, once the scheme is set up later this year. The company has set aside up to £20m to pay off claimants it believes have a reasonable chance of winning their court cases. Gray’s was to be one of fives cases due to be heard in January 2012 along with those of Labour MP and former minister Chris Bryant, interior designer Kelly Hoppen, actor Jude Law and football agent Sky Andrew. One of the five reserve cases chosen by Justice Vos in May is now likely to be heard as part of next year’s trial in place of Gray’s case. They are being brought by Nicola Phillips, a publicist who used to work for Max Clifford, former MP George Galloway, former England footballer Paul Gascoigne, Mary-Ellen Field, who was employed as a PR adviser to Elle MacPherson, and comedian Steve Coogan. •
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Police question 19-year-old man over claimed wave of attacks hitting Soca, the US Senate, the CIA, Nintendo and Sony The international hunt for hackers believed to have staged high-profile attacks on websites ranging from law enforcement bodies to Sony has led to the arrest of a teenager based in Essex, police say. The hackers known as LulzSec claim to have been behind attacks on websites around the world, including the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca), the US Senate and the CIA, as well as the games firms Nintendo and Sony. British police said intelligence led them to arrest the 19-year-old at a home in Wickford, Essex, over the distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. The operation involved two British forces as well as the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The police said they believed the attacks were linked and were carried out by the same group of hackers. The teenager was being questioned at a London police station while specialist officers examined computer equipment seized from the address he was arrested at. The Metropolitan police said: “Officers from the Metropolitan police central e-crime unit (PCeU) have arrested a 19-year-old man in a pre-planned intelligence-led operation. “The arrest follows an investigation into network intrusions and DDoS attacks against a number of international business and intelligence agencies by what is believed to be the same hacking group. “The teenager was arrested on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act and Fraud Act offences and was taken to a central London police station, where he currently remains in custody for questioning. “Searches at a residential address in Wickford, Essex, following the arrest last night have led to the examination of a significant amount of material. These forensic examinations remain ongoing. “The PCeU was assisted by officers from Essex police and has been working in co-operation with the FBI.” LulzSec claimed on Tuesday to have hacked the UK census and said it was holding the information under “lock and key” until it had reformatted it for publication. The Office for National Statistics said it was investigating claims that the census data had been unlawfully accessed. It said: “We are aware of the suggestion that census data has been accessed. We are working with our security advisers and contractors to establish whether there is any substance to this. “The 2011 census places the highest priority on maintaining the security of personal data. At this stage we have no evidence to suggest that any such compromise has occurred.” On Monday, Soca, the UK national law enforcement unit dubbed the “British FBI”, was forced to take its website offline after an apparent attack. The website was still down early on Tuesday but was back in service later in the morning. In a message posted on Twitter on Monday, LulzSec said: “Tango down – soca.gov.uk – in the name of #AntiSec.” The group later added: “DDoS is of course our least powerful and most abundant ammunition. Government hacking is taking place right now behind the scenes. #AntiSec.” The next day, LulzSec warned again on Twitter of its plans to step up the attacks by hacking into government websites and stealing confidential documents. “Our next step is to categorise and format leaked items we acquire and release them in #AntiSec ‘payloads’ on our website and The Pirate Bay,” the group said. Crime Hacking Sony FBI CIA Nintendo Vikram Dodd Josh Halliday guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Police question 19-year-old man over claimed wave of attacks hitting Soca, the US Senate, the CIA, Nintendo and Sony The international hunt for hackers believed to have staged high-profile attacks on websites ranging from law enforcement bodies to Sony has led to the arrest of a teenager based in Essex, police say. The hackers known as LulzSec claim to have been behind attacks on websites around the world, including the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca), the US Senate and the CIA, as well as the games firms Nintendo and Sony. British police said intelligence led them to arrest the 19-year-old at a home in Wickford, Essex, over the distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. The operation involved two British forces as well as the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The police said they believed the attacks were linked and were carried out by the same group of hackers. The teenager was being questioned at a London police station while specialist officers examined computer equipment seized from the address he was arrested at. The Metropolitan police said: “Officers from the Metropolitan police central e-crime unit (PCeU) have arrested a 19-year-old man in a pre-planned intelligence-led operation. “The arrest follows an investigation into network intrusions and DDoS attacks against a number of international business and intelligence agencies by what is believed to be the same hacking group. “The teenager was arrested on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act and Fraud Act offences and was taken to a central London police station, where he currently remains in custody for questioning. “Searches at a residential address in Wickford, Essex, following the arrest last night have led to the examination of a significant amount of material. These forensic examinations remain ongoing. “The PCeU was assisted by officers from Essex police and has been working in co-operation with the FBI.” LulzSec claimed on Tuesday to have hacked the UK census and said it was holding the information under “lock and key” until it had reformatted it for publication. The Office for National Statistics said it was investigating claims that the census data had been unlawfully accessed. It said: “We are aware of the suggestion that census data has been accessed. We are working with our security advisers and contractors to establish whether there is any substance to this. “The 2011 census places the highest priority on maintaining the security of personal data. At this stage we have no evidence to suggest that any such compromise has occurred.” On Monday, Soca, the UK national law enforcement unit dubbed the “British FBI”, was forced to take its website offline after an apparent attack. The website was still down early on Tuesday but was back in service later in the morning. In a message posted on Twitter on Monday, LulzSec said: “Tango down – soca.gov.uk – in the name of #AntiSec.” The group later added: “DDoS is of course our least powerful and most abundant ammunition. Government hacking is taking place right now behind the scenes. #AntiSec.” The next day, LulzSec warned again on Twitter of its plans to step up the attacks by hacking into government websites and stealing confidential documents. “Our next step is to categorise and format leaked items we acquire and release them in #AntiSec ‘payloads’ on our website and The Pirate Bay,” the group said. Crime Hacking Sony FBI CIA Nintendo Vikram Dodd Josh Halliday guardian.co.uk
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PM’s speech reveals plan to abandon 50% discounts for early guilty pleas and to increase terms for serious offenders David Cameron has outlined plans to hand out a greater number of life sentences and increase the amount of time serious offenders spend in prison, in a major policy U-turn. The prime minister outlined his tough approach to sentencing as he confirmed his decision to abandon plans to offer 50% sentence discounts to offenders who submit early guilty pleas amid media tabloid accusations that the government was engaging in “soft justice”. Cameron told a press conference that dangerous criminals will be locked up “for a very long time” as described his mission to ensure families can “feel safe in their homes” and on the streets. Sentences would have been too lenient and criminals would have been sent the “wrong message” if plans to halve jail terms for offenders who plead guilty early had gone ahead, he told a press conference. Savings of some £100m that would have been made through the plans will now be sought instead through “greater efficiency” elsewhere in justice secretary Kenneth Clarke’s department. The prime minister also denied that the U-turn was a sign of weak government, insisting that the ability to reconsider policy following a consultation displayed “strength” and leadership. Talking of his decision to scrap the plans to offer 50% sentence discounts, Cameron said: “The sentence served would depart far too much from the sentence handed down by the judge, and this is simply not acceptable. The sentence would be too lenient, the wrong message would be sent out to the criminal and it would erode public confidence in the system.” In a notable shift from the original sentencing plans, Cameron said the government would look at keeping serious criminals in prison longer as part of a review of indeterminate jail sentences. It was a “tough” new approach. “We’re going to review the existing system urgently with a view to replacing it with an alternative that is clear, tough and better understood by the public,” said Cameron. This alternative system would include a “greater number of life sentences, including mandatory life sentences for the most serious repeat offenders”, he said. “Instead of serious, sexual and violent offenders being released halfway through their sentence, we propose they should spend at least two-thirds of that sentence in prison, and that such offenders should never again be released early without the parole board being satisfied that it is safe to let this happen.” Dangerous offenders should also take part in compulsory programmes behind bars to make them change their behaviour, the premier said. Legislation is expected in the autumn. “The public need to know that dangerous criminals will be locked up for a very long time. I’m determined that they will be.” Despite announcing the latest in a series of policy U-turns, Cameron insisted his government was “extremely strong, resolute and determined” and that abandoning the 50% discounts was a sign of “strength and confidence” that the coalition was prepared to listen and change its mind. The “weak thing to do” was to keep “ploughing on” when consultations on reform indicated there were better ways of doing things. “The tough, strong thing to do is to say ‘yes, we can make these plans better’,” he said, adding that that was what the government had done on both sentencing and the NHS. “I don’t for one minute think that somehow it is weak to listen and then to act, it is a sign of strength and confidence.” Cameron also faced down calls to sack his justice secretary, Kenneth Clarke, whom he described as “an extremely effective minister” with a “hugely difficult job to do”. Clarke was robust and prepared enough to listen to what other people had said and come up “with something better”, he said. David Cameron Crime Kenneth Clarke Prisons and probation Conservatives Hélène Mulholland guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …PM’s speech reveals plan to abandon 50% discounts for early guilty pleas and to increase terms for serious offenders David Cameron has outlined plans to hand out a greater number of life sentences and increase the amount of time serious offenders spend in prison, in a major policy U-turn. The prime minister outlined his tough approach to sentencing as he confirmed his decision to abandon plans to offer 50% sentence discounts to offenders who submit early guilty pleas amid media tabloid accusations that the government was engaging in “soft justice”. Cameron told a press conference that dangerous criminals will be locked up “for a very long time” as described his mission to ensure families can “feel safe in their homes” and on the streets. Sentences would have been too lenient and criminals would have been sent the “wrong message” if plans to halve jail terms for offenders who plead guilty early had gone ahead, he told a press conference. Savings of some £100m that would have been made through the plans will now be sought instead through “greater efficiency” elsewhere in justice secretary Kenneth Clarke’s department. The prime minister also denied that the U-turn was a sign of weak government, insisting that the ability to reconsider policy following a consultation displayed “strength” and leadership. Talking of his decision to scrap the plans to offer 50% sentence discounts, Cameron said: “The sentence served would depart far too much from the sentence handed down by the judge, and this is simply not acceptable. The sentence would be too lenient, the wrong message would be sent out to the criminal and it would erode public confidence in the system.” In a notable shift from the original sentencing plans, Cameron said the government would look at keeping serious criminals in prison longer as part of a review of indeterminate jail sentences. It was a “tough” new approach. “We’re going to review the existing system urgently with a view to replacing it with an alternative that is clear, tough and better understood by the public,” said Cameron. This alternative system would include a “greater number of life sentences, including mandatory life sentences for the most serious repeat offenders”, he said. “Instead of serious, sexual and violent offenders being released halfway through their sentence, we propose they should spend at least two-thirds of that sentence in prison, and that such offenders should never again be released early without the parole board being satisfied that it is safe to let this happen.” Dangerous offenders should also take part in compulsory programmes behind bars to make them change their behaviour, the premier said. Legislation is expected in the autumn. “The public need to know that dangerous criminals will be locked up for a very long time. I’m determined that they will be.” Despite announcing the latest in a series of policy U-turns, Cameron insisted his government was “extremely strong, resolute and determined” and that abandoning the 50% discounts was a sign of “strength and confidence” that the coalition was prepared to listen and change its mind. The “weak thing to do” was to keep “ploughing on” when consultations on reform indicated there were better ways of doing things. “The tough, strong thing to do is to say ‘yes, we can make these plans better’,” he said, adding that that was what the government had done on both sentencing and the NHS. “I don’t for one minute think that somehow it is weak to listen and then to act, it is a sign of strength and confidence.” Cameron also faced down calls to sack his justice secretary, Kenneth Clarke, whom he described as “an extremely effective minister” with a “hugely difficult job to do”. Clarke was robust and prepared enough to listen to what other people had said and come up “with something better”, he said. David Cameron Crime Kenneth Clarke Prisons and probation Conservatives Hélène Mulholland guardian.co.uk
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