Finnish firm scraps full-year forecasts and says it may make no profit on phone sales in quarter to end of June Shares in the Finnish phone maker Nokia plunged by 15% on Tuesday as the company warned that it may make no profit on phone sales in the quarter to the end of June, and that overall phone sales will be “substantially below” its earlier forecast of €6.1bn to €6.6bn. The company said that for the period from April to June, operating margins will be “substantially below its previously expected range of 6% to 9% … primarily due to lower than previously expected net sales”. It also scrapped full-year forecasts, saying it was no longer “appropriate to provide annual targets for 2011″. Though it is still the biggest maker by volume of both handsets and smartphones, selling about 100m and 24m respectively per quarter, Nokia has been buffeted at the high end by Apple’s iPhone and smartphones using Google’s Android operating system, while at the low end it faces challenges from “white box” manufacturers from China that can undercut it on price for standard mobile handsets. That forced the company to admit that its operating margins for handsets this quarter “could be around breakeven”. In the second quarter of 2010 Nokia’s mobile phone business made €643m profit on revenues of €6.8bn, and in the first quarter of 2011 recorded €690m profit on €7.1bn of revenue. The collapse in the share price took it down to May 1998 levels. The announcement adds to the deepening sense of crisis around the company, once the undisputed leader in the mobile phone business. It was overtaken for total revenue in the first quarter by Apple, which sold 18.7m iPhones – at nearly five times the average price of a Nokia smartphone, and 10 times the average price of a Nokia handset. Nokia said that its products are coming under intense price pressure, especially in China and Europe, where the combination of cheap phones from other manufacturers running Google’s Android mobile operating system and Apple’s high-end iPhone have squeezed its position. The company reiterated its plan to dump its current Symbian operating system for Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS on its high-end smartphones from “the fourth quarter of 2011″ as part of a longer-term plan to restore the company’s fortunes. Carolina Milanesi, mobile phones analyst for the research company Gartner, said Tuesday’s warnings could mark the low point for Nokia, which has not made a loss in its handset division for more than a decade. “It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” Milanesi said. “The second quarter should be the worst – if it isn’t then they have worse problems than we thought they did. In the third and fourth quarter this year there will be new products. If they can’t get traction with those then it will be a big issue.” The Finnish company is undergoing a tumultuous upheaval under its new chief executive Stephen Elop, who took over the job in September. He decided that the long-running Symbian software that had powered previous Nokia phones was outdated and that in smartphones, which makes up about a quarter of the 100m handsets the company sells each year, would be replaced over the next two years by Microsoft’s Windows Phone software. Part of the change has involved cutting thousands of staff, including outsourcing many involved with Symbian to the consultancy Accenture. “Strategy transitions are difficult. We recognise the need to deliver great mobile products, and therefore we must accelerate the pace of our transition,” Elop said. “Our teams are aligned, and we have increased confidence that we will ship our first Nokia product with Windows Phone in the fourth quarter 2011.” Analysts said that they found the abrupt change worrying. Lee Simpson of Jefferies & Co said: “You clearly have a Symbian platform that [mobile] operators are avoiding … But it shouldn’t be too surprising that we get another profit warning from Nokia for the Q2 and Q3 periods. What does strike us as quite surprising is the level to which the markets have dropped, we’re talking about breakeven now which is quite a slide. I think this level of shareholder destruction is now starting to look dangerous: what can these guys do to reverse this? Our stance is that it’s very difficult to value this business right now, because it has to be a different animal if and when it gets into recovery.” Jari Honko of Swedbank said: “The truth about Nokia’s competitiveness has come out now. We know that the company is loss-making at a group level. Consensus estimates will react strongly, and so will the shares. We will see more and more reflection on Nokia’s market share, and that is the worst thing to happen to this company, when the scale is shrinking fast.” He added: “It remains to be seen how low [market share] could go, but for smartphones we are talking about going under 20% this year.” Only two years ago Nokia had a 40% share of the smartphone market, but it was passed in the first quarter of this year by Android, with 32%. Nokia had 24% and Apple 18%. Nokia Smartphones Mobile phones Telecommunications industry Charles Arthur guardian.co.uk
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• Recovery hit by drop in consumer confidence • US house prices back to 2002 levels US house prices have fallen back to levels last seen in 2002 and consumer confidence has also fallen sharply according to new figures, leading to fresh fears about the country’s economic recovery. A closely watched measure of the property market, Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller home price index, has fallen for eight months in a row and declined by 4.2% in the first quarter of 2011, following a 3.6% fall in the fourth quarter of 2010. By the end of March the index hit a recession low and showed an annual decline of 5.1% compared with the first quarter of 2010. According to the survey, nationally home prices are back to their mid-2002 levels. Prices in Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit and Las Vegas are below January 2000 levels. The US economy had been showing a better than forecast recovery but the Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes fell to 60.8 in May from a revised 66.0 in April, well below economists’ forecasts for 66.5. A third survey also suggested that growth could be slowing. Ken Goldstein, Conference Board economist, said the figures were evidence that consumers were worried about jobs, food prices and housing. “These are not good numbers, we are back to where we were two month ago. But I think we are bobbing along the waves, not sinking further.” Business activity in the heartland mid-west grew much less than expected last month as sales and employment weakened. The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago business barometer dropped to 56.6 in May, its lowest reading since November 2009. The reading was 67.6 in April, and economists had forecast a May reading of 62.6. “The question is, ‘Is the softer data we’re seeing transitory, or is it likely to persist throughout the remainder of 2011?’ Right now, that’s an open question that investors are trying to figure out,” said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at RDM Financial in Westport, Connecticut. Prices of single-family houses in the 20 largest US cities fell 0.2% from February to March on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Case-Shiller index. Year on year house prices fell in 19 of the 20 big cities polled by Case Shiller when compared with March 2010. Minneapolis saw a 10% annual decline, the first market to experience a double digit drop since March 2010 when Las Vegas was down 12% on an annual basis. Washington DC was the only city where home prices increased. Housing in the capital was up 1.1% on a monthly basis and 4.3% over the year. Seattle was up a modest 0.1% for the month, but still down 7.5% against March 2010. About 28.4% of US homeowners owe more on the mortgage than their house is worth, real estate data firm Zillow said this month. “This month’s report is marked by the confirmation of a double-dip in home prices across much of the nation,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Indices. “Home prices continue on their downward spiral with no relief in sight.” Blitzer said that since December 2010 an increasing number of markets had hit new lows. In March 2011, 12 cities – Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, Portland (Oregon) and Tampa – fell to new lows for the current housing cycle. A rebound in prices seen in 2009 and 2010 was largely due to a tax credit for first-time home buyers, he said. Excluding that policy he said there has been no recovery or even stabilisation in home prices since the recession. US economy Global economy Economics Credit crunch Financial crisis United States Dominic Rushe guardian.co.uk
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Extradition process under way after Serbian judges reject appeal from former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic is on a plane to The Hague to face war crimes charges, the Serbian government has said. Snezana Malovic, the country’s justice minister, said the process of extraditing the former commander of Bosnian Serb military forces to the UN war crimes tribunal “has started.” The move follows judges’ rejection of an appeal by Mladic against his extradition to the UN tribunal. Mladic is charged at the tribunal for atrocities committed by his Serb troops during Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war, including the notorious Srebrenica massacre that left 8,000 Muslim men and boys dead. Earlier on Tuesday, he was briefly released from the jail cell, travelling in a secret high-security convoy to a suburban cemetery where he left a lone candle for his daughter, Ana, who killed herself during Bosnia’s bloody ethnic war. Mladic, 69, was accompanied by a convoy of armoured vehicles, Serbia’s deputy war crimes prosecutor, Bruno Vekaric said. “We didn’t announce his visit to the grave because it is his private thing and because it represented a security risk. The whole operation lasted for exactly 22 minutes and passed without a glitch. He was at the grave for a few minutes.” Europe’s most-wanted war crimes suspect could be handed over to the tribunal in The Hague as soon as late Tuesday or early Wednesday, officials said. A defence extradition appeal sent by mail arguing he is not mentally and physically fit to stand trial arrived at the Belgrade court on Tuesday. Mladic was arrested on Thursday in a village north of the Serbian capital after 16 years on the run. His 23-year-old daughter Ana, a medical student, killed herself in 1994 with her father’s gun. She reportedly did not leave a note, but reports at the time said she ended her life at Mladic’s Belgrade family house because of depression caused by his role in the war. Mladic has rejected the official investigation into his case and claimed she was killed by his wartime enemies, saying the gun was found in her left hand, although she was right-handed. Kadira Gabeljic, whose husband and two sons were killed in the Srebrenica massacre, condemned Mladic’s grave-side visit, saying she almost fainted at the news. So far, experts have managed to exhume only parts of her sons, Mesud and Meho, who were 16 and 21 when killed. “He [Mladic] was allowed to do it, and I am still searching for my children for the past 16 years, ever since Srebrenica happened,” she said. “My husband had been found, but what about my children?” She asked. “I will wait for years. I might even die before their complete remains are found.” In addition to the appeal, Mladic’s lawyer, Milos Saljic, had asked for a team of doctors to examine his client, who is said to have had at least two strokes. Vekaric accused Mladic of using delaying tactics and said nothing should prevent his extradition to tribunal. “Doctors are saying he’s capable of standing trial,” Vekaric said, adding that Mladic will get medical checkups once he arrives at the UN tribunal’s detention unit in The Hague. The prosecutor said no one would be informed when Mladic will be transported from his prison to the Netherlands “because of security risks”. On Monday, the Serbian president, Boris Tadic, rejected speculation that authorities had known of Mladic’s hiding place and delayed his arrest to coincide with a visit by EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton. The rumours have persisted because Mladic was found living not far from Belgrade with relatives who share his last name. “Any such comment makes no sense,” Tadic said. “The truth is that we arrested Ratko Mladic the moment we discovered him.” The president also said it was time for the EU to do its part by boosting his country’s efforts to join the bloc, arguing the arrest of Mladic proves it is serious about rejoining the international fold. “I simply ask the EU to fulfil its part,” he said. “We fulfilled our part and we will continue to do so.” The EU had repeatedly said Serbia could begin pre-membership talks only after it arrested the wartime Bosnian Serb commander. Some EU countries have said Serbia needs to do more, including arresting its last fugitive, Goran Hadzic, who led Croatian Serb rebels during the 1991-1995 war. Tadic said Hadzic would be arrested as soon as possible. Ratko Mladic Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbia War crimes Europe European Union United Nations Peter Walker guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Mitch McConnell Calls Elizabeth Warren’s Nomination a Potential ‘Serious Threat to Our Financial System’
May 31, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Mitch McConnell did his best to carry some water for Wall Street on this weekend’s Meet the Press when he called the potential nomination of Elizabeth Warren to head the Consumer Financial Protection Agency something that “could be a serious threat to our financial system”. And by “threat” I guess he means Wall Street and the banks not being allowed to screw over consumers at will. It’s simply astounding to me that Republicans were willing to go far enough to block her potential nomination and force a pro-forma session over the holiday to keep her from being a recess nominee to head the new agency when I think most of the country is well aware of just how badly Wall Street and the banks’ excesses have and are continuing to harm our economy . I guess you’ve to to hand it to them for staying on message if nothing else. They’re going to insist that government regulations are harming rather than helping our economy, logic and facts be damned and our compliant corporate media sure as hell isn’t going to call them out for it just as Gregory failed to do here with no follow up at all with his question to McConnell. GREGORY: Can I ask you two quick ones? Elizabeth Warren, who is supposed to head up this consumer bureau… McCONNELL: Mm-hmm. GREGORY: …the president’s appointment to do that, would you back her, or would you join Republicans who–to block her nomination? McCONNELL: Well, we’re pretty unenthusiastic about the possibility of Elizabeth Warren. We’re pretty unenthusiastic, frankly, about this new agency, and we’ve sent a letter to the president saying that some changes need to made–be made in the CFPB, the Consumer Financial Protection Board, because as it’s currently constituted, it answers to no one and, I think, could be a serious threat to our financial system.
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On her Friday 1 p.m. ET MSNBC show, NBC correspondent Andrea Mitchell characterized Sarah Palin participating in the annual Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally in Washington as a “distraction,” with the headline on-screen wondering if the former Alaska Governor was “stealing their thunder.” After declaring that Palin was “once again showing that she sure knows how to seize the political spotlight,” Mitchell spoke with Rolling Thunder spokesman Ted Shpak, and asked: “When did you first hear that Sarah Palin was coming? Did you invite her?” Shpak incorrectly claimed: “No, she wasn't invited. We heard yesterday she came out with a press release that she was coming to Rolling Thunder.” In reality, as Hot Air's Ed Morrissey reported on Saturday , there was a miscommunication within the Rolling Thunder organization. He detailed a conversation he had with another organization spokesperson, Christine Colborne: “She explained that Shpak didn’t know that Palin had been indeed invited to ride at the event. The invitation came from a retired board member, Michael DiPaolo, who had connections in Alaska and got Palin to agree to attend….Colborne….explained that the last-minute RSVP didn’t get communicated through the echelons of Rolling Thunder.” During the Friday segment, Mitchell played up Shpak's objections to Palin's attendance: “I know it's an open event. She can get on the back of a Harley, but you're not exactly going to have her bus as part of you're event?” Shpak replied: “Absolutely not. We're not endorsing – you know, we're here for a reason. And our – in a way this has been taking away from the reason we're here.” Mitchell concluded: “So you think it's a distraction? I don't want to put words in your mouth, but-” Shpak added: “No, you don't have to put words in my mouth. It is a big distraction because my phone's been ringing off the hook ever since she did that, she announced that.” So far, Mitchell has failed to offer any correction to her Friday segment. Here is a full transcript of Mitchell's May 27 interview with Shpak: 1:04PM ET ANDREA MITCHELL: Meanwhile, back here, Sarah Palin once again showing that she sure knows how to seize the political spotlight. She's kicking off a national bus tour of east coast historic sites this weekend, with plans to stop at Gettysburg, the Liberty Bell and then New Hampshire. The first time since 2008. Her tour kicks off at Rolling Thunder, the annual motorcycle rally held in Washington in support of the nation's veterans, particularly those held captive or missing in action, a very serious purpose here on Memorial Day weekend. Ted Shpak is a spokesman for Rolling Thunder and he joins us now. Ted, first of all, when did you first hear that Sarah Palin was coming? Did you invite her? [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Stealing Their Thunder?; Sarah Palin Announces Multi-State Bus Tour] TED SHPAK: No, she wasn't invited. We heard yesterday she came out with a press release that she was coming to Rolling Thunder. MITCHELL: Well, what role do you expect that she would play? You've got an event. You have a rally at the Pentagon. This is something that happens every year. We all here in Washington look forward to it. So how is she going to fit into this? SHPAK: Okay, we've got to remember, we – first of all, Rolling Thunder, it's a demonstration for the prisoner of war issue, veterans issues, taking care of our troops, taking care of our military. And this is why we do this run. Now, anybody, as you probably know, we have a lot of people that show up in town for this weekend. And this is the weekend – the reason that we're here is because of them reasons. Now, we didn't invite her. I heard stories, people calling me and says we endorsed her. We don't endorse nobody. She's not – we have our program after our run, down at the – by the Lincoln Memorial. And she's not invited to speak. We're not endorsing her. But she's – we can't stop her from coming to ride, if she wants to ride. That's fine because, you know, we don't- MITCHELL: No, I know it's an open event. She can get on the back of a Harley, but you're not exactly going to have her bus as part of you're event? SHPAK: Absolutely not. We're not endorsing – you know, we're here for a reason. And our – in a way this has been taking away from the reason we're here. MITCHELL: So you think it's a distraction? I don't want to put words in your mouth, but- SHPAK: No, you don't have to put words in my mouth. It is a big distraction because my phone's been ringing off the hook ever since she did that, she announced that. And, you know, we're not –
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Be a castaway every day of the year – Taransay island was the setting for the original BBC series and is on the market for £2m In pictures: Taransay island A beautiful Hebridean island, made famous by the reality television series Castaway , is being put up for sale complete with spectacular white beaches, a private herd of deer, wild otters, trout and seals. The uninhabited island of Taransay in the Western Isles has seen pagan Celtic settlers, a massacre involving warring medieval clans and in 2000, a group of 36 city dwellers and a large television film crew trying to survive unaided on the edge of the Atlantic. That BBC series, which made a star of one equally rugged young castaway, Ben Fogle, but upset others who took part , transformed the island from a secluded spot for the hardiest and best informed travellers into one of the Hebrides’ most famous private islands. Made up of two treeless, cliff-fringed and wind-battered islands connected by a wide, sandy isthmus, Taransay is being sold by its owners, Angus and Norman MacKay, two locally-raised brothers who live on the neighbouring island of Harris, for offers in excess of £2m. With a history of habitation stretching back to at least 300AD, Taransay was bought by their father John MacKay in 1967 for £11,000. It once had three villages but the last family left the island in 1974, leaving the properties derelict and a place mainly for sheep grazing, and intrepid travellers. When it was selected for Castaway, several houses were upgraded, leaving three – the farmhouse, the old school chalet and a more basic bothy with beds for 10 – for the MacKays to rent out as self-catering holiday homes. They have only rudimentary services, but some of the most spectacular sunsets over the Atlantic and sunrises over the sharp-peaked mountains of Harris immediately to the east. The island, thought to be the largest uninhabited island in Scotland, is being sold in its entirety with a working sheep farm – currently at 680 breeding ewes – and with 200 red deer, its holiday homes and an offer from the MacKay’s to sell a landing point on the beach on South Harris for its new owner to pull up and store the boat required to visit their property. John Bound from estate agent CKD Galbraith, which is selling Taransay, said the sale was quite rare. At 3,445 acres Taransay is unusually large to be sold in its entirety. And the MacKays – one a farmer, the other a business man – are selling up for pragmatic reasons, he said. “The sale is purely a business decision; it suits both families now, the timing and everything,” Bound said. “It’s quite unusual to get an island of this size where everything is owned. Usually something has been sold off or is crofted. Anyone can now buy it in its entirety.” The firm said the island had the potential to continue as a holiday letting business, but also for its country sports, deer stalking and its fishing. Taransay offered “the country sportsman an abundance of activity whilst protecting the biodiversity of the island, with hill lochs teaming with brown trout, first-class coastal and sea fishing, as well as a herd of around 200 head of red deer providing some enjoyable and sustainable stalking.” The temporary Castaway islanders, watched by 9m viewers at its peak, lived in “pods” in the deserted village of Paible, where they raised their own pigs, cattle and chickens, and grew their own vegetables. They enjoyed electricity, supplied by a wind turbine and a small hydro-electric scheme, and a water supply. Of the original 36 castaways, 29 stayed on the island for the full year. Most returned to their normal lives; Fogle went on to become a television presenter, including for the BBC nature and farming series Countryfile. Property Scotland Severin Carrell guardian.co.uk
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Disciplinary panel says officer exploited position of trust to pursue girl living in care home A Scotland Yard officer has been sacked over an “inappropriate relationship” with a vulnerable 14-year-old girl. PC Robert Nicholson was fired after a misconduct hearing was told he targeted the girl – who lived in a care home – via Facebook and text after she was arrested, said the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) disciplinary panel. Deborah Glass, the IPCC commissioner for London, said: “The girl told us that she trusted this man because he was a police officer. “We expect the police to protect us and our families, yet PC Nicholson’s actions were, from the outset, a disgraceful abuse of his position.” Nicholson first came into contact with the girl in October 2009 at Bethnal Green police station, where he was working as a custody officer when she was brought into the custody suite. The officer asked for her phone number and the next day sent 17 text messages. Phone and Facebook records showed the communications developed sexual elements, the disciplinary panel heard. The relationship came to light in December 2009 after the girl was reported missing from her care home. Nicholson, who was 27 at the time and based in east London, was arrested before the matter was referred to the IPCC. Evidence showed the pair exchanged hundreds of messages and regularly spoke by phone before Nicholson drove from his home in Colchester to meet her in Romford. Glass added: “Although he met the girl while she was in police custody, and there can be little doubt he knew her age and vulnerability, he exploited his position as a police officer to pursue her sexually. “I am glad he is now no longer in a position to do this to anyone else. “The IPCC’s investigator and the investigating officer from the Metropolitan police worked together to gain the trust of the girl and her family, and I would like to pay tribute to them for their courage.” The panel heard that a few days before the Romford meeting, Nicholson failed to act when he became aware of a planned trip by the girl and a friend to Southend to meet another significantly older man. During their relationship Nicholson used police databases to access records on the girl, which would have further highlighted her age and vulnerability, the watchdog said. Metropolitan police Police Children guardian.co.uk
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Firefighters sprayed sperm whale with water in attempt to keep it alive after stranding on Redcar beach A 30ft whale that beached in north-east England has died. Firefighters used their jet to spray the mammal which was reported alive but part-submerged on the beach at Redcar, Cleveland, at 6.10am on Tuesday. A Cleveland fire brigade spokesman said shortly after 9am that the whale had died despite efforts to save it. A cordon had been set up around the stricken whale to stop people getting too close and causing it stress. Earlier, Cleveland police said a member of the public reported finding the 30-40ft sperm whale. and the force contacted experts to help rescue it. A police spokeswoman said: “On arrival the whale was still alive and partially submerged in seawater. “Police contacted the coastguard, the local authority, the fire brigade, RSPCA and specialist marine animal welfare agencies. “Police kept a cordon round the animal while they awaited colleagues from other organisations to arrive. “Sadly, the whale was pronounced dead just after 9am. “Arrangements for its disposal will be made by local authority environmental health officers and members of the public are asked to stay away from that area of the beach until this is complete.” Hundreds of onlookers turned out during half-term to take in the spectacle. Whales Marine life Wildlife guardian.co.uk
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Firefighters sprayed sperm whale with water in attempt to keep it alive after stranding on Redcar beach A 30ft whale that beached in north-east England has died. Firefighters used their jet to spray the mammal which was reported alive but part-submerged on the beach at Redcar, Cleveland, at 6.10am on Tuesday. A Cleveland fire brigade spokesman said shortly after 9am that the whale had died despite efforts to save it. A cordon had been set up around the stricken whale to stop people getting too close and causing it stress. Earlier, Cleveland police said a member of the public reported finding the 30-40ft sperm whale. and the force contacted experts to help rescue it. A police spokeswoman said: “On arrival the whale was still alive and partially submerged in seawater. “Police contacted the coastguard, the local authority, the fire brigade, RSPCA and specialist marine animal welfare agencies. “Police kept a cordon round the animal while they awaited colleagues from other organisations to arrive. “Sadly, the whale was pronounced dead just after 9am. “Arrangements for its disposal will be made by local authority environmental health officers and members of the public are asked to stay away from that area of the beach until this is complete.” Hundreds of onlookers turned out during half-term to take in the spectacle. Whales Marine life Wildlife guardian.co.uk
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Outbreak kills two more and reaches Sweden, as total infected rises above 1,150 and Spain complains of blame and import ban A deadly E coli outbreak has claimed two more lives, including the first fatality outside Germany, as an international row escalated over the source of the bacteria. Sixteen people are now confirmed to have died from the outbreak – which was initially linked to organic Spanish vegetables – including a woman in Sweden who had recently returned from a trip to Germany. Spanish vegetable growers vigorously denied that their cucumbers were to blame, and said the scare had caused exports of all fruit and vegetables to plummet after Germany, Austria and Russia imposed bans. They accused German authorities of covering up the real cause of the outbreak and asked socialist prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to intervene on their behalf. Hospital authorities in the northern Spanish city of San Sebastián, meanwhile, said they were investigating a suspected case of E coli in a patient who recently returned from Germany. The Spanish agriculture minister, Rosa Aguilar, said Spain would be demanding compensation for all European vegetable producers who had experiences losses because of the health scare. Aguilar insisted Spanish vegetables were “safe” and suggested the Germans should look for the cause at home. “Germany should stop looking at Spain,” said the minister. “We are disappointed with the way that Germany has dealt with this crisis.” In Germany, investigators said they still had not found a definitive cause for the outbreak. The Robert Koch institute, Germany’s national disease authority, said they had never pointed the finger of blame at the Spaniards. Hamburg state health minister Cornelia Prüfer-Storcks, who was the first official to point the finger at Spain last Thursday, has since insisted that she was right to go public with preliminary test results from the Hamburg institute for hygiene and environment, which suggested Spanish cucumbers were the source. “It would have been irresponsible to withhold a well-founded suspicion given the high number of illnesses,” she said. “Protecting life is more important than protecting financial interests.” But Prüfer-Storcks said that tests on two of the vegetables had found a different strain of E coli from the one carried by patients in the city. “Our hope of discovering the source of the cases of severe complications with [hemolytic uremic syndrome] HUS unfortunately has not been fulfilled by these first results,” said the minister. European Union officials have said that the cucumbers could have been contaminated at any point along the route from Spain to Germany. Such remarks have done little to quell Spanish anger. “We must demand that Germany finishes its investigation, admits its error and accepts that this is a domestic problem,” said José María Pozancos, head of the Spanish fruit and vegetable export body Fepex. Some 150,000 tons of Spanish fruit and vegetables are piling up every week, with losses running at €200m a week, according to Fepex. As the bickering continues, the death toll rises. In Boras, Sweden, authorities announced the death of woman in her 50s who was admitted on 29 May after a trip to Germany. In Paderborn, Germany, the local council said an 87-year-old woman also suffering from other ailments had died. The national disease control centre in Germany said 373 people were sick with the most serious form of the outbreak HUS, a rare complication arising from an infection most commonly associated with E coli. That figure was up from the 329 reported on Monday. Susanne Glasmacher, a spokeswoman for the Robert Koch Institute, said another 796 people have been affected by the bacteria making a total of more than 1,150 people infected. Germany’s federal institute for risk assessment is still warning consumers to avoid all cucumbers, lettuces and raw tomatoes as the outbreak is investigated. EU officials have said that German authorities identified cucumbers from the Spanish regions of Almeria and Malaga as possible sources of contamination and that a third suspect batch, originating either in the Netherlands or in Denmark and traded in Germany, is also under investigation. The Danish veterinary and food administration said on Tuesday that no traces of E coli bacteria were found in tests conducted over the weekend. “There is therefore nothing that indicates that Danish cucumbers are the source of the serious E coli outbreak that has infected several patients in Germany, Denmark and Sweden,” the agency said. On Monday Russia’s chief sanitary agency banned the imports of cucumbers, tomatoes and fresh salad from Spain and Germany pending further notice. It said in a statement that it may even ban the imports of fresh vegetables from all EU member states due to the lack of information about the source of infection. E coli Germany Spain Sweden Austria Russia Denmark Agriculture Health Giles Tremlett Helen Pidd guardian.co.uk
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