Call it the Berlusconi-zation of Italy. Italian engineering firm Ma-Vib, faced with a downturn in sales, decided that its women workers didn’t need their jobs as much as the men did. The company fired 13 out of 18 women employees while all 12 of its male employees kept their jobs,…
Continue reading …An Oregon man flying to Alaska got a nasty sting on his arm during lunch, and was shocked to find a scorpion crawling on his skin. “In the movies, scorpions kill people,” said Jeff Ellis, 55. “I was nervous, on edge, making sure that my heart was beating normal.” Emergency…
Continue reading …A man accused of raping a woman as she lay unconscious on a city sidewalk in broad daylight told cops he thought he was merely molesting a corpse, according to investigators. Witnesses who say they saw Melvin Jackson having sex with the woman flagged down a passing patrol car. When…
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House of Bishops to review its policy on civil partnerships and same-sex relationships The Church of England has said it is reviewing its approach to same-sex relationships and whether gay priests in civil partnerships should become bishops, its most significant work on the subject for years. According to a statement from the House of Bishops, there is a “theological task to be done to clarify further understanding of the nature and status of these partnerships”. The bishop of Norwich, Graham James, said the “last substantive engagement” with the issue of homosexuality was in 2005. “Contrary to popular perception the House of Bishops has spent very little time in recent years discussing homosexuality. The House has now agreed the time has come to commission two new pieces of work.” There will be a moratoria on nominating gay clergy for the episcopate to avoid “pre-empting the outcome of the review” said the statement. The review will glean information from an initiative launched in 1998 designed to listen to the experiences of gay and lesbian Anglicans around the world. Recent months have seen fresh debate within the Church of England about the issue of homosexuality, which has riven the Anglican Communion. The Guardian revealed in May how the House of Bishops were unable to agree if a gay priest would ever be eligible for nomination to the episcopate. Last month, in a legal response to the government’s consultation on civil partnerships in places of worship, the church said it would only allow such ceremonies if and when its General Synod agreed. Both instances, predictably, inflamed tensions between liberals and conservatives. The latest announcement comes days after the launch of a traditionalist group, Anglican Mission in England, “dedicated” to setting up new churches. Its aim, it said, is to support “those who have been alienated so that they can remain within the Anglican family” and offer alternative leadership where Anglicans are “in impaired communion with their diocesan bishop”. The group has announced it has three clergy, ordained in Kenya, who are ready to minister to disaffected conservative evangelicals. Anglicanism Religion Christianity Gay rights Riazat Butt guardian.co.uk
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Former Tory peer’s mental health noted by judge in sentencing him for falsely claiming £13,379 in parliamentary expenses Former Conservative peer Lord Hanningfield has been jailed for nine months for fiddling his parliamentary expenses as a judge said his mental health had suffered as a result of his trial. Hanningfield, 70, an ex-Lords opposition frontbencher and leader of Essex county council, falsely claimed £13,379 for overnight stays in London when he was not in the capital. The peer, a former pig farmer from West Hanningfield, near Chelmsford, Essex, was found guilty of six counts of false accounting following an eight day trial at Chelmsford crown court in May. The judge, Mr Justice Saunders, said that when it came to sentencing the main consideration that distinguished his case from others convicted over their expenses, was his poor health. The anxiety and depression suffered by Hanningfield over the case “goes well beyond the level of depression suffered by many people of good character who find themselves for the first time before the courts,” said Saunders, sitting at Maidstone crown court. “He has been diagnosed as suffering from clinical depression and he is being treated for that condition. The bringing of these charges brought about the end of his work which was very important to him. “He is 70 and his physical health is not good. Imprisonment will be harder for him than for others who are mentally and physically fitter. Also, while others convicted in this series of prosecution will have some chance to rehabilitate themselves in the eyes of the public, Lord Hanningfield is less likely to be able to do that because of his age, but it is not impossible that he will.” Hanningfield has lodged an appeal against his conviction. During his trial the jury heard he regularly claimed for staying overnight in London, including on one occasion in February 2008 when he was actually on board a flight to India. He also fraudulently claimed £382 in train fares, and £147 in mileage by doubling the seven-mile distance from his house to the train station. He told the jury that he treated the Lords expenses as an allowance for living outside the capital and spent just “a minute a month” completing his claim forms. He alleged that most other peers treated the House of Lords as a “club”, turning up there for only 10 minutes to claim their daily allowance. Hanningfield insisted that his parliamentary duties left him thousands of pounds out of pocket and said he “averaged out” his claims to recoup some of the money he spent. When he was questioned by detectives, he told them to look at the records of other peers and claimed he was not the only one claiming expenses in this way. But Saunders said: “It may well be true that he was out of pocket, although I do not accept that he was out of pocket to the extent that he claimed. He received the privilege of a peerage. He knew, when he accepted a peerage that the job of a working peer was unpaid and he did not have to accept the honour.” The judge added: “Great trust was placed in peers to be honest in their claims for expenses. The public expects no less of them. Lord Hanningfield and others have broken that trust. “His work was his life; and now at the age of 70, he should have been enjoying a retirement in which he could have expected his achievements to be honoured. Instead he has been convicted of fraud by a jury drawn from the county that he served so long, and it is as an expenses cheat that he will be partly remembered.” Four former Labour MPs – David Chaytor, Eric Illsley, Jim Devine and Elliot Morley – have already received prison terms for fiddling their parliamentary expenses. Illsley has already been released from jail, and Chaytor was freed from Spring Hill open prison, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, on the day Hanningfield was convicted, after serving just a quarter of his 18-month sentence. Another Conservative peer, Lord Taylor of Warwick, was jailed for 12 months and faces being suspended from the House of Lords. MPs’ expenses House of Commons Eric Illsley Crime House of Lords Conservatives Caroline Davies guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Forget the history bloopers and hearing messages from God —if Michele Bachmann “feels” right to voters, then she may have a shot at winning the presidential nomination. “The reality of presidential politics — and all politics for that matter — is that voters tend to make their decisions not on dry policy…
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Eurozone finance ministers scrap planned meeting in Brussels on Sunday for phone talks on Saturday evening Eurozone finance ministers have cancelled a crisis meeting planned for Sunday because they need more time – as much as two more months – to nail down the details of a second bailout for Greece, officials said Friday. They will, however, hold a video conference on Saturday to sign off on a new loan instalment that will keep Greece from bankruptcy over the summer. Whereas the payout of the next loan instalment from Greece’s first bailout was a near certainty after Athens voted through new austerity measures this week, talks were still ongoing over a second rescue package that would support Greece over the longer-term. “It would have been too ambitious to get the deal [on a second package of rescue loans] done by Sunday,” said a eurozone official. Several key aspects of a new bailout, such as the contribution of banks and other investment funds, are still up in the air – although eurozone leaders said last week that there will be new financing for the struggling country. The ministers will continue their discussions on the new programme at their next scheduled meeting on 11 July, but getting everything done by then may also prove difficult, the official said. He was speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks on Greece. A second eurozone official said that while the cornerstones of the new programme have to be drawn up soon, it may not be finalized until the next Greek loan instalment is due in September. The official was also speaking on condition of anonymity. A spokesman for Jean-Claude Juncker, the prime minister of Luxembourg and chairman of the eurogroup, said earlier that a video conference had been scheduled for Saturday evening, but didn’t provide a reason for the change in the plan. He said he didn’t know whether a statement would be released after the call. The ministers have to sign of on a €12bn (£10bn) loan instalment of Greece’s existing bailout, without which the debt-ridden country would default in July. Greece this week fulfilled the preconditions for getting the money by passing unpopular austerity and privatization programmes through parliament. “It is good that the eurogroup procedure is being speeded up,” said a Greek finance ministry official. “The voting of the midterm programme and the implementation bill is acting internationally in favour of the country’s credibility and is the basis for tomorrow’s discussion at the Eurogroup.” The official declined to be named in line with department policy. European debt crisis European banks Greece Europe guardian.co.uk
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Former head of IMF and leading French presidential candidate Dominique Strauss-Kahn appears at bail hearing as reports claim sexual assault case against him could be close to collapse 3.56pm: My colleague Dominic Rushe is in court now. He says the court is packed, although the crowd is smaller than last time, and there are no maids outside protesting. “It’s bank holiday weekend [independence day, 4 July, is on Monday] so everyone wants out of her asap. James Cox, law professor at Duke University, told Dominic: “This has got to be the prosecution’s worse nightmare. You do what you think is right and then your witness goes south on you.” He said the prosecution was right to act decisively and quickly on the case when the charges were brought and could not be blamed for the media furore that followed. “You can not have a chambermaid bringing allegations against an aristocrat like Strauss-Kahn without there being this find of frenzy,” he said. But, said Cox, given subsequent developments he said he was surprised that the prosecution had not done more homework on their witness ahead of making such strong statements about the case and the strength of their witness. 3.53pm: The Associated Press news agency is now reporting that the New York district attorney will release Strauss-Kahn without bail, citing an “AP source”. 3.52pm: The Wall Street Journal is reporting that prosecutors have agreed to modify Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s bail and end his house arrest. 3.50pm: Strauss-Kahn is arriving at court now. 3.49pm: Strauss-Kahn is on his way to court. CNN has just been showing pictures of him and his wife leaving their residence to head to court. 3.33pm: Dominic Rushe writes that the local New York media is being let into the court first, much to the annoyance of the international media. 3.31pm: In a clear-headed piece at the Atlantic , Andrew Cohen draws out what he reckons is the key point from the New York Times’s article. It will be virtually impossible to neutralise this (from the Times’s piece): “According to the two officials, the woman had a phone conversation with an incarcerated man within a day of her encounter with Mr. Strauss-Kahn in which she discussed the possible benefits of pursuing the charges against him. The conversation was recorded.” If this is true, it establishes a motive for the woman to (falsely) accuse Kahn of rape after a consensual sexual encounter. It is enough, alone, to establish reasonable doubt? Prosecutors seem to think so and they are probably right. This accusation comes from the New York Times piece and cannot be corroborated by the Guardian. 3.24pm: Paul Harris in New York adds that CNN is reporting that Strauss-Kahn’s criminal charges might be reduced to a misdemeanour. “That means DSK will have his bail reduced greatly or even removed altogether and he will be free to travel throughout the US. Eventually, defence sources tell the channel, the defence will push to have all the charges dropped.” 3.23pm: My colleague Dominic Rushe writes from New York. He says there are around 200 journalists lining up at the court to get in and jockeying for position: French, German, British, American. Dominic writes: “Sympathy seems to be with the maid still in the line. She may have lied about her past but the question remains: was she assaulted?” 3.17pm: Just to translate “on his own recognizance” ( see 3.06pm ), it is a term used when the defendant is released but promises to attend all court proceedings and not to engage in any illegal activity or prohibited conduct. A financial bond is often set, but not demanded unless the court orders it forfeited. 3.10pm: Reuters has interviewed the brother of the woman who has accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault and attempted rape. He said she was the victim of a smear campaign. Mamoudou, whose surname is being withheld to protect his sister’s identity, said from Guinea: “These are lies that have been invented to discredit my sister.” 3.06pm: Bloomberg news is already tweeting that prosecutors have agreed to release Strauss-Kahn prosecutors “on his own recognizance”. The court hearing will begin in around an hour and a half. 3.05pm: In court in May, bail was set for Dominique Strauss-Kahn at $1m (£624,000) in cash with a $5m insurance bond. He was required to surrender all his travel documents and remain under house arrest in Manhattan under 24-hour armed guard. Stringent conditions included an electronic bracelet that sent a signal to a security company and a police station the moment Strauss-Kahn left the property, and video cameras to monitor him inside the property. The conditions are costing Mr. Strauss-Kahn $250,000 a month. The New York Times says that under the relaxed conditions of bail to be requested today, the district attorney’s office would retain Strauss-Kahn’s passport but he would be permitted to travel within the United States. 2.55pm: Dominique Strauss-Kahn will appear at the state supreme court in Manhattan this afternoon for a hearing at which Justice Michael Obus is expected to consider easing the former IMF chief’s bail conditions. The hearing comes as reports claim the sexual assault case against the man once considered a leading Socialist candidate for the French presidency is on the verge of collapse. As my colleagues Ed Pilkington, Dominic Rushe and Angelique Chrisafis report , there were claims in the New York Times last night that significant problems had emerged in the case against Strauss-Kahn. These could see the conditions of his house arrest in New York being relaxed with immediate effect. The paper claims “major holes” in the case will be admitted in court as early as today. The claims have thrown French politics into disarray , the second time this case has done so. Strauss-Kahn, a Socialist, was seen as the leading candidate to beat Nicolas Sarkozy in next year’s presidential elections until the allegations against him dramatically emerged in May. Strauss-Kahn is accused of sexually assaulting and attempting to rape a maid at the Sofitel hotel in Manhattan on 14 May. France’s former Socialist prime minister Lionel Jospin described the latest developments as a “thunderbolt” as allies speculated Strauss-Kahn may now be able to run after all. His job at the IMF has been taken by former French finance minister Christine Lagarde. This week, the Socialist party launched its primary race for a candidate on the basis that Strauss-Kahn’s political career was over. But the dramatic developments in New York have prompted some members to call on the party to suspend the process. Citing “two well-placed law enforcement officials”, the New York Times claims Strauss-Kahn’s “accuser has repeatedly lied”. Although forensic tests found unambiguous evidence of a sexual encounter between Mr Strauss-Kahn, a French politician, and the woman, prosecutors now do not believe much of what the accuser has told them about the circumstances or about herself … Senior prosecutors met with lawyers for Mr Strauss-Kahn on Thursday and provided details about their findings, and the parties are discussing whether to dismiss the felony charges. In addition to the New York Times claims, the Associated Press has reported that prosecutors have raised questions about the woman’s credibility and background. But Kenneth Thompson, a lawyer for the woman (who is not being named), told the NYT: “Nothing changes one very important fact, namely, that Dominique Strauss-Kahn violently sexually assaulted the victim inside of that hotel room at the Sofitel.” Here’s a timeline of the case so far , courtesy of my colleague Richard Nelsson: 13 May: Dominque Strauss-Kahn, head of the IMF, checks into $3,000 a night suite, room 2806, at the luxury Sofitel hotel in midtown Manhattan. 14 May: At around midday, a 32-year-old maid enters the suite, which she thought unoccupied, and an attack by the Frenchman is alleged to have occurred after she opened the bedroom door and found him naked. She reports what happened to her supervisor who calls the police. 14 May: At around 4.40pm Strauss-Kahn is pulled off a Paris-bound flight minutes before take-off from New York’s JFK airport and arrested . He is accused of a sexual assault on a maid in his suite. He asks “What is this about?” and 15 minutes later, says ” I have diplomatic immunity “. 15 May: The 62-year-old economist is charged with “criminal sexual act, unlawful imprisonment, attempted rape” of the so far unidentified woman employee of the hotel. 16 May: He enters Manhattan Criminal Court for a hearing . A New York judge accepts the prosecution argument that Strauss-Kahn is a flight risk and orders him detained without bail in New York’s Rikers Island jail . 17 May: Strauss-Kahn is reportedly under suicide watch on Rikers Island. US treasury secretary Timothy Geithner says the Frenchman is “obviously not in the position to run the IMF”. 18 May: The victim, an immigrant from the west African nation of Guinea, testifies behind closed doors at a grand jury hearing. Denies she had consensual relations with Strauss-Kahn. The New York police conduct forensic search of hotel suite. 18 May: Strauss-Kahn resigns as managing director of the IMF and denies all the allegations. 19 May: He is formally indicted by the grand jury and the seven charges against him are confirmed. Faces a potential maximum of 74 years prison if convicted. Bail is granted after he agrees to post $1m cash and $5m bond and submit to round-the-clock surveillance under house arrest 20 May: Released from Rikers and moves into an apartment near Wall Street, before moving on to a townhouse rented for a reported $50,000 a month. 23 May: Newspaper reports suggest that traces of Strauss-Kahn’s semen have been found on the maid’s shirt. 27 May: French president Nicolas Sarkozy calls it a “sad” affair. 6 June: At a brief hearing at Manhattan criminal court, the former head of the IMF pleads not guilty to allegations of attempted rape and the sexual assault of a hotel maid. His lawyers say they need six weeks to assess evidence collected by the US authorities. Hundreds of hotel workers gather outside the courthouse roaring their disapproval at Strauss-kahn by shouting “shame on you”. 28 June: Christine Lagarde selected to serve as IMF managing director. Dominique Strauss-Kahn France IMF United States Paul Owen guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …An American Muslim woman may now cover up when she competes in national weightlifting competitions, a sports panel has decided. Female Muslim competitors can opt to wear a body-covering once-piece “unitard” that will cover their arms and legs—along with a veil to cover their hair—under news rules announced…
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Judges will consider application to stay judgment meaning officers can no longer bail suspects for more than four days without charging or releasing them The supreme court is to consider suspending a legal ruling on police bail that overturns 25 years of police practice. A court spokeswoman said three judges will consider the application to stay the judgment – which means officers can no longer bail suspects for more than four days without either charging or releasing them – on Monday. If granted, the move would put the ruling on hold until a full appeal is heard at the same court on 25 July. There will be no public hearing on Monday, with the three justices considering the application, by Greater Manchester police, in private. The Home Office was criticised on Thursday for not acting sooner to reverse the ruling, which could hamper tens of thousands of investigations and leave officers doing their job with “one hand tied behind their back”. The criticism came after the policing minister, Nick Herbert, told MPs that emergency legislation to reverse the ruling would be brought forward because he feared an appeal to the supreme court would take too long. The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said the Home Office was “clearly in chaos”, adding: “The home secretary is still failing to sort the problem.” “Shocking delays and home office incompetence are still putting investigations at risk and jeopardising justice for victims.” She said ministers “confirmed that the home office has known about this for over a month yet they still haven’t finished the emergency legislation, and the police still don’t know what they are supposed to do with suspects today”. “That means thousands of ongoing investigations are being jeopardised,” she added. “The catalogue of incompetence is deeply worrying.” Herbert admitted that officials were told of the oral judgment in May, but its full impact only became clear when the written judgment was handed down on 17 June and ministers were alerted on 24 June . The row started when district judge Jonathan Finestein, sitting at Salford magistrates court, refused a routine application from Greater Manchester police for a warrant of further detention of Paul Hookway, a murder suspect, on 5 April. High court judge Mr Justice McCombe confirmed the ruling in a judicial review on 19 May, which meant time spent on police bail counted towards the maximum 96-hour limit of pre-charge detention. Afterwards, Home Office officials were told about the problems. Herbert told MPs: “The police believe that the judgment will have a serious impact on their ability to investigate crime. “In some cases, it will mean that suspects who would normally be released on bail are detained for longer. It is likely that, in most forces, there will not be enough capacity to detain everybody in police cells. “In other cases, it risks impeding the police to such an extent that the investigation will have to be stopped because the detention time has run out. The judgment will also affect the ability of the police to enforce bail conditions.” He said the judgment “upsets a careful balance which has stood for a quarter of a century and impedes the police from doing their job”, adding: “That is why it must be reversed.” About 85,200 people are on bail in England and Wales at any one time, and the common practice in most major inquiries of releasing suspects on bail and calling them back for questioning weeks later is “pretty much a dead duck” following the ruling, police chiefs said. Police Yvette Cooper Labour Liberal-Conservative coalition guardian.co.uk
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