Desperate firefighters scrambled today to keep a raging New Mexico wildfire from thousands of drums of spent plutonium on the grounds of the Los Alamos nuclear weapons facility. The potential danger has forced the evacuation of the entire town of Los Alamos and the surrounding area. Officials insisted that radioactive…
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Business secretary says he is optimistic public sector pension talks will succeed as 750,000 prepare to stage Thursday walkouts The business secretary, Vince Cable, has warned teachers, jobcentre workers and immigration officials who are preparing to take strike action on Thursday that there will be no public sympathy for walkouts. Cable – who warned recently that tougher strike laws could follow walkouts – said: “I don’t think the public will understand. “The public view would be that we are negotiating and are willing to negotiate, so why would people be out on strike until that process has run its course?” Up to 750,000 employees affiliated to the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, the National Union of Teachers, the University and College Union and the Public and Commercial Services Union are expected to stage Thursday walkouts over pension reforms. Cable said he was “optimistic” that pensions reform talks would succeed, saying: “Most trade unions are committed to negotiations. They asked for the talks and we are taking them seriously.” He added that a “relatively” small number unions would strike on Thursday, without the backing of resounding ballot turnouts. “They don’t have a very strong mandate,” he said. David Cameron confirmed during prime minister’s questions that MPs would be subject to the pension reforms and will have to increase the amount they pay every month along with most other public sector workers. At the moment, to qualify for the most generous accrual rates MPs pay 11.7% of their salaries. They are likely to have to increase this by five percentage points – the maximum increase the Treasury has indicated. On average, contributions will go up by 3.2 percentage points from next April, but those earning under £15,000 will be exempted and those earning less than £18,500 will be capped at a 1.5 percentage point increase. Higher earners, including MPs, will have to pay up to five percentage points more to offset the cost of protecting low earners. Cameron said: “In this house we are public sector workers as well, and we should be subject to exactly the same changes that we’re asking others to take on. “The increase in contributions should apply to the MPs system, even though it’s a system where we already pay in quite a lot. We’re saying [that] right across the board the increase in pension contributions is right to create a healthier long-term system.” And he added: “I don’t believe there is any case for industrial action tomorrow, not least because talks are still ongoing. It is only a minority of unions who have taken the decision to go ahead and strike. “What I want to see tomorrow is as many mums and dads as possible able to take their children to school. What I would say is this: what we are proposing is fair, it is fair to taxpayers but it is also fair to the public sector because we want to continue strong public sector pensions.” He also accused Labour of avoiding bringing up the issue of the strikes during because of the party’s financial relationship with the unions. “Twenty-six minutes into questions and not a squeak from the party opposition about strikes or pensions or the need for reform,” he said. “Because they are paid for by the unions, they can’t discuss the unions.” Vince Cable Trade unions David Cameron Liberal-Conservative coalition Public sector pensions Public services policy Public sector pay Schools Dan Milmo Polly Curtis guardian.co.uk
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Theresa May considers emergency legislation as police complain that high court decision has left them ‘running around like headless chickens’ The home secretary, Theresa May, is considering whether emergency legislation to stem growing concern among senior police officers over their ability to hold suspects is needed in the wake of a court ruling. The ruling – made by a district judge at Salford magistrates court and backed by the high court on 19 May – could spell the end of the practice of releasing suspects on police bail and calling them back for further questioning, a common practice in most major police investigations. On Wednesday, the West Yorkshire chief constable, Sir Norman Bettison, warned that the high court ruling on the “detention clock” was close to “a disaster” for custody sergeants, who face the prospect of having to release thousands of serious criminals without charge. “We are running around like headless chickens wondering what this means to the nature of justice,” Bettison said. “It’s a mess.” At a policing conference, May told Bettison she was also greatly concerned about the decision and was working with the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Crown Prosecution Service on its ramifications for police forces across England and Wales. “There may be an opportunity to appeal this decision,” she said. “We are also looking at whether or not it’s necessary to introduce legislation in order to deal with this issue. We are conscious of the concerns this judgment has brought in terms of operational policing.” The ruling concerned the case of Paul Hookaway, a murder suspect who was released by the Salford district judge when police applied for an extension under section 44 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act after the original 24 hours they are allowed to hold someone for questioning. Extensions up to a total of 96 hours are allowed. The district judge broke new ground in ruling, for the first time in the history of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, that the detention clock continues to run while the suspect is out on police bail. Hookaway was first arrested at 12.40pm on 7 November last year. A superintendent granted permission for him to be detained for up to 36 hours for questioning, but he was released on bail after about 28 hours. Five months later, on 5 April, police applied to the courts to extend the period of detention from 36 hours to the maximum 96. But the district judge refused the application, saying the 96 hours had expired months before. Greater Manchester police applied to the high court for a judicial review of the case, but Mr Justice McCombe upheld the district judge’s decision on 19 May and refused leave to appeal. The force is now seeking leave to appeal to the supreme court. Bettison said that unless the ruling was overturned, police could no longer put anyone out on bail for more than 96 hours without either being in a position to charge or release. “It’s on the verge of a disaster now, because the question being asked by my custody sergeants is: ‘What do we do, boss?’” he said. “I cannot countenance turning people away from the charge office and telling them all bets are off and they are free to go.” Professor Michael Zander, of the London School of Economics, recently said the decision was unfortunate and, if it was not quickly overturned on appeal, would need to be speedily reversed by legislation. In a Criminal Justice article, he said that when the original Police and Criminal Evidence Act was passed, the then home secretary, Douglas Hurd, intended to protect suspects from being held for more than 96 hours without impeding police investigations. He said it was not designed to enable a game of “cat and mouse” tactics to be played by the police. Theresa May Liberal-Conservative coalition Police Alan Travis guardian.co.uk
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Pass notes is 3,000. We celebrate the informative and irreverent column and look back at some of the highlights Pass notes is 3,000. I will pause for a burst of applause and the playing of the national anthem. Thank you. At least I hope we are marking the 3,000th pass notes. The numbering has sometimes gone awry, and it is by no means certain we got it back on track. Passnotesologists at the University of Keele have pointed out that in October 1994 two pass notes (Robert De Niro and Elizabeth Maxwell) appeared on successive days with the number 511, and that No 688 was also repeated. But,
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Reported flotation of online social gaming firm behind Mafia Wars would value it at between $15bn and $20bn The online social gaming firm Zynga reportedly plans to raise up to $2bn (£1.25bn) with a flotation this week that would value the fledgling internet company at between $15bn and $20bn. Zynga, the firm behind the hugely popular Facebook games Farmville and Mafia Wars, will file plans with the US Securities and Exchange Commission as early as Wednesday to become the latest in a gold rush of social media companies to go public, according to CBNC . Zynga initially intends to sell only 10% of its shares in the hope of driving up their valuation, CNBC reported. The four-year-old gaming firm is expected to become the biggest internet flotation since Google, following sky-high valuations in recent weeks for LinkedIn and the Chinese Facebook’, Renren. Zynga, which announced in May plans to partner with Lady Gaga , says it caters to more than 215 million monthly active gamers selling virtual farm animals for real money. According to a source reported by the New York Post to have been approached to invest in the San Francisco-based firm in March, Zynga expects to generate $1.8bn in revenue this year – with a profit of $630m. Secondary market estimates put Zynga’s 2010 full-year revenues at $850m. On last year’s revenues, a $20bn market cap would value the company at 23 times last year’s sales – a higher multiple than the recent big-money technology flotations. Shares in LinkedIn have soared since it went public last month. The social network for professionals is now valued at $8bn after floating with 2010 revenues of $243m and a profit of $15.4m. Renren has a market cap of $2.98bn after raising $743m with its New York stock exchange debut. Morgan Stanley is expected to be the lead underwriter on the Zynga IPO, along with Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays and JP Morgan. Games Social media Digital media Social networking Internet Media business Stock markets Computing United States Zynga Josh Halliday guardian.co.uk
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Around 70 teachers at David Cameron’s former school are members of the Association of Teachers Lecturers, which is taking industrial action for the first time in its history Union members at Eton College, David Cameron’s former school, have agreed to “minimise” strike disruption for pupils on Thursday. Cameron told public sector workers on Wednesday that strikes were “wrong – for you, for the people you serve, for the good of the country” in a last-ditch attempt to avert a mass walkout by members of four unions. But it emerged that around 70 teachers at Eton are members of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, which is taking industrial action for the first time in its history. The prospect of a walkout by teachers at Britain’s most expensive public school – in the face of pension changes proposed by a government that currently includes several former pupils – would have been embarrassing for the prime minister. Efforts to contact a union rep at the college failed, but Tony Little, the Eton headmaster, issued a statement late on Tuesday which read: “Members of ATL at Eton met over the weekend, and have taken the view that they wish to minimise disruption but take the pensions issue forward by other means.” Thursday’s strike coincides with the last full day of the school year for Eton pupils, which means disruption would have had little impact as no classes will take place that day. But anger over reforms to teachers’ pension schemes is expected to result in disruption across a number of other public schools with some likely to shut for the day, according to the ATL. The teachers’ pension scheme, underwritten by the government, counts staff at more than 1,400 independent schools as members, according to Lord Hutton’s review, which recommends that the scheme should no longer be available to them. Mary Bousted, the ATL general secretary, whose union includes 20,000 teachers in the private sector, admitted there would be more pressure on teachers to avoid taking to the picket line, but said it would be a mistake to down play the real sense of anger among members in fee-paid schools. “I think there is more pressure not to take action,” she added. “The dispute is more difficult in the independent sector because there is more of a direct link between parents who pay the fees. “Also, although these teachers are in the pension scheme there is not quite the direct link with the government in the same way [as state school teachers], but I do not want to down play the sense of anger in the private sector.” Public sector pensions Public services policy Public sector cuts Public finance Private schools Schools Hélène Mulholland Jessica Shepherd guardian.co.uk
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Group of investors includes the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Pimco Investment Management, the world’s largest bondholder, and BlackRock Financial Management Bank of America (BoA) is close to finalising a deal to pay $8.5bn (£5.3bn) to settle claims by a group of investors that the bank sold them poor-quality mortgage-backed securities that went sour when the housing market tanked, according to a person familiar with the settlement talks. The North Carolina-based bank was continuing talks late on Tuesday with the group, which includes the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Pimco Investment Management, the world’s largest bondholder, and BlackRock Financial Management. It is expected to announce an agreement as early as Wednesday, the person said on condition of anonymity because the matter was still developing. The deal comes eight months after the group fired off a letter to Bank of America demanding that it repurchase $47bn in mortgages that its Countrywide unit sold to them in the form of bonds. The investors have argued that Countrywide’s practice of modifying loans found to have faulty paperwork or those written outside of normal underwriting standards breached signed agreements with the investors. By continuing to service bad loans rather than speeding up foreclosures, the group has claimed that Countrywide ran up servicing fees, enriching itself at the expense of investors. The New York Fed is involved because it took over assets held by American International Group, which faltered under the weight of bad home loans that it insured. Bank of America, which paid $4bn for Countrywide in 2008, has dismissed suggestions that its handling of loan modifications and other efforts to prevent foreclosure have violated the terms of the mortgage-backed securities that the investors hold. In November, CEO Brian Moynihan said he was in day-to-day “hand-to-hand combat” with investors’ demands. But the combined effect of the Countrywide deal, mortgage crisis and the risk overhang of the soured loans have been a drain on BoA’s bottom line and stock price, eventually prompting a reversal in strategy. Since the beginning of the year, the bank has struck large settlements with multiple investors. In January, the lender paid $2.6bn to settle buyback claims on home loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And in April, the bank agreed to pay up to $1.6bn to Assured Guaranty, an insurer that also pressed the bank to repurchase shoddy mortgages. If approved, the latest settlement would address a significant remaining slice of Bank of America’s mortgage buyback claim risk. A Bank of America spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment. Bank of America US housing and sub-prime crisis US economy United States guardian.co.uk
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Ceop director warns against jumping to wrong conclusions as findings did not support claims of Asian grooming gangs The first attempt at a nationwide assessment of patterns of child sexual exploitation reveals that 26% of those who engage in on-street grooming of young girls are Asian. But Peter Davies, the director of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre (Ceop), which carried out the research warned against jumping to any conclusions from the findings on the ethnicity of offenders because the data gathered by his investigators was incomplete, not nationwide and of poor quality. “I would send a note of caution about trying to extrapolate anything from this. Looking at this issue through the lens of ethnicity does not do the victims any favours,” he said. The figures (pdf) which published on Wednesday, afer a six-month thematic assessment involving talking to police, social services and charities revealed that of the 2,379 offenders identified by the research ethnicity had not been recorded in 32% of cases. Thhe data also showed 38% of offenders were white and a small number were black or Chinese. The Ceop assessment was commissioned after national debate over what some people had identified as a pattern of Asian men operating in gangs to groom young white girls and sexually abuse them. Davies said the findings did not support this suggestion. Davies initiated the assessment to identify any patterns of offending and victimisation to improve responses. What has emerged is that not enough is being done by the police, by social services and particularly by local children’s safeguarding boards to identify and investigate child sexual exploitation which goes on in local areas. “The key message for me is that this is a horrific crime and involves the systematic, premeditated rape of children. It needs to be understood, it needs to be brought out of the dark. There should be no hiding place anywhere for people Davies said he was “surprised and disappointed” that two thirds of local safeguarding children’s boards were failing to do their statutory duty on child sexual exploitation. He said they were required to assume that child sexual exploitation was going on in their area unless there was clear evidence otherwise. Only one third of LCSB was doing this.who take part in this kind of crime,” he said. Key findings of the research were that: • most local children’s safeguarding boards are failing to fulfil their statutory responsibility to identify child sexual exploitation and protect children, • the size and scale of the crime is not known • police forces across the country need to go out and look for the crime • there are strong links between runaway children and victims of child sexual exploitation • the Crown Prosecution Service should carry out a review of all prosecutions in the area to identify barriers to bringing perpetrators to justice and • more research was needed to provide a more comprehensive picture From the data, Ceop was able to say 2,379 offenders were identified between March 2008 and January 2011. There were 2,083 victims, 90% of whom were white girls, with strong links between children going missing from homes and the care system and becoming victims. Offenders were predominantly males aged between 18 – 24 who acted alone or in groups. Investigators from Ceop spent six months gathering intelligence and data from police forces across the country, social services, health authorities and charities working with victims in an attempt to quantify the scale of the problem. Enver Solomon, head of policy at the Children’s Society, which provided evidence to CEOP, said if patterns of perpetrators had emerged there needed to be further research but he warned against jumping to any conclusions. “This (ethnicity of perpetrators) is obviously disproportionate to the population, but the problem here is that the data is incomplete and poorly recorded so there are questions about the validity and accuracy of the data. “We need to be cautious about drawing conclusions but if patterns are beginning to be identified we need to begin to understand them more, with more research so we can draw evidence based conclusions rather than jump to any assumptions.” Solomon said the figures in the report represented “a scratching at the surface” of what was the hidden problem of vulnerable children being targeted, groomed, internally trafficked and subjected to extreme forms of sexual abuse and violence on British streets. The report identifies a strong link between children who run away, both from the family home and the care system, and those who are victims of men who target them on the streets, outside local takeaways, and at obvious local gathering points for young people, in order to groom and abuse them. The Ceop report Out of Mind, Out of Sight found that in 1,087 cases agencies have failed to identify the background of the child victim. And in many cases no one bothered to record even the gender of the victims. Last year alone, charities across the sector dealt with 2,900 children who had been sexually exploited, according to figures released a fortnight ago by Barnadoes. In 2010 alone, Barnadoes worked with 1,098 children who had been sexually exploited; a 4% increase on the year before. The new head of Ceop commissioned the assessment after a string of cases in the north of England which appeared to suggest a pattern of Asian men as perpetrators of on street grooming of white girls. After the jailing in January of two ring leaders of a group of Asian men to eight years in prison Ceop announced it was carrying out a review. Mohammed Liaqat, 28 and Abid Saddique, 27, were jailed for raping and sexually abusing young girls from the Derby area who were aged between 12 and 18. The case led to claims that a pattern had emerged in which Asian men appeared to be disproportionately the perpetrators of child sexual exploitation and their victims were white girls. In response, Davies said he needed to examine whether any patterns of offending, victimisation and vulnerability could be identified. Child protection Children Human trafficking Prostitution Crime Sandra Laville guardian.co.uk
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The Greek parliament is due to vote on the austerity bill. Protesters on the second day of a general strike are determined to stop the bill being passed. 11.17am: Dailymotion.com is livestreaming Syntagma Square again today: _ 11.08am: Only one member of the ruling (socialist) PASOK party is likely to vote against the bill – not enough to prevent its passage given that PASOK has a five-seat majority in the 300-member legislature – socialist deputy Alexandros Athanassiadis has told the Associated Press. Athanassiadis, many of whose constituents are employed by the Public Power Corporation which is up for privatisation, said he maintains his opposition to the bill but that he will likely be the only dissenter. He said: I have not changed my opinion … as things stand, I persist in my decision. I don’t think (any other socialist) deputies will vote against. I will be the only one. But the Greek news website Kathimerini.com says the vote is still on a “knife-edge” with three other socialists expressing doubts. It reports that there has been last-ditch attempt on Tuesday to win round dissenters straying from party lines. 10.54am: Alexander Marquardt, from ABC News, has posted a picture of protesters spreading Maalox, an antacid, on their faces to protect against teargas. 10.42am: The Guardian’s Helena Smith in Athens writes that battle lines are being drawn ahead of the crucial vote with 8 people already hospitalised this morning: Residents in downtown Athens woke up to the whiff of tear gas and burning rubbing bins, the former still hanging in the air after a day of pitched battles between protesters and riot police, the latter set ablaze by young Greeks bracing for a fight. Since early this morning, protesters started pouring back into Syntagma Square, the focal point of opposition against austerity measures now seen as the symbol of everything that is wrong with Greece. Many say they will stay in the square whether or not George Papandreou’s socialist government passes the bill. “Whatever happens we will stay on and fight,” says Pavlos Antonopoulos, the activist schoolteacher I spoke to yesterday who was back in the square by 8:30am after snatching a couple of hours of sleep. “We hope to amass a lot of people today even if the government has sent out a very strong order to keep Syntagma clear and us away from the parliament building. We will do everything we can to ring off parliament, to stop the vote taking place.” She said that people have been working hard to clean up the square after yesterday’s clashes and the police are determined to prevent a repeat of the trouble: Municipal employees have been working overtime to clean the square – hosing it down and in some cases painstakingly removing graffiti – but the detritus of battle is everywhere: in the shattered windows of shops and chain stores, the chipped marble facades of hotels, smashed pavements and broken entrances to metro stations. Even the trees are burned. The police, meanwhile, appear hell-bent on keeping demonstrators away. The capital’s main boulevards have been cordoned off and there have been reports of violent incidences between gangs of young Greeks and police in Pangrati, a nearby neighbourhood. By 11 am at least eight people had been rushed to hospital after being clubbed by police with one trade unionist reportedly suffering head injuries and requiring several stitches. But ordinary Greeks are equally determined to have their voices heard. Busloads have arrived from around the country – all heading for Syntagma Square. And they are backed by the powerful unions that have brought Greece to a standstill with a 48-hour general strike. “Thousands of strikers have been moved by rage and exasperation with new measures that yet again hit them while those who have, those who stole from the nation’s public wealth, those who have never paid taxes, drink to the health of those who are mocked,” said Yiannis Panagopoulos who presides over the confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE) the country’s biggest labour force. “These policies are not only unfair, they lead nowhere and are ineffective. Today we are waging a huge battle and this battle will not stop until these policies are overturned.” 10.36am: Protesters have clashed with police outside parliament as people opposed to the austerity bill have sought to block MPs from entering the building to vote. One communist deputy was pelted with yoghurt as she made her way into parliament and three people were treated for minor injuries as protesters clashed with police during an attempt to bar the way into the chamber. _ 10.31am: The markets are betting on the mid-term bill being passed by the Greek parliament. • Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.54% higher at 9797 points. European shares rose sharply in early trading: • Britain’s FTSE 100 was 1.2% higher at 2,834.26 • Germany’s DAX rose 1.3% to 7,265.34 • France’s CAC-40 was up 1.1%at 3,895.66. • Wall Street was also headed for a higher opening, with Dow Jones industrial futures gaining 0.2%to 12,169 and S&P 500 futures rising 0.3%t to 1,298.40. 10.27am: The governor of the bank of Greece, George Provopoulos, has told the Financial Times the country will be committing “suicide” if its parliament fails to back the austerity bill. He said: We have never really had a debate in this country about what went wrong. In Portugal the new government has come in and said that there will be a difficult two years ahead. We have not had that kind of talk here … For parliament to vote against this package would be a crime – the country would be voting for its suicide. 10.23am: My colleague Graeme Wearden has outlined exactly what parliament will be voting on today . It amounts to a hard-hitting package of tax rises, cuts to benefits and public spending, and privatisations. Tax increases include • A solidarity levy: At 1% for those earning between €12,000 (£10,800) and €20,000 a year, 2% for incomes between €20,000 and €50,000, 3% for those on €50,000 to €100,000, and 4% for those earning €100,000 or more. Lawmakers and public office holders will pay a 5% rate. • A lower tax-free threshold: People will now pay tax on income over €8,000 a year, down from €12,000. This basic rate of tax will be set at 10%, with exemptions for those under 30, over 65, and the disabled. • Sales tax: The VAT rate for restaurants and bars is being hiked from 13% to the new top rate of 23%. This rate already covers many products in the shops, including clothing, alcohol, electronics goods and some professional services. Spending cuts include: • Public sector wages: Salaries will be reduced by 15%. • The public sector wage bill: The goal is to cut 150,000 public sector jobs, through a hiring freeze and abolition of all temporary contracts. This should cut the total bill by €2bn by 2015. • Social benefits and pensions: The retirement age is being raised to 65. Increased means testing, and cuts to some benefits, will reduce the total amount spend on benefits by €1.09bn in 2011, then €1.28bn in 2012, €1.03bn in 2013, €1.01bn in 2014 and €700m in 2015. 10.16am: Welcome to the Guardian’s coverage of the protests in Greece and the vote on the mid-term bill in parliament. The Greek government will hope to pass its austerity bill – a precondition of additional loans from the EU and IMF – in parliament against a backdrop of massive public opposition. Despite its unpopularity the bill is expected to pass. Greece has said it has funds only until mid-July, after which it will be unable to pay salaries and pensions, or service its debts, without the next bailout instalment The vote is expected anytime from 11am BST (1pm Greek time) onwards. Trade Unionists have vowed to stop MPs getting into parliament for the vote but security in the centre of Athens is high. There are fears of more violent crashes after at least 46 people were injured, most of them police, yesterday a s rioters pelted police with chunks of marble and ripped up paving stones, and authorities responded with repeated volleys of teargas and stun grenades . Several hundred people gathered in front of parliament early today for fresh protests. Greece European Union Europe Europe Protest IMF European Central Bank Haroon Siddique guardian.co.uk
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To mark the World Forum on Enterprise and the Environment we asked you to send us photos that convey the things you value most in nature Environment editor
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