Los Angeles health officials identify legionella bacterium but say flu contracted by three guests is possible cause of outbreak Health inspectors have found a possible source of illness among guests at Hugh Hefner’s Playboy mansion in Los Angeles: bacteria in the hot tub. More than a 100 people fell ill after the fundraising party in February, reporting pneumonia and flu-like symptoms. Officials contacted 439 people who attended the event and found 123 had fallen sick with symptoms including fever, headache, cough, shortness of breath and aches. Sixty-nine people fell sick on the day of the party. Three tested positive for H1N1 flu. The Los Angeles health department took samples from the water in the hot tub and identified the legionella bacterium which can cause the potentially fatal legionnaires’ disease. Investigators used Twitter and Facebook to trace guests, who travelled to the fundraiser for DomainFest, a conference for internet investors from 30 countries. Officials say the bug in the pool may not be the cause of the outbreak. In a statement the Los Angeles County department of public health said: “Though legionella bacteria was identified in a water sample taken from the Playboy Mansion, this bacteria has not been determined as the source of the respiratory outbreak. “Other potential causes under investigation include influenza, as three individuals who attended the conference tested later positive for the flu.” The news comes at an awkward moment for Hefner. In June the 84-year-old Playboy founder is set to marry Crystal Harris, 24, Playboy Playmate of the month in December 2009. Hefner and Harris are set to appear in a pre-wedding spread in the magazine. Hefner told US Weekly: “June is a big month – Crystal and I will be in London opening a new club, then we’ll come back and get married at the mansion. It’s going to be a very special year. It’s the Chinese year of the rabbit, so the bunny is back.” United States Legionnaires’ disease Flu Dominic Rushe guardian.co.uk
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British Airways chief Keith Williams to meet Unite general secretary Len McCluskey on Tuesday to look for a solution to the long-running cabin crew dispute Senior figures at British Airways and the Unite trade union will meet this week in the latest attempt to solve the long-running cabin crew industrial dispute. BA chief executive Keith Williams and the general secretary of Unite, Len McCluskey, will hold face-to-face talks at an undisclosed location on Tuesday. In a move described by a trade union source as “very positive”, the meeting will also be attended by representatives from Bassa, Unite’s main cabin crew branch. In an email to members , Bassa said: “The outcome of course cannot be predicted, we cannot guarantee that we will be successful but we can guarantee that we will do our absolute best to be so.” The move follows a joint statement by BA and Unite last week in which BA confirmed it has extended the union’s strike mandate to allow peace talks to go ahead. Last month cabin crew voted for strike action for the fourth time in less than 18 months and their mandate was due to expire before the end of April, putting pressure on Unite to announce industrial action. However, the BA and Unite statement, signed by Williams and McCluskey, made clear that both sides were focused on talks. “To achieve such a peace, it is understood by British Airways that cabin crew must feel that their concerns are being fairly dealt with, and it is recognised by the union that the management and acceptance of change is the key to lasting peace,” said BA and Unite. With the extension, Unite’s mandate now expires in mid-May, removing the threat of walkouts over Easter and during the royal wedding. A clinical psychologist, Mark Hamlin, whose company specialises in dealing with “fragility of trust”, has met senior figures at BA and Unite as part of the preparation process for talks. Further impetus has been given to the process by a change in protagonists. Willie Walsh, BA’s former chief executive, is now boss of BA’s parent International Airlines Group, while Tony Woodley has stepped down as Unite general secretary. The undisclosed location for talks is also likely to prevent a repeat of the bizarre scenes last year that saw protestors from the Socialist Workers Party invade discussions between Walsh and Woodley at the conciliation service Acas. Although the dispute started in 2009 when BA unilaterally cut staffing levels on long-haul flights, the main issues of contention now include sanctions imposed on thousands of cabin crew who took part in 22 days of strikes last year. The issues that will be discussed in the talks are: removal of staff travel from strikers; binding arbitration for disciplinary cases involving cabin crew; and concerns over the introduction of a “mixed fleet” staffed by cabin crew on different terms and conditions. British Airways Airline industry Travel & leisure Unite Trade unions Dan Milmo guardian.co.uk
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Alex Salmond pulls ahead of Iain Gray in the contest for first minister, but Labour insists it is not a presidential election There was a brief moment by a Tesco checkout when a couple of customers caught sight of a politician they recognised. It was the tall, white-haired one with the glasses and not the shorter one just beside him that they pointed at. For much of their election campaigning visit around the vast store in a comfortable suburb of western Edinburgh, Alistair Darling attracted more nods of recognition than his stockier companion, the leader of the Scottish Labour party, Iain Gray . Of course, Darling is a former chancellor and has been the area’s MP for nearly 25 years. Yet Gray too ought to be very well-known. He has been the Scottish Labour leader since September 2008, leader of the opposition in a parliament with far greater impact on Scottish voters’ daily lives than Westminster. His relative anonymity has become a running theme in an election that the Labour party is burning to win so it can take control of the Scottish parliament at Holyrood. Taking back Holyrood after four years of often shrewd government by Alex Salmond and the Scottish National party would help Labour begin to exorcise the ghosts of the Tony Blair and Gordon Brown years. It would give the party a platform, a new front in its war on the Tories at Westminster. However, loyalists such as Patrick Cavanagh have to step delicately around the “Iain Gray, who?” question. Cavanagh is a lifelong Labour voter with pedigree. He immediately engaged Darling in conversation in the Tesco groceries aisle. His son Brian was once a prominent Labour councillor in Edinburgh, serving alongside Darling in the city chambers in the 1980s. “I think it would be unkind to say Mr Gray lacks …” said Cavanagh, cutting off the critical word on his lips. He considered his next words carefully. “I think he’s got a fairly bad press. At heart I think he’s a very genuine man and his background with Oxfam was excellent and should help contribute to him being more thought of.” It is an issue being ruthlessly exploited by the SNP, which repeatedly refers to Salmond’s high voter recognition and popularity, in some polls by a margin of four to one. The Scottish edition of the Sun has come out for the nationalists, a tactical anti-Labour stance. The tabloid, Scotland’s top-selling daily, has been running regular photos of Gray captioned: “This is what Labour’s leader looks like (we think).” This question re-emerged on Sunday. A new YouGov poll for Scotland on Sunday said 52% of voters believed Salmond would make the best first minister, compared with 27% for Gray. That poll had more sobering news for Labour: it put the SNP several points ahead on both the constituency vote and the regional vote for Holyrood, after months trailing Labour. The SNP has hit the magical 40% mark on the constituency vote, a figure that should see it taking several more seats than Labour. Gray shrugs off the personality issue: Salmond has been in frontline politics for 20 years and first minister since 2007. Gray argues that the SNP is significantly misreading the mood of the electorate, failing to realise that voters care more about jobs, the health service and schools than surnames. “The fundamental point is that this is not a presidential election, and we believe the voters don’t see it as a presidential election. They do see it as a choice of governments,” he said. Labour’s confidence has been boosted by a recent BBC Scotland survey which found one Labour manifesto pledge – to ensure cancer screening within two weeks – was top of voters’ concerns, while several key SNP promises languished at the bottom. There is a second story in this election that impacts on British politics and Westminster: setting aside the AV referendum to reform Westminster’s voting system, this will be the toughest electoral test for the Liberal Democrats since Nick Clegg formed the UK government coalition with David Cameron last May. That decision appears to have been toxic for the Scottish party. In a country that is now firmly centre-left, the Lib Dems’ polling figures are its worst ever. The latest YouGov poll put its support at 8%, half its figure in 2007, suggesting the Lib Dems may lose at least six of their 16 seats at Holyrood. There is a painful irony for the party in Scotland here: it helped define coalition politics in the UK by sharing power with Labour at the Scottish parliament for its first eight years. Clegg drew heavily on that experience in his coalition talks with Cameron. Its activists are furious, and two candidates have stood down from the Lib Dem slate. One former MSP standing for re-election, Hugh O’Donnell, accused the Clegg-Cameron coalition of enacting “some of the most draconian policies I have ever seen in the name of cuts”. Tavish Scott , the party’s Scottish leader, is adamant the predictions of wholesale Lib Dem losses on 5 May are exaggerated. But he is blunt about the problems Clegg’s coalition has caused his party. “The UK coalition isn’t easy for us,” he said curtly. Darling and Gray were campaigning in Edinburgh West for that reason: it is a prize Lib Dem constituency which Labour believes it can win. And James McDiarmid, 81, is part of the reason why. McDiarmid has been a tactical Lib Dem voter for the past 16 years, and is switching to Labour. “I used to vote for Nick Clegg to stop the Tories but I will never vote for them again. He’s sold his soul to be deputy prime minister,” he said. “My honest opinion is that they will get completely wiped out in Scotland.” Labour acknowledges that the nationalists are winning the “air war”, the propaganda campaign to capture headlines. The SNP are masters of the media wars. They have unveiled the Hollywood actors Alan Cumming and Brian Cox as celebrity endorsers, while the rock musician Midge Ure has pledged his support. And on the day Salmond first campaigned in two other prized Lib Dem seats in the Highlands, including the Holyrood equivalent of the constituency held by the former UK party leader Charles Kennedy, the SNP published a gushing endorsement of Salmond by the retiring veteran Lib Dem MSP, John Farquhar Munro. Only Salmond, said Farquhar Munro, could lead Scotland to prosperity. He admired his “political acumen, his debating skills, and his devotion to Scotland”. Speaking as he dashed between campaign events in his islands constituency of Shetland, the most northerly in Britain, Scott was scathing about this tactic. Salmond has a track record of unfounded boasts, he said. He claimed the SNP would take 20 seats in the last general election, and won just six. Salmond’s predictions of victory in the Glenrothes and Glasgow North East byelections were equally misplaced: Labour demolished the SNP in both. “He spins and spins and spins, and fails to deliver,” Scott said. Gray shares Scott’s critique. Gray is adamant that the “ground war” – the constituency-level campaigning beneath the media’s radar – is where Labour is winning. It is a strategy that won Labour past general elections and the last two byelections. Party activists have personally contacted 750,000 voters in recent months and will have spoken to one million by polling day, he said. “I think the ground war is enormously significant. I have called this the doorstep election and I think it will be won or lost on the doorstep,” he said. “The response we’re getting on the ground is very positive [and] I’m very optimistic about the outcome.” YouGov found that on only two issues – the environment and Holyrood’s parliamentary powers – do voters believe Scotland has improved under the SNP. If the stakes for Labour and the Lib Dems are high, they are equally significant for Salmond and, over time, for the United Kingdom. If the SNP were to win a second term, Salmond would take that as a mandate to press for even greater tax-raising powers for Holyrood and eventually a referendum on independence. Salmond believes Labour’s “dog whistle” message to its voters that only Labour can effectively fight the Tories in London is quickly losing its appeal. But he remains uncharacteristically cautious about the SNP’s chances. He knows polls can exaggerate. “This election is a long way from being won,” he said. “This is an election which is in the balance.” Scottish elections 2011 Scottish politics Scotland Labour Scottish National Party (SNP) Liberal Democrats Alex Salmond Severin Carrell guardian.co.uk
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A savage storm system tore through the southern states reducing homes to rubble and leaving thousands without power A savage storm system has killed dozens of people across southern US states and left hundreds of thousands without power after they were battered by torrential rain, lightning and hail stones the size of golf balls. North Carolina was hit by 62 tornadoes, the highest number for two decades. Emergency crews expect the number of people killed to rise as they deal with the aftermath of a storm that claimed its first victim in Oklahoma on Thursday, before sweeping through Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. Seven people were killed in Alabama on Friday, including a mother and her two adolescent children who were crushed when their mobile home was lifted by the storm and thrown about 90 metres before landing upside down. On Sunday the National Weather Service reported 14 deaths in Bertie county, North Carolina. The state’s governor, Beverly Perdue, declared a state of emergency after fatalities were reported across the state. She said the storms were “the most widespread tornadoes we’ve seen since the mid-80s. “Our thoughts and prayers are with everybody in North Carolina who has been through this horrible day,” Perdue said. The death toll includes 23 people in North Carolina, seven in Alabama, seven in Arkansas, four in Virginia, two in Oklahoma and one in Mississippi. More than 100 tornadoes have been spotted across the southern states. Storm damage brought down power lines leaving 250,000 without electricity in North Carolina. Fallen trees blocked streets in Raleigh, the state capital. In Virginia a tornado killed three people as it ripped across more than 12 miles (19 km) in Gloucester county, uprooting trees and pounding homes to rubble. Elsewhere in Virginia the storms triggered flash floods. The storm system has now made its way into the Atlantic, according to the National Weather Service. Natural disasters and extreme weather United States Dominic Rushe guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …A British man has been killed in Florida, the Foreign Office has said A British man has been killed in Florida, the Foreign Office said today. Reports suggest he may have been fatally injured during a shooting yesterday in Miami. The man’s family has been told of his death but his identity has not been released. A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We can confirm the death of a British national in Florida on April 16. Next of kin have been informed.” More details soon United States guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …The soaring national debt is making strange bedfellows in the Senate: A bipartisan “Gang of Six” has been secretly working for months, and now appears as the leading hope in negotiations, with both sides willing to sacrifice their sacred cows. For Democrats, that means deep cuts to Medicare and Medicaid,…
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• Send your thoughts to gregg.roughley@guardian.co.uk • Look in on the FA Cup semi-final between Bolton and Stoke • And check all of today’s results and live scores here 21 min: Not very surprising news dept: Aurelio’s hamstring goes for the 457th time in his career and the 17-year-old left-back Jack Robinson replaces him. Jens Lehmann is five years older than Flanagan and Robinson combined! 19 min: “The boy Spearing, he looks a bit like he’s had Jim Fix It for him to play for Liverpool for the day. Odd lookin’ fella,” offers Steve Waterhouse. Walcott drifts over to the left and bursts past Carragher and plays a very dangerous ball in towards Van Persie, but Reina is electric off his line and gathers comfortably. 18 min: Arsenal are turning the screw. Van Persie whips in another fantastic free-kick towards Koscielny again after Aurelio gave away a free-kick on the right, but this time Skrtel leaps highest and clears the danger. 16 min: Arsenal hit the bar! Reina looks shaky again as he comes to punch clear a Van Persie corner, but the pace of the delivery catches him out and Koscielny gets to the ball before him and sends a powerful header thumping against the woodwork. 14 min: How good is Andy Carroll then. To answer Summer, in my opinion, Carroll is like a really powerful engine that’s full of dirt. Polished up a bit he could be very, very good. But, it’s still very early days in his career. 13 min: Arsenal are pressing Liverpool much more aggressively now. Reina is forced to clear long, with no options in midfield. 10 min: Reina spills a Walcott drive from 25 yards. At first look it looks like Reina has made a pig’s ear of it. At second look the ball swerves dramatically in mid-air and means Reina can only palm it away. Flanagan clears the danger. 9 min: Carroll gets his head to the corner but sends it high over the bar. On a second look at the Spearing penalty claim it looks like he had a good shout. Djourou’s tackle was clumsy, his knee knocking Spearing into, and then over, Carroll. “How good is Andy Carroll,” asks Summer Hayles. That’s a big one for an MBM Summer. 8 min: Corner for Liverpool. 7 min: It’s been a racey start this. Both teams moving the ball quickly on the floor. 5 min: Jay Spearing (he’s an odd looking lad isn’t he? Like David Thompson and an egg had relations) appeals for a penalty after Suarez crosses towards Andy Carroll and the midfielder latches on to the knockdown, but it looks like he trips over Carroll if anything. Suarez then wins a free-kick and sends it tamely into the arms of Szczesny from 25 yards. 3 min: Arsenal win a free-kick on the left. Nasri whips a brilliant ball in towards the penalty spot, where Diaby leaps highest and sends the ball scooting a foot past Reina’s right-hand post. It was a perfectly-weighted ball from Nasri. 2 min: “Stan Kroenke. All that money and he can’t afford a decent wig. How unfortunate.” Oh you cruel man Luke Stevenson. Arsenal set the early tempo, with Fabregas and Wilshere combining in midfield to set Walcott off down the right, but Aurelio makes a decent tackle. He’s fit today, so goes the rumour. He’s never really fit though. Aurelio that is. 1 min: We’re off. Liverpool win an early free-kick after a late tackle by Samir Nasri. 4.02pm: Impeccably observed. It’s time for kick-off. 4.01pm: There’ll be a minute’s silence for Danny Fitszman, the former Arsenal board member and visionary, who died this week, and for the 96 Liverpool fans who lost their lives against Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough in the FA Cup semi-final in 1989. 3.59pm: “This title race needs a back pass from Carragher I think,” offers Jake Watson building up to something. “It’s a shame Gerrard isn’t playing today as he did a wonderful job of stopping Man United winning the title last season .” 3.56pm: Hmmm. For those who are wondering, I’m afraid the auto-update button isn’t working so you’ll have to hit F5 or really stretch yourself and use your mouse to hover over refresh and click it. I can assure you I have it switched on but technical gremlins have effed it up. 3.52pm: Djourou has recovered very quickly from his dislocated shoulder. I imagine Carroll will test his fitness out to the fullest today. An unfit Djourou is still less dodgy than Squillaci, I suppose. Although that’s not saying much … 3.50pm: Here’s Gary Naylor … “Liverpool don’t miss Steven Gerrard do they? When King Kenny played, he was a huge individual talent who, through his positioning, movement and vision, made everyone around him play better. When his successor as captain plays, he is a huge individual talent who, through his positioning, movement and vision, makes everyone around him play worse.” Against Manchester United Gerrard brought the best out of the players around him Gary, largely because he was carrying an injury and held his position in a holding role. So, I kind of agree with you. Perhaps next season he may be more disciplined as age and injury start to rob him of his mobility. 3.43pm: “Great to see you MBMing a Liverpool game Gregg! Thought that MBMs might have to declare their allegiance and be allowed to officiate neutral games only, as happens with refs (in England, up here in Scotland refs are free to be secret Masons, Knights of St.Columba etc and so on),” writes Ryan Dunne. “As for Liam Gallagher: surely being like Austin Powers is a step up from being in a band that aimed to be The Beatles and ended up as Status Quo?” Erm. Surely you’re not suggesting I might have some kind of preference for one team over another today Ryan. What an earth could make you think that? 3.38pm: John Bishop’s got ridiculously LA teeth. He’s from Runcorn. Nobody in Runcorn has teeth that white. 3.33pm: Musical hilarity section: When did Liam Gallagher become the new Austin Powers? 3.29pm: An early email: “As much I would enjoy seeing Arsenal really pushing United to the very end, I just don’t think they’ve got the bottle,” writes Rob Cobourne. “Liverpool are in fairly good form and I think Arsenal will crack under the pressure today before winning a couple at the end of the season when it’s too late. Suarez to star in a 2-1 Liverpool victory… bye bye record league titles!” 3.28pm: If Liverpool do win it will be bittersweet for many fans, as they’ll effectively be doing that funny brushing thing they do in curling to allow Manchester United a smooth run through to a record 19th title. This could be a very narrow match. Arsenal will likely line-up in a 4-3-2-1 formation with Walcott and Nasri as the wide men drifting inside to support Van Persie. Meireles and Kuyt won’t give Liverpool much width either hence my prediction of a tight 1-1 draw. Liverpool are unchanged from the match against Manchester City in a likely 4-4-2 formation with Suarez just behind Carroll. They have the 18-year-old John Flanagan at right-back again. He did very well on his debut last Monday but he’ll need every high-pitched squeel of advice from Jamie Carragher as he comes up against Arsenal’s best player this season, Samir Nasri. Teams Arsenal: Szczesny, Eboue, Koscielny, Djourou, Clichy, Diaby, Wilshere, Walcott, Fabregas, Nasri, Van Persie. Subs: Lehmann, Song, Squillaci, Arshavin, Gibbs, Chamakh, Bendtner. Liverpool: Reina, Flanagan, Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio, Kuyt, Spearing, Lucas, Meireles, Suarez, Carroll. Subs: Gulacsi, Cole, Kyrgiakos, Maxi, Ngog, Shelvey, Robinson. Referee: Andre Marriner (W Midlands) Preamble If Arsenal win today they close the gap to Manchester United to four points. Beat Spurs at White Hart Lane on Wednesday and they’re only a point off the top with Bolton at the Reebok sandwiched between United’s visit to the Emirates on 1 May, a match in which they can show the world that they do have the balls to win the title but probably won’t because they’ll probably draw with Liverpool, beat Spurs and lose away at Bolton beforehand . Anyway, much has gone on since Arsenal drew with Liverpool 1-1 on a balmy sunny day at Anfield last August: Javier Mascherano has taken his hairy legs to Barcelona, Crazy Jens is back at the Emirates, Roy Hodgson was a Liverpool manager for 48 seconds, someone was shot dead for eating popcorn too loudly , Jack Wilshere proved that Englishmen can pass, Kenny Dalglish set a new Dubai to Liverpool world record, Colonel Gaddafi proved once and for all that he is definitely more cranky than Sir Alex Ferguson, Fernando Torres made himself about as popular on Merseyside as the Tories, and as for them … let’s not go there. But for all that, I reckon the score will be exactly as it was on the opening day: Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool The greatest ever Arsenal v Liverpool match: Final score 11-10 Premier League Arsenal Liverpool Gregg Roughley guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …• Send your thoughts to gregg.roughley@guardian.co.uk • Look in on the FA Cup semi-final between Bolton and Stoke • And check all of today’s results and live scores here 21 min: Not very surprising news dept: Aurelio’s hamstring goes for the 457th time in his career and the 17-year-old left-back Jack Robinson replaces him. Jens Lehmann is five years older than Flanagan and Robinson combined! 19 min: “The boy Spearing, he looks a bit like he’s had Jim Fix It for him to play for Liverpool for the day. Odd lookin’ fella,” offers Steve Waterhouse. Walcott drifts over to the left and bursts past Carragher and plays a very dangerous ball in towards Van Persie, but Reina is electric off his line and gathers comfortably. 18 min: Arsenal are turning the screw. Van Persie whips in another fantastic free-kick towards Koscielny again after Aurelio gave away a free-kick on the right, but this time Skrtel leaps highest and clears the danger. 16 min: Arsenal hit the bar! Reina looks shaky again as he comes to punch clear a Van Persie corner, but the pace of the delivery catches him out and Koscielny gets to the ball before him and sends a powerful header thumping against the woodwork. 14 min: How good is Andy Carroll then. To answer Summer, in my opinion, Carroll is like a really powerful engine that’s full of dirt. Polished up a bit he could be very, very good. But, it’s still very early days in his career. 13 min: Arsenal are pressing Liverpool much more aggressively now. Reina is forced to clear long, with no options in midfield. 10 min: Reina spills a Walcott drive from 25 yards. At first look it looks like Reina has made a pig’s ear of it. At second look the ball swerves dramatically in mid-air and means Reina can only palm it away. Flanagan clears the danger. 9 min: Carroll gets his head to the corner but sends it high over the bar. On a second look at the Spearing penalty claim it looks like he had a good shout. Djourou’s tackle was clumsy, his knee knocking Spearing into, and then over, Carroll. “How good is Andy Carroll,” asks Summer Hayles. That’s a big one for an MBM Summer. 8 min: Corner for Liverpool. 7 min: It’s been a racey start this. Both teams moving the ball quickly on the floor. 5 min: Jay Spearing (he’s an odd looking lad isn’t he? Like David Thompson and an egg had relations) appeals for a penalty after Suarez crosses towards Andy Carroll and the midfielder latches on to the knockdown, but it looks like he trips over Carroll if anything. Suarez then wins a free-kick and sends it tamely into the arms of Szczesny from 25 yards. 3 min: Arsenal win a free-kick on the left. Nasri whips a brilliant ball in towards the penalty spot, where Diaby leaps highest and sends the ball scooting a foot past Reina’s right-hand post. It was a perfectly-weighted ball from Nasri. 2 min: “Stan Kroenke. All that money and he can’t afford a decent wig. How unfortunate.” Oh you cruel man Luke Stevenson. Arsenal set the early tempo, with Fabregas and Wilshere combining in midfield to set Walcott off down the right, but Aurelio makes a decent tackle. He’s fit today, so goes the rumour. He’s never really fit though. Aurelio that is. 1 min: We’re off. Liverpool win an early free-kick after a late tackle by Samir Nasri. 4.02pm: Impeccably observed. It’s time for kick-off. 4.01pm: There’ll be a minute’s silence for Danny Fitszman, the former Arsenal board member and visionary, who died this week, and for the 96 Liverpool fans who lost their lives against Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough in the FA Cup semi-final in 1989. 3.59pm: “This title race needs a back pass from Carragher I think,” offers Jake Watson building up to something. “It’s a shame Gerrard isn’t playing today as he did a wonderful job of stopping Man United winning the title last season .” 3.56pm: Hmmm. For those who are wondering, I’m afraid the auto-update button isn’t working so you’ll have to hit F5 or really stretch yourself and use your mouse to hover over refresh and click it. I can assure you I have it switched on but technical gremlins have effed it up. 3.52pm: Djourou has recovered very quickly from his dislocated shoulder. I imagine Carroll will test his fitness out to the fullest today. An unfit Djourou is still less dodgy than Squillaci, I suppose. Although that’s not saying much … 3.50pm: Here’s Gary Naylor … “Liverpool don’t miss Steven Gerrard do they? When King Kenny played, he was a huge individual talent who, through his positioning, movement and vision, made everyone around him play better. When his successor as captain plays, he is a huge individual talent who, through his positioning, movement and vision, makes everyone around him play worse.” Against Manchester United Gerrard brought the best out of the players around him Gary, largely because he was carrying an injury and held his position in a holding role. So, I kind of agree with you. Perhaps next season he may be more disciplined as age and injury start to rob him of his mobility. 3.43pm: “Great to see you MBMing a Liverpool game Gregg! Thought that MBMs might have to declare their allegiance and be allowed to officiate neutral games only, as happens with refs (in England, up here in Scotland refs are free to be secret Masons, Knights of St.Columba etc and so on),” writes Ryan Dunne. “As for Liam Gallagher: surely being like Austin Powers is a step up from being in a band that aimed to be The Beatles and ended up as Status Quo?” Erm. Surely you’re not suggesting I might have some kind of preference for one team over another today Ryan. What an earth could make you think that? 3.38pm: John Bishop’s got ridiculously LA teeth. He’s from Runcorn. Nobody in Runcorn has teeth that white. 3.33pm: Musical hilarity section: When did Liam Gallagher become the new Austin Powers? 3.29pm: An early email: “As much I would enjoy seeing Arsenal really pushing United to the very end, I just don’t think they’ve got the bottle,” writes Rob Cobourne. “Liverpool are in fairly good form and I think Arsenal will crack under the pressure today before winning a couple at the end of the season when it’s too late. Suarez to star in a 2-1 Liverpool victory… bye bye record league titles!” 3.28pm: If Liverpool do win it will be bittersweet for many fans, as they’ll effectively be doing that funny brushing thing they do in curling to allow Manchester United a smooth run through to a record 19th title. This could be a very narrow match. Arsenal will likely line-up in a 4-3-2-1 formation with Walcott and Nasri as the wide men drifting inside to support Van Persie. Meireles and Kuyt won’t give Liverpool much width either hence my prediction of a tight 1-1 draw. Liverpool are unchanged from the match against Manchester City in a likely 4-4-2 formation with Suarez just behind Carroll. They have the 18-year-old John Flanagan at right-back again. He did very well on his debut last Monday but he’ll need every high-pitched squeel of advice from Jamie Carragher as he comes up against Arsenal’s best player this season, Samir Nasri. Teams Arsenal: Szczesny, Eboue, Koscielny, Djourou, Clichy, Diaby, Wilshere, Walcott, Fabregas, Nasri, Van Persie. Subs: Lehmann, Song, Squillaci, Arshavin, Gibbs, Chamakh, Bendtner. Liverpool: Reina, Flanagan, Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio, Kuyt, Spearing, Lucas, Meireles, Suarez, Carroll. Subs: Gulacsi, Cole, Kyrgiakos, Maxi, Ngog, Shelvey, Robinson. Referee: Andre Marriner (W Midlands) Preamble If Arsenal win today they close the gap to Manchester United to four points. Beat Spurs at White Hart Lane on Wednesday and they’re only a point off the top with Bolton at the Reebok sandwiched between United’s visit to the Emirates on 1 May, a match in which they can show the world that they do have the balls to win the title but probably won’t because they’ll probably draw with Liverpool, beat Spurs and lose away at Bolton beforehand . Anyway, much has gone on since Arsenal drew with Liverpool 1-1 on a balmy sunny day at Anfield last August: Javier Mascherano has taken his hairy legs to Barcelona, Crazy Jens is back at the Emirates, Roy Hodgson was a Liverpool manager for 48 seconds, someone was shot dead for eating popcorn too loudly , Jack Wilshere proved that Englishmen can pass, Kenny Dalglish set a new Dubai to Liverpool world record, Colonel Gaddafi proved once and for all that he is definitely more cranky than Sir Alex Ferguson, Fernando Torres made himself about as popular on Merseyside as the Tories, and as for them … let’s not go there. But for all that, I reckon the score will be exactly as it was on the opening day: Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool The greatest ever Arsenal v Liverpool match: Final score 11-10 Premier League Arsenal Liverpool Gregg Roughley guardian.co.uk
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Lib Dem MP John Hemmings fears reporters could face imprisonment simply for asking questions, creating a ‘recipe for hiding miscarriages of justice’ An MP who is launching an inquiry into excessive and possibly unlawful court secrecy says a new type of gagging order is hampering the work of investigative journalists. John Hemming said the new breed of injunction, which was used in relation to a case in the high court in London last week, meant journalists could face jail simply for asking questions. “This goes a step further than preventing people speaking out against injustice,” said Hemming, the Liberal Democrat MP for Birmingham Yardley and a longtime campaigner against secrecy . “It has the effect of preventing journalists from speaking to people subject to this injunction without a risk of the journalist going to jail. That is a recipe for hiding miscarriages of justice.” Hemming has labelled the new gagging order the “quaero injunction” after the Latin word “to seek”. “It puts any investigative journalist at risk if they ask any questions of a victim of a potential miscarriage of justice … I don’t think this should be allowed in English courts.” There has been growing concern over the use of gagging orders in UK courts. It is not known precisely how many superinjunctions have been issued, but an informed legal estimate is that as many as 20 have been granted in the UK over the last 18 months. In the most notorious case, the oil trader Trafigura last year briefly obtained a superinjunction against the Guardian to suppress a leaked report on its toxic waste dumping, which even prevented reporting proceedings in parliament. Earlier this month, Hemming highlighted a new type of hyperinjunction which forbids the recipient talking to their MP. He says he is now launching an inquiry in parliament into excess court secrecy and is planning to collect a range of gagging orders that he will then analyse and present to the justice select committee in a number of “parliamentary petitions” later this year. “What is clear is that almost all of the superinjunctions and hyperinjunctions have no public judgment,” Hemming said. “That means that they are not compliant with the rules for a fair trial. There is also the question as to whether there should be an automatic time limit on an interim order. Many cases have an interim order and no final hearing. This is clearly wrong. “We also need to know what the costs are both for the applicant and for the media in defending these orders. It is wrong to have a system whereby people can buy the sort of justice they want. That is a contravention of clause 29 of Magna Carta 1297, which is still in force.” Hemming is asking anyone who is subject to a gagging injunction that they would like to be included in the review to forward the information to him at the House of Commons. Media law House of Commons Liberal Democrats Freedom of speech Freedom of information Press freedom Newspapers & magazines Newspapers Matthew Taylor guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Lib Dem MP John Hemmings fears reporters could face imprisonment simply for asking questions, creating a ‘recipe for hiding miscarriages of justice’ An MP who is launching an inquiry into excessive and possibly unlawful court secrecy says a new type of gagging order is hampering the work of investigative journalists. John Hemming said the new breed of injunction, which was used in relation to a case in the high court in London last week, meant journalists could face jail simply for asking questions. “This goes a step further than preventing people speaking out against injustice,” said Hemming, the Liberal Democrat MP for Birmingham Yardley and a longtime campaigner against secrecy . “It has the effect of preventing journalists from speaking to people subject to this injunction without a risk of the journalist going to jail. That is a recipe for hiding miscarriages of justice.” Hemming has labelled the new gagging order the “quaero injunction” after the Latin word “to seek”. “It puts any investigative journalist at risk if they ask any questions of a victim of a potential miscarriage of justice … I don’t think this should be allowed in English courts.” There has been growing concern over the use of gagging orders in UK courts. It is not known precisely how many superinjunctions have been issued, but an informed legal estimate is that as many as 20 have been granted in the UK over the last 18 months. In the most notorious case, the oil trader Trafigura last year briefly obtained a superinjunction against the Guardian to suppress a leaked report on its toxic waste dumping, which even prevented reporting proceedings in parliament. Earlier this month, Hemming highlighted a new type of hyperinjunction which forbids the recipient talking to their MP. He says he is now launching an inquiry in parliament into excess court secrecy and is planning to collect a range of gagging orders that he will then analyse and present to the justice select committee in a number of “parliamentary petitions” later this year. “What is clear is that almost all of the superinjunctions and hyperinjunctions have no public judgment,” Hemming said. “That means that they are not compliant with the rules for a fair trial. There is also the question as to whether there should be an automatic time limit on an interim order. Many cases have an interim order and no final hearing. This is clearly wrong. “We also need to know what the costs are both for the applicant and for the media in defending these orders. It is wrong to have a system whereby people can buy the sort of justice they want. That is a contravention of clause 29 of Magna Carta 1297, which is still in force.” Hemming is asking anyone who is subject to a gagging injunction that they would like to be included in the review to forward the information to him at the House of Commons. Media law House of Commons Liberal Democrats Freedom of speech Freedom of information Press freedom Newspapers & magazines Newspapers Matthew Taylor guardian.co.uk
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