Entire country loses internet for five hours after woman, 75, slices through cable while scavenging for copper An elderly Georgian woman was scavenging for copper to sell as scrap when she accidentally sliced through an underground cable and cut off internet services to all of neighbouring Armenia, it emerged on Wednesday. The woman, 75, had been digging for the metal not far from the capital Tbilisi when her spade damaged the fibre-optic cable on 28 March. As Georgia provides 90% of Armenia’s internet, the woman’s unwitting sabotage had catastrophic consequences. Web users in the nation of 3.2 million people were left twiddling their thumbs for up to five hours as the country’s main internet providers – ArmenTel, FiberNet Communication and GNC-Alfa – were prevented from supplying their normal service. Television pictures showed reporters at a news agency in the capital Yerevan staring glumly at blank screens. Large parts of Georgia and some areas of Azerbaijan were also affected. “It was a 75-year-old woman who was digging for copper in the ground so that she could sell it for scrap,” said a spokesman for Georgia’s interior ministry said yesterday. Dubbed “the spade-hacker” by local media, the woman – who has not been named – is being investigated on suspicion of damaging property. She faces up to three years in prison if charged and convicted. A spokesman for Georgia’s interior ministry said the woman was temporarily released “on account of her old age” but could face more questioning. The damage was detected by a system monitoring the fibre-optic link from western Europe and a security team was immediately dispatched to the spot, where the woman was arrested. The interior ministry said she had no accomplices. The cable is owned by the Georgian railway network. It is heavily protected, but landslides or heavy rain may have exposed it to scavengers. Pulling up unused copper cables for scrap is a common means of making money in the former Soviet Union. Some entrepreneurs have even used tractors to wrench out hundreds of metres of cable from the former nuclear testing ground at Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan. Georgia Armenia Internet Tom Parfitt guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …The possibility of a government shutdown looms larger today after yesterday’s back-to-back meetings in Washington failed to bring a compromise. For the past week, House Republican leaders and Senate Democrat leaders have been discussing $33 billion in cuts, but John Boehner yesterday said he may seek up to $40 billion….
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Guardian reader fought year-long freedom of information battle to disclose contents of report so critical it was kept under wraps Britain’s military machine was ill-prepared for the Iraq invasion, failed to prepare for counterinsurgency warfare and was slow to adapt to situations it did not foresee, according to a damning internal Ministry of Defence report. “The MoD is good at identifying lessons, but less good at learning them,” it says. “In comparison with the US, the UK military was complacent and slow in recognising and adapting to changing circumstances.” Moreover, the government failed to provide a coherent defence or explanation of what it calls “an unpopular war”, with potential damaging impact on the reputation of Britain’s armed forces. The report, by Lieutenant General Chris Brown, was commissioned by defence chiefs but is so critical that it was suppressed by Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock (now Lord) Stirrup, the former chief of defence staff. It has been released, with many redactions and after months of argument, under the Freedom of Information Act, nearly a year after a reader, Michael Bimmler, heard about it in the Guardian. Military personnel who bore the brunt of the failures of top policy-makers in the Foreign Office and Department for International Development – as well as the MoD – were furious that Brown’s report was being suppressed. Assumptions within the MoD that the armed forces should train and equip simply for high intensity conflict and then quickly adapt for “peace support” were discredited in Iraq, Brown says. Such an expectation “proved illusory”… “very significantly, we were not prepared for counterinsurgency”. The report adds: “A widespread sense that Operation Telic [the UK name given to the invasion of Iraq] was a temporary distraction from normal defence business was reinforced by a mistaken belief that the campaign would be short-lived and compounded by the limited engagement of other [Whitehall] departments.” While it criticises the MoD for being “slow to adapt”, the report notes that the invasion and its aftermath “highlighted the paucity of training in cross-Whitehall teamwork at ministerial level”. The absence of any British strategy for Iraq undermined its ability to provide support for the emerging Iraqi government and was compounded by a “paucity of military Arabic speakers” forcing commanders at all levels to rely on contracted interpreters. It would have been better for British troops to have bought off-the-shelf and more reliable US communications equipment rather than British kit, Brown’s report says. Shortages of up-to-date equipment meant service personnel had to “revert to obsolete equipment in training”. The report continues: “Inevitably, given the timescales of defence procurement, the majority of the equipment used in the initial stages [of the Iraq invasion] stemmed from the cold war. An exception was the RAF “whose involvement in continuous operations in the region since 1990 had at least ensured that the majority of their equipment was not climatically suitable and interoperable with the US”. Furthermore, the report says – referring to “an unpopular war” – that “no serious attempt appears to have been made to forge a convincing coalition-wide strategic narrative”. It warns: “The planning of strategic communications must address what it means to fight an unpopular war and what additional effort is required to compensate for this. It is crucial that an unpopular war does not undermine support for other operations, or indeed for the UK military’s wider reputation.” Military Defence policy Iraq Richard Norton-Taylor guardian.co.uk
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Japanese nuclear power plant operator hopes to prevent explosive buildup of hydrogen gas Japan has begun pumping nitrogen gas into a crippled nuclear reactor, refocusing the fight on preventing an explosive buildup of hydrogen gas at Fukushima Daiichi power plant. Workers started injecting nitrogen into the containment vessel of reactor No 1 on Wednesday last night, after a morning breakthrough in stopping highly radioactive water leaking into the sea at another reactor in the six-reactor complex. “It is necessary to inject nitrogen gas into the containment vessel and eliminate the potential for a hydrogen explosion,” an official of plant operator Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) told a news briefing. The possibility of another hydrogen explosion like those that ripped through reactors 1 and 3 early in the crisis, spreading high levels of radiation into the air, was “extremely low” he said. But Tepco suspected that the outside casing of the reactor vessel was damaged, said the official. “Under these conditions, if we continue cooling the reactors with water, the hydrogen leaking from the reactor vessel to the containment vessel could accumulate and could reach a point where it could explode,” he added. Although engineers succeeded after days of desperate efforts to plug the leak at reactor No 2, they still need to pump 11.5m litres of contaminated water back into the ocean because they have run out of storage space at the facility. The water was used to cool overheated fuel rods. Nuclear experts said the damaged reactors were far from being under control almost a month after they were hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami on 11 March. The growing concerns of nearby South Korea and China about radioactive fallout from Japan were underscored when China’s health ministry reported trace amounts of radioactive iodine in spinach in three Chinese provinces. The two western neighbours of Japan have reportedly complained that they have not been fully informed about Tepco’s plans to release radioactive water into the Pacific. “We are instructing the trade and foreign ministries to work better together so that detailed explanations are supplied, especially to neighbouring countries,” chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano told a news conference. Experts insisted the low-level radioactive water to be pumped into the ocean posed no health hazard to people. “The original amount of radioactivity is very low, and when you dilute this with a huge body of water, the final levels will be even lower than legal limits,” said Pradip Deb, senior lecturer in medical radiations at the school of medical sciences, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Japan disaster Japan Natural disasters and extreme weather Nuclear power guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Libyan rebels are none too pleased with NATO, complaining that Moammar Gadhafi is advancing because of the alliance’s inaction. And the harsh words didn’t stop there. Rebel leader Abdel Fattah Younes griped that it takes hours for NATO to respond to what’s happening on the battlefield, and said that they…
Continue reading …In pictures uncovered by journalists in Zawiyah, the dead prisoners of Moammar Gadhafi’s forces are shown naked or clad only in underwear, hands bound, backs scarred. Other pictures depict ominous scenes: Puddles of blood, a saw. The pictures were discovered in a burned-out police station, where one worker pointed to…
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• Bash F5 or use or auto-refresher for the latest updates • Send your chit-chat to paul.doyle@guardian.co.uk • Follow Barcelona v Shakhtar Donetsk here 30 min: Nice play by Torres! Folowed by rubbish play by Torres! First he tricked his way cannily past Rafael and offloaded to Zhirkov, then he took the Russian’s return pass on his chest 10 yards from goal … and volleyed the ball backwards to safety. 28 min: Many feared United would be overpowered in midfield (er, I may even have indicated such myself) but the opposite has been true: Chelsea have looked jaded from the start … 26 min: It’s all too frantic from Chelsea. They lack cohesion and creativity. United look comfortable. GOAL! Chelsea 0-1 United (Rooney 24′) That’s a marvellous goal! Carrick picked out Giggs with a raking pass out to the left and the Welshman eliminated Bosingwa with a wonderful first touch before pulling the ball smartly back for Rooney, whose low sidefooter from 10 yards bounced in off the butt of the post. You have to say that’s magnificent. 21 min: Like Torres virtually every time he has got the ball so far, Rooney has just squandered a potential chance with a goofy first-touch. Far too many elementary errors in this dull fare so far. 19 min: A decent move by Chelsea! It culiminated in Ramires feeding Drogba, who had peeled away to the right-hand side of the box before blasting a ferocious shot at goal. Van der Sar tips over acrobatically. 18 min: Like a skunk in the throes of child-birth, Torres is having a stinker. 17 min: Torres and Cole get in a dither on the left, allowing United to nick the ball and hurtle forward. The visitors are starting to look the more coherent side … 15 min: After a bright spell of possession by United, Evra wins a corner. Giggs delivers an out-swinger, Drogba wafts to the edge of the box, where Park seizes upon it and drives for goal. It deflects off Bosingwa and out for another corner. 13 min: Decent play by Carrick to track back and dispossess Drogba. So far the midfielder has belied those pre-match fears about his softness. 11 min: It’s high-energy stuff so far but mostly predictable and imprecise. A good avert for not letting English teams play each other in Europe … 9 min: Bosingwa’s speed and attacking intent is causing United plenty of bother down the right, but most of the Portuguese’s crosses have been wayward so far, which has reprieved United. 7 min: Evra dozily gives the ball away to Torres, who sprints down the left but decides against taking on the covering Carrick, and instead sends a tame shot into Van der Sar’s arms from 20 yards. 5 min: Drogba unleashes what may very well be the worst shot of his career. The ball lands among the United fans, who don’t bother to try to contain their laughter. 4 min: Giggs lumps it long towards Hernandez. Terry heads it easily clear. United are going to have to come up with something better than that if they’re to grab an away goal. 2 min: Bosingwa skins Park down the right and flips a fine cross towards the near post. Torres is poised to meet it but Ferdinand intervenes with a superb tackle to divert it away. United then tip down the other hand but their progress is halted by a late tackle from Essien on Rooney. 1 min: Vidic perpetrates his first foul on Torres after 37 seconds. More will surely follow. How many will the bull-runner tolerate? 1 min: United kick-oof and immediately launch it towards Valencia on the right. Cole wins the aerial duel. 7:42pm: “I’m sure I am one among many United fans who are pleased to see Nani on the bench tonight after his recent comments on lack of freedom,” squelches Michael Hardiman. “I’ve seen all united’s games and he has plenty of freedom. Fergie is making sure his flat track bullies, Nani and Berbatov, are going to be up for it v. Fulham on Saturday, arguably a more important game given the fact that 19 league tites puts us at the top of the heap. He really is a master.” 7:38pm: The teams are in the tunnel. All of them silent and stony-faced. 7:35pm: “Tough one this,” spurts Grame Neill. “Who do I want to lose more? Chelsea, with the preening tedious macho humbug of England’s Brave John Terry and his one man mission to personify testosterone? Or United, starring the preening tedious macho humbug of self appointed Big Man Wayne Rooney and his big box of sweary tricks?” Preamble: [Adopt Barry Davies-esque tone] Look at those teams … just look at those teams! Manchester United have conceded fewer goals than any of the teams remaining in the tournament but Chelsea know they are defensively dodgy nonetheless and may go for the jugular tonight: Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba start together and attempting to contain them will be Nemanja Vidic – who has frequently seemed overwhelmed in recent weeks, including when he was sent off on his last visit to Stamford Bridge – and Rio Ferdinand, who may or may not be fit but, either way, is a safer option than Jonny Evans; whether Chris Smalling would have been a better inclusion, on the other hand, remains to be seen – then again, given Torres’s tendency to float like a butterfly and sting like a former frontman of The Police (every little thing he does is pap), perhaps United are confident they can survive whatever the hosts can hurl at them and perhaps plunder a goal on the counter, especially with Chelsea shorn of the magnificently-coiffed David Luiz? Mandatory deployment of the one sentence that can be uttered before every single football match at any level without the slighest fear of contradiction: Midfield is going to be a key battleground here. The TV folks are predicting that Park will be stationed on the left but he will surely spent a lot of his time in-field, otherwise Carrick and Giggs, haradly a dynami duo, will certainly be overrun by Essien, Lampard and Ramires (who continually cuts in from the right). Teams: Chelsea: Cech; Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole; Ramires, Lampard, Essien, Zhirkov; Drogba, Torres Subs: Turnbull, Benayoun, Mikel, Malouda, Ferreira, Kalou, Anelka United: Van der Sar; Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Valencia, Giggs, Carrick, Park; Hernandez, Rooney Subs: Kuszczak, Berbatov, Smalling, Nani, Scholes, Evans, Gibson Referee: Alberto Mallenco (Spain … in fact, he’s from Pamplona, so, in the event of him making a bad decision, feel free to accuse him of being full of bull) Champions League Chelsea Manchester United Paul Doyle guardian.co.uk
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Libyan leader condemns Nato action and says his opponents are al-Qaida members in three-page letter to US president Muammar Gaddafi has appealed directly to Barack Obama to halt what the Libyan leader called “an unjust war”. In a rambling three-page letter obtained by the Associated Press, Gaddafi implored Obama to stop the Nato-led air campaign, which he called an “unjust war against a small people of a developing country”, and wished the president luck in next year’s election. “You are a man who has enough courage to annul a wrong and mistaken action,” Gaddafi wrote in the letter, which was sent to the US state department and forwarded to the White House. “I am sure that you are able to shoulder the responsibility for that.” The letter continued: “To serving world peace … friendship between our peoples … and for the sake of economic, and security cooperation against terror, you are in a position to keep Nato off the Libyan affair for good.” The White House press secretary Jay Carney confirmed that a letter from Gaddafi had been received – and appeared to dismiss the Libyan’s appeal for a ceasefire. “The conditions the president laid out are clear,” Carney told reporters who were travelling with Obama to New York. Addressing Obama as “our son” and “excellency”, Gaddafi said his country had been hurt more “morally” than “physically” by the Nato campaign and that a democratic society could not be built through missiles and aircraft. He also repeated his claim that his foes, particularly those now in control of the city of Benghazi, are members of al-Qaida. Gaddafi said his country had already been unfairly subjected to US and international sanctions, and in 1986 to “a direct military armed aggression” ordered by Ronald Reagan, who called the leader the “Mad Dog of the Middle East”. Although he listed a litany of complaints, Gaddafi said he bore no ill will toward Obama. “We have been hurt more morally [than] physically because of what had happened against us in both deeds and words by you,” he wrote. “Despite all this you will always remain our son whatever happened. We still pray that you continue to be president of the USA. We Endeavour and hope that you will gain victory in the new election campaign.” The letter, dated 5 April 2011 in Tripoli, is signed “Mu’aumer Qaddaffi, Leader of the Revolution”. Muammar Gaddafi Libya Middle East Nato Arab and Middle East unrest United States Barack Obama Obama administration US politics guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Fermilab may have found a brand new elementary particle. The Illinois lab will today announce a strange blip in its data that could represent either a new, unexpected form of the fabled Higgs boson particle, or some entirely new force of nature, the New York Times reports. “Nobody knows what…
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Interviewed by Jemima Khan, deputy prime minister says ‘I’m a human being … not a punchbag’ Poor old Nick Clegg. The deputy prime minister has exposed his vulnerable side in an interview in which he says he regularly cries to music, his children wonder why students are being so hard on him, and the only time he played tennis with David Cameron he lost. “I’m a human being, I’m not a punchbag – I’ve got feelings,” Clegg tells Jemima Khan in a revealing interview in the latest edition of the New Statesman. “The curious thing is that the more you become a subject of admiration or loathing, the distance seems to open up between who you really are and the portrayals that people impose on you … I increasingly see these images of me, cardboard cutouts that get ever more outlandish. “One thing I’ve very quickly learned is that if you wake up every morning worrying about what’s in the press, you would go completely and utterly potty.” At home in the evenings, Clegg likes to read novels and he says that he cries regularly to music, although this is not, strictly speaking, breaking news: Clegg did make similar remarks in an interview with Radio 4 last year. Talking about his family, he tells Khan: “What I am doing in my work impacts on them emotionally, because my nine-year-old is starting to sense things and I’m having to explain things. Like he asks: ‘Why are the students angry with you, Papa?’” He adds that members of the public often express support but whisper their congratulations, “as if it’s a guilty secret saying anything nice about Nick Clegg”. Clegg insists that his relationship with David Cameron – whom he calls “Dave” – is not particularly close. “We don’t regard each other as mates and actually I don’t think it would be a particularly healthy thing if we tried to become personal mates.” When Khan mentions talk that the two men play tennis together, Clegg squirms. “No, no – well, er, I think we’ve played one game of tennis. Of course we meet from time to time but it’s always basically to talk about what we’re doing in government.” Who won? “Ah no, that’s a state secret,” Clegg jokes. (Cameron won, Khan reveals.) Khan also asks Clegg what he thinks about News International chief executive, Rebekah Brooks, being a regular guest at David Camerons’ dinner parties. “I don’t know anything about Oxfordshire dinner parties. I’m assuming that they weren’t sitting there talking about News International issues,” says Clegg. “Look, you’re putting me in a very awkward spot. If you’ve got an issue with it, speak to Dave. I don’t hang out in Oxfordshire at dinner parties. It’s not my world. It’s never going to be my world.” Clegg also signals a changed identity for the Lib Dems. He said: “I don’t even pretend we can occupy the Lib Dem holier-than-thou, hands-entirely-clean-and-entirely-empty-type stance,” Clegg says. “No, we are getting our hands dirty, and inevitably and totally understandably we are being accused of being just like any other politicians.” On the manifesto pledge not to increase tuition fees, he insists that it was not one of his main manifesto priorities: “I didn’t even spend that much time campaigning on tuition fees.” Clegg has had trouble with interviews in magazines before. In 2008 he told Piers Morgan in GQ that he had slept with “no more than 30″ women, a remark that sparked a thousand dyspeptic headlines. Nick Clegg Liberal Democrats Allegra Stratton guardian.co.uk
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