Band’s plans to give away newspaper in Washington DC sent awry as fans are given wrong delivery address When Radiohead announced they would give out their free newspaper on street corners around the world, they forgot to study a map of Washington DC. Yesterday, as instructed on the website for the Universal Sigh , Radiohead fans gathered at the intersection of the city’s Jefferson and 7th Streets NW, waiting for their free tabloid. Then they kept waiting. And kept waiting. And no one – not Thom Yorke, not producer Nigel Godrich, not one of their paid news interns – actually showed up. Radiohead got the address wrong, according to the Washington City Paper . Although they told fans to meet at 784 Jefferson Street NW, that address doesn’t actually exist. They meant to send them to Jefferson Street SW – namely the Hirshhorn Gallery , on the historic National Mall, more than 4 miles away. Instead, more than 30 people showed up at a sleepy intersection in residential Brightwood and, er, sighed the universal sigh. “It makes me not want to listen to Radiohead,” Carla Vizzini told the City Paper, annoyed that she wasted her lunch hour trying to get a copy of the Sigh. One group of five drove 200 miles, from Lynchburg, Virginia, to get their hands on the paper. Before the crowd learned that copies were waiting at the Hirshhorn, they squinted at every passing car, even a Cadillac hearse, hoping it bore Radiohead’s inky prize. “Fuck them for not giving us something for free!” someone joked. Geography can be confusing, especially if you’re organising newspaper handouts in 61 locations worldwide. And Google Maps is not perfect. But in DC they are blaming Pierre L’Enfant, the civil engineer who designed Washington’s “totally confusing” city plan. Imagine if he had helped design the Radiohead website . Radiohead Pop and rock Washington DC United States Newspapers Newspapers & magazines Sean Michaels guardian.co.uk
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Super complaint filed with OFT seeks to stamp out card charges favoured by airlines and other online retailers Consumer organisation Which? has lodged a super complaint with the Office of Fair Trading to try and stamp out the spiralling “rip off” surcharges levied on debit and credit card transactions. Budget airlines have led the way in charging hefty fees for the privilege of paying by plastic, but the latest research by Which? shows these “unjustifiable” charges are increasingly standard practice across a wide range of business sectors – from local councils and florists to dentists, dealerships and estate agents. While the cost to companies for processing a payment by debit card is around 20p, and no more than 2% of the transaction value for a credit card, Which? researchers found dozens of examples of companies charging far higher fees. These included: • a £25 debit card charge to pay a £5,000 deposit to rent a flat through Foxtons, one of London’s biggest letting agents. • train booking site the Trainline adding a £3.50 charge for paying by credit card, while Eurostar charged £4. • London cab firms Dial-a-Cab and Radio Taxis added 12.5% to the cost of their fares for paying with a debit or credit card, and Addison Lee charged £4.40. • Bath and North East Somerset council levied a 3% credit card charge, while the DVLA adds £2.50 for paying by credit card. • Admiral Insurance levied a £5.95 fee for credit card use, while Swinton Insurance charges 2.5%. • AOL charged £1.99 on both credit and debit cards. • A family of four booking a return flight with Ryanair would be charged £40 to pay by debit or credit card. Such charges make it difficult for consumers to compare prices ahead of making a purchase, and Which? also found that only a third of the public understood it is retailers rather than banks or card issuers who impose charges for paying by debit and credit card. A Eurostar spokesperson said: “In line with much of the travel industry Eurostar charges a fee for credit card bookings, which goes some way towards offsetting the costs charged to us by the credit card companies. “In February we made the commercial decision to increase this fee by £1 per booking. The new fee of £4 is more reflective of our own costs and we will not generate any profit through this charge. As has been the case since it was introduced, this fee is only applied to credit card transactions over £30 and it remains significantly lower than any of our airline competitors – and unlike many of our competitors, all bookings made using a debit card remain free of this charge.” Which? chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith said: “Consumers are really fed up with paying excessive card charges. So far, more than 40,000 people have pledged their support for our campaign to bring these to an end. Low-cost airlines are some of the worst offenders, but excessive card surcharges are becoming ever more widespread, with everyone from cinemas and cabs to hotels and even some local authorities getting in on the act.” The OFT said it would consider the issues raised in the super complaint in order to establish whether any element, or combination of elements, is or appears to be significantly harming the interests of consumers. It will publish a response within 90 days. Possible outcomes include: • improving the quality and accessibility of information for consumers. • encouraging businesses in the market to self-regulate. • making recommendations to government to change regulations or public policy. • taking competition or consumer enforcement action. • making a market investigation reference to the Competition Commission. • declaring a clean bill of health. Ryanair, one of the companies accused by Which? of levying credit and debit card charges, denies it does any such thing . Instead it charges an “administration fee”, which is avoidable if customers use a MasterCard prepaid card to make the transaction. Ryanair’s own white labelled card is no longer being marketed, but customers can use any prepaid MasterCard to avoid the fees. Kevin Mountford, head of banking and credit cards at moneysupermarket.com , says those who are likely to use the card for buying just one or two tickets may do best with the Freedom Eagle Cash Card, which has no monthly or card application but charges 2.75% for shop and internet purchases. However, those buying several tickets could save money with the Kalixa prepaid MasterCard, which has no monthly or purchase fees, but does have a one off card application fee. • Pledge your support for the campaign and find out more Consumer affairs Credit cards Debit cards Airline industry Ryanair Easyjet Budget travel Rebecca Smithers guardian.co.uk
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Despite a ban on films that show support for gay lifestyles, Dalam Botol’s ‘non-explicit vision’ has proved a box office success in Malaysia The first homegrown movie with gay themes to be shown in Malaysia has proved an unexpected box office success in the conservative Muslim country. Opening less than a week ago, Dalam Botol (In a Bottle), about a post-op transsexual who comes to realise that she may have been better off as a man, has already earned more than one million ringgit (£206,000) at Malaysian cinemas, easily recouping its production and marketing costs of 970,000 ringgit. Prior to filming, writer and producer Raja Azmi Raja Sulaiman had to submit details to the country’s strict censorship board, which nevertheless gave its approval following a couple of amendments. Malaysian films are not allowed to show support for gay lifestyles: the country still maintains a law against sodomy, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, though prosecutions are rare. Dalam Botol offers a non-explicit vision of gay romance, featuring heterosexual actors who hug but do not kiss. However Sulaiman told the Associated Press she believed the box office results “prove that Malaysian audiences can handle such movies, that they’re more open and not so conservative any more.” She added: “I hope it’ll inspire more films that are meaningful and linked to the reality of people’s lives.” In Dalam Botol , a Muslim man undergoes a sex-change operation because he thinks it will please his boyfriend. Ultimately, both of the them end up unhappy. Box office appears to have been heavily driven by controversy over the film, which has been at the centre of speculation that it might be banned. Azmi based on the experiences of a friend who had sex-change surgery in Thailand. The film is not necessarily popular with Malaysia’s gay community. “Many of us Malaysian gays, lesbians and transgenders have absolutely no regrets being who we are,” said rights activist Pang Khee Teik, co-founder of the Malaysian sexual rights awareness group Sexuality Independence. Azmi said her next film would most likely feature both gay and straight relationships. She plans a “fantasy drama” about a young man who prefers older partners but whose closest friend is a fish in a bowl that suddenly transforms into a man. Gay rights Malaysia Ben Child guardian.co.uk
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The “nappy curriculum” is drastically in need of reform, a government-commissioned review will say today Childminders and nursery workers feel they’re spending too much time filling in forms, says Dame Clare Tickell, who has reviewed the early years curriculum for the government. Tickell’s review of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) will recommend today that the curriculum be scaled right back, reducing the number of goals young children are expected to meet from 69 to 17. The EYFS, dubbed the “nappy curriculum”, was introduced by the last Labour government and became mandatory in September 2008. Tickell, chief executive of the Action for Children charity, says: “The early years curriculum is a fantastic resource that has unified and united teachers, and before its introduction there wasn’t the regulation, but what we have now needs revising.” She told the BBC: “We had enormous feedback from people during the review – 3,300 responses. What came back is that practitioners felt a lot of time was taken up filling in boxes and not enough with the children. Much of this work isn’t actually in the early years goals, but it is the way it has been interpreted. “What we have tried to do is make it slimmer and more simple. We have reduced the number of goals from 69 to 17 by clustering them.” She added: “The areas which are important to look at are personal, social and emotional development. But physical is important too. Professionals need to recognise when a child is not developing and understand what to do.” Tickell’s report will say that the EYFS is “too bureaucratic” at present. Primary school teachers have said the EYFS reports they get on five-year-olds are meaningless because the children are being measured against too many targets. A revamped EYFS should be more in line with what children will be expected to learn at primary school, to help get them ready for the classroom. Tickell was asked to carry out a review of EYFS last summer, after ministers raised concerns that the curriculum was too rigid and put too many burdens on childcare workers. Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, says: “We hope the review looks at children’s overall readiness to go to school, including their communications, social, physical, and emotional development, and does not just focus on literacy and numeracy.” Early years education Primary schools Schools Teaching Children Childcare Judy Friedberg guardian.co.uk
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• Press F5, refresh or hit auto-update for the latest • Email rob.smyth@guardian.co.uk with your thoughts • Debate the Mother of all Matches on our CWC blog • Buy the Guardian’s Ashes book , if you like 6th over: India 49-1 (Tendulkar 8, Gambhir 1) Excellent stuff from Wahab Riaz: just two runs and that crucial wicket. “Room 101,” says Peter Mattessi. “People who employ stupid, moronic, infantile internet speak, written or spoken. ‘Oh noes’, ‘I haz a hunger’, ‘respek’ etc. Grow up you effing imbeciles.” But… but… but… look at the cute cat ! WICKET! India 48-1 (Sehwag LBW b Wahab Riaz 38) Silence in Mohali. Virender Sehwag has gone! Wahab Riaz replaced Abdul Razzaq and struck with his fifth ball. It was speared in towards middle and leg from over the wicket, and was certainly hitting the stumps as Sehwag flicked around his front pad. Simon Taufel gave it out, but Sehwag reviewed the decision straight away, presumably thinking or hoping it pitched outside leg. It didn’t, and he has to go after a storming innings of 38 from 25 balls. 5th over: India 47-0 (Sehwag 38, Tendulkar 8) Another over, two more boundaries for Sehwag. The first was crunched wristily through midwicket when Gul overpitched just a touch. You could almost hear the boing of his wrists as he played the stroke. Two balls later he reached high above his head to steer a slower, wider bouncer over backward point and away for four. Pakistan surely have to go to spin soon. “I’m a British Pakistani on a road trip with a British Indian, from London to jerusalem in an old Mercedes 190,” says Zubair Shah. “Today we are in Damascus and I’m desperately trying to find somewhere showing the game. There are 1014 channels on my hotel TV showing everything in the world but no cricket. Maybe I should have listened to my mum and stayed at home. OBO Zindabad is all I can say!” 4th over: India 39-0 (Sehwag 30, Tendulkar 8) I already have 70 unread email so, er, PLEASE STOP keep ‘em coming. And apologies if I don’t get round to yours. It’s not me, it’s you. Or something. Early impressions are that this is a 300 pitch, and Sehwag’s start means that Tendulkar can play his usual game – anchoring the innings at a strike rate of 100. He squirts Razzaq past point for three and then Sehwag smears a disdainful boundary down the ground. Utter contempt. He has raced to 30 from 17 balls, and when he gets off strike Tendulkar completes another expensive over with a classical extra-cover drive for four. “Room 101 candidate,” begins Harkarn Sumal. “The first time that I heard anyone using the word ‘texed’ as a past tense of ‘text’ (the recently coined noun), I despaired at the riff-raff. But now that it seems to have crept in to common usage I’ve taken this as my cue to entirely give up on modern civilisation. My wife’s started doing it now and this pretty much guarantees one major domestic every week, along the lines of ‘why can’t you say it properly?’ – invariably triggering the default response ‘Why are you completely useless in every respect?’ and a great big hufty strop.” 3rd over: India 27-0 (Sehwag 25, Tendulkar 1) Astonishing stuff from Virender Sehwag, who has just smacked Umar Gul’s second over for 21! It includes an amazing five boundaries – two to midwicket and one each through square leg, backward point and cover – and also a front-foot no-ball. Gul is Pakistan’s best seamer, and Sehwag has just treated him like Martin McCague. “I’ve travelled for four hours on local Kentish buses (Room 101 please!) to visit my gran,” says Niall Harden. “She has Sky Sports. Pure coincidence.” I hope she’s cancelled her subscription without telling you, and has only the five basic channels and an Are You Being Served DVD. 2nd over: India 6-0 (Sehwag 5, Tendulkar 1) Pakistan decide not to open with spin, despite the success of that tactic in the quarter-final defenestration of the West Indies, so it will be Abdul Razzaq to share the new ball. Accurate medium pacers have given Tendulkar a few problems down the years – none more so than Hansie Cronje , absurd as that sounds – and he is watchful for a few deliveries before getting off the mark with a very tight single to mid on. Wahab Riaz’s throw missed the stumps, although I think Tendulkar was just home. Two singles from the over. “I’d like to put into Room 101 people asking bar staff if they can ‘get’ whatever they want to order,” says Phil Lamb. “‘Can I get a pint of Amstel?’ No, you can’t. The bar staff will get it.” That’s the kind of wonderfully minor thing that we should include. I love the idea of Phil Lamb’s entire Friday night out being ruined by some punter’s frivolous use of the word ‘get’. 1st over: India 4-0 (Sehwag 4, Tendulkar 0) Umar Gul roars in to bowl the first ball, and Sehwag plays and misses at a filthy wide delivery. There is usually a bit of [Michael Holding voice] pace and bounce [/Michael Holding voice] at Mohali, and the general consensus is that this is a belter. Sehwag gets the party started with an effortless cover drive for four off the third delivery, holding the pose theatrically at the end of his follow through. Gul responds with a good one that beats Sehwag’s angled-bat force. A lively start. “You’re just two games away from being the first OBOer to avoid the World Cup meltdown,” says Alex Netherton, who is referring to an, a-hem, proud Guardian cricket World Cup tradition in evidence here and here . Don’t worry, Alex: if this game goes to a Super Over, the only word I’ll be capable of typing will be ‘Wibble’. Where are you watching today’s game? Tell us your stories, obviously the more interesting the better. An ‘I’m at work in Farringdon eating cheese bread and filling in some forms’ probably isn’t that interesting. Statgasm department Pakistan have never beaten India at a World Cup or a World Twenty20. Recycling old riffs department What would you put in Room 101? Not the obvious stuff – smoking, Toploader, football, the internet, eye contact – but the little things that annoy you inordinately. Like the word ‘tweeps’. And the word ‘peeps’. And trendy shop assistants in trendy shops who are too hip and trendy and very to bother with the word pounds, and instead say “that’s 20 please”. Twenty what? Pence? Clams? Epiphanies? Seconds to comply? “Usually,” says Ian Copestake, “squeaky bum time is reserved for the end of matches, not before they’ve even begun.” Previously on India v Pakistan… We tend not to do Joy of Sixes on cricket, but if we had done India v Pakistan, the list might have been something like this: Javed Miandad’s legendary last-ball six to win the Australasia Cup final of 1986… Anil Kumble’s ten-for in 1999… Wasim Akram’s astonishing over to Rahul Dravid , also in 1999… Javed Miandad getting friendly with Kiran More in 1992… Sunny Gavaskar’s heroic 96 in his final Test innings (and in a stunning series decider, with which the unfamiliar should acquaint themselves quick smart ) … and Majid Khan’s response to some negative bowling from Kapil Dev in 1978. India have won the toss , to wild cheers, and will bat first. They have brought in the left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra for the offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin. Pakistan are unchanged, which means no place for Shoaib Akhtar. Bah! Shahid Afridi, emitting his usual hyperactive cool, announces that the toss isn’t important anyway, and that the pitch will help the spinners. India Sehwag, Tendulkar, Gambhir, Kohli, Yuvraj, Dhoni (c/wk), Raina, Harbhajan, Zaheer, Patel, Nehra. Pakistan Hafeez, K Akmal (wk), Shafiq, Younis, Misbah, U Akmal, Afridi (c), Razzaq, Wahab, Gul, Ajmal. The mood of the day, captured in one email from Waqas Mir “Bloodyhellbloodyhellbloodyhell!” Preamble Morning. There has been so much hype about this game that it’s important we put it in perspective. It is, after all, only the biggest game in cricket history. The fact that the winners go through to a World Cup final is almost incidental. This is India v Pakistan. India v Pakistan. India v Pakistan. India v Pakistan . Everybody wants to win cricket matches, but it’s hard to imagine that anybody has ever needed to win a match as much as these sides today. Take the thing you have needed the most in your life – to hold the hand of The One, perhaps, or a fish-finger sandwich when all you have to cook in the flat is bread, fresh air and some intimidatingly funky cheese – multiply it by a thousand and you’re still nowhere near. Those of us born and raised in Britain have not got a clue how big this game is. There is an obvious hope concern that it will kick off, and at least one of the losing team will probably have their house stoned tonight, but hopefully the cricket will take precedence. Both sides have otherworldly talents – and the pick of them, Sachin Tendulkar, is on 99 international centuries. If he becomes the first man to reach a hundred hundreds today, the entire known universe may grind to a halt. Cricket World Cup 2011 India cricket team Pakistan cricket team Over by over reports Cricket Rob Smyth guardian.co.uk
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BP sends letters to 13,000 Louisiana residents whose data was stored on computer, notifying them of potential security breach A BP employee has lost a laptop containing personal data belonging to thousands of Louisiana residents who filed claims for compensation after the Gulf oil spill. The firm said it had sent letters to roughly 13,000 people whose data was stored on the computer, notifying them about the potential security breach and offering to pay for their credit to be monitored. The laptop was password-protected, but the information was not encrypted. The data included a spreadsheet of claimants’ names, social security numbers, phone numbers and addresses. Curtis Thomas, a BP spokesman, said the company did not have any evidence that claimants’ personal information had been misused. “We’re committed to the people of the Gulf coast states affected by the Deepwater Horizon accident and spill, and we deeply regret that this occurred,” he said. The data belonged to individuals who filed claims with BP before the Gulf Coast Claims Facility took over the processing of claims in August. BP paid roughly $400m (£250m) in claims before the switch. As of Tuesday, the GCCF had paid roughly $3.6bn to 172,539 claimants. BP said no one would have to resubmit a claim because of the lost data. The employee lost the laptop on 1 March during “routine business travel”. “If it was stolen, we think it was a crime of opportunity, but it was initially lost,” Thomas said. BP is offering to pay for claimants to have their credit monitored by Equifax, an Atlanta-based credit bureau. Asked why nearly a month elapsed before BP notified residents about the missing laptop, Thomas said: “We were doing our due diligence and investigating.” BP oil spill United States BP guardian.co.uk
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Restricting support to disputes featuring claims of domestic violence will encourages false allegations, says select committee Making eligibility for legal aid in divorce and custody cases dependent on accusations of domestic violence will create a “perverse incentive” that encourages false allegations, according to a group of MPs. Ministers should reconsider plans to restrict financial support in family courtroom disputes to only those where physical abuse is a feature, the justice select committee said. There is political consensus over the need to cut the UK’s annual £2.2bn legal aid bill because it is “one of the most expensive in the world”, a report by the group said. But some of the solutions being pursued by the Ministry of Justice risk being counter-productive, it cautioned. Poorer and more vulnerable groups could be hit hardest by the reduction in support and there is danger that such reforms could lead to inflated costs in other areas of the legal system, the committee suggested. In a sideswipe at the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), the study expressed concern at “poor decision making” on social security payments, which had led to a doubling of appeals over disputed benefits that received legal aid or help – rising from 72,000 cases in 2004/5 to 144,000 in 2009/10. A punitive mechanism could be introduced to force the department to pay for legal costs when it is in error, the report said. “There is potential for such a ‘polluter pays’ principle to be extended considerably, with the DWP … required to pay a surcharge in relation to the number of cases in which their decision making is shown to have been at fault. “Rejecting this idea as a ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ transfer of funds around the public purse, the minister is overlooking the potential benefit such a policy would have in providing a financial incentive to public authorities to get their decisions right first time.” The Ministry of Justice’s aim is to trim £350m from the annual legal aid budget. Most of the savings will come by reducing the types of cases entitled to public funding. Controversy has centred on family law, where most claimants will no longer be able to apply for legal aid unless domestic violence is an issue. “We are concerned that using the presence of domestic violence as a proxy for the most important cases will lead to a perverse incentive to make false allegations of such violence,” the select committee warned. It will also ensure that domestic violence, where it has occurred, will feature more prominently than it might otherwise have done, harming children and adding unnecessary expenses, it added. If the government was to insist on using domestic abuse as a criterion for eligibility, it should ensure that the definition “incorporates non-physical abuse”, the report said. In terms of restricting access to justice, the reforms could lead to an influx in poorly informed litigants clogging up the courts. “The ability of the most vulnerable people to present their cases will be weakened because they will not have had help and advice in preparing them,” the report said. “This could deny justice to the individuals concerned and increase the time and expense necessary to deal with cases at tribunal.” The precise impact of the changes could not be predicted, the MPs continued, and they would impose a severe strain on the voluntary sector, straining David Cameron’s vision of a “big society”. The report said: “Organisations in this field have made it clear they do not believe it will be possible to meet all the demand which will be created by the proposed changes to legal aid.” The chairman of the justice select committee, Sir Alan Beith MP, said: “There is a cross-party consensus on the need to reduce the cost of the legal aid budget, which is one of the most expensive in the world. “Concerns remain, however, that there is the potential for vulnerable groups of people to be disproportionately hit by the changes. The government’s proposals need considerable further refinement before moving forward and alternative ways of achieving savings should be examined.” Legal aid Family law Owen Bowcott guardian.co.uk
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Japanese officials concede they are no closer to resolving nuclear crisis as high levels of radiation is detected in ocean Japanese officials have conceded they are no closer to resolving the nuclear crisis at Fukushima Daiichi power plant, as new readings showed a dramatic increase in radioactive contamination in the sea. The pressure to make progress also took its toll on Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), the plant’s operator, whose chief executive, Masataka Shimizu, was taken to hospital on Tuesday night suffering from exhaustion. The country’s nuclear and industrial safety agency, Nisa, said radioactive iodine-131 at 3,355 times the legal limit had been identified in the sea about 300 yards south of the plant, although officials have yet to determine how it got there. Hidehiko Nishiyama, a Nisa spokesman, said fishing had stopped in the area, adding that the contamination posed no immediate threat to humans. “We will find out how it happened and do our utmost to prevent it from rising,” he said. The government’s acceptance of help from the US and France has strengthened the belief that the battle to save the stricken reactors, now well into its third week, is lost. On Tuesday, a US engineer who helped install reactors at the plant said he believed the radioactive core in unit 2 may have melted through the bottom of its containment vessel and on to a concrete floor. The government’s chief spokesman, Yukio Edano, could not say how long the operation at Fukushima would last. “We are not yet in a situation were we can say we will have this under control by a certain period,” he said. While Nisa officials attempted to play down the contamination’s impact on marine life, any development that heightens health concerns among consumers will dismay local fishermen, many of whom already face a long struggle to rebuild their businesses after the 11 March earthquake and tsunami. Experts say the sea’s ability to dilute radiation will weaken its ability to contaminate fish and other marine life. Robert Peter Gale, a US medical researcher who was brought in by Soviet authorities after the Chernobyl disaster, said recent higher readings of radioactive iodine-131 and caesium-137 should be of greater concern than reports earlier this week that tiny quantities of plutonium found in soil samples. But he added: “It’s obviously alarming when you talk about radiation, but if you have radiation in non-gas form, I would say dump it in the ocean.” Gale, who has been advising the Japanese government, told the Guardian: “To some extent that’s why some nuclear power plants are built along the coast, to be in an area where the wind is blowing out to sea, and because the safest way to deposit radiation is in the ocean. “The dilutional factor could not be better – there’s no better place. If you deposit it on earth or in places where people live, there is no dilutional effect. From a safety point of view, the ocean is the safest place.” Analysts said a prolonged crisis at the Fukushima plant could place intolerable pressure on the economy. “The worst-case scenario is that this drags on not one month or two months or six months, but for two years, or indefinitely,” said Jesper Koll of JPMorgan Securities in Tokyo. “Japan will be bypassed. That is the real nightmare scenario.” Criticism of Tepco is building after safety lapses last week put three workers in hospital – though all have been discharged – and erroneous reports of radiation data. Shimizu, 66, has not been seen since appearing at a press conference on 13 March, two days after the disaster. He had reportedly resumed control of the operation at the firm’s headquarters in Tokyo after suffering a minor illness , but on Tuesday he was admitted to hospital suffering from high blood pressure and dizziness. Tepco said on Wednesday that he was not expected to be absent for long. Tepco shares plunged by almost 18% on Wednesday morning and have lost 75% of their value since 11 March. Reports on Tuesday said the government was considering nationalising the beleaguered utility. The hundreds of workers at the plant must now find a balance between pumping enough water to cool the reactors, while avoiding a runoff of highly radioactive excess water. But as yet they do not have anywhere to store the contaminated water. The options under consideration are to transfer the water to a ship or cover the reactors to trap radioactive particles, Edano said. Japan disaster Japan Nuclear power Nuclear waste Waste Justin McCurry guardian.co.uk
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Broadcaster’s new chief creative officer, Jay Hunt, has told staff that genre has become tired, according to sources Channel 4 is quietly calling time on list shows, which it has been running successfully for more than a decade on Saturday and Sunday nights on its main network and digital spin-off E4. According to a senior programming source, Channel 4′s new chief creative officer, Jay Hunt, who has been in her job for less than three months, has told colleagues that the programming genre, which usually relies on the findings of an online poll to rank subjects, has had its day. “It is felt that they are popular but we can be doing bolder and different things rather than something which is fun but which some people feel can feel a little spurious,” said the source. Instead the money saved from airing clip shows will be ploughed back into original programming, particularly comedy. Last year Channel 4 broadcast three list shows – 100 Greatest World Cup Moments, 100 Greatest Stand Ups and 100 Greatest Toys. E4 also broadcast three, The 50 Greatest Plastic Surgery Shockers, The Idiot Awards and How to Be Famous, alongside a handful of repeats. However, this came despite claims in 2007 by Channel 4′s then director of television and content, Kevin Lygo, that the broadcaster would be abandoning them. “I don’t think we will be commissioning them any more,” Lygo, who left last year to become managing director of ITV Studios, said at the time . But while the format never quite went away, Channel 4 insist that the end really is nigh for the list show except under very exceptional circumstances. The broadcaster plans to keep Rude Tube, its occasional rundown of amusing or interesting internet clips presented by Alex Zane. And one list show waiting in the wings for a broadcast in April is 50 Worst Weddings, which will form part of its coverage of the royal wedding. “The Jonathan Ross rundown of the nation’s favourite toys did well last year and if Jonathan comes up with an exceptionally brilliant idea like that we may do it,” added the Channel 4 source. “But the direction of travel is now very much not to do them any more.” •
Continue reading …Broadcaster’s new chief creative officer, Jay Hunt, has told staff that genre has become tired, according to sources Channel 4 is quietly calling time on list shows, which it has been running successfully for more than a decade on Saturday and Sunday nights on its main network and digital spin-off E4. According to a senior programming source, Channel 4′s new chief creative officer, Jay Hunt, who has been in her job for less than three months, has told colleagues that the programming genre, which usually relies on the findings of an online poll to rank subjects, has had its day. “It is felt that they are popular but we can be doing bolder and different things rather than something which is fun but which some people feel can feel a little spurious,” said the source. Instead the money saved from airing clip shows will be ploughed back into original programming, particularly comedy. Last year Channel 4 broadcast three list shows – 100 Greatest World Cup Moments, 100 Greatest Stand Ups and 100 Greatest Toys. E4 also broadcast three, The 50 Greatest Plastic Surgery Shockers, The Idiot Awards and How to Be Famous, alongside a handful of repeats. However, this came despite claims in 2007 by Channel 4′s then director of television and content, Kevin Lygo, that the broadcaster would be abandoning them. “I don’t think we will be commissioning them any more,” Lygo, who left last year to become managing director of ITV Studios, said at the time . But while the format never quite went away, Channel 4 insist that the end really is nigh for the list show except under very exceptional circumstances. The broadcaster plans to keep Rude Tube, its occasional rundown of amusing or interesting internet clips presented by Alex Zane. And one list show waiting in the wings for a broadcast in April is 50 Worst Weddings, which will form part of its coverage of the royal wedding. “The Jonathan Ross rundown of the nation’s favourite toys did well last year and if Jonathan comes up with an exceptionally brilliant idea like that we may do it,” added the Channel 4 source. “But the direction of travel is now very much not to do them any more.” •
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