In a new interview with Rolling Stone , Howard Stern says former sidekick Artie Lange may return to the air for the first time following last year’s suicide attempt . “He said to me recently that he would be willing to come on the air and explain what happened and stuff,” says…
Continue reading …Teachers, police officers, and scout leaders were among the 184 people arrested today as police busted what Europol is calling “probably the largest online pedophile network in the world.” Some 230 children were rescued from people suspected of abusing them in more than 30 countries as a result of the…
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Owner of house where Mandela buried gun as a young freedom fighter reportedly asking unaffordable price for it to be returned For historians in South Africa, it has become a holy grail. The pistol given to the young militant Nelson Mandela, and hidden by him underground half a century ago, has gone down in legend as the first weapon of the war against apartheid. But an attempt to reunite the 92-year-old with the artefact has collapsed into a bitter dispute between museum officials and the owner of a house where it is thought to be buried. The Liliesleaf Trust , which preserves the former headquarters of the armed wing of the African National Congress, said it had been denied access to the neighbouring property because of its owner’s “belligerent and selfish stance”. But Al Leenstra, the homeowner, said through his lawyer that he has offered to sell it at a reasonable price, and accused the trust of twisting the facts to manipulate public emotion. While the two parties continue to wrangle, the hopes of returning the gun – estimated to be worth 22m rand (£1.9m) – to South Africa’s first democratic president, or to the ANC in time for its centenary next year, appear to be dwindling. The semi-automatic Makarov pistol was presented to Mandela in 1962, reportedly on the instructions of emperor Haile Selassie, by the colonel in charge of his military and political training in Ethiopia. Mandela then returned to Liliesleaf farm, the secret base of the ANC’s military wing in Rivonia, Johannesburg, where he wore blue overalls to pose as a caretaker under the alias David Motsamayi. In July 1962, Mandela took the precaution of wrapping the gun in foil and an army uniform and burying it under a tin plate along with 200 rounds of ammunition. He was arrested soon after and charged in what became known as Rivonia Trial in 1963. In the decades that followed a number of new buildings appeared at Liliesleaf, including the house above the pistol’s apparent hiding place. Allister Sparks, a veteran journalist, recalled a visit to Liliesleaf with Mandela years after his release. “He was reminiscing about all the things that had gone on while he was there,” he said. “He said to the house maid, ‘Where’s the kitchen? I buried some weapons here 20 paces from the kitchen.’ “We went to the kitchen and he stepped out his paces but by the time he got to 10 he hit the garden wall. So it was over in the neighbour’s property … Anyway, we never found it and poor Nick Wolpe has been digging ever since.” Wolpe, chief executive of the Liliesleaf Trust, was asked by Mandela in 2003: “Have you found my gun?” He is eager to search the neighbouring property, but says he is now “being held to ransom” by an asking price of 3m rand (£265,000) to buy it. Wolpe said the search “has been brought to an abrupt halt by the unreasonable behaviour of the owner of the property” where the gun is possibly buried. “The property owner has backtracked and displayed a greediness, realising that there is much to be gained and in so doing has begun to exploit the situation,” he said. “It is very unfortunate that the homeowner has taken such a belligerent and selfish stance as the trust is extremely keen to uncover the whereabouts of the buried Makarov gun due to recent events surrounding Mr Mandela’s health. This is highly unlikely to happen now.” He added: “It is very sad and disappointing as we very much would like to find the gun while Mr Mandela is alive.” Wolpe said there had been years of negotiations with several adjacent properties for a “fair and reasonable price”. “I am extremely angry and frustrated. We’ve made it clear over the years that it’s a negotiated purchase and we’re not prepared to pay over the odds.” But Bobbie Lanham-Love, a lawyer representing 77-year-old Leenstra, insisted: “It’s a reasonable price, in accordance with the price quoted by Mr Wolpe last year, not two or three times the value or anything like that. The truth is that our client could probably go to the market and realise a much higher value.” Lanham-Love accused the trust of twisting the facts to play on public sympathy: “Nelson Mandela is our greatest hero. It’s so easy to hide behind the facade of an emotional argument like this.” Nelson Mandela South Africa David Smith guardian.co.uk
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Former Lib Dem leader to stand with Ed Miliband at joint alternative vote campaign rally after Nick Clegg drops objection The row between the Liberal Democrats and Labour over a joint approach to the referendum on the alternative vote has been resolved after the former Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy was given permission to share a platform with Ed Miliband. Nick Clegg agreed that Kennedy could appear alongside Miliband – and that Clegg will not be present. Plans for a Kennedy-Miliband rally were dropped last week after the deputy prime minister objected. Miliband called on Clegg this week to lie low during the referendum, saying his presence would reduce support for the yes campaign among Labour supporters. The joint event will occur on 29 March, but the episode has left bruised feelings on both sides that will take time to repair. Clegg will deliver a speech in Manchester on Friday urging yes to AV supporters to rise above party politics. He feels frustrated that Miliband is not doing more to campaign for a yes vote, arguing that short-term arguments between the two parties are dwarfed by the importance of the referendum. Lib Dems are also concerned that David Cameron is going too far in supporting the no campaign, including personal attacks on Clegg. The no campaign held a meeting in No 10 on Tuesday. As Miliband battled with Clegg, he suffered the embarrassment of seeing more than half his MPs sign a no to AV petition. The Labour leader was joined at a rally in London by Neil Kinnock, Oona King and Ken Livingstone. Three members of the shadow cabinet are openly campaigning against AV: Caroline Flint, Mary Creagh and John Healey. Flint, the shadow communities secretary, said that 5 May, which also sees local elections, will be a “referendum on Nick Clegg”. But she denied the Labour split on AV was a problem, saying there was an “open discussion” within the party. Lord Falconer, a former Labour cabinet minister and one of the patrons of the no campaign, argued that a no vote could precipitate an earlier general election. Writing in the New Statesman, he said: “Miliband could be prime minister sooner than many people think. And the way to achieve that is to reject his advice on AV. If the referendum is won by the yes campaigners, it would be advantageous for the Lib Dems to delay the general election until after AV is introduced in 2015, under the terms of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act. “But if the Lib Dems lose the referendum, there will be no reason to delay – the quicker they get out of the coalition, the sooner they will be on the road to recovery with the electorate.” Clegg’s aides believe senior Conservatives are aiding personal attacks on the deputy prime minister. “Imagine if there was a no to Trident campaign,” said one, “and it was putting out posters attacking Cameron and Fox as warmongers, Lib Dem HQ was funding it and Nick was helping drum up cash … I don’t think so.” They believe Cameron has gone too far to assuage the concerns of his anti-AV backbenchers and is now helping the no to AV campaign too effectively. In the words of one senior Lib Dem, no to AV has become a “Tory front campaign”, and “anti-Clegg swift boat [a reference to attacks on John Kerry during the 2004 US election]“. On Tuesday, these tensions reached their apogee when the no to AV team held a meeting in No 10.Also on Tuesday night, Lib Dem activists were given the go-ahead to “highlight” the close Conservative ties to the NO campaign. AV Electoral reform Liberal Democrats Labour Ed Miliband Charles Kennedy Nick Clegg Allegra Stratton Patrick Wintour guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Barack and Michelle Obama love to eat out, but how do restaurants handle a presidential visit? David Hagedorn of the Washington Post asked chefs around town, and found that the key is to remain calm. “We are in the business of creating perceptions,” says one general manager. “We can’t freak…
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G4S company and guards on flight carrying Jimmy Mubenga could be charged with manslaughter Scotland Yard is considering bringing a corporate manslaughter charge against the world’s largest private security firm over the death of an Angolan deportee. Detectives investigating the death of Jimmy Mubenga, who collapsed while being deported on a commercial flight from Heathrow, have interviewed whistleblowers from G4S, the company hired by the government to deport foreign nationals. They are considering whether the company could be held responsible for his death under rarely used legislation that came into force three years ago. Passengers on British Airways flight 77 told police they saw three G4S guards heavily restraining Mubenga, who they said had been complaining of breathing difficulties before he collapsed. The guards were later arrested in connection with the death and, following interviews this week, were bailed until 4 May. They could face manslaughter charges. However, sources with knowledge of the case have said police are also considering passing a file to the Crown Prosecution Service recommending a corporate manslaughter charge against G4S. The first and only company to be convicted under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 was found guilty last month. Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings was fined £385,000 for the death of Alexander Wright, 27, a geologist who suffocated when he became trapped in a collapsed trench. Under the legislation, prosecutors need to prove a person’s death was caused by a gross breach of duty of care by a company. They also need to convince a jury that the actions of a company’s “senior management” were a substantial element in that breach. A prosecution of this kind against G4S, which receives more than £600m from the government for services including the running of four prisons, three immigration removal centres and 675 court and police cells, would be highly damaging to the Home Office. G4S is the second-largest private employer in the world and boasts a £7bn turnover. Police have recently interviewed three G4S whistleblowers , who last month told parliament that the company repeatedly ignored warnings from staff that potentially lethal force was being used against deportees. They said executives were warned about one technique nicknamed “carpet karaoke”, which involved bending deportees over in aircraft seats to silence them. The whistleblowers, who include a G4S charter operations manager who said he warned seniors they risked “playing Russian roulette with detainees’ lives”, are known to be cooperating with police and providing detailed paperwork they say corrobarates their claims. Detectives are also seeking to track down other individuals from G4S known to have concerns about safety standards and training at the company. Heathrow CID opened the inquiry into the death of Mubenga, 46, hours after he collapsed on the aircraft as it prepared for departure to Luanda on 12 October. The flight was delayed for 24 hours and passengers were transferred to a nearby hotel overnight. The following day, the passengers were interviewed by police but, owing to their imminent departure, only spent around 40 minutes each speaking to detectives. Days later, the Metropolitan police’s homicide unit took over the case after the Guardian independently tracked down passengers who said Mubenga had complained he was unable to breathe for several minutes before his collapse. The unit arrested three guards, aged 35, 48 and 49, and questioned them under caution. Police have tried to trace other passengers for more in-depth interviews. Four G4S whistleblowers last month submitted evidence to the Commons home affairs select committee. The evidence, obtained by the Guardian, alleged serious failings by G4S. It also contradicted some of what senior G4S officials told MPs at a hearing after Mubenga’s death. Keith Vaz, who Labour MP who chairs the committee, said the possibility that whistleblower evidence could assist the police investigation represented “progress”. His committee has yet to decide whether to recall the G4S officials or hold further evidence sessions. “I am not surprised that the police have decided to take the matter forward given the circumstances surrounding this case,” he said. “I am sure the members of the home affairs committee will want to look further into this case during their inquiry into the deportation of detainees.” Committee member Julian Huppert, a Lib Dem MP, said police interest in the parliamentary testimony showed “how strong the committee process is”. “I am glad the home affair select committee hearing has led to this outcome,” he said. G4S said in a statement: “As this is the subject of an on-going investigation, we are unable to comment as this time. We can confirm that G4S has received no approach at this time from the authorities in relation to the company’s position and potential liabilities.” Jimmy Mubenga Immigration and asylum Police Crime Angola Paul Lewis Matthew Taylor guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …G4S company and guards on flight carrying Jimmy Mubenga could be charged with manslaughter Scotland Yard is considering bringing a corporate manslaughter charge against the world’s largest private security firm over the death of an Angolan deportee. Detectives investigating the death of Jimmy Mubenga, who collapsed while being deported on a commercial flight from Heathrow, have interviewed whistleblowers from G4S, the company hired by the government to deport foreign nationals. They are considering whether the company could be held responsible for his death under rarely used legislation that came into force three years ago. Passengers on British Airways flight 77 told police they saw three G4S guards heavily restraining Mubenga, who they said had been complaining of breathing difficulties before he collapsed. The guards were later arrested in connection with the death and, following interviews this week, were bailed until 4 May. They could face manslaughter charges. However, sources with knowledge of the case have said police are also considering passing a file to the Crown Prosecution Service recommending a corporate manslaughter charge against G4S. The first and only company to be convicted under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 was found guilty last month. Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings was fined £385,000 for the death of Alexander Wright, 27, a geologist who suffocated when he became trapped in a collapsed trench. Under the legislation, prosecutors need to prove a person’s death was caused by a gross breach of duty of care by a company. They also need to convince a jury that the actions of a company’s “senior management” were a substantial element in that breach. A prosecution of this kind against G4S, which receives more than £600m from the government for services including the running of four prisons, three immigration removal centres and 675 court and police cells, would be highly damaging to the Home Office. G4S is the second-largest private employer in the world and boasts a £7bn turnover. Police have recently interviewed three G4S whistleblowers , who last month told parliament that the company repeatedly ignored warnings from staff that potentially lethal force was being used against deportees. They said executives were warned about one technique nicknamed “carpet karaoke”, which involved bending deportees over in aircraft seats to silence them. The whistleblowers, who include a G4S charter operations manager who said he warned seniors they risked “playing Russian roulette with detainees’ lives”, are known to be cooperating with police and providing detailed paperwork they say corrobarates their claims. Detectives are also seeking to track down other individuals from G4S known to have concerns about safety standards and training at the company. Heathrow CID opened the inquiry into the death of Mubenga, 46, hours after he collapsed on the aircraft as it prepared for departure to Luanda on 12 October. The flight was delayed for 24 hours and passengers were transferred to a nearby hotel overnight. The following day, the passengers were interviewed by police but, owing to their imminent departure, only spent around 40 minutes each speaking to detectives. Days later, the Metropolitan police’s homicide unit took over the case after the Guardian independently tracked down passengers who said Mubenga had complained he was unable to breathe for several minutes before his collapse. The unit arrested three guards, aged 35, 48 and 49, and questioned them under caution. Police have tried to trace other passengers for more in-depth interviews. Four G4S whistleblowers last month submitted evidence to the Commons home affairs select committee. The evidence, obtained by the Guardian, alleged serious failings by G4S. It also contradicted some of what senior G4S officials told MPs at a hearing after Mubenga’s death. Keith Vaz, who Labour MP who chairs the committee, said the possibility that whistleblower evidence could assist the police investigation represented “progress”. His committee has yet to decide whether to recall the G4S officials or hold further evidence sessions. “I am not surprised that the police have decided to take the matter forward given the circumstances surrounding this case,” he said. “I am sure the members of the home affairs committee will want to look further into this case during their inquiry into the deportation of detainees.” Committee member Julian Huppert, a Lib Dem MP, said police interest in the parliamentary testimony showed “how strong the committee process is”. “I am glad the home affair select committee hearing has led to this outcome,” he said. G4S said in a statement: “As this is the subject of an on-going investigation, we are unable to comment as this time. We can confirm that G4S has received no approach at this time from the authorities in relation to the company’s position and potential liabilities.” Jimmy Mubenga Immigration and asylum Police Crime Angola Paul Lewis Matthew Taylor guardian.co.uk
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More than 100,000 jobs lost in 2010 as Labour accuses Office for Budget Responsibility of getting its forecasts wrong Public sector workers are being laid off much faster than officials forecast, with more than 100,000 jobs being lost over the past 12 months. Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed a decline of 111,000 in “general government” workers, 1.9% of the total, during 2010; 66,000 of the jobs were in local government. In its forecast with the budget last June, George Osborne’s Office for Budget Responsibility predicted a decline of 0.1%, equivalent to 5,500 jobs, in general government employment between the financial years of 2009-10 and 2010-11. In its revised November estimates, the OBR shifted its estimate of the number of government employees in 2010-11 down by a further 40,000; but yesterday’s 111,000 figure means job losses are running twice as fast as it expected. Liam Byrne, shadow work and pensions secretary, said: “If the OBR has underestimated the rise in public sector unemployment, then that makes the outlook for jobs even worse.” On the ONS’s wider measure of public sector employment, which includes public sector corporations, the government’s austerity drive claimed 132,000 public sector jobs in 2010, with the rate of job losses gathering pace through the year. Some 45,000 public sector jobs were lost in the final three months of 2010 alone, including 32,000 in schools and colleges, despite the promise to protect education. There was also a surprise rise of 9,000 jobs in “public administration”, raising a question about whether the government is finding true efficiencies. The decline in public sector jobs overall is partly attributed to the government’s recruitment freeze, but the pace suggests cuts are already translating into job losses. It is now known that, overall, 170,000 local government workers have got “at risk” notices, which will take some months to translate into redundancies. The ONS figures show the total of unemployed people increased by 27,000 in the three months to January to reach 2.53m, the highest figure since 1994. Ministers said the figures show that the private sector is picking up staff and offsetting some of the public sector redundancies, citing a 77,000 rise in jobs from non-state employers in the final three months of 2010. The figures also show a 45,000 fall in public sector jobs between October and November 2010. In 2010 there was a 132,000 reduction in public sector employment, a decrease of 2.1%. Of those laid off in the last quarter of 2010, 9,000 were in central government, 24,000 in local government, and 12,000 in quangos and other public corporations. Regions with the biggest falls in public sector jobs were: Yorkshire and Humber (22,000); the north-west (19,000); and the south-west (18,000). In Whitehall the largest losses were in the Department for Work and Pensions (1,670), the Home Office (1,190), and Revenue & Customs (640). Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: “These job losses
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More than 100,000 jobs lost in 2010 as Labour accuses Office for Budget Responsibility of getting its forecasts wrong Public sector workers are being laid off much faster than officials forecast, with more than 100,000 jobs being lost over the past 12 months. Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed a decline of 111,000 in “general government” workers, 1.9% of the total, during 2010; 66,000 of the jobs were in local government. In its forecast with the budget last June, George Osborne’s Office for Budget Responsibility predicted a decline of 0.1%, equivalent to 5,500 jobs, in general government employment between the financial years of 2009-10 and 2010-11. In its revised November estimates, the OBR shifted its estimate of the number of government employees in 2010-11 down by a further 40,000; but yesterday’s 111,000 figure means job losses are running twice as fast as it expected. Liam Byrne, shadow work and pensions secretary, said: “If the OBR has underestimated the rise in public sector unemployment, then that makes the outlook for jobs even worse.” On the ONS’s wider measure of public sector employment, which includes public sector corporations, the government’s austerity drive claimed 132,000 public sector jobs in 2010, with the rate of job losses gathering pace through the year. Some 45,000 public sector jobs were lost in the final three months of 2010 alone, including 32,000 in schools and colleges, despite the promise to protect education. There was also a surprise rise of 9,000 jobs in “public administration”, raising a question about whether the government is finding true efficiencies. The decline in public sector jobs overall is partly attributed to the government’s recruitment freeze, but the pace suggests cuts are already translating into job losses. It is now known that, overall, 170,000 local government workers have got “at risk” notices, which will take some months to translate into redundancies. The ONS figures show the total of unemployed people increased by 27,000 in the three months to January to reach 2.53m, the highest figure since 1994. Ministers said the figures show that the private sector is picking up staff and offsetting some of the public sector redundancies, citing a 77,000 rise in jobs from non-state employers in the final three months of 2010. The figures also show a 45,000 fall in public sector jobs between October and November 2010. In 2010 there was a 132,000 reduction in public sector employment, a decrease of 2.1%. Of those laid off in the last quarter of 2010, 9,000 were in central government, 24,000 in local government, and 12,000 in quangos and other public corporations. Regions with the biggest falls in public sector jobs were: Yorkshire and Humber (22,000); the north-west (19,000); and the south-west (18,000). In Whitehall the largest losses were in the Department for Work and Pensions (1,670), the Home Office (1,190), and Revenue & Customs (640). Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: “These job losses
Continue reading …In America, a 19-year-old can be arrested for killing a hamster —yet we are allowed to inflict great cruelty on animals kept, not as pets, but for food. That’s because of state laws called “Common Farming Exemptions” that allow the industry, instead of lawmakers, to basically define cruelty by making…
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