Casey Anthony was not serving probation while she was in jail awaiting her murder trial and she must report to a probation office in Florida by noon Friday, an appeals court has decided. The court ruled that the 25-year-old cannot “take advantage” of an administrative error to dodge the sentence…
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North Carolina could be hit on Saturday as first hurricane this year to threaten US intensifies into a category 3 tropical cyclone Hurricane Irene strengthened to a category 3 tropical cyclone – with winds of 115mph – over the Bahamas on Wednesday as it moved north towards the US, where is expected to sweep past the Carolinas and upwards at the weekend. Irene is the first hurricane to threaten the US this year and is expected to intensify further over the coming days. The US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) warned of an “extremely dangerous” storm surge. Forecasters predict that Irene will hit North Carolina’s Outer Banks region on Saturday afternoon and then track up the eastern coastline to New England. Even if the centre of the storm stays offshore, the hurricane could hit cities including Washington and New York with winds and rain, and cause coastal flooding and power cuts. “Irene will be a large storm, impacting areas far from the storm centre track,” Jeff Masters, a hurricane expert at forecasters Weather Underground, wrote in his blog. But as forecasts of more than four days can have a margin of error of up to 200 miles, US emergency officials have warned the US east coast to be on the alert for what they describe as a large and potentially dangerous storm. Residents along the coast were already jittery after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake was felt in Washington and cities from the Carolinas to Canada on Tuesday. At 8am local time, Irene was carrying winds of 115 and was about 55 miles south-east of Acklins Island in the Bahamas, the Miami-based NHC said. The wind speed made it a category 3 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson intensity scale, posing a high risk of injury and death from flying and falling debris. Forecasters see Irene swinging north from Thursday, sparing Florida and Georgia from any direct impact and heading towards to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, where the Outer Banks barrier islands are often battered by storms. If Irene makes a direct landfall, it will be the first hurricane to hit the US since Ike pounded the Texas coast in 2008. But forecasts showed it posing no threat to US oil and gas installations in the Gulf of Mexico. AccuWeather said Irene would strike the Outer Banks on Saturday afternoon or evening, but the hurricane would affect the eastern Carolinas much sooner. North Carolina’s governor, Bev Perdue, urged residents to ensure they had three days worth of food, water and supplies. Voluntary evacuations were to begin on Wednesday for parts of the Outer Banks, whose beaches are popular summer holiday spots. Irene drenched the north-eastern Caribbean islands earlier in the week. The first death from the storm was reported on Tuesday in Puerto Rico, where a woman was swept away. Heavy rains have continued there, causing flooding and mudslides. Nearly 300,000 residents were without electricity and 58,000 were without water. Natural disasters and extreme weather Bahamas Caribbean North and Central America North Carolina United States guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Japan has joined the US on the list of countries to have its credit rating downgraded because of debt worries. But for the Japanese, the downgrade is just the latest in a long series of bad news. Moody’s has cut Japan’s rating by a notch to the fourth highest on…
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Ebacc courses should be made compulsory, Tory politician argues on eve of GCSE results day Pupils should be required to sit GCSEs in five traditional academic subjects so that Britain can remain a competitive nation, a Conservative MP says. On the eve of the publication of GCSE results for 600,000 pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Elizabeth Truss has said all 16-year-olds – regardless of their ability – should take English, maths, at least two sciences, a foreign language and either history or geography. Michael Gove, the education secretary, has called this combination of subjects the English Baccalaureate , or Ebacc. For the first time this year, league tables measured schools by the proportion of their pupils achieving at least a C grade in Ebacc subjects. Truss, MP for south-west Norfolk, has warned that leading competitors such as Germany, France, Canada and Japan, have already made Ebacc subjects compulsory at 16 and that Britain is “quickly falling behind”. In the US, all these subjects are mandatory, apart from a foreign language. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, at present just English, maths and science are compulsory to GCSE. Truss, who is known for engaging in education debates in the Commons, says pupils get more out of each academic discipline by studying a combination of them. She says Ebacc subjects should become compulsory when ministers introduce a new national curriculum into schools in September 2013. There is already proof that the UK is losing its reputation for educational excellence, Truss says. Last year, the UK slipped down international league tables for reading, science and maths. Every four years, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development analyses the numeracy and literacy standards and scientific knowledge of 470,000 15-year-olds across the world. The latest study, published in December, showed the UK tumbled from 17th to 25th place in reading; from 24th to 28th position in maths and from 14th to 16th place in science. Figures published earlier this week following a parliamentary question by Charlotte Leslie, Conservative MP for Bristol north-west , show fewer than a quarter of pupils – 22% – sat GCSEs in Ebacc subjects last summer, compared to half in 1997. Anecdotal evidence indicates that, since the introduction of the Ebacc, more schools are encouraging pupils to take traditional, academic subjects. Pupils receiving their GCSE results on Thursday will have chosen their subjects two years ago, before the Ebacc was invented. However, some schools may have suggested pupils switch to traditional subjects half-way through their courses. The GCSE pass rate is expected to reach a record high of 70%, a leading education expert has predicted. Last summer, some 69.1% of entries achieved a C grade or higher. Professor Alan Smithers , of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at Buckingham University, anticipates that nearly one in four – 23% – of GCSE entries will be an A or A* and that one in 12 will be an A*. In 2010, 22.6% of exams got an A or A*, while 7.5% were awarded an A*. Ministers have said schools will be considered under-performing if fewer than 35% of pupils achieve at least five C grades, including in English and maths. The government intends to change GCSEs from next year so that pupils do not take exams throughout the year, but only at the end of their courses. GCSEs English baccalaureate Schools Secondary schools Education policy Conservatives Jessica Shepherd guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Facebook and Twitter to oppose calls for social media blocks during riots
August 24, 2011 No Comment
Ministers expected to row back from David Cameron’s demand that suspected rioters be barred from websites Blog: the questions social media giants need to answer Facebook and Twitter are preparing to stand firm against government ministers’ calls to ban people from social networks or shut their websites down in times of civil unrest. The major social networks are expected to offer no concessions when they meet the home secretary, Theresa May, at a Home Office summit on Thursday lunchtime. Ministers are expected to row back on David Cameron’s call for suspected rioters to be banned from social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook, following the riots and looting across England a fortnight ago. The home secretary will explore what measures the major social networks could take to help contain disorder – including how law enforcement can more effectively use the sites – rather than discuss powers to shut them down. The acting Metropolitan police commissioner, Tim Godwin, and the Tory MP Louise Mensch have separately explored the idea of shutting down websites during emergencies. The technology companies will strongly warn the government against introducing emergency measures that could usher in a new form of online censorship. Attacks on London landmarks, including the Olympics site and Westfield shopping centres, were thwarted earlier this month after police managed to intercept private BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) posts – suggesting that leaving networks running can provide a valuable source of intelligence and information. The summit is not expected to signal a dramatic shift in government policy, with only one hour slated for a discussion between more than a dozen social media executives, police officers and ministers. Executives from Facebook, Twitter and RIM will be joined by Lynn Owens, the assistant commissioner of central operations at the Met police, members of the association of chief police officers, and civil servants from both the foreign office and the department for culture, media and sport. The home secretary will lead the meeting, alongside James Brokenshire, the minister for security and a member of the National Security Council. May will urge the social networks, all of which are based in either the US or Canada, to take more responsibility for the messages posted on their websites. In response, Twitter and Facebook are expected to outline the steps that both social networks already take to remove messages that potentially incite violence. Facebook, which has 30 million users in the UK, said it had actively removed ” several credible threats of violence ” to stem the riots across England this month. Research in Motion, the Canada-based BlackBerry maker, will explain to the government which parts of its popular BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service are private or encrypted. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, BBM is a pin-protected instant messaging system, and was claimed to be the most popular network among rioters. Each of the social networks are preparing to explain how current powers are proportionate for tackling provocative material. Current measures allow internet companies to identify users who may be worth further investigation without examining the content of their messages. RIM and other companies can be forced to disclose users’ private messages if served with a warrant by police. Godwin told MPs on the home affairs committee last week that police had explored the unprecedented step of switching off social networks , but discovered that they did not have the legal powers to do so. Under the current system, most websites take down material if served with “notice and takedown procedures” by authorities. Facebook also operates a self-policing method whereby its own users can flag inappropriate material. Two leading police forces told the Guardian earlier this month that it would be a mistake to introduce overzealous powers over the websites. Greater Manchester police and the Devon and Cornwall force both said social networks had an “overwhelmingly positive” role in dispelling rumours and reassuring residents during the riots. A spokeswoman for Facebook said: “We look forward to meeting with the home secretary to explain the measures we have been taking to ensure that Facebook is a safe and positive platform for people in the UK at this challenging time. “In recent days we have ensured any credible threats of violence are removed from Facebook and we have been pleased to see the very positive uses millions of people have been making of our service to let friends and family know they are safe and to strengthen their communities.” Twitter and RIM declined to comment. Four men from Lancashire appeared in court on Wednesday accused of using Facebook to encourage the looting. None of the four entered pleas to the charges, and all four were granted bail in the hearing at Preston crown court. •
Continue reading …Dominique Strauss-Kahn will fly home to a France divided over his reputation
August 24, 2011 No Comment
Supporters declare ex-IMF head blanchi – whitened – after sex assault charges dropped, while others believe him tarnished The spectacular collapse of the rape case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn has prompted a bout of soul-searching in France amid fresh debate over how clean the former presidential hopeful has emerged from his American “ordeal”. As Strauss-Kahn prepared to collect his passport from police in New York, friends and supporters declared him blanchi – literally whitened – cleared and vindicated after accusations that had blackened his name and stymied his attempt to become the next president of France in 2012. Others, even those from the traditional left, believe that the Socialists’ one-time “providential man” will fly home less blanchi and more a grubby shade of grey. Commentators veered between outrage at DSK being paraded in handcuffs after his arrest in May and admiration for the US justice system dealing with the case rapidly and letting him go. Philosopher Daniel Salvatore Schiffer, a Strauss-Kahn defender, described the court’s decision as “courageous and honest” and said it had allowed the emergence of “if not the truth, which we will probably never know … but at least impartiality.” But Le Monde pointed out that Strauss-Kahn, 62, who was forced to quit as head of the International Monetary Fund, had not been “totally whitened” as the case had been dropped because of a lack of witnesses or proof that the “hasty sexual relations” between Strauss-Kahn and chambermaid Nafissatou Diallo were forced or consensual. On the eve of the Socialist party’s summer conference in the seaside town of La Rochelle, where six rival candidates for the presidential nomination will gather this weekend, some felt the return of the left’s former champion was an unwelcome distraction. Most of his supporters are now backing other candidates, including frontrunners François Hollande and Martine Aubry. Hollande has spoken of Strauss-Kahn’s economic expertise being “useful to his country” but nobody is seriously suggesting the rules of the primary election be altered to allow him to stand. Le Monde believed events in New York had put paid to Strauss-Kahn’s 2012 presidential ambitions, having “lifted a veil on aspects of his personality, his relations with women and with money”. “Like most French male politicians he felt protected by our tradition of respect for private matters,” it wrote, adding that he was the “victim of his own carelessness”. An editorial by essayist Pascal Bruckner in Le Monde, headlined “The DSK affair reveals a sad image of America”, highlights the cultural chasm spanning French views of sex and relationships and those of “Les Anglo-Saxons”. Bruckner recounts a sheriff on a Florida beach ordering him to cover his naked two-year-old daughter, as an example of the US’s “problem with sex”, which he describes as “twisted puritanism” resulting from the alliance of “feminism and the Republican right”. “We have lots of things to learn from our American friends, but certainly not the art of love,” he concludes, without explaining what a “precipitated sexual relationship” in a hotel suite – consensual or not – has to do with the Gallic view of sex as a genteel, graceful and private game. France’s national philosopher, Bernard-Henri Levy, who outraged many with a string of outbursts in which he described the treatment of his friend in America as “utterly grotesque” because he was “not some commoner”, was equally outspoken. In an extraordinary interview with Nice Matin newspaper he described the chambermaid’s defence as “a masquerade” and said her lawyer had “reached the summits of obscenity”. French headlines – including DSK – Whitened; Nafissatou’s Lies; and Strauss-Kahn: His Nightmare Summer – have contrived to portray Strauss-Kahn as the victim of a mendacious, money-grabbing woman and a foreign legal system. A front page cartoon in Le Monde after Diallo’s lawyer’s launched a civil suit against Strauss-Kahn showed her vacuuming bank notes from DSK’s pockets. The affair also led to qualms about Strauss-Kahn and his heiress wife Anne Sinclair’s “gauche caviar” lifestyle. That they were paying more than £30,000 a month for a Manhattan townhouse, £170,000 a month for detectives and lawyers and had produced more than £3.5m in bail guarantees sat uneasily with some Socialists. Another stain yet to be blanchi is the attempted rape investigation Strauss-Kahn faces in France. Journalist and writer Tristane Banon claims he assaulted her when she went to interview him in 2003 accusing him of behaving like a “rutting chimpanzee” , allegations his lawyers have dismissed as “fantasy”. “Sex, lies and a case dismissal,” wrote the tabloid France Soir. “But DSK hasn’t yet completely finished with the justice system.” Only two people know what happened in the Sofitel suite in May and the lives of both have been sullied. Dominique Strauss-Kahn France Le Monde New York United States Kim Willsher guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Andy Coulson ‘broke’ Commons pass rules by failing to declare NI payments
August 24, 2011 No Comment
· Cameron sponsored pass for ex-head of communications · NI ‘considering ending payment of Coulson’s legal fees’ Andy Coulson appears to have broken House of Commons rules by failing to declare payments and benefits he received from News International while holding a parliamentary pass sponsored by David Cameron. Registers held in the Commons archive, seen by the Guardian, reveal that in September 2007 – three months after Coulson was employed by Cameron’s office – the former News of the World editor failed to declare the health insurance, company car and severance payments he was receiving from his old employers. The records also show that for at least two months after he resigned from his position as No 10′s head of communications in January this year, Coulson continued to hold a parliamentary pass, sponsored by Downing Street, which allowed him access to parliament as a No 10 employee. That will raise new questions about whether Coulson – who Cameron has admitted seeing on a social basis since his resignation – continued to perform an unofficial role for the Tories after he had left. The Labour MP Tom Watson called for the parliamentary commissioner for standards to investigate. Commons rules say all holders of parliamentary passes sponsored by MPs, which allow unfettered access to most of the parliamentary estate, must register any paid employment, gifts or benefits worth more than £329 they receive within that calender year from sources that could “in any way” relate to their work in parliament. The Guardian also understands that News International continued to pay Coulson’s legal bills after he stepped down as the editor of the News of the World in January 2007. The company is considering ending the arrangement after this week’s revelations that Coulson had continued to receive payments after becoming Cameron’s director of communications. Coulson is understood to have consulted lawyers frequently since leaving News International after several public figures brought civil cases against the News of the World, alleging that their voicemail messages had been hacked. News International paid his legal bills last December when he was a witness in the perjury trial of the former Scottish MP Tommy Sheridan. The company declined to comment. Cameron and George Osborne first employed Coulson when the Conservatives were in opposition in July 2007. He appeared on the next register for MP-sponsored passes, published in September, declaring no other employment, gifts or benefits in that calendar year. It is now known that he received hundreds of thousands of pounds in “several” instalments from News International after leaving the company. He also failed to register the health insurance and company car he received from the company under gifts or benefits. Coulson’s pass was personally sponsored by Cameron, not the Conservative party. His register entry noted only that he was director of communications and planning for the Conservative party, making no mention of any other income. From October, his pass switched to a journalist’s pass, sponsored by the Conservatives, which operated with a separate declaration register. Declarations are only required of an “occupation or employment”, earning more than £657 in that calendar year, that could be benefited from access to parliament. For his entire period working for Cameron at Conservative campaign headquarters, and subsequently in Downing Street, Coulson declared nothing on the registers. A Conservative spokesman said: “It is the individual’s responsibility to declare relevant financial interests to the parliamentary pass office. “We were not aware until Monday night of allegations that Andy Coulson’s severance package, agreed with News International before he was employed by the Conservative party, was paid in instalments that continued into the time he was employed by the Conservative party.” Watson, a member of the culture select committee who has campaigned on the phone hacking debate, is writing to the parliamentary commission for standards to complain about the apparent breach. “We now know that, in September 2007, Andy Coulson was receiving staggered payments, free private healthcare and apparently a motor car from News International,” Watson said. “When he applied for his House of Commons pass, Mr Coulson was expected to declare these hidden payments under parliament’s transparency rules. He failed to do so. “Moreover, instead of being allocated a political party press pass, he was placed on David Cameron’s personal allocation of passes. This meant David Cameron had to personally vouch for his application, so presumably they had a discussion about it. I’m writing to the standards commissioner to request he investigates the matter.” Commons officials confirmed that it could take up to a month for people who hand their passes in to be removed from the register of journalists’ interests. Coulson resigned on 21 January and appears on the next two registers, published in March and April, but not from June. That suggests he could have continued to hold his Downing Street-sponsored pass up until May, four months after his resignation. He resigned from News International after the jailing of two private investigators who worked for the News of the World, during his time as the paper’s editor, for phone hacking. Andy Coulson News International News of the World David Cameron Conservatives Tom Watson Labour Polly Curtis James Robinson guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Dudes, get over yourselves. You East Coasters think you’re all that with your 5.8 shakers, but we eat those for breakfast , man. Like, “welcome to our world,” tweeted San Francisco traffic guy Sal Castaneda, representing a horde of more-earthquake-than-thou Californians. But as Gawker responded: “Hey, Californians: Shut up and…
Continue reading …As Nicolas Sarkozy prepares to unveil deep budget cuts, some of his country’s richest citizens are asking him to take more of their money. Billionaire L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt and 15 others have signed a petition urging the government to hit France’s wealthiest people with a “reasonable” one-off special tax,…
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