Moody’s may have already reaffirmed America’s AAA credit rating , but it released a statement today reiterating that that could still change. If the US doesn’t find more deficit reductions pronto, it could face a downgrade before 2013, the agency warned, according to Reuters . Analyst Steven Hass wrote that he’d like…
Continue reading …Rebekah Brooks resigned as chief executive of News International amid the phone hacking scandal, but apparently that doesn’t really mean anything. A source tells the Telegraph Brooks is still on the company payroll, although Brooks herself won’t comment. “My understanding is that Rupert [Murdoch] has told her to travel the…
Continue reading …US helicopter shot down in Afghanistan was sent in after night raid went awry
August 8, 2011 No Comment
Officials say the Chinook, which crashed killing 38, was on its way to help a special forces team hunting a Taliban leader The helicopter carrying US special forces that was shot down in Afghanistan on Saturday, killing 38 troops, was coming to the rescue of a team on a mission to capture a senior Taliban leader. As the lumbering, twin-rotor Chinook troop transporter was coming in to land, US troops on the ground were in a serious confrontation with insurgents in the Tangi valley after their night raid went badly awry, it has emerged. The area is a hotbed for the Taliban and their Hizb-e-Islami allies to the west of Kabul. The International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said on Monday that other US special forces were looking for a “Taliban leader responsible for insurgent operations in the nearby Tangi valley”. Local officials and residents have identified various leading local insurgents as the target of the night raid, a tactic that has been greatly expanded over the last two years. However, the raiding party was discovered by a patrol of “several insurgents” armed with rocket propelled grenade (RPG) launchers and AK-47 assault rifles. Early reports had said the aircraft was shot down taking off after the rescue. But in its first detailed public statement the US-led Isaf said it was hit landing in Wardak province. The crash, the worst single incident for the US of the 10-year war, killed everyone on board, including 25 US special forces soldiers as well as the crew and seven elite Afghan commandos. Most of the soldiers were in the same Navy Seal Team Six unit that killed Osama bin Laden in May, although none was involved in the operation. Night patrols appear to be a new insurgent tactic to counteract Isaf’s devastating night raid campaign, with up to half a dozen such raids every night. Last year Taliban field commanders described to the Guardian some of their other methods used to counter night raids. Isaf said that although the engagement between the US raiders and the insurgent patrol resulted in the killing of “several enemies”, they nonetheless had to call in additional support. Military helicopters carry all sorts of devices to protect them against missile attacks but are at their most vulnerable at takeoff and landing when they are at relatively short range and moving slowly. Some Afghans who know the area well have suggested the Chinook was all the more vulnerable because of the local geography. “They had a clear shot, and the helicopter was hit right in the middle,” said engineer Taous, head of a tribal shura in Wardak. “Because of the shape of the valley there is really only one way in and out. Immediately after the crash the original team that had been awaiting rescue had itself to tend to their colleagues, breaking off the fire fight in a desperate bid to “secure the scene and search for survivors”. Yet more troops were also dispatched from a nearby base to assist. The Isaf statement said the helicopter had been “reportedly fired on by a rocket-propelled grenade”, a common but fairly inaccurate weapon, but also said an investigation was under way to establish “the exact cause of the crash”. Rumours have circulated in Wardak that a more sophisticated anti-aircraft system had been deployed by insurgents, and there has been speculation among analysts that an improvised rocket-assisted mortar may have been to blame. “Locals say they used a new weapon from Pakistan,” said Roshanak Wardak, head of a nearby hospital. “It is some sort of a rocket that the Taliban had not used before, and did not know would work. It was the first time they had ever used this weapon.” It has not been possible to verify the claims. The province’s police chief General Muzafarudding also cast doubt on claims that insurgents used anything more powerful than relatively crude RPGs. US military Afghanistan Taliban United States Nato Jon Boone guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Anonymous turned its rage on a worthy target last night, hacking the Syrian Ministry of Defense website. The site is currently down entirely, but the Atlantic reports that Anonymous originally replaced it with an image of the group’s logo on a Syrian flag backdrop and a message urging soldiers to…
Continue reading …With the Justice Department filing few criminal charges related to the financial crisis, AIG is taking action of its own: The mostly taxpayer-owned firm is preparing to sue Bank of America for allegedly misleading it about the quality of Bank of America’s mortgage-backed securities—an accusation that gets to the…
Continue reading …
Police look into security arrangements of Arctic expedition after teenager is mauled to death by wild animal Police are investigating the security arrangements of the Arctic expedition in which an English schoolboy was mauled to death by a polar bear. Horatio Chapple, 17, died after the animal attacked a camp on Spitsbergen island in the Svalbard archipelago, in the Arctic circle. Accounts suggest a warning tripwire system, used to set off flares that might have scared the animal away, failed to go off. Police are checking a rifle that apparently failed to fire four times before it was successfully used to kill the bear. Liv Asta Ooedegaard, a spokeswoman for the governor of Svalbard, said the rifle had been sent for forensic examination. “We are trying to get the whole picture. That is what we are working on now.” The British Schools Exploring Society (BSES), which ran the trip, may also face a UK investigation after a spokeswoman for Wiltshire police said Chapple’s death had been reported to their child protection team. Circumstances surrounding the death will come under further scrutiny at a forthcoming inquest in Salisbury. The head of security at the University of Svalbard, John Ingen Karlsen, told the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten that although the expedition team had correctly pitched their tents on a hill and away from the water’s edge, they had made two errors. They should have had team members on continuous watch for bears, and their tripwire system may not have been set up properly. Michael Reid, 29, the expedition leader who shot the animal in the head during the attack on Friday, and fellow leader Andy Ruck, 27, returned to the UK after being discharged from hospital on Monday. Patrick Flinders, 16, and Scott Bennell-Smith, 17, who were sharing a tent with Horatio Chapple, returned to the UK on Sunday. Flinders underwent an operation in Norway to remove parts of the bear’s teeth from his scalp, while Bennell-Smith suffered a broken jaw and smashed teeth. The eight uninjured members of the group were expected to return to the UK on Monday. Chapple’s parents, David and Olivia, and his grandfather, Sir John Chapple, former head of the army, paid tribute to him at the weekend. They described the teenager as a “generous, kind and fearless” young man. “He had many friends who admired his enthusiasm for life, his love of challenge and his innate courtesy and wish to help others,” they said. “Horatio was a fine role model for his two younger brothers, Titus, 15, and Magnus, 13.” They added that Horatio planned to read medicine and was keen to find a cure for type one diabetes, which his youngest brother has. On Saturday, BSES announced it had ended the £3,000-per-head expedition on the advice of the Svalbard authorities and in accordance with the wishes of the group leaders. The group was founded in 1932 by a member of Captain Scott’s final Antarctic expedition. It is based at the Royal Geographical Society in London and organises exploratory trips for young people that involve scientific research in wilderness areas. Participants are expected to raise money to cover the costs of the trip. Norway Animals Arctic Europe Polar regions Jeevan Vasagar guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Court of Protection case to be reported in real time after landmark legal ruling
August 8, 2011 No Comment
Judge rules son’s battle with local authority to care for his elderly father is of ‘specific public interest’ A son’s battle to care for his elderly father made legal history on Monday when a judge ruled that his case against the local authority could be reported in “real time”. At the centre of the case is a 92-year-old widower who, his adult son claims, is being forced against his wishes to live in a care home where he is being unlawfully denied contact with his son. The case is being heard in the court of protection , which deals with vulnerable people who are assessed as not being able to make decisions about their own lives. These courts rarely allow their proceedings to be reported, even when a person’s freedom is at stake or, in medical cases involving the removal of life-support machines, their lives. When publicity is granted by the judge, reporting is strictly limited to a few key facts that can only be published after the final judgment has been made. Initials, as in the current case, are used to anonymise the individuals and institutions involved. Monday’s breakthrough happened after the judge, Mr Justice Ryder, ruled that the case is “a paradigm case in an area which happens to be at the forefront of public awareness, [and is] therefore not just of general public interest but of specific public interest”. It is thought to be the first time that detailed reporting has been permitted while a court of protection case is in progress. The judge also broke with protocol by ordering “fairly generous access to material” produced by all the parties in evidence. The ruling means that, for the first time, the public will both be able to follow the step-by-step decision-making process of the court, set up in 2007. They will also, for the first time, be able to examine the arguments over whether and when the controversial Deprivation of Liberty Orders, which came into force in April 2009, should be applied to hospital patients and residents of care homes. The court case was triggered by accusations by SJ’s adult son, DJ, that his recently widowed father had been unlawfully deprived of his liberty since 22 February 2011, when he was forced to stay in the care home at which he had been receiving respite care instead of being allowed to return home. DJ also claims that both the care home and the local authority have unlawfully refused to allow unsupervised contact between the two men. The local authority contests DJ’s claims. It maintains there are “straightforward health and welfare matters” and “safeguarding issues” behind the decision. It said that bruising discovered on SJ’s body when he was first admitted to the residential home in December suggested he had been abused by his son: suspicions, it said, that were strengthened by the father’s own claims that his son had hurt him. These allegations are “vigorously denied” by DJ, who claims the bruising was the result of trying to control his father when he became agitated. DJ also argues that his father’s Alzheimer’s disease leads to him making accusations against others. The local authority concedes that the accusations of abuse are not supported by police. In court on Monday, it also failed to present any medical evidence supporting its allegations. Crucially, DJ contests the local authority’s claim that his father lacks the mental capacity to decide where he lives; a claim backed by an independent consultant psychiatrist. DJ also maintains that his father wants to come home. The local authority disagrees. It says SJ is content to remain in the care home and that any claims he makes to the contrary are the result of manipulation by his son. The local authority is seeking an order to keep SJ at the care home, and return him to it if he leaves or is removed “with the use of reasonable and proportionate physical contact if necessary”. Ulele Burnham, representing the official solicitor – a public official who acts as the “friend” of people involved in court cases who are not competent to make decisions for themselves – agreed that, at least temporarily, SJ does indeed lack capacity and should remain at the care home until more assessments have been made. In her submission, Burnham said that “even leaving aside momentarily the issue of whether DJ’s contact with SJ has been improperly restricted, SJ has not lived at home for some eight months and has not seen DJ for some three months. “It is clear from the evidence that the official solicitor has so far seen, that even if the concerns about alleged abuse by DJ were misconstructions or were false, it is clear, sadly, that DJ was struggling to care for SJ both before and after his mother’s death.” Allegations by DJ that his father has been mistreated in the case home are, added Burnham, “not sustainable”. DJ, however, is adamant that his father is being illegally deprived of his liberty. “I would like my father to come home as that is his wish. My father is miserable in the care home and asks of his own volition to be taken home whenever we speak. I am certain that it is in his best interests to come home.” “I deny abusing my father and my position is that he falls over and then makes allegations. He has continued to fall and make allegations against others while in the care home. It is common for people with Alzheimer’s to make inaccurate allegations and in this case, the council only started to take them seriously when we fell out,” he added. “Under questioning, my father is very vulnerable to suggestion. The council prejudged the investigation into the matter.” The case continues. Older people Social care Amelia Hill guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …If Hosni Mubarak is found guilty of murder, the Muslim Brotherhood wants him hanged—or worse. “Beheading by the sword” would be the more traditional punishment under sharia law, says the Islamic movement’s spokesperson. As for sons Gamal and Alaa, if found guilty of corruption? “If a man has stolen…
Continue reading …
• Disturbances ongoing in Hackney, east London • Looting had spread to Enfield, Brixton and Walthamstow • Home secretary criticises “sheer criminality” • Blackberry messenger used to co-ordinate trouble • Acting Met chief promises ‘robust’ response 6.51pm: The news channels are showing pictures of fires having broken out in Lewisham. It appears a car and a row of bins, all along the same street, have been set ablaze. The footage shows police officers dragging large wheely bins which are not on fire away from the others, as officers with shields and Nato helmets form a line behind them. From the helicopter footage there is no sign of any people in the immediate area. 6.45pm: Dave Hill, the Guardian’s London blogger, is in Hackney, east London, where skirmishes have been occurring this afternoon. A local police officer said shops in Hackney began closing their shutters after hearing “rumours” of trouble initially emanating from BlackBerry Messenger exchanges. Most had locked up by early afternoon as support officers began arriving in increasing numbers in the vicinity of Hackney Central railway station and three masked youths riding bicycles appeared on the main shopping thoroughfare of Mare Street. A series of stand-offs with members of the public began shortly after a large group of police detained two men against the wall of Hackney’s Old Town Hall building, now a betting shop, and a crowd gathered to watch, many of them photographing the events. After some brief skirmishes and an angry verbal tirade against a police cluster by a young woman in the graveyard to the rear of the betting shop, an officer shouted to a colleague to “get the Natos,” a reference to riot helmets. Police vehicles and officers in helmets holding riot shields eventually blocked off access to Mare Street south of its pedestrianized Narrow Way section and the railway bridge, as buses backed up along adjoining Amhurst Road and a helicopter buzzed overhead. Reactions of onlookers varied from a man telling an officer moving a youth on to “get your hands off him, pig,” to an afterschool club worker declaring to police that “these kids shouldn’t be out here, they should be back in their yard,” and saying that if she was in charge of dealing with rioters she’d “tear gas their asses”. 6.41pm: PenGuy has used Blottr to post photos from Lewisham . The images show groups of youths, and police, on the streets. In one a chair appears to have been thrown across the road. On Twitter @gillianhawke has posted an image from Lewisham showing a police line blocking a road. The line appears to be preventing a bus from passing. Officers are not wearing riot gear, suggesting the disturbances may be low level at the moment. 6.36pm: Matt Wells writes that there are developments in a number of areas around London at the moment. Two Guardian reporters have been in touch with news of a large disturbance in Peckham, south-east London. Police are blocking the main street in the area. Adam Vaughan says there are about 50 young men, some in ski masks and balaclavas on Rye Lane. James Walsh is hearing reports of shops shutting down across the city, including those around the Angel, Islington, in north London as well as Stoke Newington, to the north-east, Wood Green – scene of looting on Sunday morning– and Lewisham, in the south-east of the city. In Islington, branches of Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose and the Co-operative have all closed their doors. On Stoke Newington High Street, the Sainsbury’s store has pulled its shutters down, as have some of the smaller shops and corner shops. “There’s a really odd, gloomy feeling – everyone is just standing around talking about when it will kick off here”, James says. The Victoria line has been suspended between Stockwell and Brixton “due to civil unrest”, according to this picture. 6.30pm: Good evening. After two nights of violence and looting following protests at the death of Mark Duggan on Saturday, police and residents are again bracing themselves for disruption. • There have been skirmishes in Hackney, east London this afternoon, with police in riot gear confronting groups of youths. There have been skirmishes on Mare Street, with television pictures of youths using sticks to try and break windows of buses and shops. Our reporter Mark Brown says the disturbances had begun to fizzle out at around 6pm, although there remain sporadic outbreaks of stone-throwing. • Trouble spread to many parts of London last night as disturbances continued across the capital. There was violence in Enfield, Walthamstow and Brixton, with instances of looting and vandalism. The acting Metropolitan police commissioner Tim Godwin pledged a robust response to what he described as “pure criminality” seen in recent days. The Met said Twitter users could face arrest for inciting violence. • The home secretary, Theresa May, has condemned the “sheer criminality” of the riots. She said at least 215 people have been arrested, with 27 people charged. May, who returned from holiday today, praised the bravery of the police, saying: “The violence we’ve seen, the looting we’ve seen, the thuggery we’ve seen – this is sheer criminality, and let’s make no bones about it.” • In Tottenham, scene of the violent clashes and blazes on Saturday evening and Sunday morning, a vigil is taking place tonight in honour of Mark Duggan. The 29-year-old father of four was shot dead by police on Thursday. Doubts have since emerged over whether Duggan was killed in an exchange of fire. • The deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, has rejected claims that the government has failed to provide leadership . Many senior ministers were away from London as the rioting began. David Cameron remains on holiday in Italy. “I reject completely this notion that somehow this Government hasn’t been functioning very effectively,” said Clegg. He added that he had spoken to Cameron by phone this morning. • The Independent Police Complaints Commission issued a statement which appeared to criticise the Metropolitan police. The IPCC is carrying out the investigation into the death of Mark Duggan. Rachel Cerfontyne, the commissioner overseeing the investigation, said the Duggan family’s concerns were about “lack of contact from the police in delivering news of his death to Mark’s parents”. We’ll have the latest news from our reporters around the capital throughout the evening. London riots London Mark Duggan Protest Adam Gabbatt guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …• Disturbances ongoing in Hackney, east London • Looting had spread to Enfield, Brixton and Walthamstow • Home secretary criticises “sheer criminality” • Blackberry messenger used to co-ordinate trouble • Acting Met chief promises ‘robust’ response 6.51pm: The news channels are showing pictures of fires having broken out in Lewisham. It appears a car and a row of bins, all along the same street, have been set ablaze. The footage shows police officers dragging large wheely bins which are not on fire away from the others, as officers with shields and Nato helmets form a line behind them. From the helicopter footage there is no sign of any people in the immediate area. 6.45pm: Dave Hill, the Guardian’s London blogger, is in Hackney, east London, where skirmishes have been occurring this afternoon. A local police officer said shops in Hackney began closing their shutters after hearing “rumours” of trouble initially emanating from BlackBerry Messenger exchanges. Most had locked up by early afternoon as support officers began arriving in increasing numbers in the vicinity of Hackney Central railway station and three masked youths riding bicycles appeared on the main shopping thoroughfare of Mare Street. A series of stand-offs with members of the public began shortly after a large group of police detained two men against the wall of Hackney’s Old Town Hall building, now a betting shop, and a crowd gathered to watch, many of them photographing the events. After some brief skirmishes and an angry verbal tirade against a police cluster by a young woman in the graveyard to the rear of the betting shop, an officer shouted to a colleague to “get the Natos,” a reference to riot helmets. Police vehicles and officers in helmets holding riot shields eventually blocked off access to Mare Street south of its pedestrianized Narrow Way section and the railway bridge, as buses backed up along adjoining Amhurst Road and a helicopter buzzed overhead. Reactions of onlookers varied from a man telling an officer moving a youth on to “get your hands off him, pig,” to an afterschool club worker declaring to police that “these kids shouldn’t be out here, they should be back in their yard,” and saying that if she was in charge of dealing with rioters she’d “tear gas their asses”. 6.41pm: PenGuy has used Blottr to post photos from Lewisham . The images show groups of youths, and police, on the streets. In one a chair appears to have been thrown across the road. On Twitter @gillianhawke has posted an image from Lewisham showing a police line blocking a road. The line appears to be preventing a bus from passing. Officers are not wearing riot gear, suggesting the disturbances may be low level at the moment. 6.36pm: Matt Wells writes that there are developments in a number of areas around London at the moment. Two Guardian reporters have been in touch with news of a large disturbance in Peckham, south-east London. Police are blocking the main street in the area. Adam Vaughan says there are about 50 young men, some in ski masks and balaclavas on Rye Lane. James Walsh is hearing reports of shops shutting down across the city, including those around the Angel, Islington, in north London as well as Stoke Newington, to the north-east, Wood Green – scene of looting on Sunday morning– and Lewisham, in the south-east of the city. In Islington, branches of Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose and the Co-operative have all closed their doors. On Stoke Newington High Street, the Sainsbury’s store has pulled its shutters down, as have some of the smaller shops and corner shops. “There’s a really odd, gloomy feeling – everyone is just standing around talking about when it will kick off here”, James says. The Victoria line has been suspended between Stockwell and Brixton “due to civil unrest”, according to this picture. 6.30pm: Good evening. After two nights of violence and looting following protests at the death of Mark Duggan on Saturday, police and residents are again bracing themselves for disruption. • There have been skirmishes in Hackney, east London this afternoon, with police in riot gear confronting groups of youths. There have been skirmishes on Mare Street, with television pictures of youths using sticks to try and break windows of buses and shops. Our reporter Mark Brown says the disturbances had begun to fizzle out at around 6pm, although there remain sporadic outbreaks of stone-throwing. • Trouble spread to many parts of London last night as disturbances continued across the capital. There was violence in Enfield, Walthamstow and Brixton, with instances of looting and vandalism. The acting Metropolitan police commissioner Tim Godwin pledged a robust response to what he described as “pure criminality” seen in recent days. The Met said Twitter users could face arrest for inciting violence. • The home secretary, Theresa May, has condemned the “sheer criminality” of the riots. She said at least 215 people have been arrested, with 27 people charged. May, who returned from holiday today, praised the bravery of the police, saying: “The violence we’ve seen, the looting we’ve seen, the thuggery we’ve seen – this is sheer criminality, and let’s make no bones about it.” • In Tottenham, scene of the violent clashes and blazes on Saturday evening and Sunday morning, a vigil is taking place tonight in honour of Mark Duggan. The 29-year-old father of four was shot dead by police on Thursday. Doubts have since emerged over whether Duggan was killed in an exchange of fire. • The deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, has rejected claims that the government has failed to provide leadership . Many senior ministers were away from London as the rioting began. David Cameron remains on holiday in Italy. “I reject completely this notion that somehow this Government hasn’t been functioning very effectively,” said Clegg. He added that he had spoken to Cameron by phone this morning. • The Independent Police Complaints Commission issued a statement which appeared to criticise the Metropolitan police. The IPCC is carrying out the investigation into the death of Mark Duggan. Rachel Cerfontyne, the commissioner overseeing the investigation, said the Duggan family’s concerns were about “lack of contact from the police in delivering news of his death to Mark’s parents”. We’ll have the latest news from our reporters around the capital throughout the evening. London riots London Mark Duggan Protest Adam Gabbatt guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …