A thief who strolled out of a San Francisco gallery with a stolen Picasso has been arrested and the 1965 pencil sketch has been recovered, police say. The suspect, a man who flew in from New Jersey the day before the theft, was found staying with friends in Northern California’s…
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Our guide to the month’s best photo exhibitions and books – featuring Pieter Hugo, Vanessa Winship, Elliott Erwitt, Taryn Simon and Walker Evans Jim Powell The Observer
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American companies added just 18,000 jobs in June, the US labour department said, well below forecasts of 90,000 to 120,000 US employers hired the fewest workers in nearly two years last month, pushing up the jobless rate and rattling financial markets. Crushing hopes of a turnaround in the jobs market, companies became increasingly cautious about hiring new staff amid the continuing economic uncertainty and added just 18,000 jobs in June, the US labour department said, well below the consensus forecast of 90,000 to 120,000, and the weakest reading since September 2010. The shock figures pushed the US unemployment rate up from 9.1% to 9.2% – the highest level since December 2010, when it stood at 9.4%. The FTSE 100, which was up about 27 points before the release of the June payroll figures, dropped more than 55 points to 5998.81 as investors fretted about the global impact of a slowdown in the world’s biggest economy. The private sector added just 57,000 jobs last month – against expectations of 110,000 – while the government shed 39,000. Rob Carnell, of ING Bank, described the figures as “absolutely awful” and said they would “rock” the markets. Markets analyst Louise Cooper said: “There was a collective gasp on the trading floor here at BGC when the non-farm payrolls number was released. Even given that this data is volatile and subject to large revisions, this number is worrying. “America is the country that creates jobs – flexible employment laws are supposed to ensure that in an economic recovery, people are re-employed quickly and easily. Eighteen thousands jobs created in a country of 400 million people with a 9.2% unemployment rate means that more needs to be done. But what? “[Regarding] monetary policy – the federal funds target rate is already at 0.25% – [there is] no room to cut there and QE2 [the second round of quantitative easing] finished last week. [With] $14tn debt and the deadline for the budget deal on 2 August, fiscal policy is tightening. Most economists are expecting a rebound to the US economy in the second half of the year [and] this number will cause them to return to their models.” The labour department also revised May’s disappointing job creation figures down further, saying companies added just 25,000 jobs in the month – less than half its previous estimate of 54,000. The job figures for April were also revised downwards, though far more moderately, to 217,000 from the previous estimate of 221,000. The figures are particularly disappointing after strong job creation figures on Thursday prompted many analysts to raise their forecast for Friday’s figures, from a consensus of 90,000 to 120,000. Those figures, from American payroll processor ADP, said that the private sector added 157,000 jobs last month – more than double the number expected and dwarfing the 36,000 jobs added in May. US unemployment and employment data US economy United States Global economy Tom Bawden guardian.co.uk
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• ‘Massive quantities’ of archive allegedly deleted • Emails believed to be between News of the World editors Police are investigating evidence that a News International executive may have deleted millions of emails from an internal archive, in an apparent attempt to obstruct Scotland Yard’s inquiry into the phone-hacking scandal. The archive is believed to have reached back to January 2005 revealing daily contact between News of the World editors, reporters and outsiders, including private investigators. The messages are potentially highly valuable both for the police and for the numerous public figures who are suing News International. According to legal sources close to the police inquiry, a senior executive is believed to have deleted ‘massive quantities’ of the archive on two separate occasions, leaving only a small fraction to be disclosed. One of the alleged deletions is said to have been made at the end of January this year, just as Scotland Yard was launching Operation Weeting, its new inquiry into the affair. The allegation directly contradicts repeated claims from News International that it is co-operating fully with police in order to expose its history of illegal news-gathering. It is likely to be seen as evidence that the company could not pass a ‘fit and proper person’ test for its proposed purchase of BSkyB. A Guardian investigation has found that, in addition to deleting emails, the company has also: • infuriated police by leaking sensitive information in spite of an undertaking to police that they would keep it confidential; and • risked prosecution for perverting the course of justice by trying to hide the contents of a senior reporter’s desk after he was arrested by Weeting detectives in April. News International originally claimed that the archive of emails did not exist. Last December, their Scottish editor, Bob Bird, told the trial of Tommy Sheridan in Glasgow that the emails had been lost en route to Mumbai. Also in December, the company’s solicitor, Julian Pike from Farrer and Co, provided the High Court with a statement claiming that they were unable to retrieve emails which were more than six months old. The first hint that this was not true came in late January when News International handed Scotland Yard evidence which led to the immediate sacking of their news editor, Ian Edmondson, and to the launch of Operation Weeting. It was reported at the time that this evidence consisted of three old emails. Three months later, on 23 March this year, Julian Pike formally apologised to the High Court and acknowledged that News International could locate emails as far back as 2005 and that no emails had ever been lost en route to Mumbai or anywhere else in India. In a signed statement seen by the Guardian, Pike said he had been misinformed by the News of the World’s in-house lawyer, Tom Crone, who had told him that he, too, had been misled. He offered no explanation for the misleading evidence given by Bob Bird. The original archive was said to contain half a terabyte of data – equivalent to 500 editions of Encyclopaedia Britannica. But police now believe that there was an effort to substantially destroy the archive before News International handed over their new evidence in January. They believe they have identified the executive responsible by following an electronic audit trail. They have attempted to retrieve the data which they fear was lost. The Crown Prosecution Service are believed to have been asked whether the executive can be charged with perverting the course of justice. At the heart of the affair is a specialist data company, Essential Computing, based in Clevedon, near Bristol. Staff there have been interviewed by Operation Weeting. One source speculated that it was this company which had compelled News International to admit that the archive existed. The Guardian understands that Essential Computing has co-operated with police and has provided evidence about an alleged attempt by the News International executive to destroy part of the archive while they were working with it. This is said to have happened after the executive discovered that the company retained material of which News International was unaware. The alleged deletion has caused tension between News International and Scotland Yard, who are also angry over recent leaks. When the Murdoch company handed over evidence of their journalists’ involvement in bribing police officers in late June, they wanted to make a public announcement, claiming credit for their assistance to police. They were warned that this would interfere with inquiries and finally agreed that they would keep the entire matter confidential until early August, to allow police to make arrests. In the event, this week, a series of leaks has led Scotland Yard to conclude that News International breached the agreement. There was friction, too, in April when Weeting detectives arrested a senior journalist, James Weatherup. When they went to the News of the World’s office to search his desk, they found that all of its contents had been removed and lodged with a firm of solicitors, who initially refused to hand it over. The solicitors eventually complied. A file is believed to have been sent to the Crown Prosecution service seeking advice on whether anybody connected with the incident should be charged. Phone hacking Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers News International Nick Davies Amelia Hill guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …A fan fell to his death at Rangers Ballpark Thursday night after trying to catch a ball tossed his way by Rangers left fielder Josh Hamilton. Witnesses said the man, a firefighter attending the game with his young son, went headfirst over the railing and fell 20 feet to the…
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Bad weather is expected to hit Cape Canaveral in the next few hours but the space shuttle is fuelled and the astronauts are about to make their way to the launchpad Follow live updates on the shuttle launch here In the past few hours Nasa’s launch team have filled the external tanks of space shuttle Atlantis with more than 535,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen in preparation for launch on Friday morning local time . The chances of launch are still low, around 30%, due to adverse weather conditions that are expected to come into Cape Canaveral in the next few hours. Filling the shuttle’s famous 45-metre-long orange external tank with fuel, a procedure called tanking, started at 2am (EDT) and took just under 3 hours, finishing ahead of schedule at 4:48am Florida time. The pressurised liquid hydrogen is kept in the tank at -253C, and the liquid oxygen at -183C until they meet and burn in the orbiter’s main engines. There are no technical impediments for the scheduled launch at 11:26am (4.26pm BST) but Nasa officials are closely monitoring the weather. In the small hours of Friday morning the four astronauts who will fly on the last ever shuttle mission , designated STS-135 and intended to take supplies to the International Space Station, ate breakfast and completed final medical examinations. A short time after 6am, they will make their way to the launch pad, to be strapped into the Atlantis orbiter. On Thursday Nasa said it was investigating the effects of a possible lightning strike that occurred a third of a mile from the launch pad amid torrential rain. Engineers reviewed data, the agency said in a statement, and inspected the rotating service structure, which provides access to the orbiter on the launchpad and has to be rolled back before launch. There is no indication, however, that this has had any impact on the launch time. The countdown can be aborted up to 9 minutes before the scheduled launch. Countdown commentator for Nasa, Allard Beutel, told CBS News that some people might call it “silly to try and play in the rain this morning, but he said we’re going to absolutely try for tanking. But throughout the overnight and closer to the dawn early morning hours, between six and seven o’clock, they’ll keep their eyes on the forecast, of course, all night long, but around that time, they’ll start getting a very focused look on the weather and see whether it’s the right thing to proceed towards launch or whether the forecast really is getting worse. We’ll look at perhaps standing down at that point.” If Atlantis misses its launch window on Friday, there are additional opportunities to launch on Saturday and Sunday mornings, when the chances for favourable weather increase to around 40% and 60% respectively. If the delay continues after that, the next window for launch is likely to be Saturday 16 July. Final space shuttle mission The space shuttle Nasa Space Florida United States Alok Jha guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Bad weather is expected to hit Cape Canaveral in the next few hours but the space shuttle is fuelled and the astronauts are about to make their way to the launchpad Follow live updates on the shuttle launch here In the past few hours Nasa’s launch team have filled the external tanks of space shuttle Atlantis with more than 535,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen in preparation for launch on Friday morning local time . The chances of launch are still low, around 30%, due to adverse weather conditions that are expected to come into Cape Canaveral in the next few hours. Filling the shuttle’s famous 45-metre-long orange external tank with fuel, a procedure called tanking, started at 2am (EDT) and took just under 3 hours, finishing ahead of schedule at 4:48am Florida time. The pressurised liquid hydrogen is kept in the tank at -253C, and the liquid oxygen at -183C until they meet and burn in the orbiter’s main engines. There are no technical impediments for the scheduled launch at 11:26am (4.26pm BST) but Nasa officials are closely monitoring the weather. In the small hours of Friday morning the four astronauts who will fly on the last ever shuttle mission , designated STS-135 and intended to take supplies to the International Space Station, ate breakfast and completed final medical examinations. A short time after 6am, they will make their way to the launch pad, to be strapped into the Atlantis orbiter. On Thursday Nasa said it was investigating the effects of a possible lightning strike that occurred a third of a mile from the launch pad amid torrential rain. Engineers reviewed data, the agency said in a statement, and inspected the rotating service structure, which provides access to the orbiter on the launchpad and has to be rolled back before launch. There is no indication, however, that this has had any impact on the launch time. The countdown can be aborted up to 9 minutes before the scheduled launch. Countdown commentator for Nasa, Allard Beutel, told CBS News that some people might call it “silly to try and play in the rain this morning, but he said we’re going to absolutely try for tanking. But throughout the overnight and closer to the dawn early morning hours, between six and seven o’clock, they’ll keep their eyes on the forecast, of course, all night long, but around that time, they’ll start getting a very focused look on the weather and see whether it’s the right thing to proceed towards launch or whether the forecast really is getting worse. We’ll look at perhaps standing down at that point.” If Atlantis misses its launch window on Friday, there are additional opportunities to launch on Saturday and Sunday mornings, when the chances for favourable weather increase to around 40% and 60% respectively. If the delay continues after that, the next window for launch is likely to be Saturday 16 July. Final space shuttle mission The space shuttle Nasa Space Florida United States Alok Jha guardian.co.uk
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• Man reached for ball thrown by Texas’ Josh Hamilton • Ryan: ‘Our thoughts and prayers are with his family’ A fan fell to his death at Rangers Ballpark on Thursday after catching a ball tossed to him by the Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton. The man was reaching for a ball thrown to him by Hamilton during the second inning of the match against Oakland and toppled over a railing after making the catch. Television pictures showed him falling some 20 feet from the outfield seats to a paved area behind a scoreboard. It is almost a year to the day since a similar accident at Rangers Ballpark when a fan named Tyler Morris fell from the second level to the lower bowl while trying to catch a foul ball on 6 July 2010. He suffered a fractured skull and broken ankle. “We are deeply saddened that the man who fell has passed away as a result of this tragic accident,” the club’s president, Nolan Ryan, said in a statement on the Rangers website. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.” The former US president George W Bush was sitting in the front row with Ryan when the accident happened. Ryan left moments later while Bush remained in the seats. The Rangers clubhouse was closed following the game as the players were informed of the tragedy. “We spoke to the ballclub, so they understand what happened,” Ryan said. “As any of us would be, Josh is very distraught over this.” Ronnie Hargis was sitting in the stands next to the victim, who was at the game with his young son. The men were talking to each other before the accident. “He went straight down. I tried to grab him but I couldn’t,” Hargis said. “I tried to slow him down a little bit.” Hargis’s daughter said the victim’s head was bleeding badly. Safawna Dunn, who was sitting behind the victim, said he appeared to have injuries to both arms and was conscious when taken away on a stretcher. “Josh Hamilton tried to throw [the ball] up to the guy because they were yelling for the ball,” Dunn said. Ryan said it was too early to talk about the two accidents and what evaluations the team may make about railings at the stadium. “Tonight, we’re not prepared to speak about anything further than the accident and the tragedy,” Ryan said. “That’s where I’m going to leave it.” MLB US sport guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …• Man reached for ball thrown by Texas’ Josh Hamilton • Ryan: ‘Our thoughts and prayers are with his family’ A fan fell to his death at Rangers Ballpark on Thursday after catching a ball tossed to him by the Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton. The man was reaching for a ball thrown to him by Hamilton during the second inning of the match against Oakland and toppled over a railing after making the catch. Television pictures showed him falling some 20 feet from the outfield seats to a paved area behind a scoreboard. It is almost a year to the day since a similar accident at Rangers Ballpark when a fan named Tyler Morris fell from the second level to the lower bowl while trying to catch a foul ball on 6 July 2010. He suffered a fractured skull and broken ankle. “We are deeply saddened that the man who fell has passed away as a result of this tragic accident,” the club’s president, Nolan Ryan, said in a statement on the Rangers website. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.” The former US president George W Bush was sitting in the front row with Ryan when the accident happened. Ryan left moments later while Bush remained in the seats. The Rangers clubhouse was closed following the game as the players were informed of the tragedy. “We spoke to the ballclub, so they understand what happened,” Ryan said. “As any of us would be, Josh is very distraught over this.” Ronnie Hargis was sitting in the stands next to the victim, who was at the game with his young son. The men were talking to each other before the accident. “He went straight down. I tried to grab him but I couldn’t,” Hargis said. “I tried to slow him down a little bit.” Hargis’s daughter said the victim’s head was bleeding badly. Safawna Dunn, who was sitting behind the victim, said he appeared to have injuries to both arms and was conscious when taken away on a stretcher. “Josh Hamilton tried to throw [the ball] up to the guy because they were yelling for the ball,” Dunn said. Ryan said it was too early to talk about the two accidents and what evaluations the team may make about railings at the stadium. “Tonight, we’re not prepared to speak about anything further than the accident and the tragedy,” Ryan said. “That’s where I’m going to leave it.” MLB US sport guardian.co.uk
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Paris prosecutors begin preliminary inquiry after Tristane Banon files complaint that former IMF chief tried to rape her in 2003 The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened a preliminary inquiry into a complaint filed by French writer Tristane Banon alleging an attempted rape by former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in 2003. David Koubbi, Banon’s attorney, filed the complaint this week over an incident that Banon claims took place when she went to interview Strauss-Kahn in a Paris apartment when she was in her early 20s. Strauss-Kahn, a Socialist party heavyweight, was a strong favourite to unseat Nicolas Sarkozy in next year’s presidential election until his arrest in New York in May on sex assault charges threw his political future into question. That case appeared to weaken last week, when New York prosecutors questioned the credibility of the hotel maid who alleged he tried to rape her. A court released Strauss-Kahn from house arrest and signs the case is unravelling raised the prospect that he could return to France in the months ahead. The Banon case could still hurt his future. Koubbi said on Thursday there was “physical” evidence in the case, although he declined to say if that included text messages or recordings. Under French law, sexual assault charges must be filed within three years but attempted rape charges can be brought as long as 10 years after the alleged attack. Henri Leclerc, a lawyer for Strauss-Kahn, told Reuters on Monday that he would bring a counter-claim against Banon, calling her version of events “imaginary”. Dominique Strauss-Kahn France Europe guardian.co.uk
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