James Murdoch gives up News International chairman role

Reuters, Wed Feb 29, 2012

BSkyB chairman James Murdoch speaks at the BSkyB Annual General 

Meeting at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in central London

November 29, 2011. (Credit: Reuters/Timothy Anderson/BSkyB/Handout)

(Reuters) James Murdoch, the younger son of Rupert, will relinquish his position as executive chairman of News International, its parent company News Corp said on Wednesday.

The younger Murdoch will remain deputy chief operating officer of News Corp and will focus on its international TV business, the company said in a statement.

James Murdoch, once seen as a heir apparent for News Corp's top job, has been under pressure in Britain since last summer following the phone-hacking scandal that erupted at the unit which he oversaw.

Tom Mockridge, chief executive of News International, will continue in his post and report to News Corp President Chase Carey.

News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch said in a statement his son would still play an key role at the company.

"Now that he has moved to New York, James will continue to assume a variety of essential corporate leadership mandates, with particular focus on important pay-TV businesses and broader international operations."

(Reporting By Yinka Adegoke; Editing by Derek Caney)

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Met police'loaned horse to Rebekah Brooks'

Met police 'loaned horse to Rebekah Brooks'

Force confirms that former News International chief executive received one of its retired horses in 2008

The Guardian, Vikram Dodd, Wednesday 29 February 2012

Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks, whose
husband Charlie is a racehorse trainer. Photograph: Rex Features

The Metropolitan police, which is attempting to resist claims that it has been too close to Rupert Murdoch's News International (NI), has admitted it loaned Rebekah Brooks a police horse.

Brooks is a former NI chief executive. She was forced to resign amid the phone-hacking scandal.

On Monday, the Leveson inquiry heard she had received extensive information from a police officer about the Met's first investigation into phone hacking, while NI was under criminal investigation.

The Met said the horse had reached the end of its working life and there was nothing unusual in deciding to loan it, with Brooks responsible for paying for its upkeep.

Brooks was loaned the horse in 2008, when she was editor of the Sun, and it was kept at her home in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. Her husband, Charlie Brooks, is a racehorse trainer.

In a statement, probably one of the odder ones it has issued, the Met said: "When a police horse reaches the end of its working life, Mounted Branch officers find it a suitable retirement home … the appropriate welfare checks are carried out by Mounted Branch officers.

"Whilst responsibility for feeding the animal and paying vet bills passes to the person entrusted with its care at its new home, the horse remains the property of the Metropolitan police service.

"Retired police horses are not sold on and can be returned to the care of the MPS at any time."

The Met issued a further, more detailed statement on Tuesday night: "In 2007 a request was made by Rebekah Brooks to home a retired police horse. Mounted Branch conducted the normal property and welfare inspection, which was passed. As a result 22-year-old retired horse Raisa was loaned to Rebekah Brooks in 2008.

"The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) was contacted in early 2010 by an individual on behalf of Rebekah Brooks who asked the MPS to re-home Raisa, which was then 24, due to the horse no longer being ridden. When the horse was returned Raisa was regarded by officers from Mounted Branch to be in a poor but not serious condition. The horse was subsequently re-housed with a police officer in 2010, and later died of natural causes."

The Met was already facing a rough ride at the Leveson inquiry over its failures to investigate NI's criminal activities.

The scale of phone hacking by the News of the World led Rupert Murdoch to close the paper down, and on Monday police said the Sun was being investigated over the bribing of public officials.

One of the phone hacking victims is the former Met deputy assistant commissioner Brian Paddick, who is now the Liberal Democrat candidate to be London's mayor.

Paddick said of the news that Brooks had been loaned a horse by police: "It is clearly an error of judgment by the Met. They should have realised if they gave Rebekah Brooks a horse, it would come back and bite them."

A spoof Twitter feed, Rebekah's horse, gained more than 1,600 followers in the hours after the news broke.

Hacking victim John Prescott mocked the decision on Twitter: "Police sources reveal @rebekahshorse was working undercover for neeeeybourhood watch!" he tweeted.

The horse that Brooks received was one of 12 that were retired and rehomed by the Metropolitan police in 2008, when Sir Ian Blair was commissioner of Britain's biggest force.

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EU decides to withdraw all ambassadors to Belarus: Ashton

English.news.cn   2012-02-29

BRUSSELS, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Catherine Ashton, the foreign policy chief of the European Union (EU), said on Tuesday member states have decided to recall their Ambassadors to Minsk.

"Following today's request by the Belarusian authorities that the Head of the EU Delegation in Minsk and the Ambassador of Poland to Belarus leave the country, I have decided, in coordination with (Polish) Foreign Minister Sikorski, that we will recall for consultations our two ambassadors," Ashton said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Ashton called a meeting of member states ambassadors in Brussels on Tuesday to coordinate the bloc's response.

"In an expression of solidarity and unity, it was agreed that the ambassadors of the EU Member States in Minsk will all be withdrawn for consultations to their capitals. All EU Member States will also summon Belarusian ambassadors to their foreign ministries," she said.

Minsk told ambassadors of EU and Poland on Tuesday to leave the country in response to newly approved EU sanctions against the country.

The sanctions, adopted by EU Foreign Affairs Council on Monday, include travel restrictions on 21 judges and senior police officers who should be "responsible for serious violations of human rights or the repression of civil society and democratic opposition."

A spokesman of Belorussian Foreign Ministry stressed on Tuesday that the country's moves were aimed at informing leadership of the EU and Poland Minsk's firm position that pressure and sanctions "are unacceptable."

Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Hydrogen power looks to harness the energy of the Corsican sun

An experimental facility could provide the island with an independent, renewable energy source

Guardian Weekly, Pierre Le Hir, Tuesday 28 February 2012

Island idyll ... stored energy from renewable sources would decrease
Corisca's reliance on oil-fuelled power. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod

As night falls on the Gulf of Ajaccio, Corsica, the Iles Sanguinaires turn red in the dying light of the sun. But it never really sets on the solar plant on the hillside overlooking the Mediterranean.

Thanks to the use of hydrogen, the electricity generated during the hours of sunlight can be stored and injected into the power grid at any time of the day or night. Though the Renewable Hydrogen for Grid Integration (Myrte) facility is still experimental, it is already the largest of its kind in the world.

"The problem of renewable-energy intermittence is particularly acute on islands," said Philippe Poggi, a lecturer at Corsica University and one of the driving forces behind the project, which also involves France's Atomic and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA) and Helion, a subsidiary of Areva, the nuclear power conglomerate, which specialises in hydrogen processes.

In Corsica the 600 megawatts of installed power capacity are largely dependent on oil-fuelled power stations, backed up by a hydroelectric plant and a power line running across the seabed to Sardinia.

Solar and wind power play a marginal part, but the island is keen to develop alternative energy sources. However, as is the case for French overseas territories, a ministerial decree caps the share of intermittent renewables in the overall electricity supply at 30%. This precaution is designed to avoid the risk of an outage caused by cloudy skies or a lull in the wind.

"The only way round this limitation is to store solar energy," said Poggi. This makes it possible to even out fluctuations in output and cope with sudden spikes in demand.

The farm, set in a hollow and partly grassed over, looks very much like a conventional solar power facility, with a 3,700sqm array of photovoltaic panels. The novel feature is an unobtrusive hydrogen plant, which contains all the smart bits.

Powered by the current generated by the solar panels, an electrolyser splits water into oxygen and hydrogen, which is stored in tanks at a pressure of 35 bar. When required a fuel cell reunites the two elements in a reaction, generating electricity that can be fed into the grid.

No single step in this process is revolutionary. The difficult part is optimising the whole process. For example, operation of the electrolyser must be adapted to an intermittent power source. Similarly the fuel cell has to cope with the grid's fluctuating demand. "The challenge is to find a mix that optimises all the components," according to Poggi.

Corsica sees itself as "a laboratory", setting an example of how the mainland could follow once the system is fully operational.

Work on Myrte started in 2006, with a €21m ($27m) budget funded by the regional council, central government and the European Union. It has been up and running for a few months and is still only at the stage of a small-scale test plant. If it lives up to expectations, an industrial-scale unit will come online in 2014-15.

This article originally appeared in Le Monde

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Barclays prevented from using loopholes to dodge paying £500m in tax

Daily Mail, by Hugo Duncan, 28th February 2012

 

Barclays was yesterday prevented from using two ‘highly abusive’  loopholes to dodge paying £500million of tax.

The British banking giant – which recently signed a pledge not to engage in tax avoidance – was ordered to cough up the cash by the Government.

It will come as an embarrassment to Barclays and its multi-millionaire chief executive Bob Diamond who is in line for a bonus of up to £10million.

Embarrassment: Barclays was yesterday prevented from using two
'highly abusive' loopholes to dodge paying £500million of tax

Barclays, which earlier this month unveiled £6billion of profits, has faced questions for years about the amount of tax it pays.

The bank is also disputing the amount of tax it should pay, saying the real figure should be £200m.

The Treasury yesterday accused an unnamed lender – understood by the Daily Mail to be Barclays – of using two ‘highly abusive’ and ‘aggressive’ avoidance schemes.

More...

• HSBC boss forfeits £1.3million of his bonus in 'gesture of remorse' at mis-selling scandal affecting thousands

The Government has now outlawed both loopholes. This is expected to earn it a further £2billion in tax in future years that would otherwise have gone unpaid.

David Gauke, exchequer secretary to the Treasury, criticised the bank for cooking up the schemes, having pledged not to avoid tax under the Banking Code of Practice on Taxation. 

Bad news: The new development will
come as an embarrassment to Barclays
 and its multi-millionaire chief executive
 Bob Diamond, pictured, who is in line
 for a bonus of up to £10million

‘The Government wants to ensure that the tax system is fair for all and we will not allow those who seek to benefit from this aggressive avoidance to get an unfair advantage,’ he said.

‘We do not take today’s action lightly, but the potential tax loss from this scheme and the history of previous abuse in this area mean that this is a circumstance where the decision to change the law with full retrospective effect is justified.

The Government is committed to creating a competitive tax system and we have brought in a range of corporate tax reforms, but we are absolutely clear that business must pay the tax they owe when they owe it.’

The tax dodges at Barclays came to light after they were disclosed by the bank to HMRC. The first scheme involved the bank claiming it should not have to pay corporation tax on profits made when buying back its own debt.

The second involved claiming tax credits on non-taxable income in what the Treasury said amounted to ‘an attempt to secure repayment from the exchequer of tax that has not been paid’.

Barclays yesterday declined to comment on the matter.

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WikiLeaks publishes security think tank emails

Reuters, LONDON, Mon Feb 27, 2012

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrives at the Supreme Court in

Westminster,  on the second day of his extradition appeal, in London,

February 2, 2012. (Credit: Reuters/Andrew Winning)

(Reuters) - The anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks began publishing on Monday more than five million emails from a U.S.-based global security analysis company that has been likened to a shadow CIA.

The emails, snatched by hackers, could unmask sensitive sources and throw light on the murky world of intelligence-gathering by the company known as Stratfor, which counts Fortune 500 companies among its subscribers.

Stratfor in a statement shortly after midnight EST (0500 GMT) said the release of its stolen emails was an attempt to silence and intimidate it.

It said it would not be cowed under the leadership of George Friedman, Stratfor's founder and chief executive officer. It said Friedman had not resigned as CEO, contrary to a bogus email circulating on the Internet.

Some of the emails being published "may be forged or altered to include inaccuracies; some may be authentic," the company statement said.

"We will not validate either. Nor will we explain the thinking that went into them. Having had our property stolen, we will not be victimized twice by submitting to questioning about them," the statement said.

WikiLeaks did not say how it had acquired access to the vast haul of internal and external correspondence of the Austin, Texas company, formally known as Strategic Forecasting Inc.

Hackers linked to the loosely organized Anonymous hackers group said at the beginning of the year they had stolen the email correspondence of some 100 of the firm's employees. The group said it planned to publish the data so the public would know the "truth" about Stratfor operations.

Stratfor describes itself as a subscription-based publisher of geopolitical analysis with an intelligence-based approach to gathering information.

WikiLeaks and Anonymous maintain the emails will expose dark secrets about the company. Stratfor said in its statement it had worked hard to build "good sources" in many countries, "as any publisher of global geopolitical analysis would do."

In December, hackers broke into Stratfor's data systems and stole a large number of company emails.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told Reuters: "Here we have a private intelligence firm, relying on informants from the U.S. government, foreign intelligence agencies with questionable reputations and journalists."

"What is of grave concern is that the targets of this scrutiny are, among others, activist organizations fighting for a just cause."

Friedman, the chief executive, said on January 11 the thieves would be hard pressed to find anything significant in the stolen emails.

"God knows what a hundred employees writing endless emails might say that is embarrassing, stupid or subject to misinterpretation. ... As they search our emails for signs of a vast conspiracy, they will be disappointed."

MEDIA PARTNERS

People linked to Anonymous took credit for the data theft. "Congrats on the amazing partnership between #Anonymous and #WikiLeaks to make all 5 million mails public," AnonSec Tweeted. AnonSec is one of several Twitter accounts used to promote and organize activities associated with Anonymous.

It was not immediately clear what impact the release of the emails might have on Stratfor, its employees, clients and information sources.

Previous releases from WikiLeaks, such as secret video battle footage and thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, in 2010 have angered the U.S. government. WikiLeaks' disclosures also have raised questions about the safety of confidential sources quoted in previously secret documents.

WikiLeaks said it was working with two dozen media organizations worldwide that have access to a database of the Stratfor emails. These include the U.S. newspaper publisher McClatchy Co..

"We have begun reviewing the emails and will publish as warranted," McClatchy's Washington bureau chief, James Asher, told Reuters.

WikiLeaks said its other media partners include L'Espresso and La Repubblica newspapers in Italy, the ARD state broadcaster in Germany and Russia Reporter.

The group gave a sneak preview of the emails to The Yes Men, an activist group that targets what it views as corporate greed.

The Stratfor emails discuss an elaborate hoax the group staged to criticize Dow Chemical Co's handling of the Bhopal chemical disaster in India, according to Andy Bichlbaum, one of The Yes Men.

"What is significant is the picture it helps to paint of the way corporations operate," Bichlbaum told Reuters. "They operate with complete disregard for rule of law and human decency."

After Stratfor's computers were hacked at least twice last December, the credit card details of more than 30,000 subscribers to Stratfor publications were posted on the Internet, including those of former U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger and former U.S. vice president Dan Quayle.

The FBI began investigating the matter in December.

Australian-born Assange, 40, is currently under house arrest in Britain and fighting extradition to Sweden for questioning over alleged sex crimes.

(Reporting by Stephen Grey. Additional reporting by Jim Finkle and Jim Wolf; editing by Philippa Fletcher and Todd Eastham)

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Koran burnings put the heat on ISAF

Deutsche Welle, 26 February 2012

While the burning of the Koran set off the protests raging in Afghanistan that have claimed over 30 lives, destroying the holy book is no longer the main reason tensions are running high, one expert says.

One protester was killed on Sunday and seven US soldiers were wounded during a grenade attack in the sixth day of protests since some Korans were burnt outside as US airbase in Afghanistan. US President Barack Obama and other leading US diplomats and military officials have apologized for the burnings, which they said were accidental, but it has done little to suppress Afghans' anger.

However, Thomas Ruttig of the Afghanistan Analysts Network said the protests being witnessed Sunday were no longer directly connected to the Koran burnings but an expression of Afghans' anger at the way they are treated by the international community.

The burnt Qurans are not longer
driving protests, one expert said.

"What angers Afghans much more is that Special Forces kill people in their night raids who are rebels," he said. "That's been happening more and more lately."

Wide-ranging rethink needed

The West's strategy in Afghanistan needs a wide-ranging rethink, Ruttig said.

"Over the short term all we can hope for is that the Afghan officials can have a calming effect," he said adding that Afghan President Hamid Karzai as well as some mullahs have called for peace.

Karzai's concern about the on-going protests is evident in the many written statements his office has issued on the topic as well as his appearance Sunday in a radio interview in which he said now was "the time to return to calm." Though his comments did not seem to influence protesters, Karzai also said the US troops responsible for the burning the Muslim holy book should be held accountable for their acts. 

Karzai appealed to Afghans for calm

NATO, Britain, Germany and France recalled their advisers from Afghan ministries in Kabul after two US officers were found dead in their office. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the act, saying it was revenge for the burnings. Not being directly involved in the burnings is unlikely to protect other foreign troops, Ruttig said.

"There is no longer much willingness on the part of the Afghan population to differentiate," he said.

An unpredictable situation

In northern Afghanistan, where the German Bundeswehr is stationed, General Erich Pfeffer said the situation was "not predictable" Germany has withdrawn troops from one of its bases, Camp Talokan, ahead of schedule. At least three protesters died on Saturday outside a German camp near Kunduz. 

The Bundeswehr pulled out of one
base early after protests

Ruttig warned against pulling troops out of the country.

"You cannot run away," he said. "Especially not when the international community has made so many promises to help restore stability and committed so many soldiers."

Instead, he recommended additional training for troops and civilians sent to Afghanistan, "We have to develop a much better sensitivity for the country."

Author: Andreas Noll / sms

Editor: Chuck Penfold

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"Healing the Military Energies in our family Tree" – Jun 13, 2011 (Kryon channelled by David Brown)

“ … There’s much violence and anger throughout the world; when we look at the Middle East, we can see that changes are coming there. The West has a lot of power over the Middle East, but that power will begin to dissolve. The Muslim people of this world will begin to have their own power, and their own prosperity, and they will begin to disconnect from the Western World. This disconnection doesn’t have to be violent as violence only happens when somebody hangs onto what doesn’t belong to them....

... What Military Energy means if we use an analogy: it would be like putting grinding paste into the oil of your motor car. Once you release these energies you will begin to feel lighter as you disconnect from this reality, and, you will find it easier and easier to release any other negative emotions. Military Energies are the core of all your problems...."

Iraqis condemn U.S. Haditha sentence as insult

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Brazil wants more IMF power for extra eurozone funds

BBC News, 26 February 2012

Global Economy 

• Greece debt cut: Who loses out?
• Europe struck by growth slowdown
• Germany: Reasons to be cheerful
• Q&A: Greek debt crisis

Guido Mantega wants eurozone nations
to put forward more of their own funds

Brazil has said that developing nations would be happy to provide more money to ease the eurozone's debt crisis, in return for more power within the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The comments were made by Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega as he met with his opposite numbers at a G20 meeting in Mexico.

He also called on eurozone countries to contribute more of their own funds.

This position was echoed by UK Chancellor George Osborne.

Mr Mantega said: "Emerging countries will only help under two conditions; first that they strengthen their firewall and second for the IMF [voting rights] reform be implemented.

"I see most countries sharing a similar opinion that the Europeans have to strengthen their firewall."

Mr Mantega, and other G20 finance ministers, want eurozone nations to put more funds into the European Stability Mechanism, the fund set up to bail out nations struggling with their sovereign debt.

'Colour of money'

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said eurozone nations would look next month at increasing the size of the ESM.

Mr Osborne, speaking to Sky News, said the UK was waiting for this to happen.

"We are prepared to consider [increasing] IMF resources but only once we see colour of eurozone money and we have not seen this," he said.

"While at this G20 conference there are a lot of things to discuss, I don't think you're going to see any extra resources committed here because eurozone countries have not committed additional resources themselves, and I think that quid pro quo will be clearly established here in Mexico City."

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Protesters jeer Spanish king's son-in-law as he walks into court

Iñaki Urdangarín is accused of involvement in one of Spain's longest-running corruption scandals

guardian.co.uk, Giles Tremlett in Madrid, Saturday 25 February 2012

Iñaki Urdangarín and Princess Cristina in 2004.
Photograph: Tim Graham/Getty Images

King Juan Carlos of Spain experienced the public humiliation of seeing his son-in-law jeered at by egg-throwing protesters, as he entered a courthouse to be questioned on allegations of sleaze and tax fraud on Saturday.

An angry crowd of demonstrators greeted Iñaki Urdangarín, the disgraced former golden boy of an otherwise popular royal family, as he walked into the courthouse in Palma, Majorca. At a hearing that was set to continue today, Urdangarín was questioned by prosecutors, investigating magistrate José Castro and some of the dozens of lawyers involved in one of Spain's longest running corruption scandals.

"I appear today to demonstrate my innocence and my honour," said the former Olympic handball player, who also holds the title of Duke of Palma. "I have discharged my duties and taken decisions properly and transparently."

That is not what the constant flow of leaks from the investigation into the king's son-in-law's business dealings indicates. These point to a remarkable and rapid accumulation of millions of euros via non-profit organisations and charities, with funds sent to tax havens such as Belize.

Those allegations have enraged many Spaniards, including a woman who hurled two eggs at Urdangarín's car. "It felt good," she told El País newspaper. "Juan Carlos, if you knew, why did you keep quiet?" read one sign held up by protesters.

Any hopes the Spanish royal family might have had that Urdangarín's dirty laundry could be washed in private at the hearing behind closed doors were immediately dashed as some of those present appeared to be messaging journalists about what was happening.

Among the questions Urdangarín was asked was whether the king had told him to stand down as chairman of a non-profit foundation which, according to leaks from the police investigation, was used to channel money into private bank accounts. He reportedly confirmed that the king had made the request in 2006, soon after opposition politicians on the Balearic Islands queried a €1.2m (£1m) payment.

The corruption investigation is centred on the regional governments of the Balearic Islands and Valencia, both run by prime minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative People's party, who allegedly used the foundation to pay Udangarín bloated fees for organising and appearing at sports-related events.

The sight of the king's son-in-law apparently cashing in on his royal connections has been shocking enough for Spaniards, but the idea that he also allegedly defrauded the exchequer and illegally pocketed public funds has dealt an even greater blow to the monarchy as ordinary Spaniards struggle with 23% unemployment, harsh austerity measures and the prospect of falling back into recession.

Juan Carlos has made his anger clear. In an obvious reference to the case, the king said in his traditional Christmas speech that "all are equal before the law". He said: "When untoward conduct arises which is not in keeping with the law and ethics, society naturally reacts. Fortunately we live by the rule of law and any unworthy act must be judged and penalised."

Urdangarín was given the title of Duke of Palma after marrying Juan Carlos's daughter Princess Cristina. The king sidelined him from official events shortly before he was named as a formal suspect at the end of 2011. The king then disclosed limited details of his family's income in an attempt to show greater transparency.

Urdangarín moved with his wife and four children in 2009 to Washington, DC, where he serves on the board of a subsidiary of the Spanish telecoms group Telefónica. The company refused to comment on rumours that it hired him as a favour to the king and in order to get him out of Spain. Prosecution lawyers said they would be asking the judge to take his passport away this weekend, preventing him from returning to the United States.

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MP questions Santorum's forced euthanasia claims

RNW, 24 February 2012

(Photo: YouTube/rightwingwatch.org)

Dutch Labour MP Frans Timmermans has asked questions in parliament about a comment made by Rick Santorum who is in the race to become the Republican presidential candidate. During a meeting at a religious college, he claimed that forced euthanasia accounts for 5 percent of all deaths in the Netherlands.

The film was made by rightwingwatch.org from a position in the audience.

Mr Timmermans wants to know why the Dutch embassy has not challenged the US politician over the comment. The embassy says it does not want to interfere with the US elections.

"According to the New York Times the ambassador gave “no comment” on Santorum’s scandalous accusations aimed at our country. How is that possible?", Mr Timmermans wrote on Facebook. "It’s not right."

Rick Santorum is a conservative Catholic running to become the Republican presidential candidate. He is doing well in the opinion polls. During the meeting, he said that 10 percent of deaths in the Netherlands were caused by euthanasia. "Half of those people are euthanised involuntarily.” He goes on to say that the elderly seek treatment abroad to avoid Dutch hospitals so that they come out alive. He also claimed that elderly patients wear bracelets with the text “Don’t euthanize me”. The audience can be heard gasping.

The figures cited by the US politician are incorrect. Only two percent of deaths in the Netherlands are attributed to euthanasia. Dutch law is very strict about euthanasia only being carried out at the request of the patient him or herself. The patient has to be suffering unbearably from an incurable condition. The patient's request must also be assessed by two doctors.

The issue has been raised in many small reports in US papers, but is hardly mentioned in the Dutch press.

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