17 years on run – now a 12-month wait for a trial

September 4th,2010    by Sophia

After 17 years on the run in northern Cyprus, the fugitive tycoon Asil Nadir finally returned to face British justice yesterday but was immediately told he will have to wait another year before his trial is heard.

Arriving at the Old Bailey in a chauffeur-driven car – one of three vehicles in a cavalcade – the former owner of the Polly Peck business empire said nothing to the waiting reporters, a marked difference from his heavily media-attended, co-ordinated return to the UK last month.

Inside Court Nine he took his place behind the Perspex screen of the dock and claimed, via his barrister, that despite his 17 years on the run, he was impatient for the trial to begin.
"Mr Nadir is very anxious to have this case heard as soon as possible," William Clegg QC told the court, arguing that the prosecution should be able to prepare the new charges against his client within 28 days.

But the judge, Mr Justice Bean, disagreed. Ruling that the prosecution could have until December to prepare their case, he said: "The 17-year delay is not the fault of the prosecution. It is the fault of Mr Nadir."

Mr Justice Bean added that he hoped the hearing would mark a closure of the "legal limbo" which had been in effect since Mr Nadir fled the country in 1993, fearing he would not be given a fair trial.

The UK has no extradition agreement with the Turkish Cypriot government in northern Cyprus.

Mr Nadir was originally charged with 66 offences of theft which alleged a £34m fraud following the collapse of his Polly Peck empire.

He arrived back in the UK last month after declaring that he wanted to fight the case. His last court appearance was an informal hearing in London. It was later found he was not technically on bail, explaining why he was not arrested on his return to the UK.

The delay in preparing the case against Mr Nadir is that there may not be enough evidence to proceed with the original charges. The prosecution told the Old Bailey yesterday that they needed to trace 183 witnesses to ensure that they were still alive and willing to testify before they could present the defence with a new indictment against Mr Nadir.

Wearing a blue suit and gold-rimmed glasses, Mr Nadir spoke only to confirm his identity during the hour-long hearing. The 62-year-old occasionally yawned and smiled to his 26-year-old wife, Nur, who was sitting in the public gallery.

At the end of the hearing he was allowed to leave on bail, with the restrictions that he must wear an electronic tag and be in his home between the hours of midnight and 6am. He must also report to Chelsea police station once a week.

The court heard that he had surrendered his passports – British and Turkish – upon his arrival in the UK and that a bail surety of £250,000 had been posted with the City of London Magistrates' Court.

After being told he would be required back at the Old Bailey for another hearing on 15 October, Mr Nadir left the court to a waiting media circus. Waving and smiling at photographers, he stepped into his Jaguar alongside his wife and sped off in his convoy.

drive from www.independent.co.uk

Don't back me for leader, Miliband urged Blair

September 3rd,2010    by Sophia

David Miliband appealed to Tony Blair not to issue a public declaration of support in his battle to become the next Labour leader, fearing it could damage rather than boost his prospects in the contest, The Independent can reveal.

However Mr Blair still appeared to give his tacit support to Mr Miliband's bid as he warned his party it would consign itself to the political wilderness if it takes a left turn.

The Blair memoirs, A Journey, were published on the day ballot papers were sent out for the Labour leadership election and injected another factor into the race.

Candidates, including David Miliband, called for the party to "move on" from the Blair-Brown era as opponents of the shadow Foreign Secretary suggested that Mr Blair's return to the political spotlight could harm his one-time protégé and head of policy. Mr Blair endorses Alistair Darling's proposal to halve the public deficit over four years, which is supported by Mr Miliband, and says Labour must have a "coherent" and "credible" position on the deficit if it is to regain power.

But his book casts doubt on Mr Miliband's hunger for the leadership in 2007, when he declined to challenge Mr Brown after Mr Blair bowed out. "He was hesitant and I felt fundamentally uncertain as to whether he wanted it," he writes. Mr Blair told his former policy chief: "I think you might win, not obviously, but very possibly." He insists that Mr Miliband is now "a different calibre of politician, with clear leadership qualities".

Last night, Mr Blair told Andrew Marr in a BBC TV interview that Mr Miliband is "very much his own man". In an implicit rejection of his brother Ed's pitch, Mr Blair said Labour must "always be at the cutting edge of the future, it's got to be prepared to change and adapt, and that means on public services and welfare you cannot run them in 2010 as if you were still in 1950. And the question for the Labour Party is do you buck the historical trend, which has always been, you lose an election and then you go off and decide to lose a few more, before you come back".

Ed Miliband, his brother's closest rival in the race, said: "I think it is time to move on from Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson and to move on from the New Labour establishment. I think most members of the public will want us to turn the page."

David Miliband said: "I respect both Tony and Gordon deeply. But their time has passed. Their names do not appear on the leadership ballots. I'm sick and tired of the caricature that this leadership election is a choice between rejecting or retaining New Labour."

There was anger in the Brown camp at Mr Blair's criticism of his successor. Charlie Whelan, Mr Brown's former press secretary, said: "Needless to say, I won't be reading this trash. It's not true and Tony Blair knows it."

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Child abduction conspirator brought in to advise doctors

September 2nd,2010    by Sophia

A row has broken out after the General Medical Council recruited a woman convicted of conspiracy to abduct a child on to an expert group charged with producing child protection guidance for doctors.

Penny Mellor, from Wolverhampton, served eight months of an 18-month jail sentence after being found guilty of a "wicked conspiracy to abduct" a little girl in 1999. Mrs Mellor has been involved in more than 50 complaints against professionals working in child protection, accusing numerous doctors and nurses of misconduct.

The GMC was last night under growing criticism from respected paediatricians, just months after winning widespread praise for setting up the group.

This followed controversy involving a paediatrician, Dr David Southall, an expert on a condition formerly known as Münchhausen syndrome by proxy, in which a person causes injury or illness to another (often their child) to gain attention. Mrs Mellor, who describes herself as a campaigner and medico-legal researcher, has confirmed taking part in around 30 complaints against Dr Southall. The GMC had ruled that he be struck off the medical register but he successfully overturned this at appeal. Mrs Mellor has been investigated, but not charged, for criminal harassment against Dr Southall.

Child protection experts say they are dumbfounded at the decision to appoint Mrs Mellor, who they believe has contributed to an environment of fear among paediatricians, leading many to turn their backs on child protection work.

Mrs Mellor posted a letter on the British Medical Journal (BMJ) website announcing her membership, ahead of an official statement by the GMC. She declared: "I am sure this is going to cause a furore." She did not, however, turn up for the group's first meeting last week. The IoS has been told that some of the group's 13 other members, who include the president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and Lord Justice Thorpe, were unaware of her appointment until then.

Following the revelation, the BMJ published an open letter from Professionals Against Child Abuse to the GMC chairman, Peter Rubin, saying: "We are astonished that you consider Mrs Mellor an appropriate person to contribute to the group, given that she has made false allegations against numerous doctors and nurses... in some cases wrecking their professional lives... led a hostile media campaign against internationally acclaimed paediatricians ... and created an environment in which doctors are now turning their backs on child protection work, for fear of being targeted."

The GMC refused to explain its decision to The IoS but its chief executive, Niall Dickson, told the BMJ that Mrs Mellor was included in order to give the group credibility and that it was important to hear all perspectives.

Two retired paediatricians and co-authors of the letter, Drs John Bridson and Nigel Speight, last night said the GMC had plenty of critics without criminal convictions to choose from, and Mrs Mellor's inclusion had diminished optimism about what the group would achieve. The new guidance to help doctors working in child protection is expected in 2011.

In his judgment at Newcastle Crown Court in 2002, Mr Justice Whitburn, said of Mrs Mellor: "What is unforgivable is the way in which you manipulated, for your own purposes, the genuine distress of the family... It is chilling to read... the effect of abduction upon that already emotionally damaged child... an abduction which cost others... their liberty."

Mrs Mellor could not be reached for comment, but in her BMJ letter she said she welcomed the opportunity to sit around the table with the RCPCH president and "get paediatricians to listen to the other side of the story".

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The floodlights went out – and an Asian betting syndicate raked in a fortune

September 1st,2010    by Sophia

On a Monday evening in November 1997 Frank Lampard had just struck an equaliser for West Ham United against Crystal Palace when the floodlights at Upton Park failed, plunging the ground into darkness and forcing the abandonment of the game.

As football fans in east London cursed their luck, 6,500 miles away in Malaysia members of an Asian betting syndicate celebrated a six-figure payout.

A month later the syndicate – who had "arranged" for the lights to go out – repeated their scam during a Wimbledon vs Arsenal game. But, when they tried for a third time, at a Charlton vs Liverpool match, their plan was foiled. The security guard who had been bribed to trip the electrics using a remote control told a colleague of the plan and he alerted the police. Four men – two Malaysians, a Chinese man and Roger Firth, the Charlton security supervisor – were subsequently jailed for between 18 months and four years.

The scam was the first and so far only time that an Asian betting syndicate has been proven to have successfully infiltrated a British sporting event. But, as Sunday's News of the World cricket story suggested, sport in the UK is by no means out of the reach of crooked betting stings which have their roots in the Far East.

The three no-balls which the paper's reporter was given advance knowledge of would have been useless information to a British punter, who would be unable to place such a bet in a UK betting shop. In Asia, however, punters can place money on "spot bets" which predict the outcome of the minutiae of a game.

Similarly the floodlight failure scam was only of use to those placing bets in the illegal Asian betting markets. Bookmakers there pay out on the result as it stands if matches are abandoned during the second half of a game. British bookies simply void the bet.

But suspicious betting is by no means unique to Asian markets or football. In snooker a September 2008 match between Peter Ebdon and Liang Wenbo saw huge money being placed on the unfancied Wenbo to win 5-0, a scoreline he eventually achieved. And last year a low-key Wimbledon tennis match was the subject of complaints after a surge of bets predicted, correctly, that the favourite, Jürgen Melzer, would win 3-0.

Both Ebdon and Melzer denied wrongdoing but their matches were reported by bookmakers and investigated by the Gambling Commission (GC), the body which regulates the UK betting industry. They took no action over either case, but bookies are legally required to report any suspicious betting activity. They look for punters who suddenly change the amounts they are betting or sports they are betting on, and become particularly suspicious when large sums are placed on events that usually attract little betting.

Contrary to popular myth, bookmakers will not take bets on anything, and are particularly keen to avoid offering markets on events that can be easily abused. In the 1990s markets on the time of the first throw-in were offered by various bookies, but were soon stopped when it became clear that fans who knew their team's tactics from kick-off, and players who felt it was a victimless crime, were only too happy to take advantage – Matthew Le Tissier, a Southampton player, admitted in his autobiography that he had attempted the scam.

Graham Sharpe, a spokesman for William Hill, said: "We operate with an acute sense of self-preservation. If you phone me up and tell me you want to place a bet on what will happen to the fourth ball of the 15th over on the third day of a Test, I'm going to tell you I wasn't born yesterday. We would not take the bet because you obviously know something I don't."

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Ed Miliband: ‘We need to raise taxes for the better-off

August 31st,2010    by Sophia

Ed Miliband has called on Labour to propose raising taxes for the better-off and impose a £5bn-a-year tax on the banks as he marks out a new dividing line with his elder brother David.

In an interview with The Independent, Ed Miliband claimed New Labour was haunted by three "old ghosts" which shaped its policies when Tony Blair became party leader in 1994. He said they were a fear of increasing taxes for high earners, a fear of Old Labour's anti-Americanism, which resulted in the Iraq war, and an unnecessary desire to protect the public from the views of Labour members, which led to a "control freak" style of party management and "hollowed out" party.

The shadow Climate Change Secretary made clear he wanted to end the cautious approach to tax adopted after it was blamed for the party's 1992 election defeat if he wins what is expected to be a close Labour leadership race between him and his brother next month.
David Miliband has backed the former chancellor Alistair Darling's plan to halve the public deficit in four years, with two-thirds of the money raised through spending cuts and one-third by tax increases.

But, in his interview, Ed Miliband said the previous government's policy was "a starting point but not the final word," adding: "I think we can change the balance [raised from cuts and tax rises] to support public services."

Although he declined to go into detail, one option would be to extend the reach of the 50p top rate of tax, which currently applies on earnings over £150,000, lower down the income scale – perhaps to £100,000.

Ed Miliband argued Labour needed to win back the support of lower and middle income voters who deserted it at the May election. He emphasised that any tax changes would not be "about hitting ordinary families".

On the banks, he said Labour should make permanent the one-off tax on bankers' bonuses to bring in £2bn a year and could raise at least another £3bn a year through a levy on the banks and a tax on financial transactions.

Rejecting claims by his brother's allies that he would take the party to the left, he said he did not regard a 50p tax rate or a proposed High Pay Commission as particularly left-wing. "I think I am appealing to the common sense of the British people," he said.

He returned repeatedly to his theme about Labour's old ghosts. "What always happens in politics is that a generation is shaped by particular events," he said, citing 1994. "Then the danger is that you get stuck in a particular period. What happened to New Labour is that we got stuck – defending flexible labour markets and not understanding the limits to markets at a time when the world had moved on.

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iPod sales drop to lowest quarterly number since 2006

August 30th,2010    by Sophia

The invitation to Apple's event on Wednesday at the Yerba Buena centre in San Francisco shows an acoustic guitar, with a soundhole in the shape of the Apple logo. Seasoned watchers of the company know that this is the time of year when the iPod gets a refresh, yet there's a shadow over the digital music player that turned Apple from an also-ran computer company into a force in the technology world.

The latest sales figures for the quarter to June showed 9m sold – the lowest quarterly number since 2006. In short, the iPod, launched in October 2001, looks to be in terminal decline. While Apple is unworried – sales of its iPhone and iPad are booming – the drooping figures for the digital music player market are a concern for another sector: the music companies.

The music industry had looked to the iPod to drive people to buy music in download form, whethe r from Apple's iTunes music store, eMusic, Napster or from newer competitors such as Amazon. The problem for them is that digital music sales are only growing as fast as those of Apple's devices – and as the stand-alone digital music player starts to die off, people may lose interest in buying songs from digital stores.

"At a time where we're asking if digital is a replacement for the CD, as the CD was for vinyl, we should be starting to see a hockey-stick growth in download sales," said Mark Mulligan, an analyst at Forrester Research who specialises in music and digital media. "Instead, we're seeing a curve resembling that of a niche technology."

At the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) , which represents the worldwide music industry, a spokesman agrees that the growth of digital sales has slowed. Figures for 2009 released earlier this year show that while CD sales fell by 12.7%, losing $1.6bn (£1bn)in value, digital downloads only grew by 9.2%, gaining less than $400m in value. "The digital download market is still growing," said Alex Jacob, a spokesman for the organisation. "But the percentage is less than a few years ago, though it's now coming from a higher base."

But the expectation of the early days of the digital format – that, in time, digital sales would replace CDs and make up something like the same value have been dashed. "Across the board, in terms of growth, digital isn't making up for the fall in CD sales, though it is in certain countries, including the UK," said Jacob.

But as iPod sales slow, digital music sales, which have been yoked to the device, are likely to slow too. The iPod has been the key driver: the IFPI's figures show no appreciable digital download sales until 2004, the year Apple launched its iTunes music store internationally (it launched it in the US in April 2003). Since then, international digital music sales have climbed steadily, exactly in line with the total sales of iPods and iPhones.

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Dr Luisa Dillner's guide to . . . Holiday pests

August 28th,2010    by Sophia

How can I avoid mosquito bites?

In certain parts of the world mosquitoes can infect you with malaria, dengue fever or West Nile Virus, so you need to check what preventative drugs or vaccinations you need. In other places you just need to worry about reacting to the saliva they leave in your skin when they snack on your blood. It's the saliva that prompts your immune system into making the skin around the bite swell, redden and itch. Mosquitoes like some people more than others (those with blood group O are popular) but make yourself unattractive by using a repellent with DEET (apply to skin and clothes). You need it in up to 35% concentration – but children should have no more than 10% applied to them. Oil of lemon eucalyptus should not be used on children under three years of age, although it does work (but not as well as DEET).
How can I treat mosquito bites?

Don't scratch – the bite will itch more and could get infected. Wash it with soap and water. You can use an over- the-counter steroid ointment (1%) to reduce any reaction and if you have many bites you may need an antihistamine tablet. It's rare to get an acute allergic reaction (throat swelling, difficulty breathing and chest pain) but if this happens seek emergency attention.

What about gnats?

They can also bite ferociously and, like mosquitoes, hang around near water and attack mostly in the evenings. The measures against mosquitoes also work for gnats. They love ankles, so wear long socks.

What should I do about jellyfish?

Jellyfish have tentacles that contain little bulbs (nematocysts) which release stingers (small injections of poison) when they touch prey or human skin. Wet suits offer protection. Don't pick up jellyfish on the beach as they still have their stingers. Do not rub an area of skin where you've been stung as it makes it worse. Wash off the stingers as soon as possible using sea water. Do not use tap water or drinking water or cold compresses. You may also need to pick off any tentacles with tweezers. Then soak the area in vinegar (don't use vinegar for Portuguese Man O'War jellyfish) for up to half an hour. Deactivate any poisonous bulbs left in the skin by applying shaving foam, or baking powder and sea water as a paste, and scraping it away when the foam or paste dries with a credit card. If someone has a severe allergic reaction (widespread rash, chest pain, high temperature or difficulty breathing) they need emergency treatment.

drive from www.guardian.co.uk

How to keep 33 trapped miners alive and well until Christmas

August 27th,2010    by Sophia

The mission to free the 33 miners trapped in Chile is one of the most complicated rescue attempts in mining history and will involve much more than simply drilling a wide enough hole to rescue the men. Emergency workers and doctors need to keep the miners both physically and mentally healthy through their ordeal as they face months underground in an area the size of a small apartment.

Physical health

Doctors are most concerned about the miners contracting infections or getting food poisoning. If acute diarrhoea were to break out, it could be disastrous for a group of individuals living in such a confined space with limited access to drinking water, and one of the first instructions given to the miners was to dig a toilet. With just two 8cm-wide boreholes linking the miners to health officials on the surface, there is a limit to what medical supplies could be sent down to the men in the event of a major emergency. One of the miners, Johnny Barrios, has experience as a nurse and he has been asked to keep an eye on his colleagues' health and inform doctors of any changes.

Mental health

Even for professionals accustomed to working in the tight confines of a mine, the prospect of spending months underground will inevitably play havoc with the miners' mental health. "We expect that after the initial euphoria of being found, we will likely see a period of depression and anguish," said Chile's health minister Jaime Mañalich. "It would be naïve to think they can keep their spirits up like this." A team of psychologists are developing ways to keep the miners upbeat, encouraging them to sing, play card games to stave off boredom, follow a simple work routine and switch the lights off at night to mimic what is happening on the surface. A second borehole has now been dug into the miners' chamber which will soon provide them with regular communication to their loved ones. Doctors have also sent down anti-depressants in case any of them find it hard to cope over the coming weeks.

Food and nutrition

Until they were discovered alive on Sunday, the miners had been forced to severely ration their emergency supplies. They subsisted on a meagre diet of two tablespoons of tuna and a biscuit every two days, a tough regimen which helped them survive the first 18 days underground with no outside help. Doctors will begin sending solid foods to them in the next few days but for the meantime they have had to rely on packages of glucose, hydration gels and a protein-heavy milk drink to allow their stomachs to prepare for a more normal diet.

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The Champagne of puddings

August 26th,2010    by Sophia

Plans to elevate the much loved Yorkshire pudding to the same culinary status as Champagne and Parma ham could spell disaster for the long-standing partnership between the baked batter treats and traditional roast beef.

A local food group wants Yorkshire puddings to apply for the same protected food status held by delicacies such as Parmesan and Whitstable oysters, which, if it succeeds, could stop anyone outside the county calling their batter puddings Yorkshires.

Until now, the major stumbling block to seeking Protected Designation of Origin status for Yorkshire puddings was that the name has become generic. But the Regional Food Group for Yorkshire and Humber believes a centuries-old recipe holds the key to proving otherwise, and that the "Yorkshire" appendage is no accident.

Sarah Knapper, the body's research and development director, said Leeds library records show that the 18th-century food writer Hannah Glasse coined the term Yorkshire pudding in her book Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, renaming the old and flatter dripping pudding, which had been cooked in England for centuries. "This establishes a link with a recipe called Yorkshire pudding, which was around at that time and suggests it is originally from Yorkshire," Ms Knapper said. Today, three Yorkshire-based firms make ready-made versions, which have soared in popularity since hitting the shelves in 1995.

Ms Knapper said the next step to seeking legal protection under a European Commission scheme is for the three makers to lodge an application. Paul Holmes of the Real Yorkshire Pudding Company said he "would be very interested", and had discussed applying with Aunt Bessie's, his rival. The other firm is the Irish Greencore, which has a local frozen-food factory.

Increasingly, food producers worldwide are seeking protected culinary status. Just last month, Yorkshire forced rhubarb became the latest British product to join the European food club. Yet it was only the 41st to do so, compared with more than 300 delicacies from France and Italy. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is trying to redress the balance with an initiative to raise awareness of Britain's best speciality producers.

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The ten-day traffic jam driving China mad

August 25th,2010    by Sophia

In a list of the top places to spend the summer, a motorway just outside Beijing beneath a pall of smog and battered by ferocious heat would probably not feature. But some have little choice. For five days, thousands of Chinese motorists have been stuck in the world's worst traffic jam that stretches for 60 miles. And even worse, the 10-day queue is expected to remain backed up until at least the end of the month.

The mother of all road works have spawned a temporary and very slow-moving community. Truck drivers, their vehicles packed with coal from Inner Mongolia, wash themselves in the scorching heat by the roadside, play cards to pass the time, and sleep beneath their lorries. Occasionally they get back into the vehicles to move forward a few inches – then turn off the engines and get out again.

The ultimate driving nightmare has led to authorities posting 400 police officers in the area to prevent the frustrations of drivers from boiling over and to try to prevent criminals taking advantage of stationary vehicles to rob motorists. "One night, around eight robbers attacked six trucks and cars, and ran away with a total 60,000 yuan (£7,000). One of the old drivers we know was even injured and the windshield of his truck was broken," a woman with the surname Ding, the wife of one of the drivers, told the Beijing Morning Post.

Many of the drivers are remarkably resigned to such huge tailbacks as China's double-digit economic growth played havoc with the country's infrastructure. They are accustomed to long delays – though not quite this long. Some have been stuck in the jam for five days, China Central Television reported.

Road construction projects are struggling to keep up with the demands put upon them by the country's need for raw materials to be moved around the country.

There is no sign of things getting better anytime soon. Major road construction under way means that this stretch of highway could be backed up until the end of the month. In one section of the jam, vehicles can move little more than a half a mile a day, according to Zhang Minghai, the director of Zhangjiakou city's traffic management bureau.

One driver was furious at the extortionate prices being asked for basic provisions by the roadside hawkers who have moved in. A bottle of water can cost about £1 – about 10 times the usual cost. "And if you don't buy from them, they will hit your window with bricks," said Mr Zhang.

The Beijing-Tibet Highway has always been a busy thoroughfare for transporting coal, iron ore, fruit and vegetables and other goods. The roads worst affected, the Beijing-Tibet Expressway and the G110, are two of the major routes leading to Beijing and are for lorries carrying less than four tonnes.

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