Pussy Riot punks sent to prison camps

JAILED Pussy Riot punks Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina have arrived at prison camps in remote Russian regions, a defence lawyer says.

"Tolokonnikova has arrived at corrective labour camp 14 in Mordovia and Alyokhina has arrived at camp 32 in Perm," lawyer Violetta Volkova told the Interfax news agency.

"We do not have official information. I found this out from my sources, they checked it," Ms Volkova added.

The Russian prison service is obliged to inform the women's relatives of their location within 10 days of their arrival.

The Mordovia camp, known for its harsh conditions, is the same one where the only woman convicted in the Yukos oil case that saw the jailing of Russia's former richest man Mikhail Khodorkovsky, lawyer Svetlana Bakhmina, served time from 2006 until October 2008.

The Perm camp is seen as a more pleasant option since it is in a city, although Perm is about 1400 kilometres from Moscow, where Alyokhina's young son lives.

The two women were sentenced to two years for hooliganism motivated by religious hatred after they performed a "punk prayer" in a Moscow cathedral.

Bandmate Yekaterina Samutsevich was released on appeal with a suspended sentence because guards grabbed her before she could take part.

Bakhmina, now 43, told New Times opposition magazine that Camp No. 14 had no hot water and the only way to wash was once a week in a Turkish-style bath. Some women used to open radiator valves in winter to get warm water, she said.

While Bakhmina was convicted of the financial crime of embezzlement, she said she lived and slept in a section including murderers.

If Volkova is correct, Tolokonnikova will be in the same camp as Yevgenia Khasis, the partner of a nationalist activist who shot a rights lawyer and a journalist in broad daylight in Moscow in 2009.

Khasis was sentenced to 18 years for complicity in the murders.

The regional prison service posted photographs of a recent visitors' day at the camp showing the women in shabby green jackets and trousers meeting family members and in the prison chapel.

The camp's prisoners bake cookies for sale and sew uniforms, the prison service said.

Mordovia in central Russia is a region dotted with lakes that has a large number of prison camps, which grew up in the 1930s as part of the Stalin-era Gulag system of labour camps.
 

20.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Residents missing as homes catch fire

FIREFIGHTERS are searching for the occupants of a home that has caught fire in Sydney's west.

Two adjoining properties in Rawson Road, Guildford, went up in flames late on Tuesday night (AEDT).

A Fire and Rescue NSW spokesman said the first property was searched and found to be unoccupied.

But firefighters are urgently trying to locate people believed to be living in the second home.

It was not immediately clear if there were any injuries.

Both homes were described as being well alight and are understood to have suffered significant damage.

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European stocks drop

EUROPEAN equities have sunk on fears over debt-riddled Spain after its central bank predicted a worsening recession, one day after Moody's downgraded credit ratings for five major Spanish regions.

Madrid's IBEX 35 index of top shares on Tuesday dived 1.33 per cent to 7772.30 points in late morning deals, as Spanish bond yields crept higher and bailout concerns intensified, dealers said.

London's FTSE 100 index of top companies fell 1.15 per cent to 5814.81 points, hit by fresh gloom in the retail sector following a profits warning from luxury handbag maker Mulberry.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 dropped 1.34 per cent to 7229.94 points and in Paris the CAC 40 index was down 1.20 per cent at 3442.04.

In foreign exchange trading, the European single currency weakened to $US1.3038 from $US1.3060 late in New York on Monday.

Gold prices slid to $US1717.18 ($A1671.14) ounce on the London Bullion Market from $US1,726.75.

The Bank of Spain on Tuesday forecast that a job-destroying recession kept a tight grip on the country's economy in the third quarter of 2012 when output shrank by an estimated 0.4 per cent.

If confirmed, the figures would mean that the Spanish recession, which has left one in four workers unemployed, is moving into a second year at a relentless pace.

The news came as Moody's cut its debt rating for five Spanish regions by one or two notches each, blaming their weak financial positions and looming debt redemptions.

"Stocks are in the red across Europe... after rating agency Moody's downgraded five Spanish regions," said market analyst David Madden at trading group IG.

"The credit rating for the Spanish government remains unchanged at one notch above junk status, but this will still put pressure on the Madrid government, because the semi-autonomous regions will need to lean on Madrid even more."

Extremadura was cut to Ba1 due to a "persistently high" operating deficit and frail liquidity.

Andalucia (BA2), Castilla-La Mancha (BA3), Catalunya (BA3) and Murcia (BA3) were all cited for poor liquidity and large maturing debt obligations.

"Last night's downgrade of five Spanish regions... is likely to keep the pressure on the Spanish government's finances, given that the regions are likely to become much more reliant on the central government bailout funding facility as their interest costs rise," added CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.

The gloomy news followed mixed regional elections over the weekend for Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

Rajoy won a landslide in his home region of Galicia, but separatist forces gained ground in a regional election held the same day in the northern Basque country.

In London, the top-end consumer goods sector was in focus after Mulberry warned that annual profits would be lower than last year, due to falling wholesale revenues and international retail sales.

In reaction, Mulberry shares slumped to 925 pence.

It later stood at 1000 pence, down 24.24 per cent from Monday's closing level.

Rival luxury goods firm Burberry saw its share price tumble 4.01 per cent to 1125 pence.

Earlier this month, Burberry said group sales growth slowed during its second quarter.

The Mulberry news also hurt the French luxury goods sector on Tuesday.

Shares in fashion groups LVMH and PPR slid by 1.12 and 1.42 per cent respectively, to stand at 123.70 and 132 euros.

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UK gov't postpones badger cull

BRITAIN'S government has postponed a plan to cull badgers after protests from animal rights groups and concern over its cost and effectiveness.

Some farmers had pressed for the ban because the creatures can spread bovine tuberculosis, a disease that can devastate herds and hurt farm revenues.

But the black and white burrowers have had high-profile supporters such as Queen guitarist Brian May, who campaigned against the cull that was to take place in the southwest of England.

The project is now to be put back until next year after a survey found almost twice as many badgers as previously thought - which dramatically raised the cost of the plan. Environment Secretary Owen Paterson told MPs on Tuesday the government remains committed to the idea.

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School funding to stay under wraps

SCHOOLS Minister Peter Garrett has "more than a vague idea" about how the bill for school funding reform should be split between the commonwealth and states.

But he has no intention of revealing the federal government's hand before negotiations.

"You'll have a clear announcement from this government in the early half of next year once we've concluded our negotiations with the states and education authorities," he told ABC's Q&A program on Monday night.

Host Tony Jones asked the minister if he could give "even the vaguest idea" of the percentages being talked about.

"I've got much more than a vague idea but I don't propose to canvas those quantums, which we would be negotiating with the states, here on Q&A," Mr Garrett said.

He said discussions were well under way about how the final funding formula, based on the Gonski panel's recommendations, would work.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has said she wants to sign a deal with the states and territories at the first COAG meeting in 2013, expected to be held in April.

20.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

BBC editor steps aside over Savile probe

A TOP BBC editor has stepped aside while the broadcaster reviews its editorial decision to pull the plug on a segment about sexual abuse allegations against a prominent British children's television star, the late Jimmy Savile.

The BBC said on Monday the editor of the Newsnight program that opted not to broadcast the allegations, Peter Rippon, is "stepping aside with immediate effect".

The BBC said Rippon's explanation of his decision in a blog post earlier was "inaccurate or incomplete in some respects".

He is the first BBC figure directly blamed for the broadcaster's failure to properly report on abuse claims against Savile, who died last year at the age of 84 after a long career in children's television.

The BBC is facing criticism for providing different explanations for pulling the December segment that would have lifted the veil on Savile's abusive history, which had been rumoured but not reported on at the time.

Savile hosted the music program Top of the Pops and Jim'll Fix It. He was also active in numerous charities.

The BBC is set to air its own investigation of its failure to report on Savile's sexual abuses on Monday night on the Panorama show.

On the show set for broadcast on Monday, BBC correspondents claim the Savile segment was pulled because of pressure from senior management.

The fallout and allegations of a cover-up have damaged the BBC's reputation, and Savile's actions are also being investigated by police and other agencies.

Police say there may be more than 200 potential victims of the entertainer, known for his garish track suits and platinum hair.

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Baby bonus cut penalises families: Hockey

SHADOW treasurer Joe Hockey has likened the government's decision to slash the baby bonus for second and subsequent children to China's one child policy.

The policy that has restricted urban Chinese families to a single child since the 1970s has been attributed with leading to a gender imbalance in that country, with male children often seen as more desirable.

The Labor government announced in its budget update it would cut the baby bonus to $3000, from $5000, for second and subsequent children, as it looks to save money to prop up its budget surplus.

The measure will deliver more than $500 million in savings over the forward estimates period.

Families Minister Jenny Macklin said the change, to apply from July 1, 2013, recognised families purchased durable, big-ticket nursery items when their first child was born.

Mr Hockey said the baby bonus was initially introduced by the Howard government to encourage people to have more children and arrest Australia's declining birth rate.

"Now the government seems to want to penalise anyone that has a second or third child," he told ABC television.

"I think that worked quite well in China, didn't it?"

Mr Hockey also said the government "hates private health insurance" since it has further cut the rebate paid to health fund members.

The coalition was unlikely to support this move.

"We want to see more Australians spend more of their money on their own health care," Mr Hockey said, adding that the rebate encouraged this.

The shadow treasurer also attacked government plans to make big companies pay their tax to the government each month, rather than each quarter.

The change will smooth government tax receipts and create a revenue gain of $8.3 billion over three years.

"The bottom line is $8.3 billion doesn't appear in Wayne Swan's accounts if it isn't coming out of someone else's pocket," Mr Hockey said.

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France sees Syria's hand in Beirut blast

FRANCE'S foreign minister reportedly says it's likely Syrian President Bashar Assad's government had a hand in the assassination of Lebanon's intelligence chief in a Beirut bombing.

Laurent Fabius told Europe-1 radio on Sunday that while it wasn't fully clear who was behind the attack that killed Wissam al-Hassan and seven others, it was "probable" that Syria played a role in the blast.

He said that "everything suggests that it's an extension of the Syrian tragedy." He did not provide evidence to back up his assertion.

Fabius also accused Assad of seeking to spread "contagion" in the region in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon.

France has been a major critic of Assad during 19 months of bloodshed in Syria and has called on him to step down.

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Brits like empire over Assange: Ecuador

BRITAIN behaved like it was still an empire in its threat to raid Ecuador's embassy and arrest WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, the Ecuadorian ambassador to London says.

Ana Alban told BBC radio on Sunday the threat, made in August just before Ecuador granted asylum to Australian-born Assange, was "the biggest mistake" committed by Britain since she became ambassador.

"They were trying to show this little country that the British are still an empire and we should learn to be good boys during our stay here," said Alban.

Former computer hacker Assange, 41, walked into the London embassy on June 19 claiming asylum in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces questioning over alleged rape and sexual assault.

British officials angered Ecuador in August by suggesting in a letter that they could ultimately withdraw diplomatic status from the embassy and enter it to arrest Assange, though they have not done so.

Ecuador granted Assange asylum on August 16 but Britain refuses to grant him safe passage out of the country, and he remains holed up in the embassy with the two countries in a diplomatic stalemate.

Assange denies the alleged sex crimes and claims he could eventually be passed from Sweden to the United States for prosecution over the WikiLeaks website's publication of hundreds of thousands of classified US documents.

WikiLeaks enraged Washington in 2010 by publishing a flood of secret military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a huge cache of diplomatic cables from US embassies across the world.

Embassy officials told the BBC that the presence of British police - who have remained outside the embassy since June 19, poised to arrest Assange if he tries to escape - was "intimidating".

Alban even found one policeman right outside her toilet window and had to use a different one, she laughingly told the BBC.

The ambassador said she was taken completely by surprise by Assange's asylum request, and her immediate worries had been over practical issues such as where to find bed linen for the WikiLeaks founder.

The embassy still does not have a washing machine to handle their guest's laundry, she added.

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New poll shows Gillard popularity rising

JULIA Gillard's now famous parliamentary misogyny speech has lifted her personal standing and widened the gap between her and Tony Abbott.

Apparently it's also relegated any possible threat from former prime minister Kevin Rudd.

The latest Fairfax-Neilsen poll on Monday gives Ms Gillard a 10-point margin over Mr Abbott - her biggest lead since February 2011.

She is now seen as preferred prime minister by 50 per cent of voters - up three points from the last poll, while Mr Abbott has slipped four points to 40 per cent.

And Labor's two-party vote has risen for the fourth consecutive month.

The coalition remains ahead in the two-party vote but has eased one point in five weeks to 52 per cent while the government added one point to 48 per cent.

The poll, of 1400 voters taken last Thursday to Saturday, shows Labor's primary vote is steady on 34 per cent, while the coalition's has fallen two points to 43 per cent.

The Greens picked up a point to 11 per cent.

Fairfax said the poll results will strengthen Ms Gillard against any threat from Mr Rudd who is increasing his activity in the electorate.

It comes amid fresh debate about Ms Gillard's role in the 2010 coup against Mr Rudd that has been sparked by a new book by former MP Maxine McKew.

Also in the poll, disapproval of Ms Gillard dropped five points to 48 per cent (approval minus disapproval), giving her a net approval of minus 1.

Her 47 per cent approval rating is her best since March 2011.

In contrast, Mr Abbott's disapproval is up one point to 60 per cent, a new personal record high while his approval also firmed one point to 37 per cent.

His net approval is steady at minus 23 per cent, equalling his personal record low.

20.07 | 0 komentar | Read More