SCOTLAND'S failure to tackle the scandal of sex trafficking is exposed in a damning report today.

Baroness Helena Kennedy believes sex-trafficking victims are being let down by Scots law

 

The report demands a crackdown on the organised crime gangs behind the vile trade and lifts the lid on how the victims of trafficking and exploitation have been let down.

Leading human rights lawyer Baroness Helena Kennedy, who wrote the report for the Equality and Human Rights Commission, is critical of the Scottish government, the police and other law enforcement agencies.

The report looks into all aspects of human trafficking but focuses explicitly on "commercial sexual exploitation".

A source close to the inquiry said last night: "This is Scotland's dirty little secret."

The report criticises the shortfall in public or professional awareness in Scotland of human trafficking and says police have a "significant" intelligence gap on the problem.

It reveals those who are trafficked are being exploited by organised criminals, often held captive in private flats used as brothels and systematically abused.

Other victims are forced into criminal acts such as benefits fraud or cannabis cultivation, exploited on fruit-picking farms or in the hospitality industry or forced into conditions akin to slavery as domestic servants.

The report's 10 recommendations include the establishment of a task force to take on the gangs behind the misery.

And it also calls for laws to be beefed up to punish the criminals heavily when they are caught.

The source said: "The Scottish government and police have not taken the proper steps to combat human trafficking. The problem exists all over Scotland and is not confined to the sex industry.

"People are being shipped in from all over the world to be used as cheap labour and serious gangsters are behind it.

"We've had prostitutes coming from as far away as Brazil, Nigeria and Bolivia to work in Scottish cities and police don't do anything.

"The recommendations made in the report need to be followed up urgently."

The inquiry's findings and mmendations are based recommendations on written evidence and face-to-face interviews and include statements from victims of trafficking.

Glasgow-born Baroness Kennedy described the nature and extent of human trafficking in Scotland as "a human rights abuse of terrible consequences".

She said: "Human trafficking is one of those pressing contemporary issues which speaks to the societies nature of our societies. It tests the value we attach to the humanity of others.

"That is why it is so important to develop effective strategies to combat trafficking. It speaks to who we are as a people. Confronting it involves collaboration."

She added: "I am hoping Scotland will pioneer a zerotolerance approach, leading the way with new strategies, legislation, and the kinds of multi-agency cooperation that enables the punishment of the traffickers and the identification and recovery of the victims."

Last month, in the first case of its kind in Scotland, Stephen Craig, 34, from Clydebank, was jailed for three years and four months for controlling prostitutes.

His co-accused, Sarah Beukan, 22, from Leith in Edinburgh, was jailed for 18 months.

They were the first people to be convicted in Scotland under new laws covering trafficking within the UK.

The pair admitted moving 14 people to addresses in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff and Newcastle to work as prostitutes.

Equality and Human Rights Scotland Commissioner Kaliani Lyle said: "Trafficking is one of the most severe human rights abuses in the modern world.

"It operates below the radar and is kept there through fear and deception. Our challenge is to rid Scotland of this modern slavery."

Ann Fehilly, of the Glasgow Community and Safety Services TARA Project, said: "If we are able to ensure that protections are in place, then more prosecutions will follow, ensuring that Scotland sends a message to those who traffic and exploit vulnerable women that such abuses will not be tolerated."

Justice secretary Kenny MacAskill said: "The Scottish government welcome this inquiry and the extensive work Baroness Kennedy has undertaken to expose the unacceptable and atrocious practices which allow human trafficking to persist."

He added: "Trafficking is a particularly horrific and brutal violation of human rights. It has no place in modern Scotland and the consequences it brings for victims and communities are incredibly damaging."

Case Study: Evil deeds exposed in Record

THE Daily Record has shone a light on Scotland's seedy underbelly, with senior reporter Annie Brown interviewing victims and those working to beat trafficking.

Last month, Annie met former vice girl Susan, 36, who worked out of flats run by Scotland's only convicted sex traffickers Stephen Craig and Sarah Beukan.

The mum-of-three told how one woman worked for Craig when she was six months pregnant and another was traumatised after having sex with 12 men in a row.

And sadistic Craig threatened to pour boiling water down one woman's throat if she moved on.

Annie also met Ann Hamilton, who established the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA) in 2005 to help identify and support women in Glasgow who had been sex trafficked.

Ann said: "We saw there were a lot of foreign women in prostitution in Glasgow and the Met Police in London were warning us about trafficking.

"We had never heard the term but very soon we realised we had an issue and we had to establish a service for the women and I think it has worked very well."

Key Points

1 Scotland needs a comprehensive strategy against trafficking.Recommendation: Scottish government should develop strategic plan.

2 There is little public or professional awareness of human trafficking or its indicators. Recommendation: Holyrood should run an anti-trafficking campaign.

3 Human Scotland and in the UK has developed in a piecemeal fashion.Recommendation: Holyrood should consider introducing comprehensive Human Trafficking Bill.

4 Police service has a significant intelligence gap on human trafficking.Recommendation: Set up multi-agency task force.

5 There have been few prosecutions against suspected traffickers.Recommendation: Review legislation to consider tougher sentences where human trafficking is background to crimes.

6 Law enforcement bodies have disrupted organised crime through asset recovery but there have been few operations against traffickers.Recommendation: Develop strategy for using asset recovery powers against trafficking groups.

7 Recommendation: Scottish and UK governments to help various agencies, such as employers, bring awareness of human trafficking into their operations.

8 Recommendation: Holyrood involve private sector in strategic approach in dealing with awareness and monitoring of trafficking.

9 Recommendation: Home Office should lead review of system for identifying trafficking victims.

10 Scotland does not yet have comprehensive, end-to-end services for victims of human trafficking. Recommendation: Holyrood should develop a trafficking care standard.

Sean Quinn was yesterday hit with the largest judgment ever registered in an Irish court

 Sean Quinn was yesterday hit with the largest judgment ever registered in an Irish court -- but his children are unlikely to face a similar action to hold them responsible for the family's €2.8bn debts until at least next year.

The High Court yesterday granted Anglo Irish Bank a judgment compelling bankrupt Mr Quinn to repay some €416m -- an amount that he admitted he owed the bailed-out bank.

On Monday, the head of the commercial court, Mr Justice Peter Kelly, will rule on another €1.6bn, which Anglo says is owed to it but which Mr Quinn disputes.

Mr Quinn's children have also signed personal guarantees in relation to some of the family's borrowing. In a recent affidavit, Anglo executive Richard Woodhouse said there was a "strong possibility" the children could "soon be declared bankrupt".

The Irish Independent understands, however, that Anglo is unlikely to move for judgments against the children over the coming weeks, since their loans are already the subject of extensive litigation.

Those cases are expected to come before the courts early next year, with the children poised to argue that Anglo had no right to seize the Quinn Group from them since the bank's loans to the family are invalid.

Meanwhile, Anglo will today ask the Belfast courts to overturn Mr Quinn's Northern Ireland bankruptcy. The bank is opposing Mr Quinn's claim that his 'centre of main interests' is Northern Ireland.

Mr Quinn's house is just across the Border in Ballyconnell, Co Cavan, while his business empire straddles both Fermanagh and Cavan. He argues that he has gone for bankruptcy in the North since he was born and bred there.

The bailed-out bank has been advised that it stands a greater chance of recovering assets from the one-time billionaire if his bankruptcy is done through the courts in Dublin rather than in Belfast.

If Mr Quinn goes through the process in the North, Anglo believes it could have to fork out hundreds of thousands in fees to specially retained legal advisers in that jurisdiction, rather than using its existing counsel.

The bank is also concerned that the Northern Ireland process could take longer to kick in than a process down south, making it harder for the bank to recover assets

British baker was caught short after placing an overly generous discount deal on money-saving website, GroupOn

Rachel Brown, who has been in the baking business for 25 years, had decided to use the popular site to drum up extra business for her company, Need a Cake, before Christmas.

She offered GroupOn subscribers a 75 percent discount on 12 hand-decorated cakes – selling them for £6.50 instead of the usual price of £26.

Bargain hunters jumped on Need a Cake's offer leaving 50-year-old Brown inundated with 102,000 orders.

Police were in dark over foreign axe killer living in UK

 

COPS did not know an East European axe murderer was living in the UK until he caused a killer car crash, a court heard yesterday. Intars Pless, 34, hacked through a friend's throat in his native Latvia, then moved to Britain after he got out of jail. But Lincoln Crown Court heard police can only check a foreign national's record if they break the law here. So Pless's horrific crime came to light only after he drove into moped rider Valentina Planciunene, 37, while over twice the limit. Stuart Lody, prosecuting, told the court: "On the night of Valentine's Day he decided it would be a perfectly good idea to drink a very large quantity of whisky. Surprised "He and a friend spent a considerable period of time drinking whisky and driving around. "During the driving he was possibly drinking whisky as well. An empty whisky bottle was found in the boot of the car. "At the time of the collision he was heavily under the influence of alcohol. His ability to drive would have been severely impaired." Pless was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving after the jury heard he left her dead in the road in Wyberton Fen, Lincs. He was told he faces a long jail term. The judge also called for his deportation.

Iraqi civilians win legal bid for torture inquiry

 

100 Iraqi civilians have won a UK Court of Appeal battle in their bid for a new public inquiry into allegations of torture against British soldiers. The High Court had previously backed government claims that an inquiry into whether abuse was systematic was not needed as a team had already been set up to look into the allegations. But three appeal judges ruled ordered the Ministry of Defence to reconsider. The MoD said it would examine the judgment "very carefully". Some 128 Iraqis complain of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment by British soldiers and interrogators in Iraq between March 2003 and December 2008. Last December the High Court ruled an inquiry into whether abuse was systematic was unnecessary as the government had set up the Iraq Historic Allegations Team to investigate. But appeal judges ruled that the IHAT "lacks independence" and ordered the defence secretary to reconsider. They also found that other inquiries had failed to fully meet Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects against inhuman and degrading treatment. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "We note that the Court of Appeal has not ordered a public inquiry but has asked the defence secretary to reconsider how to meet the investigative obligations.

Eamonn Holmes has fuelled rumours he could be set to take over from Adrian Childs on ITV's Daybreak show.

The TV presenter, 51, admitted he'd like to be considered for the role after it emerged Childs and co-presenter Christina Bleakley are being axed. 

He spoke while attending a Manchester United charity luncheon on Monday with his wife Ruth Langsford. 

This Lunchtime: Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes hosted the Ladies Who Lunch fundraiser in Manchester

'I'm the longest serving breakfast presenter in the country, so I'd like to think I'd be in the frame,' he told the Manchester Evening News. 

When asked if he'd been approached, he added: 'In this business you get enquiries and approaches all the time.'

Holmes has always been a morning TV show presenter, currently hosting Sky's Sunrise and This Morning on Fridays and half-term holidays with his wife. 

He's been critical of Daybreak in the past and claimed it had copied ideas from his own show. 

'I haven't seen a minute of it and I won't be watching' he said. 

'I'm far too busy on my own show, although I take it as a compliment that they like ours so much they decided to steal elements from it for theirs.'

He also claimed he'd previously turned down an offer to present Daybreak, saying it had been a 'difficult decision' but he didn't regret it.

Leading the ladies: Strictly Come Dacing's Ola Jordan was among the women flocking to the Manchester United Foundation Ladies Lunch

Newsreader Natasha Kaplinksy is being tipped to replace Bleakley on the show.He's been tipped to replace Adrian Chiles on ailing breakfast show Daybreak.

Yesterday Holmes joined his wife Ruth Langsford at a Manchester United charity luncheon.

The 51-year-old was certainly in good spirits as he teamed up with the Manchester United Foundation to host their 'Ladies Who Lunch' event.

‘double beheading’ of its presenters, Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley

The show is barely a year old, but already viewers are wondering: has there ever been one as disaster-prone as Daybreak? 

Rising from the ashes of GMTV, it has followed a simple rule: everything which can go wrong will. 

Now, with the ‘double beheading’ of its presenters, Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley, who have been sacked after ratings plummeted to just half those of rival show BBC Breakfast, there can be no doubt how far the programme has sunk.

Axed: Adrian Chiles (left) and Christine Bleakley will be replaced as hosts of the ITV daytime show

‘I don’t think there’s another show on ITV doing so badly,’ said a senior executive yesterday.

The show made its debut last September and was immediately blighted by problems with the set, which used the London skyline as a background. 

Lighting the city’s panorama proved a nightmare and ITV had to pay to floodlight St Paul’s Cathedral from 6am, so they weren’t broadcasting a view of inky blackness to the nation.

The cards of wealthy customers at Smith and Wollensky's, Capital Grille and Wolfgang's steakhouses were allegedly "skimmed" and used to buy Rolex watches, Jimmy Choo shoes and Chanel handbags.

The cards of wealthy customers at Smith and Wollensky's, Capital Grille and Wolfgang's steakhouses were allegedly "skimmed" and used to buy Rolex watches, Jimmy Choo shoes and Chanel handbags.

Almost 30 people have been charged with crimes including racketeering, conspiracy and grand larceny, after the alleged fraud ring was broken by police in Manhattan.

Seven waiters at the restaurants are alleged by prosecutors to have been recruited by Luis Damian "D.J." Jacas, the 41-year-old alleged ringleader, and equipped with card-copying devices.

They were instructed to focus on customers with premium credit cards including the American Express black card, so that large purchases would not trigger alerts to customers.

"The thieves were very selective, waiting until they were handed cards with extremely high or unlimited credit," the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus Vance, told a press conference.

U.K. tax falls on overseas property investors

 

Overseas property owners based in the UK are about to be targeted by a new HM Revenue & Customs "affluent unit", which has been set up by the British government to address what it sees as tax avoidance by the rich.Photo 20minutos.es What next I wonder?? A new team of 200 taxation investigators and specialists has been established by HMRC to identify wealthy individuals who, amongst other things, own land and property abroad … such as a holiday home. OPP understands that the tax attack unit will concentrate on overseas property assets first, and then switch its attention to UK-based commodity traders (who have been accused of helping to drive up food prices,) before looking into the number of UK residents who hold offshore investment accounts. HMRC says that it will be using sophisticated "data mining" techniques to try and track down people who own overseas properties, but do not pay the right amount of tax. This might include someone who owns a villa in Spain which they are renting out, or an individual who owns a piece of land in France that is being used as business premises, said an HMRC spokesman. The experts will be looking for people who do not seem to be declaring the correct income and gains. The new unit, which has been announced by the UK’s Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, will focus solely on people paying the 50% top tax rate. David Gauke, the exchequer secretary to the Treasury, said there would be "no hiding place" for tax cheats, adding that the UK government “is committed to tackling tax evasion and avoidance across all areas of the economy. That is why we allocated HMRC £917m to reduce the tax gap over the next four years. This new team is part of that investment." Ronnie Ludwig, tax partner at accountancy group Saffery Champness told OPP that “those who have been letting out their foreign property and declaring the rents received have nothing to fear, but those who own foreign property which has never been let out should be prepared to prove to HMRC that they have received no income from the property.” “This will involve producing UK and foreign bank statements and being able to demonstrate that they could afford to purchase and maintain the property out of normal declared sources."

British woman falls off hotel balcony when having sex

 

There has been another case of balconing in Spain, this time in Adeje, Tenerife, and with the twist that the victim was having sex with her husband at the time she fell. The British tourist who fell several metres then got her ankle caught between the bars of an internal staircase was left hanging there, head down and totally naked until the emergency crews arrived. 49 year old A.M.A.M. had been having sex with her husband against the railings on one of the public areas of the hotel and in the frenzy, the railings gave way. The husband called the emergency services and the local and national police arrived with a fire crew. After their initial surprise, the managed to release the woman’s trapped right leg, and she was taken for observation to the Hospitén Sur.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is pictured sitting in a plane in Zintan after his capture in Libya's rugged desert.

Photograph: Ismail Zitouni/Reuters

The man who led the fighters that captured Saif al-Islam has said that the late dictator's son tried to escape arrest by pretending to be a camel herder.

"When we caught him, he said, 'My name is Abdul Salem, a camel keeper,'" said commander Ahmed Amur on Sunday. "It was crazy."

His unit, from Zintan's Abu Bakar al-Sadiq brigade, had been patrolling the vast southern desert of Libya for more than a month when it was given a tip-off late last week that Saif al-Islam was close to the town of Obari.

"We knew it was a VIP target, we did not know who," said Amur, who worked as a professor of marine biology in Tripoli before the war.

He said rebel units with pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns deployed in ambush positions in the desert near Obari, a small town that lies astride roads leading to both Algeria and Niger.

As the informant had predicted, two Jeeps came into view at lunchtime on Friday, surging through the desert near the main highway that leads to Niger.

"When we saw the first car we fired shots ahead of it, not to hit, as a warning. It stopped. Then the second car belonging to Saif came," he said, speaking in English. "We shot warning shots, he (Saif's car) stopped in the sand. Saif and his aide came out of the car."

He said rebel fighters approached on foot, Saif threw himself face down and began rubbing dirt on his face. "He wanted to disguise himself," he said.

Amur raced up to him and ordered him to stand up, finding himself face to face with Saif al -Islam.

But the most notorious son of the late dictator claimed he was not one of the world's most wanted war crimes suspects, but a simple camel herder – Abdul Salem being the equivalent of a British "John Smith".

"His face was covered (with dirt), I knew who he was," said Amur. "Then he said to us, 'Shoot.' When the rebels refused to shoot, and identified themselves, Saif told them: 'OK, shoot me, or take me to Zintan.'

"We don't kill or harm a captured man, we are Islam," said Amur, still clad in the green combat jacket he wore when making the arrest. "We have taken him here to Zintan. After that, our government is responsible."

Zintan was on Sunday hemmed-in by checkpoints set up by its fighters, whose units fought some of the toughest battles of the war, ending in their attack on Tripoli in August.

Omran Eturki, leader of Zintan council, says Saif must face trial in Zintan's own courthouse. "We can try him, it will not take too long, we don't need any new laws," he said, referring to questions over Libya's current legal limbo. "They are Zintanis who captured him so they will have to have him here."

Eturki said it was better to try him in Libya than send him to the international criminal court, which has indicted Saif for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

"The judicial authorities can appoint the judges and the lawyers, but the trial must be here. As long as there is justice, that is it."

He said Saif would get a fair trial. "There is no point to make a revolution for justice, and then you become the same killers. All the people of Zintan want to see him have a proper trial. We don't like to harm him. If we wanted to kill him we could kill him. We captured him so I think we have the right to try him."

Brodie Clark, the £135,000-a-year head of the UK Border Force, approached the Home Secretary’s office for permission to weaken passport checks

Whistleblowers last night blamed the latest border checks scandal on an official obsession with cutting queuing times at the nation’s air and sea ports.

Staff spoke out following the explosive revelations that a senior UK Border Agency official had secretly abandoned checks on passports and even anti-terror watch lists for non-EU citizens.

Theresa May will today give an emergency statement on the fiasco to MPs, which has led to the establishment of three inquiries.

Suspended: Brodie Clarke is now facing the sack after claims that he relaxed passport checks

Investigators are examining allegations that Brodie Clark, the £135,000-a-year head of the UK Border Force, approached the Home Secretary’s office for permission to weaken passport checks during the busy summer months. Senior figures say he was explicitly told ‘No’ in writing – but then went ‘rogue’ and implemented the proposal anyway.

James Murdoch is preparing to concede that News Corporation should have acted faster over the phone hacking scandal

. Photograph: Miguel Villagran/Getty

James Murdoch is preparing to concede in front of MPs that News Corporation should have taken further action earlier to investigate allegations that phone hacking was more widespread at the News of the World than the actions of a single rogue reporter.

The News Corporation boss is to appear before the culture media and sport select committee on Thursday ready to admit that more could have been done between 2007 and 2010 when first insiders and later rivalnewspapers said the illegal practice was widely deployed.

Fighting to save his career, Murdoch is aware he has to appear informed about how News Corp dealt with the hacking allegations – and he has to be prepared to admit that mistakes were made, including by himself.

However, with advisers such as News Corp's acting chief lawyer Janet Nova flying in, it is not clear how far the company's legal team will allow James Murdoch to make the limited concessions planned. Friends of Murdoch say he is "surrounded" by people giving him advice, making it hard to proceed.

The News Corp boss also plans to sidestep any questions about the size of the severance payment made to former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks. It was reported at the weekend that the figure received was £1.7m, although it is understood the payment was in fact larger than this.

Acutely aware of what is becoming a sensitive issue at the company, Murdoch is expected to say any payments made to Brooks cannot be discussed due to contractual confidentiality. News Corporation has no legal obligation to disclose the size of the severance because Brooks was not a director of the US-listed company.

Murdoch was in charge of the News of the World and the company's other British newspapers as part of his job as executive chairman at UK subsidiary News International. He took over from Les Hinton at the end of 2007, nearly a year after News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman was jailed for his involvement in hacking into phone messages left for Prince William and Prince Harry's staff.

Before Murdoch arrived Hinton agreed to pay Goodman a severance of £240,000, after Goodman launched an unfair dismissal claim. News International has said it found no evidence at the time that hacking went on more widely.

A year later, Murdoch agreed to pay football boss Gordon Taylor £425,000 plus £200,000 to settle a phone hacking lawsuit. Controversy surrounds the payout – with former News of the World editor Colin Myler and chief lawyer Tom Crone saying Murdoch was told of an email that made it clear hacking went beyond Goodman. Murdoch has told the committee he had no knowledge of the email.He has also said he was not shown a separate report prepared for Tom Crone by QC Michael Silverleaf – which said that there appeared to be a "culture of illegal information access" at the News of the World. It is understood that he will offer new additional information about what he knew at the time.

Fears of global recession as Italy teeters on brink

 

On a day of unremitting gloom and yet more market turbulence, the Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou, won a late-night confidence vote in parliament after making a speech in which he promised to start power-sharing talks to form a caretaker coalition government. Although he won the vote, 153-145, he is expected to step down, with a national unity government likely to take over. In a sign that the spread of the debt crisis to Italy could break up the single currency, the British Chancellor, George Osborne, admitted Treasury was undertaking crisis planning for a euro zone collapse. The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, hinted at worse to come, saying this was only ''a stage of the global crisis''. There had been hopes that the G20 would agree to increase IMF resources by as much as $US250 billion to more than $US1 trillion, but disagreements about the wisdom of doing so, its structure, size and the contributors to the fund forced world leaders to pass on the issue to a meeting of G20 finance ministers in February. In financial markets an early rise in share prices was reversed after it became clear that divisions in the G20 would prevent a deal in Cannes

UK Border Agency hit by fresh 'bribes for visas' scandal

 

Scotland Yard says a high-level employee, whose job was to vet thousands of visa applications from Africa, accepted bribes for allowing Nigerians to enter the country illegally. Samuel Shoyeju, an entry clearance officer, was arrested while working at the agency’s head offices in Croydon, south London, according to the Sunday Times (£). He is due to appear in court later this week, expected to be accused of possessing false Nigerian passports and concealing substantial cash payments to a bank account in his name, either knowing or suspecting that they were the proceeds of criminal conduct. He is also accused of misconduct in a public office and breaches of the immigration law for allegedly falsely issuing entry visas. The allegations come days after the head of the border force and two senior officials were suspended when it emerged that hundreds of thousands of foreigners had entered without full passport and anti-terrorism checks.

Man arrested over alleged police payments named as Sun journalist

 

A Sun journalist has been arrested as part of Scotland Yard's investigation into alleged payments to police officers by newspapers. The reporter is believed to be Jamie Pyatt, district editor of the paper. The arrested journalist was taken to a South West London police station at 10.30am on Friday. Pyatt, 48, has been working at the Sun since 1987. He is the sixth person arrested by detectives working in Operation Elveden, which was set up in July following allegations that police officers had received up to £130,000 over several years from the News of the World for information, including contact details of the royal family. News International refused to comment on the arrest and saying it had "a very clear duty of care to employees and would not be making any comment on individuals". Scotland Yard also refused to confirm the identity of the person it arrested, but said in a statement earlier that it had arrested a 48-year-old man in connection with Operation Elveden. Its statement said: "He was arrested outside London on suspicion of corruption allegations in contravention of section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906, and is being brought to a south-west London police station." Operation Elveden is one of three Met investigations relating to alleged illegal activities by newspapers. The others are Operation Weeting and Operation Tuleta, set up to examine phone hacking and computer hacking, respectively. On Thursday, Scotland Yard confirmed to the Guardian that the number of people whose phones may have been hacked had reached 5,800 – 2,000 more than previously stated. So far 16 people have been arrested and bailed on allegations of phone hacking.

Italy government hangs by thread as coalition crumbles

 

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's fate hung by a thread Friday and desertions from his crumbling centre-right coalition may have already robbed him of the parliamentary numbers he needs to survive. Berlusconi, caught in the crossfire from European powers and a party revolt at home, agreed at a G20 summit in France to IMF monitoring of economic reforms which he has long promised but failed to implement. But this may soon be irrelevant for the Italian leader, who will return to Rome later Friday to face what looks increasingly like a deadly rebellion by his own supporters. With financial markets in turmoil over the situation in Greece and Italy viewed as the next domino to fall in the euro zone crisis, calls are mounting for a new government to carry through reforms convincing enough to regain international confidence. Berlusconi has consistently rejected calls to resign and says the only alternative to him is an early election next spring, rather than the technocrat or national unity government urged by many politicians and commentators. Yields on 10-year Italian bonds reached 6.36 percent by early afternoon, creeping closer to 7 percent, a level which could trigger a so-called "buyers' strike" where investors take fright and refuse to buy the paper. Two deputies from Berlusconi's PDL party this week defected to the centrist UDC, taking his support in the 630-seat lower house of parliament to 314 compared with the 316 he needed to win a confidence vote last month. But at least seven other former loyalists have called for a new government and could vote against the 75-year-old media magnate. "The (ruling) majority seems to be dissolving like a snowman in spring," said respected commentator Stefano Folli in the financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore. Other commentators spoke of an "inexorable" revolt against Berlusconi. Even Defence Ministry undersecretary Guido Crosetto, a Berlusconi loyalist, said on television: "I don't know how many days or weeks the government has left. Certainly a majority relying on a few votes cannot continue for long." PATRONAGE Berlusconi, one of Italy's richest men, still has significant powers of patronage and he and his closest aides are expected to spend the weekend trying to win back support for a parliamentary showdown Tuesday. Some rebels have already threatened to vote against Berlusconi in the vote to sign off on the 2010 budget. Berlusconi faced concerted calls to resign when he lost a previous vote on this routine measure, which was almost unprecedented. Although it is not a confidence motion, he would come under huge pressure if he suffered a second defeat. "Unpopular prescriptions are necessary and this challenge cannot be faced with a 51 percent government," said UDC leader Pier Ferdinando Casini, in a reference to Berlusconi's weakness and a widespread feeling that the reforms can only be passed with a broad consensus. The premier has promised European leaders that he will call a formal confidence motion within 15 days to pass amendments to a budget bill incorporating new measures to stimulate growth and cut Italy's huge debt. That will be in the Senate where he has a more solid majority but it could still bring him down. Berlusconi, beset by a string of sex scandals and court cases, has consistently resisted pressure from groups ranging from a powerful business lobby to the Catholic Church to stand down.

Report: Nevada Top 10 in Gang Members

 

Street gangs are a growing problem in southern Nevada. The FBI ranks Clark County as the 10th worst area in the nation for the number of gang members. More than 15,000 roam the streets, and those are just the ones authorities know about. The report shows the trends authorities are seeing in gangs. Biker gangs are getting more and more members. Hispanic-based gangs are expanding faster than other gangs. Twenty states, including Nevada, are seeing these same trends. Rachal Richardson used to have gang ties. Lights and sirens were something she was used to. Her ties to gang life are over, but not before being exposed to plenty of violence. The mother of four traded in violence and crimes scenes for a better life 10 years ago. She's not surprised Clark County is in the top 10 counties of the country when it comes to gang presence. "With sex is drugs and money and with that comes gangs, people trying to protect their turf, their name, or their pride," she said. With more than 15,000 gang members identified through the report, those who work closely with gang members say more needs to done. "We don't have enough money on prevention programs, where the kids can be involved and don't fall into that path of crime," said Esther Brown with the Embracing Project. Brown has never been in a gang, but moved to America from Spain and saw the need to reach out to those in gangs. She started the Embracing Project, a gang-prevention charity. "You are a gang member, let's look for solutions. What do you need so you can leave the gang. Some of the kids, it's difficult to leave the gang because their family are gang members," she said. She hopes this recent report opens the eyes of the community. "It's everywhere. People think, 'Oh, not in Summerlin. We don't have gang-bangers.' It's everywhere. Gang activity is everywhere," she said. Most of the gangs identified in this report are from street gangs. Two motorcycle gangs have seen a growth in Nevada, but gang-related drug activity in the report was fairly low compared to the overall gang presence in the state.

Wall Street markets are suffering huge falls this morning as fears grow that Europe's plan to save the euro will unravel

Wall Street markets are suffering huge falls this morning as fears grow that Europe's plan to save the euro will unravel before it can even kick in.

Greek Premier George Papandreou said he will put Greece's bailout through a referendum, throwing the long-awaited deal into disarray.

Financial markets around the world have tumbled in reaction to the shock announcement today and U.S. stocks have also fallen at the open.

Wall Street: Financial markets around the world have tumbled in reaction to the shock announcement and U.S. stock futures are down on Tuesday

The Dow Jones opened down 258 points, or 2.2 per cent; the Nasdaq fell 78 points, or 2.9 per cent, and the S&P fell 33 points, or 2.7 per cent.

‘The market did not see this Greek referendum coming, which is potentially a killer,’ said Vermont investment strategist Paul Mendelsohn.

 

 

 

‘It could knock the wheels off the bus of the whole (Europe rescue) plan.’