Newswatch

Google "failing to protect Android users"

2012-01-31T13:12:00.001Z

Google has been criticised for failing to protect its growing number of Android phone and tablet users from security threats which are stealing people's information and costing them money.

Google has been the subject of criticism before for failing to vet applications distributed through the Android Market. But the problem for users is rising and while there is some advice consumers can follow there is no guarantee of avoiding malware.

Computer users have long been the target of virus attack, trojans and worms. But with the rise of ever sophisticated mobile devices, malware creators are homing in on this new user base.

Apple attempts to shield users from such threats by vetting anything that is available for the iPhone through its online store. While it has resulted in criticism of a "walled garden" concerning what is allowed to be run on Apple devices, it has arguably meant greater security for those using iPhones and other Apple devices. However some suggest it may give a false sense of security, relying on Apple to approve safe applications rather than by consensus or the individual user.

Google allows anyone to make their apps available, without it first being vetted. While it has meant greater innovation, and a wider range of applications, it has also increased the risk of downloading a malicious piece of software. Google's open approach allows users to monitor and review the apps, including analyzing the code, something not offered by Apple. While there is undoubtedly a risk, at least one security research firm, Lookout, says Android's applications are less problematic than Apple's.

But with the apparent rise in malicious applications landing on Android phones, some are calling on Google to strengthen their security procedures. Writing on the technology website ZDNet Adrian Kingsley-Hughes says that it was time Google started taking security much more seriously. It is not a new problem. Last year security firm McAfee said that malware was increasing exponentially on Android devices [ZDNet] but said there were some measures users could do to prevent being scammed.

The main piece of advice is to check the permissions and look for suspicious requests which grant access to the hardware and software components on the device, like contacts, camera and location. If something in the permissions screen does not look right, it is advised not to install that app. For example, a game or alarm clock app probably should not need to access contacts or have the ability to transmit that data from a device.

McAfee and others in the security industry also advise users only download apps from legitimate sources such as Google's Android Market. But since some of the malicious applications have been distributed through this conduit, this is not a guarantee to avoiding malware.

And despite suggestions of installing anti-virus software, some have cried foul, claiming some are less than useless. In fact there are some who have labelled those marketing Android security software as being nothing less than scammers and charlatans [ZDNet].

Indeed a report on ZDNet last year points to evidence from malware testing specialists AV-Test.org [PDF] which point to quite shocking failures in terms of anti-malware software detecting risks.

Of course this report concerns only some of the free anti-malware apps available and did not evaluate those by reputed firms McAfee or Norton, which although expensive might protect users.

It is a potential time-bomb for Android, Google and its users [ZDNet]. Android may be outselling other devices at the moment but the threat from malware could be its undoing. In fact Windows Mobile have even used the malware threat in a marketing strategy by offering Android users hit by viruses the chance to win a Windows Mobile device [ZDNet].

Many are drawn to Android because so many of the apps are free. However these apps are often funded by advertising being displayed which could itself pose a security risk [ZDNet].

The latest run of what Symantec calls Counterclank may have affected only a small number of individuals but it is further sign the situation is getting out of hand. A report this week suggests that some 5 million people might be infected by recent attacks [gmanetwork / WSJ], though there is disagreement as to whether recent 'attacks' are just 'aggressive advertising' [Guardian].

It is clear that the situation needs to be addressed and fast before bad publicity kills off what is otherwise an amazing piece of technology.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Facebook IPO - overvalued & irrelevant

2012-01-31T11:12:00.001Z

Facebook is set to release its IPO as early as this week and there is much speculation over whether the floating of this tech company will be all it's cracked up to be.

'Overvalued'

It is likely to be one of the largest tech IPOs to date with reports putting the valuation of the company at around $100 billion. However, it is not clear how much Facebook actually makes through advertising and whether the price tag is overvaluing the tech company.

The Wall Street Journal speculates that the IPO could happen as early as Wednesday this week [1st February] and was looking at picking Morgan Stanley as the lead underwriter, knocking out the other potential candidate Goldman Sachs.

Reports suggest Facebook will sell $10 billion worth of stock in its offering, valuing the company at $100 billion, and leaving the social network's underwriters around $100 million in fees. At only 1% of the entire sum this would be the second lowest underwriting fee of all time with the exception of General Motors' IPO which generated only 0.75% in fees from its $18 billion IPO in November 2010 [CNN Money].

'Important moment in history'

Aside the smaller percentage generated for the underwriters, there is also a concern the valuation of the company as a whole is over inflated. Not since Netscape or Google's IPO has there been so much interest in a tech company going public. "This is clearly the most important moment in the Valley's history since the Netscape IPO," says Stephen Diamond, associate professor of law at Santa Clara University. "The Netscape IPO put the Valley on the map in a different sort of way. Post-Netscape, it was not just a silicon, hardware world." [MarketWatch]

Google's stock has soared since its IPO in 2004. The search giant offered 19,605,052 shares at a price of $85 per share. Shares in Google are now well above $500 despite a fall in profits in recent months. Netscape has arguably done less well. Once the dominant browser in 1995 the company was eventually swallowed up by AOL in a $4.2 billion deal in 1998.

Tech failures

Excitement seen in other tech IPOs has also failed to materialise the mass profits initially. When a number of Chinese tech companies launched on the NYSE there was a huge interest generated. But over time these companies have failed to make the returns envisaged.

RenRen, China's homegrown version of Facebook, search engine Baidu, news and micro-blogging portal Sina and video sharing website Youku were all promoted as being tech stocks to watch. Baidu has managed to grow from $40 per share to $130 in the last two years, peaking at $157 in July 2011, but other Chinese tech stocks have fared less well.

Since its launch in early 2011 RenRen's shares have tanked, dropping from $18 to a little over $6. Despite a peak in April 2011 of $62 per share Youku's stock has dropped to only $23, markedly below the $37 share price it began with in late 2010.

Transparency

There are a number of reasons behind these falls but one main factor is the lack of transparency concerning the companies' accounts. When the US questioned accounting practices, in a number of Chinese companies, and proposed to launch a probe to investigate, stocks plummeted [BBC].

Even where accounting practices where not necessarily in question there were still concerns that China's dotcom bubble was set to burst [BBC].

Dangdang, China's answer to Amazon, launched on the NYSE in late 2010 but has plummeted from $32 to only $8.15. And while rival Jingdong [360buy.com] is doing well it is not yet making a profit and has so far held back from launching on Wall Street.

Since March 2011, 30 US-listed Chinese firms have seen their auditors resign and 20 have been de-listed while regulators examine accounting and disclosure issues. Concern over corporate governance has eroded confidence in other Chinese companies listed in New York, even those not accused of any wrongdoing.

But while China arguably has the largest Internet market, growth for many Chinese tech companies is finite. Many are built only around a Chinese language platform and even if this were expanded to include English and other languages, the tight restrictions and censorship within China would force these companies to build separate infrastructure outside the country if they wanted to compete with Western rivals.

'Irrelevant'

Censorship is unlikely to affect Facebook's growth, though it may be forced to make some changes if it wishes to enter China, as has also been speculated since Mark Zuckerberg's 'secret visit' in 2010 [Independent / Forbes / tvnewswatch - Twitpic]. Where Facebook may fail is in terms of transparency. In fact the company has effectively been forced to go public since SEC regulations stipulates that certain financial information be made public because the company has more than 500 investors. The deadline to file this information expires in April. But going public has its risks. While Facebook will have access to new cash and possibly enable it to acquire other companies and reward its employees, it will also lose some of its 'mystery and cool'. It may also disappoint since it will also be forced to reveal its profits or losses. The excitement and enthusiasm surrounding the IPO will likely result in the offering being oversubscribed. And many of its some 3,000 employees will likely become millionaires overnight. What remains to be seen is how the company fares over time both in terms of its profitability and its place on the world wide web as competition from rivals such as Google+ squeeze Facebook's dominance. In fact some have already called the IPO an irrelevancy [Forbes / NPR / FT].

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Concern over Google's new privacy policy

2012-01-30T12:40:00.001Z

In recent days Google has been criticised for its new privacy policy which it says simplifies things across its large number of online tools and applications. But while there are some legitimate concerns, the criticism is unwarranted given the way most people use the web

From search to ads

While many think of Google as primarily a search engine, it has in fact become the world's biggest advertiser. In short, whether a user is checking their GMail, looking for information on a particular technology, or searching for a place or country, there will be advertisements places alongside the page or amongst the search results.

Since the web is saturated with advertisements, few people question the placing of Google's specifically chosen advertisements on their web space.

But with recent announcements concerning Google's plan to reshape the way it handles personal data, the debate over how that information is stored or used is concerning privacy advocates and rekindling the debate over whether Google's mantra of "do no evil" is being further eroded.

Relevant results

Search for 'television' and a page of results will appear connected to this subject. On the top will be two or three advertisements which depending upon your detected IP address will show retailers and online suppliers of such products. To the right will be an additional list of ads.

But even in the main list of search results will be a number of links which point to retailers, with perhaps only a couple linking to information about television as a subject. The Wikipedia page does in fact come at the top of the page, but many others would be irrelevant for those searching for information about the actual item itself.

In order to obtain such specific information it is necessary to add more key words to the search. Typing 'television' and 'invention' produces no advertisements and far more informative links. But as advertisers themselves become savvy, and incorporate Search Engine Optimisation [SEO] into their marketing strategy, even specific enquiries can lead to a page full of ads.

Users of GMail will also be familiar with advertisements alongside their messages. While some are contextually related to the email content, others may have been picked due to a users email history.

Collecting data

Adverts are not placed in Google Calendar or Docs, but it is possible that content is scanned in order that Google can make contextual ad placements in other products.

In fact Google freely admits in its new policy that it collects "information about the services that you use and how you use them, such as when you visit a website that uses our advertising services or you view and interact with our ads and content."

Logging locations

But why should this matter? After all if a user is looking for a product, is it not better that relevant products and services appear in search results rather than ones that have no bearing or relevancy.

Some have criticised in particular Google's logging of people's actual location. But by identifying IP addresses and other methods to locate a user's whereabouts, information can be tailored and be more specific. A search for 'TV guide' would be far less useful if it gave returned results from all around the world rather than one's actual location.

Transparency

For its part Google says it it trying to be transparent and make things easier for its users. "We're making things simpler and we're trying to be upfront about it," Google Policy Manager Betsy Masiello said on a blogpost.

But while Google say that individuals and companies still have control over what is shared or stored, some companies and government organisations remain uneasy about the changes.

"You still have choice and control," the company insists. "You don't need to log in to use many of our services, including Search, Maps and YouTube," but "If you are logged in, you can still edit or turn off your Search history, switch Gmail chat to 'off the record,' control the way Google tailors ads to your interests, use Incognito mode on Chrome, or use any of the other privacy tools we offer."

Furthermore, Google states it is not collecting more data and that their new policy simply makes it clearer as to how they use that data.

This has not satisfied everyone however. SafeGov dispute Google's claims concerning privacy and control [PC World], while others have suggested that the importance of advertising revenue is clouding Google's vision and changing the way the search engine operates [Venturebeat].

Some users have voiced their annoyance over integration of Google+ in their search results [Venturebeat], and apparent anomalies of users not in their 'Circles' showing up in Google searches [lead411]. Google states that users can opt out the social search feature. It is also explained in detail on some other sites such as this post on Venturebeat. But there is also growing criticism that Google's search results are getting less relevant [SearchEngineLand].

Rivals

It has to be said that Google is not the only search engine, and total anonymity on the web is all but impossible. A search on Microsoft's Bing for the word 'television' also brings up many adverts and even search terms 'television' and 'invention' in conjunction return ads not seen in Google. Furthermore, Bing also publicly acknowledges it too "customizes a portion of the online ads that you see based on your past online activity."

Sharing data

When it comes to sharing data, Google say they "do not share personal information with companies, organisations and individuals outside Google" except where consent is given, because of applicable laws requiring Google to hand over data or where a domain administrator, handling your account, makes such changes. The only vague issue concerns Google's sharing of data with "affiliates or other trusted businesses or persons to process it for us, based on our instructions and in compliance with our Privacy Policy and any other appropriate confidentiality and security measures."

However, Microsoft's policy is just as vague in this regard. While they state they "do not sell, rent, or lease our customer lists to third parties" the company states, "In order to help provide our services, we occasionally provide information to other companies that work on our behalf."

Few options

One could of course refrain from using GMail, and not see those targeted advertisements, though there are few free email alternatives. Hotmail and Yahoo both display advertising on their email sites. When it comes to searching the web the choice is also narrow. With Google Chrome's incognito mode, one can at least avoid suggested results or avoid those search queries being logged with a specific account.

Much of the criticism of Google's policy changes is rather flippant when one considers people's willingness to use so many other social features on the web, be that Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Twitter and the like, some with far more dubious Terms & Conditions than Google. One should be careful with what one shares, and also check privacy settings too, but to believe there is any true privacy on the net is entirely false.

The only true way of avoiding any such issues is to not use the Internet or perhaps to only use a pseudonym for everything shared or posted. But even that can be blown wide open if close associates reveal one's real identity.

More reports: CNN / Daily Mail / Reuters / Washington Post

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Press TV ban "a prelude to war"?

2012-01-26T12:09:00.001Z

Iran's Press TV has been forced off the air in Britain, and to anyone previously viewing the news channel from the Astra satellite, after Ofcom [Office of Communications] revoked its licence.

The channel has been strongly criticised for broadcasting blatant propaganda and being the mouthpiece of the dictatorial regime in Tehran. But banning the broadcaster may only serve to increase anti-western sentiment in Iran, as well as bolster Islamist feelings of being victimised.

Censorship

Of course it has to be acknowledged that Iran imposes strict censorship on its own citizens with an official ban on satellite television, though it is widely flouted [Censorship in Iran]. The Internet too is restricted with methods similar to that of China's Great Firewall imposing blocks on sites deemed inappropriate [Internet censorship in Iran].

But there appears to be an issue of double standards as Britain talks about press freedom while banning foreign broadcasters. The reasons behind the ban also do not tally with the fact that channels coming from other totalitarian regimes remain on the air while Iran's Press TV is taken off the air.

China broadcasts to viewers across Europe on the Astra platform with two state run channels CNC and CCTV News. The English speaking news channels are not only funded by the one party state but also heavily censored. And although more subtle than the output seen on Press TV, both Chinese channels broadcast propaganda and skewed news reports.

Iran claims the ban "goes against Britain's claims that it allows free flow of information and supports freedom of the press" [Press TV], and while its website remains accessible through which the channel may be watched, it does have some supporters in some unlikely quarters.

Retaliation

Writing in the Guardian, who describes himself as a "proud Zionist", says the action by Ofcom is "thoroughly deplorable as well as palpably cynical."

He suggests that the blacking out of the Iranian propaganda channel might be a retaliatory move. Alderman points to a US Embassy cable which Wikileaks released in 2010. The cable appears to show that the Foreign Office had looked to use UN sanctions against Press TV after the BBC Persian service was blocked by Tehran [BBC].

Tensions

But there maybe other reasons for taking Press TV off the air. The ban comes at a time of heightened tensions between the west and Iran. In recent weeks there has been a war of words with the west talking of increased sanctions against the country while Iran threatens to close the Strait of Hormuz.

In response to the threat, which could severely impact the flow of oil from the region, Britain, France and the US sent several warships into the Persian Gulf on Sunday [22/01/2012] [Telegraph].

A total of six ships led by the 100,000 tonne nuclear power American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln entered the gulf in what was described as a "clear signal" to Tehran. The move could not be clearer, coming only two days after screens went black on Iran's state broadcaster.

Targeting the media

Blacking out broadcasters of enemy states during a time of war is not unusual. During the Kosovo war in the 1990s NATO bombed the Serb Radio and Television headquarters in Belgrade killing 16 employees [BBC / Wikipedia], prompting a debate as to whether broadcasting stations, even if used as a conduit of propaganda, were a legitimate target [Consortium News / Guardian / BBC].

The television station went to air 24 hours later from a secret location, which some suspect might have been the Chinese Embassy which was itself bombed 14 days later. The story is confirmed in detail by three other NATO officers - a flight controller operating in Naples, an intelligence officer monitoring Yugoslav radio traffic from Macedonia and a senior headquarters officer in Brussels. They all confirm that they knew in April that the Chinese embassy was acting as a 'rebro' [rebroadcast] station for the Yugoslav army [VJ] after allied jets had successfully silenced Milosevic's own transmitters [Guardian / Wikipedia].

At the time Defence Secretary William Cohen said the attack was a mistake. "One of our planes attacked the wrong target because the bombing instructions were based on an outdated map." Cohen claimed. The excuse was widely ridiculed and later countered by a source in the US National Imagery and Mapping Agency who described the "wrong map" story as "a damned lie".

Television and radio broadcasters were also targeted during the Gulf War and in April 2003 US aircraft bombed the Baghdad bureau of Qatar satellite TV station Al Jazeera killing a journalist and wounding another despite the US being informed of the office's precise coordinates prior to the incident. Later a memo was leaked which appeared to show the bombing was deliberate, despite claims to the contrary [Wikipedia].

Libyan TV was also targeted by NATO jets during the 2011 air campaign. Striking at transmitters and the state broadcaster's headquarters in the capital Tripoli the bombing only had limited success [Telegraph / Guardian]. The station was ultimately shut down after rebels stormed the facility, though the wave of propaganda continued via radio broadcasts transmitted from Syria [Daily Mail].

Ofcom claims

Press TV has been removed from the airwaves less violently but it is nonetheless a little concerning. Ofcom say that Press TV's practice of running its editorial oversight from Tehran, Iran's capital, is in breach of broadcasting licence rules in the UK. "Ofcom has decided to revoke the licence held by Press TV Limited with immediate effect," the media regulator said in a statement.

Ofcom offered a choice of two remedies saying that the broadcaster either switch editorial control to the UK transfer the broadcasting licence to Iran. "Broadcasting rules require that a licence is held by the person who is in general control of the TV service: that is, the person that chooses the programmes to be shown in the service and organises the programme schedule," Ofcom said. "Ofcom gave Press TV the opportunity to apply to have its operations in Tehran correctly licensed by Ofcom and Ofcom offered to assist it to do so," said the regulator [Guardian].

Nuclear threat

The shutting down of Iran's international television output, at least to much of Europe, comes on the back of a demand for increased sanctions to counter what many nations see as a growing nuclear threat. Iran is believed to be developing nuclear weapons, something it vehemently denies. But the attacks on Iran are coming not only with words and sanctions.

In 2010 the Stuxnet virus attack struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear industry and in the past few months unknown assassins have killed leading scientists. On January 11, a motorcyclist attached a magnetic bomb to the car of Iranian scientist Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan near a college building of Allameh Tabatabaei University in Tehran. He was immediately killed and his driver, who sustained serious injuries, died a few hours later in a hospital [BBC]. Ahmadi Roshan was a chemical engineering graduate working at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility.

In November 2010 another scientist, Majid Shahriari, was killed the current head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Dr. Fereydoun Abbasi was injured [BBC / Guardian]. Professor Masoud Ali-Mohammadi, a scholar at Tehran University was killed by a bomb in January 2010 [BBC].

Iran has accused the US and Israel of being behind these attacks, though neither nation has admitted responsibility. Nonetheless the pressure against Tehran is increasing and with the removal of a major propaganda tool. Iran also claim that Britain is behind the jamming of other transmissions [Press TV].

Conflicting opinions

In technical terms, as laid out in the broadcasting act. Ofcom was within its rights to pull the channel from the air. Under section 362(2) of the Act, the provider of the service for the purposes of holding a licence is the person with general control over which programmes are comprised in the service1. So by failing to declare that Tehran rather than London was its editorial base, Press TV gave Ofcom the ammunition to bring the channel down.

As Jody Sabril writes on the The Huffington Post website, Press TV has done itself no favours and failed its employees. But while Press TV has flouted the letter of the law, it seems suspicious that it has taken several years to act against the broadcaster. Furthermore for a regulator that has been criticised for failing to regulate other parts of British broadcasting, this decision creates more suspicion. In particular Ofcom has been pressured to investigate whether the parent company of News International, News Corporation, was still the "fit and proper" owner of a controlling stake in the satellite broadcasting company British Sky Broadcasting [BSkyB] following the News International phone hacking scandal.

"Payback"

Some suggest it is "payback" for the attack on the British Embassy last year [GlobaResearch]. Meanwhile others maintain that it was a decision over the views broadcast on the station [Forbes]. It may also have as much to do with Press TV failing to pay a £100,000 fine imposed by Ofcom over the broadcast of an interview with reporter Maziar Bahari, conducted while in custody and under duress [IBTimes].

On BBC's Today programme [audio] Yvonne Ridley, a former war correspondent who works for Press TV, insists the closure of the channel is essentially an act of censorship and denies that the channel is a mouthpiece for the Iranian government.

"Prelude to war"

Meanwhile Xinhua, China's state propaganda mouthpiece, asserts that the closure "could lead to further deterioration of diplomatic relations between the two countries".

This could certainly be the case. Whatever the reasons are behind Press TV's licence revocation, it will certainly raise concerns for other broadcasters of dubious output including China Central Television, Xinhua's CNC and Russia's state owned Russia Today channel. Iran has suggested ban is a "prelude to war", and while this may be a little exaggerated the pressure against Iran is certainly mounting.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Panic sets in after Megaupload shutdown

2012-01-24T12:51:00.001Z

File sharing sites are beginning to panic, shutting down or restricting their services following the FBI raid on Megaupload last week. But it is not just those who blatantly infringe copyright that are at threat. Even popular sites such as Amazon S3, Dropbox, iCloud, Google apps and Microsoft's SkyDrive may be scrutinised, forcing their owners to rethink their business models.

Small victory

When Megaupload was taken down last week by the FBI it was a victory for those in the music and film industry who say they were losing millions of dollars daily because of the site's deliberate flouting of copyright and distribution of music and video files.

There are of course millions of users who will feel aggrieved that they can no longer obtain the latest music release of Hollywood blockbuster for free.

Home-taping to file-sharing

Arguments persist over the reasons why individuals are not prepared to pay for CDs or legitimate music downloads. Some argue that the price asked for by music companies or film distributors is too high, while some insist that people will always opt for the free download however cheap the companies make their product.

Issues concerning copyright infringement have persisted for many years. Home-taping in the 1980's concerned record companies so much that the British Phonographic Industry launched a campaign to counter the threat. It its Home Taping Is Killing Music campaign record companies asserted that innovation and funding for new talent would dry up. However some groups directly opposed the campaign. British band Bow Wow Wow released a cassette single "C30, C60, C90 Go" on a cassette that featured a blank side that the buyer could record their own music, causing consternation for the record company behind the release. Some groups went further by encouraging fans to record music illegally. The tape version of the Dead Kennedys e.p. "In God We Trust Inc." also had one blank side. The blank side was printed with the message, "Home taping is killing record industry profits! We left this side blank so you can help."

The stakes for record companies grew with the advent of the MP3, the Internet and Peer to Peer [P2P] sites such as Napster which enabled people to share music files. Napster, and others like it, were forced to change to a different business model and begin charging users, sending profits to the record companies.

But the war on copyright infringement was not over as sites like Megaupload began to facilitate file-sharing on a far bigger scale. And as the recording industry upped the anti it seemed that file-sharing sites were beginning to look at ways to protect their own interests as well as those of the music industry.

"Sharing profits"

Some reports surfacing on the web have suggested that Megaupload was shutdown because of its plan to launch a cloud-based music locker, download store, and do-it-yourself artist service. Called MegaBox it was said to have already been in beta testing in November last year and had supposedly built a list of partners including 7digital, Gracenote, Rovi, and Amazon MP3 [DMN]

This may have been an attempt to appease the music industry and hand profits back to the artists, though it may have been too little, too late.

According to Kim Dotcom himself, Megabox would pay back the artists even if music was downloaded for free. Speaking to TorrentFreak, Mr Dotcom said, "UMG [Universal Music Group] knows that we are going to compete with them via our own music venture called Megabox.com, a site that will soon allow artists to sell their creations directly to consumers while allowing artists to keep 90 percent of earnings."

"We have a solution called the Megakey that will allow artists to earn income from users who download music for free," Dotcom claimed. "Yes that's right, we will pay artists even for free downloads. The Megakey business model has been tested with over a million users and it works."

Scepticism

Some might well be sceptical of Kim Schmitz's claims, especially given his well publicised chequered history of computer fraud, handling of stolen goods, stealing credit card numbers, insider trading and embezzlement. And it seems that while some artists had lent their support to the proposed venture, the record companies were less than impressed.

Mr Dotcom had secured support from many artists for Megabox and made a video featuring the likes of P Diddy, Will.i.am, Alicia Keys, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Chris Brown, The Game and Mary J Blige. But the video had the shortest shelf-life ever for a product containing such high-profile artists after UMG stepped in claiming copyright breaches and forced its removal from YouTube [TorrentFreak].

UMG had less success getting it removed from Chinese based Youku where several users posted the promotional video. After a battle with UMG, Megaupload managed to get the video reinstated on YouTube by late December [TorrentFreak].

Arrests

But it was obvious the battle was not over, either with the likes of UMG or authorities who insisted Megaupload were breaking copyright laws. It all came to an abrupt end for Mr Dotcom last Friday however when New Zealand police raided his multi-million dollar estate in Auckland and seized expensive cars, a sawn-off shotgun and froze bank accounts containing millions of dollars.

It was clear this was no ordinary operation. New Zealand police had been cooperating with the United States' FBI and Justice Department, Hong Kong Customs and the Hong Kong Department of Justice, the Netherlands Police Agency and the Public Prosecutor's Office for Serious Fraud and Environmental Crime in Rotterdam, London's Metropolitan Police Service, Germany's Bundeskriminalamt and the German Public Prosecutors, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Department of Justice in the investigation preceding the arrests.

The indictment alleges that a criminal enterprise was led by Kim Dotcom, aka Kim Schmitz and Kim Tim Jim Vestor, 37, a resident of both Hong Kong and New Zealand. It states that Dotcom founded Megaupload Limited and is the director and sole shareholder of Vestor Limited, which has been used to hold his ownership interests in the Mega-affiliated sites.

Mega conspiracy

In addition, the indictment names several others involved in what has been termed the "Mega conspiracy". Finn Batato, 38, citizen and resident of Germany is described as Megaupload's chief marketing officer. Július Benčko, 35, a citizen and resident of Slovakia, is the graphic designer and of particular interest to authorities who claim he played a major part in a racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit copyright infringement and money laundering along with Kim Schmitz.

Others named are Sven Echternach, 39, a citizen and resident of Germany, and head of business development, Mathias Ortmann, 40, a citizen of Germany and resident of both Germany and Hong Kong, described as the chief technical officer, co-founder and director, Andrus Nomm, 32, a citizen of Estonia and resident of both Turkey and Estonia, a software programmer and head of the development software division and Bram van der Kolk, aka Bramos, 29, a Dutch citizen and resident of both the Netherlands and New Zealand, who oversaw programming and the underlying network structure for the Mega conspiracy websites.

While Schmitz, Ortmann, van der Kolk and Batato were apprehended in Thursday's raid, Benčko remains at large. Echternach and Nomm were arrested in Europe over the weekend [Reuters].

Sharing sites react

The fallout of the Mega conspiracy saga is creating some concern in the online community and particularly for file sharing sites. On Monday FileSonic stopped sharing only allowing users to download their own content. Other sites have also begun to restrict access or embark on a mass cleaning-up of their websites to delete what might be considered to be copyrighted material.

4shared, MediaFire and FileServe have started to delete files & accounts while others are closing affiliate programs, blocking US IP addresses as well checking for files which infringe copyright. UploadStation, owned by FileServe, has engaged in a process of mass deletion, and is testing USA IP blocking. It has, like FileSonic, shutdown file-sharing completely. Some sites seem content with closing their affiliation with other sites and cleaning up their hosted content. VideoBB, VideoZer and Wupload are all engaged in mass deletion but have also severed links with other portals. Others such as Uploaded have simply banned US IP addresses, perhaps in the hope of dropping off the FBI's radar.

Some sites have shut up shop altogether. Enterupload, previously boasted a service enabling users to host large files, images, videos, audio and flash. However the site now redirects to gev.com a technology and news website.

UploadBox is effectively closed with its file hosting service no longer available. All files will be deleted on January 30th, though users who uploaded the content may retrieve the data before this date. And x7.to is also unavailable with visitors to the site greeted with a message in German which translates as "We regret to inform you that we have stopped our service completely."

Amazon, Dropbox & Google apps at risk

Other sites seen as the more legitimate end of file-sharing are also feeling threatened according to the Daily Mail. Amazon S3, Dropbox and YouSendIt all facilitate the sharing of large files with other individuals, though it is usually done selectively rather than making content freely available to all. Even Google Docs could be used to host and share content, both publicly or privately, which may also make it the target of US legislators.

Nonetheless, the fact that a ripped CD could be shared via these platforms might raise concerns within the companies concerned. Mike Masnick, editor of the Techdirt blog, said, "There's a real worry that [the Megaupload case] creates chilling effects for lots of legitimate services who do things like de-duplification [sic], or have legitimate backup services. If you're running Amazon S3 or Dropbox, do you now suddenly change how you do business, just to avoid the possibility of being accused of racketeering and criminal copyright infringement? That's worrisome."

Battle not over

The case against Megaupload has certainly shaken the file-sharing community, though there are a few that claim they are not threatened. RapidShare, based in Switzerland, has publicly stated that its users need not worry. "There is no reason to be concerned," the site said on its Facebook page. "We aren't threatened in any way."

They may not be concerned but it is clear that US lawmakers are homing in on anyone who breaches copyright. As for those wanting to share illegal copies of the latest music release it may all move underground, using P2P or FTP. Some may even resort to old fashioned sharing by sending CDs and DVDs through the post.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

FileSonic stops file-sharing after Megaupload arrests

2012-01-23T09:29:00.001Z

There are signs that some file-sharing sites are capitulating in the face of stronger action being taken by authorities to stop copyright infringement. On Monday FileSonic disabled all sharing of files allowing only personal account access.

In a statement, the company said, "All sharing functionality of FileSonic is now disabled. Our service can be used only to used to upload and retrieve files that you have uploaded personally."

FileSonic describes itself as the 'Unlimited Storage Company'. Much of the stored content was often shared with others and in many instances was in breach of copyright laws. It was not difficult to find illegally shared movies and albums on the site.

The decision by FileSonic comes after authorities closed down Megaupload which operated out of offices in New Zealand. Last week police in Auckland arrested Megaupload founder German national Kim Dotcom, also known as Kim Schmitz, along with three others in a raid requested by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation [BBC].

Megaupload claims it was diligent in responding to complaints about pirated material. However prosecutors have accused Megaupload of costing copyright holders more than $500 million in lost revenue. Megaload has been described as one of the largest file-sharing sites on the Internet. But it was by no means the only one.

As well as Megaupload there are many other such sites. These sites evidently feel threatened despite the fact that many are based outside the US. FileSonic has offices in Hong Kong and London, and Uploaded.to, which also disabled sharing, is based in Hong Kong.

Others that have yet to stop sharing files are the sites RapidShare and MediaFire, but they will certainly be looking at the latest developments in the crackdown over illegal file-sharing. Other sites such as Files Tube which act more as a conduit to file-sharing sites will also be watching to see if they too are at risk.

FilesTube states it allows users to search for shared files from various file hosting sites like FileServe, FileSonic, Megaupload, 4shared, Rapidshare, Hotfile, Mediafire, Netload and many others. As a search engine it could be argued that they are no different from Google, Bing, Yahoo or Baidu, though they do provide links to specific content which might be more difficult to defend.

But if file-sharing sites decide they can no longer operate freely, sites such as Files Tube will also disappear since they will serve no purpose.

While the demise of these sites will impede the distribution of illegal music downloads they will also be missed by those who use them legitimately. Many of the sites are free to use and enable users to share very large files with others.

There are other sites which allow limited storage of files which might be shared with individuals or groups, but they too may be concerned that the clampdown may affect them [Reuters / ZDNet / CNET].

Authorities also assert that file-sharing sites such as Megaupload are used to distribute more than just music and films. According to the indictment cited against Megaupload claims that files found on the site also included child pornography and terrorism propaganda videos.

Megaupload and other sites make money primarily from membership fees which offer faster upload and download services, though some also display advertising.

The revenue generated has made the likes of Megaupload's Mr Dotcom very rich. New Zealand police froze assets amounting to NZ$11 million [US$8.86 million] and seized several expensive cars including a Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe and a 1959 pink Cadillac. A sawn-off shot gun was also secured in the raid [NYT / Business Week / AFP].

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Wikipedia blackout over proposed censorship laws

2012-01-17T16:16:00.001Z

Wikipedia is to shut down for 24 hours in protest over proposed laws which it says will stifle freedom of speech. Other website and portals have also announced they will take part in the blackout protest including the user-generated news site Reddit and the blog Boing Boing [BBC].

The blackout protests are a reaction to proposed bills which proponents say are necessary to curb rising piracy and breaches of copyright infringement on the web.

The Stop Online Piracy Act [Sopa] and Protect Intellectual Property Act [Pipa] are being debated by Congress in the United States. The new laws could force US based sites to shut down permanently of face heavy fines if they are found to use copyrighted material. In the past sites would only be obliged to remove the content [BBC].

But Wikipedia's founder, Jimmy Wales, says the issue is not as clear cut as lawmakers maintain. "Proponents of Sopa have characterised the opposition as being people who want to enable piracy or defend piracy," Wales said in an interview with the BBC, "But that's not really the point. The point is the bill is so over broad and so badly written that it's going to impact all kinds of things that, you know, don't have anything to do with stopping piracy."

And there appear to be some signs that the White House appear to be partially on the side of those protesting against the bills. In a statement published on their website, the White House said, "While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet."

Furthermore, the statement emphasised the importance of protecting freedom of speech. "Any effort to combat online piracy must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful activity and must not inhibit innovation by our dynamic businesses large and small," the White House said.

Such statements have prompted some proponents of the bill to react angrily, saying the government was not serious in its effort to stamp out piracy. This week media mogul Rupert Murdoch joined the debate, hitting out at the Obama administration as well as the search giant Google. "So Obama has thrown in his lot with Silicon Valley paymasters who threaten all software creators with piracy, plain thievery," he lambasted in a series of tweets that drew much publicity.

Murdoch's criticism was primarily directed at Google who he accused of directly making money from the online pirates. "Piracy leader is Google who streams movies free, sells advts around them. No wonder pouring millions into lobbying," Murdoch claimed in another tweet.

Google responded saying they do everything they can to tackle copyright infringement. The company told technology website CNET that Murdoch's comments were "nonsense" and in an interview with the BBC a spokesman was quoted as saying, "Google respects copyright - and we've worked hard to help rights holders deal with piracy"

"Last year we took down five million infringing web pages from our search results and invested more than 60 million dollars in the fight against bad ads," the spokesman added.

Google is in a battle not only with the likes of Rupert Murdoch, who has previously criticised Google of stealing his news content, but also many commentators in the blogosphere.

Some bloggers and writers have come in defence of Murdoch and concede, if somewhat reluctantly, that he has a point. BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones questioned whether Google had deviated from its "Do No Evil" mantra. Meanwhile, writing on The Music Void, Jakomi Mathews says, "The fact Google continues to serve up search results linking to sites that make money from advertising and subscription fees, yet never pay the rights holder is quite frankly morally reprehensible." And he says that properly thought out legislation could target and block infringing sites such as Pirate Bay in the same way ISPs and search engines block child pornography.

Google, who oppose Sopa, appears to be broadly in agreement with such an approach. In a statement made this week the company suggested "targeted legislation that would require ad networks and payment processors - like ours - to cut off sites dedicated to Piracy or counterfeiting".

Should the legislators win and block certain websites, the battle is unlikely to be over. Just as so-called netizens in China jump the firewall to circumvent government censorship, the use of VPNs and similar technology will likely grow if traffic to sites such as Pirate Bay are blocked in the West.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

China’s economy slowing, but still growing

2012-01-17T15:22:00.001Z

China has released new data which indicates its economy is slowing. While not positive news the figures were welcomed by the markets as they generally showed a far more stable economy than some had perhaps feared.

In the last quarter of 2011 China saw growth fall to 8.9%, down from 9.1% a year before. It is a significant drop since early 2010 when growth was measured at more than 11%. Yet there has been a gradual decline with a drop in growth seen every quarter since.

The markets have seen the relatively the small drop in growth as positive news. the Shanghai Composite lifted 4.2%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 3.5%. Europe also saw gains across the major indices with the FTSE, DAX and CAC40 all rising, though cuts in borrowing in Spain also help create a boost [Bloomberg]. In the US. markets also reacted positively to the news [Bloomberg].

Speaking to CNN on Tuesday Jing Ulrich from JP Morgan Chase insisted that the country was not likely to be affected by the fall in exports, saying that growth was more reliant on the domestic economy. She, like many analysts, say that even if the property bubble was to burst (some say it already has), it was unlikely to have any major effect on the overall economy.

China nonetheless faces pressure to ease monetary policy and to tackle a weakened property market and sinking export market, not helped by the European debt crisis [BBC / CNN].

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Chaos at Beijing Apple store halts iPhone 4S sales

2012-01-13T08:59:00.001Z

Riots broke out on Friday morning in Beijing with enraged shoppers battling with police and each other outside the capital's flagship Apple store. Hundreds of people had queued overnight in freezing temperatures to get their hands on the latest iPhone 4S. But as dawn approached scuffles began between shoppers, staff and the police.

Trouble is said to have broken out after a staff member from the Apple store in the Sanlitun district of Beijing announced that the iPhone would not go on sale as planned and that the crowds of waiting customers should return home.

There were shouts of "Liars" as shoppers surged forward, some throwing eggs at the plate glass windows.

There are indications that Apple's decision not to open was due to safety concerns. While many people had queued in line overnight some shoppers said people were becoming impatient in the early hours and were pushing in line.

"I got in line around 11 pm, and beyond the line the plaza was chock full with people," said Huang Xiantong, 26, outside the store. "Around 5 am the crowds in the plaza broke through and the line disappeared entirely. Everyone was fighting, several people were hurt," he said.

The exact chronology of events is not clear but it seems likely that the store decided to shut its doors because of the large numbers and fears of controlling the crowd.

Police stepped in as tempers frayed, and several shoppers were taken away. Some accused them of being too forceful in calming the crowds however. "The police just started hitting people. They were just brawling," one shopper said.

It is not the first time that trouble has broken out at the Sanlitun Apple store. When the iPad2 went on sale in May 2011 a brawl outside the store left several people injured as arguments over queue jumping descended into chaos [tvnewswatch].

After the latest incident Apple said it is to halt all retail sales of the latest iPhone in China for the time being, but said the phones would be available online, through its partner China Unicom or at official Apple resellers.

In a statement issued concerning the fracas, Apple said, "The demand for iPhone 4S has been incredible and our stores in China have already sold out.Unfortunately we were unable to open our store at Sanlitun due to the large crowd and to ensure the safety of our customers and employees, the iPhone will not be available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being."

Apple's products are popular with the Chinese but that can create problems for both the company and its customers. Scalpers are common, buying up as many devices as possible and selling them on to those not willing to wait in line for a significantly higher price. However, arguments often break out between the scalpers and genuine shoppers. Scalpers often work in large groups and can deplete the available stock quickly leaving the genuine customer with little or no chance in getting a device at the retail price.

Apple have attempted to stop such practices by selling tickets limiting sales to only two devices per customer, but as scalpers simply use hired hands this can prove ineffective. At the Sanlitun store at least 1,000 people were hired by scalpers to stand in line for them at the Sanlitun store, the government-run news agency Xinhua reported.

At Apple's other store in Beijing's Xidan district there was no sign of trouble, but the entire stock of 2,000 iPhone 4S devices sold out before 9 am. Shanghai's only Apple store in the Pudong district also sold out early, disappointing many who had queued for hours. "I am very upset," said a retired 59-year-old trying to buy a phone for his daughter, "They said they will start selling iPhone 4S at 7 am, but said they had sold out all phones since I got here at 6 o'clock." [BBC / CNN / IBT / Telegraph / WSJ / Video: YouTube / YouTube]

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Hazardous Beijing smog cancels flights

2012-01-11T16:46:00.001Z

Beijingers have been coughing and choking on the heavy smog in recent days, though according to official figures the air quality is "Good". The official line is not convincing anyone however, and there is a rising backlash on China's own microblogging platforms. Even some of China's media are becoming somewhat bold in observing that the poor air quality fails to match the official description.

Hazardous air

This week the US Embassy's air monitoring equipment measured the air quality as "Hazardous", and on several occasions it went "Beyond index". And even the China Daily was beginning to question whether official government readings were somewhat misleading.

Visibility was reduced to less than 200 metres during the rush hour with the US embassy's air pollution index reading 500 at 07:00 on Tuesday. Our correspondent described the air as "Crazy polluted" on Tuesday morning, "So polluted the air quality scale is off the chart, maxed out at 500 level!"

Such a reading is labelled as "Hazardous", and citizens would normally be advised to stay indoors as a precaution. However there was no such warning from Beijing's municipal environmental monitoring center. Instead the air was described as "Good".

Flights cancelled

Meanwhile, dozens of flights were cancelled at Beijing's international airport delaying hundreds of passengers [SMH / SCMP]. In recent days the government has said it has begun testing more accurate monitoring equipment which uses the same PM2.5 scale used on the US Embassy. It has yet to release data collected from the new machines [CNN / China Daily]

Beijing's Environmental Protection Bureau have agreed to release more detailed reports on air pollution and will begin to publish monitoring data on fine particulate matter before the Chinese New Year [BJEPB - Chinese / WSJ / BBC / China Daily]. Yet all too often one only needs to look across the city to see the air is far from clean.

Weather is "no excuse"

Authorities say they are making efforts to reduce air pollutants, but also blame the weather for trapping the pollution. However, Wang Qiuxia, a researcher at Green Beagle, an environmental protection non-governmental organization based in Beijing, says the weather should not be used as an excuse. "Although the foggy weather keeps the pollutants from dispersing, the PM2.5 readings wouldn't be this high if the city's air were clean enough, however heavy the fog is," she said.

tvnewswatch, London, UK [with addition reporting & picture from our correspondent in Beijing]

China plays with fire as Year of the Dragon looms

2012-01-06T23:02:00.000Z

The United States has raised concerns within the Chinese leadership after Obama revealed plans to reinforce its military presence in the Asia Pacific region.

Evidently undeterred by the scary images on China's new stamps commemorating the coming year of the dragon which has prompted much criticism within China [WSJ / Washington Post / Telegraph / BBC], the US says it was planning for a "smaller and leaner" military focused on potential threats from China and Iran, with a reduced presence in Europe.

US accused of "Warmongering"

On a rare visit to the Pentagon, Obama said the US needed to rethink its military strategy, placing a greater emphasis on naval and air power while reducing the size of the army, because of both the fiscal crisis and the drawdown of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan [FT / BBC].

However, the shift of emphasis to Asia Pacific has drawn sharp criticism from China who describe the move as "warmongering".

A long article published on the state news agency website Xinhuanet asserted that by boosting its military presence in the Asia-Pacific, the United States could threaten peace in the region.

"The United States should abstain from flexing its muscles, as this won't help solve regional disputes," the article attributed to Yu Zhixiao, continues. "If the United States indiscreetly applies militarism in the region, it will be like a bull in a china shop, and endanger peace instead of enhancing regional stability." [BBC]

The article also raises concerns over the Pentagon's annual expenditure of $600 billion for "baseline budget and war-fighting tasks" and drew analysis to the smaller budgets employed by other leading nations, though it failed to draw attention over China's increasing military budget.

America spends in excess of $700 billion on its military and has a the most powerful defence force on the planet. With 6,302 battle tanks, 3,252 fighter/ground attack aircraft, 71 submarines and at least 450 land-based intercontinental ballistic missile launchers as well as a large naval force, the US is well defended.

China's growing military

But China is fast catching up with an annual budget of $89 billion and growing according to official figures. However many experts believe the amount spent on China's military is far greater than stated.

Nonetheless the spending is building a vast force. China possesses the largest standing army of 2,285,000 personnel, much higher than America's 1,569,000 military personnel.

It is also on a more than equal footing with many other components with its estimated 7,400 battle tanks, 1,669 fighter/ground attack aircraft and 71 submarines. However, China falls behind the US with a much smaller navy and significantly smaller nuclear deterrent. China is only believed to have around 66 land-based intercontinental ballistic missile launchers and a total of 180 nuclear warheads compared to the US's 1,950 active warheads [Sources: International Institute for Strategic Studies / Wikipedia / BBC].

Concerns over China

It is these concerns as well as a perceived growing threat of cyber-attacks coming from China that is making the decisions in the Pentagon. China's poor choice of friends and allies is also raising concerns in US military circles.

China is close with Iran and relies on the country for a significant amount of its oil. As such China is resistant to the imposition of any sanctions against the country which many believe to be developing a nuclear bomb.

Risks of war

Following recent calls to place further sanctions on Iran, especially heightened after the downing of a US drone and the attack of the British embassy in Tehran, one military general is reported to have said China would be willing to come to Iran's aid to protect its interests.

Major General Zhang Zhaozhong is quoted by some sources as saying China would not hesitate in coming to Iran's defence should missile or nuclear sites be attacked, even if it meant the start of World War III. Bullish rhetoric perhaps, but disturbing if China's military leaders are espousing such opinions [Fox News / Press TV].

And according to some reports China is circumventing international sanctions against Iran by enlisting North Korea's help in providing the Islamic state with its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missiles as well as technical expertise to make the nuclear warhead-capable missiles operational.

Iran is not shy of showing the world its new capabilities either. Within days of the new year Iran tested several rockets with a range of at least 200 km [CBS].

In Xinhua's editorial it states "the United States should learn from its past painful experiences and play a constructive role in the Asia-Pacific instead of recklessly practising militarism". However, China should perhaps be a little less reckless, especially with whom it befriends.

Sharing secrets

In early December Iran claimed it had downed a hi-tech US drone, something which the Pentagon soon acknowledged [Washington Post]. The RQ-170 stealth aircraft later appeared on Iranian TV apparently undamaged, raising questions as to how the Iranians brought the plane down unscathed [Telegraph].

NATO claimed they had merely lost control of the device, though Iran said they had brought the plane down themselves [Press TV]. They even claim that they brought the drone down by hacking, something the Pentagon disputes [Fox News / D Mail]. The technology to hack such an aircraft would have to be sophisticated and the Iranians, not known for their prowess in the hacking community may well have needed some help from a friendly ally. Some unamed officials with the military give the hacking theory some credence, and suggest either Russia or China may have been complicit.

Pictures shown on television would have been particularly unnerving to Pentagon officials [Guardian / Business Week]. The plane was in pristine condition and may reveal particularly sensitive secrets. Such information would not only be useful to Iran but many other nations. In fact Iran has claimed that Russia and China have requested to see the drone and Iranian officials already begun to reverse-engineer the drone and decode its technical information.

It would not be the first time China has got it hands on sensitive US military information. After a US F-117 Stealth fighter was downed in the 1999 Kosovo war, China is believed to have obtained parts and incorporated some of the technology in its own J-20 stealth fighter [BBC / tvnewswatch: China stole stealth fighter technology / tvnewswatch: China's stealth fighter takes to air / tvnewswatch: US - China accused of aggressive spying].

China accuses the US of playing with fire, but is itself playing a dangerous game as it cozies up with Iran, Pakistan and North Korea as well as becoming belligerent in the South China Sea as it tangles with Vietnam, Japan and others.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Stephen Lawrence killers jailed for life

2012-01-04T13:19:00.001Z

Gary Dobson and David Norris have been convicted and jailed for a minimum of 15 years and two months and 14 years and three months respectively for the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence 18 years ago.

Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 35, [pictured in 2000 above left to right] both of south London, denied murdering the teenager but after a trial lasting around six weeks a jury delivered a guilty verdict at the Old Bailey. The case had been a long time coming for the parents of Stephen Lawrence who had waited years to see justice. But outside the court the mother of the murdered teenager said the verdict was not a cause for celebration. "How can I celebrate when my son lies buried?" Doreen Lawrence told reporters [BBC].

The trial, based mainly on forensic evidence, showed that both the accused had been at the scene of the murder. Scientists found a tiny bloodstain on Dobson's jacket that could only have come from Lawrence. They also found a single hair belonging to the teenager on Norris's jeans.

Scientists recovered the material from the clothes of the suspects which had been seized in 1993 and used advanced techniques to match them to the victim, tests which were not available to the original case scientists.

Stephen Lawrence was stabbed to death by a gang of white youths in Eltham, south-east London, on 22 April 1993. A murder trial against two suspects, Neil Acourt, then 17, and Luke Knight, who was 16, was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service in July 1993, citing insufficient evidence. A private prosecution was also brought the following year against Acourt, Knight and three others, Jamie Acourt, David Norris and Gary Dobson, but this failed to bring about a successful conviction. Charges against the original two suspects were dropped before the trial due to lack of evidence, and the three remaining suspects were acquitted at the trial when the judge ruled that the identification evidence given by Lawrence's friend and witness Duwayne Brooks was inadmissible.

However earlier this year new scientific evidence was submitted and in May the Crown Prosecution Service gave the go ahead for a new trial [BBC].

In opening the proceedings Judge Mr Justice Treacy had warned jurors not to discuss the case with "curious friends and family" and banned them from consulting the Internet, so as not to jeopardise a fair trial.

Such research would have revealed a chequered history for both the suspects. As well as holding racist views and a fascination with knives, facts that were presented to the jury, both Dobson and Norris had been arrested and charged with several crimes since the murder.

Dobson was jailed for five years in 2010 for drugs trafficking. He is among a small number of men to have been tried twice for the same crime after the Court of Appeal quashed his 1996 acquittal for the murder. Norris was convicted in 2002 of a separate allegation of racially threatening behaviour. Both individuals were also convicted in November 2000 after pleading guilty to stealing 14 beer kegs valued at £1,000 from a pub in Essex. Described by their lawyer as "unemployable" since being named among the five suspects in the murder of Stephen Lawrence, each were fined £100 with £60 costs.

[Sky / BBC]

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Low Emission Zone forces thousands off roads

2012-01-03T13:20:00.001Z

From today, Tuesday 3rd January, thousands of older transit vans, lorries and 4x4 vehicles will be banned from driving anywhere in London after phases 3 and 4 of the Low Emission Zone comes into force.

Most diesel vehicles registered before 2002 are affected by the new restrictions unless owners pay for an expensive special particle filter to be fitted. The alternative is to buy or new or second-hand vehicle or face heavy fines of between £200 and £500 per day.

While those who own affected vehicles registered inside the London boroughs have been informed of the changes, those beyond London's borders may be oblivious to the new restrictions.

Black cabs also affected

The latest restrictions imposed on London's motorists apply no only to 4x4s, transits, large vans and minibuses, it also affects many black cabs. It is estimated that around 2,600 cabs, or 10% of the total fleet, will become unlawful as their licence plates expire.

In the past few months many motorists have received letters which for many is a death sentence to their life on the road. Transport for London [TfL] has sent details of how the LEZ will be expanded to include motorhomes, 4 wheel-drive vehicles and transit vans. Those with older diesel vehicles will be forced to modify their vehicle, buy a newer vehicle or face fines of at least £100 per day.

Punitive costs

Many motorists are understandably irate. The cost of modification would in many cases exceed the value of the vehicle, yet replacement would not be convenient or appropriate. To replace an old Landrover or Daihatsu Fourtrak with newer equivalent may run into thousands of pounds.

Despite their age such vehicles can often run for many years, so to scrap them is far from green. A Daihatsu Foutrak bought second-hand in 2003 for £4,000 is worth very little now, yet even with 120,000 miles on the clock it could easily run another 80,000!

Of course there will have been repairs and replacements. Springs changed, after much off-road wear and tear, and there may have been some body welding. But despite its sturdiness and reliability, new legislation is forcing otherwise reliable vehicles off the road.

No cheap option

Owners of such vehicles could move beyond London's boundaries, and make the choice of never entering the metropolis again. That for many would be a little drastic however. There is the option of finding a friend who is willing to allow it to be parked outside their address, given they live outside the LEZ. But failing that, there is only the choice of selling up and buying a replacement or modifying your old vehicle.

All options are far from cheap. A year's tax, insurance, MoT and sundry motoring costs [excluding fuel] might have been around £700 to £1,000. The introduction of this new policy may add between two and six thousand pounds to this. While there are a few complaints on web forums, particularly from Landrover owners living just within the borders, there has yet to be any major backlash concerning the new rules.

Green tax

There are no other LEZs in the UK, but they are common elsewhere with around 50 in the rest of Europe. This seems to be a scheme which is likely to widen as environmental causes are used to squeeze the motorists' wallet. [TfL / Low Emission Zone map - PDF / Low Emission Zones in Europe]

The Green Party said the mayor should have enforced the the new rules sooner and Liberal Democrats at City Hall have called for the introduction of a "Berlin style" Clean Air Zone which excludes specified vehicles from Inner and Central London.

"A Berlin style Clean Air Zone in central London and a big switch to electric buses, taxis and vans should be key priorities for the Mayor in 2012," says Mike Tuffrey, the party's environment spokesperson.

Yet London is one of the cleanest cities in Europe. The London Air Quality Network regularly tweets the quality of the capital's air, yet rarely does it register anything above LOW pollution levels.

Contradictions

London Mayor Boris Johnson insists the policy is important. "Delivering cleaner air is key to my goal of creating a better quality of life for Londoners," he was recently quoted as saying. Meanwhile a TfL statement issued in the Mayor's name confirms implementing the next phase of the LEZ "is part of a comprehensive set of long-term sustainable measures being introduced by the Mayor to tackle the biggest sources of pollution." However the statement appears to contradict claims made by the Mayor's campaign team last April that the third phase was being "imposed" on London by the European Commission and that drivers faced "EU fees" for not complying.

The result of the ill-thought out regulations is that from today thousands of vehicle owners are now without transport, or with a large bill in their pocket if they took out the option of purchasing another vehicle. This at a time when the country faces further financial crises [BBC / MayorWatch].

DPF problems

There are added concerns that complying with the new rules by buying a filter, or even purchasing a new vehicle with such a filter fitted, may create additional problems for motorists.

A report on BBC Watchdog suggests that owners who only do a few miles in their vehicle may create problems for themselves. A diesel vehicle could save money on fuel consumption. But nearly all new diesel vehicles including cars are fitted with an eco-friendly car component which is leaving some motorists with huge bills to pay.

The Diesel Particulate Filter or DPF is fitted to the exhaust to trap the soot and reduce emissions. Introduced to bring cars in line with new EU green emissions rules it can become an issue if a vehicle is used solely for city driving.

The DPF usually cleans itself when the engine runs at high speeds, a process called regeneration. If this does not happen, a warning light indicates that the filter is getting blocked. It must then be cleared by driving the car at high revs for a sustained period of time. This is easily done on the open road but is much more difficult to do around town.

There are few roads in London where a sustained speed of over 64 km/h can be achieved for the required 15 minutes to clean the filter. The result is that many motorists are finding themselves with large bills to pay for having a blocked filter cleaned or in some cases replaced [BBC].

Fire risk

There are other concerns too. In the US a failing DPF is believed to have started a major forest fire after sparks ignited nearby bracken [DieselNet]. There have also been cases of fires beginning in the filter itself. In 2011, Ford recalled 37,400 F-Series trucks with diesel engines after fuel and oil leaks caused fires in the diesel particulate filters of the trucks. No injuries occurred before the recall, though one grass fire was started. A similar recall was issued for 2005-2007 Jaguar S-Type and XJ diesels, where large amounts of soot became trapped in the DPF. In affected vehicles, smoke and fire emanated from the vehicle underside, accompanied by flames from the rear of the exhaust. The heat from the fire could cause heating through the transmission tunnel to the interior, melting interior components and potentially causing interior fires [Wikipedia].

In Britain the Automobile Association advise motorists not to buy vehicles with a DPF fitted if they are using it mainly for "stop/start driving" in a city or elsewhere. Those having such a filter fitted may also find some reduction in performance and fuel economy.

Notes:
Vehicles affected for the first time are: larger vans and other specialist vehicles such as horse boxes and light utility vehicles (between 1.205 tonnes unladen and 3.5 tonnes Gross Vehicle Weight); minibuses (5 tonnes or less Gross Vehicle Weight with more than 8 passenger seats); and motor caravans (between 2.5 and 3.5 tonnes Gross Vehicle Weight), which will have to meet a Euro 3 standard for PM to drive in the zone without charge.

Vehicles already affected by the LEZ: HGVs and other specialist vehicles including motorised horseboxes and motor caravans over 3.5 tonnes Gross Vehicle Weight; and buses and coaches over 5 tonnes Gross Vehicle Weight with more than 8 passenger seats will have to meet a Euro IV standard for PM to drive in the zone without charge.

The LEZ affects all vehicles of the relevant weight and age even if they are used for private purposes. However cars, motorcycles and vans weighing under 1.205 tonnes unladen weight are not affected by the LEZ.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Goodbye to a disastrous 2011

2011-12-31T17:35:00.001Z

2011 has not been an especially good year for many people. A worsening economic crisis in many parts of the world, particularly in Europe, and a host of natural disasters has left a significant proportion of the globe somewhat battered and worn.

There have been some causes for celebration. A Royal Wedding brought some cheer to people's lives, though there were others who probably thought such a lavish spectacle was somewhat out of place given the current economic climate [tvnewswatch: millions watch royal wedding].

Some of the biggest cheers came after America's most wanted was declared killed in Pakistan, when US troops stormed Osama bin Laden's secret hideaway [tvnewswatch: Osama bin Laden killed by US troops]. There were some who remained sceptical of the whole affair, with suggestions that bin Laden had been dead for some time and that the declaration of a successful operation in May merely helped to bolster the waning War on Terror [tvnewswatch: World reacts to death of bin Laden].

The year was perhaps most notable for a sweeping wave of protests around the globe. In the west many came together to bemoan the effects of capitalism. Occupy Wall Street protests were repeated in many cities across the US and in other cities around the world. But while the protests were loud, their voices mainly fell on deaf ears.

Protests that did have some effect were those seen across the Middle East. In Egypt thousands demonstrated against the Mubarak regime and ousted the leader, though a year on many feel that they have only changed one corrupt leader with another as the military maintain a firm grip on power.

The so-called Arab Spring saw revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, and a civil war in Libya resulting in the fall of its government and the death of Muammar Gaddafi [tvnewswatch].

The wave of protests spread to other Middle Eastern dictatorships and autocracies but most were severely stamped out by authorities. There were civil uprisings in Bahrain and Yemen, the latter resulting in the resignation of the Yemeni prime minister. The Syrian uprising which began as a series of protests continues still with signs that like Libya it too may develop into a full scale civil war. Unlike Libya it is unlikely to receive any help from NATO due to the difficult political and geographical factors involved.

There were also major protests in Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, and Oman. Minor protests were also seen in Lebanon, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Western Sahara. And clashes at the borders of Israel in May 2011 and the Palestine 194 movement were also said to have been inspired by the regional Arab Spring.

China too has seen a number of protests. The Arab Spring inspired a so-called Jasmine Revolution, though the authorities quickly moved in against organisers and rounded up hundreds of activists, dissidents, artists and lawyers [tvnewswatch: China's Jasmine revolution quickly crushed]. Renowned artist Ai Weiwei was secretly detained for weeks before authorities charged him with tax evasion. Others found themselves jailed for years on charges of subversion. The protests seen in China were not all inspired by the Arab Spring. There have been a number of demonstrations complaining about corruption and illegal land seizures, especially in the south of the country.

2011 was also marked by a series of natural disasters. New Zealand was struck by a devastating earthquake which left at least 180 dead and up to 2,000 injured [Wikipedia / tvnewswatch]. But it was Japan which suffered the worst after a magnitude 9.0 quake caused a massive tsunami and wrought widespread destruction [tvnewswatch: 8.9 earthquake hits Japan]. The Tohoku earthquake and tsunami killed more than 15,000 people and caused the worst nuclear disaster in Japan's history and the largest since Chernobyl in 1986 [tvnewswatch: Rising fears of Fukushima impact]. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster may not be over with many fearing the effects will be felt for many years to come.

It was also a year of extreme weather with floods engulfing large regions around the world. Australia saw widespread flooding and in Thailand floods killed more than 790 people and cost the economy more than $45 billion. September's Sindh floods in Pakistan killed over 400 people and devastated a wide area of arable land, though the event failed to gain as much attention as Thailand because of the knock on effects. Thailand is the world's 2nd largest producer of hard disk drives accounting for approximately 25% of the world's production. As such there were fears the world might even see a shortage in supplies of hard disks.

For people in the west, 2011 will probably be most remembered for the crisis in the Eurozone. Estonia officially adopted the Euro on the 1st of January, and may have had second thoughts about becoming the seventeenth Eurozone country to use the Euro. The Eurozone debt crisis had become a major concern since 2009, but by mid-2011 the situation had become critical with some fearing the sovereign debt crisis could result in the collapse of the single currency.

As German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicholas Sarkozy tried to formulate a plan to save the Euro and the Eurozone from collapse there were several casualties [tvnewswatch: Why Euro must not be allowed to fail / tvnewswatch: European debt crisis deepens / tvnewswatch: Fears of contagion loom despite EU deal / tvnewswatch: Britain in danger of joining PIGS]. Greece and Italy both saw a change of leadership and Britain found itself isolated from the Euro-club, with Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron being snubbed by the French in particular [tvnewswatch: Britain becomes lonely man in Europe].

The fallout from the crisis in Europe is far from over, and markets around the world reeled as uncertainty prevailed. Even strong economies were seeing signs of weakness with China showing a drop in exports. A much predicted bubble burst in China's property market, though compared to many other countries, the Chinese economy remains relatively strong [tvnewswatch: Will China's bubble burst? / tvnewswatch: Risks ahead after China's credit bubble bursts].

2011 saw the passing of many notable people from musicians to dictators. Scottish musician Gerry Rafferty, well known for his hit Baker Street, died in January. Gary Moore, a rock guitarist, famous for his roll with rock band Thin Lizzy, departed a month later. Perhaps the most iconic and ironic departure was that of poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron who is perhaps most well known for his song The Revolution Will Not Be Televised [YouTube].

Revolution across the Middle East was only partly televised, with authorities clamping down on social media too. And the uprisings brought about the death of at least one dictator, that of Colonel Gaddafi. Other dictators fell because of ill health. As 2011 drew to a close North Korean leader Kim Jong-il passed away and passed the reins to his son Kim Jong-un, though there was no change to the way the country is ruled [tvnewswatch: Nutty tyrant Kim Jong-il dies at 69].

The passing of Václav Havel gained less attention but was notable given that he had been instrumental in bringing about the collapse of communism in Czechoslovakia and precipitating the Velvet Revolution.

As the clocks tick into 2012 few will mourn the passing of 2011. Many will, instead, hope for a brighter future, that the economy improves, political situations calm and that the damage wrought by nature can heal.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Man stabbed to death over a pair of trainers

2011-12-27T10:59:00.001Z

A man has been stabbed to death in the centre of London during the busiest shopping day of the year, reportedly over a pair of trainers. Amidst crowds of Boxing Day bargain hunters the young victim was chased by his attackers and stabbed in broad daylight [Sky / BBC].

According to The Sun the 18-year-old was reportedly killed after a fight erupted between rival gangs over which trainers to steal from a sportswear shop in Oxford Street. One witness told the paper how a feral gang shoved parents and children aside as they chased the terrified victim before murdering him in broad daylight.

"I hope that one day I will forget his eyes and the monsters who were chasing him," the female witness, who had been with her husband and young child told The Sun.

Armed police were the first on the scene and tried to resuscitate the man, while their colleagues struggled to keep back the crowds and bystanders filmed the spectacle on mobile phones [YouTube]. Police battled with youths determined to break through the cordon and one officer unholstered his taser, though the Metropolitan Police say he did not deploy the weapon, contrary to earlier reports [Daily Mail]. Efforts to save the man's life failed and he was pronounced dead at around 14:30 in the afternoon [Telegraph / Daily Mail].

In what appeared to be another incident connected to an argument over trainers, a 21 year old man was stabbed in the thigh by three attackers nearly five hours after the Foot Locker murder outside the nearby Nike Town store.

Trainer wars

Battle's have erupted at stores in the US over Nike's new Air Jordan basketball-style trainers. though many of the limited edition style have yet to become available in the UK.

There have been virtual riots as teenagers battle to obtain the prized footwear [YouTube]. In Seattle, police used pepper spray on about 20 customers who started fighting at one store.

A man was stabbed when a fight broke out between several people waiting in line at a New Jersey store to buy the new shoes, though the 20-year-old man was expected to recover from his injuries.

Meanwhile there was panic in Richmond, California, when a gunshot rang out as crowds waited to buy the Air Jordan 11 Retro Concords at the Hilltop Mall. No injuries were reported after the firearm was discharged, apparently by accident, and a 24-year-old suspect was taken into custody.

The frenzy over Air Jordans has been dangerous in the past. Some people were mugged or even killed for early versions of the shoe, created by Nike Inc. in 1984.

The Air Jordan has since been a consistent hit with fans of training shoes, spawning a subculture of collectors willing to wait hours to buy the latest pair. Some collectors save the shoes for special occasions, while others never even remove them from the box [WSJ].

Grim statistics

The death on Monday in London's Oxford Street adds to a grim set of statistics. It was the 15th young person to be killed on London's streets this year.

Twitter has been awash with comments concerning the stabbing. The victim was named as a Muslim youth from Somalia called Seydou Diarrassouba, from Mitcham in south London, who had the nickname "Nutz".

One friend wrote on Twitter, "Naaa man! I cant believe Seydou got stabbed down Oxford st! Only this mornin he was sayin how everythin happens by the will of Allah."

A special Facebook page has already been set up with a picture of the young murder victim and countless messages of condolence.

One of the pictures circulating shows the man making an apparent gun symbol with his hand, which will undoubtedly raise debate as to whether he was involved in a gang. One report in the Daily Mail claimed he was a member of a gang called ABM [All 'Bout Money] which had been in a long running feud with rival gang 031 Bloods.

In another unconnected incident a 23-year-old student was shot dead in Salford near Manchester. A man has been arrested, police have said [BBC].

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Chen Wei jailed amid crackdown on human rights

2011-12-24T11:34:00.001Z

Chinese writer Chen Wei has been sentenced to nine years in jail for "inciting subversion of state power". The sentencing comes almost exactly two years after Liu Xiaobo was handed an 11 year jail term for the same charge. Like Liu, Chen had published several essays online calling for freedom of speech and reform of China's one-party system.

Chen is a veteran pro-democracy campaigner, having been jailed for his part in the student protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Just as those demonstrations were crushed by authorities, so too are any efforts to bring about change to China's one party state.

Law is "unconstitutional"

Liu Xiaobo found himself on the wrong side of the law when he launched Charter 08 which called for reform. Shang Baojun, Liu's lawyer, has condemned the law used against his client and others like him. "I personally think that this charge is itself unconstitutional. The so-called law of "inciting subversion of state power" is used against those who use rumor, slander [or other means to encourage subversion.]"

"The definition of this offence is very blurred," Shang says, "It should be said that enforcing this law is harmful. Many Chinese people have been charged for this offence and imprisoned mostly because of their comments and opinions."

Just before Liu was sentenced on Christmas Day 2009, he wrote, "I do not feel guilty for following my constitutional right to freedom of expression, for fulfilling my social responsibility as a Chinese citizen. Even if accused of it, I would have no complaints." [tvnewswatch]

Chen was far more vocal and forceful when judgement was passed on Thursday. "Dictatorship will fail, democracy will prevail," Chen proclaimed. His wife, Wang Xiaoyan, echoed the opinions of Liu Xiaobo's lawyer concerning the interpretation of Article 105 of China's Criminal Law.

"He is a very patriotic man. He did criticise the Communist Party, but that's stating the facts. That is not subversion," Wang told the BBC. She described the trial as "a show" and a performance. "The verdict had been decided in advance. They don't allow people to speak. There is no freedom of speech."

Protests & arrests

There are many others like Chen and Liu, who receive far less attention. China has rounded up hundreds of so-called dissidents in the wake of online calls for protests in China at the beginning of the year.

What are widely believed to be trumped-up charges of tax evasion were made against the outspoken artist Ai Weiwei who himself was detained for a considerable time this year.

He like many others were rounded up after the failed so-called Jasmine Revolution, seen by some as an attempt to replicate the Arab Spring uprising in China [BBC].

Those protests were arguably more politically motivated, and were quickly stamped out. But there has been a wave of other protests across China in recent months, inspired not by political dogma, but by very real social problems.

Of particular note are the mass protests in Wukan, in China's Guangdong province. Tens of thousands have taken part and battled with authorities over illegal land seizures. The very scale of the protest has forced the authorities to back down and to give in to some of the key demands of the villagers [Sky News / CNN].

But Wukan is not an isolated case. Inspired by their triumph, other protests are being seen. Haimen saw four days of protests concerning the building of a power plant which locals saw as a further threat to their health [Guardian]. There have been clashes with police firing teargas at the crowds. But here again the authorities have made concessions, saying they will suspend the project [Bloomberg].

There are however concerns that despite the back down by the authorities, a backlash may come later. The recent protests could bring about changes in the leadership of the communist party at a local or even national level, which in turn could become more forceful in the way it deals with dissent [Washington Post].

Lawyers also victimised

Even those who try to defend the dissidents are victimised. Lawyers who stand up to protect members of Falun Gong, political dissidents or others can often find themselves on the wrong side of the law.

Those try to help victims of injustice, often become victims themselves. One such man is Chen Guangcheng. A blind civil rights activist and lawyer he has drawn international attention to human rights issues in rural areas. But that has in turn attracted the attention of the authorities. He was placed under house arrest from September 2005 to March 2006 after talking to Time magazine about the alleged forced abortion cases he investigated in Linyi Prefecture, Shandong Province.

Authorities formally arrested him in June 2006 for destruction of property and assembling a crowd to disrupt traffic. During his trial, Chen's lawyers were even forbidden access to the court. On August 24th, 2006, Chen was sentenced to four years and three months for "damaging property and organising a mob to disturb traffic".

Chen was released from prison on September 8th, 2010 after serving his full sentence, but remains under "ruanjin" or soft detention at his home in Dongshigu Village.

There he remains, cut off from the outside world. Even visitors are prevented from approaching, and journalists are particularly discouraged. Those who do attempt to visit the blind activist are greeted by burly hired hands who make it clear that you cannot pass. Many villagers and supporters have tried to visit Chen, but are often beaten. Media organisations too have attempted, with varying levels of success, to see Chen.

The BBC made an attempt to visit the man in November but were immediately swooped upon by three men who "yanked open the car door, barked a few orders and then snatched equipment from out of our hands: cameras, mobile phones and recording devices."

CNN also embarked on an expedition to visit the human rights activist. They too failed to get anywhere near the man. They also drew criticism from some for 'making the news' rather than reporting it [BBC].

'Shameful' reporting

CNN had been approached by Batman actor Christian Bale who had expressed the desire to visit Chen and show his support. However, CNN's involvement was described by Forbes columnist Shaun Rein as shameful and "a complete failure of journalistic integrity."

His criticism of CNN has also prompted a lively debate in the blogosphere about the ethics of journalism [Peking Duck / Chinageeks / Chinageeks]. In a predictable response from the Chinese government, both Bale and CNN were criticised for fabricating the news. "He [Bale] was not invited to fabricate news or shoot film in a certain village," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin. "I think if you want to make up news in China, you will not be welcome here." [Telegraph]

Asked whether the Chinese government should be embarrassed after Bale was manhandled by thugs guarding the human rights activist's home, Liu said that the actor should feel embarrassed, not China.

Whether, CNN crossed the line of journalistic integrity is debatable. Bale may well have tried to visit Chen, with or without CNN's help. CNN merely followed what appeared to be a good story, much in the same way many news organisation respond to tip-offs that something is about to happen at a particular location. It certainly was not the kind of Yellow Journalism some have asserted, though it could be borderline Tabloid Journalism or Tabloid Television.

The BBC did not receive a request from a Hollywood actor, but they too could be accused of 'inventing the news', given there was and is no specific event occurring at Chen Guangcheng's home.

China has very different news values to those in the west. Investigative journalism is rare, and the reporting of sensitive issues is to be discouraged. Ambush journalism and similar set ups, while questionable, are commonplace in the west. Hidden cameras are frequently used to get the story. And while the use of a Hollywood star in a piece is perhaps ill-advised, it was a scoop for CNN. Arguments over the type of reporting also detract from a very real issue, that of human rights in China. The CNN report, while perhaps sensationalist and exploitative, has served to highlight the appalling lack of human rights in China and the way the country attempts to cover up its dirty secrets by employing thugs to hide them.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Police officer held over alleged payments from journalists

2011-12-21T14:51:00.001Z

A serving police officer has been arrested on suspicion of receiving illegal payments from journalists it has been reported.

Scotland Yard confirmed a 52-year-old woman had been arrested at her home in Essex under Operation Elveden and was being detained at an undisclosed Essex police station.

She is the first police officer to be arrested as part of Operation Elveden, which is investigating illegal payments to officers. The inquiry is running alongside the Operation Weeting investigation into phone hacking at the News of the World.

It has been reported that she is a member of the Metropolitan Police's specialist operations branch, but she has yet to be named. The branch has three functions including protecting the Royal Family and public officials, investigating terrorism and providing protection to major landmarks such as Houses of Parliament and airports including Heathrow.

Her arrest comes less than a week after Lucy Panton, the former crime editor at the now defunct News Of The World newspaper, was questioned over alleged payments to officers.

Panton, 37, who is married to a Scotland Yard detective, was visited by officers at her Surrey home. She has been bailed until early next year. She became crime editor in October 2005 and remained at the paper until it was shut down at the height of the hacking scandal in July.

Clive Goodman, the former Royal editor of the News of the World who was jailed for Phone Hacking, has also been arrested by Operation Elveden detectives. Jamie Pyatt, a reporter from The Sun, who was the tabloid's Thames Valley reporter was arrested in November. Pyatt, 48, was the first Sun employee to be implicated in the scandal.

Sir Paul Stephenson, the former Met commissioner, said in July that evidence from the publisher suggested a small number of officers were involved in the scandal involving the News of the World. However the woman currently detained marks the first arrest of a police officer [BBC / Sky / Guardian / Telegraph]

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Metal theft becomes a threat to Britain’s heritage

2011-12-20T21:01:00.001Z

A 40 year-old bronze sculpture by the artist Barbara Hepworth has been stolen from a south London park in what is believed to be the latest target of scrap metal thieves [BBC].

"Two Forms (Divided Circle)" is considered one of Britain's most recognisable works and may be irreplaceable. Authorities believe the 2 metre high sculpture, one of only six casts made by the late artist, was targeted because of the value of its metal. Yet they will likely get a fraction of the value of the sculpture itself which was insured for more than £500,000.

It is not the first time priceless sculptures have been stolen by metal thieves. Prices make sculptures such as Henry Moore's "Reclining Figure" desirable as a source of scrap metal. The well known figure was stolen in 2005 by thieves who used a crane and a stolen truck to remove the sculpture from the Henry Moore Foundation grounds in Much Hadham, Hertfordshire. The sculpture was worth around £3 million, but police believe that the internationally known sculpture was cut up and melted down for around £1,500 in scrap metal, discounting their original theory that the figure was stolen for its value on the art market.

Less prestigious, but nonetheless reputed artists, have also had their sculptures stolen. In 200 Lynn Chadwick's The Watchers was stolen, Elisabeth Frink's bronze horse was stolen in 2009 and 3 sculptures by Robert Mileham were stolen. The sheer size of some of the stolen sculptures has spawned a new breed of metal thieves with the knowledge and the means of shifting large and heavy objects.

The growing demand for copper by countries like China, seeking a cheaper source of this raw material, fueled by the booming electronics industries, has created an unprecedented market for recycled copper.

And the thieves do not seem to care who they target. As well as stripping Britain's parks of priceless sculptures, churches, railways and even hospitals have been targeted.

In the last few months tonnes of copper wires have been stolen from railways, leaving trains without power and stranding thousands of commuters [BBC / Express / Ev Standard]. It is not only confined to Britain either. French thieves struck the Eurostar line in April delaying hundreds of passengers [Daily Mail].

Hospitals have also been struck putting lives at risk. Earlier this month a hospital in south Wales was forced to cancel more than a hundred operations after metal thieves stole generator cables [Daily Mail].

The rise in thefts and the effect on people's lives has prompted calls by MPs for new legislation and harsher penalties for those convicted. Labour MP for Streatham Chuka Umunna has spoken out about the problem of metal theft which he says is blighting the lives and livelihoods of many people in his London constituency.

The rising levels of metal theft have seen Church roofs stolen and even instances of war memorials being vandalized so that plaques could be sold for scrap. And Umunna wants to transform legislation concerning scrap metal dealers by replacing the current requirement to register with a Local Authority and replace it with a licensing system [Chuka.org].

Shadow Home Office Minister David Hanson MP has also called for action and welcomed the launch of Graham Jones' Private Members' Bill to tackle metal theft, which was put before the House of Commons last month.

Speaking prior to its first reading, Hanson said, "We have called for the Government to change the law to make it easier stop this organised crime at a time when we are seeing the desecration of war memorials, when households face repeated power cuts, commuters face increasing delays and churches and public buildings are being damaged. The theft of electric wires is even putting lives at risk." [davidhanson.org.uk]

While the bill will likely get backing from all sides of the house, the scrap metal industry have not been so welcoming. The British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA) director general Ian Hetherington has called for regulatory changes that are "proportionate and workable" rather than "ill-conceived legislation" at the organisation's Annual Dinner held last week. Speaking to a sold-out crowd of almost 500 metals recyclers, he pledged that the BMRA would "go onto the front foot" regarding future legislation in 2012.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

'Nutty tyrant' Kim Jong-il dies at 69

2011-12-19T18:27:00.001Z

Kim Jong-il, leader of North Korea, has passed away after 17 years in power. Kim is reported to have died of a heart attack on Saturday although his passing was only announced early Monday morning.

He is succeeded by his son Kim Jong-Un, though commentators are cautious of any political change in the country. As citizens across the country were seen showing outpourings of grief [Xinhua], further afield there was concern over the future of the dictatorship.

Stocks fall

In South Korea stocks tumbled at the news [Xinhua] and there were heightened concerns after its northerly neighbour test-fired a missile [Sky News].

Asian stocks were particularly hard hit. The Seoul Kopsi saw a 3.5% fall, while the Nikkei fell 1.26% and the Hong Kong Hang Seng dropped 1.18%. The Shanghai Composite also dropped, but by only around 0.3%. Across other markets in the west there was less impact however.

Few condolences

There were few commiserations coming from nations around the world as often seen following the death of other world leaders. Reactions from the international community to the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il were somewhat muted.

China was one of few countries offering its condolences to the 69 year old dictator. As the national flag over the North Korean embassy in Beijing flew at half mast, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ma Zhaoxue, praised Kim's leadership for developing North Korea's "socialist cause".

"Close and intimate friend" of China

"We are shocked to learn that the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea [DPRK], comrade Kim Jong-il, has passed away. He was a great leader of the people of the DPRK and a close and intimate friend of Chinese people."

"He made significant contribution to the socialism development in the DPRK and to the friendly and co-operative relationship between China and the DPRK," Ma said. "We believe the people in the DPRK can turn their grief into strength, united together to push forward the socialistic development in the DPRK." [Xinhua]

Important opportunity

Other world leaders were not so forthcoming with sympathy. Kevin Rudd, Australia's Foreign Minister, said that Kim's death presented "an important opportunity to the new North Korean leadership to engage fully with the international community, on how to improve their economy in order to properly feed their people and critically on how to deal with the outstanding problem of North Korea's nuclear weapons program."

However many have been cautious as regards any possible change in the region. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said was wasn't "much hope" given North Korea was "a completely closed off regime."

"We are very cautious about the consequences of this succession. We hope that one day the North Korean people will find freedom. There are ongoing talks with North Korea ... and we need to keep on talking with China and other participants to make North Korea abandon its nuclear weapon."

Turning point?

While Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague said he understood Kim's death would be difficult for the people of North Korea he said he hoped that the change of administration might bring about change. "This could be a turning point for North Korea. We hope that their new leadership will recognize that engagement with the international community offers the best prospect of improving the lives of ordinary North Korean people."

"We encourage North Korea to work for peace and security in the region and take the steps necessary to allow the resumption of the Six Party Talks on de-nuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula."

For its part the United States were somewhat measured in its response. The White House only said they were "closely monitoring reports" and that President Barack Obama was committed to maintaining the "stability on the Korean peninsula, and to the freedom and security of our allies." [CNN]

"Nutty tyrant"

Some news reports pulled fewer punches when describing the former leader. CNN's John Vause described Kim Jong-il as "every bit the nutty tyrant" with his over-sized glasses and trade-mark jumpsuit. BBC's John Simpson referred to him as "weird" and "distinctly odd".

An avid movie buff, James Bond films were said to be amongst the leader's favourite, though he was often unhappy over he and his country's portrayal on the big screen.

Kim was famously depicted in the puppet film Team America World Police as a mastermind behind a violent terrorist plot. And with particularly comic satire the 'dear leader' was shown singing "I'm So Ronery" ["I'm so lonely"], a pointed comment on North Korea's isolation [YouTube].

Nutty or weird, Kim Jong-il also posed a serious threat to the region. South Korea was attacked several times over the past few years, the most provocative of which occurred last year when North Korean forces bombed Yeonpyeong Island [tvnewswatch].

The country has tested several long range missile and there are significant concerns that North Korea has already developed nuclear weapons

Media reaction

The demise of the North Korean leader was the top story across all the news stations, though some gave the story more dominance than others.

CNN provided almost saturation coverage throughout the day. Coverage on Sky News and the BBC was also significant, though by midday both channels drifted back to domestic and other international news.

While France 24, and Al Jazeera all led with the death of Kim Jong-il, reports were relatively short and soon gave way to other news.

Press TV and Russia Today meanwhile focused on other issues. Press TV led with continuing turmoil in Egypt and across Bahrain, only briefly mentioning Kim's death. Russia Today began with a report on the sinking of a Russian oil rig with Kim's death dropping in as it's second item.

Chinese television could hardly ignore the death of what it called a "close and intimate friend". CCTV News and CNC both headlined with the death of the North Korean leader with Xinhua's CNC providing greater coverage. While CCTV News ran with a 5 minute report, CNC broadcast a series or reports lasting some 15 minutes, hinging on North Korea's development since the Korean war.

In North Korea itself propaganda also filled the airwaves. Following this morning's announcement of the death of the "Dear Leader" and scenes of uncontrollable grieving, state television broadcast patriotic music with images of mountains for much of the day. Bizarrely the North Korean official website was down, though the reason for the outage was not immediately clear. The Korean Central News Agency website was accessible although it had not been update for several days.

As Kim Jong-Un takes the reins the country will remain in mourning for the next ten days. As for Kim Jong-Il, he is set to be buried on December 28th in what will likely be a lavish state funeral.

Further reports: BBC / Sky / CNN / Al Jazeera / Press TV / France 24 / RT

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Risks ahead after China's credit bubble bursts

2011-12-15T18:20:00.001Z

China may be seeing the effects of the global economic turmoil that has already enveloped Europe and the US. While China's politicians have been generally upbeat about the economy, new data released recently suggests the property bubble has burst [something tvnewswatch predicted might happen back in September], and that the country faces difficult challenges ahead. And how it reacts may have far reaching implications for the rest of the world.

No bail-outs

Earlier this month China had already indicated that it was unlikely to help out Europe as it struggles to pull itself out of deficit. Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying, said that Europe could not expect China to use its $3.2 trillion foreign exchange reserves to help rescue indebted nations.

While she did not explicitly rule out using part of China's reserves for more targeted measures, Fu Ying implied China was not going to step in by using its "savings" to bail out the crisis-stricken Europe.

"We cannot use this money domestically to alleviate poverty," Fu said. "We also can't take this money abroad for development support." [Reuters / Business Week / Xinhua / China Daily]

Although China has said it fully supports Europe in overcoming its debt crisis, it seems clear that Fu was reacting to growing economic problems at home. Support is likely to come in ways other than direct financial help. According to the China Daily, such aid would only come through a continuing "foreign policy of promoting peace, development and cooperation." This would not include financial tools, Fu Ying reiterated a few days later.

It appears that China has its own economic problems, and is now less willing or unable to help bail out other struggling countries.

Lack of transparency

Reliable financial data is difficult to come by in China. Just as the state controls the flow of news, financial information is also stifled. For example a French business website found itself blocked in 2007 after it suggested censorship went beyond restricting political content, and could affect the flow of economic and business data.

The Observatoire International des Crises website (www.communication-sensible.com) had posted an article, titled "Shanghai, mon amour," (Shanghai, my love) which warned companies about the risks of trading with China. But the report did not go down well with Chinese censors who blocked the website.

Such blocks raised concern both for those doing business with China as well as press freedom organisations. "Internet filtering is not just a problem for political activists, it also affects those who do business with China," an article published by Reporters Sans Frontières asserted. "How do you assess an investment opportunity if no reliable information about social tension, corruption or local trade unions is available? This case of censorship, affecting a very specialised site with solely French-language content, shows the government attaches as much importance to the censorship of economic data as political content."

"The free flow of information online is not only a human rights issue, it is essential to lasting economic growth and the creation of solid trade relations with other countries."

The Observatoire International des Crises (OIC) is a French organisation that produces a magazine on crisis management methods for businesses. The article that prompted China's censorship, written by Didier Heiderich, said: "The Middle Kingdom has managed to divert international investments for its benefit, obtain technologies without anything in return other that the promises arising from our own imagination, gag its dissidents - including those abroad - and ensnare the west in its golden clutches (...) Perhaps it is time to realise this before we are closed in the Chinese trap for good." [PDF]

The OIC later issued a release condemning the censorship of their website, saying it showed "the extreme fragility of freedoms" in China. "It seems to us to be more evident than ever that companies setting up, relocating or buying in China should be discerning and vigilant, acting with industrial rigour and social and environmental responsibility," the release said.

Little change

Little has changed over the past four years despite a greater influx of foreign business into China. In November 2009 the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE) released a report saying that censorship was a inhibitor of trade. "Censorship is the most important non-tariff barrier to the provision of online services, and a case might clarify the circumstances in which different forms of censorship are WTO-consistent," said the study by Brian Hindley and Hosuk Lee-Makiyama [Australian].

In respect to possible US involvement the Trade Representative's office consulted with industry groups about China's Internet policies, spokeswoman Carol Guthrie said at the time. Two groups with links to Google, the Computer & Communications Industry Association and the First Amendment Coalition, told the trade office that China's restrictions on Internet access and content discriminate against US Internet companies and online commerce.

"Cold War"

"There is a little bit of a Cold War going on here," said Michael DeGolyer, a professor of government and international studies at Hong Kong Baptist University. "This is a way of putting pressure on China in a way that is going to be popular with many countries."

But it isn't just the Internet which is restricted in China. Technology companies are "feeling less welcome and finding it increasingly difficult to do business in China", according to John Neuffer, vice-president for global policy at the Information Technology Industry Council, a lobby group. An evolving regulatory regime, targeting information technology-related products, is the chief cause of this sentiment. "Once every bit of the organisational infrastructure falls into place and every rule is implemented, there will not be much of a China market left for us," the regional head of a foreign semiconductor company claimed.

It started in 1999 when Beijing declared that all providers of encryption-related software would be required to disclose their source code. But fears were allayed the next year when the government issued a "clarification", saying the rule would only apply to products whose "core function" was encryption. Since 2006 Beijing has put in place the Office of Security Commercial Code Administration (OSCCA), responsible for supervising and certifying encryption-related products and their suppliers. This has placed Chinese institutions and companies under pressure to buy information security products only if they have domestic certification. It is a requirement that foreign suppliers often cannot satisfy.

"The stuff the Chinese government is asking for is stuff we don't give to governments," says a US executive. "If we were to comply and it became known that we disclosed our source codes to Chinese labs, it would damage our standing in other markets." [FT / tvnewswatch]

Protectionism

Such policy is as much to do with protectionism and self interest, as well as control and censorship. There is also a tit-for-tat approach by China's legislators which continually change the rules. After a long running battle between the US and China over trade tariffs [Guardian] this week saw Beijing impose additional duties on cars imported from the United States [Guardian].

Such plans will do little to build confidence in an already strained relationship between China and the US. It may also damage China's economy which is beginning to show signs of cracking.

Signs of cracks

A report on the country's Homelink property website suggests that new home prices in Beijing fell 35% in November from the month before. If true, the calibrated soft-landing intended by Chinese authorities has gone badly wrong and risks spinning out of control, the Daily Telegraph reports .

The growth of the M2 money supply slumped to 12.7% in November, the lowest in 10 years. M2 is a categorisation which represents money and "close substitutes" for money. It is a broader classification of money than M1, which does not include bank reserves. Economists use M2 when looking to quantify the amount of money in circulation and trying to explain different economic monetary conditions. As such M2 is a key economic indicator used to forecast inflation [See Wikipedia].

There are other concerns too. New lending fell 5% on a month-to-month basis and the central bank has begun to reverse its tightening policy as inflation subsides, cutting the reserve requirement for lenders for the first time since 2008 to ease liquidity strains.

The big question is whether the People's Bank of China can do any better than the US Federal Reserve or Bank of Japan at deflating a credit bubble.

Falling stocks

There are warning signs in the Chinese stock market with the Shanghai index having fallen some 30% since May. It is off 60% from its peak in 2008, almost as much in real terms as Wall Street from 1929 to 1933.

Such drops should be concerning both investors and business, some analysts are saying. "Investors are massively underestimating the risk of a hard-landing in China, and indeed other BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, China)... a 'Bloody Ridiculous Investment Concept' in my view," says Albert Edwards at Societe Generale.

"The BRICs are falling like bricks and the crises are home-blown, caused by their own boom-bust credit cycles. Industrial production is already falling in India, and Brazil will soon follow."

Interconnected world

Production and exports have fallen significantly over the past year in the new industrial power bases as demand in the US and Europe has dropped due to the credit crisis. China's industrial output grew at its slowest pace in more than two years in November and inflation dropped as the global economy weakened further. It was something that even Beijing could not hide. The country's consumer price index, a key gauge of inflation, rose 4.2% year-on-year in November, well below the 5.5% recorded in October and just above the government's 4% target and the slowest pace since September 2010 [Telegraph].

Looming trade wars

The fallout from this could result in further economic turmoil as East and West embark on a massive trade war, Albert Edwards at Societe Generale says.

"There is so much spare capacity that they [China] will start dumping goods, risking a deflation shock for the rest of the world. It no surprise that China has just imposed tariffs on imports of GM cars. I think it is highly likely that China will devalue the yuan next year, risking a trade war," he said.

Of course China is not in the quagmire of economic chaos faced by Europe and the US, but it has become reliant on its export trade to bolster its economy. China's Gross Domestic Product is worth $5,879 billion or 9.48% of the world economy, according to the World Bank. This is significant when compared to its GDP in 1998 when it stood at around $1,000 billion.

Difficult times ahead

In the coming years China will face a difficult time as it attempts to balance its own economy while trying to appease both foreign markets and growing domestic problems. In the past year the country has seen growing social unrest, especially in its industrial power bases such as Guangdong. In an attempt to push forward its rapid industrial development, China has often ridden roughshod over people's land rights. But increasingly those affected have taken to the streets to complain [BBC]. An ever widening gap between rich and poor is another troublesome issue China will face in the coming years.

Some have long predicted China will face great difficulties such as Gordon Chang who published "The Coming Collapse of China" in 2001. While China has yet to fall, Chang maintains that the the country faces some stark problems which may make the country difficult to deal with in the coming years.

But if China is collapsing, why should the West be worrying? Because "China's leaders could get very aggressive in the meantime," Chang says, in an interview with Fox News earlier this year. While he was very much pointing to China's militaristic ambitions, especially as regards Taiwan and the South China Sea, such aggressiveness may also manifest itself in other areas such as business and finance. As China's leadership attempts to protect its own financial interests there will be little room to manoeuvre for western economies who are facing their own domestic problems.

China 'is disintegrating'

"China is disintegrating in terms of its social context. We have all these protests, all these riots , all these murders. It is a really a very tough time now for China's leaders," Chang asserts.

As to whether China's dictators will fall, as seen in other countries around the world in past decades, Chang insists it is only a matter of time.

"It's going to happen in China as well, because you have people who don't agree with what the Communist Party is doing. They really do like the prosperity, but they don't buy into the ideology, and they hate the corruption and many of the other things that have gone along with progress, or what we see as progress. So China's leaders are very insecure with regard to their own people."

But with insecurity comes fear, which could turn to hostility and even war. It cannot be forgotten that World War II was rooted in problems emanating from the economic woes following the Great Depression in the early 1930s. As the world slides deeper into economic chaos, the risks of trade wars may be the least of our concerns.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Britain becomes the 'lonely man in Europe'

2011-12-11T18:46:00.001Z

Prime Minister David Cameron's veto of a European treaty may further isolate Britain and lead to economic chaos in the future, key members of the coalition government have warned.

Speaking on the political shows that dominate Sunday morning's news channels several politicians were vociferous in their criticism of the Tory party leader. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was particularly critical saying that Britain had become "the lonely man in Europe."

"I'm bitterly disappointed by the outcome of last week's summit, precisely because I think now there is a danger that the UK will be isolated and marginalised within the European Union," Clegg told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show. "I don't think that's good for jobs, in the City or elsewhere, I don't think it's good for growth, I don't think it's good for families up and down the country." [FT]

Nick Clegg said he had "told the PM this was bad for Britain," but Cameron appears not to have heeded such advice, and instead followed that of his Eurosceptic backbenchers.

Others both inside and outside the party were also airing their concerns. Former Liberal Democratic Party leader Lord Ashdown described Cameron's actions as "a catastrophically bad move." Business Secretary Vince Cable said it had put Britain "in a bad place."

"I am not criticising the Prime Minister personally," Cable told the Sunday Telegraph, but added that, "Our policy was a collective decision by the coalition. We finished in a bad place."

Meanwhile even some members of Cameron's own party seemed worried about Britain's future with pro-European Ken Clarke calling for a meeting with the PM. However, David Cameron had gone to ground over the weekend, taking refuge in his country retreat, surrounded by Eurosceptic supporters [Independent].

The strongest voices of condemnation came from the opposition with Labour's Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander calling the Prime Minister's veto a sign of weakness. "David Cameron's isolation is a sign of weakness not of strength," he said, adding, "I don't believe it makes sense to wander away from Europe."

"Britain this morning is more isolated than at any point in the 35 years of British membership of Europe," Alexander maintained. "It is not in Britain's national interest for decisions to be taken without us even at the table and it's a direct result of David Cameron spending more time negotiating with his own backbenchers than with our European partners."

Speaking on Sky News the Shadow Foreign Secretary said Cameron had "repeatedly burned bridges" over recent weeks, making any agreement between Britain and Europe less likely. But by cutting Britain off from future negotiations would not be in the country's interests, he said. "You can't negotiate Britain's position in an empty room," Alexander insisted, and said that further isolation would be bad for jobs, exports and Britain's economy.

There are fears amongst some commentators that the situation could even break up the coalition, something which Nick Clegg said would spell "economic disaster" for Britain [Daily Mail].

Nonetheless, there remains a broad sense of jubilation amongst eurosceptics. Polls conducted by at least one British newspaper showed significant support for the Prime Minister's actions. The Mail on Sunday published the results of a poll conducted by Survation which indicated that almost two-thirds of voters thought Cameron was right to back out of the EU accord, while 48% said Britain should leave the EU altogether. Survation interviewed 1,020 people online on the evening of December 9th, and on December 10th just after the summit. A poll by ComRes, carried out just before the summit for the Independent on Sunday, showed 52% of Britons thought the euro crisis provided an ideal opportunity for the UK to leave the EU [Business Week].

Many of Britain's newspapers are Eurosceptic, and there was no shortage of support for Cameron and his stance in Europe [Breitbart]. The Daily Mail lauded the Prime Minister with the headline "The Day He Put Britain First", while the Daily Express speculated Britain was "close to EU exit". The Sun was just as brazen in its anti-European stance with its headline "Up Eurs" [Sky - papers]

The international press was more focused on the economic fallout that patriotic jingoism. "Europe united" the International Herald Tribune proclaimed, "minus one" [IHT - PDF].

"Europe's worst financial crisis in decades is leading to a transformed European Union under German auspices, relying on more federalism and central oversight over national budgets to enforce greater fiscal discipline," the IHT asserted. "Twenty years to the day after European leaders signed the Maastricht Treaty, which formed the basis for the currency union that created the euro, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Europe was finally closing the circle." And outside that circle is Britain... "the lonely man in Europe".

More reports BBC / Sky News / Telegraph / Guardian / PA / Reuters / Reuters / Reuters / Washington Post

tvnewswatch, London, UK

COP17 ends with 'historic deal'

2011-12-11T13:04:00.001Z

Britain's environment secretary Chris Huhne MP has called the COP17 a success, saying that after last minute negotiations work was being made to reach a global overarching legal deal to cut emissions.

China & India have signed up to the roadmap along with the United States, but in essence nothing is legally binding. The agreement is merely a framework for the establishment of a fund to tackle environmental issues and to set up a treaty by 2020.

Asked whether he trusted China to commit itself and if the the US would play along, Huhne appeared to be non-committal. However Huhne told the BBC that he believed the current involvement by both the US, China and India was a "major step forward". But environmental groups have called the talks a failure and do not go far enough in tackling what they say is an imminent threat.

Some reports have labeled the deal as "historic", but the agreement if far removed from what is needed, environmentalists insist. The new deal means that for the first time every county in the world is committed to cutting carbon. However, the legal wording remains vague and the treaty will not come into force until 2020.

Andy Atkins from the Friends of the Earth said that there was a "massive gap between what's on the table and what needs to be done". Emissions need to be cut sharply before the planet faced "runaway climate change", Atkins claimed. Whether or not there was a legally binding agreement, there needed to be a greater move toward renewables and off of fossil fuels.

Charities also say that the so-called "Durban road map" is too weak to stop temperatures rising above the "danger point" of 2°C because it does not set tough targets for emissions cuts or a rapid enough timetable.

Major polluters will likely walk away smug that they have another eight years before they have to fully commit to cutting back on emissions. While some climate-change sceptics may be happy that the latest round of talks has been a relative failure, some are still concerned that governments will use the climate-change argument to increase taxes. The Daily Mail in suggested that taxpayers in Britain would be looking to payout £6 billion to a £64 billion fund aimed at tackling climate change. And with the world facing economic turmoil, this is a bill that will be hard to swallow [BBC / Guardian / Telegraph].

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Some hail the failure of UN climate talks

2011-12-09T12:33:00.001Z

The latest jamboree to 'save the planet' and bring together a package of deals to seal a treaty on tackling 'global warming' and 'climate change' looks set to fail, but there are some that are in a mood of celebration.

The COP17 has this year convened in Durban, South Africa bringing together leaders and interested parties to debate environmental policy. But with another looming economic crisis set to affect the globe, the potential effects of global warming seems far from the agenda of many nations.

There are some that look at the whole UNFCCC gatherings as a farce, a gravy train upon which many groups take advantage, swanning from one conference location to another. Last year's gathering was in sunny Mexico's plush resort of Cancún while previous meetings have been held in a wide range of locations including Copenhagen, Milan, Buenos Aires, New Delhi and Milan.

One could easily become sceptical in thinking that many of those involved are far less interested in 'saving the planet' than they are is seeing the world, while being funded by environmental groups, NGOs and government departments.

The carbon footprint of each COP meeting is many thousand tonnes, one that could be easily dispensed by using electronic communication and conference calls over the Internet. Of course that would not be as much fun as drinking champagne cocktails at after speech gatherings, swanning off on safari days out in between debates, or relaxing by the pool at the end of a long day discussing how to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Such meetings are frequented not only by the believers, but also the non-believers or climate change sceptics. James Inhofe an Oklohoma republican, is a strong critic of the scientific consensus that climate change is occurring as a result of human activities. Though not actually present in Durban, he delivered an address to a side event at the COP17, by way of a video presentation.

In it Inhofe gave a stark message that the attendees of the COP17 were being brushed aside by the United States. "The message from Washington to the UN delegates in South Africa this week could not be any clearer: You are being ignored," Inhofe said, "And you are being ignored by your biggest allies in the United States, that's President Obama and the Democratic leadership in the Senate."

His assessment was based on the fact that while Obama and several members of Congress travelled to Copenhagen, Denmark to attend the COP15 in 2009, this year the president remained at home, as did all members of Congress and the president's Cabinet, citing busy year-end agendas.

The COP15 failed to yield a new treaty on emissions, but a voluntary agreement on national emission-cutting targets and funding known was brokered. However, as many noted, the Copenhagen Accord was not legally binding. The COP15 was also the scene of much bickering between countries with blame being apportioned to all sides in blocking agreements.

Growing disinterest in the talks became apparent at the COP16 in Mexico as few world leaders attended, with many countries sending only representatives. Coverage of the event was also scant. Blinked and you'd have missed it, as many surely did.

And Durban looks to become yet another farce, with the US paying little interest, while China makes loud noises claiming it is ready to make deal if everyone else plays along. In such a climate it is not surprising that Infohe sees the whole idea of a legally binding treaty going up in a puff of hot air.

Expectations are low that a deal will be reached. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, speaking earlier this week, conceded that an all-encompassing climate deal "may be beyond our reach for now." Some believe such a failure will lead to the death of the Kyoto Protocol, the only binding multilateral treaty on climate change. And of course there will be those who blame either side for such a failure, be it China or the US.

But there are others who will be celebrating the collapse of another expensive round of talks. Infohe, for one, seemed almost ecstatic at the prospect of the talks failing. "Tossing out any remote possibility of a UN global warming treaty is one of the most important things we can do for the economy," the senator said in his video address.

"During the tough economic times people are facing, this victory is especially important today as families around America and around the world continue to face really tough economic times," Inhofe continued.

"You should know that global warming sceptics everywhere wish we could be with you celebrating the final nail in the coffin on location in South Africa," he said. But Inhofe remains angered that Obama's administration is still using the climate change argument to impose regulations which will hit many in their pocket.

"Even though cap and trade regulation is gone done and dead forever, President Obama is going full force to pass these destructive regulations through the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] … so it's not over yet" [Video via LiveLeak / YouTube]

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Hackers strike at Facebook founder

2011-12-08T20:30:00.001Z

How safe is your privacy on Facebook? Not very safe at all it appears, given that hackers have managed to acquire and post a series of private pictures of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

The images included that of Zuckerberg preparing food with his girlfriend Priscilla Chan, playing with a pet dog, holding a chicken by the leg and meeting US President Barack Obama.

The hackers are believed to have exploited a bug related to tools designed to allow users report inappropriate images. A total of 14 pictures were posted online with the headline "It's time to fix those security flaws Facebook" [BBC].

The glitch was said to have been fixed some hours later [CBS], but the news will further dent the image of Facebook's hold on users' privacy.

The embarrassing incident comes less than a week after the Federal Trade Commission criticized changes made to Facebook's privacy settings two years ago. It accused the social network of deceptive practices and demanded it subject itself to regular audits over the next 20 years, something which Facebook relented.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

UK: Vehicles hit by rocks in copycat attacks

2011-12-06T21:40:00.001Z

Two vehicles have been struck by objects hurled from bridges in what appear to be copycat attacks. Both vehicles were travelling on the M8 in Scotland and comes only days after two similar incidents in the south of England.

On Saturday at around 19:50, a car travelling along the M8 was struck on the roof after what is described as a large object was thrown from the B792 Blackburn to Bathgate bridge. And on Monday evening at 19:10 a van's windscreen was smashed after it was targeted in the same location.

Police have appealed for witnesses and are warning drivers to be alert when driving under bridges. Insp Simon Bradshaw, of Lothian and Borders Police, described the incidents as "mindless vandalism" which could have resulted in "far more serious consequences."

"The M8 is Scotland's busiest motorway, so these incidents could potentially have caused multiple fatalities," he said [BBC].

The attacks on the M8 come after similar attacks on the A12 in Essex. In those attacks one woman woman was seriously injured while another car driver escaped with minor injuries [BBC]. Essex police say they are treating the incidents as attempted murder and are looking into similar incidents over the past few years [Daily Mail].

While such attacks are rare, the recent spate of attacks will be alarming for those driving under bridges. No driver is immune from such attacks. In 1997 the actor Sean Connery became the victim when his Range Rover was hit by a brick shattering his windscreen. The actor was in a state of shock but otherwise uninjured [Link].

There have been deaths resulting from such incidents. In 1985 two Welsh miners were jailed for murder after they were found guilty of throwing an 18 Kg concrete block from a bridge onto a taxi belonging to David Wilkie. While the attack was likely politically motivated given that Wilkie was driving a strike breaking miner to his workplace, the attack caused widespread revulsion. Dean Hancock and Russell Shankland were found guilty of murder but on appeal this was later reduced to manslaughter and their life sentences were replaced with eight-year prison terms [BBC].

Bricks and concrete are not the only objects that have been aimed at cars. On the 30th September 2000 a 19-year-old female drive narrowly escaped serious injury after a pair of garden shears were thrown from a bridge on the A1089 in Essex and became embedded in her windscreen [pictured] [Link / Link].

tvnewswatch

Scepticism as China kicks of the COP17

2011-12-06T01:59:00.001Z

China kicked off the proceedings at the COP17 climate change talks in Durban, South Africa on Monday, but there was an air of scepticism and more questions than answers after the claim that China would accept a legally binding agreement to reduce carbon emissions.

China's chief negotiator, Xie Zhenhua, speaking through a translator, made an apparent dig at the US and other western countries in his opening speech, saying, "It's time for us to see who is acting in a responsible way to deal with the common challenge of human beings."

While China has relatively low CO2 emissions per capita, as a developing nation it is fast becoming the largest biggest emitter of so-called greenhouse gases.

Xie said China would accept a legally binding agreement after 2020 if other countries met five conditions. These conditions reflect existing agreements made under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and include undertaking a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol; honouring commitments to the $100-billion-a-year Green Climate Fund, acting on agreements made at COP16 last year; and respecting the notion that countries have different responsibilities depending on their capacity to cut emissions.

He said China had taken domestic action to address climate change and pointed out that the country plans to reduce its emissions by 17% over the next five years through industrial restructuring, changing its energy mix and following a low carbon development plan. It has also set itself the target of reducing its carbon intensity by between 40% and 45% over 2005 levels by 2020.

Xie insisted China was showing that it was ready to work with the rest of the world to address the global challenge of climate change. But there was scepticism from some at the latest gathering of delegates for another round of discussions concerning global climate change.

EU lead negotiator Arthur Runge-Metzger said "the devil is in the detail" and questioned what China meant by "legally binding".

"Legally binding could mean commitments only for one part of the world and not for the other," Runge-Metzger said, adding that China's statement "requires negotiators to drill down and look at what it really means."

Runge-Metzger's concerns were raised partly due to the fact that it is unusual for negotiators to reveal their final position before the end of the conference.

Despite China's apparent positive move, the US delegation said there was nothing significant or new in Xie's statement. Nonetheless, Todd Stern, the US special envoy for climate change said any future legally binding agreement in future would have to be agreed by all of the major economies, including China, which would have to abide by the stated obligations and commitments.

Currently, only developed nations are required to make emissions cuts while developing nations, including China, India and South Africa, need only take voluntary steps to reduce emissions.

With the US seeing China as a significant emitter, a legally binding agreement seems unlikely. According to Stern, China's emissions from its energy sector are 70% greater than the United States. A large gap between the two major economies.

The US is seen as "obstructionist" by some observers, blocking movement on key decisions concerning long-term finance for developing countries coping with the repercussions of climate change. However, China, too, with a strong economy, and with a large axe to wield, is seen as growing increasingly arrogant and assertive.

Many Chinese NGOs and representatives are present at the COP17 helping to influence other delegates on China's achievements in tackling CO2 emissions.

But while it cannot be denied that China is making efforts in reducing emissions it has to be noted that many of China's cities experience some of the worst levels of pollution seen on the planet.

It may not be lost on some that China's capital, for example, was seeing pollution levels measuring as Hazardous by the air monitoring station on the US Embassy in Beijing [@BeijingAir]. Even China's media acknowledges that the heavy smog experienced in Beijing and other cities may account for rising cancer levels [China Daily].

Twelve heads of state and 130 ministers are set to attend the high level segment of the conference, which begins proper on Tuesday [FT / Independent].

tvnewswatch

Burning phones and flaming printers

2011-12-04T17:55:00.001Z

Some consumers often have the burning desire to get the latest device, whether it's the newly released Apple iPhone or a state-of-the-art network printer. But some have found the hottest device on the market is a little too hot, literally.

Network printer fire risk

Researchers in the United States have discovered a security flaw that could enable hackers to take over network connected Hewlett Packard LaserJet printers enabling them to steal data and even issue commands that could cause it to overheat or catch fire.

The findings were first published by MSNBC in a report that claimed millions of businesses, consumers and even government agencies were at risk from a new breed of computer security flaws. According to the report, weaknesses lie in the authentication process for updating the firmware. The system can apparently be fooled to accept modified firmware from anyone with access to the device.

HP have called the reporting as "sensational and inaccurate" but admits it has discovered a flaw. However the company says it has yet to receive any customer complaints regarding their printers being hacked or bursting into flames. In addition HP say their printers have fail-safe mechanism that will prevent extreme overheating of components or a fire [Digital Journal].

Burning smartphones

But there are other reports that confirm owners of some smartphones are having bigger issues. Techradar reported that the owner of a Samsung Galaxy S" received burns after the phone caught fire in his pocket.

The report came just days after an iPhone 4 handset had to be 'extinguished' on an aeroplane. The smartphone handset is said to have glowed red and emitted a "significant amount" of dense smoke after the Regional Express flight from Lismore in Australia landed in Sydney. Flight attendants extinguished the fire according to reports [Mirror].

Brazilian news reports also highlighted another apparent problem with someone's iPhone which is said to have exploded while charging. Apple did not immediately respond to the Brazilian reports, though a Apple spokeswoman said the company was looking forward to working with the investigators concerning the incident aboard the Regional Express flight [SMH / Gadget Helpline].

Advice

High powered Lithium batteries do pose a fire risk if shorted or even overcharged, though internal circuitry should prevent such an occurrence. The NERC [Natural Environment Research Council] has published a document which advises on several dangers posed by Lithium batteries [PDF].

"There are several types of lithium batteries but they are all high energy power sources and all are potentially hazardous," the NERC says. "The risks are not only theoretical; there have been several potentially serious incidents involving these types of batteries."

While acknowledging there was only "a small risk of serious malfunction", the NERC advises that given a number of previous recalls, the risks should not be taken lightly.

It says that as well as following the manufacturer's recommendations when using electrical equipment containing lithium batteries, users should also follow a number of other steps. In particular batteries should not be exposed to high temperatures including direct sunlight and it is advised that rechargeable lithium batteries should not be left unattended while recharging.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Cyber security in headlines again

2011-12-04T16:50:00.001Z

Cyber security has filled the technology news headlines over the last week. There were heightened concerns after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told smartphone and email users they were "all screwed", and that there were companies openly selling software that allows users to change SMS content, track mobile device locations and steal email contacts of targeted individuals [AP / ZDNet / Register].

The revelations were published on The Spyfiles a relaunch of the Wikileaks website which shut down last month over funding issues. While some people may not be unduly concerned by the claims, it may ring alarm bells in some quarters where privacy and secrecy is an issue.

IP threat

"International surveillance companies are based in the more technologically sophisticated countries, and they sell their technology on to every country of the world. This industry is, in practice, unregulated," Wikileaks said in a statement.

Governments have been spying on its citizens and other countries for years, but the open availability of such technology may open a bigger can of worms. Companies arre finding it increasingly difficult to retain their grip on intellectual property, or IP.

For years some countries have churned out fake copies of Gucci handbags, Adidas clothing and other name-brand products. Despite continued protests by the companies concerned, the practices continue. At the Silk Market department store in Beijing fake brand labels are openly on display despite claims by authorities they are cleaning up the practice. Items of clothing, such as Abercrombe, Adidas, North Face and Columbia, are often available at a tenth of the price the real item would cost. And given such items are made in China anyway, many suspect they are coming from the same factory but are passing out the backdoor.

Counterfeiting

It is possible that while security might be tight at the many factories manufacturing items such as the Apple iPhone, here too backdoors might exist where key components slip out.

The fake electronics market has grown significantly in China and across Asia as a whole in the last few years. Shanzhai [山寨] products as they are known in China, are very easily available and some are so well made there is often concern amongst consumers who opt to purchasing the real thing.

In fact of the 1.15 billion cell phones sold worldwide in 2007, according to data provided by the Chinese government, 150 million "Shanzhai" cell phones were sold in the same year, accounting for more than one tenth of global sales.

With China now the largest smartphone market, the number of Shanzhai phones is likely to rise [Mashable]. At Zhongguancun, a technology market in Beijing, retailers are far from shy in offering customers counterfeit products. On enquiring about the price of a Samsung Galaxy tablet one retailer gave tvnewswatch two prices. "What one do you want, the real or the fake?" he asked. The real Samsung Galaxy Tablet retailed at 3,750 RMB [£350 / $577] the fake at 2,750 RMB [£257 / $423]. In the UK the device retails at £399, though it can be obtained for free on a 24 month contract [giving 2GB data p/m] of £32 with some mobile carriers.

With the very real prospect that company data is less secure, the theft of intellectual property is likely to rise and with it the manufacture of more counterfeit products.

Personal privacy

The risks to personal privacy may also concern some individuals too. Criminal networks are just as likely to be interested in building up a database of individuals as states and governments.

Such a data base of information can be used for identity theft, which may lead in turn to financial implications for the individuals concerned.

But it isn't just hackers and unscrupulous organisation that are responsible for delving into people's data and passing it on. This week Facebook was once again in the news for breaking promises over privacy.

The world's largest social network this week settled a complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission over its privacy policies. Facebook, which has more than 800 million users, agreed to change the way it uses and shares personal information with the public and advertisers.

Facebook failed users

A change in privacy settings in 2009 allowed the company to publicize user data such as age, gender, picture and location. This caused a wave of complaints that resulted in the FTC settlement claiming that Facebook failed to keep its privacy promises.

Facebook had also claimed that once an account was deactivated the content, information, pictures and video within it would not be accessible when in fact it was. It also claimed to have a "verified apps" policy to ensure third-party applications were secure when it did not, and it told users that their data would not be shared with advertisers when that too was false. In fact it is claimed such information was usually shared without the consent of the customer.

Under the proposed settlement, Facebook would not be allowed to make changes to its policies regarding the use of personal data without seeking approval from its members, something it promised to do from the start. The company must also obtain periodic reviews of its privacy policies by independent auditors for the next 20 years.

This week's settlement is part of a broader US government push to hold companies more accountable and increase transparency over the collection of personal information [FT].

For Facebook it is part of an effort to resolve legal issues before its long-awaited initial public offering in the first half of 2012. The company is considering valuing itself at $100 billion and raising $10 billion from the IPO. The public offering would be the largest by any technology or Internet company. Google's 2004 IPO of $1.9 billion valued the company at $23 billion when it passed 500 shareholders [FT].

Google also criticized

Google too has worried privacy advocates. When it launched Google Buzz in February 2010 the company faced much criticism over its failure to address certain privacy concerns. Buzz enabled users to choose to share links, photos, videos, status messages and comments publicly with the world or privately to a group of friends, The posts would be displayed in a timeline accessible via a users Gmail account.

One feature in particular that was widely criticized as a severe privacy flaw was that by default Google Buzz publicly disclosed, on a user's Google profile, a list of the names of Gmail contacts that the user had most frequently emailed or chatted with. Users who failed to disable this feature, or failed to realize that they had to, could have revealed sensitive information about themselves and their contacts. This was later adjusted so that users had to explicitly add information that they wanted to be public. But a little over 18 months later Google Buzz was retired as the search giant attempted to entice people into its new social media venture, Google+.

Risks of sharing

While all these social media tools are undoubtedly fun to use, and bring many benefits, there are growing concerns over how much people are revealing about themselves.

And while a user may reveal only a little about themselves on one social network such as Twitter, they may divulge much more in Facebook or LinkedIn which are seen as more private, secure or selective, in terms of whom data is shared.

As people use the Internet increasing to search for employment the amount of data which a job seeker might post online could be extensive. Of course data can be secured and hidden from public search, but in so doing it may also be hidden from potential employers. A LinkedIn profile can be reduced to just a few lines in a public search if desired, making only the full profile available to linked users. But in so doing, an employer may simply browse past the otherwise qualified candidate.

'Friends' or not

Facebook is of course a different type of network, which may contain information which one would likely only share with friends rather than potential or actual employers. But casual accepting of so-called friends on Facebook can lead to awkward issues concerning privacy. After all some 'Friends' are indeed real friends, perhaps people one has known for many years. There are others who are merely acquaintances, people one may have just met in the past or even via other social networking sites.

Accepting a certain 'Friend request' can be a difficult choice sometimes. Twitter is relatively anonymous, the only data given away is perhaps the profiling which might be gleaned through what is posted. But accepting someone as a friend in LinkedIn, Facebook or Foursquare could open the door to many problems.

Facebook has recently rolled out a way of sharing data with only certain friends, a response to the way in which Google+ works through its organising of contacts as Circles. Diaspora which recently launched by invitation only, also follows a similar framework as Google+, though due to its late arrival on the social networking scene it may fade away as the Google and Facebook do battle.

Users also to blame

It is a minefield for the average Internet user however, and many users get it wrong. While Facebook has admitted it has it has "made a bunch of mistakes", so too have its customers.

It may be a statement of the obvious, but Facebook is on the Internet, and the Internet's main function is to distribute information, and as such Facebook, nor anything else on the Internet can be considered truly private. Secure vaults of data in the cloud are private, though even those could be hacked.

Sharing on Facebook amongst friends, can go much further. A photo shared with "friends only" is stored on dozens of Facebook servers around the globe, and may also lodged itself into each of those friends' browser caches. Furthermore, any of those "friends" is able to grab a screenshot of that image and spread it to the wider world, should they so choose. At best, the "privacy controls" on Facebook, or even Google+, should be regarded as aspirational, the most optimistic scenario for shared data [Slate].

With or without Facebook...

There are some who do not use Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Google+, MySpace and the dozens of other social networking platforms. For the millions that don't blog or tweet there are millions of others that do. It is relatively easy to cut off the shackles of Facebook and other such tools, but for some it is a lifeline and a connection between friends.

As with so many other things, data, like house keys, passport and money, need to be kept safe. Some things might be shared, relatively safely, though it amounts to trust. A shared photo may not be passed on, as might be the case of a car shared with a good friend. But there is the risk it may be shared with a great many more people than was intended.

In fact some sharing may even land a person in jail. This year saw two people imprisoned after they attempted to encourage people to riot in England by setting up a Facebook page. And in Thailand simply hitting the 'Like' button may bring down the full force of the law. Minister of Information and Communication Technology Anudith Nakornthap said Tuesday that Facebook users who "share" or "like" content that insults the Thai monarchy are committing a crime, and could face up to 15 years behind bars [Washington Post].

Different countries apply different restrictions on what individuals may post online and even what social networks may be accessed. China has some of the tightest regulations with many of the familiar networks like Twitter, Facebook and Google+ blocked, though it does have a growing number of its own homegrown sites which are heavily censored.

But the trend to censor content is going beyond the borders of totalitarian states. In Europe, lawmakers are also looking as setting the rules on how social networks are governed across the 27 member states [NYT].

There was irony too as Wikileaks revealed security risks in cyberspace and social networks were criticized over privacy. This week saw Britain's security agency use social networks to attract new talent. The GCHQ used Twitter and other platforms to launch a recruitment campaign by way of a special test [BBC].

Social networking and cyber security is about to become more complicated than ever before.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Chancellor fails to boost confidence

2011-11-30T10:48:00.001Z

The UK chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne gave his autumn statement Tuesday and painted a bleak picture concerning the state of the British economy [BBC - Key points / Full statement PDF]. His address before parliament did little to boost confidence in the country where austerity measures are already biting hard and the slowdown of the economy is costing families an average of £920 more per year. Sir Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, has already warned that growth has been heavily affected by domestic problems as well as the European debt crisis. And with public strikes planned over the coming weeks it looks like a bleak winter of discontent ahead.

Small businesses squeezed

One main focus is the small business which has been severely affected by the current economic crisis. While many small businesses and sole traders are trying to pay off their current debts, those that are seeking financial help are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain loans from banks. "They don't want to lend money to small businesses," one frustrated owner of a struggling manufacturer told Sky News.

More austerity measures

Chief Economist at Standard Chartered, Gerard Lyons speaking on Sky News said that unemployment, particularly amongst the youth, need to be tackled. But the problems being experienced by Britain weren't all of the government's making. "He didn't have much room for manoeuvre" after "inheriting the debt crisis" from the previous administration, Lyons said.

Opposition leader Ed Miliband, avoided the issue of his party being to blame for the current crisis, and called on the coalition government to cut VAT, boost employment and get borrowing down over the medium term. "His plan has failed," Miliband insisted.

Sky News correspondent Adam Bolton speculated that austerity measures were likely to last at least two years. On the BBC there were some slightly upbeat reports with some success stories in Merseyside. But here too, business owners were asking for credit easing and help with getting credit.

Helping small businesses

Amongst plans to help boost the UK economy the chancellor spoke of helping smaller businesses. In order to make Britain more competitive George Osborne also announced plans to build the country's infrastructure, rolling out schemes for new roads, bridges and broadband Internet connections.

He committed to the capping of public transport fares at 1% above RPI and limiting fuel duty to 3 pence. But he failed to bring relief for thousand of owners of vans, 4x4s and lorries who face being pushed off the road this coming January when London implements the next phase of the Low Emission Zone.

Thousands affected by LEZ

There is little more than a month left until new Low Emission Zone [LEZ] is introduced, and new research by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders [SMMT] indicates that of the 3.57 million vans on UK roads at the end of 2010, some 31.1% were not eligible for London's new LEZ that comes into effect on 3 January 2012.

More surprising is the fact that London exceeded the national average with 37% of vans, almost 85,000, not meeting the emission standards.

Many of these vans belong to sole traders and small businesses who can ill afford to replace them, or even buy a diesel particulate filter which can cost in excess of £1,500, sometimes more than the value of the vehicle itself.

Advocates of the LEZ maintain that Londoners would see cleaner air and that those that upgrade to a new vehicle would see savings in fuel consumption. "It's not only emissions that improve when owners and operators upgrade, fuel efficiency also gets better, returning real-world benefits on top of the LEZ savings," Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive, says [SMMT].

Economic cost

But a slight improvement in air quality will come at a cost to the economy as small business fold. In the current economic crisis many smaller businesses are already struggling. While some may already be facing difficulty paying off debts, the role out of the LEZ has thrown another financial burden to companies that are finding it difficult to obtain credit.

A struggling businesses will have great difficulty persuading banks to increase loans for a new vehicle, and sole traders may face even more problems in getting financial help.

Even taking the cheaper option of having a filter fitted will be costly. While the vehicle may pass a required emissions test, there is no guarantee. And a failure would be a death knell to those forking out for such modifications. Filters may make a vehicle compliant but it may also create further problems for vehicle owners.

Filter reduces efficiency

Diesel Particulate Filters [DPF] is an exhaust filter designed to reduce particle matter from the environment. The DPF is a system consisting of a filter and a complex monitoring and maintenance system, to keep the filter operating correctly. The filter itself is made of a special catalyst which, the exhaust from the engine is forced through, before leaving the tail pipe.

The filter collects the particle matter. As the matter accumulates exhaust pressure builds up behind the filter. The vehicle computer monitors the pressure, and when it determines the filter is clogged it injects raw diesel fuel into the exhaust system. Which ignites in the filter and re-gens or burns the particulate matter out. This re-gen cleaning cycle happens from every 160-500 km and lasts from 15-45 minutes. This re-gen cleaning cycle, only happens when vehicle is at speeds above 45 mph.

Using such a filter can reduce engine power because of the restriction in the exhaust caused by the filter. Furthermore in can reduce fuel economy, because of lower engine performance, and wasted fuel used in re-gen. Increased wear and tear can result, caused by soot backing up into the turbo and EGR [Exhaust Gas Recirculation] and diesel in the oil. During re-gen fuel is injected into the engine during the exhaust stroke and small amounts of this fuel leaks past the piston and into the engine oil, thus diluting the oil. This in turn reduces the oil's ability to lubricate the engine properly, causing extra wear and reducing engine life, though this might be prevented by replacing the oil after every 1600 km [StayMobile].

Carbon footprints

Aside the arguments concerning financial cost, the LEZ will do very little to improve the environment. The fitting of a filter which makes a vehicle less economical and reduces the life of the engine, is hardly an attractive offer, especially given the cost of having it fitted. And on the face of it, such a proposal is far from green.

There might be a small boost to manufacturers of filters, but the carbon footprint left behind by retro-fitted vehicles using more fuel is questionably higher than if they had not been adapted.

The carbon footprint of scrapping an otherwise perfectly good vehicle to be replaced by another new vehicle is also questionable.

London's air quality is exceedingly good, especially compared to other cities around the world. Even the LondonAir website which publishes hourly figures concerning air pollution in the capital, rarely measures above 'Low' levels of pollution. So for owners of small trucks and vans the new restrictions will seem all the more unfair.

In broad terms the chancellor's proposals at dealing with the economy weren't as bad as many had speculated. Although there is relief for some groups, the country is likely to feel significantly poorer in the coming months. But some individuals and companies will be harder hit than others. Of course it could be a lot worse with Mervyn King warning of a disaster should the Eurozone collapse. "What we have to do is to be ready and prepared with contingency plans and to make sure that as far as possible our banking system is as robust as possible to withstand whatever shocks that come from the Eurozone," King said Monday [Bloomberg]. Osborne, too warned of the shock to the economy if Europe failed [BBC]. European leaders Angela Merkel and Nicholas Sarkozy are resolved not to let that happen as they struggle to keep the member states together. But this week all eyes were on Britain.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Confusion over cyberattack on US water plant

2011-11-25T13:03:00.001Z

Federal investigators have concluded that a burned out pump at an Illinois water treatment facility was not caused by foreign hacking, the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday.

Illinois hit the headlines in America last Friday after it was suggested that the water plant may have been the subject of a cyberattack originating from Russia. But the denials have raised more questions than answers in the cyber security community.

Initial reports

CNN was just one of a number of broadcasters which ran with the story, and asked whether electricity, gas and telecommunications infrastructure was safe from hackers [CNN video].

Writing on his blog on Thursday 17th November, Joe Weiss, a noted cyber security expert, had disclosed the possible cyberattack claiming he had obtained an STIC [State Terrorism & Intelligence Center] report detailing a possible intrusion. The report, dated November 10th and titled "Public Water District Cyber Intrusion," gave details of the alleged cyberattack culminating in the "burnout of a water pump." [The Verge]

"No malicious traffic"

But one week on, the Department of Homeland Security [DHS] and the FBI said the failure was not due to a cyberattack. In an emailed statement to news organisations, DHS spokesman Chris Ortman said, "DHS and FBI have concluded that there was no malicious traffic from Russia or any foreign entities, as previously reported."

Another DHS cybersecurity official, who spoke privately because he was not authorized to give interviews, said that while the company had some "pretty good logs" [of traffic in its system] there were likely to be "many reasons for a motor or pump to burn out." [MSNBC / CNET]

Texas plant also investigated

However the Illinois plant was not the only facility being investigated. US investigators said they were looking into claims that a hacker broke into computers at a Texas water system. The investigation was prompted after a hacker who goes by the handle "pr0f" had published schematic diagrams that appeared to be of facilities from the South Houston water system on a website known as Pastebin.com sometime on Friday [18th November]. Shauna Dunlap, a special agent with the FBI's Houston Division, said on Tuesday that the DHS was also assisting with the investigation.

Security concerns

Cybersecurity experts have warned for years that parts of the US critical infrastructure, particularly water and electrical plants, have only rudimentary defences against hackers. The important Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition [SCADA] systems which operate the plants is the focus of investigators. And cyber experts are advising companies to boost their security.

Stewart Baker, a cyber expert and DHS veteran, says that many companies often left default user names and passwords in place when they bought software, leaving their systems wide open to hackers.

While the FBI and DHS have said hackers were not involved in the Illinois incident, utility companies should not be complacent, Weiss and others warn. In his 17th of November blogpost, Weiss outlines a number of key concerns. Even following the denial by the FBI and DHS concerning hacking claims, Weiss maintains that a number of issues still need to be addressed. In a blogpost published 22nd November, Weiss says information needs to be disseminated in a more timely manner and that security still needs to be tightened.

Contradictory reports

Weiss also raises the question concerning contradictory reports being disseminated by authorities. The "DHS statement released recently appears to conflict with the STIC report and its positive statements that an event had occurred," Weiss says. "This begs the question why two government agencies disagree over whether a cyber event that damaged equipment had occurred at a water utility."

There will be some skepticism and confusion in the cyber security community due to the contradictory reports. Some may not even be aware of the dismissal by authorities concerning the case. Reports of the alleged hacking gained far more attention than the denial. While CNN reported on the apparent cyberattack, there was no prominent follow up report. The BBC, AFP and a number of other websites did publish the story, but many may well have missed it. As such there may be many who still believe Russian hackers attacked a US water plant. True or not, cyberattacks need to be taken seriously, and individuals and companies need to bolster their security to counter the very real threat.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Safety concerns after wind rips through Beijing airport

2011-11-25T01:27:00.001Z

Beijing International Airport is open for business again after high winds ripped a hole in the roof of the iconic building. But the incident has once again raised concerns over health and safety in China's infrastructure.

The incident occurred at around 20:30 local time on Tuesday as winds tore a hole in the roof and sent debris over a wide area. Passengers said they saw white and yellow foam flying through the air outside Terminal 3.

"Though I stood pretty far away, I could see a part of the roof was torn open," one passenger told the China Daily. "The white foam composite was everywhere, even on the runway."

Designed by British architect Norman Foster and Beijing Architectural Design and Research Institute, T3 was opened in 2008. And there are concerns that design floors might exist. Foster was also behind the design of the Millennium Bridge in London which itself had to undergo modifications after it was found to oscillate wildly when opened to pedestrians.

Authorities said the damage occurred during gusts of wind in excess of 85 km/h, but was repaired quickly and flights on Wednesday were not disrupted.

It is the second such incident to strike the terminal. Last December gusts of around 87 km/h were responsible for tearing holes in two parts of the roof. About 200 square metres of the 320,000 square metre roof was damaged.

According to reports, more than 200 delayed and 28 flights were cancelled following Tuesday's incident, though authorities said heavy snow in other parts of the country contributed to the delays.

Ding Jiangang, deputy head of the capital airport's expansion project command, is on record as saying the roof at Beijing's main airport was well able to withstand wind speeds far in excess of those seen in Tuesday's or last December's incidents. And others involved in the design insist that the structural design is not flawed.

Shao Weiping, executive chief architect of Beijing Architectural Design and Research Institute, said, "While architects designed the general look of T3, suppliers made special designs to make sure the metal panels used on the roof could resist strong winds." Weiping who had a role in designing T3, said, "The metal roof technology used to build T3 was a mature one that has stood tests for more than 20 years."

However he raised concerns that a quality-related issue may be to blame. Some Chinese media has also suggested the rush to complete the airport for the 2008 Olympics may also have compromised safety.

While the damage was relatively minor, it will once again raise some difficult questions for authorities following a spate of incidents this year blamed on poor maintenance or shoddy construction.

In July this year an 11 year old boy died and several others were injured after an escalator on a Beijing subway suddenly went into reverse [tvnewswatch]. And only days later 40 people were killed in a high speed train crash [tvnewswatch / Wikipedia].

Further reports: WSJ / China Daily / Southcn [Chinese] / Nanyang [Chinese]

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Google Wave to join list of retired products

2011-11-24T12:26:00.001Z

This morning Google Wave users received an email informing them that the service will be shut down soon and that any 'Waves' in their account should be downloaded.

Google Wave which started life in 2009 was hung out to dry within 3 months of its public release in May 2010 with the search giant ending support for the site, though there was no official statement as to whether the service would be closed altogether. But today Google has finally announced it will pull the plug on the platform which was billed as email reinvented [BBC].

Long list of dead products

It is not the only service that is being retired however. Earlier this year Google Power Meter was closed and Google Health is set to be closed in January 2012. Knol, Google Gears and Google Friends Connect will also join an ever growing list of failed Google projects. Google Bookmarks List, a service which allowed users to share bookmarks with friends, will also be dumped because they did not have the "impact" the company had hoped for.

Google said in a blogpost that its aim is "to build a simpler, more intuitive, truly beautiful Google user experience", however there are concerns amongst some observers that the strategy might discourage users from signing up to new services.

"cooking spaghetti"

The company has come under criticism from some of its major rivals recently with Microsoft accusing the company of failing to properly support its customers. In a blogpost entitled "Google Graveyard Spooks Customers," Tom Rizzo, director of Microsoft Office 365, said, "Google's product management process is like cooking spaghetti… Its products are like spaghetti, Google throws them up against the wall to see if they stick."

"In attempting to speed products to market, Google has rolled out poorly planned products and racked up a long list of failures," Rizzo said, who doubts Google's commitment to its new baby Google+.

No clear vision

With Wave, Buzz and Aardvark all retired, Rizzo suggests the future of Google+ is shaky at best. "In cancelling this group of social media-like services, it is clear that Google is not in tune with the market needs and does not have a product roadmap and clear vision for productivity for their business customers," he says.

"Given the lack of proper IT safeguards, I just can't see how a business can take the risk of using Google tools…The burials of de-supported products are more examples of what is convenient for Google and not good for business…If I were running a business using web-based productivity tools from Google, learning about their discontinuation of support for older browsers would make my hair stand on end." [Telegraph / Technet / inc.com]

Complaints

There have already been concerns from some who use Picasa Web to store photos online after Google tied the service into Google+. Google has changed the way folders or pictures may be shared with others if people have adopted Google+, and name tagging automatically posts the picture to Google+, making other photos in the same folder accessible to the person tagged.

Some Google Health users are equally annoyed that they will no longer be able to use the online service. While some never signed up due to privacy concerns, the site enabled people to track their medical history and share with doctors if necessary. Ironically Google suggests Microsoft's Health Vault as an alternative for users who wish to store their medical data online.

Google Video users were forced to transfer their content to YouTube, or download their videos, after the company decided to shut down that part of its empire last year.

While users of Gmail and Google Docs might feel secure, for now, the latest series of retirements do raise some worries over what Google will dump next.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Muddy Waters website hacked in likely revenge attack

2011-11-23T01:13:00.001Z

The website of Muddy Waters LLC, a research firm headed by short-seller Carson Block has been brought down by hackers a day after Block accused Chinese advertising firm Media Focus Holding Ltd. of overstating the number of LCD advertising screens it had [Financial Post].

Muddy Waters has criticised several Chinese companies this year, accusing them of cooking their books and misleading investors. One of the firms targeted is Sino-Forest, a Chinese-Canadian forestry firm which is continuing to deal with the fallout after being accused of overstating its forestry holdings earlier this year. In June, the company released highly critical report on Sino-Forest, which resulted in the company's stock value nosediving [Financial Post].

While there is no immediate word on who hacked Muddy Waters' website there will be strong suspicions that it is a revenge attack after Focus Media's stock fell 39% yesterday following the critical report released by the research firm [Business Insider].

As for Muddy Waters themselves they have only acknowledged the hack via message on their website which reads: "MW regrets that our site has been hacked. We will bring it up as soon as possible. FMCN [Focus Media Holding Limited] is still a Strong Sell" [CNBC / WSJ].

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Balancing economy while tackling city pollution

2011-11-22T15:35:00.001Z

No major city in the world is free of pollution of some kind. Even cities like Amsterdam which are reliant on trams, buses and bicycles have the feint smells of exhaust fumes wafting through the air. However some cities are more heavily shrouded in a chemical cloud than others and what my be acceptable in one location is considered unacceptable elsewhere. But tackling pollution can come at a bigger cost to the economy, pricing motorists off the road and taxing businesses into the ground.

Tightening regulations

In many European cities local authorities have tightened regulations over the past few years in an attempt to reduce particle and chemical emissions. In London, for instance, the so-called congestion charge was implemented in order to dissuade motorists from entering the city, thus cutting pollution. While some have argued that the congestion charge is little more than an extra tax on motorists, environmental campaigners maintain the policy has helped reduce pollution levels.

And further restrictions are on their way. In January 2012 many older diesel vehicles will be forced off the road unless their owners fit special filters costing up to £2,500. The Low Emission Zone extends beyond central London to all the surrounding boroughs and is an attempt to reduce pollution further still. While applauded by environmentalists, the new law is seen as overkill especially given London's low pollution levels.

Differing standards

The London Air website publishes hourly readings of pollution levels across the metropolis. The site, run by King's College, uses data picked up fro monitoring stations all over London. Levels rarely exceed what is considered 'Low', the effects of which it says "are unlikely to be noticed even by individuals who know they are sensitive to air pollutants". There have been occasional 'Moderate' readings however. In November this year PM10 particulate levels reached a level considered to have "mild effects" on some individuals but was "unlikely to require action".

Such readings might raise some anxiety in a city where pollution is relatively low. But London's pollution levels are nothing compared to some cities in the world.

Smog or fog?

London has been shrouded in fog in recent days, disrupting flights and making driving difficult. Beijing too has been covered in an opaque blanket of mist in the past few days. But Beijing is not experiencing wintry weather conditions. This is not fog, as some might think looking across the city landscape. This is a smog of chemical pollution which environmentalists in the west would only have nightmares about.

The local government also measures the pollution levels which it publishes daily on its website. Just as in London it uses a PM10 scale. In the past 30 days the Ministry of Environment measured readings ranging between 27, which it rates as 'Excellent', and 147 described as 'Minor Contamination'. However the latter conditions do not tally with reading posted by the US Embassy via its @BeijingAir Twitter feed. Using monitoring equipment installed on the roof of the US Embassy in Beijing, there is a marked difference between data published by the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center (BMEMC) and @BeijingAir. In the past month the US monitoring system has measured pollution levels way above what ever be acceptable in Europe of the US. Despite using a slightly different system where it measures smaller particles, the discrepancy between official data and the US data is more than a little concerning [CNN].

Hazardous Air

The BMEMC measured recent levels of pollution at 147 and described the air quality as 'Minor Contamination'. However, the USA Embassy saw levels exceeding its cut-off point of 500 and describing the air as 'Hazardous'.

In fact over the past two months the number of Hazardous air days has increased dramatically. And even on days where pollution levels drop to a mere 'Unhealthy', it is more than noticeable. In fact some Foreign doctors suggest that breathing Beijing's air is as damaging to the lungs as smoking one packet of cigarettes every day. An exaggeration perhaps? Maybe, but when you find yourself gagging on some days in the heavy smog that hangs over the city, you wonder if they have a point.

Most industrial countries and the World Health Organization believe PM2.5 is a more accurate standard of measuring air quality than PM10 used by China. Britain also uses the PM10 system while the US employ the PM2.5 scale. And there are also differences in how thew readings are interpreted and scaled. As such it makes it difficult to make exact comparisons.

While it may be easy to compare the readings from the US monitoring station in Beijing to one in the United States, it is not so easy to make a comparison with reading taken in London or elsewhere. In Britain only a simple rating is published ranging from 1 to 10. There is associated PM data, though it is not published along with the posted readings. Nevertheless, even on a superficial level it is clear that pollution levels are much worse in Beijing than those seen in European cities.

But poor air quality is not confined to Beijing. Many other towns and cities across China are often saturated in heavy smog, and other Asian cities are also becoming heavily polluted.

New Delhi on par with Beijing

India's capital, New Delhi, is now considered to be more polluted that even Beijing according to recent reports. A blog published in the New York Times this week says that pollution levels have reached 'Hazardous' levels at times, though locally they are described as 'Very Poor' by India's own Ministry of Earth Sciences.

The cause of the pollution is attributed to vehicles in the most part. But industry and coal burning power stations also contribute significantly to the levels of particulates which hang in the air. China has made attempts to reduce its pollution levels by closing power stations near to the capital and of applying restrictions on vehicles. Local climatic conditions are also a factor.

Green initiatives affect economy

Tackling rising pollution levels is not easy, especially for developing economies. Placing restrictions on transportation, public or private, can impact dramatically on the local economy. As motorists are priced off the road with so-called green taxes placed on fuel pollution levels may well fall. However, businesses can also go bust as deliveries and transportation becomes more expensive, competitiveness decreases and even the customer base dries up.

Even in London where pollution levels are relatively low, restrictions placed on vehicles have had a marked impact on business across the capital. The cost of parking, the creation of 'red routes' where parking is prohibited, the congestion charge and the rising cost of fuel has dissuaded many from entering London to shop.

Low Emission Zone

The onset of the Low Emission Zone is likely to have an effect too as many small business fold. Owners of vans, 4x4s and small lorries may be forced out of business unless they either purchase new vehicles or have expensive filters fitted. The road haulers association has been particularly vocal in their opposition to the LEZ which it says will force the closure of some businesses [roadtransport.com / Daily Mail].

For some there are few choices. Replacing an old vehicle is cost prohibitive. Selling the vehicle would raise very little capital towards the purchase of an LEZ compliant vehicle, and even the fitting of a filter may be too expensive to consider. For firms and individuals with a small turnover the LEZ could be the death knell. With much of Europe and Britain already on the cusp of another recession, businesses are already struggling. Further taxes on the motorist will only make things worse for many families and businesses.

While attempts to cut pollution levels is laudable, it comes at a price to the economy. It is unlikely to get any better as environmentalists push for further restrictions. And with the price of public transport rising too, retail businesses will face an even harder time attracting customers from afar.

Consensus required

Governments and environmental bodies need to strike a balance over what is acceptable. There also needs to be agreement on how pollution is measured and what levels pose a risk. The different systems employed around the world makes the understanding of the true pollution risk difficult to determine. As such a standard needs to be set, such as a PM2.5 for everyone, with agreed definitions as to what levels pose a risk to health. On this basis, just goals and restrictions might be set, as opposed to apparent arbitrary ones.

While no-one is comfortable with the pollution levels in China's capital, if the stringent rules applied to London were suddenly imposed there, Beijing's economy would likely grind to a halt. Of course London should not return to the days when it was shrouded in pea-soupers. But a middle ground needs to be struck. Pricing the motorist off the road may make the air a little cleaner, but it will do nothing for the ailing economy.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Google Music still US only despite revamp

2011-11-20T12:52:00.001Z

Google this week revamped its online music portal allowing users to buy and even share music online. Online music access is one area where Google faces significant challenges from already well established players.

Competition

Apple and Amazon both provide the facility to buy and download music as well as store it in the cloud. There are also several online portals which provide streaming music such as Pandora, Jango and Spotify.

At present Apple and Amazon may not yet be quaking in their boots. Google has only managed to acquire the blessing from three of the four top record labels, Universal Music Group, EMI, and Sony Music Entertainment, as well as a number of independent bands. It has failed thus far to make a deal with Warner. But Google Music is a serious challenge to both the top two players in a number of respects.

Google Music began life in beta, which was by invite only. Users could upload up to 20,000 songs and listen to them online via any web connected device. Now the company are offering more than 13 million songs ranging from 69 cents up to $1.29 which can be bought through the Android Market.

For emerging artists, Google Music offer some advantages over the services offered by Apple and Amazon. Google Music will feature an Artists Hub, where musicians can upload and sell their material. Artists keep 70% of the revenue and there are no annual upload fees. As part of YouTube's recently announced merchandise store, artists will also be able to sell against their music videos on the Google-owned site.

Google vs Apple

Apple may not be too concerned at this time. Google does not have the entire music catalogue available to offer its potential customers. However, Google does have some advantages over Apple. All purchased songs are DRM free, and currently the storage for Google Music users is free. Apple offers only songs with DRM but it is on storage that Google's rival loses.

Apple have recently launched iTunes Match where users may 'store' music in the cloud and stream it on their computer or phone. The Apple's iCloud service costs $24.99 per year, though there are advantages and disadvantages over Google Music.

With iTunes installed users need not upload anything to the cloud. Instead iTunes determines which songs are available in the iTunes Store and a match is automatically added to iCloud. Since there are more than 20 million songs in the iTunes Store, Apple claims to be able to match most people's music collection. Users may however upload music which iTunes can't match.

Storage space

Such a system is good in itself, and certainly less time consuming than waiting nearly a week for one's entire music collection to upload to Google Music, though it does it in the background and is not a major inconvenience. The price of $25 may not break the bank, but it is one more thing which may dissuade some of taking up the service.

Amazon also offer online music storage in the form of it Amazon Cloud Player. However Amazon only offer 5 Gb for free and around 20 Gb for $20 per year. While Google does not state the actual amount of free storage available, 20,000 files at 5 Mb per song would equate to around 100 Gb.

Advantages Google has over Apple is that artists and companies may set their own prices for music. Google Music users may only play music back from one device at a time, however there is no limit to the number of devices which can access each account. Apple limit the number of devices to 10 for some services.

Purchased music may be shared with others via Google+, an option not available to iTunes' users. Although a shared album or song may only be played once, it is a likely attempt to help promote and market songs to create incentive for others to buy.

Quality

For audiophiles there is little difference between the two. Apple offers all music at 256 kbps AAC format, seen by some to be slightly better than MP3 formatting. Google Music purchases are 320 kbps MP3 format, but of course uploaded content is at the same quality of the original.

You can upload MP3, AAC files, ogg, and FLAC encoded songs into your Google Music library. You can't, however, load Digital Rights Management (DRM), AFLAC (Apple Lossless), wac, aiff, or ra files. You can also load Microsoft's WMA files, but only with the Windows version of the Music Manager. FLAC, ogg, and aac files are transcoded into Google Music's default 320Kbps MP3 format. Uploaded content may not be downloaded, though songs may be 'cached' for offline playback.

Songs matched by Apple's cloud service may not be physically downloaded, only streamed, so despite the advantages of all the cloud based services, it is not advisable to ditch your physical copy on the hard drive.

Regional restrictions

The biggest advantage Apple has over Google is on availability. Google Music is currently only available to those in the US, and the company has yet to make clear when others will be allowed to join the party. Amazon too restricts its service to those in the US. While those with an Amazon.com account can upload songs individually to the Amazon Cloud storage service, users cannot stream the file. Clicking on the said file returns the message, "It appears that you are attempting to use Amazon Cloud Player from outside the US. This service is intended for US customers only."

Even those who have successfully circumvented regional restrictions to open a Google Music account, with help of a US based VPN, can only upload and listen to music, which is at least a little better than Amazon. Purchasing music and even getting free songs is, however, virtually impossible outside the US.

Apple still have the monopoly in terms of international accessibility. But it is only a matter of time before Google roles out its service to everyone. [BBC / BBC video / CNN / Mashable / CNET / PC Mag]

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Hong Kong's economy 'dynamic' but will slow

2011-11-16T09:05:00.001Z

Coming only days after the IMF published a report outlining vulnerabilities in China's financial system, the intergovernmental organization has released its assessment of Hong Kong's economy.

Hong Kong's rebound from the damage wreaked by the global financial crisis has been dynamic and compelling, the IMF maintains. Growth has continued, aided by concerted policy efforts, Hong Kong's flexible economic system, and strong up-drafts from Mainland China.

Unemployment has fallen and incomes have increased while living standards have generally improved. However, even Hong Kong is not immune to the new wave of economic turmoil sweeping the globe.

The IMF says external demand is weakening the momentum in Hong Kong's economy. As a result, growth is likely to ease to 5.75% this year, the IMF says, slowing further to 4% in 2012.

Even as Hong Kong's economy experienced robust growth and rising living standards, this has brought with it inflationary pressures. And while property markets appear calmer future fiscal support should be focused on lower income groups, the IMF report says.

Government measures in the Special Administrative Region [SAR] have helped tackle soaring house prices but it would be premature to assume that the prospects for a property bubble have dissipated. Housing costs remain at a premium in Hong Kong, placing a huge social
burden on those renting out accommodation renters and for new households that do not yet own a property.

But the risks stretch beyond Hong Kong's borders. The key risk ahead is from an external shock emanating from Europe, the IMF says in its report compiled in October. A slowdown in the Mainland economy may also sharply affect the economic outlook for the SAR.

The IMF says that policymakers have a formidable arsenal of policies at their disposal to tackle any potential crisis, but a Linked Exchange Rate System remains the best option for Hong Kong.

Hong Kong has established itself as the premier offshore renminbi center. However the channels for "financial spillovers between the Mainland and Hong Kong" are widening, the IMF states.

Going forward, the offshore market will need to be supported by a progressive opening to renminbi capital flows and an improvement in the provision of information, the IMF insists.

Indeed, Hong Kong has a relatively bright future, despite contagion risks. As the renminbi market develops further there will be greater avenues for spillovers between Hong Kong and Mainland as their financial markets become ever more interconnected. However the IMF concedes that this is dependent on "liberalization and reform of the Mainland's financial system".

There also needs to be a greater flow of information to help investors better understand the workings of the fast-developing offshore renminbi market, the IMF says. As the offshore renminbi market expands, more information could help facilitate further market development. This could include regular reporting on the direction of renminbi settlement in goods and services, on renminbi capital flows, and on the renminbi assets and liabilities of Hong Kong's financial institutions.

Mainland China is the fly in the ointment here, however. The Beijing government is often less than transparent in its economic policy, and its dithering on whether to float the renminbi on global markets creates its own problems for outside investors and markets [More reports: Bloomberg / WSJ].

tvnewswatch, London, UK

New Stephen Lawrence murder trial begins

2011-11-15T12:53:00.001Z

The trial of two men accused of murdering black teenager Stephen Lawrence 18 years ago has begun at the Old Bailey. Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 35, [pictured in 2000 above left to right] both of south London, deny murdering the teenager. The case has been a long time coming for the parents of Stephen Lawrence who have waited years to see justice.

Stephen Lawrence was stabbed to death by a gang of white youths in Eltham, south-east London, on 22 April 1993. A murder trial against two suspects, Neil Acourt, then 17, and Luke Knight, who was 16, was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service in July 1993, citing insufficient evidence. A private prosecution was also brought the following year against Acourt, Knight and three others, Jamie Acourt, David Norris and Gary Dobson, but this failed to bring a successful conclusion. Charges against the original two suspects were dropped before the trial due to lack of evidence, and the three remaining suspects were acquitted at the trial when the judge ruled that the identification evidence given by Lawrence's friend and witness Duwayne Brooks was inadmissible.

However earlier this year new scientific evidence was submitted and in May the Crown Prosecution Service gave the go ahead for a new trial [BBC].

In opening the proceedings Judge Mr Justice Treacy warned jurors not to discuss the case with "curious friends and family" and banned them from consulting the Internet, so as not to jeopardise a fair trial.

Prosecutor Mark Ellison QC is expected to begin outlining the case against the accused later on Tuesday. The trial is likely to last until at least the end of December [BBC / Sky News].

tvnewswatch, London, UK

China too at risk of financial turmoil

2011-11-15T11:19:00.001Z

The International Monetary Fund [IMF] has warned that China's financial system is at risk from bad loans, booming private lending and sharp falls in property prices which could lead to "capital misallocation and the formation of bubbles".

State media reaction

In general China's financial sector was described as "robust overall", a line that made it into headlines of Chinese State run news outlets such as Xinhua. Running with the headline "China's financial system robust overall, further reforms needed: IMF", the propaganda mouthpiece of the Communist Party focused primarily on the positive points in the report.

Grabbing on key phrases such as the "remarkable progress" and "improvements" being made in various sectors, the article barely touched on the dire warnings set out in the IMF report [PDF].

The Xinhua piece referred to challenges and acknowledged that vulnerabilities "should be addressed by the authorities." But there was a general avoidance in mentioning the more worrisome predictions.

Concerning vulnerabilities

Western media, was more forthcoming, if a little sensationalist. The BBC, FT, Guardian, Telegraph and the Wall Street Journal all opened with the line concerning vulnerabilities in the financial sector.

Jonathan Fiechter, deputy director of the IMF Monetary and Capital Markets Department, says that while China's financial sector was "robust overall", inefficient credit allocation and other weaknesses needed to be addressed. "While the existing structure fosters high savings and high levels of liquidity, it also creates the risk of capital misallocation and the formation of bubbles, especially in real estate," he said. "The cost of such distortions will only rise over time, so the sooner these distortions are addressed the better."

According to the Financial Sector Assessment Program [FSAP] report, China's financial sector is confronting several near-term risks. There is a deterioration in loan quality due to rapid credit expansion and growing disintermediation by shadow banks and off-balance sheet exposures. In addition the FSAP report points to a downturn in real estate prices and the uncertainties of the global economic scenario.

Suggested reforms

The report, the first IMF review of China, was carried out jointly with the World Bank and puts forward several suggestions where reform is needed.

They include steps to broaden financial markets and services, and developing diversified modalities of financial intermediation that would foster healthy competition among banks.

A reorientation of the role of government away from using the banking system to carry out broad government policy goals is also required, the reports says, as well as allowing lending decisions to be based on commercial goals.

It also stressed the importance of upgrading the financial infrastructure and legal frameworks, including strengthening the payments and settlement systems, as well as consumer protection and expansion of financial literacy.

While Chinese authorities have begun to move on many of its recommendations, much of the criticism in the report has been broadly dismissed by China's financial institutions.

"not objective"

Aspects of the IMF reports were "not sufficiently comprehensive or objective," the People's Bank of China said in a reaction to the publication of the IMF's assessment.

The People's Bank of China [PBC] said the country had already moved away from administrative quotas on credit and towards an interest-rate based monetary policy. "We believe that, after years of reform, China's financial system has made considerable progress towards commercialization," a statement on the PBC website said.

While the PBC says they "are willing to further strengthen the collaboration and exchanges with relevant international organisations," the IMF report will nonetheless be unsettling in a global market which faces many obstacles.

As Japan yesterday officially came out of recession [Business Times], much of Europe is in financial turmoil and Britain is in danger of falling back into recession. The United States is also continuing to face difficult economic challenges.

The last thing the world wants to see is China falling down the same financial ladder. It can only be hoped that China takes on the advice of the IMF and other leading think tanks as opposed to following the usual belligerent line seen in other sectors.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Britain in danger of joining the PIGS

2011-11-10T16:11:00.001Z

While news reports have been focused on the failing Greek economy and more recently that of Italy, there are many other countries which are far from stable. Even beyond the so-called PIGS there are other European economies which are not out of the woods as far as their deficits are concerned.

British media in particular has almost gloated at the state of some European countries. Euro-scepticism is is strong in Britain and some are seeing the current turmoil in Europe as a strength to the argument over why the UK should not join the Euro and even withdraw from the Eurozone altogether.

However Britain's economy is far from stable, and in some comparisons could be likened to some of the more unstable Eurozone economies. In fact some have even suggested the acronym PIIGGS, to include not only Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain, but also Great Britain [MPRA / Hindu Business Online].

Unemployment levels

Spain has seen highest rise in unemployment in the Eurozone with nearly 20% out of work, a dramatic increase since 2008 when around 9% were unemployed. Greece, which has been the focus in recent months, also has a high unemployment rate standing at 16.7% up from 7.6% over same period. Italy has levelled of at 8% up from 6% in 2008, but a massive reduction from the 11.1% unemployment rate seen in 1999.

However Britain which sees itself outside the Eurozone, and is trying to distance itself from the crisis, is on a par with many of the beleaguered countries. Britain's unemployment has also been rising in recent years and now stands at 7.9%, only marginally less than Italy [BBC].

Debts

But the comparison of economies is even more stark when looking at other factors. Italy, Greece and Spain all have massive debts something which has been the focus of politicians and financiers in recent weeks. But Britain is also straddled with a huge mountain of debt.

Greece and Italy have debts of 142% and 119% proportional to their respective GDPs. However Britain is also approaching danger levels with its debt accounting for 80% of GDP. Spain in comparison is sitting at a relatively comfortable 60%. Most of the European countries have considerable debt issues, even the relatively stable countries such as Germany and France. In fact the countries with the lowest debt proportional to their GDP are Luxembourg and Estonia, standing at 18% and 6.6% respectively [BBC].

GDP Growth

All countries have struggled to pick themselves up following the 2008 downturn. Comparison charts show a massive slump in GDP in 2008 compared to the previous year. Estonia fell the lowest with negative growth. But there was a similar picture in other economies. Not one Eurozone country failed to drop into negative growth, though all but three - Spain, Greece and Ireland - have managed to pull themselves into positive territory [BBC].

Surplus or deficit

Of all the Eurozone countries only Estonia is raising more in taxes than it is spending and has an annual surplus. Finland and Luxembourg are above deficit levels, and all other Eurozone countries including Britain are in deficit.

Ireland is by far the worst with its deficit some -32% as seen as a proportion of GDP. In comparison Greece is at -10.5% while Britain is at -10.4%. Spain and Portugal are slightly better at around -9% and France is -7%. Even Germany stands at -3.3%, only marginally above Italy's -4.6% [BBC].

Fears over Italy

However it is fears over the future of Italy which is affecting stock markets. As Italy increased its rate of borrowing [BBC] markets became jittery. In the US the Dow Jones fell -3.20% with the FTSE dropping some 0.5% [BBC]. However, there was some confidence in European markets with both the Dax and Cac 40 gaining. Even as the markets opened on Thursday only the Dax and Cac 40 remained in positive territory.

With the country's rates surging above a dangerous 7.0%, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has pledged to step down after parliament passes key reforms.

Calls for unity

Meanwhile the president of the European Commission has pleaded for the countries that make up the Eurozone to pull closer together to solve the economic crisis. Jose Manuel Barroso issued the call for the EU to "unite or face irrelevance" adding that the crisis "will jeopardise the future prosperity of the next generation."

"That is the threat that hangs over us. And it is that threat that guides our commitment to resolving the situation in Greece and elsewhere - provided that those countries play their part as well." [Sky News]

It is of course important for Europe to maintain its commitment and resolve the crisis in Greece. But it is equally important to keep a close eye on all the other countries that make up the Eurozone, not only the PIIGS.

Britain needs to re-evaluate

Britain too needs to evaluate its own place in Europe, as well as its economy. Opposition leader Ed Miliband has accused Prime Minister David Cameron of merely "shouting from the sidelines" and called for Britain to take a larger role in solving the debt crisis. Miliband insisted it was "massively in our interests to work with the countries in the Eurozone". However Britain is being increasingly sidelined, partly due to its not becoming a full member and joining the Euro.

When Cameron attended recent talks in Brussels he was effectively shut out of discussions. And some member states were not afraid of making airing their opinion. French president Nicholas Sarkozy was particularly outspoken saying, "We're sick of you criticising us and telling us what to do. You say you hate the euro, you didn't want to join and now you want to interfere in our meetings." ["Nous en avons assez de vous entendre nous critiquer et nous dire ce que nous avons à faire. Vous dites détester l'euro, vous n'avez pas voulu le rejoindre et maintenant vous voulez vous ingérer dans nos réunions"] [Telegraph / Guardian / Daily Mail / Le Figaro].

China's role

China is seen as a possible savour by some, with the growing superpower stepping in to buy up some of its debt. Just as with the US, Europe is an important trading block for China. A collapse of the European economy would seriously affect China's export trade. As such it is in China's interest to help Europe achieve financial stability. Britain is small fry in comparison. While Britain has strong business ties to China, it is inconsequential compared to the Eurozone and the United States. Should Britain flounder it is far less likely to receive any financial bailout, either from Europe, China or its close cross-Atlantic ally. As some have commented, Britain may well be screaming to be let into the Euro-club in the coming years [Telegraph / Guardian]. By then it may be too late.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Google+ concerns over privacy & usability

2011-11-09T21:06:00.001Z

While many people have been excited by the advent of Google+ some are becoming angry and concerned over changes Google has made to the accessibility to some of its other products and issues of privacy.

In particular there is a rising tide of concern over how Picasa is integrated into Google's fledgling social networking service.

Millions of people around the world use Google products for a number of different cloud-based tasks. Users create and store documents and files in Google Docs. Calendar provides a useful way of keeping track of events which may be shared with others. Millions use its blogging service daily. And photos are archived and shared safely online by others.

But Google has decided that some products are to be incorporated into Google+ leading to problems for some users.

Google+ allows users to share posts, links, pictures and video with others signed up to the service and be selective with whom they are sharing that data with. However, the way in which Picasa is tied into the service has annoyed some users to the point of distraction.

Before Google+ was rolled out Google account holders could upload photo albums to PicasaWeb and share those pictures with others by adding their email address. The recipient need not have created a Google account and would receive an email alerting them to the availability of pictures. In addition they were able to download the files individually or, if they had the Picasa program installed, the whole album. However since Google+ was launched there have been some dramatic changes to the way the online photo-storage system works.

New albums of pictures are now posted to a user's Google+ stream though they will remain private unless shared. But sharing has become trickier. Adding an email address to those the album is shared with via the PicasaWeb interface has been found not to work with some users. Recipients may not receive an email informing them of the upload and while Google+ users may receive a notification there are other issues which make the service less user friendly than before.

By pressing the share button in Picasa one is presented with a dialogue asking the user to enter a Google+ circle or email address. In doing so the pictures are posted to the Google+ stream, and visible to the owner and to those with whom it is shared. The people with whom it is shared should also receive an email informing them. The drawback is that pictures may only be downloaded individually. There is however an option at the bottom which says 'share by email only'. By entering an email here the recipient should receive a link to the old style Picasa interface, which should work whether or not one has a Google account. As such one can download the whole folder as necessary. It should be noted that unless the link is regenerated by the owner on the side bar, removing the shared names does not rescind access. And of course regenerating the link would block access for all other the album is shared.

Confused? So are many other Picasa and Google users. And it gets worse. Tagging names in Picasa was seen by some as a useful way of finding pictures of friends and people. And uploaded pictures could also be tagged and even kept in sync to those stored locally on the owners PC. However by tagging a picture on PicasaWeb results in them receiving an email saying that they have been tagged in a picture.

Tagging dozens of not more pictures of someone thus might result in much unwanted email ending up in someones mailbox.

Rather unhelpfully Google only sates the following: "When you add a name tag to a photo, you're letting viewers know who's in that photo. You're also informing people who you've name tagged that a photo of them has been posted. Name tagging a person also lets them access the photo and the related album."

It is this has some Picasa users screaming. After all who wants to send dozens or even hundreds of emails to their friends informing them of a tagged photo. Even more concerning is that the recipient will also gain access to the rest of the album contents.

Some Picasa users have paid a considerable sum to Google to store full resolution pictures online, and for these users in particular the conjoining of Google+ and Picasa is a particular grievance.

Forums have been inundated with complaints over Google's recent changes. But the concerns go beyond issues of face tagging and sharing pictures.

There is a crucial difference between Google+ and other company services like Gmail, whose users have long been able to use pseudonyms to protect their privacy, if they want. Google+ currently requires all members to use their real names and there may be some blurring of line which might raise some red flags for some users.

There is a real risk that people who use their real name in Google+ but use pseudonyms in other Google services may inadvertently expose their real identity by linking Google+ with those services.

Users have to agree to integrate their existing PicasaWeb account with Google+ in order to join Google+. If they do so, the displayed user name on PicasaWeb accounts becomes the real name used in Google+, replacing the one being used before if different.

Recently Google unveiled an initial integration option between Google+ and Blogger that allows publishers to swap out their existing Blogger user profile and replace it with their Google+ profile.

While doing so is optional, Google hailed the benefits tied to such an integration. "In addition to giving your readers a more robust and familiar sense of who you are, your social connections will see your posts in their Google search results with an annotation that you've shared the post. Plus, bloggers who switch will automatically get access to the Google+ integrations we'll be rolling out in the future," the announcement reads.

Of course there is a big drawback too. While Google does alert publishers that they could lose their anonymity, such warnings could be missed. For those who "blog under a pseudonym" linking Google+ to blogger "may not work for you," the company says. But it may not be enough, especially for those that are less tech savvy or fail to read the small print.

Pam Dixon, founder and executive director of the World Privacy Forum, says that, when announcing integration options for Google+, the search giant should not encourage users one way or another. "The descriptions need to be clear and neutral," she said in an interview with Computer World.

Google should also be very specific in explaining what the Google+ integrations will entail, says John Simpson, a consumer advocate at Consumer Watchdog.

"Google needs to be crystal clear about what it means by integration," Simpson says. "It must be simple and intuitive for users to control what information from pseudonymous accounts is shared on Google+."

And if they don't it could prove very tricky for Google in the future. John Verdi, senior counsel with the Electronic Privacy Information Center, says it is important to raise such concerns. As well as users unwittingly revealing their real identity to the world, Google too could become embroiled in a nightmare scenario whereby a huge number of users inadvertently accept Google+ integrations only to later complain that they did not know their pseudonyms in certain services would be replaced by their Google+ real name.

Google might once again find itself in a privacy controversy that it can ill afford. There was a virtual firestorm after the mistakes Google made with its Google Buzz service. If the company fails its users with Google+ it could be the death knell not only for Google+ but may even threaten the company as a whole. The US government is already looking into Google's practices and its competitors are just looking for any weak spot to gain advantage.

It has to be said that Google is not the only company which has entered the dangerous territory of social networking. Facebook too has battled with users, governments and privacy campaigners over its sometimes atrocious failure to protect its users' privacy.

Whether Google will listen to its users and critics, or face the wrath that may yet come, is not yet clear. The company does seem to have a tendency of ignoring, or at least appearing to ignore the swathes of criticism and complaints found in forums [GoogleSystem blog].

Faults found in Google products are not rare, and a Google search reveals that there are many with the same issues. Some problems date back years and are still unfixed. For many users Google Earth will not update via the 'check for updates' option in the program, returning an error stating there is no network connection. Auto-fill on the GMail subject line has not worked since late 2010. While older subject lines are still remembered new ones are not. Uploading pictures to Google Docs is problematic for many. While never previously an issue, Google now limits the size to 2 Mb. In addition errors are often returned claiming the picture is in the wrong format. It can be remedied by opening the said file in Adobe Photoshop and use the option 'save for web'. The picture remains in the same file type, eg: jpeg, so it is unclear why it is subsequently accepted. However it appears to be an issue for a great many people.

Over and over again are comments asking whether Google employees even read these forums. Indeed there are many who are becoming increasing frustrated at not being listened to they are going elsewhere. Of course that in itself is not always practical.

There were several bugs in Picasa before the recent issues concerning Google+. Face tagging and sync has been an issue for many users with many questioning whether Google had dropped support for the site.

After discovering more and more issues with Google products of late it seems Brin, Page and Schmidt could be likened to being the three monkeys. They don't or can't see the problems and bugs in their products. They don't or won't listen to complaints, criticism or advice. And whenever asked for a response on anything, by the media or in fact anybody they either refuse to comment or issue one line remarks of little or no consequence. There are in fact 13,600 search results for "Google refused to comment" !!

There is a little irony in the three monkeys analogy. Originally the three wise monkeys embody the proverbial principle to "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil". The three monkeys are Mizaru, covering his eyes, who sees no evil; Kikazaru, covering his ears, who hears no evil; and Iwazaru, covering his mouth, who speaks no evil. Sometimes there is a fourth monkey depicted with the three others; the last one, Shizaru, symbolizes the principle of "do no evil", and as many may also know the mantra of Google.

In the past the meaning is seen as a Golden Rule and adherence to ethical codes. However, the three monkeys have often been used to describe those who do not want to become involved in a situation, or who are willfully turning a blind eye. In fact Shizaru may often be depicted crossing his arms, something Google appears to be doing in the eyes of once loyal users.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

'Several dead' in M5 crash

2011-11-05T10:50:00.001Z

At least 43 people have been injured and several people killed in Britain's worst motorway accident in 20 years.

The crash occurred on the northbound carriageway of the M5 near Taunton, Somerset in the west of England at around 20:30 on Friday [05/11/2011]. While the cause of the crash was not immediately clear many eyewitnesses spoke of heavy rain and fog in the area at the time of the incident.

Drivers passing the accident on the opposite carriageway spoke of their shock in seeing the twisted wreckage. Twenty light vehicles and 6 lorries were involved in the crash and some of the vehicles burst into flames.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service sent 20 appliances to the scene from Taunton, Glastonbury, Bridgwater, Wiveliscombe, Wellington, Burnham on Sea, and Yeovil. Fires burned ferociously for some time.

Motorists passing the accident said the heat was intense. Amateur footage showed several balls of flames and police spoke of a "massive fireball" enveloping the wrecked vehicles.

Assistant Chief Constable Anthony Bangham, of Avon and Somerset Police, said "several people" had died but he could not yet be specific about numbers. The nature of the accident made it very difficult to clarify how many perished in the accident. "Most vehicles were well alight and most continued to burn for a considerable time," he said. "This made it very difficult to search the vehicles. Some of them have been burned to the ground."

One man who had tried to get close to the accident to help the victims told the BBC he had been unable to get near and was beaten back by the heat. One passing motorist Steven Swift described the scene as "horrific" with victims lying on the carriageway and several vehicles in flames.

Bev Davis, who had been in a field near the motorway looking after her horses, described a disturbing atmosphere. "There was this horrific sound of a horn. The horn was just permanent," she said. "You knew something had gone on and then the flames were just so high so quickly and the noise was horrific. And then there were explosions, I think probably of tyres going."

Last night police said that 10 people had "life changing" injuries, and indication to the seriousness of the injuries sustained by those who survived. In all some 43 people were inured and up to twenty were still being treated in hospital as dawn broke.

Musgrove Park Hospital said they were treating 16 people with "a range of trauma injuries" who were involved in the accident. Two others were at Yeovil District Hospital with other hospitals adding logistical support. A spokesman said most of the walking wounded were treated at Yeovil while Musgrove Park Hospital were treating the more seriously injured. Victims had sustained a range of injuries including fractures of the fibula and tibia, abdominal injuries, chest injuries and collapsed lungs.

The motorway is not expected to open for some time as the police investigate the cause of the accident. The Highways Agency said the stretch of motorway was not expected to reopen until 21:00 on Saturday evening. Parts of the motorway may even have to be re-tarmaced as the fires may have severely damaged the road surface.

Reports: Sky / BBC / Telegraph / Guardian / Independent / Daily Mail / Sun / Mirror / Express

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Cyber talks fail to reach consensus

2011-11-03T17:41:00.002Z

While ground breaking in many respects, the London Cyber event, which was held this week, failed to establish anything concrete. If anything it only served to highlight the rift that exists between totalitarian governments which seek to control the Internet and the more liberal democratic societies which aim to promote a free and less restricted network.

Groundbreaking

The event was groundbreaking in as much as it was effectively transparent and open. Though there were backroom conversations and debates, a significant part of the event was broadcast live over the Internet via the FCO website.

However some did complain the conference was not open enough. In a press conference held on Wednesday afternoon one freelance journalist asked the British Foreign Secretary how he squared the statements of a more open and free Internet with the fact that "the press were kept kettled in another part of the building". William Hague dismissed the criticism say that the event was as open, given it had been streamed over the Internet and explained that due to the high number of delegates and other participants it was down to an issue of space.

Indeed previous discussions between foreign countries concerning the Internet, cybercrime, cyber attacks and security issues have often been held behind closed doors. Hague for his part is a strong advocate and user of social media platforms including Twitter and Facebook. And he had encouraged debate via Twitter using the hashtag #LondonCyber.

Lively discussions

In fact, some of the most lively discussion were in cyberspace and particularly on Twitter. By following the designated hashtag a constant stream of comments were aired by Twitter users. And for technophiles, security experts and others interested in the conference, Twitter was by far one of the more interesting conduits of information.

As regards the conference itself, William Hague had said he hoped the event would bring governments together in order to establish "acceptable norms of behaviour in cyberspace" [BBC].

Talking to the BBC prior to the event he conceded that it would be impossible to get to some sort of treaty or Geneva style convention in one short conference. However William Hague suggested that a treaty was not necessarily an answer given the parties involved, be they governments, criminal entities, security companies and others. The discussions were, he said, to "establish a general understanding between countries who will then work together in many different ways in order to protect privacy and protect freedom on the Internet but also to try and stop things that are unacceptable and illegal offline and stop those happening online."

Of course there were other absences besides the partial exclusion of the press. Hackers and representatives from Iran were not at conference. "There is a limit to what we can do," Hague admitted, adding that while governments need to have appropriate laws, solving the issues of cyber security has to be built through cooperation, and that businesses and academia needed to be involved.

As well protecting online privacy and issues concerning intellectual property right and copyright there was also a need to balance this with freedom on the Internet, Hague maintained.

Internet freedom

It was the discussion over Internet freedom which created the biggest obstacle between delegates from different countries.

"Too many states around the world are seeking to go beyond legitimate interference or disagree with us about what constitutes 'legitimate' behaviour," William Hague told the London Conference on Cyberspace. But he was not just pointing a finger at China, often cited as having some of the strongest censorship rules and regulations.

"We saw in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya that cutting off the Internet, blocking Facebook, jamming Al Jazeera, intimidating journalists and imprisoning bloggers does not create stability or make grievances go away ... The idea of freedom cannot be contained behind bars, no matter how strong the lock." [Globe & Mail]

But his calls for greater Internet freedom and transparency was lambasted by Russia and China who accused both the UK and the United States of hypocrisy.

In September, China, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan had proposed to the United Nations a global code of conduct including the principle that "policy authority for Internet-related public issues is the sovereign right of states".

But calls for such a "cyber treaty" was rejected by western countries with the United States in particular being direct and forthright.

"What citizens do online should not, as some have suggested, be decreed solely by groups of governments making decisions for them somewhere on high," US Vice President Joe Biden said. "No citizen of any country should be subject to a repressive global code when they send an email or post a comment to a news article. They should not be prevented from sharing their innovations with global consumers simply because they live across a national frontier. That is not how the Internet should ever work in our view."

As many have stated prior to the conference such controls on the Internet stifles innovation, Biden said. If countries wanted the economic benefits of connectivity, they needed openness the US Vice President asserted.

While Britain has faced some criticism following Prime Minister David Cameron's suggestion this August after England's riots that government might impose controls on some social media platforms, such proposals have been shelved either as being too impractical or because it is seen by some ministers as going too far.

While not referring directly to his riots comments earlier this year, Cameron said future prosperity and peace depended on managing cyberspace properly.

"Governments must not use cyber security as an excuse for censorship, or to deny people the opportunities that the Internet represents," Cameron said. "The balance we've got to strike is between freedom and a free-for-all."

At a press conference organised by the Russian delegation, Igor Shchegolev denied the "code of conduct" was part of a plan to censor the Internet, saying it was simply about refreshing now outdated telecommunications treaties.

"We in Russia are convinced that it is impossible to block or censor the Internet," he said. "Some countries in Europe declare that some social disturbance takes place they will close access to Twitter and Facebook. Russia doesn't even consider this possibility."

However there are countries which have a stranglehold on the Internet. While some Arab states and countries in the Middle East have tight controls on what may be accessed, it is China which imposes the most draconian rules.

No-one in China would have been able to follow the London Cyber debate online via Twitter nor Facebook unless they were using sophisticated software to circumvent the blocks imposed by the Chinese government.

And while there are homegrown microblogging sites such as Sina Weibo, these are strictly controlled and vetted both by the government and the companies themselves.

However, William Hague maintained that such controls were not entirely effective. "The idea of freedom cannot be contained behind bars, no matter how strong the lock," he said [Reuters].

There were some issues on which most delegates agreed, and that was better international co-operation to tackle online crime, child pornography and other threats.

But while few would argue against a clamp down on sites disseminating child pornography, there is some disagreement concerning adult sites which would be seen as legitimate in some countries whilst illegal in others. Many Islamic countries frown upon such material and China often legitimises its online censorship claiming that it is to stop the flow of sexual content.

In fact just prior to the start of the London conference, China said it had shut down some 50 microblogs which were disseminating "vulgar content". According to Xinhua, "The microblogs were shut down for violations that include carrying pornographic images and videos, information for prostitution, as well as illegal advertising for sex-related drugs and productions."

"Members of the public reported the microblogs, which were then investigated and closed by authorities," it added, citing an unidentified official at one of the country's Internet regulators, the State Internet Information Office [Reuters].

Cyber attacks

One of the hot topics of discussion was the issue concerning hacking and cyber attacks. On the eve of the conference, the head of Britain's communications spy agency said UK government and industry computer systems faced a "disturbing" number of such attacks, including a serious assault on the Foreign Office's network [Sky News / Daily Mail].

In his speech to the conference, Prime Minister Cameron described such attacks as "unacceptable".

"We are here because international cyber security is a real and pressing concern. Let us be frank. Every day we see attempts on an industrial scale to steal government secrets – information of interest to nation states, not just commercial organisations."

But David Cameron was far from frank, and failed to point a specific finger at the nation states involved. It was a subject that was raised later when Foreign Secretary William Hague attended a press conference on Wednesday.

Cyber security experts are quite clear that a disproportionate amount of the world's cybercrime appears to emanate from China and a few countries of the former Soviet Union. In the closing press conference a reporter from Sky News asked the Foreign Secretary why the British government had been so coy in naming names.

It was clear the question made him uncomfortable and he looked awkward on stage as he tried to maintain some vestige of diplomatic veneer.

He referred to the question as a belligerent one and said, "We are holding a conference that is not belligerent…" he said. "We are trying to draw countries together in a constructive way… We have not been having a judgmental conference… We are going about this in a diplomatic way…" [WSJ]

It was certainly embarrassing for the Foreign Secretary, who has to balance maintain strong business ties with China while playing a difficult diplomatic wrangle concerning allegations that China is behind cyber attacks.

And there was no shortage of news concerning such attacks this week either. China hit back over US claims that of satellite hacking that emerged last week. "This report is untrue and has ulterior motives. It's not worth a comment," commented Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei at a Monday press briefing. The draft of an annual report by the US-China economic and security review commission, published by Bloomberg last week, included the claim that in October 2007 and July 2008 hackers used a ground station to interfere with the operation of two US government satellites used for earth observation. The commission did not explicitly accuse the Chinese government of orchestrating the attacks, but said they were consistent with Chinese military protocol, according to Bloomberg. [Guardian / Register]

More recently an attack on Japan's parliament was also blamed on China. A report last week said that computers in the lower chamber had been hit by a virus, with passwords and other information possibly compromised. Local media reported last month that politicians' computers and a lower house server had contracted a "Trojan horse" virus containing a program that allowed a China-based server to steal passwords and other information. While it was not immediately clear who was behind the attack, the reports said it was possible the China-based server could have been controlled from a third country.

In June, Internet giant Google said a cyber-spying campaign originating in China had targeted the Gmail accounts of senior US officials, military personnel, journalists and Chinese political activists [AFP].

This week Britain's GCHQ said attacks on industry and government were at "disturbing levels". And while William Hague was less willing to point the finger some of his counterparts pulled no punches. Baroness Pauline Neville Jones, the Prime Minister's special representative to business on cybersecurity, said Russia and China were some of the worst culprits involved in cyber attacks. But she also qualified her accusations, saying such attacks could also damage China.

"It's damaging in the end to try and play both sides," she said. "If you are a company that comes from a country like China you can suffer if in the end people believe it's threatening to employ your products." [BBC]

Huawei, the Chinese technology manufacturer, has suffered after concerns that its believed military ties might pose a security risk [WSJ]. There are allegations that some companies are manufacturing products using stolen IP, which could in the long term result in trade embargoes and other difficulties for Chinese firms.

Repercussions could be far worse, of course with some talking of a possible cyber war [Sky News]. The reports of hacking into Foreign Office computers, attributed to Chinese 'super spies' certainly gave the impression of a brewing cold war if nothing else [Guardian].

Meanwhile a report released by Symantec raised other concerns. It inferred the Chinese were behind a concerted attack of Fortune 100 companies involved in research and development of chemical compounds and advanced materials and others involved in military technology.

The report [PDF] said the attack had all the hallmarks of a Chinese hacker and said the source of the attack was possible a server in the Hebei region of China [BBC].

China has long been accused of perpetrating such attacks. This year also several high-profile series of attacks have been blamed on the Chinese. They include the so-called Operation Shady Rat which McAfee said targeted more than 72 victims in a hacking campaign including the governments of the United States, Taiwan, India, South Korea, Vietnam and Canada [BBC / Reuters]. Other targets were the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the International Olympic Committee; and an array of companies, from defence contractors to high-tech enterprises.

For its part China continually refutes such allegations either through editorials in state controlled papers, propaganda pieces suggesting China itself is the victim of hacking, and through strongly worded statements released from the Foreign Ministry.

After details emerged about Operation Shady Rat editorials were published in the People's Daily dismissing the allegations adding that the accusation was "irresponsible" [Reuters].

News concerning this weeks London Cyber conference was somewhat mute on Chinese state media. Xinhua published a piece before it began but failed to follow up with any analysis or debate following the event. Meanwhile it attempted show it too was a victim of cybercrime in another article saying that virus attacks were on the rise.

Vision, Hope & Fears

William Hague had spoken of visions, hopes and fears prior to the London Cyber conference [BBC]. But the event has highlighted more fears than hopes, and prejudice and insularity rather than vision.

Amongst paranoid bloggers there were fears that governments were coming together to shutdown the freedoms of the Internet. It could be argued that politicians have difficulty sorting out the economic malaise that is sweeping the planet, and as such gathering to control the Internet in anything more than a superficial way is unlikely.

On Tuesday William Hague said, "We are all linked by the innumerable connections of the networked world" [BBC]. But by the end of the two day event it appeared the world was more divided than connected.

As well as differences of opinion as to how the Internet might be controlled or restricted there are also physical divisions.

China may have a restrictive Internet, but in many parts of the world penetration of the web is extremely small. African countries in particular are far behind the rest of the world. In Liberia only 0.1% of the population has access to the Internet while in some developed countries access can be as high as 95%.

The world may be more connected than it's ever been but there are still connections to be made. William Hague tried to remain upbeat as the conference ended, highlighting the important issues discussed [transcript - FCO]. There were some things that both individuals and businesses could do themselves especially in terms of security, Hague said [Computer Weekly]. But even he admitted this was only the beginning and that more talks were needed.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

ICS for Galaxy Nexus & Nexus-S, but not Nexus One

2011-10-28T14:40:00.001Z

Google's new flagship phone is likely to be on the shelves in three weeks with a date of the 17th of November pitched for the release of the Galaxy Nexus [Telegraph].

The Samsung made device, dubbed the Nexus Prime before its unveiling earlier this month, will be the first Android phone with Ice Cream Sandwich [ICS] which is set to close the gap between tablets and phones running the Android operating system [Google: Galaxy Nexus / video: Introduction to Galaxy Nexus / Galaxy Nexus unveiling].

There was talk that other Android devices were to get an Over The Air [OTA] update to Android 4.0, but many owners will be disappointed.

No Ice Cream Sandwich for Nexus One

It has been decided by the search engine giant that some devices, including the much lauded Nexus One, made by HTC, is too old to receive the software update.

Google launched the Nexus One in January 2010 but users of the device have felt increasingly abandoned by Google. The Nexus One's support forum closed on 1st of November last year, soon after the launch of the Nexus-S, made by Samsung. And users of the Nexus One had to wait months before they received the OTA update of Gingerbread or Android 2.3.4.

While mostly cosmetic the update did bring some improvements to the keyboard and copy/paste functions. Other improvements were mostly under the hood and may not have been seen by most users.

But fans of the first proper Google phone will be disappointed to learn they will not get the upgrade to Android 4.0 or ICS. In many respects this will not be an issue since much of the functionality of ICS would be lost on older devices.

Technological advances

ICS allows for facial recognition, which may be employed to unlock the device. However the Nexus One does not have a front facing camera, making such a facility somewhat redundant. The ease of video calling is also lost on the Nexus One for the same reason.

There is better integration of Near Field Communication [NFC] technology in ICS. Again the Nexus One loses out since it has no inbuilt NFC chip. NFC allows contact-less payment using Google Wallet and may also facilitate the reading of NFC chips deployed in museums or on retail displays to obtain more information or an audio or video presentation. NFC can also be used to share a contact, photo, song, application, or video or even pair Bluetooth devices.

So far there are few devices incorporating this new technology, and it has to be said Google Wallet would be of little use outside the US at present since it has yet to be adopted by retailers beyond American borders. The Samsung built Nexus-S was the first mobile phone to have an NFC chip, and is set to receive the ICS OTA update. But for early adopters of Android they are stuck with Gingerbread, Froyo or in some cases Eclair [Android version history].

There are a few users with even older versions of Android and will perhaps feel even more out in the cold. As of August 2001 most Android phone owners were using the older Froyo [Android 2.2] amounting to a little over 45% while Gingerbread [Android 2.3.x] users accounted for around 38%. Eclair [Android 2.0] is still used by a significant number of people with some 12% of devices using the software. And according to one site there are a few, admittedly a tiny minority, still stuck on the earliest versions of Android, Cupcake [Android 1.5] and Donut [Android 1.6].

To upgrade or not

There is no doubt the new Galaxy Nexus will provide a fantastic user experience. It compares favourably with the iPhone 4s and even excels in many aspects [GalaxyNexus.org].

But is it worth upgrading, and ditching a device that otherwise works? For those holding older devices still running on Froyo or earlier operating systems, the advantages are clear. But for those with newer, smarter phones there are difficult choices.

Many people take a phone on contract, often getting the device for 'free'. However such contracts may be long, from 18 to 24 months. A free upgrade may still be some months away for some Nexus One users and even longer for those possessing the Nexus-S.

Then there are all those accessories which may need to be purchased once again. In the case of the Nexus one there was a very stylish car dock which retailed at some $55 as well as a desk top charger. Neither the Nexus-S nor the Galaxy Nexus will fit in these custom made devices, thus any upgrade would resign such objects to an ever growing garbage bin of redundant electronic paraphernalia.

Environmental considerations

In the last 20 years there have been major advances in mobile communications, but it has come at a cost, not only to the consumer, but also to the environment. Since obtaining the first digital mobile phone to hit the UK market in 1994, tvnewswatch has accumulated eleven different mobile phones, and their associated chargers, in-car chargers, data cables etc. With millions of mobile phone users around the world, recycling and disposal of such devices, especially the batteries and the rare earth elements that are used in the electronic components, is proving to be a major problem.

Google is not solely to blame. All technology manufacturers are partly culpable in enticing the consumer to constantly upgrade and dispose of otherwise working items.

Approximately 15 million mobile phones are replaced every year in the UK alone with the average consumer replacing his or her mobile phone every 18 months. Dumping mobiles in conventional landfill sites or incinerators can be extremely hazardous to the environment. Many contain toxic substances, including arsenic, antimony, beryllium, cadmium, copper, zinc, and brominated flame retardants which can be released into the air and groundwater when burned or disposed of in landfills, creates threats to human health and the environment

Batteries often contain cadmium or lead, both probable human carcinogens and toxic to wildlife. Such substances can easily pass through the food chain to the liver, and can cause kidney damage and even death at high exposure.

Recycling

There are options to help reduce the effect on the environment. Envirofone and Fonebank are just two enterprises which pay money for old phones which they recycle, though disposing of very old devices may be an issue.

Many charities will take old devices, including Amnesty International, Trees for Cities or Oxfam. And some companies including Apple will also take your old mobile or iPod and recycle it for you, free of charge.

For many mobile phone users upgrading to the latest device is not necessarily an issue. As long as their device works and does what they want it too, that is enough. For technophiles having, or not having, the latest advance in technology is more of an issue. So too is the rising cost, both of the device and the monthly tariffs.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Fears of contagion loom despite EU deal

2011-10-27T10:46:00.001Z

European Union leaders finally formulated a deal to prevent the eurozone from collapsing into chaos yesterday, but it is still only a deal in principle. Nonetheless, it is more than many hoped for though less than others would have ideally liked to see.

There are three main issues that have been tackled. One major sticking point was the Greek debt. But after talks in Brussels it was accepted that private banks holding much of the Greek debt would have to accept a loss, or 'haircut', of 50%.

It was also agreed that banks must raise more capital to protect them against future losses resulting from subsequent government defaults. In addition the European leaders approved a mechanism to boost the eurozone's bailout fund to some €1 trillion [£880 billion, $1.4 trillion].

The Euro Summit Statement [PDF] released late yesterday was welcome news for the stock markets. Shares rose in early trading but there is still a feeling that there is still a long way to go before the storm is over.

There are fears that the debt crisis affecting Greece could spread, enveloping other countries where the economy is far from stable.

Fears of contagion

Many are still keeping a watchful eye on Italy and there have been demands that prime minister Silvio Berlusconi implement economic reforms and balance his country's budget.

Giovanna Pancheri, an Italian journalist, speaking on Sky News on Tuesday said Berlusconi was having difficulty in implementing austerity measures in the face of public hostility.

As well as the contentious issue of increasing the pension age to 67 the public were opposed to other cuts such as the health system [BBC].

Additionally, Italy had been asked to provide details of its plans for tackling its huge public debt, amounting to some €1.8 trillion, before the summit began on Wednesday. While the ruling coalition, led by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, was reported to have reached a last-minute limited deal on economic reforms it was a matter of whether such proposals would be accepted by the rest of the EU.

Berlusconi's coalition partner, Northern League leader Umberto Bossi, said late on Tuesday, "In the end we have found a way. Now we will see what the EU says."

Italy, the third largest economy in the eurozone, needs to issue some €600 billion in bonds over the next three years to refinance maturing debt. And financial help is only likely to be offered if it follows through with tough austerity measures demanded as a precursor by Germany.

But Italy wasn't only battling with Germany and other European member states. Yesterday Italy's parliament descended into chaos as politicians fought over pension reforms [CNN / Daily Mail].

At least two politicians from the Northern League, the main coalition partner in prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's government, exchanged blows with members of the opposition FLI party, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Photographs from inside the parliament chamber showed two male deputies with their hands at each other's throats, while other members of parliament tried to pull them apart.

The fight was reportedly caused by televised remarks made by House Speaker Gianfranco Fini, of the FLI party, in which he claimed that the wife of Northern League leader Umberto Bossi had retired at age 39, ANSA said.

Euro-scepticism

The financial disaster sweeping across Europe is bolstering euro-scepticism in Britain. The island nation has been hostile to the single currency from the start, and there is a rising swathe of public opinion suggesting that Britain should pull out of the European Union completely.

Despite arguments for the importance of Britain being a part of Europe, there is almost a sense of euro-phobia displayed in the country especially in the mostly euro-sceptic press.

One frontpage headline in Thursday's Daily Express even warned that Europe could descend into war because of the economic crisis. Twisting the grave warnings from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Express ran with the line, "Germany warns of war in Europe".

"Germany issued a chilling warning yesterday that war could again engulf Europe, as a summit to save the euro descended into chaos," the Daily Express said in its opening line.

However, Angel Merkel's statement to the German parliament was not quite as strong as the Express maintained. "What is good for Europe is good for Germany," she had said. "Another half century of peace and prosperity in Europe is not to be taken for granted. If the euro fails, Europe fails. We have a historical obligation: To protect by all means Europe's unification process begun by our forefathers after centuries of hatred and blood spill. None of us can foresee what the consequences would be if we were to fail."

"It cannot be that some time in the future they say the political generation responsible for Europe in the second decade of the 21st century has failed in the face of history."

It wasn't just the tabloids that focused on Merkal's supposed apocalyptic warning. The Daily Telegraph led with reports of the German leader's fears that a collapse of the euro could threaten peace.

Most of the tabloids carried the eurozone story on its inside pages with the Amy Winehouse inquest [Sun / Mirror] and Jeremy Clarkeson affair [Sun / Mirror] dominating most of the red tops.

When reporting on Europe many tabloids tend to paint a gloomy picture while failing to acknowledge the failure of the Euro wil directly affect Britain. On Tuesday the Sun suggested the eurozone was plunging back into recession, something which would affect Germany and its manufacturing base. There was however no mention as to how Britain's economy might be affected should the eurozone fail.

Even generally pro-European papers such as the Independent reported on the apparent lack of progress made by European leaders in their efforts to find a solution to the eurozone debt crisis and suggested the eurozone was "living on borrowed time".

The fracas in the Italian parliament was not too far from many front pages with pictures of the clashing politician emblazoned across both the i and the Guardian [Papers].

The foreign press was of course focused on the summit. Liberation in France carried the headline "Le sursaut ou le chaos" [literally "the burst or chaos" but transliterated as "Putting out fire while rebuilding the house"] and suggested that leaders had no choice other than to move towards federalism [Réunis pour un ultime de crise, les dirigeants européans n'ont d'autre choix qu'une avancee vers le fédéralisme].

Le Monde also running with the same headline in an opinion based article published Tuesday, it said France faced the choice of a federalised 'German Europe' or a fragmented Europe. Only the former was a real option in the face of giants such as China and the United States, the paper asserts.

The fathers of the euro perhaps oversold the opinion that it was the key to absolute happiness, Le Monde says. It has not been, but attributing blame was not the current priority. "It is of course a matter of urgency to save the euro," the op-ed states, "It is too late to regret (past decisions). The fire is there. We must stop the fire and begin to rebuild the house. It is a matter of urgency."

The deal as it stands was welcome news for some. Stocks rose in early trading on the DAX and CAC as well as the FTSE after two days of uncertainty.

There are other factors which European politicians will have less control over. Continuing flooding in Thailand has not only killed hundreds and caused widespread misery, it has shut thousands of factories and may soon affect exports of electronic products [Reuters / Bloomberg]. There were similar issues following the disaster which befell Japan earlier this year resulting in a slow of production around the world as manufacturers awaited delivery of vital components from the Far East.

Patching up a failing banking and economic system is one thing, controlling mother nature and trying to stop the effects of earthquakes, tsunamis and torrential rain is another.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

European debt crisis deepens

2011-10-24T14:06:00.001Z

European leaders were said to be making progress towards a euro-zone recovery plan on Monday, but with arguments between some member states there is still no real consensus [BBC].

France's President Nikolas Sarkozy and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkal have pressed Italy on reforms and debt reduction. Meanwhile there is still mounting concern over Greece.

Some analysts have suggested that while the crisis is set to continue, liquidity has to be improved, and that a process of quantitative easing or printing more money, was needed.

The Bank of England has already warned of significant fallout from the eurozone crisis. Ben Broadbent, a member of the Bank of England's interest rate-setting committee, told the Financial Times, that even if significantly increased its money-printing operations Britain would not be insulated from the ongoing crisis enveloping Europe. However he remained broadly optimistic, saying that a disaster in the eurozone was unlikely to occur.

Euro-scepticism growing in UK

Economic uncertainty across Europe has galvanised euro-scepticism in Britain and threatens to create political instability for the Conservative Party. But Foreign Secretary William Hague has said that calls for a referendum on whether Britain should remain within the EU was "the wrong question at the wrong time" [BBC].

All Conservative, Lib Dem and Labour MPs have been instructed to vote against a motion calling for a public vote on the UK's place in the EU. However some 70 members of parliament are likely to defy the party whip on the issue [BBC].

While the government would not be bound by the result of the vote, based on a motion by Tory MP David Nuttall, it could prove politically difficult for the Conservative leadership.

But opposition to the motion has also come from the Labour leadership. "It (a referendum) is not the right thing for Britain," Labour leader Ed Miliband said. "It is not the right thing for jobs. It is not the right thing for growth." A referendum would create further "economic uncertainty" Miliband insisted and he urged David Cameron to "show leadership" rather than make concessions to his backbenchers [BBC].

US concerns

Across the pond there is also concern over the eurozone debt crisis. Scott Nations, President and Chief Investment Officer at Nationsshares, said the US needed to do more. Talking on CNBC he said the United States was about to "sit down to a banquet of consequences" because of what is going on in Europe. "We are completely at risk," Nations said, "and we are not exercising any leadership."

"I'm not saying we should write a cheque but we should exercise some leadership," Nations added. In particular he expressed his concern that despite 13 emergency summits in the last two years, Europe had failed to control the spiralling sovereign debt crisis.

One of the short term issues was the stabilizing of biggest banking system in the world, that being the European banks. But there is also the problem reducing contagion. The worries and concern mounting over Europe's apparent inability to control the situation is in turn worrying investors and affecting economies further afield.

Many reports on Monday suggested that EU leaders were close to a deal. And there was some positivity at the opening in New York and across some European markets and in Asia with hopes that a deal might be near [BBC]. For the economic stability, both within Europe and around the world, such a deal is imperative.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Gaddafi joins a long list of dead tyrants

2011-10-22T10:42:00.001Z

With the death of Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi Libyan rebels may have removed the last obstacle as they move forward to create a new free Libya.

Found in sewer pipe

Gaddafi was killed soon after he was found hiding in a sewer pipe near to the city of Sirte on Thursday afternoon. Also killed was his son Mutassim and both bodies have since been on display to the public as they lie in a refrigerated unit on the outskirts of the city.

While most Libyans have expressed joy and jubilation there have also been questions over how he was killed. Particularly in the west, there have been concerns raised as to whether the former Libyan dictator was summarily executed, something which would be in contravention of international law.

No show trial

His death will mean no show trial or appearance at the Hague where some had hoped they might get answers over Gaddafi's presumed involvement in the Lockerbie bombing and terror funding. While some Libyans have also showed disappointment that a trial will never happen, it was likely that such proceedings would have revealed very little. Whenever the press confronted Gaddafi with accusations of terror funding or questions over Lockerbie he would chuckle and make evasive statements.

The macabre display of the dictator's body at a supermarket freezer in Misrata was far removed from the way the man lived. Hundreds of Libyans have been queuing to get a glimpse of the body of Col Gaddafi. Many feel they need to see him dead in order to confirm in their own minds Gaddafi has finally gone. "There are some Libyans who don't believe that Gaddafi is dead," said Ali Souwan who had the former dictator laid out in his home on the night of his death. "So people are coming to my house to see it."

Calls for investigation

There have been calls for an explanation into his death. A post-mortem examination on the body is expected to be carried out on Saturday thus delaying his burial which according to Islamic law should have been carried out within 24 hours [BBC].

The United Nations and Col. Gaddafi's family have called for a full investigation into the circumstances of his death. Video footage showed Gaddafi alive after his capture in Sirte on Thursday, and then dead a short time later.

Reports that he had been captured emerged at around midday on Thursday but within the hour it was said he had been killed [As it happened]. Over the coming hours pictures and video taken on mobile phones surfaced showing chaotic and graphic scenes of Gaddafi being manhandled. The details surrounding how he was killed remains a mystery however [BBC].

Disposal questions

Officials are apparently divided about what to do with the body and where to bury it. There are concerns it may become a shrine or a focal point of abuse. Such concerns have been raised in the past when other notorious dictators or terrorists have died. The quick disposal of Osama bin Laden in the Arabian Sea by the United States was said to have been a way of avoiding the creation of a shrine. However, conspiracy theories still circulate suggesting bin Laden may not have been killed since pictures of the dead al-Qaeda leader were withheld by the US on grounds of taste.

Pictures of death

The publication of the pictures would be an "incitement to additional violence as a propaganda tool" the president had insisted at the time. There was no reason to gloat Obama said, "That's not who we are."President Obama had said, "We don't do that". However some have pointed out that the US did release photographs of Saddam Hussein's sons after their deaths.

Following the death of Saddam Hussein's sons in 2003 the US released graphic photographs of both Uday and Qusay Hussein to the media. At the time the US defended the release of the pictures. US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he was "glad" concerning the decision to release the photographs. They would help convince frightened Iraqis that Saddam's rule was over, a consideration that far outweighed any sensitivities over showing the corpses, he said. "I feel it was the right decision and I'm glad I made it," Rumsfeld told a Pentagon news conference.

President George W Bush did not make a direct comment on the release of pictures but said the brothers had been "brought to justice". "These two sons of Saddam Hussein were responsible for hundreds and hundreds of people being tortured and maimed and murdered," Bush said. "And now the Iraqi people have seen clearly the intent of the United States to make sure that they are free and to make sure that the Saddam regime never returns again to Iraq." [The Age]

Three years later the policy had not changed. When Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the so-called head of al-Qaeda in Iraq, was killed during an operation in June 2006 photos were soon released. The US government distributed an image of Zarqawi's corpse as part of the press pack associated with a press conference. The release of the image was criticised for being in questionable taste, and for inadvertently creating an iconic image of Zarqawi that would be used to rally his supporters.

There will be no doubts that Gaddafi has been killed, though the way he died may swathed in mystery. Images of his dead body will also join other iconic images of dead dictators and notorious killers. Amongst them are Saddam Hussein and Benito Mussolini. After being killed Mussolini was photographed hung from his feet alongside other executed fascists in Milan. Saddam Hussein's capture by US troops and his subsequent trial was well documented as was his execution. While officially released footage of the event stopped short of showing the actual execution, an amateur video shot using a camera phone from a staircase leading up to the gallows surfaced, containing low-quality footage of the entire hanging. The amateur footage, unlike the official footage, included sound and witnesses could be heard taunting Saddam at the gallows. There are also some pictures of the former Iraqi dictator lying dead in the ambulance.

Others have escaped being captured on film in their final moments. There are no images of Adolf Hitler's corpse. After he committed suicide by gunshot on 30 April 1945 in his Führerbunker in Berlin he was cremated leaving only some remains which were recovered and interred in successive locations until 1970 when they were again exhumed, cremated and the ashes scattered.

Slobodan Milošević, the former Yugoslavian leader, avoided both a last picture and sentencing at the Hague after he died from a heart attack. Milošević was found dead in his cell on 11 March 2006, in the UN war crimes tribunal's detention center, located in the Scheveningen section of The Hague, Netherlands.

No tears

But whether they left behind iconic images or not there will be few who will shed tears for such tyrants. Gaddafi's death marks a milestone not only for Libya but other countries ruled by tyrannical rulers. In Libya NATO will gradually wind down its operations as the NTC moved forward to creating a new democratic Libya [CNN].

Across the rest of the Arab world and perhaps further afield there will be dictators of one party states feeling a little less confident than they were last week [CNN].

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Dale Farm: "We lost," traveller concedes

2011-10-21T14:11:00.001Z

By late Thursday it was clear that travellers at Dale Farm had lost their battle with Basildon Council as bailiffs moved onto the site to dismantle some of the plots. Defiance gradually waned throughout the course of the day as it became clear that the cause was lost. With electricity cut off and hundreds of riot police on duty, this was a community under siege.

39 arrests

As the sun rose over the site bailiffs began work to removed the last of the protesters from the scaffolding structure at the entrance to the site. They were shielded by lines of riot police from Kent, Surrey, London and Essex. One by one, the protesters who had chained themselves to the structure, were removed and arrested.

"Well done Josh," shouted one supporter as the first bespectacled protester was taken away by police. He along with the other remaining protesters were taken past a throng of photographers and TV crews before being checked for weapons and removed from the site in a police van.

A total of 39 people had been arrested by the end of the two day operation, charged with various offences ranging from obstruction to violent disorder [Echo]. It was clear that their arrest had not dissuaded some from abandoning their protest however. Some of those arrested the previous day could be seen wandering around the site and continuing to lend their support to the Dale Farm travellers.

Demolition

With the last of the protesters removed from the scaffolding, work on removing the iconic barricade began. A mechanical digger soon pulled down the structure and pushed it to the side of an adjacent field.

There were some delays as gas bottles had to removed by hand. They had been placed within the structure by those defending Dale Farm. Whether there was ever any intention of using them as weapons is unclear, but the presence of more than twenty such items could have posed a serious danger especially in the event of a fire.

With the scaffolding, a van and car removed, police negotiated with the owner of a former Russian army vehicle in order to get it driven from the site. The owner was reported to have initially refused to hand over the keys to police. But by mid-afternoon the dread-locked protester was allowed to drive the large vehicle off the site as a bailiff sat alongside.

Rising tensions

On the site there were moments of tension as protesters and some travellers became agitated at some members of the media. In one instance a traveller attacked a Sky News television crew as a cameraman tried to film paramedics taking away a women on crutches. While one traveller pushed the camera another traveller began to threaten the crew and other members of the media picking op a nearby brick.

Protesters also joined the melee, shouting and pushing members of the press. The situation was defused by traveller women who persuaded the protesters and their men folk to withdraw.

Some photographers who had taken pictures of a young baby, after being requested to by its mother, were also threatened. A large and angry male traveller stormed into the group insisting they delete their images. "No pictures of our kids unless you want that camera in your face," the burly man stormed.

While most of the media has generally been welcomed by travellers, there has been some antagonism shown. In September when hundreds of members of the press gathered for the proposed eviction, some travellers were walking around asking if journalists and photographers were from the local Echo newspaper. "We don't want the Echo here," a traveller said, "because of all the lies they've written about us." He and a friend wend on to pepper their sentiments with a clear threat. "We'll beat the s*** out of them if we find any," one said.

"We lost"

Not all the travellers have been so hostile however. Some have been more than welcoming to members of the press. But it is mostly the women who have been in the public eye. As the afternoon drew on, one of the McCarthy sisters, who had been the public voice of the Dale Farm campaign, told the media that the fight was almost over and that they and the protesters planned to leave the site. The departure would be only a symbolic one since they would return to gather their possessions. "We Lost," Marie McCarthy told journalists [pictured]. "But we put up a good fight, " she insisted.

But then came an impasse as officials from Basildon Council entered the site escorted by squads of riot police. In a surreal and somewhat farcical scene, the two officials were taken from plot to plot surrounded by up to a hundred police in full riot gear. As they moved in formation, they were followed by a throng of media and dozens of travellers.

The action angered many travellers who were upset they had not been informed. Then it emerged that eviction notices had not been brought by Basildon Council and travellers said they would not leave until they had been served with the appropriate paperwork.

"Road to nowhere"

But it was clear the fight was over. Some of the last remaining travellers on the site made the decision to move on, though their destination was unknown. Even some of the travellers seemed uncertain. "We'll be on the road to nowhere," traveller Marie McCarthy said.

By the time the symbolic departure from the site began and the last of the travellers left Dale Farm, media coverage began to wane. Late into the afternoon it emerged that Col. Gaddafi had been captured and killed. With his death the story of Dale Farm also died.

Media coverage

Thursday's frontpages had been emblazoned with pictures of the battle for Dale Farm. But in Friday's press the final throws of the largest traveller encampment barely received a mention [Sun / Mirror / Express / Star / Daily Mail / Guardian / Telegraph / Independent].

There are some questions still remaining however. While the clearance of the site is complete, what is not clear is how Basildon Council will proceed. It is not known where the travellers have gone and there are fears amongst some that they will just become a problem for other councils further afield.

While there has been much criticism of the travellers, protesters, Basildon Council, bailiffs and police, some articles on Friday began to criticise the BBC who were accused of "ludicrous over staffing" by sending some 18 staff to the site to cover events [Telegraph / Daily Mail]. It must be said that many media organisations sent significant numbers of staff to Dale Farm. At times the numbers of media outnumbered the travellers and protesters, especially in the final days.

As the media depart, there still remains some uncertainty over the future of Dale Farm. Although they have no legal right to build or live on the land in many cases, the land is legally owned by the travellers. Some thirty travellers may still be allowed to live on the site in caravans, though permanent structures will have to be demolished. The future of Dale Farm is still an uncertain one [BBC / Sky News].

tvnewswatch, Basildon, Essex

Dale Farm eviction begins

2011-10-19T20:08:00.001Z

After a long running battle between Basildon Council and travellers at Europe's largest illegal travellers' site, police and bailiffs finally moved in to begin the site clearance in the early dawn on Wednesday. Acting on intelligence that protesters at the Dale Farm site had stock piled offensive weapons to be deployed against those enforcing the eviction, riot police entered the site ahead of bailiffs.

Tasers fired

They were met with a barrage of missiles including rocks, bricks and liquids. In the brief but at times violent battle, police shot at least two protesters with X26 taser weapons. In the early clashes several protesters were arrested. Protesters attempted to keep police at bay by setting fire to barricades and a caravan was also torched.

Relative calm

By mid morning there was a relative calm and police surrounded the main scaffolding situated at the site entrance. As line of riot police kept back scores of press and the few remaining travellers on the site the slow procedure of removing the protesters on the scaffolding began.

Arrests

At first police attempted to talk to the protesters, but it was clear that they were not willing to leave peacefully. And so began the methodical removal of each of the supporters from the structure, some of whom had chained themselves to the scaffolding.

By late afternoon twenty three people had been arrested and led away, according to Essex Police, with charges ranging from violent disorder to obstruction. But the operation was far from finished. As the sunset over Dale Farm and operations were wound up for the day police remained on site to guard the structure and prevent anyone from reclaiming the fortification.

Accusations

Travellers have accused the police and Basildon Council of overkill and say several people were injured in the operation. For their part Essex police, backed up by officers from Surrey, Wales and London, insist they acted within the law. Meanwhile the Essex Ambulance Service say they had treated six individuals but that their injuries were minor.

The use of tasers during the operation has been defended by Essex Police who say they were deployed after they faced a serious level of violence.

On Thursday the site clearance is set to continue...

[further reports: BBC / Sky / CNN]

tvnewswatch, Basildon, Essex

Price deemed too high in Israel prisoner swap

2011-10-18T10:18:00.001Z

Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held captive for five years by Hamas, has been released. But it comes at a high price for Israel who have handed over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners over in return.

Shalit was handed over by Hamas to Egyptian mediators, the first move as more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners were due to be freed. The first 477 were due to be released on Tuesday. Awaiting their return were thousands of supporters who filled the city centre in Gaza.

Terror victims failed by courts

The exchange went ahead after the Israeli Supreme Court rejected a bid by families of victims of militant attacks to delay the swap. Many Israelis object to an individual prisoner release and had appealed to Israel's highest court to intervene. But their concerns were rejected. Amongst those who opposed the prisoner swap was Arnold Roth, whose daughter, Malka, was killed 10 years ago, when a suicide bomber attacked a pizzeria in Jerusalem. A woman convicted of involvement in the attack is among those due to be set free.

"These people who are released are going to become terrorists again. They're going to be inspirational. Many of them are iconic figures and we're going to pay a heavy price"

"We're aiming to have her name removed from the list," Roth told the BBC. "We're doing this principally because we think there is a colossal amount of misinformation about this specific woman. She's actually a monster, on really any view. She's cold blooded and charismatic, she's very attractive to look at and this has somehow bamboozled many of the people who've been reporting about her."

New terror threat

Roth says that prisoner exchanges had no place in civilised society. "She engineered the massacre that led to the deaths of 16 people and 130 injured. And she's been saying for at least five years: 'I'm going to get out. I don't regret a thing'. And she's also said: 'I would do it again'."

"These people who are released are going to become terrorists again," Roth says. "They're going to be inspirational. Many of them are iconic figures and we're going to pay a heavy price." Uzi Landau, an Israeli politician also fears the release will "only encourage" more terrorism and kidnappings.

Sgt Shalit was seized in 2006 by Hamas militants who tunnelled into Israel. He had been feared dead since there was little information exchanged between the two sides and he was refused contact with outside organisations including the Red Cross. But after much negotiation a historic prisoner swap was sealed [BBC].

For Sharit there was some clear relief. Speaking to Egyptian TV soon after his release he said, "You cannot imagine how I felt when I heard I would go home." But he said he had always remained optimistic. "It has been a very, very long five years, but I always knew I would go home," he said.

Difficult decisions

While Gilad Shalit's family will be happy to see him it is hardly a cause for celebration for Israel. Amongst the 1,000 Palestinian prisoners being released there are hundreds of convicted terrorists responsible for the deaths of more than 500 people. Amongst them is Marwan Bargouti, who was serving five life sentences in Israel for murder.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said that Hamas had accepted limitations pertaining to the released individuals. He also insisted that Israel was committed to furthering peace talks. But there will be fears amongst many Israelis that a new wave of terror may begin. Many of the released prisoners are being given a hero's welcome by Hamas, and the organisation is likely to be given a boost of popularity.

Hamas popularity boost

Hamas is deemed to be a terrorist organisation by several nations and while it has shifted slightly in its position over the recognition of Israel, there exists a great mistrust of the political party. The boost of support Hamas is likely to receive from this week's events will also detract from Fatah who have made some inroads towards a peaceful solution to the disputes existing between Palestine and Israel.

For Palestinians there will be much celebration and relief too. But there are still strong divisions within the Palistian community. Sky's Tim Marshall observed that there were many yellow Fatah flags amongst the sea of green Hamas flags in Gaza city. It would be unlikely Fatah would win an election today, Tim Marshall said. "For Hamas, today is their day."

gut-wrenching images

Tim Marshall suggested it was inevitable that some of the released prisoners would return to violence. Such a prospect will be gut-wrenching for Israel. So too will the images being beamed around the world of the Palestinian prisoners arriving on the Rafah border.

The morning's events were carried extensively on Sky News, BBC, CNN International, Euronews, France 24, Al Jazeera, Press TV. There was less coverage on CNN's US feed, Russia Today, and China's CCTV News and CNC. Although it did feature as the top story on RT and CNC, CNN seemed more focused on the western Republican presidential debate while China Central Television was focused on China's economy.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Depression rises as recession looms

2011-10-13T11:39:00.001Z

There has been little optimistic news over the last week, especially for those living in Europe. Greek debt, austerity efforts, protests over cuts and rising unemployment has dominated the headlines [BBC / FT].

On the face of things it is not immediately obvious that Britain is on the brink of a double-dip recession, as some media has been predicting. People are still dining in restaurants, pubs and bars are far from empty and supermarkets are just as packed with shoppers as ever before.

But there are some signs that people are being more careful with their money and that businesses are making greater efforts to draw in extra custom with special offers. Supermarket shelves are lined with 2 for 1 offers and other deals to persuade shoppers to part with their cash. But consumers are still being careful, looking for any way to save on their weekly shop.

The queues in the 99p and One Pound shops say it all. Even in relatively affluent areas such stores are often packed with shoppers looking for savings on everyday items. And in some cases the savings are significant. A simple light bulb may cost as much as £2.50 in any one of Britain's leading supermarkets and yet may be purchased for less than half in discount stores that are taking advantage of people's thriftiness. Breakfast cereals are also significantly cheaper in such stores, though there is obviously less choice.

Consumers are also taking advantage of special offers, free gifts and reduced items. Supermarkets, in particular, often mark down perishable items as they reach their sell-by date. Such reductions can offer rich pickings for the savvy shopper especially if there is a 2 for 1 offer already attached to the items concerned. In a local Waitrose supermarket shoppers eagerly take advantage of price reductions. A £4 pizza already with an offer of a 'buy two and get £2 off' might be priced down to as little as £1.49 each. Due to the checkout system, any customer purchasing two such items will walk away with them for only ninety eight pence.

Those who have plenty of freezer space can take massive advantage of such deals. Customers can often be seen grabbing several pints of milk reduced to as little as nineteen pence which will be thrown into cold storage along with their reduced pizzas and other marked down items.

Fish, meat and vegetables are also reduced significantly on their use-by dates, and such purchases can save shoppers many pounds in their weekly spend. Of course it does require some effort on the part of consumer to hunt out such bargains. Those lucky enough to be in full time employment may be less lucky to grab such deals, both through being too tired to shop after a day at the office or be too late home to take advantage of the offers since most reductions will have disappeared from the shelves by 7pm.

But even for the workers there are some deals out there which can break up the monotony and save a few pennies. Some newly opened businesses may often offer free deals or specials. One such example is the recently opened Vertigo Lounge, a trendy bar come coffee shop on the outskirts of London. To entice customers in, such that they might return, they have a promotion of offering a free coffee to anyone visiting on Wednesdays between 10 am and midday. It was clear from the number of people in the establishment yesterday that many were taking advantage of the free offer. These customers may have also grabbed their free box of cereal by way of a promotion from Kellogg's. The company had posted a bag through resident's post box asking them to leave the bag outside by 9 am the following morning if they wanted a free box of All-bran Golden Crunch, a crunchy wheat bran and mixed cereal pieces with a caramel flavour.

It seems that while there may not be such a thing as a free lunch, there is sometimes the chance of a free breakfast and a cup of coffee!

But a free box of cereal and a cappuccino is not going to sustain the struggling consumer for very long. With rising unemployment, concerns over government debt, the European debt crisis and even concerns that Asia may also be seeing the effects of a deepening recession in the west, the future is far from rosy. Even China's relatively strong economy may be severely dented by the growing economic crisis [CNN / Reuters / BBC / FT].

In the US there has been a wave of protests under the banner of Occupy Wall Street in recent days [Herald Mail / WSJ / Time]. In Britain protests over cuts to NHS budgets were seen at the weekend in London [BBC]. And across the continent there are raised voices with Greece seeing riots and widespread industrial action [WSJ].

There is no apparent end in sight to the economic gloom predicted, and no-one, least of all the politicians. seem to have a clear solution.

The US, Europe, Britain and many other countries face a long and bumpy ride. For the citizens of these countries, whether they be consumers, tax payers, job seekers or students, the future looks extremely depressing and bleak.

Of course there are some that believe the constant talking down of the economy is not helping matters. In his 1933 presidential address Franklin D Roosevelt declared, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself..." and went on to say that, "Nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyses needed effort to convert retreat into advance."

Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King's declaration that the financial crisis is worse than the Great Depression is hardly a confidence booster. The Daily Express is at least one paper which, although conceding the European economy is in a "sticky patch", suggests that preaching words of doom and gloom is not helping. Sir Mervyn "appears not so much to be talking us into recession as bawling it through a megaphone," the paper declares. And while there are indeed very serious issues, such as high unemployment and rising debts to be tackled, the Express calls for a more positive outlook. "What we need in the current crisis is a governor of the Bank of England who can build confidence in the markets," the paper says.

Such an approach is sensible, but solutions to the economic problems are also needed. An over stretched global economy, and the farming out of jobs to cheap foreign factories has reduced the western manufacturing base considerably over the fast few decades. The Made in Britain, Made in the USA and other such tags have been replaced by China, Bangladesh, India, Taiwan and Thailand.

While cheaper, and some might argue inferior, products flood the market it comes at a price. Closed factories and a reduced jobs market in the west. Politicians in the west will have a difficult time attempting to balance accusations by Asian countries, particularly China, of protectionism as it tries to re-establish its domestic manufacturing and industrial base. But such a policy is needed if the western economies are to survive. Simply put, without a solid industrial base there are no jobs, and it will not matter how cheap foreign manufactured products are if the vast majority of people are unemployed.

There are tough times ahead, but tough decisions too.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Social media mourns death of Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T10:34:00.001Z

Social networks went into a virtual meltdown on late Wednesday and into Thursday as news of the death of founder and former CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, spread around the world.

In China alone more than 35 million messages were posted on microblogs while around the world millions more posted to Twitter and Facebook. Hashtags of #jobs, #stevejobs and #apple were top trending subjects and Google trends also showed a sharp increase in searches for Steve Jobs.
Even in the physical world there was an outpouring of grief following the passing of the Apple founder. Outside Apple stores in Beijing [twitpic.com] and Hong Kong [yfrog.com] flowers were laid by fans of Apple products. And in a mark of respect the store in Hong Kong also shut off the illuminated Apple logo [instagr.am].

For the Chinese in particular, the passing of the Apple founder is a shock [techrice.com]. Chinese youth have begun to embrace technology in a big way over the last few years and an iPhone is a much coveted item to the extent that there is a massive market in fake iPhones for those that can't afford the real thing. In fact in the last few days there are already reports of fake iPhone 5s on sale in parts of China ahead of the official release in the west [Sky News].

Steve Job's death was the top item on most news channels including Sky News, BBC, CNN, France 24, Euronews, Al Jazeera and Xinhua's CNC. Business channels CNBC and Bloomberg also focused on the passing of Apple's founder and what his death might mean for the future of the company. Such interest is an indication of the impact Jobs and Apple has made to the world of technology.

His legacy is not only his vision in sleek design deployed in his Apple computers and laptops but also the innovations made in mobile phone technology and in personal entertainment. The iPod changed the face of how people listened to music and the iPhone has brought many imitators and set the standard for smartphone technology. The relatively recent launch of the iPad has also changed the face of mobile computing with competitors launching their own devices.

While there has been criticism of Jobs' walled garden in the way he controls apps made available for his iPhone as well as the methods deployed in his music distribution through iTunes, without Apple there may not have been an Android phone.

Even his imitators and competitors paid tribute to Steve Jobs. Microsoft's Bill Gates talked of the "profound effect" Jobs' had made to the world of technology. Even Google's founders Sergie Brin and Larry Page left their messages of condolence. In a post on Google+ Sergie Brin spoke of the inspiration that Apple gave him. "From the earliest days of Google, whenever Larry and I sought inspiration for vision and leadership, we needed to look no farther than Cupertino. Steve, your passion for excellence is felt by anyone who has ever touched an Apple product (including the macbook I am writing this on right now). And I have witnessed it in person the few times we have met. On behalf of all of us at Google and more broadly in technology, you will be missed very much. My condolences to family, friends, and colleagues at Apple."

The tributes came from as high as the US president with Barack Obama saying the world had "Lost a visionary."

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak spoke of a pretty solid legacy left behind, but there are some doubts for the future of the company. Fans of Apple products outside a store in China wondered whether Apple would remain number one in the technology market. Such concerns could also be seen in the markets. In Germany shares in Apple fell as much as 2.5% after the announcement of Steve Jobs' death [Business Week].

On the day he died at the age of 56, exactly six weeks after resigning as CEO of the company he co-founded, Apple was the second-most valuable company in the world. Following Tim Cook's appointment as Apple CEO on August 24th, shares have increased some 9.9%. But it remains to be seen whether such growth will be maintained [Money MSN].

One American fan of Apple products was optimistic for the company's future. Speaking to Sky News outside a store in London he said, "When Jesus died religion didn't stop." The future lies in how much a part of Apple Steve Jobs was and whether he left behind a team that has the same sense of vision and passion for innovation.

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Terror threat “more real than ever”

2011-09-29T08:40:00.001Z

This week six men appeared in a British court accused of terror offences, three of whom are believed to have been planning a suicide attack [Guardian / Telegraph / BBC / PA]. Meanwhile in the United States an American has been charged with plotting to fly remote controlled planes packed with explosives into the Pentagon and the Capitol building in Washington [BBC / Telegraph / San Francisco Chronicle].

The plots reveal that that the threat of terrorism remains real. But while authorities are still focused in thwarting potential terror attacks, the public is becoming increasingly complacent and less vigilant. The breaking up of both terror plots was reported but failed to make the front pages it might have done only a few years ago.

And there is even a sense of complacency displayed by the courts as is was revealed this week that at least eleven foreign-born terrorists who should have been deported from Britain after finishing prison terms are still walking the streets [Telegraph / Daily Mail].

There are some who maintain the terror threat is exaggerated. Conspiracy theorists continue to assert that the US were complicit in the 9/11 attacks, a view that even some of America's enemies have aired. During a recent UN meeting in New York the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad caused consternation as he accused the United States of killing Osama bin Laden in order to help cover up the 9/11 attacks which he claims were a "big fabrication".

The US has criticised Ahmadinejad and dismissed such theories. But this week al-Qaeda joined America in warning Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad against spreading September 11th conspiracy theories. "The Iranian government has professed on the tongue of its president Ahmadinejad that it does not believe that al-Qaeda was behind 9/11 but rather, the US government," an article in a recent copy of Inspire, a magazine run by Al Qaeda's branch in Yemen, said. "So we may ask the question: why would Iran ascribe to such a ridiculous belief that stands in the face of all logic and evidence?"

Such assertions would indicate that al-Qaeda are still serious and committed in their war against the west. It would be a mistake for the west to become complacent in the light of recent events and threats [Telegraph / Daily Mail / Guardian / Globe & Mail].

tvnewswatch, London, UK

Dale Farm campaigners apply for listed status

2011-09-28T13:40:00.002Z

Campaigners have applied to English Heritage to obtain listed status for a scaffolding structure which stands at the entrance to Britain's largest illegal travellers' site. The structure which is festooned with protest banners and flags was erected around 2006. The campaigners claim the scaffolding structure is an "emblem of a struggle for traveller rights". English Heritage has not commented on the application.

On Wednesday it was also revealed that two Dale Farm protesters have been charged in connection with an incident at Basildon Council offices. The men, aged 22 and 29, have both been charged with using threatening words or behaviour to cause harassment alarm or distress following Tuesday's incident. They were bailed to appear at Basildon Magistrates' Court on 6th October [BBC].

While the clearance of the Dale Farm site had been due to begin on Monday September 19th it has been delayed by an injunction preventing bailiffs moving in. On Friday Basildon Council attempted to appeal the injunction, however a decision was delayed until Monday this week.

After a day of legal arguments Justice Edwards-Stuart extended the temporary injunction preventing Basildon council from clearing the site until a separate hearing examining a potential judicial review of the decision takes place on Thursday 29th September. But even if the council wins that case, it will be prevented from carrying out work on much of the site until another hearing on Monday 2nd October, which will examine the enforcement notices.

Speaking outside the court on Monday a visibly frustrated councillor Tony Ball said, "What we've seen today is the wheels of justice grinding slowly forward, but I would like to say it's been a good day for Basildon's residents and for the majority of people who support the council's stance on this issue." Directing comments to residents of Crays Hill who live close to the site he said, "The message I can give to them, is that we are getting there." [Sky News]. Local Conservative MP Mr Baron also spoke of his optimism that the site clearance would take place soon. "The judge made clear that the enforcement notices are valid - its been to the highest court in the land," Baron told the BBC, "The bottom line is, this site clearance will take place."

Residents were less than optimistic however. Breaking their silence for fear of reprisals, some said they were themselves willing to break planning regulations if the situation was not resolved soon [BBC].

On Wednesday the site was quiet with only a lone camera-shy campaigner on the front gate. In the field adjacent there was little activity with only few bailiffs patrolling the vast compound. The media presence was also much diminished with only a single satellite truck parked up.

Update: On Thursday it was reported that the bid to obtain listed status for the scaffolding structure was rejected by English Heritage [Sky News].

tvnewswatch, Basildon, Essex