In its second innings, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has unveiled its showcase scheme — providing rice at Rs 3 a kg, at one fifth the market price, to 260 million people, or one fourth of India’s population.
Back on the basis of the inclusive India plank, the government’s agenda for the next five years, unveiled on Thursday, includes 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and assemblies.
Also on the agenda are 50 per cent reservations for women in local bodies — inspired by Bihar’s successful experiment, initiated two years ago.
In her first address to Parliament, President Pratibha Devisingh Patil unveiled welfare schemes like houses for the poor in rural and urban India that will cost the government a lot of money.
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act alone, introduced by the Manmohan Singh government in its first avatar, cost the exchequer Rs 40,000 crore over the last three years.
The cheap rice scheme is estimated to fatten the subsidy bill — the difference between the price at which rice is bought by the government (Rs 15) and the price at which it will be sold (Rs 3) — by nearly Rs 17,000 crore.
“These initiatives were possible because high growth generated more resources. It is, therefore, imperative that our growth momentum is resumed,” Patil said.
She listed management of the economy as the government’s “immediate priority”,
“My government is determined to work harder and better to realise these goals,” she said, describing the election results as a mandate for “inclusive growth, equitable development and a secular and plural India”.
The roadmap unveiled by Patil emphasised upon combining economic reforms with enhanced public investment to spur growth and consolidation of flagship programmes like Bharat Nirman, apart from enhancing the government’s accountability.
She also unveiled a 22-point agenda for the government that would be initiated within the next 100 days. The government’s first policy statement carried the stamp of the Congress and its manifesto for the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. Unlike 2004, when the UPA’s National Common Minimum Programme carried the imprint of the Left as well, this time, the Congress’ dominance is reflected in the Presidential Address as well.
In its first term, the UPA government could not pursue insurance sector reforms that included increasing the foreign direct investment (FDI) cap from 26 per cent to 49 per cent because of stiff resistance from Left parties.
The bill to amend the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act to raise the FDI cap in the private sector insurance companies is pending in the Rajya Sabha.
The President took up internal security on early in her address. She said a policy of “zero-tolerance” towards terrorism would be pursued. “Stern measures to handle insurgency and left wing extremism will be taken,” she said.
Patil also said New Delhi sought to “re-shape” relations with Pakistan depending upon Islamabad’s “sincerity in confronting terror groups on its soil launching attacks against India”.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Wake-up call for the future
The world will celebrate the 38th World Environment Day (WED) on Friday.
The WED theme for 2009 chosen by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) is “Your Planet Needs You! Unite to Combat Climate Change.”
World Environment Day was established by the UN General Assembly in October 1972, to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, and the adoption of the Human Environment Declaration in June of the same year.
Another solution, adopted by the General Assembly the same day, led to the creation of the UNEP.
From 1974, the UNEP annually chooses a theme for world environment day to boost worldwide awareness of the environment and enhance political attention and action.
With the development of industrialisation, humans created great wealth by making use of fossil fuels such as coal and crude oil, which has also brought on serious environmental problems caused by the emission of greenhouse gases and other pollutants.
According to a UN report, the density of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased significantly due to human activities since 1750 and the density of carbon dioxide has reached the highest level in some 6,50,000 years.
The UN report estimates that natural disasters including floods and droughts will become more frequent and stronger than ever as glaciers all over the world have shrunk greatly due to climate warming.
The UNEP called on people to take concrete actions in this year’s WED theme because it is of great significance for individuals to be aware of environment protection, besides the efforts of governments, enterprise and organisations, in the face of climate change.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a message to the 2009 WED, said “The economic and financial turmoil sweeping the globe is a true wake-up call, sounding an alarm about the need to improve upon old patterns of growth and make a transition to new era of greener, cleaner development.”
The WED theme for 2009 chosen by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) is “Your Planet Needs You! Unite to Combat Climate Change.”
World Environment Day was established by the UN General Assembly in October 1972, to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, and the adoption of the Human Environment Declaration in June of the same year.
Another solution, adopted by the General Assembly the same day, led to the creation of the UNEP.
From 1974, the UNEP annually chooses a theme for world environment day to boost worldwide awareness of the environment and enhance political attention and action.
With the development of industrialisation, humans created great wealth by making use of fossil fuels such as coal and crude oil, which has also brought on serious environmental problems caused by the emission of greenhouse gases and other pollutants.
According to a UN report, the density of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased significantly due to human activities since 1750 and the density of carbon dioxide has reached the highest level in some 6,50,000 years.
The UN report estimates that natural disasters including floods and droughts will become more frequent and stronger than ever as glaciers all over the world have shrunk greatly due to climate warming.
The UNEP called on people to take concrete actions in this year’s WED theme because it is of great significance for individuals to be aware of environment protection, besides the efforts of governments, enterprise and organisations, in the face of climate change.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a message to the 2009 WED, said “The economic and financial turmoil sweeping the globe is a true wake-up call, sounding an alarm about the need to improve upon old patterns of growth and make a transition to new era of greener, cleaner development.”
Medical scam just got bigger: PG seats for Rs 2cr
The TOI report on MBBS seats sold for between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 40 lakh by two private colleges in Chennai barely exposes the tip of the
iceberg. The scam gets bigger, more brazen as medical graduates embark on specializations that are necessary for a successful career. The price this year for a post-graduate seat in radiology in most leading private colleges across the country is Rs 2 crore while in cardiology, gynaecology and orthopaedics are priced around Rs 1.5 crore.
The main reason for such high rates is the dearth of seats for PG programmes. The average ratio of undergraduate (MBBS) seats to those for post-graduate is 100:29. In effect, nearly 32,000 doctors graduate from medical schools across the country every year, and the number of PG seats available to them is roughly one-third of the requirement.
Across India, there are 9,085 seats for clinical courses like cardiology, radiology, orthopaedics and gynaecology; a mere 662 seats for pre-clinical courses such as anatomy and physiology, and 1,303 seats in para-clinical programmes like pathology, micro-biology and forensic medicine. Of these, a large percentage are in private institutions which enjoy the freedom to charge hefty donations — which means, a bright MBBS graduate with no means to pay has few options.
``In India, only 80 doctors can become cardiologists in a year, while in the US, there are 800 positions to train cardiologists. As for kidney specialists, the US has more nephrologists of Indian origin than India has. India has only 60 seats for nephrology,'' said a Bangalore-based surgeon, who has been fighting for transparent admission procedures in admissions to graduate and post-graduate seats.
``Overall, less than 10% of the graduating medical batch gets PG seats through the general (government) pool,'' said the surgeon. Most PG seats, in simple terms, are auctioned or sold to the highest bidder. It's a system of exploitation that finds its eventual victim in the patient.
A senior doctor says, ``I agree the authorities can't increase seats easily because they don't have that many faculty members. But we need to make necessary amendments to the existing law to meet our growing demand. In the US, even an 80-year-old surgeon is legally authorized to do a brain surgery but here we ask a 60-year-old to retire from teaching,'' he said.
Another senior expert, who has held prestigious posts at the national level, says he has urged the UGC to hold centralized examinations like JEE for admissions to both MBBS and PG courses. ``It's a national shame to commercialize education. Besides, death of merit affects the quality of medical education. When money is paid, these colleges ensure that the exit is definite. The students pass, qualified or not,'' he said
iceberg. The scam gets bigger, more brazen as medical graduates embark on specializations that are necessary for a successful career. The price this year for a post-graduate seat in radiology in most leading private colleges across the country is Rs 2 crore while in cardiology, gynaecology and orthopaedics are priced around Rs 1.5 crore.
The main reason for such high rates is the dearth of seats for PG programmes. The average ratio of undergraduate (MBBS) seats to those for post-graduate is 100:29. In effect, nearly 32,000 doctors graduate from medical schools across the country every year, and the number of PG seats available to them is roughly one-third of the requirement.
Across India, there are 9,085 seats for clinical courses like cardiology, radiology, orthopaedics and gynaecology; a mere 662 seats for pre-clinical courses such as anatomy and physiology, and 1,303 seats in para-clinical programmes like pathology, micro-biology and forensic medicine. Of these, a large percentage are in private institutions which enjoy the freedom to charge hefty donations — which means, a bright MBBS graduate with no means to pay has few options.
``In India, only 80 doctors can become cardiologists in a year, while in the US, there are 800 positions to train cardiologists. As for kidney specialists, the US has more nephrologists of Indian origin than India has. India has only 60 seats for nephrology,'' said a Bangalore-based surgeon, who has been fighting for transparent admission procedures in admissions to graduate and post-graduate seats.
``Overall, less than 10% of the graduating medical batch gets PG seats through the general (government) pool,'' said the surgeon. Most PG seats, in simple terms, are auctioned or sold to the highest bidder. It's a system of exploitation that finds its eventual victim in the patient.
A senior doctor says, ``I agree the authorities can't increase seats easily because they don't have that many faculty members. But we need to make necessary amendments to the existing law to meet our growing demand. In the US, even an 80-year-old surgeon is legally authorized to do a brain surgery but here we ask a 60-year-old to retire from teaching,'' he said.
Another senior expert, who has held prestigious posts at the national level, says he has urged the UGC to hold centralized examinations like JEE for admissions to both MBBS and PG courses. ``It's a national shame to commercialize education. Besides, death of merit affects the quality of medical education. When money is paid, these colleges ensure that the exit is definite. The students pass, qualified or not,'' he said
ICC T20 World Cup kicking off today
The ICC World Twenty20 tournament is kicking off today with England to be facing the Netherlands in the opening match at Lords.
England are feeling positive ahead of their first Group B match following a convincing win over the West Indies in a warm up game on Wednesday.
Captain Paul Collingwood said, "We know we're going to have to play to our absolute potential to get to those semi-finals, but there's a lot of confidence around at the moment and it's all good - there's a real feelgood factor in the team."
England will look to improve their record in the limited overs tournament after only winning one game in the inaugural cup in South Africa two years ago.
India are favourites to win and they face Bangladesh in Group A on Saturday.
The group stages are made up of the top 12 cricket-playing nations in four groups of three.
The top two from each group go through to the Super Eights made up of two groups of four.
The semi-finals consist of the top two teams in those groups and will be played at Trent Bridge and The Oval.
The final takes place at Lord's on Sunday 21 June.
England are feeling positive ahead of their first Group B match following a convincing win over the West Indies in a warm up game on Wednesday.
Captain Paul Collingwood said, "We know we're going to have to play to our absolute potential to get to those semi-finals, but there's a lot of confidence around at the moment and it's all good - there's a real feelgood factor in the team."
England will look to improve their record in the limited overs tournament after only winning one game in the inaugural cup in South Africa two years ago.
India are favourites to win and they face Bangladesh in Group A on Saturday.
The group stages are made up of the top 12 cricket-playing nations in four groups of three.
The top two from each group go through to the Super Eights made up of two groups of four.
The semi-finals consist of the top two teams in those groups and will be played at Trent Bridge and The Oval.
The final takes place at Lord's on Sunday 21 June.
Cancer in Winter, Optimism in Spring
The grass in the backyard has come in dark and deep. The flowering trees in my neighborhood — magnolia and crab apple, dogwood and weeping cherry — are all billow and burst. Meanwhile, the robins hold sunrise conclaves on the front lawn, and the night birds gab and gossip past midnight.
I think I know how those birds feel.
After a very long winter of radiation and hormone treatment for my prostate cancer — a winter that sometimes felt as if it might never end — I, too, find myself giddy with the rush and optimism of spring.
I got the results late last month of my first post-treatment PSA blood test, and it measured less than 0.1. (PSA, for prostate specific antigen, is a way of determining whether prostate cancer is present in the body.) I know deep down that this is only the first of many tests to come — the next one is scheduled for three months from now — but “less than 0.1” is suddenly my new favorite number.
Besides that test result, there are other signs of personal renewal. The hair between my navel and my knees, defoliated by radiation, is growing back, and my radiation “tan” has just about faded.
I’ve stopped using any kind of man-pad for incontinence — I’d forgotten that wearing underwear can actually feel airy — and the random clandestine trickle is a fair trade for the sense of freedom. I still exercise my bladder muscles, though, and when I have to go, I have to go.
When I met with my oncologist the other day, my vital signs were more a reflection of the old me, before cancer. My blood pressure was 110/70 and my pulse 61, but I weighed 219.4 pounds — about 20 pounds more than I’m used to.
Lupron, the hormone used in my treatment to suppress testosterone (the fuel for prostate cancer), led to a weight gain of 25 pounds or so. But the dual gambits of having a buzz cut and wearing my shirts outside my jeans lead people to act shocked when I say that I need to lose 20 pounds. Of course, they could be faking it for my sake.
I had my last Lupron shot two-and-a-half months ago, and my testosterone level has crept back to 364; between 241 and 827 is the normal range. With that increase, my prodigal libido has finally skulked back home, like a muddy and randy mutt that’s run off for a couple days. I’ve even started running again.
Not that everything is perfect. My sex drive is back, but erectile function is still a work in progress. And even now, 10 months after the surgery to remove my prostate, I get stray twinges where I was cut.
And as good as I feel these days, my energy level is still erratic. When the sun goes down, I usually start sinking, too — into my armchair in the den. And on Friday nights, at the end of the workweek, I’m about as perky as an extra in a George Romero zombie movie.
In those moments, though, I remind myself that I’m still a patient — and will be for a long time. And that there are still plenty of lessons to be learned and talked about.
But as I run in the park near my house at dusk, huffing and scuffing through the pink and white petals — and trying to sweat off those 20 parasitic pounds —I don’t feel like a patient.
As lacrosse and soccer practices wind down, as old couples and young couples stroll, and as the dogs keenly sniff at each other, I simply feel like myself. And I haven’t felt that way in a long time.
I think I know how those birds feel.
After a very long winter of radiation and hormone treatment for my prostate cancer — a winter that sometimes felt as if it might never end — I, too, find myself giddy with the rush and optimism of spring.
I got the results late last month of my first post-treatment PSA blood test, and it measured less than 0.1. (PSA, for prostate specific antigen, is a way of determining whether prostate cancer is present in the body.) I know deep down that this is only the first of many tests to come — the next one is scheduled for three months from now — but “less than 0.1” is suddenly my new favorite number.
Besides that test result, there are other signs of personal renewal. The hair between my navel and my knees, defoliated by radiation, is growing back, and my radiation “tan” has just about faded.
I’ve stopped using any kind of man-pad for incontinence — I’d forgotten that wearing underwear can actually feel airy — and the random clandestine trickle is a fair trade for the sense of freedom. I still exercise my bladder muscles, though, and when I have to go, I have to go.
When I met with my oncologist the other day, my vital signs were more a reflection of the old me, before cancer. My blood pressure was 110/70 and my pulse 61, but I weighed 219.4 pounds — about 20 pounds more than I’m used to.
Lupron, the hormone used in my treatment to suppress testosterone (the fuel for prostate cancer), led to a weight gain of 25 pounds or so. But the dual gambits of having a buzz cut and wearing my shirts outside my jeans lead people to act shocked when I say that I need to lose 20 pounds. Of course, they could be faking it for my sake.
I had my last Lupron shot two-and-a-half months ago, and my testosterone level has crept back to 364; between 241 and 827 is the normal range. With that increase, my prodigal libido has finally skulked back home, like a muddy and randy mutt that’s run off for a couple days. I’ve even started running again.
Not that everything is perfect. My sex drive is back, but erectile function is still a work in progress. And even now, 10 months after the surgery to remove my prostate, I get stray twinges where I was cut.
And as good as I feel these days, my energy level is still erratic. When the sun goes down, I usually start sinking, too — into my armchair in the den. And on Friday nights, at the end of the workweek, I’m about as perky as an extra in a George Romero zombie movie.
In those moments, though, I remind myself that I’m still a patient — and will be for a long time. And that there are still plenty of lessons to be learned and talked about.
But as I run in the park near my house at dusk, huffing and scuffing through the pink and white petals — and trying to sweat off those 20 parasitic pounds —I don’t feel like a patient.
As lacrosse and soccer practices wind down, as old couples and young couples stroll, and as the dogs keenly sniff at each other, I simply feel like myself. And I haven’t felt that way in a long time.
My Brief Life as a Woman
As my wife and I sat on the couch one night this past winter, reading and half-watching the inevitable HGTV, I started sweating hard and my face got so fevered and flushed that I felt as if I were peering into an oven.
I turned to Deb and said, “Man, I’m having a wicked hot flash.” And she said, “Me, too.” Then we laughed. You laugh a lot — unless your hormones are making you cry — when you’re having menopause with your wife.
I was in the middle of treatment for an aggressive case of prostate cancer last winter, and it included a six-month course of hormone therapy. My Lupron shots suppressed testosterone, which is the fuel for prostate cancer.
When your testosterone is being throttled, there are bound to be side effects. So, with the help of Lupron, I spent a few months aboard the Good Ship Menopause with all the physical baggage that entails. It’s a trip that most men don’t expect to take.
The side effect that surprised me most were the hot flashes — not that I got them, I was expecting that, but by how intense they were. They often woke me in the middle of the night and made me sweat so much that I drenched the sheets. In midwinter I’d walk our miniature poodle, Bijou, wearing shorts and a T-shirt. I sometimes felt as if Deb could fry eggs on my chest. (It’s also a bit disconcerting when your hot flashes are fiercer than your wife’s.)
When it comes to hot flashes, ladies, I salute you. After my brief dalliance with that hormonal phenomenon, it seems to me it’s an under-reported condition. And it’s certainly under-represented in the arts. Where are the great hot flash novels or movies? How come there’s not a Web site or magazine called “Hot Flash Monthly”?
Hand in hand with the hot flashes came the food cravings. I lusted after Cheetos and Peanut Butter M&M’s, maple-walnut milkshakes, and spaghetti and meatballs buried in a blizzard of Parmesan. Isn’t it funny how cravings very rarely involve tofu, bean curd or omega-3 oils?
Then there was the weight issue. During the six months I was on Lupron I gained about 25 pounds. That was partly a byproduct of the cravings, but it also stemmed from the hormonal changes triggered in my body.
And I hated it, hated it, hated it. I had never had to worry about my weight, and I began to understand why media aimed at women and girls obsess over weight so much. It was strange and unsettling not to be able to tell my body, “No,” when it wanted to wolf down a fistful of Doritos slathered with scallion cream cheese.
When I wasn’t devouring a king-size Italian sub or smoldering from a hot flash, it seemed that I was crying. The tears would usually pour down when I got ambushed by some old tune: “Sweet Baby James” and “Fire and Rain” by James Taylor, “That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be” by Carly Simon and, yes, “It’s My Party” by Lesley Gore. Not only was I temporarily menopausal, but it appeared that I was also turning into a teenage girl from the early 1970s.
There were other side effects, too, like headaches and fatigue. But when I started drinking Diet Coke for the first time in my life, my son Owen couldn’t take it anymore. He said, “Dad, are you turning into a chick?”
So, what else did I learn during my six months of hormone therapy?
Even though I only got to spend a brief time on the outer precincts of menopause, it did confirm my lifelong sense that the world of women is hormonal and mysterious, and that we men don’t have the semblance of a clue.
And, guys, when your significant female other bursts into tears at the drop of a dinner plate or turns on you like a rabid pit bull — whether she’s pregnant, having her period or in the throes of menopause — believe her when she blames it on the hormones.
One more thing. I don’t really know whether menopause likes company — you’d have to ask my wife that — but I do know that it really, really likes HGTV and Peanut Butter M&M’s.
I turned to Deb and said, “Man, I’m having a wicked hot flash.” And she said, “Me, too.” Then we laughed. You laugh a lot — unless your hormones are making you cry — when you’re having menopause with your wife.
I was in the middle of treatment for an aggressive case of prostate cancer last winter, and it included a six-month course of hormone therapy. My Lupron shots suppressed testosterone, which is the fuel for prostate cancer.
When your testosterone is being throttled, there are bound to be side effects. So, with the help of Lupron, I spent a few months aboard the Good Ship Menopause with all the physical baggage that entails. It’s a trip that most men don’t expect to take.
The side effect that surprised me most were the hot flashes — not that I got them, I was expecting that, but by how intense they were. They often woke me in the middle of the night and made me sweat so much that I drenched the sheets. In midwinter I’d walk our miniature poodle, Bijou, wearing shorts and a T-shirt. I sometimes felt as if Deb could fry eggs on my chest. (It’s also a bit disconcerting when your hot flashes are fiercer than your wife’s.)
When it comes to hot flashes, ladies, I salute you. After my brief dalliance with that hormonal phenomenon, it seems to me it’s an under-reported condition. And it’s certainly under-represented in the arts. Where are the great hot flash novels or movies? How come there’s not a Web site or magazine called “Hot Flash Monthly”?
Hand in hand with the hot flashes came the food cravings. I lusted after Cheetos and Peanut Butter M&M’s, maple-walnut milkshakes, and spaghetti and meatballs buried in a blizzard of Parmesan. Isn’t it funny how cravings very rarely involve tofu, bean curd or omega-3 oils?
Then there was the weight issue. During the six months I was on Lupron I gained about 25 pounds. That was partly a byproduct of the cravings, but it also stemmed from the hormonal changes triggered in my body.
And I hated it, hated it, hated it. I had never had to worry about my weight, and I began to understand why media aimed at women and girls obsess over weight so much. It was strange and unsettling not to be able to tell my body, “No,” when it wanted to wolf down a fistful of Doritos slathered with scallion cream cheese.
When I wasn’t devouring a king-size Italian sub or smoldering from a hot flash, it seemed that I was crying. The tears would usually pour down when I got ambushed by some old tune: “Sweet Baby James” and “Fire and Rain” by James Taylor, “That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be” by Carly Simon and, yes, “It’s My Party” by Lesley Gore. Not only was I temporarily menopausal, but it appeared that I was also turning into a teenage girl from the early 1970s.
There were other side effects, too, like headaches and fatigue. But when I started drinking Diet Coke for the first time in my life, my son Owen couldn’t take it anymore. He said, “Dad, are you turning into a chick?”
So, what else did I learn during my six months of hormone therapy?
Even though I only got to spend a brief time on the outer precincts of menopause, it did confirm my lifelong sense that the world of women is hormonal and mysterious, and that we men don’t have the semblance of a clue.
And, guys, when your significant female other bursts into tears at the drop of a dinner plate or turns on you like a rabid pit bull — whether she’s pregnant, having her period or in the throes of menopause — believe her when she blames it on the hormones.
One more thing. I don’t really know whether menopause likes company — you’d have to ask my wife that — but I do know that it really, really likes HGTV and Peanut Butter M&M’s.
Thousands Gather in Hong Kong for Tiananmen Vigil
Throngs of men, women and children gathered at a park here on Thursday evening for an enormous candlelight vigil to mark the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square killingsThrongs of men, women and children gathered at a park here on Thursday evening for an enormous candlelight vigil to mark the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square killings.
organizers said that 150,000 people joined the vigil, tying the record set by the first anniversary vigil in 1990 and dwarfing every vigil held since then. The police estimated the crowd at 62,800, their largest estimate for any vigil except in 1990, which they put at 80,000.
Even before the vigil began at 8 p.m., the tens of thousands of people assembled represented the largest crowd for the annual event here in recent years. The only crowd since the early 1990s that came remotely close was in 2004, when the fifteenth anniversary of the military crackdown coincided with a surge in pro-democracy sentiment in Hong Kong.
Throughout the park, banners in Chinese demanded the vindication of the students and other Beijing residents who perished during the Chinese government crackdown against the protesters. There were people of all ages, from grey-haired retirees to young children whose parents accompanied them to explain why they felt so deeply about an event that took place before they were born.
Yvonne Chow, a middle-age social worker, said that she had come to the vigil every year for two decades and was heartened to see the turnout on Thursday night.
“I am very happy that people have not forgotten the massacre in Tiananmen on June 4,” she said. “I am very sad because it destroyed our hopes for democracy.”
Brian Cha, a 35-year-old interior designer, said that while the 20th anniversary was an important one, he also came because he was angered by recent comments by Donald Tsang, Hong Kong’s chief executive, who suggested that critics of the crackdown should also take into account China’s many successes since 1989.
Carrie Ho, a 35-year-old marketer, said that she came to the annual vigil for only the second time partly because of the Hong Kong government’s decision to bar some activists from entering the territory in recent weeks. The government’s action undermined freedom in the territory, she said.
In 2004, organizers estimated the crowd at 82,000, though the police then gave a lower estimate of 48,000. That had been the largest vigil since 1991, when 100,000 attended.
Heavy rainstorms dumped 1.45 inches of rain on Hong Kong early Thursday morning, but the streets dried and the skies cleared through the day. The crowds gathered under cloudless skies and a nearly full moon that rose past the skyscrapers to shine down among the park’s palm trees.
When a large crowd showed up in 2004, it was after public pressure had forced the government to retreat from plans to impose stringent internal security legislation sought by Beijing. The local government has not sought since then to reintroduce the legislation.
The push for democracy has lost some of its impetus in Hong Kong over the past five years, as the economy has improved and as Mr. Tsang, who is more politically adept, has taken office.
The success of Hong Kong residents in halting the internal security legislation in 2004, however, had an indirect affect on allowing the vigil here to grow to the huge size it was this year.
“Prisoner of the State,” the secret journal of Zhao Ziyang, the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in the two years leading up to the Tiananmen Square crackdown, has just been published here and has immediately sold out. Mr. Zhao’s posthumous revelations about discord at the top of the Communist Party on how to respond to the student protests — he opposed the crackdown — have revived discussion of the events 20 years ago and Chinese-language copies of the book from Hong Kong are said to have been smuggled to the mainland.
In an addition to the usual schedule of the vigil, the organizers played an excerpt from a recording that Mr. Zhao made of his journal. Mr. Zhao defended the students in Tiananmen Square, saying that they wanted the Chinese Communist Party to correct its wrongs but did not seek to overthrow it.
Bao Pu, one of the three translators and editors of the book, said in a lunch speech at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club here on Thursday that it would have been much harder to publish the book here if the internal security legislation had been approved. He attributed the government’s retreat to a huge march here on July 1, 2003, with a crowd that police put at 350,000 and organizers at up to 700,000.
“Those people who were on the streets that day made a contribution,” Mr. Bao said
organizers said that 150,000 people joined the vigil, tying the record set by the first anniversary vigil in 1990 and dwarfing every vigil held since then. The police estimated the crowd at 62,800, their largest estimate for any vigil except in 1990, which they put at 80,000.
Even before the vigil began at 8 p.m., the tens of thousands of people assembled represented the largest crowd for the annual event here in recent years. The only crowd since the early 1990s that came remotely close was in 2004, when the fifteenth anniversary of the military crackdown coincided with a surge in pro-democracy sentiment in Hong Kong.
Throughout the park, banners in Chinese demanded the vindication of the students and other Beijing residents who perished during the Chinese government crackdown against the protesters. There were people of all ages, from grey-haired retirees to young children whose parents accompanied them to explain why they felt so deeply about an event that took place before they were born.
Yvonne Chow, a middle-age social worker, said that she had come to the vigil every year for two decades and was heartened to see the turnout on Thursday night.
“I am very happy that people have not forgotten the massacre in Tiananmen on June 4,” she said. “I am very sad because it destroyed our hopes for democracy.”
Brian Cha, a 35-year-old interior designer, said that while the 20th anniversary was an important one, he also came because he was angered by recent comments by Donald Tsang, Hong Kong’s chief executive, who suggested that critics of the crackdown should also take into account China’s many successes since 1989.
Carrie Ho, a 35-year-old marketer, said that she came to the annual vigil for only the second time partly because of the Hong Kong government’s decision to bar some activists from entering the territory in recent weeks. The government’s action undermined freedom in the territory, she said.
In 2004, organizers estimated the crowd at 82,000, though the police then gave a lower estimate of 48,000. That had been the largest vigil since 1991, when 100,000 attended.
Heavy rainstorms dumped 1.45 inches of rain on Hong Kong early Thursday morning, but the streets dried and the skies cleared through the day. The crowds gathered under cloudless skies and a nearly full moon that rose past the skyscrapers to shine down among the park’s palm trees.
When a large crowd showed up in 2004, it was after public pressure had forced the government to retreat from plans to impose stringent internal security legislation sought by Beijing. The local government has not sought since then to reintroduce the legislation.
The push for democracy has lost some of its impetus in Hong Kong over the past five years, as the economy has improved and as Mr. Tsang, who is more politically adept, has taken office.
The success of Hong Kong residents in halting the internal security legislation in 2004, however, had an indirect affect on allowing the vigil here to grow to the huge size it was this year.
“Prisoner of the State,” the secret journal of Zhao Ziyang, the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in the two years leading up to the Tiananmen Square crackdown, has just been published here and has immediately sold out. Mr. Zhao’s posthumous revelations about discord at the top of the Communist Party on how to respond to the student protests — he opposed the crackdown — have revived discussion of the events 20 years ago and Chinese-language copies of the book from Hong Kong are said to have been smuggled to the mainland.
In an addition to the usual schedule of the vigil, the organizers played an excerpt from a recording that Mr. Zhao made of his journal. Mr. Zhao defended the students in Tiananmen Square, saying that they wanted the Chinese Communist Party to correct its wrongs but did not seek to overthrow it.
Bao Pu, one of the three translators and editors of the book, said in a lunch speech at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club here on Thursday that it would have been much harder to publish the book here if the internal security legislation had been approved. He attributed the government’s retreat to a huge march here on July 1, 2003, with a crowd that police put at 350,000 and organizers at up to 700,000.
“Those people who were on the streets that day made a contribution,” Mr. Bao said
Iran's supreme leader blasts Ahmadinejad for corruption claims
Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, faced a rare backlash from some of the country's most powerful officials today after a furious television debate in which he labelled many of his critics corrupt.
In the most significant development, Ahmadinejad appeared to have irked the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, over his performance in Wednesday night's debate with Mir Hossein Mousavi, his main opponent in next week's presidential election.
"One doesn't like to see a nominee, for the sake of proving himself, seeking to negate somebody else," Khamenei said in a speech commemorating the 20th anniversary of the death of the Iranian revolution's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Khomeini. "I have no problem with debate, dialogue and criticism but these debates must take place within a religious framework."
Khamenei has previously given Ahmadinejad his public backing and his support is considered essential if the president is to win a second term. Ahmadinejad may have been relieved to note that the supreme leader also found fault with his rival's rhetoric, particularly a segment where Mousavi criticised the incumbent for his "extremist" foreign policy.
"I do not accept the sayings of those who imagine that our nation has become belittled in the world because of its commitment to its principles," Khamenei said, adding "this path will continue until final victory".
Ahmadinejad's accusations of corruption prompted a string of senior figures – including former president Hashemi Rafsanjani – to demand a right of reply.
Apparently trailing in the opinion polls, Ahmadinejad attempted to link Mousavi – the main reformist candidate – to the past governments of Rafsanjani and the reformist ex-president Mohammad Khatam, which he said had been guilty of widespread graft. Among others, he singled out Rafsanjani's sons as well as Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri, the current head of the supreme leader's inspectorate.
Khamenei's criticisms echoed those of Mousavi, who told Ahmadinejad during the debate: "This is a sin. We are Muslims, we believe in God. We cannot name people like that and accuse them."
The most remarkable part of an acerbic encounter came when Ahmadinejad held up a file apparently referring to Mousavi's wife, Zahra Rahnavard, and questioned her qualifications. "Can I speak about the education background of a lady with you – shall I," Ahmadinejad said in a goading tone. He accused Rahnavard, who has been campaigning with her husband, of gaining two degrees illegally and starting a PhD without sitting an entrance exam.
He also said she had become a university lecturer and chancellor without the necessary qualifications.
Mousavi, taken aback, replied by telling viewers that they should vote for him "if you want to change this atmosphere of so easily accusing other people".
After the debate, pro-Mousavi students took to the streets of Tehran chanting: "Ahmadinejad, impolite person, shame on you. Leave this country alone."
One Mousavi supporter was reported to have died in clashes with Ahmadinejad's followers in the eastern city of Mashhad.
Tensions have been rising ahead of the election. A bombing in a mosque last week killed 25 people in the south-west and another bout of unrest left five more dead on Monday. Khamenei has rebuked the west for meddling in Iranian affairs, and yesterday said that foreigners were trying to undermine Iran ahead of the vote, by insinuating that results would be falsified and the vote would not be competitive.
"During the past two or three months, foreign radio programmes have been tarnishing the elections, making people pessimistic," he said, accusing foreign media of "confiscating the hope of the Iranian people
In the most significant development, Ahmadinejad appeared to have irked the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, over his performance in Wednesday night's debate with Mir Hossein Mousavi, his main opponent in next week's presidential election.
"One doesn't like to see a nominee, for the sake of proving himself, seeking to negate somebody else," Khamenei said in a speech commemorating the 20th anniversary of the death of the Iranian revolution's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Khomeini. "I have no problem with debate, dialogue and criticism but these debates must take place within a religious framework."
Khamenei has previously given Ahmadinejad his public backing and his support is considered essential if the president is to win a second term. Ahmadinejad may have been relieved to note that the supreme leader also found fault with his rival's rhetoric, particularly a segment where Mousavi criticised the incumbent for his "extremist" foreign policy.
"I do not accept the sayings of those who imagine that our nation has become belittled in the world because of its commitment to its principles," Khamenei said, adding "this path will continue until final victory".
Ahmadinejad's accusations of corruption prompted a string of senior figures – including former president Hashemi Rafsanjani – to demand a right of reply.
Apparently trailing in the opinion polls, Ahmadinejad attempted to link Mousavi – the main reformist candidate – to the past governments of Rafsanjani and the reformist ex-president Mohammad Khatam, which he said had been guilty of widespread graft. Among others, he singled out Rafsanjani's sons as well as Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri, the current head of the supreme leader's inspectorate.
Khamenei's criticisms echoed those of Mousavi, who told Ahmadinejad during the debate: "This is a sin. We are Muslims, we believe in God. We cannot name people like that and accuse them."
The most remarkable part of an acerbic encounter came when Ahmadinejad held up a file apparently referring to Mousavi's wife, Zahra Rahnavard, and questioned her qualifications. "Can I speak about the education background of a lady with you – shall I," Ahmadinejad said in a goading tone. He accused Rahnavard, who has been campaigning with her husband, of gaining two degrees illegally and starting a PhD without sitting an entrance exam.
He also said she had become a university lecturer and chancellor without the necessary qualifications.
Mousavi, taken aback, replied by telling viewers that they should vote for him "if you want to change this atmosphere of so easily accusing other people".
After the debate, pro-Mousavi students took to the streets of Tehran chanting: "Ahmadinejad, impolite person, shame on you. Leave this country alone."
One Mousavi supporter was reported to have died in clashes with Ahmadinejad's followers in the eastern city of Mashhad.
Tensions have been rising ahead of the election. A bombing in a mosque last week killed 25 people in the south-west and another bout of unrest left five more dead on Monday. Khamenei has rebuked the west for meddling in Iranian affairs, and yesterday said that foreigners were trying to undermine Iran ahead of the vote, by insinuating that results would be falsified and the vote would not be competitive.
"During the past two or three months, foreign radio programmes have been tarnishing the elections, making people pessimistic," he said, accusing foreign media of "confiscating the hope of the Iranian people
Barack Obama woos Muslim world with call for a new understanding
Barack Obama used his long-heralded speech to the Muslim world today to call for a new beginning in relations and made an impassioned plea for a two-state solution to resolve the bitter conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
Seeking to draw a line under the war in Iraq, Guantánamo Bay and other Bush policies, Obama went out of his way to display understanding of the causes of Muslim resentment and mistrust of the west.
Ian Black, Middle East editor, reports from Cairo on Barack Obama's speech to the Muslim world Link to this audio But as he left for Germany and France for D-Day celebrations his landmark address drew mixed reviews for a performance many found sensitively crafted and sincere but lacking substance or novelty.
"I have come here to seek a new beginning between the US and Muslims around the world, one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect," the president told an invited audience at Cairo University. "America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition."
Obama's messages on the hot-button issues of Israel, the Palestinians and Iran did not break new ground, while passages on Afghanistan, Iraq and fighting violent extremism also replayed familiar themes. Still, some of his strongest words were reserved for the ever-contentious issue of Israel and the Palestinians, whose life under occupation was "intolerable".
There was loud applause when he said emphatically: "The US does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop."
But comments that presage a clash with Binyamin Netanyahu's rightwing government were balanced with an appeal to the Palestinian movement Hamas to abandon violence. "It is a sign of neither courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus," he said.
Obama also referred to America's "unbreakable bond" with Israel, which he coupled with a bold attack on "baseless, ignorant and hateful" denial of the Nazi Holocaust – a staple of the hardline Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The Cairo speech had been billed as one of Obama's most important, and was keenly awaited after a fleeting visit to Iraq, a Persian new year message to Iran, and a speech to the Turkish parliament in Ankara.
Obama painted a flattering picture of Islamic religion, culture and civilisation, starting with the traditional Arabic greeting, assalaamu alaykum – "peace be upon you" – drawing a thunderous ovation.
As expected, he referred to his own Muslim roots, mentioning the azaan call to prayer that he heard while a child in Indonesia. He played the religious card deftly. America would never be at war with Islam. "The Holy Qur'an teaches that whoever kills an innocent, it is as if he has killed all mankind; and whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind.
"The faith of over a billion people is so much bigger than the narrow hatred of a few. Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism – it is an important part of promoting peace."
He referred to his decision to close the Guantánamo Bay detention camp and did not use the Bush-era phrase "war on terror". Religious freedom and women's rights were also emphasised – a challenge to intolerance and bigotry.
Obama's comments on democracy – a burning issue in US allies Egypt and Saudi Arabia and most Arab countries – were detailed but non-specific, a disappointment if not a surprise to activists.
"America does not presume to know what is best for everyone, just as we would not presume to pick the outcome of a peaceful election," the president said. "But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose.
''Those are not just American ideas, they are human rights, and that is why we will support them everywhere."
Reaction was varied. In Damascus, the Hamas leader Khaled Meshal told Time magazine: "Undoubtedly Obama speaks a new language. We are looking for more than just mere words … We are keen to contribute to this. But we [believe that can not happen] merely with words."
"It was basically a very conciliatory speech," said Hisham Kassem, one of Egypt's leading commentators. "Obama was saying 'I'm not George Bush'. But there was very little policy and very little you could hold him accountable to."
Mohamed Habib, deputy leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement that poses the strongest opposition to Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian regime, called the speech "a public relations address". Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon both attacked it.
In the speech Obama defended US strategy in Afghanistan and Iraq but made it clear he did not wish to maintain a permanent military presence in either country.
Obama's message on Iran – where Ahmadinejad is facing crucial presidential elections next week – repeated a commitment to "mutual respect" between the old adversaries.
But he issued a warning on the burning issue of nuclear weapons. "We have reached a decisive point. This is not simply about America's interests. It is about preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that could lead this region and the world down a hugely dangerous path
Seeking to draw a line under the war in Iraq, Guantánamo Bay and other Bush policies, Obama went out of his way to display understanding of the causes of Muslim resentment and mistrust of the west.
Ian Black, Middle East editor, reports from Cairo on Barack Obama's speech to the Muslim world Link to this audio But as he left for Germany and France for D-Day celebrations his landmark address drew mixed reviews for a performance many found sensitively crafted and sincere but lacking substance or novelty.
"I have come here to seek a new beginning between the US and Muslims around the world, one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect," the president told an invited audience at Cairo University. "America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition."
Obama's messages on the hot-button issues of Israel, the Palestinians and Iran did not break new ground, while passages on Afghanistan, Iraq and fighting violent extremism also replayed familiar themes. Still, some of his strongest words were reserved for the ever-contentious issue of Israel and the Palestinians, whose life under occupation was "intolerable".
There was loud applause when he said emphatically: "The US does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop."
But comments that presage a clash with Binyamin Netanyahu's rightwing government were balanced with an appeal to the Palestinian movement Hamas to abandon violence. "It is a sign of neither courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus," he said.
Obama also referred to America's "unbreakable bond" with Israel, which he coupled with a bold attack on "baseless, ignorant and hateful" denial of the Nazi Holocaust – a staple of the hardline Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The Cairo speech had been billed as one of Obama's most important, and was keenly awaited after a fleeting visit to Iraq, a Persian new year message to Iran, and a speech to the Turkish parliament in Ankara.
Obama painted a flattering picture of Islamic religion, culture and civilisation, starting with the traditional Arabic greeting, assalaamu alaykum – "peace be upon you" – drawing a thunderous ovation.
As expected, he referred to his own Muslim roots, mentioning the azaan call to prayer that he heard while a child in Indonesia. He played the religious card deftly. America would never be at war with Islam. "The Holy Qur'an teaches that whoever kills an innocent, it is as if he has killed all mankind; and whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind.
"The faith of over a billion people is so much bigger than the narrow hatred of a few. Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism – it is an important part of promoting peace."
He referred to his decision to close the Guantánamo Bay detention camp and did not use the Bush-era phrase "war on terror". Religious freedom and women's rights were also emphasised – a challenge to intolerance and bigotry.
Obama's comments on democracy – a burning issue in US allies Egypt and Saudi Arabia and most Arab countries – were detailed but non-specific, a disappointment if not a surprise to activists.
"America does not presume to know what is best for everyone, just as we would not presume to pick the outcome of a peaceful election," the president said. "But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose.
''Those are not just American ideas, they are human rights, and that is why we will support them everywhere."
Reaction was varied. In Damascus, the Hamas leader Khaled Meshal told Time magazine: "Undoubtedly Obama speaks a new language. We are looking for more than just mere words … We are keen to contribute to this. But we [believe that can not happen] merely with words."
"It was basically a very conciliatory speech," said Hisham Kassem, one of Egypt's leading commentators. "Obama was saying 'I'm not George Bush'. But there was very little policy and very little you could hold him accountable to."
Mohamed Habib, deputy leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement that poses the strongest opposition to Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian regime, called the speech "a public relations address". Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon both attacked it.
In the speech Obama defended US strategy in Afghanistan and Iraq but made it clear he did not wish to maintain a permanent military presence in either country.
Obama's message on Iran – where Ahmadinejad is facing crucial presidential elections next week – repeated a commitment to "mutual respect" between the old adversaries.
But he issued a warning on the burning issue of nuclear weapons. "We have reached a decisive point. This is not simply about America's interests. It is about preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that could lead this region and the world down a hugely dangerous path
French student murders: parents sue over killer's parole
The parents of murdered French students Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez are to sue British authorities over systematic failures in the justice system that contributed to their sons' deaths.
Olivier Ferez said tonight that an apology from the justice secretary, Jack Straw, "will not suffice" and the matter was in the hands of his lawyers.
Speaking at a press conference at Scotland Yard after two men were sentenced to life for the murders, Laurent's father, Guy Bonomo, said they knew their children "would be alive today if the British justice system had not failed us". Prosecutors described as "an orgy of bloodletting" the attacks in June last when the Frenchmen were tied up in their London flat, tortured and stabbed 244 times.
Their bodies were found after an explosion sparked by the murderers setting fire to the flat in New Cross, south-east London.
Dano Sonnex, 23, from Peckham, and Nigel Farmer, 34, of no fixed address, were convicted today, with the judge sentencing Sonnex to a minimum of 40 years and Farmer a minimum of 35 years in jail.
At the time of the murders Sonnex was out on parole under probation supervision after serving an eight-year sentence for violence and robbery.
Straw has apologised in person to the families of the victims and in February accepted the resignation of London's chief probation officer over the "grave failings" in the handling of the case. Official internal probation and police inquiry reports published alongside the verdicts identify a series of "serious management failings" by probation staff, the police and nearly every other part of the criminal justice system.
Straw said that as justice secretary he took full responsibility for the failings of the probation service. "Sonnex could and should have been in custody at the time he committed these murders," he said. "It was the consequence of very serious failures across the criminal justice system that he had not been arrested and incarcerated some weeks before."
The supervision of Sonnex was left in the hands of a newly-qualified probation officer who was struggling with a caseload of 127 offenders in the understaffed Lewisham probation office where nobody had more than two years' experience.
Among the blunders was the failure to identify Sonnex as a high-risk offender, that it took 33 days for a warrant to be issued to send him back to prison, that the courts mistakenly released him on bail, and that even then the police failed to go and look for him until the day of the murders.
On sentencing, Mr Justice Saunders told the Old Bailey the pair had only escaped being jailed without chance of parole for the "truly horrific" murders because of their young age.
He told the killers: "The misery and suffering that you have caused cannot be measured. These are the worst crimes I have ever had to deal with and, unhappily, no punishment that I can pass can ever bring any real comfort to the families.
"Only you two know exactly what happened, why it happened, and which of you bears the greater blame."
At least half of the 12 jury members were in tears as they listened to the prosecutor read out victim impact statements by the fathers of the two boys and one of their mothers. Both men and women dabbed their eyes and some struggled to compose themselves.
Guy Bonomo's statement addressed his son's killers directly. He said: "We have sat in court for the last six weeks, hoping for answers, trying to find out what happened to our children. But you have lied in court and have refused to tell the truth. This is what we have been waiting for. Without knowing what happened that night and why, we cannot move on and find peace. I ask you again, why?"
Francoise Villemont, Ferez's mother, said: "How to carry on, to live and survive after you have lost your murdered child in such inhuman conditions. He died suffering in such a way; I could never forget what was done to him. This barbaric act is indescribable and inexcusable. No human being deserves such a death. To die for so little gain does not make any sense to anybody."
The jury was told that both of the accused were habitual users of drugs, including crack cocaine, and Sonnex had a long history of violence. During the trial each blamed the other for the killings.
Sonnex had been jailed for wounding with intent and robbery in 2003 and released on licence in February last year. He was subsequently arrested for handling stolen goods and had his licence revoked. Sonnex told the court he was back in custody for "four or five weeks tops".
At the start of the trial Sonnex admitted one count of burglary, which Farmer denied. Both pleaded not guilty to murder, arson, false imprisonment and trying to pervert the course of justice.
Farmer chewed gum impassively as he listened to the jury foreman say that he had been found guilty on all six charges by a majority of 11 to one.
Sonnex's face was fixed in a frown that he cast downwards, only intermittently lifting it to look at the jury. As he was led from the dock he stared at Laurent Bonomo's father and shrugged his shoulders before going down to the cells.
In his statement released at the end of the trial, David Scott, the former chief probation officer of London who resigned over the case, said that "probation risks becoming a Cinderella service unless urgent attention is paid to its workload, over which it has few effective controls, as well as to its absence from key decision-making about policy and resources".
He said the murders filled him with regret: "I took full responsibility for the performance of the staff that I led, and tendered my resignation as soon as it was clear that failings in the probation service were partly to blame for allowing the crimes to take place."
Harry Fletcher of Napo, the probation union, said blaming individuals avoided the acceptance of political responsibility. "Ministers should either fund the criminal justice system and allow probation officers to do their job properly or stop claiming they are protecting the public. Probation did receive additional funds over the last decade but it did not result in extra probation officers."
Since the Sonnex case an extra 60 probation officers have been drafted into London with a further 80 to be recruited this year. An urgent assessment is being undertaken by the chief inspector of probation, Andrew Bridges, on the rest of London probation.
Only three years after the similar Monckton murder case caused a national outcry, probation chiefs insist that work with high-risk offenders in specialist probation public protection units across the capital has improved. But the failure in this case – where Sonnex was wrongly categorised as a medium-risk offender – shows little improvement in general probation work in London.
Olivier Ferez said tonight that an apology from the justice secretary, Jack Straw, "will not suffice" and the matter was in the hands of his lawyers.
Speaking at a press conference at Scotland Yard after two men were sentenced to life for the murders, Laurent's father, Guy Bonomo, said they knew their children "would be alive today if the British justice system had not failed us". Prosecutors described as "an orgy of bloodletting" the attacks in June last when the Frenchmen were tied up in their London flat, tortured and stabbed 244 times.
Their bodies were found after an explosion sparked by the murderers setting fire to the flat in New Cross, south-east London.
Dano Sonnex, 23, from Peckham, and Nigel Farmer, 34, of no fixed address, were convicted today, with the judge sentencing Sonnex to a minimum of 40 years and Farmer a minimum of 35 years in jail.
At the time of the murders Sonnex was out on parole under probation supervision after serving an eight-year sentence for violence and robbery.
Straw has apologised in person to the families of the victims and in February accepted the resignation of London's chief probation officer over the "grave failings" in the handling of the case. Official internal probation and police inquiry reports published alongside the verdicts identify a series of "serious management failings" by probation staff, the police and nearly every other part of the criminal justice system.
Straw said that as justice secretary he took full responsibility for the failings of the probation service. "Sonnex could and should have been in custody at the time he committed these murders," he said. "It was the consequence of very serious failures across the criminal justice system that he had not been arrested and incarcerated some weeks before."
The supervision of Sonnex was left in the hands of a newly-qualified probation officer who was struggling with a caseload of 127 offenders in the understaffed Lewisham probation office where nobody had more than two years' experience.
Among the blunders was the failure to identify Sonnex as a high-risk offender, that it took 33 days for a warrant to be issued to send him back to prison, that the courts mistakenly released him on bail, and that even then the police failed to go and look for him until the day of the murders.
On sentencing, Mr Justice Saunders told the Old Bailey the pair had only escaped being jailed without chance of parole for the "truly horrific" murders because of their young age.
He told the killers: "The misery and suffering that you have caused cannot be measured. These are the worst crimes I have ever had to deal with and, unhappily, no punishment that I can pass can ever bring any real comfort to the families.
"Only you two know exactly what happened, why it happened, and which of you bears the greater blame."
At least half of the 12 jury members were in tears as they listened to the prosecutor read out victim impact statements by the fathers of the two boys and one of their mothers. Both men and women dabbed their eyes and some struggled to compose themselves.
Guy Bonomo's statement addressed his son's killers directly. He said: "We have sat in court for the last six weeks, hoping for answers, trying to find out what happened to our children. But you have lied in court and have refused to tell the truth. This is what we have been waiting for. Without knowing what happened that night and why, we cannot move on and find peace. I ask you again, why?"
Francoise Villemont, Ferez's mother, said: "How to carry on, to live and survive after you have lost your murdered child in such inhuman conditions. He died suffering in such a way; I could never forget what was done to him. This barbaric act is indescribable and inexcusable. No human being deserves such a death. To die for so little gain does not make any sense to anybody."
The jury was told that both of the accused were habitual users of drugs, including crack cocaine, and Sonnex had a long history of violence. During the trial each blamed the other for the killings.
Sonnex had been jailed for wounding with intent and robbery in 2003 and released on licence in February last year. He was subsequently arrested for handling stolen goods and had his licence revoked. Sonnex told the court he was back in custody for "four or five weeks tops".
At the start of the trial Sonnex admitted one count of burglary, which Farmer denied. Both pleaded not guilty to murder, arson, false imprisonment and trying to pervert the course of justice.
Farmer chewed gum impassively as he listened to the jury foreman say that he had been found guilty on all six charges by a majority of 11 to one.
Sonnex's face was fixed in a frown that he cast downwards, only intermittently lifting it to look at the jury. As he was led from the dock he stared at Laurent Bonomo's father and shrugged his shoulders before going down to the cells.
In his statement released at the end of the trial, David Scott, the former chief probation officer of London who resigned over the case, said that "probation risks becoming a Cinderella service unless urgent attention is paid to its workload, over which it has few effective controls, as well as to its absence from key decision-making about policy and resources".
He said the murders filled him with regret: "I took full responsibility for the performance of the staff that I led, and tendered my resignation as soon as it was clear that failings in the probation service were partly to blame for allowing the crimes to take place."
Harry Fletcher of Napo, the probation union, said blaming individuals avoided the acceptance of political responsibility. "Ministers should either fund the criminal justice system and allow probation officers to do their job properly or stop claiming they are protecting the public. Probation did receive additional funds over the last decade but it did not result in extra probation officers."
Since the Sonnex case an extra 60 probation officers have been drafted into London with a further 80 to be recruited this year. An urgent assessment is being undertaken by the chief inspector of probation, Andrew Bridges, on the rest of London probation.
Only three years after the similar Monckton murder case caused a national outcry, probation chiefs insist that work with high-risk offenders in specialist probation public protection units across the capital has improved. But the failure in this case – where Sonnex was wrongly categorised as a medium-risk offender – shows little improvement in general probation work in London.
Warning on eurozone economy dip
The eurozone economy could shrink by more than 5% in 2009, the European Central Bank has said, worse than previously forecast.
The bank said it expected the eurozone economy to contract by between 4.1% and 5.1% this year.
However, it predicted an improvement next year, with growth of between -1.0% and 0.4% in 2010.
The comments came after the ECB kept eurozone interest rates on hold at 1%, in a move widely expected by analysts.
The Bank of England also kept UK rates on hold at 0.5% on Thursday.
Quantitative easing
At the press conference following the rate decision, the ECB's president, Jean-Claude Trichet, said that the bank's planned purchase of 60bn euros of company bonds ($85bn; £52bn) would start from next month.
The ECB is buying the bonds as a means to increase the amount of money in the financial system - a policy known as quantitative easing - to try to help the economy by returning lending by commercial banks to normal levels.
Mr Trichet said the bond purchases would be spread across the eurozone, which comprises the 16 nations that share the single currency, and completed before July next year "at the latest".
The ECB is continuing to be far more cautious with its quantitative easing than the Bank of England and Federal Reserve, a decision that has been greatly welcomed by the German government.
Berlin has long cautioned against the more aggressive stance taken in London and Washington, saying it builds up too much debt for the future.
Chancellor Angela Merkel criticised the Fed and Bank of England earlier this week for excessive spending to try to lift the US and UK economies.
The ECB last cut rates in May, when they were reduced to 1% from 1.25%. It has reduced rates seven times since last October, when rates stood at 4.25%.
The bank said it expected the eurozone economy to contract by between 4.1% and 5.1% this year.
However, it predicted an improvement next year, with growth of between -1.0% and 0.4% in 2010.
The comments came after the ECB kept eurozone interest rates on hold at 1%, in a move widely expected by analysts.
The Bank of England also kept UK rates on hold at 0.5% on Thursday.
Quantitative easing
At the press conference following the rate decision, the ECB's president, Jean-Claude Trichet, said that the bank's planned purchase of 60bn euros of company bonds ($85bn; £52bn) would start from next month.
The ECB is buying the bonds as a means to increase the amount of money in the financial system - a policy known as quantitative easing - to try to help the economy by returning lending by commercial banks to normal levels.
Mr Trichet said the bond purchases would be spread across the eurozone, which comprises the 16 nations that share the single currency, and completed before July next year "at the latest".
The ECB is continuing to be far more cautious with its quantitative easing than the Bank of England and Federal Reserve, a decision that has been greatly welcomed by the German government.
Berlin has long cautioned against the more aggressive stance taken in London and Washington, saying it builds up too much debt for the future.
Chancellor Angela Merkel criticised the Fed and Bank of England earlier this week for excessive spending to try to lift the US and UK economies.
The ECB last cut rates in May, when they were reduced to 1% from 1.25%. It has reduced rates seven times since last October, when rates stood at 4.25%.
Fraud charge for Countrywide boss
Angelo Mozilo, former boss of Countrywide Financial, has been charged with civil fraud and insider trading by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
He is the highest profile executive to face charges relating to the US sub-prime mortgage crisis in 2007.
Bank of America eventually rescued the biggest US mortgage lender, buying it for $2.5bn (£1.5bn) in July 2008.
Mr Mozilo has denied doing anything wrong. Two other former executives have also been charged with civil fraud.
Former chief operating officer David Sambol and former chief financial officer Eric Sieracki "misled the market by falsely assuring investors that Countrywide was a prime quality mortgage lender that had avoided the excesses of its competitors", the SEC alleged.
It added that Mr Mozilo had deliberately misled investors about the credit risks that the company was taking.
'Flying blind'
The SEC also said that he had made nearly $140m in profit from selling his Countrywide shares "based on non-public information".
The sub-prime crisis, which was caused by mortgages being given to people who could not really afford them.
The loans were then repackaged by banks and sold on to investors, made to look like low-risk investments.
The SEC published extracts from e-mails sent by Mr Mozilo.
"The bottom line is that we are flying blind on how these loans will perform in a stressed environment of higher unemployment, reduced values and slowing home sales," he wrote on 26 September 2006.
He is the highest profile executive to face charges relating to the US sub-prime mortgage crisis in 2007.
Bank of America eventually rescued the biggest US mortgage lender, buying it for $2.5bn (£1.5bn) in July 2008.
Mr Mozilo has denied doing anything wrong. Two other former executives have also been charged with civil fraud.
Former chief operating officer David Sambol and former chief financial officer Eric Sieracki "misled the market by falsely assuring investors that Countrywide was a prime quality mortgage lender that had avoided the excesses of its competitors", the SEC alleged.
It added that Mr Mozilo had deliberately misled investors about the credit risks that the company was taking.
'Flying blind'
The SEC also said that he had made nearly $140m in profit from selling his Countrywide shares "based on non-public information".
The sub-prime crisis, which was caused by mortgages being given to people who could not really afford them.
The loans were then repackaged by banks and sold on to investors, made to look like low-risk investments.
The SEC published extracts from e-mails sent by Mr Mozilo.
"The bottom line is that we are flying blind on how these loans will perform in a stressed environment of higher unemployment, reduced values and slowing home sales," he wrote on 26 September 2006.
Sri Lanka doctors 'to be tried'
A group of doctors who worked in Sri Lanka's rebel-held war zone are being held on suspicion of collaborating with Tamil rebels, the government says.
The doctors could be in detention for a year or more before being tried.
With journalists banned from the conflict zone, they became an important source of news about the fighting during the final bloody months of war.
There has been no word from the doctors, whose work was praised by the US and UN, since they were detained.
Last month the Sri Lankan government defeated Tamil Tiger rebels fighting for a separate homeland.
Government infuriated
During the final phase of the war, the group of doctors treated wounded and ill patients admitted to the makeshift health posts in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)-held zone encircled by government forces.
Two of them were senior local health directors and the United States has said they "helped save many lives" while the UN called them "heroic".
But the BBC's Charles Haviland in Colombo says that the government was infuriated by the doctors' media interviews from the zone, in which they said some of the shelling there had come from the government side and had killed civilians.
In an interview with BBC World TV, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohita Bogollagama accused the doctors of "spreading falsehoods". He said that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had full access to them.
Mr Bogollagama said the issue was whether the pair had been looking after civilians or whether they had been used by the rebels "for other purposes".
"What is the heroic act the doctors have done in terms of supporting the Tamil Tigers agenda?" he asked.
'Conspiracy'
In the final stages of the war the doctors made no comment on the allegations from the government that they were supporting the rebels.
Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe told the BBC they are being detained at the Criminal Investigation Department on "reasonable suspicion of collaboration with the LTTE".
"I don't know what the investigations would reveal but maybe they were even part of that whole conspiracy to put forward this notion that government forces were shelling and targeting hospitals and indiscriminately targeting civilians as a result of the shelling," he said.
The government says not a single civilian died as a result of its final offensive, despite international allegations to the contrary.
The minister says the doctors must be produced in court every month while investigations proceed pending possible charges.
He said the investigation could last up to a year, but there might be extensions to that.
Separately, Sri Lanka's foreign secretary, Palitha Kohona, has been speaking of the government-run camps where more than 250,000 Tamils from the war zone are detained.
He said everyone there had to be carefully screened, adding that it was "quite likely" that even many elderly people were "with the LTTE, at least mentally".
The doctors could be in detention for a year or more before being tried.
With journalists banned from the conflict zone, they became an important source of news about the fighting during the final bloody months of war.
There has been no word from the doctors, whose work was praised by the US and UN, since they were detained.
Last month the Sri Lankan government defeated Tamil Tiger rebels fighting for a separate homeland.
Government infuriated
During the final phase of the war, the group of doctors treated wounded and ill patients admitted to the makeshift health posts in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)-held zone encircled by government forces.
Two of them were senior local health directors and the United States has said they "helped save many lives" while the UN called them "heroic".
But the BBC's Charles Haviland in Colombo says that the government was infuriated by the doctors' media interviews from the zone, in which they said some of the shelling there had come from the government side and had killed civilians.
In an interview with BBC World TV, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohita Bogollagama accused the doctors of "spreading falsehoods". He said that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had full access to them.
Mr Bogollagama said the issue was whether the pair had been looking after civilians or whether they had been used by the rebels "for other purposes".
"What is the heroic act the doctors have done in terms of supporting the Tamil Tigers agenda?" he asked.
'Conspiracy'
In the final stages of the war the doctors made no comment on the allegations from the government that they were supporting the rebels.
Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe told the BBC they are being detained at the Criminal Investigation Department on "reasonable suspicion of collaboration with the LTTE".
"I don't know what the investigations would reveal but maybe they were even part of that whole conspiracy to put forward this notion that government forces were shelling and targeting hospitals and indiscriminately targeting civilians as a result of the shelling," he said.
The government says not a single civilian died as a result of its final offensive, despite international allegations to the contrary.
The minister says the doctors must be produced in court every month while investigations proceed pending possible charges.
He said the investigation could last up to a year, but there might be extensions to that.
Separately, Sri Lanka's foreign secretary, Palitha Kohona, has been speaking of the government-run camps where more than 250,000 Tamils from the war zone are detained.
He said everyone there had to be carefully screened, adding that it was "quite likely" that even many elderly people were "with the LTTE, at least mentally".
PM told to go as minister quits
James Purnell has stepped down from the cabinet and told Prime Minister Gordon Brown to "stand aside".
In a letter to several newspapers, the work and pensions secretary said Mr Brown's continued leadership made a Tory victory "more, not less likely".
He is the third cabinet member in three days to say they are standing down.
Downing Street said Mr Brown was "disappointed" but would be getting on with the job but David Cameron said the government was "falling apart".
Mr Brown was set to reshuffle his team within days as he fights to hang on to his tenure as prime minister.
'Fighting chance'
But in his letter to Mr Brown, published in Friday's newspapers, Mr Purnell said he owed it to the Labour Party to "say what I believe no matter how hard that may be".
He said he was not seeking the leadership but wrote: "I now believe your continued leadership makes a Conservative victory more, not less likely. That would be disastrous for our country."
He added: "I am therefore calling on you to stand aside to give our party a fighting chance of winning. As such I am resigning from government."
The BBC understands Mr Purnell only came to his decision to resign on Thursday but is said to have been frustrated for some time.
BBC political editor Nick Robinson said it was the first direct challenge to Mr Brown from a cabinet minister.
Mr Purnell's resignation was a message to the rest of the Labour Party to make up their minds about Mr Brown's leadership, he said.
'Undivided attention'
A Downing Street spokesman said: "The prime minister is disappointed by the resignation of James Purnell, of which he was informed shortly before 10pm."
He said Mr Brown's focus over coming days would be "restructuring the government on the big challenges facing the country for the future", tackling the global economic downturn, trust in Parliament and reforming public services.
"He will continue to give his undivided attention to addressing these great challenges facing our country and putting the interests of the British people first and foremost," he said.
But Conservative leader Mr Cameron, repeating his call for an immediate general election, said: "In a deep recession and a political crisis we need a strong united government. Instead we have a government falling apart in front of our eyes."
Meanwhile, other cabinet ministers have been rallying round Mr Brown.
Defence Secretary John Hutton, said Mr Purnell was a "good friend" but added: "I think he has made the wrong decision because I firmly believe that Gordon Brown is the right man to lead our party and our country."
Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward also said he was "deeply disappointed" by Mr Purnell's decision and that he fully backed Mr Brown.
'Ultra Blairite'
A source close to Justice Secretary Jack Straw said he was "very surprised and deeply saddened" by the news and "remained very supportive" of Mr Brown.
And the BBC understands Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who was touted as a possible challenger to Gordon Brown's leadership last year, does not intend to resign and had said he did not agree with Mr Purnell.
Other Labour figures have strongly criticised the decision - former London mayor Ken Livingstone said it was no surprise as Mr Purnell had been "the most ultra-Blairite of ministers".
"If you were going to get a knife in the back it's where you would have expected it from," he said.
Backbencher Peter Kilfoyle, one of the few Labour MPs not to back Mr Brown for the leadership in 2007, told the BBC: "I'm very dismayed by the attitude of people like Purnell and indeed Hazel Blears."
He said they had been "self serving" in backing Mr Brown for the leadership and the cabinet should back him now: "They have a wider responsibility than merely their personal careers. It's also about the future of the Labour Party, not just in government but in the country."
The news comes as the polls closed across the UK for the European elections and, in England, 27 county and seven unitary council elections.
Secret ballot
Senior Labour backbencher Barry Sheerman told the BBC there should be a ballot of Labour MPs to see if Gordon Brown still has the confidence of the party.
He told the BBC: "This goes far beyond just a few people, this is a large number of us who are really unhappy about the present situation."
But Labour's leader in the Lords Baroness Royall defended Mr Brown's style of leadership on BBC One's Question Time.
She said: "We haven't got a media star, we have got a person who works damned hard and is taking us through the economic crisis."
There have been predictions Labour could be pushed into third or fourth place in the Euro elections behind the UK Independence Party (UKIP), following damaging revelations about expenses claims in the Daily Telegraph.
Mr Brown's much anticipated reshuffle was pre-empted earlier this week with the news that Jacqui Smith had asked to step down as home secretary.
Fevered atmosphere
She later said she believed Gordon Brown was the right person to lead the Labour Party but was stepping down for her family - who had been "at the forefront" of expenses allegations against her.
Then Hazel Blears announced on Wednesday that she would be stepping down as communities secretary.
In her resignation statement she did not pay the customary tribute to the prime minister, who weeks ago had described her own actions on expenses as "totally unacceptable".
Alistair Darling's position as chancellor is also thought to be vulnerable after questions about his expenses.
Amid a fevered atmosphere at a Westminster - where the expenses saga has dominated the agenda during the election - two junior ministers Beverley Hughes and Tom Watson have also said they are to step down.
Some Labour backbench MPs say they are circulating a letter among MPs seeking support for a call on Mr Brown to go.
About 70 Labour MPs would be required to nominate a specific alternative candidate to trigger a leadership contest.
In a letter to several newspapers, the work and pensions secretary said Mr Brown's continued leadership made a Tory victory "more, not less likely".
He is the third cabinet member in three days to say they are standing down.
Downing Street said Mr Brown was "disappointed" but would be getting on with the job but David Cameron said the government was "falling apart".
Mr Brown was set to reshuffle his team within days as he fights to hang on to his tenure as prime minister.
'Fighting chance'
But in his letter to Mr Brown, published in Friday's newspapers, Mr Purnell said he owed it to the Labour Party to "say what I believe no matter how hard that may be".
He said he was not seeking the leadership but wrote: "I now believe your continued leadership makes a Conservative victory more, not less likely. That would be disastrous for our country."
He added: "I am therefore calling on you to stand aside to give our party a fighting chance of winning. As such I am resigning from government."
The BBC understands Mr Purnell only came to his decision to resign on Thursday but is said to have been frustrated for some time.
BBC political editor Nick Robinson said it was the first direct challenge to Mr Brown from a cabinet minister.
Mr Purnell's resignation was a message to the rest of the Labour Party to make up their minds about Mr Brown's leadership, he said.
'Undivided attention'
A Downing Street spokesman said: "The prime minister is disappointed by the resignation of James Purnell, of which he was informed shortly before 10pm."
He said Mr Brown's focus over coming days would be "restructuring the government on the big challenges facing the country for the future", tackling the global economic downturn, trust in Parliament and reforming public services.
"He will continue to give his undivided attention to addressing these great challenges facing our country and putting the interests of the British people first and foremost," he said.
But Conservative leader Mr Cameron, repeating his call for an immediate general election, said: "In a deep recession and a political crisis we need a strong united government. Instead we have a government falling apart in front of our eyes."
Meanwhile, other cabinet ministers have been rallying round Mr Brown.
Defence Secretary John Hutton, said Mr Purnell was a "good friend" but added: "I think he has made the wrong decision because I firmly believe that Gordon Brown is the right man to lead our party and our country."
Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward also said he was "deeply disappointed" by Mr Purnell's decision and that he fully backed Mr Brown.
'Ultra Blairite'
A source close to Justice Secretary Jack Straw said he was "very surprised and deeply saddened" by the news and "remained very supportive" of Mr Brown.
And the BBC understands Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who was touted as a possible challenger to Gordon Brown's leadership last year, does not intend to resign and had said he did not agree with Mr Purnell.
Other Labour figures have strongly criticised the decision - former London mayor Ken Livingstone said it was no surprise as Mr Purnell had been "the most ultra-Blairite of ministers".
"If you were going to get a knife in the back it's where you would have expected it from," he said.
Backbencher Peter Kilfoyle, one of the few Labour MPs not to back Mr Brown for the leadership in 2007, told the BBC: "I'm very dismayed by the attitude of people like Purnell and indeed Hazel Blears."
He said they had been "self serving" in backing Mr Brown for the leadership and the cabinet should back him now: "They have a wider responsibility than merely their personal careers. It's also about the future of the Labour Party, not just in government but in the country."
The news comes as the polls closed across the UK for the European elections and, in England, 27 county and seven unitary council elections.
Secret ballot
Senior Labour backbencher Barry Sheerman told the BBC there should be a ballot of Labour MPs to see if Gordon Brown still has the confidence of the party.
He told the BBC: "This goes far beyond just a few people, this is a large number of us who are really unhappy about the present situation."
But Labour's leader in the Lords Baroness Royall defended Mr Brown's style of leadership on BBC One's Question Time.
She said: "We haven't got a media star, we have got a person who works damned hard and is taking us through the economic crisis."
There have been predictions Labour could be pushed into third or fourth place in the Euro elections behind the UK Independence Party (UKIP), following damaging revelations about expenses claims in the Daily Telegraph.
Mr Brown's much anticipated reshuffle was pre-empted earlier this week with the news that Jacqui Smith had asked to step down as home secretary.
Fevered atmosphere
She later said she believed Gordon Brown was the right person to lead the Labour Party but was stepping down for her family - who had been "at the forefront" of expenses allegations against her.
Then Hazel Blears announced on Wednesday that she would be stepping down as communities secretary.
In her resignation statement she did not pay the customary tribute to the prime minister, who weeks ago had described her own actions on expenses as "totally unacceptable".
Alistair Darling's position as chancellor is also thought to be vulnerable after questions about his expenses.
Amid a fevered atmosphere at a Westminster - where the expenses saga has dominated the agenda during the election - two junior ministers Beverley Hughes and Tom Watson have also said they are to step down.
Some Labour backbench MPs say they are circulating a letter among MPs seeking support for a call on Mr Brown to go.
About 70 Labour MPs would be required to nominate a specific alternative candidate to trigger a leadership contest.
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