The UK is to double its non-military aid to opponents of President Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, Foreign Secretary William Hague has said.

He said the extra £500,000 will help groups both inside and outside Syria.

Mr Hague used his annual Mansion House speech in the City of London to urge President Assad to accept he has no hope of political survival.

The United Nations says more than 9,000 people have been killed during a year-long Syrian revolt.

The foreign secretary is working to boost Syria's opposition at a moment when new diplomacy offers hope - however uncertain - that President Assad may be pushed into change.

Mr Hague told his audience, including dozens of foreign ambassadors in London, that the UK will give opposition groups extra help worth £500,000.

It will include more training for activists and citizen journalists to help them get their stories out of Syria, and possibly secure phones to make the co-ordination of protest safer.

Civil society groups will also be given more assistance gathering evidence of atrocities for possible future trials.

Mr Hague warned the regime its reliance on violence was not only morally indefensible, it was futile.

'Economic disarray'

He said: "President Assad and his allies may look at the rubble of Homs, the abandoned streets of Idlib and Syria's overflowing prisons and they may entertain hopes of political survival.

"But they cannot avoid ever greater numbers of Syrians wanting a better future, and rejecting the bloodshed, insecurity and economic disarray their leaders have brought upon them."

Mr Hague said he expected the Friends of Syria meeting in Istanbul on Sunday to adopt new measures to increase pressure on the regime and boost Kofi Annan's diplomatic mission.

The foreign secretary did acknowledge President Assad's apparent willingness to accept Mr Annan's UN plan, but he said the regime needed to convince a sceptical world and a wounded Syrian people.

On Thursday, Arab states meeting in Baghdad called for the immediate implementation of the plan, which would see a UN-monitored end to fighting, troops pulled out of opposition areas and access for humanitarian services.

At the same meeting, Iraq's PM Nouri al-Maliki warned that arming either side in Syria would lead to a "proxy war".

Syria's opposition leaders are so far refusing to contemplate any negotiations which could leave President Assad in power and he is warning that his participation in a UN peace plan may depend on foreign governments ending all support for his opponents, whom he calls terrorists.

source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17558417

Respect Party candidate George Galloway has taken the Bradford West parliamentary seat from Labour, winning the by-election by 10,100 votes.

Mr Galloway, expelled by Labour in 2003, said it was the "most sensational victory" in by-election history. He received 18,341 votes - a 56% share.

He said his victory represented a "total rejection" of the major parties.

At the 2010 General Election, Labour's Marsha Singh, who resigned on health grounds, won with a majority of 5,763 .

The party had held the West Yorkshire seat since 1974, except for a brief period in the 1980s when the sitting MP defected to the SDP.

Labour candidate Imran Hussein came second with 8,201 votes as the party's share of the vote was 20% down on its 2010 figure.

'Bradford spring'

Conservative candidate Jackie Whiteley was third, with 2,746 votes. Jeanette Sunderland, of the Liberal Democrats, secured 1,505 votes.

Mr Galloway, who co-founded the anti-war Respect Party after being expelled by Labour because of his opposition to the Iraq war, said the result represented the "Bradford Spring".

He said the "mammoth majority" and "mammoth vote" represented a "total rejection" of the three major parties in the British political system.

Mr Galloway urged his former party to turn away "decisively" from the course set by former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

He said Labour "must stop imagining that working people and poor people have no option but to support them if they hate the Tory and Liberal Democrat coalition partners.

"They have to stop supporting illegal, bloody, costly foreign wars because one of the reasons why they were so decisively defeated this evening is that the public don't believe that they have atoned for their role in the invasion and occupation of other people's countries and the drowning of those countries in blood."

Mr Galloway urged his former colleagues to "stop taking their supporters for granted" and "unite the coalition" it once had.

The Respect politician was mobbed by supporters as he left the count.

Labour's candidate did not make a speech after the results were announced, but Labour MP Toby Perkins said the Bradford West result was "desperately disappointing".

He attributed Mr Galloway's success partly to his celebrity status from having appeared on TV reality show Celebrity Big Brother which he said had been "a very significant factor".

Mr Perkins said: "I think frankly there wasn't a lot the other parties could do about it. [Voters had] seen him on Big Brother.

"They wanted him on their streets and now they've got it, and let's hope that he lives up to the promise that he's made to them and actually delivers on the optimism that surrounds his campaign."

'Lone, loud voice'

A Liberal Democrat spokesman said the party was "clearly disappointed" with the result.

"While we were always expecting to fight for fourth in this election, it is quite astonishing for Labour to lose this seat and the Conservatives see such a drop," he said.

Kris Hopkins, the Conservative MP for nearby Keighley, said his party had not won Bradford West for 42 years, so "there were not high expectations".

"It is Labour that have been wiped out tonight. It must be a huge humiliation for Ed Miliband and his team," he added.

BBC Yorkshire political editor Len Tingle said there had effectively been two campaigns in the seat - one with the three main UK parties focused on the economy and jobs, and the other run by Mr Galloway which had his party's anti-war message at its forefront.

BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said there had been a feeling that Mr Galloway might split the left-wing vote, but he had not been expected to defeat Labour.

Our correspondent said the margin of the victory was "extraordinary", adding that it was not simply a matter of the Labour Party losing to Mr Galloway but "being thumped" by him and his party.

He predicted that, once in the House of Commons, Mr Galloway would be "a lone voice but a very loud one".

It is the second time Mr Galloway has upset the political odds - he pulled off one of the results of the 2005 General Election when he overturned a large Labour majority in London's Bethnal Green and Bow to become the Respect Party's first MP.

His win in Bradford West is a remarkable comeback after disappointing showings at the 2010 General Election and the 2011 Scottish Parliament elections.

The outcome was being closely watched by all the parties as a snapshot of voter opinion, following last week's Budget and ahead of council and mayoral elections next month.

The Conservatives came second in the constituency in 2010, on a 65% turnout, ahead of the Liberal Democrats in third. Respect was fifth in 2010.

Prior to Bradford West, there had been five by-elections in England and Scotland since the start of the current Parliament - Oldham and Saddleworth, Barnsley Central, Leicester South, Inverclyde and Feltham and Heston - with Labour retaining all five seats.

The full result (with vote share and change since 2010 in brackets):

George Galloway (Respect) 18,341 (55.89%, +52.83%)

Imran Hussain (Lab) 8,201 (24.99%, -20.36%)

Jackie Whiteley (C) 2,746 (8.37%, -22.78%)

Jeanette Sunderland (LD) 1,505 (4.59%, -7.08%)

Sonja McNally (UKIP) 1,085 (3.31%, +1.31%)

Dawud Islam (Green) 481 (1.47%, -0.85%)

Neil Craig (D Nats) 344 (1.05%)

Howling Laud Hope (Loony) 111 (0.34%)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17549388

The government made a mistake in advising people to store petrol in jerrycans at home to prepare for a possible strike by fuel tanker drivers, a transport minister has said.

Mike Penning said Cabinet Minister Francis Maude had misunderstood the size of a jerrycan, which is 20 litres.

The government says drivers should top up tanks with fuel, but "not panic".

Labour has accused ministers of "stoking up" the threat of a drivers' strike over working conditions and pay.

The party said ministers were making the situation worse, while petrol retailers said the government was intent on "creating a crisis out of a serious concern".

According to the Retail Motor Industry Federation, petrol sales rose by 45% on Tuesday and diesel was up 20% amid talk of a strike bringing disruption to forecourt supplies.

Unite, the UK's biggest trade union, has called for minimum standards covering pay, hours, holiday and redundancy for fuel tanker drivers.

It represents about 2,000 drivers who deliver fuel to Shell and Esso garages, as well as supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury's.

The union's drivers, who supply 90% of UK forecourts, have voted to strike, although no dates have been set.

Conciliation service Acas is attempting to convene talks between Unite and seven companies involved in the dispute.

An Acas spokesman said: "We are in urgent discussions with the parties involved on an individual basis. It is normal for us to do this to establish the format for talks."

On Wednesday, Mr Maude's advice for drivers to store petrol - "maybe a little bit in the garage as well in a jerrycan" - was criticised by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and the AA, who said it was potentially dangerous

Labour accused the minister of "panicking people all around the country", which it said was "incredibly irresponsible".

A jerrycan has the capacity to hold 20 litres - more than the official limit for the amount that can be safely stored at home.

Mr Penning, the roads minister, later told BBC Two's Newsnight: "You can't store that amount of petrol. It was a mistake by the cabinet minister. He didn't understand the size of a jerrycan. He has apologised since."

However, he insisted that Mr Maude had been right to advise drivers to keep their petrol tanks full as the seven days' notice the union is required to give before going on strike would leave little time to prepare.

"Seven days isn't enough to actually make sure we have the facilities and the amount of fuel we need to go forward. If they go on strike the country will have a problem. Let's be prepared for that in case it happens," said Mr Penning.

He added: "Let's not panic, let's not queue, but be prepared."

Also speaking to Newsnight, shadow treasury minister Chris Leslie accused the government of "stoking up" the problems through ministers "misspeaking", and singled out Mr Maude.

Mr Leslie said: "Apparently he's now said [the jerrycan advice] was a mistake. I haven't heard him say that. I'm not sure whether the public have as well."

After a meeting of the civil contingencies committee Cobra on Wednesday, a Downing Street spokesman said there was no need to queue for petrol.

"In the normal course of business, motorists should consider keeping their tanks topped up. But there is no shortage of fuel at present and forecourts are being replenished," he said.

He reiterated Prime Minister David Cameron's earlier message that any strike would be "unjustified" and said talks needed to continue to avert industrial action.

Labour leader Ed Miliband said "it was in the interests" of the public for all sides to meet and negotiate.

Amid reports of increased demand for fuel at some petrol stations, Esso said that "some sites may temporarily be out of one or two types of fuel".

Shell reported "business as normal" and Tesco said it was experiencing "an increase in sales in some areas" but reassured customers it was working hard to meet that demand.

Asda said it was "working flat out behind the scenes to keep petrol in stock. We apologise to customers if they find some pumps are running low", but added "there's no need for customers to change their petrol-buying routine".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17545258

An American teenager has been jailed for life in the US after being found guilty of the first degree murder of two British tourists in Florida.

James Cooper, 25, from Warwickshire, and James Kouzaris, 24, from Northampton, were shot in Sarasota.

The pair, who met at Sheffield University, were killed after drunkenly wandering into the Newtown area in the early hours of 16 April 2011.

The court heard Shawn Tyson, 17, had killed them after trying to rob them.

It also emerged that hours before the murders, Tyson had been released after his arrest following a shooting on 7 April.

Tyson, who was tried as an adult at Sarasota County Court despite having been 16 at the time of the murders, was given two life sentences without the eligibility of parole.

'Pain you have caused'

Before sentence was passed, two of the British pair's friends read out impact statements to the court.

Joe Hallett accused Tyson of taking everyone involved on a "journey to hell during the past 12 months".

He said: "You murdered two people who, if you had given them the chance, would have given you the time of day.

"Every night you go to sleep, every morning you wake up, I want you to think of my friends who you murdered."

He added: "I hope that you and your family suffer every single second of every single day, just as the loved ones of James Kouzaris and James Cooper do.

"For every painful detail of their deaths I have endured, for each disturbing photo I have been exposed to, I am still glad I have this opportunity to look into your eyes and try to explain the pain that you have caused."

Paul Davies called Tyson "a coward" and said: "You might think being a man is about carrying a gun around but it isn't. Wearing a mask and shooting two guys in cold blood is being a coward."

He added: "For the past week I've had to sit in this courtroom and watch photos of my two best friends lying on the ground, riddled with bullet holes.

"I've had to listen to how you stalked them, made them beg for their lives and then unload a gun on them.

"I've had to listen to all that knowing that they would never in a million years have threatened you or tried to hurt you.

"They wouldn't hurt anyone because, like I say, they were good men, the most amazing men you could have ever met. Maybe if you were more of a man that night you would have known them long enough to find that out for yourself."

The families of Mr Cooper and Mr Kouzaris were not in court but said in a statement they were satisfied with the verdict.

They added: "It is a fact that we were given a life sentence when our sons were so brutally and needlessly taken from us.

"Ours is a life sentence, with no chance of parole from a broken heart, and a shattered soul."

Release criticised

The families also criticised the Sarasota court system that had freed Tyson after a judge had warned the teenager was a danger to the public following the earlier shooting, in which no-one was hurt.

In the statement, the families said: "The evil of the killer is one thing, but the fact is, he would not have been on the streets had instructions to keep him incarcerated been passed from one judge to another."

When the mistake came to light the Mayor of Sarasota, Kelly Kirschener, vowed the city's prosecutors would never let anything similar happen again.

The court also saw a video made by Mr Kouzaris's parents. His father Peter, with his wife by his side, said: "The 16th of April, 2011, will be etched in the hearts and the memories of all those people who loved and had the privilege of loving James.

"Who could have imagined the tragic events that unfolded so cruelly?"

He added his son "had been needlessly taken" in a "moment of madness."

During the trial, jurors heard how Mr Kouzaris, a local government officer, and tennis coach Mr Cooper had been out drinking in downtown Sarasota before getting lost and wandering into the Newtown area in the early hours.

The prosecution said they were confronted by Tyson who tried to rob them and then shot them when he realised they had very little money.

The court heard Tyson had boasted to his friend Latrece Washington, who testified against him, that one of the men had begged for his life but he shot him anyway.

Buried casings

The teenager was seen by neighbours running to his house and climbing in the window just after the gunshots.

He also told another friend, Marvin Gaines, he had killed the men.

Mr Gaines said Tyson gave him seven 0.22 calibre shell casings to bury in his backyard, as well as a gun.

Mr Gaines later gave the gun to friend Jermaine Bane, who sold it for $50.

After he was threatened with a charge of accessory to murder, Mr Gaines led police to where the casings were buried. The murder weapon has never been found.

source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17540508

Still saddled with a huge overhang of distressed properties and lackluster demand, it seems the housing market could really use a knight in shining armor to slay the metaphorical dragons choking its growth.

According to a study released this month, that white knight could come in the form of Latino homebuyers who are expected to provide a deep well of housing interest over the next decade, propelling demand for condos, starter homes, and trade-up homes.

[See the latest political cartoons.]

"The demographic trends all line up for Hispanics to be a prime demographic for homeownership," says Gary Acosta, co-founder and acting executive director of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. "We're seeing very strong indicators that Hispanics are going to be 40 to 50 percent of all new homebuyers for the foreseeable future."

There are a few factors that make Acosta and other industry experts think that. For starters, Hispanics have been a huge engine of population growth over the past decade, and over the next decade they're expected to account for 40 percent of the estimated 12 million net new U.S. households, a huge predictor of future housing demand.

[Read Housing Slump Hits Hispanics Hard.]

Hispanics also have the highest labor force participation rate in the nation, according to the report, with nearly two thirds of all working-age Latinos employed.

Even considering the scourge of subprime lending and foreclosure crisis, which disproportionately hurt Hispanics especially in states such as California, heightened housing demand among Latinos is already starting to materialize, Acosta says.

"It was sort of surprising to us. The resilience within the Latino community for homeownership seems as strong or stronger than ever," Acosta says. "They view homeownership as a vehicle for stabilization to create a better living environment for their family and not as much as an investment. Because of that, the enthusiasm for homeownership hasn't waned a whole lot."

During the third quarter of 2011, the Hispanic homeownership rate rose to almost 48 percent, accounting for more than half of the total growth in homeownership over that period. Drilling down to the raw numbers, Hispanics bought almost 300,000 housing units in the third quarter of 2011, compared with 190,000 units bought by African-Americans, 66,000 by Asians, and just 18,000 by non-Hispanic white households.

[Read Why Mitt Romney May Suffer if SCOTUS Rules Against Mandate.]

Still, many obstacles confront would-be Hispanic buyers, not least of all difficulty getting a mortgage.

"I would say the desire [for homeownership] is there, but if there are any limitations around demand it's really due to, in our view, the lack of affordable mortgage credit," Acosta says. "The pendulum, quite frankly, has swung a little too far the other way."

And it could make the difference between a housing market that continues to limp along and one that starts seeing more signs of life.

"FHA is really the only game in town when it comes to anybody who has less than 20 percent to put down on a mortgage, and that has made it much more difficult for folks that we believe have not only the desire but the capacity to be successful homeowners," Acosta says. That's especially true when it comes to Hispanics, who as a whole are relatively light consumers of credit. "It's not that these folks necessarily have bad credit, they just have little credit."

Hispanics also tend to be concentrated in areas particularly hard hit by the housing crash—California, Nevada, Arizona—which means a good chunk of the housing stock on the market is distressed properties. That's set up an environment of competition between prospective buyers and cash investors, Acosta says, and it's usually the cash investors who win out with banks in the end.

"Banks, servicers, [and] GSEs have shown a pretty strong bias toward cash buyers even if [the average buyer] is willing to pay more than a cash investor," Acosta says. "The lenders are taking those cash deals [because] there's much less risk for fallout and they'll probably get a faster close on the transaction."

"It's a challenging environment in those states right now for that reason," he adds.

mhandley@usnews.com

Twitter: @mmhandley

source:http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/home-front/2012/03/28/study-hispanics-poised-to-be-mega-force-in-housing

A recent survey by TIAA-CREF showed that:

38 percent of Americans who currently own an IRA account contribute up to the maximum amount allowed

55 percent of those IRA owners are contributing less than the maximum amount.

76 percent of those polled said they are not contributing to an IRA at all.

Clearly, the IRA has lost much of its popularity as a retirement savings vehicle. Should an IRA be a part of your retirement savings strategy? The answer is that it depends.

First fund your 401(k) or 403(b) at least enough to receive any company match. Though not all company retirement plans offer great investments and many assess high fees, I’ve not yet seen a plan that is so bad that I’ve recommended that a client forgo funding the plan to a level that provides them with the maximum company match. For example, if your employer matches 50 percent for each dollar you contribute up to a 6 percent salary deferral, this mean that you are getting a 50 percent return on your investment. Of course, not all 401(k) or 403(b) plans offer a match, so you will want to learn all of the details here.

Salary deferral into a company retirement plan is painless. Regardless of whether your company provides a match or not, it still might make sense to contribute to your plan. It might also make sense to contribute over and above the maximum amount that is matched. Salary deferrals are easy, and once you start, you rarely miss the money in your paycheck. Many studies have concluded that the key factor in the amount most workers accumulate at retirement is the amount saved.

Beyond the two situations above, an IRA can still be a useful vehicle in your retirement savings strategy. Here are some examples:

A non-working spouse can make a deductible IRA contribution under certain circumstances. A spousal IRA allows a non-working spouse to contribute up to the maximum ($5,000 if under 50; $6,000 if 50 or older) as long as the working spouse has enough earned income to fund this contribution. Assuming the working spouse is covered by a retirement plan at work, the ability to make a deductible spousal IRA contribution phases out between $173,000 and $183,000 in AGI in 2012.

You aren’t covered by a workplace retirement plan. Perhaps your company doesn’t offer a retirement plan, or perhaps you are self-employed. Funding an IRA is a great start. Remember, though, once your business starts to generate sufficient income, there are many retirement savings vehicles for the self-employed that allow you to contribute far more than an IRA does.

IRAs can make a great rollover destination for your retirement plan balance when leaving your employer. Anytime you leave a job, you have a decision to make regarding your retirement plan balance. Generally, the three options are leaving your balance with your old employer’s plan, rolling your balance to your new employer’s plan (if allowed and if you are moving to another job), or rolling into an IRA. You can also take an outright distribution, but this is usually not a good option considering the income tax implications and potential penalties. An IRA can offer advantages such as a broader array of available investment options and in some cases lower investing costs.

An IRA can be a good solution for consolidating several old 401(k) accounts. It is not uncommon for workers to have five of more employers over the course of a career. This can often lead to a stream of old, unwatched 401(k) accounts with former employers, or as I call it, retirement clutter. Rolling these old accounts into a single IRA account can help simplify managing these assets as part of your overall portfolio.

In addition to your company’s retirement plan. Perhaps your plan is just average and you’d like to direct additional contributions over and above the amount needed to gain the full match to an IRA where you can find better investment options. Or perhaps you are maxing out your company’s plan and want a place to make additional retirement savings contributions. An IRA might be the right answer for you.

Some IRA basics. An IRA allows you to contribute the lesser of $5,000 ($6,000 if 50 or over) or the amount of your earned income. Income from investments, interest, and other non-earned income doesn’t count. Deductibility of your contribution to a traditional IRA depends upon your level of earned income, whether or not you or your spouse is covered by a retirement plan at work, and other factors. If you are not able to deduct any or some of your contribution, you can generally still contribute to a non-deductible IRA. Of course, there is always the Roth option. Here, contributions are after-tax, but if you meet the requirements, you can generally withdraw your account balance free of tax. Which “flavor” of IRA is right for you will depend upon your own unique individual situation.

An IRA can be a useful tool as you save for retirement. Your best bet is to look at your overall situation and decide if and where an IRA fits into your overall strategy.

Roger Wohlner, CFP®, is a fee-only financial adviser at Asset Strategy Consultants based in Arlington Heights, Ill., where he provides advice to individual clients, retirement plan sponsors, foundations, and endowments. He recently cofounded Retirement Fiduciary Advisors to provide direct investment and retirement planning advice to 401(k) plan participants. Roger also blogs at Chicago Financial Planner.

Tags: investing, mutual funds

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/the-smarter-mutual-fund-investor/2012/03/28/does-an-ira-still-make-sense

The purpose of the Supreme Court hearings on President Obama's health reform law is to determine whether a key provision, the individual mandate, is constitutional. But the case may end up demonstrating something else: That there is no "free market" solution that will extend coverage to millions of uninsured people and get skyrocketing costs under control.

[See photos of protesters outside the Supreme Court.]

It's worth stepping back for a moment to examine why the individual mandate even exists. The idea is to force healthy people to buy insurance even if they think they don't need it. That will bring more revenue to insurance companies, which they'll use to keep premiums down for sick people and those with preexisting conditions. Penalty fees paid by those who refuse to get insurance would bring in more revenue to help subsidize policies for those who want them, but need financial help. And healthy people who unexpectedly need care would get it through their plan, instead of racking up huge emergency room bills that typically get passed on to everybody else who pays for healthcare.

The whole scheme is meant to mimic free enterprise, in which people make rational choices about how to spend their money.

The justices must determine whether buying insurance is a form of commerce that Congress has the authority to regulate. But they've also highlighted the absurdities of pretending that healthcare is just another product people buy and sell. Several justices, for example, suggested that if Congress can require Americans to buy health insurance, then by the same logic it can require them to buy cell phones, broccoli, pre-paid funeral arrangements, and in fact, anything.

[See what would happen if Obamacare were repealed.]

Obama administration lawyer Donald Verrilli argued that each of those instances is different, because health insurance is a unique product. Legal eagles and policy wonks will endlessly debate the technical questions about what kind of product healthcare really is. But the broader takeaway may be that it's not possible to design a free-market dynamic that will accomplish the main goal of Obama's health reform law: Extending coverage to everybody.

Even without Obamacare, the healthcare and insurance industries are a badly distorted version of what most people consider pure capitalism. Hardly anybody pays for healthcare out-of-pocket because it's far too expensive. You can't look up prices for hospital procedures, or comparison-shop for them. And prices are largely set by middlemen—the insurance companies—not by a marketplace agreement between buyer (the patient) and seller (the healthcare provider).

[See the real reason Obamacare scares people.]

Beyond that, the practices that people find most objectionable tend to reflect what often happens in a truly unregulated free market: One party becomes too powerful and exploits the others. Refusing coverage to sick patients or charging them exorbitant premiums, for example, is a very rational thing for insurance companies to do because it protects the profits that are at the heart of a free-market system.

Verrilli is right that healthcare is a unique product, but he didn't go far enough. There's no evidence that the free market can provide the combination of quantity, quality and affordability of healthcare that we deem necessary. The administration's lawyer had no choice but to defend the free-market mechanism that Obamacare attempts to create.

But the mechanism interferes with capitalism instead of enhancing it, which makes it flawed whether it's constitutional or not.

Rick Newman is the author of Rebounders: How Winners Pivot From Setback To Success, to be published in May. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman.

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/rick-newman/2012/03/28/the-folly-of-free-market-healthcare-reform

A lack of support and opportunity for young people contributed to the outbreak of riots in England last year, an independent report has concluded.

The Riots, Communities and Victims Panel, set up last year, has identified "500,000 forgotten families".

It also cited poor parenting, an inability to prevent re-offending, too much emphasis on materialism, and a lack of confidence in the police.

Schools should work on helping children to build character, it added.

'Poor parenting'

It said: "Families aren't getting the support they need."

It supported a programme to help troubled families but found that overlap with those involved in the riots was limited.

"Government and local public services should develop a strategy incorporating the principles of the Troubled Families Programme to help 500,000 'forgotten families' turn their lives around", it said.

The report stated that up to 15,000 people were believed to have taken part in the riots - with the majority of those aged under 24 and with poor academic records.

The communities the panel spoke to blamed poor parenting for the riots.

The panel has recommended that schools which fail to raise pupils' literacy rates to the required minimum standard for their age should face a financial penalty.

Panel chairman Darra Singh said he was disappointed by the leak as the report, which was due to be published on Wednesday and presented to the prime minister, was still being finalised.

"Our remit was to give a voice to the communities and victims of the August riots. This leak has impacted on our ability to ensure they receive the widest possible audience," he said.

source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17525873

A trade deal has been agreed between the UK and South Korea, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has announced.

The UK has approved a Free Trade Agreement between the EU and South Korea, which could bring £500m a year into the British economy, he said.

Mr Clegg, attending a nuclear summit in Seoul, said the UK aimed to foster good trade links with expanding economies.

The agreement "marks a new and even stronger era for trade" between the UK and South Korea, he added.

Bilateral trade between the two countries is already around £6.5bn - Britain is South Korea's second largest European trading partner after Germany.

More than half of Korea's investment in the EU in 2010 and 2011 was in the UK.

"The best of British design, innovation and services will have even greater opportunity to show their strength in South Korea," Mr Clegg said.

"UK and Korean companies will be able to form alliances on multi-billion pound projects across the world."

Sporting contracts

He announced the agreement at a meeting with South Korean Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik

Mr Clegg is in Seoul for the Nuclear Security Summit on Tuesday, where Britain is expected to call for greater information security as part of international efforts to prevent nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists.

During his visit, Mr Clegg also unveiled a new Host2Host agreement between the two counties, which it is hoped will help British firms win contracts to assist in the delivery of sporting events in South Korea.

These include the Asian Games 2014, the World Student Games in 2015 and the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics 2018.

source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17508360

David Cameron has declined to reveal whom he has invited to dinner at his home - after a request made in the wake of the donor row - because such details are "private", No.10 has said.

But the PM promised a "proper inquiry" into donations after the resignation of Tory co-treasurer Peter Cruddas.

Mr Cruddas quit after reporters filmed him saying donations to the Tory party could ensure access to Mr Cameron.

The BBC understands guests to the PM's home have included some party donors.

But ministerial aides at Number 10 say it will not reveal any further details about the guest list because the flat above 10 Downing Street is used as his private family home and Mr Cameron - not the taxpayer - foots the hospitality bill.

The known guests include long-standing party donors such as former Tory treasurer Michael Spencer and the party's current chief executive, Andrew Feldman, who is an old friend of Mr Cameron's from university.

Labour is demanding an independent inquiry after Mr Cruddas's claims, which were filmed by undercover Sunday Times reporters, came to light over the weekend. The matter has also been reported to the Metropolitan Police.

Labour had also requested full disclosure of dinner guests entertained at Mr Cameron's Downing Street home.

And Tory MP Mark Field said a list of donors who had been entertained in the flat at No.10 should be released.

Mr Cameron has pledged to hold a party inquiry into the claims, which he described as "completely unacceptable".

But Labour leader Ed Miliband said that that was not good enough and a "proper independent investigation" was needed.

He also said it would be right for the prime minister to make a statement to Parliament on the issue.

"It can't be an internal Conservative investigation sweeping it under the carpet and in a way keeping it from the public," he said.

"We need to know what happened. These are so serious, these allegations, because it's about the way that policy is made, we've just had a Budget in which the tax rate has been cut at the top of the income scale.

"We need to know what access was paid for, if access was paid for, and what contributions were made and the interaction between the prime minister, the chancellor and Conservative Party donors."

Mr Cruddas was secretly filmed saying that a donation of £200,000 or £250,000 gave "premier league" access to party leaders, including private dinners with Mr Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne. He also suggested that any such donor could have their feedback on political plans fed back to the party's policy committee.

He was heard initially saying that it was not possible to buy access to the prime minister.

But he then went on to discuss what access different size donations would get.

He was speaking to the reporters posing as staff from a fake wealth fund based in Liechtenstein who were interested in doing business in the UK.

He told them: "Two hundred grand to 250 is premier league… what you would get is, when we talk about your donations the first thing we want to do is get you at the Cameron/Osborne dinners."

He said they would be able to ask Mr Cameron "practically any question you want".

'Impression of impropriety'

Mr Cameron has said the incident should not have taken place.

"This is not the way we raise money in the Conservative Party. It shouldn't have happened.

"It's quite right that Peter Cruddas has resigned. I will make sure there is a proper party inquiry to make sure this can't happen again."

In his resignation statement, Mr Cruddas said: "I deeply regret any impression of impropriety arising from my bluster in that conversation.

"Clearly there is no question of donors being able to influence policy or gain undue access to politicians."

The Conservative Party currently has several levels of donation, with the top one being the Leader's Group, where for an annual donation of £50,000 donors can be invited to join Mr Cameron and other senior figures from the Conservative Party at dinners, post-Prime Minister's Questions lunches, drinks receptions, election result events and important campaign launches.

Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said "reform" of funding system was necessary.

source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17508271

The government is proposing a minimum price of 40p per unit of alcohol in England and Wales in an effort to stamp out binge-drinking culture.

Ministers say the proposal would not affect responsible pubs or drinkers.

But they predict that it could significantly change the behaviour of those who cause the most problems for hospitals and the police, by making it more expensive to get drunk.

Similar proposals are already being considered by the Scottish Parliament.

The drinks industry said the proposal was misguided and would hit consumers hard.

Under the proposal, a minimum price, such as the proposed 40p per unit, would act as a floor and retailers would not be allowed to offer alcohol below that level.

In effect, it would not alter the price of most drinks but could significantly alter the price of heavily discounted ciders, super-strength lager and cheap spirits.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the government wanted to reverse a drinking culture that last year contributed to one million alcohol-related violent crimes and 1.2 million hospital admissions.

Mr Cameron said: "Binge drinking isn't some fringe issue, it accounts for half of all alcohol consumed in this country. The crime and violence it causes drains resources in our hospitals, generates mayhem on our streets and spreads fear in our communities.

"We can't go on like this. We have to tackle the scourge of violence caused by binge drinking and we have to do it now. So we're going to attack it from every angle."

Mr Cameron said cheap alcohol was the "root cause" of the problem, but he knew that minimum pricing would not be "universally popular".

"We're consulting on the actual price, but if it is 40p that could mean 50,000 fewer crimes each year and 900 fewer alcohol related deaths per year by the end of the decade.

"This isn't about stopping responsible drinking, adding burdens on business or some new kind of stealth tax - it's about fast immediate action where universal change is needed."

The government says it is considering banning buy-one-get-one-free deals but, at the same time, it will allow half-price promotions.

The strategy also includes a plan for a late-night levy to make clubs and pubs help pay for policing.

But the prime minister said the strategy could help pubs because minimum pricing would stop supermarkets offering cheaper alternatives.

Andrew Opie of the British Retail Consortium said the proposal was "seriously misguided".

"It's simplistic to imagine a minimum price is some sort of silver bullet solution to irresponsible drinking," he said.

"Irresponsible drinking has cultural causes and retailers have been hugely engaged in information and education to change attitudes to drinking.

"It's a myth to suggest that supermarkets are the problem or that a pub is somehow a safer drinking environment. Effectively, a minimum price is a tax on responsible drinkers."

Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, of the Royal College of Physicians and the Alcohol Health Alliance, welcomed the proposals.

"Health care workers who struggle every day to cope with the impact of our nation's unhealthy drinking will welcome tough new policies in areas such as price and licensing that are based on evidence and should bring about real benefits," he said.

Chief Constable Jon Stoddart, the lead on alcohol for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said: "Week in week out in town centres across the country the police have to deal with the consequences of cheap alcohol and irresponsible drinking.

"The growing trend for 'pre-loading' means that young people are often drunk before they even enter a bar.

"By the time they hit the streets at closing they are more likely to get involved in crime and disorder or injure themselves or others."

source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17482035

A US soldier suspected of killing civilians in Afghanistan will be charged with 17 counts of murder, US officials have told the BBC.

Staff Sgt Robert Bales is accused of attacking the villagers in their homes in Kandahar province on 11 March. Most victims were women and children.

Sgt Bales, 38, was later moved to a military prison in the US after being transported from Afghanistan to Kuwait.

He could face the death penalty if convicted.

'No evidence'

Sgt Bales would also be charged with six counts of assault and attempted murder, a US official told the BBC.

The charges are to be read to the soldier at the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, later on Friday, according to the Associated Press.

Sgt Bales is the only known suspect in the killings - despite repeated Afghan assertions that more than one American was involved.

He is being held in solitary confinement at Fort Leavenworth.

His lawyer, who has played down reports that his client was drunk on the night of the killings, said earlier this week he remembers "very little" of the incident.

John Henry Brown said there was "no forensic evidence" against Staff Sgt Robert Bales and "no confession".

The lawyer said Sgt Bales had received body and brain injuries while serving in Iraq and was unhappy about going for another tour of duty. He had already completed three tours in Iraq.

Mr Brown also said his client - whom he described as "a decorated soldier" with an exemplary record before the shooting - had witnessed his friend's leg blown off the day before the killings.

The case has undermined US relations with Kabul and led to calls for Nato to speed up its planned withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

Sgt Bales' trial could take years, contrasting with Afghan demands for swift and decisive justice.

The Taliban called off peace talks in the wake of the deadly rampage.

source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17484186

A gunman suspected of seven killings in southern France has told police laying siege to his flat in Toulouse that he wants to die "weapons in hand", Interior Minister Claude Gueant says.

Mr Gueant said there had been no contact overnight with Mohammed Merah and it was not certain he was alive.

Police set off regular explosions overnight to increase the pressure on 23-year-old Merah.

He is suspected of killing seven people in three separate attacks.

The siege is now in its second day.

Mr Gueant said: "We have one priority: to take him alive so that he can surrender to face justice. We hope he is still alive."

However, he said it was "quite strange that he did not react" to the explosions that were set off overnight to intimidate Merah.

"We heard two shots, we don't know what they were," Mr Gueant said.

"Despite redoubled efforts throughout the night, there has been no contact with him."

The first blasts, set off late on Wednesday, had prompted deputy mayor Jean-Pierre Havrin to tell local media that "negotiations have finished and the assault has begun".

However, sources from the French interior ministry later said this was only the beginning of an operation to put pressure on Merah.

"[The blasts] were moves to intimidate the gunman, who seems to have changed his mind and does not want to surrender," interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told Reuters.

Didier Martinez, of the SGP police union, told Associated Press the siege could go on for hours as police were counting on Merah weakening with fatigue.

Merah has given conflicting messages about surrendering.

Anti-terror chief Francois Molins had said: "He's explained that he's not suicidal, he doesn't have the soul of a martyr and he prefers to kill but to stay alive himself."

Officials say Merah is armed with a Kalashnikov high-velocity rifle, a mini-Uzi 9mm machine pistol, several handguns and possibly grenades.

Street lights were switched off in the vicinity of the building on Wednesday evening.

The five-storey block of flats has been evacuated, and police also moved residents from nearby buildings.

Police had surrounded Merah's building after two officers were shot at when they tried to get into his flat early on Wednesday morning.

Elsewhere in the city, police are hunting for accomplices and have detained several members of Merah's family.

His mother was taken to the scene on Wednesday in the hope that she could persuade him to surrender, but she told police that she had no influence over her son.

Mr Molins said on Wednesday that Merah had planned to kill again.

"If he's telling the truth, he would have left his house this morning and he would have once again killed any soldier that he came across," he said.

Mr Molins said the suspect had expressed no regret for the killings, but had said he wanted to kill more people and "bring France to its knees".

Merah has said he acted to "avenge Palestinian children" and said he would give himself up.

Merah claimed to have received al-Qaeda training in Pakistan's Waziristan area, and also said he had been to Afghanistan.

Christian Etelin, a lawyer who has previously acted for Merah, said his client had violent tendencies.

"There was his religious engagement, an increasing hatred against the values of a democratic society and a desire to impose what he believes is truth," Mr Etelin said.

He also denied earlier reports that Merah had been jailed for explosives offensives in Afghanistan, saying his client was in jail in France for robbery with violence at the time - from December 2007 to September 2009.

Emotional funeral

The killings took place in and around Toulouse in three separate incidents earlier this month.

On 11 March, a soldier was shot and killed while waiting to see a man about selling his motorcycle.

Days later, two soldiers were shot and killed and a third was wounded while waiting at a cash machine.

Then earlier this week, three children and an adult were shot and killed outside a Jewish school.

The four Jewish victims were buried in an emotional funeral in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, President Nicolas Sarkozy attended a memorial for the three murdered soldiers at a military base in Montauban near Toulouse.

George Osborne's big picture is that green shoots are emerging in the UK economy - a few, tiny buds - but the deficit reduction plan will be gradual and long drawn out.

The government is sticking to plan A, as defined by the first coalition Budget in June 2010.

The chancellor confirmed what had already been conceded in recent months, it will last until 2017, two years past the initial estimate.

So this government's third Budget is fiscally neutral - where the chancellor has cut taxes he has had to increase them elsewhere.

Low earners will pay less tax, so will high earners. There's cost savings from withdrawing UK forces from Afghanistan in 2013 and 2014. Smokers get hit hard. There's an increase on tax for the very wealthy who are selling their property, and a blunt warning about tax avoidance on property.

Most surprisingly there was an effective tax rise for pensioners, who will see their personal allowance frozen then abolished.

That was proof that he has to balance the books. Where some gained others had to lose. The most eye catching element - the cut in top rate next year from 50% to 45% - was justified by independent research on how much more revenue it could bring in for the government.

This was the most politically toxic part of the Budget and George Osborne made sure it was presented as a sensible thing to do. Labour have long labelled it "the wrong priority".

Ed Miliband's attack focused on the top rate cut - a bankers' bonus he labelled it.

Then in an effective bit of parliamentary theatre he urged cabinet members on the front bench to hold up their hands if they would benefit from the move to 45%.

This was "the millionaires' budget" he told MPs. The message from the chancellor was clear, right from the very outset; "this budget rewards work", it "unashamedly backs business" he said.

You could have been forgiven for forgetting this is a coalition government, not a Conservative government.

But he did give the Liberal Democrats what they had so publicly pushed for on personal allowances.

He will go "further and faster" in increasing the amount people can earn before they start paying tax. The Liberal Democrats will claim a key victory.

At the same time there was a concession to worried Tories who claimed moves to cut child benefit for higher rate payers would hit many working families, and prove politically damaging.

The cut will come, but more gradually and the starting threshold has been increased.

The government is sticking to the plan but tucked away in the middle of the Budget speech was proof of how hard that plan will be to see through.

The Office for Budget Responsibility predicts that there will have to be a further £10bn of savings from the welfare spend in the next spending review.

That is on top of the £18bn Iain Duncan Smith has had to find already. And don't forget that the bulk of the cuts first unveiled by the government have yet to bite.

source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17463747

French police searching for a gunman who shot dead four people at a Jewish school in Toulouse have surrounded a house in the north of the city.

The man inside the building where the operation is taking place has claimed affiliation to al-Qaeda, Interior Minister Claude Gueant told reporters.

Two police officers are reported injured in several exchanges of fire.

The man's mother has been brought to the scene, Mr Gueant said, and his brother is under arrest.

"The suspect's mother... was asked to make contact with her son, to reason with him, but she did not want to, saying she had little influence on him," Mr Gueant said.

Mr Gueant told French TV that the man informed police he wanted to "avenge Palestinian children".

The suspect also denounced French "crimes" in Afghanistan.

"He [the suspect] was in the DCRI's sights, as were others, after the first two attacks," an unnamed official told Agence France-Presse, referring to France's domestic intelligence service.

"Then the criminal investigation police brought in crucial evidence," the official added.

Police wearing helmets and flak jackets have cordoned off the residential area of Toulouse where the raid is happening, an eyewitness told the Liberation newspaper.

Prosecutors said other operations were underway to track down possible accomplices.

Other emergency services are also in attendance.

A huge manhunt has been under way in France amid fears the killer may strike again, after Monday's shooting, and the killing of three soldiers last week.

Funerals

Meanwhile, the funerals of the rabbi and three children killed in Monday's attack are due in Jerusalem in the coming hours.

Israeli police said they expected thousands of people to attend.

Also on Wednesday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy is to attend a memorial service for three soldiers killed in two attacks last week which police have linked to the Toulouse shootings.

The same gun and the same scooter were used in all the attacks. All three soldiers killed were of North African descent. Another soldier from the French overseas region of Guadeloupe was left critically ill.

The attacker gunned down Jonathan Sandler, a 30-year-old rabbi and teacher of religion, his two young sons Arieh and Gabriel and then - at point blank range - the head teacher's daughter, seven-year-old Myriam Monsonego, in Monday's attack at a Jewish school in Toulouse.

Their bodies were carried out of Ozar Hatorah school on Tuesday in two black hearses and taken to a nearby airport, reported AFP.

A military jet then flew them to Paris, from where they were placed on a commercial flight to Tel Aviv, AFP said. They have now arrived in Israel.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe was to accompany the relatives of the dead to the funerals in Jerusalem.

Mr Sarkozy and the Socialist presidential candidate Francois Hollande will attend the memorial service in Montauban for the three soldiers killed in last week's attacks.

Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right Front National, will also be at the service.

She is often associated with the more controversial debates on immigration and her presence will be closely observed in light of recent events, reports the BBC's Christian Fraser in Toulouse.

Scarlet alert

On Tuesday schools across France held a moment's silence to remember the victims of the killer, whom President France Sarkozy branded a "monster".

It is the first time in the country's history that the national terror alert has been raised to "scarlet", its highest level.

The measure enables the authorities to disrupt daily life and implement sweeping security measures. These include mixed police-military patrols and powers to suspend public transport and close schools.

Mr Gueant has said the killer had a camera strapped to his chest and may have filmed the shootings.

sourcE:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17446999

Inflation in the UK continued to fall in February, thanks largely to lower gas and electricity bills.

Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation fell to 3.4% in February, down from 3.6% in January, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation - including mortgage interest payments - fell to 3.7% from 3.9%.

Inflation has been falling steadily since September and the CPI rate is now at its lowest since November 2010.

The Bank of England's target for inflation - the rate at which prices are rising - is 2% on the CPI measure.

The ONS said that average gas and electricity bills fell during February this year, whereas they rose during the same month a year ago.

All of the six big energy companies have announced price cuts and most reductions had come into effect by the end of February.

Discounting on digital cameras and cheaper air fares also pulled the CPI rate down.

However, higher alcohol prices stopped a further decline.

'Stickier than hoped'

Analysts had expected a steeper fall in the headline CPI rate, to about 3.3%.

"The Bank of England is hoping that it's going to fall to 2% by the end of the year," Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, told the BBC.

"The fact it's been a little bit sticker than we hoped this month really casts further doubt on the Bank's projection.

"So this might be another case of the Bank being a little bit too optimistic of where inflation's going to go."

Others were less concerned.

"We thought the risks were that it would be a bit above the consensus, but in the scheme of things it's pretty much in line," said Ross Walker, RBS economist.

Prioritising growth

Chancellor George Osborne will set out his third Budget on Wednesday, and has pledged to help low and middle earners.

Easing inflation is seen as crucial to the UK's economic recovery.

It is hoped that it will help cash-strapped consumers, who have been hit by high prices and low wage growth, increase their spending and thereby boost the economy.

But the British Chambers of Commerce warned that the UK was unlikely to see prolonged periods of below-target inflation, given the "worrying" increases in world oil and food prices since the beginning of the year.

"Given the challenges facing the economy, it is imperative that in his Budget the chancellor demonstrates his commitment to placing economic growth at the top of the policy agenda," said David Kern, chief economist at the BCC.

While the latest ONS data may be welcomed by households, the TUC warned there was still a big gap between what people are taking home and the prices greeting them on the High Street.

Continue reading the main story

Calculate your personal inflation rate

Figures from the financial information service Moneyfacts also suggest that it is still a tough market for savers.

According to Moneyfacts, to beat inflation, a basic rate taxpayer at 20% needs to find a savings account paying 4.25% per annum, while a higher rate taxpayer at 40% needs to find an account paying at least 5.66%.

"It's just a bit too early for everyone to burst into a chorus of 'don't worry, be happy' as today's figures still mean that there are only 79 accounts out of 1,126 that negate both inflation and the taxman's cut," said Sylvia Waycot from Moneyfacts.

source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17442343