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Exclusive: Germany plays pivotal role in potential eurozone rescue package for Greek debts The eurozone has agreed a multibillion-euro bailout for Greece as part of a package to shore up the single currency after weeks of crisis, the Guardian has learnt. Senior sources in Brussels said that Berlin had bowed to the bailout agreement despite huge resistance in Germany and that the finance ministers of the "eurozone" – the 16 member states including Greece who use the euro – are to finalise the rescue package on Monday. The single currency's rulebook will also be rewritten to enforce greater fiscal discipline among members. The member states have agreed on "co-ordinated bilateral contributions" in the form of loans or loan guarantees to Greece if Athens finds itself unable to refinance its soaring debt and requests help from the EU, a senior European commission official said. Other sources said the aid could rise to €25bn (£22.6bn), although it is estimated in European capitals that Greece could need up to €55bn by the end of the year. Germany, the EU's traditional paymaster, but the most reluctant to come to the rescue of a fiscal delinquent in the current crisis, has played the pivotal role in organising the rescue package, the sources added. "There have been quite intensive preparations under the eurogroup. We have the ways and means to do it," said the senior official, asking not to be named because of the subject's sensitivity. "It will be a co-ordinated approach of bilateral contributions [between EU governments] … A bilateral contribution can be a loan or a loan guarantee. The guarantees will facilitate the kind of funds potentially needed in this context." The rules governing the operation of the single currency proscribe a bailout for a country on the brink of insolvency. Berlin, in particular, has been worried that any bailout of Greece could be challenged in its constitutional court. The senior official said the agreement – which will not involve any contribution from the UK taxpayer – had been tailored to respect the bailout ban and avoid a supreme court challenge in Germany. Alongside the financial relief package for Greece, the European commission is rushing through tougher rules for the eurozone, using powers conferred by the recently enacted Lisbon treaty to try to establish a system of rigorous "budgetary surveillance" of all 16 participating countries. The aim is a new regime of "reinforced economic policy co-ordination" in the EU. "This is the essential lesson that has to be learned from the Greek case," Olli Rehn of Finland, the new commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, told the Guardian (and four other European papers). "The Greek case is a potential turning point for the eurozone," said Rehn in the interview. "If Greece fails and we fail, this will do serious and maybe permanent damage to the credibility of the European Union. The euro is not only a monetary arrangement, but a core political project of the European Union … In that sense, we are at a crossroads." While ready to bail out the Greeks if only on terms of "rigorous conditionality", European leaders are hoping that the rescue will not be needed, that the draconian package of austerity measures announced by Prime Minister George Papandreou will be enough to calm the markets and stabilise the euro. EU leaders are to rule next week on whether Papandreou is doing enough to slash the 12.7% budget deficit by four percentage points this year, part of his ambition to cut the deficit by 10 points over three years. Rehn said he would unveil new proposals next month, enshrining a new single currency regime of "rigorous surveillance of national budgets" and that Eurostat, the EU's statistical agency, would need to be given formidable new auditing powers over the books of eurozone member states, a demand that may be resisted by EU governments. "That's the hard core of our proposal. [The surveillance] should be automatic," said Rehn. "We have an immediate corrective instrument for the Greek case, plus another framework to prevent new Greek crises." Inside the commission, officials are confident that Wolfgang Schäuble, the German finance minister, supports the tough new regime being plotted. Schäuble, who uses a wheelchair and is currently in hospital, and will not attend key meetings in Brussels on Monday and Tuesday. Schäuble enjoys a longstanding reputation as a European integrationist and is said to have played a central role in shaping the Greek bailout plans despite widespread hostility to any such moves in Germany. Over the past week, he has sparked a major debate by calling for a European Monetary Fund to underpin the currency, and yesterday stoked more controversy by proposing that serial sinners in the eurozone could be expelled from the single currency club. The EMF concept is for the long-term and a new rule enabling expulsion from the euro club would require the Lisbon treaty to be re-opened, a nightmare for most after labouring over it for almost nine years. While senior figures in Brussels believe that Chancellor Angela Merkel and Schäuble are intensely serious about establishing an EMF, they also suspect they are using the idea to assuage hostile public opinion in Germany and "prepare a short-term fire brigade operation for Greece".

• Greece
• European Union
• Global economy
• Global recession
• Germany
• Currencies
• Europe

Ian Traynor
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Judge agrees with human rights watchdog that British National party's rewritten criteria for joining are still racist The British National party (BNP) has been barred from taking new members after a judge ruled today that its constitution could discriminate against non-white people. Judge Paul Collins issued an injunction ordering the far-right group to comply with race equality laws, adding that "the membership list will have to be closed until then". Under the injunction, future prospective BNP members will not have to be vetted at home before being accepted. Last month the BNP scrapped its whites-only policy in an attempt to avoid legal sanctions brought by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). But today at central London county court, Judge Collins ruled: "I hold that the BNP are likely to commit unlawful acts of discrimination within section 1b Race Relations Act 1976 in the terms on which they are prepared to admit persons to membership under the 12th edition of their constitution." The commission welcomed the ruling, saying it proved that, while it is not unlawful to hold discriminatory views, it is unlawful for such principles to be used for controlled entry to a political party. Susie Uppal, director of legal enforcement at the commission, said: "The commission is glad that today's judgment confirms our view that both the BNP's 11th constitution and the amended 12th constitution are unlawful. "Political parties, like any other organisation, are obliged to respect the law and not discriminate against people who wish to become members. The decision follows weeks of wrangling over the legality of the party's membership criteria as defined in its constitution. BNP rules had stipulated that only "indigenous Caucasians" and people from ethnic groups "emanating from that race" could join. After several months of delay, BNP members voted at an extraordinary general meeting a month ago to scrap the clause and replace the party's constitution. But the EHRC decided to challenge the new document on the grounds that it still amounted to indirect racism. The new constitution, which has yet to be published, requires would-be members to agree that they are "implacably opposed to the promotion, by any means, of integration or assimilation" that affected the UK's indigenous white population. Another clause expresses opposition to mixed-race marriages. "It would be jolly difficult for a mixed-race person to join the BNP without effectively denying themselves," Robin Allen QC, representing the EHRC, told a hearing on Tuesday. The BNP rejected this. "This party has a particular policy," said Gwynn Price Rowlands, representing the party. "It's a matter for the applicant to decide whether they want to join." The BNP had a waiting list of non-white people wanting to join, he said. The hearing was told that applicants under the new party rules would be subject to a two-hour home visit by two BNP officials. Allen said that could operate as a form of indirect discrimination. "One way the provisions could operate would be to intimidate someone who wanted to join the party. "Of course, it could simply be a greeting." BNP critics argue the party has no genuine interest in recruiting non-white members and is merely doing the minimum to avoid legal action and potentially crippling court costs. An internal BNP memo seen by the Guardian this week told members that the party had not "gone soft". "We don't expect any more than a handful of people of ethnic minority origin to apply to join the party nationally, and we will not let this deflect us from our political objectives of saving Britain and restoring the primacy of the indigenous British people," the memo said.

• BNP
• Race issues
• Human rights
• The far right

Peter Walker
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Dozens killed as two suicide bombers try to blow up military convoy passing busy market A bombing in the eastern city of Lahore has killed at least 43 people – the fifth terrorist attack this week as extremists in Pakistan demonstrate their continued ability to strike. The bloodiest terrorist strike in Pakistan this year was carried out by two attackers wearing suicide jackets who walked into a busy market in a high security military district and blew themselves up. The target appeared to be passing military vehicles but most of the victims were civilians. Shops in the market were ripped apart, with children crossing the road and people waiting at a bus stop among the victims. About 10 soldiers were killed and 100 injured, said the Lahore police chief, Parvaiz Rathore. "There were about 10 to 15 seconds between the blasts. Both were suicide attacks," a senior local government official, Sajjad Bhutta, said at the site. "The maximum preventative measures were being taken but these people find support from somewhere." The bombers struck at 1pm, around the time of Friday prayers, in the cantonment area, home to the local army garrison and one of Lahore's most upmarket residential districts. Lahore is the bustling cultural hub of Pakistan and had enjoyed several weeks of relative peace. It is the capital of the eastern Punjab province, Pakistan's most densely populated area and its political heartland. The suicide bombings were followed in the evening by three smaller blasts in a residential area across town. They caused panic but damage was reported to be minor. The authorities repeated their regular assertion that the Taliban and other extremist groups have been defeated. The provincial law minister, Rana Sanaullah , said: "We broke their networks. That's why they have not been able to strike for a considerable time." But it was the second bombing this week in Lahore. A car bombing on Monday at a police interrogation centre killed 14 people. Other attacks this week included a gun and grenade assault on a US Christian aid agency's office in the north-west, killing six of its staff, all Pakistani nationals. "They (the extremists) are trying to project their power, telling the government that they are still alive," said analyst Imtiaz Gul, author of The al-Qaida Connection. "They are still far from broken. It's going to be a long haul." In 2009 that Lahore was dragged into the bloody insurgency in Pakistan, which claimed around 3,000 lives last year, with a series of spectacular attacks including a gun assault on the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team. The last major attack in Lahore was in December when a market was bombed, killing at least 49 people. The launch of a military offensive in South Waziristan, on the Afghan border, the base of the Pakistani Taliban, in October last year was accompanied by a vicious spate of terrorist reprisals but the country had been relatively peaceful this year.

• Pakistan
• Global terrorism
• Taliban
• al-Qaida

Saeed Shah
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More than half a million travellers to be hit by successive weekend walkouts, with the first beginning on 20 March More than half a million British Airways passengers face strike disruption this month after the Unite trade union announced walkouts over two consecutive weekends, prompting BA to withdraw a last-ditch peace offer. Unite has called a series of strikes by up to 12,000 flight attendants, beginning with a three-day walkout on 20 March and then a four-day stoppage from 27 March. Further strike action will take place after 14 April if there is no deal by then, the union added. Gordon Brown intervened in the dispute this afternoon, calling on both sides to reach agreement. "I hope they will do so [resume talks] but I remind them of the danger and risk to the British economy of disruptive strikes going ahead," he said. Brief hopes of a reprieve for the 525,000 passengers affected by the strike action were extinguished this afternoon when the BA chief executive, Willie Walsh, withdrew a compromise offer after hearing that Unite had set dates for the airline's first cabin crew strike in 13 years. BA said the offer, which included a partial repeal of staffing cuts, was conditional on Unite not setting strike dates. Walsh told the BBC that the two sides were "not close at all" to reaching an agreement and described Unite's counter-offer of a 2.6% pay cut for staff as "morally wrong". He said passengers already booked on to flights from 19 March to 31 March could apply for a refund or reschedule their journeys. A BA spokesperson said: "Our offer to Unite was conditional on the union not naming strike dates. Because strike dates have been announced, Unite has invalidated the offer. It is no longer on the table." BA's move means strikes are certain to go ahead next Friday unless the tentative lines of communication between both sides, described as "slender" by one source close to the talks, yield a new compromise. This morning Unite said it would put the BA proposal out to a consultative ballot with the result due next Wednesday. However, the simultaneous announcement of strike dates angered BA, which said it had offered Unite an extension to its strike mandate. Speaking before BA's move, Len McCluskey, Unite's chief negotiator and assistant general secretary, said he was willing to keep talking. "There are no negotiations [planned] but of course we remain open to meeting with BA anytime, anywhere." McCluskey later added that the withdrawal of the BA offer "beggars belief". The two sides are haggling over a £62.5m target for cost savings in the annual cabin crew budget, which BA has achieved by unilaterally cutting staffing levels on flights by at least one person. This followed a voluntary redundancy programme that saw 1,100 flight attendants leave the company. Unite wants the majority of those positions reinstated and has offered a 2.6% pay cut this year to help fund the move. The industrial action has been timed to cause maximum disruption to BA, with the airline facing a struggle to reinstate a normal timetable between strikes. BA normally carries about 75,000 passengers a day on 650 services. Walsh has said he hopes to operate a substantial proportion of the airline's Heathrow airport long-haul operations and a good number of short-haul flights during the strikes. The airline has admitted that there will be cancellations and hopes to announce a revised flight schedule on Monday. The airline has pledged to break the strike with 1,000 volunteer flight attendants drawn from the ranks of its non-cabin-crew workforce, and is preparing to hire 23 aeroplanes complete with their own trained crew. BA said today that it will only be able to offer hot meals to first-class passengers on affected flights, with no specialist meals such as kosher and halal dishes, while the remaining passengers will have cold meals. BA has said it will operate its entire schedule from London City airport during the industrial action and has claimed more than two-thirds of its Gatwick-based crews will work normally. Informal channels of communication are still open between BA and Unite, via the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, Brendan Barber. According to BA's withdrawn offer, the airline was willing partially to repeal the staffing cuts at the heart of the dispute and would consider putting around 184 cabin crew positions back on its 239-plane fleet. However, Unite wants 700 positions returned to BA aircraft and has proposed about £60m worth of cost savings to fund the proposal. BA says the figures are significantly short of its cost-cutting target. Unite is also threatening to hold a consultative ballot over proposed changes to baggage handlers' contracts. If union members vote against BA's proposals an industrial action ballot will be held, although that move is several weeks away. Unite argues it has been bypassed by BA despite holding talks about the baggage handler contracts. Steve Turner, the Unite national officer for civil aviation, said: "It is hugely concerning that BA feel that management by imposition is their preferred approach. Very soon no worker at the airline will feel that either their job or their terms and conditions are safe. This instability cannot be healthy for the airline." A BA spokesman said: "We are consulting with our ground-handling staff at Heathrow about potential changes to improve the way in which we work. Any talk of a ballot for industrial action is speculative and premature."

• British Airways
• Airline industry
• Air transport
• Transport
• Trade unions

Dan Milmo
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• Renault's Bob Bell accuses McLaren of 'starting new arms race'
• Rivals angry after car gains FIA approval Renault have accused McLaren of driving "a cart horse through the spirit" of Formula One with their new rear wing even though it has been approved by the sport's ruling body. "It is fundamentally clear that the McLaren wing design is totally illegal," Bob Bell, Renault's managing director Bob Bell told the BBC after the first practice session of the season at the Bahrain grand prix today. "They have driven a cart horse through the spirit of the rules and regulations," said Bell. "They have opened up another arms race, it's going to cost everybody a lot of money. The governing bodies need to be a lot stronger with these things." Renault themselves are competing under a suspended permanent ban after the race-fixing controversy that cast a shadow over last season. The McLaren car passed inspections yesterday at the Sakhir circuit and the team maintained that they consulted the FIA, Formula One's governing body, throughout the design process. Patrick Head, the Williams co-owner and engineering director, told Reuters that the rear wing had a slot that appeared to be fed by a duct that the McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton could block at will by body movement. "I understand that [race director] Charlie [Whiting] is saying that article three of the regulations that would limit something like that don't apply to the driver, only to the car," he said. "But I do remember when our active ride car was banned, it was banned on the grounds that a piston in the strut was moving and by virtue of doing so was influencing the aerodynamic performance of the car. "What I'm told Charlie is saying is that Lewis or Jenson's knee, or whatever it is, is not part of the car. "It is a bit of a problem because if one car is suddenly able to gain five or six km an hour on the straight then we've all got to do it," he added. He speculated that drivers might conceivably drive one-handed down the straight with the other hand covering the flow of air through a hole in the cockpit to secure an aerodynamic advantage. The Red Bull team manager Christian Horner said: "The FIA have looked at it and deemed it to be okay. It's therefore a clever design rather than an illegal design. The question is, is the driver part of the car? They deem him not to be. "Inevitably now there will be a wild goose chase of all the teams chasing that loophole. We have to come up with another solution. Anything's possible." Asked if there would be a protest, Horner added: "I don't know. We're happy with the verdict from the FIA. We wanted clarity and we have that."

• Formula One
• Renault
• McLaren
• Motor sport

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Thousands using gas flares will illuminate the whole course of Britain's biggest historic monument

Interactive: Lighting up Hadrian's wall An army that would have astonished the emperor Hadrian is set to take over his Roman wall tomorrow night, lighting a chain of beacons from the Tyne to the Solway Firth. Thousands have been recruited for what will be an 84-mile variation on Antony Gormley's invitation to the people of the UK to occupy the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square – a brief but spectacular moment of public art. Designed to highlight Britain's biggest ancient monument and bring an early spring to the northern tourist economy, the event will feature scenes that would have earned an instant court martial in Hadrian's day. Durham student Maxine Granger is inviting friends to an impromptu birthday party around the gas flare that she will ignite near Newcastle upon Tyne. Raf Appleby, an artist based at a Cumbrian farm on the wall, plans to do the same for her 49th, including a display by one of her five children who is a trained fire-eater. A sequence of 500 "illuminations" at 250-metre intervals will roll westwards from Segundum fort, Wallsend, at 5.45pm, reaching Carlisle three quarters of an hour later and ending on the final, largely fragmentary stretch of the wall above the Solway. Timings and gas supplies are being synchronised so that the whole of the ancient frontier will be illuminated at the climax for the first time since Hadrian ordered its building in AD122. "There was a huge rush to get involved as soon as we announced the idea," said Linda Tuttiett, chief executive of Hadrian's Wall Heritage, the agency tasked with bringing jobs, visitors and international lustre to the wall. "We have had to double up the illuminators at the beacons to include as many applicants as we can." Thousands of would-be modern legionnaires used Facebook and Twitter to argue why they should be among those chosen to light the flares. Reasons included intimate details of trysts at particular spots, anniversaries and simple love of the dramatic landscape, especially where the wall marches along the escarpment of the Whin Sill. Applicants included several hundred from overseas, among them a couple from the Netherlands, Katleen Vandenbranden and Matthais Fabian, who spend their spare time dressing up as Romans but have yet to visit the wall. "It's such a great idea," said Vandenbranden, in between packing up togas and leggings at home in Nijswiller. "It'll show how history is something for everyone, rather than a handful of highly educated people." There will be others with specialist knowledge of the wall, which has shed much light on the Roman world since serious excavations were started by the Newcastle Society of Antiquaries in the early 19th century. Discoveries range from cement so strong that it was analysed by engineers building the nuclear plant at Sellafield to an unprecedented collection of personal letters and bills unearthed at the fort and civilian settlement of Vindolanda. Stuart Eve, a doctoral student at University College London, will combine triggering a beacon with his own work on the lighting used by the Roman garrison. He said: "I've already closely studied the possibility that they had flaming torches at intervals, and done a computer programme on how beacons might have been used in the milecastle forts. To be chosen to take part in a recreation like this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Viewing areas along the central line of the wall have been sold out for months, and places have been snapped up at related events, including an organised walk from Haltwhistle and a cycling tour of the ramparts by cheese enthusiasts. Hadrian's Wall Heritage said visitors were best advised to head for two major events – theatre and son et lumière at Segundum fort and a torchlit fancy-dress procession with acrobats dangling from a heliosphere balloon in the centre of Carlisle.A rehearsal last month showed that the line of lights could be seen from 10 miles away, set off by the darkness cloaking the sparsely inhabited central section of the wall. Beacons in less dramatic stretches, including fragments of wall among housing estates on the edge of Newcastle, may also be less crowded.The event follows a successful "regarrisoning" of the wall last year, with actors and enthusiasts playing the cosmopolitan army that defended Rome's most northerly border. Research on DNA and stone inscriptions has shown that troops from northern Africa were involved, and that some settled down to raise families locally. The Meteorological Office forecasts cloudy weather at the wall with the possibility of light showers in the west but dry in the east. Full details of the event are available online .

• Heritage
• Heritage
• Hadrian
• United Kingdom

Martin Wainwright
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Source of Daily Mail story refuses to divulge 'well-known social network' where he posed as girl of 14 and received sexual approaches from men

Facebook defends safety policy Facebook has called on the ex-detective who posed as a 14-year-old girl online on a "well-known social network" and said he was approached by men making sexual suggestions within minutes to name the site he used. But Mark Williams-Thomas, whose experiences were described by the Daily Mail in a contentious story this week, declined to name the site today. He suggested that it would not be helpful to the site's users – and that it might damage its reputation or attract paedophiles to use it more extensively. A spokesperson for Facebook said that it was important to identify the site so that young users could be protected. "If you really want to protect people online, then you should name sites which allow this. It's up to the Daily Mail and Mark Williams-Thomas. If they really want to protect their readers, they should give the name." However, Williams-Thomas said that although the operators of the site would be able to identify it from his description in the story written in the Daily Mail earlier this week, identification would not be beneficial because it might attract unwelcome users. "The site would implode," he told the Guardian. Facebook is threatening to sue the Daily Mail over a story which appeared in Wednesday's paper under Williams-Thomas's byline which was headlined "I posed as girl of 14 on Facebook. What followed will sicken you". The piece described how Williams-Thomas had created a profile on a social networking service of a 14-year-old girl and within minutes of the profile going live had been contacted by men aged between 20 and 40 seeking sexual gratification. The Mail has accepted that it wrongly suggested that the social network was Facebook, issuing an apology and blaming the error on "miscommunication". However, Facebook is still considering whether to sue for damage to its reputation. Facebook has come under fire this week after the conviction of Peter Chapman , who used Facebook and other social networking systems to pose as an 18-year-old boy and lure 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall to a meeting, upon which he raped and killed her. Some police organisations have criticised Facebook for not installing a "panic button" system that would let young users alert them over their concerns – although there is no evidence that Hall had any worries about who she thought Chapman was. Williams-Thomas, who was a detective with Surrey police until 2002, previously made an ITV documentary about the hunt for paedophiles in which he shadowed a team from the Metropolitan Police's Paedophile Unit. He added that the piece which appeared in the Daily Mail was part of an ongoing study being carried out into safety of social networks, which will be published later this year in a peer-reviewed journal. • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. • If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".

• Facebook
• Internet
• Social networking
• Digital media
• Daily Mail
• Newspapers
• Newspapers & magazines

Charles Arthur
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Winnie Mandela claims 'he let us down' story in Evening Standard was 'fictitious' but paper stands by story Nelson Mandela's ex-wife has denied criticising the former South African president in a newspaper interview over his decision to accept the Nobel peace prize. The Evening Standard ran an interview with Winnie Madikizela-Mandela on Monday in which she accused Mandela of having "let us down". She went on to condemn his decision to accept the 1993 Nobel peace prize alongside FW de Klerk, the president of South Africa in 1990 who took the decision to release Mandela . The remarks were noted in South Africa, where the country's governing party, the African National Congress, announced on Wednesday that its leaders would talk to Madikizela-Mandela when she returned to the country. The story took a new turn today when the 73-year-old rejected the inflammatory comments attributed to her. "I did not give … an interview. It is therefore not necessary for me to respond in any detail to the contents of a fabricated interview," she said in a statement distributed by the Nelson Mandela Foundation. "I will in the coming days deal with what I see as an inexplicable attempt to undermine the unity of my family, the legacy of Nelson Mandela and the high regard with which the name Mandela is held here and across the globe." Madikizela-Mandela was travelling abroad when the interview, conducted by Nadira Naipaul – wife of the Nobel literature laureate VS Naipaul – was published this week. The Evening Standard released a statement this afternoon saying it "cannot understand" Madikizela-Mandela's version of events. "Nadira Naipaul is a distinguished journalist who visited Winnie Mandela at home and spoke to her at length about her experiences," the statement read. "Nadira and her husband, the writer Sir VS Naipaul, are photographed with Winnie Mandela and this picture was printed with the article. "We cannot understand Winnie Mandela's denial of an event and conversation which clearly took place." In the article, Madikizela-Mandela was quoted as calling Archbishop Desmond Tutu a "cretin" as well as criticising her ex-husband. "Mandela let us down. He agreed to a bad deal for the blacks," the Standard quoted her as saying. "Economically we are still on the outside. The economy is very much 'white'. It has a few token blacks, but so many who gave their life in the struggle have died unrewarded." The quotes continued: "I cannot forgive him for going to receive the Nobel [peace prize in 1993] with his jailer De Klerk. Hand in hand they went. Do you think De Klerk released him from the goodness of his heart? He had to. The times dictated it, the world had changed, and our struggle was not a flash in the pan, it was bloody to say the least and we had given rivers of blood. I had kept it alive with every means at my disposal". Madikizela-Mandela said she had spoken to Archbishop Tutu about the Evening Standard story and would be speaking to Mandela and his wife, Graca Michel. "Finally I repeat that I did not give Ms Naipul any interview," she said. "Any further questions about the content of that fictitious interview should be addressed to her."

• Nelson Mandela
• South Africa
• London Evening Standard
• Newspapers

Adam Gabbatt
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Melting sea ice in the Arctic will kill thousands of bears in coming years, the US says, and continued commercial trade must not be allowed to make the situation worse It is a familiar story in the climate change debate. The US government is at odds with the rest of the world and, despite criticism, wants other countries to change their minds and fall in line behind Uncle Sam. This time, the tale comes with an unexpected twist. This weekend, the US will warn that the threat from climate change to the survival of the polar bear is so great that the world must grant it the highest possible protection. At the meeting of the international body that regulates trade in animals, the US will push for a total ban on the sale and movement of polar bear products that are used for furs, rugs and taxidermy. Melting sea ice in the Arctic will kill thousands of bears in coming years, the US says, and continued commercial trade must not be allowed to make the situation worse. Other countries, including US neighbours and keen polar bear traders, Canada, disagree. The US has put its proposal to the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (Cites), which meets every two-three years and tomorrow begins its 12-day meeting in Doha, Qatar. Governments from 175 countries will discuss dozens of such proposals, which could help determine the fate of, among others, elephants, tigers, rhinos and the world's dwindling stocks of bluefin tuna. "2010 is a key year for biological diversity," said Achim Steiner , head of the United Nations Environment Programme , which runs Cites. "It is the year when the world was supposed to have reversed the rate of loss of our biodiversity. This has not happened. The international community must re-engage and renew its efforts to meet this goal. Cites is an important part of this response." The US wants polar bears promoted to Cites appendix I, which brings an automatic ban on trade. In its proposal it says: "Sea ice changes will likely negatively impact polar bears by increasing energetic demands of seeking prey. As changes in habitat become more severe and seasonal rates of change more rapid, catastrophic mortality events that have yet to be realised on a large scale are expected to occur." It adds: "A precautionary approach, which includes polar bears in Cites appendix I, is necessary to ensure that primarily commercial trade does not compound the threats posed to the species by loss of habitat." Biologists reckon there are 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears in the Arctic , spread across 19 geographical sub-populations. Last year the polar bear specialist group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature said that numbers in eight of these groups were declining, three are stable and one, a group of under 300 animals around Canada's M'Clintock Channel, is increasing . The state of the other seven groups is unclear. The US plan is backed by Egypt and Rwanda, but other nations, including Europe, are expected to vote against. Canada, which exports skins and products from about 300 polar bears legally shot each year, says the trade is insignificant compared to the threat of global warming. There are also doubts about whether the polar bear meets the required criteria for appendix I listing. In its official response to the US proposal, the Cites secretariat recommend it is rejected. "The global population of polar bears does not appear to be small. The area of distribution of this species extends over several million square kilometres and is clearly not restricted at present," it says. "There is insufficient evidence that the species has undergone a marked decline in population size in the wild large enough." The Cites meeting will also trigger a new round in a long-running debate about the sale of ivory harvested from African elephants. Trade in ivory was banned in 1989, though Cites has permitted one-off sales of government stocks from countries including Botswana, South Africa and Japan. The $20m raised from the sales were channelled towards elephant conservation, but critics say they encourage poaching and illegal trade. Tanzania and Zambia will this year push to be allowed a similar sale of ivory stocks, though other African nations such as Ghana, Kenya and Mali have signalled they will vote against the plan. All proposals need a two-thirds majority to pass. Other Cites proposals include moves to control unregulated trade in corals and sharks, including the porbeagle, spiny dogfish and three species of hammerhead, as well as the proposed ban on bluefin tuna trade. "The marine theme of this year's Cites conference is particularly striking," said Willem Wijnstekers, Cites secretary-general. "Cites is increasingly seen as a valuable tool to achieve the target of restoring depleted fish stocks by 2015 to levels that can produce the maximum sustainable yield." Not all the proposals reflect shrinking biodiversity. Mexico and Egypt want to relax Cites controls on local species of crocodile they argue have recovered sufficiently in the wild. Monaco has proposed adding the bluefin tuna to Cites appendix 1 , which brings an automatic ban in trade. The giant fish can grow to 3m and weigh more than half a tonne. Much sought after as a delicacy and for sushi, a single fish reportedly sold earlier this year for $120,000. Populations in the Atlantic and Mediterranean have crashed in recent decades and there is no sign that efforts to introduce more sustainable fishing practices have slowed the decline. Scientists say stocks are about 15% of what they were before industrial fishing began. The proposed change is backed by the US and Europe, which wants a 12-month delay on any trade ban. Japan has indicated it may opt out from Cites controls if it is passed. It wants bluefin conservation to be managed by regional fishery bodies and blames the fish decline on European countries for setting unrealistic quotas and ignoring illegal fishing.

• Endangered species
• Wildlife
• Conservation
• Animals
• Biodiversity

David Adam
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Labour peer was investigated over claims that she was paid expenses on a flat in Kent that had been unoccupied for years Lady Uddin, the Labour peer accused of claiming more than £100,000 in expenses for a flat she did not live in, will not face any criminal charges, the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed today. The Labour peer was investigated over claims that she was paid expenses on a flat in Kent that had been unoccupied for years. Uddin has a second home in the East End of London, just four miles away from parliament. The inquiry has been suspended with no charges made because there was "insufficient evidence" to bring a prosecution alleging that Uddin did not occupy the home in Kent. Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, said: "The allegation against Baroness Uddin was that she had claimed 'night subsistence' for overnight stays in London, after attendances in the House of Lords, to which she was not entitled. Although she had nominated a flat she owned in Maidstone, Kent, as her 'only or main residence', it was alleged that her 'only or main residence' was in fact a house in east London. "Evidence in this case was obtained from neighbours of Baroness Uddin and from companies supplying utility services, such as water, gas and electricity to the flat in Maidstone. But after careful scrutiny of all of the available evidence we have decided that, in applying the definition of 'only or main residence' adopted by the house committee, there is insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against Baroness Uddin and we have today advised the Metropolitan police to take no further action." The decision not to prosecute relied heavily on a ruling by the Lords clerk to allow peers to nominate their first and second homes, and that the definition of a primary home was one which the member visited at least once a month. On the evidence prosecutors had, they could not prove she had spent less time there. Speaking at her home in Shadwell, east London, Lady Uddin said: "I am relieved this ordeal has finally come to an end and I only wish now to say thank you to everyone who supported me through a very difficult time and I now wish to return back to my professional life." Uddin will now face an inquiry by the sub-committee on Lords' interests, Michael Pownall, the clerk of the Lords, said today. He defended the rules around peers' second homes, insisting that they had to stay overnight in a property at least once a month in order to qualify for allowance payments and insisted this had been backed by the house committee. He said: "The house committee's deliberations did not relate to potential breaches of the criminal law. I had agreed with the Metropolitan police service that I would suspend my internal investigations into the small number of members it was investigating until its investigations were complete. "At the time I made my recommendation, the MPS was still investigating those members, and their circumstances were not a consideration in my recommendation."

• House of Lords
• MPs' expenses
• Labour

Polly Curtis
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Her mother, Angela Gordon, will serve at least 15 years and stepfather, Junaid Abuhamza, seven and a half years A mother and stepfather who starved a seven-year-old child to death were given indefinite jail sentences today after they had earlier been convicted of manslaughter. Angela Gordon, 35, was told by a judge at Birmingham crown court that she would serve at least 15 years before becoming eligible for parole and her partner, Junaid Abuhamza, 31, was told he would serve a minimum term of seven and a half years. Mr Justice Roderick Evans told them the regime of punishment suffered by seven-year-old Khyra Ishaq was "chilling in its harshness and cruelty". Turning to Gordon, he said her cruelty was horrific and made worse because she was Khyra's mother. The pair had been cleared of the murder of Khyra during a trial at the court, but convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility owing to their mental health problems. They admitted child cruelty charges relating to five other children in their care who were also starved and abused. Two of the children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were suffering from malnutrition and were close to death. Neither defendant displayed any reaction as they were sentenced. The judge said: "It is not right to say that these children suffered from neglect. Neglect is an inadequate and inappropriate description of the way they were treated. Rather, they were subjected to a domestic regime of punishment which was chilling in its harshness and cruelty. "A regime introduced by you, Abuhamza, as it had its origins in your own upbringing, but a regime to which you, Gordon, became a party." Khyra died at her home in Handsworth, Birmingham, in May 2008, even though there were shelves full of groceries, tins of sweets and bowls of fresh fruit in the house. The foodstuffs were locked away from Khyra and the five other children; a lock was fitted high on the kitchen doors to keep the children away. If the children were caught taking any of the food, they were made to stand outside in the cold and were beaten or forced to overeat until they vomited. The court heard evidence that Abuhamza was suffering from schizophrenia and as a child he witnessed his father beating a sister to death. Gordon was severely depressed at the time of her daughter's death. At her death, Khyra weighed 16.8kg (2st 9lb). She had lost about 40% of her body fat and her body mass index was so low it was off the bottom of the scale of medical charts. Her emaciated body had 60 injuries, the outcome of a sadistic regime which included punishment beatings, cold baths and being forced to overeat until she was sick. Khyra was taken out of school six months before her death, and her mother claimed to be educating her at home. Despite visits by educational officials , they never saw the children, who were supposedly in bed after having a late night. A neighbour believed Khyra scavenged stale bread left out for the birds. Gordon claimed Khyra was adequately fed. However, this assertion was part of an elaborate lie designed to convince the authorities that nothing was amiss. A 12-year-old girl who also lived at the house recalled the regime. "Khyra stole bread from the kitchen or something from the cooker," she said. "Junaid told her 'you've won a prize, you've got a nice treat'. He gave her a jar of chocolate and told her to eat it all. It made her feel really ill and it made her vomit." Another child recalled Khyra being asleep in her mother's lap two days before her death. Gordon was spraying her daughter's face with water but she did not wake. In the days leading up to her death, he said, he could see the bones through her skin as she slept. The children, he said, took lessons in the lounge and were punished if they did not answer correctly. Screams and cries of "let me out" had reportedly been heard coming from the house. One neighbour said she saw Khyra whimpering in the back garden before her death, dressed just in her underwear. The court ruling told of Abuhamza's "strong belief" in evil spirits. It described Gordon as feisty and outspoken but often "highly dependent upon the men in her life". At one point she took up a "healthy eating" diet. "Food was an issue for her and she seemed unable to understand that whilst it may well have been appropriate for her to lose weight, it was certainly not appropriate for these growing children to do the same," read the ruling. Detective Inspector Sean Russell, who investigated Khyra's starvation, said the harrowing nature of her death had made the most hardened officers cry. He believed the little girl had been kept a prisoner in a bedroom. "The very people who should have been looking after Khyra, her mother and Junaid Abuhamza, killed her through systematic abuse," he said. Khyra's death was ultimately caused by an overwhelming infection brought on by severe malnutrition.

• Child protection
• Children
• Crime

Helen Carter
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Head of supreme council says Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law group is likely victor based on preliminary results The political grouping headed by Iraq's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, today began preparing negotiations for a new coalition government after edging ahead in the latest counts of Sunday's general election. The poll's outcome is still unclear but Maliki's State of Law group is growing in confidence after preliminary results gave it victory in at least two southern provinces. Only partial counts have been released from six of Iraq's 18 provinces, excluding Baghdad. Results today from a quarter of votes cast in Maysan province, which borders Iran, showed State of Law trailing to the Iraqi National Alliance, the Shia coalition that includes followers of the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. But Iraqi officials who have seen nationwide results said Maliki's coalition appeared to have a narrow lead. The head of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, Ammar al-Hakim, said that Maliki's coalition appeared to be winning – the first statement of its kind by high-ranking official since polls closed. Abbas al-Bayati, a member Maliki's coalition, told Associated Press the alliance had created a committee to open talks with other blocs. Bayati said he expected State of Law would need two or three other coalition partners to form a government. Iraqiya, the coalition of Maliki's main rival, Ayad Allawi, the former secular Shia prime minister, continued to claim that the election was marred by fraud. Rend al-Rahim, an Iraqiya candidate, said the group had lodged 32 separate complaints with election officials, including undelivered and dumped ballots. Results released yesterday showed Allawi and Maliki's rival groups were leading in two provinces each. Coalition talks are expected to be lengthy and fractious. A credible ballot is considered to be crucial to a planned US troop withdrawal. It follows elections in Iran and Afghanistan, where results are widely considered to have been illegitimate. More partial results from Iraq's 14 other provinces are expected on Sunday.

• Iraq

Matthew Weaver
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Officials agree to pay up to $660m to Ground Zero workers who say they were made ill by inhaling fumes and dust at site of 9/11 attacks New York City authorities have agreed to pay up to $657.5m (£437m) to rescue and recovery workers who claim that they became ill after inhaling dust at the Ground Zero site of the 9/11 terror attacks. Lawyers representing more than 10,000 plaintiffs, who claim they were exposed to toxic contaminants after the collapse of the World Trade Centre, said the settlement must first be approved by a judge and agreed by 95% of the claimants. The deal would make the city, and other companies represented by the insurer, liable for at least $575m. Most, if not all, of the money would come from a $1bn Federal Emergency Management Agency grant. The New York mayor, Michael Bloomberg, called the deal "a fair and reasonable resolution to a complex set of circumstances". He said: "The resolution of the World Trade Centre litigation will allow the first responders and workers to be compensated for injuries suffered following their work at Ground Zero." The agreement comes two months before the first trial in the case. Thousands of police officers, firefighters and construction staff who worked at the 16-acre site in lower Manhattan had filed lawsuits against the city, claiming it sent them to Ground Zero without proper protective equipment. James Nolan, a 45-year-old carpenter from Yonkers, said he helped recover bodies and build ramps for firehoses at the site and then developed lung and leg problems, for which he takes medication. He sued the city for negligence six years ago. "We've had to fight for what we deserve," he said. "I'm glad it's coming to an end. I can feel a little comfortable if I pass away because my wife and kids will get some money." Many of those workers say they have since fallen ill. A majority have reported a respiratory problem similar to asthma, but many have also sought damages for hundreds of other ailments, including cancer. Payments will be based on a system that ranks each illness by severity and potential exposure to the dust. Some workers are likely to receive payments of a few thousand dollars; others could receive more than $1m. A separate insurance fund will be set up to cover workers who develop cancer. The settlement would mean a postponement or cancellation of the trials tentatively scheduled to begin in May. Some of the cases due to be heard include that of a firefighter who died of throat cancer and another who needs a lung transplant. The $1bn New York insurance fund, created by Congress, has been depleted in the long-running legal battle in the case, with the bill now in excess of $200m. The law firm Worby, Groner, Edelman & Napoli, Bern, representing 9,000 of the plaintiffs, is expected to take up to a third of the total settlement in legal fees.

• September 11 2001
• Global terrorism
• United States

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Rollers left cheesed off as event stopped due to overcrowding, but organisers are trying to find a solution It has long been regarded as one of the most curious – and hazardous – of English springtime pastimes. Competitors chase a large round of cheese down a steep hill in Gloucestershire, risking ridicule and broken limbs. But it emerged today that the annual cheese-rolling event at Cooper's Hill above Brockworth has become the latest victim of health and safety concerns. This year's event has been cancelled, not because organisers fear that those taking part will hurt themselves, but because the competition has become too popular and is attracting unmanageable crowds. The organisers said: "The attendance at the event has far outgrown the location where it has traditionally been held for several hundred years: last year, more than 15,000 people tried to attend, which is more than three times the capacity of the site." It goes on to reassure disappointed competitors that the committee is working with local authorities and the police to try to find better ways of controlling the crowds, stop the roads from getting clogged up and make sure that ambulances can get through when, almost inevitably, a competitor is injured. The announcement, however, has caused dismay among the adventurous types that like to take part in the May event. Robin Hammond, of the Really Exciting Adventure Club, said: "I do understand the issues about the crowd, but wish that the local authorities had worked harder to ensure that we don't lose another part of our English culture to issues of crowd health and safety. "Admittedly, last year had a record turnout to the event, which only goes to show how great this event is, with it being watched and talked about worldwide. I am sure that the local area benefits from the custom the crowds bring, so surely the local authorities have had time enough to consider the health and safety of this event." The event has become a tourist attraction. Sally Baker wrote on the organisers' website that she was travelling from Australia to the UK in the spring and "top of my itinerary" had been to "attend the cheese rolling". Others wrote that they would turn up even if there was no official event. "I say we do it anyway. They can't stop us," wrote Dan Stone. "I will bring the cheese," said Gemma Bailey. James D wrote: "I can't believe that such an important sport to Gloucestershire has been abandoned due to health and safety. Hopefully they will roll a single cheese in memory of the great tradition, which has now become lost to continued absurd heath and safety issues. RIP Coopers Hill." Mike Smith added: "Dreadfully disappointed with the news. As a cheese-roller of many years, I look forward to the chance to really injure myself each year. I have no idea how I'll hurt myself this year now."

• Heritage
• Gloucestershire
• Food & drink

Steven Morris
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In this week's podcast we plumb the murky depths of crime fiction. The Guardian's thriller reviewer, John O'Connell, explains the genre's lofty origins, and Belinda Bauer, whose debut novel, Blacklands, started life as a family drama, explains why her accidental foray into the field has turned her into a crime convert. And Claire Armitstead talks to Sara Paretsky, one of the grandes dames of crime literature, about the latest outing of her feisty female detective, VI Warshawski, in her new novel, Hardball. We also hear Ruth Fainlight, one of the writers who contributed to this week's Guardian Review feature on the poetry of ageing, reading her poem on the subject. Reading list Hardball by Sara Paretsky (Hodder & Stoughton)
Blacklands by Belinda Bauer (Corgi)
Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith (Pan)
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (Penguin Classics)
Fatherland by Robert Harris (Arrow)
Gaudy Night by Dorothy L Sayers (New English Library) Sara Paretsky Sarah Crown Claire Armitstead Scott Cawley

A selection of the best images from around the world

In this week's show, we examine the Knife's new Charles Darwin-inspired opera, Tomorrow, in a Year, with Olof Dreijer. Be warned, his voice is distorted, but we do have Planningtorock (Janine Rostron) on hand to speak (in a normal voice) about collaborating with Sweden's most talented siblings on the unlikeliest of projects. Alexis and Rosie are joined by Film & Music editor Michael Hann for Singles Club, in which they discuss new music from Joanna Newsom, Avi Buffalo and Goldfrapp. And the Feature With No Name returns, with Michael and Alexis discussing 70s proto-punk band Rocket from the Tombs. As always we're keen to hear your thoughts, especially on all the music featured and our glitzy new FWNN. You can friend us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter by searching MusicWeeklyPod. Until next week, enjoy! Alexis Petridis Rosie Swash Michael Hann

The transport secretary, Lord Adonis , has published £30bn plans for a 250mph rail link between London and Birmingham . The proposals, which would revolutionise Britain's rail network, are subject to parliamentary approval and public consultation. Work is not due to begin on the route until 2017, with the first stage expected to take 10 years to complete. After that, the government intends to extend the high-speed track to northern England and Scotland. Peter Walker hears the views of the people of Wendover in the Chilterns, an area of outstanding natural beauty that the new rail route would pass through. The transport historian Christian Wolmar says the key question is whether the high-speed rail plans would increase capacity on Britain's railways. The Guardian columnist Julian Glover says the plan will bring economic benefits to the whole country, while the Liberal Democrat transport spokesman, Norman Baker , believes the consultation process will allow members of the public to be heard, and for their views to be given due consideration. Jon Dennis Andrew Adonis Andy Duckworth Norman Baker Julian Glover Peter Walker Christian Wolmar

Eyes down and sponge cakes at the ready as James leafs through the backpages to bring you the European football news James Richardson Andy Gallagher Matt Hall Christian Bennett

There is something about Asia's cricketing outposts that brings peace to Alastair Cook. It was in Nagpur where he made a Test hundred on debut and today, in the equally unrarified surroundings of the RA Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong, he added another century in his first Test innings as captain. Kevin Pietersen perhaps outdid Cook for drama, dismissed for 99 – his fallibility against left-arm spin returning when his nemesis, Abdur Razzaq, struck at his moment of imagined triumph – and rubbing his hands across his brow with disbelief as he left the field. But it was Cook whose impression of permanence was never broken. He batted throughout the day, finishing with 158 not out in six hours and he may not be sated yet. Cook is in good company in finding initial inspiration from the demands of captaincy. Pietersen and Andrew Strauss hit centuries in their first Tests as England captain, the list being completed by Allan Lamb and Archie MacLaren, who began it all against Australia 113 years ago. Cook, though, outdid all of them. Remarkably, for a batsman who could not even make England's provisional 30 for the World Twenty20, he reached his hundred with a six, a thumping slog-sweep against Mahmudullah that told of as yet untapped power. His first two Test sixes had been a wind-assisted top-edge in Wellington and one against Sulieman Benn in a Bridgetown stalemate, but this was something else. It was a languorous day. The sun beat down from skies of heavily faded denim and occasional freight trains rumbled past so slowly that, if they bore newspapers from Dhaka, they were probably bringing the news of Bangladesh's award of Test status 10 years ago. In the intervening years, the decision has remained controversial and the evidence amassed so far is not about to help their case. Cook looked entirely attuned to the laid-back mood, meticulous in his every deed, proceeding as if cooled by his own air conditioning unit. He has batted well in 50-overs cricket on this tour, but here he was back in his comfort zone, where concentration was all against a limited attack. He poked at a big off-spinner from Naeem Islam before lunch, which trickled for four byes, and later survived an optimistic lbw appeal as he missed a sweep, but they were about the only blemishes. While England's well-being is so absolute, grouses about selection will carry little weight, but there are days when you wake up and life seems entirely illogical. England omitted a second spinner, James Tredwell, at a ground where he had taken eight wickets in the warm-up game and gave first caps instead to a sixth batsman, Michael Carberry, and a fast bowler, the lanky Middlesex quick Steven Finn. In retrospect, that at least brought some comedy to the media's eve-of-match interview with the aforesaid Tredwell, kindly arranged by the ECB. "I might not be playing," he warned. We all laughed at his false modesty, telling him that anyone with an ounce of cricketing nous would know he was a certainty. And, damn it, they left him out. This was English conservatism at its finest. Stuart Broad's recovery from a back injury was too close for comfort, Tim Bresnan might lack potency and Finn, uncapped, remained an unknown quantity. The toss was even more befuddling. Bangladesh won it and, with four spinners in their side, chose to bowl. Shakib Al Hasan mumbled something about early moisture, but when the wicketkeeper took one on the second bounce in Shahadat Hossain's second over, he knew the game was up. An explanation for all this probably came in Bangladesh's last Test on this ground, against India last month, when Shahadat took five wickets and India needed a century from Sachin Tendulkar to reach 243. Carberry was excited, rather than hamstrung, by his Test debut, taking three offside drives in one over against the pace of Rubel Hossain, whose 13 overs cost 79, but he did not look entirely certain and fell sweeping at Mahmudullah for 30. Their other wicket was that of Jonathan Trott, who was caught off his helmet, hooking, in mid-afternoon, surprised when Hussain found extra bounce. There is no umpire review system here because of technical limitations – it is probably a good thing as during the warm-up match one cameraman at one point just wandered off from his post – but it did not require Snicko or Hot Spot to reveal that the New Zealand umpire Tony Hill had got it wrong. Cook and Pietersen then shared a stand of 170 in 36 overs. Pietersen (99 from 145 balls) faced his tormentor, Razzaq, from the second ball he faced, two balls later off-drove him for four and was punishing through the offside from that point. His trial by spin seemed over but one run from salvation, Razzaq defeated splayed footwork to bowl him. It was the fifth time Pietersen had fallen in the nineties in Tests.

• England in Bangladesh 2010
• England Cricket Team
• Bangladesh Cricket Team
• Cricket
• Kevin Pietersen

David Hopps
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• Fan ejected from club TV show for wearing scarf
• Steward sacked for returning confiscated banner Manchester United are so concerned about the increasing success of the green-and-gold protests that the club have effectively forbidden Sir Alex Ferguson's players from speaking about it publicly and imposed a series of other measures aimed at counteracting the kind of publicity generated by David Beckham's endorsement of the campaign. Beckham's parting statement after United's 4-0 defeat of Milan on Wednesday, leaving the pitch with a protest scarf around his neck, is being described as "an iconic moment" by the Manchester United Supporters' Trust (Must), and senior figures at Old Trafford are worried about the significance of the most famous sportsman on the planet attaching himself to a movement aimed at deposing the ruling Glazer family. In response the club have already: • Banned players from discussing the campaign in the media. • Forbidden the in-house TV station, MUTV, from referring to the rebellion and edited questions about it from broadcasts of Ferguson's press conferences. • Ejected a supporter from the audience of an MUTV show after he refused to remove a green-and-gold scarf. • Sacked a steward after 19 years' service for attempting to return a confiscated anti-Glazer banner to its owners. The club has reluctantly accepted the protests will continue for as long as the Glazers are in power. David Gill, the chief executive, predicted yesterday that would be "many more" than five years. While Beckham's latest fashion statement has been shown around the world, attracting headlines from the Boston Herald to the Times of India, MUTV has chosen to ignore what happened. Similarly Ferguson's remarks about the protests in recent weeks have been edited out when the rest of his press conferences have been aired in full. One supporter was ejected from the audience of the MUTV show, Red Cafe, when he refused to remove his green and gold scarf, security staff telling him that the colours were not allowed inside the studio, and a steward was dismissed by CES, the security firm employed by United, after attempting to return a confiscated anti-Glazer banner during the home game against Burnley. The initial hope inside the Old Trafford boardroom was that the protests would eventually fade out but the club's attempts to quell the uprising have been unsuccessful. Protests were so widespread during the Milan game that CES had to abandon its usual policy of trying to remove the many banners criticising the Glazers and Gill. Avram Glazer was at the game, smuggled into the stadium in a car with blacked-out windows and shadowed by a personal bodyguard, and United employees noted how calm and unmoved he seemed. "Everyone has the right to protest and there was certainly a lot of green and gold there," Gill said at the announcement of a five-year sponsorship deal with Telekom Malaysia. "But this partnership demonstrates the strength of the club. We will be around for the length of this five-year deal and many more in addition to that." Beckham produced the perfect publicity coup for Must and an organisation whose membership has now passed 130,000 has also been buoyed by the appointment of the Japanese investment bank Nomura to advise the alliance of wealthy United followers who are planning a takeover bid. Nomura will "coordinate and formulate the proposal to be put to the Glazer family" and Must's spokesman, Duncan Drasdo, described the appointment as "hugely significant because it will start to crystallise the offer. We've seen a lot of interest from the so-called Red Knights and Nomura's job will be to organise it." In the meantime Must has written an open letter asking for other "United legends" to follow Beckham's lead and attach themselves to the cause. "David courageously showed his true colours," the letter says. "The movement for change is becoming unstoppable and we know that David is not alone. From Eric Cantona to Andrew Cole, former players are making their feelings known." Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the club's reserve coach, is a patron of the organisation and has spoken out against the Glazers in the past but the only current player to sympathise has been Patrice Evra, in response to a French journalist who asked why the United end at Wembley was decked out in green and gold. "They are the original colours of Manchester United [as Newton Heath] and the fans wear them because they love this club," Evra said. "They have their reasons for doing it and we don't think that they're crazy." Otherwise the players have been warned to say nothing. The captain, Gary Neville, was twice asked after Wednesday's match and kept to the party line, saying only: "I'm not getting involved in that."

• Manchester United
• The Glazer family
• Sir Alex Ferguson
• David Beckham
• Premier League

Daniel Taylor
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Xan Brooks : Shutter Island is pacy and muscular but falls short of Scorsese's best Henry Barnes Xan Brooks

The chef expounds on the very real passions aroused by good chocolate Katherine Rose Suki Dhanda Raymond Blanc Morwenna Ferrier

Images from a new and exhaustive biography of the American actor and director

From Pippi Longstocking to Huck Finn, some of the naughtiest and most fun characters Anna Tims

Women come out best in listening and recollection tests in study by University of London's Institute of Education It's been an endless source of aggravation between the sexes; how can men so easily forget birthdays, anniversaries, and even friends' names? Not, it seems, because they cannot be bothered to remember. Research suggests that, in middle age at least, absent-minded-ness is a particularly male problem. At the age of 50, women's verbal memory outperforms their male counterparts by a significant margin, a report by the Institute of Education, University of London suggests. A survey of more than 9,600 middle-aged British men and women showed that women outscored men in two listening and recollection tests. "Men performed significantly more poorly in the verbal memory tests: particularly on the delayed memory test," the authors, Matthew Brown and Brian Dodgeon, said. "This was quite a surprising result, since women turning 50 tend to do worse: another study has shown that during the menopause women do not do so well." Participants in the first test listened to 10 common words being read out and were then given two minutes to recall as many as possible. The second test required them to list the same 10 words about five minutes later. Women scored almost 5% more than men, on average, in the first test, and nearly 8% more in the second. Women were less accurate in a third test requiring them to cross out as many "Ps" and "Ws" as possible in a page filled with rows of random letters. They had, however, scanned letters faster than men. In a fourth test, naming as many animals as they could in a minute, men and women had identical scores. Each could name 22 animals, on average. The study did not test whether men are better than women at recalling numbers; previous studies have shown that women tend to do better on word recognition tests. Those tested were members of the National Child Development Study who have been tracked since their birth in 1958. They were tested at age 16, and the latest tests will help estimate the impact that exercise, diet, smoking, alcohol and depression have had on mental abilities. Initial analysis shows those who exercised at least once a month did better on all tests, on average, than those who did not. Non-smokers, including ex-smokers, also outscored smokers in the first of the "word recall" tests, even after social background was taken into consideration. "Although measuring gender differences was not the central purpose of tests, the differences between men and women were interesting," the authors said.

• Older people
• Gender
• Research
• Neuroscience
• Medical research
• Mental health

Owen Bowcott
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Being sued for libel is not only ruinously expensive, writes Simon Singh , it takes over your whole life. Which is why this will be his last column Almost a year after writing my first column for this site, I would like to welcome you to my final article. At first I was able to deliver my monthly column on time, but my submissions have become increasingly delayed, and this is my first since November. The problem is that I have spent the past two years being sued for libel, which has taken up huge amounts of time. And now all my remaining spare time is being devoted to campaigning for libel reform. The crippling and prohibitive financial cost of defending a libel case is often highlighted, but the equally terrible cost in terms of time and stress is rarely mentioned. I recently discussed this with Dr Peter Wilmshurst, the eminent cardiologist who is being sued for libel for commenting on the efficacy of a new heart device . Peter was put under immense stress when he received legal papers on Friday 21 December 2007 at 5.09pm, which was nine minutes after most solicitors closed for their Christmas holiday. It was not until the new year that Peter was able to get any legal advice, so it was an anxious Christmas. Perhaps it was just as well that Peter was not aware of the full implications of what lay ahead of him, namely at least two years of anxiety, misery and the threat of bankruptcy. Almost all his spare time has been spent on the libel case. When finalising his defence, he took two weeks of annual leave to work on the documents. Moreover, dealing with ongoing legal issues has prevented him from carrying out his usual medical research, and a number of publications have been put on hold. After chatting to Peter, I decided to count up how much time I had spent defending the article published in the Guardian in April 2008 that led to the British Chiropractic Association suing me for libel . I reckon I have spent 44 solid weeks on the libel action spread across two years. I am in the very fortunate position of having no employees, being a freelancer, having financial resources and having a very supportive wife. In any other circumstance, I cannot imagine fighting a libel action because of the enormous sacrifices involved. I should have started writing a new book a year ago, but as yet I cannot even develop proposals and talk to publishers because I have no idea how the next year or so will develop. The case could easily continue for another two years. If I win then I will not recover all of my legal costs, but (worse still) I will never recover the time I have dedicated to poring over legal documents. Before saying goodbye, I will urge you once more to sign up to the campaign for libel reform. If you remain unconvinced about the need for libel reform, try visiting the National Enquirer website . If you live in the UK then you will find a blank page except for the words "Page unavailable/under construction". The reason is that the National Enquirer is so scared of English libel law that it no longer sells magazines in the UK or makes it web content available here. You might feel that the unavailability of the National Enquirer is not enough to justify changing English law. However, more serious than the National Enquirer's position is the fear that other American publications will follow suit and that some key American magazines, newspapers and websites will be available everywhere in the world except in Britain. You might feel that I am being alarmist, but major US newspapers, such as the Boston Globe and The New York Times , sent a memo last year to the House of Commons select committee on media, libel and privacy. They warned that they are considering stopping the sale of their publications in Britain due to the threat of libel. The benefits of selling newspapers here in terms of profit are outweighed by the potential losses in libel cases. If publishers stopped selling hard copies in Britain, they would almost certainly also block their online content, because otherwise the threat of libel would remain. Thereafter, it would be sensible for everything from academic journals to blogs to follow suit. Very quickly Britain could become an isolated society. In terms of free speech and access to information, our nation would become the European equivalent of China. That's just one of the reasons you need to sign the petition for libel reform .

• Simon Singh (keyword)
• People in science
• Controversies in science
• Law
• Media law

Simon Singh (contributor)
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Netanyahu needs all the support he can get. But he still turned Biden's visit into a diplomatic fiasco Israel's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has a bad habit: when things appear to be moving in the right direction for him, he stumbles upon some stupid political landmine, raising doubts about his leadership and credibility. A series of blunders had ruined his first term in the 1990s, and on his way back to power Netanyahu promised that he had changed. For a year, he stayed away from trouble, avoiding unscripted public remarks, giving no interviews, and being attentive to other politicians' needs and interests. But this week, he did it again, ruining the visit of American vice president Joe Biden with an official announcement of a plan to build 1,600 new housing units in Ramat Shlomo, a Jewish neighbourhood of East Jerusalem – despite a well-known American opposition to Israeli settlement expansion. Netanyahu apparently didn't know in advance about the interior ministry's decision, taken by mid-level planning and zoning bureaucrats. But it was according to his government's policy, and he should have and could have taken steps to avoid such unpleasant surprises. His failure to do so portrays him as a hopeless schlemiel , just like "old Bibi" from the previous term. Biden's trip was meant to mark a new chapter in the cool relationship between the Obama administration and Israel. Mindful of its political trouble at home in view of the midterm elections, and worried about an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, the White House dispatched the veep – known to be Netanyahu's best friend in Washington – to plead Barack Obama's case to the Israeli leadership and public. Biden's trip coincided with the announcement of indirect Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, to give the battered administration a diplomatic success. The Israeli interior ministry announcement, on Tuesday afternoon, put Biden in the worst possible position: rather than visit the Middle East as an honest peacebroker, he appeared as Israel's patsy. And not only Biden: Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, agreed to resume talks with Netanyahu despite Israel's refusal to hold off construction in East Jerusalem. The new project threatened to show Abbas as Israel's collaborator. Previous prime ministers built more than Netanyahu in East Jerusalem, but they were careful to tie it in with positive developments in the peace process to avoid American anger. Lacking peace negotiations, Netanyahu's rightwing coalition could not enjoy the American blind eye like its predecessors. Time and again in the past year there were diplomatic clashes over Israeli plans to settle Jews in Arab neighbourhoods, to build new homes for Jews, or to demolish Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem. Each time Netanyahu argued that he was not in the loop, but backed the decisions. His coalition partner Eli Yishai, the interior minister and leader of the rightwing Shas party, has made the settling of more Jews in East Jerusalem his cause celebre – to prevent a future partition of the city, and to deliver cheap housing to his ultra-Orthodox constituents. In November the Americans tacitly agreed to the exemption of East Jerusalem – the most contested spot in the Holy Land conflict – from the settlement freeze announced by Netanyahu. But they expected not to be publicly embarrassed. When Israel couldn't keep the deal, snubbing its senior American guest, the administration exploded. Biden called Obama, who told him to condemn the Israeli decision in the strongest terms – an unprecedented step in a high-level visit. Netanyahu apologised for the timing, and told Biden that the project in question will be built only "within several years". The vice president accepted the apology, and delivered a staunchly pro-Israel speech at Tel Aviv University, praising "my close personal friend" Netanyahu. The Palestinians were less satisfied, withdrawing their agreement to renew talks. Netanyahu's constant zigzagging between his rightwing ideology and political partners and his craving for American support has turned the vice president's visit into a diplomatic fiasco. Ultimately Netanyahu could not please both sides without paying a price. Biden's face-saving remarks aside, "Bibi" is left with no friends in America's highest echelons – when he needs all the support he can get vis a vis Iran's threats and the Palestinians' quest for independence. America will not abandon Israel, but its patience for its leader is running out. • Comments on this article will remain open for 24 hours from the time of publication but may be closed overnight

• Israel
• Palestinian territories
• Barack Obama
• Joe Biden
• US foreign policy
• United States
• US politics
• Middle East
• Binyamin Netanyahu
• Mahmoud Abbas

Aluf Benn
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In place of wasting billions on redundant systems, we must focus defence spending on what Britain's armed forces need Former defence chiefs, coroners presiding over inquests into soldiers' deaths and assorted armchair commentators, have been lining up to deride the lack of funds and inadequate equipment for British troops on dangerous operations. If I were a Treasury official, I would be licking my lips, more eager than ever to wield the knife. That might seem perverse. But let us take a step back. While defence chiefs can feed on sympathy for our troops, they are encouraged to be more and more irresponsible. While their troops, cheered on by enthusiastic ministers, are deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, they can rely on more and more "urgent operational requirements" from the Treasury's contingency reserve. Budgetary discipline flies out of the window. Chiefs of the three branches of the armed forces go on an apparently never-ending weapons-buying spree, signing cheques for other people's money. Defence chiefs may be strictly correct when they say that the Treasury – under Gordon Brown as chancellor, they stress – did not give them money for helicopters when it was most needed. But what about all the money wasted on far less urgent, yet far more expensive weapons systems and platforms to put them on? The commons public accounts committee and the national audit office repeatedly produce damning reports about chronic mismanagement in the MoD, leading to escalating delays in projects and the waste of billions of pounds of taxpayers' money. Those responsible for negotiating the purchase of Chinook helicopters cannot even get the basic terms of the contract right. MoD bureaucracy is so sclerotic that orders for badly needed robust armoured cars – to replace the Snatch Land Rovers , for example – take far, far longer than they need to. Lord Guthrie, the former chief of defence staff, pointed in his address to the centre-right thinktank the Centre for Policy Studies on Wednesday night to a huge black hole in the defence budget. The core annual budget is about £34bn, he pointed out. Up to £20bn was allocated to programmes that are authorised but unfunded. He pointed out that the national audit office has warned that shortfalls on the defence budget could amount to at least £6bn over the next decade, assuming that spending kept pace with inflation. If spending stayed flat – a more realistic prospect, Guthrie warned – the gap could total £35bn. Plans to replace the Trident nuclear missile system and build two large aircraft carriers – projects that will cost at least £28bn – should be abandoned and the money saved spent on alternatives more relevant to future conflicts, including a bigger army. The RAF was committed to buying 232 Typhoon Eurofighters it did not need at a cost of £20bn. Britain, in the foreseeable future, needed more boots on the ground, intelligent weapons, unmanned drones, computer specialists, to fight terrorists, pirates, "non-state aggression", and cyber warfare, said Guthrie. This may be too much for the heads of the navy and airforce, political and industrial vested interests, to take. But courage and imagination, the breaking of tribes and vested interests, are essential, if the right decisions are to be taken in the coming post-election strategic defence review, the most important for many decades. Our troops in Afghanistan – and everywhere else – need that, rather than complaints from defence chiefs who appear unable to see beyond the narrow interests of their own particular service.

• Military
• Defence policy
• Trident

Richard Norton-Taylor
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Just 32,000 mortgages were approved in January compared to 62,800 in December, the CML said, as first-time buyers deserted the market The number of mortgages approved for house purchases fell by almost half in January, as the reintroduction of stamp duty on homes costing more than £125,000 hit the market, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said today. A total of 32,000 homebuyer loans worth £4.7bn were approved during the month, a fall of 49% on December's figure of 62,800. The biggest fall was in first-time buyers, with the number of purchasers entering the market down 54% on December at 11,300. The CML said this reflected the fact that a high proportion would usually be buying homes costing between £125,000 and £175,000, on which stamp duty was reintroduced at the end of last year . Its figures for December showed first-time buyer numbers at a two-year high, suggesting many had rushed to complete before the end of the month. Remortgage activity also fell in January, with the number of loans dropping 15% to 24,000 and the value of those mortgages down 12% at £3bn. This is 47% down on January 2009's figure and is the lowest for remortgages in the eight years for which the CML has data, and suggests borrowers are still opting to remain on their lenders' standard variable rates at the end of a deal to take advantage of current low rates. Although lending to homebuyers slumped in January, it remained much higher than last January when the housing market was in the doldrums. The number of loans approved was up by 38% on January 2009's low of 23,000. The CML's director general, Michael Coogan, said it had been a quiet start to the year. "Lending volumes in January were low, but we had predicted this would happen due to the end of the stamp duty holiday distorting December's figures," he said. "When December and January data are taken together they show little change in underlying market conditions compared with recent months, with activity still slow but well up on the lows of a year earlier. "We expect lending over the coming months to remain weak as uncertainty over of the state of the economy and the upcoming election are likely to continue to hold back housing market activity." Figures released earlier this week by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors suggest the fall in buyers at the start of the year has resulted in the supply of properties outstripping demand, and could have a knock-on effect on house prices. Last year's surprise turnaround in the housing market was widely attributed to a lack of homes coming up for sale, and commentators have suggested that a reduction in the number of would-be buyers could push prices down again.

• Mortgages
• Property
• First-time buyers
• Mortgage lending figures

Hilary Osborne
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A deal for the London department store would end months of speculation Liberty , the London department store, said this morning that it has received bid approaches. A deal would end months of speculation over the future of the Liberty store, which was put up for sale last July by its majority shareholder, property firm MWB. Liberty said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange: Further to the recent press speculation, the board of Liberty confirms that it has received approaches which may or may not lead to an offer being made for the company. At this stage, it is too early for the Board to determine whether or not these discussions will result in any formal offer being made for the xompany. Over the past six months Liberty has been examining and assessing a range of options and initiatives that would enable it to build upon its success since the launch of the Renaissance of Liberty in February 2009. This has included seeking investors who could bring capital and expertise to help develop and grow the business both within the UK and internationally. According to reports , Marco Capello, the former managing director of Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity, is close to buying Liberty through his investment fund BlueGem Capital Partners. Capello is expected to pounce on the luxury retailer, which also has a wholesale fabric business, in a fortnight's time, when Liberty should have completed a £40m sale and leaseback of its Tudor-style building on Great Malborough Street. Other suitors are thought to include the luxury investor and Sirius Equity founder Robert Bensoussan and global supplier Li & Fung, but Capello, who was involved in the privatisation of Debenhams during his time at Merrill Lynch, has reportedly outbid them. Liberty had a market value of £63m last night. Liberty said overall revenues climbed 20% last year, with its London flagship store posting 16% revenue growth. Online sales enjoyed a particularly strong Christmas. Also this morning, Aga Rangemaster saw 2009 profits before tax plummet to £500,000 from £14.4m the previous year. The upmarket cooker maker suffered a slump in demand for its traditional cast iron stoves during the recession, but expects sales to pick up again this spring. William McGrath, the chief executive, said: The generation of cash was the big achievement of 2009 and that remains the focus given the caution needed in the current market. Our lead indicators, however, are positive and after a slow order intake at the start of the year, the prospects are encouraging heading into the spring. Night club operator Luminar admitted today that its business has been "severely affected" by poor weather across most of the UK in the last two months of its financial year, which ends on 25 February. The group is still trading within its debt covenants and continues to generate cash to reduce its borrowings. Debts have been cut by £49m to £93m. Luminar has appointed Simon Douglas as chief executive to supervise a "rigorous cost reduction exercise".

• Liberty International
• Aga Foodservice
• Luminar

Julia Kollewe
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From a thatched cottage to a castle outhouse, seaside retreats to an historic city pad, we've picked 20 fantastic self-catering properties available over the Easter holiday Wales Capel Pennant, near Llangollen Capel Pennant is a cosy converted estate chapel in the gardens of one of Wales' most handsome manor houses, Plas Pennant, on the Chirk Castle estate near Lllangollen. It has been elegantly furnished, but the chief delight is the wonderful open view down the famous Ceiriog valley. You can enjoy access to the gardens of the manor, or great walking in the area, and visit the charming heritage towns close by, of which Llangollen and Chirk are just the start. • Sleeps up to two people in one bedroom. Arriving Easter Monday, five nights costs £355 or stay seven nights for £533. Under The Thatch , +44 (0)1239 851410. Cragside, near Caernarfon An unusual rustic, mountain cottage standing on its own on a hillside surrounded by fields. It's close to several beaches, inspiring castles and amazing views. It is offered by Sheepskin, which launched last month, with 10 stylish self-catering properties in remote and beautiful locations in north and south Wales. Sheepskin keeps prices the same all year round and has a special launch offer giving guests a 20% discount on an Easter break and all subsequent stays for the rest of their lives. (The discount applies to week-long Easter breaks completed by 11 April.) • Sleeps two adults and and three children. Cost £888 (with 20% discount) for seven nights over Easter. Sheepskin ; +44 (0)1865 764087. Scotland Easter Steading, Near Cupar, Fife Converted from old farm buildings, the Steading forms two sides of a secluded walled courtyard with a backdrop of the rolling hills of north Fife, exactly half way between Perth and St Andrews (16 miles from both). Includes sitting room with wood-burning stove and piano, fully equipped kitchen/dining room, two ensuite bedrooms and gallery games area with table football and broadband connection. • Sleeps four. A seven-night holiday starting on 3 April costs £475. unique-cottages.co.uk ; +44 (0)1835 822277. Delgatie Castle, Aberdeenshire Mary Queen of Scots once slept in this historic Scottish castle in Aberdeenshire. Home to some of the finest 16th-century painted ceilings in Scotland, parts of the building date back to 1030. You'll stay in apartments in the castle coach house, from where you can explore the estate and Delgatie Woods, go flyfishing for rainbow and brown trout in the castle lake or tuck into cream teas and home-cooked food in the Laird's Kitchen. It's a good base for exploring the Highlands; Speyside and the Cairngorms are easily accessible and some of the world's best known whisky distilleries are nearby. • A week's stay costs £409 (was £503), sleeps five/six in an apartment in the castle coach house. delgatiecastle.com/ ; +44 (0)1888 563479. Achleek Cottage, Argyll Save £80 on a seven-night stay in this snug former tackman's house on the south side of Loch Sunart. Recently refurbished it sleeps five in three bedrooms and has an open fire and wonderful views down the loch and across to the mountains of Moidart and Sunart. There are few roads in the area (but lots of wonderful walking) and less in the way of human settlement - the nearest village is peaceful Strontian three miles away. Drive to the end of the Ardnamurchan peninsula, the westernmost tip of mainland Britain, with its glorious beach at Sanna and boat trips from Kilchoan. •  A week's stay costs £495, sleeps five, valid from 3 April. Pets welcome by arrangement. unique-cottages.co.uk ; +44 (0)1835 822277. The Hill House, Helensburgh, near Glasgow This is the perfect stay for lovers of architecture and design. The Hill House - including much of its interior, from fireplaces to furnishings – was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh for publisher Walter Blackie, and is considered to be his domestic masterpiece. You will stay in the top floor flat, where you can still find the toy cupboards of what once was the schoolroom of the Blackie family. The house is very close to Glasgow, where art enthusiasts can learn more about Mackintosh and visit his famous School of Art. • Five nights from £957, sleeps six. landmarktrust.org.uk ; +44 (0)1628 825925. England West Leas Farm cottages, Yorkshire Archway, Granary and Byre cottages are housed in a converted barn on peaceful West Leas Farm in the Yorkshire Dales. All have countryside views and access to enclosed gardens which lead directly to open fields and footpaths – the owners can provide you with a map showing their favourite local walks. See new-born calves ('Snowdrop' was born last month), ponies and Easter lambs. Nearby are the cathedral city of Ripon and the market town of Masham, famous for its Black Sheep and Theakstons breweries. The villages of Kirkby Malzeard and Galphay are both within walking distance, with local shops, pubs and tea rooms. • £460 a week for a family of four from 5-18 April. iknow-yorkshire.co.uk ; 0844 453 6648. The Miller's House, Shropshire This snug conversion is in part of the original Birches Mill, by the River Unk. The mill dates back to 1640 and corn was ground here right up until the second world war. Artists Gill and Andrew live next door and will happily provide you with a locally-sourced home-cooked meal from their freezer if you arrive exhausted on a Friday night (or you can order a welcome box of local produce for £22). Downstairs is a living room with low, beamed ceilings and wood-burning stove; a wildlflower garden sits behind the cottage. Offa's Dyke can be reached by foot, and the gastonomic town of Ludlow is a short hop away. • A week's stay, from 2 or 3 April, costs from £405, sleeps four. special-escapes.co.uk ; +44 (0)1588 640409. The Spinney, Cumbria Set in the countryside between Ennerdale Water and the market town of Cockermouth in west Cumbria, this new-build house has under-floor heating, wood flooring, a four-poster bed, a great dining/kitchen and a real fire in the large living room. The house is surrounded by glorious countryside for walking or cycling – the Coast-to-Coast Cycle Route goes past the front door. • Sleeps up to six. A week's rental starting April 3 is £780 (reduced from £890). Arrive 10 April for seven nights and the cost is £680. Cumbrian Cottages ; +44(0)1228 599960. Kendal cottages riverside apartment, Cumbria Be the first to stay in these new luxury suites with riverside balconies looking out over the River Kent to picturesque Stramongate Bridge and on to Kendal castle. The apartment is bright and spacious with open-plan kitchen, living room and dining area and super king size beds. There's a free welcome bottle of champagne for Easter guests. •  A week's stay costs from £650, sleeps four. kendalcottages.com ; +44 (0)1539 736611. The Granary, Forest of Dean Set between the River Wye and River Seven this 18th-century cottage has been sensitively converted into a rural getaway in the heart of the Forest of Dean. There are 180-degree views of open countryside and forest walks starting right from the back door. Horse riding, canoeing or mountain biking are also available nearby. The owner, an award winning photographer, is able to offer individual tuition or you can play drums, keyboard and guitars in the fully equipped music studio under the guidance of professional musicians. • A week's stay costs £325, sleeps two. holidaylettings.co.uk ; +44 (0)1594 860476. Stonechat Cottage, Worth Matravers, Dorset Worth Matravers is often cited as the prettiest village in Dorset. This Grade II-listed, Purbeck stone, quarryman's cottage dates back to 1772 and retains many original features. Just a mile from the beach and four miles from Swanage, Stonechat Cottage is found on a no-through lane leading to a path down to the sea at Winspit. It has accommodation over three floors with a small rear decked courtyard with barbecue. Or, if you can't be bothered to cook, pop into the Square & Compass pub for a pint and a pasty and great views down to Chapman's Pool beach. Easter also sees the start of the nearby Bridport Film festival (3 – 9 April). From Page To Screen (+44 (0)1308 424204) celebrates film adaptations of new and classic books with daytime screenings and talks at Bridport Arts Centre and evening screenings at The Electric Palace cinema. • Sleeps four. Available week commencing 2 April and costs £420, a saving of £50 off the brochure price of £470. Dorset Coastal Cottages , 0800 980 4070. Little Barn, Polperro, Cornwall Backing on to the river that flows down to the harbour in Polperro, this delightful property has two bedrooms set in the eaves. The cosy lounge has beams and rough stone walls with deep-set windows and window seats from which to watch and listen to the river as it hurries down to the sea. • Costs is £473 for Easter week, sleeps four. toadhallcottages.co.uk St Hilary, West Cornwall Spend Easter in a cosy three-star 18th-century, Grade II listed, thatched cottage. Inside are ancient oak beams and an inglenook fireplace. There's a tree-sheltered garden at the front and meadows at the back; a track alongside links to several foot paths and cycleways. The attractive village of Goldsithney, with two good pubs is within walking distance. Mounts Bay and St Michael's Mount on the coast are two miles away. Or head down to Porthcurno for the Cornish premiere of Disney's Beauty and The Beast at open-air Minack Theatre (2-5 and 10-12 April). • A week's stay costs £545, sleeps five. Available Saturday 3 and 10 April. Pets welcome. Reference: Z101. Helpful Holidays ; +44 (0)1647 434063. Sea Wall Cottage, Porth, Cornwall As the name suggests this cottage is built right on the sea wall at beautiful Porth beach in north Cornwall. Enjoy the sea views from your own sun terrace or walk out on to the sand for some rockpooling, bodyboarding or surfing. Warm up after a spring swim in front of the fire in the living room. Dogs are welcome. • £650 for a week, from 3 April. Sleeps four. beachretreats.co.uk ; +44 (0) 1637 861005. Swallow Tail Houseboat, Devon Swallow Tail barge is permanently moored on her own tranquil jetty in the heart of the Westcountry. The boat is surprisingly spacious and comes with its own woodburning heat system. Watch the busy wildlife right outside the galley window – spot wetland birds, deer, rabbits and silently swooping barn owls. Land organic rainbow trout for dinner and in the evening watch the sun setting from the aft deck knowing that it has given its solar energy to power your lighting for the night ahead. • Available for the week over Easter for £385 and sleeps four-six. responsibletravel.com . The Mill House, Lee Bay, Devon A Grade II listed 16th-century property right on the water's edge in Lee Bay. Many period features have been retained including the original milling room (now the dining room, with a grand table seating 10), inglenook fireplace, bread ovens, woodburning stove, boathouse and the drawbridge over the mill race.  French doors open on to the garden with sea views; at the front is a terrace enclosed by a stone wall. • A week's stay from 3 April is £1,340 (reduced by £200), sleeps 10. marsdens.co.uk ; +44 (0)1271 813 777. Magenta, Aldeburgh, Suffolk Step into this pretty cottage right off of the sea front in Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast. Both living room and main bedroom have uninterrupted sea views; downstairs there's an open plan kitchen and dining room. Located just a couple of minutes' walk away from the town where there's plenty of restaurants and pubs – including, renowned The Fish and Chip Shop . Freshly caught fish is sold daily at the fisherman huts on the beach.  • Sleeps four. A week from 2 April costs £765. Alternatively, Mariner's cottage (sleeps four), a few streets back from the sea costs £560 for a week arriving on 2 April and comes with a chocolate hamper. bestofsuffolk.co.uk ; +44 (0)1728 638962. Coach House, Heathfield, Sussex This organically run smallholding has been turned into a creative escape for those who want to write, read or paint. The Coach House – oceans of daffodils to one side, a country road to the other – has been designed as an open-plan, lofty, two-room retreat. The living area has contemporary Scandinavian-style furniture and kilims on a sweep of maple parquet running through folding doors to the bedroom on the other side. Owner Julia is committed to conservation, so the fabrics are natural, the water for the main house solar-heated, and the sheep rare-breed. Extra guests or friends can stay in the farmhouse or the Studio a flexible project space. • Four nights for £300, full week for £400, sleeps two adults plus one baby up to two years or child over seven years. Alastair Sawday's Special Escapes ; +44 (0)1435 830203. Barn Cottage, Mersley Garlic Farm, Isle of Wight This two-bedroom cottage is housed in one of the traditional outbuildings of rural Mersley Farm . As the name suggests it's a garlic lovers' haven – the onsite shop farm shop stocks elephant garlic, smoked garlic and even garlic honey, as well as fresh local produce. Nearby are the towns of Sandown and Shanklin and the surrounding area is good cycling and walking territory. Guest have free WiFi and use of a tennis court. • £512 a week, sleeps four. Departing on 9 April, the price includes seven nights' self-catering accommodation and return Wightlink car ferry crossings from Portsmouth or Lymington. Wightlink Green Getaways ; 0871 376 0013.

• Self-catering
• United Kingdom
• Wales
• Scotland
• Family holidays
• Easter

Georgia Brown
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Virginia Woolf's house, Gertrude Stein's flat – feminist pilgrimages are a great way to connect with history. So when Vera Groskop said girls were boring, her mother decided it was time for her first trip Despite my best efforts, my three-year-old daughter Vera hasn't exactly been celebrating her girlhood of late. In fact, influenced by her six-year-old brother, she can frequently be heard muttering, "Girls are boring. I want to do boys' things." I can see her point. Her brother's life is full of Star Wars, pirates, football and other action-packed phenomena. Vera gets Hello Kitty. She clearly finds this unsatisfying, and the situation is coming to a head. "I am not a girl, Mummy, I am a boy," she told me recently. "My name is Peter." But it's good to be a girl, I tell her. Being a girl is fun. There are women's successes to be celebrated. There is joy in the female condition. How can I prove this though? In our home city, London, there is just not that much physical evidence of women's greatness. The Alison Lapper statue in Trafalgar Square was taken down in 2007. There are nine male statues in Parliament Square – and no female ones. London's first public statue of a black woman, Bronze Woman by Aleix Barbat, in Stockwell Memorial Garden, did not appear until 2008. Germaine Greer has frequently complained that women are underrepresented in public monuments, noting that one of the only recent sculptures of a woman is of the actor Diana Dors at the Shaw Ridge leisure complex in Swindon. Now, I like Diana Dors. But this is pathetic. I was not about to frogmarch Vera to Swindon, but I loved the idea of an adventure, exploring women's hidden imprint on our streets. So I decided it was time for her first feminist pilgrimage. My mother-in-law reeled: "That poor child." But I knew how to sell it to Vera. "Would you like to come and find out what lots of important ladies did, and then we'll have cake?" "Yes," she replied seriously. "I would like cake." Rachel Kolsky, a London tourist guide, has run women's walking tours since 2005. "They open people's eyes to the hidden history of an area," she says. "There is a great women's story on every corner." Vera and I set off on a three-hour walk around the East End of London, starting at the Royal London Hospital, the focal point of the Wonderful Women of Whitechapel and Spitalfields Tour. Here, Kolsky tells a story about Eva Luckes, the famous hospital matron, whose successes included the containment of a typhoid epidemic. The hospital's inner courtyard has a magnificent statue of Queen Alexandra, who was instrumental in bringing a new treatment for tuberculosis to the hospital. "Look at that strong, proud lady, Vera!" I say. "You said I could have cake," she says. "I'm cold." Then Vera starts to cry, bringing our adventure to a sudden end. This is the problem with Kolsky's brilliant London tours: in order to showcase women's buried history, they cover a lot of ground. Great for an adult, but slightly too ambitious for a three-year-old. I am not deterred though. Quite the opposite. As we head home I am hatching plans for future feminist pilgrimages. In the UK, we can follow in the footsteps of Virginia Woolf, Jane Austen, and the Brontës. Or, next time we are passing the Houses of Parliament, we could check out the statue of Emmeline Pankhurst, one of London's few female landmarks, in Victoria Gardens. Then there's a trail of Pankhurst family blue plaques to be followed in London, from 50 Clarendon Road in Holland Park to 120 Cheyne Walk in Kensington. Further afield there is Gertrude Stein's apartment in Paris at 27 Rue de Fleurus. Now a private home, this address was once host to weekly salons and packed with paintings by Renoir, Gauguin and Cézanne; Picasso was a regular dinner guest. You may only be able to walk past these days, but you can still reminisce fondly on key passages in Stein's classic work The Auto- biography of Alice B Toklas. Or, in the same city, you could visit Simone de Beauvoir's grave – next to Sartre's – at the Cimetière du Montparnasse. In New York there is a lengthy Dorothy Parker trail leading from the Ansonia at 2108 Broadway (one of New York's most famous apartment blocks: Parker lived around the corner), to the 1925 birthplace of the New Yorker magazine at West 47th Street, where Parker worked, and on for cocktails at the Algonquin Hotel. Then there are all the great feminist museums: the Elizabeth A Sackler Center for Feminist Art, for instance, at the Brooklyn Museum in New York, which includes a gallery devoted to Judy Chicago's "vaginas on plates" sculpture, The Dinner Party. Maybe I will even start a "Sylvia Plath does New York" fund for when Vera turns 16. We will stay at the Barbizon Hotel at 63rd and Lexington – which was once women-only – wearing dresses with matching bags, as Plath did. We'll lunch near the one-time offices of Mademoiselle at 575 Madison Avenue where Plath was an intern. Or we'll criss-cross Massachusetts in a turquoise 1966 Thunderbird Convertible à la Thelma and Louise in honour of Louisa May Alcott, tattered copies of my favourite childhood book, Little Women, in tow. More likely though, we might just go to Stockwell when the weather warms up and take a look at that Bronze Woman, holding her baby triumphantly aloft. As long as there's an ice-cream van nearby, I'm sure Vera will be up for it. For anyone who wants to explore women's lives and history, here are some other great ideas for feminist pilgrimages. Bath: Jane Austen Austen lived in Bath from 1801 to 1806. The Jane Austen Centre at 40 Gay Street is gearing up for September's Austen Festival which features "the opportunity to dress throughout the week in 18th-century Regency costume". You can have "tea with Mr Darcy" (a £10.50 high tea with cucumber sandwiches, scones and cream) all year round. Those keen for an Elizabeth Bennett-style constitutional can download a free audio walking tour "In the footsteps of Jane Austen" at visitbath.co.uk . There is also a "Jane for the day" suggested timetable: "12.45pm: Visit the Assembly Rooms: in Jane's day, guests assembled for balls, to drink tea, play cards, listen to music or just to talk and flirt. 3pm: Stroll around the streets Jane would have known." Sussex: Virginia Woolf "It is not so much a house as a phenomenon." So wrote Quentin Bell of Charleston, the country home between Eastbourne and Lewes that was used by the writers, artists and thinkers known as the Bloomsbury group in the early 20th century. Virginia and Leonard Woolf originally spotted this late-17th-century Sussex farmhouse, situated at the foot of the South Downs, and coaxed Virginia's sister, Vanessa Bell, to move there in 1916. It reopens for the summer on 31 March, with special tours on Fridays. The Woolfs' own country home was Monk's House near Lewes, East Sussex ( nationaltrust.org.uk ). This property is occupied by tenants so is open only for short visits on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons between April and October. But there is the ideal pilgrimage on Saturday 26 June: an eight-mile walk "In the Footsteps of Virginia Woolf", from Monk's House to Charleston, with lunch at local stately home Firle Place (£25). To book tickets, call Charleston on 01323 811626 ( charleston.org.uk ). Washington: Michelle Obama The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History (on the National Mall, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue) has hundreds of exhibits commemorating the women's reform movement. The museum's First Ladies' Collection celebrates the influence of presidents' wives and has been one of the most popular exhibitions for the last 100 years, including archive material, diaries, memorabilia and costumes. This week, the white chiffon Jason Wu gown Michelle Obama wore to the inaugural balls went on show for the first time. For another tribute to Obama, head to her favourite takeout joint, Good Stuff Eatery at 303 Pennsylvania Avenue SE in Washington DC for a "Prez Obama" burger or to Ben's Chilli Bowl at 1213 U Street NW for the Obamas' favourite half-smoke chilli dog. Nearby Busboys and Poets (2021 14th Street), a cafe and bookshop, hosts feminist events and has a huge feminist book collection. Amsterdam: Anne Frank "Now our Secret Annexe has truly become secret . . . Mr Kugler thought it would be better to have a bookcase built in front of the entrance to our hiding place. It swings out on its hinges and opens like a door." The canal house at 163 Prinsengracht was the hiding place of the young Jewish girl Anne Frank and her family during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam, and there are numerous tours of the city that include the house, where you can visit the annexe where Frank wrote her secret diary. The house opens at 9am, and it is best to visit early to avoid queues ( annefrank.org ). Paris: Simone de Beauvoir As the French travel bible Guide du Routard notes, "In the winter Simone de Beauvoir came always first thing in the morning to the [Café] Flore to have a seat near the stove. Sartre recreated the atmosphere of an English club. Everybody listened to jazz, read poems or played little acts." Pay homage to the great feminist philosopher over a café au lait at Café Flore, before downloading a walking tour from St Germain to the Louvre at girlsguidetoparis.com for $1.98 (£1.30). This takes in 60 Rue de Seine where de Beauvoir once lived, and while you are strolling, remember: one is not born a woman, one becomes one. • Wonderful Women of Whitechapel and Spitalfields starts at 11am on 13 March. Tickets can be booked through the Women's Library on 020-7320 2222. Battling Belles of Bow, 11am on Saturday 5 June, follows in the footsteps of Sylvia Pankhurst. For more information on other tours, email rachel@smallcake.co.uk or visit goeastlondon.co.uk

• Women
• Feminism
• Jane Austen
• Virginia Woolf
• Michelle Obama
• Simone de Beauvoir
• United Kingdom
• London
• Cultural trips

Viv Groskop
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A radically minimalist trend has hit Paris fashion week – and three British designers are leading the charge. By Jess Cartner-Morley It is 10 o'clock on a Monday morning, and in the beaux arts splendour of the Paris Opera, fashion week is in full swing. Everyone is here, and I mean everyone – Mozart and Rossini standing guard from their stone columns outside, Pegasus and Apollo gazing down from the soaring gilt ceiling, Paul McCartney and Carine Roitfeld in the front row. Stella – everyone just says Stella, darling; it's like Oprah or Madonna – is about to show her new collection. At the breakfast stand, there is coffee and little tubs of fresh fruit. (Next to the tubs of fruit, there are also – as a concession to any greedy imposters – tubs of fresh fruit with dollops of yoghurt. No one touches those.) And then a hush falls and the show starts with the beginning of a Ludacris track that mimics Tiger Woods' infamous voicemail message: "I need you to do me a huge favour . . . um . . . can you please take my name . . . um . . . off your phone . . . my girl went through my cellphone and, er, she may be calling you . . ." It has no relevance to fashion, as far as anyone can tell, but it slices through the pomp of the setting like tailor's scissors and makes everyone laugh. And then the first model appears, very lightly made-up, her hair neatly parted and combed back into a low ponytail. She is wearing a grey wool coat, immaculately cut at the shoulder and straight-edged to mid-thigh, entirely unornamented but for a simple notch in the lapel. She has a grey dress on underneath, just seen, and simple, beige pointy-toed kitten heels. No handbag. After the sugar-almond colours and lingerie ruffles that flooded Paris last season, it is as if someone walked in and sliced the icing off the top of a cupcake. The over-sugared Parisian femininity is gone, and in its place is fashion for grown-ups. The style revolution happening in Paris right now is being led by three thirtysomething British women: Stella McCartney, Phoebe Philo and Hannah MacGibbon. They are at the forefront of a new mood here, taking up where Helmut Lang left off and updating minimalism for a new generation. "Feminine minimalism" is the closest it has to a name, right now. The change of direction can be clearly seen in catwalk reports everywhere from Twitter to the Herald Tribune: in lavishing praise on collections, "precise" is the new "fabulous"; the best shows are no longer "dazzling", but "clean" and "serene". To picture the new look, start by visualising a simple coat, probably in camel but possibly in grey, black, navy or even (for the extroverts out there) a very dark bottle green. (The coats next season are going to be incredible. If you get through AW10/11 without buying two, you can consider yourself a beacon of restraint.) It will probably be collarless, but if it does have a collar it will be of a masculine shape. Add trousers – pencil slim, or wide with a knife-crease down the front – or a pencil skirt, a silk T-shirt, or a blouse. Before we get back to the catwalk, a slight digression, because I think it's interesting to note what McCartney, Philo and MacGibbon themselves wore to take their catwalk bows. (I don't believe for one second that they don't think every bit as carefully about what they wear as John Galliano, who appeared at the end of his equestrian-themed show in a ruffled white silk blouse, grey high-waisted suede jodhpurs and shiny black boots.) McCartney wore a V-neck sweater with flannel trousers and high heels, all grey, her hair in a looser version of her models' low ponytails. Philo wore a black crew-neck sweater and black trousers, with her hair scraped back; MacGibbon wore a camel polo-neck and black trousers, with camel boots, hair back. Getting the picture yet? Stella was many British fashion editors' most shoppable collection this week, but it is Philo who can claim credit for starting the minimalism revolution last October, with her first collection for Céline. That show – all sharp lines and patch pockets, very little colour, no decoration, a narrow-but-boxy silhouette – seemed to shock the city into spring-cleaning mode. In ateliers all over Paris, spools of ribbon and boxes of crystal beads have been shoved into cupboards under the stairs. "Strong. Powerful. Reduced" was Philo's message for her second season, which introduced new elements – navy blue, double-breasted jackets – while underscoring her determination to make Céline the home of this new minimalism. Céline is not for the fainthearted (those very stark looks are not as easy to carry off as they look). Hannah MacGibbon's Chloé gave a blowsier take on the new aesthetic, for those not yet confident of the wow-factor (off the catwalk) of such plain clothes. Bouncy, blown-out hair and a gorgeous range of beige shades from toffee through camel to Elastoplast pink made this the perfect entry-level collection: feminine minimalism for beginners, if you like. (Personally, the camel coat and trousers with denim shirt was probably my favourite look of the whole week.) No fashion trend ever gets everyone singing the same tune – one of the best collections this week was Louis Vuitton, which was quite different, a paean to curvy 1950s and 1960s icons, from Brigitte Bardot to Grace Kelly – but there were echoes of the minimalist look bouncing off catwalks all over Paris, sometimes where it was least expected. Giambattista Valli, king of what I think of as the cupcake-cocktail-dress, opened his show with a simple camel coat. Cerrutti, where this season brought the first collection by London-based Australian designer Richard Nicoll, was strongest when it was simplest: patch pockets, tone-on-tone outfits (loved the teal-with-navy), collarless, sleeveless jackets. Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci gave the Lang-esque key pieces of next season – slim trousersuits, double-breasted tailored coats over polo-necks – his own signature gothic twist, with slashes of blood red at the throat and sheer, high-necked white blouses. And then, just when we were thinking the new look was so simple and wearable, Stefano Pilati's Yves Saint Laurent had everyone scratching their heads. There were habits, and capes, and calf-length black wool dresses belted with a long gold rope. So most of the audience thought, reasonably enough, it was something to do with nuns. But, oh no. Pilati categorically denied there was any allusion to religion whatsoever. If you're not trying to look like a nun, is a habit a good look? Um, to be honest – not so much, having seen that show. What I loved, though, were the straight-cut satin dresses, the simple blouses, and the plain black trousers. Funny that.

• Paris fashion week
• Fashion
• Fashion designers

Jess Cartner-Morley
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Let it go: men exaggerate and fib when talking about this kind of thing I am 25. My boyfriend and I are deeply in love and enjoy the physical side of our relationship. Last week he had some friends over and, when he thought I was asleep, I heard him confess that he sometimes fantasises about other people when we're making love. Then one of his friends even said he'd fantasised about me while having sex with his wife. It may have been the beer talking, but I was shocked and hurt that my boyfriend might be focused elsewhere at such intimate moments. Should I confront him? I recommend you let this one go. When a group of friends get together – male or female – the dynamic can encourage people to brag, exaggerate or tell outright lies about sex. Secondly, fantasising about other people (real or imaginary) or about other erotic situations is extremely common. It doesn't mean that a person is any less attracted to (or in love with) the one he's with, but simply that he uses fantasy to enhance his erotic experience. Some people actually need to use fantasy in order to achieve orgasm; otherwise they become distracted by negative thoughts or fears. Whether your boyfriend uses fantasy or not is really his private matter. It seems you've never wondered about this before so, even if it's true, was the quality of your sex life ever undermined? Being always fully present during sex is an ideal few people achieve. Focus on the positive aspects of your relationship. • Pamela Stephenson Connolly is a psychologist and psychotherapist who specialises in treating sexual disorders. • Send your problem to private.lives@guardian.co.uk

• Relationships

Pamela Stephenson Connolly
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Michael Moore, Liberal Democrat spokesman on international development, will be live online on the Katine Chronicles blog at 11am (GMT) on Tuesday, 16 March, to answer your questions about aid and development. Post a question

Find out more about the Liberal Democrats' policies International development faces serious challenges, whoever wins the next election. With domestic spending cuts a real possibility, protest at continued historically high spending on aid is inevitable. It is likely the aid budget will face a very tough fight. Last year, the Liberal Democrats set out their thoughts on international development in a policy paper, which outlined support for the aid target of 0.7% of GDP, a call for renewed efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals and an acknowledgement that aid sometimes fails and that perhaps financial aid is not the most effective way of delivering support. At 11am (GMT) on Tuesday, 16 March , the Lib Dems' spokesman on international development, Michael Moore , will be live online for one hour to answer your questions about the party's policies and the wider issues of aid and development. Read the party's policy paper and Anne Perkins' report on the Lib Dems' policies and then post a question. You can post a question now or come back on Tuesday. If you have problems posting, email Katine.editor@guardian.co.uk.

• Aid and development
• News
• Uganda
• Development

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