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Monday, September 20, 2010
Russian plane crashes, Pilots safe,,..[ 1828 ]
UK: 9,000 public sector workers earn more than the PM..[ 1827 ]
9,000 public sector workers earn more than David Cameron
Standard co. uk.,, 20.09.10
More than 9,000 employees working in the public sector are paid more than the Prime Minister, it was disclosed today.
An investigation by BBC1's Panorama and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism suggested the numbers earning more than David Cameron's £142,500-a-year are significantly higher than previously thought.
The findings by the programme - to be screened tonight - will heighten the controversy already raging over comparative pay levels in the public and private sectors.
Based on the responses to more than 2,400 Freedom of Information requests to public bodies, they show that 38,000 were paid over £100,000 while 1,000 received over £200,000.
They include GPs, teachers, police chiefs, council officers and senior civil servants, as well as senior managers in the BBC itself.
Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude insisted that it should not be necessary to offer "stupendous amounts" of money in the public sector.
"You can square the circle of having really good people not on telephone number salaries and massive built-in bonuses," he told the programme.
"That public service ethos is very important. People will come and work in a public sector for salaries that aren't competitive in a private sector sense."
The NHS was the sector found to have the the highest number of staff earning over £100,000 - 26,000 - with almost 6,500 paid more than the Prime Minister.
Those with salaries topping the PM's included 1,465 GPs - 10 of whom received more than £300,000. The highest earner was an unnamed GP working for the Hillingdon Primary Care Trust with pay of £475,500.
In the education sector, 385 teachers in England earn more than £100,000 and 17 get more than the Prime Minister.
The best paid was an unnamed teacher from Essex on £232,500, followed by Mark Elms, the head teacher of Tidemill Primary School in Lewisham, south east London, on £231,400.
A total of 196 police officers across the UK receive more than £100,000, with 45 earning more than the Prime Minister, headed by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson on £280,489.
The programme also highlights salaries in the BBC where 97 managers earn more than £160,000, 160 get more than £130,000 and 331 are on over £100,000.
Director general Mark Thompson is the best paid with total remuneration of £838,000, including basic pay of £668,000, £7,000 in benefits and an additional pension payment of £163,000.
In local government, 362 council employees across the UK get more than the Prime Minister, with Gerald Jones, the chief executive of Conservative-run Wandsworth Council in south London, getting £299,925.
The Civil Service has 241 senior officials receiving as much or more than Mr Cameron, with 26 in the Ministry of Defence, 22 each in the Department for Business and the Cabinet Office, 18 in the Department of Health, and 13 in the Foreign Office.
The Department of Communities and Local Government, where Secretary of State Eric Pickles has denounced the "gravy train" of top pay, has nine civil officials on more than the PM.
There are 832 members of the armed forces getting more than £100,000 and 2,013 people working in the judiciary - 211 of whom earn more than the Prime Minister.
The highest earners in central Government were the outgoing Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, on £288,700, NHS chief executive David Nicholson on £278,800 and the Office of Fair Trading chief executive John Fingleton on £277,500.
The overall figures compiled by the programme did not include publicly-owned corporations which operate on a commercial basis - some of which have very highly paid bosses.
These include the Royal Mail where, according to the programme, former chief executive Adam Crozier received a total remuneration package worth £2.4 million in 2009-10.
Ian Coucher, the chief executive of Network Rail, was said to have received a package worth £1.4 million, including supplementary pension contributions, while Financial Services Authority boss Hector Sants got a total of £795,192
British in Afghanistan have handed responsibility to US forces..[ 1826 ]
UK troops leave Helmand's Sangin
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.BBC News Uj,m Sept 20 2010
UK forces have been in Sangin since 2006, and 106 UK personnel have been killed.
British forces in Afghanistan have handed responsibility for security in Sangin to US forces, marking the end of their four-year mission in the area.
Control was handed over from UK forces to the US Marine Corps at 0630 BST.
The UK has suffered its heaviest losses in the area. Of the 337 UK deaths in Afghanistan since 2001, a third have happened there.
Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox said UK troops should be "proud of their achievements".
He said Sangin, in Helmand province, was "one of the most challenging areas of Afghanistan".
"The level of sacrifice has been high and we should never forget the many brave troops who have lost their lives in the pursuit of success in an international mission rooted firmly in our own national security in the UK," he said.
British troops will redeploy to central Helmand, where they will continue to lead the fight against the insurgency and assist in building a stable and secure Afghanistan, he added.
"We are seeing real and positive progress in areas that only a year or so ago were in a very different state," he added.
The commanding officer of 40 Commando group, Lieutenant Colonel Paul James, said the handover was a "poignant moment" tinged with sadness, but the overwhelming emotion was one of pride.
"I think we've achieved significant success here: making Sangin a much more stable and peaceful place.
"And probably just as importantly, the Afghan national security forces that we've partnered here are now starting to be able to stand on their own two feet and take on the responsibility for delivering Sangin for themselves.
"It's not going to be British forces who deliver success in Sangin and it's not going to be American forces.
"It's not going to be anyone else other than the Afghans themselves.
Analysis
After five bloody summers in Sangin, British troops have handed over control to the men of the US Marine Corps and begun pulling out.
A third of all deaths in Afghanistan have taken place here in a district that is as important as it is dangerous.
The Americans have already changed the strategy on the ground, pulling out of some patrol bases that the British fought hard to establish and protect.
The terrain, its location at the cross-section of key routes and a thriving opium trade have made it a key battleground for both the insurgents and British troops.
Military commanders insist this is not a case of America coming to the rescue of beleaguered UK forces but the handover will be a bittersweet moment for the thousands of troops who have fought so hard in Sangin over the last four years.
UK forces have been in Sangin since 2006, and 106 UK personnel have been killed. The MoD announced in July that British troops were to be replaced by US forces.
The BBC's Ian Pannell in Kabul said there would be a physical handover, with the union jack lowered and the US flag raised, but little would change on a pratical level.
He said some members of the 1,000-strong 40 Commando Battle Group had already left, and the handover would be staggered over the coming weeks.
Describing it as a "totemic" moment for the UK, he said Sangin is the most dangerous district in Helmand - if not the whole of Afghanistan.
On a recent visit to the area, he witnessed a long battle in which a number of US soldiers, Afghan soldiers and civilians sustained injuries.
"Although progress has been made, the area remains very difficult. It is a key battleground for insurgents and coalition forces.
"The truth is, the Americans will now have to try and finish the job that Britain started," he added.
Ministry of Defence spokesman Major General Gordon Messenger, a former commander of the UK Helmand task force, insisted the handover was not an admission of defeat.
"It certainly won't look like that on the ground," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"The British soldiers that are there are handing over to the American Marines. In terms of the physical security presence, and every other aspect of the campaign in Sangin, it's going to be more of a continuum than a watershed."
Sweden : A far-right party won 20 seats in parliament ..[ 1825 ]
Swedish far right wins first seats in parliament
Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson said his party had been treated unfairly in the election
BBC.,20 September 2010 Last updated at 06:57 GMT
A far-right party in Sweden has won seats in parliament for the first time, denying the governing centre-right coalition an overall majority.
The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats have won 20 of the 349 seats in the country's single assembly, following Sunday's general election.The alliance led by centre-right Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt fell short of a clear victory with 172 seats.
Mr Reinfeldt says he will seek the support of the opposition Green Party.
The Greens are currently allied with the centre-left Social Democrats.
Green Party co-chair Maria Wetterstrand said the opposition bloc - which won 157 seats - remained united.
Mr Reinfeldt also did not rule out working with the Social-Democrats."On many questions there is a possibility for broader co-operation," he told reporters. "Not seldom have agreements been made between Social Democrats and alliance parties, but I can't really say more about that, if there is any room for that now."
However the prime minister reiterated that his four-party Alliance for Sweden would not form a coalition with the far-right.
"I have been clear on how we will handle this uncertain situation," he said. "We will not co-operate, or become dependent on, the Sweden Democrats".
'Media boycott'
Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson said his party would use the opportunity to make itself heard, as it had not been invited to official debates during the campaign.
"We have in many ways been treated as anything but a political party in this election," he said.
"Even so, today we stand here with a fantastic result. The situation is a bit uncertain just now, but we have four years ahead of us to speak out on the issues that matter to us and influence Swedish politics."
PM Fredrik Reinfeldt says he will not make a deal with the far-right
BBC regional reporter Damien McGuinness said the success of the far right has shocked many voters in Sweden.
Winning 20 seats in parliament, the Sweden Democrats have obviously touched a nerve, he adds.
The party appears to have tapped into voter dissatisfaction over immigration, says our correspondent, with the result undermining the image of Sweden as a tolerant and open-minded country.
Mr Reinfeldt can remain in office, but only as a minority government, which although not that unusual in Sweden, does mean he will have to win over other parties to push through bills.
Immigrants make up 14% of the country's population of 9.4 million.
The Social Democrats have ruled Sweden for 65 of the past 78 years, and are credited with setting up the country's generous welfare state.
Conceding defeat on Sunday, party leader Mona Sahlin said they had not been able to win back voters' confidence.
"The Alliance is the largest majority. It is now up to Fredrick Reinfeldt how he plans to rule Sweden without letting the Sweden Democrats get political influence."
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Terrorist suspect arrested at Schiphol airport..[ 1824 ]
British terrorism suspect arrested at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport
Dutch police have arrested a terrorism suspect at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, the local prosecutor's office said.
The British citizen, who is of Somali decent, was en-route from Liverpool John Lennon Airport to Entebbe International Airport in Uganda Photo: EPA
The man was from Liverpool, travellling via Schiphol, en route to Entebbe in Uganda. The Somali Briton was already on the plane when he was arrested by military police.
"He was arrested on the tip-off from British authorities," a Dutch spokesman said.
Telegraph co.uk., by Our Foreign Staff
Published: 4:49PM BST 19 Sep 2010
National police spokesman Rene Claessen said the man was arrested before a flight took off from the airport Sunday.
Amsterdam has a history of being used as a transport hub by suspected Islamic radicals
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a suspected al Qaeda member, is facing charges of trying to blow up a flight from Amsterdam as it prepared to land in Detroit with 278 people on board last December.
He is accused of trying to use a bomb hidden in his underwear to bring down a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day. The explosives failed, though they burned Abdulmutallab, who was arrested.
The Somali-born British man was held on suspicion of terrorism as he transited through Amsterdam's Schiphol airport en route from England to Uganda, prosecutors said.
"At this moment, an inquiry is trying to determine whether or not the man belongs to a foreign terrorist organisation," said a source in the prosecutor's office.
Amsterdam's airport has significantly beefed up its security meassures since Christmas Day, after it was a departure point for a Nigerian student, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who allegedly tried to blow up a plane above the United States by setting off explosives hidden in his underwear.
He was tackled by passangers and crew, and is now charged in U.S. federal court in Detroit with attempting to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253 with 278 passengers and 11 crew members aboard. Abdulmutallab insists on representing himself.
Last month, two Yemeni men were arrested at the Amsterdam airport after flying in from Chicago, on suspicion they may have been conducting a dry run for an airline terror attack. The two were held for several days then released without charge after an investigation turned up no evidence to link them to a terror plot.
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