Olympics boost to UK 'nearing £10bn'
By Anonymous on Jul 19, 2013 03:14 am 18 July 2013 Last updated at 21:51 ET 
The London Olympic Games took place in July and August last year
The UK economy has seen a £9.9bn boost in trade and investment from hosting the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games, research suggests.
A report for the government and Mayor of London attributes new contracts, additional sales and foreign investment in the last year to the Games.
Independent estimates cited suggest the total benefit to the UK will be between £28bn and £41bn by 2020.
The projected cost to the government of hosting the Games was £8.92bn.
'Social legacy' As well as the financial impact of the Games, the report - Inspired by 2012: The legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games - highlights its influence on sport and regeneration.
Continue reading the main story Analysis
David Bond BBC sports editor
Having spent the best part of £10bn on London 2012, the government knows it has to deliver on Britain's legacy promises.
So it is no surprise that Prime Minister David Cameron wants to showcase the £9.9bn boost to the British economy from the Games.
But we should be cautious with this figure.
While the Games will have generated plenty of new trade and investment, it's impossible to know how much of the £9.9bn can be attributed directly to the Olympics. Much of it may have happened anyway.
There are also question marks over some of the other key areas in today's report. Sports participation since 2005 is up by 1.4 million but in the last year it's actually dropped by 200,000.
On school sports, the government is championing its new investment at primary level but many critics believe this is a patched up version of what was already in place.
While lots of progress has been made, after just 12 months it's simply too early to judge the Olympic legacy.
It also says the Games volunteers inspired more people to take up similar roles in their communities.
The report adds 1.4 million more people than in 2005, when the Games bid was won, are playing sport at least once a week, and the legacy of all the permanent venues on the Olympic Park has been secured within a year of the Games.
Prime Minister David Cameron said companies across the country were "harnessing the Olympic momentum and delivering the lasting business legacy of the Games".
He added: "The Games are also delivering a strong social legacy. Last summer, Games Makers changed the way Britain views volunteering. Since then, thousands of people have been inspired to get involved with their local sports club."
And Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "There is no doubt that the London 2012 Games proved a success story for British business. This has created a multi-billion pound business springboard to take British expertise to the world."
The report examined international trade and inward investment won "because of the Games and Games-time promotional activity".
The figures for economic growth are based on deals already signed as well as predictions of the expected value of future opportunities.
It also takes into account companies who stated their decision to invest in the UK had been influenced by London 2012, which took place in late July and early August.
Some £2.5bn of additional foreign investment into the UK since the Games is cited, such as the redevelopment of London's Battersea power station by a Malaysian consortium, and projects involving Chinese technology company Huawei and Indian software firm Infosys.
The report says British companies won £1.5bn of opportunities overseas, including work on other global sporting events such as the Brazil 2014 World Cup and Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the Sochi 2014 Winter Games.
'Thrilling chapter' It also says there has been £5.9bn of additional export sales following Olympic-related promotions by the Foreign Office and UK Trade and Investment.
In a message in the report, Olympics legacy ambassador Lord Coe, who chaired Games organiser Locog, said: "Progress reflected in this report against each of the legacy commitments is a promising start.
"There can, however, be no room for complacency. Just as the Games took 10 years to win, plan and deliver, so legacy must be seen as a 10-year project to realise lasting change."
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said: "A year ago, the London 2012 Olympic Games wrote a thrilling chapter in the annals of Olympic legacy. London's commitment to delivering a strong Games legacy was clear, and plans for sustainable legacies were explicitly detailed in the city's initial bid to host the Games...
"The London 2012 Games have definitively served as a catalyst for development and improvements, both tangible and intangible, which would otherwise have taken decades to achieve. "
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Detroit in largest US bankruptcy
By Anonymous on Jul 19, 2013 03:18 am 18 July 2013 Last updated at 16:33 ET 
Detroit, Michigan, which owes at least $15bn (£10bn), has become the largest US city to file for bankruptcy.
State-appointed emergency manager Kevyn Orr asked a federal judge for permission to place the city into bankruptcy protection.
If approved, he would be allowed to liquidate city assets to satisfy creditors and pensions.
Detroit stopped unsecured-debt payments last month to keep the city running as Mr Orr negotiated with creditors.
Read in browser » Tax cut for shale gas firms planned
By Anonymous on Jul 18, 2013 07:08 pm 18 July 2013 Last updated at 19:08 ET 
The UK is believed to have large resources of shale gas that have yet to be extracted
The government has outlined plans to give tax breaks to companies involved in the UK's nascent shale gas industry.
It has proposed cutting the tax on some of the income generated from producing shale gas - found in underground shale rock formations - from 62% to just 30%.
The plans would make the UK the "most generous" regime for shale gas in the world, the government said.
But they have been criticised by environmentalists, with Friends of the Earth calling them a "disgrace".
Greenpeace added that communities affected by fracking - the technique for extracting shale gas - faced a lot of disruption for very little gain.
Chancellor George Osborne said shale gas was a resource with "huge potential" for the UK's energy mix.
"We want to create the right conditions for industry to explore and unlock that potential in a way that allows communities to share in the benefits," he said.
"I want Britain to be a leader of the shale gas revolution because it has the potential to create thousands of jobs and keep energy bills low for millions of people."
The UK is believed to have large resources of shale gas.
A recent report from the British Geological Survey estimated there may be 1,300 trillion cubic feet present in the north of England alone - much of it in the Bowland Basin under Lancashire.
Drilling companies have previously estimated that they may be able to extract around 10% of this gas - far in excess of the three trillion cubic feet of gas currently consumed in the UK each year.
But currently the industry is still in its infancy with a handful of companies holding licences for shale gas exploration in the UK, none of which have begun extracting gas.
'US boom' In backing shale gas exploration, the government points to the experience of the US, where a shale gas boom has had a dramatic effect on the energy sector.
Under its plans, the tax break would apply to a proportion of the income generated from shale gas production. What that proportion is will be determined after a consultation.
BBC industry correspondent John Moylan says the industry regards the tax incentives as necessary as costs are likely to be high during the initial exploration phase over the coming years.
The government has also confirmed plans to give communities that host shale gas sites £100,000 per site, and up to 1% of all revenues from production.
That is designed to offset some of the controversy surrounding the process of fracking.
There are concerns the process, which involves pumping high pressure water, sand and chemicals into rock to force out the gas, is related to water contamination and even earth tremors.
Environmental groups argue that investment in the industry will divert attention from the need to develop renewable sources of energy.
Andrew Pendleton, from Friends of the Earth, condemned the move.
"Promising tax hand-outs to polluting energy firms that threaten our communities and environment, when everyone else is being told to tighten their belts, is a disgrace," he said.
"Ministers should be encouraging investors to develop the nation's huge renewable energy potential. This would create tens of thousands of jobs and wean the nation off its increasingly expensive fossil fuel dependency."
Read in browser » Kremlin critic Navalny freed on bail
By Anonymous on Jul 19, 2013 03:12 am 18 July 2013 Last updated at 20:56 ET 
Protests, like this one in Moscow, took place after the verdict
Prosecutors have asked for Russian protest leader Alexei Navalny to be freed pending appeal, hours after he was jailed for embezzlement.
The unexpected move came as thousands took to the streets in protest following the conviction on Thursday.
Navalny - a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin - had denied the charges, saying the trial was politically motivated.
He has recently registered his candidacy for Moscow mayoral elections.
The head of his campaign staff, Leonid Volkov, said Navalny had told him he would withdraw from the race if he was jailed. However, it was not clear what might happen if he was freed pending an appeal.
Navalny was led from the court in Kirov in handcuffs after being found guilty of embezzlement from a timber firm and jailed for five years.
Scuffles broke out as thousands of people took to the streets in Moscow, St Petersburg and other cities in protests that continued late into the evening. Reports said dozens were detained by police.
The verdict drew widespread international criticism and Navalny's lawyer, Vadim Kobzev, said he would appeal.
Then, in an unexpected twist, prosecutors lodged a complaint against the ruling under which Navalny was taken into custody.
They said he should remain free, with travel restrictions, pending his appeal. A hearing on the issue was set for Friday.
Continue reading the main story Alexei Navalny's rise to prominence
- 2008: Started blogging about allegations of corruption at some of Russia's big state-controlled firms
- Nov 2011: Ahead of parliamentary poll, he criticised President Putin's United Russia, famously dubbing it the "party of crooks and thieves"
- Dec 2011: After the poll, he inspired mass protests against the Kremlin, and was arrested and imprisoned for 15 days
- Oct 2012: Won most votes in a poll to choose opposition leadership
- April 2013: Went on trial
- July 2013: Declared himself a candidate for Moscow mayoral election
- July 2013: Found guilty of theft and embezzlement
Analysts say the move could be an attempt by officials to soothe public anger over the case.
Navalny, 37, is a leading campaigner against President Putin's United Russia party and has regularly blogged about corruption allegations.
He came to public attention when he inspired mass protests against the Kremlin and President Putin in December 2011.
Before he was led away to jail, Navalny urged his supporters to continue his anti-corruption struggle, tweeting: "Don't sit around doing nothing."
Navalny was found guilty of heading a group that embezzled timber worth 16m roubles ($500,000; £330,000) from the Kirovles state timber company while working as an adviser to Kirov's governor Nikita Belykh.
The prosecution had asked for a six-year jail sentence, but judge Sergei Blinov decided on five years, and said there were no extenuating circumstances that would warrant keeping Navalny out of prison.
Navalny's co-accused, Pyotr Ofitserov, was also found guilty, and given a four-year jail sentence.
The EU said the verdict posed "serious questions" about the rule of law in Russia, while the US said it was "deeply disappointed".
A spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the trial had "raised doubts about whether criminal justice was the main motive".
The Kremlin denies that Mr Putin uses courts for political ends, and the judge rejected Navalny's claim that the trial was politically motivated.
Read in browser » Alcohol deaths 'up' in young women
By Anonymous on Jul 19, 2013 02:56 am 18 July 2013 Last updated at 20:45 ET 
Social attitudes to women drinking have changed
Deaths from alcohol-related disease in young women are rising, contrary to the overall trend, a study suggests.
Experts looked at deaths in men and women of all ages in Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester from 1980 to 2011.
They said the results for women born in the 1970s should be a "warning signal" about their drinking habits.
They say minimum pricing, shelved this week as a plan to tackle binge drinking by the government in England and Wales, would help address the issue.
The study, detailed in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, looked at patterns of alcohol-related mortality in the three cities, which all have similar patterns of deprivation, poor health and industrialisation.
It compared trends in alcohol-related deaths of people born between 1910 and 1979.
Overall, men were much more likely to die from alcohol-related disease than women - and the age range most affected was people in their 40s and 50s.
But while rates have plateaued or even fallen slightly for the majority, that is not true for the youngest group of women - those born in the 1970s - for whom the death rate actually increased in all three cities.
'Hard to dismiss' A "snapshot" example cited by the researchers compares death rates for women born in different cohorts when they reached the age of 34.
For those born in the 1950s, it was a rate of eight per 100,000; for those born in the 1960s - 14 per 100,000, while for those born in the 1970s it rose to 20 per 100,000.
However for men, comparable figures showed a recent decrease.
For the 1950s cohort it was 22 per 100,000 rising to 38 per 100,000 in the 1960s - but falling to 30 per 100,000 for the 1970s.
Writing in the journal, the team led by Dr Deborah Shipton, said this pattern showed an emerging trend which should not be ignored.
"It is imperative that this early warning sign is acted upon," she said.
"Given this increase in the younger cohort is seen in all three cities it is hard to dismiss this as a city-specific phenomenon.
"Failure to have a policy response to this new trend may result in the effects of this increase being played out for decades to come."
The team suggests that cheaper alcohol, which is more widely available, combined with better marketing and longer drinking hours will all have played their part in fuelling the problem.
'Cultural influences' Dr Shipton told the BBC it was "a shame" minimum pricing had been rejected in England and Wales.
She said it was one measure which would help tackle the problem, although it would not address the "deep-rooted cultural influences at play".
The government said there was not enough "concrete evidence" that minimum pricing would reduce the harmful effects of problem drinking without affecting people who drank responsibly.
Scotland's government is still committed to bringing in a minimum price of 50p per unit.
However the law will not be implemented until legal proceedings, brought by the Scotch Whisky Association, are complete.
Northern Ireland is yet to put forward a specific proposal, although it is reviewing pricing.
Read in browser » Palestinians undecided on peace plan
By Anonymous on Jul 19, 2013 12:27 am 18 July 2013 Last updated at 12:48 ET 
Mahmoud Abbas has met John Kerry twice this week to discuss the American proposal
Palestinian leaders have been meeting in Ramallah in the West Bank to discuss a possible revival in peace talks with Israel, brokered by the United States.
They have been briefed on the latest American proposal by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The talks involving the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) have now been temporarily adjourned.
Earlier the US Secretary of State John Kerry extended his visit to the Middle East amid signs of progress.
He agreed to stay in the Jordanian capital, Amman, for an extra night.
The US State Department then acknowledged that Kerry was unlikely to be able to announce a breakthrough on his latest visit.
"There are currently no plans for an announcement on the resumption of negotiations," said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
Continue reading the main story There is a growing flurry of predictions that US Secretary of State John Kerry may get Israeli and Palestinian negotiators back to the table.
However settlements are still a major stumbling block. As Mr Kerry shuttles, Israel keeps announcing plans and permits for new homes.
Through endless hours of face-to-face talks and telephone conversations, aides from all sides are trying to put together a detailed plan of incentives and commitments.
But it still comes down to the political will of Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
Even if they do sit down around a table again, there is the bigger question of whether they will ultimately succeed in closing a deal, at last. On that, all bets are off the table for now.
The priority now is just getting to the table.
Mr Kerry has not given details of his plan to revive direct peace talks, which stalled nearly three years ago. However, he has met Mr Abbas in Jordan twice in the past two days.
After a meeting in Amman, the Arab League supported the latest US proposals saying they "provide the ground and a suitable environment to start negotiations".
This raised speculation that President Abbas's Fatah faction and senior members of the broader Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) would concur at meetings in Ramallah.
However, several members of Fatah central committee have already asked for changes to the US plan.
It is understood that the PLO committee will resume its meeting later on Thursday after the iftar meal that ends Muslims' dusk-to-dawn fast during the holy month of Ramadan.
Previously the Palestinians have demanded a freeze on Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem before a return to peace talks. They have also asked for negotiations about borders to be based on pre-1967 ceasefire lines.
Israel's coalition government, which includes pro-settler parties, has said there should be no preconditions.
It is widely reported in the Israeli media that Mr Kerry has presented a plan that includes the resumption of talks on pre-1967 lines with land swaps that take into account the major settlement blocs in the West Bank.
The reports suggest that, in return, Palestinians would recognise Israel as a Jewish state.
The Israeli prime minister's office has declined to comment.
On his Facebook page, Naftali Bennett, who leads the third biggest party in the Israeli governing coalition, rejected any such terms.
"The Jewish Home party under my leadership will not be a partner, not even for one second, in a government that agrees to negotiation based on 1967 lines," he said.
"Jerusalem, our capital, is not and will never be subject to negotiations."
Such a deal would also be extremely difficult for Palestinians to accept as it has serious implications for Palestinian refugees and the Israeli-Arab population.
The rights of Palestinian refugees, borders, settlements and the status of Jerusalem are all core issues in any final status peace agreement.
In recent months, John Kerry has paid six visits to the Middle East in an effort to restart talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
He has said that time is running out for a two-state solution to their decades-old conflict.
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