| Child protector Jim Gamble's legacy from time in child exploitation unit bbc.co.uk |
David Cameron: grenade may have killed Lisa Norgrove David Cameron has revealed that new information has emerged which indicates that Linda Norgrove may not have died at the hands of her captors. telegraph.co.uk |
Ashes blow for Barmy Army as pound is bowled out by currency markets Surge in value of Australian dollar means that a pint will now cost England fans the equivalent of £5Win or lose on the field, England's Barmy Army of travelling cricket fans are in for a nasty shock on this winter's Ashes tour in Australia. Once disparaged as the "Pacific peso", the Australian dollar rocketed on Friday and a pound is now worth just A$1.60, compared with more than $2 last year.The renaissance of the Australian dollar over the past three months – it is now worth more than the US dollar for the first time since it was floated in 1983 – has eclipsed the performance of other fancied currencies, including the Japanese yen, the Swiss franc and the Chinese yuan. It could hardly come at a worse time for cricket enthusiasts making final preparations for England's tour, which begins in Perth on 5 November with a game against Western Australia.Four years ago, 30,000 British fans travelled to Australia to watch a five-nil drubbing in the Ashes series. For fans making the journey this time, the cost in exchange-rate terms will be as much as 36% higher. David Swann, a currency strategist at Travelex, said that £500 would have bought A$1,250 at the start of the last Ashes season in Australia, but is now worth just A$805."That's a really significant shift," said Swann, who pointed to quantitative easing by central banks in Britain and the US as a reason for their currencies slipping. "The US has come out and said that it is going to extend its quantitative easing programme. That sends a message to people that the American economy is in trouble and they should go elsewhere."Dave Peacock, one of the founding members of the Barmy Army, believes English fans will not be put off. "The dollar might be lot stronger but the Australian team is nowhere near as strong as it was four years ago and our team is on the way up. This is probably the best opportunity we've had since 1986-87."But Peacock admitted that their partying may be curtailed. "People aren't going to like paying £5 a pint. I think they will still go to Australia, but maybe cut down on a couple of pints a night. In every city in Australia we've organised pubs that will be the party pub for that city."The rate of exchange also means pricier hotels, meals, transport and even match tickets for travelling fans but for Australians heading abroad the currency surge is good news. The country's national airline, Qantas, has reported higher outbound traffic – but empty seats on flights coming into Australia – and the country's mining industry is booming.A steady stream of Australian exporters have warned, however, that their overseas profits are dwindling. James Dominguez, chairman of the Sydney-based Australian Wine and Brandy Commission, said the cost of Australian goods abroad was having a "devastating" impact on the drinks industry."Of the total Australian wine crop, about two-thirds is exported and what has happened to the currency has had a huge impact, especially on lower-priced wines," he said. "It's really causing havoc with exporters."According to Tourism Australia, 649,400 people travelled from the UK to Australia in the year to July – a drop of 1%, blamed largely on disruption caused by Iceland's volcanic ash cloud rather than on the exchange rate.Fears are growing, however, that there will be a fall-off in visitors. One Perth-based adventure tour operator, Easyrider, ceased operations this month, blaming the soaring currency for a critical shortage of custom from British and Irish backpackerers. Owner Chris Cronin told ABC, Australia's public broadcaster, that the average number of people booking tours had fallen from 16 a bus to six or eight."There are a lot more people out there that are really going to suffer because of the strength of the Australian dollar at the moment," he said.Additional reporting by Charlotte SimmondsAshesAustraliaAustraliaForeign currencyCricketAndrew ClarkAlison Rourkeguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Fire crews called to fish shop Fire crews have been tackling a blaze at a fish and chip shop in Cardiff. bbc.co.uk |
Ed Miliband: 'David Cameron wants a return to the days of Tory arrogance' For Thatcher, inflation was the only yardstick. Now the coalition is obsessed with the deficitThis was the week that took the compassion out of David Cameron's claim to compassionate Conservatism. In fact, it was a week that had a feel that my generation and his remember: back to the 1980s.First, the old argument that there is no alternative has reappeared. No cut is too deep, no reduction in spending too large. If we don't act as the government says, they claim Britain will go the way of Greece. No matter that in every major respect – size of debt ratio, history of debt default, levels of growth – the government took over an economy totally different from Greece.In fact, Britain entered the recession with the second lowest level of debt in the G7, the economy was growing strongly when we left office, and the fiscal deficit was actually £10bn lower than forecast in the March budget.Of course the deficit is high and needs to be brought down. Our approach, based on halving it over four years, would bring it down every year. But the idea that we are about to go bankrupt is pure political spin to justify a familiar ideological project of a smaller state.Second, just as in the 1980s, the government has reduced its economic policy to one objective. For the early 80s monetarist claim about inflation being the only measure of economic success, now read the 2010s claim that the deficit is the only thing that matters.Any plan for deficit reduction must be part of a plan for economic growth. But all the government offers are cuts which will put half a million public servants out of work and the same number at risk in the private sector, as firms that rely on government contracts feel the squeeze.Beyond the immediate threats to employment, where is the long-term plan for growth and the jobs of the future? Last week we discovered that 190,000 students who want to go into higher education were turned away. Employment programmes for the young unemployed are being cut, as is support for new industries. Just as the Tories created a lost generation in the 1980s, so we see the same risk today.Third, what about fairness? The Institute for Fiscal Studies blows apart the government's claims and says that the changes being made are regressive: hitting poorer households on average more than richer ones. It is not just the poor who have been targeted. Families with kids are amongst the biggest losers, and despite being lower paid women lose more than men.What about the apparent rays of light? We should welcome an idea like the pupil premium in education, but overall there will be sharp cuts in spending on nine out of ten secondary school pupils. And some things being done are way beyond what was attempted in the 1980s.What does it mean to cut a local authority budget by a quarter? This scale of reduction will go deep into the heart of services that people rely on: the local library, meals on wheels or the local leisure centre.The arrogant ideological swagger of the 1980s is back, too. The Conservative MPs waving their order papers with apparent joy at the largest spending cuts in a generation. The belief that statistics about fairness can be manipulated without people wising up. And the claim to certainty about our economic prospects in an uncertain world.But the deepest problem is the pessimism that pervades David Cameron's political project. He has made deficit reduction the judge and jury of everything he stands for. Not building a good economy, not creating a society where people's kids get on, not championing a better environment.We could have had a different spending review. We could have ensured that we raised more money from the banks that caused the crisis than from cuts in child benefit. With a more measured pace of deficit reduction, there would still have been difficult decisions and cuts. But we would have done more to support the economy, defend frontline services and protect those in need.Will they get away with the gamble? I don't believe people are up for a dangerous and reckless gamble with our economic future. It is up to people of all political persuasions who fear for Britain's society and our economy to stand up and commit to protect not just our values and ideals but the basics of our social and economic fabric.Ed Miliband is leader of the Labour partySpending review 2010Tax and spendingMargaret ThatcherRecessionEconomicsEd Milibandguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |