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| Fooball fans 'refused' on flight Scottish football fans who were refused access to a flight over claims they were drunk and abusive, begin arriving back in Scotland. bbc.co.uk |
Cancer caused by modern man as it was virtually non-existent in ancient world Cancer is a modern man-made disease caused by the excesses of modern life, a new study suggests. telegraph.co.uk |
IFS: spending cuts will hit poorest harder Thinktank warns that George Osborne's spending cuts are the deepest since the second world war and will hit the poorest harder than the better offGeorge Osborne's claims that his spending cuts are fair have begun to unravel after the country's leading tax and spend thinktank revealed the poorest will be hit harder than the better off.In its analysis of the chancellor's spending review, the Institute for Fiscal Studies described the public spending cuts as the deepest since the second world war and said welfare benefits would suffer the biggest squeeze since the 1970s.The IFS also rebutted Osborne's claim that cuts to Whitehall spending would be lower than Labour's and dismissed figures showing education had survived the cuts relatively unscathed.It said a package of cuts unveiled yesterday would reinforce the "regressive" nature of the government's plans to tackle the deficit, including the £7bn of welfare cuts.Detailed analysis by the IFS undermining the government's case is expected to put intense pressure on Liberal Democrat ministers in the coalition who have stressed the need for tax rises and spending cuts to be progressive.The chancellor, who acknowledged that his package of £81bn of cuts had involved "hard choices", insisted yesterday that they are fair and would be borne by "those who have the broadest shoulders".But the IFS said that with the exception of the richest 2% of the population earning more than £150,000 a year, the less well off would be proportionately the hardest hit, with families with children the "biggest losers".Carl Emmerson, the IFS acting director, said: "The tax and benefit changes are regressive rather than progressive across most of the income distribution. And when we add in the new measures announced yesterday this is, unsurprisingly, reinforced."Our analysis continues to show that, with the notable exception of the richest 2%, the tax and benefit components of the fiscal consolidation are, overall, being implemented in a regressive way."James Browne, an IFS analyst, added: "Overall families with children seem to be the biggest losers."Browne said that while the Treasury had claimed the overall package was "progressive" – as a result of measures previously announced by former chancellor Alistair Darling - it had ignored a third of the welfare changes."The poorest are losing more as a proportion of their income as a result of these changes," he said.The IFS challenged Osborne's claim that the government's cuts to those departments whose budgets were not protected averaged 19% compared with 20% implied by Labour's plans.It said the Osborne's figures failed to take into account the £6bn of cuts already announced by the government this year while the actual figure under Labour would have been 16%.While education emerged as one of the winners yesterday, with a small real terms increase in schools spending, the IFS said that rising classroom numbers meant that spending per pupil would fall by 2.25% over the next four years.It said the 60% of primary school pupils and 87% of secondary school pupils were attending schools where spending would fall in real terms.The IFS also criticised plans to scrap council tax benefit and replace it with a system of locally administered council grants. It said that it would create a "postcode lottery", providing an incentive to councils to award grants in a way that encouraged poor families to leave the area."The incentive it provides to local authorities to encourage low-income people to move elsewhere is undesirable," Emmerson said.As the IFS briefed journalists on the report, David Cameron and his deputy, Nick Clegg, were answering voters' questions in Nottingham.Clegg insisted the rich were "genuinely paying the most" and urged voters to "have a little bit of perspective" about the cuts package.He told the audience it was important to see yesterday's benefit cuts in the context of other coalition policies designed to help the less well-off."People do not only think of themselves as recipients of benefits. There is also, 'How much does it cost to get childcare? What kind of education is my child getting at school? What am I getting back if I am doing some low-paid, part-time work?'" he said."That is how people live in the real world, and in the real world it is the richest that are paying the most – about that there is not doubt at all."Fairness was "literally the question I have been asking myself every single day of this very difficult process we have been going through", the deputy prime minister said."I honestly would not have advocated this if I didn't feel that, notwithstanding all the difficulties, we tried to do this as fairly as possible."Of course I understand people are very, very fearful, and fear is a very powerful emotion and it kind of sweeps everything else aside."But I would ask people to have a little bit of perspective: if you look at some of the announcements we made yesterday, and add that to some of the announcements we made in the budget, I think the picture is a little bit more balanced than people are saying."Spending review 2010Tax and spendingEconomic policyGeorge OsborneWelfareEconomicsThinktanksPhillip Inmanguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
7 July doctor praised for bravery Dr Elizabeth Wynne-Evans rushed into a bombed carriage Tube to help the wounded despite having only a rudimentary first aid kit. bbc.co.uk |
US embassy cables: British businessman ordered to revamp run down Saudi palace to host candle-lit party for Prince Charles Wednesday, 08 November 2006, 14:37S E C R E T JEDDAH 000700 SIPDIS SIPDIS EO 12958 DECL: 11/08/2016 TAGS PGOV, PINR, SCUL SUBJECT: TALES OF A PRINCE: CG MEETS WITH GOVERNOR OF ASIR'S FIXERClassified By: Consul General Tatiana Gfoeller,for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).1. (S) On November 7 the CG met with a prominent Western businessman who is close to the Governor of Asir, Prince Khalid bin Faisal. The businessman is known as a "fixer" for Prince Khalid. During their conversation, he recounted to the CG a number of his interactions with the Prince.2. (S) Their first encounter was at the prince's majlis in Abha, the capital of Asir Province. The businessman described the majlis to the CG and spoke of its largesse, its lavish decor, and its eclectic makeup of people: tribesmen, mutawa, and others. During the proceedings, a waiter approached with coffee and tea. XXXXXXXXXXXX the businessman recalled, he knew that he and Prince Khalid would get along well.3. (S) The businessman's second encounter with the prince was not actually with the prince. He had been invited to the prince's home to meet with his family. He recalled how surprised he had been at such a gesture. XXXXXXXXXXXX4. (S) The businessman's third encounter with Prince Khalid coincided with the visit of Prince Charles of the United Kingdom. He informed the CG that Prince Khalid and Prince Charles share a love of painting. Khalid opened a "painters village" in Abha, the capital of Asir, called Al Muftah. People, including faces, as well as objects are painted by Al Muftah artists, just as Khalid does in his own works of art. (Note: This is very interesting since painting is frowned upon by many conservative Saudis, and painting people and faces is forbidden according to the Wahabi interpretation of Islam. End note.) The businessman told the CG about a call that he received from a nervous Prince Khalid because of the party that he had offered to host for Prince Charles. During that time Prince Khalid, who has since built a new palace, was living in his father, the deceased King Faisal's old palace. His mother, Queen Effet, lived upstairs on the second floor of the palace, but the first floor needed attention. The palace was described as aged and in dire need of renovation. The businessman recounted how he was called and asked by the Prince, to take care of renovating the ground floor of the palace for a party that would take place in three weeks from the time of the phone call. The businessman asked whether he had a choice, and when told an emphatic "no," then agreed to do it.5. (S) According to the businessman, the first thing that he did was cut off all electricity so that no one would be able to turn on the lights and see what was taking place. Secondly, he inserted styrofoam into the holes in the walls. Thirdly, he set up projectors to project colors and designs onto the walls. On the evening of the party candles were the only source of lighting throughout the house. The plan was successful as the Prince of Wales commented on how luxurious and beautiful the palace was, despite the fact that it was not. Prince Khalid was very happy and the relationship between the businessman and the prince was cemented. (Note: The prince's old palace has since become a university. End note.)6. (S) The next day Prince Khalid phoned this businessman and invited him to meet the Prince of Wales. What the prince did not know was that while the businessman had sacrificed three weeks to renovate the palace, his sister had been visiting from out of the country and he had other obligations, which he disregarded. The businessman ultimately declined the invitation to meet with the two princes. When he received a phone call and a summons, the next day, from Prince Khalid, he was frightened. He did not know what to expect and he feared the worst.6. (S) When the businessman arrived to meet Prince Khalid he was pleasantly surprised to receive a painting by each of the princes, as gifts. He was also shocked to receive, what Prince Khalid called, a "tip," in the amount of SR50,000 ($13,333). He confided to the CG that Prince Khalid is "known for being extremely cheap." The businessman concluded by reiterating how close his relationship is to Prince Khalid and sharing more fond memories of the "phony dinner" at the prince's palace.GFOELLERPrince CharlesMonarchySaudi ArabiaUS foreign policyThe US embassy cablesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |