| League approves Anfield takeover The Premier League approves New England Sports Ventures's proposed £300m takeover of Liverpool but BBC Sport understands the threat of a points deduction could hang over the Merseysiders. news.bbc.co.uk |
Schoolchildren 'forced to drop history at 14' History in schools is being put under threat as thousands of children are allowed to drop the subject at the age of 14 for "trivial reasons", according to a leading academic. telegraph.co.uk |
UK set to sell stake in Urenco to fund green investment bank Chris Huhne says sale could help fund the bank, which is being set up to invest in low-carbon technologyThe government wants to sell its stake in a company that makes enriched uranium for nuclear power, to help fund the new green investment bank, which is being set up to invest in low-carbon technology.The chancellor, George Osborne, announced in the spending review this week that the government would put £1bn into the bank and hoped to find extra funds from asset sales, although he did not say what would be sold.Chris Huhne, the climate secretary, today told the Guardian that he was looking at selling the UK's one third share in Urenco, a company it jointly owns with the Dutch government and two German power companies, RWE and E.ON.Urenco, which has a quarter of the growing global market for enriched uranium, was recently valued by the Adam Smith Institute thinktank at £3bn. However, the relinquishing of government control of such a politically and technologically sensitive company could prove controversial with anti-nuclear campaigners, including many in Huhne's own Liberal Democrat party.A previous attempt by the Labour government to sell its share in Urenco, in 2006, failed because it was blocked by the other shareholders. This may raise concerns about how long any fund-raising will take.Malcolm Grimston, associate fellow and nuclear expert at international affairs thinktank Chatham House, said a private sale of Urenco should not raise concerns about nuclear security, because of tight regulation. Uranium enriched for power has a very much lower content of fissile material, Uranium 235, than that used for weapons."The safeguards around materials are pretty strong and robust, and therefore I think the general feeling is the ownership is not a particular issue," said Grimston.Huhne's success in getting the Treasury to agree the £1bn was seen as a qualified success, being considerably less than the £2bn-6bn that City and environment experts had called for, and half what Nick Clegg told Lib Dem MPs on the morning of the spending review."The exact shape of the remit of the institution is still to be decided ... but the key thing is to have found a contribution to the capital from public spending, and we're continuing to work hard to find asset sales which will fund it," Huhne said.The chancellor's description of the new institution as a "Green Investment Bank" – using capital letters – was also seen as something of a victory after the Treasury apparently wanted to downgrade the coalition and manifesto promise to a "fund".Huhne suggested there was concern about liabilities the government could take on, saying: "The Treasury has a lot of experience of banks over the last couple of years [and] the problem with our banks happened when money they lent wasn't paid back and money they borrowed had to be paid back."However he added: "We found the capital for what the chancellor called a bank ... If we were to announce that we were going ahead with a bank which was not a bank a lot of people in the City would spot that very rapidly."Green economyNuclear powerEnergyCarbon emissionsClimate changeEnergy industryJuliette Jowitguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Angler is rescued from Lough Erne An angler is rescued from Lough Erne after his boat struck ice on Monday night. bbc.co.uk |
US embassy cables: Kazakhstan - the big four Monday, 25 January 2010, 08:14S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 ASTANA 000072 SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EEB EO 12958 DECL: 01/25/2030 TAGS PGOV, PINR, EPET, EINV, KCOR, RS, CH, KZ SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: MONEY AND POWER REF: ASTANA 0061Classified By: Ambassador Richard E. Hoagland: 1.4 (b), (d)1. (S) SUMMARY: During a private dinner, KazMunaiGaz First Vice President Maksat Idenov named, in his view, the four most powerful gate-keepers around President Nursultan Nazarbayev: Chief of Administration and General Services of the President's Office Sarybai Kalmurzayev, the President's Chief of Staff Aslan Musin, State Secretary-Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev, and the tandem of Prime Minister Karim Masimov and Nazarbayev's billionaire son-in-law Timur Kulibayev. According to Idenov, in Kazakhstan, market economy means capitalism, which means big money, XXXXXXXXXXXX. The following details are a single snapshot of one version of current reality. The significant point is that Nazarbayev is standing with Idenov, not Kulibayev, to maintain international standards to develop the massive Kashagan and Karachaganak hydrocarbon projects. END SUMMARY.2. (S) On January 21, KazMunaiGaz First Vice President Maksat Idenov and the Ambassador had a one-on-one dinner in a nearly empty restaurant (times are still hard!) at the Radisson hotel in Astana. When the Ambassador arrived, Idenov was barking into his cell phone, "Mark, Mark, stop the excuses! Mark, listen to me! Mark, shut up right now and do as I say! Bring the letter to my office at 10:00 pm, and we will go together to take it to (Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, MEMR) Mynbayev at his house." On ending the call, Idenov explained he was talking to British Gas (BG) Country Director for Kazakhstan Mark Rawlings who had missed the deadline to deliver a letter about arbitration on the Karachaganak super-giant oil-field project (reftel). Still clearly steamed, Idenov XXXXXXXXXXXX "I tell him, 'Mark, stop being an idiot! Stop tempting fate! XXXXXXXXXXXX Idenov asked, "Do you know how much he (Rawlings) makes? $72,000 a month! A month!! Plus benefits! Plus bonuses! Lives in Switzerland but supposedly works in London. Comes here once a month to check in. Nice life, huh?"3. (S) Idenov calmed down and said, "Let's look at the menus." Then he immediately started typing on his PDA and turned the screen toward the Ambassador, saying, "Let's look at the 'four courses.'" On the screen were four names: Kalmurzayev, Musin, Saudabayev, and Masimov-Kulibayev." Idenov said, "The Big Four around Number One." (NOTE: Sarybai Kalmurzayev, currently the head of Administration and General Services in the Presidential Administration, was, among other jobs, a former head of the Financial Police and, before that, in the 1990s, in charge of privatization. Aslan Musin is the current Chief of Staff for Nazarbayev. Kanat Saudabayev, a personal friend of Nazarbayev for nearly 40 years, is Minister of State and Foreign Minister. Karim Masimov is Prime Minister, and Timur Kulibayev is currently the favored presidential son-in-law, on the Forbes 500 list of billionaires (as is his wife separately), and the ultimate controller of 90% of the economy of Kazakhstan. END NOTE.) In response to a question, Idenov said that Masimov has a degree of freedom, but never acts without permission from "the hyphen" (Kulibayev). Then Idenov stood up abruptly and carried his PDA to a ledge about 20 feet from the table and asked the Ambassador to turn off his cell phone.4. (S) Idenov said he wanted to explain why he has been less visible for at least the last half year. Starting last spring, all the "Big Four" (on the menu) began blocking him from seeing President Nazarbayev. In October, KMG PresidentASTANA 00000072 002 OF 003Kairgeldy Kabyldin told Idenov, "Kulibayev doesn't want to work with you any more." Idenov said he replied, "Fine," immediately returned to his office, wrote his letter of resignation, and packed up his personal files and photos of his family." He said Mynbayev immediately called and asked, "My dear friend, what are you doing?!" Idenov said he was fed up and was going to the Middle East to work -- "I want out of here!" PM Masimov called and said, "Nazarbayev wants to know how you're doing. He'd really like to see you when you have time." Idenov, who said he'd been trying to see the President for months but had been blocked by the "Big Four," went to see the President and told him, "Kabyldin says Kulibayev doesn't want to work with me any more." Idenov said the President told him to calm down: "It's probably just evil gossip. I'll have Karim (Masimov) talk to Timur (Kulibayev). Then Idenov went to Masimov and told him, "OK, I'll stay, but how do I deal with this?" Masimov said he'd talk to both Kabyldin and Kulibayev.5. (S) Soon, intermediaries arranged an Idenov-Kulibayev meeting. Idenov said they both pretended to ignore the core problem -- Kulibayev's, he alleged, avarice for large bribes. Idenov averred he told Kulibayev, "Please watch your image and reputation. You have a real opportunity to improve your own image and the image of the nation." Idenov said Kulibayev was "like a Buddha with a Paris manicure," and both understood life would continue. Idenov said he believes he has, so far, the president's protection. "But the games continue," he said. Idenov alleged that both XXXXXXXXXXXX-- and Kulibayev is salivating to profit from them -- but, so far, Idenov stands in the way. "So long as Nazarbayev says he wants Kashagan and Karachaganak developed according to international standards, that's what I'll do."6. (SBU) (NOTE: Fugitive former CEO of BTA bank, Mukhtar Ablyazov, accused of embezzling over $1 billion, recently leaked "documentary evidence" to the international media that China's state companies have bribed Kulibayev over $100 million in recent months for oil deals. END NOTE.)7. (S) The Ambassador asked if the corruption and infighting are worse now than before. Idenov paused, thought, and then replied, "No, not really. It's business as usual." Idenov brushed off a question if the current maneuverings are part of a succession struggle. "Of course not. It's too early for that. As it's always been, it's about big money. Capitalism -- you call it market economy -- means huge money. Listen, almost everyone at the top is confused. They're confused by their Soviet mentality. They're confused by the corrupt excesses of capitalism. 'If Goldman Sachs executives can make $50 million a year and then run America's economy in Washington, what's so different about what we do?' they ask."OTHER TIDBITS8. (S) MODEST WEALTH. Idenov alleged that MEMR's Mynbayev is among the richest in Kazakhstan but "flies under the radar" because he is a relatively modest and very hard-working technocrat. His great wealth derives, in part, from his former ownership of KazKommerzBank -- "But he never flaunts it."9. (S) VULTURES. Idenov alleged that GazProm and China National Petroleum Company "continue to circle like vultures," hoping that the Kashagan and Karachaganak consortia will implode, and then they can pick up the pieces. "Won't happen on my watch!" Idenov vowed.10. (C) HOW TO ORDER LAMB. Idenov insisted the Ambassador order a bottle of wine for their dinner but then never touched his first glass. Instead, he gulped three cans of Coca-Cola while inhaling his food. When both he and the Ambassador ordered lamb chops, Idenov advised, "Well done,ASTANA 00000072 003 OF 003never rare -- this is Astana, not London!"11. (S) COMMENT: Idenov is effusive, even theatrical, by nature. When he trusts, he spills his heart. Of course, there's no doubt he also spins his own narrative, as we all do. And so, this dinner is simply a snapshot -- but, we would judge, a relatively accurate glimpse of one version of current reality. The significant point is that Nazarbayev is standing with Idenov, not Kulibayev, to maintain international standards to develop the massive Kashagan and Karachaganak hydrocarbon projects. END COMMENT. HOAGLANDKazakhstanPrince AndrewMonarchyUS foreign policyOilUnited StatesThe 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 |