Pakistan girl surgery 'a success'

10 October 2012 Last updated at 08:01 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Malala Yousafzai began her blog at the age of 11

Surgeons have removed a bullet from the head of a 14-year-old girl, a day after she was shot by Taliban gunmen in north-western Pakistan's Swat Valley.

Malala Yousafzai, a campaigner for girls' rights, is reported to be in a stable condition after the operation.

The attack sparked outrage among many Pakistanis, who gathered in several cities for anti-Taliban protests and held prayers for the girl's recovery.

The militants said they targeted her because she "promoted secularism".

A spokesman for the Islamist militant group, Ehsanullah Ehsan, told BBC Urdu on Tuesday that Miss Yousafzai would not be spared if she survived.

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad says the authorities will now have to consider how to protect the girl.

He says her family never thought about getting security because they just did not think that militants would stoop so low as to target her.

Two other girls were injured in Tuesday's attack, one of whom remained in a critical condition on Wednesday.

'Icon of courage'

Miss Yousafzai came to public attention in 2009 by writing a diary for BBC Urdu about life under Taliban militants who had taken control of the valley.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

Even if Malala Yousufzai survives, life is not going to be the same for her and her family. No place in Pakistan is safe for people targeted by militant groups. She may have to live under state security or in asylum abroad. In either case, her life and her ability to campaign for girls' education in north-western Pakistan will be severely limited.

Malala Yousufzai rose to fame because of her innocent but courageous desire to attend school, which translated into a one-girl campaign of resistance when Taliban captured Swat valley in 2009 and ordered girls' schools closed. Several hundred in Swat and neighbouring Bajaur and Mohmand were destroyed. Only a few in urban areas have been rebuilt.

The government's inability to rebuild is matched by its ambivalence towards the Taliban, which has enabled them to carry out acts of sabotage with impunity. The question is, will it change now? The attempt on Malala Yousufzai's life has shocked and angered the nation, and reports from parliament suggest a wider anti-Taliban consensus might be in the works - something Pakistan's fractious politicians have rarely achieved before.

The group captured the Swat Valley in late 2007 and remained in de facto control until they were driven out by Pakistani military forces during an offensive in 2009.

While in power they closed girls' schools, promulgated Islamic law and introduced measures such as banning the playing of music in cars.

Miss Yousafzai's brother, Mubashir Hussain, told the BBC that the militants were "cruel, brutal people" and urged all Pakistanis to condemn them.

Pakistani politicians led by the president and prime minister condemned the shooting, which the US state department has called barbaric and cowardly.

President Asif Ali Zardari said the attack would not shake Pakistan's resolve to fight Islamist militants or the government's determination to support women's education.

In a statement, army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said the Taliban had "failed to grasp that she is not only an individual, but an icon of courage".

Thousands of people around the world have sent the teenage campaigner messages of support via social media.

Schools in the Swat Valley closed on Wednesday in protest at the attack, and schoolchildren in other parts of the country prayed for the girl's recovery.

Protests were held in Peshawar, Multan and in Miss Yousafzai's hometown of Mingora, and another rally was expected in Lahore.

Late on Tuesday, Miss Yousafzai was flown from Mingora, where the attack happened, to the city of Peshawar, 150km (95 miles) away, for surgery.

Doctors in Peshawar operated on her for hours before managing to remove the bullet early on Wednesday.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

At that time some of us would go to school in plain clothes, not in school uniform, just to pretend we are not students, and we hid our books under our shawls"

End Quote Malala Yousafzai

A medically equipped plane is on standby at Peshawar airport as medical experts try to determine whether she will need to be flown out of the country for further treatment.

Police said they had arrested more than 40 people in the area, but all were later released on bail.

Correspondents say the arrests are part of a routine, and even the police do not believe they have found the attackers.

Miss Yousafzai earned the admiration of many across Pakistan for her courage in speaking out about life under the rule of Taliban militants, correspondents say.

She was just 11 when she started her diary, two years after the Taliban took over the Swat Valley and ordered girls' schools to close.

Writing under the pen-name Gul Makai for BBC Urdu, she exposed the suffering caused by the militants.

Her identity emerged after the Taliban were driven out of Swat. She later won a national award for bravery and was nominated for an international children's peace award.

Since the Taliban were ejected, there have been isolated militant attacks in Swat but the region has largely remained stable and many of the thousands of people who fled during the Taliban years have returned.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Wet weather to hit UK food prices

10 October 2012 Last updated at 07:00 ET

Food prices look set to rise after poor UK harvests due to recent wet weather.

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) said wheat yields in England were down by almost 15% on the five-year average, with productivity down to 1980s levels.

The British Retail Consortium said food prices were already being driven up after a rise in grain costs following the worst drought in 50 years in the US and a heatwave in Russia.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Poor UK harvests also mean smaller fruit and vegetables than normal.

This summer was the second wettest in the UK since records began, Met Office figures indicated. The only summer - defined as June, July and August - which was wetter since national records began was in 1912.A drought across much of England during the spring followed by record-breaking wet weather has meant a poor wheat harvest for many farmers, the NFU said.

Figures suggested wheat yields were down by 14.1% - but some farmers in the wet western half of England reported even lower yields.

'Soul destroying'

NFU President Peter Kendall said: "There are many farmers who are down 25 to 30% on the wheat crop.

"In some cases you looked from the outside and you thought, this crop will do over four tonnes to the acre - and it's been struggling to do three and some cases two tonnes to the acre.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News

---

It goes without saying that when it comes to choosing what food to buy cost is a key factor.

There is a wealth of research that has looked at a variety of factors that influence purchasing from health promotion schemes to marketing techniques deployed by supermarkets.

Nearly all have concluded by far the most important one is price.

And so for a nation that is still not eating enough fresh produce, particularly fruit and vegetables, the latest news is a worrying development.

Just over a quarter of adults eat the recommended five portions a day - a figure which has been falling during the economic downturn.

The trend has been most marked in the poorest households. According to government figures, the bottom tenth consumes just 2.7 portions a day - down 30% in the last four years. By comparison, average consumption is 3.7.

"It's been soul destroying for the farmers growing the crops."

Mr Kendall said the increase in the global price of wheat - by some 30% over the past 12 months - was also putting pressure on farmers who buy grain to feed their livestock.

He said: "The challenge for the pig and poultry market is trying to make sure that retailers pay a fair price, because in pigs 50% of the cost is grain, poultry it's 60% - and these farmers at the moment, because the prices haven't responded yet, they're actually saying I'm not going to fill my sheds with poultry or pigs any more."

The problems faced by farmers in the UK and the global increase in wheat prices are both adding to fears over rises in food prices.

Richard Dodd, of the British Retail Consortium, said: "Whilst retailers are certainly doing all they can to protect customers from the full impact of that, of course some of that inevitably will impact on shop prices."

The extreme weather has taken its toll on the amount of food produced and the quality of food and grain.

Martyn Jones, from the Morrisons supermarket chain, said that, for example, carrots were not quite as sweet as previous years, and the available volumes of some food was down - about 25% across most potatoes and root crops.

He said consumers would also see smaller fruit in the shops, and yields of fruit were also down.

'Challenging time'

Ian Johnson, south-west England spokesman for the NFU, said this year's weather had led to a "mixed picture" for arable farmers.

Continue reading the main story

Impact on English fruit crops

• Apple crop estimated to be down 27% on 2011
• Overall pear crop estimated to be down 10%
• Cox and Egremont Russet varieties down 37%
• Supermarkets accepting more blemished fruit

Source: English Apples and Pears Ltd

He said while wheat crops had suffered, winter barley yields were up 1.6%; spring barley yields were down 7.4% and oilseed rape yields were up 5.9%.

Mr Johnson said fruit and vegetable crops had also been affected, with potatoes and apples particularly badly affected.

The adverse conditions cause blight, mildew and disease to get into crops, he said.

Mr Johnson said that if a pattern of winter drought followed by unexpected huge amounts of rain continued then it would have to be addressed by changes in technology or farming techniques, such as planting in different ways or at different times.

"Farmers will engage in this provided they will see realistic returns but if they don't then they are not going to," he said.

But he said retailers also needed to have sufficient provision to cushion farmers during such times.

'Research neglected'

Paul Harris, an arable farmer in Dorset, believes the difficult times may be set to continue.

He said: "I've been farming now for 40 years and it's the worst harvest I have ever known.

"There has always been a seed time and a harvest. This year's harvest has been done, but I'm just so worried about seed time. It will come round but we've just got to work with it and fight with it."

The bad weather is also affecting the UK's wine industry - award-winning West Sussex vineyard Nyetimber is not harvesting its grapes because the quality and volume of the fruit is not up to standard.

Environmental group Friends of The Earth predicts that the situation will deteriorate in the years to come due to global warming.

Spokeswoman Vicki Hird said: "Climate change is already damaging food production and causing prices to soar - and the situation is expected to get worse without urgent action to slash emissions.

"Our agricultural system is also in desperate need of overhaul to meet the twin challenges of feeding a growing world population and protecting the planet."

Former government food advisor, Lord Haskins, warns that agricultural policy and practices must adapt to the changing conditions.

He said: "Research into food development has been neglected for a number of years, partly under pressure from people who don't think that, for example, genetically modified food is a good thing.

"We have to make sure that those lobby groups who've opposed scientific research don't run the game from now on - science has got to come into its own."

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

April accused remanded in custody

10 October 2012 Last updated at 05:52 ET

A man charged with the abduction and murder of five-year-old April Jones has been remanded in custody after appearing in court via a video link.

Mark Bridger, 46, was seen in Caernarfon Crown Court on Wednesday, nine days after April, from Machynlleth, Powys, went missing.

No members of April's family were in court for the hearing.

Mr Bridger, from Machynlleth, is also charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The latter charge refers to the unlawful disposal and concealment of a body.

Mr Bridger was wearing a black jumper over a grey t-shirt and spectacles for the video-link appearance from HMP Manchester.

He confirmed his name and that he could hear the proceedings.

The judge, Mr Justice Griffith Williams, asked if he understood what had been discussed and Bridger replied: "Yes, sir".

There was no application for bail and he was remanded in custody to appear in a plea and case management hearing on 11 January.

April was last seen outside her home in Machynlleth last Monday and has not yet been found.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Britain can rise again - Cameron

10 October 2012 Last updated at 07:46 ET By Brian Wheeler Political reporter, BBC News, in Birmingham

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

David Cameron: "This is still the greatest country on earth"

David Cameron has vowed "to get behind people who want to get on in life" to ensure Britain can "rise" again.

In a keynote speech to the Conservative Party conference, the prime minister admitted the economic recovery was taking longer than expected.

But he said Labour offered no credible alternative and the country could only weather the storm under his leadership.

He vowed to build an "aspiration nation" driven by individual ambition - the "doers, the risk-takers".

Taking a swipe at "intellectuals" like Labour leader Ed Miliband - who last week attempted to seize the moderate "one-nation" mantle from the Conservatives - he said: "We don't preach about One Nation but practice class warfare, we get behind people who want to get on in life".

Labour, he said, was a "party of one notion: more borrowing".

'Great things'

There were few light moments during Mr Cameron's 50 minute address, which he delivered from behind a lectern, as he tried to "set out a serious argument" about how Britain can get through its economic difficulties.

Continue reading the main story

Unless we act, unless we take difficult, painful decisions, unless we show determination and imagination, Britain may not be in the future what it has been in the past"

End Quote David Cameron Prime Minister

The Olympics and Paralympics showed that Britain could "do great things", he said, but there was a danger the UK could join other nations "on the slide".

"My job - our job - is to make sure that in this 21st century, as in the centuries that came before, our country, Britain, is on the rise.

"And we here know how that is done. It is the collective result of individual effort and aspiration, the ideas you have, the businesses you start, the hours you put in.

"Aspiration is the engine of progress. Countries rise when they allow their people to rise."

Like Ed Miliband last week, Mr Cameron eschewed policy announcements in favour of stressing how his own background had formed his political values.

He spoke about his father, Ian, who died last year. From him he had learned: "Work hard. Family comes first, but put back into the community too."

'Painful decisions'

He also spoke about his disabled son Ivan, who died in 2009, saying his best moment of the summer was putting a gold medal around the neck of Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds.

"When I used to push my son Ivan around in his wheelchair, I always thought that some people saw the wheelchair, not the boy," he told activists.

"Today more people would see the boy and not the wheelchair - and that's because of what happened here this summer."

He also fired the starting gun on the Conservatives' campaign to keep the United Kingdom together, saying he was going to meet SNP leader and Scotland's first minister Alex Salmond to "sort out" a referendum by the end of 2014.

"There are many things I want this coalition to achieve but what could matter more than saving our United Kingdom. Let's say it: we're better together and we'll rise together - so let's fight that referendum with everything we've got."

The Conservatives have this week stressed that the government would not deviate from its austerity plan and, while the economy was starting to "heal", further sacrifices would be needed beyond the next election.

Mr Cameron told Tory activists: "Unless we act, unless we take difficult, painful decisions, unless we show determination and imagination, Britain may not be in the future what it has been in the past.

"Because the truth is, we're in a global race today. And that means an hour of reckoning for countries like ours. Sink or swim. Do or decline."

But he also stressed his commitment to "compassionate Conservatism", saying his "mission" since he became Tory leader in 2005 was to "show the Conservative Party is for everyone: North and South, black or white, straight or gay.

"But above all to show that Conservative methods are not just the way we grow a strong economy, but the way we build a Big Society."

He also sought to address criticism - fuelled by the row over Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell allegedly calling a police officer a "pleb" - that the Conservatives were elitist and out of touch.

He told activists he did not have a "hard luck story" to tell, but stressed "I am not here to defend privilege, I'm here to spread it".

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

BAE and EADS cancel merger plans

10 October 2012 Last updated at 08:07 ET

Aerospace and defence firms BAE Systems and EADS have decided to cancel their planned merger, after talks had become stymied by political deadlock.

The move came ahead of a 17:00 BST regulatory deadline to close the deal.

It followed days of talks between the UK, French and German governments to overcome political objections.

The UK wanted its counterparts to agree to limit their influence in the merged firm in order to maintain BAE's strong working relations with the US Pentagon.

UK firm BAE and Franco-German Airbus-owner EADS had to decide by shortly after the end of the London trading day on Wednesday whether to ask the Takeover Panel for an extension to their $45bn (£28bn) merger talks.

However, our business editor said that the decision did not rule out the possibility that talks between the two companies' management might reopen in a few months time.

UK Defence Secretary Philip Hammond had been meeting his French and German counterparts in Brussels. The merger needs the approval of the UK, French and German governments.

Only the French government has a direct stake in EADS, but Germany also exerts a high degree of control through the shareholding of German industrial group Daimler. The British government is able to veto any deal through its ownership of a "golden share" in BAE.

Continue reading the main story

There still appears to be an insuperable obstacle to the deal, which would create the world's largest defence and aviation business"

End Quote

The BBC business editor said that the outlook for the deal was already looking fairly bleak on Tuesday night.

He noted that BAE's board had made it "an absolute condition for the transaction that the French and German governments should never own more than 9% each of the merged outfits, that they should not vote as a bloc and that they should not have representatives on the holding company board".

However, the key sticking point appears to have been the insistent by the UK government and the two company heads that directors appointed by the French, German and UK governments should not sit on the top board of the merged group.

He was told on Wednesday morning that Germany had dug its heels in.

The deal would have created a European aerospace and defence giant comparable in size to Boeing of the US.

But the merger talks had become bogged down by wranglings between their respective governments ever since they first became public on 12 September.

The UK government was thought to broadly back the deal, particularly as it would help to protect jobs at two factories in the UK that are owned by EADS, that manufacture wings and other parts for Airbus planes.

Even if a political agreement had been reached, the deal still faces opposition from BAE's largest shareholder, fund manager Invesco Perpetual, which said on Monday that it had "significant reservations" about the proposed merger and "does not understand the strategic logic" of the deal.

Invesco, which owns 13.3% of BAE, did not appear to be alone. More than 30% of the UK firm's shareholders have expressed qualms, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, French media group Lagardere, who manages the French government's stake in EADS, has also claimed that the financial terms of the merger are unfavourable.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

PM: UK economy 'slowly healing'

9 October 2012 Last updated at 05:47 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

David Cameron: "We need to make sure that every part of plan A is firing on all cylinders"

The UK is going through a "slow and difficult healing process" as it rebalances its economy, Prime Minister David Cameron has said.

His comments came as the International Monetary Fund said it now expected the UK economy to shrink by 0.4% this year.

Mr Cameron said the government was doing "everything it can" to encourage growth in difficult economic times.

He said they had cut the budget deficit by a quarter in two years and there were "positive signs" for the future.

According to the IMF the prospects for the global economic recovery have weakened as government policies across the world have failed to restore confidence.

The fund has downgraded its overall estimate for global growth, with one of the biggest individual country downgrades applied to the UK.

'Progress'

The IMF now expects the British economy to shrink by 0.4% this year, compared with its forecast of 0.2% growth in July.

David Cameron, who is in Birmingham for his party's annual conference, defended his government's economic strategy and said there were "positive signs" the UK economy was changing.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, he said: "What is happening in Britain is a rebalancing of our economy.

"We need more private sector growth, we need a smaller public sector, we need to make more, sell more overseas and manufacture more.

"It's a slow and difficult healing process, but it is taking place."

On government prospects for cutting the budget deficit, Mr Cameron said the government was "on the right track".

"People are very understanding of the difficult inheritance we had - a record budget deficit, the biggest of anywhere in the developed world," he said.

"The deficit is down by one quarter in two years. It was 11% of GDP when we came to power- it's now 8%. That is progress."

	Latest forecasts		Previous forecasts (July)
	2012	2013	2012	2013
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook
World output	3.3	3.6	3.5	3.9
Euro area	-0.4	0.2	-0.3	0.7
US	2.2	2.1	2.0	2.3
Japan	2.2	1.2	2.4	1.5
UK	-0.4	1.1	0.2	1.4
China	7.8	8.2	8.0	8.5
Brazil	1.5	4.0	2.5	4.6
India	4.9	6.0	6.1	6.5
Russia	3.7	3.8	4.0	3.9

He refused to comment on suggestions that figures expected in the chancellor's autumn statement in December will show the deficit has increased this year.

"We don't have those figures yet. We have to wait until the end of the year to see what the deficit is.

"It's wrong to take one month's figures or make a judgement half-way through the year."

In response to the IMF downgrade, the Treasury highlighted the fact that the IMF had "repeated its advice that the first line of defence against [slowing growth] should be to allow the automatic stabilisers to operate, monetary policy easing and measures to ease the flow of credit - all of which the UK is doing".

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tories to clarify burglary laws

9 October 2012 Last updated at 05:47 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

David Cameron: "If a burglar comes into your home, people aren't sure about what they are allowed to do"

Householders who over-react when confronted by burglars are to get more legal protection, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has said.

"Grossly disproportionate" force will still be against the law in England and Wales, but the bar will be higher than the current "proportionate" force test.

Prime Minister David Cameron said more protection for people who confront burglars would provide "certainty".

But opponents of such changes argue they will encourage vigilantism.

BBC political editor Nick Robinson said the Conservatives, under Mr Cameron's leadership, had gone from a party promising to "hug a hoodie" to one willing to allow the public to "bash a burglar".

Mr Grayling's pledge follows two particularly high-profile cases, which have divided public opinion over whether the law needs to change.

In 1999, Norfolk farmer Tony Martin shot dead an intruder in his home. He was jailed for life for murder but appealed and had the verdict reduced to manslaughter, serving three years in jail.

In 2008, Buckinghamshire businessman Munir Hussain was jailed for 30 months after chasing and attacking with a cricket bat one of three intruders who had tied up his family. The intruder, Walid Saleem, received a lesser sentence than Hussain, who was convicted of grievous bodily harm. This was later reduced on appeal.

'Gratuitous'

But between 1990 and 2005 there were just 11 prosecutions for people tackling intruders in any premises, including seven involving homes.

In England and Wales, anyone can use "reasonable" force to protect themselves or others, or to carry out an arrest or to prevent crime. Householders are protected from prosecution as long as they act "honestly and instinctively" in the heat of the moment.

Continue reading the main story

• In England and Wales, anyone can use "reasonable" force to protect themselves or others
• Householders can claim they attacked in self-defence if they genuinely believed they were in peril - even if in hindsight they were clearly wrong
• Juries must distinguish between "reasonable force" and grievous harm

It is still lawful to act in reasonable self-defence, even if the intruder dies as a result. However, prosecution could result from "very excessive and gratuitous force", such as attacking someone who is unconscious.

Mr Grayling wants to change the law on tackling intruders as soon as possible, aides say, and it could be included in a crime bill passing through Parliament this autumn.

It will mean someone who is confronted by a burglar and has reason to fear for their safety, or the safety of their family, and in the heat of the moment uses force that is reasonable in the circumstances but in the cold light of day seems disproportionate, they will not be guilty of an offence.

Mr Grayling will tell Tory delegates in Birmingham: "Being confronted by an intruder in your own home is terrifying, and the public should be in no doubt that the law is on their side. That is why I am strengthening the current law.

"Householders who act instinctively and honestly in self-defence are victims of crime and should be treated that way.

"We need to dispel doubts in this area once and for all, and I am very pleased to be today delivering on the pledge that we made in opposition."

Asked ahead of speech to give an example of what would not be allowed, he told the BBC that stabbing to death a burglar who had already been knocked unconscious would still break the law.

'Rehabilitation'

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Mr Cameron of the current legal situation over confronting burglars: "This is something that bothers people, and quite frankly it bothers me.

"There has been uncertainty that if a burglar comes into your home, people aren't sure about what they are and are not allowed to do."

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling: "If you lash out the law should be on your side"

He added that the new laws would give homeowners and householders "a certainty that if they ever got into that situation, they could defend their homes, their property, their family, and I think that's a very important sense that people need to have".

Mr Grayling is seen as a more traditional right-winger than his predecessor Ken Clarke, who was moved to another Cabinet job in last month's reshuffle.

But he will use his speech to stress that there is more to him than the "tough" image portrayed by the tabloids.

And he will stress his commitment to a "rehabilitation revolution" to cut re-offending rates, driven by a "payment-by-results" programme involving charities and private firms.

Adam Pemberton, assistant chief executive of Victim Support, said it was important that people "keep themselves safe" if they detect an intruder. Such events were "really quite rare", he added.

The announcement on householders' self-defence comes after a judge, Michael Pert QC, said that being shot by homeowners was simply a chance that burglars took.

Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, said last month that burglary should always be treated seriously and stressed that householders have the right to use force "to get rid of the burglar".

He admitted "occasionally it looks as if the householder is the criminal", but added: "Well, the householder is not in a position to exercise calm, cool, judgement. You're not calmly detached, you're probably very cross and you're probably very frightened, a mixture of both."

Lord Judge added that measuring whether force was reasonable or not was not simply "a paper exercise six months later".

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Taxpayers 'at risk' in rail bid

9 October 2012 Last updated at 07:07 ET

All bidders for the West Coast rail franchise were offering too little protection for taxpayers against potential losses, the BBC has learned.

The BBC's Robert Peston says all four bidders were given erroneous information by civil servants.

As a result, taxpayers would have been exposed to potential losses.

The decision to award the West Coast Main Line rail franchise to FirstGroup was scrapped because of "technical flaws" in the bidding process.

Writing in his blog, the BBC's business editor says that the "entire bidding process was flawed".

One consequence, he says, is that all the bidders were offering far too little protection to taxpayers against the risks of collapse by a franchise holder.

Therefore, if the mistake had not been picked up, taxpayers would have been excessively exposed to potential losses at some point during the 15-year life of the franchise.

The nature of the department's errors, with all the bidders given flawed data, explains why the Department for Transport has said it cannot be certain that the outcome of the bidding process would have been different if the process had been robust, Robert Peston adds.

This means that FirstGroup might still have won, which might make the company "marginally less hostile to the idea that Virgin may be asked to keep running the service for an additional 18 months to two years, until a new tendering process can be completed and the new franchise holder can be in place - because there is no evidence that Virgin as the incumbent would have had an advantage if the last contest had been run properly".

FirstGroup had beaten current operator Virgin Trains to win the 13-year franchise.

A spokesman for FirstGroup said: "We have not yet had the full and detailed briefing from the Department for Transport for us to understand exactly what happened and therefore, as you would expect, we are exploring all of our rights and options."

Financial models

The West Coast route serves 31 million passengers travelling between London, the West Midlands, the north-west of England, North Wales and the central belt of Scotland.

A decision on whether the franchise will stay with Virgin for an interim period, or go into temporary public ownership, will be taken in the next few days.

Civil servants construct their own financial model when preparing to award long-term contracts such as the West Coast Main Line franchise. This contains certain assumptions about what is likely to happen to important economic variables, such as inflation and passenger numbers, over the contract period.

Continue reading the main story

• 15 August 2012 Virgin Rail loses franchise as FirstGroup awarded it by Department for Transport
• 26 August Virgin Rail boss Richard Branson offers to run franchise "for free" while process is reviewed
• 28 August Virgin Rail launches legal challenge over contract process
• 3 October Department for Transport unexpectedly scraps contract with FirstGroup after flaws in process discovered. Two reviews ordered, and process to be re-run
• 9 December New contract for West Coast Main Line due to begin, lasting till 2026

The model helps the civil service and ministers evaluate bids against their own benchmarks, when those bids are submitted, and also helps the bidders to submit bids on a basis that allows them to be compared.

Robert Peston describes it as creating a "level playing field for the bidders".

The model produces what is known as a "ready reckoner" which tells each bidder the financial implications of their respective forecasts of how much they think they can increase revenues.

In particular, it tells a bidder how much capital its so-called Train Operating Company (TOC) would have to hold as a protection for taxpayers against the risk that in the course of operating the franchise the TOC went bust or risked going bust.

To minimise this risk, of all the bidders are told that they have to endow the TOC with sufficient capital to protect taxpayers from potential losses.

Bidding implications

But the Department for Transport recently discovered that the capital protection being offered was far too little.

That was because of flawed assumptions in the department's own model about what would happen to inflation and passenger numbers - which in turn meant that the "ready reckoner" given to bidders was wrong.

And the department's mistakes meant that all the bids were offering far too little protection to taxpayers against the possibility of a franchise holder being unable to hold the franchise for the full 15 years.

Robert Peston adds that the implications of this situation are serious for the whole process of tendering for rail franchises.

It explains why the department has suspended the competitions to run the Great Western, Essex Thameside and Thameslink services, just in case the financial models underpinning those contests are flawed in a similar way, he adds.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tight Athens security for Merkel

9 October 2012 Last updated at 07:49 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

The BBC's Kirsty Lang and business reporter Aaron Heslehurst on Mrs Merkel's "symbolic" visit

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has arrived amid heavy security for her first Greek visit since the eurozone crisis erupted nearly three years ago.

Some 7,000 police officers are on duty, with protests banned in certain areas.

However, many people who blame Germany for forcing painful austerity measures on Greece streamed into central squares carrying anti-Merkel banners.

Correspondents say this highly symbolic visit is a show support for Greece's continued membership of the eurozone.

It comes as Greece prepares to pass new cuts of 13bn euros (£10.5bn; $17bn) to qualify for more bailout cash, a policy that has sparked growing unrest.

While Germany has contributed the most money to the bailout, BBC Europe editor Gavin Hewitt says its chancellor is held responsible by many for demanding that Greece make swingeing cuts in exchange for the financing it has received.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

This is a highly symbolic visit, though it won't be an easy one. Angela Merkel will aim to show solidarity with debt-ridden Greece - a crucial endorsement of the government here as it agrees on a new wave of spending cuts.

In the past she stayed away, she was critical of the slow pace of reform. Now she's keen to encourage, voicing her support for Greece's place in the euro. But she's reviled by many ordinary Greeks, who see her as the driving force behind painful austerity measures.

Protests are planned. Newspapers have made Nazi references. Beneath the tension, though, lies a crucial relationship: Greece depends on German money and the chancellor wants to preserve the single currency. And so both governments will play up their links, talking of a shared purpose, while on the streets, anger against Mrs Merkel will continue to boil.

Ahead of the visit, European Central Bank president Mario Draghi told the European Parliament that Greece had made progress, although "further work" was needed.

Mr Draghi told the parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee on Tuesday: "It's quite clear that the progress at the level of undertaking the necessary policy reform has been perceptible and significant and it's also clear that more needs to be done."

'No to Fourth Reich'

Mrs Merkel arrived in Athens on schedule at 13:30 local time (10:30 GMT) to be met by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.

Police have banned protests on Tuesday in much of central Athens, and within a 100m radius of the route Mrs Merkel's motorcade will travel.

However, outside the lockdown zone, thousands of people have gathered, some carrying banners with slogans such as "No to the Fourth Reich".

A three-hour strike has also been called for the beginning of the afternoon.

Mrs Merkel will be in Athens for about six hours, and will hold talks with Mr Samaras, followed by a joint press conference and then a meeting with President Karolos Papoulias.

The BBC's Mark Lowen, in Athens, says no grand announcements are expected, but for Mr Samaras it is a crucial show of support from Europe's paymaster.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Vassilis, Athens resident: "She should see how the people are suffering"

The capital is said to be carrying out its biggest security operation in a decade.

Left-wing newspapers on Tuesday encouraged widespread, but non-violent protests.

A spokesperson for the leftist Syriza party, Yiannis Bournos, told the BBC's Newsday it was expecting huge demonstrations.

"People are frustrated and enraged because they clearly understand that Mrs Merkel's visit is just a theatre play for the political support of a collapsing coalition," Mr Bournos said.

On Monday, public order minister Nikos Dendias appealed to protesters to "protect the peace, and above all our country's prospects and our international image", Reuters news agency reported.

The Greek government says the visit is a "positive step".

Government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou told Greek television: "We believe this is a message of faith in the course of the Greek government, the Greek economy."

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Chancellor Merkel has gambled that the visit will demonstrate she intends to stand behind the Greeks"

End Quote

And despite the protests, some Athens citizens were upbeat about the visit.

Constantinos Siathas told Associated Press: "I think most people, at least those who think and don't act based on feelings or utopian ideas, are pleased and are expecting a lot from Mrs Merkel's visit."

The trip is a gamble, our Europe editor says. If there is chaos on the streets, it will only underline for the German public that Greece is a lost cause.

But he says that the visit - her first to Greece in five years - is sending a symbolic message that she wants Greece to stay in the eurozone.

Speaking on Monday, Jean-Claude Juncker, chairman of the Eurogroup finance ministers of the eurozone, raised the pressure on Greece, calling on the government to demonstrate it could implement planned reforms "by 18 October at the latest" to qualify for the next bailout instalment of 31.5bn euros.

He was speaking as the eurozone's new permanent fund to bail out struggling economies and banks was formally launched at the finance ministers' meeting.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday that the global economic recovery was weakening, with government policies having failed to restore confidence.

It added that the risk of further deterioration in the economic outlook was "considerable" and had increased.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Baumgartner eyes skydive record

9 October 2012 Last updated at 08:07 ET By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News, Roswell

The Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner will attempt to become the first human to break the sound barrier unaided by a vehicle.

He is going to jump out of a balloon at more than 120,000ft (36.5km) above Roswell, New Mexico.

In the near vacuum at that altitude, he should accelerate beyond about 690mph (1,110km/h) within 40 seconds.

If all goes well, he will open a parachute near the ground to land softly in the desert, 10 minutes later.

The 43-year-old adventurer - famous for jumping off skyscrapers - is under no illusions about the dangers he faces.

Where he is going, the air pressure is less than 2% of what it is at sea level, and it is impossible to breathe without an oxygen supply.

Others who have tried to break the existing records for the highest, fastest and longest freefalls have lost their lives in the process.

"If something goes wrong, the only thing that might help you is God," says Baumgartner.

"Because if you run out of luck, if you run out of skills, there is nothing left and you have to really hope he is not going to let you down."

Lift-off from Roswell airport will occur no earlier than 0730 local time (1330 GMT; 1430BST).

Continue reading the main story

CLICKABLE

Suit made of layered material

Mirror to check parachute

High altitude balloon: expands with altitude

Balloon made of plastic film 0.002cm thick

Frame attaches capsule to balloon

Sliding door to exit capsule

The absolute mark for the highest skydive is held by retired US Air Force Col Joe Kittinger.

He leapt from a balloon at an altitude of 102,800ft (31.3km) in August 1960.

Now an octogenarian, Kittinger is part of Baumgartner's team and will be the only voice talking to him over the radio during the two-and-a-half hour ascent and the 10-minute descent.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Engineers have done everything possible to limit the risks. They have built the Austrian a special pressurised capsule to carry him under the helium balloon.

He will also be wearing a next-generation, full-pressure suit, an evolution of the orange protective clothing worn by shuttle astronauts on launch.

Although the jump has the appearance of another Baumgartner stunt, his team prefers to stress its high scientific relevance.

The researchers on the Red Bull Stratos project believe it will inform the development of new systems for emergency evacuation from high-performance, high-altitude vehicles. Nasa and its spacecraft manufacturers have asked to be kept informed.

There are a few examples of pilots being ejected in supersonic airflows when their planes broke apart in the sky, but there is no detailed data on what happens to the human body as it goes supersonic and then, as it slows, goes subsonic again.

Baumgartner will be instrumented to acquire this new data.

The concern is that he might be destabilised by shockwaves passing over his body, and that these might throw him into an uncontrolled spin.

"It's very important he gets into a delta position," said Baumgartner's trainer, Luke Aikins. "This is hands at his side and his head low, ripping through the sky. This will be crucial to breaking the speed of sound and remaining stable."

Engineers have incorporated an automatic device in his gear that would deploy a drogue stabilisation chute if he gets into trouble.

But the team's medical director, former shuttle flight surgeon Dr Jon Clark, hopes the stiffness of the pressure suit itself will suffice.

"We know that pressure suits limit mobility which we often consider as a bad thing, but in this scenario of going through the sound barrier, it actually adds a protection because it acts like an exoskeleton," he explained.

"We don't know what the human will endure accelerating through the sound barrier in coming back down without the aid of aircraft. And that is really the essence of the scientific goal of this mission."

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

What conditions will Austrian Felix Baumgartner face for his attempt to make the highest ever skydive from 120,000ft (36.5km)?

There is high confidence Baumgartner will succeed in his quest. He has already completed practice jumps from 71,600ft (21.8km) and 97,100ft (29.6km).

The second of these jumps he described as an extraordinary experience.

"It's almost overwhelming," he said. "When you're standing there in a pressure suit, the only thing that you hear is yourself breathing, and you can see the curvature of the Earth; you can see the sky's totally black. It's kind of an awkward view because you've never seen a black sky. And at that moment, you realise you've accomplished something really big."

A suite of high-definition cameras will follow the action. Some of these will be attached to Baumgartner himself.

But wary of broadcasting a tragedy to worldwide TV audiences, the organisers will be putting a 20-second delay on the live video feed.

Four GPS systems in the suit will gather the dive data required to satisfy the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) that records have indeed been broken.

"The data is recorded on an SD microcard in his chest pack," Brian Utley, who will file the official report to the FAI after the jump, told BBC News.

"I insert that card into the equipment. From that moment on, I have control over the equipment. I'm with it until Felix goes into the capsule, and when he lands I am the first person to approach him so I can take possession of that card again."

A BBC/National Geographic documentary is being made about the project and will probably be aired in November.

Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More