January 14, 2011, 10:49 am
![Image]( "PM assumes power amid Tunisia riots")
Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi has gone on state television to say he is assuming power in riot-torn Tunisia.
The announcement came after thousands of protesters mobbed the capital of Tunis to demand the removal of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
In response to the riots, the president declared a state of emergency in the North African nation, dissolved the government and promised new legislative elections within six months. Unconfirmed news reports, citing unidentified government sources in Tunisia, said Ben Ali had left the country.
Ben Ali had faced his toughest challenge yet in 23 years of repressive rule after weeks of anti-government riots across the North African nation. Thousands of foreign tourists were being evacuated after medical officials reported 13 people had died in clashes on Thursday after the president announced concessions.
Protesters filled the capital, fuelled by pent-up anger at high unemployment and at a leadership many see as controlling and corrupt. Marching through the city, they demanded Ben Ali's resignation and some even climbed onto the roof of the Interior Ministry.
In response, Ben Ali dissolved the government and also promised that early legislative elections would take place within six months, the official TAP news agency reported. He made no reference to any resignation of his own.
Under the state of emergency, a curfew barring the circulation of people or vehicles took effect immediately until 7am on Saturday, TAP said. Security forces and soldiers "can use their weapons against any suspicious person who doesn't respect the order to stop or tries to flee," it warned.
UK operator Thomas Cook said it was asking its roughly 3,800 British, Irish and German customers in Tunisia to leave the country, while some 200 Dutch tourists were repatriated on Thursday night via a chartered flight. US and European governments have issued a series of travel alerts warning citizens away from nonessential travel to Tunisia.
In Paris, an Air France spokeswoman confirmed that Tunisia's air space had been ordered closed, adding that the French airline had stopped all its flights there until further notice. Lutfhansa also cancelled its only flight to Tunis from Frankfurt.
The North African tourist haven is reeling from nearly a month of riots and a heavy-handed police response that has been condemned from abroad. At least 23 people have been killed according to the government, but opposition members put the death toll at three times that.
↧
↧
January 14, 2011, 10:49 am
![Image]( "BP unveils 'historic' Russian deal")
BP has announced an "historic" agreement with the Russian government in a £10 billion deal which will open up unexplored reserves in the Arctic.
The "groundbreaking" global alliance will see the UK oil giant own 9.5% of Russian government-owned Rosneft's shares, while Rosneft will take a 5% stake in BP.
Speaking at the signing ceremony in central London, BP chief executive Bob Dudley said: "I do believe this is a historic moment for BP, for our industry and I believe for Russia and the wider world of energy globally."
He continued: "We are building a relationship between BP and Rosneft that has been forged over 12 years but going far beyond anything that has gone before. We are creating an entirely new strategic alliance between what I know are two great companies.
"Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, told us in our meeting in Moscow it is an alliance based on mutual advantage and recognition of the great strengths that bring each of us together in our co-operation."
He confirmed the deal will see the Russians take an eight billion US dollar (£5 billion) stake in BP as part of a 16 billion US dollars (£10 billion) share exchange.
The move suggests BP now intends to focus more towards interests in the east, following a torrid year in North America. But Mr Dudley denied BP was "turning to the east" in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico disaster. The oil spill which followed the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig killed 11 workers and cost the company tens of billions of pounds.
Energy Secretary Chris Huhne said the Government welcomed the new partnership. He said: "It is a groundbreaking deal. It is good news for Europe, for the UK, energy security and worldwide."
He said after the events of last year, this showed that BP was "very much open for business".
Igor Sechin, Russia's deputy prime minister and chairman of Rosneft, said: "Global capital and Russian companies are clearly ready to invest in world class projects in Russia; and Russian companies are quickly emerging at the forefront of the global energy industry."
↧
January 14, 2011, 2:21 pm
![Image]( "Unity urged over military charities")
The former head of the Army, Sir Richard Dannatt, has called for military charities to work better together after an investigation revealed that 2,000 armed services fund-raising groups have a joint income of £800 million.
The investigation by British Forces News, part of the British Forces Broadcasting Services, found that the number of new charities set up to support the military has tripled each year since 2005.
Sir Richard said: "I think the issue that is perhaps most pertinent to the service charity community is whether in fact there is a case to be made for better co-ordination and co-operation between the charities, so that there isn't overlap and that people aren't duplicating what someone else is already doing."
He added: "The general public and particularly people who have not traditionally given to service charities have given a lot of money over the past three or four years.
"Will this wave of public support last forever? No it won't. What really does matter is that while the armed forces are attracting popular support then that's maximised and the money the public very generously gives is put to good cause."
The biggest forces charity is the Royal British Legion, with an income of £125 million. Director General Chris Simpkins said: "Our income through fundraising has gone up every year for the last three, four years. It continues to rise, frankly it continues to rise to an astonishing extent."
Chief executive of Veterans Aid, Dr Hugh Milroy, said: "Like anyone else I am surprised at the number, but I have watched it grow steadily over the last 18 months, obviously current operations are affecting that.
"Veterans are for life, not just for Christmas. So the real issue is about who's going to be here, can everyone sustain themselves for the long haul? Because the main charities like SSAFA, the Legion, Combat Stress, Blesma and ourselves are in it for the long haul. Veterans Aid has got to concentrate on making sure we're not just about a particular operation."
Help for Heroes has so far raised £82 million and spent or allocated £80 million of that. Founder Bryn Parry said he has a shopping list of another £40 million so is refusing to rest just yet. "I hope to get to £100 million by June at the latest and keep on going until the late summer and until we hit the extra £40 million mark, but we have some pretty big plans."
Denny Wise set up the Forces Children's Trust seven years ago when a friend's son was killed while on operations. Last month he won a military award for his support to the armed forces. He said: "I can understand that every mother who's lost a child in Afghanistan wants to do something but it can be overkill, I think that if they were to join up with someone like us and ask what they can do for a charity it would be better."
↧
January 14, 2011, 2:46 pm
![Image]( "Women 'believe they are underpaid'")
Many women believe they are being underpaid, sometimes by as much as 25%, and expect a bigger wage rise this year than men, according to new research.
A survey of more than 1,000 office workers showed that a third of women wanted a pay increase of up to 4% in 2011, slightly more than men's salary aspirations.
Almost one in three of the women questioned said they suspected colleagues at the same level were paid more, but most were unaware of industry rates for the job.
Men were more likely to know what they should be earning and were prepared to make sure their employer knew as well, said the report by a new salary comparative website, MySalaryChecker.com.
Andy Powell from recruitment firm Adecco, one of the firms behind the new site, said: "It's particularly disturbing that female workers have the perception that they are underpaid but are not confident in understanding what they may be worth in the jobs market.
"We would actively encourage both male and female workers to understand what the market rate is for their role, taking a realistic view of their skills and experience.
"Understanding what you are worth is one of the most important questions you can ask yourself when you are assessing a job offer, negotiating your salary, looking at qualifications or simply looking to make an impression in your role."
↧
January 14, 2011, 2:46 pm
![Image]( "Blair 'wobbled' after reading Bible")
Tony Blair had a "wobble" on the eve of ordering a bombing raid on Saddam Hussein after a late-night session reading the Bible, former communications chief Alastair Campbell has said in an extract from his diaries.
Mr Campbell - who insisted during Mr Blair's time in power that "we don't do God" - made clear that the former prime minister's religious beliefs played a part in his decision-making.
The insight into Mr Blair's thinking comes a week ahead of his second appearance before the Chilcot Inquiry into the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
According to Mr Campbell, the jitters came hours before an Anglo-American bombing mission against Iraq in 1998, in retaliation for Saddam's failure to co-operate with United Nations weapons inspectors.
"TB was clearly having a bit of a wobble," Mr Campbell wrote in an extract from the latest volume of his diaries, entitled Power and the People, serialised in The Guardian. "He said he had been reading the Bible last night, as he often did when the really big decisions were on, and he had read something about John the Baptist and Herod which had caused him to rethink, albeit not change his mind."
Mr Campbell also reveals that, ahead of the 1998 operation, Mr Blair gave Saudi Arabia an undertaking that Britain "would not threaten the territorial integrity of Iraq".
The diaries also contain details about the international action to remove Serb forces from Kosovo, revealing how senior figures in the US and UK feared the West was losing the propaganda war with Slobodan Milosevic, and how Mr Blair tried to get his predecessor Margaret Thatcher onside in the fight to win support for the military operation.
As the press questioned the handling of Kosovo, Mr Campbell records that "we agreed to try to get Thatcher and (her former foreign policy adviser) Charles Powell out saying the right hate the left fighting wars but they should be supporting what we are doing".
Mr Blair spoke to Lady Thatcher, who said she was "appalled" that ambassadors from Nato countries were discussing bombing targets.
When Mr Campbell went to Brussels to help Nato sharpen up its communications effort, he was alarmed to hear the alliance's supreme commander, US General Wesley Clark, say that the mission was "on the brink of a disaster".
↧
↧
January 14, 2011, 2:55 pm
![Image]( "Miliband targets centre ground vote")
Ed Miliband is to insist he does not intend to "gloat" over Labour's defeat of the Liberal Democrats in Thursday's Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election.
But Mr Miliband will say the result - which saw Labour extend its majority from 103 to more than 3,500 despite having its former MP thrown out for lying - showed that Nick Clegg's party had made a "tragic mistake" in joining the Conservatives in coalition, leaving the field clear for Labour to re-establish itself as the sole "standard-bearer of the progressive majority".
The Labour leader will call on his party to rebuild itself as the voice of voters in "the real centre ground" of politics, who feel squeezed economically and are frustrated at bankers "rewarding themselves for failure".
In an indication that he is not ruling out warmer relations with the third party in future, Mr Miliband will say that he hopes that in time Liberal Democrats will come to realise they blundered by agreeing to join a Tory-led Government.
Speaking to the left-leaning Fabian Society think-tank in London, Mr Miliband will insist that he wants Labour to stick to the political centre ground and represent voters from the mainstream of society.
"Labour over the next four years must become again the standard-bearer of the progressive majority," he will say. "We must rebuild ourselves as a broad movement of the British mainstream that politicians have talked about for decades but often not understood."
Spelling out where he sees the centre ground in the current period of austerity and cuts, Mr Miliband will say: "I want to become the voice and hope of those who feel squeezed by an economic system that promised to liberate them. I want us to articulate the frustration of people who are fed up with bankers taking vast public subsidies and then rewarding themselves for failure while the rest of the country struggles.
"I want us to be the party that answers the call for a fairer sharing of the nation's wealth, strong and responsive public services and a different kind of politics. This is the real centre ground of British politics and it is our duty to speak up for it."
And he will add: "Forgive me if I decline to join those of you who are gloating at the expense of the Liberal Democrats. Their decision to join a Conservative-led Government was a tragic mistake, and I hope they come to see that in time."
↧
January 14, 2011, 2:55 pm
![Image]( "Ex-bishops to enter Catholic faith")
The Archbishop of Westminster is to ordain three former Church of England bishops as Roman Catholic priests as a new Vatican scheme for disaffected Anglicans gets under way.
The Most Rev Vincent Nichols, who is leader of Catholics in England and Wales, will ordain Andrew Burnham, former bishop of Ebbsfleet, Keith Newton, ex-bishop of Richborough, and John Broadhurst, former bishop of Fulham, as Catholic priests.
The ceremony in Westminster Cathedral in London comes a fortnight after the three former Anglican clerics were received into the Catholic Church. They were ordained as Catholic deacons on Thursday at Allen Hall seminary in London.
The former bishops will be the first priests of the personal ordinariate of England and Wales, a scheme set up for groups of Anglicans who wish to join the Roman Catholic Church while retaining aspects of their Anglican heritage.
The ordinariate is expected to be joined by up to 50 Anglican clergy and two retired Church of England bishops.
Its formation comes after the Church of England voted last summer to press ahead with legislation to consecrate women bishops, a move opposed by Anglo-Catholic groupings within the Church.
The Most Rev Nichols has welcomed the former bishops into the Roman Catholic Church.
He has also paid tribute to the "sensitive" leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams.
↧
January 14, 2011, 2:55 pm
![Image]( "Ousted president in Saudi Arabia")
Tunisia's ousted president has arrived in Saudi Arabia, the kingdom's state news agency has reported.
The Saudi Press Agency cited a statement from the office of King Abdullah that said: "We have welcomed in the Saudi kingdom the arrival of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his family."
The statement said the decision to accept Mr Ben Ali was made in light of "the exceptional circumstances the Tunisian people are going through" and with a "wish for peace and security to the people of Tunis".
Earlier, prime minister Mohammed Ghannouchi appeared on state television to say he is assuming power in riot-torn Tunisia.
The announcement came after thousands of protesters mobbed the capital of Tunis to demand the removal of the president.
In response to the riots, the president declared a state of emergency in the North African nation, dissolved the government and promised new legislative elections within six months.
Ben Ali had faced his toughest challenge yet in 23 years of repressive rule after weeks of anti-government riots across the North African nation. Thousands of foreign tourists were being evacuated after medical officials reported 13 people had died in clashes on Thursday after the president announced concessions.
Protesters filled the capital, fuelled by pent-up anger at high unemployment and at a leadership many see as controlling and corrupt. Marching through the city, they demanded Ben Ali's resignation and some even climbed onto the roof of the Interior Ministry.
UK operator Thomas Cook said it was asking its roughly 3,800 British, Irish and German customers in Tunisia to leave the country, while some 200 Dutch tourists were repatriated on Thursday night via a chartered flight. US and European governments have issued a series of travel alerts warning citizens away from nonessential travel to Tunisia.
In Paris, an Air France spokeswoman confirmed that Tunisia's air space had been ordered closed, adding that the French airline had stopped all its flights there until further notice. Lutfhansa also cancelled its only flight to Tunis from Frankfurt.
↧
January 14, 2011, 2:55 pm
![Image]( "Plan to redraw boundaries 'chaotic'")
Proposals being rushed through Parliament to equalise the size of Westminster constituencies risk a "chaotic" redrawing of boundaries without regard to local loyalties and historic ties, a report has warned.
And the changes - which demand an electorate in almost all seats within 5% of 76,000 - will require regular, disruptive changes to the electoral map to keep up with population shifts, said the report by thinktank Democratic Audit.
Allowing more flexibility would prevent constituencies straddling county boundaries and stretches of sea, stop rural areas being grafted onto city seats and might even be more favourable to the Conservatives in electoral terms, said author Lewis Baston.
He warned that ministers will "repent in leisure" their decision to combine the equalisation measures with the referendum on AV voting in a single Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill.
Ministers are determined to get the Bill on to the statute book by February 16 - possibly requiring all-night sittings in the House of Lords - in order to be able to stage the AV referendum on the scheduled date of May 5.
But the report warned that this means sacrificing the detailed consideration needed to iron out flaws in the seat equalisation plans, which Mr Baston predicted would spark a "revolt" among MPs within a few years.
He called for the new constituencies to be within 10% - rather than 5% - of the national average number of voters. And he said boundary commissioners should be given more leeway to make exceptions for island seats, rural areas and constituencies - mostly in inner London - where the number of residents hugely outstrips the number of voters.
These amendments would make little difference to the party balance, but could marginally favour Tories, said the report. Democratic Audit calculated that, under Mr Baston's proposals, Conservatives would have led Labour by 292 seats to 238 in 2010, compared to 289-240 under the proposals in the Bill.
Under the proposed changes, the number of constituencies will be cut from 650 to 600, and each - with the exception of two island constituencies in Scotland and the geographically massive Highlands seat of Ross, Skye and Lochaber - will have between 72,200 and 79,800 voters.
The Government argues that this will end the unfair distribution which currently sees the MP for the Isle of Wight elected by 103,480 voters, while the member for Arfon in north Wales answers to just 42,998.
↧
↧
January 14, 2011, 10:06 pm
![Image]( "Undercover Pc case to be probed")
Independent officials will examine whether police tried to cover up the role of an undercover colleague who infiltrated a group of environmental activists.
Officials from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) will conduct their own inquiry into the controversy surrounding Pc Mark Kennedy.
The former Met officer monitored the actions of protesters across Europe under the guise of a long-haired, drop-out climber called Mark Stone.
The case against six demonstrators accused of conspiring to shut down Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station collapsed on Monday after prosecutors dropped the case. Their legal team claimed the decision was made after the undercover officer had a crisis of conscience and offered to give evidence on their behalf.
The dramatic development prompted a wider debate on controversial police tactics to monitor political and environmental groups operating on the fringe of legality.
Jobless Mr Kennedy, who is now in hiding, has called in PR guru Max Clifford as he prepares to sell his story.
The IPCC review comes after Chief Constable Julia Hodson said there will be an internal review into the secret operation.
Meanwhile, the Times reported that the trial collapsed when the CPS discovered Nottinghamshire Police withheld secret tapes of meetings.
A Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said: "The force has requested the investigation reviews all the elements of policing relating to this case, to establish whether they were carried out in an ethical and proportionate manner, within the expected code of practice. In the circumstances therefore until the IPCC's report has been received, it would not be appropriate to add to this statement at this stage."
Amerdeep Somal, of the IPCC, said the inquiry will focus on the alleged failure of Nottinghamshire Police to disclose relevant material to prosecutors.
↧
January 14, 2011, 10:34 pm
![Image]( "Traveller sites 'loophole' examined")
Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman has promised to stop travellers obtaining retrospective planning permission to allow them to remain permanently in camps which they have set up illegally.
Ms Spelman was speaking ahead of a conference in her Meriden constituency bringing together communities which are fighting against unauthorised sites.
Residents of the village of Meriden have been staging a round-the-clock demonstration for more than six months against an encampment on green belt land.
But a representative of travellers accused the protesters of racism, arguing that the land was owned by the gypsies who live there.
Legislation will be tabled in Parliament on Monday which Ms Spelman said would bring about "fairness between the settled and travelling communities" by making provision for more authorised sites, while closing a loophole which allows travellers to apply for and obtain retrospective planning permission after having set up camp.
Ms Spelman told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I don't think it is an issue of racism. There is an issue with planning law, there is a problem and the new Government wants to try to address the problem, which is not new.
"We need more authorised sites. In order to incentivise councils to provide more authorised sites, we need to recognise that in the planning system and in the grant that they receive.
"On Monday, the coalition Government will introduce a bill in Parliament which will strike the fairness between the settled and travelling community, closing the loophole on retrospective planning permission but also making provision for extra authorised sites."
But Jake Bowers, editor of Travellers' Times magazine questioned why travellers were excluded from the conference.
He told the programme: "Whilst there are some people in that village who are primarily concerned about the environment, the majority of people you speak to, when the mask slips, the real reason they are there is because there are gypsies in their village and they don't like it."
↧
January 14, 2011, 10:34 pm
![Image]( "Miliband 'would work with Lib Dems'")
Ed Miliband will use a speech to indicate that he is ready to work with Liberal Democrats both before and after the next general election.
Writing in The Guardian, the Labour leader held out an olive branch to Lib Dems who are uneasy about their party's coalition with Conservatives, saying he wants "to co-operate with them in Parliament and outside it" to fight against the direction in which the Government is taking Britain.
Speaking to the Fabian Society later, he will insist he does not intend to "gloat" over the "tragic mistake" made by the Liberal Democrats under Nick Clegg's leadership.
He will make clear he looks forward to warmer relations with the third party in future, saying that he hopes that Liberal Democrats will eventually come to realise they blundered by agreeing to join a Tory-led Government.
And he will accept that Labour needs to change and "rebuild ourselves as a broad movement of the British mainstream", after 13 yeas in power in which the party "lost our way".
"Forgive me if I decline to join those of you who are gloating at the expense of the Liberal Democrats," Mr Miliband will say.
"Their decision to join a Conservative-led Government was a tragic mistake, and I hope they come to see that in time."
In his Guardian article, Mr Miliband paid tribute to the influence on Labour of Liberal thinkers like William Beveridge and John Maynard Keynes.
And he said: "Many Lib Dems already see Labour as the main progressive hope in British politics. But there are others who have decided to stay and fight for the soul of their party.
"I respect their choice and understand how painful it must be to watch what is happening. We do not doubt that they hold sincere views and we want to co-operate with them in Parliament and outside it to fight against the direction in which this Conservative-led Government is taking our country."
↧
January 14, 2011, 10:41 pm
![Image]( "14,000 applications for 1,500 jobs")
Jaguar Land Rover received 14,000 applications for 1,500 new jobs at one of its car plants.
The car-maker described the response to its recruitment drive - with almost 10 people chasing each job - as "unprecedented" and "overwhelming".
The company is creating the 1,500 jobs at its Halewood plant in Merseyside to support the launch of its Range Rover Evoque model.
Mark Pennifold, the company's HR manager, said: "The launch of the Range Rover Evoque is a critical milestone for Jaguar Land Rover and Merseyside.
"Last year we announced the new addition to the range would create 1,500 jobs at the plant and I am pleased to say we have now come to the end of the recruitment process - a process which attracted 14,000 applications, 8,000 of which were received in the first week.
"This unprecedented response demonstrates how important an employer Jaguar Land Rover is to the region and we look forward to welcoming the new members of the team over the coming months."
Jaguar Land Rover is reporting positive pre-orders for the Evoque, the most anticipated new car of the coming year, which will sell from £30,000.
↧
↧
January 14, 2011, 10:41 pm
![Image]( "Tunisia president driven from power")
Tunisia's president has left power for good, the president of the country's Constitutional Court has said, declaring that the leader of the lower house of parliament would assume power until elections are held in two months.
It was the second time power has changed hands in the North African country in less than 24 hours.
Massive street protests over corruption and unemployment forced President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to flee the country on Friday night after 23 years of iron-fisted rule.
Saudi King Abdullah's palace confirmed that the ousted president and his family had landed in Saudi Arabia, saying the kingdom welcomed him with a wish for "peace and security to return to the people of Tunisia".
When Ben Ali left, prime minister Mohammed Ghannouchi stepped in briefly with a vague assumption of power that left open the possibility that Ben Ali could return.
But Constitutional Council president Fethi Abdennadher said that Ben Ali had permanently vacated his position and MP Fouad Mebazaa had up to 60 days to organise new elections.
Ben Ali's ousting was the key demand of a month of protests that have swept the Mediterranean nation known for its sandy beaches, desert landscapes and ancient ruins.
While the protests were mostly peaceful, after Ben Ali's departure rioters burned the main train station in the capital of Tunis and looted shops.
Soldiers intervened to try to stop looters from sacking a huge supermarket in the Ariana area, 20 miles north of the capital. Shops near the main bazaar were also looted.
↧
January 14, 2011, 10:41 pm
![Image]( "Wet and windy weekend predicted")
Britain is braced for a wet and windy weekend as forecasters warned of gusts of up to 60mph across swathes of the country.
Deluges are expected to batter northern England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales with localised flooding in some areas.
But weathermen said abnormally mild temperatures would continue over the next few days, rising to highs of around 14C in some areas.
Lindsay Dovey, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said the downpours and high winds would remain until early next week, before the country experiences a return to biting cold conditions.
"There's rain coming from the West tomorrow and that's going to spread slowly east, across most of the country," she said. "It's going to be very windy as well and there'll be gusts of around 60mph in north west Scotland. Elsewhere we are looking at gusts of about 40mph."
The rain will continue throughout the day and into Sunday, she said, with flooding in some areas and wind ripping branches from trees.
While this is likely to be worst in northern England, Scotland and northern Ireland, regions such as East Anglia and the Midlands are unlikely to escape unscathed. Winds of up to 45mph could also hit London.
Offering Britons some respite from the Arctic conditions of last month, average temperatures will stay between 9C and 12C across the country.
"It'll be very, very mild for January, reaching up to 14C in some places," Ms Dovey said. "Slowly temperatures will start dropping on Monday but it will still be mild."
The mercury is expected to fall again by Wednesday.
↧
January 14, 2011, 11:58 pm
![Image]( "Ex-bishops switch to Catholic faith")
Three former Anglican bishops have made history by becoming the first to be ordained as Catholic priests under a new scheme set up by the Vatican.
The most Rev Vincent Nichols, leader of Catholics in England and Wales, ordained Andrew Burnham, former bishop of Ebbsfleet, Keith Newton, ex-bishop of Richborough, and John Broadhurst, former bishop of Fulham, as Catholic priests at a service at Westminster Cathedral in London.
They are the first members of an Ordinariate specially set up by the Pope, for groups of Anglicans who wish to join the Roman Catholic Church while retaining aspects of their Anglican heritage.
The packed congregation included hundreds of priests from the Diocese of Westminster, along with Bishop Alan Hopes, Archbishop Bernard Longely, from Birmingham, and trainee priests.
Rev Nichols told them: "Many ordinations have take place in this cathedral during the 100 years of its history. But none quite like this.
"Today is a unique occasion marking a new step in the life and history of the Catholic Church.
"This morning the establishment of the first Personal Ordinariate under the provision of the Apostolic Constitution 'Anglicanorum Coetibus' has been announced in our hearing."
↧
January 15, 2011, 12:30 am
![Image]( "Tunisia unrest as president flees")
Unrest has engulfed Tunisia after a popular rebellion forced the president to flee.
Dozens of inmates were killed in a prison fire, looters emptied shops and torched the main train station and gunfire echoed through the capital.
Power changed hands for the second time in 24 hours in the North African country after President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled the country on Friday for Saudi Arabia.
The head of the Constitutional Court has declared that Ben Ali had left office for good, not temporally, negating the prime minister's move to assume power.
The speaker of the lower house of parliament, Fouad Mebazaa, temporarily took the highest office, and he has two months to organise new elections.
Anger over corruption and the lack of jobs ignited a month of protests, but Ben Ali's departure - a key demand of demonstrators - has not calmed the unrest. While the protests were mostly peaceful, after Ben Ali's departure rioters burned the main train station in Tunis and looted shops.
A fire in a prison in the Mediterranean coastal resort of Monastir killed 42 people, coroner Tarek Mghirbi said. The cause of the fire was not clear.
Sporadic gunfire was heard in the capital of Tunis. Smoke billowed over a giant supermarket outside the capital as looters torched and emptied it. The army fired warning shots to scare them away, to little avail.
Soldiers have intervened to try to stop looters from sacking the huge supermarket in the Ariana area, 20 miles north of the capital. Shops near the main bazaar were also looted.
↧
↧
January 15, 2011, 12:30 am
![Image]( "Boy held over petrol bomb released")
A 14-year-old boy arrested on suspicion of throwing a petrol bomb during a student protest has been released on police bail, Scotland Yard said.
The teenager was arrested on Friday, less than 24 hours after detectives released images of a hooded figure running across Parliament Square and throwing a flaming bottle across a crowd of protesters.
The video images were recorded by a member of the public during one of the most violent days of demonstrations on December 9 last year.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "A 14-year-old boy arrested on suspicion of violent disorder has been bailed until a date in late March."
Investigators have also obtained images of a second suspect attacking cars in a royal convoy in Regent Street on the same day.
He was also caught on camera kicking in the windows of a branch of Topshop in Oxford Circus and throwing a metal fence at police officers.
Earlier this week detectives released a further 10 still images of people suspected of violence and other offences on November 24.
Senior officers at the Met have formed a specialist unit, dubbed Operation Malone, to bring those who broke the law to justice.
They have arrested more than 200 suspects, the majority in their late teens and early 20s, since the first protest on November 10.
The latest arrest follows the imprisonment of Hampshire student Edward Woollard for throwing a fire extinguisher from the roof of the Millbank complex which houses Tory Party headquarters.
↧
January 15, 2011, 12:38 am
![Image]( "Miliband issues appeal to Lib Dems")
Ed Miliband has appealed to disaffected Liberal Democrats to work with Labour against the cuts agenda being implemented by the coalition Government.
The Labour leader said Nick Clegg's decision to take his party into coalition with the Conservatives was a "tragic mistake", and declared himself ready to co-operate with Liberal Democrats "in Parliament and outside it" to oppose the direction in which the Government is taking Britain.
But his overture was dismissed by Mr Clegg's deputy Simon Hughes - one of the most influential figures on the party's left - who said Liberal Democrat supporters should "resist the blandishments of the Labour leader".
In a speech to the Fabian Society a day after Labour's by-election victory in Oldham East and Saddleworth, Mr Miliband acknowledged that the party had made "serious mistakes" in Government.
It had lost voters' trust by being too slow to admit the necessity of cuts; failing to regulate the banks; and seeming "in thrall" to the markets and remote from ordinary people's values.
Labour had to change if it was to regain its mantle of "standard-bearer of the progressive majority", and should be ready to work with members of other parties who shared its values.
"The decision of the Liberal Democrats to join a Conservative-led government was a tragic mistake, and I hope they come to see that in time," said Mr Miliband.
"Forgive me if I decline to join those who are gloating at the expense of the Liberal Democrats. Because their mistake means they are part of a Government attempting to shift politics to the right."
Thousands of former Lib Dems have defected to Labour since the formation of the coalition, he said.
But he extended an olive branch to those who have opted to stay, saying: "There are many Liberal Democrats who have decided to stay and fight for the progressive soul of their party. Most of them do not want to see their progressive tradition sacrificed for personal ambition."
↧
January 15, 2011, 3:56 am
![Image]( "Man held over attack at hospital")
A man has been arrested after an attack at a hospital left two staff members and five patients injured.
The two female employees received minor injuries as they restrained the 22-year-old man who was being treated at Newham General Hospital in Plaistow, east London.
He is thought to have mental health problems.
One of the victims, a woman in her 60s, suffered serious head injuries in the attack in the early hours of Saturday morning but is now in a stable condition, the Metropolitan Police said.
It is thought the injured patients had been asleep when they were attacked on the general medical ward.
A Met spokesman said an "improvised weapon" was used to strike the victims.
The force was alerted to the incident at 00.40am. The three males and one other female patient who were assaulted are in a stable condition at the hospital.
The man was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence and remains in police custody.
A spokeswoman for Newham University Hospital NHS Trust confirmed that neither drugs nor alcohol were factors in the incident.
She said: "Newham University Hospital NHS Trust always places patients and their safety at the centre of our decision making. Senior management were on site to manage this incident and are working alongside the Metropolitan Police today to help them with their ongoing inquiries.
↧
Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi has gone on state television to say he is assuming power in riot-torn Tunisia.
The announcement came after thousands of protesters mobbed the capital of Tunis to demand the removal of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
In response to the riots, the president declared a state of emergency in the North African nation, dissolved the government and promised new legislative elections within six months. Unconfirmed news reports, citing unidentified government sources in Tunisia, said Ben Ali had left the country.
Ben Ali had faced his toughest challenge yet in 23 years of repressive rule after weeks of anti-government riots across the North African nation. Thousands of foreign tourists were being evacuated after medical officials reported 13 people had died in clashes on Thursday after the president announced concessions.
Protesters filled the capital, fuelled by pent-up anger at high unemployment and at a leadership many see as controlling and corrupt. Marching through the city, they demanded Ben Ali's resignation and some even climbed onto the roof of the Interior Ministry.
In response, Ben Ali dissolved the government and also promised that early legislative elections would take place within six months, the official TAP news agency reported. He made no reference to any resignation of his own.
Under the state of emergency, a curfew barring the circulation of people or vehicles took effect immediately until 7am on Saturday, TAP said. Security forces and soldiers "can use their weapons against any suspicious person who doesn't respect the order to stop or tries to flee," it warned.
UK operator Thomas Cook said it was asking its roughly 3,800 British, Irish and German customers in Tunisia to leave the country, while some 200 Dutch tourists were repatriated on Thursday night via a chartered flight. US and European governments have issued a series of travel alerts warning citizens away from nonessential travel to Tunisia.
In Paris, an Air France spokeswoman confirmed that Tunisia's air space had been ordered closed, adding that the French airline had stopped all its flights there until further notice. Lutfhansa also cancelled its only flight to Tunis from Frankfurt.
The North African tourist haven is reeling from nearly a month of riots and a heavy-handed police response that has been condemned from abroad. At least 23 people have been killed according to the government, but opposition members put the death toll at three times that.
BP has announced an "historic" agreement with the Russian government in a £10 billion deal which will open up unexplored reserves in the Arctic.
The "groundbreaking" global alliance will see the UK oil giant own 9.5% of Russian government-owned Rosneft's shares, while Rosneft will take a 5% stake in BP.
Speaking at the signing ceremony in central London, BP chief executive Bob Dudley said: "I do believe this is a historic moment for BP, for our industry and I believe for Russia and the wider world of energy globally."
He continued: "We are building a relationship between BP and Rosneft that has been forged over 12 years but going far beyond anything that has gone before. We are creating an entirely new strategic alliance between what I know are two great companies.
"Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, told us in our meeting in Moscow it is an alliance based on mutual advantage and recognition of the great strengths that bring each of us together in our co-operation."
He confirmed the deal will see the Russians take an eight billion US dollar (£5 billion) stake in BP as part of a 16 billion US dollars (£10 billion) share exchange.
The move suggests BP now intends to focus more towards interests in the east, following a torrid year in North America. But Mr Dudley denied BP was "turning to the east" in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico disaster. The oil spill which followed the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig killed 11 workers and cost the company tens of billions of pounds.
Energy Secretary Chris Huhne said the Government welcomed the new partnership. He said: "It is a groundbreaking deal. It is good news for Europe, for the UK, energy security and worldwide."
He said after the events of last year, this showed that BP was "very much open for business".
Igor Sechin, Russia's deputy prime minister and chairman of Rosneft, said: "Global capital and Russian companies are clearly ready to invest in world class projects in Russia; and Russian companies are quickly emerging at the forefront of the global energy industry."
The former head of the Army, Sir Richard Dannatt, has called for military charities to work better together after an investigation revealed that 2,000 armed services fund-raising groups have a joint income of £800 million.
The investigation by British Forces News, part of the British Forces Broadcasting Services, found that the number of new charities set up to support the military has tripled each year since 2005.
Sir Richard said: "I think the issue that is perhaps most pertinent to the service charity community is whether in fact there is a case to be made for better co-ordination and co-operation between the charities, so that there isn't overlap and that people aren't duplicating what someone else is already doing."
He added: "The general public and particularly people who have not traditionally given to service charities have given a lot of money over the past three or four years.
"Will this wave of public support last forever? No it won't. What really does matter is that while the armed forces are attracting popular support then that's maximised and the money the public very generously gives is put to good cause."
The biggest forces charity is the Royal British Legion, with an income of £125 million. Director General Chris Simpkins said: "Our income through fundraising has gone up every year for the last three, four years. It continues to rise, frankly it continues to rise to an astonishing extent."
Chief executive of Veterans Aid, Dr Hugh Milroy, said: "Like anyone else I am surprised at the number, but I have watched it grow steadily over the last 18 months, obviously current operations are affecting that.
"Veterans are for life, not just for Christmas. So the real issue is about who's going to be here, can everyone sustain themselves for the long haul? Because the main charities like SSAFA, the Legion, Combat Stress, Blesma and ourselves are in it for the long haul. Veterans Aid has got to concentrate on making sure we're not just about a particular operation."
Help for Heroes has so far raised £82 million and spent or allocated £80 million of that. Founder Bryn Parry said he has a shopping list of another £40 million so is refusing to rest just yet. "I hope to get to £100 million by June at the latest and keep on going until the late summer and until we hit the extra £40 million mark, but we have some pretty big plans."
Denny Wise set up the Forces Children's Trust seven years ago when a friend's son was killed while on operations. Last month he won a military award for his support to the armed forces. He said: "I can understand that every mother who's lost a child in Afghanistan wants to do something but it can be overkill, I think that if they were to join up with someone like us and ask what they can do for a charity it would be better."
Many women believe they are being underpaid, sometimes by as much as 25%, and expect a bigger wage rise this year than men, according to new research.
A survey of more than 1,000 office workers showed that a third of women wanted a pay increase of up to 4% in 2011, slightly more than men's salary aspirations.
Almost one in three of the women questioned said they suspected colleagues at the same level were paid more, but most were unaware of industry rates for the job.
Men were more likely to know what they should be earning and were prepared to make sure their employer knew as well, said the report by a new salary comparative website, MySalaryChecker.com.
Andy Powell from recruitment firm Adecco, one of the firms behind the new site, said: "It's particularly disturbing that female workers have the perception that they are underpaid but are not confident in understanding what they may be worth in the jobs market.
"We would actively encourage both male and female workers to understand what the market rate is for their role, taking a realistic view of their skills and experience.
"Understanding what you are worth is one of the most important questions you can ask yourself when you are assessing a job offer, negotiating your salary, looking at qualifications or simply looking to make an impression in your role."
Tony Blair had a "wobble" on the eve of ordering a bombing raid on Saddam Hussein after a late-night session reading the Bible, former communications chief Alastair Campbell has said in an extract from his diaries.
Mr Campbell - who insisted during Mr Blair's time in power that "we don't do God" - made clear that the former prime minister's religious beliefs played a part in his decision-making.
The insight into Mr Blair's thinking comes a week ahead of his second appearance before the Chilcot Inquiry into the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
According to Mr Campbell, the jitters came hours before an Anglo-American bombing mission against Iraq in 1998, in retaliation for Saddam's failure to co-operate with United Nations weapons inspectors.
"TB was clearly having a bit of a wobble," Mr Campbell wrote in an extract from the latest volume of his diaries, entitled Power and the People, serialised in The Guardian. "He said he had been reading the Bible last night, as he often did when the really big decisions were on, and he had read something about John the Baptist and Herod which had caused him to rethink, albeit not change his mind."
Mr Campbell also reveals that, ahead of the 1998 operation, Mr Blair gave Saudi Arabia an undertaking that Britain "would not threaten the territorial integrity of Iraq".
The diaries also contain details about the international action to remove Serb forces from Kosovo, revealing how senior figures in the US and UK feared the West was losing the propaganda war with Slobodan Milosevic, and how Mr Blair tried to get his predecessor Margaret Thatcher onside in the fight to win support for the military operation.
As the press questioned the handling of Kosovo, Mr Campbell records that "we agreed to try to get Thatcher and (her former foreign policy adviser) Charles Powell out saying the right hate the left fighting wars but they should be supporting what we are doing".
Mr Blair spoke to Lady Thatcher, who said she was "appalled" that ambassadors from Nato countries were discussing bombing targets.
When Mr Campbell went to Brussels to help Nato sharpen up its communications effort, he was alarmed to hear the alliance's supreme commander, US General Wesley Clark, say that the mission was "on the brink of a disaster".
Ed Miliband is to insist he does not intend to "gloat" over Labour's defeat of the Liberal Democrats in Thursday's Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election.
But Mr Miliband will say the result - which saw Labour extend its majority from 103 to more than 3,500 despite having its former MP thrown out for lying - showed that Nick Clegg's party had made a "tragic mistake" in joining the Conservatives in coalition, leaving the field clear for Labour to re-establish itself as the sole "standard-bearer of the progressive majority".
The Labour leader will call on his party to rebuild itself as the voice of voters in "the real centre ground" of politics, who feel squeezed economically and are frustrated at bankers "rewarding themselves for failure".
In an indication that he is not ruling out warmer relations with the third party in future, Mr Miliband will say that he hopes that in time Liberal Democrats will come to realise they blundered by agreeing to join a Tory-led Government.
Speaking to the left-leaning Fabian Society think-tank in London, Mr Miliband will insist that he wants Labour to stick to the political centre ground and represent voters from the mainstream of society.
"Labour over the next four years must become again the standard-bearer of the progressive majority," he will say. "We must rebuild ourselves as a broad movement of the British mainstream that politicians have talked about for decades but often not understood."
Spelling out where he sees the centre ground in the current period of austerity and cuts, Mr Miliband will say: "I want to become the voice and hope of those who feel squeezed by an economic system that promised to liberate them. I want us to articulate the frustration of people who are fed up with bankers taking vast public subsidies and then rewarding themselves for failure while the rest of the country struggles.
"I want us to be the party that answers the call for a fairer sharing of the nation's wealth, strong and responsive public services and a different kind of politics. This is the real centre ground of British politics and it is our duty to speak up for it."
And he will add: "Forgive me if I decline to join those of you who are gloating at the expense of the Liberal Democrats. Their decision to join a Conservative-led Government was a tragic mistake, and I hope they come to see that in time."
The Archbishop of Westminster is to ordain three former Church of England bishops as Roman Catholic priests as a new Vatican scheme for disaffected Anglicans gets under way.
The Most Rev Vincent Nichols, who is leader of Catholics in England and Wales, will ordain Andrew Burnham, former bishop of Ebbsfleet, Keith Newton, ex-bishop of Richborough, and John Broadhurst, former bishop of Fulham, as Catholic priests.
The ceremony in Westminster Cathedral in London comes a fortnight after the three former Anglican clerics were received into the Catholic Church. They were ordained as Catholic deacons on Thursday at Allen Hall seminary in London.
The former bishops will be the first priests of the personal ordinariate of England and Wales, a scheme set up for groups of Anglicans who wish to join the Roman Catholic Church while retaining aspects of their Anglican heritage.
The ordinariate is expected to be joined by up to 50 Anglican clergy and two retired Church of England bishops.
Its formation comes after the Church of England voted last summer to press ahead with legislation to consecrate women bishops, a move opposed by Anglo-Catholic groupings within the Church.
The Most Rev Nichols has welcomed the former bishops into the Roman Catholic Church.
He has also paid tribute to the "sensitive" leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams.
Tunisia's ousted president has arrived in Saudi Arabia, the kingdom's state news agency has reported.
The Saudi Press Agency cited a statement from the office of King Abdullah that said: "We have welcomed in the Saudi kingdom the arrival of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his family."
The statement said the decision to accept Mr Ben Ali was made in light of "the exceptional circumstances the Tunisian people are going through" and with a "wish for peace and security to the people of Tunis".
Earlier, prime minister Mohammed Ghannouchi appeared on state television to say he is assuming power in riot-torn Tunisia.
The announcement came after thousands of protesters mobbed the capital of Tunis to demand the removal of the president.
In response to the riots, the president declared a state of emergency in the North African nation, dissolved the government and promised new legislative elections within six months.
Ben Ali had faced his toughest challenge yet in 23 years of repressive rule after weeks of anti-government riots across the North African nation. Thousands of foreign tourists were being evacuated after medical officials reported 13 people had died in clashes on Thursday after the president announced concessions.
Protesters filled the capital, fuelled by pent-up anger at high unemployment and at a leadership many see as controlling and corrupt. Marching through the city, they demanded Ben Ali's resignation and some even climbed onto the roof of the Interior Ministry.
UK operator Thomas Cook said it was asking its roughly 3,800 British, Irish and German customers in Tunisia to leave the country, while some 200 Dutch tourists were repatriated on Thursday night via a chartered flight. US and European governments have issued a series of travel alerts warning citizens away from nonessential travel to Tunisia.
In Paris, an Air France spokeswoman confirmed that Tunisia's air space had been ordered closed, adding that the French airline had stopped all its flights there until further notice. Lutfhansa also cancelled its only flight to Tunis from Frankfurt.
Proposals being rushed through Parliament to equalise the size of Westminster constituencies risk a "chaotic" redrawing of boundaries without regard to local loyalties and historic ties, a report has warned.
And the changes - which demand an electorate in almost all seats within 5% of 76,000 - will require regular, disruptive changes to the electoral map to keep up with population shifts, said the report by thinktank Democratic Audit.
Allowing more flexibility would prevent constituencies straddling county boundaries and stretches of sea, stop rural areas being grafted onto city seats and might even be more favourable to the Conservatives in electoral terms, said author Lewis Baston.
He warned that ministers will "repent in leisure" their decision to combine the equalisation measures with the referendum on AV voting in a single Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill.
Ministers are determined to get the Bill on to the statute book by February 16 - possibly requiring all-night sittings in the House of Lords - in order to be able to stage the AV referendum on the scheduled date of May 5.
But the report warned that this means sacrificing the detailed consideration needed to iron out flaws in the seat equalisation plans, which Mr Baston predicted would spark a "revolt" among MPs within a few years.
He called for the new constituencies to be within 10% - rather than 5% - of the national average number of voters. And he said boundary commissioners should be given more leeway to make exceptions for island seats, rural areas and constituencies - mostly in inner London - where the number of residents hugely outstrips the number of voters.
These amendments would make little difference to the party balance, but could marginally favour Tories, said the report. Democratic Audit calculated that, under Mr Baston's proposals, Conservatives would have led Labour by 292 seats to 238 in 2010, compared to 289-240 under the proposals in the Bill.
Under the proposed changes, the number of constituencies will be cut from 650 to 600, and each - with the exception of two island constituencies in Scotland and the geographically massive Highlands seat of Ross, Skye and Lochaber - will have between 72,200 and 79,800 voters.
The Government argues that this will end the unfair distribution which currently sees the MP for the Isle of Wight elected by 103,480 voters, while the member for Arfon in north Wales answers to just 42,998.
Independent officials will examine whether police tried to cover up the role of an undercover colleague who infiltrated a group of environmental activists.
Officials from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) will conduct their own inquiry into the controversy surrounding Pc Mark Kennedy.
The former Met officer monitored the actions of protesters across Europe under the guise of a long-haired, drop-out climber called Mark Stone.
The case against six demonstrators accused of conspiring to shut down Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station collapsed on Monday after prosecutors dropped the case. Their legal team claimed the decision was made after the undercover officer had a crisis of conscience and offered to give evidence on their behalf.
The dramatic development prompted a wider debate on controversial police tactics to monitor political and environmental groups operating on the fringe of legality.
Jobless Mr Kennedy, who is now in hiding, has called in PR guru Max Clifford as he prepares to sell his story.
The IPCC review comes after Chief Constable Julia Hodson said there will be an internal review into the secret operation.
Meanwhile, the Times reported that the trial collapsed when the CPS discovered Nottinghamshire Police withheld secret tapes of meetings.
A Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said: "The force has requested the investigation reviews all the elements of policing relating to this case, to establish whether they were carried out in an ethical and proportionate manner, within the expected code of practice. In the circumstances therefore until the IPCC's report has been received, it would not be appropriate to add to this statement at this stage."
Amerdeep Somal, of the IPCC, said the inquiry will focus on the alleged failure of Nottinghamshire Police to disclose relevant material to prosecutors.
Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman has promised to stop travellers obtaining retrospective planning permission to allow them to remain permanently in camps which they have set up illegally.
Ms Spelman was speaking ahead of a conference in her Meriden constituency bringing together communities which are fighting against unauthorised sites.
Residents of the village of Meriden have been staging a round-the-clock demonstration for more than six months against an encampment on green belt land.
But a representative of travellers accused the protesters of racism, arguing that the land was owned by the gypsies who live there.
Legislation will be tabled in Parliament on Monday which Ms Spelman said would bring about "fairness between the settled and travelling communities" by making provision for more authorised sites, while closing a loophole which allows travellers to apply for and obtain retrospective planning permission after having set up camp.
Ms Spelman told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I don't think it is an issue of racism. There is an issue with planning law, there is a problem and the new Government wants to try to address the problem, which is not new.
"We need more authorised sites. In order to incentivise councils to provide more authorised sites, we need to recognise that in the planning system and in the grant that they receive.
"On Monday, the coalition Government will introduce a bill in Parliament which will strike the fairness between the settled and travelling community, closing the loophole on retrospective planning permission but also making provision for extra authorised sites."
But Jake Bowers, editor of Travellers' Times magazine questioned why travellers were excluded from the conference.
He told the programme: "Whilst there are some people in that village who are primarily concerned about the environment, the majority of people you speak to, when the mask slips, the real reason they are there is because there are gypsies in their village and they don't like it."
Ed Miliband will use a speech to indicate that he is ready to work with Liberal Democrats both before and after the next general election.
Writing in The Guardian, the Labour leader held out an olive branch to Lib Dems who are uneasy about their party's coalition with Conservatives, saying he wants "to co-operate with them in Parliament and outside it" to fight against the direction in which the Government is taking Britain.
Speaking to the Fabian Society later, he will insist he does not intend to "gloat" over the "tragic mistake" made by the Liberal Democrats under Nick Clegg's leadership.
He will make clear he looks forward to warmer relations with the third party in future, saying that he hopes that Liberal Democrats will eventually come to realise they blundered by agreeing to join a Tory-led Government.
And he will accept that Labour needs to change and "rebuild ourselves as a broad movement of the British mainstream", after 13 yeas in power in which the party "lost our way".
"Forgive me if I decline to join those of you who are gloating at the expense of the Liberal Democrats," Mr Miliband will say.
"Their decision to join a Conservative-led Government was a tragic mistake, and I hope they come to see that in time."
In his Guardian article, Mr Miliband paid tribute to the influence on Labour of Liberal thinkers like William Beveridge and John Maynard Keynes.
And he said: "Many Lib Dems already see Labour as the main progressive hope in British politics. But there are others who have decided to stay and fight for the soul of their party.
"I respect their choice and understand how painful it must be to watch what is happening. We do not doubt that they hold sincere views and we want to co-operate with them in Parliament and outside it to fight against the direction in which this Conservative-led Government is taking our country."
Jaguar Land Rover received 14,000 applications for 1,500 new jobs at one of its car plants.
The car-maker described the response to its recruitment drive - with almost 10 people chasing each job - as "unprecedented" and "overwhelming".
The company is creating the 1,500 jobs at its Halewood plant in Merseyside to support the launch of its Range Rover Evoque model.
Mark Pennifold, the company's HR manager, said: "The launch of the Range Rover Evoque is a critical milestone for Jaguar Land Rover and Merseyside.
"Last year we announced the new addition to the range would create 1,500 jobs at the plant and I am pleased to say we have now come to the end of the recruitment process - a process which attracted 14,000 applications, 8,000 of which were received in the first week.
"This unprecedented response demonstrates how important an employer Jaguar Land Rover is to the region and we look forward to welcoming the new members of the team over the coming months."
Jaguar Land Rover is reporting positive pre-orders for the Evoque, the most anticipated new car of the coming year, which will sell from £30,000.
Tunisia's president has left power for good, the president of the country's Constitutional Court has said, declaring that the leader of the lower house of parliament would assume power until elections are held in two months.
It was the second time power has changed hands in the North African country in less than 24 hours.
Massive street protests over corruption and unemployment forced President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to flee the country on Friday night after 23 years of iron-fisted rule.
Saudi King Abdullah's palace confirmed that the ousted president and his family had landed in Saudi Arabia, saying the kingdom welcomed him with a wish for "peace and security to return to the people of Tunisia".
When Ben Ali left, prime minister Mohammed Ghannouchi stepped in briefly with a vague assumption of power that left open the possibility that Ben Ali could return.
But Constitutional Council president Fethi Abdennadher said that Ben Ali had permanently vacated his position and MP Fouad Mebazaa had up to 60 days to organise new elections.
Ben Ali's ousting was the key demand of a month of protests that have swept the Mediterranean nation known for its sandy beaches, desert landscapes and ancient ruins.
While the protests were mostly peaceful, after Ben Ali's departure rioters burned the main train station in the capital of Tunis and looted shops.
Soldiers intervened to try to stop looters from sacking a huge supermarket in the Ariana area, 20 miles north of the capital. Shops near the main bazaar were also looted.
Britain is braced for a wet and windy weekend as forecasters warned of gusts of up to 60mph across swathes of the country.
Deluges are expected to batter northern England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales with localised flooding in some areas.
But weathermen said abnormally mild temperatures would continue over the next few days, rising to highs of around 14C in some areas.
Lindsay Dovey, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said the downpours and high winds would remain until early next week, before the country experiences a return to biting cold conditions.
"There's rain coming from the West tomorrow and that's going to spread slowly east, across most of the country," she said. "It's going to be very windy as well and there'll be gusts of around 60mph in north west Scotland. Elsewhere we are looking at gusts of about 40mph."
The rain will continue throughout the day and into Sunday, she said, with flooding in some areas and wind ripping branches from trees.
While this is likely to be worst in northern England, Scotland and northern Ireland, regions such as East Anglia and the Midlands are unlikely to escape unscathed. Winds of up to 45mph could also hit London.
Offering Britons some respite from the Arctic conditions of last month, average temperatures will stay between 9C and 12C across the country.
"It'll be very, very mild for January, reaching up to 14C in some places," Ms Dovey said. "Slowly temperatures will start dropping on Monday but it will still be mild."
The mercury is expected to fall again by Wednesday.
Three former Anglican bishops have made history by becoming the first to be ordained as Catholic priests under a new scheme set up by the Vatican.
The most Rev Vincent Nichols, leader of Catholics in England and Wales, ordained Andrew Burnham, former bishop of Ebbsfleet, Keith Newton, ex-bishop of Richborough, and John Broadhurst, former bishop of Fulham, as Catholic priests at a service at Westminster Cathedral in London.
They are the first members of an Ordinariate specially set up by the Pope, for groups of Anglicans who wish to join the Roman Catholic Church while retaining aspects of their Anglican heritage.
The packed congregation included hundreds of priests from the Diocese of Westminster, along with Bishop Alan Hopes, Archbishop Bernard Longely, from Birmingham, and trainee priests.
Rev Nichols told them: "Many ordinations have take place in this cathedral during the 100 years of its history. But none quite like this.
"Today is a unique occasion marking a new step in the life and history of the Catholic Church.
"This morning the establishment of the first Personal Ordinariate under the provision of the Apostolic Constitution 'Anglicanorum Coetibus' has been announced in our hearing."
A 14-year-old boy arrested on suspicion of throwing a petrol bomb during a student protest has been released on police bail, Scotland Yard said.
The teenager was arrested on Friday, less than 24 hours after detectives released images of a hooded figure running across Parliament Square and throwing a flaming bottle across a crowd of protesters.
The video images were recorded by a member of the public during one of the most violent days of demonstrations on December 9 last year.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "A 14-year-old boy arrested on suspicion of violent disorder has been bailed until a date in late March."
Investigators have also obtained images of a second suspect attacking cars in a royal convoy in Regent Street on the same day.
He was also caught on camera kicking in the windows of a branch of Topshop in Oxford Circus and throwing a metal fence at police officers.
Earlier this week detectives released a further 10 still images of people suspected of violence and other offences on November 24.
Senior officers at the Met have formed a specialist unit, dubbed Operation Malone, to bring those who broke the law to justice.
They have arrested more than 200 suspects, the majority in their late teens and early 20s, since the first protest on November 10.
The latest arrest follows the imprisonment of Hampshire student Edward Woollard for throwing a fire extinguisher from the roof of the Millbank complex which houses Tory Party headquarters.
Ed Miliband has appealed to disaffected Liberal Democrats to work with Labour against the cuts agenda being implemented by the coalition Government.
The Labour leader said Nick Clegg's decision to take his party into coalition with the Conservatives was a "tragic mistake", and declared himself ready to co-operate with Liberal Democrats "in Parliament and outside it" to oppose the direction in which the Government is taking Britain.
But his overture was dismissed by Mr Clegg's deputy Simon Hughes - one of the most influential figures on the party's left - who said Liberal Democrat supporters should "resist the blandishments of the Labour leader".
In a speech to the Fabian Society a day after Labour's by-election victory in Oldham East and Saddleworth, Mr Miliband acknowledged that the party had made "serious mistakes" in Government.
It had lost voters' trust by being too slow to admit the necessity of cuts; failing to regulate the banks; and seeming "in thrall" to the markets and remote from ordinary people's values.
Labour had to change if it was to regain its mantle of "standard-bearer of the progressive majority", and should be ready to work with members of other parties who shared its values.
"The decision of the Liberal Democrats to join a Conservative-led government was a tragic mistake, and I hope they come to see that in time," said Mr Miliband.
"Forgive me if I decline to join those who are gloating at the expense of the Liberal Democrats. Because their mistake means they are part of a Government attempting to shift politics to the right."
Thousands of former Lib Dems have defected to Labour since the formation of the coalition, he said.
But he extended an olive branch to those who have opted to stay, saying: "There are many Liberal Democrats who have decided to stay and fight for the progressive soul of their party. Most of them do not want to see their progressive tradition sacrificed for personal ambition."
A man has been arrested after an attack at a hospital left two staff members and five patients injured.
The two female employees received minor injuries as they restrained the 22-year-old man who was being treated at Newham General Hospital in Plaistow, east London.
He is thought to have mental health problems.
One of the victims, a woman in her 60s, suffered serious head injuries in the attack in the early hours of Saturday morning but is now in a stable condition, the Metropolitan Police said.
It is thought the injured patients had been asleep when they were attacked on the general medical ward.
A Met spokesman said an "improvised weapon" was used to strike the victims.
The force was alerted to the incident at 00.40am. The three males and one other female patient who were assaulted are in a stable condition at the hospital.
The man was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence and remains in police custody.
A spokeswoman for Newham University Hospital NHS Trust confirmed that neither drugs nor alcohol were factors in the incident.
She said: "Newham University Hospital NHS Trust always places patients and their safety at the centre of our decision making. Senior management were on site to manage this incident and are working alongside the Metropolitan Police today to help them with their ongoing inquiries.
