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[JohnCenaFan28]

Justice Secretary Jack Straw has appeared to indicate ministers had been "surprised" by the nature of the raids on Tory frontbencher Damian Green's homes and offices.

He said: "Everybody who has been made aware of these unfolding events of course is surprised by the nature of the raid, and I certainly understand the concern of my parliamentary colleagues."

Mr Straw, a former Home Secretary and former leader of the House of Commons, indicated that any future review into the raid on Mr Green's parliamentary office was a matter for the House of Commons, but added: "I am pretty certain...that it will be because of the extent of the concern."

Commons Speaker Michael Martin is under mounting pressure from MPs to explain why police were allowed to raid the Parliamentary office of Mr Green.

Amid speculation that anger could erupt into protest, the Speaker's office announced Mr Martin would make a statement on Wednesday when the House returned for the State Opening of the new session.

Politicians from all sides have condemned the police action - former Labour minister Denis MacShane dubbed it "a mammoth breach in the core democratic doctrine of parliamentary privilege".

A civil servant arrested over the alleged Home Office leaks passed information Mr Green in the belief it would be used "in a responsible manner in the public interest", his lawyer said.

Christopher Galley's solicitor Neil O'May was speaking at a press conference in London following Mr Green's arrest last week.

Mr O'May said his client was unable to speak as he is still under active police investigation and due to return to police in January.

But he added: "If ever there was a case of 'don't shoot the messenger', this is surely it."

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Muslim peer Lord Ahmed has admitted sending and receiving text messages while driving on a motorway just before he was involved in a crash in which a man died.

The 51-year-old appeared at Sheffield Magistrates' Court where he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving on the M1 near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, on Christmas Day last year.

Slovakian Martyn Gombar, 28, who was living at the time in Leigh, Lancashire, died when Lord Ahmed's Jaguar was in collision with an Audi car, which had stopped in the fast lane of the motorway.

The peer suffered injuries to his face and shock in the incident on December 25.

Lord Ahmed admitted a charge of dangerous driving on the southbound carriageway of the M1, between junctions 40 and 35.

The court heard how he sent and received a series of five text messages while driving in the dark at speeds of, and above, 60mph along a 17-mile stretch of the motorway.

He was handed an interim driving ban until his sentencing on December 22.

Speaking outside the court, Lord Ahmed's solicitor Steve Smith said his client was not to blame for Mr Gombar's death.

"It clearly shows now that he was not responsible for the death of that unfortunate man," Mr Smith said.

"Whilst it is not his responsibility, it is not his fault, he still bears the death of this man at the forefront of his mind."

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Mortgage lending collapsed during October, diving by nearly 70% to reach the second lowest figure on record, the Bank of England said.

Just £459 million was advanced during the month, well down on September's £1.49 billion and only 6% of the level for October 2007.

The steep fall was driven by the ongoing shortage of capital that banks have to lend.

It may also reflect a renewed tightening in their lending criteria in the wake of the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September, which triggered a new round of volatility in the financial markets.

The figure was the second lowest recorded by the Bank since it began collecting data in this format in 1993.

The low was reached in August this year when net lending slumped to just £176 million as potential buyers delayed purchases while they waited for the Government to announce its intentions on stamp duty.

Total mortgage advances were also subdued during October, with £16.99 billion advanced, just over half the sum lent in October 2007, and the lowest figure recorded since June 2002.

But, on a brighter note, the number of mortgages approved for house purchase has remained stable for the past four months.

Around 32,000 new loans were approved for people buying a property, only slightly down on September's figure of 33,000, suggesting the market may have bottomed out at a very low level.

Net lending by building societies reached £413 million during October, a slight improvement on September's £314 million, but 45% below the figure for October last year.

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Mark Leckey has been named as the winner of this year's £25,000 Turner Prize for an exhibition that included cartoon characters such as Homer Simpson.

Felix the Cat, Garfield, and the Titanic movie also appeared in a film by Leckey, where the artist was seen lecturing on his love of animation.

The 44-year-old, who emerged as the bookies' favourite, was born in Birkenhead and graduated from Newcastle Polytechnic, later moving to London.

He was named as the winner at a ceremony at London's Tate Britain hosted by Nick Cave.

The Turner Prize is awarded for a body of work - not just that showing in the exhibition.

Leckey was shortlisted for his solo exhibitions Industrial Light & Magic at Le Consortium, Dijon, and Resident at Kolnischer Kunstverein, Cologne, combining sculpture, film, sound and performance.

The jury commended the intelligent, energetic and seductive nature of his work.

They said in a statement: "With wit and originality, Leckey has found a variety of forms to communicate his fascination with visual culture."

Leckey was appointed Professor of Film Studies at Stadelschule, Frankfurt am Main and became a founding member of "musical collectives" Donateller and Jack too Jack.

Speaking about his work before the announcement, the artist, who is fascinated by how flat images can become 3D, said: "I want to transform my world and make it more so. Make it more of what it is."

-Nova

[JohnCenaFan28]

Workers at a rubber factory hit by an explosion had a lucky escape as they were at a meeting in another part of the building.

One person suffered minor injuries in the blast which tore off huge metal panels and shattered the windows of nearby offices.

But there could have been many more casualties if staff had been at the factory end of the building when the explosion took place.

Emergency crews were called to the Slough Industrial Estate in Berkshire, made famous as the set of the Ricky Gervais TV comedy series The Office.

The "significant blast" at the Duco International Ltd building was heard miles away, including at the local fire station.

Workers at the building managed to escape while six fire crews raced to the scene to deal with the resulting blaze.

Nearby roads were closed off and staff from neighbouring offices were evacuated.

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said one person suffered minor injuries, believed to have been caused by flying glass or debris.

A joint investigation into the cause of the blast is being carried by the fire service and police but there not thought to be any suspicious circumstances.

The Health and Safety Executive will also be investigating.

-Nova

[John]

An immigration tribunal is due to rule on the fate of radical preacher Abu Qatada.
The firebrand cleric is accused of breaching his bail conditions by plotting to flee the country.

A three-member panel at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) could return him to prison or send him back home on a 22-hour a day curfew.

Qatada, who was once described by a judge as "Osama Bin Laden's right hand man in Europe", was arrested last month and appeared before a two-day hearing at the SIAC court in central London.

In a written statement delivered to the commission, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said British security services fear Qatada wants to use his network of terror contacts to "disappear".

She said: "Should Abu Qatada abscond, his supporters would base a significant propaganda campaign on this, further boosting Abu Qatada's already substantial extremist profile and influence which would damage UK national security," she said.

The Jordanian national is on bail pending the conclusion of lengthy attempts by the British Government to extradite him back to the Middle East.

The Court of Appeal blocked Qatada's deportation in May after ruling his conviction for terrorist acts in Jordan was based on evidence extracted through torture.

Ministers had hoped a "no torture" guarantee from the Jordanian Government would suffice. They are now appealing to the House of Lords.

Under his current bail conditions, Qatada must remain in his West London home and is barred from using the internet and telephone or meeting with named terrorists, including Osama bin Laden.

-Yahoo.

[John]

A Moroccan subsidiary of the fast food restaurant chain McDonald's apologised for cutting Western Sahara off a map of the country included on its "Happy Meal" children's toys, MAP agency reported Monday. Skip related content
"The toys included a small map on which the borders were incorrectly drawn. We profoundly regret making this mistake and we apologise to our loyal customers and our fellow citizens," said McDonald's Morocco in a statement.

MAP said bosses from the local food chain, who apologised after a joint Moroccan-Sahara association complained to the company about the error, plan to replace the offending toys that come free with a children's "Happy Meal."

Western Sahara was annexed by Morocco in 1975 following the withdrawal of former colonial power Spain, sparking a war with separatists from the Polisario Front before both sides agreed to a UN-brokered ceasefire in 1991.

Rabat has offered a form of autonomy for the territory under Moroccan sovereignty, while the Polisario Front want a referendum on self-determination.

-Yahoo.

[John]

The ruling party in Thailand has been ordered to disband after it was found guilty of electoral fraud.
Leaders of the People Power Party (PPP), including Prime Minister Somechai Wongsawat, were also barred from politics for five years.

Former minister Jakrapob Penkair said: "The verdict comes as no surprise to all of us. But our members are determined to move on and we will form a government again out of the majority that we believe we still have."

The outcome of the case has raised the risk of clashes between PPP supporters and anti-government protesters, who have been demonstrating at Bangkok's two airports for a week, leaving thousands of British tourists stranded.

A grenade was fired from a flyover near the domestic airport hours before the court hearing, killing one anti-government protester and wounding 22 people.

Hundreds of government supporters gathered inside the court compound and riot police were guarding the courtroom where the judges were reading verdicts from the case, which stemmed from the 2007 general elections.

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) demonstrators at the airports have been seeking to topple Somchai, whom they accuse of being a Thaksin pawn.

Thaksin, Somchai's brother-in-law, was ousted in a 2006 coup and is now in exile.

-Yahoo.

[John]

India was warned by the US in October that the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel was a hot target for a potential terrorist strike, according to reports.
America's ABC News claims a US intelligence official revealed that Indian security agencies were told nearly two months ago that militants might come from the sea to attack hotels and businesses.

It adds that a second source confirmed that specific locations - including the Taj - were given in the warning.

India's Intelligence sources told the national NDTV news channel they had issued a series of warnings of a possible attack on Mumbai by sea in the months leading up to last week's devastating onslaught.

However, many Indians have expressed anger at apparent intelligence lapses, including what a senior coast guard official said was a warning militants would attack Mumbai from the sea days before it happened, and a slow reaction by security forces to the rampage.

Ratan Tata, the head of the Taj Group of hotels which owns the Taj Mahal hotel, earlier told CNN that they had received a warning that an attack might take place.

He said: "We did have some measures too, you know, where people couldn't park their cars in the portico where you had to go through a metal detector.

"But if I look at what we had, which all of us complained about, it could not have stopped what took place.

"They didn't come through that entrance. They came from somewhere in the back."

Indian officials have said they believe that Pakistan-based Islamic militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba is responsible for the attack.

They claim all the gunmen involved in the 60-hour assault were Pakistanis and that "elements" in Pakistan were to blame for the attacks.

However, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has urged India to provide evidence that Pakistanis were involved in the attacks - and promised to cooperated if proof was given.

"They have given us some of the organisations ... but that is not evidence. If they will give us evidence we are commmitted that we will extend full cooperation," Mr Gilani said in an interview with CNN.

-Sky News.

[John]

Barack Obama has named former rival Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State.
The President said Robert Gates would stay on as Defence Secretary as part of a national security team charged with recasting America's leadership of world affairs.

Mrs Clinton and Mr Gates, who have been at odds with Mr Obama in the past over foreign policy and defence issues, will implement his vision of rebuilding the US image abroad and oversee two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr Obama said: "I assembled this team because I am a strong believer in strong personalities and strong opinions. I think that's how the best decisions are made."

In a swipe at George W Bush's unilateral approach to foreign policy, Senator Clinton said: "While we are determined to defend our freedoms and liberties at all costs, we also reach out to the world again, seeking common cause and higher ground."

Mr Obama also named retired Marine General James Jones as national security adviser and Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as head of homeland security.

Former Justice Department official Eric Holder will be the new attorney general and Susan Rice, an Obama foreign policy adviser, the US ambassador to the UN.

Mr Gates has been praised by Democrats and Republicans since taking over the Pentagon from Donald Rumsfeld in 2006 and will provide continuity while the US fights wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr Obama wants to withdraw US troops from Iraq within 16 months of taking office, but Mr Gates has argued against setting timetables and a quick pullout, saying it could jeopardise security gains made over the past year.

Mrs Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, has agreed to make public the names of more than 200,000 donors to his foundation as part of a deal to clear the way for his wife to become secretary of state.

He decided to publish his contributor lists to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest with his wife's duties as secretary of state.

-Yahoo.