Sydney (Fairfax Media) - The Sydney Roosters are set to launch an audacious bid to recruit Sonny Bill Williams.
The All Blacks and Crusaders second-five is in the final year of his contract with the NZRU - and alongside Dan Carter and Richie McCaw is the most in-demand New Zealander for after the World Cup.
Lunes, Mayo 9, 2011
Roosters in the hunt for Sonny Bill
Banks ditch PPI appeal
? Barclays sets aside �1bn to cover compensation
? British Bankers Association drops case
? Payment protection insurance wrongly sold to millions
One of the UK banking industry's most serious mis-selling scandals in decades is drawing to a close, after the banks abandoned their legal challenge against compensating customers who were mis-sold payment protection insurance.
Barclays became the first of the major UK banks to apologise for its role in the �9bn debacle as the British Bankers Association announced on Monday morning that it is dropping its appeal against tougher controls on how PPI is sold. With the legal battle over, UK banks will now begin in earnest the task of identifying victims and making redress.
The move comes just four days after Lloyds Banking Group stunned the City by putting �3.2bn aside to cover compensation claims relating to PPI, which was wrongly sold to millions of customers since the late 1990s. This was roughly double the previous estimate.
Barclays, which had a smaller share of the PPI market than Lloyds, is taking a �1bn provision to cover its PPI bill. Chief executive Bob Diamond said Barclays had decided to withdraw from the BBA appeal ? as Lloyds did last week ? to provide "certainty" for both customers and shareholders.
"We don't always get things right for our customers; when we get them wrong, we apologise and put them right. That's our commitment to our customers, and it applies to the way in which we will deal with PPI complaints," said Diamond.
Royal Bank of Scotland has welcomed the BBA's move.
"We will update our customers and shareholders as soon as possible on the steps we agree with the FSA, the likely timeframe, and the anticipated costs of redress," said RBS. "This is an important step for all UK banks in our efforts to restore the confidence and trust of consumers."
Analysts believe RBS will need to set aside around �1bn to cover its own PPI claims. Stephen Hester, chief executive of the company, admitted last week that the bank would need to make a provision in the second quarter of 2011 ? the size of which was still being calculated ? and indicated that the bank's share of PPI sales was around a third of Lloyds, the market leader.
PPI was meant to help policyholders keep up with their mortgage, credit card or loan repayments if they lost their job or became ill, and was sold alongside these financial products. Many customers, though, bought PPI even though they would not be able to claim, or were even sold it without their knowledge.
The Financial Services Authority has now imposed much tighter controls on how PPI is sold. Borrowers must now be informed that the insurance is an optional extra, and cannot be approached until at least seven days after they have signed up for their loan or credit card.
The banks, through the BBA, had attempted to prevent these rules being applied retrospectively, saying this was a point of principle, but suffered defeat in the high court last month. They had been given until Tuesday to decide whether to seek leave to appeal.
In a statement, the BBA said: "In the interest of providing certainty for their customers, the banks and the BBA have decided that they do not intend to appeal.
"We continue to believe that there are matters of important principle which we will be taking forward in other ways with the authorities."
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/may/09/barclays-apologises-banks-ditch-ppi-appeal
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Linggo, Mayo 8, 2011
Northampton 31-24 Leeds | Premiership match report
Northampton 31-24 Leeds
Relegation is a horrible thing for a professional rugby team, not least because of the way it rips apart clubs already in the financial mire. Leeds battled gallantly to the end but, unless the Cornish Pirates do them an unlikely favour, this could be the last Premiership game involving a Yorkshire side for the foreseeable future. Even as Neil Back and his squad gathered for one last post-match huddle there was a strong end-of-an-era feeling.
The pain may be about to intensify. It will be a surprise, in particular, if the England flanker Hendre Fourie and Back himself are still at Leeds next season. Despite the parachute payment to which the club are entitled, the board may yet opt to slash their playing budget before the Championship final between Worcester and the Pirates is settled on 18 May. If Pirates win, then Leeds escape because Pirates do not meet ground criteria for the Premiership.
Back was studiously non-commital when asked about his future but does not expect to beat the drop. "My money, if I was a betting man, would definitely be on Worcester. I think they've got too much quality to let the scare they had against Bedford happen again. Over two games I can only see one winner."
Fourie, outstanding yet again in a losing cause, also stressed his future was up to the board. "It's in the club's hands. We'll have to wait and see what their decision is, then I'll make my decision." He is likely to be on holiday in his native South Africa when Leeds's fate is finally decided, hoping for a miracle: "I'll definitely keep an eye on the internet just in case. Nobody gave us a chance against Northampton and we almost pulled it off. Come on Pirates!"
The impressive Fourie, though, is not alone in believing the current system needs re-examining. Six of the last seven promoted sides (the exception was Leeds in 2008) have now stayed up the following year. But the landscape is fast changing. Those who believe automatic relegation is essential forget that hardly any Championship clubs, under the present criteria, have a hope of promotion.
Neither Bristol nor Leeds, furthermore, have the kind of financial backing which allowed Worcester to retain their better players. Should Newcastle finish bottom next season, there must already be a good chance they will stay up. "In France most of the teams in Pro 2 can get promoted," observed Fourie, advocating a Super League-style licensing system which would give Premiership and Championship sides alike three years of certainty. "In those three years Premiership clubs would become stronger across the board. You wouldn't just have the top six and the bottom six."
Northampton, admittedly, have been where Leeds are now and emerged the stronger for it. The difference is they could afford to invest in a stronger squad which remains in contention for a domestic and European double. They cannot perform like this, though, if they intend to beat Leicester and Leinster in their next two all-important games. At 24-3 down to desperate opponents who had scored three well-taken first-quarter tries, they were even in danger of missing the play?offs entirely.
Order was belatedly restored, thanks partly to the efforts of the referee, Andrew Small, but Dylan Hartley scolded his team afterwards for not giving the four departing Saints ? Bruce Reihana, Joe Ansbro, Shane Geraghty and Mark Easter ? a better send?off. A sick Phil Dowson had to be hauled off at half-time and Ben Foden suffered an ankle knock but both should be fit for Welford Road, with Tom Wood also due to have a scan this week to determine if he can participate in the run-in.
Hartley, in particular, is in splendid form and Jim Mallinder, his director of rugby, sees no reason why the Saints cannot go to Leicester and win. "They're a quality side and they're very strong at home but on our day we're not a bad side. We've played well in big games this year and there's no reason why we can't do that again."
How Back would love to be in Mallinder's position. Instead he can only reflect on what might have been had the replacement Uche Oduoza squeezed over in the left corner in the final seconds to secure a four-try bonus point.
"Over the course of 22 games we haven't been good enough ... that's the reality," said the former England flanker, deprived of his international hooker Steve Thompson because of injury. "It's tough to take, particularly as they had a million pounds worth of players available on the bench." Leeds have had a poor season but it is not in the interests of English rugby union for the club to disintegrate.
Northampton Foden; Ashton, Ansbro, Downey, Diggin (Reihana, 57); Geraghty (Myler, 51), Commins (Dickson h-t); Waller (Tonga'uiha, 61), Sharman (Hartley, 45), Mujati (Mercey, 66), Sorenson (Lawes, 59), Day, Easter, Dowson (capt; Clark, h-t), Wilson.
Tries Dowson, penalty try, Ashton. Cons Geraghty 2. Pens Geraghty, Myler 3.
Sin-bin Diggin 27.
Leeds Carnegie Stephenson; Blackett, Fa'afili, Barrow, Wackett (Oduoza, 58); Jarvis (Lewis-Pratt, 71), Mathie (White, 77); MacDonald (Hardy, 58), Nilsen (Hannon, 72), Gomez (Denman, 76), Browne, Myall (capt), Oakley (Denton, 67), Fourie, To'oala (Paul, 51).
Tries Fourie, Oakley, Wackett. Cons Jarvis 3. Pen Jarvis.
Sin-bin Blackett 27, Gomez 37.
Referee A Small (RFU). Attendance 13,239.
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/may/09/northampton-leeds-premiership
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Company boss in fraud probe dies at Beachy Head
The boss of a county motorcycle company at the centre of a police fraud investigation has died.
Roger Constable was found off the Beachy Head cliffs in East Sussex.
His body was recovered by the Coastguard on a ledge 300ft down the cliffs after walkers who had seen him near the edge raised the alarm.
A spokesman for Sussex police said yesterday: "I can confirm that the body of Roger Constable, 56, was recovered from Beachy Head.
"An inquest was opened in Eastbourne and adjourned."
He said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Mr Constable's death, which happened on April 19.
The alarm was raised by walkers who saw Mr Constable suddenly disappear at the cliff edge near the Beachy Head Lighthouse shortly after 5pm.
A Coastguard was winched down the cliff face, but nothing could be done to save him.
Mr Constable was the proprietor of Market Harborough company Midlands Superbikes, which ceased trading in October last year with debts of more than �500,000.
Leicestershire police were investigating allegations of fraud and theft relating to 62 bikes after owners complained they had not received money for the machines, which the company had sold on for them.
The company went into liquidation owing one business creditor �100,000. It also owed the Government nearly �55,000 in unpaid income tax and VAT.
Among those owed money by the company are Leicestershire individuals and companies who are more than �40,000 out of pocket.
One of the creditors is Lin Gresley, of Burton on the Wolds, near Loughborough, who says her partner is owed nearly �5,000.
They gave the company a motorbike to sell for them and say they have not received any money.
Ms Gresley said: "This is tragic news concerning Mr Constable and we feel for his family."
She said she hoped the police investigation would continue to help find out what had happened to the company.
"Many people are out of pocket because of the collapse of Midlands Superbikes," she said.
Police investigators in Leicestershire are due to talk to Marshman Price, which is handling the liquidation of Midlands Superbikes, to decide what to do next.
A Leicestershire police spokesman said: "Our inquiries are continuing and there is a planned meeting with the liquidators on Tuesday."
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The aid worker who blogged Japan's tsunami
An anonymous blog written by a Japanese nurse as she cared for victims of the tsunami has given strength to survivors and fellow relief workers
Few aid workers could have imagined the scenes that awaited them as they set out for north-east Japan in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami in March.
For days after the waves destroyed vast stretches of the Tohoku region's coast, patients filled the corridors of hospitals deprived of heat and water, and doctors examined thousands of patients, knowing essential drugs had been swept away by the walls of muddy water. And while they waited for supplies, they watched helplessly as elderly patients who had survived the tsunami succumbed to hypothermia.
When aid workers arrived, they were greeted by scenes of devastation that would not look out of place in a war zone. But this tragedy was being played out in one of the world's wealthiest countries, fewer than 200 miles from the neon-lit opulence of its capital, Tokyo.
One of them, a nurse who was part of an emergency medical team dispatched from Tokyo, has written about her experiences in a blog that offers one of the most detailed accounts yet of the tsunami's toll on the tens of thousands who survived. Thanks to an anonymous translator, every word of her online journal is available in English.
The blog has received scant coverage in the mainstream Japanese media. But it has generated thousands of online comments, most of them messages of gratitude from evacuees and fellow aid workers, and others who simply drew strength from her words. The nurse has declined potential book and interview requests, and clung to her anonymity, as has the blogger who translated her journal into English in a single sitting.
Painstakingly tapped into the nurse's mobile phone at the end of exhausting days touring evacuation zones and hospitals, the blog chronicles eight days that begin with trepidation and end with a reluctant return to Tokyo. In between, there are moments of despair and optimism, even humour. And floods of tears.
The blog opens with the nurse preparing for her imminent assignment to Rikuzentakata, a town in Iwate prefecture where 2,000 of the 23,000 residents died and 80% of its 8,000 homes were destroyed.
Before they leave, she and her fellow medical workers are told what they can expect to find, and warned to keep their emotions in check. The team leader tells them:
"The situation over there is beyond your worst imagination. If any of you have signed up with optimistic outlooks or [out of] a spirit of volunteerism, please leave the team now.
"No matter what happens at the site, DO NOT CRY. We are not going there to express our sympathy. We are going there to provide nursing and medical care. If you think YOU want to cry, think about how much the people there want to cry. The tears of a rich medical team from Tokyo will only be bothersome or even insulting to them."
The nurse describes the moment she arrives in a snowbound Rikuzentakata, her nose irritated by a "sharp, burnt odour", the only sound that of military and media helicopters circling a town that, aside from a few gutted buildings, no longer exists.
Her journey on foot to an evacuation site is punctuated by pauses to clasp her hands in prayer as troops pull yet another body from the rubble. She spends the first of many nights sleeping on the floor, "packed like sardines, regardless of gender" in a prefabricated hut located next to a makeshift mortuary.
At the end of that first night, exhausted but unable to sleep, she begins her chronicle, pausing occasionally in a futile attempt to seek comfort in browsing old photos and messages from friends: "I'd held in my tears all day, so I wrapped myself in a bath towel and cried until morning came."
On her walks through ruined neighbourhoods she encounters residents in shock and eager to share their experiences with someone from the outside:
"They tell us that a pitch-black tsunami about 15 metres high went back and forth and swallowed everything whole. There were many people who were washed away while preparing to run or even while running away after the call for evacuation was made.
"We have religious ceremonies several times a year to pay respect to the ocean, and we've always lived feeling grateful . . . for the ocean, and still . . . our guide was shedding tears as we walked.
"I was already on the verge of crying myself, but I promised not to cry no matter what, so I turned my eyes away from reality and watched the clouded sky instead.
"As the wind blows, a sepia-colored photograph and a new year's greeting card with a picture of someone's baby come flying to my feet. And at every step or two, there is a red flag fluttering in the wind. A whole slew of flags ? too many to even begin to count. These red flags are standing to mark places where bodies have been found.
"An old lady is standing in front of one of the flags. She might be about the same age as my own grandmother. 'Dear nurse from Tokyo, there was a house here that my husband worked so hard to build after the war. He never got sick once but now he's dead.'
"It was impossible not to cry."
The extraordinary speed with which tens of thousands of troops cleared rubble from the roads through Rikuzentakata and dozens of other communities was a symbolic, yet ultimately cosmetic, sign of recovery. Beneath the ruins, the human tragedy was still unfolding:
"The streets have been fixed, and much heavy machinery has finally come into Rikuzentakata. And as the rubble is cleared, many dead bodies have emerged.
"Beneath the rubble, I heard the ringtone of a cell phone that finally had reception since the system recovered the day before. It was very difficult . . . painful when the body of a pregnant woman came out."
Her moments of self-doubt ? she muses on the futility of applying bandages to people suffering deep emotional trauma ? are offset by small triumphs: the appearance of the sun after days of snow, the arrival of medical supplies, and a "gourmet" meal of rice balls, bread and Yakult. The unannounced return of lighting to one shelter is greeted by spontaneous applause: "When everyone's effort takes shape in a visible form like this, it makes me feel like I've been pushed forward to work harder than ever before."
The nurse witnesses firsthand the two most painful threads running through Japan's post-tsunami narrative: the large number of elderly victims, and the displacement of tens of thousands of children. Police figures released last week show that more than two-thirds of the 11,000-plus victims identified so far were aged 60 or over ? and that 90% of them had drowned. The advanced age of many of those who died has come to be a defining characteristic of the tsunami. Japan has one of the greyest societies on earth; in the Tohoku region, the over-64s make up almost a third of the population.
They also comprise a large proportion of the shelters' inhabitants. In the first week after the tsunami, Japanese media carried a report about troops arriving at a hospital in Futaba, 10km from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, to find 128 elderly patients, some of them comatose, who had apparently been left to fend for themselves. Fourteen later died, including two who did not last the bus journey to an evacuation centre.
No one knows for sure yet how many children have lost both parents, although the official count is already more than 100. They include a four-year-old girl now living with her grandmother, and a teenage brother and sister who were taken in by their dance instructor. In one of her most emotional posts, the nurse writes about her friendship with an "adorable" six-year-old girl named Luna, whose mother's body was pulled from the rubble clutching her daughter's favourite dolls and books.
In another passage, she recounts talking to a young boy who is poring over a mud-spattered comic about Doraemon, a blue cat with magical powers:
"I talked to a boy who had a fever and a loss of appetite. He showed me a Doraemon book covered in mud. I asked him what his favourite was of all of Doraemon's tools. 'I used to like the ozashiki tsuribori (indoor fishing mat), but now my favorite is the taimu furoshiki (wrapping cloth of time). I want to wrap up the whole city with the taimu furoshiki and make it go back to how it was before the earthquake."
By the time the nurse returns to Tohoku in the summer, the medical focus will have shifted from the acute to the chronic phase, as people run the risk of succumbing to illnesses associated with life as evacuees: blood clots, stress-induced ulcers, pneumonia, high blood pressure and depression.
Children will require counselling to overcome the trauma of seeing their homes and, in some cases, relatives and friends swept away. In April , many began a new academic year in schools with too many empty desks.
Health workers are bracing themselves for a dramatic rise in the number of people with mental health problems, particularly among those who face months living in cramped shelters. Long-term care will require efforts as heroic as those that earned Takeshi Kanno, a 31-year-old doctor in Minamisanriku who saved countless lives on the day of tsunami, a place in TIME magazine's 100 most influential people.
"For a lot of people who up until this point have been able to ignore reality and what actually happened, as they get back on their feet they realise that their house is gone, or their children are dead, and they're being forced to confront these facts," said Toru Hosada, a volunteer doctor in Yamada, a port town in Iwate prefecture. "A lot of them are extremely uncertain as to what they can do."
Meanwhile, the anonymous nurse's blog seems to have brought comfort to many readers.
"On behalf of the people of Iwate and the whole Tohoku region I want to express my appreciation for your work. Thank you," says one.
Another, who has family in Rikuzentakata, writes: "There are many people whose homes have been swept away, their relatives swallowed up by the sea or saved. Knowing that you are there makes me feel better about not being there myself. It might make you angry to hear this, but please shed tears for all of those who have died. Thank you so much. It's dangerous underfoot there, so please take care."
As she prepares to return to Tokyo on 23 March, the nurse is no longer troubled by the minor deprivations of life in the field. She "bathes" with baby wipes, stops fretting about her "sticky hair" and cleans her "dirty, makeup-less face" using tissues moistened with oolong tea.
And as for the town she entered with such foreboding just over a week earlier:
"Rikuzentakata has become my second home, and I wish for the restoration of my homeland with all my heart . . .
"The truly hard times are still ahead of us. As news about the disaster begins to disappear from the TV and other media outlets, everyone else will start to forget, and the problems faced in the affected areas will only increase. More people falling ill, more sadness. It is of course a good thing that the rest of us make an effort to be cheerful and strong and return to our usual lives as best we can, but we must never forget about March 11."
Read blog in English jkts-english.blogspot.com or Japanese blog.goo.ne.jp/flower-wing
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/08/japan-tsunami-nurse-blog-comfort-survivors
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No alternative to a muddy political picture
THE British people have spoken loud and clear and rejected the proposed Alternative Vote in favour of the traditional First Past The Post.
More voters than expected turned out to preserve the status quo believing the old system provides greater stability and stronger, more decisive governments.
And yet the other polls held on the same day suggests the opposite, and that the political picture across the nation is far more complex.
In Scotland the SNP secured a comfortable majority — under a system of proportional representation.
In Wales Labour made gains and is in a good position to form a government. The smaller parties did badly and Wales looks more of a two party state than it has done for years — again under PR.
It is the Westminster government, selected via FPTP, which is presided over by an increasingly fragile coalition.
It is interesting to speculate who would have been the winners on Thursday under AV. For instance, would Conservative Angela Burns kept her seat in Carmarthenshire West?
Elsewhere there were Assembly winners and losers aplenty.
Conservative leader Nick Bourne could be described as both.
An advocate of PR in Wales, he lost his list seat because his party was more successful than predicted.
But perhaps the oddest loser on Thursday night was Swansea council leader Chris Holley who topped a miserable night for the Lib Dems by discovering he had lost his majority without even being up for election.
His Lib Dem-led administration no longer has a majority following the resignation of Cockett ward representative Veronyca Bates Hughes.
She is now a non-aligned Independent Green.
The administration and the opposition now have 36 councillors each.
Looks like interesting times ahead.
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Clegg threatens to veto NHS reforms
Lib Dem leader says he wants substantial changes to NHS reform plans and vows to be more assertive within coalition
Nick Clegg has vowed to block the government's planned NHS reforms unless the package put forward by the health secretary, Andrew Lansley, is improved.
The deputy prime minister said unless there were "substantial, significant changes" to Lansley's proposals to hand commissioning powers to GPs and extend private provision of NHS services, he would tell Liberal Democrat MPs and peers to join Labour in voting them down.
The warning came as Clegg set out his plans to be more assertive within the coalition government in response to Lib Dem losses in last week's elections.
He told BBC1's Andrew Marr show he would "never, never, never" join the Conservatives, adding: "I will be carried out in my coffin as a card-carrying Liberal Democrat."
Clegg accepted that his party's traditional supporters were anxious about the programme of spending cuts the Lib Dems had signed up to, but insisted the coalition's efforts to reduce the deficit must continue.
Despite the loss of more than 700 English councillors and the bulk of his representation in the Scottish parliament - as well as the overwhelming defeat on electoral reform - Clegg insisted the Lib Dems still had "a platform from which we can recover".
Earlier the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, urged disgruntled Lib Dems to jump ship from the coalition and join him in opposing the Conservatives, a call dismissed as "tactics" by Clegg.
The Lib Dem leader told Marr: "I accept that there is real pressure on us to explain to our traditional voters why we are doing this and why it is good for the country. Of course there are lessons to be learned, and the lesson I have learned listening to people on the doorsteps is that people want a louder Liberal Democrat voice in government."
He insisted the "pause" in the health and social care bill announced by Lansley would not simply amount to a cosmetic consultation. "It is absolutely not just a pause for the sake of it. This is not a cosmetic exercise. There will be substantial, significant changes to the legislation," he said.
"As far as government legislation is concerned, no bill is better than a bad one, and I want to get this right. Protecting the NHS, rather than undermining it, is now my number one priority. I am not going to ask Liberal Democrat MPs and peers to proceed with legislation on something as precious and cherished - particularly for Liberal Democrats - as the NHS unless I personally am satisfied that what these changes do is an evolutionary change in the NHS and not a disruptive revolution."
Clegg said critics of Lansley's plans were right to warn that changes must not be pushed through too fast and GPs should not be forced to take on commissioning roles before they are ready: "What you will see in this legislation are clear guarantees that you are not going to have back-door privatisation of the NHS."
He insisted it was not the time for "tit for tat politics in the government [with] ministers fighting like cats and dogs", and said there would be no rewriting of the coalition agreement.
The Liberal Democrat deputy leader, Simon Hughes, echoed Clegg's warning that the party would seek to water down the health reforms. "I don't think we can go ahead with the plans as they are in the bill," he said. "It needs fundamental change."
Hughes accused Lansley of devising proposals that were not included in the coalition agreement struck last May. "The secretary of state for health came up with a plan which wasn't what we agreed in the coalition agreement," he told the BBC's Politics Show. "At the time people argued internally in government that it was a reasonable settlement, but I think everything we have seen shows that it is not. So let's go back to the drawing board."
MPs will discuss the NHS on Monday after Labour forced an opposition day debate in the Commons.
Shadow health secretary, John Healey, said: "For all his tough talk on the NHS, Nick Clegg is up to his neck in the Tory-led government's health bill and the Lib Dems have backed it so far at every stage in parliament.
"I'm glad Lib Dems are starting to make the arguments Labour has been making since the early autumn. This is a bad bill and if Nick Clegg is serious he must spell out exactly what his bottom line is.
"But in truth this is David Cameron's call, not Nick Clegg's. If the prime minister wants to prove to NHS patients and staff that his 'pause' is not just spin, then he must shelve the bill as it stands and make radical changes to his NHS reorganisation plans."
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/may/08/nick-clegg-veto-nhs-reforms
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Definitive 'no' to Clegg's hope for electoral reform
WALES has joined the rest of the UK in decisively rejecting a change in way MPs are elected.
Welsh voters threw-out plans to introduce the Alterative Vote system for Westminster elections by 65 per cent to 35 per cent.
Across Britain more than two thirds of voters rejected the AV proposal.
The result will come as a major blow to Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg — a referendum on electoral reform was a key part of the coalition deal between his party and the Tories.
Under the AV system voters would have ranked candidates in order of preference — but the electorate overwhelmingly decided to stick with the current first past the post system.
Supporters of a change to AV said it would make voting fairer, result in few "safe seats" dominated by one party, and mean MPs would have to work harder to win-over the electorate.
But opponents said the new system would be unfair, as well as complicated and expensive.
Swansea Lib Dem councillor Stuart Rice — who backed the 'yes' campaign — said: "This is a disappointing result.
"I think we had difficulty in getting the message of electoral reform across to voters in a way that was easy to understand.
"It was not been helped by the negative 'no' campaign, which was based on scare mongering and scare tactics."
But Mr Rice said he did not think the no vote was a blow to Nick Clegg and the coalition.
"Of course it is disappointing for Nick as leader and for those who backed the campaign," he said.
"But we joined the coalition for the national good, and that remains the situation."
However the referendum result was welcomed by Geraint Davies, Labour MP for Swansea West.
He said:"I welcome the clear thumbs down to the idea of AV, which was not a system that would have been proportional or fair, and which would have introduced confusion and less accountability.
"The first past the post system is not perfect — and perhaps there is an argument for making it more proportional — but it is a system which has stood the test of time." He added: "Quite a lot of people are now asking 'what is the point of the Lib Dems?' If they can't deliver electoral reform, what are they for?"
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Roosters in the hunt for Sonny Bill
Sydney (Fairfax Media) - The Sydney Roosters are set to launch an audacious bid to recruit Sonny Bill Williams.
The All Blacks and Crusaders second-five is in the final year of his contract with the NZRU - and alongside Dan Carter and Richie McCaw is the most in-demand New Zealander for after the World Cup.
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New Assembly Member: 'Our town entering an exciting time'
PORT Talbot is entering an exciting time, Aberavon's new Assembly Member has said.
Newly elected AM David Rees said he was proud of his town and wanted to see it grow said there was a lot for Port Talbot to look forward to.
"I want to see opportunities for my children and their children.
"It is an exciting time," he said.
Investments such as the �107 million second and final phase of the Peripheral Distributor Road (PDR) is one of the important developments that he hopes will bring the town forward.
"I think it will open it up for inward investment and new business for Port Talbot," he said.
Tata Steel's investments, including spending �53 million in a bid to cut its energy bills also gives employment confidence, he added.
While the council's aim to start rebuilding the Afan Lido at the end of the year will boost the seafront.
"Once the Lido is rebuilt I am sure it will attract further development to Aberavon seafront," said Mr Rees.
"It looks bad now because the Lido is desolate.
"I think the future of the seafront depends on the Lido."
Following the result, Mr Rees thanked his colleagues, family, the staff at the count, the police for their supervision and his fellow candidates.
"It has been a very long night," he said.
"I am very pleased with the hard work the team has put in to return a Labour Assembly Member in Aberavon.
"It is something any politician inspires to do — to represent their own town. It does make me feel humbled.
"We needed to ensure people were aware of a change of personnel but I also believe the community needs to know that we are here for them, and that we are working for them."
Mr Rees also praised his predecessor, Dr Brian Gibbons.
"They are very big shoes to fill as he is a very well respected politician and individual," he said.
"He has set standards which we need to maintain."
MP for Neath, Peter Hain, added: "I am really pleased Labour is so strong in Neath and Aberavon.
"Gwenda (Thomas) is a good friend and our partnership will continue.
"David is very able and I think he will make his mark in the Assembly.
"They are both good candidates and having a fresh dynamic member in the Assembly will be good."
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No reason to doubt Alastair Cook as an England one-day force | Vic Marks
The new, improved opening batsman is arguably worthy of a place in the one-day side even if he is not captain
Andrew Strauss announced his decision to retire from one-day international cricket via an England and Wales Cricket Board-organised press conference. Shane Warne told us that his career with the Rajasthan Royals would be over at the end of this Indian Premier League season via Twitter. No surprises there then.
What is a little odd is that the news of Warne's final retirement has caused barely a ripple over here. This is partly because the IPL, from this vantage point, has lost much of its lustre. Is it too anglocentric to conclude that the IPL has become nothing more than a cash cow, beloved of Indian celebrity and cricketers in pursuit of a pension, but of minimal cricketing relevance?
I meandered through the plush Long Room of the County Ground at Taunton last week and the IPL was on the TV. The great Jacques Kallis was batting. Not a soul stopped to watch. They appeared to be far more eager to keep their eyes on Somerset's Peter Trego bowling to Gareth Andrew of Worcestershire.
Warne is one of the greatest cricketers of all time, who single-handedly rejuvenated the art of wrist-spin bowling, whose magnetism has attracted thousands to the game. Yet his retirement from the Rajasthan Royals and therefore from any sort of cricket does not seem to matter much. His previous "retirements" were far more significant. By contrast Strauss's departure from ODI cricket has caused quite a stir, even though it makes perfect sense to me.
The World Cup is always something of a watershed, especially so after a World Cup in which the 50-over format has been rejuvenated. Once we had waded through the preliminary stages in the subcontinent the games really mattered. This provided such a stark contrast to so many of those ODIs, which are part of a five- or seven-match series. Why should Strauss hang on for more of those? Perversely the success of the World Cup has diminished even further the relevance of all the ODIs in between. Since there was no way that Strauss could ever make the next World Cup, the sensible thing for him was to go.
The limpest reason why Alastair Cook should succeed Strauss is that he is the least worst choice but that does not make the selectors' reasoning invalid. Who else could they have appointed? Kevin Pietersen after his early departure from the World Cup ? and his previous crack at the captaincy ? was not ideal. Is Ian Bell that much more secure in his place in the ODI side than Cook, leaving aside his captaincy credentials? Paul Collingwood is surely too old and not guaranteed his place anymore, Stuart Broad is too young for both jobs, Graeme Swann too much of risk (though it might have reduced his wisecracking ratio ? I'll leave you to decide if that would be a good thing).
There was a strong case for depending upon the old Australian system of picking the best XI and then looking for a captain. Yet, by my calculation, that method could easily have led us to Cook. With Strauss out of the equation, where are the openers? England had no idea who they should be in the World Cup once Pietersen had gone home. Remember that England had embarked on their one-day strategy before Cook batted so brilliantly in the Ashes series. The new, improved Cook arguably deserves a place in the ODI side even if he is not captain.
There are concerns that the job might diminish Cook at Test level. But this argument could be applied to any of the other candidates. We do know that Cook enjoyed the task when he took charge of the one-day side in Bangladesh. In three matches he averaged 52 with a strike-rate of 90 and he is supposed to be weak against spin, the one area in which Bangladesh have international quality. During the tour the captaincy seemed to enhance his play.
There is also the question of succession management. Following the Australian model there is much to be said for an aspiring Test captain to acclimatise in ODI cricket. That is how Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting ? and indeed Michael Vaughan ? started. The experience should help Cook or inform us that he is not suitable as a Test captain.
It is true that there are now three England captains and Andy Flower has acknowledged that he is not sure how this will work. But this situation is far better than appointing the wrong captain, simply because he is available for all three forms of the game. That was the road down which Hugh Morris and Geoff Miller took the team three years ago and it was almost disastrous.
They are more on the ball when they leave open the possibility, which will be difficult to execute, of resting the cricket director, Flower, as well as some senior players. Indeed Morris and Miller, ex-cricketers both, are also rightly sympathetic to the volume of cricket and the unrelenting schedules to which our best international players are now subjected.
The commercial men protest that it is quite possible for the England players to play so much cricket. After all, they are all very well paid now and most of them will have an eye on the IPL. And, of course, the commercial men are right. Our cricketers can play so much cricket without significant physical risk. The only problem is that, no matter how good their intentions, they end up doing so without any spark, their instincts and their minds dulled as they go about their business on dutiful automatic pilot. Is that really what we want?
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/may/08/alastair-cook-odi-captain
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Goldman: Oil could surpass highs
Goldman Sachs, which in April predicted this week's major correction in oil prices, said on Friday oil could surpass recent highs by 2012 due to supply tightness.
|||Goldman Sachs, which in April predicted this week's major correction in oil prices, said on Friday oil could surpass recent highs by 2012 due to supply tightness.
The Wall Street bank, seen as one of the most influential in commodities business, said it did not rule out a further limited decline in oil prices in the short term.
News of Goldman's mid-term outlook on Friday prompted a $1 a barrel jump in oil prices, paring some of its earlier losses.
“It is important to emphasize that even as oil prices are pulling back from their recent highs, we expect them to return to or surpass the recent highs by next year,” Goldman Sachs' analysts said in a research note.
“We continue to believe that the oil supply-demand fundamentals will tighten further over the course of this year, and likely reach critically tight levels by early next year should Libyan oil supplies remain off the market,” it said.
It said it believed that this week's correction in oil prices, which fell from over $125 per barrel of Brent crude to below $106 on Friday, was sparked by disappointing economic data releases and U.S. oil inventory data.
“The sell-off yesterday (May 5) has likely removed a large portion of the risk premium that we believe has been embedded in oil prices, which could suggest further downside may be limited from here”. - Reuters
Source: http://www.iol.co.za/goldman-oil-could-surpass-highs-1.1065459
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Roosters in the hunt for Sonny Bill
Sydney (Fairfax Media) - The Sydney Roosters are set to launch an audacious bid to recruit Sonny Bill Williams.
The All Blacks and Crusaders second-five is in the final year of his contract with the NZRU - and alongside Dan Carter and Richie McCaw is the most in-demand New Zealander for after the World Cup.
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Syrian tanks fire on demonstrators
Fears mount that regime of Bashar al-Assad is planning to repeat the siege tactics it deployed in Deraa
Syrian tanks rolled into the Mediterranean coastal town of Banias on Saturday and opened fire on demonstrators as President Bashar al-Assad continued the violent assault on his opponents.
A day after clashes with anti-government protesters that left at least 30 dead nationwide according to activists and an eyewitness, fears mounted that the Syrian regime was planning to repeat the siege tactics it deployed in Deraa, another key opposition centre.
Those fears were bolstered by reports yesterday that Syrian forces had shot dead four women demonstrating on a coastal road near Banias. Ammar Qurabi of the National Organisation for Human Rights said the women, part of a small all-female gathering, had been protesting against the siege and the cutting of power lines when they were killed by plainclothes security forces or pro-government gunmen. Their bodies were taken to hospital in a Sunni district of the besieged town.
"Banias is now surrounded from all all directions, not a single person can go in or out," said a resident, who did not wish to be identified. He added that electricity and phone lines had been cut and residents were charging their mobile phones on car batteries. Activists said gunboats could be seen off the Banias coastline and gunfire was heard after tanks approached from three directions in the early hours.
As civilians made human chains to protect neighbourhoods, eyewitnesses added that Sunni rather than Alawite neighbourhoods were being targeted. Banias, which has an oil refinery and is the main point of export for Syrian oil, is a predominantly Sunni city close to the Jebel Ansuriya stronghold of Assad's minority Alawite sect. It has a potentially explosive mix of religious groups and sects.
The latest attacks came in defiance of a US sanctions regime already imposed and despite the expected announcement that the EU will announce sanctions next week against 14 regime officials, although not Assad .
The eyewitness said an atmosphere of fear and apprehension had taken over the town, adding that two-thirds of the population had already fled, notably women and children.
Activists in touch with residents confirmed his account, saying the town, which has become a leading focus of anti-regime demonstrations, was now besieged. The activists also spoke on condition of anonymity, citing security concerns.
The moves came after human rights groups said at least 30 were shot dead in anti-government protests on Friday's "day of defiance" and rights group Sawasieh raised the total death toll since mid-March to 800.
"The use of tanks makes us think they are planning to siege the city like Deraa," said one analyst in the capital. Banias's persistent restiveness ? like that of the southern stronghold, which was surrounded by tanks on 25 April ? has irked the government. And, like Deraa's Omari mosque imam Ahmed Sayasna, Banias has a prominent cleric, Anas Airout, who has come out in support of the protesters.
As news of the tanks' arrival broke in the capital on Saturday , supporters of the protesters said the international community's response had been too slow, allowing a brutal crackdown to push to the limit the protesters' resolve.
The international community, like Syrian protesters, has rejected military intervention and has struggled to find ways of putting pressure on the Assad regime.
On Saturday some Syrians in the capital expressed frustration at the lack of momentum, claiming that many more people wanted change than the protests numbers suggested.
"When a television show gets one complaint, you know there are 100 more who are unhappy but couldn't be bothered to write," said one young man who identified himself as Omar. "It's the same here, but each protester may be worth 200 or 300 people who are too scared to come out."
Katherine Marsh is the pseudonym of a journalist living in Damascus
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/07/syrian-forces-fire-on-protesters
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Sabado, Mayo 7, 2011
Vaitele Soi the last man standing
Vaitele Soi heads to New Zealand this week to take part in the ?Last Man Standing? an all professional 8 man knockout tournament fighting for $10,000 on Saturday 7 May in Auckland.
While the prize money is a huge incentive, the real motivation for Vaitele is getting the opportunity to show that he is a better fighter then his last performance on the Tua verses King card in March.
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A show in Ai Weiwei's absence
While Ai Weiwei remains interned by the Chinese authorities, Nicholas Logsdail, director of the Lisson Gallery, talks about a forthcoming exhibition of the artist's work and his growing influence on the global stage
My last conversation with Ai Weiwei took place in January. My colleague Greg Hilty and I went to Beijing for three days to make selections for the forthcoming show at the Lisson Gallery, and we got a sense of great foreboding from him. He had been placed under house arrest in November and had subsequently been released, but he was already worried about whether he'd get out of the country. He had all these commitments abroad ? in Berlin, in New York, and with us in London ? and he was very concerned about fulfilling them.
There was a discussion then about whether we should do the show now or delay it for a year so that he could produce an entirely new body of work. We decided to go ahead because there was an urgency to it, due to his situation at home, and we wanted to give a London audience a sense of the range of his work and the thinking behind it.
In my opinion, Ai Weiwei is one of the major artists of the early 21st century. My gallery avoided the gold rush for Chinese art in the boom years because, in my experience, it's almost always a false premise to group artists together by generation or nationality. What's important is the quality of the individual artist, and it was clear to us that Ai Weiwei stood apart. He's not just the most important Chinese artist of his generation but a truly international figure.
His work is a very interesting blend of traditionalism and liberalism, with a revolutionary bent. He has an outspoken nature, which is what has got him into trouble, but my reading is that his primary impulse is less to overturn society than to improve it. He is unwilling to keep quiet in the face of ignorance and prejudice and he speaks out against injustice wherever he finds it.
I've met him on a number of occasions over the last couple of years. When we were preparing for the show, I found him to be highly practical and thoroughly professional. He is a serious man of few words but he has an ironic sense of humour. He's also a big guy, physically, with a barrel chest and a commanding presence. We had some very interesting conversations about the time he spent living in New York in considerable hardship. He was an exile, partly by choice, partly out of necessity because of his family's political problems in China. It was a gestation period, a time of growth. He was taking stock of the bigger world and putting his house in order, as an artist and an intellectual.
He may not think of himself as an intellectual, but I would certainly describe him as one. Although he can be irrational himself, he despises irrationality and tries to give a clear and logical approach to the issues that are important to him. He's committed and idealistic, and unaccepting of injustice to the point of self-denial ? allowing himself to get into this position is surely a form of self-denial.
All the arrangements for the show had been made before his arrest, but it feels rotten putting it on in his absence. We've been praying, metaphorically speaking, that some news of his whereabouts would break, but nothing has: it's been total silence since his detention.
The outpouring of respect and admiration for him, his honesty, his bravery ? maybe you could say his foolhardiness as well ? have been completely astonishing. Many other artists have shown their solidarity, including Anish Kapoor who has dedicated his forthcoming Grand Palais show in Paris to Ai Weiwei. The best we can do now is to maintain our support for him and keep up the pressure. It's crucial that all the planned projects go ahead ? his work is also showing in New York and, from next week, at Somerset House in London.
How do we put ourselves into the heads of the Chinese authorities who are responsible for his arrest? How do we reach them? What is it that we need to say to them? In arresting Ai Weiwei, I believe they have failed to understand what it means to be an artist. They have failed to be culturally aware. He is exactly the kind of person they should have onside. He's actually much more dangerous now, under arrest, than he ever was before. I think he is a great global cultural ambassador for the new China, but this arrest is making China's new cultural revolution look rather unrevolutionary.
They have accused him of tax evasion, bigamy and spreading pornography on the internet, but these charges are clearly trumped up. If you want to nail somebody and put them away for a while, you can probably find dirt on anybody on the planet, let alone a controversial artist like Ai Weiwei. Some people have commented that the Chinese government saw what was going on in north Africa and the Middle East and got nervous. That may well explain his arrest.
I am hopeful though ? that he's in a reasonable state and can speak for himself; he's an intelligent man and should be able to provide arguments for his release. Although of course it's not going to get you anywhere if you're talking to a brick wall. What's so distressing about this situation is that there is no obvious authority that one can appeal to or challenge about what has happened.
It's so sad that this charismatic, larger-than-life, gentle guy has been arrested. I'm deeply upset. I'd get on the next plane to China if I thought there was anything I could do, and I'm sure loads of people feel the same way.
We have organised a very different series of events from the ones we had originally planned. Alongside the show, we will have a press conference and then a big open party to celebrate Ai Weiwei's work. We will also have a moment of silence to remember his situation, although until he is released I don't think it is going to be far from anyone's mind.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/may/08/ai-weiwei-by-nicholas-logsdail
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Saracens power past Harlequins to record 11th successive win
Harlequins 13-16 Saracens
Harlequins won a monumental victory in Limerick last weekend but stopping Saracens is harder than halting Munster at the moment. Hertfordshire's finest are finishing the season like a runaway train. This was their 11th victory in succession.
Saracens may not be pretty to look at, but they are brutally effective, personified by the Namibian flanker Jacques Burger. With his straggly hair Burger looks like a heavy-metal guitarist. He is a heavy-duty tackler, too, and he and his forward colleagues squeezed the life out of the game.
Outside The Stoop there was traffic chaos before the game, some bright spark having decided that it was OK to host this game at the same time as the Army v Navy game across the road at Twickenham. There was a snarl-up on the pitch, too, with few try-scoring opportunities. The one that mattered came 10 minutes after the interval. Quins lost their own scrum in their 22 and Neil de Kock fed his fly-half, Owen Farrell, who battered his way over.
With Nick Evans injured, Farrell's duel with the young Quins stand-off Rory Clegg was always going to be an interesting sub-plot to the match. But being named Clegg was probably a bit of a burden recently and it was the 19-year-old Saracen who had the better of the battle of the young English No10s, converting his try and stretching Saracens' lead with a penalty.
Mark McCall, the Saracens head coach, said: "It's hard to remember sometimes that Owen is only a year out of school. What he does for us week in, week out is amazing. He's such a calm influence on the pitch."
Clegg kicked a couple of first-half penalties when Harlequins looked the better side but failed to translate their territorial dominance into points and by the time they scored a try from a breakaway by Chris Robshaw two minutes from time it was too late to stop that runaway try. With Stade Fran�ais to play in the Challenge Cup final on 20 May, there was concern over Ugo Monye leaving the pitch near the end with a thumb injury.
Harlequins: Brown; Camacho, Lowe, Turner-Hall, Monye (Chisholm, 78); Clegg (Urdapilleta, 70), Care; Jones (Lambert, 70), Cairns (Buchanan, 70), Johnston (Andress, 58), Kohn (Browne, 61), Robson, Fa'asavalu, Robshaw (capt), Easter.
Try: Robshaw. Con: Urdapilleta. Pens: Clegg 2.
Saracens: Goode; Strettle, Wyles (Mordt, 63), Barritt, Short; Farrell (Cato, 74), De Kock (Wigglesworth, 52); Stevens (Gill, 45), Brits (George, 66), Nieto (Du Plessis, 61), Smith (Borthwick, 45), Botha, Burger, Saull (Melck, 60), Joubert (capt).
Try: Farrell. Con: Farrell. Pens: Goode 2, Farrell.
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/may/07/harlequins-saracens-premiership
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Jack's last season ticket after 62 years
Leicester City fan Jack Harrison has rarely missed a match since he picked up his first season ticket 62 years ago.
But the football-mad pensioner, believed to be the longest consecutive season ticket holder at the club, will watch his last game as a regular match-goer when he cheers on City this afternoon.
The 85-year-old, who has supported City since he was a boy, is giving up his seat in the Upton Steel stand due to ill health, but says he will continue to attend occasional home games.
Jack, who lives in Hinckley, said: "I've been a supporter since 1935 when I was 10 or 11. My dad used to take me as a special treat – he was a true blue like me.
"I got my first season ticket in 1949 and I've had a really good time following the City, no regrets, I've really enjoyed it.
"I know City have had greats like Gordon Banks and Peter Shilton, but the one who impressed me was a big Scottish goalkeeper called Sandy McLaren before the war.
"I thought he was the best keeper Leicester had, but I was an impressionable lad then.
"I also remember Johnny Duncan, who built the side up from nothing, and when Don Revie came on the scene."
Mr Harrison said he would be sad to give up his seat.
"It's in front of the directors' box right on the centre line," he said. "It's a brilliant seat, I'm reluctant to let it go. I haven't missed many matches over the years, but ill health is starting to catch up with me.
"I have some excellent memories of the City and their ups and downs, but I prefer to think of the ups. You can watch it on the TV, but that can't recreate the atmosphere.
"I will really miss it."
Jack's wife, Joan, 83, said: "I'm sorry for him because he really has enjoyed it. It's a big thing to give up after all these years."
His daughter, Jane, said: "He probably knows more about the previous managers and players than anyone at the club. He's been going to the games with a friend who used to drive him there, but he is emigrating so can't take him. "He's gutted at giving it up and he's also disappointed because he had a bet on them getting promotion or into the play-offs this year."
A club spokesman said their records could not confirm whether or not Jack was the longest consecutive season ticket holder. But he will be invited by Leicester City ambassador Alan Birchenall to help make the weekly club lottery draw at half-time during today's match against Ipswich in recognition of his support.
The Birch said: "Sixty-two years as a season ticket holder is an incredible level of commitment and I'd be amazed to hear of anybody who can match Jack's record. City fans are some of the best in the country because our support is made up of people like Jack, who love nothing more than coming to home games and getting behind the team through thick and thin.
"I'm looking forward to congratulating him in person.''
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Malawi?s Press Corp to slim down
Malawi’s Press Corporation, a beer-to-banking conglomerate and the country’s biggest company, was likely to see annual profit growth stabilise at 8 percent to 10 percent, its chief executive said yesterday.
|||Malawi’s Press Corporation, a beer-to-banking conglomerate and the country’s biggest company, was likely to see annual profit growth stabilise at 8 percent to 10 percent, its chief executive said yesterday.
The company, a bellwether of the small but fast-growing country’s economy with a market capitalisation of $136 million (R917m), said it would continue to slim down its diverse portfolio of interests from 14 sectors to just six or seven.
“The future for us lies in telecommunications, banking and the energy sector,” the group’s chief executive, Matt Chikaonda, said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town.
“We’ve experienced tremendous growth over the past seven to eight years, averaging 12 percent to 15 percent profit growth,” he said.
“It has been fantastic, but that should stabilise to more normal ranges of around maybe 8 percent to 10 percent long-term growth.
“That’s the reason why we are also talking about other sources of growth – getting into the power generation side.” – Reuters
Source: http://www.iol.co.za/malawi-s-press-corp-to-slim-down-1.1065523
Hunt is on for Leicester city centre's most family-friendly pub
The hunt is on for Leicester city centre's most family-friendly pub.
Again this year, as part of the Best Bar None awards, the Leicester Mercury is holding an online poll for readers to vote for the pub or bar they think is the most welcoming to families.
Twelve venues that put themselves forward have made the shortlist for the award, which is sponsored by the Mercury, after meeting Best Bar None standards for the category.
Among the nominated pubs is the Jungle Club, in Checketts Road, Belgrave, which won the first award in 2008.
Owner Bally Chauhan said: "It would be great to win again.
"We have the bar here and serve food from all over the world but I think we have more stuff for kids than anywhere else in Leicester. Parents love to come here and chat together while their kids play.
"But there are also things for older age groups such as Laser Quest and pool tables. We also have everything from weddings to karate classes here.
"I don't think there are many places like this where there is really something for everyone. The building opened as a working men's club more than 100 years ago, so there is also a lot of history here."
Another contender is Bar Dos Hermanos, in Queens Road, Clarendon Park.
Duty manager Charlotte Wood said: "There are loads of people living around here with young children so we make it a very family-friendly bar.
"People think of it as a nice environment where their kids will be looked after.
"We sell non-alcoholic cocktails so that when people come in with their kids they can have the same kind of drink – the kids can really join in."
Best Bar None is a Home Office scheme organised by Leicester City Council for pubs in the central Leicester area.
Certificates are given to the businesses that meet highest standards of health and safety.
This year, more than 70 pubs and bars have applied for Best Bar None accreditation.
On June 14, successful venues will receive their certificates and awards will be presented for in a number of categories.
Other venues shortlisted for our family-friendly award are the Corn Exchange, Leicester Market; The Goose, Hotel Street; the High Cross, High Street; Polar Bear, Oxford Street, Revolution, New Walk; The Almanack, Bath House Lane; The Last Plantagenet, Granby Street; The Old Horse, London Road; The Slug and Lettuce, Market Street, and Yates's, Belvoir Street.
City council licensing manager Bobby Smiljanic said the awards, first held in 2007, were improving the standards.
She said: "We are exceptionally proud of the hard work that our premises demonstrate."
The vote runs from now until Tuesday, May 17. Use the voting form below.
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