Welfare-to-work firm A4e knew of widespread potential fraud and systematic failures by management to control it, a leaked document suggests.

BBC Newsnight has obtained the results of a confidential 2009 internal audit of work by A4e's top recruiters.

The auditors found staff claiming for putting people into jobs which did not exist, jobs which did not qualify for payment and fabricating paperwork.

A4e responded to the report by saying that it was a draft document only.

A police sniper shot and killed the gunman who carried out a spate of murders in southern France, prosecutors say, after a 32-hour siege in Toulouse.

Mohammed Merah, 23, who claimed to have al-Qaeda training, opened fire on police commandos after they stormed into his flat at 09:30 GMT.

Prosecutors said he was shot in the head as he tried to flee.

Merah carried out three separate attacks, killing four people at a Jewish school and three soldiers.

Public sector workers in Portugal have gone on strike to protest against the government's austerity measures.

Schools were closed as teachers walked out, commuters faced severe delays on trains and buses, and hospitals had to work with reduced staffing.

The strike was called by Portugal's biggest trade union, the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers.

The Irish government has asked the Irish police to look at the findings of a report into corruption in the Republic's planning process.

The Mahon Tribunal found that former Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern failed to truthfully account for a number of financial transactions.

But the tribunal did not make a corruption finding against Mr Ahern.

In a statement on Thursday, Mr Ahern said he had never "received a corrupt payment".

Searchers have found five more bodies in the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, which had struck a reef off the Italian coast in January, an Italian official has said.

Thursday's discovery, two months after the initial capsizing, raises the number of bodies found to 28. Another two people are presumed dead as their bodies remain missing.

Franco Gabrielli, the civil protection agency head in charge of search and salvage operations, told reporters about the latest body discoveries during a visit to the island of Giglio.

All five bodies, three first and two more later, were discovered to the rear of the vessel, the agency said.

Spanish bond rates are back above 5.5%, as investors are becoming concerned about growth, unemployment, and the state of the Spanish banks; Italian spreads have also risen, but remain below those of Spain; eurozone purchasing managers index falls deep into recession levels; Germany is still in positive territory, but plunging fast; release triggered a widespread sell-off in stocks; Italy's average government bond maturity profile has fallen by three months in the last eight weeks; Wolfgang Schäuble is now the favourite to succeed Jean-Claude Juncker at the eurogroup; this raises doubt about whether Klaus Regling will become head of the ESM; Stark says ECB policy is likely to cause inflation, and says the worst of the crisis is not over; Bild heeps more cynical applause on Mario Draghi; Mark Schieritz express disgust at Draghi's overt attempt to woo Germany; more Italian trade unions come out against the proposed changes in dismissal laws, criticising that they go further than the German practice; Irish GNP slumps in 2011, but GDP registers its first growth rate in four years; the dynamics of Irish GDP growth is negative, as the performance has deteriorated in the second half of 2011; Larry Summers and Brad Delong, meanwhile, have a paper in which they demonstrate that austerity during a liquidity trap is a thoroughly bad idea

Lors d'une allocution radio-télévisée après la mort de Mohamed Merah, l'auteur présumé des assassinats de Montauban et Toulouse, Nicolas Sarkozy a affirmé que «la propagation et l'apologie d'idéologies extrémistes seront réprimées par un délit pénal». «Désormais, toute personne qui consultera de manière habituelle des sites internet qui font l'apologie du terrorisme ou qui appellent à la haine et à la violence sera punie pénalement, a-t-il indiqué. Toute personne se rendant à l'étranger pour y suivre des travaux d'endoctrinement, des idéologies conduisant au terrorisme, sera punie pénalement». En outre, «la propagation et l'apologie d'idéologies extrémistes seront réprimées par un délit figurant au code pénal, avec les moyens qui sont déjà ceux de la lutte antiterroriste», a-t-il dit.

During a televised address after the death of Mohamed Merah, the presumed author of the murders in Montauban and Toulouse, Nicolas Sarkozy asserted that «the propagation and apology of extremist ideologies will be repressed as a felony». «In addition, anyone who habitually consults internet sites making apology for terrorism of calling to hate and violence will be punished as criminals[»], he indicated. [«]Anyone going abroad to follow programmes of indoctrination, [in] ideologies conducive to terrorism, will be punished as a criminal». In addition, «the propagation an apology for extremist ideas will be repressed as a felony listed in the criminal code, by the means already used in the fight against terrorism», he said.

Barely had Mohammed Merah leapt from his bathroom widow in Toulouse yesterday, still blasting away with his gun, than politicians and experts were analysing just what it might mean for the President and the other candidates in the coming election.

It's unseemly. It's obscene. It has precious little to do with the facts of the case, the question of religion or the future of society in France. But it is what politics is now about, as much in France as the US.

(h/t Arrêt sur images)

Europeans think a hundred miles is a long way. Americans think a hundred years is a long time.

More and more people on "relatively modest salaries" are being dragged into becoming higher-rate taxpayers, Budget analysis suggests.

The number of higher rate taxpayers, who pay a chunk of their income at the 40% tax level, could rise from 3.7m last year to 5m by 2014.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) made the prediction after studying changes to tax levels in the Budget.

However, lower-income families will benefit from the changes.

The budget airline Ryanair has been severely criticised for failing to look after a stranded passenger following the 2010 eruption of an Icelandic volcano, in a ruling that imposes extra customer care responsibilities on airlines.

The finding by the advocate general at the European court of justice is intended to ensure that travellers cannot be abandoned abroad even if flight disruption is beyond the control of an airline.

"It does not appear to be disproportionate to impose on air carriers such an obligation to provide care in so far as they are free to pass on the resulting costs to airline ticket prices," the advocate general, Yves Bot, said in a decision published on the court's website.

Ireland ended last year in recession, according to figures released on Thursday, dealing a blow to the policy of economic austerity being forced on struggling eurozone countries by the European commission and the IMF.

A dip of 0.2% in GDP in the last quarter of 2011 followed a steep fall in the third quarter, after an export drive was undermined by the slowdown in global demand. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.

Ireland, which had become a poster child for austerity when its economy pulled out of its nosedive earlier last year, joins fellow eurozone countries Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal and Greece in recession.

The US Department of Justice on Thursday sued telecom titan AT&T for bilking millions of dollars from a federal program intended to help deaf people make telephone calls.

A system set up to let US residents with hearing impairments communicate by typing during telephone calls was used by scammers from other countries for crimes such as shopping using stolen credit card information, the DOJ charged.

The Internet Protocol Relay (IP Relay) service lets people with hearing disabilities type messages that are routed over the Internet to assistants who act as their voices during telephone calls.

In an interview with Germany's Bild newspaper, he said the situation in Europe was "stabilising".
Mr Draghi also said that some economic data, including inflation and budget deficits, showed that Europe was doing better than the United States.

Gunfire rang out in Mali's capital on Thursday as drunken soldiers looted the presidential palace after seizing power in a coup.

Witnesses in Bamako described bursts of shooting south of the central Badalabougou area as further details emerged about the mutinous soldiers, who have formed themselves into the National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy and State (CNRDR).

The group appeared on Malian state television shortly after storming the presidential palace, stating that the government was incompetent. It has dissolved the constitution and democratic institutions, imposed a military curfew and closed the country's borders.

The United Nations' Human Rights Council voted on Thursday to appoint a panel charged with evaluating the effects of Israeli settlement construction on Palestinian human rights in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

According to the text of the decision, the UN will "dispatch an independent international fact-finding mission, to be appointed by the President of the Human Rights Council, to investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem."

Opposition legislators have staged noisy demonstrations in the Indian parliament after a draft report from a government auditor said the country had lost up to $211b in revenue from selling coalfields too cheaply.

Thursday's uproar added to pressure on Manmohan Singh, the prime minister, after months of scandals and policy missteps.

The prime minister's office called the estimated loss "exceedingly misleading," after the report - leaked from the federal auditor and published in the Times of India newspaper - prompted calls for an explanation and rattled investors.

China on Thursday called for the upcoming 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit to make positive contributions to international peace and security.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei made the remarks at a regular press briefing when commenting on President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy's remark that the summit should reach an agreement and make commitments.

Colombia:

Colombia Reports: The Colombian military announced 39 guerrillas had died and 12 were captured during clashes with security forces in the northern department of Arauca Tuesday and Wednesday.

More HERE.

Colombia Reports: The release of FARC hostages is due to take place on March 30, the Red Cross said Thursday.

Colombia Reports: Colombian authorities have captured one of the leaders of the country's largest neo-paramilitary organization, "Los Urabeños", reported local media Thursday.

Bloggings by Boz: Some analysts got excited when President Perez announced several weeks ago that the Central American presidents would meet in Guatemala to agree to a decriminalization proposal prior to the Summit of the Americas. It was never going to be that easy.

NISGUA: On March 13, 2012, gathered in the Atanasio Tzul stadium in the city of Totonicapán, thousands of representatives of Indigenous Peoples from across Guatemala welcomed the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights, Navi Pillay, on official visit to the country.  In discourses pronounced before the assembly and reports presented to the High Commissioner, community leaders denounced, along with other transgressions, the dispossession of their lands at the hands of transnational economic interests, the re-militarization of their communities, the growing criminalization of social struggles and the exclusion and marginalization to which they continue to be subjected.

The Pan-American Post: A group of indigenous protesters has arrived in Ecuador's capital Quito after a two-week march to protest against large-scale mining projects in the Amazon region. Some 2,000 people entered the city, some joining for the last 10 km of the route, reports La Hora.

Bloomberg: A 7.4-magnitude earthquake near Acapulco yesterday rattled the resort town and caused buildings to sway in Mexico City even as officials cited improved preparedness for preventing deaths and widespread damage after a devastating 1985 temblor. "Buildings and skyscrapers are much more resistant than they were in 1985," Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard told reporters yesterday. "All of the construction standards have been changed."

Rick Santorum today suggested it would be better to stick with President Obama over a candidate that might be "the Etch A Sketch candidate of the future" -- a shot at chief rival Mitt Romney.

"You win by giving people the opportunity to see a different vision for our country, not someone who's just going to be a little different than the person in there," said Santorum. "If you're going to be a little different, we might as well stay with what we have instead of taking a risk with what may be the etch a sketch candidate of the future."

The head of the French intelligence agency DCRI said in an interview on Friday that the Toulouse shooter was arrested by Israel Police in Jerusalem in 2010, after he was found in possession of a knife.

Bernard Squarcini told the French newspaper Le Monde that Mohamed Merah, who killed four people in an attack on a Jewish school in Toulouse on Monday, was held by police in Jerusalem during his visit to Israel in 2010, but was released shortly after his detainment.

Shell has signed a production sharing contract with China National Petroleum Corporation to develop a shale gas block in China, the first deal of its kind in the country.

China is in the very early stages of tapping its shale gas resources and the government wants to identify the right technology to unlock them in the next few years, aiming for a leap in shale production by 2020.

An attack by George Osborne suggesting wildlife protection rules were "placing ridiculous costs on British businesses" has been revealed as false in more than 99.5% of cases, by a review he ordered from his cabinet colleague, Caroline Spelman.

The environment secretary concluded on Thursday that just a "handful" of the 26,500 land use consultations received from business each year ended in rejections, with the review citing just one example of a project - a windfarm - being abandoned.

Martin Harper, conservation director at the RSPB, said: "The government's own review has shown that the chancellor's comments were misleading rhetoric, with no factual basis.

"We remain determined to persuade the government that there is no contradiction between environmental protection and economic growth."

Declining oil consumption and new energy production have brought the United States closer to a goal that has tantalized presidents since Richard Nixon.

... And not just here. Across the country, the oil and gas industry is vastly increasing production, reversing two decades of decline. Using new technology and spurred by rising oil prices since the mid-2000s, the industry is extracting millions of barrels more a week, from the deepest waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the prairies of North Dakota.

This week a test run of a high-speed freight train between Lyon St Exupéry airport (France) and St. Pancras International Station in London (United Kigdom), passing via Paris Charles De Gaulle airport and the Channel Tunnel demonstrated the efficiency, speed and environmental benefits of a shift in intermodal container traffic from air to the high-speed rail network.

The high-speed freight train number 27274 (which has a potential load of 120 tonnes of parcels equivalent to 7 articulated trucks or 7 Boeing 737 cargo planes, and which is property of French Postal Service La Poste) left Lyon-St Exupéry airport on Tuesday 20 March at 16:42.

It arrived at St. Pancras International Station in London on Wednesday morning, after passing through the Channel Tunnel, travelling on High Speed 1 and having made an intermediate stop to take on extra, real cargo at Roissy (Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport).

In 1966-7 my Dad got a job as a young reporter for the Daily Mail's Manchester office, just as it was made Newspaper of the Year. All staff received the memo below from editor Mike Randall.

When Dad sent it to me, he added: "Mike Randall left the paper soon afterwards. It became a tabloid and in ethical terms its downhill slide began. However, I think Randall's statement still stands as the model of propriety to which all journalists working for all media should aspire."

Removing all informants from the far-right NPD party would leave German investigators without enough insight on the neo-Nazi scene, Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said Thursday amid pressure to stop all information payments.

The Obama re-election campaign will mark a political first on Thursday night when it opens the first ever office for technology volunteers. Located in San Francisco, the office is the latest effort in the campaign's bid to harness Silicon Valley's talent and to corral the region's billions into its presidential re-election machine.

Northern California has become increasingly important to the Obama campaign. It is home to industry giants such as Apple, Google, Instagram and Twitter, and has outpaced Hollywood in terms of campaign donations, making it the fifth largest donor group this cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

The campaign has been quick to capitalise on support from hi-tech superstars like Sean Parker, the founder of Napster, and Craig Newmark, who set up Craigslist. Its most recent high-profile outreach was the announcement in January of Technology for Obama, a network of key players including Parker and Newmark who have committed to boosting the campaign's coffers.

Teletubbies, instant noodles and tomatoes might not sound like the stuff of high political intrigue, but this motley grouping has allowed microbloggers in China to evade censorship and speculate on trouble at the top of government.

With facts in short supply since leadership contender Bo Xilai was dismissed as party chief of Chongqing last week, the online rumour mill has been in overdrive - fuelled by the opaque nature of Chinese politics and the knowledge that a power transition is fast approaching.

Internet users disguise their references by using nicknames for the leaders they cannot mention.

Activists such as "Anonymous" who hack into government and corporate computer networks and then release files to embarrass those organisations were responsible for more than half of all known data thefts last year, according to a new survey.

That's a big change from recent years when the motivation behind most cyberattacks has been to make money, according to the US mobile carrier Verizon Communications , which outlined its finding in one of the biggest annual global surveys on data loss (PDF).

The company's researchers worked with law enforcement in the UK, US, Australia, Holland and Ireland, and reached the conclusion after reviewing roughly 174m records stolen in 855 incidents. They found that 58% of the stolen data was due to so-called "hacktivism" in 2011, while no losses had been attributed to that cause in previous surveys.

This is not the American Dream that says if you work hard you can be more comfortable than your parents; but rather, if you connive well, game the rules, and rule the game, your take from others is unlimited. In this paradigm, human empathy, caring, compassion, and connection have been devalued from the get-go. This is the flaw in the entire premise of the American Dream: if we can have it all, it must by definition be at someone else's expense.

In Why America Failed, noted historian and cultural critic Morris Berman's brilliant, raw and unflinchingly accurate postmortem of America, he concludes that this hustling model, literally woven into the American DNA, doomed the country from the start, and led us inevitably to this dysfunctional point. It is not just the American Dream that has failed, but America itself, because the dream was a mistake in the first place. We are at our core a nation of hustlers; not recently, not sometimes, but always.

...and european leaders are embracing the selfsame sociopathic model.

 

It's a fine line between homage, parody, and consumer opportunism. Jess Walter

Fans have been marking the death of horror writer HP Lovecraft 75 years ago. Unrecognised in his own lifetime, he has gone on to influence figures as diverse as Stephen King and Alan Moore, explains British horror writer Ramsey Campbell.

Howard Phillips Lovecraft brought the 20th Century horror story up to date, out of Victorian occultism into the realm of contemporary science without losing its sense of mystery.

His earliest stories have their roots in the Gothic novel and in the short fiction of Edgar Allan Poe.

Whitney Houston died from accidental drowning and the effects of cocaine use and heart disease, the Los Angeles Country Coroner's office said Tuesday.