Max Clifford arrested in sex abuse inquiry

LONDON (Reuters) - Max Clifford, Britain's highest-profile celebrity publicist, was arrested for alleged sex crimes on Thursday by a special police unit set up in the wake of an abuse scandal involving a former BBC TV star, his lawyer said.

Clifford, 69, made his name and fortune helping some of Britain's most famous people defend and shape their reputations in the country's muckraking tabloid press and has been a longstanding media pundit on celebrity scandal and the press.

He is the fifth person to be arrested since police launched an extensive inquiry into sex crime allegations against the late Jimmy Savile, a high-profile BBC star in the 1970s and 80s.

His arrest suggests detectives are continuing to expand the scope of their investigation.

"Max Clifford is being interviewed by police. Mr Clifford will assist the police as best he can with their enquiries. When we are in a position to provide further information, we will," his lawyer, Charlotte Harris, said in a statement.

Earlier, London's Metropolitan Police said they were questioning a 69-year-old man on suspicion of sexual offences.

That arrest was part of an investigation into Savile, who detectives say was one of Britain's most prolific child sex offenders. Police are looking into more than 200 allegations of assault and have heard from more than 500 victims.

Police are looking into three categories of alleged offences: those involving only Savile, which make up the majority of cases; those involving Savile and others; and those which had no direct link to Savile.

Clifford's arrest is part of the third strand.

Some of Savile's alleged victims said they were abused on BBC premises at the height of his fame and the fallout from the revelations has thrown the publicly funded broadcaster into turmoil, forcing its director general to resign.

The other people arrested include the former glam-rock singer Gary Glitter and comedian Freddie Starr, who both deny any wrongdoing. Police have questioned a fifth man who is in his 80s.

"KISS AND TELL"

Clifford is best known in Britain for selling "kiss and tell" stories relating to the rich and famous to scandal-hungry tabloids, though he says he actually earned more money by keeping details about celebrities out of the papers.

The publicist's clients have included "X Factor" reality TV show creator Simon Cowell.

On Wednesday, police charged veteran BBC TV and radio presenter Stuart Hall with three counts of indecent assault involving girls as young as nine, relating to alleged offences from the 1970s and 80s.

Detectives said Hall's alleged crimes were not linked to the Savile inquiry.

In addition to claims relating to his activities at the BBC, the cigar-chomping one-time DJ is also accused of targeting children at three hospitals where he carried out extensive charity work, raising tens of millions of pounds (dollars) in the process.

The government on Thursday published the terms of reference for investigations to be carried out at Leeds General Hospital, Broadmoor Hospital and Stoke Mandeveille Hospital, the birthplace of the Paralympic Games which has an internationally renowned unit for spinal injuries.

These are due to report towards the second half of 2013 and will be overseen by former lawyer Kate Lampard, the Department of Health announced.

"It is important that victims of this abuse can be certain these investigations discover exactly what happened and what went wrong," she said.

In total, about a dozen inquiries have been ordered into Savile, including two internal probes at the BBC.

One is examining why the broadcaster decided to drop an investigation by its flagship Newsnight TV programme into Savile shortly after his death and ran laudatory shows instead.

That has embroiled the then-BBC chief Mark Thompson, now chief executive of the New York Times, who has denied any knowledge of the Newsnight inquiry but has nonetheless found the issue dogging him in his new role.

(Editing by Michael Roddy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/top-publicist-arrested-bbc-sex-abuse-inquiry-161349390.html

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Michael Palin gives evidence in 'Spamalot' suit

FILE - In this Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008 file photo, pedestrians walk under the marquee of the Broadway show "Monty Python's Spamalot" at the Shubert Theatre in New York. A producer of the film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" is suing the comedy troupe over royalties from the hit stage musical "Spamalot." Producer Mark Forstater wants a bigger share of proceeds from the show, which is based on the 1975 movie spoof of the legend of King Arthur. Python members Eric Idle, Michael Palin and Terry Jones are to give evidence during a five-day hearing that began Friday, Nov. 30, 2012 at London's High Court. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File )

FILE - In this Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008 file photo, pedestrians walk under the marquee of the Broadway show "Monty Python's Spamalot" at the Shubert Theatre in New York. A producer of the film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" is suing the comedy troupe over royalties from the hit stage musical "Spamalot." Producer Mark Forstater wants a bigger share of proceeds from the show, which is based on the 1975 movie spoof of the legend of King Arthur. Python members Eric Idle, Michael Palin and Terry Jones are to give evidence during a five-day hearing that began Friday, Nov. 30, 2012 at London's High Court. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File )

LONDON (AP) ? Michael Palin has rejected a movie producer's claim that the producer was the unofficial seventh member of the Monty Python comedy troupe and is entitled to more royalties from the musical "Spamalot."

Mark Forstater has sued over the show, which is based on the 1975 movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."

Forstater produced the film and his lawyer claims it was agreed that he would be "treated as the seventh Python" financially.

Palin told a hearing at London's High Court on Wednesday that the idea of a seventh member "was never going to be accepted by the Pythons."

And he disputed Forstater's claim to have helped written the film, saying: "There were six of us. We were a tight group. We wrote our own material."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-12-05-Britain-Spamalot/id-945535bdcbdd4030b24854626410cc12

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Video: Citigroup cutting 11,000 jobs

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/50086870/

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Baxter to buy Sweden's Gambro for $4 billion

(Reuters) - Baxter International Inc said on Tuesday it would buy privately held Swedish kidney dialysis product company Gambro AB for about $4 billion, a tie-up that would make it No. 2 in the dialysis market.

Baxter, whose shares fell nearly 1 percent, will finance the acquisition with cash and debt. The deal marks Baxter's biggest acquisition since Chief Executive Robert Parkinson took the helm in 2004.

Baxter manufactures kidney dialysis equipment, drug infusion pumps and blood therapy products. The Gambro acquisition will round out Baxter's renal business, which accounted for almost one-fifth of the company's 2011 revenue of $13.89 billion.

Gambro, based in Lund, Sweden, is one of the largest makers of equipment for hemodialysis, which is generally performed in a hospital or clinic. Baxter's machines are used for peritoneal dialysis which can be done at home.

The need for dialysis is linked to the epidemic of obesity and diabetes and is attracting more investors. Billionaire Warren Buffett has more than a 10 percent stake in competitor DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc.

Gambro's sales have been flat to weaker in recent years, undermined partly by capacity constraints, but Baxter executives voiced confidence during a conference call with analysts that the business can be turned around.

"It is a big market and it is going to continue to grow for a long time. There are only so many kidney transplants available in the world," Parkinson told analysts.

Hemodialysis removes waste products from the blood when the kidneys fail. Another method is peritoneal dialysis, a treatment for severe chronic kidney disease that uses the patient's own membrane inside the body as a filter to clear waste. The third treatment option is a kidney transplant.

"At the end of the day, this is an acquisition that is not dependent on any one pathway for value creation. It is not dependent on a major new product launch or technological advancement, and is not dependent on commercial assumptions that are overly optimistic. This is an acquisition that is dependent on execution," he said. "This is something we know we can do and do well."

He said the planned acquisition did not represent a change in the direction for the company, which has invested in stem cell research and a treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

Shares of Baxter fell 0.9 percent to $65.22 on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

TOO PRICEY?

Some analysts said they were concerned by the price tag and that the company said on its conference call it will issue $3 billion in new debt and scale back its share buyback program in order to acquire Gambro.

"I think the deal makes sense. I think it does fit well with their existing renal business and I think there probably are synergies, but at the same time it is a lot of cash they are paying for this thing. They are taking on a significant amount of debt," said Michael Matson, an analyst at Mizuho Securities USA.

Credit rating agency Moody's said it put Baxter's A3 rating on review for downgrade following the announcement.

Derrick Sung, an analyst with Bernstein Research, noted that Baxter will be paying 2.5 times sales, which is not "unreasonable" but appears to be on the high end of comparable deals.

The Gambro deal marks further consolidation in the kidney dialysis market, where Gambro and Baxter compete against companies including U.S.-based DaVita and Germany's Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co KGaA, the biggest player in the hemodialysis market.

"I think in the longer term, the ambition is to try to challenge Fresenius," currently the market leader, analyst Kristofer Liljeberg of Sweden's Carnegie investment bank said.

However, he said that Gambro, owned by Swedish investment holding company Investor AB and its partly owned private equity company EQT, had been struggling in recent years with slow growth and price competition.

Liljeberg said the deal was a good one for Investor, the investment vehicle of the Wallenberg family which controls several of Sweden's top companies. Since the purchase of Gambro, Investor and EQT have sold off its clinics and a blood component business.

"This is a good long-term home for Gambro," Borje Ekholm, CEO of Investor, said. "These two companies have a lot of things in common. They share similar values to improve the lives of patients. They have a very complementary geographic fit."

A GROWING MARKET

More than 2 million patients globally are on some form of dialysis, and that has been increasing more than 5 percent annually, in part because of the rising rates of diabetes and hypertension.

Excluding special items, Baxter expects the Gambro transaction to reduce earnings per diluted share by 10 to 15 cents in 2013 and be neutral or add modestly to them in 2014. The deal is expected to close in the first half of next year.

Excluding the impact of special items and estimated amortization of intangible assets, the company said the deal should not affect earnings in 2013 and should add 20 to 25 cents per diluted share in 2014.

Baxter said it expected the deal to add to earnings per diluted share, excluding special items, after 2014.

The suburban Chicago company said it expected over five years to increase sales by 7 to 8 percent, excluding the impact of currency fluctuations, on a compound annual basis, with earnings per diluted share, excluding special items, rising by 8 to 10 percent.

"Companies like Baxter can unlock a fair amount of value when they find strategic use for their overseas cash," said Piper Jaffray analyst Matt Miksic.

Indeed, Baxter said it planned to finance the deal with cash generated from overseas operations and debt.

J.P. Morgan was Baxter's financial adviser for the deal while Goldman Sachs advised Gambro.

(Reporting by Esha Dey in Bangalore, Debra Sherman in Chicago, Caroline Humer in New York, and Patrick Lannin and Mia Shanley in Stockholm; editing by Joyjeet Das, Lisa Von Ahn, Matthew Lewis, Marguerita Choy and Phil Berlowitz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/baxter-buy-swedens-gambro-4-billion-121638551--sector.html

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Merkel deputy criticizes Turkey over religious freedoms

HANOVER, Germany (Reuters) - A leading ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Turkey on Wednesday to show it was serious about defending religious freedoms if it wanted to join the EU, saying it should let Christians build churches without restrictions.

Volker Kauder, leader of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) in parliament, told a party congress he expected a "clear signal" on the issue from the government of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan before membership talks could continue.

"A country that wants to be part of Europe must accept the basic principle of religious freedom," he said.

"That means, that we expect Christians in Turkey to be able to build churches without any restrictions, just as Muslims build mosques here in Germany," he said.

Kauder's comments were seen as more of an appeal to members of his party who are skeptical about letting a Muslim-majority country into the EU, rather than an active attempt to block Turkey's membership talks, which are already stalled.

There was no immediate reaction from Ankara. The EU has in the past criticized Turkey's treatment of its Christian minorities, including Greek Orthodox and Armenians.

But recent EU reports on Turkey's accession talks have not referred to any restrictions on building places of Christian worship.

Turkey is a secular republic but most of its 75 million people are Muslim. Religious conservatives and secular opponents vie for public influence and critics accuse the government of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan of trying to impose Islamic values by stealth.

Religious conservatives form the bedrock of support for the prime minister's Islamist-rooted AK Party. Secular opponents have cited the lifting of a ban on female students wearing headscarves in religious schools, and the fining of a television channel for airing an episode of "The Simpsons", deemed blasphemous, as evidence of the party's hidden agenda.

Merkel told Erdogan during his visit to Berlin in late October that the EU would pursue accession talks with Turkey in good faith.

But Erdogan said the EU would lose Turkey if it did not grant it membership by 2023. Last month he said his country should consider bringing back the death penalty, a step which would doom the EU bid.

Launched in 2005, the membership talks have stalled due to a dispute over the divided island of Cyprus and skepticism from Merkel and some other European politicians who favor a "privileged partnership" falling short of full membership.

Germany is Turkey's largest trading partner in the EU and is also home to some three million Turks, the largest diaspora in Europe.

(Writing by Noah Barkin, Editing by Gareth Jones and Andrew Heavens)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/merkel-deputy-criticizes-turkey-over-religious-freedoms-142233239.html

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Rebels clash with troops near Syrian capital

BEIRUT (AP) ? Gunmen shot dead a journalist for a pro-government newspaper near Damascus on Tuesday, Syria's official news agency said, as fighting between rebels and regime troops raged in and around the capital with opposition fighters pushing their way closer to the seat of President Bashar Assad's power base.

The rebels have notched a series of tactical victories in recent weeks, overrunning two air bases near Damascus and capturing a hydroelectric dam in the north. With the Syrian regime feeling squeezed, U.S. officials said intelligence reports show Assad may be readying his chemical and biological weapons and may be desperate enough to use them.

The heavy fighting around the capital ? the heaviest since July ? prompted the United Nations on Monday to announce it was withdrawing most of its international staff from Syria due to deteriorating security in the country.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Tuesday's clashes between rebels and troops loyal to Assad are taking place in Beit Saham, Akraba and Yalda suburbs, as well as near the capital's international airport. The Observatory relies on reports from activists on the ground.

The Damascus suburbs, which have been opposition strongholds since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011, have been the scene of heavy fighting since last week following the start of an army offensive to regain lost territory around the capital. Assad's forces have so far repelled major rebel advances on the capital, though their hold may be slipping.

Syria's official SANA news agency said a journalist for the state-run Tishrin newspaper was killed near his home in al-Tadhamon suburb of Damascus. Naji Assaad was "assassinated by an armed terrorist group" Tuesday morning on his way to work, SANA said. The regime refers to rebels fighting to topple Assad as terrorists.

The Syrian uprising began with peaceful protests in March 2011, but has since morphed into a civil war that activists say has killed more than 40,000 people.

Washington has so far declined to intervene in the crisis, saying doing so could worsen the conflict.

On Monday, U.S. officials said the White House and its allies are weighing military options to secure Syria's chemical and biological weapons, after U.S. intelligence reports show the Syrian regime may be readying those weapons and may be desperate enough to use them.

President Barack Obama pointedly warned Assad not to use the weapons, saying that such an act would be a "tragic mistake" to which Assad and members of his regime would be held accountable.

Syria is believed to have several hundred ballistic surface-to-surface missiles capable of carrying chemical warheads, and a U.S. defense official said American and allied intelligence officials have detected activity around more than one of Syria's chemical weapons sites in the last week.

Syria's Foreign Ministry said Monday that Syria "will not use chemical weapons ? if there are any ? against its own people under any circumstances."

The comments from the ministry came just hours after Lebanese security officials said Jihad Makdissi, the Foreign Ministry's polished spokesman, flew from Beirut to London.

It was not clear Tuesday whether Makdissi had defected. He is known for defending the regime's crackdown on dissent in fluent English.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rebels-clash-troops-near-syrian-capital-120608199.html

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Explosives plant cleanup disrupts Louisiana town

Frank Peetz stands near Sassy and Precious while camping at Lake Bistineau State Park Saturday Dec. 1, 2012 in Doyline, La. Authorities have begun moving 1 million pounds of improperly stored explosive powder to storage bunkers at the Camp Minden industrial site. State investigators found the explosives while inspecting property leased by Explo Systems, where an above-ground storage magazine exploded in October. (AP Photo/The Shreveport Times, Jim Hudelson) MAGS OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT SHREVEPORTTIMES.COM; NO SALES

Frank Peetz stands near Sassy and Precious while camping at Lake Bistineau State Park Saturday Dec. 1, 2012 in Doyline, La. Authorities have begun moving 1 million pounds of improperly stored explosive powder to storage bunkers at the Camp Minden industrial site. State investigators found the explosives while inspecting property leased by Explo Systems, where an above-ground storage magazine exploded in October. (AP Photo/The Shreveport Times, Jim Hudelson) MAGS OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT SHREVEPORTTIMES.COM; NO SALES

Law enforcement personnel stand at a roadblock along Hwy 163 just south of Doyline, La., Saturday Dec. 1, 2012. Authorities have begun moving 1 million pounds of improperly stored explosive powder to storage bunkers at the Camp Minden industrial site. State investigators found the explosives while inspecting property leased by Explo Systems, where an above-ground storage magazine exploded in October. (AP Photo/The Shreveport Times, Jim Hudelson) MAGS OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT SHREVEPORTTIMES.COM; NO SALES

Diego Reyes, 5, plays outside of a cabin at the Methodist Camp on Caney Lake in Minden, La., Saturday Dec. 1, 2012. Authorities have begun moving 1 million pounds of improperly stored explosive powder to storage bunkers at the Camp Minden industrial site. State investigators found the explosives while inspecting property leased by Explo Systems, where an above-ground storage magazine exploded in October. (AP Photo/The Shreveport Times, Jim Hudelson) MAGS OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT SHREVEPORTTIMES.COM; NO SALES

Law enforcement personnel stand at a roadblock along Hwy 163 just south of Doyline, La., Saturday Dec. 1, 2012. Authorities have begun moving 1 million pounds of improperly stored explosive powder to storage bunkers at the Camp Minden industrial site. State investigators found the explosives while inspecting property leased by Explo Systems, where an above-ground storage magazine exploded in October. (AP Photo/The Shreveport Times, Jim Hudelson) MAGS OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT SHREVEPORTTIMES.COM; NO SALES

DOYLINE, La. (AP) ? The cleanup of 3,000 tons of explosives haphazardly stored at a munitions plant has frayed the nerves of residents who evacuated, closed the high school and spawned a criminal investigation of the company that owns the materials.

Authorities said about half the town's 800 residents had heeded requests that they leave during the cleanup that started Saturday, but some appeared to be returning to their homes. Some displaced residents were exasperated by the sheer volume of explosive material, which is more than authorities initially estimated. Adding to the uncertainty was a forecast of thunderstorms Tuesday that could slow efforts to move the propellant used in artillery shells to safer storage sites.

"We got outside the evacuation area when they said there was a million pounds. Now it's six million," said Frank Peetz, 71, who was staying with his wife in a camper at a nearby state park. "Maybe we ought to be up in Arkansas somewhere."

State police say some of the propellant was found spilling out of boxes crammed into buildings, and they have opened a criminal investigation into why the materials were not stored in bunkers at the state-owned site, leased by Explo Systems.

Weather could complicate the transfer of the roughly 6 million pounds of propellant. If lightning is spotted within five miles of the site, authorities will suspend efforts to move it, state police spokeswoman Lt. Julie Lewis said. No lightning was expected Monday, but the National Weather Service said there's a 30 percent chance of Thunderstorms on Tuesday.

Lewis said that as of late Monday, crews had segregated or safely stored 1.2 million pounds of the propellant since the cleanup started. The work has slowed because they are indoors moving the material, sometimes through narrow hallways.

State police said the material is stable and would need an ignition source to explode. Lewis said it would take something significant such as lightning or a brush fire ? and not static electricity ? to ignite it.

Col. Mike Edmondson, commander of Louisiana State Police, said state police weren't sure how much damage an explosion of the material could cause, even after consulting with Department of Defense officials.

"Nobody can tell you what 6 million pounds of explosives would do if it went up," Edmondson said in a telephone interview. "And I don't want to find out."

Police have checkpoints on roads leading into Doyline, though residents are allowed to come and go. The evacuation was voluntary, and some residents elected not to leave their homes in the town that has been used to film some scenes for the HBO vampire series "True Blood." The evacuation will remain in place at least until Tuesday.

Edmonson said that Explo Systems leases and controls about 400 acres of the 15,000-acre Camp Minden, a former ammunition plant that now is a state-owned industrial site and home to a National Guard training facility. He estimated that the M6 propellant was stored in an area of less than 10 acres.

It was discovered there, stored indoors and outdoors, sometimes in containers that had spilled open, by a trooper following up on an October explosion at the facility.

"It was stuffed in corners. It was stacked all over," Edmonson said.

Just outside the evacuation area, Doyline High School teacher Linda Watson stopped Monday to buy chicken strips at D&H Hardware, which has a small kitchen serving fare that also includes burgers.

Watson said she has not evacuated and has no plans to. Like some others around here, she's accustomed to living near an ammunition plant.

"I've been there the whole time," she said.

Her main concern is the school having to tack on days to the end of the year to make up for classes being out during the evacuation. The school was to remain closed Tuesday.

John Finklea, who was working the register at the store his family owns, said business is down because of the evacuation. He said there's too much being made of the situation.

"I understand people get scared," he said, adding that he considered leaving but ultimately chose not to.

Explo has not publicly commented on the investigation. Neither a company executive nor an attorney who represents the company returned calls Monday. Its website says the company has been in existence for seven years and that its management has been "demilitarizing" and recovering explosives and propellant for 15 years.

Authorities had initially estimated the total of M6 stored at the site at 1 million pounds after the first investigator saw cardboard boxes on long rows of pallets behind a building. Police found more stacked in sheds and warehouses when crews returned Saturday to begin moving the boxes into bunkers about two miles away on the former munitions site.

Lewis said the cause of the Oct. 15 explosion remained under investigation.

The company isn't currently allowed to manufacture any explosives, but can sell what it has. Authorities are hoping such sales could reduce the amount of the material in the area.

Webster Parish Sheriff Gary Sexton said authorities have still not been in touch with the company's owners, though police officials previously said a company manager was working with them. He didn't know how many people were still displaced but said the majority of people in shelters had left them.

Sexton said explosions weren't uncommon in the years that the munitions plant has operated, but he lamented the danger posed by the improper storage of the propellant.

"They not only put their people in jeopardy, they put our people the people around here in jeopardy," he said.

Evacuees were allowed to stay for free at Lake Bistineau State Park, but ranger Marc Massom said only a few had shown up by midday. Masson, a Doyline resident who lives outside the evacuation zone, said some stayed at their houses because of fears about looting.

Lewis of the state police said that security was tight throughout the town with help from neighboring agencies and that crime hadn't been a problem.

Peetz, the retiree staying in the camper with his wife, said there should have been more oversight of the munitions storage.

"I'd like to see more state and federal checks on who is there and what the hell they're making," Peetz said.

___

McGill reported from New Orleans.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-03-Explosives%20Investigation/id-3798576610af47ba8a5ac6e1515a26e5

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