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Barclays Bank charged over Qatar loans

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has charged Barclays Bank PLC with “unlawful financial assistance” related to billions of pounds raised from Qatar in 2008.

The same charges were bought against Barclays PLC in June last year.

The move to charge Barclays Bank as well is significant because it holds the banking licence that allows it to operate in different countries.

So, if Barclays was found guilty, it could lose that crucial licence.

In 2008, to avoid a government bailout, Barclays took a £12bn loan from Qatar Holdings, which is owned by the state of Qatar.

Under that deal Barclays loaned £2.3bn back to Qatar Holdings.

The SFO alleges that loan was used either directly, or indirectly, to buy shares in Barclays, which the SFO says is “unlawful financial assistance”.

In response, Barclays said: “Barclays PLC and Barclays Bank PLC intend to defend the respective charges brought against them.

“Barclays does not expect there to be an impact on its ability to serve its customers and clients as a consequence of the charge having been brought.”

Other than the charge, the SFO has released very little information about its investigation.

But a top lawyer said the case is likely to revolve around whether the directors knew what the loan was being used for.

“The SFO may have to establish the precise intention of the directors when making the loan which is the subject of the investigation and it might be difficult to prove to a criminal standard that they had an unlawful intention,” said Philip Marshall QC at Serle Court Chambers.

How significant is the charge against Barclays Bank?

Analysis : By OP’S NEWS

Image copyrightREUTERS

It was always odd the SFO charged the parent company Barclays PLC and not Barclays Bank as it was the bank that lent $3 billion to Qatar which it’s alleged was used to buy shares in Barclays.

At the time it was interpreted by some as sparing a strategically important bank for the UK from the harm of potentially losing the ability to operate in important markets (like the US) – a possible consequence if convicted.

So today’s decision to charge the bank itself is significant.

The fact the shares are unmoved suggest markets agree with Barclays insiders who say the following: Being charged in itself isn’t a problem, this incident was ten years and four management teams ago, it was done in order to save the bank (and the taxpayer billions). Even if convicted there are banks (UBS, BNP, Credit Suisse) who have been convicted and continued operating.

The emergency funds from Qatar allowed Barclays to avoid a government bailout in 2008 at a time when rivals Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland were forced to rely on a taxpayer rescue.

Following a five-year investigation into the deal with Qatar Holdings, the SFO in June charged Barclays PLC and several former executives with conspiracy to commit fraud.

Former chief executive John Varley, former senior investment banker Roger Jenkins, Thomas Kalaris, a former chief executive of Barclays’ wealth division, and Richard Boath, the ex-European head of financial institutions, were all charged in relation to that investigation.

The bank and its former bosses will face trial in 2019.

Barclays is the first British bank to face a criminal trial related to its conduct during the financial crisis.

George Soros pledges extra £100,000 to pro-EU campaign

George Soros has pledged an extra £100,000 to a campaign to keep Britain in the EU, citing a “smear campaign” over a donation he made days earlier.

The investor gave £400,000 to pro-EU Best for Britain through one of his foundations, it emerged on Thursday.

Following criticism of Mr Soros, a crowdfunding page was set up to raise a further £110,000 for Best for Britain.

Mr Soros, who will now match the first £100,000, told the Guardian he was “happy to take the fight” to critics.

He told the newspaper that there was a smear campaign against him in the right-wing press, used to “prop up their failing case”.

He wrote an article in the Mail on Sunday describing “toxic, personal criticism we have seen in recent days”, since his donation was first publicised.

More than 2,300 people have donated to the crowdfunding page, which was set up in the wake of criticism against Mr Soros by Best for Britain.

The group was co-founded by Gina Miller, who took the UK government to court in 2016 over its triggering of the Article 50 process to leave the EU.

Best for Britain said it would use the money to campaign against Brexit in UK towns and cities, as well as on social media, to “ensure that stop Brexit – not soft Brexit – is firmly on the table”.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Mr Soros’s initial £400,000 donation was made through his Open Society Foundation.

Hungary-born Mr Soros, 87, is known as the man who “broke the Bank of England”, when he bet on the devaluation of sterling in 1992.

The outspoken financier has previously suggested it would be possible for Britain to apply to rejoin the EU soon after Brexit and describes the UK’s exit as a “tragic mistake”.

‘Growing concern’ for Scot missing after Hamburg stag night

A friend of a Scottish man who went missing during a stag do in Hamburg has said his family and friends are growing “more and more concerned”.

Liam Colgan, 29, from Inverness, has not been seen since the early hours of Saturday when he was out celebrating, ahead of his brother Eamonn’s wedding.

Alan Pearson, who was on the trip, told OP’S NEWS Scotland his disappearance was “completely out of character”.

The Foreign Office has confirmed it is assisting the family.

Police in Germany said officers were making searches of the city for Mr Colgan, including in the city’s harbour area.

Mr Colgan is the best man and planned the trip to Germany.

He was last seen at about 01:30 on Saturday in the Reeperbahn area of the city, in the Hamborger Veermaster bar.

Speaking on the OP’S NEWS Good Morning Scotland radio programme, his friend, Mr Pearson said there was 18 of them in total on the stag do and that they had been to a few bars and a brewery on the Friday evening – all arranged by Mr Colgan.

Media captionAlan Pearson says his friend’s disappearance is “completely out of character”

He said: “It was towards the end of the night that Liam became separated from the group, but nobody realised at the time, given the nature of the event. It was hard to keep tabs on everyone.

“Having retraced our steps and spoken to bar staff in the last bar he was seen in, we understand that he left a few minutes before the rest of the group.”

Mr Pearson added: “He has not done anything like this before. It is completely out of character.

“When he didn’t turn up for activities he had planned on Saturday afternoon, we knew something was amiss.”

Mr Colgan’s brother, father and other family members have stayed in Germany to continue the search.

Back at home, friends and family have been using social media in their efforts to trace him.

A post on a specially set-up “Help find Liam Colgan” Facebook page said: “Liam, is the best man for his brother Eamonn Colgan and is responsible for organising the Stag Do to Hamburg, Germany.

“Eamonn is due to marry his fiancée Susan in 3 weeks time back in Scotland so we are launching an urgent appeal to find Liam.”

At the time of the last sighting the Mr Colgan was wearing a brown leather jacket and a grey hoodie. He is 6ft tall with red hair.

A spokesman for the UK Foreign Office said: “We are in contact with the German police after a British man was reported missing in Hamburg, Germany.

“We are providing advice and assistance to his family”

Theresa May and Leo Varadkar in Belfast amid NI deal speculation

Theresa May arriving at Stormont House — Image captionTheresa May pictured arriving at Stormont House in Belfast

The British and Irish prime ministers have held a meeting in Northern Ireland, in an effort to move the Stormont talks process forward.

It comes amid speculation the DUP and Sinn Féin are close to agreeing a deal to restore devolved government.

Prime Minister Theresa May met Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar in Stormont House, and she is expected to meet NI parties later.

Prior to arriving at Stormont, Mrs May visited Bombardier’s plant in Belfast.

Theresa May visited Bombardier's Belfast plant — Image captionTheresa May toured the Bombardier aerospace plant in east Belfast

She met factory floor workers and was shown the capabilities of the multi-million pound plant which is the main production site for wings for the C-Series.

Her visit came just over two weeks after Bombardier’s victory in a trade dispute with rival aerospace firm Boeing.

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) overturned a decision to impose damaging tariffs on US imports of its C-Series aircraft, which would have placed jobs in the Belfast factory at risk.

Mrs May visited the Bombardier aerospace plant in Belfast — Image captionMrs May met Bombardier staff and management

Several previous rounds of talks between the DUP and Sinn Féin have, so far, failed to break the political deadlock.

A DUP source told the OP’S NEWS a deal “is not likely” on Monday.

Northern Ireland Secretary of State Karen Bradley with Theresa May — Image captionSecretary of State Karen Bradley welcomed Mrs May to Stormont House

Northern Ireland has been run by civil servants since the power-sharing executive made up of the DUP and Sinn Féin collapsed in January last year.

The then deputy first minister, Martin McGuinness, pulled Sinn Féin out of the coalition after a series of disagreements with the final straw being the DUP’s handling of a scandal over green energy scheme.

Mrs May last visited Northern Ireland in May when she toured the Balmoral Show ahead of a snap general election.

Since then, she has struck a parliamentary deal with the DUP and has faced criticism for adopting a hands-off approach to the deadlock at Stormont.

Among the issues that have divided the parties is Sinn Féin’s demand for an Irish language act.

Image captionThe talks are taking place in Stormont House

Analysis

By OP’S NEWS

The Irish language act has been a major stumbling block, with DUP leader Arlene Foster promising previously that it wouldn’t happen on her watch.

What I am led to believe is that there could possibly be a very strange, legislative fudge which would see the creation of three separate bills, one for the Irish language, one dealing with Ulster Scots and one for wider cultural issues.

The suggestion is that these three bills would end up merging together as one act in an attempt to spare blushes on all sides.

On marriage equality, I am not exactly sure how they are going to sort that one out, but one option that has been discussed is the possibility of bringing a private member’s bill on the issue or deferring responsibility to Westminster.

At least three or four DUP MLAs would be pretty hostile to the notion, but equally there are some who would support it, or at least not object

A Downing Street spokesman said the prime minister would remind the parties of the many pressing issues facing Northern Ireland and make clear her belief that a fully functioning executive is the best way to serve the interests of the whole community.

Theresa May and Leo Varadkar — Image captionThe Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) has also travelled to Belfast to join the discussion

A spokesman for Leo Varadkar said the taoiseach would use his visit to “assess the state of play” and “encourage the parties to reach an agreement”.

“The (Irish) government has consistently said that the restoration of the institutions is essential in the context of full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, and that it will continue to work very closely with the British government to support the northern parties to achieve this outcome,” he said.

At the weekend, Sinn Féin’s vice president Michelle O’Neill predicted that the Stormont talks would conclude this week.

Her comment strengthened speculation that a compromise between her party and the DUP could soon be unveiled.

Winter Olympics: NBC ditches analyst Joshua Cooper Ramo over Korea remark

Joshua Ramo attends the Digital Life Design (DLD) conference at HVB Forum on January 24, 2010 in Munich, Germany. — Image captionMany South Koreans took to social media to express anger against Mr Ramo

NBC has removed one of its Olympic analysts after he made a comment about Japan and South Korea which sparked anger among South Koreans.

Joshua Cooper Ramo said Japan, which occupied Korea from 1910-45, had served as a key “example” in South Korea’s transformation.

South Koreans called the comments, during the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, ignorant and hurtful.

A petition calling for an apology from NBC drew more than 13,000 signatures.

PM Shinzo Abe — Image captionMr Ramo’s remarks came as he noted Japan PM Abe’s appearance at the Games

Mr Ramo’s comments came as he noted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s attendance at the Pyeongchang Games.

He described Japan as a “country which occupied Korea from 1910 to 1945” and added: “But every Korean will tell you that Japan is a cultural, technological and economic example that has been so important to their own transformation.”

‘Hurtful and ignorant’

Many South Koreans have used social media to express their anger, including posting heated comments on NBC’s pages.

“You owe a formal apology to the Korean nation for diminishing and ridiculing our painful history during the years of Japanese colonization,” said one commenter on NBC’s Instagram page.

“Many of our grandfathers and grandmothers were killed by [Japan] and young girls forced to be comfort women. NBC should not say that,” another added, referencing the controversial use of South Korea women, many of them forced, in Japanese military brothels.

“Your comments were hurtful and ignorant. Put in some effort to study the country hosting the Olympics,” one Instagram user said.

Mr Ramo is vice chairman and co-CEO of the Kissinger Associates consulting firm and has written extensively on Asian economics and politics.

NBC, the exclusive US broadcaster of the Olympic Games, initially apologised for Mr Ramo’s remarks. But it later said he would not be appearing in further Olympics coverage.

They said he had been hired as an Asia expert for the Olympics “to give an overview to our viewers of the host country and this region of the world”.

“It was possible for him to do more with us here; now it is no longer possible,” an NBC spokesman told the Korea Times.

Japan has issued several apologies for its occupation of the Korean peninsula, which saw Koreans forced to fight on the frontline, to work as slaves or in brothels.

But the occupation, particularly the issue of forced sex slavery, remain deeply sensitive for many in South Korea.

Oxfam Haiti sex claims: Charity to meet government

Media captionMichelle Russell, from Charity Commission, says the regulator is “very angry”

Oxfam officials will try to convince the government it should keep its government funding – despite claims of sexual misconduct by its aid workers.

The charity has been accused of concealing the findings of an inquiry into claims staff used prostitutes while delivering aid in Haiti in 2011.

Oxfam denies a cover-up and officials will meet International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt later.

The Charity Commission said it should be “frank” about what it revealed.

The charity’s own investigation led to four people being sacked and three others resigning, including the country director for Haiti.

Ms Mordaunt has said Oxfam must account for the way it handled the claims or it risks losing government funding, worth £32m in the last financial year.

Michelle Russell, director of investigations at the Charity Commission – which will also be part of the talks – told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme officials had been “assured” Oxfam had investigated it “fully”.

However, she said the watchdog was not told the full story at the time of the investigation.

“Had the details of what has come out been told to us, we would have dealt with this very differently,” she added.

Oxfam said allegations that underage girls may have been involved were unproven.

Andrew MacLeod, a former senior adviser to the UN, who works for Hear Their Cries – a charity that fights sexual exploitation in the aid industry – said the case should be passed on to police.

“If Oxfam were serious… ask Scotland Yard to do an investigation. Were these prostitutes underage or not?” Mr MacLeod told the BBC.

“If they were underage then this man has broken UK sex tourism laws. And Oxfam leaders may have broken the law by aiding and abetting this man.”

Oxfam has faced growing criticism of the way it handled the allegations of misconduct by its staff in Haiti, where they were working in the aftermath of the huge earthquake that devastated the country in 2010.

On Sunday, Ms Mordaunt told the OP’S NEWS Andrew Marr the charity had failed in its “moral leadership” over the “scandal”.

She said Oxfam did “absolutely the wrong thing” by not reporting details of the allegations.

She said no organisation could be a government partner if it did not “have the moral leadership to do the right thing”.

‘Spur to improvement’

Ahead of the government meeting, Oxfam announced new measures for the prevention and handling of sexual abuse cases.

Oxfam’s chairman of trustees, Caroline Thomson, said the charity’s board had appointed a consultant earlier this year to review its culture and working practices, which would now be extended.

“It is not sufficient to be appalled by the behaviour of our former staff – we must and will learn from it and use it as a spur to improvement,” she said.

Haitians bathe and wash clothes in a stream on the one-year anniversary of the 2010 earthquake — Image captionOxfam staff had been in Haiti as part of the relief effort following the 2010 earthquake

The charity will also introduce tougher vetting of staff and mandatory safeguarding training for new recruits.

It said it will also work with the rest of the aid sector to make it easier to share intelligence about people who have been found guilty of sexual misconduct.

This will be in addition to measures designed to prevent sexual abuse and misconduct and improve the handling of allegations which Oxfam says it introduced in the wake of the Haiti case in 2011.

What happened when?

Media captionPenny Mordaunt: ‘They did absolutely the wrong thing’

The allegations of misconduct by Oxfam staff in Haiti date from 2011 but came to light in a report in the Times on Friday.

It said the charity’s country director for Haiti, Roland van Hauwermeiren, was alleged to have used prostitutes at a villa rented for him by Oxfam in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake.

Oxfam knew about the allegations at the time and launched an internal investigation, as a result of which four members of staff were dismissed.

Three others, including Mr van Hauwermeiren, were allowed to resign before the end of the investigation.

Mr van Hauwermeiren went on to work elsewhere in the sector, but Oxfam said it would not have provided a positive reference.

The charity says at the time it made public a report, which said “serious misconduct” had taken place in Haiti and issued a press release – but did not give details of the allegations.

It told the Charity Commission it was investigating inappropriate sexual behaviour, bullying, harassment and staff intimidation – but again did not reveal the exact details.

Oxfam’s chief executive, Mark Goldring, told the OP’S NEWS that describing details of the behaviour at the time could have drawn “extreme attention” to it, which he said would have been in no-one’s best interest.

Venezuela kidnap: Baseball star Elías Díaz’s mother freed

Elias Diaz #32 of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits into a double play scoring a run in the second inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park on August 19, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — Image captionElías Díaz plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates and is one of many Venezuelans to play in MLB

Police in Venezuela have freed the 72-year-old mother of Elías Díaz, a catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates in US Major League Baseball.

Ana Soto was kidnapped on Thursday in her hometown of Maracaibo, in western Venezuela, by a group of men who bundled her into a van.

Special forces tracked her down to the home of a police officer, where she was being held, not far from the city.

Sports stars are popular targets for kidnappers due to their large salaries.

Six people, five of them officers in the Zulia state police force, have been arrested in connection with Ms Soto’s abduction.

Venezuela moved by deadly kidnapping

Officials said one of the officers arrested was a neighbour who “provided all the information needed” to carry out the kidnapping.

Rescued safe and sound

Ms Soto was taken for a medical check-up at a nearby hospital and is reportedly in good health.

The head of Venezuela’s investigative police force (CICPC), Douglas Rico, tweeted a picture of Ms Soto being given something to eat and drink after her successful rescue.

Mr Rico said no ransom had been paid.

Elías Díaz had appealed for the safe return of his mother after she was abducted on Thursday morning while she was chatting to neighbours in a working-class area where she lives.

Mr Díaz said she had been taken just 15 minutes after he had left her home, which he had been visiting before the start of spring training in Florida.

Major league teams have warned their Venezuelan players to be careful when taking trips home as sports stars and their relatives are a popular target for kidnappers.

In 2011, Wilson Ramos, a catcher for the Washington Nationals, was kidnapped while visiting his family in the Venezuelan city of Valencia. He was freed from a mountain hideout by members of the security forces a few days later.

Last year, the 15-year-old son of basketball player Juan Manaure was abducted and killed while Mr Manaure was spending Christmas in his homeland.

Kidnappings have soared in the past years as the economic crisis in Venezuela has worsened.

The US State Department warns that cross-border violence, kidnapping, drug trafficking, and smuggling occur frequently in the state of Zulia, where Ms Soto was abducted, as well as in Táchira and Apure.

Johnny Hallyday’s children contest exclusion from his will

Laura Smet, Johnny Hallyday and wife Laetitia attend party in 2008 — Image captionLaura Smet (left) is contesting the award to Hallyday’s fourth wife, Laeticia (right)

The children of French rock star Johnny Hallyday are contesting his will after he left everything to his fourth wife Laeticia and their adopted daughters.

In a statement, actress Laura Smet said she was “stupefied and hurt” after learning she had been left nothing from her father’s estate.

His biological son David is also contesting, the AFP news agency says.

The singer, who was hugely popular in his native France, died in December aged 74 from lung cancer.

Ms Smet, 34, said she was shocked to be left without even a souvenir in her father’s will, “not even the sleeve of the song Laura”, which was dedicated to her.

Her lawyers maintain the will, drafted in California, contravenes French laws that prevent children being disinherited.

Laura Smet and son DaviD Hallyday at late singer's funeral, wearing dark glasses — Image captionLaura Smet and her half-brother David Hallyday pictured at their father’s funeral

The rocker married Laeticia in 1996. They then adopted two Vietnamese-born daughters, Jade and Joy.

According to the statement, the will stipulates that in the event of Laeticia dying, then the estate goes to the adopted children only.

Hallyday, whose real name was Jean-Philippe Smet, was often referred to as “the French Elvis”.

The singer sold about 100 million records and starred in a number of films, but failed to crack the English-speaking market.

Hundreds of thousands of people came out to pay tribute to him after he died from lung cancer aged 74 in December.

Pakistani Taliban deputy Khalid Mehsud ‘killed in drone attack’

The Pakistani Taliban say a senior militant, Khalid Mehsud, has been killed in a US drone attack.

Mehsud was deputy leader of the banned Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the main faction of the hardline Islamist Pakistani Taliban.

He was killed in a drone strike on Thursday in North Waziristan, near the border with Afghanistan, the militant group added in a statement.

The TTP has been blamed for dozens of suicide bombings and other attacks.

In December, gunmen from the militant group stormed a college in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing at least nine people and injuring 36.

Mehsud’s death would further weaken the Pakistani Taliban, who have been forced to reduce their activities due to a relatively successful Pakistan military offensive, BBC Urdu’s Haroon Rashid reports.

Pakistani officials claim many TTP militants have been forced to take refuge in Afghanistan as a result, our correspondent adds.

Analysis

By OP’S NEWS

Mehsud, also known by his alias Khan Said Sajna, is the most important militant leader to have been killed since the August 2016 killing of Hafiz Saeed Khan, leader of so-called Islamic State in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Mehsud has kept militant attacks going not only against military targets in South Waziristan but also at times deeper inside Pakistani territory.

He can be described as a true successor to the first two chiefs of TTP – Baitullah Mehsud, the group’s founder, and Hakimullah Mehsud.

His influence can be seen from how he defied Mullah Fazlullah – who officially became the third TTP leader after Hakimullah’s death in a drone strike in 2014.

Mehsud refused to accept Mullah Fazlullah as TTP chief, mainly because Fazlullah did not hail from the tribal region, and was living in Afghanistan due to the absence of his own base on Pakistani soil.

Fazlullah tried to retaliate and sideline Mehsud by naming his rivals as the head of the TTP in South Waziristan – but was forced to give in after Mehsud’s supporters fought and defeated Fazlullah’s nominees.

Aldi tops supermarket satisfaction survey

Aldi has been rated the UK’s best supermarket, nudging previously top-ranked Waitrose down to fourth place.

Customers criticised Aldi stores for being “untidy” and for a lack of staff availability, but rated them highly for offering value for money, according to consumer group Which?.

Marks and Spencer was second, winning marks for store appearance and product quality. Lidl ranked third.

The large supermarkets fared worst, with Sainsbury’s ranked last of nine.

The survey, conducted last October, asked customers to rate their supermarket shopping experiences in the past six months. The chains are scored on customer satisfaction and whether they would recommend the store to a friend.

Waitrose, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s lost marks over value-for-money compared to the discount chains.

Which? said respondents praised the ease of finding items on shelves at Aldi.

But both Lidl and Aldi scored poorly for queuing time, staff availability and for the range of products on offer. But they were marked up for the quality of their fresh and own-label products.

How customers rated their supermarket

Aldi 74%
Marks and Spencer 73%
Lidl 69%
Waitrose 68%
Iceland 65%
Tesco 64%
Asda 63%
Morrisons 63%
Sainsbury’s 62%

While Aldi accounts for only 7% of the UK grocery market and Lidl 5%, the discount chains have seen strong sales growth over the last few years.

“With food costs rising it seems as though shoppers have felt the pinch and are voting with their feet and wallets,” said Alex Neill, managing director of Which? home products and services.

“Aldi and Lidl have won over their customers with value for money, knocking Waitrose off the top spot.”

Newspaper reports suggest Tesco is considering launching its own budget supermarket chain.

The Sunday Times reported that the country’s largest supermarket has “secret plans” to take on the discounters at their own game, by opening stores offering a limited range of own-brand products.

A spokesperson Tesco declined to comment.

The supermarkets were also rated for their online services. Iceland retained the top ranking for the third year running, but shared the spot with Ocado for the first time.

Asda remained at the bottom of the table for online deliveries where it has been for more than a decade.

Amazon Fresh, which only launched in 2016 and is only available in the south east of England, came in fifth position.