Links To Blog

Fidel Castro dusted off his full military uniform for the first time since stepping down as president four years ago, a symbolic act in a communist country where little signals often carry enormous significance.

The revolutionary leader wore the olive-green cap and uniform — minus the star and laurels he held as commander in chief — at a speech yesterday to students at the University of Havana. The clothing choice was sure to revive speculation that the 84-year-old is seeking a larger role in Cuban politics after turning power over to his younger brother Raul.

Mr Castro repeated his warning that the world stands on the brink of a nuclear conflagration due to tension pitting the United States and Israel against Iran. He has returned to the message almost daily since emerging from seclusion in July.

But the 35-minute speech to thousands of students on and in front of the majestic stairway leading to the historic university was by far Mr Castro's most significant. Before, he has mostly spoken in closed sessions to small groups, and his appearances were usually not announced ahead of time.

Mr Castro, who began his political career as a student activist at the same university 60 years ago, said it has fallen to his tiny island to warn the world of the looming nuclear threat, and that it was important that it did not fail. "Faced with the sceptics, our duty is to keep up the fight," he said. "I am convinced that a good number of people are becoming conscious of the reality."

The former president has said he fears that fresh UN sanctions will give the US and Israel the right to intercept Iranian ships, which will lead to an armed confrontation that could go nuclear. At one point, he went so far as to warn that the conflict would break out before the later rounds of the World Cup soccer tournament in July, only to apologise for jumping the gun when hostilities did not materialise.

He thanked the university students for their support, saying he has always appreciated their backing. "In this, like in many battles of the past, we can win," he said of his efforts to warn the world of the nuclear danger.

Mr Castro stepped down, first temporarily, then permanently, in July 2006 after a serious illness that nearly killed him. He stayed almost entirely out of the public eye for four years while his 79-year-old brother, a close partner in the 1959 revolution, took the reins of power.

Since bursting back on the scene in July, the elder Castro has scrupulously avoided mention of domestic issues such as Cuba's economic woes or its fight against corruption, presumably to avoid stepping on Raul Castro's toes. He did the same on Friday, limiting himself to reminiscing about the past and warning about a nuclear future.

But Mr Castro's speeches have grown bigger, and he has crept closer and closer to at least looking like the revolutionary leader he once was. While he is no longer president, Fidel remains head of Cuba's Communist party. At yesterday's speech, he was introduced as Cuba's "historic leader" and "commander in chief".

drive from www.independent.co.uk

Europe's rarest seabird, the Zino's Petrel, found only in Madeira, has suffered potentially devastating losses from a forest fire which struck the birds' breeding area on the Atlantic island.

The fire on Madeira's central mountain massif killed 25 chicks – 65 per cent of this year's young birds – with only 13 fledglings found alive in their underground burrows. These remaining few will have to contend with the effects of severe soil erosion which the fire has caused. Three adult birds also died.

One of the rarest birds in the world, Pterodroma Madeira was once believed to be extinct and was only rediscovered in 1969. Since then its numbers have been down to a few tens of pairs, but intense conservation action in recent decades has seen its population grow and almost 80 pairs now nest on the island. In recent weeks, forest fires ravaged parts of Madeira, and eventually hit the heart of the central massif, whose mountain ledges support a number of endemic plants and animals (some of the wild flowers surviving because they are inaccessible to goats).
The petrels breed on ledges 5,250ft up where there needs to be enough earth for the birds to burrow and make their nests. They face numerous threats, ranging from predators such as rats and cats to habitat degradation and human disturbance: in 1991 the remains of 10 Zino's Petrels were found on one ledge, all of them apparently killed by cats. Shepherds used to collect juvenile birds for food, and egg-collectors have raided nest burrows in the past.

Late last year another threat appeared in the shape of a Nato radar station being built on the summit of Pico do Areeiro, the mountain in the heart of the breeding area. Authorities insists it is necessary for military purposes, but it is feared the building work and the station will affect the birds.

A conservation effort in the breeding area has hitherto protected the birds. "Losing 65 per cent of this year's potential young is a blow to Zino's Petrel," said Ana Isabel Fagundes, of Portugal's national ornithological society, SPEA.

Conservation teams have reinforced nests with surviving birds, and removed the bodies of the dead ones. "Burnt bushes and trees have been removed to avoid the risk of adult birds colliding with them on their nocturnal visits to feed the chicks," said Paulo Oliveira, director of the Natural Park of Madeira.

drive from www.independent.co.uk

An NHS worker with an unblemished 27-year career was sacked after she blew the whistle on senior doctors who were moonlighting at a private hospital while being paid to diagnose NHS patients, an employment tribunal has heard.

Sharmila Chowdhury, 51, the radiology service manager at Ealing Hospital NHS Trust, repeatedly warned the hospital's most senior managers that doctors were dishonestly claiming thousands of pounds every month.

A Watford employment tribunal judge took the unusual step last week of ordering the trust to reinstate Ms Chowdhury's full salary and said: "I have no hesitation in saying that you are probably going to win."

The ruling will be a bitter blow for the trust, particularly as despite the seriousness of the allegations, it failed for two years to take any action against Miranda Harvie and Peter Schnatterback, the two doctors accused of fraud at the hearing.

Instead, Ms Chowdhury was suspended after a counter-allegation of fraud made against her by a junior whom she had reported for breaching patient safety. Radiographer Michael McWha made the allegation at the request of Dr Harvie, the tribunal heard. Ms Chowdhury was sacked for gross misconduct in June, eight months after her suspension.

This case is the latest to highlight the inadequate legal protection for whistleblowers who speak out about wrongdoing in the NHS. It also raises the uncomfortable question about the power yielded in the NHS by senior doctors. The onus is now on the trust to prove at next February's tribunal that Ms Chowdhury was guilty of fraud and not, as she claims, sacked because she was a whistleblower.

Speaking after the judgment, a tearful Ms Chowdhury expressed her relief after months of financial hardship. A widow with a teenage son, Ms Chowdhury has been forced to move back in with her elderly parents and rely on the goodwill of outraged lawyers. She told The Independent on Sunday: "I cannot believe what has happened to me. I was horrified and humiliated when escorted out of the building, and for a whole month, I had no idea why I was suspended. I was just doing my job. I thought the trust would want to know consultants were doing private work on NHS time. The public has a right to know what is happening with public money.

"This whole thing has completely changed me. I'm trying to stay positive but I loved my work, my department, and there are not many jobs out there. I hope the trust sees sense and tries to resolve the situation. If it hadn't been for Julie Morris at Russell Jones and Walker who took on my case for free, I would have lost everything I'd worked for all my life."

Ms Chowdhury qualified as a radiographer at Hammersmith Hospital in 1983. She worked her way up the management chain before starting as Ealing's deputy imaging manager in 2003.

The alleged fraud came to her attention after starting as service manager is 2007. It was her job to balance the books, report all staff absences and make sure X-rays, CT and MRI scans were of a high quality. But in addition, she had a separate informal agreement with the trust to read X-rays, for which she was paid £2 per report. She did this every morning and would then work through lunch to complete her normal duties.

drive from www.independent.co.uk

Uefa president Michel Platini claims the governing body's new rules on spending have ended the "total anarchy" that surrounded player transfers. This summer's transfer window is expected to show another drop in spending by Premier League clubs – and that despite Manchester City's £126m spree.

Uefa's new financial fair play rules, aimed at ensuring clubs in European competition only spend what they earn, are due to come into force from next season though they will be introduced gradually. Last year Premier League clubs spent £450m but this summer the total sum could be down by 25 per cent. Meanwhile, January saw only £30m spent – the lowest figure since the mid-season window was introduced in 2003.

Platini said: "For years and years we were in total anarchy but the clubs asked for the rules because they knew they could not continue. We can see already that the clubs are spending less as they look to balance their books.

"This is because the first time the break-even rule will kick in is in the coming year, the 2011-2012 season.

"It's very soon and this means that the strategy to say, 'I can now go and spend hundreds of millions' doesn't work because we will see it in two years at the latest. Transfers have not been as crazy as in the last few years, they are pulling up their socks and the clubs are making special efforts to comply with the rules."

drive from www.independent.co.uk

Kissing babies is always good for a politician's career; releasing pictures of your own newborn in time for Sunday's papers is better.

Yesterday the first pictures of David and Samantha Cameron's four-day-old daughter, Florence Rose Endellion Cameron, were released. The PM is pictured cradling and kissing his new daughter; he must now decide when to take paternity leave. He had been expected to return to work this week after his holiday. The baby, born weighing 6lb 1oz and named after the village of St Endellion near the Camerons' holiday stay, was due next month but caught the family by surprise.

drive from www.independent.co.uk

The following correction was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and clarifications column, Wednesday 4 August 2010

This article mentioned the case of Joanne Dowling, who died of this condition last year. While our article was right in saying that GPs are the focus of a new information drive, it failed to state clearly that in this case it was the GP who correctly diagnosed suspected meningococcal septicaemia, and sent Joanne Dowling to Milton Keynes general hospital. It was there, a coroner's finding later stated, that one of the doctors involved set aside the GP's diagnosis and discontinued the antibiotics which the GP had started.

Family doctors are being given new advice on how to spot meningitis after research revealed that settling a lawsuit involving misdiagnosis of the condition can cost as much as £6.8m.

A GP's failure to correctly identify meningitis can lead to a patient dying or suffering catastrophic consequences, such as brain damage, disability and an inability to work or lead a normal life.

The condition develops quickly and can kill within four hours. Last week an inquest into the death of a 25-year-old woman in Milton Keynes from meningitis found she died after a "breakdown in communication" between doctors. Joanne Dowling, who was denied antibiotics that could have treated the illness, texted her mother photographs of the tell-tale rash spreading across her body. Her condition deteriorated and, after sending 42 texts to her mother and a friend, she died 14 hours after being admitted to hospital.

The Medical Defence Union (MDU), which represents doctors accused of negligence, will today issue new guidance to GP members in an attempt to improve detection of meningitis. It will also publish research showing that the cost of cases where a GP has not diagnosed the condition is soaring, and the damages paid to a patient or their family regularly now reach over £1m.

A study by the MDU, which it has passed to the Guardian, discloses that since 1998 the organisation has settled, or is about to settle, 34 cases involving a GP failing to diagnose meningitis or meningococcal septicaemia. Together, including legal fees, the cases cost £19m.

Six cases involved settlements of more than £1m. The largest payout, £6.8m, was made last year after a baby aged under 12 months suffered brain damage because an out-of-hours GP delayed in diagnosing meningitis. The baby's condition worsened in the 12 hours after being seen by the GP. The infant survived but suffered serious injury and the award – the largest amount the MDU has ever paid out for a doctor's error – reflects the rising cost of high-level, long-term care. Of the 34 cases, 22 involved children under 18 and 13 under five. In 13 cases the patient died.

"Meningitis causes great concern for the public who read about or experience first-hand this devastating illness and for the doctors who diagnose and treat it", said Dr Karen Roberts, an MDU medico-legal adviser.

"It is every GP's worst nightmare that they may miss or delay a diagnosis, not least because they are aware of the potentially serious consequences for the patient." The MDU is recommending that GPs review their ability to identify the signs and symptoms of meningitis. It will put updated guidance on its website .

drive from www.guardian.co.uk

Celebrity maraca-player Bez, 46, will sadly be unavailable to take part in Ultimate Big Brother. The former "freaky dancer" for the Happy Mondays – real name Mark Berry – was recently convicted of assault, and has now been jailed after informing a Manchester magistrate that he refused to recognise her authority. Marie Cash gave Bez a community sentence and ordered him to pay £450 in costs, but the performer – whose father was, would you believe, a rozzer – told her: "I'm not doing it. Bovvered. I'm going to appeal and take this to a real court." The kerfuffle concluded with Bez being led to the cells crying: "Victory is within my grasp!" and facing a four-week jail sentence. His assault on girlfriend Monica Ward took place in May: the court heard that Bez (not a chap you'd trust to recall where he'd left his keys) couldn't find the takings from a concert, flew into a rage and tried to throttle Ms Ward – also the lead singer in his band, Domino Bones. Their MySpace page suggests they're still booking gigs. Does one have Wi-Fi in jail?

* The New Statesman provided the first big media endorsement of Labour's leadership campaign yesterday, declaring its support for Ed Miliband, as if we should be surprised. NS editor Jason Cowley has interviewed Miliband (E) twice in as many months, and as long ago as January the mag ran a front-page headline which read: "Ed Miliband, Labour's Next Leader". Doing its very best to see the prophecy fulfilled, then.

* The early arrival of Florence Rose Endellion Cameron presents Nick Clegg with a chance to patch up those alleged poor relations with his party. Thanks to the PM's previously planned paternity leave, Clegg was due to fly to New York on 20 September as understudy at a UN summit, and to address the annual gathering of world leaders on the subject of international development. The only catch: it means he'll miss the second half of a potentially fractious Lib Dem Conference, which runs from 18 to 22 September. Now that Cameron's paternity leave has been brought forward, the PM could do the US trip after all, leaving Clegg to keep his party company in Liverpool.

No 10, however, tells me that so far Clegg has no plans to cancel his New York sojourn. Which must mean that either party relations are dandy, or that the divisions are just too deep for him to heal. Why else would anyone pass up the chance to mingle with Lib Dem members at Liverpool's BT convention centre, in favour of boring old Obama, Medvedev et al in Manhattan?

drive from www.independent.co.uk

The trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna will continue unchecked after the rejection yesterday of a proposed fishing ban that had been described by conservationists as the only way to save the critically endangered species from extinction.

Japan and Canada along with scores of developing nations succeeded yesterday in preventing any restrictions being imposed on the harvest of the fish, which is highly prized in sushi restaurants, on the grounds that a ban would devastate the world's fishing economies. Delegates at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) in Doha voted by a margin of 68 to 20 against a proposal to immediately outlaw the sale of bluefin. A weaker measure supported by the EU, which would have introduced a ban in 2011, was also rejected by 72 votes to 43.

The decision puts one of the world's most majestic fish in imminent danger of extinction. Stocks of bluefin, the largest and fastest of all tuna species, have declined to roughly 15 per cent of historic levels. Migrating shoals of the fish, which grow to up to three metres in length and have been likened to underwater Ferraris, are plundered each year as they pass through the Straits of Gibraltar to spawn in the Mediterranean.

Their fatty flesh is much in demand in Japan, where good specimens can fetch tens of thousands of dollars. A 500lb bluefin was auctioned for £111,000 on the Tokyo fish market two months ago, making it the most valuable fish ever sold. The prices being paid for bluefin have added to the difficulties in controlling the trade. France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Malta and Cyprus have for years blocked EU proposals to outlaw fishing in their territorial waters, while the Japanese have pledged to ignore any Cites ban that is imposed.

Yesterday's proposed measure was thrown out when Libya, where many non-EU bluefin vessels are based, used an arcane procedural measure to limit the debate to just 90 minutes. Under Cites rules, delegates were then forced to vote on new trade restrictions immediately.

"It is scandalous that governments did not even get the chance to engage in meaningful debate about the international trade ban proposal," said Dr Sergi Tudela, a WWF fisheries scientist who was at the talks. "It is now more important than ever for people to do what the politicians failed to do – stop consuming bluefin tuna."

The fish's delicate flesh has been prized since antiquity, and the Romans sent fleets of fishing boats into the Mediterranean in search of spawning shoals. But technology has decimated bluefin populations, with aircraft and sonar devices now enabling trawlers to pinpoint individual fish.

After they are caught bluefin are often kept in saltwater cages, where they are continually fed to give their flesh the fatty texture prized by sushi chefs. Attempts to breed the migratory species in captivity have failed.

Yesterday's vote highlights the difficulty in getting the 175 members of Cites, which is supposed to protect endangered species, to agree any meaningful measures to prevent exploitation of animals that are considered economically valuable.

drive from www.independent.co.uk

I think it was on the fourth day of our holiday that I realised it was time to stop looking at the internet. I had turned around in my seat in front of the computer to ask my boyfriend if he'd heard of a BBC weather forecaster named Tomasz Shafernaker. "Because apparently he was caught on camera flipping the bird to a newsreader! Look, there's a video of it!" The mouse cursor hovered over the 'play' button on the YouTube clip. Just as I moved to play the video, I thought of the two novels sitting by my bed, waiting to be read. I looked at the skies outside, beginning to brighten after two days of rain. I had a choice: I could watch this utterly pointless clip, or I could pull the plug on this machine and go outside. It's a decision that seems to get harder every summer.

If the addictive quality of the internet means that it can interrupt holidays, it stymies any serious effort to work, think or create. Even the greatest minds confess that they often find themselves struggling in the invisible snare of the world-wide web. In an interview with Time magazine this week, Jonathan Franzen described the extreme lengths he went to in order to cut himself off from virtual distraction while writing the follow-up to his 2001 bestseller, The Corrections.

He wrote every day in a hired office, a bare room containing just a table, chair and a basic laptop. But a room is never truly one's own if it's Wi-Fi-enabled. Franzen not only removed the wireless card from his Dell laptop but, just to be sure, permanently blocked its Ethernet port.

"What you have to do," he explained, "is you plug in an Ethernet cable with superglue, and then you saw the little head off it."

Not all of us need to forcibly disable our internet connections with glue and a hacksaw, partly because the world and his agent isn't waiting for us to produce a 1,000-page Great American Novel. And I don't compare my desire to relax in the sunshine and enjoy a holiday with a writer's desperate need for long-term solitude (Franzen's new book took nine years to complete, despite his precautions.) But lots of us will recognise the frustration his actions reveal.

drive from www.independent.co.uk

Two Spanish aid workers held by al-Qa'ida's North African wing were freed yesterday, ending a kidnapping in the Sahara Desert lasting nearly nine months.

Al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) said it seized Albert Vilalta and Roque Pascual while they were travelling through Mauritania with a relief aid convoy last November, the latest in a string of abductions claimed by the group.

"They are safe and sound after 268 days in the hands of their kidnappers and [after 268 days] of the Spanish government's concern and efforts to obtain their release," Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told a news conference.

He said relatives were travelling with a government representative to meet the two men, who were working with the Barcelona-Accio Solidario aid group when they were seized.

They were due to arrive in Barcelona last night after being transferred by helicopter to the airport in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou.

The release appeared to be linked to Mauritania's repatriation to Mali earlier this month of a militant convicted of the kidnapping of the two Spaniards, along with a third who was freed in March, a European security analyst said.

"There was a swap, though it is unclear if there was also a ransom paid," said the analyst.

drive from www.independent.co.uk