Those clamouring for northern President are jokers –Ohanaeze

JULY 31, 2013 BY OLUWOLE JOSIAH, ABUJA

 

Ohanaeze

Ahead of the 2015 general Elections, pan-Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has asked those clamouring for a President of a Northern extraction to banish such thought.

President, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Kano State chapter, Chief Tobias Idika, in a statement on Tuesday, bemoaned the plight of the Igbos within the country’s political configuration, saying it appeared that people of the South-East were no longer Nigerians.

He said, “The truth is that it appears the South-East is no longer part of this country. If it were to be in an ideal society, where justice and equity reign supreme, our brothers from the North should have had that moral obligation to graciously surrender power to the South-East at the expiration of President Goodluck Jonathan’s tenure.

“For informed minds, the history of politics and power sharing in this country has never favoured the South-East since independence and it is obvious that since the civil war, our brothers from the North believe that we are a conquered people and should not be considered in the socio-political cum economic arrangements in Nigeria.

“The same power they seek was with them for over three decades, and yet the North is counted as the poorest and most backward in terms of education and human development. It then means that those who clamour for power in the North do so for their own selfish aggrandisement.

“What is the need of clamouring for power when they cannot use it to develop their region?”

He added, “The point I want to hit on the head remains that immediately after President Goodluck Jonathan, power must shift to the South-East. Ndigbo must have their turn and it is non-negotiable. My advice to our brothers in the North is to be considerate and stop seeing political power as their birthright. At this point, one begins to think that some cabals in the North manufactured the Boko Haram just to stampede Nigerians into agreeing to their terms of taking power back.”

Giving what could be described as a blow-by-blow account of Monday night’s carnage perpetrated by the Islamist Boko Haram sect in Kano, Idika,who is also the President-General, Leaders of Ethnic Communities Resident in Kano State, said 45 people lost their lives.

According to him, it was not the first time non-indigenes were being targeted by the group.

He, however, commended the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 1, and the state Commissioner of Police, Musa Daura, who, according to him,were at the scene of the incident for an on-the-spot assessment.

He said,”On Monday, July 29, between 9 and 9.30pm, terrorists invaded Sabon Gari, an enclave for non-natives and planted Improvised Explosive Devices, which exploded almost simultaneously at Enugu/Igbo Road, near International Hotel and on New Road, directly opposite the popular Ado Bayero Square, precisely at No. 38, 39, 40 and 41.

“At 41, New Road, Christ Salvation Pentecostal Church was also bombed at the peak of evening worship. Ohanaeze’s account can confirm 39 deaths on New Road and six on Igbo/Enugu Road. Also, unspecified number of people got injured. The team of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Kano State chapter, arrived the scenes at about 9.30pm and witnessed the moving of dead bodies and the wounded by security agencies, mostly the Army.”

Mikel, Moses off to US

JULY 31, 2013 BY AGENCY REPORTER 

Mikel Obi

Mikel Obi has returned to Chelsea as part of the squad for the inaugural Guinness International Champions Cup in Miami.

The Nigeria international, who has been subject of transfer away from Chelsea this summer, returned to the Stamford Bridge team after he was given an extended holiday following his participation at the FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil in June.

Mikel was on the flight with his national team mate Victor Moses. An excited Moses tweeted messages and photo from the flight indicating he was seated with Mikel on board. Moses was not part of the Nigerian team to the FIFA competition in Brazil.

Moses wrote via his Twitter handle, “Off to America with the team looking forward to it come on Chelsea.”

Mikel will be looking forward to playing his first game under Jose Mourinho on the Portuguese, second time in charge of Cheslea. Moses was part of the Chelsea Asian tour.

Chelsea will play their first game at the competition in Indianapolis against Inter Milan on Thursday.

Visa bond: We will retaliate, FG insists

JULY 31, 2013 BY KAMARUDEEN OGUNDELE, ABUJA 

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru
| credits: File copy

THE Federal Government on Tuesday insisted on retaliatory action  against  British citizens if their government  went ahead  with  its plan to impose a £3, 000  visa bond on visitors from Nigeria and five other Commonwealth countries.

It expressed displeasure that Downing Street, which had already  set November as the discriminatory policy’s commencement time, had not deemed it neccessary  to formally communicate to it on the next step of action.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru,  had at a meeting with the British High Commissioner, Andrew Pocock, conveyed the desire of Nigeria to retaliate the policy.

 The spokesperson for the ministry , Ogbole Ode, said  in a statement in Abuja, that  the British authorities were  already aware of the Federal Government’s position on the matter.

The statement reads, “Media reports in Nigeria on Monday,  July 29, 2013, indicated that the United Kingdom  Government will begin to implement from November, 2013, the £3,000  cash bond  for first-time visa applicants from Nigeria, and five other Commonwealth countries. The other countries are India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. These media reports themselves were quoting the Financial Times of London.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has yet to receive any official communication on the final decision of the UK government on this matter. The Federal Government has already conveyed its objection to the bond payment to the UK government. This was done  when the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador  Ashiru, summoned the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Andrew Pocock, to the Tafawa Balewa House, on June 25,  2013.

“If and when a communication to that effect is received, the Federal Government  will take appropriate steps to reflect its national interest. ”

When contacted, the spokesman for the British High Commission in Abuja, Rob Fitzpatrick, said,  “No final decision has been made” on the  controversial policy.

He said, “As British Prime Minister David Cameron has said,  we want the brightest and the best to help create the jobs and growth that will enable Britain to compete in the global race. So, for example, if you are an overseas businessman seeking to invest and trade with world class businesses, one of the thousands of legitimate students keen to study at our first-class universities or a tourist visiting our world class attractions, be in no doubt: Britain is open for business.”

It will be recalled that Ashiru, at the meeting with Pocock, warned that the government would retaliate the discriminatory policy.

On Monday the British  government  defended a campaign  advising  illegal immigrants to “go home or face arrest.”

Two trucks, each displaying a large  poster with a number for migrants to send  text  messages if they desired  to return to their countries , were  seen in six London boroughs for a week.

It was learnt that posters, leaflets and advertisements in   newspapers  would  run for a   month to further promote the campaign, a pilot scheme by the interior ministry.

A member of the Liberal Democrat Party,  the    junior partner in the coalition government with  the Conservative Party and  Business Secretary, Vince Cable,  called the campaign “stupid and offensive.”

The opposition Labour Party’s home affairs spokeswoman, Yvette Cooper,  also said the scheme was “ludicrous.”

But  Prime Minister David  Cameron’s spokesman defended the  campaign,   saying it was  clear  that it was  “already working”  as some  illegal immigrants  had  voluntarily agreed to leave  the UK.

Police, hoodlums accused of killing undergraduate, friend

JULY 31, 2013 BY ENIOLA AKINKUOTU

The hoodlums in action. Insert: Nwainokpo

Policemen attached to the Badagry Police Division, Lagos State, and some hoodlums have been accused of killing a 25-year-old undergraduate of Delta State University, Ifechukwude Nwainokpor, and his friend, identified simply as Kazeem.

An eight-minute video clip of the gruesome killing, which was made available toPUNCH Metro, showed the two victims handcuffed together. They were covered in their own blood and beaten to death with sticks. Tyres were also put round   their necks.

An irate mob could be seen in the video, shouting, “die, die, burn them, burn them.”

At some points in the video, a policeman was seen interviewing the boys. He asked who sent them (victims) to rob the area, an accusation they denied. One of the hoodlums, holding a sharp object attempted to cut off the private part of one of the victims.

Nwainokpor could be seen pleading with the hoodlums and policemen to spare his life, saying he could identify himself if given a chance. His plea, however, fell on deaf ears.

Our correspondent, who visited the family of Nwainokpor  on Tuesday, learnt that the lynching took place around 3pm on July 21, 2013 in Ajara area of Badagry, a community not far from Nwainokpor’s family home.

His father, Samuel, told PUNCH Metro that his son was arrested while passing through a street in the area  but a misunderstanding later ensued and the hoodlums pounced on  him  and Kazeem.

He added that  Nwainokpor, who was nicknamed Ify, was a final year student of Geology and Mining.

He said, “On that particular day, I was in Ghana when I received a telephone call  that I should come immediately. My wife was in Delta State taking care of her   mother.

“When I arrived two days later, my relatives and the caretaker of my house  told me that my son was killed in the Ajara area along with his friend. I was devastated.

“I got my son a  temporary job with a Customs licensed  agent since their lecturers were on strike.  He worked everyday except on Sundays when he visited his  friends. On that day, he went to see Kazeem and they were strolling around Ajara.”

Samuel said because there had been a robbery in Ajara four days earlier, some of the residents were on the lookout for strange faces.

He added that when the youth  saw two unknown young men, they  accosted them and an argument ensued.

He said the youth  called the head of the vigilante group   in the area, one Asiribo.

He said, “Asiribo came to the scene with a locally-made pistol and handcuffs. He handcuffed my son and his friend  before asking them questions.

“Later, it was decided that the boys be taken to the Baale, Agano Oniyon of Agamade Ajara. But as they were going, Asiribo, while trying to return his gun into its  pouch, mistakenly shot himself in the stomach and died.”

Samuel said Asiribo’s death infuriated the youth, who  blamed the boys for  his  death.

“The mob picked up sticks  and beat them to death. Policemen were there,”   he  said.

Holding back tears, the retired immigration officer   added  that the police treated the matter as a robbery case. Beating  his chest,  Samuel said there was no way his son would have been involved in  armed robbery.

He said, “I have been living in Badagry since 1982. I have  only two children and Ifechukwude  is the  first. Ironically, he was born in that same area where he was killed.

“I have lived in this area without any trouble and  the residents  can tell you that my sons are good  boys.”

Nwainokpor’s boss, Aloysius Onyenibedi, described him as an honest and hardworking person.

“I trusted him to the extent that I used to keep a lot of money with him. He was good to my children and was honest,” he said.

The Nwainokpor family berated the Divisional Police Officer, Badagry Police Station,  Dankoli Mohammed, for the manner he treated the case.

Samuel said when he approached the DPO, he was told that his son was killed at midnight for armed robbery.

He said, “When the policemen came to take the corpses, guns were planted on them. Policemen at the station told the DPO that they were robbers. Their corpses were taken along with that Asiribo to Badagry General Hospital’s mortuary.

“The following morning, the DPO released Asiribo’s corpse for burial without investigation. My relatives went to the station and after showing the DPO the video, the matter was transferred to the Area K Command.

“At Present, Asiribo’s son has fled, while the DPO has been unable to identify the policemen who were present at the scene when my son  and his friend were killed.”

PUNCH Metro however learnt that through the video, some people had arrested one of the perpetrators. The suspect had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department,  Panti, Yaba. 

The spokesperson for the state police command, Ngozi Braide, said, “The incident is quite pathetic. Even if they were armed robbers, no one has the right to take the life of another. Why then do we have the police and the judiciary? The Nigerian police as well as the law condemn mob action and jungle justice. The commissioner of police has set up a high- powered investigation body to investigate the matter.”

 

'Hacker heroin frame plot' foiled by security blogger

30 July 2013 Last updated at 14:23 GMT

Share this TwitterBy Matthew Wall

Business reporter, BBC News

Brian Krebs thinks the heroin was bought on an online black market called the Silk Road

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A respected US-based internet security expert says he has foiled an attempt to frame him as a heroin dealer.

Brian Krebs says the administrator of a Russian cybercrime forum hatched a plan to order heroin, arranged for it to be delivered to his home, then tipped off the police, making it look as if the call had come from a neighbour's house.

Fortunately, Mr Krebs was already monitoring the website and saw the plot being planned in real time.

He alerted the FBI and local police.

"I am little concerned", he told the BBC. "But then there are a lot of things people can do to upset you and get under your skin using a keyboard and few clicks of a mouse.

"But what's the next level?"

The person behind the attempted plot, according to Mr Krebs, set up a bitcoin wallet to accept donations of the digital currency from fellow forum members.

He raised about $200 (£131) worth of bitcoins and used it to buy 12 small bags of heroin using the Silk Road online black market.

Brian Krebs is speaking at the Black Hat hackers conference in Las Vegas on 1 August

The package duly arrived at Mr Krebs's house, and he handed it over to the police.

Hijacked

This is just the latest example of a sustained smear campaign against Mr Krebs orchestrated by hackers and cybercriminals disgruntled at his exposure of their antics.

In March he was visited by a heavily armed police unit tricked into responding to a 911 call that had been made to look as if it originated from his home.

Mr Krebs says he opened the front door to find a squad of policemen pointing a battery of guns at him.

After being hand-cuffed and questioned, he managed to persuade the police they had been hoaxed by hackers.

The informant had used a instant message relay service designed for hearing impaired and deaf people to pretend to be Mr Krebs reporting that Russians had broken into his home and shot his wife.

The phenomenon, known as swatting, after the special weapons and tactics (Swat) teams called out to handle hostage and other dangerous situations, had begun on the West Coast, the police told Mr Krebs, but had been working its way eastwards.

"This type of individual prank puts peoples' lives at risk, wastes huge amounts of taxpayer dollars, and draws otherwise scarce resources away from real emergencies",

"What's more, there are a lot of folks who will confront armed force with armed force, all with the intention of self-defence."

Denial of service

Mr Krebs also says his website suffered a major distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack.

This is when a large number of hijacked computers flood another computer server with messages to render it helpless.

The site was taken offline temporarily as a result.

Mr Krebs will be giving a talk about the rise in DDoS attacks for hire at the Black Hat hackers conference in Las Vegas on 1 August.

Robin Williams to star in new US sitcom

Robin Williams to star in new US sitcom

Gellar plays Williams' daughter in the Chicago-set sitcom

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• Robin Williams back in Happy Feet TwoWatch
• Making Happy Feet Two 'crazy fun'Robin Williams is returning to TV screens for the first time since starring in the 1970s show Mork & Mindy with a new comedy, The Crazy Ones.

Williams, 62, who rose to fame as the alien Mork in the hit series, will play an eccentric advertising agency boss in the sitcom.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Sarah Michelle Gellar will play his daughter.

The show, from Ally McBeal creator David E Kelley, is due to air in the US in September.

Williams said he hopes audiences will be drawn to his character, Simon Roberts, and will enjoy watching how he relates to his daughter.

"You have to establish a character that people buy into," he said.

"I think people will buy into not just my character but the relationship with everybody else. He has good ideas and bad ones."

Williams, who was known for his improvisation skills in Mork & Mindy, will be given the freedom to ad lib and be spontaneous in The Crazy Ones.

"He says my words perfectly. Then he uses his," said Kelley.

"He manages inside the box, then we give him a few takes where he gets to take out of it."

The show is one of a number of new shows added to the autumn TV line-up in the US.

A new four-hour mini-series on NBC will see Diane Lane in the role of former first lady and US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.

NBC said the show, simply named Hillary, will track Clinton's life and career from 1998 to the present.

The series will air ahead of the 2016 US presidential election.

Clinton has not said whether she will make another run for the Democratic nomination for president.

Warm weather sees boom in UK jellyfish blooms

30 July 2013 Last updated at 00:16 GMT

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By Matt McGrathEnvironment correspondent, BBC News

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The long, cold spring meant there were very few reports before June.

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) now says several species including the Lion's Mane are being reported in rapidly growing numbers.

This particular species has a powerful sting and scientists are advising people not to touch them.

For the past ten years the MCS has carried out a national jellyfish survey based on reports from members of the public.

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This year was extremely quiet until June, and scientists say that the reason was the poor winter weather.

"What seemed to happen was that we had the very cold spring," said Dr Peter Richardson, biodiversity programme manager with MCS.

"Normally we'd be receiving records from January onwards, this year we didn't have anything until May."

Bloom boom

The warm weather in July has led to an influx of information from all parts of the UK.

"We are getting anecdotal reports of people saying well 'I've been to this beach in the southwest for many years and I've never seen so many jellyfish' - we do tend to get that each year," said Dr Richardson.

Earlier this month the Foreign Office updated its travel advice  for Greece  the wake of large jellyfish blooms there, but scientists stress that there are different factors and different species here in the UK.

Lion's mane jellyfish can stretch to over two metres and have a powerful sting

In Britain, Blue and Compass jellyfish are very common in the South West of England. The Moon species is being found all around UK coastal waters, in large numbers in some places.

There are also growing numbers of Lion's Mane around North Wales and the North West of England.

"They're our biggest jellyfish, they grow to about two metres wide and have metres of trailing tentacles, and they have very powerful stings, said Dr Richardson.

"They actually feed on the Moon jellyfish, so you tend to get big blooms of Moon and then Lion's Mane after."

Stinging seas

The scientists say the public should be very careful in the way they approach this species.

"We ask people to report what they see online and send us photos," said Dr Richardson.

Barrel jellyfish are usually found in the Irish sea but come further south as the waters warm

"But always look and don't touch, as they can sting and that could really spoil your day,"

There are competing views about why jellyfish blooms are increasing. There is some evidence that pollution is driving up the number of algal blooms and depriving the seas of oxygen.

In these environments, shellfish and other species struggle to survive. But jellyfish do well.

There are also concerns about overfishing. Researchers point to the collapse of the herring fishery in the Irish sea as helping to increase the numbers of jellies there.

"They are great opportunists, they have a unique design, if you take away their competition, they will take advantage of that situation." said Dr Richardson.

However some scientists say that the boom in blooms is down to a natural cycle that over the course of 20 years or so sees the rapid growth and die-off of jellyfish.

Happiness index shows 'small improvement' in 2013, ONS says

30 July 2013 Last updated at 14:50 GMT

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Continue reading the main storyThe ONS said the London 2012 Olympics may boosted people's morale

A UK-wide well-being survey has found "small improvements" in people's happiness over the year.

The proportion of people rating their life satisfaction as seven or more out of 10 rose from 75.9% to 77.0%, the Office for National Statistics said.

It said the Olympics and Diamond Jubilee may have "influenced people's assessment of their... well-being".

The survey is carried out to help the government develop policies to improve people's well-being.

The ONS also compared its data from 2007-2011 with European Union figures for that period and found that the British were happier than the French, Germans and Italians.

The UK ranked 10th for life satisfaction out of 27 EU countries, according to the European Quality of Life Survey, with an average rating of 7.3 out of 10 in 2011.

The ONS said the UK's rating was unchanged between 2007 and 2011, showing a "picture of stability" in contrast to a decline in happiness in many EU countries.

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It also showed a small reduction in anxiety levels, with the proportion of people rating their anxiety at a higher level of six or more out of 10 falling from 21.8% to 20.9%.

Women rated their anxiety levels higher than men. The average anxiety rating for women is 3.1 compared with 2.9 for men.

Yet on balance, women were found to have higher life satisfaction, consider their activities to be more worthwhile and rate their happiness slightly higher than men.

People aged 45 to 54 were the most dissatisfied, while younger people rated their happiness above average and retired people were the most content age group.

Married couples or those in civil partnerships rated their life satisfaction highest, with the average score at 7.8 out of 10. The ONS pointed out that this was higher than for cohabiting couples who reported an average of 7.6 out of 10.

Widowed and single people rated their life satisfaction lower than those in couples, at an average of 7.3 out of 10 and 7.2 out of 10 respectively.

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Happiness by relationship status

Average life satisfaction, 2012-13
Status	Score*
*LIFE SATISFACTION RATED 0-10. SOURCE: ONS
Married/Civil partnerships	7.8
Cohabiting	7.6
Widowed	7.3
Single	7.2
Divorced/separated	6.8

However, divorcees or separated people rated their life satisfaction lowest, at an average of 6.8 out of 10.

Bank holiday

The ONS said the reason for the small uptick in the nation's well-being between 2011/12 and 2012/13 was "not fully understood at this stage".

Though measuring happiness was "complex", the ONS said the factors most associated with personal well-being were health, employment situation and relationship status.

The survey found no significant changes in average ratings for life satisfaction for any of the self-reported health groups or among unemployed people - despite improvements in the labour market.

It did however identify an improvement in average ratings for life satisfaction among people in all relationship statuses.

The ONS said that over the past year, the UK had celebrated several special events, such as the Queen's Diamond Jubilee which included a special bank holiday and the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic games.

Glenn Everett, programme director for measuring national well-being at the ONS, said the events may have boosted well-being because they were perceived as "one-off", "once-in-a-lifetime" events.

Paralympics golden girl Ellie Simmonds with her gold medal for the women's 400-metre freestyle

"The other part is that Britain did well in the Olympics and the Paralympics," he said.

The first well-being survey was released by the ONS in 2012. Prime Minister David Cameron described it then as crucial to finding out what the government can do to "really improve lives" - but Labour ridiculed the survey as a "statement of the bleeding obvious".

The government maintained that it wanted to take into account quality of life alongside its "key priorities" of creating economic growth, jobs and opportunities.

A spokesman for the Cabinet Office said: "Finding out what will really improve lives and acting on it is important and having evidence will help us to find the best ways of doing so. Today's figures published by ONS are a welcome further step towards developing trusted and accepted national statistics for well-being to inform our decisions."

Irish abortion bill becomes law

30 July 2013 Last updated at 20:09 GMT

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Michael D Higgins has signed the bill into law

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Abortions under limited circumstances will be allowed in the Republic of Ireland under a new law.

The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act will allow terminations to be carried out where there is a threat to the life of the mother.

It will also be allowed where there is medical consensus that the expectant mother will take her own life over her pregnancy.

Irish President Michael D Higgins signed the bill into law on Tuesday.

He decided not to refer the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill to the Supreme Court.

A meeting of the president's advisory body, the Council of State, was held on Monday to consider the bill.

President Higgins held four hours of talks with the council before making his decision.

He had until Wednesday to either sign the bill into law or refer it to the Supreme Court to assess its constitutionality.

President Higgins' signing of the bill into law, means it does not have to be forwarded to the Supreme Court to determine whether it is constitutional.

The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act will now be added to the statute book.

Irish deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore referred to the decision as a key milestone in Irish law.

The Pro Life Campaign said on Tuesday that the passing of the bill into law was "a very sad day for our country".

The introduction of the legislation follows the case of an Indian woman who died in an Irish hospital after she was refused an abortion.

The death of Savita Halappanavar drew attention to the lack of clarity about the legal position.

Mrs Halappanavar was a 31-year-old Indian dentist who was admitted to hospital in Galway in October 2012 while miscarrying.

She died a week later from septicaemia.

Her request for an abortion was turned down.

Her inquest heard that she could not get a termination at the time because her life was not in danger but, by the time her life was at risk, an abortion would have been too late to save her.

JP Morgan pays $410m to settle US energy case

30 July 2013 Last updated at 15:08 GMT. JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon has been trying to improve the image of the Bank. JP MorganChase's energy unit has agreed to pay $410m (£268m) to settle charges from the top US energy regulator that it manipulated energy markets. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) agency alleged JPMorgan's trading practices drove up prices for electricity, mainly in California and the Midwest. The fine is the second largest penalty in FERC history. The bank did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement. JP Morgan said it was "pleased to have reached an agreement with FERC to put this matter behind it". JP Morgan spokesman Brian Marchiony said the settlement would "not have a material impact on our earnings", because the bank had previously set aside reserves for the case. FERC claimed JP Morgan's energy unit used five "manipulative bidding strategies" in California between September 2010 and June 2011, and three in the Midwest from October 2010 to May 2011. The regulator alleged that traders at JP Morgan's energy unit created artificial conditions to boost the price of energy. Under the deal, the bank must also make annual reports to the commission for three years detailing its power business in the United States. JP Morgan has already sold the rights to buy the gas and sell the power from its California plants. The energy rigging case is the latest embarrassment to hit JP Morgan. Last year, the bank suffered a $6.2bn (£4bn) loss after trades made by the so-called London Whale turned out to be bad. Last year FERC fined Barclays $453m (£300m) for allegedly manipulating electricity prices. Barclays protested about FERC's findings, but US regulators upheld the fine earlier this month.

Military judge set to rule in Bradley Manning case

30 July 2013 Last updated at 14:07 GMT

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A military judge is set to issue a verdict in the court martial of the US soldier who disclosed reams of secret documents to the Wikileaks website.

Pte Bradley Manning, 25, will hear Judge Col Denise Lind's ruling at 13:00 local time (17:00 GMT) on Tuesday.

Pte Manning has acknowledged leaking the documents but denies the most serious charge of "aiding the enemy".

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The Wikileaks disclosures

• At a glance: Wikileaks cables
• Excerpts: Iraq war logs
• Excerpts: Afghan war logs

He has already pleaded guilty to 10 lesser charges out of 22 total, and faces life in prison if convicted.

'Systematic harvest'

Pte Manning, an intelligence analyst, was arrested in Iraq in May 2010. He spent weeks in a cell at Camp Arifjan, a US Army installation in Kuwait, before being transferred to the US.

He was charged with 22 counts including aiding the enemy, unauthorised possession of intelligence material, theft, and violations of computer regulations.

The court martial in Fort Meade, Maryland, opened in early June.

During the trial, prosecutor Maj Ashden Fein argued Pte Manning systematically harvested hundreds of thousands of classified documents to offer them to anti-secrecy organisation WikiLeaks.

Pte Manning's supporters rallied outside Fort McNair in Washington on Friday

He argued that with his training as an intelligence analyst, Pte Manning should have known the leaked documents would become available to al-Qaeda operatives.

The prosecution has argued the leaks harmed US national security and endangered American lives and those of foreign intelligence and diplomatic sources, and Maj Fein has said some of the documents eventually made their way to Osama Bin Laden.

Pte Manning's defence lawyer, meanwhile, has argued the young soldier is a well-intentioned whistleblower - and naive and disillusioned after his deployment to Iraq in 2009.

The lawyer, civilian David Coombs, has also said Pte Manning acted without the "general evil intent" that would justify the "aiding the enemy" charge.

Among the items sent to Wikileaks was graphic footage of an Apache helicopter attack in 2007 that killed a dozen people in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, including a Reuters photographer.In a lengthy statement during a pre-trial hearing in February, Pte Manning said he had leaked the files in order to spark a public debate about US foreign policy and the military.

The documents also included 470,000 Iraq and Afghanistan battlefield reports and 250,000 secure state department cables between Washington and embassies around the world.