EDINBURGH: British Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative party promised yesterday to radically increase the Scottish government’s spending powers if voters reject independence at a referendum in September and opt to stay in the United Kingdom. The keenly awaited promise from the Conservatives over what further powers could be handed over from London if Scotland votes against independence at a September 18 referendum followed similar plans unveiled by the two other major UK parties. The Conservative party recommended giving the devolved Scottish parliament free reign to set income tax rates, air passenger duty, and greater control over welfare funding which would make Scotland accountable for 40 percent of its spending. Although opinion polls show Scots remain doubtful about secession, the proportion backing independence has increased this year. About 15 percent remain undecided and surveys show greater devolution is preferred by many over independence.
BRASILIA: Former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, wanted by US authorities and currently living in Russia, said in a TV interview yesterday that he has applied for asylum in Brazil. “I would love to live in Brazil,” Snowden told Brazil’s Globo TV. Snowden’s temporary asylum in Russia expires in August. Washington has revoked his US passport, so his travel options are limited. Snowden, who was interviewed with reporter Glenn Greenwald by his side, said that he has formally asked several countries for asylum, including Brazil. Greenwald is an American living in Brazil. He writes for The Guardian and has published much of the information that Snowden has leaked. Brazil’s foreign ministry said it has received no formal asylum request from Snowden.
LONDON: More than 500 reports of abuse on victims aged as young as two have been made against late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile, according to a new investigation by the NSPCC charity published yesterday. The probe found that Savile, one of the biggest TV stars in Britain in the 1970s and 1980s, exploited high-level contacts to gain access to vulnerable victims at a high-security psychiatric hospital. Savile, who died in October 2011 at the age of 84, was a hugely popular but eccentric figure, famed for his shock of white hair, tracksuits and chunky gold jewellery. He was knighted in 1990. The latest NSPCC figures show the most common age group for Savile’s victims was between 13 to 15.
LONDON: Police investigating the 2007 disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann have sealed off an area of scrubland in the Portuguese resort where the three-year-old went missing, the BBC reported yesterday. An area was taped off in the Praia da Luz holiday resort in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. Detectives said in May the seven-year search was heading towards “a substantial stage of activity”. McCann disappeared from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in May 2007 while her parents dined with friends at a nearby restaurant, prompting a global search and headlines worldwide. Despite the international attention, the fate of McCann remains a mystery.
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria: Gunmen opened fire on a church service in the northeast Nigerian village of Attangara, killing nine people, police and a witness said yesterday. The village lies in the Gwoza hills, near the Cameroon border and now the main stronghold of radical Islamist sect Boko Haram. “As we were holding service, we started hearing gunshots and everybody fled, some through the windows, and ran into bush,” resident Matha Yohana said of the attack. A police source said nine were killed in the assault.
Agencies
