New Delhi bans all web taxis after Uber rape claim | ||
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New Delhi (AFP) - New Delhi has extended a ban on Uber to all web-based taxi services in the Indian capital, as the US-based operator said it would continue operating despite the order, which followed a rape allegation against one of its drivers. The city government announced on Monday it was banning Uber with immediate effect after a young female passenger accused the driver of raping her over the weekend. Hours later, it said all other taxi service providers that rely on "web-based technology" must also cease operating in the city because they did not comply with local regulations. But an Uber executive told AFP on Tuesday that it was still operating in New Delhi and had received no formal notice from the government. "We have not received any official notification (about the ban). If and when we do, we will of course appeal it," said the executive, who asked not to be named. "As of now we have not stopped our operations in Delhi." Delhi police said they had registered a case against the company for "cheating" and had summoned its officials for questioning over the alleged rape. Police said Uber did not conduct a background check on the driver, who had been acquitted of a separate rape charge in 2012. Uber said it complied with local rules and background checks were not required. It is the latest setback for the popular but controversial San Francisco-based start-up, which lets customers hail and pay for taxis or private vehicles via a smartphone app. The company's rapid growth has caused tensions, especially in Europe where rival taxi companies have protested that Uber cars are not subject to the same regulations. Dutch judges on Monday ordered the company to shut down UberPOP, which allows non-professional drivers to register, saying it was against the law to charge for a ride without a licence. Also on Monday, authorities in the US city of Portland, Oregon, asked a court to stop Uber from operating in the city, saying it did not comply with local rules. In India, Uber says it works with licensed drivers and is a taxi aggregation service, putting passengers in touch with nearby available cabs. The company set up its India operation in September 2013 and also provides services in 10 other cities across the country. Unlike radio taxi services, which will be allowed to continue operating in Delhi, it does not have a 24-hour call centre operation, relying instead on Twitter and email for customer support. The latest incident has once again raised the issue of women's safety in India, days before the second anniversary of a fatal gang-rape of a Delhi student that unleashed widespread outrage. The victim dozed off in the taxi as she was returning home from dinner. She told police she woke to find the taxi parked in a secluded place where the driver assaulted and raped her, before dumping her near her home in north Delhi. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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TESCO SHARES ARE GETTING SMASHED | ||
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Tesco shares are crumbling today, down more than 15% at the open, hitting lows not seen for at least ten years. The share price hasn't closed below 160p since the millennium, and it's currently hovering at just above 159p. Tesco issued a profit warning today that sparked the renewed sell-off:
This is probably an unavoidable clean-up effort. Tesco has struggled to manage its top spot as the UK's biggest retailer (and the world's second biggest), and an enormous provide overstatement has worsened its structural issues. The gaffe meant Tesco had to revise its profit before tax for the first half of the year down by more than 90%. An investigation was called and many senior executives were suspended. Here's Mike van Dulken at Accendo Markets, offering his take in a note:
Tesco's problems might be a long-term issue, but this particular correction seems to be about a short-term shortfall in profits, even if the painful adjustment is necessary. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Under-fire Arsenal boss Wenger looks for Euro boost | ||
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Istanbul (AFP) - Arsene Wenger has vowed to field a strong team against Galatasaray on Tuesday as the under-fire Arsenal manager bids to silence the critics by snatching top spot in Champions League Group D. Wenger's side have already qualified for the knockout stages of Europe's elite club competition, but they would prefer to finish the group stage in first place to avoid a potentially tricky last 16 clash. Even more importantly, Wenger desperately needs some good news after a chastening trip to Stoke on Saturday ended with the Gunners boss looking a beleaguered figure as he was abused by angry Arsenal fans while waiting to board the club's train home after their dismal 3-2 defeat. An online video shows the Frenchman being subjected to foul-mouthed taunts from fans who were clearly unhappy with their team's latest capitulation in a frustrating domestic campaign which sees them languishing 13 points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea. A section of Arsenal's fans unveiled a banner asking Wenger to quit after the recent 1-0 win at West Bromwich Albion and on Saturday he was told to "f**k off and leave" by some fans as he tried to get on the train back to London. In the circumstances, Wenger would clearly love to snatch top spot from Borussia Dortmund, who sit two points ahead of Arsenal and host Anderlecht in their final group match on Tuesday, and so he plans to field most of his key players against already eliminated Galatasaray in Istanbul. "We'll go with a strong team of course, we want to win the game," Wenger said. "Since the start of this season we have played seven games in the Champions League, including the qualifiers, and we have won four. I would like to win five. "Galatasaray cannot even get Europa League. It's a massive surprise because I thought they would be one of the contenders to go through. "Turkish people are very proud and they will try to finish well this campaign with a convincing performance, but we play many games and some players are close to getting an injury, so I'll have to assess that."
- Growing pressure -
With their Premier League title challenge already in tatters, Arsenal are fighting to salvage a season which seemed to promise great things after their FA Cup final victory last term ended a nine-year trophy drought. A long run in the Champions League after a series of last 16 exits would ease the growing pressure on Wenger, who has already had to deal with criticism from Alisher Usmanov, the club's second largest shareholder in recent weeks. Should Dortmund lose to Anderlecht and Arsenal beat the Turks, who are already consigned to finishing bottom of the group, then the north Londoners will take first place. But finishing second will do little to help their prospect of advancing to the quarter-finals and beyond and Gunners defender Per Mertesacker concedes Arsenal will have only themselves to blame if that is the case. "There are small regrets in two matches in the group stage where we didn't play well," he said. "But it's good to have reached the last 16 with a game to spare, especially when it is an away game and it is in Istanbul. You don't want to be under pressure needing points in Istanbul." And, with criticism of Arsenal's numerous weaknesses growing louder by the week, Mertesacker has called for his team-mates to deliver a dynamic performance at the Turk Telekom Arena. "It is going to be a tough one, but we have to prepare ourselves properly and prepare mentally for the fight. That's what we're going to face," he said. "The first 10 or 15 minutes are very important and then when you do well they get nervous, so we have to give absolutely everything and not give any chances away." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Here's Obama's Hilarious Segment From Last Night's 'Colbert Report' | ||
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President Barack Obama appeared on "The Colbert Report" Monday night and took over a segment on the show. He told Colbert: "You’ve taken plenty of shots at my job, I’m going to take a shot at yours." Obama read the prompter for Colbert's "The Word" segment (which Obama changed to "The Decree") while jokes appeared on screen next to him. He mostly joked about Obamacare, a major point of contention during his two terms as president. Check out some of the jokes that popped up on screen while Obama was giving his "Decree": When he discussed Obamacare:
He said there are things both parties actually like about Obamacare:
And pointed out that children can stay on their parents' policies until they're 26:
And that 7 million people have signed up for Obamacare in the past year:
Then he asked how you stop something that more and more people are starting to like:
He said that even if Republicans repealed Obamacare, they'd have to replace it with their own healthcare plan:
He also dropped a joke about Mitch-McConnell-Care:
Obama said there's only one surefire way to kill Obamacare:
He said he'd have to make signing up unappealing to young people:
And he acknowledged that Obamacare's website rollout had been "a little bumpy":
But he assured people that the new website works, and wondered how to get the message out to young people since they don't watch "real news shows like this one":
He said going on a comedy show was "beneath his dignity":
This was one of Colbert's last episodes before he takes over David Letterman's job on CBS' "Late Show." The final episode of The Colbert Report is scheduled for Dec. 18. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Pistorius appeal hearing underway in South Africa | ||
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Pretoria (AFP) - South African prosecutors on Tuesday argued Oscar Pistorius's five-year manslaughter conviction was "shockingly inappropriate," at a start of a hearing that could open the door to an appeal of the Paralympian's sentence. The athlete was not in court to hear prosecutor Gerrie Nel argue that Judge Thokozile Masipa had misinterpreted the law when she ruled Pistorius did not intentionally shoot Steenkamp. "The precedent set by this court is shockingly low," said Nel. Legal experts and sources involved in the case say they expect Judge Masipa to allow the appeal to go ahead, opening the way for Pistorius to face a tougher murder charge. Pistorius admits shooting girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp four times with hollow point bullets through a locked toilet door on Valentine's Day 2013. He told the court he thought she was an intruder. Masipa found him guilty of culpable homicide, also known as manslaughter, and sentenced him to five years in jail, meaning that he could end up spending only 10 months of his jail term at Pretoria's central prison. Experts said they expect Masipa to give the state a "lashing" about their handling of the case, before sending the matter to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein, the country's judicial capital. Tuesday's hearing is expected to take around two hours. "I honestly don't think that Masipa would refuse leave to appeal, there's just too much controversy about the judgement," said Martin Hood, a criminal lawyer based in Johannesburg. "It doesn't matter what the outcome of the appeal is, if the appeal is allowed then other judges will be able to comment on the decision, and that's critical," said Hood, who has been following the Pistorius case throughout the year. If Masipa refuses to grant the appeal, the state can petition the decision, a common legal strategy in South Africa.
- 'Effective legal system' -
Hood said that with the decision of a Cape Town court on Monday to throw out the Shrien Dewani case -- another high-profile murder trial involving a beautiful young woman killed in the dead of night -- South Africa's courts need to demonstrate they are rigorous and fair. "From a perception point of view, both public and internationally, we need to tell everybody that we have a robust and effective legal system," he said. Pistorius, who celebrated his 28th birthday last month, has been serving his sentence in a Pretoria prison. "He's encountering many beautiful stories from prisoners. There are people there who have committed crimes but whose lives have changed," said his older brother Carl, in an interview with You magazine, a South African tabloid. Pistorius has been accused of receiving special treatment in South Africa's notoriously corrupt prisons, where there is frequent reports of inmates using cellphones and even drinking alcohol behind bars. Yet Carl dismissed claims his brother is living the good life, saying Pistorius relies on weekly 45-minute visits with his family to leave cash at the canteen so he can supplement his standard prison diet with tasty snacks, including baked beans and canned pilchards (small fish). "He now lives moment by moment," said Carl. "There's no fairytale."
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