Anti-Cut Activists Target Topshop:
Activists have taken over several Topshop stores to protest against tax avoidance. The Arcadia retail group, with businesses that include Boots, Topshop and Barclays, was the primary target, which activists allege dodges over £12 billion in tax per year. Topshops’s flag-ship store on Oxford Street was forced to close when over 70 activists performed a sit in, and in Brighton activists super-glued themselves to a Topshop’s store front window.

Tutu and Havel Call For Xiaobo’s Freedom:
Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former Czech President and Human Rights Campaigner Vaclav Havel have called for the release of Liu Xiaobo, the Chinese dissident who won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. Writing in the Observer, Tutu and Havel stated that “though he is just one of 1.3 billion, the story of this year’s Nobel peace prize laureate…is sadly emblematic of the Chinese government’s intolerance to individual expression.” Tutu and Havel are the honorary co-chairs of Freedom Now, which represents Liu as his international legal counsel. Liu, who will be awarded the Peace Prize officially on Friday, is currently serving an 11 year prison sentence for “subverting state power” for co-authoring the Charter 08 political manifest. Liu is one of hundreds of political prisoners in China, with some reports suggesting there are currently over 700 prisoners, whilst others suggest the number is closer to 3,000. Writing in the Observer, Tutu and Havel wrote, “China doesn’t just violate the human rights of its citizens, it coddles and supports brutal dictatorships around the world. The authoritarian regimes of Burma, Sudan and North Korea, whose actions continue to threaten international peace and security, remain free to commit mass atrocities against its people because of the bilateral support and billions of dollar of weapons supplied by Beijing.”

Dick Cheney Faces Bribery Charges In Nigeria:
Dick Cheney, former USA Vice-President and former Halliburton chief executive, is to be charged by Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency over a bribery scandal. KBR, an engineering company, has pleaded guilty to paying £115 million in bribes to Nigerian officials between 1996 and 2004, when KBR was a Halliburton subsidiary. Cheney was chief executive of Halliburton between 1995 to 2000. Femi Babafemi, a spokesman for the anti-corruption agency, said the charges were “not unconnected to his role as the chief executive of Halliburton” and the charges were likely to be brought against Cheney next week.

David Miliband Accused of Supporting Aid To Sri Lanka To Win Tamil Votes In UK:
David Milliband, the former Foreign Secretary, has been accused of supporting aid to Sri Lanka last year in order to win Tamil votes in the UK, according to a leaked USA embassy cable. Tim Waite, a Foreign Office team leader on Sri Lanka, was quoted by Richard Mills, a political officer at the USA embassy in London, as saying “that much of the government and ministerial attention to Sri Lanka is due to the ‘very vocal” Tamil diaspora in the UK… with UK elections on the horizon and many Tamils living in Labour constituencies with slim majorities, the government is paying particular attention to Sri Lanka.” Des Browne, part of a special envoy to Sri Lanka in 2009, said, “Of course (the conflict in Sri Lanka) had an effect here. There were tens of thousand of people on our streets and there was a presence in Parliament Square…it was all-party and I made sure it didn’t bleed into party politics.”

Words: Richard Lemmer

Photo: Flickr user DG Jones, of the Topshop protest.