Carbon pricing will have only a third of the cost impact of the GST, while driving new jobs and innovation, Prime Minister Julia Gillard says. A day after the parliament passed her carbon pricing legislation, Ms Gillard was greeted with more than a minute of applause as she addressed the Carbon Expo business forum in Melbourne on Wednesday. She said carbon pricing, which will start on July 1 next year, will provide efficient carbon abatement at the lowest economic cost "An inbuilt incentive to innovate,burberry outlet cheap linking global markets and aimed at meeting evidence-based emissions targets," she said. "The carbon price has a small beginning, less than one-third of the price impact of the GST, yet the scale of the transformation it unleashes will be immense. "Within the space of just 38 years, 2012 to 2050, well within the lifetime of most people in this room, our nation will cut nine out of every 10 tonnes of the carbon pollution we would otherwise have released into our atmosphere." Ms Gillard said the change would touch every home and workplace. "A new industrial revolution that will change the way we live and change it for the better," she said. She said the opposition's talk of repealing the laws was "juvenile". Asked what businesses should do from today, Ms Gillard said she was confident companies would think about the many creative ways they could cut their carbon pollution. A number of companies have expressed concern about the high starting price of $23 a tonne, compared with the current European price of around $10 and falling. Ms Gillard said the carbon price drop in Europe was not unexpected given Europe's volatile economy. "We have worked on the long-term price," she said. "I think the important price point, in terms of the international price, is when we move three years in to the floating price and the international linking.

(Reuters) - Votes were being counted on Wednesday in the run-off of a Liberian presidential election that was meant to shore up peace in the war-scarred state but which instead appears to have deepened divisions. Presidential challenger Winston Tubman, who boycotted the election over allegations of fraud in the first round, said his supporters and other Liberians would reject any results giving incumbent Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf a new term in office. "We will not accept the result. We told them we were not voting and they went ahead and placed our photos on the ballot papers.burberry outlet cheap Not only (opposition) CDC people boycotted but many Liberians were listening to us," Tubman told Reuters. Turnout for the November 8 election may have been as low as 25-35 percent, according to observers, as some Liberians stayed away from polling stations fearing violence and others adhered to the opposition call for a boycott. The National Election Commission said late Tuesday it would begin releasing results from the poll, including turnout figures, Thursday evening. A spokesman for Johnson-Sirleaf's UP party said turnout may have been further crimped by voter apathy, as Tubman's withdrawal from the contest made the result a near-certain Johnson-Sirleaf victory. "I would have loved for them to take part, but unfortunately they did not take part," Alphonso Nimley, UP spokesman, said. BLOODSHED Tensions had been high ahead of voting after an opposition march that turned bloody earlier in the week. At least two people were killed when Liberian security forces, backed by U.N. peacekeepers, used live rounds, tear gas grenades, and truncheons to disperse the marchers. Liberian authorities said they were investigating the incident. Liberia is one of the world's poorest countries, with over half of its people surviving on under 50 U.S. cents a day. Fourteen years of intermittent fighting that ended in 2003 killed nearly a quarter of a million people and left its infrastructure in ruins. There had been hopes the election would reflect the country's progress since the fighting ended and pave the way for new investment in its oil and minerals, but fears are growing it could instead open the door to open-ended political turmoil. Johnson-Sirleaf took nearly 44 percent of the first round vote on October 11. Tubman took roughly 33 percent in the first round but said last week he would withdraw from the race and called for a boycott because of evidence of fraud. He said he would only be willing to participate in a second round if it were delayed by two to four weeks and counting procedures were amended. International election observers called the October 11 vote mostly free and fair, and the United States, the United Nations,

Vancouver police have not received any request for support in keeping the peace if the city goes in to remove the tents, Const. Lindsey Houghton said. Instead, the VPD is awaiting directions from Ballem on what the city’s next move will be. Occupy Vancouver participants planned to host a rally Monday to push back against city officials who spent the weekend calling for the end of the protest camp. In separate weekend public appearances, Mayor Gregor Robertson, mayoral candidate Suzanne Anton,longchamp outlet and Ballem all took turns calling for the end of the encampment, pointing to the Saturday death of 23-year-old Ashlie Gough as evidence that it’s time for the camp to come down. “Is the right to protest really a right at all if it must be kept out of sight?” said Occupy Vancouver participant, Kaleen McNamara, in a Monday statement. “If you are a supporter of the occupy movement, of charter rights, or wish to call attention to social and environmental inequalities, please join us for this very important rally.” Protesters at the Occupy Victoria encampment were similarly resilient Monday, as they linked arms and surrounded the main tent just before the city’s noon deadline to remove their tents. The group of about 80 people gathered in the city’s Centennial Square chanted and cheered, calling for everyone to stay strong. A few police officers stood and watched, but no tickets were handed out. Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin had said people would not be forced out of Centennial Square at the deadline, but the city will file for a B.C. Supreme Court order to remove the tents and other structures. The city can also issue tickets to protesters should they fail to leave. But protesters say they are not leaving, despite the warning from the city. “We’re not going anywhere,” said protester Robert Barron. “People are coming so we can show solidarity.” Although Barron was prepared to get arrested, Fortin said no one will be arrested. The mayor said he wants campers to leave voluntarily in order to avoid any conflict. Waiting a week or two for an court injunction will cut into scheduled plans to set up for holiday festivities in the square. The city has plans to build an ice rink, which will coincide with the tree-lighting and Santa Claus parade on Nov. 26. Campers have moved more than a dozen tents to make way for the city’s skating rink. In Quebec City, municipal officials took a more patient approach with protesters Monday, where for the fourth day in a row city staff intervened at the Occupy camp to remove material that represented a fire hazard or safety concerns. City spokesman Jacques Perron asked Occupy protesters again to clear out the park where they are camped out, but they refused to pack up their tents. “We continue to be tolerant,” Perron said, noting the city will not force, for the time being, the eviction of the protesters. But he stressed that if they don’t take down their camp voluntarily, they could face a police intervention. The Occupy protesters in Quebec City were set to attend the city council meeting Monday night in an attempt to convince mayor Regis Labeaume to support their movement. Protesters in the nation’s capital have not yet drawn the same ire from officials, as the federal government continues to move ahead with holiday plans in the downtown park that has hosted Occupy protesters in recent weeks. National Capital Commission workers have been able to string Christmas lights in trees in Confederation Park and flushed pipes on Monday in preparation for winter, NCCspokesman Jean Wolff said. Some people and tents got wet and had to be moved when the pipes were flushed, but overall “it went smoothly,” Wolff said Monday.

By Jeff Lee, Evan Duggan, Marianne White, Derek Spalding, Neco Cockburn and Jason Markusoff The clock is ticking on some of Canada’s Occupy encampments, after officials in cities such as Vancouver and Victoria asked protesters to dismantle the camps set up as part of ongoing protests against social inequality. Vancouver City Manager Penny Ballem took the first step to evict protesters in the Occupy Vancouver camp Monday, issuing a written notice instructing them to remove their tents and belongings. The city’s move came as Occupy protesters in Victoria faced a noon deadline imposed by municipal officials to remove their temporary structures. But one expert says that despite the cities’ first steps toward shutting down the camps,longchamp outlet officials across the country will face a difficult task in uprooting the weeks-old protests. “If police use violence, it could have a backlash effect and people could turn out in greater numbers to support the occupiers,” said Marc Ancelovici, who teaches sociology at McGill University. “But if police manage to act diplomatically, it could mean the end of the occupation.” Ancelovici, who studies grassroots social movements, said he believes Occupy protesters scored points in the first days of the movement by getting their message across, but they now seem to be losing the public opinion battle. “There is no debate at all on the issues that the occupiers have raised, like equality, poverty and so on. The debate is only about the occupation as such and that plays in favour of the cities,” he said. The notice from Vancouver officials, posted in the camp on the grounds of the Vancouver Art Gallery, is the first formal step being taken toward obtaining a court order if the protesters don’t comply. City staff say the notice “is not an order” but rather a formal declaration under the city’s Land Use Regulation Bylaw that doesn’t have the same legal weight as a court injunction seeking compliance.

The painful cuts are part of the deficit-slashing regime Ireland accepted in exchange for the bailout from the European Commission, the IMF and the European Central Bank. Ireland has four years to slash its deficit to 3 per cent of its GDP. Different governments have approved four successive austerity budgets for the country,longchamp outlet which is being held up by European finance ministers, so far with little effect, as an example for Greece and Italy. “The European institutions and serious players have a lot of respect for Ireland, and it is appropriate that we work with them,” Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan said. But Greece and Italy remain worries. Greece is nearly out of cash and needs to show its commitment to the bailout plan to receive funding. Embattled Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi could lose his faltering grip on power if he fails to win a crucial parliamentary vote on public finances. Mr. Berlusconi faced harsh criticism from his euro-zone counterparts over his government’s failure to impose serious reforms to deal with its fiscal woes. He was forced to accept humiliating quarterly visits from the IMF to check progress on reforms. And the bond market has driven yields on Italian government bonds to their highest level since Italy adopted the euro, signalling growing fear about the country’s ability to finance itself. Italy’s worsening situation “poses the more immediate threat to the European Union,” global intelligence firm Stratfor said in a note to analysts. If Mr. Berlusconi loses a Nov. 15 confidence vote, his government would fall. That “could sufficiently scare the markets to the point that Italy would face a cutoff from capital markets within days.” All told, this will be a week “for damage control in Europe,” Stratfor said, “but at the moment it appears there will not be an imminent crisis.”

As Europe braces for another week of high-level crisis meetings, more political turmoil, market upheaval and widening social unrest, all eyes will be focused on a new government in Greece and mounting pressure for change in Italy. But as political battles take the spotlight in Europe,longchamp outlet governments are taking the painful steps to push austerity drives needed to bolster their battered finances. France is set to announce budget cuts Monday totalling as much as €8-billion in response to the widening euro crisis, gloomier economic forecasts and a strong desire to hold on to its endangered triple-A credit rating. Ireland faces deeper trims and higher taxes than previously planned to meet conditions of its emergency aid from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. The budget-balancing measures come as euro-zone finance ministers gather for yet another meeting focused on Greece’s financial implosion, and ways to strengthen Europe’s rescue fund – the European Financial Stability Facility – so it has enough financial firepower to safeguard Italy and Spain and keep open their access to capital markets. Late Sunday, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou agreed to give step down and help form an interim government as Greece seeks to secure its bailout by the European Union. Even as political turmoil intensifies in Europe, the drive for austerity is taking hold. Elected officials are coming to grips with the fact they can no longer tie their popularity to debt-fuelled spending on programs their governments cannot afford. The new austerity means more wrenching pain across the region. Economists warn that further belt-tightening will only worsen Europe’s economic troubles, but governments have little choice, analysts say. “The 2012 budget will be one of the most rigorous budgets that France has seen since 1945,” Prime Minister Fran?ois Fillon declared in a speech to regional officials in the Alps, noting that the “hour of truth has arrived.” The Irish government, faced with a sharp reduction in forecast growth next year to 1.6 per cent from 2.5, will shed an additional €200-million from the budget, bringing the total reduction for the fiscal year to €3.8-billion.

EDMONTON — Alberta's three main opposition parties are banding together to pressure the provincial government to call a full public inquiry into allegations of political meddling in the province's health system. The Liberals,burberry outlet cheap Wildrose and NDP have sent a letter to Premier Alison Redford, demanding that she make good on her campaign promise of an inquiry. They say that inquiry must be called under the parameters of the Public Inquiries Act. "On June 7, Alison Redford said that if she became premier she would hold the public inquiry the opposition has been calling for, that is, a full public inquiry under the existing Public Inquiries Act," Liberal leader Raj Sherman said in a statement. "For the sake of public health care and her own credibility, she must keep that promise." Redford and Health Minister Fred Horne said they are committed to a judicial inquiry but indicated it might be handled by a newly beefed-up and independent Health Quality Council of Alberta. Horne said this week that the government plans to introduce legislation this fall to give the council expanded powers and make it more independent from government. He indicated such a council would have the ability to conduct inquiries, appoint judges to oversee them, issue subpoenas and compel testimony. But the opposition parties say that's insufficient. "That's not the same things as a true public inquiry, because HQCA investigations are conducted behind closed doors," the letter said. In addition to making the process open to the public, the inquiry must be called by the end of 2011 so that some results can be heard prior to the next provincial election, the leaders said. Horne has indicated the inquiry might have to wait until 2012 to allow the health quality council, in its current format, to finish a review of allegations of doctor intimidation in the health system.

The United Nations says more than 3,000 people have been killed in the crackdown. The authorities blame the violence on Islamist militants and armed gangs who they say have killed 1,100 soldiers and police. Western sanctions and growing criticism from Turkey and Arab neighbors have raised pressure on Syria to end the bloodshed. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani,burberry outlet cheap who heads the Arab League committee behind the plan agreed in Cairo, said on Thursday: "We are happy to have reached this agreement and we will be even happier when it is implemented immediately." NO EVIDENCE OF ACTION The United States said Thursday it saw no evidence that Syria was taking steps to fulfill the Arab League deal, and said failure to do so would increase the pressure on Damascus. "This Assad regime has a long deep and continued history of broken promises and it has significant blood on its hands," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. "We have not seen any evidence that the Assad regime intends to live up to the commitments it has made ... We have no evidence to indicate that they're withdrawing from anywhere at this stage," Nuland said. Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby briefed members of the Syrian National Council on the plan in Cairo Thursday. "We did not talk with the secretary-general about a dialogue with the regime," council member Samir Nashar was quoted by Egypt's MENA news agency as saying after the meeting. "We discussed entering negotiations with the authorities to move from a totalitarian to a democratic system, and demanded that President Assad leaves power." Sami Baroudi, a political analyst at the Lebanese American University in Beirut, said it was too early to judge whether Syria would honor the agreement. "It will take at least a couple of days to see whether the intensity of violence is going down or up, or staying at the same level," Baroudi said. "I wouldn't throw this initiative into the waste basket because nothing happened immediately."

They ruled that the two alleged offences of sexual molestation against the woman known as AA on two nights and the allegation of unlawful coercion relating to his alleged use of violence by holding AA's arms and forcefully spreading her legs while lying on top of her could be considered offences in England and Wales, which is a prerequisite for extradition. The warrant was "proportionate" and they dismissed Assange's argument that it was not issued by a valid authority.Longchamp Outlet The court also rejected Assange's assertion that the descriptions of the offences were not fair and accurate. Mark Summers, appearing for Assange, said they would take 14 days to decide whether to seek the right to appeal to the supreme court and were likely to resist paying the crown's ￡19,000 costs, indicating Assange could not pay. "If there was a nought on the end, ￡190,000 rather than ￡19,000, you could say there might be an issue," said Sir John Thomas, indicating the fees were not unreasonable. Summers told the judges there was an issue of jurisprudence to consider "about awarding costs against people who are not able to meet them", adding "the court is going to have to engage with his means". The judges ordered a further hearing in three weeks on costs and any application for the right to appeal to the supreme court, which will only be granted if Assange can prove there is a wider issue of "public importance" at stake in the verdict. He would probably remain on conditional bail until such a hearing and that is unlikely before next year. If that fails he could only appeal to the European courts if they believe he is at risk of torture or mistreatment in Sweden. "I don't think they will kill it off at this stage because there are some legal issues at stake," said Julian Knowles QC, who has been following the case. "But I think he will lose eventually … a key calculation for Assange will be whether to preserve resources for a trial in Sweden or fight to the bitter end here in London." Legal sources suggest his latest appeal fees could be in the order of ￡100,000 and he would face a similar bill again if he went to the supreme court. He would only recover costs if he won, a case of "double or quits". Vaughan Smith said "people are disappointed … but Julian has become pretty robust. You don't get a sense of dismay. It is a case of soldiering on." He said Assange had a legal defence fund for supporters' donations but it was "reasonable to assume he is struggling with his legal fees". Smith also said Assange continues to fear that if he goes to Sweden he could be extradited to the US to face charges relating to the leak of hundreds of thousands of US government documents. He is also worried about the ability of WikiLeaks to function if he is in a Swedish jail. But even as his legal options for avoiding removal to Sweden narrowed, Assange enjoyed vocal support on the street. As he left court he was cheered by supporters, including a group of Occupy London protesters. "Occupy London support you," shouted one through a megaphone. Assange, who had been blank-faced all morning, smiled and waved his legal papers. He seemed to recognise a kindred spirit, something he has struggled to find so far in the courts of London.

Short of cash and running out of legal arguments, the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, felt the net tighten around him on Wednesday as the high court dismissed his latest appeal against extradition to Sweden to face rape and sexual molestation claims. The president of the Queen's Bench Division, Sir John Thomas, sitting with Mr Justice Ouseley, threw out Assange's four-point appeal against the Swedish prosecutor's European arrest warrant.Longchamp Outlet Assange's lawyers, meanwhile, indicated that the 40-year-old Australian may not have the money to pay his opponents' costs. Unless he appeals to the supreme court, and that requires high court approval and yet more legal fees, he could be removed to a Swedish jail by the end of the month to be questioned over claims of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion by two women he met on a visit to Stockholm in August 2010. After the ruling, out on the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice, Assange faced the cameras wearing a smart navy suit and a Remembrance Day poppy, but without his usual air of defiance. Eleven months earlier he had stood on the same spot after being freed from Wandsworth prison on bail. Back then he declared with a smile that it was "great to smell the fresh air of London again" and he pledged "to continue my work and continue to protest my innocence". This time it was unclear whether he planned to fight on. He said only: "We will be considering our next step." "I have not been charged with any crime in any country," he said. "The European arrest warrant (EAW) is so restrictive that it prevents UK courts from considering the facts of a case, as judges have made clear here today … no doubt there will be many attempts made to try to spin these proceedings as they occurred today but they were merely technical." He directed people to a website set up by supporters "if you wish to know what is really going on in this case", then fought his way through a pavement melee, into a minicab and away. Court four had been full for the 9.45am case, which took minutes. Assange was joined by WikiLeaks staff and supporters including campaigning journalist John Pilger and Vaughan Smith, the owner of Ellingham Hall in Norfolk where Assange is living under strict bail conditions which include an ankle tag and evening curfew. "This is self-evidently not a case relating to a trivial offence, but to serious sexual offences," the judges said, upholding the original magistrates court decision from Assange's first appeal in February. They said Assange had argued the rape claim against him dating from his trip to Stockholm in August 2010 did not in fact amount to rape, but "the allegation that he had sexual intercourse with [SW] without a condom would amount to an allegation of rape in England and Wales".