Jeremy Corbyn announces £10bn plan to scrap university tuition fees

Jeremy Corbyn has set out a £10bn plan to scrap all tuition fees and restore student maintenance grants in his first major policy announcement.

Corbyn said the plan could be funded either by a 7% rise in national insurance for those earning over £50,000 a year and a 2.5% higher corporation tax, or by slowing the pace at which the deficit is reduced.

Corbyn said: “I want to apologise on behalf of the Labour party to the last generation of students for the imposition of fees, top-up fees and the replacement of grants with loans by previous Labour governments. I opposed those changes at the time – as did many others – and now we have an opportunity to change course.”

The move is also designed to strengthen the already strong support his campaign is gaining among younger Labour members.

Corbyn aides said the cost of abolishing tuition fees would be £7.1bn and the cost of restoring maintenance grants would be £3bn.

It is the first detailed new policy Corbyn has set out since he entered the contest.

His populist stance came as Labour high command was close to hitting the panic button at suggestions that private polls were showing Corbyn could win the leadership contest in September.

In an increasingly frenetic contest, the Corbyn camp suspected the leak of the polls was the product of a dirty tricks operation designed to frighten the party membership into waking up to the threat posed by his campaign.

The Andy Burnham team insisted the polls either did not exist or were unreliable, saying its own returns showed Burnham was well ahead.

The campaign spokesman for the centrist Liz Kendall took the polling more seriously, saying the figures suggested Labour party members realised that carrying on with a continuity leader would result in another defeat – but the question was what kind of change Labour would embrace.

Corbyn’s apparent progress came as Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, and currently third-placed in nominations, declared the party should vote against the welfare reform bill next week. Her stance puts her at odds with the interim leader, Harriet Harman. See more http://www.theguardian.com

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Posco may scrap planned $12-billion steel project

South Korean steelmaker Posco could scrap plans for a $12-billion project it had agreed to set up in Odisha a decade ago, following a new law that makes it costlier to source iron ore for the plant, a company spokesman said.

The 2005 project to set up a steel plant was billed as India's biggest foreign direct investment at that time but it has encountered a series of delays. The company waited about a decade to acquire land for the proposed 12-million-tonnes-a-year steel plant, owing to opposition from local tribal groups.

Due to a mining law enacted in March, the company will now also have to buy a mining licence in an auction. Initially, the Odisha government had promised to help the company secure the licence for free.

The new law could raise costs for the company at a time when a global steel glut is depressing prices. "We will have to see how our costs will be, whether it will be viable," said Posco's India spokesman, I G Lee. "We will take a final call only after the auction details are out."

Asked whether the company could skip the auction and withdraw from the Odisha project, Lee said: "Yes."

Through the past two years, Posco and ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, have scrapped a number of other projects in India, citing difficulties in acquiring land and mines. Another withdrawal by Posco could dent Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' manufacturing push.

Odisha mines minister, Prafulla Kumar Mallik, said his government remained keen to help Posco but had not heard from the company. "We had requested the central government for a concession for Posco but the Centre wanted to go for an auction," he said. "Now, it is for Posco to decide if they want to participate in the auction."

Narendra Singh Tomar, Union steel and mines minister, has repeatedly ruled out making an exception for Posco.

Since the mining law was announced in March, Posco has cut a number of jobs in Odisha, given up real estate and not rebuilt temporary site offices that were burned down by people protesting against land acquisition by the company. See more http://www.business-standard.com


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Gambino associate arrested in alleged scrap scam in Ohio

A reputed member of the Gambino crime family who was once married to John Gotti's daughter was arrested Wednesday over a $3 million scam involving stolen cars and scrap metal, authorities said.

Carmine "The Bull" Agnello, 55, was arrested at a scrap yard he's been operating in southeast Cleveland after his release from federal prison in 2008. Police said Agnello would buy stolen cars, fill them with sand to add weight and would sell the compacted vehicles to an unidentified metal processing company. Agnello is accused of bribing employees at the processing company to ignore the extra weight that increased the price paid for the compacted vehicles.

Cleveland police Deputy Chief Ed Tomba said at a news conference on Wednesday that Agnello married a woman from the Cleveland area after prison and lives in the village of Bentleyville, about 20 miles southeast of Cleveland. The investigation into Agnello's activities began after Cleveland police noticed a spike in auto thefts and realized that many of the vehicles weren't being recovered as usual, Tomba said.

Detectives conducted searches at three Cleveland scrap yards and Agnello's upscale home, seizing $45,000 in cash and guns, authorities said. Because he's a convicted felon, Agnello is not allowed to own firearms.

Agnello is expected to be charged with theft, money laundering, conspiracy, drugging animals before competition, cruelty to animals and corrupting sports, according to a news release. Tomba said at the news conference that Agnello is accused of injecting race horses with drugs but would not provide further details.

No attorney information for Agnello was immediately available.

A detective from the New York Police Department's organized crime division assisted Cleveland police with the 18-month investigation. Tomba and others said traditional organized crime lost its foothold in Cleveland years ago.

Agnello was married 17 years to Victoria Gotti, who gained fame as the star of the reality television show "Growing Up Gotti." The show featured Gotti and her three sons with Agnello. The couple divorced in 2002, months after Agnello pleaded guilty to racketeering and conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service. He received nine years in prison and was ordered to pay $11 million in restitution. The charges were related to the scrap business in Queens, New York.

Agnello is now married to the daughter of Mourad "Moose" Topalian, whom he met while serving time with Topalian at a federal prison outside Youngstown. Topalian pleaded guilty in May 2000 to possession of explosives and a machine gun and was sentenced to 37 months in prison. Authorities accused Topalian of being a member of an Armenian terrorist group. See more http://news.yahoo.com


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POSCO may scrap planned $12 billion India steel project

South Korean steelmaker POSCO could scrap plans for a $12 billion project it had agreed to set up in India a decade ago, after a new law makes it costlier to source iron ore for the plant, a company spokesman said.

The 2005 project to set up a steel plant in Odisha was billed as India's biggest foreign direct investment at the time, but it has encountered a series of delays.

The company waited almost a decade to acquire land for the proposed 12 million-tonnes-a-year steel plant due to opposition from local tribal groups.

A mining law enacted in March by India means the company would now also have to buy a mining licence in an auction. Originally, the Odisha government had promised to help the company obtain the licence for free.

That could raise costs for the company at a time when a global steel glut is depressing prices.

"We will have to see how our costs will be, whether it will be viable," POSCO's India spokesman I. G. Lee said. "We will take a final call only after auction details come."

Asked whether POSCO could skip the auction and withdraw from the Odisha project, Lee said: "Yes".

POSCO and ArcelorMittal, the world's top steelmaker, have scrapped a number of other projects in India over the past two years, citing difficulties in acquiring land and mines.

Another withdrawal by POSCO, the No. 6 steel firm, could dent Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Make in India" manufacturing push.

Odisha's mines minister, Prafulla Kumar Mallik, said his government remained keen to help POSCO, but had not heard from the company.

"We had requested the central government for a concession for POSCO but the central government wanted to go for an auction," Mallik said. "It is now for POSCO to decide if they want to participate in the auction."

The union Steel and Mines minister, Narendra Singh Tomar, has repeatedly ruled out making an exception for POSCO.

Since the mining law was announced in March, POSCO has cut a number of jobs in Odisha, given up real estate and not rebuilt temporary site offices that were burned down by people protesting against land acquisition by the company.

"We downsized in April because there is no work," Lee said.

Instead, POSCO is importing steel from South Korea for its expanding network of processing centres in India.


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Posco may scrap planned $12 billion Odisha steel project

South Korean steelmaker Posco could scrap plans for a $12 billion project it had agreed to set up in India a decade ago, after a new law makes it costlier to source iron ore for the plant, a company spokesman said.

The 2005 project to set up a steel plant in Odisha was billed as India's biggest foreign direct investment at the time, but it has encountered a series of delays.

The company waited almost a decade to acquire land for the proposed 12 million-tonnes-a-year steel plant due to opposition from local tribal groups.

A mining law enacted in March by India means the company would now also have to buy a mining licence in an auction. Originally, the Odisha government had promised to help the company obtain the licence for free.

That could raise costs for the company at a time when a global steel glut is depressing prices.

"We will have to see how our costs will be, whether it will be viable," Posco's India spokesman IG Lee said. "We will take a final call only after auction details come."

Asked whether Posco could skip the auction and withdraw from the Odisha project, Lee said: "Yes".

Posco and ArcelorMittal, the world's top steelmaker, have scrapped a number of other projects in India over the past two years, citing difficulties in acquiring land and mines.

Another withdrawal by Posco, the No. 6 steel firm, could dent Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Make in India" manufacturing push.

Odisha's mines minister, Prafulla Kumar Mallik, said his government remained keen to help Posco, but had not heard from the company.

"We had requested the central government for a concession for Posco but the central government wanted to go for an auction," Mallik said. "It is now for Posco to decide if they want to participate in the auction."

The Union Steel and mines minister, Narendra Singh Tomar, has repeatedly ruled out making an exception for Posco.

Since the mining law was announced in March, Posco has cut a number of jobs in Odisha, given up real estate and not rebuilt temporary site offices that were burned down by people protesting against land acquisition by the company.

"We downsized in April because there is no work," Lee said.

Instead, Posco is importing steel from South Korea for its expanding network of processing centres in India. See more http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com


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