Queen Noor of Jordan's gardener sues for sexual discrimination

Queen Noor of Jordan's head gardener is suing her employer for sexual discrimination, claiming that she was sidelined and denied access to her tools on the Royal estate.

Amanda Hill alleged that a male colleague was promoted to do her job, that she was "turfed out" of her office and excluded from staff decisions.

She said she was bullied into resigning when she complained to her bosses at Buckhurst Park in Windsor, Berks.

Queen Noor, who uses the sprawling multi-million pound estate when in England, could be called to give evidence at an employment tribunal when the case is heard next year.

The dispute began when Mrs Hill discovered that her groundsman, Danny Welland, had been given a pay rise and a new job title, allowing him to do her work.

The disgruntled employee launched proceedings against Queen Noor, the widow of the late King Hussein, former King of Jordan, after bringing the matter to her attention.

But she agreed to strike out the claim after accepting that her employer was not the Queen but Panama-based Ambassador Marine Corporation (AMC), which runs the estate.

Mrs Hill told a pre-trial review hearing in Reading, Berks: "I was the head gardener. Danny was my groundsman.

Putin and Medvedev backed one another to switch roles in 2012

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says he has accepted a proposal to stand for president next year.

Addressing the ruling United Russia party's annual congress, Mr Putin and current President Dmitry Medvedev backed one another to switch roles.

The announcements to the party, which Mr Putin leads, end speculation over which man would run for president.

The party dominates Russian politics and observers say Mr Putin's return to the Kremlin is now all but guaranteed.

He had already served two terms as president before Mr Medvedev took over in 2008. Mr Putin was barred by the constitution from standing for a third term.
"I want to thank you for the positive reaction to the proposal for me to stand for Russian president," Mr Putin said after Mr Medvedev suggested he should be a candidate.
"For me this is a great honour."
Earlier, Mr Putin told delegates that Mr Medvedev should head the party's list of candidates in December's parliamentary elections. Mr Medvedev accepted.
The congress must formally nominate the party's candidate - but that appears all but certain given the cheering and applause that greeted Mr Medvedev's proposal.
There have been months of speculation that Mr Putin plans to return to the Kremlin when elections are held in March.
Correspondents say most Russians believe he has greater influence in the country and far more power than Mr Medvedev.

Kosovo Officials See Politics Behind Limaj's Arrest

Kosovo’s judicial system is being influenced by politics, some members of the establishment in Pristina have claimed, in reaction to the decision to place former commander of the KLA Fatmir Limaj under house arrest yesterday.

Jakup Krasniqi, the Kosovo Assembly Speaker, has said today that politics had intervened in Limaj’s case.

“As long as politics intervenes in the judiciary system – and unfortunately politics has always acted so- the functioning of a normal judiciary is jeopardised,” Krasniqi said.

Yesterday evening, an international judge ruled that Limaj, the former transport minister in Kosovo, should be placed under house arrest for a period of one month. He also ruled that his diplomatic passport should be confiscated.

Krasniqi said that the decision to place Limaj under house arrest was not just the result of domestic policies. He said he felt that international politicians and diplomats were also to blame for interfering with Kosovo’s judicial system.

In August, a EULEX judge confirmed an indictment filed one month earlier at the District Court of Pristina regarding the Klecka case.

The indictment charged Limaj and nine other defendants with various counts of war crimes against the civilian population and prisoners of war allegedly committed from early 1999 until mid-June 1999. The main trial is expected to start during the autumn.

The decision to place Limaj under house arrest came hours after the Constitutional Court of Kosovo ruled that parliamentarians were not immune from being arrested if wanted for war crime charges.

However, Krasniqi insists that no war crimes were committed by KLA fighters.
Adem Grabovci, chief of parliamentary group the ruling Democratic Party of Kosovo, said that Limaj had proved his innocence in the ICTY in 2005 when he was tried and acquitted of war crimes charges.

The Vetevendosje Movement [Self-determination] also raised concerns about the timeframe of implementing the Constitutional Court’s ruling.

It cited the fact that decisions made by the constitutional court are usually published in Kosovo’s official gazette before being brought into force. Publication in the official gazette normally takes 15 days however Limaj was placed under house arrest 24 hours after the decision was announced.

Glauk Konjufca, a representative from the Vetevendosje Movement, said that the Constitutional Court’s decision paved the way to “creating a police state, and allow the Prime Minister, and the government, to shut the mouth of the representatives of the people [members of the Parliament]”.

Meanwhile, the opposition Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, said it supported Limaj’s cooperation with the judiciary, according to Ismet Beqiri the party general secretary.