News, Life

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Philip Boit and Bjorn Daehlie: Cross-country friends

As Zimbabwe and Togo prepare to make their Winter Olympic debuts in Sochi, Kenya's first international skier recalls the unexpected friendship that turned him into a poster boy for snow sports in Africa.

When Philip Boit put on his skis at the Nagano Winter Olympics 1998, it was only two years since he had first seen snow.

Boit was born into a farming family in Eldoret in western Kenya, home to some of the world's fastest runners, but when the sportswear company Nike came looking for a runner prepared to to train as a cross-country skier, the 26-year-old stepped forward.

"It was a bit challenging at first because I had never experienced cold weather like that in my life," he says, remembering his first trip to Finland, where he went to train.

"Even putting on skis was so difficult! But after some time, I learned to adapt."

Find out more

Philip Boit and Bjorn Daehlie were interviewed for the BBC World Service's Sporting Witness programme.

Listen to the programme on the BBC World Service on Saturday 25 January or catch up on iPlayer.

Some pundits said Nike was using Boit as a "marketing pawn", but he quickly excelled at this tough endurance sport. After training on roller skis in sunny Kenya, as well as in Finland, he qualified for the 10km classic style event at the Winter Olympics.

His rivals included the world's most successful cross-country skier, Bjorn Daehlie, who was and remains a huge icon in Norway, where the sport is as popular as football.

"The whole Norwegian team had heard about this strange guy from Africa who was trying to participate," he recalls.

"We thought that was quite interesting and we were eager to see if he would succeed!"

Chaos preceded the start of the race, when the athletes were unexpectedly soaked by heavy rain.

Philip Boit competing at the 1998 Winter Olympics

Boit was unaccustomed to skiing on wet snow, and had more problems with it than most.

"I fell down so many times," he laughs.

"Going uphill, the skis were collecting snow. It was like I had put on high heeled-shoes!"

As expected Bjorn Daehlie won the event, becoming the first man to win six gold medals at the Winter Olympics.

Philip Boit

Born in Eldoret, Kenya in 1971
Former middle-distance runner with an 800m personal best of 1:46.06
Participated in Winter Olympics in Nagano, Salt Lake City and Turin
Participated in World Championships in Ramsau, Sapporo, Liberec and Oslo
Now runs a farm, teaches roller-skiing and has been an adviser to Kenya's Olympic Committee

But instead of going straight to the medal ceremony, he waited for the final competitor to finish the race - Philip Boit.

"We heard on the speaker that he was near the stadium and I felt really impressed that he was able to finish the race in these conditions and I wanted to wait to have him over the finish line - this African, brave skier," says Daehlie.

Boit describes the crowd "going wild" when he eventually entered the stadium and says he can remember getting a sudden burst of energy.

"They were shouting 'Kenya GO!, Philip GO!' It was like I was winning a medal even though I was last."

He finally crossed the finish line 20 minutes after Daehlie and was embraced by the Norwegian star.

"My coach had been telling me about him and I had seen him on the television and I couldn't believe that he was the top guy and he was holding me," he recalls.

The two skiers have different versions of what happened next. Boit insists he immediately thanked Bjorn Daehlie. Daehlie says his first words were about the next Winter Olympics, scheduled to take place in the US in 2002.

"He said, 'I will beat you in Salt Lake' and I was quite astonished. That was quite a funny answer!"

Bjorn Daehlie's gesture of sportsmanship quickly became global news. The media clamoured to interview them together.

Bjorn Daehlie (L) and Philip Boit at the finish line in Nagano in 1998

By the time Philip Boit returned to Kenya he was already a huge celebrity. Fans met him at Nairobi airport to accompany him to his home village, singing and dancing as they went.

"I kept telling them I had come last!" says Boit. "But they were so proud and they were telling me, 'You should say you are the champion, because there were no other Kenyans there, so you won for the Kenyans!'"

Bjorn Daehlie

Born in Elverum, Norway, in 1967
Eight-time Olympic champion
Seven-time World champion (three relay titles)
Won a total of 29 Olympic and World Championship medals
Now a sports clothing and property entrepreneur and coach

Despite his difficulties in Nagano, Boit continued his skiing career and qualified for the Salt Lake Winter Olympics. He didn't get the chance to take on Daehlie though, as the Norwegian star was recovering from a roller-skiing injury.

Boit competed internationally until 2011, funding his training between sponsorship deals by selling his family's cows.

He wasn't the first black African to compete at the Winter Olympics - Senegalese skier Lamine Gueye beat him by 14 years - but his 1998 Olympic appearance, and the touching moment on the finishing line, helped to inspire a new generation of winter sport stars in Africa.

Since 1998, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana and Madagascar have debuted at the Winter Olympics, and Zimbabwe and Togo will compete for the first time in Sochi.

"They all say we came to like these sports because we saw the television in 1998 and we said that if Kenya can do it, we can do it too," says Boit.

"They tell me: 'You are a pioneer, because without you, we could not venture into winter sports.'"

Bjorn Daehlie in the 1998 Winter Olympics

Bjorn Daehlie won the 10km classic style event at the 1998 Winter Olympics

Just weeks after the 1998 Winter Olympics, Boit named his first child after the Norwegian icon.

"All my friends and family said he had to be a very good-hearted man because he waited for me in Nagano, and that I should keep his name in my family," says Boit.

More from the Magazine

With just 15 pairs of skis and two or three pairs of poles, Matee Ullah Khan runs the only civilian ski school in Pakistan.

He is on a mission to bring fun back to Pakistan's Swat valley four years after militants who had taken over the area were driven out, says Rebecca Kesby.

Inside Pakistan's only ski school

Now 16, Daehlie Boit has visited his namesake several times, most recently during the World Championships in Oslo in 2011, when he was joined by his parents and younger siblings Olympia, Faith and Alex.

The teenager has also been coached on the slopes by Daehlie senior. So is he set to follow in his father's footsteps?

"I don't think he will be a cross-country skier, but I am sure he will be a really nice man," laughs Daehlie.

Boit and Daehlie have now retired from the sport, but they have continued to ski together in charity competitions in Norway and recently trained together in Greenland.

"I think that was the coldest Philip has ever been," says Bjorn Daehlie.

"After just a few minutes on the slopes he ran inside and hid under the bed covers for most of the trip!"

Daehlie hasn't yet visited his friend in Kenya, but Boit is confident he will one day.

"Bjorn wants to come so that we can do roller ski training and a bit of running and hiking, but he is scared of lions and snakes in the forest! But I told him they belong to the [safari] park so we won't find them," he says.

"I need him to visit my family and Kenya and to enjoy this with him. He is a dear friend."

Philip Boit and Bjorn Daehlie were interviewed for the BBC World Service's Sporting Witness programme. Listen to the programme on Saturday 25 January or catch up later on iPlayer.

Forced to fish: Slavery on Thailand's trawlers

Thailand is the third largest exporter of seafood in the world, supplying supermarkets in Europe and America, but it's accused of crewing fishing boats with Burmese and Cambodian men who've been sold and forced to work as slaves.

Military music is pumping out into the tropical sunshine. In front of us are some 100 police officers standing in rows, and two heavily armed SWAT teams standing at attention. General Chatchawal Suksomjit, deputy chief of police, is walking down the lines, shaking hands, nodding and saluting.

With his dark glasses, slicked-back hair and shiny grey uniform he oozes importance.

He ushers us on to some waiting police boats and out into the waters of the Malacca Straits, along the border with Malaysia.

“Start Quote

If people aren't useful on board, they can be killed and thrown overboard”

Phil RobertsonHuman Rights Watch

The general is head of a new committee set up to deal with the trafficking of men into the fishing business - an industry he describes as "dirty, dangerous and difficult".

Human rights groups claim the Thai fishing fleet is much worse than this. Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch, who wrote a report on it for the International Organization for Migration says the use of forced labour is "systematic" and "pervasive".

"The biggest problem we've seen is that if people can't work, people aren't useful on board, they can be killed and thrown overboard," he says. "It doesn't happen on every boat but it does happen enough to raise serious questions about the lawlessness in this industry."

General Chatchawal Suksomjit, on patrol in the Malacca Straits

There is also a recruitment crisis. By the Ministry of Labour's count, fishing boats in Thailand are short of 50,000 men. One captain at the port of Chonburi says they are desperate.

"Because Thai fishing is difficult, some people we have to force on to the boat," he says.

Many boat owners and captains rely on brokers to recruit their workers, but the brokers are often unscrupulous, tricking young men from neighbouring countries into a job from which there is no escape.

Whether it's freedom from surveillance or freedom to be single, this Spring the BBC is investigating what freedom means in the modern world.

Freedom 2014

As the police boats charge out towards the border with Malaysia, we approach four battered fishing boats. The SWAT teams surge on to the deck of the first boat, but meet no resistance.

"The focus of the mission today is to find trafficked and forced labour," announces the general in Thai, before ordering the mainly Burmese crew down on to the deck. The crew have holes in their shirts or no shirts at all. Most are barefoot. We slide around on the nets, scales and fish guts on the deck.

When I talk in Burmese they speak quietly, glancing nervously at the captain and the crew master.

One group say they didn't know they were coming on to a boat when they left Rakhine State in the west of Burma, or Myanmar as it is also known. They owe a broker $750 (£450) for bringing them here. One man glances out from under a mop of salt-soaked hair. "It's been seven months," he says. He still hasn't been paid.

With my basic Burmese and the crew's reluctance to talk, it's hard to assess the situation but brokers, deception and debt often go hand-in-hand with forced labour.

Typically an illegal worker from Cambodia or Burma meets a broker and is offered a factory job. He accepts and finds himself passed from one broker to another, taken to a port and put on a fishing boat. The victim is then told he owes a lot of money.

It's a well-sprung trap. If he escapes, then as an undocumented migrant the police will arrest and deport him. One Cambodian man I spoke to was trapped for three years on a boat without any wages, while he "paid off his debt". He was never told how much he owed.

The general and his team cannot talk directly to the Burmese-speaking crew because they haven't brought a translator so determining whether the men are trafficked is not possible. After 20 minutes the general ushers us off the boat.

“Start Quote

Anyone who tried to escape had their legs broken, their hands broken or were even killed”

KenFormer fisherman

"Wouldn't it make your job easier to have a translator?" I ask. He replies that usually they rely on someone on board who can speak Burmese, such as the crew master. However, it's often the crew master who is accused of the worst cases of abuse and violence.

"How do you know there was no forced labour or trafficking here?" I ask.

"From what we saw, there was no lock-up or detention room," he says. "We saw no signs of harm on their bodies or in their facial expressions. By looking into their faces and their eyes they didn't look like they had been forced to work."

It didn't seem like a foolproof system.

When the authorities do rescue trafficked men they often end up in a government-run detention centre on the outskirts of Bangkok.

Ken is one of these men. He explains that he was promised a good job in a factory but was forced on to a tiny boat in the open sea where he fished 20 hours a day, seven days a week. When he talks, his rough fingers run over the word L.O.V.E, which is clumsily tattooed across his knuckles. The broker said Ken owed a lot of money for being found a job and taken to the port. Months passed but Ken, like so many others, was never paid.

"People said, anyone who tried to escape had their legs broken, their hands broken or were even killed," he says.

Desperate to escape, Ken jumped ship and swam for six hours in the open sea, until he was picked up by a yacht and dropped off in the resort of Pattaya. Like many trafficked men, he felt ashamed to return home empty-handed so when the police found him and deported him, he crossed the border illegally again to find work in Thailand.

This time he was told there was a job for him in a pineapple canning factory, and he agreed. But there was no factory, just another boat and another insurmountable debt. Fortunately for him, other crew-members managed to smuggle a phone on board to call for help and he was rescued as part of a special operation by Thailand's Department of Special Investigations.

Puntrik Smiti, the Deputy Director General at the Ministry of Labour, admits that men like Ken are vulnerable. "There are some good fishing operators who are trying to improve the treatment of workers," she says. "The problem is there are small operators who are unregistered and don't want to come into the system."

Ken's boat arrives in port, after the crew phoned for help

Only one in six boats is registered, she says, and most of the workers are illegal. She also points out that existing labour laws are inadequate. In fact Thailand's Labour Protection Act exempts workers employed in the fishing industry, while other ministerial regulations exclude boats with a crew of less than 20, or those that travel outside Thai waters for more than a year.

Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch says it is on these long-haul boats that the worst abuses take place.

"If you're talking about a fish caught on a Thai boat that has gone overseas, that has gone to Malaysian waters, Indonesian waters or further afield, you're definitely talking about a fish tainted with forced labour," he says.

"If you're talking about a fish caught in Thai waters, the chances might be less. But there are much fewer fish caught that way. And now the major exporting is coming from the overseas catch."

The effect of local over-fishing is forcing Thai boats to go as far afield as Yemen to maintain an export business worth $7bn annually. Mother ships refuel boats far from shore and transfer crews, ice and fish at sea.

Ken has been learning to cut hair in the detention centre

Trapped at sea, workers cannot escape or complain about their conditions. The system also muddies the supply chain because fish are mixed at sea, and often again at the ports and processing plants, before being sold to larger companies for export. Max Tunon of the International Labour Organisation, who published a report on the industry in September, says it is "close to impossible" to disentangle Thailand's fish supply chains.

Consumer pressure may one day force the industry to make these supply chains more transparent. Mackerel, sardines and other Thai fish are bought by some Western supermarkets and restaurants, while household brands such as John West and Chicken of the Sea are both subsidiaries of the largest exporter of Thai seafood, the Thai Union Group.

For its part, the Thai Union Group says it only sources fish from boats that are properly registered, with crews that have proper working documents. A representative says the company works with its partners to "take meaningful steps to promote human rights" in all its business operations. Mackerel and sardines accounted for only 6% of its revenue in 2012. Tuna is caught by a different fleet of boats.

Arsenal eased into the FA Cup fifth round thanks to Lukas Podolski's two goals against Coventry City.

Mesut Ozil fed Podolski, who rounded keeper Joe Murphy to fire home, and the striker added a close-range header from Per Mertesacker's flick-on.

League One side Coventry rallied in the second half, with Leon Clarke hitting the post, but Olivier Giroud ended any doubt with a third from 12 yards out.

Santi Cazorla got a late fourth from a similar range.

Arsenal have not won a trophy since 2005 but remain in the hunt in three tournaments this season - the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.

They lead the league table by one point from free-scoring Manchester City, and face holders Bayern Munich in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Who is Gedion Zelalem?

Arsenal substitute Gedion Zelalem represents Germany at youth level although he is also eligible for Ethiopia.

The former Hertha Berlin youngster, who turns 17 on Sunday, was not born when Arsene Wenger became Arsenal manager in 1996.

So it may be that the FA Cup will be Arsene Wenger's best hope of ending that nine-year barren run and, perhaps with that in mind, he named a strong line-up.

Podolski, who wasted chances to score a hat-trick, made his second start since Augustfollowing a hamstring injury, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was starting for the first time since the opening day.

Coventry have had a trying season, playing their home games over 30 miles away in Northampton and starting the League One campaign on -10 points.

However, coach Steven Pressley has done an impressive job, leading them up to 11th in the table, and before the match he talked up their chances of winning and said they needed to be "aggressive in possession".

But for the first half of the game, they barely saw the ball.

Arsenal dominated from the start, with Jack Wilshere firing a shot wide within three minutes and Podolski and Oxlade-Chamberlain blazing over.

The Gunners opened the scoring when Ozil played a perfectly weighted ball to Podolski, who went around Murphy to fire home.

Coventry had only one chance in the first half but it was one of the moves of the game as Carl Baker ran 60 yards and hit a shot from outside the box which Lukasz Fabianski had to tip over.

Please use your phone

Thousands of fans of both clubs put lights on their phones when some of the floodlights went in the first half

Nicklas Bendtner, returning earlier than expected following an ankle injury, had a disappointing night, including a couple of air-shots and several other missed chances.

But luckily for the Gunners, Podolski was in better form and put the hosts in total control with a close-range header.

Towards the end of the first half, some of the floodlights went out but both teams agreed to play on until half-time, when the problem was fixed.

After the break, Coventry were much improved and 18-goal top scorer Clarke wasted two golden chances.

The striker, who has put in a transfer request, was played through by Baker but his shot was saved by Fabianski. He then went even closer when his effort from the edge of the box hit the post.

Wenger blooded for the future when 16-year-old Gedion Zelalem replaced Oxlade-Chamberlain for the final 19 minutes but it was another two substitutes who added gloss to the scoreline.

Giroud got the third from Kieran Gibbs's cutback and Cazorla hit a bouncing shot into the net after Murphy had parried Carl Jenkinson's effort.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger:

"Podolski can score goals. When you have a good chance you want him to have it because he is a clinical finisher.

"He has an unbelievable short and quick backlift and he is very accurate in his finishing.

"He can score goals when he starts, when he comes on he is always dangerous."

Coventry boss Steven Pressley:

"I was exceptionally proud of that performance. I asked the players to be brave in possession and they truly were.

"Being 2-0 down at the Emirates it's easy to go under, but we got after them and forced them back and were the more likely team to score.

"In the end Arsenal's quality shone through, they tired us out in the last 10 minutes. In the end 4-0 was harsh. We left nothing out on the pitch."

Juan Mata: Manchester United close to signing Mata from Chelsea

Juan Mata will have a medical on Saturday after Manchester United confirmed they had reached a deal with Chelsea to sign the Spain midfielder.

United say they will pay a club-record fee, believed to be £37m, for the 25-year-old subject to the medical and negotiation of personal terms.

Their previous transfer record was the £30.75m paid to Tottenham for Dimitar Berbatov in 2008.

Mata is expected to finalise his move in time to play Cardiff on Tuesday.

Mata at Chelsea

2011-12: 54 appearances, 12 goals, Champions League winner, FA Cup winner

2012-13: 64 appearances, 20 goals, Europa League winner

2013-14: 17 appearances, 1 goal

(Stats are for all competitions)

Mata joined Chelsea from Valencia for £23.5m in the summer of 2011.

Chelsea have also confirmed the deal.

In his Friday news conference, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho said: "Things are going in a good direction. We have allowed Juan to travel and have the medical."

Mata has been Chelsea's player of the year in each of the last two seasons, but has failed to command a regular starting place under Mourinho, who last summer returned to Stamford Bridge to start a second spell in charge.

"The player deserves respect and to play and because the offer is right, we allowed him to negotiate," added the Chelsea boss.

Mata, who has won 32 caps for Spain, said goodbye to team-mates and staff at Chelsea's Cobham training ground on Wednesday.

Mourinho has trusted Eden Hazard, Oscar and summer signing Willian in attacking roles this season and, while his relationship with Mata is healthy, the Portuguese conceded Chelsea's system does not suit the player.

Mourinho said: "I asked Mata when the offer came whether he really was happy to go and he said 'yes, I am really happy to go'. After that we could feel mixed emotions.

Play media

Mourinho on Mata and Wenger

"This is a fantastic opportunity for him. Another big club wants him in the country he wants to stay in, has made the right offer for him, so, although lots of clubs feel you should not sell to rivals, we are different."

On Tuesday, Chelsea insisted that Mata was not for sale, despite the fact he has been substituted in nine of his 13 Premier League appearances this season.

But Mata, who was part of the Spain squad which won the World Cup in 2010 and European Championship in 2012, now looks set to be a United player in time for Cardiff's visit to Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Mourinho continued: "I think this club is a special club and it cares for people. It is very respectful of its players and especially those who wrote history and Juan is one of these.

"He was fantastic for Chelsea and Chelsea was fantastic for him. We are not afraid he is going there to do very well. We want him to go there and be happy."

It was reported that Mata's move would be delayed until Chelsea completed the signing of Mohamed Salah from FC Basel.

However, the 21-year-old Egypt midfielder still needs to accept personal terms, undergo a medical and receive a work permit.

Baby heart-disease risk 'shaped early in pregnancy'

A baby's development in the womb in the first weeks of life is critical for future heart health, research suggests.

A link between poor growth in the first trimester and early risk factors for heart disease has been identified for the first time.

The study, in the British Medical Journal, adds to evidence that heart risk is set long before adulthood.

Pregnant women should think about their baby's heart health as well as their own, the British Heart Foundation said.

The evidence comes from a study tracking the health, from early pregnancy onwards, of nearly 2,000 children born in the Dutch city of Rotterdam.

“Start Quote

If you smoke, speak to your GP or midwife about quitting, and keep a check on your blood pressure”

Amy ThompsonBritish Heart Foundation

A team at the Erasmus University Medical School examined links between the child's size at the first scan (10 to 13 weeks) and markers of future cardiovascular health at the age of six (central body fat, high blood pressure, high insulin levels and high cholesterol).

"Impaired first trimester foetal growth is associated with an adverse cardiovascular risk profile in school age children," they reported in theBritish Medical Journal.

"Early foetal life may be a critical period for cardiovascular health in later life."

Low birth weight is known to be linked to an increased risk of heart disease in later life. But the new research suggests not only birth weight but poor growth in the earliest phase of pregnancy may influence cardiovascular disease risk.

"These results suggest that the first trimester of pregnancy may be a critical period for development of offspring cardiovascular risk factors in later life," study author Prof Vincent Jaddoe told BBC News.

"Therefore adverse maternal lifestyle habits influencing early foetal growth may have persistent consequences for their offspring, many decades later. "

This was the first study showing this link and replication in other studies was needed, he added.

Critical stage

Amy Thompson, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said the first few months of pregnancy were a critical stage in a baby's development.

"This study suggests that foetal growth within this time may influence their heart health later in life," she said.

"However, as the researchers acknowledge themselves, further studies are needed to understand why this pattern exists and what it might mean for preventing heart disease.

"If you are pregnant, or planning a family, you should be thinking about your baby's heart health as well as your own," she added.

"If you smoke, speak to your GP or midwife about quitting, and keep a check on your blood pressure.

"Your midwife will also advise you on other ways you can make healthier choices during pregnancy."

H7N9: Bird flu cases surge ahead of Chinese New Year

A surge in cases of the deadly new strain of bird flu has been reported in China at the beginning of 2014.

Only a handful of people had been infected with H7N9 since June, but health officials have reported 73 cases so far this month.

Influenza researchers argue the winter season and preparations for Chinese New Year may be driving the increase.

The World Health Organization called for vigilance, saying the virus was likely to remain present for some time.

H7N9 made the jump from infecting domestic chickens and ducks to infecting people at the end of March 2013.

Within a month, 126 cases and 24 deaths had been recorded.

Analysis

Is it time to worry?

H7N9 does kill a high proportion of infected people and is capable of evolving resistance to anti-viral drugs with relative ease.

But it's always worth putting the figures for emerging infections into context.

Up to five million people get severe cases of seasonal flu each year, causing up to half a million deaths.

By comparison 209 cases of H7N9, causing 55 deaths, seems small.

The global concern is not what this bird flu is doing now, but how it might develop.

So far there have been no cases of sustained human-to-human transmission; however, the virus could mutate, allowing it to spread more easily in people.

If that happened, the virus would pose a much greater global threat; for now, there is no sign of this.

The virus was stopped in its tracks as control measures, such as closing live poultry markets, were introduced.

There were just five cases between June and November.

The recent jump takes the total number of cases to 219, including 55 deaths.

Apart from a couple of cases in close family clusters, the virus has not been able to spread from person to person.

Gregory Hartl, spokesman for the World Health Organization (WHO), said flu viruses circulated more easily during the colder winter months.

"Our calculation was always that we were going to have to watch the winter, and that's where we are at the moment.

"We need to remain vigilant, but so far the virus does not seem to have mutated in any way," he says.

"Some people will be looking very closely at the Chinese New Year, when there will be lots of people travelling.

"It will be crowded on trains and they'll also be travelling with chickens."

JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon pay rises to $20m in 2013

The chairman and chief executive of JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon, will be paid $20m (£12.1m) for the past year's work.

Mr Dimon's pay was cut to $11.5m in 2012 following huge trading losses. This was half the $23m he received in 2011.

JP Morgan's profits fell 16% last year, after costs resulting from legal issues dented the bank's figures.

For 2013, Mr Dimon was paid $1.5m as a basic salary, and an additional $18.5m in shares, the company said.

Over the past year, JP Morgan has paid around $20bn to regulators for various violations relating to the US financial crisis.

London whale

Mr Dimon's pay was initially cut after the so called "London Whale" trading loss, in which a single JP Morgan trader wracked up losses of $6bn.

The bank has also been caught up in another high-profile banking scandal - the manipulation of a key interest rate, the London inter-bank offered rate, or Libor.

It also had to pay fines totalling $2.6bn to settle government and private claims resulting from its handling of the accounts of the convicted fraudster Bernie Madoff. The bank was accused of not reporting its concerns about Madoff's investment scheme.

JP Morgan's net income fell 7.3% for the fourth quarter of 2013 to $5.3bn (£3.22bn), from $5.7bn in the final quarter of 2012.