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http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/low/dates/stories/july/16/newsid_4091000/4091551.stm	\|Search ON THIS DAY by date\| An estimated one million people gathered from all over the state to see the giant Saturn 5 booster rocket blast off. The launch was on schedule, at 1432 BST (1332 GMT). Nine seconds before lift-off, the rocket's five engines ignited, sending a sheet of flame over the launch pad and about 20 acres of the surrounding marshland. Then with an immense roar, the booster rocket took off into the sky, taking Apollo 11 and the hopes of the world with it. It is the first time human beings have attempted to land on another heavenly body. Almost 12 minutes later, Apollo 11 went into orbit around the Earth. On board are three astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. All have already flown in space during the Gemini manned space missions, and have been intensively training as a team for many months. They carry with them goodwill messages from the heads of the member states of the United Nations and their flags. Two hours and 44 minutes after take-off, the engine of the third-stage booster was fired for five minutes and 47 seconds, and the speed increased to 24,545mph (39,500 km/h) to take the astronauts out of orbit and shoot them off to the Moon. Neil Armstrong, the flight's commander, reported: "We have no complaint with any of the three stages on that ride. It was beautiful." The launch was watched by US Vice-President Spiro Agnew, who said it marked a "new era of civilisation". "With the lift-off of Apollo 11, America enters a new age of discovery," he said. Apollo 11 is scheduled to touch down on the Moon on Sunday 20 July if all goes well. Speaking at a news conference before the launch, Neil Armstrong said the landing on the Moon and the take-off from it were "the big unknowns". The lunar module, known as Eagle, is scheduled to land on the Moon at 2100 BST (2000 GMT). On 21 July 1969, right on schedule, Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the Moon, stepping onto the Moon's surface in the Sea of Tranquillity at 0256 GMT. He was joined by Buzz Aldrin 20 minutes later. The entire event was watched avidly by millions live on television across the world. The Apollo 11 crew returned safely on 24 July and spent the next 21 days in quarantine at an American military base - a procedure dropped in subsequent missions since no alien organisms were found. The Moon landing marked the pinnacle of the space race and American investment in the space programme declined accordingly. The last three of the original 20 Apollo missions were cancelled, and the last lunar module, Apollo 17, landed in December 1972. In January 2004 however, interest in missions to the Moon was rekindled when US President George Bush announced American astronauts would return to the Moon by 2020 as the launching point for journeys further into space. \|Search ON THIS DAY by date\|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19267264	Eddie Marsan on playing Paralympics founder Ludwig Guttman Starring Eddie Marsan and Rob Brydon , The Best Of Men is the true story of the birth of the Paralympic Games and its visionary creator Dr Ludwig Guttmann. Rejecting the general view that paralysis was a terminal condition, Guttmann threw out the old care regime and brought in a new philosophy, to get all his patients to live full and useful lives. Sport was his big idea and he used it to help build physical strength as well as self-respect. Eddie Marsan spoke to BBC Breakfast about the drama which is "full of compassion but there is no sentimentality".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-19517608	Somerset's Deb Criddle gets gold postbox 2012 honour A Somerset postbox has been painted gold in honour of a horse rider's success at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Deb Criddle, 46, from Trull, near Taunton, claimed a team gold and two silvers in the freestyle dressage and individual event at London 2012. First class stamps with her picture are also being produced and will be on sale across the UK. Criddle said she was at the "top of her career". "It tops all the other games. I don't think anyone could have envisaged it," she said. "The people involved, the supporters we've had - they've really made it something very special."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-18812855	Earl of Cardigan faces trial on Wiltshire theft charges The Earl of Cardigan will face a Crown court trial after pleading not guilty to criminal damage and theft. David Brudenell-Bruce, 59, appeared at Swindon Magistrates' Court accused of damaging pheasant feeders and stealing a battery and power unit - all of which belong to Peter Tilley. The case was adjourned until 6 September. District Judge Simon Cooper released the earl, of Savernake Lodge near Marlborough, on conditional bail. A previous hearing at Salisbury Magistrates' Court on 4 July was adjourned after the earl's lawyer voiced concerns about his mental health and he was taken to hospital. He was arrested by police on 3 July and charged that night. He is alleged to have damaged six pheasant feeders worth £66 between 4 June and 29 June and stolen a battery and electrical power unit worth £80 on 23 June.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15369286	Viewpoint: 'Shalit deal was a surrender' As former Israeli captive Gilad Shalit, and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners released in exchange, begin new lives in freedom, some Israelis have been left angered by the deal. One such Israeli, Ron Kehrmann, saw four Palestinians jailed for life for involvement in a 2003 suicide bombing which killed his 18-year-old daughter, Tal, among those set free. Here he explains his feeling of betrayal. I am happy that the Shalit family have been reunited with their child, but at the same time I worry for the future of each and every one of my friends, in Israel and around the world. Unfortunately this time Hamas won. As an Israeli it is very hard for me to admit my government's surrender. My prime minister signed the surrender accord freeing one Israeli soul but risking the lives of so many others. Signing such a deal gave a big moral boost to any terror organisation, especially in the Middle East. Ron Kehrmann: Israel has paved the way for further kidnappings In signing this document, the prime minister of Israel has already set the opening price for freeing the next captured Israeli. Accepting such an agreement also undermines the Israeli justice system and breaks all moral rules which a life-affirming society needs to treasure in order to sustain a safe framework in which to live. So many hours, and so much effort was invested in each and every trial, to lawfully put these convicted murderers behind bars - not even to mention the military operations, risking the lives of those charged with bringing the suspects to court. My government, dealing with the Iranian-backed Hamas, paved the beginning for international recognition of this radical terror group. During these days, especially at a time when so many Arab leaders are facing drastic turmoil and unrest, a deal freeing 1,027 Palestinians will fuel other violent demonstrations and violent actions. Such a surrender signals to the terrorists that violence and killing innocent civilians is the way to achieve their goals. The Israeli government had a chance to set the price of one for one - but now no more. I lost my daughter Tal 3,150 days ago, when a Hamas terrorist boarded the bus she was on on her way home from school. I know what it took to bring these terrorists to justice. I learned the facts about the way they where caught, I followed all court hearings and the appeal in the Supreme Court, until four of them were sentenced to life imprisonment. These terrorists were convicted not arbitrarily kidnapped. I do not write with the urge for revenge, I write as a man worried about the free and democratic world. I write as a father concerned for the future of his living son and daughter, watching my government breaking all the norms.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6747071.stm	Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has announced plans to overhaul the system for land claims launched by the country's aboriginal groups. Mr Harper said it was time for a new approach to land claims There are currently 800 unresolved claims by native groups across the country for land and resources. Mr Harper said he wants to cut the average time taken to resolve claims from 13 years to three years. Legislation will be tabled after discussions between federal government officials and native leaders. "This announcement today represents hope for First Nations people," said Phil Fontaine, chief of the Assembly of First Nations, an umbrella group representing Canada's aboriginal people. A recent official inquiry into the 1995 death of a native protester urged officials to deal with land claims more fairly and swiftly. There have been warnings from native groups that Canada is heading towards a summer of protest as frustrations over unresolved land claims increases. There are some 1.3 million people in Canada with aboriginal ancestry out of a total population of 33 million, according to the 2001 census. Many live on impoverished reserves where unemployment, suicide and drug and alcohol abuse levels are much higher than the national average. Some native leaders have promised a day of action for 29 June to raise awareness of the conditions their people are living in.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/8329714.stm	This computer generated film shows how the new ferry will look A ferry service connecting south Wales and Devon is set to launch at Easter. New operator Severn Link said it will run two catamarans between Swansea and Ilfracombe boosting the economies both sides of the Bristol Channel. The passenger-only ferries will run all-year round taking around 50 minutes to complete the crossing. Company founder Chris Marrow said he was certain there would be enough demand with "considerable" spin-offs for both ports. "I have started ferry services in other parts of the world but I have always looked at the Bristol Channel and thought really there should be ferries there," he said. "Every other long stretch of water in the world like that, that I'm aware of, does have active ferry services." He said he was certain it would prove popular with tourists on both sides of the channel. "There is no question a lot of people are spending their holidays in the UK at the moment and in many ways I think it's the absolute ideal time to be starting," he added. He said over £3m will be invested in the service with Severn Link directly employing around 40 staff. "In my experience it's going to create a lot of spin-offs, especially in tourism but other industries as well. "There is very little doubt we will cause the creation of a considerable number of jobs over and above that." Severn Link said to travel from Swansea to north Devon by road typically took around three-and-a-half hours. Mr Marrow added: "Market research has shown that there is a huge demand for this ferry route." The crossing, the first of several Severn Link plan to operate across the Bristol Channel, is designed to link up with the Swansea Cork Ferry which is due to re-launch in March. Swansea council leader Chris Holley said: "This is terrific news that comes in the wake of the announcement that the Swansea to Cork ferry is being reinstated. "A fast-cat service from Swansea to Ilfracombe would be a boost for the city's tourism economy and would allow Swansea people easier access to Devon and the south west of England." Tim Jones, of the Devon and Cornwall Business Council, said: "We have calculated that this is likely in the first year to introduce around £20m of new business to Devon." He said the benefits would extend well beyond the tourism sector. "It's a really big business opportunity and something we should really be celebrating," he added.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14481103	Somalia drought: Tragic history repeats itself I'm here on the edge of the harsh Ogaden desert, in the north-eastern corner of Kenya, to tell the story of a humanitarian crisis. The Somalis who make the perilous journey here - mainly women and children - are in dire need. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, will die no matter what the aid agencies do - it is already that bad. The stick-thin babies - we have all seen the images. The mothers who have arrived here with fewer children than when they set off from their homes - we can only imagine their desperation. But that is only part of the story. It is the one that is getting most attention but it is the one that is least likely to lead to a lasting solution to what is happening in Somalia. One stark fact shouts louder than all the others we have been bombarded with since famine was declared in Somalia. The vast majority of people in this massive camp of 440,000 people (roughly the population of the UK city of Leeds) are not here because of this year's drought. That's right - three out of four people receiving food aid are not starving. Conflict, not drought, is the reason so many Somalis are dying needlessly” Most of them have been here for more than a decade and a substantial number have been here for two. They are victims, but they live in this tented encampment in a God-forsaken corner of Africa not because they are hungry, but because the country they once called home is dysfunctional. In fact, it is a country in name only. It is the failed state of diplomatic nightmares.Man-made It all started some 20 years ago when I first criss-crossed Somalia as a relatively new foreign correspondent for the BBC. The fall of a dictator had been followed by internecine conflict as competing warlords defended their territories with a ruthlessness that gave new meaning to scorched-earth warfare. Then, too, there was a drought, but the famine that ensued was as much man-made as induced by climate. That is when the first desperate Somalis fled across the border to Dadaab, where I am now, watching a new tragedy unfold. In the intervening years the violence of the warlords has been replaced by a new civil war between a Western-backed government that is staggeringly inept and a collection of Islamist militias ranging from pragmatic to extremist. It is the reason why the 300,000 Somalis who were already here have not gone back and why a hugely expensive aid operation is being mounted here in Kenya rather than inside Somalia where it would be much more efficient and effective. Conflict, not drought, is the reason so many Somalis are dying needlessly. Conflict has turned hunger into famine and disaster into tragedy. I know it, the aid workers know it and so, too, do the refugees. As Rukiya Ahmed Gele, a refugee since 1992, told me outside a UN food distribution centre: "Maybe if they stopped feeding us here we would have to go back and sort out our problems." Hers is a drastic solution. What is clear that charity alone is not enough to solve Somalia's problems. If these problems are not tackled there is every chance that another reporter will be back in another 20 years wondering how it is possible that vulnerable children are still being cursed with hunger and a horribly early death.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-19007490	Bristol approves city-wide 20mph limit Plans to introduce a 20mph speed limit in most residential streets in Bristol over the next three years have been approved. The Liberal Democrat-run council said about 89% of those surveyed in pilot areas approved of 20mph zones. The council said the speed limit would make the roads less dangerous and encourage walking and cycling. The estimated cost of city-wide rollout is £2.3m and will be funded by local transport budgets. The idea to introduce the 20mph limit on most roads was originally proposed in 2010. But police have already said enforcing the scheme will be extremely challenging. The council said communities would be consulted on the plans for their neighbourhoods. Pilots are already running in parts of the city.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3720161.stm	The current head of Iraq's US-appointed Governing Council has been killed in a car bomb blast near the headquarters of the US-led coalition in Baghdad. Salim is the most senior Iraqi to be killed Ezzedine Salim was near a checkpoint outside the compound when the bomb went off, killing him and several others. It is not yet clear whether Mr Salim was the target of the suicide attack. A US military spokesman said it bore all the hallmarks of attacks carried out by supporters of Jordanian-born al-Qaeda suspect Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The US administrator for Iraq, Paul Bremer, condemned the killing and vowed to defeat those responsible. "The terrorists who are seeking to destroy Iraq have struck a cruel blow with this vile act," Mr Bremer said in a statement. But they would be defeated and Mr Salim's vision of a "democratic, free and prosperous Iraq" would become a reality, he said. The IGC also condemned the killing of their leader. Ghazi Ajil al-Yawer - a Sunni Muslim from the northern city of Mosul appointed as Mr Salim's successor - said he would continue the march towards freedom and democracy despite the bomb attack. "This is a terrorist act that will not dissuade the Governing Council from continuing its work to build a federal, united Iraq," he said. Mr Yawer will serve as IGC head until the transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis, scheduled for 30 June. In other developments: - Coalition troops found an artillery round containing the deadly nerve gas sarin, but were unable to defuse it and a small "dispersal of agent" occurred, the US military said. - Coalition troops estimate they have killed 30 Moqtada Sadr militiamen in the holy city of Karbala. - In the southern city of Nasiriya, one coalition soldier and about 20 militants were killed in overnight fighting. - The US is planning to move some of its forces from South Korea to Iraq, South Korean officials say. - Britain and the US have emphasised their intention to accelerate the training of the Iraqi army and police force to allow the earliest possible withdrawal of their troops. The explosion in which Mr Salim was killed happened at 0500GMT at a checkpoint outside the Green Zone - the sealed-off area where the coalition and the IGC both have their offices. Several vehicles were destroyed in the blast, which melted the asphalt of the road and sent debris flying over a large area. "There was a huge crowd at the checkpoint," a security guard at a nearby residential compound told the Reuters news agency. The blast at the IGC followed an attack on coalition HQ in January "There were a lot of cars and people on foot standing there and then this massive explosion. I saw body parts everywhere." A previously unknown Iraqi group said it had carried out the attack. The Arab Resistance Movement al-Rashid Brigades posted a statement on the internet saying two suicide bombers had been used to carry out "a qualitative heroic operation, which led to the killing of the traitor and mercenary" Ezzedine Salim. "The Brigades pledges to the masses of our nation to pursue struggle until the liberation of glorious Iraq and dear Palestine," the statement on al-Anbar website said. US military spokesman Brig Gen Mark Kimmitt said they were investigating the statement of the group that could be a cover for the Zarqawi network. Gen Kimmitt said the bombing that killed the IGC president had all the hallmarks of Zarqawi - the use of suicide bombers, going after spectacular and symbolic targets, and killing large numbers of civilians. Mr Salim, a Shia Muslim and member of the Daawa Islamic Party, was the current holder of the rotating IGC presidency. He is the second council member to be killed since it was set up last July. IRAQI GOVERNING COUNCIL Set up July 2003; due to be abolished at end of June Members from Iraq's different religious, ethnic groups Many members were exiles under Saddam Hussein Presidency rotates monthly Signed interim constitution in March Aquila al-Hasimi, one of three women on the IGC, was shot dead last September. International condemnation was also swift. The killers of Ezzedine Salim are "enemies of the Iraqi people", British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said on Monday in Brussels. French President Jacques Chirac said he was "as convinced as ever that there is no military solution" in Iraq.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5161028.stm	Authorities in the northern Indian state of Uttaranchal say 26 people have been killed in a passenger bus crash near the holy town of Uttarkashi. Senior official Meenakshi Sundaram told the BBC that the bus carrying 35 passengers skidded off the road. She said eight other passengers who were on board the bus have been injured, six of them seriously. Road accidents are common and claim hundreds of lives every year in India. Most of the accidents are blamed on reckless driving, old vehicles and poorly maintained roads.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/dorset/8145489.stm	Osprey Quay was the first Olympic site for the 2012 Games to be completed The estimated cost of security for the 2012 Olympic sailing events in Dorset has almost doubled, leaving uncertainty over the effect on council taxpayers. Originally put at £21m, the cost of the extra policing and security measures for the Weymouth and Portland events is now estimated at £38m. The government has not confirmed whether it will pay the total cost. Security minister Lord West said some of the equipment requested was "things you have in your county force anyway". Lord West added: "I know for example they want certain coverage of CCTV cameras, they want automatic number plate recognition. "So there needs to be a sensible debate and that is going on. "Because at the end of the day, what we've got to make sure of is a safe and secure Olympic Games, and it will be, we're going to make certain of that, but equally that it's value for money." About 2,000 sailors, coaches and officials are expected during the Games - and up to 600 officers could be needed on some days. The extra policing would span 60 days. Clive Chamberlain, chair of Dorset Police Federation, said: "I'm sure security will be jeopardised by the uncertainty around the funding, because I'm sure any would-be terrorists are planning way ahead of things. "So we need to be way ahead of the game, and I think it's wrong that local people should end up having to pay for something." But the force was keen to assure residents that Weymouth and Portland would not be going into complete "lockdown" during the event. Supt David Griffith, Dorset Police's security co-ordinator, said: "It's very key for myself and my team to ensure that we allow as much business as usual to carry on as possible, remembering that this is the Olympic Games of sailing, not the Olympic Games of security."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/gloucestershire/7374836.stm	DNA tests will be carried out on the bones to test the theory A study into a mass Roman grave excavated in Gloucester appears to show the dead had been killed by smallpox. The remains of around 91 individuals uncovered in 2005 are in part of Wooton Cemetery, which was the burial ground for the fortress at nearby Kingsholm. The bodies appear to have been thrown in the grave haphazardly during the second half of the 2nd Century. Oxford Archaeology who analysed the remains say they are the victims of an epidemic, perhaps the Antonine Plague. This outbreak of smallpox swept across the Roman Empire between AD 165 and 189. "The skeletons of adult males, females, and children were lying in a very haphazard fashion, their bones completely entangled, reflecting the fact that they had been dumped, unceremoniously in a hurried manner," said Louise Loe, Head of Burial Archaeology. "When we studied the skeletons we were looking for evidence, such as trauma, that would explain why they had been buried in such a way. "In fact, very little trauma was found on the skeletons...this led us to conclude that the individuals were the victims of an epidemic that did not discriminate against age or sex," she said. Such outbreaks of disease killed quickly and tended not to leave marks on bone, she said. Future DNA tests will be carried out on the skeletons in the hope of confirming the theory. Also unearthed on the site on London Road were two 1st Century sculptured and inscribed tombstones which helped the team make a direct connection between documentary evidence and the archaeological record of the site. One tombstone was for a 14-year-old slave, the other for a soldier of the 20th legion, Lucius Octavius Martialis, son of Lucius, of the Pollian voting tribe from Eporedia. The legion was stationed at Gloucester until the late 1st Century with soldiers from Sporedia, modern Ivrea north of Turin.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18573192	Unite union amasses £25m strike fund The Unite union has amassed a £25m strike fund to support workers involved in future industrial action. Unite's general secretary, Len McCluskey, said more strikes were "inevitable" as members resist cuts in living standards. Speaking at Unite's biennial policy conference in Brighton, he warned that the fund was a "clear sign that this union means business". The union currently pays workers £30 a day if they are on strike. The strike fund is separate to the union's other finances. Contributions from branches mean that it will grow by an additional £3.5m a year. Mr McCluskey said that the fund would give workers confidence that they will be given financial support.'Trouble ahead' "Perhaps it's also psychologically going to make employers think twice, because many employers enter a dispute on the basis that they can starve their workers back into submission. "I think if employers recognise that there are huge sums of money... then maybe we might get a more sensible response and therefore avoid a dispute in the first place," he told reporters after his conference speech. But he added: "Of course I think that there is going to be trouble ahead. Unite is the most powerful union in Britain. What it does can impact upon all of us. The recent tanker drivers' dispute resulted in panic buying on forecourts nationwide. Its cabin crew dispute with BA caused significant disruption to flights. And it still hasn't ruled out strikes on London transport during the Olympics in its dispute over a bonus for bus drivers. The union has a £25m fighting fund available for disputes. It is also working hard to increase its membership. Today "Red Len" warned of more to come. His message to the union's 1.5m members, the Labour Party and coalition was that after years of internal divisions and infighting, Unite is now a force to be reckoned with. "I can see disputes unfolding all over the place - [in the] private sector and public sector," he said. Earlier in his first conference speech as general secretary, Mr McCluskey also warned against calls by some in the coalition for changes to trade union laws. "To protect, above all, the right to take industrial action, Unite will take whatever steps are necessary to support members come what may," he promised.Olympic protests Unite has been at the centre of a series of high-profile disputes this year. Its members have also taken part in the strikes and demonstrations on the issue of public sector pension reform. It is currently involved in a dispute involving London bus drivers, who staged a 24-hour strike on Friday. They are seeking a £500 bonus for working during the Olympics. Mr McCluskey said it was a "straight forward dispute, about fairness... giving hard working bus drivers the same bonus payment that has already been awarded to every other transport worker". "I say this to Boris Johnson and the bus companies: sort it now, or more strikes are inevitable," he said. - General secretary, Unite Union - Age: 62 - Elected leader in November 2010 - Unite is UK's biggest union - It has 1.5m members - Biggest donor to Labour Party - Detractors call him "Red Len" - Former Liverpool dock worker - Unite supported Ed Miliband in Labour leadership contest Earlier in the year, Mr McCluskey was heavily criticised for raising the possibility of protests during the Olympics. In an interview before the conference, he told the BBC that he did not regret his comments about the Olympics despite the subsequent backlash. "There was no question of stopping the Olympics or disrupting the events. It was a question of: Are the Olympics a legitimate arena for protest?" He said he wanted a successful Olympics, and he expected protests against the government's austerity programme to continue long after the Games were over.Early general election He also warned Labour to be ready to fight the next general election early. "The Labour Party need to get their act together, and be prepared for an election… anytime in 2014." Asked what might prompt an early election, he pointed to the growing divisions in the coalition. But he warned that the eurozone crisis could also "spin out of control". "We stumble from week to week in the eurozone. I think it is inevitable that Greece will have to exit the euro. My fear at the moment is that might happen without it being properly managed." Unite is the biggest donor to the Labour Party. It is also one of several unions that criticised the shadow chancellor Ed Balls and the Labour leader Ed Miliband for backing the ongoing pay restraint in the public sector. According to Mr McCluskey, the party needs to "put some flesh on the framework of an alternative" and warns that if that alternative is not radical enough, Labour will lose the next election.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-18176258	Padworth Common fence plan public inquiry begins A public inquiry has begun into whether part of a Berkshire common can be fenced off. West Berkshire Council wants to graze cattle and ponies on Padworth Common, near Tadley, to help conserve the heathland. The authority says the fencing is needed to contain the animals because the land is currently unfenced. The two-day inquiry was called following objections by residents and will be held at the council offices. The council wants to erect 4,032m (4,409 yards) of 1.1m-high (3ft 7in) fencing along the perimeter of both sides of the common to enclose 22.5 ha (55.6 acres) of land. It would include three bridle gates, three field gates, seven kissing gates and two cattle pens. Public access to the land would remain unchanged. Among the objectors are members of the horse-riding community who say their access to the land would be compromised.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4385735.stm	North Korea says it has had a first outbreak of the deadly bird flu virus. Hundreds of thousands of chickens are said to have been culled The state Korean Central News Agency said no people had been infected but hundreds of thousands of chickens had been culled and the carcasses burned. The agency only said that the outbreak was "recent" and occurred at "two or three" chicken farms. It did not specify the virus type. The H5N1 virus has killed almost 50 people since its resurgence in South East Asia in December 2003. KCNA said Hadang farm in Pyongyang, among the city's largest, was one of the sites of the outbreak. H5N1 BIRD FLU VIRUS Principally an avian disease, first seen in humans in Hong Kong, 1997 Almost all human cases thought to be contracted from birds Isolated cases of human-to-human transmission in Hong Kong and Vietnam North Korea had previously said it was free of the virus that has struck many countries in south and east Asia. South Korean news agency Yonhap earlier this month reported an outbreak at Hadang, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to ask the reclusive North for information. The North has relied on food aid for more than a decade but imposes tight controls on foreign visitors and aid workers. Experts fear the H5N1 virus could eventually combine with human flu and threaten a deadly pandemic. There are suspected cases of the virus being passed between humans. So far, Vietnam has been the country hardest hit by this outbreak of bird flu.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8499483.stm	EMI relies heavily on its back catalogue Record company EMI has reported an annual pre-tax loss of £1.75bn in the year to 31 March 2009 amid continued fears over the state of its finances. The results for EMI, which has deals with Robbie Williams and Coldplay, include more than £1bn in write-offs. The firm has been hit by illegal downloading and the move away from album sales to single digital tracks. EMI is at the centre of a legal dispute between private equity owner Terra Firma and US bank Citigroup. Terra Firma is seeking billions in damages linked to its £4bn purchase of EMI in 2007. It accuses the bank of inflating the price of the firm by not revealing that the only other bidder, Cerberus Capital Management, had withdrawn. Citigroup is contesting the claim, saying it will defend its role in the proceedings "vigorously". EMI is now the smallest of the four major record labels, and has launched a turn-around plan to try to cut costs and boosting internet sales to compete against the likes of Universal and Warner. It has also cut about 2,000 jobs but lost some of its acts, including Radiohead, in the row that followed. BBC business editor Robert Peston said the results showed "one of the biggest ever losses on a private equity investment". EMI was sold at the height of the private equity buyout bubble in 2007. The business has been battered by its high debt levels and a weak performance as record companies struggle to make cash . The group warned of a "likely significant" shortfall when it had to meet covenants on its £2.6bn debt at the end of March 2010. Excluding its huge one-off write-offs, EMI saw operating profits of £143m, compared with £101m the previous year.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4737707.stm	Proposed targets to reduce the level of salt in food have been made less stringent after industry complaints. High salt intake is linked to a risk of high blood pressure The Food Standards Agency scrapped its initial recommendations after industry said they could not be met. The group, including Heinz, Sainsbury's, and Tesco said there were technical and consumer taste issues. But the group Consensus Action on Salt and Health criticised the FSA for bowing to pressure from industry. The British Meat Processors Association, Kraft and Unilever also complained about the FSA's proposals. An FSA document shows the proposed salt level in ham and other cured meats was raised from 1.9g per 100g of food to 2.5g per 100g following discussion with the industry. A target of 0.5g per 100g of dried soup was increased to 0.7g per 100g after the industry said the old target "would not pass consumer acceptability". The industry also said a target of 1.5g of salt per 100g of tomato ketchup "would not be achievable", despite some reduced salt ketchups already being at that level. High salt intake has been linked to an increased risk of high blood pressure, which leads to strokes and heart disease. CASH said research had shown that 70,000 strokes and heart attacks, more than half of which are fatal, would be prevented if the average salt intake was reduced to six grams per day. Professor Graham MacGregor, from the Blood Pressure Unit at St George's Hospital, Tooting in London, and chairman of CASH, said: "It's not surprising that if you ask the food industry to do something they are not keen to do, they are going to say, 'We can do a bit, but not very much'. "It seems the FSA are just accepting that. Where's the evidence that you can't reduce the salt any further ?" He said levels of salt could be reduced over a number of years and people's salt receptors would adjust along the way. "It's nonsense for the industry to say it's not possible to do it. Public acceptability will be fine provided it is done slowly." A spokeswoman for the FSA said a consultation exercise was under way and it hoped to find ways to meet the government's target of reducing the average salt intake to 6g per day by 2010. "Industry have claimed, either due to technical feasibility or consumer acceptability, that they cannot reach some of the original target levels suggested. "We have an important and challenging target to reduce average population salt intakes to six grams a day by 2010 and we need the co-operation of all sectors, but particularly the industry, to achieve this." Martin Paterson, deputy director general of industry body the Food and Drink Federation, said: "The food industry is committed to continuing to reduce levels of salt in products and providing lower salt options where technologically possible, safe and acceptable to consumers. "We will continue to work with the FSA and the Department of Health to help achieve sodium reductions in our diets and to increase consumer choice."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/4477156.stm	A 17-year-old has been found guilty of murdering black student Anthony Walker, who was found with an axe in his head. Barton and Taylor followed Anthony to McGoldrick Park Michael Barton had denied killing Anthony but was found guilty of murder. His cousin Paul Taylor, 20, had admitted his part in the killing. Anthony, 18, was killed with an ice axe at McGoldrick Park in Huyton, Merseyside, on 29 July. The judge, Mr Justice Leveson, said the murder was racially-motivated and the pair would be sentenced on Thursday. Mr Justice Leveson told the court he was "sure this attack was racially-motivated and pre-meditated from the moment that the two men set off in the motor car". Barton, whose brother is Manchester City footballer Joey Barton, and Taylor face a mandatory life sentence and the minimum tariff for racially motivated murders is 30 years. Anthony's mother Gee, said outside the court "justice had been done". The court heard Barton had shouted racist abuse at Anthony as he waited at a bus stop near the Huyton Park pub with his cousin Marcus Binns and girlfriend, Louise Thompson. The three walked away to go to another bus stop, but Barton and his cousin Taylor ambushed them near McGoldrick park. Marcus and Louise escaped, but Taylor caught up with Anthony and drove the ice axe into his skull, the court heard. Outside court, Detective Chief Superintendent Peter Currie, of Merseyside Police, said: "A young man with his girlfriend and cousin minding their own business, doing absolutely nothing wrong, subjected to a torrent of racist abuse, they go to another bus stop... everything they did was right but it ultimately turned out wrong. "It is beyond belief." Taylor, of Elizabeth Road, Huyton, inflicted the fatal blow, and pleaded guilty to murder but Barton, of Boundary Road, Huyton, was convicted on the grounds he supplied the weapon and started the confrontation. He was found guilty by a jury at Preston Crown Court, sitting in Liverpool, on Wednesday. Home Office pathologist Dr Brian Rodgers told the court the axe had smashed a 5.5cm-wide (2.1in) hole into Anthony's skull, penetrating his brain. Barton had claimed he was not there when Anthony was murdered but it emerged in court that Taylor had swung the ice axe at the student because he was getting the better of Barton in a fight. He phoned his girlfriend after the murder telling her he struck Anthony "because Michael was getting battered and I had to stop him". Anthony's girlfriend, Louise Thompson, gave evidence During the trial Andrew Menary QC, defending, said Taylor had gone along with Barton to back him and race was not an issue. Joey Barton told his brother's trial that three days after the attack, he received a call from a number he did not recognise. He said: "It was Michael. He asked if I could get him £1,000. "I said I couldn't and asked him where he was. He wouldn't tell me. I told him he had to go home. He said he would go to prison and he hadn't done anything." The court heard Michael Barton and Taylor had driven to Dover almost immediately after the attack, then taken a morning sailing to Calais and driven on to Amsterdam. They agreed to meet Merseyside Police detectives and flew back to Liverpool five days after the attack. The ice axe was deeply embedded in Anthony's skull Outside court, Anthony's cousin David Okoro said: "Anthony was a wonderful young man who had everything to live for and his murder has subjected my family to a living nightmare. "Anthony posed no threat to these people. They chose to kill him purely because of the colour of his skin. "We are satisfied with the verdict but we are not celebrating. We have no reason to be jubilant, because that will not bring Anthony back." His mother Gee said: "I knew from the start there was only one verdict. "I've got to forgive them, my family and I still stand by what we believe - forgiveness."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-19584597	Tour of Britain: Stoke-on-Trent stage five Thousands of people have watched cyclists including Britain's Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish take part in the Tour of Britain in Stoke-on-Trent. The race departed from the Italian Gardens on the Trentham Estate and will finish in the city centre. The 147-km (91 mile) route passes Rugeley, Alton, Warslow and Stockton Brook as well as going on to Cannock Chase. A tour spokesman said Stoke-on-Trent was "an important part of the route". AT THE SCENE On a calm and bright morning in Stoke-on-Trent, crowds steadily gathered in Trentham Gardens hoping to get up, close and personal with the big names of cycling. They are sport stars who, in a seemingly short space of time, have grown a reputation that borders on rock star status thanks to the Tour de France and Olympics. With the Paralympics closing less than a week ago the public's appetite for sport is still strong. By mid morning there was nothing calm about the thousand-plus people in Trentham Gardens. Chief executive Hugh Roberts said the tour would return to the city as long as people wanted it to. He said: "We get huge turnouts and big crowds." This is the fifth successive year the Tour of Britain has visited Stoke-on-Trent with a new-look route being used this time. The eight-stage competition began in Ipswich on Sunday and will finish in Guildford this Sunday. Stage one of the Tour of Britain went from Ipswich to Norfolk Showground and the other stages have gone from Nottingham to Knowsley Safari Park, Jedburgh to Dumfries and Carlisle to Blackpool. Mr Roberts said: "There's no question that there's been a marked increase in the amount of interest in the Tour of Britain both in the spectators and the media."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-15980174	Man branded world's fattest tells of '24/7 eating illness' As his weight ballooned to 70 stone, even seemingly simple tasks represented a huge challenge for Paul Mason. For the best part of a decade, the former postman relied on help from carers while confined to his bed. Each day around £75-worth of takeaways and chocolate would be delivered to his door. His daily intake of 20,000 calories - nearly 10 times the recommended average - saw him tagged in the media as the "world's fattest man". Everything had to be within arm's reach at his Ipswich home, including a feast of snacks to satisfy his constant need for a "quick fix". Mr Mason, 50, said he would barely sleep as he went on "24/7" binges of fish and chips, Chinese food and kebabs. "You have no sense of time, months all rolled into each other," he said. "For several years I didn't sleep properly because I was always eating. All I could think of was getting a quick fix of food. "I made sure I had supplies around my bed - chocolate, crisps and sausage rolls. I got to the stage where I had an addiction. "It was 24/7 eating. You don't feel full and you don't feel hungry."'Constant battle' Nearly two years ago Mr Mason had life-saving NHS gastric bypass surgery to control his weight. End Quote Paul Mason You don't do this because you want to become the world's heaviest man” But first he had to face up to the "demons" that he says led to his food addiction. He was bullied at school - not for his weight but for his height, as he quickly shot up to 6ft 4in (1.93m). He also endured heartbreak when a four-year relationship with a woman ended in the mid-1980s. Soon after, his father died, aged 52, and he helped care for his mother who suffered from arthritis. She died two years ago aged 76. Mr Mason, one of three children, said food was always a major part of family life - and something he turned to for comfort. "My dad used to insist when I was young that I cleared my plate," he said. "He would say 'I haven't worked all those hours for you not to clear your plate'. We had big meals. There was always a constant battle between us to see who could clear their plate the quickest." After leaving school, he did a mechanic's apprenticeship but would binge on food while skipping college lessons. His weight gradually increased during his teens and by the time he was 30 it had topped 25 stone (158kg). But it was in the early 2000s when his weight really shot out of control as he grew from 40 to 70 stone (250 to 450kg). Mr Mason said he barely left his home in Ipswich, Suffolk, between 2001 and last year, aside from occasional hospital trips. In early 2010, he underwent the bypass surgery. Since then, he has shed 40 stone as he transformed his diet and, gradually, became more active. That brought with it new stresses, including learning to cope with venturing outside. "I remember travelling to hospital in the ambulance for my operation and the traffic really freaked me out," he said. "I had become institutionalised."'Fat boy' jibes He has also had to deal with being recognised. "I do get jibes - people drive past saying 'fat boy' and things like that," he said. "You get people staring at you but it doesn't bother me. End Quote Prof David Haslam National Obesity Forum The least the NHS can do now is give him the operations to remove his excess skin” "You don't do this because you want to become the world's heaviest man. "Anyone can come up to me and argue about 'why should you get that help and why have you got that?' "We live in a free country. When I talk to them and explain what my problems are they are more understanding. It's an illness." Even with his dramatic weight loss, his battle for more surgery has continued as he has been left with vast folds of excess skin. Doctors have told him his weight, currently around 30 stone (190kg), needed to reduce further and then stabilise at his target weight before he could have surgery to remove the skin. But he said it was hindering his effort to reach his target of about 17 stone (107kg). "I don't want to be a drain on society but I can't get on with my life without this surgery," he said. "I feel like I have been left high and dry. My life is on hold because it is stopping me from getting back into society." A spokesman for NHS Suffolk said a panel, including clinicians, decide on whether such operations should take place. He said: "A patient must have a stable weight before he or she is considered." Prof David Haslam, from the National Obesity Forum, has backed Mr Mason's fight for further surgery. He said: "By undergoing the first operation to have gastric bypass surgery, which would normally cost about £9,000, Mr Mason has saved the NHS tens of thousands of pounds. "The least the NHS can do now is give him the operations to remove his excess skin. "It's not a simple case of just snipping the skin off - it's complex plastic surgery but it's almost inevitable in a case such as this." Mr Mason is determined to win his weight battle - and says he is driven on by flashbacks of his previous condition. "I don't want to block out what happened to me because it spurs me on now," he said. "It stops me from going back to how I used to be."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11651132	Close-Up: LA's gourmet food trucks This BBC News series focuses on aspects of life in countries and cities around the world. What may seem ordinary and familiar to the people who live there can be surprising to those who do not. Roving trucks selling gourmet food on the streets are a popular phenomenon in Los Angeles. With everything from Korean tacos to strawberry cupcakes on offer, the trucks are proving a winner with locals who have an eclectic taste in food but want the convenience and lower prices of eating on the run. And thanks to social networking sites and blogs like Find LA Food Trucks, it is now possible for hungry LA residents to track the whereabouts of their favourite trucks, making sure they can find them when they crave one particular meal. Peter Bowes took a culinary tour of LA's streets.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5250386.stm	Almost 200 people are reported to have died after a river burst its banks and floodwaters swept through the city of Dire Dawa in eastern Ethiopia. The Dechatu river overflowed, sweeping water through the city The local police commissioner said 39 of the dead were young children. Officials said hundreds of homes were destroyed when the Dechatu river overflowed on Saturday night. Over the past two years flooding has afflicted several areas of eastern and southern Ethiopia, killing hundreds and displacing hundreds of thousands. A heavy downpour hit Dire Dawa city, some 500km east of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, in the early hours of Saturday, residents told news agency AFP. "My home is situated a bit far from the river, I was in bed when I heard people shouting," said 45-year-old Abaye Baheru. "I opened the door, and the water burst in, forcing me to escape to the rooftop from where police rescued me, but my house and property were destroyed. "While on the rooftop, I saw men, women and children being washed away, while crying for help," Mr Abaye said. The floods also swept away vehicles and livestock, and destroyed markets and shops, witnesses said. Thousands of Dire Dawa's estimated 250,000 residents have been displaced by the flooding. The flooding has caused mass destruction "The death toll from the flood caused by the overflow in Dire Dawa reached 191 by 8.30 pm (1730 GMT)," regional Dire Dawa Police Commissioner Getachew Asres said. He said 39 of the dead were children aged under seven years. Flooding often hits low-lying parts of Ethiopia during the June-to-September rainy season. Last year at least 200 people were killed - some by crocodiles in the floodwaters - when heavy rains pounded the same region. The flooding also caused millions of dollars worth of damage, particularly to small farmers.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6756689.stm	Singer Melanie C has given the green light for a reunion of the Spice Girls. Melanie C embarked on a solo career after the Spice Girls split up "For the first time ever, there is some truth in the rumours... it could happen," she told BBC London 94.9. But the singer, also known as Sporty Spice, said it would just be for "a very short space of time... a final goodbye" and a thank you to fans. It is thought ex-bandmates Emma Bunton, Victoria Beckham, Mel B and Geri Halliwell had already agreed to reunite but Melanie C had resisted until now. The singer, whose real name is Melanie Chisholm, said she admired Take That, who have enjoyed renewed success since they got back together last year. But she added, "it would be really dangerous to think you could just follow in their footsteps because I think that's unique, what has happened to Take That". The Spice Girls were one of the UK's most popular acts She added that she had always said she didn't want to get the band back together because "it was amazing, it was magical. We could never recreate it". "But this year people have been talking about it and some of the girls have expressed an interest in doing it." "I don't want to be the person that stops it happening or stops it being a five-piece," she told the radio station." It is rumoured the band are planning six live shows around the world with gigs in London, Tokyo and Las Vegas, to support their Greatest Hits album which comes out later this year. They are likely to begin rehearsing for the shows after Bunton gives birth to her first baby later this summer. The Spice Girls were one of the most successful pop acts in British history, with a string of number ones starting with 1996's Wannabe. Geri Halliwell was the first to leave the band in 1998, walking out while the group were on a European tour. The Spice Girls released another album but finally split in 2000, with the participants all going on to solo careers with varying degrees of success.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4212973.stm	More than half the 250 million people in the Arab world today are under the age of 25 - but many Arab countries offer their young people little in the way of jobs and involvement in politics. The BBC Arabic Service's Mounira Chaieb visited four contrasting Arab countries to find out what it means to be young in the Arab world today. This is the first in her series of articles. My first stop, in a region that extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Persian Gulf, is the Lebanese capital, Beirut. Many of Lebanon's young want to leave the country It is one of the most modern capitals in the Arab world. However, many of the young people I met wanted to leave the country. With just over four million people on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, this small country is full of complex issues. On the surface, things look very encouraging, Beirut has changed beyond recognition since the last time I visited five years ago, when war damage and destruction were visible everywhere. Between 1975 and 1990, the city was devastated by a bloody, factional civil war that tore the country apart and killed more than 100,000 people. Today, there is relative peace in Lebanon and most of the infrastructure has been rebuilt. Many buildings have been renovated with investment from the Gulf, shopping malls sell the latest products, the streets are very clean and the roads excellent. The security situation in the country is generally stable and there is a functioning government. But there is a real sense of frustration amongst the young Lebanese. Most of Lebanon's infrastructure has been rebuilt "Most of my friends are abroad, I have no friends left here," said DJ Cesar K. "Emigration is in the culture of Lebanon it has always been there since the 19th Century, but now it has grown out of proportion." The number of those who have actually left in the last 10 years has reached almost 300,000 - most of them young and educated. But why are so many leaving? Rampant corruption and cronyism were recurring themes in my conversations with young Lebanese. "It's really frustrating to live in such a country," said 27-year-old TV presenter, Ghada Oueiss. "You can't build your own future. You can't be safe. You can't have your own dreams and go for it. You must travel." Lebanon's government has a foreign debt of over US$30bn - a direct result of 15 years of war. Many young Lebanese people I spoke to strongly feel that a huge proportion of the country's wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few. The gap between the upper and lower classes is rapidly increasing. With unemployment high, there are not enough job opportunities to go round for university graduates. Politically, many young people in Lebanon detest the Syrian influence in their country. "There is a picture of the Syrian President and his father who isn't alive - why do I have to see a picture of them in my country?" is one question I heard. Since 1976, Syria has maintained a strong military presence in Lebanon. Once the conflict ended, Syrian soldiers were to stay on temporarily to keep the peace. Today 14,000 Syrian troops remain and many of the most serious political questions are decided in Damascus. Many university graduates are finding it hard to find a job But it was Syria's interference in Lebanon's presidential elections last September that was too much for the young of Lebanon to take. Instead of letting Lebanese lawmakers pick a new president, Syrian President Bashar Assad and his advisors apparently decided they preferred the man already in power. Lebanon's lawmakers amended the constitution to give President Emil Lahoud, whose term expired in November, three more years in office. Young Lebanese also think that Syria isn't the only country that's interested in Lebanon. They name the USA, France and Israel among others. A young journalist described Lebanon as "an attractive young woman" and the other countries as "men who all want a bit of her". I can't help feeling how different Lebanon is from the rest of the Arab world. How Arab do Lebanon's young people feel? "There are so many definitions of being an Arab - if it means riding a camel in the desert then I'm not an Arab," said Cesar. "If an Arab means being Muslim or being a terrorist, then I'm not an Arab. "Some people tend to think we are denying our Arabic roots. We are very aware of our roots and we are very proud of them. Let's just find a fixed definition for being an Arab." Ghada on the other hand "prefers to be Lebanese and not an Arab citizen or an Arab woman, I'm not proud of the Arab world". On the whole, the young in Lebanon are fiercely proud of their country. Even those who are desperate to leave are in no doubt that they will eventually return because they see their future bound up with Lebanon. The first in a four-part series, "Young in the Arab World" - will be broadcast on the BBC World Service on 9 February.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7831588.stm	Doctors say Samer Abdrabo may never walk again By Christian Fraser BBC News, El-Arish Some of the worst cases of injured children are being allowed into Egypt through the Rafah crossing for emergency treatment. According to World Health Organization (WHO) figures, more than 300 children have been killed and around 1400 injured in the current conflict. They include four-year-old Samar Abed Rabbu- she is said to have been shot in the back by an Israeli soldier. Her spinal chord has been severed and she will probably never walk again. "I was hit by a bullet," Samar tells me, clutching her teddy bear. "The Israeli soldiers shot me while I was on the steps with my little sister." Samer's uncle, Hassan Abed Rabbu, has accompanied her to El-Arish hospital, close to the Egypt-Gaza border. Caught in the crossfire? He says the family home in the town of Jabaliya, south of Gaza City, was being shelled and they were ordered to leave by an Israeli patrol. According to Hassan, he shouted at the Israelis in Hebrew telling them that there were children in the house. But as his mother left the house with her three grandchildren, he says the Israelis opened fire from close range, injuring Samar and killing her two sisters. "One was two years old, her corpse was riddled with bullets," he tells me. "The older girl was six, her body was severed at the waist by the heavy shooting. Samar was left bleeding on the street for three hours before we could reach her." In every room along the corridor there is a story of suffering and grief. But what particularly disturbs the Egyptian medics is the number of gunshot wounds they are seeing. Some believe that children are not simply being caught in the crossfire between the advancing Israeli army and the militants returning fire. "When you have a child who has two bullets in his head, how do you explain to me how these bullets came to his head?" asks team leader on the Palestinian ward, Dr Ayman Abdul Hadi. "It is not easy to answer because it is not only one child. There are many children." Four of the children moved to El-Arish were shot in the head. I was shown the CT scans of Nour Thabit, aged 10, Anas Haref, 9, Nour Sami Shgier, 10 and 14-year-old, Mohz Yosef. All arrived on mechanical ventilators and remain in comas at other hospitals in Egypt. Bullets are easy to distinguish from shrapnel wounds The head of neurosurgery, Dr Ahmed Yahia, says bullets can easily be distinguished from blast wounds. "You will find this round white shape, you see a very different trauma to those hit by shrapnel in an explosion," he explains. "If you have a small entry wound this means the bullet is shot from very nearby because it has come out of the gun at high speed." Dr Yahia illustrates the point by showing me the picture of one boy who has been shot through the front of the head. There is a small entry wound but a dark shadow around the bullet. His brain has been badly damaged and he will probably never wake up. Hamas has adopted tactics that have deliberately endangered the Palestinian population Israeli government spokesman The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross have raised concerns about civilian casualties in this war, but the facts are hard to verify independently. The Israeli government insists it is doing all it can to protect the innocent. "Hamas has adopted tactics that have deliberately endangered the Palestinian population in Gaza," said Mark Regev, the Israeli government spokesman. "When you put bombs in schools, when you put rockets in private dwellings, when they fight, they use the civilian population as human shield." At El-Arish hospital, a psychiatrist comforts 13-year-old, Ahmed Soumani. The shrapnel is embedded in his chest, lungs and kidney. It is hard to console a little boy in so much pain. The wounds of some of these young patients may well heal but it is the psychological damage, and the hatred born out of this conflict, which will be much harder to treat.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-13669252	Exam question error in AS-level paper Pupils taking an AS-level exam have been given a question that could not be answered - the second such problem this summer. The latest unanswerable question was in a business studies paper set by the AQA exam board. A teacher voiced fears that pupils had wasted so much time trying to answer the unanswerable question they had not had enough time for other questions. The AQA exam board said it was "very sorry about the error in the paper". "However, we do have a robust process for ensuring that none of our students will be disadvantaged as a result of our mistake," said a statement from the exam board. The paper was taken by pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.Missing information A business teacher in Leicestershire contacted the BBC News website to complain about the difficulties faced by pupils who had taken the exam on 24 May. The exam paper did not include the information needed to make the calculation to answer the question - which was about the profits of a chocolate company. "Myself and my students are concerned as some recognised the error and left the answer blank and some spent far too long trying to figure it out and consequently ran out of time when doing the bigger mark questions towards the end of the exam," wrote the teacher, who did not want to be identified. The AQA board has said: "The examiners who will be marking the paper are aware of the problem and marks will be adjusted to ensure that all students get the right grade." The board said the question was worth three marks out of 80. Last week it emerged students taking an AS-level maths paper set by the OCR exam board had also been set an unanswerable question.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-20156816	R2-D2 actor 'pleased' at news of new Star Wars films The actor who played R2-D2 has welcomed plans to release three new Star Wars films. Disney Studios is buying the company behind the franchise, Lucasfilm, for $4.05bn (£2.5bn). Disney plans to release a new Star Wars film, episode seven, in 2015. Speaking to the BBC from his home in Preston, Kenny Baker, explained the films' enduring appeal and said he still gets global fan mail.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17217042	Google privacy row: Storm in a teacup? The change means private data collected by one Google service can be shared with its other platforms including YouTube, Gmail and Blogger. Google said the new set up will enable it to tailor search results better. But data regulators in France have cast doubt on the legality of move and have launched a Europe-wide investigation. Google's Peter Barron and social media expert Matt Hodkinson spoke to BBC Breakfast to discuss the changes.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20117058	Brighton beach rape: Police release CCTV images CCTV images have been released of a man being sought by police investigating the rape of a woman on Brighton beach. The man was seen going into the Oceana nightclub in West Street at about 22:30 BST on 6 September. Police said the victim, from Kent, left the nightclub in the early hours of 7 September and was raped on the beach near the bottom of West Street. The man was seen walking up West Street towards the clock tower before going into Duke Street early on 7 September. Sussex Police said he was described as being in his 20s, about 5ft 7in tall, of medium build with short dark hair. The woman told officers she was grabbed by two men and raped while a third looked on. Two men aged 32 and 34 from Brighton were arrested on 5 October and released on bail until November.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-18682779	Couple's home ravaged by Colorado wildfire A man whose home has been ravaged by a wildfire in the US has spoken of his devastation. Architect Andrew Crump, who moved from West Yorkshire to Colorado Springs three years ago, has lost his home and possessions in the blaze. US President Barack Obama has issued a disaster declaration after tens of thousands of people were driven from their homes. Mr Crump said: "It's very painful but we are glad to be safe and sound."'Treasured mementoes' Hundreds of homes have been destroyed by the wildfire, which started on 23 June and has claimed two lives. Mr Crump and his American wife were among those evacuated and had to scramble to an area higher up to stay with friends. The couple found out through television reports that their home had had been destroyed. Mr Crump said: "It's been a huge, huge week but really we're just taking stock of what we've got. "It's times like this that makes you focus on the most important things. My wife and myself are completely well." Mr Crump said the couple had managed to salvage some things before their house was destroyed, but had lost "treasured mementoes" from family and friends in the UK. He said they were insured and would be looking at the option to re-build on the same plot or elsewhere. "Financially we're not going to suffer, it's just the other things that have gone. Some can be replaced and some can't."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-15008775	Police clampdown on mobile phone-using drivers Police across Wales have launched a two-week crackdown on motorists who drive while using hand-held mobile phones. Patrols by all four Welsh forces are being stepped up until 5 October. Ian Arundale, chief constable of Dyfed-Powys Police, said the aim was to make texting or phoning at the wheel just as socially unacceptable as drink-driving. The campaign follows a powerful road safety video that became an internet hit, created by Newport students. The short film Cow, starring young actors from Newport Film School, shows a teenager killing four people in a collision when she uses her mobile phone to send a text. It was seen by more than 7m people after it was posted on YouTube in 2009.'Zero tolerance' The new campaign is being led by Dyfed-Powys Police on behalf of the four Welsh forces and hopes to build on the success of Cow. Since 2007 those caught using a phone while driving are given three penalty points and a £60 fine, but police say some motorists have not been deterred. Mr Arundale said that using a mobile phone while driving makes the user four times more likely to have an accident and the campaign would see a "zero tolerance" approach among officers. "When you're using a handheld device at the wheel you're distracted and your reactions will be affected. "It only takes a momentary lapse in concentration before you could become the cause of a serious collision or be involved in a fatal road traffic collision. "We want the use of a mobile phone at the wheel to be seen as just as reckless and socially unacceptable as drink-driving and anyone caught using their mobile phone while driving will be prosecuted." So far in 2011, Dyfed-Powys Police have issued 1,352 endorsable tickets to drivers for misusing mobile phones, while in 2010 they issued 2,122. At Thursday's launch at the Merlin Theatre in Pembrokeshire College, Haverfordwest, 100 students will hear from road safety professionals, Pembrokeshire council and police officers about the dangers of using hand-held phones while driving. End Quote Ian Arundale Dyfed-Powys Chief Constable We want the use of a mobile phone at the wheel to be seen as just as reckless and socially unacceptable as drink-driving and anyone caught using their mobile phone while driving will be prosecuted” They will also see a clip from Cow and a new short film produced by a youth group in Milford Haven.Demonstrating dangers Sue Storch, chair of the Road Safety Wales partnership of local authorities, said the earlier film had become a useful tool in educating young people about the dangers of texting and phoning while at the wheel. She said: "As part of the police school liaison core programme four short clips from the Cow video are shown to young people in Key Stage 4 of the education process to demonstrate the dangers and impact of distractions when driving. "Utilising this informative and effective video enables road safety professionals and school liaison officers to encourage young adults to explore and understand the consequences of such actions." Brynmawr filmmaker Peter Watkins-Hughes produced Cow for Gwent Police as an educational tool for young motorists.Unexpected impact Profits generated by the film have been used to commission crime prevention films and award bursaries to young filmmakers via the Gwent Independent Film Trust (Gift). Chris Morris, professor of documentary films at University of Wales, Newport, said: "Absolutely nobody thought Cow was going to have the impact it did. "The students were crucial to the making of it, because we only had a small budget but the internet made a huge difference. "Within a few weeks it had more than 6m hits and we've since been contacted by firms in Australia, Canada and Africa asking for copies to use in businesses where employees drive the public or goods. "It strikes a chord with everybody, no matter how old you are."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8687001.stm	About two million South African train commuters have been left stranded as two major transport unions widened a strike which began last week. The unions have called on their members working for the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) to stop working in a dispute over pay. The vast majority of staff at Transnet - the country's main transporter of freight - are already on strike. South Africa is preparing to host the World Cup, which starts on 11 June. Nearly 12,000 members of the United Transport and Allied Trade Union (Utatu) and the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) are on strike at Prasa, disrupting local Metrorail and long-distance Shosholoza Meyl passenger rail services, the South African Press Association reports. A Metrorail spokesperson in KwaZulu-Natal province told Sapa that no trains were operating on Monday, leaving 180,000 passengers without transport. The unions want a 16% pay rise for Prasa staff, while Prasa is offering an eight percent increase, Sapa says. Last week, thousands of staff at Transnet went on strike, crippling rail and port services across the country. Their dispute is also over pay. Transnet transports thousands of tonnes of freight daily by train, as well as loading and unloading goods at South African ports. Some 350,000 people are expected to visit South Africa for the World Cup - which is being held in Africa for the first time - and there are concerns the transport workers strike could disrupt the tournament.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/7084431.stm	A 52-year-old man is seriously ill in hospital with severe head injuries after he was found collapsed in a street by a phone box in Wirral. The ambulance service was called to the junction of Bebington Road and School Lane in New Ferry at about 2130 GMT on Wednesday. Police do not yet know how the man's injuries were caused. Detectives want to hear from the woman who called the ambulance. The man is in a critical condition in hospital.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6916028.stm	Politicians, trade union and business leaders have welcomed the government's decision to contract Clyde shipyards to build two new aircraft carriers. The carriers will be made on the Clyde and at Rosyth The £3.8bn order for the Royal Navy carriers will be completed at yards on the Clyde and at Rosyth. The Scottish Chambers of Commerce said the decision showed that Scotland could compete effectively in a global market. SNP deputy leader Nicola Sturgeon, the MSP for Govan, said it was "great news" for her constituency. BAE Systems' Govan and Scotstoun yards, which employ 3,000 people, will be among the companies to construct the ships. The new 65,000-tonne carriers called HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales should enter service in 2014 and 2016. Ms Sturgeon said: "The Govan yard has a bright future and this order goes a long way to confirming that shipbuilding will continue on the Clyde. "It is a testament to the hard work and skills of the workers at BAE that this contract has been won and provides a secure base for building a successful future." Jim Moohan is a senior organiser for GMB Scotland's manufacturing section and chairman of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions. He said: "This news finally supports the financial investment that BAE Systems have placed in the skills and training at the Clydeside yard with apprenticeships and design staff. "The workforce on Clydeside should be congratulated for adapting to the changing face of shipbuilding within the UK. "Their commitment over the last 10 years in which the future of shipbuilding was in doubt should not be forgotten. "This news will not only stabilise thousands of jobs on Clydeside but will also create in time many opportunities for hundreds more." Jack Dromey, deputy general secretary of the T&G section of Unite, the trade union, said: "This is putting into practice what the unions have argued for years: government orders and taxpayers' money are vital for British manufacturing." Glasgow North West MP John Robertson said the move would safeguard jobs. He said he and his Labour colleagues had fought for some time for the carriers to be built in these yards. He added: "I am pleased to see it will take place." Liz Cameron, executive director of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said this had been the "most welcome news for Scotland's engineering sector in a very long time".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/norfolk/5357990.stm	Britain's first mobile phone sniffer dog has been tested out at Norwich Prison. Murphy has been trained to sniff out mobile phones Murphy, an English Springer Spaniel, has been specially trained to hunt out the mobile phone handsets - which have a particular scent. Mobiles are a big security risk in prisons. They have been used to plot escapes, threaten court witnesses and organise crime on the outside. About 500 have been found in jails in East Anglia in the past year. About 60 mobile phones have been found in searches inside Norwich Prison during the past 12 months, with prisoners prepared to pay £500 to get hold of one. Mel Barker, the dog trainer at Norwich Prison, said: "Every mobile phone has a scent which is unique to mobile phones. So we've homed in on that." The dog, which is 15 months old, came from an animal home in Ipswich, Suffolk.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7480000/newsid_7486300/7486332.stm	Cleaning up after thousands of beavers formed part of the latest Serious Ocean challenge for a group of intrepid child adventurers. Thirteen-year-old Harry was one of a group of teenagers who travelled to Tierra del Fuego in South America for the hit CBBC show. Tierra del Fuego is an almost uninhabited area of natural beauty that's being destroyed by beavers. Beavers chew through the tree trunks To get there, Harry and the others had to pass glaciers and trek through an ancient forest. "I sat in a dam that the beavers built and it was absolutely amazing to see that such small creatures had built such a big structure," he said. "Unfortunately, to create their homes the beavers have completely destroyed the area by blocking rivers and cutting down trees with their razor-sharp teeth." Out of control Beavers never used to live in the area until the 1940s, when 50 of the critters were introduced from Canada to breed for their furry coats. But the animals multiplied out of control and now there are up to 100,000 of them. Because of the damage they are causing to the natural plants and wildlife, scientists want to cull the beavers to protect the area. Conservation expert Chris Anderson said: "In conservation, sometimes we have to do things besides just protecting species. "When we have harmful species, like invasive species, we also have to control them. "So it's important to realise that as people, we're responsible for taking care of this problem we created." During their mission, Harry made a grim discovery when he found a beaver in one of the traps. Removing one of the beavers' dams "To find a beaver dead in a trap is quite horrible really," he said. "Although the traps are humane, killing the beavers instantly, I wasn't the only one upset by the trapping." His Serious Ocean team-mate Robyn agreed, saying: "I know we have to kill them and I know it's a good thing that we found one and everything, but seeing it is really sad." Before leaving the area, Harry and his mates also helped remove some of the beavers' dams to allow the river to flow again and help restore the area to its natural beauty. You can watch Serious Ocean on CBBC from Wednesday 9 July 2008.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8747461.stm	"It was a difficult decision in 2002 to not come then but to be here as manager is fantastic. "I'm delighted, I've got a right buzz, I just can't wait to see the stadium full of the passionate fans we have. "We want to get back in the Premier League, I'm under no illusions of how tough it will be but that would be our aim." Pompey chief executive David Lampitt welcomed the arrival of Cotterill, saying: "Steve is the perfect fit for the rebuilding job we want to do here. "He's talented, ambitious, energetic and positive, with a very good footballing CV, coming here on the back of a great achievement at Notts County. "We've got lots of challenges ahead and like the rest of us here at the club Steve is ready to tackle them head on to bring stability and long-term success to Pompey." Cotterill began his managerial career at Sligo Rovers, before guiding his hometown team Cheltenham into the Football League in 1999. He then had spells at Stoke and Sunderland, where he was assistant manager to Howard Wilkinson, before taking charge of Burnley for three years. Cotterill joined Notts County on a short-term contract in February and guided them to the League Two title, overseeing 14 wins and one defeat in his 18 games in charge and conceding only six goals during that spell. But the former Bournemouth striker turned down a new deal at Meadow Lane after his contract ran out at the end of May, claiming the budget he had been offered at Notts was too small. After a season of financial turmoil at Portsmouth the club's future appeared to be placed on steadier ground on Thursday after creditors backed a deal which should see the club exit administration this summer. The administrators will repay creditors at least 20p in the pound over five years. The south-coast club's unsecured creditors are owed a total of £105m. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/8918521.stm	Newton took points race gold at the 2009 World Cup event in Manchester Former world champion Chris Newton has announced he will retire at the end of the season, to join Great Britain's coaching staff. The 36-year-old has won medals at three Olympics, two Commonwealth Games and world team pursuit and points titles. Newton will mentor the next generation of riders as British Cycling's Olympic academy men's endurance coach. "I'm ready to step back from full-time racing and focus my attention on coaching," said Newton. "I've achieved a lot during my cycling career and I'm very grateful for the support I've received from so many people in helping me reach my goals." Newton has enjoyed plenty of success on the track, winning gold at the World Championships in 2002 and '05, as well as Olympic silver and bronze medals. He has also established a solid domestic road racing career riding for Rapha Condor Sharp over the past three years and will continue to ride for the team until the end of the season. British Cycling's performance director Dave Brailsford believes Newton's experience will prove invaluable as he makes the transition into coaching. "Chris has come to the end of a fantastic racing career and I think he has all the key ingredients that will make him a successful coach," he said. "We are in a really good position at the moment that when our established world class athletes approach the end of their racing careers they want to stay with us, and help pass on their knowledge to the younger guys. "The likes of Chris and Paul Manning are role models to the new generation of GB cyclists so to be able keep them in our system is fantastic. We're looking forward to welcoming Chris on to the coaching team."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19869366	Taken 2 scores $50m US opening weekend Liam Neeson's thriller sequel Taken 2 has topped the US and Canadian box office, taking $50 million (£31.1m), despite a poor reception from critics. That is double the opening weekend for the original film, which took $24.7 million (£15.4m) in 2009. Last week's number one, Adam Sandler animation Hotel Transylvania, was at two with $26.3 million (£16.35m). Glee-style musical Pitch Perfect was in third with $14.7 million (£9.14m), following a limited release last week. The movie stars Anna Kendrick as a college student trying to liven up her a cappella singing group. Sci-fi thriller Looper, starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, fell from second-place to fourth with $12.2 million (£7.59m). Tim Burton's stop motion monster tale Frankenweenie opened in fifth place, taking $11.5 million (£7.15m), after facing competition from rival spooky animation Hotel Transylvania. Burton's Disney tale, about a boy who brings his dead dog back to life, is shot in black and white in an homage to classic horror movies.'Exceeded expectations' This week marks another improvement to cinema takings in the US and Canada with totals of $138 million (£85.8m), up 45.5% on the same weekend last year. Taken 2's distributors 20th Century Fox said they were surprised by the film's opening numbers after experiencing a "sluggish market" since the summer. US and Canada box office - Top Five - Taken 2 - $50 million - Hotel Transylvania - $26.3m - Pitch Perfect - $14.7m - Looper - $12.2m - Frankenweenie - $11.5m Chris Aronson from the company said it had "exceeded our expectations", adding: "The come in at $50 million is really remarkable, and a testament to this character that Liam has created." The sequel sees Neeson as a retired CIA agent who gets kidnapped on holiday in Istanbul. "Most people go to the movies for a certain dose of escapism," continued Aronson. "It doesn't have to be high art. It doesn't have to be serious and contemplative. They go to the movies to be entertained, and my gosh, that's what this movie does." Despite its relatively modest opening, 2009's original went on to take more than $227 million (£141m) around the world, and turned its Irish star into a Hollywood action hero with roles in Clash of the Titans, The A-Team and The Grey.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18305516	British soldier shot dead in Afghanistan's Helmand A UK soldier has been shot dead during a foot patrol in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has said. The serviceman from 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh, died on Friday after coming under small arms fire in the Nahr-e Saraj area of Helmand province. He was fatally wounded and despite medical attention could not be saved. His family have been informed. His death takes the number of British service personnel killed in Afghanistan since operations began in 2001 to 416. Lt Col John Kernerm, of British Forces Helmand, said: "It is my sad duty to inform you that a soldier from 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh has died as a result of injuries sustained while on patrol in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province. "The loss of the soldier will be felt by all in Task Force Helmand, but most deeply by his family and loved ones. "Our thoughts and sympathy are with them at this difficult time."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-21579279	Week In Week Out: Sham wedding fixers 'offer groom' for £3,500 Brides and grooms are being offered for sale to people wanting to cheat their way to a visa and avoid deportation, a BBC Wales investigation has revealed. An undercover reporter from Week In Week Out posed as a would-be bride from India who wants to stay in Wales but with her work visa due to run out. She was offered a Czech husband by sham wedding fixers in Cardiff for £3,500. She was also advised how to convince the UK Border Agency she had been with her new partner for more than a year. The undercover team filmed a group of sham wedding fixers as they organised a photo shoot around Cardiff aimed at conning officials into thinking the reporter and her "partner" had been a couple since 2011, when in fact they had only met for a few hours. The reporter was given lessons in how to lie about where they met and told to write down and learn a list of information about her fake fiancé in case she was questioned at the register office or after the wedding by the UKBA. Every month, UKBA investigators are called in by suspicious registrars around Wales to disrupt what are thought to be suspicious ceremonies. Latest figures show there were over 1,700 such calls across the Britain in 2011, twice the total for the previous year. Recent changes to immigration rules have made it harder for non-EU and British citizens to marry. End Quote Mark Rimmer Local Registration Services Association Of those reported to the Border Agency, I think they are the tip of the iceberg” But critics say it has created a loophole which makes it is easier and quicker for foreign nationals who want to stay in the UK, to marry EU nationals who have the right to remain here.'Under the radar' Mark Rimmer, chair of the Local Registration Services Association said: "Certainly, when we meet colleagues from the other parts of the UK, it certainly seems to be that they're also witnessing huge increases in the number of peoples getting married involving foreign nationals with European Union nationals. And he thinks the problem of sham marriages is spreading. "I think it's fair to say of those reported to the Border Agency, I think they are the tip of the iceberg. "I get incredibly frustrated, incandescent I think it is very difficult to come into a marriage room where you are actually marrying a couple and you know they are actually laughing behind their hands at you, the system, the immigration rules. "Because if they got away with it, they think can walk out of here they are putting their two fingers up at the system." At present there is no single "sham marriage" offence. To prosecute someone, officials have to be able to prove a number of crimes have been committed such as conspiracy, deception and fraud. In 2012 there were 300 UKBA enforcement operations and arrests and 230 prosecutions. Immigration Minister Mark Harper says the UK government is considering reviewing the situation. He said: "We need to step up our approach to it, make sure we're more effective, when registrars report it to us we need to deal with it. "We're looking at our intelligence capabilities, we're looking to work more closely with registrars, and we're also looking at if there are there any further legal steps we can take to make our existing tools more effective. The programme also follows UKBA officers as they halt a wedding in Cardiff's City Hall after a tip off about Nigerian groom who was about to marry a Polish woman. The man, a failed asylum seeker, is now in custody awaiting deportation. Richard Johnson, UKBA immigration inspector, who led the raids, said: "It's a priority for us as at the moment as it's an avenue that criminals and offenders are exploring to try and exploit the immigration system so it's somewhere we're clamping down on to make sure that they don't." Week In Week Out BBC One Wales 22:35 GMT on Tuesday 26 February.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-17112380	Nikitta Grender: Carl Whant jailed for 35 years for murdering pregnant teenager A former nightclub bouncer has been jailed for a minimum of 35 years for murdering a pregnant teenager two weeks before she was due to give birth. Carl Whant, 27, of Bettws, Newport, raped and stabbed 19-year-old Nikitta Grender at her home, also killing her unborn daughter, last February. He set fire to her Newport flat before returning to a party where he had been with her boyfriend, Ryan Mayes. Whant was convicted of murder, rape, child destruction and arson. Miss Grender had already named her baby girl Kelsey-May. Outside Newport Crown Court after the verdict, the victim's uncle, Michael Brunnock, said in a statement: "The last 12 months have been harder for us than you could ever imagine. "And as a family we remain in total disbelief as to what has happened. End Quote Michael Brunnock Nikitta Grender's uncle For us to see our grandchild for the first time in a mortuary was the most heartbreaking thing we have ever had to do” "Nikitta was so young and beautiful and together with Ryan, they were to become a very proud set of parents to Kelsey-May. "This has been ripped from them by Carl Whant, who has never had the decency to tell us the truth. "For us to see our grandchild for the first time in a mortuary was the most heartbreaking thing we have ever had to do. "Nikitta was so special and will remain in our hearts until we die. We will never deal with the tragic events that have stolen our family from us but hope we can at least start to understand what has happened."'Calculating and devious' Det Ch Supt Geoff Ronayne said the 35-year sentence was the longest he could remember in his 30 years with Gwent Police. Whant had "never admitted his guilt, given any indication about why he committed this terrible crime or provided Nikitta's family with any answers". Mr Ronayne said the event had been a "harrowing ordeal" for the family and Mr Mayes, and he commended them for their "bravery and dignity". "I'm hopeful that this conviction brings to an end one part of that process, although without doubt they will continue to mourn and grieve Nikitta and Kelsey-May for the rest of their lives." Sobs and some whispers of "yes" were heard in the court as the jury announced it had found him guilty after a trial lasting more than a month. As he sentenced Whant to life in prison with a minimum of 35 years, Judge Mr Justice Griffith Williams warned the public to remain calm. He said Whant had left the party because "you fancied Nikitta and wanted to have sex with her". He said that because he knew that she would not agree, and "you went armed with a knife, prepared to rape her. "The likelihood is that she let you in, believing that Ryan was with you." The judge told Whant that the murder had "left her family, Ryan Mayes, and her friends bereft. "The subsequent loss was compounded by the knowledge that her murderer had raped her and then tried to destroy her body. End Quote Mr Justice Griffith Williams Newport Crown Court The grief was made all the more deep because you did not scruple to make the wholly false allegation that she had consensual sex with you” "The grief was made all the more deep because you did not scruple to make the wholly false allegation that she had consensual sex with you." The judge said Whant acted with "quite extraordinary hypocrisy" after the murder was discovered, and even took flowers to the Grender household. He said that having listened to his evidence he concluded that Whant was a "calculating, vain and devious" individual. But the judge said said the full facts of what happened on the morning of the murder may never be known. But he added: "The explanation for these crimes lies in part in your vanity." "You told the police that she was 'feisty' and in my view she told you that she was going to report you to the police for raping her, and that is why you murdered her."Scratches on wrists Whant's trial heard that Ms Grender's badly-burned body was discovered at the flat in Broadmead Park, Lliswerry, Newport, on 5 February 2011 after firefighters were called. A post-mortem examination found her throat had been slashed and her stomach stabbed. She had died before the fire started. Whant was arrested four days later. DNA tests confirmed he had had sex with Ms Grender, and scratches were found on his wrists. Whant had initially denied any contact with Ms Grender. But he later changed his story and claimed he had had consensual sex with her the night she was killed after an invitation by Mr Mayes. He said he had only initially denied having sex with her because he did not want to upset his girlfriend. When giving evidence, Mr Mayes described this claim as "preposterous". Whant was caught on CCTV by three separate cameras driving his car from the party he had been to near Ms Grender's flat. Blood on a shirt and in his car was also identified as Ms Grender's.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3451117.stm	Educated children are more productive later in life Educating children, rather than forcing them to work, could yield enormous economic benefits for developing nations, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Paying for a child's education could bring a sevenfold return on the investment, in addition to social and other benefits that make this a preferred option to child labour, the ILO said. "We often get asked the question: 'Is it economically viable to make the switch from child labour to education?'," Frans Roeselaers, director of the ILO's International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour told BBC News Online. And, added Mr Roeselaers, the answer is clear. "It gives enormous, almost astronomical returns in terms of both productivity and increased wages once the child grows up and becomes a worker," he said. Companies and nations stand to benefit from increased productivity, while higher salaries would benefit both the workers and their families, as well as governments who would get higher tax revenues. In addition, removing the worst forms of child labour, such as prostitution and slavery, would reduce illnesses and injuries. This would cut the cost of treating the children and make them better able to continue working for many more years. But future earnings, however large, may not be enough to convince poverty struck families to stop sending children to work in order to secure food on the table today. Indeed, investment in children's education involves "considerable costs upfront", Mr Roeselaers acknowledged. Learning to read pays real dividends Initially, there will be "a protracted period, approximately 15 years, of net costs", he said. "But the costs are complete after a couple of decades, and the benefits continue for 40 years past that point." Consequently, it "requires great commitment from both families and governments" to provide education rather than jobs for the young. Families will have to go without their children's income for several years, a choice many poor parents will be unable to make without help. Governments must therefore step in, Mr Roeselaers insisted. "This is primarlily a political rather than economic question," he said. Families need help to cope without their children's wages The ILO would like to see national governments introduce so-called "income transfer programs" to compensate families for lost earnings when their children leave work in order to get an education. Some countries, most notably India, Brazil and Mexico, are already operating such schemes. "These programmes would target all families with school-age children now living in poverty," Mr Roeselaers said. Such programmes should take into account: - the average value of a child's work - the number of children per household - the degree of household poverty Beyond helping individual families, governments must also invest in new schools, books and equipment, and they must educate more teachers. Asia, which has the highest number of child workers, stands to benefit the most from such investment since teacher wages here are relatively low and since the region's "educational infrastructure is already quite good", Mr Roeselaers said. Sub-Saharan Africa, meanwhile, where child workers are the most prolific in terms of their proportion of the total labour force, would have to invest more initially to build and upgrade schools and to educate teachers. But even in Africa, the return on investment in education would be huge, Mr Roeselaers insisted. African countries would gain around $5 for every $1 invested, while Asian countries would get back more than $7 for every $1. In terms of the overall effect on the economy, however, Africa stands to benefit the most by following the ILO suggestions. The poorer a country is, the greater the economic benefits, according to the ILO's research. As a percentage of annual gross national product (GNP), Sub-Saharan Africa could experience a gain of more than 50%, while Asia, North Africa and the Middle East could see improvements in the range of 22% to 28%. In Central and Eastern Europe, the gains would amount to about 5% of GNP.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/house_of_commons/newsid_9425000/9425840.stm	Europe Minister David Lidington has urged MPs to back an EU treaty change aiming to facilitate future bailouts for troubled eurozone economies. Leading a debate in the Commons on 16 March 2011, Mr Lidington explained that the change would enable eurozone states to establish a permanent stability mechanism from 2013 onwards. He argued that the move was "profoundly in the interests of the UK", helping to preserve British jobs. He said: "This will provide a necessary means for dealing with cases which pose a risk to the financial stability of the euro area as a whole, something that is important to us - although we are outside, and intend to remain outside, the euro - given the extent of our trade and other economic connections with it." But Bill Cash, Tory MP chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee, said it was "a huge change in the nature of the relationship between the UK and the EU". "This is a treaty, a hybrid treaty, which is being devised, driven and pressed forward by Germany and by those countries who would wish to acquiesce in Germany's dictated terms." Conservative MP Mark Reckless said many people felt EU integration had gone "too far" and called for an in-out referendum.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/liverpool/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8458000/8458957.stm	Curator Clem Fisher with World Museum Liverpool's Dodo The BBC and local museums have teamed up for a year long project to chronicle the world's development through objects, in A History of the World. Local museums have selected an initial ten objects representing our heritage. Objects include the church hall stage John Lennon played on the day he met Paul McCartney, a 3000 year old child's rattle and the propeller from torpedoed liner Lusitania. Museums across Merseyside and Cheshire are uploading items to a website. ten initial objects are from the collections of local museums and also include the skeleton of a Dodo, a Titanic survivors lifejacket, a statue of Athena, a shipbuilder's model of confederate raider CSS Alabama, a Roman cavalryman's tombstone, a 1500 year old canoe and a giant statue of St Christopher. Anyone will be able to add objects they think are important to the A History of the World Steve Judd, Deputy Director of World Museum Liverpool, was involved in choosing the first ten objects for Merseyside and Cheshire, "They are all so different and represent the amazing richness of the museum collections in our region which help to give visitors deep insights into the world and its peoples," he says. "The hardest thing of all was only choosing ten objects - we could have chosen a thousand and ten and we'd still have been agonising about what we'd left out "One of the great things about the A History of the World project is the way that it has brought so many organisations together locally and nationally. "At National Museums Liverpool we've really enjoyed working with the other museums in our region, local and national BBC and the British Museum to play our part in this unique and hugely ambitious project." From National Museum's Liverpool collection is the stage of St Peter's Church Hall, Woolton which John Lennon stood on performing the evening he met Paul McCartney on 6 July, 1957. Lennon's band The Quarrymen had earlier played outside at the church fete and it was after their evening performance that John and Paul were introduced by mutual friend Ivan Vaughan. The stage was dismantled in 2002 when the church hall was renovated. "In many ways this is such an ordinary stage," says Paul Gallagher Curator of Contemporary Collecting at the Museum of Liverpool. Paul McCartney first saw John Lennon perform on this stage in July 1957 "We've all possibly through our lives stood on a very similar stage in church halls and school halls. "It's not even a particularly beautiful stage but it has enormous power for us for the story of the Beatles." The stage, which is currently in storage, will take it's place in the new Museum of Liverpool which opens in 2011. Liverpool's Maritime Museum have an object that recalls Liverpool's relationship to one of the world's most famous disasters, the sinking of the Titanic. Titanic's owners The White Star line were based in Liverpool, but the Maritime Museum's, a lifejacket from a survivor of the ship, comes from a more humble source. "It was donated by Mr Earnest Sinclair of West Derby Liverpool," explains Dr Alan Scarth, Curator of Ship Models at the Maritime Museum. "In 1912 he was a 19 year older waiter on board the rescue ship Carpathia. "You can see that it's actually had its tapes cut from the survivor at the time. "It was obviously quicker to cut the tapes at the sides rather than undo the bows at the front. "It's a really evocative item to bring home to people the tragedy that was the sinking of the Titanic." One of the objects from Williamson Art Gallery and Museum in Birkenhead is a 3000 year old Cypriot child's rattle which illustrates the reach of Liverpool's shipping family's. The rattle was acquired by the Bibby family in extraordinary circumstances, "There was civil unrest in Nicosia and one of the Bibby family was cruising in his private yacht around the Mediterranean," explains Colin Simpson from the Williamson Museum. The 3000 year old Cypriot child's rattle from Williamson Art Gallery "The arrival of his yacht in Nicosia harbour was mistaken for a British gunboat and had the effect of quelling the unrest. "So relieved were the government of Cyprus they gave 100 architectural finds from the island to Mr Bibby as a thank-you gift. "The little rattle was amongst them." Steve Judd says for him the rattle is a real stand out object, "It's really difficult to choose one object because they all tell such compelling stories, but if I was pushed, I'd choose the Cypriot child's rattle from the Williamson Art Gallery and Museum, Birkenhead - it's amazing that this cute clay pig has survived for 3,000 years. "I'm sure it will appeal to children today as much as it must have done all those years ago - sometimes the simplest toys are the best." Also included in the ten objects is a skeleton of a Dodo held by World Museum Liverpool. The skeleton of the bird, which became extinct at the end of the 17th Century, is made up of bones from several different Dodo's. For many years it was thought to have the best preserved toes of any museum specimen, until it was recently discovered that the toes and were man-made and carved from wood. To find out more about the ten local objects tune in to Breakfast with Tony Snell on BBC Radio Merseyside 95.8FM weekdays from 0600 to 1000GMT. Watch BBC Inside Out North West (Monday 18 January, BBC ONE, 7.30pm) as Andy Johnson goes in search of Bidston Observatory's Tide Prediction Machine in Wirral.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-16974395	Police lose immunity plea in Azelle Rodney gun death inquiry Scotland Yard has lost a court bid for firearms officers to be allowed to give evidence from behind a screen at an inquiry into a fatal police shooting. Police lawyers had asked the High Court to quash the inquiry chairman's refusal to allow them to be screened from view. Azelle Rodney, 24, was in a car when an officer fired in Edgeware, north London, in April 2005. The High Court ruled only the officer who fired the shots could be screened, not the 13 other officers involved. Police said the officers were fearful of potential "revenge attacks". Scotland Yard barrister Jason Beer QC said showing the officers could expose them to potential harm, and jeopardise future police work. He said the public inquiry's chair, retired High Court judge Sir Christopher Holland, had failed to consider the officers' rights under the European Convention on Human Rights when he ruled at a preliminary hearing last month that they had to give evidence in public. But Lord Justice Laws and Mr Justice Simon agreed that Sir Christopher's ruling was correct and the inquiry should be "as public as possible".'Cover up' Lord Justice Laws said: "There is in my judgment a very pressing public interest in openness of the facts of this case. "After all, a man sitting in a car with no weapon in his hand has had eight shots fired at him at close range." He added: "I do not consider that, in refusing screening, the chairman failed to consider and give proper weight to the concerns of these officers." The inquiry was launched in place of an inquest after police refused to reveal secret information they said had led them to believe Mr Rodney, from Hounslow, west London, was armed. Previously a coroner had said sensitive evidence made an inquest impossible, but the police were accused of a "cover-up" by Susan Alexander, Mr Rodney's mother. The inquiry, which was ordered by the then justice secretary Jack Straw, is due to begin later this year.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18070862	Wandsworth baby deaths: Mother to be sent to psychiatric hospital A mother charged with the murder of her two children has been assessed as too unwell to appear at the Old Bailey. Felicia Boots, 34, who was remanded until 10 August in her absence, will be transferred to a psychiatric hospital under the Mental Health Act. Mason, a 10-week-old boy, and his 14-month-old sister Lily were found dead in the family home in Killarney Road, Wandsworth, on 9 May. Holloway Prison's medical centre told the court she was too ill to appear. No bail application was made for Mrs Boots. Judge Christopher Moss said: "I confirm that this defendant be remanded in custody with the intention that she be transferred to hospital under the Mental Health Act. "That is a matter for the Secretary of State and not for this court."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4363764.stm	Britons sheltering from Hurricane Wilma in Mexico have described 150mph winds and torrents of water hitting resorts. Mrs Farricker said between 60 and 100 Britons were with her Tourists have been ordered inland or into shelters, with five cities on the Caribbean coast declaring emergencies as the category four hurricane nears. Travel agents said there were thousands of Britons holidaying in the area. About 1,000 tourists including some 80 Britons are in a sports hall in Cancun. Rachel Farricker, 39, said "a massive amount" of water was pouring in. "It's a bit like having a timpani band on the roof," she said. The US National Hurricane Centre said the storm could dump 10-20in (25-50cm) of rain on the Yucatan peninsula. The Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) said there were about 8,500 Britons in the Yucatan peninsula. "Customers, who were travelling to Mexico today (Friday) and over the weekend with FTO members, have been or will be offered alternative holiday destinations," it said in a statement. "Other programmes to Cuba and Florida are currently operating normally." The Foreign Office is advising British travellers in Mexico to contact their travel operators or hotel about their contingency plans and to follow the advice of local authorities. It says travel and communication is likely to be "severely affected" over the next few days. Cancun is built along a narrow spit of white sand that could also be vulnerable to the predicted 10ft (3m) storm surge of sea water. Mrs Farricker and her husband Carl, 36, - from Altham in Lancashire - were due to leave Mexico on Thursday, but were evacuated after their flight was cancelled. "The winds started to pick up during the week, but before that the weather was terrific," she said. "On Wednesday morning the hotel staff started removing the sun loungers from outside the hotel, putting them away inside, and I thought: 'That's not a good sign.' "The next day we woke up in the morning and there were notices everywhere saying Wilma was coming and everyone was told to bring a blanket, pillow and their hand luggage and get on the coach." Mrs Farricker described the sound of the storm's arrival as a "dull roar". "The sky became greyer and greyer. It wasn't raining at all at first, then it began to spit. You could hear the wind pick up and then the noise really started." Mrs Farricker said people were "remarkably calm" but it was noisy inside the sports hall. "There's loud crashing and bangs going on. We're hoping it's something hitting the building, and not pulling the roof apart," she said. Those sheltering had been told they could be in the hall for a couple of days, Mrs Farricker said. But she said there was an emergency generator powering the hall and they had been assured there was enough food and water. "There were some local lads selling 'I survived Hurricane Wilma' T-shirts when we got here," Mrs Farricker added. "I think that's pushing it a bit. Assuming I'm still here I might buy one afterwards." Playa del Carmen Meanwhile, in Playa del Carmen - some 100 miles down the coast from Cancun - Londoner Raj Madha said the streets were flooded. "Clearly it's very windy, the streets are about a foot deep in water," he told BBC Radio Five Live. "On the up side, everything here is concrete so, we're not expecting a huge amount of damage. "All the electricity has been cut, we're expecting running water to run out fairly soon, we've got about five days supply of water just in case and maybe three days supply of food." Mexico: Tourists told to leave high-risk coastal resorts Cuba: Coastal residents evacuated and some schools closed US: Visitors and non-residents ordered to leave Florida Keys Times: All times CDT (GMT -5)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2837905.stm	The Peat report into the running of the royal household again focused attention on how unwanted official gifts are passed to staff - a practice long considered a perk of a palace job which is not well paid. The royals are showered in gifts Help wanted: discreet lady for post in central London. £5.50 an hour. Hours from dawn until past dusk. Perks include meals, grace and favour accommodation, free TV licence and non-contributory pension scheme, and maybe a gong in the Honours List. Oh, and could you use a watch inscribed "HRH"? For the passing on of unwanted gifts is a perk "as old as the monarchy", according to the former royal butler Paul Burrell. And it was this perk - and the potential for abuse thereof - which Sir Michael Peat, Prince Charles' private secretary, criticised in his report into the running of the royal household. While he found no evidence of wrong-doing, Sir Michael recommended that the guidelines be tightened and official gifts be accounted for. ESPECIALLY FOR HRH Between 1999 and 2001, Prince Charles received 2,394 gifts These included five animals, 15 items of "arms and armour" and 249 CDs, videos and tapes Now perishables or gifts worth less than £50 will be passed on Whereas once the royals might have handed down a luxury watch presented by a visiting dignitary, today their staff will only be passed perishables or gifts worth less than £50. Right up until 2001, the attraction in working for the palace has always had more to do with the privilege of doing so (as well as those quirky perks) than the pay scale. But following publicity that some palace staff were among the lowest-paid workers in the country and had to rely on welfare benefits, the Queen agreed to substantial pay rises. Based on job advertisements placed prior to these wage increases, junior kitchen porters, housemaids and stable staff earned between £9,000 and £9,500 - a figure which jumped to between £14,000 and £14,500 - while a footman made £11,500 to £12,000. Staff had long been paid a pittance Today the average palace wage is £19,000, according to the 2002 Civil List, a figure bumped up by the hefty salaries paid to a select band of senior aides. The highest-paid Royal Household member is Sir Michael himself, who earned £172,021, including a £47,576 deduction for housing. Perks of the job Former butler Paul Burrell recalled working 16-hour days in his time at Highgrove before the Wales's marriage break-up. "It was not unusual for Prince Charles to return from a polo match with a prize from one of the sponsors - Cartier, Rolex or Dunhill - and toss the unwanted gift in my direction - if a royal protection officer hadn't collared it first," he told reporters. David Griffin, the chauffeur to Princess Margaret, told how he put in long hours for a final take-home pay of £1,500 a month (although he earned much less for most of his 25 years in service). "To counteract the hours, she would tell us to do whatever we wanted in the three or four weeks she spent in Mustique." Through good times and bad Like other staff, he was able to top up his salary by selling royal goods. In 1998, a US dealer paid £10,500 for six Christmas and birthday cards sent to him by the late Princess Diana. When their royal employer dies, those who gave many years of loyal service may well hope for a generous settlement or bequest. But they may just remain as hopes. Mr Griffin, for instance, was ordered out of his tied cottage and was so angered at the terms of his severance - the legal minimum, amounting to a few thousand pounds - that he returned his royal service medal. When the Queen Mother passed away, she left the bulk of her estimated £50m fortune to her daughter, who did not have to pay inheritance tax. The undisclosed bequests to her staff - most of whom had worked well beyond retirement age at her request - were liable for the tax.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/5055544.stm	Prime minister's questions sketch By Nick Assinder BBC News political correspondent Ming Campbell had a good day. It's worth repeating, the Liberal Democrat leader had a good day. Since being elected to replace Charles Kennedy, his question time performances - to the dismay of many of his colleagues - have veered from disastrous to the not-quite-so disastrous. Ming may have hit his stride Today he hit the prime minister fair and square with a classic liberal issue of the sort his predecessor regularly raised - rendition. His style was no different to previous performances - all ramrod straight and, frankly, sparkle-free. But this time he pulled it off. With a brace of un-flashy questions he attempted to get some answers from the prime minister over the latest report from the Council of Europe which has claimed the UK has colluded in CIA rendition flights. The prime minister resorted to the sort of non-answer he has deployed before on this highly-sensitive and potentially damaging issue. There was nothing new in the latest report so he had absolutely nothing to say about it. So what about his previous statement that he fully endorsed US rendition, asked Ming. Well I didn't say that, I said it had been the US policy for some time including under previous administrations, said the prime minister. Blair's answers failed to satisfy some MPs None of this came anywhere close to satisfying Ming and his troops - neither did it do much to reassure some of the prime minister's own backbenchers who are feeling decidedly uncomfortable, even suspicious, about the issue. As for David Cameron, he focused on the alleged "incompetence" of the man responsible for the tax credit system which has, once again, been criticised by the cross-party treasury committee. Who is responsible, he asked, before answering his own question with the name Gordon Brown. The chancellor, for once, was not sitting alongside the prime minister thanks to an important meeting of European finance ministers in Luxembourg which had demanded his attention. Perfectly reasonable stuff from the Tory leader, but he got nowhere with it other than provoking one of Tony Blair's lists - this one about all the people and families spared the workhouse by the Chancellor's fabulous system. Sir Menzies Campbell, however, may well have left the chamber believing he has finally hit his stride.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16784030	Philippines growth rate slows amid global uncertainties The Philippines economy slowed in 2011 as global economic uncertainties hurt demand and dented the country's export sector. Growth was "a relatively feeble" 3.7% during the year, down from 7.6% in 2010, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) said. Exports from the Philippines, one of the main drivers of growth, have fallen for seven consecutive months. The government had set a growth target of between 4.5% to 5.5% for 2011. The NSCB said growth was also hurt by "obstinate exogenous economic woes, the government underspending on infrastructure in the second and third quarters and the sustained decline in fishing."Policy easing? The latest data showed that growth for the October to December quarter also stood at 3.7%, compared with 6.1% during the same period a year earlier. When compared with the previous quarter, the economy grew by 0.9%. Analysts said the numbers may put pressure on Philippines central bank to ease its monetary policy in a bid to boost growth. "This is clearly below trend and way below the potential growth that the Philippines can deliver," said Jun Neri of Bank of the Philippine Islands in Manila. "It highlights the necessity of more aggressive spending and easier monetary policy." Mr Neri added since the eurozone debt crisis continued to remain a threat, the central bank may even cut its interest rate "earlier than expected."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-20493426	Sir Elton John dedicates Beijing show to Ai Weiwei Sir Elton John has stunned an audience in Beijing by dedicating his show to Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei. At the concert on Sunday, the 65-year-old said the performance honoured Ai's "spirit and talent". The noted sculptor, an outspoken critic of the Chinese government's stance on democracy, was detained for nearly three months without charge last year. According to audience members, a murmur of shock rippled through the crowd at the tribute. The Associated Press reported the reaction was in recognition that Ai remains a sensitive subject for the Chinese government, which exercises strict control over live performances. Artists must submit detailed lists of songs, casts and crew members when seeking approval to stage concerts in the country. Ai met Sir Elton ahead of the concert at the Wukesong Arena. He wrote on his Twitter feed, which has 180,000 followers despite being banned in China, "I super like him". There was no mention of the singer's dedication to Ai in Chinese media reports, which are state-controlled. Sir Elton performed in Shanghai on Friday and will do shows in South Korea and Kuala Lumpur later this week as part of a world tour. In 2008, Icelandic singer Bjork caused controversy among fans in China by shouting "Tibet, Tibet" at the end of a concert in Shanghai. It followed a performance of her song Declare Independence, which lead to even more scrutiny over government controls within the live music field. Talk of Tibetan independence is considered taboo in China, which has ruled the territory since 1951.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13008244	Libya rebels 'want answers' from Nato on air strike Rebel troops in Libya are calling on Nato to explain a "friendly fire" air strike on a column of rebel tanks that left at least four dead. Gen Abdelfatah Yunis said he assumed the incident had been a mistake by Nato, but wanted a "rational and convincing explanation". Nato has said it is investigating the claims. It is the third such incident in recent days involving international forces deployed to protect Libyan civilians. "We are not questioning the intentions of Nato, because they should be here to help us and the civilians," Gen Yunis told a news conference in Benghazi on Thursday. "But we would like to receive some answers regarding what happened today." He added: "We would assume it was Nato by mistake, friendly fire." But if speculation in some quarters that the attack was carried out by Col Muammar Gadaffi's forces turned out to be true then it would be "a bigger mistake", he added. "We're under a no-fly zone that should be protecting us from Gadaffi's aircraft," he said.'Fluid zone' The rebels hit in the air strike had been moving a group of tanks, armoured vehicles and rocket launchers near the front line between the towns of Ajdabiya and Brega in more than 30 transporters. One rebel commander told the BBC he saw at least four missiles land among rebel fighters. End Quote Benghazi resident Nato, with all the equipment they have - is this the second mistake? Is it really a mistake or something arranged secretly?” Rebels said four rebels died, while local doctors told the BBC at least 13 fighters had been killed in the strike. Many more were injured. There is considerable anger among rebel troops at what appears to have been a terrible mistake, the BBC's Wyre Davies, in Ajdabiya, said. They are asking why rebel units were hit, he adds, when they could be seen clearly advancing in a westerly direction towards the front line. "It is unbelievable," said one Benghazi resident. "Nato, with all the equipment they have - is this the second mistake? Is it really a mistake or something arranged secretly?" Another said: "The allies and the UN Security Council must allow us to be armed. We don't want anything, just to be armed to defend ourselves against this dictator and fascist." They had been calling for more Nato air strikes in recent days. Nato said it was investigating the incident, noting that the area where the attack occurred was "unclear and fluid with mechanised weapons travelling in all directions". "What remains clear is that Nato will continue to uphold the UN mandate and strike forces that can potentially cause harm to the civilian population of Libya," said the alliance in a statement. Rebel forces in the area began retreating after heavy bombardment from government forces. Our correspondent reported chaotic scenes on the outskirts of Ajdabiya, with rebels and civilians fleeing east along the coast road towards their stronghold of Benghazi.'Friendly-fire incidents' The alliance took over air operations from a US, French and British coalition a week ago, to enforce a UN mandate to protect civilians in Libya. Last Friday, at least 13 people were reportedly killed when a coalition plane fired on a rebel convoy between Brega and Ajdabiya. Three medical students were among the dead. The attack came after rebels reportedly fired an anti-aircraft gun. In a separate incident, seven civilians died and 25 were hurt in a coalition air strike on a pro-Gaddafi convoy near Brega. Further west, in Libya's third-biggest city, Misrata, a ship chartered by the UN World Food Programme delivered hundreds of tonnes of high energy biscuits, flour, and water purification tablets, as well as enough medicine to last 30,000 people for a month. Misrata has been under attack by Libyan government forces for several weeks, and Libyan rebels have complained it would "cease to exist" within a week unless Nato took action to save it.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11723140	No charges in CIA waterboarding video destruction No criminal charges will be filed against CIA officials involved in destroying videotapes of harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects, the US justice department has said. The CIA destroyed 92 tapes of al-Qaeda operatives Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Nashiri being waterboarded in 2005. Jose Rodriguez, a former clandestine officer, approved the move out of concern the tapes could harm the CIA. The investigation has spanned nearly three years. Mr Rodriguez's order to destroy the tapes, which were held in a safe in a secret Thailand prison where the two al-Qaeda members were interrogated, countered instructions given to him by Central Intelligence Agency lawyers and the White House. Investigations will continue to help determine whether CIA officers went beyond the legal advice given to them on the treatment of suspects, an official told the Associated Press news agency. Jon Durham, the prosecutor assigned to the case by former Attorney General Michael Mukasey, decided not to charge the undercover officers and lawyers at the CIA over the destruction of the tapes. Matthew Miller, a justice department spokesman, said that "a team of prosecutors and FBI agents led by Mr Durham has conducted an exhaustive investigation into the matter". The justice department's decision is the "right decision because of the facts and the law", Robert Bennett, a lawyer for Mr Rodriguez, said in a statement. Mr Bennett added that Mr Rodriguez should be considered an "American hero, a true patriot who only wanted to protect his people and his country". CIA director Leon Panetta said in a statement that he welcomed the justice department's decision. "We will continue, of course, to co-operate with the Department of Justice on any other aspects of the former programme that it reviews," he said. "But we are pleased that the decision was made not to charge any Agency officers for the destruction of the tapes." The CIA began filming the interrogations of the two men to show that Mr Zubaydah was already wounded from a firefight when he was brought to the prison in Thailand. The tapes also originally aimed to prove that interrogators were following new rules Washington had laid out. But talk about destroying the tapes immediately began circulating out of fear that if the tapes surfaced, CIA officers and contractors could be identified, according to officials. Mr Zubaydah and Mr al-Nashiri were detained on suspicion of conspiracy in the 9/11 attacks and other terrorist activities.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/6633867.stm	During the final leg of a six-day state visit to the United States, Queen Elizabeth II was greeted by guests at a garden party at the British Embassy in Washington. Among the many guests to meet the monarch was screen legend Mickey Rooney. Others lined Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House to Blair House to catch a glimpse of US President George W Bush and the Queen. Prince Philip accompanied the Queen during the state visit, the first since 1991 when George Bush Snr was the American president. After fluffing his lines in a speech at a welcoming ceremony, the president joked that the Queen had given him "a look that only a mother could give a child". Ahead of a state banquet at the White House, the Queen was honoured with a 21-gun salute. Guests at the dinner held in honour of the Queen and Prince Philip included Vice-President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Henry Kissinger. They were served pea soup, Dover sole and a saddle of spring lamb followed by farmhouse cheeses. It was the first banquet in Mr Bush's six-year presidency to demand a white tie dress code. The Queen wore a white Stewart Parvin fitted bodice, chiffon skirt and tiara. She toasted the UK's friendship with the United States, defending the special relationship that was "always to be reckoned with" in the defence of freedom. Mr Bush then spoke of co-operation between the countries, saying friendships remain strong when they are continually renewed.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4724245.stm	Anjali Krishnan, a Mumbai-based advertising professional, describes her night-long trek home through neck-deep water in the flooded city. I had driven out of home for a business meeting in Mumbai on an overcast rainy afternoon on Tuesday. Mumbaites are used to torrid monsoon rains that routinely flood its roads and bring all public transport to a halt. So it was no big deal that I was venturing out for work on a grey, rainy afternoon like most of the people in this go-go city. I was on the way to Bandra when I joined a queue of cars, and instantly realised that the rain had thrown the traffic out of gear. No big deal, I thought. It happens every monsoon. Then I got struck in the gridlock on SV Road near the Milind Subway. It was half past four in the afternoon. I had already spent an hour and a half trying to negotiate through the traffic. A radio jockey was even holding out the promise of rain-soaked stranded Mumbaites meeting potential partners during the long, rainy night For the next 10 hours, till two in the morning on Wednesday, I was stranded in my car. I had been a bit luckier than many of my fellow travellers - my driver had pulled the car into a lane and parked it there. As the hours passed, I realised that I had gotten myself in a big mess - Mumbai had been inundated, everything had come to a halt, there were power outages. The rain was slapping ferociously on the wind screen, the sky was inky black, there was darkness all around, and the city's cheery FM stations spewed romantic Bollywood rain songs on the car radio. A radio jockey on one of the stations was even holding out the promise of rain-soaked stranded Mumbaites meeting potential partners during the long, rainy night. I laughed and looked at my watch. It was 2am. I decided to begin walking home - the sheer tedium of sitting in a cramped car was taking its toll. Waddling out to through knee deep water, I ran into some friendly firemen who forbade me to walk further. "It could be risky madam," said one of them. Then I saw three girls stranded in the water. They said they had been walking for hours to get home, and were exhausted. I took them back with me into my car. Suddenly a few men emerged out of the darkness and knocked on the car window. Stranded passengers slept the night in the buses they were travelling They had seen us in the car and were offering some snacks. We were famished and took up the offer. They took us to half-constructed building nearby and fed us. There was a school bus packed with children nearby - the men had dropped some snacks for the trapped students. Around three in the morning, we decided to finally begin our long march home through the swirling, near neck-deep water. It was still pouring, and we couldn't hold our umbrellas in the gale. There was not a soul on the road when we held hands in the water and began walking. One of the girls was shorter than us, so we asked her to walk along the road divider holding our hands. The water was deep - I mean if you were 5ft tall, you would easily drown. People took out boats to negotiate water logged streets As we waddled into the eerie, rain-whipped night, we felt like we were floating. As we walked on more and more people joined the trek, holding hands. The water was black and greasy right up to our necks and swirled fast around our waists. There were broken bottles floating all around. I saw two Mercedes Benz cars and a Toyota Lexus floating in the water. We crossed dark homes, and shops and police stations. We met a lot of friendly firemen trying to keep order, but not a single policeman on the way. Soon, it became a long, happy, wet trek as can only happen in Mumbai. Our fellow-travellers, boys and girls, men and women, young and old, chanted hymns, sang songs, cracked jokes. Some heartily sang "Just chill out, chill out" - a Bollywood ditty rocking the nation these days. Others cracked the night's best silly jokes - whenever they would come across a car floating in the middle of the road, they would shout: "No parking! No parking please! This is a traffic offence!" "Don't feel ashamed, madam. Hold my hand. Bindaas pakro (Hold me coolly)," said a young man in the queue lending a helping hand to a girl. I saw a man sitting in a fancy car scooping out water with a small tiffin box - at this rate, he would never get out of the place. I saw another man walking with a 70-year-old father perched on his shoulders. Cars were stuck in the water My rain girls sorority had now expanded to a few hundred people wading through the street. In the middle, one of them actually met her husband wading through the night, and joined him happily. I had forgotten the tiredness, the grime, the potential dangers that such flooding held. It was a fantastic feeling, the sheer spirit of it all. When I reached my home in Juhu around five in the morning on Wednesday, my four-year-old girl was happy to see me back. My husband had stayed over at an office, and had been fed well. The trek was an eye-opener, a testimony to the indomitable spirit of the city's people. Mumbaites have stopped expecting anything from the politicians who have never cared for them. So when the city turned into a dangerous waterworld, they turned to each other and helped them out of the crisis. It was business as usual, in a way.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/lincolnshire/5000808.stm	An exhibition has been opened to celebrate Lincoln Cathedral's part in the making of the blockbuster film, The Da Vinci Code. Fake statues and decorations were used on the set The 920-year-old building was chosen after Westminster Abbey, where part of the book is set, refused to take part. The display includes props from the film, behind-the-scenes photographs and anecdotes while there will also be a series of talks and tours. Cathedral officials said they hoped the movie would boost its profile. The nave, cloisters and chapter house were used to film scenes where stars Tom Hanks, Sir Ian McKellen and Audrey Tatou joined a crew and cast of hundreds. The decision to allow the cameras in attracted criticism from some religious groups and one nun protested outside the main door. Mike West, Canon of Lincoln Cathedral, said: "The huge question was whether this was going to be detrimental to the Christian faith or to the cathedral. "In the end we thought it was important for the cathedral to engage with the movie and with the people interested in it." Entry to the exhibition will be included in the price of a visitors' ticket to the cathedral.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-18027300	400 jobs at risk at Swindon pharmaceutical site More than 400 jobs are at risk in Swindon after the pharmaceutical company Patheon said it is to wind down its UK operation. The company is now beginning a consultation process with employees at its Dorcan Way site. A company spokesman said the "plan of termination" will be put into effect over the next two to three years. Staff at its Abingdon site have been told of redundancies but it not yet known how they will be affected. A company spokesman said as a result of its restructuring plans "certain adjustments" will be made to the "scale and scope" of the business at its Swindon facility. The US pharmaceutical company also operates at a site in Milton Park in Oxfordshire. Staff there have also been told a redundancy process is under way. "It seems that for some time this company has been trying to sell the particular plant, or part of the plant, at Swindon," said the Conservative MP for South Swindon, Robert Buckland. But he said there were still "thousands of jobs in Swindon in the private sector". "In fact, Swindon of all the towns and cities in Britain has the highest proportion of private sector employment. "So, whilst this news in concerning and worrying, the picture overall is still a very positive one." Mr Buckland added he will be meeting with Patheon to try and encourage a sale of the business.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-16804862	Peru fire: Rehab centre owner charged with murder The owner of an addiction rehabilitation centre in Peru where 27 people died in a fire on Saturday has been charged with murder. Raul Garcia, whose son died in the fire, and one of his deputies handed themselves in to police on Sunday. Officials say the Christ is Love clinic was unlicensed and lacked fire extinguishers and escape routes. A court also ordered the detention of two other men who looked after security at the clinic. One of the wanted men is still a fugitive.'House of God' Meanwhile, the first funerals have begun for those killed in the blaze. "What I feel is sadness for my son and for all of the people going through this," Roxana Lopez, the mother of one of the victims, told Reuters news agency. The few survivors of the fire said they were locked inside the centre when the fire broke out. Some had to jump from windows to escape as flames engulfed the three-storey building. Before handing himself in to police, Mr Garcia told journalists that he was innocent and that the clinic was a "house of God". The centre used Biblical teachings to treat dozens of people suffering from alcohol and drug addiction. The accident has prompted calls for better regulation of such clinics in Peru - only one in five is believed to be functioning with a licence. Officials are also investigating whether recovering addicts were held at the centre against their will or subjected to abuse. Health Minister Alberto Tejada has said that the centre had twice been ordered to close.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7050770.stm	French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife of 11 years, Cecilia, have divorced "by mutual consent", according to a statement from the Elysee Palace. The couple's public appearances together have grown rarer The presidency's statement clarified an earlier announcement that they were to separate. "What is intended by the word separation is divorce," it said. The couple's lawyer said they had seen a judge to formalise the split and "there was no problem, they resolved everything amicably". Speculation that they were to split had been mounting for months, with the media remarking on Cecilia Sarkozy's absence from her husband's side. Cecilia Sarkozy has had a successful career as a model and parliamentary aide and has said that she never wanted to be a traditional first lady. Both were already divorcees when they married each other in 1996, with two children each from their previous marriages. They have a 10-year-old son together, Louis. Cecilia Sarkozy was once one of her husband's closest political advisers. They have had a turbulent relationship and were separated for several months in 2005, when Cecilia went to live in New York with an advertising executive. Though reconciled afterwards, the couple did not appear in public as often as was expected as Mr Sarkozy's presidential campaign gathered steam. She did not vote in the second round of the presidential election and did not accompany him on a recent trip to Bulgaria - despite the fact that in July she had unexpectedly negotiated the release of Bulgarian medics imprisoned in Libya. This summer she failed to accompany her husband to a picnic lunch hosted by US President George W Bush and last weekend she was again absent from her husband's side at France's Rugby World Cup match against England. "I don't see myself as a first lady. It bores me. I'm not politically correct," she said two years ago. The divorce announcement came on a testing day for Mr Sarkozy, 52, as France was paralysed by a one-day public transport strike. His rival in the presidential election, Socialist leader Segolene Royal, has also separated from her partner Francois Hollande, the father of her four children. Their break-up came soon after her election defeat in May.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7179880.stm	By Anna-Marie Lever Science and nature reporter, BBC News At first it may seem counter-intuitive: that preventing large African herbivores from browsing Acacia trees decreases their growth. This, however, is precisely what researchers report in Science magazine. It is all because of the Acacia's mutually beneficial relationship with a biting ant. Together they fend off Africa's big grazing mammals; but it is these very antagonists that are needed to keep the plant-insect team working in concert. "Simulating large mammal extinction, by experimentally excluding them from eating the trees, causes the ant-plant mutualism to break down," said co-author Robert Pringle from Stanford University, US. The whistling thorn tree (Acacia drepanolobium) and the biting ant (Crematogaster) that lives on it form a relationship, evolved over many millennia, in which both species co-operate and in turn benefit from each other. When this “mutualism” is working well, Acacia trees provide ants with swollen thorns, which serve as nesting sites; and nectar, which the ants collect from the bases of Acacia leaves. In return for this investment, ants protect the tree from browsing mammals by aggressively swarming against anything that disturbs the tree. Mr Pringle explains: "It is as if the tree hires bodyguards, in the form of ants, to protect it from being eaten." Acacia trees hire ant bodyguards for protection from grazing animals The researchers disrupted this relationship by fencing off six plots of savanna land in Kenya by an 8,000-volt electric fence for 10 years. Herbivores, such as giraffes and elephants, were no longer able to feed on the trees, causing a change in plant-ant dynamics. "[The trees] diminish the rewards that they produce for the ant bodyguards, decreasing both the amount of housing and the amount of sugar-rich nectar they produce," lead-author Dr Todd Palmer at the University of Florida, US, told the BBC News website. He continued: "In essence, the trees begin to default on the co-operative bargain that they've made with the ants, because the trees no longer have need for protection from large browsing mammals like giraffes and elephants." It would seem that now the trees are better off, as they do not need to use their resources to support the ants - but the researchers have revealed that this is not the case. Due to lack of housing and food, the mutualistic ant species becomes less aggressive, its colony size decreases and it loses its competitive edge. "The net result is a community-wide replacement of the 'good' mutualist ant by a decidedly 'bad' ant species that does not protect the trees from herbivores, and actually helps a wood-boring beetle to create tunnels throughout the main stem and branches of the acacia trees, which the bad ant then uses as nesting space," Dr Palmer explains. Trees occupied by this antagonist ant grow more slowly and experience double the death rate compared with trees occupied by the mutalistic ant. Human activity is having unanticipated results on ecosystems At present, the researchers do not fully understand the mechanisms that allow the tree to sense it is no longer being browsed and to turn off its investment in mutualistic ants, but they suggest it takes place over a 5-10-year period. Dr Palmer said there were two important conservation implications of this research: "The first is that the decline of these charismatic [large animals] can have complex and cascading effects on entire ecosystems, with unanticipated results. "The second is that classical conservation approaches talk about conserving species, but perhaps equally important is the conservation of 'interactions'." The researchers suggest that the loss of large herbivores throughout Africa, due to ongoing human activity, may have strong and unanticipated consequences on the broader community. Mr Pringle adds: "It is a cautionary tale."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4282939.stm	The Irish Republic's President, Mary McAleese, has cancelled plans to visit the Shankill Road in Belfast. Mary McAleese has been criticised by unionists In January she said children in Northern Ireland were taught to hate Catholics in the same way Nazis taught theirs to despise Jews. She later said she was "deeply sorry" for the offence her remarks caused, but some unionists were not mollified. Shankill community worker Baroness May Blood said the president had made the right decision in cancelling the visit. "First of all, I am glad she has taken the decision not to come because if she had taken the decision to push on with the visit it would have put local people in a position where they would not have known what to do," she said. "If I was advising the president, I would say let the dog lie for a while and then perhaps invite people down to her home in Dublin, which she has done before, or perhaps meet other people and try and build these bridges. "I'm sure Mary McAleese has the skills to do it, but it will take a bit of time on the Shankill." Mrs McAleese had been due to go to Edenbrooke Primary School during a visit to Belfast on Thursday. Unionist politicians had called on her to call off the visit in the wake of the controversy. A joint statement from the DUP, Ulster Unionists and Progressive Unionists said the apology had not undone the offence. The DUP's West Belfast MLA Diane Dodds said she was relieved that the president had called off her visit. "There was a great deal of anger among people who live locally at Mary McAleese's words, and not only anger at her words but there was anger at her delay in apologising for her words," she said. Ulster Unionist councillor for the area, Chris McGimpsey, said Mrs McAleese would be welcomed back to the Shankill Road in the future, but the time was not right now. "I think the president did not realise the depth of hurt she caused and the deepness of the anger that that has caused also," he said. "I think to have come now would not have been a sensible approach because I don't feel it would have helped the cause of reconciliation which she has involved herself in over the past seven years. "The time is not right just now, in the future when the thing has resolved a little, that would be the time to reissue an invitation." Mrs McAleese made the comments before attending ceremonies marking 60 years since Auschwitz was liberated. "They gave to their children an irrational hatred of Jews in the same way that people in Northern Ireland transmitted to their children an irrational hatred, for example, of Catholics, in the same way that people give to their children an outrageous and irrational hatred of those who are of different colour and all of those things," she said. However, Mrs McAleese later said she regretted her remarks and that sectarianism was a "shared problem". She said she was "personally absolutely devastated" by the furore, that her critics had been "absolutely right" and acknowledged she had been clumsy and had hurt people. Inaugurated as the Irish head of state in 1997, Mary McAleese is the first president to come from Northern Ireland and is now in her second term of office.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4430000/newsid_4435900/4435970.stm	Professor Wilson is an expert in criminology David Wilson is professor of criminology at the University of Central England. He has spent five years looking into why children carry knives. "I think there are two groups of reasons. Firstly there are defensive reasons why children would carry knives. In other words, they feel they are going to be bullied, they feel they are going to be attacked. Crucially, they don't feel they get protection from the adult world when they face those threats. 'Too much confidence' However I think there's a second group of reasons which relate to the fact that simply by carrying a knife in their hand or in their pocket they get, very quickly, a great deal of respect from their peers. Kids will often get into more trouble when they have a knife because they have too much confidence that they can deal with the threats themselves. Whereas in fact all that means is that they are likely to get into further trouble. Children seem to imagine somehow that having a knife is not going to cause the same damage that would be caused if they were shooting at somebody. But tragically that's not true and what the adult world had got to do be able to do is convince young people that the solution to their problems is not in carrying knives. The evidence seems to suggest from all kinds of different sources that children as young as 10 are carrying knives. And that is quite a frightening statistic when you think about it, because that takes the problem not into our senior schools, or secondary schools, but into our junior schools and our primary schools." Inspector Tom Halbert works in the Violent Crime Reduction Unit in Glasgow. He tells us about the problems he has encountered. "There is a problem in Glasgow with the carrying of knives. So far, it's my experience that when young people come to your attention for carrying knives, it would tend to be teenagers, kids from 12 years upwards. In the main young people will carry knives that they know are quite easily hidden. Some use the excuse that they are carrying it out of fear, but the truth of the matter is a knife is not a defensive weapon. It's an attacking weapon. It's there to inflict injury and harm. If there's any young person out there anywhere in the UK who is carrying a knife or thinking about carrying a knife, my message is simple: don't do it. It's a mug's game. You'll cause yourself serious harm, and your family serious harm."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/manchester/hi/people_and_places/religion_and_ethics/newsid_9291000/9291630.stm	Many Muslims believe that donating blood is against their religion Young British Muslims are being urged to mark the holy month of Muharram by giving blood in Manchester. Muharram is a period of mourning to commemorate the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of the prophet Muhammad. In an extreme demonstration of their faith, devout Shi'a Muslims makes themselves bleed on the festival day of Ashura. But the Islamic Unity Society is appealing for young Muslims to back its blood donor campaign instead. The climax of Muharram is the tenth day when many Shi'a Muslims around the world mark the festival of Ashura (16 December this year) by ritually cutting themselves. Some even take part in flagellation ceremonies in which men beat themselves with a bladed whip until they bleed. But the Islamic Unity Society (IUS) a national organisation for Muslim students and young professionals, is encouraging Muslims to give blood instead. Devout Shi'a Muslims take part in flagellating ceremonies Four years ago, it launched the National Imam Hussain Blood Donation campaign in Manchester. Its founder Dr Marwan Al-Dawoud said donating blood was a way for Muslims to show their devotion as well as saving lives. "If people want to self-flagellate, it's up to them," he said. "What we're saying is that this is a time when we feel that Imam Hussein gave something of himself. "Use that message and give blood because it's something that is good for society. "It's saving life at the end of the day and there is no greater gift from God." Only 4% of the UK population gives blood on a regular basis. That figure is even lower among British Muslims, with many believing wrongly that is against the teachings of Islam. In 2009, 230 people came forward at special sessions across the UK. Donors must be between 17 to 65, in good health and over 50kg (7st 12lbs) Donors can give 470 ml of blood (just under a pint) up to three times a year The NHS needs 7,000 donations of blood daily In an effort to encourage new donors, Dr Al-Dawoud said the campaign had the backing of senior Muslim clerics. "The Islamic community, they're not sure if it's OK to give blood," he said. "So what we've done as part of this campaign is we've asked the scholars - we're trying to get people to give blood - do you back it or not? "And we've got a lot of the major scholars around the world saying, 'this is a fantastic campaign!' "So, not only is it Islamically OK to give blood, but they're behind it 100%," he added. Theo Clarke, donor relations manager for the NHS Blood & Transfusion Service (NHSBT) welcomed the campaign saying it was important to have blood stocks that reflected the wider population. "Often, rare blood groups are more common within certain ethnic groups, so encouraging people with rarer blood types to donate is a constant challenge." - The IUS blood donor session is in Manchester on Monday 20 December. To sign up, call the National Blood Service on 0300 123 23 23 and state that you wish to donate with the Islamic Unity Society. For more information, go to
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8367630.stm	Security services rushed to the court building in Peshawar A bomb attack outside a court in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar has killed at least 19 people and injured many others, medics say. The blast on the busy Khyber Road came during rush hour and is the latest in a series in the city in recent weeks. Previous blasts have been blamed on Taliban militants. Attacks across Pakistan have increased dramatically as the army continues its offensive against the Taliban in South Waziristan near the Afghan border. The head of the Peshawar city administration, Sahibzada Anees, told reporters that a suicide bomber had carried out the latest attack. "The bomber blew himself up when he was being body searched by a police guard at the gate of the court complex," he said. Dr Sahib Gul, head of Lady Reading Hospital, told reporters that 19 people were killed in the attack and 51 wounded. Three of the dead are policemen. A bomb disposal squad official said the bomber used about 10kg of explosives. Several vehicles were destroyed in the blast. Security officials have cordoned off the area and Khyber Road has been closed for traffic. Peshawar, near the Afghan border, has been targeted repeatedly in recent months. Last Friday, a suicide car bomb attack on the office of Pakistan's main intelligence agency ISI on the same road killed at least 12 people and injured 40 others. And on 28 October, at least 100 people were killed after a huge car bomb ripped through Peshawar's busy Peepal Mandi market. The court building most recently attacked is also close to the Pearl Continental Hotel, which was targeted by a truck bomb earlier this year. The attacks come as Pakistan is carrying out an offensive in South Waziristan, which is considered to be one of the main sanctuaries for Islamic militants outside Afghanistan. Security has been stepped up across Pakistan, but correspondents say the government still appears to be unable to stop the attacks.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17231031	Bank attacks use of teaser Isa rates The use of "teaser" rates when banks and building societies launch new tax-free Isa accounts has been attacked by Metro Bank. It says the common marketing ploy of boosting the headline interest rate with a one-year "bonus" is dishonest. Metro Bank says the industry should stop using this misleading gimmick. "Consumers should be wary of banks that resort to short term 'bonuses' to exaggerate their headline savings rates," said Metro Bank. "It's time for banks to end easily misunderstood savings rates, and be straightforward with their customers," said the bank's chief executive, Craig Donaldson. In the run-up to the end of the financial year, banks and building societies launch a so-called "Isa season". It sees the launch of a raft of new account offers that encourage people to use up their annual Isa allowance for tax-free saving before it expires at the end of the financial year. Currently savers can put up to £10,680 into an Isa, half of which can be in cash. In April 2012, the allowance will increase to £11,280, again up to half of which can be saved in cash. For many years it has been common practice for new accounts to carry an attractive headline rate boosted by a so-called bonus, which then typically lapses after one year. This can frequently leave the savings of unobservant customers languishing in accounts which then offer relatively poor rates of interest. Metro Bank says that of the top five instant access Isa accounts in the Moneyfacts ranking, four have introductory rates that will drop by an average of 1.7 percentage points when the initial rate expires. Sylvia Waycott, editor of Moneyfacts, said: "It's not just Isas, it's a feature of savings accounts generally." "You should make a note of when the introductory offer ends and look for a new one, but if it is a variable rate account the rate can change anyway."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-18945529	Devon Church of England consultation on £620k shortfall The Diocese of Exeter has launched a consultation on how it can cover a £620,000 shortfall. The Church of England's Exeter Diocesan Board of Finance has suggested having fewer licensed ministers and cutting back on other services. The Exeter board said ministers could not be made redundant as they did not have a contract of employment. An online form has been created and a series of meetings will be held in September to discuss options. Chairman David Cain said: "There are many priests that are coming up to retirement and once they retire we will almost certainly have to hold their post vacant for longer, as we gradually reduce the number of priests that are paid. "However, we do expect a significant increase in the number of people who will do that work without financial reward. "Parishes might notice a difference in the services that we provide centrally to them. "We work with young people, with schools, we train clergy and lay people, we look after clergy housing and there are some substantial costs there and we might have to make reductions. "We will not reduce the services and ignore those people. We do have a very big volunteer base and we will be doing our best to make the impact as small as possible."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6145470.stm	The United States has removed Vietnam from a list of countries which it says severely violate religious freedom. Religious freedom has "significantly improved", says the US The list is published annually by the state department and includes China, North Korea, Iran and Sudan. Vietnam was removed just days before President George W Bush travels to Hanoi for a meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) forum. However, a US bill to normalise trade relations with Vietnam failed to get approval in Congress. Another attempt to pass the bill is expected to be made later this week. Announcing Vietnam's removal from its countries of concern list, the US state department said there had been "significant improvements toward advancing religious freedom" in the country. The decision was welcomed by Vietnamese officials. "It is a right decision which accurately reflects reality in Vietnam in accordance with the principles in the Vietnam-US relationship and positive progress," foreign ministry spokesman Le Dung said in a statement. The decision comes amid a warming in US-Vietnam ties, and as Vietnam prepares to host the Apec forum, which it hopes will be a showcase for its economic reforms. There is little doubt that religious freedom has increased in Vietnam in the two years it has been on the list, the BBC's Bill Hayton in Hanoi says. But critics question whether it has increased enough, our correspondent adds. There has been a revival of religious feeling in the country. New Buddhist pagodas are springing up and the Catholic Church has ordained new priests. But there are limits. Only religious organisations that pledge loyalty to the state enjoy freedoms and dissidents, both Buddhist and Christian, face harassment. The rights group Christian Solidarity Worldwide said this week it had evidence of a crackdown on Protestantism among ethnic minorities in the north-west highlands. The UK-based group said it had acquired an internal government training manual outlining a plan to "to resolutely subdue the abnormally rapid and spontaneous development of the Protestant religion" in that region. "If Vietnam wants to participate fully on the world stage, she must respect international law by protecting the full religious freedom of her citizens," Chief Executive, Mervyn Thomas said. Correspondents say there has been a US effort to normalise diplomatic and trade relations with Vietnam. But the House of Representatives' failure to pass the bill establishing permanent trade relations with Vietnam with a two-thirds majority on Monday surprised many. The bill would allow US farmers, bankers and businesses to share in the benefits of Vietnam's fast-growing economy now it has joined the World Trade Organisation. However, Republicans are hoping they can get it passed later this week, before President Bush travels to Hanoi. While Vietnam has been taken off the US list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) regarding religious freedoms, Uzbekistan has been added. The state department said observant Muslims are targeted as extremists. The department said Burma, China, North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Sudan would remain on the list.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7874151.stm	The Fix It button now appears on about 100 support pages. Common Windows problems could soon be solved by clicking a "Fix It" button. Microsoft has started putting the button on its web-based support pages that detail the most common problems hitting PC and Windows users. Clicking the button kicks off a download that, once run, carries out the series of steps needed to fix a specific problem or remove a bug. Microsoft also has plans to extend the click-to-fix system to help users recover from a crash. The "Fix It" button first started to appear on Microsoft's support pages in late 2008. Now it appears on more than 100 separate entries, Lori Brownell, Microsoft's general manager of product quality and support told tech news website Cnet. Microsoft has kicked off a project to trawl through the thousands of pages in its support system to find problems that can be fixed by the quick fix tool. The button helps Windows users fix common problems, such as restoring the Internet Explorer icon to the desktop and enabling a DVD library in Vista's media centre. Using the tool is not mandatory and people will be able to follow the steps outlined in support articles themselves, rather than rely on the scripted fix. Microsoft is also planning to extend the quick fix system to its bug reporting system, so it comes to life after a crash or other software problem. In the future, rather than simply report a problem, Windows users will get the chance to fix it. "Microsoft has a huge database of all the problems that people experience," said Tim Danton, editor of PC Pro, "and they'll know the common pages that people go to as well." "But," he added, "the trouble is that computers are horribly complicated things and there are so many companies loading up different pieces of software." Problems can emerge when those different programs conflict, said Mr Danton, and teasing out which one is the culprit can be tricky. However, he added, a small number of problems have obvious symptoms that could be fixed automatically. Beyond that small number Microsoft might be better advised to leave well alone because of the "diminishing returns" involved in too much tinkering. "The best way to get help is to find someone that knows their way around computers," he said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/3267113.stm	Anti-war protesters say they are preparing for a visit to the north-east of England by US President George Bush. Protesters want to march through central London The President will spend at least one day in the Sedgefield constituency of Prime Minister Tony Blair, during a state visit to Britain later this month. Mr Bush and his wife Laura are likely to be the guests of the Blairs at the Prime Minister's constituency home in Trimdon Colliery, County Durham. Although details of the informal visit have yet to be officially confirmed, teams of American security personnel have already toured the former mining villages of Trimdon and Sedgefield. Peace protesters say they will mount a series of demonstrations in the area when Mr Bush arrives over America and Britain's involvement in Iraq. Martin Levy of the Stop the War Coalition, said: "We don't think the visit of Mr Bush is a great honour for the North East. "If he comes then there will be people who will do their best to have their protests heard. "Although I'm sure Mr Bush will be closeted away from any dissenting voices. "We had a lot of support in the run up to the war and during the conflict and I'm certain we can expect the same again when Mr Bush comes to County Durham." Durham police are making no official comment until the visit is confirmed. But the Home Office says the force will be expected to pay for part of any security operation. Meanwhile, it has already been confirmed that Mr Bush will not be making a trip to Durham City during any visit to the region. A flying visit to Palace Green - between Durham Cathedral and neighbouring Durham Castle would have been the perfect photo-opportunity. But it will not now go ahead because of the logistical problems in effectively sealing off the city for almost an entire day. The last US president to visit the North East was Jimmy Carter, in 1977. He toured Washington, near Sunderland as part of America's bi-centenary. An estimated £5m security operation is planned for Mr Bush's three days in London, involving all its armed units and up to 5,000 police officers.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12417824	China activist Chen Guangcheng 'under house arrest' One of China's most high-profile human rights activists says he is being held under house arrest. "I've come out of a small jail and entered a bigger one," Chen Guangcheng says in the secretly shot video, released by a US-based campaign group. These are the first comments from Mr Chen since his release from prison last September. He accused the authorities of carrying out forced abortions. Damian Grammaticas reports.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8594068.stm	Ciudad Juarez is one of the world's deadliest places Mexican soldiers have arrested a man in connection with the killing of two Americans and a Mexican in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, officials say. Local reports suggest the suspect is a leading member of a local drugs gang. A US consulate worker, her husband and a Mexican national were killed as they were leaving a birthday party in Ciudad Juarez earlier this month. More than 2,500 people died last year in Ciudad Juarez, one of the focal points of Mexico's illegal drugs trade. Lesley Enriquez - a US citizen working at the Juarez consulate - her American husband, Arthur Redelfs, and Jorge Alberto Salcido, the Mexican husband of another consular employee, were shot dead in two separate incidents on 13 March. The motives for the killings remain unclear. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was in Mexico as part of a high-level US delegation last week, pledged increased support for Mexico in the fight against drug gangs. She said more would be done to cut US demand for drugs and the flow of profits and guns into Mexico.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3123978.stm	Cells taken from cloned mouse embryos have been used to successfully treat a condition similar to Parkinson's disease in humans. The research was carried out on mice The breakthrough, by US researchers, could assist the search for a cure for the common brain condition. The embryonic "stem cells", reports the journal Nature Biotechnology, were grown into new tissue which was implanted into the mouse brain. However, many obstacles stand in the way of human treatments, say experts. The team, from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, is not the first to use embryonic stem cells to treat Parkinsonism in mice, but they are the first to use cells which were cloned from the "patient". Although embryonic stem cells - taken from a five-day-old embryo - are all the same, they have the ability, when placed in the right biochemical conditions, to be transformed into any cell type in the body. In theory, they could provide an inexhaustible supply of different tissue types to replace those lost through injury or illness. The advantage of using a cloned embryo is that the cells will be a perfect genetic match for the transplant recipient, removing the need for extra treatments to suppress the immune system. However, the use of cloning technology, even for therapeutic reasons, remains controversial, as does the use of any embryo in this kind of research. In the latest experiments, mice were bred specially to suffer a condition which mimics many aspects of Parkinson's disease. In the human diseases, patients lose key brain cells which produce a chemical vital for controlling muscle movements - and are left with gradually increasing stiffness, fatigue and jerky movement. Cells were taken from the tail of the mouse, then their genetic material extracted and used to create cloned embryos. The stem cells were taken from these and, in a laboratory culture, and body chemicals used to "persuade" them to shift, stage by stage, from this state into the type of brain cells that their Parkinsonism mice were lacking. These were then selected and implanted back into the mouse brain to see if they made a difference. The researchers found that the mouse symptoms disappeared. Dr Lorenz Studer, head of the Stem Cell and Tumor Biology Laboratory at the centre, and the lead researcher on the study, told BBC News Online that the study was "proof of principle" that cloned embryonic stem cells could be reliably transformed into a variety of useful cell types. He said: "There are potential applications not just in Parkinson's disease, but in many other disease types as well." However, he said that his team was still a long way from moving into human research, as scientific and political obstacles had yet to be overcome. He said: "We don't know if we would be able to do the same thing in humans - there is some research, which is controversial - that suggests that it might actually be impossible." However, he said that embryonic stem cells remained the most obvious source of cells for such transplants, as foetal tissue - used in some experiments - was scarce, and so-called "adult stem cells" had never been converted into the right type of brain cells, despite 15 years of research.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/9726514.stm	Professor Francoise Barre-Sinoussi who was awarded a Nobel Prize for her work identifying HIV says the Pope should do more to encourage the use of condoms to prevent the spread of the virus that causes Aids. In 2009, she wrote an open letter to him urging a change of stance by the Catholic Church. The church did slightly relax its line but she says it needs to go further. Nobel winning Barre-Sinoussi optimistic about HIV cure You can watch the full interview on BBC World News on Thursday 7 June at 03:30, 08:30, 15:30 and 20:30 GMT and on the BBC News Channel on Thursday 7 June at 04:30 BST and on Friday 8 June at 00:30 BST. online (UK only) or subscribe to our Find out who is coming up on the programme by following us on
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3093693.stm	Mars will make its closest approach to Earth for almost 60,000 years on Wednesday. Dr Robin Catchpole, senior astronomer at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, London, explains how to witness the event. Every 26 months, the Earth overtakes Mars on the inside track as they both orbit the Sun. Every 15 to 17 years, this happens when Mars is closest to the Sun. On 27 August 2003 they will pass at a distance of 55,760,000 km or 0.3727 AU (1 AU is the distance of the Earth from the Sun), closer than any time during the last 60,000 years. At its closest, Mars will be 25 seconds of arc in diameter, the size of a tennis ball at a distance of 528 metres - or 1/60 the diameter of the full Moon. However, on the scale of the tennis ball, this approach is only 18 centimetres closer than in 1924, although 110 metres closer than in 2001. Throughout July, August and September, Mars will be easy to see with the naked eye. Each night it will rise earlier, until by late August it will be just above the horizon, south of east, soon after sunset. Mars is already visible with the naked eye By late August it will be just above the horizon, south of east, soon after sunset The planet will be the brightest object in the sky, appearing orange red To see any surface detail requires a good quality telescope Once risen, it will be the brightest object in the sky, appearing orange red. From the latitude of the UK, it will never rise higher than 22 degrees and you will need an unobstructed view to the south to see it. Mars will appear at its very best from the Southern Hemisphere, where by the middle of the night it will be high in the sky and its brightness and colour will make it very obvious. To see any surface detail requires a good quality telescope with a lens or mirror diameter of about 10 cm, on a stable mount. If you don't have one - and few people do - try to visit a public observatory or your local astronomical society. In the UK, National Astronomy Week will mark the close encounter, and many local astronomical societies will organise public star parties. Mars, the Roman god of war, has always had a special fascination for us. Indeed, there is even a slight connection as both blood and Mars owe their red colour to iron and oxygen. Although half the diameter and 1/10 the mass of Earth, it is the planet most like our own. When close, through a good telescope, it is possible to see surface markings, polar ice caps and even thin clouds and frost. What would our ancestors have made of the bright orange "star"? We no longer believe in canals and intelligent Martians, as was suggested after the close approach of 1877. But we do think there is a possibility that primitive single celled organisms may have lived, or even still live, below its surface. Since the 1960s, satellites orbiting, and even probes landing on Mars, have sent back images showing a desert landscape of sand dunes strewn with boulders and rocks and crossed by dry streambeds. It still remains to be seen if these were carved by water and if so, whether it flowed recently or a thousand million years ago. A fleet of spacecraft are currently heading to Mars There are many impact craters on the surface, testifying to the great age and present geological inactivity of the planet. This was not always the case as Mars is home to the biggest volcano in the Solar System, the now inactive 26-km-high Olympus Mons. However you watch Mars move through the August sky, imagine a world in many ways familiar and yet very different from our own and know it has not passed quite this close since the Stone Age.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4181197.stm	By Roland Pease BBC radio science unit Tiny robots powered by living muscle have been created by scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles. The robot is a dramatic example of the marriage of biotechnology with nanotechnology The devices were formed by "growing" rat cells on microscopic silicon chips, the researchers report in the journal Nature Materials. Less than a millimetre long, the miniscule robots can move themselves without any external source of power. The work is a dramatic example of the marriage of biotechnology with the tiny world of nanotechnology. In nanotechnology, researchers often turn to the natural world for inspiration. But Professor Carlo Montemagno, of the University of California, Los Angeles, turns to nature not for ideas, but for actual starting materials. In the past he has made rotary nano-motors out of genetically engineered proteins. Now he has grown muscle tissue onto tiny robotic skeletons. Montemano's team used rat heart cells to create a tiny device that moves on its own when the cells contract. A second device looks like a minute pair of frog legs. "The bones that we're using are either a plastic or they're silicon based," he said. "So we make these really fine structures that mechanically have hinges that allow them to move and bend. "And then by nano-scale manipulation of the surface chemistry, the muscle cells get the cues to say, 'Oh! I want to attach at this point and not to attach at another point'. And so the cells assemble, then they undergo a change, so that they actually form a muscle. "Now you have a device that has a skeleton and muscles on it to allow it to move." Under a microscope, you can see the tiny, two-footed "bio-bots" crawl around. Professor Montemagno says muscles like these could be used in a host of microscopic devices - even to drive miniature electrical generators to power computer chips. But when biological cells become attached to silicon - are they alive? "They're absolutely alive," Professor Montemagno told BBC News. "I mean the cells actually grow, multiply and assemble - they form the structure themselves. So the device is alive." The notion is likely to disturb many who already have concerns about nanotechnology. But for Carlo Montemagno, a professor of engineering, it makes sense to match the solutions that nature has already found through billions of years of evolution to the newest challenges in technology.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/south_of_scotland/5035574.stm	Prince Charles has visited the Hebridean island of Rum to learn about plans to save a historic castle. Kinloch Castle was built with no expense spared in 1897 The prince became involved in efforts to preserve Kinloch Castle after it narrowly missed out on a £3m makeover prize on BBC 2's Restoration show. The "fantasy" castle was built by a wealthy Lancashire industrialist more than 100 years ago. A trust backed by Prince Charles outlined a number of options to bring the castle back into productive use. One option for its restoration is to convert part of it into the most remote exclusive flats in the country. The castle was built as a summer palace in 1897 for the multi-millionaire George Bullough. Alligators and turtles Money was no object and Bullough made his fantasy castle as ostentatious on the inside as it was on the outside. It is thought to be the finest surviving Edwardian interior in the UK. The castle had every technological gadget imaginable including central heating, hydro-electric power for his electric lighting and the orchestrion - a complicated early jukebox complete with real drums and trumpets. The gardens contained heated pools for Bullough's menagerie of alligators and tropical turtles. However, the years have not been kind to Kinloch and current owner Scottish Natural Heritage has been paying £65,000 a year just to keep it wind and watertight. SNH's David McLennan said: "Rum's a national nature reserve and we're getting about 10,000 visitors a year who want to come to see the castle. "There's a lot of people in the public who showed a lot of interest in the castle and for that reason it's important that we preserve it for the nation." Mr McLennan said the draft proposals for renovation still had to go to the SNH's main board. SNH has commissioned the Phoenix Trust, which is part of the Prince's Regneration Trust and helps to repair historic buildings in decay, to produce a report on the castle's future. Phoenix curator Merlin Waterson said the first step would be to secure the building then restore the "magnificent" Edwardian interiors. He said the prince was interested in the castle because of its value architecturally and to the community. "What he wants is for people coming to Rum, either on a day visit to the castle or staying here for a night or two or a week, that they should understand that this building is very rare, very precious and get a lot of enjoyment from it."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/team_pages/south_africa/newsid_1996000/1996842.stm	Then Kyle missed a more gilt-edged chance when his effort went just over after Vonk had misjudged a Williams free kick. Lee Wilkie won his first cap when he replaced Gary Caldwell at half-time and the Dundee defender went on to produce an impressively assured performance. Scotland again came close to equalising four minutes into a second period during which Motherwell's James McFadden became the latest to win his first Scotland cap. Dobie sent Kyle clear, but his flick over the advancing goalkeeper struck the face of the crossbar. South Africa were again reduced to long-range efforts, while Ross came close to catching Vonk off his line with a long-range chip at the other end. But Basle forward Koumantarakis settled the match in injury-time with a low drive as the Scots were caught out pressing forward for the equaliser. South Africa: Vonk, Aaron Mokoena, Radebe, Issa, Carnell, Zuma, Sibaya, Fortune, Pule, McCarthy, Teboho Mokoena. Subs: Arendse, Marlin, Nzama, Mngomeni, Mukansi, Mnguni, Nomvete, Buckley, Pienaar, Molefe, Koumantarakis. Scotland: Douglas, Stockdale, Caldwell, Dailly, Weir, Ross, Gemmill, Williams, Dobie, Kyle, Johnston. Subs: Gallacher, Neil Alexander, Graham Alexander, Stewart, O'Connor, Wilkie, McFadden, Cummings, Thompson, Severin. Referee: Chan Siu Kee (Hong Kong).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18160608	Olympic torch relay heads through Royal Wootton Bassett A teenager with one leg was cheered wildly as he carried the Olympic torch through Royal Wootton Bassett. Ben Fox, 16, from Swindon, had to swap hands several times while carrying the torch in warm sunshine. At the end of day five Zara Phillips, the Princess Royal's daughter, carried the torch on her horse Toytown on to Cheltenham Racecourse. She lit the cauldron during celebrations which racecourse officials said was attended by 24,000 people. "It was unbelievable," she told the BBC. "I can't believe the amount of people. It is amazing how many people were so close. "It was a massive honour and great to be able to do it on Toytown. I live in Cheltenham and so many times I've been here to watch the other champions, so it was very emotional," she added. Earlier in the day wheelchair basketball player Mr Fox, who has set his sights on the Paralympics, carried the flame using a crutch for support. He met footballer Didier Drogba who ran in Swindon and who on Tuesday announced he will leave Chelsea. On Twitter, Ben said the Ivory Coast international shook his hand. "It was "insane," he wrote. In Royal Wootton Bassett, where local people formerly turned out to honour the UK's war dead, there was a celebratory mood as the flame passed through. David Hemery, the Olympics 400m hurdles champion in Mexico in 1968, was first to carry the torch in the town. But the biggest cheers were reserved for Ben who completed his 300m section unaided. His mother, Carol Fox, was nervous before his run but said she was "so, so proud" to see him take part. "2016 is Ben's aim... this is just a taster for Ben and I'm sure he'll want it even more now," she told the BBC. London 2012 Olympic torch relay Search maps, check street routes and join in 70 days of live coverage in video, stories and pictures People also responded on Twitter with one, Jon Preston, writing: "Superb determination shown by this young man."Wrong turning The total distance covered on day five of the relay was 140.5 miles. During the morning, fireworks were set off along Bristol's Clifton Suspension Bridge as the flame was carried across. However, the torch relay was running a few minutes late, having taken a wrong turn in fog at the start of the day. Crowds gathered in the early morning mist to see the flame set off from Bristol's College Green at 05:50 BST before heading to visit Nailsea, Backwell and Flax Bourton. But as it returned to Bristol via Nailsea the convoy took a wrong turn in Failand - delaying the relay by about 10 minutes, but London 2012 organisers Locog said the torchbearers were not affected. By the time the relay reached Clifton Suspension Bridge, the clouds had cleared. Streamers burst out of firework cannons along the famous landmark and Grade I listed structure, which was opened in 1864 and is considered to be the symbol of the city of Bristol. Badminton gold medallist Rebecca Pantaney carried the flame half way over the River Avon before passing it to Thomas Baker. Ms Pantaney won gold at the 1998 Commonwealth Games as part of the ladies' team and now coaches all levels at the game, even taking Falkland Islands competitors to the Island Games. The oldest torchbearer of the day was Mary Wixey, 91, a former games mistress who has been described as "a credit to athletics" and still enjoys running. The flame was carried through 22 communities including Chippenham, Marlborough, Wroughton, Cirencester and Stroud. The evening line-up included music from Labrinth, dance act Twist and Pulse, Gloucestershire Youth Jazz Orchestra and Cheltenham Youth Choir. The 70-day relay around the UK finishes at the Olympic Stadium on 27 July. A total of 8,000 people will carry the flame on its 8,000 mile, 70-day journey to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on 27 July.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19136794	Fewer fake passports being found by UK's border force The number of forged passports detected at ports and airports across the UK has almost halved in the past five years. A Freedom of Information request by the BBC showed that border officials spotted 1,858 forgeries last year compared to 3,300 in 2007. The UK's border force said this was partly down to improved security measures and fraud checks. But some staff have claimed a cut in border security numbers was the reason for fewer fake passports being found. The number of people employed by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) has dropped by about 4,000 in the past two years, although many of these were not in document-checking roles. One explanation for the reduction in detections suggested by a Heathrow passport control officer was job cuts. He told the BBC's The World This Weekend programme that because there were fewer staff he and his colleagues had to be less thorough.'Sophisticated people' However, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) said it had become harder for criminals to forge documents because of the use of biometric data in passports and more rigorous checks before people arrived in the UK. UKBA chief executive Rob Whiteman said: "Overall we're doing a good job in that we're constantly finding more forgeries overseas. "The amount, therefore, that we detect at the border, there is a long-term trend of that falling but that's because we're so successful in finding it overseas and stopping forged documents getting to the UK in the first place." Home Affairs Select Committee chairman, Labour MP Keith Vaz, warned against complacency over the passport fakers. He said: "These are very, very sophisticated people. We're not dealing with some granny somewhere in the world who says 'I want to get in'. We're dealing with gangs of people who are making billions of pounds out of forged passports and that's why our system has to be very secure."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-12752737	Parents take over Wokingham primary school A private primary school in Berkshire is to be taken over by pupils' parents after they rejected the idea of it becoming a government free school. Waverley School in Wokingham has been losing money and is at about half capacity with 75 pupils. The charity trust which owns the school told parents the a way out was to apply for free school status. But parents rejected the idea and voted to run the school despite it meaning a 10% fees rise to about £8,500 a year. The increase is needed to balance the books while the school will also have to attract new pupils.'Backward step' Government free schools are semi-independent and are set up by groups including parents and charities. The coalition says the programme will improve standards and choice. But parents at Waverley said it would have in effect turned the private school into a state-funded school with fees having to be scrapped and an increase in class sizes. Parent Blair Jenkins said: "No free schools exist at the moment so it would have been a step into the unknown. "The second thing is that you are probably still looking at class sizes of 25 to 30, here at Waverley we have classes half that size. "So for this group of parents we regard free schools as a backward step." Neil McIntosh, CfBT Education Trust which owns the school, said: "We will assist the parents in the short term as we would have made losses anyway. "We will give them the building rent-free and we will give them any support that they can reasonably expect." The Department for Education said free schools will provide all children - not just the rich - the opportunity to go to a good school with great teaching, strong discipline and small class sizes.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-19300630	Evon Berry, Bristol 1996 shooting victim, remembered A man killed in St Pauls 16 years ago is being remembered at a special family fun day in Bristol. Bangy's Day will celebrate the life of Evon Berry and those who have stood for peace in the city, organisers said. Mr Berry was fatally shot on 1 January 1996 on his way home from a New Year's Eve celebration, after attempting to stop an attack on another man. The memorial event was put together by local residents who formed Bangy's Memorial Group earlier in the year. "After getting over the initial shock, the long-term support from members of the community, the police, family and friends had made coping less difficult," said Mr Berry's widow, Linda. "My daughters and I feel proud and honoured that this day is being dedicated to the memory of Bangy and the promotion of peace in the community."Bravery medal A permanent plaque in memory of Mr Berry, known as Bangy to his friends, will also be unveiled during the event at the park in St Thomas Street, Montpelier. End Quote St Pauls Unlimited A family man with an infectious laugh” Mr Berry was posthumously awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal for his bravery after Avon and Somerset police officers nominated him for the award. "Everyone is welcomed to honour Mr Berry, a family man with an infectious laugh who loved working out at the gym and who is remembered in the community as a symbol of peace," St Pauls Unlimited said. Invited guests include Doreen Lawrence, whose teenage son Stephen was murdered in London in 1993. Bangy's Memorial Group hopes to establish an annual cycle of commemorative events that recognise people in Bristol whose work contributes to peace and harmony in the city. The memorial event takes place from 12:00 to 18:00 BST on Sunday.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-19408829	London has 'worst cancer patient experience' in England Nine of London's NHS trusts are at the bottom of a league table measuring cancer patients' experiences in England. In a table produced by Macmillan Cancer Care, based on Department of Health data, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust was the worst performing trust. The best was Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust in Yorkshire. NHS London said it was a priority to tackle "the unacceptable variation in cancer care".'Patients let down' Eight of the top performing trusts are in the north of England. Ciaran Devane, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, said too many cancer patients were being "let down". She said non-clinical needs must be given as much priority as medical needs. The league table is based on the Department of Health's National Cancer Patient Experience Survey for 2011. The table compares the performance of hospitals based on questions such as whether diagnosis and treatment options were explained clearly, whether patients felt supported in their care and whether they felt they were treated with respect. Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust - which manages Charing Cross, Hammersmith, Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea and St Mary's hospitals - scored particularly badly in terms of seeing outpatients within 30 minutes of appointments and access to clinical nurse specialists. However, more patients had their first appointment with a hospital doctor as soon as they thought was necessary - 76% compared with 70% in 2010. A spokesman for Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust pointed out that as a designated cancer centre for north-west London it cared for some of the "highest numbers of complex cancer patients in the capital with excellent patient outcomes". He said a number of improvements were being made. He added: "We have reviewed the roles of our clinical nurse specialists to guarantee they spend the optimum amount of time possible on patient-facing activities."'Patient-facing activities' Other London hospital NHS trusts in the bottom 10 for patient experience were Whipps Cross University, King's College, North West London, University College, Ealing, Newham University, Barking, Havering and Redbridge University and North Middlesex University. As an example of patient treatment, Macmillan Cancer Support cited the experience of a 32-year-old woman being treated at a London hospital trust for recurrent Hodgkin's Lymphoma. She said she had developed complications during her stem cell transplant. She said: "From the first day they promised to get a specialist to see me. Three weeks later my symptoms were worse and no doctor had come to see me. "I wasn't listened to, the doctors and nurses left me in such pain that I couldn't even walk. "Upon discharge from the hospital they promised an urgent referral would be sent to the specialist. No letter was written." Professor Kathy Pritchard-Jones, chief medical officer of London Cancer, an integrated group of NHS cancer specialists in north and north-east London, said: "The survey reflects the fact that too often the NHS in the capital delivers a disjointed and fragmented experience for patients with cancer."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19470470	Fifteen years holed up in an embassy Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has said he may remain in the Ecuadorean embassy in London for up to a year - but even that would leave him far short of the record holder, a Hungarian cardinal who spent 15 years in the US embassy in Budapest. The Cold War drama began in the cold pre-dawn of 4 November 1956. An anti-communist uprising was under way, but the head of the Catholic Church in Hungary, Cardinal Jozsef Mindszenty, had just learned of the arrival of Soviet troops in the city to put it down. He faced a stark choice - flight or arrest. Imprisoned by the pro-Nazi authorities during World War II, Cardinal Mindszenty had then become an outspoken critic of the post-war communist government. As a result, he had spent eight years in prison on treason charges. He had been freed only a few days earlier by the anti-government forces involved in the uprising. He decided to flee. Not far away, at the American legation, Sgt Gerald Bolick, a US Marine guard, was finishing his morning rounds when he looked out of the window and saw four people approaching: two in army uniforms and two in clerical black. "I saw that one was Cardinal Mindszenty," he says. "I ran up to talk to my detachment commander, and said 'The cardinal's on his way to our legation, what should I do?' He said, "Do your duty.' So I did an about-face, ran back down the stairwell, and opened up the door." At around the same time, Bolick says, the legation received a coded message from Washington: "'If the cardinal shows up, give him shelter' was the gist." But for Bolick and the small team of US Marines responsible for protecting the legation, there was a new problem. "The Soviets had taken over Magyar radio. They broadcast that they were going to come to our legation and take the cardinal away. And that would happen at high noon." So inside the legation, Bolick and the other marines prepared for an assault, gathering what weapons they could. "We were not going to hand him over without a fight," he says. "Whoever thought of taking the cardinal out of the legation must have been a doofus." After a few tense hours, it became clear the Soviets were not going to storm the embassy. But the uprising was successfully put down. The communists backed by the Soviet Union regained power and thousands were imprisoned. Inside the legation, the cardinal was given the chief of mission's office. It consisted of two rooms, one large, one small, and had its own little bathroom. The legation itself was a five-storey, terraced mansion on the corner of a boulevard in the centre of Budapest. Cardinal Mindszenty settled into a routine, which included a daily walk in the embassy's small courtyard while the guards kept watch for snipers. The courtyard was enclosed on three sides by buildings which were often used by Hungarian state security. End Quote Cardinal Jozsef Mindszenty What am I doing here? There are so many people to help. What am I doing here?” Fourteen years after the cardinal took up residence, when a young American diplomat William S Shepard arrived to take up his post, the routine had not changed, though the cardinal had, by then, learned to speak English. During his first walk in the courtyard with the cardinal, Shepard discovered that the security police had not forgotten the dissident priest. "I went out with him and all sorts of windows opened. It was in the evening, and there were flashbulbs all over the place. I said, 'What on earth is going on?' "He said, 'Those are the Communist photographers - the AVO (secret police) - they are taking your picture. ...You are supposed to be intimidated.'" Shepard met the cardinal regularly. "He was never intrusive. I would look up and see him at my office from time to time. I would obviously rise and ask if he wanted to talk a bit," he recalls. "But most of the time he spent actually in his office, and a particular fixation of his was writing his memoirs." High-profile embassy cases - Jozsef Mindszenty - 15 years. Hungarian Catholic cardinal stayed in the US embassy in Budapest 1956-71 - Raul Haya de la Torre - 5 years. Peruvian politician sought asylum in the Colombian embassy - Manuel Noriega - 10 days. President of Panama took refuge in the Vatican embassy after the 1989 US invasion. The US bombarded him with loud rock music 24/7 until he left - Morgan Tsvangirai - one week. Zimbabwe's opposition leader took refuge in the Dutch embassy in Harare in June 2008. A year later he was sworn in as prime minister in a power-sharing government The cardinal did occasionally relax. "I'm not sure if he had a TV, but I do know that occasionally the cardinal would watch films because it was legendary how he detested the film that was a fictional version of his own situation. He just didn't like it." The political climate slowly improved in the years after 1956. Many of those imprisoned were freed. Having debated the "case of Hungary" for several years, in 1963 the United Nations formally accepted the credentials of the new government. But getting Cardinal Mindszenty out of the embassy remained a problem. Since his arrival, the cardinal had been caught in the middle of a Cold War stand-off - involving the Hungarian government, the Soviet Union, the United States and the Vatican. He himself was reluctant to compromise while the communists remained in power. "From his standpoint, things were rather rigid, in the sense of, 'We are not free now, we should be - why negotiate with these people?'" says Shepard. On rare occasions the cardinal did show his frustration. "I remember one day after a service in the legation, he said to no-one at all, 'What am I doing here, there are so many people to help. What am I doing here?'" Others were wondering the same thing. By 1971 the Vatican was keen to improve its relations with the Hungarian authorities. With US support a deal was done, despite some resistance from the cardinal. He was to leave the embassy and the country on 28 September 1971. His departure was a secret. There was to be no crowd to see him leave. The road around the embassy had been sealed off. The park opposite was deserted. But Shepard's wife Lois was determined that someone should bear witness to the cardinal's first steps outside the embassy in 15 years. Diplomatic safe haven The premises of the mission shall be inviolable. The agents of the receiving State may not enter them, except with the consent of the head of the mission. Source: Article 22, Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations "The door opened, and I can picture it to this day. "He stood there in his grand red robes and he gave a wide wave as though to multitudes. "I was standing beside my car and waved back and smiled. And he smiled at me, he saw me. And he got into the car, they pulled the black curtains across the back of the windows and off they went." The cardinal was flown to Rome. He went on to publish the memoirs he'd been writing inside the embassy. When he refused to retire as primate of Hungary, the Vatican stripped him of his title. He died in exile in Vienna in 1975 at the age of 83. Inside the US embassy in Budapest, there hangs a plaque to commemorate the guest who stayed for 15 years.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-16485886	New Dover to Calais ferry service announced Two ferry companies have announced their intention to run a service between Dover and Calais, a day after SeaFrance went into liquidation. DFDS and LD Lines put in a bid to acquire some of SeaFrance's assets, but the bid was rejected by a French court. A spokeswoman said the companies' intention was to operate two ships on the cross-channel route with French crews on both vessels. She said about 300 staff would be recruited for the new service.'Crazy idea' Charlie Elphicke, the MP for Dover and Deal, said: "I think it's great news to have a new ferry operator on the Dover to Calais route. "However, what I would say is, it's a crazy idea to have it French flagged and to have French workers. "We have got a lot of people in the UK who are flexible in the labour market, keen to do a job, keen to work really hard. "If they had UK workers and a UK flag they would pay less taxes as well and it would be really great for the economy of Dover." Chris Newey, from DFDS, said that as well as creating 300 jobs in France there would also be "opportunities elsewhere". "Those are opportunities that we are looking at at the moment," he said. The joint venture between DFDS and LD Lines was formed in 2011 but in November a £5m bid for SeaFrance was rejected by the Tribunal de Commerce in Paris, despite the court declaring SeaFrance bankrupt. In December, DFDS dropped its attempt to buy the ailing French ferry company.Service suspended On Monday SeaFrance announced it is to shed 127 jobs in Dover after it was liquidated by the French court and told to cease activity. The Tribunal de Commerce decided SeaFrance's future after a bailout by the French government was ruled illegal by the European Commission. The court also said an offer by a cooperative of employees was not acceptable. Hundreds of jobs in France are also expected to be lost. Three ferries were operated by SeaFrance on the Dover to Calais route. The service was suspended in November. The French firm went into receivership in 2010 and its ferries carried more than 3.5 million passengers a year on the Dover to Calais route.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7160045.stm	Armed police numbers have dropped despite a rise in gun crime, the Conservatives have said. The number of armed officers has fallen, the Tories say The fall in numbers has been most serious in "hotspot" areas with the biggest rises in offences, figures obtained by the Tories suggest. For instance, in Northamptonshire, gun offences tripled in 10 years - but the number of armed officers fell by 56%. The Home Office said police numbers were "historically high" and armed police strength was a local decision. 'Part of the problem' The armed police figures were obtained by the Tories after parliamentary questions. The Tories accuse ministers of being complacent about gun crime Merseyside saw the number of authorised firearms officers fall 15% between 1997 and 2006, while the number of reported firearms crimes rose 62% between 2002 and 2006. In Avon and Somerset, the number of armed officers dropped from 165 to 117 in the same period, while reported gun offences went up 62%. Overall, the number of authorised firearms officers went down from 6,738 in 1997 to 6,584 in 2006, with reported firearms offences rising more than 10%. Shadow home secretary David Davis said the figures showed ministers were "part of the problem". "These are yet more statistics betraying the government's complacent approach to gun crime," he said. "It is clear that when it comes to tackling the scourge of gun crime and other violent crime, Labour are part of the problem, not the solution." A Home Office spokesman said: "Police numbers are historically high and the make up of a local force, including firearms officers, is an operational matter for the local chief constable based on local factors including the number of firearms offences."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7890006.stm	There were 67 passengers and four crew on the flight Flights in and out of London City Airport have resumed after a passenger plane crash-landed on the runway. A British Airways (BA) flight from Amsterdam with 71 people on board lost its front wheels in a "hard landing" at London City Airport on Friday evening. The plane skidded to a halt on the runway and passengers were taken off using the emergency chutes. The plane is now in a parking bay waiting to be investigated by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB). All 67 passengers and four crew were safely evacuated. They were taken from the runway to a building in the airport's short-term stay car park where they stayed for several hours until they were escorted into waiting taxis shortly after midnight. The airport was closed after the incident and 11 flights were diverted to neighbouring airports. An airport spokeswoman said normal operations had resumed but there would be some slight delays. "We do need to get those aircraft back into London City but flights have been taking off and landing throughout the morning," she said. "There shouldn't be too many cancellations, it's more a question of delays." She advised passengers to check with their airline before travelling. A London Ambulance Service confirmed that four people were treated for minor injuries. Two were taken to hospital. There are about 65 flights scheduled from the airport on Saturday and the airport is scheduled to close as normal at 1300 GMT. BA flights to Lyon, Nice and Zurich were all delayed, with those hoping to reach France facing a wait of at least three-and-a-half hours.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-18645838	Redruth man jailed for breaking five-month-old son's ribs A father has been jailed for five years for causing injuries to his baby son that resembled those of a crash victim. Dillan Ninnis suffered 18 fractures to his ribs and bruising to his head and body by the time he was five months old, Truro Crown Court heard. Anthony Craddock, 22, from Illogan Highway, Redruth, Cornwall, was earlier convicted of two counts of child cruelty by wilful assault. The judge, Mr Justice Butterfield, called it a "terrible case".Supervised visits During his trial, the court was told Craddock was unable to control his violent temper and was known to punch walls. Craddock admitted losing his temper but claimed he loved his son and would never hurt a child. The court heard signs of cruelty were spotted by a health visitor and the injuries to the ribs resembled those caused by a very high speed road accident. Dillan's mother, Jade Ninnis, 20, of Green Lane, Redruth, admitted wilful neglect and was given a 12-month sentence, suspended for two years. Mr Justice Butterfield said he only suspended her sentence because she had pleaded guilty and had testified against Craddock. Dillan has been placed with a foster family and his mother is allowed supervised visits twice a week. Mr Justice Butterfield said it was possible the relationship between the mother and son "can be mended".'Abhorrent case' After the sentencing, Det Sgt Michael Rodway, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said all such cases had an incredible impact on people. "But this case, even for professionals, was an abhorrent case," he said. Children's charity the NSPCC said: "The injuries inflicted on baby Dillan starkly highlight just how vulnerable children are in the first few years of their lives. "Babies are eight times more likely to be killed than any other age group in childhood; and factors such as domestic violence, mental health problems and drink and drug dependencies among parents are known to be important risk factors for abuse and neglect. "While it is impossible for such young children to speak out, neighbours, relatives and family friends can often be the eyes and ears which protect a child."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-20142708	Walker Wayne Mitchell died after fall on Cadair Idris A walker died on a mountain in Gwynedd probably after slipping and falling, an inquest has heard. Wayne Mitchell, 40, from Blaenau Ffestiniog had been missing for a month before his body was found at a remote spot on the 3,000ft (914m) Cadair Idris. He had been suitably dressed for a mountain walk but a pathologist found he had fractured his skull in a fall. Coroner Dewi Pritchard-Jones recorded a verdict of accidental death. The hearing in Caernarfon was told Mr Mitchell had left a campsite at Dolgellau in May. Volunteers from Aberdyfi Search and Rescue Team recovered Mr Mitchell's body from near Llyn yr Gadair after it was found by a walker on 12 June.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21510479	North Korea threatens "final destruction" of South Korea North Korea has been criticised for remarks about the "final destruction" of South Korea made during a UN debate on disarmament. North Korean diplomat Jon Yong Ryong told the meeting in Geneva that "South Korea's erratic behaviour would only herald its final destruction". The comments come after North Korea's third nuclear test on 12 February. There was immediate criticism of the comments from other nations, including South Korea and Britain. Mr Jon said: "As the saying goes, a new-born puppy knows no fear of a tiger. South Korea's erratic behaviour would only herald its final destruction." Without specifically referring to the nuclear test, Mr Jon said North Korea had recently taken a "resolute step for self-defence", which he described as "strong counter-actions to a foreign aggressor". "If the US takes a hostile approach toward the DPRK (North Korea) to the last, rendering the situation complicated, it (North Korea) will be left with no option but to take the second and third stronger steps in succession," he added. Britain's ambassador at the talks, Joanne Adamson, said such language was "completely inappropriate". She said the discussion with North Korea was heading in the wrong direction. South Korean ambassador Kwon Haeryong said that Pyongyang would do better to ensure a better life for its people, in a country which has suffered intermittent famines in the past two decades. "Everybody knows that North Korea is committing enormous resources to developing nuclear weapons and a missile capability. But it is very regrettable that a chronic food shortage persists and continually threatens people," Mr Kwon said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13374153	Setbacks at Japan nuclear plant A reactor at Japan's crippled nuclear plant has been more badly damaged than originally thought, operator Tepco has said. Water is leaking from the pressure vessel surrounding reactor 1 - probably because of damage caused by exposed fuel rods melting, a spokesman said. Contaminated water had also entered the sea from a pit near reactor 3 but this had now been stopped, he said. The plant was badly damaged in the 11 March earthquake and tsunami. Cooling systems to the reactors were knocked out, causing fuel rods to overheat. There were subsequently explosions in the buildings housing four reactors, three of which had been operating at the time of the earthquake. Engineers are pumping water into the reactors to cool them as they work to restore the damaged cooling systems. Tepco (Tokyo Electric Power Company) has said that it may take up to nine months to achieve a cold shut-down at the plant.'On the bottom' Work to restore cooling systems had been most advanced at reactor 1, the smallest and oldest at the site. But a spokesman for the power giant said when a faulty gauge had been repaired, it showed water levels in the pressure vessel 5m (16ft) below the level needed to cover fuel rods. "All the fuel is unprotected at this point and the water levels are below that," said Junichi Matsumoto. "However temperatures in the reactor pressure vessel have cooled to 100 to 120 degrees so we have come to the conclusion that the fuel mass... is actually not at the proper levels but somewhat below that or even possibly at the bottom of the vessel." He said there was likely to be a large leak in the pressure vessel, possibly caused by the fallen fuel. "As for a meltdown, it is certain that it has crumbled and the fuel is located at the bottom (of the vessel)," he added. The water is said to be leaking into the containment vessel and from there into the reactor building. Experts said the announcement from Tepco did not mean that the situation at the plant had worsened because it was likely that the fuel had dropped to the bottom of the core soon after the 11 March earthquake. But they said further evaluation was needed to see how this affected plans to stabilise the reactor. Meanwhile a new spill of waste water from reactor 3 had been contained by filling a pit with concrete, Tepco said. Sea samples taken in the area had contained concentrations of caesium-134 at 18,000 times the permitted level, it said. More than 80,000 local residents living within a 20km (12 mile) radius of the plant have been evacuated from their homes. Agriculture and businesses have been hit and there is no timescale yet for allowing residents to return. Total compensation claims are not yet known, but analysts say they may be more than $100bn (£61bn). The government has been discussing a plan to help Tepco meet its compensation obligations, after the power giant said it needed an injection of funds. An announcement was expected on Thursday but Prime Minister Naoto Kan said more discussions were needed.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7947321.stm	By David Loyn International development correspondent, BBC News Mr Brown hosted African leaders in London ahead of the G20 summit African leaders have warned that parts of the continent could be plunged back into conflict if they are not helped to recover from the global downturn. The stark warning came as they gathered in London to put their case ahead of the G20 summit next month. The scale of the crisis faced by Africa because of the economic downturn is only now becoming apparent. The head of the African Development Bank, Donald Kaberuka, called it an "emergency" at the meeting in London. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown heard tales of woe from across the continent - 500,000 thrown out of work in copper mines in Zambia, farmers losing jobs in Tanzania when the cotton price halved, foreign receipts down everywhere because of a cut in tourism and the reduction in remittances sent home by workers living abroad. 'Spend now or pay later' The prime minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi, made a case for the richest countries in the world to invest in Africa for their own self-interest. He said that it made sense to invest in Africa for the state of the world economy, since the money went further. "The global stimulus impact of every dollar spent in Africa is higher than if it is spent in the US or the UK," said Mr Zenawi. Countries like his own that have come out of conflict in the recent past could find their stability threatened by the downturn. If recent progress was threatened then some countries "could go under and that would mean total chaos and violence," he added. Stability in another fragile post-conflict country, Liberia, is also threatened, according to President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. She said that it made sense for the richer countries in the world to fund the poorest now, since it would cost much less than paying for peacekeeping operations later. There was a need to "sustain the gains made by African people over the years with such sacrifice", Ms Johnson-Sirleaf said. There has been significant progress in development in a number of African countries in recent years, mainly because of big investments from China, cheap anti-retroviral drugs, increased aid and the cancellation of debt which enabled better spending in schools and health care systems. But the economic downturn that has taken away jobs and homes in the developed world threatens lives in Africa. Prime Minister Brown wants a strong commitment from fellow leaders of the developed world at the G20 summit next month, but many are more concerned about their own economies than the state of Africa. Few have lived up to the commitments they made to increase aid at the Gleneagles summit in 2005, and some are talking about cutting aid budgets. There is no agreed figure for what Africa needs, but Mr Kaberuka of the African Development Bank said that the impact was "deeper than anticipated at the beginning". All of the African leaders in London stressed the need to make finance for trade available again. For now it has completely dried up. And they all said that the international financial institutions needed to be more flexible. For Ethiopia, Prime Minister Zenawi talked of a need for better "ease of access", and South Africa's Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said that far more flexibility from the IMF and the World Bank was needed. "You can't take a cookie-cutter [one size fits all] approach to getting countries out of crisis... we are asking for a lot more speed of action." Britain has recently been putting public pressure on the World Bank to streamline its processes to ease the availability of funds.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6977262.stm	Mentally ill people in the developing world are being badly neglected, according to a study published in the Lancet medical journal. In some countries, mental illness is seen as a stigma The authors say mental illness makes up about 14% of global disease, more than cancer or heart disease. Up to 800,000 people commit suicide each year, mostly in poorer countries. Despite this, the authors say, 90% of sufferers in developing countries receive no care - and in some cases are chained to trees or kept in cages. Health officials call for new strategies and more money for treatment of the mentally ill in the developing world in a special series published by the Lancet. They warn that as more people suffer from mental problems as a result of war, poverty and disease, unless widespread treatment becomes available, poor countries will be further handicapped in the future. The study says that in poor rural communities, families living in poverty cope the best they can with mentally ill relatives, but are often unable to afford medication or specialised care. In some countries, it adds, mental illness was seen as a stigma. The report also stresses the impact of mental health on other health conditions. It says poor mental health makes people more prone to other health problems - and then they are also less likely to get the medical help, social support and treatment they need. In developing countries, few can afford psychiatric treatment Their dependents may suffer too, it adds, citing evidence from India and Pakistan that mothers who are depressed are more likely to have a malnourished child. Nirmala Srinivasan, head of Action For Mental Illness, a lobby group based in Bangalore, India, told the Associated Press news agency that only 7% to 8% of an estimated 40 million to 50 million people in India who were victims of some form of mental illness - schizophrenia, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety - got proper treatment. The study acknowledges that many poorer countries are often presented with a stark choice when it comes to the treatment of mental patients, given the scarcity of resources. But many of the experts say basic mental health services can be provided cheaply and simply, especially if they are made part of general healthcare.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-18768969	Afghanistan diary: Days 1 to 4 BBC Look East Defence Correspondent Alex Dunlop and cameraman Shaun Whitmore are spending a week in Helmand Province. Some 1,500 troops from the eastern region are embedded in Afghanistan, mostly in Helmand. They include 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, bomb disposal teams, RAF air and ground crews, medics, reservists and the Norfolk-based Light Dragoons. Four years since I was last here, Bastion has changed hugely and also hardly at all. In the middle of the desert, 20 miles north-west of Helmand's provincial capital Lashkar Gah, the camp is now far bigger - the size of Luton if you include the outer perimeter. But it's also very familiar, with the same media tent, same dusty grid of wide roads, same shops, the same oven-like temperature. You cannot arrive in Camp Bastion without completing a week-long hostile environment course, battlefield first aid and full medical. Shaun and I now have to undergo a further half-day course before we are allowed out of Bastion and on to the Forward Operating Bases (FOBs). We were rolled 360 degrees in a darkened simulator while wearing full body armour, to give us some idea of how to escape an armoured wagon when it hits a roadside bomb or rolls over. They call this Rodet (Rollover Drills Egress Training). Many more acronyms to come. We jump on a Merlin helicopter and fly fast and low over the desert, then head down south towards the Green Zone, an agricultural area replenished by canals which feed off the Helmand River. This is where most of the population is based, and where hearts and minds need to be won over. The theory is that if you give people the infrastructure (roads, schools, hospitals) within a secure and safe area, the insurgency will be increasingly marginalised. Judging by the throng in the market place, so far it seems to be working. Commanding Officer of 1 Royal Anglians (the "Vikings") Mick Aston tells me: "It's the non-uniformed population who will win this," he said, "not us". The tented accommodation at FOB Shawquat is within the broken mud walls of an 19th Century fort, once occupied by British soldiers in the second Afghan War. The locals call it "Farangi Qala", Castle of the Foreigners. It survived the past 140 years pretty much intact until the Taliban bombed it a few years ago. The Anglians expect to leave this fortress and head for home by October. We head to bed with the sound of gunfire not far away. Soldiers here barely notice it. The FOB is pretty civilised. All accommodation is tented and mostly air-conditioned, and there are hot showers, a gym, TV room and cookhouse. We had steak followed by cheesecake for dinner last night. No alcohol allowed, so washed down with iced tea. The Vikings Battlegroup share the base with up to 200 ANA (Afghan National Army) soldiers. Members of D Company act as advisors - they join them on patrols, help them fight the insurgents. The key is to let the local Afghan soldiers take the lead as part of the grand plan to make sure the ANSF (Afghan National Security Forces) are up to speed when coalition combat troops finally pull out at the end of 2014. Our evening flight to Main Operations Base (MOB) Price becomes a lunchtime lift on a Chinook back to Camp Bastion, where troops watch Andy Murray lose out to Roger Federer at Wimbledon. Fingers crossed we get to MOB Price on Monday. A lesson I have learned here after two previous military embeds in Afghanistan is never to expect to stick to a schedule. Our lunchtime Chinook flight to MOB Price is 'bumped' (delayed) for a couple of hours. When we return to the helicopter landing site (HLS), we learn there are no spare seats on the next one out. Quite rightly, in a theatre of war, military operations must take priority. But it means we're here for another night. Our media escort Flt Lt Jon Lord ('Lordy') is busting a gut to get us on the 10 minute flight to Price (2 hours by road) so we can catch up with Norfolk-based Light Dragoons and 33 Engineers from Wimbish in Essex. We've almost resigned ourselves to being confined to Bastion for the rest of the embed when - with guarded triumph - Lordy tells us three spaces are suddenly free for the early flight tomorrow. We live in hope. It gives us a chance to edit our films for Tuesday's Look East regional programme, and a chance to catch up with the CO of the Light Dragoons, Sam Plant. Like me, a man who came to live in Norfolk and is loathe to leave it. 01:00 BST. Shaun finishing off the edit beside me in our tent as I write. Just a few hours until we leave for Price, flights permitting. Watch Alex Dunlop's reports from Helmand Province on BBC Look East from 10 July.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-19685541	Three arrests in Birmingham's Bullring protest Three people have been arrested in connection with a protest in which about 100 people gathered outside Birmingham's Bullring shopping centre. The protest, which caused the Bullring to close for several hours, started at about 15:00 BST on Friday. It is thought the protest was held over a US-made anti-Islam film called Innocence of Muslims. West Midlands Police said an officer was injured during the protest but did not require hospital treatment. No-one else was injured. A force spokesman said a 17-year-old was arrested on suspicion of affray and a 29-year-old was arrested on suspicion of affray and assaulting a police officer. A 19-year-old who was arrested on suspicion of obstructing a police officer received a caution and was released.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-18346869	Belfast city hall welcomes torch The Olympic torch has arrived at Belfast City Hall on the penultimate day of its tour of Ireland. Thousands of people gathered in front of the building where a concert is being staged to welcome the torch. The city's final torchbearer, Laura McCann, carried the flame on stage and lit a large cauldron in front of the crowd. Ms McCann, a PE teacher from St Dominic's Grammar school, described the experience as "absolutely amazing". "It was excellent. At the end of the day I was just trying to remember what the Olympics represents - and I can remember watching the Olympics since forever - so to be a part of even one day, 300 metres, was just outstanding," she said. Belfast's newly elected Lord Mayor, Gavin Robinson, said thousands of people had lined the route across the city to catch sight of the torch and support those carrying it. "The message of hope and inspiration and aspiration the torch symbolises has really captivated people," he said. Entertainment at the free concert was provided by Bellaghy rock group General Fiasco and Britain's Got Talent dance act, Twist and Pulse. Ms McCann was the 91st person to carry the torch during its 125-mile journey through Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It will continue its journey on Thursday - when another 46 torchbearers will carry the flame across Counties Antrim, Down and Londonderry - before it moves on to Scotland.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20622233	Egypt army erects barriers at Cairo presidential palace The Egyptian army has set up barricades outside the presidential palace, after ordering protesters to leave the area. It follows violent overnight clashes between supporters and opponents of President Mohammed Morsi that left five people dead and 644 injured. Most protesters left the palace by the 15:00 (13:00 GMT) deadline, though some opposition activists remained. Meanwhile, Egypt's top Islamic body has called on the president to suspend his decree claiming sweeping powers. The Al-Azhar institution also demanded an unconditional dialogue between the president and his opponents. The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says this move by one of the most respected bodies in Sunni Islam has put President Morsi - who was largely brought to power by the powerful Islamist Muslim Brotherhood - under more pressure. At the scene Hundreds of President Mohammed Morsi's supporters spent last night in front of the presidential palace in Cairo. At around 13:30 local time (11:30 GMT) their mobile phones started to ring almost all at once. Orders came through from the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood - to which Mr Morsi belongs - to clear the area for the Presidential Guard, a branch of the military whose official responsibility is to protect the president and presidential buildings. It took only 15 minutes for the crowd to clear the huge area around the palace, a testament to the extremely organised nature of the Islamic movement. As they left they seemed to be content with the way things have gone. True, it was a bloody night, which saw them clash for hours with the president's opponents. Many of them were injured and a few killed in the process, but at the end they felt they had won this battle. Mr Morsi is expected to address the nation on Thursday evening, although his statement appears to have been delayed. The president adopted new powers in the decree on 22 November, and stripped the judiciary of any power to challenge his decisions. Mr Morsi, who narrowly won Egypt's first free presidential election in June, says he will give up his new powers once a new constitution is ratified. But there is also controversy over the proposed constitution. Critics say the draft was rushed through parliament without proper consultation and does not do enough to protect political and religious freedoms and the rights of women. The government insists that a referendum on the draft constitution, drawn up by a body dominated by Morsi-supporting Islamists, will go ahead this month despite strong opposition. Four of Mr Morsi's advisers resigned on Wednesday - three others did so last week and the official Mena news agency reported a further resignation on Thursday. The UN's human rights chief, Navi Pillay has urged respect for the right to peaceful protest. "The current government came to power on the back of similar protests and so should be particularly sensitive to the need to protect protesters' rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly," Reuters quoted her as saying. Egypt's mounting crisis Nov 22 President Morsi issues decree assuming sweeping new powers, dismisses prosecutor general Nov 23 Protests against president's new powers begin, including a sit-in at Tahrir Square Nov 30 Islamist-dominated constituent assembly adopts controversial draft constitution Dec 1 Islamists rally in support of president's new powers after tens of thousands of Morsi opponents converge on Tahrir Square Dec 2 Supreme Constitutional Court suspends work after being prevented by Morsi supporters from ruling on the legitimacy of the constituent assembly Dec 2 Judges Club, representing judges across the country, announces it will not supervise referendum on draft constitution Dec 5 Violent clashes outside presidential palace in Cairo Tanks and armoured troop carriers were deployed outside the presidential palace on Thursday morning following the overnight clashes between the pro-Morsi Muslim Brotherhood supporters and his mainly secular opponents. The Brotherhood said all those who died were its supporters, but this has not been independently confirmed. Following a meeting between the president and military commanders, the 13:00 GMT deadline to clear the area round the palace was set. A ban on all protests in the area has also been ordered. Concrete blocks and barbed wire barricades have been erected. But the commander of the Republican Guard, Maj Gen Mohammed Zaki, said the security forces "will not be a tool to crush protesters", telling Mena: "No force will be used against Egyptians." The Muslim Brotherhood supporters left the square before the deadline, but a few dozen opposition supporters remained in place and their numbers increased as evening fell. The scene was calm, however, and there was no sign of any attempt to breach the military's barriers. The opposition has said it will continue to hold demonstrations. "We had many injuries last night, and we are not going to have their blood wasted," said an unnamed member of the National Salvation Front, a recently formed group which has united some of the most prominent anti-Morsi figures. If the president is to defuse this crisis he will surely have to call off the referendum on a new constitution and give up the new powers, says our correspondent. This would be a huge climb down, but otherwise this country could just be headed into more crisis and conflict, he adds. Send your pictures and videos to [email protected] or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8564884.stm	Many villagers fear the cycle of burning, killing and revenge is not over By Caroline Duffield BBC News, Jos Five young Nigerian men kneel in front of police officers at Plateau State CID headquarters in the city of Jos. "I killed three people," admits one youth in the local Hausa language. He looks almost childlike. But he is referring to the horrific slaughter of at least 100 people in three nearby villages in the latest round in a brutal cycle of violence between Hausa-speaking Muslims and Christians from the Berom community. "Two men and a woman... I killed them with a stick, with a knife. In the first crisis, they killed most of my brothers." But another protests: "I never went there for killing anybody, only to carry my cows." He describes fleeing the previous outbreak of violence in January, leaving his cattle behind. His neighbours, he claims, seized them. He wanted them back, and so joined the attack. "I did not kill. When the fighting started, we ran," he tells us. They are clearly nervous - sometimes almost whispering. The detective in charge intervenes, telling them to speak up. It is impossible to know whether they have been put under any pressure to admit taking part in the killings. Some 200 young men are under arrest for the killings in the villages of Dogo Nahawa, Zot and Ratsat. Some of those arrested insist they are innocent They jostle and fight in dark, filthy cells, reeking of sweat and urine. "Some were paid to do it, some were volunteers," says the local Police Commissioner, Ikechukwu Aduba. "The threat is still there, that is the truth. We divisional police officers, we now sleep in our offices." He - and other senior officers - believe there will be more arrests, and that the cycle of burning, killing and revenge is not over. It is not over for the survivors of Dogo Nahawa. People in the village huddle silently, many gripping Bibles. There are just three policemen resting in the shade of a tree. But as we drove into the village, there were no military checkpoints or police on the steep track. JOS, PLATEAU STATE Deadly riots in 2001, 2008 and 2010 City divided into Christian and Muslim areas Divisions accentuated by system of classifying people as indigenes and settlers Hausa-speaking Muslims living in Jos for decades are still classified as settlers Settlers find it difficult to stand for election Communities divided along party lines: Christians mostly back the ruling PDP; Muslims generally supporting the opposition ANPP "We are undefended," one elderly man cried to us. "They can return here any time." We set up our TV cameras and radio equipment, reporting the lack of military presence. Within an hour, more than 100 soldiers arrived, swarming the streets. Astonished aid workers looked on, as several soldiers produced hand-held video cameras to record themselves patrolling. The officer in charge dismissed questions about why they were there. Twenty minutes later, he and his men pulled out. Nigeria's military has come under fire for their role here. Plateau State governor Jonah Jang and the Elders Christian Forum group - among others - accuse it of failing to act on early warnings of violence. The commander of the regional task force here insists that they were only told of the mass killings after they occurred. Chief Gabriel Chyang, the community leader of Dogo Nahawa, rejects that. "We do not know how these men got to the village," he says, gesturing to fresh mounds of red earth that are mass graves. "We were supposed to be under curfew. How did they attack? "This community would never like to see a military man again. The youths are angry, because they did not take action in good time." Explosions of violence have crackled along Nigeria's Middle Belt ever since the country was created. A mosaic of distinct ethnic groups - Tiv, Jukun, Pyem, Kofyar, Berom, the Hausa-Fulani and many more - live along this dividing line between the Muslim north and mostly Christian south. Many people have fled their homes in case of further violence The region has a history of tin and columbite mining - abandoned mines mark the landscape. The fertile land and jobs were a powerful draw for migrants seeking work. People travelled to Jos from all over Nigeria. Those patterns of migration are marked today by sharp divisions in the community. People here are either classified as indigenes or settlers. Indigenes are able to prove their ancestry in the state. Settlers - whose grandparents and great-grandparents settled here - cannot. Settlers find it difficult to get jobs in local government, or apply for educational scholarships. Most indigenes are Berom Christians. Most settlers are Hausa Muslims. Many Christians believe Hausa Muslim settlers seek to seize political control and impose Sharia law. They fear an extremist Islamist agenda and jihad. Many Muslims believe the Plateau State government wishes to drive them out of certain areas. The circle of violence, the emergence of vigilante groups and organised militia, the suspicion of the military within the Christian community and the lack of a political framework for talks worries those tasked with security. "I believe this will last a long time," frowns Police Commissioner Aduba. "It is not over. Where are we heading?"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/southern_counties/4749366.stm	An artist who baked a life-size model of her own naked body out of bread dough will watch her audience eat it at an exhibition. Sharon Baker said it was "eerie" seeing the model come out of the oven Sharon Baker - her real name - used 24 eggs for the bread body, which weighed 36 kilos before it was cooked. Ms Baker, 45, from Epsom, Surrey baked the model in the biggest oven she could find at Brooklands College, Weybridge. The 5ft 3in loaf of bread, baked on Friday, will be shown at an exhibition in London's Docklands on Sunday. Ms Baker, who was wrapped in plaster to make a mould for the dough, said she made her first bread artwork four years ago. "It was prompted by the sad and early death of a friend from breast cancer," she said. "I wanted to create a body in something that would decay like the human body does. "The fragility of life really strikes home when somebody dies young."