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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1742997.stm	Since President Pervez Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, the paradoxes of his rule in Pakistan have become more marked. He has reintroduced parliamentary government, but the National Assembly was paralysed for months because the opposition refused to recognise the constitutional changes he had pushed through. General Musharraf - came to power as head of the army In December 2003, as part of a deal with hardline Islamists to end the stand-off, Gen Musharraf said he would step down as military head of the country by January 2005 and give up some of the powers he assumed after the coup. But many now doubt that he will fulfil that pledge. Officials are arguing that the changed situation in the country requires him to retain both his posts. He has declared himself the implacable foe of Islamic extremism, but a Muslim alliance sympathetic to the Taleban was voted into power in one of Pakistan's four provinces, and leads the governing coalition in another. Gen Musharraf is wooed and feted by US President George W Bush, who needs him in the so-called war on terror. Yet Islamabad is worried that Mr Bush is now prepared to let Israel sell hi-tech defence equipment to Pakistan's nuclear rival, India, that could tilt the military balance between the two traditionally hostile neighbours. The pivotal moment in Gen Musharraf's presidency was 11 September, 2001. Washington suddenly realised it needed Pakistan on side if it was to defeat the Taleban in neighbouring Afghanistan. The man who was denounced as a tin pot dictator by many in the West when he ousted then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif became, almost overnight, a pivotal player on the world stage, a close ally welcomed in Washington and London alike as a statesman of international standing. On top of that, of course, he is also one of the few men in the world with his finger on a nuclear button. Rising through the ranks Pervez Musharraf was born in Delhi in August 1943. His family emigrated to Pakistan during the partition of the Indian sub-continent. His rise through the ranks came despite the fact that he does not belong to the predominantly Punjabi officer class of the Pakistani army - but to an Urdu-speaking family in Karachi. He began his military career in 1964. The president likes to convey a non-military image Gen Musharraf rose to the top job in 1998 when Pakistan's powerful army chief, Gen Jehangir Karamat, resigned two days after calling for the army to be given a key role in the country's decision-making process. It was the first time an army chief of staff had ever stepped down and many observers took it as a sign that Prime Minister Sharif's political power had become strong enough to secure the long-term future of civilian administrations. When Pakistan came close to war with India over Kashmir in 1998, Gen Musharraf was regularly seen briefing the media and making appearances on state television. On the quiet, he and other senior generals were reportedly increasingly angry at the prime minister's attempts to find a diplomatic way out of the crisis. Mr Sharif's moves led to speculation that the military did not have the full political backing of the government and he eventually ordered a full withdrawal of troops from Indian-held territory at Kargil. When, in October 1999, Mr Sharif tried to fire him, Musharraf seized power promising to bring "true" democracy to Pakistan. Any hopes that his takeover might herald a stabilisation in ties with India - or even a new start - appeared misplaced in the first 20 months of his rule. Tension on the sub-continent initially increased markedly - with both sides adopting hostile positions. The hijack of an Indian Airlines plane to Afghanistan in 1999 - which India blamed on Pakistani-backed groups - and a rising tide of violence in Kashmir plunged relations to a new low. In July 2001, Gen Musharraf held his first summit meeting with then Indian prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee at Agra - but failed to make much headway in the Kashmir dispute, the cause of most differences between the two countries. Before going to India, he had named himself president in a bid to consolidate his grip on power. And then came 11 September. Reversal of fortune Washington quickly reversed its position on Gen Musharraf as soon as it became clear that his support was crucial. President Bush promised more than $1bn in aid as a reward for the support of Pakistan one of the only countries in the world formally to recognise the Taleban. President Musharraf's position was a difficult one, caught between the need to accommodate US interests and prevent a radicalisation of Muslim groups at home. But he headed off the threat of mass protests by ordering the arrest of several militant leaders. Once the Taleban had been ousted, the general offered all possible help to the new government. But relations have been difficult, with Afghans blaming Pakistan for doing little to stop Taleban forces from launching attacks in Afghanistan from across the border. For much of 2002 President Musharraf was engaged in brinkmanship with Mr Vajpayee, that had many people fearing a nuclear war. The trigger was an attack on the Indian parliament in Delhi in December, 2001. India blamed the attack on Kashmiri militants backed by Pakistani intelligence, which President Musharraf has categorically denied. Pakistan responded to India's gradual military build-up along the border until the two sides had amassed more than a million troops in the region. Musharraf: Feted by George Bush Tension have since lowered and the two sides began peace talks in early 2004. Critics argue that during President Musharraf's period in power there have been times when cross-border militancy from Pakistan has been reduced. But it is not clear if the general could eradicate it completely, given the nature of terrain in Kashmir and the support the militants have among many Pakistanis. Within Pakistan itself, sectarian violence is an increasingly serious problem for Gen Musharraf as extremists on both sides of the Sunni-Shia Muslim divide resurface. Forum for discontent In November 2003 Pakistan's National Assembly met for the first time since the coup three years earlier. It was a key moment in Gen Musharraf's promise to restore democracy. It followed a controversial referendum in April 2002 - where voters agreed to extend his rule for five years - and general elections that October. But parliament was for months little more than a forum for a coalition of secular and religious opposition parties who refuse to accept a raft of constitutional amendments President Musharraf pushed through without parliamentary approval. The amendments, known as the Legal Framework Order (LFO), gave the general the power to sack the prime minister, dissolve parliament and also recognise him as both head of the army and head of state. The opposition insist the provisions of the LFO are unconstitutional and that they are not legally binding as parliament did not approve them. As a result, the business of parliament was in deadlock until the deal in early 2004. President Musharraf has frequently set out his vision of a modern, tolerant, democratic, Islamic Pakistan. It remains to be seen how far he can take Pakistan down that route before his time in power ends.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/3560542.stm	Michael Owen was given the number 11 shirt by Real Madrid legend Alfredo di Stefano at his unveiling by the Spanish club after his move from Liverpool. Owen's switch is expected to net Liverpool £8m plus Antonio Nunez. "I am so proud to be wearing the number 11 shirt and I'd like to thank everyone for making me so welcome here," said the 24-year-old England striker. "I would like to say a special thank you for being given the opportunity to play for the best team in the world." Owen will return to England over the weekend and is expected to join up with the national team squad as they congregate to prepare for the friendly against Ukraine on Wednesday. He made the move to the Bernabeu outfit as talks over a new contract stalled. Owen was left on the bench for Liverpool's Champions League game against Graz AK on Tuesday so as not to be cup-tied and decrease his value. OWEN'S LIVERPOOL CAREER Born: 14 December, 1979 1996: Signs professional terms with Liverpool on 17th birthday 1997: Scores on his first-team debut against Wimbledon 1998: Scores his first Premiership hat-trick against Sheffield Wednesday 2001: Scores twice as Liverpool beat Arsenal 2-1 in the FA Cup Final September: Signs a new four-year deal with the Anfield club December: European Footballer of the Year and eighth in the World Player of the Year poll 2003:Scores his 20th goal in European competition, equalling Ian Rush's club record 2004: Leaves Liverpool for Real Madrid With just one year left on his Liverpool contract, Owen would have been able to leave the club he has been at since he was 11-years-old for free at the end of the season. Owen insisted he would not allow that to happen, but the Anfield bosses have decided to ensure they cash in. "I was very happy with Michael and I wanted him to stay. The problem was he only had a year left on his contract," said Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez. Benitez, who took over at Anfield during the summer, says he will use the money generated from the Owen transfer to continue his rebuilding at the club. He added: "Real Madrid started talking with his agent and in the end it was an impossible situation to control." Nunez, 25, came through the ranks at the Bernabeu but made just 11 appearances for Real last season as he found it hard to secure a regular first-team berth. He is expected to sign a two-year contract with the option to extend the deal to a third season. "The deal is almost done. It is only a question of tying up a few details which should be no problem although Real will retain an option to buy me back in the future," Nunez told a Spanish website. Real Madrid president Florentino Perez said: "Signing Michael Owen is following our tradition. We are signing an excellent player with talent who is able to give us something special." Perez added: "He fits perfectly into the Real Madrid culture. Not just because of the way he plays but because of his behaviour off the pitch."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10908026	Barnardo's says court delays damage children Vulnerable children are being "damaged" by delays in care proceedings in England and Wales, a charity has said. Barnardo's wants to see a 30-week limit after figures showed children waited an average of 57 weeks - sometimes in abusive homes - for county courts to make care or supervision orders. In family courts, proceedings took an average of 45 weeks, it said. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said the government was "committed to reducing unnecessary delays". Figures obtained by Barnardo's show that at the end of 2008 there were a total of 8,677 care cases in court, some of which may involve more than one sibling. By the end of 2009, that number had risen by 50% to 12,994. According to the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) in England, new applications accounted for less than half of this increase - suggesting the courts were taking longer to close a significant number of cases, it argued. Barnardo's chief executive Martin Narey said uncertainty had spread through family courts, with "additional, sequential expert assessments being routinely ordered". "This, paired with the evident lack of credence given to social workers, is causing unnecessary delay," he said. "The courts need urgently to reflect on the damage these delays are having on extremely vulnerable children." He said a year of a child's life was "an inordinate amount of time for them to be trapped in desperate limbo, unclear of their future and very possibly at risk". Boy's two-year wait for care order In one case highlighted by Barnardo's, two-year-old Michael was removed from home on an emergency protection order (Epo). He had waited more than two years for his full care order, by which time he was four years and four months old. It was another year and a half before he was placed with an adoptive family. Michael went through 11 placement changes between the first Epo and adoption. He was involved in parenting skills assessments at two different family centres and was also seen by a psychiatrist. A social worker from an adoption team saw him six times, and he had three different allocated social workers. The boy was placed in the care of his father and his father's partner on a trial basis but the arrangement broke down. The same thing happened 10 months later. Barnardo's said the figures - which were revealed in written answers to Parliamentary questions from Liberal Democrat MP Annette Brooke - also revealed a "postcode lottery" for children awaiting care. In London, county court proceedings in 2008-09 took an average of 65 weeks, while similar proceedings in Humber and South Yorkshire took 46 weeks. The figures covered only cases where a care or supervision order was made, not cases where orders were refused, where emergency protection was given, or where children were put in secure accommodation.'Urgent' action There are no comparable figures in Scotland, where care decisions are handled by the welfare-based Children's Hearing system rather than the courts. Family lawyer Christina Blacklaws said social workers dealing with public law cases were often inexperienced, lacking in confidence and simply "overwhelmed" by their workload. She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "In London, we're running at 33% vacancy rate for social workers... so even if they have the ability to undertake these complex and difficult assessments, they just don't have the time." A lack of court judges and the number of days they sat further delayed proceedings by months, she added. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said a family justice review was under way and 4,000 extra sitting days were added to family courts this year to deal with cases. "We are also exploring proposals to make better use of local performance groups to give local decision makers more ownership of the system, empowering them to tackle the local causes of delay," he said.Baby P influence Cafcass said care applications were up by more than a third last year compared to the year before, in part due to the effect of the Baby Peter case. In total, figures from the body show there were 8,694 applications between April 2009 and April 2010. In 2008/09, the figure was 6,488. Baby Peter was 17 months old when he died after months of abuse at the hands of his mother and her boyfriend, in Haringey, north London, in August 2007. Cafcass found that in almost all care application cases, parents had multiple difficulties, such as domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and mental health problems, which lead to chronic instability and inadequate care for the children.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/moneybox/6726883.stm	BBC Radio 4's Money Box Live was broadcast on Monday, 11 June 2007, at 1502 BST. The panel: Beccy Boden-Wilks and Martin Lewis On Monday's programme, presenter Paul Lewis took your calls and e-mails on credit and debt and put your questions to a panel of expert guests. If you are looking to borrow some money, what is the best way to go about it? What are the best deals if you want to pay by credit card? Or if you are struggling to repay your debts, would you like some advice on what you can do? To answer your questions, Paul Lewis was joined by Martin Lewis of MoneySavingExpert.com and Beccy Boden-Wilks, a debt counsellor with National Debtline. Producer: Lesley McAlpine Presenter: Paul Lewis
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7037154.stm	By Sanjoy Majumder BBC News, Delhi A UN initiative to fight human trafficking has been launched in the Indian capital, Delhi. Many South Asian children end up in indentured labour The global campaign is aimed at achieving a turning point in the fight against trafficking. Millions of people around the world are victims of sexual exploitation and forced labour, many of them children. The UN estimates the annual trade is worth $32bn. South Asia is second only to South East Asia as the region with the highest prevalence of trafficking. Every day in South Asia children and young women are lured or taken from their homes with promises of a job, marriage or a place in the entertainment industry. Instead, they end up in the sex trade or as forced labour. India is the hub of this trade, with organised crime syndicates trafficking women and children both within the country and from across the border in Nepal or Bangladesh. These are the findings of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime which is at the centre of the new global initiative to combat trafficking. It brings together government officials, law enforcement agencies, business leaders and representatives from the media and entertainment industry. The idea is both to share best practices and raise funds in the hope that it can help turn a corner in the fight against trafficking. The two-day conference is expected to draw up a timeframe and also set goals to be achieved over the next few years.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/sport/newsid_1664000/1664820.stm	And it's been lit in Athens, Greece - thousands of miles from where the games will be held in America! It even uses the traditional method of lighting the flame, which is to use mirrors to aim the sun's rays and light the flame. Carried through America The flame now stays in Greece until December. It then is taken to America and carried from Atlanta to Salt Lake City by a relay of people that will take 65 days to complete.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/northern_ireland/gaelic_games/7425702.stm	Cavan's Jason O'Reilly demonstrates the solo run The solo is the skill used when making a run while in possession of the ball. The rules state that while running with the ball it must either be bounced or dropped onto the foot and kicked back into the hands. This is soloing. If the player does not do this then they will be penalised for over carrying the ball. The best players can solo while running at speed and while dodging challenges from opponents. When soloing the natural running rhythm need not be broken. The ball should be carried in both hands to ensure a good grip with eyes focused on the space you are running towards. During the stride as the ball is released from the hands in front of the kicking foot the kicking leg should come forward in the normal way but extended to make contact with the ball. The toes should be curled upwards at the time of contact with the ball so it is flicked back up towards the body. As the stride is completed and the ball returns to the hands the player should continue running as normal. While the ball is in flight it should be watched but while in the hands the player should look around to see what passing options they have. The ball can also be bounced while running, the same technique should be used without the kicking action coming into play.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18902878	Assisted suicide: Germany loses Strasbourg court case European Court judges in Strasbourg have ruled against Germany in an assisted suicide case, saying a widower's rights were infringed. Ulrich Koch challenged the German ban on actively helping someone commit suicide. His paralysed wife died after taking poison in Switzerland in 2005. The judges did not rule on the ban, but said the German courts should have examined Mr Koch's complaint. On assisted suicide, the judges said it was up to individual nations to decide. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ordered Germany to pay Mr Koch 2,500 euros (£1,600; $2,460) in damages and 26,736 euros for legal costs. There was a violation of Article Eight of the European Convention on Human Rights (right to respect for private and family life) because of the German courts' refusal to examine the merits of Mr Koch's complaint, the ruling said. After suffering a bad fall in 2002 Mr Koch's wife needed artificial ventilation and constant nursing care. She wanted to end her life, but Germany's Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices refused to let her do so with sodium pentobarbital. Mr Koch's challenges on her behalf got nowhere in Germany as the courts cited the existing ban on active assisted suicide. The Dignitas facility in Switzerland later enabled Mrs Koch to die. The Strasbourg ruling on Thursday was only procedural, as the judges noted that there is no consensus in Europe on the ethics of assisted suicide. The court's research found that only four of 42 states in the Council of Europe allow medical practitioners to prescribe a lethal drug in order to enable a patient to end his or her life.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6168800.stm	By Julian Knight Personal finance reporter, BBC News Emma Dellaway, 25, from south London, likes to know that the money sitting in her current account is not doing harm. Emma is interested in the middle east and all things ethical "I don't have much money, as I am just starting out on my career, but what I do have should not be used unethically," she says. "I hate to think of arms going to some African country funded, however indirectly, from my account." Ms Dellaway took an unusual step to follow through her ethical beliefs. She opened an Islamic current account. Ms Dellaway is not alone in equating Islamic finance with ethical living. "Branches are reporting interest from all communities," says Paul Sherrin, head of Islamic Finance at Lloyds TSB, which allong with HSBC and Islamic Bank of Britain offers Sharia compliant accounts. "There is an international precedent for this. In Malaysia up to 25% of Islamic accounts are opened by non-Muslims. "This is happening on a smaller scale over here, a number of non-Muslims are keen that the account doesn't get involved in interest or anything they perceive as unethical." Islamic accounts comply with Sharia law. Under Sharia Islamic law, making money from money, such as charging interest, is usury and therefore not permitted. PRINCIPLES OF ISLAMIC BANKING All money must be invested in industries Muslims consider ethical The giving or receiving of interest is forbidden Money cannot be simply traded for money Money can be used to buy goods or services, which can then be sold for a profit Wealth should be generated only through legitimate trade and investment in assets. But what really appeals to Ms Dellaway are the other aspects of Islamic banking. "I have a guarantee that my money will not be used to invest in arms or tobacco," she says. Sharia law also forbids investment in alcohol, gambling and pornography. Ms Dellaway has always been interested in the Middle East. She has spent time in Libya, studied politics at university and has friends from all faiths. The reaction amongst Ms Dellaway's friends and family to her decision seems to bear this out. "They have been really interested in what I have done. They ask lots of questions and can see how closely ethical finance and the Islamic financial models fit together," Ms Dellaway says. "When I went into my branch and told them I was keen on opening an Islamic current account, the staff member was unsurprised. "I thought that perhaps I would be looked at as a bit of a lunatic but not a bit of it." The fact that Islamic bank accounts do not pay interest is not a problem to Ms Dellaway. "I see giving up interest the same as recycling, visiting a farmers market or using the Red American Express card. "Perhaps, though, if I had lots of money I would look at it differently and want interest."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2929063.stm	For Nicholas Soames - the grandson of wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill - the timing could not have been more appropriate. As the UK wages a sophisticated, high tech battle to liberate Iraq, back home the British people are being given an insight into the contrasting, humble living quarters from where Sir Winston directed politicians during the Second World War over 60 years ago. Churchill's famous victory salute The Cabinet War Rooms (CWR), an underground complex below the Treasury near Downing Street - the nerve centre of Winston Churchill's war administration - opened to visitors in 1984. Until now, only a third of the 3,000 square metre site used between 1940 and 1945 was on display. But from Tuesday, visitors will for the first time see several new rooms as part of a £7.5m project undertaken by the Imperial War Museum. They include Mrs Churchill's bedroom, Churchill's kitchen and dining room and the bedroom used by Brendan Bracken, his close friend and War Cabinet Minister. The links between our country and America are as Churchill himself would have wanted them to be - stronger than ever To coincide with the 40th anniversary of Churchill's death, a new museum costing £6m and funded entirely from donations, will open in January 2005, to commemorate his life. Mr Soames, who was one of the first to visit his grandmother's bedroom, described the work as "remarkable and romantic". He told BBC News Online: "I think it is a sort of inspirational project. "I think the development of my grandparents' bedrooms and the living area of the Cabinet war rooms is a piece of living history. "It is appropriate, as it so happens, that we are at war again." More than 200 donors, dignitaries and Churchill fans attended the launch, including Alan Titchmarsh, Sarah Kennedy, Lady Boothroyd and actor Timothy West, who played Churchill. Mrs Churchill's bedroom is by far the most feminine Chancellor Gordon Brown took time off on the eve of the Budget to unveil a plaque officially marking the opening of the new rooms. He joked: "Churchill said that politicians usually get things right after trying everything else and that is something that gives me hope as I prepare for my seventh budget tomorrow." Mr Brown said he was particularly pleased that "the links between our country and America are as Churchill himself would have wanted them to be - stronger than ever in the year 2003". Referring to his oft mentioned "prudence", Mr Brown stressed that fittings used in the displays had not been in storage for 50 years. "Such is the prudence of the Treasury, until a year ago, many of those old fittings were being put to good use in the normal workings of the Treasury," he quipped. As for Mr Churchill, we were very in awe of him Mr Brown reminded the audience that Churchill had been named "the greatest Briton in the past 1,000 years. "I think it is true to say that history has not dimmed his achievement and never will." Among those listening to the chancellor's speech was Wendy Maxwell, 83, who worked in the Cabinet War Rooms throughout the Second World War as a personal assistant to Sir Ian Jacob, who later became a general. Mrs Maxwell said while she had felt safe in Churchill's bunker, where she worked all night on defence committee meetings, it was now a very different place to the one she remembered. "I have been coming back here for years," she told BBC News Online. "It has changed and it doesn't look like it was. It has been opened up - it was much smaller. Churchill's kitchen can be seen for the first time "First of all I didn't approve of it, but now I think it is a good idea." Mrs Maxwell said she and the other workers did not know what was happening outside the war rooms because "it was all very quiet and we just worked here and slept here". "It was very dark and the marines who guarded us used to wake us in the morning because we had no idea what time it was," she said. "We had no loos. If you wanted to get up in the night, you had to find a marine who had a key and go upstairs. "As for Mr Churchill, we were very in awe of him. In the bunker the table is set for two "All the work came from him through my general so we looked after him. Any information he wanted came from us." Churchill generally disliked the Cabinet War Rooms, preferring to be above the ground and to maintain a high profile as leader. However, in October 1940, Number 10 was severely damaged during an air raid and he subsequently began using the CWR more regularly. Wandering around the complex, it is hard to believe that it was big enough to accommodate 200 people. Churchill's detectives slept in a simply decorated room in bunks with grey blankets, a desk, black phone, chest of drawers and wooden filing cabinet. Along a further corridor is the room used by Commander "Tommy" Thompson, one of Churchill's trusted aides, with single bed, desk and bedside table. Grandmother's bedroom is 'remarkable and romantic' Nearby is the prime minister's dining room, complete with table set for two, paintings of country scenes, a fan and sideboard. Clementine Churchill's bedroom is by far the most feminine, with pink patterned bedcover, flowery armchair, beside a table with stationary, ink blotter and a phone, and a chest of drawers with a mirror, candle and lipstick. Phil Reed, director of the CWR, said opening the rooms had been "very exciting". "They were left to rot for many years until we took them over and they have been restored to how they would have looked. "We have used photographs taken at the end of the war which show us the contents of the rooms and their style. "The rooms show a different side to Churchill - a more personal, homely side."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9726000/9726252.stm	New research suggests that coffee may help to stave off the onset of Alzheimer's Disease. Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, believes it is a "positive piece of research" but he warns not to go "rushing out and assuming that a couple of cups of coffee a day will prevent us getting Alzheimer's". "The key issue is to have more big studies like this to check out the findings", he told the Today programme. Simon Ridley, of Alzheimer's Research, said "we've got a lot of the pieces of the puzzle but we haven't put them all together yet". He told James Naughtie that research has increased but what is needed is a "sustained and significant investment in research over a long period of time". Get in touch with Today via or text us on 84844.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20604123	US drone captured by Iran: Obama rejects claims The White House has rejected a claim by Iran that it has captured an unmanned aircraft belonging to the United States. Iranian state media reported the drone was caught by the country's military forces after it violated its airspace. A spokesman for President Barack Obama said there was "no evidence" the claim was true. James Kelly reports.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15516678	Gaddafi: 'He died an angry and disappointed man' Bombed-out devastation is pretty much all you see when you drive in to Misrata. A few men sit on shabby orange sofas in front of the rubble that lines the main road. The only real sign of life here is the newly-dubbed Misrata Museum where weapons seized from Gaddafi loyalists and other spoils of war are displayed and gloated over. But one of Misrata's prized trophies is very much hidden from public view. Mansour Dhao Ibrahim is one of Libya's most wanted - a man believed to have ordered the killing, rape and torture of the opponents of Col Muammar Gaddafi. It is thought he knows the whereabouts of several mass graves of anti-Gaddafi fighters. Mansour Dhao's interrogation was briefly stopped to allow us to talk to him. He was sitting crossed-legged and bare-foot on the floor when we met him, a Koran in front of him and a slightly blood-smeared mattress beside him. A trusted member of Col Gaddafi's inner circle, Mansour Dhao was captured with him in Sirte. He provides a rare insight into the former dictator's state of mind in his last hours and days. "Gaddafi was nervous. He couldn't make any calls or communicate with the outside world. We had little food or water. Sanitation was bad," he told me. "He paced up and down in a small room, writing in a notebook. We knew it was over. Gaddafi said, 'I am wanted by the International Criminal Court. No country will accept me. I prefer to die by Libyan hands'." Mansour Dhao said Col Gaddafi then made the decision to go to his birthplace, the nearby valley of Jarref. I asked if it was a suicide mission. "It was a suicide mission," Mansour Dhao said. "We felt he wanted to die in the place he was born. He didn't say it explicitly, but he was going with the purpose to die." But Col Gaddafi's plan was thwarted - his convoy was bombed by Nato. The once-feared dictator scrambled into a water pipe for cover. That is where he was found and captured. With him inside the water pipe was Huneish Nasr, Col Gaddafi's personal driver. When we spoke to him at the detention centre, he was wearing the same bloody shirt he was wounded in that day. End Quote Mansour Dhao Aide to Col Gaddafi He thought his people should love him until the end. He felt he had done so many good things for them and for Libya” He said: "Gaddafi got out of the pipe. I stayed inside. I couldn't get out. There was such a crowd of fighters. "Gaddafi had nowhere to go. He was one man amongst many and the fighters were shouting, 'Gaddafi, Gaddafi, Gaddafi'." Huneish Nasr was nervous and clearly mindful of his captors, two of whom stood with us in the room, their arms folded. His black eyes darted around the room. He insisted over and over that the fighters who captured Col Gaddafi did not shoot when they came towards him. 'Angry and disappointed' He said Col Gaddafi did not seem surprised to see them approach. He said he seemed resigned. But Mansour Dhao believes Col Gaddafi died an angry and disappointed man. "He thought his people should love him until the end. He felt he had done so many good things for them and for Libya. He also felt betrayed by men who had seemed to be his friends, like Tony Blair and Silvio Berlusconi," he said. When I asked about terror and torture, the men were less forthcoming. They fear for their lives. If found guilty in Libya, Mansour Dhao could be hanged. Still, while waiving any personal responsibility, Mansour Dhao spoke about crimes of the Gaddafi regime that are well-known but rarely confirmed by a Gaddafi loyalist. He said opponents of Col Gaddafi were tortured, that he openly sponsored international terrorism and that the Lockerbie bombing was planned by Gaddafi's external security. He said one of Gaddafi's most terrible moments was when he ordered the mass murder of around 1,200 essentially political prisoners in Abu Salim jail in Tripoli back in 1996. The fate of Mansour Dhao and Huneish Nasr is uncertain. Will the fighters of Misrata hand over their prisoners, along with their weapons and their newly-found power, to the new transitional authorities in Libya? Or will regional rivalries blight Libya's future before the problems of the past are solved?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7726951.stm	The satellite has developed power trouble A multi-million dollar Nigerian satellite launched in May 2007 has been shut down to prevent it spinning out of control and damaging others in orbit. Chinese-built NigComSat-1 cost the African oil producer $340m (£228m). The Nigerian government said insurance would pay for a replacement and Nigerians should still be proud of the country's satellite programme. But telecoms experts told the BBC it was a "white elephant in space" and the whole operation was a "debacle". NigComSat-1 was launched 18 months ago to much fanfare from the government, but it has been mired in controversy ever since. On Tuesday, controllers shut the satellite down because it was having problems with its power supply, the government announced. The satellite was meant to provide communications for government agencies and broadband internet. "This has been a real debacle from day one," a telecoms engineer told the BBC. The engineer, who works as a consultant for a multinational communications company, did not want to be named. The satellite was limited because the type of frequency it used was disturbed by clouds in the atmosphere, and did not work properly in Nigeria's rainy season or during the Harmattan, when clouds of dust blow down from the Sahara, he said. The satellite also operated on frequencies already allocated to other companies and interfered with other providers' equipment. But Information Minister John Odey denied the satellite was not worth investing in. "No technology can be a waste of money," he said. "It is a worthy investment, and Nigerians should see it as desirable. It has served a purpose and will continue to do so." Local media initially reported that the satellite had "gone missing". But on Wednesday Minister of State for Science and Technology Alhassan Zaku told journalists it had lost power and had to be "parked, like you would park a car". "If it wasn't parked and it lost all its power there would be no energy to even move it and it would be like a loose cannon and would keep rolling about and hit other satellites in the orbit," he told reporters. According to analysts, Nigeria has made nearly $2 trillion in oil revenues over the last 30 years, but its population are mostly poor. Africa's most populous nation lacks basic infrastructure like power and water, and many Nigerians thought the satellite showed the government did not have its priorities right. The news that the satellite could not get enough power to run has led to jokes that, as one e-mail doing the rounds put it: Nigeria has "exported its electricity generation problems to space".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-14437285	New command team at Cleveland Police A new command structure has been put in place at Cleveland Police following the arrest and suspension of the force's chief and deputy chief constable. Chief Constable Sean Price and his deputy Derek Bonnard were arrested and bailed last week on suspicion of corruption and fraud. Three senior officers have now been put in charge of day-to-day operations. Cleveland Police Authority said it hoped the investigation would be completed "as quickly as possible." Former force solicitor Caroline Llewellyn was also bailed after she was arrested as part of the same investigation. Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Dave Pickard, Assistant Chief Constable Sean White and Assistant Chief Officer Ann Hall are now overseeing force operations. In addition, Ch Supt Adrian Roberts has been temporarily promoted to Assistant Chief Constable.'Business as usual' Mr Pickard said: "This is a difficult period for everyone involved with the force, but I know there is total commitment at every level to continuing with our day-to-day duties of serving and protecting our communities. "I want everyone to be absolutely clear about the interim leadership structure for the force that is in place, as well as recognise the support from the police authority during this time. "Our focus has to be on business as usual and we will not let matters which in reality are largely outside the control of the force and the authority divert us from that task." Police authority chairman Peter Race added: "I and my colleagues have been enormously impressed that, in the midst of the very difficult developments, the leadership team have never wavered in keeping their eyes on our top priority of protecting the people of Cleveland. "Quite rightly there is a concern that the investigations taking place should be concluded as quickly as possible in the interests of everyone concerned and that is what we are determined to press for."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/leicestershire/4603477.stm	A partnership between police and local safety groups is to tackle anti-social behaviour in part of Leicestershire. The force and the four Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) have pooled their financial resources to fund an East Area Anti-Social Behaviour Team. The CSPs in Melton Mowbray, Harborough district, Oadby & Wigston and Rutland have put £50,000 each into the scheme. The cash has gone on a team of nine part-time and two full-time community support officers and a co-ordinator. Leicestershire Constabulary has also contributed £90,000 to the scheme. Research shows that incidents of anti-social behaviour are highest in the evening, so the teams will work mainly after 4pm. They will deal with problems of minor disorder and anti-social behaviour. Leicestershire constabulary's partnership manager Frances Burgess said: "The ASB co-ordinator monitors the complaints of anti-social behaviour and keeps the teams updated with the latest information. "The teams then patrol the areas where the problems are being reported and talk to and engage the young people concerned."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19652560	US home sales rise to two-year high in August Sales of previously owned US homes reached their highest level for more than two years in August, figures show. Prices for such homes also rose, according to figures from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The figures added to the picture of an improving US housing market, although the number of first-time buyers fell back from 34% to 31%. Earlier, figures from the US Commerce Department showed new house building had also risen between July and August. Seasonally adjusted home sales were running at an annual rate of 4.82 million last month, according to the NAR. That is the biggest number since May 2010, when sales were boosted by a federal home-buying tax credit. However, the figure is still below the 5.5 million units a year level seen as consistent with a healthy housing market.Steady recovery The average price of a resold home rose by 9.5% from August 2011 to $187,400, with fewer people forced to sell, the biggest increase since January in the boom year of 2006. The percentage of home sales by distressed sellers was 22%, down from 31% a year ago. The number of homes on the market rose by 2.9% from July to 2.47 million. NAR's chief economist, Lawrence Yun, said conditions in the market were good. "The housing market is steadily recovering with consistent increases in both home sales and median prices," he said. "Inventories in many parts of the country are broadly balanced, favouring neither sellers nor buyers." He added that in the west of the United States and in the state of Florida there were shortages of houses for sale and prices there were rising faster than elsewhere
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12299533	Many cancer patients 'missing out on radiotherapy' Tens of thousands of cancer patients are not being given the most successful treatments, according to a panel of radiotherapists. They claim too few people are getting radiotherapy because GPs and the public see drugs and surgery as better options. They warn this could explain why the UK has lower cancer survival rates. The government's national clinical director for cancer said more money was being invested in radiotherapy. It is estimated that 52% of all cancer patients in the UK should receive radiotherapy, but the actual figures fall short. In England and Wales 38% of patients get radiotherapy, 35% in Northern Ireland and 43% in Scotland. But the experts say that suggests approximately 30,000 cancer patients are not getting what they would consider the best treatment.Fall from grace A YouGov poll of 2,000 members of the public showed fewer than one in 10 consider radiotherapy to be a modern form of cancer treatment with 40% describing the procedure as frightening. What is radiotherapy? It is a treatment for cancer using radiation, usually X-rays, to damage the DNA in cells. Healthy cells can repair the damage. Rapidly dividing cancerous cells cannot, so they they die. Dr Jane Barrett, president of the Royal College of Radiologists, said: "Twenty years ago the public was told that radiotherapy was a treatment of the past and would be superseded by a magic bullet, but radiotherapy is still a magic bullet." "Even people in the profession didn't realise it could become a modern medicine with the use of computer imagery. The perception fell behind the reality." Charlotte Beardmore, from the Society and College of Radiographers, said patients often had misconceptions about the therapy such as becoming radioactive during the treatment. Professionals also admitted anti-cancer drugs, backed by the pharmaceutical industry, were better promoted than radiotherapy. Dr Barrett said GPs were also poorly informed about the subject: "Radiotherapy plays a very small part in a doctor's training, unless you're going to be a clinical oncologist, compared with drugs and surgery which play a part in many fields." The National Radiotherapy Awareness Initiative is trying to improve radiotherapy's reputation. It says radiotherapy cures more people than chemotherapy, is 13 times more cost effective and is targeted to within millimetres. Professor Tim Maughan, oncologist at the Velindre Hospital in Cardiff, criticised the government's decision to set up a cancer drugs fund worth £200m a year. He said: "It's the wrong decision. I don't understand how we can chose to spend money on drugs which have not been deemed cost effect by NICE (the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence). Professor Mike Richards, national clinical director for cancer, said: "Radiotherapy is one of the key treatments for cancer, improving access to and uptake of radiotherapy will undoubtedly contribute to saving lives. "The recently published national cancer strategy clearly recognises the role of radiotherapy and commits additional funding."The future New technologies, such as Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT), are more effective at targeting the radiation at the tumour, minimising damage to nearby tissues and reducing side effects. But here the UK lags behind. In Europe around 20% of patients have access to IMRT, in the UK it is only 7%. One of the newest forms of treatment, proton beam therapy, fires particles at a tumour rather than using radiation waves. Patients in the UK are already being sent to Europe for this treatment, which is even much more focused. A decision on setting up a proton radiotherapy centre in the UK will be made in April.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11521789	How leaders fared at first Prime Minister's questions As Ed Miliband faces his first Prime Minister's questions, here's a look at his predecessors' debuts. GORDON BROWN - 4 JULY 2007 Gordon Brown had waited many years to take his bow at prime minister's questions. Tony Blair had remarked on his successor's "clunking fist" and pundits wondered whether he would be able to land a knockout blow on David Cameron, who had impressed in his two years as opposition leader. But some were already worried whether Mr Brown was quick enough on his feet to glide through the weekly Commons clash. The encounter, taking place days after attempted suicide bombings in London and Glasgow, was dominated by security issues. Mr Brown sought to strike a consensual note by saying all parties should "show unity in the face of terror" but the two leaders clashed over the need for identity cards and the banning of extremist groups. The prime minister announced a number of security-related initiatives but was jeered by the opposition when, in response to one question, he said he had "only been in the job for five days". Verdict: Tory MPs were jubilant after the session while Labour MPs, although less upbeat, said the match was a draw. Gordon Brown never did land that clunking blow during their three years of clashes before he resigned after losing the 2010 General Election. DAVID CAMERON - 7 DECEMBER 2005 David Cameron became the fifth Tory leader to take on Tony Blair at PMQs. He began the exchanges with a question on schools, offering to support the "best bits" of Tony Blair's academies legislation, which he knew many Labour MPs were opposed to. As Labour MPs tried to shout him down, he chided the party's chief whip Hilary Armstrong for "shouting like a child". But what the session was really remembered for was his taunting of Mr Blair. To huge cheers from the Conservative benches, he gestured towards the prime minister and said: "He was the future once." Verdict: Conservative-supporting papers loved his performance, saying he had wrong-footed Mr Blair but other papers were less sure, saying it was knockabout stuff and his inexperience might catch him out. Mr Cameron, who became PM after 2010 election, was said by commentators to have generally held his own against Blair and to have regularly outperformed Gordon Brown. MICHAEL HOWARD - 13 DECEMBER 2003 The new Tory leader was always regarded as a tough debater but how would he fare in the bearpit of PMQs? Taking on Tony Blair, he accused the prime minister of running an incompetent and wasteful government and derided the PM's answers, saying at one point: "Two questions asked, neither answered: not a very good start I'm afraid." Although the atmosphere was electric, the clash was largely nostalgic in flavour. Mr Blair attacked Mr Howard's own record in government and his support for the poll tax but Mr Howard responded by saying he had a dossier on Mr Blair's policy inconsistencies which he did not need to "sex up" - a reference to the continuing row over the UK government's case for war in Iraq. Verdict: This first performance was well received by Tory MPs, and by commentators, long frustrated over Iain Duncan Smith's efforts. Although Mr Howard continued to land some blows on Mr Blair - famously telling him "this grammar school boy will not take any lessons from that public school boy" - it did not help him get into power and he quit after the 2005 election. IAIN DUNCAN SMITH - 17 OCTOBER 2001 After his surprise victory in the Tory leadership contest, Iain Duncan Smith's debut outing was eagerly awaited, although it took place in a sombre atmosphere, just weeks after the 9/11 attacks. He opted to spread his six questions into two segments. The first three concerned the situation in Afghanistan, where he backed the UK-supported military action against the Taliban and urged Tony Blair to "see it through". The second exchange, in which he attacked Labour's proposed NHS reforms, was far more heated. Raising the case of a constituent who had died after spending nine hours on a hospital trolley, the Tory leader said all Labour's "promises of a better tomorrow" would sound "hollow" to their family and many others. Mr Blair said such failings were "unacceptable" but hit out at the Tories for not supporting their investment in the NHS. Verdict: This was seen as a low-key debut and things did not get much better for the Tory leader with commentators calling his performances wooden, and focusing on his tendency to develop a frog in his throat at key moments. He sought to flip the criticism, warning people not to underestimate the determination "of the quiet man" but he was toppled two years later, with his PM's questions performances said to be partly to blame. WILLIAM HAGUE - 25 JUNE 1997 A youthful William Hague faced an exceedingly tough task, taking on the leadership of a party which had just been battered at the polls and lost many of its big names. At his first PMQs - now being held once a week - he seized on reports that a Labour MP had been threatened with expulsion from the party for campaigning against proposals for a Welsh Assembly. He said this showed the "arrogant behaviour" of a government which could not tolerate "honest and open" debate. New prime minister Tony Blair said the claims had been proved to be untrue and urged Mr Hague to withdraw them. Verdict: Mr Hague's confident performance set the tone for his period as leader in which he regularly shone in Parliament. His humour and ability to think on his feet regularly boosted the morale of Conservative MPs. However, it was ultimately to no avail as the Conservatives were trounced at the 2001 election and he stepped down. TONY BLAIR - 18 OCTOBER 1994 Tony Blair has spoken of the excruciating nerves he felt as prime minister ahead of the weekly session but when he was leader of the opposition, he often made it look like plain sailing. Facing John Major for the first time, he attacked what he said were serious divisions at the top of the government over Europe, particularly over the single currency and whether a referendum would be needed before joining the euro. A "divided government was a weak government", he told MPs. Mr Major responded by saying that Labour would "slavishly follow" everything coming out of Brussels if it came to power. Verdict: This set the tone for Tony Blair's confrontations with John Major in the final years of the Tory government. He regularly emerged on top, memorably accusing the prime minister on one occasion of being "weak, weak, weak". When he became PM in 1997 he changed the twice weekly 15 minute sessions into the single half hour clash it currently is. Mr Blair got a standing ovation from MPs when he finished his last PMQs in 2007. JOHN SMITH - 20 OCTOBER 1992 John Smith faced his first PMQs soon after becoming opposition leader and in the wake of Labour's demoralising election defeat. He called on the government to have an independent review before any further pit closures, suggesting Prime Minister John Major and Deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine were at odds over the issue. Ministers had nothing to "be afraid of" in doing so and if they declined to act, he called for the future of pits to be referred to a cross-party select committee. In response, Mr Major said there would be a consultation on the future of "uneconomic" mines which had been earmarked for closure and said Labour's outrage was "bogus" as many mines had closed while it was in office. Verdict: John Smith was well respected on all sides of the House of Commons for his intelligence and skills as an orator. His death in 1994 robbed Parliament of one of its best performers. His successor Tony Blair went on to win a landslide victory at the 1997 election. JOHN MAJOR - 29 NOVEMBER 1990 John Major faced PM's questions on his second day as prime minister, having never done it before. The session began in humorous fashion when, as Mr Major rose to answer his first question, Labour MP Dennis Skinner shouted "resign". Mr Kinnock then offered the new prime minister his "personal congratulations" on his election as leader. The future of the poll tax dominated exchanges. Mr Kinnock said it would save a lot of "time and money" to just abolish it. Mr Major steered a middle course, saying a thorough review of the controversial tax was the right action to take. But he also claimed that Labour's support for local rates would be more regressive. Verdict: John Major's understated style was a striking contrast to both his predecessor and his opponent Neil Kinnock. Many Conservative MPs appreciated the more measured approach and this certainly helped him at the 1992 election. But it failed to halt the slide in his fortunes as he headed to defeat and resignation in 1997.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15832451	South Korea ratifies long-delayed US trade deal South Korea's parliament has ratified a free-trade deal with the US, after years of wrangling over the issue. Members of the ruling Grand National Party, which has a majority, convened to force the bill through in a 151-7 vote. Most of the opposition abstained. One politician set off a tear-gas canister before the vote and others jeered as the bill passed. The US Congress ratified the deal last month and it has now been made law. It is America's largest free-trade deal since the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico in 1994. The bill - first agreed in 2007 - was ratified in a snap parliamentary session. "We have decided to push the free trade deal through parliament by voting, as it is almost impossible to reach a compromise with the opposition," GNP politician Park Jun-sun told local media. It is expected to increase US exports to the Asian economy by as much as $10bn (£6.5bn). There was almost $90bn in trade between the US and South Korea last year. But South Korean farmers and some workers oppose the deal, saying it threatens their livelihoods and favours US workers. Protests took place outside parliament as the deal was passed. The presidential office welcomed the deal and promised to address workers' grievances. "The government will actively pursue measures for farmers and smaller business owners... in policies and continue to put together measures to strengthen their competitiveness," said presidential press secretary Choe Guem-nak. The BBC's Lucy Williamson in Seoul says passing it was seen as a risky move because with elections due next year, many voters already say they feel alienated by the big parties' bullish tactics.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-17421561	India Maoists kidnap Italian tourists in Orissa Maoist rebels have kidnapped two Italians in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, the first time Westerners have been abducted there. Paulo Bosusco, 54, and Claudio Colangelo, 61, were abducted while trekking in the resort of Daringibadi in Kandhamal, officials said. A Maoist spokesman accused the pair of photographing bathing women. The rebels issued a list of demands for the men's release, including freeing top Maoist leaders. The Maoists have a strong presence in many eastern states, and have been described by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the country's biggest security threat. The rebels say they are fighting for the introduction of a communist state and for what they say is a more egalitarian society.'Heinous crime' The abduction of the tourists was confirmed by Sabyasachi Panda, the organising secretary of the state committee of the Communist Party of India-Maoist. The demands for the men's release include ending counter-insurgency operations against the rebels and disbanding paramilitary camps. Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik called the abduction a "heinous crime". "The government is ready for any kind of negotiations under the law, but they should first release the two men," Mr Patnaik said. Mr Bosusco is said to have lived in the Indian coastal town of Puri for 12 years and runs an adventure tourism agency. The BBC's Sandeep Sahu in Bhubaneswar says police have told him that the men ignored warnings not to travel to the heavily forested area, a Maoist stronghold. Kandhamal police superintendent Jaynarayan Pankaj told him that an Indian tourist guide and driver travelling with the men were both freed and were being questioned to learn more of the abduction. The Orissa government has recently imposed severe restrictions on the movement of tourists, especially foreign tourists, inside areas inhabited by tribespeople. Mr Panda's message contained a demand for an end to the "repression" of tribespeople, who he said were being "exhibited like monkeys and chimpanzees". India and Italy have been involved in a diplomatic dispute since Indian police arrested two Italian marines a month ago in the southern port of Kochi. The pair are accused of killing two Indian fishermen.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/kent/8189400.stm	Two attempts to blow up a World War II parachute mine off the Margate coast have failed. Dover Coastguard said another attempt to detonate the device would be carried out on Saturday. In the meantime, the bomb has been marked in the water and ships have been warned to stay clear, a spokesman said. The unexploded device was brought up by a fishing boat in the Thames Estuary, which caught it in one of its nets and raised the alert. Earlier, coastguard spokesman Phil Binks said the parachute mine was believed to be a 1,000lb bomb. The Margate lifeboat and Royal Navy bomb disposal experts were moving it to waters off the east Kent resort where it would be detonated, he added. Mr Binks said the fishing vessel had found a similar device in the past. The Germans used parachute mines against British targets in 1940 and 1941.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8015623.stm	Microsoft said it expected another tricky quarter. Microsoft has said sales in the first three months of 2009 fell 6% from the previous year - its first quarterly drop in 23 years as a public company. The world's largest software maker said profit dropped by 32% to $2.98bn (£2bn). Sales slipped to $13.65bn. Microsoft makes most of its profit selling the Windows operating system and business software such as Office. However demand has been hit by falling sales of personal computers as consumers and businesses trim spending. Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer told the BBC World Service that its results had been "impacted" by the downturn in the world economy. He also admitted the company would have had less total sales "than we would have had before the downturn". "We expect the weakness to continue through at least the next quarter," said the firm's chief financial officer, Chris Liddell. Microsoft - which became a public company in 1986 - has been looking at ways of cutting costs. In January, it said it would cut up to 5,000 jobs over the next 18 months, including 1,400 immediately. Microsoft's fall in profit was more severe than analysts had been expecting. "There's stuff to be happy with - they're controlling costs and getting that under control," said Kim Caughey, a senior analyst with Fort Pitt Capital. The bad thing is demand and consumer preference seems to have affected their top line Kim Caughey, Fort Pitt Capital "The bad thing is demand and consumer preference seems to have affected their top line." Shares in Microsoft rose by 4% in after-hours trading - possibly reassured by comments from the firm that it was on track to release the next version of its operating system, Windows 7, during its 2010 financial year. 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/2/hi/europe/jersey/7033959.stm	Bosses at Jersey Airport say they are disappointed at a decision by a major airline to cut services between the island and the UK. Bosses hope other airlines will adopt the abandoned routes Thomsonfly will withdraw its flights to Luton and Cardiff from 28 October and to Doncaster from March, 2008. Coventry flights continue through next summer. The company said its new aircraft were not commercially viable, due to the "operational limitations" at Jersey. Its new Boeing 737-800s would require longer runways. Deputy Alan Maclean, Assistant Minister for Economic Development with responsibility for Jersey Airport, saids he was disappointed with the decision but optimistic that other airlines would be keen to take over the routes. He said: "Following a recent routes conference attended by members of the airport management team, a number of existing and potential airlines have expressed a keen interest in expanding or setting up new routes into Jersey. "We will now work closely with those interested parties to investigate the opportunities available to us. "Jersey is not the only airport to be affected by this decision as other regional airports, such as those served direct from Jersey - which derive material income from the airline's services - will also suffer a reduction or suspension in the number of flights." Thomsonfly's commercial director, Guy Stephenson, said: "Following the merger of Thomson and First Choice to create Tui Travel, there has been a need to review the deployment of aircraft and the utilisation of those aircraft for the benefit of both businesses. "In the process of this review, and particularly because 737-800 aircraft are not commercially viable due to the operational limitations of the airport, we have therefore had to reduce operations into Jersey airport. "Thomsonfly has had tremendous growth in its operations to Jersey over the last four years and has built up a strong following of customers because of its reputation for low fares and good service. "We recognise that these service reductions will have an impact on the Jersey travelling public. "We are continuing to operate services to Coventry and Doncaster this winter from Jersey and to Coventry next summer."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/panorama/4884198.stm	Panorama: Must Have Own Teeth spoke to many people who had found that their age had impacted on their chances of finding work. Here are some of their stories. Dia Scott-Emuakpor, 69, returned to Britain in 2003 after spending around ten years teaching at the College of Health Sciences in Saudi Arabia. Despite being trained as a biomedical scientist and having a degree in analytical chemistry, Dr Scott-Emuakpor has struggled to find work. He says: "Since coming here I have been experiencing quite some problem getting a job." Dr Scott-Emuakpor is hoping to teach scientific subjects like biology, chemistry biochemistry and physiology. He says that employers are being "short-sighted" if they only look for people who are younger. He is refusing to get downhearted about his job search, even though, on some occasions, he gets no reply at all to his letters. He says: "I just feel that one day I should be able to succeed." Dr Scott-Emuakpor says that the possibility of ageism being a factor in his difficulties finding work, leaves him feeling disappointed and "a bit sad". Physicist Shirley Bateman, 71, ended up selling double glazing in a call centre to make ends meet. Having been away from physics for a long time when she retired at 60, Ms Bateman tried writing and chiropody before eventually finding work for an accountant. Ms Bateman recalls meeting others at a similar age who were also finding it tough to get work. She says: "They'd been in their jobs for a long time and they were eased out - I think is the way you could put it - for the younger generation." She admits the struggle to find employment left her "disillusioned". In addition to working in a call centre, Ms Bateman also delivered brochures in the period after her retirement. She says: "Really, the call centre for double glazing...these were jobs that really didn't appeal to me whatsoever, but if I could bring an income then that was...that was what I was aiming for." Miss Bateman adds that, in certain areas, she believes Britain is an ageist society. Mick Caswell, 57, who works in shipping, experienced ageism when he was told by a Job Centre worker that people of his age would find it difficult to get work. Ten years later, he again suffered discrimination when told, at an interview, that candidates straight out of university would be preferred instead of him. Mr Caswell says: "When I've been to interviews, I am aware of the people interviewing me being younger or not older than me, of maybe the feeling that they don't want to employ somebody of my age." He feels that when employers talk about "years of experience", they really mean, "have you got any more years to go?" However, Mr Caswell's story does offer hope to older people searching for work. He currently works for a firm in which he is part of a team of different ages. But he says everyone "fits together" and says that he is used as a "sounding block" by younger colleagues. He says: "I don't think age has hindered my work prospects, my employment prospects. I've been very fortunate because I'm a fighter." Monica Hamilton, 72, worked as a social worker for many years but encountered ageism when she applied to become a part-time lay member of a Mental Health Tribunal. She believed her professional background would suit the role but her application failed. In a letter from the Lord Chancellor's department, she was told that, due to the amount of training required, she would not be able to offer much service before having to retire. She says: "I really could not have been better qualified." She adds that this was because she had given evidence to tribunals and knew how they worked. Ms Hamilton admits that she found the rejection "particularly horrifying". However, Ms Hamilton then fired off a variety of letters to politicians, complaining about ageism. She says: "It was not something I took laying down. That's not really my style." She adds that people should be able to choose when to retire and insists that everyone should be judged on their merits. When he turned 65, David Drummond says he was "politely" told by his employer they could no longer employ him and that he was expected to retire. Until then, Mr Drummond, who lives in west Reading, between Tilehurst and Calcott, says he was reasonably successful at finding employment up to the age of 60. After a career in the Merchant Navy, he gave up life at sea to return home to care for his mother. He registered with recruitment agencies, telling them he was prepared to take anything they had to offer. Even a hand-delivered CV for a shelf-stacking job failed to get a reply from a local supermarket. He decided to go for a job which would entail factors that would put off most people, such as weekend work, night shifts and having to work public holidays. Mr Drummond finally found work as a security guard. He says: "I'm in very good health for my age, I'm physically fit and I can, I believe, work responsibly, I don't take sickies and I haven't had a day off work for the last five years." Mr Drummond adds that he regards himself to be "very fortunate" to be back in work. John Messingham, a qualified accountant, decided to leave his last regular job because the company was being taken over. Sensing that his chances of securing another permanent job were failing, he went into interim management, where his accountancy and IT skills paid dividends. He worked for about nine years continuously on systems implementations and as head of finance for some big companies. But he says the job market is all about speed. "And I'm not speed," he says. "I'm skilled, very highly, but I will look at it and I take a strategic view and take it step by step, and in the end, I will overtake someone who's faster." He says that the experience which he could pass on to the younger generation seems to be dismissed. "Experience doesn't count, and that is soul destroying." He says work has started to dry up. He put his CV on the internet and that it got 700 hits. "How many people rang me? One," he says. "We have people that were thrown on the scrap heap and we're now being told that we've got to work longer. How the hell can we work longer when we can't get jobs?" David Wilkes was made redundant from his job as head of human resources of an international bank in London where he worked for five years. Since leaving his post, he says he has had "extreme difficulty" in finding another position of a similar nature, despite contacting recruitment agencies and consultants throughout the UK. He focused his search on areas such as the charity sector and the NHS, which he was told had opportunities for "older people". He says he searched far and wide for a job, including Ireland and Scotland. He was also prepared to accept a lower salary than he'd been used to. But he says he still encountered the same problem. "It seemed, in every instance, that my age was the fundamental barrier to me obtaining a position." He can think of about several instances where he has applied for positions within the same company, which have subsequently been offered to much younger candidates. "All the skills and experience that I built up over many, many years just seem to be going straight out of the window," he says, "And that is an extremely frustrating and depressing situation to find yourself in." Margaret Brisley currently teaches English to foreign students in Brighton. In 2004, she applied to her local further education college for a job as a learning facilitator. The job would have been for just 18-and-a-half hours a week plus school holidays - an ideal job, Margaret thought. She says the advertisement for the post and the application form assured her there would be no age discrimination, nor any discrimination on any grounds for that matter. After sending off the application, however, she got a reply saying: "I'm sorry, we can't consider your application because you're over our retirement age" - which was 65. Margaret says she faces discrimination on the grounds of both gender and age. If she has learnt anything about getting a job in later life, she says, it is never to reveal her age.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7044063.stm	The new laws leave kerb-crawlers facing fines of up to £1,000 Legislation which makes kerb-crawling a criminal offence has come into force across Scotland. Anyone looking to pick up a prostitute will face a fine of up to £1,000. Until now, the law in Scotland has criminalised those selling sex on the streets and largely ignored those who demand their services. Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said it corrects an unfair legal position, although it has led to the scrapping of a tolerance zone in Aberdeen. The Prostitution (Public Places) (Scotland) Act 2007, passed by parliament in February, criminalises soliciting a prostitute for sex and loitering for the same purpose. The Scottish Government is also working with Westminster to ensure that in future the courts will have the power to disqualify offenders from driving. Mr MacAskill said the law showed that the SNP administration would not turn a blind eye to the people who sustain and fuel an "exploitative trade". "It corrects an unfair legal position where only those engaged in prostitution could be targeted, while the kerb-crawlers demanding their services - often harassing the wider community in the process - get off scot free," he said. He added: "Those who leave their comfortable homes to exploit the vulnerable women on our streets, without a thought for the damage they do, will rightly face the full force of the law." In Aberdeen, police announced that the legislation meant the end of the street prostitute management zone which has operated in the city's harbour area since 2001. It follows discussions with the local procurator fiscal and other agencies. "In light of the new legislation, it was decided the tolerance zone was not legally sustainable and had run its course," a Grampian Police spokesman said. "Officers will patrol the area and stop any vehicle or individuals they consider to be there for the purposes of obtaining the services of a prostitute." Personal details of those stopped could be noted and they would be "educated" about the new laws, the spokesman added. Individuals may also be reported to the procurator fiscal. Assistant Chief Constable John Neilson, of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos), welcomed the new laws. "I think the many communities and businesses that have been blighted by the anti-social behaviour that kerb-crawlers create will also be relieved that we have the power to arrest persons who loiter in their areas, often accosting ordinary members of the public as they go about their daily lives," he said. Jan Macleod, of the Women's Support Project, said it was the first Scottish legislation to challenge directly the demand from men to buy sex. "It sends out the important message that it is this demand to buy sex which is the root cause of prostitution," she said. Yvonne, a prostitute in Glasgow, told the BBC Scotland news website the law was already having an impact. She said: "People have started changing how they work already because a lot of guys aren't sure when the legislation came in. "They are going out of areas that they usually work in because clients don't want to risk coming into what we call the drag area [Glasgow's red light district] where the cameras are."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/leeds_united/4749547.stm	Watford have beaten off competition from Stoke to sign central defender Clarke Carlisle from Leeds. Carlisle spent only one season with Leeds Leeds accepted £100,000 from both clubs, but the Hornets clinched a three-year deal for the 25-year-old. Watford manager Adrian Boothroyd told the club website: "He is exactly the type of defender I wanted." Carlisle joined Leeds on a free transfer from QPR last season and made 38 appearances before returning south after one season.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10273433	Jay-Z and Tinchy Stryder team up on Takeover Roc Nation Tinchy Stryder (left) and Jay-Z have gone into business together US rap giant Jay-Z has joined forces with British hip-hop star Tinchy Stryder to launch a music company to break new talent. Takeover Roc Nation is a joint venture between Jay-Z's firm Roc Nation and Stryder's management company Takeover. It will handle the stars' merchandise and tours as well as signing new acts. Stryder said: "Jay-Z is my music and business inspiration and to go into business with him is a dream come true." Writing on his blog, he said: "It's taken nearly a year to get the deal right so I'm excited to start signing artists to the label side of the joint venture deal." Stryder also asked for demos from budding stars. The MC has two UK number one singles to his name and also runs his own clothing label, Star in the Hood. He will continue to release his own music through Island Records in the UK, while Jay-Z currently has a UK record deal with Atlantic.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20887074	Markets rally on US fiscal cliff dealContinue reading the main story Last Updated at 09:42 ET \|Market index\|\|Current value\|\|Trend\|\|Variation\|\|% variation\| \|BBC Global 30\|\|7214.72\|\|Up\|\|78.10\|\|1.09%\| Global stock markets have rallied after a short-term deal to stave off the US "fiscal cliff" was reached. In New York, the Dow Jones closed up 2.4%, while European shares were up about 2% for the day. Failure to agree a deal would have triggered spending cuts and tax rises worth $600bn (£370bn), expected to throw the US back into recession. However, the deal has only postponed by two months negotiations over spending cuts and the government debt ceiling. Just before the New Year, the US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner indicated that the federal government would run up against the debt ceiling - a legal cap on its total borrowing set by Congress - by the end of February. The fiscal cliff deal does not include an increase in the debt ceiling. It also postpones by two months steep automatic spending cuts to federal government spending on things like defence and education. International Monetary Fund spokesman Gerry Rice said in a statement that "more remains to be done", although he expressed relief that at least the tax hikes, which had threatened to send the US economy into recession, had been averted.Tax rises The fiscal cliff measures - $536bn of tax rises and $109bn of spending cuts - had been due to come into effect at midnight on Monday. The deal has averted most of these, including: This week's deal lifts the risk of an accidental recession - at least for a while” - making tax cuts that date back to George W Bush's presidency permanent for individuals earning less than $400,000 - postponing $65bn of automatic spending cuts for two months - keeping benefits for the long-term unemployed, worth $26bn, available for another year - postponing for a year an $11bn cut in Medicare payments However, the deal also allowed some tax rises to go ahead: - the expiry of a payroll tax holiday, expected to raise $95bn in additional annual revenue - allowing the Bush-era income tax cuts for individuals earning over $400,000 to come to an end, with the top rate increasing from 35% to 40% - higher taxes on dividend income, capital gains and inheritance for these same top earners - phasing out certain income tax deductions for individuals earning more than $200,000 "The majority of the tax increases are for the wealthy and shouldn't impact consumption within the economy," said Cromac Weldon, a fund manager at Threadneedle. "The last dollar someone on $450,000 earns is generally saved and not spent. "However the 2% increase in payroll taxes will impact everyone, therefore we expect to see slightly less spending, or at least a constraint in spending growth, this year." The battle [over spending cuts] has just been shoved two months down the road” Payroll tax is paid by all employees. The tax cut, which has now expired, was originally introduced by President Barack Obama three years ago to help stimulate the lethargic economy by putting more money in the pockets of ordinary American workers. The US recovery has been gaining momentum since the summer, with jobs growth accelerating and the housing market turning the corner. Economists had feared that it would be knocked off course if the fiscal cliff went ahead in full. The latest economic data released on Wednesday showed that activity in the US manufacturing sector began expanding again in December, according the latest monthly survey by the Institute for Supply Management. However, the rate of expansion was weak, with many businesses postponing investment decisions due to uncertainty over the fiscal cliff.'Disappointment' The fiscal cliff deal has postponed the hardest decisions that Republican and Democratic politicians must still reach agreement on - over spending cuts and the debt ceiling. Fiscal cliff explained - On 1 January 2013, tax increases and huge spending cuts were due to come into force - the so-called fiscal cliff - The deadline was put in place in 2011 to force the president and Congress to agree ways to save money over the next 10 years - The fear was that raising taxes while massively cutting spending would have huge impact on households and businesses - Experts believed it could have pushed the US into recession, and had a global impact on growth - A deal has been reached delaying some of the tax rises and all of the spending cuts by at least two months Both issues will need to be addressed at the end of February, with Republicans likely to demand deep cuts, particularly to entitlement programmes such as social security, in return for an increase in the legal cap on government borrowing. Entitlement payments are expected to rise sharply in the coming decades as the post-World War II baby-boom generation retires and enters old age, entailing more government-funded medical care. President Obama's Democrats would prefer to reduce the government's deficit via further tax rises. "Out of the frying pan, into the fire," said Paul Ashworth, US economist at Capital Economics. "Given the cantankerous nature of the negotiations over the past ten days it is now very possible that we will see another stand-off over those spending cuts and the debt ceiling that leads to a shutdown of the federal government by late February or early March." When President Obama last faced off against the largely Republican-controlled Congress over the debt ceiling in 2011, negotiations went to the wire, unnerving financial markets and prompting ratings agency Standard and Poor's to deprive the US of its top AAA credit rating. Despite the deal's shortcomings, markets took cheer from the fact that agreement had been reached on how to postpone and moderate the process of bringing the government's overspending back under control. The FTSE 100 index ended Wednesday up 130 points at 6,027 points, the first time it has been above the 6,000 level in 17 months, with mining shares leading the way. The UK market was also boosted by a survey of production and new orders in the manufacturing sector, which showed activity at a 15-month high in December. Shares worldwide had been hurt in November and December by fears that the US would not be able to reach any kind of agreement and would go off the cliff. Analysts said the relief would not last. Mike McCudden, head of derivatives at stockbroker Interactive Investor said: "There will no doubt be a few more twists and turns in the days ahead... but for now, investors have the concrete news they were hoping for."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19841482	Abba's Agnetha Faltskog returns to studio Abba's Agnetha Faltskog is preparing for a comeback, after a break of more than eight years. The 62-year-old is working alongside Swedish songwriter Jorgen Elofsson, who has produced songs for Britney Spears and Irish boy band Westlife. Faltskog pursued a solo career for a few years after Abba split in the early 1980s, but disappeared from the music scene for most of the 1990s. Her last album, My Colouring Book, was released in 2004. Abba gained international recognition after winning the Eurovision song contest with Waterloo, in 1974. The Swedish stars went on to become a pop phenomenon spawning numerous hits, including Dancing Queen and Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight), until their split in 1982. In total, the group sold around 370 million records worldwide. Earlier this week, it was announced that a museum devoted to Abba will open next year in Stockholm. Backed by former band member Bjorn Ulvaeus, the museum will feature some of the band's glitzy stage costumes, instruments and other mementos. Visitors will also be able to sing along to Abba songs alongside lifesize holograms of the group.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15132989	Climate fix technical test put on hold A pioneering test of a climate "tech fix" planned for October faces a six-month delay as scientists discuss the issues it raises with their critics. The test is part of the UK-based Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering (Spice) project. It would use a balloon and a kilometre-long hose to spray water into the upper atmosphere - a prelude to spraying climate-cooling sulphate particles. But the funders believe that more talks about the social aspects are needed. The project is supported to the tune of £1.6m by UK research councils, including the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), whose independent advisory panel recommended the delay last week. The test would have put the UK at the forefront of practical climate engineering research. Dr Matt Watson of the UK's Bristol University, who leads the overall project, said he endorsed the decision, although his team had been "taken aback" when they first heard the news. "We're talking about a pressure washer you could buy in a hardware shop, a long hose, and two bathloads of water, so you couldn't have a more benign experiment," he told BBC News. End Quote Matt Watson Bristol University There is a very big difference between being keen to research geoengineering and being an advocate for deployment” "But in the end it's the social context that's important - and we realise there's no point in having the (ESPRC independent panel) process unless we're going to work with it." The initial deployment, due to take place from an abandoned airfield in Sculthorpe, Norfolk, will almost certainly not take place before April. If and when it does happen, the balloon will be allowed to rise to an altitude of 1km, tethered to the ground with reinforced hosepipe. The pressure washer will pump water from the ground and spray it from the end of the hosepipe. Researchers will use the set-up to investigate practicalities such as how the balloon and the pipe react to high winds. A planned series of further trials is envisaged, eventually answering the question of whether it would ever be practical to put large quantities of sulphate aerosols into the stratosphere this way. The principle behind the idea is that high-altitude aerosols would cool the planet's surface by reflecting solar energy back into space, mimicking the effect of huge volcanic eruptions. The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, for example, ejected at least five cubic kilometres of ash and gas which rapidly spread around the globe, decreasing the average global temperature by 0.5C. Climate engineering - or geoengineering, as it is often known - is a highly controversial subject. As well as aerosol injection, ideas include devices to absorb carbon dioxide from the air, giant sunshields in space, and changing the reflectivity of land through planting different crop strains. Proponents say research is needed into these technologies because humanity will probably need them one day, as society is unlikely to keep greenhouse gas emissions low enough to avoid dangerous impacts of climate change. The Spice team - drawn from a number of universities as well as Marshall Aerospace - calculates that 10 or 20 giant balloons at a 20km altitude could release enough particles into the atmosphere to reduce the global temperature by around 2C. But opponents argue that even testing could have harmful impacts, that there are questions of ethics and international law that remain unanswered, and that even raising the prospect of geoengineering distracts from initiatives to curb emissions. Helena Paul, co-director of environment group EcoNexus, said she was "really pleased" at the latest news. "We are certainly not ready to carry out experiments, and this project should not just be delayed, but should be cancelled immediately," she told BBC News. "This is particularly important because while the scientists involved keep saying that reducing emissions is the primary necessity, they risk distracting attention from that necessity at a crucial moment." At last year's UN Convention on Biological Diversity meeting, governments agreed that geoengineering projects should not have an adverse impact on biodiversity. But that was one of very few attempts to regulate the issue internationally, which opponents argue is a big missing ingredient given that large-scale deployment of technologies in one country could have significant impacts in others. Research shows that the UK public share some of these concerns; in surveys, very few people were unconditionally positive about the concept of geoengineering. Over the next six months, the Spice team will engage with stakeholder groups, discussing the ethical, social and legal issues surrounding their project. The details have yet to be worked out, but discussions are sure to involve opponents such as EcoNexus. However, Dr Watson said there was a need to divorce the concept of researching these technologies from their actual deployment as a climate "fix". "My personal framing of this is that there is a very big difference between being keen to research geoengineering and being an advocate for deployment," he said. "I am not in any way an advocate for deployment." Follow Richard on Twitter
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-15598079	Ex-teacher Bernard Haunch admits sexual offences A former teacher who admitted to two sex offences against a schoolboy is to face trial over further charges. Bernard Haunch, of Sutton, London, pleaded guilty to indecent assault and gross indecency between 1981 and 1983, but denied a further 16 offences. The 77-year-old was given conditional bail and will go on trial at Brighton Crown Court on 20 February. He taught at the now-defunct Fonthill Preparatory School in Combe Hill Road, East Grinstead, West Sussex. The two offences Haunch admitted to were against a nine-year-old boy. He denied two other charges of indecent assault against the boy, alleged to have been carried out between September 1980 and July 1983. He also pleaded not guilty to 14 charges relating to a young girl, some of which are alleged to have been carried out when she was as young as seven. He denied four counts of rape, two of a serious sexual assault, and eight of indecent assault between June 1975 and September 1979. The trial is expected to last five days.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-19416775	Further E. coli case confirmed in Orkney A new case of the E.coli O157 infection has been identified in Orkney, bringing the number of confirmed cases to six. NHS Orkney said there were seven cases under investigation. The latest confirmed case is a "contact" of a patient who has already been identified with the infection. One of the original two confirmed cases of E. coli O157 is still receiving treatment in hospital. The other cases in the cluster have either recovered, or are recovering, at home. Dr Louise Wilson, director of public health at NHS Orkney, said: "We remain vigilant and are continuing to investigate to find links between the cases." She added: "Hygiene plays a vital role in avoiding a wide range of infections. "E. coli infections can be food or environment related, but the symptoms are the same. "People infected with E. coli O157 can have one, some, or all of the following symptoms: diarrhoea - about 50% of people also have blood in their stools − stomach cramps and fever. Some infected people may have mild diarrhoea, or no symptoms at all."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-17767303	Wrexham butcher discovers Bronze Age axe in Flintshire Bronze Age treasure, including a 3,000-year-old axe, has been discovered by a metal-detecting butcher in Flintshire. The hoard, found in the Treuddyn area, includes a socketed "Type Gillespie" axe and a hook-shaped tin object. The items, thought to have been buried between 1050 BC and 800 BC, were declared treasure by the North East Wales Coroner at Wrexham on Thursday. The items, found in a boggy field by Colin Lewis from Wrexham, will be analysed by experts before valuation. The National Museum Wales wants to acquire the hoard following its independent valuation. The items were found less than 20cm (eight inches) apart while Mr Lewis was metal-detecting in a boggy field under pasture.Radiocarbon dating It is believed they could have been buried together in a pit. Part of the wooden shaft of the bronze axe survived inside its socket. The tree species has not yet been identified, and it is thought a wood sample could be used for radiocarbon-dating. The faceted axe is of a recognised style known as Type Gillespie. The National Museum believes the tin hook-shaped artefact is possibly an attachment or a handle to a larger object. It may have been deliberately selected for burial because of the importance of tin as a metal at the time. Tin was alloyed with copper, and sometimes lead, to make bronze. The hoard will now be sent to the British Museum for temporary safe keeping until a valuation committee decide on the value, with views from an independent expert, the finder and landowner.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/entertainment/newsid_7841000/7841714.stm	by Sinead Garvan Newsbeat entertainment reporter Cheryl Cole and Kimberley Walsh turned up to accept Girls Aloud's nominations We'll have to wait until February for the actual awards, but Tuesday night saw a touch of the Brits glamour come to London's Roundhouse, as the 2009 shortlist was announced. Coldplay and Duffy lead the pack with four nominations each, followed by Adele and Scouting For Girls who have both got three. Newsbeat grabbed Scouting For Girls' frontman Roy Stride moments after he performed. "Sorry, we only just got off stage," he says, apologising for his breathlessness. "We only did one song - you should see us after a show." "It's kind of nuts," Stride says about the band's three nominations. "I've watched the Brit Awards since I was a kid. "I remember on a school trip listening to Radio 1 to hear who'd won what. It's just weirdly surreal to be involved with it on whatever level." Radio 1 to vote The band are up for Best British Single for Heartbeat, Best British Live Act and Best British Breakthrough Act, which is voted for by Radio 1 listeners. Also up for the Breakthrough prize are Adele, Duffy, The Last Shadow Puppets and The Ting Tings. Scouting For Girls were quick to thank one DJ in particular. Gabriella Cilmi performed at the event, hosted by Fearne Cotton "Huw Stephens was playing our demos before any of these people [pointing to the masses of management and PR teams behind him] knew us," explains Stride. "Radio 1 have supported us from the beginning." Glamorous Girls Aloud Seeing as everyone loves Cheryl Cole these days, it's no wonder Girls Aloud get a couple of nods. They're up for Best British Group and Best Single for The Promise. Only Cheryl and Kimberly Walsh turned up, but they weren't doing any interviews. However, we bumped into the girls in the corridor, both looking very glamorous. Cheryl had her small Paris Hilton-type dog with her, but cleverly got someone else to hold it. The Geordie lass proved she's a lovely lady, though, as she quite literally saved our lives. As we were about to get in a lift, she shouted: "No, don't do it, someone just got stuck in there!" Thanks Cheryl. Florence Welch from Florence And The Machine will be picking up the Critics' Choice Award at the Brits, beating BBC Sound Of 2009 award winner Little Boots to the title. Florence And The Machine will pick up the Critics' Choice Award "I fell on the floor actually when I found out and screamed," Welch says. "Hopefully, there'll be less falling on the floor. I'm really excited and it's a real honour, it's still something I have to prove." Obviously, the nominations don't draw in as many of the big artists as the awards - there was Liz McClarnon, formerly of Atomic Kitten, and the new cast of Skins - but we did stumble on a few interesting stories. Friends of Leon Who would have thought Newton Faulkner and Kings Of Leon were friends? According to Faulkner, they are. We were asking him who he wanted to pick up an award this year and he said the Nashville four-piece would be high on his list. "I slightly poke fun at the guy's [Caleb Followill] voice at gigs and I did it with him there," he says, "which is kind of the reason I think we know each other because I did it to his face. He came up and was like, 'That was brilliant, you nailed me'. "I've been out with them a few times, once in Nashville, that was really fun. I bump into them every now and again. "I did a whole tour with Jessie Baylin, who is about to marry Nathan [Followill] and she was supporting me for a while on tour. They're really fun guys." Radio 1's Fearne Cotton presented the show, but she'll be handing over the reigns to Kylie, Matt Horne and James Corden for the real thing on February 18th. The cast of the new series of Skins also turned up She reckons the hosts make an interesting mix. "I am in love emotionally and physically with James and Matt," she says. "I love Gavin And Stacey more than life and putting them with Kylie is such a great, bizarre idea. She has a bit of advice for Kylie, though, when it comes to keeping the two boys in check. "Don't bother trying, you can't control them, don't waste your energy trying, let them be just loose cannons and do what they do and it'll be a lovely night." Gabriella Cilmi sang her hit 'Sweet About Me' and covered 'Sex On Fire' by Kings Of Leon. The 17-year-old's up for Best International Female, but finds it hard to believe. "Really, really crazy," she says. "I can't even believe it that I'm nominated for any award here, it feels good to be in a new place that's kind of become my home. To be recognised is, like, real awesome." She's not preparing a speech after seeing the competition, though. "I know it's, like, people like Beyonce, so I don't know how much of a chance I have, but it feels really good to be nominated with those people, it's crazy." Newsbeat also found out that Take That and Coldplay have been added to the list of performers at the awards, which also includes Kings Of Leon, Duffy and Girls Aloud. Of course, the show will end with some kind of Pet Shop Boys medley, as the synth duo will be picking up the Outstanding Contribution To Music award. Roll on February 18th.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-16988341	Archbishop to debate with Richard Dawkins in Oxford The Archbishop of Canterbury is to debate with one of the country's leading atheists, Professor Richard Dawkins, in Oxford. The sold-out event will be chaired by the philosopher Sir Anthony Kenny and will take place at the Sheldonian Theatre on 23 February. It is being organised by Oxford University's Theology Department. The subject for discussion is the nature of human beings and the question of their ultimate origin. People without tickets will be able to watch it streamed live on the internet. Both men have strong connections to the city. Dr Rowan Williams studied theology, at Wadham College. Professor Dawkins is an emeritus fellow of New College and he studied zoology at Balliol College.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15235243	New Zealand: Crews race to pump oil from stricken ship Salvage teams are racing to extract oil from a leaking container ship stranded off New Zealand, ahead of forecast gale-force winds and swells. The MV Rena has already leaked 20-30 tonnes of oil since it struck a reef in the Bay of Plenty on Wednesday. Officials fear that if the ship breaks up in the bad weather, 1,700 tonnes of fuel could be released. Some of the oil has already reached the shore. The Bay of Plenty is one of the country's top tourist attractions. Oil leaking from the Liberian-flagged Rena, stranded 12 nautical miles off the coast, has created a 5km (three-mile) slick.'Something terrible' New Zealand's oil spill response agency, Maritime New Zealand (MNZ), said that a barge, the Awanuia, had pulled up alongside the ship and had begun pumping oil from the Rena. "The weather is expected to deteriorate in the coming days, so we are working around the clock to remove the oil," the agency said on Sunday. Experts say stormy weather could lead to the break-up of the Rena, as one end is stuck on the Astrolabe Reef while the other end floats free. "The top priority is to first remove the oil, then lighten the vessel by removing the containers, and finally, move the ship off the reef," the MNZ said. The operation is expected to last at least two days, but the bad weather could force it to delay. Two barges have been scooping up the oil that has spilled into the sea, but the MNZ said it expected to see more oil in the water in the coming days. Early on Monday, officials in Tauranga said oil had been been found on a beach in the city. Residents have been told to stay away from the water. The owners of the ship, Greece-based Costamare Inc, have not given an explanation for the grounding, but said they were "co-operating fully with local authorities" to minimise any damage. Prime Minister John Key, who flew over the scene in a helicopter on Sunday, said two inquiries to determine why the ship had collided with the Astrolabe Reef were already under way. "People know about the reef, and for it to plough into it for no particular reason - at night, in calm waters - tells you something terrible has gone wrong and we need to understand why," he told Radio New Zealand. The department of conservation has established two wildlife rescue centres and dispatched teams to search the beaches and islands in the area for affected animals and birds. The maritime authorities have said a total of eight oiled birds, including little blue penguins, had been recovered and taken to a wildlife facility in Te Maunga. "From tip to toe, they are covered in black sticky gunk, matting up all their feathers right down to the skin," said Brett Gartrell of New Zealand's Wildlife Health Centre. "They have ingested it and started to get anaemic, which is part of the toxic effect of the oil." MNZ has established a one-kilometre maritime exclusion zone around the ship and warns that the fuel oil is toxic. The animal welfare group Forest and Bird said the timing of the accident, in the middle of the breeding season for birds, was "disastrous". Greenpeace said it could also affect whales and dolphins calving in the area, as well as other species. 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/americas/8679981.stm	A gas platform has sunk in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela, but the energy minister says it poses no risk to the environment. President Hugo Chavez announced the incident via his account on the social networking site Twitter. He said all 95 workers were evacuated from the Aban Pearl platform before it sank in the early hours of Thursday. The rig was at the centre of Venezuela's efforts to develop its huge offshore gas deposits. Venezuela's energy and oil minister, Rafael Ramirez, said there had been a problem with the flotation system of the semi-submersible platform, causing it to keel over and sink. But he said a tube connecting the rig to the gas field had been disconnected and safety valves activated, so there no risk of any gas leak. The Aban Pearl platform was drilling in the Mariscal Sucre offshore natural gas project, off the coast of Venezuela's Sucre state. It belongs to an Indian company, Aban Offshore Ltd, but was being operated by Venezuela's state oil company, PDVSA, which is developing the field. Last week Mr Ramirez stood atop the rig on live television as its gas flare was lit to inaugurate the project. Venezuela has massive offshore gas reserves, but it has struggled to attract foreign investment, and industry experts say progress has been slow. President Chavez used Twitter to send out the news of the sinking at just after 0300 local time (0730 GMT). "I'm afraid to inform you that gas platform Aban Pearl sank a few moments ago. The good news is that 95 workers are safe," he tweeted. "They were evacuated and at the moment two Navy patrols are moving to the area." The captain and two other crew stayed on board until it was clear the rig was going down, officials said. The incident comes less than a month after an explosion that destroyed the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Work is still under way to stop a massive oil leak that is threatening the Gulf coast of the United States.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3399193.stm	The world's biggest HIV vaccine trial has been slammed by Aids experts. The Thai trial is due to run for five years Researchers from some of America's top universities have suggested the trial, involving 16,000 people in Thailand, is a waste of time. Writing in Science, they said there was no evidence the experimental vaccine will protect people against HIV. However, the drugs companies involved and the US government, which funds the trial, have rejected the claims saying they believe it is worthwhile. The $119m Thai study started last year and is expected to run for five years. The experimental vaccine is made up of a harmless bird virus which doesn't infect humans and a protein found on the surface of the Aids virus called gp120. The bird virus is used to carry Aids genes into the body. The idea is that their immune system will recognise and attack HIV should they be infected. However, the Aids experts - from Harvard, UCLA, Cornell University and 15 other respected institutions - say there is no "persuasive data" to suggest that it will work. They said other trials in Thailand and the US showed that the gp120 element of vaccine does not work. "The gp120 component has now been proven in phase III trials in the United States and Thailand to be completely incapable of preventing or ameliorating HIV-1 infection," they wrote. "We seriously question whether it is sensible now to conduct a third trial that, in our opinion, is no more likely to generate a meaningful level of protection against infection or disease." The experts said continuing with the trial risks damaging public confidence in efforts to find a vaccine for HIV. The US government agencies funding the trial said they "strongly disagree with the authors' opinions". They said the results from early trials "justified conducting an efficacy evaluation". Aventis Pasteur, one of the drug companies involved, said it still backed the trial. "If I wasn't confident, I wouldn't support it," Dr Jim Tartaglia, its HIV programme director, told BBC News Online. "We can't be afraid of failing. We have to learn the most from each trial. I know we are going to learn from this trial."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/9455815.stm	Mixed martial arts brings together taekwondo, wrestling and boxing Two Gloucester fighters aim to impress on Saturday's mixed martial arts bill at Wembley Arena. Matt Ewin will face Ivan Salaverry on the main bill at middleweight, while Che Mills is to fight in a preliminary bout at welterweight. "It's one of the fastest growing sports in the country," coach Paul Sutherland told BBC Gloucestershire. "It's like a human chess match and the guys make a lot of sacrifices to get into the best shape of their lives." The fighters wear lightweight 4oz gloves and take on their opponents in an octagonal ring. The rules and regulations combine all the Olympic combat sports. Sutherland added: "It's a chance to see who is the best fighter and the best athlete. It takes a lot of dedication. With the preparation we've given them they both have a good chance of winning their fights."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16790719	Police pay deal will save £150m, says Theresa May The home secretary has approved a pay deal for police in England and Wales that it is estimated will save about £150m a year. Theresa May said there would be no reduction in basic salaries but there would be cuts to overtime pay and some other allowances. In a speech she said some officers would be "disappointed", but added that policing remained a "well-paid job". But Labour accused the government of being "out of touch". The government is reducing police spending by a fifth as part of its effort to tackle the budget deficit. A review for ministers by the lawyer Tom Winsor recommended that £1bn could be cut from pay. His proposals would have left at least 40% of officers worse off, but the matter was sent to the Police Arbitration Tribunal after the two sides failed to agree a deal.'Fair to all' It accepted most of the Winsor proposals, but changed several. Among the alterations, it said a £50-a-night allowance for officers forced to stay away from home overnight while helping other forces should be brought in. End Quote Paul McKeever Police Federation This government is unduly targeting police officers” In a speech in central London, Mrs May accepted all the tribunal's recommendations, saying: "After a thorough and considered review, Winsor provided us with the outline of what a modern police pay structure could look like. "He produced a package that is fair to the police and that is fair to the taxpaying public - a package that can produce savings and improve incentives, that recognises and rewards specialist skills and front-line service, not just time served." She went on: "The Winsor report has been considered by the independent Police Arbitration Tribunal, and I can announce today that I am accepting all of the tribunal's recommendations in full. "I know that some police officers will be disappointed by this outcome. But I want to stress that there will be no reduction in basic pay. "Extra payments will be targeted at front-line staff and those doing the most demanding work. And the total savings will represent less than 2% of the total police pay bill."'All-time low' Mrs May added: "Policing will remain a well-paid job. And the fact remains that, if we hadn't taken this tough decision, we would have had to cut police budgets more deeply and there would have had to be more police job cuts. "That is something that neither the police nor the public wants." Mrs May said the tribunals recommendations would save "around £150m per year". For Labour, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: "The home secretary is still ducking the main issue, which is the 16,000 police officers being cut and the 20% budget cut as a result of her decisions. "At a time when personal crime has gone up by 11%, the home secretary is out of touch with the problems communities face." She admitted that Labour had said the home secretary should accept the deal, but accused Mrs May of leaving police morale "at an all-time low".'Pressures' But the Police Federation, which represents officers in England and Wales, said the deal will mean "serious financial hardship". Chairman Paul McKeever said: "Let's not forget, this government is unduly targeting police officers. "In addition to what amounts to a four-year public sector pay freeze and increased pension contributions, police officers are having to contend with a range of changes to terms and conditions; the result of which is effectively a pay cut." Chief Constable Peter Fahy, the lead on workforce development for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said the decisions "strike a balance between the need to achieve savings given the national economic situation and the financial pressures facing individual police officers". Derek Barnett, president of the Police Superintendents' Association of England and Wales, added that the deal "will draw a line under what has been a protracted and difficult period for police officers".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-15891432	Dr Who Christmas special features East Kirkby's Just Jane Scenes from the Dr Who Christmas special have been filmed inside a Lancaster bomber based in Lincolnshire. Filming took place on board Just Jane, which is based at East Kirkby Aviation Heritage Centre near Horncastle. The episode, The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe, features actor Alexander Armstrong flying the wartime plane. The programme tells the story of a family evacuated to Devon, where they enter a magical wintry world after receiving a mysterious present. The trailer, which features the Avro Lancaster Bomber NX611, can be seen on the BBC Dr Who website.Secret filming Louise Bush, from the heritage centre, said: "It was all kept very hush hush and we were not allowed to tell anybody what was happening. "We didn't have the Dr himself but there is the back of him seen in one shot, so they had somebody who looked like him from behind." she said. She added that it had been a tight squeeze getting the crew inside the Lancaster to film the scene with Alexander Armstrong. The East Kirkby Aviation Heritage Centre is a family run museum set up as a living memorial to the 55,500 men of Bomber Command who lost their lives during World War II. Other film projects at the museum have included the BBC series Land Girls and Antiques Roadshow.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14101950	Sudan's Omar Bashir warns about disputed Abyei region Sudan President Omar al-Bashir has said the disputed border region of Abyei is a source of potential conflict with newly independent South Sudan. Abyei remains part of Sudan and the protocols governing it must be respected, Mr Bashir told the BBC a day after South Sudan's independence. He spoke of his sadness over the division of his country, but said it was a price worth paying for peace. The south struggled to break away for decades at a cost of 1.5 million lives. In the latest event to mark the new nation's independence, South Sudan played its first football match, in the capital, Juba. However, the new national team lost 3-1 to Kenyan club side Tusker FC after taking a 1-0 lead. South Sudan has not yet been accepted as a member of the world football body Fifa and so the match was not officially recorded. President Bashir said he would have preferred to preserve the unity of Sudan, in an interview for the BBC's Hardtalk programme on the day after South Sudan gained independence. But the will of the people in the south had to be respected to avoid a return to armed conflict, he conceded. Asked about potential sources of friction in the future, Mr Bashir pointed to Abyei, a border area claimed by both north and south. Fighting in Abyei and another border region, South Kordofan, forced some 170,000 people to flee their homes in the run-up to southern independence. Both sides agreed to withdraw their troops, leaving a 20km (12-mile) buffer zone along the border, in a deal brokered last month. The BBC's Peter Martell in the southern capital, Juba, says the agreement is not easy to implement, because parts of the border are still contested and have not been demarcated. In a clear warning to the south, Mr Bashir said there could be renewed hostilities if agreements on disputed areas such as Abyei were not respected.'Ethiopian troops welcome' He said Abyei was a part of Sudan and could only join the south with the approval of nomadic Arab tribes in a future referendum, which he described as an unlikely scenario. He said he wanted United Nations peacekeepers currently patrolling the region to leave. But he welcomed the prospect of their replacement by Ethiopian troops, a move endorsed by the UN Security Council earlier this week. "The Ethiopians have a mandate to keep peace in the zone, so we welcome the Ethiopian troops. Both of us welcome them, because they are capable of doing their job, unlike the current troops who have failed to keep peace in this zone," the president said. "There are some arrangements, and as of now we are talking about creating some institutions. Two presidential representatives from each side. These are the authorities which will be running Abyei, security-wise and service-wise." "There's a protocol on Abyei - a protocol that governs Abyei if there's a peaceful solution. But in the past, we were forced to fight when they [the south] tried to impose a new reality." Both Sudan and the South are reliant on their oil revenues, which account for 98% of South Sudan's budget. But the two countries cannot agree how to divide the oil wealth of the former united state. Some 75% of the oil lies in the South but all the pipelines run north. It is feared that disputes over oil could lead the two neighbours to return to war. Although they were united for many years, the two Sudans were always very different. The great divide is visible even from space, as this Nasa satellite image shows. The northern states are a blanket of desert, broken only by the fertile Nile corridor. South Sudan is covered by green swathes of grassland, swamps and tropical forest. Sudan's arid north is mainly home to Arabic-speaking Muslims. But in South Sudan there is no dominant culture. The Dinkas and the Nuers are the largest of more than 200 ethnic groups, each with its own languages and traditional beliefs, alongside Christianity and Islam. The health inequalities in Sudan are illustrated by infant mortality rates. In South Sudan, one in 10 children die before their first birthday. Whereas in the more developed northern states, such as Gezira and White Nile, half of those children would be expected to survive. The gulf in water resources between north and south is stark. In Khartoum, River Nile, and Gezira states, two-thirds of people have access to piped drinking water and pit latrines. In the south, boreholes and unprotected wells are the main drinking sources. More than 80% of southerners have no toilet facilities whatsoever. Throughout the two Sudans, access to primary school education is strongly linked to household earnings. In the poorest parts of the south, less than 1% of children finish primary school. Whereas in the wealthier north, up to 50% of children complete primary level education. Conflict and poverty are the main causes of food insecurity in both countries. The residents of war-affected Darfur and South Sudan are still greatly dependent on food aid. Far more than in northern states, which tend to be wealthier, more urbanised and less reliant on agriculture.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4541606.stm	Mexican President Vicente Fox has described a US proposal to build a fence along their 3,200km (2,000 miles) border as "shameful". The bill also includes the use of troops and police to halt migrants He said the proposal - which Mexican officials have compared to the Berlin Wall - was a "very bad signal" from a nation of immigrants. The US House of Representatives passed an immigration bill last week, backing the building of a 1,130-km fence. About 10m Mexicans are believed to live in the US, some 4m of them illegally. More than a million are arrested every year as they try to enter the US to seek work. The controversial bill - which the US Senate is due to debate in February - also includes the use of troops and police to halt migrants, and tighter employment controls. Mexico has condemned the proposal saying it is too focused on securing the border and does not acknowledge the "enormous contribution" that Mexican workers make to the US economy. Speaking at an event for migrants in his home state of Guanajuato, President Fox said: "This wall is shameful." "It's not possible that in the 21st Century we're building walls between two nations that are neighbours, between two nations that are brothers." "When we look at their roots, the immense majority of [Americans] are migrants, migrants that have arrived from all over the world," he added. The US has already built a wall between San Diego and Tijuana, and now plans to fence off other parts of the border in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. President George W Bush has said that "border security must adapt to the nation's changing needs". But critics of the US bill say some of the measures would be impossible to enforce and would push illegal immigrants further underground.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6701335.stm	By Gavin Stamp Business Reporter, BBC News, Longbridge As the covers come off three MG sports cars to the backdrop of deafening classical music, it is hard not to agree this is a historic day for Longbridge. Much fanfare has surrounded the reopening of Longbridge Just over two years since the MG Rover plant closed with the loss of 6,000 jobs, one of the symbols of British industry is officially open for business again, albeit in a much reduced state. A parade of historic MG cars - the oldest dating back to 1925 - alongside contemporary versions warms the hearts of the MG enthusiasts present as much as it does the officials of Nanjing Automobile, the Chinese firm which now owns Longbridge. "It is good for everybody that they are back again," says Barry Sidery-Smith, who owns and races MGs. "We look forward to seeing them back on the road." Encapsulated by its marketing slogan, A New Journey, there is much talk of rebirth and exciting times ahead for MG under its new ownership. Indeed, the revival of Longbridge is a remarkable story. Although it currently only employs 130 staff ahead of the launch of its first cars later this year, the factory's formal reopening is a symbolic triumph for the city of Birmingham after the dark days of 2005. "We were told Longbridge had no future as a manufacturing site," says Mike Whitby, leader of Birmingham City Council. "Today is a day of celebration and optimism." Longbridge's revival is also a significant step forward for Nanjing, China's oldest car company, which had to answer some difficult questions after buying Longbridge and other assets from the collapsed MG Rover in July 2005. It moved in double-quick time to set up a production facility in China, finished in March, leading to claims that it was merely stripping the business of its UK heritage. But Nanjing is keen to stress that Longbridge firmly remains the "spiritual home" of the MG brand and the centre of efforts to give it a new global appeal. Nanjing has made no promises over job creation "Longbridge has an irreplaceable role in the MG project," says Nanjing chief executive Yu Jian Wei, passionately referring to the MG as the "pride of the British people and symbol of industry". "We want to retain the original style and flavour of the MG and achieve the same high quality that the MG brand is known for." Under its plan, in which the company has already invested £250m, Nanjing will run twin manufacturing operations in the UK and China. All UK and European manufacturing operations will be based in the Midlands, as will other key functions such as research & development, marketing and recruitment. But Nanjing was not prepared to give any firm commitments on future jobs or production levels. This is likely bound to disappoint unions, which have long maintained that the firm must be held to a pledge that it will ultimately create 1,000 jobs at Longbridge. "As sales of products and our scale grows, there will be more job opportunities," says one senior Nanjing executive, adding that new MG models are already in development. But the firm is cautious about growing the business too fast, saying any further expansion will all depend on demand for the models it starts selling later this year. "We need to look at sales and on that basis, we will be able to decide when volume production will resume. It is something to be decided by the market. It is not just something we can just wish." But for many people, the prospect of Longbridge's production lines rolling again will be enough to sustain their belief in the future of the MG business and car production here. "We are encouraged by what we have heard and reassured about the future of MG," says Anthony Binnington, an enthusiast of the marque. "I think there is a huge potential market for the brand."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7813149.stm	Measles can be fatal in rare cases The UK has been named as one of the worst countries in Europe for measles, with case levels dashing global hopes of eradicating the disease by 2010. The Lancet study says that in 2006-7 most of the 12,000 cases in Europe were found in the UK and four other nations. In a Lancet comment article, experts said the UK was only recovering slowly from the unsubstantiated scare that the MMR vaccine was linked to autism. Vaccination levels remain at around 85% of British children, well below target. That means there are "serious doubts" whether a World Health Organisation target to eradicate measles by 2010 will be reached, the researchers said. Measles remains a major killer in some parts of the world, but the arrival of effective vaccines had raised hopes that it could be virtually eliminated. However, to do this, the WHO recommends that at least 95% of all young children are properly vaccinated, and several European countries are falling short of this. The UK coverage fell below 85% between 2002 and 2005, in the wake of safety fears over the MMR vaccine, and has hovered at about that mark since. Nearly all of the 12,132 recorded cases covered by the study happened in the UK, Romania, Italy, Switzerland and Germany, most of whom have been dogged by poor vaccine uptake. In total, there were seven deaths as a result of the disease, one of them in the UK. The study authors, led by Dr Mark Muscat from the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen, said: "The suboptimum vaccination coverage raises serious doubts that the goal of elimination by 2010 can be attained. "Achievement and maintenance of optimum vaccination coverage, and improved surveillance, are the cornerstones of the measles elimination plan for Europe." The large numbers of cases in Europe has also led to an "embarrassing" problem, said two WHO scientists writing for the journal. Although there are still instances in which the virus is being "imported" from areas where it is rife, in recent years, substantial outbreaks in otherwise measles-free South America have been traced back to Europe. Dr Jacques Kremer and Dr Claude Muller, from the Luxembourg-based WHO Regional Reference Laboratory for Measles and Rubella, said: "Rich countries need to be responsible for avoiding cases by implementation of high vaccine coverage, to make it the privilege of resource-poor countries not to worry about reintroductions from Europe." Very serious infection which can lead to pneumonia and encephalitis Highly infectious and can bepassed on without direct contact before the rash appears Children require two doses of the MMR vaccine by their fifth birthday for optimum protection In much of the UK, even though the original research which cast doubt on the safety of MMR has been discredited, vaccination rates have not risen back to previous levels. A spokesman for the Department of Health said that it was currently working hard to boost MMR uptake. He said: "Since we announced the MMR Catch-Up programme in August, we have provided extra resources, we have sourced additional supplies of vaccine, and we have made available software to help GPs identify children who have not received MMR. "Measles can be serious but it is preventable, and delivery of this important programme is essential." A spokesman for the Health Protection Agency added: "Recent months have seen improvements in vaccination coverage for children up to five years of age, probably linked to local efforts to increase MMR uptake in all unvaccinated children following the widely reported increase in measles cases across England and Wales during 2008. "Although we are encouraged by these results, we are still seeing continued outbreaks of measles."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3186936.stm	Relying on online translation tools can be a risky business, especially if you expect too much of it. For the time being, might translation be something best left to the humans? Dot.life - where technology meets life, every Monday By Brendan O'Neill Earlier this month the small German town of Homberg-an-der-Efze, north of Frankfurt, had to pulp an entire print run of its English-language tourism brochure - after officials used an internet translating tool to translate the German text. Not everyone can have a human translator on hand According to one report, the brochure was "rendered meaningless" by the online tool. Tourists were promised "casual value", the literal translation of the German word for "leisure potential", at venues such as the "free bath" - better known as an "open-air swimming pool". Martin Wagner, mayor of Homberg-an-der-Efze, admits that the town made a "blunder". As a result of officials trying to save money by getting the internet to do a translator's job, a total of 7500 brochures had to be binned. This story highlights some of the pitfalls of translating online. There are many instant translation tools on the web - but they are best used for individual words and short phrases, rather than for brochures, books or anything complex. For example, one of the joys of the web is that it grants you access to an array of foreign news sources. Yet if you were to use a translation tool to try to make sense of such reports, you could end up with a rather skewed and surreal view of the world. A recent report in the French daily Le Monde dealt with Tony Blair's determination to remain as British prime minister, despite the post-Iraq and Hutton controversies. When the French text was run through an online instant translation service, it ended up more confusing than convincing. "With listening to it", Le Monde reportedly reported, "in the event of victory Tony Blair intends to remain with the capacity until the term of the legislature...." The German newspaper Die Zeit recently ran a piece on America's efforts to sell the "Roadmap to Peace" to Israelis and Palestinians. According to another translation tool, Die Zeit's report said: "The US-government makes bent previously a large around Israel and the occupied zones, although both Powell and Rumsfeld in that sewed East delayed have itself." That sounds more like Double Dutch than English. ABC, one of Spain's leading newspapers, reported on Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar's meeting with Tony Blair at Chequers. The text of the report, when put through the works, reveals "The official description of the encounter is 'deprived visit', but Spanish governmental sources confirmed that the main boarded subjects were the process of European integration and, like no, the every day more delicate situation in Iraq and Near East." Why is foreign text "rendered meaningless" in this way, when passed through an online translation tool? According to Sabine Reul, who runs the Frankfurt-based translation company Textburo Reul, translation tools have limited uses - and problems arise when web users expect too much from them. Using the internet may be a lot quicker than "human input" "A translation tool works for some things," says Reul. "Say a British company wants to order a box of screws from a German supplier. A sentence like 'We need one box of a certain type of screw' is something that a machine could translate reasonably accurately - though primitively." Yet when it comes to translating blocks of text - words and sentences that convey thoughts and sentiments - online tools are bound to fail, she adds. "Beyond simple sentences, the online process simply doesn't work because machines don't understand grammar and semantics, never mind idiom and style." "Language is not a system of signs in the mechanical sense of the word", says Reul. "It is a living medium that is used to convey thought. And that is where machines fail. Human input is indispensable as long as computers cannot think." Reul and other translators look forward to the day when clever computers might help to ease their workload - but that time has not arrived yet. "It would be nice if computers could do the job. And certainly the quest for machine translation has prompted a lot of linguistic research that may prove valuable in unforeseen ways. But experience to date confirms that even the most subtle computer program doesn't think - and you need to be able to think in order to translate." Until the dawn of thinking computers, online translation tools are best reserved for words, basic sentences and useful holiday phrases. For tourism brochures, newspaper reports and the rest, you will have to rely on some old-fashioned "human input". Ever come a cropper with a translation? Has it done the job for you? Add your comments on this story, using the form below. There's a nice story about a debate in the European Parliament, during which the French sentence «Nous avons besoin de la sagesse normande» was simultaneously-translated as "We need Norman Wisdom"... I can't find solid evidence for it on the internet, though in one online Hansard report from the Lords, one peer says it is true because he was there. Rob Ainsley, UK I have had some strange results, particularly if you paste in some text from say, English to French, then paste the result into a French to English translator. You never seem to get what you started with. I tried a program once in order do shorten translation work. The Italian report read: "The surface of the watertable is 620 metres above sealevel." In English it became: "The town's watery piano is 620 metres above the sea." After this I only use computer translation as an anti-depressant; I have it translate a complex text from English into Italian and back. What comes out is guaranteed to resemble the most funny Monty Python texts. Claudio Cantadore, Italy Problems usually occur when there is more than one meaning for a word - for example, the German word Mutter can mean mother or a nut (as in nuts and bolts), or my personal favourite, the Danish word 'gift' can mean married or poison. Unless a computer can spot the correct meaning, it will almost always translate wrong - this can produce interesting results. Paul, Isle of Man I was once amused to see the phrase 'water sheep' in a translated engineering document. The correct translation would have been hydralic ram. Richard Smith, United Kingdom While automatic translation tools rarely produce a good translation, I usually find that they provide enough to allow a fluent speaker of the target language to produce the correct translation relatively easily. The blatently wrong stuff is usually pretty obvious and can typically be resolved with the aid of a dictionary. A good test for translation tools is to translate a phrase into one language, and then back to the original. In one such test, the phrase "Out of sight, out of mind" came back as "invisible idiot". Dean Eastman, UK Heres a top tip for a few laughs. Take the lyrics of a few well known english pop and rock songs, translate them into german, then translate the german back into english! Now try and get a friend to guess the songs! Robert Griffiths, UK My favourite mistranslation still dates back to school French - "Voici l'anglais avec son sangfroid habituel" became "Here's the Englishman with his usual bloody cold" Brian Beesley, UK You need to try this link, which I found on the weblog of cyberpunk author William Gibson: http://www.tashian.com/multibabel/ It takes text and translates it through about eight languages before depositing it back into English. Your opening paragraph comes out like this: "Special and if this one at the time of the company is here, the one that is this one to depend the shutdowns on the danger this the equipment is fixed if the person, to whom it leaves vacations, resistance if to become this normality of this, it is to translate with which is in line. You he put the future in the danger of which she introduces probably the part of the left of this person, of that translates the first place?" Andy Darley, UK Many years ago I remember a translation about the riots in London, read to me from a Moscow newspaper. Instead of reading about "...gangs of skinheads...", the Moscovites read about "...groups of bald-headed gentlemen...". Disclaimer: The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all e-mails will be published.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19474896	Jeremy Hunt replaces Andrew Lansley as health secretary Jeremy Hunt is to take over from Andrew Lansley as health secretary. Mr Lansley, whose NHS reforms prompted months of controversy last year, will become leader of the House of Commons. My Hunt moves from the post of culture secretary, where he survived a Leveson Inquiry examination into his relationship with James Murdoch in light of News Corporation's bid for BSkyB in 2011. The news has been described as "disastrous" by some. Deputy chairman of the British Medical Association Dr Kailash Chand said on Twitter "disaster in NHS carries on". Even Andrew Lansley's fiercest critics admired his grasp of detail. He is a rare example of a politician who has immersed himself for almost a decade in one policy area, as a shadow health secretary who progressed to the Whitehall department. His single-minded vision for NHS reform provoked a loud chorus of opposition from health unions. The health bill even became the unlikely subject of a protest rap explaining it. For some on the left, Andrew Lansley became the focus of all their objections and anxieties about the changes to the health service in England. From within his own party there were murmurings about his lack of communication skills - a failure to adequately "sell" the reforms. So there will be some who will welcome his departure, but they may also look with trepidation at a new Health Secretary who has no track record with the NHS. Some civil servants at the Department of Health are said to have groaned when they found out there would be a new boss. The BMA's official statement welcomed a "fresh opportunity" for doctors and government to work together to improve patient care and deal with the many challenges facing the NHS.Huge task Mr Hunt called his new job was "the biggest privilege of my life". Speaking outside Downing Street he said: "I'm incredibly honoured and looking forward to getting on with the job." He will now oversee the new NHS changes and efficiency savings. Proposals in the Health and Social Care Bill for England include giving GPs control of much of the NHS budget and opening up the health service to greater competition from the private and voluntary sector from April 2013. But many were opposed to Mr Lansley's plans for the health service and some doctors and senior officials called for his resignation. Professional bodies, including the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives, asked for the bill to be scrapped. But the Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "at one" with Mr Lansley over the government's Health and Social Care Bill. The bill gained Royal Assent in March 2012, more than 14 months after first being tabled in the House of Commons. Mr Hunt's CV - Jeremy studied at Oxford University, where he graduated with a first class honours degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics - He then went on to work for a management consultancy firm before going to Japan for two years where he taught English and learnt Japanese - On his return to the UK, Jeremy set up his own educational publishing business, Hotcourses, as well as a charity to help AIDS orphans in Africa - In December 2005 he was appointed Shadow Minister for Disabled People - In July 2007 he was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport The BBC's Health Correspondent Branwen Jeffreys said Mr Hunt will have a steep learning curve, and little time to establish his credibility in one of the cabinets most taxing roles. "He'll face scepticism and battle fatigue. The changes underway in the NHS in England are as yet largely invisible to the patient, but they touch every part of the health service. A new NHS Commissioning Board formally begins work next month, and by April large parts of the budget will be managed by GP led groups. "Mr Hunt is swapping into the driving seat part way through the journey, and to some extent will have to keep following the road map set out by his predecessor. "He's got just a couple of months to gather his thoughts before the first big challenge, the publication of the public inquiry report into the terrible failings of care at Mid Staffs hospital in a couple of months. "It is likely to be the first hot potato of many he will face in his new job."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20529583	Warwickshire and West Mercia PCCs back sharing services The new police and crime commissioners for Warwickshire and West Mercia have given their support to services being shared between the two forces. Ron Ball and Bill Longmore said continuing with the alliance was the best way to achieve the combined target of cutting more than £30m. The deal would mean back office services are shared between the forces. Simon Payne, of the Warwickshire Police Federation, said there was "no alternative". In June the forces appointed two assistant chief constables to serve both constabularies. End Quote Simon Payne Warwickshire Police Federation We need to remember that policing is not just about cutting crime” One was employed to cover local policing while the other handles "protective services". Both forces already share a number of services with others forces, including police air support and counter-terrorism work. The two PCCs, who took up their posts last week after both standing as independent candidates in the election, said that "radical changes" had to be implemented to make the necessary savings. They said they had both met their chief constables earlier and were confident they would be able to keep to the budget proposals.'Draconian cuts' Mr Longmore, the West Mercia PCC, said: "We both recognise the hard work and efforts which have gone into the progress reached to date." Mr Payne, whose organisation represents rank-and-file officers, said it was a positive thing "that we have two independent candidates who seem to agree with each other". He said: "There is no alternative than to look at things like this to ensure we can continue to deliver an efficient policing service in the face of these - and any new - draconian cuts. "But we need to remember that policing is not just about cutting crime. "Just looking at the recent flooding, you can see how vital our cops were in those situations, and that is something those in charge of our forces - and government ministers - need to realise."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-20299335	Scott centenary expedition: Henry Evans' final preparations With less than a month to go, an "incredibly excited, but apprehensive" university graduate is making final preparations for a polar expedition. Henry Evans, who completed his marine biology degree at Plymouth University this summer, was selected last year for the International Scott Centenary Expedition (ISCE) to trek to the South Pole in memory of Capt Robert Falcon Scott. The 22-year-old and his polar guide Geoff Somers will trek a similar distance as the rescue party that went out in search of Scott and his companions. Scott, who was born and educated in Plymouth, made it to the pole in January 1912 with Edward Wilson, Henry Bowers, Lawrence Oates and Edgar Evans - only to find a Norwegian flag planted by a rival team led by Roald Amundsen. On their return, the British Terra Nova Expedition team ran out of food and all five perished. Setting out from two degrees south of the pole, Henry, from Saffron Walden in Essex, will recreate the final 140-mile (225km) trek to the South Pole. "The distance is similar to the distance the search party covered to find the bodies of Scott, Bowers and Wilson," Henry said. Edgar Evans and Lawrence (Titus) Oates, whose health had deteriorated quickly on the return trek, had both died earlier. The ISCE expedition was originally meant to include a team of six, but funding problems reduced that to two. "I kept my place because I won a competition by the Daily Telegraph," Henry said. "I'm incredibly excited, but there's also a certain apprehension because now it's just me and Geoff. I do feel a huge responsibility." As well as studying for his final university exams this year - gaining a 2:1 degree in marine biology - Henry has had to maintain a punishing regime to ensure he is physically fit. He has just returned from five days training in the Lake District. He said: "It rained every day, so it was pretty horrid, but physically I'm stronger now. "What's harder to prepare for is the mental aspect - being able to let your mind drift off into a different world to cope with the monotony of plodding through the snow, while still retaining safety awareness." As part of his assessment for the Daily Telegraph competition, Henry also spent time training in Norway and had to undergo Royal Navy officer training and psychometric testing.Scientific snow samples He has raised £7,000 towards his trip by competing in two half marathons in Plymouth and Torbay, dressed in a penguin costume. During the expedition, Henry will carry out a scientific project he designed in partnership with Plymouth University, collecting snow samples five times a day. The samples will be analysed by the British Antarctic Survey to determine the change in the stable isotopes of water (which are related to temperature) to look at temperature differences and compare them with weather patterns. Henry will also be carrying letters from a competition set up by Falcon Scott - Capt Scott's grandson - to "inspire" people to enjoy the natural world as his grandfather did. "I'll be posting the winning letters from the post office at the Scott Amundsen South Pole base," Henry said. Over the next month, Henry will continue with his training as he puts together his equipment, which includes layers of clothing, and military-style food rations. To mark Capt Scott's legacy, Henry will take some of the rations the Terra Nova team had on their ill-fated return - which consisted of pemmican (ground meat mixed with fat) and biscuits. He said: "Nutritionally it wasn't right and I'll have it so much easier with the army boil-in-the-bag packs." To keep up his strength, Henry will need to consume about 7,000 calories a day. The trek will take between 14 and 20 days to complete, with temperatures at a mind and body numbing -35 to -40C.'Hilarious clothing' "Although it's summer in Antarctic, I think it's fair to say that's very, very cold," Henry said. He is hoping to prepare for the cold and test his equipment at a cold chamber testing facility at Millbrook in Bedfordshire - recently used by Exmoor polar explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes. He said: "I'm told the best way to try to stay warm is layers, so I'll be wearing a pair of thin socks, covered by a plastic bag - which stops the sweat but makes your feet really smell - then a pair of thick socks and boots. "Next is long Johns, then a pair of jogging bottoms followed by windproof, waterproof trousers. "On top will be a thermal insulated T-shirt, micro fleece, middle fleece, thick fleece then again a windproof, waterproof jacket. "You have to buy clothes that are too big for you, so they don't restrict your movement, but they are bulky. I tried them on this morning in my room - it was hilarious." End Quote Henry Evans I've been preparing for a long time and now it's nearly here I just can't wait” As the start of the expedition looms nearer, Henry said his family's pride in his achievement has changed a little. "They were thrilled when I won the competition, but I think the 'proudness' has turned into them being rather scared," he said. "I'll not only be away for Christmas, but also for my 23rd birthday on 11 January, so I'll probably take a Santa hat and a small cake." He will be in regular contact with his sister via a satellite phone to dictate a daily blog for the Daily Telegraph and his own website Magnificent Ocean which he says aims to inspire children about the "weird and wonderful" aspects of science to get them interested in the subject. On 10 December Henry and Geoff will fly to Union Glacier camp in Antarctica, where they will remain for a few days, checking kit and acclimatising before being flown to two degrees south of the pole to begin the trek. Once there, he and Geoff will hold a small ceremony for Scott and the Terra Nova team. "I've been preparing for a long time and now it's nearly here I can't wait," Henry said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15455591	Turkey quake: Aftershock causes prison riot An aftershock has been blamed for sparking a riot in a prison in the eastern Turkish city of Van, one of the places worst affected by Sunday's earthquake. Smoke was seen billowing from the compound following reports that prisoners set fire to the jail because authorities refused to let them out. Security forces and relatives of some of the inmates surrounded the jail, from which a number of prisoners were reported to have escaped on Sunday. The unrest lasted several hours, but the fire was extinguished and order restored, with no reported casualties.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16304858	Vaclav Havel funeral: World leaders pay respects Czechs and world leaders have been bidding farewell to former Czech President Vaclav Havel at a state funeral in Prague. The current and former US secretaries of state were joined by leaders from France, Britain and many ex-communist countries in the cathedral of St Vitus. Outside, after church bells rang out across the capital, thousands thronged to follow the service. Havel, who helped lead the 1989 overthrow of communism, died aged 75. He passed away on Sunday after a long respiratory illness, health issues that dated back to his time in prison. At the scene For more than two hours, thousands stood in silence on the hill overlooking Prague to pay their last respects to the dissident playwright who became a president. In life, Vaclav Havel was associated with the artistic counter-culture. In death, he was afforded all the trappings of state. Hradcany Square was filled with the smell of incense as the Archbishop of Prague, Dominik Duka, made the procession into St Vitus Cathedral, accompanied by priests and altar servers. Inside, Vaclav Havel's coffin lay draped with the flag of the country he led for a decade after the "velvet divorce" from Slovakia in 1993. The red, white and blue colours of the Czech Republic also decorated ribbons worn by many of those gathered outside, along with black ribbons of mourning. Many of those who gathered on this cold, damp day in Prague to watch the funeral on a large outdoor TV screen were too young to remember the days when, in 1989, Vaclav Havel rose from political prisoner to leader of his country in a matter of months. But for young and old alike, Havel is a symbol of freedom and democracy. More than 20 years after the Velvet Revolution there are fears that the former Czech president's spirit of freedom could be threatened by a new wave of intolerance in some European countries. But, as the funeral drew to a close and the coffin left the cathedral, the crowd broke into sustained, warm applause - sharing the sentiment voiced in Vaclav Havel's most well-known quote, that truth and love must prevail over lies and hatred. The Archbishop of Prague read out a tribute from Pope Benedict, praising Mr Havel's courageous defence of human rights and his visionary leadership in creating a new democratic system. "Remembering how courageously Mr Havel defended human rights at a time when these were systematically denied to the people of your country, and paying tribute to his visionary leadership... I give thanks to God for the freedom that the people of the Czech Republic now enjoy," Pope Benedict said in his statement. The former US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright - who was herself born in Prague - spoke at the ceremony, along with Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg and current Czech President Vaclav Klaus. She said Vaclav Havel had "brought light to the places of deepest darkness". "He was one of the most respected men of the world, but was never satisfied that he had done everything he could have done," she said, adding that he would terribly missed but never forgotten. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, were among mourners. The presidents of France and Germany also attended, along with UK Prime Minister David Cameron, Poland's own dissident-turned-president, Lech Walesa and current leaders from across Eastern Europe. As Havel's coffin left the gothic cathedral, through its Golden Gate and en route to the city's Strasnice crematorium for a private family funeral, the crowd broke out into a long burst of applause. The urn with Havel's ashes is to be buried at his family's plot at Prague's Vinohrady cemetery alongside his first wife, Olga, who died in 1996. Ahead of the ceremony, thousands of people queued to pay their respects at his coffin as it lay in state at Prague Castle. Later on Friday, a rock concert and festival of Havel's plays is due to take at the Lucerna Palace that the family built in the early 20th Century.Prisoner to president Vaclav Havel first made his name as a playwright in the 1960s. The increased freedom brought to Czechoslovakia by the Prague Spring in 1968 allowed him to satirise the communist old guard, which won him wide public acclaim. But the Soviet invasion later that year saw his work banned and he was driven underground. He became Czechoslovakia's most famous dissident and was jailed for "anti-state activity". In 1989, when communism fell, he moved in a matter of months from being a political prisoner to president of the country. The euphoria soon faded when Slovak nationalists succeeded in their campaign for independence during 1992. This prompted Havel to resign from the presidency, but a few months later after the "velvet divorce" at the start of 1993, he was re-elected Czech president. Although he was sometimes a reluctant leader, he continued to serve as president until 2003.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19368807	In depth: Media in Venezuela Venezuela's media landscape has been marked by the deep division between the outlets that attack President Hugo Chavez and those that support him. While the government accuses opposition journalists of "media terrorism", they complain about intimidation. According to Venezuela's Communication Ministry (Minci), some 70% of Venezuela's radio and TV stations are in private hands with just under 5% are state-owned. The rest are community media organisations, most pro-government. The most popular TV channels are privately-owned Venevision and Televen. Both used to be vociferous opponents of the government, but have toned down their criticism in recent years. Media ownership: TV and radio - Private stations: 70.36% - State-owned: 4.58% - Community-run: 25.05% A decade ago, VTV was the only state TV channel. Today the government controls five more stations. Nevertheless, state TV enjoys just 5.4% of the audience share, according to the media research company AGB Panamericana. Many Venezuelans prefer the programmes on pay TV, with 41% of households subscribing. However, President Chavez frequently reaches beyond the state TV's audiences by delivering speeches, known as cadenas, which must be carried on almost the entire national broadcast system. During the election campaign, a "cadena" interrupted a broadcast by opposition candidate Henrique Capriles, who is running in the 7 October presidential poll. Audience share of free-to air TV - Venevision (private): 26.18% - Televen (private): 14.46% - VTV (state):6.27% - Globovision (private): 4.29% - TVes(state): 3.35% AGB Panamericana August 2012 Commercial outlets dominate the radio sector, although the government funds a number of stations and community radio organisations. The main Venezuelan newspapers are private companies, and are often critical of the government. However, they do not have a wide readership. In 2009, centre-left leaning Ultimas Noticias printed 260,000 copies per day, according to the most recent data available to Human Rights Watch. The circulation of centre-right El Nacional and El Universal was 120,000 and 110,000 copies per day respectively. The Venezuelan media are regulated by the controversial Law of Social Responsibility in Radio and Television (Resorte). The government promoted it as a means of keeping sex and violence off the airwaves when children might be watching, and to increase the proportion of Venezuelan-produced programming. However, critics see in it a strategy to silence opposition media by limiting their content to soap operas, cultural and educational programmes and a sanitised version of the news before 11pm. Opposition broadcasters have been under pressure since a short-lived coup against Mr Chavez in 2002, in which he says they played a key role. Several critical TV and radio networks have been closed. In 2009, 34 radio stations had their licences revoked, officially for "technical and administrative reasons." RCTV, once Venezuela's most watched station, lost its terrestrial frequency in 2007, because of what Mr Chavez called its ongoing efforts to destabilise the government. It resumed broadcasting on cable as RCTV Internacional. The channel was taken off air in 2010 for refusing to carry Mr Chavez's obligatory broadcasts. It has been unable to broadcast via air or cable since then. The only terrestrial TV station still openly critical of the government, Globovision, was heavily fined for tax evasion and broadcasting on unauthorised frequencies in 2009. It was fined in 2011 for a report about a prison riot that the authorities said "promoted hatred and intolerance for political reasons." The government accuses the opposition media of manipulating information and "poisoning society". Internet and social media The internet is regulated by broadcasting legislation and Conatel can order service providers to restrict access to websites or messages which breach the law. The government says this is to protect people from cyber crime. Social media are relatively unencumbered by government restrictions. With Venezuelans being among the keenest Twitter and Facebook users in the South America, politicians have made social media central to their campaign strategies. President Chavez, with some 3.5 million Twitter followers, posts regularly and his messages can be quite emotional. He tweeted he cried when the Venezuelan hero Simon Bolivar was exhumed two years ago. He has replied to other users, who may be requesting jobs, hospital operations or houses. Mr Capriles has some 1.3 million Twitter followers. The Twitter accounts of several prominent opposition activists, but also those of President Chavez and his allies have been hacked and used to send bogus messages. Although the Venezuelan constitution provides for freedom of the press, international media watchdogs regularly accuse the government of intimidation. Reporters Without Borders place Venezuela 117th out of 179 in their 2011/2012 media freedom index. In 2009, Diosdado Cabello, then the head of the country's media regulator Conatel, said that freedom of expression should not be regarded as "the most sacred of freedoms."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17520058	Syria unrest: Kofi Annan calls for China's support UN-Arab League envoy to Syria Kofi Annan has asked China to support his plan to end violence in the country. Mr Annan told Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing he could not do this job alone and needed "support and advice from countries like yours". Mr Wen said the situation was "at a critical juncture", and "your mediation efforts will lead to progress". Russia has supported Mr Annan's plan, which envisages a UN-supervised ceasefire and political dialogue. Correspondents say Moscow's backing may make Mr Annan's job in Beijing easier. Russia and China were heavily criticised after vetoing two UN Security Council resolutions condemning the violence, which the UN says has left more than 8,000 people dead. After meeting the former UN secretary general on Sunday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he fully supported the mission because it might be "Syria's last chance to avoid a protracted and bloody civil war".Opposition meeting Chinese officials have said they hope the talks will find a solution to the conflict, but are wary of backing proposals that call for a change of government. "China values and supports the mediation efforts of Mr Annan and hopes this visit will allow in-depth discussions on a political resolution of the Syrian issue," foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Monday. Annan's six-point peace plan 1. Syrian-led political process to address the aspirations and concerns of the Syrian people 2. UN-supervised cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties to protect civilians a) Government to cease troop movements towards, and end the use of heavy weapons, in population centres, and begin pullback of troops from them b) Opposition to commit to stop the fighting 3. All parties to ensure provision of humanitarian assistance to all areas affected by the fighting, and implement a daily two-hour humanitarian pause 4. Authorities to intensify the pace and scale of release of arbitrarily detained persons 5. Authorities to ensure freedom of movement throughout the country for journalists 6. Authorities to respect freedom of association and the right to demonstrate peacefully Syria's divided opposition groups are meeting in Istanbul to try to achieve a more united front, ahead of a second "Friends of Syria" meeting on 1 April. The main opposition coalition, the Syrian National Council (SNC), has called for the gathering to end with a "national oath" committing them to building a democratic state. A draft declaration proclaimed a new Syria would be "civic, democratic and totally free" and that there should be an election for an assembly which would draw up a new constitution. The BBC's Jonathan Head in Istanbul says they need a credible and coherent opposition movement if they are to achieve more than the previous meeting in Tunis, which was widely viewed as a failure. Meanwhile Turkish Airlines says it will stop flights to Syria following the Turkish government's decision to close its embassy in Damascus. Mr Annan's six-point plan calls for President Assad's government to pull troops and heavy weapons out of population centres, and for all parties to allow for a daily two-hour pause to the fighting in order for humanitarian aid to reach affected areas. The plan also requests that the authorities release those detained in the uprising. However it does not impose any deadline for Mr Assad, or call for him to leave power. Earlier Mr Annan's spokesman also said the Syrian government had replied to his six-point peace plan and that he would "respond very shortly".UN frustration Meanwhile, one of the investigators on a UN panel documenting crimes against humanity in Syria has resigned because she and her colleagues have not been allowed into the country. Yakin Erturk of Turkey told the Reuters news agency she felt there was no point in being on the panel. "There are areas such as detention... which we can only talk about from first hand accounts," she said. "But there is an urgent need for monitors to visit these detention centres." Last month the team reported that Syrian forces had shot dead unarmed women and children and tortured wounded protesters in hospital, under orders from the highest level. Activists say violence is continuing throughout Syrian, with at least eight people dying in further clashes overnight. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported deaths near Damascus and in the north-west Idlib province.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2797011.stm	The prosecution of charges against Truong Van Cam, better known as Nam Cam, could be a show trial for Vietnam's ruling Communist Party's statements that it is serious about tackling corruption. Nam Cam (left) was one of 155 defendants On the surface there are appearances of just that. The trial of Nam Cam and his 154 alleged co-conspirators is set to last just 55 days, suggesting that procedures are less than thorough. Government leaders talk little of judicial principles such as the presumption of innocence, and much more about bringing the guilty to justice. The foreign media has been allowed into the trial for the opening hours. But there will be no independent observers across the full duration of the mass hearings. The state media has been reporting the investigations for months, although recently there was a stern official warning that effectively made local journalists "tone it down". The scandal and revelations, as more and more public officials were named and shamed, was clearly taking its toll on the Communist Party's standing. The party is very concerned about the extent of corruption. There has been speculation about why, after years of acting with impunity, Ho Chi Minh's criminal underworld is finally facing the law. The speculation really heated up during the 2002 national parliamentary election, when the head of state radio, Tran Mai Hanh, was sacked and pushed off the party's Central Committee. Nam Cam could face the death penalty Tran Mai Hanh had been a rising star and a candidate in the election. Was the clean-up in Ho Chi Minh City an attempt to influence who was in and out of the ruling elite? Speculation within Vietnam's tightly-closed political system provides the only answers to these questions. But there is also evidence that the party is becoming serious about tackling corruption. The party has acknowledged that public disaffection with the extent of corruption is threatening its hold on power. Just last week a foreign ministry spokesperson called it a "national threat". Senior figures blamed In the dock with Nam Cam on Tuesday were several leading party figures, including Mr Hanh, a senior prosecutor, former deputy police minister, journalists and other civil servants. Most recently a member of the party politburo, Truong Tan Sang, was reprimanded for dereliction of duty while acting as party chief in Ho Chi Minh in the late 1990s. Several judges have also been implicated in corruption. Back in Hanoi, a three year donor-funded project has just started to study government corruption, a landmark agreement which took Vietnam and Sweden three years to negotiate. As to the trial itself, although it is being held in the city of so much alleged sin, the important thing is that it is being held at all. The court's vice president, Phan Tanh, told the BBC it was only the third trial which allowed the defendant to take part in discussions with the judge and lawyer - a sign of the efforts Vietnam is making to reform its legal system. That is just one of the areas where international aid donors and investors are putting pressure on Hanoi. It is not just the people of Vietnam who want to see justice and efficiency in the country's developing economy. The international community is also impatient to see action rather than hear platitudes.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7262512.stm	The time has come for a referendum on whether Britain should stay in the EU, Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has said. Mr Clegg said debate on the EU had been 'poisoned' Politicians had "all gone crazy" over ratifying the Lisbon Treaty, taking attention from the "big question" on continuing EU membership, he added. The Lib Dems are expected to table a House of Commons motion on Tuesday demanding a public vote on whether Britain stays in the EU. But the Conservatives said the Lib Dems had "no mandate" for this. At the last general election in 2005 all three main parties promised a referendum on the planned European Constitution. But the constitution was discarded after it was rejected by voters in France and the Netherlands. The EU Reform Treaty - signed by national leaders in Lisbon last December - is the replacement. The Conservatives and the UK Independence Party are calling for a referendum on whether the UK should ratify the treaty, arguing it is largely the same as the constitution. But Labour argues that the documents are very different and that Parliament should decide. MPs are currently engaged in a 12-day debate on ratification. The Lib Dems say they would abstain if the Conservatives successfully call for a referendum on the treaty - they say they would instead try to insert an amendment into the European Union (Amendment) Bill demanding one on the wider issue of whether Britain stays in the EU. Mr Clegg, a former member of the European Parliament, said: "The debate over Britain's future in Europe has been poisoned for too long by a Labour Party that refuses to make the case for it, and an opportunistic Tory Party that actively seeks to undermine it. "We need to draw the poison from that debate - to settle the matter one way or another. "So today I am inviting the Labour and Conservative parties to join with me in calling for the referendum that will settle Britain's European future, once and for all: an in-out referendum." Mr Clegg told the BBC that the planned referendum on the constitution had been "tantamount" to one on whether to continue EU membership. HAVE YOUR SAY People lose sight of the stability that the EU brings to a group of countries Andy C, Bristol He described the Tory focus on the treaty as a "side-show" and a "distraction". Instead, it was time to decide "are we going to carry on with this ambivalent attitude or withdraw" from Europe, or "make a whole-hearted long-term commitment". Fore the Conservatives, shadow foreign secretary William Hague said: "This is an attempt to paper over the Lib Dems' widening split on a referendum on the renamed EU Constitution. "But the key question remains whether the Liberal Democrats will honour their manifesto promise. The Lisbon Treaty is in substance, nearly identical to, the EU Constitution. "That is what the Lib Dems promised their voters a referendum on. They did not mention an in-out referendum to voters - they have no mandate for one." UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage criticised Mr Clegg's proposal as "nothing but a smokescreen". He said: "Whilst in the long term I agree that this is the referendum we want, calling for it at this time is only to cover up their weasel-like position over a referendum. "Instead of hiding behind this call, they should be honouring the promise they made to their voters that they would support a referendum on this treaty." Lib Dem justice spokesman David Heath has said he will defy his party's whips and back the Tories in calling for a referendum on the treaty. Last week the European Parliament debated, and overwhelmingly backed, the treaty. All 27 EU member states have to ratify it for it to come into effect.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/international/4365991.stm	Wales flanker Martyn Williams has been named the RBS Six Nations Player of the Championship after winning a third of the vote from BBC Sport website users. The 29-year-old, who was an inspiration in his country's Grand Slam success, grabbed almost 8000 of the 23000 votes. Williams told BBC Sport: "At the start of the tournament I was just hoping to make the 22. I thought my best hope was to start on the bench. "So to win this award and for everyone to vote for me is something to savour." Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll finished second in the poll, with another Welshman, wing Shane Williams, in third place. After a hugely successful campaign for Wales, Martyn Williams was quick to highlight his team-mates' achievements in his award triumph. He said: "When I got this I thought what about Gethin Jenkins, Shane Williams and Stephen Jones among others. They all are deserving winners of this award, and that's a testament to the Wales side as a whole. "It's a real surprise to get this accolade, especially to be chosen ahead of such quality players." Saturday's 32-20 win over Ireland ensured Wales' first Grand Slam success for 27 years. But Williams admitted he "never thought he would be around to celebrate a Grand Slam triumph". He added: "I thought, no knew, that a lot of these guys would eventually celebrate a Grand Slam win, but not an old timer like me! "So that makes it even sweeter as does the whole support we received from start to finish in this season's Six Nations. "I've been a player in Cardiff for nine years and it was just so special. City Hall with the big screen was like Henman-hill at Wimbledon gone crazy. "And there were more red jerseys than I could ever imagine. So it's great for them we were able to do that." WHAT YOU SAID: Martyn Williams has been the cornerstone of Wales' success this year. His constant hard work have repeatedly set up the counter-attacking opportunities through which the Welsh team have amassed points in abundance. Ryan Hobbs, Wales Once Charvis had been injured I wondered who would replace him and Williams stepped up to the mark in a big way. He won the game the in France and has shown throughout that he is still one of the best open sides in the world of rugby. The way he is playing he should surly start for the Lions at openside. Emmett Glenn, Ireland This was a simple choice. Martyn has demonstrated that he is the form openside in European rugby. After a disappointing start to the campaign (if Charvis was fit he would have been on the bench) he has let his rugby do the talking. Martyn has been at the heart of everything Wales have done and if not at the end of the scoring pass, he would certainly be involved in the moves. I am looking forward to the Lions tour in the summer, what a match up - Martyn Williams against Richie McCaw! Jeff Fuge, England He has been an obvious player with some outstanding tries but has also been a ferocious worker. He has stepped up to the plate when the opportunity has availed itself. Cometh the hour... Leighton McAndrew, England Has given Wales the bite and the ball so that their backs can be at their most effective. More than competent in the scrum, effective at the ruck and devastating in the loose. Edd Pickering, England A Ginger Whirlwind! Peter Thomas, Wales Having Martin in the side has enticed the other players to play the open rugby that Wales are familiar with. He is always there as a link man between backs and forwards and wins the majority of loose ball. Carl Forrest, Wales Powerful in defence and in the pack, but most dangerous as an attacking force in the loose - in this situation playing as an additional back! Awesome. Andrew Griffin, Oman Martyn Williams has been consistently outstanding in the loose throughout the Championship. Without him it would have been impossible for Wales to play the free flowing rugby that has left them with the Grand Slam. Bill Mather, England A tough one. Yachvilli has been outstanding, as have the Irish and Welsh squads. Nevertheless, Wales have been the team to watch. Of all the quality attackers, defenders and improvers, Martyn Williams has won his place in the Welsh team, kept and played some genuinely clever world class rugby. Immense in defence, quality in support, and a strong attacker. Bring on the Lions! Williams looks odds on to start for the Lions James Prime, Wales Key component in the platform that's allowed Wales' back line to really perform, and has chipped in himself in terms of tries. Ben Fasham, England Outstanding loose forward of the tournament. Always the man in support. Fantastic rugby brain and vision. Scores points, makes tackles and gets involved with the 'dog' on the floor when required. All of this and people were saying he was past it too! Tim Morris, UK Martyn Williams' play has been so dynamic and fluent. He has been everywhere in defence and attack, providing a constant link between forwards and backs. Dominic Doyle, Belgium A magnificent tournament and long deserved recognition. Having seen him play for Cardiff for years, it is no surprise that he is doing so well in disrupting opposition ball and making life uncomfortable for the opposing packs. Robert Franklin, England Mr. Perpetual Motion involved in everything - slowing down opposition ball, securing turnovers, link play and scoring vital tries - nuff said! Rhodri Williams, Wales In an outstanding Welsh team, outstanding. Tom Cox, England He had big boots to fill when he came in for Charvis, but he has proved himself as the player of the tournament and has kicked Charvis out of the Lions number 7 jersey. Great tournament for Martyn Williams! An outstanding performer has cemented his no 7 Lions Jersey with a great work rate and an ethic to match Chris Ward, UK Best player in the best team. Hector MacQueen, Scotland First, it has to be a Welshman. And I would pick Martyn Williams as the best all-rounder of this championship. One of the finest flankers you can get. Great try scoring record in the championship and a quick thinker, the try against Italy on the upright proves this. Hywel Thomas, Cymru Martyn Williams epitomises the Welsh style of play - dynamic, quick handling, hard tackling, good support play, quick thinking, everywhere and doing everything. David Jessop, UK
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10567194	First great-grandchild for Queen due in December The Queen is said to be "delighted" after learning she is to become a great-grandmother for the first time. Buckingham Palace said Princess Anne's son Peter Phillips and his Canadian-born wife Autumn were expecting their first child in December. Mr Phillips, the Queen's eldest grandson and 11th in line to the throne, met his wife while working at the Montreal Grand Prix in 2003. They were married at Windsor Castle in May 2008.Family happy A Palace statement said: "Peter and Autumn Phillips are delighted to confirm they are expecting a baby in December. "The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, as well as Autumn's family, have been informed and are delighted with the news." Mrs Phillips, a former Roman Catholic, was accepted into the Church of England shortly before their wedding. Her husband would have had to give up his right to the throne had she not done so. The couple were caught in controversy two years ago over their wedding photographs which were bought up exclusively by a glossy magazine for a reported £500,000.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15245029	Wal-Mart stores closed in China after pork probe Wal-Mart has had to close temporarily some of its Chinese stores after being accused of selling mislabelled pork. The local government in Chongqing says the firm falsely advertised the meat as being organic. China's official Xinhua news agency said officials claimed a total of 63,547 kilogrammes of pork were involved, over two years. Wal-Mart told the BBC a total of 13 stores have been closed for a 15-day period. The US firm said some of its employees have been detained by the Chongqing Public Security Bureau. The retailer said it had sent a task force to co-operate with the investigation and is "taking the necessary steps to ensure this does not recur".Appetite for safety Customers may have been attracted to buy "organic" pork following a series of food scandals, some observers suggest. Earlier in the year, China Central Television reported that one of the country's largest meat processors had bought pigs fed with the illegal additive clenbuterol. The drug helps produce leaner meat but can be dangerous to people with heart conditions. The Shuanghui Group had to recall some of its products and apologised to shoppers. Dozens of people were also reported to have become sick after a separate tainted pork incident in 2009, thought to involve the same substance.Focus on China China is one of Wal-Mart's fastest growing markets. In August, the firm's international chief, Doug McMillon, said it had 344 stores in the country. Of these, 53 had been opened over the previous 12 months. Net sales were 9.7% up on a year earlier, however a rise in costs meant it reported a loss on its operations. The pork accusations are not the first time the retailer has been accused of breaking local laws. In February, China's National Development and Reform Commission accused Wal-Mart, and its French rival Carrefour, of manipulating prices at 19 stores. Customers had complained the companies had overcharged them on promotional items. The firms were ordered to pay a combined fine of 9.5m yuan ($1.5m; £955,000) to resolve the matter.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18001493	Toyota profits jump amid recovery from disasters Toyota's fourth quarter profits have jumped five-fold amid a recovery from last year's natural disasters and a pick up in the US car market. Net profit was 121bn yen ($1.5bn; £940m) in the three months to the end of March, up from 25.4bn a year earlier. For the full year, profit fell 30% to 283.5bn yen, as disasters and a strong yen hurt earnings earlier in the year. The firm has forecast a net profit of 760bn yen in the current fiscal year. "Our vision is to establish a strong business foundation that will ensure profitability under any kind of difficult business environment," President Akio Toyoda said in a statement.Sales forecast Toyota's fortunes were hit by a variety of factors in the past 12 months. The earthquake and tsunami in Japan disrupted the country's supply chain, resulting in production being halted in Toyota's factories both at home and abroad. Just as the firm was recovering, it was dealt another blow by floods in Thailand which hurt production later in the year. End Quote Song Sang-Hoon Kyobo Securities Toyota is on a firm and fast recovery track as production from all key sites is returning to normal” The loss of production also hurt the company's sales as customers had to wait for longer periods to get the delivery of their cars. However, the firm has seen its production come back to normal levels since then. That has also translated into increased sales, especially in the US, which is one of the biggest markets for the firm. It has also introduced new models in an attempt to attract customers back to its showrooms. Last week, Toyota reported that its sales in the US had risen by 11.6% in April from a year earlier, outpacing the overall growth in the US car market. "Toyota is on a firm and fast recovery track as production from all key sites is returning to normal," said Song Sang-Hoon of Kyobo Securities. Encouraged by its recovery, the firm said that it expected to sell 8.8 million vehicles in the current financial year, an 18% jump from last year.Yen threat Along with the natural disasters, Toyota has also had to battle a strong Japanese currency. The yen rose by as much as 10% against the US dollar between April 2011 and February 2012, despite efforts by the Japanese central bank to stem its rise. It rose to 76.29 yen against the US dollar in February 2012, from 85.33 yen in early April last year. It was trading close to 79.80 yen against the US currency on Wednesday. A strong currency causes problems for firms such as Toyota, which rely heavily on overseas sales for growth. It not only makes their products more expensive to foreign buyers but also hurts profits of firms when they repatriate their foreign earnings back home. Toyota said that fluctuations in the yen over the past year had dented its earnings by as much as 250bn yen. Analysts said that despite the recovery in Toyota's fortunes, the volatility of the yen remains a big threat to its earnings.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18074790	Female unemployment: Why has it been rising rapidly? Unemployment has fallen and that is certainly good news for those who have been hunting for jobs. But the jobless total is still high and it is hard to tell where it will be in the second half of this year. Beneath the headlines are many puzzling aspects of the jobs market, one of which is that female unemployment has been rising a lot faster than the male total. So why does it seem that the hunt for jobs is harder for women than men? Patricia Campbell, from Edinburgh, is a former teacher. Aged 51, she left her teaching job four years ago to look for other job opportunities. Ms Campbell has been volunteering with various advice charities but has failed so far to land a paid job. She recently turned to an Edinburgh-based charity - Women Onto Work - for help and support in finding work. She has been claiming Jobseeker's Allowance for 12 months and believes some employers still have ageist attitudes that can work more against women than men. "Sometimes when women hit 50, they can become invisible," she observes. "Employers see hitting 50 as being a negative, instead of a plus. Instead of saying this person - this woman - has got a lot of experience, life experience and work experience, to bring to an employer... it's a negative, a minus."'Great in theory' Jessica Beale, who is in her 30s, has a son at primary school and is his sole carer. She needs to find work which will allow her to fit in her childcare commitments. But Ms Beale says that is a real struggle in the current economic climate. "Although I think flexible working is great in theory, there are very few jobs out there anyway," she says. "So, I don't think that somebody is going to give me a job if I need flexible hours whereas somebody else can come in and do the hours they want." The latest official figures reinforce the idea that life is tough for female jobseekers. There are 1.5 million men out of work, and 1.1 million women, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. But looking at the relative changes reveals widely differing experiences. Male unemployment in the three months to March 2012 was down 42,000 on the previous quarter, but the equivalent fall for women was just 3,000. Over the year to the first quarter of 2012, the male jobless total was up 78,000, that's a 5.4% increase. But the figure for women was up 92,000, an increase of 9%.Higher education gamble? Rose McConnachie, 27, has a degree and postgraduate qualifications from Edinburgh University. She cannot find any work relevant to her training in psychology and criminology, so has widened her search for any paid work. But she has drawn a blank. Ms McConnachie is increasingly frustrated that her higher education has not helped with the search for a job. "I thought I was investing but it seems like I've taken a gamble," she says. "I mean, I'm great! I'm very clever, I'm very talented, I've got a lot of transferable skills and I'm very employable, but there just doesn't seem to be anywhere for me to be utilised for anyone's benefit."Ideas and ability So are there any brighter signs on the horizon for female jobseekers? Anna Louise Simpson believes there are. She set up Mama Tea when she was at home looking after her young children. Ms Simpson sells caffeine-free herbal teas, targeting expectant and new mothers looking for healthy options. Sales have grown strongly. She has taken on one employee and will soon take on three more. Ms Simpson believes female employees have a lot to offer and she is happy to employ staff on flexible hours, fitting in with childcare commitments. What's more, she is urging more women to set up their own businesses. "I think we need to give more help and support to female entrepreneurs because these women have got the ideas and they've got the ability but at the moment, a lot of them don't have the confidence," she says. "So, we need to support them both in starting up businesses and growing them... and they will create the jobs." Creating the jobs is what will bring down unemployment, for both men and women. The message from Edinburgh is that with a bit more imagination, employers can think harder about the benefits offered by female staff.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11564766	How Mandelbrot's fractals changed the world In 1975, a new word came into use, when a maverick mathematician made an important discovery. So what are fractals? And why are they important? During the 1980s, people became familiar with fractals through those weird, colourful patterns made by computers. But few realise how the idea of fractals has revolutionised our understanding of the world, and how many fractal-based systems we depend upon. End Quote Benoit Mandelbrot Clouds are not spheres, mountains are not cones, coastlines are not circles” On 14 October 2010, the genius who coined the word - Polish-born mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot - died, aged 85, from cancer. Unfortunately, there is no definition of fractals that is both simple and accurate. Like so many things in modern science and mathematics, discussions of "fractal geometry" can quickly go over the heads of the non-mathematically-minded. This is a real shame, because there is profound beauty and power in the idea of fractals. The best way to get a feeling for what fractals are is to consider some examples. Clouds, mountains, coastlines, cauliflowers and ferns are all natural fractals. These shapes have something in common - something intuitive, accessible and aesthetic. They are all complicated and irregular: the sort of shape that mathematicians used to shy away from in favour of regular ones, like spheres, which they could tame with equations. Mandelbrot famously wrote: "Clouds are not spheres, mountains are not cones, coastlines are not circles, and bark is not smooth, nor does lightning travel in a straight line." What are fractals? - Geometrical objects that are self-similar when the distance at which they are viewed is changed - Concept is helpful in allowing order to be perceived in apparent disorder - Eg, in the case of a river and its tributaries, every tributary has its own tributaries… - ...so that it has the same structure organisation as the entire river except that it covers a smaller area Source: McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Science and Technology The chaos and irregularity of the world - Mandelbrot referred to it as "roughness" - is something to be celebrated. It would be a shame if clouds really were spheres, and mountains cones. Look closely at a fractal, and you will find that the complexity is still present at a smaller scale. A small cloud is strikingly similar to the whole thing. A pine tree is composed of branches that are composed of branches - which in turn are composed of branches. A tiny sand dune or a puddle in a mountain track have the same shapes as a huge sand dune and a lake in a mountain gully. This "self-similarity" at different scales is a defining characteristic of fractals. The fractal mathematics Mandelbrot pioneered, together with the related field of chaos theory, lifts the veil on the hidden beauty of the world. It inspired scientists in many disciplines - including cosmology, medicine, engineering and genetics - and artists and musicians, too. The whole universe is fractal, and so there is something joyfully quintessential about Mandelbrot's insights. Fractal mathematics has many practical uses, too - for example, in producing stunning and realistic computer graphics, in computer file compression systems, in the architecture of the networks that make up the internet and even in diagnosing some diseases. Fractal geometry can also provide a way to understand complexity in "systems" as well as just in shapes. The timing and sizes of earthquakes and the variation in a person's heartbeat and the prevalence of diseases are just three cases in which fractal geometry can describe the unpredictable. Another is in the financial markets, where Mandelbrot first gained insight into the mathematics of complexity while working as a researcher for IBM during the 1960s. What is a Mandelbrot set? The most famous computer-generated fractal is called the Mandelbrot set - a swirling, feathery, seemingly organic landscape that is reminiscent of the natural world, but is nonetheless completely virtual. It is infinitely complex, but it is built from an extremely simple equation repeated endlessly. In the same way, natural fractal forms really are built up by simple rules - ultimately, the interactions between atoms. Mandelbrot tried using fractal mathematics to describe the market - in terms of profits and losses traders made over time, and found it worked well. In 2005, Mandelbrot turned again to the mathematics of the financial market, warning in his book The (Mis)Behaviour of Markets against the huge risks being taken by traders - who, he claimed, tend to act as if the market is inherently predictable, and immune to large swings. Fractal mathematics cannot be used to predict the big events in chaotic systems - but it can tell us that such events will happen. As such, it reminds us that the world is complex - and delightfully unpredictable.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-18668861	Jamaica's London appeal court dilemma Jamaica is celebrating the 50th anniversary of independence from Britain next week. The government in Kingston is talking about becoming a republic and is also looking at ending a legal legacy of the British Empire. Earlier this year the Jamaican prime minister pledged to make the country a republic. Portia Simpson Miller, whose People's National Party (PNP) took power in a landslide election in December, said it was time "to sever the ties". She trod carefully, saying: "I love the Queen. She's a beautiful lady." However, she added in patois: "But I think time come." Mrs Simpson Miller also promised to switch from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) in London to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as Jamaica's highest court of appeal. She described it as time to "end judicial surveillance from London".Last resort The JCPC is a legacy of the British Empire when men and women convicted in the colonies could appeal, as a last resort, to London. CARIBBEAN COURT OF JUSTICE - Set up in 2001 partly to offer an alternative to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London - Based in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago - Signatories are - Jamaica, Barbados, Guyana, Belize, Suriname, Grenada, St Lucia, Dominica, Trinidad & Tobago, St Kitts & Nevis, St Vincent & The Grenadines, Antigua & Barbuda - Only Barbados, Guyana and Belize use CCJ as highest criminal court of appeal - In January Jamaica's prime minister suggested she wanted to switch to the CCJ - In April Trinidad decided to switch, but only for criminal appeals In April, Trinidad & Tobago's Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, announced that country would be switching over to the CCJ as the country's highest court of appeal in criminal matters. In 2002 I attended a hearing of the Privy Council's judicial committee, which discussed the fate of Michael Pringle, who was on Death Row in Jamaica after being convicted of murdering an American musician. The CCJ came into existence in 2005 and is based in the Trinidadian capital, Port of Spain. The bulk of its workload is civil disputes involving people from the 12 countries which are signatories. Earlier this year it sat in Barbados - the first time it had sat outside of Trinidad - to hear the complaint of Jamaican tourist Shanique Myrie, who accused Barbadian border officials of assaulting her during a body search. But only three nations - Barbados, Guyana and Belize - have so far replaced the JCPC with the CCJ as their final criminal court of appeal. Last year the outgoing president of the court, Michael de la Bastide, said it would be a "regional catastrophe" if the CCJ were to fail because of under-utilisation of its appellate jurisdiction. When the CCJ came into existence it was seen by many critics as a "hanging court" which would fast-track executions which were being blocked by the Privy Council. But CCJ spokeswoman Seanna Annisette told the BBC: "In terms of the CCJ being a hanging court, which is a claim which we have been plagued with, I should point out the court only upholds the law in those countries." In 1965 capital punishment was abolished in Britain but Jamaica, which became independent three years earlier, retains it on its statute books. Nowadays very few murderers are sentenced to death and Jamaica has not executed anyone since 1988. Only seven people are on Death Row. Amnesty International's annual report on Jamaica highlights the fact that in April 2011 the Jamaican government adopted a Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. This included "a provision intended to reverse the effects of a landmark 1993 ruling" by the JCPC which ruled that prisoners who were on Death Row for more than five years should have their sentences commuted. But an Amnesty International spokeswoman said it was up to each country to decide who should be their ultimate court of appeal. The opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) believe there should be a referendum on both issues. Arthur Williams, a JLP senator, said: "Our position has been that a change of this nature is of such public importance that the people should have a say and that has been our position for 15 years." He added: "It is very much a live issue but our position has been stated very clearly." But last month Justice Minister Mark Golding wrote to the opposition telling them the government planned to table the relevant legislation in the Jamaican parliament before it rose for the summer recess. Mr Golding wrote there was no need for a referendum and all that was necessary was for a two-thirds majority in parliament. He concluded: "The government and the people of Jamaica expect that no legislator will seek to withhold his or her vote, as we signal our maturity on the occasion of this significant milestone of 50 years as an independent nation."'Accessible justice' Lord Anthony Gifford QC, an English hereditary peer and a barrister who represented the Guildford Four and the Birmingham Six before setting up a law firm in Jamaica in 1991, is perhaps uniquely placed to assess the legal landscape. He told the BBC: "I'm in favour of the move to the CCJ. It would be far more accessible. At the moment the only people who can appeal to the Privy Council are those with a lot of money or those with none, who are on Death Row." Lord Gifford, who has taken both criminal and civil appeals to the Privy Council's Judicial Committee, said the CCJ's track record was "quite good so far". He praised the "very professional way" the CCJ had dealt with the case of Jeffrey Joseph and Lennox Boyce, who appealed against their execution by Barbados. Dr Paul Ashley, a Jamaican lawyer and political commentator, says the debate is primarily political and about the pace of formal decolonisation. Among Jamaicans, he says, there is a certain reluctance to put issues of local justice in the hands of other Caribbean nationals. The feeling, he says, is "better to let it remain with the tried, tested and proven British". But Dr Ashley adds: "The current government enjoys considerable political capital. "It could expend some in advancing the pace of decolonisation. Given the dire global economic outlook and the systemic dependency, then the move away from the Privy Council to the CCJ may be its only lasting political legacy." A JCPC spokesman told the BBC that the London court of appeal would exist as long as Commonwealth jurisdictions wanted to use it. "We don't lobby for people to stay with the JCPC," the JCPC spokesman said. "It is a legacy of the British Empire but it is also a valued part of what the Commonwealth can offer."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12903246	Cricket: India and Pakistan gripped by World Cup clash More than a billion people are thought to have watched India beat Pakistan by 29 runs in the World Cup cricket semi-final in the Indian city of Mohali. Both countries largely ground to a halt during the match, which was attended by their respective prime ministers. It was the first time the two sides had played on each other's soil since the 2008 Mumbai (Bombay) attacks. The nuclear-armed neighbours' ties hit a low after the attacks, which were blamed on Pakistan-based militants. India now play Sri Lanka in the final in Mumbai on Saturday and celebrations have erupted around the country. The BBC's Soutik Biswas in Delhi says the skies are alight with fireworks and it's like a rerun of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.Cricket diplomacy Relations between the two have been frosty and precarious for long, and it is unfair to expect the cricketers to improve them” Wednesday's semi was one of most keenly anticipated contests between the countries for years. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was invited by his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, in what is being described as "cricket diplomacy". The two leaders shook hands with both sets of players before sitting down together to watch the game. Midway through, Mr Singh hosted a dinner in honour of his guest. After the game, they were due to return to their respective capitals, Delhi and Islamabad. Indian Foreign Secretary Nirumpama Rao hailed what she called "the spirit of Mohali". "An extremely positive and encouraging spirit... has been generated as a result of today's meeting. I would like to emphasise this is re-engagement between India and Pakistan," she told a news conference during the match. Beforehand, Mr Gilani had said he hoped his visit would improve ties. "I am going to watch the match. It is too early to expect anything else," he told reporters. The meeting comes a day after India and Pakistan agreed to let their officials visit each others' countries to investigate the Mumbai attacks. The breakthrough followed talks between the two sides in Delhi. The attacks killed at least 174 people, nine of whom were the gunmen. One attacker was caught alive and has been sentenced to death.Holiday The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Mohali says that with only half of the stadium's 28,000 tickets open to the public, there were none to be had except on the black market. Tickets were apparently selling for up to 10 times their original value, our correspondent says. Other reports put the figure much higher. Pakistan declared a half-day holiday to allow fans to watch the match, while many offices in both countries said they would shut for the occasion. The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and home of cricket captain and key player Shahid Afridi, says giant screens were set up at various venues across the city. Before the match, fans hurriedly gathered at shops across the city to stock up on snacks. Everybody seemed to be bedecked in green shirts and cloaks - the colour of the Pakistani flag. Cars were also draped with flags and posters of national team members, our correspondent reports. "This is a more important event than any other event in Pakistan this year," one fan, Karachi-based fund manager Omar Ehtisham Anwar, told Reuters news agency. "There is no way I would miss even a second of this match - I will try to not even blink during the game." In India, many returned home early as well. Giant television screens were installed in markets and restaurants for people to watch the match. "We do not have any animosity towards the Pakistan team," Indian cricket fan Ravi Ansal told the AFP news agency before play began. "They are a fine team and if India go on to lose the semi-final, I will cheer for Pakistan in the final." The match was held amid tight security and authorities imposed a ban on flights over the stadium. Thousands of police and paramilitary forces were deployed around the venue. "We are leaving nothing to chance. The security will be multi-layered," local police chief GPS Bhullar told reporters. In February, the two countries agreed to resume peace talks "on all issues". Peace moves were put on hold after the 2008 attacks, although the sides have met a number of times in the past year. Pakistan's foreign minister will visit India by July to review progress in the dialogue.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17908830	US man Robert Dewey cleared of murder after 16 years A US man who has spent more than 16 years in prison has been freed after new DNA evidence cleared his name. Robert Dewey was sentenced to life for the rape and murder of a woman found strangled with a dog leash in Palisade, Colorado, in 1994. But a court has now found him innocent, with the judge saying his exoneration marked a "historic day". Prosecutors say improved DNA techniques have led them to a new suspect, who is currently serving life. Following his release, Mr Dewey met his girlfriend - whom he formed a relationship with by correspondence while in prison - for the first time.Fresh start Outside court, he inhaled smoke from a burning sprig of sage, which he said was a native American custom, and said he had a lot to catch up on. He said he intended to begin his new life by going for a meal with his mother, stepfather and girlfriend. Robert "Rider" Dewey also said he wanted to ride his motorcycle again. "As long as it's in the wind, I'm happy," he said. Mr Dewey was convicted of the rape and murder of 19-year-old Jacie Taylor, whose partially clothed body was found in her bathtub in June 1994. He always maintained his innocence, saying as he was convicted that the real killer was still at large. Advanced DNA tests cleared him and also led to an arrest warrant being issued for Douglas Thames, who is currently serving a life sentence for a rape and murder committed in 1989."Not perfect" Freeing Mr Dewey, Mesa County District Judge Brian Flynn said: "Mr Dewey spent 6,219 days of his life incarcerated for a crime he did not do. This is a reminder to the entire system that it's not perfect." Speaking after the hearing, Mr Dewey said he was not angry about his incarceration. "What good would it do to me? I get to step outside there, touch a tree, get a dog and kiss my girl," he said. But he said more cases should be reviewed, adding: "Who else is out there?"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-20720640	Coutts settles millionaire Sir Keith Mills' claim Millionaire businessman Sir Keith Mills who complained about the investment advice he was given by Coutts has settled with the bank. Sir Keith, a director of Tottenham Hotspur, told the High Court he lost money after consulting Coutts over investing £65m five years ago. The businessman told the court if he was "properly advised" he might have chosen "less risky" options. Coutts disagreed with his claim as to the "actual loss" suffered. Mrs Justice Asplin heard arguments from both sides earlier this month in order to assess damages. But a spokeswoman for Coutts said: "We confirm that we have reached a mutual settlement with Sir Keith Mills and we are pleased to have resolved this issue." Sir Keith was a deputy chairman of Locog, which organised the London 2012 Olympic Games, and also founded the Nectar loyalty card and Air Miles.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-20959739	Barry Reeve murder trial: Couple 'left scene by taxi' A taxi driver told a court he took two women accused of torturing and killing a Norwich pensioner away from the scene of the crime. Niall Gallagher told Norwich Crown Court he collected Kelly Barnes, 32, and Jodie Barnes, 31, from the home of Barry Reeve, 67. He said the couple loaded his taxi with bin bags full of items taken from the bungalow, including frozen food. The two women, who are in a civil partnership, both deny murder. They are accused of targeting retired bus conductor Mr Reeve, believing he had large sums of cash. Mr Reeve remained alive for up to 48 hours after being punched, stamped on and cut with a knife in an alleged attempt to force him to disclose his PIN number. His body was found in his home two weeks later.'A rush job' End Quote Niall Gallagher Taxi driver "One of the bags had leaking medicine in it, another contained a large camcorder” Mr Gallagher said he collected the pair shortly after 20:30 GMT on 9 February last year, the day of Mr Reeve's murder. He said they claimed they had been kicked out of their home as they had fallen out with an "alcoholic guy". When they arrived at the terraced bungalow in Corton Road, first Jodie Barnes then Kelly scaled the back gate and began piling up bin bags they had carried out of the house.. Mr Gallagher added: "It seemed like a rush job. It was not carefully done. "One of the bags had leaking medicine in it, another contained a large camcorder. There was food, some of it was frozen."'It wasn't normal' He said he took the couple to a cash machine at Sainsbury's where they tried to withdraw money. Prosecutor Karim Khalil QC earlier told the court that the women made failed attempts to withdraw money using Mr Reeve's card. Mr Gallagher said he then drove to the couple's home in Bixley Close, Norwich, where they unloaded the bags and he saw food spilling from some of them. "It wasn't normal. I didn't feel comfortable," he said. He contacted police to report his concerns after seeing reports that Mr Reeve's body had been discovered on February 26. Opening the case, Mr Khalil said that the "drug addict" couple left Mr Reeve dying before returning to his flat. A post-mortem examination showed he was alive for at least 15 hours and up to 48 hours after the attack, meaning he was still alive when they returned. Mr Khalil said: "He was brutally beaten, cut with a sharp blade and left to die in his home, unable to summon help." Mr Reeve lived off a pension and benefits but had been heard talking about having large sums of money, once claiming that he carried around £2,000 in cash. The case continues.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-15155082	Martin McGuinness and St Paul Elsewhere on the BBC website, I've written a piece analysing Martin McGuinness's use of the term "murder" in an interview for the Independent. If you didn't catch it on BBC Radio Ulster, you might want to listen to this weekend's Inside Politics interview with David Latimer, who continues to defend Martin McGuinness against his critics. At one point I started to think I was presenting Sunday Sequence, when Mr Latimer referred to St Paul, and I wondered whether he believed the Mid Ulster MP had experienced a road to Damascus conversion. On a different tack the DUP Finance Minister Sammy Wilson was on good form in the Stormont chamber on Monday, proudly proclaiming his euroscepticism. Mr Wilson declared he was one of the "better off out campaign". Sinn Fein's Mitchel McLaughlin asked him to clarify he wasn't speaking for the Stormont executive - a clarification which may be wise given that Europe is due to make its decision next month on funding for the proposed Maze conflict transformation centre.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-18458975	Armando Iannucci: OBE 'won't stop me poking fun at politicians' Armando Iannucci, who has been appointed OBE, has been a constant presence in British comedy, on both sides of the camera, for more than 20 years. The writer, producer and performer was born in Glasgow to a Scottish mother and Italian father. He went to St Aloysius' College in Glasgow and as a teenager considered becoming a priest. Instead he studied at Oxford, gaining an MA in English literature in 1986 before pursuing a career in comedy. BBC Radio Scotland provided Iannucci with his first commissions, with No' The Archie McPherson Show, before the 48-year-old moved to London in 1989. He then made radio shows, including Armando Iannucci for BBC Radio 1, which featured a number of comedians he was to collaborate with for many years, including David Schneider, Peter Baynham, Steve Coogan and Rebecca Front. Iannucci first received widespread fame, alongside Chris Morris, for On the Hour on Radio 4, which soon transferred to television as The Day Today in 1994. Each episode was a mock news programme where the excessively brash style of reporting, and unnecessarily complex format, surreally parodied the current affairs format and earned the show numerous awards. The programme also featured Steve Coogan's Alan Partridge character in one of his earliest incarnations. Partridge was a relatively minor character here and was spun off into a number of multi award-winning TV series co-written by Iannucci, including Knowing Me Knowing You With Alan Partridge and I'm Alan Partridge. In 2000, Iannucci created two pilot episodes for Channel 4, which became the eight-part series The Armando Iannucci Shows. The series consisted of his pondering pseudo-philosophical and jocular ideas in between surreal sketches. Iannucci was quoted as saying it is the comedy series he is most proud of making. Perhaps the programme for which he is best known is The Thick of It, a political satire he wrote for BBC Four. It starred Chris Langham as an incompetent cabinet minister being manipulated by foul-mouthed spin doctor Malcolm Tucker, played by Peter Capaldi, who is said to be based on Tony Blair's former press secretary Alastair Campbell. End Quote Armando Iannucci I just hope it's not an attempt by the government to stop me because that's not going to happen” The critically acclaimed series was broadcast in two parts in 2005 and two special hour-long episodes. A feature film spin-off, In The Loop - Iannucci's directorial debut - was nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar in 2009 and helped make his name in the US. The comedian reportedly used his BBC press pass to enter the US State Department headquarters whilst researching the film, just turning up and rather vaguely claiming to be "here for the 12.30". He spent an hour inside taking photographs which were used for the film's set designs. The father-of-three said his OBE for services to broadcasting would not stop him poking fun at politicians. "I just hope it's not an attempt by the government to stop me because that's not going to happen," he said. The award had caused him at least one problem with the new series of The Thick Of It - due to be broadcast in the autumn - when one of the writers suggested a plotline which would see Tucker get a CBE. "I had to put that to one side because they didn't know what I knew," he said. However, Iannucci said he could not help but feel slightly "guilty" about accepting the award. "The honour is working with lots of performers and writers, so I did feel a bit guilty," he said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-18070429	Deer and sheep 'trampling over' Ben Hope plant life Fragile plant life growing near Scotland's most northerly Munro are being threatened by deer and sheep, according to a new report. Ben Hope Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) includes the 927m (3,041ft) mountain it was named after. Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) commissioned an assessment of what effect deer, sheep and cattle have on the site's blanket bog and heath. The study suggests some areas were threatened by trampling. Grazing by the animals was not found to have as great an impact on Sphagnum moss and lichen. Certain areas of the SSSI in Sutherland were deemed to be under more pressure than others. An Gorm-choire was one of the areas reported to be at most risk. Deer and sheep were said to be damaging pools and water tracks, which were in turn reducing the spread and diversity of plant life.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18715236	Twitter helps reunite Patch the dog with his owner A dog's adventure on Ireland's rail network was short-lived before he was reunited with his worried owner. Patch boarded a Dublin-bound train at Kilcock station in County Kildare just before 07:00 BST on Wednesday. Concerned commuters took the pooch to Irish Rail staff when the train arrived in Dublin a short time later. A picture of the dog whom staff had christened 'Checker' was tweeted through the company's twitter account which has more than 18,000 followers. Almost 500 retweets followed, and 32 minutes later, Deirdre Anglin contacted the company to say that it was her dog, Patch, who had been missing since the previous afternoon. A short time later, Deirdre and Patch were reunited at Pearse Station, before returning home on the train. A spokesperson for Iarnród Éireann said: "We are delighted to have played a part in reuniting Deirdre and Patch. "Patch seemed to enjoy his adventure, and was a very friendly dog. "We also want to thank our customers on the train, and our twitter followers - it was a great team effort, and testament to the power of Twitter." The company uses Twitter extensively, and @irishrail recently won Best Twitter Account for Customer Support at the Irish Social Media Awards.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20608467	Saakashvili critic Okruashvili on trial in Georgia An ally-turned-opponent of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, Irakli Okruashvili, has gone on trial, charged with setting up an illegal armed group. The charges were brought last year after opposition protests against Mr Saakashvili's rule. Okruashvili, 39, was then living in France, which refused to extradite him. Last month he returned to Georgia, where he was sent to jail to serve a previous 11-year term for extortion, handed down in absentia in 2008. Political allies said he was determined to clear his name over the extortion conviction. President Saakashvili's political position was seriously weakened when his United National Movement party lost October's general election, in a shock defeat to the Georgian Dream coalition led by Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is now prime minister. Okruashvili has repeatedly accused Mr Saakashvili of criminal activity, in particular of being connected to the mysterious deaths of political rivals. If those allegations are made in court, analysts say the president himself could face questioning, the BBC's Damien McGuinness reports from Tbilisi.'Absurd' allegations Born in Tskhinvali, the capital of Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia, Okruashvili is a lawyer by training with a reputation as a strong nationalist and anti-Russian hawk. - 2004: rapidly promoted by President Saakashvili, first to chief prosecutor, then interior and finally defence minister - 2006: Leaves government after being moved to ministry of economic development - 2007: Goes into opposition and is arrested for extortion while in office; is allowed move abroad while on bail - 2008: Convicted of extortion and jailed for 11 years in absentia; living in exile in France - 2011: Promises to return to Georgia to join protests against Saakashvili; charged in absentia with plotting a coup - 2012: Returns to Georgia; jailed over 2008 conviction; tried over 2011 charges After the pro-Western "Rose Revolution" of 2003, Mr Saakashvili promoted him to three top posts inside a single year: chief prosecutor, interior minister and finally defence minister. In April 2006, shortly after a controversial Russian ban on imports of Georgian wine on grounds of food hygiene, he famously declared that one could sell "faecal matter in Russia". After being moved to the ministry of economic development that November, he resigned from the post after barely a week, and his relations with the president deteriorated. The following year, he set up his own political party and accused Mr Saakashvili of planning the murder of businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili, as well as questioning the mysterious death of Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania. Shortly afterwards, he was arrested for extortion while in office but was allowed to move abroad while on bail. His trial eventually resumed without him, and he was convicted in absentia in March 2008. On 28 June last year, Georgian prosecutors charged him with "creating or leading an armed formation". He had allegedly planned to seize power in Georgia with the help of "200 Russian commandos" - a charge his allies described as "absurd". The prosecution followed anti-Saakashvili demonstrations in Tbilisi, during which Okruashvili promised to return from exile to take part personally.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7517423.stm	Steven Moffat said he was compelled to "come to the aid of the Tardis" Scriptwriter Steven Moffat has denied he "quit" a deal to work on Steven Spielberg's forthcoming Tintin trilogy so he could oversee TV's Doctor Who. A newspaper report that he had "turned down" a two-film deal with Spielberg was "a bit misleading", Moffat said. He had planned to finish Tintin before starting Doctor Who but was delayed by the US writers' strike, he said. In May it was announced he would replace Russell T Davies as lead writer and executive producer on Doctor Who. Mr Moffat told the BBC that "nothing less than Doctor Who could have torn me away" from Tintin, which he described as a "stunning project" he was "proud" to be part of. But it was "the proper duty of every British subject to come to the aid of the Tardis", he added. Clarifying the chronology of the deal, he said he had not accepted the offer to replace Russell T Davies on Doctor Who during the three-month strike, which ended in February. "In fact it was already in the works," Moffat said. "The strike just meant that I was unable to finish my work on the Tintin films given my new commitments." He said Spielberg had been "very patient and understanding about the situation, despite the problems it created". He also said that, contrary to the report, it was Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson who was a fan of Doctor Who, rather than Spielberg, who just "knows and admires the show". And he added that "the figures quoted" in the paper about his salary "are also entirely speculative and wildly inaccurate". Lead role cast Spielberg and Jackson will each direct one film in the trilogy, which is based on Herge's famous comic book character. It is expected they will work together on the third film. The first movie is expected to be released at some point next year. Mr Moffat had been adapting the tales of a young Belgian reporter and his faithful dog Snowy for the big screen. The books, which have sold more than 200m copies around the world, are available in 50 languages. Thomas Sangster, 18, will take the lead role. He is known for playing Liam Neeson's son in British comedy Love Actually. And the voice of Gollum from Lord of the Rings, Andy Serkis, has signed up to play Captain Haddock.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7240462.stm	Russia and Ukraine seem finally to have settled their row over gas supplies, raising hopes of an end to more than two weeks of shortages in Eastern and Central Europe. What are the terms of the deal? Ukraine will move from paying a subsidised rate for its gas to the market rate, in 2010. In 2009 it will pay the market rate less 20%. Russia will pay a discounted rate to Ukraine for carrying its gas through pipelines to European customers in 2009, before paying the market rate from 2010. "In the first quarter of 2009, the price of gas for Ukrainian customers will be $360 [£260] per 1,000 cubic metres. The price will change quarterly under the formula," said Russia's state energy firm Gazprom. That compares to the market rate paid by European customers of about $450 - but is a major hike for Ukraine, which until December was paying only $179.50. However, it is predicted that the $360 figure will fall dramatically. Gas prices tend to shadow oil prices, which have already plunged from record highs. By midsummer, Ukraine could be paying as little as $150, Ronald Smith, a strategist at Moscow's Alfa Bank, told the Associated Press. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said Kiev would end up paying less than $250, on average, over the course of 2009. What sparked the crisis? Russia cut gas supplies to Ukraine on New Year's Day, saying it would pump only enough for customers further down the pipeline. Ukraine and Russia have faced negotiations over the renewal of gas supply contracts every year, but by midnight on 31 December 2008 they had failed to agree on the price Kiev should pay in 2009. Gazprom asked for $418 per 1,000 cubic metres of gas, then $250. But Ukraine rejected this, offering $235, prompting Gazprom to revert to its previous demand, of $418. The two countries also failed to agree on a price Russia would pay Ukraine for gas transit to Europe. Meanwhile, Gazprom demanded payment of about $2bn by the Ukrainian state energy firm Naftogaz: $1.6bn in backdated bills and a further in $450m fines for late payments. Naftogaz says it has fulfilled its obligations by paying $1.5bn to cover its debts, but it disputes the fines. Was that politics or economics? Gazprom used to be a Russian ministry before becoming a private company, and it remains very closely connected to the state - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is a former chairman of the company. Critics say that Russia is using its energy resources as a political weapon to pressure European and former Soviet countries to adopt favourable stances towards Moscow. But disrupted exports have damaged Russia's reputation as a reliable gas supplier. Meanwhile, Gazprom has suggested that "political forces" in the pro-Western Ukrainian administration are seeking to provoke a wider confrontation with Russia. Mr Putin has been highly critical of Ukraine's leaders, blaming the dispute on a "clan war" between Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and President Viktor Yushchenko. How was Europe's gas supply affected? Gazprom controls about a third of the world's gas reserves and it is responsible for a quarter of Europe's supplies. After a similar row in 2006, when Gazprom shut down its pipelines across Ukraine, Ukraine built up reserves to cover its needs for several months, and most other EU countries did the same. This year, gas supplies were completely halted from 7 January, after Russia accused Ukraine of siphoning off gas meant for European customers, leaving more than a dozen countries without their expected supplies of Russian gas. Some, like Bulgaria, Serbia and Bosnia, are almost completely dependent on supplies via Ukraine and so were left with major shortages, during a very cold spell in Europe. The European Union called the supply cut "completely unacceptable", demanded immediate restoration and entered into shuttle diplomacy between Kiev and Moscow. A deal reached on 12 January, whereby EU and Russian observers would monitor supplies across Ukraine, collapsed within hours. The EU said both sides had failed to meet its terms. In the meantime European countries had to shut down industrial plants and domestic heating systems, find alternative sources of gas or switch energy plants to oil. Schools were shut and people had to revert to using log fires to heat their homes. Slovakia and Bulgaria mooted restarting mothballed nuclear reactors. Is the EU happy about relying on Russian gas? Gazprom had already embarked on plans for pipelines that bypass Ukraine and Belarus, former Soviet states which are currently essential for transit. Gazprom has two major projects, Nord Stream and South Stream. Nord Stream will run for 1,200km along the bed of the Baltic Sea, and South Stream under the Black Sea. Gazprom has signed up big European partners: Italy's ENI for South Stream, and German companies E.ON Ruhrgas and Wintershall - along with Dutch provider Gasunie - for Nord Stream. The EU has major concerns about security of supply and is moving ahead with a pipeline plan of its own. Nabucco will bring gas from Central Asia and the Caspian across Turkey into the European Union. But it will have only enough capacity to provide a small proportion, perhaps 5%, of Europe's needs. So Europe needs Gazprom, and that is why European companies and their governments have actively embraced the two projects. Austria is likely to serve as a hub for both. EU officials say that even during the Cold War the Russian gas supply was stable, so it is better to rely on Gazprom than potentially unstable sources such as Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Is the row now over? Although the deal reached on 19 January 2009 is for a 10-year period, the bitter relationship between Russia and Ukraine means it would be unwise to predict an end to their gas rows. Gazprom says the deal allows it to demand that Ukraine pay for gas in advance if it misses just one payment. It also says Ukraine still owes it $600m in fines. "There is no reason to believe that the situation with payments will improve [especially] after a significant price rise," Gazprom's chief Alexei Miller warned.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/tayside_and_central/6968663.stm	Video footage of Osama Bin Laden urging Jihad against the West was found on the laptop computer of a man accused of terror charges, his trial has heard. Video of Osama Bin Laden had been hidden, the court was told Computer expert Michael Dickson, 42, told the High Court in Glasgow he found the files "hidden" on a laptop seized from student Mohammed Atif Siddique. The computer was taken from Mr Siddique as he prepared to fly from Glasgow Airport to Pakistan in April last year. Mr Siddique, 21, denies five charges under the Terrorism Act 2000. Mr Dickson, a forensics analyst with the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit, told the court that he had made a copy of the hard drive of the laptop and examined it. He said the material was placed in a Windows folder where it would be difficult for anyone who did not know anything about computers to find. When he opened the folder he found videos, pictures and sound files which he agreed with prosecutor Brian McConnachie QC "seemed to be concerned with radical Islamic politics". Some of the material was screened to the jury on large flat screen TV monitors. The commentary and chanting on them was in Arabic but there were subtitles in English. The video proclaimed "victory for the mujahideen" and showed images of Osama Bin Laden followed by the Twin Towers in New York exploding after the attacks of September 2001. It also showed images of world leaders including US president George Bush, former UK prime minister Tony Blair and the president of Pakistan branded as "criminals", followed by photographs of injured Muslim babies and adults. It urged the destruction of the enemy, injustice and oppression. The subtitles also urged the direction of the forces against America, and to "send them what descends from the skies" and "make hurricanes a constant for them". Another file said to have been released by the Al Qaeda Network called for the release of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay in their orange boiler suits. A further one showed photographs of members of the "Martyrdom Battalion" with a message to America and its allies: "We are marching towards you with men who love to die just as much as you love to live." When Mr Dickson was asked by Mr McConnachie: "Why would someone put documents into windows options?", he replied: "In my opinion to hide it." Earlier in his evidence, Mr Dickson said useful evidence may have been destroyed when the laptop was switched on by a Special Branch detective before being passed to analysts, against standard police procedure. He added: "No one should be touching a computer after it has been seized, unless they are qualified to do so, as anything they do may cause catastrophic damage to the evidence. "The whole process of turning the computer on will cause a number of things to happen to the hard drive which may override things that may have been useful to see." The court heard 'serious damage' could have been caused Mr Siddique was arrested at his family home in Alva, Clackmannanshire, in a police operation on 13 April 2006, eight days after the computer was seized. He has been accused of possessing suspicious terrorism-related items including CDs and videos of weapons use, guerrilla tactics and bomb-making. He has also been accused of collecting terrorist-related information, setting up websites showing how to make and use weapons and explosives, and circulating inflammatory terrorist publications. A further charge of breach of the peace relates to claims that he showed students at Glasgow Metropolitan College images of suicide bombers and terrorist beheadings. This charge also includes the allegation that he threatened to become a suicide bomber, and claimed to be a member of al-Qaeda. The trial, before Lord Carloway, continues.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/representatives/profiles/25444.stm	Last updated 3rd Jun 2009 This information is based on the most frequently spoken phrases by this representative. \|Party\|\|Percentage of votes\| \|Name\|\|Party\|\|Votes\|\|% of votes\| \|Newman, Godfrey\|\|Liberal Democrat\|\|17,987\|\|32.18\| \|Aldridge, Harry\|\|UK Independence Party\|\|2,839\|\|5.08\| \|Duggan, Jim\|\|The Peace Party\|\|253\|\|0.46\| Land and Property: Interest in a residential investment property in France. Rental income from property in South London. Gifts, benefits and hospitality (UK): My wife and received tickets for the Conservative Party's 'Black and White Party' on 4 February 2009, paid for by Mr Christopher Moran, of London. (Registered 4 March 2009) Sponsorship or financial or material support: Temporary secondment of a member of staff each by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Boston Consulting Group to the Conservative party's Implementation Team, which reports to me. (Registered 26 February 2009) In 2008 the Horsham and Crawley Conservative Association received donations from the Horsham Parliamentary Dining Club of which I am chairman. (Registered 26 February 2009) Remunerated employment, office, profession etc: Member of Barclays' Asia-Pacific Advisory Committee. Remunerated directorships: The Mission Marketing Group (non-executive chairman from 1 February 2006); an advertising group. UTEK Corporation Inc (non-executive); a technology transfer company based in the US and listed on the Alternative Investment Market in London.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/4501105.stm	Liverpool stumbled to an 11th defeat away from home allowing rivals Everton to qualify for the Champions League. Arsenal's win means they are almost certain of finishing in second place. Robert Pires' precision free-kick put Arsenal ahead and soon after Jose Antonio Reyes' run and angled shot exposed some lax Liverpool defending. Steven Gerrard's deflected free-kick on 51 minutes gave Liverpool hope but in stoppage time Cesc Fabregas rounded off a sweeping move for Arsenal's third. As so often this season, Liverpool packed their midfield, leaving Milan Baros up on his own in attack in an attempt to stifle Arsenal. For the start of the second half manager Rafael Benitez introduced Djibril Cisse and Harry Kewell, a change that saw a more ambitious approach, but the poverty of their play in the opening period gave them too much of a mountain to climb. A flavour of Liverpool's insipid first-half display came on 10 minutes when a mistake from Sami Hyypia and a Jerzy Dudek fumble allowed Reyes to score from close range, only for the goal to be disallowed for offside. Dudek did better to thwart Lauren, pushing the Cameroonian's header on to the bar, though the Arsenal defender fluffed his shot in trying to convert the rebound. Arsenal had their own lucky escape when John Arne Riise eluded the Arsenal defence to collect Dietmar Hamann's pass. With Luis Garcia calling for the ball, Riise opted to shoot, an effort deflected away by Jens Lehmann's feet. By the midway point of the first half Arsenal had gathered a head of steam, demonstrating wonderful individual play allied to a great collective ethic. First Pires curled a shot narrowly wide and soon after the Frenchman punished Liverpool following Hamann's crude tackle on Patrick Vieira. From just outside the box Pires flighted the ball over the Liverpool wall and into the net, with Dudek only able to look on from the other side of the goal. Reyes waltzed his way through the Liverpool defence and slipped the ball past the advancing Dudek for the second. After the interval Liverpool quickly pulled a goal back, Fabregas turning his back on Gerrard's free-kick and deflecting the England international's shot past Lehmann. Just past the hour a superb Gerrard pass bisected the Arsenal defence but Cole sprinted across to get in a block tackle on Luis Garcia. Gerrard then unleashed a fierce drive that produced an athletic Lehmann save. Liverpool kept plugging away but with time running out substitute Dennis Bergkamp flicked the ball through to Fabregas, who rattled a shot past Dudek. Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger: "The injuries are serious. Gilberto has a recurrence of ankle injury, Patrick Vieira has hurt his knee, while Robert Pires turned his ankle. "It's a little bit worrying and we will have to see how they are on Monday. "What's positive with so many young players is the quality of the game we can reach - it makes me optimistic." Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez: "We played well for the first 15 minutes, but when we conceded a goal we put our heads down and we didn't play well for the rest of the first half. "We played with a higher tempo in the second half, but now we have to prepare for the European Cup final. "I am disappointed by the things we have done away from home. "To be in two finals is not easy, but we haven't done well in the Premiership." Arsenal: Lehmann, Lauren, Toure, Senderos, Cole, Fabregas, Vieira, Silva, Pires (Edu 68), Van Persie (Bergkamp 68), Reyes (Aliadiere 86). Subs Not Used: Campbell, Almunia. Goals: Pires 25, Reyes 29, Fabregas 90. Liverpool: Dudek, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore, Hamann (Smicer 68), Luis Garcia, Gerrard, Alonso, Riise (Kewell 45), Baros (Cisse 45). Subs Not Used: Carson, Biscan. Booked: Baros, Hamann. Goals: Gerrard 51. Ref: G Poll (Hertfordshire).
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/7145744.stm	Clint Dempsey's late strike salvaged a draw for Fulham to mark Ray Lewington's first match as caretaker boss with a point against fellow strugglers Wigan. Dempsey secured a point for Fulham with a neat strike late on Carlos Bocanegra had a header cleared off the line and Paul Konchesky hit the bar in a Fulham-dominated first half. But Wigan slowly got into the game and they took the lead when Marcus Bent controlled on the chest and lashed in. However, Fulham kept battling and Dempsey denied Wigan a first away win of the season with a low 16-yard drive. It was a result that did little to ease either side's relegation worries, with both sides still firmly rooted in the bottom four. But Lewington could at least be pleased with his side's renewed sense of urgency following a run of just one win in 15 matches that ultimately cost former manager Lawrie Sanchez his job. It was a bright start from the hosts, with only a smart goal-line clearance by Denny Landzaat denying Bocanegra's header, before Dempsey went close when his effort from Danny Murphy's cross was deflected over. Wigan were unsettled by Fulham's effervescent opening and the Cottagers again breached the visitors' backline when Hameur Bouazza slid a neat pass through to Davies, who forced a decent save from Chris Kirkland. Home keeper Antti Niemi was largely a spectator early on, Michael Brown twice missing the target from the edge of the box in Wigan's best chances, and Konchesky almost provided Fulham with a deserved lead when his 35-yard drive crashed off the bar. However, as Wigan finally began to come to terms with Fulham's energy, the half petered into a scrappy battle and it was not until just before the hour mark that either side created another chance. This time Dempsey broke the offside trap to run onto Murphy's clipped through ball, but Kirkland was able to merely shepherd the American's tame strike wide of goal. Bent celebrates his fine opener at Fulham, his fourth goal in a week Fulham were unable to re-create their chances of the first half, though, and a Wigan side that had appeared worryingly short of quality in the first half soon began to grow in confidence. Titus Bramble and Landzaat both had half-chances with tough headers and, with 20 minutes left on the clock, the deadlock was finally broken. Kevin Kilbane's cross was helped on by Bramble and Bent controlled well on his chest before lashing into the roof of the net from eight yards. It was the striker's fourth goal in two matches after his hat-trick last week, but the lead was almost wiped out within minutes when Fulham substitute David Healy ran onto Dempsey's clever free-kick only to direct his shot wide on the slide. The Cottagers were not to be denied, though, and Dempsey finally gained some reward for a hard-working display when he prodded home at the far post from Kamara's driven cross. Both sides had chances to snatch it, Wigan winger Antonio Valencia allowing Niemi to smother his shot when clear on goal and Antoine Sibierski heading just over, while Kamara forced a smart, brave save from Kirkland late on. The game ended in stalemate, though, ending a run of seven straight away defeats for Wigan. Fulham caretaker boss Ray Lewington: "We were playing at home and when you do that you expect to come away with three points, so it's probably a better result for them than us. "We were energetic and full of effort, which was pleasing, and we dominated possession and created the better chances, but then we could easily have lost the game as well. "As for the future, my hat is in the ring to take the job on a permanent basis but that means my doing well. We've got the players here to do better and we just need to take it a game at a time." Wigan manager Steve Bruce: "We're disappointed not to win that to be honest. With 10 minutes to go and with the way we were playing I thought we might snatch it. "But in the last week, with a win against Blackburn and a point here, we've at least given ourselves a chance and we've edged towards safety. "I'm seeing a bit of confidence and self belief coming back into the side and, yes, we know it will be tough (to survive), but we hope to keep improving and keep picking up points." Fulham: Niemi, Omozusi (Baird 60), Bocanegra, Hughes, Konchesky, Bouazza (Kuqi 72), Davis (Healy 59), Murphy, Davies, Kamara, Dempsey. Subs Not Used: Warner, Ki-Hyeon. Goals: Dempsey 78. Wigan: Kirkland, Boyce, Scharner, Bramble, Kilbane, Valencia, Brown, Landzaat, Taylor (Olembe 86), Aghahowa (Sibierski 63), Bent. Subs Not Used: Pollitt, Granqvist, Skoko. Goals: Bent 70. Ref: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire). BBC Sport Player Rater man of the match: Fulham's Antti Niemi 8.40 (on 90 minutes). Please note that you can still give the players marks out of 10 on BBC Sport's Player Rater after the match has finished.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/european/4068615.stm	The Dragons fired back into Pool 5 contention with a bonus-point win over Perpignan at Newport's Rodney Parade. HEINEKEN CUP POOL 5 Dragons (10) 27 Tries: Cooper, Morgan, Brew, Tuipulotu Cons: Sweeney (2) Perpignan (0) 14 Tries: Robertson, Edmonds Cons: Edmonds (2) Man-of-the-match Gareth Cooper's try and Ceri Sweeney's boot helped the Dragons to a 10-0 lead at the break. Kevin Morgan and the superb Nathan Brew claimed tries in a dazzling seven-minute period, before Sione Tuipulotu got the bonus-point score late on. French championship leaders Perpignan claimed tries through No 8 Scott Robertson and fly-half Manny Edmonds. The Dragons made a bright start and almost opened their account when Cooper sprinted clear - only to be up-ended by Diego Giannantonio. Cooper's half-back partner Sweeney kicked a penalty less than two minutes later though, and the home side were on their way, having comfortably absorbed Perpignan's initial forward effort. The Dragons continued to dominate territory as Perpignan offered precious few glimpses of their attacking potential, but the Welsh outfit could not convert pressure into points. Percy Montgomery snatched a drop-goal attempt on 27 minutes, drifting his kick wide under no pressure from 30 metres out, and Perpignan were content to soak up anything the Dragons could throw at them. Perpignan launched a dangerous attack 10 minutes before the break, and it took some frantic Dragons defending to deny centre David Marty. The visitors still gained a penalty for their efforts, but Giannantonio missed a straightforward chance after being handed responsibility ahead of the more From the restart, Cooper sprinted deep into Perpignan territory - finding flanker Jamie Ringer in support - and his return pass sent Cooper over for a sparkling try converted by Sweeney, making it 10-0. The Dragons needed to consolidate their advantage early in the second half, and they struck within four minutes. Perpignan's defence failed to shut down space just 25 metres out, and Brew breezed his way through before sending Morgan over wide out. Sweeney failed to convert, yet just when it looked as though the Dragons were entering cruise control substitute hooker Steve Jones' indiscipline - a needless illegal tackle - briefly allowed Perpignan back in. The French side established a promising field position, and Robertson touched down unopposed in the corner. Edmonds' effortless touchline conversion further narrowed the gap, prompting a severe lecture to his team from captain Michael Owen. Owen's rallying call worked wonders, because just two minutes later Brew cut back inside on an unstoppable angle to touch down between the posts and hand Sweeney a simple conversion. The all-important bonus-point score arrived with 11 minutes still remaining, as Perpignan once again retreated in defence to effectively wave Tuipulotu through. Brew's try came in a second-half onslaught by the Dragons The two sides meet in the return fixture at the Stade Aime Giral next Saturday. "We just have to believe," said a delighted Dragons coach Chris Anderson. "We've beaten them once and we have to believe we can do it again. "We got in their faces in defence to shut them down, and that was so important to build our confidence before going over there next week. "Our Welsh squad members had come back to the camp with a bit of a buzz and that lifted everyone here. "Michael Owen's leadership was great and Gareth Cooper is just a quality player." Dragons: Montgomery; Wyatt, Brew, Tuipulotu, Morgan; Sweeney, Cooper; Snow, Richards, Thomas, Gough, Sidoli, Oakley, Ringer, Owen (capt). Replacements: S Jones, Black, Robinson, Edwards, Baber, Bryant, Warlow. Perpignan: Giannantonio; Bomati, Marty, Hume, Luger; Edmonds, Durand; Freshwater, Van Der Heever, Mas, Gaston, Alvarez Kairelis, Le Corvec, Goutta, Robertson. Replacements: Sempere, Debaty, Roigt, Labat, Descons, Laharrague, Manas. Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15009337	UARS satellite: New images of tumbling US spacecraft An amateur astronomer has recorded images of the out-of-control US satellite as it tumbles back to Earth. Thierry Legault, from Paris, captured the video as the satellite passed over northern France on 15 September. The six-tonne, 20-year-old spacecraft has fallen out of orbit and is expected to crash somewhere on Earth on or around 24 September. The US space agency says the risk to life from the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) is 1 in 3,200. Mr Legault, an engineer, used a specially designed camera to record the tumbling satellite through his 14-inch telescope, posting the footage on his Astrophotography website. UARS could land anywhere between 57 degrees north and 57 degrees south of the equator - most of the populated world. Nasa says that most of the satellite will break or burn up before reaching Earth. But scientists have identified 26 separate pieces that could survive the fall through the atmosphere. This debris could rain across an area 400-500km (250-310 miles) wide. Robust, spherical satellite components such as fuel tanks are often most likely to survive the fiery plunge to Earth, say space experts. Nasa said scientists would only be able to make more accurate predictions about where the satellite might land two hours before it enters the Earth's atmosphere. The 1 in 3,200 risk to public safety is higher than the 1 in 10,000 limit that Nasa aims for. But agency officials stress that nobody has ever been hurt by objects re-entering from space. Mark Matney, a scientist with Nasa's Orbital Debris Program Office, told Space.com that there was "always a concern". But, he added: "Populated areas are a small fraction of the Earth's surface. Much of the Earth's surface has either no people or very few people. We believe that the risk is very modest." UARS is one of the biggest American satellites to make an uncontrolled re-entry in more than 30 years. However, the Skylab space station, which also made an uncontrolled plunge through the atmosphere in 1979, was about 15 times heavier than the tumbling satellite. Experts say that a recent expansion in the Earth's atmosphere due to heating by ultraviolet radiation has been causing UARS to fall to Earth faster than expected. The expansion increases the atmospheric drag on satellites in space, hastening re-entry. The US satellite was deployed in 1991 from the space shuttle Discovery on a mission to study the make-up of Earth's atmosphere, particularly its protective ozone layer. Nasa has warned members of the public not to touch any pieces of the spacecraft which may survive the re-entry, urging them to contact local law enforcement authorities. - Uars orbits the Earth between 57 degrees North and South - Nasa calculates some 26 components may survive the fall to Earth - The largest is a moveable instrument platform weighing almost 160kg - In total, about half a tonne may make it all the way to the surface
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-18526320	Cameron Sandell's canoe death was an accident The death of a teenage canoeist who drowned in the River Medway in Kent was an accident, a coroner has ruled. Cameron Sandell, 14, from Hunton, was canoeing with a friend at Teston Lock, near Maidstone, in April 2011 when his boat capsized. His friend, who was in a separate canoe, managed to get him out of the boat but was unable to pull him out of the water flow. A verdict of accidental death was recorded at the inquest in Maidstone. Cameron's family had described him as a competent canoeist who had pursued the sport for four years and gained qualifications.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-17729908	Nottingham students say parking permit system is 'unfair' Students in Nottingham say being charged up to £70 a year to park their cars, while other residents receive free parking permits, is unfair. The charges have been introduced by Nottingham City Council which says it is trying to create more parking space on the city's streets. Non-student residents can have three free two-year permits per household. Tom Jenkins, a Nottingham student who opted to pay for a permit, told BBC Radio 4 it had made life expensive. "Personally I have decided to keep my car up there and pay for the permit" said Mr Jenkins. "But I know a lot of students that have decided not to bring their car and it has made travelling around, going to get food and supplies, expensive as you have to pay for taxis or the bus. "They charge you £70 for the year but when the council brought in the plan for the permit, they brought it in in January and the permit would only last until June. So you were paying for the year and only getting half of it." If students want to make use of all three two-year permits available to them, they will be charged £420. In a statement sent to BBC Radio 4's "You and Yours", Nottingham City Council said: "The city council has a duty to help balance the parking needs of students and non-student residents. "Placing a charge on a student permit might encourage a student to think more carefully about if it is entirely necessary to have a car in Nottingham." You and Yours can be heard on BBC Radio 4 at midday on weekdays and afterwards on the iPlayer.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8443467.stm	Mr Cuellar's death provoked widespread shock and revulsion Left-wing rebels in Colombia have said they killed a provincial governor shortly after seizing him from his home at gunpoint on 21 December. A Farc rebel statement said the aim had been to try Luis Francisco Cuellar for corruption and paramilitary ties. His "tragic" death had resulted from a government order to use force to rescue rebel-held hostages, the rebels said. Government officials and Mr Cuellar's family said the rebels were trying to justify the unjustifiable. Mr Cuellar, the governor of the southern province of Caqueta, was found dead less than a day after he was seized. He was the highest profile politician to be kidnapped since 2002. The authorities immediately blamed the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) for his murder, and said he had probably been killed as troops closed in on his kidnappers. The Farc statement appeared on Tuesday on the Anncol news agency website, which regularly carries rebel communications. "Despite the obvious links between... Luis Francisco Cuellar and paramilitaries, the aim of holding him was not to kill him nor demand a ransom but to put him on trial for corruption," the statement, dated 24 December, said. Mr Cuellar's death had been a direct consequence of President Alvaro Uribe's order to use force to rescue hostages being held by the guerrillas, the Farc said. But Colombia's peace commissioner, Frank Pearl, told El Tiempo newspaper: "They are trying to justify with absurd words an absurd and unjustifiable crime." The guerrillas were thought to number some 16,000 fighters, but analysts suggest their ranks have fallen to about 9,000. They suffered a series of defeats at the hands of the security forces in 2008, but they are still holding more than 20 police officers and soldiers, often referred to as "high-profile" hostages, seized more than a decade ago. They are also believed to have kidnapped hundreds of other people, mainly for ransom.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3354937.stm	BBC World Service's World Today programme is looking at the end of year letters of ordinary people who lived through extraordinary events in 2003. 2003 saw the US-led invasion of Iraq and the toppling, and eventual capture, of Saddam Hussein. Here, Yanar Mohammed, who runs the Organisation of Women's Freedom in Iraq and the newspaper al-Mousawat which fights for women's rights, explains why she decided to return to Baghdad. I was born and raised in Iraq until my family decided to go into exile to Canada. The events in Iraq this year made me long to go back to my home country and I decided to move back to Baghdad - not an easy decision to explain to my family and especially my mother. But the return made me think of the three generations of women in my family, how different our lives have been and how much they depended on politics and the resulting culture and its commands. And here are some thoughts I would like to address to my mother, who is angry and upset at my decision to leave to the most dangerous city in the world: This is the letter I will never write to you, as much as I would like you to read it. Maybe some of it will reach you, maybe someday you will understand, and forgive the work that I do. Grandma's life should have been better, and then again it couldn't have. She should have been protected, but she never was. When my grandfather's first wife died, he thought it to be the most normal thing to marry her 14-year-old sister. She would be a good mother to his children, even though some of them were the same age as her. It did not occur to him that she should have the right to choose not to be his wife. Her escape to a far-away relative in the village did not help. She had to come back and submit to the only choice a female of her position could have in a traditional Islamic society, and that is to surrender to a man she despised. I remember sleeping on the rooftop of our house in Baghdad in the summer nights next to grandma, asking her about her childhood Dearest mother... How could that "respectable" man that you still call your father rape, horrify and torture the innocence of a girl, a kid in her early teenage life, and what gave him the right? And how does it feel to be the outcome of such a forced union? He prayed five times a day, gave money to the poor, was a good judge among his community to solve disputes, and definitely deserved the honorary title of Mullah because of all his pious and devout work and also because of his extensive religious knowledge. But it seems his teachings never touched on the idea that females are human beings that deserve to have choices or well-being or even any self-esteem at all. I am glad that your generation had it better off. Well, I see that you married the man you loved and finished your education and worked as a teacher. And I remember you in mini-skirts and fashionable sleeveless dresses all the time. I know one thing for sure: if I and other women do not work against it, the dark ages are around and women are the first victims I also remember grandma visiting us and staying for long periods of time with us. I remember sleeping on the rooftop of our house in Baghdad in the summer nights next to grandma, asking her about her childhood. As a teenager with a strong urge for love, I used to ask about her memories of love, maybe with grandpa? While lying down on her bed, she would turn the other way looking away from me and whisper that, at night time when she had to go to bed, it felt like death - every single night of her life with him. I see Iraq going back to the times of my grandmother. I see all women in the streets wrapped up in the veil and ugly, long and shapeless dresses. I see the politics of the New World Order handing the power over to the men, leaving millions of women in a situation like my grandmother, vulnerable to distressing and devastating lives. That is the main reason I am going back to Baghdad. I know one thing for sure: if I and other women do not work against it, the dark ages are around and women are the first victims. My Organisation of Women's Freedom in Iraq and my newspaper al-Mousawat are my way to reach women who have no one else to defend, support and empower them to a better life, a life where they have the freedom that grandma Fathiya was not allowed to. I wish some day you will understand and respect my choice to be there and forgive my not listening to you when you advised me to leave it all and stay in my comfortable home in Canada. It is something that I just have to do. Your loving daughter The World Today programme would like your comments, to be broadcast on air. If you would like to comment on this story, please use the form on the right.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/dorset/3298317.stm	A dog has been awarded the animal "Victoria Cross" for sniffing out hidden bomb-making equipment in Iraq. The award was introduced during the Second World War Buster, a five-year-old springer spaniel, broke an armed resistance cell in the southern Iraqi town of Safwan with his discovery in March. The Army search dog received the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) Dickin Medal from Princess Alexandra at the Imperial War Museum on Tuesday. Proud handler Sergeant Danny Morgan, of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, based at Aldershot in Hampshire said it was a massive honour for Buster and other dogs deployed in Iraq. Sgt Morgan, 37, who describes Buster as his best friend, usually looks after him at home, where he is also a family pet for his five-year-old daughter Emma and wife Nicki, a He said of the medal-winning incident: "The soldiers had found nothing so I unleashed Buster and sent him in. "Within minutes he became excited in a particular area and I knew he'd "Buster found the arms even though they had hidden them in a wall cavity, covered it with a sheet of tin then pushed a wardrobe in front. "We would never have found the weapons without him and they would still be a threat to our troops and the local population." The stash included Russian AK47 assault rifles, a pistol, six grenades, fuses, ammunition and large quantities of cash, two kilograms of cocaine and pro-Saddam literature. There have been no attacks in the town since Buster's discovery and soon afterwards troops were able to replace their steel helmets with soft berets. Buster is only the 24th dog to receive the PDSA Dickin Medal and his award marks the 60th anniversary of the honour, which was inaugurated by the PDSA's founder Maria Dickin in December 1943 to recognise outstanding bravery of animals in World The award is the highest decoration for gallantry that can be bestowed on any animal member of the British and Commonwealth forces. So far it has been presented to 59 animals - 32 pigeons, three horses and one cat as well as 23 dogs.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21070800	Snow travel chaos predicted for UK Much of the UK is braced for heavy snow on Friday, with predictions of widespread travel disruption. The heaviest snow is expected in south Wales where up to 30 centimetres could fall. Up to 25cm of snow is expected on high ground with overnight temperatures expected to fall as low as -5C (23F). Jon Kay reports.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8200465.stm	The murder of a British-born gem-mine owner in Kenya has revealed the dark underside of the country's precious stones trade. As the BBC Swahili service's Kenneth Mungai reports, the death of Campbell Bridges was far from an isolated incident. The landscape is dotted by scenic hills covered by dried shrubs and dense vegetation. The hills and the ground underfoot hold unimaginable wealth - gemstones like green, red, rose and almandine garnet, tsavorite and ruby. On Tuesday renowned gemmologist Campbell Bridges was murdered - apparently by illegal miners known locally as "zururazururas" meaning layabouts. This tragedy is painfully familiar to Luka Kitimbi, a farmer who discovered deposits of blue alexandrite while digging a toilet in his farm. He has been miserable ever since. A string of unknown people have been arriving at his farm, claiming ownership of the land - despite Mr Kitimbi having been there for 27 years. Firstly he says more than 400 illegal miners invaded his farm and stole vast amounts of the mineral. And in April a gang attacked his family - killing his 17-year-old daughter and seriously injuring his wife. "My home was attacked by four gunmen. They killed my child and shot my wife but she did not die," he says. Mr Kitimbi was not at home during the attack, but he believes he would have been killed. His house and furniture are pockmarked by bullet holes, and he now needs to defend his land from people claiming it on a daily basis. "I've had many problems since I dug up my own mine, I have had people saying this land belongs to them, that I have pegged my mine on my neighbour's land, so they own it," he says. He now speaks of sleepless nights, strange phone calls and rumours about his impending murder. While minerals in these areas were discovered in the 1970s, little has been done by the government to regulate the industry. Many of the miners who have been in the area for more than 30 years are badly paid and dirt poor - visibly haggard and malnourished. Luka Kitimbi's walls are pockmarked by bullet holes Many have turned to illegal mining, and often go back to the mineshafts at night to steal from the mines. They live hand to mouth and would sell the gemstones just to eat a meal. They end up taking the gemstones to market every Sunday morning in the dusty villages of Mkuki and Kamtonga. They sell minerals worth more than $1,000 on the world market for as little as 150 Kenyan shillings ($2) on the black market. Cartels control the gemstone markets - and their agents buy up the gems and take them to Nairobi, making a huge profit. About 12 mining companies are legally registered to mine in the area. But miners are poorly paid, and locals often feel cheated of their land and resources. Peter Kilelo Muindi, a local miner, says few Kenyans benefit from the gemstone trade. "We have Asian businessmen who have invested here, bringing prices down," he says. "If you want Kenyan gemstones, you go and buy them in Bombay (Mumbai). This should be happening in Nairobi or here in Voi."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7941745.stm	Binyam Mohamed returned to the UK last month UK resident Binyam Mohamed, freed from Guantanamo Bay, has said he would not have faced torture or extraordinary rendition if it was not for British involvement in his case. BBC News reporter Jon Manel spoke to the Ethiopian-born asylum seeker about his alleged detention at what he calls the "dark prison" in Afghanistan and his interrogation in Morocco. Here are the key quotes from the BBC Radio 4 interview: THE 'DARK PRISON' "The dark prison - I was literally dead, I didn't exist. I wasn't there, there was no day, no night - music 24 hours a day, seven days a week for five, six months on end. "There was literally music being played, or sound or horrible sounds or gunshots, or whatever they wanted to play and loud music, loud noise being played for the six months I was there. In this cell with no lights at high volume. "They played Eminem for one month and then they went to horror music, horror noises for another month. "We had a toilet inside the cell which was a bucket and you literally just had to crawl to it... and if you fell and they didn't clean it... then it's on your bed and you sleep on your bed, which actually is just the floor with a blanket - that was the bed. "You were given food which I would say [was] inedible - you couldn't eat the food. "I mean, there's people who've lost their teeth because of eating stones - they literally were feeding you stones in the food. And I've lost over 30kg from the time I went in to the time I left." INTERROGATION IN MOROCCO "All the questioning was done by the Moroccans. They would go out, talk to the Americans and then they would have all of their questions ready and most of the questions which I was asked could not have come from anywhere else but British intelligence. "From issues of who my kick boxing trainer was, his name, where he lives, to questions of the road I'm living on, my grades in college. "The American's don't have [those] kind of questions. These questions came from Britain." Interrogators also had hundreds of photographs of Muslim men in the UK, he said. "The torture was going on weekly, sometimes monthly. "From my understanding and to my belief, if it wasn't for the British involvement right at the beginning of the interrogations in Pakistan, and suggestions that were made by MI5 to the Americans of how to get me to respond, I don't think I would have gone to Morocco. "It was that initial help that MI5 gave the Americans that led me through the seven years of what I went through." MOVING TO GUANTANAMO "Compared to the dark prison, I don't know if I should say this, but since I [got] out, it was like a five-star hotel. Literally it was a holiday." "It literally closed me down. I was a person who usually would laugh a lot, mix with people. But after this experience I just pulled myself out of the world, I've just - like I told you - I don't exist. I don't feel the existence of life. "From that experience, it hasn't worn off - that experience, the dark prison, is not something I can just shake off and I've tried and it's just not coming off. "I think it will take some time to actually get back and feel alive. I didn't exist in the dark prison. I did not exist." "I didn't believe I was free, even now I don't feel, I don't feel I'm free. I mean it's been seven years of... well literal darkness that I have been through. "Coming back to life is taking me sometime - and literally I am dead. "I don't have the regular person's feelings that people have - the feelings of happiness and sadness I still don't have them as far as I'm concerned. Nothing matters." TRIP TO AFGHANISTAN Mr Mohamed said he originally travelled to Afghanistan in 2001 after converting to Islam. "I decided to take a journey to Afghanistan as any 21, 22-year-old would do. Just go and see a part of the world and learn about what's happening over there. "I was trying to understand Islam and I was told that Afghanistan was where the real Islam was." FEAR OF RECAPTURE "Well it's not the fear, I expect that to happen at any time. It's gone past fear, I mean I already put it into my mind that Guantanamo is not over yet. "And at any time I could be taken to wherever it is they want to take me and whoever it is who wants to take me." US PLOT CLAIMS Mr Mohamed's capture came at a time of increased concern that al-Qaeda might use so-called dirty bombs or attack installations such as gas storage depots. But the former detainee said such claims were unrealistic and were made to frighten people. "The amazing thing is - all these allegations - the US government themselves have said they could not be done, so they are allegations which look good on paper but in reality cannot happen. "The Americans use it to terrorise their public into believing that there is another al-Qaeda attack just for the political interest. That's all it was."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18607608	EU asks WTO to arbitrate in China 'rare earths' row The European Union has asked the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to arbitrate in a row about China's export restrictions on "rare earth" minerals. Talks between China and the EU, along with the US and Japan, failed to resolve the dispute in April. China, which produces 97% of the world's rare earths, could now face litigation from the WTO. Minerals such as lutetium and scandium are important in the manufacture of products such as mobile phones. "China's restrictions on rare earths and other products are a violation of China's WTO commitments and continue to significantly distort global markets, creating a disadvantage for our companies," said EU trade commissioner Karel De Gucht. "We regret that we are left with no other choice but to solve this through litigation." In addition to rare earths, the complaint covers tungsten and molybendum. The EU, US and Japan complained to the WTO in earlier in the year, saying that China's increased export duties and reduced export quotas were unfairly benefiting its own companies. Beijing says that its restrictions are needed to protect the environment, conserve supplies and meet domestic demand. The first stage in the dispute process was to hold formal talks at the WTO in Geneva. Since those failed, the next stage will be for the WTO to set up a dispute settlement panel.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-14435251	London riots: Dozens injured after Tottenham violence More than 40 people have been arrested after rioting saw police attacked, buildings looted and vehicles set alight in Tottenham, north London. Twenty-six officers and three others were hurt in the violence which erupted after a protest over the fatal shooting by police of Mark Duggan on Thursday. Residents surveyed the damage after homes were looted and shops burnt down. The Metropolitan Police warned over "ill-informed speculation" on social networking sites of further problems. All injured officers have now left hospital, the force said. The people arrested remain in custody for offences including violent disorder, burglary and theft. Meanwhile, the family of Mr Duggan said they were "not condoning" the violence that erupted. "Please don't make this about my brother's life, he was a good man," his brother Shaun Hall said. BBC crime reporter Ben Ando said there were rumours in the community that a teenage girl who was part of the peaceful protest had been in a kind of confrontation with police. He said: "That appears to be the flashpoint. That was the moment at around about just after eight o'clock when it seemed that elements in the crowd decided to pick on two police cars. They were then set on fire." The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating Thursday's shooting. At the scene Faint grey plumes of smoke still rise over Tottenham High Road some 12 hours after last night's unrest - the smouldering buildings the first visible signs of its intensity. On the ground, at the junction with Monument Way, bricks, broken glass and debris litter the roads and pavements as far as the eye can see. A burnt-out Ford Focus police car sits at one end and the shell of a double-decker bus can just be made out 150 yards up the High Road. Local residents, some angry, most just frustrated, ask a line of up to 50 officers why they can't pass and get on their way. The road has been completely sealed off. Adeyemi Adeagbo is unable to get to his church - the CAC Outreach - just yards away. He says it pains him as Sunday is the only day he gets to worship. The rioters were fighting for their rights, but should have protested in a "civilised way", he says. Another resident, who appears from the other side of the cordon, says he has seen a betting shop and post office completely gutted. "They are shells, it's like the Blitz," he says. A police officer was also shot in the incident, which happened in what was called a "pre-planned" event, under Operation Trident, which investigates gun crime in the African and Caribbean communities. Police had stopped a minicab which Mr Duggan had been travelling in. Met Commander Adrian Hanstock warned people not to believe rumours. He said: "Throughout the day we have been monitoring social networking sites and I'd like to say right from the outset, we're conscious of some really ill-informed speculation on those sites relating to potential further problems." On Saturday night, shops and homes were raided and cash machines ripped out in Tottenham. There were also thefts from shops in nearby Wood Green. London Fire Brigade said it had attended 49 fires in the area. Some smoking buildings were still being dampened on Sunday, while residents surveyed the damage from behind a police cordon. During the riot, which erupted at about 20:20 BST, people threw petrol bombs, reducing many buildings and vehicles to charred wrecks. A double-decker bus, two police cars and a carpet shop were among the vehicles and buildings destroyed. Crowds of looters smashed shop windows in a retail park near Tottenham Hale tube station. The front window of Currys electrical store was smashed and the door of Argos was shattered after looters raided the stock room. Every handset was stolen from a mobile phone store. - Home Secretary Theresa May condemned the violence saying: "Such disregard for public safety and property will not be tolerated and the Metropolitan Police have my full support in restoring order." - Labour MP for the area David Lammy said the community which "was already hurting has had its heart ripped out". He added: "This is an attack on Tottenham, on people, shopkeepers, women, children, now standing homeless." - A Downing Street spokesman called the rioting "utterly unacceptable". - London's deputy mayor Kit Malthouse said: "It's absolutely outrageous to see it on the streets of London. We'll do as much as we can to ensure there's no recurrence tonight." - An 18-year-old man, who did not want to give his name, said: "Police know what they should have done, they should have come to speak to the community themselves. They don't care." - The Reverend Nims Obunge, Pastor at the Freedom's Ark Church, in Tottenham, said: "It is right that this community should have questions they have answered. Until those questions are answered I don't think we can effectively rebuild the community." Teenagers and adults were said to have turned up in cars to Tottenham's retail park and filled their boots with stolen items, unimpeded by police. Others arrived on foot and piled shopping trolleys high with looted electronic goods, a local woman, who did not want to be named, said. Another local resident told the BBC that looting had continued beyond daybreak on Sunday. Meanwhile, shops including Vision Express, the Body Shop and Boots, in nearby Wood Green's High Street were also raided. Two cars there were also burnt out. The BBC's Andy Moore said that since riots in 1985, relations between the local community and police had been generally good, but last week's shooting of Mr Duggan raised tensions. A friend of Mr Duggan, who gave her name as Niki, 53, said those who had joined Saturday's protest, which began with a march from Broadwater Farm area, wanted "justice for the family".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-17772908	Dounreay electricity use could power Thurso Electricity consumed by a nuclear plant has been reduced, but it still uses enough to power a small town of 8,000 people, according to a new report. Dounreay, which is being demolished, needs at least 4.5 megawatts a year at a cost of about £3m. The site saved 2.9% on electricity in 2010, according to the plant's newly-published bi-annual environment report. The document's authors said the power used was equivalent to the energy needs of nearby Thurso. When work started on building the experimental nuclear power plant in the 1950s its supporters suggested it would lead to the supply of cheap electricity. Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader The Dounreay Fast Reactor was the first of its kind in the world and supplied electricity to the national grid. However, the experimental technology was later scrapped and work is now underway shutting down and demolishing the site. The bi-annual report for 2010/11 said further savings were expected as more buildings were pulled down. Plans to replace 400W sodium lamps with 140W LED lights are also being considered.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-18130602	Police cuts: Home Office rejects claim of 1,600 jobs being lost in Wales A row has broken out between the UK government and the Police Federation over the number of police officers to be lost in Wales due to spending cuts. The federation has claimed Wales would lose 1,600 officers - the equivalent of an entire police force. Welsh chairman Jeff Mapps said: "These are police officers going from the frontline". The Home Office told BBC Wales the federation was scaremongering, saying fewer than half that number would go. The Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, made the claim about the scale of job cuts at its annual conference last week. Speaking to the BBC's Sunday Politics programme, Mr Mapps said: "We've clearly hit a raw nerve with the Home Office and the truth of the matter is that the truth hurts. "They seem to celebrating the fact that 800 police officers will be lost in Wales when the truth of the matter is that we're going to lose 1,600. "The figures are pretty simple - a 20% cut means 1,600 cops going". The Home Office rubbished those claims in a statement to the programme. "The Police Federation is scaremongering by deliberately playing fast and loose with the figures - the independent inspectorate has said fewer than 800 officers will be lost in Wales by 2015," it said. "As a service spending £14bn a year the police must play their part in reducing the record budget deficit." The Home Office added that the "quality and effectiveness of policing" was not only about numbers but about "how well they are deployed." "Decisions about the use of available resources, including police stations, are a matter for local forces," it said. However, Ian Johnston, a former chief superintendent with Gwent Police, endorsed the federation's figures and warned that crime would grow if the cuts went ahead. "The public should be very worried," he said. "At a strategic level, I think we're going to see more crime, because criminals will realise that the police officers are not there to deal with them. "I think the public will find that police response to incidents will get slower and the police will have to start looking very very hard at what they respond to and what they don't respond to." The war of words in Wales is a symptomatic of an increasingly acrimonious relationship between police and the home secretary Theresa May, who was heckled at the Police Federation's conference in Bournemouth last week. Mr Mapps said the federation supported a cut of 12% but said 20% was going too far. He said: "We want to engage but we want to engage with a Government that's listening to us and at the moment they are listening to the policing professionals."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-18691081	Hong Kong smog exceeds recommended levels says WHO Hong Kong's harbour is widely regarded as one of the world's most spectacular sights. But increasingly, that sight is obscured by smog. The World Health Organisation says the city's air pollution now regularly exceeds recommended levels. The government is under pressure to do more, or Hong Kong could face losing new business. Juliana Liu reports.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4204664.stm	Four men have been indicted on terror charges in the US for allegedly planning attacks on military bases and synagogues in the Los Angeles area. US attorney general Alberto Gonzales announced the charges The men are also accused of plotting to attack the Israeli consulate and Israeli airline El-Al. Prosecutors allege the plot was headed by a man in prison. The indictment claims that that Kevin James allegedly formed the Jamiyaat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh (JIS) group while in prison for attempted robbery. Levar Washington, Gregory Patterson and Hammad Samana are also named in the indictment. The four are accused of conspiring to attack US military facilities, an Israeli consulate building, and several Jewish synagogues in the Los Angeles area. If convicted, they could face life in prison. Los Angeles police say they believe the men could have been planning an attack on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur in October. "Make no mistake about it - we dodged a bullet here, perhaps many bullets," said Los Angeles police Chief William Bratton. US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said: "Had these four defendants succeeded in their alleged plots, their attacks would have taken an untold number of Americans." The Israeli consulate was on a list of potential targets, prosecutors say According to the charges, Levar Washington was recruited by Mr James to JIS whilst both were incarcerated at a California prison. Prosecutors say Mr Washington recruited Mr Patterson and Mr Samana to the group on his release. They allege that the men then conducted surveillance of military sites and Israeli and Jewish facilities, purchased guns and underwent firearms training. It was on their arrest on suspicion of robbing petrol stations that police claim to have uncovered the alleged terror plot. Mr Patterson's lawyer, Winston McKesson, said his client had asked him not to comment, but would allow the matter to be resolved in court, US news agency AP reported. Representing Mr Washington on the robbery charge, Jerome Haig said he did not wish to comment as he had not read the indictment, and would not be representing his client on the terror charges, the agency said. And AP said it had tried to contact Mr Samana's lawyer, but he was not immediately returning its calls.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8021827.stm	Health experts say the virus comes from the same strain that causes seasonal outbreaks in humans but also contains genetic material from versions of flu which usually affect pigs and birds. A team from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation is due to leave Rome for Mexico on Tuesday to investigate allegations that industrial pig farms in Mexico were the source of the outbreak. Its chief veterinary officer, Joseph Domenech, told the BBC that rumours that people had been falling ill last month near some intensive pig farms meant the FAO had to act. "[We had] no indication of human cases of direct contact with pigs but this can never be totally sure and the probability that this virus could come from pigs directly could not be anyway ruled out totally," he said. 'Decline in cases' The number of flu cases under observation in Mexico has reached 1,614. Swine flu was confirmed in 20 of the 152 deaths. Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said all of those who had died were aged between 20 and 50. Infections among young healthy adults are a characteristic of past pandemics. Mr Cordova said the first suspected case of swine flu had occurred in the southern state of Oaxaca but stressed that nobody knew "the point of origin or dissemination" of the virus. He noted that the number of new cases reported by Mexico's largest government hospitals had declined during the past three days: from 141 on Saturday to 119 on Sunday and 110 on Monday. Schools nationwide are to remain closed until 6 May as the country grapples with the outbreak. In almost all swine flu cases outside Mexico, people have been only mildly ill and have made a full recovery. In the US, a further 20 cases of swine flu were confirmed in New York. Cases have also been reported in Ohio, Kansas, Texas and California, bringing the total across the country to 50. Swine flu is a respiratory disease thought to spread through coughing and sneezing Symptoms mimic those of normal flu Good hygiene like using a tissue and washing hands thoroughly can help reduce transmission US and EU officials have urged caution for anyone considering travelling to Mexico. Tests are being carried out on individuals or groups in Brazil, Guatemala, Peru, Australia and South Korea. A number of countries in Asia, Latin America and Europe have begun screening airport passengers for symptoms, while Germany's biggest tour operator has suspended trips to Mexico. Taiwan has announced it will quarantine any visitors showing symptoms of swine flu. Several countries have banned imports of raw pork and pork products from Mexico and parts of the US, although experts say there is no evidence to link exposure to pork with infection. Shares in airlines have fallen sharply on fears about the economic impact of the outbreak. Are you in a country which has confirmed the virus? Do you know someone who has been affected by the outbreak? Are you a health worker in one of the affected countries? Are you travelling back on a flight from Mexico? Were you screened on your return? Tell us your experiences by filling in the form below. A selection of your comments may be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below. The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. 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/2/hi/entertainment/7101275.stm	American Idol contestants have picked up the most honours at this year's American Music Awards. Carrie Underwood won American Idol in 2005 Carrie Underwood, who won the TV talent show in 2005, took home three awards including favourite female country artist and country album. Chris Daughtry, who took part in 2006, also took home three awards with his band, beating Justin Timberlake to win favourite pop-rock album. The band also won the breakthrough and adult contemporary artist awards. Backstage, the singer explained he was an artist before he took part in American Idol. "The show didn't make me who I am," he said. "It just gave me a chance to show everybody else who I am." Justin Timberlake accepted two awards by video from Australia. The SexyBack star picked up gongs for male pop-rock artist and soul/R&B album for FutureSex/LoveSounds. Beyonce received the international artist award Rapper TI was also unable to attend the ceremony, as he is under house arrest awaiting trial on weapons charges. Nonetheless, he won two prizes in the hip-hop category - best male artist and best album, for TI vs. TIP. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony were named favourite rap group. Akon and Rihanna took home the favourite male and female soul/R&B artist awards. And Disney's High School Musical 2 won the favourite soundtrack album prize. Usher presented Beyonce with the international artist award - reserved for a select handful of artists such as Michael Jackson, Rod Stewart and Aerosmith. "I'm so blessed to wake up every morning and do what I love. I'm so grateful, so honoured and so humbled by this award," the former Destiny's Child star said. Nominees for the 35th American Music Awards were selected based on national sales and radio play. For the first time in its history, winners were chosen by public votes cast online.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8038206.stm	Phototherapy has been around for decades A specialist light treatment for psoriasis is just as effective and safe when given at home as in hospital, say Dutch researchers. Phototherapy using UVB light is rarely used in the UK because of limited availability and the number of hospital visits required. But a study of 200 patients found the same results with home treatment. One UK expert said the British Medical Journal study highlighted an important treatment gap in psoriasis care. Psoriasis is a common disorder caused by too rapid production of new skin cells, causing red scaly patches. Up to 3% of the UK population is affected by the non-contagious condition which can cause significant disability. For those who have access to UVB treatment at their local dermatology unit, a course usually entails three visits each week for between eight to 10 weeks. It works by dampening down the immune overreaction in the skin. One reason that the treatment is usually done in hospital is because most dermatologists believe that home phototherapy is inferior and that it carries more risks. In the latest study, patients with psoriasis from 14 hospital dermatology departments were randomly assigned to receive either home UVB phototherapy or hospital-based treatment. Home treatment was equivalent to hospital therapy both in terms of safety and the effectiveness of clearing the condition. And those treated at home reported a significantly lower burden of treatment and were more satisfied. Study leader Dr Mayke Koek, from Utrecht University Medical Centre, said: "We knew a lot of dermatologists are not convinced of the safety and effectiveness of UVB phototherapy but our theory was they should be equally safe." "One of the most important findings was a lot of patients treated at home were more satisfied." Professor Alex Anstey from the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport, Wales, said with the exception of Scotland, phototherapy in the UK was limited to people who lived near a big hospital. "In my area there are very large numbers of people who don't have access to phototherapy which is a shame as it's a very effective and safe treatment." He said that the equipment - similar to a tanning bed, but a different type of light - costs between £5,000 and £10,000 but was very cheap compared with some of the new biological therapies in use and could be lent to patients for the duration of their treatment. Gladys Edwards, chief executive of the Psoriasis Association, said the guidelines on treating psoriasis should be reviewed in light of the new research. "Patient choice is important and for some patients managing their UV treatment at home would clearly be preferable. "It is crucial, however, that there is absolutely clear guidance and information on when this is appropriate and how it should be managed for patients and clinicians."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6612529.stm	A disgruntled wife has admitted feeding her estranged husband a curry containing dog excrement after their relationship broke down. Jill Martin pleaded guilty to culpable and reckless conduct Jill Martin, 47, pleaded guilty at Paisley Sheriff Court to culpable and reckless conduct against husband Donald Martin. During the hearing, defence solicitor Terry Gallanagh likened the case to "an episode of Desperate Housewives". Sheriff G.W.Sinclair deferred sentence on Martin until 1 November. Depute Fiscal Margaret Dunnipace told the court that on 13 March, after placing the dinner in front of her husband Donald and watching him start to eat it, Martin had burst out laughing. At first she claimed she had laced the dish with arsenic but then confessed she had added dog excrement instead. The court heard that the couple had been married for 21 years but in recent years their relationship "had hit an all time low". Mr Gallanagh claimed that his client had endured "continued mental abuse" over a period of about five years which had taken its toll on her. He said Mr Martin had routinely questioned his wife's parental skills and had started a new business venture without her knowledge. He added: "At that time, she believed he had started an affair although those fears turned out to be unfounded." Following her arrest for the incident, Martin was banned from going anywhere near her husband or the matrimonial home in Langrig Road, Newton Mearns. The couple have now begun divorce proceedings. Deferring sentence until 1 November, Sheriff Sinclair said that he felt it would be wise to allow more time for matters to be resolved and ordered Martin to be of good behaviour.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11009714	Erykah Badu fined for nude video shoot US soul singer Erykah Badu has paid a $500 (£322) fine and will serve six months' probation for stripping naked on a Dallas street for a music video. The 39-year-old ended filming by re-enacting the moment when President John F Kennedy was shot dead in 1963 in the city. The Grammy award-winning singer was charged with disorderly conduct when tourists and visitors complained. A spokeswoman for the singer did not immediately comment. In March, the star performed a walking striptease as part of the video for Window Seat, before falling to the ground as if she has been shot. The filming took place at Dealey Plaza, the location where President Kennedy was assassinated. In April, Sgt Mitchell said that "people calling from all across the country to express their concern" about the making of the video. A Dallas city spokesman confirmed that Badu had paid the fine.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3722087.stm	Some cot deaths could be linked to babies being exposed to pollutants, researchers have suggested. Putting a baby to sleep on its back reduces cot death risk A US study estimated 16% of cot deaths could be attributed to PM10s - fine sooty particles found in exhaust fumes. However, the study in Environmental Health: A Global Science Source did not say how pollution may cause cot deaths. British experts said if pollution was a cause, it would account for a tiny proportion of cot deaths compared to parental smoking and sleeping position. The researchers looked at death rates in infants aged one to 12 months amongst 700,000 babies born across the US between 1995 and 1997. They also examined data on PM10 levels from the US Environmental Protection Agency. The chemical was used because it provides a marker of general pollution levels. There were 236 deaths per 100,000 infants from all causes. Of these, 14.7 per 100,000 could be attributed to an average exposure to PM10 pollution. In the case of unexplained infant deaths, the figure was 11.7 per 100,000 - 16% of the total. The researchers also estimated that 6% of deaths from all causes and 24% of deaths from respiratory diseases could be attributed to PM10s. They add that three quarters of these deaths were in areas where PM10 levels were within recommended levels - which are roughly the same as in the UK. The team, led by Dr Reinhard Kaiser of the University of Basel in Switzerland, accept their study is based on assumptions, rather than hard data. But writing in Environmental Health: A Global Health Access Resource, they say: "Evidence for a causal effect of air pollution on morbidity and mortality is strong for adults, and evidence is building that air pollution has an effect on infants and young children and a potential impact during the foetal period. How to cut the risk: Cut out smoking during pregnancy Fathers should stop smoking at this time too Do not let anyone smoke in the same room as your baby Place your baby on its back to sleep Do not let your baby get too hot Keep your baby's head uncovered Place your baby with its feet to the foot of the cot Preferably sleep your baby in a cot in your bedroom for the first six Do not sleep with a baby on a sofa, armchair or settee If your baby is unwell, seek medical advice promptly "The evidence needs to be constantly reviewed as further studies become "Our estimates are based on the best currently available information, leaving considerable uncertainty about the size of the true effect of particulate matter on infant mortality. "However, given that the whole population is exposed, we conclude that air pollution-related infant mortality is a major public health problem." Cot death affects about 300 infants a year in Britain. Known risk factors include the baby's sleeping position, temperature, and exposure to cigarette smoke. 'Reduction is desirable' Professor George Haycock, consultant paediatrician and FSID's scientific advisor, said: "The US study has found a clear association between deaths in infancy from all causes and the levels of PM10 particles. "What was depressing was that three quarters of the excess deaths occurred in places where PM10 levels are within what's deemed to be acceptable." But he said the study did not show if it was PM10s or other components of pollution which could increase cot death risk. Professor Haycock added: "If there is a risk from pollution, it is tiny in comparison with the risk of parental smoking and with putting your baby to sleep on its front." He added: "It would be difficult to argue against the authors' inference that a reduction in the current recommended acceptable levels of air pollutants is highly desirable. "The authors were cautious enough not to extrapolate their conclusions to countries other than the USA but it seems highly unlikely that this phenomenon is unique to North America."