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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/5326614.stm | By Duncan Bartlett
BBC News, Japan
A Japanese legend claims that Jesus escaped Jerusalem and made his way to Aomori in Japan where he became a rice farmer. Christians say the story is nonsense. However, a monument there known as the Grave of Christ attracts curious visitors from all over the world.
To reach the Grave of Christ or Kristo no Hakka as it is known locally, you need to head deep into the northern countryside of Japan, a place of paddy fields and apple orchards.
The Grave of Christ has become an international tourist attraction
Halfway up a remote mountain surrounded by a thicket of bamboo lies a mound of bare earth marked with a large wooden cross.
Most visitors peer at the grave curiously and pose in front of the cross for a photograph before heading off for apple ice cream at the nearby cafe.
But some pilgrims leave coins in front of the grave in thanks for answered prayers.
The cross is a confusing symbol because according to the local legend, Jesus did not die at Calvary.
His place was taken by one of his brothers, who for some reason is now buried by his side in Japan.
The story goes that after escaping Jerusalem, Jesus made his way across Russia and Siberia to Aomori in the far north of Japan where he became a rice farmer, married, had a family and died peacefully at the age of 114.
A villager hinted that I might be able to meet one of Jesus' descendents - a Mr Sajiro Sawaguchi, who is now in his 80s.
His family owns the land on which the grave stands and his house is at the foot of the mountain.
I set off to find him but was told he was too ill to speak to me.
However, his grandson Junichiro Sawaguchi did agree to talk. Was I about to meet someone with a true touch of the divine?
The tubby middle-aged gentleman in glasses who spoke to me did not seem particularly Messianic.
"Actually, my family are Buddhists not Christians," said Mr Sawaguchi.
Local legend says Mr Sawaguchi (r) is a living descendant of Jesus
"And I don't claim to be a descendent of Jesus although I know some people have said my grandfather is connected to the legend. However, when I was a young child, my mother drew the sign of a cross upon my forehead as a symbol of good fortune," he told me.
Certainly the cross has brought good fortune to the villagers, who make money from the visitors and the media who seek out the grave.
It has become the region's only internationally recognised tourist attraction.
However the legend of Jesus the rice farmer does not stretch back very far. It only began in the 1930s with the discovery of what were claimed to be ancient Hebrew documents detailing Jesus' life and death in Japan.
Those documents have now mysteriously disappeared and the grave has never been excavated. I asked a village official, Masaoki Sato, if he realised that the grave might cause offence to Christians who believe in Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection.
"We're not saying that the story is true or what is written in the Bible is wrong," he politely explained. "All we are saying is that this is a very interesting old legend. It's up to the people who come here to decide how they interpret it."
Ritual and tradition
Many Japanese find it hard to make sense of Christianity. Schools are banned from teaching any religion and people are generally more interested in ritual and tradition than theology.
However, Christian-style weddings are enormously popular. They are often held in hotels which have special chapels, complete with crosses and stained glass windows.
Foreign students are sometimes hired to play the part of the priest, although the whole event has no official sanction from any church.
Churchy-looking buildings have other entertainment purposes too.
In the city of Nagoya, I went to a theme restaurant where diners could choose either to have dinner in the chapel, seated on pews and surrounded by paintings of Jesus and the saints, or on the floor below, which is decorated like a prison, complete with metal bars around each table.
Only 1% of Japan is officially Christian. However, there are some lively churches, such as the New Life Ministry in Tokyo.
When I arrived on Sunday afternoon it was packed with young worshippers, clapping along to songs of praise and raising their hands in joy.
I met Pastor Shintaro Watanabe, who was dressed in a floral Hawaiian shirt and had an almost permanent smile on his face.
Wasn't he shocked by the legend of Jesus' grave? He laughed and said it was just a silly story which caused him no particular offence.
"I suppose that many Japanese people feel respect for Jesus and the Bible," said the pastor. "The legend ties in with that. Perhaps it shows that people are looking to make a connection with Jesus in some way."
His church is trying to satisfy that spiritual curiosity, just as countless missionaries to Japan have attempted before.
Yet many Christians have discovered that the Japanese view of religion can be rather baffling - as the grave of Christ the rice farmer reveals.
From Our Own Correspondent was broadcast on Saturday, 9 September, 2006 at 1130 BST on BBC Radio 4. Please check the programme schedules for World Service transmission times. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7354539.stm | Paypal is the world's leading online payment service
Web payment firm Paypal has said it will block "unsafe browsers" from using its service as part of wider anti-phishing efforts.
Customers will first be warned that a browser is unsafe but could then be blocked if they continue using it.
Paypal said it was "an alarming fact that there is a significant set of users who use very old and vulnerable browsers such as Internet Explorer 4".
Phishing attacks trick users into handing over sensitive data.
Paypal said some users were still using Internet Explorer 3 , released more than 10 years ago. It lacks many of the security and safety features needed to protect users from phishing and other online attacks.
Paypal said it supported the use of Extended Validation SSL Certificates. Browsers which support the technology highlight the address bar in green when users are on a site that has been deemed legitimate.
The latest version of Internet Explorer support EV SSL certificates, while Firefox 2 supports it with an add-on but Apple's Safari browser for Mac and PCs does not.
"By displaying the green glow and company name, these newer browsers make it much easier for users to determine whether or not they're on the site that they thought they were visiting," said Paypal.
The steps were outlined in a white paper on managing phishing, written by the firm's chief information security officer Michael Barrett and Dan Levy, director of risk management.
In it, they said: "In our view letting users view the PayPal site on [an unsafe] browser is equal to a car manufacturer allowing drivers to buy one of their vehicles without seatbelts."
Paypal described the battle against phishing as a "fast-moving chess match with the criminal community". |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7368551.stm | Mr Erdogan says Turkey has a role to play as mediator
Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, as part of efforts to secure a peace deal between Syria and Israel.
Mr Erdogan said both nations had sought Turkey's help on the issue.
Mediation would begin at a low level and, if successful, progress to higher-level officials, he said.
On Thursday Syria said Israel had indicated it would be prepared to withdraw from the Golan Heights in return for peace.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has declined to comment on the reports, but Mr Olmert has said that he is interested in peace in Syria.
Israel and Syria remain technically at war, although both sides have recently spoken of their desire for peace.
Israel says it is interested in peace with Syria
The Syrian government has insisted that peace talks can be resumed only on the basis of Israel returning the Golan Heights, which it seized in 1967.
Israeli authorities, for their part, have demanded that Syria abandon its support for Palestinian and Lebanese militant groups.
The last peace talks between the two countries broke down in 2000.
"As Turkey, we will make whatever efforts we can on this issue," Mr Erdogan told a news conference on his return to Turkey.
"In this respect, there is a request from Syria and in the same way a request from Israel."
The meeting "focused on ways to activate a just and comprehensive peace", Syrian state media reported.
The original purpose of Mr Erdogan's visit was to open the first Syrian-Turkish economic forum.
But correspondents say it gained added significance after reports of the Israeli offer.
"The trust Turkey has makes it almost obligatory to take on a mediating role," Reuters news agency quoted Mr Erdogan as saying ahead of the visit.
"The peace diplomacy we carry out will have a positive contribution ... whether in Iraq, between Syria and Israel or between Israel and Palestine."
In June 2007, Israel's deputy prime minister confirmed his government had sent secret messages to Syria about the possibility of resuming peace negotiations through third-parties, one of whom was widely believed to be Turkey.
But the Syrian reports have sparked outrage in the Israeli parliament, with several MPs saying they would seek to accelerate the passage of a bill requiring any withdrawal from the Golan to be dependent on a referendum.
Correspondents say returning the Golan to Syria is not a popular concept in Israel, and the details of a possible Israeli withdrawal have bedevilled past negotiations between the two countries. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7060886.stm | By Laura Smith-Spark
BBC News, Washington
As wildfires force hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes in California, inevitable comparisons are drawn with the response to Hurricane Katrina.
Firefighters continue to battle fierce blazes across southern California
Has the US learnt the harsh lessons of New Orleans?
The ramifications of the bungled response to Katrina are still felt two years later in the US, both politically and by the people living in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
It has quickly become clear that the White House has no intention of letting events unravel in a similarly chaotic - and public - fashion in California.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and David Paulison, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), are already on the scene.
"What we see now that we did not see during Hurricane Katrina is a very good team effort from the local, the state and the federal government and across the federal agencies," Mr Paulison said.
President George W Bush wants to "witness first-hand" the situation and is due to visit on Thursday, as well as swiftly pledging federal aid to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
After Katrina, he was widely criticised for merely flying over the hurricane-affected areas two days later on his way back from his holiday in Texas to Washington DC.
However, while the administration's public response and California's evacuation efforts have clearly been better managed than in New Orleans, other questions remain:
- given the awareness that dry conditions had created a risk of serious fires, was enough done to prepare?
- have California's fire services been given enough funding for staff and equipment?
- has the deployment of National Guard troops to Iraq led to a shortage of manpower and firefighting kit?
Donald Kettl, professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, is certain the response could have been better, had part of California's National Guard not been deployed to Iraq.
"We are simply not as well prepared as we used to be to react to these kinds of disasters because the forces we used to have here are in Iraq, and some of their equipment is too," he said.
Back in May, Mr Schwarzenegger himself acknowledged that "a lot of equipment has gone to Iraq, and it doesn't come back when the troops come back" to California.
At the same time, Lt Col John Siepmann, a spokesman for California's National Guard, told the San Francisco Chronicle that half the equipment needed to respond to a major disaster was not in the state.
However, Lt Gen Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, has denied that deployments to Iraq have overstretched California's resources.
Some 1,500 of the state's National Guard troops have been involved in firefighting and humanitarian efforts.
Mindful of criticisms of a sluggish response after Katrina, the Pentagon has also been quick to put active-duty troops on standby and to lend firefighting aircraft.
"One of the lessons we, as a nation, learned is that in a crisis, you don't wait to be asked," said Paul McHale, assistant secretary of defence for homeland defence.
Dr Kettl agrees that what has been seen in California so far represents "vast improvements" as regards the federal government response.
Many shelters have been set up for people forced to flee their homes
"In terms of leaders on the scene, it is far better - that was an enormous problem in the case of Katrina," he said.
But what will ultimately count will be the state and federal authorities' ability to organise aid effectively for those in need, Dr Kettl says.
Assessing the response so far, he said: "The evacuation procedures have been relatively smooth, the shelter and food have been relatively good."
But, he adds, it is difficult to draw direct comparisons between Katrina and what is happening in California because of the different nature and scale of the problems faced.
The hurricane and flooding cut off access to emergency shelters in New Orleans, where thousands became stranded without supplies, in a way that has not happened in California.
Also, many of the affected areas in California are wealthier - with residents better able to flee - than was the case in New Orleans, where many of those trapped were poor or elderly.
Steve Erie, a political science professor at the University of California, San Diego, is much blunter in his criticism of San Diego County's authorities.
He believes the county's preparedness in terms of firefighting was woefully inadequate - particularly compared to nearby Los Angeles - and that its fire service is seriously under-funded.
Four years ago, after fierce wildfires in southern California cost 15 lives, a number of recommendations were made to try to improve emergency readiness.
But, says Prof Erie, San Diego's voters rejected tax increases that would have boosted fire service funding and the authorities "adopted all the resolutions except those that cost money".
With 1,500 homes razed, a long road to reconstruction lies ahead
As a result, communications systems and inter-agency coordination have improved, he said, but much more is needed to bring San Diego County's many small fire services up to scratch.
"We have volunteer fire departments that use bake sales to raise money, and we are just taking baby steps towards consolidating them, professionalising them and giving them better equipment - and that's four years later," he said.
With more than a dozen fires still blazing and a long path to reconstruction ahead, it may be too early to judge whether all the lessons of Katrina have been taken to heart.
But for some observers, at least, the report card will be mixed. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4427388.stm | By Tom Bishop
BBC News entertainment reporter
Madonna has headed back to the disco for her new album, Confessions on a Dancefloor, which is released in the UK on Monday. It has earned her some of the best reviews of her 22-year career.
In stark contrast to 2003's introspective American Life album, she has dusted off her glitterball, strapped on her pink stilettos and sampled Abba on latest hit single Hung Up.
Has Madonna reinvigorated her music career, or is she merely throwing one final dance party for her long-term fans before settling down to record more sedate material?
Madonna embraced New York club culture in the early 1980s
"Dance music fans may be unconvinced by Madonna's new image as it no longer reflects her real life," says DJ magazine's features editor Carl Loben.
"Madonna embraced the early stages of New York club culture in the 1980s but I doubt she has been into a club for years."
However, Mr Loben says Madonna was very astute to work on her new album with Stuart Price, the respected producer and remixer behind dance acts Les Rythmes Digitales and Zoot Woman.
The fact that Madonna is releasing a second continuous DJ mix version of Confessions on a Dancefloor will also appeal to dance music fans, Mr Loben says.
"Clubbers are generally open to any music as long as it sounds good on the dancefloor."
While clubbers are relatively unconcerned by the age of an artist, Madonna has been permanently ousted from the cover of Smash Hits magazine by acts such as teen stars McFly and Son of Dork.
Staff writer Ian Eddy says teenage music fans judge Madonna on a song-by-song basis.
"Pop fans are a bit fickle," he says. "If her next single is a bit of a dud they won't bother with it."
Smash Hits readers were divided in their opinion of Madonna's promo video for her single Hung Up, in which the 47-year-old contorts herself in a pink leotard and flirts with young dancers.
"A lot of our readers are saying Madonna has still got it, that she is still youthful," says Mr Eddy, "but some say she should grow old a bit more gracefully."
Young pop stars may cite Madonna as a music or fashion influence, but teenage music fans "just don't have the same affection for her as people in their 30s do".
Madonna's most loyal fan group has been gay men, which gay magazine Axm attributes to her eye for fashion and music trends, and her ever-changing image.
"Many gay people want to break away from their past, and every six months Madonna goes into a cocoon then emerges as a new butterfly," says Axm editor Matt Miles.
She strengthened her gay and lesbian fanbase by challenging sexual and religious convention in promo videos such as Like A Prayer and Justify My Love, suggestive live performances and 1992's explicit Sex photo book.
"Madonna's gay audience has always been very forgiving, perhaps too forgiving," says Mr Miles. "It would take an awful lot to put gay men off her."
Mr Miles says it is understandable why Madonna would want to "throw herself back into the gay bosom" with a new hi-energy album, after the relative failure of American Life.
"Why not? It doesn't seem too cynical, and it worked for Kylie Minogue. It is as if Madonna is sampling the 1980s but making it better."
Gay fans believe Madonna's career will match the longevity of that other iconic US singer, Cher. If her songs match her ambition, she may also retain her revived mainstream audience.
When not making dance records, Madonna is a children's author
Mr Eddy says: "Madonna really thinks of herself as young. I can't see her sticking to dance music but she could easily come back in a few years with something fresh."
"Madonna may return to the slower beats of her Ray of Light album or move into torch songs," adds Mr Miles. "She would probably like to turn herself into a cartoon, and is kicking herself that Gorillaz got there first."
He concludes: "She is pushing 50 and still looks great. I wouldn't put it past her to be swinging off a trapeze at the age of 60." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6931119.stm | By Vaudine England
BBC News, Hong Kong
A study by doctors in Hong Kong has concluded that epilepsy can be induced by the Chinese tile game of mahjong.
The study said the syndrome affects more men than women
The findings, published in the Hong Kong Medical Journal, were based on 23 cases of people who suffered mahjong-induced seizures.
The report's four authors, from Hong Kong's Queen Mary Hospital, said the best prevention - and cure - was to avoid playing mahjong.
The study led the doctors to define mahjong epilepsy as a unique syndrome.
Epileptic seizures can be provoked by a wide variety of triggers, but one cause increasingly evident to researchers is the playing - or even watching - of mahjong.
This Chinese tile game, played by four people round a table, can involve gambling and quickly becomes compulsive.
The game, which is intensely social and sometimes played in crowded mahjong parlours, involves the rapid movement of tiles in marathon sessions.
The doctors conclude that the syndrome affects far more men than women; that their average age is 54; and that it can hit sufferers anywhere between one to 11 hours into a mahjong game.
They say the attacks were not just caused by sleep deprivation or gambling stress.
Mahjong is cognitively demanding, drawing on memory, fast calculations, concentration, reasoning and sequencing.
The distinctive design of mahjong tiles, and the sound of the tiles crashing onto the table, may contribute to the syndrome.
The propensity of Chinese people to play mahjong also deserves further study, the doctors say.
What is certain though, is that the only sure way to avoid mahjong epilepsy, is to avoid mahjong, which for many people is easier said than done. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-12664938 | Birmingham Six release remembered
Twenty years ago the Birmingham Six were freed after their convictions for the murders of 21 people in two pub bombings were quashed.
They had served nearly 17 years behind bars in one of the worst miscarriages of justice seen in Britain.
Paddy Hill, Gerry Hunter, Johnny Walker, Hugh Callaghan, Richard McIlkenny and Billy Power strode from London's Old Bailey on 14 March 1991, their innocence finally proved.
Alongside the men as they left court greeted by cheering crowds and beeping car horns was Chris Mullin, a journalist and MP who had been working towards their freedom since the late 1970s.
End Quote Chris Mullin
I was convinced that here were six civilians who were in the wrong place at the wrong time”
Mr Mullin, now 63, first became interested in the case when his journalist friend Peter Chippindale, who attended the men's trial and that of the Guildford Four, told him "he thought they'd got the wrong men in both cases".
Later, Mr Mullin, a law graduate, came across a pamphlet by two Irish priests which presented the six men's version of events.
Shortly afterwards Paddy Hill wrote to Mr Mullin from prison detailing his innocence. It was one of hundreds of letters Mr Hill penned to people he thought could help him.'Wrong pubs'
The six men were from Northern Ireland and had lived in Birmingham since the 1960s.
Five of them had left Birmingham New Street train station for Belfast on 21 November 1974, the night the Tavern in the Town and Mulberry Bush pubs were bombed.
They were travelling to Belfast to attend the funeral of James McDade, an IRA member who had blown himself up planting a bomb in Coventry.
The men, some who had been childhood friends with McDade, were arrested in Heysham, Lancashire, as they waited for the ferry to Northern Ireland.
Mr Mullin's involvement in the case deepened with his passion to prove the men's innocence.
"I was convinced that here were six civilians who were in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said.
"They drank in the wrong pubs and clubs - while two of them worked with a man who was a genuine member of the IRA."
Mr Mullin became a researcher for ITV's World in Action in 1985 and aimed to "see if we could unearth new evidence" in the case.
The investigative current affairs programme, made by Granada TV, dedicated several editions to discrediting the evidence on which the six men had been convicted.
Mr Mullin said the main planks of evidence were "confessions" by four of the men and forensic evidence which their trial had heard was "99% accurate" in showing two had handled explosives.Test doubts
Expert witness Frank Skuse said Mr Hill and Mr Power had tested positive for nitroglycerine in Greiss tests - chemical analysis looking for the presence of organic nitrate compounds.
Other scientists had argued the test was unreliable because a positive result could be gained from nitrocellulose in a range of innocent products.
In the autumn of 1985, World in Action demonstrated how shuffling an old pack of playing cards containing the substance produced a positive Greiss test. The accused men had played cards on their train journey.
Mr Mullin said a breakthrough came when an ex-police constable got in touch and "confirmed many of the violent tactics" the six claimed were used by the now defunct West Midlands Serious Crime Squad to secure confessions.
Mr Mullin said the alleged tactics included bringing dogs and shot guns into the cells and "conducting mock executions".
The ex-officer was interviewed on World in Action in 1986.
In the same year, Mr Mullin published a book, Error of Judgement: The Truth about the Birmingham bombings, in which he claimed to have traced and met some of those actually responsible for the bombings.
As demands for the case to be re-examined grew in Britain and Ireland, it was referred back to the Court of Appeal by the then home secretary Douglas Hurd. But the convictions were upheld in 1988.
It took three more years of articles, books and documentaries by a growing number of campaigners before the men's convictions were again re-considered.
Mr Mullin said the day the men were released was among the best of his life.
"It was a very exciting moment," he said. "It came a bit quicker than we anticipated. The Crown had abandoned the forensic evidence and confessions and was trying to upgrade the circumstantial evidence.
"And we had expected Michael Mansfield [defence lawyer] to continue his submissions but he said it was all 'nonsense' and sat down. At which point the judge quashed the convictions and the men were propelled outside to cheering crowds, cameras and helicopters flying overhead."
End Quote Chris Mullin
It was very good to be publicly vindicated”
Mr Mullin was with the men as they were driven in a convoy of cars to a party put on by the Catholic Chaplaincy in Hampstead.
Mr Mullin, who was the Labour MP for Sunderland South for 23 years, said he had received a lot of criticism for backing the case and still has the Sun's front page declaring "Loony MP Backs Bomb Gang" on his office wall.
"So it was very good to be publicly vindicated so spectacularly," he said.
The men's release was a day of celebration for some but for many of those involved in the Birmingham bombings and the aftermath the scars will always remain.
The families and friends of the 21 people killed, and the many who were terribly injured, have never seen justice done.
The IRA is believed to have carried out the bombings but no-one has ever admitted responsibility.'Public outcry'
West Midlands Police said there were no plans to reopen the inquiry into the pub bombings but "it would look at any fresh information that came to light".
Mr Mullin said a miscarriage of justice such as the Birmingham Six case was "not likely" to happen now.
Interviews in police custody have to be recorded, a result of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.
And the Royal Commission, set up after the Birmingham case, established the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
One of the Birmingham Six, Richard McIlkenny, died in 2006, aged 72.
In 2010, Mr Hill, who co-founded the Miscarriages of Justice Organisation (Mojo), won his fight to get trauma counselling on the NHS.
He told the BBC's Hardtalk programme last month he still found it very difficult that none of the police officers he alleges played a part in his imprisonment has been prosecuted.
He said he told those looking for justice it would come from the most unexpected sources.
Mr Hill added: "The one thing about the British public - when they see an injustice they are not afraid to stand up and scream about it - and thank God.
"We were put into prison just to satisfy and to quell the public outcry and in the end it was the public outcry that got us back out again." |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18286270 | Leader: Yevgeny Shevchuk
A former speaker of Trans-Dniester's parliament, Yevgeny Shevchuk overturned expectations by coming first in the initial round of voting in the November 2011 presidential election, pushing the incumbent Igor Smirnov into third place.
Mr Shevchuk then beat Anatoly Kaminsky, a colleague-turned-rival and Russia's preferred candidate, in the second round to become president in December.
Yevgeny Shevchuk broke with long-serving President Smirnov in 2009 in an attempt to limit the latter's powers. He then lead an anti-corruption movement that also called for greater transparency in government.
The 43-year-old Mr Shevchuk's election campaign benefited from public weariness with lack of progress in peace talks and general economic stagnation under Mr Smirnov, who had also lost the support of Russia.
The new president says he wants to improve relations with Moldova and Ukraine with a view to having them accept Trans-Dniestrian independence, although his shorter-term aim is to ease border travel and trade restrictions.
A major priority will be to ensure that Russia continues to support the isolated territory. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12292661 | Bolivia: Coca-chewing protest outside US embassy
Indigenous activists in Bolivia have been holding a mass coca-chewing protest as part of campaign to end an international ban on the practice.
Hundreds of people chewed the leaf outside the US embassy in La Paz and in other cities across the country.
Bolivia wants to amend a UN drugs treaty that bans chewing coca, which is an ancient tradition in the Andes.
But the US has said it will veto the amendment because coca is also the raw material for making cocaine.
The protesters outside the US embassy also displayed products made from coca, including soft drinks, toothpaste, sweets and ointments.
They were supporting a Bolivian government campaign to amend the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs to remove language that bans the chewing of coca leaf.
The convention stipulates that coca-chewing be eliminated within 25 years of the convention coming into effect in 1964.
Bolivia says that is discriminatory, given that coca use is so deeply rooted in the indigenous culture of the Andes.Eradication
The US is opposed to changing the UN convention because it says it would weaken the fight against cocaine production.
In a statement, the US embassy said Washington recognised coca-chewing as a "traditional custom" of Bolivia's indigenous peoples but could not support the amendment.
"The position of the US government in not supporting the amendment is based on the importance of maintaining the integrity of the UN convention, which is an important tool in the fight against drug-trafficking," it said.
The US is the world's largest consumer of cocaine and has been leading efforts to eradicate coca production in the Andes for decades.
Bolivia is the world's first biggest producer of cocaine after Peru and Colombia, and much of its coca crop is used to make the illegal drug.
Bolivian President Evo Morales has long advocated the recognition of coca as a plant of great medicinal, cultural and religious importance that is distinct from cocaine.
As well as being Bolivia's first indigenous head of state, Mr Morales is also a former coca-grower and leader of a coca-growers trade union.
The Bolivian amendment would come into effect on 31 January only if there were no objections. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19107957 | Saudi woman athlete makes headlines
Wojdan Shaherkani has been making headlines.
She became the subject of worldwide media attention when it was announced that she would be one of the first two Saudi female athletes to compete at the Olympics.
But this was soon overshadowed by a row over her hijab - a head covering that many Muslim women wear - that meant she was at risk of not taking part at all.
The International Judo Federation initially said Shaherkani would not be allowed to wear a headscarf during the competition due to safety concerns.
A spokesman said that in Judo athletes used strangleholds and chokeholds and that wearing a hijab could be dangerous.
But that was a deal-breaker for the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee.
End Quote Noor al-Sajan Saudi law student
She's 16 years old... I don't know how she's handling all of this”
The Saudi authorities had agreed to send women to the games on condition that they agreed to wear Islamic clothing, including headscarves.
The team had threatened to withdraw Shaherkani from the competition before an agreement was finally reached with the IJF that the 16-year-old would fight wearing a special headscarf in order to comply with both safety issues and the Saudi dress code.
"Working with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), a proposal was approved by all parties. The solution agreed guarantees a good balance between safety and cultural considerations," the IJF said in a statement.
Shaherkani competed on Friday in the +78kg category. She was easily defeated by a Puerto Rican fighter in a judo bout that lasted only 82 seconds.'Western influence'
As the debate raged over whether Shaherkani should be allowed to take part, her father, Ali, insisted: "I would never put my religion or my daughter's hijab on the line, even if it meant missing out on the Olympics."
Noor al-Sajan, a 19-year-old law student living in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, said Mr Shaherkani's remarks did not stop him and his daughter being the subjects of fierce criticism at home.
"There are some who have been very resentful of the fact that she is competing and have been taking it out on her family," she said.
"They've been saying: 'Oh, he is taking his daughter to the Olympics. He's not man enough.'
"Some have also been attacking their racial background, saying: 'They are not from Saudi, they don't represent us.'
"She's 16 years old. I don't know how she's handling all of this. I think it's really hard."
Abdullah Qassem, a Saudi businessman living in Jeddah, said he personally had no problem with Saudi women participating in sports, but he feared that they could be influenced by Western culture.
"The fear is that the women would go [to the Olympics] and expose their bodies," he explained.
"Yes, this time the Saudi women are covering [their bodies], but who's to say that they won't copy the European women and start dressing like them?"'Prostitutes of the Olympics'
Even the appearance of Shaherkani and the second Saudi female athlete in London, Sarah Attar, along with their male counterparts in the opening ceremony last Friday earned them an Arabic hashtag on the social networking website, Twitter, which translates as "prostitutes of the Olympics".
It was not long before the hashtag was trending on Twitter, but Noor al-Sajan said it was being used to the athletes' benefit.
"Activists have turned the hashtag around. They decided to use it to write positive things about the athletes since the hashtag was already viral," she said.
Ironically it worked, and hundreds of tweets were written in support of Shaherkani and Attar.
"Give Saudi women both the Olympic torch and the keys to the car," said one tweet, referring to the ban on women driving in the Gulf kingdom.
Another tweet said: "Even though Saudi allowed women to be in their Olympics team - the degrading of women lives on with this hashtag."
Despite the controversy Ms Sajan remains optimistic. Saudi Arabia, after all, is a country where women are still fighting for their right to drive and go anywhere without being chaperoned.
"I think it's a great milestone for Saudi women. The Olympics is one the biggest international sports events," she added.
"If the community here sees that it's OK for women to play sports, maybe that would make it easier for women to play professionally here." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6202765.stm | A furry robotic seal used for therapy in nursing homes has been honoured by the Japanese government.
Robots are looked on as a solution to Japan's ageing population
Paro is fitted with sensors beneath its fur and whiskers that allow it to respond to petting.
The robot mammal, which flutters its eyes and moves its flippers, won the service prize at the government sponsored Robot Awards 2006.
A giant vacuum cleaner and a feeding machine also received prizes at the ceremony in Tokyo.
The awards were set up earlier this year by the Japanese government to promote research and development in the robotics industry.
Robots are widely used in Japan and are seen as a way to help deal with an aging population.
Nearly 19% of the 130 million people that live in the country are aged 65 and over. This is expected to rise to 40% by 2055.
Robots could be key to maintaining the labour force and helping care for the elderly.
The Paro robot was developed by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science for therapy sessions in care homes. It is also used by autistic and handicapped children.
Like more traditional animal therapy, where pets are brought into hospitals, the robots are used to help people relax and exercise.
As well as responding to touch through tactile sensors on its body, Paro responds to its name and coos like a real baby harp seal.
Other robots to aid the elderly included the My Spoon feeding robot. The joystick-controlled arm helps people feed themselves.
The spoon tipped device follows pre-programmed movements to move food from a plate to a position just in front of the user's mouth. It is already on sale in Japan and Europe.
Other robots to be honoured at the ceremony included a huge autonomous vacuum cleaner that moves around Tokyo skyscrapers at night, clearing up after office workers. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7505234.stm | By Margaret Robertson
Los Angeles - the regular host for the E3 trade show
For more than a decade E3 was a joke begging for a punchline.
What do you get if you lock 60,000 gamers in a box for three days? As a journalist attending the event to hoover up a year's worth of snap judgements and pledged exclusives, you had a lot of different answers.
Exhausted, was the main one.
The old E3 was the ultimate Krypton Factor challenge. 72 hours trapped in a gigantic labyrinth of flashing lights and competing sound systems.
An endless sprint between the North and West halls along a walkway that seemed to telescope longer every day, all the while running streams of mental arithmetic as you juggled page counts, appointment schedules, time differences and contact numbers.
And all with the added handicap of the migraine-inducing dehydration brought on by an unwillingness to assuage the blazing Californian sunshine with $5 bottles of water you knew you'd never be able to claim back on expenses.
Robertson: It's important to stay well hydrated at E3
Drunk was another answer.
As each day wore on, conversation would turn from who had appointments to see which games to who had invites to attend which parties.
Notes would be swapped on the best strategies for blagging your way in (one enterprising colleague once presented me to a bouncer as 'Mrs Molyneux' with immediate success) and bets would be taken on which B list musician and C list actor would be the faintly baffled guest of honour.
Once in, you'd be confronted by a Hollywood parody of a Hollywood party. Ice sculptures, bikini'd lovelies, hopelessly impractical finger food and a ring of pasty middle-aged, middle-managers gazing at the pool with a mixture of distrust and longing.
In time of course, the free beer would work its woozy magic.
Then all sorts of indiscretions - talking too much shop with a competitor, being far too frank with your boss, or doing something you shouldn't with someone else's wife - would provide a year's worth of gossip for any journo who had the nous to stay one drink behind everyone else and keep their ears and eyes open.
The top answer though, was probably embarrassed.
Embarrassed by the unbelievable crassness of the stands, by the desperate, grubby greed of an industry that lays claim to being an art form but treats its creations like a commodity.
Embarrassed by the weary, jaded booth babes, wearing their spandex and stilettos and insincere smiles the way a traffic warden wears their uniform.
Embarrassed by the armies of under-age, over-excited gamers who'd sneak in with fake IDs to pillage the place for free keyrings and pour premature scorn on every other title.
Embarrassed by your own willingness to pursue games industry luminaries into the Gents to secure that bonus interview that everyone else had given up on (sorry, Warren).
The show is held in the huge LA convention centre
Everyone you met said the same thing. E3 was bloated, impractical, annoying, exhausting - too hot, too loud, too busy, too commercial, too expensive.
The games industry can never agree on anything, but it could agree on this: E3 was a nightmare. In response to the complaints, the event's organisers, the ESA, decided to reinvent it in a leaner, meaner form, but in a heartbeat the industry changed its tune. The new E3 was also a nightmare, but now because it was boring, deserted, too far out of town. There was no buzz, no decent parties, no opportunities to do unexpected deals in the queue for your third burrito of the day.
It sounds like hypocrisy, but it wasn't - or at least, it wasn't just hypocrisy.
Everyone still agreed - and everyone was still right to agree - that the old E3 was a dinosaur.
But what everyone had failed to take into account was that fact that dinosaurs are awesome. They're huge, noisy, dangerous and spectacular, and that was the wonder of the old event.
You'd see 19 games a day that were generic, over-hyped sequels but the 20th would be a behind-closed-doors black box revelation that made your palms prickle with excitement.
You'd play taxi-tag for three hours chasing the rumours of the best party in town but then end up lounging on a pool-side divan with your childhood hero while a harem of attendants plied you with champagne.
You'd spend all day slogging back and forth in the stinking heat, and all night wringing copy out of your jet-lagged, dehydrated, hung-over brain but wake up three hours later excited about doing it all again.
What did you get when you locked 60,000 gamers in a box for three days? Magic, that's what. Pure, preposterous magic. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/southern_counties/3342163.stm | Rail ticket prices in Brighton could rise because the cost of cleaning off graffiti has escalated.
The graffiti often put trains out of service
South Central Trains says damage done to trains and stations by two graffiti gangs in Brighton is costing almost £3m a year to clean up.
Now the company has warned that the cost of the damage may have to be passed on to passengers.
In the past few months, trains have been targeted at every railway siding between Brighton and Gatwick.
David Haynes, head of security at South Central Trains, said: "It is annoying and obviously these sort of costs get passed on to the customer.
"The real thing that annoys us is when we are not able to deliver a train the following day to the passengers that are expecting it."
He said sometimes it would be dangerous for the trains to be used because graffiti had been sprayed on the driver's window.
Overall the company said it costs £1.7m a year to clean trains with £500,000 spent on cleaning stations.
Every time a train is put out of service it costs the company £20,000.
British Transport Police said attempts were being made to try to stop the vandals by using CCTV and bringing in handwriting experts to try to identify tags sprayed on trains. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8501623.stm | The Ryan report said abuse in institutions in the Irish Republic was 'endemic'
Amnesty International has called for an inquiry into the extent of child abuse in Northern Ireland institutions run by both the state and the churches.
Its NI executive director told the SDLP conference the government should comply with its "international obligations".
The call comes after the Ryan Report in the Irish Republic which uncovered decades of institutional abuse.
The NI Assembly has voted for a similar inquiry and Amnesty wants the Executive and UK government to make it a reality.
The Ryan Report accused the Irish Republic's educational authorities, health boards and religious orders of failing to protect children or to investigate complaints.
Amnesty's Northern Ireland programme director, Patrick Corrigan, said that "while Ryan stopped at the border, the abuse of children did not".
He added: "We know this from the stream of Northern Irish victims and survivors now coming forward with credible stories of horrific abuse and neglect."
And Colm O'Gorman, the organisation's executive director, told the annual conference in Newcastle that as well as prosecuting individual abuse cases, it was also important to "learn the lessons of past failures".
He said that inquiries in Wales and the Irish Republic had led to "significant advances" in child protection and children's rights.
Any inquiry should be "independent, impartial and effective", he added. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/7073200.stm | Nikolay Davydenko is at the centre of fresh controversy after losing to Marcos Baghdatis at the Paris Masters.
Davydenko was bemused by the disintegration of his serve
The world number four was told by umpire Cedric Mourier to "try your best" after the official questioned why he was serving so many double faults.
At the St Petersburg Open, Davydenko was fined $2,000 (£976) for not trying hard enough against Marin Cilic.
He is being investigated by governing body the ATP over an August match that featured irregular betting patterns.
Online betting exchange Betfair voided bets on that match, in Poland, between Davydenko and the 87th-ranked Argentine Martin Vassallo Arguello.
In St Petersburg last month the Russian protested his innocence and, after his 6-2 6-2 defeat on Thursday, when Baghdatis asked him "What's wrong?" he replied "I don't know".
I need to find what's the reason I cannot really serve
He served 10 double faults and was broken five times by the Cypriot in a match that lasted one hour and 13 minutes.
BBC Radio 5 Live tennis correspondent Jonathan Overend said: "Davydenko was jeered at times during this pathetic effort in defence of his title.
"He hit three double-faults in his opening service game of the second set and amazingly another three in his subsequent service game.
"At one change of ends the umpire, Cedric Mourier, asked the Russian why he was serving so badly. Davydenko seemed to shrug his shoulder as if to say, 'what can I do?'
"'Serve like me,' the umpire was heard to answer back.
"It's not unusual for players to banter with umpires at the change of ends but in the current climate the Russian should expect some serious questions."
Davydenko admitted afterward he feared getting an official warning from the umpire.
"He just asked me what was happening. I told him I couldn't explain," he said.
"I cannot serve. That was happening in St Petersburg. I don't have pain really. I have no pain in my elbow. I need to find what's the reason I cannot really serve."
Baghdatis said: "He didn't serve well but he played well, but I was not thinking about the stories and rumours about him.
"I don't know if they are true or not. I needed to be focused and play well. That's what I did."
An ATP spokesman told BBC Sport: "What was said between Cedric Mourier and Nikolay Davydenko was a normal exchange between an umpire and player and the ATP will not be taking the matter any further." |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-16485298 | Schools in England will face no-notice inspections
All schools in England will face no-notice inspections from the autumn, the new head of Ofsted has announced.
Sir Michael Wilshaw said the move was a "logical" progression, adding that it was vital that the public had confidence in inspections.
But school leaders said they had "real doubts" that the plans would improve the inspection process.
They also raised concern that the change had been announced without consulting head teachers.
But Sir Michael, who took up his chief inspector post last week, said inspections taking place without notice provided an opportunity for inspectors "to do what's really important - going in and inspecting quality, particularly teaching".
He added: "Ofsted has been moving towards a position of unannounced school inspection over a period of years.
"I believe the time is now right for us to take that final step and make sure that for every school we visit inspectors are seeing schools as they really are in the corridors, classrooms and staff room."
Currently schools receive two days' notice.
Over the past 18 months, Ofsted carried out 1,500 no-notice inspections of schools causing concern. This included a pilot of unannounced visits to schools where there were issues concerning behaviour.Nervousness
Sir Michael admitted that some schools may be wary of the change.
End Quote Brian Lightman Association of School and College Leaders
An effective inspection system is based on mutual trust and respect, not the premise that schools are trying to 'cheat'”
"In my experience, anything that's new is going to be treated with some nervousness by schools."
Sir Michael said he wanted inspectors to spend "as much time as possible in the classroom".
"I don't want them to spend a huge amount of time looking at documentation, there's too much of that. I want them to go in and observe lessons."
Education Secretary Michael Gove said he warmly welcomed the moved: "No-notice inspections, especially where behaviour and teaching standards are of concern, will provide parents and others a true picture of schools' performance.
"I look forward to receiving the full proposals in the coming weeks."'Real doubts'
But the Association of School and College Leaders said no-notice inspections would not improve the effectiveness of inspections.
General secretary Brian Lightman said: "We welcome moves to improve the effectiveness of inspection, but I have real doubts that no-notice inspection will accomplish this.
"An effective inspection system is based on mutual trust and respect, not the premise that schools are trying to 'cheat' and need to be caught out.
"If inspection is going to lead to improvement, it needs to be done with schools rather than used as a beating stick.
"We have already voiced serious concerns that the Parent View website provides no way of ensuring that the views expressed are accurate or representative."
The National Association of Head Teachers said the move to no-notice school inspections was an empty gesture which would "alienate schools while doing nothing to support rising standards".
General secretary Russell Hobby said: "If a school could conceal evidence of widespread failure in just two days then the whole concept of inspection is flawed and Ofsted's protestations that it examines progress and behaviour over the long-term ring hollow."
Mr Hobby said a shorter notice for inspection would reduce schools' ability to engage with the inspection and may mean senior staff were not in the school for the inspection. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-17995520 | Kent A21 widening scheme 'could create growth'
Widening the A21 in Kent has been given preliminary approval because it could create growth in the local community, according to the roads minister.
Mike Penning said Kent County Council had convinced him it would create jobs and "free up the community".
The scheme would expand the road between Tonbridge and Pembury from single lanes to a dual carriageway.
The Kent Green Party, which opposes all road building, said the widening was "a complete waste of money".
In the case of the A21, Steve Dawe, from the Kent Green Party, said: "It will remove nine hectares of ancient woodland and in as a little of three or four years' time after the scheme is finished, the A21 will fill up again."
Mr Dawe added that only during its period of construction would the scheme create jobs.'Lead project'
Mr Penning said: "It gives me huge confidence that they [Kent County Council] believe that the local community can get the growth it requires.
As far back as 2001 the then Labour Transport Secretary Stephen Byers accepted the need to upgrade the A21 between Tonbridge and Pembury.
This year's proposals will see the single carriageway between these towns dualled with a flyover at the North Farm roundabout.
However, they do not include the previously proposed bypass of Hurst Green in East Sussex further down the A21.
"Is this going to create jobs? Is this going to free up the community? That's what they've convinced me is going to happen."
He added widening the A21 was the lead project of the six road schemes he had announced because it would be the first of them to go to public consultation.
Leader of Conservative-run Kent County Council Paul Carter said: "Completion of the scheme will be an enormous boost to the local Kent economy and support growth along the A21 corridor to Hastings."
Jackie Matthias, from the West Kent Chamber of Commerce, said "all the businesses in the area and the majority of residents" wanted the scheme to go ahead.
The Department for Transport said it would jointly fund the public consultation into the scheme with Kent County Council.
The widening scheme would start in 2015, when national funding is made available. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-11994671 | New Forth bridge plans approved by MSPs
Construction of the new Forth road bridge will get under way next year, under plans approved by MSPs.
The Scottish Parliament passed, by majority, new legislation needed to build the £2bn crossing, due for completion by 2016.
Ministers say the condition of the existing bridge, linking Edinburgh and Fife, is deteriorating.
The project has come under attack from environmental campaigners and there has been a row over how to fund it.
The Scottish Greens are now leading calls for public spending watchdog Audit Scotland to look into alternatives to the crossing before contracts are arranged.
Backers include WWF Scotland and Friends of the Earth Scotland.
The bridge, to be paid for by the Scottish government's capital budget, was brought forward in the wake of concerns about the condition of the existing crossing, now more than 40 years old.
The replacement link, to be given the green light under the Forth Crossing Bill, has been described by the Holyrood government as the biggest Scottish infrastructure project for a generation, and vital to the economy.Cable drying
The existing road bridge would be used for public transport and cyclists.
Scottish ministers clashed with the previous Westminster government over borrowing from future budgets to pay for the crossing.
End Quote Tricia Marwick MSP for Central Fife
We have got to ensure that there is a passage from the Lothians to Fife after 2017”
The SNP said the project would be delivered on time and on budget.
The campaign group Forthright Alliance has argued the new bridge - to cost between £1.7bn and £2.3bn - is not a "justifiable or credible" use of public money.
Lawrence Marshall, from Forthright Alliance, said work to slow down the cable corrosion would be enough to save the current bridge.
"The cable drying has been working," he said. "There is a slow and steady decline in the humidity within the cable and if you can manage to dehumidify the cable then basically the corrosion will have much less chance of increasing.
"If you halt the corrosion getting just a little bit worse than perhaps it is at the moment then you still have a buffer in order to be able to operate the bridge."
However, Tricia Marwick, MSP for Central Fife, said delaying work on the new bridge was not an option.
She said: "Even if you are able to halt the corrosion, then we have lost a lot of the strength in the bridge already.
"It is absolutely imperative that we press ahead with this work. We can't wait to see whether the work on the cables may halt the corrosion.
"We have got to ensure that there is a passage from the Lothians to Fife after 2017." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3651050.stm | There is no safe amount of alcohol that mothers-to-be can drink, experts believe.
Abstinence is best, say experts
Even the small amount advised by the government can harm the unborn child, a UK conference on foetal alcohol syndrome heard this week.
Dr Raja Mukherjee of St George's Medical School believes many more babies - up to one in every 100 - are affected than currently recognised.
Many are incorrectly labelled with 'behavioural' problems, he said.
Heavy alcohol consumption during pregnancy is known to be damaging to the unborn child, which is why the government sets a limit of one to two units of alcohol per week for mothers-to-be.
But Dr Mukherjee told delegates at an Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Aware UK conference in Wigan that
studies show any amount of alcohol can be damaging.
He said one in every 100 babies born is damaged by their mother drinking while pregnant, but many cases are going unrecognised.
No safe level
According to Dr Mukherjee, obvious cases of foetal alcohol syndrome - a group of problems in children born to mothers who drank alcohol during their pregnancy, which includes abnormal facial features and nervous system problems - are recognised and detected.
But many children who develop behavioural problems as a result of exposure to alcohol in the womb are incorrectly diagnosed as having conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
The real culprit, alcohol consumption, goes unnoticed in these milder forms, collectively called Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, he said.
He blamed binge drinking for the high rates of damage.
"The brain develops throughout pregnancy and the most vulnerable period is the first three months - the first trimester - when people may not even know they are pregnant."
He said the government should warn women that any amount of alcohol could damage their unborn child.
"The current recommendation of one to two units is ambiguous.
"The only guaranteed safe way is not to drink at all when you are pregnant," he said.
A spokeswoman from the National Organisation on Foetal Alcohol Syndrome said: "We do not want to panic any woman who is pregnant and may have had a couple of drinks. The chances are their child will be fine.
"But there is a risk if you drink alcohol during pregnancy. The only way you can be certain is to abstain from alcohol," she said.
A spokeswoman from the Department of Health said:
"We would be interested to see any further research in to this area but current evidence does not justify changing our advice."
In May, Lord Mitchell from the National Organisation on Foetal Alcohol Syndrome highlighted the issue to the House of Lords.
He said the government should be doing more.
"The government is being really complacent about it. It's sort of saying 'have a few drinks and that's OK', but our feeling, and certainly the evidence that we have seen in other countries, is that no drinking is the best policy."
He said alcoholic beverages should carry warning labels about the potential for damage to unborn children in the same way that they already do in France and the US.
Later this week, experts will debate the problem at House of Commons. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4706421.stm | Scotland Yard has issued CCTV images of four men it wants to question over the failed bomb attacks on three Tube trains and a bus in London.
It is not yet clear if a man shot dead by plain clothes officers at Stockwell Tube station on Friday was one of them.
Scotland Yard urged anyone who knew the whereabouts of the men captured on CCTV to call 999.
They said if they could identify any of them they should call the anti-terrorist hotline on 0800 789 321.
Members of the public should not approach the men under any circumstances, police warned.
After Friday's shooting another man was arrested at an address in Stockwell, south London. Officers then searched the property.
The man was held on suspicion of the preparation, instigation and commission of acts of terrorism.
He was taken for questioning to Paddington Green Police Station in central London.
Officers raided several addresses across the capital on Friday, including one in Harrow Road, north-west London, where people reported bangs thought to have been the firing of CS gas canisters.
Also on Friday, a 29-year-old West Yorkshire man who had been held since 12 July, on suspicion of the commission, instigation or preparation of acts of terrorism, was released without charge.
He had been arrested on the same day as raids were carried out in the Leeds area in connection with the original bombings on 7 July.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair told a news conference Thursday's attacks and those two weeks earlier had left Scotland Yard facing "the greatest operational challenge" in its history.
He said: "Officers are facing previously unknown threats and great danger
"This operation is targeted against criminals - not any community or section of a community."
Thursday's attacks began at about 1230 BST, with bombs at Warren Street station, central London, Shepherd's Bush station in the west, Oval in the south and on a bus in Shoreditch, east London.
Along with the CCTV images, police revealed details about the suspects' movements:
- The first image showed a man in a black sweater running away from Oval station's Northern Line at 1234 BST on Thursday. Police believe he had travelled north from Stockwell. His top was later found in nearby Brixton.
- The second image showed a man on the number 26 bus travelling from Waterloo to Hackney Wick. He got off the bus at Hackney Road at about 1306 BST.
- The third image showed a man leaving Warren Street station at 1239 BST.
- Police believe the man pictured at Westbourne Park station at 1221 BST travelled west on the Hammersmith and City Line to Shepherd's Bush, where he ran from the station.
Following the incidents, streets were cordoned off, parts of the transport network closed and stations evacuated, but no-one was badly hurt.
Three of the devices found were the same size and weight as those used for the 7 July London bombings, while the fourth was smaller and appeared to have been contained in a plastic box. The same chemicals appear to have been used.
Scotland Yard Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman told the news conference: "At this stage it is believed the devices consisted of homemade explosives and were contained in dark coloured bags or rucksacks. It is too early to tell how these were detonated."
BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the devices were so similar there was speculation they could have been part of the same batch.
"The explosive might have degraded over time or had not been put together right in this case, or it could have been a completely different batch of explosives - homemade - that had not been cooked up properly."
The bombers' plan might have been disrupted by the investigation into the 7 July attacks, forcing them to act before they were fully prepared, Mr Corera added.
Police have asked that any images of the attacks are sent to www.police.uk. The hotline number for anybody with information is 0800 789 321. Witness reception points have been set up near the four scenes. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17866646 | Black-Scholes: The maths formula linked to the financial crash
It's not every day that someone writes down an equation that ends up changing the world. But it does happen sometimes, and the world doesn't always change for the better. It has been argued that one formula known as Black-Scholes, along with its descendants, helped to blow up the financial world.
Black-Scholes was first written down in the early 1970s but its story starts earlier than that, in the Dojima Rice Exchange in 17th Century Japan where futures contracts were written for rice traders. A simple futures contract says that I will agree to buy rice from you in one year's time, at a price that we agree right now.
By the 20th Century the Chicago Board of Trade was providing a marketplace for traders to deal not only in futures but in options contracts. An example of an option is a contract where we agree that I can buy rice from you at any time over the next year, at a price that we agree right now - but I don't have to if I don't want to.
You can imagine why this kind of contract might be useful. If I am running a big chain of hamburger restaurants, but I don't know how much beef I'll need to buy next year, and I am nervous that the price of beef might rise, well - all I need is to buy some options on beef.
But then that leads to a very ticklish problem. How much should I be paying for those beef options? What are they worth? And that's where this world-changing equation, the Black-Scholes formula, can help.
"The problem it's trying to solve is to define the value of the right, but not the obligation, to buy a particular asset at a specified price, within or at the end of a specified time period," says Professor Myron Scholes, professor of finance at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and - of course - co-inventor of the Black-Scholes formula.
The young Scholes was fascinated by finance. As a teenager, he persuaded his mother to set up an account so that he could trade on the stock market. One of the amazing things about Scholes is that throughout his time as an undergraduate and then a doctoral student, he was half-blind. And so, he says, he got very good at listening and at thinking.
When he was 26, an operation largely restored his sight. The next year, he became an assistant professor at MIT, and it was there that he stumbled upon the option-pricing puzzle.
One part of the puzzle was this question of risk: the value of an option to buy beef at a price of - say - $2 (£1.23) a kilogram presumably depends on what the price of beef is, and how the price of beef is moving around.
But the connection between the price of beef and the value of the beef option doesn't vary in a straightforward way - it depends how likely the option is to actually be used. That in turn depends on the option price and the beef price. All the variables seem to be tangled up in an impenetrable way.
Scholes worked on the problem with his colleague, Fischer Black, and figured out that if I own just the right portfolio of beef, plus options to buy and sell beef, I have a delicious and totally risk-free portfolio. Since I already know the price of beef and the price of risk-free assets, by looking at the difference between them I can work out the price of these beef options. That's the basic idea. The details are hugely complicated.
"It might have taken us a year, a year and a half to be able to solve and get the simple Black-Scholes formula," says Scholes. "But we had the actual underlying dynamics way before."
The Black-Scholes method turned out to be a way not only to calculate value of options but all kinds of other financial assets. "We were like kids in a candy story in the sense that we described options everywhere, options were embedded in everything that we did in life," says Scholes.
End Quote Professor Ian Stewart Warwick University
By 2007 the trade in derivatives worldwide was one quadrillion (thousand million million) US dollars ”
But Black and Scholes weren't the only kids in the candy store, says Ian Stewart, whose book argues that Black-Scholes was a dangerous invention.
"What the equation did was give everyone the confidence to trade options and very quickly, much more complicated financial options known as derivatives," he says.
Scholes thought his equation would be useful. He didn't expect it to transform the face of finance. But it quickly became obvious that it would.
"About the time we had published this article, that's 1973, simultaneously or approximately a month thereafter, the Chicago Board Options Exchange started to trade call options on 16 stocks," he recalls.
Scholes had just moved to the University of Chicago. He and his colleagues had already been teaching the Black-Scholes formula and methodology to students for several years.
"There were many young traders who either had taken courses at MIT or Chicago in using the option pricing technology. On the other hand, there was a group of traders who had only intuition and previous experience. And in a very short period of time, the intuitive players were essentially eliminated by the more systematic players who had this pricing technology."
More or Less: Behind the stats
Listen to More or Less on BBC Radio 4 and the World Service, or download the free podcast
That was just the beginning.
"By 2007 the trade in derivatives worldwide was one quadrillion (thousand million million) US dollars - this is 10 times the total production of goods on the planet over its entire history," says Stewart. "OK, we're talking about the totals in a two-way trade, people are buying and people are selling and you're adding it all up as if it doesn't cancel out, but it was a huge trade."
The Black-Scholes formula had passed the market test. But as banks and hedge funds relied more and more on their equations, they became more and more vulnerable to mistakes or over-simplifications in the mathematics.
"The equation is based on the idea that big movements are actually very, very rare. The problem is that real markets have these big changes much more often that this model predicts," says Stewart. "And the other problem is that everyone's following the same mathematical principles, so they're all going to get the same answer."
Now these were known problems. What was not clear was whether the problems were small enough to ignore, or well enough understood to fix. And then in the late 1990s, two remarkable things happened.
"The inventors got the Nobel Prize for Economics," says Stewart. "I would argue they thoroughly deserved to get it."
End Quote Ian Stewart University of Warwick
Long-Term Capital Management showed the danger of this kind of algorithmically-based trading”
Fischer Black died young, in 1995. When in 1997 Scholes won the Nobel memorial prize, he shared it not with Black but with Robert Merton, another option-pricing expert.
Scholes' work had inspired a generation of mathematical wizards on Wall Street, and by this stage both he and Merton were players in the world of finance, as partners of a hedge fund called Long-Term Capital Management.
"The whole idea of this company was that it was going to base its trading on mathematical principles such as the Black-Scholes equation. And it actually was amazingly successful to begin with," says Stewart. "It was outperforming the traditional companies quite noticeably and everything looked great."
But it didn't end well. Long-Term Capital Management ran into, among other things, the Russian financial crisis. The firm lost $4bn (£2.5bn) in the course of six weeks. It was bailed out by a consortium of banks which had been assembled by the Federal Reserve. And - at the time - it was a very big story indeed. This was all happening in August and September of 1998, less than a year after Scholes had been awarded his Nobel prize.
Stewart says the lessons from Long-Term Capital Management were obvious. "It showed the danger of this kind of algorithmically-based trading if you don't keep an eye on some of the indicators that the more conventional people would use," he says. "They [Long-Term Capital Management] were committed, pretty much, to just ploughing ahead with the system they had. And it went wrong."
Scholes says that's not what happened at all. "It had nothing to do with equations and nothing to do with models," he says. "I was not running the firm, let me be very clear about that. There was not an ability to withstand the shock that occurred in the market in the summer and fall of late 1998. So it was just a matter of risk-taking. It wasn't a matter of modelling."
This is something people were still arguing about a decade later. Was the collapse of Long-Term Capital Management an indictment of mathematical approaches to finance or, as Scholes says, was it simply a case of traders taking too much risk against the better judgement of the mathematical experts?
Ten years after the Long-Term Capital Management bail-out, Lehman Brothers collapsed. And the debate over Black-Scholes and LTCM is now a broader debate over the role of mathematical equations in finance.
Ian Stewart claims that the Black-Scholes equation changed the world. Does he really believe that mathematics caused the financial crisis?
"It was abuse of their equation that caused trouble, and I don't think you can blame the inventors of an equation if somebody else comes along and uses it badly," he says.
End Quote Myron Scholes
The fundamental issue is that quantitative technologies in finance will survive, and will grow”
"And it wasn't just that equation. It was a whole generation of other mathematical models and all sorts of other techniques that followed on its heels. But it was one of the major discoveries that opened the door to all this."
Black-Scholes changed the culture of Wall Street, from a place where people traded based on common sense, experience and intuition, to a place where the computer said yes or no.
But is it really fair to blame Black-Scholes for what followed it? "The Black-Scholes technology has very specific rules and requirements," says Scholes. "That technology attracted or caused investment banks to hire people who had quantitative or mathematical skills. I accept that. They then developed products or technologies of their own."
Not all of those subsequent technologies, says Scholes, were good enough. "[Some] had assumptions that were wrong, or they used data incorrectly to calibrate their models, or people who used [the] models didn't know how to use them."
Scholes argues there is no going back. "The fundamental issue is that quantitative technologies in finance will survive, and will grow, and will continue to evolve over time," he says.
But for Ian Stewart, the story of Black-Scholes - and of Long-Term Capital Management - is a kind of morality tale. "It's very tempting to see the financial crisis and various things which led up to it as sort of the classic Greek tragedy of hubris begets nemesis," he says.
"You try to fly, you fly too close to the sun, the wax holding your wings on melts and you fall down to the ground. My personal view is that it's not just tempting to do that but there is actually a certain amount of truth in that way of thinking. I think the bankers' hubris did indeed beget nemesis. But the big problem is that it wasn't the bankers on whom the nemesis descended - it was the rest of us."
Additional reporting by Richard Knight |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21496361 | Heathrow airport reports £2.46bn in revenues
Heathrow reported higher revenues and profits after a record 70 million passengers used Britain's biggest airport during 2012.
It posted an 8% rise in revenues to £2.46bn, with profits of £46.4m.
The company predicted further growth and said the new Terminal 2 should be completed towards the end of 2013.
But the west London airport said it is operating close to capacity and warned this would limit the UK's ability to trade with emerging economies.
There were 471,341 flights during 2012, just below Heathrow's cap of 480,000 a year.Ticket price rises
The results from the former BAA company include Stansted Airport, which was sold after the year-end to Manchester Airports Group for £1.5bn.
Stansted's passenger numbers declined 3.2% to 17.5 million last year.
Heathrow achieved an all-time record passenger satisfaction score in a survey produced by the Airports Council International for the third quarter, but the percentage of people passing through central security within the prescribed time was below last year's level at 92.8% in 2012.
Last week, it was announced passengers at the airport face a rise in ticket prices if a £3bn five-year investment plan is approved.
Heathrow wants regulators to allow it to increase charges for airlines to use the airport, between 2014 and 2019.
The charges need to be approved by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA),
Under the plan, they will go up by the equivalent of £19.33 per passenger for 2012-13 up to a possible £27.30 in 2018-19. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-19754789 | North Yorkshire stays 'alert' as flood warnings remain
The Environment Agency warned people in North Yorkshire to "stay alert", with 22 flood warnings in place on Friday.
The level of the River Ouse in York is slowly falling after more than 100 properties were flooded.
In Selby and Cawood, the river had not reached its peak on Friday morning, but the Environment Agency said defences would cope.
In Tadcaster, where a bridge remains closed, a free bus service had been started to link both sides of the town.
- River Ouse at York (Leeman Road, Skeldergate, Lower Ebor Street, Alma Terrace, River Street, St George's Field, Peckitt Street), Kelfield, Cawood, Naburn, Alcaster Malbis, Acaster Selby, Fulford, Linton Lock)
- River Derwent at Stamford Bridge, Buttercrambe Mill
- River Ure at Aldwark Bridge to Cuddy Shaw, Milby Island
- River Wharfe at Ulleskelf, Ryther
- River Swale at Kirby Wiske, Helperby, Myton on Swale
- Cock Beck at Stutton
North Yorkshire County Council said it is "poised" to inspect the A659 bridge, as well as others at Boroughbridge, Morton-on-Swale and Skipton-on-Swale.
A spokesperson said: "Until water levels fall, engineers will not be able to see what damage the floods have caused, but they are ready to undertake those inspections as soon as possible.
Once they have inspected the bridges they will know whether they are safe to use again."
A number of roads remained closed across York and North Yorkshire.
City of York Council said it would be reviewing the situation on Friday morning. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19540469 | Japan confirms disputed islands purchase plan
Japan has confirmed that it intends to purchase disputed islands also claimed by China from private owners, amid tension between the two countries.
The government had formally agreed to ''obtain ownership'' of islands called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, the top government spokesman said.
Japan controls the uninhabited but resource-rich East China Sea islands, which are also claimed by Taiwan.
China has denounced the plan as illegal and warned it will affect ties.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said the Japanese government was buying the islands to promote their stable and peaceful management.
It was not immediately clear how much the purchase would cost. But previous Japanese media reports, citing government sources, said that the government was paying 2.05bn yen ($26m, £16.4m) for three islands.
"This is just the ownership of land, which is part of Japan's territory, moving from one [private] owner to the state, and should not cause any problem with other countries," said Mr Fujimura.
Japan-China disputed islands
- The archipelago consists of five islands and three reefs
- Japan, China and Taiwan claim them; they are controlled by Japan and form part of Okinawa prefecture
- Japanese businessman Kunioki Kurihara owns three of the islands, which he rents out to the Japanese state
- The islands were the focus of a major diplomatic row between Japan and China in 2010
"We do not want the Senkaku issue to interfere with Sino-Japanese relations," he added.
"We believe it is important to avoid misunderstandings and unforeseen circumstances between us, and have been using diplomatic channels to keep in close contact with China since they made their position on this matter clear."
Outspoken Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara had wanted the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to buy the islands and had been collecting donations from the public. He had talked of developing the islands - a plan that could have further strained ties with China.
At the Apec summit in Russia on Sunday, Chinese President Hu Jintao was quoted by state-run media as telling Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda that buying the islands was "illegal and invalid".
His point was reiterated by a foreign ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, on Monday.
"The unilateral measures that Japan has taken on the Diaoyu islands are illegal and ineffective. China is firmly opposed to it," he said.
The islands, which lie south of Okinawa and north of Taiwan, sit in key shipping lanes and are thought to lie close to gas deposits. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16702046 | Costa Concordia: Body found, bringing toll to 16
Another body has been found inside the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship in Italy, bringing the death toll to 16, officials say.
Salvage crews have begun preparations to empty the vessel's fuel tanks but officials say it will be days before the actual pumping process can begin.
It is likely to take about four weeks to complete the operation.
The Costa Concordia hit rocks off the Tuscan coast on 13 January with more than 4,200 people on board.
Italian officials have not confirmed reports that the body was that of a woman.
Divers are continuing to search for at least 16 more missing people on the 290m-long vessel.
Navy explosive experts have blasted a hole into the submerged third deck of the ship to allow the search to continue.
List of dead and missing
- Confirmed dead: Sandor Feher, Hungary, crew; French nationals Pierre Gregoire, Jeanne Gannard, Jean-Pierre Micheaud, Francis Servil, passengers; Italian Giovanni Masia, passenger; Spaniard Guillermo Gual, passenger; Peruvian Thomas Alberto Costilla Mendoza, crew.
- Missing: 16 people including seven unidentified bodies. Nationalities include German, Italian, French, American, Peruvian and Indian nationals
A Dutch salvage company has brought a barge alongside the giant hulk as divers install external tanks that will collect more than 2,300 tonnes of diesel to be pumped out of the Concordia.
"While this operation is under way, rescue efforts are continuing simultaneously," fire services spokesman Claudio Chiavacci said, according to Reuters news agency.
The head of Italy's civil protection agency, Franco Gabrielli, said the salvage workers were likely to begin collecting oil by Saturday.
They are expected to use a so-called "hot-tapping" operation, in which the fuel will be pumped out into a nearby ship and replaced with water so as not to affect the ship's balance.
The captain of the Costa Concordia, Francesco Schettino, is under house arrest in his home town of Meta di Sorrento, near Naples, while his actions are investigated.
He is accused of multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck, and abandoning ship before all passengers were evacuated. He denies the allegations. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-21306573 | New rules lead to closure of Abu Dhabi grocery shops
Unlike the big malls that dominate Dubai, neighbouring Abu Dhabi has 1,300 or so small grocery shops on its streets.
However, many have had to close after the introduction of new government rules on food hygiene and how shops should look.
With locals mourning the loss of their neighbourhood stores, how sensible are the new regulations?
Jonathan Frewin reports. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1879429.stm | |You are in: World: Africa|
Monday, 18 March, 2002, 18:28 GMT
Botswana Bushmen's last stand
This is the final chapter in a 17-year saga which has seen the relocation of some 2,200 San out of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) into resettlement camps by the Botswana Government.
The special game permits which enabled the San, the last remaining hunter-gatherers in Africa, to hunt a limited quota of wild animals, and gather veldt foods and fruits have been withdrawn.
Now fewer than 30 of the Kalahari San remain.
The government says the resettlement programme is for the benefit the San.
Most of Botswana's 50,000 San population has already been relocated into 63 resettlement villages, where water, health and education services are provided.
"We are doing what we consider to be the best for our people."
"We want to empower the Basarwa and make sure they have a future in this country," General Pheto adds, "because they cannot forever remain nomadic."
But critics have compared the resettlement villages to reservations established in North America.
The Botswana Government has also been accused of putting wildlife before people, and securing its mineral interests.
The central Kalahari is rich in diamond and other mineral deposits. A successful land claim by the San might make it more difficult for the government to exploit any mineral finds, although the state owns all mineral deposits in Botswana.
Next week several hundred former central Kalahari San residents will take the government to court to challenge the removals, and demand they be allowed to return.
Speaking through an interpreter in his native seG//ana language he explained: "When I went to Molapo I found my wives and children dismantling the huts to go."
"They had been told by the officials that if they stayed behind, the soldiers would come and put them inside the huts and burn them. They had no choice."
"The government is forcing people to move. We are being treated like refugees," Mr Sesana says.
It is a long hot drive to the semi-desert scrubland of the game reserve.
When we got to the in the settlement of Kukamma, government cattle trucks were already parked waiting to load up the meagre possessions of a handful of San and BaKgalagadi families.
The remaining residents were clearly under enormous pressure to pack up and go.
While officials from the local Ghanzi and Kweneng districts busily directed the dismantling of the huts, we sat sharing a watermelon with the chief's family.
Every member of the family received a slice of the sweet delicacy. Not one pip was squandered, but carefully collected in a small calabash for future cultivation.
The moment was abruptly terminated with the arrival of Department of Wildlife officials who demanded our permit and then ordered us to leave immediately.
Danqoo Xhukuri, chairman of the First People, says he believes it is because the government "doesn't want anyone present to witness the final forced removal of the last of the San."
General Pheto denies that the CKGR residents are being forced to relocate.
He also says the San of the central Kalahari have been consulted for a long time about the move.
They have been encouraged by the government to move out of the reserve, with generous offers of money, goats, cattle, and promises of jobs and a better quality of life.
But many of the San who have already relocated to the villages of New Xade and Kaudwane say they were bribed and coerced into moving.
They tell a tale of an impoverished existence, depending on government food rations for survival.
Phutego Banweng, 40, believed the government's promises of a better life, and relocated willingly to Kaudwane in 1997.
He says he did not get any compensation, and when he found that the promises of jobs and development were empty, he returned to the San settlement at Mothomelo. But he was moved out of the reserve a second time.
Life in the re-settlement camp of New Xade is just as bleak. Alcoholism is rife, and an aura of despair and listlessness hangs over the dusty dwellings.
There are no jobs, there is no grazing for the goats and cattle, no veldt food to gather, no wild animals to hunt.
The residents have nothing to do. They are 70km from the nearest town, an expensive and difficult 3-hour journey away.
Tshekelo Mogolarijo, 65, was resettled here 5 years ago. "We thought that the government would help us," he says. "But I think that the government is killing us."
23 Jan 02 | Africa
Botswana cuts Bushman services
19 Jul 01 | Africa
Losing battle for Kalahari
04 Feb 02 | Africa
In pictures: End of a way of life
02 Apr 01 | Africa
'Bushmen' marginalised in South Africa
07 Mar 02 | Country profiles
Country profile: Botswana
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7358764.stm | By Kathryn Westcott
The waters off the coast of Somalia have become some of the most treacherous in the world - swarming with well-armed pirates, searching for prey to hold to ransom.
Attacks on fishing boats, cargo ships and yachts have surged, but these modern-day buccaneers may not continue to get their way.
Pirates demanded a $2m ransom for the crew of Le Ponant
The world's navies could be about to get tough.
France and the US are drafting a UN Security Council resolution that would authorise countries to chase and seize pirates when they flee into territorial waters, and could lead to an increase in patrols.
The move comes in the wake of a dramatic helicopter raid by French commandos on Somali pirates who had just released 30 hostages on a luxury yacht for a ransom believed to be $2m (£1m; 1.3m euros).
Part of the problem is that for nearly two decades Somalia has lacked an effective central government. The current transitional government struggles to exert control over large areas of the country, where warlords hold sway.
But there are vital shipping lanes nearby. Vessels heading west from Asia cross the Gulf of Aden to reach Europe. Many also pass Somalia as they exit the Red Sea, sailing in the opposite direction.
In 2007, there were 31 actual or attempted attacks off the Somali coast, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) piracy-reporting centre - a figure that will be exceeded this year, on current trends.
Cyrus Mody, an analyst with the IMB, says many of the Somali gangs are "well trained, well armed and have a good knowledge of vessels".
They have maritime radios, which they use to monitor radio traffic of ships in the area, and to predict their movements.
"Sometimes, the gangs will send out distress signals or send messages saying they are stranded. This lures ships towards them. They then attack with Kalashnikovs or rocket propelled launchers," says Mr Mody.
In one incident, the pirates reportedly posed as thirsty fishermen in dire need of drinking water - only to hijack the ship at gunpoint after being allowed on board.
They often operate from "mother ships" - large fishing boats with smaller speedboats on board. This enables them to attack vessels that are hundreds of miles out to sea.
French commandos arrested one pirate gang in a helicopter raid
The vessel is attacked and if it is unable to manoeuvre quickly enough, it is boarded and taken back to Somali waters.
The BBC's Mohamed Olad Hassan in Somalia says many of the pirates are former fishermen, who began by attacking ships they argued were "illegally threatening or destroying" their business.
"Businessmen and former fighters for the Somali warlords moved in when they saw how lucrative it could be. The pirates and their backers tend to split the ransom money 50-50," he says.
The Puntland authorities argue that if piracy paid less well, there would be less of it.
Colin Darch, the captain of one ship that was released after a ransom was paid, told the BBC News website he would have welcomed the use of force to resolve the crisis.
"They made it plain from the start that they were only in it for the ransom money," he said, speaking from his home in Devon.
"We were told that as long we didn't sabotage the venture, we would be all right. They said they needed us in good condition to get the ransom and the owners of the boat made it clear that no money would be paid if we were harmed."
Captain Darch was in daily contact with the vessel's owners in Copenhagen to help with negotiations.
The size of the gang more than doubled to 20 when the pirates began to fear an American warship patrolling the area might try to free the hostages.
An interpreter, who described himself as a schoolteacher, was hired because the leader didn't speak English, and through him, a picture of the pirates' world began to appear.
"They frequently took the trouble to tell us that they hadn't had a proper government for about 17 years, that there were no government agencies and, as a result, they were obliged to rob to survive," says Captain Darch.
The group's leader was 42-year-old Omad Hassan.
"We were told that Hassan became the leader because he had access to arms and ammunition, because his father had been in the military before the government collapsed," said Captain Darch.
On the 12th day of captivity, the captain sent a message to the US warship telling it to attack once the vessel had been blacked out.
"We hid in a stern compartment behind watertight doors and waited, but the attack didn't happen," he says.
"After I had been freed, I asked them why and was told that it would have required authority from higher up, and that our lives were not in danger."
He believes the French have the right idea.
"Harsh action is what is needed," he says. "That's the only way to deal with the problem." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6354205.stm | Iraq's High Tribunal has sentenced Saddam Hussein's former vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan to be hanged.
Ramadan would be the fourth man executed over the Dujail killings
He was tried alongside the former Iraqi leader over the killing of 148 Shias in the village of Dujail in the 1980s.
The trial court jailed him for life for his role, but an appeal court recommended the death penalty.
The death sentence was confirmed despite a plea by UN human rights chief Louise Arbour, who said an execution would violate international law.
Ramadan continued to maintain his innocence as the verdict was handed down.
"God knows I didn't do anything wrong," the Reuters news agency reported him as saying shortly before the judge sentenced him to death.
But his insistence made no impact on the final verdict.
"The condemned Taha Yassin Ramadan shall be sentenced to hanging until death for committing deliberate killing crimes," Judge Ali al-Kahachi announced to the court.
The sentence would automatically be reviewed by an appeals panel, the judge added.
Ramadan reacted angrily to the sentence, declaring: "I swear to God that I'm innocent, Allah is my supporter and will take revenge on all who treated me unjustly."
Saddam Hussein and two other key figures in his regime have already been executed.
The former president was hanged on 30 December 2006. Leaked video footage of the execution - with onlookers shouting sectarian taunts as he stood on the gallows - caused an international outcry.
Two top aides, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, were put to death last month.
Barzan was decapitated by the noose around his neck, provoking more anger among Iraq's Sunni community.
Three other men were given 15-year jail terms. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2839815.stm | This year is going to be a record one for the gaming industry, with more people buying video games and consoles, says a report.
Vice City: More then eight million copies sold globally
Sales of games alone are set to hit $18.5bn, while 32 million consoles will be sold, according to London-based market research firm ScreenDigest.
The upbeat forecast reflects the growing popularity of gaming, which is becoming a major rival to other forms of entertainment such as the cinema.
"These figures clearly demonstrate the commercial strength of an industry rich in creativity and entertainment value," said Roger Bennett, Director General of the trade body, the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), which commissioned the study.
Sales of computer games and consoles are riding high despite gloomy news on the High Street.
Last year was a record one for the industry. In the UK alone, sales of hardware and software reached £2bn.
The figures suggest that racing through virtual streets in a stolen car or going on pretend spy mission has become a firm favourite among thrill-seekers.
In 2002 in the UK, more money was spent on games than on video rental or on going to the cinema.
Looking ahead, global video game sales are predicted to grow nearly 10%, said the ScreenDigest report.
And there seems no stopping the appeal on gaming consoles like Sony's PlayStation 2, Microsoft's Xbox and Nintendo's GameCube.
A further 32 million consoles are expected to be sold worldwide in 2003, up from 30 million last year.
"More games are being purchased by more people all over the world," said Mr Bennett.
"It is heartening to acknowledge the contribution made by UK-based development houses to that success.
"In particular, companies such as Rockstar North who developed the phenomenally successful GTA: Vice City which sold over one million units in the UK alone in the eight weeks leading up to Christmas."
But others strike a word of caution, pointing out that the growing costs of developing a game is driving smaller game studios out of business.
"Making a computer game now is incredibly expensive," said Peter Molyneux of Lionhead Studios, one of Britain's leading developers. "A few developers are really, really struggling." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/3828657.stm | The leader of the Scottish National Party John Swinney has resigned.
John Swinney pauses during his resignation news conference
He made a formal announcement on Tuesday morning following poor results in the European elections in which the party failed to overtake Labour.
The 40-year-old MSP for Tayside North was elected party leader in September 2000 but latterly faced criticism for accepting the concept of devolution.
His deputy, Roseanna Cunningham, has announced her intention to stand for the leadership.
Mr Swinney believed independence would be achieved by increasing the power and influence of his party, using the Scottish Parliament as a platform.
However, he faced opposition from fundamentalists who said the SNP should focus on the objective of total independence.
First Minister Jack McConnell said: "In the end, John Swinney had no choice but to resign having increasingly lost the debate to Labour over the last three years.
"But a change at the top won't make much of a difference. The real problem with the Nationalists is not their leadership but their politics and their policies."
In his resignation speech, Mr Swinney defended the SNP's credibility and record but accepted responsibility for the failure to sell the party's message.
Speaking at the party's headquarters in Edinburgh he said: "Many voters are telling us we have not yet answered their key question, why independence?
"We are not yet seen as an alternative government in waiting, and despite my best efforts over the past four years I accept that many people still do not have a clear understanding of what the SNP stands for, over and above an independent Scotland.
"As leader of the Scottish National Party, I take full responsibility for the fact that we have not made as much progress in these areas as I would have liked."
He issued a plea for unity in order to secure a future for the party.
"Given the scale of the challenges we face, what our members need and what I appeal for today, is unity within the Scottish National Party to ensure our success.
The European elections caused a storm for John Swinney
"No member of the SNP should ever underestimate the damage that is caused to our movement by the loose and dangerous talk of the few."
Mr Swinney pledged his support and co-operation to his successor and said he would continue to serve as an MSP.
He said: "I confirm my intention to continue to represent the people of North Tayside in the Scottish Parliament for as long as they will give me the honour of so doing.
"It has been a privilege to lead the Scottish National Party during this time of the rebirth of Scottish democracy.
"I am proud to have played my part in the sometimes difficult transition the SNP is making from being a party of protest to becoming a party of government. It is a journey I am certain we will complete."
Mr Swinney had vowed to overtake Labour in the European elections but failed to do so, increasing pressure on his position.
Following the poll, he said the party had been "bedevilled" by internal strife and had not succeeded in explaining to the public the SNP's policies beyond independence.
He had expressed his determination to continue but changed his mind after some senior figures stated publicly that his position was untenable.
Names touted as a possible replacement include Ms Cunningham, justice spokeswoman Nicola Sturgeon, Kenny MacAskill and former MSP Mike Russell.
Nominations open Tuesday
Nominations close 16 July
Ballots mailed to all members by 13 August
Ballots to be returned by 31 August
Result announced 3 September
Ms Sturgeon said she was "taking soundings" and Mr Russell said the party now had some "serious thinking" to do before it moved forward.
There was a lot to thank John Swinney for, including the "long overdue" internal reforms which he had introduced.
Alex Salmond, who led the party until 2000, appeared to rule himself out of the contest by saying he would decline if nominated.
Mr Salmond blamed elements of the SNP and the Scottish press for not recognising John Swinney's achievements as SNP leader.
Alex Neil, who was beaten by Mr Swinney four years ago, said he would think about standing again.
Campbell Martin, the MSP who was suspended from the SNP after criticising the leader, said Mr Swinney had made the right decision.
It was now time for the SNP to take a different direction and return to its core message of independence, he added.
Nominations for the new leader have opened and the result will be declared on Friday 3 September. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20681284 | Sugar 'comforts babies during immunisations'
It appears that sugar really may help the medicine go down - studies suggest a few drops can comfort babies who are having their jabs.
The Cochrane team reviewed 14 studies involving more than 1,500 infants going for routine childhood immunisations or a heel-prick blood test.
Babies given a sugary solution to suck as they were about to be injected cried far less than those given water.
While sugar may pacify, it is unclear if it also relieves pain.
Experts say more research is needed to explore this.
End Quote Dr David Elliman Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
If you do the usual holding and comforting, I'm not sure how much sucrose would add”
A small study published a couple of years ago in The Lancet medical journal looked at the responses of 44 infants given either sugar or water as they had a heel-prick blood test.
The sugar did not appear to make a difference to pain - all babies similarly grimaced and had comparable electrical activity measured with EEG readings in areas of the brain that process pain.
The lead researcher in the Cochrane review, Dr Manal Kassab of the Jordan University of Science and Technology in Irib, Jordan, said: "Giving babies something sweet to taste before injections may stop them from crying for as long.
"Although we can't confidently say that sugary solutions reduce needle pain, these results do look promising."
Dr David Elliman of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said sugar solution was not used routinely in practice.
"Generally, doctors recommend that the mother holds the baby and comforts it while they have their immunisation. If she is breastfeeding still, she might want to breastfeed her baby at the same time.
"With older children we try to distract them. If you do the usual holding and comforting, I'm not sure how much sucrose would add.
"What we do know is that using a shorter needle tends to be more painful, even though this might seem counterintuitive. That's because the injections need to go into the muscle."
By the time a child has reached its second birthday it should have had around 10 different injections to protect against various infectious diseases, including measles, mumps and rubella. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16674660 | EU Iran sanctions: Ministers adopt Iran oil imports ban
European Union foreign ministers have formally adopted an "unprecedented" oil embargo against Iran over its nuclear programme, banning all new oil contracts with the country.
They also agreed a freeze on the assets of Iran's central bank in the EU.
The EU currently buys about 20% of Iran's oil exports.
There was no official Iranian reaction, but one Iranian lawmaker played down the decision, calling it a "mere propaganda gesture".
Iran had "failed to restore international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear programme", British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a joint statement.
"We will not accept Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon. Iran has so far had no regard for its international obligations and is already exporting and threatening violence around its region," the leaders added.
The measures were "another strong step in the international effort to dramatically increase the pressure on Iran," US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement welcoming the move.
Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear watchdog has confirmed it is sending a team to Iran between 29 and 31 January "to resolve all outstanding substantive issues".
Last November the IAEA said in a report that it had information suggesting Iran had carried out tests "relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device" - sparking the decision by the US and EU to issue tougher sanctions.
Tehran insists its nuclear programme is for energy purposes.
Earlier on Monday, the Pentagon said the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, as well as a British Royal Navy frigate and a French warship, had passed through the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Gulf without incident, in the wake of Iranian threats to block the trade route.'Substantial impact'
The EU said the sanctions prohibit the import, purchase and transport of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products as well as related finance and insurance. All existing contracts will have to be phased out by 1 July.
Investment as well as the export of key equipment and technology for Iran's petrochemical sector is also banned.
Additional restrictions have been placed on Iran's central bank and in the trade of gold, precious metals and diamonds.
BBC Europe Editor Gavin Hewitt says it is one of the toughest steps the EU has ever taken.
So once the new measures are in place how successful will they be? Even western diplomats are uncertain.
There is no doubting that the Iranian economy will suffer. But the nuclear programme is a matter of national pride and ultimately national security.
Iran has seen the demise of regimes in Iraq and Libya and noted the survival of that in North Korea - the one so-called "rogue state" that has nuclear weapons.
Iran's rulers may well believe that having at least the potential for a nuclear bomb is something that could secure the country against outside threat.
Seen in this light one can imagine the Iranian authorities being willing to absorb considerable economic pain to pursue their nuclear research effort.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the purpose of the sanctions was "to put pressure on Iran to come back to the negotiating table".
Earlier, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said the embargo showed "the resolve of the European Union on this issue".
"It is absolutely right to do this when Iran is continuing to breach United Nations resolutions and refusing to come to meaningful negotiations on its nuclear programme," he added.
But the Russian foreign ministry said it was a "deeply mistaken" move that would not encourage Iran to return to the negotiating table.
"It's apparent that in this case there is open pressure and diktat, aimed at "punishing" Iran," it said in a statement.
Ali Adyani, a member of the Iranian parliament's energy commission, was quoted by the semi-official Fars news agency as saying the EU decision "would only serve some American and European politicians".
"It will not have any effect on Iran's economy," he said, adding that Tehran could sell oil to "any country" despite the ban.Rising tensions
BBC Iran correspondent James Reynolds says oil is the country's most valuable asset and sales help to keep the Iranian government in money and power.
A decision by the EU to stop buying from Iran may damage the Iranian economy - but in itself it won't destroy it, our correspondent says.
Iran sells most of its oil to countries in Asia. The EU and the United States are now working to persuade Asian countries to reduce their purchases from Iran as well.
Iran has already threatened to retaliate by blocking the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Gulf, through which 20% of the world's oil exports pass.
The US has said it will keep the trade route open, raising the possibility of a confrontation.
Late last year Iran conducted 10 days of military exercises near the Strait of Hormuz, test-firing several missiles.
Oil prices have risen already because of the increasing tension and the expected impact of an EU ban on oil supplies to Europe. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5319352.stm | Hundreds of villagers in north-west China have been sickened by lead poisoning linked to pollution from a local plant, media reports say.
Whole families are reported to be affected
Residents of two villages in Gansu province's Hui county were said to be seeking hospital treatment after blood tests showed high levels of lead.
Air-born pollution from a nearby smelter was the suspected cause, Chinese and Hong Kong newspapers said.
China's poor record on environmental pollution is sparking mounting unease.
Rapid economic expansion and a push to achieve development targets have sometimes led to safety and environmental concerns being ignored.
The Beijing Daily Messenger said that health officials in the villages of Xinsi and Moba had found almost every family had high levels of lead in their blood.
The daily said 879 people had been affected, but other reports put the figures into the thousands.
An official in Hui county told the Associated Press news agency that a nearby plant was the apparent cause.
"We suspect that they were sickened by pollution caused by a lead smelter nearby that discharged waste into the air," he said.
The lead plant had been shut down, he said, and the local government was paying medical bills for the villagers. An investigation was under way, he said.
But regional newspaper the Huashang Daily said residents were travelling to Xian in neighbouring Shaanxi province for treatment because local officials insisted they were fine.
Lead poisoning is particularly harmful to young children
One resident told the daily all six members of his family had elevated lead levels.
"The hospital is full of people from our county. Everyone from our village has gone there," the daily quoted him as saying.
"We don't trust local hospitals because they said our lead concentration levels were normal, so we travel to somewhere further away," he said.
Lead poisoning can damage the nervous system and, in serious cases, cause convulsions and even death.
It is particularly harmful in children and can affect their mental and physical development. "The paediatric ward is so full and it can't accommodate my daughters, we have to come back," the resident said. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6610913.stm | By Jorn Madslien
Business reporter, BBC News, Bratislava, Slovakia
"Koreans," sighs Yooni Suh, as he absent-mindedly caresses a juicy, golden pear. "Wherever they go in the world, they've got to have Korean food."
Lately, many of them have been going to Slovakia, where a string of leading Korean firms such as Samsung, LG and Kia have built their European factories.
The way Mr Suh sees it, their arrival provided an irresistible "retail opportunity that goes against the Tescos and the Wal-Marts of this world".
So last September, he too landed in Bratislava, where he hit the ground running.
"I wanted to go on a road trip and become an ambassador for Korean food," Mr Suh says, as if explaining his calling.
"For me, it's just a new world of opportunity."
Half a year after leaving London, where his family has been running a Korean food business for years, Mr Suh is already distributing all things Korean, from red pepper paste to mackerel and prawns, to customers across the region.
But Mr Suh soon discovered that there is more to this market than the expatriate South Korean community.
"Since arriving here, I've realised that Korean food can have a much wider audience," he says. "This is not an oriental thing, it's a health thing."
So in January, Mr Suh opened a Western-style supermarket in Bratislava, selling South East Asian food to expats and locals alike.
"It is about providing choice. If you don't have a choice, you don't have the freedom to eat what you want," he declares.
His business plan is simple. He wants to "take a street market and repackage it for Westerners", an approach that has involved a string of cooking demonstrations in-store, as well as having both cooking instructions and product labels translated into Slovak.
"I really love that kind of theatre that retail can sometimes be," Mr Suh declares. "I want to take that experience and explain it."
And he is using every channel to spread the word.
Mr Suh is negotiating a Korean food supply deal with the Co-op, which has shops "in every village in Slovakia".
He is preparing to open a restaurant in Bratislava and a string of sushi-style Oriental fast-food outlets in shopping centres, to "showcase Korean food".
And he has appointed a local butcher to "cut meat the way Koreans do it".
In addition, he is in the process of starting a local manufacturing plant to make tofu and rice cakes and to process bean sprouts.
And he has even linked up with a TV chef who tries out Korean recipes every Saturday, in a broadcast linked to a regular radio programme about Korean food.
Mr Suh's passion for food -"we're interested in people's health; it's moving, it's energy" - is matched by an almost Napoleonic approach to business.
"Our main enemy is in Vienna," he almost whispers, conspiratorially, while marching between isles stacked high with Chamisul Sojo rice wine and pots of noodles in his huge out-of-town warehouse.
"It's about squeezing, about suffocating, their main castle - which is Vienna - by conquering the main centres around it," he says. "It's a siege."
Mr Suh has already ventured into markets beyond his Bratislava base, appointing local agents to supply Korean communities in Prague and Chinese communities in Budapest.
"We are starting to go to Italy and we're hoping to go to Romania soon," he says.
"It's about finding these communities and supply them with food that they were never able to buy at reasonable prices," he says, all the while - like the diehard retailer he clearly is - busily talking up his own virtues while rubbishing his rivals.
"When I came, I was surprised at the prices they were selling at," he says. "And the service they were giving, and the quality."
And he is convinced his arrival is creating waves. "The effect of us coming into a region makes our rival offer their customers a 10% discount to prevent them from deserting".
It is clear that Mr Suh would never be satisfied by merely conquering Slovakia: "We want to develop a retail chain across Europe."
But that is a pretty big goal for a man whose business headquarters, in a small office on an industrial site near the airport, consists of a few computers balanced on cheap desks.
Watching a hungry entrepreneur in action is always startling, not least since it is hard to distinguish those with nothing but a big vision from the ones who get things done.
The only difference is, Mr Suh has played the game before.
"We have a restaurant in St James's, near Mayfair," he says casually, deliberately understating the importance of having made it in the swishest part of London.
Mr Suh's family also has a distribution warehouse in London that delivers to cash-and-carry outlets across the UK, as well as to a string of specialist stores on university campuses.
Overall, the business turns over £10m a year, and Mr Suh is not shy about talking about his vision of turnover rising to £100m in a decade.
"It's a blank sheet of paper we're having here," he declares. "We're expanding very rapidly.
"The final chapter will be when we conquer the world." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7622904.stm | By Mark Kinver
Science and environment reporter, BBC News
The populations of the world's common birds are declining as a result of continued habitat loss, a global assessment has warned.
The survey by BirdLife International found that 45% of Europe's common birds had seen numbers fall, as had more than 80% of Australia's wading species.
The study's authors said governments were failing to fund their promises to halt biodiversity loss by 2010.
The findings will be presented at the group's World Conference in Argentina.
The State of the World's Birds 2008 report, the first update since 2004, found that common species - ones considered to be familiar in people's everyday lives - were declining in all parts of the world.
In Europe, an analysis of 124 species over a 26-year period revealed that 56 species had declined in 20 countries.
Farmland birds were worst affected, with the number of European turtle-doves (Streptopelia turtur) falling by 79%.
In Africa, birds of prey were experiencing "widespread decline" outside of protected areas. While in Asia, 62% of the continent's migratory water bird species were "declining or already extinct".
"For decades, people have been focusing their efforts on threatened birds," explained lead editor Ali Stattersfield, BirdLife International's head of science.
"But alongside this, we have been working to try to get a better understanding of what is going on in the countryside as a whole."
By consolidating data from various surveys, the team of researchers were able to identify trends affecting species around the world.
"It tells us that environmental degradation is having a huge impact - not just for birds, but for biodiversity as well," she told BBC News.
While well-known reasons, such as land-use changes and the intensive farming, were causes, Ms Stattersfield said that it was difficult to point the finger of blame at just one activity.
"The reasons are very complex," she explained. "For example, there have been reported declines of migratory species - particularly those on long-distance migrations between Europe and Africa.
"It is not just about understanding what is happening at breeding grounds, but also what is happening at the birds' wintering sites."
She said the findings highlighted the need to tackle conservation in a number of different ways.
"It is not enough to be looking at individual species or individual sites; we need to be looking at some of the policies and practices that affect our wider landscapes."
The global assessment also showed that rare birds were also continuing to be at risk.
One-in-eight of the world's birds - 1,226 species - was listed as being Threatened. Of these, 190 faced an imminent risk of extinction.
The white-rumped vulture, a once common sight in India, has seen its population crash by 99.9% in recent years.
An anti-inflammatory drug for cattle, called diclofenac, has been blamed for poisoning the birds, which eat the carcasses of the dead livestock.
"That has been a really shocking story," Ms Stattersfield said.
The world is failing in its 2010 pledge to achieve a significant reduction in the current rate of loss of biodiversity
Dr Mike Rand,
BirdLife International's CEO
"Four years ago, we were not even sure what was responsible for the dramatic declines. It happened so suddenly, people were not prepared for it.
"Since then, the basis for the decline is well understood and measures are being taken to remove diclofenac from veterinary use in India.
"However, it is still available for sale and there still needs to be a lot more work to communicate the problem at a local level.
"But it demonstrates that we can get to the bottom of the reasons behind declines."
The plight of albatrosses becoming entangled in long-line fishing tackle has also been the subject of sustained campaigning, attracting high-profile supporters such as Prince Charles and yachtswoman Dame Ellen MacArthur.
About 100,000 of the slow-breeding birds are estimated to drown each year as a result of being caught on the lines' fish hooks.
But fisheries in a growing number of regions are now introducing measures to minimise the risk to albatrosses.
Ms Stattersfield said these examples showed that concerted effort could investigate and identify what was adversely affecting bird populations.
But she quickly added that prevention was always better than finding a cure.
"We don't want to have to react to problems that come about from bad practice.
"What we are trying to do with this report is to be as clear as possible about what are the underlying causes, and then present a range of conservation measures that can preserve birds and biodiversity."
BirdLife International will use the report, which is being published at its week-long World Conference in Buenos Aires and on the group's website, to call for governments to make more funds available for global conservation.
"Effective biodiversity conservation is easily affordable, requiring relatively trivial sums at the scale of the global economy," said Dr Mike Rands, BirdLife's chief executive.
He estimated that safeguarding 90% of Africa's biodiversity would cost less than US $1bn (£500m) a year.
"The world is failing in its 2010 pledge to achieve a significant reduction in the current rate of loss of biodiversity," he warned.
"The challenge is to harness international biodiversity commitments and that concrete actions are taken now." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4611682.stm | Britain should have a day to celebrate its national identity, Gordon Brown has proposed in a speech portraying Labour as a modern patriotic party.
The chancellor used his first major speech of 2006 to urge Labour supporters to "embrace the Union flag".
In an address to the Fabian Society in London, he said it is important the flag is recaptured from the far right.
Mr Brown said promoting integration had become even more important since the London bombings.
"We have to face uncomfortable facts that while the British response to July 7th was remarkable, they were British citizens, British born apparently integrated into our communities, who were prepared to maim and kill fellow British citizens irrespective of their religion.
"We have to be clearer now about how diverse cultures which inevitably contain differences can find the essential common purpose also without which no society can flourish."
He said society should not apply a narrow "cricket test" to ethnic minorities but needed a "united shared sense of purpose".
In the wide-ranging speech, Mr Brown said it is time for the modern Labour party and its supporters to be unashamedly patriotic as, for too long, such feelings have been caricatured as being tied up with right-wing beliefs, when in fact they encompass "progressive" ideas of liberty, fairness and responsibility.
"Instead of the BNP using it as a symbol of racial division, the flag should be a symbol of unity and part of a modern expression of patriotism too," Mr Brown said.
"All the United Kingdom should honour it, not ignore it. We should assert that the Union flag by definition is a flag for tolerance and inclusion."
The speech to the left-of-centre think-tank included references to the July 4th celebrations in the US and the common practice of many citizens having a flag in their gardens.
"What is our equivalent for a national celebration of who we are and what we stand for?" Mr Brown said.
"And what is our equivalent of the national symbolism of a flag in the United States in every garden?"
Labour MP Michael Wills, who has been working on the idea with Mr Brown, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the chancellor wanted there to be a day to "focus on the things that bring us together... whatever our backgrounds".
"The French have it with Bastille Day, the Americans have it, most countries actually have a national day and I think it's probably time that we do too," he said.
The Commission for Racial Equality welcomed Mr Brown's comments.
"It is important to talk about and identify our shared common values and discuss ideas and find ways to celebrate being British," a spokesman said.
Singer Billy Bragg told the BBC it was right to have a national debate about what it means to be British.
"I do think we need to talk about the issue of identity, about who we are," he said.
"We live in a very multi-cultural society, perhaps the most multi-cultural society in Europe. What actually binds us together? Well, interestingly the thing that binds us together is our civic identity which is Britishness".
Former Prime Minister Sir John Major told the Today programme the chancellor was "absolutely right" to promote the concept of Britishness.
But he added: "He seems not to mention that many of the actions of the present Government have ruptured Britishness by their own legislation."
Mr Brown also described his drive to encourage volunteering.
The government has already allocated £50m for volunteering, but Mr Brown wants businesses to match this as part of a plan is modelled on the US's successful GI Bill from the 1940s.
The chancellor unveiled his National Community Service scheme a year ago to encourage one million young people into volunteering.
Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said the volunteering scheme was a "pale imitation of [Tory leader] David Cameron's National School Leaver Programme announced in August.
"David Cameron is meeting 15 leading youth and community organisations to discuss taking this idea forward on January 24, and perhaps Gordon Brown would like to attend to learn more," he added. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10782429 | BP boss Hayward says he was 'demonised' over oil spill
The outgoing boss of BP believes he was "demonised and vilified" over the firm's Gulf of Mexico oil spill crisis.
But chief executive Tony Hayward - who is to leave the top job in October - accepted that the firm could not move on with him at the helm.
His departure was confirmed as BP reported a record $17bn (£11bn) loss, having set aside $32bn to cover the costs of the spill.
BP's managing director Bob Dudley will replace him in the top job.
"This is a very sad day for me personally," Mr Hayward told reporters.
"Whether it is fair or unfair is not the point. I became the public face [of the disaster] and was demonised and vilified.
He added: "BP cannot move on in the US with me as its leader... Life isn't fair.
"Sometimes you step off the pavement and get hit by a bus."Russia role
BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg praised the contribution Mr Hayward had made to BP during 28 years of service - but said he was not the right man to lead the rebuilding of the firm.
The outgoing boss will be able to claim a pension worth about £600,000 a year when he reaches his 55th birthday. He is currently 53.
Because he has left by mutual consent, the terms of his contract will be honoured, meaning he will also receive a full year's salary plus retain the rights on BP shares which could be worth million of pounds.
Mr Hayward is also likely to retain a role within the company, with BP planning to nominate him as a non-executive director of its Russian joint venture, TNK-BP.Misguided remarks
The latest comments are unlikely to win Mr Hayward much sympathy in many quarters in the US, where the media has portrayed him as the public face of the world's worst environmental disaster, including the deaths of 11 men in the rig explosion that preceded it.
Critics argued that, as the man in charge, it was Mr Hayward's job to take the heat.
He did not help his cause with some misguided remarks about wanting his life back and optimistic comments about the clean-up operation.
Other public relations own-goals included his refusal to answer questions put to him by a congressional sub-committee and his decision to participate in a JP Morgan yacht race around the Isle of Wight.
BP: Capping the crisis. Jon Sopel will have the latest political and market reaction in a special live programme on the BBC World Service and BBC World News from 1830 GMT. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19639128 | Boyfriend charged over Somerset car death
The boyfriend of a woman whose body was found in a burning car in Somerset has been charged with conspiracy to murder.
Catherine Wells-Burr, was found in her red Ford Focus on 12 September, in Ashill near the A358.
Rafal Nowak is the second person to be charged in connection with her death.
Laura Jones reports. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19889738 | Duke and Duchess of Cambridge open new football facility
Prince William and his wife Catherine have opened English football's new state-of-the-art complex which cost over £100m.
The complex at St George's Park in Burton-upon-Trent will be the training base for all 24 England teams from junior to senior level.
It was inspired by centres of excellence in France and Spain which helped their national teams become world champions.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met the senior squad, spoke to coach Roy Hodgson and even competed against each other on reflex-testing machines.
Prince William, who is president of the FA, gave a speech praising the facilities at St George's Park. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-19900973 | Votes for 16-year-olds 'not inevitable'
Allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in the Scottish independence referendum will not lead to them voting in all UK elections, the UK government has said.
Westminster appears to have conceded the measure to ensure there is a deal with the Scottish government for a simple yes or no question in 2014.
But former Tory Scottish Secretary Lord Forsyth said it would have "huge implications" for the rest of the UK.
Advocate general Lord Wallace said there were no plans to change the law.
Prime Minister David Cameron said in his speech at the Conservative party conference that he would meet First Minister Alex Salmond on Monday in an attempt to finalise a deal on how the Scottish referendum will be staged.
It is likely to be held in the autumn of 2014 with voters given a straight choice between independence or remaining in the United Kingdom.
It is also expected that 16- and 17-year-olds will be allowed to take part in the ballot.
In a exchange in the House of Lords, Lord Forsyth said the Scottish move would inevitably lead to extending the franchise to 16-year-olds in all elections throughout the United Kingdom - bringing politics into schools.
He said such a decision should not be made in "closed corner negotiations".
Responding for the government, the Lib Dem peer Lord Wallace, whose party supports lowering the voting age, insisted there was "nothing inevitable" about the move.
"The franchise for referendums is set out in the legislation that enables each referendum to take place," he said.
"If we agree to transfer powers to the Scottish Parliament to hold a referendum then it is they who would determine the franchise."
Tory Lord Jopling said it was "a major constitutional change" and Labour's Lord Foulkes of Cumnock said it had "not be thought through" and questioned how extending the electoral register to include younger votes would be funded. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-20526219 | Reaching for the sky: Streets in the sky
This has been a landmark year for the world's skyscrapers. Despite the global financial crisis, 2012 saw the unveiling of Europe's new tallest building, the Shard in London - and by the end of the year, nearly three-quarters of the world's 100 tallest buildings will be located in Asia and the Middle East, a dramatic shift from west to east.
With a growing number of people living and working in tall buildings, architects have become increasingly concerned with finding ways to introduce horizontal spaces - providing a place for residents to socialise, exercise and get some fresh air.
Sharanjit Leyl visited The Pinnacle@Duxton building in Singapore, a public housing complex of seven buildings linked with 'sky bridges'. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4761294.stm | Americans know more about The Simpsons TV show than the US Constitution's First Amendment, an opinion poll says.
The Simpsons are household names all over the world
Only one in four could name more than one of the five freedoms it upholds but more than half could name at least two members of the cartoon family.
About one in five thought the right to own a pet was one of the freedoms.
A new museum dedicated to the First Amendment said the findings showed there was a pressing need to explain one of America's basic laws better.
"We have our job cut out for us," said Joe Madeira, director of exhibitions at the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum.
Another finding from the poll, a telephone survey of 1,000 random adults with an error margin of 3%, was that 22% of Americans could name all five Simpson characters.
By comparison, just one in 1,000 people could name all five First Amendment freedoms.
The names of American Idol TV show judges and popular advertising slogans also proved more memorable than the five freedoms - speech, religion, press, assembly and petition for redress of grievances. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4630314.stm | The White House has dismissed a fresh audio message thought to be from Osama Bin Laden, and pledged once again to track down the al-Qaeda leader.
Rumours about the state of Bin Laden's health have abounded
US Vice-President Dick Cheney rejected an apparent offer of a "long-term truce", describing it as a "ploy".
Arabic TV station al-Jazeera aired the tape, later authenticated by the CIA.
The message contained threats of new attacks within the US and abroad, but US security officials said they would not raise the national threat level.
It is the first time Bin Laden has been heard from since December 2004.
Analysts believe the tape dates from at least 22 November as the speaker refers to reports that President Bush planned to bomb al-Jazeera's headquarters in Qatar.
Stick and carrot
Speaking on the Fox News TV network, Mr Cheney said it was too early to draw firm conclusions about the tape, but added that al-Qaeda was "unlikely" ever to sit down and sign a truce.
"I think you have to destroy them. It's the only way with them," the vice-president said.
In the audio message, Bin Laden appeared to suggest that a US withdrawal from Muslim lands could prompt agreement over a truce.
But the speaker also threatened fresh attacks in the US, as well as a continuation of strikes within Iraq.
In his message, the man purported to be Bin Laden referred to the allegation of a US plan to attack al-Jazeera, calling Mr Bush "the butcher of freedom in the world".
The speaker on the tape said the reason there had not been an attack in the US since 11 September 2001 was not because of superior US security, but because the group had been engaged in activities in Iraq - and because operations in the US "need preparations".
"The operations are happening in Baghdad and you will see them here at home the minute they are through (with preparations), with God's permission," he said.
On Fox News, Mr Cheney said: "Obviously no-one can guarantee that we won't be hit again. But our nation has been protected by more than luck."
US officials have said they believe Bin Laden is hiding in a mountainous area on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
In a video message broadcast last month, al-Qaeda's number two Ayman al-Zawahiri declared that Bin Laden was alive despite a prolonged absence and rumours about ill-health or possible injury.
The offer of a truce came in light of the fact that US public opinion polls now show growing opposition to the war in Iraq.
"We have no objection to responding to this with a long-term truce based on fair conditions," the speaker said.
"We do not mind offering you a truce that is fair and long-term... so we can build Iraq and Afghanistan... there is no shame in this solution because it prevents wasting of billions of dollars.
"Your president is misinterpreting public opinion polls which show that the vast majority of you support the withdrawal of your forces from Iraq."
White House spokesman Scott McClellan quickly dismissed the truce offer saying: "We do not negotiate with terrorists. We put them out of business".
Bin Laden offered Europe a similar pact following the Madrid train bombings of March 2004.
Correspondents say it is an attempt to frighten the public and drive a wedge between them and their governments, which say it is necessary to stay to distance in Iraq, not pull out troops.
The BBC's Justin Webb in Washington says that in the US the immediate political effect of the tape will probably be to boost support for President George W Bush. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7532184.stm | Lord Varley left Parliament for a position in the coal industry
Former Cabinet minister Lord Varley has died at the age of 75, the Labour Party has announced.
Eric Varley served as energy secretary from 1974 to 1975 and industry secretary from 1975 to 1979.
He was MP for Chesterfield for 20 years until 1984 before becoming chairman of private coalmining company Coalite.
Sir Gerald Kaufman, who served under him in the Department of Industry, said he was a "very loyal member of Labour and widely respected Cabinet minister".
Lord Varley was given a life peerage as Baron Varley of Chesterfield in 1990.
Among the other Labour Party figures paying tribute was Tony Benn, who succeeded Lord Varley as Energy Secretary in 1975 and also took over from him as Chesterfield MP in 1984 after boundary changes meant Mr Benn lost his Bristol South East constituency.
Mr Benn said: "I worked very closely with Eric Varley over the years.
"He had a very long stretch as an MP and was very well respected. It is a great loss to the party."
Lord Varley was born in Poolsbrook, Derbyshire, and educated at Chesterfield Technical College and Sheffield University.
By 1968, he was parliamentary private secretary to Prime Minister Harold Wilson.
He quit the Commons in the aftermath of Labour's disastrous 1983 general election campaign.
Gordon Brown's spokesman said: "The prime minister was sad to hear the news of Lord Varley's death and his thoughts are with his family and friends at this very difficult time."
Lord Varley leaves a wife and one son. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10360590 | Michael Jackson memorial plaque for Thriller theatre
A memorial is to be erected at a West End theatre in London on the eve of the first anniversary of the death of US pop sensation Michael Jackson.
He died last year just 18 days before he was due to perform 50 sell-out dates at London's O2 Arena.
The plaque will be unveiled on 24 June in the foyer of the Lyric Theatre, where the show Thriller Live is currently playing.
It features a string of hits from Jackson's solo and Jackson 5 career.
Fans flocked to the theatre after Jackson's death on 25 June, and they created a shrine of candles, tributes, flowers and 40 books of condolence.
The ceremony for the plaque will be attended by Britain's Got Talent 2009 winners, dance group Diversity, who had been booked to appear at Jackson's London concerts.
Thriller Live's cast will also attend the event and, before Friday night's performance, six of the youngsters who have played Jackson in the production will sing Speechless - The Tribute.
The song was originally recorded by Jackson and is being released this month in aid of War Child.
The show's executive director, Adrian Grant, said: "The sentiment behind the song, and what it now means to me in Michael's passing, truly reflects the emotions one feels due to his loss - those of sadness, but also remembering the joy he gave the world as we celebrate his life." |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10608577 | Senior Labour ministers 'predicted loss under Brown'
Some of Gordon Brown's senior cabinet ministers took part in the election campaign believing Labour could not win under him, Lord Mandelson has claimed.
The ex-business secretary, in his memoirs, says the then PM feared voters did not want "five more years" of him.
He recalls minister Douglas Alexander calling Labour's position "futile", while Chancellor Alistair Darling said the party was "going to lose".
The PM offered to resign within a year if he won the election, the book adds.
The Times, which has paid to serialise extracts from Lord Mandelson's book The Third Man, also suggests there were disputes between 10 Downing Street and the Treasury over tax policy.
The book, due to be published later this month, is the latest in a series of reminiscences by key figures in New Labour.'Finished'
Former No 10 communications director Alastair Campbell published the first uncut volume of his diaries last month while former Prime Minister Tony Blair's autobiography will go on sale in September. Mr Brown, who stood down after Labour lost the election in May, is also writing a book.
Publishing a second day of extracts from Lord Mandelson's memoirs, the Times says he quoted a string of ministers casting doubt on whether a fourth-term Labour victory was possible under Mr Brown.
It says he recounted a cabinet meeting last October, in which deputy leader Harriet Harman urged Labour's campaign to focus on future, family and fairness.
Lord Mandelson, who was chairing the meeting, adds that he, Mr Alexander and Mr Darling instead proposed three "F-words" of their own: "futile"; "finished"; and "f***ed".
He suggests Mr Darling told him before the end of 2009 that Labour was "going to lose" while Lord Mandelson himself acknowledged the same to then Foreign Secretary David Miliband.
As well as offering to stay in office for a year - if Labour had won - to oversee the recovery and then make way, Lord Mandelson also states Mr Brown offered to hold a "mega-referendum" on a number of issues in 2011 and to quit if this did not go his way.
In an interview accompanying the serialisation, Lord Mandelson told the Times that there was a "raw" and "agonised" debate about the state of the party and its leadership in the summer and autumn of 2009.National interest
However, he said he did not need to "think twice" that Mr Brown should stay in place amid attempts to unseat him by colleagues in July.
Removing Mr Brown then - given the state of the economy and the major decisions that he had taken - would not have been putting the country's "interest first".
Amid reported wrangling between No 10 and the Treasury, Lord Mandelson suggested in his memoir that Mr Brown rejected a proposal from the chancellor to raise VAT while Mr Darling quashed calls for any future VAT rises to be ruled out.
The former business secretary also claims that, towards the end of Mr Blair's time in power, there was an "insurgency" among Mr Brown's supporters, pushing for him to become prime minister.
Questioned on BBC Two's Daily Politics about his alleged comments, Mr Darling said: "It was always obvious for anyone to see that we had real difficulties."
But he refused to provide a "running commentary", adding that there would "be a time when a mature consideration of what Labour did in its 13 years, the good as well as the not so good", was appropriate.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, shadow education secretary and Labour leadership contender Ed Balls - a close Brown ally - dismissed suggestions that he had been part of an attempted "coup" against Tony Blair as "absolute total nonsense".
He said: "I was never involved in an insurgency. I was very close to Gordon Brown but I also saw Tony Blair very regularly. But we had our disagreements."
Lord Mandelson was brought back into the cabinet by Gordon Brown in 2008, having previously been thought to have been at loggerheads with him.
The peer, who resigned twice from the government under Tony Blair, stood down from Labour's front bench after its election defeat. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11571306 | Sir Elton John calls modern songwriters 'pretty awful'
Sir Elton John has described today's songwriters as "pretty awful" and says he is "not a fan" of TV talent shows.
The singer told the Radio Times he refused to be a judge on American Idol "because I won't slag anyone off" and also found TV boring.
He also defended his decision to perform at the wedding of right-wing US talk show host Rush Limbaugh, who has been accused of homophobia.
"I'm a builder of bridges and knocker-down of walls," the 63-year-old said.
The singer, who entered into a civil partnership with long-term partner David Furnish in 2005, will reportedly receive one million dollars (£629,000) for the appearance.
But he said: "I was incensed when people said I was throwing away 40 years of credibility for money. No. I don't need it.
End Quote Chris
Elton is right, creative artists are few and far between”
"No-one was more surprised than I when Rush asked. Politically we're opposites. It was an opportunity to break the ice."'Rigours of showbiz'
Sir Elton told the Radio Times: "I'm not a fan of talent shows. I probably wouldn't have lasted if I'd gone on one.
"Also I don't want to be on television. It's become boring, arse-paralysingly brain crippling. I like Simon Cowell [creator of X Factor], but what he does is TV entertainment.
"TV vaults you to superstardom and then you have to back it up, which is hard. [X Factor winners] Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke are at the mercy of the next song they can get."
He said Britain's Got Talent star Susan Boyle was "an endearing phenomenon", but "might not understand the rigours of showbusiness".
Sir Elton also said he admired stars such as Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga, but added: "It's important they write their own songs, so they're not at the mercy of anyone.
"Songwriters today are pretty awful, which is why everything sounds the same. Contemporary pop isn't very inspiring."
Sir Elton, who is in talks about creating a musical version of George Orwell's Animal Farm, used the interview to criticise the failure to award Strictly Come Dancing host Bruce Forsyth a knighthood.
"I grew up with Sunday Night At The London Palladium and it's an outrage that [former compere] Bruce Forsyth hasn't been knighted," he said.
"I told him that, and wrote a letter to the honours committee. He's part of our lives, like Rolf Harris - a clever, incredibly witty man who always made me feel good." |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-18430769 | White cliffs of Dover memorial to honour war dead planned
A national memorial on Dover's white cliffs commemorating 1.7 million service personnel and civilians killed in the two world wars is being planned.
Organisers are hoping to complete it by 4 August 2014 - the centenary of the outbreak of World War I.
It would have 12 white granite walls, each representing one year of conflict.
The names of the 1.7 million men and women recorded on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission register would be inscribed on the memorial.
They include servicemen and women, merchant navy personnel and civilians.
The memorial has been inspired by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the US capital Washington DC.
Designer John Pegg said: "I think we've got to move fairly quickly now to meet the 2014 deadline, but we're very keen to go for that because it's such an important date in everyone's calendar."'Each step'
He said one planning application had already been submitted because the memorial would be a small part of a bigger development on Western Heights, including housing and a hotel.
He said fundraising would begin after the outcome of the application was known.
Mr Pegg said: "Looking from the sea, you would see a 20-metre high wall of white granite.
"Every inch of that wall would be covered in the names of 1.7 million dead and it's one way to really understand the nature of the sacrifice that this country and the Commonwealth went through."
He added: "If we put 1,000 names per metre, that wall is still going to run for 1.7km, so for every step of the way, for a mile and a bit, you will be passing a thousand names of individuals who have got your family name, my family name and the family names of many, many families from around the Commonwealth."
David Foley, from the National War Memorial Campaign, said: "I think if school parties or young people walk past that memorial perhaps looking for their forebears or their family names, they will realise that each step is a thousand deaths."
He said the Commonwealth War Graves Commission currently held the names of 1.7 million on its register but names were still being found and they would also be added to the memorial. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-19289298 | Doncaster outdoor market set for £1m revamp
Doncaster outdoor market is set to be given a £1.37m facelift.
The plan includes replacing and upgrading the 138 outdoor stalls and the addition of new "fold away stalls".
The Mayor of Doncaster, Peter Davies, said the refurbishment would build on the town's success as being a popular market spot.
A council report said the revamp had potential to attract new customers and businesses, which could create more than 30 jobs.'Top tourist attraction'
The aim of the renovations is to increase footfall across the market area by up to 15% and to increase the number of days it trades.
Mr Davies added: "The market has done remarkably well since we put some money into it a couple of years ago.
"We've been investing money in the markets for the last three years. I've been promoting Doncaster as one of our top tourist attractions."
Doncaster Market has won a number of accolades in recent years including Best Street/Outdoor Market in England in 2011 and Britain's Favourite Market' earlier this year.
Nigel Berry, who has worked on the market for 41 years, said the work "can't come soon enough".
The council will need to approve the plans in September. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-18722326 | Porthmadog bypass: Dodrefn Cymru furniture shop closes with three job losses
The owner of a Gwynedd furniture shop says she has decided to close because the opening of a bypass around the town has led to a drop in passing trade.
Three people will lose their jobs with the closure of Dodrefn Cymru in Tremadog on Friday.
In 2010, a Gwynedd council-led group was set up to examine the economic and social effects of the £34.4m bypass.
The council said an "action plan" was being put in place.
The bypass on the A487 was created to improve journey times, with an easing of congestion and better environmental conditions.
"The decision to close is mainly due to the bypass," said Dodrefn Cymru's owner Liz Whitehead.
"We are in negotiations for another shop in Porthmadog as we need to be down there, but at the moment the three staff will lose their jobs."
Ms Whitehead said as soon as the bypass opened last September passing trade dropped off.
End Quote Liz Whitehead Business owner
The bypass is good for residents but not for businesses and I don't think we'll be the only ones affected here”
"We waited a bit to see if people would go back to their old routines and for trade to pick up, but it didn't. There is no passing traffic in Tremadog.
"The bypass is good for residents but not for businesses and I don't think we'll be the only ones affected here."
A Gwynedd Council spokesperson said the authority had been working with the town council, community councils and business organisations in the Porthmadog area to develop an "action plan" in response to the bypass opening.
The working group has also gained funding for developments aimed at making the most of opportunities brought about by the development and lessening the impact of the road on the local community, the spokesperson added.
"Tremadog has benefited from funding secured through the Visit Wales' Tourism Infrastructure Support Scheme and the European Union's Rural Development Funding through the Experience Gwynedd project.
"This has allowed better marketing opportunities for the village.
Interpretation boards showing visitors where the main attractions and services are, and gateway features on the new roundabouts are being installed.. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/431348.stm | Friday, August 27, 1999 Published at 19:11 GMT 20:11 UK
Waco admission damages Reno
The FBI has now admitted using 'pyrotechnic devices'
The US Attorney-General, Janet Reno, says her credibility has been harmed by an FBI admission over the fatal fire in 1993 at a besieged cult headquarters in Waco, Texas.
The leader of the cult, David Koresh, and about 80 followers, including 25 children, died.
For the past six years, FBI agents have repeatedly and categorically denied that they fired any incendiary devices capable of sparking the blaze that consumed the cult's compound.
The military-type canisters differ from civilian tear gas in that "the military canisters may have contained a substance that is designed to disperse the gas using a pyrotechnic mixture," Mr Collingwood said.
The revelations contradict congressional testimony of high-ranking Justice Department officials including that of Attorney General Janet Reno.
"It is absolutely critical that we do everything humanly possible to learn all the facts as accurately as possible and make them available to Congress and the public," she said.
But she added that she still believed the FBI was not responsible for the deaths.
FBI version of events
Officials, who requested anonymity, said two military tear gas canisters were fired hours before the fire began.
Independent investigators concluded the fire began simultaneously in three places.
Based on information from bugs planted on the compound, the FBI maintains that the Davidians started the fire.
Arson investigators found that gasoline, charcoal lighter fluid and camp stove fuel had been poured inside the compound.
In other developments, the Texas Department of Public Safety told The Dallas Morning News members of the Army's secret Delta Force anti-terrorism squad were at the scene the day the compound burned.
The newspaper obtained a Defence Department document under the Freedom of Information Act that confirmed the presence of the Special Forces unit when the FBI used tanks to assault the compound.
The US military is barred from domestic law enforcement. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4220464.stm | Leeds-based rock band Kaiser Chiefs have won three Brit Awards after becoming one of the UK's most popular groups.
Kaiser Chiefs began as a US-influenced garage band called Parva
They took the prestigious best British group award as well as best rock act and best UK live act. They were also nominated for best album and best British breakthrough act.
The Kaiser Chiefs have jumped to the top of a pile of bands reviving a very English brand of perky, jerky guitar pop that was last in fashion over a decade ago.
They started out as an unoriginal and uninspired US-influenced garage band called Parva, who released a string of singles in 2001 and 2002 to little response.
But they had an epiphany when they decided to shrug off the serious, pseudo-American spirit and write about things closer to home.
Kaiser Chiefs' songs are about "life in Leeds and being British and young and hip", singer Ricky Wilson told the BBC News website after they appeared in its Sound of 2005 list.
He described their music as "British, quirky, sometimes spooky pop" and said he planned to revive Britpop.
"The British have always done it best - from Franz Ferdinand all the way back to The Beatles," he said.
The band knew they were on the right track when their first single, I Predict A Riot - about a Saturday night out on the town - just missed the Top 20 in November 2004.
And last February, they picked up the Philip Hall Radar Award for best new band at the NME Awards.
That set them up for Top 10 hits with more sing-along gems, Oh My God and Every Day I Love You Less and Less.
Their album Employment generated both critical acclaim and commercial success when it was released last March.
It spent several months in the Top 10, selling more than 1.2 million copies in the UK.
Wilson has also made a reputation as one of the best live performers on the rock circuit, jumping around wildly - even when he injured his ankle.
Singer Ricky Wilson is known for his energetic stage performances
Their stage antics have made them favourites at festivals including Glastonbury and V.
They also made inroads in the US where I Predict A Riot became an unlikely radio hit.
They played at the Philadelphia leg of Live 8 and Employment has sold more than 90,000 copies in the US.
This month Kaiser Chiefs make a triumphant return to the NME Awards, where they have been nominated for a record six prizes.
The band are set to record their next album this year - which Wilson has said will be their "second and final album".
But awards and adulation may persuade them to stick around for a while longer. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/2840087.stm | On 1 May, 2003, voters will go to the polls to elect the members who will form the second Scottish Parliament session of the modern era.
Pressure to cut the number of MSPs (Members of the Scottish Parliament) in line with a scheduled reduction in those sent to Westminster has been resisted.
There will be 129 MSPs who will sit for a fixed four-year period.
The members will be elected in two ways.
- 73 members will represent individual constituencies and will be elected under the traditional first-past-the-post system.
These are the same as the 72 Scottish constituencies at Westminster with the exception that Orkney and Shetland is divided into two, each electing its own MSP.
- In addition, 56 members selected from "party lists" in the country's eight electoral regions.
These regions each will elect seven MSPs through the Additional Member System, a form of proportional representation.
Electors will therefore have two votes on separate ballot papers.
One is for a candidate in their constituency and the second is for a party list in their region.
Parties will be keen to dispel the common confusion over the two separate votes.
Some people mistakenly believe that they must vote for the constituency candidate belonging to the same party they supported at regional level.
Members of the Scottish Parliament
There will 129 MSPs
Elected from constituencies 73
Elected from regions 56
Others wrongly think the opposite, that the regional vote is a "second choice" and that they must therefore vote for a different party to the one they voted for in their constituency.
Both these views are wrong.
It is up to individual voters to decide whether or not they "split" their votes.
They can vote for the candidate at constituency level who represents the same party or a different party to the one they voted for at regional level.
The Additional Member System
The constituency MSPs are chosen according to the traditional system used in Westminster elections. A candidate needs simply to poll more votes than any other single rival to be elected.
The system for electing the Additional Members is more complex.
Electors will cast their second vote for a "party list".
This is a list submitted by registered parties with their candidates in order of preference.
If the party succeeds in winning one of these "top-up" seats, the person named as first on its list will be elected.
If it wins two top-up seats, then the first two will be elected, and so on.
Some think that their two votes must be for same party
Others think their two votes must be for different parties
In fact, voters can cast their two votes however they wish
It is important, therefore, for candidates to be near the top of their party's list for them to stand a realistic chance of being elected.
There are two complications to the lists.
First, a "party list" can be an individual person who is standing at the regional level rather than in a constituency.
Secondly, a candidate can stand both in a constituency and on a regional top-up list.
If they succeed in a constituency this takes priority and their name will be removed from the regional list so they cannot be elected twice.
The all-important divisor
The formula for deciding which parties win regional top-up seats is known as the d'Hondt system and is used widely across Europe.
First, party list votes are totalled from each of the constituencies making up the region.
These totals are then divided by the number of seats each party has won - plus one.
The party with the highest resulting total elects one Additional Member.
The regions for additional member seats
Highlands and Islands
Mid-Scotland and Fife
North East Scotland
South of Scotland
West of Scotland
That party's divisor is then increased by one (because of its victory) and new figures calculated. Again, the party with the highest total wins a seat.
The process is then repeated until all seven Additional Members are elected.
The aim of the system is to compensate parties which pile up votes in constituencies but fail to win many MSPs.
Under the d'Hondt system, they are much more likely to gain Additional Members. Conversely, parties which do well in constituency elections will do less well in the top-up seats. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20924581 | Child benefit change is right approach, David Cameron says
David Cameron has said the decision to remove child benefit from better-off families is "the right approach".
He told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show "85% of families" would get the payments in "exactly the way they do now".
The prime minister also said the government was "absolutely right" to limit most working age benefits to a 1% rise, which will be the subject of a Commons vote on Tuesday.
Labour's Ed Balls called the child benefit changes "perverse".
Mr Cameron's comments come ahead of the coalition's mid-term review on Monday.
Changes coming into effect from Monday will see families with one parent earning more than £50,000 lose part of their child benefit.
It will be fully withdrawn where one parent earns above £60,000.'Fundamentally fair'
If you or your partner get child benefit and either of you has an income of above £50,000 a year you may have to pay more tax from Monday.
The income that counts is confusingly called 'net-adjusted income'. In fact, it is your gross income before tax from all sources but minus pension contributions, child care vouchers, and gift aid donations.
If you live as a couple it is the higher income that is counted not your joint income.
If that income is more than £50,000, the person who earns it will have to pay a new tax called 'high income child benefit charge'. It will be collected through self-assessment and you must register with HMRC by 7 October.
If that income is £50,000 to £60,000, the charge will be less than the child benefit received on a sliding scale - at £55,000 it will be 50% of the child benefit received.
If that income is £60,000 or more, the charge will equal the child benefit received. In other words, one partner will get the child benefit but the higher earning partner will pay it all back in the new tax.
Defending the policy, Mr Cameron said: "I'm not saying those people are rich, but I think it is right that they make a contribution.
"This will raise £2bn a year. If we don't raise that £2bn from that group of people - the better off 15% in the country - we would have to find someone else to take it from."
He added: "I think people see it as fundamentally fair that if there is someone in the household earning over £60,000 you don't get child benefit... I think it is the right approach."
Asked about government plans to cap working age benefits at 1% - including the rise in the pay of public sector workers, out-of-work benefits, and tax credits - Mr Cameron said "those are all in my view absolutely right decisions".
"We need to control public sector pay... we need to limit the growth of welfare payments overall - and that must include the tax credit system, and for those out of work it's right that their incomes aren't going up faster than people in work."
The prime minister also insisted the government was going "full steam ahead" with a packed agenda in the second half of its term.
In the wide-ranging interview, Mr Cameron made a number of major points, including:
- He promised British voters they would be offered a "real choice" on Europe at the next election
- On the economy, he said it was vital for a country to be able to pay its debts - maintaining "a low rate of interest" so it could borrow money cheaply
- He said he was "absolutely determined" to overhaul the deportation system so the radical cleric Abu Qatada and others could be deported from the UK before they appeal
- The prime minister also said he was "absolutely clear" Britain would defend the Falkland Islands in the face of mounting pressure from Argentina
- He also confirmed he wanted to remain prime minister until 2020
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Chancellor George Osborne said he took "no great pleasure" in reducing people's benefits but that it was needed to ensure a "brighter future".
Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps told the BBC's World at One: "I have three children I've filled in the form. I totally understand and get how frustrating these things are."
Mr Balls, Labour's shadow chancellor, told Sky News the changes to child benefits were "perverse".
"It's a complete shambles," he said.
"We're going to have many many hundreds of thousands of people who will end end up filing in tax returns because they didn't realise they were supposed to apply by today not to get the child benefit.
"I've always supported a principled approach to the welfare state which we would call progressive universalism." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4709394.stm | On Sunday morning, England joins the rest of the UK in banning smoking inside most public spaces - from bars to clubs, restaurants, shops, offices and factories.
Smokers will have to head outdoors for a cigarette - or stay at home
Anyone wanting to light up will have to stay at home, brave the elements, or travel to the last remaining bastions of smoking in the British Isles - Alderney, Sark or the Isle of Man.
It's a move that affects most Britons, from the non-smokers happy to leave the pub without smelling of cigarettes, to the millions of puffers whose habits will have to change.
HOW MANY PEOPLE SMOKE?
About 10 million people in the UK smoke cigarettes, according to anti-smoking charity Ash. It says a further two million - the vast majority of them men - smoke cigars, pipes or both.
In 1948, when surveys were first conducted, eight out of 10 British men smoked - the highest level recorded. Among women the peak was almost five out of 10, in 1966.
The proportion of smokers fell rapidly during the 70s and 80s and continues to decline steadily.
About one in four Britons over the age of 16 now smokes, with the rate slightly higher among men than women.
Sweden, where fewer than one in five people partakes, has the EU's lowest smoking rate. Greece, where almost half the adult population smokes, has the highest.
A person's age, whether they visit pubs and even their marital status is closely connected to the likelihood that they smoke.
By age group, it is 20- to 24-year-olds who are most likely to light up, with about a third considered smokers. As people get older they become less likely to smoke, with the rate falling to 14% for the over 60s.
About four out of 10 people who visit pubs smoke, and there is a strong link between smoking and social group, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Manual workers and their families are almost twice as likely to smoke as those with a managerial or professional background (31% compared with 17%). And people living together are twice as likely to smoke as those who are married (35% compared with 18%).
Across the country, the greatest proportion of smokers is found in the North East (30%).
Many smokers start early in the morning. About one third of people who get through more than 20 cigarettes a day light up within five minutes of waking.
Among this group, eight out of 10 people say they would struggle to go 24 hours without a cigarette. Among all smokers, more than half would find the task a challenge.
Nevertheless, seven out of 10 smokers say they would like to quit. The proportion wanting to stop is highest among those who smoke 10 to 19 cigarettes a day. It is suggested many heavy smokers believe stopping would be too difficult.
The average male smoker is thought to get through 14 cigarettes a day, while women smoke 13.
SMOKING AND HEALTH
Hundreds of thousands of deaths could be prevented by England's smoking ban, medical expert Sir Richard Peto said shortly before its introduction.
Anti-smoking campaigns repeatedly highlight the health risks
"Half of all smokers are going to be killed by tobacco. If a million people stop smoking who wouldn't otherwise have done so then maybe you'll prevent half a million deaths."
According to the charity Cancer Research, 50,000 cancer deaths and a further 70,000 deaths from heart disease and strokes are caused by smoking each year. It estimates that six million people have been killed in the past 50 years.
Supporters of a ban argue that it will protect many non-smokers from the effects of passive smoking.
But it has also been suggested that many children will be more likely to be exposed to smoke, as their parents will light up at home instead.
UP IN SMOKE
Smoking is good news for the Treasury, with about £4.10 of the £5.50 cost of a packet of cigarettes taken in taxes.
UK'S BEST-SELLING CIGARETTES
1) Lambert & Butler King Size - 13.5% (Imperial)
2) Benson & Hedges Gold - 7.3% (Gallaher)
3) Mayfair King Size - 7.1% (Gallaher)
4) Richmond Superkings - 6.6% (Imperial)
5) Richmond King Size - 4.9% (Imperial)
6) Marlboro Gold King Size - 4.4% (Philip Morris)
7) Regal King Size - 3.5% (Imperial)
8) Royals King Size Red - 3.4% (BAT)
9) Superkings - 3.3% (Imperial)
10) Silk Cut Purple - 3.2% (Gallaher)
Figures for 2004. Source: Ash
Excluding VAT, this earned the Treasury more than £8bn in 2004-5, Ash says.
Treating diseases caused by smoking is costly, however. The campaign group says the NHS spends £1.5bn a year, including hospital admissions, GP consultations and prescriptions. There are further costs in the form of benefits.
It is thought that about 3,000 people are employed by the tobacco industry in the UK, which is home to three of the five biggest tobacco companies in the world.
While it has been suggested that the smoking ban will hit manufacturers hard, others point out that cigarette prices have already been put up to offset any fall in sales.
"Smokers will continue to choose to smoke," said Imperial Tobacco ahead of the ban. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17910953 | Cracks in the wall: Will China's Great Firewall backfire?
Google may have rolled out its cloud-storage Google Drive last week, but some 500 million internet users may never have a chance to try it out - those in China.
Having hit the country's so-called Great Firewall, Google Drive has joined a host of other services banned in the communist nation, such as YouTube, Google+, Twitter, Dropbox, Facebook and Foursquare.
When the firm checked for technical issues on its side, it found none, a Google spokesman told the BBC.
"If people are unable to access Google Drive in China... it's an issue to take up with the Chinese authorities," he said.
The restriction does indeed seem to come from Beijing, but it is not a surprise, say analysts.
End Quote Hamid Sirhan FreshNetworks
The [Chinese] Firewall doesn't work perfectly, it is in fact full of holes”
The Chinese government has been notoriously unfriendly towards a number of Western websites and online services, mostly targeting social media networks and video sharing sites that could have a mass impact on "the community", notes Duncan Clark, a chairman of BDA China, a consultancy firm in Beijing.
"It's a question of control - and the Chinese authorities like to keep close control of web content, preferring to work with local internet content providers, on whom they can rely for self-censorship of content," says Mr Clark.Cracks in wall
And to exercise this control, the state closely monitors internet traffic within the country and all web content that crosses its borders.
This Great Chinese Firewall uses several tools.
All internet traffic into China passes through a small number of gateways, giving the government a chance to control the information.
Sometimes Beijing will block access to a site that has been blacklisted by the government. The authorities may also prevent the look-up of certain domain names, thus causing a "site not found" error message on the user's screen.
If a site is not on any blacklist but its URL - web address - contains a prohibited word, the site may be blocked - and this may also happen if a prohibited keyword is published anywhere on the page a user is viewing.
Censorship can be done more subtly as well - for example by filtering posts with prohibited keywords on the country's social media platforms and erasing comments shortly after they have been posted on microblogging sites.
But the Great Firewall does have cracks.
For instance, in February US President Barack Obama's Google+ account was flooded with comments from China, after a gap in the firewall temporarily allowed Chinese users to access the social network.
"The Firewall doesn't work perfectly, it is in fact full of holes," says Hamid Sirhan, a strategist at social media agency FreshNetworks in London.
"To go round the restrictions, Chinese netizens use proxies to 'tunnel' through the wall, and they often work around blocked search terms by using sometimes-humorous homonyms."
End Quote Duncan Clark BDA China
The state and the Chinese netizens have been playing a cat-and-mouse game”
Special software like JonDonym, Tor and Ultrasurf help web users to break through the Chinese government's restrictions.
Although it is possible for more technically-savvy internet users to access banned Western websites and services, most Chinese are perfectly content with home-grown alternatives, he adds.Web clones
And there are plenty of them. China is known for cloning the Western web world, with one key difference: these sites are self-policing and conform to local laws.
The government's restrictions on foreign web services only help local firms to thrive, says Mr Clark of BDA.
For instance, with YouTube blocked, China's leading video website Youku is thriving.
Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of microblogging site Twitter, already has 300 million users - more than twice as many as the Western original.
With access to Google's search hampered by China's firewall, Baidu dominates the country's search traffic - without showing any search results that are inconvenient to the Beijing government.
Baidu may not let you find out much on the violent suppression of protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989, and many other search terms are censored, but it will deliver the right content for most common searches.
Baidu's latest cloud service Wangpan, announced just weeks before the launch of Google Drive, beats Google by offering 25GB of free storage - as much as Microsoft's Skydrive and much more than Google's 5GB.
Although banning foreign firms may give a short-term boost to Chinese tech entrepreneurs, it could hurt the country in the long run, says Mr Clark.
"What if these Chinese companies wanted to go global and succeed?" he asks.
"We all know that China is the manufacturing workshop of the world, but it is now trying to move up, to become much more interested in design, and the government wants to influence the image of China overseas, get it to participate in global industries.
"So if these companies are this much protected domestically, then in the long run it means that they're not as capable functioning overseas.
"But the government is more focused on the short term concerns about control and doesn't seem to think ahead."Cat-and-mouse
And Beijing should also be wary of possible future discontent among Chinese netizens, he adds - not only because they are not allowed to access Google and other Western sites, but also because of the censorship at home.
When the authorities recently disabled the commenting function on local microblogs, they only managed to keep up the restrictions for three days - and then the service went back to normal.
"The state and the Chinese netizens have been playing a cat-and-mouse game," says Mr Clark.
"I will be interesting to see who will win - although I don't think Beijing is ready to give in any time soon." |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14625492 | Newspaper review: A bloody last stand in Tripoli
The situation in Libya again dominates the news - the Independent speaks of Colonel Gaddafi "going down in flames".
But the papers also reflect on what the Daily Telegraph calls "a desperate and bloody stand" by loyalists in Tripoli.
The Guardian describes pockets of resistance morphing into a full-scale battle, with "the rattle of guns and the wumpf of mortars".
According to the Times, a single question is reverberating around the watching world - where is Col Gaddafi?
It cites Iraq and Afghanistan as cases where the downfall of a national hate figure has caused "chaos and terrible loss of life".
However, the Sun is keen to give the prime minister credit for rallying allies to oust Colonel Gaddafi.
It hopes that Mr Cameron can persuade the rebels to hand over the Lockerbie bomber and those suspected of shooting dead the London police officer Yvonne Fletcher.
Other news is overshadowed by Libya, but the Daily Mail reports that it strongly supports a legal challenge on tuition fees in Scottish universities.
It says the decision to charge English students full tuition fees, while others go free is "nakedly unfair".
The paper says "health and safety zealots" removed them despite no child ever being hurt playing with them.
Libya is not the main story on all the papers, however: the fire on Sir Richard Branson's island is the main story in the Sun and the Daily Mirror.
Both feature pictures of the tycoon's house ablaze on his private Caribbean island, Necker.
The Sun says actress Kate Winslet carried Sir Richard's 90-year-old mother to safety as the mansion went up in flames after a lightning strike. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-15403173 | Museums could bid for Ardnamurchan Viking finds
Museums will have the chance to bid to exhibit artefacts from the UK mainland's first fully intact Viking boat burial.
Archaeologists found the remains of a high-ranking warrior, along with a sword, axe and other items at Ardnamurchan in the Highlands.
Following analysis, the Crown is expected to eventually claim the objects on behalf of the nation.
Under treasure trove rules, museums could then apply to keep them.
The museums making the bids must be on an approved list, showing that they have a curator and appropriate facilities to care for the objects.
The artefacts are still being examined by experts at CFA Archaeology in Musselburgh.
A spokeswoman said it would be some time before they would be available for release.
Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP Dave Thompson, whose constituency includes the Ardnamurchan, hopes they will return to the area for display.
He has submitted a motion to the Scottish Parliament congratulating the archaeologists who made the finds and also to back his call for them to be permanently exhibited at Ardnamurchan.Drinking horn
The universities of Manchester, Leicester, Newcastle and Glasgow worked on, identified, or funded the excavation at the boat burial site.
Archaeology Scotland and CFA Archaeology have also been involved in the project which led to the finds.
The Ardnamurchan Viking was found buried with an axe, a sword with a decorated hilt, a spear, a shield boss and a bronze ring pin.
About 200 rivets - the remains of the boat he was laid in - were also found.
Previously, boat burials in such a condition have been excavated at sites on Orkney.
Until now mainland excavations were only partially successful and had been carried out before more careful and accurate methods were introduced.
Other finds in the 5m-long (16ft) grave in Ardnamurchan included a knife, what could be the tip of a bronze drinking horn, a whetstone from Norway, a ring pin from Ireland and Viking pottery.
Dozens of pieces of iron yet to be identified were also found at the site. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19892158 | Chilean Catholic bishop resigns over paedophilia accusations
A Roman Catholic bishop in Chile accused of paedophilia has resigned, saying he did not want his personal problems to affect the Church.
Marco Antonio Ordenes, who served as bishop in the city of Iquique, was accused of engaging in acts of a sexual nature with an altar boy.
The Chilean Catholic Church is investigating.
The bishop denies the accusations by the former altar boy, who was 15 at the time of the alleged incident.
In a recent interview with Chile's La Tercera newspaper, the 47-year-old priest admitted engaging in an "imprudent act".
He said the boy was not under age when the incident happened.
"God is my witness, I have always tried to serve without interest. Many times I erred, but I never sought to hurt, offend or manipulate anybody," the priest said.
Acting head of Chile's Bishops Conference, Alejandro Goic, said in a statement that Catholics in the South American country had been "shaken" by the recent scandal.
"The improper conduct admitted publicly by Bishop Ordenes seems to be very serious," added Archbishp Goic.
Marco Antonio Ordenes is the highest-ranking Chilean priest to be accused of paedophilia.
The country's Catholic Church has apologised over sex abuse allegations against some 20 priests. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8007465.stm | There was no immediate response from the rebels, who have rejected previous calls to surrender. The pro-rebel TamilNet website said several hundred civilians were feared killed and injured after troops advanced into the zone.
Each side accuses the other of killing civilians in the long running civil conflict.
Foreign reporters are not allowed into the combat zone, making it impossible to independently verify the claims.
A doctor speaking to the BBC from the conflict zone said that one hospital had been hit by shelling and gunfire early on Monday.
Dr T Satyamurthy, director of health services in Kilinochchi, said there were several hundred injured and dozens of dead there and at another, nearby hospital.
He also said his staff had told him that they had seen "many dead bodies" by the edge of a road in the area.
The BBC's Charles Haviland in Colombo has seen the video, shot by an unmanned military vehicle, of civilians fleeing the combat zone. The film was apparently taken early on Monday morning.
BBC News, Colombo
The government and the military are feeling increasingly bullish.
They felt able to call in a large number of journalists and show aerial footage shot from an unmanned plane.
The pictures are remarkable. Hundreds or thousands of people, small specks in the camera frame, are seen hurrying in a direction away from the sea, across land, lagoon and swamp.
Other pictures show what looks like tens of thousands milling around, waiting to be processed at army checkpoints.
Confirming estimates of at least 25,000 people fleeing, our correspondent described as "haunting" the sight of thousands of people filing as quickly as they could away from the ocean side of the strip of land where fighting has been going on.
A far greater number were visible milling around outside the zone waiting to be taken to government-run camps, our correspondent says.
Some estimates say as many as 35,000 people fled the fighting on Monday.
President Mahinda Rajapakse said: "The footage clearly shows that the people are defying the LTTE [Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam] and escaping. They are running to safety.
"The only thing [LTTE leader Velupillai] Prabhakaran can now do is to surrender."
Earlier in the day, military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said the army had managed to smash through an earth fortification which had been blocking its advance into the tiny coastal strip held by the rebels.
He said those who had just escaped would go, like others, to special camps around the town of Vavuniya about 100km (60 miles) from the fighting.
The Tigers are restricted to a 20 sq km (12.4 sq miles) coastal patch that the government has designated a "safe zone" for civilians.
Gordon Weis, the UN spokesman in Sri Lanka, said it was not known how many civilians remained there but that the UN had been working off a figure of some 150,000 to 200,000 people in recent months.
Hospitals in the war zone are lacking staff and medical supplies
"It's still a significant number of people locked inside," he told the BBC.
Our correspondent says life for the Tamil civilians in the zone is a nightmare.
There has been shelling for months, while the UN says the Tigers are preventing people from escaping, despite rebel denials.
A military spokesman said 17 people were killed on Monday when the rebels launched three suicide attacks on those fleeing, though it was not possible to verify his account.
The government is not giving the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) access to the landward side of the zone.
So it can only evacuate people by sea, with two or three ships per week each carrying 400 or 500 of the sickest, oldest and most badly wounded people.
ICRC country chief Paul Castella told the BBC that government doctors working in the area were "really worn out".
"These people are working for months now without any break, they work day and night. And medical supplies are lacking," he added.
The Red Cross has evacuated more than 10,000 civilians since early February, but Mr Castella could not confirm or deny figures that others are citing for the number of people recently killed, or managing to escape by land.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9781000/9781365.stm | By Andrew Hosken
BBC Today Programme
The mother of Olaseni Lewis is giving her support to a public inquiry
A charity has called for a public inquiry into what it says is the scandal of deaths in police custody.
Inquest - a charity that offers advice to bereaved people - says nearly 1,000 people have died in custody in England and Wales since 1990.
The charity and other campaigners say mental illness is the "hidden story" behind the problem.
Of 15 people who died in custody in 2011/2012, seven of those were thought to have mental health problems.
"That is a really disturbing number of people dying, said Deborah Coles, co-director of Inquest. "I think it's incumbent on this government to set up an inquiry and properly address the issues that these deaths raise about the use of the police for people with mental health issues."
One of the most disturbing recent cases concerns Kingston University graduate Olaseni Lewis, who died aged 23 after being restrained by police officers at the Bethlem Royal Hospital in Bromley, south-east London, in September 2010.
At first Seni, as he was known, admitted himself to the Maudsley Hospital in south London after suffering mental health problems. He was then transferred to the Bethlem.
"When he wanted to leave, about an hour later the police were called - an incident happened," says Olaseni's mother Ajibola. "I really don't know exactly what happened."
The family later learned that Mr Lewis had been taken to hospital after 11 police officers had been involved in his physical restraint. He was placed on a life support machine, which was switched off four days later when he was diagnosed with brain stem death. An inquest to determine cause of death has yet to be held.
Mrs Lewis added: "It's really disturbing that these sorts of things can be allowed to happen. It's been happening for years and it's something that people - ordinary people - don't get. They don't realise that these things are going on. Unless you are involved personally, you don't realise what's happening, and it's got to stop."
The Metropolitan Police, who are conducting a review of the case, declined to comment.
An inquest into the death of 25-year-old James Herbert is expected in April 2013.
He died in June 2010 after he had also been restrained by police officers after an incident in the city of Wells. Police were called when Mr Herbert, who had been suffering from intermittent mental health problems, had been seen acting strangely.
His father Tony Herbert, a businessman based in Coventry, said: "He was out in the town - one or two people called the police and said that someone was behaving strangely - but I want to stress again, never violently. People seemed to be concerned for him, rather than about him."
Following his restraint, James Herbert was taken first to Yeovil Police station, before being rushed to a local hospital, where he died.
"I still miss him," said his father. "It's nearly three years on. Bereavement in this situation is difficult because you don't really let them go. You desperately want justice for them. It's gut-wrenching, it's painful and it's unbelievably awful."
At one point there was anything up to eight officers holding Mikey down
In 2006, 10 officers in the West Midlands were cleared of charges in connection to the death of 38-year-old Mikey Powell.
In 2003, Mr Powell - a cousin of the poet and author Benjamin Zephaniah - died after he was restrained by officers during an incident outside his home.
An inquest jury concluded later that he had died as the result of "positional asphyxiation" - a form of asphyxia which occurs when the position of someone's body prevents them from breathing adequately.
Tippa Naphtali - Mr Zephaniah's brother and also a cousin of Mr Powell, said he had suffered intermittent mental health problems.
"He was just displaying some very odd behaviour indoors. He broke a window to get out of the house. Mikey ended up being restrained on the streets. Several more officers came. At one point there was anything up to eight officers holding him down, using various parts of his limbs were being held down.
Mikey later died at Thornhill Road police station in Birmingham.
Since 1969, there has been no successful prosecution of any police officer involved with a death in police custody, despite a total of 11 inquests reaching verdicts of unlawful killing.
Inquest believes there is a wider issue of police accountability.
It also believes that police need to address the disproportionate number of men from the Afro Caribbean and other ethnic minority communities represented in police custody deaths.
Assistant Chief Constable Dawn Copley of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), said the police were keen to learn lessons from the deaths.
"Each death in police custody is a personal tragedy," she said.
"There are increasing numbers of people who are suffering from mental ill health issues who come to the notice of police.
Often the very best people to deal with people suffering with mental ill health are specially-trained medical practitioners - not police officers - and the best place for them to be seen is on medical premises, not within police stations. Although clearly, where offences have been committed or people are apprehended in crisis-type situations, there is an inevitability that they come into police premises."
Andrew Hosken's report was first broadcast on the Today Programme on Monday 31 December 2012. Benjamin Zephaniah was the programme's guest-editor. |
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in Dataset Viewer.
Dataset Card for BBC News from FineWeb
This dataset provides a filtered subset of BBC News articles from each subset of the FineWeb dataset, expected to contain approximately 300M articles from BBC News domains.
Dataset Details
Dataset Sources
- Repository: https://huggingface.co/datasets/permutans/fineweb-bbc-news
- Source Dataset: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb
- Paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.17557 (FineWeb paper)
Uses
Direct Use
Suitable for text analysis and NLP tasks focused on news content, particularly when working with BBC News articles. The dataset provides cleaned article text without metadata like bylines or publication dates.
Out-of-Scope Use
This dataset should not be used as a comprehensive archive of BBC News content, as it represents only articles captured in FineWeb's crawls. It should not be assumed to contain all articles from any given time period.
Dataset Structure
Data Instances
Example format:
{
'url': 'news.bbc.co.uk/news/article-path',
'text': 'Article content...'
}
Data Fields
url: URL of the article with query parameters removedtext: Full article text content
Data Statistics
- Contains approximately 300k articles per subset
Dataset Creation
Curation Rationale
Created to provide an easily accessible dataset of BBC news articles while offering a focused view into the FineWeb dataset's coverage of major news sources. Enables analysis of FineWeb's completeness and motivates investigation of alternative data acquisition methods.
Source Data
Data Collection and Processing
- Filtered from FineWeb's subsets
- Limited to domains: news.bbc.co.uk, www.bbc.co.uk/news, www.bbc.com/news
- URL cleaning: removed query parameters
- Regional news content may be excluded (under regional subsite paths rather than
/news) - No modifications to article text content
Personal and Sensitive Information
Article texts contain only the main content body, without bylines or metadata.
Bias, Risks, and Limitations
- No validation split in current version
- Original publication dates not available (FineWeb timestamps were crawl dates)
- Section/index pages not yet filtered out from article pages
- Regional news content explicitly excluded due to sparse coverage
- Relationship between news.bbc.co.uk and bbc.co.uk/news domains needs investigation
- Coverage may be incomplete compared to full BBC News archive
Recommendations
Users should be aware that this represents a subset of BBC News content. For applications requiring comprehensive coverage or accurate publication dates, additional data sources should be considered.
Future Directions
- Addition of publication dates through targeted crawling
- Filtering to distinguish between section pages and article pages
Citation
Please cite the original FineWeb dataset when using this data.
Dataset Card Authors
Louis Maddox (@permutans)
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