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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/5394766.stm | Conservative leader David Cameron has launched his own video weblog to try to get his message across to young people.
Webcameron.org.uk looks a little like Youtube and will include regular videos, podcasts and diaries as well as interviews with Mr Cameron and guests.
He told a student website the blog was launched because lots of young people "get their news off the internet".
As Mr Cameron prepares for his first conference as leader, a poll suggests support for the party is slipping.
A YouGov poll for the Daily Telegraph, which questioned 1,847 adults across the UK, suggested the Tory lead over Labour had slipped back.
Mr Cameron told the univillage site: "A young person would no more think of going to a public meeting than boiling an egg, so they do it on the internet."
He said that via the blog, people could see what he and the Conservative Party were doing, what the policies were and how they were being developed.
"They'll see behind the scenes," he said.
In one of the first films, the Tory leader is shown outlining his plans for the site while chatting to one of his young children who wants his attention.
He explained to univillage: "Lots of young people now don't bother with newspapers - they see that as the dead wood industry and they get their news off the internet.
"But we're not really there communicating with them so...I'm launching a totally new idea in British politics."
He said he was trying to engage young people and tell them what politicians were trying to do because "we are seen as a race apart".
Mr Cameron, who has been accused of lacking substance by political opponents, denied it was a publicity stunt.
"It's not a gimmick at all. I'm going to give a lot of time to it," he said.
However, the other two main parties have also taken their campaigning to the internet.
At the Labour and Lib Dem conferences, political bloggers have been offered computer facilities, background briefings and access to big name politicians.
Other internet adventures include a World Cup blog by Tony Blair's former press secretary Alistair Campbell as well as party conference podcasts.
The Liberal Democrats' online activity includes flocktogether.org.uk, a site where party members plan meetings and campaigns. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/commonwealthgames2002/hi/hockey/default.stm | Sohail Abbas scores five as Pakistan crush South Africa in their hockey bronze medal play-off.
India win a controversial women's hockey final as England lose their appeal against a decisive golden goal.
Have your say: The right result?
A strong second-half display sees Australia beat New Zealand 4-3 in the women's hockey bronze medal play-off.
Former Olympic gold medallist Sean Kerly believes England's women did the right thing to accept defeat against India.
New Zealand record a stunning 7-1 victory over Pakistan to book their place in the men's hockey final.
Two second-half goals give Australia a deserved 3-1 win over South Africa in the men's hockey semi-final.
England's women are in confident mood as they prepare to face India in the hockey final.
World champions Australia are beaten 2-1 in the semi-finals of the women's hockey.
India reach the women's hockey final with a shock 2-1 win over New Zealand.
Scotland have to settle for sixth place in the women's hockey after losing in extra time to South Africa.
Hayden Shaw grabs a hat-trick as New Zealand beat Canada and reach the men's hockey semi-final.
South Africa move into the men's hockey semi-finals by beating England 1-0.
India stage a thrilling fightback to beat South Africa 4-3 and reach the semi-finals of the women's hockey.
Dave Mathews suffers a hamstring injury as England beat Wales 5-0 to make the knockout stages, while Pakistan also advance.
Australia rack up a record 20-1 win over Barbados and New Zealand ease past South Africa.
Australia overwhelm hapless Malaysia 18-0 with three players hitting hat-tricks.
Scotland succumb to a 4-1 defeat by South Africa, but both sides will play off for semi-final places.
Dave Mathews' controversial last-gasp penalty gives England's men their first hockey win at the expense of Canada. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47715415 | Speed limiting technology looks set to become mandatory for all vehicles sold in Europe from 2022, after new rules were provisionally agreed by the EU.
The Department for Transport said the system would also apply in the UK, despite Brexit.
Campaigners welcomed the move, saying it would save thousands of lives.
Road safety charity Brake called it a "landmark day", but the AA said "a little speed" helped with overtaking or joining motorways.
Safety measures approved by the European Commission included intelligent speed assistance (ISA), advanced emergency braking and lane-keeping technology.
The EU says the plan could help avoid 140,000 serious injuries by 2038 and aims ultimately to cut road deaths to zero by 2050.
Is the driving test getting more difficult?
"With the new advanced safety features that will become mandatory, we can have the same kind of impact as when safety belts were first introduced."
What is speed limiting technology and how does it work?
Under the ISA system, cars receive information via GPS and a digital map, telling the vehicle what the speed limit is.
This can be combined with a video camera capable of recognising road signs.
The system can be overridden temporarily. If a car is overtaking a lorry on a motorway and enters a lower speed-limit area, the driver can push down hard on the accelerator to complete the manoeuvre.
A full on/off switch for the system is also envisaged, but this would lapse every time the vehicle is restarted.
How soon will it become available?
It's already coming into use. Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot-Citroen, Renault and Volvo already have models available with some of the ISA technology fitted.
However, there is concern over whether current technology is sufficiently advanced for the system to work effectively.
In particular, many cars already have a forward-facing camera, but there is a question mark over whether the sign-recognition technology is up to scratch.
Other approved safety features for European cars, vans, trucks and buses include technology which provides a warning of driver drowsiness and distraction, such as when using a smartphone while driving, and a data recorder in case of an accident.
What does it all mean in practice?
The idea that cars will be fitted with speed limiters - or to put it more accurately, "intelligent speed assistance" - is likely to upset a lot of drivers. Many of us are happy to break limits when it suits us and don't like the idea of Big Brother stepping in.
However, the new system as it's currently envisaged will not force drivers to slow down. It is there to encourage them to do so, and to make them aware of what the limit is, but it can be overridden. Much like the cruise control in many current cars will hold a particular speed, or prevent you exceeding it, until you stamp on the accelerator.
So it'll still be a free-for-all for speeding motorists then? Not quite. Under the new rules, cars will also be fitted with compulsory data recorders, or "black boxes".
So if you have an accident, the police and your insurance company will know whether you've been going too fast. If you've been keeping your foot down and routinely ignoring the car's warnings, they may take a very dim view of your actions.
In fact, it's this "spy on board" which may ultimately have a bigger impact on driver behaviour than any kind of speed limiter. It's easy to get away with reckless driving when there's only a handful of traffic cops around to stop you. Much harder when there's a spy in the cab recording your every move.
All of this may well reduce accidents, but it won't eliminate them. You can force people to slow down, you can watch what they're doing, you can help them with emergency braking - but you can't get rid of basic bad driving.
Unless, of course, you have self-driving cars.
How has the idea been received?
The move was welcomed by the European Transport Safety Council, an independent body which advises Brussels on transport safety matters.
But it said it could be several months before the European Parliament and Council formally approve the measures.
The European Parliament will not be able to consider the provisional rules until after its elections take place in May.
UK statistics show more than 1,700 people are killed on UK roads every year, while Brake says speed is a contributory factor in about a quarter of all fatal crashes.
Brake's campaigns director, Joshua Harris, said: "This is a landmark day for road safety.
"These measures will provide the biggest leap forward for road safety this century."
The UK's Department for Transport said: "We continuously work with partners across the globe to improve the safety standards of all vehicles. These interventions are expected to deliver a step-change in road safety across Europe, including the UK."
The Association of British Insurers held out the possibility that premiums could be reduced as a result.
It said: "Motor insurers support measures aimed at improving road safety. Any steps that can be shown to make our roads safer, reducing road crashes and insurance claims, can be reflected in the cost of motor insurance."
The AA thinks the system might have the unintended consequence of making drivers more reckless, not less.
AA president Edmund King said there was no doubt that new in-car technology could save lives, adding there was "a good case" for autonomous emergency braking to be fitted in all cars.
"When it comes to intelligent speed adaptation, the case is not so clear," he said. "The best speed limiter is the driver's right foot.
"The right speed is often below the speed limit - for example, outside a school with children about - but with ISA, there may be a temptation to go at the top speed allowed."
Mr King added: "Dodgem cars are all fitted with speed limiters, but they still seem to crash."
How do you stop deaths on London's roads? |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/kent/2982882.stm | The row over whether Gillingham Football Club play in blue or white shirts next season could be resolved by the fans, according to the club chairman.
The news was met with anger by some fans, unhappy at the break in tradition, and the row led to chairman Paul Scally threatening to quit the club.
But Mr Scally told the BBC on Wednesday the players could still be clad in blue next season - if enough fans buy blue shirts.
Some fans blamed the change on sponsors Sea France, believing the ferry company had had a say in what colour the shirts would be.
Last week Mr Scally said Sea France had received faxes and letters from fans threatening to boycott their services.
Gillingham's club shop is already taking orders for both the new white shirt and another in more traditional blue and black.
Mr Scally said he would look closely at the sales of both and could use the figures to decide which to use as the first choice kit.
The club website urges fans to visit the shop to see the shirts for real rather than rely on pictures of them.
But Mr Scally denied it was a ploy to sell more £39.99 shirts.
"They won't be buying them, they'll be ordering them," he said.
"If they want to change their order or have their money back we will allow them to do that of course.
"If they vote by pre-ordering a blue shirt and we go for the white and they decide they want the white then of course they can have the white.
"Or they may wish to have neither and have their money back, which we will also honour." |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18270490 | Is Obama's drone doctrine counter-productive?
US President Barack Obama personally approves every single drone strike against suspected terrorists, so he can take full moral responsibility for the deaths these cause.
That is the main thrust of a long, detailed and fascinating piece in the New York Times.
It comes as experts have been telling me that the president is wrong to see drones as a "silver bullet" that solves some critical problems about the morality and efficacy of America's use of military power.
The New York Times paints a picture of a regular, 100-strong video conference meeting that decides the names to be put on a "kill list": the next suspected terrorists to be targeted.
It quotes the president's national security adviser, Tom Donilon: "He is determined that he will make these decisions about how far and wide these operations will go… he's determined to keep the tether pretty short."
White House spokesman Jay Carney says he will not discuss specific details of decision-making.
The article confirms that the care taken by the president is significant and he takes "extraordinary measures" to avoid civilian casualties.
In reality, I cannot believe that as many officials spoke as freely as they apparently did without being given the presidential green light.
At a time when Republicans want to paint Mr Obama as a ditherer, unwilling to take firm action, it paints him as tough and strong, willing to take hard decisions and kill America's enemies.
But this goes beyond political spin. It is a doctrine of warfare.
We have known for a while that drones are the president's weapon of choice.
He believes that they kill America's enemies with minimum risk to the innocent and are a "light foot-print" compared to the heavy boot of invasion and occupation. The Obama administration is becoming more and more frank about the useof these unmanned planes.
There are plenty of blogs which say that drone attacks are murder, plain and simple. Others argue that they are illegal under international law.
But some say they simply do not have the desired result. Gregory Johnsen of Princeton University is an expert on Yemen and he told me that the rain of drone attacks has strengthened the hand of terrorists there.
"Look at Yemen on Christmas Day 2009, the day the so-called underwear bomber attempted to bring down a flight over Detroit.
"On that day al-Qaeda numbered about 200 to 300 individuals and they controlled no territory. Now today, two-and-a-half years later, despite all the drone strikes al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has tripled in size, it's now around 1,000 members and it controls significant territory.
"The more the US bombs, the more they grow."
He says drones strikes have killed women and children and al-Qaeda are adept at using this to recruit people for revenge.
Someone else who questions the light foot-print theory is David Rhode. He speaks form very personal experience. While a New York Times reporter, he was held hostage in the tribal areas of Pakistan by the Taliban. He recalled to me one attack.
"There was one drone strike close to the house where we were being held. It was so close that shrapnel and mud showered down into the courtyard.
"Just the force and size of the explosion amazed me. It comes with no warning and tremendous force."
He says that is not a light foot-print.
"They are a constant presence, you hear them circling over head the whole time.
"It's terrifying for everyone on the ground because they can hear it, like a small plane. What is so unsettling is you have no idea when this missile is going to come and kill you. There's a sense that your sovereignty is being violated.
"… It's a serious military action. It is not this light precise pin prick that many Americans believe."
Gregory Johnson says politicians can become mesmerised by this one tactic.
"The problem with drones is there is almost a seduction of simple solutions going on here. It is like a 'silver bullet', a magic missile solution to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and I think that's very dangerous.
"What needs to happen is that the US has to do the very hard policy of diplomacy, or intelligence on the ground. The United States has a huge tool box at its disposal in Yemen and it is only using one of these tools."
I suspect the sci-fi allure of bringing retribution from the skies, with no risk to any American lives, will out-weigh such considerations.
The president may think very carefully before he approves individual killings, but in the end, as a strategy, drone attacks have too many attractions compared to doing nothing or sending in the troops. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6289479.stm | The Competition Commission is to focus on competition at the local level in the next phase of its probe into the UK's grocery industry.
The commission has been examining the supply chain, planning and land banks of the four big UK supermarkets.
Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons control almost 75% of the UK market.
The commission said questions remained whether Tesco or any other supermarket could get into such a strong position that no other retailer could compete.
The commission said it was "not here to punish success or individual retailers".
But it added: "We are concerned with whether Tesco, or any other supermarket, can get into such a strong position, either nationally or locally, that no other retailer can compete effectively."
The number of stores operated by the big four has doubled since 2000.
"We are really at the information gathering stage of this exercise, rather than the stage when they reach firm conclusions and remedies," said the BBC's Business Editor Robert Peston.
"But they do seem to imply that there is not sufficient competition at the local level."
James Lowman, chief executive of the Association of Convenience Stores - which represents 32,000 local shops - said he was encouraged by the interim report.
"They have identified strong indications of anti-competitive practices in the UK grocery market that need further detailed consideration," he said.
"Overall we are one step closer to a fairer grocery market."
But Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy, said the report had dispelled "the myths" surrounding industry manufacturers, processors or wholesalers.
He added: "I believe passionately that consumers have benefited in so many ways from the intense competitive rivalry in this industry."
Peter Freeman, chairman of the commission and inquiry group chairman, said: "Our principal concern now is to focus on competition between retailers at the local level, where it most matters to consumers, as this is where many of the potential concerns we have would be evident."
He said they now needed to see what choices shoppers had in particular areas and how competition works between retailers of different sizes.
"It would be a cause for concern if supermarkets, either individually or collectively, were in a position to increase prices or lower their offer in any particular locality or region because of lack of effective competition," he added.
The commission said larger stores constrained the prices, product range and service of smaller stores.
Below-cost selling by larger grocery retailers "may also unintentionally contribute to the exit of smaller grocery retailers and specialist stores," it said in its statement.
The Competition Commission's "emerging thinking" document also said it had examined the relationship between the big supermarkets and suppliers, amid allegations that supermarkets' buying power has increased.
"We have considered the evidence supplied concerning relationships between grocery retailers and their suppliers," said Mr Freeman.
"Whilst these haven't indicated widespread problems in the supply chain, there are still concerns.
"We have found that bigger buyers do not always appear to get better terms from suppliers, and food and drink manufacturers and processors, as well as wholesalers, seem to be in reasonable shape.
"However, we have some concerns about farmers and we have not received as much specific evidence about unfair treatment of suppliers as we might have expected."
It asked for any suppliers with examples of unfair treatment to come forward and speak to it in confidence.
The commission also said the number of dairy and pig meat farmers had declined in recent years, showing there were "significant difficulties" in those sectors.
Claire Melamed of charity ActionAid said three million people in the developing world supplied food to the leading UK supermarkets.
She said those overseas suppliers were seeing "wages and living conditions going down and down, while supermarket profits are going up and up".
Campaign groups have criticised supermarkets for owning large areas of undeveloped land across the UK, stifling potential competition.
And the commission says it will now consider the implications of these land holdings as part on an analysis of competition between retailers.
It added: "There is conflicting evidence on the effect of planning controls - some say they are too restrictive, others that they are not restrictive enough."
Dr John Marti, of Southampton University said the report had offered "not a lot" for those looking for criticisms of the big four's operations.
He added: "The commission has not had a lot of evidence of the four supermarket groups squeezing suppliers." |
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/technology-39093891/mwc-2017-blackberry-revives-classic-keyboard-phone | Lenovo tablet reads paper notes Jump to media player Lenovo unveils a tablet that can read notes and drawings made on a pad of paper put on top of its digitiser.
Hands on with Huawei's answer to Note 7 Jump to media player Huawei launches new large-screened phones, including a model co-designed by Porsche, less than a month after Samsung's Note 7 was scrapped.
Samsung reveals cause of phone fires Jump to media player Samsung reveals what caused the overheating and burning of some of its Galaxy Note 7 mobile phones.
Timeline: How did Blackberry get here? Jump to media player Blackberry is to end production of its handsets and will outsource development to partners. The BBC's Chris Foxx takes a look at its bumpy history.
Blackberry not giving up on smartphones Jump to media player Blackberry says it will continue to be a smartphone brand, after announcing it will end in-house development of devices.
A new Android-powered Blackberry with a physical keyboard has been unveiled by Chinese phone-maker TCL Communication.
The company now licenses the brand for its devices, after Blackberry decided to outsource the development and manufacture of its smartphones.
The device was unveiled ahead of the start of the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona.
TCL's Nicolas Zibell told the BBC's Chris Foxx that he hoped to revive the brand with "strong products". |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6385761.stm | Jade Goody has been axed from Comic Relief in the wake of the Celebrity Big Brother race row.
Organisers had filmed a Question of Sport spoof in which Goody appeared with comics Jack Dee and Frank Skinner.
But they have decided to drop the sketch from BBC One's Red Nose Night charity telethon on 16 March.
A Comic Relief spokesman said the sketch felt "out of date" and they were concerned it could detract attention from the fundraising.
"Recent events have overtaken us and the show, which was recorded last November, now feels out of date," the spokesman said.
"Red Nose Day is all about raising money and anything that could potentially detract from this is not helpful."
Goody caused an international uproar with her behaviour toward fellow Big Brother housemate Shilpa Shetty.
She referred to the Bollywood actress as "Shilpa Poppadom" and told her she needed to spend a day in the slums.
More than 40,000 people complained to media regulator Ofcom about her comments.
On leaving the Big Brother house, the 25-year-old said her behaviour was "nasty" adding: "I'm not racist, but I can see why it has had the impact it's had."
She later admitted herself to the Priory rehab clinic. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/cornwall/4471314.stm | The latest effort in the fight to retain the sleeper train to Penzance will be launched at the Eden Project this weekend.
A special support group says it will try to ensure the service is fully booked for every trip.
The Save our Sleeper campaign says it now wants to concentrate on efforts to secure and develop the service.
The Department of Transport says the sleeper runs at a loss and gets a £5m subsidy every year.
This has led to concern the train could be axed when the winner of the new rail franchise is announced next month.
The support group already has the support of Cornish MP's and leading business people including Lord George of St Tudy - former governor of the Bank of England. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-45178638 | If you think there's something fishy about the salmon you're eating, that could be because it's not salmon.
New rules introduced in China mean rainbow trout can now be labelled and sold domestically as salmon.
Why? Because a media report earlier this year caused a splash by revealing that rainbow trout had for years been labelled as the similar-looking fish.
Authorities decided that instead of banning the practice, the best solution would be to legitimise it.
Rainbow trout are freshwater fish whereas salmon are born in freshwater but then live much of their lives in saltwater.
The two species are outwardly different, but inside, both have reddish meat and closely resemble each other.
They're so similar that in May, state media outlet CCTV revealed that a third of fish that had been sold as salmon in China was in fact rainbow trout from Qinghai province.
There was a furious backlash from consumers in China, particularly over fears that trout is more susceptible to parasites.
The China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance has now announced in a ruling that to standardise the industry, salmon was now considered to be the "umbrella name of the salmonidae fish".
That's a scientific category which includes trout as well as other similar fish.
The ruling has got people complaining that they've been misled, but there's also a degree of sympathy for the reassigned rainbow trout.
#RainbowTroutBecomesSalmon has been trending on social media platform Weibo.
"The trout must be confused. After so many years its identity has suddenly been changed to a salmon," said one person on Weibo.
Many have their own suggestions for what could be re-labelled next.
"Can we label seas and lake as the same thing? They are technically the same," said one social media user.
"Let's label the crayfish a lobster instead," another said.
"If industry standards are determined by the manufacturers, can students mark their own test scores?" one asked.
Some consumers also voiced their fears about parasites again, and whether it was safe to eat salmon raw, as is common in China.
However, according to the China Fisheries Association, domestic rainbow trout are bred in safe and quarantined conditions so there's no need to worry.
"Whether salmon has parasites does not depend on whether it is bred in sea water or fresh water," it said. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-scotland-29176660/scottish-independence-indyref-business-row-intensifies | The referendum row over business has intensified as retail bosses plan to publish a letter warning of price rises if Scots vote "Yes" to independence.
First Minister Alex Salmond described recent interventions by business figures as "blatant intimidation from Westminister".
The prime minister's office said David Cameron wanted "stakeholders to set out their views".
Both sides are continuing to campaign ahead of next week's referendum with Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon touring seven cities while Ed Miliband will appear at an event with former prime minister Gordon Brown.
BBC Scotland's political correspondent Lucy Adams reports on the day's campaigning. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14896393 | The government in Pakistan's eastern province of Punjab is struggling to control a growing dengue fever epidemic, officials say.
They have warned that it threatens to affect other parts of the country.
More than 4,000 cases of dengue fever have been reported in the past two months, officials say, and at least eight people have died.
While the disease is not new in Pakistan, experts say it has spread fast and may reach crisis proportions.
They say that the illness is thriving because of poor hygiene, an absence of control measures and the fact that recent heavy monsoon rainfall has lowered temperatures and provided lots of water - ideal conditions for dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
Dengue fever is a tropical disease transmitted by mosquitoes that breed in stagnant water.
According to the World Health Organisation, the incidence of death among infected patients is 4%.
The first case of dengue fever in Pakistan was reported in the southern port city of Karachi in 1994.
The province of Punjab - particularly its capital, Lahore - have seen a growing number of cases since 2007.
Punjab Health Secretary Jehanzeb Khan said that this year more than 4,000 cases of dengue fever had been reported, a significant increase over previous years.
The eight people who have died so far include Ataullah Siddiqui, head of the provincial department for minerals and natural resources.
Mr Khan said more than 3,500 infected people live in Lahore city.
The head of the city's Jinnah Hospital, Dr Javed Akram, told the BBC that there are several reasons why the virus is concentrated in Lahore.
"It's a large city with poor public hygiene," he said.
"We have also had heavy rain for the second year running. In many areas the sewerage system was choked, creating water ponds.
"The city also has vast open spaces and public parks where water has accumulated. In addition, the rains have brought down temperatures by several degrees, creating ideal conditions for the dengue mosquitoes to breed."
Dr Akram says the spread of the disease to other parts of Punjab province has been caused by the government's failure to announce and enforce travel restrictions and its failure to quarantine affected people.
"In the absence of these measures, we expect a greater epidemic next year," he said.
Officials say the provincial government has set up a telephone helpline and issued pamphlets to create awareness about the fever.
The government has also banned morning assemblies in schools for two months to prevent children's exposure to mosquito bites.
It is now considering a 10-day closure of schools.
Meanwhile, a team of doctors from Sri Lanka is expected to arrive in Lahore today to help combat the epidemic. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-29708202 | Does the Sabbath still exist on the isle of Lewis?
The isle of Lewis in the outer Hebrides is said to be the last place in Britain where the fourth commandment - Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy - is still strictly observed. But how has modern life changed attitudes to the Lord's Day on this island of 20,000 people?
They used to talk of the Scottish Sabbath, then it was the Highland Sabbath and now it is just the Lewis Sabbath, as the number of places keeping Sunday free for God has dwindled.
The Reverend Alasdair Smith, who is now in his 80s, and his wife Chrissie remember the days when people would be "horrified" by someone riding a bicycle on the Sabbath - even if they were cycling to church.
Chrissie says: "I went to Sunday school and enjoyed it because you could walk to the school with your friends and if it was a nice day you ambled back. Because that was the only time you got to go for a walk - to church or Sunday school - not for pleasure.
"But Sunday was special," she adds.
"I used to think wasn't God wonderful to have given us the Sabbath.
"I can sit without feeling guilty that I'm not washing or ironing or cleaning."
Alasdair Smith says it is a far more liberal society now.
His wife says: "There was far more of the hellfire and brimstone preaching when we were young."
Documentary filmmaker David Cairns travelled to Lewis to find out if the traditional Sabbath still exists there.
He remembers the quiet of a Sunday in the West Highlands in the 70s and 80s, where he spent part of his childhood.
"We weren't church-goers but my mother always insisted we kept quiet on the Sabbath," he says.
"She wouldn't let my dad work in the garden and she would ask me to play behind the house so I couldn't be seen by our neighbours.
"As a child I resented that, because it made me feel guilty and furtive. I felt I was being watched and disapproved of - and that didn't seem fair.
"But now, as an adult, I suspect the neighbours wouldn't really have minded much if they had seen me - and I understand my mother was showing respect."
"What's more, as a city-dweller, I hate that Sunday is beginning to feel as busy as any other day of the week. A day of rest every week is a good thing for everybody.
"I'd be really happy not to be able to go shopping on a Sunday - it would force me to spend the day on other things, more important things.
"But, on the other hand, I wouldn't want to not be able to get to hospital because there was no public transport."
He adds: "The irony is that when I decided to make a film about the Sabbath, I was committing myself to working every Sunday for several weeks.
"I also had to ask people who keep the Sabbath to let me film them on that day - meaning I would be working, breaking the commandment. Some agreed to it - but others did not.
"Ultimately, it isn't just the quiet Sunday I miss: it's a whole culture - people who had lived in just the same spot for generations, faith, a strong sense of community and identity. I wanted to see if these things still exist in Lewis - the Sabbath is only part of it."
One of the people interviewed for the film, the Reverend Angus Smith, protested against the first Sunday ferry to Skye in 1965 and again when Lewis eventually got its first Sabbath sailing in 2009.
He says: "Things have changed. We have so many incomers on the island that the whole balance has changed."
Amanda Darling could be said to be an incomer, even though she arrived in Lewis to marry an islander.
Mandy loves traditional music and even speaks Gaelic but she is not keen on the strict Sabbath observance.
She says: "When it is howling with wind and rain and dark it would be quite nice to go to the swimming pool or the sauna.
"I would quite like to go to the sauna on a Sunday afternoon. Go to church in the morning if you want to."
For Mark and Rae MacDonald, observance of the Sabbath was one of the reasons why they moved back to Lewis from Edinburgh.
Rae says: "God wants us to have a break from our work outside the home and inside the home.
"We eat light meals so there is not too much kitchen work.
"It gives us time to spend with our children and focus on their souls as well as our own."
Her husband Mark says: "This community has always welcomed people who come here because they like it.
"But people who are Lewis born and bred question the moral integrity of moving to a place and not liking the way it is and trying to change it."
Two people who moved to the island and grew to love it are Jutta and Rille Grix-Feldt, who run the Juri Startent gallery in Uig.
Rille says he was a city boy from Berlin when he first came to the islands and he did not like it.
But 20 years later he loves the lifestyle and the community, even if his observance of the Sabbath is borne out of respect for his neighbours rather than Christian devotion.
Jutta says: "We keep the ground rules, for example, 'don't put washing out on a Sunday' and the gallery is closed.
"We don't have a barbeque in front of the house and drink wine," she says.
"But I wouldn't let myself be told not to have fun on a Sunday going swimming."
Her idea of a fun Sunday swim is a dip in the ocean.
But Jutta says she likes Sundays on Lewis because the Sabbath gives the "freedom" to read, relax and think.
She says: "Even if there are only some people who are still believing in the Sabbath I respect them.
"I accept it because on the other hand there is such a culture of communal support that I think you don't find very often."
But it is not just "incomers" who are glad to see that Lewis has changed.
The island now has Sunday flights, restaurants, pubs and one shop.
Uisdean Macleod says: "There is something about coming from an island that gives you quite a sense of belonging to a place.
"I want to live here but I want to have the same opportunities that are available everywhere else, especially for the kids."
The BBC Scotland programme Last Sunday will be broadcast on BBC Two Scotland at 19:30 on Friday 24 October. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45173968 | The starting pistol has been fired in a race to develop "climate change resistant" wheat with the publication of a map of the crop's genes.
An international team of scientists has identified the location of more than 100,000 wheat genes.
The researchers say the map will accelerate the development of new strains to cope with the increased heat waves expected from climate change.
Professor Cristobal Uauy, who is a project leader in crop genetics at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, described the pinpointing of wheat genes as "a game changer".
"We need to find ways to make sustainable production of wheat in the face of climate change and increasing demand," he told BBC News.
"This is something we've been waiting for for many years. The whole of human civilisation should be very excited with this because for the first time now we'll be able to make the advances that scientists and plant breeders have wanted to do in wheat in a much more targeted manner and so feed the world in the future."
The UN's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) estimates that wheat production needs to be increased by 60% by 2050 to feed the population, which by then will have grown to 9.6 billion. Much of this work is being carried out by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), based near Mexico City. It is an organisation devoted to developing new varieties to boost production for farmers in some of the world's poorest countries.
For decades CIMMYT has been trying to increase yields and stave off new strains of diseases by releasing new varieties created by traditional cross breeding. But the expected increase in heat waves caused by climate change has now made the development of varieties that need less water and tolerate higher temperatures their top priority, according to CIMMYT's head of wheat research, Dr Ravi Singh.
"During the critical few months of the growing period if you have a one degree rise in night temperature you lose 8% of the yield, so climate resilience is one of the major factors in our breeding programmes," he said.
How will the gene map help to feed the world?
Scientists develop thousands of new varieties of wheat each year using traditional cross breeding, where traits are selected for by eye. The process works well but it is painstaking and expensive. It is also a numbers game because each time varieties are crossed it is a lottery as to whether the resulting crop has the correct combination of the desired genes from the parent strains. It can take between 10 and 15 years to develop a new variety and have it in a farmer's field.
Researchers have now identified more than 100,000 genes and their position in the DNA of wheat. They have in effect produced a map which shows and labels all the most important places on the wheat genome.
By knowing where all the genes are, researchers will now be able to discover how they work together to control traits such as drought resistance, increased nutritional value and higher yield. And by using gene editing techniques they can add the traits they need more quickly and precisely.
Do they really need to use gene editing?
Critics of the use of gene editing to boost production argue that there is sufficient food in the world. The problem is that it is not distributed to those that need it. The director of CIMMYT's global wheat programme, Dr Hans Braun, agrees. But he believes that a political solution is much harder than a gene editing one.
"For example in North Africa and West Asia, wheat accounts for between 40% and 50% of all calories. It is absolutely highest priority for national food security for countries in the region to produce enough wheat. They import a lot already and the more the more they import the more they are dependent on other countries," he explained.
Dr Helen Wallace of the campaign group Genewatch UK said that researchers should be careful not to "over-promise".
"In reality, what gene editing can deliver will be limited by the complexity of wheat and its environmental interactions, " she said.
"Altered nutrition, for example, can sometimes make a crop more attractive to pests, or have adverse effects for some people eating it. Strict regulation, traceability and labelling will be key to protecting the environment, health and consumer choice".
How hard was it to come up with the map?
The gene map for wheat is a result of a mammoth effort by two hundred scientists from 73 research organisations in 20 countries. Together they have identified the composition of 21 wheat chromosomes and the precise location of 107,891 genes.
It has 16 billion separate chemical building blocks of DNA - which is more than five times larger than the human genome which was completes nearly 20 years ago.
As if that weren't enough of a challenge, wheat has three separate sub-genomes. This has made it difficult for scientists to distinguish each sub-genome and to put them together in their correct order. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/6224286.stm | Less than a month since the first transatlantic flight between Liverpool and New York took off from John Lennon Airport, the route is being cut back.
FlyGlobespan said there will be fewer flights on the route due to poor passenger numbers and a series of technical problems.
These difficulties have led to cancellations and lengthy delays.
A spokesman from the airport said: "It's frustrating but we are optimistic about the future."
FlyGlobespan said: "Poor passenger numbers are making it impossible to sustain a daily service.
"We are currently working out the best way to implement this change to the service."
It is thought the daily service will be cut to four or five flights a week.
Robin Tudor, from John Lennon Airport, said: "It's very frustrating - the airline are frustrated, we're frustrated.
"Any new service needs a good start and New York is a great destination.
"We're looking forward to the future and hopefully we can move on from here.
"We've still got four flights a week from Liverpool to New York," he added.
"A few years ago we would have leapt at that opportunity. We are still very optimistic." |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23529448 | Two baby girls who were abandoned in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi have been allocated new parents during a live television broadcast, the BBC's Orla Guerin reports.
At just over a month old Fatima has already lived through a lot.
Her life began, and could have ended, on a rubbish dump in the sprawling megacity of Karachi. Instead, Fatima was rescued by a charity and placed in the loving care of a childless couple.
It looks like a happy ending but it came about in the full glare of television cameras. The sleeping infant was one of two abandoned girls handed over during live broadcasts of "Amaan Ramzan", a blend of Islam and entertainment, which runs during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The dapper host Dr Aamir Liaquat Hussain is already famous for giving away cars, motorbikes and household electronics.
Now the controversial showman has added babies to the list, calling it "a noble cause". He insists he is saving abandoned infants, not using them to boost his ratings.
"We were already top of the ratings before we gave away a baby," said Dr Aamir, who describes himself as "truly a legend" on his website.
"These children are not a part of garbage, are not a part of trash, so we took these children from the garbage, from the trash, and delivered them to the needy people, the needy parents."
His show is broadcast from a packed studio, where the audience sits beneath glittering lanterns and a huge chandelier, and fish swim under glass panels in the floor. This is where the sleeping baby Fatima was handed over to her adoptive parents, who embraced her and wept.
Her new father Riaz, a bearded civil engineer, told us Fatima was the answer to his mother's prayers. She died the day before the broadcast.
He and his wife Tanzeem waited 14 long years for a child. He refused to divorce her, as many advised, when she could not produce a child.
"When the baby came into my arms on the show," he said, "it felt like another soul had entered my body, like an angel came. She has brought us so much peace. She means more to me than my own soul."
As he spoke, his wife tenderly cradled Fatima in her lap. "I adopted her," said Tanzeem, who wore a black chador, a full-body robe. "But it doesn't feel like an adoption. It feels as if she is my own child, as if I gave birth to her. She is a gift from God."
Seated alongside her was another chador-clad woman now savouring motherhood - Soraya Bilquis. She and her husband waited even longer - 17 years - before getting a child of their own.
"My life is complete now because of her," she said, gazing down at baby Sayeda Zeinab. "I can't describe how happy I am because someone will grow up and call me mother. She is the light of my home."
Both couples said they saw nothing wrong with being given their daughters on live TV. Tanzeem said she hoped it would encourage others to adopt.
But child welfare advocates fear that other TV shows will copy the baby giveaway. They also worry that the lack of confidentiality could expose the children and their families to teasing and stigma in the future.
"The baby was given away the same way as a gift," said Seema Jamali, assistant director of child welfare for the Sindh provincial government.
"Though it was good to find parents for her, the baby was given like a car, laptop, or motorcycle. It's an insult to the baby and the parents. It should have been done quietly."
It was far from quiet, but it was quick. Both couples were vetted by a private charity, the Chhipa Welfare Association, in less than two weeks. That's a typical time frame here. Checks were carried out on their incomes, medical records, and homes, and there were investigations with the police, and in their communities.
But the babies were handed over in a legal vacuum, with no regulation by the state. Experts say that's how most children are given new homes here. Adoption does not exist under Islamic law, but couples can apply to the courts to become legal guardians of unwanted babies. Few do.
It's time for a proper legal framework, according to Sharjeel Memon, information minister for Sindh. "We want to make this process more transparent," he told us, "and there must be some legislation that people should go through."
But here in Pakistan there has been no public outcry about the fact that babies were given away on a TV show. Many are glad that they have a new start in life.
Their stories could have ended very differently. More than 300 dead babies are found every year in Karachi alone by Pakistan's largest welfare organisation, the Edhi Foundation. In a 10-day period in July they found 23 tiny bodies. Some had been suffocated.
At their spotless and welcoming home, Fatima's parents keep watch over their precious gift. They take turns to kiss her forehead and arrange her blanket.
"I have hardly had more than two hours' sleep a night since she came," said Riaz, smiling broadly. "We hope she will grow up to be a religious scholar, or maybe an engineer like me." As he spoke Fatima yawned, stirred, and clenched a little fist. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7161766.stm | The assassination of Benazir Bhutto is a severe, and potentially crippling, blow to international hopes that Pakistan might emerge into a state of stability.
The risks of Pakistan imploding have once again increased.
It is a further setback for the US "war on terror", which has as part of its strategy in the region the restoration of democracy in Pakistan to offer an alternative path, away from militancy and extremism.
The strategy is very much at risk.
Benazir Bhutto's death came less than two weeks before elections scheduled for 8 January.
Her decision to carry on with campaigning despite a double suicide bomb attack on her convoy immediately after her return to Pakistan on 18 October was undoubtedly brave.
However, it underestimated the determination of those out to kill her.
She herself blamed Islamic extremists for the first attack.
The ability of such militants to wreak havoc with their ruthless tactics is once again demonstrated.
Up to this point, planning for a more stable nation was more or less on target.
President Pervez Musharraf had allowed both Benazir Bhutto and another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif to return, had stepped down as head of the army and had been re-packaged as a civilian president.
He had set a date for parliamentary elections and had lifted the state of emergency.
The hope was that politics would be resumed and that the confrontation between the army and Islamic militants would gradually be wound down.
An end to such conflict is vital not only for the future stability of Pakistan but for the future of Afghanistan. It is from Pakistan that the Taleban are able to conduct their war against the Afghan government and its Nato supporters.
If President Musharraf and the Pakistan army decide that such an approach is no longer possible, they might abandon it and the army might impose military rule, as has happened so often before in Pakistan's national life.
Not that Ms Bhutto was seen as the panacea for Pakistan's woes. When in office she was regarded by some as a domineering and at times a divisive figure.
But she did offer charismatic leadership at this crucial stage and she had the potential to provide Pakistan with the means of changing its ways. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/6739575.stm | Church of England officials will send a letter to Sony demanding an apology over the use of Manchester Cathedral as a backdrop for a violent computer game.
They will ask the technology firm to remove images of the building from the game, and to provide backing to anti-gun campaigns in the city.
A cathedral spokesman said the Church had received many e-mails of support.
Sony said it had "all permissions necessary" to develop the Playstation game, entitled Resistance: Fall of Man.
But Church officials dispute that, and earlier threatened legal action against the firm.
The cathedral's David Marshall said Church leaders would meet on Monday to draft a letter and discuss what other action to take.
Sony to support other groups in Manchester fighting against gun crime.
Community groups and MPs have expressed support for the Church's stance against the game, which has sold more than one million copies so far.
Sony said it would contact the cathedral authorities on Monday "to understand their concerns in more detail". |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20197009 | Media captionComet customer: "It looks like a plague of locusts have been inside [the store] and cleaned the place out"
The administrators of the electrical retailer Comet have suspended the use of gift vouchers at the stores.
The shops have been open as usual over the weekend since administrators were called in on Friday.
The Comet website has returned in a slimmed down form, confirming store locations and answering questions about the administration.
There has been no sign of heavy discounting so far, but the website said a sale would be starting soon.
On the question of gift vouchers, it said: "The administrators are currently considering the position in relation to gift cards and gift vouchers and at this stage they cannot be used to pay for items.
"The administrators are reviewing this position urgently."
Holders of gift vouchers would usually be considered as low priority creditors to a retailer going into administration, and would be unlikely to be able to use their vouchers.
The exception is when a chain is sold to new owners, who might decide to accept them as an act of goodwill to prevent the brand they have bought being tarnished.
The new website explained on its front page that administrators from Deloitte had been appointed.
Its question and answer section said that people who were waiting for items to be delivered that they had paid for would only be receiving those items if they were already in stock at a delivery centre.
"Where the item for an existing order is not currently in stock, this delivery cannot now be made," it said.
High Street retailers: Who has been hit hardest? |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/2477437.stm | Pig farmers in the American state of Missouri have come to an unusual agreement with a university to cover their children's tuition fees.
Instead of paying the fees with cash, they are paying with pork chops.
After struggling to meet the annual fees of $11,000 (�7,000), about half a dozen families have reached an agreement with Lindenwood University to pay with bacon, sausages and other pig meat.
The university wants to expand the scheme to include about 50 families and is in talks with sheep and cattle farmers too.
Farmer Elaine Bruns paid for two years of her daughter Sally's education with 50 pigs.
She told the Los Angeles Times she was pleased to have been able to meet the fees in this way.
"It was a great relief," she said.
The pigs would have fetched just $4,500 at auction she said, although the university would have paid much for them at wholesale prices.
Ms Bruns also said she was pleased her daughter was eating well at university.
"We were proud of that too, you bet," she said.
Lindenwood University believes such deals can make the difference between a student dropping out or continuing their studies.
The university's president, Dennis Spellman, said:"We treat every empty seat in a class as an expense.
"It's almost like the economics of an airline. It costs the same amount to fly the plane whether it's full or empty." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3622129.stm | Norway's once vast oil reserves in the North Sea are dwindling, and the government is facing tough choices when planning for the country's economic future.
Since oil was discovered on the Norwegian continental shelf in 1971, this small nation has been propelled into the world's third largest oil and gas exporter, and petroleum activities contribute 20% of the gross domestic product (GDP).
But now forecasts suggest the country's economic mainstay has started its inevitable decline.
The oil and energy minister, Einar Stensnaes, told BBC News Online it was time to start looking at the alternatives.
"Not only is it essential to look for other energy sources. It is also important to look for other industrial activities to develop alongside the petroleum activity," he said.
Estimates say one third of the total petroleum resources on the Norwegian continental shelf are still unexploited.
The government works on the assumption there are another 50 years left of oil there.
It is not sure, however, that all the resources are exploitable.
Norway's biggest potential finds are no longer in the North Sea, where oil companies are well established and have very good resources and knowledge of how to get the oil and gas to the surface.
"The undeveloped areas in the [far north Arctic] Barents Sea are very promising, but more challenging in many ways," said the director general of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, Gunnar Berge.
His directorate has advised the government that it must expand the search for oil and gas to the Barents Sea, and late last year the government announced it would allow drilling for oil and gas there.
This provoked fierce criticism from environmental organisations which argued the fragile nature of the Arctic would not withstand any potential oil leaks.
Many here say the oil and energy minister has been caught between a rock and a hard place on this question.
"We must secure new acreage, and the most promising areas are in the far north," said Mr Stensnaes.
"But this also coincides with the very important fishing areas in Norway, and the population in this area is heavily dependent on fishing."
Drilling in the Arctic is extremely expensive and difficult because of the often fierce weather conditions.
And there is also a significant political dilemma still to be resolved.
Both Norway and Russia are laying claims to an area of the Barents Sea that is bigger than the North Sea and is thought to contain even more oil and gas.
While Norway's oil production seems to have started its inevitable decline, gas production is on the increase.
Statoil is Norway's largest oil and gas producing company.
Acting chief executive, Erling Oeverland, told BBC News Online the company believes there is enough gas for another 100 years of profitable production.
"In five years time, we will be producing as much gas as oil from the Norwegian continental shelf," he said.
"After that, gas will be bigger than oil."
Norway is already the third largest exporter of gas to the rest of Europe.
The production of oil and gas is not critical to cover the energy needs of Norway itself.
Most of this country's 4,5 million people are largely served by cheap hydro electric energy.
But it is a great worry that the industry most crucial to this country's wealth is terminal.
One company looking into future energy alternatives is Hydro, Norway's second largest oil and gas producer.
"We're presently making a small scale research project a small Norwegian island where we take the wind, transform it into electricity and then transform that electricity into hydrogen," said executive vice president Tore Torvund.
"When there is no wind, we can produce electricity based on hydrogen."
Mr Torvund does not foresee making any profits from alternative energy sources for the next twenty to thirty years.
By then this country's economic mainstay - oil -may well be fast running out.
BBC News Online is taking an in-depth look at the future of oil.
Will it run out? How will we cope?
Stocks won't last for ever - so we'd better start preparing now.
Who benefits from Africa's oil?
Should we worry about oil stocks?
Are you worried about oil prices? |
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29579067 | At least nine people have died in a boat accident in Guinea, with about 30 people still missing, officials and residents say.
The boat capsized near the Forecariah district, in the country's south. Eighteen people on board were rescued.
A local security source told AFP news agency that the boat had collided with a mining ship.
Boat accidents are common off Guinea's coast, with overcrowding and poor safety standards thought to be factors.
One incident in July 2012 killed at least 20 people, while another incident in August 2012 left about 30 dead.
Boats are a common form of transport in the country's coastal areas.
Guinea is among the west African countries currently battling an Ebola outbreak, which has killed over 4,000 people. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-wales-41652219/applicants-with-no-realistic-chance-of-getting-job | Applicants 'no chance of getting' job Jump to media player A recruit firm believes around 10% of applications it sifts through are from unemployment people who have no interest or chance of getting the job.
'Buoyant' jobs market in Cardiff Jump to media player Job centre managers say the market is "buoyant" in Wales despite challenges in some parts of the city.
'High use' of food banks after sanctions Jump to media player An employment mentor says benefits being stopped has meant a "high use" of food bank vouchers.
Trade off is 'low pay or no pay' Jump to media player Professor Kent Matthews from Cardiff Business School said the trade off for low pay is keeping unemployment low.
A recruitment firm believes around 10% of applications it sifts through are from unemployed people who have no interest in or chance of getting the job.
Dan Langford of Acorn Recruitment in Cardiff said there was a cohort of people who may apply for 15 or 20 jobs a day because they have to, as a process to still qualify for benefit.
He told BBC Wales' economics correspondent Sarah Dickins this did not help them, employers or the economy. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12088314 | Memorials to one of Russia's greatest writers, Anton Chekhov, have been unveiled this year in Sri Lanka, marking the 120th anniversary of his brief visit to the island and the 150th anniversary of his birth.
On the initiative of the Russian ambassador, the Galle Face - one of the two famous colonial-era hotels in the capital, Colombo - inaugurated a plaque commemorating the writer. A sculpture of Chekhov was installed in the other hotel, the Grand Oriental.
Documentation on his visit in November 1890 is sketchy but it is known that he sailed into Colombo on a long voyage back from the prison island of Sakhalin in the Russian Far East, having travelled out there overland.
He had been there to study and write about the prisoners' living conditions. Already starting to suffer from the tuberculosis which would later kill him, he called Sakhalin "hell".
He was glad to leave and to make the journey via Hong Kong and Singapore to Sri Lanka, then known by its earlier name Ceylon.
"Then there was Ceylon - the place where Paradise was located. Here, in Paradise, I covered more than 100 miles by railway and was sated up to the neck with palm forests and bronze-skinned women," he wrote.
The new plaque at the Galle Face hotel was made by a Russian sculptor, Gennadi Provotorov, and brought to Sri Lanka by a Russian parliamentary delegation.
As it was unveiled, Russian professor and Chekhov biographer Dmitry Kapustin told me more about the writer's visit to Ceylon.
"He saw tropical nature for the first time," he said. "He met very friendly people. He fell in love with a local woman and wrote [about it] in his letter."
More surprisingly, he brought three mongoose from Ceylon to Russia.
"They lived in his house for several years. And at last he decided to gift them to Moscow Zoo," said Prof Kapustin.
Chekhov spent just three days and two nights in Ceylon. A recently discovered hotel bill shows that he stayed his second night in the hill town of Kandy, the place where he particularly enjoyed local women's company.
His first may have been spent at either of the Colombo hotels; it seems he visited both as he mentioned them in letters.
"It's true we were a British colony, but I think Russian literature has surpassed even English literature," said S Karunatillake, who runs the Russian Literary Circle in Colombo.
"Chekhov's short stories about Ward No. 6 and The Woman with the Dog are very popular in Sri Lanka, they are very close to our hearts."
Some of his works have been translated into Sinhala and Tamil and the renowned Sri Lankan writer, Martin Wickramasinghe, has written about Chekhov's visit to Ceylon.
The island left an indelible mark on Chekhov. Before he left, he started writing a famous story, Gusev, which describes the death of a soldier during a sea voyage.
The story was reputedly much admired by the great Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky.
When Chekhov completed it he inscribed it with the dateline: "Nov 24th, 1890, Colombo". |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1304666.stm | Astronomers have detected regular patterns in the so-called afterglow of creation that they say were caused by sound shock waves shortly after the Cosmos was born.
They provide the most precise measurement yet of several of the key parameters that cosmologists use to describe the Universe.
The new results are from a new, more detailed, analysis of images obtained by the Boomerang (Balloon Observations of Millimetric Extragalactic Radiation and Geophysics) experiment.
Boomerang is an extremely sensitive microwave telescope that was carried by a balloon that circumnavigated the Antarctic in late 1998.
The balloon carried the telescope at an altitude of almost 37,000 metres (120,000 feet) for 10 days. Initial images were published a year ago but since then astronomers have been able to carry out a more detailed analysis.
"The early Universe is full of sound waves compressing and rarefying matter and light, much like sound waves compress and rarefy air inside a flute or trumpet," said Italian team leader Paolo deBernardis.
"For the first time the new data show clearly the harmonics of these waves."
Astronomers believe that the Universe was created about 12-15 billion years ago in an explosion called the Big Bang.
The intense radiation that filled the early Universe is still detectable today as a faint glow of microwave radiation known as the cosmic microwave background (CMB) that comes from all directions in space.
Astronomers believe that whatever structures were present at that time would leave their mark imprinted as very faint brightness variations in the CMB.
Boomerang images reveal hundreds of complex regions visible as tiny variations in the intensity of the CMB.
The new results show the first evidence for a regularity in the angular sizes on which the pattern is most pronounced.
The presence of these so-called harmonic peaks bolsters the theory that the Universe grew from a tiny subatomic region during a period of violent expansion a split second after the Big Bang.
"Just as the difference in harmonic content allows us to distinguish between a flute or trumpet playing the same note, so the details of the harmonic content imprinted in the CMB allow us to understand the detailed nature of the Universe," said Dr Barth Netterfield, of the University of Toronto in Canada.
In their first release of data, in April 2000, the Boomerang team was able to reveal only one harmonic peak.
Now, according to Andrew Lange, of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, they can see more.
"Using a music analogy, last year we could tell what note we were seeing - if it was C sharp or F flat," he said.
"Now, we see not just one, but three of these peaks and can tell not only which note is being played, but also what instrument is playing it - we can begin to hear in detail the music of creation."
The images obtained cover about 3% of the sky. The researchers plan another campaign to the Antarctic in the near future, this time to map even fainter images encoded in the polarisation of the cosmic microwave background.
The scientific payoff of such measurements "promises to be enormous", said John Ruhl, of the University of California at Santa Barbara.
"With today's results we know for sure that the music is there and we can interpret it.
"There is no doubt that by listening carefully, and in new ways, we will learn even more." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7496709.stm | A Tory government would encourage schemes under which people would be paid to recycle, shadow chancellor George Osborne is due to announce.
Mr Osborne will argue that current government policies are unpopular and suggest that "instead of using sticks, we can use carrots" to boost recycling.
Firms in the US have shown how to "make it pay to go green", he will add.
In a speech to pressure group the Green Alliance, he will also say landfill tax rates would not fall under the Tories.
"This will send a powerful signal to businesses and councils that innovative approaches... are possible," he will say.
Environmental campaigners say British recycling rates are low compared with other European countries.
Mr Osborne will tell the Green Alliance that he has found his solution in the US, where, as in the UK, councils pay a tax on every tonne of rubbish they send to landfill.
He is expected to highlight some US companies which offer to cut the landfill tax bill by increasing recycling rates.
These firms use financial incentives to get the public on board - the more people recycle, the more they can earn - and then themselves earn a share of the savings in landfill tax payments to local authorities.
Mr Osborne will say: "Instead of being fined for not recycling, households are actually being paid for their recycling.
"Instead of using sticks, we can use carrots instead. Instead of punitive taxes, we can use financial incentives."
In some communities, such schemes have increased the amount of household waste being recycled by more than 200%, Mr Osborne will add.
"I want to see this innovative approach rolled out across the UK."
He will say the Conservatives are working with the Local Government Association, the Mayor of London's office and Tory local authorities, such as Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, to explore how such schemes might be implemented.
Earlier this year, the government asked councils whether they were interested in running pilot projects which would reward recycling.
In 2004/5, the most recent year for which comparable figures are available across the EU, the UK dumped more household waste into landfill than any other country in the European Union - 22.6m tonnes.
In the same period, France sent around 12m tonnes to landfill, Poland about 8.6m and Germany about 7.3m.
Can our reporter do without it for a month?
Recycling: Where does it go?
How can we waste less food? |
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36983423 | Gunmen have opened fire on a busy market place in India's north-eastern state of Assam, killing at least 13 people, officials say.
Police blamed the attacks on suspected rebels from a faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).
Reports say one suspected rebel was killed in the gun battle with security forces in Kokrajhar district.
The NDFB wants an independent homeland for the Bodo ethnic group to be carved out of Assam.
Assam police chief Mukesh Sahay told the BBC that the attack took place in a market in Balajan, an area just outside the town of Kokrajhar.
"Many civilians sustained injuries when militants opened indiscriminate fire. They also lobbed grenades," he said.
The banned National Democratic Front of Bodoland is one of many such tribally-based factions in India's remote north-east.
The area where the attack happened already enjoys a degree of autonomy.
But the insurgents want Bodoland to be given full statehood.
There have been years of sectarian and ethnic clashes there and hundreds of thousands remain displaced from their homes.
One gunman was killed by the security forces and troops were pursuing five others who had fled. Several homes and shops were damaged in the attack.
In 2014, NDFB rebels killed at least 62 people in Sonitpur and Kokrajhar.
The Bodos now have an autonomous territorial council which one of their parties, the Bodoland People's Front (BPF), controls.
The council offers considerable local autonomy to more than 3,000 villages that are home to Bodo tribesmen.
What lies behind Assam violence? |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-38180077 | Sir Elton John has criticised comments about Aids by a Northern Irish politician.
On Tuesday, the DUP's Trevor Clarke admitted he did not know heterosexual people could contract HIV until a charity explained the facts to him.
Sir Elton was appearing on the Victoria Derbyshire programme on Friday.
She asked him about his charity foundation and a survey that showed many myths about Aids and HIV endure in the UK.
"I'm not surprised," Sir Elton replied. "A Northern Ireland politician said the other day he didn't know that heterosexual people could get Aids, or HIV.
"So, it's like: 'What planet are you living on?'"
Sir Elton did not refer to Mr Clarke by name.
Mr Clarke made the admission in a Northern Ireland Assembly debate calling for a new HIV awareness campaign.
He was later accused of "unconscious homophobia" by Foyle MLA Eamonn McCann.
This was after Mr Clarke claimed an amendment by Mr McCann, stressing the disproportionate impact on gay and bisexual men, added to "stigma" on HIV.
Addressing the assembly, Mr Clarke said: "When I came here in 2007, I would have dismissed the possibility that I would speak about HIV today, because I was one of those who did not understand the stigma attached to it."
The DUP MLA added: "I have to put on record my thanks to Jacquie Richardson from Positive Life. Meeting her for the first time was a turning point for me, having been ignorant of the fact that the disease also affects heterosexual people.
"For that reason, I have no difficulty supporting what the motion calls for," he said. "The work that Positive Life did in changing my opinion - not only my opinion but that of many others - helped to remove the stigma." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5370994.stm | Three Indonesian militants facing execution for the 2002 Bali bombings want to be beheaded rather than killed by firing squad, their lawyer has said.
The three - Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra - are expected to include the request in an appeal to the Supreme Court.
Their lawyer, Muhammad Mahendradatta, said beheading was a more humane form of punishment than firing squad.
Their execution was postponed last month to allow for a final appeal.
"Our clients would seek to have a more humane capital punishment. It should be done in accordance with Islamic law, which is by beheading," Muhammad Mahendradatta told the Associated Press news agency.
He said death by firing squad was inhumane because the men would suffer for at least two minutes before dying, which he called "torture".
However Indonesian law insists capital punishment be carried out by a firing squad.
News of their appeal follows the execution of three Christian militants convicted of masterminding a series of attacks on Muslims in Sulawesi, Indonesia.
The three - Fabianus Tibo, Marianus Riwu and Dominggus da Silva - were shot before dawn on Friday morning, police officers said.
Mr Mahendradatta believed the execution could lead to efforts to speed up the punishment against the Bali bombers.
"We are alert because the strategy now is going after Amrozi and company," he told the Reuters news agency.
The 12 October 2002 nightclub bombings, in Bali's Kuta tourist district, killed 202 people, 88 of whom were Australian.
More than 30 people have been jailed for the attacks, which have been blamed on the South East Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiah.
Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra have been found guilty of major roles and have already confessed.
But in August, Indonesia delayed their executions after lawyers complained legal avenues had not been exhausted. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41834679 | The company behind Hilton Hotels is paying a $700,000 (£525,000) fine after being accused of mishandling two separate credit card data breaches.
The attacks were in 2014 and 2015.
More than 363,000 accounts were put at risk, although it remains unclear whether the perpetrators managed to extract any details.
US government investigators said the firm had taken too long to warn customers and had lacked adequate security measures.
The penalty will be divided between the states of New York and Vermont. Their attorneys general agreed the settlement with the company, which operates properties under the Waldorf Astoria, Conrad Hotels and DoubleTree brands in addition to Hilton.
The first of the two cases was discovered in February 2015, when Hilton learned that one of its UK-based systems was communicating with a suspicious computer outside its network.
Checks revealed that credit-card targeting malware had infected its cash register computers, potentially exposing customers' card details between 18 November and 5 December 2014.
In the second incident, an intrusion detection system alerted Hilton to another problem in July 2015. A subsequent probe revealed that payment card data had again been targeted by malware since April of the same year.
Hilton only notified the public about the breaches in November 2015, which was more than nine months after the first discovery and more than three months after the second.
By this point, there had already been media reports that several banks suspected card details had been stolen from payment systems used in Hilton gift shops and restaurants.
Although the Virginia-headquartered firm still maintains it found no proof that any data had been stolen in either case, the attorney generals noted that the intruders had used anti-forensic tools that had made it impossible to determine exactly what had been done.
As part of the settlement, Hilton has promised to disclose future breaches more quickly and to perform regular security tests, among other enhanced safety efforts.
"Hilton is strongly committed to protecting our customers' payment card information and maintaining the integrity of our systems," the company said in a statement. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27272072 | Three people have been killed and several wounded in two explosions in the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa, police say.
In the deadliest attack, a grenade was reportedly thrown in a bus that had just arrived from Nairobi.
The other blast happened at a bar near a hotel in the Nyali beach area. There are no reports of casualties there.
Kenya has been hit by a spate of attacks blamed by the government on Somali Islamist militants.
The al-Qaeda-linked group al-Shabab has carried out several attacks in Kenya since 2011, when Kenya sent troops into Somalia to battle it.
No-one has yet claimed responsibility for Saturday's blasts.
The first blast is believed to have occurred after a grenade was thrown in a Nairobi-Mombasa bus that had just arrived in the busy Mwembe Tayari transport terminal, killing three people and wounding at least four others.
The second explosion took place at a beach bar near the Nayali Reef Hotel, after a device was left in a plastic bag in the washroom.
It is thought that a third attack was planned for a nearby cinema complex but was unsuccessful.
All three incidents happened within minutes of each other, BBC correspondent Mohamud Ali reports from Nairobi.
Tensions have been rising in Mombasa in recent months, with authorities accusing Islamists of radicalising local youths.
Al-Shabab was blamed for an attack on a church in Mombasa in March that killed six people.
Shortly afterwards, a radical Muslim cleric alleged to have acted as a recruiter for al-Shabab was shot dead near Mombasa, prompting riots in the city.
Kenya has vowed to halt attacks by militant Islamists and arrested some 2,000 people in the capital last month. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8372894.stm | Investment specialist Bill Browder says Russia is "essentially a criminal state"
Russia has now turned into a "criminal state", according to the man who was once its leading foreign investor.
Bill Browder of Hermitage Capital was reacting to the news that his lawyer had died in prison in Russia after being held for a year without charge.
He told the BBC that his lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, had in effect been "held hostage and they killed their hostage."
Through Hermitage Capital, Bill Browder campaigned against corruption at some of Russia's largest companies.
Russian officials say they are investigating Mr Magnitsky's death.
In 2005, Mr Browder was banned from Russia as a threat to national security after allegations that his firms had evaded tax, but Mr Browder says his company was targeted by criminals trying to seize millions of pounds worth of his assets.
Mr Browder says he was punished for being a threat to corrupt politicians and bureaucrats.
Since then, a number of Mr Browder's associates in Russia - as well as lawyers acting for his company - have been detained, beaten or robbed.
Before the accusations of tax evasion were raised, Mr Browder had for many years been one of the most outspoken defenders of the Russian government and its then-president Vladimir Putin.
According to Mr Browder, Sergei Magnitsky developed stomach and pancreas problems in prison which were diagnosed by a prison physician. He says Mr Magnitsky was then moved to a new prison and deprived of medical treatment.
"They basically said to him if you sign the following false confessions then we'll give you medical treatment - otherwise we won't," claims Mr Browder.
Mr Magnitsky apparently wrote numerous complaints to the court, prosecutors and the prison authorities requesting medical treatment. Mr Browder says Mr Magnistky's pleas were first ignored and then denied.
Mr Browder believes that Mr Magnitsky's death is a direct result of the tax evasion allegations against him.
"They're trying to come up with any kind of charges they can against me and they were using him as their tool. He was their hostage and they killed their hostage by denying him medical attention, " he says.
Sergei Magnitsky was one of the lawyers hired by Mr Browder to investigate whether fraud had been committed against his firms.
Mr Browder alleges that when the police raided his office they took away corporate documents which they then used to steal his companies.
"Sergei Magnitsky was one of the lawyers who discovered the whole crime, figured out who was responsible and then testified against the police officers - and after he testified against the police officers, the very same police officers had him arrested on spurious charges."
The circumstances surrounding Mr Magnitsky's death have caused Bill Browder to question his attitude to Russia under Mr Putin.
"When Putin first showed up and said he was going to tame the oligarchs, I was the biggest fan of that particular concept. Then I realised that what he meant by taming the oligarchs was sticking law enforcement people in their place," he says.
"Now, you have a bunch of law enforcement people who are essentially organised criminals with unlimited power to ruin lives, take property and do whatever they like and that's far worse than I have ever seen in Russia before. Russia is essentially a criminal state now."
Mr Browder says he is going to do all he can to get justice for Sergei Magnitsky.
"We're not going to let it rest until the people responsible for the death face justice," he said.
Responding to Mr Magnitsky's death, Russian Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov said he needed more evidence that the prisoner did not receive adequate medical care.
"I would be grateful to human rights activists for providing specific information. In every case where there are doubts that assistance was timely and of good quality, there has to be a probe".
The investigative committee for the Prosecutor's office said they were conducting a full investigation into the death.
"As of now, we don't see a justification for starting a criminal case," said Moscow Investigative Committee chief, Anatoly Bagmet. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-47882998/derek-owusu-there-are-always-empty-seats-beside-me | 'There are always empty seats beside me' Jump to media player Writer Derek Owusu says his commute on public transport reveals the everyday racist actions black men in particular are subjected to in the UK.
'I've had enough... It's making me angry' Jump to media player Belgian weather presenter Cécile Djunga goes public with the racist insults she has received.
Can VR make you less racist? Jump to media player Researchers are studying whether controlling a virtual reality body can affect real life behaviour.
Writer Derek Owusu tells Nihal Arthanayake his commute on public transport reveals the everyday racist actions black men in particular are subjected to in the UK. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-22798391 | Territorial control in Syria has changed many times since the country's uprising began more than four years ago, with long periods of attrition characterising the conflict.
However, there are now signs the battlefield is transforming, with extremist and Islamist groups establishing a momentum of their own and the forces of Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, under mounting pressure on severalsl fronts.
Homs, Syria's third largest city, has been the scene of heavy fighting. It was dubbed the 'capital of the revolution' after residents embraced the call to overthrow the president in early 2011 and much of the city fell under the control of the opposition. However, government forces gradually took back areas held by rebels and in May 2014, the city was fully regained by regime troops. Fighting continues to the east of the city between the government, IS and other opposition forces.
The Syrian capital and its outskirts remain a key strategic area of control. While the regime has succeeded in using sieges and intensive air strike campaigns to negotiate truces with various armed groups in and around the city, fighting continues between government forces and opposition fighters. Government forces have reportedly begun fortifying approaches to Damascus and Latakia in the north west in order to protect their core territory.
Fighting broke out in Syria’s largest city in July 2012 with rebels taking control of a number of districts. However their offensive stalled and the battle became a war of attrition. The city continues to be a key battleground between Syrian government forces, rebels and jihadists. Fighting and government air strikes have left thousands dead, and destroyed more than 60% of the Old City, a Unesco World Heritage site.
Kobane, a town populated by Kurds on the border with Turkey, has been one of the most high-profile battlegrounds of the conflict. The border town was besieged by militants from the Islamic State group (IS) in 2014. But, after months of fighting, Kurdish militia, backed by US-led air strikes, took back control of the town in January 2015. Since then, IS have launched a series of counter-attacks along the Turkish border, including against Kurds in Kobane.
Map sources: areas of control and border crossings from the Syria Needs Analysis Project. The organisation's primary source is a database of conflict incidents as recorded by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. All other geographical detail from humanitarian organisations and Google.
In recent months, Islamic State (IS) - the extremist group that grew out of al-Qaeda in Iraq - has made significant gains in the country's central corridor. At the same time, other Islamist rebel groups - including the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front - have contributed to other advances, such as the seizure of the provincial capital of Idlib in north-western Syria.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) predicts this renewed rebel strength will likely lead to additional upheavals across Syria's previously stalemated battle lines in the future.
Elsewhere, primarily moderate Syrian rebels have made gains in the southern cities of Deraa and Quneitra, where groups have remained relatively united. In June, they seized the Syrian government's largest military base in Deraa, though this is far from the rebels' stated goal of reaching rural Damascus.
To the north, Kurdish forces have been battling a series of deadly IS counter-attacks. The jihadist group had, until then, suffered a series of defeats in areas along the Turkish border since being forced to withdraw from the town of Kobane in January.
Most recently, the Kurdish Popular Protection Units (YPG) - supported by rebels and US-led coalition airstrikes - recaptured the border town of Tal Abyad, to the east of Kobane, in June.
For the Syrian government, battling this fractured opposition has taken its toll, according to the ISW. The regime is facing a manpower shortage and has attempted to counteract it with conscription campaigns and an increased use of Iranian-sponsored paramilitary forces, it says.
Over the coming months, the ISW predicts that jihadist groups, such as IS and al-Nusra Front, will gain in influence and power, while Iran - the Syrian government's strategic ally - and Saudi Arabia - a backer of rebel forces - will escalate their involvement in Syria.
The conflict has its roots in protests that erupted in Deraa city in March 2011 after the arrest and torture of some teenagers who painted revolutionary slogans on a school wall.
Opposition supporters - angered by the government's use of lethal force to crush pro-democracy demonstrations - first began to take up arms to defend themselves and later to expel security forces from their local areas.
As the country descended into civil war, armed rebel brigades battled government forces for control of cities, towns and swathes of countryside.
During 2012, rebel forces enjoyed a series of tactical successes, taking control of several outlying suburbs and towns around Damascus, and ousting troops from large parts of the second city of Aleppo.
However, the advances were not decisive. By the start of 2013, the government began to recapture opposition strongholds around the capital, while there was stalemate in Aleppo, with the city divided into rebel and loyalist-controlled sectors.
Then, in June 2013, government troops backed by fighters from the Lebanese Shia Islamist movement, Hezbollah, recaptured a number of rebel strongholds.
Rebel forces have been affected by deep divisions among groups. Secular moderates are now outnumbered by Islamists and jihadists linked to al-Qaeda, whose brutal tactics have caused widespread concern and triggered rebel infighting.
The escalating violence and IS advances have had a significant humanitarian impact on Syria and its neighbours.
Syria is now the world's biggest internal displacement crisis, with more than seven million people forced from their homes but remaining in the country.
Meanwhile, more than 4 million people have fled the country's borders, mainly taking refuge in surrounding countries.
Turkey and Lebanon have each taken in more than one million Syrians, while Jordan, Iraq and Egypt have become home to hundreds of thousands more. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19547898 | Only one gun was used in the attack on a British man shot dead with his wife, mother-in-law and a cyclist in the French Alps, police in France say.
Officials told reporters in Annecy that ballistics tests found 25 spent cartridges left at the scene came from a 7.65mm calibre semi-automatic pistol.
Bomb disposal experts were called to Saad al-Hilli's Surrey home to examine items, but say they were not hazardous.
French police have spoken briefly to his eldest daughter, Zainab.
But officers are still waiting to question the seven-year-old, who was shot in the shoulder and hit around the head. She was brought out of a coma on Sunday.
Her four-year-old sister, Zeena, has returned to the UK and is under the care of the authorities and social services.
She lay undiscovered for eight hours after her parents, her grandmother, and a local cyclist, 45-year-old Sylvain Mollier, died in Wednesday's attack in Chevaline, close to the tourist destination of Lake Annecy.
French investigators, assisted by British officers including Surrey Police firearms officers, started examining the Claygate home of Mr al-Hilli, 50, on Saturday as part of an attempt to establish a motive for the murders which took place during the family's camping holiday.
Officers from the Royal Logistics Corps bomb disposal unit arrived at the family home after concerns were raised by Surrey Police.
They spent about two hours at the property before leaving shortly after midday.
Surrey Police said: "The items were found... when the search of the property was extended from the main building to outbuildings in the garden. A bomb disposal unit was called to the scene to carry out an assessment as a precautionary measure."
In the afternoon, the force said its officers were using power tools to access a safe at the address.
Earlier, French police confirmed that Mr al-Hilli's 74-year old mother-in-law was among the victims, but did not name her.
The revelation that a single gun was used in the shootings comes after the number of cartridges recovered by detectives led to speculation that there was more than one gunman. But police have not formally revealed how many assailants they believe could have been involved at the scene.
Meanwhile, a gun expert quoted by the AFP news agency, Yves Gollety, president of France's Chamber of Gunsmiths, said the 7.65mm calibre can be found in a range of "relatively old, even outdated" pistols.
In France, police have recovered a laptop computer from the caravan in which the family was staying and are studying more video footage from around the crime site.
Police have also returned to the scene and widened their area of investigation as they probe the getaway route taken. They have also asked their Italian and Swiss counterparts to help in the hunt for the killers.
Mr al-Hilli's wife, Iqbal, and her 74-year-old mother who held a Swedish passport, were killed. The body of the fourth victim was found near the car.
On Saturday, French prosecutor Eric Maillaud said post-mortem examinations found the victims were killed by several bullets and "all four were hit twice in the head".
Image caption Saad al-Hilli and his family arrive at the Solitaire du Lac camp site on Monday. Close to the shores of Lac Annecy, in the Haute Savoie region of France, the area is popular with British tourists. They pitch their tents next to their caravan, shown above.
Image caption A former RAF serviceman who was on holiday in the area, is cycling on this forest road where he is passed by another cyclist, Frenchman Sylvain Mollier. Just south of the village of Chevaline, the road winds up a steep hill through a thickly forested area.
Image caption Minutes later, the British cyclist comes across Mr al-Hilli's BMW in this lay-by, its engine running. There he discovers the French cyclist with a fatal bullet wound to the head and seven-year-old Zainab al-Hilli who had been badly beaten and had a gunshot wound to the shoulder.
Image caption He puts Zainab in the recovery position, calls for assistance and breaks the driver's window to reach in and turn off the car's engine. Inside the vehicle, Saad al-Hilli is slumped over the steering wheel. In the back are his dead wife and mother-in-law. Three of the four victims were shot in the middle of the head.
Image caption Also inside the car is Zainab's four-year-old sister Zeena, who is hiding in the back of the car under the legs of the dead women. French police on the scene are told not to disturb the crime scene and do not open the doors for fear of shattering the glass which has bullet holes in it.
Image caption Eight hours later, police re-examine the car and pull Zeena, "terrorised and motionless", from the car. The search was made after investigators spoke to neighbours at the campsite who said there were two children. An earlier search using a thermal camera on a helicopter had not detected the child.
A couple of days after the killings, French police said that a possible dispute over money between Mr al-Hilli and his brother, Zaid, was one of the lines of inquiry in the investigation.
This was based on credible information coming from the British police, they said.
But Mr Maillaud has since said that Zaid al-Hilli, who denied to UK police there was any dispute over "financial matters", would be interviewed "as a witness" by French officers "just like any other family member".
"Everyone talks about a dispute between the brothers as if it was an established fact. The brother says there was no dispute so let us remain cautious about that," he said.
Flowers have been left at the scene of the shooting in France, while floral tributes from neighbours have been placed at the al-Hilli home in recent days.
France shootings: How can a child aged four handle trauma?
French shootings: What happens in the aftermath of murder? |
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34997874 | A hippopotamus has killed three adults and critically injured a child in South Africa, a private emergency response service says.
The incident happened late on Wednesday night in a town close to the border-crossing with Zimbabwe.
ER24 says that when its paramedics arrived at the scene they found the adults had "sustained fatal injuries".
The child was taken to the local hospital and is reported to be recovering.
The child was discovered on Thursday morning after its cries for help were heard, and that is when the medics were called, ER24 said.
The exact circumstances of the attack are being investigated, but it is thought that a wild hippopotamus may have come from the nearby Limpopo River, ER24's Pieter Rossouw told Eyewitness News.
Mature hippopotamuses can weigh up to 3,200kg (7,000lbs) and are known for their aggression, says the BBC's Earth website.
It adds that they have been named the most dangerous animals in Africa, allegedly responsible for more human deaths than lions. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/cornwall/4523794.stm | The overnight sleeper train between Penzance and London is to continue, the operator of the new Greater Western rail franchise has announced.
FirstGroup also said it was increasing the number of through services operating between London and Cornwall.
Nine trains will go run daily, compared with the current seven.
The service had been under threat because it was running at a loss and needed a Department of Transport (DfT) subsidy of £5m every year.
The DfT announced on Tuesday morning that FirstGroup was to run the new franchise from April 2006.
The sleeper announcement comes after MPs and businesses in Devon and Cornwall campaigned for it to be retained saying it was economically vital to maintain a daily rail link between the counties and the capital.
The company said: "We are delighted that the sleeper service between Paddington and Penzance is safe-guarded.
"This shows a tangible commitment to the regional economy in the west of England."
The company said it would invest £200m in services serving Paddington and the West Country, and that it was to invest in refurbishment works at stations including Plymouth, Tiverton and Exeter St David's.
It is also planning revisions of main line timetables in Cornwall to provide a better spread of services in addition to a revision of times on Looe, Falmouth and Newquay branch lines to create better connections with trains on the main line.
The company is also to put on an additional morning service from Torbay to London, returning in the evening, and an additional early morning service between Exeter and Cardiff.
The group also promises it will improve customer information systems, install more CCTV cameras, create more parking spacers for passengers and introduce automatic ticket gates.
It added that timetables would be reviewed on an annual basis.
The South West Public Transport Users' Forum (SWPTUF) welcomed the new of the FirstGroup getting the Greater Western franchise.
SWPTUF said the announcement should remove the last obstacle to getting much needed new investment in to the region's railway network.
Forum Chairman Chris Irwin said: "Passengers want a railway that is both reliable and affordable. FirstGroup has the muscle to ensure the first."
But he added: "We need reassuring that it still has the will to deliver affordable fares." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6551245.stm | Australia should refuse to allow migrants or refugees with HIV to enter the country, Prime Minister John Howard has said.
Mr Howard said there may be special cases when an exemption could be considered but as a rule HIV-positive people should be denied entry.
Mr Howard was asked about the issue during a visit to Victoria state, which has seen a sharp rise in HIV cases.
Any ban for migrants with HIV/Aids would need a change in the federal law.
Mr Howard, on a visit to Melbourne, told a local radio station he wanted to seek more advice on the issue, but said his gut feeling was that HIV sufferers should not be allowed in to the country.
"My initial reaction is no," he said. "There may be some humanitarian considerations that could temper that in certain cases, but, prime facie - no."
Victoria's public health officials have blamed the rise in HIV cases partly on overseas immigrants, but also on Australian residents relocating from other parts of the country.
Mr Howard, who has been in power for 11 years, is known for his tough stance on immigration.
He likened his proposed ban to the ban already imposed on people suffering from tuberculosis.
"I think we should have the most stringent possible conditions in relation to that nationwide, and I know the health minister is concerned about that and is examining ways of tightening things up," he said.
Solicitor David Puls of the New South Wales HIV/Aids Legal Centre said the law allowed immigrants to be denied access where there are public safety concerns.
"The Medical Officer of the Commonwealth does not consider HIV to be a public safety concern," he was quoted by the Australian newspaper as saying.
He added that HIV should not be compared with tuberculosis as the latter is airborne and contagious, while HIV is transmissible but not contagious.
Australia has been alarmed by the country's rise in HIV cases. Infection rates rose by 41% between 2000 and 2005.
There is particular concern about the rapid spread of HIV and Aids in neighbouring Pacific countries, such as Papua New Guinea. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-40944537 | Zimbabwean First Lady Grace Mugabe has returned home from South Africa after failing to turn herself in to police in Johannesburg to face accusations of assault, officials say.
Police in South Africa had said they had expected her to present herself for questioning.
A 20-year-old South African woman has accused Mrs Mugabe of hitting her over the head with an extension cord during a row at a hotel on Sunday evening.
Mrs Mugabe has so far not commented.
Zimbabwean government sources confirmed that Mrs Mugabe, wife of President Robert Mugabe, had returned home.
"Yes, she is back in the country. We don't know where this issue of assault charges is coming from," said one senior official quoted by Reuters.
Earlier, South African police said they had been negotiating with Mrs Mugabe's lawyers to get her to hand herself in.
Zimbabwe's main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said Mrs Mugabe was a "total disgrace and a complete national embarrassment".
"She has to be brought to order and indeed she has to appreciate that she is not a law unto herself," it added in a statement.
Confusion surrounded the case with South Africa's Police Minister Fikile Mbalula saying at one point that Mrs Mugabe had handed herself over to police and would appear in court.
She did not appear and police sources later said she had agreed to turn herself in but failed to do so.
Gabriella Engels, a model, accused Mrs Mugabe, 52, of hitting her after finding her with the first lady's two sons, Robert and Chatunga, in a hotel room in Sandton, a wealthy suburb north of Johannesburg.
Ms Engels released an image of a head injury online.
"When Grace entered I had no idea who she was," she told South African broadcaster News24.
"She walked in with an extension cord and just started beating me with it. She flipped and just kept beating me with the plug. Over and over. I had no idea what was going on. I was surprised. I needed to crawl out of the room before I could run away.
"There was blood everywhere," she added. "Over my arms, in my hair, everywhere."
She registered a "case of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm", police said.
Birth of a Mugabe dynasty in Zimbabwe? |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-12962661 | A man given a criminal record and a £500 fine for failing to respond to a jury summons sent to the wrong address has been cleared by an appeal judge.
Stephen Knight, 56, was found in criminal contempt of court when he failed to turn up for jury duty at Northampton Crown Court last year.
The Court of Appeal heard he was unaware because his summons was sent to his previous address.
Lord Justice Moses said Mr Knight should be refunded.
He criticised the responsible authorities for their mistakes, which have cost taxpayers at least £5,500 through Mr Knight's legal costs.
"Mr Knight is owed an apology from all of us involved in the criminal justice process," the appeal judge said.
"Jury service is, if not the most important public service that ordinary citizens can fulfil, certainly one of them.
"It was undermined by the course of conduct in this case."
Mr Knight informed the authorities when he moved in October 2008, but the information was not "properly recorded", the court heard.
In May 2010, he was summoned to attend for jury service in July, but because he did not know, failed to attend.
A month later he was found in criminal contempt and fined £500, again without knowing anything of it.
The issue only came to light when one of Mr Knight's tenants at his previous address mistakenly opened a letter about details of the fine.
"Mr Knight is only guilty of a criminal contempt if he had been duly summoned under the Juries Act. He was never duly summoned," said Lord Justice Moses, who heard the appeal with Mr Justice Maddison and Mrs Justice Nicola Davies.
The Court Service and Jury Summoning Bureau should also "seriously consider" whether he should get financial compensation for the ordeal, he added. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/health-22536768/archbishop-s-daughter-speaks-out-about-depression | Archbishop's daughter on depression Jump to media player Katharine Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury's daughter, has spoken to the BBC about the depression she has suffered since her teens.
GPs to 'prescribe' self-help books Jump to media player Patients with mental health problems could be prescribed self-help books, as part of their treatment under a new scheme.
Austerity 'has led to suicides' Jump to media player A group of researchers from Oxford University claims that austerity measures in Europe and North America are having a devastating effect on health, including increased levels of suicide and depression.
Call to screen carers for depression Jump to media player Carers should be routinely screened for signs of depression by their GP to ensure their health needs are not neglected, according to the The Royal College of General Practitioners.
Katharine Welby, the daughter of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has spoken out about the depression she has suffered since she was a teenager.
Depression affects one in five adults and costs the economy millions of pounds a year in lost working hours, but it is still something of a taboo subject.
Katharine, 26, spoke with BBC Breakfast's Graham Satchell about her experience. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-21282821/stafford-hospital-nurse-says-hospital-failed-to-listen | Stafford nurse describes failings Jump to media player 'Whistleblower' nurse Helene Donnelly believes Stafford Hospital's major failing was not listening to patient care concerns.
NHS cover-ups 'should be a crime' Jump to media player NHS staff should face prosecution if they are not open and honest about mistakes, according to a public inquiry into failings at Stafford Hospital.
Patients 'drank flower water' Jump to media player Julie Bailey explains how the 'appalling' care her mother received at Stafford Hospital gave her the impetus to take action.
'I feel shame over Stafford hospital' Jump to media player As the public inquiry into the failings at Stafford Hospital is published, the NHS Confederation says the health service needs to show events such are not repeated.
Casualty nurse Helene Donnelly explains why she was spurred on to blow the whistle about Stafford Hospital and its poor patient care standards.
She told the BBC she saw patients dying in "very undignified situations that could have been avoided".
Ms Donnelly recalls how she attempted to bring her concerns to the attention of hospital managers during her six years working in A&E.
The 'whistleblower' nurse believes that one of the hospital's main failings was that patient care complaints "did not get listened to or acted upon".
The hospital's new chief executive Lynn Hill-Tout says the quality of care has improved: "I think the care is very much better than it was two or three years ago... We don't get it right every time. But I think that the standards have dramatically improved."
The Hospital That Didn't Care is broadcast on Wednesday, 6 February on BBC One at 22:35 GMT in the West Midlands and nationwide on the iPlayer for seven days thereafter. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-13265118 | QE2 enthusiast Rob Lightbody has filmed inside the former Cunard liner which has been moored at a dockside in Dubai since leaving its former home port of Southampton.
It is thought to be the first footage shot inside the famous liner since 2008 when United Arab Emirates real estate developer Nakheel bought the ship for $100m.
Following the global economic downturn, the plans to convert the ship into a floating 200-room luxury hotel and entertainment centre off Dubai's manmade islands came to nothing.
A captain and a skeleton crew of 38 remain onboard to paint and maintain the ship. It is thought unlikely the former Cunard flagship - which carried almost 2.5 million passengers and completed over 800 Atlantic crossings - could now sail under its own power.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4917516.stm | Conservative leader David Cameron promised a "green revolution" as he launched the final phase of his local election campaign.
Mr Cameron urged people to "vote blue, go green" in the lead up to the 4 May council polls.
Conservative councillors would work for cross-party consensus to preserve the environment, he said.
Labour accused Mr Cameron of offering "warm words" and the Liberal Democrats said he was "posturing".
Mr Cameron began the day delivering recycling boxes in Essex as he tried to underline his green credentials.
As he launched the new phase of the campaign, he said: "We have to think global, act local.
"Solutions to big global problems are often found at the local level. Local government is in the frontline of the fight for a better quality of life."
The challenge applied not only to the recycling or cutting greenhouse gas emissions but also to cleaning up litter, tackling noise pollution and making parks "beautiful", he said.
Mr Cameron said he wanted to see what he called "green growth" - a combination of economic growth and a sustainable environment.
"Some of the green lobby and a lot of the media tend to look at the environment and climate change as, look you've got a binary choice, you can either have economic growth or you can have a sustainable environment, and the truth is we've got to have both.
"We've got to have green growth."
The Tories say their councils have the highest average of recycling and composting rates, the cleanest streets and the safest environments, and lower council tax rates than Labour or the Lib Dems.
The party leader has attempted to strengthen his commitment to the green agenda by revealing plans to install an energy-generating wind turbine for his home in London.
Later this week he will travel to the Arctic Circle to see the impact of global warming, including a glacier which has lost almost half its mass in the past century.
But Labour seized on his "vote blue, go green message" to reinforce their campaign to compare Mr Cameron to a chameleon.
Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett said: "Today, we have another David Cameron flip-flop.
"Last year, David Cameron voted against the Cleaner Neighbourhoods and Environment Act during its passage through Parliament.
"Now he says 'cleaning up litter, fighting noise pollution and making parks and public spaces beautiful are all on our agenda'."
Mrs Beckett said Labour had made the environment a top political priority and given councils new powers to take action.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell joined the attack on the Tories.
"Global posturing is no substitute for local action," he said.
"The Liberal Democrats remain the only party seriously committed to tackling climate change."
Will BNP election gains last? |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14897358 | Afghan and international security forces have been battling a multi-pronged attack by insurgents targeting the US embassy, Nato headquarters and police buildings in Kabul.
Police are still exchanging fire with at least one gunman holed up in an unfinished high-rise building overlooking the diplomatic quarter.
Six people have been killed and 16 injured, Kabul's police chief said.
The Taliban said they were behind the violence.
At least one attacker remains on one of the upper floors of the building, says the BBC's Quentin Sommerville, in Kabul.
Afghan intelligence officials are already going through the lower floors, gathering evidence about the way the attack was planned and carried out.
Two of them told the BBC they found rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), heavy machine guns and hand grenades, as well as biscuits and energy drinks.
"They had planned a long battle," one official said.
Counter-terrorism officials said they recovered three mobile phone Sim cards from the bodies of attackers killed earlier in the day. The records showed the numbers had been used for calls to and from Pakistan, they told the BBC.
The insurgents were wearing burkas and travelling in a minivan, said Kabul's police chief.
"We don't have female police officers to search females," General Ayub admitted.
We've been hearing from a number of Isaf commanders that the Taliban are now on the back foot. That's true, in the sense that in the south, they have made progress in pushing back the Taliban.
But this isn't just a battle with the Taliban. This is a counter-insurgency war; it's about winning the confidence of the Afghan people. And I can tell you, the Afghan people - despite the fact that the number of attacks in Kabul is falling - when this kind of thing happens, it rattles them.
Afghan security forces have been in charge of security in Kabul for more than a year, but today they needed help - substantial help - from the international forces.
The international mission here would argue that of course they are not ready yet; we've got until the end of 2014 until foreign combat troops go. But the message we keep getting from Isaf is that this doesn't derail the handing over of security responsibility to Afghan forces. And you have to ask yourself at some point: what would? What would be so bad that it could do that?
Nato and the US embassy said none of their staff were casualties of the attack. A US embassy spokeswoman said four Afghans were hurt, but none of them had life-threatening injuries.
"We appreciate the response of the Afghan National Security Forces whose operations stopped the attack on the embassy compound," the embassy said in a statement.
Gen Ayub said the insurgents wanted to carry out attacks in Kabul to coincide with the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Although the Taliban said they carried out the attack, Gen Ayub put the blame on the Haqqani network, an insurgent group linked to the Taliban but which operates independently.
Nato said the attack was an attempt to derail the security handover to Afghan-led forces, as international troops begin to withdraw from Afghanistan.
Tuesday's attacks appear to be a complex operation. At about 13:30 local time (09:00 GMT), insurgents fired rockets on a number of targets in Kabul's upmarket embassy district.
In the west of the city, another two suicide attackers detonated explosives outside a police station.
A third was killed as he tried to make it into the airport. A jail run by the intelligence service was also a target.
At least six gunmen took over an unfinished high-rise building near the Abdul Haq roundabout, overlooking the embassy district, and used it to fire on the Nato compound and US embassy.
A Taliban spokesman said the group was carrying out "a massive suicide attack on local and foreign intelligence facilities".
US marines were seen on the roof of the embassy building assessing the situation and checking their defences were robust, correspondents say. Military helicopters, including Black Hawks, flew over the area.
Nato's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen condemned the violence, describing it as an attempt to test the handover of Afghanistan's security to Afghan-led forces, an effort that would not succeed.
"We have confidence in the Afghan authorities' ability to deal with this situation," said Mr Rasmussen in Brussels. "Transition is on track and it will continue."
A trader in the embassy district told the BBC his office was hit by an RPG.
"I saw my cook die and several other people injured. The rocket came like a bullet. I didn't even have time to move an inch," he told the BBC.
Another witness, a Briton who asked to be identified only as Mike, was working nearby at the time.
"About 13:10 local time [08:40 GMT] there were some... shots fired," he said. "You think, 'Okay, it's Kabul'.
"Five minutes later, there was more coming from slightly different directions. Gunfire got heavier: until I could get out, it was about three hours.
"At times, there were heavy machine guns."
Everyone in his office got out safely, he said.
One rocket hit a school bus but it was apparently empty at the time.
Another eyewitness, Himanshu Sharma, told the BBC: "I thought it would be over in a few minutes, but then one hour and then two hours and then three hours passed - it was just not stopping.
"The gunshots were increasing, and their intensity was increasing. They were using more deadly weapons."
He went on: "There is no security at all in Kabul. This is the safest area, and if we are not safe here, then we are not safe anywhere in Afghanistan. "
Iranian Press TV said its office in Kabul had been attacked and one person was injured.
As well as housing the US and other foreign missions, the area is home to a number of government ministry buildings and the presidential palace.
This year has seen the most bloodshed in Afghanistan since US-led forces toppled the Taliban in 2001.
The violence has intensified since July, when Nato began the long process of handing power over to Afghan forces. Most international troops are scheduled to leave by 2015, provided Afghan forces are ready to take over security. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6615387.stm | Under surveillance: Picture from 2004, more than a year before London bombings.
Tony Blair has again rejected calls for a fresh inquiry into the 7/7 attacks, saying it would undermine the security services.
The prime minister repeatedly dismissed Tory leader David Cameron's demands for a "proper independent inquiry".
He also told MPs at Commons question time that it would divert resources from the fight against terrorism.
Survivors of the 2005 attack renewed their calls for an inquiry on Monday after the fertiliser bomb plot trial.
It emerged at the end of the year-long court case that MI5 had watched and followed two of the 7 July bombers, Mohammad Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer, a year before the attacks as part of their surveillance of the fertiliser bomb plotters.
Calls for a fresh inquiry into the 7/7 attacks grew after it emerged that MPs and peers on the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) were not shown photographs linking Khan to known militants.
Security sources say MI5 said it did not reveal the images to the parliamentary committee because they were taken by police officers not MI5 operatives.
Mr Blair has asked the ISC to consider why the 7 July bombers were not picked up.
BBC home affairs correspondent Daniel Sandford said survivors and relatives of the dead had pinned their hopes for news of a public inquiry on the end of the fertiliser trial.
This was the moment the links with the 7 July bombers could be revealed.
Their hopes had been dashed by Mr Blair, our correspondent added.
He said that, if Mr Blair's successor did not take a different view, they would take the government to court in an attempt to find out how 52 people could be killed by two men who had been observed meeting with terrorists on several occasions.
In the Commons, Mr Cameron dismissed the ISC inquiry, saying a full independent inquiry was needed because the committee had limited powers of investigation.
He said people wanted such an inquiry because of "the scale" of what happened in London on July 7 when 52 people were killed.
"The reason people want a full inquiry is to get to the truth," said Mr Cameron.
But Mr Blair said that although the ISC's first inquiry received the "vast bulk" of the information and went into "immense detail", it had to be "cryptic" because the fertiliser bomb trial had not been concluded.
The prime minister said the new ISC inquiry was "perfectly entitled to call for anything else" it needed.
He told MPs: "I don't think it would be responsible for us...to have a full, independent, further inquiry, which would simply have the security service and the police and others diverted from the task of fighting terrorism."
The committee is expected to examine claims that West Yorkshire Police special branch was not told about the MI5 surveillance operation.
However, ISC chairman Paul Murphy MP had previously indicated that police were informed.
Some of those affected by the 2005 attacks delivered a letter to the Home Office on Tuesday requesting an "impartial public inquiry".
They said the government's latest comments reinforced their belief that the ISC was not the appropriate body to conduct an inquiry.
Jacqui Putnam, who survived the Edgware Road bomb, said: "I am left wondering what else MI5 failed to tell the ISC...the committee cannot possibly carry out an effective, independent or impartial 're-inquiry' - it now has a position to defend."
Janine Mitchell, whose husband Paul was seriously injured in the attacks, added: "We have already had an ISC inquiry and it produced a report containing inaccurate and misleading information, based on evidence which was incomplete and as a consequence both the inquiry and its report were fundamentally flawed."
By June 2004 MI5 had part of Khan's name on file twice, a family address and various pictures of him.
The ISC committee investigating 7/7 only ever saw one MI5 photograph of Khan. It did not see other photographs obtained by the BBC. A senior Whitehall source has told the BBC that the committee were aware other pictures existed and could have seen them if they had been requested.
On Monday, five men were given life sentences for a foiled plot to build a huge fertiliser bomb for a UK attack. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-34572462 | What if you're a scientist looking for the latest published research on a particular subject, but you can't afford to pay for it?
In many countries, it's against the law to download copyrighted material without paying for it - whether it's a music track, a movie, or an academic paper. Published research is protected by the same laws, and access is generally restricted to scientists - or institutions - who subscribe to journals.
But some scientists argue that their need to access the latest knowledge justifies flouting the law, and they're using a Twitter hashtag to help pirate scientific papers.
Andrea Kuszewski, a cognitive scientist and science writer, invented the tag, which uses a code phrase: "I can haz PDF" - a play on words combining a popular geeky phrase used widely online in a meme involving cat pictures, and a common online file format.
"Basically you tweet out a link to the paper that you need, with the hashtag and then your email address," she told BBC Trending radio. "And someone will respond to your email and send it to you." Who might that "someone" be? Kuszewski says scientists who have access to journals, through subscriptions or the institutions they work at, look out for the tag so they can help out colleagues in need.
Once contact is made, all subsequent conversation is kept off of social media - instead, scientists correspond via email. The original tweet is deleted, so there's no public record of the paper changing hands. Kuszewski and others say the method is necessary to get up-to-date research in the hands of academics from developing countries, and her and other scientists say they consider the pirating "civil disobedience" against a system that includes for-profit publishing companies.
But of course publishers are opposed to free swapping of the papers they publish, and they are usually backed up by the law. Pirating journal articles violates most publishers' terms of service, and is illegal in many jurisdictions. They also argue that it is morally wrong - because by managing the publication and dissemination of scientific research, they are performing a vital function that needs to be paid for.
These arguments don't deter Kuszewski, who thinks her hashtag will lead to a change in the way papers are published and accessed. "If we keep finding workarounds to get research to people for free and enough people are doing it, and it causes enough of a ruckus, eventually something will happen to change it," she says.
The pirating of academic papers goes beyond the hashtag, however, and sites have been set up where papers can be downloaded for free, often illegally. Elsevier, the Dutch company which publishes The Lancet and many other medical and scientific journals, is suing one such pirate site, Sci-Hub, under US law.
Sci-Hub was founded by a Kazakh humanities researcher, Alexandra Elbakya, and has tens of thousands of daily users, many from places like Russia and India. She says she's not concerned about the US case, and denied that swapping academic papers is tantamount to stealing.
"I don't think it can be equated very easily to theft. Theft is when you take something and the owner loses possession. But in copyright infringement, you don't take anything from other people," Elbakya says. "Many university researchers need access to these papers because subscriptions are very expensive."
Elsevier wouldn't comment on the case, but did give a statement to BBC Trending saying that they recognise that access and publishing options are key for researchers. The company says it provides open access journals, rental options, individual article purchases and other means of disseminating research papers.
And just as business models for music have changed in a world of illegal downloading - with streaming sites lowering the cost of legal access - now several publishers are shifting to more open models of accessing research, although Kuszewski believes the changes aren't happening fast enough. "Science moves slow enough as it is," she argues, "so anything that we can do to make it happen faster is a good thing." |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-47263993 | A man is being treated for life-threatening injuries following a two-car crash in Bridgend county.
The A4229 South Cornelly Bypass was closed for six hours when a grey Peugeot 208 and blue BMW collided at about 18:50 GMT on Friday.
The 30-year-old driver of the Peugeot remains in a critical condition in hospital.
South Wales Police has appealed for witnesses and thanked people for their patience while the road was closed. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-foyle-west-47703718 | A district judge in Londonderry has warned professional street beggars are taking advantage of the "generous and good nature of the local people in this community".
Barney McElholm made the comments on Monday when sentencing Florica Crina Ispas from Romania.
The 30 year old was jailed for two months for stealing a bottle of vodka.
Judge McElholm said he believed she was part of a group who flew into Northern Ireland every six weeks.
He said he did not believe she was a genuine indigent street beggar, as she had claimed following her arrest.
Instead, he said he believed the defendant was "a member of a professional gang of street beggars who could afford to fly into and out of Northern Ireland every six weeks, on a shift basis, to beg."
Judge McElholm said: "I don't believe a single word of what she has said and I am going to take a tough line in such cases in future."
He went on: "I know what help is offered to genuine homeless people. They have been offered accommodation, they have been advised as to what benefits they may be entitled to and if they are truly indigent they would receive offers of support.
"They are simply a professional group coming here to street beg and to take advantage of the generous and good nature of the local people in this community."
Image caption Judge Barney McElholm told Londonderry Magistrates' Court he would "take a tough line in such cases in future"
Judge McElholm said he had met police and Derry's City Centre Initiative recently to discuss the issue of street begging.
PSNI Chief Inspector Johnny Hunter said street begging was among a number of issues discussed by civic stakeholders at that meeting.
"Issues such as public alcohol consumption and begging are dealt with on a daily basis in co-operation with our partners," he said.
"Where those people we find on the street are vulnerable and in need of help, we will work with our partner agencies to keep them safe."
He said local officers also worked closely with colleagues in the Modern Slavery Human Trafficking Unit.
"Where there is evidence of exploitation or of other offences we will take the necessary appropriate action," he said.
Ch Insp Hunter said street begging "is dealt with in a sensitive and proactive manner by police and the appropriate agencies." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7159542.stm | A new £80m programme of European funding to support low carbon economic growth in the East of England over the next seven years has been announced.
The funding aims to improve business productivity and the ability of companies to respond to the economic challenges of climate change.
The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is to manage the new funds.
The European Regional Development Fund Competitiveness scheme has been approved by the European Commission.
David Morrall, Europe and international director at EEDA, said: "The East of England is in many respects leading the field in the progress it is making to develop the region's prosperity as a low carbon economy.
"The foundation we are developing through facilities such as Orbis Energy at Lowestoft, as a hub for renewable energy, and the growing cluster of low carbon technology companies in Peterborough ... all combine to provide an excellent platform for progress."
The delivery of the programme will be managed through commissioned projects and open bidding rounds.
There is no minimum or maximum fund but all the projects are expected to meet at least one of the three priorities under the programme.
These include support for innovation and knowledge transfer, stimulating enterprise and ensuring sustainable development.
A detailed prospectus will be published following the programme launch by the Commissioner for Regional Policy Danuta Hübner at the Astral Centre, Lowestoft College on 28 January 28. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-44108200 | MSPs will be asked to formally refuse to give Holyrood's consent to the EU Withdrawal Bill on Tuesday.
The Scottish and UK governments are at odds over provisions of the Brexit legislation on what happens to devolved powers after the UK leaves the EU.
Scottish ministers have put forward a motion for debate on Tuesday, asking MSPs not to give consent to the bill.
It is expected this will pass, with Labour, Greens and Lib Dems backing the SNP in opposing parts of the bill.
UK ministers have refused to say if they would go ahead and legislate without Holyrood's consent, saying there is still a chance to come to an agreement.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told business leaders in London on Monday that "time is running out" for a deal to be done.
The row centres on how devolved powers currently exercised from Brussels are used after Brexit.
The Scottish and UK governments agree that some should be used in UK-wide "frameworks" of powers, creating joint rules and regulations across the UK, but their views differ on how these should be set up and run.
Scottish ministers want Holyrood's express consent to be sought for the use of these powers, while UK ministers argue that this could give the devolved parliaments a "veto" over UK-wide structures.
A long-running series of talks has failed to produce a deal between the two sides, although UK ministers were able to strike an agreement with counterparts in Wales. Welsh parliamentarians will consider a consent motion of their own on Tuesday.
Scottish ministers say they could instead rely on their own alternative Brexit legislation, which was passed by MSPs but has been challenged in the Supreme Court by UK law officers.
The motion put forward by Scottish Brexit minister Mike Russell said that part of the Westminster bill would "constrain the legislative and executive competence of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish government".
Mr Russell said MSPs had "a powerful opportunity to unite to protect the powers of devolution".
The Conservatives have put forward an amendment proposing the parliament consent to the bill, while Labour tabled one calling for "cross-party talks in an attempt to broker an agreed way forward".
Holyrood's constitution committee has also published a report recommending that if a political solution to the row cannot be found, MSPs should refuse consent for the contentious sections of the Withdrawal Bill.
The committee said the differences between the Scottish and UK governments "could be resolved through an emphasis on mutual trust and respect", but that if this cannot be achieved then MSPs should not consent to the section of the bill on devolved powers.
SNP, Labour and Green members backed this position, while Conservative committee members voted against it. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-wales-44086067/what-is-in-a-fatberg-aberystwyth-scientists-found-out | Footage shows 'fatberg' in Glasgow Jump to media player A 'fatberg' has been captured on camera underneath the streets of Glasgow.
How to remove a 150m 'fatberg' Jump to media player Huge lumps of oil and grease caused by pouring hot fat down the drain are costing water companies £80 million a year to tackle.
Ever wondered what is inside a fatberg?
The sewer-blocking masses of grease, cotton buds and sanitary products are the product of people putting unsuitable items down the toilet and plug hole.
Now, scientists at Aberystwyth University have delved deeper to reveal the bacteria they contain - and it is not pretty. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-45539841 | Bristol Airport has blamed a cyber attack for causing flight display screens to fail for two days.
An airport spokesman said the information screens were taken offline early on Friday to contain an attack similar to so-called "ransomware".
They are now working again at "key locations" including in departures and arrivals, and work is continuing to get the whole site back online.
The spokesman said no "ransom" had been paid to get the systems working again.
Ransomware is a form of malware in which computer viruses threaten to delete files unless a ransom is paid.
Spokesman James Gore said: "We believe there was an online attempt to target part of our administrative systems and that required us to take a number of applications offline as a precautionary measure, including the one that provides our data for flight information screens.
"That was done to contain the problem and avoid any further impact on more critical systems.
"The indications are that this was a speculative attempt rather than targeted attack on Bristol Airport."
Mr Gore said flights were unaffected, but contingency measures and "manual processes", including whiteboards and marker pens, had to be used in place of display screens.
"At no point were any safety or security systems impacted or put at risk."
He said it had taken "longer than people might have expected" to rectify due to a "cautious approach".
"Given the number of safety and security critical systems operating at an airport, we wanted to make sure that the issue with the flight information application that experienced the problem was absolutely resolved before it was put back online."
No flights are understood to have been disrupted as a result. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/2278896.stm | Who is the man chosen at short notice to head the independent inquiry into A-levels?
When the Education Secretary, Estelle Morris, suddenly found herself in need of someone who would command universal trust and respect, she chose "a safe pair of hands" - the former chief inspector of England's schools and cricket fan Mike Tomlinson.
He was born in October 1942 and educated in Rotherham and Bournemouth.
He studied chemistry at Durham University and obtained his PGCE teaching certificate at Nottingham University, then taught in Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire between 1965 and 1977.
In 1977 he spent time as the schools/industry liaison officer with the petrochemical company ICI.
He became a member of Her Majesty's Inspectorate in 1978 and was a senior figure in Ofsted since its establishment in September 1992.
His first post there was that of deputy director of inspection and - from 1995 - he was one of two directors of inspection.
He headed the team which went in to run the troubled Ridings School in Halifax a year later, when it was named the worst school in England.
Mr Tomlinson was involved in restoring the education system in Kuwait after the Gulf War and helped to develop a school inspection strategy in China and Mexico.
He was awarded the CBE in June 1997.
He was named acting chief inspector at the head of Ofsted when Chris Woodhead resigned suddenly in November 2000.
He did have to start with an apology for having previously said of teachers: "I don't give a monkey's toss for them, all I care about is the children".
But his more co-operative approach to school inspections made him popular with teachers and their union representatives, many of whom had disliked what they saw as the antagonistic approach of Mr Woodhead.
His position was confirmed - and he was asked to stay on for a further five months beyond his original one-year contract.
But he was nobody's poodle - most noticeably, speaking out about the damaging effect that teacher shortages were having on the drive to raise standards, and about how England's national curriculum had been eroded.
He finally retired from the job in April - moving to a new troubleshooting post at one of the country's most problematic education services.
He became chairman of the trust now running schools in the London Borough of Hackney.
It had been his intention to spend more time indulging his passion for watching cricket.
Then at 11pm last Wednesday night he got the call from the education secretary - who, next morning, announced that he was going to chair the inquiry into A-level grading and standards.
He accepted with apparent relish. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15784439 | Thousands of demonstrators have marched across New York's Brooklyn Bridge in one of several US rallies of support for the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Some 250 people were arrested in New York alone, many of them as trouble flared near the stock exchange.
Protesters accused police of brutality, with TV images showing a man with a bloodied face being arrested. At least seven police officers were hurt.
The rallies marked two months since the movement against inequality began.
The march was planned before demonstrators were swept two days ago from New York's Zuccotti Park, where they had camped since mid-September.
As darkness fell on Thursday evening, protesters - their numbers swelled by union activists - moved on to the Brooklyn Bridge.
Police arrested 65 of them who walked on to the bridge roadway, but otherwise let them pass on the pedestrian walkway.
"Happy Birthday, Occupy Wall Street," sang protesters on the Brooklyn bridge. Celebrating two months since the movement began, they cheered and held candles.
It was a festive atmosphere as thousands of protesters streamed over the bridge, in contrast to the tense, confrontational mood earlier in the day. The demonstration was peaceful.
One woman held a sign saying the seat of government is broken, a damaged white chair in front of her. Teachers told me they were marching to protest against the privatisation of education. Students said they had huge debts and no prospect of jobs to pay them off.
The Verizon skyscraper by the bridge had "Happy Birthday OWS" projected on to it, and "We are the 99 percent". Cars crossing the bridge honked in support, and as the lights of Manhattan twinkled, the protesters cheered again.
Demonstrators massed earlier nearby in lower Manhattan's Foley Square, where their chants boomed off the surrounding government buildings.
Police tried to pen the protesters using barricades, but without success.
"This is a critical moment," demonstrator Paul Knick, a software engineer, told AP news agency.
"It seems like there's a concerted effort to stop the movement, and I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen."
Demonstrators had signs with "Police Brutality" written on them - a reference to police officers in riot gear dispersing protesters earlier in the week.
But after visiting a police officer who needed 20 stitches on his hand, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said: "If anyone's actions cross the line and threaten the health and safety of others including our first responders, we will respond accordingly."
Seven officers and 10 protesters were injured during the day, the New York Times reported.
The day's events began with hundreds of demonstrators gathering at the edge of New York's financial district.
They were unable to get past junctions blocked by police, and as scuffles broke out some of them were dragged away by officers.
Some onlookers applauded the demonstrators from open windows, while others called out: "Get a job!"
Among those held in New York was a retired Philadelphia police captain, Ray Lewis, who was taken into custody in his dress uniform, amid cheers.
Some people were arrested after they sat down at an intersection, while others were detained as they tried to get closer to the stock exchange. Trading was not disrupted.
Frustrations boiled over in Zuccotti Park, the cradle of the nationwide movement, as hundreds of people tried to remove barricades surrounding the area and scuffled with baton-wielding officers.
A number of protester encampments have been removed in US cities in recent days.
Scores of arrests were made as police cleared tents in Oakland, California and Burlington, Vermont.
But evictions went peacefully elsewhere, including Atlanta, Georgia; Portland, Oregon; and Salt Lake City, Utah. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16267436 | Thousands of Egyptian women have held rallies in Cairo against their treatment by security forces.
Demonstrators brandished photos of a woman who was beaten and dragged along the ground, exposing her underwear - an incident that has outraged Egyptians.
The rally took place in Tahrir Square, which has seen five days of deadly clashes between protesters and troops.
The ruling military council has said it deeply regrets any "transgressions" against women protesters.
On Monday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accused Egypt's police and soldiers of deliberately targeting women.
"The daughters of Egypt are a red line," chanted the crowd of women as they marched through the streets of central Cairo close to Tahrir Square.
Hundreds of female protesters soon turned to thousands, with men linking arms to form a human chain around them. These women came from all walks of life - some with flowing hair and designer sunglasses, others in the niqab or full-face veil.
Many held aloft the photograph that has shocked Egyptians - a woman activist with her clothes ripped by soldiers to reveal her bra. "He who violates the honour of our girls cannot be entrusted with our country," said one sign.
This unusual sight has re-energised protests against military rule and prompted the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to make an apology for what it called "violations" - a sharp change from its previous dismissive approach to this abuse.
Speaking in Washington, Mrs Clinton said that women were being humiliated in the same streets where they had risked their lives for the revolution.
"This systematic degradation of Egyptian women dishonours the revolution, disgraces the state and its uniform and is not worthy of a great people," she told an audience at Georgetown University.
She called the events of the past few days "shocking".
At Tuesday's rally in Cairo, some women shouted: "Our honour is a red line".
Protester Nawara Negm said the security forces were deliberately trying to humiliate women.
"They know that people who don't care about their own lives they care about their mother, wife and sister. So they wanted to humiliate the whole Egyptian people by humiliating women because they know it's very sensitive," she told the BBC.
"[The ruling generals] have to go, they are traitors."
In a statement, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces expressed its "strong regret to the great women of Egypt over transgressions that occurred during recent incidents in the protests outside parliament and the cabinet".
Earlier, General Adil Emara, a member of the military council, said that the attack on the woman was an isolated incident and was under investigation.
"We have nothing to hide," he insisted.
The council also said it would open an investigation into accusations that soldiers carried out virginity tests on women protesters in March.
Earlier, security forces clashed with protesters who returned to protest against the military for a fifth day.
At least 13 people have been killed since the latest clashes began on Friday, just after the second round of the country's parliamentary elections.
There are reports of injuries resulting from Tuesday's clashes, but so far no deaths.
Meanwhile, a retired Egyptian army general who still acts as a military adviser, Abdul Moneim Kato, caused outrage by saying that some protesters deserve to be thrown into "Hitler's ovens".
The leading presidential hopeful, Mohamed ElBaradei, said the remarks showed a "deranged and criminal state of mind".
The military council assumed presidential powers after Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down as head of state in February.
Protesters returned to Tahrir Square in November, accusing the generals of delaying the transfer of power to a civilian government. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47314388 | Standard Chartered is putting aside $900m (£690m) for potential fines involving investigations in Britain and the US.
The money will cover separate investigations into breaches of US sanctions and foreign exchange trading issues.
It also covers a £102.2m fine from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority related to financial crime controls.
The provision will be included in the bank's results due next week.
The bank, which is listed in London and Hong Kong, warned last year that continuing investigations by the US and UK regulators could have a "substantial financial impact".
"Standard Chartered's 2018 fourth quarter results will include a provision totalling USD900 million for potential penalties relating to the... US investigation and FCA decision, and for previously disclosed investigations relating to FX trading issues," the bank said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The Financial Times reported in October that the bank could face a $1.5bn fine from US regulators for alleged sanction breaches involving Iran-based clients of its Dubai branch.
Standard Chartered shares listed in Hong Kong fell more than 1% earlier, according to Reuters. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/league_cup/15831896.stm | Cardiff City reached the League Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1966 on an emotional night following the death of Wales manager Gary Speed.
Kenny Miller put Cardiff ahead on 19 minutes after Aron Gunnarsson's pass pierced the static Rovers defence.
Miller was denied a second by Scott Dann's goal-line clearance, before Rovers captain David Dunn went close.
Filip Kiss headed the second after the break and Cardiff held on to heap more pressure on Blackburn boss Steve Kean.
Blackburn, propping up the Premier League table, managed just one effort on target after conceding the second and struggled to generate any semblance of concerted pressure on their Championship hosts.
Poignant scenes preceded the match as respect was paid to Wales manager Gary Speed, whose body was found on Sunday.
During a minute's applause, both managers were joined by Football Association of Wales chief executive Jonathan Ford in laying wreaths on a Welsh flag at the side of the pitch.
A minute's silence followed, before the cry of "there's only one Gary Speed" echoed around the stadium - the scene of Speed's last game 17 days ago.
Under the cloud of such tragic circumstances, the match took its time to ignite, with Blackburn enjoying the better start in possession.
The first corner after 18 minutes brought the first moment of danger as Grant Hanley's header was blocked on its way to Cardiff's bottom corner.
But barely two minutes later, the predatory Miller struck for the Bluebirds in their first meaningful attack.
Gunnarsson robbed the dithering Morten Gamst Pedersen in midfield, and his instinctive pass sent Miller clear through the heart of the Blackburn defence.
Miller's touch took him towards the left side of the box, but his low left-footed shot went through the legs of the on-rushing Mark Bunn for his sixth goal of the season.
Only inches prevented Miller from doubling Cardiff's lead five minutes later.
The Scotland international beat Hanley on the byline, dummied his way past Bunn but Dann blocked his shot on the line.
A goalmouth scramble ensued, but again the visitors managed to clear.
Cardiff grew in stature from then, their pressing game giving Blackburn no time to find any midfield rhythm.
Rovers captain Dunn, one of five changes in the side from Saturday's defeat to Stoke, had blazed over from the edge of the box in the opening stages, and he finally called Tom Heaton into action in the Cardiff goal when he connected well with a 30-yard volley.
Kean, battling for his Blackburn future, sent his side out early for the second half, but he was soon staring at a two-goal deficit.
Peter Whittingham's deep corner eluded Bunn's grasp, and Kiss was only a yard out when he deflected the ball in after Anthony Gerrard headed across the face of goal.
Both players claimed the goal, but replays clearly showed Kiss having the final touch.
Cardiff's movement continued to trouble Rovers, with Gunnarsson shooting wide, before setting up Miller again, who this time fired wildly over.
Whittingham's influence grew as the home side controlled midfield, and right-back Kevin McNaughton then epitomised Cardiff's energy as his 30-yard run ended with a driven shot across Bunn's goal.
After conceding the second, David Goodwillie soon forced a fine save from Heaton but that proved to be Blackburn's only second-half effort on target.
They came close in the closing stages, but Dann's header and substitute Ruben Rochina's curler from the edge of the box went inches wide.
Kean sent on Ayegbeni Yakubu and Jason Roberts in the final stages in hope of a late rally, but the faultless home defence held firm to extend Cardiff's unbeaten run to eight games.
93:52 The match has reached full-time.
90:00+1:17 Jason Roberts has an effort at goal from deep inside the area missing to the left of the target.
90:00+0:37 Shot from just outside the box by Joe Ralls misses to the right of the target.
88:32 Free kick crossed left-footed by Morten Gamst Pedersen from left channel, save by Tom Heaton.
88:32 Booking Kevin McNaughton shown a yellow card.
88:20 Kevin McNaughton gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Ruben Rochina.
83:48 Ruben Rochina gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Joe Ralls. Peter Whittingham takes the direct free kick.
82:42 Substitution Craig Conway leaves the field to be replaced by Joe Ralls.
79:44 Kenny Miller gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Jason Lowe. Jason Lowe takes the direct free kick.
78:48 Substitution (Blackburn) makes a substitution, with Jason Roberts coming on for Nick Blackman.
78:48 Substitution David Goodwillie leaves the field to be replaced by Ayegbeni Yakubu.
78:48 Close range headed effort by Scott Dann goes wide of the left-hand upright.
76:31 Substitution Filip Kiss leaves the field to be replaced by Stephen McPhail.
75:42 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Nick Blackman by Filip Kiss. Nick Blackman takes the free kick.
74:52 Kevin McNaughton has an effort at goal from the edge of the area that misses to the right of the target.
73:04 Filip Kiss concedes a free kick for a foul on Ruben Rochina. Morten Gamst Pedersen crosses the ball in from the free kick, Anthony Gerrard makes a clearance.
71:20 Free kick awarded for a foul by Craig Conway on Jason Lowe. Mark Bunn takes the direct free kick.
70:49 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Craig Conway by Jason Lowe. Free kick taken by Ben Turner.
69:40 Substitution Ruben Rochina comes on in place of Radosav Petrovic.
69:40 Headed effort on goal by Craig Conway from inside the penalty box misses to the right of the goal.
68:34 Free kick awarded for a foul by Nick Blackman on Craig Conway. Tom Heaton restarts play with the free kick.
68:01 Effort on goal by Kenny Miller from just inside the area clears the crossbar.
65:13 Unfair challenge on Mauro Formica by Filip Kiss results in a free kick. Morten Gamst Pedersen fires a strike on goal direct from the free kick, save by Tom Heaton.
63:37 Shot from close range by Kenny Miller misses to the right of the goal.
61:57 Shot from just outside the area by Aron Gunnarsson misses to the right of the target.
58:19 David Goodwillie takes a shot. Blocked by Anthony Gerrard.
57:43 David Goodwillie takes a shot. Save by Tom Heaton.
57:15 Morten Gamst Pedersen takes the inswinging corner, clearance made by Kenny Miller.
53:19 Aron Gunnarsson takes a shot. Save by Mark Bunn.
49:17 Assist on the goal came from Ben Turner.
49:17 GOAL - Anthony Gerrard:Cardiff 2 - 0 Blackburn Anthony Gerrard scores a goal from close in to the bottom left corner of the goal. Cardiff 2-0 Blackburn.
49:04 Corner taken left-footed by Peter Whittingham.
47:47 Filip Kiss takes a shot. Save by Mark Bunn.
45:06 Corner taken by Morten Gamst Pedersen, save by Tom Heaton. Outswinging corner taken from the left by-line by Morten Gamst Pedersen.
45:00+1:55 The whistle is blown to end the first half.
45:00+1:31 Corner taken left-footed by Morten Gamst Pedersen to the near post, Kenny Miller makes a clearance.
45:00+0:54 The free kick is swung in left-footed by Morten Gamst Pedersen, clearance made by Ben Turner.
45:00+0:54 Booking Anthony Gerrard receives a caution.
45:00+0:43 Nick Blackman fouled by Anthony Gerrard, the ref awards a free kick.
43:50 Craig Conway takes a shot.
38:27 Inswinging corner taken from the left by-line by Craig Conway, clearance made by Gael Givet.
36:13 David Dunn takes a shot.
35:30 Outswinging corner taken from the left by-line by Morten Gamst Pedersen, Anthony Gerrard makes a clearance. Morten Gamst Pedersen takes a outswinging corner.
34:24 David Dunn takes a shot. Save by Tom Heaton. Morten Gamst Pedersen takes the inswinging corner, save by Tom Heaton. Outswinging corner taken by Morten Gamst Pedersen, clearance by Filip Kiss.
33:12 Mauro Formica fouled by Kevin McNaughton, the ref awards a free kick. David Dunn takes the direct free kick.
32:32 Scott Dann challenges Ben Turner unfairly and gives away a free kick. Tom Heaton restarts play with the free kick.
32:02 Filip Kiss challenges Radosav Petrovic unfairly and gives away a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Mark Bunn.
30:59 Peter Whittingham takes a shot.
30:38 Corner taken by Peter Whittingham from the right by-line played to the near post, clearance by Radosav Petrovic.
29:59 Peter Whittingham crosses the ball in from the free kick, clearance made by Jason Lowe.
29:59 Booking Jason Lowe goes into the book for unsporting behaviour.
29:44 Foul by Jason Lowe on Craig Conway, free kick awarded.
25:50 David Dunn gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Anthony Gerrard. Peter Whittingham crosses the ball in from the free kick.
24:57 Effort from inside the six-yard area by Kenny Miller bounces off the post.
23:21 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Gael Givet by Don Cowie. Morten Gamst Pedersen sends in a cross, Grant Hanley takes a shot. Tom Heaton makes a save.
21:14 Grant Hanley takes a shot. Tom Heaton makes a comfortable save.
20:30 Corner taken by Morten Gamst Pedersen from the right by-line played to the near post, save by Tom Heaton.
19:00 Aron Gunnarsson provided the assist for the goal.
19:00 GOAL - Kenny Miller:Cardiff 1 - 0 Blackburn Kenny Miller scores a goal from inside the penalty area to the bottom left corner of the goal. Cardiff 1-0 Blackburn.
17:39 Morten Gamst Pedersen takes the inswinging corner, Grant Hanley takes a shot. Save made by Tom Heaton. Effort on goal by Radosav Petrovic from just outside the area goes harmlessly over the target.
14:06 Free kick awarded for a foul by Aron Gunnarsson on David Dunn. Mark Bunn takes the direct free kick.
13:30 Free kick awarded for a foul by David Goodwillie on Anthony Gerrard. Free kick taken by Anthony Gerrard.
12:56 Foul by David Goodwillie on Peter Whittingham, free kick awarded. Aron Gunnarsson takes the direct free kick.
10:32 The referee blows for offside against Kenny Miller. Indirect free kick taken by Mark Bunn.
9:19 Effort from inside the area by David Goodwillie misses to the right of the target.
4:04 Mauro Formica fouled by Filip Kiss, the ref awards a free kick. Morten Gamst Pedersen shoots direct from the free kick, blocked by Aron Gunnarsson.
1:44 Filip Kiss challenges David Dunn unfairly and gives away a free kick. The free kick is delivered left-footed by Morten Gamst Pedersen from right channel, clearance by Don Cowie. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24391800 | Pope Francis says the Roman Catholic Church must strip itself of all "vanity, arrogance and pride" and humbly serve the poorest in society.
Francis hosted a lunch for the poor in the town of Assisi, the birthplace of his namesake, a 13th Century saint.
"Many of you have been stripped by this savage world," he said. "[It] does not give employment [and it] does not care if there are children dying of hunger."
The pontiff has been in talks about a programme of reform for the Vatican.
He has said he wants today's Catholic Church to resemble Francis of Assisi's "Church of the poor".
The Pope arrived to cheering crowds and later spoke to guests at a lunch in the Caritas reception centre.
Francis was visibly moved when he heard the stories of some of the poor people in the room.
"[The world] does not care if so many families have nothing to eat," he said.
Thousands of people gathered for Mass in front of the Basilica of Saint Francis.
"Today is a day for crying," Francis said, referring to the hundreds of deaths feared in the sinking of a migrant boat off the island of Lampedusa.
He said the world "did not care about those fleeing poverty and hunger, who seek freedom but instead find death".
One of those in the congregation, Irene Lunghi, described it as "a serious ceremony, simple and also a bit humble, like St Francis himself".
Another member of the audience, Father Dionysus Mintov, said the sinking off Lampedusa was a "terrible tragedy". "The Mediterranean has become a big cemetery," he said. "Men like us, who suffer, they are poor."
The Pope has suggested empty buildings of monastic orders could be used as accommodation for migrants and refugees.
Speaking in a hall where St Francis was said to have thrown off his robes in a gesture of humility, the Pope called on the Catholic Church and its followers to rid themselves of earthly concerns.
"The Church, all of us should divest ourselves of worldliness. Worldliness is a murderer because it kills souls, kills people, kills the Church."
"Without divesting ourselves, we would become pastry-shop Christians, like beautiful cakes and sweet things but not real Christians," he said.
Image caption The Pope urged Church followers to "divest themselves of worldliness"
Two days ago Pope Francis told Italian newspaper La Repubblica his namesake had "longed for a poor Church that looked after others, accepted monetary help and used it to help others with no thought of itself".
"Eight hundred years have passed and times have changed, but the ideal of a missionary and poor Church is still more than valid," he said.
Known in Italian as Il Poverello, or the Poor One, St Francis was the son of a wealthy local cloth merchant who scandalised his family when he reached the age of 25 by dumping his expensive clothing and living in sackcloth, ministering to the poor for the rest of his life.
Pope Francis has become known for his candid views - unlike anything heard coming out of the Vatican during recent papacies, says the BBC's David Willey in Rome.
He wants to see an overhaul of the Church, bringing it closer to ordinary people. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8213202.stm | Susan Cohen's disbelief at the decision to release Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds is a widely-held emotion in the United States.
Her daughter Theodora Cohen was one of 35 students from Syracuse University in New York State who died in the Lockerbie bombing.
She has followed the trial, the failed appeal and now the release of the man she believes was responsible for killing her daughter and 269 others.
She does not think he had sole responsibility, but she is as certain as she can be that he was the man who planted the bomb.
She cannot comprehend why a mass murderer of such infamy would be freed rather than treated for his cancer in prison.
And she understands even less why he would be allowed to return to the country she holds ultimately responsible for the bombing.
That strength of feeling has left President Barack Obama's administration in a difficult position.
Under the deal that led to Libya handing over Megrahi to the Scottish justice system, the Americans effectively gave up any chance of putting him on trial themselves.
Back in 1999 the expectation was that he would serve a minimum of 27 years of his life sentence.
Now he has been allowed home to die and the Americans had no power to stop it.
All they could do was lobby hard and use strong diplomatic language like "mistake", "inappropriate" and "absolutely wrong".
But they had little leverage over the man who had the ultimate power to make the decision, the Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill.
The transformation of Libya's relationship with the US and Britain only makes things more complicated.
Colonel Muammar Gadaffi was told that if he renounced terrorism and his nuclear ambitions then he would be welcomed back into the fold.
Only last month he was photographed shaking hands with President Obama and the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and all this in the build-up to the 40th anniversary of his revolution.
He has kept his side of the bargain, so no-one had the stomach for a return to the anti-Libyan rhetoric of the 1990s.
The compromise appears to have been strong words in public, but an acceptance that in the end the decision was up to the Scottish justice secretary.
There is not likely to be any long-term damage to US-British relations, or even US-Scottish relations so far as they exist.
As for the Libyans, President Obama had no condemnation for them either, though he did say that the US had been in touch to make sure that Megrahi did not get any kind of special welcome, and to request that he is kept under house arrest.
Not that the Americans have any control over that. They could only ask nicely and hope the Libyans oblige.
Having got what he wanted, it is up to Col Gaddafi whether he helps the American government out of its difficulty, and makes sure that Megrahi's final days are spent with his family in obscurity. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4628813.stm | More than 500,000 people have been killed by firearms in Brazil between 1979 and 2003, according to a new report by the United Nations.
The study found that there were more gun-related killings in Brazil than in most war zones.
Guns are the single biggest cause of death among young people in the Latin American nation, the organisation says.
The UN has urged lawmakers to approve plans for a referendum in October on whether to ban the sale of firearms.
The UN and disarmament groups are using shocking statistics to put pressure on Brazil's parliamentarians.
The report's headline figure is that more than half a million Brazilians died from gun-inflicted injuries in the past 24 years.
That is more than four times the number of deaths recorded in the Arab-Israeli conflict during the past 50 years.
Nearly half of those who died in Brazil were aged between 15 and 24.
The government wants to stage a referendum on whether to ban the sale of guns.
For the poll to go ahead in October, lawmakers must approve the plan by the end of this month.
In the face of heavy lobbying by Brazil's arms industry, a parliamentary vote on the matter has been postponed several times.
More positively, the government argues there is a public mood for change.
Recent legislation puts strict limits on the number of people authorised to carry guns.
Over the past year, more than 300,000 weapons have been handed into the police in return for cash as part of a pioneering disarmament scheme. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11492427 | A woman living in sub-Saharan Africa is 23% less likely than a man to own a mobile phone, according to research.
This figure rises to 24% in the Middle East and increases again to 37% for a woman living in South Asia, found the study by the GSM Association.
In total, it found, 300 million fewer women than men in developing countries owned a mobile.
An initiative called mWomen proposes to halve this "gender gap" within three years.
The programme, championed by Cherie Blair, the wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton aims to provide 150 million women around the world with access to mobile phone technology.
Mrs Blair said there were many benefits a mobile phone could bring to women.
"There is so much you can do with a mobile phone," she told the BBC World Service.
"It can help with literacy. It can help with health programmes and projects and it's a way of helping women develop small businesses and get financial independence."
As part of the initiative, there will be tariffs created especially for women as well as the development of a female-specific handset. It will also create projects to educate men about the positive aspects of women owning a mobile phone.
Seventeen global mobile phone operators have already signed up to the mWomen programme, pledging more than $10m (£6.2m) between them.
According to a survey by the GSMA, more than half of all female business owners in poor countries reported earning more money because of their mobile phone.
One such woman is Samanthi, who lives in Kandy, Sri Lanka, and has a small business selling charcoal stoves.
"It's really difficult to do business without a mobile phone," she said.
"A phone is an essential item. My customers can contact me anytime, from any place."
Mrs Blair said it was not just the women who would benefit from the initiative.
"If you help a woman set up a business, you're not just helping her, you're helping her children and her family. That has a ripple effect on the wider community," she said.
Samanthi in Sri Lanka agrees- she said that the money she earned could go towards her children's education.
The potential benefits are not solely financial. Reports suggest 93% of women feel safer because of their mobile phone; 85% say they feel more independent.
Mrs Blair was confident the initiative could achieve results.
"If we can reach 150 million women across the world and you multiply the effect of those women reinvesting in their family and in their local community, we are talking a potential transformational effect in development." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/boxing/3463393.stm | If the heavyweight scene is the best test of the health of boxing then the sport is on life support.
The post-Lennox Lewis landscape is a desolate one, littered with one-time prospects, raiders from lower weights and obligatory great white hopes.
BBC Sport casts an eye over the fighters hoping to administer the kiss of life.
Vitali Klitschko (won 33, lost 2) was ahead on points before being stopped on cuts in Lewis' last fight and at 6ft 7in and 250Ibs is a frightening proposition for anyone.
The elder Klitschko bounced back to destroy Kirk Johnson last time out and is on a collision course with Corrie Sanders for the vacant WBC crown.
The 27-year-old Wladimir (42-2) is a more stylish perfomer with time on his side but Sanders had him down four times in 2003, raising serious questions about his chin.
This rugged South African can bang a bit, as his second-round knock-out of Wladimir Klitschko demonstrated.
However, the limited Hasim Rahman stopped Sanders (39-2) back in 2000 and at 38, his touted clash against the monstrous Vitali Klitschko could be his last shot at the big time.
The slightly-built Byrd (37-2) is a tricky southpaw nobody wants to fight - but the IBF champion had a close call against Puerto Rico's Fres Oquendo last time out.
The 33-year-old beat Evander Holyfield in 2002 to claim the vacant title and also has wins over New Zealand's David Tua and the elder Klitschko on his CV.
But the signs are that "Rapid Fire" lacks the necessary power to dominate the division and Wladimir Klitschko battered him when they met in 2000.
It is a sign of a weak heavyweight division when middleweights come sniffing for spoils.
Roy Jones Jr (49-1) became the first former middleweight champion since 1897 to capture a heavyweight title when he outpointed John Ruiz last year but has shown no inclination of defending his WBA crown.
And the 34-year-old's one fight since, a controversial decision over Antonio Tarver at light-heavyweight, suggested he was a fighter on the slide.
James Toney (67-4) battered a pathetic Holyfield last October and was set to fight the massive Jameel McCline before injury intervened.
"Lights Out" is a more natural heavyweight than Jones and brings charisma to the table, but at 35, is hardly the division's future.
Britain's much-lampooned Olympic champion would be the division's long-term future were it not for the fact that, at 32, he is almost as old as both Toney and Jones.
Harrison (14-0) is taking things slowly but should return from America this year to begin mopping up the domestic scene.
His stated aim is to be world champion by the time he is 34 - the age most boxers start thinking about hanging up their gloves.
Lack of decent opposition so far makes it difficult to assess whether he has the tools to achieve his goal.
The last five years have seen the one-time superstars of the future cancel each other out leaving no obvious successor to Lewis' crown.
Who's the next heavyweight superstar?
Tua, Rahman and Ruiz have proved time and again they are decent fighters, but nothing more.
"Baby" Joe Mesi, although of limited ability, fulfils America's need to have at least one "great white hope" in the mix.
The fact that 37-year-old Mike Tyson remains the biggest draw for most casual fans is the best indication as to the state the division is in. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46948718 | At least 11 people have died in a fire involving two Tanzanian-flagged cargo vessels in the Black Sea near the Kerch Strait, authorities say.
Russian rescuers are trying to reach sailors who jumped overboard. Fourteen people have so far been rescued.
One ship is a gas tanker, and the fire reportedly followed an explosion, which set the other vessel on fire.
They were named as the Kandy (Venice), with a crew of 17 from Turkey and India, and Maestro, with 14 sailors.
The fire broke out when one vessel was transferring fuel to another, Russian maritime agency spokesman Alexei Kravchenko said, adding that this had then forced several crew members to jump overboard.
Rescue workers reportedly witnessed a further three people struggling in the water, who most likely had drowned.
AFP news agency said that "no signal from either one of the two captains" had been received.
Authorities in the Crimean city of Kerch are now preparing to receive the victims.
The names of the two vessels, the Venice and the Maestro, both appear on a US treasury list as possible targets for sanctions over petroleum shipments to Syria.
The US tightened sanctions against Syria back in 2011 in response to what it said was President Bashar al-Assad's "continued atrocities" committed against the Syrian people.
The Kerch Strait is a focus of tension between Russia and Ukraine.
In November, Russian border guards seized three Ukrainian naval vessels near the narrow channel, which links the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov.
A court in Russia has extended by three months the detention of 24 Ukrainian sailors captured in the incident. They are accused of illegally crossing into Russian territory.
Ukraine condemned the Russian move, denying that its ships had violated the navigation laws in the area. The strait lies off Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21119727 | Media captionPrince Harry: "We fire when we have to - take a life to save a life"
Prince Harry shot at Taliban insurgents during his time as an Army helicopter pilot in Afghanistan, he says.
The prince, whose four-month deployment to the country has just ended, spoke about his role as an Apache co-pilot gunner, and whether he had killed.
"Yeah, so lots of people have. The squadron's been out here. Everyone's fired a certain amount," he said.
"If there's people trying to do bad stuff to our guys, then we'll take them out of the game."
Prince Harry left Afghanistan on Monday. News teams were allowed to interview him during his deployment, if they agreed to delay broadcast until he had left the country.
As well as discussing his role in Afghanistan, he talked about various other issues, including that he had "let my family down" when he was pictured naked in a Las Vegas hotel room last year.
He said this was "probably a classic example of me probably being too much Army and not enough prince."
But he added: "But at the end of the day I was in a private area and there should have been a certain amount of privacy that one should expect."
how being in Afghanistan is "as normal as it's going to get" for him, and even though "everyone has a good old gawp" in the canteen, "I'm one of the guys, I don't get treated any differently."
how for him and his brother, Prince William, "our service towards our country in the military... will always come first"
how he "can't wait to be an uncle", but hoped the Duchess of Cambridge would be allowed privacy during her pregnancy, adding: "I think it's very unfair that they were forced to publicise it when they were, but that's just the media for you."
On his role in Afghanistan, one journalist said: "You are the man with the trigger in your hand, and if called upon, you will fire, and presumably you have and you will kill the enemy?"
The prince responded: "Yeah, so lots of people have. The squadron's been out here. Everyone's fired a certain amount. Probably a little bit more than this time last year, to a certain extent, but that's just the way that its balanced out. Mainly due to weather, well whatever the reasons, I don't know.
For four months, Prince Harry's main residence has been a modified shipping container in an Afghan desert.
It is only in these conditions that the senior royal - for the second time in his life - feels "normal".
"I'm one of the guys. I don't get treated any differently".
With his return to a palace, that will change.
He will have some leave; represent the UK abroad in the coming months; become an uncle; and face renewed questions about when he will "settle down".
His inquisitors will include members of the media - an industry which, like other royals, he dislikes intensely ever since, in his words, he was "very small".
At 28, Harry is determined to be an army officer; a royal; and someone who works hard and plays hard.
As he gets older, he will face more pressure to jettison the "party prince" image.
When these different worlds collide there is a cost, as Prince Harry knows only too well.
"We fire when we have to, take a life to save a life, but essentially we're more of a deterrent than anything else."
He said missions to recover injured troops were a key role.
"Our job out here is to make sure the guys are safe on the ground.
"Now if that means shooting at someone who's shooting at them, then we'll do it."
Prince Harry is the first member of the Royal Family to see active combat since his uncle, the Duke of York, fought in the Falklands War.
Captain Wales, as the prince is known in the military, arrived for his second tour as part of the 100-strong 662 Squadron, 3 Regiment, Army Air Corps in September.
Within days of arriving, Camp Bastion was attacked by Taliban insurgents. Prince Harry was moved under guard to a secure location during the attack.
Prince Harry said: "Obviously the papers back home were like 'this is all against me'. No-one really knows yet. But either way, this camp is in the middle of Afghanistan and it should be expected to be attacked at any point... and it was on my birthday, so it was a bit of a reality check."
His first tour was cut short in 2008 after 10 weeks because a media blackout was broken. He was removed from Afghanistan in case he became a target.
Then he was part of ground forces, calling in air strikes against enemy positions. He was disappointed to be withdrawn, and determined to return to front-line combat.
He said: "My choice would have been back out on the ground with my regiment - that sounds quite spoilt when I'm standing in front of this [helicopter], £45 million worth, but hopefully my friends and family back home know exactly what I'm talking about."
He expressed support for his older brother, William, to serve in combat.
William currently flies search and rescue missions from RAF Valley on Anglesey.
"Obviously he'd love to be out here and I don't see why to be honest with you, I don't see why he couldn't.... no-one knows he's in the cockpit."
He added: "Yes, he'd get shot at but, you know, if the guys who are doing the same job as us are being shot at on the ground, I don't think there's anything wrong with us being shot at as well.
"People back home have issues with that, but we're not special - the guys out there are. Simple as that."
He also described how he juggled his different roles in life.
"You've got to be able to flick the switch all the time.
"I think I said a while back there's three 'me's, as it were. One in the army, one socially - my own private time - and one sort of with the family and stuff like that.
"So, you know, there is a switch and I flick it when necessary. And I like to think it's measured and balanced... Army comes first - it is my work at the end of the day." |
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-kent-41667179 | A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder after a teenager was stabbed to death in the street.
Kyle Yule, 17, was reportedly attacked while fleeing from a Renault Clio that was being vandalised by a gang in East Street, Gillingham, on 6 October. He died later in hospital.
Victor Maibvisira, 19, of St Johns Road, Gillingham, has already been charged with murder and affray.
Seven other people have also been arrested in the case.
Of the seven arrests, two men aged 20 and a boy, 15, have been released while inquiries continue.
Four others from Gillingham, two teenagers aged 15 and 16 and two men aged 18, have been bailed until various dates in November. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/education-47280252 | The UK's largest teachers' union has warned government not to introduce measures that would make teaching staff criminally responsible for failing to report the forced marriage of a pupil.
A Home Office consultation is exploring such proposals for teachers, health workers and social workers.
But the National Education Union (NEU) said it "raises the stakes" without the required training for its members.
The consultation's findings are to be published "in due course".
The government is aiming to find new ways to increase reporting and clamp down on forced marriage.
Since it was made a criminal offence in 2014, there have been only four convictions in England and Wales, figures provided by the Home Office show.
But Amanda Brown, the NEU's deputy general secretary, said a law that could make teachers criminally responsible was the "wrong approach".
"The idea of criminal sanctions does raise the stakes for professionals but without [supplying them with] the training, knowledge and understanding," she said.
The union is against any form of mandatory reporting.
"We need a longer-term approach, ensuring... that young people understand they can raise their concerns with their teachers," Ms Brown added.
"Hana" - not her real name - ran away from home a year ago, aged 18, and now lives in hiding.
During her A-levels, her mother told her she was going to marry her first cousin, whom she had never met.
"I said that I wanted to marry someone that I loved but she kept telling me that getting married within the family would be good," Hana says.
"But I didn't want to tell them that maybe I'm worried about marriage, that I can't sleep at night [because I'm] just thinking and thinking about getting married to someone I don't know."
So Hana decided to flee.
Asked why she had not told her teachers, she said: "I thought maybe they'd involve people I didn't want involved in this situation, like social services or the police."
In Birmingham - where there is a relatively high number of forced marriages - police say they work closely with teachers, training them on how to spot signs a young person is at risk.
Det Insp Wendy Bird, of West Midlands Police, said there was often just "one chance" for them to intervene and take the necessary safeguarding steps.
"In the worst cases, people are murdered as a result of turning down forced marriages, because it's [seen as] dishonourable," she added.
Bev Mabey, head of the Washwood Heath Multi-Academy Trust, in Birmingham, told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme: "Girls would often ask us to hold their passports - so that when it came down to it, there wasn't actually a way of leaving the country."
But, she added, when police and social services had become involved, on "one or two occasions" the girls had been removed from their family.
One organisation that has been campaigning for mandatory reporting is the Freedom Charity, although it does not believe teachers should be made criminally responsible.
Its founder, Aneeta Prem, said it was telling the Home Office "very clearly that we think there should be mandatory reporting, especially for teachers to come forward and report any of the signs of forced marriage".
"Teachers play a huge and important role. Kids go missing in GCSEs, so they can save lives," she added.
The Home Office said in a statement that its consultation "was open to everyone and encouraged victims and survivors of forced marriage, those with expertise in the area of forced marriage, and relevant professionals to come forward".
"We will give careful consideration to all the responses received," it said. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34640535 | A Law and Justice-governed Poland looks likely to be a mildly Eurosceptic, more inward-looking, socially conservative country.
Based on its current policies and its previous term in office from 2005 to 2007, a Law and Justice government will occupy itself more with domestic issues than foreign ones.
Although Poland's economy grew by almost a third during eight years of centre-right Civic Platform rule, the prosperity was spread unevenly.
Some parts of Poland have already reached Western European standards, but other parts are much poorer.
Youth unemployment is above the OECD average - an international benchmark figure - and many graduates see few prospects for themselves.
Poles can still earn much more in the UK or Germany and, while freedom of movement remains, they will continue to seek better-paid jobs abroad.
Law and Justice tapped into this discontent. It promised increased childcare benefits, tax breaks for the less well-off and small businesses, as well as free medicines for those over 75.
It plans to undo Civic Platform's unpopular reform to increase the retirement age for both men and women, and draft a law that will help the more than half a million Poles who took out a mortgage in Swiss francs and now face spiralling repayments.
Law and Justice plans to pay for all this with a new tax on banks, tax big mainly foreign-owned supermarkets and improve collection of sales tax (VAT).
However, improving tax collection would surely not be enough to cover a programme predicted to cost more than €10bn (£7bn; $11bn) a year. Some critics argue the plans will never be realised.
While there are concerns about a move towards more populist policymaking, the impact on the economy in the short term will be fairly limited, some analysts reckon.
Higher spending on social welfare "could boost GDP growth over the next few years", wrote William Jackson, senior emerging markets economist for Capital Economics.
But that could be undermined by Law and Justice's lack of appetite for structural reforms, he warned. And that "may lead to weaker investment and productivity growth, slowing down the process of income convergence with European peers".
In social policy a Law and Justice Poland will certainly be more conservative than many Western European countries. It opposes civil partnerships, afraid that homosexuals might somehow get the right to marry and adopt children.
It may stop public funding for married heterosexual couples seeking IVF treatment to start a family. Schoolchildren will be encouraged to be more patriotic.
Internationally, Warsaw will look to strengthen alliances with its neighbours in Central and Eastern Europe. Civic Platform's policy of influencing European Union policy through close ties with Germany will likely be shelved.
Indeed it will be interesting to see if the mildly Eurosceptic Law and Justice will take a constructive approach to shaping policy in Brussels. Law and Justice's anti-immigrant stance looks likely to set it at odds with the European Commission over migrant quotas in future.
Law and Justice has traditionally looked to Washington in defence policy, and while it has promised to increase its own military spending to 2.5% of GDP, it would like to see Nato locate significant bases in Poland - an issue where Warsaw and Berlin differ.
Warsaw's already dire relations with Moscow are unlikely to improve. Poland's former President Lech Kaczynski, the identical twin of Law and Justice leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, died in a plane crash in Smolensk, western Russia, in 2010.
Poland is still trying to get the plane wreckage back.
Although Mr Kaczynski has vowed not to seek revenge on his political opponents, there may be an attempt to conduct a final reckoning of the Smolensk tragedy.
Mr Kaczynski has actively encouraged wild conspiracy theories that the plane was brought down by a plot, not by pilot error as both the Russian and two Polish investigations have so far found.
Finally, there is the question of power and where will it truly reside? After losing every election since 2007, Mr Kaczynski was shrewd enough to put up the moderate and unknown MEP Andrzej Duda as his candidate for president in May this year.
The tactic worked and he repeated it by nominating Beata Szydlo as candidate for prime minister. They are the fresh moderate faces of Law and Justice.
But the party is dominated by Mr Kaczynski and it is more than likely that he will be taking the important decisions facing the country in the coming years. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-47444297 | Global conservation charity WWF has been accused of funding and working with anti-poaching guards who allegedly tortured and killed people in national parks in Asia and Africa.
It says it is commissioning an independent review into the allegations made as a result of the investigation by internet news site BuzzFeed.
The probe alleges its "war on poaching" is causing civilian casualties.
WWF has promised to complete the review as soon as possible.
Indigenous people and villagers have been shot, beaten unconscious, sexually assaulted, and whipped by armed guards in parks in places like Nepal and Cameroon, BuzzFeed alleges.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) funds, equips and works with these guards, the report says, accusing some staff of turning a blind eye to abuses.
It also links WWF staff to a deal to buy assault rifles in the Central African Republic in 2009, against its own policies.
It further alleges that WWF acted as a kind of "global spymaster", funding networks of informants to provide park officials with intelligence, despite publicly denying it did so.
BuzzFeed said it carried out a year-long investigation in six countries, based on more than 100 interviews and thousands of pages of documents, including confidential memos, internal budgets, and emails discussing weapons purchases.
WWF, who says it has hired an international law firm to carry out the review, said human rights were at the core of its mission.
"At the heart of WWF's work are places and the people who live in them. Respect for human rights is at the core of our mission.
"We take any allegation seriously and are commissioning an independent review to look into the cases raised in the story. We have asked BuzzFeed to share all evidence it has obtained to support these claims, to help inform and strengthen this review.
"WWF's work relies on deep community support, engagement and inclusion. We have stringent policies designed to ensure both we and our partners are safeguarding the rights and well-being of indigenous people and local communities in the places we work.
"Any breach of these policies is unacceptable to us and, should the review uncover any, we are committed to taking swift action." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6426035.stm | John Reid has been accused by his critics of substituting tough talk and eye catching initiatives for effective as he launches a fresh crackdown on illegal immigration.
John Reid: Does his choice of language fit Tony Blair's 2005 test?
The Liberal Democrats' Nick Clegg has gone so far as to claim Mr Reid is encouraging the suspicion he is adopting an Alf Garnett attitude towards foreigners in a bid to divert attention away from his lack of effective action on the issue.
Few would doubt that, when it comes to talking the talk, the current home secretary uses some of the most direct language available.
Defending his latest attempts to make the immigration and asylum system fit for purpose he has, for example, spoken of "foreigners" coming to the country illegitimately "stealing our benefits" and services such as the NHS, and undermining the minimum wage.
He spoke, on BBC radio, of "throwing out" record numbers of failed asylum seekers last year and promised those in the UK illegally would have their lives made more "uncomfortable and constrained".
He insisted measures such as requiring foreigners have ID cards from next year, and putting together a "watch list" of illegal migrants to stop them claiming benefits or services, were what the public were demanding.
His comments have led the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants to warn Mr Reid against "hyping up" public emotions on the issue.
Shadow home secretary David Davis said Mr Reid had now given up trying to deport illegal immigrants.
And Mr Clegg said "impersonating Alf Garnett" and yelling at foreigners would not absolve him of responsibility for migration failings.
It is that last attack that goes to the heart of many of the criticisms of Mr Reid's approach to his struggling department - that he relies on his image as the hardest man in government to persuade people he is taking action.
He is not the first home secretary to adopt a controversially tough attitude to this highly-sensitive issue, however.
Former Tory home secretaries were regularly accused by Labour of playing the race card over immigration.
In April 2002 former home secretary David Blunkett caused a storm of protest when he spoke about asylum seekers "swamping" some schools - a remark which recalled Margaret Thatcher's much-criticised phrase about Britain being "swamped by an alien culture".
But, just before the last general election, Tony Blair warned against the use of "alarmist rhetoric" on the issue, claiming the Tories' language often suggested "uncertainty, even hostility, to the position of migrants and their families in Britain".
The message from the prime minister back in 2005 was to keep the rhetoric responsible while taking reasonable, humane action to tackle an issue which had risen dramatically up the voters' list of concerns.
And that, presumably, will be the test Mr Reid will have to pass as his new measures come on stream. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8049537.stm | A pregnant Briton facing a possible death sentence in Laos if convicted of drug smuggling has been allowed to see a UK lawyer for the first time.
Anna Morris, of legal charity Reprieve, met Samantha Orobator, 20, from south London, in Laos on Tuesday.
But Reprieve said open communication was "impossible" due to the presence of Lao government officials.
The UK Foreign Office confirmed that British officials were also present but would not give any further details.
Miss Orobator faces trial accused of possessing 1.5lb (680g) of heroin when arrested at Wattay airport last August.
Despite suggestions her trial was to be brought forward, the Lao authorities have not set a date for it to begin.
Ms Morris said the presence of 10 senior Lao government officials at the meeting prevented her from discussing the case within the privilege of a client-lawyer relationship.
Reprieve said the meeting took place in a boardroom of a government building rather than in Phongthong prison where Miss Orobator has been held for nine months.
The charity had been hoping to assess the conditions in the prison.
Ms Morris said: "Samantha appeared nervous in this formal environment with so many people present, no doubt it was quite intimidating for her.
"In the circumstances, I was not prepared to ask her the questions I had envisaged regarding the case.
"To do so in the presence of members of the Lao government would have been a breach of my professional duty to Samantha and my ethical code as a barrister.
"Samantha said that she was coping but that she was anxious about when the trial would take place.
"Unfortunately, I was not able to give her any reassurance in this respect as the Lao government have still not informed us of a trial date."
She added: "Samantha said that the baby was excited and kicking.
"Despite her small frame, she was visibly pregnant and sat with her hand protectively over her stomach."
Miss Orobator reportedly became pregnant in prison in December.
Reprieve said Ms Morris had asked for further, private access but was told that this would be the only contact that she would be permitted before the trial.
The Foreign Office said it was unable to go into any details about what happened at the meeting due to consular confidentiality, but said it was "continuing to press the Lao government to help ensure that she receives a fair trial".
However a Lao government spokesman previously told the BBC that a pregnant woman could receive a lesser sentence.
Khenthong Nuanthasing said: "We would not sentence a pregnant woman to the death penalty."
At least 39 people have been sentenced to death in Laos since 2003 but Amnesty International reported last year that no-one had been executed in in the south-east Asian country since 1989.
Reprieve said Miss Orobator's mother has travelled to Laos and the charity said it hoped that she would be allowed to visit her daughter in prison. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39972720 | Mobile phone users will be able to switch operators by sending a text to the provider they want to leave, under plans drawn up by the regulator.
Ofcom said customers could avoid an awkward and long call to their operator and instead send a text. In turn, they will be sent switching codes.
The proposal means Ofcom's previously preferred option - a more simple one-stage process - is being dropped.
That system was more expensive and could have raised bills, it said.
The change of preferred plan marks a victory for mobile operators who would have faced higher costs under the alternative system. Ofcom said its research suggested customers would also prefer the new planned system.
At present, anyone who wishes to switch to a different mobile provider must contact their current supplier to tell them they are leaving.
Ofcom research suggests that, of those who have switched, some 38% have been hit by one major problem during the process. One in five of them temporarily lost their service, while one in 10 had difficulties contacting their current supplier or keeping their phone number.
Under previous plans, Ofcom wanted responsibility for the switch being placed entirely in the hands of the new provider. That would mean one call to a new provider by the customer.
The regulator has now concluded that such a system would be twice as expensive as its newly-preferred option of texting to switch.
They would text, then receive a text back, which includes a unique code to pass on to their new provider who could arrange the switch within one working day. Customers would be able to follow this process whether they were taking their mobile number with them or not.
Under the proposed rules, mobile providers would be banned from charging for notice periods running after the switch date. That would mean customers would no longer have to pay for their old and new service at the same time after they have switched.
A final decision will be made in the autumn.
Latest figures published last year showed that there were an estimated 47 million mobile phone contracts in the UK, and approximately 5.9 million people had never switched provider at all, nor considered switching in the previous year.
Video Are we addicted to smartphones? |
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-41093534 | The British government is to invest £146m in discovering new medicines, in a bid to help the UK become a world leader in life sciences.
Earlier this year the UK said it would put £1bn over the next four years into boosting science and technology.
The £146m is part of that earmarked sum and it will go to five different manufacturing centres.
Separately, the Department of Health says it will invest £14m in 11 medical research and development centres.
"The UK has always been at the forefront of scientific excellence. From the discovery of antibiotics to our world-leading 100,000 Genomes project, we have a proud history of medical breakthrough and innovation," said Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
"I want patients to continue to be at the front of the queue for the best treatments available, whether that means early access to trials, giving staff brand new innovations and technology to work with, or being at the heart of research to share best practice quickly across the health and social care system.
"A strong and growing life sciences sector ensures this, particularly as we negotiate our exit from the EU."
In April, Business Secretary Greg Clark announced that the government had set up the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, committing more than £1bn over the next four years.
Out of the £1bn sum, so far £246m has been allocated to battery technology research, under the Faraday Challenge launched in July.
The £146m for life sciences announced on Wednesday by Mr Clark is the next amount of money to be allocated from the fund.
Four of the centres will need to be built from scratch, while the Cell and Gene Therapy Centre in Stevenage will have its capacity doubled.
Prof Sir John Bell will shortly detail the outline findings of an independent sector-led review into the UK life sciences industry at University of Birmingham.
The Life Sciences Industrial Strategy contains recommendations relating to science, data, the NHS and industry growth from global companies such as AstraZeneca, Johnson and Johnson, MSD and GSK, as well as feedback from healthcare groups, charities and small businesses.
The UK government will be considering the recommendations as it drafts a deal between the UK and the global life sciences sector.
"The life sciences sector is of critical importance to the UK economy and UK health - with over 5,000 companies, nearly 235,000 employees and a turnover of £64bn in 2016 - and the government is committed to continuing to help this sector go from strength to strength," said Mr Clark.
"The Life Sciences Industrial Strategy demonstrates the world-class expertise the UK already has in this sector and represents the industry's vision for how we can build on our world-leading reputation in this field.
"We will be engaging with Sir John Bell in the coming months in an effort to work towards a sector deal that helps us seize the opportunities in this area." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/cornwall/3433071.stm | Plans for the multi-million pound regeneration of the Tamar Valley will be unveiled to the public for the first time on Tuesday.
The Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Service is bidding for more than £7m to spend on conserving and enhancing the area.
The Tamar Valley regeneration work has been split into two main schemes.
The first, the Tamar Mines Heritage Project, has bid for £5.2m from several bodies including the Heritage Lottery Fund and the South West Regional Development Agency.
The money would be spent on conserving four flagship mine sites and the construction of a new bridge over the Tamar for walkers.
The second scheme, the East Cornwall Regeneration project, would see £2.1m invested in safeguarding and stimulating the local economy by conserving the area's industrial heritage .
Tamar Valley AONB Service Manager, Tim Selman, said: "So far the projects have taken four years to get this far, a reflection of the complex nature of big funding bids.
"But so far over £4m has been either promised or secured and we are finishing bids for the rest.
"We remain optimistic about starting the work over the next year."
"They are a major economic reinvestment in the landscape, environment and heritage of the area."
The plans are being exhibited at Gulworthy Village Hall this weekend. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2365143.stm | Tens of thousands of protesters came to Washington from across the United States in one of the largest anti-war demonstrations since the Vietnam War.
The crowd filled Constitution Gardens within sight of the Vietnam War Memorial and spilled out along the reflecting pool before marching to the White House.
They came from across the country, some travelling all day and night crowded onto buses to attend the rally.
They wanted to counter the image and the polls that say a majority of Americans support a war against Iraq.
Jean Hinton and Steve Phlegar flew for 12 hours to make the trip from Yuma Arizona.
He said that the administration's new policy of pre-emptive military action is un-American and felt it important to come to the anti-war rally.
"It's one thing to sit around in your living room and talk about it, and it's another thing to show some public support and participate," Mr Phlegar said.
Four students in the sea of people carried signs saying "Nebraskans for Peace."
They left Lincoln Nebraska at 0738 on Friday, and some 26 hours later hit Washington. They might have arrived earlier had their bus not broken down.
One of the students, Aaron Price, is 18. He fears a new draft and doesn't want to fight a war he does not support.
His friend Jonathan Jones said little will be gained by attacking Iraq and feels such an attack is unjust and immoral.
"It's just going to cause a lot more disaster and destruction," he said.
Katherine Albrecht came with others on a bus from Manchester, New Hampshire. "We really felt strongly enough about it to spend a night on a bus," she said.
"I'm ashamed of what my government is doing. I'm ashamed of our elected leaders," she said.
"I wanted to send a message not only to them but to the world that not all Americans are behind this," she added.
In a reference to President Bush's stated goal of ousting Saddam Hussein, many protesters carried signs saying, "Regime change begins at home. Vote."
Critical mid-term elections are set for 5 November.
Regime change begins at home. Vote!
Republicans and Democrats are locked in a fierce battle for control of Congress, and a few key races will decide the balance of power.
The late Paul Wellstone was in the toughest race of his Senate career. He, his wife and their daughter were killed in an airplane crash Friday.
Many in the crowd carried signs paying tribute to the late senator and mourning his death.
Lisa Collins of Reston, Virginia, said that Senator Wellstone was a true liberal, a true Democrat who was not bought out by special interests.
"He'll be greatly missed," she said. "We need more leadership like that, people who will stick with their principles."
Although his Republican opponent tried to paint him as soft on national security, Senator Wellstone voted against the resolution authorising the use of force against Iraq.
Many of the protesters questioned polls showing that a majority of Americans support a strike against Iraq.
Some accused pollsters and the media of interviewing only war supporters.
When Celia Gayer's member of Congress came to her town on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, people turned out 100-to-1 against the war.
Yet, they voted to support the resolution authorising force against Iraq.
"They're cowards. They don't have enough faith in their constituents," she said.
She said they feared "the Bush propaganda machine" would use a no vote against them in the elections.
One protestor carried a sign decrying WMD. No, not weapons of mass destruction, but rather weapons of mass distraction.
Many protesters felt that the drive for war was motivated by the administration's desire to distract voters from domestic problems such as unemployment, a moribund economy and corporate scandals.
Medea Benjamin of the group Global Exchange said, "I think the president has done a very cynical manipulation of the genuine fear people feel after September 11." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6205174.stm | Tony Blair has told MPs it would be "unwise and dangerous" for the UK to give up its nuclear weapons.
The prime minister outlined plans to spend up to £20bn on a new generation of submarines for Trident missiles.
He said submarine numbers may be cut from four to three, while the number of nuclear warheads would be cut by 20%.
Mr Blair said although the Cold War had ended the UK needed nuclear weapons as no-one could be sure another nuclear threat would not emerge in the future.
The options of changing to a land-based, or air-based nuclear weapons system had been considered and ruled out.
Instead the system would remain one based on a fleet of submarines which carry the Trident missiles, each of which can be fitted with a number of nuclear warheads.
Mr Blair said between £15bn and £20bn would be spent on new submarines to carry the Trident missiles. The submarines would take 17 years to develop and build, and would last until about 2050.
He said the UK would also join the US programme to extend the life of the Trident missiles until 2042 - and would then "work with" the US on successor missiles.
A decision on the nuclear warheads themselves "is not needed now", Mr Blair said, although the white paper said a decision would be needed in the next Parliament.
Mr Blair, who faces some opposition within the Labour Party to the plans, said there were "perfectly respectable" arguments about giving up nuclear weapons.
But he said he had to make a judgement about the country's security and the consequences of misjudgement would be "potentially catastrophic".
He denied that Britain was under an obligation to disarm under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and pointed out that new threats were posed by states like North Korea.
"In these circumstances it would be unwise and dangerous for Britain, alone of any of the nuclear powers, to give up its independent nuclear deterrent."
He also said "it is not utterly fanciful" to "imagine states sponsoring nuclear terrorism from their soil".
MPs will vote on the plans in March after a period of debate, he said.
Conservative leader David Cameron said his party agreed with Mr Blair's position "on substance and on timing".
"It is a vital matter for our national security but it requires a long-term approach. I hope we can work together on this issue for the good of the country," he told Mr Blair.
But Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell said proper consideration of all relevant factors could only be made if the decision was postponed until 2014.
He added: "Why is this decision being pushed through his own Cabinet, and through Parliament, just as the prime minister is about to leave Downing Street? Is this about Britain's interests or about his legacy?"
Sir Menzies wants the number of UK warheads halved to 100 - a move he said could help kickstart multilateral disarmament.
Among Labour MPs who oppose replacing Trident former minister Michael Meacher asked: "How can this proposal really be justified in an utterly different post-Cold War environment?"
He argued that the move would restrict conventional defence spending, undermine the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and would take money away from the fights against terrorism, climate change and "long term energy insecurity".
A group of 28 Labour MPs, headed by Gordon Prentice, have written to the general secretary of the Labour Party asking for "wider and deeper consultation" among party members and affiliated organisations.
And Kate Hudson, from the anti-nuclear pressure group, CND, said she was "very very disappointed" with Mr Blair's announcement.
"He talked vaguely about reducing the number of submarines and warheads but it is not clear what that would mean," she said.
"I am sure many Labour MPs will be extremely angry because it is clear the prime minister has set out a pre-determined timetable."
Who's been the best Dr Who? |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6054882.stm | Farepak: "Give your family the best ever Christmas"
As thousands of families face a bleak Christmas after a UK hamper company suddenly ceased trading, a BBC News website reader sent her experiences to the Your Stories site.
Customers of Farepak, owned by European Home Retail (EHR), paid money monthly to the firm or its agents towards food hampers for the festive season.
BDO Stoy Hayward has now been appointed administrator of the Swindon firm.
It said Farepak was "unable to honour its commitments to make deliveries of any vouchers, hampers or other items" to its tens of thousands of customers.
Farepak, which also sold TVs, electrical goods and jewellery, employed 35,000 agents across the UK and had been trading since 1969.
Shagun Dubey, joint administrator and business restructuring partner at BDO Stoy Hayward, said: "We have conducted an immediate review of the Farepak business and it is with real regret that it has been necessary to cease trading."
The latest developments have been posted on the Farepak website and will be updated on Friday, 20 October.
However, it is clear that customers are not going to get their goods or gift vouchers that they have paid for over the course of the year.
Their only hope for some sort of recompense is to put in a claim for compensation from any assets that are realised in Farepak.
"You will have a claim against the company in administration and the joint administrators will be writing to the agents about this as soon as possible," a BDO statement for Farepak customers said.
Trade body the Hamper Industry Trade Association said the situation was "extremely unfortunate".
It said there were "a number of circumstances that affected Farepak's demise" that it was investigating.
Meanwhile, Farepak agents holding customer payments that have not yet been paid to the firm have been told to return them to consumers. And customers who paid by direct debit to Farepak should now cancel those.
One agent is BBC News website reader Marisa Cavarra, 69, of Rhoose, Vale of Glamorgan, who has been with Farepak for nine years and sent her story to the Your Stories site.
She has lost £300, and told the BBC: "We had no indication that anything like this was about to happen.
"I paid my money last month and there were no warnings that there were problems. Now this has come with a bang out of the blue.
"Fortunately, I only have two customers, but they have lost hundreds of pounds each too. It is the worst possible time, with Christmas so close."
Shares in parent firm EHR had been suspended in August, after funding difficulties.
On Friday, home shopping firm Findel bought a number of EHR business assets, including sports outfit firm Kitbag and network marketing firm Kleeneze.
If you have any story ideas - send them to the BBC using the link below and have your say! |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-38782936 | Pakistani blogger Salman Haider has returned home, more than 20 days after disappearing in the capital Islamabad.
He was one of five liberal activists to have disappeared in recent weeks.
Mr Haider's brother said he was well, but did not disclose where the blogger had been.
The men had aired views critical of the military or militancy on social media. No group has admitted holding them. The government has denied accusations that its secret agencies were involved.
When the activists disappeared in early January, hundreds of people held protests across Pakistan to demand that the authorities trace them.
Mr Haider, a well-known poet and university professor, was last seen in Islamabad on 6 January, two days after bloggers Waqas Goraya and his cousin Asim Saeed disappeared in Lahore.
Another blogger, Ahmed Raza Naseer, who has polio, disappeared from his shop in Skeikhupura near Lahore on Saturday.
A fifth activist, Samar Abbas, also disappeared a few days later.
The whereabouts of the other four men are not known, but the AFP news agency on Saturday reported that one of them had been confirmed as safe by a family member. The relative asked AFP not to disclose his name.
Pakistan's government expressed concern and said they were investigating.
Supporters of the men accuse the security services of having secretly arrested them.
During their disappearance, the activists were accused of blasphemy on social media.
Blasphemy is a serious allegation in deeply conservative Muslim Pakistan, and it has prompted further concerns for their safety.
Pakistan is one of the the world's most dangerous countries for reporters and human rights activists, and critics of the powerful military have been detained, beaten or killed.
Mr Haider is a known campaigner against enforced disappearances in the restive Balochistan province.
Correction 28 January 2017: This story has been amended to clarify that only Mr Haider has returned home. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-16404215/anuj-bidve-murder-accused-remanded-until-march | Bidve accused remanded until March Jump to media player The man charged with murdering Indian student Anuj Bidve in Salford on 26 December will remain in custody until his next court hearing in March.
Vigil as Bidve accused remanded Jump to media player A vigil is held in Salford where Indian student Anuj Bidve was killed last week, as a 20-year-old man is remanded in custody charged with his murder.
Vigil in Salford for Anuj Bidve Jump to media player A candlelit vigil has been held in Salford for student Anuj Bidve, exactly a week after he was shot dead in the area in the early hours of 26 December.
Parents' grief at Salford shooting Jump to media player The family of Anuj Bidve, who was killed in Salford on 26 December, have spoken of their grief and anger at the handling of their son's case.
The man charged with murdering Indian student Anuj Bidve in Salford on 26 December will remain in custody until his next court hearing in March.
Kiaran Stapleton, aged 20, appeared at Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday via videolink from prison. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/uk-england-devon-47615015 | A woman accused of murdering her partner believed he was cheating on her, a court hears.
Carers who travel to look after people will be able to park for free on single or double yellow lines under a new trial scheme being launched by Cornwall Council.
The council said around 130 Care Quality Commission accredited care organisations can apply for the Health Care Permit on behalf of the 4,000 carers they employ.
Cornwall Council cabinet portfolio holder for transport Geoff Brown said: “Carers have told us that being able to find a parking space close to the home of those they care for is sometimes a real issue for them.
"As they search for somewhere to legally park on the road, the time they have to spend with the person they are visiting is being eaten into.
Video caption: Clare Balding hears some unlikely stories about lighthouses on a walk around Plymouth.Clare Balding hears some unlikely stories about lighthouses on a walk around Plymouth.
Clare Balding hears some wonderful and unlikely stories about lighthouses on a walk around Plymouth. She is joined by author Tom Nancollas and his friend Michael O'Mahony.
A village hotel has been refused permission to stage outdoor music and films after noise complaints from neighbours.
Churston Manor Hotel at Churston Ferrers, between Paignton and Brixham, was back before councillors after its licence was reviewed in October following problems last summer.
Torbay Council's licensing sub-committee considered an application on Thursday to vary the hotel's premises licence.
After a hearing lasting seven hours, councillors decided to refuse permission for outdoor live or recorded music and film shows between 10:00 and 23:00.
The committee did allow a request for the hotel to open and sell alcohol two hours earlier at 10:00 on Sundays.
The hotel has 21 days to appeal against the decision before it comes into force.
One of the photographers who captured a humpack whale off the Cornish coast at Land's End has described it as a "magical moment".
Video caption: Photographers Duncan Scobie and Carla Regler spotted the whale on Thursday.Photographers Duncan Scobie and Carla Regler spotted the whale on Thursday.
Totnes MP Sarah Wollaston was one of those who left the Conservatives to join the independent Group.
Defeat for Prime Minister Theresa May in a vote on her Withdrawal Agreement in the House of Commons would greatly increase the likelihood of an application on April 12 for a long extension to the Brexit process.
The 23-year-old from Exeter was killed when a train crashed into a car on a level crossing.
Thomas Curd will serve a minimum of 20 years for beating and poisoning 22-month-old Eve Leatherland.
A humpback whale has been spotted off the coast of Cornwall at Land's End.
Photographers Duncan Scobie and Carla Regler spotted the whale on Thursday.
Mr Scobie said: "It's one of the magical moments in your life - it was awesome."
A man who beat and poisoned his ex-partner's 22-month-old daughter has been sentenced to life in prison.
Eve Leatherland had multiple fractures and a fatal dose of codeine in her system when she was found in her bed in October 2017.
Thomas Curd, 31, was found guilty of her murder at Truro Crown Court on Thursday.
Her mother Abigail Leatherland, 26, was found guilty of causing or allowing her death.
She has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison while Curd will serve a minimum of 20 years.
A bunch of flowers has been laid at the scene where a 23-year-old man died in a level crossing crash.
It happened at Stoke Canon between Exeter St Davids and Tiverton Parkway at about 06:00 GMT on Thursday.
British Transport Police (BTP) said the man's death is not currently being treated as suspicious, but it is investigating how it may be linked to three further incidents on the line.
A man who murdered his ex-partner's 22-month-old daughter by repeatedly beating and poisoning her will be sentenced later.
Eve Leatherland suffered multiple fractures and had a fatal dose of codeine in her system when she died in Liskeard in October 2017.
Thomas Curd was found guilty by a jury at Truro Crown Court on Thursday.
Eve's mother Abigail Leatherland was convicted of causing or allowing her death, but acquitted of manslaughter and will also be sentenced later.
Police are increasingly concerned for the welfare of a 33-year-old man reported missing from Teignmouth.
Andrew Bent was last seen in the Exeter area on Wednesday.
Mr Bent is described as a white man, around 6ft 5ins tall, clean shaven with collar-length, straight, blond hair.
He was last seen wearing a dark coloured leather jacket with a khaki hoody, light blue jeans, and black trainers, and was carrying a large black camping rucksack with red detailing.
Police are asking for anyone with information about Mr Bent's whereabouts to contact them.
It'll be another chilly start to the day with areas of mist, fog and low cloud affecting many areas at first.
Some fog patches will be quite dense initially, but should clear by mid-morning to give another bright and dry day with long spells of sunshine and some patchy cloud.
Light variable winds will be mainly southeasterly.
Cornish food processing company St Merryn Meats is under threat of closure, with the potential loss of 173 jobs.
Managers of the factory in Roche have entered a 45-day consultation period with the Usdaw union, but no definite decision about the plant's future has been made.
St Merryn Meats is owned by Kepak and makes chilled meat products such as burgers for a variety of different brands.
An Usdaw spokesman said the closure would be devastating for the area and the union's priority would be to save jobs.
The news follows the confirmation that Kensey Foods in Launceston will close in July with the loss of more than 600 jobs.
"About a dozen" chickens have been rescued from a large shed fire in Newquay.
Firefighters from Newquay and Perranporth were called to the blaze at an allotment in the town on Thursday evening.
Crews were able to prevent the fire spreading to any other buildings.
The allotment was situated next to a plot belonging to two of the firefighters, so the chickens were able to be re-homed in a pen there. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-47403727 | Scotland's Brexit Secretary says the people of Northern Ireland have been let down by the lack of an executive.
SNP politician Mike Russell said the Stormont stalemate has impacted on the wider Brexit debate.
He said cross-party discussions about the UK leaving the EU have proved difficult because there are no Northern Ireland executive ministers present.
Northern Ireland has been without a government since the power sharing executive collapsed in January 2017.
Speaking to the BBC Northern Ireland programme The View, Mike Russell said: "I think the people of Northern Ireland have been let down by not having [a Stormont] administration.
"The reasons for that are for the Northern Irish people to discuss, not for me. But I think there has been an added difficulty in these talks, which has been created by that."
Since 2017, civil servants have represented local ministers at Joint Ministerial Committee meetings involving politicians from Cardiff, Edinburgh and London.
Mr Russell told the BBC: "There has been a good principled representation from the Northern Ireland Civil Service. I sit alongside those people at committee meetings, but I don't think Northern Ireland has been heard."
Whilst local politicians have not been discussing Brexit at Stormont, at Westminster it has been a different matter.
The DUP's 10 MPs have found themselves centre stage in the Brexit debate over the key issue of the Irish border backstop.
The Conservative Party entered into a pact with Arlene Foster's party after the general election in 2017, in order to give Theresa May a working majority in the Commons.
The DUP agreed to support the government on all Brexit votes, finance bills, the Budget and a number of other areas, in exchange for an extra £1bn spending for Northern Ireland.
Whilst the DUP have the ear of the Prime Minister at Westminster, some Conservatives say different opinions from Northern Ireland are missing.
Scottish Tory MSP Adam Tomkins told The View the DUP's voice "is being heard loudly in London at the moment because Theresa May is reliant on DUP votes in terms of confidence and supply, and also, presumably, in terms of the meaningful vote later in March".
He added that "other voices in Northern Ireland have not been forthcoming".
Mike Russell says the SNP government campaigned for Scotland to be considered a special case after Brexit. However, he claims the Conservative government has not taken their arguments on board.
He told the BBC: "I don't think anybody has been listened to, except those who are around the Prime Minister. The more extreme you are, the more likely you are to be listened to by the Prime Minister. I don't think the Prime Minister listens to anybody."
However, Conservative MSP Adam Tomkins said the SNP are playing politics over Brexit.
"They have weaponised Brexit, not because they particularly care about the terms on which the United Kingdom leaves the EU, but because they are trying to use it to push their own aggressive case for an independent Scottish state," said Mr Tomkins.
The View is broadcast on BBC One Northern Ireland on Thursday at 22.40 GMT. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19591039 | US police have visited the home of a California resident who admitted involvement in the film which sparked anti-US riots in the Arab world.
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, of Cerritos, California, is said to be a Coptic Christian of Egyptian origin.
He told the Associated Press on Wednesday that he was the manager for the company that produced the film.
But he has denied being "Sam Bacile", credited as the writer and director of the film.
However, the Associated Press says police now believe Mr Nakoula was in fact the director of Innocence of Muslims.
Police were photographed entering and leaving Mr Nakoula's house on Wednesday night.
The front door of the property is said to resemble a door used in the controversial film.
A spokesman for the sheriff's department in Cerritos refused to confirm Mr Nakoula's link to the film, telling the BBC: "All we are doing is providing safety for anybody that needs it."
The obscure film mocked Muslims and the Prophet Muhammad. It was shown to tiny audiences in Los Angeles in June, but has since achieved notoriety online.
A clip of the film dubbed into Arabic has been blamed for sparking protests at US missions in Egypt, Libya, and Yemen.
US Ambassador J Christopher Stevens and three other Americans died in an attack on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.
Unconfirmed reports suggest the Libya attack could have been planned ahead of the appearance of the film.
The exact origin of the film and the internet clip, and the motivation behind its production, remains a mystery.
A man saying he was the writer and director, and claiming to be called Sam Bacile, spoke to a number of media outlets on Tuesday, making inflammatory anti-Islamic comments in support of the film.
He claimed to be 52, or 56, depending on the source, and to be an Israeli-born Jewish estate agent.
Media captionUS Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the video as "reprehensible"
The most offensive comments about Islam and the Prophet Muhammad had been quite obviously dubbed onto the soundtrack afterwards and not spoken by the actors, the BBC's Alastair Leithead reports.
Cindy Lee Garcia, from Bakersfield in California, was quoted by the website Gawker saying she had a small role in a film which she was told would be called Desert Warriors, about life in Egypt 2,000 years ago.
She threatened to sue the director for the way the actors were represented.
"I said why did you do this, why did you do this to us Sam," she told CBS on Wednesday. "He said no this is not your fault. He said, you tell the world that I did this. That I wrote this script."
The extent of any involvement by Mr Nakoula in the film's production is not yet clear.
However, court documents related to a criminal prosecution in 2010 show him using aliases including Nicola Bacily, Robert Bacily and Erwin Salameh.
He pleaded no contest to federal bank fraud charges in California. US prosecutors said he set up fraudulent bank accounts using stolen identifies and Social Security numbers.
In addition to restitution and 21 months in federal prison, Mr Nakoula was ordered not to use computers or the internet for five years without approval from his probation officer, AP reported. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38890993 | A French judge has ordered ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy to stand trial in an illegal campaign finance case.
Mr Sarkozy faces accusations that his party falsified accounts in order to hide 18m euros (£15m; $20m) of campaign spending in 2012.
Mr Sarkozy denies he was aware of the overspending, and will appeal against the order to stand trial.
He lost the 2012 race, and failed in his bid to run again in this year's upcoming presidential election.
What charges does Mr Sarkozy face?
The case is known as the Bygmalion scandal.
It centres on claims that Mr Sarkozy's party, then known as the UMP, connived with a friendly PR company to hide the true cost of his 2012 presidential election campaign.
France sets limits on campaign spending, and it is alleged the firm Bygmalion invoiced Mr Sarkozy's party rather than the campaign, allowing the UMP to spend almost double the amount permitted.
Employees at Bygmalion have admitted knowledge of the ruse and several UMP members already face charges.
The investigation into Mr Sarkozy centres on whether the ex-leader was aware of the alleged fraud.
Thirteen other people are also expected to be tried.
However, Mr Sarkozy's lawyer, Thierry Herzog, has said he will launch an appeal against the trial order, because only one of the two judges handling the case signed the order.
"The clear disagreement between the two magistrates in charge of the matter is such a rare event that it is worth underlining, as it illustrates the inanity of the decision," Mr Herzog said in a statement.
The development comes as other French politicians have faced questions over their financial dealings.
Francois Fillon, who beat Mr Sarkozy to become the centre-right's candidate for the presidential race, is accused of misusing public funds to employ his wife and two children.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament is demanding France's far-right leader Marine Le Pen return funds it says she has misspent, by paying an aide at the National Front party's headquarters in Paris.
Mr Sarkozy is the second French president to be put on trial since 1958, when the current French republic was established.
Former leader Jacques Chirac was given a two-year suspended prison sentence in 2011 for diverting public funds and abusing public trust.
As president, pushed through reforms including raising the retirement age from 60 to 62 and relaxing the 35-hour working week. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35764353 | Niger's jailed opposition leader Hama Amadou has withdrawn from this month's presidential run-off.
Mr Amadou campaigned from prison where he is being held on baby trafficking charges, which he denies, arguing they are politically motivated.
The Copa opposition coalition accused the government of fraud and "unfair treatment between the two candidates."
The government rejects the accusations and says the run-off will proceed as planned on 20 March.
The court ruling on whether Mr Amadou's trial is to go ahead on 23 March has yet to be decided.
President Mahamadou Issoufou gained 48% of the first round vote in February, with Mr Amadou, jailed since November, taking 17%.
Copa's Seini Oumarou is pushing for all their coalition representatives to pull out from the national electoral commission. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-47297912/bernie-sanders-on-2020-presidential-run-we-re-going-to-win | Bernie Sanders: 'We're going to win' Jump to media player The Vermont senator announces he will run again for US president in 2020.
'This is the fight of our lives' Jump to media player Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren launches her US presidential bid, focusing on corruption and inequality.
Amy Klobuchar announces bid for 2020 Jump to media player Under heavy snow and freezing temperatures, US senator Amy Klobuchar announces her bid to be the next president of United States.
'Voters will care about my ideas, not that I'm gay' Jump to media player The mayor of a city in Indiana tells the BBC why he's running for president.
'Excellent alpha lady' targets US presidency Jump to media player US students describe presidential hopeful Senator Kamala Harris in three words.
Sanders: 'President is a pathological liar' Jump to media player Bernie Sanders attacked President Trump after being re-elected in Vermont for his third term in the Senate.
US Senator Bernie Sanders says he will run again for president in 2020, making a second attempt to win the Democratic Party's nomination.
When asked on CBS This Morning what the difference was this time, he said: "We're going to win."
The 77-year-old Vermont senator ran for the party's nomination in 2016, but lost to Hillary Clinton. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-london-41056969/the-london-team-taking-quidditch-by-storm | The London team taking Quidditch by storm Jump to media player The sport created by JK Rowling in the Harry Potter books is now played for real.
Quidditch plaque mystery resolved Jump to media player The mystery surrounding a secret quidditch-related plaque at a hospital in Bristol has been resolved.
Pottering about on brooms is wizard Jump to media player It was a game conjured up on the pages of Harry Potter, but now the best quidditch teams in the country will compete for the British Quidditch Cup.
Quidditch, the magical sport played in the Harry Potter books, has been brought to life.
A real-life "Muggle version" is growing in popularity, and a team from London is preparing to try and win the first ever Premier League trophy. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17593314 | A senior US government official has resigned in the wake of a report concluding her agency improperly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars.
General Services Administration chief Martha Johnson quit after it emerged $820,000 (£511,000) was spent on a training conference near Las Vegas.
The inspector general's report found that planners had violated several regulations and flouted other rules.
The GSA oversees office space, supplies and transport for the US government.
Ms Johnson fired two deputies and suspended other career employees before tendering her own resignation to the White House on Monday, admitting a "significant mis-step".
Four GSA employees who organised the five-day conference for 300 staff in October 2010 have been placed on administrative leave.
The training session's costs included a $95-per-person dinner and reception, a separate $31,000 networking reception, including $7,000 in sushi, and a $3,200 session with a mind reader.
The Washington Post reportedthat the session had also included a clown and a comedian.
White House chief of staff Jack Lew said in a statement: "On his first day in office, President Obama made clear that the people who serve in his administration are keepers of the public trust and that public service is a privilege.
"He was outraged by the excessive spending, questionable dealings with contractors and disregard for taxpayer dollars."
The inspector general's report noted that "as the agency Congress has entrusted with developing the rules followed by other federal agencies for conferences, GSA has a special responsibility to set an example".
"That did not occur here," the report concluded.
Reports there were warnings of possible attacks throws the spotlight on the country's leadership.
Could a computer ever rival Rembrandt or Beethoven? |
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-42344159 | Drugs with a street value of £170,000 have been recovered after police raids at properties in Glasgow and North Lanarkshire.
Three people have been arrested in connection with the find.
Officers from the Organised Crime and Counter Terrorism Unit searched houses in Motherwell, Dennistoun and Parkhead on Tuesday 12 December.
Quantities of drugs believed to be heroin and cocaine were seized.
A 25-year-old woman and two men aged 24 and 27 were expected to appear at Hamilton Sheriff Court on Wednesday. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1400749.stm | A high-speed Bullet Train has arrived at its new home in Britain - after inching its way there at 25 mph.
The Japanese-built loco reached speeds of up to 140mph when it whisked passengers to destinations out of Tokyo.
But its progress across England was far more sedate as it made its way to York on the back of a low-loading lorry trailer.
Now it is being prepared to take centre stage in a new exhibition at the National Railway Museum (NRM).
The "Series O" train - serial number 22-141 - is the first vehicle built and run outside the UK to be part of the national collection.
It began service in 1976 and was mothballed in October 2000 after more than 20 years of plying the 320-mile Tokyo to Osaka route.
The deal to bring the train to Britain was struck between NRM and West Japan Railways, with the Japanese company agreeing to pay the costs of shipping the engine to Britain.
Once in Britain, the museum was helped by a consortium of Japanese businesses who have contributed to the costs of bringing the 82-feet long train from Southampton to York.
Andrew Scott, head of the museum, said: "There is no doubt that visitors to the museum will be able to explore one of the impressive and recognisable rail icons of all time.
"If you look back over the history of railways, there have been many defining moments.
"But the launch of the Bullet Train was arguably the most important breakthrough in rail technology since Rocket won the Rainhill Trials."
The Shinkansen - which translates literally as "new main line" - was first opened in 1965 with trains hurtling from Tokyo to Osaka at speeds which slashed the 320 mile journey to just three hours.
A similar-length trip in Britain at the time would have taken around five and half hours.
The train is currently parked in an industrial estate in York before being transferred by rail to the museum on 24 June.
Visitors to the museum in York will be able to see the train from 14 July. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/4221109.stm | Fernando Morientes grabbed his first Premiership goal as Liverpool earned all three points at Charlton with a vintage second-half display.
Inspired by former Anfield ace Danny Murphy, the hosts took a deserved first-half lead, Murphy swinging in a corner for Shaun Bartlett to head home.
But Liverpool, who had struck the bar twice, hit back when Spaniard Morientes rifled in from 20 yards out.
John Arne Riise slotted the winner after a neat pass from Luis Garcia.
The teams started with virtually identical league records and there was little to separate them on the pitch early on.
Liverpool where unlucky not to score when a Garcia shot was spilled by Dean Kiely into the path Steven Gerrard, whose shot bounced back off the crossbar.
But then the hosts went in front, Murphy's 20th-minute corner headed home powerfully by Bartlett.
We played well today, Charlton are in good form! Another good away performance, which is all we want!
Gerrard forced a sharp save from Kiely shortly afterwards as Liverpool looked to redress the balance.
And the visiting captain almost set up an equaliser when he cut a clever cross back to Morientes, who saw his shot saved from two yards out.
The visitors continued to press forward on the restart.
And Riise came within inches of the breakthrough when he latched onto a superb ball from Garcia and hit a rasping drive, which Kiely tipped on to the Charlton bar.
Morientes finally found the back of the net when he buried a left-foot shot into the top corner after Charlton had failed to clear.
Djimi Traore had to time his challenge well to deny Murphy an instant reply.
But Liverpool were in the ascendancy now, with Morientes causing plenty of problems.
The Spaniard went close himself, before releasing Riise, who cooly finished with a trademark low drive.
Morientes departed to great ovation from the visiting fans, as Charlton's biggest home attendance for 10 years tasted disappointment.
"We played a very good game with a high tempo and lots of confidence.
"We have seen the mentality of the players, the team spirit and the quality we have.
"I think we had two or three clear chances in the first half but conceded the goal. In the second half we controlled the game."
"In the first half it was quite even but the second half they totally dominated and looked such a strong side.
"We played on Saturday while they¿ve had a week's rest but you have got to get on with it.
"I'm really disappointed because if we'd held out for a draw it would have been a great bonus for us."
Charlton: Kiely, Young, Fortune, El Karkouri, Hreidarsson, Thomas (Kishishev 59), Murphy, Holland (Jeffers 77), Hughes (Euell 66), Konchesky, Bartlett.
Subs Not Used: Andersen, Johansson.
Liverpool: Dudek, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore, Luis Garcia (Potter 90), Biscan, Gerrard, Riise (Warnock 90), Baros, Morientes (Smicer 88).
Subs Not Used: Pellegrino, Carson.
Goals: Morientes 61, Riise 79. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-42314289 | Overfishing and changing sea temperatures are pushing seabirds to the brink of extinction, according to new data on the world's birds.
Birds that are now globally threatened include the kittiwake and the Atlantic puffin, which breed on UK sea cliffs.
Meanwhile, on land, the Snowy Owl is struggling to find prey as ice melts in the North American Arctic, say conservation groups.
The iconic bird is listed as vulnerable to extinction for the first time.
"Birds are well-studied and great indicators of the health of the wider environment,'' said Dr Ian Burfield, global science coordinator at BirdLife International, the IUCN Red List authority on birds.
He added that success in kiwi and pelican conservation had shown that, when well-resourced and supported, conservation efforts do pay off.
Worldwide, over a quarter of more than 200 bird species reassessed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature have been moved to higher threat categories while a similar number have been downgraded.
Seabirds are of particular concern, including Cape gannets, which are now classified as Endangered, and the Antipodean Albatross, which risks being drowned by fishing lines.
Fishing pressures and ocean changes caused by climate change are reducing food supply for the chicks of seabirds, while adults receive little protection when they fly over areas of the ''high seas'' that do not fall under the jurisdiction of any country, says BirdLife International.
The kittiwake (Rissa Tridactyla, or black-legged kittiwake), which breeds along northern coasts, has declined globally by about 40% since the 1970s.
More than 70% of the British breeding kittiwake population is found in Scotland.
However, there has been a dramatic decline, particularly in Orkney and Shetland and on St Kilda in the Western Isles.
"Some efforts are underway to protect important seabird foraging areas in international waters, but there is much more we could do around the UK to protect our internationally important and increasingly threatened seabird populations," said Laura Bambini, the RSPB Scotland's seabird recovery officer.
Sandeels are a vital food source for breeding seabirds in the North Sea. The eels are threatened by rising sea temperatures and are also harvested by commercial fisheries.
"We need to ensure that the future management of the sandeel fishery is sustainable,'' said Dr Euan Dunn, the RSPB's marine policy specialist.
Elsewhere, the Snowy Owl has moved up the rankings from Least Concern to Vulnerable. The North American population has declined by 64% since 1970, as changing temperatures affect its habitat and prey. Collisions with vehicles and utility lines are also a threat to the owl, made famous in the Harry Potter books.
"Arctic biodiversity is under pressure from a number of stressors, including climate change, so hopefully the uplisting of the Snowy Owl as a flagship species will also draw attention to wider issues in this region,'' said Dr Burfield.
In Asia, the Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola), which is illegally trapped for food, has been uplisted from Endangered to Critically Endangered.
More positive news comes from Europe, where Dalmatian Pelicans are recovering after conservation efforts. This year, pelicans on Lake Skadar in Montenegro had their most successful breeding season ever, raising 60 chicks.
However, while two species of kiwi in New Zealand are now less threatened, the Kea is declining, in part due to tourists feeding the parrots with junk food like bread and chips. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4302742.stm | HSBC is close to buying a majority stake in Iraqi bank Dar Es Salaam Investment bank, according to one of the global bank's senior executives.
HSBC is in talks to buy a 70% stake in the Iraqi lender, which has 14 branches across Iraq and employs 450 staff.
HSBC was one of three foreign banks given permission last year to start trading in Iraq.
But high levels of violence have so far hindered the development of the country's banking system.
HSBC hopes to buy the company from its main shareholder, the Khudairy family.
David Hodgkinson, chief executive of HSBC's Middle East operation, said the bank was "very close" to concluding an agreement.
He said HSBC hoped to develop the bank's services by investing in computerised payment systems and cash machines.
"I think because the banking system in Iraq is still in its fairly early stages of development, it will be a question of putting in place fundamental services," he told Reuters.
Foreign banks were banned from Iraq under Saddam Hussein although a number of private banks were licensed to operate.
After Saddam Hussein was overthrown, HSBC, Standard Chartered and National Bank of Kuwait were licensed to operate in Iraq.
Any deal would have to be approved by the Central Bank of Iraq as well as the board of Dar Es Salaam.
With operations in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman and Qatar and the Palestine Authority, HSBC claims to be the largest international banking group operating in the Middle East. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-12004391 | Hundreds of service personnel from Devon and Cornwall will see active service in Afghanistan in the spring, the Ministry of Defence has announced.
Among the hundreds of South West personnel deploying to Afghanistan will be 45 Territorial Army soldiers from Exeter-based 6 Rifles.
Although they are being mobilised along with the regular troops these men and women have effectively volunteered to go to Afghanistan.
Among them is Ted Evans, a 32-year-old doctor in the accident and emergency department at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.
He is also 6 Rifles' Regimental Medical Officer.
He has been to Afghanistan before, but is keen to get out there again.
He said: "It's an important job to be able to support your boys and I feel the soldiers at 6 Rifles are my boys.
"Seeing them train hard and work hard towards this upcoming tour of Afghanistan inspired me to get involved and help them out.
"I look forward to the opportunity to practice medicine in a difficult environment with new challenges, new responsibilities and to really feel part of something that is making history.
"To be involved in that process is a daunting one, but it's also exciting."
There has been a shift in the way the Army views its reservists these days.
They are not there just to make up the numbers, there is an acceptance that they can bring skills from their everyday lives that regular soldiers may not have. Dr Evans is an obvious example.
"I'm lucky that my transition from my civilian job to my military job is essentially the same," he said.
"I'll be looking after a very different population of patients, but essentially my skills are immediately transferable.
"My main focus will be to make sure other soldiers, civilians and even enemy fighters are well looked after if they are injured.
"But I'm also there to make sure that we can maintain the fighting strength of the soldier, so I'm acting to look after them on a day to day basis, from simple complaints and minor injuries all the way up to significant battle wounds."
But he says he can also bring valuable knowledge back from Afghanistan.
"In Afghanistan we see significant injuries, be they from battle, from accidents, or whatever it may be and that experience can only help me in my clinical practice here in Exeter."
Dr Evans said his family were aware of the dangers, but were very supportive.
"I have a brother who has just returned from Afghanistan," he said.
"He's an infantry commander with the Ghurkas and he's come back full of exciting stories and inspiring tales. Mum and Dad understand that it's something we've always wanted to do."
Also vital for TA soldiers to be able to do their job, is having the support of their civilian employer. Dr Evans said he was lucky.
"The NHS are fully supportive of the Territorial Army and they fully appreciate there's a job to be done," he said.
"Although my services are needed in this department, especially during this busy time of the year, they understand I've also got a job to do somewhere else."
Most of the soldiers from 6 Rifles will enjoy a spell of well-earned leave over the festive period - but not Dr Evans.
"I'm committed to a period of work here in the department. Over Christmas we'll be extremely busy I'm sure, but that's good preparation for the tour," he said. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7302254.stm | When detectives drew up a detailed family tree of nine-year-old Shannon Matthews, it was so complicated that the diagram looked more like the London tube map.
Rather than spreading out in conventional fashion, it veered off in various, complex directions.
Karen Matthews gave birth to Shannon on 9 September, 1998. She is one of Karen's seven children - by five different fathers.
Karen's current partner, Craig Meehan, is the father of her youngest child.
The couple have been together for the past four years. At 22, Craig is 10 years younger than Karen.
It is his uncle - Michael Donovan - who has been charged with the kidnap and false imprisonment of Shannon.
When she disappeared last month, Shannon was living with Karen and Craig in Dewsbury Moor along with three other children.
Shannon's real father is Leon Rose, who lives 10 miles away in Huddersfield.
When Karen and Leon were together, they had two children - Shannon and her older brother, who now lives with his father in Huddersfield.
Of Karen's seven children, four live with her and three - two boys and a girl - live elsewhere.
Her partner, Craig, is also believed to come from a large family. It has been reported that he has nine aunts and uncles.
During the course of the police investigation into the disappearance of Shannon, they looked at all of her family connections.
At the same time, they searched 3,000 houses in the Dewsbury area and spoke to 6,000 different people.
Although Shannon's father, Leon, did not see much of her during the months before she disappeared, he stood side-by-side with Karen and Craig during one of the community events to highlight the search for the missing schoolgirl.
And when step-father Craig was criticised by some members of Karen's family, Leon defended him.
As well as highlighting the divisions in the family, the search for Shannon brought some relatives closer together. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-politics-eu-referendum-35711093/what-being-in-the-eu-means-for-our-mobile-phones | EU in 10 objects: The mobile phone Jump to media player Matthew Price looks at how EU regulation affects our lives by considering the mobile phone.
The EU in 10 objects: The clock Jump to media player Matthew Price explains what the clock can teach us about the EU.
The EU in 10 Objects: Lipstick Jump to media player Chief correspondent Matthew Price looks at a story of red lips and red tape.
Voters are going to be told throughout the referendum campaign that the European Union affects their everyday lives. But how?
In its series Europe In 10 Objects, the Today programme is exploring the costs and benefits of the EU by looking in detail at objects people encounter in their daily lives.
Chief correspondent Matthew Price looks at what EU regulation means for mobile phones. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11838544 | When exactly is our winter of discontent?
The thing about news is that it has to be unusual, otherwise it's not news, it's just life. That's one theory at least. But it presents all sorts of problems, says Michael Blastland in his regular column.
Imagine a land where people wear spectacles that turn danger upside down - what's deadly appears trivial, what's unlikely chills the blood.
They lurch into national panic over a mouse dropping - recall Parliament, phone the army! - but regard everyday killers with indifference. It's a place of swivel-eyed disproportion.
But is this fiction, or real? Enter the strange media world of Harrabin's Law, and decide for yourself. The media does sometimes seem to be a place where what you hear most is often what happens least.
I've named the phenomenon after the BBC's Roger Harrabin, who puts it like this: "When considering societal problems over the long term, news-worthiness is often in inverse proportion to frequency. If problems become commonplace, they are not new - so do not qualify as 'news'. This means the media often guides politicians to focus on less serious acute problems at the expense of more serious systemic problems."
To find out if it was true, he counted how often stories about various risks were covered by a sample of media outlets, and compared that with the data. The law seemed to apply.
I'll offer a new example that extends the idea - in a moment.
"Dog bites man" - not news.
"Man bites dog" - that's news.
So the more rare an event, the more it stands out. The more it stands out, the more attention we give it.
And that's when we hit trouble. Because the more attention it's given, the more everyone reads and hears about it. The more we hear about it, the more frequent we think it is - and the bigger we think the problem. There are the spectacles.
As Harrabin says: "In areas of public policy where government is asked to intervene there is often a perverse pressure on politicians through the media to act on issues which appear more immediate but are ultimately of lesser public significance."
An example is the comparison between the reporting of road and rail deaths. Rail deaths are far more infrequent and because of that - not in spite of it - they gain more coverage.
Here's a topical test-case for you to judge that stretches the principle a little. Has Harrabin's Law struck again - on strikes? Seems to me there's been an obsession with an imminent "winter of discontent", and indeed spring, summer and autumn of discontent, more or less continuously for the last three years.
and of course the Telegraph.
The BBC reported threats of a Scottish SUMMER of discontent in 2009.
Ever original, the Sun suggested a SPRING of discontent in 2011.
And, to complete the set, here's the Guardian with an AUTUMN of discontent.
The data, however, suggests that this is a period - comparatively speaking - of breathless tranquility, with strike days lost about 50 times higher in 1979 than now and fewer strike days in the past 20 years put together than in 1979, despite 4.5 million more people in the workforce today.
If Harrabin's Law applies, maybe the most interesting and typical thing about workplace relations throughout this recession has been mostly ignored. That is that they seem to have been marked by weary resignation in the workforce or, dare we say it, co-operation during hard times on both sides. Meanwhile effort goes instead to finding proof of that elusive strike-mayhem.
Well, up to now. It's conceivable that we will see more strikes as the cuts bite. Even if the warnings of mass strikes have rung out wrongly for the past three years, it might be true one day. Even a stopped clock eventually tells the correct time.
Unions are far weaker today, but still a force. Pay and conditions are under genuine pressure. And the new boss of Unite, Britain's biggest union, Len McCluskey, has warned of a "wave of industrial action in the spring".
But true in realistic comparison with 1979? The interesting question is whether this is a dog that hasn't yet bitten because people have changed in the UK. That's a question not much asked.
But what about strikes at the BBC? What about British Airways? That's exactly the reaction that bears out Harrabin's Law. We seize on a few prominent examples and assume they equal a trend. There are often problems with data, that's true, but I quite like to know what the trend data is, and on strikes it's not much reported.
There have to be limits to Harrabin's Law. If strikes never happened at all, it would be surprising if that led to an increase in media comment on winters of discontent. But short of that, what do you think? Harrabin's Law? Or am I exaggerating? |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-47319321 | A Zimbabwean carer who has been a UK resident for the past 12 years says she fears persecution if she is deported.
Siphiwe Moyo wanted to escape violence as she was a member of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change.
She has cared for quadriplegic patient Yvonne Gade from Trull, Somerset, for nine years, but her visa permission was refused after a relationship breakdown.
The Home Office said deportation would only happen when a safe return was guaranteed.
Ms Gade requires 24-hour care after a brain aneurysm, and her partner Karen Atwell has also been diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer.
"Siphiwe is family - she's lived with us for eight-and-a-half years," said Ms Atwell.
"Before her, we didn't have a consistent carer and it was really hard."
Ms Atwell said the Home Office had not considered the impact the deportation would have on her partner.
"[Ms Moyo's] irreplaceable. We can't just make up for eight-and-a-half years' experience overnight with another carer," she added.
Ms Moyo said that after her relationship broke down the Home Office told her last month she had to leave.
She said the prospect of returning to Zimbabwe was "frightening".
"I don't want to go back, we all see what's happening there," Ms Moyo said.
"People are killed and tortured. They know I've been here for 10 years, and I don't know what's waiting for me there.
"I - with the Home Office - would look at the other side, I've worked, protected Yvonne and paid my taxes."
A Home Office spokesperson said: "All applications are considered on their individual merits, on the basis of the evidence available and in line with UK immigration rules.
"Where applications are refused removal is only enforced when we and the courts conclude that it is safe to do so, with a safe route of return."
The UK government's own travel advice for Britons travelling to Zimbabwe advises them to "avoid political activity, or activities which could be construed as such, including political discussions in public places".
It also advises people to avoid all demonstrations and rallies as they "can be unpredictable and may turn violent". |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6690425.stm | BBC NEWS | Middle East | Why did Israel attack USS Liberty?
Why did Israel attack USS Liberty?
For former US seaman Gary Brummett, the 40th anniversary of the 1967 Middle East war has stirred painful memories.
As a 21-year-old third class petty officer, Mr Brummett was serving on board the USS Liberty off the coast of Egypt on 8 June, when, without warning, the vessel came under fire, first from fighter planes, then torpedo boats.
The attack, which lasted at least 40 minutes, resulted in the deaths of 34 of Mr Brummett's fellow crewmen, at least 170 injured and catastrophic damage to the ship.
Alarmingly, the assault had been carried out not by enemy forces, but by the US' closest regional ally, Israel.
Israel insists it mistook the Liberty for a hostile Egyptian ship, the El Quseir, and numerous US and Israeli inquiries have concluded the attack was accidental.
But for Mr Brummett and a growing body of conspiracy theorists, the authorities are guilty of a cover-up.
"I have more trouble with it today than when it happened because I know more of the facts about what was going on," said Mr Brummett.
"There's been an egregious wrong done here, there's been an extreme number of lies told to the American people and the American people do not know the truth about what happened."
The attack on the Liberty - the gravest incident in the history of US-Israeli relations - has been a source of controversy for the past four decades.
Claim and counter-claim as to what happened have been fought out in every corner of the media, with the advent of the internet helping to reinvigorate the debate.
Israel's supporters say the incident is merely being used as a tool by critics to malign the Jewish state, while accusers say the attack was a war crime which has never come to light.
According to Israel, the incident was a tragic case of friendly fire occurring in the fog of war.
It says it believed the ship had been bombarding Israeli forces fighting in the Sinai, and that its pilots did not see any US flags (survivors say there were three) on the vessel before they opened fire.
Sceptics however claim the attack was premeditated and that the truth has been suppressed. The assertion of a cover-up was lent weight by a 2003 independent commission of inquiry which reported that the attack on the Liberty "remains the only serious naval incident that has never been thoroughly investigated by Congress".
Among the most popular theories as to why Israel would take such drastic action against its superpower ally is that the Liberty, a $40m state-of-the-art surveillance ship, was eavesdropping on an Israeli massacre of Egyptian prisoners of war.
Israel strongly denies its troops executed Egyptian POWs, saying those who died in an incident at that time were 250 armed Palestinian fighters killed in action.
Another is that the ship had learnt of secret Israeli plans to invade Syria's Golan Heights two days later and had to be destroyed.
Perhaps the most sinister motive is that put forward by journalist Peter Hounam in his 2003 book "Operation Cyanide".
Mr Hounam claims secret elements within the US and Israeli governments colluded to bomb the ship and blame the attack on Egypt and their superpower ally, the Soviet Union, triggering massive retaliation which would ensure Israeli victory.
"The attack on the Liberty was pre-planned, perhaps from at least a year beforehand," Mr Hounam says.
"The Liberty was sent into a very dangerous situation, where it was, in my view, placed in a position to be attacked."
Mr Hounam says the intention was to sink the ship and kill everyone on board, but as the Liberty remained afloat the plan was aborted and has been hushed up ever since.
Successive US and Israeli inquiries, and the declassification of thousands of pieces of information, have done little to dampen suspicions.
One of the most powerful claims of a cover-up has come from retired US Navy lawyer Capt Ward Boston, counsel to the Navy Court of Inquiry into the incident conducted just days after the event.
Capt Boston says the court's original findings, which he signed, were changed afterwards by government lawyers.
He also claims the president of the court, Rear Adm Isaac Kidd, told him he was ordered by US President Lyndon Johnson and Defence Secretary Robert McNamara to conclude the attack was a case of mistaken identity.
However, Capt Boston's version of events - and the notion that what happened was anything more than a tragic accident - are disputed by numerous academics and authors who have investigated the incident.
"It was a series of blunders by both the United States and Israel that resulted in a terrible tragedy and nothing more," says Jay Cristol, a federal judge and author of the book The Liberty Incident.
"All the official reports came to the same conclusion.
"Unfortunately there are a number of people who are on the other side of the Arab-Israeli conflict who think this is a way to attack the otherwise very strong relationship between the US and Israel, and they keep stirring the pot.
It is a view with which historian Michael B Oren, a senior fellow at the Shalem Center, a Jerusalem academic research institute, concurs.
"Many thousands of documents related to the Liberty have been declassified and in none of these documents will you find a scintilla of evidence to suggest any of these conspiracy theories are true," he says.
"The Golan one is the easiest to disprove because of where the Liberty was, not off the coast of Israel, but Egypt. Its listening devices weren't that powerful that they could listen in on communications in Tel Aviv.
"Moreover the Israelis were very upfront in telling the US that they planned to capture the Golan Heights and the Americans agreed to it.
"Regarding a massacre of Egyptian POWs, there's no evidence of that. And why would the Israelis try to cover up one atrocity by committing another?
He says the attack has remained a source of controversy because "it has all the ingredients of a good spy scandal. It involves espionage and it involves the Israelis, who are forever a focus of conspiracy theories.
"If I could prove the Liberty was attacked in a premeditated fashion, I would write it - it would be a great historical scoop - but the truth is far more mundane."
How can the legacy be resolved? |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12279028 | Scientists and explorers will shortly set off on an expedition aiming to discover how Arctic sea ice melts.
This year's Catlin Arctic Survey will focus on the thin layer of water immediately under the floating ice.
Arctic ice is melting faster in summer than many computer models predict.
Survey data could improve forecasts of the region's future, and also show how likely it is that the flow of warm water in the North Atlantic, known as the Gulf Stream, will switch off.
This would bring colder weather to the UK and other parts of western Europe.
"The Arctic is one of best barometers of climate change, where we see big changes taking place today," said Simon Boxall from the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) at the UK's University of Southampton.
"This is not just about polar bears - it's about our lives in the UK and in North America."
In early March, four explorers will set off on foot from the geographic North Pole, trekking across the ice and ending up 10 weeks later in Greenland.
They will make regular stops to drill holes through the floating ice and lower a package of instruments into the water on the end of a piece of rope - instruments that measure the water's temperature, salinity and flow.
This data will allow scientists to calculate the rate at which the water is sinking.
"We're measuring the critical 200m layer of water between the ice and the deep ocean beneath," said Dr Boxall, who conceived the project.
"The hypothesis has been that the layer stays there, trapped, acting to insulate the cold ice from the warm salty water below.
"On the other hand, the water might be taken away more quickly - and that might accelerate the rate of Arctic melting."
Even in the era of Earth observation satellites and automonous ocean floats, the old-fashioned approach - sending people across the ice to take readings by hand - is really the only one available for this kind of work, he noted.
The findings could prove to be crucial in terms of projecting the future for Arctic sea ice.
Both the area and volume of summer sea ice are steadily shrinking; and the last four summers have seen ice extent fall to sizes that a few years ago were being projected for the latter half of this century.
If mixing in the crucial top ocean layer is happening more, that could help explain the trend and refine models, Dr Boxall said.
The project could also improve forecasts on the climate of western Europe, and much further afield.
The North Atlantic Drift (commonly called the Gulf Stream) brings warm water from the tropics into northern latitudes, where it gives up some of its heat to the air - keeping the UK and neighbouring countries warmer than their latitude alone would suggest.
In colder regions north and west of the UK, winds whip water molecules from the sea, cooling it and making it more saline.
In cold seasons, a layer of ice forms, which again adds to the water's salinity.
The cold salty water sinks, and eventually returns southward deep in the ocean, forming part of the global thermohaline circulation (THC).
As it sinks, it draws the warm surface waters northwards.
Warmer and fresher water does not sink so readily; and this could could turn off the "ocean conveyor", a picture painted in heightened Hollywood colour in the movie The Day After Tomorrow.
"Overall, if these changes... contribute to a lowering of the salt content of the North Atlantic, it could have a major impact on the entire planet - from significant temperature drops in Europe to intensified monsoons in Asia," said Richard Zimmerman, a bio-optics specialist at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, US.
"It may also impact weather patterns throughout North America, including a dramatic increase in the frequency and intensity of severe storms, including hurricanes and tornadoes across the eastern US."
Recent work at NOC suggests it would be a quick change - if it happens.
It would be likely to cool the UK's climate, with the sort of winter seen in the last three years becoming the norm.
While the four explorers trek across the sea ice, scientists encamped on Ellef Ringnes Island off the north coast of Greenland will sample seawater and ice for coloured dissolved organic materials (CDOM), which affect the ocean's absorption of sunlight.
"We'll be taking ice core sections and melting them, filtering and measuring particulates and the CDOM fraction within melted ice, and measuring algae," said Victoria Hill, also from Old Dominion University.
Results from the season's work are expected to be ready for publication in science journals in the first half of next year.
This is the Catlin Arctic Survey's third season, with ongoing projects focussing on ocean acidification - another consequence of having more CO2 in the atmosphere.
The £1m project is directed by explorer Pen Hadow and sponsored by the Catlin insurance group. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45448668 | Simon Coveney predicts that Donald Trump's visit to Ireland will be controversial.
The tánaiste (deputy Irish prime minister) also said he does not think Mr Trump is a racist, an assertion made by former Taoiseach Enda Kenny.
But he said that while the Irish government is facilitating the visit it does not mean they endorse the US president's policies.
Mr Trump is expected to visit Ireland on 12-13 November.
During that time, Mr Coveney thinks there will be some straight discussions between the government and Mr Trump.
"We don't agree with Donald Trump in terms of his approach to climate change, we don't agree with his approach on migration, we don't agree with his approach in terms of international trade," he said.
"I don't say he's a racist, but as I've said before, I disagree with many of the policies that he advocates."
On Brexit, Mr Coveney said that negotiations between the EU and Britain are on a better footing than they were before the summer.
Speaking on the second day of the Fine Gael think-in, he said much of this had to do with the UK cabinet being more united and having a clear negotiating position.
"We also have a Brexit minister that is much more hands on, he is a detail person, he is a lawyer and he is determined in my view to try to get an agreement," he said.
Mr Coveney believes that "with some more flexibility on all sides" a deal can be done by the end of October.
"But it if needs a few extra weeks, so be it," he said.
Mr Coveney insisted there can only be an agreement if it contains a legal guarantee that ensures there is not going to be border infrastructure on the island of Ireland. |
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