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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3978689.stm | By Steve Schifferes
It has been a bad 24 hours for the Democrats. Not only have they lost the presidency - and by a bigger margin in the popular vote than expected - they have also lost several key Senate and House seats.
How can they reshape their image during their next four years in the political wilderness?
Democrats need to find issues to energise their core supporters
"I am here a little bit late and little bit short," Mr Kerry told his disappointed supporters on Wednesday.
For the Democratic candidate, it could be the epitaph for his campaign.
After a weaker than expected boost from his nominating convention, John Kerry made a major change in his campaign strategy in the first week in September.
That's when the senator from Massachusetts decided to come out fighting over the war in Iraq - bypassing his key advisers who wanted him to emphasise economic issues.
In retrospect, it may have been a crucial mistake.
Exit polls conducted for the Associated Press news agency and the US television networks show that the issue of Iraq was less important than the economy as a campaign issue.
Although both motivated Kerry supporters, raising Iraq also raised the spectre of terrorism - an issue on which voters trusted President Bush much more.
The president was rated more highly than Senator Kerry on leadership qualities such as "honest and trustworthy", a "strong leader", and "takes a clear stand on the issues".
Senator Kerry's perceived change of position on Iraq may have hurt him with some undecided voters, although it allowed him to mount an effective challenge to the president in the first televised debate.
But it also reflects the difficulty that any challenger faces in running against an incumbent during a war - when the president's role as commander-in-chief comes to the fore - despite Senator Kerry's attempt to portray himself as a military hero during the Democratic convention.
Senator Kerry is also widely believed to lack the personal charisma that helped Bill Clinton win the White House for the Democrats.
His most highly ranked quality was "intelligence".
And many more Democrats than Republicans admitted to the pollsters that they were voting against their opponent rather than for their own candidate.
Finding a new Democratic leader will not be easy.
The party also lost their minority leader in the Senate, Tom Daschle, who was defeated in a bitter race in South Dakota.
And US parties in opposition lack a mechanism for uniting around a central figure - as the long, drawn-out race for the 2004 nomination showed.
But beyond the leadership question, there are deeper questions for Democratic strategists.
The Republican success, both at the local and national level, has been based on mobilising their socially conservative base, which has strong views on issues such as abortion and gay marriage.
Senator Kerry attempted to energise his own liberal supporters by speaking out on issues like abortion - where he pledged to ensure that the Supreme Court would maintain a woman's right to choose - and stem cell research, which he wanted to expand.
The Democrats must keep their dwindling Southern base alive
And these issues do appeal strongly to the Democratic base, including women, the highly educated, and those who live in big cities.
But these groups are not large enough to overcome Republican advantages among the married, suburban voters, and white Protestants.
And this approach has given the Democrats problems in the socially conservative Deep South, which has been steadily moving towards the Republicans over the last three decades.
The Democrats do retain strength among African-Americans, but the other part of their rainbow coalition, the Hispanic vote, is heading towards the Republicans on social issues.
The Democrats could take another tack, trying to appeal more to their working class supporters. Election returns show Mr Kerry won 60% of union voters, for example.
And indeed the Democrats do have a strong appeal to voters earning under $30,000 annually, who make up one-quarter of the electorate.
However, turnout among poorer voters has traditionally been low.
But the bigger difficulty is that the Democrats have spent the last decade repositioning themselves as the party of fiscal responsibility.
By implementing welfare reform under President Clinton, the Democrats signalled that they were " new Democrats" who rejected the old redistributive policies of tax and spend - a position broadly re-affirmed by Senator Kerry.
And the modern Democrat party now goes right up the income scale, also appealing to 43% of voters earning more than $150,000.
The Democrat's rich supporters have been increasingly important in funding their campaign as elections have become ever more expensive.
Seeking a cause
The Democratic party has always been something of a broad coalition.
At its peak, during Franklin D Roosevelt's New Deal in the 1930s, the Democratic Party included Catholic immigrants in Northern cities and rural Southerners.
But that coalition was based on action to tackle mass unemployment during the Great Depression.
The Democrats are still looking for an issue that will unite their increasingly diverse group of supporters.
Health care reform has not proved to be such an issue - and Democratic activists lack a vision of the future that will galvanise the party.
Now the Democrats' depleted leadership will face an energised Republican party - with a controlling majority in Congress - that is determined to deliver benefits to its Christian and conservative supporters.
In his concession speech, Senator Kerry urged all Americans to work together for the good of the country and pledged his support for US efforts in Iraq.
It will now be up to the Republicans to bridge the growing partisan divide.
The exit poll was conducted for AP and the US networks by Edison Media Research/Mitofsky International during the voting on 2 November. The sample size was 13,531 and the margin of error is +/-1%. |
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-29874053 | Acker Bilk: Legendary jazz clarinettist dies aged 85
- 3 November 2014
- From the section Entertainment & Arts
Clarinettist Acker Bilk, who personified the trad jazz revival of the 1950s and '60s, has died after a lengthy illness at the age of 85.
His most famous song Stranger on the Shore was the UK's biggest selling single of 1962 and made him an international star.
Born Bernard Stanley Bilk, he changed his name to Acker - Somerset slang for "mate" - after learning to play the clarinet in the Army.
His last concert was in August 2013.
Pamela Sutton, who was Bilk's manager for 45 years, said he had "been ill for some time", adding: "He was my great friend and his music was legendary."
Born in Pensford in Somerset, Bilk tried a number of different careers before borrowing a clarinet and copying recordings of famous jazz musicians while in the Army.
He formed his first band in Bristol after his demobilisation.
Known for his goatee, bowler hat and fancy waistcoat, Bilk was awarded an MBE in 2001 for services to the music industry.
He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2000 but recovered and continued to play concerts, the last of which was at the Brecon Festival last year.
US number one
Bilk told the BBC in a 2012 interview that when he wrote his biggest hit Stranger on the Shore, he did not immediately realise it was special.
The instrumental made him the first artist to have a simultaneous chart-topping hit in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
"I didn't think it was much different from any of the rest of it," he said.
"It was just a thing that came out of my head, that's all. I didn't sort of work on it or do much at all with it."
Besides Stranger on the Shore, Bilk also had hits with tunes such as Summer Set and Buona Sera.
He sold millions of records and won an Ivor Novello award.
'One of the great earworms'
"RIP ol' liquorice stick," tweeted broadcaster Danny Baker on hearing the news, describing Bilk as a "good jazzer & eternal answer to question: 'What UK artist had 1st number one in USA?'"
Poet Ian McMillan also paid tribute to the musician, describing him as the "creator of one of the great earworms. That shore was strange, but memorable."
Kenny Ball Junior, whose father Kenny Ball played alongside Bilk, said he had fond memories of the two of them playing together.
"He was such a wonderful player," he told the BBC. "He conquered everywhere. He was such a lovely bloke, a very genuine guy."
Bilk leaves his wife Jean, daughter Jenny and son Pete. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7796712.stm | Mr Brancato says he was a bystander in the murder.
Sopranos actor Lillo Brancato has been cleared of second degree murder over the shooting of an off-duty police officer in 2005.
The 32-year-old former star of the hit US TV series was convicted of attempted burglary by a jury in New York. He faces a minimum of three years in jail.
Brancato and an accomplice were accused of breaking into an apartment in the city to steal prescription drugs.
Officer Daniel Enchautegui, who lived next door, was shot in the incident.
Correspondents say Brancato - who played Matt Bevilaqua in the drama's second series - may be released early because of time already served. He is due to be sentenced next month.
When giving evidence at the murder trial Brancato said he did not know his accomplice, Steven Armento - his ex-girlfriend's father - was armed when they went looking for drugs.
He added that he was suffering heroin withdrawal at the time. "I was dope sick. Mentally, I was a mess. I needed something," he told the jury.
Armento was convicted of first-degree murder in October and sentenced to life in prison without parole. |
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-21495707 | Thailand economic recovery picks pace in fourth quarter
- 18 February 2013
- From the section Business
Thailand's economic growth exceeded expectations in the last three months of 2012 as it continued to recover from the previous year's devastating floods.
Gross domestic product surged 18.9% in the October-December period, from a year earlier. Most analysts had forecast a figure close to 15%.
Compared with the previous quarter, the economy grew by 3.6%.
Analysts said the data may lessen the pressure on the central bank to ease its monetary policies to spur growth.
"Overall, the Thailand economy is in a pretty good shape right now," Rahul Bajoria, an economist with Barclays Capital told the BBC.
"It is unlikely that the central bank will cut rates anytime soon. The numbers clearly indicate that there is no urgent need to do that."
The floods in Thailand had an impact on some of the biggest industrial areas and resulted in many factories being shut.
That hurt Thailand's exports, one of the biggest drivers of its economic growth.
To make matters worse, a slowdown in demand from key global markets also hurt the export sector.
As a result, Thailand's government implemented various steps to help stoke domestic demand in an attempt to offset the decline in exports and sustain growth in the economy.
It raised minimum wages in various parts of the country, in some areas by as much as 40%.
The government also announced plans to spend 2tn Thai baht ($65bn; £40bn) on infrastructure projects after the devastating floods.
For its part, Thailand's central bank, the Bank of Thailand, cut interest rates in October last year, bringing down its key rate to 2.75% from 3%.
Analysts said that given the strong domestic demand and increased government spending, a rise in consumer prices remained a concern and may prompt the central bank to keep rates on hold in the short term.
"Domestic demand momentum is certainly picking up and this will spill over into 2013," said Eugene Leow of DBS Bank.
"The focus will likely turn towards inflation, especially considering the robust growth numbers." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/music/newsid_3498000/3498049.stm | Duran Duran have just been honoured with a special award at the Brits. Last year, they got an MTV lifetime achievement gong. But who are they?
The short answer is: "Ask your mum!" Back in the 1980s, Duran Duran were as massive as Busted or Blazin' Squad.
But in case your mum wasn't a fan, here's our guide to the 80s superstars.
Who's who in Duran Duran?
Simon Le Bon's the singer. John Taylor plays bass. Most girls used to fancy these two, although keyboard player Nick Rhodes, guitarist Andy Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor had lots of fans too.
How long have they been around?
More than 25 years. They rose to fame in the early 1980s, thanks to a string of catchy singles and their distinctive style. They reached the peak of their fame in the mid-80s, then the original line-up split.
What happened then?
The band members worked on other music projects. Simon and Nick ended up carrying on using the name Duran Duran.
When did they re-form?
They started working on new songs two years ago. They went on a couple of mini-tours. Then everything snowballed and they played sell-out gigs in the US and UK. They start an arena tour in April.
Why are they winning awards now?
They've sold 70 million records. Enough said! |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4080000/newsid_4089000/4089092.stm | An after-school computer club just for girls could be coming to your school.
Over a hundred schools tested out a special computer package which helps you put on a virtual fashion show, mix music or design your own magazine cover.
Computer Clubs for Girls (CC4G) have been so successful, they're being set up in schools across the country.
Lerato, who goes to one of the test schools, told Newsround that computers aren't geeky!
"I like having a computer club just for girls because you don't feel under pressure.
When there are boys in the class, you feel like you're competing. It's always a question of whether the boys are better then the girls or the girls better than the boys.
In ICT lessons, boys like to think they can go at a faster pace than the girls, but in CC4G it's much more relaxed.
Also in lessons, the teacher might say something like: 'Today we are going to be using spreadsheets.'
It's much more fun to set up a fashion show and use spreadsheets as part of a project.
Before, I could only type
When I started CC4G in Year Seven, I didn't know much about computers. I knew how to type and that was it!
Now I'm in Year Nine. In two years I've learned to use loads of computer programmes to do things like slide shows, animation and photography.
I love learning about more advanced computer technology through different projects.
Of all the computer programmes I've learned, I really enjoy animation. I found it the most challenging and I got a real satisfaction from getting there.
I put together an animation of girls dancing and presented it at a big show in London in front of loads of people.
My friends and I showed people what we'd done and explained what we'd learned from it.
Just the way I wanted!
The project I'm most proud of is a story I composed as a slide show. It was a cross between the Lion King, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast.
It had pictures and I also added music to it. It came out just the way I wanted it!
I use what I've learned in other lessons and for my coursework.
In Geography I made a slide show about Mount St Helens, which is a volcano. I even made it explode!
My teacher was very pleased and I got a high mark for it.
In the future
With the computer package CC4G, you can paint your nails funky colours
I'd like to do something with computers or engineering or become a lawyer.
In all three jobs, I'd use the skills I've learned. I'd also use them at home.
Bill Gates is my role model
Computer businessman Bill Gates is my role model. I like his products and I'd like to design some software myself.
It'd be good to design a game because I think a lot of them don't match up to people's standards.
I'd also like to design a computer language that only I can understand. Then I can say 'I'm cleverer than you!'
Go for it!
When I first heard about CC4G I thought: 'Oh no, not another club.'
Then one day my mum was a bit late in picking me up from school and I decided to kill time by going along.
I found I really enjoyed it and I carried on.
If you're a girl who's not sure whether to join a computer club for girls, I'd say: 'Go for it.'
You might find you're better at it than you think you are. People often put themselves down but they should give it a go."
Lerato, 14, Berkshire
If you like the idea of an after school computer club for girls, why not ask your teacher to visit www.e-skills.com/exchange for more information. They can also use the link in the green box in the top right hand corner of this page.
Why don't you write us a Press Pack report - and get it published on the site?!
It can be about anything that's happened in your local area - or your views on the news. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-18226356 | Lincolnshire Boston Stump church tower revamp completed
Part of a major restoration programme to renovate a famous church tower in Lincolnshire has been completed.
The £250,000 project in St Botolph's Church, in Boston, has seen a new gift shop, cafe, toilets and offices built.
Work is still underway to restore the north face of the 272 feet (83m) high tower, known as the Boston Stump, which is due to be finished by the autumn.
The Princess Royal, who is a patron of the restoration appeal, is to officially open the facilities in July.
Fundraising manager Peter Coleman said: "We're really looking forward to the opening because it's obviously a really special year for the Royal Family.
"Her Royal Highness is coming to visit us late afternoon on 17 July and will perform the opening ceremony."
The new visitor and community facilities, in one of the largest parish churches in England, were paid for by a number of grants. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-11530685 | Wigan football fans angry at rugby league road signs
Football fans in Wigan have complained after the council installed new road signs recognising the recent success of the town's rugby league team.
Wigan Warriors beat St Helens in the Super League final on 2 October.
On Monday, Wigan Council installed an extra banner, which reads "Wigan Warriors Super League Champions 2010", below six "Welcome to Wigan" signs.
Dozens of Wigan Athletic football fans then complained the council were showing a bias towards rugby league.
The football fans' anger was compounded when contractors accidentally replaced one sign in Crow Orchard Road which acknowledged both Wigan Athletic and Wigan Warriors.
The council's head of highways, Mark Tilley, has now apologised.
He said: "We were notified of the situation by a number of Wigan Athletic supporters and we immediately made arrangements for the situation to be rectified.
"I can confirm that the original signage was reinstated later on Monday afternoon.
"Having recognised that we made a mistake I feel that we did act promptly to resolve the situation and I sincerely apologise once again for the upset this situation has caused."
A spokeswoman for Wigan Warriors declined to comment on the row, except to say the subject of the signs were a matter for the council.
"We are just happy to celebrate what the club has achieved," she said.
However Karen Fulton, a member of the Wigan Athletic Supporters Club's committee, said football was the "national game".
She added: "The council should recognise both teams in the same way and have both teams on all the signs.
"It should never have happened - you could say it was an own goal for Wigan Council." |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-17747655 | Mishaps mar Marion Smith's 1,100-mile cross-Britain journey
A 69-year-old Nottinghamshire woman who is walking the length of Great Britain has run into snowstorms, a muddy bog and a street sign during the first few weeks of her journey.
Marion Smith, of Woodborough, walked away with a bloody face after falling down when she stepped on her bootlaces near Bath on the Cotswold Way.
Earlier she almost broke her wrist after colliding with a street sign near Okehampton.
Mrs Smith, who is raising money for cancer research and the air ambulance in memory of her husband, admitted she had had "a few mishaps" along the way.
Painkillers and pints
So far she has reached Barnoldswick in Lancashire - having walked a total of about 520 miles (837km) of her 1,120-mile (1,800km) journey from Land's End to John O'Groats - which she took on to celebrate her upcoming 70th birthday.
Speaking of the accident near Okehampton, she said: "Walking with my head down, I inadvertently collided with a road sign.
"I thought I had broken my wrist and I couldn't get up for a while because of the weight on my back.
"Covered in mud and with a twinge in my hip, I carried on for about a mile when I realised I'd lost my glasses. But I fortunately found them intact actually in the middle of the road."
She also lost a boot in a bog near Taw Green in Dartmoor but managed to escape and rescued it later with help of a local farmer.
"Eventually after being pressure washed and fed cake (blow the diet) I was able to continue," she said in her blog.
Mrs Smith, who had already cycled from Land's End to John O'Groats three years ago, said she has kept going thanks to "painkillers and pints".
Her bad luck did not stop with the bloody face and sprained wrist as she also left her mobile phone behind at a youth hostel and lost her handheld satellite navigation device behind a bin in a toilet.
Her glasses have posed many problems as she has broken them three times and struggled to get them fixed or replaced.
Kinder Scout, a hill in Derbyshire's Peak District, was one location where Mrs Smith encountered snow and freezing conditions.
"The wind was blowing so much I couldn't get my cape on. I was also worried about being blown off the tiny slippery path on the edge of such a steep drop. It was a horrible thing to do and I arrived at the youth hostel shivering and shaking."
Mrs Smith, who is writing a blog about her experiences, said she also almost sparked a police search.
She stashed her rucksack at a cottage on a farm because she had mislaid a map - and retraced her steps for several miles.
But on her return she was told the owner of the cottage had called the police after finding the rucksack.
Mrs Smith said she was determined to carry on despite her setbacks and hopes to finish what she calls "LeJog" by June.
"I can't see very well until I replace my glasses but I am holding up pretty well. In fact I am as fresh as a daisy," she said. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17139284 | Care regulator head leaves post
The head of the body regulating health and social care has announced her resignation - as a critical government report into its work is published.
Cynthia Bower said it was "time to move on" from her post as England's Care Quality Commission chief executive.
The CQC came under attack last year over the exposure of abuse of residents at the Winterbourne View care home.
The Department of Health report said it had underestimated its task and could have done more to manage risks.
The CQC was heavily criticised over its handling of Winterbourne View, and accused of failing to act when it was warned of concerns first raised in an investigation by the BBC's Panorama programme.
Three people who worked at the home have admitted ill-treatment but eight cases are still to be heard by the courts.
The CQC has also been heavily criticised during the public inquiry into the failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust, and in reports by the Health Select Committee and the National Audit Office.
The CQC began work in February 2009, bringing together three different organisations and registering more than 40,000 providers.
The Department of Health report said it had made "considerable achievements" and that, over recent months, there had been "significant improvements", with increases in the number of inspectors and more focus on "core duties" of registering and inspecting healthcare providers.
But it added: "The review found that the scale of this task had been underestimated by the CQC and the department, and more could have been done to manage risks during the early years of the organisation's operation."
It added: "The role of the CQC has not been as clear as it needs to be to health and care providers, patients and the public."
The review makes 23 recommendations on how the CQC - and the regulatory system as a whole - should improve.
It suggests the CQC should "raise its game" and work more closely with other regulators, and strengthen capability at executive board level.
And it suggests the Department of Health itself should do more to support the CQC and ensure that it is held to account for its role in regulating health and social care.
Announcing her departure, Cynthia Bower said "After almost four years leading CQC, I feel that it is now time to move on.
"The process of setting up an entirely new system of regulation has been intensely challenging - but we have accomplished an enormous amount.
"We have merged three organisations, registered 40,000 provider locations and brought virtually the entire health and social care network under one set of standards, which focus on the needs of people who use services."
Kay Sheldon, a current CQC board member, said: "This is the right decision".
"I believe Cynthia Bower should have left before now given the serious and ongoing problems the organisation has faced.
"Today's capability review report raises significant questions about senior level competence in the organisation as well as the functioning of the board.
"The persistent failure to address, and at times acknowledge, the problems needs to be tackled if we are to achieve an effective and sustainable regulator that functions in the interest of patients and the public'.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: "I would like to thank Cynthia for her work and leadership and wish her the best of luck for the future.
"Over the last year, we have seen CQC make improvements and respond to the need for enhanced scrutiny and enforcement of standards."
Deputy chief executive of the NHS Confederation, David Stout, said: "We are pleased that the government is more interested in changing how the CQC works and its focus rather than the form.
"There has been too much structural change to regulation. The organisation needs some stability to give it a fair chance of success."
Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association improvement had been seen in the CQC's work.
But she said it still needed to make changes: "The CQC must do more to tackle poor care but it can only do this if it radically changes its approach.
"It must make sure they visit a representative selection of hospital services during an inspection, not focus on one or two wards."
"Now is the time to ensure that the care regulator is ready and able to provide quality regulation." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/mobile/africa/8449502.stm | Players in Togo's national football team have told of their shock when gunmen fired on their bus as they drove to the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.
Manchester City player Emmanuel Adebayor described it as "one of the worst things I've ever been through in my life".
He said the bus was targeted just 5km (3 miles) across the border and the shooting lasted for half an hour.
He described how players and other team members were trapped in the bus.
"They shot dead our driver, there was no-one to drive the bus," he told the BBC.
He said those on the bullet-riddled vehicle had to continue to dodge bullets to jump into the cars that eventually came to rescue them.
"It was like we were living in a dream. I'm still under shock," he said.
"I am one of those who carried the injured players into the hospital, that is when I realised what was really going on. All the players - everyone was crying, calling their mums, crying on the phone, saying their last words because they thought they'd be dead."
Thomas Dossevi, who plays for Togo and FC Nantes, said they had been "machine-gunned, like dogs".
He told how players had hidden under the seats of the bus as bullets flew around them.
Several players are reported to have been injured in the attack in the Angolan territory of Cabinda.
Aston Villa said its 26-year-old midfielder Moustapha Salifou was "shaken but okay" following the attack.
"Machine-gunned at the border with Angola!" Mr Dossevi told French sport radio RMC.
"I don't know why. We were under the seats of the bus for 20 minutes trying to get away from the bullets."
Mr Dossevi described the gunmen as hooded and "armed to the teeth".
He said the team had just completed border checks when the firing started.
"We were surrounded by the police and everything was in order," he told AFP news agency.
"Then there was heavy firing and police fired back. You would have thought we were in a war. We were shocked. When we got out of the bus we asked ourselves, why us?"
He said the goalkeeping coach and the doctor were among those wounded.
"We don't really want to play in the Africa Cup of Nations," he said. "We are thinking of our friends, the injured players."
Midfielder Richmond Forson said the number of injuries could have been much worse had the gunmen not originally fired on the wrong bus.
"It was the bus carrying our baggage which was in front of us which they fired on the most," he told French TV channel Canal Plus.
"They thought we were in the bus in front, fortunately for us. That's what saved us.
"Then they fired on our driver and those who were in front. The windscreen was shattered by the first bullets."
He added: "It's disgusting to take bullets for a football match."
Fellow midfielder Alaixys Romao said the players had feared the worst and he believed Togo were now likely to pull out of the tournament.
"We're not thinking yet of what could happen," said the Grenoble player.
"But it's true that no-one wants to play. We're not capable of it.
"We are thinking first of all about the health of our injured because there was a lot of blood on the ground.
"For the moment there is not much news because they have been taken to different hospitals.
"In cases like these we are thinking of those near us, of those we love because that really could have been the end of us." |
https://www.bbc.com/news/10332703 | Exhibition for £39m Mumbles pier revamp plans
Plans for a hotel, apartments, boardwalks and family entertainment centre as part of a restoration project for Mumbles Pier are going on show.
The owners of the landmark are hoping for public support before submitting an application to Swansea council.
They say the £39m development would raise the £3m needed to restore the 112-year-old landmark.
An exhibition with an opportunity to ask questions will be held in the Pier Hotel ballroom on Friday and Saturday.
Owners Ameco Ltd said the scheme was also vital to RNLI proposals to build a modern lifeboat house capable of launching a new Tamar class vessel, due to become operational before 2015.
Managing director John Bollom said: "Over the years, we looked at how we could find a cost-effective method of rebuilding the pier.
"Sadly, privately owned piers do not qualify for heritage funding and the local authority has other restoration priorities such as Oystermouth Castle.
"We therefore had to find a privately-funded solution to generate £3m for replacement costs."
He said public consultation to date had resulted in over 95% positive responses to the principle of commercial and residential development.
"We are attempting to restore an iconic part of Swansea's heritage without a penny from the public purse and against the backdrop of a global economic recession that is still affecting investment," he added.
A detailed planning application is due to be submitted at the end of the month.
The exhibition will be open between 1030 and 1830 BST on 18 June and 0930 to 1330 BST on 19 June. |
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-19279656 | Ben Ainslie postbox: Royal Mail U-turn in Lymington
A postbox in Lymington will be repainted gold in honour of Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie, the Royal Mail has said.
It had originally only painted a postbox in Cornwall, where Ainslie grew up.
A campaign started after Rob Smith, 51, was arrested after painting the postbox in the Hampshire town where the gold medallist lives.
Hampshire police have said they will be taking no further action against him.
New Forest Acting Ch Insp Alex Reading said the decision had been taken after consultation with Royal Mail which had withdrawn its complaint.
"We can appreciate the sentiment being expressed by the British public who want to congratulate and celebrate the achievements of our Olympic athletes," he said.
"We would though advise members of the public to find lawful ways to acknowledge and celebrate our athlete's successes."
Mr Smith, a father of three, was arrested on Lymington's High Street early on Saturday on suspicion of criminal damage and later released on bail.
Royal Mail has been honouring British gold medallists by painting postboxes gold in their hometowns and initially described Mr Smith's actions as "vandalism".
The company has now said it will strip Mr Smith's paint from the postbox and repaint it gold themselves.
Spokesman Nick Martens said: "We initially picked Restronguet in Cornwall as the place Ben Ainslie grew up and where he first learned to sail.
"However, after speaking with Ben, we have agreed to repaint the postbox on Lymington High Street at his request, and are delighted to do so.
"Ben is a local hero in Lymington and now he will be one of the few lucky Team GB gold medallists to have two gold postboxes celebrating his achievement.
"However, we still highly recommend people leave the painting of postboxes to Royal Mail."'Caved in'
The gold postbox in Lymington proved popular, with people having their photo taken beside it and a Facebook campaign attracted more than 2,000 supporters.
Campaigner Ian Watkins said Royal Mail had "caved in to the demands of the people".
"Lymington is a small town with not many heroes - we are very proud of what Ben has achieved," he said.
The four-time Olympic gold medallist has lived in the Hampshire coastal town for 12 years and is an honorary life member of the Royal Lymington Yacht Club.
When asked about the postbox at a homecoming event at the club on Tuesday, Ainslie described Mr Smith as a "legend of Lymington". |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/8205197.stm | Ronnie Biggs arrived at the nursing home in an ambulance
Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs has left his hospital bed in Norfolk for a nursing home in London.
Biggs, who was granted compassionate release from his prison sentence last week, is being taken to Barnet by ambulance.
The 80-year-old has been treated for pneumonia at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
His legal adviser, Giovanni Di Stefano, said: "He is just well enough to be moved and that will be his final home."
Biggs was taken to hospital in July from Norwich Prison where he was serving a sentence for his part in the robbery.
Last week, he said he wanted to carry on living "to spite those who want me dead".
He said: "I've got a bit of living to do yet."
Biggs has suffered several strokes and is fed through a tube
On 7 August, the prison guards watching Biggs were withdrawn from his bedside after his formal release papers were signed.
Justice Secretary Jack Straw said he was releasing Biggs because he was "gravely ill".
Five weeks earlier he rejected a recommendation by the parole board that Biggs be freed, accusing him of being "unrepentant".
Biggs was part of a 15-strong gang which attacked the Glasgow to London mail train at Ledburn, Buckinghamshire in 1963 and made off with £2.6m.
The train's driver, Jack Mills, suffered head injuries during the robbery. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25585626 | UK weather: Storm had 'frightening power'
4 January 2014 Last updated at 00:17 GMT
There has been severe flooding in parts of the UK as high tides have combined with heavy rain and strong winds.
The Environment Agency issued severe flood warnings in the south west of England, Wales and the Midlands.
Residents in parts of Dorset and Aberystwyth were evacuated from their homes ahead of high tide on Friday night, which has now passed.
Jon Kay reports. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4703073.stm | Beethoven's symphonies were downloaded nearly 1.4 million times when they were made available for a limited time for free on the BBC Radio 3 website.
Beethoven's nine symphonies were made available
The site offered all nine symphonies, performed by the BBC Philharmonic, with number nine proving most popular with 220,461 requests.
BBC Radio 3 controller Roger Wright said the response from the audience had been "remarkable".
It sparked debate about classical music in the digital world, he said.
"This download experiment began as an added extra to our Beethoven Experience, and quickly took on a life of its own," added Mr Wright.
The symphonies, which were recorded in Manchester and conducted by Gianandrea Noseda, were available for one week following transmission on Radio 3.
Because the programmes were free they were not eligible for the official UK download or top 40 singles chart. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28962796 | UK still a 'deeply elitist' country says new report
28 August 2014 Last updated at 14:17 BST
The UK is still a "deeply elitist" country, according to a new report from the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission.
The study found that people who were educated privately and then went to Oxford or Cambridge university hold many of the top positions in public life.
It found that half of the House of Lords, and a third of the cabinet attended private school.
Angus Crawford reports. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3321291.stm | There were few people who dared to boss around Margaret Thatcher but the speaker of the House of Commons seems to have been one of them.
Thatcher never wanted Weatherill as Commons speaker
As prime minister, Baroness Thatcher tried to block Lord (Bernard) Weatherill's election to the post and his private papers give a glimpse of some of the clashes he had with her ministers.
Such confrontations no doubt happen under governments of all leaders and colours but their details are usually kept shrouded in secrecy in Parliament's corridors and back rooms.
Lord Weatherill has decided not to write his memoirs, but his papers lodged at the University of Kent in Canterbury reveal the behind-the-scenes rows as he tried to defend MP's rights in the Commons.
In letters to friendly politicians, Lord Weatherill details the arguments he had with the government ahead of the "black glove" affair, when he faced press criticism thought to emanate from within the Conservative Party.
In May 1988, he writes to Conservative peer Lord Nugent: "I'm afraid it is true that since Christmas I have had to make a stand against a tendency to bypass us here."
The same month, he wrote to former Labour leader Michael Foot, who had praised his stance: "In the weeks since Christmas I have had to struggle to persuade HMG (Her Majesty's Government) to face up to its responsibilities to the House and some pretty rough things have been said - and threatened."
In the file are Lord Weatherill's notes on the kind of clashes to which he was referring.
Weatherill was criticised after rowdy Commons debates
On Monday 15 February, he says he had to insist Margaret Thatcher made a Commons statement on agriculture policy after her return from weekend talks in Brussels.
The prime minister wished to make the statement on Tuesday but as Lord Weatherill wanted it on the same day as a farms debate, he had to "insist that either she or the minister for agriculture come to make statement before debate".
"The PM did it with v.bad grace," he notes.
The same week, Lord Weatherill says he threatened an emergency debate to get the government to give more time for debate on new education plans.
Eventually ministers did concede an extra day, he says, in a sign of wrangling that would not surprise any whip.
And on 7 March, Lord Weatherill was stepping in again as Baroness Thatcher and other ministers planned to "launch" their new inner city policy away from Parliament.
"Again I had to threaten an SO20 debate" to get a statement, he says.
It was after Labour backbencher Ron Brown deliberately dropped the mace in an especially raucous Commons debate that the press criticisms of Lord Weatherill began to emerge.
As well as apparently holding private meetings with newspaper political editors, the then speaker made waves as he broke with tradition and went on television to defend himself.
He rejected reports that he planned to retire early and said no speaker should be in anybody's pocket.
His defence prompted a wave of letters of support from politicians and voters.
The incident seems to have ended some of the speaker's niggles with ministers but the problems were to return in March the following year, his papers suggest.
After a private meeting with then Leader of the House of Commons John - now Lord - Wakeham, Lord Weatherill worries in a handwritten note that he will have to defend the rights of backbenchers again.
"It seems to me that the slightest 'opposition' or independence on the part of members (or even of speakers) is considered unacceptable," he says.
Wakeham threatened to make announcements outside Parliament
Lord Wakeham had come to see the speaker to complain he was allowing too many private notice questions from MPs, as well as voicing concern about the number of questions allowed in ministers' statements.
The speaker says he was not sure if Lord Wakeham had come on his own initiative or was "under instructions".
In the meeting, Lord Weatherill argued there was a shortage of speakers for other Commons debates.
"It seemed to me foolish to put a brake on those who wished to question a minister and then to give his whips the chore of scouring the building begging members to participate in debates in which they had little interest," he says.
At this Lord Wakeham "blew up", he says, stating that most debates were in any case irrelevant and "I was merely 'massaging the egos of backbenchers'."
When Lord Weatherill suggested MPs should get the chance to question ministers on issues worrying voters, it appears only to have aggravated the dispute.
The Commons leader "then said that if I persisted in this HMG would be driven to make statements outside the House and not to members (of Parliament)".
He also complained that some ministers were being made late for news conferences, meaning their Commons statements were misinterpreted in the press.
Lord Weatherill adds: "Altogether an unhappy half hour! It was in vain that I explained that it was the duty of backbenchers to put any government 'on trial' and to provide a forum for the justification of policies."
Ironically, in the wake of Lord Wakeham's criticism that debates were getting too long, the next complaint from a minister was that one had been cut short too early.
Chief whip David - now Lord - Waddington - complains in May 1989 that the speaker had suggested Tory MPs on whips' orders had been time wasting in an attempt to delay a key debate on Europe.
"Allegations of that nature are extremely damaging politically," he says in a letter to Lord Weatherill, insisting there was no justification for the idea.
In his reply, Lord Weatherill says he was not suggesting the whips were party to time wasting.
Waddington feared unjust claims had been made
"However, I do have to tell you bluntly that I received intelligence before going into the chamber yesterday, that such an attempt might be made from your side."
Such incidents, under any government, usually stay well hidden from the public glare.
Questioned by MPs last year, Lord Wakeham quipped: "I have done all the dirty tricks that are known. I could write a book about them, but I will not."
A book might be written by current speaker Michael Martin, who last year endured the kind of press criticisms, rumoured to come from ministers, suffered by his predecessor.
That episode showed the tensions between government and Parliament, so evident in Lord Weatherill's papers, are a part of life in Westminster. |
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-13461243 | France-UK row over Strasbourg parliament escalates
British Euro MPs want the UK government to back them in a dispute with France over the number of European Parliament sessions held in Strasbourg.
France insists that MEPs must stick to the 12 Strasbourg sessions a year that are required by the EU's Lisbon Treaty.
But in March a majority of MEPs voted to squeeze two of the sessions into one week, to reduce the huge cost of shuttling from Brussels to Strasbourg.
France objected and has asked the EU's top court to overrule the vote.
The Strasbourg shuttle is estimated to cost 203m euros (£177m; $286m) a year. British MEPs have branded it a "travelling circus".
Ending the shuttle could cut 20,268 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, the Green Party says.
But changing the EU treaty would require the unanimous agreement of all 27 member states' governments. It is not clear how many would back France in the dispute.One-seat campaign
The coalition agreement between the UK Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats pledges "we will press for the European Parliament only to have one seat, in Brussels".
A UK Foreign Office spokesperson told the BBC that "the government of course raises this significant issue with colleagues as appropriate".
The MEPs' amendment on the calendar change was passed by secret ballot and got a majority of 104.
Conservative MEP Ashley Fox, who organised the vote, said "we'll request again that they [the UK government] intervene on behalf of all the taxpayers of Europe".
The regular Strasbourg shuttle "distances the EU from the citizens", he told the BBC. "Having two parliaments is utterly ridiculous."
But in its objection, lodged on Tuesday at the European Court of Justice, France said the parliament's vote "in reality amounts to getting rid of one of the 12 monthly sessions".
It said the vote breached Protocol 6 in the Lisbon Treaty, which states that the parliament "shall have its seat in Strasbourg where the 12 periods of monthly plenary sessions, including the budget session, shall be held".
"The periods of additional plenary sessions shall be held in Brussels," it states.Business opportunities
Strasbourg stands on the Rhine, facing Germany, and for decades France has defended the city's EU role as a symbol of post-war unity and friendship.
The regular visits by MEPs, parliament staff, journalists and lobbyists provide significant income for Strasbourg hotels, restaurants and other services.
The MEPs' vote changes the parliament's schedule for 2012 and 2013, fitting two full sessions into one week in October. Normally each session lasts four days, but under the new plan two sessions would be cut to two days each.
French MEPs in the centre-right European People's Party - the main grouping in the parliament - voiced outrage, saying the vote had been conducted "anonymously, without political courage" by MEPs who just wanted to "attack the Strasbourg seat".
"Strasbourg is a highly symbolic place which embodies European reconciliation," they said.
Earlier, France's Europe Minister Laurent Wauquiez criticised his UK counterpart David Lidington for having supported the MEPs' vote. Mr Wauquiez called it "an unfriendly and aggressive gesture towards France".
Soon after the vote, the leader of the UK Conservatives in Europe, Martin Callanan, and his Lib Dem counterpart, Fiona Hall, sent a joint letter to 10 Downing Street on behalf of British Euro MPs, expressing pride in the result.
Prime Minister David Cameron and his Lib Dem deputy Nick Clegg congratulated them, saying: "We were delighted to hear about the outcome of the vote on 9 March which, as you state, seems to demonstrate a genuine change of sentiment among MEPs in favour of a single seat in Brussels." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/house_of_commons/newsid_9477000/9477720.stm | Deaf and hearing-impaired people throughout the UK should have free access to lip-reading classes, a Labour MP has said.
Introducing his Lip-Reading Bill in the Commons on 10 May 2011, Ian Lavery said: "There appears to be a postcode lottery in the UK for lip-reading classes. Surely this cannot be acceptable.
"The benefits of someone learning to lip read are well proven, and assist greatly in employment, in health and indeed in life skills.
"From my experience it is clear there is a demand for lip-reading classes and urgent action must be taken to halt the current decline in the number of classes available. In all of our constituencies and in all of our communities there are individuals and families who would benefit hugely from the provision of this type of service."
Mr Lavery said one in seven people in the UK suffered from hearing loss, amounting to nine million people.
His ten minute rule bill received an unopposed first reading but is unlikely to become law without government support. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/262225.stm | Monday, January 25, 1999 Published at 00:12 GMT
Orchards go pear-shaped
The alliance says consumer choice is shrinking
By Environment Correspondent Alex Kirby
A group campaigning for more environmentally-friendly food production says most of Britain's apples and pears are grown using harmful intensive methods or are imported.
The group is the SAFE (Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Environment) Alliance, a coalition of 32 organisations working for sustainable food and farming in the United Kingdom and abroad.
With the support of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, Safe has produced two reports, The pear essentials and How green are our apples?
It lists some of the varieties which used to be available in different parts of Britain, but which are now scarce or non-existent.
Apple varieties included Marriage Maker, Poor Man's Profit, and the Norfolk Beefing apple, which was "baked in bread ovens after the bread had been removed, and an iron plate placed on top to press the air out".
Pears that have disappeared include the Vicar of Winkfield (with flesh "pale yellow, rather firm, dry and woolly"), the Swan's Egg, and Hacon's Incomparable.
The reports say virtually half of Britain's pear orchards and nearly two-thirds of its apple orchards have been destroyed since 1970.
This means a loss of biodiversity, as orchards - especially traditional ones - are wildlife havens for species as diverse as bats, hares, badgers, owls and woodpeckers, as well as many plants.
The choice for consumers is shrinking, too. With 2,300 known varieties of apple, just two - the Cox and the Bramley - now dominate UK orchards. Of 550 different sorts of pear, three varieties are generally available.
Safe is concerned that "factory farming" of fruit means not only very restricted choice, but also much greater use of chemicals.
It says the average pear is sprayed more than 13 times, and apples 16 times, often with a mixture of chemicals.
A 1997 government survey found evidence of 32 different agrochemicals leaving detectable traces in apples.
That year the Pesticides Safety Directorate said the risk of eating an apple with residue levels that might cause adverse health effects was one in a thousand.
Twenty-three different pesticides have been found in pears, including the growth regulator chloremquat, which is licensed in Britain only for use on cereal crops.
The government's advice is that "consumers should wash fruit before eating it, and peeling fruit is a sensible additional precaution when preparing it for small children".
The reports also express concern about chemicals and waxes used on fruit after it has been picked to extend its shelf life.
More than two-thirds of the apples sold in Britain are imported and four-fifths of the pears.
Safe campaigns against long-distance transport of food, which it says is often unnecessary and always environmentally damaging, because of the contribution to global warming of the transport involved.
It says long-distance transport, whether from abroad or within Britain, also breaks the link between consumer and producer.
This means that, unless they buy a clearly-labelled "fair trade" product, shoppers have little assurance that the people producing their food have decent working conditions.
The reports note that the World Health Organisation found up to 30% of Latin American farmworkers it tested showed signs of exposure to organophosphates, chemicals linked with serious health damage in some British farmers.
And Safe says the imports are matched by periodic gluts of unsellable British fruit which is usually destroyed, at a cost to taxpayers.
The European Union's Common Agricultural Policy allows farmers to take their apples and pears off the market when prices fall too low, claim compensation, and give the fruit free to schools and charities.
Yet in 1996 and 1997 4.3 million kilograms of surplus pears were either dumped in landfill sites in Britain, or fed to pigs. Not one pear was given away under the scheme.
More than 2.2 million kg of apples were treated similarly, with just 40,000 kg given away.
The Safe reports urge greater support for local, traditional orchards, using sustainable and organic methods.
They say supermarkets could give a lead by stocking local varieties of fruit transported direct to their nearest branches. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7092485.stm | By Clifford Thompson
The King's Cross fire claimed the lives of 31 people on 18 November 1987. The BBC's Clifford Thompson, then a firefighter, was on duty when the disaster struck.
Fire crews wearing breathing apparatus enter the tunnel complex
I was based at Stratford fire station in east London. We had just started a 15-hour night shift, when we heard over the radio a major incident had been declared at King's Cross Tube station, and we knew a serious fire was in progress.
During the next few hours, the full horror of the fire unfolded, and news reached us a member of the brigade was missing.
This was the pre-mobile phone era, and we knew something tragic had happened when senior officers at the fire were told to contact the control room by landline.
The news soon reached us that the fire had claimed the life of Station Officer Colin Townsley, who was among the first firefighters to arrive at the incident.
The fire and the subsequent public inquiry by Sir Desmond Fennell led to a number of changes to both firefighting procedures and equipment.
Traditional firefighting uniforms were replaced after the fire
At the time, the uniform worn by firefighters consisted of thin yellow over-trousers, a woollen tunic and cork helmet, which left much of a firefighter's neck and ears exposed, even when wearing breathing apparatus. The gloves would have been more at home in the garden.
Sir Desmond's report, published in November 1988, made more than 150 recommendations.
Soon after the fire, smoking was banned across the entire Tube network - it was a lit match that dropped on to the escalator that started the fire.
Gradually, the old wooden escalators were replaced and Sir Desmond recommended heat and smoke detectors be fitted to rooms housing escalator machinery.
Wooden escalators were phased out on the Underground
Legislation was passed to cover Tube stations, enforcing minimum safe staffing levels, means of detecting and warning of fires, means of escape and standards of fire-resistant construction.
Improvements were made to personal protective equipment for firefighters - the combed-helmet was replaced by Kevlar headgear, and some fire and rescue services have opted for a design that encloses the ears.
Padded over-trousers and more substantial tunics, with collars were also introduced.
Sir Desmond was scathing in his criticism of the emergency services.
He visited King's Cross just after the fire, and said: "It was horrific, like going down into Hell". His report criticised the firefighters for not being aware of all the access points.
New legislation was passed in 1989 as a result of the fire
Nowadays, plans to the station are kept outside every Tube on the network to help fire crews in case of an emergency.
Following the 11 September 2001 terror attacks in the United States, the UK government launched a programme to provide specialist resources for tackling major incidents.
By 2004, £56m had been spent on new vehicles and equipment for fire services in England and Wales, and on training firefighters in urban search and rescue (USAR).
USAR teams and equipment from five fire services, including the London Fire Brigade, were used to recover the bodies of three firefighters killed in a warehouse fire in Warwickshire on 2 November 2007.
The fire service is also committed to a new UK-wide digital radio system, known as FireLink, which will enable crews to talk to other emergency services, and between surface and sub-surface locations, although it is not expected to be fully operational until at least 2008. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6475175.stm | The Chancellor has announced a big increase in help for people who lost their pensions when their employers went bust before 2005.
Pensioners protest in London about their lost pensions
The amount of money being pumped into the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) will rise from £2bn to £8bn.
The Chancellor said the money would be available to help all of the 125,000 people who have been affected.
Members of the affected pension schemes will now get 80% of the "core" pension entitlements they had accrued.
"We have listened to the arguments of campaigners, and we have complied with the Order in the recent High Court judgment that we reconsider the Ombudsman's recommendation that we compensate affected scheme members," said Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton.
"As a result we will greatly extend the scheme from helping 45,000 people now to helping all 125,000 people who lost out when their schemes wound up under-funded between January 1997 and April 2005."
The announcement comes in the wake of a highly embarrassing High Court decision, which ruled that last year the government should not have rejected some of the findings of Parliamentary Ombudsman Ann Abraham.
She said the government had been guilty of maladministration, and should find ways to compensate more fully those who had lost their pensions.
The government announced last week that it would appeal against the High Court judgement.
But the decision in this budget is a step towards meeting the demands of pensioners who have been protesting for several years that they had been left in the lurch by the government and that the FAS was inadequate.
"This is a significant boost for those who lost their pensions in company collapses before the Pensions Protection Fund was established," said TUC general secretary Brendan Barber.
"But it still falls short of the compensation required to ensure that victims enjoy the 90% level of support from the Financial Assistance Scheme offered to members of schemes covered by the Pensions Protection Fund."
The FAS was set up to provide some compensation for people who had lost all or part of their pension entitlements.
It covers those who lost money when some 660 companies collapsed, or closed down their insolvent pension schemes, between 1997 and 2005.
The government said an additional 85,000 people would now come within its scope, and the upper limit on how much they could receive would be raised to £26,000.
"Brown's plan to extend the FAS to £8 billion is really welcome and should at least go some way to help the 125,000 workers who so unfairly lost their pensions," said Gordon Lishman of the charity Age Concern.
Funding for the FAS, which is currently paying compensation to just 1,000 people, was increased last May from just £400m to £2.3bn.
But Ros Altmann of the Pensions Action Group accused the government of still failing to provide proper compensation.
"Today's announcement does nothing for most of those who are struggling without their pensions today," she said.
"There are already 10,000 people past pension age who should be receiving money from the FAS, yet only about 900 have had any money at all.
"These 10,000 are the ones who need help, but today's announcement does nothing for most of them." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6548653.stm | Some readers reported seeing Ian Proud in the red light district
A British diplomat's blog offering his thoughts on Thailand has been withdrawn after insults and accusations were posted on it by members of the public.
Ian Proud, 38, whose four-year tenure with the British Embassy in Bangkok ends in May, wrote reflections on Thailand for the website of the country's The Nation newspaper.
The blog, which appeared with his photo, received 100 postings within its first two days, including some from people claiming to have seen Mr Proud in Bangkok's red light districts.
One posting referred to Mr Proud having been in the notorious Soi Cowboy area which is packed with go-go and sex bars.
The Foreign Office said the policy of diplomats writing internet blogs was currently under review.
A spokeswoman said the blog had reflected "Ian's personal views".
"The blog has been withdrawn," she said. "Ian was the victim of malicious accusations about his personal life and he has rejected these accusations."
Mr Proud, who heads the British Embassy's political division in the city, was asked to be a blogger by his friend Tulsathit Tuptim, the editor of the English-language newspaper.
The blog was intended for Mr Proud to write about his "Thai experiences with British perspective and humour" before ending his tenure.
Mr Proud's blog had included ponderings on the British penchant for pet dogs and the mysteries of the "Thai smile".
However, one posting in response said: "I recall going to the embassy once and that same night I was down on Cowboy and who did I bump into? Yes it was Ian," it said.
However, Mr Proud did not deny having visited the area during his four-year stint in Thailand.
"I don't think there are many people here who haven't been in places like Soi Cowboy at some point. My last visit was a year ago," Britain's Guardian newspaper reported him as saying.
He was also quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying: "I'm not going to complain that I've never been [to the red light district].
"But at the same time, the suggestion that I'm some sort of upholder of the sex trade in Bangkok... It's pathetic, frankly."
In his first blog, he wrote about the "highs and lows with this magical country, Thailand".
"As the saying goes, no one remembers their last headache.
"As the new dawn sun washes over Bangkok each day, I watch Thais go about their business with modesty and calm, paying respect to gods and spirits along the way, smiling," he wrote.
Code of conduct
Thousands of readers viewed his blogs, leading to discussions on a range of issues, including football.
However, some posts claimed to be authored by the diplomat himself, and others by Mr Tuptim.
Readers also used the blog to criticise Mr Proud and British diplomats in general, while others complained about a difficulty in getting visas.
It appears that some of the worst comments were deleted before the blog was withdrawn, as some readers were later complaining about missing posts.
Blog-tracking firm Technorati estimates that every day 100,000 new blogs are created and 1.3 million posts made.
It has prompted calls for a bloggers' code of conduct, although supporters would prefer it to be achieved through self-regulation rather than government regulation. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6694127.stm | Passengers flying from some regional airports are being charged twice for services, an air watchdog has said.
Norwich International Airport introduced passenger fees in April
The Air Transport Users Council says growing numbers of airports are charging fees to cover development and security on top of their ticket prices.
Norwich International Airport is the latest to introduce a charge for all passengers flying from its terminal.
Airports say the revenue is needed to provide better facilities and to deal with the heightened terrorist threat.
The chief executive of Norwich Airport, Richard Jenner, told BBC Radio's Five Live Breakfast the charge was the "only way" to could raise needed funds.
"We've expanded 30% two years running, and it's fine for airports if there's a lot of spare capacity. But we've had to expand the size of aprons, the size of the departure lounge.
"We also need to invest in facilities which have been under-invested in for many years."
Airport Development Fees (ADF) have already been introduced at Newquay Cornwall Airport, where all passengers over the age of 16 have been charged £5 since 2005.
Norwich International followed in April this year. It charges adults £3 while children aged between two and 15 must pay £1.
Fees 'for investment'
When the fees were introduced, the airport's bosses said the money would be used to make improvements to the runway as well as check-in areas, shops, parking and customer services.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport is also due to trial a fee for passengers who want to be fast-tracked through security.
The Air Transport Users Council and airlines say they are concerned about the additional passenger charges.
They claim airport customers are already paying for airport development and security in their ticket prices. |
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30920086 | Germany Pegida: Protest leader quits amid Hitler row
The head of Germany's "anti-Islamisation" movement Pegida has quit after disparaging anti-refugee comments and a photo showing him apparently posing as Hitler emerged.
Lutz Bachmann apologised for Facebook comments he made in which he reportedly called refugees "animals" and "scumbags".
He did not mention the photo of him with Hitler-style hair and moustache.
Meanwhile, thousands of people have marched in Leipzig at a Pegida rally.
Police were deployed to the streets of the eastern German city to prevent clashes with members of a rival anti-Pegida demonstration.
Pegida supporters chanted "We are the people", while their opponents shouted "Get out of here."
There were no reports of violence.
The rival rallies came as Mr Bachmann apologised for his "ill-considered" remarks.
"Yes, I am stepping down from the board," he was quoted as telling Germany's Bild daily newspaper in an online report.
Pegida spokeswoman Kathrin Oertel said the anti-refugee comments went too far. However, she sought to play down the "Hitler" photo as a "joke" and "satire, which is every citizen's right".
But the German government condemned it. Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel told Bild: "Anyone in politics who poses as Hitler is either a total idiot or a Nazi. Reasonable people do not follow idiots, and decent people don't follow Nazis."
Pegida has focused on Leipzig after police banned a protest by the movement in Dresden on Monday over reports of an assassination plot against the movement's leaders.
What is Pegida?
- Founded in Dresden by Lutz Bachmann in October 2014
- Acronym for Patriotische Europaer gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West)
- Umbrella group for German right wing, attracting support from mainstream conservatives to neo-Nazi factions and football hooligans
- Holds street protests against what it sees as a dangerous rise in the influence of Islam over European countries
- Claims not to be racist or xenophobic
- 19-point manifesto says the movement opposes extremism and calls for protection of Germany's Judeo-Christian culture
At the scene: Jenny Hill, BBC News in Leipzig
Police in riot helmets formed a human corridor to funnel Pegida supporters through a crowd of counter-protesters.
To shouts of 'Nazis out!' they emerged smiling, holding their German flags high, into the square where a makeshift stage was set.
An appetising smell of goulash filled the air. A stall was doing a roaring trade. The square filled with people and noise - police estimate about 15,000 people came to support Pegida. That makes this the biggest demonstration they've held - outside Dresden, where Monday's weekly march was cancelled amid security fears.
I asked a woman why she had come. "I'm German," she replied. "I don't want my daughter to end up wearing a burka."
As always, Pegida supporters demonstrate for a variety of reasons. Another man reckoned 5% - maybe 10% of the people here - are racists. He had come along, he told me, because he worried about race relations.
"We don't want the problems that you get in places like Birmingham and Edinburgh," he said.
A spokesman for state prosecutors in Dresden, the east German city which has been the focus of Pegida rallies this winter, told Reuters news agency that preliminary proceedings had been opened over comments attributed to Mr Bachmann.
"The suspicion is of incitement to popular hatred," the spokesman said.
Mr Bachmann has denied being a racist.
Despite his resignation, Ms Oertel said that "Pegida will go on."
The movement has forced its way on to the political agenda in Germany with rallies that have attracted tens of thousands of people. |
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-38239259 | Children's online junk food ads banned by industry
Online ads for food and drinks high in fat, salt or sugar aimed at children are to be banned under new rules from advertisers.
The Committee on Advertising Practice (CAP) said its restrictions would also apply to all other media where under-16s made up a quarter of the audience.
The rules are an attempt to help tackle obesity when children are spending more time online than ever before.
But critics say the new rules do not go far enough and may not have any impact.
They point to the thousands of children watching TV shows and videos online not specifically targeted at children, which these rules will not cover.
However, the advertisers' body said the move would lead to "a major reduction" in the number of "junk food" ads seen by children on platforms such as YouTube and children's games websites.
And it said the new rules would bring non-broadcast media, such as online, social media, cinema and billboard advertising, in line with TV rules introduced in 2007, which restricted the advertising of junk food during children's TV programmes.
The CAP said the rules were a response to research suggesting children aged five to 15 spent about 15 hours online every week - overtaking time spent watching TV.
Last month, the World Health Organization warned that governments should be protecting children from targeted junk food adverts in apps, social media and video blogs.
While the CAP acknowledged the impact of the rule changes could be small, it said they demonstrated the industry was putting "the protection of children at the heart of its work".
Recent figures showed a third of children in the UK were overweight or obese by the time they left primary school.
Prof Neena Modi, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said the measures would help in the fight against the damaging effects of junk food and fizzy drinks - but more could be done.
"Surely it is time for government to strengthen rules around all advertising, and in particular ban the advertising of foods high in salt, sugar and fat on television before the 21:00 watershed."
Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at Public Health England, said the advertising restrictions were encouraging but the real test would be whether they made any difference to the exposure of high sugar, salt and fat products to children and young people.
The government's childhood obesity strategy was heavily criticised in the summer for not including measures banning advertising of junk food to children, and campaign groups still want the government to take a stronger stance.
Action on Sugar said: "This is industry regulating itself, but we need to know if advertisers are complying with the rules.
"There is a need for an independent monitor."
Malcolm Clark, co-ordinator of the Children's Food Campaign, said there were still too many loopholes.
He said: "Just as many of the TV programmes most watched by children aren't covered by the rules, so it looks like many of the most popular social media sites won't be either; neither will billboards near schools, or product packaging itself."
And he said it was not clear what ads would be banned under the new rules, if children had to make up 25% of the audience.
He added: "Ultimately, the new rules are only as good as the body which enforces them."
The Advertising Standards Authority, which regulates all media in the UK, has said it will administer the new rules.
The rules will come into effect on 1 July 2017. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4541126.stm | The International Court of Justice has ruled that Uganda must pay compensation to the Democratic Republic of Congo for looting during the 1998-2003 war.
Uganda is accused of massacring Congolese civilians
A government spokesman said DR Congo will seek up to $10bn in compensation.
The Hague-based court also found Uganda responsible for human rights abuses.
DR Congo has accused Uganda of invading its territory and massacring civilians. Several African states were involved in the war, which left 3m people dead.
Uganda says its troops entered Congolese territory to pursue Ugandan rebels.
DR Congo brought the case saying its sovereignty had been violated, and demanding compensation for plundered minerals and other resources.
"We are very happy that international law has finally listened to our case," Congolese government spokesman Henri Mova Sakanyi told Reuters news agency.
He added that Kinshasa would seek between $6bn and $10bn in compensation from Uganda.
Court rules allow states to negotiate compensation between themselves. The judges said the amount sought by DR Congo was "appropriate".
Uganda's Foreign Minister in charge of International Affairs Okello Oryem told Reuters news agency that Uganda "did not deserve" the judgement.
"We went in Congo to pursue rebels, we were not the only people in Congo, there were many other militia groups," he said.
But ICJ president Shi Jiuyong told the court Ugandan troops had "created an atmosphere of terror pervading the life of the Congolese people".
Uganda pulled its troops out of eastern DR Congo in 2003, but Kinshasa says its neighbour still supplies arms to Ugandan warlords who continue to steal the country's natural resources of gold, diamonds and timber.
This year, the United Nations accused Uganda and Rwanda of violating an arms embargo by shipping weapons across DR Congo's borders. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4188801.stm | Iranian media commentators are refusing to take seriously a claim in the American news magazine The New Yorker that US special forces are operating in Iran targeting military sites as a prelude to a possible military strike.
The report by the journalist Seymour Hersh is viewed as a part of a campaign of psychological warfare against Tehran, and is also seen as reflecting a split within US security circles.
"Although America is the biggest enemy of Iran...this [report] is bombast and a big lie," says the conservative daily Siyasat-e-Ruz.
"Certain groups in Iran and America have launched a campaign of psychological warfare to show the economic and military presence of America in the country in order to deprive Iranians from their power of electoral manoeuvre in the next election."
Iranians are due to vote in an election for a new president later this year.
Another conservative daily, Resalat, also believes the report is part of "the massive negative propaganda of imperialist media against the Islamic Republic of Iran".
"America cannot invade Iran like Iraq and Afghanistan, since American strategists know that there is an unbreakable link between the people and the political system," it warns.
"The secret of the Islamic Republic's success against enemy plots and threats is the fact that the people are always present to defend the achievements of the Islamic Revolution."
The reformist Shargh quotes analysts as saying the Hersh report "proves that the CIA and Pentagon are at loggerheads and that the information in the report was leaked by the CIA".
Linking the story to the efforts by EU countries to get Tehran to curtail its nuclear activities, Shargh warns them that "they cannot expect any guarantee from Iran in mutual confidence-building if they cannot guarantee that their pledges are supported or at least respected by the US".
An Iranian radio commentator believes that the new US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will find it hard to up the ante against Tehran, despite what he described as her "hostile" remarks before the Senate Foreign Policy Committee.
"Besides supporting the Europeans' talks with Iran, Rice could offer no alternative...This is the reason for the Americans' decision not to oppose the European initiative to maintain talks and constructive interaction with Iran. America has no other tool at its disposal to deal with Iran," the commentator continues.
Noting that Ms Rice spoke of Washington's desire "to mend its strained relations with the rest of the world", the commentator concludes: "Contrary to her harsh slogans against Iran, in practice she may be compelled to adjust America's hostile policies against our country."
BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaus abroad. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-40578976 | Wednesday's paper review: Devastation after road deaths
Wednesday's papers all lead with stories of tragedy on the roads in Northern Ireland.
The Mirror, The Irish News and the News Letter all feature the story of six-year-old Donnacadh Maguire who died playing in the street on Tuesday.
The police have said his fatal injuries were most likely to have been caused by a collision.
A photograph of the blonde six-year-old features on the front of both the Mirror and the News Letter, while the Irish News offers a photograph of forensic experts on Tyrconnell Street in Londonderry, where the boy died.
'Horror as child found dying on street,' is the headline in the News Letter.
The Irish News reports that the "close-knit" community was in shock last night at the death.
"Donnacadh Maguire was found badly injured on Tyrconnell Street in the city's Bogside at around 10:30am yesterday and died in hospital," it reports.
"Passers by came to his aid and an ambulance service spokesperson said paramedics were on the scene within 11 minutes."
The paper also reports that the child's family only moved to Derry recently from Scotland.
'We feel lost'
A man in his 50s was arrested in connection with the incident yesterday.
Independent councillor Sean Carr described the street in the Irish News: "It is a very narrow, steep street with cars parked on either side."
The Mirror reports that Donnacadh's uncle, Cahir Killen, said: "We still don't really know what happened.
"He was a fantastic, happy wee boy who brightened our lives.
"That light has gone out and we feel lost."
The Belfast Telegraph reports a second road death, that of a cyclist who was killed during a club cycle in Bangor yesterday.
The man, in his 40s, died in hospital after the crash.
"The riders were all members of North Down cycling Club and had been on a ride together," the paper reports.
"One club member was in a critical condition in hospital and another was in a stable condition."
It is understood a fourth cyclist was injured in the crash but did not require medical attention.
A 59-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the incident.
Elsewhere in the paper, there's a look forward to today's annual Twelfth commemorations.
While there are plenty of stories of controversy around Tuesday night's bonfires, the Belfast Telegraph shares some of the more unusual stories of people preparing for today's parades.
They have spoken to one family who will have three generations taking part in marching later for the Twelfth.
'Drumroll, please.' reads the headline above a picture of some of the members of the Russell family.
Johnny Russell, 38, a Lambeg drummer, will be joined by his father Ivan, 63, and his son Craig, six, who is eager to follow in his father and grandfather's footsteps at the demonstration at Richill, County Armagh, later.
They are all members of Tamnificarbert LOL 17 and young Craig will be carrying on the family tradition by playing a small drum that his father also had at that age.
"He did a bit of a parade last year, but this will be his first time out for the full march," Mr Russell told the Belfast Telegraph.
He conceded the famous Lambeg drum was heavy but said members of the lodge took it in turns.
Also taking part in today's marches are two snow-white Akita dogs, Angel and Ghost, who will be part of the parade in Belfast and Colerain.
Their owner, Sam Dickson, said they had become known as 'Ulster's marching dogs' and were very popular with spectators.
Mr Dickson said he gets requests every day for the dogs to attend events and has taken them to Scotland and England to attend parades.
Finally, in the Irish News there's a story that may not surprise many people who live, work or shop in Belfast.
'Belfast is the second-most-difficult city in UK to find parking space,' suggests a study.
Belfast was overtaken only by London as the place where parking spaces are in shortest supply. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26892237 | UK split on EU membership - BBC poll
The public are split down the middle on whether Britain should leave the EU, a poll commissioned by the BBC suggests.
Some 35% of those surveyed would vote to remain in the EU if there were a referendum today, according to a Populus poll for the Daily Politics.
And 32% would vote to leave, with 27% saying they are undecided and 6% saying they would not vote.
The poll was taken on 2 and 3 April, partly in the aftermath of the Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage TV debate.
The online poll of 2,067 people uses a model developed by Populus, that divides respondents into six types, based on attitude and world view.
The people most positive about UK membership of the EU fell into the Optimistic Contentment and Cosmopolitan Critic categories.
Those groups most likely to vote to leave the EU were in the Comfortable Nostalgia, Hard-pressed Anxiety and Long-term Despair categories.
Regional analysis of the results found that Scotland, London and the east of England were most likely to vote to stay in the European Union, whereas the north west of England and the West Midlands were most likely to vote for the UK to leave.
A YouGov poll for the Sun, from December, suggested 32% say would vote to stay and 45% would vote to leave if a vote were held now.
But a majority would vote to stay in if Prime Minister David Cameron succeeded in renegotiating substantial treaty changes ahead of the referendum he has promised in 2017, if he wins the next election, the YouGov poll suggested.
On Wednesday, Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg went head-to-head with UKIP leader Nigel Farage in the second of two hour-long debates about whether Britain should remain in the EU.
Instant polls taken afterwards declared Mr Farage, who campaigns for Britain's exit, the winner.
A YouGov poll for the Sun suggested Mr Farage won by 68% to 27%, while an ICM poll for the Guardian suggested 69% of viewers thought the UKIP leader performed best. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/4710101.stm | The English deacon who sang the gospel during the funeral mass of Pope John Paul II was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest on Saturday.
Paul Moss is described as a "fine and focused young man"
Paul Moss, 28, from Oxford, was seen by a worldwide audience of millions during the service for the late pontiff.
It was led by the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger shortly before his election as Pope Benedict XVI on 24 April.
Deacon Moss was ordained by the Archbishop of Birmingham at St Peter's Church in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire.
The Archbishop, the Most Rev Vincent Nichols, who provided part of the television commentary for Pope John Paul II's funeral, said: "I pray and trust that Paul will be a splendid priest for the Archdiocese of Birmingham."
Fr Aldo Tapparo, parish priest of St Peter's, said: "Paul is a fine and focused young man and it has been a pleasure to see the seeds of his vocation blossom over the years that I have known him."
Deacon Moss, who was born in Cowley, Oxford, and attended Magdalen College School, served Mass at the Birmingham Oratory while studying theology at the University of Birmingham between 1996 and 1999.
The 28-year-old described the experience of singing at the funeral mass as an "enormous privilege and honour". |
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-jersey-12572920 | The needs of States tenants could be helped by a new management organisation owned by the public, according to Jersey's housing minister .
Deputy Andrew Green said such a body could reduce waiting lists and find finance for new housing.
He said one of his first jobs as the new housing minister was to oversee the change.
He said: "The only way I can change it is to put us into a legal status as arm's length management organisation."
The minister said: "It must be wholly owned by the government, we cannot negate our responsibility.
"It must be able to behave commercially and take advantage of the assets we've got to build more."
- 15 February 2011
- 2 February 2011
- 20 January 2011 |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11705995 | Phil Woolas will not return to Labour, Harman suggests
Ex-minister Phil Woolas will not return to Labour even if he wins his appeal against the decision to strip him of his seat, Harriet Harman has suggested.
"It is not part of Labour's politics for somebody to be telling lies to get themselves elected," the party's deputy leader said.
An election court barred Mr Woolas from politics for three years for making false statements against his opponent.
A successful appeal would not change those findings of fact, Ms Harman said.
Mr Woolas was suspended from Labour after the first judgement of its kind by an election court for 99 years.
The court was told Mr Woolas stirred up racial tensions during a campaign which saw him retain his Oldham East and Saddleworth seat by 103 from Lib Dem candidate Elwyn Watkins.
Mr Woolas has said he intends to seek a judicial review of the decision, which Labour - who have suspended him - are not supporting.
Ms Harman told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show that even if the appeal was successful there would be no future for Mr Woolas in the party.
She said: "Whatever happens in an appeal - what might happen in an appeal, if he does appeal, it could be that they could say on the basis of the facts that the election court found it was not warranted for them to strike down the election result and disqualify him, so he might win on a legal basis.
"But it won't change the facts that were found by the election court, which was that he said things that were untrue knowing it, and that is what we are taking action on - because it is not part of Labour's politics for somebody to be telling lies to get themselves elected."
She went on: "That's not going to change, and that's what we regard as very serious and that's why we have suspended him."
There would be a disciplinary process to follow within the party, following the decision to suspend him on Friday.
She also defended the decision to have kept Mr Woolas as an immigration spokesman until the court decision, saying he had been continuing the role he had done in government before the election.
Ms Harman said that, pending a possible appeal, Labour would fight a "vigorous campaign" in the by-election focusing on what the coalition government parties "are doing on housing benefit, penalising the unemployed, putting up tuition fees".
Foreign Secretary William Hague told the Andrew Marr Show the Conservatives would put up a candidate in the by-election rather than supporting their Lib Dem coalition partner's candidate.
Mr Hague said they were "in a coalition, not a merger" and said coalition parties standing against each other happened all over the world, as well as in council by-elections in the UK on most Thursdays.
The Commons Speaker John Bercow will outline on Monday whether to initiate a by-election for Oldham East and Saddleworth immediately, or wait for further legal proceedings.
The case against Mr Woolas was brought under Section 106 of the Representation of the People Act.
This makes it an offence to publish "any false statement of fact in relation to the candidate's personal character or conduct" to prevent them being elected - unless they believed it was true and had "reasonable grounds" to do so. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-53713490 | A burst pipe has flooded homes and caused disruption to water supplies in Birmingham.
Severn Trent said a "handful of properties" were affected by flooding on Bristol Road South in Northfield in the early hours.
Customers in nine postcodes have been affected but a "large proportion" should find their supply is back to normal, a spokeswoman said.
Some customers were without water, while others experienced low pressure.
Bottled water has been sent to customers while repairs are carried out, Severn Trent said.
Severn Trent said the repair "will be a lengthy progress and is likely to go on for a few days" and a lane closure on Bristol Road will remain in place while the repair is carried out.
On Sunday afternoon, the water company said pressure had been restored for the "majority" of customers but some were still experiencing "intermittent supplies".
The spokeswoman added: "Our teams are working really hard to get everything back to normal as quickly as we can and we want to thank everyone for their patience."
Customers in the following postcode areas have been affected: B14, B15, B16, B28, B29, B30, B31, B45, B90. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/euro2000/792751.stm | |feedback | low graphics version|
|You are in: Euro2000|
Thursday, 15 June, 2000, 21:39 GMT 22:39 UK
Fans frustrated by bore draw
Sweden 0-0 Turkey
(Eindhoven: Att 24,500)
Sweden and Turkey scrapped out the first goalless draw of Euro 2000 in a woeful Eindhoven encounter.
The result suited neither side, but Italy finished with a smile on their faces as the stalemate secured their place in the quarter finals.
Both sides were desperate for a win following defeats in their opening group matches, but both struggled to create openings in a stale first half.
Sweden recalled Celtic striker Henrik Larsson for the game, while Turkey gave a debut to Leicester striker Muzzy Izzet.
But it was Kennet Andersson who came closest to the opener inside three minutes as his long-range free kick was pushed away from the top left-hand corner by Turkish keeper Rustu Recber.
Andersson went close again on 29 minutes when he followed a neat exchange of passes with Larsson with a low drive that Rustu pushed away with his outstretched foot.
Arif had Turkey's best effort when his spectacular bicycle kick flew over the crossbar.
Five minutes before half-time, Arsenal's Freddie Ljungberg had the best chance of the opening 45 minutes, but appeared to have his leg clipped by Suat Kaya as he ran clear with just the keeper to beat.
The stalemate continued in the second half, with neither side able to open up tight defences, though Johan Mjallby's uncompromising methods for Sweden earned him a yellow card for persistent fouling.
But, with both teams needing a victory to realistically keep their quarter final hopes alive, the game began to open up in the final 20 minutes.
Turkey, despite losing Izzet to a second half injury, at last began to up the pace.
A storming run from midfield by Izzet's replacement Sergen Yalcin ended in a stinging shot from the edge of the area. Magnus Hedman did well to block the shot, but the loose ball fell invitingly for Okan Buruk, only for the midfielder to loop a left-foot shot over the bar.
Five minutes from time, Turkish frustrations increased when Hakan Unsal broke down the left and whipped in a teasing cross that flew straight across the face of goal with no Turkish forward able to get a touch.
Two minutes later a foul on Ljungberg on the edge of the Turkish box gave substitute Jorgen Pettersen an ideal chance to show his dead-ball skills, but his shot flew over the crossbar.
Turkey answered back once more and finally presented Hakan Sukur with his first chance of the game after 89 minutes of waiting, but the striker headed over from Arif Erdem's dangerous cross.
With so much at stake, it was little surprise that the chances were finally flowing from end to end and another clumsy tackle on Ljungberg, this time by Sergen, gave Sweden another free kick in a dangerous position.
This time, the ball was teed up for Sundgren, whose power drive was deflected clear by the Turkish defence.
The final whistle heralded a chorus of boos from the Eindhoven crowd, notably the unforgiving Turkish fans, who are still yet to see their side win a European Championship finals match.
Sweden: Hedman, Lucic, Mellberg, Bjorklund, Sundgren, Mild, Mjallby, Ljungberg, Alexandersson (A Andersson 63), K Andersson (Petterson 46), Larsson (Svensson 78).
Turkey: Recber, Temizkanoglu (Tugay 79), Ozalan, Akyel, Buruk, Kaya, Izzet (Yalcin 58), Unsal, Davala (Korkut 45), Erdem, Sukur.
Ref: D Jol (Holland)
|^^ Back to top|
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http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-22251306 | MPs on workload and hours after Margaret Hodge comments
MPs risk being called lazy because the number of hours they work in Westminster is shrinking, the chair of the Public Accounts Committee has claimed.
Labour's Margaret Hodge told the Guardian that MPs were not spending enough time in the House of Commons, adding: "It feels as if we are hardly working."
Conservative Shailesh Vara, Labour's Andy Sawford, and Liberal Democrat Mark Hunter gave their reaction to her comments and told Jo Coburn about their workloads.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6923912.stm | By Innes Bowen
Producer, Hecklers, BBC Radio 4
Many people who have been through sex change operations say it was the only solution to a distressing condition.
Julie Bindel believes sex change operations are wrong
But a leading feminist campaigner claims that sex reassignment surgery is based on unscientific ideas - and could be doing more harm than good.
"I should never have had sex change surgery," Claudia MacLean, a transsexual woman told the audience at a recent debate organised by the BBC Radio 4 programme Hecklers and the Royal Society of Medicine in London.
"As a result of the surgery, I am incapable of sex and I have lived a life apart."
Claudia was speaking out in support of Julie Bindel, a radical feminist and journalist, who was trying to persuade medics and trans people that sex change surgery is unnecessary mutilation.
Radical feminists have ideological reasons for opposing sex change surgery.
To them, the claim that someone can be "born into the wrong sex" is a deeply threatening concept.
Many feminists believe that the behaviours and feelings which are considered typically masculine or typically feminine are purely socially conditioned.
But if, as some in the transsexual lobby believes, the tendency to feel masculine or feminine is something innate then it follows that gender stereotypical behaviours could well be "natural" rather than as the result of social pressures and male oppression.
As a feminist, Julie Bindel therefore has a strong political motivation for her scepticism about sex change surgery.
But, her argument goes beyond ideology.
Having looked into the medical research on transsexualism, she claims there is a lack of science behind the diagnosis, no satisfactory research into the outcomes for patients and individual stories of post-operative regret.
Claudia says she was referred for surgery after a single 45 minute consultation.
"At no time did I say to that psychiatrist that I felt like a woman. In my opinion what happened to me was all about money."
She is one of a small number of trans people who have publicly expressed their regrets about having had sex change surgery.
Another is Charles Kane who, as Sam Hashimi, was the subject of a BBC documentary One Life: Make me a Man Again, televised in 2004.
This showed Sam, a transsexual woman, undergoing surgery to become a man again.
She told the BBC that her desire to become a woman had developed following a nervous breakdown.
For her, these feelings were caused by a longing to retreat into a fantasy character rather than having a crisis of gender identity.
"When I was in the psychiatric hospital there was a man on one side of me who thought he was King George and another guy on the other side who thought he was Jesus Christ. I decided I was Sam."
Others, like Miranda Ponsonby, blame post-operative discontent on society's lack of willingness to accept transsexual people.
In her forthcoming autobiography, The Making of Miranda, she describes having a strong sense from a young age that she was a female trapped in a man's body.
However, like Claudia, she says that, since her surgery, she has lived a life apart.
She claims that she is no happier now than she was before the operation.
Her advice to those contemplating sex change surgery is "Don't do it."
Stories of satisfaction
Against these stories of disappointment and regret, there are many more people who will testify publicly to their overwhelming satisfaction with sex change surgery.
But are most people who have sex change surgery satisfied or dissatisfied?
It comes as something of a surprise to learn that the medical profession does not yet know the answer to this question.
According to a review carried out by the School of Health and Related Research at Sheffield University, the poor quality of research in this area means that "little robust evidence exists" on the outcomes for patients who have sex change surgery.
Dr Kevan Wylie, a consultant in sexual medicine and the head of the UK body looking into standards of care for sex change surgery patients, admits there have been difficulties.
"The problem is that we tend to lose touch with our patients after a relatively short period of time following surgery."
Some local health authorities now refuse to fund sex change operations on the basis that there is a lack of evidence about the surgical efficacy and psychological benefits of surgery.
In the absence of more research studies, gender dysphoria specialist Dr Kevan Wylie says it is important to listen to his patients.
However, those contemplating surgery - and the health authorities which fund them - ought also to be able to get advice about the risks versus the potential benefits of such a major operation and, until further research is done, doctors are unable to give them such information.
Hear Julie Bindel argue that "sex change surgery is mutilation" on Hecklers, BBC Radio 4, 2000 BST, Wednesday 1 August. Repeated at 2215 BST on Saturday 4 August. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/6392677.stm | Final score: Ireland 43-13 England
Text us your thoughts on the game, especially if you are at the ground, to 81111 or e-mail us on [email protected]
TEXT UPDATES (all times GMT)
Full-time: Ireland simply outclassed England in the end and Croke Park erupts with a mighty roar and cries of "Easy, easy". "Two weeks ago [against France] was an open sore it hurt deeply. The responded perfectly. I'm overjoyed."
BBC rugby pundit Keith Wood
78 mins: TRY Ireland 43-13 England
Now that's really gone and done it. England replacement scrum-half Shaun Perry lobs an easy interception to opposite number Isaac Boss, who romps home to score under the posts. Paddy Wallace converts and Ireland are jubilant. Dublin will be a special place to be tonight.
75 mins: The combat around the fringes and in the trenches is still ferocious but the green wall is too strong for England to breach.
"Andy Farrell is too slow to be an international centre. England are going to have to change it."
BBC rugby commentator and former Ireland flanker Phillip Matthews
72 mins: Brian O'Driscoll does now come off, to be replaced by Andrew Trimble.
69 mins: Ireland's backs still look hungry and after a number of phases, Ronan O'Gara tries the cross-field kick that produced Horgan's try. This time, though, Horgan can't gather cleanly and England escape.
66 mins: Brian O'Driscoll injures his leg in a tackle by Harry Ellis. He limps around for a while but then seems to recover.
63 mins: TRY Ireland 36-13England
Ireland spin the ball left before rallying around Shane Horgan to rumble over the line. It's ruled to have been held up, but from the ensuing scrum, Ronan O'Gara hoists a kick into the right corner and Shane Horgan out jumps Josh Lewsey and touches down for the score. O'Gara converts. That momentum shift I talked about? Load of rubbish.
60 mins: The game is opening up and England surge down the left, only for Josh Lewsey to spill the ball to ruin a promising attack. The players stop, thinking the whistle has gone but the referee waves play-on and Ireland pour down the other flank. England scramble in defence, with physios littering the pitch, and finally manage to slow down the Irish attack. The atmosphere is reaching boiling point as "The Fields of Athenry" fills the Dublin night.
56 mins: PENALTY Ireland 29-13 England
England commit the cardinal sin of handing the three points straight back. Prop Julian White is penalised and Ronan O'Gara says thanks very much.
54 mins: PENALTY Ireland 26-13 England
There is a definite, though as yet quite subtle, momentum shift going on here. England win another penalty and this time Jonny Wilkinson is on target.
52 mins: England win a penalty right on the centre spot but Jonny Wilkinson's left boot drops marginally short. The ball, obviously, not the actual boot. The Irish crowd burst into life as they sense the threat of an England revival. Tom Palmer replaces Danny Grewcock in England's second row.
50 mins: Ronan O'Gara lofts a cross-field kick over to the left touch-line. England defend and win a penalty from the line-out to clear up, though having said that the kick doesn't find touch and Ireland come back at them.
46 mins: TRY Ireland 26-10 England
England keep the pressure on and a well-timed Andy Farrell pass finds debutant wing Dave Strettle, who stretches over in the left corner. The referee goes to the fourth official who confirms the try. Jonny Wilkinson makes the conversion from the touchline.
44 mins: England get a rare chance to shovel the ball down the backs but there is little penetration before Andy Farrell finds a useful touch.
42 mins: PENALTY Ireland 26-3 England
England skipper Phil Vickery is penalised for apparently pulling the scrum down, though Ireland's front row also popped up. Whatever, Ronan O'Gara stretches the lead.
41 mins: Ronan O'Gara kicks off the second half.
Half-time: Tom Rees is on for Magnus Lund in England's back row.
"England must get Mike Tindall to suck in O'Driscoll in midfield."
BBC rugby pundit Jeremy Guscott.
40 mins: That's half-time and Ireland run off to rapturous applause. England have been hit by a rampant green monster in the last 25 minutes and Danny Grewcock's sin-bin has hurt them even more. The Irish backs have looked razor sharp, while the Ireland pack has shown far more thunder than in recent games.
"The most electric 40mins of international rugby I've ever seen. Hate to admit it, but the Welsh game will be a massive let-down following this...(C'mon Ireland!!!)"
R. Mason, Machynlleth, Mid Wales
"Sitting here in New Zealand watching this game with interest. Most Kiwis truly believe that the Irish will be a real threat at the World Cup later this year and that they may well knock out one of the big four."
Dan, Wellington , New Zealand
"Sitting here in Sydney, Oz at 5am with my Australian wife and new two-month-old baby Jacob Patrick. It is his first Ireland-England rugby game and loving it so far. Expecting his first words any moment "O'Driscoll try"
37 mins: TRY Ireland 23-3 England
Ireland press again and open-side flanker David Wallace burrows over England's line for a try. Ronan O'Gara converts. Shades of Scotland v Italy here.
36 mins: Ireland's backs again slice through England from a line-out on the left. Shane Horgan is about to start planning his scoring celebration as he cuts in from the right wing but Mathew Tait hits him with a thunderous front-on tackle and England hooker George Chuter helps mop up.
32 mins: England's Magnus Lund is lucky to still be on the pitch after felling Girvan Dempsey in the air as the Irishman jumped to catch a high ball. The two packs came together as things threatened to turn ugly, but referee Joel Jutge just delivered a telling off and got on with the game.
30 mins: TRY Ireland 16-3 England
Ireland spin the ball right through the hands of Gordon D'Arcy and Brian O'Driscoll for full-back Girvan Dempsey to score unopposed in the right corner. Ronan O'Gara converts.
28 mins: Ireland's backs look threatening and set number eight Simon Easterby free down the left flank. Easterby is brought downs yards from the line by Josh Lewsey and as England panic to defend, lock Danny Grewcock is sin-binned for deliberately coming offside to take out Peter Stringer without the ball. Olly Morgan also limps off for England, to replaced by Mathew Tait.
23 mins: PENALTY Ireland 9-3 England
Big Shane Horgan runs through England wing Dave Strettle as he chases his own chip. From a line-out a bit of niggle creeps into both packs and Ireland emerge with a penalty. Ronan O'Gara threads the ball through the stair rods for another three points.
"Sitting in my office in Savannah, Georgia, USA, following this on the BBC website, somehow I rather doubt my boss is a rugby fan, or knows what the BBC is, so I think I'm safe. Ireland by 10."
Alan, Savannah, Georgia
22 mins: The rain begins to lash down as Ireland send a monster high ball down on Olly Morgan's head. He catches cleanly and calls for the mark before sparking a break with Harry Ellis. Ireland scuttle back to stop the attack but England get a penalty for Paul O'Connell's high tackle on Jonny Wilkinson. The fly-half finds touch but nothing immediate comes from it.
19 mins: PENALTY Ireland 6-3 England
Ireland surge into England's half but the visitors retrieve the ball, only for Andy Farrell to give away a penalty for hanging onto the ball. Ronan O'Gara accepts the three points.
15 mins: Nothing comes of England's attack and some ferocious Irish defence drives them back. Ireland then manufacture a large overlap on the right but Dave Strettle is able to snuff out the threat.
"Hi Rob. Very cheesed off that match not being shown here so relying on your updates. There again, on a sun-bed, by the sea, rum punch in hand and steel drums playing a melody. It's not all bad."
14 mins: Ireland are penalised for a front-row infringement and England win a good attacking line-out in the left in Ireland's 22.
10 mins: There's a bit of tactical probing going on early doors. Jonny Wilkinson is favouring kicking deep behind Ireland but away from touch. Ireland, in turn, are content to loft a few high balls up by way of return.
7 mins: Ireland again try to run from deep and target the inside centre channel. Interestingly, England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson is tending to move outside Andy Farrell in defence. Another early Irish tactic seems to be to test out England debutant left wing Dave Strettle with some high kicks.
3 mins: PENALTY Ireland 3-3 England
Ireland's Ronan O'Gara pumps a kick into touch deep in the England half. England win the line-out but Harry Ellis misses touch, Shane Horgan returns and Ireland earn a penalty. Ronan O'Gara levels the score.
1 min: PENALTY Ireland 0-3 England
Ireland's Simon Easterby strays offside and Jonny Wilkinson takes three points.
1740 GMT: There's a slight delay as French referee Joel Jutge has his radio hooked up. The "Fields of Athenry" booms around the stadium before Jonny Wilkinson kicks off and the two packs thunder into each other.
PRE-MATCH BUILD UP, ALL TIMES GMT
1731: A pause as the crowd waits for Mary McAleese to take her seat. And then the band strikes up with God Save the Queen. There is audible singing around the ground and no obvious signs of disrespect. The singing of the anthem is greeted with gracious applause and then the home crowd belt out the Soldier's Song and Ireland's Call.
1728: Irish president Mary McAleese walks out to polite applause and is first taken to greet England captain Phil Vickery and his team. Brian O'Driscoll then introduces her to his side to more cheering from the crowd.
"Sitting in a minibus driving across Iceland. Very cold and bright but spectacular. Hoping for the same from Jonny and the boys! Come on England!"
"Listening on the web at home in Lanai City, Hawaii. 7h30 in the morning here. Come on Ireland."
1725: The England team saunter out in a low-key fashion, in no particular order, and are greeted by gracious applause. Ireland delay their arrival, leaving the red-tracksuited Englishmen in the middle of Croke Park on their own. Eventually, Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll leads his men out into the arena to an almighty roar.
"I should be snowboarding on my day off but thrashing the Irish takes precedent."
John, Banff - Canadian Rockies
"Sitting in a cold Connecticut about to listen online...Ireland to win by 10. Wish I was in Croke Park to see it, come on Ireland."
1719: "If you're going to have any chance of the championship you can afford to drop two points. We've already done that, so today is a no-lose situation. We've got to be professional about it and not let emotions rule our heads. It's about getting on with the job when the ball is kicked off and not worrying about the periphery."
Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan
1717: "We've not come here to make up the numbers. The challenge this week is to step up two or three levels."
England coach Brian Ashton
1715: "In an internet cafe in Honduras. The nerves are killing me. We just can't loose this one."
Copan Ruinas, Honduras
1700: "In Bod we trust."
Mick the Mick, Santiago Chile
"Just off Sunset Blvd eating my eggs and bacon..waiting to hear England demolish Ireland by at least 15 points."
"Just pulling up a pew in Docksiders, Hamilton, Bermuda to watch the feed from Croke Park. Looking forward to Brian and Jonny battling it out."
"Following the texts highlights on my Blackberry on a snowy day in Ottawa, Canada's capital...come on Jonny W."
"Sitting her in Copenhagen, hope it's going to be a fair game. If I know the Irish they will play their hearts out when they are up against the English. May the best side win and it won't hurt at all if it's England."
1655: "Ireland received a rapturous reception when they came onto Croke Park for the team photograph. They are now going through their pre-match drills. The stadium is half full and there is some good news for the fans and players too - the rain has stopped in Dublin."
BBC Sport's Jim Stokes (on his day off)
1650: "Ireland to win no doubt about that...even the bookies in Ireland are paying out already on an Ireland win...come on the IRISH."
Anonymous (bookie?) via email
1645: "Lymm rugby club has never been so packed for David Strettle's debut the first player who has ever worn a Lymm and England shirt."
From behind the bar at the Lymm RUFC, via text
1640: "Listening to Five Live in the middle of the Arabian Gulf on a boat with a doubting Kiwi. Good luck England - you have a good chance to win."
Mark, on a boat in the Arabian Gulf via email
1635: "I am a proud Englishman, in Aspen, Colorado. Looking forward to seeing David Strettle and Olly Morgan play."
A proud Englishman, Colorado via text
1630: Conditions could be a little tricky in Dublin where it is lashing down, though thankfully there is no wind. The England team were booed when they came on for their warm-up and some fans are waiting to change into their England shirts until they are inside the stadium.
BBC Sport's Jim Stokes (on his day off)
1621: "On the train into Manhattan with the locals having no idea what is about to happen today. Come on Ireland !"
Francis, New York
1615: There are already some fans nestled in the Croke Park stands and they are being treated to a blast of "The Irish Rover". The noise doesn't seem to be bothering Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll, who is surveying the scene from the middle of the pitch. Also out on the turf is England coach Brian Ashton and fly-half Toby Flood.
1611: "Come On England. The later kick-off means we get it live in Singapore for once as it does not clash with any football. Let's hope Jonny can inspire an England win!"
1600: Just 90 minutes to go until the big Six Nations match between Ireland and England is due to start.
Are you at Croke Park, having a drink near the ground, making your way to the game, logging on to the website from around the world, or following the build-up on your phone?
Why not let us know how you are building up to the kick-off, what you have spotted on your way to the match or wherever you are going to watch it and how you think the game will go. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7330790.stm | By Emma Wilkinson
Health reporter, BBC News
People with language problems after a stroke have speech therapy
Imagine being unable to hold a conversation or make a phone call because you cannot understand what is being said to you or formulate what you want to say.
Such difficulties are faced by up to a quarter of people who have suffered a stroke.
Some people find their language skills improve over time but some may never recover, even with speech therapy.
Now researchers at Imperial College London are hoping to improve rehabilitation by having a rethink about how the brain recovers.
Brain imaging studies they have carried out in stroke patients and healthy individuals have highlighted that speech therapy may have, until now, be focusing on the wrong bit of the brain.
Dr Jane Warren, a neurologist at Imperial has found that the development of new pathways between the right and left side of the brain may be the key.
"Most other studies have looked at individual brain regions but in our study we looked at how brain regions talk to each other," she said.
"It was thought that that recovery must happen because a certain brain region comes back on line but actually it's about different regions of the brain talking to each other."
Dr Warren said the brain rewires itself to set up new pathways so the right and left sides of the brain can communicate again.
The team, funded by Action Medical Research, are now using the findings to develop new rehabilitation techniques in patients with language problems which encourage these pathways to form.
"We hope either to restore function in pathways damaged by stroke, or to train intact pathways to 'take over' impaired functions," she said.
The rehabilitation programme which Dr Warren has developed with a speech therapist colleague uses a series of computer-based tasks which patients can use in their own homes.
Patients will undergo imaging to study changes in the language pathways of the brain before and after rehabilitation to see if the technique works.
Quality of life
Rosemary Cunningham, a speech and language therapist in Derby said aphasia - communication problems caused by damage to the brain - was very common in stroke patients and can severely impact on quality of life.
"As well as conversations and phone calls it can affect written ability things like being able to use the internet."
She explained currently therapists can either help people to compensate for their problems or try and rehabilitate the part of the brain affected.
"We try and tease out the pathway that's affected - is it semantics or extracting the right sounds.
"Hopefully research like this will give us more understanding of the brain - it's such a complicated organ and sometimes what we can do now is relatively superficial."
She added: "The left hemisphere for most people is the language area but it doesn't seem that works in isolation so maybe if we can strengthen the connections we can bypass the damaged area."
Professor Sophie Scott from the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience agrees that use of functional imaging to look at how rehabiliation works is an exciting area of research.
"If you speak to language therapists they all ask can you show us how this is working.
"These techniques have the potential of telling us how the brain is recovering."
But Dr Keith Muir, senior lecturer in neurology at Glasgow University said such techniques, although holding great potential, had yet to prove anything useful that could be used in practice.
"I think we are all hopeful it will give use additional insights but there's always a great deal of uncertainty about the application of these techniques in the real world.
"One thing it could tell us are which patients are most likely to respond to therapy." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/2920373.stm | Coalition artillery fire is frightening even if you are behind it
Last night the stray dogs were howling in southern Iraq, howling across the barren, war-torn, flat and scarred landscape.
A landscape drenched in darkness, the darkness of warfare where no lights are allowed, lest military positions are revealed.
A darkness lit up only by the majesty of the stars, which feed on the blackness of the night and because of that are all the brighter.
I had fallen into a deep sleep, for just two hours.
Sleep muddled with dreams of chemical warfare, soldiers, and strange phrases such as close aerial support.
I was wedged into a five-foot (1.5m) wide military tent with a colleague's feet in my face, breathing dust, on the outskirts of Basra.
Assaulting the senses
Those were the few hours between the first British artillery fire into Basra, and the second.
Artillery fire that makes the earth shake violently beneath your feet, that sends jolts into your chest, that spews up swirls of sand and dust that clog your eyes.
Artillery fire that assaults your every sense, that you dread, even from a safe position behind it.
This night British troops were firing giant lights into Basra from the outskirts of the city.
Lights that tore in packages out of the barrels of the giant guns and ripped through the sky for 10 miles (16 kms) or more before opening up over Basra and elegantly gliding by parachute down over the town.
Lights that lit up four square miles of central Basra in the dead of night.
Caught in crossfire
The purpose was to expose all Iraqi military movements in that area, to find out who is where, and to send a message of domination, a message that coalition troops are in charge here, not the Iraqis.
Iraqis in Basra are nervous - not just of Saddam Hussein, but of UK forces
The British soldiers gave me coffee, and one of them said to me: "Yeah - it's basically like having a giant spotlight in your eye for anyone in that area."
"It must be terrifying for the people."
And that is just the lights.
This is not even artillery fire, the mortars, the tank fire.
What must it be like to be caught in the midst of the fire going both ways?
Basra is cut off for most of us, all we can do is get close and watch, talk to the few who come out of the city and imagine what it must be like for the rest.
Those like the Iraqis that Britain is trying to win over with war. The people caught between their own oppressors and the coalition soldiers.
The Iraqis that, to most British soldiers, appear on the landscape as dusty, ragged children waving, and crying out for water as they drive by in armoured land rovers.
Or the Iraqis in cars who have to be checked in case they are militia. Who sometimes are made to kneel on the ground in a pen by British soldiers until they are checked.
Those I have spoken to all say the same.
They are nervous. They do not like Saddam Hussein, but they do not like the British army either.
Who is illegal? The invaders or the invaded? The language of the new liberator to people here is strange indeed
"We are not Palestine, we are not Palestine!" one Iraqi man shouted.
"You can't just occupy us."
Many say they are scared to speak. Many say they just do not want trouble, they do not want war.
Many say they cannot trust the West after Western troops went home in 1991, leaving them to bear the punishment that the Iraqi leader's men meted out.
US President George W Bush keeps talking about liberating Iraq.
"We will bring you food", he says, as if he is imitating his local preacher in Texas. "We will bring you water."
As I write I am in a country without a visa.
Coalition forces pledge things will be different to 1991
I never passed through an Iraqi border checkpoint. I invaded, too. I came in with the British forces.
By all rights of a sovereign nation I am here illegally. By what right am in Iraq? By what right is Britain? That is what Iraqis want to know.
And listen to the language of the British forces.
A spokesman at the military headquarters in Qatar called the Iraqi militias "illegal criminal forces".
This was perhaps in reference to the law of armed conflict which defines standards of warfare, such as wearing uniforms and not using civilians as human shields.
New world order?
But whatever you think of Saddam Hussein, how can you call a man defending his sovereign nation an illegal element?
Who is illegal? The invaders or the invaded? The language of the new liberator to people here is strange indeed.
British propaganda pumps happy Arabic music into Iraqi towns near here.
They produce leaflets with pictures of a smiling British soldiers earnestly shaking the hand of a bemused looking Iraqi.
The caption reads "This time we won't abandon you".
Perhaps that is true, perhaps it is not.
This war is almost too big to comprehend.
You lie in your tent here in the desert, small beneath the sky, and try to imagine that more than one quarter of a million soldiers are here - a huge proportion of Britain's army, a huge proportion of America's.
You see the faces of the soldiers, confused, out of their depth as they try to control the crowds, and you wonder where this is going.
A giant war - the birth of a new liberator with his new language - and the birth of a new world order that feels frightening and strange. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/news/vote2001/hi/english/question_time/your_comments/newsid_1336000/1336820.stm | May 17, Newcastle
You can join Question Time's internet debate by emailing your views on the topics discussed in the latest programme to: [email protected]
Audience question: Can John Prescott's actions yesterday be defended in any way, shape or form? You said:
I feel that he had every right to react the way he did. I was a very lowly civil servant for over 10 years and was verbally abused on frequest occasions and know of many colleagues who were physically abused by claimants. Our instructions regarding this verbal abuse were to just 'take it'. The minority of the public need to be shown that they too have a moral responsibility to conduct themselves in a proper way. If this means giving as good as you get, then so be it. More power to your elbow, Mr Prescott!
I think John Prescott's actions yesterday were totally unacceptable. Someone in his position should know better than to react to such provocation. It certainly shows he has no future as a possible Labour leader if he is unable to restrain himself. In my view this just shows his weakness and frustration that Labour have finally been exposed as a mediocre outfit, incapable of controlling themselves, never mind the welfare of their country.
I think it makes a mockery of justice in this country when if you are the deputy prime minister you just have to apologise and it is forgotten. If you are some uneducated, unemployed man on a sink estate you would be sent to prison because you are not powerful enough to do anything about it.
How diminutive an office must a public official hold before they become subject to the rule of law? I certainly condemn the egging of the depute prime minister, however if someone was to throw a drink over me in a public house, and I turned round and hit the person nearest me without knowing they were responsible, I should have no complaint should I later be arrested for assault (or such other charge as the police may deem appropriate). Why then is it acceptable for Mr Prescott to do precisely the same?
Obsessed with raising taxes?
Audience question: I'm far better at spending my money than any government of any colour. Why are the Liberal Democrats so obsessed with raising taxes? You said:
How refreshing to hear a politician being practical and honest about taxation.
Nobody has a birth right to better healthcare or a better education than anybody else, so take an extra £10 a week off me and others like me who can afford it, and plough it into better public services for all.
Liberal Democrats' penny on tax - what happens to the money that we already pay for tax? Why do you need more public money?
You have been clear on tax for high earners what about those who are middle ground, traditionally we are hit hardest - what will you do for us?
I agree with the member of the audience who felt he was a better judge of how to spend his money than any government. Whilst I respect the ethical and moral position of Charles and the Lib Dems the pro-active redistribution of wealth coupled with huge investment in the nanny state is all to much Old Labour for me. I'd rather choose my own schools and hospitals thanks - I am convinced the extra money taken from me in tax will not deliver an iota improvement in service from education, health or basic government.
Pay for further education?
Audience question: Do you believe that students should pay for their further education? You said:
Regarding John Yeoman's comments on continual testing at university. As a parent and student, I find annual examinations stressful enough. Term based examinations would deter many mature students with home and family commitments from entering higher education. We don't all go to university for the continual partying and cheap beer, chance would be a fine thing!
As a 17-year-old A-level student about to enter the university education
system, I would like to side with Charles Kennedy. I recognise that the
general public would prefer not to foot the bill for students in tax, but as
students do become ordinary tax-payers, the government can afford £0.6bn to
ensure a bright future and equality of opporunity.
As a teacher, I am naturally very interested in the Lib Dems' proposal to use tax increases to fund education. Having watched 'Question Time' I must say how impressed I was by Charles Kennedy - his honesty and integrity shone out for me, and I don't believe I'm easily impressed by politicians' blandishments. I have to say that many of my colleagues felt the same way. Many of us wish the Lib Dems all the luck in the world.
Surely student funding must be restored if we expect our young people to keep up with the other young people in Europe.
Why shouldn't university students be accountable for a small proportion of the fees required for them to gain their degrees? Should those who opt to begin work and not go to university be asked to pay for some of it? In my opinion people who gain degrees also gain a distinct advantage in the job market. Is it not fair that when they begin to earn the kind of salaries a degree demands that they should be asked to pay a little back?
Charles Kennedy tried to peddle the line that the Lib Dems have abolished tuition fees in Scotland. In truth, they have replaced it with a graduate tax which is virtually the same. A huge blow for his pledge of 'honesty'.
As a future student and a new voter I think that the policy of fee abolition in university is a good one. Even though there will be a price to pay when earning a wage, it is better than going into a huge debt for something that is improving the level of education in England.
I want to know how Mr Kennedy would deal with the issue of the disabled in education. They too should have choice.
Politics is not taught in schools. Ninety per cent of those I speak to haven't a clue how to make an informed decision. Any plans to include this into the education system?.
On the question of further education, why doesn't the government make it mandatory that each term students have exams and failure means expulsion. This would cut out all the failures and wasters. Then allow free places to all.
I was surprisingly being impressed by the Liberal Democrat leader on his views on higher education when we came onto the point about the Lib Dems attacking the government. Now I'm confused. Why are we trying to attack are government exactly? What purpose does it serve? Can't one party rise above the pointless name calling and keep there politics and manifestoes based on what is good about what they propose rather than what is bad about the others.
Views on Europe out of touch?
Audience question: Are your views on Europe out of touch with those of the majority of the population? You said:
I believe that in a democracy, it is unethical to score party points on an issue that has clearly not been sufficiently debated. A decision cannot be made until both sides of the argument have been scientifically evaluated. I believe that for the good of the country, all parties should agree to a referendum and get on with discussing policies that do immediately affect all of us.
Charles Kennedy raised a very important point in regards to the euro. He talked about the way Britain stays out of European agreements, making no contribution to the way in which they are structured. Then, years later we sign up to the agreements and complain about the fact they are not suited to us. In my opinion, Britain entering a single currency with either Europe or the USA is inevitable. It is important to get involved in the formation of such a currency at the outset, to avoid joining later and facing the same old problems.
The average working person does not know the in's and out's of the Euro debate, and whether we would be better off in or out of the Euro. What interests them is if the price of a tin of beans will be the same - or more, if we enter. It needs somebody to explain, in simple terms, forgetting Party politics, and enlighten the public.
Once again the debate on Euro turns into a debate about the debate with the "printed media" being attacked by Charles Kennedy for bias. Which of course Charles Kennedy is not.
It seems to me that the pro-euro lobby is trying to gather support on the euro by pandering to anti-American feelings, i.e. xenophobia of a different flavour. Although I don't think Kennedy referred to the citizenship of the newspaper owners, he didn't condemn or disown the anti-American views expressed by an audience member.
Believe me, the Americans don't care about the Euro. The papers adopt an anti-euro stance because they want to sell papers, by mirroring public opinion.
It was good to hear a sensible debate on relations with Europe and the euro. It is unlikely there will be anything as constructive over the next few weeks from other parties. Although I am not a fan of referenda, they can too easily be hijacked as a vote on the general performance of the governing party, but with many people apparently being disenfranchised, it might re-engage more of the population in the political process.
Well done Mr Kennedy. Having a party leader who is honest about the real issues affecting every day people makes a refreshing change. A proper debate about Europe and the long term effects of the Euro on the future of the UK is long overdue.
I agree with Mr Kennedy on the issue of the euro in that we need to hold a referendum but we also need wider access to relevant unbiased information on the pros and cons. I for one am against a super state but I feel that it will be necessary to join the single currency so Britain can trade in the currency of the majority of the countries that it trades with. I believe that people are grossly misinformed on this issue!
On the euro it is clear Mr Kennedy wants us in there, and I have no doubt that the referendum will be worded in such a way as to ensure that result is achieved. When will a politician have the nerve to be 100% honest with us?
Like all mainstream politicians Charles Kennedy never wants to talk about globalisation and stopping the rise of big business. One lady commented that the real power was in Europe - actually the real power is in the boardroom.
Charles performed very well indeed. In particular it was quiet refreshing to be reminded that he and others strongly advocated a referendum on the Maastricht treaty. I have long felt that all this fuss over the euro misses the point. Surely we should be more concerned about the actual devolvement of Westminster power to Brussels as it happened.
Are you Blair's poodle?
Audience question: How do you answer the charge that you are Blair's poodle? You said:
'I am sure my right honourable friend will agree with me that...', if he looks at re-runs of PM Question Time he will realise that he DOES appear to be the prime minister's lap dog - he very rarely challenges, only attacks Tories.
Charles Kennedy tonight displayed great political maturity. His party seems to be connected to the voters and his policies are well thought-out. Dogs respond only when things are thrown!
Tactical voting immoral?
Audience question: Is tactical voting immoral? You said:
Tactical voting is not, in my opinion, immoral but it is not particularly helpful in establishing what the electorate really wants. A losing candidate can always blame the tactical voters for a poor performance. What we want is an electoral system which allows the voter to vote for what he (or she) really wants ie a PR system like the Single Transferable Vote.
What is immoral is that tactical voting is necessary. How can an undemocratic practice such as a "Safe Seat" still exist? Isn't this the 21st century equivalent of the "Rotten Borough"?
Mr Kennedy was right of course when he said that our electoral system needs urgent reform to reflect the true makeup of political opinion in this country. If anybody doubts that just ask why it is expected that we will have the lowest ever turn out for a general election since 1918. Many people do feel that they are irrelevant to the political process undermining our democracy.
I would like to say that the issue about people voting tactically is a big problem. I believe that many people will be voting Labour in the desperate attempt to keep the Tories out when they really agree with and support the Lib Dems. Sadly I'm only 16 and so don't have the privilege of being able to vote for my future but want you to know that the Lib Dems will definitely have my vote in the future!
Environmental policies undermined?
Audience question: As the Lib Dems refused to raise tax on fuel and say pants to the motorist, doesn't that undermine your environmental policies? You said:
I am a teenager also, 16 years old. Carrying on with Peter Singlehurst's point. He should know that lowering the petrol prices and any other tax would lead to people spending more and thus increase inflation. Rising inflation means rising interest rates. Perhaps at a time of slumping growth we should lower taxes to encourage growth in the economy whilst economies around the world are also cooling down.
Until public transport is effective and efficient and available to those who need it most higher fuel tax will only penalise the rural poor. Charles Kennedy is right to say that we need the carrot of better public transport before the public will stand higher fuel costs.
I am 15 years old. Charles Kennedy has just been saying how if you raise fuel prices then this will devastate the environment. Petrol has one of the most inelastic demands there is. If you raise prices, demand will not change much at all. Therefore I say that the environment is just a cover for the government to get more money to spend on their wallpaper.
Audience question: Do you think cannabis should be legalised? You said:
I am yet to be persuaded that politicians should have any right to tell me which substances I am allowed to put in my body. I would love to see a party which decriminalises cannabis users but, sadly, Charles Kennedy is simply too ill-informed and disinterested on this matter. True, he's willing to discuss it (which is an improvement on the other two) but in the meantime cannabis users will continue to be persecuted and information about this herb's value suppressed.
I enjoyed the programme and felt Charles Kennedy answered many of the questions fully. However, I felt he fudged the question on decriminalisation of cannabis and did not actually end up explaining the Liberal Democrats' view on it. As he is a firm believer in referendums, would the Lib Dems consider a referendum on cannabis and allow the public to decide?
I felt Charles Kennnedy failed to capitalise on the drugs issue raised in the debate. He answered the question too directly, and like so many other out of touch politicians shows that he really does not realise the fear in the country as a whole that the war against drug importation and abuse in this country, which is at epidemic proportions, has long been lost.
Yes there is a conspiracy of silence in parliament about a topic that touches everyone - drugs, solvents and alcohol.
General comments on the programme:
Thank you for a really good programme.
Tonight's debate with Charles Kennedy for the Lib Dems never touched on one of this election's important issues - that of the asylum seekers. This issue must not be swept under the carpet by the politicians because they think it an explosive issue. We the electorate would like to hear their views and policy on this matter.
I was at the deabte last night, and was very impressed with Mr Kennedy's lack of posturing and completely reasonable stance on most issues. I am even considering (life-long Labour supporter) voting for his party, but the iniquities of the voting system mean that my vote would be lost. Apparently 31% of people questioned in a recent poll said that they would vote for the Lib Dems if they thought they had a chance. Surely this is a savage indictment on our political system.
I feel that Charles Kennedy came across as an intelligent, well read and informed politician. If only they could all speak in such a coherent manner. It is a shame because of our voting system that he has less effect on the UK. Hopefully the Lib Dem's will develop into a viable opposition to Labour whereas the Conservatives can never claim this position. I look forward to seeing how the other leaders perform in this environment - they have a lot to live up to.
Some of the comments about Charles Kennedy's performance strike me as rather naive. Charles Kennedy was his usual apparently reasonable self and did come across as a mature debater (as he kept telling us). However, he didn't answer the more challenging questions very convincingly. Charles Kennedy is not going to be prime minister or even leader of the opposition. He has nothing to lose and can (and does) coast to a large extent on the activities and policies of Labour and the Conservatives. Don't be taken in.
As a first time voter, I was unconvinced about which party should have my vote. However, after watching Charles Kennedy last night, I was impressed by his intelligent comments and the way in which he answered most of the questions directly. We are so used to seeing politicians dithering over answers and using every opportunity possible to bash the opposition that it was refreshing to see someone who was more concerned with explaining the policies of his party. I will almost certainly be voting Lib Dem now. Mr Kennedy, if you read this, well done!
An excellent performance by Charles Kennedy being the first one in the hot seat and dealing so well with the appalling badgering by David Dimbebly and in a strongly socialist area. Excellent.
How dare Charles Kennedy consider himself leader of an opposition party, what opposition? Having watched nearly all Prime Ministers Question Times since he became leader, I have been appalled that the party I voted for has not (as it should) held the government to account, but wasted its opportunity to attack the governmment and wasted time attacking a party that's not even in power. You can be sure I won't waste my vote again.
Charles Kennedy's performance on Question Time was outstanding, mostly because it wasn't a "performance". He was well-informed, persuasive and clear-thinking. One doesn't have to agree with everything he says to appreciate that. He managed to engage in mature debate with the studio audience, despite several invitations to descend into the usual political slanging match, in a way that indicated his respect for their intelligence.
I may well vote Lib Dem at this election, but, going forwards, in order to keep my vote, I would want to see the party really trying to become a viable alternative to the Labour government. This, to me, somehow means trying to make decent policies appeal to a broader section of the public and (much as I might agree with the idea) being prepared to do it without Proportional Representation being in place, as, clearly, any incumbent government will not introduce it.
What can be done to get the media to ask the various
politicians to start their answers with the initial word "yes" or "no" in
response to direct questions?
I think if this was done more often the public might well warm to them instead of knowing that all they will get is more and more fudging - that is why I believe more members of the public are getting disillusioned on the subject of politics.
I was, however, extremely impressed by Charles Kennedy on tonight's
"Challenge the Leader" and, although I don't agree with the Liberal
Democrats' stance on every issue, am almost certain to vote for them this time as a result.
Mr Kennedy, if you're reading this on your laptop on your way home, I think you came across extremely well. It is refreshing to see and hear a politician talking with intelligence and reason, treating the audience and public with respect and appearing to actually listen and react to what the public are feeling. Just because the country has swung between two parties winning elections over recent history does not mean that we cannot change for the future. I hope that more people will vote for the Lib Dem's voice of reason this time, so that a Lib Dem government will become a real possibility for the future.
It's good to hear someone giving thoughtful considered answers to direct questions, instead of just bashing the other parties. More is to be gained in every way by co-operation, than just negative opposition. This man is turning out to be far more mature than I had ever expected. Thank you for the chance to add my voice, even though it is a small one.
This has been a most boring hour of party political broadcast endorsed by a mainly partisan group of clapping nodding donkeys. Come on, BBC, put these wannabees under the spotlight and let's test their metal. Thank you David Dimbleby for injecting some meaningful content.
Isn't Charles Kennedy the same as any leader who knows he won't gain power ie he says what the people want to hear - he agrees with most people's points of view!
Some of what Charles Kennedy had to say tonight was as he put it honest, but I do feel that he is securely wrapped up in his hermetically sealed bubble. I really don't believe he will get the votes he is looking for.
As a first time voter I was finding the continual mud flinging of the two major parties a total turn off. It was refreshing to hear someone explain their politics clearly and with conviction, without spending a large part of the time dwelling on the faults his opposition. He has convinced me!
Charles Kennedy appears to be the most honest of all the party leaders. Let's hope that a system of PR can be installed at future Westminster elections so sensible politicians such as Mr Kennedy can have a bigger say in the running of our country.
Having heard Charles Kennedy tonight I am unconvinced that his party has any policies that I agree with. The gentleman, who I believe was a farmer, was trying to make the point that the foot-and-mouth crisis has been badly handled. Charles Kennedy seems to shy away from criticising the government's handling of the situation. Charles Kennedy appears to be happy knocking the Tories.
I'd like to congratulate the BBC on the success of the 'Challenge The Leader' format. I would however like to question David Dimbleby's handling of the show. I, as I guess fellow viewers did, wanted to hear Charles Kennedy's answers to the audience questions. I did not want constant interruptions and irrelevant points such as what page certain matters appear on in the Liberal Democrat Manifesto, and bickering between him and Mr Kennedy.
Since it is clear that the Liberal Democrats cannot win the election shouldn't Mr Kennedy aim to better the Conservatives this time and settle for being the opposition and next election they may be a serious contender?
I was a 'Blue' for 20 years, now I'm with the Lib Dems, so much so that I'm standing as a in the local council by-election on June 7th. If you are thinking of voting Tory, remember the 18 yrs of debt and remember their current internal fighting. Mr Kennedy you can do it and this time the nation will see sense.
The only thing missing from Charles Kennedy tonight is his halo!
I thought Mr Kennedy was extremely credible and the Liberal Democrats and their policies are gaining in credibility.
I feel the Charles Kennedy came over extremely well. This has boosted my already high opinion of the Lib Dems.
David Dimbleby said he wanted to cover many questions but spoilt tonight's programme by rudely and aggressively interrupting Charles Kennedy with his own agenda. This was disappointing as Kennedy was several times prevented from putting his case.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-25454008 | Toddler case highlights E. coli danger
It is 08:00 and little Bo Cox is woken in his bed at Yorkhill Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow for his almost daily dose of dialysis.
Almost instantly he is asking for water.
The three-year-old is only allowed a few small sips because he is restricted to just 200ml per day, but each mouthful is gulped down with enthusiasm.
Bo's mother Lucy has made the hospital trip each day for the past 18 months since the youngster was admitted with E. coli 0157.
He was one of four children and two adults to be infected at the Rose Lodge nursery in Aboyne last year and now requires round-the-clock care.
Ms Cox believes better education is needed about the dangerous effects of the bacterium which left Bo blind and almost deaf, with no working kidney and only a quarter of his bowel.
She told me: "He doesn't urinate and he has no way of getting rid of the fluid so that's where the dialysis comes in.
"Everything is measured; his input and his output, all his nappies are weighed.
"His weight and how much fluid he's put on gauges how long he'll be on dialysis and how much fluid they will have to remove at a time."
A report into the Aberdeenshire nursery blamed poor hand hygiene for the spread of the bug.
The consultant paediatric kidney specialist treating the youngster says Bo is the most severely affected surviving patient of the condition the hospital has ever had.
Ian Ramage added: "The effects are quite profound and affect many different organ systems.
"He's on nutrition through his vein as well as supplemental feeds through a tube into his stomach."
Bo's had 16 operations and, although his is an extreme case, Lucy believes E. coli is not taken seriously.
While violent, in most cases it clears up but with Bo the effects have clearly been devastating.
He does have moments of play and occasionally stays at his mother's new home in Glasgow.
But no care package has been agreed with the local authority to allow him to stay at home and Lucy says that is not helping improve his quality of life.
She said: "It's such a tragedy for Bo, he's lost so much and his future is so uncertain.
"Every day has a huge amount of suffering for him, whether it's the vomiting, the diarrhoea or the dialysis."
Glasgow City Council said he has "complex care needs" and that "progress is being made with the hope that Bo will be able to return home as soon as possible".
One day he may be able to receive a kidney transplant.
But his sight, hearing and damage to his bowel will never be fixed.
Lucy is angry at what happened but she hopes that by highlighting Bo's case it will make other nurseries take the issue of hand hygiene seriously and stop the spread of such a debilitating bug. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7562393.stm | Russian forces have been seen in the Georgian port town of Poti
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has arrived in Tbilisi for talks with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili.
Her trip - a show of US support - comes a week after fighting began between Russian and Georgian forces over the breakaway region of South Ossetia.
Ms Rice will present Mr Saakashvili with a ceasefire deal, but he says he will need a closer look before signing.
A BBC correspondent in the Georgian port of Poti says Russian forces have taken control of its naval dockyard.
Richard Galpin says he has seen an armoured personnel carrier, troop-carrying trucks and Russian helicopters in the area and that the main mission seems to be to destroy or remove Georgian military and naval equipment.
There is also a major Russian military contingent further inland near the town of Senaki and Russian forces still control Gori, which lies some 15km (10 miles) from South Ossetia and on a key route to Tbilisi, our correspondent says.
A Russian general said there had been no fighting on Friday and that Georgian and Russian troops were pulling back.
Russian deputy chief of staff Gen Anatoly Nogovitsyn also told a news conference in Moscow that the signing of a missile defence deal between the US and Poland had worsened already tense relations with the US.
He said a large depot of US-made weapons had been seized near Senaki.
He also says Russian troops will stay in the Gori area to remove weaponry and help restore law and order.
As the diplomatic efforts continue, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will also seek a peaceful resolution when she meets Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Friday.
The US-based group Human Rights Watch has accused both sides in the conflict of killing and injuring civilians through apparently "indiscriminate attacks" on the towns of Tskhinvali, in South Ossetia, and Gori.
The crisis began when Georgia attacked South Ossetia on 7 August, sparking Russian retaliation. Scores of people have died in the fighting.
Ms Rice is to present Mr Saakashvili with the formal ceasefire agreement, which she was given by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters on the plane, she said she would talk to Mr Saakashvili about "clarifications" made to the document and then seek to get the formal truce in place.
"The goal of this is to get a ceasefire and to get Russian forces to withdraw from the country as soon as possible," Reuters news agency quotes her as saying.
No more use of force
Stop all military actions for good
Free access to humanitarian aid
Georgian troops return to their places of permanent deployment
Russian troops to return to pre-conflict positions
International talks about future security and stability of South Ossetia and Abkhazia
After her talks in France, Ms Rice said both the US and France strongly backed Georgia's territorial integrity and accused Russia of failing to respect the ceasefire.
Mr Sarkozy, who negotiated the deal on behalf of the European Union, said France planned to submit a draft UN Security Council resolution incorporating the ceasefire agreement.
The deal includes a pledge to pull troops on both sides back to their pre-conflict positions, and a plan to begin international discussions about the future status of South Ossetia and a second breakaway region, Abkhazia.
Meanwhile, Poland announced on Thursday that it had signed a preliminary deal with the US on plans to host part of its new missile defence shield.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Russia's relations with the US may recover. Its relations with the "near abroad" are shattered forever
Stephen Thake, Valletta, Malta
Washington - which says the timing is not linked to the Georgian crisis - has always assured Moscow that the shield is to protect against long-range attacks from "rogue states" such as Iran, rather than Russia.
But, says the BBC's Jonathan Beale in Washington, the US is now likely to be less worried about Russian objections and more anxious to send signals to European allies like Poland that it is prepared to guarantee their protection.
The Georgian government, which says its action in South Ossetia followed provocation, says that 175 people, mainly civilians, have died.
Russia, which says 74 of its troops were killed, reports that more than 2,000 people died in South Ossetia, the vast majority civilians allegedly killed in the Georgian attack.
While none of the casualty figures has been verified independently, the UN refugee agency estimates some 100,000 people have been displaced. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3724823.stm | Artist Jeremy Deller has won the 2004 Turner Prize for work which included a video about George Bush's hometown.
The work of artist Jeremy Deller is on the shortlist
The Turner shortlist also included a video-game style exploration of the home of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.
Langlands and Bell's installation The House Of Osama Bin Laden features video and photos from Afghanistan.
They were joined on the nominees' shortlist list by Yinka Shonibare, who works with African fabric and
Turkish-born video artist Kutlug Ataman.
The annual £40,000 award, given for the year's best exhibition by a British artist, has always generated heated debate.
What do you think about this year's winner and his fellow nominees? Have the judges made a good choice?
How sad to think, that had Bernini, Rubens, Raphael and Michelangelo to name but a few true artists, lived in today's society they would not of been short listed for the Turner Prize for art. How the past winner of this award (I forget her name)must have suffered when she did not make the bed. The Turner Prize is now seen as a joke, not only by children, but also by adults who are not afraid to say the Emperor is not wearing any clothes.
Cecil Crinnion, Slingsby, England.
I think the nominees' this year were all great (even if they did all have a bit too much in common). In general though, i think the Turner prize is a great award, but Since Martin Creed won in 2001 with light going on and off, far too many people have jumped on the anti-Turner prize bandwagon who are far too narrow minded to appreciate art. If it wasn't for artists like Jeremy Deller (like The Who, The Sex Pistols, Picasso and Monet), the arts would never evolve. People who moan that the arts in general has all been seen or heard before clearly aren't opening their eyes wide enough.
Rob , Bristol
The Art Scene tends to be dominated by commercialism. Comments have been made that there are maybe artists who could be more worthy winners. After all there are thousands of us artists working. There can only be a few chosen few, as in the music industry for art to be viable on a business level. The Turner Prize whether realised or not is part of the industry. Joan, London, UK
Joan Jonas, London UK
Turner was one of England's greatest artists. Surely it is high time his name was removed from this annual event. I suggest that from next year it is more appropriately re-named "Gresham's Prize", indicating Gresham's famous "law" which more accurately designates the nature of the submissions.
Michael Knight, Geneva, Switzerland
No-one has yet to define what is meant by 'art'. If it is to provoke a reaction then the response elicited on this message board suggests that the nominations are, indeed, works of 'art'.
Grant Coleby, Itchington, England
Though I had graduated from Contemporary Arts as part of my university degree, and appreciate how art these days isn't just based on aesthetic beauty. I find the nominated works of this years Turner Prize of mediocre quality. Perhaps it would be more interesting to create an award whereby we have a competition for the artist who successfully networks his/her way to 'the' art circle that matters instead?
J Wan, UK, UK
I'm a big fan of the Turner Prize. I think people see it in a bad light because they only get to see the 'sensationalism' portrayed by the media. See it in the flesh - much better. Unfortunately This year has seen lots of 'video installations' which I don't really like. Nor do I like the PR that has accompanied some of this years nominees. All the same I would have to vote for Yinka Shonibare. It was the one display this year that I would happily hang on my wall. Go Yinka!!!
Richard, Leeds, UK
I always enjoy seeing what junk gets made for the Turner Prize. It really is rubbish. I personally thought that something like Chris Jordan's 'Bi-Polar' picture in the "Mock Turner Prize" pictures was excellent! Very creative and imaginative. Why do we never see anything like this?
Alan, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Like all the other exhibits in previous years this years contributions are just not art and do not merit a prize named after someone who could rightly be called an artist. What I wonder here is who is kidding who? Art needs artistic skill whereas these exhibits do not need much of a degree of artistry. This is supposed to be an art contest not a video or photographic contest. The whole concept of the Turner Prize is and always has been total farce and never warrants serious consideration within the world of Art. In fact to give someone £25000 for producing one of these so called works of art is nothing less than a gross insult to the true artists of our generation.
R.Chapman, Middlesbrough UK
There is nothing original or revolutionary in terms of content in this current batch of Turner nominees...just more self-indulgence. With all the publicity that the Turner attracts artists should see this as a golden opportunity to create an art which has the power to transform society. Think about it artists, curators. But maybe it's just too hard?
Josie Wadelton, St. Kilda, Australia
When did documentary films become art? How about my holiday snaps, or a film of a visit to the bathroom? How about the artist performing his/her ablutions live and uncensored in the gallery, as a work of art? I'm sure we could find something profound to say about it, in order to lend it the necessary gravitas...
Gordon Bennett, London, England
What absolute rubbish...the money would be better spent on people that need it. I am disgusted that giving Bin Laden ANY publicity whether in the name of art or not should not be allowed after the atrocities he has done.
Margaret, Wigan England
Frankly, if this is what constitutes art, then I really do begrudge any of my taxes going to the Arts Council. People can dress it all up with big words and I see they already have, art is not about being controversial, clever or exclusive, like much of the dross I see here, it's about being creative and inclusive. This is design for the overpaid, by the overpaid. Art, it 'isn't.
Paul, Amersham, UK
I've just returned from a trip to The Netherlands, where I went to see a collection of Rembrandt's work. Now that IS art.
John Naughton, Wirral, UK
The work shows how far the arts in Britain have retreated from any pretence of engaging with fundamental or important questions at other than a trivial level. Modern artists have largely abandoned any attempt to answer questions such as what does it mean to be human or what is the underlying nature of reality? This may be because they have nothing worthwhile to say. These questions are now more successfully addressed by their colleagues in the sciences - as a quick look at the popular science section in any bookshop will confirm. Unfortunately, rather than confront this failure, the arts community has taken up a position of obscurantism and abandoned the intellectual high ground to the more rigorous thinkers found in other disciplines. This is a great shame, but the self-evident vacuity of much of what is presented as contemporary art may eventually become such an embarrassment that it leads to the development of a more clear-headed and deeper thinking community in future. I! In that respect the Turner prize may serve a valuable purpose.
Yes I agree totally with Lara, but surely not everybody can call themselves an artist, when providing the most elementary of creative, or lack of creative output?
Lee, Toulouse, France
To me, an artist is someone who has a talent they are born with that others haven't got, I could go to art college for 10 years and still couldn't create a picture like the people I would call true artists, there must be millions of artists walking the streets of Britain if the "Turner lot" are classed as artists.
What is really sad is that the vast majority of the public have had no art education at all, and thus are ill-equipped to understand or appreciate 'modern' art. And a comment to Ms Wadelton - an art which has the power to transform society? A lot of art is social commentary, and always has been. Unfortunately today it seems people are unable to pay full attention to what they see in front of them.
Pascale, Cambridge, UK
After seeing the last winner of this 'Turner' art prize, I am profoundly influenced. A visit to the loo will never again be the same for me. I've previously been blind to the fact the urinals are simply shouting aesthetic inspiration - and I don't just mean, 'Adamant,' and 'Please Aim!'
Steven McDaniel, Sand Sprins, OK, USA
Every year the public are asked what their thoughts on the Turner Prize nominees are and every year its the same; people claim that the artists are falsely controversial, hackneyed and that they could do a better job for a fraction of the price. How many of you venting your frustrations are actually out there creating anything more than a complaint? If the artists are so unoriginal then why are the public's responses to their work so formulaic and predictable year after year? Is this life imitating art?
Louis, London, England
I visited London just to see the entrants this year and I wasn't impressed, however to see the interactions with a piece of work is often quite interesting - and probably worth the trip. Here's my impression: Deller makes films that no-one would want to watch if they weren't in a gallery - and I didn't see many people watching to the end even in the Tate... Langland and Bell should have left the nonsense text off their photographs as it detracted from their quality photography. I wasn't keen on the idea of the Bin Laden work, but after seeing lots of children playing with the work I thought it was great. Kutlug Ataman's work was difficult to engage with as large groups of people blocked the projectors in the Tate Britain. I would have preferred a DVD or Website with the interviews. Shonibare's video reminded me of Adam Ant. It was awful. I think that those familiar with "The League of Gentlemen" may recognise elements of "Legs Akimbo". Given a choice between the Tate Galleries and the Saatchi gallery, I would pay the money and visit the Saatchi gallery every time - especially since it costs money to see the Tate entrants. I think that Tate Britain gives out audio guides to accompany a trip around the Turner entrants because the art work doesn't stand up on it's own.
Adrian, Leeds, UK
They are total and utter frauds.
David, Birmingham, UK
Quite simply I despair. How these deluded fools think their warped interpretations are in any way deserving of being considered appealing or even thought provoking is beyond me. Is every landfill site in the country now to be considered art? For this is surely where this self-gratifying nauseous rubbish belongs.
Tim, Cambridge, UK
I'm afraid my thoughts aren't provoked...
Patrick Bradley, Derry, N.Ireland
I'm a pretty open minded person, but when it comes to things like this...I just can't get my head around it. One of the submissions is pretty much just a spider diagram - words, and arrows. Now seriously, ask yourself (and answer honestly) if you, or I submitted something like that, do you REALLY think it would be accepted as art? Or is art only art when it's done by certain people? It's a status thing. It's a small clique of artists with too much time and money to spare who are exploiting the fact that they can get away with bloody murder. And to whoever said that it's not about how much work is put into it - couldn't disagree more. I thought the act of devoting your life to being an artist requires that you DO put a lot of hard work, heart, and soul into it. Surely that's the whole point! If it didn't actually take any effort or hard work...well, we'd all be at it now wouldn't we? And by definition you could hand anyone on the street a crayon, give them 10 seconds to scribble the first thing that comes to mind, and call them an artist. Hey I might do that next year and submit it. I'm sure it'd go down a treat. Sorry, to my mind it's all just pretentious rubbish. And ultimately the joke is on the critics, and the people who go and see it; spending endless hours contemplating the deeper meanings of some writing on a wall, or an unmade bed, or a light in a room turning on and off.
Paul Ortiz, Cambridge, England
The naked emperor is striding down the street again. Art needs to be more than just a clever or thought provoking idea. What happened to craft and beauty. Time will be the ultimate judge of the worth of these works - will we be admiring or even giving space to them in our museums in 50 years time - I don't think so.
As an artist, at the nascent point in my career, I find the beatification of such "Art" rather depressing. I am glad to read that some have found this work profound. However, I cannot share in their sentiment, as I find the works to be aesthetically banal.
The true litmus test for good or bad art is time. Picasso died over 30 years ago, but 250,000 people went to see the recent Picasso-Matisse exhibition at the Tate. Will these Turner Prize exhibits still be remembered and admired in 10, 20 or even 100 years time ?
Mark Schofield, Lyon, France
I won't be wasting any time or money in going to see any of this "work". The awarding of prizes to such trash does real damage to true artists and their work, who often go unnoticed and unrecognised. It also does nothing to endear the art world to the general public, most of whom I suspect lost sympathy with "modern art" long ago.
Nigel , Southampton UK
Pass me a bucket, I'm going to be sick! What a load of rubbish!
This is fantastic. Not all of this art is to my personal taste, but I find the variety that appears each year amazing. It always has fresh ideas. Those who say it's not "true art" have closed minds and are trying arrogantly to impose their own view of art on others. All art should be encouraged whether to one's personal taste or not.
Martin, Nottingham, UK
Really it should be named the Turner Self Publicity Stunt Prize, because that's what it has degenerated into.
Guy Hammond, London, England
The judges never make a good choice - they are too blinkered & set in their idea that good modern art has to be rubbish. No, I will not bother to waste my time or train fare.
Reilly, Southampton, UK
Why do people keep trotting out the same clichés around Turner time? "this isn't art" - "we should fund real artists" - for crying out loud, just take the work in context, learn a little bit about design and stop whining. Some of it IS no good, some of it is thought-provoking. Don't they know when they are being bated? or "invited to discuss"?. I reckon sometimes if the naysayers just thought "oh, that's cool" and moved on then that's all the appreciation and understanding they really need. Not all art has to be a Turner or Constable.
Justin Dowling, Bristol, UK
1) There are prizes up and down the country for portraiture, still-life and so on. The Turner Prize is awarded for a certain kind of art, and berating it because there aren't any lovely pictures of kittens and horses is as absurd as complaining that the Booker Prize shortlist doesn't include poetry. 2) What on earth has the 'work' put in got to do with anything? People like Titian had minions painting most of their stuff. Art is no longer connected to craft, and hasn't been since Duchamp exhibited a signed urinal in 1929. 3) No, your five year old son couldn't have done better. Although it would amuse me to see him try to pickle a shark. 4) And if he does, why shouldn't he be in the running? For most of the century (see above), there's been a lively, COMPLICATED debate about what art is and isn't, of which this is a small corner. 5) Note the emphasis on complicated. The precise function of this sort of art is to make us question our simple thoughts about what we see, what it means and how we value it. In an age in which simple thinking is flattening villages around the globe, should we not rejoice in this opportunity?
Matt B, Oxford,UK
I would like to see more art which has beauty. The kind of thing that makes you stand in awe. I don't think it is that difficult to create something 'shocking' or just simply 'creative'. Beauty takes real skill and effort to create.
David Jenkins, Coventry England
Modern artists are little more than prop-makers in the 21st century. The term 'modern art' in itself is virtually redundant terminology in the same way that 'Pop' music is. Attacking 'soft' targets like the Bible / religious iconography or child murderers for instance is nothing more than a turkey-shoot, and how glorious can that be. The only aspect of modern art that shocks people is the amount of money being bandied about. Modern artists probably feel embattled but it was their choice to wander down that cul-de sac
Stephen Merchant, Shrewsbury
Lots of this seems to be rubbish. And whilst it may be thought provoking, almost anything on earth provokes thought. I could submit my recent family photos, and 50 different people would read 50 different things into it. Most would probably think 'what's the point here', and this seems to be the prevailing opinion of the public on most Turner entries. there must be some element of quality beyond reaction-bating to make it worthwhile.
Richard Wright, London UK
I will be going to see the exhibition as I do every year. As with every year I expect some of the work will not be to most people's taste but, as with every year, I will find something that I enjoy, or that provokes me or that even challenges me. Getting worked up about it seems like a waste of energy to me. Just don't go and see it if you don't like it.
Robert, Leicester, UK
Wow - an excellent and varied Turner list. First for a long time! It's about time Jeremy Deller in particular got recognised.
Jamie, Reading, UK
No, I would not waste my time or hard earned cash getting into London to see this exhibition. I would rather stare at the graffiti on the tube trains.
Nettie P, Cambridge UK
None of the work in this shortlist has for a major theme "the Bible/religious iconography or child murderers" by which I take it Stephen is referring to artists like Damien Hirst (religion) Marcus Harvey (Myra Hindley). His comment is typical of the mindset which assumes all contemporary art is of a similar ilk, and thus more easily rejected in its entirety. In fact this year's Turner Prize nominations are being seen as treating political themes more than the preoccupations with mortality which characterised the YBAs. If anything this shortlist is a recognition of the plurality of British contemporary art. At least treat all artists on their own terms before criticising them.
Lara, Paris, France |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/7231446.stm | Cameroon's veteran coach Otto Pfister revelled in his side's success in reaching the Africa Cup of Nations final after beating hosts Ghana 1-0.
Pfister guided Ghana to the final 16 years ago
"It's one of the highlights of my career," said the 70-year-old Pfister, "but that's the life of a coach, winning or losing."
The only other time Pfister has reached the Cup of Nations final was as coach of Ghana 16 years ago.
"I was never as sad in my career as I'm now," said Ghana coach Claude Le Roy.
In the end it was our mental strength that got us through
Cameroon goalscorer Alain Nkong
"It's a terrible disappointment to lose this game. I can understand how sad the people of Ghana are."
Frenchman Le Roy blamed injuries and suspensions for Ghana's defeat.
"This game was very difficult to prepare for. I had John Mensah out suspended, then Asamoah Gyan said he couldn't play.
"And 15 minutes before kick-off, Laryea Kingston gets injured."
Cameroon's winning goal was scored by substitute Alain Nkong and Pfister attributed the Indomitable Lion's victory to the strength of his squad.
"Cameroon has the best bench in the tournament," said the German coach. "There's no difference between each player."
Goalscorer Nkong pinpointed Cameroon's opening defeat to Egypt in the group stages as key to their success in reaching the final.
"We waited and waited and we hit them on the break," said Nkong said.
"In the end it was our mental strength that got us through. We were criticised so much after the first match. Every match has been a final for us since then." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7268378.stm | Former BBC One controller Peter Fincham will join ITV as director of television, replacing Simon Shaps, the commercial broadcaster has said.
ITV executive chairman Michael Grade has extended his contract
The news came as ITV chairman Michael Grade agreed to stay in his role until 2010, a year longer than expected.
Mr Fincham was seen as a success at the BBC, introducing and reviving popular shows during his tenure.
But he quit in October last year following a row about a documentary on the Queen.
Mr Fincham introduced a documentary trailer that he said showed the Queen storming out of a photo shoot "in a huff" - and the monarch's supposed tantrum made headlines around the world.
But the clip had been edited out of sequence and the Queen had not stormed out at all. The fallout ultimately forced Mr Fincham to quit.
Mr Grade's contract was originally due to expire in 2009.
"This will deliver continuity and give the new executive team the opportunity to execute ITV's turnaround plan, restoring the company to growth and leading up to the CEO succession process," said Sir James Crosby, ITV's senior independent director. |
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-20248848 | China's Hu Jintao opens Communist Party congress
8 November 2012 Last updated at 13:46 GMT
Chinese President Hu Jintao has opened a Communist Party congress that begins a once-in-a-decade power transfer with a stark warning on corruption.
Addressing more than 2,000 delegates, Mr Hu said that a failure to tackle the issue "could prove fatal to the party".
China faced unprecedented opportunities and challenges, he said, and the nation should "aim higher and work harder".
His speech starts a week-long meeting that will see a new set of leaders unveiled. Martin Patience reports. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7244774.stm | Social networking site Bebo has refused to comment on a report that it is about to put itself up for sale.
Bebo is popular in Britain but less so outside of the US
The Times newspaper claims that Bebo, which is particularly popular with UK teenagers, has hired US bank Allen & Co to advise it should a suitor emerge.
The site, founded in 2005, is currently the UK's second most popular social networking site after Facebook, though it has had less success overseas.
The price Microsoft paid for 1.6% of Facebook set Facebook's value at $15bn.
But this price tag is only based on the $240m Microsoft paid for its small stake and some analysts have said that this valuation is purely academic.
Bebo, along with its main rivals Facebook and MySpace, lets users set up personal web pages and communicate with each other.
As the popularity of social networking websites soars, so advertisers have tried to access their growing audiences.
While News Corporation-owned MySpace is winning the battle for users worldwide, it has fallen to third place in Britain, according to December figures from research firm comScore.
Bebo ranked second for that month with 11.2 million unique vistors, and Facebook top with 12.4 million.
But worldwide, Bebo fell down the pecking order, attracting 21.2 million unique visitors, compared with 107 million for MySpace and 97.8 million for Facebook.
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp bought MySpace for $580m in July 2005.
But speculation has risen that the media mogul could now be looking to cash in on the site's meteroric growth through a deal with Yahoo, with suggestions that MySpace could fetch between $5bn and $10bn. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7576556.stm | Our correspondent says that part of the problem is the extraordinary vagueness of the EU-brokered ceasefire deal, which speaks only of "additional security measures" in "the immediate proximity of South Ossetia" - proximity being defined as a distance of "several kilometres".
While Georgia insists that Russian troops must leave its territory, a senior Russian general said the situation remained unstable, accusing Georgia of planning further military operations.
Following a statement by the Russian defence ministy that the withdrawal was complete, US President George W Bush and his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, expressed their disatisfaction.
They agreed in a telephone call that "Russia is not in compliance" with the ceasefire pact and it should comply immediately, US officials said.
No more use of force
Stop all military actions for good
Free access to humanitarian aid
Georgian troops return to their places of permanent deployment
Russian troops to return to pre-conflict positions
International talks about security in South Ossetia and Abkhazia
"[The Russians] have without a doubt failed to live up to their obligations. Establishing checkpoints, buffer zones are definitely not part of the agreement," the White House said.
Earlier, the deputy chief of the Russian General Staff, Gen Anatoly Nogovitsyn, said that nearly 2,600 "peacekeeping" troops with armoured cars and helicopters would remain inside Georgia for the foreseeable future.
Gen Nogovitsyn said Russian troops were setting up checkpoints on the borders of South Ossetia and Abkhazia with Georgia.
But the so-called "zone of responsibility" also includes Georgia's main airbase at Senaki, some 40km (25 miles) from the boundary with Abkhazia, which sits astride vital road and rail links to the Black Sea port of Poti.
BBC correspondents on the ground say they have seen what appears to be a significant Russian troop movement out of Georgia.
The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse in Igoeti - just 35km (21 miles) from the capital, Tbilisi - says he saw Russian troops leave the town, joining a column of hundreds of armoured vehicles on the road towards South Ossetia.
Our correspondent says buses of Georgian police are arriving in Igoeti to take control after Russian troops removed their roadblocks and pulled out.
But another correspondent in the nearby town of Korvaleti says Georgian police vehicles there are still being blocked at checkpoints.
Russia's four-day war with Georgia began after Tbilisi tried to retake the Moscow-backed breakaway province of South Ossetia on 7 August, following days of clashes with separatists.
Thousands of civilians are reported to be in urgent need of relief supplies
The fighting ended with an EU-brokered ceasefire deal, and a promise by Moscow to pull back the bulk of its forces by 22 August.
The commander of US forces in Europe, Gen John Craddock, said earlier that Russia was taking too long to withdraw, and added "if they are moving, it is at a snail's pace".
Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, who has been visiting South Ossetia, said he was deeply moved by the humanitarian problem there and called for the early voluntary return of all refugees.
The UN estimates that nearly 160,000 people have been displaced across the whole of Georgia since the conflict began.
The Georgian government is seeking $1-2bn (£0.5-1bn) in aid to repair and develop infrastructure following the conflict with Russia, the head of the US government aid agency, USAid, said.
The World Bank has also announced that it is sending a team of experts to the country to assess its reconstruction needs.
'War with Nato'
Diplomatic efforts at the UN have reached deadlock over rival resolutions on the crisis from France and Russia.
Russia has reiterated its opposition to a rival French text, which reaffirms Georgia's territorial integrity.
FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME
Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili told the BBC he would never accept what he called Russia's "annexation of its territory".
He warned that Russia's involvement in South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Georgia was intended to send a strong message to the West, and he called for "a united response" from Nato.
"It's all about reconsidering the role of Nato, the role of international law and borders in this part of the world. This is no longer about Georgia anymore," he said.
"Russia decided to win war with Nato without firing a single shot at it."
A Nato spokeswoman says Russia's defence ministry has decided to halt all military co-operation with the bloc to protest at what Moscow calls the alliance's biased, pro-Georgian view of the conflict.
The move by Moscow followed a Nato statement that there would be no "business as usual" with Moscow unless its troops pulled out of Georgia.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_league/7026302.stm | Castleford skipper Andrew Henderson celebrates victory
Castleford: (13) 42
Tries: Wainwright, McGoldrick, Guttenbeil 2, Shenton, Westerman, Clayton
Goals: Brough 6
Drops: Brough 2
Widnes: (4) 10
Tries: Nanyn, Wilkes
Castleford Tigers secured a quick return to Super League after beating Widnes in the National League One Grand Final at Headingley.
Terry Matterson's side enjoyed the bulk of first-half possession but only held a 13-4 interval lead.
But they ran riot after the break with Awen Guttenbeil going over twice and Michael Shenton, Joe Westerman and Ryan Clayton also scoring.
Danny Brough, who is leaving the club to join Wakefield, kicked 14 points.
The former Hull half-back was involved in five of the Tigers' seven tries and was a unanimous choice for man of the match.
Castleford's record score eclipsed their 36-8 rout of Whitehaven in the 2005 final and coach Matterson admitted his side's performance was close to perfection.
"Danny Brough was outstanding but he couldn't have done it without the platform laid by the forwards, who were magnificent," he said.
"We've had a couple of ups and downs this year but it's about getting it right for this game. We've worked hard for 12 months for this performance. "We can now put the demons of the last 12 months behind us and move on."
But there was plenty of sympathy for the Widnes players who suffered final heartbreak for the second successive season after losing to Hull KR 12 months ago.
It was also a disappointing day for Vikings coach Steve McCormack who has now lost four Grand Finals in a row, having experienced defeat with Whitehaven in 2004 and 2005.
"We saved our worst performance for the most important game of the season," he admitted. "It's hard for anybody associated with Widnes to take. "Castleford were far superior from the first second to the last. I thought they were fantastic."
Meanwhile, Featherstone will join champions Celtic Crusaders in National League One next season after beating Oldham 24-6 in the League Two play-off final.
Centre Wayne McHugh scored two of his side's three tries as Rovers secured promotion after two years in the bottom division.
Castleford: Donlan, Williams, Shenton, McGoldrick, Dixon, Thackery, Brough, Higgins, Henderson, Guttenbeil, Westerman, Clayton, Lupton.
Replacements: Leafa, Charles, Wainwright, Boyle.
Widnes: Grix, Blanch, Kohe-Love, Nanyn, Dodd, Moran, Penny, Cassidy, Smith, Wilkes, Tomkins, Noone, Beswick.
Replacements: Summers, James, Webster, Doran.
Referee: Phil Bentham (Warrington) |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7603939.stm | The list of charges against the LRA including child abduction, rape and murder.
Mr Ongwen was filmed in the bush while attending peace talks in Northern Uganda. Still a young man, he looks quite untroubled. Maybe that is because even some of his victims - out in the Northern Ugandan bush - believe the ICC should pack its bags and leave the man known as The White Ant alone.
Right now - if he is still alive, one can never be sure - Ongwen is still camped out in the bush. He is said to have commanded the LRA's Sinia Brigade, under the orders of rebel leader Joseph Kony, who has also been indicted by the ICC.
Like other LRA leaders, he won't give himself up, at least not until the ICC indictments have been dropped. The ICC reckons that it has no reason to drop charges and, so far, the latest ceasefire has held. But frankly, it's a stand-off.
It is claimed that the Sinia Brigade was responsible for some of the worst atrocities in the conflict that has ravaged Northern Uganda and has led to most of the Acholi people living in protected camps.
Many people from the Acholi region have been driven into camps
"I had my five-year-old with me when the female rebel commander ordered all of us with children to pick them up and smash them against the veranda poles," says Esther.
Seven children were killed like this among 56 who died in Esther's village. The atrocity was one of the worst in the conflict.
Accounting for war crimes in Africa is always going to involve tough choices, as Life on the Edge's account of General Butt Naked in Liberia showed. If everyone is pursued, peace may remain a mirage - but if no one is hunted down, the rule of law may never recover.
Dominic Ongwen's story gives a macabre twist to the dilemma. A twist because Mr Ongwen himself was by all accounts snatched by the LRA as a child. It is a credible story because most LRA "soldiers" were abducted.
But of course that means Mr Ongwen is not just a perpetrator but a victim. Some square this dilemma by calling fighters like Mr Ongwen "veteran child soldiers". But the dilemma remains: is he truly responsible for what he has allegedly done, however horrific?
The director of our film, Caroline Pare, showed photos of Ongwen to a couple who have been reported to be his aunt and uncle (there is at least one other version of his family background). "He's grown older, he's changed," says Madalena, turning to John. "He's the spitting image of you now."
Everything he did was in the name of Kony, so he's innocent
Florence, Mr Ongwen's 'bush wife'
Then there is Florence, who has her own reasons for wanting Mr Ongwen pardoned. She was his "bush wife", and was given to him when she was an LRA commander herself.
Florence is now taking in washing for a living in the town of Gulu, while carefully holding onto an amnesty card, like many other former combatants who have already been effectively pardoned by the government.
Florence is obviously still proud of her own senior commander's role in the LRA - a sign perhaps of the welcome sense of identity and purpose (however malign) it can give young people like her “husband”.
"Dominic used to tell us he was abducted when he was very young," Florence says. "Everything he did was in the name of Kony, so he's innocent."
And further complicating this dilemma, Northern Uganda has a well-established method of resolving even the most violent dispute. Two ex-rebels we film confess, sacrifice a goat as compensation, and are allowed to go on their way.
"We know how to solve the problem of when someone kills someone," says Rwot Martin Otinga, deputy paramount chief of the Acholi. "So we tell the ICC: 'Why don't you leave everything to us?'"
By our reckoning, most people in Northern Uganda want the charges dropped, and the general amnesty extended to the four ICC suspects. Only a few - like Esther - believe they should still be held to account.
"As the ICC wants to finish this thing," Esther says, "then I accept - because at least they're willing to pursue it now Uganda is collaborating with them."
All she wants is justice - at least as most people across the world would see it.
This, then, is the dilemma of the White Ant: whether to track down and prosecute alleged war criminals - even if you don't have full local backing, and your suspects were brainwashed as kids.
What's happening in Northern Uganda will establish a precedent - let's hope it's not needed too often.
Life on the Edge is broadcast on BBC World News on Tuesdays at 1930 GMT. The films were made for the BBC by TVE.
Kony can be forgiven only if the innocent children still in captivity are released and he apologises to all the people - especially the parents of the children of Aboke girls and all other people who have suffered innocently Sophia, Uganda
Dominic Ongwen needs to be caught and tried in a court of law OR better yet, taste the abuse he has inflicted on others - let the victims be his judge and jury. I feel the same about Joseph Kony. These are not men but cowards and hide behind their children soldiers. Karen, NYC, USA
The ICC should leave us alone. We saw worst things: physical, economical and emotional. For the time being I would say let them back and allow peace to prevail. They can come back after sometime say three to five years after everybody has settled down and things have normalised. Sometimes we feel we were neglected and now that we have managed the hard way, the world bodies and the ICC want us to think they are concerned. Let them allow us to use the traditional justice. Jwee Obali Wilfred, Gulu-Uganda
Those who want Ongwen punished may just be saying that parental guidance/counselling as well as conventional education are not necessary in a man's life. Children grow up only knowing what they are taught or experience. If a child like Ongwen grew up in a rebel camp where hatred for constituted authority is the order of the day and violence a daily experience, human life would be as valuable to him as the life of a fly. That young man, like Tarzan, needs sympathy, compassion and re-education in order for him to fit back into our normal society. Chief Bisong Etahoben, Yaounde, Cameroon
I'm a Ugandan in Ethiopia. We had enough suffering with the LRA war. ICC's indictment is not for the good of Northern Uganda. To use Dr Martin Luther Junior's words: "You can't remove hate with hate, but love, you can't drive away darkness with darkness, but light." It seems the ICC prefers war and suffering in Northern Uganda to peace. Give peace a chance, indictment LRA commanders will not resurrect the dead , and neither will it reconstruct the physically challenged due to war. Finally, ICC should not apply the law selectively. Batemba Julius, Awassa, Ethiopia
I am Afro Canadian. I am always puzzled by the action of the so-called international community such as ICC who pass decisions they cannot enforce and make the life of people worse than it is. I full-heartedly support bringing all dictators and tyrants like Joseph Kony to justice. This can only happen when ICC is capable of enforcing it rulings. As long as countries, that support ICC stop turning around and arming the likes of Joseph the actions of ICC are meaningless and counterproductive.
Asfaw Debia, Regina, Canada
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http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-11836696 | Wesley Snipes seeks bail extension
- 25 November 2010
- From the section Entertainment & Arts
Wesley Snipes has asked a judge if he can remain free on bail while he pursues a second appeal against a three-year prison term for tax crimes.
Last week, a judge said the 48-year-old Blade actor must begin serving his sentence but no date was set for his surrender.
He has been on bail since appealing against his 2008 conviction for failing to file tax returns.
Prosecutors must respond to Snipes' request by Tuesday
The actor's lawyers argue he has a legal right to bail while they prepare a fresh appeal against his convictions and sentence to the US Supreme Court.
"Mr Snipes has honoured the court's trust before, during trial, as well as pending sentencing and appeal," they said in court documents.
"There is no reason to change the court's judgement now. His ongoing and successful projects in the movie industry further ensure he would not consider fleeing."
Snipes' bail was revoked last week because the actor had lost his appeal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal.
The actor's lawyers say he has made headway in resolving his tax problems.
At the time of his convictions in April 2008, prosecutors said Snipes had earned more than $37m (£24m) in gross income between 1999 and 2004, but had not filed tax returns or paid any federal taxes.
On the day of his sentencing, Snipes' lawyers brought to court $5m (£3.2m) in three envelopes which were accepted by agents from the Internal Revenue Service. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9661000/9661227.stm | Every year the Today programme hands over the editorship to leading public figures in the week between Christmas and New Year. On the 26 December Olympian and Olympic chief executive Lord Coe edited the programme.
His programme investigated sporting rivalry, the Olympic legacy and sport's relationship with science and literature.
LORD COE'S PROGRAMME
As a former Olympic champion, Lord Coe knows from experience that 1 January 2012, the start of the Olympic year, will be a significant psychological moment for athletes around the world.
His own sporting career coincided with that of his sometime nemesis Steve Ovett. The rivalry between the two captured the nation's imagination, but what role did it play in their successes?
Lord Coe and the veteran sports journalist, Colin Hart
discuss the great sporting rivalries.
And Lord Coe asked us to bring together Lord Donoghue, who headed Harold Wilson's policy unit and William Hague, the Foreign Secretary and biographer of the former prime minister William Pitt the Younger,
to discuss rivalry in politics.
The 1980 Moscow Olympics were where Lord Coe cemented his place as one of Britain's greatest middle distance runners and won his first Olympic gold.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-12648791 | Fire death soldier from Spennymoor laid to rest
The funeral has taken place of a County Durham soldier who died in a fire while serving in Afghanistan.
Pte Dean Hutchinson, 23, of the Royal Logistic Corps, died in a blaze at Camp Bastion along with Private Robert Wood on 14 February.
The service for Pte Hutchinson, known as Hutch, took place at St Andrew's Church in Spennymoor on Friday.
In a statement, his family described him as an "amazing son, brother and boyfriend who was loved very much".
Colleagues said Pte Hutchinson was known for his infectious sense of humour and ability to "get stuck in".
Lt Col Simon Hutchings, commanding officer of Theatre Logistic Group, said: "Private Hutchinson was a soldier with a real zest for life and a razor-like sense of humour.
"As a Geordie he was an immensely fun-loving person, fast-talking and an avid Newcastle United football fan.
"He was hugely proud of his job and the fact that he was one of only a handful of soldiers qualified to operate the Rough Terrain Container Handler, a vital piece of equipment in the logistic support chain.
"Although he is now no longer with us, his presence will be keenly felt by all that knew him. Our heartfelt thoughts are with his family and girlfriend at this very difficult time."
The cause of the fire which claimed the soldiers' lives is being investigated, but it was not thought to be the result of enemy action, the Ministry of Defence said. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2914121.stm | By Dominic Casciani
BBC News Online community affairs reporter
War in Iraq has brought the opinions of British Muslims to the fore - but what influence does the radical fringe have on the young?
Imran Ali plays radicalised youth Umar, in Paradise
Somewhere in the US's Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay, there are a number of young British men.
The men, including a trio dubbed the 'Tipton Taleban' remain incarcerated after being seized by US forces in Afghanistan.
Why would men such as Asif Iqbal, Shafiq Rasul and Rahul Ahmed leave their West Midlands homes to allegedly fight abroad?
Paradise, a new play in Birmingham, home to the second largest Muslim community in Britain, explores these ideas.
The play, by British-born Kashmiri Amber Lone, charts how a frustrated young man with limited prospects, Umar, falls in with an old friend-turned-radical, Younis.
Umar soon finds himself in a Muslim country, fighting for an Islamic cause that ultimately leads to his own death, shattering his family and friends.
Fashion or faith?
Imran Ali, who plays Umar, researched the part by looking at the rise of a more radical Islamic voice among his contemporaries in the midst of the current war and the fallout of 11 September.
LIVING BY THE RULES
Many of these lads go to Mosque and pray five times - they then use the F-word to slag off other Muslims for not being as good Muslims as they are
He says many in his generation are worried that a dangerous mix of disillusionment, low self-esteem and peer pressure is making "radical Islam" more attractive.
"You see these guys wearing traditional Islamic dress - they would not have been seen dead in it five years ago," he says.
"It's got nothing to do with religion. It's got everything to do with fashion. Many of these lads I know who claim they are good Muslims are more fanatical than Younis. It's the in-thing.
"They go to mosque and pray five times. They then use the F-word to slag off other Muslims for not being as good Muslims as they are.
"I don't think that's particularly Islamic."
What is really worrying, says Imran, is how identity politics is mixing with religion, race and social conditions.
"We all need to know who we are - but don't then say you can't get a job because the white man doesn't like Muslims. That's just bollocks.
"If you can't get a job that's probably got more to do with what you have failed to do for yourself."
Despite the furore over the so-called Tipton Taleban, the West Midlands has largely escaped the tensions of the northern towns such as Bradford and Oldham.
However, the far right is increasingly active in the area and Birmingham Perry Bar MP Khalid Mahmood has warned young men may take to the streets over Iraq.
Hearts and minds
At the heart of this is whether or not Britain's young Muslims have found a voice in political life. Is it a voice based on personal conviction or drawn solely from the Koran?
One of the radical groups involved in this is the British branch of Hizb ut-Tahrir.
The international Islamic party says its faith is a system that can challenge capitalism. Its members work to establish an Islamic regime across the Muslim world. Its long-term aim is for an Islamic state in Britain.
Three of its British members are on trial in Egypt accused of attempting to destabilise the state. It is vehemently opposed by Jewish groups who accuse it of anti-semitism and it has been banned in the past from various university campuses.
Birmingham-based party leader Dr Imran Waheed refuses to say how many members it has in Britain. But it is now regularly targeting students and mosques.
Last September some 9,000 people attended its London conference, though Dr Waheed freely admits he can't say whether or not they were all supporters.
In the UK, it argues the war in Iraq is one against Islam. It says Muslims should reject lobbying through our political system because it is incompatible with their faith.
"Britain is looking after its own interests in this war," says Dr Waheed.
"It fears Islam in its fullest political form because an Islamic state re-established in the Muslim world would be a threat to the western world."
"This is not a war against Muslims on a religious level - but against Islam offering the only political alternative to capitalism.
"The only opposition to the dominance of western capitalism is not a nation, but a people."
Dr Waheed is convinced that those who have recently turned to Islam include many who had been "intoxicated in western culture - drugs, drink and promiscuity". They had embraced Islam and rejected the West.
So how far does the party's rejection of the West go in relation to the war in Iraq?
"We would urge the Muslim nations to send their armies to help Iraq."
And if a young man in Birmingham said he would be joining those armies?
This is not a war against Muslims on a religious level - but the only opposition to the dominance of western capitalism is not a nation, but a people
Dr Imran Waheed (c) with supporters Zhagum Arshad and Mohammed Rashid
"I would sit down and discuss with him whether that is the best method to effect change.
Is it the best method to effect change?
"I would expect people to go and fight. I don't believe it's the way forward but I can understand why they are going. I understand the sentiment but would not say it's the correct sentiment."
What concerns many mainstream Muslims is that Hizb ut-Tahrir and others vehemently oppose the war, but tell young supporters there is no point in seeking a voice in British political life.
Isn't the case of the Egypt three proof that it only serves to radicalise young British Muslims?
"Words like extremism, terrorist and fundamentalist are overused,"
says Dr Waheed. "Anyone who seeks to bring about Islam in its political form is branded as such."
War against Islam?
Elder statesmen in Birmingham, including Dr Mohammed Naseem of Birmingham Central Mosque, dismiss the group.
"There's a perception that it's a war against Islam. And I think there are powers in the world that see Islam as a threat," says Dr Naseem.
Dr Mohammed Naseem: Decades of community work
"But there is always a danger in an emotive situation that a small group of people with little knowledge and heightened sensitivities will be attracted to extreme ideas.
"These groups have not developed to a considerable extent. Groups such as Hizb ut-Tahrir are outcasts."
In essence, says Dr Naseem, if you believe in the Koran, then you believe the words were for all mankind. You cannot withdraw from the West and argue among yourselves.
"The message of this war is one for all. Look to your faith and the power of reason, not the rise of emotions. Your obligations are to convey, converse and promote understanding for the common good. The us-and-them attitude is unislamic."
Paradise continues at Birmingham Rep Theatre until 12 April. See internet links for details.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/boxing/7134946.stm | By Ben Dirs
BBC Sport in Las Vegas
Floyd Mayweather put on a vintage display to stop Ricky Hatton in the 10th round and retain his WBC welterweight crown in Las Vegas.
Hatton is floored by Mayweather's stunning left hook
Manchester's Hatton, 29, applied most of the pressure in the early rounds and found some success with some big lefts.
But Mayweather let his hands go in the middle rounds, with his fierce left finding its target as Hatton attacked.
And the champion floored Hatton with two big lefts in the 10th before ending it with a devastating left hook.
Official figures put the British attendance at 4,000, but there must have been close to three times that number in the MGM Grand Arena by the time the bell rang for the opening round.
With the strains of Blue Moon still ringing in his ears, light-welterweight king Hatton started quicker and wobbled Mayweather with two big right hands in the first round.
Mayweather started to find his range in round two, landing with one sweet right from way back, although Hatton appeared to nick the third courtesy of some powerful lefts to the body.
Hometown fighter Mayweather stepped up a gear in round four, sending home one huge right to the head and picking the challenger off with some dazzling combinations.
Hatton's corner went to work on a cut over his left eye at the end of the round and it was becoming clear that the champion's slick shots were taking their toll.
Mayweather was happy to soak up Hatton's constant pressure in round five, but round six proved to be the turning point of the fight, with Mayweather landing at will with flashing left hooks and jabs and Hatton having a point deducted by referee Joe Cortez for clubbing right to the back of the neck.
Surprisingly, Mayweather was happy to fight inside for long periods and by the seventh round it was clear he was as strong as Hatton and had the measure of him at close range.
He continued to pick Hatton off with counters before jolting 'The Hitman' with a crunching right hand just before the end of the round.
Mayweather started to show the full range of his talents in round eight, sending home a stinging right cross and a left-right combination to the body that had Hatton grimacing.
Mayweather then let go with two lefts that sent Hatton reeling before befuddling Hatton further with nine or 10 unanswered punches.
Hatton became an easier target the longer the fight wore on, and in the battle of the jabs, Mayweather was king, landing 40% to the Englishman's 17%.
I'm the best at light-welter and I fought the best at welter
Round nine was all Mayweather, the Michigan native teeing off on Hatton with quicksilver lefts and stiff rights and finishing off the round with two stabbing jabs.
Before the 10th round, Hatton's fans were acutely aware that their hero was in need of a knockout, but the fairytale ending was not forthcoming.
Mayweather landed with two huge left hooks that sent Hatton sprawling and sent him to the canvas again with a tremendous left hook.
Referee Cortez called a halt to proceedings before Hatton had hit the floor, a minute and 35 seconds into the round, leaving 'The Hitman's' legion of fans stunned.
The judges' scores at the time of the stoppage were: 88-82, 89-81, 89-81.
Mayweather, often maligned for being cocky, was admirable and gracious in victory, hurrying to check up on and praise his vanquished foe.
"He kept coming and I see why they call him the Hitman. He's one hell of a fighter but I took care of business and did the job," said Mayweather.
"I wanted to show the fans that I still got it. I have nothing else to prove to the world."
Hatton, who lost his first fight in 44 contests, suggested that he would continue to box despite the pain of defeat.
"I'm the best at light-welter and I fought the best at welter. I'd rather give praise to my opponent. My pride is hurt more than the punches." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4194160.stm | By Sushil Sharma
BBC News, Kathmandu
Ex-Nepalese PM, Sher Bahadur Deuba, has appealed to the nation's Supreme Court to throw out a sentence imposed by a controversial anti-corruption body.
Ex-Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba was jailed last month
The Royal Commission for Corruption Control jailed Mr Deuba and another ex-minister for two years for their role in a drinking-water project.
Mr Deuba says the panel, which has sweeping powers to arrest and punish, is unconstitutional and illegal.
It was set up by King Gyanendra after he assumed direct power in February.
The country's major opposition parties say the panel is part of a political vendetta.
Mr Deuba has petitioned the Supreme Court to declare the rulings of the anti-corruption watchdog null and void.
The body last month jailed Mr Deuba and another former minister, Prakash Man Singh, and fined them $1.3m each.
Four defendants also received jail terms and fines.
The panel said that the contract for the construction of an access road of the Melmachi water project had been improperly awarded to an unqualified bidder, causing an extra cost of $5m.
Mr Deuba denies any wrongdoing and accused the body of being politically motivated, an allegation its officials deny.
The Melmachi drinking water project is funded by a number of donor agencies.
The biggest donor, the Asian Development Bank, ruled out corruption following a separate investigation.
One of the reasons the king gave for his takeover of power was to tackle corrupt politicians. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-21229118 | Gay marriage: Eight things for better, for worse
MPs debate plans, opposed by many religious groups, for same-sex marriage next week. Ahead of that occasion, the government has published its assessment of the possible wider impacts. Here are eight ways it believes the bill might change things:
1. Economic stimulus
Lavish spending often accompanies a wedding, and so a large increase in the number of marriages taking place each year would create a significant boost to certain parts of the economy.
Beneficiaries might include ceremony venues, cake manufacturers, function band agencies, and hoteliers.
The government estimates the total economic stimulus could be as much as £14.4m - but thinks it is more likely to be closer to £0.
"As the demand for same-sex marriage is uncertain, and because these economic benefits are not guaranteed to be additional (for example, the spending on a civil partnership or marriage ceremony may not be additional if the couple and guests cut back on spending in other areas), we use zero benefit as our best estimate," it explains.
2. Transgender spouses and the law
Also facing increased demand for its services is the Gender Recognition Panel, which furnishes transgender people with certificates documenting their gender transitions.
At present, it is impossible for a member of a married couple to change gender and remain legally married.
So the government is anticipating a "noticeable increase" in the panel's workload as "those who may have changed gender some years ago but decided not to apply for legal recognition, since they wished to remain in their existing marriage", adapt to the change in the law.
3. Health benefits
During its consultation on same-sex marriages, the government received evidence from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, which said lesbian, gay, and bisexual people (LGB) people experience more mental health problems and a greater likelihood of drug addiction than heterosexuals.
Ministers believe that discrimination against LGB people partially accounts for this phenomenon.
The removal of discrimination against same-sex couples in the current legal definition of marriage, the government argues, might therefore improve public health.
4. IT upgrades
A number of Whitehall departments will need to tweak their computer systems to enable them to administer services properly to same-sex married couples.
The biggest impact will be felt at the Home Office, which oversees the registration of marriages, civil partnerships, births and deaths.
The government estimates that necessary changes to its online registration system will cost £2m.
Lower costs will fall on the Department for Work and Pensions, which will need to adapt its systems to cope with changes to pension entitlements, and the Ministry of Justice, which will need to alter the courts' "FamilyMan" IT system.
5. Tourism boost
If the government's plans become law, the UK will join a select group of 12 countries where same-sex marriage is legal.
The Lesbian and Gay Lawyers Association told the government in its consultation to prepare for a "modest boost" in tourism as a consequence.
"We are aware that same-sex couples from the UK travel to places like Canada to get married because they prefer this to a civil partnership. We expect that if marriage is open to same-sex couples in England and Wales, couples especially from elsewhere in Europe will come here to get married here," it said.
6. Re-training registrars
Those who will be conducting same-sex marriages will need to get to grips with the new system.
The government assumes that they will need between two and seven hours' training each - "time which could have been spent on other tasks", it notes.
7. Who to tell and how
"Currently, if a person discloses that they are in a civil partnership rather than a marriage, they automatically disclose their sexual orientation," the government says.
People in same-sex marriages will have greater discretion over how, when, or whether to divulge this information.
Recent research suggests that one in five LGB people think they have been harassed at work because of their sexual orientation, the government says.
8. Societal benefits
Same-sex marriages might encourage greater acceptance of same-sex couples in society, the government believes.
This would be good for society as a whole, ministers have concluded, by helping to create "a more inclusive society where there is more choice and acceptance". |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-16221745 | Ruling over Francois de Dietrich money
The financial regulator has obtained an order requiring a businessman at the centre of a suspected investment scam to pay up to £21.5m.
People on both sides of the border fear they lost millions of pounds invested with Francois de Dietrich.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) secured judgment at the High Court in Belfast in its case against him and his firm ETIC Solutions.
A judge ruled the FSA was entitled to recover all losses of ETIC's clients.
Mr Justice Deeny said: "The sum involved only consists of deposits and not of the sums promised to the investors in this illegal investment scheme."
The order represents the total amount identified as having been deposited in the scheme. Interest was also included in the order at a rate set at 6%.
Mr Justice Deeny declined to fix interest at a more punitive level. "We don't at this stage know the profits made by the defendants and I'm unwilling to speculate on this at the present time," he added.
Legal costs were also awarded to the FSA. The summary judgment, delivered without a full trial of the issues, was for up to £21,556,576 in total.
Laura Gillespie, a lawyer at McGrigors who has been acting on behalf of the FSA, says: "We welcome today's decision which is a major step forward in the litigation against Mr De Dietrich.
"The result again demonstrates that the authorities are committed to stamping out wrongdoing no matter where it takes place."
An injunction to stop de Dietrich accessing or moving any funds remains in force.
Scores of people on both sides of the Irish border, many based in the Donegal area, invested in the scheme which promised high returns.
However, de Dietrich disappeared leaving investors with massive losses.
The FSA then intervened and obtained a freezing order to the value of £20m to prevent the dispersal of assets linked to de Dietrich.
He has insisted that his businesses were legitimate and that he was working to return all outstanding money.
The current whereabouts of the Frenchman, formerly based in Ballybofey, County Donegal, remain unknown.
In January he was jailed in his absence for 18 months for contempt of court in failing to fully disclose his worldwide assets.
With a warrant out for his arrest, he was last seen in France after being located by a team from the BBC's Spotlight programme.
Lawyers representing de Dietrich are due to appeal against the prison sentence next month.
They are expected to argued that the order for full disclosure was draconian and that he complied with requirements to reveal all business interests on either side of the order. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17743123 | London 2012: Alfred Hitchcock silent films to be celebrated by BFI
The British Film Institute has revealed details of its celebration of film-maker Alfred Hitchcock, which includes restorations of his silent movies.
Champagne and Blackmail, which were directed by the British master of suspense during the late 1920s, will be shown with live musical accompaniment.
A three-month long season will also see all 58 of his films - including Psycho, Vertigo and The Birds - screened.
Actors Tippi Hedren and Bruce Dern will also take part in live events.
Speaking at a launch in London on Tuesday, Heather Stewart, the BFI's creative director, said that the BFI had wanted to get out its "big guns", like other big cultural organisations, during Olympic year.
"The idea of popular cinema somehow being capable of being great art at the same time as being entertaining is still a problem for some people," she said. "Shakespeare is on the national curriculum, Hitchcock is not."
She said that in the same way that Picasso had changed the face of modern art, Hitchcock was also a game-changer. "After Psycho, in particular, film-making could never be the same again."
An open-air screening of Blackmail, directed by the 30-year-old Hitchcock in 1929, will be staged in the forecourt of the British Museum on 6 July as part of the BFI's involvement in the London 2012 Festival celebrations.
The film will feature a live score by award-winning composer, musician, writer and broadcaster Neil Brand, performed live by an ensemble of 18 musicians.
A short clip of Blackmail was screened at The Genius of Hitchcock launch event, accompanied by the new score.
Describing Hitchcock as an "incredibly seductive" film-maker, Brand said he had not tried to replicate the music of the silent era. "This is for an audience now."
Hitchcock's 1927 boxing drama The Ring will be shown at the Hackney Empire, with jazz and hip hop artist Soweto Kinch providing live music and fellow Mercury prize nominee Nitin Sawhney will score The Lodger: A Tale Of The London Fog.
After performing a live saxophone solo over a clip from The Ring, Kinch said: "The dance sequences in this film have travelled really well with time. There's a particular beat and a tempo that means I'll be able to twin the old with the new."
Film critic and chairman of the London Film Critics' Circle Jason Solomons said of the Hitchcock retrospective: "What strikes me is the modernity of the project. We're seeing him now as a cool indie British film-maker."
He added: "Music is the first step to reframing how we see cinema. There are different strains of world music and it proves that his films belong to all of us."
Both The Ring and Champagne will be screened live on The Space - a digital arts service which has been developed by Arts Council England in partnership with the BBC and BFI.
Ruth Mackenzie, director of the London 2012 Festival, told the BBC: "Alfred Hitchcock is one of the great artists of the 20th Century and like all great artists he makes us look at the world differently - and he makes his art form transform itself after his input."
The BFI on London's South Bank will also house an exhibition paying tribute to Hitchcock, who died aged 80 in 1980.
Over his career, spanning six decades, the director was nominated for five Oscars - but won just one honorary statuette, in 1968. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/north_east/7182831.stm | An aqueduct near Wrexham could soon join the likes of the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China as a World Heritage Site.
The aqueduct was built by Thomas Telford and William Jessop
The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal has been named as the UK's 2008 nomination for the prestigious status.
The nomination was put forward by Westminster's Culture Secretary James Purnell, who said it was "a masterpiece from the canal age".
A decision will be made by Unesco, which awards the status, in July 2009.
The 200-year-old aqueduct, built by Thomas Telford and William Jessop, was picked as a possible contender for the UK nomination in 2006 - along with the Antonine Wall in Scotland, and the Monastery of Wearmouth and Jarrow in Northumbria.
It has now been chosen to be the UK's sole nomination for 2008 and supporters believe it could be picked as there are few structures like it on the current World Heritage list.
"The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal is truly a masterpiece from the canal age in the UK," Mr Purnell said.
"It is also a magnificent example of our living heritage, remaining one of the busiest stretches of canal in the UK, with some 15,000 boat crossings every year."
First Minister Rhodri Morgan added: "Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and its canal are loved and admired by the people of Wales and others from across the world."
Only one British bid for Unesco World Heritage status has ever failed, and that was on a technicality.
There are currently 27 UK World Heritage Sites, including Stonehenge, the Tower of London, Blenheim Palace and Blaenavon in the south Wales valleys.
Opened in 1805, the aqueduct cost £45,000 and was built to improve transport links. It was seen as a pioneer of cast iron construction during the industrial revolution.
The 1,000ft long (305m) structure, which carries the Llangollen Canal above the Dee valley, is one of the region's biggest tourist attractions bringing in around 250,000 visitors a year by boat or on foot.
The Pontcysyllte bid is being jointly co-ordinated by Wrexham Council and British Waterways.
Councillor Bob Dutton, OBE, Lead Member for Economic Prosperity, Asset Management and Culture at the council, said: "A tremendous amount of work has gone into this nomination and we are confident that everything that could be done in terms of the nomination has been done." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4636240.stm | The government has rejected calls by the UK's four child commissioners to introduce laws banning the smacking of children, saying parents should decide.
Smacking of children is an emotive issue
In a letter to Education Secretary Ruth Kelly the four said a law change was a matter of "fundamental principle".
Legislation which was tightened last year allows parents to hit their child mildly as a "reasonable punishment".
The Department for Education and Skills stressed it did not condone physical punishment for children.
'Not going away'
In a statement the department said it was for parents to decide, adding: "They have to think carefully about the law on assault and make sure that chastisement does not get to that point. If not they will be prosecuted."
Prime Minister Tony Blair has admitted smacking his older children. Other campaigners say smacking should not be confused with child abuse.
Kathleen Marshall, Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People, told the BBC that the UK was failing to meet its obligations.
"We must insist on a total ban because this isn't an issue that's going to go away," she said.
"The smacking of children, the hitting of children in what in Scotland is called 'justifiable assault' is prohibited by international law.
"The United Nations and the council of Europe have both made it very clear that all physical punishment, all assaults on children, must be made illegal, and so we would be failing in our duty as children's commissioners if we did not say that we have to keep this on the agenda."
The government's stance is backed by some, including Mike Judge of the Christian Institute.
He said: 'I think the law as it stands is perfectly reasonable. It is fair enough to protect parents and firm enough to protect children and there's been no evidence that the current law is a problem."
But the Children's Right's Alliance told BBC Radio 5 Live's Stephen Nolan Show that any form of physical punishment is wrong.
Spokeswoman Caroline Willow said: "If you look at it from adults we have special words like slap and tap and smack, which disguise the violence that's being inflicted on children.
"If you ask children themselves, which I've done, children are very clear that smacking is hitting, and that it hurts and that parents regret it and there's better ways to deal with situations."
The BBC's Laura Bundock said the commissioners' statement proposed that "children are given the same protection from assault as an adult".
"They argue smacking confuses parents, inhibits child protection and undermines the promotion of positive forms of discipline."
She added: "With increasing bans in European countries, the UK law could well face similar changes."
However, Mary Russell, from the Family Education Trust, told the BBC it was wrong to confuse the imposition of discipline with violence inflicted upon children.
"Reasonable chastisement" is a defence against common assault but any punishment which causes visible bruising, grazes, scratches, minor swellings or cuts can result in legal action.
In 2002, the United Nations' Committee on the Rights of the Child said it "deeply regrets that the (UK) persists in retaining the defence of 'reasonable chastisement'.
In 2003, the Scottish Parliament voted to restrict the scope of "reasonable chastisement" by setting out criteria for determining whether an assault on a child was "justifiable".
One year ago MPs voted to restrict "reasonable punishment" in England and Wales. |
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-10925841 | Brain works more like internet than 'top down' company
The brain appears to be a vastly interconnected network much like the Internet, according to new research.
That runs counter to the 19th-Century "top-down" view of brain structure.
A novel technique to track signals across tiny brain regions has revealed connections between regions associated with stress, depression and appetite.
The research, which has been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, may lead to a full map of the nervous system.
Larry Swanson and Richard Thompson from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, US, isolated a small section of a rat's brain in the nucleus accumbens - a brain region long associated with pleasure and reward.
Their technique hinges on the injection of "tracers" at precise points in the brain tissue. These are molecules that do not interfere with the movement of signals across the tissue, but can be illuminated and identified using a microscope.
Loops not lines
What is new is that the researchers injected two tracers at the same point at the same time: one that showed where signals were going, and one that showed where they were coming from. The approach can show up to four levels of connection.
If the brain has a hierarchichal structure like a large company, as neurology has long held, the "to" and "from" diagram would show straight lines from independent regions up towards a central processing unit: the company's boss.
But instead, the researchers saw loops between differing regions, feeding back to and directly linking regions that were not known to communicate with one another. This is a better fit with the model of vast networks such as the internet.
The region of the brain studied by the researchers displays a network connecting regions associated with stress, appetite and depression.
Such a highly interconnected structure has been hypothesised for some time, and could prove to be a powerful tool in analysing how the brain processes information. But it had not, until now, been demonstrated experimentally.
"You would be amazed at how much of the current experimental neuroscience literature is dominated by 'top down-bottom up thinking', which goes back to the 19th Century, especially in neurology," Professor Swanson told BBC News.
"The bottom line is that no matter what you might think, the circuitry we've shown - that specific set of structural connections - has not been demonstrated before."
The work illuminates just one tiny corner of the vast number of connections present even in a small mammal's brain. But by slightly overlapping one mapped region with another, and mapping that, a far greater picture could emerge.
"This method is repeatable in a sensible way so that neural networks can be followed as far as they go - ultimately to the whole wiring diagram of the brain," Professor Swanson said.
Such a diagram would be boundlessly complex, and the degree to which it could shed light on the more slippery questions of consciousness and cognition is still up for debate.
"We have no idea right now, but the direct analogy is with the Human Genome Project: taking on faith that knowing the complete sequence of human DNA would be a foundation stone for biology, no matter how long the understanding may take to realise in practical terms." |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12815740 | MoD to cut 2,000 civilian jobs in corporate services
The MoD will cut about 2,000 civilian jobs in corporate services by 2014, Defence Secretary Liam Fox has said.
In a written statement to MPs, Dr Fox announced plans for a new Defence Business Services organisation.
The body would deliver services such as human resources and finance for the whole of the Ministry of Defence, saving £73m a year, he said.
The move forms part of civilian job losses set out in the strategic defence and security review last October.'Significant contribution'
Dr Fox said: "Defence Business Services will deliver corporate services - human resources, finance, information, commercial and vetting - from a single structure to all areas of the department.
"This new single organisation will allow us to provide high quality professional services more efficiently and with fewer civil servants."
The defence secretary said the MoD was exploring the option of bringing in "outside professional management expertise" to lead and direct the new organisation.
He added: "By making these changes we expect to reduce the overall civilian workforce by about 2,000 corporate services posts with a net saving of £73m per annum by 2014.
"This will make a significant contribution to the civilian staff reductions set out last October in the strategic defence and security review."'More changes'
The defence review outlined plans to cut 25,000 civilian personnel by 2015.
Last month it was announced that Defence Estates, which is responsible for 2,400 hectares of MoD land and its buildings, would be replaced by a new Defence Infrastructure Organisation, with the loss of 2,500 jobs over three years.
Dr Fox said: "Along with the creation of a new Defence Infrastructure Organisation, the corporate services reforms are the first changes arising out of the work of the Defence Reform Unit chaired by Lord Levene on restructuring the department.
"There will be more such changes as we receive and consider further proposals." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8237122.stm | A ministerial aide to Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth has resigned, criticising the government's strategy over Afghanistan and calling for an exit strategy for the UK troops there.
Here is some reaction to the resignation of Eric Joyce, himself a former soldier:
DEFENCE SECRETARY BOB AINSWORTH
"Eric Joyce is, of course, entitled to his opinion and while we thank him for his service as a junior parliamentary aide, it is vital that we have a leadership team that is fully committed to our mission in Afghanistan.
The defence secretary said he did not recognise Mr Joyce's view
"The picture he paints is not one that I nor many people within the MoD recognise, whether military or civilian.
"Everyone in Defence, and the wider government, is fully committed to ensuring that our forces succeed in the operations on which they are engaged in Afghanistan, and that they have the necessary equipment and support to do the job.
"Our mission in Afghanistan is vital to our national security. We will not walk away from that responsibility."
PRIME MINISTER GORDON BROWN
In a letter to Eric Joyce:
"Bob Ainsworth has already replied to you emphasising the importance of the effort in Afghanistan to defeating terrorism, and of supporting, at all times, our Armed Forces.
"I am determined that nothing will distract my government from this most vital of tasks."
SHADOW DEFENCE SECRETARY LIAM FOX
"Some of what Eric Joyce says will resonate very widely and I completely agree that there is growing anger that some of the European countries in Nato are not pulling their weight in Afghanistan.
"But I think what's significant about his resignation is that he's one of the few Labour MPs to have served in the military, he's been at the right hand of the defence secretary - and I think that what he is representing tonight is a reservoir of discontent on the Labour benches and a feeling that Gordon Brown has never really had much feel for defence issues or the military, and that from the military right down the Parliamentary Labour Party, there is a great deal of unhappiness."
LIBERAL DEMOCRAT LEADER NICK CLEGG
"Eric Joyce confirms what I have been saying for a long time, our approach in Afghanistan is over-ambitious and under-resourced.
"We cannot continue to put British servicemen and servicewomen in harm's way in pursuit of a strategy which is increasingly unrealistic while failing to give our troops the pay, the equipment and the support they urgently need."
SECURITY MINISTER LORD WEST
"I just saw his letter for the first time this evening and I do not really recognise the picture that he paints in that and it seems rather confused.
"I have no doubt whatsoever just seeing the things that go across my desk, that there is a very clear terror threat that emanates particularly from the FATA [(Federally Administered Tribal Areas] and across the border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan."
LABOUR MP PETER KILFOYLE
"I'm a bit surprised to find myself in agreement with Eric because I wouldn't normally necessarily agree with him on all of these matters, but on this one I think he's absolutely right.
"I think there's a growing concern both here and in the United States about why we're still in Afghanistan - this of course predates Iraq - and about the changing objectives.
It's never quite clear what we hope to achieve there so I think he's with, you know, the swing in opinion on this." |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17909908 | PJ Crowley: Al-Qaeda losing the fight and the argument
Last year, the state department's Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications released a brief video on YouTube with clips of exuberant young people participating in popular demonstrations in the Middle East.
Interspersed with these dramatic scenes was the now iconic photo of the late Osama Bin Laden watching television from his "man cave" in Pakistan, still a significant global figure but increasingly a spectator forced to react to agendas set in other places by other players.
A year after Bin Laden's demise, core al-Qaeda is struggling to survive as a coherent structure. As US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said last summer: "We're within reach of strategically defeating al-Qaeda."
Its leadership continues to be attacked and eliminated.
Its bench is not as strong as it once was. Core al-Qaeda remains capable of inspiring others to act, but it is questionable whether it still retains the capacity to do in 2012 what it did in 2001.Lost rallying point
Much of the operational muscle of al-Qaeda has passed to its franchises or affiliates in Yemen, Iraq, the Maghreb, Somalia and potentially Nigeria, and close associates remain deeply engaged in Afghanistan.
In the heart of the Middle East, historic transformations are underway - and al-Qaeda had almost nothing to do with it”
These units retain potent capabilities and have demonstrated the ability to hold territory and use it to challenge existing authorities, both in the region and beyond.
In the face of the Arab Awakening, al-Qaeda has tried to force itself back into the spotlight with attacks on the Assad regime in Syria, the Maliki government in Iraq and the transitional government in Yemen.
In other words, the armed struggle against al-Qaeda is not over.
But the United States and its allies are competing smartly, generally avoiding actions (the Koran-burning an obvious exception) that al-Qaeda can easily exploit.
The US withdrawal from Iraq took a major al-Qaeda rallying point off the table.
The costly 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation validated al-Qaeda's narrative that the United States was at war with Islam.An unlikely agreement
Now military force is being employed far more discreetly.
The operations that took out al-Qaeda's two most prominent faces and voices, Bin Laden and Anwar al-Awlaki (the American-born radical cleric killed by a US drone strike in Yemen last September), off the playing field are good cases in point of strategic impact while putting few boots on the ground.
Bin Laden's successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has released a steady number of videos over the past year, but has not commanded the global stage in the way Bin Laden did.
The Obama administration's intervention in Libya came only after strong statements of support (and participation) from the region as well as a UN Security Council resolution that provided international legitimacy.
Al-Qaeda tried to take advantage of Muammar Gaddafi's demise, but found itself on the same side as the Benghazi rebels - and Nato.
Nonetheless, on the political front, al-Qaeda remains very much on the outside looking in.
In the heart of the Middle East, historic transformations are underway in multiple countries. And al-Qaeda had almost nothing to do with it.A hard-sell message?
The political environment will become even more challenging for al-Qaeda, which will struggle for relevance in a newly energised and empowered public space that is far more competitive than even a year ago and far less hospitable to al-Qaeda's narrative than five years ago.
George Washington University Professor Marc Lynch, in his new book Arab Uprising, refers to a shared and cohesive narrative of protest that has swept across the region. Al-Qaeda is not shaping it and is barely a part of it.
Even before Bin Laden's death, significant majorities across the Islamic world had stopped buying what he and his cohort were selling.
For one thing, the vast majority of Muslims don't want to live in the world Bin Laden envisioned.
For another, they eventually realised - helped by effective counter-messaging from the US government, the military and the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications - that far more Muslims were dying in al-Qaeda's wars with the near and far enemies.
Meaningful political, economic and social reforms will continue to undercut al-Qaeda's jihadist narrative.
Bin Laden preached that violent resistance was the only available path to meaningful political and social reform, but the people of Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and Libya dramatically demonstrated a clear alternative.
Long excluded groups are engaged in an expanding civil society, trying to build political structures, not blow them up.
The United States will be challenged in this new environment as well.A moderating influence
The decline of al-Qaeda's popularity in the Islamic world has not resulted in a significant change in perceptions of US policies, despite the Obama administration's strong identification with protest movements from Libya to Yemen.
Some policy adjustments will be required while paying for more attention to regional public opinion than it has in the past.
But al-Qaeda will be challenged more.
The new Arab world will embrace many paths, not just one, hopefully with an expanding political space that is relatively peaceful, inclusive and tolerant - about as far from Bin Laden's vision as you can get.
What we should see ongoing now is a fierce competition within the Muslim world about the future path of political Islam.
There will be much trial and error, but the give-and-take among groups with different visions should have a moderating influence.
The United States must be strategic and accept the process, messy as it will be, and engage the leaders and the people they represent.
This is a new arena within which al-Qaeda will struggle to compete and certainly will not thrive.
PJ Crowley is a former US Assistant Secretary of State in the administration of US President Barack Obama. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7631900.stm | Gordon Brown used his speech to the Labour Party conference to say he was a serious man doing a serious job and that this was no time for a novice.
Here a selection of past and present Labour supporters have been telling us what they thought of his speech and whether they were impressed by his performance.
DENISE CURTIS, 39, IT CONSULTANT, DERBYSHIRE
He was right when he said serious times need a serious leader.
I thought the speech was fantastic. I feel energised after watching it. You could really see his passion and commitment to everyday values.
I like the way he looked at the global economic situation and made it relevant to what has been happening here. We do need to tackle the credit crisis and it is a global problem.
He ticked all the boxes. He talked about the NHS, education, law and order.
Before today I wasn't sure about him as leader of the party but now I'm reassured.
I was uncertain about him because he does lack charisma and I thought that was letting the party down. But now I realise we don't need a celebrity in charge, we need someone who knows what they are doing and that is Gordon Brown.
I have a lot of confidence in his economic abilities, and it is that experience we need now.
PAT MORRIS, 70, RETIRED, ESSEX
He came across as very artificial.
I was born and bred Labour, my father was a councillor and I was a party activist, so in the past I would never have dreamed of voting for anyone else.
More recently though I have become disillusioned with the party.
I did start to watch Gordon Brown's speech but I had to switch it off.
Someone needs to tell him that we are not stupid and that we are fed up to the back teeth with spin.
Gordon Brown says he cares for the people but is life getting any better? No.
I have to help my granddaughter pay for university and I see how her student debt keeps growing.
Two of my other children are also facing negative equity on their property. Things just aren't getting any better.
GARRY MCNULTY, 48, RETIRED, SOUTHAMPTON
With Gordon Brown I think it's better the devil you know.
It was a very good speech. He ticked all the right boxes but he was speaking to a crowd of Labour supporters, they are the converted if you like.
I'm traditionally I'm a Labour supporter, but this year in my local election I voted Conservative because of the mistakes made over the 10 pence tax rate.
I would like to give Labour the benefit of the doubt, but part of me feels that it is too late to change things.
It was good that he talked about the future, and being fair, it is what people want to hear. But I can tell you loads about what I would like to do now and in the future, but will it really happen?
It all sounds good but how can he do all these things when the country doesn't have the money to do them? I'm worried that he will have to increase taxes.
He is not a great speaker, but this speech was good, but I think it might be too little too late.
CATHERINE COUSTON, 42, TEACHER, GLASGOW
I think it was a good speech it was full of laudable aims. He was very clever when he spoke about fairness and justice as you can't argue with that.
My main concern is that now he has said all of this will he be able to back it up with any action.
It was a very safe speech, but I think probably too little too late.
I was happy to hear him have a go at the Tory Party as I'm worried that the Conservatives might get in at the next election.
I think people are quite shallow, they go for the charisma and looks which he doesn't have.
I genuinely believe he came across as quite sincere and I hope he was able to convince people to back him and not David Cameron. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/asia_pac/03/bali_widow/html/4.stm | My husband was the only breadwinner in the family. He didn't want me to work.
Now though, I really enjoy my work. I've been selling t-shirts and necklaces in this shop, and also taking make-up and hairdressing courses.
The day after the anniversary I'm doing the make-up for a wedding. It'll be my first one, so I'm really excited! |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3077479.stm | Tony Blair did what he intended to do in Washington - he switched attention, or tried to at least, from the issue of supposed Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to the results of the war.
Blair: Easier ride in Congress than in UK Parliament
These he defined as the removal of a "threat" and the extension of "liberty."
His speech went down well in the US Congress, whose members, like Roman Senators, appreciate such sweeping talk.
But in attempting to change the agenda, Mr Blair has changed the nature of the "threat."
Look first at the language he used in his key House of Commons speech on 18 March. Then he talked of Iraq's "weapons" and said that claims that Iraq had destroyed all of them were "palpably absurd."
Now the threat is more diffuse. Mr Blair described it as one which "at its least is responsible for inhuman carnage and suffering." This must refer to Saddam Hussein's' internal repression, his invasion of Kuwait and his use of poison gas against Iran and the Kurds during the Iran-Iraq war. It is not quite what the threat had been defined as before this war.
But the removal of this threat alone, said Mr Blair, would be enough even if "we are wrong" about the weapons. "I am confident history will forgive", he declared.
History and his critics will probably find it easier to forgive if Iraq is put together again.
Simultaneously with Mr Blair's appearance at Congress came a Washington think-tank report on Iraq, which called for much greater urgency in reconstruction.
"It requires that the whole effort be immediately turbo-charged," the report concluded.
This is not just some academic document. It was drawn up at the request of the US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld by a team of five experienced former US government officials.
They were led by John Hamre, the President of the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a Deputy Secretary of Defence under President Clinton.
The team travelled in Iraq during 11 days this month and last and have come up with quite a gloomy assessment. It says that "the next three months are crucial" in turning around the security situation and that "the next 12 months will be decisive" in the overall effort.
The report highlights seven areas which it says "need immediate attention."
1. Public safety must be established in all parts of the country - Iraqis must be recruited to a "Facility Protection Service" to guard buildings and ex-soldiers and militias re-integrated into the new Iraqi army.
2. Iraqis must be brought in the rebuilding process at every level - local councils must be linked to the new Iraqi Governing Council, for example.
3. "Idle hands must be put to work" - there should be a public works programme for a start.
4. Decentralisation is essential - and more civilian experts, foreign if need be, must be hired to help.
5. "A profound change in the Iraqi frame of mind" must be undertaken to change "suspicion to trust" - this would include setting up a "headline news" TV channel to counter rumour and get the message over.
6. The US needs to mobilise a new international reconstruction coalition to help counter "rising anti-Americanism".
7. More money must be provided and be spent quickly - "business as usual" is not an option.
The report indicates, if any further indications were needed, the magnitude of the task ahead. The success of that task will help determine the final assessment of the war, and Mr Blair's part in it, by history. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7840895.stm | Reform of Lords selections is needed in the near future, MPs say
Nominations for the House of Lords should be vetted more clearly and thoroughly to ensure peers are of good enough quality, MPs have said.
The Commons public administration committee said it was important to ensure "transparency" in the system.
This was necessary to "reassure a jaded public" in the wake of the "cash-for-honours" inquiry of 2006/7, it added.
MPs voted in 2007 in favour of a fully-elected Lords, but such a plan has yet to pass through parliament.
The committee proposes that the independent House of Lords Appointments Commission should consult on and publish criteria on what makes a good peer, rather than simply judging "on grounds of propriety", as currently happens.
Political parties could put forward lists, giving more names than the amount of spaces available, also known as "longlists".
The commission could then judge recommendations according to its own standards.
The committee's report says that, although MPs voted in 2007 in favour of an all-elected House of Lords, that this has not yet happened and that reform is needed in the short term.
It adds: "We believe that change is needed and possible in advance of any legislation on the future shape of the second chamber. The existing powers of the House of Lords Appointments Commission are not set in statute.
"They could therefore be amended without recourse to statute."
The report goes on: "The introduction of a fully or largely elected second chamber would render the changes we propose obsolete. But that moment is some years off even at best.
"In the meantime, we have proposed changes that should be made with immediate effect to bring fairness and transparency to the interim arrangements between now and the completion of reform."
The police cash-for-honours investigation followed allegations that parties had offered peerages in return for loans and donations.
But the inquiry was dropped in July 2007 and no-one was charged.
In March that year MPs voted by a majority of 113 in favour of an all-elected second chamber, but this was rejected by peers a week later.
In July last year Mr Straw set out renewed plans for an elected House of Lords.
Most, if not all, peers would be elected and serve terms of between 12 and 15 years, with numbers being cut from more than 700 to 450, he said.
At the moment all peers are appointed, apart from the 92 hereditaries who survived the first phase of Lords reform during Tony Blair's first term as prime minister.
Liberal Democrat justice spokesman David Howarth said: "The government's slow progress on Lords reform is painful."
He added: "A democratically accountable second chamber is vital to our democracy, but this government is too fond of the power the present system gives it." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/southern_counties/4240939.stm | Hundreds of gardeners swapped seeds in Brighton at an event to try to stop crop varieties from being lost.
Hundreds of people attended the seed swap in Brighton
The Seedy Sunday event, in Upper Market Street, enabled people to swap seeds which prevents types of vegetables and flowers becoming extinct.
Organisers claim in the past 100 years, 90% of seed varieties have been lost.
Gardeners have to swap the seeds because a licence is needed to sell them. Last year more than 1,000 people attended the event.
Organiser Fran Saunders said seeds being swapped included Cherokee trail of tears, which the Cherokees took across America.
"They have been preserved - you can't buy them," she said.
The seed swapping event idea came from Canada where a Seedy Saturday was set up on Vancouver Island.
Organisers of the Brighton event say it is important to preserve the diversity of nature. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6044476.stm | By Zubair Ahmed
BBC News, Mumbai
About 2,000 debt-stricken farmers in India's cotton growing Vidarbha region resorted to a protest with flowers to persuade a bank to disperse loans.
Most farmers in cotton growing Vidarbha are deep in debt
They garlanded the bank manager while a woman in the group washed his feet.
The protest was inspired by a Bollywood blockbuster film that has revived and popularised Mahatma Gandhi's message of peaceful protests.
Activists say debts have led more than 950 farmers to commit suicide this year in Vidarbha in Maharashtra state.
Many women were among the protestors in a village in Yavatmal district, which has been worst hit by farmers' suicides.
The manager of the government-run State Bank of India told the farmers that although he agreed and sympathised with them, he could not sanction their loans but would forward their request to the finance ministry.
The Bollywood film Lage Raho Munna Bhai's (Keep at it Munna Brother) attempt to simplify Gandhi's message of peaceful protests, or Gandhigiri as it is called in the film, has gone down well in the country.
Bollywood star, Sanjay Dutt, plays a mobster who turns Gandhian
Vidarbha's farmers had been protesting, some times violently, against what they see as government apathy.
So Thursday's protest, modelled on Gandhi's non-violent way of protest, represented a chance of tactics.
Activist Kishor Tiwari told the BBC the protest was an attempt to persuade the manager to disperse more loans as loans have so far covered only 50% farmers in the district.
Mr Tiwari said the bank had to stop dispersing loans after it ran out of money.
More than 200 farmers from Yavatmal alone have killed themselves since the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, announced a relief package of $815m on 1 July.
Campaigners say on average five farmers are committing suicide everyday in the district, which is one of the poorest in the cotton growing Vidarbha region.
Many farmers say help has yet to reach them.
Vidarbha is home to 3.2m farmers, more than 90% of whom are heavily in debt. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1025227.stm | A sparsely-populated North Atlantic island, Iceland is famous for its hot springs, geysers and active volcanoes. Lava fields cover much of the land and hot water is pumped from under the ground to supply much of the country's heating.
Iceland became an independent republic in 1944 and went on to become one of the world's most prosperous economies. However, the collapse of the banking system in 2008 exposed that prosperity as having been built on a dangerously vulnerable economic model.
In recent years Iceland enjoyed a standard of living that was among the highest in the world. Its prosperity initially rested on the fishing industry, but with the gradual contraction of this sector the Icelandic economy developed into new areas.
By the beginning of the 21st century, Iceland had come to epitomise the global credit boom. Its banks expanded dramatically overseas and foreign money poured into the country, fuelling exceptional growth.
Before the global credit crunch took hold, Icelandic banks had foreign assets worth about 10 times the country's GDP, with debts to match, and Icelandic businesses also made major investments abroad.
The global financial crisis of 2008 exposed the Icelandic economy's dependence on the banking sector, leaving it particularly vulnerable to collapse.
In October 2008, the government took over control of all three of the country's major banks in an effort to stabilise the financial system. Shortly after this, Iceland became the first western country to apply to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for emergency financial aid since 1976.
The economy shrank by 6.8% in 2009, though by the end of 2010 there were some signs of an improvement, with the first growth recorded for two years.
An Icelandic hot spot: Geothermal waters of the Blue Lagoon
In the long term, Iceland's well educated workforce and its extensive and as yet largely untapped natural resources are likely to provide the key to its recovery from the economic crisis, though concerns have been raised over the potential environmental impact of developing the latter.
Environmentalists have protested that a major aluminium smelter project and associated geothermal and hydroelectric schemes were being pushed through at the expense of fragile wildlife habitats.
The country has extended its territorial waters several times since the end of the 1950s to protect its fishermen and their main catch of Atlantic cod from foreign fleets.
Traditionally a whaling nation, Iceland abandoned the practice in 1989 in line with an international moratorium. It later resumed scientific whaling, intended to investigate the impact of whales on fish stocks, and in 2006 it announced a return to commercial hunts. The move was condemned by environmental groups.
Although it has no armed forces, Iceland is a member of Nato, and US troops were stationed in the country from World War II until 2006. In 1985 Iceland declared itself a nuclear-free zone.
Relations with Europe
Icelanders have for a long time been resistant to the idea of joining the European Union, though the country is a member of the Schengen border-free travel zone and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
Attitudes towards the EU slowly softened, and in July 2009 the country formally applied for EU accession.
The government hopes that the path to EU membership will be completed by 2012, but there are a number of obstacles that could disrupt this timetable.
Chief among them is a debt dispute with Britain and the Netherlands arising from the 2008 collapse of the Icelandic banking sector, which hit British and Dutch investors hard. However, efforts to resolve this appeared to be making some headway by the end of 2010.
The debt issue has in its turn led many Icelanders to question whether EU membership is such a good idea after all, and an opinion poll conducted shortly before formal accession talks began in July 2010 showed that a majority was in favour of withdrawing the country's application.
Other areas that have the capacity to derail the negotiations are Iceland's whale hunting industry and its insistence on maintaining its fishing limits - an issue that precipitated the "Cod Wars" of the 1950s and 1970s.
Iceland's announcement that it was unilaterally increasing its mackeral fishing quota for 2011 by nearly 17,000 tonnes looked set to increase tensions with the EU and Norway.
Social Democrat Johanna Sigurdardottir took over as head of a centre-left coalition in January 2009, after protests about Iceland's economic collapse brought down the government of Geir Haarde.
Ms Sigurdardottir is a former flight attendant and union organiser
Many blamed the crisis on Mr Haarde's centre-right Independence Party, which has dominated Icelandic politics since full independence from Denmark in 1944.
Coming to power at the head of a coalition of her Social Democratic Alliance and the Green-Left Party, the new PM said her immediate priority would be to restore the public finances and deal with the country's economic crisis.
Her new government was confirmed in office with a resounding victory in parliamentary elections in April 2009, winning 34 out of 63 seats. It was the first time that centre-left parties had won a majority of seats since independence.
In June, the centre-left dominated parliament voted to apply formally for membership in the European Union, seen by many in Iceland as offering a way out of its economic woes.
Ms Sigurdardottir is Iceland's first female prime minister, and the world's first openly gay head of government.
Born in Reykjavik in 1942, Ms Sigurdardottir studied commerce, going on to work as a flight attendant, trade union organiser and office worker. She was elected to parliament for the Social Democratic Party in 1978.
She was social affairs minister from 1987 until 1994, when she unsuccessfully stood for her party's leadership. She then formed her own party, the National Movement.
Five years later, Ms Sigurdardottir's party merged with the Social Democrats and two other centre-left groups to form the Alliance, in an effort to counter to the right-wing Independence Party.
In 2007, the Alliance came to power in coalition with Mr Haarde's Independence Party, with Ms Sigurdardottir again serving as social affairs minister.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8130948.stm | Jermaine Jackson described the moment he arrived at the hospital and saw his brother Michael's body
Jermaine Jackson "would be hurt" if he found out that reports about his brother Michael's drug use were true, he has said in an interview.
Unconfirmed reports following the star's death last week have suggested he was taking the painkiller Demerol and that he abused prescription drugs.
Jermaine told US TV that Michael had been "against anything like that".
"But in this business, the pressure, and things that you go through - you never know what people might turn to."
"I'm not saying it's right, because it's not right," he added.
Following an autopsy on Friday, the Los Angeles County Coroner's office said there was no evidence of foul play, but gave no cause for Jackson's death.
It said the results of toxicology tests could take weeks to come back.
A spokesman said Jackson had taken "some prescription medication", without specifying which.
Jermaine, who confirmed his brother's death to journalists last Thursday, was interviewed for NBC's Today programme in the grounds of the sprawling Neverland ranch, 150 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
Fighting back tears, the 54-year-old described how his mother, Katherine, had called him to break the news.
"She was crying, saying he was dead."
He added: "To hear my mother say, 'Michael is dead,' to feel and hear the tone in her voice to say her child is dead, is nothing that anyone can ever imagine."
When he arrived at the UCLA medical centre, he had seen his brother's body, he said.
"To see him there lifeless and breathless was very emotional for me.
Jackson had been due to stage comeback concerts in London
"But I held myself together because I knew he's very much alive in his spirit, and that was just a shell.
"I kissed him on his forehead, and I hugged him, and I touched him and, I said, 'Michael, I'll never leave you - you'll never leave me'."
He said he was his younger brother's "backbone" and wished he could have died instead.
"I wanted to be there for him - I was there and he was sort of like Moses.
"Things he couldn't say, I would say them - during trials, during everything."
Jermaine, who appeared on UK reality series Big Brother in 2007, asserted that Neverland should be his younger sibling's final resting place.
"He created this," he said. "Why wouldn't he be here? I feel his presence."
The Jackson family, who have ruled out a "public or private viewing" of Michael's body at the ranch, are due to announce a public memorial soon.
Meanwhile, Tommy Mottola, former chairman of Sony Music - which owns distribution rights to Jackson's music - has said new releases of unheard tracks "could go on for years and years".
"There are dozens and dozens of songs that did not end up on his albums," said Mottola, who was in charge of Sony from 1998 to 2003.
"People will be hearing a lot of that unreleased material for the first time ever. There's just some genius and brilliance in there."
The material includes unused tracks from sessions for some his classic albums as well as new songs recorded with singer and producer Akon and Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3560867.stm | The US space agency has announced that its robotic Mars rover Opportunity is parked on what was once the shore of a salty Martian sea.
Nasa has two rovers on opposite sides of Mars
There is multiple evidence that the surface of Mars was awash with liquid water at some time in its past.
But the latest findings from Nasa's robot explorers on the Red Planet are fleshing out a picture of what Mars must have been like when it was wet.
Opportunity has been studying the rocks in a small crater since January.
Earlier in March, scientists announced that rocks at Opportunity's landing site at Meridiani Planum once had water seep slowly through them.
"What's happened since then is we have found what I believe to be strong evidence that the rocks themselves were sediments that were laid down in liquid water," Professor Steve Squyres told a told a news conference in Washington, US.
The earlier finding suggested a large quantity of liquid water had existed at Meridiani Planum. The latest announcement confirms that there was either a sea, or a series of pools on the surface.
"It's a fundamental distinction. It's like the difference between water you can draw from a well and water you can swim in," said Professor Squyres.
LAID DOWN IN WATER
There is persuasive evidence for the rocks' watery past
However, Professor Squyres said it was possible that the rocks were laid down by water under a sheet of ice.
Tuesday's announcement is significant because it lends greater weight to the hypothesis that Mars could have been a habitat for microbial life in the past.
"If you have an interest in searching for fossils on Mars, this is the first place you want to go," said Dr Ed Weiler, Nasa associate administrator.
But scientists agreed that only future sample return missions would be able to resolve the question of whether life was once present on the planet.
The evidence comes from analysis of 30cm of a rocky outcrop in Eagle Crater, Opportunity's landing site. Rocks in this outcrop are finely layered, one of the key characteristics of sedimentary rocks.
Layered rocks can be formed by volcanic activity. But Nasa scientists said the presence of cross-bedding in the Martian outcrop, inclined discontinuities between different layers of the rock confirmed that the Martian rocks were sedimentary.
Professor Steve Squyres, principal scientific investigator for the rovers, added that high quantities of the element bromine in the rocks was one of the key pieces of evidence suggesting the outcrop was once a shore.
On Earth, this is characteristic of rocks that have had sea water evaporate from them. Salts in the rock pointed to evaporation. This suggested a past environment where water came and went.
However, it is not known for how long the region at Meridiani Planum was a wet environment.
Sedimentary rocks can be formed through the action of wind. But Dr Dave Rubin, of the US Geological Survey (USGS), told journalists that the form of the cross-bedding matched best with sediments laid down in water.
The researchers said the water could have been flowing at a speed of 10 to 50cm per second.
The announcement earlier this month that Opportunity's landing site at Meridiani Planum was once "drenched" in water came from the discovery of very high concentrations of sulphur salts in the outcrop.
On Earth, rocks with as much salt as these Mars rocks have either formed in water or, after formation, have been highly altered by long exposure to water.
Scientists do not know how long the water was present at Meridiani Planum. Neither do they know how deep the bodies of water were. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/animals/newsid_2978000/2978591.stm | After a closer look, she discovered the egg was three times the size of a normal chicken egg - and we're not yoking!
But some neighbours reckon Freda might end up with egg on her face. They think her 20cms (eight inches) egg looks suspiciously like a goose's and it's just one big yoke.
Freda has kept chickens for 50 years and says she's never seen one so large.
If it is a chicken's, it won't quite crack the world record.
That stands at 340 grams (12 ounces) whilst Freda's weighs 198 grams (7 ounces).
Now she's just not sure what to do with it. But if she cooks it, it could make eggy bread for a small army! |
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-40429659 | Tesco to axe 1,200 head office jobs
Tesco plans to cut 1,200 jobs at its head office as part of a major cost-cutting drive.
The UK's biggest supermarket told staff on Wednesday morning about the cull, which amounts to a quarter of its workforce in Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield.
Tesco is implementing a turnaround plan that aims to reduce costs by £1.5bn.
The cuts come after the retailer said last week it would close a call centre in Cardiff at the cost of 1,200 roles.
Tesco said it was a "significant next step" in the reorganisation of the company.
"This new service model will simplify the way we organise ourselves, reduce duplication and cost but also, very importantly, allow us to invest in serving shoppers better," a spokesperson said.
Pauline Foulkes, national officer at shop workers' union Usdaw, said: "Tesco's head office staff are understandably very concerned that the company is proposing further large-scale job losses.
"Our priorities are to keep as many staff as possible in employment and to get the best possible deal for our members."
Shares in Tesco rose 1.6% to close at 171.7p, but have fallen almost 17% since the start of the year.
Tesco said earlier this year that 1,000 roles would go as it reduced the number of distribution centres.
It also announced a plan to replace 1,700 deputy managers at its Express convenience stores with 3,000 lower-paid "shift leaders".
Trading at Tesco has been improving under chief executive Dave Lewis and earlier this month it reported a 2.3% rise in UK like-for-like sales for the three months to 27 May.
The supermarket is undertaking a £3.7bn takeover of wholesaler and convenience store group Booker, which has drawn opposition from some shareholders.
Schroders and Artisan Partners have said that Tesco is paying too much for Booker, which owns the Premier, Budgens and Londis store brands. and has written to chairman John Allan about their concerns.
The Competition and Markets Authority has opened the first phase of its investigation into the deal, which will end in late July. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7240000/newsid_7241500/7241599.stm | Dwain Chambers will run for Great Britain later this year, even though the sport's bosses don't want him to.
Chambers was first in the 60 metres at the British Indoor Championships at the weekend, earning him a place at the World Indoor Championships next month.
Chambers, 29, is just getting back into athletics after a two-year ban from the sport for taking drugs.
UK Athletics bosses would rather his place went to a younger athlete, so they could get more experience.
But under the rules the athlete who is first in the trial wins a place at the Worlds, so Chambers will be racing.
Now UK Athletics say they hope to change the rules in future, so they are allowed not to select athletes who have failed drugs tests in the past.
No Olympics for Chambers
Later this year the Olympic Games take place in China, and Chambers will not be allowed to run for Team GB in that event.
The teams for the Olympics are selected by the British Olympic Association, and their rules allow them not to select athletes who have failed drugs tests. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6184854.stm | Leftist Rafael Correa has edged closer to victory in Ecuador's presidential election, promising wide reforms.
Rafael Correa has a strong lead with more than half of votes in
With almost two-thirds of votes counted, Mr Correa had almost 63% of the vote while his conservative rival Alvaro Noboa polled about 38%.
Washington has congratulated Mr Correa, who opposes a free trade deal with the US, on his apparent victory.
Mr Noboa, a billionaire banana tycoon, has not yet accepted defeat, with full results due on Tuesday.
Ecuador has seen much political turmoil in recent years with seven presidents in the last decade.
The last three elected presidents were overthrown and only three since 1979 have succeeded in serving full terms.
Mr Correa, a 43-year-old economist, declared victory on Sunday evening and on Monday took a congratulatory phone call from US Ambassador Linda Jewell.
"Thank God, we have triumphed," Mr Correa told supporters in the capital Quito.
"We accept this victory with dignity and humility... We are just instruments of the power of the people."
Ambassador Jewell said in a statement that Washington hoped to work "in a productive manner" with a government led by Mr Correa.
Although the full official result has not yet been announced, Mr Correa has moved quickly to make policy announcements and appoint ministers.
He said he will try to rejoin the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) which Ecuador left in 1992.
He also named leftist economists Ricardo Patino and Alberto Acosta as his economy and energy ministers.
His rival, Mr Noboa, said he would wait until official results were announced before asking for a recount if necessary.
Alvaro Noboa has said he will ask for a recount if necessary
Before voting, he had gone down on his knees, Bible in hand, and asked God for support.
"Like Christ, all I want is to serve... so that the poor can have housing, health care, education, jobs," Associated Press news agency quoted him as saying.
Ecuador's richest man, Mr Noboa had campaigned promising to attract foreign investment to Ecuador. He frequently carried a Bible.
He had said he would build 300,000 new homes a year for Ecuador's poor.
Foreign debt promises
An economic aide to Mr Correa said he would not pay some of Ecuador's "illegitimate" foreign debt and would not sign a free trade agreement with the US, Reuters said.
While campaigning, Mr Correa said he wanted to renegotiate contracts with foreign oil companies.
However, one adviser to Mr Correa told the Reuters news agency on Monday that as president Mr Correa would be unlikely to nationalise Ecuador's energy industry.
Mr Correa is close to Venezuela's anti-American President Hugo Chavez and has called US President George W Bush a "dimwit".
He toned down his comparison to Mr Chavez after he lost the first round vote to Mr Noboa.
Both candidates had promised to create jobs and fight poverty and corruption. Both had also promised to double the monthly government payout poor Ecuadoreans receive. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21084945 | Web 're-defining' human identity says chief scientist
Social networks such as Facebook and on-line gaming are changing people's view of who they are and their place in the world, according to a report for the government's chief scientist.
The report, published by Prof Sir John Beddington, says that traditional ideas of identity will be less meaningful.
One consequence could be communities becoming less cohesive.
This change could be harnessed to bring positive changes or if ignored could fuel social exclusion, says the study.
"This can be a positive force, exemplified by the solidarity seen in the London 2012 Olympics or a destructive force, for example the 2011 riots," says the report.
"Due to the development of smart phones, social networks and the trend towards (greater) connectivity disparate groups can be more easily mobilised where their interests temporarily coincide."
"For example," it says, "a 'flash mob' can be mobilised between people who have not previously met".
The report, entitled "Future Identities," says that near continuous access to the internet, termed "hyper-connectivity", will drive profound changes to society over the next 10 years.
Prof Beddington commissioned the study as part of the Government Office for Science's Foresight programme - the influential Foresight reports look ahead to highlight emerging trends in science and technology with a view to informing policies across government departments.
"The most dynamic trend (in determining identity) is hyper-connectivity," Prof Beddington told BBC News.
"The collection and use of data by government and the private sector, the balancing of individual rights and liberties against privacy and security and the issue of how to tackle social exclusion, will be affected by these trends," he said. "I hope the evidence in today's report will contribute to the policy making process."
This latest report on identity undertook 20 separate reviews in which leading UK and international experts assessed research in computer science, criminology and social sciences.
It states that the changing nature of identities will have substantial implications for what is meant by communities and by social integration. The study shows that traditional elements that shape a person's identity, such as their religion, ethnicity, job and age are less important than they once were.
Instead, particularly among younger people, their view of themselves is shaped increasingly by on-line interactions of social networks and on online role playing games.
The study found that far from creating superficial or fantasy identities that some critics suggest, in many cases it allowed people to escape the preconceptions of those immediately around them and find their "true" identity. This is especially true of disabled people who told researchers that online gaming enabled them to socialise on an equal footing with others.
"The internet can allow many people to realise their identities more fully, " the authors write. "Some people who have been shy or lonely or feel less attractive discover they can socialise more successfully and express themselves more freely online".
The report points out that in 2011, 60% of internet users were members of a social network site, a huge surge in usage, up 43% from 2007. Consequently, it says that there may greater political activism using these networks as was seen in the revolution in Tunisia and the mobilisation of dissent in Egypt and Libya.
There will also be a blurring of work and social identities as photos and details of people's personal lives become increasingly public on social networking sites. The report cites a hypothetical example of how a young person was denied promotion because her employer found drunken photos of her from her university days.
The report says that as the distinction between online and real world identities diminishes criminals are likely to try and exploit the many new forms of interlinked data relating people's identities and from social media and professional and financial websites in order to steal identities.
Follow Pallab on Twitter |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6059026.stm | A game based in the midst of the conflict in the Palestinian territories is set to be the latest release in the trend of politically-conscious gaming.
Global Conflict: Palestine gives the option of three perspectives
Global Conflict: Palestine centres on the activities of a young journalist.
The player must navigate between different Palestinian and Israeli sources to get to the truth of a story.
"You can take a pro-Palestinian angle, a balanced angle, or a pro-Israeli angle," said Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen, of Serious Games Interactive.
Mr Egenfeldt-Nielsen told the BBC's Culture Shock programme: "The game is much more about the personal experience; the emotional experience."
The player walks around a city resembling Jerusalem and its surrounding areas talking to people. As the conflict intensifies, however, the situation becomes increasingly complex and exposes some of the reasons for the ongoing violence.
Global Conflict: Palestine, which is released early next year, follows music channel MTV's internet-based Darfur Is Dying, which went online earlier this year and had 700,000 players in its first month.
Later, tens of thousands of players sent e-mail messages to politicians to urge action over Darfur.
Game designers believe that gaming is one of the most effective ways of teaching people about complex situations - and yet keeping them engaging.
They hope the game will not only reach mature players seeking intellectual stimulation, but also the school market.
"The Palestine topic fits very well with what you need for making a game," said Mr Nielsen.
"It has conflict, different perspectives - people are interested in it.
"That was the initial starting point, that Palestine would make a good game. I might regret this, but I think that you can do a game about anything - it depends very much on your framing and your approach to it."
Sheila Moorcroft, a futures research consultant based in the UK, said she understood that on one level people could feel that making a game out a conflict situation "trivialises" it.
But she added that younger people are not engaged with traditional politics, and additionally get their information about the world in new ways.
Darfur Is Dying generated political pressure over Sudan
This actually makes games a good platform for exploring the complexity of an issue, she said.
"An awful lot of what is in the media today is simplistic - it's headlines, it's soundbites," she said.
"People don't actually have a chance to explore the complexities of some of the situations of a conflict.
"In the Darfur Is Dying game, you're someone collecting water and you've just got to use your arrows and space bar to hide from the patrols. Suddenly you realise - as happened, because people started phoning up - this is for real, this is serious.
"So you can actually begin to enter somebody's reality." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/hi/sa/football/features/newsid_3301000/3301407.stm | |The total footballer|
|Around the Academy:
Ever heard the phrase "total football"?
Put simply, it means all 10 outfield players in a team are comfortable in any position.
So if a defender wants to go on a mazy run towards goal, a midfielder will fill in for him at the back - and stay there.
It may sound crazy, but it was a style of play that made Holland the greatest side of the 1970s.
The brains behind it all was the Dutch captain and Ajax star player - Johan Cruyff.
With two fabulous feet and mesmeric ball skills, Cruyff was at the heart of everything Holland did - literally.
All 15 of their goals in the 1974 World Cup either started or ended with the captain.
Cruyff was mainly an attacking midfielder, but he popped up all over the pitch, conducting some of the most stunning football ever seen.
The Dutch passed the ball so well that opponents sometimes spent minutes without getting a touch!
Cruyff's finest moment was in a group match against Sweden.
With a defender niggling him on the touchline, Cruyff's left foot flicked the ball back behind his own right leg.
The hapless full-back tackled at thin air and ran off in the wrong direction - looking very confused!
The "Cruyff turn" was born. As far as we know, he's the only player to have a trick named after him!
Not for the first time, the hosts West Germany spoiled the party - by narrowly beating the Dutch in the final.
But Cruyff's place in history was assured - as the game's first true total footballer.
Verdict: A pioneer off the pitch and a magician on it. The best player never to win a World Cup. |
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-39684676 | Your London marathon photos
As thousands take part in the London marathon today, some of the runners have managed to send us their photos from their momentous day. Here is just a small selection.
The oldest and youngest runners, Ken, 83, and Bronte, 18, spoke to the BBC's Dan Johnson ahead of the race. It was going to be Ken's 37th marathon - phew!
Meriel Beale snapped this picture - her favourite - at the seven mile mark in Greenwich. She told the BBC the atmosphere there was fantastic, with lots of cheering and 'oggy oggy oggy' chants. She was supporting her friend Justin Saculles.
Rona Main posted this photo of her sister Laura on Twitter as she passed the half way mark in her first London marathon and told the BBC she's an ambassador for the charity Sentabale
Spectator Katherine Capdevila took this photo today. She tweeted: "Congrats to everyone who ran #LondonMarathon. You rock!!"
Amy Evans tweeted 'This is proving to be a very popular sign at mile 17', courtesy of @Scousebird
Catherine Ellis posted her time of 3.50.37 on Facebook, adding it was not the time she'd hoped for and 'the entire run felt like hell.' Well, we think that's a very respectable time, well done! Determined as ever, she said she will need to do another one to get sub 3.45 #hardcore |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-39802517 | Judge to Waymo: Close, but no smoking gun
"So far you don’t have a smoking gun."
Not the words Waymo’s legal team wanted to hear from a judge in San Francisco on Wednesday, but hear them it did as it was scolded for not having enough evidence to prove its claims.
That case, if you’ve not been following, is that Uber stole trade secrets from Waymo - a company spun out of Google’s self-driving division. For the full background on that, I'd suggest reading this piece, as I’m keen to focus now on the new things we learned in court.
This was the first time lawyers for both Uber and Waymo were able to square up against each other, and the question for the hearing was whether or not a preliminary injunction should be put in place immediately to prevent Uber from using or developing the disputed technology while the trial continued.
Judge William Alsup, something of a fan favourite for his ability to cut through legalese and technical jargon, pushed for a substantial part of the hearing and as much documentation as possible to be made public.
Because of this, I and other reporters were given a glimpse into what Waymo believes was a grand plot to steal its innovation.
Here’s how Waymo’s legal team put it:
- Uber conspired with Anthony Levandowski, then at Waymo, to download trade secrets, unexpectedly resign and then set up a new company that would be bought up by Uber.
- For his trouble, Mr Levandowski would personally receive $250m (£194m) worth of Uber shares.
- The stolen files were then used to aid the design of Uber’s own Lidar system - the bit of apparatus on the car which helps the car “see” what is around it.
- Proof of this, Waymo alleged, was a piece of Lidar tech created by Uber called Spider, which Waymo said was “hidden” from them as they were investigating the claims.
- More evidence put forward was a technical drawing which, when compared side-by-side with Waymo’s, was (the company argued) indisputably similar.
- To top things off, Uber was aware it was on iffy ground, Waymo said, because an internal email showed Uber executives discussing what they should do “in anticipation of litigation”.
But when Uber responded, its lawyers said:
- It did not dispute the allegation that Mr Levandowski downloaded the files. But it insisted none of them were found on any of Uber’s servers and were not ever used or referenced in the development of the company’s Lidar.
- The shares Mr Levandowski received were awarded well after the acquisition was completed - in August 2016 - and were simply a prize for a job well done.
- The Spider prototype - which Uber brought to court in bits - was so basic it didn’t even work and was never close to being a real piece of kit.
- The technical drawing shown by Waymo was sufficiently different from Uber's and therefore not evidence of intellectual property theft.
Amid the impassioned tit-for-tat, Judge Alsup had the following questions for Waymo:
- Aside from very strong evidence that Mr Levandowski did indeed download Waymo’s files, what proof is there that Uber ever used them? The foundation of the case requires Waymo to prove this.
- Isn’t it possible Uber had no knowledge of the files ever being acquired by Mr Levandowski? The emails shown in court contained no mention of them. So far there has been no “smoking gun” that linked Uber executives to the downloading of Waymo’s files, Judge Alsup said.
And from Uber, he wanted to know:
- Whether it was possible that Mr Levandowski could have brought in his personal laptop to show his new Uber colleagues the files? (Judge Alsup suggested it would be easy and hard to prevent).
- The details of the purchase agreement between Uber and Otto, a self-driving truck company later acquired by Uber and founded by Mr Levandowski, which could give some clues about what was included in the deal which, while believed to be worth $680m, has never been confirmed publicly.
There is someone missing in all this, of course.
Waymo has not been able to search Mr Levandowski’s personal laptop - or even question him about it - as he is invoking his Fifth Amendment rights, the part of US law that means people can not be forced to incriminate themselves.
So now the next steps are:
- Judge Alsup could decide in favour of Waymo’s request for a preliminary injunction, one that would prevent Uber from working on or testing any of the disputed technology. It is not clear how damaging that would be, as Uber's argument is that none of Waymo’s patents are being infringed with the testing vehicles out on the road. Regardless, it would mean Waymo strikes the first significant blow.
- Or the judge could deny the request - a boost to Uber.
- Or maybe something in-between. Uber has already moved Mr Levandowski to a position at the company that does not involve working on Lidar and said it accepted a preliminary injunction that prevented Mr Levandowski from being part of its development. Waymo said that did not go far enough. The judge might think it is sufficient.
- Long term, the trial - which will be before a jury - should take place in October this year. However, Uber is pushing for arbitration, which would mean the matter is settled privately, without a jury. The judge still considered that a viable option, he said on Wednesday.
Finally, we might see Travis Kalanick, Uber’s chief executive, take the stand.
“No-one is hiding at Uber,” the company said.
Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC
You can reach Dave securely through encrypted messaging app Signal on: +1 (628) 400-7370 |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14142850 | Rodney King arrested 'driving under the influence'
Rodney King, whose videotaped beating by police sparked riots in Los Angeles in 1992, has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
He was pulled over in Riverside County in California on Tuesday evening after police witnessed the 46-year-old committing "multiple infractions".
King told authorities he had a drinking problem, police said, but was bailed.
King, who was left with brain damage after the Los Angeles beating, has previous driving convictions.
He sued the city of Los Angeles 20 years ago and won $3.8m (£2.5m) in compensation.
King was taken into custody on Tuesday and was arrested and booked on suspicion of driving under the influence at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Southern California.
"A preliminary evaluation of the driver indicated he was possibly driving while impaired," a police statement said.
Police have not indicated what substance King was allegedly under the influence of at the time of his arrest.
Los Angeles rioting
In 1991 Rodney King became a symbol of police brutality after being beaten by four Los Angeles police officers, following a car chase.
The video of the beating, filmed by a nearby resident in San Fernando Valley, caused outrage in Los Angeles.
He was in his early 20s at the time of the beating and became an important figure in the subsequent trial of the four police officers.
After they were acquitted, rioting broke out in which more than 50 people died. |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21032595 | Police pay: Cuts and changes explained
The Home Secretary is implementing a range of major reforms to police pay in England and Wales after two years of tense negotiations between officers and government.
It follows proposals put forward last year in a review for an overhaul of police pay, conditions and allowances.
The Police Federation says it is "disappointed" by the announcement.
What are the key changes?
The recommendations of the mammoth two-part Winsor Review of police pay had one simple aim: to stop paying police officers for the time they have served and start paying them for their skills and the challenges they face. In other words - the days of paying an officer more just because he had done 28 years would go.
The first part of the review said police were being paid under a system that had been devised for a world that no longer existed. Forces have shifted resources increasingly into specialised units. That's because (broadly speaking) expert teams - be they officers working on burglary intelligence or those who deal with child abuse - should be able to amass the knowledge needed to solve more crimes more quickly.
Winsor said that reforming pay and conditions would help chiefs to focus resources where they were needed, while preventing some officers from seeking out the easiest of posts.
The second part of the review called for chiefs to be able to make officers redundant - a fundamental shift in the employment protection enjoyed by sworn officers. it also called for physical fitness tests and direct entry into senior ranks for recruits with relevant outside experience - be it military or business management skills. He also wanted accelerated promotion to inspector for the best recruits, to encourage more top graduates into policing.
Police pay is set through a national negotiating board - and disputes go to a arbitration tribunal.
There were a number of sticking points during the negotiations:
The government said that pay needed to be based on skills and how they were used, rather than number of years served. It said forces needed this flexibility because of the different challenges each area of the country faced. Although forces were broadly on track to make spending cuts of up to 20% by March 2015, that was not guaranteed.
Starting salaries will be cut by up to £4,259 from April, making the starting salary £19,000. This salary will be given to those with the least or no relevant experience - such as those who join at 18. But some recruits will start on £22,000 if they have some experience, such as time spent as a special constable. The change in starting salaries will save an estimated £140m over five years.
But the deal also means that many constables will have the opportunity to move to the top of the pay scale - currently around £36,000 - more quickly, .
The Police Federation which represents rank-and-file officers says this cut in starting salary fails to reflect the dangers inherent in the job and that police constables have lost out because of an unfair comparison between their jobs and those of other public sector workers.
From April, chief constables will have discretion over whether to pay officers regional allowances. Currently, all officers in the Metropolitan and City of London police get a "London allowance" which amounts to an extra £4,338. Officers in other forces in south-east England get an extra payment of between £1,000 and £3,000.
But in the future it will be up to the chiefs of those forces whether to continue paying that. An additional allowance in the capital, known as "London weighting" stays.
Competence-related threshold payments
All officers from constable to chief inspector can apply for a special payment of £1,212 when they reach the top of the pay grade. The idea was that it would act as an incentive for officers at the top of their scales to carry on working hard.
This payment for the lower ranks was introduced following a deal to give bonuses to police chiefs. But nine out of 10 eligible officers receive the payment. Critics say that means the payment has in effect become a rise for time served. From April, CRTP will be phased out, saving an estimated £73m in the first year.
Constables can't be made redundant. The Winsor Review called for chief constables to be able to get rid of officers to help them make sure they have the right mix of officers and other staff. This is a highly controversial area and negotiations will continue.
The Home Office has decided that there should be direct entry into some of the higher echelons of the police, rather than forcing every recruit to go through the same lengthy career that begins with being a constable. The idea is to encourage more, older, people from a range of backgrounds into the police, particularly high-flying graduates.
The Home Office will start a consultation soon on how direct entry will work. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1045939.stm | The bill to legalise euthanasia in the Netherlands was supported by a clear majority of the Dutch people and was easily passed in parliament.
It was formally approved by parliament's upper house on 10 April.
But not everyone agrees that humans should have the right to choose to die.
The Dutch Roman Catholic Church said the law would make it too easy for people to give up.
"People who are ill but consider themselves a burden to their family, that's the problem," said Peter van Zoest, spokesman for the Bishops Conference.
The main opposition Christian Democrats (CDA) and smaller Calvinist parties also opposed the law.
Andre Rouwoet, one of five MPs for the Christian Union, said his party believed life was a "God-given gift" and that people could not decide on their own death.
"The main objection of our party is that the idea of euthanasia, legalising euthanasia is based on the assumption of human autonomy, that every individual person can decide about his own life but also his death," he said.
One doctor at the German hospice foundation, Monika Schweihoff, said the Dutch plan was "appalling".
"The Netherlands is the first country to legalise euthanasia since the Nazis," she said in a statement.
"Euthanasia is not the only option - qualified hospice staff can also help terminally ill patients slip away painlessly."
Rita Marker, executive director of the International Anti-Euthanasia Task Force, said the law will send a dangerous signal "telling people that if it's legal, it's right."
"It will be like giving the household seal of approval," she said.
"What is currently a crime will be transformed into medical treatment." |
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58637094 | High energy prices are already causing problems for households in the UK and across Europe, but geopolitical tensions threaten to make matters even worse.
With an estimated 100,000 Russian troops massed on the border with Ukraine, there are fears that Vladimir Putin is poised to order an invasion.
Surging gas prices have already caused a number of UK energy suppliers to go bust - and supply shortages are the last thing anyone needs.
Will tensions on the Russia-Ukraine border push up UK gas prices?
Not directly. The UK sources very little of its gas from Russia - less than 5%, in fact.
However, that is not the case for the EU, which gets about half of its gas from there.
Any Russian attempt to seize Ukrainian territory is likely to prompt economic sanctions by Western powers.
In response, Russia would be expected to "weaponise" its natural resources by cutting supplies of gas to Europe.
The wholesale cost of gas would then rocket, sending prices higher everywhere.
Among possible sanctions, there is talk of excluding Russia from cross-border payment systems, which would mean that European countries would have trouble even buying Russian gas in the first place.
So where does the UK get its gas from?
About half of UK gas supplies are of domestic origin, from the North Sea. The UK has been a big producer of gas since the mid-1960s, but output has fallen since 2000 and usage continues to rise.
Another one-third of the UK's gas comes through pipelines from Norway.
The rest consists almost entirely of imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which arrive in Britain by sea from countries such as Qatar, the US and even Trinidad and Tobago.
The small amount of Russian gas that does reach the UK comes in LNG form.
LNG supplies are particularly sensitive to global market prices and are sold to whoever pays the most, with China one of the keenest bidders.
Does the UK face a gas shortage?
The government says the UK's energy bill crisis is due to high global gas prices, not security of supply.
It says the UK has a "diverse and secure" range of suppliers.
However, that could change quite rapidly if Russian gas becomes scarce, causing a knock-on effect as other countries scrabble for alternative supplies.
Demand for gas is rising across Europe and some fear the UK could be physically - and perhaps politically - at the back of the queue.
What's more, the UK has scant storage facilities. It's been increasingly operating a "just-in-time model", which means it's more affected by short-term price fluctuations in the wholesale gas market.
The government stresses it's "not complacent".
And if needed, it does have the power to impose emergency measures, such as ordering big industrial customers to temporarily stop using gas.
But the biggest factor - the weather - is beyond its control. Our best hope for avoiding problems is if the rest of the winter turns out to be mild, breezy and wind power-friendly.
Why is there a gas shortage?
A perfect energy storm was brewing during 2021.
A cold winter around the world sent gas demand rising, depleting stores.
Those reserves would normally have been replenished over the summer. But output dropped because many major producers were catching up with maintenance postponed during lockdowns.
Meanwhile, calm weather reduced the amount of electricity generated by wind power.
As a result, wholesale gas prices have more than quadrupled over the past year.
The UK has been badly hit because it's one of Europe's biggest users of natural gas - 85% of homes use gas central heating, while gas also generates a third of our electricity.
What about my bills?
Even without a big freeze or a Russian supply squeeze, bills are heading up.
Households have seen their energy bills kept in check by the government's price cap, which limits the amount suppliers can charge, but this is due to be revised on 1 April.
As a result, fuel bills could increase by another 50% in the next few months, the energy industry has said.
Whatever happens, economists say wholesale gas prices are unlikely to drop before storage facilities fill up again - and that's not likely until spring.
Rising energy prices have already contributed to a big surge in the UK's cost of living, which is increasing at rates not seen for 30 years.
The energy bill crisis, along with soaring food costs, drove inflation to 5.4% in the 12 months to December, up from 5.1% the month before, in another blow to struggling families.
The last time inflation was higher was in March 1992, when it was 7.1%.
Businesses too have been feeling the strain, with five business groups writing to Chancellor Rishi Sunak asking for support for firms on energy costs.
Are gas prices rising in Europe?
The rise in global wholesale gas prices has been felt across Europe.
Some suggest Brexit has meant the UK is at a disadvantage when it comes to getting the best deal.
When it was in the EU, the UK was part of the Internal Energy Market which can enable countries to access electricity more smoothly and at lower cost.
However, the way gas is traded has been largely unaffected, which means leaving the EU has not had a significant impact.
Countries that rely heavily on imported gas, such as Italy and Spain, have been particularly hard hit. Their governments have directly cut prices and raised taxes on energy company profits respectively.
The price cap has meant the UK's gas bills have until now been typically lower than the EU average.
But the rise in prices comes on top of other economic problems such as labour shortages and increasing food prices, adding up to an unwelcome rise in the cost of living. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8596000/8596477.stm | The Commons' Science and Technology Committee today publishes its report into the disclosure of climate data from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia (UEA).
The committee found no evidence that Professor Phil Jones, whose e-mails were hacked and published online, had manipulated data. It said his reputation, and that of his unit, remained intact. But the committee criticised UEA authorities for not ensuring that Prof Jones was more open with his data.
The e-mails were hacked from the university's computer network and were published on the internet just before the Copenhagen climate conference in December 2009.
Professor Edward Acton, UEA's vice chancellor, and Lord Lawson, chair of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, consider the report's outcomes. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3097828.stm | Flouting EU rules on budget deficits will damage growth prospects in the eurozone, the outgoing head of the European Central Bank (ECB) has said.
Duisenberg: 'Essential' that budgets are brought in line
Speaking at what is expected to be his last appearance in front of the European Parliament, Wim Duisenberg said some countries had failed to show "sufficient determination" in meeting budget rules.
Both France and Germany are in danger of breaching the budget deficit limit of 3% of gross domestic product for three years in a row, a move which could lead to fines from the European Commission.
However, reports on Wednesday suggested that the Commission could have found a loophole in the rules which would allow countries to escape fines.
Playing by the rules
Mr Duisenberg was speaking before the European Parliament's committee on economic and monetary affairs, in what is expected to be his last appearance before he is succeeded by his designated replacement, Bank of France governor Jean-Claude Trichet.
Without naming either France or Germany, Mr Duisenberg warned that breaking the rules of the eurozone's stability and growth pact could lead to trouble.
"A lack of fiscal discipline... is a factor weighing adversely on the euro-area's long-term growth prospects," he said.
"In order to strengthen confidence in the euro area, it is fundamental... to abide in all respects by the agreed rules of the game.
"It is essential in that in the budgetary plans currently being prepared for 2004, there be a correction of excessive deficits within the agreed time frame in the countries concerned."
Concern has been growing at the actions of France, which is planning tax cuts next year despite already breaking the stability pact's budget rules.
However, reports on Wednesday suggested the Commission may have come up with a way of allowing countries to break budgetary limits without being fined.
French PM Jean-Pierre Raffarin has pledged tax cuts
The Commission is considering using a reference in the pact to "special circumstances" which might excuse countries who fail to meet the targets, unnamed EU sources told the Reuters news agency.
What these "special circumstances" might be defined as is still unclear, but they are separate from "exceptional circumstances" defined in the pact as a severe recession or natural disaster.
"France does not satisfy the conditions for the exceptional circumstances but the discussion now is about special circumstances, which is a completely different matter," the source told Reuters.
"Using special circumstances for France would be a way of getting some additional space for whatever discussion that would follow but there is no way that this would be the end of the story."
Mr Duisenberg rejected calls for a further cut in eurozone rates, saying they were "appropriate at present".
His comments came as the European Commission cut its forecast for eurozone growth to about 0.5% from 1%.
But Mr Duisenberg said that signs of an "upturn in economic activity starting in the second half of the year have strengthened".
And he urged eurozone members to speed up reform measures to make their countries more competitive.
"The only way to increase the growth potential of the euro area is to implement and execute structural reforms in markets, in labour, product and financial markets, and we have been slow
in doing that," he said. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7607974.stm | Mayor Boris Johnson said the GLA had doubled in size
London Mayor Boris Johnson has promised to save £1.8m by March 2009 by restructuring London's governing body, the Greater London Authority (GLA).
Mr Johnson said jobs would be cut at the GLA to achieve the target. Another £7.5m would be saved by 2010, he added.
He said he aimed to freeze the precept - the sum paid yearly to the GLA by London households - in 2009 because of the "serious financial squeeze".
The Labour Party said the planned cuts were "an act of smoke and mirrors".
Announcing the proposals at City Hall Mr Johnson said the GLA would become "more coherent, focused and will deliver better value" to taxpayers.
Mr Johnson said: "Over the past eight years, the GLA has achieved a great deal, not least because of the dedication, expertise and quality of its staff.
"But it has also doubled in size, spiralled in cost and grown incrementally so that it has lost sight of its key priorities.
"This reorganisation will ensure the GLA is more coherent, focused and will deliver better value for hard-pressed London taxpayers."
The mayor has announced a recruitment freeze
Four areas of the GLA will be reorganised - Communities; Development & Environment; Finance & Operations; and Corporate Affairs.
Managers have been asked to meet the savings targets over the next 18 months.
"Other savings will be achieved through reprioritising programme budgets, existing efficiency programmes and putting a freeze on all but essential recruitment," the mayor said.
"This will include the 100 vacancies currently on our books. Our expectation is that many of these may be deleted."
The redundancies would be "delivered sensitively", Mr Johnson added.
The mayor said the GLA precept, which has more than doubled to £309.92 in the past eight years, could be kept at the same figure next year.
"The people of this city are feeling a serious financial squeeze. It is our job to deliver taxpayer value.
"That is why my budget guidance is that we work towards freezing the precept next year."
He also said there would be a separate team exclusively focused on the 2012 Olympics reporting to him.
The mayor said he had saved £1m since taking office, £500,000 of which came from "stopping my predecessor's plans for unnecessary growth".
Labour Party spokesman John Biggs said: "The mayor's figures are nothing more than smoke and mirrors.
"After four months of infighting, resignations, inaction and chaos, this is nothing more than a well-spun re-launch of a failed mayoralty."
Mike Tuffrey, from the Liberal Democrats, said: "We broadly welcome this direction of travel, which is something which we have been seeking from some years with the previous mayor.
"It's surprising that Mayor Boris Johnson's first big decision is to put fares (bus and Tube) up over inflation."
Green Party spokesman Darren Johnson said: "My worry is whether we will still have enough staff in this building to actually deliver the programmes to make London greener and more affordable." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/house_of_commons/newsid_8984000/8984683.stm | The Northern Ireland Secretary has told MPs that the threat from dissident paramilitary organisations remains "severe".
Replying to the leader of the SDLP Margaret Ritchie, during Northern Ireland questions on 15 September, Owen Paterson said the security services were dealing with a number of threats.
He was speaking following publication of a report that said that the murder of Bobby Moffett in Belfast was sanctioned by Ulster Volunteer Force bosses.
Mr Paterson said he was in regular conversation with the Northern Ireland Justice Minister and the Chief Constable of the PSNI to help tackle the dissident threats.
Elsewhere during question time, Minister of State Hugo Swire was questioned by the DUP's Westminster leader Nigel Dodds on the block grant to the Northern Ireland economy.
Mr Dodds urged the government not to allow the spending review to impact on the block grant.
However the Minister said it was "completely unacceptable" for the Northern Ireland economy to be so over-dependent on the state sector. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7217713.stm | The Kooks bassist Max Rafferty has left the band, it has been announced.
The Kooks will tour without Max Rafferty in April
The band, who have had top 10 hits with Naive and She Moves in Her Own Way, says it will play shows in April and May with stand-in bassist Dan Logan.
The Kooks, who have supported the Rolling Stones and played at last year's Glastonbury Festival, have not given a reason for his departure.
Their second album, Konk, will be released in April.
Their first album, Inside In/Inside Out, was released in January 2006 and reached number two in the chart. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/gloucestershire/hi/people_and_places/religion_and_ethics/newsid_8962000/8962831.stm | Hugh Greenhalf will attend the beatification mass in Birmingham
A Gloucestershire Catholic says he has been praying for the beatification of Cardinal Newman 'for many many years'.
Hugh Greenhalf, a member of St Gregory the Great's parish in Cheltenham, is a Newman scholar and also a member of the Newman Association and Friends of Newman.
He plans to attend the beatification ceremony at Cofton Park, Birmingham, and said it'll mean a great deal "because I have wished for, and prayed for, this to happen for many many years".
Inspired by his life, his conversion and his writings, Hugh said:
"I just think he's a wonderful character - one of the truly great figures of the 19th century, a truly great Englishman and of course one of the greatest Catholics that our land has ever produced."
Hugh came from a non-conformist background where he'd never heard the name of Newman mentioned.
The turning point was in 1951 when at the age of 14 he attended a performance of The Dream of Gerontius, an oratorio composed by Edward Elgar to text from the poem by Cardinal Newman.
He was overwhelmed by the music and "beautiful words" and from that point on began to study the works of Newman and apply them to his own life.
"I can honestly say that it was primarily due to Newman's life, his writings and I'm sure his prayers, that I was eventually received into the Catholic church in 1997", added Hugh.
You can hear an interview with Hugh Greenhalf on the |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7013022.stm | Regulator Ofcom has added its voice to the growing debate about how the UK should roll out super-fast broadband.
Providing fibre to the home would require big investment
It has launched a consultation, running until December, to probe ways to keep UK net services up to speed with those of other nations.
Current broadband speeds have a natural limit which are unlikely to satisfy growing consumer demand for bandwidth.
In other countries, networks delivering speeds of up to 100Mbps (megabits per second) are already being rolled out.
Some experts are concerned that the UK is falling behind its competitors. Last week Stephen Timms, Minister for Competitiveness, ordered a summit on the issue and did not rule out the possibility of public sector intervention.
The debate centres on the question of whether the UK should put in place a nationwide fibre network and, in its consultation, Ofcom lays out some of the options for the UK as well as suggesting ways in which such a network should be regulated.
So-called fibre to the kerb would offer speeds of up to 50Mbps and cost up to £10bn to roll out nationwide, experts predict.
Fibre to the home is more expensive - with an estimated £15bn price tag - but offers speeds of up to 100Mbps.
Ofcom points out that no one technology will answer the needs for more bandwidth. Cable networks will also play an important role in offering high-speed net access and Virgin Media is already trialling speeds of up to 50Mbps.
Would BT monopolise next-generation access?
As new applications such as net TV become popular so demand for bandwidth increases.
Some countries, including France, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan and Korea are already investing in fibre networks which deliver speeds of up to 100Mbps (megabits per second).
According to Ofcom, current broadband speeds in the UK reach an average of 4.6Mbps. These speeds will be increased to around 24Mbps when next-generation ADSL - named ADSL2+ - begins rolling out next year.
Ofcom's chief executive Ed Richards said that super-fast next generation access was an obvious next step, offering "a fundamental change to the country's infrastructure" and one that would affect how competitive the broadband market was "for years to come".
In its consultation, Ofcom is keen to stress any new network will be regulated in the same way as the existing copper-based access network. This would mean that it would have to be open to all operators, just as BT is forced to make its current network accessible to rivals.
BT, which is already investing heavily in upgrading its core network, said that it would look at fibre "where it makes commercial sense".
"BT welcomes the chance to discuss this issue with Ofcom, the government and the wider industry. We are totally committed to providing our customers with the services they want both now and in the future.
According to BT, more than 120,000 businesses already use fibre services.
Ofcom has not ruled out the possibility that rivals to BT such as CarPhoneWarehouse might consider building a fibre infrastruture for the UK.
But such a big project is fraught with controversy, pointed out Ian Fogg, an analyst with research firm Jupiter.
"At the heart of it, whoever invests in a new network will want to have a return on their investment but, because the sums are so large, the return on investment period will be many years," he said.
There are also concerns that a new fibre-based network would cannibalise the existing investments that companies such as Tiscali and CarPhoneWarehouse have made in ADSL.
In Japan, ADSL is in decline as people migrate to fibre in large numbers.
"In the UK over the last three years, there has been a significant investment in local loop unbundling (a system whereby rivals can get their hands on BT's equipment to offer alternative broadband services). The question that many will ask is whether investment in a new network would undermine the LLU investment," said Mr Fogg.
There is likely to be big speed differences between town and country
There are also concerns that a fibre network would only be economically viable in dense population areas such as towns and cities, creating a new and even greater digital divide.
"The UK will have to accept a difference in speed. While those on fibre-based networks could be enjoying speeds of up to 100Mbps, those on copper telephone lines will be lucky to get 24Mbps," said Mr Fogg.
Critics are concerned that the UK is falling behind other nations but Ofcom pointed out that market and infrastructure conditions in Britain are very different to those countries where investment in fibre has already been strong. This is due in part to the already-established pay TV market in the UK.
"We are not complacent and we absolutely should be concerned about it but we might have to accept that deployment will be later in the UK," said an Ofcom spokesman.
The Broadband Stakeholder Group described Ofcom's consultation as a "key milestone" in the debate about the future of the communications infrastructure in the UK but warned that the regulator may need to take a more interventionist approach if there were long delays in rolling out next generation networks. |
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17325174 | Call for campaign to raise awareness of suicide in young men
A charity is urging the government to conduct a national campaign to raise awareness of suicide in men - the biggest killer of men under the age of 35 in the UK.
Danni Mather, 23, sitting on a bench in Liverpool city centre, brushes the back of his hand across his cheek and wipes away tears as he describes how he suffered depression and considered suicide on several occasions.
He says: "I just felt empty - that's the only way you can describe it.
"It's just complete emptiness. You can't smile. You can be told the greatest joke in the world, the greatest news in the world, and you'll just feel like its nothing. You just exist."
The ebullient musician, who plays a range of instruments including bass and violin, says he did not have much to be depressed about - but was unable to push dark thoughts away.
"Every time something goes wrong it becomes the first thing that pops into your head: Just do it.
"You're waiting for a train and the first thing that pops into your head as you're waiting for it is get in front of it, because if that hits you you're not waking up," he says.
Luckily for Danni, he received professional help and overcame his depression. He says talking about how he was feeling was key to his survival.'Such a male issue'
More than 3,000 male deaths in England and Wales in 2010 were ruled as suicides or undetermined fatalities, latest figures from the Office of National Statistics show.
It defines "undetermined" as cases where there is insufficient evidence to prove that the person deliberately took their life, but the assumption is that they did.
Of those men, 868 were aged between 15 and 35, three times more than the number of women in the same demographic.
Jane Powell, director of the Campaign Against Living Miserably (Calm) - a suicide prevention charity in the UK which concentrates on men - says the situation is perilous.
"Nine out of 10 people aren't aware that suicide is the biggest killer of young men under the age of 35. That disempowers both family and parents plus the young men themselves.
"I think awareness of the dangers of salt is higher amongst parents then suicide, and that can't be good," she says.
She wants the Department of Health to set up a national campaign to raise awareness at a time when young people are struggling in an arduous economic climate - something she is worried could lead to a spike in suicides.
"For men, they are defined in many people's eyes by what they do - and if they haven't got a job, then they're no-one. And I think that is part of why suicide is such a male issue," she says.'Debilitating physical illness'
But Louis Appleby, the former director of mental health at the Department of Health who has implemented a number of reforms to reduce suicide rates in England, says public awareness alone is not the key.
"I am much more impressed with what professionals can do, what healthcare services can do, than with public awareness.
"The public is often turned off by suicide and mental health - that's what all the evidence shows. Its about who is receptive about mental health," he says.
End Quote David Baddiel Comedian
It all blows it away into a desire not to want to move ”
The number of male suicides in the UK has reduced over the last 10 years - but the figures are still substantially higher than the number of those killed in road accidents or through knife and gun crime.
Mr Appleby is adamant the government is employing the correct strategy.
"It took 25 years for the suicide rate in young men to double.
"It took 12 years for it to fall back again to the same level, so something very beneficial has happened in the last 12 years - and part of that has been the awareness of the front-line agencies that they are dealing with a very troubled, potentially high-risk, group of people," he says.
The novelist and comedian David Baddiel has spoken openly about his experiences with depression. He says he embraced feeling miserable as a teenager, thinking it was "cool", but in his 30s, a severe bout of depression changed his mind.
"What overcomes you is more like a type of extremely debilitating physical illness than a feeling of sadness or a kind of self-conscious acquirement of trying to be depressed," he says.
"It all blows it away into a desire not to want to move, really."
He rejects the idea that some men resort to suicide because they cannot convey their emotions.
"I think a lot of people, when they look at the statistics of suicide in young men, they think its because men can't talk about their feelings.
"That myth that a lot of men collude with, and women, needs to be broken down and a space needs to opened up so that men can do it," he says. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/8731834.stm | Ellis has previously apologised for the delay in a takeover being agreed
The Andrew Ellis-led consortium is in "advanced negotiations" with Rangers to buy a controlling interest in the club.
Ellis and his company, RFC Holdings, informed the Stock Exchange on Wednesday that talks were at an advanced stage.
The consortium first registered its interest in the club in March.
Speaking last month, former Northampton Town owner Ellis apologised to the club's supporters over the length of time it was taking to strike a deal.
Ellis's consortium is considering a reported £33m bid for the Scottish champions, who are about £30m in debt and who have admitted that they are being investigated by HM Revenue and Customs, with reports claiming the club faces a £24m tax bill.
Rangers chairman Alastair Johnston has previously criticised Ellis for the delay in preparing his proposal.
And on Wednesday, a statement on the Stock Exchange read: "The company confirms that it is in advanced negotiations with Sir David Murray to acquire a controlling interest in Rangers Football Club plc.
"However, no price has been agreed and no timing has been established for the conclusion of the talks.
"If a deal is concluded between Sir David Murray and RFC, the company would be required under Rule 9 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers immediately to make an offer for the remaining issued share capital of Rangers.
"It is emphasised that this announcement does not amount to a firm intention to make an offer and there is no certainty that any offer will be forthcoming, or as to the terms of such an offer."
Sir David Murray, who relinquished his chairmanship and place on the board in August, controls about 90% of the shares in Rangers.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4112568.stm | A trainee nun who was crucified in an exorcism at a monastery in eastern Romania and left to die has been buried in a religious ceremony.
Members of the convent claim Ms Cornici was possessed
The novice, Maricica Irina Cornici, died last week after being tied to a cross, gagged and starved.
Principal monk Daniel Petru Corogeanu, who said the novice was possessed by the devil, has been charged with false imprisonment leading to death.
The Orthodox Church has condemned the incident and suspended him.
Father Daniel has so far refused to stop work at the Holy Trinity monastery in Tanacu.
Another novice from the monastery, Iustina Galca, told the BBC that the nuns had not even given Ms Cornici water during her ordeal.
When asked if the nuns had tried to protest against the woman's treatment, she said they had all obeyed the priest.
Members of the convent claim Ms Cornici was possessed and that the crucifixion had been part of an exorcism ritual.
Four nuns have also been charged with imprisonment leading to death for helping Father Daniel to perform the rite.
The five accused could face 20 years in jail if found guilty of the nun's death.
She was found dead on the cross on Wednesday after fellow nuns called an ambulance, according to police.
A first autopsy concluded the nun died due to dehydration, exhaustion and lack of oxygen, state news agency Rompres reported.
The young woman, who grew up in an orphanage and was in her early 20s, is said to have arrived at the remote convent three months before.
She was reported to suffer from schizophrenia. It is thought the symptoms of her condition may have led the priest and other nuns to believe she was possessed by the devil. |
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-20555026 | Rox jewellery worth almost £40,000 stolen in Glasgow
- 30 November 2012
- From the section Glasgow & West Scotland
Jewellery worth almost £40,000 has been stolen from a delivery van in Glasgow.
Three men gained access to the Ford Transit while it was parked in West George Lane, in the city centre, at about 17:30 on Thursday.
Police said they made off with several crates of Rox jewellery before leaving the scene in dark-coloured S registration BMW estate car.
Officers are reviewing CCTV images from the area and have asked anyone with information to get in touch.
Police said the theft happened as the 30-year-old Ford Transit driver was making deliveries.
He parked the van in West George Lane and locked it before heading into a nearby business.
Shortly after this, three men gained access to the back of the van, and took several crates of Rox jewellery valued at just under £40,000.
They made off in a BMW estate car along West George Lane, across Wellington Street and continuing toward West Campbell Street.
Det Sgt Alan Storer, of Strathclyde Police, said: "We are conducting extensive investigations into this theft, including door-to-door enquiries and reviewing available CCTV.
"We know that a dark-coloured S plate BMW estate car was used in the theft and that three men were involved. Two of these men were wearing high visibility vests.
"At 5.30 in the evening the city centre would still have been busy with rush hour commuters on foot and in vehicles and I'd like to appeal to anyone who may have been in the area to get in touch."
Det Sgt Storer said officers would like to speak to anyone who is offered brand new items of Rox jewellery at a cut price.
"The items you are being offered may be from this theft, and you may be unwittingly committing an offence by purchasing stolen goods," he said. |
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