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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14935183

US Marine Dakota Meyer awarded Medal of Honor A US Marine has been awarded the Medal of Honor, a day after enjoying a beer with President Barack Obama. Sgt Dakota Meyer, 23, received the nation's highest military award for saving 36 lives in Afghanistan in September 2009. He and a group of US soldiers were training Afghan military members when the Taliban ambushed the patrol. Sgt Meyer is the third living recipient of the medal for service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Before reading the official citation, Mr Obama spoke about both the Marine's bravery and humility. "Today we pay tribute to an American who repeatedly placed himself in the thick of the fight," Mr Obama said. Sgt Meyer, who now works in construction and is in the Marine reserve, was on his lunch break when he took a call from the president informing him of the honour. Senator Mitch McConnell, from Sgt Meyer's home state of Kentucky, and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, were at the ceremony. Marine Commandant Gen James Amos, 120 of Sgt Meyer's family and friends and the team with whom he served also attended. Sgt Meyer was a corporal when the Taliban ambushed his patrol in Kunar province, Afghanistan, on 8 September 2009, according to the official Medal of Honor citation. As the ambush intensified, Sgt Meyer defied his commanding officers' orders to jump into an armoured Humvee with a fellow Marine and brave an inferno of machine-gun fire, bullets, grenades and mortars. He made a total of five trips into the kill zone - once on foot - to evacuate American and Afghan soldiers. Sgt Meyer manned the exposed gun-turret of the truck and killed a number of enemy fighters while intense fire raked their vehicle. On each trip Sgt Meyer searched for the forward patrol composed of his friends and fellow marines which, he heard via radio, had been cut off, the citation says. Sgt Meyer continued to evacuate soldiers, many of whom were wounded, even after he suffered a shrapnel wound to his arm on the third trip. Eventually, troops aboard a UH-60 helicopter told Sgt Meyer they had spotted four bodies. He knew those were his friends and he moved on foot on his fifth trip to get their bodies out. Staff Sgt Juan Rodriguez-Chavez, who accompanied Sgt Meyer on some of the perilous trips, is to receive the Navy Cross for his bravery that day. Later, an investigation into the deaths of Sgt Meyer's comrades accused two Army officers of being "inadequate and ineffective" and for "contributing directly to the loss of life". 'I'm no hero' Mr Obama told Sgt Meyer: "Dakota, I know you've grappled with the grief of that day, that you said your efforts were somehow a failure because your teammates didn't come home. "But as your commander-in-chief, and on behalf of everyone here today and all Americans, I want you to know it's quite the opposite." "In Sergeant Dakota Meyer, we see the best of a generation that has served with distinction through a decade in war," Mr Obama added. At Sgt Meyer's request, memorial services were organised in the hometowns of his fallen comrades on Thursday, as he received the Medal of Honor. "It's hard, it's... you know... getting recognised for the worst day of your life, so it's... it's a really tough thing," Sgt Meyer told reporters. In an interview with NBC News, Sgt Meyer denied he was a hero. "I'm the furthest thing from a hero," he said. "Every man and woman who serves is a hero." On the eve of the official ceremony, Sgt Meyer and Mr Obama chatted informally one-to-one over a beer on a patio outside the Oval Office, at the Marine's request. Sgt Meyer, appearing on CBS's The Early Show ahead of the ceremony, said he took the opportunity to ask the president what he thinks it takes to be successful. "You know, first thing, get an education and just take it slow and don't try to make any rash decisions," he said Mr Obama told him.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6938800.stm

The phone operator for Channel 4 quiz show Deal or No Deal, which is hosted by Noel Edmonds, has been fined £30,000 for misleading viewers. Deal or No Deal won best daytime show at the TV Choice Awards Premium rate services regulator Icstis has also reprimanded iTouch for breaching its code of conduct. Viewers were led to believe that by entering the phone-in competition, they were in with a chance of winning one of three cash prizes. Producers knew which amount would be won because the show is pre-recorded. In its adjudication Icstis said "at the point of calling viewers will consider that any one of the three amounts is available to be won and will enter the competition on this basis". Icstis ruled that although its code of practice had been broken, "the detriment to consumers from this specific breach was not high". iTouch refused to comment on the matter. The regulatory body also said the competition's promotion "increased the perception that the programme was live. "This may have led some viewers to participate in the competition when they might otherwise not have done so." In a statement Channel 4 said it was "surprised" the promotion had been ruled as misleading. "Legal advice reassured us of its compliance with the Icstis code of practice and earlier this year, we discussed the mechanics of the competition with them," it said. Channel 4 said problems with premium rate services were uncovered during its own review. The broadcaster said: "Although all entries were always taken into account and had a chance of winning, we brought this issue to Icstis' attention as soon as we were aware of it." A new series of the programme starts 13 August. Channel 4 said it will include a "new, fully compliant competition mechanic". Earlier this month the channel announced a share of any profit made by the Deal or No Deal competition will be donated to charity. All other premium rate competitions have been scrapped.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41107619

Houston Flood: Tillerson thanks Mexico for aid offer The US state of Texas has accepted an offer of flood aid from Mexico despite tension over President Donald Trump's proposed border wall and his threats to scrap a free-trade deal. On Sunday Mexico offered vehicles, boats, supplies and food, reports said. Mexican Red Cross volunteers have also travelled to the flooded city of Houston. President Trump has not yet commented but Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has thanked the Mexicans. "It's very generous of the government of Mexico to offer their help at this very, very challenging time for our citizens down in Texas and now moving towards the border of Louisiana as well," Mr Tillerson said. - 'Everything is gone' - Four key effects of Houston floods - Why was Houston not evacuated? - Unprecedented rainfall in pictures It is not yet known when Mexico will provide the aid. But its government has suggested a similar mission to that sent to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when 200 Mexican troops brought food, water and medicine. A separate convoy of 33 English-speaking Mexican Red Cross volunteers left for Texas to work in Houston shelters. Some on social media pointed out that groups Mr Trump has been accused of demonising have been prominent in their offers of help for flood victims. Mr Trump has promised Mexico will pay for any border wall. But Mexico has refused and the US president has conceded that the US will have to find initial funding. He has threatened to force a federal government shutdown if funds are not allocated in the upcoming budget, but economists from investment bank Goldman Sachs say Storm Harvey has made that less likely. Mr Trump has also promised emergency funds to rebuild in Texas and Louisiana, but also plans to cut nearly $1bn from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) budget to help get work on the border barrier started, the Associated Press news agency reported. In a speech following his visit to Texas earlier this week, he told relatives of victims that "all of America is grieving with you, and our hearts are joined with yours forever". Parts of Texas have been hit by more than 50in of rainfall since Hurricane Harvey landed on 25 August, setting new records before it was downgraded to a tropical storm and later to a tropical depression. Thousands of people have been rescued from the floodwaters, and more than 32,000 people are being housed in emergency shelters.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-11543014

A Welsh brewery is to reopen the restaurant at the top of the 29-storey Meridian Tower in Swansea. It closed in April just four months after opening when the original tenant was declared bankrupt. Now Cardiff-based Brains which runs over 270 pubs, bars and hotels across Wales and the west of England, is taking on the restaurant. It said contractors were on site refurbishing the tower's top two floors so it could reopen in mid-November. Around 50 jobs are being created. The brewery's retail director Philip Lay said it would be modelled on its Mediterranean-themed Grape and Olive venue in Cardiff and will share the same name. "But we're not only changing the name," he added. "We have made a significant investment and are making major changes to the layout and design. "As well as completely refurbishing the interior, work is also under way to create a dedicated Grape and Olive entrance, which will lead to a separate customer lift, meaning customers will no longer share the entrance and lift with residents." He said the function room, on the the level below the main restaurant was also undergoing a complete refurbishment and would be available for hire. At 90m (300ft), the tower is the tallest residential building in Wales and has became a landmark on the city's skyline since completion in 2009. The restaurant boasts panoramic views over the city and out across the Bristol Channel and Brecon Beacons. - 15 April 2010 - 4 December 2009

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-44884023

Ryan Gosling's Neil Armstrong movie to open Venice Film Festival Summer 2018 has so far given us plenty of hot weather and a World Cup which broke the record for most own goals scored in the tournament's history. The last thing anyone is thinking about is the winter film awards season. But despite it still being July, the starting gun for the race which will culminate in the Oscars in February has now been fired. It's been announced that First Man will open the Venice International Film Festival this year - traditionally thought of as the first of the awards season festivals. It's based on the Apollo 11 moon landing, and stars Ryan Gosling as astronaut Neil Armstrong - who became the First Man (y'see) to walk on on the moon in 1969. The movie is directed by Damien Chazelle, whose film La La Land - also starring Gosling - opened the same festival in 2016. The musical went on to pick up a whole host of awards - although not, notably, best picture at the Oscars. (Famously, the film was initially announced as the winner by mistake, before it finally went to Moonlight). Claire Foy - best known for playing a young Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown - will star as Armstrong's wife Janet, while Corey Stoll and Lukas Haas will portray astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins respectively. The film will be released in the US on 12 October. "I wanted to look at just how radical, crazy and controversial the whole mission was," Chazelle told BBC News last month. "What's the psychology it takes to be the individual taking those first steps? At a time when a lot of people think it will be a failure that will potentially cost your life? "I became fascinated by Neil, and in what must have been going through his head in the months and years leading up to that mission - and how superhuman it was." The opening film at Venice normally serves as one of the earliest and most high-profile bids for awards season. Several films to have launched the festival in recent years have gone on to awards glory - such as Birdman and Black Swan. Gravity, Everest, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, The Ides of March and last year's Downsizing have also served as the opening night film. Venice's 75th annual festival begins on 29 August and runs until 8 September. It coincides with the Telluride Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival, which are also both traditionally Oscars indicators.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3770309.stm

BBC News Online business reporter in Lisbon, Portugal The two Portuguese businessmen were completely aghast. Home to Benfica, Lisbon's Stadium of Light will host the Euro 2004 final An open-eyed look of disbelief on their faces, they shook their heads and breathed out heavily. They both appeared very tempted to go for a few surprised swear words, but were too polite. "...How much?" said one of them, still stunned. Sitting in the sleek air-conditioned boardroom of one of Portugal's leading software companies, I had just told them that Portugal's seven new stadiums for Euro 2004 were built for less than half the price of the new Wembley national stadium in north London. The businessman, whose headquarters is just down the road from one of the two shiny new stadiums in Lisbon - Estadio Jose Alvalade - a futuristic, curvy ground with 52,000 seats, were far from convinced England had got good value for money. Yet other experts, including UK civil engineers, say Wembley is worth every penny. So has Portugal got the bargains of the century, or is Wembley vastly over-priced? The new Wembley Stadium, set for completion in 2006 is budgeted to cost £757m ($1.3m), whereas the seven new stadiums across Portugal, came in at a combined £333m. In addition, Portugal has expanded and revamped three existing stadiums for £73m. The biggest new ground in Portugal, the 65,000 seat Estadio da Luz (Stadium of Light) in Lisbon cost £79m. The new Wembley will have a few facilities So are Portugal's new stadiums a bit, well, basic? Far from it, three of them - Luz, Jose Alvalade, and Porto's Dragao have been given UEFA's top five-star rating, which means they are as good as the best stadiums across Europe, and have all the bells and whistles that come with this. COST HEAD TO HEAD New Wembley - £757m The seven new Portuguese stadiums - £333m And while the other four new Portuguese stadiums are much more modest in size, with capacities around the 30,000 mark, one of them, Estadio Municipal de Braga, in the north Portugal city of the same name, was actually carved out of a mountainside at the site of a former quarry. COST & CAPACITY Estadio da Luz, Lisbon - £79m, 65,000 Jose Alvalade, Lisbon - £52m, 52,000 Dragao, Porto - £65m, 52,000 Aveiro - £29m, 30,000 Braga - £55m, 30,000 Bessa Seculo XXI, Porto - £30m, 30,000 Algarve, Faro/Loule - £23m, 30,000 They may be smaller, but each has been given its own architectural character - there is no apparent identikit cost-cutting. So is Wembley a limited edition Rolls Royce, with the opulence and facilities to match? Taking shape against the London north skyline, it is certainly an impressive beast - 90,000 seats, a 133m tall supporting arch that at 315m long claims to be the longest single span roof structure in the world, a roof that partially retracts, and even more toilets than any other stadium in the world - 2,000. Simon Inglis, the author of a number of books on football stadiums, says the vital factor to consider is that the £757m figure for Wembley contains the entire full cost, everything from purchase of the land to the cost of the lawyers. Dragao Stadium has been praised for its 'clean lines' "They are not bad stadiums in Portugal, but it is not a fair comparison," he said. "For a start, the £757m figure for Wembley accounts for the cost of everything. The figures are fully complete and totally transparent - you could do a forensic examination. "For example, London property prices are so high, that it cost some £100m alone to buy the land. "It will also be extremely well-equipped stadium. The stadiums in Portugal are better compared to English Premiership grounds of the same size." Alan Crane from the Institution of Civil Engineers also points out that the Wembley figure also includes associated work such as upgrading transport links. "We are talking about a whole different thing," he said. Braga Stadium was cut from a mountainside Mr Crane said another factor in the comparison was Wembley's much bigger size. "It is much, much cheaper to build a 50,000 capacity stadium than a 100,000. For every seat above 50,000 the cost increases significantly. "There are factors most people don't take into account, like a stadium having to be able to empty in a certain time. Getting 100,000 out in 10 minutes requires expensive solutions. "Labour costs are obviously also much higher in the UK than Portugal." But still, seven very nice stadiums for less than half the price of one..... The men at Siscog software in Lisbon would opt for the seven. Next Thursday BBC News Online will look how Portugal hopes Euro 2004 will mean a long-term tourism boost.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1999/01/99/lords_reform/239849.stm

|You are in: Special Report: 1999: 01/99: Lords reform| Tuesday, 19 January, 1999, 16:23 GMT A second tier of power Second chambers come in various forms and sizes and carry with them a range in powers and influence over their respective governments. The Constitution Unit, an independent think tank which is carrying out research around the government's constitutional reform programme, is made up of six researchers. Senior research fellow Meg Russell told BBC News Online: "The common thing with these upper houses is there's less media attention on them and they have slightly more mature members who are slightly less aligned to parties." The unit is publishing its research into second chambers at the end of next year. Canada is the only major country which has an entirely appointed second chamber. The Senate has 104 members and new members are selected as others retire. The members are officially appointed by the governor general, although the prime minister actually selects the candidates and only ever appoints from their own party. As a result of this, the Senate is regarded as a place to put old party faithful and ageing MPs. Members are appointed on a regional basis but do not strictly represent those regions. Although it has some powers, the Senate rarely challenges legislation. That is because, firstly, governments which have been in power for a long time tend to have a majority, and secondly, there would be an outcry if the appointed Senate was to act against the elected House of Commons. However a general election was forced in the 1980s when the Conservatives inherited a Liberal Senate. The Italian experience is unusual in that the upper house is essentially identical to the lower house. The Senate and the Chamber of Deputies are elected under a proportional representation system on the same day and the houses have equal powers. The system came about because after the war and the dictatorship of Mussolini, there was a desire to spread the power around with a central government and strong regional government. However the regional level did not evolve leaving the Italians with two similar tiers. Difficulties arise with laws shuttling back and forwards between the two houses for some considerable time. There are some differences between the two chambers. The heads of the parties sit in the lower house where members must be 25 years of age or older. The age restriction on the upper house is 40. The age qualification to vote in each of the houses is also different. At present there are 326 Senators which includes a small number of appointed members. Of those, 315 are directly elected to serve five years, nine are appointed by the president of the Republic and two are former presidents. The Irish system is unique in that a large proportion of members are elected nominally on the basis of professional groups. The Senate consists of 60 seats, 49 of which are indirectly elected by the universities and from candidates put forward by five vocational panels. The only true independents are those from the universities who are elected by graduates. The electorate for the professional candidates are the existing members of sitting councils, so they have a party political bias from the outset. Eleven further members are nominated by the prime minister. It is a very weak upper house within a weak Parliament effecting little impact on the legislative process. If a challenge looks possible, the prime minister can always use his members to make sure the government has a majority. However Meg Russell says: "They do scrutinise legislation and provide members for discussion on committees as well." Germany's second chamber is the Federal Council or Bundesrat. It represents the government of the regions. It has 69 members who do not serve a set term of office as the house is never dissolved. The members change whenever there is a regional election and the members of local councils change. Its main power is over legislation affecting the regions providing a forum for regional representatives to discuss legislation with the potential power to block it. It has power over around half the legislation that goes through - over the rest of the legislation it can only make recommendations. Australia's Federal Parliament has a 76 member Senate - 12 from each of the country's six states and two from each of the two territories. Meg Russell says: "They're not really purely representative of the states because they do run on party tickets." They are elected directly according to the single-transferable-vote form of proportional representation with one half of the members elected every three years to serve six-year terms. The Senate is quite powerful, forcing general elections quite often because the government, which is elected under direct preferential majority vote, rarely has a majority in the proportionally elected upper house. The advantage is that small parties can get a look at legislation. The Spanish constitution only dates back to 1977 and the fall of Franco. The new democracy runs under a system of regional government but it is much more uneven than the British system for example. The country currently faces issues surrounding a desire of the Basque and Catalonia regions wanting to become independent. The 208 members of the upper house are directly elected for four-year terms. They are elected from 52 multi-member constituencies corresponding to the country's provinces as well as Ceuta and Melilla. These directly-elected Senators win their seats through a simple majority vote. A further 49 members are indirectly elected from regional assemblies. The Senate tends to be weak - as is the parliament in general. The French Senate is indirectly elected by popularly chosen departmental electoral colleges. It consists of 321 seats from 108 territorial constituencies - 296 for metropolitan France, 13 for overseas departments and 12 for French nationals abroad. Members serve nine-year terms after being voted in under a mixed system of voting. One-third of the members are elected every three years. While the lower house is more powerful, it is not all powerful. After legislation has been through both chambers twice, attempts to resolve any remaining points of difference are made by the formation of a joint committee which can try to word legislation that everyone can agree on - if not the lower house gets the final say. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top Lords reform stories now: Links to more Lords reform stories are at the foot of the page. |E-mail this story to a friend| Links to more Lords reform stories To BBC Sport>> | To BBC Weather>> | To BBC World Service>> © MMIII | News Sources | Privacy

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5405066.stm

Japan's new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit China and South Korea next week hoping to rebuild regional ties. Mr Abe has not said in public if he plans to visit the Yasukuni shrine Mr Abe will go to Beijing on 8 October then fly to Seoul a day later, the three countries have confirmed. His visit to Beijing will be the first bilateral summit between Chinese and Japanese leaders for five years. The leaders of both China and South Korea had refused to meet former PM Junichiro Koizumi, a protest at visits to a controversial Japanese shrine. The bilateral meetings will take place against the background of North Korea's announcement that it plans to test a nuclear bomb. In a statement, Mr Abe said the North's announcement was "regrettable", and any nuclear test by Pyongyang would "never be forgivable". The Yasukuni shrine honours Japan's war dead, including 14 World War II war criminals. Both China and South Korea say the shrine glorifies Japan's past militarism, particularly during World War II. Without referring to the shrine by name, a Chinese government spokesman said the summit would go ahead after overcoming "the political obstacle to bilateral relations". Since his recent election victory Mr Abe has so far refused to comment on whether he plans to visit the shrine. But his election has brought the hope of a regional rapprochement. Mr Koizumi made six visits to the shrine while he was prime minister, despite protests from Japan's regional neighbours. The last bilateral summit between Japan and China took place in October 2001, when Mr Koizumi visited Beijing. The last meeting between the two countries' leaders came in April 2005, on the fringes of an Asia-African summit in Indonesia.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-18277311

Treasury seeks views on future of Vehicle Excise Duty Reforms to Vehicle Excise Duty are currently under discussion, the Treasury has said. It follows reports that increased fuel efficiency could lead to a fall in revenue from the tax, which is levied according to how much CO2 a car emits. The Treasury said no proposals had yet been made and it would listen to the views of motoring groups before taking any decisions. Labour said the government was planning a "stealth tax hike" on motorists. The Daily Telegraph reported one option under consideration by ministers was a one-off up-front charge on new vehicles when they were sold, instead of charging VED annually. Under the current system, cars fall into 13 payment bands depending on their level of carbon emissions, with more polluting vehicles taxed more heavily. The duty is paid annually, but a higher rate is payable in the first 12 months of the vehicle's registration. Cars with the lowest levels of carbon emissions, such as hybrid cars registered in or after March 2001, are exempt from paying the duty. European regulations aimed at reducing carbon emissions from new cars and improvements in technology are expected to lead to a higher proportion of cars qualifying for the lower bands of VED in the future.'Stealth tax hike' The latest forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility show that while tax receipts for VED are expected to remain broadly flat at about £6bn a year over the next five years, they could fall as a percentage of GDP from 0.4% in 2010-11 to 0.1% by 2029-30. "Beyond 2030, with unchanged emissions bands, VED would fall off to very low levels as older cars with emissions levels above the exempt level dropped out of the car stock," the OBR said. Speaking in the House of Commons earlier in May, Treasury Minister Chloe Smith said: "The government announced in the Budget that they will consider whether Vehicle Excise Duty should be reformed to support the sustainability of public finances and to reflect the improvements in vehicle fuel efficiency. "The government will, of course, seek the views of motoring groups before taking any decisions," she added. But for Labour John Woodcock, shadow transport minister, said the government should "come clean" on whether it plans to raise the duty. "Instead of tackling the soaring price of fuel, the chancellor has hidden plans for another stealth tax hike on motorists in the small print of the budget. "The Conservative-led government must come clean about how much extra they plan to charge hard-pressed motorists by whacking up the rate of vehicle excise duty", he said. In the Budget George Osborne announced VED would rise by inflation, but road hauliers would be exempt from the increase.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-16671190

Network Rail announces £2bn Norwich to London line plan National Rail has said a £2bn investment will be made on the Norwich to London line infrastructure during the next seven years. In a meeting with frustrated commuters in Ipswich on Saturday the company admitted mistakes had been made. It said it was "vitally important we get the right service provision to meet both the expansion and growth of the railways" in the future. The meeting was organised by Ipswich MP Ben Gummer, one of several MPs in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex campaigning for improvements on the line.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-21783000

Breydon Water: Broads Authority launches new patrol boat A £115,000 high-speed patrol boat has been launched by the Broads Authority to improve safety on the Norfolk Broads. The Spirit of Breydon, designed for the open water and tidal conditions of Breydon Water near Great Yarmouth, can also be used 60 miles (97km) off shore. The authority's standard river launches are not fast enough to respond to emergency calls from the coastguard. The new boat is part of a £300,000 authority investment in Breydon Water. Designed to operate in fog, heavy weather conditions and 5ft (1.5m) waves, the launch has a sprint speed of 20 knots (23mph) and includes a depth sounder and radar. Adrian Vernon, head of ranger services, said: "Our current launch was designed for river use and cannot cope with the large waves sometimes encountered on Breydon Water. "It will operate in all weathers, can arrive quicker at emergencies and is far more capable of taking in tow the increasingly larger hire vessels that use Breydon." Powered by a low-emission engine it can accommodate two crew and six passengers.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-20649362

Milford Haven Port: Profit to halve as LNG demand falls Profits at Wales' largest port are expected to fall by half this year because of a drop in UK demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG). Milford Haven Port in Pembrokeshire will make about £4m in operating profit before tax, the port authority said. It said LNG's price had risen due to high demand in Asia after nuclear power stations in Japan closed because of the earthquake and tsunami last year. The authority also blamed low coal prices and last year's mild winter. End Quote Alan Doc Milford Haven Port chief executive The fluctuation of LNG volumes into the port continues to emphasise the need to find alternative deep sea trades” Milford Haven has two terminals - South Hook and Dragon LNG - which have received giant tankers carrying LNG from the Middle East since 2009. The terminals are capable of supplying about 30% of the UK's gas requirements. But the port authority said "significantly lower volumes of LNG" had entered the port during the first nine months of the year. "The drop in demand for LNG was influenced by a number of factors," it said. "Gas prices increased due to high prices for LNG in Asia, partly as a result of a major increase in LNG demand brought about by the closure of nuclear power stations in Japan following the Fukushima incident in March 2011.Rising pension costs "Low prices for imported coal competed with gas for electricity generation, and last year's mild winter lowered overall demand for energy in the UK." It added that the lower imports of LNG to the UK were not expected to change significantly in 2013 and 2014. In addition, rising pension costs could lead to profits falling again next year, the authority warned. It said it was now looking at other ways to make money to ensure that it remained profitable, including continuing to develop the dock to encourage tourism along the Welsh coastline. "The fluctuation of LNG volumes into the port continues to emphasise the need to find alternative deep sea trades," said Alan Doc, chief executive of the port. "We look forward to working closely with the Haven Enterprise Zone, the Welsh government, Pembrokeshire County Council and others on this key need over the forthcoming year." LNG is a form of natural gas which has been converted to liquid form by cooling it to a temperature of -160°C. In its liquid form, it occupies much less space than gas, making it easier and more cost effective to transport. The LNG is turned back into gas at the Milford Haven terminals and pumped into the UK network along a specially built pipeline running from Milford to Gloucestershire.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-17522635

Stolen Walberswick village sign found at garage sale A Suffolk village sign stolen in the 1980s has been found by a family from Kent at a garage sale. The sign was erected in Walberswick in 1953 to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. David Webb, chairman of Walberswick Parish Council, said the new owners had not known the village existed. He said: "The family were going on holiday to Norfolk and saw a signpost to Walberswick - they then realised what they had belonged to the village." The frame of the sign is made of steel and the design, by Clifford Russell, features a crown and a copper ship. Mr Webb said the ship is based on HMS Basing (later HMS Guernsey), which he said was built in Walberswick for Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth army. A smaller replica was placed near the village green after it was presumed the original would never be seen again. Mr Webb said the family, from the Isle of Grain, were happy to donate the piece to the village. They have been invited to attend an event in June when the original sign, which has now been restored, will be given a new home opposite St Andrew's Church. JT Pegg and Sons in Aldeburgh has been restoring the sign. Dennis Pegg, 92, said it was "no ordinary sign" and he was glad it had not been melted and sold on. "It was very fortunate much of it was made from copper and brass, they're materials that will stand out in the weather and deteriorate very little," he said. The restored sign will be unveiled on 2 June.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_8220000/newsid_8225900/8225952.stm

A charity has published a dramatic photo showing a family living underwater to highlight the dangers of rising sea levels. Experts think climate change could mean sea levels rise over the next 200 years, threatening coastal towns and possibly changing how we live. Charity group Oxfam hopes the picture gets politicians at a climate change conference to reach an agreement. Politicians are meeting in December to discuss a new climate deal. That conference, being held in Copenhagen in Denmark, will talk about things like the amount of carbon dioxide we produce and how much cash is given to poor countries to help them deal with climate change. Barbara Stocking, from Oxfam, thinks it's really important we act on climate change. "Today the poorest people are being hit hard by extreme weather events and other climate shocks, it is for their sake that we must push for a fair deal in Copenhagen," she said

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5316690.stm

Burundi Vice-President Alice Nzomukunda has resigned over corruption and human rights abuses that she says are hampering her nation's progress. Mrs Nzomukunda said it had been a hard decision to resign She also cast doubt on an alleged coup plot, which is rocking the country. Former President Domitien Ndayizeye has been arrested in connection with the plot but Mrs Nzomukunda said she was not aware of any evidence of the plot. Former rebel leader Pierre Nkurunziza was elected president last year under a deal aimed at ending the conflict. Mrs Nzomukunda is from Mr Nkurunziza's mainly Hutu FDD party. "My decision was motivated by numerous political problems which Burundian people are undergoing - problems of security, of not respecting the law, the management of state finances and of human rights laws which are violated," she said. "The country was on a good path to overcome all these problems, but corruption and economic embezzlement are undermining it," she said. Mrs Nzomukunda also told a press conference that she had taken the hard decision to quit the government after a year of humiliating interference in her work by party chairman Radjab Hussein. She said she had complained to both the president and to the party's chairman himself, to no avail. Since independence in 1961, Burundi has been plagued by tension between the dominant Tutsi minority and the Hutu majority. Most Hutu rebel groups, such as the FDD, have joined the peace process but the FNL still refuses to lay down its arms. More than 300,000 people have died in the war sparked in 1993 by the assassination of Burundi's first Hutu head of state and democratically-elected president, Melchior Ndadaye.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/winterolympics2002/low/english/snowboarding/newsid_1802000/1802143.stm

Well, this is where it really starts. I'm back in Park City, the Olympic snowboarding venue, and official training is under way. This means I'm now able to ride on the half-pipe that I will compete on next week and can finally work out my routine. There are five days of official training, but I'm only going to ride for four. Tuesday is just about getting used to the pipe really, so I won't try to do anything too spectacular. I'll just ride it for a couple of hours, and get to think about where I'm going to spin, what I'm going to do and then start preparing tricks. "The competition is approaching fast now, but I'm still pretty chilled out" Obviously, all half-pipes are different - some are wider than others and there are often uneven bits along them, so it's important to really check out each pipe very carefully. Of course, constructors try to make the half-pipe as smooth as possible, but it's really hard to get the whole thing uniform, so there's always a little bit here and there that's a little iffy. If there's a part that's difficult to ride, you just do a straight air on it and don't try to spin. The width doesn't really affect my routine - the only thing that really affects it is if there are any dodgy bits of wall and if the pipe is slow. If it's a slow pipe, it's really hard to get enough speed and enough height to do big tricks and means you have to be less ambitious in the competition. But it looks as though it's a fast pipe. I'll have to ride it to see. The competition is approaching fast now, but I'm still pretty chilled out . Actually, I'm pleased that the weather's improved and it's really good that I'm staying in Park City as well. It's a quite a way from Salt Lake City to here and when it starts to get busy, it'll be a long journey - it makes a big difference. I haven't had much chance to go down to Salt Lake City, but I've noticed the military presence around here. There are some military helicopters flying about and the airport was very heavily guarded - security seems to be very tight. But I'm surprised at how quiet it still is. I haven't seen any of the other athletes yet, I haven't seen anyone. I walked around Park City earlier this week and I didn't see one athlete from any event, so it's all a bit surreal at the moment. The rest of Team GB start arriving over the next few days.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8314419.stm

By Jason Palmer Science and technology reporter, BBC News The prototype scanner is compact and made of comparatively cheap parts Scientists say they have developed a quick technique for detecting liquids that could be used as explosives. If commercialised, the new method could potentially end restrictions on liquids carried onto commercial airlines. The light-based approach uses cheap components and can reliably identify a range of liquids in just one-fifth of a second, the German scientists say. The work, published in the journal Superconductor Science and Technology, could have additional applications. A number of research efforts are under way to solve the liquids problem for airline passengers. There are, in fact, several techniques which could be employed. These include nuclear magnetic spectroscopy, which uses the magnetic properties of chemical nuclei to obtain information about a sample. However, all of the available options are either too expensive or require too much time for the practical screening of thousands of pieces of luggage. Now, a group at the Forschungszentrum (Research Centre) Juelich in Germany has proposed a technique they call Hilbert spectroscopy. Their idea is to use a very wide spectrum of light to identify either liquids that could be mixed to form an explosive, or that are already mixed. All materials reflect light in a way that is particular to their identity, and many techniques used in both security and scientific research rely on measuring the reflection or absorption of light to identify materials. Analysis of the results can be carried out on a small computer However, in practice, measurements on baggage are confused by the packaging and items inside. Researchers behind the new technique say they have managed to get around this problem by using a wide range of frequencies between a few gigahertz and a few terahertz -which is between 100 and 10,000 times lower in frequency than the visible light that passes easily through labels and packaging. The trick, they say, is to use a "nano-electronic" device known as a Josephson junction. This allows the frequencies of light reflected from a sample to be quickly added up. This in turn provides a chemical "fingerprint" of the item being analysed. The principal advantage of using the Josephson junction is that it can span the low and high frequency ranges covered by other, significantly more expensive devices, said Yuri Divin, of the Forschungszentrum Juelich. "No one type of spectroscopy can operate from a few gigahertz to a few terahertz [in the way] Hilbert spectroscopy [can]," he told BBC News. "[In] applications where you need high-speed operation - such as security screening - it should happen fast and in a "broadband" [way] to make it reliable with a low number of false alarms. Hilbert spectroscopy does that," he added. Dr Divin conceded that further developments are necessary to refine the approach. But the researchers are confident the technique can be applied to security screening. "We've shown that it works, and it works well. But this is only the scientific part we have published," Dr Divin said. "In commercial devices, the prototype can be used as it is or integrated with a 2D scanner."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/5207746.stm

Great Britain will face a relegation play-off against Ukraine after losing their Davis Cup Euro-Africa Zone Group One tie to Israel at Eastbourne. In the end it came down to a few vital points in the middle of the last set which could easily have been mine The visitors took an unassailable 3-1 lead after Noam Okun beat Jamie Delgado 6-3 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 2-6 6-3. Delgado, a late replacement for the injured Andy Murray, battled from two sets down to give Great Britain hope. But Okun overcame an early break in the fifth and final set to claim victory after a run of four successive games. "I'm bitterly disappointed," said Delgado. "I put everything out there but it wasn't enough in the end. "I didn't play well at the start but I got myself back in it and when you lose again after all that it's pretty hard to take. "Being beaten in the doubles in five sets was a big disappointment but when I was asked to take Andy's place today I thought 'let's go for it'. "I was nervous at the start but I improved as the match went on and I turned it around at one stage. "But in the end it came down to a few vital points in the middle of the last set which could easily have been mine." Captain Jeremy Bates added: "I'm enormously proud of what I've seen over the last few days on court. "In terms of the doubles yesterday, Jamie's singles today and Andy's match on Friday I think that if that is what British tennis is all about we should be enthused by what we can achieve in the future." Murray, who had played 95 games over the course of Friday and Saturday. pulled out of the first reverse singles with an injured neck and a strained shoulder. That left Delgado with the task of reviving British fortunes after they had finished the first two days 2-1 down. The 29-year-old Englishman looked overawed by his sudden elevation as he struggled to break down his opponent in the first two sets. It was a crazy match and I'm feeling so high Okun, ranked 270 in the world, played solid tennis and seemed destined for a straight-sets win before Delgado rallied. Having wasted a glorious chance to win the third set at 5-3 on his serve, Delgado finally gave the partisan Devonshire Park crowd something to cheer when he took the tie-break. He then raced through the fourth set and broke early in the fifth to give the hosts hope of a tantalising fifth and deciding rubber. But that dream scenario was shattered as Okun mustered one final push and closed out for a famous win. "It was a crazy match and I'm feeling so high," he told BBC Sport after sealing the victory. "It was a great, great match. "I don't know what happened to me in the third and fourth set, I went to sleep a little bit, but my team woke me up. "I didn't really play bad, but Jamie played out of his mind. At times I didn't know what to do, I had to hang in there and wait to take my chance when he went down a little bit." Scotland's Alan Mackin beat Israel's Dekel Valtzer 6-2 6-1 in the dead rubber to give close the overall score of the match to 3-2. Great Britain will play Ukraine in Kiev in late September.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7360426.stm

Several cities have expressed interest in a 'greener' black cab The manufacturer of the iconic London black cab has signed a deal to design and build a battery-powered taxi with no carbon emissions. Manganese Bronze says the car will have a top speed of 50 miles per hour and a range of 100km on each battery charge, costing about 4p per mile to run. It will work with electric vehicles specialist Tanfield Group, with the car built in the UK and launched in 2009. The joint venture follows interest from several cities keen to cut emissions. But the higher cost of buying the taxi means it is only likely to take a small part of the market, Manganese says. Manganese's most recent model, the TX4, costs between £28,000 and £33,000. The cost of the batteries means the zero-emission version will cost more than this, though no price tag has yet been put on it. Savings over the lifetime of the vehicle would be "significant" said Mark Fryer, Manganese's group finance and business development director. But he conceded that the higher sale price made putting the commercial case for the new vehicles "more difficult". "I do not think we will see a significant substitute impact unless there is change in regulations," he said. "This will be something for a small group of drivers." Mr Fryer added that Manganese had been approached by several cities - including some in Scandinavia - that were interested in using the existing diesel-powered black cabs, but felt that the emission levels were too high. Later this year Manganese Bronze will begin manufacturing the black cab in Shanghai in a deal with Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely. Hong Kong already has London taxis which were made elsewhere and shipped to the territory. Last week, Manganese Bronze warned that sales so far this year had been affected by the uncertainty which has swept through London's financial market.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-shropshire-16929877

Official opening for £3m college construction centre - 8 February 2012 - From the section Shropshire An engineering and construction centre will be officially opened at Shrewsbury College later. Three million pounds has been spent transforming an old technology block that dated back to 1961 when the college opened. The centre at the London Road campus includes new classrooms, laboratories and an engineering workshop. It is used by students studying courses such as welding, carpentry and motor vehicles. The centre has been up and running since the autumn but the official opening coincides with Apprenticeship Week. The college has also recently announced plans to spend up to £6m to upgrade the London Road campus. It has been awarded £2m from the government towards the plans which it said would see the main building on the campus extended.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8166175.stm

In a new column, the BBC's environment analyst Roger Harrabin draws on his experience of a quarter of a century reporting the environment to ask where the "green fairness" can be found in the UK government's low-carbon transport strategy. THE LOW EMISSIONS WINNERS AND LOSERS Electrification of the Swansea-London line will come as a relief to anyone who has chewed the air at Paddington Station. It will also cut CO2 emissions on the line by about 30%. But what about transport's general contribution to the UK's carbon-reduction targets? A new analysis by the respected journal Environmental Data Services (ENDS) examines how transport has got away lightly in the far-reaching cross-government drive to cut emissions announced last week. Transport will have to reduce emissions 14% from current levels by 2022 - less than the overall government total of an 18% cut two years earlier. ENDS will point out that the projected transport emissions cuts will come almost entirely from promoting controversial bio-fuels, and by improving the performance of new vehicles under EU rules whose results can't be guaranteed. EU rules for vans don't even yet exist. What's more if the measures do succeed, there will be an unfortunate side-effect. According to the government's own projections, there will be more traffic, noise, air pollution, accidents and congestion as people drive further in their more efficient cars. The editor of ENDS, Nicholas Schoon, says the government should do much more to jolt people out of cars on to walking, cycling and public transport - and reverse the trend in which driving is getting cheaper compared with public transport. The Department for Transport says it does want to coax people out of their cars but couldn't bank on its measures succeeding so it hasn't relied on any emissions savings that way in its document. Ministers are nervous of doing anything that could be construed as an infringement of people's mobility - even if it means that other sectors of the economy will have to work much harder to cut emissions as a result Meanwhile, the Transport Select Committee is also calling for the government to reverse the growing gap between rising public transport fares and driving - and for the introduction of a pay-per-mile charge for lorries. Calculations by the Campaign for Rural England of the Low Carbon Transport paper shows the cost of driving by 2015 for those who can afford the latest energy-efficient cars will fall by at least 10%. For those who cannot afford an efficient new car, it will increase by 8%. Drivers in cities who buy electric cars will pay only a few pence a mile to drive. CPRE fears the plans will disadvantage people in rural areas, and poor people who can't afford new cars. The Association of British Drivers says it opposes any attempt to put up the cost of driving as motorists already pay more than their share for the amount of carbon they produce. The issue of equity amongst transport users - including between drivers of different income - is a serious barrier to progressive transport policies. I first mentioned it to ministers at the end of the Conservative administration, but there's been a dearth of imaginative solutions. I don't claim any great ideas myself And as the boom in car ownership continues, according to recent figures, it becomes harder and harder to run public transport without ever-increasing subsidy to combat dwindling revenue from fares.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7993295.stm

President Iloilo has been a staunch supporter of Frank Bainimarama Fijian President Ratu Josefa Iloilo has announced that he has taken over the country's government. It comes a day after a court ruled that the current military leadership was illegally appointed after a 2006 coup. In a nationally televised address, the president said he had annulled the constitution, assumed all governing power and sacked the country's judges. He spoke after meeting Commodore Frank Bainimarama, the army chief who toppled the civilian government in the coup. "I hereby confirm I have abrogated the 1997 constitution and appointed myself as head of state in the new order," Mr Iloilo said. Mr Iloilo said he would appoint an interim prime minister for five years to allow time for necessary reforms before elections could be held. "You cannot have a country without a government. The machinery of government must continue," he said. He also said the country would hold elections in 2014 - much later than the deadline of this year set by the constitution Mr Iloilo has just annulled. The elderly leader's motives in this extraordinary move are unclear, says the BBC's Phil Mercer in Sydney. Mr Iloilo has been a staunch supporter of Mr Bainimarama, who has repeatedly ignored international demands to restore democracy, our correspondent says. Frank Bainimarama resigned as interim PM after the court ruling The president's actions could be an attempt to cleanse a troubled political system, our correspondent adds, or they could simply be a way for him to reinstate the military administration under a revised constitution. Observers warned that the interim government could be led again by Mr Bainimarama. "It looks like a prepared statement by Bainimarama, delivered by Iloilo," Rod Alley, a senior fellow at New Zealand's Centre for Strategic Studies, told the Associated Press news agency. "This is extraordinary and doesn't look good for Fiji," he said. On Thursday, a three-judge Court of Appeal panel upheld a challenge to Mr Bainimarama's rule by ousted Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase. The court said the military government - the product of the country's fourth coup in 20 years - was illegal and should be replaced with an interim government, led by neither Mr Qarase nor Mr Bainimarama. Australia and New Zealand have led international pressure on Mr Bainimarama to hold elections this year under the constitution that was in place until now. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week backed that view. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appealed for calm following Thursday's ruling.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3104518.stm

Michael Barrymore's return to the British stage with a stand-up comedy routine has been derailed after he pulled out of the show. by Ian Youngs BBC News Online entertainment staff The seven-week stage run had been the latest step in Barrymore's long rehabilitation, both for his own self esteem and for his public reputation. Barrymore's career was halted by the death of Stuart Lubbock Early reports suggested he was making it a bright, bullish and buoyant occasion - a statement that he was back and still capable of making people laugh. He received a standing ovation on his first night - but the acclaim was apparently short-lived and Barrymore's confidence seemed to unravel. His personal life remains clouded by the death of Stuart Lubbock in his swimming pool two and a half years ago. That became only too clear when he told producers at the Wyndham's Theatre in London that he could not go on, only minutes before curtain up. Barrymore cited "personal reasons", blaming the pressure of the past two years. Now, despite his manager's insistence that he will stay in showbusiness, a big question mark again hangs over his future as a popular entertainer. It had been his first UK performance since being questioned over the death of Mr Lubbock. A coroner recorded an open verdict, although police found Barrymore to have had no part in Mr Lubbock's death. Michael Barrymore appeared on GMTV after the inquest A spokeswoman for the new production had described it as "physical" and "lively" - reminiscent of the TV shows that brought Barrymore huge fame. He had seemed determined to move on from the memory of 31 March 2001, when Lubbock was found dead at his home in Roydon, Essex. "I remember waking up one morning and thinking I'd be better off out of this. That was the emotional rollercoaster I was on," he told one interviewer. "But I've had to face my fears. Going back on stage is one way of doing that." Barrymore's career as one of the UK's most popular entertainers stopped in its tracks after Mr Lubbock died. But after the inquest - during which Barrymore refused to talk about drug taking - there were still many unanswered questions. His career appeared to be over after 20 years at the top, during which he was named Britain's most popular entertainer five times. Barrymore with two trophies at the National Television Awards 2000 His first TV appearance after the tragedy was an interview with Martin Bashir during which he said: "I do feel responsible. "I'm responsible for the house... I'm not responsible for [Lubbock's] demise." But Barrymore recently said: "I didn't want to do that interview. I gave in against my wishes." It turned out to be "a mess" and "horrible", he said. Barrymore recorded one series of My Kind Of Music for ITV before being dumped. It was shown in February 2002, and pulled in about 5.5 million viewers - compared with nine million who watched the same show before the death. He continued to be solemn and remorseful - far from the bounding, boisterous entertainer who once appeared on screens. He was hitting the headlines for his confessional interviews, but needed to revive his image as an entertainer - and started in a low-key way. Heading down under, he performed a live tour in New Zealand and Australia, where he had been hugely popular - but the press backlash was less fierce. Barrymore built his success on his zany persona The first night in Auckland was a 2,300 sell-out - and fans saw the exuberant Barrymore of old. He tied a press photographer to a chair, pulled a heckler on stage to sit on his knee and filled his show with sexual innuendo, declaring at the end: "I have got my life back." But despite his Antipodean acclaim, people at home were still less willing to accept him back. When a story about a possible TV comeback surfaced last month, it prompted vitriol from tabloids - and their readers. The Sun printed letters from people who said Barrymore "fills me with disgust", "fills me with revulsion" condemning his "disgusting and disgraceful behaviour" and dismissing him as a "troubled old has-been". Later that month, he appealed to TV executives during a discussion at an industry festival - but did not go down well, according to reports. But he has got a film role lined up in the gangster comedy Peaches - plus more TV offers on the table. "I don't want to go back on telly for the sake of going back," he told a newspaper. Despite this week's first night ovation, ticket sales were reportedly poor and he received some bad notices from critics. His manager said he would now take a break before considering his next step - which may involve another stint in Australia and New Zealand. Whether he has the desire or the support to attempt another comeback in his native country remains to be seen.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/team_pages/south_korea/squad/newsid_1907000/1907138.stm

Tipped to be Korea's star player at this year's World Cup, Seol Ki-Hyeon knows much is expected of him after a successful season in Belgium. Still only 22, he has won the Belgian Super cup with Anderlecht and has also featured in the Champions League this year. Seol started his career in Europe with Anderlecht's Belgian rivals Antwerp where he scored 10 goals in 25 games. Such form is what won him a move to Anderlecht last summer and accelerated his development as a world-class player. His debut for his new club came in that Super Cup final when he burst onto the scene with a hat-trick inside 12 minutes to help Anderlecht towards their triumph.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4046557.stm

The nutrient boost given to North American forests when trillions of cicadas die en masse is explored in a new study in Science magazine. The insects emerge from below ground and swarm over the landscape every 13 or 17 years The insects emerge from below ground and swarm over the landscape every 13 or 17 years to briefly sing and mate. Their decomposing carcasses will increase bacteria, fungi and nitrogen in forest soils, Louie Yang shows. This may explain why trees grow faster following cicada emergences, the University of California scientist says "This observation doesn't necessarily mean the pattern comes from cicada 'fertilisation'; it's one possible hypothesis," Yang told BBC News. "Another explanation says adult cicadas cause damage to trees that makes more light available in certain parts of the forest; but it's certainly a very interesting pattern." The eastern states of the US have several broods of periodical cicadas (Magicicada spp). The insects spend most of their lives as juveniles, feeding on the xylem in tree roots and growing slowly. 17-YEAR CICADA LIFECYCLE 1. Female lays eggs and dies soon after. Eggs hatch. 2. Bugs or 'nymphs' drop to the ground 3. Nymphs live underground feeding on tree roots 4. After 17 years, nymphs tunnel to surface, crawl up trees and shed skins to become adults 5. Adults mate during May and June of 17th year Then, timed to perfection, huge populations come out together to reproduce. May and June of this year saw the emergence of the so-called Brood X, which swarmed over more than 10 US states, including Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, New York and Ohio. The cicada onslaught lasts only a few weeks - but is deafening. The males sing to their partners with high pitched trills, made by vibrating abdominal drums called timbales. The mass emergence can be extraordinarily dense; up to 350 insects per square metre. It provides a feast for a host of other animals - including birds, racoons, foxes and skunks - but they cannot hope to eat all the cicadas and most will simply die and drop to the floor to rot. Louie Yang set up experimental plots to examine the impact on the forest system of this death deluge. His work demonstrates how the mass of carcases leads to a dramatic increase in fungal and bacterial decomposers in the soil. This in turn triples soil ammonium, and more than doubles soil nitrate concentration. "We can see a trend which shows that increasing the density of dead cicadas increases the amount of soil nitrogen in the ecosystem - it creates a pulse of nitrogen in the soil," Yang said. This rush of soil nutrients can be seen in the fillip it gives to a forest-floor plant, the American bellflower (Campanulastrum americanum), which grows across the range of the cicada emergences. The cicada onslaught lasts only a few weeks - but is deafening The plants in Yang's plots took up more nitrogen and increased the size of their seeds by 9%. The cicadas are, of course, just returning nitrogen they "stole" when they were sucking on plant roots as nymphs. And the cycle will always show something of a deficit because of the substantial numbers of cicadas that are lost to the system through predation. Nonetheless, it is an eye-catching observation that tree-ring growth data appears linked to the insects' cycle. "A couple of studies have found a robust result that there is a decrease in the growth of trees during cicada emergence years, but one of the results in more recent research suggests there may be increases in the growth rate of trees in some of the years following cicada emergence." The mass emergence can be extraordinarily dense He added: "There's an awful lot we don't know about the ecology that happens in our backyard - and these are insects that truly do occur in our backyard; this year they were flying into our cars and bumping into us as we crossed the street. "These are insects that are everywhere but there is still a great deal we don't know about them."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-20778610

Building new opportunities in Burma's Karen State Hpa-an, the little capital of Kayin, or Karen, State is set among jagged, green limestone hills along the banks of the Salween River. It's a glorious location and a strategic one too - about 60km (37 miles) upstream from the port of Moulmein on the Andaman Sea, and around 150km from the Thai border. There's plenty of traffic in the early morning around the bus stop, close to the old clock tower in the town centre. But most of the people are leaving, not arriving; young Karen women, squeezed into converted pick-up trucks, heading to Thailand to work in garment factories or as domestic servants, and men transferring from the overnight bus from Rangoon, off to work on construction sites in Bangkok. For all of Kayin State's promising potential, the only jobs there have been in the antiquated and badly-paid agricultural sector. That is not just due to the chronic under-development which afflicted all of Burma under military rule. Much of the state has also been a war zone for the past 60 years, its forested frontier areas battlegrounds between government forces and Karen insurgents. The border with Thailand has offered the only economic lifeline; as an escape to employment, however menial, or as a route for smuggling. Men who did not take those choices often ended up fighting, either as insurgents for the Karen National Union (KNU) and other splinter groups, or as soldiers for the Burmese army. Fifty-year-old widow Hla Win is typical. Her husband was a government soldier killed in battle 25 years ago. She is waiting in the back of a pick-up truck for the rough, six-hour ride to Myawaddy. From there she will walk across the border to the Thai town of Mae Sot, and take a bus to a smaller town where she works as a house-maid for around $100 (£61) a month. "If possible of course I would love to come back and live here," she said. "But I don't have a job, I don't have a house - where would I live?" 'Local jobs needed' But a few kilometres outside Hpa-an, the sound of hammering, drilling and sawing heralds the promise of a new era in Kayin State. In an area of scrubby ground that was still subject to occasional skirmishes between the army and the KNU just a year ago, the foundations are being laid for Hpa-an's first industrial estate. The very first factory opened in early November, employing 150 local people. The man who built it is U Myint Htay, a Burmese entrepreneur who founded a garment manufacturing company, UMH, in 1996. He already has two garment factories operating in Rangoon. The story of the Burmese clothing industry is closely tied to the country's recent political journey. After the mass uprising against the eccentric, isolationist military regime of General Ne Win in 1988, which was brutally put down, the ruling generals realised they needed foreign investment to end Burma's dire poverty, and they changed the law to make this possible. With cheap labour, and a location close to global transhipment ports like Singapore, clothing was an ideal first step, and offered investors an alternative to China. Companies, mainly based in Hong Kong and South Korea, built factories doing the simple tasks known in the industry as CMP (cutting, making, packing), where the materials were all imported, and simply sewn and then re-exported, mainly to Europe and the US. At the industry's peak, in the year 2000, there were around 300 garment companies in Burma employing around 300,000 workers. But the imposition of US and EU sanctions from 2003, together with consumer boycott campaigns, hit the industry hard. Some went out of business. Others, like UMH, managed to switch to new Asian markets. Today U Myint Htay makes garments exclusively for the Japanese market. Investing in Hpa-an would have been unthinkable without the political changes in Burma over the past 18 months. The new government has launched initiatives to end the ethnic conflicts, which have continued since independence in 1948, resulting in a ceasefire a year ago, and peace talks between the government and the KNU. It is still a very uncertain environment in which to invest more than $1m. But U Myint Htay sees two strong reasons to do so. "I want the people of Kayin State to be able to find jobs here, close to their families, rather than go across to Thailand where they do not have real security," he said. But he also sees the potential of Hpa-an's geographical position. He has opened a sewing school to train local people who have never done any kind of industrial work before. But he is also benefitting from workers choosing to come back from Thailand, bringing their skills with them. Among the women busy at their machines in his factory was 22 year-old Myat Weet Yeewai, who used to work with her two sisters at a factory in Mae Sot. She said she was much happier now she could live close to her mother in Hpa-an. Her pay is lower than it was in Thailand, but so are her hours. The UMH factory in Hpa-an is producing very basic white clothing, for Japanese restaurants and hospitals, although U Myint Htay says their standards are very high. His margins are very tight, and shipping out of Rangoon port is expensive, because its facilities are limited. Shipping through Thailand, even with bad roads, saves him significant costs. 'Wait and see' Another sign of the changes in Kayin State is the KNU liason office in Hpa-an, where representatives from the insurgent group can interact with those of the Burmese government. Its establishment in September has been a source of dispute inside the KNU, some of whose factions still do not trust the government. Inside I met the deputy head of the office, Captain Mann Thein, who has been fighting for the KNU in the jungle since 1976. Now, looking slightly uncomfortable in his civilian surroundings, he is giving the new government some credit for its changed stance. "I can see the government is doing a lot for our state, bringing us development," he said. "But we still have to wait and see how far this peace process will go." Burma's unhappy history inevitably preaches caution. But the sight of rows of humming sewing machines in what, until last year, was a battleground, is reason enough to believe that life for the people of Kayin State is improving.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/winterolympics2002/low/english/paralympics/newsid_1766000/1766417.stm

With just over a month gone after starting his job as the new chief of the IPC job, Briton Philip Craven says that it has been non-stop globetrotting for him. Craven, was elected as the second president of the Committee at the end of a two-day assembly in Athens in December. "We are also one of the leading country's in trying to remove the difference between Olympic and Paralympic athletes" Since then, he has had to familiarise himself with his new staff at headquarters in Bonn, attend meetings with British sports' leading bodies and prepare for a trip to the Winter Paralympics. "I'm going to the Winter Olympics on a special invitation from the new Olympic president Jacques Rogge, and then I'm going to open the Paralympics," said Craven. "In my speech at the opening ceremony, I will tell the people how excited I am with winter sports, more so because I am quite new to these sports. "I know Britain has a very small team going out there and I will be giving them my full support." The Bolton man added how happy he was with what Britain has done to boost the Paralympics cause. Britain enjoyed one of its most successful Summer Games, in Sydney, last year when the athletes brought back 131 medals, including 41 gold. "I would say British Paralympics is supported as well as, if not better, than any Paralympic body in the world," he added. "And we are also one of the leading country's in trying to remove the difference between Olympic and Paralympic athletes. That job isn't finished yet and probably never will be, but we are making a good fist of it. "My aim is to make sure that nobody decides what the Paralympics is about, except for the people in the movement."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-10832611

Thousands gather at events in Leeds Thousands of people gathered at events in Leeds throughout the weekend. The city hosted the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Pride Festival and the Leeds Asian Festival, which was celebrating its 15th anniversary. West Yorkshire Police said both events had run "smoothly" during Sunday and there had been no reported problems. The Pride festival took place in Millennium Square, followed by a parade through the centre. Leeds Asian Festival was based at Roundhay Park. Inspector Peter Lobb from West Yorkshire Police said on Sunday afternoon, that there had been no incidents at either event. He said: "It's been very good natured. Everyone has just enjoyed themselves." The Leeds Asian Festival featured a range of live music acts, a funfair and a world food court. A number of live musical acts also performed at The Pride event. This was followed by a parade through the city centre - featuring mechanised and walking floats from local groups and businesses.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-foyle-west-42719144

Northern Ireland's first 'social supermarkets' to open The first 'social supermarkets' are to open in Northern Ireland to help people living in food poverty. Five community organisations will operate the shops, in Londonderry, Belfast, Coleraine, Lisburn and Strabane. The supermarkets will sell cheaper than usual products to people receiving welfare payments and tax credits. The Department for Communities (DfC) has provided funding of about £70,000 to each of the five shops. Catherine Lusby, from Apex Housing Association, will manage the Londonderry supermarket. "In our social supermarket, The Apex Food Club, we are asking members to pay £5 membership on a weekly basis "For that they will receive £25 worth of food." Within the pilot scheme, supermarket customers will be able to purchase a range of cheaper products including fresh and frozen food, dried goods, as well as fruit and vegetables. Stock is supplied via food charity Fareshare, an organisation who distribute surplus food from mainstream supermarkets, suppliers and manufacturers to charities. Customers will also agree to take part in a range of skill-building programmes including money management, cooking and personal development. Ms Lusby said the initiative is designed to empower customers and move people out of food poverty. She will coordinate the Derry supermarket, a city where last year more than 3,000 people accessed help from a food bank. "Food poverty is not a lifestyle choice, people want to help themselves and this is a soft place for them to fall and work to address the situation they have found themselves in," she added "It is very separate from food banks. We are aiming to really help people improve their social and emotional well-being." The Footprints Women's Centre in Belfast, Lisburn City Church, Strabane Community Project and Vineyard Compassion in Coleraine will operate the four other supermarkets A DfC spokeswoman said the supermarket scheme will give people "access to food on condition that they take up the other services that will help them move out of poverty". "All members of the Social Supermarkets will be asked to complete entry and exit questionnaires to track the impact of their involvement with the project. "The success of the pilot will be assessed against the objectives of helping people move out of poverty. Learning from the pilot projects will inform the decision on whether to continue with Social Supermarkets beyond September 2018." The first supermarket will open to customers in February.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17909115

News of the World 'misled' MPs on phone hacking claims A committee of MPs looking into phone-hacking allegations was "misled repeatedly" by the News of the World and News International, its chairman told a news conference. John Whittingdale said a previous report from the Commons Media and Select Committee was not based on a "fully accurate picture" and the firm had failed to disclose documents that would have revealed the truth. He said the decisions were reached by a majority vote. News Corporation criticised a key conclusion of the report - that Rupert Murdoch is not "fit" to run the business - as "unjustified".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-20098468

UCL Stratford campus plan given go ahead University College London (UCL) has been given the go ahead to open a £1bn campus close to the Olympic Park. The plans to create a centre for science, technology, education and research in Stratford, east London, were approved by Newham Council. Residents, who say the development on the Carpenters Estate would destroy their community, staged a protest outside the meeting on Thursday night. UCL said it would be of "real and lasting benefit" to the community. University provost Malcolm Grant said: "UCL is a world-leading institution, but our plans for growth are currently limited by our central London location, so we need suitable space to support the development of world class teaching and research. "UCL Stratford is not envisaged to be an east London satellite to our historic Bloomsbury campus, but a new internationally recognised research-led hub."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/uk/2000/human_rights/demos.stm

|Front Page | UK | In Depth| |click on the images to find out more| Articles 10 and 11 of the Human Rights Act state that everyone has rights to free expression and assembly. How these will be interpreted by the courts remains unclear. Legal observers of demonstrations which have turned violent have argued that the public has not been able to take action against officers because it has been unclear under what rules the police are operating. While forces will be obliged to more precisely justify their actions, Article 11 does not prevent “the imposition of lawful restrictions … by the armed forces, of the police or of the administration of the state”. Some legal commentators have already suggested that the police’s approach to the UK’s fuel crisis protests of September 2000, where they didn’t break up blockades, may have been influenced by uncertainty over how the courts would interpret the balance between the public’s rights and the police’s duties. |Back to Top| | © MMV | News Sources | Privacy

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Watch the original story about Patrick the micro-pig's shop ban A pet micro-pig that was banned from its owner's shop by the local council has been allowed to return. The pig's owner, Lee White, was told by officials in Lancashire he couldn't take his pet to work, because pigs are farm animals and can spread diseases. But Lee's got round the ban by getting a walking licence for Patrick the pig, and registering himself as a farmer. Lee's now campaigning for micro-pigs to be reclassified as pets. More than 600 people have signed up in support. Patrick the micro-pig quickly became a hit with customers when Lee started taking his pet to work at his outdoor clothing store in Ramsbottom. Lancashire County Council put the ban in place in January, because the law says that farm animals are only allowed to be moved once every 20 days.

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The Ulster Bank has said that more than 700 jobs will be lost More that 700 jobs are to go at the Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, the bank has said. The lay-offs will be rolled out on a voluntary basis, according to the bank. It plans to cut 550 jobs in the Republic, and 200 in Northern Ireland. Ulster Bank said the First Active brand of mortgage and investment business will close as part of the scheme. Steve Tweed of the bank officials' union said it would have "intensive negotiations" with the bank. "We haven't seen the detail behind their decision so it would be our objective to have that number reduced," he said. "But we also need to sit down the bank and negotiate a voluntary severance package which is attractive, especially in the current economic climate." The Ulster Bank Group, part of Royal Bank of Scotland, said that it had to "adapt to prevailing market conditions, while strengthening the organisation and its all island reach". Ulster Bank chief executive Cormac McCarthy said he did not foresee any branch closures and was confident the bank could find enough workers willing to take redundancy. "We have 3,000-plus people working in Northern Ireland and it is a voluntary scheme - we have to work with our unions and staff representatives in the coming days and weeks to figure out what the best way forward is," he said. "We are getting our business fit for what we see is a very changed marketplace, and in many ways we are getting ahead of things - we are satisfied that when we get through this we will have a fit and strong business on the island of Ireland as a whole." The plan includes making the business a single brand in the Republic, with the merger of its specialist mortgage and investment arm, First Active, into the main Ulster Bank. The Ulster Bank, which has more than 1.8m customers, has 145 branches in the Republic and 92 in Northern Ireland. The bank, founded in Belfast in 1836, said its plans in Northern Ireland included measures to support customers, experiencing financial difficulties. The plan includes funding for the provision of debt advice, staff secondment for debt agency work and a six month postponement on house repossession after a customer first goes into arrears.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/4925304.stm

Police in Kathmandu opened fire on tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters who defied a curfew to stage a rally against the rule of King Gyanendra. Violence erupted when at least 100,000 people defied the curfew by marching on central Kathmandu. Pic: Collective Campaign for Peace. The UN human rights commissioner in Nepal has urged the king to restore democracy and prevent further bloodshed. Live ammunition, tear gas and rubber bullets left a trail of casualties. Pic: Collective Campaign for Peace. The 18-hour curfew was in force from a 200-metre belt beyond the city's ring road. The Nepalese authorities had warned that violators would be "shot on sight". Thursday's curfew was imposed after 10 people were killed in two weeks of rallies against the king's direct rule. Dozens of student activists were among those rounded up by police in the protests. The protests have been accompanied by strikes called by opponents of the king, leading to food and fuel shortages. The king's government has justified its crackdown, claiming Nepal's Maoist rebel movement has infiltrated the protests.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6911223.stm

Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to continue reforms and efforts to join the European Union, following his party's election victory. Mr Erdogan said that "democracy has passed a very important test" Mr Erdogan also said his Islamist-rooted AK Party would seek national unity and respect Turkey's secular constitution. Unofficial results gave the AK Party about 47% of the vote, prompting wild street celebrations by supporters. Opponents have warned that an AKP win could undermine Turkey's secularism. The election was called after opposition parties in parliament blocked the AK Party's nominee for the post of president, causing political deadlock. One of the new parliament's first tasks will be to decide what to do about the post of the presidency. But despite his election win, Mr Erdogan will lack the two-thirds parliamentary majority to force through his presidential choice. In the capital Ankara, Mr Erdogan told jubilant supporters that the AKP victory was a triumph for democracy. He promised to "press ahead with reforms and the economic development that we have been following so far". "We will continue to work with determination to achieve our European Union goal," he said. The prime minister also vowed to continue the fight against Kurdish rebels in the east of Turkey. Although the AKP has been returned to power with a larger share of the vote, the presence of a third political party in the parliament means it will have fewer seats, the BBC's Pam O'Toole says. She adds that the presence of Kurdish deputies and the Nationalist Action Party could be a potentially explosive mix in parliament. The AKP's 47% means it would get up to 341 seats in the 550-member parliament. Two opposition parties won the 10% share needed to guarantee seats in parliament - the secularist Republican People's Party (CHP) polled 20%, and the right-wing Nationalist Action Party (MHP) 14%. Estimates said the CHP would win up to 112 seats and the MHP some 70 seats, with up to 27 going to independent candidates, including pro-Kurdish politicians. The election was touted as one of the most important in Turkey's history and turnout was reported to be extremely high, with many people breaking off holidays to return home to vote. The key test now, says the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Ankara, will be who the party puts forward for president and whether or not it is willing to compromise. At AKP headquarters on election night the crowd was calling for Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul to become president, but it was his nomination that sparked this whole crisis in the first place. He is a devout Muslim and his wife wears the Islamic headscarf. It is not clear how the staunchly secularist military will react to the re-election of the AKP. During the deadlock over the presidency, the army said it was prepared to step in to defend Turkey's secular system. The current president, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, and the secularist establishment have vowed to resist what they regard as the Islamist agenda of the AKP. Mr Erdogan's government dismisses that portrayal, pointing to its record of five years of economic growth and the start of membership negotiations with the EU. And, our correspondent says, with this massive of vote of confidence in the AKP, almost half of the population have turned out to show they do not believe it is any threat to Turkey's secular system. With such a clear mandate, the AKP may be tempted to nominate Abdullah Gul again, she says, though most believe the party will look for consensus to avoid dragging the country back into chaos.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/england/7904359.stm

"We'd be concerned if any player was carrying an injury that may affect his participation in the Ashes series and we'll look at that as we move forward," said Collier. The ECB has allowed Flintoff, Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood to play for a maximum three weeks of the six-week IPL season, while Ravi Bopara and Owais Shah have also been signed up to play in India. Australia captain Ricky Ponting and batsman Michael Clarke have already pulled out of this year's IPL to concentrate on their side's congested national team calendar. Asked if the ECB could stop Flintoff playing, Collier said: "There are medical clauses. "The IPL are very responsible in that area and we have very, very strong relationships with Chennai. Andrew's own team will also be looking at the injury prognosis." This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-22104743

Hate crime: First arrest for attack on emo teenager - 11 April 2013 - From the section Manchester Two people have been arrested over an assault on an emo teenager - a week after police began recording attacks on subculture members as hate crimes. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is the first force in the UK to register such offences. A 16-year-old boy describing himself as an emo was assaulted in Ashton town centre on Monday, officers said. A 14-year-old boy and a 44-year-old man from Manchester have been arrested on suspicion of assault. They have been released on police bail pending further inquiries. 'Hope victims encouraged' The assault is the first to be investigated as an alternative subculture hate crime. The emo subculture revolves around musical tastes and specific fashions. Emos often wear dark clothing similar to goths, but the fashion for spiky, coloured hair and studded clothing shows punk influences. GMP has worked with a charity set up following the murder of 20-year-old goth Sophie Lancaster in 2007 to change attitudes to subcultures. Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan said: "It is unfortunate that this incident happened but the fact we were able to identify this as a hate crime is very positive. "We hope this encourages victims to continue to come forward so we can take positive action against offenders. "Officers will be reviewing CCTV and speaking to witnesses in order to investigate this attack thoroughly, as we do with all crimes." Offences recorded as hate crimes can receive higher sentences but for that to happen legislation would also need to change.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/politics_show/6151284.stm

This week, Max Cotton looks at the balance between freedom and security, after a Queen's Speech containing more legislation to tackle "anti social behaviour". The man that Asbos are meant to keep recipients away from One of the highest-profile parts of efforts in recent years has been the Asbo, but what is an Asbo, how do they work, and how many have been handed out? Asbo stands for anti-social behaviour order. They are civil orders, given out by magistrates' courts and ban somebody over the age of 10-years-old from engaging in anti-social behaviour, usually in a particular place. The local police, local authorities, housing trusts and registered social landlords can apply to their local magistrates' court for an Asbo to be given out. Asbos can be given for harassment of residents or passers-by, verbal abuse, criminal damage, vandalism, noise nuisance, graffiti, engaging in threatening behaviour in large groups, racial abuse, underage smoking and drinking, drug abuse, joyriding, begging, prostitution or kerb-crawling, throwing missiles, assault and vehicle crime. The minimum period for an Asbo is two years, but there is no maximum period. For young people, they should be reviewed every year. It is a criminal offence to breach an Asbo, and doing so can attract a prison sentence of up to five years. They were first given out in 1999, as part of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Asbos are intended to keep this to a minimum In all, 7,356 Asbos were given out in England and Wales between 1999 and September 2005. Just 62 applications were rejected. The most recent statistics (2000-03) suggest 40% of Asbos were breached, and of those breaching their Asbos, 30% went to prison. Some councils are more enthusiastic about Asbos than others - 14% of all Asbos were handed out in Greater Manchester. Also, some parties have been more enthusiastic about Asbos than others - Labour introduced them and Labour councils (like Manchester) have been amongst the most enthusiastic proponents; the Liberal Democrats were very critical of Asbos initially and some Lib Dem councils have been less ready to apply for them. The government's crime reduction website states: "The orders had delivered real improvement in the quality of life to communities around the country¿ its use of civil law procedures and the wide powers granted to courts to impose conditions once satisfied that an Asbo was necessary were widely welcomed". Asbo opponents say: "Asbos are targeting the vulnerable so the government can win votes", Matt Foot - Asbo Concern. Join Jon Sopel and guests for the Politics Show on Sunday 19 November 2006 at 12:00 GMT on BBC One. Disclaimer: The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all emails will be published.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/international/4432104.stm

Coach Eddie Jones has urged the Australian Rugby Union to fund a specialist scrum school after the Wallabies were hammered by England. Australia's pack was crushed by England's giant front row, led by man of the match Andrew Sheridan Jones said the ARU ignored his warnings of a scrummaging crisis after the World Cup two years ago - and insists the time has come to take action. "We have to improve our technique and change the way we operate," said Jones. "I suggested we needed a tight-five scrummaging school but it hasn't happened. "I put the paper to the board because in 2003 we realised then we were behind in that area and only through being crafty were we able to get our way out of it." Jones also suggested sending young forwards to serve an apprenticeship in Europe. "We do have look to outside Australia to see how we can improve ourselves," he added. "There was a size factor against England but also a technique factor as well. "Andrew Sheridan led the way. He put enormous pressure on the right of our scrum and we didn't cope with him. "England have two good props, a heavyweight hooker and two good locks. They were better than the French. They really went to take us in that area. "We were exposed to a new level of scrummaging. "We need our players to go to countries where the culture of rugby is their scrum. We don't have that culture in Australia. "We have to have a range of personnel who can scrummage at this level. At the moment we don't have the luxury of choice. "You can turn it around but scrummaging is an art and it takes time to develop an art."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4185195.stm

Little progress has been made in cracking down on benefit fraud and error, a spending watchdog has said. This is the 15th year that the audit office has found fault The National Audit Office (NAO) found that about £3bn or 2.8% of overall spending on benefits and job programmes was lost to fraud and error in 2003/4. Figures show the same amount was lost in the two previous years. The Commons' Public Accounts Committee will question officials from the Department for Work and Pensions in March about the report's findings. Still too high Sir John Born, auditor general and comptroller, acknowledged that fraud and error had fallen but he said that overall the level was still too high. "The challenges the Department faces in reducing the scale of fraud and error across the benefit system to an acceptable level still remain very large indeed," Sir John said. He added that this was the 15th year in a row he had "qualified" the accounts of the DWP and its predecessor, the Department of Social Security. Qualifying the accounts is an accounting term, which refers to the fact that a significant sum of money has been used for purposes that "Parliament did not intend". Sir John has previously said that he would give the DWP's accounts a clean bill of health if it reduced benefit fraud to 1% or £1bn of expenditure. The DWP spends £109bn on benefits and employment programmes each year. Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance as well as Housing Benefit are most at risk of fraud and error, the NAO said. Fraud and error in Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance costs taxpayers £840m or 6.4% of expenditure, down from £920m in the previous year. Fraud and error in payments of Housing Benefit, which is paid by local authorities but administered by the DWP, cost £650m or 5.3% of total spending. Edward Leigh MP, chairman of the House of Commons' Public Accounts Committee, said the DWP had made some progress on benefit fraud. "The flood of benefit money being lost as a result of fraud and error is not abating...the fact remains that an annual overall loss of £3bn is a grievous waste of public resources," he said. Since 1998, more than £1bn of taxpayers' money has been saved by improvements in procedures, a spokesman for the DWP said. "Much is being done to tackle official error levels. The incidence of error is continuously monitored and improvement targets are set," the department said in a statement.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4362974.stm

By Tim Weber Business editor, BBC News website As internet search engine Google reports record quarterly profits, BBC News investigates what the secretive internet giant's strategy could be. Google's founders have global ambitions Google is wealthy. Very wealthy. After two share offerings the firm has $7.6bn (£4.2bn) cash in the bank, and a stock market value of more than $54bn. During the first nine months of the year, Google earned a cool $1.5bn (£845m) before taxes. Not bad for a company that celebrated its seventh birthday just a few days ago. Google's technology may be based on rocket science algorithms, but the secret of its success is simple: Provide the best search engine in the digital world, and surround the results with cleverly selected ads that meet the needs of the user. The Google cash register Not long ago, online advertising was considered a turn-off and in decline. GOOGLE IN NUMBERS HQ: Mountain View, California Staff: 4,989 (Sept '05) Pre-tax profit: $1.5bn (Jan-Sept '05) Cash in bank: $7.6bn Top search engine in Europe 80% of all European search page views 41% of all US search page views Europe: 120m users each month UK: 16.6m unique users Google's adverts, however, manage to strike the right balance between useful and unobtrusive. Search on Google for "France holiday hotels" and your results page will be surrounded by "sponsored links", little adverts that just happen to be exactly what you are looking for. Click on one of them and the Google cash register rings, to the tune of about 50 US cents a click say analysts, although some keywords are much more expensive. Most of the money is generated by Google's own website, but plenty comes through partners like AOL which - for a share of the revenue - display Google's sponsored links on their websites. "Ads actually do have value if you can figure out the right ones to show," says Google's chief executive Eric Schmidt. Google everywhere, part 1 But apart from advertising, what is Google really up to? The company is notorious for keeping its cards close to its chest. Observers are left to judge Google's strategy by analysing the dizzying array of services and tools launched over the past few years. Amongst the offerings: a browser toolbar, an integrated desktop search, webmail service Gmail, image editor Picasa, internet telephony Google Talk, an online RSS Reader, Blogger, News, price comparison service Froogle, Maps, satellite images, automated alerts, online translation, and specialised search services for images, video, local information and more. An online payment system is in the works, and a recently announced alliance with Sun Microsystems could get Google into the market for free office software. It does not take a degree in conspiracy theory to wonder whether all this shapes up to a new all-encompassing, self-contained computer architecture. Google everywhere, part 2 Google's international ambitions certainly don't lack in scale. So far its services can be obtained in 109 languages, and most countries in the world have the benefit of a dedicated Google home page. Google is preparing to extend its headquarters "Three-and-a-half years ago we didn't exist in Europe, we had one guy in California who was looking after Europe," says Nikesh Arora, Google board member and the man in charge of the firm's European operations. Still, Google is "not happy with the speed of rolling out the internationalisation of our products", he says. So does Google want to be the next Microsoft? The conspiracy theories don't wash with Mr Arora. Google, he says, simply stays true to the mission statement postulated by founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin: "Organising the world's information and making it universally accessible and useful." Oh - and "don't do evil". Evolving - or just clueless? So how long will it take to get the world sorted? "Three hundred years", says Google boss Eric Schmidt, citing a little internal math exercise conducted by the firm's whiz kids. But where is the focus? Why does Google roll out so many diverse tools where one user interface hardly resembles the other? Mr Arora admits that "not everything is tied down together yet," but insists that "slowly and steadily we bring things together". All of Google's tools and services, says Mr Arora, have just two purposes: They help users to find and organise whatever information is out there, and allow them to share the information with others. Google's internal culture may explain the haphazard approach of getting there. Whoever comes up with a "smart idea" writes it up, says Mr Arora, and if it strikes a chord, Google's engineers sign up and commit a certain amount of their time. "There is no grand unification theory, but it's a democratic evolution of our offering," says Mr Arora. "And once we got a great product, we will find a business model to go with it." In most cases, this model revolves around selling adverts. This is not just about creating sales leads, says Mr Arora. "If your company doesn't show up in a search for a product you offer, you have missed an opportunity to build your brand." As Google extends its reach across the world, it cannot avoid treading on a few toes. Publishers and authors have sued Google to stop its ambitious project of scanning and indexing millions of books. They worry about the potential for copyright infringement. In the UK and Germany, Google had to drop its Gmail brand in the face of rival claims to the trademark. In China, Google first got into trouble with the country's critics over allegations that it co-operated with China's censorship of the internet, and then with the Beijing government itself over how to describe Taiwan on its online maps. Privacy advocates fret over the mountains of "transactional and personal data" piling up in Google's vast databases. And whenever Google tweaks its search algorithm, the engineers in Mountain View, California, have to brace themselves for howls of outrage from thousands of small online retailers who drop off the first page of search results. Fighting Yahoo and Microsoft And then there are the two other gorillas of the online world, Yahoo and Microsoft. The rivalry with Yahoo is obvious; both firms are in the paid-links search business. Yahoo has bought a string of competitors to forge a service to rival Google's. Its most important acquisition was Overture, the company that invented the concept of search-driven online ads. Coupled with a fresh emphasis on exclusive content, Yahoo hopes to draw punters away from Google. Microsoft, meanwhile, is wary of what Google might do beyond the search business. "Google is a threat to Microsoft just as Microsoft was a threat to IBM," says Jim Steele, president of salesforce.com, an on-demand software company. Some of Google's projects have indeed the potential to undermine several of Microsoft's key revenue streams. Microsoft's bosses are clearly worried. Chief executive Steve Ballmer was recently quoted as saying that he would love to "kill Google", while company founder Bill Gates keeps repeating the mantra of putting Google out of business by developing a better search engine. Google's response is a hefty investment in its search business. The firm just announced plans for a massive extension of its "Googleplex" headquarter. "We understand the challenge and do our best to compete," says Mr Arora. "We dedicate 70% of our [research and development budget] on search, about 2,000 engineers are working on nothing else," he says. One click away But Google has a simple problem. If its engineers fall behind, its rivals are just one click away. "If consumers see a perceptible quality difference [with rival search engines], they will disappear," admits Mr Arora. And suddenly all of Google's little tools make perfect sense. Microsoft relies on computer users being too sedate to download rival web browsers. Google, for its part, hopes that its useful desktop tools will be sticky enough to keep people within the virtual Googleplex. But with both Yahoo and Microsoft giving chase, Google must hurry to merge its disparate tools. "We are just seven years old, but we have to grow up very quickly," says Mr Arora.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15886443

Matilda the musical proves a hit with West End critics Matilda, comedian Tim Minchin's musical take on Roald Dahl's classic story, is a hit with critics after opening in London's West End. The RSC production has already been named best musical at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards. The Mail's five star review called it "a fabulous family fizzer", praising Bertie Carvel's portrayal of sadistic headmistress Agatha Trunchbull. The Telegraph called it "hilarious, moving and magical". Critic Charles Spencer said: "It is the best new British musical since Billy Elliot." Songs were written by Australian stand-up comedian Tim Minchin, with the adapted script by playwright Dennis Kelly. 'Delicious lyrical wit' Spencer said Kelly, "has previously been responsible for some of the most violent and depressing plays I have ever endured. "Here, in a spectacular transformation, he has discovered joy, humour and tenderness.". Minchin, he added, "has come up with a smashing score that combines take-home melodies with delicious lyrical wit". The production, which opened in Stratford, got off to a winning start at the Evening Standard awards and the Theatre Awards UK - where it picked up best musical and best performance for Bertie Carvel - before moving to the West End. "The show has been ramped up a little bit from Stratford into the realm of West End extravaganza, without losing the intimacy, " Minchin told the BBC News website at the Evening Standard Awards. "I'm really happy with how it's transferred." Dahl's 1988 novel tells the story of Matilda Wormwood, an extraordinary child whose disinterested parents and malicious headmistress are contemptuous of her intelligence and completely unaware of her supernatural talents. The Mail's Quentin Letts said the evening's lead actress, Eleanor Worthington Cox, was "blessed with a quirky charm", adding "her little classmates are terrific, too". However, he reserved a single complaint that: "If Matthew Warchus's RSC production has a fault, it is the overdone amplification." Guests in the audience included Only Fools and Horses' star Nicholas Lyndhurst, actor Timothy Spall and award-winning stage actress Sheridan Smith. Lyn Gardner in The Guardian called the show, at London's Cambridge Theatre, an "anarchically joyous, gleefully nasty and ingenious musical adaptation". The Arts Desk said Matilda was "a cunning combination of gross cartoon, pitch-perfect professionalism and endearing feel good factor". The book was previously turned into a film in 1996 and a two-part adaptation for BBC Radio 4.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35714150

Why women are worst hit by India's farm crisis He tried to take his life for the first time in 2009. Mukunda Wagh, a farmer, consumed pesticide in the cow shed at his village home in Maharashtra's Washim district. Then he collapsed, frothing at the mouth, and lay unconscious until his wife, Babi, found him. She rushed him to a hospital, where doctors washed his stomach and saved him. Three years later, in May 2012, Wagh's luck ran out. The soybean crop on his two-acre farm had failed and he was drowning in a debt of 60,000 rupees ($890; £631), borrowed from friends and relatives. Villagers found his lifeless body outside a local gas plant. He was 38. 'Not so fortunate' "Some say he drank himself to death, others say he was electrocuted. His body had turned black. I was at my parents' place when this happened. My children said, if I had stayed at home, their father wouldn't have taken his life," says Mrs Wagh, 38. Over four years, Mrs Wagh has rebuilt her family - she has worked long hours, tilling the family plot and working on other people's farms; sent her son and daughter to polytechnic; bought livestock, repaid most of her husband's loan. Low interest loans from self-help groups have been a lifeline. "I am lucky. Other widows are not so fortunate," she says, sitting in her tin-roofed home in Malegaon village. One of them is Archana Burare, a 22-year-old widow, who now lives with her ageing parents and her baby boy in a village in Washim. When her husband took his life after consuming pesticide in 2014, her in-laws abandoned her and locked up their home, forcing her to return to her landless father and homemaker mother. Mrs Burare was 19 when she got married. Her husband had taken a 12-acre farm on rent after borrowing 50,000 rupees, and begun growing rice, groundnut and soybean. The crop was good the first year, and she also worked at another farm, and things were going fine. "Then the rains stopped and the land dried up. The well ran out of water and the crops failed." The family went into a downward spiral. Her husband, she says, began drinking and beating her up. Then he broke his leg in a road accident, and could not afford an expensive private surgery to set it right. Meanwhile, the debts kept mounting: 25,000 rupees for her sister's marriage; another 20,000 rupees for the failing farm. "I had gone to my parents' place for a break. He was alone at home when he drank pesticide and killed himself," says Mrs Burare. "I did not get any compensation [from the government] because the land did not belong to my husband. My in-laws do not keep in touch." Mrs Burare works as a cook at a government childcare centre for a salary of 850 rupees a month, but she hasn't been paid for the past eight months. Her widow pension is still stuck in the bureaucracy. She struggles to feed her extended family by working on other people's farms. "I am trying to secure my family a bit, buying a few goats and a buffalo after taking some loans from self-help groups. My three-year-old son had an accident, and every check up at the private hospital is expensive. Government hospitals are crowded, it takes three days to get a scan." According to one estimate, more than 3,000 farmers in Maharashtra have taken their lives every year between 2004 and 2013. Last year, as many as 3,228 farmers took their lives, the highest in the last 14 years, a government minister informed the parliament recently. Widows of 1,818 victims were paid compensation of 100,000 rupees each; the rest were found to be ineligible. The vast, rain-fed farms of Vidarbha region spread over 11 districts in Maharashtra are the worst affected. Cash crops are expensive to grow and a global commodities downturn has meant a drop in demand and declining farm incomes. Access to formal credit is scanty, so farmers are forced to borrow at usurious rates from private lenders to buy seeds, fertilisers, water pumps, and pay for a marriage in the family. Two successive poor monsoons have led to some nine million farmers in the region facing near-drought conditions and crop failures. That's not all. It is not easy for the widows to be eligible for compensation: tangled land deeds mean ownerships of plots are often disputed - there are some 80 cases related to property disputes after farm suicides in four districts - and payment is denied if alcohol is found in the viscera of a dead farmer. The paltry widow pension can take ages to process. "The widows are the worst affected. Single women face discrimination in patriarchal village households anyway. If they are widowed, they are often thrown out, deprived of their land, and their children's future is jeopardised," says Kishore Tiwari, a prominent farm activist heading a government panel to curb suicides. Mr Tiwari reckons 60% of some 10,000 farm widows in the Vidarbha region have received no compensation. What's keeping them going are dozens of non-profit and self-help groups networked to NGOs like Kisan Mitra (Farmer's Friend) which are counselling the widows, offering soft loans, making them aware of their property and legal rights and protecting them from sexual harassment. The suicides mirror the state of India's ailing farms, which account for 14% of India's GDP, but on which more than half of its more than a billion people depend on for an uncertain living. Many farmers are simply not earning enough. After the soybean and cotton crop on his three-acre plot failed, Mandha Alone's husband, Sharad, borrowed money to buy an auto-rickshaw, while she worked on the parched farm in Wardha district. But, in 2011, he was injured seriously in a road accident, and had to sell his wife's jewellery and some of his land and take a loan of 200,000 rupees for a series of surgeries. He began defaulting. "That completely broke him. He drank heavily, beat me up. Then on the day of Holi (festival of colours) in 2013, he simply walked into a river near our village and drowned." Mrs Alone says she went into a depression for a year. She was not eligible for compensation because the autopsy found liquor in Sharad's body. Then a self-help group arrived at her door and gave her a small loan to buy a sewing machine. Now she stitches clothes, works on other people's farms, and rents out the family plot. Life continues to be hard, and her husband's debts remain unpaid. "I have told the bank and the debtors that I cannot pay anymore. I tell them, take the responsibility of my children and do what you want to do," says Mrs Alone. "There's no future in farming anymore. In the villages, farmers are driving auto-rickshaws, working in brick kilns. Their daughters are sitting at home because they don't get good grooms. "If you come here in 10 years time," says Ms Alone, "you will see many, many more widows."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/mobile/europe/8252547.stm

French Labour Minister Xavier Darcos is to meet the head of the country's main telecommunications company to discuss a number of suicides among its staff. Twenty-three employees of France Telecom have killed themselves since the beginning of 2008. Unions blame tough management methods at the multinational, which was privatised in 1998. But France Telecom says the rate of suicides is statistically not unusual for a company with a 100,000 workforce. According to the World Health Organization, France had an annual suicide rate of 26.4 for 100,000 men in 2008. The rate for women was 9.2 suicides per 100,000. The latest suicide occurred on Friday, when a 32-year-old woman leapt to her death at a France Telecom office in Paris. On Wednesday, a 49-year-old man in Troyes, east of Paris, plunged a knife into his own stomach during a meeting in which he had been told he was being transferred. He is being treated in hospital. Mr Darcos is to meet France Telecom chief executive Didier Lombard early next week, a spokesman for the labour ministry announced on Saturday. The unions say a never-ending drive for efficiency is causing emotional havoc in the workforce - especially among older employees recruited when France Telecom was part of the public sector. Since privatisation in 1998 some 40,000 jobs have gone, and unions say there is pressure on many employees either to leave or to accept new working conditions. The management of France Telecom denies that there has been a sudden increase in the suicide rate. It points out that in the year 2000 there were 28 suicides in the company - a figure which it says is statistically not unusual. France Telecom says most suicides are prompted by personal, not professional, causes. However, a BBC correspondent in Paris says the firm concedes that the cultural and organisational changes required by the move from French public monopoly to a competitive multinational were bound to cause stress. After the latest cases it has promised to hire more counselling staff and to suspend internal job transfers pending new talks with the unions.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4661366.stm

Whether your earwax is wet or dry is determined by a mutation in a single gene, scientists have discovered. What kind of earwax lurks in here? An international team of researchers studied the genes of people from 33 populations across the world. They found ethnicity affects which form of the gene people have, and therefore their earwax type. And in Nature Genetics, they raised the unlikely possibility that earwax type could be linked to attractiveness, due to a link with body odour glands. Earwax is secreted by the ceruminous apocrine glands. Dry earwax is seen in up to 95% of East Asians, but no more than 3% of people of European and African origin. In both Europeans and Africans, the wet type completely dominates. A 39-strong international team of scientists, led by researchers from the Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in Japan discovered the reason for the difference is a gene called ABCC11. This gene controls the behaviour of a cell channel controlling the flow of earwax-altering molecules. Any mutation in the gene can change the structure of the channel, which acts as a "gateway" into the cell, which then affects the type of earwax produced. Further tests carried out in the lab showed cells with one ABCC11 mutation were less active secretors than cells with another. The scientists, led by Koh-ichiro Yoshiura, suggest that a change in the channel probably first occurred in North-East Asia, and subsequently spread throughout Asia, as well as to native Americans and Inuit people with Asian origins. They add that "the implications of earwax remain unknown". But they suggest: "Insect trapping, self-cleaning and prevention of dryness of the external auditory canal are its plausible functions." The link with attractiveness was mooted because studies on animals such as chimpanzees, orang-utans, dogs and mice have shown secretory products of apocrine, such as body odour, are produced by different glands from the same family as those which produce earwax. Armpit odour has been linked to wet-type earwax. And since apocrine glands are also found in the breast, there is a suggestion that a better understanding of how they work could offer clues about how breast cancer develops. Dr Sally Dawson, a lecturer in molecular audiology at University College London, UK, told the BBC News website: "This research has shown that, as well as a physical condition, this genetic analysis offers a method of studying how different populations moved around - such as how people may have arrived in North America. "And it is possible there is an association between earwax and other, major, conditions." She added the researchers also claimed it was the first time a single letter difference in human DNA - called a single-nucleotide polymorphism - had been found to determine a visible genetic trait.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-48457460

Leeds station: Trains running again after disruption Thousands of passengers have had their journeys disrupted due to a trespasser on the railway at Leeds station. Network Rail said overhead electric wires were switched off at 07:30 BST while police safely "removed [a man] from harm's way" just before 09:30. Delays and cancellations have affected stations across the country, including York, Sheffield, Plymouth and Newcastle. Network Rail said most services were back to normal by 16:00 BST. A Network Rail spokesman said: "It's not totally cleared, but there's about 80% of the trains running [to time]." British Transport Police said a man who was removed from the station had been taken to hospital. Earlier one passenger told the BBC her 07:30 service from nearby New Pudsey had been delayed for more than two hours. "We pulled in just outside Leeds," she said. "That's where we stayed and we were just notified there had been an incident and they would keep us updated." Passengers at Leeds were turned away by staff earlier unless their journeys were "absolutely necessary". Train operators Northern and London North Eastern Railway (LNER) have used buses to replace some of the cancelled services. LNER said eight buses would be operating between Leeds, York and Doncaster. At Sheffield, passengers were told to make alternative travel arrangements, with services to Nottingham, Plymouth and Newcastle all disrupted. Services in and out of York have also been delayed. One passenger stuck on a train near Ilkley said he was unable to get to London on his pre-booked ticket and had "no money" to buy a replacement. At the scene earlier Jonny McGuigan, BBC News Services at the station are still "severely affected" and staff have been asking passengers to remain in the concourse area until trains start running again. Coffee shops have been handing out free drinks to commuters and station staff have been distributing bottles of water. One woman is simply sat playing the piano in the station. She is waiting for a train but has decided that she may as well keep herself busy and entertain other passengers. You may also be interested in: - Boy, 6, airlifted from theme park - Raccoon dogs' owner in drone help plea - Mum's plea to killer over daughter's body More than 72,000 people use the station every day, with an average of 25,000 passengers during the morning peak period. Leeds is the third busiest railway station in Great Britain outside London, according to Department for Transport figures.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/motorbikes/4443420.stm

The 2005 MotoGP season was once again dominated by one man, the enigmatic, charming and devastatingly fast Valentino Rossi. The Italian led from the start, winning five of the first six races to leave perennial challengers Sete Gibernau and Max Biaggi choking on his exhaust fumes. Rossi clinched his fifth consecutive world title in Malaysia, finishing second to Loris Capirossi to give himself a decisive points lead. While Biaggi and Gibernau look spent forces, Capirossi and Marco Melandri showed enough in the final four races to suggest they could be title contenders in 2006. We caught up with the BBC MotoGP team of Suzi Perry, Steve Parrish and Charlie Cox to find out what their abiding memories of 2005 would be. QU: YOUR HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR? Suzi: Standing on the podium in Mugello when Valentino Rossi won was awesome, especially as it was an Italian 1-2-3. Visiting China for the first time was fascinating, and seeing the Ducatis finally perform was a good sign for next year. Steve: My highlight was when I was given the controls of a JCB and allowed to start the demolition of the pits at Donington - smashing everything! Charlie: Commentating on the last lap at Jerez - an enthralling duel between Rossi and Gibernau. QU: BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT? Suzi: Probably the lack of competition generally for Rossi, and Gibernau and Biaggi not being in the mix. Steve: Same as Suzi - Rossi was just too good and the rest struggled to make it a competition. Charlie: Seeing Shane Byrne's team fall apart before the end of the year, and losing a great character from the championship. And on a personal level, missing Philip Island because I fell ill. QU: MOVE OF THE SEASON? Suzi: Obviously "that" manoeuvre by Rossi in Jerez, a brave move after a series of terrific overtakes by both Gibernau and Rossi. Rossi's move on Biaggi in front of Max's fans was also very cheeky! Steve: Again the same as Suzi - Rossi's braking, acceleration and eye for the gap is unrivalled. Charlie: Yup - Rossi on Gibernau - in many ways it set the tone for the season, and snuffed out Gibernau's hopes of mounting a serious challenge. QU: BEST AND WORST TRACKS? Suzi: Philip Island, Mugello and Assen are the best. I like the faster, natural tracks, they seem to provoke better racing. My least favourite is Valencia, as it's too tight and slow - but saying that the fans love it - more than 125,000 this year! Steve: Turkey, as it is the first new track to have real character and interesting corners. My worst is Japan. Charlie: Philip Island - beautiful location. I've raced there many times and my parents live nearby. My worst would have to be Le Mans. QU: FAVOURITE BIKE? Suzi: Technically, the RC211V is probably still king, but the real answer is any bike with Valentino across the tank! Steve: Honda, I still think is superior, despite not bringing home the championship. The worst is KTM Roberts, basically for not finishing the season or many races. Charlie: Ducati was my favourite, just because it's got so much squirt! QU: BEST ATMOSPHERE? Suzi: No question, Mugello, some of them are like animals! They camp in packs and the areas around the track are colour-coded towards the various different Italian riders. Jerez is also loony! The Spanish just love their firecrackers. But the most respected crowd should be the Brits for sticking out that appalling weather that dogged the British GP! Steve: For me it has to be Italy - the Mugello crowd are nuts. They sit out there and rev their engines for three days! Charlie: Yup - Mugello - any bike fan should try and watch a race there at least once. QU: WHO CAN CHALLENGE ROSSI IN 2006? Suzi: The new blood in the paddock will be interesting, but Melandri and Hayden caught my eye to the latter of the year. And there is no reason why Gibernau can't pull himself together and come back. Capirossi looked great before that crash in Oz, so let's wait and see. Steve: Melandri can beat Rossi in time, but let's not put too much pressure on him at the moment. I rate Rossi as one of - if not the - most talented men to have competed on a bike, and that's what the others have to contend with. Charlie: My money is on Melandri; he's quick, aggressive and crucially seems to believe he can beat Rossi - if that really is the case then he's half-way there. Suzi, Steve and Charlie will be back next year with the 2006 MotoGP season.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/8159459.stm

Flintoff once again was the inspiration behind England's victory This was a famous victory and, coming so soon after the one-sided Cardiff Test, one that was scarcely predictable. There's no doubt that England were lifted by their escape there, and while Ricky Ponting denied that it had a negative influence on his team, it certainly cannot have helped. Indeed, Australia were as poor at Lord's as England had been at Cardiff perhaps we are in for a see-saw of a series. Andrew Flintoff's effort was awesome. Ponting had mused at the start of the game that Flintoff's retirement might become a distraction for England, but we knew he was clutching at straws. In fact, it has driven him to finish on the highest possible note what more motivation do you need than to know that you are bowing out with the opportunity to lead your team to regain the Ashes? His performance would have been special and remarkable even without his knee problem. He thundered in from the Pavilion End, using the slope to his advantage, and he snuffed out any unlikely concerns that Australia might smash the record books by dismissing Brad Haddin with only his fourth delivery of the morning - via a beautifully taken catch at second slip by Paul Collingwood. That effectively sealed Australia's fate, and when Michael Clarke misjudged the length of Graeme Swanns second ball and was bowled for 136, it was merely a case of when England could celebrate their first win against Australia here for 75 years. The crowd was urging Flintoff to take his first five-wicket haul at Lord's, and having ripped out Nathan Hauritz's off stump when the off-spinner played no shot, he came off a shortened run and blew away Peter Siddle. Flintoff raised his arms in triumph, like a victorious gladiator and then, typically, told us that it had been a team effort. It was, of course, with Andrew Strauss's outstanding 161 setting it up, but there are fitness concerns over both Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen. It seems that both will take their injuries on a day-by-day basis, there is a good chance that both will make it through the series. Graham Onions also has an elbow problem. For Australia, the worries are about form rather than fitness with Mitchell Johnson and Phillip Hughes at the top of the list. Both teams will be relieved, therefore, for this week's breather before they meet again at Edgbaston next Thursday.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/house_of_commons/newsid_9764000/9764918.stm

Prime Minister David Cameron has accused Labour of "playing politics" with the EU budget after opposition leader Ed Miliband demanded to know why the PM would not support a Commons motion to cut it in real terms. As the prime minister returned to the despatch box for his weekly question session from MPs on 31 October 2012, he told MPs that "at best we would like [the EU budget] cut; at worst frozen". MPs were scheduled to debate the EU's long-term budget, or "multi-annual financial framework", just over three hours after the PM's question session, including an amendment tabled by Conservative backbenchers explicitly calling for a real-terms cut. Mr Miliband said the amendment would give Mr Cameron a mandate to press for a cut at forthcoming negotiations with his fellow EU leaders on the budget. "Why is he resisting that opportunity?" he asked. "At a time when he is cutting the education budget by 11%, the transport budget by 15% and the police budget by 20%, how can he even be giving up on a cut in the EU budget before the negotiations have begun?" Mr Miliband said Mr Cameron was "weak abroad and weak at home", comparing him to former PM Sir John Major. But Mr Cameron promised to take the toughest stance of any British government in the negotiations. The Labour leader was guilty of "opportunism" and "playing politics, not serving the country", he alleged. "People haven't forgotten the fact that they [Labour] gave away half our rebate in one negotiation, that they agreed a massive increase to the EU budget under their government," Mr Cameron said. Later in the question session, Mr Cameron denied there was a rift within the coalition over its policy on renewable energy. Conservative MP and Energy Minister John Hayes has reportedly announced there would be no further expansion of onshore wind developments, but Liberal Democrat Energy Secretary Ed Davey later insisted this was not the case. Mr Cameron told the Commons: "There has been no change towards renewable energy. "We have got a big pipeline of onshore and offshore wind projects that are coming through, but frankly all parties are going to have to have a debate in this House and outside this House about what happens when those targets are met."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/events/wales_99/the_welsh_assembly/309706.stm

Tuesday, April 6, 1999 Published at 17:57 GMT 18:57 UK CV: Michael German Born: 8 May 1945 Education: St Mary's College, London. Open University. University of West England. Personal details: Separated. Two children. Non-political career: Music teacher. Political career: Contested Westminster elections 1974, 1979, 1983, 1987; Cardiff councillor and leader of LibDem group 1983-95; joint council leader 1987-91; director LibDem Welsh general election campaign 1987, 1992. In his own words "Our policy proposals have 'Made in Wales' written all over them. We are the only party which truly understands devolution. "Compare this with Labour which still takes its lead from London; with the Tories who are campaigning for the Assembly to fail; and Plaid Cymru, which seeks to hide its separatist agenda." On why assembly members should have performance-related pay: "People are fed up with politicians failing to keep their promises. Only the Liberal Democrats are prepared to put our wages on the line. If we don't keep our promises, we will give up some of our salary." Interests: Music - plays piano and percussion, also a musical arranger and a church organist.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-26122438

Animal trafficking: Wildlife trade crisis talks held Experts from around the world are gathering in London to discuss "the global crisis" in the wildlife trade. Conservationists say animal trafficking is reaching unprecedented levels and species such as rhinos, elephants and tigers are under threat of extinction. The aim of the meeting, hosted by the Zoological Society of London, is to find new ways to protect animals and reduce demand for wildlife products. An action plan will be fed into another meeting hosted by the UK government. End Quote Jonathan Baillie Zoological Society of London It's clear that illegal wildlife trafficking is completely out of control” This will take place on Thursday at Lancaster House, with international leaders gathering to discuss a global response to animal poaching. They will be joined by Prince Charles and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. They have jointly released a video campaign urging people to "unite for wildlife". Prof Jonathan Baillie, director of conservation at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), said: "It's clear that illegal wildlife trafficking is completely out of control, and we need to bring the best minds together to really identify some clear solutions and show clear leadership and direction." He has organised the two-day conference with other NGOs, which include the Wildlife Conservation Society, WWF, Traffic and Conservation International. Wildlife poaching has seen a recent boom, and it is worth an estimated £12bn ($19bn) each year. In South Africa, in 2007, 13 rhinos were killed for their horns, but in 2013, 1,004 rhinos were slaughtered by poachers. Elephants too are suffering dramatic losses. An estimated 20,000 of the giants were killed in Africa during 2012, according to work carried out for the International Union for Conservation of Nature Prof Baillie added: "I was working in central west Africa a little over 10 years ago - and more than half the elephants I saw would now be gone." The meeting will also look at the trade in other species, including tigers, which are thought to number just 3,200 in the wild, and pangolins, which are traded at high volume. The conservationists at the conference will discuss ways to stem the growing markets for wildlife products. Naomi Doak, from Traffic, said the demand for animal products in Asian counties such as Vietnam was growing. "There is still a very strong underlying belief in rhino horn's medicinal value, but we've seen a move away from that towards its use as a reinforcer of social status; a validation almost of people's emerging position in an economy that is growing incredibly fast," she said. The meeting will also look at how conservationists can better protect animals. Prof Baillie said: "People on the ground need to have the tools, the technology and the money to implement conservation effectively. They are up against massive crime networks that are extremely well resourced - and they are outmanned and outgunned." Follow Rebecca on Twitter

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/4615091.stm

World ranking: 34 1st round (2001 & 2004) 2004: 1st round Anabel Medina Garrigues has made just two appearances at Wimbledon in the last four years and there is nothing to suggest the Spaniard will set the tournament alight this time. She slumped out in the first round on her SW19 debut in 2001 and, after injury and a long climb back up the rankings, she returned three years later to repeat the unwanted feat. But the 22-year-old heads to the All-England Club this year, buoyed by a stellar month in May. Medina Garrigues picked up her third career title - and third on clay - at the Strasbourg International, taking the scalp of top seed Natalie Dechy on the way. She then headed to the French Open, where she gave eventual champion Justine Henin-Hardenne a major scare. She took the first five games before her Belgian opponent fought back to win the third-round clash 4-6 6-2 6-3.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7206270.stm

French bank Societe Generale says it has uncovered "massive" fraud by a Paris-based trader which resulted in a loss of 4.9bn euros ($7.1bn; £3.7bn). Jerome Kerviel, the reported rogue trader The bank said the fraud was based on simple transactions, but concealed by "sophisticated and varied techniques". While Societe Generale has yet to name the trader, media reports say he is 31-year-old Frenchman Jerome Kerviel. The losses are four times greater than those made by Nick Leeson, the rogue trader who brought down Barings Bank. Leeson was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in jail. 'A daily occurrence' Speaking to the BBC, Leeson said he was not shocked that the latest fraud had taken place - only its scale. "Rogue trading is probably a daily occurrence within the financial markets," he said. "What shocked me was the size. I never for one moment believed it would get to this degree of magnitude, this degree of loss." Societe Generale's shares, which were suspended in the morning, ended the day down 4.1%. According to reports, Mr Kerviel worked at the bank's Delta One products team in Paris. Although Societe Generale has yet to confirm his name, it did say that the trader was a Frenchman in his 30s who joined the bank in 2000 and earned a salary and bonus of less than 100,000 euros. He was responsible for betting on the markets' future performance, bank executives said. "I'm convinced he acted alone," said Jean-Pierre Mustier, chief executive of the corporate and investment banking division, who interviewed the trader after the fraud was uncovered. Societe Generale said the trader had taken what it called "massive fraudulent directional positions in 2007 and 2008 beyond his limited authority". Executives said the trader may not have sought personal gain from the fraudulent deals. The fraud is an extraordinary echo of the rogue trader, Nick Leeson, who caused the collapse of Barings Bank in 1995, says BBC business correspondent Nils Blythe. But the losses uncovered by Barings bosses totalled just £860m - about a quarter of the amount lost by Societe Generale. The bank, one of France's largest, will need to seek 5.5bn euros in new capital to offset the losses. SOCIETE GENERALE IN FIGURES Founded in 1864 467bn euros in assets under management (as of June 2007) 22.5m customers worldwide 120,000 employees in 77 countries But it said it would still make a profit of 600m to 800m euros for 2007, despite the blow to its balance sheet. The bank said the trader responsible for the fraud had "in-depth knowledge of the control procedures resulting from this former employment in the middle-office". "The transactions which involved the fraud were simple - taking a position on shares rising - but hidden using extremely sophisticated and varied techniques," chief executive Daniel Bouton said in a letter to the bank's customers. The bank said that the trader had confessed to the fraud and was being dismissed. His managers were to leave the bank as well. "I am sorry but I have a hard time buying the fact that a trader was able to set up a 'secret trade' of 4.9 billion without anybody finding out," said Ion-Marc Valhi at Amas Bank. Frederic Hamm, fund manager at Agilis Gestion, believes that the fraud "impacts the reputation of the bank". Mr Bouton offered his resignation but it was rejected by the board, the bank said. Richard Fuld, the chairman of Lehman Brothers, told BBC News in Davos that "nothing stuns me, nothing really surprises me these days." The bank's losses have seriously dented its profits for 2007. SOME MAJOR BANK FRAUDS 2008: Societe Generale, alleged fraud by a trader, 4.9bn euros loss 2002: former currency trader accused of hiding $691m in losses at Allfirst bank of Baltimore 1995: UK's Barings Bank collapsed after a trader Nick Leeson lost £860m ($1.28bn at the time) on futures trades The company will announce its full year results on February 21, and it said that it expects its 2007 net income to be in the range of 600m-800m euros. Shares in Societe Generale have fallen by nearly 50% in the past six months. Societe Generale is also going to raise 5.5bn euros through a capital increase "to strengthen its capital base". Meanwhile, another French bank, BNP Paribas, said that "it has not revealed any loss of item that would justify any particular warning to the market". Gilles Glicenstein, BNP Paribas Investment Partners chief executive, suggested that "there is still some information missing to understand what happened" at Societe Generale. "Because the scale of the fraud is so large, there must be a complex explanation... For Societe Generale, it's an unprecedented event," he added. Mr Glicenstein also said it was not good news for banks in general, as "it can create doubt". "In other periods, this type of news was hidden, but today, there is a tendency to reveal everything and maybe it's by revealing everything that confidence can return," he said. French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said that Societe Generale "has taken serious measures to cope with the situation". "I note too that the Bank of France has indicated that there is no reason to have any worries about the health of this bank and I am happy with that," he added.

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|low graphics version | feedback | help| |You are in: Education| Friday, 17 September, 1999, 07:25 GMT Special schools raising standards Standards are rising in schools for pupils with special needs, says a report from inspectors. A report based on four years of inspections of 1,300 special schools in England by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) - from 1994 to 1998 - has found an overall improvement in achievement. The schools, which serve children with learning difficulties, behavioural problems and physical handicaps, were found to have improved steadily in the first three years of the study then to have made more rapid progress in the last year. Inspectors have found that teaching is now "satisfactory or better" in nine out of ten schools, but there is still "much potential for further improvement". There was particular progress in schools for children with behavioural and emotional difficulties - although the report says such schools are also the most likely to be among the lowest achievers. The reasons for the improvement include a more effective adaptation of the National Curriculum to the particular needs of special school pupils and better documentation within schools. The report, Special Education 1994-98: A Review of Special Schools, Secure Units and Pupil Referral Units in England, adds that the overall improvements come from "a low base". "There are proportionately still far more failing schools and schools with serious weaknesses among special schools than mainstream ones. Children with special needs are entitled to the same high quality of education as other children," said the Chief Inspector for Schools in England, Chris Woodhead. Range of difficulties One of the schools Ofsted singles out for praise is Brent Knoll in Lewisham. It caters for 135 children aged from four to 17 with a wider range of difficulties than most special schools - autism and Asperger syndrome, and physical problems such as brittle bone disease, cystic fibrosis, cerebral palsy, brain tumours and epilepsy, as well as language disorders. "All pupils have a very positive attitude to learning," the inspectors say. "They work enthusiastically, sustain concentration throughout lessons and persevere when they encounter difficulties." The deputy headteacher, Sarah Lynch, told News Online that the key to helping the pupils to achieve their potential was to have the same expectations of them as there would be of children in mainstreams schools. "I think the problem often is that people see the disability before they see the child. "So here, you expect the same of your class in terms of behaviour, in terms of learning, as you would from a mainstream class. And they will aspire to that - nobody is going to aspire to a low expectation. "Obviously everybody that works here has experience of working with children with special needs and an understanding of the conditions from which these children suffer or the nature of their particular learning difficulties. "Despite that, if you have high expectations of them it is likely to be very successful." There is also a knock-on effect in terms of integrating the children into mainstream schools. "If they're following a mainstream curriculum, which we do - we offer GCSE, we do exactly the same national literacy and numeracy strategies - then when children reintegrate into mainstream it's not going to be such a culture shock," she said. "An element of it will be difficult for them, socially, because it is quite a small and nurturing environment here. But in terms of what's expected of them in the classroom there shouldn't be a huge difference." Links to other Education stories are at the foot of the page. Links to other Education stories |^^ Back to top News Front Page | World | UK | UK Politics | Business | Sci/Tech | Health | Education | Sport | Entertainment | In-Depth | Talking Point | Audio/Video

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Irish voters have overwhelmingly backed the tightening of their citizenship laws, final referendum results show. The Irish government says there is evidence of "citizenship tourism" With tallying completed in all 34 counting centres, 79.17% of voters wanted to end the automatic citizenship right for all babies born in Ireland. The government said change was needed because foreign women were travelling to Ireland to give birth in order to get an EU passport for their babies. Ireland has been the only EU country to grant such a right. The poll results showed that 20.83% of voters rejected the proposed changes. The turnout was 59.95%. Voters were making their decision on the constitutional issue at the same time as they elected MEPs to the European Union's parliament. To be approved, the government's referendum on a constitutional amendment requires only a simple majority. The amendment will allow the government to pass a bill that would allow Irish-born children to receive automatic citizenship only if at least one parent is Irish or if parents have been resident in Ireland for at least three years. Ireland's Justice Minister Michael McDowell said there was evidence of what he termed "citizenship tourism". The government says the law, as it stands, provides a loophole that is being exploited. Opponents - including political parties such as the Labour Party, Sinn Fein and the Greens - see the situation differently. They say the government is playing politics with the delicate issue of race and immigration. Critics believe there is no reason to hold a referendum on this matter and say the numbers of women coming to Ireland to give birth is so small that it does not warrant a poll.

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BBC Northern Ireland It is illegal for a woman in NI to have an abortion except if her life is at risk. The Department of Health has, for the first time, published guidance to health professionals in Northern Ireland on terminating pregnancy. Abortion is illegal in NI, except when the mother's life is at risk. While the move will not change the law, the guidelines should make clear what is and is not permitted. The Royal College of Midwives has said they will also bring greater clarity to the legal position of staff who take part in terminations. DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson said he and his party colleagues were unhappy with some of the guidelines. "We had a number of concerns that we raised with the health minister," he said. "Some were resolved, some remained unresolved and for that reason our ministers voted against the guidelines at the executive. "We will not be liberalising the law on abortion here." The guidelines explain the circumstances of when a termination may be carried out. It provides guidance on the giving of informed consent from the mother, the provision of counselling both before and after the termination and the responsibility of health and social care organisations to develop and distribute relevant leaflets. Nursing staff who, on the grounds of conscience, do not wish to assist or perform a termination will also have their rights protected. Audrey Simpson from the Family Planning Association said the guidelines were the first step towards the government acknowledging that women in certain circumstances had the right to an abortion. "I think it's the first time the Department of Health has had to acknowledge that women in Northern Ireland are no different from women in the rest of the UK," she said. "That they want to access abortion services and in fact they are accessing abortion services." The Family Planning Association began campaigning for such guidelines to be published in 2001. Bernadette Smyth from the group Precious Life, which campaigns against abortion, has not welcomed the guidelines. "In certain cases where a woman's life in is danger, no doctor will withhold medical treatment from any woman and in some cases a child might lose its life," she said. "But, as these guidelines are written, it would give doctors full permission to carry out a direct act of violence towards unborn children." In 2004 the Court of Appeal ruled that the Department of Health should inquire into the provision of termination services in Northern Ireland. Up until now there have been no guidelines for nurses, doctors and GPs when they have been faced with terminating a pregnancy.

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By Justin Webb North America editor, BBC News A few days ago, I was watching Tony Blair being interviewed on American television. The interviewer was one of the most able and well-informed of his breed. Yet at the end of the five minutes even he could not escape this solecism: "Mr Prime Minister, thank you." Mr Blair is of course, Mr Blair. Hillary spent eight years in the White House as first lady He has not been prime minister for some time. And yet in the American system, it feels terribly impolite not to hint at what once was. There is only one American president, but all former presidents are correctly addressed as "Mr President." So, at a diner in South Carolina, some time in the early part of this year, I found myself calling out across the counter: "Mr President, would you speak to the BBC?" The president I was approaching - surrounded as always by hangers-on and security men - was Bill Clinton. He was affable. That hugely expressive face - those eyes that had been darting across the audience he had just addressed - now focussed on some question I had about the campaign he was waging to get his wife into the White House. Seconds later though, he flipped. The sceptical view of Bill is that with Bill - or Mr President - it is all about Bill, and his presidency Surrounded by local reporters on the way out of the diner, someone had annoyed him. The face flushed, the eyes hardened, the finger wagged. I could see the commotion as he harangued his target, but I could not get close. The bear was being baited and everyone was desperate to see the sport. This is the problem Mr Obama's White House now faces. Bill Clinton is box office. He is still a mesmerising public speaker. For my money, he is actually much better than Mr Obama because he gets to the point quicker. His Florida endorsement of Mr Obama, given late at night in a warm breeze, flags fluttering and crowds swaying, was electrifying. Is the Clinton aura just an aura? His star power could continue to assist Mr Obama's programme particularly abroad. But will it? The sceptical view of Bill is that with Bill - or Mr President - it is all about Bill, and his presidency. In the breeze in Florida he was giving it welly, because he wanted to remind everyone how wonderful he was. And yet, the sceptics claim, he was not really wonderful. They claim the Clinton aura is just an aura. That the truth is that the Clinton partnership is poisonous, to them, and the nation. I have a friend who interviewed Mrs Clinton early in the campaign. He went to her New York home and was shocked at how sterile it was - like a hotel room, he said, plush but characterless. This - according to the critics - is the heart of the Clinton darkness. The marriage that appears to be wholly about convenience - nothing grounded, normal, recognisably human. When Hillary moved into that New York house in January 2000, ready for her successful Senate campaign, her advisers worried that the pictures would look sad - Hillary alone. So his schedule had to be re-arranged in order that he could pose with her at the door. The two principals had not thought to go to the house together. This is not normal, the thinking goes. But what shocks people is not that they do not get on, but that they do. Why? And what does this political team achieve? Very little, is the charge. Except drama. When he became president, Bill was compared to a dog, chasing cars in the street, who one day catches up with one. What then? Mrs Clinton campaigned for Mr Obama after losing her bid for nomination Did he really manage anything in those eight years, other than that dalliance with Monica Lewinsky, best described by one of his aides as frivolous, reckless and small. The economic boom was huge and is remembered with real yearning now, but the argument goes that it was hardly his doing. At one campaign event this year I heard the warm-up speaker claim that the Clinton time had been wonderful, because America had been at peace. Well, America had not been attacked, or you could argue, it had been attacked - the World Trade Centre had been bombed and the USS Cole blown up - but had not done much about it. And the departure from office of the "Billary" team was famously tawdry. They had to give back furniture that they had taken with them. According to a biographer, in the run-up to Hillary taking up her Senate seat in 2001, her people collected gifts - phoning wealthy donors and asking for Faberge serving spoons, Spode vegetable dishes, or just cheques, $5,000 (£3,570) minimum. This is the underside of Team Clinton. And this is why, in Obamaland, some are wondering whether the boss has made his first blunder. When the secretary of state announcement was made one of the television comedians said: "Hillary can concentrate on foreign affairs and Bill can go back to domestic ones". And that is the point. This is a team effort. The problem is not her, the problem is not even him: the problem is them. From Our Own Correspondent was broadcast on Saturday, 6 December, 2008 at 1130 GMT on BBC Radio 4. Please check the programme schedules for World Service transmission times.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-24464440

US eyes future World Cup football hosting opportunity - 9 October 2013 - From the section Business The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) says it would be interested in hosting the World Cup football tournament again. The country last held the event in 1994, in front of sell-out crowds. Since then, the team reached the World Cup quarter-finals in 2002. The US, a regular qualifier for the tournament, recently went through to the 2014 competition in Brazil. It was one of the losing bidders for the 2022 World Cup. The others were South Korea, Japan and Australia. "We would be interested in hosting it again - the next one that would be available is 2026," said Sunil Gulati, president of the USSF and a member of Fifa's executive committee. But following the furore surrounding the way in which the 2018 and 2022 World Cups were awarded, he admitted that "the bidding process needs to improve". Mr Gulati said the US would not be following Australia in seeking compensation over any move by Fifa to move that 2022 event - to be held in Qatar - to the winter. Australian FA chairman Frank Lowy has said Fifa should provide "just and fair" compensation to losing bidders if the World Cup is moved from the summer. Everything in place "We have not discussed it," Mr Gulati said at the Leaders in Football conference in London. "It was a difficult decision, a controversial decision [by Fifa], " he added. He said one of the weaknesses of the US bid might have been that it had hosted the event as recently as 1994, but a strength was that it had all necessary stadiums already in place to host a World Cup. The Australian football association, the FFA, spent A$43m (£25m) on its dual bid to host either the 2018 or 2022 World Cups, with most of the cash provided by the government. But Fifa has indicated there is little chance of Australia being awarded compensation. On any proposed 2022 move to winter, Mr Gulati said it would "be nonsense to rush" a decision. Turning to the US again, he said that should the World Cup be moved to January or February, then Fifa would have to engage in discussions with American TV broadcasters. In the first two months of the year, the NFL American Football season comes to a climax, providing a ratings winner for the US networks. Mr Gulati said there would need to be "a thoroughly vetted study" looking at all existing commercial contracts around the 2022 event, including those between Fifa and US broadcasters. And he said there was no chance of Fifa asking the NFL to move its season to fit in with the football World Cup.

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Leicester child poverty report: City 'on verge of emergency' - 25 January 2013 - From the section Leicester A network of food banks across Leicester and a new minimum wage for council staff are needed to battle child poverty, a new report says. The Leicester Child Poverty Commission is recommending a minimum wage of £7.45 a hour for city staff to tackle what is described as a child poverty crisis. The Labour-led city council launched the commission 18 month ago. Leicester has 26,000 children living below the poverty line, according to national figures. Deputy Mayor Rory Palmer said: "We are on the verge of a child poverty emergency." According to guidelines, a family is considered to be living in poverty if its income is less than 60% of the national median income - currently around £357 a week for a couple with two children. The level of child poverty in Leicester is 32% across the city while the national average is about 22%, according to the Campaign to End Child Poverty. The child poverty level in Nottingham is 35%. "There are many deep-rooted long-term trends creating low household incomes - and these trends that need to be addressed," Mr Palmer said. Catherine Stretton, head teacher at Marriott primary school in Aylestone, said: "A child without adequate food is a child that is not ready to learn." Some of the report's recommendations include monitoring the number of payday loan providers in the city and providing money advice courses to families at the city council's children's centres. The report also calls for a low-cost loan or lease scheme for fridges, cookers and beds for low-income families.

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World Cup semi-final, 30 October 1999 This semi-final may have been without tries but it was by no means without incident. Pens: Burke (8) South Africa 21 Pens: De Beer (6) DG: De Beer Australia had gone into the game gunning for revenge after losing 27-18 to the Springboks four years previously. And in a thrilling encounter at Twickenham for a place in the final, they looked to have done enough as the boot of Matt Burke kept the Wallabies in front. But Jannie de Beer, whose flurry of drop-goals had knocked England out in the previous round, kept the Springboks in the game with a last-ditch penalty. That took the game into extra time but the day was not set to belong to the boot of de Beer as Steve Larkham unleashed his first ever drop-goal from 48 metres to win a final berth. Australia had gone into the game with only 13 victories over South Africa in 44 previous meetings, while the Springboks had yet to lose a World Cup match in nine previous outings. But it was the Wallabies who appeared the more attack-minded throughout the contest. For all their efforts, though, they could not find a way through a resilient opposition defence. As Burke and de Beer, who failed with four drop goal attempts, swapped spot kicks, Australia did actually cross the try line as George Gregan touched down in the latter stages. The Australian scrum-half appeared to have scored in the corner, which caused a host of celebrations from the players. But referee Derek Bevan insisted the score did not stand and South Africa earned themselves a penalty. Then as the clock ticked over, de Beer got a final opportunity six minutes into injury time. He slotted the penalty over from 35 yards out to make it 18-18. De Beer then put South Africa ahead before Burke levelled in the second-half of injury time. In the end, though, it was the boot of another - Larkham - that proved the deciding factor. His drop goal sailed over and Burke added another penalty to ensure the win. South Africa: Percy Montgomery, Pieter Rossouw, Pieter Muller, Robbie Fleck, Deon Kayser, Jannie de Beer, Joost van der Westhuiz; Os du Randt, Nata Drotske, Cobus Visagie, Mark Andrews, Krynauw Otto, Johan Erasmus, Andre Venter, Bobby Skinstad. Australia: Matthew Burke, Ben Tune, Tim Horan, Daniel Herbert, Joe Roff, Steve Larkham, George Gregan; Andrew Blades, Michael Foley, Richard Harry, John Eales, David Gaffin, David Wilson, Matt Cockbain, Toutai Kefu

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A South Yorkshire colliery band has taken the top prize in the English National Brass Band Championship. Grimethorpe Colliery Band scooped the title after a going head-to-head with 15 bands from across England in the competition in Preston on Saturday. Secretary Terry Webster said the group's winning performance of "On Alderley Edge" was their best ever. He said: "It was one of the best performances we had ever done... everything fell into place." The 28-strong band, which is also the current brass band champion of Great Britain, is now due to compete in the European Brass Band Championship in Norway in May 2008. Mr Webster said the group would now be fundraising for the trip.

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The programme is aimed at encouraging a better understanding of treatment A new project aimed at helping patients with bipolar disorders, and their families, is being rolled out across Wales. The bipolar education programme hopes to offer 200 people a year the chance to take part in the 10-week sessions. The courses, which are the brainchild of Cardiff University's mood disorders team, aim to help people understand and cope with manic depression. The five year scheme has been funded by £770,000 from the Big Lottery Fund. Bipolar disorder, often referred to as manic depression, is a complex condition sometimes described as a person's 'mood thermostat' malfunctioning. It can lead to bouts of severe depression and other periods of intense 'highs', where judgement can be severely impaired. However, the Wales education programme hopes it can help those with the condition better understand how it affects them, their families and the wider community. People with mental health problems are some of the most disadvantaged people in society Big Lottery Fund Wales Dr Ian Jones, from Cardiff University's School of Medicine, said it would help people with the disorder improve awareness of their condition. He said it would also help them "have a better understanding of their treatment, provide the skills necessary to detect early signs of relapse and, most importantly, enable them to make informed decisions about their treatment". Dr Jones, the programme's coordinator, added: "The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has highlighted the need for treatment for bipolar disorder to be combined with other interventions such as psycho-education in order to gain maximum effect. "The launch of the bipolar education programme Cymru helps us meet this recommendation." An initial pilot programme has already been held in Cardiff, and further sessions are due to get under way in the Welsh capital in the near future. The whole project will then be rolled out across Wales, with the support of local community mental health teams. The former chief constable of South Wales Police, Barbara Wilding has welcomed the launch, in her role as the chair of the Big Lottery Fund Wales mental health matters committee. "One in four of us will experience mental health problems at some point during our lives so it is important to recognise the issue," she said. "People with mental health problems are some of the most disadvantaged people in society. Many are isolated and have low self-esteem and low aspirations. "Their condition is made worse by the stigma, lack of understanding and discrimination they face daily." She said the project would have a "significant impact" on the lives of people with mental health problems in Wales. In addition to the main programme, single sessions will be run for families and carers of individuals attending the programme. Over the lifetime of the programme, it is hoped that some 1,000 will benefit directly from the sessions.

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Oscar-winning actor Robin Williams is suing his own impersonator, alleging Michael Clayton tried to defraud people by posing as the real actor. Williams won an Oscar for his role in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting Mr Clayton and agent Michael Pool allegedly tried to sell bookings for the actor's lookalike without revealing that he was an impersonator. "He is seeking an injunction to stop them duping innocent and unknowing people," Williams' spokesperson said. Mr Clayton is also said to have fooled a journalist by posing as Williams. Mr Pool allegedly told a potential client that he could get Williams to appear at a charity event. The client then received a phone call from someone purporting to be Williams, impersonating the Scottish accent he used in the 1993 movie Mrs Doubtfire. Michael Clayton fooled a columnist into believing he was Williams Convinced, she decided to book the star but was then allegedly told to pay $2,500 (£1,300) to cover his flight. The Minnesota legal action says that Mr Clayton claimed to be Williams in order to be interviewed by the Star Tribune newspaper in Minneapolis-Saint Paul.

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|You are in: Talking Point: South Asian Debates| Monday, 20 December, 2004, 10:53 GMT Pakistan: Democratic solution? A party allied to Pakistan's military leader has won the most seats in the country's first general elections since the overthrow of the last democratically-elected government three years ago. The Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam won 77 of the 272 contested constituency seats, according to the official count. The Pakistan People's Party, aligned with former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto - who was banned from participating - came in second with 63 seats. But a coalition of religious parties which has criticised President Pervez Musharraf for backing the American military campaign in Afghanistan has done much better than expected, coming a strong third. Observers say the religious parties could hold the balance of power, as no one party will have a majority in the new assembly. Earlier this year President Musharraf announced constitutional amendments which would allow him to dissolve the newly elected parliament at will. In spite of the protestations of opposition politicians, military rule has often been seen by many ordinary Pakistanis as being preferable to corrupt and incompetent civilian governments. So is democracy necessarily the best path for Pakistan at this time? Will the elections result in genuine democracy for the country? This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below. I am astonished when people say that demoocracy is not for Pakistan. Whatever the shortcomings of a democratic system, especially in a poor country with low literacy rate, the main benfit of a democratic system is that the rulers can be changed peacefully without resorting to violence, revolutions or military coups. Secondly, the masses may not be able to analyse and discuss the relevant issues but they know whom they want to be in power. Pakistan needs elections and real reforms. Leaders like Musharraf should go and good leaders should be in power. Leaders should not use "Kashmir" as vote bank to steal the votes. Many people are starving - but the Pakistani leader doesn't care he needs his seat and doesn't have any regard for democracy and doesn't even think of yielding a chance to his people. But he calls the Kashmir elections a flaw, which are well organized and appreciated by the world community. Hasan Mir, Mississauga, Canada I would say that the results of the elections are not acceptable. There was a long delay in the declaration of the results, which could be looked upon as rigging. Secondly, I think that the emergence of the Islamic extremists in Pakistan is a threat to the world. They are anti-US thus against the freedom of the world. In order to secure the future of Pakistan the government of Pakistan should plan for the re-elections. Just because a country has an election doesn't make it a democracy. Rule by corrupt people who cannot be checked is anarchy. Rule by an extreme religious sect is theocracy. Neither are democracy and an enlightened military dictatorship is preferable to either. Why does Pakistan need a democracy? What is so brilliant about democracy? What Pakistan needs is a government that represents the people be he a dictator or a prime minister. Under Musharaff Pakistan has done better than under any previous "democratic" regime. Although he is a puppet of the US but you can't have it all your way in a world run by the US. I have listened to the arguments, mostly by Americans, calling Pakistan a fundamental backward country. At least we Pakistanis are not planning every day how to kill many people in the name of a war on terrorism and saving the American democratic peoples. Is this the outcome of democracy that kills innocent people without proof for its global occupation plans and keeps its eyes closed to the fundamentalism going on in India and the actions of the Israelis? If this is the case then we don't need democracy. Shame on you America. In two provinces the religious parties are dominant. Is the West going to ask General Musharraf to declare the elections null and void? Do we see the making of crisis as in Algeria or do we have the moral courage to accept. How can such a deliberately skewed-up arrangement be considered a solution to the military dictatorship in Pakistan when even before the so-called elections the military junta had decreed that General Musharraf can dismiss the prime minister and parliament when he so desires? Didn't the late General Abacha try such "democratic solution" for Nigeria and the West rebuffed him? Methinks that whenever Western interest is well protected, then a dictator becomes a democrat even in military fatigues. But history always has a way of catching up with these born-again "democrats". The "impressive performance" of the radical Islamic parties is a warning of the obvious political bumpy road ahead of Pakistan. At least there were elections in both Pakistan and Kashmir. It does not matter if the elections were fair or fixed, at least voices of some of the people were heard. The number of seats gained by the Muslim fundamentalist parties indicates why a firm ruler like Musharraf is needed until these extremists are tamed. Look at what Hindu fundamentalists got away with under the democratic government of Modi in Gujarat. Pakistan's problem is its genesis. A country based on religious chauvinism cannot really have true democracy. Pakistan's contradiction will never end, unless it becomes a truly equal for all its citizens. It doesn't need to rejoin India, just turn itself from an Islamic republic to a republic where there is no officially sanctioned discrimination on the basis of religion. Democracy is the key of establishment in any country but this should be a real democracy. The Election 2002 held in Pakistan is not the way to democracy. Pervez Musharraf wants to remain in power. I would like to state clearly and confidently that all the decisions made for Pakistan's future are purely done by the USA and now the elections results shows the same. We Pakistanis reject the election and are not happy with this step of Musharraf. We pray for Pakistan to stay alive and peaceful and independent from external forces. Bilal Rana, London, UK Unfortunately the events of "9/11" have so distorted the international situation (with significant global uncertainty and instability), that the elections in Pakistan are of limited, if any consequence or significance. All the participants (above and below) continue this debate oblivious to this reality! Pakistan needs real democracy but unfortunately again a military ruler is in power. The election was not fair and can't help in the development for real democracy. Musharraf got the results he wanted. Now he can rule easily with the method of divide and rule - America will also back him. There is no need for the national security council because the people's representatives should be independent in taking all decisions - this is real democracy. Party position in the national assembly and in the provinces shows that only one thing can help the elected assembly to complete its term - cooperation among all parties. If party leaders still think that it is their basic right to sit in power then nothing can be achieved. At this moment a controlled democracy is the right solution because lot of old corrupt people are still in the new parliament. Deep down, Musharaff knows he must secularize and democratize, but it's a tall order. He has done as good a job as could be expected under very difficult circumstances. The country must secularize their government or else their nation is doomed to be on the fringe in the world community. History has proven secular governments to be the most successful. Imran, Houston, USA The political vacuum that was created in the last three years is presenting us today with an emergence of native fundamental values that in other times were kept at bay and creatively absorbed by the national mainstream political parties. It seems that a presidential form of government is the only choice left in order to save the state. Let the games begin. General Musharraf tried to reintroduce democracy to placate the West but Pakistan may have to pay a very heavy price for this folly. The hung-parliament will give another opportunity for discredited politicians to indulge in their favourite pastime of political intrigue and infighting. Also, this unnecessary election has given an unwelcome boost to the religious fundamentalists. The politicians and fundamentalists are going to usher in a new period of instability and chaos in the country. I hope that the Western countries are happy now that Pakistan has gone to the polls and given the religious parties a majority in Government. It is them that forced and pressured General Musharraf to hold elections in the country. If only they had backed him and his current government to sort out Pakistan's internal problems and get rid of religious extremists without holding elections. K. Zubair, Canada Democracy in Pakistan cannot work unless the basic institutions are improved, particularly the education area. The main reason why democracy could not establish its roots in Pakistan was the presence of a strong feudal system which is quite intact even now. Until or unless, this feudal system is totally eliminated, I don't think real democracy can exist in Pakistan. These results are proof that the extremist element is still there in Pakistan army. This is known by whole world except Musharraf. Hasan Tarique, Toronto, Canada This is democracy by the army, of the army for the army. A hung parliament and divided verdict suits no one but the army. Democracy? What is democracy? The only thing Pakistan needs is an educated, honest, and sincere leader. Personally I do not care whether that person is elected or he is a general. Bilal Abbasi, New York, NY There is no need for elections in Pakistan. The present government is excellent but conducting elections due to international pressure. Democracy? What democracy? With the president saying himself that he WILL stay for three years, what democracy is there - even with these sham elections? With only 27 people being able to vote today in the station I went to, I am sure the winners will emerge to be the pets of Musharraf and America. Moazzam Saleem, Islamabad, Pakistan Of course democracy is the best way of rule for Pakistan. It is wrong that without the participation of the military in rule there cannot be a good governance. Actually, the real cause of democracy's failure is the military. It likes to give an impression that politicians are corrupt, but the question is: Who will keep in the generals in control? Kamil Mian, Karachi, Pakistan It is very apparent from all the postings here that many (if not most) Pakistanis have some serious doubts in their mind about the benefits, underlying philosophy and mode of implementation of democracy. So, it will be decades before we see any recognisable form of democracy taking root in Pakistan. You don't get equality, justice and the freedom to choose unless your heart cries for it. President Musharraf's recipe of democracy evidently has much support. (Amazingly mostly from Pakistani expats in the Western world). Their arguments rest on the realities of the widespread illiteracy of the populace and the corruption of past "democratically" elected leaders. While people may be illiterate, they are certainly not ignorant. It is a fallacy that they are incapable of recognizing the imperatives that will accelerate their own wellbeing. Corruption cannot be solved by introducing the military into the equations of power play. A free media, true democratic and judicial institutions address the issue of corruption. It maybe true that President Musharraf has the toughest job in the world. Yet it is a fact that it is a job he has sought for himself and he has changed every rule in the book to suit himself. History will judge him harshly if he fails to deliver to his people the true fruits of democracy. I do believe that democracy is an ultimate solution for any prosperous society. However, democracy does not work at a time when majority of people are illiterate and they are exploited in the name of religion and race. As a Pakistani, I have witnessed this exploitation throughout my life. I personally do think that Pakistan does need a moderate dictator like Musharraf to crack down Islamic fanaticism. However, I am also worried about the abuse of extreme powers he has achieved. Takura Zhangazha, Harare, Zimbabwe Musharraf has done more for the country than Bhutto and Sharif ever did. His reforms will benefit Pakistan greatly in the future and therefore there will be hurdles to overcome in the short term. Should this require democracy to be "altered" then so be it. A western influenced democracy will not help Pakistan. It needs to be a democracy which will enable all groups to flourish. What we are really scared of is change in our lives. What really matters is how to overcome our fear to recognise the power of our vote. In Pakistan people haven't realized their power of the vote, though the generals didn't miss the opportunity. Will these opportunistic generals last? Hindowa Momoh, Sierra Leone After Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Musharraf has been the best thing that has ever happened to Pakistan. He is trying his best to weed out Islamic fanaticism that had gripped the country into ethnic violence. Let's not forget before Musharraf took over, Pakistan was thought of as a terrorist state by many. He has silenced all those who were pointing fingers towards Pakistan. He is the best reformist the country will see for a long time to come. Pakistan will never become a democratic country as long as Musharraf is in power because he has to save his skin. And as for his much touted anti-corruption campaign against the past regime, giving away important positions and assignments to key military leaders irrespective of whether they are qualified is also corruption. Navid, Faisaabad, Pakistan Western style democracy is inapplicable to the Pakistan of today. Democracy implies informed choice. In a country with a literacy rate of 20% and a feudal system of agriculture there is neither choice nor information. A graded transition to democracy is more realistic and sustainable... exactly what Musharraf is doing. Maroof Shah, Saudi Arabia We have seen democracy. We have seen dictatorship. Unfortunately leaders like Benezir and Nawaz have muddied the water. While the involvement of the army in civilian politics can never be a good thing, it hasn't been any worse. Indeed, if anything it's been slightly better. So maybe we need a different kind of governance, which guarantees greater transparency and accountability for all, be it civilian or the military. I think Musharraf has done well so far. He has to keep his masters in the US and the madrassahs happy. He really has a tough job. Most of us are quick on the trigger to condemn the military government and the current military ruler. Being a Pakistani, I know that quite a few of us favour the current government and the reforms it is putting in place. The question we really need to ask is of the previous so- called democratic governments. What good have they done for the welfare of majority of the people? Arif Malik, USA Democracy is an empty noun. It refers only to a regime by which people are fooled into believing their opinion matters. It is weird but fascinating to see so many Pakistanis living in the USA claiming that democracy is no good for Pakistan. I am sure most of them made it to the USA not only because of their hard work but more importantly because there is freedom here to transform that hard work into something tangible. Would these same people go back to Pakistan and vote for a dictator? Democracy is always a good path for any country to follow. It builds self-esteem in the nation, it preserves minority rights and provides a channel for them to express themselves. If not, we will end up with what Pakistan is currently: a place for religious fundamentalists. Maz Qureshi, Lahore, Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf, in my opinion, is doing his best for Pakistan under the circumstances. I totally agree when he says that he has the most difficult job in the world. He is the best leader that we have had in the past two decades, and we all hope and pray that Pakistan will recover in the long run! Democracy was never given a proper chance in Pakistan. It is sad that army was never behind the elected leaders and the other way too. There cannot and should not be a replacement to democracy. The government is for the people, of the people and most importantly by the people. Mere elections cannot restore democracy in Pakistan. For democracy to flourish, one needs strong democratic institutions like an impartial and vibrant judicial system; an electoral process that is not only transparent but is also autonomous; a multi party political system; devolution of powers at the central and state level even to the grassroots level. Does Pakistan have such institutions in place? Unfortunately the answer is an emphatic no. Will it have such institutions in place in future? Only Mr. Musharraf can answer the question. Mark Schofield, France Military dictatorship is preferable to the kind of Democratic dictatorship that we have seen from civilian governments so far. We have less human rights violations and more freedom of the press now than we did during so-called democracy. Democracy in its ideal form has never worked in Pakistan where the ruling elites have always hankered after the absolute power which in return made them absolutely corrupt. I think whichever government comes into power, it must work under a system of check and balance. For that, the National Security Council appears to be the only viable platform. Democracy is indeed needed but not the kind we had. What we need is what works, the previous so-called democratic governments certainly did not work. We need to avoid them at any cost even if it means a semi-democratic system. I think National Security Council is a good solution. Pakistan was liberated from British rule due to the election of 1945 and the main purpose of it was to implement Islamic rule in Pakistan. We forgot our basic aim and we started electing corrupt leaders and involving armed forces in running the Government. Democracy is inconsistent with the concept of an Islamic republic which Pakistan calls itself. The country needs a system of governance based on Islamic laws like the Caliphate. Let's hope that Musharraf succeeds in building one. Atif Rafique, USA As most of the Pakistani politicians are very short-sighted and have very little concern about the country, I think General Musharraf should stay as President of Pakistan and be a watchdog on politicians until his proposed reforms are completely installed and a strong system of check and balances is developed. If this hurts democracy than let it be because the past so-called democratic governments were worse than the current military rule. I strongly believe that his reforms will bring true democracy to Pakistan gradually. What is the point of having elections? Can't you people understand that the previous leaders were actually "democratically elected." Look what they have done. I think Musharraf should stay in just as president, and there shouldn't be a prime minister There has never been democracy in Pakistan. Even during "democracy" there had always been a dictatorship under the veil. V. Gill, UK I would like to see democracy by actions not by words. I mean freedom to say and freedom to listen. Democracy is a good thing but what good it is to anyone if you have to choose between equally corrupt and illiterate politicians? Pakistan cannot afford to give another chance to these individuals. This is Pakistan. Democracy or military dictatorship - all the leaders are corrupt. It is like a choice between the devil and the deep sea. In most nations, people choose leaders with the question "Who will be the best for us?" In Pakistan the question the people ask is, "Who is the least likely to mess up the nation?" Nausherwan Lahori, Lahore, Pakistan I think democracy is the very much needed for our country and it is also the demand of the world. It gives us more stability in social reforms. And it will be very much needed for bilateral relations with our neighbours. Pakistan needs a system like that of India. Ceremonial president, elected parliament and ministers, independent judiciary and no intervention from the military. But then India's corrupt democracy isn't any better. At the present time democracy may allow the Pakistani people to elect an extremist government that may chose not to support the US. On the other hand if Musharraf continues his dictatorship the US will continue to send money to Pakistan. Boks, Hong Kong Having a military presence on the street has by all means brought some 'calm' and 'security' to Pakistan, but like his peers and predecessors before him, Musharraf still has to prove to the people that his intentions and route to economic and Habitual reform, will be definite. Like many other people, I too am sceptical regarding his softly softly approach, where his nature and persona is the opposite - a military one, it may seem that the economic reform is a somewhat mirror of doctrines established elsewhere, places possibly where his new found friends are - America, UK? Democracy is made a mockery of by the politicians in Pakistan. They have been making a mockery of every civilian institution for the past decade. A military check on these civilian dictators and autocrats is definitely welcome. What is the use of a half-baked democracy in which the parliament can be dissolved at any time by military rulers? The democratically elected government will be under constant threat from military rulers and will not be able to perform satisfactorily. Democracy in Pakistan will not succeed unless military rulers are kept aside by the international community. Yes! Democracy is the need of the hour. The National Security Council if it performs well, could provide a good measure of checks and balances on the newly elected government. 12 Oct 02 | South Asia The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top South Asian Debates stories now: Links to more South Asian Debates stories are at the foot of the page. |E-mail this story to a friend| Links to more South Asian Debates stories To BBC Sport>> | To BBC Weather>> | To BBC World Service>> © MMIII | News Sources | Privacy

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27322947

Japan man held over '3D-printed guns' - 8 May 2014 - From the section Technology A 27-year-old man from near Tokyo has been arrested for allegedly possessing guns made with a 3D printer, according to the Japan Broadcasting Corporation. Five guns, two of which could fire lethal bullets, and a 3D printer were seized from Yoshitomo Imura's home, police sources told broadcaster NHK. The first arrest of its kind in Japan, officers acted after he had displayed 3D-printed guns online, sources said. Mr Imura reportedly said he had not realised printing the guns was illegal. No live ammunition was found. The investigation was launched in February after officers were made aware of video footage of Mr Imura displaying newly printed weapons, the sources added. Desktop 3D printers can be bought on the High Street for as little as £500, with more sophisticated models costing tens of thousands. The world's first 3D-printed gun was successfully fired in the US in May 2013 by a group called Defense Distributed, who made the blueprints available online. However, the United States Department of State quickly demanded the immediate removal of the blueprints from the group's website. Printed gun parts were thought to have been found in the UK in October 2013, however the parts turned out to be spare components for a 3D printer.

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The coroner in charge of the Princess Diana inquest has decided to hold a preliminary hearing in January in public, rather than in private. A decision will be made whether to hold separate inquests Mohammed Al Fayed, who mounted a legal challenge for the hearing about Princess Diana and his son Dodi to be held in public, welcomed the decision. UK law states inquests must be held in public, but early hearings need not be. Lady Butler-Sloss was said to have been persuaded to change her mind because of public interest in the case. Harrods boss Mr Al Fayed said that although happy with the decision, he would not tolerate any more attempts to conceal the truth. "The public and I have a right to know how my son and Diana, Princess of Wales, were really killed on that awful night. "I will not tolerate further attempts to sweep dirt under the carpet and conceal the truth." He added that he wanted to see whether a forthcoming report by Lord Stevens would help uncover the truth. The preliminary hearing will be held at the Royal Courts of Justice in January, with a full inquest held at a later date at an undecided venue. A spokesman for the Judicial Communications Office said: "The reasons she [Lady Butler-Sloss] had in mind that led her to conclude initially that the meeting should be held in private were entirely pragmatic - such as the size of the courtroom." Among the matters that will be decided at the hearing include whether a jury will sit on the inquest. It would be made up of members of the Royal Household as the princess was still considered a member of the Royal Family when she died. Lady Butler-Sloss will also decide whether the princess and Dodi Al Fayed's inquests - first opened and adjourned in January 2004 - will be held jointly or separately. She was appointed to her new role after the Coroner of the Queen's Household, Michael Burgess, stepped down from the task in July. Princess Diana, 36, and Mr Fayed, 42, were killed along with chauffeur Henri Paul when their Mercedes crashed in the Pont d'Alma tunnel in Paris in 1997. They were pursued by paparazzi photographers after leaving the Ritz Hotel for Mr Fayed's apartment. A two-year investigation in France blamed Mr Paul for losing control of the car because he had drunk alcohol and had taken prescription drugs and was driving too fast.

http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-india-24029499/delhi-gang-rape-trial-four-convicted-for-fatal-attack

Delhi gang rape trial: Four convicted for fatal attack Four men have been found guilty of the fatal gang rape of a medical student in the Indian capital Delhi last December. The 23-year-old woman was brutally assaulted on a bus and died two weeks later, which led to days of violent protests across India in a wave of unprecedented anger. Sanjoy Majumder reports from Delhi. 10 Sep 2013 - From the section India

http://www.bbc.com/news/education-15715627

David Cameron trains sights on 'coasting schools' Prime Minister David Cameron has warned of a "hidden crisis" of "coasting schools" in well-off areas that fail to push pupils to their full potential. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, he said schools where "a failure to reach potential" is masked by a "decent local reputation" would be held to account. He highlighted plans in England to publish progress measures for low, medium and high-attaining pupils. This would "shine a light on secret failure", he said. Mr Cameron pledged to tackle the issue of coasting schools in September and in his party conference speech. He now sets out how the government intends to do this. Data that will show whether schools are performing as well as they should be for all their pupils is to be included in forthcoming school performance tables. "Spotting the real problem schools, looking at the league tables and sending in the inspectors to sort them out is relatively easy," Mr Cameron said. "But it is just as important to tackle those, all over the country, content to muddle through - places where respectable results and a decent local reputation mask a failure to meet potential. "Children who did well in primary school but who lose momentum. Early promise fades. "This is the hidden crisis in our schools - in prosperous shires and market towns just as much as the inner cities. "It is vital to shine a spotlight on secret failure by giving people the information they need," he wrote. 'Bs into As' The problem posed a challenge, he said, "for all parts of the country - places where governors, parents and teachers might never guess things might be wrong". "Why should we put up with a school content to let a child sit at the back of the class, swapping Facebook updates? "Or one where pupils and staff count down the hours to the end of term without ever asking why B grades can't be turned into As?" Under the changes to the school league tables, data on the proportion of children making average progress between the end of primary school and GCSEs will be published. This will be broken down into low, middle and high attaining groups. The Department for Education said the data would identify schools which overly focus on getting GCSEs for borderline pupils.

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A Nasa space capsule carrying captured particles blown off the Sun has crashed back to Earth in the Utah desert after its parachutes failed to open. The Genesis capsule will be recovered The $264m Genesis mission spent more than two years gathering the solar material to help scientists understand the origin of the Sun and the planets. Hollywood stunt pilots had been waiting to catch the capsule in midair to give its cargo a special soft landing. The US space agency is now setting up a review board to study what went wrong. Officials said it would be some time before they knew if some, or any, of the science could be recovered. "We estimate that the capsule hit the ground at about 193mph (310km/h)," said Chris Jones, director of Solar System exploration at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Roy Haggard, who led the helicopter retrieval team, was one of the first on the site of the crash. He found the Genesis capsule half-buried in the ground. "The canister was slightly breached - just a few inches - due to the high velocity impact," he said. "It appeared also that the science canister inside had been breached a few inches." The Genesis spacecraft ejected the sample container on time at 1153GMT (1253BST) at a distance of more than 60,000km from Earth. It was on a perfect trajectory and it entered the atmosphere as planned at 1554GMT (1654BST). Controllers clapped and cheered when their long-range cameras spotted the 190kg (420lbs) capsule in the high atmosphere. The capsule was seen to tumble to Earth But they expected to see the incoming container being slowed by its drogue and decelerated further by a main chute. Instead, they had to watch a tumbling silver disc head for a violent impact with the desert floor. The capsule struck the ground just before 1600GMT (1700BST), a full 15 minutes before it was due to be pulled from the skies in a controlled manoeuvre by the helicopter pilots. "There are a lot of things that had to happen in series and we got just about all of them done and we just did not get the last two or three done," said Genesis project manager Don Sweetnam. "There is still hope for a science result for this mission," he added optimistically. The Genesis probe was supposed to mark the first return of extraterrestrial matter by human means since the 1970s, when Moon rocks were carried back to Earth by manned US Apollo and unmanned Soviet Luna missions. Genesis was launched in 2001. It carried delicate hexagonal wafers of pure silicon, gold, sapphire, diamond and other materials. Genesis collected solar wind particles for more than two years These were hung outside the probe for more than 800 days, sifting space for 10-20 micrograms of atoms - a billion, billion of them - that had been blown off the Sun. The precise nature of these atoms were to have told scientists how the Sun and the nine major planets grew out of a huge cloud of gas and dust 4.5 billion years ago. Professor Colin Pillinger, of the UK's Open University, which was to have analysed some of the Genesis samples, said the situation looked grave because the science samples should have been opened up only in a clean-room. "The outer part of the spacecraft is carbon fibre and that is very resilient - it is basically in one piece," he told the BBC. "There could be fragments inside there that still contained some kind of scientific information. But the contamination from the desert is going to be a killer at the end of the day for the scientists." And OU colleague Dr Ian Franchi feared the wafers would have been shattered, making it difficult for any clean samples to be recovered: "Picking out the fragments that we want is the problem because there're many different types of fragment; and different types of material from different parts of the solar wind. "They come off the solar wind in different regimes; we need to know what we're analysing." All times in BST

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Real IRA makes threat to PSNI officers in statement The dissident republican group, the Real IRA, has threatened to kill more police officers and declared its opposition to the Queen's first visit to the Irish Republic next month. A statement was read out by a masked man at a rally organised by the 32 County Sovereignty Movement in Londonderry on Monday. It was organised to mark the anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising. Northern Ireland has been on a high state of alert in recent days. In a statement read out at the City Cemetery, the Real IRA said police officers would be targeted "regardless of their religion, cultural background or motivation". On the Queen's visit, the masked men said: "The Queen of England is wanted for war crimes in Ireland and is not wanted on Irish soil." The police have asked the public in Northern Ireland to be "particularly vigilant" over the Easter holiday period due to the severe threat level posed by terrorists. On Saturday night, a haul of suspected bomb-making equipment was found by the PSNI in south Armagh. The Real IRA killed two soldiers in Antrim two years ago, and last year exploded a car bomb in Derry. The 32 County Sovereignty Movement is regarded as the political wing of the Real IRA. The dissident republican terrorist group said it was responsible for carrying out the Omagh bombing which killed 29 people and unborn twins in 1998.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39920179

FTSE 100 closes at another record high London's FTSE 100 stock market index ended at another record high on Monday, rising 0.25%, or 19 points, to 7,454. Commodities firms and banks were the biggest gainers. Anglo American, Glencore, Standard Chartered, BHP Billiton and Barclays all posted rises of between 2.2% and 3.3%. Energy shares also bolstered the index after Brent crude rose more than 2% to $52.17 a barrel. Laith Khalaf, at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The UK stock market hasn't been fazed by the general election, and continues to perform strongly against a backdrop of low interest rates and an improving global economy." "Things may be getting tougher for the UK economy this year as rising inflation and weak wage growth look set to dent consumer demand, but the Footsie dances to a different tune because so many of the companies within it are global businesses, and thus not overly reliant on domestic conditions. "Indeed many have seen their share prices rise as a result of weaker sterling, precisely because they have international revenue streams," he added. Oil giant BP rose by 1% and rival Royal Dutch Shell was up by 0.4%. The rise in oil prices came after the energy ministers of Saudi Arabia and Russia jointly announced that the current agreement to cut production, which began late last year, should be extended until March 2018. "Opec and its allies have been on manoeuvres once more, repeating their view that more production cuts are necessary in order to avoid another supply glut," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG. "This has helped oil prices to move higher once more, but the cartel appears to get diminishing returns each time it announces a reduction in output." TUI was the biggest faller in the FTSE 100, down 4.8%, after the travel company reported a loss of 308.6m euros (£261m) for the six months to the end of March, although that was an improvement on the 394.9m euro loss reported a year earlier. The company said UK bookings remained "resilient", and the popularity of travelling to Spain, Greece and the Caribbean had helped to offset lower demand for Turkey and North Africa. Shares in rival travel firm Thomas Cook also fell, down 3.4%. On the currency markets, the pound rose 0.3% against the dollar to $1.292, but was down slightly at 1.176 euros.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-32007432

Paraplegic pilot sets out to North Pole in microlight A paraplegic microlight pilot has taken off on a solo flight some 5,000 miles (8,050km) to the North Pole. Dave Sykes will brave temperatures as low as -40C (-40F) as he crosses the Arctic Ocean on his month-long trip. In 2011, he became the first paraplegic to fly a microlight from England to Australia in a 16,000-mile trip that took him more than three months. Mr Sykes, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, said: "I've been called bonkers, mad and crazy." Family and friends gathered earlier as he took to the skies from Rufforth Airfield, near York. Speaking before his journey, Mr Sykes said he was feeling "extremely nervous". "It's actually overwhelming, disappearing into Europe and leaving everyone behind because I'm actually on my own. I've got no ground support or air support, only me." A member of York Flying Club, the pilot, who is raising money for Martin House Children's Hospice, said he would wear a special heated flying jacket and gloves to avoid frostbite and an adapted helmet to keep out the intense cold. His journey is expected to cover five countries and will take about four weeks with stop-offs for re-fuelling. His mother Maureen Sykes said: "I'm worried to death. I won't rest until I see him now; I'll be a bag of nerves all the time. "I think sometimes he's foolish but nothing will stop him." In November 1993, a motorbike accident left Mr Sykes with a broken back, clavicle and thigh bone, together with broken ribs and punctured lungs. Doctors had said he would remain in hospital for at least two years, but he was discharged in May 1994. Mr Sykes took up microlighting in 2000 and gained his pilot's licence in 2001.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-25299797

Tui boss: 'Strong demand for all-inclusive holidays' Travel company Tui, which owns Thomson and First Choice, has seen profits slip due to weak French sales and a restructuring in its specialist and activity division. Pre-tax profit for the year was £181m, down 10% on a year earlier, while revenue rose 4% to £15.1bn. However, excluding one-off costs, pre-tax profit rose 21%. Chief executive Peter Long spoke to BBC Breakfast's Steph McGovern and said Tui was very mindful of the growing cost of living. "What is particularly a strong demand is the all-inclusive holidays, where you have complete peace of mind because everything is included, and that enables our customers to budget more easily and effectively."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/7516262.stm

The 2011 World Cup was awarded to New Zealand Italy will bid to host either the 2015 or 2019 Rugby World Cup, the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) has announced. "It's a new cornerstone in the development of Italian rugby which the whole movement should be proud of," said FIR president Giancarlo Dondi. The International Rugby Board (IRB) will announce in July 2009 who will host the two events. England and Wales are considering making a joint bid for 2015, with Japan also set to bid for the same year. "At the moment we are waiting to have the documentation from the IRB with which to make our bid official," added Dondi in a statement. "Successively we will be able to get to work on presenting the best project possible to the IRB in order to bring to Italy the world's third most important sporting event after the football World Cup and the Olympics." The IRB began the tender process for the 2015 and 2019 tournaments this month by inviting "expressions of interest". The bidding process is a notoriously political affair with unions bartering for votes, often leading to matches being staged in several countries, as happened in France 2007, when games were also played in Edinburgh and Cardiff. Japan, with England legends Martin Johnson and Jason Leonard among their backers, were widely expected to be handed the 2011 tournament. But New Zealand were awarded host status in a secret vote amid accusations of a carve-up among the sport's major nations. The 2011 tournament is not expected to generate anything like the same revenue as the previous two World Cups, in Australia in 2003, and in France last year, however. The IRB is expected to return to one of its 'bankers' in 2015 - with England or South Africa the most likely venue - although chairman Bernard Lapasset indicated rugby might be ready to broaden its horizons.

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Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has given his backing to the club's new owners, the Glazer family. After meeting brothers Joel, Avi and Bryan Glazer at United's training camp, Ferguson is hoping that the club and the fans can focus on the football. Ferguson said: "The meeting was very positive and relaxed and they made it clear they would back the team. "This has been a difficult time for all involved but the most important thing now is to get back to football." Ferguson added his voice to the appeal for calm following the violent scenes as supporters mounted a protest when the Glazers made their first visit to Old Trafford last Wednesday. He said: "There is a lot of emotion around Manchester United at the moment and the quicker the season starts and we can get back to playing football, the better for everyone." Ferguson's position appears to be stronger following his meeting with the Glazers. In an interview with Radio Five Live, United chief executive David Gill insisted that Ferguson had not been given an ultimatum to deliver success. Gill said: "The Glazers understand that you can't guarantee success and you have to give the manager the tools to do the job." The United chief executive dismissed speculation that the change of ownership to a private company made Ferguson's position precarious. Gill added: "Alex has got a rolling contract and I don't think it's a topic I even want to go in the direction of." Ferguson is set to be boosted by Cristiano Ronaldo signing a new contract and Gill is confident that Rio Ferdinand will follow suit. Gill claimed that Ronaldo is ready to sign his new deal. "Ronaldo is very close to signing, the financial terms are agreed but these days it just takes a bit more time to do the paperwork," he said. "I don't know why Rio has not signed, you would have to ask him that. "But we want him to stay and he clearly wants to stay and, in my experience, that normally happens."

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Talks aimed at resolving the deadlock began earlier this week Unions have told striking refuse collectors in Leeds to plan for a long dispute in a council row over what it says are "crippling" pay cuts. The GMB and Unison announced at a meeting that they were adding £50,000 to the strike hardship fund. Representatives will meet with council officials on Friday for the fourth day of talks to resolve the strike. GMB general secretary Paul Kenny told a meeting of members that the unions were planning for a long dispute. Mr Kenny said details were being finalised for a benefit concert in Leeds on 18 October to raise money for striking workers. "The event... will raise much-needed support for our members on strike in Leeds who face crippling pay cuts. "Supporting the event is a way for people in Leeds to tell the Lib Dem/Tory administration that the proper way to introduce equal pay is to increase the wage of the women worker up to that of the men." Speaking on BBC Radio Leeds, one striking binman said he was unable to meet his loan and direct debit payments. He said: "I've got three children and they don't come cheap. They still want to go out with their friends and do their activities." He added: "I stand to lose £5,700... it's a big drop in my wage and we didn't take it lightly to go out on strike but we all walked out together and we'll walk back in together." Talks started between unions and the council on Monday but both sides took time off on Wednesday to reflect on the progress of discussions. As the talks broke up on Tuesday, Leeds City Council leader Richard Brett said: "These exploratory talks appear to be going well and that is good news." The dispute was provoked by a "pay and grading" exercise undertaken by the council. It said this process was being mirrored in authorities across Britain. It is aimed at ironing out historic differences between pay grades for jobs seen as traditionally male or female. The result has been a wholesale reassessment of pay grades across the full range of council posts. Mr Brett has challenged union claims that its members will lose as much as £6,000 as a result of the process. He has said the average loss in pay would be less than £3,000 and no salary would change until January 2011. The council has hired private firms to collect rubbish while the strike continues.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-28923835

Notting Hill Carnival crowds defy bank holiday rain Thousands of revellers braved wet conditions in west London for the final day of the Notting Hill carnival. The annual celebration, believed to be Europe's biggest street party, was marred by poor weather for its finale, but partygoers defied soggy conditions. The Metropolitan Police deployed 7,000 officers for Monday's events. The figure was about 1,000 more than Sunday and represented one of the Met's most complex operations of the year. Sunday, which is traditionally billed as children's day, saw thousands of dancers and musicians parade through the streets alongside floats. But the poor weather on Monday affected turnout on Ladbroke Grove along the parade route. BBC London reporter Elaine Okyere said: "It's definitely quieter but the performers are still giving it their all despite the rain. "One resident Silvia said she'd never seen Ladbroke grove this quiet on a carnival Monday, but she told me despite the rain the party will go on." The carnival saw 115 arrests for a variety of offences by 17:00 BST on Monday. Among those were 39 arrests over drugs, 11 for common assault and seven for possession of offensive weapons. Ch Supt Robyn Williams said the force's priority was to "facilitate a safe and vibrant carnival". "Carnival very much presents us with two extremes; those who want to enjoy the sound systems, cuisine and have a good time and those who use it as an opportunity to commit crime," she said. Organisers said this year's event was part of the build-up to the event's 50th anniversary. The Notting Hill Carnival Enterprises Trust said some people thought the first carnival took place in 1964, but others argue a street parade took place the following year. However, the trust said there was documentary evidence that showed the first event with performers, costumes, music and placards took place in 1966. This year's event paid tribute to the steel pan, the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago, which has been a significant feature of the carnival from 1964 until the present day.

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A visit to Glasgow to study the city's approach to tackling homelessness is helping shape legislation in France. Tents provided for homeless people in Paris Georges Cavallier, president of a housing body in France, has praised Scotland's approach after a visit to north Glasgow in February. Mr Cavallier said: "Scotland's innovative approach undoubtedly influenced the French government." Scotland aims to eradicate homelessness by 2012. In France, the government aims to create a legal right to housing. A bill is to go before the French parliament. Mr Cavallier is president of a voluntary housing organisation formed to tackle poor quality housing in France. He said: "The various discussions and debates that we had with our Scottish hosts and partners were very useful to shed a more knowledgeable and experienced light on this law-making intent." Archie Stoddart, director of Shelter Scotland, said: "The international attention that Scotland has received because of its forward thinking homelessness legislation should not be underestimated."

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Dirty rooms for Commonwealth athletes New Zealand is the latest country, after Canada and Scotland, to delay sending their athletes to Delhi for the Commonwealth Games. The Games are due to start there in 10 days' time, but officials say parts of the athletes' village are not finished. There have been complaints about flooding, toilets that don't flush and stray dogs sleeping on some beds. Games officials say everything will be ready in time for the opening ceremony on 3 October. The build-up to the Games has also been affected by concerns about stadium safety and security. It follows the collapse of a footbridge near the main stadium on Tuesday, when 23 people were injured. On Wednesday, parts of the false ceiling near the weightlifting area of the stadium fell in, although no injuries were reported and Indian officials said it was "not something to be worried about".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/commonwealth_games/delhi_2010/9073283.stm

Twell's bronze in the 1500m takes Scotland's medal tally to eight Stephanie Twell has won a bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games women's 1500m final, won by Nancy Langat of Kenya. However, team-mate Lee McConnell, who won silver eight years ago in Manchester, had to settle for fifth place in the women's 400m. Shooters Neil Stirton and Jonathan Hammond won bronze in the 50m rifle three-position pairs, just behind England's James Huckle and Kenny Parr. Scotland's medal tally is now eight - one gold, two silver, five bronze. Twell, 21, told BBC Sport: "I stayed relaxed after one of the Kenya runners put a block on me. "I kept driving and driving during the race but felt I was going lower to the ground. "All the encouragement I got from coach Mick Woods in the training sessions helped me." Twell was beaten to the silver medal by New Zealand's Nikki Hamblin. I didn't start hard enough - McConnell The Aldershot, Farnham and District club runner added: "The Commonwealths is a big stage - it's not a lesser competition. I'm going to use this as a springboard." McConnell, meanwhile, felt that she had paid the price for being drawn in an unfavourable lane after finishing runner-up in her heat. "I think I was really out of it by 200m. I clearly didn't go out hard enough. I began in lane nine and made it hard for myself," said the 31-year-old. And referring to her effort to close the gap on the race leaders in the final straight, she said: "I was trying hard but I knew I had a lot of work to do. "I was trying to be as strong as I could but the damage was done in 0-200m." Her race was won by Amantle Monsho from Botswana, who clinched her country's first Commonwealth gold in a Games-record time of 50.10 secs. The Scots shooting duo finished on the same score as English rivals James Huckle and Kenny Parr. However, they lost out on silver following the x count - an additional target within the maximum 10 target. Stirton picked up a second Commonwealth Games medal in Delhi India continued their excellent shooting form, with Gagan Narang and Imran Hasan Khan taking the gold medal. It is a second success in the event for Scotland, with Jennifer McIntosh and Kay Copland winning bronze medals on Tuesday. And Stirton adds his prize to the silver medal he received in Melbourne four years ago for the 50m rifle prone pairs. Scotland's mixed doubles tennis pair of Colin Fleming and Jocelyn Rae are in with a chance of adding to that tally, having reached the semi-finals. They beat the Indian second seeds Sania Mirza and Leander Paes 7-5, 6-4 in front of a capacity 5,000 crowd. Meanwhile, illness means Caitlin McClatchey will not defend her 400m freestyle swimming title on Friday.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/6150510.stm

Guillermo Canas is set to make his Davis Cup comeback from a drugs ban after being named as a reserve for Argentina in next month's final. Canas was suspended in August 2005 after his positive test Canas has just completed a 15-month ban after testing positive for a banned diuretic found in medicine given to him by staff at the Mexican Open. World number seven David Nalbandian heads up Argentina's bid to win a first Davis Cup at the expense of Russia. Jose Acasuso, Agustin Calleri and Juan Ignacio Chela have also been selected. Canas has won three titles on the challenger circuit since completing his ban in September and has seen his world ranking rise to 214. The Davis Cup final is being held in Moscow from 1-3 December.

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Spain's Iban Mayo fended off the challenge of five-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong to take the lead on day one of the Dauphine Libere. Mayo made light work of the 5.7km time trial Mayo completed the 5.7km prologue in a time of seven minutes and 51 seconds, two seconds quicker than Armstrong. Armstrong's effort was good enough for third place, with countryman Tyler Hamilton a second quicker. Britain's David Millar had to make do with 11th place, 12 seconds shy of Mayo's time. "I mean to attack everyday to win this race like Miguel Indurain did," said Mayo after Sunday's stage. The Dauphine Libere, seen as a good indicator for Tour de France form, finishes on Sunday after tough mountain stages and an individual time trial up Mont Ventoux. Armstrong, though, insisted he was pleased with his form as he bids for a fifth victory in July's Tour. "My sensations were good and I'm happy," he said. The hill was very tough, especially near the top and that's when I was faster. "I gave it my all in the descent while being careful not to kill myself. Everything's fine." Dauphine Libere prologue results: 1. Iban Mayo (Spa) seven minutes 51 seconds 2. Tyler Hamilton (USA) one second behind 3. Lance Armstrong (USA) +2 4. Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Phonak +3 5. Michael Rogers (Aus) Quick Step-Davitamon +6 6. Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Phonak +6 7. Cyril Dessel (Fra) Phonak +8 8. Jose-Enrique Guttierez (Spa) Phonak +9 9. Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere +10 10. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Rabobank +12

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9723000/9723174.stm

Eugene Polley, the inventor of the television remote control, has died at the age of 96. His original design, named the Zenith Flashmatic, was created in 1955 but it was not until the 1970s that it began to arrive in homes. British inventor Trevor Bayliss OBE described Eugene Polly's product as "extraordinary", citing catch-up television and the use of many channels as results of the invention. Guardian columnist Zoe Williams suggested that the remote control has even changed the nature of the programmes we watch, making them more immediate and simple. She also referred to the remote control as a "power symbol" within many households. Eugene Polley died of natural causes in Illinois. Get in touch with Today via or text us on 84844.

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This is Japan's first recession since 2001 Japan's economy has entered its first recession since 2001 after shrinking by 0.1% in the third quarter. The world's second-biggest economy had previous shrunk by 0.9% in the April to June quarter. "The downtrend in the economy will continue for the time being as global growth slows," said Japanese Economy Minister Kaoru Yosano. The eurozone officially slipped into recession last week, and the US is expected to follow. "We need to bear in mind that economic conditions could worsen further as the US and European financial crisis deepens, worries of economic downturn heighten and stock and foreign exchange markets make big swings," Mr Yosano added. The benchmark Nikkei share index fell on opening after the growth data was released, but it later rebounded and closed up 0.7%. The Nikkei has lost a quarter of its value since the beginning of October. Growth in Japan has been hit by the global economic slowdown which has curbed demand for Japanese exports. "The risk of Japan posting a third or fourth straight quarterly contraction is growing, given the fact that we can no longer rely on exports," said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute. Japan's economy had experienced its longest period of economic growth since World War II until the sub-prime crisis started a year ago.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-15025015

India police investigate Bangalore 'Facebook suicide' - 22 September 2011 - From the section South Asia Police in India are looking for the former boyfriend of a student who allegedly committed suicide after he ended their relationship on Facebook. Malini Murmu is reported to have hanged herself on Sunday in Bangalore. Her father has demanded that her former boyfriend, Abhishek Dhan, be arrested. Police say they are investigating whether the comments on Facebook amount to aiding and abetting suicide. The whereabouts of Mr Dhan - also a student - are currently unknown. Malini Murmu was a first year MBA student in the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Bangalore. Ms Murmu's family say that Mr Dhan's Facebook account contained derogatory references to her - now deleted - which "forced her to take such a drastic step". In the comments on Sunday he wrote about being "relieved" and "feeling cool" after "dumping his girlfriend". The pair had reportedly had a row earlier on. Ms Murmu's father told the BBC that her death had left the family devastated.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/129587.stm

Thursday, July 9, 1998 Published at 22:48 GMT 23:48 UK Martyrs of the modern era Niches have been empty since Middle Ages The statues were unveiled before the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Westminster Abbey. The martyrs chosen by the Abbey represent religious persecution and oppression in each continents. "There has never been a time in Christian history when someone, somewhere, has not died rather than compromise with the powers of oppression, tyranny and unbelief," the Rev Dr Anthony Harvey, sub-dean of Westminster, told the congregation. The 10 statues were added to the Abbey as part of its restoration programme. The niches above the west gate had been empty since the Middle Ages. The modern martyr Among the martyrs represented in stone are: Saint Elizabeth of Russia, killed in Russia in 1918 by the Bolsheviks, Archbishop Oscar Romero, of El Salvador, and baptist preacher Martin Luther King, both of whom were assassinated. The ideology of the German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, centred around international peace and the coming together of countries through the church. Bonhoeffer was eventually hanged in a Nazi concentration camp in 1945 for his participation in a Protestant resistance movement, but it was his work as a spiritual writer, musician and author of fiction and poetry that had been his powerful weapon. A pastor of the African-American Baptist church, he preached within a political context of creating equal voting and civil rights for the black community. He believed fervently in passive resistance, and his assassination in 1968, made him a symbol of the struggle for social change. Other figures represented are: Archbishop Oscar Romero, of El Salvador, Archbishop Janani Luwum, of Uganda, and Wang Zhiming, from China. 20th century martyrs In 1918, the Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia was killed by the Bolsheviks. Manche Masemola was a Anglican catechumen from South Africa who was killed in 1928 by her parents at the age of 16. Maximilian Kolbe was canonised by the Roman Catholic Church after being killed by the Nazis in 1941. In 1941, Lucian Tapiede, an Anglican from Papua New Guinea, was killed during the Japanese invasion. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor and theologian. killed by the Nazis in 1945. Esther John, a Presbyterian evangelist from Pakistan, was allegedly killed by a Muslim fanatic in 1960. One of the world's most famous civil rights activists, Martin Luther King, a baptist, was assassinated in 1969. In 1972, Wang Zhiming was killed during the Chinese cultural revolution. He was a pastor and evangelist. In 1977, Janani Luwum was assassinated during the rule of Idi Amin, in Uganda, for being an Anglican Archbishop. Oscar Romero was a Roman Catholic Archbishop in El Salvado, assassinated in 1980.

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Ricky checks out school's Pixie Lott video Pupils from a primary school in Surrey have become internet stars after recording their own version of the Pixie Lott hit Boys and Girls. About 200 kids from Amesbury School in south-east England sang the song to raise money for charity. Their video has had more than 80,000 hits online. And even Pixie's seen it! She said on her website: "I'm so moved by this - those kids are so talented and it's for such a good cause." The track is raising cash for the charity CRY, which raises awareness of heart conditions, especially among younger people. One of the school's former pupils died suddenly from a heart condition. Watch the full video here! If you think the song and video seem really well made, it's because they had a bit of help from a parent who runs a record label! In the video, a classroom of kids start singing and dancing behind their teacher's back. When he realises what's going on, he starts joining in!

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-21757259

Vatican voices: James Robbins records radio piece 12 March 2013 Last updated at 11:57 GMT The world's media is gathering in Rome as Cardinals meet to elect the new Pope. The BBC's James Robbins is one of the correspondents covering the event. Here, he records a radio piece from his hotel room.

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ATP World Tour Finals Venue: O2 Arena, London Dates: 21-28 November Coverage: One match each day live on BBC TV, streamed online & available through iPlayer; text commentary online and on mobiles for every singles match via BBC Sport website; every singles match live on 5live sports extra. Djokovic bounced back from defeat by Rafael Nadal with a comfortable win By Piers Newbery at the O2 Arena Novak Djokovic ensured that the four players who will head the world rankings at the end of 2010 made it through to the semi-finals of the end-of-season championships with victory over Andy Roddick. The Serb, ranked third in the world, needed to win only one set in his final round-robin match to progress from Group A at the ATP World Tour Finals, but in the event saw off an exhausted Roddick 6-2 6-3 in 65 minutes. Djokovic will now face world number two Roger Federer at 2000 GMT on Saturday, after world number one Rafael Nadal plays Andy Murray - who has guaranteed he will move up to at least fourth in the rankings next week - at 1400 GMT. The last two times I've lost against Roger, but they were close matches so I'll try to step it up, "It's a great achievement reaching the semi-finals," a delighted Djokovic said. "It's great for the tournament to have the top four guys in the semis. It's a big challenge for all of us." Roddick required a straight-sets win to overhaul Djokovic for a semi-final place and had reason to be hopeful after winning their last four matches for the loss of only one set. Djokovic has always struggled to read the American's huge serve and needed no repeat of the severe difficulties he had with a contact lens in his previous match against Nadal. Ever the crowd-pleaser, the 23-year-old Serb made it very clear on Friday night that the problem had not lingered by walking into the arena wearing an eye patch. He quickly had to get his mind on the job in hand as some Roddick sliced backhands in the opening game caused him problems, but the American put a backhand into the net on break point and from that moment his challenge effectively ended. After a couple of straightforward service games, Roddick made a double-fault and a backhand error on his way to losing a 30-0 lead before spraying a forehand into the tramlines on break point. The match slipped away very quickly from then on, a couple more forehand errors giving up a second break and with it the set in game eight, and the American appeared to pull up with a physical problem as he slipped break point down in game four of the second set. A double-fault gave Djokovic a 3-1 lead and the Serb eased to victory, sensibly keeping his increasingly immobile opponent moving from side to side and throwing in the odd drop shot. The 17,000 spectators gave Roddick plenty of encouragement when he managed to find the occasional winner but, after a little over an hour, Djokovic put the American out of his misery to set up a repeat of his dramatic US Open semi-final against Federer. "I think my confidence since Wimbledon is very high and I've played very good tennis and made a lot of good results," Djokovic said. "Yes, the last two times I've lost against Roger, but they were close matches so I'll try to step it up, take my chances and I hope to prevail. "The last couple of matches we played were very close so it will probably be similar tomorrow. It's great for the tournament to see us playing in the semi, and on the other hand Nadal and Murray. "It's a great achievement that I reached the semi-final and I don't think that energy-wise I'm feeling weak and that will be an issue tomorrow." Roddick admitted that he had simply run out of gas at the end of a long season that saw him struggle with illness and injury, before a late charge in the indoor season to qualify for London. "I am looking forward to resting for 10 days and then trying to get in shape," the 28-year-old from Nebraska added. "It's been a tough battle between trying to get healthy, working and not getting hurt. "It's been a tough six or seven months since the beginning of May and tonight's not a whole lot different. It probably came to an end at about the right time and I'm looking forward to trying to get right physically before the Australian Open."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6486093.stm

Hollywood couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have donated $100,000 (£51,000) to a medical clinic in Sudan. Jolie and Pitt found out about the clinic at a film premiere The Duk Lost Boys Clinic is the first of its kind in south Sudan's Duk County and will serve more than 150,000 people when it opens later this spring. The clinic is the brainchild of John Dau, one of the "lost boys" in the film God Grew Tired of Us, produced by Pitt. The film tells of 25,000 boys who fled war-torn Sudan, travelling for five years to get to a Kenyan refugee camp. Almost 4,000 of them, including Mr Dau, then emigrated to the US. The clinic is situated in the village Mr Dau initially fled during an attack by pro-government forces. "Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt demonstrate the American spirit of generosity," he said. Southern Sudanese rebels spent decades fighting the government "Hopefully their donation will inspire others to join with us to rebuild southern Sudan." South Sudan has hardly any infrastructure following a 21-year conflict between southern rebels and the northern government. A peace deal was signed to end the war in 2005. The documentary, on which Pitt was executive producer, won the grand jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival last year. Jolie and Pitt, who have four children, learned of Mr Dau's clinic when they attended the film's Hollywood premiere in January. The donation will come from the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, which they set up to help humanitarian causes around the world. In addition, volunteers from charity Direct Change have raised $340,000 (£173,000) towards the clinic, while volunteers for the American Care for Sudan Foundation in Syracuse, New York, have helped to construct the building.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/northern_ireland/newsid_9774000/9774801.stm

Recommendations contained within a major review of the health service have caused concern among local people about the future of an acute mental health facility in Omagh, a DUP MLA said, on 4 December 2012. West Tyrone assembly member Thomas Buchanan brought the adjournment debate on the matter to the Assembly. He said the Transforming Your Care (TYC) report recommended that acute mental health services should be located beside or within close proximity to acute hospitals. However, Mr Buchanan said that since 2009, "the acute mental health services have continued to be delivered at Tyrone and Fermanagh Hospital to safe and effective standards." "Arrangements being used for the argument for its relocation to the South West site don't stack up and have been made without any robust rationale or evidence for doing so," he said. Sinn Fein's Barry McElduff said the report's recommendations had "caused considerable anxiety in the area". Responding to the debate, Health Minister Edwin Poots said that TYC wanted to provide the "right care at the right time". He said any changes to health provision would be subject to public consultation before decisions would be made.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4354440.stm

They have their own parades, rigorous training and dedicated doctors. They are treated as fully fledged soldiers. The mules have to go through a rigorous selection procedure Some villagers used to laugh at how much time the army spent on them. But now the mules of the Pakistani army are proving saviours for some of the tens of thousands of quake survivors still stuck atop inaccessible mountains. Nine days after the killer quake struck Kashmir and parts of northern Pakistan, the army mobilised its animal transport units (ATUs), or what's left of them, to reach inaccessible areas - sometimes without any human assistance. These units of specially trained mules have been a critical link in the logistics serving the Pakistan army - and the Royal Indian Army under the Raj before that - in the mountainous northern regions and Kashmir. Like everyone else in the affected areas, a large number of these mules were wiped out by the quake. But those that have survived have been pressed into service for the relief effort. Military officials dealing with the ATUs say there were more than 2,000 mules deployed in Kashmir when the quake struck. An officer in the border region of Chikothi in Kashmir told the BBC news website that "only a fraction survived". The army takes the loss hard - these mules enjoy a status no less than that of a fully fledged soldier. Like men, they have to go through a rigorous selection procedure followed by several months of training before they can be formally drafted into the army. The rearing and selection takes place at Mona Depot near the city of Sargodha - 100km (62 miles) south-west of the capital Islamabad. The mules are categorised by weight and health after being evaluated by army vets. If selected, they are placed with either of the two services - the stronger ones go to the Mule Artillery while the lightweights are placed with Mule GS (general service) units. The elite corps is known as the Animal Regiment - comprising 390 mules and 22 horses - while the others comprise what are called Animal Squadrons consisting of 288 mules and 18 horses. Lt Col Syed Karrar Hussain is an expert in logistics with the Pakistan army who has dealt with ATUs when serving in Kashmir and the northern areas. "These mules are indispensable even in peace time," he says. Over 2,000 mules were deployed in Kashmir when the quake struck "Literally, they go where no man or machine can." Mountain roads, says Col Hussain, are classified according to the ease with which they can be negotiated. The "road head" is the limit to which normal transport can reach. After that is the "jeep head", beyond which is purely mule territory. "The oxygen levels drop sharply after 8,500 to 9,000 feet where humans find it difficult even to carry themselves, let alone any load," Col Hussain says. That's where the mules come in. A fully loaded mule can carry up to 72kg and walk 26km without resting. Distance in the mountains is often calculated in time rather than kilometres, which means these mules can walk non-stop for seven to eight hours. If required to go full distance, up to 18kg of their weight is replaced by especially prepared food consisting of chickpeas and sugar. The mules are allowed to stop and eat at regular intervals and these stoppages are calculated in their travel time. Officers with experience of ATUs say the mules are so well trained that they rarely exceed the time allocated to them. And having travelled a particular route over a period of five to six months, many can find their way from one camp to the next without human assistance. Under normal circumstances, a herd of mules is accompanied by a horse rider. But under exceptional circumstances - such as periods of military tensions when extensive shelling is taking place across the Line of Control - the mules can carry rations and ammunition to the forward posts on their own. "It is not uncommon for us to set them off at last light and we get a message from the forward post the next day that they have arrived safely," an officer at Chikothi said. "And if they get stuck somewhere because of bad weather or a particularly bad landslide, they just return to base." Military officials say it is often not easy for those outside the army to appreciate the services rendered by these animals. These mules can carry up to 72kg and walk 26km Villagers, they say, would often laugh when they saw how much time and energy was being expended on the animals. "The mules have regular parades, including water parades and food parades," says Col Hussain. "Every unit has a doctor dedicated to their care and they have regular medical check ups which, mind you, even the soldiers evade at times." Their trainers, too, are deeply attached to their mules. The only area where the facilities afforded to mules do not match those of the humans is shelter. Military installations all over Kashmir and the northern areas - called hardship areas - are low-cost affairs. The animals often have nothing more than a corrugated iron roof held up by wooden beams stuck in walls of stones. When the quake struck, all the mules were tethered. Without that, many may have used their animal instincts to survive.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6398199.stm

By Nick Caistor In Port-au-Prince, Haiti The blue-and-white United Nations flag flutters over a half-destroyed building on a corner in Cite Soleil, the sprawling slum down at the water's edge in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. United Nations troops have moved into the slum, where almost a quarter of a million people live, as part of a new "get tough" policy against the armed gangs based there. Things are said to be getting better in Cite Soleil In the three years since President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted from power, some 9,000 UN peacekeepers have been struggling to break up the gangs - often armed thanks to money earned from the illegal drugs trafficking - and arrest their leaders. A new Brazilian commander was appointed earlier this year. Major General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz told reporters he was pleased at the progress being made. "Now it's possible to walk in Boston [a neighbourhood in Cite Soleil] without fear, without problems, without criminals circulating freely," he said. The new tougher policy shows signs of producing results. Three important gang leaders from Cite Soleil were captured in the last week of February, and the UN says it now controls a quarter of the slum area. The Security Council mandate for the Minustah forces to remain in Haiti was recently extended, but only until mid-October 2007. This was a compromise between members such as the United States, the United Kingdom and France, who wanted the troops there longer, and China, who argued they should be pulled out much sooner. Many Haitians fear more violence when the UN pulls out The UN Security Council wants to see Haiti move on from "peace-keeping to peace-building", but Minustah spokesman David Wimhurst told reporters last week: "We cannot complete the job in eight months." Haiti has no army, and the police force is only some 5,000-strong. It has been accused of widespread corruption, and of being in league with the gangs. A new police force is being trained at the rate of 500 personnel every six months, but they are as yet untried on their own. This has created fears among many Haitians that when the United Nations pulls out, there could be renewed violence. Mr Aristide himself is living in South Africa, and still maintains that he and his family were forced onto a US aircraft in the middle of the night, because the US wanted him out. He is cautious about any plans to return to Haiti, where his former colleague Rene Preval won a landslide victory to return as president in February 2006. Very little of the aid pledged to Haiti has materialised Mr Aristide says he would like to go back and teach at the University of Tabarre, the area of Port-au-Prince where he used to have his residence. So far, the 63-year-old President Preval has shown no great desire to invite him back. He is very different from the charismatic, dynamic Mr Aristide. He prefers to talk quietly and to negotiate, and not make many public statements. His critics say he has been far too quiet in the first months of his five-year term in office. But President Preval insists that progress is being made. "The people are not looking for a miracle. They only want to see an improvement in their lives," he told The Miami Herald newspaper. This improvement is largely dependent on foreign aid reaching Haiti and being used effectively. A November conference of aid donors in Madrid heard that almost none of the US$750m (£382m) pledged to Haiti had reached its target. By the time the UN pulls out in October, more visible results of improvement are needed if Haiti is not to slide back into complete lawlessness and despair.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/4406399.stm

Hundreds of people packed St Chad's Roman Catholic Cathedral in Birmingham on Sunday morning to celebrate a Requiem mass for the late Pope. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, conducted the service. He said afterwards: "Pope John Paul II was a pope who touched many people. He was a father figure for all. "He had a magical quality and yet he was a fun person as well," the Archbishop said. RELATED INTERNET LINKS: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-11244711

Joan Miro work to be displayed at Tate Modern Works by Joan Miro are to be displayed at the Tate Modern, the first time a major retrospective of the artist has been held in nearly 50 years. The Ladder of Escape, which opens in April next year, will bring together over 150 of the Spanish surrealist's pieces from all over the world. Miro's "dream" paintings and experimental techniques were an influence on abstract expressionism. Tate Modern said his work was noted "for its serene, colourful allure". Among the work that will be displayed will be a painting once owned by US novelist Ernest Hemingway. The exhibition will also look at Miro's "varying degrees of engagement over his lifetime". Meanwhile, a show by Belgian surrealist Rene Magritte has been scheduled for Tate Liverpool, and a major watercolour exhibition is to be shown at Tate Britain. Works by JMW Turner, William Blake and Tracey Emin will be displayed alongside historic watercolours by amateur artists, who used the medium to document and record historical landscapes. The forthcoming shows were announced during the annual Tate report at the Tate Britain gallery. Speaking at the event, Tate director Sir Nicholas Serota said he was confident that the government would "look again" at planned cuts to arts funding once their potential impact became apparent. "We are confident that when they look and see what the impact might be that they will look again at certainly some of the extreme streams that have been speculated on," he said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5324982.stm

A fertility watchdog is seeking public opinion on women donating their eggs for research. Liz would like to aid MND research Liz Shipley, 44 and from Newcastle, is one woman who desperately hopes that she will be able to give her eggs to scientists hunting for disease cures. Ms Shipley has Motor Neurone Disease - a progressive disease that attacks the nerves supplying the muscles, leading to weakness and loss of mobility. Although a cure for her condition is unlikely to be available in her lifetime, she hopes that by donating her eggs to science she will help others at risk of MND. She explained: "My form of MND is inherited. If my eggs are carrying that faulty gene then hopefully they can take my eggs and find a cure for the disease. "I know it is not going to help me, but it will help other people. If we have got a world without MND then what more could I ask for?" She said she appreciates that donating eggs is a complicated and potentially risky procedure. But she said: "Any risks are far outweighed by the positives. And what have I got to lose? I have terminal MND." Critics have questioned whether women might be coerced into donating. But Ms Shipley thought this was unlikely. "It is personal choice. I do not think it is something that a woman could be persuaded to do. It is a major decision. It's an invasive procedure." Until three years ago, Ms Shipley was relatively mobile and led a fairly independent life, working as a primary school teacher for children with special needs. Her MND has progressed and she now relies on carers to help her get dressed and wash her hair. She uses a wheelchair or crutches to get around. Ms Shipley already has children and hopes that they will not have MND. She said they could opt to have a genetic test when they are 18, but that will be their decision to make. "They are very aware of it, but have a very positive attitude and get on with life. "My philosophy is that I'm living with it and not dying from it." At 44, Ms Shipley worries that time is running out for her to donate. She said she is considering having her eggs frozen.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-40903723

Egypt trains collide in Alexandria killing dozens Two passenger trains have collided in northern Egypt, killing at least 41 people and injuring more than 120 others, health officials say. A number of carriage were derailed by the accident in the coastal city of Alexandria. Reports said one of the trains had been brought to a halt after a malfunction. Transport Minister Hisham Arafat blamed "human error". Deadly train accidents in Egypt are rare but not unheard of. The trains, one travelling from the capital Cairo and the other from Port Said, crashed at about 14:15 local time (12:15 GMT). One resident, Hoda, was standing on her rooftop when she saw the trains crash. "They rose in the air forming a pyramid when they collided. I started to scream from the rooftops for people to grab some sheets and run," she said. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered an investigation into the accident, and the government promised financial compensation to the families of the victims. The accident is likely to trigger fresh anger over the mismanagement and poor conditions of the country's transport system, BBC's Arab affairs editor Sebastian Usher reports. In 2013, dozens of people were killed and when a train crashed into a minibus and other vehicles south of Cairo. Egypt's deadliest rail accident occurred near the capital in 2002, when a fire ripped through a crowded train killing more than 370 people.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/s/st_johnstone/7166331.stm

St Johnstone have completed the signing of Inverness defender Stuart McCaffrey on a six-month loan deal. McCaffrey has moved to Saints on a six-month loan The former Hibernian player will be at McDiarmid Park for six months with the option to extending his stay. Saints manager Derek McInnes told the club website: "Stuart will be a good addition to the squad. He has a great deal of experience. "At 28 still has a number of years in the game ahead of him and I'm delighted to have secured his services." McCaffrey is expected to be registered in time to face Dundee on Wednesday, 2 January.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/5375766.stm

Dmitry Tursunov fought off a remarkable Andy Roddick comeback to seal a superb victory and send Russia into the Davis Cup final at the expense of the USA. Tursunov showed all his resolve to secure a dramatic victory The home crowd proved inspirational for Tursunov in the opening sets as he secured a valuable 2-0 lead, only for a dogged Roddick to fight back to 2-2. The fifth set was a marathon, with both players failing to consolidate breaks. But Tursunov held his nerve to win 6-3 6-4 5-7 3-6 17-15, securing a 3-1 tie lead and a final against Argentina. The Russian's win was made all the more stunning after bouncing back from the disappointment of wasting three match points in game 24 of the fifth set, digging deep to see off a clearly exhausted Roddick. It was a dramatic conclusion to a nip-and-tuck semi-final that lasted four hours and 49 minutes and could have gone either way. Bob and Mike Bryan's doubles win had kept the USA in the hunt after they beat Mikhail Youzhny and Dmitry Tursunov in the doubles on Saturday. Marat Safin and Youzhny had seen off Roddick and James Blake on Friday to give Russia a 2-0 lead.