Syrian PM 'survives car bombing'

29 April 2013 Last updated at 06:38 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

The BBC's Wyre Davis reports from Beirut: "It shows really the ability of the armed opposition groups to strike at the heart of the regime"

Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi has survived a car bomb attack in the capital, Damascus, state media say.

The blast in the capital's western Mazzeh district targeted Mr Halqi's convoy, state TV said, reportedly causing a number of casualties.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based activist group, said Mr Halqi's bodyguard had been killed, AFP news agency reported.

It is unclear whether the blast was a suicide bombing or a planted device.

State television carried a brief interview with Mr Halqi, saying that it was filmed after the attack.

He appears assured but somewhat shaken in the interview, in which he talks about a meeting he has just attended on the economy.

State TV said the blast happened at a busy intersection, near a public garden and a school. The upmarket neighbourhood is home to government buildings, the residences of several political figures and a military airport vital to the regime's defences.

"I was walking in the street when suddenly there was a very powerful explosion and I saw a car burning and people running," a witness told AFP.

An unnamed Syrian official said the explosion was caused by a bomb placed underneath a parked car in the area, the Associated Press news agency reported.

An earlier report said it had been a suicide attack.

Footage from the scene showed the charred remains of several vehicles, and a badly damaged bus. Debris and glass were strewn around a wide area, where onlookers had gathered.

A picture that activists said was of the site just after the attack showed a large plume of black smoke rising into the air near a road and a high-rise building.

Syrian forces and rebels have been fighting around Damascus for months but with neither side gaining the upper hand.

Continue reading the main story

• 8 April 2013: Car bomb in Damascus kills at least 15 people and wounds 53
• 21 March: Sheikh Mohammed al-Bouti, leading cleric and supporter of President Bashar al-Assad, killed in blast in Damascus along with 41 others
• 12 December 2012: Car bombing hits interior ministry in Damascus, killing several people and wounding more than 20, including Interior Minister Mohammed al-Shaar
• 18 July: Syrian national security building in Damascus bombed, killing defence minister and deputy, and wounding interior minister

The attack is the latest bombing inside government-controlled areas of the capital.

In December a suicide bombing struck the interior ministry. State media said top officials had escaped unhurt, but it later emerged that the interior minister himself had been badly injured.

So far there has been no claim of responsibility for Monday's attack. Similar bombings in the past have been linked to the jihadist al-Nusra Front, one of the most prominent rebel groups fighting the regime.

Mr Halqi, a senior member of the ruling Baath party, became prime minister last year after Riad Hijab defected to Jordan. He was previously health minister.

More than 70,000 people have been killed since fighting between Syrian forces and rebels erupted in March 2011.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Powerful blast in central Prague

29 April 2013 Last updated at 07:04 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Rob Cameron in Prague: "There were reports of a strong smell of gas"

A large explosion has damaged a building in the centre of the Czech capital Prague.

The area around the explosion in Divadelni St has been sealed off by police. Up to 40 people have been injured by the blast, emergency services say, four of them seriously.

Prague's mayor told Czech radio three people may be trapped in the rubble.

Police say that the blast, which blew the windows out of nearby buildings, was most likely caused by a gas leak.

The site of the explosion is close to the Vltava river, and near the country's National Theatre.

Neighbouring buildings have been evacuated.

A police spokesman said that there had been about 15 people in the building, which included an office of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and an art gallery, Reuters news agency reports.

The building also housed a film school and the social sciences faculty of the city's Charles University.

"We heard a strong explosion and we felt the building tremble and the windows shake," eyewitness Jaroslav Faltus told the BBC.

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

140 claims in Welsh abuse inquiry

29 April 2013 Last updated at 07:57 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

North Wales Police Chief Constable Mark Polin said sex offenders will always be looking over their shoulders

An independent investigation examining claims of historical child abuse at children's homes in north Wales has found "significant evidence of systemic and serious sexual and physical abuse".

Investigators in Operation Pallial have found evidence of 140 allegations of historical abuse between 1963 and 1992.

Seventy six new complainants have also come forward.

The claims centre on 18 homes involving offences against boys and girls aged between seven and 19.

A total of 84 individuals have been named - 75 male and nine female. Of these, 16 have been named by more than one complainant.

It is believed that 10 of the 16 may be deceased.

'Absolute sense'

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

This report reveals that phase one of the investigation has resulted in the collection of significant evidence of systemic and serious sexual and physical abuse of children whilst in care"

End Quote Operation Pallial Report

North Wales Chief Constable Mark Polin said: "Offenders quite rightly should have to look over their shoulders for the rest of their lives."

Keith Bristow, director general of the National Crime Agency (NCA), has agreed to continue investigations at the request of Mark Polin, the North Wales chief constable.

"I took the decision to ask the director general of the National Crime Agency to investigate these allegations last November conscious that some victims of historic abuse may not have the necessary level of confidence in North Wales Police to report these matters directly to us," Mr Polin said.

"Operation Pallial has now secured accounts from almost all victims who are willing to support an investigation and it makes absolute sense for the officers and staff involved to date to be the core of phase two and to move matters forward as quickly as professionally as possible."

At a news conference in Colwyn Bay, Mr Polin told victims: "It's never too late to report abuse."

He also sent a message to offenders, saying: "If you believe the passage of time will reduce the resolve of Operation Pallial or any police force to identify people who are still alive and to bring them to justice, you are sorely mistaken."

'Prioritising activities'

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

These are serious allegations that will be thoroughly investigated"

End Quote Det Supt Ian Mulcahey Merseyside Police

Det Supt Ian Mulcahey of Merseyside Police is leading the day-to-day investigation.

He said: "We're prioritising our work focus on those individuals who pose the greatest risk to the public.

"I want to reassure the community that we are taking their allegations seriously and my officers are dedicated top ensuring that people who are responsible for these offences are held to account regardless of the passage of time."

A Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyer has been appointed to assist Operation Pallial.

The CPS lawyer has advised "the priority should be given to the most serious allegations and the prioritisation process has been agreed with them."

Home Secretary Theresa May ordered this inquiry following a Newsnight report in November, that as well as leading to a Tory peer being falsely accused of paedophilia, alleged that child abuse in north Wales in the 1970s and 1980s was far more widespread than had previously been investigated.

The investigation involves police officers and staff, primarily from forces in north-west England, supported by members of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP Centre).

Waterhouse inquiry

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Many who have been waiting decades for justice and for their voices to be heard have now finally found the courage to come forward and we mustn't fail them this time"

End Quote Des Mannion NSPCC Wales

By December it had heard from 105 victims of alleged abuse.

At the time, Det Supt Mulcahey said the investigation would "follow the evidence without fear or favour".

A separate review by Mrs Justice Macur is investigating the terms of the Waterhouse abuse inquiry, which began in 1996.

It examined the abuse of victims in former north Wales care homes such as Bryn Estyn in Wrexham dating back to the 1970s.

The new inquiry followed a victim's claims that Sir Ronald Waterhouse only uncovered a fraction of the abuse.

Those claims surfaced in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.

Last week, one man was arrested in Ipswich, Suffolk, as part of Operation Pallial and questioned on suspicion of serious sexual offences against a number of people. He has been bailed until July.

Des Mannion, NSPCC national head of service in Wales, said: "This latest investigation is a major step forward investigating claims of wide spread child abuse.

"Many who have been waiting decades for justice and for their voices to be heard have now finally found the courage to come forward and we mustn't fail them this time."

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

EU to ban pesticides in bee scare

29 April 2013 Last updated at 08:00 ET

A majority of EU states have backed a proposal to restrict the use of pesticides linked to bee deaths in scientific studies.

There is great concern across Europe about the collapse of bee populations.

Neonicotinoid chemicals in pesticides are believed to harm bees and the European Commission says they should be restricted to crops not attractive to bees and other pollinators.

But many farmers and crop experts argue that there is insufficient data.

The Commission now has the go-ahead to impose a two-year restriction on neonicotinoids.

Wild species such as honey bees are said by researchers to be responsible for pollinating around one-third of the world's crop production.

Greenpeace EU agriculture policy director Marco Contiero said Monday's vote "makes it crystal clear that there is overwhelming scientific, political and public support for a ban.

"Those countries opposing a ban have failed."

An EU vote last month was inconclusive, so the Commission proposal went to an appeals committee on Monday.

Some restrictions are already in place for neonicotinoids in France, Germany, Italy and Slovenia.

But the idea of a two-year moratorium did not attract enough support last month, under the EU's weighted voting system, after the UK and Germany both abstained.

Continue reading the main story

• Nicotine is not just lethal to humans in the form of cigarettes, but the chemical is also extremely toxic to insects
• Neonicotinoid pesticides are new nicotine-like chemicals and act on the nervous systems of insects, with a lower threat to mammals and the environment than many older sprays
• Pesticides made in this way are water soluble, which means they can be applied to the soil and taken up by the whole plant - they are called "systemic", meaning they turn the plant itself into a poison factory, with toxins coming from roots, leaves, stems and pollen
• Neonicotinoids are often applied as seed treatments, which means coating the seeds before planting.

The three neonicotinoids are clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiametoxam.

A report published by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) in January concluded that the pesticides posed a "high acute risk" to pollinators, including honeybees.

However, it added that in some cases it was "unable to finalise the assessments due to shortcomings in the available data".

Intensive lobbying

There was ferocious lobbying both for and against in the run-up to Monday's vote, the BBC's Chris Morris reports from Brussels.

Nearly three million signatures were collected in support of a ban. Protesters against neonicotinoids rallied in Westminster on Friday.

Campaign organiser Andrew Pendleton of the environmental group Friends of the Earth said "leading retailers have already taken action by removing these pesticides from their shelves and supply chains - the UK government must act too".

"Pesticides aren't the only threat bees face - that's why David Cameron must urgently introduce a Bee Action Plan," he said.

Chemical companies and pesticide manufacturers have been lobbying just as hard - they argue that the science is inconclusive, and that a ban would harm food production.

The UK government seems to agree with the industry lobby. It says it cannot support the proposed ban in its current form. The chief scientific adviser, Sir Mark Walport, has said restrictions on the use of pesticides should not be introduced lightly, and the idea of a ban should be dropped.

The EU moratorium would not apply to crops non-attractive to bees, or to winter cereals.

It would prohibit the sale and use of seeds treated with neonicotinoid pesticides.

The deadline for implementation would be 1 July this year, not affecting the forthcoming sowing season for maize.

There would be a ban on the sale of neonicotinoids to amateur growers.

There have been a number of studies showing that the chemicals, made by Bayer and Syngenta, do have negative impacts on bees.

One study suggested that neonicotinoids affected the abilities of hives to produce queen bees. More recent research indicated that the pesticides damaged their brains.

But the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) argues that these studies were mainly conducted in the laboratory and do not accurately reflect field conditions.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Men guilty of Debenhams boy rape

29 April 2013 Last updated at 08:08 ET

Two men have been found guilty of raping a 14-year-old boy in a city centre department store's toilets.

Alex Wilson-Fletcher, 41, of Oldham Street, Manchester, and Abdelkader El-Janabi, 55, of Artillery Court, Ardwick, attacked the boy in Debenhams on Manchester's Market Street in June.

The men approached the boy in the nearby Arndale Centre before leading him to the Debenhams store.

They were convicted at Manchester Crown Court and will be sentenced on 6 June.

In court, the boy said the pair had approached him in the toilets of the Arndale Centre on 2 June and El-Janabi had grabbed his arm and told him to follow him.

He said El-Janabi had then led him out of the shopping centre and across the road to the Debenham store, where he walked him to the third floor toilets, followed by Wilson-Fletcher.

Once inside, El-Janabi and Wilson-Fletcher both touched him before El-Janabi raped him.

He managed to escape the pair and fled the toilets, doing up his trousers as he ran, and reported the incident to police later that night.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Welby raps City 'entitlement' ethos

27 April 2013 Last updated at 03:26 ET

The City of London has been affected by a "culture of entitlement" at variance with what others think reasonable, the new Archbishop of Canterbury has said.

But the Most Reverend Justin Welby told the BBC business morality was in many ways much better than in the past.

He also defended his description of the UK's economic situation as a depression rather than a recession.

Asked if this had upset Number 10, the archbishop said: "Sometimes feathers get ruffled. I mean - that's life."

The archbishop - a former oil industry executive - is a member of the cross-party Banking Standards Commission.

He told BBC Radio 4's the Week in Westminster there should be exams for those who want to work in the banking industry and suggested employees could be overseen by a professional body.

He said that as banks "have the capacity to have such an impact on the wider economy" then specific training should be necessary.

"Banks are incredibly complicated things, it is one of the most demanding and complicated areas of management going. The idea that people can hold hugely responsible positions in them without any kind of formal training seems to a number of us as quite surprising."

Regional banks

He said: "I think in banking, in particular, and in the City of London, a culture of entitlement has affected a number of areas, not universally by any means, in which it seemed to disconnect from what people saw as reasonable in the rest of the world."

Archbishop Welby has proposed recapitalising a major bank and breaking it up to create regional banks.

But he declined in the radio interview with Financial Times political editor George Parker to name which institution he had in mind.

Archbishop Welby noted that economic activity had been "significantly below" the levels of 2007 for "quite a long time".

He said he did not know whether his use of the term "depression" had annoyed "people in Number 10".

"Historically, depressions have been recognised as lengthy periods in which the economy did not get back to its previous level of activity before a recession set in," he said.

"So 1929 to 1932 is the great example. There was a big one towards the end of the 19th Century.

"We are still significantly below where we were in 2007 in terms of economic activity, of GDP, and that's quite a long time of being below.

"Now, I'm not pointing any fingers at anyone in particular and saying it's so-and-so's fault or so-and-so's fault, it's simply a measurable fact coming from the national statistics."

'Social implications'

The archbishop acknowledged that part of his mission may be to inject "more morality" into the City of London.

He said: "My key mission is to lead the Church in worshipping Jesus Christ and encouraging people to believe in him and follow him. That's my mission.

"The Christian gospel has always had strong social implications and one of them is around the common good and it's one of the key areas in which the Church of England focuses.

"So issues of how the City of London, which is so important and so full of very gifted people, how that behaves in relation to the common good is very key, not to the whole thing that I'm about or the Church is about, but to how we express the implications of that in day to day life."

Parker said the archbishop could have withdrawn from the banking commission when he took up his role, but opted to stay involved. He now had three "pulpits" - the Church, the House of Lords and the banking commission.

BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins says the cities of London and Westminster are growing used to an archbishop who produces plans for restructuring financial services and a regular commentary on economic growth.

The interview can be heard on the Week in Westminster on BBC Radio 4 at 11:00 BST on Saturday 27 April

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

First Dreamliner flight lands safely

27 April 2013 Last updated at 05:57 ET

An Ethiopian Airlines 787 Dreamliner has flown from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, the first commercial flight by the Boeing aircraft since all 787s were grounded in January.

The 50 planes around the world were grounded due to battery malfunctions that saw one 787 catch fire in the US.

Over the past week teams of Boeing engineers have been fitting new batteries to the aircraft.

This was after aviation authorities approved the revamped battery design.

The Ethiopian Airlines plane took off at 09:45 local time (07:45 GMT) and landed in Nairobi, Kenya, some two hours later.

Engineering team

Each 787 has two of the lithium-ion batteries which caused problems.

In addition to new versions of the batteries which run at a much cooler temperature, the batteries are now enclosed in stainless steel boxes.

These boxes have a ventilation pipe that goes directly to the outside of the plane. Boeing says this means than in the unlikely event of any future fire or smoke, it would not affect the rest of the aircraft.

Continue reading the main story

The two-hour flight from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia to Nairobi in Kenya is not normally a flight that would make headline news around the world.

But this journey is special, because it should mark the end of an incredibly damaging chapter for Boeing's flagship airliner.

I'll be talking to passengers on board the flight, and it'll be fascinating to see how they feel about flying on a plane that was grounded across the globe only last January after one battery caught fire and another overheated, forcing an emergency landing.

Boeing and its customers, who include British Airways, Virgin and Thomson, will be desperate to put the whole episode behind them.

Boeing said it put 200,000 engineer hours into fixing the problem, with staff working round the clock.

On Thursday, the US Federal Aviation Administration issued a formal "air worthiness" directive allowing revamped 787s to fly.

Japanese airlines, which have been the biggest customers for the new-generation aircraft, are expected to begin test flights on Sunday.

A total of 300 Boeing engineers, pooled into 10 teams, have in the past week been fitting the new batteries and their containment systems around the world.

Boeing is expected to complete repairs on all 50 of the grounded Dreamliners by the middle of May.

In addition to the Dreamliners in service with airlines, Boeing has upgraded the 787s it has continued to make at its factory in Seattle since January.

The Dreamliner entered service in 2011. Half of the plane is made from lightweight composite materials, making it more fuel efficient than other planes of the same size.

The two lithium-ion batteries are not used when the 787 is in flight.

They are operational when the plane is on the ground and its engines are not turned on, and are used to power the aircraft's brakes and lights.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Boeing engineer Rich Horigan explains how the battery problem was fixed

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hen party crash victims 'critical'

27 April 2013 Last updated at 06:30 ET

Eight women are still in a critical condition after a crash on the M62 involving a minibus of hen partygoers.

One woman was killed and 20 others injured when the bus was in collision with a lorry on Friday morning, near junction 32 at Castleford.

The victim who died at the scene of the accident has been named by police as Bethany Jones, 18, from Pontefract.

West Yorkshire Police said the lorry driver, arrested on suspicion of death by dangerous driving, has been bailed.

Crews from West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, said it was the worst crash they had seen in years.

Staff from five stations attended the scene and found the minibus on its side.

Patients were treated at the scene before being taken to hospitals including Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield and Leeds General Infirmary.

At one stage six air ambulance were involved in dealing with casualties at the scene.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Arrests over Dhaka building collapse

27 April 2013 Last updated at 07:44 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

The BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan in Dhaka says rescuers and volunteers worked through the night

Two owners of garment factories in the building that collapsed on the outskirts of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka have surrendered to police.

Mahbubur Rahman Tapas and Balzul Samad Adnan are suspected of forcing staff to work in the eight-storey building, ignoring warnings about cracks.

At least 336 people are known to have died after the Rana Plaza in the suburb of Savar collapsed on Wednesday.

On Saturday morning, at least 24 more people were rescued from the rubble.

Rescuers and volunteers, who worked through the night, cheered as they were brought to safety.

Continue reading the main story

I have just seen a woman pulled alive from deep inside the rubble of the Rana Plaza, four days since this huge garment factory complex collapsed.

She was crying as she emerged into the light on what was once the roof of the building. Rescuers shouted Allahu Akbar (God is great) as she was brought up on a rope and then carried away on a stretcher.

Emergency personnel say up to 14 more people are still trapped on what was the fifth floor of the building and work is under way to free them.

Hundreds of volunteers are still helping army and emergency services. Bodies are also still being retrieved from this massive tangle of concrete and metal.

There have been more clashes with police and protesters near the site as anger simmers over the disaster.

We passed dozens of riot police on the drive here, some were guarding other nearby garment factories following attacks on several others.

Earlier, rescue teams said they had located about 40 survivors on the collapsed third and fifth floors of the building.

Officials said they were working to extricate the remaining survivors and had passed oxygen cylinders and water to those still trapped.

More bodies of victims were also retrieved overnight and on Saturday morning.

Some 3,000 people are believed to have been working in the building at the time of the collapse and about 600 are still missing.

Watching the operation are hundreds of relatives of those still missing, many clutching photographs of their loved ones.

Abul Basar wept as he awaited news of his wife who worked in one of the garment factories.

"My son says that his mother will come back some day, she must return," he cried.

'Negligence'

Mr Tapas and Mr Adnan, the owners of the New Wave Buttons and New Wave Style factories, turned themselves in to police in the early hours of Saturday.

Deputy chief of Dhaka police Shyami Mukherjee said the two were accused of causing "death due to negligence", according the AFP news agency.

The owners reportedly told their employees to return to work on Wednesday, even though cracks were visible in the building a day earlier.

Three other clothing factories were reportedly operating in the building.

Police are also questioning two municipal engineers who are reported to have approved the safety of the building a day before it collapsed.

The owner of Rana Plaza, Mohammed Sohel Rana, is said to have gone into hiding.

"Those who're involved, especially the owner who forced the workers to work there, will be punished," Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told lawmakers on Friday.

"Wherever he is, he will be found and brought to justice," the prime minister added.

There is widespread anger in Bangladesh over the disaster and fresh clashes between police and protesters erupted again on Saturday.

On Friday, police used tear-gas and rubber bullets to break up crowds that had blocked roads, set fire to buses and attacked textile factories.

Protesters are demanding that the government arrests all those responsible for the disaster and improves conditions for garment workers.

Police are guarding other garment factories in the area.

Bangladesh has one of the largest garment industries in the world, providing cheap clothing for major Western retailers that benefit from its widespread low-cost labour.

But the industry has been widely criticised for its low pay and limited rights given to workers and for the often dangerous working conditions in garment factories.

Primark, a clothes retailer with a large presence in Britain, confirmed that one of its suppliers was on the second floor of the Rana Plaza, and said it would work with other retailers to review standards.

Labour rights groups say the companies have a moral duty to ensure their suppliers are providing safe conditions for their employees.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Armed drones operated from Britain

27 April 2013 Last updated at 07:52 ET

Armed drone aircraft have been operated remotely from Britain for the first time, the Ministry of Defence has said.

It said Reaper drones had flown missions controlled from RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, where campaign groups are holding a protest rally against the practice.

The MoD said it respected people's rights to protest peacefully.

The drones are mainly used for surveillance, but could use weapons if commanded to by their pilots in the UK.

Campaigners say the switching of control of flights to the UK marks a "critical expansion in the nation's drones programme".

They are calling on the government to abandon the use of drones, claiming they make it easier for politicians to launch military interventions, and have increased civilian casualties.

The MoD has defended their use in Afghanistan, saying it has saved the lives of countless military personnel and civilians.

The 10 Reaper aircraft are all based in Afghanistan to support UK and coalition forces and can carry 500lb bombs and Hellfire missiles for strikes on insurgents.

They are piloted remotely, but launched and landed with human help at Kandahar airbase.

BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt says the "overwhelming majority" of missions the British drones are used for involve surveillance.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

The RAF is not keen on the term "drone". It prefers the use of "Remotely Piloted Air Systems", RPAS, to make clear that these are not autonomous systems: they still need a human being to fly and command the mission - and crucially, decide whether or not to use weapons, and whether a strike can take place under the UK's rules of engagement.

But drones are playing an increasingly important role in air warfare and air support, with many saying the Joint Strike Fighter - currently being developed in the US - is likely to be the last manned fighter aircraft bought by the UK.

After that, there will be no more "magnificent men in their flying machines".

She says the MoD told her British drones are not being used for targeted assassinations, unlike the Predator drones used by the US in places such as Pakistan.

Estimates suggest CIA drone attacks in Pakistan killed up to 3,533 people between 2004 and 2013.

About 890 of them were civilians and the vast majority of strikes were carried out under President Barack Obama's administration, according to research by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

Earlier this year the UN launched an inquiry into the impact on civilians of drone strikes and other targeted killings, saying a proper legal framework was required to provide accountability.

The MoD says that when weapons are used, the same rules of engagement are followed that govern the use of weapons on manned aircraft.

Previously, RAF personnel would control the drones from Creech Air Force Base, in Nevada, US.

In October last year, the RAF created 13 Squadron based at RAF Waddington south of Lincoln, where about 100 personnel include pilots, systems operators and engineers that control missions over Afghanistan.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

They present an aerial occupation, almost a form of collective punishment, that causes huge concern and distress to people living in those communities"

End Quote Kat Craig Reprieve

In a statement issued on Thursday, the RAF said it had commenced supporting the International Security Assistance Force and Afghan ground troops with "armed intelligence and surveillance missions" remotely piloted from RAF Waddington.

Air Vice Marshall Sir John Walker, a former chief of defence intelligence, said "having a capability like the drones on the order of battle can only be a good thing" because they could help troops on the ground who are in trouble, if necessary.

Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, he likened drones to Polaris submarines which, he said, provided an effective nuclear deterrent without being used.

He said terrorists in parts of Afghanistan operate in "a condition of sanctuary", prompting him to ask: "How are you going to get them without something like a drone approach?"

Meanwhile, Kat Craig, legal director of human rights charity Reprieve, said the use of drones was a blight on the communities the drones monitor.

"The nature of drones means they hover above communities 24 hours a day, seven days a week," she said.

She went on: "They present an aerial occupation, almost a form of collective punishment, that causes huge concern and distress to people living in those communities.

"In addition to the terrorising of populations that we see living under drones, there is real concern about the accuracy of the targeting."

Several anti-war groups including CND, War on Want, the Drone Campaign Network, and the Stop the War coalition are holding a march and rally outside RAF Waddington on Saturday.

Between 200 and 300 people are thought to have attended the demonstration, according to the BBC's Look North team.

Chris Nineham, vice-chairman of the Stop the War Coalition, said: "I think people feel that there is something sinister and disturbing about the idea that someone can attack a foreign country thousands of miles away with, simply, the push of a button and this technology that is being introduced is giving carte blanche to governments to fight wars behind the backs of people with no public scrutiny or accountability.

"That's the fundamental problem."

The route of the march, from South Common along the A15 to the peace camp site opposite RAF Waddington, involves road closures in phases to limit inconvenience to motorists.

An MoD spokesman said: "We fully respect people's right to protest peacefully and within the law and would do nothing to prevent members of the public exercising their right to peaceful protest.

"Nevertheless, we have a duty to protect public property, and to ensure that we meet our operational needs.

"The MoD has a duty to maintain security at all defence installations and uses all lawful means to do so, including the right to seek injunctions against any person who persists in trespassing on MoD property."

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Imaginary portraitist up for Turner

25 April 2013 Last updated at 05:01 ET

A portrait painter, whose subjects are imaginary, is one of four artists in contention for the 2013 Turner Prize.

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye joins French installation artist Laure Prouvost, Britain's David Shrigley and the British-German performance artist Tino Sehgal on this year's shortlist.

This year's Turner exhibition will be held at Ebrington in Derry-Londonderry, 2013's UK City of Culture.

The winner - who will receive £25,000 - will be announced on 2 December.

The other shortlisted artists will each receive £5,000.

Established in 1984, the Turner Prize is awarded to a contemporary artist under 50, living, working or born in Britain, who is judged to have put on the best exhibition of the last 12 months.

Previous winners include Damien Hirst, Antony Gormley and last year's recipient, the video artist Elizabeth Price.

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, who lives and works in London, is shortlisted for her Extracts and Verses exhibition at the Chisenhale Gallery.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Born in 1977, she attended Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, Falmouth College of Arts and the Royal Academy Schools.

According to the prize's organisers, Yiadom-Boakye's "intriguing" paintings "appear traditional but are in fact much more innovative".

"Her portraits of imaginary people use invented pre-histories and raise pertinent questions about how we read pictures in general, particularly with regard to black subjects."

Yiadom-Boakye is of Ghanaian descent and is the first black woman to be in contention for the award.

Glasgow-based David Shrigley is best known for his humorous line drawings, but also makes sculptures, photographs, paintings and animated films.

His work, which combines jokes and commentary, can be found on greetings cards, in books and in magazines, as well as in galleries.

His words have been used in recordings by David Byrne and Franz Ferdinand and he directed the video for Blur's 2009 track Good Song.

Born in Macclesfield in 1968, Shrigley is shortlisted for his solo exhibition Brain Activity, at London's Hayward Gallery.

The exhibition, said the Turner Prize organisers, was a "comprehensive overview" that revealed "his black humour, macabre intelligence and infinite jest".

Born in Lille in 1978, Laure Prouvost won the fourth Max Mara art prize for women in 2011 for her short films and installation work.

Based in London, she is shortlisted for her new work Wantee, featured in Tate Britain's Schwitters in Britain exhibition, and her two-part Max Mara art prize installation.

Her "unique" approach to film-making, said organisers, "employs strong story-telling, quick cuts, montage and deliberate misuse of language to create surprising and unpredictable work".

Born in 1976 and based in Berlin, Tino Sehgal has been shortlisted for his "pioneering" projects This Variation and These Associations.

The latter, staged last year at Tate Modern in London, invited the public to interact with volunteers in a "live installation" staged in the gallery's expansive Turbine Hall.

"Both structured and improvised, Seghal's intimate works consist purely of live encounters between people and demonstrate a keen sensitivity to their institutional context," said organisers.

"Through participatory means, they test the limits of artistic material and audience perception in a new and significant way."

This year's jury is chaired by Tate Britain director Penelope Curtis and includes the curator Annie Fletcher and the writer and lecturer Declan Long.

Long said the each of the four shortlisted artists represented "remarkable developments" in art.

"There's so much range here, it's fantastic," he told the BBC's arts editor Will Gompertz.

It is the first time the Turner Prize exhibition has ever been held outside England.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Economy avoids triple-dip recession

25 April 2013 Last updated at 06:22 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Chancellor George Osborne called the latest GDP figures "encouraging" and defended his austerity measures

The UK economy has avoided falling back into a recession after recording faster-than-expected growth in the first three months of the year.

The Office for National Statistics said its first estimate for gross domestic product (GDP) showed the economy grew 0.3% during the first quarter of 2013.

Chancellor George Osborne said it was an "encouraging sign".

But the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, said that the economy was "just back to where it was six months ago".

The growth in GDP means the economy avoided two consecutive quarters of contraction - the definition of a recession. There had been fears the UK would enter its third recession in five years, a so-called triple-dip recession.

Economists say the news should give a small psychological boost to consumers and businesses, but the broader picture of the economy remains the same.

The UK economy has been on a plateau since the financial crisis hit in 2008, with small spurts of growth and contraction.

'Making progress'

The better-than-expected rise in GDP for the first quarter was largely down to strong growth in the services sector and a recovery in North Sea oil and gas output.

The ONS figures also showed that GDP had risen by 0.6% when compared with the first quarter of 2012, the strongest year-on-year increase since the end of 2011.

Chancellor George Osborne said: "Today's figures are an encouraging sign the economy is healing. Despite a tough economic backdrop, we are making progress. The deficit is down by a third, businesses have created over a million and a quarter new jobs, and interest rates are at record lows.

"We all know there are no easy answers to problems built up over many years, and I can't promise the road ahead will always be smooth, but by continuing to confront our problems head on, Britain is recovering and we are building an economy fit for the future," he added.

Matt Basi, from CMC Markets UK, said: "Growth of 0.3% is hardly cause for celebration, but may ease some of the pressure that has been piling on the government's austerity plans."

The chancellor has faced calls from the International Monetary Fund to rethink the pace of the austerity programme.

But the government insists its austerity measures are vital to bringing down borrowing, and guarantee growth in the long-term.

Poor growth has already led to two international credit rating agencies stripping the UK of its top-notch triple-A rating.

Continue reading the main story

There were no doubt sighs of relief in the chancellor's office when these figures arrived 24 hours ago ahead of today's publication.

Growth of 0.3% is not much to write home about and there may be revisions in the light of subsequent data.

The overall picture, according to the ONS, is a flat economy. But the growth number was above expectations and there were no special factors like the Olympic effect to flatter the figures.

The dominant services sector provided much of the impetus, including a strong bounce-back for retail, hotels and restaurants.

In the end the cold weather proved to be no hindrance because North Sea oil and gas output was boosted to keep up with higher demand. Construction and manufacturing, however, were weaker.

After a difficult week with criticisms from the IMF and ahead of the Fund's visit to the UK next month, the chancellor will be grateful to have some growth to report.

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said: "If we're to have a strong and sustained recovery, and catch up all the ground we have lost over the last few years, we need urgent action to kick-start our economy and strengthen it for the long-term - as Labour and the IMF have warned."

He added: "We need radical bank reform and a jobs and growth plan, including building thousands of affordable homes and a compulsory jobs guarantee for the long term unemployed. And instead of a tax cut for millionaires, we need a lower 10p starting rate of tax to ease the squeeze on millions of people on middle and low incomes."

Strong services

The pound rose nearly 1% to $1.5414 against the US dollar on the news, its highest point in two months.

The services sector, which accounts for three-quarters of the economy, grew by 0.6% in the quarter, with a strong performance from hotels and restaurants.

Transport and communications also made a solid contribution with growth of 1.4%.

But there were some areas of continuing weakness. Construction activity fell 2.5% in the first quarter and remains more than 18% lower than it was before the start of the financial crisis in 2008.

Phil Orford, the chief executive at the Forum of Private Business said: "While the service sector looks to have led the way, the construction industry figure is more worrying, and shows the need to get projects moving at a quicker pace."

The size of the economy as a whole remains 2.6% below its pre-crisis peak.

"The recovery still faces significant obstacles ahead, with households still experiencing falling real pay and policymakers still struggling to get bank lending to rise," said Vicky Redwood, UK economist at Capital Economics.

"Today's figure offers some hope that things might finally be starting to move in the right direction again."

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Google offers clearer search labels

25 April 2013 Last updated at 07:31 ET

Google has agreed to alter its search results in the light of a European investigation into whether it unfairly promoted its own services.

The firm said that it will more clearly label results from YouTube, Google Maps and its other sites.

It also agreed to display some search results from its competitors in close proximity to its own services.

EU regulators are asking for feedback and have proposed that the concessions be tested for a month.

If the European Commission accepts them, they will become legally binding for the next five years.

As part of the agreement, Google will clearly separate promoted links from other web search results as well as displaying links to three rival specialised search services "in a place that is clearly visible to users".

"The objective of this process is to try to see if we can achieve a settled outcome in this antitrust investigation," said Commission spokesman Antoine Colombani.

But the Microsoft-backed lobby group Initiative for a Competitive Marketplace (Icomp) was not convinced the changes went far enough.

"It is clear that mere labelling is not any kind of solution to the competition concerns that have been identified. Google should implement the same ranking policy to all websites," it said.

It said it would comment further once it had fully evaluated the proposals.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Frantic search for Dhaka survivors

25 April 2013 Last updated at 07:45 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

A man trapped in the rubble of the collapsed building in Dhaka

A search for survivors is continuing at a building which collapsed in a suburb of the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, killing at least 200 people.

Rescue workers are working with volunteers to free survivors trapped inside the remains of the building.

Tens of thousands of weeping family members have gathered at the site.

Police said the factory owners had ignored warnings not to allow their workers into the building after cracks were noticed on Tuesday.

The High Court has summoned the building owner and senior management staff of the factories to appear before judges on 30 April, local media report.

The factory owners are said to have gone into hiding.

Police earlier confirmed that cases had been filed against the building owner and the owners of the factories for causing unlawful death.

The exact number of those trapped is not clear, but accounts from survivors and eyewitnesses suggest there may be hundreds still unaccounted for.

The disaster has prompted questions over Bangladesh's chronically poor safety standards.

Bangladesh has one of the largest garment industries in the world, providing cheap clothing for major Western retailers which benefit from its widespread low-cost labour.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced a national day of mourning on Thursday in memory of the victims.

Thousands of garment workers in other areas of Dhaka have taken to the streets and blocked roads to protest at the deaths of the workers in Savar.

'Like a pancake'

Some 2,000 people were in the Rana Plaza building in Savar, some 30km (20 miles) outside Dhaka, when it collapsed suddenly on Wednesday morning.

Firefighters and soldiers joined volunteers in the effort to locate survivors in the mangled wreckage of concrete and steel.

Rescue workers and volunteers have been using heavy machinery and their bare hands to free survivors.

Continue reading the main story

• Nov 2012 - More than 100 workers die in a fire at a factory in Dhaka suburb of Tazreen
• March 2012 - More than 100 people die as a ferry collides with an oil tanker and sinks
• June 2010 - Four-storey building in Dhaka caves in, killing at least 25 people
• April 2005 A garment factory collapses in Savar, killing 73 people
• May 2002 - Up to 500 people die when a river ferry sinks during a storm

Trapped workers can be heard inside the rubble, screaming for help. Food and water is being passed to survivors through gaps in the the rubble.

Lengths of textile that were earlier being cut into garments - many destined for Western consumers - were now being used as makeshift slides to evacuate survivors and corpses.

Mosammat Khursida told the Associated Press (AP) news agency she was looking for her husband.

"He came to work in the morning. I can't find him," she said. "I don't know where he is. He does not pick up his phone."

Lines of relatives filed by numbered bodies of victims, looking for their family members.

"Save us brother. I beg you brother. I want to live... It's so painful here ... I have two little children," Mohammad Altab, a garment worker trapped in the building told rescuers, according to AP.

Only the ground floor of the building remained intact, officials said.

"The whole building collapsed like a pancake within minutes. Most workers did not have any chance to escape," national fire department chief Ahmed Ali told AFP news agency.

Local hospitals were overwhelmed with the arrival of more than 1,000 injured people.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Bangladeshi factory worker: "In one minute everything collapsed"

Speaking at the scene, Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir said the building had violated construction codes and "the culprits would be punished".

There are reports that the building owner had illegally added three extra stories to the building.

'Catch-22'

In November, a fire at a garment factory in the Dhaka suburb of Tazreen drew international attention to working conditions in Bangladesh's textile industry.

Primark, a clothes retailer with a large presence in Britain, confirmed that one of its suppliers was on the second floor of the Rana Plaza.

It said it was "shocked and deeply saddened by the appalling incident" and that it would work with other retailers to review standards.

Discount giant Wal-Mart - which was found to be sourcing products from the Tazreen factory - said it was still trying to establish whether its goods were being produced at the Rana Plaza.

"We remain committed and are actively engaged in promoting stronger safety measures, and that work continues,'' said Wal-Mart spokesman Kevin Gardner.

A company called New Wave, with two factories in the building, supplies firms from around Europe, the US and Canada.

Meanwhile, Spanish retailer Mango said it had not been using any of the suppliers in the building but had been in talks with one of them to produce a batch of test products.

Edward Hertzman, a textiles broker based in New York, told Reuters news agency that pressure from US retailers to keep costs down was in part responsible for unsafe conditions.

"Bangladesh is the longest lead-time country and a difficult country to work in, so the only way it becomes competitive is by offering the lowest [cost]. That's the catch-22," he said.

"If the factories want to raise prices to make up for rising wages and costs, the buyers say: 'Oh why do we want to go to Bangladesh if I could go to China, Pakistan, Cambodia etc for a similar price?"

He said if Western companies really wanted safety standards to improve, they would have to accept that they needed to start paying higher prices.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Papers reject press royal charter

25 April 2013 Last updated at 08:04 ET

Newspaper industry representatives are to reject cross-party plans for press regulation, and are to publish an alternative royal charter.

The three main political parties agreed to a royal charter last month in response to Lord Justice Leveson's report on press standards and ethics.

They said an independent watchdog would be set up by royal charter with powers to issue fines and demand apologies.

But newspapers argue that they had no say in the final discussions.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Lloyds' Co-op deal falls through

24 April 2013 Last updated at 04:28 ET

The planned sale of 631 UK bank branches by Lloyds Banking Group to the Co-op group has fallen through.

The Co-op blamed the continued economic downturn and tougher regulatory environment imposed on banks.

Lloyds said it will now seek to sell the branches as a stand-alone bank through a stock market listing.

It had been hoped that the Co-op's purchase of the branches would create a bigger competitor to the main high street banks.

Lloyds' chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio said: "We are disappointed that the Co-operative Group is unable to complete this transaction."

The sales of the branches, known as Project Verde, was demanded by European regulators as the price for being bailed out by the UK government during the financial crisis.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

For the Co-op and the banking market, the ramifications are much more serious."

End Quote

The Lloyds statement said: "The Co-operative Group's board has decided that they can no longer proceed with a purchase of the Verde business given their view of the impact of the current economic environment, the worsened outlook for economic growth and the increasing regulatory requirements on the financial services sector in general."

During the summer the branches will be branded as TSB Bank, and the group will operate as a separate business within Lloyds ahead of a sale.

The Co-op's chief executive, Peter Marks, said: "After detailed and thorough consideration of all aspects of the Verde transaction, we have decided, at this time, that it is not in the best interests of our members to proceed with the transaction.

"Against the backdrop of the current economic environment, the worsened outlook for economic growth and the increasing regulatory requirements on the financial services sector in general, the Verde transaction would not currently deliver a suitable return for our members within a reasonable timeframe and with an acceptable level of risk."

The BBC's business editor, Robert Peston, said the Co-op's decision was a blow for the Treasury, which has been backing attempts to create powerful competitors to the UK's big high street banks. He said that the Co-op will now review the future of its banking business.

Challenger banks

Lloyds, which is 39%-owned by the government, had a deadline of November 2013 to complete the sale in order to meet European Commission competition rules. But there have been reports over the past few months that the Co-op was going cool on the acquisition.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Millions of Lloyds customers face an element of uncertainty after a proposed deal to sell 631 branches to the Co-op collapsed"

End Quote

Kevin Peachey Personal finance reporter, BBC News

---

A flotation is unlikely to be possible until the second half of 2014, which would mean the UK government and Lloyds asking Brussels to extend its late 2013 deadline for the sale.

Co-op agreed in 2012 to buy the branches.

This involved the potential transfer of 4.6 million customers, including 3.5 million in England and Wales and the remainder in Scotland.

Customers in England and Wales had already received letters telling them of the move and giving them the option to stay with Lloyds. This information is still relevant, as customers of the branches being sold will still become customers of the new TSB Bank.

The aborted takeover would have created Britain's seventh-biggest bank with about 5% of personal current accounts and mortgage market and about 10% of the branch network.

A Treasury spokesman described the Co-op's move as "a commercial matter." However, he stressed that government remained committed to encouraging so-called "Challenger" banks to increase competition on the high street.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Letta set to become Italy's next PM

24 April 2013 Last updated at 07:49 ET

Enrico Letta is set to become Italy's new prime minister, after being asked by President Giorgio Napolitano to form a broad coalition government.

The appointment of Mr Letta, currently deputy leader of the centre-left Democratic Party, could see the end of two months of parliamentary deadlock.

An inconclusive general election in February has left the country in flux.

In a statement, Mr Letta said as prime minister he would aim to change the course in Europe on austerity.

"European policies are too focused on austerity which is no longer enough," he said, following the closed-door meeting with the president in Rome.

Continue reading the main story

• Former youth member of a right-wing party
• Currently deputy head of the centre-left Democratic Party
• In 1998, became youngest government minister in Italy's history aged 32
• Has held several ministerial posts
• Uncle is an aide to former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi

The 46-year-old also said he had accepted the post knowing that it was an enormous responsibility and that Italy's political class "has lost all credibility".

Mr Letta must now form a cabinet that can win cross-party support and a vote of confidence in parliament.

Factions from across the political spectrum have indicated that they are now ready to form a coalition under a figure like Mr Letta.

He is the nephew of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's chief-of-staff Gianni Letta, and is seen as a moderate acceptable to the centre-right.

A broad alliance would include Mr Berlusconi's right-wing group - making him again a major political influence.

This awkward coming together of bitter rivals is seen as the only way to end the parliamentary stalemate and put an administration in place, says the BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome.

But it is a forced political marriage that may not last long, our correspondent adds.

The new government will be expected to try to implement a limited range of economic and institutional reforms.

Among its priorities will be an effort to re-shape the current election law. The aim would be to ensure that future general elections would deliver more emphatic, clear-cut results.

Mr Letta's appointment follows the swearing-in on Monday of President Napolitano, who berated his country's feuding politicians.

Taking up an unprecedented second term, he told the assembled MPs that they had been guilty of a long series of failings and that their inability to implement key reforms had been "unforgivable".

He has threatened to resign if no administration is formed.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Godolphin trainer on doping charges

Godolphin trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni has been charged after tests found traces of anabolic steroids in 11 of his horses.

Al Zarooni will appear before a British Horseracing Authority (BHA) disciplinary panel on Thursday.

Analysis

Eyebrows are being raised at the speed of all this.

It often takes weeks for charges of this type being made by the British Horseracing Authority to the case being heard by a disciplinary panel, yet with Al Zarooni, it will take little more than 24 hours.

Critics are sure to seize on the whole timescale, asking if the BHA is opening itself to accusations that the matter is being swept away to save further embarrassment for Sheikh Mohammed, one of British racing's biggest benefactors.

The big question: can such an important matter, seen as the biggest drugs scandal for racing in modern times, really have been satisfactorily investigated when the process is so fast?

On Monday, the trainer admitted making "a catastrophic mistake".

The 37-year-old faces multiple counts related to prohibited substances, medical records and conduct prejudicial to horse racing.

According to the BHA he has admitted giving anabolic steroids to four other horses, but further doping charges cannot be brought as these animals were not tested.

Al Zarooni could lose his training licence in what has been described as one of the biggest doping scandals in British racing history.

Godolphin is overseen by the constitutional monarch of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed, who appointed Al Zarooni, a former stable groom, three years ago. He is one of the group's two British-based trainers, the other being Saeed bin Suroor.

Simon Crisford, the racing manger for Godolphin, said in a statement on Monday that they were to urgently review all procedures and controls.

"His Highness Sheikh Mohammed was absolutely appalled when he was told and this is completely unacceptable to him," he added.

Mahmood Al Zarooni

• A former stable groom, 37-year-old Al Zarooni had previously assisted the Godolphin stable's long-term trainer Saeed bin Suroor
• Al Zarooni won his first British Classic in 2011 when Blue Bunting landed the 1,000 Guineas under Frankie Dettori at Newmarket. The filly also won the Irish Oaks
• Rewilding provided a victory at Royal Ascot and Monterosso won the world's richest race, the Dubai World Cup, in March 2012
• In September 2012, he enjoyed a second British Classic success when 25-1 shot Encke upset Camelot to win the St Leger at Doncaster

The BHA said that on 9 April this year samples were obtained from 45 horses trained by Al Zarooni at Moulton Paddocks Stables in Newmarket.

Subsequent analysis revealed 11 of the samples contained ethylestrenol and stanozolol, which are prohibited substances.

The 11 horses, who together have won more than $2m (£1.31m) in prize money, include unbeaten Certify. They have been suspended from racing for an indefinite period.

According to the BHA, Al Zarooni has told the investigators that in addition to the 11, Comitas, Sashiko, Vacationer and Tearless were also given one of the banned substances.

While doping charges cannot be brought, Al Zarooni is accused of rule breaches relating to medical records and his conduct for these incidents.

The BHA also disclosed details of its drug-testing procedures and revealed there had only been one other case of anabolic steroids found in a tested horse "in recent years". This resulted in trainer Howard Johnson receiving a four-year ban in 2011.

Who are Godolphin?

• Godolphin is the racehorse operation founded by Sheikh Mohammed which has bases in Dubai and Newmarket
• Since its formation in 1992, the Maktoum family's racing stable has won more than 200 top-level Group One races in 12 different countries
• Dubai Millennium, Lammtarra, Fantastic Light and Street Cry are among the big-race winners

"The use of anabolic steroids is prohibited at all times for any horse registered as 'in training' under the care of a trainer licensed by the BHA," it said.

In 2012, of the 90,174 runners on race days, 7,182 samples were taken. Some 14 positive tests were found, a figure down from 25 in 2010.

Around 700 tests were carried out during training in 2012, although the BHA did not disclose any details about the number of positive tests.

The National Trainers' Federation (NTF) said on Tuesday it was shocked at the doping scandal, though chief executive Rupert Arnold added that it was not symbolic of a wider culture of doping within the sport.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

May outlines new Abu Qatada treaty

24 April 2013 Last updated at 07:50 ET

The government has signed a mutual assistance treaty with Jordan to ensure that radical cleric Abu Qatada can be extradited, Theresa May has told MPs.

The home secretary said the treaty had guarantees on fair trials within it.

The government is doing "everything it can" to deport Abu Qatada, she said.

It comes after she failed to get the case referred to the Supreme Court to reverse a ruling that the radical cleric could face an unfair trial if sent to Jordan to face terror charges.

Mrs May is planning to apply directly to the Supreme Court for permission to challenge the ruling.

She has met Mr Cameron and the justice secretary to discuss the next move in the cleric's case.

'Denial of justice'

Abu Qatada faces retrial on terrorism-related charges should he be returned to Jordan.

The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac), which adjudicates on national security-related deportations, ruled last year that Abu Qatada should not be removed from the UK because his retrial could be tainted by evidence obtained by torturing the cleric's former co-defendants.

Mrs May had argued she had obtained fresh assurances that would guarantee the fair treatment of the preacher on his return to Amman.

But the Court of Appeal upheld Siac's decision last month, saying the lower court had not misinterpreted nor misapplied the law.

Government lawyers had stressed that Jordan had banned torture and the use in trial of statements extracted under duress.

But the Court of Appeal judges said Siac had been entitled to think there was a risk the "impugned statements" would be used in evidence during a retrial and there was "a real risk of a flagrant denial of justice".

The Supreme Court can reconsider Court of Appeal decisions if the justices are convinced there is a "point of law of general public importance".

On 17 April 2012, the home secretary told the Commons that, following fresh assurances from Jordan that he would get a fair trial, "we can soon put Qatada on a plane and get him out of our country for good".

Bids for freedom before the European Court of Human Rights and the High Court followed before Abu Qatada's successful appeal to Siac in November.

Abu Qatada was re-arrested and returned to Belmarsh prison in March, following an alleged breach of bail conditions, concerning the use of communications equipment at his home.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

At least 70 dead in Dhaka collapse

24 April 2013 Last updated at 08:04 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Efforts are under way to rescue those beneath the debris

At least 70 people have been killed and many more are feared trapped after an eight-storey building collapsed on the outskirts of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, government officials say.

Frantic efforts are under way to rescue those beneath the debris. At least 200 people were injured by the collapse.

The army is helping with the rescue operation in the Savar area.

Building collapses are common in Bangladesh where many multi-storey blocks are built in violation of rules.

The eight-storey building contained a clothing factory, a bank and several other shops. It collapsed during the morning rush hour.

Many people have gathered near the scene looking for friends and relatives.

Dhaka resident Tahsin Mahmoo described the scene as a looking like a "war zone" to the BBC, adding that appeals had been put out for citizens to donate blood.

The BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan in Dhaka says that it is not yet clear what caused the collapse, but local media reports said a crack was detected in the block on Tuesday.

Rescue workers are using concrete cutters and cranes to dig through the rubble, our correspondent says.

One doctor at a nearby hospital said it "could not handle" the volume of casualties coming in.

"I have not seen so many patients being brought in like this before," Dr Imrul Hasan Warsi told the BBC.

Local police chief Mohammad Asaduzzaman told the Reuters news agency that factory owners appeared to have ignored a warning not to allow their workers into the building after the crack was detected.

Police told local media that the rear of the building had suddenly started to collapse on Wednesday morning, and within a short time the whole structure - except the main pillar and parts of the front wall - had caved-in, triggering panic.

Continue reading the main story

Anbarasan Ethirajan BBC News, Dhaka

---

Grieving relatives have been anxiously waiting outside the collapsed building in Savar. Rescue teams have been working frantically using concrete cutters and cranes digging through the rubble to pull people out. The army has also been deployed in the rescue operation.

It is still not clear how many people are trapped inside, although local media say there are hundreds. A doctor at the local hospital told the BBC that their services had been stretched.

The reason for the collapse is not yet known. The latest incident has once again raised questions about safety standards in the country's thriving garments industry. However, factory owners say safety standards have improved significantly in recent years.

Only the ground floor of the Rana Plaza in Sava remained intact after the collapse, officials said, as army and fire service rescuers equipped with concrete cutters and cranes dug through rubble to pull out trapped people. Many onlookers also joined the effort using their bare hands.

An opposition strike planned for Wednesday has been called off to aid the rescue effort, local media reports say.

Survivors have described their terror as the collapse began.

"I was in the cutting section of the garment factory and suddenly we heard a huge noise and the building collapsed within a few minutes," a garment worker told private Somoy TV.

"I removed the rubble and came out with two other workers. But at least 30 other workers in my cutting section were still unaccounted for," he said.

In November, a fire at a garment factory in a Dhaka suburb killed at least 110 people and triggered a public outcry about safety standards in the industry.

The last major building collapse was in 2010, when a four-storey building collapsed in Dhaka, killing at least 25 people and injuring several others.

In 2005, there was a building collapse near the site of Wednesday's incident, killing 64 people.

Bangladesh has one of the largest garment industries in the world, providing competitively priced clothes for major Western retailers which benefit from its widespread low-cost labour.

Following November's fire, Western retail chains that buy from factories in Bangladesh urged factory owners to improve safety standards, our correspondent reports.

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Top stable in horse doping inquiry

Eleven horses from the Godolphin stable have tested positive for anabolic steroids in one of the biggest doping scandals in British racing history.

Godolphin trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni will attend a British Horseracing Authority inquiry after irregularities were discovered in 11 of 45 racehorses.

Al Zarooni has admitted making "a catastrophic mistake".

"This is a dark day for Godolphin," said stable manager Simon Crisford. "We are all shocked by what has happened."

The 11 horses, who together have won more than $2m (£1.31m) in prize money, include unbeaten Certify, who will not be allowed to run in next month's 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket.

Godolphin is the Maktoum family's private thoroughbred horseracing stable and is overseen by the constitutional monarch of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed, who appointed Al Zarooni three years ago.

This is hugely embarrassing for Godolphin's figurehead, Sheikh Mohammed, the head of the Maktoum family and, as such, the ruler of Dubai. His hands-on approach to Godolphin, the largest stable in the world and one of the few players in racing's premier league, is legendary.

It's constantly emphasised how no decision, from numerous horse purchases to race strategy and tactics, is made without reference to Sheikh Mohammed - 'the Boss'. Indeed, the very fact that most Godolphin horses spend their winters in Dubai is down to his desire to see them on a daily basis, when affairs of state must also be dealt with.

And it's on the back of all this and the much-vaunted sporting nature of the Sheikh and his family, that Dubai has become amongst the world's great centres for sport and leisure. Yet, apparently right under their noses, perhaps racing's greatest ever drugs scandal has unfolded. Little wonder an urgent review of 'all of our procedures and controls' has now been ordered.

Horses spend the winter in Dubai before transferring to Godolphin's UK stables in Newmarket.

A statement on Godolphin's website said: "Al Zarooni has admitted that he was responsible for the administration of the prohibited substances."

The trainer said: "Because the horses involved were not racing at the time, I did not realise that what I was doing was in breach of the rules of racing.

"I can only apologise for the damage this will cause to Godolphin and to racing generally."

The substances detected were ethylestrenol and stanozolol. Adam Brickell, director of integrity, legal and risk for the BHA, said: "Ethylestranol and stanozolol are anabolic steroids and therefore prohibited substances under British rules of racing, at any time - either in training or racing."

A former stable groom, 36-year-old Al Zarooni had previously assisted the Godolphin stable's long-term trainer Saeed bin Suroor.

Al Zarooni won his first British Classic in 2011 when Blue Bunting landed the 1,000 Guineas under Frankie Dettori at Newmarket. The filly went on to claim the Irish Oaks.

Rewilding provided a victory at Royal Ascot and Monterosso won the world's richest race, the Dubai World Cup, in March 2012.

In September 2012, he enjoyed a second British Classic success when 25-1 shot Encke upset Camelot to win the St Leger at Doncaster.

The BHA confirmed that on 9 April this year samples were obtained from 45 horses trained by Al Zarooni at Moulton Paddocks Stables in Newmarket and that the Horseracing Forensic Laboratory had detected prohibited substances.

Certify, unbeaten in four career outings and winner of the Shadwell Stud Fillies' Mile at Newmarket in September, had been ante-post favourite through the winter months for the Guineas, but was one of the seven horses whose sample tested positive for ethylestrenol.

Last year's Royal Ascot Gold Cup runner-up Opinion Poll was one of four horses testing positive for stanozolol.

Racing manager Crisford added: "His Highness Sheikh Mohammed was absolutely appalled when he was told and this is completely unacceptable to him. We will await the outcome of the BHA inquiry before taking any further internal action.

"Sheikh Mohammed has instructed me to begin an urgent review of all of our procedures and controls. That is already under way and we will take advice from the BHA in completing it."

No date has yet been announced for the BHA inquiry. However, Brickell said: "The BHA understand the importance of this process being carried out as quickly as possible because of implications for betting markets."

The 11 horses are:

Desert Blossom (Career earnings: $19,262)

Certify ($254,829)

Fair Hill

Ghostflower ($2,819)

Orkney Island

Sweet Rose

Valley Of Queens ($2,088)

Artigiano ($68,952)

Bathrat Amal

Opinion Poll ($1,671,075)

Restraint Of Trade ($21,230)

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Slight dip in UK public borrowing

23 April 2013 Last updated at 07:24 ET

The UK government borrowed £120.6bn in the financial year to April 2013, slightly lower than the amount it borrowed the previous year.

The amount was just £0.3bn lower than the previous year's total of £120.9bn.

The government wants to eliminate the budget deficit by 2017-2018.

A Treasury spokesperson said the government was fixing the UK's economic problems, but Labour said the pace of deficit reduction was "catastrophically off course".

Borrowing in March fell to £15.1bn from £16.7bn a year earlier, excluding interventions such as bank bailouts, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Meanwhile, public sector net debt - the amount that the government has borrowed over successive deficits - is now £1.2 trillion, or about 75.4% of GDP, it said.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

The chancellor's fans will say: 'I told you so.' And most economists will say: 'So what?' "

End Quote

Below forecast

The annual borrowing figure of £120.6bn excludes the effects of both the transfer of the Royal Mail pension scheme to the government and gains from the Bank of England's asset purchases for quantitative easing (QE).

Proceeds from the 4G mobile licences auction and another payment from the central bank in February boosted government coffers, said the ONS.

Interest that the Bank of England earns on holding government debt as a result of its so-called quantitative easing programme is transferred back to the Treasury.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had forecast that the deficit for the 2012-13 financial year would be £120.9bn, unchanged from the previous year.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Tax revenues are very weak because the economy has been very weak"

End Quote David Tinsley BNP Paribas chief UK economist

Mr Osborne has pushed for spending cuts as part of a wider plan to reduce the deficit in order to protect the government's creditworthiness on international markets.

A Treasury spokesperson said: "Though it is taking time, the government is fixing this country's economic problems."

"The deficit is down by a third, a million and a quarter new private sector jobs have been created and interest rates are at near-record lows, benefiting households and businesses," she said.

But shadow treasury minister Chris Leslie said: "At this rate of deficit reduction, at less than a quarter of 1% a year, it would take 400 years to balance the books.

"Now remember," he added, referring to the government's earlier target, "George Osborne promised and David Cameron promised that they'd balance the books, totally - no more deficit - in two years' time by 2015. You can't be more catastrophically off course than that."

Bigger picture

Last week, Fitch became the second ratings agency to downgrade the UK's rating from the top notch level of AAA. Moody's had downgraded the UK's rating in February.

Also last week, the IMF cut its growth forecast for the UK, and its chief economist, Olivier Blanchard, urged the UK to rethink its austerity policy in the face of continuing weakness in the economy.

Rowena Crawford, senior research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said: "Whether borrowing is slightly lower or slightly higher in cash terms from one year to the next is not of any direct economic importance. What is important is the bigger picture."

While the deficit on the whole has fallen in cash terms by almost 25% between 2009-10 and 2011-12, th poor economic performance and subsequently weak government tax receipts mean that the deficit was largely unchanged from its 2011-2012 level, she said.

David Tinsley, chief UK economist at BNP Paribas, said: "There's a small crumb to be had from the fact that borrowing is less than last year, but really that's a political point not an economic one.

"The substantive point is that tax revenues are very weak because the economy - nominal GDP growth - has been very weak.

"The spending side looks better, the government seems to be delivering on spending reductions but failing on getting growth and therefore revenues, and that's why the fiscal position isn't improving. It's flatlining," he added.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Uncharted waters' on currency plans

23 April 2013 Last updated at 07:55 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

George Osborne says alternative currency arrangements are "less suitable"

Chancellor George Osborne has said it would be a "dive into uncharted waters" if an independent Scotland kept the pound in a currency pact with the UK.

The chancellor said a Treasury analysis of the plans concluded the economic case for the rest of the UK agreeing to the union was "not clear".

And he said an independent Scottish state would have to accept "significant policy constraints" under such a pact.

The Scottish government said a currency union would be in everyone's interests.

Voters in Scotland will be given the choice of opting for independence in a referendum in September 2014.

In a speech in Glasgow on the report, Chancellor George Osborne said there was no guarantee that the UK and Scotland would be able to come to an agreement on a currency union.

That would mean a separate Scotland was left with three options - unilaterally keeping the pound, creating a Scottish currency or joining the euro.

Mr Osborne said: "All of these alternative currency arrangements are less suitable economically than we have now for both Scotland and the rest of the UK."

The chancellor went on to argue that with a currency pact there would be an unbalanced relationship between an independent Scotland and its much larger neighbour.

Continue reading the main story

The currency Scots use matters to them, as it does in any country. People want to know their coins, notes, savings and investments are securely backed.

So the choice of the pound, the euro or a new Scottish currency is of fundamental importance to the debate on Scottish independence.

It's also quite a complex one. But the clash of Treasury and Scottish government should help voters better understand what's at issue; the management of risk, the role of stability, the freedom to tax and spend, and the constraints that come from international pacts.

There is, amid this, a fundamental disagreement over who owns the pound sterling now, and the Bank of England.

The Scottish government says Scotland can expect to share such institutions, post-independence, having spent 300 years building them up within the UK.

But the UK Government takes the view that if Scotland votes to leave the UK, it can't expect to make demands of the UK's institutions.

It's hard to see how these views can be resolved, without either a lot of compromise or the help of the courts.

Mr Osborne said: "The fundamental political question this analysis provokes is this - why would 58 million citizens give away some of their sovereignty over monetary and potentially other economic policy to five million people in another state?"

He added: "The rest of the UK, as the larger economy, would be much more exposed to the risk of an independent Scotland running into fiscal and financial difficulties.

"Let's be clear - abandoning current arrangements would represent a very deep dive indeed into uncharted waters.

"Would a newly independent Scottish state be prepared to accept significant limits on its economic sovereignty? To submit its economic plans to Westminster before Holyrood?"

'Fairer country'

The chancellor further claimed that the Westminster government could expect to have more control over Holyrood than Germany has over its eurozone partners.

This is based on England, Wales and Northern Ireland accounting for roughly 90% of the proposed sterling zone monetary union, whereas the German economy makes up 30% of the 17-member eurozone.

However, the Scottish government's own analysis said comparisons with the eurozone were misleading, because unlike Greece and Germany, Scotland and the rest of the UK have integrated economies with similar characteristics.

Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney said such a system would let an independent Scotland "use the vital tax and other economic powers of independence to create jobs, grow the economy and build a fairer country".

Continue reading the main story

The contest over the currency of an independent Scotland is, at its core, a political battle.

George Osborne says that the SNP argues that an independent Scotland would retain the pound in order to lessen public anxiety over the project, in order to depict independence as a continuum from prevailing circumstances rather than a sharp departure.

Finance Secretary John Swinney says that UK ministers argue that there would be grave difficulties in establishing a post-independence sterling zone between Scotland and the remainder of the UK (rUK) because they want to forestall that prospect from arising.

The intriguing thing is that, in this remarkable battle, both might be right.

It is also argued that Westminster would want to have a currency union because more than £45bn of goods and services are sold to Scottish customers, and oil and gas from Scottish waters would contribute billions of pounds to the sterling zone's balance of payments.

Mr Swinney told the BBC's Today programme: "What the Treasury's paper is designed to do is to make things sound as difficult and obstructive as possible and I don't really think it is a helpful contribution to the debate.

"We invited a number of leading international economists, including Joseph Stiglitz and Prof James Mirrlees, to advise us on the macro-economic framework that we have put forward and I have accepted their recommendations in relation to currency.

"I think they put forward a very rational and considered case for the establishment of a sterling zone that can work in the interests of Scotland just as much as it operates in the interests of the United Kingdom."

Mr Swinney said the Treasury was "playing with fire" in its arguments.

He said: "The chancellor is arguing in his paper that the UK would be the successor state, that it would hold on to the pound and we somehow could not get access to that.

"If that is his position then the UK as a successor state is obliged to hold on to all the debt and we would be liberated from a population share of UK debt of £125bn.

"Now if that is the kind of game and negotiation the chancellor wants to play he's welcome to do that but we are interested in a rational and considered discussion consistent with the Edinburgh agreement that both governments would work together to implement the outcome of the referendum next year."

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

HSBC bank cutting 3,166 UK jobs

23 April 2013 Last updated at 07:58 ET

HSBC is cutting 3,166 UK jobs as it continues efforts to reduce costs.

The bank said the positions would mostly go from its wealth management division, but that it hoped to redeploy more than 2,000 of the affected staff.

The cuts are part of HSBC's continuing three-year cost-cutting plan, and follows the loss of 2,200 jobs in 2012.

HSBC, which is Europe's biggest bank, currently employs more than 47,000 staff across the UK.

The bank said that at the same time as it was cutting the more than 3,000 jobs, it was creating 2,017 new positions, and that it "expected that the majority of these roles will be filled by displaced employees".

As a result, HSBC predicts that the eventual number of job losses will be reduced to 1,149.

"I understand change is always unsettling, particularly for those directly affected," said HSBC chief executive Brian Robertson.

"We are doing everything possible to offer impacted employees opportunities from the many newly created roles, and I'm confident a significant majority will remain with the bank."

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Millionaire sold fake bomb detectors

23 April 2013 Last updated at 08:08 ET

Millionaire businessman James McCormick, 56, has been convicted at the Old Bailey of three counts of fraud after selling fake bomb detectors.

The Advanced Detection Equipment was based on a golf ball finder device and sold for up to $40,000 (£27,000) in Iraq, Georgia, Saudi Arabia and Niger.

McCormick, of Langport, Somerset, made an estimated £50m from sales of his fake detectors.

He marketed the detectors to military, governments and police and even the UN.

The models were described by prosecutors as completely ineffectual and lacking any grounding in science.

Watch Newsnight's full report on the fake bomb detector story and the programme's investigation into it at 10.30pm on BBC Two on Tuesday 23 April 2013.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

US waits to question 'Boston bomber'

20 April 2013 Last updated at 22:38 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is under armed guard in a Boston hospital where he's in a serious but stable condition

A top US interrogation group is waiting to question the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was arrested late on Friday when he was found seriously injured in a suburban backyard after a huge manhunt.

He is under armed guard in hospital. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said the suspect was stable, but not yet able to communicate.

The teenager's brother, Tamerlan, died after a shoot-out with police.

Three people were killed and more than 170 others injured by Monday's twin bombing, close to the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

Rajesh Mirchandani BBC News, Washington DC

---

Miranda warnings - or more usually, Miranda rights - are designed to remind a suspect who has been arrested or is questioned in custody that they have certain constitutional rights, including the right to remain silent so as not to incriminate themselves and to have an attorney present during questioning.

Police officers are required to recite them, although not necessarily word for word, to a suspect. But there is an exception - and that's what happened in the case of the Boston bombing suspect Dzokhar Tsarnaev.

The exception was identified in a 1984 Supreme Court ruling which stated that "the need for answers to questions in a situation posing a threat to the public safety outweighs the need for the prophylactic rule protecting the Fifth Amendment's privilege against self-incrimination".

The exception has been used in a couple of high profile terror-related cases in recent years: against Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who was stopped while trying to set off a bomb hidden in his underpants on a plane bound for Detroit on Christmas Day 2009, and against Faisal Shahzad, who tried to detonate a bomb in New York's Times Square in 2010.

Applied to the Boston manhunt, if officers had read Dzhokhar Tsarnaev his Miranda rights, he might have stayed silent about any more bombs, any more attacks planned - or any co-conspirators.

Police officer Sean Collier was shot dead during the police operation to find the brothers on Thursday night. A transport officer was later seriously injured in the shoot-out which left Tamerlan Tsarnaev fatally wounded.

On Saturday, President Barack Obama met his top security advisors to review the events in Boston.

He has vowed to seek answers on what motivated the alleged bombers and whether they had help.

'A million questions'

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found by a member of the public on Friday evening, shortly after a city-wide lockdown was ended. He was injured and hiding in a boat in a backyard, and was reportedly further injured in a fire fight with police.

The High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group - a multi-security agency unit specialising in questioning terror suspects - is waiting at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston as he recovers.

The BBC's David Willis, outside the hospital, says the suspect is suffering gunshot wounds to the neck and leg and has lost a lot of blood, so it could be a while before investigators are able to talk to him.

CBS News quoted investigators as saying that a wound to the neck may have been a suicide attempt.

Prosecutors are also at the scene, determining what charges the teenager might eventually face.

A federal charge of using a weapon of mass destruction to kill people carries a possible death sentence. There is no death penalty in the state of Massachusetts.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

The former wrestling coach of Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev finds the teenager's alleged role in the bombings hard to fathom

On Saturday, Governor Patrick told reporters: "I, and I think all of the law enforcement professionals, are hoping for a host of reasons that the suspect survives because we have a million questions, and those questions need to be answered."

In a move criticised by rights activists, officials have said they intend to question the teenager without reading him his Miranda rights - the standard statement informing suspects they have a right to a lawyer and to remain silent - citing a "public safety exception".

The American Civil Liberties Union said such an exemption only applied in the case of immediate threats, and that the suspension of rights could not be "open-ended".

"Denial of rights is un-American and will only make it harder to obtain fair convictions," it said in a statement.

Continue reading the main story

The Tsarnaev brothers

• Sons of Chechen refugees from the troubled Caucasus region of southern Russia
• Family is thought to have moved to the US in 2001, from Russian republic of Dagestan
• They lived in the Massachusetts town of Cambridge, home to Harvard University
• Dzhokhar, 19, was awarded a scholarship to pursue further education; he wanted to become a brain surgeon, according to his father
• Tamerlan, 26, was an amateur boxer who had reportedly taken time off college to train for a competition; he described himself as a "very religious" non-drinker and non-smoker

But Republican Senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina say Dzhokhar Tsarnaev should be treated as an "enemy combatant", meaning he would not be entitled to the same legal rights as a criminal defendant.

"We should be focused on gathering intelligence from this suspect right now that can help our nation understand how this attack occurred and what may follow in the future," their statement read.

One key line of inquiry will be a six-month trip made by Tamerlan Tsarnaev to Dagestan in the Russian Caucasus in 2012.

'Set up'

The news that one suspect had been killed and the second captured prompted scenes of celebration on the streets of Boston on Friday evening, with people cheering, honking car horns and waving American flags.

Elliot Friar, who lives close to where Monday's bombs exploded, said it was "a bittersweet moment" because of those who had lost their lives.

"But it was also a time for celebration because the city has been on edge and we're finally feeling more safe than we have in the past four days," he told the BBC.

The Boston Red Sox baseball team had been due to play in the city on Friday, but the game was postponed because of the lockdown.

The game went ahead on Saturday, with team members wearing the city's name on their shirts instead of the usual Red Sox and the stadium observing a moment of silence for the victims.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

The thermal images show the suspect hiding in boat in a backyard in Watertown

Law enforcement officials and family members have identified the Tsarnaev brothers as ethnic Chechens who had been living in America for about a decade.

The FBI had interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2011 after a request from a foreign government, US law enforcements officials have confirmed.

But agents closed the case after finding no cause for concern.

Several members of the Tsarnaev family have condemned and disowned the brothers, but their parents have said that they could not have planned such an attack as they were being monitored by the FBI.

Their mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, said she was "100% sure that this is set up", insisting in an interview with Russia Today that her sons had never had any involvement with terrorism.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More