Cameron to press Hollande over EU

31 January 2014 Last updated at 05:56 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

WATCH NOW: David Cameron and Francois Hollande news conference

Prime Minister David Cameron is expected to press French President Francois Hollande to back reform to the European Union at a UK-France summit.

The two men are holding talks on a range of issues, also including defence, energy and science, at the Brize Norton RAF base in Oxfordshire.

Sources said Mr Cameron would urge a "more flexible" EU during the meeting.

But a source close to Mr Hollande said he was unlikely to back changes to EU treaties to bring this about by 2017.

Mr Cameron's Conservative Party is promising to hold an in-out referendum on the European Union by the end of 2017 if it wins the 2015 general election.

Before this takes place, the Conservatives want to re-negotiate the UK's membership, returning more powers to the UK in areas such as immigration, welfare and justice.

'Optimistic'

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Of late the relationship has been pretty dire"

End Quote

This is unpopular among Mr Hollande's ministers, according to BBC Europe editor Gavin Hewitt, who said: "They will not accept a Europe a la carte, where countries cherry-pick what they like."

UK officials sought to play down the differences between the two men, holding the first UK-France summit since Mr Hollande became president in 2012, saying: "We have seen over a period of months now increasing recognition around Europe about the need for treaty change. Every country will approach that from their own perspective in the usual way."

Mr Cameron was "optimistic and takes a very positive approach to the changes that he wants to see", a source added.

The prime minister is expected to make the argument for greater deregulation within the EU and a change of relationship between Brussels and countries not in the eurozone, including the UK.

However, a source close to Mr Hollande signalled that it was "very, very unlikely" he would agree to treaty changes by 2017.

After Friday's talks, the two leaders will hold a joint press conference and have a working lunch in a local pub.

The news conference will be Mr Hollande's first outside of France since he split with his partner Valerie Trierweiller amid reports he had an affair with another woman.

'Uncertainty'

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

The challenge for David Cameron is to frame his reforms in a way that might also appeal to the French voter and so perhaps weaken the resistance coming from the Elysee."

End Quote

The summit follows criticism by both the UK and French governments over the state of the other's economies.

Some Conservatives have contrasted the stronger growth and falling unemployment in the UK with the sluggish recovery in France, blaming Mr Hollande for pushing up tax rates and failing to reform the public sector and suggesting Labour would take the same approach in the UK.

Labour's Chuka Umunna said this was counter-productive. "Tory politicians who have been gloating at France's economic challenges are not only undiplomatic but act against our national interest," he tweeted.

The two leaders are also expected to discuss the latest developments in the joint expeditionary force, which will see closer military co-operation between their respective armed forces.

Among a number of defence deals that were signed are a £120m feasibility study for a new armed drone, the Future Air Combat System, and a £500m joint purchase of anti-ship missiles

It was also announced that the UK will receive two A400M transport planes earlier than expected after swapping a delivery slot for the aircraft with the French.

A joint memorandum of understanding on nuclear power was also agreed, involving small and medium-sized firms in the nuclear supply chain and co-operation between researchers on both sides of the Channel.

Earlier this year, French firm EDF agreed to lead a consortium to build a new nuclear reactor at Hinkley Point in Somerset, the first new UK reactor in a generation.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Shrien Dewani loses High Court bid

31 January 2014 Last updated at 06:29 ET

Shrien Dewani, who is accused of organising the murder of his wife Anni in South Africa, can be extradited to the country, the High Court has ruled.

Lawyers for Mr Dewani, 33, who has post-traumatic stress disorder, argued he should not be sent there until he was fit to plead over the 2010 killing.

But judges ruled he can be extradited as long as the South African government makes a pledge over how long he would be kept in the country without trial.

Mr Dewani is currently in hospital.

'Justice for Anni'

Speaking outside the High Court, BBC correspondent Angus Crawford said the South African authorities had indicated they were minded to accept the court's conditions for extradition.

But he said Mr Dewani's family could yet lodge an appeal at the UK Supreme Court, which would continue to delay any extradition.

Continue reading the main story

It seems a step closer to finally getting justice for our Anni"

End Quote Amit Karia Anni Dewani's cousin

In his ruling, Lord Thomas said: "It might be unjust and oppressive to order the return of a person who was agreed to be currently unfit, and where there was a prospect that he might remain permanently unfit, without considering whether an undertaking should be required from the requesting state."

The effect of the undertaking would be that "in the event of the appellant (Dewani) being found unfit to be tried, he will be free to return to the UK, unless there is found to be a realistic prospect of his being tried within a year - or other stated reasonable period - of that finding and the trial takes place within the period".

Anni's cousin, Amit Karia, said the family was happy with the ruling by the three judges at the High Court.

"We have waited for it for three years, three months," he said.

"It seems a step closer to finally getting justice for our Anni."

Taxi kidnapping

A lawyer for the South African government said it was "delighted" with the court's ruling, and expected it would be able to give the necessary undertakings, but needed 14 days for "final clarification".

Mr Dewani, from Bristol, has been fighting removal from the UK to face proceedings over his new wife Anni's death until he has recovered from his mental health problems.

He is suspected of ordering the killing of Anni, a Swedish national.

The pair were kidnapped at gunpoint as they drove through the Gugulethu township in Cape Town in a taxi in November 2010. Mr Dewani was released unharmed.

The next day the body of Mrs Dewani was found in the car. She had injuries to her head and chest.

South African Xolile Mngeni was later convicted of premeditated murder and jailed for life. Prosecutors allege he was hired by Mr Dewani to kill his wife.

Mr Dewani, who has always denied the accusation, has been fighting efforts to secure his extradition ever since it was first ordered by a senior district judge in 2011.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kercher family 'still want truth'

31 January 2014 Last updated at 06:35 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

The family of Meredith Kercher (centre) gave a press briefing after an Italian court reinstated guilty verdicts against Raffaele Sollecito and Amanda Knox

The family of murdered British student Meredith Kercher have said they "are still on a journey to the truth" and may never know what happened to her.

It comes after guilty verdicts were reinstated against Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito for the 2007 murder.

An Italian court sentenced Knox to 28 years and six months, and Sollecito to 25 years, on Thursday, with their lawyers saying they would appeal.

Knox remains in the US and Meredith's family called for her to be extradited.

Reports suggest her Italian ex-boyfriend Sollecito is being held by police after he was found in Udine, near the Slovenian and Austrian borders.

Miss Kercher, 21, from Coulsdon in south London, was stabbed to death in the flat she shared with Knox in the college city of Perugia.

'Remember Meredith'

Meredith's sister Stephanie told a press conference in Florence on Friday: "I think we are still on a journey for the truth and it may be the fact that we don't ever really know what happened that night, which is obviously something we'll have to come to terms with."

Continue reading the main story

Kercher murder: Timeline

• 1 Nov 07: Meredith Kercher found murdered in her shared flat in Perugia
• 28 Oct 08: Guede jailed after being found guilty of murder
• 4 Dec 09: Knox and Sollecito jailed after being found guilty of murder and sexual violence
• 3 Oct 11: Knox and Sollecito acquitted on appeal
• 26 March 13: Italy's top court overturns acquittals and severely criticises the appeal hearing
• 30 Sept 13: Re-trial of Knox and Sollecito. Guilty verdict returned on 31 January 2014

She added: "We hope that we are nearer the end so that we can just start to remember Meredith for who she was and draw a line under it, as it were."

Her brother Lyle said he believed extradition would be appropriate "if someone has been found guilty and convicted of a murder, and if an extradition law exists between those two countries".

Knox, 26, has said she will only be extradited to Italy from the US "kicking and screaming".

In a statement after the case concluded, she said she was "frightened and saddened by this unjust verdict".

Sollecito's lawyer, Luca Maori, said his client had heard the verdict on TV and looked "annihilated".

Sollecito had earlier been at the Florence court, which imposed a travel ban on the 29-year-old and ordered that his passport be revoked.

The court noted that there was a "real and actual the danger that Sollecito could escape Italian justice" - but he is free to move in Italy until the verdict is confirmed.

Knox and Sollecito were also ordered to pay damages to Miss Kercher's family as part of the ruling.

The Kercher family's lawyer, Francesco Maresca, called the verdict "justice for Meredith and the family".

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Speaking before the verdicts emerged, Amanda Knox said she was "a marked person"

Knox and Sollecito, 29, were jailed for the murder in 2009 but the verdicts were overturned in 2011 and the pair were freed.

However, the acquittals were themselves overturned last year by the Court of Cassation, which returned the case to the Florence court.

The Court of Cassation will now hear the defendants' appeals.

Creative writing degree

Continue reading the main story

Will US extradite Amanda Knox?

Taylor Brown BBC News, Washington

---

Stephen Vladeck, a law professor at American University in Washington DC, says that whether or not Knox is extradited to Italy is a question of the request's legal basis and America's political interest in the case.

Once Italy makes a request, the US will have to decide whether it falls under their extradition treaty.

While there is "no reason to think the US has a specific interest" in blocking her extradition, Mr Vladeck says, countries can effectively stand in the way with a variety of "creative" interpretations of extradition treaties.

If the US does grant Italy's request, Knox can fight her extradition in a US court, citing among other things international human rights law.

In Italy, verdicts are not considered final until they are confirmed, usually by the Court of Cassation.

Legal experts say it is unlikely Italy will request Knox's extradition until then.

Knox is currently studying for a degree in creative writing at the University of Washington, and lives in her hometown of Seattle.

Rudy Guede, from the Ivory Coast, was convicted of Miss Kercher's murder in 2008, and sentenced to 16 years in prison. The verdict specified that he did not commit the crime alone.

Prosecutors sought to prove Miss Kercher had died in a sex game involving Knox and Sollecito that went wrong.

They have since alleged that the murder resulted from a heated argument over cleanliness in the Perugia apartment.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ukraine activist 'was tortured'

31 January 2014 Last updated at 06:48 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

The BBC's Duncan Crawford reports how Bulatov claims he was beaten and hung up by his wrists

A leading activist in Ukraine's street opposition who vanished for eight days says he was abducted and tortured before being left to die in the cold.

Dmytro Bulatov, who organised car protests for the opposition camped out in Kiev, is being treated in hospital after being found near the capital.

Police have confirmed Mr Bulatov, 35, received an ear injury and bruising.

In another development, the army called on President Viktor Yanukovych to take "urgent steps" to ease the crisis.

Three protesters and three police officers have been killed, and scores injured on both sides, since the protests turned violent on 22 January.

Continue reading the main story

Dmytro Bulatov

• One of the leaders of AutoMaidan, a group of drivers associated with the anti-government protests
• The group have reportedly used their cars to pick up protesters, picket properties belonging to government officials and, allegedly, block streets to police
• Mr Bulatov reportedly took to the stage in Independence Square, focus of the protests, on several occasions
• He vanished on 22 January, only reappearing again on 30 January, injured and saying he had been kidnapped, tortured and finally dumped from a car near Kiev

Opposition to Mr Yanukovych spilled into the streets in November after he abandoned a trade deal with the EU in favour of closer economic ties with Russia.

Mr Yanukovych accused the opposition of seeking to "inflame" the situation on Thursday by continuing the protests despite moves by the government and parliament to ease the stand-off.

Parliament voted to annul a recently enacted law restricting protests and passed a law giving amnesty to detained protesters, under the condition that occupied buildings were vacated.

Anti-government demonstrators remain in their camp in Independence Square (Maidan) with no sign of the political crisis in the country coming to an end, the BBC's Duncan Crawford reports from Kiev.

Mr Yanukovych, 63, has gone on sick leave, with his staff reporting he has a respiratory illness and a high fever.

'Crucified'

Mr Bulatov says he was left to die by his captors after being kidnapped, repeatedly beaten and "crucified". He was, he said, hung up by his wrists.

"They crucified me, so there are holes in my hands now," he said.

"Other than that - they cut off my ear, cut up my face. My whole body is a mess. You can see everything. I am alive. Thank God for this."

The activist reportedly said he did not know who had abducted him but his abductors had spoken with Russian accents.

According to the Ukrainian news website Gazeta.ua, doctors found no damage to his internal organs or his skull.

Police in Kiev have confirmed Mr Bulatov was bruised and received a cut to one of his ears, Ukrainian newspaper Ukrainskaya Pravda reports.

They have opened an investigation and posted guards at the hospital where he is being treated.

According to the paper, they also expressed indignation that Mr Bulatov had not phoned them after his release.

Continue reading the main story

Ukraine unrest - key dates

21 Nov 2013: Ukraine announces it will not sign a deal aimed at strengthening ties with the EU

30 Nov: Riot police detain dozens of anti-government protesters in a violent crackdown in Kiev

17 Dec: Russia agrees to buy $15bn of Ukrainian government bonds and slash the price of gas it sells to the country

16 Jan 2014: Parliament passes law restricting the right to protest

22 Jan: Two protesters die from bullet wounds during clashes with police in Kiev; protests spread across many cities

25 Jan: President Yanukovych offers senior jobs to the opposition, including that of prime minister, but these are rejected

28 Jan: Parliament votes to annul protest law and President Yanukovych accepts resignation of PM and cabinet

29 Jan: Parliament passes amnesty law for detained protesters, under the condition occupied buildings are vacated

Mr Bulatov is a prominent anti-government activist as one of the leaders of the organisation Automaidan, a group that has patrolled streets around Independence Square, our correspondent says.

It has also driven in convoys to protest outside government ministers' homes.

Vitali Klitschko, one of the most prominent leaders of the protesters, visited Mr Bulatov in hospital.

Offers rejected

Ukraine's defence ministry put out a statement after Defence Minister Pavlo Lebedyev met staff in Kiev.

"Laying out their civil position, servicemen and employees of Ukraine's armed forces... called on the commander-in-chief to take urgent steps within the limits of existing legislation with a view to stabilising the situation in the country and reaching consent in society," it said.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Matthew Price compares life inside the "protest zone" in Kiev with the rest of the city, where life continues as normal

Soldiers have not been deployed against the protesters during the crisis, which has seen government buildings occupied.

President Yanukovych accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and his cabinet this week, and offered senior jobs to the opposition - offers that were rejected.

Demonstrators accuse the security forces of being behind the abductions and brutality towards protesters.

Of the other two activists abducted this month, one was found dead in a forest near Kiev with his body reportedly showing signs of torture.

The activist, Yuri Verbitsky, was reportedly abducted along with fellow protester Igor Lutsenko, who was later released and spoke about his ordeal.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fresh flood fears for south and west

31 January 2014 Last updated at 06:51 ET

More rain, high winds and high tides are set to hit the south and west of the UK, causing further flooding.

The Met Office is warning of heavy rain in southern England - including the already flooded Somerset Levels - south Wales and parts of Northern Ireland.

The Environment Agency, which has issued numerous flood warnings, said many coastal areas would be affected by high tides in the coming days.

This January is already the wettest on record for many southern areas.

A Met Office amber rain warning - meaning "be prepared" - has been issued for the Somerset Levels, valid from 12:00 GMT on Friday until 03:00 on Saturday.

The warning said the public should be prepared for "significant disruption from flooding across the Somerset Levels", where large areas are already flooded.

Most of southern England and south Wales, as well as County Antrim, County Armagh and County Down in Northern Ireland, are subject to a lower-level yellow warning throughout Friday until 03:00 on Saturday.

"A further area of heavy rain will spread eastwards across the UK on Friday, clearing the southeast of England during the early hours of Saturday," the warning said.

"20-30 mm (1in) of rain will fall quite widely, with around 40 mm on some high ground in the southwest of England and south Wales. The heavy rain will be accompanied by strong to gale force winds."

Meanwhile, a small number of flood warnings have been issued in Scotland.

'Pay close attention'

The Environment Agency said places "at risk" from high tides and winds over the weekend included coastal and tidal areas of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol and south Gloucestershire.

Many other coastal areas of England could also be affected by the wind, rain and high tides from Friday through to Sunday, it added.

Speaking after a meeting of Cobra, the government's emergency committee, on Thursday evening, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson urged people to "pay close attention" to the latest flood and weather warnings.

Cobra will meet again later.

In Wales, Aberystwyth University's seafront halls of residence are to be evacuated until Monday. Buildings there have been evacuated several times in recent weeks.

Continue reading the main story

Dredging, flood barriers, natural flood management and sustainable drainage are recognised methods of preventing or alleviating flooding. BBC News looks at how these methods work and the scientific principles behind them.

Flood defences on part of the Welsh coast, washed away by recent storms, have been reinforced with bags of slate set down by a helicopter.

Army 'not needed'

In the Somerset Levels, 25 sq miles (65 sq km) has been flooded and the Environment Agency said it was running pumps 24 hours a day to drain the water.

It said 62 pumps were removing about 1.5 million tonnes of water - equivalent to 600 Olympic-sized swimming pools - each day.

Military planners met council officials there on Thursday, but the county council decided Army help was not needed.

On the BBC's Question Time on Thursday, shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry accused the government of making "policy by photo opportunity" after two soldiers were pictured assessing the scene in Somerset.

"The prime minister said he was going to call in the Army and the Army arrive and they go home again," she said.

Somerset farmer Michael Eavis, founder of the Glastonbury Festival, said flooding had become a yearly problem and dredging work must now be done.

He said the alternative was to "abandon the farmland" to "wading birds".

The Environment Agency said dredging of rivers in Somerset would not begin until flood water had drained and river banks were safe.

Up to and including 28 January, the South East and central southern England had a record 175.2mm (6.9in) of rainfall in January - beating the previous record of 158.2mm for the same parts of England set in 1988.

Across south-west England and south Wales, the 222.6 mm (8.8in) of rainfall up to midnight on Tuesday meant January was already the fifth-wettest.

For the UK as a whole, 164.6 mm (6.5in) of rain has fallen so far this month - 35% above the long-term average.

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

Man tracks down life-saving stranger

30 January 2014 Last updated at 05:20 ET

A video blogger stopped by a stranger from jumping into a river has been reunited with the man who saved him.

Jonny Benjamin, 26, was on Waterloo Bridge in January 2008 after being diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder when Neil Laybourn intervened.

This month Mr Benjamin started a Twitter campaign using the hashtag #findmike, to trace the Good Samaritan.

Mr Laybourn said when he saw the tweet he knew straight away it referred to him. The pair were reunited on Tuesday.

Mr Benjamin had climbed up on to a ledge on the bridge after spending a month in hospital following his diagnosis, but Mr Laybourn talked to him and offered to buy him a coffee.

'Rock bottom'

The 31-year-old from Surrey, said: "I couldn't believe it when I saw the campaign, I got in touch straight away.

"I was so pleased to see how well Jonny was doing, I had thought about him over the years and had always hoped he was OK."

Mr Benjamin said: "That day on the bridge my life hit rock bottom, but meeting Neil, I felt so happy, it couldn't be more of a contrast.

"I'm totally elated. It means the world to me to finally have the opportunity to say thank you."

The #findmike Twitter campaign trended in countries including Canada, South Africa and Australia.

Mr Laybourn said: "When we met, it was clear how much that encounter on the bridge meant to Jonny. He told me it was a pivotal moment in his life, which was great to hear.

"I did what anyone would do. I wasn't trying to fix his problems that day, I just listened. It's brilliant to see him smiling again. We'll definitely stay in touch."

Mr Benjamin, a video blogger who has presented a BBC Three documentary on mental illness, is also making a documentary film about his search for his Good Samaritan which he hopes will be broadcast in the spring.

Schizoaffective disorder affects about 1 in 200 people and those suffering have very high or very low moods, and might lose touch with reality, the charity Rethink Mental Illness said.

19.13 | 0 komentar | Read More

Actress quits Oxfam in West Bank row

30 January 2014 Last updated at 05:51 ET

Actress Scarlett Johansson has quit as an ambassador for Oxfam amid a row over her support for an Israeli company that operates in the occupied West Bank.

A spokesman for the actress said she had a "fundamental difference of opinion" with the humanitarian group.

She will remain a brand ambassador for SodaStream, which has a factory in the Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim.

Oxfam opposes trade from settlements, considered illegal under international law - something Israel disputes.

About 500,000 Jews currently live in more than 100 settlements built since Israel's 1967 occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

'Model for peace'

A statement from Ms Johansson's spokesman published on Wednesday announced that the Hollywood star had "respectfully decided to end her ambassador role with Oxfam after eight years", according to the Associated Press.

"She and Oxfam have a fundamental difference of opinion in regards to the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. She is very proud of her accomplishments and fundraising efforts during her tenure with Oxfam," it added.

On Thursday, Oxfam issued a statement saying it had accepted Ms Johansson's decision to step down and was grateful for her many contributions.

"While Oxfam respects the independence of our ambassadors, Ms Johansson's role promoting the company SodaStream is incompatible with her role as an Oxfam Global Ambassador," it added.

"Oxfam believes that businesses, such as SodaStream, that operate in settlements further the ongoing poverty and denial of rights of the Palestinian communities that we work to support."

The Avengers star signed up to be a global brand ambassador with SodaStream International Ltd earlier this month, and is due to appear in an advertisement for the firm during Sunday's SuperBowl.

SodaStream - which makes products that allow people to produce carbonated soft drinks at home - operates one of the hundreds of factories constructed in some 20 Israeli-run industrial zones in the West Bank.

The company's chief executive, Daniel Birnbaum, said his Israeli and Palestinian staff were treated equally and received generous benefits, and called his factory "a model for peace".

"We're very proud to be here and contribute to the co-existence and hopefully the peace in this region," he told Reuters news agency.

However, away from the factory, Reuters quoted one unnamed Palestinian employee as saying "there's a lot of racism" at work.

"Most of the managers are Israeli, and West Bank employees feel they can't ask for pay rises or more benefits because they can be fired and easily replaced," he added.

19.13 | 0 komentar | Read More

January rainfall breaks records

30 January 2014 Last updated at 06:37 ET

Early figures suggest parts of England have had their wettest January since records began more than 100 years ago.

The Met Office said much of southern England and parts of the Midlands had already seen twice the average rainfall for January by midnight on Tuesday - with three days left in the month.

And it is warning of more rain, as well as snow and high winds, for much of the UK in the coming days.

In Somerset, the military is preparing to help flooded areas.

Up to and including January 28, the South East and central southern England had 175.2mm (6.9in) of rainfall in January - beating the previous record of 158.2mm for the same parts of England set in 1988.

Across south-west England and south Wales, the 222.6 mm (8.8in) of rainfall up to midnight on Tuesday meant January 2014 was already the fifth-wettest on record.

On Wednesday, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said military amphibious vehicles could be deployed to help flood victims in Somerset.

Military planners met council officials earlier, and discussions are believed to be continuing.

Mr Paterson will chair a meeting of Cobra, the government's emergency response committee, later.

Roads round villages such as Muchelney in the Somerset Levels have been cut for almost a month and about 11,500 hectares (28,420 acres) of the Levels are flooded by about 65 million cubic metres of water.

BBC Weather forecaster Emma Boorman said Thursday's weather would be "quieter" than recent days of heavy rain.

She said the South West would be "largely dry" with an "outside chance" of showers, while showers would be more likely in the Midlands, South East and east of England.

'No dry spell'

The Met Office has issued numerous yellow warnings - the lowest of its three alert levels - for the next few days.

A rain warning for south-east England expires at 12:00 GMT, but a new warning covering most of southern England, southern Wales and parts of Northern Ireland has been issued for the period from 08:00 on Friday until the early hours of Saturday morning.

Parts of central Scotland and northern England are being warned of snow on Friday.

The Met Office is also warning of high winds for many western parts of the UK on Saturday and Sunday.

BBC Weather presenter Nick Miller said the long-range forecast suggested there was "no prolonged dry spell in sight".

The Environment Agency has numerous flood warnings and alerts in place, the majority in southern England.

The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has also issued several flood warnings.

Mild temperatures

For the UK as a whole, 164.6 mm (6.5in) of rain has fallen so far this month - 35% above the long-term average.

Continue reading the main story

Dredging, flood barriers, natural flood management and sustainable drainage are recognised methods of preventing or alleviating flooding. BBC News looks at how these methods work and the scientific principles behind them.

The figures will come as no surprise to those in the country who are continuing to suffer the aftermath of severe winter floods.

But the Met Office said it had seen a contrast from south to north across the UK, with northern Scotland having received 85% of its long-term average rainfall so far this month, compared with 200% over southern England.

Wet weather in winter usually means temperatures have been mild, and the UK mean temperature up to 28 January was 4.9C (41F) - 1.2C above average.

Met Office analysts said the whole of the UK was on target for a wetter than average winter.

The South East and central southern England are already seeing their sixth-wettest winter since record began in 1910 and the wettest since 1995 (369.7mm of rain). The wettest winter on record was 1915, with 437.1mm.

The main reason for the mild and wet weather so far was a predominance of west and south-west winds, bringing in mild air from the Atlantic, the Met Office said.

The BBC News Channel is providing live coverage from some of the worst-affected areas throughout the day.

19.13 | 0 komentar | Read More

Lee Rigby killer makes appeal bid

30 January 2014 Last updated at 06:55 ET

Michael Adebolajo, who was found guilty of the murder of British soldier Lee Rigby, has lodged an application to appeal against his conviction, the Judicial Office has confirmed.

Fusilier Rigby was killed on 22 May 2013 in Woolwich, south-east London.

Adebolajo, 29, from Romford, east London, said he was a "soldier of Allah" and it was an act of war.

He and Michael Adebowale, 22, from Greenwich, south-east London, are currently awaiting sentencing.

Mr Justice Sweeney said he would pass sentence on the two men after a key Appeal Court ruling on the use of whole-life terms, with the decision due at a later date.

Continue reading the main story

A criminal appeal takes between six weeks and three months to come to hearing - but there is no guarantee that Adebolajo will get one.

His team will have to file papers to the court setting out all the reasons why the conviction is unsafe which will have to relate to some part of the trial being unfair.

It could be to do with the evidence or a particular ruling made by the judge that affected the way the trial was conducted. Once those papers are lodged, they will be considered behind the scenes by a single judge who will be either grant or refuse permission.

If the judge grants permission, the case will go to a full public appeal hearing which would normally be in front of three judges. If that judge refuses to grant permission, he could try to challenge that decision - but that is a rare occurrence.

In December, an Old Bailey jury of eight women and four men took approximately 90 minutes to find the men guilty of murdering Fusilier Rigby.

They were found not guilty of attempting to murder a police officer at the scene.

'Military operation'

The jury had heard that Adebolajo and Adebowale drove a car into Fusilier Rigby at 30-40mph, before dragging him into the road, attacking him with knives and attempting to decapitate him with a meat cleaver.

In court, Adebolajo - a married father-of-six - admitted killing Fusilier Rigby, 25, but denied murder and described the killing as a "military operation".

As the guilty verdict was declared and the defendants were taken out of the courtroom, Adebolajo kissed his Koran and raised it in the air.

In a previous police interview, Adebolajo had said he and Adebowale decided to lie in wait near Woolwich barracks and targeted Fusilier Rigby because he was wearing a Help for Heroes hooded top and carrying a camouflage rucksack.

As a police vehicle approached, the men rushed towards it, waving the meat cleaver and a firearm.

They were both shot, but denied attempting to kill police, saying they had wanted armed officers to shoot them dead so they could "achieve martyrdom".

An investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) later concluded the police officers who shot the men "acted appropriately to the immediate threat".

The Judicial Office, which reports to the Lord Chief Justice and supports the judiciary in its work upholding the rule of law, confirmed on Thursday that Adebolajo wished to appeal against his conviction.

19.13 | 0 komentar | Read More

Schumacher's sedation 'reduced'

30 January 2014 Last updated at 06:56 ET

Michael Schumacher's sedation is being reduced to allow the "waking up process" to start, his manager says.

Bringing the Formula 1 legend out of his coma could take a long time, Sabine Kehm said in a statement.

Schumacher suffered a severe head injury in a skiing accident in the French Alps on 29 December.

He was put into a medically induced coma by his doctors at a clinic in Grenoble after operations to remove blood clots from his brain.

Doctors have kept him asleep to help reduce the swelling.

Ms Kehm was approached by the media for comment on the German's condition on Wednesday - exactly a month after his crash. She said his condition remained "stable".

In her statement on Thursday, she said it had been agreed to communicate details of his sedation "only once this process was consolidated".

The statement again included an appeal by Schumacher's family for privacy for them and for his doctors, while at the same time expressing "sincere appreciation for the world wide sympathy".

19.13 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sainsbury's boss King to step down

29 January 2014 Last updated at 06:37 ET

Sainsbury's has said that chief executive Justin King is to leave the supermarket chain in July, after 10 years at the head of the company.

Mike Coupe, Sainsbury's group commercial director, will succeed him as chief executive, the company said.

Sainsbury's chairman David Tyler said Mr King was "a truly exceptional leader", adding that he leaves "a lasting legacy".

Mr King will leave the company after the annual general meeting on 9 July.

Continue reading the main story

Mr King said: "This was not an easy decision for me to make, and in truth it will never feel like the right time to leave a company like Sainsbury's."

Leading the company had been a "privilege", he added.

'Top performer'

Retail analyst Richard Perks told the BBC that Mr King had done "fantastic" things at Sainsbury's.

"He's transformed the business into a top performer - in its sector it is market leader at the moment," he said.

Mr Perks added that Mr King had expanded the company into non-food items, and successfully developed Sainsbury's Local branches.

Regarding the challenge facing Mr King's successor Mr Coupe, Richard Perks said that his task was "huge".

"We have to hope that Mike Coupe can fill those big shoes, but we probably won't know how he's really doing for two-to-three years".

Sainsbury's said that under Mr King, sales had risen by a total of £9.5bn, while underlying profits had risen from £254m in 2004-05 to £756m in 2012-13.

The supermarket chain, which has a 17% share of the UK's grocery market, is now worth about £6.8bn on the stock market.

Continue reading the main story

You have to enjoy the good times because there's always a bad one around the corner"

End Quote Justin King Former Sainsbury's boss

Sainsbury's share price hit a peak of about 600p in June 2007, but is now trading at around 346p, despite five consecutive years of profit growth.

Shares in the supermarket fell more than 2% on the news of Mr King's departure.

Competition

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live earlier this month, Mr King said expanding brands within the Sainsbury's portfolio - such as the more upmarket Taste the Difference range - had proved to be a successful strategy.

He added that consumer behaviour had changed as far as food shopping.

"We've seen big trends in people shifting online, and for convenience stores. People are breaking up their shop now - doing a bit online, a bit at convenience stores" he said.

Sainsbury's now has more convenience stores than supermarkets.

When he was asked about the threat from competitors, Mr King said: "You have to enjoy the good times because there's always a bad one around the corner. We've fought hard for our position."

There has been speculation that Mr King could be a possible future leader for Marks and Spencer, which is currently led by Marc Bolland, formerly of the Morrisons supermarket chain.

However, Mr King told BBC Radio 5 live that he was not tempted by the thought. "It's not a job that interests me," he said.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

UK to take in 'hundreds' of Syrians

29 January 2014 Last updated at 05:25 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Nick Clegg: "This conflict is worsening by the day, that's why we need to do more"

Some of the "most vulnerable" Syrian refugees will be temporarily resettled in the UK, Deputy PM Nick Clegg says.

He said girls and women who had been victims of or were at risk of sexual violence, torture victims, and elderly and disabled people would get priority.

This meant the coalition was ensuring Britain's "long and proud tradition of providing refuge" lived on, he said.

The government expects the number of refugees accepted to be in the hundreds but has not set a specific target.

The UK's resettlement programme is to be separate from the ongoing UN High Commissioner for Refugees scheme which has seen Germany commit to admitting more than 10,000 Syrian refugees and France take 500.

Continue reading the main story

The government has been reluctant to admit any Syrian refugees to the UK, preferring to focus its humanitarian aid on refugees in the region.

But a fear of looking hard hearted and the threat of parliamentary defeat on Wednesday changed minds in Downing Street.

The deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said Britain had a moral responsibility to help and several hundred refugees would now be able to come.

It is not clear where the refugees will go or how long they will stay but it is expected they will get temporary visas that will be reviewed after three years.

The government is still refusing to take part in a resettlement scheme run by the UN high commissioner for refugees.

But the agency welcomed the government's offer and said it would help officials identify the most vulnerable people.

Home Secretary Theresa May is expected to spell out more details of the government's plan to MPs later.

During exchanges in the Commons on Monday, the government faced criticism from MPs of all political parties for declining to participate in the UN-led scheme.

The deputy prime minister's announcement pre-empted a Labour-led debate on the issue, where the government was facing the prospect of a Commons defeat over its refusal to sign up to the UNHCR initiative.

Mr Clegg said: "The coalition government wants to play our part in helping to alleviate the immense suffering in Syria. The £600m we have provided makes us the second largest bilateral donor of humanitarian aid in the world.

"But as the conflict continues to force millions of Syrians from their homes, we need to make sure we are doing everything we can.

"We are one of the most open-hearted countries in the world and I believe we have a moral responsibility to help.

"The UN High Commission for Refugees - which backs our new resettlement programme - has said the highest priority should go to women and girls who have experienced or are at risk of sexual violence; the elderly; survivors of torture and individuals with disabilities, so that's who we'll target.

"Sadly we cannot provide safety for everyone who needs it, but we can reach out to some of those who need it most."

Continue reading the main story

• Germany: 11,000
• Canada: 1,300
• Sweden: 1,200
• Norway: 1,000
• France: 500
• Australia: 500
• Austria: 500
• Finland: 500
• Spain: 130
• Ireland: 90
• US: No limit set

Source: UNCHR (20 January)

The BBC understands the refugees will be given temporary visas allowing them to stay for at least three years.

The visas will then be reviewed on a case-by-case basis taking into account personal circumstances and the situation in Syria.

Mr Clegg added: "They will be here for a certain period of time and what we of course want and I suspect they will want as well… is to return eventually to Syria, when as I think everybody hopes normality finally is restored to the country."

The UNHCR said it would help the UK identify the most vulnerable people.

Its UK representative, Roland Schilling, said the UK move was "an encouraging and important step, reaffirming the UK's commitment and contribution to international relief efforts".

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper: ''It is a good thing that the government has completely reversed its position''

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the government's move was a "big reversal" but that "compassion and common sense have won through".

"Vulnerable Syrian refugees, torture victims, abandoned children and those struggling to cope or survive in the camps desperately need sanctuary and Britain has a moral obligation to help," she said.

But she said the UK should be working with the UN to decide on numbers rather than setting up a "parallel programme" of its own.

Refugees fleeing Syria

The move was welcomed by MPs from all sides of the Commons, former Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell saying it gave the UK flexibility to help those whose suffering had been the most "grievous".

But Conservative Brooks Newmark - an expert on Syria - said numbers should be limited and those countries not making such a big contribution to the aid effort should be taking in more refugees than the UK.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage also backed the move, saying a clear distinction must be made between genuine refugees from persecution and economic migrants.

The Refugee Council's Maurice Wren said the move had been a "long time coming" but the UK was standing up for an important principle.

And Amnesty International UK director Kate Allen said: "This move is long overdue but of course it's never too late to do the right thing."

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Carney enters Scots currency debate

29 January 2014 Last updated at 05:54 ET By Andrew Black Political reporter, BBC Scotland

The Bank of England governor will enter the Scottish independence debate by reflecting on the currency implications of a "Yes" vote in the referendum.

Mark Carney's speech in Edinburgh comes amid continuing speculation over the Scottish government's plan to keep the pound under independence.

SNP ministers would also want to retain services of the Bank of England as part of a currency union.

The UK government has said such an agreement would be "unlikely".

Mr Carney's visit comes ahead of the 18 September independence referendum, in which voters will be asked the yes/no question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said his breakfast meeting with Mr Carney had gone "extremely well"

Ahead of being a guest at an event hosted by the Scottish Council for Development and Industry, the governor met Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond.

After the breakfast meeting, Mr Salmond said Mr Carney had agreed to continue "technical" discussions on a possible Sterling zone if Scotland became independent.

The first minister added: "The Bank of England is an independent institution. It doesn't take a role in party politics but we had a splendid discussion and I think crucially have agreed to continue the technical discussions, not negotiations but the technical discussions, that the Bank of England has been having with the Scottish government so that our proposals are soundly based on technical terms.

"When the governor speaks we will hear what he has to say. He will be giving a technocratic assessment of the institutional arrangements necessary to make a currency union work. He won't be advocating it or arguing against it. That is a matter for the Scottish people.

"He won't be saying whether Scotland will be better off or worse off as an independent country. That is a matter for the Scottish people to decide."

Borrowing levels

Mr Salmond said he was confident UK ministers would agree to a currency union in the event of Scotland voting for independence.

He added: "They will agree for two reasons. It is overwhelmingly in the interests not just of Scotland but of the rest of the UK to have Scotland and England sharing the pound.

"Secondly, of course, they will be driven there by the people because that proposition is popular both in Scotland and in England at the present moment.

"So the UK government ministers will do what the people tell them to do, and that is Scotland will keep the pound and England wants us to keep the pound."

In its White Paper blueprint for independence, the Scottish government said a currency union agreement was vital in letting companies go about their business, while sterling would also benefit from Scotland's continued involvement because of assets such as North Sea oil and gas.

But UK ministers have said such a deal would result in Scotland effectively having to hand over control of interest rates and borrowing levels to a foreign country.

Mr Carney, who has agreed to provide "technical, objective, dry analysis" of the issues ahead of the referendum, told the BBC last week: "There are issues with respect to currency unions. We've seen them in Europe.

"It's one of the factors that affects, actually, the outlook for the UK economy, has affected us over the last five years, affects us going forward, the challenges of having a currency union without certain institutional structures."

The event in Edinburgh comes the day after Mr Salmond said he was told by Mr Carney's predecessor - Sir Mervyn King - that the Treasury would adopt an "entirely different" approach to Scottish issues if there was a "Yes" vote in the referendum.

'Remarkable coincidence'

Ahead of discussions with the Bank of England governor, the first minister said: "When I met his predecessor a couple of years back, Mervyn King, the first thing he said to me was 'your problem is what they say now', meaning the Treasury, 'and what they say the day after a Yes vote in the referendum are two entirely different things'."

Responding to Mr Salmond's comments, a spokesman for the official campaign to keep the Union, Better Together, said it was a "remarkable coincidence" that Sir Mervyn's reported remarks backed up the Scottish government's position.

A spokesman said: "The first minister operates on the basis that people are daft and can't see through his bluster.

"Unfortunately for him, people know when someone is at it."

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ex-NoW reporter 'lied to police'

29 January 2014 Last updated at 06:39 ET

A former News of the World reporter said he lied when he was caught trying to hack a phone as he was "just toeing the line", the Old Bailey has heard.

Dan Evans, who was caught trying to hack into designer Kelly Hoppen's phone, said he "bitterly regretted not taking a braver course of action".

Evans, who has admitted hacking, said ex-editor Andy Coulson had direct knowledge of what he was doing in 2005.

Mr Coulson denies all charges including conspiracy to hack phones.

Under questioning from Mr Coulson's lawyer, Timothy Langdale QC, Evans reflected on his change of approach, saying: "I appear to be open, honest and truthful."

'Sticky keys'

Evans was arrested in August 2011 and produced a prepared statement for police.

He told the court that statement was "cobblers" and he had just been "maintaining the lie", claiming "the sticky keys defence" - that Ms Hoppen's phone may have been hacked accidentally because Evans had damaged keys on his mobile phone.

He also admitted he had lodged papers as part of Ms Hoppen's civil claim against the NoW which repeated the lie and resulted in prosecution for perverting the course of justice.

Evans said: "That was entirely my decision.

"I was caught between the tabloid world, caught between very expensive lawyers... I'm very sorry for lying about that."

However, Evans then changed his story, admitted phone hacking and became a witness for the prosecution.

He was asked why he had later said to investigators that "every journalist was mucking around with phone tapping?"

Evans told the jury: "I'm saying most reporters at that time had access to inquiry agents and were able to get people's phone records and medical records, not just at the News of the World but at other tabloid newspapers at that time."

Mr Langdale said: "Boiling it down to essentials you wouldn't really be a candidate for immunity unless you spoke about others (phone hacking)." Evans agreed.

He was asked why he claimed phone hacking was discussed at daily editorial meetings at which he had not been present.

Evans said he was told by someone who had been in a particular meeting.

"As far as I was concerned it was so widely known, and so extensively, there was a very wide conspiracy within the organisation," he said.

Mr Langdale later said: "You are prone to making sweeping assertions which are not based on fact."

Evans replied: "That is incorrect sir - though I understand why you may want people to believe that."

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

Street cast to speak at Roache trial

29 January 2014 Last updated at 06:47 ET

Members of the Coronation Street cast have arrived at Preston Crown Court to give evidence at the trial of actor William Roache.

The 81-year-old, of Wilmslow, Cheshire, denies two rapes and four indecent assaults against five women aged 16 or under between 1965 and 1971.

He was cleared of one indecent assault on the judge's direction on Monday.

Anne Kirkbride, who plays Mr Roache's on-screen wife Deirdre Barlow, is due to take the witness stand later.

Chris Gascoyne, who plays the actor's son Peter in the soap opera, and Helen Worth, who plays neighbour Gail McIntyre, are also due to give evidence.

Mr Roache is the longest-serving member of the Coronation Street cast, having portrayed Ken Barlow since the soap began in 1960.

19.12 | 0 komentar | Read More

UK economic growth best since 2007

28 January 2014 Last updated at 06:08 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

ONS Chief Economist Joe Grice says the UK economy appears to have a "better tone"

The UK economy grew by 1.9% in 2013, its strongest rate since 2007, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

But growth in gross domestic product (GDP) for the fourth quarter slipped to 0.7%, down from 0.8% in the previous quarter, it said.

And economic output is still 1.3% below its 2008 first quarter level,

"We've seen growth in most parts of the economy," said Joe Grice, chief economist at the ONS.

Responding to the figures, Chancellor George Osborne said: "These numbers are a boost for the economic security of hard-working people. It is more evidence that our long-term economic plan is working.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Just maybe - whisper it very quietly indeed - come the end of the year a majority of us will begin to feel the benefits of the recovery in our pockets, in living standards that may start to rise again."

End Quote

"But the job is not done, and it is clear that the biggest risk now to the recovery would be abandoning the plan that's delivering jobs and a brighter economic future."

Ed Balls, Labour's shadow chancellor, said: "Today's growth figures are welcome and long overdue after three damaging years of flatlining.

"But, for working people facing a cost-of-living crisis, this is still no recovery at all."

'Bullish'

The UK's service sector - which makes up more than three-quarters of economic output - rose by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, the ONS said, matching its performance in the previous quarter. And the manufacturing sector grew 0.9%.

But industrial production growth fell slightly from 0.8% to 0.7%, dragged down by falling North Sea oil and gas output.

Construction - which accounts for less than 8% of gross domestic product (GDP) - fell by 0.3% in the quarter, despite the recent recovery in a housing market boosted by the government's Help to Buy scheme.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

Many headlines can be drawn from these figures - the fastest annual growth since 2007 and the first unbroken year of expansion since then are the obvious ones.

And yet … fourth quarter growth was slower than in the previous quarter and the economy is still 1.3% below the pre-recession peak. Much of the growth contribution between October and December came from the high-flying services sector.

Construction saw a downturn after two quarters of expansion. Sceptics will continue to argue that the recovery could be more balanced - Vince Cable has suggested as much. But the UK was one of the fastest growing economies in the G7 last year and is predicted by the IMF to be a leading performer in 2014, behind only the US.

Job creation has proved to be a lot faster than expected. Few will doubt that the outlook seems fair and a lot better than a year ago.

John Longworth, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "These growth figures confirm what we've been hearing for some time.

"Businesses across Britain are growing ever more bullish about their prospects. Our surveys now consistently show business confidence levels not seen for decades."

Revisions

In December, the independent Office for Budget Responsibility revised its 2013 UK growth forecast from 0.6% to 1.4%.

It is currently forecasting growth of 2.4% for 2014, but if the economy continues recovering at its current pace, the OBR's revised forecast may also have to be revised.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also increased its growth forecast for the UK economy from 1.9% to 2.4%.

ING Bank's James Knightley said: "Employment continues to rise robustly, housing activity is very firm, confidence is on the rise, credit growth is improving and the UK's key export market - the eurozone - is showing some encouraging signs.

"Consequently, we believe that the economy can post GDP growth of 3% this year."

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Labour's shadow chancellor Ed Balls: "We have a lot more work to do"

The ONS figures are themselves preliminary estimates, based on early submissions and are subject to revision.

Targets

Stronger GDP growth is leading to speculation that the Bank of England may be forced to raise its base interest rate - currently 0.5% - sooner than it had expected.

But governor Mark Carney has said the rate is unlikely to rise any time soon, despite the sharp drop in UK unemployment last week to a rate of 7.1%, close to the level at which it had said it would consider cutting interest rates.

Last week, however, the Bank said it would no longer use employment as a prompt for rate setting, but a wider range of measures.

Inflation has fallen to the Bank's target rate of 2%.

19.13 | 0 komentar | Read More

US folk singer Pete Seeger dies

28 January 2014 Last updated at 04:00 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

A look back at Pete Seeger's music career

US folk singer and activist Pete Seeger, whose songs included Turn! Turn! Turn! and If I Had A Hammer, has died at the age of 94.

He died at a New York hospital after a short illness, his grandson said.

Seeger gained fame in The Weavers, formed in 1948, and continued to perform in his own right in a career spanning six decades.

Renowned for his protest songs, Seeger was blacklisted by the US Government in the 1950s for his leftist stance.

Denied broadcast exposure, Seeger toured US college campuses spreading his music and ethos, later calling this the "most important job of my career".

He was quizzed by the Un-American Activities Committee in 1955 over whether he had sung for Communists, replying that he "greatly resented" the implication that his work made him any less American.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Seeger was charged with contempt of Congress, but the sentence was overturned on appeal.

He returned to TV in the late 1960s but had a protest song about the Vietnam War cut from broadcast.

The lofty, bearded banjo-playing musician became a standard bearer for political causes from nuclear disarmament to the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011.

In 2009, he was at a gala concert in the US capital ahead of Barack Obama's inauguration as president.

His predecessor Bill Clinton hailed him as "an inconvenient artist who dared to sing things as he saw them.''

Other songs that he co-wrote included Where Have All The Flowers Gone, while he was credited with making We Shall Overcome an anthem of resistance.

Turn! Turn! Turn! was made into a number one hit by The Byrds in 1965, and covered by a multitude of other artists including Dolly Parton and Chris de Burgh.

Seeger's influence continued down the decades, with his induction into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, and he won a Grammy award in 1997 for best traditional folk album, with Pete.

He won a further two Grammys - another for best traditional folk album in 2008 for At 89 and best children's album in 2010.

He was a nominee at Sunday night's ceremony in the spoken word category.

He was due to being honoured with the first Woody Guthrie Prize next month, given to an artist emulating the spirit of the musician's work.

Musician Billy Bragg paid tribute to Seeger's life via Twitter: "Pete Seeger towered over the folk scene like a mighty redwood for 75 years. He travelled with Woody Guthrie in the 1940s, stood up to Joe McCarthy in the 50s, marched with Dr Martin Luther King in the 60s.

"His songs will be sung wherever people struggle for their rights. We shall overcome."

'Living archive'

Seeger performed with Guthrie in his early years, and went on to have an effect on the protest music of later artists including Bruce Springsteen and Joan Baez.

In 2006, Springsteen recorded an album of songs originally sung by Seeger.

On his 90th birthday, Seeger was feted by artists including Springsteen, Eddie Vedder and Dave Matthews in New York's Madison Square Garden.

Springsteen called him "a living archive of America's music and conscience, a testament of the power of song and culture to nudge history along".

His other musical output included albums for children, while appeared on screen several times as well.

A reunion concert with The Weavers in 1980 was made into a documentary, while an early appearance was in To hear My Banjo Play in 1946.

The band, who had a number one hit with Good Night, Irene in the early 1950s, went their separate ways soon afterwards.

Seeger's wife Toshi, a film-maker and activist, died aged 91 in July 2013. They leave three children.

19.13 | 0 komentar | Read More

Open up palace 'when Queen out' call

28 January 2014 Last updated at 05:49 ET

Buckingham Palace should be opened to more paying visitors when the Queen is not in residence to fund improvements to the royal estate, MPs have said.

The Public Accounts Committee criticised the Royal Household for mismanaging its finances.

Chairwoman Margaret Hodge said there was "huge scope for savings" on the annual £31m of taxpayer funds given to the Queen to spend on official duties.

But a spokeswoman for the royals said spending was now more transparent.

The Sovereign Grant replaced the old Civil List and grants-in-aid system in 2012 and is used to fund royal duties, pay staff and maintain palaces.

The report said Buckingham Palace had overspent on the grant by £2.3m last year and had to dip into its reserves, "leaving a balance of only £1m at 31 March 2013 - a historically low level of contingency"

'Dangerous condition'

"I don't think we'd accuse anybody of profligacy but, what we are saying, is that we don't think the Queen is served well either by the Royal Household or, indeed, by the Treasury," Mrs Hodge told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"They're not balancing books and they're dipping into their reserves," the Labour MP said.

The report also found:

• The Royal Household was "not looking after nationally important heritage properties adequately", saying that, in March 2012, 39% of the royal estate was "below what the household deemed to be an acceptable condition"
• The household needed "to get a much firmer grip" on how it planned to address the backlog and cost repairs and the Treasury "did not require an estimate"
• The Treasury had a duty "to be actively involved in reviewing the household's financial planning and management - and it has failed to do so"

'Eke money'

While the committee praised the Royal Household for generating £11.6m last year - up from £6.7m in 2007/08 - it said more could be done.

Continue reading the main story

Funding for the Queen 2012/2013

1. Sovereign Grant - £31m

Pays for royal duties, staff and maintaining palaces. Calculated as a percentage of profits from the Crown Estate property portfolio, worth £8.1bn.

2. Duchy of Lancaster income - £12.8m (net operating income)

Portfolio of land, property and assets held in trust for the Queen. Used to meet her official and private expenditure.

3. Personal wealth and income - Not known

Derived from personal investment portfolio and private estates, including Balmoral and Sandringham, and used to meet private expenses.

Source: British Monarchy website

Mrs Hodge said the Royal Household had escaped public sector austerity, only reducing spending by 5% in the past six years.

"They've kept the same amount of staff in there that they had five years ago, so we think that they can eke more money and they certainly should deal with the heritage properties."

She added: "The Queen can attract income - visitors to Buckingham Palace - but Buckingham Palace is only open 78 days a year, they only have about half a million visitors.

"Compare that to the Tower of London - they have over 2 million visitors."

She said boosting annual visitor numbers could help to pay for improvements both to Windsor Castle and to the Victoria and Albert Mausoleum, which had been waiting 18 years for repairs.

Art collection

Buckingham Palace's "state rooms" - those designed for monarchs to "receive, reward and entertain their subjects and visiting dignitaries" - have been open to the paying public during August and September since 1993.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Profits initially helped to pay for the restoration of Windsor Castle, which was fire-damaged in November 1992, and now go to the Royal Collection Trust charity, which manages the Royal Collection - "one of the most important art collections in the world".

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: "The move to the Sovereign Grant has created a more transparent and scrutinised system, which enables the Royal Household to allocate funding according to priorities.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

The new arrangements established by the Sovereign Grant Act have made the royal finances more transparent than ever"

End Quote Treasury spokesman

"This has resulted in a more efficient use of public funds."

She added that it was a priority for the Royal Household to "reduce the backlog in essential maintenance across the occupied royal palaces".

A Treasury spokesman said "The new arrangements established by the Sovereign Grant Act have made the royal finances more transparent than ever while providing the long term stability necessary for good planning."

The committee had not properly taken these changes into account, he added.

The Sovereign Grant was £31m last year and is set to rise to £37.9m by 2014-15.

Anti-monarchy pressure group Republic, meanwhile, accused the committee of failing to take account of the cost of security, costs to local government and any revenue earned by the Duchy of Cornwall and Duchy of Lancaster estates.

19.13 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ukraine annuls anti-protest law

28 January 2014 Last updated at 06:43 ET

The Ukrainian parliament has voted overwhelmingly to annul controversial anti-protest legislation.

The decision comes less than two weeks after the measures were introduced.

The law, which banned the wearing of helmets by protesters and the blockading of public buildings, had helped fuel continuing anti-government demonstrations.

In another move to appease the protesters, Ukraine's Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has offered to quit.

In a statement, he said the offer of his resignation to President Viktor Yanukovych was intended to create "social and political compromise".

Parliament - holding an emergency debate on the crisis - voted by 361 to 2 to repeal the protest law.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

The BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Zaporizhya, said riot police were guarding a key government building

President Yanukovych had already agreed to scrap the legislation in a concession to the opposition.

But up until the vote, it was unclear how MPs from his governing Party of the Regions would cast their ballots as they were allowed a "free vote" - to vote as they saw fit.

Aside from the ban on helmets and blockades, the legislation had outlawed unauthorised tents in public areas and the slandering of government officials.

MPs applauded as the result was announced.

'Personal decision'

In his resignation statement, Prime Minister Azarov said: "To create additional opportunities for social and political compromise and for a peaceful solution to the conflict, I made a personal decision to ask the president of Ukraine to accept my resignation as prime minister of Ukraine."

The government had "done everything to ensure the peaceful resolution of the conflict" and would do "everything possible to prevent bloodshed, an escalation of violence, and violation of citizen's rights", he said.

If the president signs the decree for the resignation, then the whole cabinet resigns, says the BBC's David Stern in Kiev. But they can remain in their posts for 60 days until a new government is formed.

President Yanukovych had already offered Mr Azarov's job to the opposition at the weekend, proposing that Fatherland leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk take the post. Mr Yatsenyuk declined the offer.

Parliament adjourned after the vote on the protest law and is due to discuss the issue of granting an amnesty to convicted protesters on Tuesday afternoon.

Mr Yanukovych offered an amnesty only if protesters cleared barricades and stopped attacking government buildings.

The president made the concessions during talks on Monday with Mr Yatsenyuk, Udar (Punch) chief Vitali Klitschko, and nationalist leader Oleg Tyahnybok.

Continue reading the main story

21 Nov 2013: Ukraine announces it will not sign a deal aimed at strengthening ties with the EU

30 Nov: Riot police detain dozens of anti-government protesters in a violent crackdown in Kiev

17 Dec: Russia agrees to buy $15bn of Ukrainian government bonds and slash the price of gas it sells to the country

16 Jan 2014: Parliament passes law restricting the right to protest

22 Jan: Two protesters die from bullet wounds during clashes with police in Kiev; protests spread across many cities

25 Jan: President Yanukovych offers senior jobs to the opposition, including that of prime minister, but these are rejected

'Alarmed'

Meanwhile, top EU diplomat Catherine Ashton has brought forward a planned visit to Ukraine by 48 hours and will now arrive on Tuesday for meetings with Mr Yanukovych and opposition leaders.

She said she was "alarmed" by reports on Monday that the government was preparing to introduce a state of emergency. Officials have denied any such plan.

Ms Ashton arrives from Brussels where she, with other senior EU leaders, will have met Russian President Vladimir Putin at an EU-Russia summit.

Differences over Ukraine were expected to be high on the agenda.

The crisis in Ukraine was sparked when Mr Yanukovych pulled out of a planned trade deal with the EU last November in favour of a $15bn (£9bn) bailout from Russia.

So far there has been no sign of demonstrators leaving the streets and the opposition called for renewed protests to coincide with the meeting of parliament.

Activists continue to occupy Kiev's central square and government buildings in a number of Ukrainian cities, saying they will not leave until Mr Yanukovych resigns.

Unrest has spread across Ukraine, even to Mr Yanukovych's Russian-speaking strongholds in the east.

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

19.13 | 0 komentar | Read More

Coulson 'heard hacked actress tape'

28 January 2014 Last updated at 07:04 ET

An ex-News of the World journalist played a recording of a hacked voicemail, left by actress Sienna Miller for actor Daniel Craig, to his editor Andy Coulson, a court has heard.

Prosecution witness Dan Evans, who has admitted phone hacking, told the Old Bailey it said: "Hi, it's me. I can't speak, I'm at the Groucho with [then-boyfriend] Jude [Law]. I love you."

Mr Coulson described the tape as "brilliant", Mr Evans told the jury.

Mr Coulson denies hacking charges.

'Company man'

Mr Evans told the court he discovered the message after hacking Mr Craig's phone.

He said a colleague then started "mobilising the story - allocating resources to it".

Continue reading the main story

I played the tape a couple of times. They said good work"

End Quote Dan Evans

The colleague told him "to start knocking up a version to put before Mr Coulson", he added.

Mr Evans told the court: "Later in the day, Andy [Coulson] came over wanting to hear the tape."

He said he played the tape to Mr Coulson and another executive.

"I don't know if I played it for both at the same," Mr Evans said.

"I played the tape a couple of times. They said good work."

The executive "held my elbow and said 'you are a company man now'", Mr Evans added.

On Monday, the jury heard Mr Evans had pleaded guilty to hacking at the Sunday Mirror between 2003 and 2005 and at the News of the World up to 2010.

He also pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office between 2005 and 2010.

The court heard he entered into an agreement with the Crown Prosecution Service in 2012 and had given two statements since.

Mr Coulson is one of seven people who deny charges related to phone hacking.

Former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks also denies charges including conspiracy to hack phones.

19.13 | 0 komentar | Read More