WIFE'S POLL RAGE HITS BERLUSCONI

Mr Berlusconi and his wife have had public arguments before

Italy's prime minister and his wife have clashed publicly after reports his party planned to field attractive young women as European election candidates.

Veronica Lario said the plan amounted to "shameless rubbish" being put on "for the entertainment of the emperor".

Silvio Berlusconi said she had been misled by left-wing media reports that TV stars, actresses and an ex-beauty queen were among potential candidates.

But only one of the so-called "show girl" candidates made the party list.

Ms Lario vented her feelings in an email to the Italian news agency Ansa, which was then picked up by the national newspapers.

She said it was "to entertain the emperor" that beautiful young women were fielded to stand as candidates for Mr Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PdL) party in June's European Parliament election.

"But behind the facade of curvaceous feminine beauty, what is even more serious is (Mr Berlusconi's) impudence and lack of reserve" she continued, it offends "the credibility of all women".

Mr Berlusconi later told reporters that he was sorry his wife had apparently believed "what she read in the papers".

He said his party was aiming to select female candidates because "we want to renew our political class with people who are cultivated and well prepared".

Candidates standing for the PdL would be unlike the "malodorous and badly dressed people who represent certain parties in parliament", Mr Berlusconi added.

Ms Lario, who is Mr Berlusconi's second wife and herself a former actress, said she wanted to make clear that "my children and I are victims and not accomplices in this situation".

"We must endure it and it causes us to suffer," she added.

It was later announced that Barbara Matera - an actress, TV announcer and former Miss Italy contestant - was the only one of the "showgirl candidates" as the Italian media dubbed them to have made the final list.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

N. KOREA THREATENS NUCLEAR TESTS

North Korea says it has resumed reprocessing fuel rods at Yongbyon

North Korea has threatened to carry out nuclear missile tests unless the UN Security Council apologises for its condemnation of a recent rocket launch.

Pyongyang said it would be compelled to take self-defence measures "including nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests" if no apology was made.

When North Korea launched its rocket on 5 April, the launch was seen by the US and others as a disguised missile test.

The UN denounced North Korea's actions and called for tighter sanctions.

Pyongyang has insisted it put a communications satellite in orbit, and said it would ignore the sanctions, describing them as "a wanton violation of the UN charter".

North Korea conducted its first and only nuclear test in October 2006.

The BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul says preparations for a second atomic test would cause serious international concern.

He says it would also confirm that North Korea is no longer taking part in the long-running international nuclear disarmament negotiations known as the six-party talks.

North Korea's foreign ministry said the UN should apologise for "infringing" the country's sovereignty and retract "all its resolutions and decisions" against Pyongyang.

It also announced plans to build a light-water nuclear reactor, according to the statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

Following the UN criticism, the North pulled out of international negotiations on its denuclearisation and ejected all monitors from the country.

Pyongyang has since announced that it has started reprocessing spent fuel rods at its Yongbyon nuclear plant.

The reprocessing is a possible move towards producing weapons-grade plutonium.

North Korea had partially dismantled its nuclear reactor under a deal agreed at international talks in early 2007, in which it was also promised fuel aid.

It is thought to possess enough reprocessed plutonium for between six and eight nuclear weapons.

However, analysts say Pyongyang has not yet mastered the technology to make a nuclear warhead small enough to place on a missile.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

AFRICANS GIVE $400 TO ZIMBABWE !

Zimbabwe has received $400m (£270m) in credit from African governments, says Finance Minister Tendai Biti.
The funds are aimed at helping pay civil servants and regenerating the country's economy, he said.
Botswana provided $70m (£47m) and South Africa $50m (£34m), with the rest coming from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.
Mr Biti made the remarks during a visit to London, where he is looking for further funding.
A unity government formed by rivals President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has appealed for billions of dollars from the West.
Mr Biti told the BBC on Thursday that Zimbabwe would actually need about $45bn (£30bn) to revive its economy over the next five years, according to estimates by the International Monetary Fund.
Western donors have called for real proof of power sharing and the restoration of law and order before they open their wallets.
Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday donors should withhold development aid until Zimbabwe halts a fresh wave of invasions of farms and frees opposition and human rights activists.
Mr Biti, a senior official with Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said there was a danger of the international community believing "Mugabe cannot be trusted and that he is taking the MDC for a ride", reported Reuters news agency.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

CRYSLER 'TO FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY'

Chrysler is to enter bankruptcy protection after failing to persuade its main lenders to write off its debts, a White House official has said.
President Barack Obama is now due to make a statement later on the future of the struggling US carmaker.
The news comes as Chrysler had been in last minute talks to restructure the business before a midnight deadline.
President Obama has already said that Chrysler would emerge stronger after any move into bankruptcy protection.
The US government had told Chrysler it would be given a further $6bn (£4bn) of vital state loans if it had successfully restructured the business by midnight.

This included trying to persuade the firm's main lenders to accept $2bn in cash, in exchange for writing off all of Chrysler's $6.9bn secured debt.
Reports have said that while Chrysler's banks accepted this proposal, it was rejected by hedge funds that also hold a sizeable proportion of its debt.
However, some analysts had speculated that Chrysler may prefer to go into bankruptcy projection as a means to give its lenders even less.
US Chapter 11 bankruptcy projection gives a US firm time to rearrange its finances under a court-supervised procedure, while continuing to trade, protected from its creditors.
Chrysler is owned by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, which bought an 80.1% stake from Germany's Daimler for 7.4bn euros ($9.9bn; £6.6bn) in 2007.

The US government gave Chrysler three key restructuring demands.
BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION
US bankruptcy protection is called Chapter 11
It gives US businesses time to rearrange their finances while continuing to trade, protected from their creditors.

History of Chrysler

In addition to lenders writing off the carmaker's debts, it was asked to secure a cost-cutting deal with its main union, and establish an alliance with Italian car firm Fiat.
While Chrysler appears to have failed to reach agreement with its lenders, it has gained an agreement with the union, and talks with Fiat are said to be near a successful conclusion.
Fiat is seeking an initial 20% stake in Chrysler, which would then rise to 35% and could even reach 51%.
The Italian firm will not have to pay anything for the share, which will give it access to the North American marketplace.
In return, Chrysler will be able to take advantage of Fiat's expertise in making smaller, more fuel efficient cars.

Chrysler, the smallest of the US "Big Three" carmakers after General Motors (GM) and Ford, secured a $4bn loan from the US government at the start of the year, and has since gained $500m more.
GM has also received multi-billion government loans. While Ford has yet to require any money, the government has agreed to give it financial support, should it be needed.
All three firms have seen sales slump dramatically in their home market as the recession has intensified.
GM has its own deadline of 1 June to restructure the business to receive additional state aid, and avoid needing bankruptcy protection.
Daimler said earlier this week that it would now be giving up its remaining 19.9% stake in Chrysler.
Under the deal, Daimler said it will also write off Chrysler's outstanding loans, and make three annual payments of $200m in the Chrysler's pension plans.
Daimler said it marked the final separation of the two firms.
The German firm bought Chrysler in 1998 for $38bn.
BBC NEWS REPORT

YOUNG SAUDI GIRL'S MARRIAGE ENDED.

Saudi Arabia is ruled under an austere and patriarchal form of Sunni Islam
Media reports say an arranged marriage between a Saudi girl aged eight and a man in his 50s has been annulled, in a case attracting worldwide criticism.
The Saudi Gazette says the divorce was agreed in an out-of-court settlement after a judge rejected two attempts to grant the girl a divorce.
The case prompted Saudi officials to say it would start regulating the marriages of young girls.
Rights groups say some Saudi families marry off young daughters for money.
The judge who first heard the case in the town of Unaiza refused to end the marriage at the request of the girl's mother , but he stipulated the groom could not have sex with the girl until she reached puberty.
The girl's father is said to have married her off against her mother's wishes to a close friend in order that he could pay off a debt.
A new judge was appointed to oversee the case, who issued the annulment after the husband finally gave up his insistence that the marriage had been legal, reports say.
Saudi Arabia implements an austere form of Sunni Islam that bans free association between the sexes and gives fathers the right to wed their children to whomever they deem fit.
Saudi commentators pointed out that the marriage took place in the central province of Qaseem - the heartland of Saudi Islamic fundamentalism.
Earlier this year, the country's highest religious authority, the Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Shaikh, said it was not against Islamic law to marry off girls who are 15 and younger.
On 15 April, after this case generated considerable negative publicity, Justice Minister Muhammad Issa said he wanted to put an end to the "arbitrary" way in which parents and guardians could marry off their young daughters.
However, he he did not say that the practice would be banned.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

DEADLY CLASHES ROCK PAKISTAN CITY !

Vehicles and buildings were set on fire

At least 20 people have died in ethnic clashes in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, officials say.

Eyewitnesses said vehicles had been torched in different parts of the city, which is Pakistan's commercial capital and has a history of ethnic violence.

Karachi is dominated by Urdu-speakers, but there is also a growing population of ethnic Pashtuns.

Officials said the fighting was between members of the two groups, and started after an unidentified man opened fire.

"These are the targeted killings by the criminals, drug and land mafias who want to fan ethnic violence in the city," said Faisal Subzwari, a provincial minister.

Mr Subzwari, a member of the Urdu-speaking Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), said three of those killed were from his party.

The MQM is an ally of Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's Pakistan Peoples Party.

A spokesman for Mr Zardari said the Pakistani leader condemned the violence and called for unity.

"The president said that the nation could not afford violence in Karachi at a time when it was already dealing with the militants in northern parts of the country," said the spokesman, Farhatullah Barbar.

Doctors in Karachi hospitals said they had received bodies riddled with gunshot wounds.

A spokesman for the Pakistan Rangers paramilitary force said it had arrested 25 suspects and recovered weapons and ammunition from them, AFP news agency reported.

Karachi, a city of over 15 million, is the capital of Sindh province.

It contains many Urdu-speaking Muslims descended from people who migrated to Pakistan after the partition of India in 1947.

The Pashtun population has grown further since last year when tens of thousands were displaced by the military operation in the country's north-western tribal areas.

Some politicians have voiced fears of Taleban infiltration of the Pashtun community.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

WHO RAISES PANDEMIC ALERT LEVEL

The UN's World Health Organization has raised the alert over swine flu to level five - one short of a full-blown global epidemic, or pandemic.

A phase five alert means human-to-human transmission in at least two countries.

The move comes after a 23-month-old Mexican child died in Texas - the first death from swine flu outside Mexico, where the outbreak originated.

In Spain, officials confirmed the first case of swine flu in a person who had not travelled to Mexico.

Mexico's President Felipe Calderon addressed the nation late on Wednesday, announcing the partial suspension of non-essential work and services from 1 May to 5 May.

The efforts of the government were concentrated on containing the virus, Mr Calderon said, urging people to stay at home with their families during the shutdown.

CONFIRMED CASES Mexico: 159 suspected deaths - seven confirmed US: one death, at least 91 confirmed cases Canada: 13 confirmed cases UK: 5 confirmed cases Spain: 10 confirmed cases Germany, New Zealand: 3 confirmed cases each Israel: 2 confirmed cases Austria: 1 case Mapping the outbreak Economy squeezed by swine flu Search for Mexico flu source Mexico: First swine flu cases

He said he was "proud" of the response of Mexicans to the crisis, and assured people Mexico was well-stocked with anti-viral medicines.

Announcing the latest alert level after an emergency WHO meeting in Geneva, Director General Margaret Chan urged all countries to activate their pandemic plans, including heightened surveillance and infection-control measures.

She said action should be undertaken with "increased urgency".

She added: "It really is the whole of humanity that is under threat in a pandemic."

But she also said the world was "better prepared for an influenza pandemic than at any time in history".

Ms Chan said that for the first time, the pandemic could be tracked in real time.

This was necessary, she added, because the virus could mutate at any time into a more dangerous strain - or a milder one.

The Mexican boy who died in the US fell ill during a visit to relatives in southern Texas earlier this month.

He was transferred to a hospital in Houston, where he died on Monday night.

Speaking in Washington, President Barack Obama offered his condolences and said the federal government was doing the utmost to contain the virus.

He also urged local public-health bodies to be vigilant and said schools with confirmed cases "should consider closing".

Officials put the number of suspected deaths from swine flu in Mexico at 159, although just seven deaths have been confirmed, with 26 infections positively tested.

WHO PANDEMIC ALERT PHASES Phase 1: No infections in humans are being caused by viruses circulating in animals. Phase 2: Animal flu virus causes infection in humans, and is a potential pandemic threat. Phase 3: Flu causes sporadic cases in people, but no significant human-to-human transmission. Phase 4: Human-to-human transmission and community-level outbreaks. Phase 5: Human-to-human transmission in at least two countries. Strong signal pandemic imminent. Phase 6: Virus spreads to another country in a different region. Global pandemic under way. Post-peak: Pandemic activity appears to be decreasing though second wave possible. Post-pandemic: activity returns to normal, seasonal flu levels. BACK 1 of 7 NEXT Texas Governor Rick Perry said closing the US border with Mexico was an option, but added that taking that step now would be "a little premature". Giving a televised news conference on Wednesday evening, US President Barack Obama said health officials were not recommending closing the border. "The key now is to just make sure we are maintaining great vigilance, that everybody responds appropriately when cases do come up," Mr Obama said. Since the virus emerged last week, it has also spread to Canada, Europe, Israel, and New Zealand. Peru became the latest country to confirm it was treating a patient suffering from swine flu. An Argentine woman who had recently travelled to Mexico was Peru's first case of the virus, the country's health minister said late on Wednesday. Several countries have restricted travel to Mexico and many tour operators have cancelled holidays. France will ask the European Union on Thursday to suspend all flights going to Mexico because of the flu outbreak, Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot said. The WHO, however, says measures like travel bans are unlikely to prove effective. In Spain, the government said the first person to contract swine flu without having travelled to Mexico was the boyfriend of a young woman who had recently returned from there. Spanish Health Minister Trinidad Jimenez said such cases were to be expected. In total, the number of confirmed cases in Spain rose from two to 10 on Wednesday. None of the patients is seriously ill. SYMPTOMS - WHAT TO DO Swine flu symptoms are similar to those produced by ordinary seasonal flu - fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, chills and fatigue If you have flu symptoms and recently visited affected areas of Mexico, you should seek medical advice If you suspect you are infected, you should stay at home and take advice by telephone initially, in order to minimise the risk of infection Q&A: What is swine flu? Swine flu: How serious a threat? Can masks help spread? The quest for a swine flu vaccine In Mexico, the search for the source of the outbreak continues, with the focus on the vicinity of a pig farm in the eastern part of the country. The Mexican government is urging against jumping to conclusions and is suggesting the possibility remains that the virus originated outside the country. Schools across Mexico have closed, public gatherings are restricted and archaeological sites have been placed off-limits. Mexico City's chamber of commerce estimated restrictions in the city were costing businesses there at least 777 million pesos ($57m, £39m) per day. WHO official Keiji Fukuda said other countries also needed to consider "social distancing" measures such as closing schools and delaying public meetings. Meanwhile, Ghana has become the latest country to ban pork imports as a precaution against swine flu, though no cases have been found in the West African country. Ms Chan, the WHO director, stressed on Wednesday that there was no danger from eating properly-cooked pork. She advised hygiene measures such as hand-washing to prevent infection and said it was important "to maintain a level of calm". BBC NEWS REPORT.

BEIJING MEDALLISTS TEST POSITIVE

Ramzi gives thanks after his Beijing success

Two Olympic medallists are among six athletes who failed a drugs test after the re-testing of Beijing samples.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said re-testing for the hormone Cera had led to seven positive tests.

Bahrain athlete Rashid Ramzi, who won gold in the 1500m and Italian cyclist Davide Rebellin, who won a silver, have both been named by their associations.

And a positive test by German cyclist Stefan Schumacher has been confirmed by his country's cycling federation.

Cera is an advanced version of the endurance-enhancing hormone EPO.

Ramzi, who used to compete for his native Morocco and still trains there, won Bahrain's first ever track and field gold medal in Beijing last August.

He also won the 800m and 1500m races at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has confirmed three athletes have failed tests, although the sport's governing body declined to give any names.

"The IAAF must wait for further details from the IOC before considering any provisional suspension of the athletes and a decision is not expected within the next week.

"Just as the IAAF has already re-analysed its own samples taken prior to Beijing, the IAAF would like to commend the IOC for their efforts in the storage and re-analysis of samples and for their coordination with the IAAF in this process.

"This step shows that athletes who cheat can never be comfortable that they will avoid detection and sends a strong message of deterrence," a statement read.

Britain's Andy Baddeley, who was ninth behind Ramzi in Beijing, told BBC Sport he was surprised an athlete had failed a test at a major event because of the intensive level of drug testing.

But he added: "Although it is bad news for the sport when you find that people are found to be taking drugs, it's good news that people are being caught and it should be the deterrent for other people not to use drugs in the future.

"If people can be caught after the event it's got to be a huge incentive to stop people doing it in the future."

Rebellin, who celebrated his 37th birthday by finishing second behind Spain's Samuel Sanchez in the men's road race, has denied any wrong-doing.

He told Italian newspaper La Stampa: "I don't know what may have happened. It is certainly a mistake. It is impossible that I tested positive."

Schumacher was given a two-year ban earlier this year after testing positive for Cera during the 2008 Tour de France.

He won two time trials during the Tour and held the overall leader's yellow jersey for two days.

British Olympic chiefs believe no members of Team GB are among the six athletes caught out by the IOC.

The British Olympic Association (BOA) has not been contacted by the IOC, which says the athletes in question have been notified through their national Olympic committees.

The vast majority of athletes do not seek an unfair advantage. We intend to do all we can to ensure that they have a fair environment for competition Arne Ljungqvist, chairman of the IOC medical commission

BOA chairman Colin Moynihan gave his support to the policy of re-analysing samples when new lab tests become available.

"You need to go back and test samples to deter athletes who think they're cheating the system," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"You need to make them think: 'wait a minute, in a couple of years' time, they will be able to test for that substance and my sample may be tested'."

US Olympic Committee spokesman Darryl Seibel said the federation had not received notification from the IOC of any adverse findings involving one of their athletes.

"Unless we hear otherwise, we are treating no news as good news," Seibel told the Associated Press.

The IOC tested 948 samples from Beijing after new tests for Cera and insulin became available after the Olympics.

BBC Radio 5 Live's Gordon Farquhar said the offenders "are likely to be competitors from the endurance disciplines of swimming, cycling, rowing and athletics".

Arne Ljungqvist, chairman of the IOC medical commission, said: "The further analysis of the Beijing samples that we conducted should send a clear message that cheats can never assume that they have avoided detection.

"The vast majority of athletes do not seek an unfair advantage. We intend to do all we can to ensure that they have a fair environment for competition."

Pending any disciplinary action by the IOC, national and international bodies are free to impose provisional suspensions of athletes, the IOC said.

Any athletes found guilty of doping face being disqualified from the Olympics and stripped of any medals.

BBC SPORTS REPORT.

US CYBER-SECURITY 'EMBARRASSING'

By Maggie Shiels Technology reporter, BBC News, Silicon Valley

Experts say the threat is increasing fast

America's cyber-security has been described as "broken" by one industry expert and as "childlike" by another.

The criticism comes as President Obama prepares to release the results of a review he had ordered.

Tim Mather, chief strategist for security firm RSA, told BBC News: "The approach we have relied on for years has effectively run out of steam."

Alan Paller from security research firm SANS Institute said the government's cyber defences were "embarrassing".

The government review, which will outline a way forward, is expected to be opened up for public comment at the end of this month.

At the same time, President Obama is also expected to announce the appointment of a cyber-security tsar as part of the administration's commitment to make the issue a priority.

For many attending last week's RSA conference in San Francisco, the biggest security event of its kind, such focus is welcome.

"I think we are seeing a real breaking point in security with consumers, business and even government saying enough, no more. Let's rethink how we do this because the system is broken," said Mr Mather.

Over the past couple of weeks, the heat has been turned up on the issue of cyber-security following some high profile breaches.

One involved the country's power grid which was said to have been infiltrated by nation states. The government subsequently admitted that it was "vulnerable to attack".

The review will provide a roadmap for tackling cyber-security

Meanwhile reports during the RSA conference surfaced that spies had hacked into the Joint Strike Fighter Project.

The topic is very much on the radar of politicians, who have introduced a number of bills to address security in the virtual world.

One includes a provision to allow the president to disconnect government and private entities from the internet for national security reasons in an emergency.

The latest bill, introduced this week by Senator Tom Carper, has called for the creation of a chief information officer to monitor, detect and respond to threats.

Mr Paller, who is the director of research for SANS, believes the government's multi-billion dollar budget is the most effective weapon it has to force change.

"The idea of cyber-security leadership isn't if it's the White House or DHS (Dept of Homeland Security). It's whether you use the $70bn you spend per year to make the nation safer."

He said the best way to ensure that was to require industry to provide more secure technology for federal acquisitions.

"If you want to change things, use the laws of procurement," suggested Mr Paller.

There is a growing view that the industry is also at a crossroads and has a responsibility to alter the way it operates.

There are 32,000 suspected cyber-attacks every 24 hours

"I think we are more aware of security than ever before," said Benjamin Jun, vice-president of technology at Cryptography Research.

"We are looking at risk in a new way and the good security practitioners are in the hot seat. It's time for them to do their job."

It is also time for them to come up with new technologies that can keep pace with, and move ahead of, the threats that affect the whole of cyberspace, says Asheem Chandna of venture firm Greylock Partners.

"For the evolution of the internet, I think we need the next wave of innovation. The industry clearly needs to step up and deliver the next set of technologies to protect people and stay ahead of the bad guys."

He also believes the smaller innovative companies in Silicon Valley could help the government be more productive if they were not effectively locked out of the process by the big established firms.

"We want smaller companies that are innovating in Silicon Valley to be given a better chance to help government agencies meet their mandate but the bureaucracy to do this hinders these companies.

"Instead they go to commercial customers because they see the value, they move fast, they see the return on investment and the competitive advantage it can give them. The federal government is more of a laggard in this area," said Mr Chandna.

There is undoubtedly a consensus that the security of the internet needs to be improved and that attacks are taking their toll on everything from banks to credit card companies and from critical infrastructure to defence.

The president has likened the threat to the internet to that of a nuclear attack

"There is a silver lining to this dark cloud," said Mark Cohn, the vice-president of enterprise security at security firm Unisys.

"Public awareness, and that among the community and interested parties, has grown tremendously over the last year or two.

"Cyber-security affects us all from national security to the mundane level of identity theft and fraud. But that means society as a whole is more receptive to many of the things we need to do that would in the past have been seen as politically motivated."

For security firm VeriSign, a shift in how people practise security is what is needed

"Security is a state of mind," said the company's chief technology officer, Ken Silva.

"Up until now we have relied on the inefficient system of user names and passwords for security. Those have been obsolete for some time now and that is why our research is focused on making authentication stronger and user friendly."

To that end, VeriSign has introduced a security application that produces an ever-changing password credential for secure transactions on the iPhone or Blackberry. To date the free app has been downloaded more than 20,000 times.

"It's one thing to say security is broken, but the consumer doesn't care until it affects them," said Mr Silva. "But if we as an industry want them to use stronger security measures we have to make it easy and more user friendly."

Indeed Mr Cohn believes everybody has to play his or her part as the online world becomes increasingly integral to our lives.

"It may seem like we are under attack and the world is more dangerous but in some ways the threat environment is shifting.

"Now the greater concern for people is protecting their information, their identity, their financial security as we move to put more information online like our health records and our social security records.

"We are at a crossroads and this should be viewed as a healthy thing," said Mr Cohn.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

TRIAL IN FRANCE FOR JEW'S MURDER

Ilan Halimi was brutally tortured before he died

Twenty-seven people have gone on trial in Paris for the kidnapping and killing of a young Jewish man that shocked France three years ago.

A gang targeting Jews in ransom kidnappings has been blamed for the abduction and brutal torture of the victim, Ilan Halimi.

The alleged gang leader, Youssouf Fofana, shouted "God is great" in Arabic as he entered the courtroom.

The killing prompted large demonstrations against anti-Semitism.

Mr Halimi, 23, was kidnapped and brutally tortured for more than three weeks before he was found naked and tied to a tree near a railway track in the suburbs south of Paris.

He had been stabbed and set alight and he died on his way to hospital.

Youssouf Fofana, the leader of a Paris gang known as The Barbarians, is accused of carrying out the attack and faces life imprisonment if found guilty.

Mr Fofana entered the court wearing a white tracksuit. He looked at Mr Halimi's relatives, shouting "Allahu akbar".

When the judged asked the 28-year-old for his birthday, he said he was born on 13 February, 2006, in Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois - the date and place of Mr Halimi's death.

Youssouf Fofana has pleaded not guilty to murder

Youssouf Fofana is alleged to have instructed gang members to target Jews and to kidnap them until their families paid a ransom.

He has admitted all the charges, including entrapment and kidnapping but he denies stabbing Mr Halimi to death.

The other defendants have been indicted on lesser charges. As some of them were minors at the time of the crime, the judge excluded the public and the press for the remainder of the trial.

The victim, who worked in a mobile phone shop, was lured by a gang member to an empty apartment in the Parisian suburbs where he was attacked and drugged.

During his ordeal, his family were sent harrowing images and video recordings by his captors.

The then-President, Jacques Chirac, promised his parents a full investigation.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

TOP 10 MOST CONTROVERSIAL ADS

AD BREAKDOWN THE MAGAZINE'S REVIEW OF ADVERTISING

A series of TV films designed by children's charity Barnardo's to raise awareness of child abuse proved the most controversial TV advert of 2008.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received 840 complaints last year due to the imagery of child abuse and drug-taking - but none was upheld.

Despite the number of upheld complaints rising by 27% compared with 2007, none of the criticisms of the 10 most complained about ads was sustained.

The 10 most controversial ads, measured by the number of complaints, were:

1. BARNARDO'S - 840 COMPLAINTS

Barnardo's ads showed scenes of children being physically or emotionally abused - and how such abuse could affect them later in life.

Many of the 840 complainants were concerned about the imagery of abuse and drug use, especially because the ads were being shown at times when children could be watching.

Some other viewers, who reported they had been abused as children, asked whether the imagery could upset some people who had suffered such treatment.

But the ASA ruled that while it understood the ads could be distressing, it believed they had been appropriately scheduled and their aim justified the use of such strong imagery.

Complaints not upheld

Watchdog backs 'shocking' advert

2. VOLKSWAGEN - 743 COMPLAINTS

Volkswagen's ads - showing a dog singing its canine heart out while travelling in the front seat of a car, yet cowering when out of the vehicle - drew complaints for a number of reasons.

Some viewers were concerned about the dog's welfare, wondering if it had been ill-treated during filming. Others thought the ads condoned animal cruelty, or showed a breach of the Highway Code by allowing dogs to travel in the front seat.

The ASA said that while it was sympathetic to opposition to using trained animals in filming, the ad's makers had ensured a vet was on set during filming, and the vet had confirmed the dog had not been abused.

It said the fantastical tone of the ad meant it could not be seen as an endorsement to harm pets, nor put them at risk.

Complaints not investigated

3. AG BARR - ORANGINA - 286 COMPLAINTS

Viewers complained the ad for this soft drink was sexually offensive.

The promo showed a woodland scene with cartoon animals - such as bears, deer, zebras and peacocks - dancing together. The ad ends with the line "Orangina... Life is juicy".

The majority of those who complained found the ad overtly sexual. There were also complaints saying that it demeaned and objectified women.

Some said it endorsed women dancing for the gratification for men, while others said it might be inappropriate for younger viewers.

The ASA said the fact the advert was only shown after 2100 meant most viewers would be aware it would have adult tones.

Complaints not investigated

4. HEINZ - DELI MAYO - 215 COMPLAINTS

This ad showed children's lunches being made by their "mum" - an unshaven Italian-American man, who at the end of the ad is kissed goodbye by "dad".

Most of the complaints about the by HJ Heinz Company ad were over a same-sex kiss, and the fact the ad was shown in the daytime and early evening when children might see it.

But the ASA believed that despite some people's personal objection to same-sex kissing, it did not see anything in the kiss that would breach its code.

It said: "We believed most people would view it as humorous, surreal or daft."

Complaints not investigated

It started with a kiss

5. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH - 204 COMPLAINTS

One of many recent hard-hitting awareness drives aimed at improving public health, the TV and cinema campaign aimed to stop parents smoking in front of their children.

It showed children copying their parents in activities such as DIY, exercise and baking - but also smoking. It had the tagline: "If you smoke, your children are more likely to smoke. Smoking. Don't keep it in the family."

Some believed children would not grasp the meaning of the ad and would just see children smoking.

But the ASA said the importance of the message meant the advert was justified.

Complaints not upheld

Anti-smoking ad 'scares children'

6. TISCALI UK - 159 COMPLAINTS

The telecommunications provider used adultery to help sell its wares in this TV advert, which drew complaints from more than 150 viewers.

The ad showed a woman sleeping with her next-door neighbour. There were complaints over its adult content, and also accusations that it trivialised adultery and that the advertisers were condoning it.

The ASA ruled that the tone of the ad was sufficiently "farcical and unrealistic" for it not to cause offence.

It also said the ad had not been shown in ad breaks for programmes where the very youngest children might be watching on their own.

Complaints not investigated

7. ZAK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO - 157 COMPLAINTS

The film Zac and Miri Make a Porno, starring Seth Rogan and Elizabeth Banks, was advertised by Entertainment Film Distributors on posters on the side of buses.

Many complainants were concerned with the use of the word "porno" in the title, and the fact that the poster could be seen by young children, who may then ask what it meant.

The ASA, however, said the ad did not contain any explicit imagery, and did not in itself breach any rules.

The ASA said: "We did not consider that the ad would cause widespread or serious offence or harm to children."

Complaints not investigated

8. WALKERS - 130 COMPLAINTS

A TV ad for Walkers crisps featuring ex-footballer Gary Lineker was deemed offensive for a scene in which a bus drove under a bridge and had its top deck ripped off.

Some of those who complained said it could have upset people who had experienced such accidents.

After hearing of the complaints, Walkers Snack Foods Ltd decided to withdraw the ad and no action needed to be taken by the ASA.

Withdrawn

9. SPECSAVERS - 123 COMPLAINTS

There were complaints for the use of footage of French singer Edith Piaf singing her signature song Je Ne Regrette Rien with subtitles making it appear that she "should have gone to Specsavers".

Many of those who complained felt it trivialised the tragic life of the French singer.

The ASA did not believe the ad would cause widespread offence.

Complaints not investigated

10. CARGIANT LTD - 96 COMPLAINTS

Posters for the firm, a used car dealership, showed a man who had saved so much by using Cargiant to buy a car that he could afford to take his mistress on a trip to Paris.

The ad drew ire from people who said it condoned and even endorsed adultery.

Some also said it was chauvinistic and was not a good example for children.

The ASA, however, viewed the ads as light-hearted and did not see them as a promotion for an adulterous lifestyle.

Complaints not investigated

---

Below are a selection of your comments.

I would like to know what the ASA actually do? I was one of those who complained about the Heinz Deli Mayo ad with the same sex kissing as I did actually find this offensive, but got the standard letter saying that the ASA did not agree, as it has by the looks of it, for all the top 10 ads shown here. I won't bother to write in future!. They even had the audacity to email me asking if my complaint was investigated to my satisfaction!!
Phil Burton, Brighton

You seem to have missed a couple of adverts that received far more complaints. The neutrogena advert that dared to show a nipple received numerous complaints until the offensive nipple was cut from the ad. And the birth to death in around 30 seconds advert for microsoft's X Box received 136 complaints
Dean Messenger, Surrey UK

Lighten up - these are adverts. If you don't subsequently buy the advertised product then the ad has failed and what have you lost? If you have doubts over the veracity of a claim don't buy the product, if it offends you don't buy the product. At any one time the TV is full of content which probably upsets or offends someone somewhere. Here we have products now being displayed on a BBC website as a news item, probably doubling the intended target coverage. Either turn over or turn off. Life is too short.
Mark Turner, Oxford

Has the world gone overly politically correct mad? Do these people have nothing better to do with their time than complain about such nonsense? Seriously, take a deep breath, relax and it'll all be over in 3 minutes. It's not harmful, it's advertising.
Victoria Bennett, Edinburgh

I think that the decisions of the ASA show the steady decline in both morals and ethics displayed by advertisers nowadays, and a lack of respect for the intelligence of the general populace. That said, do as I do, if you think the ad is offensive or derogatory to groups of our community turn it off or turn it over.
S. Nicholson, Doncaster

These complaints and the fact that no further action was taken by the ASA just goes to show how many stupid people there are in this country who just don't "get it".
Tony Privitera, Worcester

How about naming and shaming the people complaining? There are clearly more important issues going on at any point in time. These self righteous do-gooders clearly have nothing better to do and their priorities are severely skewed.
Ben Walker, Leicestershire, UK

BBC NEWS MAGAZINE

MICHELLE OBAMA'S FIRST 100 DAYS !

By Rajini Vaidyanathan BBC News

Michelle Obama knows the media and public interest in her is huge

"I have the best job being first lady. I think I have the best job in the White House because... I don't have to deal with the hard problems everyday."

That was how Michelle Obama responded to questions from the children of White House employees on what it is like to be the First Lady.

There were problems, she said, "but I get to do the fun stuff. And there's so much fun to be had with service."

Michelle Obama's first 100 days certainly seem to have been fun, be it spent opening the White House Easter egg hunt, or walking Bo the dog.

Mrs Obama has played the role of the President's wife in a traditional manner, accompanying him at state functions and, like many First Wives before, she has spoken out on issues she feels passionately about.

But she has put her own twist on some of those moments; placing her arm affectionately around the Queen at a Buckingham Palace reception, and getting on her hands and knees to show her support for organic foods in a practical way, by planting vegetables in the White House garden.

Michelle Obama's media strategy since moving into the White House has been to embrace the huge interest in her and use it to her advantage to come across as the kind of First Lady you could be friends with.

I was surrounded by extraordinary women in my life... who taught me about quiet strength and dignity Michelle Obama

In the days after the inauguration it was virtually impossible to enter a newsagents in America without seeing Mrs Obama's face on the front of a magazine.

"People feel like they know Michelle Obama, she's accessible, she's become like the first lady next door," says Nia Malika-Henderson, a White House reporter for Politico magazine.

"She's had a strategic publicity plan… She's brought herself into people's homes and grocery stores."

A big part of introducing Michelle Obama to the American public, and the rest of the world, has been to remind people of where she came from.

During her much-publicised trip to London at the start of April, Mrs Obama visited a girls school in North London to talk to pupils.

"There is nothing in my story that would land me here," she told them.

"I wasn't raised with wealth or resources or any social standing to speak of. I was raised on the South Side of Chicago - that's the real part of Chicago. And I was the product of a working-class community."

"I am an example of what's possible when girls from the very beginning of their lives are loved and nurtured by the people around them.

"I was surrounded by extraordinary women in my life: grandmothers, teachers, aunts, cousins, neighbours, who taught me about quiet strength and dignity."

Michelle's mother, Marian Robinson, has moved into the White House, the first "in-law in chief" to make the famous residence a home. Michelle Obama has also often spoken of the importance of maintaining a work-life balance as First Lady and "mom-in-chief".

As one of most photographed women in the world, early comparisons were drawn between her and President John F Kennedy's wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, for their similar sense of style, and fashion icon status.

The Queen reportedly asked to stay in touch with Mrs Obama

Much has been written about Michelle Obama's choice of outfits, in particular her penchant for wearing sleeveless dresses, which show off her toned arms.

The lack of sleeves in her official White House portrait generated many column inches with discussions centring on whether Mrs Obama had the "right to bare arms".

While regularly seen in designer clothes, Mrs Obama also wears high street labels. Dee Dee Myers, who was press secretary under President Clinton, says these choices all contribute to an image that Mrs Obama is a First Lady ordinary Americans can relate to.

"That first impression is often a visual one, how does she look, and I think Michelle Obama has passed that test on a lot of levels," says Ms Myers.

"She's both comfortable in her own skin, she is chic but in a very accessible way, it's not Couture it's J-Crew. And I think that's been tremendously popular here particularly at a time when the economy is suffering and people are making cutbacks and sacrifices in their own life."

A recent Gallup poll backs this theory up. It suggested Mrs Obama has a higher approval rating than her husband, at 72% compared to the president's 69%.

Among the people Mrs Obama appears to have won over is the Queen. Many said that Michelle Obama broke protocol when she put her arm round the Queen during a Buckingham Palace reception.

The Palace issued a statement to the contrary, saying: "It was a mutual and spontaneous display of affection."

Showing a more personal side rather than a political one is perhaps a strategy which has developed after Mrs Obama was criticised during the campaign for comments she made while out on the stump for her husband.

Her comment at a rally - "for the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country" - prompted accusations that she was bitter and unpatriotic.

More recently she was criticised by a US farming group for her decision to grow organic vegetables.

The Mid-America CropLife Association (MACA) wrote to the First Lady to encourage her to support their technological methods of farming.

"If Americans were still required to farm to support their family's basic food and fibre needs, would the US have been leaders in the advancement of science, communication, education, medicine, transportation and the arts?" the group said.

But overall compliments have outweighed criticism.

Dee Dee Myers says it has been a turnaround in some senses.

"Six months ago there was a conversation in this city, Washington DC about Michelle Obama, asset or liability and now that question has been answered with a resounding asset... she's a tremendous asset."

BBC NEWS REPORT.

JAPANESE PM IN BEIJING FOR VISIT

Mr Aso is on a two-day trip, focusing on the global economy

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso has arrived in Beijing for a visit expected to focus primarily on the economy.

Japan and China, the world's second and third-biggest economies respectively, are hoping to work together to combat the global downturn.

But the visit comes at a sensitive time for China-Japan relations.

Last week Mr Aso sent an offering to the controversial Yasukuni shrine, which Beijing sees as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.

China said in a statement that it expressed "serious concern and dissatisfaction" for the shrine offering.

Mr Aso was due to meet with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao on Wednesday, and President Hu Jintao on Thursday.

Economic ties are expected to dominate talks, along with efforts to develop joint energy reserves and combat an outbreak of swine flu.

North Korea may also be on the agenda. Japan is keen to enlist Chinese help in persuading Pyongyang to return to six-nation talks on its nuclear programme.

North Korea walked away from the negotiating table in the wake of UN criticism over its rocket launch earlier this month.

Mr Aso's visit comes just a week after he upset China by a making an offering to Tokyo's controversial Yasukuni war shrine.

He did not actually visit the shrine, but sent a plant which he said expressed his "appreciation and respect as a Japanese national to the people who sacrificed their precious lives for the country".

Previous prime ministers have stirred regional tensions by visiting Yasukuni - which honours Japan's war dead, including 14 people convicted as Class A war criminals after World War II.

Repeated visits by Junichiro Koizumi caused anger in South Korea and China, where there remains a widely-held conviction that Japan has not atoned properly for its war-time crimes.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

MIGRANTS RETURN HOME TO TAJIKISTAN

By Rayhan Demetrie BBC News, Dushanbe

The train from Moscow is full of returning migrants

As the Moscow train approaches the platform at Dushanbe station, it's the end of a three-day journey for hundreds of migrant workers.

The atmosphere is slightly chaotic, as people run after the carriages trying to locate their loved ones.

Looking out of the train are the smiling faces of those who have not seen their relatives for a long time.

Usually at this time of the year, thousands of migrants would be travelling abroad in search of seasonal work.

Last year over a million Tajiks found work abroad, mainly on construction sites in Russia.

But the Russian building industry is at a standstill, and as a result Tajikistan is experiencing a phenomenon best described as reverse migration.

In Chiptura village, 30km (20 miles) south of Dushanbe, Nosir Djalilov has recently returned from Russia.

He has done well from the money he has earned abroad, and his new house is currently under construction.

"This is my first visit back home in nine months," says Nosir, sitting outside in the warm spring sunshine with his five young children.

He intends to go back to Russia, crisis or no crisis.

"This way I can earn enough to provide for my family. I need to go again to give my children a better life, so that they can get an education. This is what life is about," he says.

A short walk in the village reveals the extent to which households in Tajikistan are dependant on remittances which migrants send home.

Almost every man we meet has worked or is still working in Russia.

In a nearby house, guests are gathering for a farewell party.

Toimurod has been working in Russia for the past 10 years. He came home in February, and is now going back to try his luck again.

What am I supposed to do? Go and steal? Well, I might well do if my children want to eat and there is no money Mahmat Sharipov Country profile: Tajikistan

"Last time I was in Russia there was still work, but I am not sure whether there is any work left," he acknowledges.

In a kitchen with concrete walls and a little gas stove, Toimurod's wife Chinnigul is cooking plov, a traditional rice and lamb dish for her guests.

"I am used to seeing him leave," says Chinnigul as she stirs the pot.

"He has been away for many years. A Tajik woman is used to this. Who would not want her husband to be nearby? But there is no work here and we are dependent on the money he sends us."

Remittances earned by Toimurod provide the only household income. There are many thousands of families across Tajikistan like his.

Nosir is planning to go back to Russia despite the problems

According to the International Monetary Fund, migrants earned almost half of Tajikistan's GDP last year.

But there will be a decline of about 30% in remittances this year, says Asia Development Bank country director Makoto Ojiro.

That means lots of migrant workers are returning from Russia and Kazakhstan - and as a result the number of unemployed people in Tajikistan will rise.

The Tajik government says it will provide employment opportunities for returning workers, and international aid programmes are also providing funds for infrastructure projects to create more jobs.

But the problem remains acute.

On some street corners in Dushanbe, unofficial labour exchanges have sprung up for unskilled labour.

At one such labour market, up to 100 men sit and wait for a contractor to hire them for the day.

They are ready to do any work, and wages are typically between $2 and $10 a day.

Mahmat Sharipov is one such worker, who returned from Russia after work dried up.

"I spent 18 years there. Because of the crisis I had to return to Tajikistan, but it is the same situation here - crisis, and no work," he says.

"What am I supposed to do? Go and steal? Well, I might well do if my children want to eat and there is no money."

BBC NEWS REPORT.

KENYA COALITION IMPASSE CONTINUES

Raila Odinga has said fresh elections may be needed

The Kenyan parliament's speaker has refused to rule on who should be leader of government business in parliament in the latest row to hit the coalition.

Kenneth Marende said the government must "consensually agree" who should hold the post.

Both Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka say they must lead the House Business Committee.

It is the latest row between the PM's Orange Democratic Movement and the president's Party of National Unity.

The national assembly speaker's ruling was broadcast live on television on Tuesday.

The two parties agreed a power-sharing deal last year to end post-election violence, which had left some 1,500 people dead and forced 300,000 from their homes.

But relations have soured and crisis talks have failed to improve relations.

The president's allies say he has the power to decide who should hold the crucial position of leading government business in the house, but the prime minister's party disagrees.

The BBC's Josphat Makori in Nairobi says such a parliamentary dispute is unprecedented in the history of Kenya.

KENYA'S COALITION CRISIS Dec 2007: Disputed elections spark ethnic violence Feb 2008: Mediators broker power-sharing government pact April: Unity cabinet naming delayed amid last-minute dispute 5 Jan 2009: Odinga holds crisis talks; says ODM being sidelined 13 Jan: Inquiry amid claims of agriculture ministry maize cartels 4 April: Kilanguni retreat collapses in disarray 6 April: Odinga labels Kibaki's governing style "primitive" 15 April: Odinga tells Kibaki ODM will boycott cabinet meetings 26 April: Odinga says fresh elections may be needed Does Kenya need new elections?

He says the ODM wanted to bring the contest to parliament in order to try to use its majority to have its way.

Our correspondent says this row matters because it has virtually paralysed the business of parliament.

Mr Musyoka used to be a senior ODM official but split to form his own party - ODM-Kenya - and is now seen as close to the president.

The prime minister recently complained that the vice-president should not be getting paid more than him.

Mr Odinga - who has claimed he is being sidelined in the unity government - has said fresh elections may be needed if the rift cannot be solved.

Over the weekend, President Kibaki's party accused the ODM of "fomenting a coup".

Earlier this month, Mr Odinga's party said it would boycott cabinet meetings, leading to inconclusive crisis talks.

The prime minister recently complained at a public rally that no red carpet or toilet were provided for him during an official visit.

The violence erupted after Mr Odinga's supporters said he had been cheated of victory in the December 2007 presidential election.

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan managed to broker a power-sharing deal in February 2008, which ended the violence.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

UAE SHEIKH IN ABUSE TAPE SCANDAL

Country profile: UAE

A human rights group is calling on Abu Dhabi to take urgent action against the head of state's brother after video emerged of him torturing another man.

Human Rights Watch called for a full investigation into Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan over the shocking footage.

The United Arab Emirates Interior Ministry confirmed that the 45-minute video featured Sheikh Issa, but said the issue had been resolved privately.

The victim is seen being beaten, given electric shocks and crushed by a car.

A man in police uniform and several other men are seen assisting the sheikh in the abuse, as the terrified victim is held down in the sand.

The UAE says a police investigation found no breach of its rules in the incident.

A former business associate of Sheikh Issa al-Nahyan says he smuggled the video out of the UAE.

Bassam Nabulsi, who is suing the sheikh in a US federal court, gave a copy of the tape to the US television network ABC which broadcast clips, saying parts of it were too graphic to be shown.

The footage shows bullets being fired near Afghan businessman Mohammed Shah Poor as he lies tied up screaming on the desert floor. Sand is shovelled into his mouth.

He is also struck repeatedly with a plank with a protruding nail, and had salt rubbed into his wounds.

In the unbroadcast footage, an electric cattle prod reportedly is used on the private parts of the victim, who had been accused of cheating the sheikh in a business deal over a consignment of wheat.

Near the end of the tape, Poor is made to lie onto the ground and the sheikh drives over him repeatedly, with the sound of what appears to be breaking bones audible on the tape.

Human Rights Watch described the acts on the tape as a violation of the UAE's constitution and international law.

"The government's failure to prosecute those involved in this undisputed incident of torture and abuse at the hands of a royal family member and the police is an appalling miscarriage of justice," said HRW's Sarah Leah Watson.

It said the apparent involvement of a police officer was "tantamount to state complicity in the torture".

The UAE said the police investigated the events, and found that "all rules, policies and procedures were followed correctly by the Police Department", according to a letter seen by Human Rights Watch.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

WIND FARM FIRM CUTTING 1,900 JOBS

Vestas said there was now oversupply in the turbine market

Wind turbine-maker Vestas Wind Systems is to cut 1,900 jobs - mainly in the UK and Denmark - despite reporting a 70% rise in quarterly profits.

It will be closing its UK turbine plant on the Isle of Wight, cutting 450 jobs.

The Danish firm blamed the headcount reduction, which represents 9% of its workforce, on market oversupply.

It came as Vestas reported a net profit of 56m euros ($73m; £50m) for the first three months of 2009, up from 33m euros for the same period last year.

The company also said it planned to raise funds through a share issue.

Vestas said that supply of wind turbines exceeded demand in Northern Europe, despite the drive of governments including Germany and the UK to increase the amount of electricity generated by green energy alternatives.

Quarterly sales at the company, which is the world's largest manufacturer of wind turbines, rose 59% to 1.11bn euros.

It also said it was sticking to its full-year sales targets.

Analysts broadly welcomed the results.

"It's a strong set of numbers and good operational performances - better than the street had expected," said Rupesh Madlani, analyst at Barclays Capital.

"Raising capital in this environment makes good strategic sense, so we're pretty positive."

Vestas has yet to indicate how much it hopes to raise from the share issue.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

THE QUEEN'S MESSAGE - BY E-MAIL !

By Peter Hunt Royal correspondent, BBC News

The Queen has preferred to stick to letters and telegrams

The Queen has taken the highly unusual step, for her, of sending a message via e-mail.

It has gone to 23 young people from across the world, who've written blogs about their lives and their experiences of the Commonwealth - which is celebrating its 60th anniversary.

Back in 1976, the Queen was a trendsetter. She became the first monarch to send an e-mail during a visit to an army base. She was demonstrating a technology in its infancy.

In the intervening years, as more and more of us discovered the internet's potential, the Queen stuck with tried and tested methods of communication - letters, telegrams and telemessages.

Now, in the same month she received an iPod from President Obama, the Queen has once again embraced the internet.

The reasons are obvious. The theme of the Commonwealth's anniversary celebrations is "serving a new generation".

Belizean Ashton Usher describes beach lunches of coconut and mango

The Queen's electronic message has gone out to young, internet-savvy people, some of whom live in remote locations.

All the recipients, from countries such as Canada, Papua New Guinea and Jamaica, have posted pictures and written personal accounts on the royal website. They provide a snapshot of lives in a variety of Commonwealth countries.

Twenty-two-year-old Ashton Usher paints an attractive picture of life for a young man in Belize. His account of a typical day includes a football match with friends, a lunch of mango and coconut on a beach by the Caribbean Sea and fishing.

According to Ashton, the Commonwealth means Belize, an independent nation, can show the world it is not alone.

For Katrina Barber, the Queen is the "boss" of the Commonwealth. The 12-year-old, who lives on a remote cattle station 200km (125 miles) from Alice Springs, wants her head of state to visit, so she can ask her what it's like to swap a palace for the Australian bush.

Katrina, 12, would like the Queen to visit her part of the Australian "bush"

Katrina, who has to log on to a computer to take part in her school lessons via a webcam, learnt to drive when she was seven and is keen to do bull riding.

She writes: "I want to marry a local bloke and live here when I grow up because I love the bush so much."

The reward for these online endeavours - for Ashton, Katrina and the 21 other young Commonwealth citizens - is an e-mail from Buckingham Palace. It is headlined, "A Message from Her Majesty the Queen" and it is signed, "Elizabeth R".

The Queen writes that she has read their accounts with interest. She goes on: "Today, we celebrate the values and aspirations of the Commonwealth which have sustained our family of nations throughout its history and which I hope will equally inspire generations to come."

The content of the message is unremarkable. Its method of delivery is unique.

The e-mail address used will pretty quickly disappear into the ether. Was it, one wonders, queen.elizabeth@royal.gov.uk?

Whatever it was, inboxes around the globe aren't about to be inundated with missives from the Queen. At 83, she won't be making a habit of it.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

"Sayings"

"SPEECH IS THE GIFT OF ALL,

BUT THOUGHT OF FEW" !
__________

DUBAI PROPERTY PRICES 'FALL 41%

Property prices in Dubai plunged 41% during the first three months of this year, a report has calculated.

The decline is from the last quarter of 2008, said global real estate consultancy Colliers International.

It is just the latest indication of the extent to which Dubai's property boom of recent years has come to an end in the face of the worldwide recession.

Colliers said prices had fallen as global finance has dried up and job opportunities in Dubai have declined.

The firm's report measured property prices in parts of Dubai where foreign workers have been allowed to buy homes since the market was opened up in 2002.

The 41% drop in prices between January and March followed an 8% fall in the previous three-month period.

Colliers added that speculators - people who had bought property in Dubai as an investment - had already left the market.

It said prices were now likely to continue to fall, but it was too early to predict when the market would hit rock bottom.

"The heat has gone out the market completely," said Colliers' Middle East chief executive John Davis.

Dubai has enjoyed rapid economic growth over the past decade, led by a construction boom, as its ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum sought to diversify the economy away from its diminishing oil reserves.

It is one of the seven states that make up the United Arab Emirates.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

Q & A Flu

'Too late' to contain swine flu.

• Latest
• Q&A
• In pictures
• Mexico fears
• Reports map
• Economy alert

HOW SWINE FLU OUTBREAK EMERGED Flu viruses mutate over time causing small changes to proteins on their surface called antigens. If the immune system has met particular strain of the virus before it is likely to have some immunity; but if the antigens are new to the immune system, it will be weakened. The flu currently making headlines is a strain of H1N1 influenza A virus, which affects birds, some mammals and humans. The influenza A virus can mutate in two different ways; antigenic drift, in which existing antigens are subtly altered, and antigenic shift, in which two or more strains combine. Antigenic drift causes the slight mutations year on year in the flu strains that normally affect humans. As a result humans have partial, but not complete, immunity. By contrast, the new strain of H1N1 appears to have originated via antigenic shift in Mexican pigs. The name "swine flu" is a slight misnomer as it is believed pigs acted as a mixing pot for several flu strains, containing genetic material from pigs, birds and humans. Some of the antigens involved in the new strain have never been seen by the immune systems of almost all humans, so the new strain has the potential to cause a pandemic. The new virus has made the jump from pigs to humans and has demonstrated it can pass quite easily from human to human. This is why it is demanding so much attention from worldwide health authorities. The virus passes from human to human like other types of flu, either through coughing, sneezing, or by touching infected surfaces. However, not much else is yet known about how the virus acts on humans. BACK 1 of 4 NEXT Infection control experts are scrambling to respond to outbreaks of swine flu in Mexico and the US, and suspected cases elsewhere. What is swine flu? Swine flu is a respiratory disease, caused by influenza type A which infects pigs. There are many types, and the infection is constantly changing. Until now it has not normally infected humans, but the latest form clearly does, and can be spread from person to person - probably through coughing and sneezing. What is new about this type of swine flu? The World Health Organization has confirmed that at least some of the human cases are a never-before-seen version of the H1N1 strain of influenza type A. SWINE FLU Symptoms usually similar to seasonal flu - but deaths recorded in Mexico It is a new version of the H1N1 strain which caused the 1918 flu pandemic Too early to say whether it will lead to a pandemic Current treatments do work, but there is no vaccine Good personal hygiene, such as washing hands, covering nose when sneezing advised H1N1 is the same strain which causes seasonal outbreaks of flu in humans on a regular basis. But this latest version of H1N1 is different: it contains genetic material that is typically found in strains of the virus that affect humans, birds and swine. Flu viruses have the ability to swap genetic components with each other, and it seems likely that the new version of H1N1 resulted from a mixing of different versions of the virus, which may usually affect different species, in the same animal host. Pigs provide an excellent 'melting pot' for these viruses to mix and match with each other. How dangerous is it? Symptoms of swine flu in humans appear to be similar to those produced by standard, seasonal flu. These include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, chills and fatigue. Most cases so far reported around the world appear to be mild, but in Mexico lives have been lost. How worried should people be? When any new strain of flu emerges that acquires the ability to pass from person to person, it is monitored very closely in case it has the potential to spark a global epidemic, or pandemic. FLU PANDEMICS 1918: The Spanish flu pandemic remains the most devastating outbreak of modern times. Caused by a form of the H1N1 strain of flu, it is estimated that up to 40% of the world's population were infected, and more than 50 million people died, with young adults particularly badly affected 1957: Asian flu killed two million people. Caused by a human form of the virus, H2N2, combining with a mutated strain found in wild ducks. The impact of the pandemic was minimised by rapid action by health authorities, who identified the virus, and made vaccine available speedily. The elderly were particularly vulnerable 1968: An outbreak first detected in Hong Kong, and caused by a strain known as H3N2, killed up to one million people globally, with those over 65 most likely to die The World Health Organization has warned that taken together the Mexican and US cases could potentially trigger a global pandemic, and stress that the situation is serious. However, experts say it is still too early to accurately assess the situation fully. Currently, they say the world is closer to a flu pandemic than at any point since 1968 - upgrading the threat from three to four on a six-point scale following an emergency meeting on Monday. Nobody knows the full potential impact of a pandemic, but experts have warned that it could cost millions of lives worldwide. The Spanish flu pandemic, which began in 1918, and was also caused by an H1N1 strain, killed millions of people. The fact that all the cases in the US and elsewhere have so far produced mild symptoms is encouraging. It suggests that the severity of the Mexican outbreak may be due to an unusual geographically-specific factor - possibly a second unrelated virus circulating in the community - which would be unlikely to come into play in the rest of the world. Alternatively, people infected in Mexico may have sought treatment at a much later stage than those in other countries. It may also be the case that the form of the virus circulating in Mexico is subtly different to that elsewhere - although that will only be confirmed by laboratory analysis. There is also hope that, as humans are often exposed to forms of H1N1 through seasonal flu, our immune systems may have something of a head start in fighting infection. However, the fact that many of the victims are young does point to something unusual. Normal, seasonal flu tends to affect the elderly disproportionately. Can the virus be contained? The virus appears already to have started to spread around the world, and most experts believe that containment of the virus in the era of readily available air travel will be extremely difficult. Can it be treated? The US authorities say that two drugs commonly used to treat flu, Tamiflu and Relenza, seem to be effective at treating cases that have occurred there so far. However, the drugs must be administered at an early stage to be effective. Use of these drugs may also make it less likely that infected people will pass the virus on to others. The UK Government already has a stockpile of Tamiflu, ordered as a precaution against a pandemic. It is unclear how effective currently available flu vaccines would be at offering protection against the new strain, as it is genetically distinct from other flu strains. US scientists are already developing a bespoke new vaccine, but it may take some time to perfect it, and manufacture enough supplies to meet what could be huge demand. A vaccine was used to protect humans from a version of swine flu in the US in 1976. However, it caused serious side effects, including an estimated 500 cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome. There were more deaths from the vaccine than the outbreak. What should I do to stay safe? Anyone with flu-like symptoms who might have been in contact with the swine virus - such as those living or travelling in the areas of Mexico that have been affected - should seek medical advice. But patients are being asked not to go into GP surgeries in order to minimise the risk of spreading the disease to others. Instead, they should stay at home and call their healthcare provider for advice. After the WHO raised its alert level over swine flu, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office began advising against all but essential travel to Mexico. What measures can I take to prevent infection? Avoid close contact with people who appear unwell and who have fever and cough. General infection control practices and good hygiene can help to reduce transmission of all viruses, including the human swine influenza. This includes covering your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, using a tissue when possible and disposing of it promptly. It is also important to wash your hands frequently with soap and water to reduce the spread of the virus from your hands to face or to other people and cleaning hard surfaces like door handles frequently using a normal cleaning product. If caring for someone with a flu-like illness, a mask can be worn to cover the nose and mouth to reduce the risk of transmission. The UK is looking at increasing its stockpile of masks for healthcare workers for this reason. But experts say there is no scientific evidence to support more general wearing of masks to guard against infections. Is it safe to eat pig meat? Yes. There is no evidence that swine flu can be transmitted through eating meat from infected animals. However, it is essential to cook meat properly. A temperature of 70C (158F) would be sure to kill the virus. What about bird flu? The strain of bird flu which has caused scores of human deaths in South East Asia in recent years is a different strain to that responsible for the current outbreak of swine flu. The latest form of swine flu is a new type of the H1N1 strain, while bird, or avian flu, is H5N1. Experts fear H5N1 hold the potential to trigger a pandemic because of its ability to mutate rapidly. However, up until now it has remained very much a disease of birds. Those humans who have been infected have, without exception, worked closely with birds, and cases of human-to-human transmission are extremely rare - there is no suggestion that H5N1 has gained the ability to pass easily from person to person. Where can I get further advice? Further information and advice on swine flu can be found at websites of leading health and research organisations around the world. The World Health Organisation gives background information on the virus. The UK's Health Protection Agency advises the public about what to do if returning from an affected area. NHS Choices outlines how swine flu is different from other flu. The US government's Centre for Disease Control is counting the number of cases in the US. You can also track the spread of swine flu reports using unofficial sources. Healthmaps maps viruses using news reports. Social media guide Mashable lists some ways to track the virus . Links to useful websites are being shared on Twitter , the micro-blogging service.

NORTHUMBERLAND BEACH IN CANADA AD

A snapshot of the Northumberland beach used in Alberta's campaign

A Northumberland beach has been mistakenly used in a promotional advert for a landlocked Canadian province.

The brief clip for Alberta, in Canada, shows a young boy and girl laughing as they run along a beach later confirmed to be either Bamburgh or Beadnell.

A spokeswoman for Northumberland Tourism said she hoped the "happy accident" would help increase the profile of "neglected" Northumberland.

The Alberta government has issued an apology, saying it "screwed up".

A statement from the Alberta Public Affairs Bureau said: "At one point in the narrative we mentioned our regard for people in other places, and in that place we used the only image that did not come from Alberta.

A comparison of Alberta and Northumberland Alberta has no maritime coast Northumberland has spectacular stretches of unspoiled coastline Alberta has a population of 3.6m Northumberland has a population of 310,000 Northumberland's traditions include clog dancing Alberta's include rodeo festivals featuring calf roping Alberta contains most of Canada's oil refinery capacity Northumberland's main industries are tourism and agriculture

"We all knew that every single image we put out to represent Alberta had to be of Alberta, or we would be roasted."

The clip is being used in a promotional advert which is part of a £14m rebranding campaign by Alberta's public affairs bureau.

Sheelagh Caygill, marketing executive at Northumberland Tourism, said she found the situation "amusing".

"Canada has a lot of beautiful lakes and scenery so to use a photo of one of our beaches seems odd.

"But if it inadvertently promotes Northumbria's many beauty spots then we're very happy about it."

The Canadian government said: "Northumberland, you are beautiful too."

BBC NEWS REPORT.

BUILDERS FIND AUSCHWITZ MESSAGE

More than a million people were killed at Auschwitz-Birkenau

Builders working near the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp have found a message in a bottle written by prisoners, museum officials say.

The message, written in pencil and dated 9 September 1944, bears names, camp numbers and home towns of seven young inmates from Poland and France.

At least two survived the Nazi camp, an Auschwitz museum official said.

The bottle was buried in a concrete wall in a school that prisoners had been compelled to reinforce.

The school's buildings, a few hundred metres from the camp, were used as warehouses by the Nazis, who wanted them protected against air raids.

Museum experts have checked the authenticity of the note, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Six of the prisoners were from Poland and one was from France, AP said.

"All of them are between the ages of 18 and 20," the final sentence of the note reads.

An Auschwitz museum spokesman said the authors of the note "were young people who were trying to leave some trace of their existence behind them".

The Nazis murdered some 1.1 million people at Auschwitz - mainly European Jews, but also non-Jewish Poles, Roma (Gypsies) and others.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

LOW-LEVEL FLIGHT PANICS NEW YORK !

The White House has apologised after a low-level flight by a presidential jet and a fighter plane sparked panic among New York City office workers.
The half-hour flight triggered the evacuation of a number of office buildings in the city.
Pentagon officials said the fly past - a photographic exercise not involving President Obama - had been co-ordinated with city and state authorities.
No general public notification was issued in advance.
"While federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey, it's clear that the mission created confusion and disruption," Louis Caldera, director of the White House military office, said in a statement.
"I apologise and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused."

New Yorkers were startled as the planes flew over the city's harbour.
Correspondents say many New York residents are still scarred by the September 2001 attacks when airliners ploughed into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he was "furious" about the incident, criticising those responsible for failing to warn the public.
"The good news is it was nothing more than an inconsiderate, badly conceived and insensitive photo op with the taxpayers' money," said Mr Bloomberg.
The Boeing 747 jet is one of two planes known as Air Force One when the US president is aboard.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

Low-level flight panics New York

The White House has apologised after a low-level flight by a presidential jet and a fighter plane sparked panic among New York City office workers.
The half-hour flight triggered the evacuation of a number of office buildings in the city.
Pentagon officials said the fly past - a photographic exercise not involving President Obama - had been co-ordinated with city and state authorities.
No general public notification was issued in advance.
"While federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey, it's clear that the mission created confusion and disruption," Louis Caldera, director of the White House military office, said in a statement.
"I apologise and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused."

Correspondents say many New York residents are still scarred by the September 2001 attacks when airliners ploughed into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he was "furious" about the incident, criticising those responsible for failing to warn the public.
"The good news is it was nothing more than an inconsiderate, badly conceived and insensitive photo op with the taxpayers' money," said Mr Bloomberg.
The Boeing 747 jet is one of two planes known as Air Force One when the US president is aboard.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

GM TO CUT A FURTHER 21,000 JOBS

GM has been struggling with falling demand in the economic crisis

General Motors (GM) is to cut a further 21,000 US jobs this year and phase out its Pontiac brand, as it aims to meet a 1 June deadline to revamp its business.

GM has to complete its restructuring by that date to gain the extra multi-billion dollar government loans it needs to avoid bankruptcy protection.

The firm also said it hoped to halve its debts by persuading bondholders to swap $27bn (£19bn) of bonds for shares.

GM also wants the government to swap half its current loans for a 50% stake.

The government has so far given GM $15.4bn in loans.

Shares in General Motors rose 24%, or 40 cents, to $2.09 after the announcement.

GM said it also wants its main union, the United Auto Workers, to accept shares in the firm in exchange for cancelling 50% of the $20bn the firm must pay into a union-run healthcare trust.

The Pontiac brand has been in existence since 1926

The carmaker said it would phase out the Pontiac brand by the end of the year in order to focus on four brands in the US - Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC.

GM also said it would reduce the number of its US dealerships by 42% from 6,246 in 2008 to 3,605 by the end of 2010.

"This reduction in US dealers will allow for a more competitive dealer network and higher sales effectiveness in all markets," GM said in a statement.

After all the proposed changes, existing GM shareholders would own only 1% of the firm.

GM has already cut 10,000 US jobs this year, announced in February. Following the completion of the latest 21,000 reductions, its American workforce will be reduced to 40,000.

Like US rivals Ford and Chrysler, GM has seen sales fall sharply in its core home market in recent years, a decline that has intensified as the recession has continued.

The White House's car industry taskforce said it welcomed GM's latest announcements, but added that the government had yet to make a decision regarding the carmaker's proposal that it exchange half the current loans for a 50% stake in the firm.

"The interim plan that GM laid out in this filing reflects the work GM has done since 30 March to chart a new path to financial viability," it said in a statement.

"We will continue to work with GM's management as it refines and finalises this plan and with all of GM's stakeholders to help GM restructure consistent with the president's commitment to a strong, vibrant American auto industry."

BBC NEWS REPORT.

'ETIQUETTE GUIDE' FOR THAI MONKS !

It is customary for Thai men to enter the monkhood for training at least once

A Buddhist preacher in Thailand has announced plans for new guidelines aimed at curbing the flamboyant behaviour of gay and transgender monks.

The "good manners" curriculum - the country's first - is being introduced in the northern province of Chiang Rai.

The senior monk told the BBC he was particularly concerned by effeminate activities among novices such as the wearing of make-up and tight robes.

More than 90% of the Thai population are followers of Buddhism.

The BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok says tales of monks behaving badly are nothing new in Thailand.

In recent years, they have been accused of abuses of their exalted position in society that range from amassing dozens of luxury cars, to running fake amulet scams, to violating their vows of celibacy, our correspondent says.

Senior monk Phra Maha Wudhijaya Vajiramedhi told the BBC he would address issues like smoking, drinking alcohol, walking and going to the toilet properly, which are all detailed in the traditional 75 Dharma principles of Buddhism, and the 227 precepts for monks.

He was especially concerned, he said, by the flamboyant behaviour of gay and transgender monks, who can often be seen wearing revealingly tight robes, carrying pink purses and having effeminately-shaped eyebrows.

Thailand has a very large and visible population of transgender men, and Phra Vajiramedhi acknowledged that it was difficult to exclude them from the monkhood but he hoped his course could at least persuade them to curb their more extrovert habits.

If successful, the "good manners" course, at the Novice Demonstration School, would be replicated at other Buddhist monasteries and seminaries, he said.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

COUPLE 'MURDERED FOR SCAM CASH'

Xi Zhou and Zhen Xing Yang met at Newcastle University

A Chinese couple could have been murdered for money they made from a internet betting scam and selling false qualifications, a court has heard.

The mutilated bodies of Zhen Xing Yang and his girlfriend Xi Zhou, both 25, were discovered in their flat in Croydon Road, Newcastle, on 9 August.

Guang Hui Cao, 30, of Castle Close, Morpeth, Northumberland, denies murder.

Unnecessary violence was used if their killer only meant to steal belongings, Newcastle Crown Court was told.

Miss Zhou, known as Cici, was killed when she returned home from a lunchtime shift at a city centre noodle bar.

She was gagged and placed face down on a bed, where she suffocated about 90 minutes later.

She was also struck about the head with a hammer, or a similar weapon, causing her skull to fracture, the jury heard.

Mr Yang, known as Kevin, was placed on another bed in the property and hit about the head and face with a similar weapon. His throat was also cut with a knife.

Guang Hui Cao denies two counts of murder

Robert Smith QC, prosecuting, said mobile phones and a laptop computer were taken from the flat.

But the level of violence used was not "even remotely necessary" to take those items, he said.

There was, however, evidence that Mr Yang made a living selling false qualifications and that he assisted in a fraudulent internet betting operation, the court heard.

"Whether this affords an explanation for the action of the person or persons responsible, it's certainly a realistic possibility, particularly if those facts became known to them," Mr Smith said.

The court was told that Miss Zhou earned £14,000 a year as a waitress and Mr Yang had officially earned just £3,000 in the past year.

But police discovered £233,690 had passed through their bank accounts.

Mr Smith told the jury it was "impossible to say" whether any money was taken from their home on the day the couple were killed.

Mr Cao initially made contact with the couple when they placed an advert to sub-let their spare room to a Chinese student, the court heard.

Mr Smith said: "He was not a student and he did require a room. He had seen that advert and had used it to make contact. He had done so in order to gain access to the property."

During their investigations, police found a pair of trousers, heavily stained with Mr Yang's blood, which also contained traces of Mr Cao's DNA.

Mr Yang's spectacles and watch, also splattered with blood, were found in Mr Cao's home.

The trial continues.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

BARACK OBAMA'S 100-DAY REPORT CARD...

US President Barack Obama will soon have completed 100 days in office - a traditional moment for taking stock of progress.

Here we attempt to assess how has he done, measured against his own pre-election pledges and goals.

A BBC summary of developments is followed by a comment and scores out of five from Prof Iwan Morgan of London University's Institute for the Study of the Americas. One star indicates a poor performance, five stars an excellent one.

Please tell us what scores you would give President Obama using the postform below.

Obama's 100 days: Report Card

Issue	Summary	Score
Economy	Mr Obama threw himself into the task of rescuing the stricken economy, drawing up a $787bn economic stimulus plan, bailing out banks and offering help to struggling homeowners. But will it work? The Congressional Budget Office says the stimulus package should reduce the severity of the recession. But critics say it is too costly, contains too few tax cuts, is too slow to direct money where needed, will not create jobs quickly enough and will pile up future debt. Iwan Morgan: Good start on the fiscal stimulus but less sure-footed when it came to revitalising the financial system.	****
Climate change	Mr Obama appears to be delivering on a promise to make climate change a priority. The stimulus plan includes $23bn for renewable energy and Mr Obama is backing a draft Democratic-led energy bill designed to slash greenhouse gas emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency has already decided to regulate CO2 emissions, in a major shift from the Bush era. But big battles lie ahead with industry and political opponents. Iwan Morgan: The bar was set low after George Bush but Obama has got off to a good start.	****
Healthcare	Mr Obama pledged to reduce health insurance costs while offering a new affordable public plan for some 46m Americans who do not have cover. He signalled his determination by nominating Tom Daschle as health secretary. But Daschle was forced to withdraw in a row over unpaid taxes, and Mr Obama's next nominee has not yet been confirmed, so the president remains at first base. Iwan Morgan: Three stars is a generous score, largely for intent, but the White House has been largely silent on the issue of healthcare entitlement reform (essential for control of long-term public debt).	***
Building a team	The new president lost two cabinet nominees to tax scandals and another turned down the job. But two key appointments - Hillary Clinton at the State Department and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner - hit the ground running. Iwan Morgan: Obama has put in place good teams for national security and economic policy - though there are concerns about competing lines of authority in each area. It is also a concern that the Treasury, a key department, has still not had appointments made to key posts immediately below the Secretary. The Daschle affair was also a significant embarrassment.	***
Guantanamo	Mr Obama promised to close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp quickly. Within days of taking office, he signed an order demanding closure "as soon as practicable". Dozens of detainees have been cleared for release. But the administration faces big legal and diplomatic hurdles as it deals with the remaining 245 men held. Iwan Morgan: As good as can be expected in the first 100 days.	*****
Torture	Mr Obama stated his opposition to the harsh interrogation methods of the post-9/11 Bush era - such as sleep deprivation and water-boarding - in his inaugural address. He was quick to ban them, and released memos detailing how they were used under the Bush administration. He has absolved CIA interrogators, but officials who approved the techniques may yet be prosecuted. Iwan Morgan: As above - as good as can be expected in the first 100 days.	*****
Afghanistan	Mr Obama promised to step up the battle against the Taleban, and has sent an extra 17,000 troops to join the 38,000 already there. He has also proposed a big spending programme on infrastructure projects, and pledged 4,000 troops to train Afghan security forces. But his efforts to persuade European Nato allies to shoulder more of the burden have yet to bear much fruit. Iwan Morgan: It is difficult to score this one more positively because of setbacks in the area.	***
Iraq	Mr Obama promised the withdrawal of most US troops by the end of May 2010. That timetable slipped just a little when he took office - he now says the US "combat mission" will officially end by August 2010, with up to 50,000 of 142,000 troops now there staying until the end of 2011 to advise Iraqi forces and protect US interests. Iwan Morgan: Obama scores well for reassessing US priorities but the timelines are likely to slip further.	****
Iran	Mr Obama promised to engage with Iran and - possibly - to meet its president. A shift in tone was immediately clear: he talked of extending a hand if Iran "unclenched its fist", and sent a video message to the people of Iran offering a "new beginning". The US will now play a full part in international talks with Iran over its nuclear programme. But Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has made clear that if dialogue fails, the US will seek tougher sanctions. No results so far. Iwan Morgan: This score is for good intent, but little actually achieved as yet.	****
Middle East	Mr Obama promised that peace in the Middle East would be a top foreign policy aim "from day one". Israeli, Egyptian and Palestinian leaders have been invited to the White House for peace talks; seasoned negotiator George Mitchell has been appointed envoy to the Middle East; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the region herself. US officials have also made diplomatic overtures to Syria, long out in the cold. Iwan Morgan: The US has not done enough to appear an honest broker between Israel and the Palestinians.	**
Arms control	Mr Obama has outlined an ambitious vision of a world free of nuclear weapons. He has called for a global summit on nuclear security, and pledged to reduce the US nuclear stockpile. He and his Russian counterpart have agreed to seek a new arms control treaty. Mr Obama has already stopped funding for a new US nuclear warhead. But he has made clear that the US will keep its arsenal while others have one. Iwan Morgan: Again this score reflects words rather than deeds.	****
Bipartisanship	Mr Obama made a lofty pledge to bridge the bitter partisan divide in Washington, but has only two Republicans in his cabinet. His Republican nominee for the post of commerce secretary refused the job, citing "policy differences". Republicans argue that Mr Obama's choice of Rahm Emanuel as chief of staff - a man they regard as "highly partisan" - was unhelpful. Whichever side is to blame, talk of bipartisanship does not seem to have become reality. Iwan Morgan: US politics is more polarised than at the comparable stage of the Bush presidency - though this is not necessarily Barack Obama's fault.	*

Iwan Morgan is Professor of US Studies and Director of the US Presidency Centre, Institute for the Study of the Americas, University of London.

---

Compared to the first hundred days of LBJ's administration, the actual number of significant laws passed has been paltry. Like LBJ, his party dominates every part of government but the Supreme Court, so it is a surprising lack of accomplishment. I would give him 3's and I's for "incomplete."
Jim, Baltimore, USA

I agree with all the scores given in this article. Overall, I would have to say he deserves a good 4.5 stars out of 5... Considering the enormity of the mess that was left behind by the former admin. He was handed a train-wreck and a lot of broken tools, along with a disorganized crew to 're-assemble' it.

All that, and he is doing a bang-up job of re-initializing healthy relations with the rest of the world. Another train-wreck left to him by the former admin.

4.5/5
Crow, Minneapolis MN, USA

I think Professor Morgan's assessment is more than bit rosy. On Middle East issues he has done nothing or even worse: he hasn't reassured our ally Israel and he hasn't reassured the Palestinians or the Arabs. He is doing exactly what he always does trying to take both sides of the issue and then claim victory with whoever wins. He is completely polarizing; I don't know one conservative who is happy with what he is doing. For everyone's grandiose praise of his presidency and his talking of bipartisanship he has accomplished nothing and is actually even worse he tries to bully the opposition with a grand mandate which isn't true. He won 52% to 48% that is not a grand mandate. The country is bitterly divided and he is the main reason why. He is trying to socialize or even worse bring a form of communism to our country. He doesn't like to be labeled but that is how a lot of people see it.
Kevin N, Herndon, VA

not a bad start for obama.

but i did not see any assessment on his relations with africa or any attempt at tackling africa's poverty.

i feel africa is not in his agenda. too bad i must say.
asieco chuks, Akure, Nigeria

The modern 100-day frenzy to 'get things done', even if they subsequently turn out to have not been thought through in any way, shape or form, brings inevitable comparison with the infamous saga of the Ouzelum Bird.

How pleasant, therefore, to contemplate Mao Tse Tung's alledged remark when asked to comment on the consequences of the French (1789) revolution: 'It's too soon to know'!
Dr Tim Howell, Mohammedia, Morocco

I would not give Obama a high score on any subject. He is trying to turn our country into a socialist government. He will make sure we have no choice in the matter. So far, he has gone gangbusters on every thing, without thinking about what he is doing.
judy, lucas Texas usa

I think he is an honest man with his feet on the ground and an understanding of the ordinary man in the street and the poor image the USA had in world politics under the Bush administration. He needs a strong and loyal team at his side. I think he has got the majority of countries support in the world.

He is a breath of fresh air and I give him 5 stars so far and wish him Luck.
Grahame Smedley, Le Pouliguen, Loire Atlantique, France

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BBC NEWS REPORT.

HELICOPTER ESCAPE FOR CULT LEADER

The two crew members of the hijacked helicopter were unhurt

A convicted sex offender and cult leader has escaped by helicopter from a prison on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion, officials say.

Juliano Verbard, 27, serving a 15-year term, and two followers, were pulled on to the helicopter by three accomplices.

The accomplices had pretended to be tourists when boarding the helicopter, but then forced the pilot to land in the prison grounds before flying off.

They then landed a few hundred metres away, and drove off in a waiting van.

The island's police force said a major search was now under way for Verbard and his fellow prisoners, Alexin Jismy and Fabrice Michel.

Verbard, the leader of the pseudo-religious cult, the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, was jailed in 2008 for rape and sex attacks on children, and the other two for their roles in a kidnap.

At the time of his trial, psychiatrist Gerard Toulfayan described Verbard as an "extremely powerful manipulator with great intelligence".

The two helicopter crew members were unhurt.

The pilot later told a local radio station about the hijacking: "One of them put a gun to my temple while another threatened to set fire to a bottle of petrol he had in his hand with a cigarette lighter."

"You see, they had nothing more to lose. They were ready to blow it up, ready to die."

BBC NEWS REPORT.

SAUDIS CLAMP DOWN ON WOMEN'S GYMS

Saudi women are largely constrained to the home and single-sex environments

Many women-only sports clubs and gyms in Saudi Arabia face closure under a government clampdown on unlicensed premises, Saudi media have reported.

Women's gyms have become popular in the ultra-conservative Muslim country where the sexes are heavily segregated.

But only clubs linked to medical groups can get licenses and others will be closed, the Arab News newspaper said.

Saudi women were reported to have launched an online campaign in protest called Let Her Get Fat.

Government departments are not allowed to issue licenses for commercial gyms and sports clubs for women, unlike facilities for men, the newspaper reported.

It quoted club manager Bader al-Shibani, who tried to open a women's sports club along with the one he runs for men in Jeddah.

"I ran into a stone wall at every turn. Every department I visited denied that they had the authority to give permission to establish a women's club," he said.

Many clubs are registered as beauty salons, and offer fitness facilities and even exercise classes in addition, the newspaper said.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs told the newspaper that commercial clubs do not have registration for the provision of sport and health services.

"It's clear that one department is now taking the decision to put an end to the increasing number of unlicensed clubs," lawyer and community activist Abdulaziz al-Qasim told Arab News.

A group of women launched an internet campaign in protest against the move, saying facilities linked to medical clinics were too expensive, and their health would suffer as a result of the closures.

Women in Saudi Arabia are banned from driving, must wear a head-to-toe cloak when out in public and must obtain permission from a male relative to work, travel, study or marry.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

NAKED SWISS HIKERS MUST COVER UP

By Imogen Foulkes BBC News, Geneva

No more freezing hikes in Appenzell Innerrhoden

The tiny Swiss canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden has voted to prohibit the phenomenon of naked hiking.

Anyone found wandering the Alps wearing nothing but a sturdy pair of hiking boots will now be fined.

Appenzell is considered one of the most conservative regions of Switzerland; it gave women the vote only in 1990.

Locals have been outraged by an apparent upsurge in hikers who think the best way to appreciate the mountains is with their clothes off.

The vote was taken with a show of hands at Appenzell's annual Landsgemeinde, an open-air meeting of all registered voters held in the town square.

Appenzell is one of only two Swiss cantons that still decide local government policy in this way.

There was a big majority in favour of prohibiting naked hiking, and introducing fines of Sfr 200 ($175).

Among local people, it is hard to find anyone who has a good word to say for the hikers.

"I think it's disgraceful," said one elderly gentleman. "God may have created us naked, but he gave us clothes to walk around in." "It's just not right," said a woman. "Not at all appropriate for our country."

Interestingly, however, no-one actually seems to have seen a naked hiker.

"No, I've never seen one," said a local farmer. "Thank goodness, because if I had they would certainly have got a piece of my mind."

Among naked hikers themselves, there is disappointment at what they see as an over-reaction to an innocent hobby which disturbs no-one.

"I'm not out to annoy anyone," insists one of them, who goes by the colourful pseudonym of Puistola Grottenpösch.

Not everone in Appenzeller wants to go nude in public

Puistola and many other naked hikers may be comfortable baring their all up in the mountains, but the controversy in Appenzell has made them very shy about revealing their real names.

"For me hiking naked is all about getting out into natural surroundings, peaceful surroundings, and challenging myself a little bit," says Puistola.

"Of course I meet people from time to time, but they always say hello, sometimes they ask aren't you cold. But they're just as friendly as if I was wearing clothes."

Nevertheless, as Puistola strides along a snowy hiking trail wearing nothing but a hat, gloves, and hiking boots, it's hard to see what the attraction of naked hiking really is.

"Of course the human body needs protection," he concedes. "So right now I'm wearing hiking boots and gloves and a hat, because it's a little bit chilly. And if it's really cold, or windy, or wet, then of course going naked just doesn't work, and I wear clothes just like everyone else.

"But right now it's nice, there is a gentle breeze, and I can feel the Sun on my body; you can't because you're dressed."

Meanwhile some Swiss lawyers are describing Appenzell's decision to prohibit naked hiking as akin to using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

"I estimate there are only around 20 to 25 naked hikers in the whole of Switzerland," says lawyer Daniel Kettiger. "So really arresting them and fining them is a bit silly. And our courts do have better things to do."

What's more, Mr Kettiger points out, Appenzell may have over-reached itself legally in deciding to introduce a prohibition.

"The Swiss parliament voted to remove public nudity from the penal code in 1991," he explains. "So at a federal level, naked hiking is not punishable, and Appenzell's laws are not higher than the federal ones."

But Appenzell is determined to go ahead. The canton has some of the most stunning mountain scenery in Switzerland, and its tourist board has been running a high-profile international marketing campaign, highlighting the beauty of Appenzell's hiking trails.

Tourist officers were concerned to discover that Appenzell was regularly appearing in the internet chatrooms of German nudist groups, describing it as the best place for naked hiking.

The canton was keen to stamp out nude hiking before the summer

This was not the image they were hoping for, and, Daniel Kettiger suggests, it might be the real reason behind Appenzell's ban on naked hiking.

"They really did a great job building up the hiking tourism," he explains. "And I think they fear naked hikers could harm their image. They want to be a Mecca for hikers - but not a Mecca for nude hikers."

Appenzell Innerrhoden's decision is being watched closely by other alpine regions of Switzerland, and the political climate for naked hikers does seem to be turning decidedly chilly.

Neighbouring Appenzell Outerrhoden is also proposing a ban on what local politicians call "shameless behaviour".

And just over the mountains in canton Glarus, there is nervousness that if naked hikers are driven out of Appenzell, they may choose Glarus as their next favourite spot.

But Puistola Grottenpösch and his fellow hikers are defiant, believing they have Swiss federal law on their side.

"We naked hikers have never broken any law with our hobby," he insists. "And we will fight up to the highest federal court for our right to be naked in public, even in Appenzell."

BBC NEWS REPORT.

'I COULDN'T GET OUT OF BED' !

As the UN warns the swine flu outbreak might become a pandemic , Tansy Huws, originally from London but now living in Mexico, contacted the BBC News website to describe her experience of swine flu.

Tansy Huws was prescribed Tamiflu to help relieve her symptoms

I have been living in Mexico for only three weeks. The symptoms started last Sunday when I got home.

From one minute to the next I got nauseous and had very high fever. I just couldn't get out of bed during the whole week.

On Friday night I received a call from a friend wondering why I hadn't been around.

When I told her about the symptoms she told me to call the British Embassy. They told me to call the hospital.

The people at the hospital told me not to take any drugs so that the symptoms were clear and I could be diagnosed.

I went to the hospital on Saturday. There were many people at the hospital waiting to be diagnosed.

The test was very simple - they just asked me questions and measured my blood pressure.

They prescribed me Tamiflu and I am now feeling much better now.

I asked them if it was swine flu but they weren't very clear, the information wasn't very good.

I think swine flu is very different from a normal flu because I just couldn't get out of bed.

I think that the really ill people will not be able to go to hospital, and that the people who are able to go there are the people who don't have swine flu.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

EU SET TO EXTEND BURMA SANCTIONS

By Oana Lungescu BBC News, Luxembourg

Aung San Suu Kyi has been in detention for most of the past 19 years

The EU is to extend sanctions against Burma and renew calls for the release of political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

But at a meeting in Luxembourg, EU foreign ministers are also expected to signal their readiness for high-level talks with Burmese military rulers.

Such talks would depend on signs of any democratic progress, officials said.

The foreign ministers will also discuss the political crisis in Moldova and Croatia's stalled EU membership talks.

EU sanctions against Burma have been in place for three years, including a travel ban on the country's top officials, an arms embargo and a freeze of Burmese assets in Europe.

They were boosted in 2007, after a crackdown on protests by Buddhist monks, to include a ban on exports of timber, metals and precious stones.

Foreign ministers are set to renew them for another year, while calling for the immediate release of over 2,000 political prisoners, including opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

With general elections planned for next year, EU diplomats say Burma is yet to take the steps needed to make them credible and inclusive.

But in a draft statement, the EU has signalled its readiness to respond to any genuine progress, offering the prospect of ministerial talks on the margins of a regional meeting in Hanoi next month.

The foreign ministers will also discuss political crises with neighbouring countries - the violent unrest earlier this month in the former Soviet republic of Moldova which has led to increased tensions with EU member Romania, and Croatia's membership talks, stalled by a border row with Slovenia.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

"Sayings" !

"ONE GOOD FATHER CAN DO MORE THAN

100 SCHOOLMASTERS" !

___________

ODINGA CALLS FOR NEW KENYA POLL

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has said fresh elections may be needed if the rift in the power-sharing government cannot be solved.
He is demanding that he be put in charge of government business in parliament, to replace Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka.
Mr Odinga and President Mwai Kibaki agreed to share power last year to end months of post-election violence.
But relations have soured and the two parties have held crisis talks.
Over the weekend, President Kibaki's Party of National Unity accused Mr Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement of "fomenting a coup".
In response, the prime minister told a meeting of his constituents in Nairobi's Kibera slum:
"We have been pushed around enough. We have reached this point and we cannot retreat. We shall stand firm. If others do not want this then let us go back and hold elections."
The speaker of parliament is due to issue a ruling on Tuesday on who should hold the crucial post of leading government business in the house.
Mr Musyoka heads a third party.
About 1,500 people were killed and 300,000 forced from their homes after Mr Odinga's supporters said he had been cheated of victory in the December 2007 presidential election.
Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan managed to broker a power-sharing deal in February 2008, which ended the violence.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

TOP MILITANT 'ARRESTED IN IRAQ'

TV network Al-Arabiya ran an alleged photograph of the little-known leader

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has said that a man arrested in Baghdad last week is a top figure in the al-Qaeda-related insurgency.

Mr Maliki told the BBC Abu Omar al-Baghdadi had been tracked for more than two months by Iraqi security services.

His arrest was reported last Thursday but the reports were not confirmed.

Baghdadi is a nom de guerre for a shadowy figure thought to lead the Islamic State in Iraq, an umbrella group of radical Sunni factions.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad, Mr Maliki disclosed that a purely Iraqi intelligence operation had tracked the wanted man's movements from the inside.

He had been identified by former close associates who had worked with him, and attended his inauguration as leader of the Islamic State in Iraq, which is affiliated to al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Prime Minister Maliki said Mr Baghdadi was being interrogated, and that the results would be made public.

Abu Omar al-Baghdadi is a shadowy figure - some American commanders have even cast doubt on his very existence, our correspondent says.

The name is a nom de guerre - Iraqi officials say his real name is Ahmad al-Mjamei, though he has also been known under other names.

Jim Muir, BBC correspondent in Baghdad With around 150 people killed in just two days this week, Iraqis are wondering whether the latest attacks herald a return to those black times. Nobody can be sure that they don't. But so far, they are a blip on the screen - a big blip, but not one that takes the country anywhere near back to the levels of violence prevailing two years ago. Read Jim's thoughts in full

The capture or killing of other senior al-Qaeda or related leaders in the past has not on its own made a perceptible difference to the state of the insurgency, our correspondent adds.

The arrest of Baghdadi on Thursday came amid an upsurge of the violence in Iraq.

About 150 were killed in just two days, sparking fears of a slide back into the bloody chaos that was a hallmark of Iraq following the US-led invasion.

Meanwhile on Sunday, a woman was shot dead during a US raid on a house in the southern Iraqi town of Kut in which at least five people were arrested.

The US military said she had been nearby during the operation, and had moved into the line of fire.

But the death was condemned as a crime by the local provincial council, and hundreds of people gathered at the local morgue to protest, reported the Associated Press news agency.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

'ISRAELI ORANGES' FAKED IN CHINA !

By Andre Vornic BBC News

A twist has emerged in the story of Israeli citrus fruit reportedly sold in Iran in defiance of a ban on commercial dealings between the two enemy states.
It has now been revealed the fruit, a type of orange-grapefruit hybrid marketed as Jaffa Sweetie, were not Israeli in the first place.
The Sweeties were brought to Iran from China, where faking the origin of goods is a common practice.
The discovery of apparent Israeli origin caused a stir in Iran.
Outrage followed, distribution centres stocking the fruit were sealed and accusations were traded.
Such is the infamy of dealing with Israel that an Iranian official went so far as to accuse the opposition of a "citrus plot".
However, Tal Amit, the general manager of Israel's Citrus Marketing Board, told the BBC the fruit had not originated in his country.
"First of all, it's a bit annoying that somebody is using our brand name and registered trademark without our permission," he said.

The fruit was packed in boxes marked "Origin China"
"Apart from this, I would like very much the Iranian people to eat Israeli fruit straight from the origin and not via China.
"But the politics is not allowing us to do any commercial relations with Tehran at the moment while back 30 to 40 years ago, Tehran was a superb market for our fruit."
The genuine Israeli Sweetie is primarily exported to the Far East's richest markets, Japan and South Korea.
That could explain the prestige of the fruit in the eyes of Chinese exporters and the temptation to counterfeit it.
It is not the first time, however, that citrus fruit have found themselves at the heart of an international political row.
Back in the 1980s, as the most visible of South Africa's consumer exports, oranges became the key target of anti-Apartheid boycott campaigns.bbc news report.

Q & A : THE NEW CAR SCRAPPAGE SCHEME

The government wants people to scrap their old cars and buy new ones
The chancellor announced a new scheme in the Budget to offer a £2,000 discount when a car which is 10 years old or more is scrapped and a new car bought.
BBC Radio 4's Paul Lewis has examined the detail and explains how you can benefit.
What age does the old car have to be?
The initial documents published with the Budget specified it had to be registered no later than 31 July 1999.
But a spokeswoman for the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform told the BBC that it was intended to include all cars with a T prefix number-plate.
However, the T prefix was used until 31 August 1999, potentially excluding many vehicles registered in that month.
No clarification has yet been issued. Until one is, assume that the old vehicle must have been registered by 31 July 1999 at the latest.

Can I buy a demonstration car?
The car you buy must be brand new and you must be the first registered keeper.
So if the garage has already registered it you cannot buy it under the scrappage scheme.
The car must not be a grey import and must have a UK specification.

Can I swap my son or daughter's old banger for a new car for me?
Not normally. The person buying the new car also has to be the registered keeper of the new vehicle.
So either you have to be the owner of your teenage child's car. Or you have to give them the money to buy the new car.

Can I buy an old banger and then use it to get £2,000 towards a new vehicle?
No. You must have owned the old vehicle for 12 whole calendar months before the new car is ordered.

Is the £2,000 on top of any other discount or the trade-in value of the old car?
No. The rule is that the garage must offer you at least a £2,000 discount, half of which the manufacturer will pay. The government provides the other half.
It is up to the dealer to offer you more than that but the rest will not be subsidised.
As new car sales are down it is worth negotiating for a further discount.

Can the garage sell my old vehicle back to me?
No. The old vehicle cannot be sold to anyone. It has to be scrapped and the government will be checking that they are.

Does it cover motorbikes?
No. The scheme covers cars and light vans up to 3.5 tonnes. You can swap car for car, van for van, or van for car or vice versa.
I have a van for my business. Can I use that?
All private and business vehicles can participate in the scheme as long as they fulfil the other conditions.

I live abroad. Can I bring my car to the UK to take part in the scheme?
No. The car has to be registered in the UK and the registered keeper has to have a UK address.

Can I swap two old cars and get £4,000 off?
No. You can use two qualifying old cars to buy two new cars. But you cannot use more than one old car for one new car.

Will my old vehicle qualify if it is off the road?
Any vehicle must be legal to qualify. So if it is legally off the road with a valid Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) document then it will qualify.
In that case it does not need to have an MOT certificate or insurance. A vehicle that is taxed must be insured and have a valid MOT. Other vehicles will not be eligible.

Do I have to buy a new vehicle which has low emissions?
No. You can buy any new car as long as the manufacturer is participating in the scheme.
No information is available yet as to which manufacturers are but it is expected that all the major mainstream manufacturers will take part.

When does the scheme begin?
It will start around the middle of May and you must wait until it starts to order your new car.
The scheme will end when the £300m set aside runs out - which is 300,000 vehicles scrapped - or the end of February, whichever happens first.

How do I get the discount?
The dealer will sort out all the paperwork and the £2,000 discount will come straight off the price of the car.

This Q&A is based on information provided by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which is responsible for the scheme. The BBC cannot accept any responsibility for their accuracy
BBC NEWS REPORT.

UK SUPER-RICH 'HIT IN DOWNTURN'

The UK's super-rich have seen their wealth fall in the past year during the economic downturn, according to this year's Sunday Times Rich List.
The top 1,000 richest people in the country now have £258bn between them, it estimates - down from last year's record of £413bn.
Over the past 12 months the number of billionaires has fallen from 75 to 43.
Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, and family, are top again with £10.8bn, down a huge 61% from 2008.

"Never in the 21-year history of the Rich List has the collective affluence of those who live and work in Britain fallen by so much," says BBC business correspondent Joe Lynam.
"The super-rich may be better placed to weather the worst recession in 30 years, but if this list is accurate it shows that none are immune from it."

RICH LIST TOP 10
1. Lakshmi Mittal and family, steel (£10.88bn)
2. Roman Abramovich, oil and industry (£7bn)
3. The Duke of Westminster, property (£6.5bn)
4. Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelli, pharmaceuticals (£5bn)
5. Hans Rausing and family, packaging (£4bn)
6. Sir Philip and Lady Green, retailing (£3.83bn)
7. Charlene and Michel de Carvalho, inheritance, brewing and banking (£2.96bn)
8. Sammy and Eyal Ofer, shipping and property(£2.68bn)
9 = John Fredriksen, shipping (£2.5bn)
9 = David and Simon Reuben, property (£2.5bn)
9 = Kirsten and Jorn Rausing, inheritance and investment(£2.5bn)
9 = Joe Lewis, foreign exchange and investment(£2.5bn)

Russian oligarch and Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich is at second place again, although his pot of cash has fallen by 40%, to £7bn from £11.7bn.
Meanwhile across London, fellow Russian billionaire and Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov has seen his fortune drop a massive 74% to £1.5bn.
Completing the bad news for football-related businessmen is Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, who saw his wealth fall by a half from last year, down from £1.4bn to £700m.
Other well-known names have been hit, according to the list.
Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson is reported to have lost 56% of his wealth, shedding £1.5bn and is now worth £1.2bn.
Meanwhile, Formula 1 motor racing chief Bernie Ecclestone lost £934m, leaving him at £1.46bn, the list reported.
The richest British-born billionaire is the land and property owning Duke of Westminster, who has seen his wealth shrink to £6.5bn from £7bn.

In fourth spot are Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelli: the former Miss UK winner and her husband have a £5.6bn fortune based on pharmaceuticals.
Their fortune has shrunk by a relatively modest 12% over the year.
But it is not all gloom - the former boss of supermarket chain Morrisons, Sir Ken Morrison, has seen his fortune increase by 11%, making him worth £1.6bn.
The wealth of Peter and Denise Coates, owners of Stoke-based online sports betting website Bet365, has gone up by 33%, to £400m.
And Harrods boss Mohammed al-Fayed has benefited from a cheap pound - his fortune stands at £650m, up 17% on last year.

BBC NEWS REPORT

TURKEY CRITICISES OBAMA COMMENTS

Barack Obama's words on the day marking the killing of Armenians by Turks in World War I were "unacceptable", Turkey's foreign ministry has said.
Though Mr Obama did not use "genocide", as he did during his election campaign, Ankara said he failed to honour those Turks killed by Armenians at the time.
"Everyone's pain must be shared," President Abdullah Gul of Turkey said.
President Obama described the deaths of the Armenians as "one of the great atrocities of the 20th Century".
He appealed for Turks and Armenians to "address the facts of the past as a part of their efforts to move forward".
The two countries agreed this week on a roadmap for normalising relations.

Armenians remember 1915 killings
In pictures: Gallipoli remembered

While admitting many Armenians were killed, Turkey, a Nato member and key American ally in the Muslim world, denies committing genocide, saying the deaths resulted from wartime fighting.
Armenia has long campaigned for the loss of its people to be recognised as a crime of genocide and it commemorated the event with ceremonies on Friday.

"I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and my view of that history has not changed," Mr Obama said in a written statement.
"My interest remains the achievement of a full, frank and just acknowledgment of the facts."
In a January 2008 statement on his campaign website, Mr Obama wrote: "The Armenian genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion or a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence."
"America deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian genocide and responds forcefully to all genocides," the 2008 statement added.
On Friday, he said the Armenians killed in the final days of the Ottoman Empire "must live on in our memories".
"I strongly support efforts by the Turkish and Armenian people to work through this painful history in a way that is honest, open, and constructive," he added.
That part of the Obama statement was considered positive by Turkey, a key US ally in the region.
But "history can be construed and evaluated only on the basis of undisputed evidence and documentation," Turkey's foreign ministry statement said.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

SABERI 'ON HUNGER STRIKE' IN IRAN

Ms Saberi has appealed against her sentence

An American-Iranian reporter jailed by Tehran for eight years on charges of espionage has gone on hunger strike, her father has said.

Reza Saberi said his daughter Roxana told him she had stopped eating five days ago.

"I'm very worried," he told Reuters news agency.

Ms Saberi was convicted of being an American spy and sentenced behind closed doors by the Revolutionary Court in Tehran a week ago.

She has become somewhat of a cause celebre, with US President Barack Obama expressing dismay at her conviction and rallies called to demand her release.

Mr Obama and Ms Saberi's family have insisted she is not a spy.

But Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has refused to intervene, insisting the courts acted independently and that she will be accorded her full rights.

Ms Saberi has lodged an appeal, which Iranian authorities say will be heard fairly and quickly.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

ANC IS DENIED TWO-THIRDS MAJORITY

The election centre in Pretoria will announce the results formally

The ruling African National Congress (ANC) has won South Africa's general election but failed to obtain a two-thirds majority, final results show.

The party took 65.9% of about 17m votes, the Democratic Alliance (DA) 16.66% and the Congress of the People (Cope) 7.42%, election officials said.

A two-thirds majority in parliament is needed to change the constitution.

The outcome clears the way for ANC party leader Jacob Zuma to become president when parliament convenes.

The ANC lost Western Cape province, centre of the tourist industry, to the DA but it made inroads against the Inkatha Freedom Party in Kwazulu-Natal, home province of Mr Zuma.

The election turnout was 77% - 1% higher than in the 2004 election.

Party leaders are expected to assemble at the national results centre in Pretoria on Saturday afternoon to hear the formal announcement that will mark the end of the 2009 election.

The ANC won 69.69% of the vote in the last election in 2004, when it was led by Thabo Mbeki, and 66.35% in 1999.

ELECTION RESULTS ANC: 65.90% Democratic Alliance: 16.66% Cope: 7.42%. Votes counted: 17.68m Turnout: 77.3% Source: IEC In pictures: ANC celebrations Can ANC deliver on its promises?

ANC spokesman Ishmael Mnisi attempted to downplay the drop in support of nearly 4%, saying: "We don't read much into percentages."

He repeated that the party did not intend to change the constitution therefore it did not need a two-thirds majority.

During the election campaign, DA leader Helen Zille had urged South Africans to deny the ANC a two-thirds majority, arguing that the party would use it to protect Mr Zuma from new corruption charges.

Mr Zuma denied having any such plans.

Previous charges of corruption against him were dropped just two weeks before the poll after state prosecutors said there had been political interference in the case.

The challenges which confront Mr Zuma now include a struggling economy and soaring violent crime.

The BBC's Africa analyst, Martin Plaut, says the ANC leader is still something of an enigma - part Zulu traditionalist, part international leader who jets around the world.

During the fight against apartheid Mr Zuma was head of internal security for the ANC, when some people were killed and some tortured.

It is not clear how much he knew or sanctioned, says our correspondent.

But Mr Zuma is also a skilled conciliator, credited with ending the political violence in KwaZulu-Natal and helping to bring peace to Burundi.

Helen Zille, who received a hero's welcome in Cape Town, told the BBC the opposition had managed to reduce the ANC's grip on the country.

Celebrations in South Africa ahead of the ANC election victory

"The results are very good for South Africa," she told Focus on Africa.

"They are very good for democracy. The ANC is below the two-thirds majority they need to adversely change the constitution. The Democratic Alliance has grown by more than 30% nationally and we have doubled our vote in the Western Cape, where we've won the province which is wonderful."

Ms Zille said earlier the party would be looking to form a coalition.

Analysts say this is likely to be with Cope, formed by dissident ANC supporters of former President Thabo Mbeki who resigned last year after losing a power struggle with Mr Zuma.

African Union observer mission head Salim Ahmed Salim said the poll had been free, fair, transparent and credible.

Its vibrancy "had done honour not only to the people of South Africa but to Africa as a whole", he said.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

ZIMBABWE - LETTER FROM THE DIASPORA

24th April 2009

Dear Friends,

A magnificent photograph (UK Independent 23.04.09) of a long, winding queue outside a polling station in a Johannesburg township on Polling Day in South Africa is a reminder - if any were needed - of how ordinary African people value their democratic rights. We have seen such queues in Zimbabwe, too, but tragically we have not experienced the democratic change that the people voted for. By the time the results were announced we knew yet again that elections in Zimbabwe can never be free or fair while Robert Mugabe is in power. While we may disagree with the people's choice of leader in South Africa, we cannot fault the democratic process that took place in our powerful neighbour just over the border from the brutal and undemocratically elected rule of Robert Mugabe.

Neither is the existence of a Government of National Unity in Zimbabwe any guarantee of a democratic future for the country. Political expediency may keep the MDC in the Unity Government but there few signs that true justice and democracy will emerge from this enforced arrangement. Talk from MDC commentators of GNU being the only 'game in town' ie. that there's no choice other than this present arrangement, suggests that issues of justice and human rights are a long way down the list of priorities. It seems that the MDC's only priority right now is to keep the so-called Unity government in place regardless of the blatant breaches of the Global Agreement by Robert Mugabe. " Be patient" MDC supporters are urged, it takes time to change things. Perhaps the top leadership and all those MP's and Ministers who have jumped on the Zanu PF gravy train need to be reminded that people dying of cholera, AIDS or just plain starvation – in or out of prison - do not have the time to wait for the government to sort out the mess left by years of Mugabe's misgovernance and widespread corruption. Neither are there signs of Zimbabweans in the diaspora retuning to the motherland in any great numbers, persuaded that a GNU signals a brighter future. The truth, as I see it, is that if the MDC has no meaningful power to change anything then there seems little point in being there, walking the corridors of power with men who have no intention of sharing real power with them.
Just a glance at some of the events of the last few weeks illustrates my point. On Independence Day, with Morgan Tsvangirai sitting alongside him on the podium, Mugabe said of the (continuing) land grab that it was one of his major achievements, "We have resolved the long outstanding land question and the land now belongs to its rightful owners, and with it our sovereignty as well." With breath-taking complacency he concluded, "Our people are happy and contented and that is all that matters." 'Our people' presumably refers to his Zanu PF supporters; certainly none of my personal correspondents are 'happy and contented' with the situation. While they may accept that the MDC was forced into this marriage of convenience, the evidence on the ground is sickening proof that the MDC is powerless to change anything.
It was another photograph, in The Zimbabwean this time, of the Deputy Prime Minister, Arthur Mutambara visiting the besieged commercial farmers that seemed at first sight to suggest a genuine attempt by the MDC and various assorted ministers to restore the rule of law on the farms. The delegation saw for themselves the evidence of looting and vandalism, they saw the agony in the faces of the farmers and their wives, they saw the bewildered children whose lives have been disrupted forever by gun-toting men acting on behalf of top Zanu PF ministers to 'reap what they did nor sow'. Still the delgates did nothing, apart from delivering a pious little homily about living together peacefully with the invaders. After the visit, Mutambara is said to have commented that it was enough for him to see the situation for himself, it was not necessary for him actually to do anything about it! No sooner had the delegation left than the invaders were back to their bad old ways. The poster on the farm gates of one farm said it all; 'Our Land, Our Sovereignty' said the words in front of Mugabe's clenched fist.

And the farmers and farm workers, languishing in gaol on ludicrous charges such as 'kidnap' or 'disorderly conduct', are they 'happy and contented'? The workers shot by the police, are they 'happy and contented' as Mugabe would have us believe? Chris Dhlamini and Ghandi Mudzingwa guarded in their hospital beds - despite being released on bail - by thugs in uniform, are they 'happy and contented'? Dhlamini's sworn affidavit to the Human Rights Forum detailing his torture in prison, graphically illustrates the lengths Mugabe and his cohorts will go to retain power.

Yet even that evidence, has not persuaded the MDC to do the right thing. The people are entitled to ask what has happened to the moral foundations on which the Movement for Democratic Change was built? Has the MDC become so blinded by the trappings of power that they no longer recognise evil when they see it? It is getting harder for people on the ground to see the difference between the two parties. Remember how Animal Farm ends and you'll see what I mean!

Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH.

10 THINGS

10 things we didn't know last week

Snippets from the week's news, sliced, diced and processed for your convenience.

1. Five trees make an orchard.
More details

2. Matthew Parris once ran the London Marathon in 2hrs 32m, the fastest by an MP.
More details

3. Paper can be made from wombat excrement.
More details

4. Robin Hood had no Maid Marian in the early days.
More details

5. British consumption of poultry increased 25-fold between 1950 and 2000.
More details

6. Video Killed the Radio Star was inspired by a JG Ballard short story.
More details

7. Wine varies in taste from day to day.
More details

8. French women are the lightest in the EU. British women are the heaviest.
More details (The Independent)

9. The Sun is dimmest it has been for a century .
More details

10. There's a swear word in The Beatles' Hey Jude.
More details (The Times)

BBC NEWS MAGAZINE !

YAHOO PULLS THE PLUG ON GEOCITIES

Yahoo paid $3.57bn for GeoCities in 1999

Yahoo is to close its personal web hosting site GeoCities later this year.

In a statement, the firm says it will no longer be accepting new customers and will focus on helping "customers build new relationships online".

Yahoo bought GeoCities for $3.57bn at the height of the dotcom boom in 1999.

At its peak, GeoCities boasted millions of active accounts, but it has since fallen out of fashion, with users migrating to social networking sites.

Yahoo says that existing GeoCities accounts will remain live for now, although it stresses that users should start looking for alternative sites.

"You don't need to change your service today, but we encourage anyone interested in a full-featured web-hosting plan to consider upgrading to our award-winning Yahoo! Web Hosting service," the firm said in an online post.

The closure of GeoCities spells the end of Yahoo's free hosting, although other services - such as e-mail accounts - remain unaffected.

Rupert Goodwins, editor of the ZDNet website, said the closure of GeoCities was the end of an era.

"I think GeoCities was the first proof that you could have something really popular and still not make any money on the internet.

"It was a fascinating experiment in the pre-industrial era of the internet, but after the initial exuberance on what the web could do, it turned out to be more complicated than just giving them free hosting.

"You need to give users tools to actually do things and make things simple, one of the reasons sites like Facebook and MySpace are so popular," he said.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

RUSSIA MILITARY SPY BOSS 'SACKED'

Gen Korabelnikov had led the Main Directorate of Intelligence since 1997

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has dismissed the head of the country's powerful GRU military intelligence service, the Kremlin has said.

Mr Medvedev signed a decree on Friday replacing Gen Valentin Korabelnikov with Gen Alexander Shlyakhturov. Officials gave no reason for the move.

Gen Korabelnikov had led the Main Directorate of Intelligence since 1997.

He reportedly tendered his resignation earlier this year over objections to proposed reforms of the agency.

The Main Directorate of Intelligence (GRU) of the General Staff is Russia's largest intelligence agency. It is believed to have six times as many agents in foreign countries as the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), one of the successors to the Soviet KGB.

In a statement on Friday, the Kremlin announced that President Medvedev had signed a decree that "released" Gen Korabelnikov from his post and from military service.

The GRU is said to have a massive worldwide spy network

The BBC's Richard Galpin in Moscow says this is potentially one of the most significant decisions Mr Medvedev has taken since being sworn in almost a year ago.

It reinforces statements he made last month that he intends pushing ahead with a major overhaul of the armed forces despite opposition from some senior officers, and that those who do stand in the way such as the military intelligence chief risk being swept aside, our correspondent says.

Gen Korabelnikov had been the head of military intelligence for 12 years and was a four-star general.

Analysts say the 63-year-old was one of the main opponents of the planned military reforms, which could see the Russian armed forces shrink from 1.3 million serving men and women to one million.

The majority of those cuts would come from the officer corps, which could see the loss of around 200,000 posts, including many generals.

Some of the proposed reforms were said to have included the disbanding of several GRU-controlled army special forces (Spetsnaz) brigades and the redistribution of the command of some GRU structures to the SVR.

Gen Korabelnikov is reported to have submitted his resignation in protest last November. When rumours again circulated in March, defence officials announced that his term of service had been extended by two years.

The Russian armed forces could see its manpower reduced by up to 300,000

Unnamed GRU sources told Russian media that one of the reasons why the general's resignation had not been accepted at the time was that many of his deputies had refused to assume his post.

The Kremlin said the new GRU chief, Gen Shlyakhturov, had been one of Gen Korabelnikov's deputies. He is reportedly seen by some in the military as a more compliant figure who may not challenge ministers.

Although President Medvedev has insisted that the reforms of the military will go ahead, it is not clear when, our correspondent says.

The country is in the grip of a severe economic crisis which has already seen millions of people thrown out of work, he adds.

In a separate development, three districts in Chechnya have been officially designated zones of counter-terrorist activity only a week after Russia said it had ended its decade-long military campaign against separatist rebels in the southern republic.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

CHINA SCHOOL ADMITS FOOTBALL SCAM

A Chinese principal has admitted that the school football team which won an international contest was stuffed with national squad players.

Only three of the players actually attended Daping high school for girls in the south-western city of Chongqing, Chinese media said.

Principal Zhang Jianling has now made a public apology for the scandal.

The team won the trophy 12 days ago, beating a German team in the final. Officials say they will hand it back.

According to International School Sport Federation rules, all players taking part in the tournament must be enrolled at the school they are representing.

Reports said the team had been stacked with players from the national youth team and other top teams.

Mr Zhang, who faces disciplinary action, initially denied cheating, the China Daily newspaper said, but had now taken full responsibility.

"In order to have a best result in the tournament, we used other members in the team without making it known to superior government and the public," the newspaper quoted him as saying.

"What we have done goes against sportsmanship and has undermined the image of our city as well as soccer's development in China.

"We sincerely apologise for what we have done."

Chinese sport has been hit by numerous allegations of cheating through falsification of credentials.

Bone tests on teenage athletes in Guangdong province in March found that more than 3,000 were older than their registered age.

And at last year's Olympics in Beijing, some of China's gold-winning gymnasts were alleged to be below the minimum age of 16, though they were later cleared of any wrongdoing.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS"

"DO WHAT YOU CAN

WITH WHAT YOU'VE GOT,

WHEREVER YOU ARE" !

________

FURY OVER GURKHA SETTLEMENT PLAN

Joanna Lumley expresses her anger at the decision

Campaigners have reacted with anger to new rules on the eligibility of Gurkha veterans to live in the UK.

The Home Office said that new rules would allow about 4,300 more to settle, but the Gurkha Justice Campaign said it would be just 100.

Actress Joanna Lumley, a campaigner for the Gurkhas, said the announcement made her "ashamed of our administration".

Immigration Minister Phil Woolas denied he had betrayed the Gurkhas, adding: "This improves the situation."

He said: "It has never been the case that all Gurkhas pre-1997 were to be allowed to stay in the country. With their dependents you could be looking at 100,000 people.

"It's simply not true that we have betrayed the Gurkhas. When people read the guidelines they will see the sense of them."

In September 2008, the High Court ruled that immigration rules denying Gurkhas who retired before 1997 - about 36,000 - an automatic right to stay in the UK were unlawful.

Peter Carroll, from the Gurkha Justice Campaign, said the fight to allow them to stay in this country would continue with renewed vigour.

If they want Gurkha soldiers, they should treat them equally Dhan Gurung Ex-Gurkha Lumley tears over Gurkha cause

He added: "The one group of people that has never let this country down has been let down today in a manner which is truly appalling."

David Enwright, a solicitor representing the Gurkhas, said: "This government, Mr Woolas, should hang their head in shame so low that their forehead should touch their boots.

"This is a disgrace and a betrayal of our armed forces and our veterans."

Dhan Gurung, the first ex-Gurkha to be elected as a councillor in the UK, said the announcement was "insulting to loyal Gurkhas".

He added: "If they want Gurkha soldiers, they should treat them equally."

But Prime Minister Gordon Brown insisted that the new rules were fair.

Mr Brown added: "There used to be a bar at 1997, but we've moved that right back to make it possible for people to live in this country."

Gurkhas have been part of the Army for almost 200 years and are hand-picked from a fiercely-contested recruitment contest in Nepal to win the right to join.

They have seen combat all over the world, with 200,000 having fought in the two world wars and 45,000 believed to have lost their lives fighting for Britain.

SETTLEMENT CRITERIA Three years continuous residence in the UK during or after service Close family in the UK A bravery award of level one to three Service of 20 years or more in the Gurkha brigade Chronic or long-term medical condition caused or aggravated by service Gurkhas who retired before 1997 must meet at least one of these conditions

The regiment moved its main base from Hong Kong to the UK in 1997 and the government had argued that Gurkhas discharged before that date were unlikely to have strong residential ties with the UK.

That meant those who wanted to settle in the UK had to apply for British residency and could be refused and deported.

Mr Woolas outlined the eligibility criteria in a written ministerial statement. Gurkhas and their families will be allowed to stay in the UK if they meet at least one of five requirements.

These are three years of continuous residence in the UK, close family in the country, 20 or more years of service, a level one to three bravery award, and a serious medical condition caused or aggravated by service.

Alternatively, veterans can gain residency if they meet at least two of an additional set of three criteria.

These are having been awarded an MoD disability pension but no longer having a chronic condition, having been mentioned in dispatches, and 10 years' service or a campaign medal.

But Ms Lumley, whose father served with the Gurkhas, said most Gurkhas would not have been allowed to stay in the UK for three years or have gained a bravery award.

ALTERNATIVE CRITERIA Awarded a UK MoD disability pension but no longer have a chronic medical condition Mentioned in dispatches Service of 10 years, or a campaign medal for active service Gurkhas who retired before 1997 must meet at least two of these conditions

She added that only officers would have achieved 20 years of service, and that it would be near-impossible for troops who served in the 1950s and 1960s to prove that their medical conditions were caused by their time in the forces.

"They've given five bullet points that virtually cannot be met by the ordinary Gurkha soldier," she said.

"It is so obvious that the treatment of the Gurkhas has been a huge injustice," she said.

"To treat them like this is despicable."

The Home Office said that as a result of the decision, a total of 4,300 Ghurkas who served prior to 1997 would be eligible for residency.

A spokesman added there were currently 1,300 applications outstanding, 300 of which would now be granted.

In September, Mr Justice Blake ruled that instructions given by the Home Office to immigration officials were unlawful and needed urgent revision.

He said the Gurkhas' long service, conspicuous acts of bravery and loyalty to the Crown all pointed to a "moral debt of honour" and gratitude felt by British people.

The government promised to revise its guidance, but in March 2009, the Gurkhas returned to the High Court to try and enforce the ruling.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

TAMIL HUNGER STRIKE IN THIRD WEEK

By Ray Furlong BBC Radio 4's PM programme

Tamil protester Mr Subramaniam began his hunger strike on 7 April

Huddled under blankets in the middle of London's Parliament Square, a lone Tamil protester is starving himself to death - and as he explains in a voice weakened by hunger, he is not afraid.

Protests in Parliament Square are not supposed to be allowed, but it has not stopped Tamils mounting a demonstration there for nearly three weeks.

They want the British government to intervene and push for an end to the civil war in Sri Lanka.

And in the middle of it, lying in a tarpaulin bivouac and unable to lift his head is 28-year-old Prarameswaran Subramaniam.

"I want freedom for my people," he explains, his voice weak and cracked. "And the price for that freedom? - my life."

Mr Subramaniam's resolution seems to come from living through years of conflict in Sri Lanka - and also from personal tragedy.

When I was in Sri Lanka I was always close to death, every day Prarameswaran Subramaniam MPs to debate Sri Lankan conflict

"My whole life I am suffering at the hands of the Sri Lankan government and army. In '87 my dad was killed by the Sri Lankan navy, and now 25 days ago my family were killed by poison gas, chemical weapons," he says.

"I was held for nearly two years in jail without any reason."

I interview Mr Subramaniam lying on my side, leaning on one arm and holding my microphone with the other.

I am near enough to hear him over the roar of London traffic, and also to see the fading light in his eyes.

He says he came to London two months ago, but will not explain under what circumstances for fear that those who helped him could be arrested, tortured and killed.

So did he plan to mount a hunger strike in London?

"I always wanted to do something for my people. If I take up arms the government will call me a terrorist, if I do a hunger strike in Sri Lanka they will just say I have saved them a bullet," he explains.

Mr Subramaniam is not the first Tamil hunger striker. In 1987 Amirthalingam Thileepan, a leading member of the Tamil Tigers - or Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) - starved himself to death.

And Mr Subramaniam, who says he is not an LTTE member, says others may follow.

"It's bad if people go on hunger strike after me, but I can't stop them," he says. "Doing a hunger strike is hard, it's painful, but when no-one is listening to us we can't do anything else. "Now you are here. Before, we did demonstrations and you didn't come and report our opinions. But now you are here - after I started the hunger strike."

I ask Mr Subramaniam whether he is afraid of dying.

He says: "No, no, no, I'm not worried - because I saw many thousands of deaths of friends of mine. That means livers, kidneys and stomachs coming out, people dying, right in front of my eyes.

"When I was in Sri Lanka I was always close to death, every day."

Still, at 28 years old, he is a young man.

"But others, younger, are also dying: even children in their mother's stomachs. No-one can imagine these things," he says.

When we finish speaking he closes his eyes and seems to fall asleep. The crowd of Tamil protesters are chanting demands for a ceasefire - also one of Mr Subramaniam's conditions for ending his hunger strike.

But the Sri Lankan government has resisted these calls, arguing that they would merely allow the LTTE to regroup.

It accuses the LTTE, which the British government also regards as a terrorist organisation, of causing civilian casualties by holding people as human shields.

The LTTE is fighting for a separatist state in the north and east of the island.

As Mr Subramaniam lies with his eyes shut, the chants go on, the police stand watch, and black cabs and open-top tourist buses pass by. And in Sri Lanka the fighting continues.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

HEZBOLLAH TV SELLER JAILED IN US

Prosecutors said Iqbal was supporting terrorism by broadcasting al-Manar

A Pakistani man living in the US has been jailed for nearly six years for transmitting a television channel run by Lebanon's Hezbollah movement.

Javed Iqbal was accused of using his satellite TV company to distribute the al-Manar channel. The US has designated Hezbollah a terrorist organisation.

He pleaded guilty to the charges, saying he had "made a mistake".

The defence had said Iqbal did not support Hezbollah and the broadcasts were a small part of his business.

Prosecutors said Iqbal, 45, used his New York-based HDTV Ltd business to broadcast al-Manar for several months between 2005 and 2006.

They said the channel had paid him for doing so and that he then sold the service on to US customers.

"He was, in a very real sense, Hezbollah's man in New York City," said Assistant US Attorney Eric Snyder.

But Iqbal's defence lawyers said he had not profited from the service and had no ideological connection to Hezbollah.

"This is someone who made bad judgments for a reason that had nothing to do with terrorism or supporting terrorism and he paid a very high price for it," said lawyer Joshua Dratel.

"He is a businessman and sought to provide services he thought would generate profits," he said.

Mr Dratel said the Hezbollah broadcasts had been "one discreet and narrow aspect" of a channel which had also broadcast Christian programmes and adult entertainment.

In a statement read to the court, Iqbal, who is married with five children and a sixth due in July, said he was hurt "financially, emotionally and physically" by the case, and asked for leniency.

"I am a human being and human beings make mistakes," he said.

His lawyers had said the case was a violation of Iqbal's right to free speech.

The US added al-Manar to its list of terrorist organisations in 2004, saying anyone who "solicits funds or other things of value for al-Manar" would face prosecution.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

GERMAN COUPLE 'RAN OUT OF MONEY'

Ina Caterina Remhof could face charges for abandoning children

A German couple who abandoned three young children in an Italian pizzeria on Sunday have told police they fled because they had no money, reports say.

Ina Caterina Remhof, the 26-year-old mother, and her partner Sascha Schmidt, 24, said they had to eat scraps of food from bins, the Ansa news agency said.

The pair were found on Thursday in a wood near the northern town of Aosta.

The two left the restaurant in Aosta, supposedly for a cigarette, but never returned. The children are now in care.

Arrangements are being made to take the children - believed to be aged four, two and eight months - back home to western Germany, where they may be placed in their grandmother's care.

Police had been combing the Aosta valley before the couple were found by a patrol on Thursday afternoon.

Investigators had feared they would not be found alive, as their car was also abandoned, along with a diary detailing financial problems.

Staff at the Aosta pizzeria only realised they had vanished after 10 minutes

"They immediately asked about the children, but were sure that they were in a safe place," Ansa quoted local police official Salvatore Aprile as saying.

The two "seemed almost relieved that their flight was over," he said, though Ms Remhof was said to have started crying when told her children would probably be taken away from her.

The Italian newspaper, La Stampa, quoted Ms Remhof as saying that she and her boyfriend had left for a holiday in Italy with 900 euros (£815) but had quickly run out of money.

They decided to leave the children when they started crying because "they didn't have anything to eat", Ansa quoted her as saying.

She reportedly said that she had been confident the children would be "sent back to Germany, and I would have found them again when I got up some money".

Italian prosecutors have said Ms Remhof could be charged with the offence under Italian law of abandoning a vulnerable person. German officials have said her parental rights may be withdrawn.

German police have said that Mr Schmidt was on the run after not returning to prison while on parole, while the children's biological father is serving a prison sentence for fatally mistreating a fourth child he had with Ms Remhof.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

MUSIC GIANTS 'FORTUNES DWINDLE'

Sir Elton John remains in eighth place, despite his changing fort

The wealth of most of Britain's top music millionaires has fallen by at least 10%, according to the Sunday Times' annual rich list.

Singer Sir Elton John, for example, has seen his wealth drop 26%, from £235m in 2008 to £175m in 2009.

Sir Paul McCartney is worth £440m, down from £500m, while pop mogul Simon Fuller has £300m, after losing £150m.

Elsewhere the combined wealth of Cheryl and Ashley Cole sees them rated fourth in a list of young music millionaires.

Welsh pop star Duffy has also joined the wealthy young elite, her £4m fortune seeing her rated joint 16th in the rundown.

Katie Melua and Amy Winehouse fare less well, however, their respective wealths down 44% and 50% on last year's estimates.

Former record label boss Clive Calder remains top of the Sunday Times' main music list, his £1.3bn fortune putting him comfortably ahead of nearest rival Lord Lloyd-Webber.

Sir Paul comes third, with fourth place held by theatrical impresario Sir Cameron Mackintosh, whose estimated wealth of £350m marks a 22% fall on last year's valuation.

THE MUSIC MILLIONAIRES RICH LIST 2009 1. Clive Calder (£1.3bn) 2. Lord Lloyd-Webber (£750m) 3. Sir Paul McCartney (£440m) 4. Sir Cameron Mackintosh (£350m) 5. Simon Fuller (£300m) 6. Sir Mick Jagger (£190m) 7. Sting (£180m) 8= Sir Elton John (£175m) 8= Keith Richards (£175m) 10= Olivia and Dhani Harrison (£140m) 10= Sir Tim Rice (£140m) Source: The Sunday Times

The plummeting value of property investments and share portfolios is the main reason for stars faring so poorly.

Ian Coxon, who edited the list, said stars like former Take That member Robbie Williams, who relied on investments for their wealth, had been hardest hit.

"Robbie Williams is run as a business, and there has been a profit fall in 2007, so that's had a knock-on effect," he said of the singer, who has lost £25m over the year according to the list.

"He's never quite fulfilled the promise that he had a few years ago," Mr Coxon added.

But it is not all bad news. Pop mogul turned TV talent show judge Simon Cowell continues to prosper, his estimated wealth of £120m representing a 7% increase on last year.

Mamma Mia! producer Judy Craymer has also seen her stock rise, the huge success of her Abba film musical swelling her bank balance by 29%, to £79m.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

OUTRAGE OVER CHINESE POLICE GUIDE

Extracts from what appears to be a government manual telling law enforcers how to use violence have caused outrage among internet users in China.
Details from the guide were published online and in a state newspaper.
One passage advises: "Take care to avoid leaving blood on the subject's face or visible wounds on the body."
The official who circulated the extracts said he thought much of the guide was useful but some parts were inappropriate.
Zhao Yang, a local law enforcement official, told the Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper he had posted the manual online after buying a copy at a government bookshop.
The newspaper, which is owned by a local branch of the Communist Party but has a reputation for outspokenness, says it has confirmed that the document is genuine.

Mr Zhao said he thought most of the guide was practical and useful but some sections had left him shocked.
The guide is aimed at local government enforcers known as "Chengguan" who are employed to deal with low-level crime such as checking permits and removing unlicensed street vendors.
Chengguan personnel are often used by local officials as trouble-shooters and their reputation with the public has suffered as a result of a number of violent incidents.
They have often been accused of using excessive force.
Last year four Chengguan in central China beat a man to death after he used his mobile phone to film a confrontation between villagers and officials.
The death triggered protests and sparked a nationwide call for a rethink of the Chengguan's role.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

RACISM CONFERENCE GROUPS EXPELLED

Protesters wearing wigs disrupted Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech

The UN has expelled three groups from an anti-racism conference in connection with a speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The groups - two Jewish and one Iranian - had been expelled for "unacceptable behaviour", a spokesman said.

Mr Ahmedinejad's speech, in which he called Israel a racist regime, overshadowed the five-day conference.

As he was delivering it, a pair of protesters dressed in wigs threw red noses at him while others shouted.

The speech also prompted EU delegates to walk out of the conference.

The groups banned from the event are the French Union of Jewish Students (UEJF), Coexist - a non-governmental organisation affiliated to UEJF - and the Iranian Neda Institute for Political and Scientific Research, UN spokesman Rupert Colville said.

The head of the UEJF, Raphael Haddad, was one of the two people who staged a protest in rainbow-coloured wigs amid shouts of "racist" and "shame", AFP news agency reported.

He and his fellow protester were removed from the conference hall by security guards.

There was cheering and applause from others in the hall.

The Neda Institute had distributed inflammatory material to conference participants, Mr Colville said.

Mr Ahmadinejad spoke on Monday at the start of the five-day conference, which is being held in Geneva.

He said that after World War II Western nations had made Palestinians homeless "by exploiting the Holocaust and under the pretext of protecting the Jews".

Jewish migrants, he said, had been sent from Europe and the US after World War II "in order to establish a totally racist government in the occupied Palestine".

The UN subsequently said that Mr Ahmadinejad had dropped language from his speech describing the Holocaust as "ambiguous and dubious".

The speech attracted widespread criticism, including from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Iran said the criticism was "one-sided".

The US, Israel and other states had boycotted the conference over the presence of Mr Ahmadinejad, who had previously denied the Holocaust.

On Tuesday, conference delegates including Iran adopted a resolution against racism that included a statement that "the Holocaust must never be forgotten".

BBC NEWS REPORT.

SEEING RED IN RURAL THAILAND !

By Lucy Ash BBC Radio 4, Crossing Continents

As they prepared to descend on the capital Bangkok for recent protests, supporters of ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra raised money and morale in the red-shirts' heartland in the north-east of Thailand.

Seeing red in rural Thailand

The field outside the radio station is the size of two football pitches and it is crammed with tables.

Red tables, of course, with red table cloths.

People keep arriving with sacks of rice and big baskets of mangoes and chillies. Outside the studio, an army of women chop and slice vegetables.

They laugh and sing as they work. Everyone seems in high spirits.

As the sun goes down, the place fills up. Nearly everyone is wearing red T-shirts. It is a hot, sticky evening but on stage the lycra-clad dancing girls perform a frenetic number in knee-high boots.

Behind them there are massive posters of two men: on one side Thailand's former PM, Thaksin Shinawatra and on the other, the host of tonight's party, Kwanchai Paipanna, the head of the Udon Lovers community radio station.

Kwanchai, a large man with a matching voice, is the local Mr Big - one of the most influential men in the town of Udon Thani. He was once a successful DJ and record producer promoting 'Luk Tung', Thai country music.

"I am a child of the field," he says. "I never used to take any interest in politics."

Supporters of the Red Shirts at the Udon Lovers fund-raising party

He tells me that he only set up this radio station three years ago, to counteract what he regarded as propaganda from the yellow-shirt movement, as it pushed to get rid first of Mr Thaksin himself and then the subsequent pro-Thaksin governments.

"After Thaksin came to power, everything changed. We found we could work together to effect change in our local areas in ways we had never done before," he says.

"But after Thaksin was deposed, things began sliding backwards," he adds.

"Our hands were freed and then it felt as if they'd been tied up again. But now the whole country is hooked up to the internet and villagers have learned how to communicate with each other. Thanks to Thaksin people here understand they have a part to play in the political system."

We are in the poorest part of Thailand, a forgotten backyard of muddy streams and rice fields which stretch as far as the eye can see.

Udon Thani is a drab place which only gets a fleeting mention in tourist guides. Yet, politically, the north east is very much on the map.

This is the land of the red-shirts - the home turf of those activists demanding the dissolution of Thailand's parliament and new elections.

They claim that the current government is illegitimate. It came to power on the back of the yellow-shirt demonstrations last year.

The red-shirts also accuse the country's elite - the military, judiciary and other unelected officials - of undermining democracy by interfering in politics.

The Udon Lovers party is being held to celebrate the third birthday of the radio station but it is also a giant fundraiser.

Each table seating 10 costs 2,000 baht ($56) and for many people here that is a fortune - more than half of what they make in a month. Yet all 430 tables were sold out in advance. The money, says Kwanchai, will be used to hire buses to take thousands of red-shirted protesters to a big demonstration in Bangkok.

Away from the stage I came across Noong Lak, a demure lady in her 50s. She and her sister had made a long journey to join the festivities.

DJ Hong Tong is one of the stars of the Udon Lovers community radio station

"We had to sell all our rice to come tonight," she says. "Maybe later we won't have enough to eat. We might have to catch frogs or live off fish but we wanted to support our radio station.

"Now the government only looks after the rich - it doesn't care about poor people like us."

Many of the villagers say they are sick of being treated as stupid by "southerners" in Bangkok. They are particularly incensed by the charge made by some of their opponents that they are not well enough educated to decide who should lead the country.

"The elite, they think people up here are sub-human," says Dr Weng Tojirakarn, a national red-shirts leader who has dropped in on the festivities. "That's why they call us buffaloes."

The party guests at the radio station include many poor rice farmers and factory workers but there are also young professionals, business people and students.

At one of the tables I meet Ploy, a young woman with a red ribbon in her hair.

She has just graduated from a university in Chon Buri, south of Bangkok, where she had to keep a low profile as the only red-shirt in her class.

"Many people hate Thaksin and say he is a thief," she says. "But he is the first prime minister who has given something back to this country.

"Perhaps he is corrupt - I don't know. Everybody in power is corrupt but he at least gave some benefits to the poor".

The morning after the party as scores of volunteers begin a massive clean up, Mr Kwanchai takes me on a tour. He wants to show me how the village loan scheme introduced by Mr Thaksin has improved the lives of local people.

Kwanchai Paipanna, the head of the Udon Lovers community radio station

Pichit Pimar and a handful of other farmers used the cheap credit to set up a lucrative business growing mushrooms. He says they are now gradually paying back the loan.

He takes me inside a structure made of bamboo with a corrugated iron roof where thousands of creamy brown mushrooms with delicate stems are sprouting in moist bags of soil. In the UK, this exotic variety commands a high price in supermarkets.

"I earn twice as much as I used to. Before, I lived in a tiny house and I picked up odd jobs. Now I have a decent sized house and a car," he says.

Mr Pichit is particularly proud that he can now afford to send his son to college to study engineering. Nobody in his family has ever gone on to higher education before.

Another measure introduced by Mr Thaksin's government is the 30 baht healthcare scheme. Under the scheme, hospitals are obliged to treat patients for a flat charge equivalent to just less than a dollar per visit.

While some villagers say this has saved lives, critics claim it is a populist stunt which has bankrupted hospitals and failed to deliver proper treatment.

The arguments about Mr Thaksin - the great hero for some and the corrupt, autocratic crook for others - are a reflection of the extreme polarisation of this country.

On my last day in Bangkok, I bumped into Mr Kwanchai behind the stage at the main rally site around Government House. He was jubilant having arrived at dawn with 5,000 supporters from Udon Thani.

Ultimately despite their huge turnout and all the fiery rhetoric, the red-shirts failed to reach their goal. When the military intervened they called their protest off.

Now many of the leaders have gone into hiding, including Mr Kwanchai.

As for his station, the day after the crackdown, the police arrived to remove all the broadcasting equipment. For now at least the Udon Lovers have been silenced.

---

Crossing Continents: Thailand is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday, 23 April 2009 at 1100 BST and repeated on Monday, 27 April at 2030 BST.

You can also listen to Crossing Continents on the BBC iPlayer or subscribe to the podcast .

BBC NEWS REPORT.

MARA WILDLIFE IN SERIOUS DECLINE !

By James Morgan BBC News

Numbers of giraffe in the Masai Mara fell by more than 80%

Wild grazing animals in Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve are steadily disappearing, a study has found.

Numbers of giraffe, warthog, impala, topi and hartebeest fell by 50% or more between 1979 and 2002.

The falls are linked to rapid growth of Maasai settlements around the reserve, say scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

Their analysis is published in the British Journal of Zoology.

"The situation we documented paints a bleak picture and requires urgent and decisive action if we want to save this treasure from disaster," said Joseph Ogutu, the lead author of the study and a statistical ecologist at ILRI.

"These trends are clearly linked to the increase in human settlements on lands adjacent to the reserve."

The loss of grazing animals is already having an impact on lions, cheetahs, and other predators, according to researchers.

"The carnivores which depend on these wildlife are the first casualties," said Dr Ogutu.

"The numbers of lions are going down. The cheetah numbers are declining. The wild dogs in the Mara system have become extinct."

The Masai Mara and the neighbouring Serengeti are world-famous for their exceptional wildlife population - including an annual migration of nearly two million wildebeest.

Lion numbers are declining in the Mara as their prey disappear

The Mara itself was recently voted one of the "seven modern wonders of the world".

But during recent decades, many species have come under threat from severe droughts, increased poaching, and more intensive grazing by Maasai pastoralists in the "ranchlands" at the fringes of the reserve.

Between 1989 and 2003 the ILRI scientists carried out monthly ground counts of seven ungulate species - giraffe, hartebeest, impala, warthog, topi, waterbuck, and zebra.

They found significant declines in giraffe, impala and topi, and even greater declines in warthog and hartebeest.

The trends they observed are backed up by a separate, aerial count of wildlife undertaken between 1979 and 2002, by the Kenyan government Department of Resource Surveys and Remote Sensing.

By 2002, numbers of giraffe in the reserve had fallen to 20% of their 1979 levels, the bulk of those losses occurring before 1989.

Topi and hartebeest in the reserve fell to less than half their 1979 levels, and almost disappeared in some of the neighbouring ranchlands where they once grazed.

Impala fell by 70% in the Mara itself, while warthog fell by more than 80%, although their numbers appeared steady since 1989.

The wildlife losses were most pronounced in the areas where human settlement has increased, even after factoring out the influence of drought.

Maasai have traditionally lived in harmony with wild animals

"Wildlife are constantly moving between the reserve and ranchlands, and they are increasingly competing for habitat with livestock," said Dr Ogutu.

"In particular, more and more people in the ranchlands are allowing their livestock to graze in the reserve - an illegal activity the impoverished Maasai resort to when faced with prolonged drought and other problems.

"The steady erosion of wildlife habitat caused by this intrusion is a key factor in the declines we observed.

"And since 2002 [when the survey ended] the number of settlements, human population and agriculture have continued to expand, so the declines can only be expected to accelerate."

Traditionally, most Maasai were semi-nomadic herders who co-existed easily with the wildlife in the region.

In the right circumstances, Maasai settlements can actually benefit populations of wild grazing animals, the researchers have found.

This is because human settlements can act as safe havens for wild grazing animals because human activity repels lions and other predators.

"The traditional livestock livelihoods of the Maasai, who do not consume wild animals, actually helped maintain the abundance of grazing animals in East Africa," said co-author Robin Reid, of Colorado State University in the US.

Maasai do not always benefit from the revenue the Mara wildlife tourism brings

"And where a pastoral approach to livestock grazing is still practiced, it continues to benefit wild populations."

But the growing communities of pastoralists and their exclusion from development of land policies have made their traditional way of life difficult to maintain.

Over the last few decades, many Maasai have left their traditional mud-and-wattle homesteads, known as bomas, and gravitated to more permanent settlements - a large number of which now crowd the "ranchlands" at the border of the reserve.

In just one of these ranchlands, the Koyiaki ranch, the number of bomas surged from 44 in 1950 to 368 in 2003, while huts increased from 44 to 2,735 in number.

As these permanent settlements increased, the abundance of wildlife decreased significantly, researchers note.

The ILRI scientists are helping to promote schemes where Maasai living next to game reserves receive rent payments from private game lodges in return for allowing wildlife to continue to roam on their property.

In one such conservancy, at Olare Orok, the numbers of lions "increased almost immediately", said Dr Ogutu.

"We know from thousands of years of history that pastoral livestock-keeping can co-exist with East Africa's renowned concentrations of big mammals. And we should look to these pastoralists for solutions to the current conflicts," said Carlos Seré, ILRI's Director General.

"With their help and the significant tourism revenue that the Mara wildlife generates, it should be possible to invest in evidence-based approaches that can protect this region's iconic pastoral peoples as well as its wildlife populations."

BBC NEWS REPORT.

IRAQ: SUICIDE BOMBS KILL SCORES

The Baghdad bomb hit families waiting for food aid

Scores of people have been killed in two suicide bombings in Iraq.

In Baghdad, a suicide bomber killed at least 28 people - detonating a belt of explosives as police distributed aid to a crowd of homeless families.

At least 48 people, among them Iranian pilgrims, died when another suicide bomber blew up a restaurant in Baquba, in the north-east, officials say.

Violence has fallen sharply in the last year but insurgents continue to carry out attacks across Iraq.

Officials in Baghdad said the suicide bomber there infiltrated the crowd of displaced families as they received supplies from police in a square near the city centre.

The people had been made homeless by the sectarian conflict which erupted following the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.

At least five children were among the dead and more than 50 people were wounded, police say.

One man, injured by shrapnel from the blast, said a fire erupted as he waited for a bus.

Issam Salim, 35, told Associated Press news agency: "I turned around as I fell to the ground and saw a big fire break out with black smoke.

"Women and children are crying from pain beside me in the hospital. Some of them suffered burns."

In Baquba, in Diyala province, at least 48 people died when a suicide bomber struck a roadside restaurant packed with Iranian pilgrims, military officials said.

About 63 people were injured, and the restaurant demolished.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says if the casualty figures in Baquba are confirmed, it will make this the deadliest such attack so far this year.

Diyala has remained one of the two main areas of Iraq which have defied all efforts to bring them under control, our correspondent says

Meanwhile, Iraqi media quoted security officials saying they had arrested Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the purported leader of the al-Qaeda in Iraq network.

However, defence ministry spokesman Maj Gen Mohammed al Askari told the BBC "we're not sure" when asked about the arrest.

On Wednesday, the US Department of Defense's top Middle East adviser said insurgent attacks would probably increase as US forces started to leave, but added that there was no plan to delay troop departures.

US President Barack Obama says the Pentagon will withdraw all but 35,000 to 50,000 troops from Iraq by the end of August 2010.

A joint security agreement requires all US troops to be out of Iraq by the end of 2011.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

ANC LEADS IN S. AFRICAN POLL !

ANC leads in South African poll

Jacob Zuma looks poised to take the country's highest office

Early results have given South Africa's ANC a big lead in the general election, paving the way for controversial party leader Jacob Zuma to become president.

Supporters were invited to celebrate, though results suggest the ANC will fall short of the two-thirds majority needed for constitutional amendments.

With a third of votes counted, it had 65% to 18% for its nearest rival, the Democratic Alliance (DA).

The newly formed Congress of the People (Cope) was being given just 8%.

A Cope leader was shot dead but the vote appeared otherwise peaceful.

The final, official results will not be known for days but the margin of the ANC's victory may become clearer later on Thursday.

Charges of corruption against Mr Zuma were dropped just two weeks before the poll after state prosecutors said there had been political interference in the case.

With parliament electing the president, it looks likely that an ANC-controlled assembly will emerge to pick Mr Zuma as the country's leader next month.

Cape upset

ANC supporters were invited to celebrate the result on Thursday afternoon in the Library Gardens area of Johannesburg.

RESULTS SO FAR ANC: 65% Democratic Alliance: 18% Cope: 8% Polling stations declared: 35% Turnout: 77% Source: IEC In pictures: South Africa votes The shape of a Zuma presidency

"The ANC invites fellow South Africans to attend this celebration to share the joy of having achieved a strong mandate to consolidate the gains made during the past 15 years," the party said in a statement.

Monday's poll was the country's fourth, and most competitive, general election since the end of apartheid 15 years ago.

Turnout was comparable to the last general election in 2004, when it was 76% and the ANC won 70% of the vote.

Voting was extended in some areas because of the long queues and a shortage of some polling materials.

Results are still expected from many big townships, where the ANC is expected to do well, but the party appears to have suffered a reverse in the area around Cape Town.

With many votes still to be counted, it is already clear that half of the Western Cape province's voters have opted for the DA, led by Helen Zille.

This is a considerable setback for Mr Zuma whose party has controlled all the country's nine provinces until now and could justifiably claim to speak for all parts of South Africa, BBC Africa analyst Martin Plaut reports.

It is now clear that the DA will take this province even if it has to do so in coalition with another party, he adds.

Ms Zille is already mayor of Cape Town and draws much of her support from the area's large white and mixed-race communities.

Before the election, she urged South Africans to vote to prevent the ANC retaining its two-thirds majority, saying the party might then change the constitution to prevent new charges being brought against Mr Zuma.

Mr Zuma has always denied having any such plans.

In Eastern Cape province, where Cope was expected to do well, the new party was being given just 11% of the vote.

JACOB ZUMA Served 10 years for ANC membership during apartheid era Regarded as a populist who appeals to the left Dogged by corruption and sex scandals Aged 66; Zulu; known popularly as JZ; has at least two wives Profile: Jacob Zuma

A Cope official in the province, Gerlad Yona, was shot and mortally wounded when three armed men attacked his home, a party spokesman said.

Nkosifikile Gqomo said the party believed the attack was linked to politics.

Cope was formed by ANC dissidents who supported former President Thabo Mbeki, who resigned last year after losing a power struggle with Mr Zuma.

Many of the new voters were young people who had little memory of the struggle to end white minority rule, which brought the ANC to power.

"We are entering a post-liberation era," independent political analyst David Monyae told Reuters news agency.

"People are talking about new issues and challenges and there's also a new generation that's not attached to the liberation struggle."

Mr Mbeki has denied accusations that his government used the courts to try and prevent his rival rising to the presidency.

Mr Zuma was also charged with rape but acquitted in 2006.

Analysts say Cope's emergence energised the early stages of the election campaign but the party's popularity seems to have diminished in recent weeks.

Cope fielded a relatively unknown presidential candidate, former Bishop Mvume Dandala who, analysts say, has struggled to make an impact.

Some say the real battle is between Cope and the Democratic Alliance for second place, which the DA seems to have won.

Analysts say the two parties could enter into a coalition after the election, which could present a real threat to the ANC's continued dominance of South Africa.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

"Sayings"

"EVERY MAN IS A MOON, AND HAS A DARK SIDE,

WHICH HE NEVER SHOWS TO ANYBODY" !

__________

500,000th heart pacemaker fitted

Watch the 500,000th pacemaker operation to take place in the UK - Dr Mark Gallagher, a Consultant Cardiologist, talks through the procedure.

The 500,000th pacemaker operation in the UK has taken place - at the same hospital, St George's, London, which carried out the first such procedure in 1958.

However, experts warn that although the UK was one of the first countries in the world to start implanting pacemakers, it has now fallen behind other European nations in the use of the devices.

Mrs Trudie Lobban, founder of the Arrhythmia Alliance said: "Although implants have increased in the UK by 5% each year, we need an increase of 15% per annum to be in line with European implant rates by 2016.

She added: "100,000 sudden cardiac deaths occur in the UK every year, yet 80% of these could possibly be avoided if diagnosed and treated appropriately."

Pacemakers over the years - the very first to the most recent

"While the device costs approximately £15,000, which is a large start-off expensive, over the long-term they pay their way when compared to a lifetime on drug therapy and restoring the patients quality of life.

"New technology has further helped reduce costs, doctors are now able to monitor patients remotely via a telephone link reducing the number of follow-up visits to the clinic."

Communication technology is just one of the advances of today's pacemakers.

Previously the size of the devices meant they had to be worn, normally around the neck, with connecting wires into the heart to deliver electrical impulses. The earliest pacemakers were even plugged into mains electricity, leaving patients stuck in hospital and at the mercy of the electricity supply.

The first implanted pacemaker in the UK was the size of a pram wheel. Now devices are smaller than a matchbox and weigh between 20 to 50 grams. Today, pacemakers are software controlled allowing them to be programmed from a small external computer and their batteries last seven years without a recharge.

The 500,000th fitting was one of the latest generation of pacemakers, a biventriucular ICD. It was received by Karl Sidhu from Camberley, Surrey, to resynchronise his heart muscle function, which was not working as well as it should after a series of heart attacks.

The beginning - a wearable pulse generator from 1958

As well as preventing his heart from going to slowly, the pacemaker will improve coordination between the upper and lower chambers, and right and left sides of the heart.

Dr David Ward, the Senior Consultant Cardiologist at St George's hospital said: "Implanting pacemakers has become almost routine in the UK, but there is nothing routine about it for patients.

"Mr Sidhu represents one of the tens of thousands of people in Britain who have had their lives improved thanks to a pacemaker and this milestone should be celebrated."

BBC NEWS REPORT.

CHINA PUTS NAVAL MIGHT ON DISPLAY

By Michael Bristow BBC News, Qingdao

China shows off naval power

China is staging a military parade to celebrate its navy's 60th anniversary - and show the world its latest warships.

A least one of the country's nuclear-powered submarines is on display at the naval parade, being held in the port city of Qingdao.

Twenty-one foreign naval vessels from 14 countries are also taking part, including the US, France and Russia.

Military analysts say the event will allow the rest of the world to see how China has developed its naval forces.

China has put some of its most advanced warships on display

Chinese sailors laid out a red carpet in front of the Chinese destroyer Shijiazhuang that took the country's president, Hu Jintao, out to sea for the parade.

"Both now and in the future, no matter to what extent we develop, China will never seek hegemony," state media quoted him as saying.

A total of 25 ships and 31 aircraft from the People's Liberation Army Navy were involved in the event.

Joining President Hu on the destroyer were military officials from nearly 30 countries - many of whom had the chance to tour a Chinese submarine, a destroyer and a hospital ship.

Flag Lieutenant Ollie Hucker, of Britain's Royal Navy, said he was impressed with what he had seen.

"In some ways we are jealous of their capabilities," he said, adding that it was clear that China wanted to become a major naval power.

"The global high seas are somewhere they need to make sure they can protect. The sea is where most of the trade routes are," he said.

Ordinary people also attended the parade, despite the biting wind in Qingdao.

This is the first time the country has put on such a big parade so I really wanted to come and see it Shi Huijuan

Carrying binoculars, they lined the city's waterfront from early in the morning to get a glimpse of the parade, most of which took place at sea out of view.

Some said they were proud to see that China now had advanced warships to match the country's growing global importance.

Shi Huijuan came from Shanghai to see the parade. "This is the first time the country has put on such a big parade so I really wanted to come and see it," she said.

China appears to have become more assertive in the waters off its coastline over recent years.

Earlier this year, five Chinese vessels were involved in a stand-off with a survey ship from the US navy off China's Hainan Island.

But the diplomatic row that followed did not stop the US from sending two ships to take part in the Qingdao parade.

"Our goal has always been to maintain and develop military-to-military relations," said a US Embassy spokesman in Beijing.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

RICE APPROVED CIA WATERBOARDING

Al-Qaeda suspect Abu Zubaydah was waterboarded more than 80 times

The CIA's use of waterboarding to interrogate terrorism suspects was approved by Condoleezza Rice as early as 2002, a senate report reveals.

As national security adviser, Ms Rice consented to the harsh interrogation of al-Qaeda suspect Abu Zubaydah, the Senate Intelligence Committee found.

Memos released last week show that he and another key detainee were subjected to waterboarding 266 times.

Former Vice-President Dick Cheney has said the techniques produced results.

The latest details were revealed in a timeline of the CIA's interrogation programme produced by the US Senate Intelligence Committee.

It shows Ms Rice and other top Bush administration officials were first briefed about "alternative interrogation methods, including waterboarding", in May 2002.

BUSH-ERA INTERROGATION Waterboarding: Aimed at simulating sensation of drowning. Used on alleged 9/11 planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Insect: Harmless insect to be placed with suspect in 'confinement box', suspect to be told the insect would sting. Approved for Abu Zubaydah, but not used Walling: Detainee slammed repeatedly into false wall to create sound and shock Sleep deprivation: Detainee shackled stading up. Used often, once for 180 hours Q&A: Waterboarding

The CIA is reported to have wanted to use the techniques to interrogate Abu Zubaydah, who was captured in Pakistan in March 2002.

In a meeting with the then-CIA Director George Tenet in July 2002, Ms Rice "advised that the CIA could proceed with its proposed interrogation" of Zubaydah, subject to Justice Department approval, the report says.

A year later, the CIA briefed officials including Ms Rice, Mr Cheney and Attorney General John Ashcroft on the use of waterboarding and other methods.

The officials "reaffirmed that the CIA program was lawful and reflected administration policy", the Senate report says.

CIA memos released by President Barack Obama's administration last week revealed that Zubaydah was waterboarded at least 83 times and self-confessed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad 183 times.

Other interrogation methods mentioned in the memos include week-long sleep deprivation, forced nudity and the use of painful positions.

Former Vice-President Dick Cheney has called for the release of additional documents that he said would show what the techniques yielded.

Earlier this week, President Obama left open the possibility of prosecuting officials behind the CIA's harsh interrogation techniques, saying it would be up to the attorney general to prosecute.

He had been criticised by human rights groups and UN officials after saying, when the memos were released, that CIA personnel working from Bush administration legal opinions would not face prosecution.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

BNP LEADER DEFENDS POLICY ON RACE

Mr Griffin hopes to become the British National Party's first MEP.
British National Party (BNP) chairman Nick Griffin has defended a party leaflet which says that black Britons and Asian Britons "do not exist".
The BNP's "Language and Concepts Discipline Manual" says the term used should be "racial foreigners".
In a BBC interview, Mr Griffin said to call such people British was a sort of "bloodless genocide" because it denied indigenous people their own identity.
Mr Griffin is standing in the European Parliament elections in June.
The BNP manual, leaked to an anti-fascist group and seen by the BBC, says that "BNP activists and writers should never refer to 'black Britons' or 'Asian Britons' etc, for the simple reason that such persons do not exist".

LISTEN TO THE REPORT
Thursday 23 April, 2009, BBC Radio 4 at 2000 BST
Or download the programme podcast

"These people are 'black residents' of the UK etc, and are no more British than an Englishman living in Hong Kong is Chinese.
"Collectively, foreign residents of other races should be referred to as 'racial foreigners', a non-pejorative term... The key in such matters is above all to maintain necessary distinctions while avoiding provocation and insult."
The manual describes the BNP's "ultimate aim" as the "lawful, humane and voluntary repatriation of the resident foreigners of the UK".
Commenting on the leaflet's content, Mr Griffin told The Report on Radio 4 that although "in civic terms they are British, British also has a meaning as an ethnic description".
"We don't subscribe to the politically correct fiction that just because they happen to be born in Britain, a Pakistani is a Briton. They're not; they remain of Pakistani stock.
"You can't say that especially large numbers of people can come from the rest of the world and assume an English identity without denying the English their own identity, and I would say that's wrong," he added.
"In a very subtle way, it's a sort of bloodless genocide."
Mr Griffin was also candid about the significance the BNP places on the slogan "British jobs for British workers".

The Prime Minister Gordon Brown famously used the phrase in a speech about skills training.
Mr Griffin claimed the prime minister borrowed the rhetoric from his party.
"When I heard Gordon Brown use our slogan - British jobs for British workers - I was delighted," he said.
"What Mr Brown actually meant when he said British jobs for British workers is of course down to Mr Brown.
"But there's no doubt that it was perceived - and was intended to be perceived - by millions of ordinary Brits as meaning that they would be at the front of the queue in front of economic migrants from anywhere else in the world."
"So having raised our slogan, promised it, we feel that he's legitimised our message."
'Pernicious'
Hazel Blears, secretary of state for Communities and Local Government, said she rejected Mr Griffin's charge that the prime minister's use of the phrase represents an endorsement of BNP policy.
"I certainly regret the fact that the BNP could be using language we've used in order to legitimise what I regard as divisive, pernicious policies which will actually do working class people no good at all," she said.
"What I don't regret is the fact that we need to have a proper discussion in this country about making sure that British people have a chance to get the skills, the education, to be able to get the jobs of the future."
The "British jobs for British workers" slogan was widely repeated during the BNP's recent council by-election campaign in Moston in Manchester, where the party's candidate, local publican Derek Adams, came second.
Moston is in the North West region, where the BNP hopes its supporters will elect Mr Griffin as the party's first MEP in the European Parliamentary elections on 4 June. Nominations close on 7 May.
Under the proportional representation system used in European elections, the BNP would need around 9% of the vote; in the last elections the party won 6.4%.

The Report broadcasts on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday 23 April at 2000 BST. You can also listen via the BBC iPlayer or download the podcast.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

DARLING UNVEILS 50% TAX RATE !

Alistair Darling has announced a new top tax rate of 50% for those earning more than £150,000 from next April.
The chancellor unveiled the measure after delivering a stark Budget report on the state of the UK economy.
He said debt would hit a record £175bn this year and the economy shrink 3.5% - its worst performance since 1945.
But he is gambling on a swift recovery and unveiled measures including a £2,000 "car scrappage" scheme aimed at kick starting industry.
He is predicting the economy will start to grow again at the end of this year.
But Conservative leader David Cameron said his speech revealed the "utter mess" the prime minister had made of the economy.

KEY POINTS
50% tax rate for earnings over £150,000
Growth forecast revised down
Borrowing increased
£15bn 'efficiency savings'
Clawing back tax relief on top earners' pension
£2bn help for young unemployed
£1bn to boost housing market
Car scrapping scheme

Watch live: Video and text
At-a-glance: Budget 2009

He added that Mr Darling had not done enough to get spending under control and "Britain simply cannot afford another five years of Labour".
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg described the Budget as a "mish mash of recycled announcements from a government skilled in raising false hopes and incompetent at delivering real help".
The new top rate of tax is a change of plan from the pre-Budget report last year in which Mr Darling had proposed a new tax rate of 45%.
It is also being brought in a year earlier than planned "to pay for additional support for people now".
BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson said Labour had ditched its manifesto pledge not to raise income tax before the next election in an effort to "wrongfoot" its opponents and cheer its core supporters.
It also wanted to raise money, "although the Institute of Fiscal Studies has questioned whether increasing the top tax rate will raise much".
In other Budget measures, petrol duty will increase by 2p per litre in September and then by 1p a litre above inflation each April for the next four years.
Alcohol duties will go up by 2% - about 1p a pint - from midnight. There will be an increase in tobacco duty of 2% from 6pm - adding about 7p to a packet of 20 cigarettes. Mr Darling said these measures will raise more than £6bn by 2012.
That would help pay for a real terms boost in pensioners' income - including new pension recognition for grandparents who care for their grandchildren - and help for savers with ISAs.
Jobs
There will also be more help to get people back into work quickly and support businesses and homeowners facing problems.
Everyone under the age of 25 out of work for 12 months or more will be offered a job or a place on a training scheme. In addition, the government will create or support up to 250,000 jobs in deprived areas.

Mr Darling also announced an expansion of sixth form and further education places.
In his speech, Mr Darling confirmed the worst year for the economy since the Second World War with a 3.5% decline in 2009 - far worse than his pre-Budget forecasts.
Public borrowing will also soar to record levels as the Treasury wrestles with a toxic combination of falling tax receipts, higher spending and the cost of bank bail-outs.

But he made clear his plans depended on a rapid economic bounce-back - with a forecast of 1.25% growth next year rising to 3.5% in 2011.
And he admitted that the economy would first face of period of deepening deflation with the Retail Price Index falling to a low of minus 3% by September.
There was grim news on the jobs front ahead of the Budget, with unemployment figures showing the number of people looking for work has reached 2.1 million - its highest level since Labour came to power in 1997.
Meanwhile, official figures showed that public borrowing soared to a record £90bn in the last financial year - almost 6.2% of national income and far higher than the £78bn prediction made by Mr Darling in his pre-Budget report last November.
Mr Darling is expected to plug part of the gap in the public finances with £15bn of "efficiency" cuts from 2010 - after the next election - provoking anger from public service unions.
He also announced he was extending the Stamp Duty holiday on properties sold for less than £175,000 until the end of the year as part of a £1bn package aimed at boosting house sales and building.
BBC NEWS REPORT

US FREDDIE MAC CHIEF FOUND DEAD

The acting chief financial officer of struggling US mortgage giant Freddie Mac has been found dead, police say.
Fairfax County Police said there was no foul play suspected in the death of David Kellermann, found in his home 20km (13 miles) west of Washington DC.
The 41-year-old had been Freddie Mac's chief financial officer since September, having worked for the company for 16 years.
Police did not confirm reports that he had committed suicide.
Mr Kellermann's job included responsibilities for the company's financial controls, financial reporting and tax.

He also oversaw the company's annual budgeting and financial planning processes, according to his company biography.
Freddie Mac and sister company Fannie Mae underwrite more than half of all US mortgages.
The death is the latest blow for Freddie Mac, after Chief Executive Officer David Moffett resigned last month after just six months in the job.
In March Freddie Mac revealed a loss of $50.1bn (£36.1bn) for 2008, and said it planned to ask the US government for another $31bn of aid.
The company received $13.8bn in federal aid last year.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

OBAMA INVITES MIDDLES EAST HEADS

Mr Obama said it was necessary to 'step back from the abyss'

US officials say the leaders of Israel, Egypt and the Palestinians have been invited for talks in Washington in a new push for Middle East peace.

PM Benjamin Netanyahu, President Hosni Mubarak and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas have been asked to the White House for talks likely by early June.

The peace process has been beset by conflict and adversity which President Barack Obama has pledged to address.

There is no indication the Arab and Israeli leaders will meet directly.

Mr Obama's spokesman Robert Gibbs said the visits were likely to take place before the president's scheduled trip to France on 6 June.

"With each of them the president will discuss ways the United States can strengthen and deepen our partnerships with them, as well as the steps all parties must take to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians and Israel and the Arab states," Mr Gibbs told a news conference.

He said the invitations had been extended after Mr Obama met Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday.

Mr Obama has "invited other key partners in the effort to achieve a comprehensive peace in the Middle East to the White House in the coming weeks".

He added: "We are actively working to finalise dates for the visits."

Mr Obama's envoy George Mitchell has made several trips to the region, meeting Israel's recently installed prime minister, who Arab critics have characterised as an opponent of a negotiated peace settlement.

Speaking to reporters after talks with King Abdullah II, Mr Obama said there was "profound cynicism" surrounding the peace process.

"Unfortunately, right now what we've seen not just in Israel, but within the Palestinian territories, among the Arab states, worldwide, is a profound cynicism about the possibility of any progress being made whatsoever.

"What we want to do is to step back from the abyss, to say, as hard as it is, as difficult as it may be, the prospect of peace still exists, but it's going to require some hard choices."

He added that he hoped "gestures of good faith" would be made "on all sides" in the coming months, although he did not specify what those gestures would be.

The US supports a two-state solution, with Israel existing peacefully alongside a Palestinian state.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

LONG QUEUES AS S. AFRICA VOTES !

Former South African President Nelson Mandela casts his vote

South Africans have been queuing to vote in what is likely to be the most competitive general election since the end of apartheid in 1994.

Many voters were wrapped in blankets, hats and scarves on a chilly day and turned out hours before booths opened.

Former leader Nelson Mandela, 90, was among those voting.

The ruling ANC - led by Jacob Zuma - is expected to win, but it could lose its two-thirds majority in parliament which allows it to change the constitution.

Among its rivals is a new party - Congress of the People (Cope) - formed last year by a group who split from the ANC after ex-President Thabo Mbeki was replaced as leader.

Some 20,000 polling stations are being used for more than 23 million registered voters.

BBC correspondents around the country reported lively groups of voters braving the wintry weather to cast their ballots.

Your pictures: At the polls

Many voters arrived hours before polling stations opened - some wrapped in blankets, clutching mugs of hot drinks.

By midday, most of the main political figures had voted.

Mr Mandela had already pledged his support to the ANC at a rally last week, but Mr Mbeki was widely rumoured to be considering backing Cope.

After casting his vote in Johannesburg, Mr Mbeki did not confirm the speculation, saying: "People should vote for who they want, not out of fear, but for the party they believe will deliver the South Africa they want."

In a polling station queue, leader of the official opposition Democratic Alliance party, Helen Zille, told the BBC that South Africans needed to "stop Zuma to save the constitution".

"He's a one-man constitution-wrecking machine and what he says and what he does are two different things," she said.

POLL IN NUMBERS 23m registered voters 19,700 polling stations 9,130 candidates - 3,511 female 2,000 soldiers deployed 4,000 local observers, 153 from abroad Special report: South Africa election Q&A: General elections Zuma 'the victim' to win the day Send us your comments

The alliance has repeatedly suggested that if the ANC retains its two-thirds majority, it might change the constitution to protect Mr Zuma from prosecution - claims he has denied.

Voting in his home state of KwaZulu-Natal, Mr Zuma told cheering supporters: "When I grew up, I did know that this day would come.

"This makes me feel great and it's a feeling far different from the one that we had under the apartheid government."

Charges of corruption against Mr Zuma were dropped just two weeks before the poll, after state prosecutors said there had been political interference in the case.

Many of the new voters are young people who have little memory of the struggle to end white minority rule, which brought the ANC to power.

One first-time voter, Bhekisa, was among the first at the polling station in Johannesburg City Hall.

"It's so cold today, you can see it's freezing. But I am excited because I am here," he said.

Voters in South Africa give their views on the most competitive elections since the end of apartheid In pictures

While another, Pam Morris, said she was keen to vote for a change.

"That is what we have to look for every day. Change. A better life," she said.

Analysts say Cope's emergence energised the early stages of the election campaign, but the party's popularity seems to have diminished in recent weeks.

Cope fielded a relatively unknown presidential candidate, former Bishop Mvume Dandala, who analysts say has struggled to make an impact.

Some say the real battle is between Cope and the Democratic Alliance - for second place.

Neither party has ruled out entering into a coalition after the election.

An opposition coalition would provide the biggest challenge to the ANC since it was first elected in 1994, ending years of white minority rule.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

CAR LOST AT SEA AFTER FERRY SLIP

A car ran off the ferry slipway at Sandbanks and is lost at sea

An absent minded driver was left red-faced when his car rolled off a ferry slipway and into the sea in Dorset.

Emergency services were alerted when passers-by saw a partially submerged car at Sandbanks, Poole, at 0812 BST.

When a lifeboat crew arrived they were met by the driver of the Smart car coupe who had left his vehicle on the slipway before wandering off.

The man said he had used the handbrake, and confirmed to police no-one was in the car. The car has not been found.

Lifeboats could not locate the vehicle, and believe it was swept out to sea.

A lifeboat spokeswoman said the car had entered the water from the north side of the chain ferry crossing at Sandbanks which links Poole with Studland.

"A volunteer crew arrived on scene expecting the worse preparing to search for a body when the driver of the car appeared on the chain ferry slipway.

"It appears he left the car to go to the shop or loo and the car rolled into the water," she added.

Dorset Police were alerted when the partially submerged vehicle was spotted floating past the Haven Hotel in Poole.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

LUXURY WOOL SUIT SOLD FOR £70,000

The suit was made from rare wools blended with pashmina

A suit made from "the world's most expensive wool" has been sold to a mystery buyer for £70,000.

It took more than 80 hours to make the one-off suit from Arctic wool, qiviuk, and rare South American wool, vicuna.

Designer Alexander Amosu said: "I firmly believe that in the wake of the recession, there is still a demand for uncompromising quality."

The suit, which has 18-carat gold and diamond buttons, is due to be delivered to its buyer at a central London party.

It was made with 5,000 individual stitches, equivalent to £14 a stitch.

The qiviuk and vicuna wools were blended with pashmina to create a cloth known as Vanquish II.

Mr Amosu, who made his fortune by composing and selling mobile telephone ringtones, specialises in designing luxury fashion and technology products.

"We might not be catering to everyone, but the people who buy Alexander Amosu want to wear the very best suits in the world," he said.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

INDIAN MAOISTS FREE SEIZED TRAIN

Maoist rebels were blamed for several attacks during the first round of polls

Maoist rebels who seized a train carrying several hundred passengers in eastern India have released them, police say.

Up to 250 rebels took over the train as it travelled through Jharkhand state and forced it to stop in a remote town.

They held the passengers for a short time but then withdrew. A Maoist spokesman there was no plan to cause harm and it was a symbolic gesture.

It came a day before the second round of voting in India's general election.

The rebels have asked people to boycott the polls, which are taking place until 13 May.

At least 17 people were killed in attacks blamed on Maoists during the first stage of the election last week.

The train was seized at 0830 local time (0300 GMT) as it passed through a remote part of the state.

Just over three hours later the Maoists freed the hostages and retreated back into the jungle, police told the BBC.

A Maoist spokesman, Gopal, told the BBC: "This was a symbolic gesture, no intention to cause harm to passengers and anyway it is very hot here."

The hostage-takers were reportedly protesting against the death of five villagers allegedly shot by troops last week.

The troops said the five were local Maoists, who were killed during a clash following an attack in which two soldiers died.

Maoists operate in 182 districts in India, mainly in the states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal.

This is not the first time rebels have seized a train in the area. In March 2006 they seized a train in Latehar, also in Jharkhand, taking many hostages - but freed them 12 hours later.

Jharkhand is rich in minerals and forest resources, but its people are among the poorest in India. The rebels have a presence in 18 of the state's 22 districts.

The rebels say they are fighting for the rights of poor peasants and landless workers.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS"

"WHEN ANGRY, COUNT FOUR:

WHEN VERY ANGRY, SWEAR" !

________

GERMAN STAR IN HIV CASE RELEASED

Her lawyers say there is no proof Nadja Benaissa infected anyone

A singer from the German girl band No Angels arrested on suspicion of infecting a partner with HIV has been released from custody.

Prosecutors say Nadja Benaissa, 26, had unprotected sex with three men without informing them she was infected, and that one later tested positive himself.

Ms Benaissa's lawyers said she should enjoy the presumption of innocence.

A spokesman for a court in the town of Darmstadt said her release was subject to certain undisclosed conditions.

Ms Benaissa was arrested in Frankfurt 10 days previously, before she was due to perform in a solo concert.

The prosecutor's office in the western town of Darmstadt said she had been detained because of the "urgent suspicion" that she slept with three people between 2004 and 2006, without telling them she was HIV-positive.

She reportedly faces a possible charge of grievous bodily harm.

But her lawyers note that there is no proof that she infected anyone.

Benaissa was chosen to join No Angels in 2000 through the TV casting show Popstars.

The group recorded a series of hits and emerged as Germany's most successful girl band.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

CHAVEZ EFFECT CREATES BESTSELLER !

A book which the Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez presented to US President Barack Obama at the Americas summit has become a bestseller in just two days.
The book, Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent, was ranked 54,295 on the sales charts of bookseller Amazon.com.
Now, it has risen to number two.
Written by Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano, the book looks at the impact of foreign intervention in Latin America in the past five centuries.
It covers the continent's conquest by the Spanish nearly 500 years ago right up to the present day.
President Chavez presented his American counterpart with the book, a favourite of leftists, on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad on Saturday.
'Nice gesture'
President Obama looked surprised when Mr Chavez got up from his seat, handed him the book and then shook his hand.
It was a Spanish-language paperback copy inscribed with the message: "For Obama, with affection".
A little later, Mr Obama had this reaction: "Well I think it was a nice gesture to give me a book. I'm a reader."
However, for President Chavez it was a serious matter.
"This book is a monument in our Latin American history. It allows us to learn history, and we have to build on this history," the Venezuelan leader told reporters at the summit.
It is not the first time Mr Chavez's choice of reading matter has given authors a boost, the BBC's Greg Morsbach reports.
His speech at the United Nations three years ago helped to revive the fortunes of the American intellectual, Noam Chomsky.
Mr Chomsky's title, Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance, became the number one bestseller on Amazon after a plug from Mr Chavez during his address.
Bookshops in the US and Europe sold out of copies within days. Tens of thousands more copies were ordered in from the publishers.
BBC NEWSREPORT.

INTERROGATION 'MORASS' FOR OBAMA

By James Coomarasamy BBC News, Washington

US President Barack Obama is wading through the legal, political and moral morass created by the Bush administration's approval of interrogation techniques, which he - and many others - consider to be torture.

President Obama praised CIA staff for their dedication in protecting the US

It has turned out to be a tricky path to navigate.

By publishing the legal advice that his predecessor used to justify the techniques, yet making it clear that he does not intend to press charges against those involved in the decision-making or the interrogations, he has left himself open to criticism from the right and the left.

Some of the strongest comments have come from his own supporters, who believe that the president can not simply wipe the slate clean; that his call for "reflection, not retribution", amounts to a whitewash.

There are plenty of voices calling for a full investigation, with charges being pressed against anyone found to have committed acts of torture in the name of the United States.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, sent a letter to the White House on Monday, in which she urged the president to defer judgment on potential prosecutions, until after the Senate has conducted its own investigation.

One of her colleagues, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, has been calling for a truth and reconciliation commission.

They have had support from the New York Times.

In an editorial, the newspaper called for the impeachment of Jay Bybee, a federal judge, who - as assistant attorney general under President George W Bush - was the author of some of what it described as "these sickening memos".

In another awkward development for the Obama administration, details emerged over the weekend about the extent to which these harsh interrogation techniques were used on some of the so-called "high value" terrorism suspects.

Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 11 September attacks, was apparently "waterboarded" on 183 occasions.

Mr Obama banned the controversial techniques in his first week in office

Another prisoner, Abu Zubaydah, is said to have been subjected to the simulated drowning procedure 83 times.

These figures contradict previous testimony by ex-CIA officers and would appear to raise legitimate questions about whether interrogators may have overstepped legal guidelines.

On the right, much of the criticism has come from former Bush administration officials, who may be concerned that they will - despite President Obama's assurances - be dragged into some kind of legal process.

Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey and former CIA chief Michael Hayden have both alleged that the release of the memos threatens national security, by allowing prospective terrorists an insight into the precise limits of US interrogations.

The Obama administration's response: those techniques are illegal, so it is a moot point.

But others are making their points as well. Even as the president was attempting to patch up his differences with the CIA - getting a warm reception during a visit to the agency's Langley headquarters - former Vice-President Dick Cheney was keeping the political heat under the issue.

He has urged the CIA to release documents showing the success of the controversial interrogation techniques.

The CIA's treatment of terror suspects has been a particularly controversial chapter in recent US history, so it is not surprising, perhaps, that Barack Obama's attempt to turn the page is attracting its own share of controversy as well.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

ITALY FEARS MEDIA QUAKE FUND GRAB

By Duncan Kennedy BBC News, Rome

Huge sums of money have been pledged for reconstruction

The authorities in Italy have created a special team of investigators to make sure the mafia does not get access to earthquake reconstruction money.

After the quake on 6 April, billions of dollars were pledged by the government and the European Union to rebuild homes and public buildings.

Nearly 300 people died and around 10,000 buildings were destroyed by the quake in central Italy.

The mafia has used previous disasters to siphon off money meant for victims.

One official said the mafia and similar criminal organisations would be attracted to the Abruzzo region by what he called the rivers of money flowing in to help the reconstruction.

"There is no alarm yet, but legitimate concern," said the head of Italy's anti-mafia operations, Piero Grasso. "Prevention is key," he added.

Four investigators will work to stop the mafia getting its hands on the estimated $20bn (£13.5bn) being lined up to help the area affected.

A number of people are still on trial after the mafia set up front companies following another earthquake in 1980.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said that he wanted rebuilding to be completed in six months, and that he wanted to keep out speculators and the mafia.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

GAY MARRIAGE ROW AT MISS USA SHOW

Ms Prejean says she does not regret her remarks

The runner-up at the Miss USA beauty pageant says her outspoken opposition to gay marriage cost her first place in the competition.

During the televised event, Carrie Prejean - Miss California - said she believed that "a marriage should be between a man and a woman".

She had been asked for her views on the subject by one of the judges, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton.

"It did cost me my crown," said Ms Prejean, after the competition.

The eventual winner of the pageant was Kristen Dalton, Miss North Carolina.

"We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage," said Ms Prejean, in a section of the show that has become a popular clip on YouTube.

"I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman," she continued.

"No offence to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised."

The remarks drew a mixture of booing and applause from the audience.

Speaking after the show, which was broadcast on Sunday evening in the US, Ms Prejean said: "I wouldn't have had it any other way. I said what I feel. I stated an opinion that was true to myself and that's all I can do."

Hilton said he had been "floored" by Ms Prejean's answer, which, he said, "alienated millions of gay and lesbian Americans, their families and their supporters".

He told ABC News: "She lost it because of that question. She was definitely the front-runner before that."

Keith Lewis, who runs the Miss California competition, released a statement condemning Ms Prejean's comments.

"As co-director of the Miss California USA, I am personally saddened and hurt that Miss California believes marriage rights belong only to a man and a woman."

The issue of same-sex marriage is a flashpoint in American politics.

Four US states now allow gay marriage, but many other states have passed legislation outlawing it.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

IS S. AFRICA ON THE SUSP OF CHANGE?

By Peter Biles BBC Southern Africa Correspondent

Jacob Zuma is one step away from the Union Buildings - South Africa's seat of power.

Wednesday's national and provincial elections are certain to see the African National Congress (ANC) leader become the new president of South Africa.

But this year's elections have been different.

A new opposition party, hewn from the ruling African National Congress, is challenging its dominance.

Even if it can't win this year, Cope (Congress of the People) may have altered the landscape of South African politics.

Columnist and academic Xolela Mangcu of Johannesburg's Witwatersrand University says the ANC has had to up its game since the emergence of Cope.

"They forced the ANC to go on the defensive, as was clear with the sheer volume of numbers they brought out to their final rallies on Sunday," he said.

"The ANC have turned it around and re-energised themselves."

Zuma's ups and downs

Mr Zuma's life has always been a rollercoaster ride.

My first encounter with him was in Tanzania in 1987, during his years in exile.

Thabo Mbeki (l) and Jacob Zuma (r) were once inseperable

At that time, Mr Zuma and Thabo Mbeki (then the ANC's Director of Information) appeared inseparable as ANC colleagues.

Mr Zuma subsequently became Chief of Intelligence for the ANC, but always seemed destined to remain in Mr Mbeki's shadow.

In 1999, at the start of his first administration, President Mbeki appointed Mr Zuma as his deputy.

However, in 2005, he was fired and later charged with corruption.

In the same year, he was accused of rape, but acquitted.

Nonetheless, many observers predicted that Mr Zuma would not be able to rebuild his political career.

Against the odds, and with the backing of powerful allies within the ANC, Mr Zuma staged a remarkable comeback.

Mr Mbeki, in contrast, has gone missing from this 2009 election campaign.

VOTER CONCERNS ECONOMY: Unemployment - 22%; 34% live on less than $2 a day CRIME: More than 50 murders, 35 carjackings and 150 rapes a day HEALTH: HIV affects up to 5.7m people; nearly 1,000 a day die of Aids-related illnesses Q&A: South Africa elections

Since being forced by the ANC to resign as president in September 2008, little has been seen of him, except in his capacity as the chief mediator in Zimbabwe.

He has not thrown his weight behind the ANC election campaign.

Nor has he come out in support of Cope, whose core backing comes from many of Mr Mbeki's former supporters.

This week, on the eve of the polls, the ANC was unable to say where Mr Mbeki would be casting his vote on Wednesday.

Politicians like to pretend that elections are about issues rather than personalities.

But even in South Africa, where there are no direct elections for president, this campaign has been dominated by the familiar faces on the political landscape.

Jacob Zuma's portrait has been on election posters in every main street in the country.

In a sophisticated and expensive campaign, the ANC has ensured that Mr Zuma has enjoyed maximum exposure.

In recent months, he has been to all corners of South Africa, sometimes speaking at three or four events a day.

In spite of just having turned 67, Mr Zuma remains as energetic as ever.

He has swept into the final phase of this campaign with gusto, always delighting his supporters by singing the song that he has made his own -"Mshini Wami" (Bring Me My Machine Gun).

Not to be outdone, Helen Zille, the leader of the parliamentary opposition - the Democratic Alliance - has also adopted a song and dance routine.

Not to be outdone, Helen Zille has danced through the campaign

Ms Zille, who is Mayor of Cape Town, is contesting the position of provincial premier of the Western Cape.

The DA has been mounting a concerted effort to stop the ANC from once again securing a two-thirds majority, as it did in the 2004 elections.

Many say the real competition is between Cope and the DA to see which will become the biggest opposition.

They would have the upper hand in any coalition that might be negotiated between the two.

"I'm not sleeping long enough at night to recharge my mobile phone", said a visibly tired Ms Zille, as she visited the Red Cross Children's Hospital in Cape Town.

Another leader who will welcome the end of campaigning is Mangosuthu Buthelezi, leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party.

At the age of 80, he is the only high profile political figure who has fought every election since 1994.

Both the Democratic Alliance and the Congress of the People are set to win about 15% of the national vote, according to the latest opinion poll by Plus 94.

If Cope performs badly, questions will no doubt be asked about why the party chose to put forward a relatively unknown figure, Bishop Mvume Dandala, as its presidential candidate, instead of one of its two founder members - Mosiuoa Lekota and Mbhazima Shilowa.

South Africans will breathe a sigh of relief after the elections this week.

They will however, have to wait a while longer to find out just what kind of president Jacob Zuma will be.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

TRIBUTES TO TV ACTRESS FOUND DEAD

Stephanie Parker had been with the show since she was 15

Tributes have been paid to a young actress from the BBC Wales drama series Belonging after she was found hanged.

The body of Stephanie Parker, 22, who played Stacey Weaver in the programme, was found on open ground near Pontypridd early on Saturday morning.

Ms Parker, who had been with the show since the age of 15, also appeared in Casualty and in Radio 4 dramas.

Belonging executive producer Bethan Jones said she was a "great girl and a really great actress".

She said: "She came into Belonging at the age of 15 I think in series four in a very small part and the writers really loved her.

"She made such an impact they gave her a bigger and bigger part and she became a real core character in the series, very much part of the Belonging family. A very talented young lady."

She added: "We're deeply shocked and incredibly sad."

A special final episode was b