Big Ben marks 150th anniversary!

Big Big is being given a spring clean to mark its 150th anniversary

One of London's most famous attractions, Big Ben, is celebrating its 150th anniversary.

The clock tower in Parliament Square, Westminster, is being given a spring clean following a year of activities in recognition of the landmark.

Technically Big Ben refers only to the clock's largest bell, but has become synonymous with the clock tower itself.

The bell, cast in Whitechapel on 10 April 1858, was first rung in the Great Westminster Clock on 31 May 1859.

"It's a typical piece of Victorian engineering," said Mike McCann, the keeper of the great clock.

"It will last for hundreds of years. Mainly we wind it three times a week. It is clockwork.

"A lot of people seem to think that it's some sort of electronic clock but it's entirely clockwork, driven by weights which need winding.

"So the main maintenance work really is winding it three times a week, oiling it and keeping it accurate."

The clock tower and the new Palace of Westminster, designed by Charles Barry, were built after a fire destroyed much of the old Houses of Parliament in 1834.

Last year, Big Ben was named Britain's favourite attraction in a poll of more than 2,000 adults.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

Cathy Buckle's Weekly Letter from Zimbabwe

Rusty paper clip

Saturday 30th May 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

The unity government is being torn apart over the retention of the Reserve Bank Governor, Gideon Gono. While they argue, threaten and grandstand, we look at our tattered lives.

In a box, abandoned and covered in dust and fluff, lies the evidence of my lost life savings, seizure of my home and property and destruction of my pension. I am not alone but am one of ten million Zimbabweans who find themselves in the same position, one that has unfolded in just 9 ugly years.

At the bottom of the box are the last accounts from our farm that was seized by the Zimbabwe government in 2000. The accounts show no income and there is a note attached with a rusting paper clip which says: "No compensation paid for house, fixtures, fittings, infrastructure, fencing etc." That statement remains true 9 years later.

Next in the box is a tattered orange cardboard file. Most of it's contents are still too painful to revisit. One section deals with lost life savings which had been invested in a bank that was closed down by Zimbabwe's banking authorities.

In dog eared, dirty bundles held together with melting, perishing elastic bands there are piles and piles of money. Purple 500 hundred dollar notes, olive 1,000 dollar notes and then strange things called 'bearers cheques. They are blue, red, brown, purple and green bits of paper with expiry dates and values ranging from 5 to 100 thousand dollars. They bear the signature of Reserve Bank Governor, Gideon Gono.

Then other bundles with even higher denomination 'bearer cheques' ranging in value from 1 to 500 million dollars. These too have expiry dates and are signed by Gideon Gono.

There in the box are the records of new attempts to save money - futile efforts because Mr Gono slashed three zeroes from the currency and thousands became single dollars overnight.

More bundles of money, this time they are in billion dollar denominations and are called Special Agro Cheques. they too have expiry dates and are signed by Mr Gono: purple, green, brown, blue, valued from 5 to 100 billion dollars.

Then more records of how everything was lost again when Mr Gono imposed daily withdrawal limits from the banks. We could only draw out enough of our own money to buy half a loaf of bread a day; the queues were in the thousands and our money lost all its value before we could get it out of the banks.

Again Mr Gono removed zeroes from the currency; in a single swipe billionaires became paupers. New bank notes which started at one dollar soon got bigger as mismanagement continued and again we had bank notes for 500 thousand, 1 million, 1 billion. We went dizzy as notes were issued by Mr Gono for 1 trillion, 10 trillion. When Mr Gono's presses physically couldn't print the money fast enough, all out trillions, quadrillions and septillions were lost when trading in Zim dollars was suspended and we moved into US dollars.

At the top of the box is a small newspaper cutting. It quotes Mr Gono admitting that he removed money from private bank accounts to fund government expenses.

And after all this there is cause for argument?

Until next week with a view of scarlet poinsettias, love cathy

Prince gets out and about in NYC!

By Laura Trevelyan BBC News

The prince described his trip as 'fantastic'

Prince Harry is returning to Britain having finished his first official overseas engagement, in New York. But how successful was it?

Ten-year-old Kiara Molina chatted intently to Prince Harry in a community education centre in Harlem. He smiled, asked encouraging questions, and after the third-in-line to the throne left, she was beaming.

The prince was similarly at ease with Kiara's classmate Khalil Davis, who had cooked an elaborate dish with anchovies.

"Urgh," said the prince, much to Khalil's amusement. But he ate the fishy dish anyway, all on camera.

Harry showed he was a good sport, joining in an obstacle course the children had designed, which culminated in him sitting on a balloon and making it pop.

Royal minders beamed with approval. The New York Daily News declared that Harry had "conquered Manhattan with his caring manner, good looks and common touch".

Only 24 hours earlier ABC News had heralded his arrival in Manhattan with a jokey, "lock up your daughters" introduction. What a difference a day makes.

Harry's carefully-choreographed appearance at Ground Zero, where he laid a wreath and paid his respects to those who lost their lives on 9/11, was a poignant image, which also served as a coming of age moment.

Instead of tabloid headlines showing the partying prince coming out of nightclubs, there he was, head bowed, at a place Americans regard as sacred ground.

Prince Harry goes to Harlem

Harry talked to relatives of those who died that day, including Paula Berry, whose husband David was killed. Her three sons lost their father, something Paula told me she felt Harry empathised with, as he too had lost a parent.

Visiting a veterans medical centre in Manhattan was another important encounter for Harry, as it underlined his own army service in Afghanistan.

"Ouch," joked the prince as one of the veterans gripped his hand with an artificial limb. A lighter moment in a visit where Harry showed himself to be a sympathetic listener.

Palace officials say this visit achieved Harry's twin objectives of paying tribute to New York and working on behalf of his children's charity in Lesotho.

It also drew parallels with his mother Diana's visit here 20 years ago, and her charity work. She captivated New Yorkers, cuddling children with Aids in Harlem and charming her audience at a banquet.

At a polo match in Governor's Island, to raise money for the charity, Sentebale, he founded with the Prince of Lesotho, Harry said: "Prince Seeiso and I both lost our mothers when we were young.

"We set up Sentebale in their memory, and because my mother loved this city, it makes this occasion all the more poignant for me."

Harry said his trip had been "fantastic".

Asked if he thought it had changed his public image, he replied: "I do not know what the public image is of me, there's always the image that has been given to me, but you know, it is the media that stamp an image on me that really isn't me."

So Harry heads back to Britain after what has been a successful visit.

His priority now, say palace officials, is training to be an army helicopter pilot. Future overseas visits will have to fit around that schedule.

Seasoned royal watchers say if the royal family is to maintain its position in British life, then the younger royals will have to have a public profile, as that will keep the institution alive and relevant.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

Australia pressed to take Uighurs!

There are still 240 detainees at Guantanamo Bay prison camp

US President Barack Obama has asked the Australian government to accept a group of Chinese Muslim detainees currently held at Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

The Uighurs have been cleared for release by US courts.

It is the first time Australia has been approached by the Obama administration over the Uighurs. Two requests by the Bush administration were turned down.

China has requested the Uighurs' return, but the US will not send them there for fear they will be persecuted.

President Barack Obama has said he intends to close the Guantanamo Bay prison by January 2010 and is considering what to do with its remaining 240 detainees.

The 17 Uighurs held at the prison camp are among a group captured in Afghanistan in 2001, and cleared for release in 2004. Albania took in five of the ethnic Chinese group in 2006 but has been unwilling to take more.

CHINA'S UIGHURS Ethnically Turkic Muslims, mainly in Xinjiang Made bid for independent state in 1940s Sporadic violence in Xinjiang since 1991 Uighurs worried about Chinese immigration and erosion of traditional culture Uighur free but homeless Detained Uighurs' odyssey Q&A: Closing Guantanamo

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the request put to Australia by the Obama administration involves six of the remaining Uighur detainees.

A spokesman for Australia's Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said the request would be considered "on a case by case basis and in accordance with the government's strict immigration and national security requirements".

A US federal judge determined last year that the Uighurs should be freed, but the US has not found any country willing to take them.

On Friday, the Obama administration filed papers with the US Supreme Court arguing that the men were being lawfully held even though they are no longer considered "enemy combatants".

The Obama administration wants the Supreme Court to uphold an appeals court ruling last year that the men should not be released into the US.

China warned in February this year that it strongly opposed any country accepting them.

It wants to put the men on trial for alleged separatist activities and has said any country that takes them in would be harbouring terrorists.

Many Muslim Uighurs from Xinjiang in western China want greater autonomy for the region and some want independence. Beijing has waged a campaign against what it calls their violent separatist activities.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

Dancers beat Boyle in talent show!

Highlights of the finale (courtesy of ITV / Talkback Thames)

Street dance group Diversity has been crowned the winner of this year's Britain's Got Talent TV show in a shock victory over favourite Susan Boyle.

The 10-strong group, aged 12 to 25, from Essex fell to the floor and cried in surprise when told of the win.

Member Ashley Banjo, 20, said winning the contest had "changed our lives".

The group defied bookmaker's predictions to win the £100,000 prize and the chance to perform at the Royal Variety Show in December.

Diversity is made up of three sets of brothers and was only formed in 2007.

Still shocked about the victory, choreographer Banjo said: "When you said our name, honestly I'm going to wake up in a minute."

He also thanked everyone who had voted for the group.

Susan Boyle had been the favourite to win the talent show

After the performance, which included a cheeky reference to the judges' buzzers, judge Simon Cowell said: "If I had to give marks on that, that is the only performance tonight I would want to give a 10 to.

"There was not a step out of place, it was sheer and utter perfection."

Fellow judge Amanda Holden said Banjo's choreography was "second to none" and that Diversity had blown rival dance troupe Flawless "out of the water".

Throughout the competition the group had wowed the audience and received glowing comments from the judges, but the group was sixth favourite to win going into the final.

It had long been predicted that 48-year-old Boyle from West Lothian would run away with the title after gaining worldwide recognition thanks to her audition being watched by millions of people on the internet.

Gracious in defeat, she said that "the best people won" adding: "I wish you all the best."

Boyle, who sang audition song I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables again, did not appear to be too disappointed in defeat, however, as she gave a little dance on stage and hitched her dress up to show a leg.

After her performance, Cowell said: "Win or lose you had the guts to come back here and face your critics and you beat them - whatever happens you can walk away from this with your head held high."

Asked about her own plans on sister show Britain's Got More Talent, Boyle said: "I hope to get an album out - I'll just play it by ear."

Saxophonist Julian Smith came in third place behind the singer.

Although clearly disappointed, he said: "I'm just happy to have taken part - it's been phenomenal."

Apart from Boyle, none of the main frontrunners including street dancer Aidan Davis, 12-year-old singer Shaheen Jafargholi and comedy dance act Stavros Flatley, made it into the top three after the viewers' vote.

The other acts which took part included singers Shawn Smith, grandfather and granddaughter team 2 Grand and 10-year-old Hollie Steel.

It is thought the final may have been watched by as many as 20m people.

Diversity is the second dance act to win the talent contest after 15-year-old George Sampson won the show last year.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

Bomb found in toilet on Iran plane!

By Jon Leyne BBC News, Tehran

A homemade bomb discovered on board an Iranian plane has been defused, semi-official news agencies report.

According to several Iranian news agencies, the bomb was discovered on a plane shortly after it took off from the oil-rich city of Ahvaz.

Plain-clothes security guards, who are believed to travel on every Iranian flight, found it in a toilet.

The incident comes at a time of rising tension in the run up to Iran's presidential elections on 12 June.

The plane turned back to Ahvaz for an emergency landing when the bomb was discovered.

The flight resumed after the bomb was defused.

The incident follows a bomb attack on a mosque in the south-east of the country on Thursday.

In the latest incident, the plane was also flying from a border province - this time, an area that borders Iraq, and has also had problems with restive minorities.

Tension seems to be rising in the run up to the presidential election in two weeks time, particularly as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is by no means guaranteed re-election.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

Tiananmen will not be forgotten!

By Kate Adie

Tourists flock in their hundreds of thousands to Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing.

Kate Adie found herself playing cat and mouse with the secret police

They can marvel at history in the Forbidden City and gaze at modern China's fashionably dressed citizens dodging shoals of Mercedes.

What they will not see is any hint of the recent past in Tiananmen Square - there is nothing which commemorates the deaths of the hundreds, perhaps thousands of people in June 1989, the massacre which brought a brutal end to many weeks of demonstrations.

Twenty years later, we wanted to make a programme about what happened to those caught up in the events - the student leaders, the workers and those who were injured or knew someone who had died.

And because recent history has been re-written by the Chinese authorities, we anticipated problems.

We applied for the official "journalist visas", announced during last year's Olympic Games - offering greater openness and freedom for the foreign press.

After months of waiting - and advice from Chinese journalists that hen's teeth might be more available - we entered the country on tourist visas.

Our first two days of filming involved uniformed policemen sticking their white-gloved hands in front of the lens, while their plainclothes counterparts attempted to tail us through heavy traffic in Chengdu - with engaging ineptitude.

At one point we were followed by five vehicles, all of which appeared to have no idea how to tail anyone - especially when we abandoned our driver and hopped on a bus.

At one point we made a detour to avoid leading them to an interviewee - who is known to the police for dissident views - and I ended up in an organic farm talking earnestly to a rather puzzled man about cabbages while the police officers bobbed up and down behind a field of flowering rapeseed.

It would all seem something of a cat and mouse game for us, except for the fact that the people we were intending to interview all suffer endless harassment and surveillance - and have done ever since 1989.

As we slipped our "tail" and organised a rendez-vous in safe and discreet locations, we became ever more aware of the mammoth security system which can be brought to bear on those whom the state designates "trouble-makers".

Tourists probably don't notice that Beijing boasts 280,000 security cameras; it is rumoured that the muscular lads who offer to be guides in Tiananmen Square, sell you postcards and ice-cream, are all members of the secret police.

Zhang Xianling founded Tiananmen Mothers after losing her son

The people we spoke to frequently find police outside their flat, cameras trained on their front door and their phones tapped.

It is no wonder that they used their mobiles (several!) to arrange to meet us.

What is surprising - and impressive - is their determination to talk about what happened, bear witness to the massacre and explain why they continue to demand that the authorities admit what they did to their own people.

They talk of being spirited from their homes every time there is a "sensitive time" - such as Party congresses or the Olympics, and being taken hundreds of miles away so that journalists cannot find them.

Many have been imprisoned for speaking out, yet they will not give up and their determination is breath-taking.

There's Mrs Zhang, founder of the Tiananmen Mothers, a group which supports those who lost their sons and daughters, killed by an army which was firing relentlessly all the way into the city.

Her son was shot - he had no idea what was happening when he went out "just to take some photographs".

She speaks with great dignity, one of the few voices among 1.3 billion who want the truth acknowledged - and who speak of their hopes for justice and more freedom.

Kate Adie Returns to Tiananmen Square will be on BBC Two at 9pm on Wednesday 3 June 2009.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

"Sayings"

"WE NEED MEN WHO CAN DREAM
OF THINGS THAT NEVER WERE" !

______

ZIMBABWE - LETTER FROM THE DIASPORA

Friday 29th May 2009

Dear Friends.

Over the years, Zimbabweans have grown used to hearing half-truths and downright lies from Zanu PF and their associated hangers-on. We learned that from Zanu PF we could expect nothing but lies and propaganda.
The emergence of the MDC on the political scene was like a breath of fresh air blowing across the arid political landscape of Zanu PF hegemony. Here at last were men and women of integrity and courage, we thought. They would not lie to us or try to mislead us. Theirs was the political and moral high ground, they stood for truth and justice for all, no 'spin' or lying propaganda from them. That's what we thought. Papa Morgan was our hero. When we saw him beaten and bloody, we wept for him and all the other brave cadres who were putting their lives on the line for the New Beginning we all dreamed of for our beloved country.

Then came the Inclusive Government. The unbelievable had happened: after months of tortuous negotiations, the MDC had sat down with their former oppressors in a so-called Government of National Unity. The past was behind us, we must forgive and forget, we were told. 'National Reconciliation' was what we must all work for now. And if that meant drawing a veil over past and present horrors then that must be done. Whatever the price, we must preserve the illusion that all is now well in Zimbabwe. We must present a united front to the world - or no money would come Zimbabwe's way.

That, apparently, is the thinking within the MDC leadership team now. How else can we explain Morgan Tsvangirai's extraordinary statement this week during an interview he gave to highlight the achievements of the first 100days of the GNU. The pictures of beaten and bloodied white farmers and terrified farm workers, imprisoned and beaten, the stories of their nightmarish ordeals on invaded farms continue to be seen and heard on an almost daily basis; yet Morgan Tsvangirai chooses this moment to refer to the " so-called farm invasions" as "isolated incidents…blown out of proportion. We have investigated examples of these so-called farm invasions…we have asked the Minister of Lands to give us a detailed report of what has been happening over all these so-called land invasions and the outcry over that."

Total disbelief as we listened to the report of Tsvangirai's words; we just could not believe what we were hearing. From the farmers themselves came stunned incredulity and deep shock. How could the Prime Minister deny the truth that was staring at him from the faces of beaten farmers, farmers to whom he had promised the restoration of law and order and punishment for the perpetrators of violence? In the week when Zimbabwe earned the dubious accolade of 'the most food-aid dependent country in the world' and the Red Cross/ Red Crescent figures showed that 80% of Zimbabwe's population is now reliant on food-aid to survive, Morgan Tsvangirai chooses to deny the widespread reality of farm invasions and the subsequent loss of agricultural production. Instead, he describes the chaos as 'so-called'. Since April, Ben Freeth reports, "We have reaped absolutely nothing. 150 farm workers have been unable to work and are living in terror." In an Open Letter to the Prime Minister dated May 26 from his Mount Carmel farm in the heat of the continuing violent invasion of his property, Freeth graphically describes the horror and blatant illegality of the invaders' actions. "As you will know", he writes, "this is not just an isolated incident. In this area where approximately 6000 hectares of irrigated winter wheat used to be grown, I do not know of a single hectare of winter wheat being sown this year."

It is utterly incomprehensible that Morgan Tsvangirai should now choose to deny the reality in the light of such facts. Is this the same man who, just four weeks ago, said, "The rule of law is a moral imperative and a business necessity. The responsibility to save and protect the quality of life for all must preoccupy us in political leadership, regardless of race, colour, tribe, religion or political affiliation." What has happened in four short weeks to so radically change the Prime Minister's vision of the reality on the ground? As he goes back to SADC over Mugabe's refusal to remove Gideon Gono from the Reserve Bank, the Prime Minister denies the reality of farm invasions and says not a word about protecting property rights or even of the urgent necessity of allowing the farmers to grow food, both issues which are specifically covered under the GPA. It is hardly likely that foreign investors will accepts the validity of Tsvangirai's claim that farm invasions are just "isolated incidents blown out of all proportion" when the evidence of their own eyes tells them that the invasions are widespread and violent and the food shortages are desperately real. Today the EU stepped into the debate. The EU's argument is that all farm and conservancy invasions should cease; not, ironically, because of the human rights issue or the rampant food shortages in the country, but because of the damage to wild life and tourism. While that is certainly true, it makes little difference to the central argument which is that farmers, be they black or white, are being prevented from growing food by violent thugs with police and government connivance. So much for the 'Moral imperative'of the Rule of Law that the Prime Minister talked about so passionately just four weeks ago!

For those of us who so much wanted to believe that Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC might bring change from within when they joined this (so-called) Unity Government, this is a moment of bitter disillusion. We see no real change from Zanu PF; it is the MDC who are now changing their tune to chime with their former adversaries. The MDC would do well to remember that their courageous supporters up and down the country risked life and limb to vote for them back in March. Half-truths, expediency, spin and downright lies are Zanu PF tactics, we did not expect them from the MDC. The people are neither blind nor deaf; a disenchanted electorate is not likely to forget when it comes time to exercise their democratic right again. The more the MDC sounds and looks like Zanu PF, the less likely the people are to vote for them. That's how I see it.

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. Beer mat collectors are called tegestologists.
More details

2. A train that arrives 10 minutes late can still be officially "on time".
More details

3. The word "Laodicean" means to be indifferent in matters of politics or religion.
More details

4. Sounds have shapes.
More details

5. People can overdose on chewing gum.
More details (Telegraph)

6. Only one in 10 people with Tourette Syndrome swears.
More details

7. Just two people know the recipe for Irn Bru.
More details

8. Stabbing in the buttocks has its own verb in Roman dialect.
More details

9. Places with slow or non-existent broadband are called "notspots".
More details

10. The world's longest recorded marriage is 86 years.
More details (Daily Mirror)

BBC NEWS MAGAZINE

Phil Spector jailed for 19 years!

The judge ordered Spector to pay $16,811 in funeral expenses and other fees

US music producer Phil Spector has been jailed for at least 19 years for murdering an actress in 2003.

The producer, 69, famed for his Wall of Sound recording technique, was last month found guilty of shooting Lana Clarkson at his California home.

Spector had pleaded not guilty to the second-degree murder during the five-month retrial in Los Angeles. His lawyers said he would appeal.

Ms Clarkson was best known for her role in 1985 cult film Barbarian Queen.

On Friday, Spector was given a sentence of 15 years to life for second-degree murder and an additional four years for personal use of a gun.

The presiding judge at the court in Los Angeles said Spector must serve at least 19 years before being eligible for parole - by which time he will be 88 years old.

Spector was given a retrial after the jury in his original trial failed to reach a unanimous decision in 2007.

Spector sat motionless in court in Los Angeles, his eyelids drooping slightly, as the sentence was read out, the BBC's Rajesh Mirchandani reports.

Lana Clarkson appeared in cult 1980s film Barbarian Queen

There were few surprises, our correspondent says. The crime of second-degree murder of which he was convicted carries a minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, with a maximum of life.

He denied all along that he was responsible for the death of Lana Clarkson, whom he had met in a bar, but the jury decided he had shot her in the mouth at his mansion near Los Angeles.

Before sentencing, the victim's mother, Donna, gave a statement to the court, saying: "My beautiful daughter, I miss you so."

Phil Spector's work as a music producer influenced millions.

He invented the Wall of Sound and created some of the most memorable pop hits of the 1960s for acts like Tina Turner, the Ronettes and the Righteous Brothers.

But for all his musical genius, Spector had a dark side.

He was often described as being a bully in the studio, a man with a liking for guns and an eccentric personality.

During the five-month retrial, five female acquaintances testified that Spector had threatened them at gunpoint in incidents dating back to the 1970s.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

Makes for Interesting Reading!

Open Europe

Open Europe Bulletin: 29 May 2009

Open Europe publishes league table of MEPs MEPs are entitled to expenses and allowances of up to £363,000 a year Commission's proposals on banking supervision equate to "pan-European regulator" News in brief Open Europe in the news

1. Open Europe publishes league table of MEPs

With elections to the European Parliament less than one week away, Open Europe has published a league table of all 785 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), scoring their record on promoting transparency and reform in the European Union over the last five-year term. Open Europe 's league table is based on 20 different categories relating to transparency, accountability, democracy, and waste. The ranking is based on a range of activities, including voting records, attendance, written declarations, and whether the MEPs themselves have taken part in wasteful activities, such as the controversial second pension fund. In compiling the ranking, Open Europe discovered that in April 2009, a majority of British MEPs (60%) voted to keep details about their own expenses secret, as well as voting against financial disciplinary measures for MEPs found guilty of misuse of funds, and voting to keep secret demands to pay back money. Only 24% of all British members voted to make expenses public. MEPs have been awarded points based on a 'Premier League' model, where 3 points is the highest score, followed by 1 point and 0 points. On attendance, a scale from 1 to 6 was used. A total of 58 points is available for each MEP. In addition, MEPs who have been the subject of substantive press reports of wrongdoing have been shown a 'red card' in our ranking and had 10 points deducted from their score. UK party positions Average score per MEP: 1. Green Party, 2 MEPs, 39.5 2. Scottish National Party, 2 MEPs, 38.5 3. Liberal Democrats, 11 MEPs, 35 4. Conservative Party, 28 MEPs, 29.5 5. Labour, 19 MEPs, 29.3 6. Independents, 4 MEPs, 26.75 7. UKIP, 9 MEPs, 24.89 Others: (Jillian Evans MEP, Plaid Cymru, 27 points; Baibre de Brún MEP, Sinn Fein, 27 points; James Nicholson MEP, Ulster Unionist Party 30 points;) To see the full ranking, click the link below: http://www.openeurope.org.uk/research/mepranking.xls To read the guide to the ranking, which gives an overview of the criteria used, click the link below: http://www.openeurope.org.uk/research/rankingguide.pdf To read the UK and EU press releases, which show the top and bottom ranking MEPs and how different countries performed, click the link below: http://www.openeurope.org.uk/media-centre/press-releases.aspx

2. MEPs are entitled to expenses and allowances of up to £363,000 a year

Open Europe has found that in total, MEPs are entitled to expenses and allowances of £363,000 a year, including a £261 daily subsistence allowance and £45,648 in general office expenses even though they are provided with offices in Brussels and Strasbourg . This equates to £1,816,250 per MEP over a five year term and no receipts are required. (Sun, 26 May; Times, 29 May; Open Europe blog) This comes on top of £83,282 in salary, £29,309 in pensions and £41,641 in transitional payments. In contrast, UK MPs claim up to £144,000 on average in expenses. (Telegraph, 31 March) Swedish Left Party MEP Jens Holm has provided a candid account of how the current travel expenses system can lead to MEPs pocketing thousands of euros a year because no receipt is required to account for the actual cost of a journey. He said, "I know that until February this year, the European Parliament has paid me about €200,000 in travel allowances and I'd say that I have donated around €150,000 to charities and also to my own party." (Open Europe blog) Under new rules, from June onwards, the travel allowance system will be reformed so that MEPs need to provide receipts for their tickets. However, for the majority of their expenditure (office expenses, daily subsistence allowance, staff allowances) MEPs will still not be required to produce receipts. In the wake of the Westminster expenses scandal, Gordon Brown has ordered all Labour candidates for the European election to agree to publish all receipts for claims made under the MEPs' office allowance. Conservative MEP candidates have taken a pledge to disclose details of their expenses online but they will not provide receipts, while the Lib Dems have made a similar commitment to publish an audited breakdown of their MEPs' costs but also will not publish receipts. (FT, FT, 24 May) However, it should be noted that none of the parties' manifestos mention publishing receipts. (Open Europe blog) Meanwhile, it has emerged that more than a third of British MEPs are paying one or more relatives. The wives, husbands and children of MEPs are earning up to £40,000 a year to work as secretaries and researchers at a total annual cost to taxpayers of more than £700,000. (Times, 29 May)

3. Commission's proposals on bank supervision equate to "pan-European regulator"

The European Commission has tabled a proposal to create three new EU bodies to oversee national banks, insurances and securities. The three bodies - a European Banking Authority in London; a European Insurance Authority in Frankfurt; and a European Securities Authority in Paris - will be composed of chief regulators from the 27 member states and, controversially, will have binding powers to impose decisions on member states and overrule national regulators. The proposal has come under heavy criticism in the UK as the three new bodies will have the jurisdiction to over-ride national authorities, marking a significant transfer of powers to the EU level in the sector. As Ambrose Evans-Pritchard noted in the Telegraph, the proposal does not technically create a pan-European regulator, but might have a similar effect - crucially, the European Court of Justice is to have the final say over any appeal. The Commission hopes the proposal will be adopted before the end of the year. The proposal comes as a recent survey by eFinancialCareers indicates that London City finance professionals are so worried about the future - due to proposed EU regulations and an increase in taxes - that nearly 30 per cent are planning to leave London for destinations such as Zurich , New York , Singapore and Hong Kong . (FT 27 May European Voice FT Irish Independent Telegraph EurActiv WSJ Irish Times: Leader Irish Times Irish Times: Jamie Smyth blog El Mundo Le Figaro El Pais Le Monde 28 May)

4. News in brief

18 "ghost MEPs" to cash in on £6m. Due to the fact that the Lisbon Treaty has not been ratified, 18 MEPs elected in June's European elections will receive normal MEPs' salaries despite the fact that they will not be able to take up full political office for at least two years. The Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty means that after June's election 736 instead of 754 MEPs will take office. However, 18 further MEPs will be elected under the Lisbon rules, despite the fact that the Lisbon Treaty is yet to be ratified. Amid confusion over when and how they will take up their seats, the European Parliament has decided to give the MEPs only "observer" status from next year. These 'observer members' will receive a normal MEPs' salary, and collectively account for a £6m bill, including their salary, assistant and office allowances, as well as tax-free allowances on a daily basis. (Telegraph, 22 May; Mail, 24 May) Conservative MEP paid husband £22k for 15-page leaflet. It has emerged that Conservative MEP Caroline Jackson paid her husband £22,500 to help her write a 15-page leaflet on waste management. Dr Jackson failed to list the fee in two of her 'declarations of interests' before finally listing it in a footnote as three payments of up to £10,000 for "consultancy fees". (Sun, 26 May) Former Czech PM: The Lisbon Treaty "is bad and we know it". Having now relinquished his role at the helm of the Czech Republic's EU Presidency, former Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has said what he really thinks of the Lisbon Treaty: "This treaty is bad and we know it...If we hadn't signed the Lisbon Treaty and had been pushed to the sidelines of the European Union we would have had no chance of promoting our national interests. That's the main reason [we signed]. It was the lesser of two evils." (BBC: Mardell blog, 18 May) Ireland expected to have highest turnout in EP elections. 66 percent of Irish people say they will definitely vote in the European elections compared to an EU average of 43 percent, according a TNS poll of all 27 countries commissioned by the European Parliament. Ireland was the only country to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty - suggesting that the practice of holding referendums on EU treaties increases voters' interest in EU affairs and makes them more likely to vote. (Irish Times, 27 May; FT: Letters, 29 May) Highest paid MEPs have the worst attendance at European Parliament. The worst attendance record at the European Parliament has gone to the highest-paid MEPs - the Italians. Italian MEPs currently earn €134,291 (£120,000) a year but came bottom of the 27 EU nations for turning up in Brussels and Strasbourg . (Times, 16 May)

5. Open Europe in the news

A third of British MEPs employ family members on expenses 29 May Times Open Europe's Research Director Mats Persson was quoted in the Times arguing that even though there is no suggestion of wrongdoing the employment of relatives reinforces the public perception of the European Parliament as a "gravy train". He said, "It is not acceptable for any MEP to continue employing members of their family." Open Europe publishes league table of all 785 MEPs, based on transparency, accountability, democracy and waste 29 May WSJ 28 May Evening Standard Limerick Leader 27 May CNBC Berlingske Yle Svenska YLE Helsing Sanomat Jyllands-Posten Dagens Nyheter Scotsman 26 May Sun Sun 2 EUobserver Kilmarnock Standard Conservative Home NRC Handelsblad Standaard STA Galloway Gazette PA Denik Svenska Dagbladet FT Trumpet ADN RP Newsdesk.se Folket Open Europe's league table was covered on the front page of the FT, in the Sun, the Mail, the Scotsman, on the BBC Breakfast Show, on the Conservative Home website and in several regional newspapers, including the Kilmarnock Standard, the Argus and the Galloway Gazette. It also received coverage around Europe, appearing in Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad Standaard, Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet, on EUobserver and several other papers in Denmark , Finland , the Czech Republic and Slovenia . Open Europe's Mats Persson appeared on CNBC's Europe Tonight show, discussing the findings of the report, and Open Europe's Lorraine Mullally appeared on BBC Radio 4's the World at One. Mats was also interviewed on Irish radio stations RTE, Shannonside FM, Northern Sound and Ross FM. Open Europe 's Pieter Cleppe was quoted in the Wall Street Journal arguing, "There's a slow realisation that the parliament has to become more accountable and transparent." MEPs' expenses: the real expenses scandal is in Brussels 29 May BBC World Service 27 May Comment Is Free: Persson 26 May FT FT 2 22 May Rochdale News 21 May Daily Politics Open Europe 's Director Lorraine Mullally appeared live on the BBC's Question Time Extra, commenting on the special 'European elections' edition of Question Time. Lorraine described the huge expenses pot available to Members of the European Parliament, who, unlike British MPs, do not have to produce receipts to claim their expenses, calling on the parties to commit to change. Lorraine also appeared on More 4 News and live on the BBC Daily Politics show, discussing the need for MEPs to publish their expenses. The FT quoted Open Europe saying, "There's no obligation on MEPs to produce receipts for any of the money they claim [apart from travel], so it's impossible for us to see if they are spending public money in an acceptable way. The new rules coming into force after the elections do not address this fundamental shortcoming." Another FT article quoted Open Europe on Labour's decision to make their MEPs publish receipts. In a piece on the Guardian's Comment is Free page, Mats Persson argued "the real expenses scandal is in Brussels ". Mats also appeared on BBC World Service's Europe Today. EU referendums encourage voter engagement with the EU 29 May FT: Letters In a letter to the FT, Open Europe's Lorraine Mullally argued that referendums on the EU stoke public interest and debate and that "national referendums on EU treaties should be encouraged, not avoided at all costs, as is the current consensus in Brussels". How does the European Parliament impact on business? 27 May BBC Breakfast Show Open Europe 's Mats Persson appeared on the BBC Breakfast Show discussing how the European Parliament impacts on business. Communication Commissioner's £1.8m pension 26 May Aftonbladet Open Europe 's findings that Commission Vice-President Margot Wallström will receive a £1.8 million pension when she leaves the Commission were reported by Swedish daily Aftonbladet. 100 examples of EU fraud and waste 26 May Varlden Idag Swedish paper Varlden Idag cited Open Europe 's research on '100 examples of EU fraud and waste". 18 'ghost' MEPs to board the EU gravy train 24 May Mail The Mail quoted Open Europe 's Stephen Booth saying "It is scandalous that the European Parliament could even consider paying MEPs who cannot legally do their job. Taxpayers are forking out enough on MEPs as it is - now we find out we're paying money for nothing." The cost of EU regulation 22 May Times: Cavendish 18 May Kurier In the Times, Camilla Cavendish questioned what MPs are paid for, given that Westminster has ceded so much power to Europe . The article cited Open Europe's research into the cost of EU regulation, which shows that EU regulation has cost the UK economy £106bn since 1998. How the European Parliament influences your daily life 18 May Sunday Business Post The Irish Sunday Business Post had a feature on MEPs based on Open Europe 's recent briefing on the European Parliament. Open Europe seminar in Sweden on EU reform 18 May Kristianstadsbladet The seminar organised by Open Europe in Sweden received coverage in Swedish daily Kristianstadsbladet. Open Europe's Lorraine Mullally was also interviewed by Swedish Radio.

6. Support Open Europe

Open Europe is a small, lean operation which relies entirely on individual donations. We produce cutting-edge research on all aspects of EU policy, targeting both politicians and the media to campaign for radical reform of the EU. We unearth high-impact stories and hold high-profile events, and, uniquely for such a small team, we are quoted and interviewed several times a week in the media. We believe there is a better way forward for Europe , and we need your help in trying to make our vision a reality. If you support our work and would like to help us continue to do it, please click the link below to find out how you can donate. Anything you can give will go directly to helping us counter the spin from EU officials and EU-funded lobby groups, and allow us to make our case for a fresh approach to Europe . Thank you for your support. http://www.openeurope.org.uk/about-us/makeadonation.aspx

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Open Europe is an independent think tank campaigning for radical reform of the EU. For information on our research, events and other activities, please visit our website: openeurope.org.uk or call us on 0207 197 2333.

Susan Boyle moved to 'safe house'!

There was talk of Susan quitting the show because of negative 'sniping'

Britain's Got Talent star Susan Boyle has been moved to a "safe house" as she prepares for Saturday's final.

One judge, Piers Morgan, confirmed that she had become so "distraught" at negative media headlines this week that she almost quit the ITV show.

He said the singer from West Lothian was now relaxing with one of her closest friends from Scotland.

A former psychologist for Big Brother said she should be withdrawn from the contest to protect her mental health.

The 48-year-old church volunteer from Blackburn became an international sensation after her performances attracted millions of hits on video sharing websites.

But she is reported to be feeling the pressure, apparently losing her temper with tabloid reporters in the lobby of a hotel in North London.

Speaking on BBC Radio Radio 5 Live's Victoria Derbyshire show, Mr Morgan said he did not believe she would quit the show

"She had a rocky moment a couple of days ago when she woke up and saw some very negative headlines and suddenly felt the pressure of world attention," he said.

"You have to remember this is someone who has gone from complete anonymity to global stardom in the space of six weeks.

"It's understandable. People should give her a bit of slack. She's 24 hours from the biggest day of her life and she's starting to feel the heat."

The former tabloid editor said Ms Boyle had been reduced to tears several times during the week.

He said psychological and medical help was available to contestants, although he could not say if she had asked for such assistance.

"She is very distraught, to the extent where she packed her bags and was going to leave the show," he said.

"She just didn't see the point of continuing if every time she picked up the newspapers there was another avalanche of abuse."

Responding to his comments, Professor David Wilson, a former psychologist for reality TV show Big Brother, said Ms Boyle should be stopped from going into the final.

He said: "I am amazed by the honesty he showed in revealing the depth of how distraught Susan Boyle is.

"If Britain's Got Talent was an experiment in any university we would have to draw a line on that experiment because ethically we would be putting the person at the heart of that experiment through emotional turmoil.

"It's a duty of care, it's about a moral responsibility. The harrowing week that Piers was describing hasn't been created by the press. The harrowing week has been created by the programme."

BBC NEWS REPORT.

Harry pays homage at Ground Zero!

Prince Harry will visit a memorial to the Britons who died

Prince Harry has arrived at the site of the World Trade Center in New York as part of his first official overseas engagement.

After paying his respects to those who lost their lives in the 2001 attacks, he will visit a memorial garden to those Britons who died.

During his two-day trip, the prince will meet wounded Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans at a medical centre.

He will also raise cash for his Lesotho children's charity with a polo match.

So far during during his visit he has met firefighters at a New York fire station that lost six officers in the 2001 attacks.

The American organisation supporting his charity Sentebale will be given the proceeds of the competition on Governors Island.

Before the game the prince will meet Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, a co-patron of the charity.

The second day of the trip will feature a visit to the Harlem Children's Zone, a school and support centre for youngsters.

BBC correspondent Laura Trevelyan, who is covering the visit in New York, said the visit had been "carefully choreographed to dispel his playboy prince image".

"Officials organising the trip hope Prince Harry's deployment alongside American forces in Afghanistan will make his public engagements poignant," she said.

"They'll also be hoping that America's enduring fascination with the Royal family will generate positive headlines for the Prince's visit."

Prince Harry is using scheduled flights to make the trip, paid for by the Queen.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

Suu Kyi health a 'grave concern'!

Ms Suu Kyi was taken into prison in Rangoon on 14 May

The health of jailed Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is a cause for "grave concern", her National League for Democracy (NLD) says.

Ms Suu Kyi, 63, has not been able to sleep at night because of continuing cramps in her legs and needs urgent medical attention, the NLD says.

She is on trial for violating the terms of her house arrest after a US man came uninvited to her home.

She denies the charges and faces five years in prison if found guilty.

One of her lawyers, Nyan Win, said the court had decided to delay final arguments in her case until 5 June. They had been expected to take place on Monday.

Ms Suu Kyi is widely expected to be convicted at the trial. Observers believe that Burma's military leaders will seize on the incident to keep her behind bars during what they say will be multi-party elections in 2010.

Ms Suu Kyi, who is being kept in Rangoon's notorious Insein prison, has suffered from ill-health in the past.

Inside Burma's Insein prison Profile: Aung San Suu Kyi

Shortly before her arrest on 14 May she was treated for dehydration and low blood pressure.

The NLD said she was "in desperate need of proper medical treatment".

"We are very much concerned about her health," it said in a statement.

Ms Suu Kyi has been under house arrest and banned from seeing all but a small group of people for 13 of the past 19 years.

She was arrested on 14 May after an American man, John Yettaw, swam across the lake to reach her compound, spending two nights there.

He and two women who live with Ms Suu Kyi are also being tried.

On Sunday Burma's foreign ministry said in a statement that the pro-democracy leader was "provided with adequate health care and she is in good health".

The ruling junta has also rejected international condemnation of the trial, calling it "an internal legal issue".

BBC NEWS REPORT.

US Idol bosses deny vote rigging!

Kris Allen beat Adam Lambert to win the singing competition

American Idol bosses have refuted allegations of vote fixing after fans were shown how to "power-text" for this year's surprise winner, Kris Allen.

Show sponsor AT&T sent employees to two Allen supporter parties in Arkansas where they provided phones capable of sending 10 text message votes a time.

But TV network Fox dismissed the claim, saying: "In no way did any individuals unfairly influence the outcome."

It added voting procedures were closely monitored by independent adjudicators.

"Fox and the producers of American Idol are absolutely certain that the results of this competition are fair, accurate and verified," a statement said.

"Kris Allen is, without a doubt, the American Idol. We have an independent third-party monitoring procedure in place to ensure the integrity of the voting process."

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that AT&T staff brought more than 80 mobile phones to Allen parties during the final performance night last week.

One fan said she voted for Allen 10,840 times on one of the free phones provided, despite American Idol rules forbid "power-voting" using "technical enhancements".

AT&T's mobile phone network is the only one on which Idol watchers can cast votes through text messages, and voting usually incurs a charge.

While AT&T bosses admit their staff did show fans how to vote for Allen, they maintain the extra votes did not hamper other finalist Adam Lambert's chances of success.

"Going forward, we will make sure our employees understand our sponsorship celebrates the competition, not individual contestants," the company said.

"That said, it's quite a leap to suggest that a few individuals could have impacted the final results."

American Idol viewers are able to phone-vote to the programme free of charge.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

Egypt pigs meet cruel fate in swine flu cull

Many people have wrongly ascribed the cruelty to Islamic prejudice against pigs

By Yolande Knell BBC News, Cairo

Pigs squeal loudly as they are thrown into the scoop of a bulldozer and dropped onto a mass of squirming animals which already half fill the back of a lorry.

After three hours on the highway they are offloaded in the desert, apparently to be buried alive in quicklime and other chemicals.

"We leave them for 30 to 40 minutes until they stop breathing and die," says an official at the disposal site in Qaluybia governorate, outside Cairo.

r

The video shot by the al-Masry al-Youm newspaper has renewed controversy about Egypt's cull of over 300,000 pigs - which is now more than half complete.

It is being carried out because of fears about swine flu - even though there has not been a single case in the country.

"I was shocked. It's horrible," says Ahmed al-Sherbiny of the Egyptian Federation for Animal Welfare which is suing the government for cruelty.

"These methods and practices are totally unacceptable. Everybody must speak out against them."

Other footage shows pigs being beaten with an iron bar and piglets being stabbed with a bloody knife.

The film has been viewed tens of thousands of times on the YouTube website and has attracted hundreds of angry comments.

Animal welfare is a difficult cause to promote amid Egypt's human hardship

Many of those making the comments are negative about Egypt and voice strong criticism of the Islamic religion which they blame for motivating the cruelly.

Many critics wrongly assume that because pork products are haram, or forbidden, under Islamic law, ill treatment of pigs is condoned by the religious establishment.

In fact, Muslim clerics - along with many ordinary Egyptians - have strongly condemned the way the cull has been carried out in some areas.

"Islam has directives in such matters," says Sheikh Abd al-Moatti Bayoumi, former head of Islamic law at al-Azhar University.

"The Prophet Muhammad said if you slaughter, slaughter in a decent way, meaning that you have to be compassionate to animals even if you are killing them."

"Using chemicals to kill them is not permitted by Islam even if you treat the pig as an unclean animal," he said.

The World Society for the Protection of Animals says it is "extremely concerned" about the way pigs have been killed. It has offered expert help to relocate pigs humanely.

Like the World Health Organization, it points out that culling will be "ineffective" to protect people against swine flu, because it is not passed from pigs to humans.

The Egyptian Government continues to insist that the slaughter is a necessary public health measure.

Last week, Pime Minister Ahmed Nazif issued new orders which strictly prohibited violent ways of killing pigs.

Police cracked down hard on protests by pig farmers over the cull

But already many governorates have been declared free of the live animals.

For pig owners - who mainly come from the Coptic Christian minority - the cull has been devastating.

Many are zabaaleen - rubbish collectors - who used the pigs to recycle organic wastes and they sold them for meat.

They say their livelihoods, already damaged by foreign refuse contractors, have now been ruined.

Ayam Saed, who lives in Batn al-Baqar, a slum on the edge of Cairo, owned 33 pigs and accompanied them to the slaughter house.

"I felt as if they were killing me," he says. "But what am I to do?"

"They gave me E£1,900 ($340). Since then I've been unemployed. I tried to find work, but I couldn't. Nowadays, foreign corporations are taking the rubbish."

In nearby Manshiyat Nasr, Adel Itshaq has 10 children to support. He used to rely on income from the 50 pigs that he kept.

"I hope God compensates us. We are making no profit. There is no work," he says. "I am sitting day and night in the cafe."

Activists in Egypt are campaigning for new laws against animal cruelty.

But they admit that while human suffering and hardship is so widespread it is hard to get their voices heard.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

'Historic' cocaine haul in France

The cocaine was found inside sealed plastic tubs beneath bags of soil

Two British men have been arrested in France after customs officers found a record 684kg (1,507lbs) of cocaine inside their lorry, officials say.

The haul, estimated to be worth 27m euros (£24m), was discovered during a routine check on the A9 motorway near the city of Montpellier on Wednesday.

The two men had driven from Spain and were heading to London via Calais.

On Friday, Budget Minister Eric Woerth called the biggest ever seizure of cocaine on mainland France "historic".

The regional customs directorate in Montpellier said its officers had become suspicious because the lorry was being driven erratically.

A scanner then revealed the presence of "abnormal merchandise" - drugs - which was found inside sealed plastic bags and tubs beneath bags of soil, it added. Coffee beans had also been placed inside the vehicle to confuse sniffer dogs.

Both of the arrested men deny all knowledge of the illegal cargo.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

Obama 'confident' on two-state solution

Mr Obama said he was a strong believer in the two-state solution

US President Barack Obama says he is confident that Israel will recognise that a two-state solution is in the best interests of its security.

Speaking after White House talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, Mr Obama again urged Israel to freeze settlement expansion.

Israel has insisted it will allow existing settlements to expand, despite pressure from Washington.

President Obama also said Palestinians must rein in anti-Israeli violence.

For his part, Mr Abbas said he was committed to all obligations under the Mid-East peace plan "roadmap".

However, without a halt to Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinians have said there can be no progress towards peace

Mr Obama said he was a "strong believer in a two-state solution" and believed Israel would recognise that it was in the best interests of its long-term security.

WEST BANK SETTLEMENTS Construction of settlements began in 1967, shortly after the Six Day War Some 280,000 Israelis now live in the 121 officially-recognised settlements in the West Bank A further 190,000 Israelis live in settlements in Palestinian East Jerusalem The largest West Bank settlement is Maale Adumim, where more than 30,000 people were living in 2005 There are r 102 unauthorised outposts which are not officially sanctioned by Israel Source: Peace Now

He said it was important for all countries, but particularly Arab states, to be supportive of the two-state solution.

"I am confident that we can move this forward if all parties are ready to meet their obligations," he said.

Mr Abbas said the need for progress in the stalled process was urgent.

He added that "time is of the essence" - a phrase also used by Mr Obama.

He said that he had shared ideas with Mr Obama based on the 2003 peace plan and the 2002 Saudi peace plan supported by the Arab league.

Under the US-backed 2003 roadmap to peace, Israel is obliged to end all settlement activity, specifically including natural growth.

The plan also requires the Palestinian Authority to crack down on militants who seek to attack Israelis.

President Obama said he had been "very clear" in his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week on the need to "stop settlements".

Mr Netanyahu later said no new settlements would be built but natural growth in existing settlements should be allowed.

SETTLEMENT GROWTH 2006-2009 4,560 new housing units constructed in West Bank (excluding E Jerusalem) Tenders issued for 1,523 new housing units in West Bank (excluding E Jerusalem) Tenders issued for 2,437 new housing units in E Jerusalem 40% of all construction was east of West Bank barrier 560 new structures built in unauthorised outposts Figures refer to term of former PM Ehud Olmert, Jan 2006 to Jan 2009 Source: Peace Now In figures: Since Annapolis

The BBC's Justin Webb in Washington says Mr Obama's public reiteration of his view - a day after his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had laid it out only to have it shot down by the Israeli government - has raised eyebrows in Washington.

Ahead of his visit to the Middle East next week, Mr Obama has put Mr Netanyahu on notice that this White House has a firm agenda of its own, our correspondent adds.

The White House meeting between the two leaders is part of an effort by the Obama administration to restart stalled peace talks.

Mr Obama has already met King Abdullah of Jordan and Mr Netanyahu. He plans to meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on 4 June.

Earlier on Thursday, Mrs Clinton said Washington was pushing for a two-state solution in the Middle East as it was in the "best interests" of both the Palestinians and Israelis.

Speaking after a dinner with Mr Abbas, she said: "We believe strongly in a two-state solution."

However, Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said on Thursday that Israel would continue to allow some construction in West Bank settlements despite US calls for a freeze on its work.

He said the fate of the settlements should be decided in peace talks with the Palestinians.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

Dam bursts in Brazil's north-east

Four people have been killed and an unknown number are missing after heavy rainfall caused a dam to breach in Piaui state, in north-east Brazil.

State governor Wellington Dias has described the flooding around two towns which reached up to the level of three-storey buildings as a "tsunami".

Brazil's TV Globo reported almost 50bn litres of water escaped in less than an hour, devastating the valley below.

The search for missing people is due to resume on Friday.

The four people killed in the partial rupture of the dam included two young girls aged 10 and 12, a 72-year-old man and a 73-year-old woman, the state government said on its website.

Heavy rains in recent days swelled the reservoir behind the dam, increasing pressure that opened a 50m tear and eventually led to the rupture, the Piaui state government said in a statement.

The only video footage of the breach in the dam was taken with a mobile phone, says the BBC's Gary Duffy in Sao Paulo.

In the short rather indistinct images a torrent of water can be seen gushing outwards, our correspondent says.

People rushed to higher ground scrambling to rooftops as the floodwaters suddenly swelled a river.

"I heard a very loud thundering noise, and when the dam broke a huge column of water shot up 50m into the air, and when it came down it swept away everything in its way," said farmer Jose Maria Siqueira, quoted by the Globo TV website.

The number of houses swept away is not yet known but thousands of people were forced to seek shelter elsewhere. Crops and livestock have also been lost.

"It was a lot of water," said resident Antonio Antonino.

A torrent of water gushed outwards displacing thousands

"People were desperate, they were crying. I'm 60 years old, and I've never seen anything like this," Mr Antonino added.

Heavy rains in the area had caused water behind the dam to overflow two weeks ago, but it seems a build-up of pressure eventually forced a section to give way.

People still in the area say they heard a huge sound as the dam broke, and some scrambled into trees or onto the roofs of their homes for safety.

Some local people said they had been told it was safe to return to the area, and it seems certain questions will be asked about whether the best safety procedures were followed.

Flooding in the north and north east of Brazil, which began in April, is now said to have led to 56 deaths and displaced 426,000 people who are either staying with relatives and friends or are in public shelters.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

California prepares for 'the Big One'

By Matt Wells BBC News, California

The warning on the gate of Terry Cornet's home is not encouraging.

Instruments will measure activity at the San Andreas fault

"Snake habitat", reads the hand-painted sign.

Living right on top of California's notorious San Andreas Fault, there are more things to worry about than just the shifting tectonic plates.

"When an event happens - like some small quake - and it hits you, boom! It hits, and it's done," said the jovial father-of-f

As far as he is concerned, it is the coastal dwellers of Los Angeles that suffer the most.

"It gets real wavy-gravy down there," he adds, looking approvingly towards his own simple stone farmhouse, which has stood intact since 1890.

He is philosophical about his chances if "the big one" - a large quake registering more than 7.5 on the Richter scale - comes.

The only way to overcome the fear of it is to be prepared for it Scott Lydeen Field technician

"If the big one hits, I'm on the beach," he says with a shrug.

Terry, who is caretaker for the property, is policing the perimeter of a small construction site with a wooden staff, watching out for rattlesnakes.

A three-man team from the US Geological Survey is digging a large hole for a new batch of measuring instruments that will soon become part of America's first earthquake early warning system.

The southern San Andreas is being wired by government scientists and technicians from the USGS staff, so that cities like Los Angeles can have up to a minute's warning of a major quake.

Despite living a life in the wilderness without electricity, Terry is well aware of the wider benefits of the high-tech equipment about to be housed in his backyard.

"Imagine you're in a hospital doing surgery and you get even 30 seconds' warning - don't be cutting that guy right now."

The USGS is hoping to have its system operational within a few years. Scott Lydeen is one of the electronic field technicians in charge of making it all work.

He lives less than two miles from the San Andreas, and spends most of his working day on it.

"[My family] get a little tired of hearing about earthquakes but that's my job," he said.

"The only way to overcome the fear of it is to be prepared for it... I keep my travel-trailer totally stocked. It's next to my house, and it's ready."

Although the snakes mercifully stay away while the BBC is on site, Terry coshed one of his slithery neighbours who strayed too close to the team a few hours earlier.

He was planning to put it on that night's menu. "Rattlesnake for dinner... I'd hate to kill it and not use it," he said.

You could use advance warning to duck, cover and hold, stop elevators at the next floor - you can imagine all sorts of applications Doug Given Project manager

There are more than 300 earthquake faults across California but the southern section of the San Andreas is judged to be the most likely to crack.

USGS data shows that it is 99.7% likely the state will suffer a major earthquake some time in the next 30 years, with a 46% likelihood of it being the Big One.

Watching the team digging their instrumentation hole and lining up the solar power equipment, it is hard to imagine it surviving the trauma of a huge quake.

"The strongest shaking moves at about 2 miles per second - sounds fast, and it is," said Doug Given, project chief for earthquake monitoring in Southern California.

"But we can send warning messages at the speed of light over the internet," he adds, explaining how even a massive quake would still give the instrumentation time to trasmit vital messages.

The USGS quake headquarters are in the elegant Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena, inside an old family house.

Mr Given is quick to note that he gets out into the field from time to time but a bank of desk computers is where most of his work gets done.

"I'm not sure exactly how many lives we might save [with an early warning system] but certainly you could use advance warning to duck, cover and hold, stop elevators at the next floor - you can imagine all sorts of applications," he said.

"It's kind of like the spare tyre in your car, you may never use it," he adds. "So keeping people educated, and aware of an early warning system, is going to be a challenge."

BBC NEWS REPORT.

Family see Jesus image in Marmite!

The family said they found the image comforting Enlarge Image

It may not be immediately obvious to everyone, but one family are convinced they can see the face of Jesus on the lid of a jar of Marmite.

Claire Allen, 36, said she was the first to notice the image on the underside of the lid as she was putting the yeast spread on her son's toast.

Her husband Gareth, 37, said he could not believe his eyes when he saw it.

Mr Allen, of Ystrad, Rhondda, said: "The kids are still eating it, but we kept the lid."

He explained: "Claire saw it first and called her dad to come and take a photo of it.

"When I first looked at it I wasn't sure, but when I moved it away from me it started coming out. I thought yeah, she's right - that's the image of Jesus.

Mrs Allen said her 14-year-old son Jamie had also remarked on the likeness.

She told the South Wales Echo: "Straight away Jamie said 'that looks like God', and my other boys (Robbie, four, and Tomas, 11) even said they could see a face.

"People might think I'm nuts, but I like to think it's Jesus looking out for us.

"We've had a tough couple of months; my mum's been really ill and it's comforting to think that if he is there, he's watching over us."

BBC NEWS REPORT.

Australia swine flu ship isolated!

The P&O Pacific Dawn is carrying some 2,000 passengers

A cruise ship carrying 2,000 passengers has been ordered to stay at sea off the coast of Australia after three crew tested positive for swine flu.

The P&O Pacific Dawn, currently moored off Queensland, will be allowed to dock at a major port on Saturday, cutting short its voyage, officials said.

The order came as health officials confirmed more than 100 Australians now had the A(H1N1) virus.

The ship is not expected to be quarantined.

The Pacific Dawn has been blamed for the recent spike in flu infections in Australia after authorities allowed 2,000 passengers to disembark in Sydney despite a suspected outbreak onboard.

At least 20 passengers were later diagnosed with the virus. Their presence in the community is thought to have added to the rapid spread of the flu in Australia.

Australia's new cases come at the start of winter in the southern hemisphere

Experts have warned that Australia's rapidly rising number of swine flu cases could become an epidemic affecting 25% of the population.

Earlier, Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon said her government would not hesitate to put the Pacific Dawn cruise ship under quarantine if necessary.

She said the rules applying to cruise ships had been tightened, treating all vessels as potential swine flu sites and keeping passengers aboard until they have been cleared.

Meanwhile, a rise in cases has been reported in countries across Asia.

South Korea's health authorities say they have confirmed three more cases of the flu virus, bringing the number of reported infections there to 32.

Singapore has confirmed its first case of swine flu as infections increased in Hong Kong and the Philippines. Japan has seen a rapid rise in confirmed cases to more than 350.

Worldwide, the number of A(H1N1) cases has soared to nearly 13,400 in 48 countries, with 100 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

Berlusconi denies 'spicy' affair!

Ms Letizia sports the gold and diamond pendant given to her by the PM

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has denied having an affair with an underage girl and said he would resign if he was caught lying about it.

Mr Berlusconi said that if someone asked had he had "a spicy or more than spicy" relationship with a minor, his answer would be "absolutely not".

"I have sworn this on the lives of my children," he told reporters in Rome.

Mr Berlusconi, 72, is under pressure to explain his relationship with Noemi Letizia, 18, an aspiring model.

His wife, Veronica Lario, announced earlier this month that she was divorcing him after it was reported that he had attended Ms Letizia's 18th birthday party in Naples and given her an expensive necklace.

ty

"I cannot remain with a man who consorts with minors," she said.

Mr Berlusconi said he had only gone to Ms Letizia's party because he happened to be in Naples that day and was an old family friend.

But photographs later emerged of them together at several social events last year, when she was 17. The prime minister also confirmed that she had stayed at his villa in Sardinia and attended a new year's party there.

During a meeting with reporters in Rome on Thursday, Mr Berlusconi repeated previous denials that he had had sex with a minor.

BEING MRS BERLUSCONI In Feb 2007, Veronica demanded a public apology from her husband for his flirting, to which he replied with a written one In the 2004 biography Veronica's Tendency she revealed that "Silvio eats lunch while attached to the phone and dinner is the same" Veronica rarely accompanies her husband on foreign trips The couple met in 1980, wed 10 years later and have three children in their 20s Mr Berlusconi has said he was smitten when he first saw the 24-year-old actress on stage The battle of the Berlusconis Profile: Silvio Berlusconi

"I have answered the only question that anyone has the right to ask me: 'Prime minister, have you had a, let's say, spicy, or more than spicy, relationship with an underage girl?' The response is: 'Absolutely not,'" he said.

"I am aware that, if this were perjury, I would have to resign a minute later."

The age of consent in Italy is 16, but people under 18 are considered minors.

The comments come a day after the leader of the opposition Democratic Party, Dario Franceschini, asked Italians at a European Parliament election rally: "Would you want your children brought up by this man?"

The question provoked a furious response from Mr Berlusconi's children, who have rarely made public statements in the past.

"Angry?" asked Marina, his eldest daughter from his first marriage and chairman of publisher Mondadori, in an interview for Corriere della Sera.

"I am indignant. Furious. No, this is enough. This time, I don't intend to stay silent. My father has always worked a lot, but there has never been a time, a single time, in which I did not have him near when I needed him."

Her younger brother, Mediaset deputy chairman Pier Silvio, demanded to know how Mr Franceschini dared make such a "bad taste" remark.

The premier's three youngest children also said in a statement that they had been "brought up in a family atmosphere that was balanced and full of values".

"Politics should not turn to judging the role of a father, which has nothing to do with politics," Barbara, Eleonora and Luigi said.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

MAJOR QUAKE STRIKES OFF HONDURAS

A powerful earthquake has struck off the coast of Honduras, sending tremors that were felt across the region.

There were unconfirmed reports that one person had died and several homes had collapsed, but there were no immediate reports of major damage or casualties.

The earthquake hit 64km (39 miles) north-east of Roatan, one of Honduras' Isles de la Bahia in the Caribbean Sea, in the early hours of Thursday.

A tsunami watch was put in place for Guatemala, Belize and Honduras.

But it was called off after the danger passed.

The 7.1 magnitude quake struck at 0324 local time (0824 GMT) at a relatively shallow depth of 10km (six miles), according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Tremors were felt in dozens of cities across the region and as far north as Cancun in Mexico.

People in Guatemala City ran into the streets in their pyjamas during the 30-second tremor, the Associated Press reports. Similar scenes were witnessed in Honduras.

"I ran out of the building and kept going for about a block before I looked back and everything had calmed," said Raul Gonzalez, a hotel receptionist in San Pedro Sula city, northern Honduras.

"It was really strong. I have never felt anything like that."

Your accounts of the earthquake

There were reports of several wooden homes, a bridge and a stadium wall collapsing in northern Honduras.

The collapse of a home in La Lima, some 230km (142 miles) north of the capital Tegucigalpa, killed one person and injured another, a Red Cross official told local radio.

People in Honduras and Belize reported household items such as radios, televisions and picture frames crashing on to floors.

The extent of the damage on Roatan, the island nearest the quake's epicentre, was not immediately clear although one report said no major structural damage had been immediately reported.

A Red Cross spokesman told the AFP news agency that it was unable to make contact with Roatan - a resort island popular with scuba divers and snorkellers - in the hour after the tremor as power lines were down.

The Pacific Warning Center in Hawaii discontinued its tsunami alert after 90 minutes, saying the danger of a major tsunami wave hitting the coastlines of nearby countries had now passed.

But it warned that boats and coastal structures could still be affected by rapid currents caused by the quake.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

US toddler shoots younger brother

A three-year-old girl in the US state of California has accidentally shot her younger brother dead with a gun found in her home, say police.

The girl is believed to have found the .45 calibre semi-automatic handgun under her parents' bed.

Her two-year-old brother was taken to Kern County hospital with a critical chest wound but later died.

Police investigating the incident said the children's mother had been at home at the time.

Police Sgt Greg Terry said police would be looking at whether the weapon had been safely and securely secured.

"It's so important that if you're going to have firearms in your possession, make sure they're stored safely, so that incidents like this don't occur," local media quoted Sgt Terry as saying.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

CASH FOR AUSSIE 'GRATEFUL DEAD' !

PM Kevin Rudd's stimulus package aims to give cash to all tax-payers

The Australian government has admitted that cash hand-outs aimed at stimulating the economy have been sent to thousands of people who are dead.

The money was part of a multi-billion dollar package under which every tax-payer was entitled to a payment of up to A$900 ($700, £440).

About A$14m of the money went to dead people, ministers said, and A$25m to Australians living overseas.

Local media have dubbed the deceased recipients "the grateful dead".

Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner said that the money would still help Australia's economy.

"Even where they go to people who are dead, of course they go to the estate," he told local media.

"The estate typically is going to consist of ordinary Australians who will in turn get the payments, and on balance over time, will spend those payments."

He did acknowledge that a "tiny proportion" of the money might be spend overseas, by expatriates.

But another minister said more than 99% of the money had gone to the right people.

Members of the opposition were not appeased.

"If anybody saw any of the dead out there spending up big at Harvey Norman or Coles or Woolworths, please let me know," ABC news quoted Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham as saying.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS"

"A GOOD MARRIAGE IS THAT IN WHICH

EACH APPOINTS THE OTHER

THE GUARDIAN OF HIS SOLITUDE" !
_________

HAMAS BACKERS JAILED IN TEXAS !

Two founder members of what was once the biggest Muslim charity in the US have each been jailed for 65 years.
Shukri Abu Baker, 50, and Ghassan Elashi, 55, were convicted of channelling funds to the Palestinian militant group, Hamas.
Three other members of the Holy Land Foundation were jailed for between 15 and 20 years by a Dallas court.
The charity was found guilty last year of sending $12m (£7.4m) to fund social programmes controlled by Hamas.
The five men were convicted in November on charges ranging from money laundering to supporting terrorism.
Hamas was designated a terrorist organisation by the US government 14 years ago, making it illegal to give the group money or other support.

The defendants said they were only interested in helping the needy.
Their supporters said no money had been used to fund violence, and the case was a by-product of what it called the anti-Islamic sentiment following the 11 September attacks of 2001.
Shukri Abu Baker told the judge in Dallas on Wednesday: "I did it because I cared, not at the behest of Hamas."
But prosecutors argued that the humanitarian aid sent by the charity allowed Hamas to divert money to militant activities.

Jurors had reached their guilty verdict last year after eight days of deliberations following a retrial of the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development.
It was the largest terrorism financing trial since the 9/11 attacks.
The indictment against the group said it sponsored Palestinian orphans and families in the West Bank and Gaza whose relatives had died or been imprisoned as a result of Hamas attacks on Israel.
The charity was shut down and had its assets frozen in 2001.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

DNA 'PROVES ARGENTINE'S INCEST'

An Argentine man accused of incest fathered seven children with his daughter, officials have said.
DNA tests showed that Armando Lucero, 67, was the father of the children, according to Ricardo Puga of the Mendoza provincial legislature.
The alleged incest with the 35-year-old woman started when she was eight.
Officials are waiting for the results of psychological tests on Mr Lucero, also accused of raping two of his other daughters. He remains in custody.
Mr Lucero faces a maximum penalty of 50 years in prison.
His daughter's seven children are aged between two and 19.
They all lived together, with Mr Lucero's second wife and stepmother, AFP news agency reported.
The daughter, who has not been publically named, went to local authorities for help after her father threatened to sexually abuse one of her daughters.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

HUNGARY EXTRADITES RUSSIAN MOTHER

Elise's father took her back to France last month

A Russian woman, Irina Belenkaya, who is accused of abducting her three-year-old daughter Elise, has been extradited to France from Hungary.

The girl, whose father is French, has been the subject of a bitter custody battle since 2007.

In March, Elise was seized in the French city of Arles, where she lived with her father.

Her mother was stopped on the Hungary-Ukraine border last month, apparently trying to take Elise to Russia.

The Hungarian authorities later ordered them to be sent back to France.

During the abduction in March, Elise's father Jean-Michel Andre, 50, was badly beaten.

Irina Belenkaya, 36, is facing charges of kidnapping and complicity in the assault.

Elise has been the victim of a protracted battle between her parents.

After a French court awarded the father custody, Elise was taken to Russia last year by her mother.

Mr Andre made his own way there and grabbed her off a Moscow street, before taking her back to France.

A Russian court has awarded custody to the mother.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

ABU HAMZA SONS ADMIT £1m CAR SCAM

Mohamed Mostafa admitted two counts of fraud using a false ID

Three sons of jailed cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri have admitted exploiting a loophole in the vehicle registration system to commit a £1m luxury car scam.

His sons Hamza Kamel, 22, and Mohamed Mostafa, 27, ran the two-year fraud with his stepson Mohssin Ghailam, 28.

Southwark Crown Court heard they targeted cars in long-stay car parks, fraudulently obtaining their log books and keys before selling the cars on.

Four other London men also admitted their involvement.

Radical Muslim preacher Abu Hamza was jailed in 2006 for inciting murder and hate in speeches he made at Finsbury Park Mosque in north London.

On Wednesday the court heard that his sons were arrested in November last year, following a police investigation into the organised theft and resale of luxury cars in London.

Prosecutor Martyn Bowyer told the hearing: "This was a sophisticated, well-planned and professionally executed enterprise."

The gang identified luxury cars such as Mercedes, BMWs and Range Rovers left in long-stay car parks in London and applied to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to change the address.

If the DVLA did not receive a reply from the original address within 14 days, a new log book would be sent out to an address supplied by the gang.

The defendants would then inform the DVLA that the name of the registered keeper had also changed, enabling them to obtain keys for the vehicle.

The gang then stole the cars, selling them to unsuspecting buyers or using them as collateral to take out loans which they never repaid.

Mr Bowyer said: "This was the defendants seeking to exploit a loophole in the system at the DVLA."

Radical preacher Abu Hamza was jailed in 2006 for inciting hate and murder

Police identified 32 vehicles that were used in the fraud, valued at more than £1m.

Kamel, from Acton, west London, admitted five counts of handling stolen goods and laundering more than £14,000 of money in relation to the scam.

Mostafa, also from Acton, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by using false ID to secure a £12,000 loan and to obtain keys for a BMW.

Ghailam, from Shepherd's Bush, west London, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud.

Mohammed Chiadmi, 31, from Maida Vale, his brother Abdul Chiadmi, 22, from Ladbroke Grove, Khalid Jebari, 22, from Pimlico, and Hamza Mrimou, 27, from Fulham, admitted fraud, handling stolen goods and money laundering.

All the defendants are due to be sentenced on Thursday.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

SLUMDOG CHILD STAR GETS NEW HOME

Danny Boyle set up a trust which is supposed to look after the child stars

Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle and the trust he set up have bought a new home for one of the child stars of his Oscar-winning movie.

The filmmaker, who is currently in Mumbai, has told Azharuddin Ismail, 9, he will be re-housed after his family was made to leave the slums.

Boyle, who has been criticised for not helping the child actors enough, blamed the press for raising expectations.

"Inevitably, the tension and pressure is media generated," he said.

He said he hoped a new home would also be found for Rubina Ali, who played Latika, before the monsoon rains in June.

"They were given access to a world, an extraordinary and glamorous world, and they understandably want their lives to be completely transformed," he said.

Soon after the movie was finished, Boyle and producer Christian Colson set up the Jai Ho trust, which was aimed to help the children financially until they turned 18.

"The homes are a concern. That is one of the reasons why we built the trust," Boyle said.

"We have been trying to accelerate the process of re-housing the families, and one of the reasons we set up the trust is to deal with emergencies like this," said Colson.

A director for the trust said the apartment for Ismail, who played the young Salim, was "comfortable, in a good neighbourhood [and] near his school".

In February, the state housing authority said it would give the two children apartments, but the families had not heard from them, said Ali's father Rafiq Qureshi.

"It has been five to six months. Everything is available in Mumbai if you have the money," he said.

"If you really want to get us a house you can get us a house in two days."

Earlier this month, the authorities tore the children's slum homes down.

Since then Rubina has been staying with relatives and Azhar was living in a makeshift shanty with his parents.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

OLDEST INSURGENT FIORCE MARDHES ON

Still undefeated - the Farc enjoy an income from cocaine and ideal guerrilla territory

Jeremy McDermott BBC News, Bogota

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) are celebrating their 45th anniversary, making them one of the oldest insurgent force in the world - and, despite recent setbacks, still one of the strongest.

"The Farc are at their worst point in 45 years of fighting," said Alfredo Rangel, head of the Bogota think-tank Security and Democracy.

"Up until recently they had always been growing, in numbers and territory. Now they are being driven back, and their numbers are falling. They are in terminal decline."

Yet while the Tamil Tigers, one of the most brutal and innovative insurgencies, are crushed and the Nepalese Maoists opt for the political route (at least for the moment), the Farc remain committed to their increasingly improbable aim of overthrowing the state and imposing a socialist regime.

Its members are motivated neither by religion or ethnicity. The Farc are a throwback to the 1960s, when Cuban-inspired insurgent groups sprang up in South and then Central America.

And they are pretty much all that remain of those insurgencies that swept through Latin America.

They have recently taken a battering, reduced from almost 16,000 fighters in 2002 to half that today, with a record 3,000 deserting ranks in 2008.

Last year their founder and legendary leader, Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda, died of a heart attack aged 78.

Two other members of the Farc's ruling body, the Secretariat, were killed, one in an aerial bombardment of a rebel camp in neighbouring Ecuador, another murdered by his own bodyguard, who cut off a hand to show the authorities and claim a reward.

The Farc leader, known as Alfonso Cano, has launched "Plan Rebirth".

Yet the Farc are far from defeated. They have new leaders, including a bespectacled and bearded anthropologist known by the alias Alfonso Cano, long the movement's ideologue, a committed Marxist Leninist and hardliner.

He has now established his control over the movement, since the death last March of Marulanda, and delivered his new strategy for the rebels, called Plan Rebirth.

The Farc have stepped up their campaign, with more attacks so far this year than any year since 2003.

And the rebels are trying to move away from their peasant roots and project themselves into Colombia's cities, aided by training from international groups like the Provisional IRA and the Basque separatist group Eta.

The Farc's communique celebrating their 45th anniversary was defiant and optimistic.

"The decisive stage of the fight for peace has begun," read the message posted on the internet. "We have sworn to win and win we will."

Much of the Farc's longevity, certainly since the mid-1980s, can be attributed to one thing: cocaine.

Whilst the Farc are ultra conservative in their doctrine and tactics, they have proven themselves to be adept businessmen, latching onto the drugs trade and taking their cut from all the links in the narcotics chain, from the coca fields up to the vacuum-packed bricks of cocaine that leave Colombia's shores at a rate of over 600 tonnes a year.

According to Roman Ortiz, security expert at the Ideas for Peace Foundation, the drugs trade has provided more than just overflowing coffers.

"The Farc have also inherited a support base from their involvement in the drugs trade," said Mr Ortiz. "They get support and recruits from the peasants who cultivate and harvest the drug crops."

The Farc have two other crucial advantages which they maximise: topography perfectly suited to guerrilla warfare, and long borders with nations not interested in, or unable to crack down on, rebel activity.

Colombia could not have been designed any better for an insurgent force. It has three mountains ranges that trisect the country and the lower levels are coated in dense jungle.

Like the Taliban in Pakistan and the Vietcong in Cambodia, the Farc use the border regions, mostly impenetrable jungle, to rest and recuperate, plan attacks and get supplies and weapons, all out of reach of the Colombian security forces.

Intelligence sources indicate that four members of the Secretariat now reside outside Colombia.

There have long been accusations, vehemently denied, that President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela sympathises with the Farc.

What is clear is that the Farc have camps on Venezuelan soil and many of their supplies come from here and from Ecuador.

The latter uses the US dollar as its currency, meaning that the dollars that come into rebel coffers from the US drugs market can be readily translated into food, medical supplies, uniforms and black-market arms and munitions.

"We have incontrovertible evidence that elements of the Venezuelan military not only turn a blind eye to Farc presence on their soil, but actively help them with weapons and logistics," said a senior intelligence figure in the Colombian defence ministry. "As long as this continues, our chances of a military victory are slim."

Other borders are with Panama, which has no army; Peru, still unable to defeat the remnants of its own rebel force, the Shining Path; and Brazil, whose border sweeps into the Amazon basin, where visibility is reduced to a few metres amid the triple-canopy jungle.

Farc loses arms and ammunition in raids, but is far from defeat

And under orders to recruit quality not quantity, the Farc are becoming leaner and meaner.

The money from drugs continues, whereas the tax revenues the state needs to keep the US-backed military machine on the offensive are shrinking thanks to the world financial crisis.

President Alvaro Uribe, who may well stand for a third term in office, assuming he can change the constitution once again, has shown no desire to negotiate with the rebels, who killed his father in a botched kidnap attempt.

The Farc celebrate their 45th anniversary secure in the knowledge that it will not be their last.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

IRAQ TO ARREST 1,000 'CORRUPT' OFFICIALS

PM Nouri Maliki belatedly accepted his trade minister's offer to resign

Iraq's anti-corruption watchdog says arrest warrants have been issued for some 1,000 allegedly corrupt officials.

Few details were disclosed, but the Commission on Public Integrity said at least 50 were senior figures.

The commission has previously said the most serious complaints concern the trade ministry, where officials allegedly took bribes for contracts.

This week Prime Minister Nouri Maliki accepted the resignation of his trade minister over corruption accusations.

The former minister - Abdul Falah Sudani, one of whose brothers has been detained for corruption and who has another brother on the run - offered his resignation on 14 May and parliament has been scrutinising his case.

A vote of no confidence is due to take place on Thursday, which could determine whether Mr Sudani - who denies any wrongdoing - will face criminal charges.

The anti-corruption committee statement said there were as many as 997 arrest warrants against officials under suspicion and 53 were at director-general level or above.

The statement added that 51 officials had been arrested in April and 69 were arrested in May, including 33 last Sunday.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

NUMBER OF PROBLEM US BANKS SOARS

While some US banks have seen profits recover, others are still suffering

The number of problem US banks jumped 40% to a 15-year high in the first three months of the year, a government watchdog has warned.

A total of 305 banks had financial woes in January-March, up from 252 in October-December, said the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

The increase came as banks continued to grapple with bad mortgage and credit card debt amid the recession.

At the same time, industry-wide banking profits also rose in January-March.

The FDIC said profits across the industry hit $7.6bn (£4.7bn) in the first quarter of 2009, led by higher revenues at the biggest banks as their trading performance recovered.

This profit compares with a record loss of $36.9bn for October-December, but is still down 61% on the $19.3bn profit record for January-March last year.

Under US law, the FDIC insures consumer bank deposits and has the power to take over failing banks.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

EU'S BRUSSELS HQ EVACUATED AGAIN !

A fire alarm has triggered another evacuation of the European Commission in Brussels, just nine days after a blaze damaged part of the building.
This time there was some flooding on the 13th floor, apparently caused by a faulty boiler, firefighters said.
At least four fire engines drew up outside the Berlaymont building, as staff crowded the pavements.
The 2,000 Commission staff had only returned to their desks on Monday. No one was hurt in the 18 May fire.
The latest alert interrupted a news briefing by the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso.
The fire on 18 May was confined to a vertical shaft housing cables. It spread up from the basement.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

ROME SET FOR CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL

By Duncan Kennedy BBC News, Rome

The fans are ready. The police are ready. The teams are ready. The ground is ready.

European club football's premier event is about to start.

The Champions League Final, Rome 2009, is upon us.

A party atmosphere is gripping the Eternal City, fuelled not so much by alcohol, which has been largely banned for the day, but by sheer exuberance from the devoted supporters who've been drawn here from all corners of the continent.

One of those corners is Leek in the English county of Staffordshire.

Another is Hartlepool, further north in County Durham.

They are the homes of Darren Gibbons and Andrew Connolly, just two of the Manchester United fans who are here, relishing what lies ahead.

We met them as they were banging in the pegs of the tents they were erecting in a field near the stadium.

The camp site has been dubbed Fergie Fields, in honour of Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager they are hoping will carry them to further European glory.

The pegs were proving resilient to the hardened ground, baked by the 30C temperatures Rome has been sweltering under in the past few days.

Andrew's metal hammer did not make it through customs, so he bought himself a plastic one instead, which scored roughly one out of 10 on the useful scale.

"It's as hard as nails, this ground," says Andrew. "And I keep hitting my thumb."

It was all enough for the pair to work up a powerful thirst, but not enough for them to be put off the mouth-watering prospect of the final.

Yesterday we were offered £600 for one ticket, today it's £1,600 Andrew Connolly (left)

"I can't wait," says Darren.

"I've been like a little kid waiting for it," says Andrew.

They nearly did not make it at all.

When planning their trip, the cheapest flight to Italy they could find was around £900 ($1,400;1,025 euros).

So the enterprising duo flew to Nice in France for half that price, hired a car and drove the rest.

I asked them if they had been offered any of the counterfeit tickets en route or since arriving.

"No-one's tried to sell us one, everyone wants to buy one," replied Andrew.

He explained that from the day they were given their tickets at Old Trafford until now, they have lost count of the number of requests they have had to relieve them of their precious entry passes.

"Yesterday we were offered £600 for one ticket, today it's £1,600."

"Are you tempted?" I asked.

"No," replied Andrew, "it's the trip of a lifetime."

"No," echoed Darren. "We have come a long way to see this final. It's fantastic."

They showed me their tickets.

They are not the usual paper ones with a serrated edge to tear off the bottom. These looked more like plastic credit cards.

It is all part of the security measures in place.

When swiped at the stadium turnstiles, the cards will bring up all your personal data. You will only get in if you show secondary ID that matches the information on the card.

Oh, and you can also use the cards to get free transport on Rome's Metro.

The Metro will be one area heavily policed throughout the day.

Officials say they are prepared for trouble makers

Some stations have proved to be flash-points in the past when rival football teams have been playing here.

"Low profile but highly effective," is how Roberto Massucci sees the policing operation. He is the man in charge of security for the city.

"We don't have any concrete intelligence on trouble makers coming here to cause violence," he says, "but we are prepared".

"Our message is the same," says Matthew Donnelly, the British consul in Rome.

"If you come here to cause trouble you will be stopped," he says.

There was no trouble by the Coliseum, where thousands of fans have been queuing to have their picture taken by the Champions League Trophy that is on display inside a plastic cabinet.

No-one could tell us whether it was real or a replica.

It does not really matter.

In a sense, it is a metaphor for Italy itself, which is also on show.

The country wants to host the European Championships in 2016 and wants to showcase its organisational talents with a smooth final.

That is what the fans will be looking for, as well as this incredible football competition reaching its climax on Wednesday night.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

MEXICO ARRESTS MAYORS IN DRUG WAR

Federal police have been targeting the La Familia cartel

Mexican authorities have arrested 27 high-ranking officials suspected of collaborating with drug-trafficking gangs in the state of Michoacan.

They include 10 mayors, a judge and an aide to the governor of Michoacan.

The arrests come days after police detained several suspected members of the cartel, known as La Familia, which controls drug trafficking in the state.

President Felipe Calderon chose Michoacan state to launch his military offensive against the cartels in 2006.

Last year, the authorities arrested several high-ranking officials - including Mexico's former drugs czar - in connection with alleged links to the drug cartels.

But the latest of wave of arrests marks the first time the government has gone after such a large group of mayors.

Among those detained was the mayor of Uruapan, which made headlines early in the drug war in 2006 when hitmen dumped five human heads on the dance floor of a bar.

Local media report that among those held was Citlalli Fernandez, the state's former security chief who is currently employed as an adviser to the governor, Leonel Godoy.

The drugs trade in Michoacan is controlled by the La Familia cartel - considered to be one of the most violent drug gangs in Mexico.

President Calderon launched his nationwide crackdown on organised crime in 2006.

Since then, tens of thousands of troops have been deployed throughout the country to tackle the drugs-related violence which has claimed the lives of close to 9,000 people in the last two years.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

HOW SOUP CAN HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT

In the battle to lose weight, hunger is the dieter's worst enemy. But recent research has revealed a simple way to fight back: eat soup. It's dieting's best kept secret, says Jack Challoner.

Imagine a typical lunchtime meal - say, chicken and vegetables with a glass of water.

No snacks for them for a while

If you eat the food and drink the water, you will feel full for a couple of hours before hunger kicks in. But if you blend the food with the water - to make soup - you will stay hunger-free for much longer, and less likely to snack through the afternoon.

How can blending the food into soup make such a difference? The answer lies in the stomach. Scientists have used ultrasound and MRI scans of people's stomachs to investigate what happens after eating solid-food-plus-water meals compared with the same food made into soup.

After you eat a meal, the pyloric sphincter valve at the bottom of your stomach holds food back so that the digestive juices can get to work.

Water, however, passes straight through the sphincter to your intestines, so drinking water does not contribute to "filling you up".

FIND OUT MORE... 10 Things You Need to Know About Losing Weight is broadcast on BBC One on Wednesday, 27 May at 2000BST Or catch up using the iPlayer

When you eat the same meal as a soup, the whole mixture remains in the stomach, because the water and food are blended together. The scientists' scans confirm that the stomach stays fuller for longer, staving off those hunger pangs.

The key to this low-tech weapon against hunger is a hormone called ghrelin. It is one of the major players in the body's appetite system.

Discovered as recently as 1999, ghrelin is released by specialised cells in the stomach wall.

These cells produce a constant stream of ghrelin whenever the stomach is empty. The ghrelin travels via the blood stream to the brain's appetite centre, an organ called the hypothalamus. As a result, the hypothalamus screams "You are hungry - find food."

But whenever the stomach wall is stretched - when the stomach is full - the cells stop producing ghrelin, and the hypothalamus responds accordingly, turning off the appetite signal. The longer the stomach remains full, the longer you feel satisfied and the less you are likely to eat.

WHICH VARIETY IS BEST? Vegetable soup is best It produces a more consistent blend And it is generally has less calories than chicken or fish soup

The stomach gradually empties, just slower for the soup than the solid meal plus water. The BBC staged an experiment for the programme 10 Things You Need to Know About Losing Weight to test this theory. In this experiment, and in previous experiments, participants reported feeling full for up to an hour-and-a-half longer than their solid meal counterparts.

Although some researchers refer to appetite as "the cupcake circuit", the mechanism behind human appetite evolved long before cupcakes were invented - at a time when food was scarce.

As a result, we are hardwired to eat high-calorie foods, which are unfortunately so abundant in the modern world.

Finding ways to control the appetite signal is crucial if we are to stave off the meteoric rise in obesity. Food scientists and pharmaceutical companies alike are on a major quest to find ways to do just that.

Could soup help address obesity?

Appetite is one of the most researched areas of weight-loss science. Unfortunately, the appetite system is complex, and still poorly understood.

There are probably dozens of hormones that play a role in regulating appetite. Of those that have already been discovered, there is one that is released after eating protein-rich meals (called PYY), one that is released by fat cells (leptin) and several that respond to the presence of any kind of food.

But of all the hormones that make up the appetite system, it is ghrelin that has caused the most interest. In addition to its role in sending the "stomach empty" signal to the brain, ghrelin also promotes fat storage.

Even worse, it inhibits the breakdown of stored fat during times of weight loss. Inject ghrelin into the bloodstream of a rat and the animal eats insatiably - and quickly becomes obese.

In 2006, scientists at the Scripps Research Centre in the US developed a vaccine to counteract the influence of ghrelin, in an attempt to control appetite.

It is still undergoing clinical trials - so for now, the best and simplest way to keep hunger at bay is to reduce your stomach's release of ghrelin: blend your food into a healthy, voluminous soup. The best sort? Vegetable soup, as it produces a more consistent blend and is generally lower calorie than chicken or fish soup.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

N. KOREA THREATENS MILITARY ACTION

North Korea's military celebrated the controversial nuclear and missile tests

North Korea has warned of a military response after South Korea joined an anti-proliferation exercise which could allow it to search the North's ships.

The North said it is no longer bound by the armistice which ended the Korean War in 1953.

A military spokesman quoted by official media said Pyongyang could no longer guarantee the safety of shipping.

Its latest threat comes after an underground nuclear test two days ago and several missile launches.

The United Nations Security Council is working on a strong condemnation of what it says is North Korea's contravention of its rules.

Meanwhile steam is reported to be coming from North Korea's main nuclear reprocessing plant at Yongbyon, suggesting it has made good on its threat to restart efforts to make weapons-grade plutonium.

South Korea announced on Tuesday that it would not delay any longer in joining the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) - a US-led non-proliferation campaign involving searching ships carrying suspicious cargos and aimed at stopping the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction.

Your views: Should world worry? Reaction from around the region What is N Korea's game plan? Factfile: Underground testing

North Korea has repeatedly warned that the South's participation in the PSI would be tantamount to a declaration of war.

Joining the PSI "is a natural obligation", South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said, quoted by South Korea's Yonhap news agency. "It will help control North Korea's development of dangerous material."

North Korea's response has been firm.

"Any hostile act against our peaceful vessels including search and seizure will be considered an unpardonable infringement on our sovereignty, and we will immediately respond with a powerful military strike," a spokesman for the North's army was quoted as saying by the official KCNA news agency.

North Korea has fired five short-range missiles in two days, despite strong censure from the international community, including China and Russia.

NUCLEAR CRISIS Oct 2006 - North Korea conducts an underground nuclear test Feb 2007 - North Korea agrees to close its main nuclear reactor in exchange for fuel aid June 2007 - North Korea shuts its main Yongbyon reactor June 2008 - North Korea makes its long-awaited declaration of nuclear assets Oct 2008 - The US removes North Korea from its list of countries which sponsor terrorism Dec 2008 - Pyongyang slows work to dismantle its nuclear programme after a US decision to suspend energy aid Jan 2009 - The North says it is scrapping all military and political deals with the South, accusing it of "hostile intent" April 2009 - Pyongyang launches a rocket carrying what it says is a communications satellite 25 May 2009 - North Korea conducts a second nuclear test Q&A: North Korea nuclear test What are N Korea's motives?

The North announced last month it was quitting a six-nation nuclear disarmament agreement and would reopen the Yongbyon plant, closed in July 2007 as part of a disarmament deal.

That threat last month was prompted, it said, by the UN Security Council's censure of North Korea's 5 April rocket launch.

Washington is calling for a quick and unified response by the international community that will make it clear to North Korea that there are consequences for its actions.

Diplomats from the five permanent Security Council member countries plus Japan and South Korea have been meeting behind closed doors to discuss a new resolution.

"We are thinking through complicated issues that require very careful consideration," said the US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice.

US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly also said the door was still open to resume long-running six-party talks and that the US was looking at a "whole range of options".

It is a sign of the delicate balance required to handle the reclusive country, the BBC's State Department correspondent Kim Ghattas reports from Washington.

China shares a border with North Korea and worries about pushing Pyongyang too far, so it is unclear what sort of measures might be taken now and how North Korea would respond, our correspondent adds.

This week's test and missile launches came after North Korea walked away from long-running disarmament talks.

It agreed in February 2007 to abandon its nuclear ambitions in return for aid and diplomatic concessions.

But the negotiations stalled as it accused its negotiating partners - the US, South Korea, Japan, China and Russia - of failing to meet agreed obligations.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

CANADIAN POLITICIAN EATS SEAL HEART

Ms Jean said the raw seal heart was delicious

Canada's governor general, Michaelle Jean, has helped to butcher and eat a seal in an apparent act of solidarity with hunters.

Ms Jean used a traditional Inuit knife to help gut the animal then ate a slice of raw heart.

It came weeks after the EU voted to ban Canadian seal products, but Ms Jean did not say if her actions were in response to the EU proposals.

An EU spokeswoman said the story was "too bizarre to acknowledge".

The governor general is the representative of Canada's head of state, Queen Elizabeth II.

Ms Jean was touring northern Canadian communities and was at a festival at Rankin Inlet on Monday attended by hundreds of Inuit when she ate the seal heart.

Asked later if her actions were a message to the EU, she said: "Take from it what you will."

The European Parliament recently voted in favour of the ban on Canadian seal products in protest against commercial seal hunting methods.

Inuit people are exempt from the ban, but many fear that it will inevitably have a negative effect on their livelihoods as well.

The authorities say the hunt is crucial for about 6,000 North Atlantic fishermen who rely on it for much of their income.

The government has authorised the killing of more than 300,000 seals this year.

But fisheries officials say only about 65,000 seals will be killed as a fall in the price of seal pelts means there are fewer hunters this season.

Animal welfare groups have long argued that the clubbing of seal pups by hunters is barbaric.

The EU's proposed ban still requires the agreement of EU ministers to take effect.

But correspondents say it is likely to be imposed before the 2010 hunting season starts.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

AUNG SAN SUU -KYI DENIES CHARGES !

Ms Suu Kyi was taken to the Insein maximum security prison on 14 May

Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has told a court she did not break the terms of her house arrest when a US man visited her lakeside home.

Ms Suu Kyi said she was not immediately aware of the late-night visit but was informed later by her assistant.

In a rare concession by the regime, diplomats and some Burmese journalists were allowed to attend the trial.

Ms Suu Kyi is widely expected to be convicted at the much-criticised trial, and faces up to five years in prison.

This was the first time she had taken the stand at her trial, which began more than a week ago.

She was charged by the military rulers after US national John Yettaw stayed overnight at her home - where she has spent most of the past 19 years under house arrest.

Appearing frail and pale, Ms Suu Kyi was questioned for less than half an hour about the incident, according to diplomats and journalists allowed in court.

"I didn't know about [the visit] immediately. I was informed about it at 0500. My assistant told me that a man had arrived," Ms Suu Kyi told the court.

She said she gave "temporary shelter" to Mr Yettaw, and did not inform the authorities about the intrusion.

Inside Burma's Insein prison Profile: Aung San Suu Kyi

The 63-year-old earlier told her lawyers that she had kept quiet about the visit for fear of landing Mr Yettaw or the security guards in trouble.

Ms Suu Kyi said Mr Yettaw left her home at 2345 local time on 5 May.

"I only knew that he went to the lakeside. I did not know which way he went because it was dark," the court heard.

However, the ruling generals say the incident was a stunt designed to embarrass the government.

Ms Suu Kyi - the head of Burma's opposition party, the National League for Democracy - has been held at the Insein maximum security prison in Rangoon since 14 May.

"Thank you for your concern and support. It is always good to see people from the outside world," she told journalists and diplomats before being escorted from the courtroom.

Her trial has been widely condemned around the world as a judicial charade to justify keeping Ms Suu Kyi locked up until after next year's election.

There are signs the authorities want to bring the trial to a swift end.

Ms Suu Kyi's party says her current period of house arrest, which was due to end on Wednesday, was lifted on Tuesday. However, she remains in detention while the trial continues.

Nyan Win, Ms Suu Kyi's lawyer, said on Monday that the prosecution had cancelled the remaining witnesses, so his client would be called to testify even though he had not had the chance for private discussions with her.

Profile: The US 'intruder'

Nyan Win said he was "absolutely certain" that the authorities were trying to rush through the trial and that it "could be they have already written the verdict".

There are conflicting reports about whether the Burmese government thinks it has the right to keep Aung San Suu Kyi detained regardless of the trial's outcome.

In a statement, the military said the pro-democracy leader had been under house arrest for only four-and-a-half years of the maximum five years - entitling it to legally extend her detention for a further six months.

But a senior police officer said the authorities had been considering releasing Ms Suu Kyi as a humanitarian gesture before the visit by the US national.

Meanwhile, the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) expressed "grave concern" over the situation, a rare move by the group which usually stays out of member states' domestic affairs.

Burma angrily rejected the group's statement, saying it was incorrect and "not in conformity with Asean practice" and accused Thailand, current chair of Asean, of interfering in Burma's internal affairs.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

DUBAI'S UNEMPLOYED DEAD FOR THE BEACH

Ben Thompson Reporter, Middle East Business Report, BBC World, Dubai

Bad Times Boot Camp gets unemployed people out of bed

With sweat pouring down her face, Kate Shannon is first to cross the line.

There are cheers and hugs from her teammates, before she collapses onto the sand to catch her breath. It is only 9am but already 38 degrees celsius.

This is a warm-up with a difference. This is the Bad Times Boot Camp.

Kate is one of about 30 unemployed expats who sweat it out on Dubai's Jumeirah Beach three times a week.

In the shadow of the iconic Burj Al Arab hotel, they jog and sprint, do press-ups and sit-ups and occasionally an odd star jump or two.

And in their colourful t-shirts, they are a diverse group. Young and old, men and women and a whole host of nationalities.

But there is one thing they do have in common. They have all lost their jobs in Dubai in the last few months.

As the economic slowdown takes its toll here, laid-off expats have two choices.

Alex Light, founder of the Bad Times Boot Camp, talks about the economic slowdown

Either pack up and go home, as many have already done, or stick it out and look for another job.

That is what these expats are doing.

And in between the job hunting and interview preparation, they come to the boot camp.

"I've been looking for work but there's nothing available in what I want to do," says Kate, who lost her job in marketing.

"But the group is great. It's very supportive, it gets you up in the morning and at the end of the session we chat, support each other and see how we're all getting on.

"I've already made some contacts today for another possible opportunity, so it's a really good idea."

Alex Light, 26, got the idea when he lost his job as a business consultant in January after four years in Dubai.

Unemployed expats are giving the bad times a run for their money

Rather than dwelling on his bad luck, he created the Bad Times Boot Camp.

He runs the free sessions on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and for those feeling the stress of job hunting, there's even a yoga group.

"Losing my job hit me pretty hard," says Alex.

"But then I started training for a local marathon and noticed how much better I felt after exercise.

"So I got thinking, 'what if I do something to get people up in a morning, get them out of the house and give them something to focus on?'," he says.

"The response has been amazing. People say it helps set them up for the day and then they go off, motivated to apply for jobs. Otherwise, I think most of them would still be in bed."

But while the expats at the boot camp do want to stay in Dubai, it is not quite so simple.

If I can run these free classes, but take a small wage for myself from the sponsorship, that'd be great Alex Light, founder, Bad Times Boot Camp

To live and work in Dubai you need a visa. But that visa is sponsored by your employer. Lose your job and you lose your visa.

In most cases, that means you have just six weeks to find a new job, and a new visa, before you have to leave the country.

In response to the widespread layoffs, however, many employers have been sympathetic to their former staff.

Some have not cancelled visas immediately, giving people more time to find other work.

But that has had only limited success in persuading people to stick around.

A report from the investment bank EFG-Hermes suggests that Dubai's population could fall by up to 17% this year.

So, in a bid to stem that tide of departing expats, the UAE government says it is now considering a change in the law that would allow redundant expats to stay in the country for up to six months while they look for work.

It is a move that will be welcomed by both expats and businesses.

After years of trying to attract the right skills and experience to the region, there is growing concern that it could be difficult to win back the staff who have left, if the market picks up again.

"Firms have spent millions recruiting people from overseas to work in the region," says Matthew Taylor, international director at MacDonald and Company recruitment.

"There's now a danger that if these people are laid off, they'll go home and never come back. That means firms won't have the right staff or skills when conditions improve.

"They'll have to pay even more to entice them back. Especially those that got their fingers burned in Dubai this time round, they could take a lot of convincing".

When - or even if - things will get better is, of course, the million dollar question.

You never know, someone might have heard about an opening somewhere, or they may know someone who works at the firm you're applying to Desmond Soon

How long can expat workers stick around, hoping for conditions to improve?

In a big reversal of recent years, demand for jobs here now vastly outstrips supply.

And whilst the year-round sunshine and sandy beaches might make unemployment in Dubai more appealing than in many other places, it is not all fun in the sun.

Dubai is expensive, with rent, food and household bills amongst the highest in the world.

For those with families, the recent hike in the city's school fees has hit hard.

And of course, there is no unemployment benefit or state support for those feeling the pinch.

Back on the beach, the expats are turning to each other for support instead.

Thousands of miles from home, family and friends, the group becomes an adopted family.

"It's nice to know that other people are in the same situation as you," says Kelly Grant, who lost her job with an events management firm last week.

"I think it's good for morale. I'm not sat around the house feeling sorry for myself. It's made me realise there are other people out there with great CVs and great experience, people that had really good jobs, but were also made redundant.

"It means you don't feel so bad about yourself."

But as well as support, the group is about networking too. In Dubai's traditionally closed society, finding work is all about who you know.

"You never know, someone might have heard about an opening somewhere, or they may know someone who works at the firm you're applying to," says Desmond Soon, one of the boot campers who was made redundant from his marketing job earlier this year.

But could the boot camp become a victim of its own success? What happens to the group if everyone finds work?

"Brilliant," says Alex. "That's what we're here for.

"I don't want to see anyone left in my boot camp. I want everyone to be in work. We've already had several success stories. People email me saying they can't come any more because they've found a job. That's what I want".

But in the meantime, Alex is working on plans to expand the concept to neighbouring Abu Dhabi.

But to do that he needs financial backing.

"I'm happy to give my time for free," he says. "But if I want to open more groups, I need to employ staff and that costs money."

Alex is already in talks with a number of potential sponsors.

His ultimate aim is to turn this into a career.

"If I can run these free classes, but take a small wage for myself from the sponsorship, that'd be great," he says.

If the plan works, he'll be able to add his own name to the list of expats who've found work at the Bad Times Boot Camp.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

CHINA FARMERS RAID POLICE STATION

The row involves missed social security payments

Hundreds of Chinese tea farmers have attacked a police station following a row about social security payments.

The farmers used stones, bricks and hoes, and burned four police cars, according to the state-run China Daily.

The workers are reported to be angry about arrears in the payment of medical insurance, unemployment benefits and pensions.

Thousands of similar incidents are reported each year, although most are usually isolated, local disputes.

Tea farmers near the city of Yingde, in Guangdong Province, have been complaining about the missed payments for years, according to the China Daily.

They have staged demonstrations outside the city government offices twice recently in an attempt to get officials to resolve the problems.

This latest incident was sparked when four farmers were arrested last week for raising funds to organise further demonstrations.

About 300 farmers gathered outside the police station on Saturday demanding the release of those arrested.

They went on the rampage for four-and-a-half hours when they believed one of the arrested organisers had been killed.

In the unrest, three police officers and one farmer were injured, according to a city government spokesman quoted by the newspaper. He denied any farmer had been killed.

"The municipal government of Yingde has spared no effort in dealing with the problems. It really takes time," the official was quoted as saying.

Ordinary Chinese people, particularly in the countryside, stage regular protests against the local authorities or police, often over accusations of corruption.

"This kind of violence is happening more and more at the grassroots level, and grassroots governments should play a more effective role in dealing with complaints," lecturer Xu Binbin, of the South China Normal University, told the China Daily.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

NORTH KOREA 'WILL PAY' OVER TESTS

The tests have been unanimously condemned by the UN Security Council

North Korea will "pay a price" for the nuclear and missile tests it has carried out in recent days, the US ambassador to the UN has said.

Susan Rice said international pressure on North Korea would increase, until it realised the tests had left it "further isolated and further debilitated".

Her comments come a day after the UN unanimously condemned North Korea for conducting an underground nuclear test.

North Korea responded by firing two more missiles hours later.

Ms Rice told CBS news channel in the US that Pyongyang's actions were "clearly provocative and destabilising actions which threaten international peace and security".

"North Korea needs to understand that its actions have consequences," she said.

"The pressure will increase on North Korea, economically and otherwise, and North Korea will realise that its actions have only left it further isolated and further debilitated."

Ms Rice said the international community would not "throw up our hands and let them pursue this path" and that North Korea would "pay a price for their action".

The strong words from the US come as UN diplomats begin work on a resolution to punish North Korea for its underground nuclear test on Monday, which were accompanied by at least three missile tests.

Your views: Should world worry? Reaction from around the region What is N Korea's game plan? Factfile: Underground testing

Earlier, the Security Council unanimously condemned the tests.

Diplomats said they were seeking "tough measures", including further sanctions.

The Communist state responded by firing two short-range missiles off an east-coast base hours later, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, citing an official.

The agency said the tests involved one ground-to-ship missile and one ground-to-air missile.

Earlier, North Korea, in a statement carried by its official news agency KCNA, said it was clear America's "hostile policy" towards it had not changed.

"Our army and people are fully ready for battle... against any reckless US attempt for a pre-emptive attack," it said in a piece criticising US moves to relocate its fighter jets.

Ms Rice said the Security Council response and any additional sanctions were "not the sum total of the response available" to the US and other countries.

"We'll be looking at what other steps we can take, along with partners in the region, to increase the pressure on North Korea and to make it plain that these actions will not be tolerated," she said.

On Tuesday, Asian and European foreign ministers attending the two-day biennial Asem Summit in Hanoi issued a statement condemning the test and calling for an immediate return to talks.

The issue was also expected to dominate talks between Chinese and South Korean defence ministers as they met in Beijing.

NUCLEAR CRISIS Oct 2006 - North Korea conducts an underground nuclear test Feb 2007 - North Korea agrees to close its main nuclear reactor in exchange for fuel aid June 2007 - North Korea shuts its main Yongbyon reactor June 2008 - North Korea makes its long-awaited declaration of nuclear assets Oct 2008 - The US removes North Korea from its list of countries which sponsor terrorism Dec 2008 - Pyongyang slows work to dismantle its nuclear programme after a US decision to suspend energy aid Jan 2009 - The North says it is scrapping all military and political deals with the South, accusing it of "hostile intent" April 2009 - Pyongyang launches a rocket carrying what it says is a communications satellite 25 May 2009 - North Korea conducts a second nuclear test Q&A: North Korea nuclear test What are N Korea's motives?

Seoul announced early on Tuesday that it would delay no longer in joining the PSI - a US-led non-proliferation campaign involving searching ships carrying suspect cargo, aimed at stopping the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction.

North Korea has repeatedly warned that the South's participation in the PSI would be tantamount to a declaration of war.

Monday's blast, which seismologists said had the power of a 4.5 magnitude earthquake, appears to have been much more powerful than North Korea's first nuclear test.

Defence officials in Russia say it was an explosion of up to 20 kilotons, making it comparable to the American bombs that flattened Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

The test came after North Korea walked away from long-running disarmament talks.

It agreed in February 2007 to abandon its nuclear ambitions in return for aid and diplomatic concessions.

But the negotiations stalled as it accused its negotiating partners - the US, South Korea, Japan, China and Russia - of failing to meet agreed obligations.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

GERMANY BANS COLA AFTER DRUG TEST

Red Bull says coca leaf extracts were used worldwide as a natural flavouring

The authorities in six German states have ordered retailers to stop selling Red Bull Cola energy drinks after traces of cocaine were found in it.

The recall came after a sample analysis conducted in North-Rhine Westphalia found one litre of the drink contained 0.4 micrograms of the banned substance.

Officials said the cocaine levels were too low to pose a health threat but were not permitted in foodstuffs.

Red Bull said its cola was "harmless and marketable" in both the US and EU.

The company said coca leaf extracts were used worldwide as a natural flavouring, and that its own tests had found no traces of cocaine.

The illegal cocaine alkaloid - one of 10 found in coca and representing only 0.8% of the plant's chemical make-up - is chemically removed before use, as mandated by international anti-narcotics agencies.

"There is no scientific basis for this ban on Red Bull Cola because the levels of cocaine found are so small," Fritz Soergel, the head of the Institute for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research in Nuremberg, Bavaria, told Time magazine.

"And it's not even cocaine itself. According to the tests we carried out, it's a non-active degradation product with no effect on the body. If you start examining lots of other drinks and food so carefully, you'd find a lot of surprising things."

But the authorities in North-Rhine Westphalia said the presence of coca leaf extracts meant the cola could not be classified as a foodstuff but as a narcotic, which would require a special licence.

When Coca-Cola was first produced in the 19th Century, it famously contained traces of cocaine, but has not since 1903.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

GREEK FREE NUN-DRESSED BRITONS

The men appeared in court in the clothes they had on when arrested

Seventeen British men arrested for wearing nuns' habits and accused of offensive behaviour have been freed by a court on the Greek island of Crete.

The prosecutors dropped the charges against them after no one showed up to testify that they had been upset by the tourists' conduct.

The men, who were also wearing women's lingerie, spent a night in police cells in Crete wearing their outfits.

They appeared in court on Monday in the clothes they had on when arrested.

They were apprehended in the early hours of Sunday morning and held for "scandal and misrepresentation of a costume or uniform".

The male tourists, aged between 18 and 65, were in the seaside holiday town of Malia, and appeared in court in Iraklio.

The British Embassy in Athens confirmed that all 17 had been released.

The BBC's Malcolm Brabant said the men, all from the Bristol area, went out dressed in habits and saucy lingerie, lifting up their skirts to reveal bottoms and G-strings.

For the past two or three years, Malia has become synonymous with Britons behaving badly and it has been awarded the dubious "party central" crown previously held by rowdy resorts such as Faliraki in Rhodes, and Kavos in Corfu, our correspondent added.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

COLOMBIAN REBELS SEEK FARC TRUCE

The Cuban-inspired ELN began fighting the government in 1964

The leader of Colombia's second-largest rebel group has appealed to the country's largest, the Farc, to end fighting between them.

"We must order a stop to fratricidal war between our two forces," wrote the National Liberation Army (ELN) chief Nicolas "Gambino" Rodriguez.

He sent the message to Alfonso Cano, the new head of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).

The ELN has about 1,500 fighters but its organisation is under pressure.

The BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Colombia says many ELN units now ignore orders from their leader.

Others have made alliances with drugs trafficking gangs to ensure their survival economically and in the face of attacks by the Farc, our correspondent adds.

Both rebel groups have been forced onto the back foot by the US-supported offensives of President Alvaro Uribe, he adds.

Both the Farc and the ELN have been fighting the Colombian government since the 1960s and are believed to hold hundreds of hostages.

Meanwhile, Gen Freddy Padilla - the current head of the armed forces - has been appointed the new Defence Minister. He will retain his military post.

Gen Padilla replaces Juan Manuel Santos who recently resigned to prepare for a possible run for president next year.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

"SAYINGS"

"THROW A LUCKY MAN IN THE SEA,

AND HE WILL COME UP WITH A FISH

IN HIS MOUTH! "

_______

IMMUNITY DEAL 'PROTECTS KARADZIC'

The main charge against Mr Karadzic concerns the 1995 Srebenica massacre

Lawyers for the former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic have filed papers arguing all charges against him should be dropped.

They say US diplomat Richard Holbrooke promised him immunity from prosecution on condition he gave up politics - something Mr Holbrooke strongly denies.

Mr Karadzic is on trial at the UN tribunal in The Hague, facing 11 charges including genocide.

The tribunal has said that any immunity deal would not be binding.

They say even if a deal had been agreed, the trial would proceed anyway.

Mr Karadzic's lawyers filed a motion of more than 100 pages, demanding the court hold a special hearing to establish the truth of Mr Karadzic's claims.

He says Mr Holbrooke, then the US envoy to Bosnia, agreed to provide him with immunity at a meeting in Belgrade on 18-19 July 1996.

Mr Karadzic does not claim to have attended the meeting, but says the former Bosnian Serb assembly speaker Momcilo Krajisnik and foreign minister Aleksa Buha were there and could testify to Mr Holbrooke's promise.

CHARGES AGAINST KARADZIC Eleven counts of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and other atrocities Charged over shelling Sarajevo during the city's siege, in which some 12,000 civilians died Allegedly organised the massacre of up to 8,000 Bosniak men and youths in Srebrenica Targeted Bosniak and Croat political leaders, intellectuals and professionals Unlawfully deported and transferred civilians because of national or religious identity Destroyed homes, businesses and sacred sites

He also claims to have testimony from other witnesses, including sources in the US state department, along with written documents and articles, to support his claim.

"The indictment should be dismissed, or the proceedings should be stayed, so that the hands of the tribunal are not stained with Holbrooke's deception," the motion said, according to AFP news agency.

"Dr Karadzic honoured his part of the agreement. He now seeks to require the tribunal to honour Holbrooke's part."

Mr Holbrooke - now the US envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan - strongly denies any such deal as "laughable" and "a lie".

The BBC's correspondent in The Hague, Geraldine Coughlan, says court observers are anxious to see whether judges will allow a special hearing, which Mr Karadzic's lawyers argue in is in the interest of "fundamental fairness".

Mr Karadzic was arrested and brought to the tribunal last year, after more than a decade in hiding.

He is accused of genocide over the massacre of Bosnian Muslims at Srebrenica in 1995, and is also charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The court filed a not guilty plea on his behalf after he refused to offer a plea, saying the court lacked jurisdiction.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

SINGER BOYLE REACHES TALENT FINAL

Susan Boyle's performance that won her a place in the final - Footage courtesy of Talkback Thames/Syco

Scottish singer Susan Boyle has secured a place in the final of ITV's Britain's Got Talent, after performing live on television for the first time.

The 48-year-old from West Lothian became a worldwide sensation after her audition performance of I Dreamed A Dream was screened last month.

Sunday evening's show was watched by nearly 12 million viewers.

Also through to Saturday's final were Dance group Diversity, with 10-year-old Natalie Okri voted out by the judges.

When Ms Boyle heard the result of the public vote - after her rendition of Memory from the musical, Cats - she gave a victory dance for the studio audience.

Susan Boyle fans in her home village of Blackburn watch her performance

When the show's hosts, Ant and Dec, asked her how she had coped with the pressure, she said: "What pressure, I really enjoyed myself, I enjoyed every second. I'd do it again!"

The 40 acts to reach the semi-finals were revealed during Saturday's night's Britain's Got Talent show.

In each of the semi-finals, two acts will be picked by the public and the judges to make it through to the grand final on 30 May.

They are competing for the chance to perform at the Royal Variety Show and win a £100,000 cheque.

Ms Boyle's first appearance on the television talent show received more than 58 million hits on the internet site, YouTube.

That earned her a number of famous fans, including rock musician Jon Bon Jovi and actress Demi Moore. She has also been interviewed on American television shows Oprah and Larry King.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

SCIENTOLOGY ON TRIAL IN FRANCE !

The Church of Scientology has gone on trial in the French capital, Paris, accused of organised fraud.
The case centres on a complaint by a woman who says she was pressured into paying large sums of money after being offered a free personality test.
The church, which is fighting the charges, denies that any mental manipulation took place.
France regards Scientology as a sect, not a religion, and the organisation could be banned if it loses the case.
It will be the first time the church has appeared as a defendant in a fraud case in France. Previous court cases have involved individual Scientologists.

The woman at the centre of the case says she was approached by church members in Paris 10 years ago, and offered a free personality test. But, she says, she ended up spending 21,000 euros ($29,400, £18,400) on lessons, books and medicines she was told would cure her poor mental state.
Her lawyers are arguing that the church systematically seeks to make money by means of mental pressure and the use of scientifically dubious "cures".
A lawyer for the church, Patrick Maisonneuve, said: "We will contest every charge and prove that there was no mental manipulation."
The church's spokeswoman in France said it was being "hounded" by the French courts.
Scientology was founded in the United States in the 1954 by science-fiction writer L Ron Hubbard. High profile supporters include the Hollywood stars John Travolta and Tom Cruise.
In Germany last year, it was declared unconstitutional.
However, a Spanish court ruled that the Church of Scientology of Spain should be re-entered into the country's register of officially recognised religions.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

CAR FREE TIMES SQUARE IN NEW YORK !

New York City's iconic Times Square is getting a major makeover, with city officials banning cars from stretches of Broadway.
Vehicles are being barred between 42nd and 47th streets at Times Square and 33rd and 35th Streets at Herald Square.
City officials say the move will reduce pollution and pedestrian accidents and ease traffic flow in the area known as "crossroads of the world".
Pedestrian plazas will provide shoppers and tourists with a place to relax.
Barriers along parts of Broadway were put in place late on Sunday, with official celebrations of the new car-free area planned for Monday.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said the makeover of the New York City's landmark - notorious for its traffic jams - will hand the place to pedestrians.
"It's good for traffic, it's good for businesses and we think it is going to be great deal of fun," city transport commissioner Janet Sadik-Khan said last week.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

HASSAN NASRALLAH - 'ISRAELI SPIES' MUST DIE

Nasrallah called on any remaining Israeli spies to give themselves up

The leader of the Lebanese Shia movement, Hezbollah, has said Lebanon must execute anyone found guilty of spying for Israel.

Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah added that suspected spies still at large had been "exposed", and would soon be caught.

The Lebanese authorities are holding more than 20 people accused of spying on Hezbollah positions and officials.

Sheikh Nasrallah's comments came while the US Vice-President Joe Biden was still in Lebanon, meeting its leaders.

The Hezbollah leader was speaking in a pre-recorded video relayed to a large flag-waving crowd in the southern city of Nabatiyeh, on the ninth anniversary of the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon

He called on any spies still at large to give themselves up.

"Spies and agents, you must know that you are worthless to your Zionist masters," he said, "and that you are worth less than a handful of sand to Israel."

He added that the alleged spies were not just collecting intelligence, but also carrying out operations.

Lebanese security officials say the arrest of those accused of espionage has severely undermined Israel's spy networks in the country.

They say those detained had been monitoring senior Hezbollah officials, and that many had helped to identify bombing targets during the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006. One is accused of plotting the assassination of a Hezbollah commander in 2004.

Those in custody include a policeman, a former brigadier general and a ousewife. Lebanon says sophisticated spying equipment was found in some of their homes. If convicted, they all face the death penalty.

Israel has made no comment on the accusations.

But earlier this week, the Israeli security agency Shin Bet warned Israelis to beware attempts by its Arab enemies to harm or recruit them as spies via social networking websites such as Facebook.

In a separate development, Hezbollah accused the visiting US Vice-President, Joe Biden, of "blatant interference in Lebanese affairs," two weeks before the country's general elections.

Mr Biden said he had not come to back any particular party. But he made it clear that Washington's policy on assistance to Lebanon would hinge on what kind of government the elections produced.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

CATHY BUCKLE'S WEEKLY LETTER FROM ZIMBABWE

GREED AND SPEAD !

Dear Family and Friends,

As Zimbabwe struggles out of the darkness of a decade of dictatorship
and political mayhem we are beginning to see how hard the return
journey is going to be. And how long. Little snapshots tell the
story:

Two policemen, in uniform and on foot, did a walkabout tour of some
local businesses this week. They want to improve relations, they say,
but need assistance with the basics. They desperately need tyres for
their vehicle and are looking for donations from the public. If you
can't run to tyres then how about typewriters, or paper they ask,
saying they have no stationery.

Typewriters! Can you imagine modern policing being done, not on
computers but typewriters! For a couple of years members of the
public have had to provide their own fingerprint forms, vehicle
clearance forms and even their own affidavit forms when visiting a
police station and then wait endlessly as records are handwritten.
With such problems as pens and paper, it doesn't bear thinking how
long it might take to restore law and order at higher levels, in
regard to things like property rights, human rights and farm
invasions.

Two well known shops with branches all over the country went into
darkness this week as their electricity supply was disconnected.
Having no tills, computers, lights or other equipment took them back
into the dark ages in a hurry. They had been disconnected for non
payment because the amounts being demanded by ZESA (the electricity
supplier) are in the thousands of US dollars - more than a company's
entire monthly turnover. Similar exorbitant amounts are being charged
by the state controlled fixed line telephone company and everyone is
reeling and then despairing as they are disconnected. It appears that
the electricity and telephone suppliers are trying to recoup 10 years
worth of collapse in just a few months but their greed and speed is
putting business and the rebuilding of the country into a new cycle
of shutdown.

Cause for much excitement this week has been the

availability, suddenly, of telephone lines for mobile phones.

For more than eight years these lines have been non-existent,
available only on the black market. In January this year a line on
the black market cost 135 US dollars.This week phone lines are
available legally for 35 US dollars - still ten times more expensive
than in our neighbouring countries but they are selling like hot
cakes. Oppressive Zanu PF legislation concerning access to
information and the free press has not been repealed but the sudden
boom in phone lines is a dramatic step forward for Zimbabweans who
can now send and receive their own information without the political
shackles.

Until next time from the land of golden grass, thanks for reading,
love cathy

REPORTERS' 'PAID WAY INTO PALACE'

Footage from the News of the World reporters' tour of the Palace - video courtesy News of the World

Buckingham Palace has said it is investigating allegations undercover reporters were given access to highly sensitive areas of the Palace.

Two reporters from the News of the World newspaper are said to have been waved inside, without security checks.

It is alleged one of them even sat in the Queen's state Bentley car.

According to the newspaper, chauffeur Brian Sirjusingh was paid £1,000 to give the reporters a tour. The Palace said it takes security very seriously.

BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt said he understood Mr Sirjusingh was a pool chauffeur - one called when the dedicated royal chauffeurs are unavailable.

The News of the World reports the journalists posed as Middle Eastern businessmen and were waved into what were supposed to be secure areas of the Queen's home.

According to the paper, the men were led past a police checkpoint and a sign demanding to see identification, and into the royal garage.

Once inside, Mr Sirjusingh showed them several vehicles used by members of the royal family and allowed one reporter to sit in a Bentley used to transport the Queen on state occasions, the paper said.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We are naturally concerned about the issues raised by this story and are liaising with palace officials about their staf security arrangements."

The newspaper's royal editor, Robert Jobson, told the BBC that lessons should have been learnt from previous security breaches.

He said: "There have been a number of security breaches at the palace over the years but this is right up there in terms of being a flagrant breach of the security.

"They should have been checked as they walked in but they weren't and therefore it could easily have been a terrorist walking into the palace and planting a bomb in the car rather than the News of the World exposing the poor security of the palace."

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: "Any security matter is taken very seriously and we will look into these allegations."

In recent years there have been a number of high-profile royal security breaches.

In 2003, Daily Mirror reporter Ryan Parry spent two months working undercover as a Buckingham Palace footman.

He used a false reference to get the job despite unprecedented security surrounding the visit of US President George Bush to the UK.

The same year, during Prince William's 21st birthday, comedian Aaron Barschak set off six alarms and appeared on CCTV several times without sparking a response when he gatecrashed a party at Windsor Castle.

In 2004, a campaigner from the fathers' rights group, Fathers 4 Justice dressed as Batman and staged a protest on the Buckingham Palace balcony.

The News of the World's investigation was led by Mazher Mahmood, who has become known as the "fake sheikh" after a series of high-profile journalistic stings for the newspaper.

And as long ago as 1982, the Queen was confronted by an intruder, Michael Fagan, in her own bedroom.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

BERNARD MADOFF'S HIDDEN VICTIMS

By James Coomarasamy BBC Washington correspondent

The collapse of disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's multi-billion dollar pyramid scheme has had wide-ranging consequences - not least on American charities.

Bernard Madoff's pyramid scheme wrecked many investors' lives

Bernard Madoff is responsible for many things: from the biggest pyramid scheme in US history, to a series of ruined lives, shattered friendships and battered bank accounts.

He is also responsible, in part, for Steven Barnes walking free from jail, after serving 20 years for a crime he did not commit.

Steven is the embodiment of a little-mentioned aspect of the Madoff affair, the dozens of charitable foundations, being financed by his mythical money, that now find themselves as out of pocket, and pursued by the authorities.

In Steven's case, the money went to the Innocence Project, a New York-based criminal justice organisation, which uses the latest DNA techniques to prove the innocence of the wrongfully imprisoned.

It was partly funded by the JEHT Foundation, a private charity backed by a wealthy couple, Ken and Jeanne Levy-Church.

Steven Barnes was freed by a charity funded by Madoff's 'mythical money'

Like many of the Madoff victims, they were wealthy Jews who had placed their money with their old friend. When he went down so too did their foundation. Within days all of JEHT's employees had been fired, its offices closed. Steven had been freed just in time.

I met Steven at the Innocence Project's Manhattan office.

He is a well-built man, in his early forties, with spiky fair hair and the distant gaze of someone still adjusting his focus, as he contemplates the freedom he was denied for so long.

As he sat and told me his story, his right knee jerked up and down in a staccato rhythm, like a needle in a sewing machine.

A mixture of nerves and anger. He had been arrested in 1985, after a local girl was raped and murdered. Three years later he was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Steven always protested his innocence and so did his family.

When he told them about a TV item he had seen about the Innocence Project they were quick to act.

The results took somewhat longer though. An initial DNA test proved inconclusive, but a second, several years later using improved technology, finally cleared Steven.

"I called my mother one Friday," he told me, the shadow of a half-remembered smile flitting across his face.

"She said the tests had come back and they'd cleared me. I yelled down the gallery: 'I'm going home. I'm going home'."

The following Tuesday, 25 November 2008, he was home.

Sixteen days later Bernie Madoff was arrested. As Steven regained his freedom the man whose funds had helped to liberate him was losing his.

These days, Steven talks on behalf of the Innocence Project. He is angry that Madoff's corruption has deprived it of necessary funds to secure the release of others.

"I hope he gets his day with the guy upstairs... or in prison," he says.

Across town, in a laboratory at the University of Columbia's medical school, neurologist Dr David Sulzer, leads a group of eager young researchers, peering at slides.

They are looking for connections between neurons, but have been hampered by their connection to Bernie Madoff.

This research into the causes of Parkinson's disease was being partly funded by another wealthy couple, Jeffrey and Barbara Picower, their Picower Foundation was the hardest hit by the Madoff scandal losing nearly $1bn.

Mr Madoff recruited several clients at the Palm Beach Country Club

Through it the Picower's had poured vast sums into the kind of cutting edge research for which it is hard to get federal funding.

In the lab, the centrifuges are still whirring but the dots that were being connected, in the form of a Picower-financed, seven lab consortium, are no longer joined.

A potential cure for Parkinson's may have evaporated.

Not everyone is sympathetic to the foundation's plight. In Palm Beach, Florida where Madoff befriended, and then defrauded, people like the Picowers.

I met Jose Lambiet, society columnist with the Palm Beach Post.

He says there is an element of one-upmanship to the charitable work of the rich and famous, whose endeavours were being bankrolled by Madoff.

Their huge returns may have gone towards positive ends he says but they were still the product of greed.

The Palm Beach investors, victims, call them what you will, are a private bunch.

They shun the media and make every effort to shield their exclusive homes from prying eyes.

As you drive along the the lanes surrounding the Palm Beach Country Club, the place where Madoff persuaded members of this tight-knit Jewish community to invest their millions with him, you pass a succession of what appear to be green, leafy battlements, 30 feet high in places, the flat top foliage offers towering, natural protection to the people in the barely-glimpsed houses behind.

They once spent their days counting their Madoff-made money. Now they are licking their Madoff-inflicted wounds.

And, in the latest legal twist, the foundations are being targeted by the authorities, trying to recover tens of billions of fraudulent dollars.

That stolen money, which the foundations have dispersed, is the subject of a process known as "claw back".

As victims sue victims, the foundations hope that tracking down money that has already gone into medical research, criminal justice programmes or school systems will seem absurd but the process will be charitable to the charities.

Enough damage has been done already. In the words of one of the lawyers involved, Bernie Madoff has wiped out a whole generation of Jewish philanthropy.

IRAN 'BLOCKS ACCESS TO FACEBOOK'

Facebook says it is investigating reports of the ban

Iran's government has blocked access to social networking site Facebook ahead of June's presidential elections, according to Iran's ILNA news agency.

ILNA suggested the move was aimed at stopping supporters of reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi from using the site for his campaign.

Facebook, which claims to have 175m users worldwide, expressed its disappointment over the reported ban.

So far there has been no comment from the authorities in Tehran.

"Access to the Facebook site was prohibited several days ahead of the presidential elections," ILNA reported.

Mr Mousavi was Iran's prime minister when the post was abolished in 1989

It said that "according to certain Internet surfers, the site was banned because supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi were using Facebook to better disseminate the candidate's positions".

CNN staff in Tehran reported that people attempting to visit the site received a message in Farsi that said: "Access to this site is not possible."

Facebook expressed disappointment that its site was apparently blocked in Iran "at a time when voters are turning to the Internet as a source of information about election candidates and their positions".

Mir Hossein Mousavi, a former prime minister, is seen as one of the leading challengers to incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 12 June elections.

His page on Facebook has more than 5,000 supporters.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

'RECORD' AFGHANISTAN DRUGS BUST

Opium trafficking provides the Taliban with much of its income

International and Afghan troops have killed 60 militants and made a record drugs haul in an operation in southern Afghanistan, the US military has said.

Its statement said the four-day attack targeted the town of Marja in Helmand province - a Taliban stronghold.

The troops seized 92 tonnes of opium poppy seeds and other drugs, "severely disrupting" a key narcotics centre and command hub of the insurgency.

The US denied reports that civilians were killed during the operation.

However, a spokesman for the Afghan defence ministry told the BBC that it was investigating the reports.

Taliban militants have so far not commented on the US statement.

On Saturday, the US military said the joint operation focussed on Marja, south-west of the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah.

It said the troops targeted the town's bazaar, describing it as a key hub for militant and criminal operations.

The area was emptied of civilians overnight on Friday, before precision airstrikes were launched, the statement said.

The international and Afghan forces then seized the poppy seeds, along with tar opium, processed morphine, heroin and hashish.

Helmand is the main producer of Afghan opium, which accounts for more than 90% of the global supply.

The US military also said that a large amount of weapons and bomb-making equipment was seized during the operation.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

SINGER BOYLE REACHES TALENT SEMIS

Susan Boyle will compete with 39 other acts

Scottish singer Susan Boyle has made it through to the live semi-finals of ITV's Britain's Got Talent, where she will battle it out with 39 other acts.

The 48-year-old from West Lothian became a worldwide sensation after her audition performance of I Dreamed A Dream was screened last month.

The 40 semi-finalists will perform in five nightly ITV1 shows from tonight.

Other acts through include an 11-year-old street dancer, a dancing dog and a group of performing farmers.

The 40 acts were announced during the latest edition of Britain's Got Talent on Saturday night.

In each of the semi-finals, two acts will be picked by the public and the judges to make it through to the grand final next Saturday.

They are all competing for the chance to perform at the Royal Variety Show and win a £100,000 cheque.

As she was put through to the next stage, Boyle jumped for joy and said: "I am on top of the world. It's fantastic!"

Her first appearance on the television talent show received more than 58 million hits on the internet site, YouTube.

That earned her a number of famous fans, including rock musician Jon Bon Jovi and Demi Moore, and she was also interviewed on American television shows Oprah and Larry King since she came to worldwide attention.

But she is not the only performer on the show to have caught the judges and public's attention.

Wheelbarrow

Ten-year-old Lancashire schoolgirl Hollie Steel also made it into the semi-finals with her performance of I Could Have Danced All Night during which she both sang and ballet-danced.

And 12-year-old Shaheen Jafargholi from Swansea is tipped to rival Boyle after his performance of Who's Lovin' You prompted Demi Moore to praise him on her Twitter feed.

The performance of another young semi-finalist, 11-year-old street dancer Aidan Davis, has been compared to last year's winner George Sampson making him another top contender for the final.

Among the more unusual acts in the semis are three farming friends, Sam Parris, 27, Bobby Barns, 18, and Lyle Burrough, 19, all from Exeter, known as The Barrow Boys.

The three farmers described their act as "everything you shouldn't do with a wheelbarrow".

BBC NEWS REPORT.

Q & A : MP EXPENSES ROW EXPLAINED !

Revelations in the Daily Telegraph about exactly what MPs have been claiming on expenses has prompted a public outcry and a pledge to reform the "gentlemen's club" at Westminster:

WHAT HAS HAPPENED?
Most MPs have to live in two places - in their constituencies and in London where they attend Parliament. They are allowed to claim expenses to cover the cost of running a second home. Details of what has been claimed on second home expenses have never been revealed before the Daily Telegraph got hold of a leaked copy of all the claims. Many MPs have been accused of extravagance, of over-claiming and avoiding tax on home sales. MP-by-MP: Expenses claims
HOW MUCH CAN THEY CLAIM?
The "additional costs allowance" is worth up to £24,006 in 2008/9 for MPs representing seats outside central London. They used to be able to file claims for up to £250 without providing a receipt but that was reduced to £25 last year and is being cut to zero. It covers things like mortgage interest payments on second homes and utility bills - but officials also allowed claims for items of furniture, electrical goods like televisions, refurbishments and food. Those representing inner London seats were entitled to a much lower allowance, which until 2009 had been worth £2,916. What MPs can claim
SO, WHAT HAVE THEY BEEN CLAIMING FOR?
The most eye-catching claims include ones for clearing a moat, maintaining swimming pools, a £1,645 "duck island" and a claim to fit mock Tudor beams to the front of a house. One MP claimed for a house that was neither in London, nor her constituency. Two MPs continued to claim for mortgage interest payments, after the mortgages had been paid off - they blamed that on accounting errors. Claims for small items have also been ridiculed - including a trouser press, a bath plug and some Hob Nob biscuits. And there is some annoyance at large food bills - some charged even when Parliament was in recess.
DID THEY BREAK ANY RULES?
All MPs had to sign a declaration with every claim to the effect that "I confirm that I incurred these costs wholly, exclusively and necessarily to enable me to stay overnight away from my only or main home for the purpose of performing my duties as a Member of Parliament".
SO THAT'S A YES?
You might think that would be the case but no, all MPs have said they acted within the rules and seem to be basing much of their defence on the fact that their claim was paid out by the fees office. It does seem that the rules were rather vague or lax. But it is also the case that the UK's Parliament has worked for centuries on the basis of MPs being "honourable members" so in most cases the fees office was, perhaps not surprisingly, unlikely to challenge an MP if they had given their signed word that the claim was legitimate. 'Lax' MP expenses rules condemned
WHAT'S ALL THIS ABOUT FLIPPING?
MPs have to tell Commons fees staff which home is their "main home" and which home is their "second home" - on which they can claim expenses. The rule book states "the location of your main home will normally be a matter of fact". But they have been allowed to change it. This means some have claimed for refurbishment or mortgage interest on one property, then changed the designation and proceeded to claim for costs on another one. Some have then changed it back again or on to a third property. In some instances the MP has sold a property shortly after claiming the costs of doing it up - they are allowed to keep any profit. Some MPs have said there were good reasons for changing the designation for example when they moved their families to London from the constituency.
DO MPs PAY CAPITAL GAINS TAX ON THESE PROPERTIES?
Some do, some have not. The tax is usually paid when someone sells a home that is not considered, by HM Revenue and Customs, to be their "principal residence". It amounts to 18% of the profit. However several MPs have not paid the tax when they have sold properties they had designated their "second home" with the Commons authorities. This is not illegal and some have argued that the definition of a main residence by the Commons is different from that by HMRC. But critics say it is wrong to tell the Commons one thing and tax authorities another and benefit from taxpayer-funded expenses without paying back any tax in return. Gordon Brown has said it is "totally unacceptable" and it is being tightened up. Blears will pay tax on flat sale
HAVE THEY PUT A STOP TO ALL THIS?
The whole system is being reviewed by the independent committee on standards in public life, which is expected to recommend sweeping changes. But as that's not due to report back for months, some interim measures have been agreed. "Flipping" the designation of second homes is banned in most cases for 2009/10, claims for furniture, cleaning, gardening etc have been stopped. Mortgage interest and rent payments have been capped at £1,250 a month. Expenses: Options for reform
HOW HAS ALL THIS INFORMATION COME OUT?
The Daily Telegraph is remaining tight-lipped about its source, although it has not denied paying for the information. It says it has acted in the public interest. All the receipts were being prepared for publication anyway in July. The Commons authorities had long resisted attempts to reveal the details but were ordered to publish by the High Court, under the Freedom of Information Act. But the Telegraph says many of the key details - such as the "flipping" of second homes - would have remained hidden as addresses would have been blanked out before publication. Police were asked to investigate the leak but chose not to - having concluded that a public interest defence would be a "significant hurdle" to any successful prosecution.
WHAT DO THE MPs SAY?
They say they were acting within the rules and in some cases were encouraged to spend up to the maximum allowed - about £20,000 a year - by the Commons fees office. But they say the system is in urgent need of reform.
WHY IS THE SPEAKER QUITTING?
Commons Speaker Michael Martin has been seen by many as the driving force behind efforts to stop details of expenses claims coming out - such as by taking the Freedom of Information case to the High Court. His supporters say that is not fair and his committee had proposed reforms in 2008 - which were promptly voted down by MPs. But his angry outburst at MPs who had criticised him over his handling of the issue in the Commons prompted calls for him to go - and his failure to announce a date for him to step down a week later prompted open challenges. He said he would relinquish the role to maintain "unity" in the House.
ANY LABOUR RESIGNATIONS?
Justice minister Shahid Malik has stepped down pending an inquiry by into whether his failure to declare a preferential rent deal on his constituency home broke the ministerial code. Former Agriculture Minister Elliot Morley and backbencher David Chaytor have been suspended by the Parliamentary Labour Party. They both reportedly claimed for mortgage interest months after the mortgages had been paid off. They blamed sloppy accounting. Mr Morley also lost his job as Gordon Brown's climate change envoy.
WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER PARTIES?
Andrew MacKay, a Parliamentary aide to Conservative leader David Cameron, has quit his post after the party ruled his second home claims were "unacceptable". Mr MacKay and his wife Julie Kirkbride, who is also a Tory MP, had been claiming second home allowances on two properties. The former Conservative minister Douglas Hogg has said he will not seek re-election - he repaid the £2,200 of clearing his moat, which was submitted with his claims. Sir Peter Viggers, whose most eye-catching claim was for a £1,645 "duck island" is also to retire "at the direct request of David Cameron". Totnes MP Anthony Steen, said to have claimed more than £87,000 over four years for his country home, is also standing down at the next election.
HAVE ANY MPs PAID THE MONEY BACK?
Yes. MPs from all parties are falling over themselves to write cheques, although none have admitted breaking the rules. Who's repaying expenses?
DO MPs REALISE HOW BAD IT LOOKS?
Yes. There is genuine concern among MPs that Parliament has never been held in lower regard by members of the public. Even MPs who have done nothing wrong are reported to be considering quitting as they are considered "crooks" by the public. Some fear Parliament may take years to recover from the furore while others warn that voters may take out their anger with the main parties by backing fringe and extremist parties at next month's local and European elections.
WHAT ARE THE PARTIES DOING INDIVIDUALLY?
Gordon Brown says any Labour MP who "defied" the rules will not be able to stand again. The party's ruling NEC is setting up a panel to quiz MPs whose claims have been scrutinised. Tory leader David Cameron has set up his own scrutiny panel and warned that any Tory MP refusing to return money excessively claimed could be sacked. The Lib Dems say no MP should be able to make a profit on the sale of a home which was subsidised by the taxpayer.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Gordon Brown has called for an end to the "gentlemen's club" of Parliament and wants an independent Parliamentary Standards Authority to oversee MPs' pay and expenses. MPs are braced for further revelations in the Telegraph and when the details are officially published. At the same time, some are urging the police to investigate the claims made by some MPs on the grounds of possible fraud. The Daily Mail has launched a campaign for private prosecutions to be brought against some MPs. Individually many MPs are holding meetings in their constituencies to explain their claims.
HAVE ALL MPs BEEN ACCUSED OF ABUSING THE ALLOWANCE?
Not at all. Many take exception to suggestions they padded out their salaries with the allowance. Some MPs who were entitled to claim the allowance because they had constituencies outside inner London, chose not to. Others made modest claims. Which MPs didn't claim expenses?

BBC NEWS REPORT.

GUARDS LET MEXICO INMATES ESCAPE

Prisoners walk out of Mexico jail

Guards stood by as more than 50 prisoners, including some listed as dangerous by Interpol, walked out of a Mexican jail, officials say.

It was initially thought that guards at the prison in the northern state of Zacatecas had been overpowered.

The jail break, which occurred on Saturday, was captured on closed circuit television recordings.

Authorities have launched a hunt for the 53 escapees. Some have been linked to Mexico's notorious drug cartels.

Fifty-one people suspected of involvement in the prison break have been ordered to be jailed, said Ricardo Najera, a spokesman for the attorney general.

These include the prison director and all 44 guards on duty during the break, he said.

He also said that the prisoners stole 23 guns from the jail before escaping.

Interpol issued a security alert for 11 of the prisoners, whom it described as "a risk to the safety and security of citizens around the world".

Soldiers have been deployed to look for the escapees

Footage of the prison break released by the attorney general's office shows guards stepping aside as prisoners let themselves out of cells.

The inmates then cover one of the security cameras with a blanket.

Another camera outside the building filmed guards opening the prison gates to gunmen who had arrived in what appeared to be police cars with flashing lights.

Once inside, the gunmen, disguised as security officers, escort the prisoners out.

Only once the convoy has driven off do the guards run out with their guns drawn, in what seemed an attempt to cover up their role in the escape.

Following the escape security forces launched a hunt, setting up roadblocks near the prison in Zacatecas and neighbouring states.

President Felipe Calderon has declared war on the illegal narcotic organisation in Mexico, deploying 40,000 troops to fight the cartels.

In some regions instances of beheadings and attacks on police have become commonplace, with the deaths of 6,000 people last year alone linked to illegal narcotics.

But progress in the war against the cartels has been limited by institutional corruption, correspondents say.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

ZIMBABWE - LETTER FROM THE DIASPORA

Friday 22nd May 2009

Dear Friends,

They call her 'The Lady'. Her name is Aung San Suu Ki and she is the leader of the opposition in Mynmar (Burma). In 1990 the military junta allowed free elections for the first time in 30 years and Aung San Suu Ki's National League for Democracy won 392 0f the 489 seats. It made no difference; the military junta led by Than Shwe refused to step down. The Lady has been under strict house arrest ever since and although she is known and revered by the free world, her own supporters at home only saw her again after 4 years when she appeared outside her house in 2007. That was until May 04 this year when a mysterious American named John Yettaw swam across the lake to her house and, for whatever reason, placed the Lady in violation of the terms of her house arrest, which prohibits visitors. It was then that the world got a glimpse of Aung San Suu Ki as she stood trial inside the notorious prison where she is now being held, pending sentence for breaching the terms of her house arrest. Reports from foreign diplomats allowed inside the court to witness the trial, indicate that The Lady was in fine fettle. Her indomitable spirit shines out and her resistance is undiminished by the years of incarceration in her own home. Along with an estimated 2000 other political prisoners, Aung San Suu Ki has come to symbolise the spirit of resistance to cruel and repressive regimes the world over.

Mynmar is many thousands of miles away from Zimbabwe. The people are a different race, different culture and different colour but the intensity of their suffering under a brutal military dictatorship has evoked courageous resistance and earned the admiration of the world and a Nobel Peace Prize for Aung San Suu Ki. In Zimbabwe, too, we have seen and continue to see the courage of ordinary citizens in the face of police brutality. There was a reminder of that courage- and incorruptible integrity – this last week when the Zimbabwe Law Society, represented by a group of lawyers once again took to the streets to protest the arrest of their colleagues on patently concocted charges. The banners they carried proclaimed the lawyers' unfailing belief in the rule of law and not as one of them said 'Rule by Law', referring, of course, to the illegal behaviour of the police who appear to believe that they are above the law. This week also saw another demonstration by the tireless Woza women, accompanied by their colleagues in Moza. 1000 of them took to the Bulawayo streets in protest at the GNU's failure to bring about meaningful change in their daily lives. The small miracle of both these protests was that in neither case was a single baton raised or shot fired by the police at the protesters. The lawyers were allowed to hand in their petition at the Ministry of Justice, even escorted by a police officer. The Minister was not there – surprise, surprise! Perhaps he was hiding out in the loo? So, the petition was pushed under the door for the Minister to find when he returned to his office. The Woza/Moza women and men were similarly allowed to disperse in peace after their demonstration. No bandaged, bloody heads, no arrests on spurious charges – not this time anyway.

Is this a sign that Zimbabwe is becoming a more tolerant society, that the police are at last doing what we expect of law enforcement officers? Sadly, those two examples are not typical of what we see in Zimbabwe as a whole. There are still too many instances of the police working hand in hand with the law breakers and failing to protect the innocent victims. Farmers continue to be brutally assaulted and the shocking attack on an 80-year old farmer's mother - apparently while she was in police custody - seems to suggest that the police themselves are not a united force. The truth is that the situation varies from place to place; it all depends on the political allegiance of the local police chief. We have never been told how many of the police are in fact professionally trained officers but are in reality war veterans or Youth Militia promoted to wear the ZRP uniform and following their own agenda. The continuing, inexplicable silence of the MDC partners in the GNU on the issue of the violent farm invasions and the connivance of the police does not help matters at all. We hear that Robert Mugabe has finally agreed to swear in Roy Bennett as the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, that may be another small sign that things are changing for the better but it will be an uphill task to restore order on the farms after almost 10 years of chaos. What remains an absolute priority is that the land must be used to grow food for the near-starving population. Dependence on donors and Food Aid is not the answer to Zimbabwe's problems.

"Would you like to see President Mugabe go?" Hilary Clinton was asked in a recent interview. The American Secretary of State replied, "I think that would be in the best interests of everyone…and South Africa has a big role to play in this." The MDC's decision to refer the outstanding issues of the GPA to SADC and the AU, however comatose those bodies may be, is the only step available to the MDC in the light of Mugabe's intransigence over the Gono/ Tomana issue. While these two men remain in office there can be no meaningful reform of the economy or the justice system and without that Zimbabwe cannot move forward.

Like the suffering people of Mynmar, Zimbabweans are the victims of a power-hungry kleptocracy about which the world can do very little. Only the courage of the brave men and women prepared to demonstrate publicly their longing for true justice and democracy will keep the hope alive that true change is on the way.

Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH

S. KOREAN SHOCK AT ROH'S 'SUICIDE'!

Medics said Mr Roh died from massive head injuries resulting from the fall

South Koreans have expressed deep shock at the apparent suicide of former president Roh Moo-hyun, who was under investigation for alleged corruption.

Mr Roh, 62, was killed in a fall from a mountain near his home. His spokesman said he had left a brief suicide note.

President Lee Myung-bak said the news was truly unbelievable and deeply sad.

Mr Roh apologised last month over allegations his family took $6m in bribes during his 2003-2008 term in office, but never admitted wrongdoing.

He came from a humble farming family, but rose to the highest office on a platform of clean government and reconciliation with the North.

Mr Roh's body was taken in convoy from a hospital in the southern city of Busan on Saturday afternoon to his hometown of Gimhae, where aides said the funeral would be held. Hundreds of uniformed police and mourners lined the route.

Mourners lit incense for the former president in Seoul

Scores of people also gathered outside Deoksu Palace in the centre of the capital, Seoul. Many laid flowers in front of pictures of Mr Roh and burnt incense.

"This is a truly unbelievable, lamentable and deeply sad event," President Lee Myung-bak, Mr Roh's successor, said in a statement.

Mr Roh's predecessor, Kim Dae-Jung, said he had lost his "life-long companion, with whom I took part in struggles for democracy and shared 10 years of a democratic government".

"Allegations concerning his family members have been leaked to the press every day," Mr Kim said. "He was probably unable to bear the pressure and tensions any longer. My heart goes out to his family."

I can't imagine the countless agonies down the road. The rest of my life would only be a burden for others. I can't do anything because I'm not healthy. I can't read books, nor can I write. Don't be too sad. Isn't life and death all part of nature? Don't be sorry. Don't blame anybody. It's fate. Please cremate me. And please leave a small tombstone near home. I've long thought about that. Suicide note left by Roh Moo-hyun Source: Yonhap news agency In quotes: Reaction to Roh 'suicide'

In a statement read live on national radio and television earlier on Saturday, Mr Roh's former chief of staff, Moon Jae-in, said he had left his house at 0545 (2045 GMT on Friday) and about an hour later, while hiking on Bonghwa Mountain, jumped to his death.

The former president fell 20-30m (65-100ft) and was later transported to Busan National University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival at 0830 local time (2330 GMT). He suffered massive head injuries.

In a short suicide note addressed to his family, Mr Roh described his life as "difficult" and apologised for making "too many people suffer".

"Don't be too sad. Isn't life and death all part of nature? Don't be sorry," the official news agency, Yonhap, quoted the note as saying.

"Please cremate me. And please leave a small tombstone near home. I've long thought about that."

Investigators are still examining the scene, but the BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul says it already seems clear that one of South Korea's best known politicians took his own life.

A human rights lawyer, Mr Roh took office in 2003 vowing to fight corruption, but correspondents say his term was a rollercoaster ride, with his Uri party hit by scandal and infighting.

ROH MOO-HYUN 2003 - elected president 2004 - suspended by MPs, then reinstated by court 2008 - leaves office Apr 2009 - quizzed for alleged bribery 23 May 2009 - dies while mountain climbing Obituary: Roh Moo-hyun

He was suspended early in 2004, after parliament voted to impeach him over a breach of election rules, but the Constitutional Court later overturned the move and he was reinstated.

Last month, Mr Roh was questioned over allegations that he had taken more than $6m in bribes from a wealthy shoe manufacturer, Park Yeon-cha, who was indicted in December on separate bribery and tax evasion charges.

The former president later apologised for the scandal.

"I feel ashamed before my fellow citizens. I am sorry for disappointing you," he said in a televised statement on 30 April.

Mr Roh admitted his wife had received $1m from Mr Park. However, he said it was a payment to help her settle a debt, and not a bribe.

He also said he was aware that the businessman had given another $5m to a relative, but that he thought it was an investment.

After Mr Roh's death was announced on Saturday, Justice Minister Kim Kyung-han said the corruption case against him would be formally closed. However, he did not say whether the former president's family would continue to be investigated.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

TODDLER BUYS REAL DIGGER ONLINE!

Pipi's parents nearly had to dig deep

A New Zealand couple nearly found themselves in a financial hole when their three-year-old daughter bought an earthdigger in an internet auction.

The child, Pipi Quinlan, was trying out her online skills while her parents were asleep in bed.

They only unearthed the truth when they received an email demand for NZ$20,000 (£8,000) from the seller.

Pipi's mother, Sarah, had left the computer logged on. The owner of the digger is not insisting on the sale.

Sarah Quinlan told the BBC that she had been looking for toys online, and using an automatic log-in to an auction site.

But a shock was in store when she got up the next day.

"When I found an email from a guy who said 'can you deposit the money?' I thought - hang on - this isn't quite what I expected," she said.

Pipi had only been allowed to use the computer for the first time the week before - but is obviously a fast learner.

"It's been a lot of fun," said Sarah, "She's earned a bit of notoriety."

But Sarah is determined the same thing will not happen again, and has urged the parents of other young children not to be caught out.

"I've taken all my automatic log-ins off anything she could purchase from," she said.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

"Sayings"

"THAT IT WILL NEVER COME AGAIN

IS WHAT MAKES LIFE SO SWEET" !

____________

CHINA BRIDGE JUMPER 'GETS A PUSH' !

Haizhu Bridge has been targeted by would-be suicide jumpers

A man threatening to commit suicide by jumping from a Chinese bridge was approached by a passer-by who shoved him over the edge, local media say.

Lai Jiansheng, 66, said he was fed up with the desperate man's "selfish activity" which caused huge traffic jams in Guangzhou, southern China.

Chen Fuchao fell 26ft (8m) on to an air cushion and is recovering in hospital, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Xinhua said Mr Lai was "taken away by police", but gave no further details.

The drama unfolded when Mr Chen climbed on to Haizhu Bridge in Guangzhou on Thursday and threatened to jump.

He told police he wanted to kill himself because he was 2m yuan ($293,000 or £184,000) in debt following a failed construction project, the China Daily reported.

Traffic around the bridge was stopped for five hours while officers tried to coax Mr Chen to safety.

Retired soldier Mr Lai at first volunteered to try to talk Mr Chen down but was turned away by police, Xinhua said.

Mr Lai is said to have then broken through the police cordon, climbed to where Mr Chen sat, greeted him with a handshake - and then pushed him off the edge.

Pictures in the China Daily show him saluting to the crowd after Mr Chen fell on to the partially filled emergency air cushion.

"I pushed him off because jumpers like Chen are very selfish," the newspaper quoted Mr Lai as saying.

"Their action violates a lot of public interests. They do not really dare to kill themselves. Instead, they just want to raise the relevant government authorities' attention to their appeals."

Mr Chen is said to have suffered spine and elbow injuries and is recovering in a Guangzhou hospital.

The bridge has gained a macabre reputation, attracting at least 12 would-be suicide jumpers since the start of April, according to the China Daily report.

None of the 12 has jumped, although each has held up traffic for several hours, it said.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

10 THINGS !

10 things we didn't know last week

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

1. Franco had one testicle.
More details

2. That condition is called monorchism.
More details

3. Only 26 people a day, on average, used Yangyang International airport in South Korea last year.
More details

4. Excessive cola-drinking can cause paralysis.
More details

5. 29% of women have never used the internet, but only 20% of men.
More details

6. Seven Speakers of the House of Commons were beheaded prior to 1560
.More details (Guardian)

7. Britain had animal welfare laws before it had child welfare laws.
More details

8. Child protection used to be enforced by uniformed NSPCC inspectors, known as "cruelty men".
More details

9. Pringles are potato crisps after all.
More details

10. The man who was the voice of Mickey Mouse was married to the woman who did Minnie's.
More details

BBC NEWS MAGAZINE.

HERE COMES THE FREECYCLE BRIDE !

By Robyn Hunter Radio 4 - Woman's Hour

Ever wondered what to give the bride who can't afford everything?
How about fairy lights, sequins, a petticoat, ribbons, three golden tiaras, a bubble machine, pink wire butterflies, a pair of size five wedding shoes, beaded gloves and pillar candles?
Throw in a box of thank you cards, offers from photographers and beauticians, and six different sized wedding dresses and matching veils.
These are just some of the things that bride-to-be Martha Ryder has been given by Londoners via Freecycle - a website which matches people who have items to get rid of with those who could use them.
The internet listing service's aim is to keep useable items out of landfills, and as the name suggests, it is all in the name of recycling and it is all for free.

Martha never envisaged getting married on the cheap.
Martha's dream wedding is becoming a reality thanks to generous Freecyclers
For as long as she can remember she dreamed of having a money-no-object white princess wedding.
"A fairytale ball for all my friends and family, a gospel choir and a big disco, a beautiful sit down meal, champagne fountains, ice sculptures," she giggles, remembering, "oh yes I wanted it all - the whole she-boogie!"
But as little girls invariably grow up, so too do their wedding plans.
Her fiancé, John, fell ill and had to stop working. After his health deteriorated further, Martha ended up giving up her job to care for him.

Money was getting tighter, and so instead of a big traditional wedding, Martha's next inspiration for bringing on marital bliss involved a Buddhist blessing on a Thai beach.
Then she found out she was pregnant.
"And then came the recession," she says, which resulted in them losing thousands of pounds in share-related savings. "I'm not some kind of 'Bridezilla'," Martha assures, laughing loudly, before going on, "it's not like I was going: I want to get married; no matter what. "It was more of needing to work out a way of simmering down the plans so we could still have the wedding that we wanted."

Despite the uniqueness of Martha's situation, she is not alone.
A recent poll on the You and Your Wedding magazine website showed that 60% of brides in the UK are reining in their expenses.
Probably not a startling snippet of information considering the current economic climate. According to the magazine, the average British wedding now costs £20,000.
You and Your Wedding's Deputy Editor Cathy Howes admits it is a big figure.
"It includes all the traditional wedding expenses such as the reception venue and dress," she says.
"But we also factored in things like tooth whitening, facials, wedding day fragrance, your honeymoon wardrobe - lots of things that might be associated with the cost of a wedding but aren't all necessary."
And so obviously there are ways to get change out of such a huge amount. Cathy suggests cutting guest lists as the easiest way to do so, likewise a bride can ask herself whether she really needs eight bridesmaids, to which, as she says: "Probably not!"
Another tip from Cathy: "Fridays are becoming the new Saturday," because, "in terms of availability, it is a much better thing and for price you'll be in a position to negotiate."

Prioritising seems to be the key to cutting costs.
For recent bride Ria Lockie from Brighton, £20,000 was not even an option, being way over her £9,000 budget.
Another concern for Ria was that hers was a green - not white - wedding.
And so for the name tags on the tables, guests' names were written onto pebbles which she has since re-used in her garden. All the flowers for her big day were grown in her own and friend's gardens. All the produce was sourced locally too.
Ria's dress was her biggest expense, but it was by a British designer and made here in the UK.
'Mad'
"I was very conscious of the fact that I didn't want a dress that was made in China and shipped from abroad," she says, feeling that the cost is justified as she is recycling it - by having it altered into an evening dress.

Consequently, Ria's success at making her wedding both cost-effective and environmentally-friendly has led to her doing the same for others through the setting up of her Ethical Occasions company.
Although it was never Martha's intention to go green to get married, Freecycle has changed that for her and made her dream of having a big wedding come true.
Looking back at her pre-Freecycle life, she says: "I think I was mad.
"I can't believe I was actually going to pay thousands and thousands and thousands of pounds to get married."
BBC NEWS REPORT.

ARRESTS IN CHINESE SLAVERY CASE !

China announced a nationwide crackdown on enslavement in 2007
Police in eastern China have arrested 10 people suspected of beating mentally disabled people forced to work as slaves in brick factories.
State media said the brick kiln owner had bought 32 such people and forced them to work without pay.
The victims, aged between 25 and 45, were freed in a police raid in April.
The case echoes a scandal in 2007, when more than 1,000 labourers - including children were found working in brutal conditions in central Shanxi province.
Following that scandal, China announced a nationwide crackdown on enslavement and child labour.

Under terrible conditions, 32 mentally disabled people were forced to work in brick kilns in Jieshou city, in Anhui province, according to the Xinhua news agency.
The 10 are "suspected of beating and treating the mentally handicapped people like slaves," a local police official was quoted as saying.
The victims had been sold to a factory owner for less than $50 (£30) each, after being recruited off the street by a taxi driver promising work food and lodging, the report said.
Unpaid, and working more than 10 hours a day, they were fed little more than steamed dough.
Twelve of those freed have now returned home, while the remainder, many of whom are unable to say where they live, are being kept in local shelters.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

JOKE REVIEW BOOSTS T-SHIRT SALES

By Daniel Emery Technology reporter, BBC News

A T-shirt has become one of the most popular items sold by online retailer Amazon in the past few weeks.

Sales of the kitsch Three Wolf Moon T-shirt shot up 2,300% after a spate of ironic reviews went viral.

The first review gave the shirt five stars, saying it "Fits my girthy frame, has wolves on it, attracts women" but "cannot see wolves with arms crossed".

That prompted hundreds of others to post frivolous reviews, turning the page into an internet phenomenon.

"When I put this T-shirt on for the first time, my wife left me! Thank you, Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt," wrote one wag, while another said that "the Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt gave me a +10 resistance to energy attacks, +8 Strength... and I have successfully solved 7 crimes in my city".

Amazon's senior manager of community content, Russell Dicker, said the T-shirt was currently the top selling item in their clothing store.

"The Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt recently moved up 2,300% in sales rank," he said. "We are grateful that our reviewers are so passionate."

However, the firm which actually makes the T-shirt appeared less than pleased at some of the comments.

"The Mountain is a wholesale company and does not sell shirts on Amazon, so this viral assault went under our radar until the shirt made it into the top 10 in the Amazon apparel section," they said in a posting on the Amazon site.

"We appreciate humour as much as the next company, but we don't approve of some of the remarks.

"Not everyone can start out at the top and not everyone from our neck of the woods lives in a trailer or cruises Walmart to hook up."

This is not the first time comedy reviews on Amazon have gone viral. In 2006, there were more than a thousand reviews for Tuscan Whole Milk.

They ranged from soap opera-style script - "That was when I knew. He was tired of this life with me, tired of bringing home the Tuscan Whole Milk, 1 Gallon, 128 fl oz" - to stating the obvious: "Has anyone else tried pouring this stuff over dry cereal? A-W-E-S-O-M-E!"

BBC NEWS REPORT.

TIES TENSE FOR EU-RUSSIA SUMMIT !

No breakthroughs are expected

European Union and Russian leaders are holding talks near Russia's far eastern city of Khabarovsk, discussing trade and energy issues.

Russia and the EU are each other's biggest trading partner, but political tensions remain high.

Moscow recently accused the 27-member bloc of creating new dividing lines in Europe by offering closer ties to six former Soviet republics.

And Russia's control of gas supplies to Europe remains a bone of contention.

No-one expects any breakthroughs at the summit, the BBC's Richard Galpin in Moscow says.

Perhaps the biggest hope is for an agreement to resume negotiations on a new partnership deal which first began almost a year ago, our correspondent says.

'Russia's greatness'

European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso, foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Czech President Vaclav Klaus are leading the EU team in Khabarovsk.

The Russian delegation is headed by President Dmitry Medvedev.

"We need to come back to the financial and economic crisis, we need to talk about the state of affairs in the energy sector and a new security architecture," he said as the meeting opened.

He said earlier that Khabarovsk - 6,000 km (3,700 miles) from Moscow but just 30 km from the Chinese border - had been chosen as the venue for the talks to allow the visitors to "appreciate Russia's greatness".

A year ago - when Mr Medvedev became Russia's new leader - there was hope that relations with the EU might gradually improve, our correspondent says.

Instead, he says, they have got steadily worse.

Relations plummeted after last year's brief war between Russia and Georgia.

Since then there has been another gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine which led to gas supplies to many European countries being cut off for two weeks in mid-winter.

There is also a growing battle over energy pipelines as the EU tries to find alternatives to its growing dependency on Russian gas.

There is also concern in the EU about Russia's recent increase of customs duties on a wide range of European imports, including steel, starch and TV screens - despite its pledge to fight protectionism along with its G20 partners.

BBC NEWS REPORT

ZIMBABWE- HARARE DIARY :COSTLY FREEDOM

The unity government sparked celebrations, but has it delivered?

Esther (not her real name), 29, is a professional living and working in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare.

She describes how her life has changed during the first 100 days of the Government of National Unity (GNU).

President Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF and Prime Minister Tsvangirai's MDC began their power-sharing alliance in January.

Below, Esther asks her fellow Zimbabweans whether they feel the unity government has delivered on its promises.

---

Our unity government has hit 100 days in office. Wow!

I think there are people out there who did not expect it to last that long, without the cracks really beginning to show.

How would I rate their performance? I'd give them four out of 10, based on the promises they made to us.

The one good thing is that we feel more free... there are no longer riot police on every corner 'Esther', Harare Esther answers your questions

And that is me being very kind!

Our hospitals are still not functioning - they are without medication.

Our schools are still not working properly.

Many teachers are still not going to work because nobody wants to work for $100 a month.

And there are still land invasions taking place.

The one good thing, is that we feel more free.

There used to be police officers in full riot gear on every street corner. It was in your face.

But the coming of the unity government has meant the disappearance of those policemen.

I feel excited to see people walking around in t-shirts for MDC. T-shirts which commemorate Susan Tsvangirai.

You could never have done that last year.

Every day I used to pass a bunch of police in full riot gear, on my way to work.

It was very unpleasant. It even made me angry - those people were threatening.

They were promising that if they didn't like the way you were talking about the government, they would unleash violence.

Or if you made a joke they didn't understand, they were going to beat you up.

It was really upsetting. Scary even.

But now we feel free to be ourselves. That is a huge point, after everything we went through last year.

Maximum security

But as for the political prisoners, I am very disappointed.

The opposition had said they would work within the system to get them free.

Well, only high-profile cases have been released, such as Jestina Mukoko and Roy Bennett, who was arrested after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding.

I have a cousin whose husband was arrested for allegedly taking part in "plotting a coup" two years ago.

Hospitals are still short of medication

He has never been tried, and he is still in a maximum security prison.

I'm disappointed. The unity government fought very hard for our freedom.

But what about the guys sitting in jail? They are the guys who really really fought behind the headlines.

Tighten your belt

Financially, life is getting much harder. You can buy food now - everything is available.

But everything is more expensive because we can only buy in US dollars.

Farms are still being seized

Life is a lot tighter. Before, I could survive comfortably on $50 a month, even $20.

Now I need more like $200, just for food and transport. It's painful to adjust to the lower standard of life.

Where do I find the extra money? Well that's the big problem - I can't.

I used to be able to wheel and deal - sell a few fuel coupons and groceries.

But now I can't because these commodities are freely available.

I have to cut back on my lifestyle instead. For example, I can no longer afford meat every day.

The meat is the most expensive thing on the grocery list.

I miss those chicken steaks! And going out for pizza. I miss things like that.

Ghost towns

The MDC wanted to revive the economy, but I think the best they can do is stabilise it, so that we can have a free and fair election.

Roy Bennett was freed but many political prisoners remain jailed

I think our economy will only stabilise when we have right of ownership over property, and the rule of law.

I don't think that can happen while Zanu-PF are in the government.

Our heavy industry areas are still more like ghost towns.

Can the companies that once operated there dare to come back, when the Zanu-PF part of government is talking of going forward with the scheme where locals should own 51% of any company operating here?

Who wants to come here only to give up a huge chunk of their shareholding?

Early days

Maybe we need to apply the litmus test after a bit more time.

After all, what administration can truly change the way things were done before in just 100 days?

In six months maybe they will have more to show.

So we will be patient.

Lord knows patience is one thing Zimbabweans have in abundance!

---

Esther asked some Zimbabweans for their thoughts on the unity government's first 100 days. She can't disclose their names.

NGO WORKER

I am full of hope! Things look like they are turning around.

Credit lines are coming back - a certain clothing shop called me to say they would fast-track the opening of an account if I wanted one.

I was quite amazed. Food is expensive considering people's incomes, but at least it's available.

I remember a time when you had to go abroad for toilet paper, cooking oil, sugar and so on.

And you know what - I can't recall the last time I saw a police officer in full riot gear.

It had gotten to a point where they were at every street corner, every single day.

I feel like we have started afresh. I hope people give the GNU time to work even more changes.

Just this week the president's spokesman said the BBC, CNN & Sky News were welcome here!

BBC NEWS REPORT.

WIND FARM 'KILLS TAIWANESE GOATS'

A large number of goats in Taiwan may have died of exhaustion because of noise from a wind farm.
A farmer on an outlying island told the BBC he had lost more than 400 animals after eight giant wind turbines were installed close to his grazing land.
The Ministry of Agriculture says it suspects that noise may have caused the goats' demise through lack of sleep.
The power company, Taipower, has offered to pay for part of the costs of building a new farmhouse elsewhere.
A spokesman for the company said the cause of the goats' deaths still needed to be investigated, but that it doubted the goats died from the noise.
One night I went out to the farmhouse and the goats were all standing up; they weren't sleeping
Farmer Kuo Jing-shan
Before the wind farm was built about four years ago, farmer Kuo Jing-shan had about 700 goats.
Shortly after the electricity-generating turbines were installed, the 57-year-old says his animals started to die. He now has just 250 goats left.
"The goats looked skinny and they weren't eating. One night I went out to the farmhouse and the goats were all standing up; they weren't sleeping.
"I didn't know why. If I had known, I would've done something to stop the dying," he told the BBC's Cindy Sui in Taiwan.

A local livestock inspector from the agriculture ministry said that Mr Kuo was the only farmer to have reported such large-scale deaths.
He said his claim was plausible because of all the farmers in the Penghu archipelago, his farm was closest to the wind turbines.
"Abnormal noises could affect the normal growth and feeding intake of animals and cause them to suffer sleep deprivation," Lu Ming-tseng said.
Mr Kuo said the power company had offered to help him move but that there would be no compensation for the loss of his goats.
"It's a pain to relocate, but what can I do. I can't survive with the wind turbines," he said.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

GURKHAS WIN RIGHT TO SETTLE IN UK

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announces Gurkhas settlement rights

All Gurkha veterans who retired before 1997 with at least four years' service will be allowed to settle in the UK, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has said.

Ms Smith told MPs she was "proud to offer this country's welcome to all who have served in the brigade of Gurkhas".

It comes after a high-profile campaign by Joanna Lumley and other supporters of Gurkha rights - and an embarrassing Commons defeat for the Government.

Some 36,000 Gurkhas who left before 1997 had been denied UK residency.

Actress Joanna Lumley, who has campaigned on behalf of the Gurkhas, said: "This is the welcome we have always longed to give."

She called Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who she had met earlier, a "brave man who has made today a brave decision on behalf of the bravest of the brave".

Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said the U-turn by the government was a "great victory for a well-run campaign, that has publicly embarrassed ministers".

Ms Smith's statement was greeted by cheers from MPs.

She told the Commons: "I'm delighted that we have now been able to agree - across Government, across the House and with the Gurkhas' representatives - new settlement rights that all those who have served us so well, so highly deserve."

Ms Smith added that the Gurkhas had served the UK "with great courage, sacrifice and distinction and they continue to make a vital and valued contribution to our operations around the world".

The prime minister suffered a shock Commons defeat on the issue, forcing ministers to reconsider existing rules on how many Gurkhas can settle in the UK.

It was followed by an extraordinary piece of Westminster theatre when Ms Lumley came face-to-face with minister Phil Woolas in BBC studios and quickly won public assurances over future policy at an impromptu joint press conference.

At Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Mr Brown told the House of Commons that he had a "great deal of sympathy and support" for the Gurkhas.

He added: "I believe it is possible for us to honour our commitments to the Gurkhas and to do so in a way that protects the public finances."

BBC NEWS REPORT.

GUANTANAMO INMATE GETS US TRIAL

Ahmed Ghailani is considered a "high value detainee" by the CIA

An al-Qaeda suspect is to become the first inmate at the Guantanamo Bay camp to stand trial in a US civilian court.

Ahmed Ghailani will face charges in a federal court in New York over the 1998 US embassy bombings in East Africa, the justice department announced.

The news comes as the US Senate voted against funding President Obama's plans to close down Guantanamo Bay detention centre and transfer its 240 detainees.

Mr Obama is due to address concerns in a major speech later on Thursday.

He is under pressure from both Democrats and Republicans over his pledge to shut the camp in Cuba by January 2010.

At the same time, former vice-president Dick Cheney is due to give his own address - explaining why President Obama's national security policies are leaving Americans less safe.

"By prosecuting Ahmed Ghailani in federal court, we will ensure that he finally answers for his alleged role in the bombing of our embassies in Tanzania and Kenya," Attorney General Eric Holder said.

Detainee move blocked What next for inmates? Profile: Ahmed Ghailani Send us your views

Ghailani, a Tanzanian, was seized in Pakistan in 2004 and was one of 14 so-called "high-value detainees" transferred from secret CIA prisons abroad to Guantanamo in September 2006.

He was indicted in New York on charges related to the August 1998 bombing of the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya that killed more than 200 people.

According to the transcript of a closed-door hearing in March 2007, Mr Ghailani admitted delivering explosives used to blow up the US embassy in Dar Es Salaam.

However, he told the hearing he did not know about the attack beforehand and apologised to the US government and the victims' families.

The expected announcement comes as Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete is to hold talks with President Obama - the first African head of state to meet the new US leader in Washington.

The issue of transferring Guantanamo Bay inmates to the US has caused alarm among many members in Congress.

"The American people don't want these men walking the streets of America's neighbourhoods," Republican Senator John Thune said on Wednesday.

"The American people don't want these detainees held at a military base or federal prison in their backyard, either."

President Obama's request for $80m (£51m) to close the camp was overwhelmingly rejected by senators by 90-6 votes.

The House of Representatives made a similar decision.

Democrats and Republicans each argue that there needs to be a better plan for closing Guantanamo.

The Republicans want to see the camp remain open, while the Democrats are asking the president for a plan of the closure process before agreeing to fund it.

Concerns will not be eased by a New York Times report on Thursday, which quoted an unreleased Pentagon report as saying that one in seven of the 534 prisoners already transferred abroad from Guantanamo Bay have returned to terrorism or militant activity.

The BBC's Jonathan Beale in Washington says President Obama will have to use his speech to explain to the American people why it is important to close Guantanamo Bay and why this is not the right place for the detainees.

The detention centre, on US territory in Cuba, was established after the 9/11 attacks by the then President, George W Bush.

In one of his first acts on taking office, President Obama pledged to close the camp by January 2010.

He also halted the Bush-era military commissions, saying the US was entering a new era of respecting human rights.

Last week, he announced he would revive the military tribunal system for some Guantanamo detainees but with greater legal rights for defendants.

BBC NEWS REPORT.

ARMED MAN 'IN SERBIAN PRESIDENCY'!

A man armed with two hand grenades has entered the presidential offices in the Serbian capital Belgrade, say reports.

Serbia's B92 news channel said an unidentified man was at the entrance to the building and police officers were on the scene.

It is not clear whether President Boris Tadic is in the building.

The news comes a day after US Vice-president Joe Biden became the most senior American to visit Serbia since the 1999 conflict in Kosovo.

"A police negotiating team went to the presidency building to try to convince the man to give himself up," a police source told the AFP news agency.

The source said the man had left one grenade at the entrance to the building, on Andricev Venac Square, and gone inside "with the safety pin removed from the second".

The man was "a psychiatric case" and had been isolated by police, Reuters quoted a police officer as saying.

Roads in the area are reported to have been closed.

BBC NEWS REPORT.