Fractured front

30 July 2011 Last updated at 09:03 GMT By Shashank Joshi Associate fellow, Royal United Services Institute Abdul Fattah Younes defected after decades serving Col Gaddafi On Wednesday, British Foreign Secretary William Hague hailed the Libyan rebels' "increasing legitimacy, competence, and success".

On Thursday, with impeccable timing, it transpired that those rebels might have murdered their top military commander.

If Abdul Fattah Younes did indeed die at the hands of soldiers he nominally led, it would be little surprise.

Gen Younes was a man with many enemies.

He had defected to the rebels only after four decades of friendship with and service to Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.

Rumours of his lingering ties to the regime seemed to have caught up with him after he was summoned by a panel of judges in Benghazi.

That came on the heels of severe criticism of his military leadership for a series of territorial losses early in the uprising.

The furious reaction from members of Gen Younes' Obeidi tribe, amongst the largest in eastern Libya, indicates the resurgence of tribal divisions hitherto papered over by the strenuous efforts of the broad-based National Transitional Council (NTC).

These will not shatter the NTC or lead to the collapse of Benghazi, but they point to longer-term problems for the anti-Gaddafi rebels.

Simplifying factor?

The first irony is that the assassination of Gen Younes will scarcely affect the military campaign. For a short period some months ago, the rebels' military command was anyway bifurcated between the defector Gen Younes and the war hero and long-time US resident Colonel Khalifa Hifter.

The NTC denied that these divisions mattered. And yet, shipments of rifles would never make it to official units, orders from Gen Younes would be amended by Col Hifter, and bitter debates over strategy and tactics got in the way of decision making.

Col Hifter or another commander will likely step into the breach and Gen Younes' death might, perversely, simplify things. But even if it doesn't, it might not matter much.

This is because Libya's revolution has already fractured into hundreds of semi-independent fronts, each driven by local fighters soldiering in local conditions.

The most important battlefield successes of the past month, those in the western mountains and around Tripoli, have had virtually nothing to do with Gen Younes' operational nous.

Rebels made gains in the west even as Gen Younes' death was announced in the east

That much should be clear from the widespread looting and executions - essentially, war crimes - by rebel soldiers in western towns like al-Qawalish and al-Awaniya, actions patently incompatible with the commitment to military professionalism and legality professed by the NTC.

As if to underline this detachment, between formal leadership and the various theatres of operations, even as news of Gen Younes' death was trickling out from Benghazi, major advances were being made in the plains south of the capital and near the border with Tunisia.

Seizures of the towns of Tekut, Hawamid, and Ghazaya now place rebel forces in a strong position to sever supply lines into Tripoli, hastening what they hope will be an organic urban uprising.

Just as Misrata was liberated from within (though not without some assistance from the east), this war will likely be won more than 800km (500 miles) away from the political wrangling of Benghazi and the frustrating stalemate around the oil town of Brega.

Factional animosities

But the second irony is that Gen Younes' death threatens to unpick the NTC's credibility and cohesion at exactly the moment of its latest diplomatic triumph - fresh endorsement from Britain, the last major rebel ally to recognise the opposition as Libya's legitimate representatives.

Continue reading the main story

The concern that emerges most sharply from this incident is not so much that the NTC will splinter before Tripoli falls, but that it might do so after”

End Quote The NTC, though lax in investigating and stopping battlefield transgressions by its own soldiers, has earnestly sought to include representation from across Libya's regions and tribes. It is now at pains to placate Gen Younes' Obeidi tribe and counter the regime's narrative that the revolution is simply a tribal, rather than democratic, movement.

That narrative is exaggerated propaganda, intended to discredit the opposition. But the resurgence of at least some tribal and factional animosities has been apparent for months.

In the west, it is evident in the revenge attacks on the pro-Gaddafi Mashaashia tribe. In the east, it was clear from the spontaneous shows of force by the Obeidi tribe after Gen Younes' death, including the establishment of roadblocks in Benghazi and an attack by tribesmen on the hotel where the NTC had just given a press conference.

These latent divisions were well known. They underpinned the British and American decisions to refrain from directly arming the opposition. But as deeply embarrassed as the rebels' international backers will be at these episodes, they see no alternative but to work through the NTC, having invested so much in the removal of Gaddafi, and absent any other viable partners.

The concern that emerges most sharply from this incident is not so much that the NTC will splinter before Tripoli falls, but that it might do so after.

If it struggles to represent the full spectrum of political forces in a transition period, in the face of armed factions demanding political sway, Gen Younes' killing might not be the last political assassination amongst the self-described Free Libya Forces.

Shashank Joshi an Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a defence think-tank in London, and a doctoral student of international relations at Harvard University.

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Thriving Tripoli

30 July 2011 Last updated at 15:35 GMT By James Reynolds BBC News, Tripoli The Abu Saleem market is bustling prior to the start of Ramadan The government keeps a close eye on the foreign reporters who report from Libya's capital. We all stay in the same hotel, we're not allowed to go into town on our own.

We're often taken by our escorts/translators to pro-Gaddafi rallies, where we're free to interview the colonel's supporters. But getting an idea of what ordinary daily life is like is much more difficult.

On the Friday before the start of Ramadan, we're driven to the Abu Saleem part of town and given an hour to walk around the marketplace. We do so free from escorts and translators.

Even so, those who oppose Col Gaddafi may still feel too intimidated to speak freely - in this city, public criticism of the leader is unwise.

The marketplace is busy with shoppers getting ready for the start of the Islamic holy month. Many stalls sell clothes - including Chelsea and Arsenal football shirts. One shop sells mugs with pictures of Col Gaddafi and his family (about $3 each).

Umm Ahmed is shopping for clothes at a stall on the edge of the market.

"Happy ... very happy ... because our Guide is very good," she says in English. The "Guide" is one of the titles Libyans use for Col Gaddafi.

Further inside the market, Ramadan Fitouri sits on a stool opposite his shop. He sells evening dresses for women to wear at weddings (he doesn't sell actual wedding dresses - there are special bridal shops for those).

Mr Fitouri used to get his new dresses delivered once every two weeks from Turkey and Syria. Now, because of Libya's conflict, he gets his deliveries only once a month.

"It takes longer and it's more expensive," he explains.

Mr Fitouri has put up his prices by 20%. A glittery blue dress on a mannequin outside the stall now costs the equivalent of $60.

Plenty of choice

But right now, he has few shoppers. The country is at war - so weddings get put off.

"People feel afraid, not ready to do their ceremony - they postpone," he says quietly.

Further along, the Shaban sisters are doing their pre-Ramadan shopping. Huda, 19, has bought a shirt and jeans and is looking to buy a pair of shoes to match her new outfit. Her younger sister Hada, 16, has bought a headscarf.

The sisters have plenty of choice in the market. The stalls are full of goods - a sign that shopkeepers are still able to get hold of supplies, even if it costs them a bit more.

"Prices have gone up 15% but we can handle it," said Huda, who is a medical student.

"We love Muammar Gaddafi," adds Hada unprompted. She is still in secondary school.

"Is it possible to be happy when there is a war going on?" I ask them.

"We get used to it - it's been six months now," laughs Huda.

"We're happy all the time... I love clothing," agrees Hada.

The Shaban sisters have been enjoying their shopping spree

"We want our leader," says Huda enthusiastically, "We die for him, I love him so much."

This feeling is so strong that Huda, the 19-year-old medical student, even signed up for a two-week military training course in Sirte, the hometown of Col Gaddafi. Her course included weapons training.

"It's fun - it's like the movies," she says.

"Do you ever think you will really have to shoot a gun?" I ask her.

"For my leader, yes, I can do anything."

Across the road from the main market, Amir Maeza works as a pharmacist. He says that male chemists in Libya work at night so that their female colleagues can work during the day. I ask him about the effects of the war on his business.

"There is no war as you see in the capital. Nothing has happened. Everything works okay until now," he replies. The shelves behind the counter are filled with packets of pills and medicines.

Mr Maeza's familiy lives with his family in Tripoli. He says that he has no contact with Libyans in the rebel-held east of the country.

"I feel so sorry because in the final we are all Libyans," he says, "What is wrong, what is right - it doesn't matter. In the last we are Libyans. That's what really hurts."

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NHS funds 'moved to rich areas'

31 July 2011 Last updated at 08:32 GMT The Department of Health says NHS spending will rise in real terms this year Labour is accusing the government of moving NHS spending in England away from poorer areas towards richer parts of the country.

It says this is because of changes to the funding for primary care trusts.

For years, areas which have higher incidences of poor health have been given a higher per-capita funding but this weighting is set to be reduced.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley called the claims "nonsense" and said all areas were getting budget increases.

He said NHS spending was going up in real terms across England as a whole and that Labour would not have matched that commitment if it had won the election.

"We're not taking money away from any parts of England, we're increasing the budget for the health service in England," said Mr Lansley.

"The average increase in each primary care trust is 3%, compared to [its] provision the previous year.

"The minimum increase is two and a half percent, and actually the minimum increase is going to Kingston upon Thames in London, which is hardly a poor area."

Labour, however, says the changes will mean less well-off areas such as Manchester and Tower Hamlets in east London losing out in the allocation of health funding, while more prosperous parts of the country - such as Surrey and Hampshire - will benefit.

Its claims are based on an assessment of funding changes made by public health bodies in Manchester.

Shadow health minister, Diane Abbott, stood by the report and said the NHS was under pressure because of a "misconceived reorganisation" by the Conservative-led government.

"A responsible government, which cared about health and equalities, that cared about the health of the poor, would not be taking money away from inner city areas.

"This isn't politics. This is about people's lives. This is about how quickly you can expect to get an operation, whether you get it as quickly as possible, whether you're made to wait artificially long - 15 weeks - rather than as quickly as possible."

The government said the funding changes were based on independent advice and that Labour's figures were misleading.

The Department of Health said the primary care budgets in Surrey and Tower Hamlets would, in fact, increase this year by a similar amount.

It added that a greater emphasis on the prevention of illness in future would assist those living in poorer parts of England.

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US Congress split over debt issue

30 July 2011 Last updated at 02:03 GMT John Boehner: ''I stuck my neck out a mile to get an agreement with the president"

The US Congress has split along party lines as it seeks a solution to an ongoing deadlock over raising the nation's debt limit.

The House of Representatives passed a Republican bill proposed by Speaker John Boehner, but that was quickly killed by the Democratic-led Senate.

Senate leader Harry Reid is now seeking a vote on a rival plan he proposed.

The US risks defaulting on its financial obligations if a federal budget deal is not struck by 2 August.

Continued disagreements Harry Reid: ''It's time to come to together and compromise''

The Boehner plan includes some $900bn of spending cuts and would raise the debt ceiling by a similar amount.

However it would require another vote during mid-2012 and includes language in support of a so-called "balanced budget amendment" to the US constitution - both rejected by the White House and the Senate leadership.

The House vote was delayed from Thursday after Mr Boehner struggled to win over a number of staunchly conservative Republicans, including newly elected representatives who back the Tea Party.

The plan eventually passed the House by 218-210, with 22 Republicans and every Democrat voting against.

Before the vote, Mr Boehner said the plan advanced the "great cause" of a balanced budget amendment.

Mr Boehner appeared heated in front of his colleagues in the House, slamming his fist on a podium on Friday evening and calling for lawmakers to pass his proposal.

Mr Boehner said Republicans had tried their "level best" to reach a deal.

"I stuck my neck out a mile to get an agreement with the president of the United States," Mr Boehner said, referring to negotiations with President Barack Obama that twice broke down.

"My colleagues, I can tell you I have worked with the president and the administration since the beginning of this year to avoid being in this spot," he added.

Continue reading the main story

It's odds-on the president won't have to veto the Republican plan, as the Tea Party seems to have done the job for him”

End Quote Mark Mardell BBC North America editor "A lot of people in this town can never say yes," Mr Boehner said.

Shortly after the House passed its bill, the Democratic-led Senate voted to reject the Boehner plan in a late-evening vote on Friday.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid accused the Republicans of seeking to filibuster, or delay, proceedings by forcing a vote on his rival plan to achieve a 60-vote "supermajority" before passing.

Speaking after the Senate adjourned for the night, he accused his Republican counterpart of not being willing to negotiate.

"Unless there is a compromise, or they accept my bill, we're heading for economic disaster," he said.

The US government will start running out of money to pay all its bills unless a $14.3tn (?8.79tn) borrowing limit is increased by Tuesday.

Democrats say the Republican bill as passed would cause immeasurable damage to the economy because it would force Congress to vote on another extension of the debt ceiling early in 2012, a time when presidential election campaigns will be in full swing.

'Out of time'

The White House quickly responded to the passage of Mr Boehner's bill, calling for a "compromise that avoids default and lays the basis for balanced deficit reduction".

Continue reading the main story

The time for putting party first is over. The time for compromise on behalf of the American people is now”

End Quote Barack Obama US President Earlier, the White House said Mr Boehner was taking a dangerous approach with his proposal.

"Amend the constitution or default is a highly dangerous game to play," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

Meanwhile, Mr Obama accused House Republicans of pursuing a partisan bill that would force Washington into another debt limit fight within months.

"There are plenty of ways out of this mess, but we are almost out of time," Mr Obama said.

"The time for putting party first is over," he added. "The time for compromise on behalf of the American people is now."

Analysts predict a last-minute scramble for a compromise and razor-edge votes in both chambers, with the high-stakes game of legislative brinkmanship expected to continue all weekend.

The president backs Mr Reid's proposal, which would cut $2.2tn from deficits and raise the debt ceiling by $2.7tn.

The Boehner and Reid plans overlap in key ways, such as trimming spending over 10 years and shunning President Obama's call for tax increases on the wealthy and corporations.

Analysts have said international markets would be shaken if the US defaults and runs out of money to pay its bills.

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China families reject crash offer

30 July 2011 Last updated at 15:10 GMT Many relatives of the dead and injured are angry at the authorities Relatives of some of those killed in a major train crash in China are refusing to accept an offer of compensation from the government.

The 915,000 yuan ($142,000; ?87,000) total is double the initial offer made to the families of the 40 victims.

There has been widespread anger at the official response to the disaster.

The crash happened when one train came to a standstill on a viaduct near the eastern city of Wenzhou, and another ploughed into it.

State media say that 10 families have accepted the compensation offer.

Lawyers warned

Meanwhile local lawyers have been told to report to the authorities any relatives seeking legal advice, AFP news agency reported, citing the official Xinhua agency.

Law firms should not "unauthorisedly respond and handle the cases", because "the accident is a major sensitive issue concerning social stability", the lawyers are said to have been warned in a statement.

Four carriages plunged from the viaduct

The crash has provoked much anger against the government, not just for its response, but also over its conduct in pushing for rapid development of high-speed train lines.

Many web users, and even some state-media outlets, have accused officials of putting economic development above the safety of the people.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who visited the crash site on Thursday, vowed to "severely punish" those responsible.

Reports from Hong Kong say the communist party has ordered the media to tone down its coverage.

The Hong Kong Journalists' association said the party's propaganda bureau has told newspapers to focus on positive coverage and stick to comments made by officials.

Flagship project

Officials believe a faulty signal may have caused the crash. Four train carriages fell about 30m (100ft) from the viaduct.

On Friday, about two dozen relatives gathered at the crash site to lay flowers and burn incense.

The accident came four years after the opening of the country's first high-speed railway line - one of the government's flagship projects.

Rail experts had warned against the rush to build the world's longest and fastest high-speed rail network in record time amid safety concerns.

Critics of the government allege that corners were cut during construction because of corruption, raising questions about infrastructure across the country.

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Egypt Islamists lead Cairo rally

29 July 2011 Last updated at 21:40 GMT The protest is one of the largest since the toppling of President Hosni Mubarak Tens of thousands of people have packed Cairo's Tahrir Square, after the first call by Islamist leaders for nationwide demonstrations since President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in February.

Many protesters - dominated by Muslim Brotherhood supporters - are calling for an Islamic state and Sharia law.

Correspondents say the rallies will be a worrying development for secularists.

The Brotherhood is the most organised political force in Egypt, although it was not prominent in the revolution.

Tensions have been running high between Egypt's Islamist and secular groups, who are at odds over the transition to democracy in the Arab world's most populated country.

Casualties

Later there were a number of casualties when violence broke out in a separate incident in Sinai.

"We have two bodies of civilians in the morgue now and 12 police conscripts being treated for injuries in hospital," Hisham Shiha, Egypt's deputy health minister, told state television.

Around 100 armed men drove around the city of El-Arish, shouting Islamic slogans, and firing into the air, before attacking a police station.

Terrified residents fled into their homes. One of those killed was a 13-year-old boy, according to reports in the local media.

Turning point?

Among the earlier protests in Tahrir Square, liberal groups called for guarantees of a constitution that will protect religious freedom and personal rights, whereas Islamists demanded speedy elections and a recognition of Islam - in one form or another - in the new Egyptian state.

Now the Islamists want their voice to be heard and are showing their muscle for the first time since Mr Mubarak stepped down on 11 February, says the BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo.

Although the Muslim Brotherhood can turn out huge crowds by rallying its supporters at mosques, it does not necessarily represent the majority of Egyptians and is predicted to win around 20% of the vote in an election, our correspondent says.

There was little sign of any secular groups at Friday's rally, he says, adding that it will be interesting to see how they re-group after today's events.

Since early July, the mainly secular protesters had camped out in Tahrir Square - the epicentre of protests that toppled Mr Mubarak - to denounce the ruling military council over the slow pace of reform.

Islamist groups had for the most part stayed away from the sit-in. Last week, they held their own demonstration and accused the Tahrir protesters of going against the country's "Islamic identity", the AFP news agency reports.

But with Islamists and the more conservative Salafist groups now filling Tahrir Square, it could mark a turning point in Egypt's post-revolution period, our correspondent says.

Later on Friday, witnesses in el-Arish reported men in trucks and on motorbikes firing their assault rifles into the air and forcing frightened residents into their homes.

The men are reported to have been confronted by policemen and soldiers.

"We have two bodies of civilians in the morgue now and 12 police conscripts being treated for injuries in hospital," Hisham Shiha, Egypt's deputy health minister, told state television.

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New deal for F1 rights announced

Ecclestone on new Formula 1 TV deal

The BBC and Sky Sports will broadcast Formula 1 in the UK between 2012 and 2018 under a new rights deal.

The BBC has been the exclusive broadcaster of F1 in the UK since 2009 but its contract with Formula One Management was due to expire after the 2013 season.

Sky Sports will show every race, qualifying session and practice live.

BBC Sport will broadcast half the races live, as well as the qualifying and practice sessions from those races.

Both companies will broadcast in high definition.

Deal keeps F1 with BBC for longer, says director of sport Barbara Slater

Races screened by the BBC will be live on the BBC Sport website for UK users.

The BBC will have highlights on TV, online and mobile for any race it is not showing live, and all races will be broadcast on BBC Radio 5 live.

Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport, said: "We are absolutely delighted that F1 will remain on the BBC.

"The sport has never been more popular with TV audiences at a 10-year high and the BBC has always stated its commitment to the big national sporting moments.

"With this new deal not only have we delivered significant savings but we have also ensured that through our live and extended highlights coverage all the action continues to be available to licence-fee payers."

Races shown live on BBC TV will include the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, the Monaco GP and the concluding race of the season.

Barney Francis, managing director of Sky Sports, said: "This is fantastic news for F1 fans and Sky Sports will be the only place to follow every race live and in HD.

"We will give F1 the full Sky Sports treatment with a commitment to each race never seen before on UK television."

Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone told BBC Sport: "It's super for F1. It will mean a lot more coverage for the sport.

"There'll be highlights as well as live coverage on two different networks now, so we get the best of both worlds."

Christian Horner, the team principal of world champions Red Bull, said it would have been a "disaster" if F1 was no longer on the BBC.

"The BBC sets the standard for F1 coverage across the world," Horner said.

"This is an agreement that safeguards the sport on the BBC, albeit reduced from what we are used to. And Sky opens up new avenues. So rather than losing the sport from the BBC, I think this was the most sensible way to move forward."

Reaction to new F1 rights deal

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Broad wants win after hat-trick

Venue: Trent BridgeDate: 29 July - 2 AugustStart time: 1100 BSTCoverage: Live ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra, BBC Radio 4 Long Wave & BBC Sport website; live video scorecard on Red Button (not Freeview); live text commentary on BBC Sport website & mobile; watch live on Sky Sports (subscription required); highlights on Channel 5 Broad took five wickets for no runs in 16 balls in a stunning spell Stuart Broad said his hat-trick against India will mean little if England do not go on and win the second Test at Trent Bridge.

Broad dismissed Mahendra Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar, but England still trail by 43 runs.

"Your best days only come when you win, so at the end of the Test match it might well turn out to be if we perform well," Broad told BBC Sport.

"It was a pretty special occasion, but it's all about winning Test matches."

Going into day three of the Test, Broad added: "Sunday's a huge day of cricket, it's all about winning games and I expect the crowd of Nottingham to be pretty similar and supportive."

Broad becomes the 12th Englishman to take a hat-trick in Test cricket and the first since Ryan Sidebottom in Hamilton in 2008, as well the first player from any nation to capture a Test hat-trick against India.

Asked about his feelings ahead of the hat-trick ball, Broad added: "The atmosphere was amazing, Trent Bridge was really bouncing.

Continue reading the main story Billy Bates v Australia (Melbourne, 1883)Johnny Briggs v Australia (Sydney, 1892)George Lohmann v South Africa (Port Elizabeth, 1896)Jack Hearne v Australia (Headingley, 1899)Maurice Allom v New Zealand (Christchurch, 1930)Tom Goddard v South Africa (Johannesburg, 1938)Peter Loader v West Indies (Headingley, 1957)Dominic Cork v West Indies (Old Trafford, 1995)Darren Gough v Australia (Sydney, 1999)Matthew Hoggard v West Indies (Barbados, 2004)Ryan Sidebottom v New Zealand (Hamilton, 2008)Stuart Broad v India (Trent Bridge, 2011)

"I wanted to take a little bit of it in, of course, but I knew that it was a good chance to knock over the tail.

"The ball was moving a little bit and I wanted to make sure I hit the stumps, so I just came wide of the crease and tried to angle it in as close to the stumps as I possibly could, and fortunately it just nipped back and caught the top of off [stump]."

And speaking on BBC Radio 5 live's Sportsweek, Broad's father Chris - match referee at the Test - spoke of his pride.

"It's strange this game of cricket," he said.

"One delivery can change momentum. Clearly Stuart found line and length at Lord's and has confidence now, he's bowled a great line at both Tests [the bowler taking seven wickets in the first Test of the series].

"For the hat-trick ball we were all on the balcony, all dreaming of the possibility he could do it but never believing as there are so many times you get two wickets in two balls.

"Afterwards, I probably pushed my role as match referee too far. I went to the England dressing room and gave him a big hug. I had to go up and say well done at that moment."

England's hopes of taking full advantage of the platform provided by Broad could be dealt a blow if Jonathan Trott is unable to bat in the second innings after injuring his left shoulder when he dived to stop a Rahul Dravid cover drive.

Trott immediately looked in pain as he writhed on the outfield but an X-ray later showed no bone damage to the shoulder and he could be pressed into action on day three.

"He's in a little bit of pain this evening but we're hoping, with no major structural damage, it will pull up a bit better in the morning and he might be able to play some part with the bat," Stuart Broad told Test Match Special.

Ian Bell batted in Trott's number three position after England lost Alastair Cook early in their second innings, and they will go into day three with a deficit of 43 runs and a wicket down.

South Africa-born Trott is one of England's most prolific batsmen

The situation would have been considerably worse had it not been for Broad's heroics with the ball.

Playing on his home ground, Broad took five wickets - including the hat-trick - in 16 balls to haul England back into the match after India led by 46 on 267-4.

"We dragged ourselves back into this game," said Broad. "It was a tough day for the bowlers to be honest, I thought the wicket slowed down - the heavy roller certainly had an effect this morning.

"To only be 43 behind this evening, we're in a strong position to really build on. When they passed our score with only four down we were staring down the barrel a little bit."

England did have an opportunity to limit India even further but Kevin Pietersen dropped Yuvraj on four, and he went on to make 62.

"No-one means to drop catches, KP was frustrated with himself," said Broad. "These sort of things happen in cricket but it was looking like it was going to hurt ourselves for a little while.

"Fortunately we managed to wrap up the tail pretty quickly. Unfortunately we lost Cookie, but if we get clear skies we'll be looking to get a big total."

Listen to Jonathan Agnew and Geoffrey Boycott 's review of the day's play on the TMS podcast

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Pakistan gunmen kill Shia Muslims

30 July 2011 Last updated at 11:26 GMT The van was sprayed with bullets Gunmen opened fire on a van in the city of Quetta, south-west Pakistan, killing 11 Shia Muslims in a suspected sectarian attack, police say.

Seven people were killed on the spot and four others died en route to hospital. One woman was among the dead.

The attack comes a day after gunmen killed seven Shia pilgrims at a bus stop in the city centre.

Angered by the attacks, locals from the Shia community burnt cars and offices in Quetta, capital of Balochistan.

Correspondents say the attack will add to the growing sense of insecurity among Pakistan's minority Shia community.

Brazen attack The killing sparked protests by Shia residents

The group was travelling in a packed passenger van near the outskirts of Quetta when gunmen sprayed it with bullets.

"Unidentified gunmen riding [a motorbike] opened fire at a Suzuki van carrying a group of people on their way to the main city from Hazara town," said Balochistan's police chief, Rao Amin Hashim.

The gunmen managed to escape.

There has been a notable increase in sectarian violence across Pakistan in recent years.

Islamist freed

The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Pakistan's deadliest militant group, has said it was behind Saturday's attack.

The group has strong ties to al-Qaeda and has carried out high profile attacks against US diplomats and Pakistan military targets in the country, the BBC's Shoaib Hasan reports from Karachi, on the border of Balochistan.

But its focus remains on the Shia community - which it regards as apostates, our correspondent says.

The attack comes soon after the release of Malik Ishaq, head of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, after a decade in jail.

When a local journalist asked him what he now intended to do, Ishaq's reply was chilling, our correspondent says. He said his organisation would continue its "good work" - fighting those who opposed their version of Islam.

Balochistan, on the border with Afghanistan, is also fighting a regional separatist insurgency as well as Islamic militancy.

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US growth much worse than thought

29 July 2011 Last updated at 14:57 GMT US economic growth is much weaker than first thought, government figures show.

The economy grew at an annualised rate of 1.3% in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said. Economists had forecast growth of 1.8%.

And in a surprise move, first-quarter growth was revised down sharply from 1.9% to 0.4%.

This evidence of economic weakness increases the pressure on the government as it attempts to increase its borrowing limit.

Slow growth makes it more difficult for the US to tackle its deficit.

If Congress does not raise the debt limit by 2 August, the US government could face funding shortfalls that it cannot meet by extra borrowing.

Continue reading the main story

Businesses can't hire until consumers start spending, but people won't spend unless they're sure they have jobs”

End Quote Carl Riccadonna Economist, Deutsche Bank President Barack Obama urged Democrats and Republicans in the Senate "to find common ground" on a plan to address the debt crisis.

"There are plenty of ways out of this mess. But we are almost out of time.

"If we don't come to an agreement, we could lose our country's triple A credit rating," he said. "That is inexcusable."

"On a day when we've already been reminded how delicate the economy is, we can end [this crisis] ourselves."

US markets opened lower, with the Dow Jones, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq all falling 1% in early trade.

European markets, which were already in negative territory, saw further falls after the figures were released.

'Shocking'

After the revision, the US growth figures now correspond to a quarterly increase of just 0.1% in the first three months of 2011, followed by a 0.3% rise in the second quarter.

Economists had expected steady growth in the second quarter, now that supply constraints from Japan after the earthquake and tsunami are easing.

Continue reading the main story

The White House will see a silver lining in today's grim GDP figures, if they help to remind the negotiators on Capitol Hill of the fragility of the US recovery”

End Quote Stephanie Flanders Economics editor, BBC News The main reason for the lower-than-expected second-quarter figure was that consumer spending virtually ground to a halt, growing by just 0.1%, compared with 2.1% growth in the first quarter.

The large downward revision to the first quarter's growth figure was made as a result of lower capital investment and higher imports than first thought, and adjusting how seasonal factors are taken into account.

In addition, growth for the fourth quarter of 2010 was revised down from 3.1% to 2.3%, indicating that the economy had already started slowing before the end of last year.

Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer at Solaris Asset Management, said the figures were "shocking".

"Clearly this is evidence of a mid-cycle slowdown. The only question now is do we see a pick-up in the second half and so far the economic data to date doesn't suggest that.

"You might have some analysts come out and talk recession, talk about a double dip. Right now none of the forecasts even come close to that but this is weak data."

Worse recession

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis makes annual revisions to its GDP estimates every July, incorporating more complete and detailed data.

It now says that the US recession of 2007-2009 was more severe than previously reported, with the economy shrinking by 5.1% over that period, rather than 4.1%.

But it also says that growth in 2010 was a bit stronger than it had first estimated.

It now puts 2010 growth at 3%, up from the previous 2.9%.

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Moody's warns over Spanish rating

29 July 2011 Last updated at 14:48 GMT Spain is continuing to see a number of protests about spending cuts and high unemployment Moody's has warned it may downgrade the credit rating of Spanish government bonds, saying last week's second rescue package for Greece had done little to ease debt concerns in the eurozone.

The rating agency said it was reviewing Spain's current Aa2 grade, adding that if it was downgraded, it would probably be by just one level, to Aa3.

Moody's added that the Spanish economy remained "subdued".

The Spanish government has now called an early general election.

The announcement was made just hours after Moody's made its credit rating warning, and will see Spain go to the polls on 20 November.

Explaining the decision, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said he wished to "project political and economic certainty" over the months ahead.

However, it could be benefit the opposition conservative Popular Party, as it is ahead of the ruling Socialist Party in the polls.

The government could have waited until March of next year to hold the general election.

'Bond precedent'

In explaining why it was reviewing Spain's credit rating, Moody's highlighted the fact that as part of the second bail-out deal for Greece, private bondholders were being invited to participate.

Continue reading the main story Sarah Rainsford BBC News, Madrid

This is another blow to Spain - anxious to convince investors it won't need a Greek-style bailout. But Moody's still has concerns, so it has put Spain on review, for what's likely to be a one-notch downgrade of its government debt.

The ratings agency points to the slow pace of economic growth here, and the high levels of debt in Spain's autonomous regions. They account for almost half of state spending and several warn they'll overshoot the budget deficit target set by Madrid.

The Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, has insisted that won't affect his target of cutting Spain's overall deficit to 6% by the end of the year. But investor doubts, coupled with concern over the details of the latest bailout for Greece, has already pushed Spain's borrowing costs higher and higher.

The Prime Minister has now announced an early general election for November; the main opposition party has long insisted a change of government is the only way to recover confidence in this economy.

The private bondholders, such as banks, are being asked to exchange their current Greek bonds for ones which pay a lower rate of interest over a longer term.

Moody's said this set a "precedent", adding that it had "signalled a clear shift in risk for bondholders of countries with high debt burdens or large budget deficits".

However, if Spain is downgraded to Aa3, this remains a healthy investment grade.

Moody's also said five Spanish banks could have their credit ratings downgraded because of the same concerns.

These include the largest two lenders, Banco Santander and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA).

'Fiscal slippage'

Despite the forthcoming general election campaign, Spain's central government is continuing to enforce cost-cutting efforts to reduce its public deficit.

However, Madrid is hampered by the fact that Spain is a heavily devolved country, and its regional governments, such as those in Catalonia and the Basque region, are not moving as fast or as deep in trimming their spending.

Moody's highlighted this problem, warning of "fiscal slippage" at the regional and local government level.

Spain is also struggling with the eurozone's highest unemployment rate, which now stands at 20.9%.

Spain's main share index was down 0.7% in afternoon trading, after falling as much as 2.4% immediately following Moody's announcement.

The yield on the Spanish government's 10-year bonds rose 10 percentage points to 6.10%.

The euro declined, falling 0.3% against the dollar to $1.4287.

"The trigger is that the [Greek] deal last week has not really rebuilt confidence across the eurozone, so Spain is still on their radar screens with costs rising," said Giada Giani, analyst at Citigroup.

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Eight die in China street attack

31 July 2011 Last updated at 08:23 GMT Two men have launched a street attack in China's western Xinjiang region, official media say, leaving at least eight people dead.

The assailants reportedly hijacked a truck late on Saturday in Kashgar city, killing its driver. They then ran the vehicle into a group of pedestrians and attacked them with knives.

One attacker died and one was captured.

This is the second attack in a month in Xinjiang, home to a Muslim Uighur minority and scene of ethnic tension.

The attack was preceded by two explosions, media said, but it is not clear whether the events were connected.

A local official was quoted as saying that both attackers were Uighurs.

"The case is still under investigation so I don't have more information," Hou Hanmin told AFP news agency.

Ethnic unrest

According to tianshannet.com, a Xinjiang government-run website, the assailants hijacked a truck waiting at traffic lights, stabbing the driver to death before ploughing the vehicle into bystanders.

They then got out of the vehicle and started attacking people at random, the report said.

It said the crowd then turned on the men, killing one of them. The second man was captured.

State-run news agency Xinhua said the attack had been preceded by two explosions.

Twenty-eight people were reported to have been taken to hospital.

On 18 July, several police officials and a number of civilians were killed in an attack on a police station in the city of Hotan.

Chinese officials blamed the attack on "terrorists" from the Uighur minority.

Uighur activists said the security forces had provoked clashes by opening fire on a peaceful demonstration.

The majority of Xinjiang's population is ethnically Uighur - who are Muslims with strong cultural ties to Central Asia.

The BBC's Martin Patience in Beijing says many Uighurs are unhappy about what they say is the repressive rule of Beijing and are angered by the migration of the majority Han Chinese to the region.

In 2009, riots erupted in Xinjiang in which nearly 200 people died after tensions flared between the Uighurs and the Han.

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Top Libya rebel 'shot by militia'

30 July 2011 Last updated at 11:59 GMT Younes was buried in the rebel capital, Benghazi Libyan rebel commander Gen Abdel Fattah Younes was shot dead by a militia linked to his own side, a rebel minister has said.

Ali Tarhouni said Gen Younes was killed by members of the Obaida Ibn Jarrah Brigade, which is an Islamist group.

Gen Younes defected to the rebels in February after serving in the Libyan leadership since the 1969 coup which brought Col Muammar Gaddafi to power.

Meanwhile Nato says it bombed Libyan state TV transmitters overnight.

The Libyan Broadcasting Authority said three of its technicians were killed and 15 other people injured in the attack in the capital, Tripoli.

The alliance said it had disabled three satellite transmission dishes through a "precision air strike".

It said the operation was intended to stop "inflammatory broadcasts" by Col Gaddafi's government.

Continue reading the main story Ian Pannell, BBC News, Misrata

The more information that comes to light about the murder of Abdel Fattah Younes the more troubling the affair becomes.

According to Ali Tarhouni, a minister with the National Transitional Council, members of the Obaida Ibn Jarrah Brigade, an Islamist group allied with the rebels, killed the general and two other commanders and burned their bodies.

This will feed growing doubts about the armed opposition, about its ability to govern and fight as a cohesive group and about the influence of Islamist factions.

The Libyan government in Tripoli has constantly warned that the rebels are under the influence of al-Qaeda. Although there is no evidence of this, it has called the murder of Gen Younes a "slap in the face" for Britain after it officially recognised the council in Benghazi as the government of Libya.

Nato said the strike would "reduce the regime's ability to oppress civilians" but also "preserve television broadcast infrastructure that will be needed after the conflict".

Libyan state TV was still on air following the Nato statement.

'Slap in the face'

Oil minister Tarhouni told reporters in Benghazi a leader of the militia had provided information on the circumstances of Younes' death.

Mr Tarhouni said Younes and two of his aides were killed after being recalled to the rebel stronghold for questioning.

Younes' shot and burned body, and the bodies of his aides, were found on the edge of Benghazi on Friday.

"His lieutenants did it," Mr Tarhouni said, adding that the killers were still at large, Reuters news agency reported.

The minister did not provide a motive for the killing, which he said was still being investigated.

Col Gaddafi's government said the killing was proof that the rebels were not capable of ruling Libya.

Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said: "It is a nice slap [in] the face of the British that the [rebel National Transitional] council that they recognised could not protect its own commander of the army."

Continue reading the main story Helped Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi take power in the 1969 coup that ousted King IdrisClose advisor to the Libyan leader for four decades, rising to the post of general and training Col Gaddafi's special forcesAppointed interior ministerQuit the government on 22 February 2011 and defected to the rebels - one of the earliest such moves by a senior officialAppointed as the opposition's military chief in April, but faced mistrust due to his past ties to Col GaddafiMr Ibrahim also said Younes was killed by al-Qaeda, repeating a claim that the group is the strongest force within the rebel movement.

"By this act, al-Qaeda wanted to mark out its presence and its influence in this region," he said.

"The other members of the National Transitional Council knew about it but could not react because they are terrified of al-Qaeda," he added.

Middle East analyst Shashank Joshi said the concern that emerges most sharply from the incident is not so much that the National Transitional Council will splinter before Tripoli falls, but that it might do so afterwards.

The general - Col Gaddafi's former interior minister - joined the rebels at the beginning of the Libyan uprising in February.

The BBC's Ian Pannell in the rebel-held city of Misrata says the death will feed international suspicions that the rebels cannot be trusted.

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'World's best restaurant' closes

30 July 2011 Last updated at 13:08 GMT Despite its prestigious reputation, El Bulli never turned a profit A Spanish restaurant repeatedly voted the best in the world has served its final dish to the public and is closing its doors for the last time.

El Bulli, owned by award-winning chef Ferran Adria, will mark the end of a remarkable 27 years with a special sitting for staff and their families.

The restaurant, in the town of Roses, has topped a renowned World's 50 Best Restaurants list a record five times.

Mr Adria said El Bulli would re-open but as a culinary think-tank in 2014.

"El Bulli is not closing, it is transforming itself, because its soul is going to remain," he told students in Valencia earlier this month.

The restaurant, which specialised in molecular gastronomy, opened for only six months of the year and, despite its reputation, never turned a profit.

Mr Adria said the final sitting would be a tribute to all those who helped make the restaurant so prestigious.

The last menu would be secret, Spanish news agency EFE reported.

The restaurant was unconventional in many respects - it was shut for lunch to give staff time to develop new dishes - and reservations in the 50-seat venue were acquired mostly by lottery.

Continue reading the main story Baby snails in court bouillon with velvet crab in escabeche and fennel-flavoured amaranthTurtle dove with tuna medulla, enokis and samphireMonkfish liver fondue with ponzu and white sesame-flavoured kumquatDinner consisted of a set menu comprising some 40 small dishes costing about 250 euros (?220).

It was five times named best restaurant in the world by the San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants produced by Restaurant magazine, based on the opinions of some 800 chefs, critics and industry experts.

The accolade though was not one with which Mr Adria entirely concurred.

"It is not the best restaurant in the world because that does not exist," he said last week, "but it is today the most influential place in the world in terms of cuisine, and especially when it comes to creativity."

On Sunday El Bulli will relaunch as the El Bulli Foundation, a centre of research into new cooking techniques and flavours.

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Grave concern

22 July 2011 Last updated at 00:24 GMT By Thomas Doerfler University of Goettingen, Germany On Wednesday 20 July 2011 - the anniversary of the attempt on Hitler's life in 1944 - the public was informed that the grave of Rudolf Hess, the "Fuehrer's deputy", had been razed before daybreak.

Beyond the fascinating coincidence in the date - there will surely be further speculation on this - the decision by Hess's heirs was surprising.

They wanted to commit his mortal remains to the waves and organise a funeral at sea for a man whose mystique and influence on the far-right was strongly linked to the existence of his grave in the Bavarian village of Wunsiedel.

He was already one the most interesting figures in post-war Germany, being the only high-ranking Nazi serving a life sentence imposed by the Nuremberg war-crimes court - Albert Speer, for instance, was released in 1966.

'Anti-German plot' Hess owes his ambiguous fame to the circumstances of his death. He was found hanged in a summer house in Berlin's Spandau Prison, where he had spent the previous 20 years.

The official version - contested by right-wingers of all stripes - was that he committed suicide to end his long imprisonment.

For the German and international far-right movement, this was clear evidence that the powers that be had tried to suppress the truth about an "anti-German" plot dating back to the war years.

According to this version of events, the Allied forces - notably the British secret service - ignored the true purpose of Hess's flight to Britain in 1941. He was taking a peace plan to Churchill, he told his interrogators.

This idea made Hess the perfect figure to portray the Nazis as victims, rather than aggressors.

Britain had started World War II to destroy Germany, and Hess was captured in Scotland to crush the peaceful intentions of Nazi Germany.

Even the fact that Hitler declared him insane did not dent this legend.

Revitalised myth The place where Rudolf Hess's grave once stood has been levelled

Moreover the resurgent Nazi scene in recent years has gradually recognised the potential of this myth to attract young people susceptible to tales of injustice.

What started as a tiny demonstration of a handful of Nazi activists in the 1990s had turned into thousands regularly filling the streets of Wunsiedel by early 2000s.

Everybody who looked at such scenes - including myself and my academic colleagues - felt uncomfortable. Most of the demonstrators were young and dressed like average heavy-metal kids - until you looked at their T-shirts and tattoos.

The Hess myth, modernised to satisfy a desire for victimhood, made the Wundsiedel commemorations alluring to young people. But it also led the Constitutional Court to ban the event in 2005, as the potential for the recruitment of new blood into the Neo-Nazi movement got increasingly obvious.

However the court order had limited effect on such gatherings, which continued less frequently and at a smaller scale elsewhere. But then Hess had become a kind of right-wing Che Guevara, with his portrait on shirts, buttons and posters.

Continue reading the main story 1894: Born in Alexandria, Egypt1914-18: Serves during WWI, ending war as lieutenant1920: Joins Hitler's fledgling Nazi party1923: Imprisoned with Hitler and becomes his secretary1933: Becomes Hitler's deputy after his rise to power1941: Seeks peace with Britain by flying solo to Scotland; detained in Britain1946: Convicted of crimes against peace at Nuremberg Trials and given life sentence1947: Transferred to Spandau Prison in Berlin1987: Found hangedIn the end the family agreed to terminate the lease on the grave.

Thus an event that many would have thought highly improbably until now became reality on Wednesday evening. What might be the consequences of this startling decision?

Nazi zombie

Firstly, it is no coincidence that the relatives and officials chose to eliminate every physical trace of a figure with a vast potential for creating right-wing legends.

As was the case for Osama Bin Laden some weeks ago, the authorities understand the power of a permanent shrine to a highly controversial figure.

It becomes a place of pilgrimage, a focus for irrational and uncontrollable worship.

Secondly, the far-right movement has lost a crucial place embodying myths and legends that give it a friendly face. The neo-Nazis desperately need to celebrate the memory of an attractive "hero" for the benefit of new recruits.

And thirdly, there will be an increased potential for violence of all kinds - from street unrest to digital stalking - by the far-right.

Deprived of a leading rallying figure, the movement will feel that its noble tradition has been humiliated by unjust powers yet again.

Ultimately it is possible that a renewed cult could rise again around Hess, the ultimate Nazi zombie.

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Obama signs gay military ban end

22 July 2011 Last updated at 20:44 GMT Campaign groups had fought for years for the end of the "don't ask, don't tell" ban on gay troops US President Barack has announced the ban on openly gay people serving in US military is to end on September 20.

His certification on Friday of the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) law comes seven months after it was overturned in the US Congress.

The Pentagon had asked for time following the repeal to prepare troops for the arrival of openly gay comrades.

Mr Obama's move affirmed the Pentagon had declared it was ready to accept openly gay troops.

'Served in silence'

"I have always been confident that our dedicated men and women in uniform would transition to a new policy in an orderly manner that preserves unit cohesion, recruitment, retention and military effectiveness," Mr Obama said in a statement.

"As of 20 September, service members will no longer be forced to hide who they are in order to serve our country. Our military will no longer be deprived of the talents and skills of patriotic Americans just because they happen to be gay or lesbian."

With the certification, Mr Obama signalled that he, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen have officially confirmed that the military is prepared, following extensive training and preparation, to implement December's repeal of the law.

"This Pentagon certification received by the White House this afternoon is welcomed by gay and lesbian service members who have had to serve their country in silence for far too long," Aubrey Sarvis, an Army veteran and executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defence Network, which advocated the law's repeal for 17 years.

"The troops and their commanders are ready."

Under the US policy of DADT, established in 1993, gay people could serve in the military but could not acknowledge their orientation. The military was forbidden to inquire but was permitted to expel service members found to be gay.

More than 13,000 service members have been dismissed under the policy.

The end of DADT fulfils a campaign pledge made in 2008 by President Barack Obama, who signed it into law in December.

Britain, Israel and dozens of other countries allow gay personnel to serve openly.

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White House debt talks collapse

23 July 2011 Last updated at 01:10 GMT Barack Obama: "Republicans are puzzled as to why it couldn't get done"

Republican House Speaker John Boehner has walked away from crunch debt ceiling talks at the White House with US President Barack Obama.

Mr Obama said Mr Boehner had rejected an "extraordinarily fair deal" that would have included $650bn (?400bn) of cuts to entitlement programmes.

The president said he had been willing to take "a lot of heat" from his party.

Mr Boehner told a news conference afterwards that Mr Obama had "moved the goal posts" by demanding a tax hike.

President Obama said he wanted a meeting with congressional leaders, including Mr Boehner, at the White House at 1100 (1500 GMT) on Saturday.

'Left at the altar'

The negotiations are aimed at avoiding what analysts say would be an economically catastrophic US debt default on 2 August.

"It is hard to understand why Speaker Boehner would walk away from this kind of deal," President Obama said at a news conference on Friday evening.

John Boehner: "Dealing with the White House is like dealing with a bowl of Jell-O"

"There are a lot of Republicans who are puzzled as to why it couldn't get done."

As well as cutting $650bn from Medicare, Medicaid and other entitlements, the president said he was offering to slash $1tr in discretionary spending, while seeking $1.2tr in revenues, which could have been achieved by raising income tax rates.

In a rebuttal news conference later on Friday evening, Mr Boehner said they had been close to a deal until Mr Obama had demanded $400bn in tax increases on top of about $800bn in revenues that would have been reaped through a comprehensive rewrite of the tax code.

"Dealing with the White House is like dealing with a bowl of Jell-O," Mr Boehner said.

He told reporters he did not think his relationship with Mr Obama had been "irreparably damaged", and that he would attend Saturday's meeting.

White House correspondents said Mr Obama looked visibly angry as he told reporters he, too, thought a deal had been close until Mr Boehner did not return a phone call made by the president earlier on Friday.

"I've been left at the altar now a couple of times," Mr Obama said of the talks with Mr Boehner.

For the first time, Mr Obama publicly countenanced the possibility of the US not meeting its financial obligations.

"If we default, then we're going to have to make adjustments," he said.

Moments later, the president added he remained confident the $14.3tn limit on US borrowing would be raised by the 2 August deadline.

Mr Obama also said he was "fed up" with political posturing.

'We couldn't connect'

In a letter to the Republican rank and file, Mr Boehner said: "A deal was never reached, and was never really close.

Continue reading the main story US government owes itself $4.6tnRemaining $9.7tn owed to investorsThey include banks, pension funds, individual investors, and state/local/foreign governments China: $1.16tn, Japan: $0.91tn, UK: $0.35tnDeficit is annual difference between spending and revenue, $1.29tn in 2010Congress has voted to raise the US debt limit 10 times since 2001

Source: US Treasury, May 2011, Congressional Research Service, Congressional Budget Office

"In the end, we couldn't connect. Not because of different personalities, but because of different visions for our country."

He wrote: "I have decided to end discussions with the White House and begin conversations with the leaders of the Senate in an effort to find a path forward."

With the clock ticking down toward a national default after weeks of deadlocked negotiations, former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, a Republican, told reporters on Friday that inaction would result in dire consequences.

"Failing to raise the debt ceiling would do irreparable harm to our credit standing, would undermine our ability to lead on global economic issues and would damage our economy," he said.

Meanwhile, the Democratic-led US Senate rejected a "cut, cap and balance" bill passed by the Republican-led House, which would have severely cut public spending and forced the government to balance its budget.

Republicans have been unwilling to consider raising new taxes to counter the growing budget deficits.

The Democrats have been opposed to cutting popular healthcare and welfare programmes for pensioners and the poor.

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Ohio ex-Marine murdered 11 women

23 July 2011 Last updated at 02:45 GMT Anthony Sowell (left) had blamed the smell from his house on a nearby sausage shop A sex offender who lived among the remains of 11 dead women at his home in Cleveland in the US state of Ohio has been convicted of killing all of them.

Anthony Sowell was found guilty of aggravated murder, kidnapping, tampering with evidence and abuse of a human corpse in the 11 deaths.

The 51-year-old former US Marine could face the death penalty.

The bodies were found after police went to arrest Sowell in October 2009 on a sexual assault allegation.

He showed little emotion on Friday as the jury returned their verdict of guilty on 82 counts after more than 15 hours of deliberation.

Police criticised

The trial heard how the women's bodies had been disposed of in refuse bags and plastic sheets, then dumped around Sowell's house and backyard.

Relatives of the victims sobbed in court, as did some of jury

Nearly all of the women had been strangled and were nude from the waist down.

Cleveland's police force was accused of failing to properly investigate when the women began disappearing in 2007 as most of them were impoverished drug addicts.

During the trial, several women gave testimony of alleged attacks by Sowell, who was previously convicted of attempted rape in 1989.

One woman told the court she had been raped by Sowell, and that she had seen a headless body in his home.

Sowell's sentencing begins on 1 August.

Until the discovery of the bodies, many in the neighbourhood believed the bad smell was coming from a nearby sausage shop.

The family-owned shop spent $20,000 (?12,260) on plumbing and other maintenance in attempts to get rid of the odour.

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US museum to return Turkish bust

22 July 2011 Last updated at 15:35 GMT The stunning piece portrays the demigod Hercules The top half of the Weary Herakles statue, which was bought by the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in 1982, is to be returned to its native Turkey.

After an ongoing dispute, the MFA will reunite the bust with its lower half at the Antalya Museum later this year.

The announcement is seen as a victory for Turkey which is trying to retrieve artefacts it believes have been looted throughout the years.

It is thought the full statue will return to Boston on a short-term loan.

The top half of the sculpture of weary demigod Hercules was purchased in 1981 from a German dealer, by the MFA and late New York art collecter Leon Levy.

A year later, it was displayed at the US museum before being put into storage in 2007.

Turkish archaeologists were convinced the bust had been looted and taken from the country. At the same time, the lower half of the statue was discovered in 1980 at Perge in southern Turkey.

The MFA always denied that was the case, insisting the bust could have been found "any time since the Italian Renaissance".

Speaking to the Times newspaper, Katherine Getchell from the Boston Museum, said: "It's only in the last couple of years that they've presented us with photos and other evidence of looting from that site."

This is the latest victory for Turkey's campaign to track down lost antiquity.

In May, the Peramon Museum in Germany agreed to return a Hittite sphinx after the Turkish Culture Minister threatened to ban German archaeologists from digs in the country.

Ertugrul Gunay told the Times that the country plans to "fight in the same way for all our other artefacts".

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Queen 'saddened' by Norway attack

23 July 2011 Last updated at 10:08 GMT Scores of young people attending a youth camp were shot by the gunman The Queen has written to the king of Norway to express sympathy over the attacks in his country.

She said the thoughts of her and the Duke of Edinburgh were with the Norwegian people.

A bomb attack in Oslo was followed by a gunman opening fire at a youth camp, leaving at least 84 people dead.

Her message to King Harald said: "I am deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic loss of life of so many people on the island of Utoeya and in Oslo."

She added: "Prince Philip joins me in extending our heartfelt sympathy to your majesty and the people of Norway. Our prayers and thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by the dreadful atrocity."

The Norwegian embassy in Belgrave Square, central London, was open on Saturday, its flag flying at half mast.

A spokesman said: "We're open for any Norwegians who might need someone to speak to or feel the need to be with someone."

At least seven people were killed in the bombing and scores more are known to have died at the camp for young members of the Labour Party in Utoeya, an island outside the capital.

Police have charged a 32-year-old Norwegian man, Anders Behring Breivik, over both attacks.

The Foreign Office has advised British nationals in Norway to take extra care.

In a statement on its website, the Foreign Office said: "We recommend that British nationals stay indoors for the time being. British nationals are advised to exercise caution, monitor local media reporting and follow advice given by the emergency services."

Diplomats also say they are checking whether any British nationals are affected by the tragedy.

Around 250,000 British tourists visit Norway every year, the Foreign Office says on the Norway travel advice section of its website.

And according to the UK embassy in Oslo, there are also 25,000 to 30,000 Britons resident in the country.

Travel advice

Prime Minister David Cameron has said he was "outraged" by the attack.

He said he has spoken to the country's PM Jens Stoltenberg to express the UK's condolences and offered assistance in tracking down the perpetrators.

Mr Cameron said: "My thoughts are with the wounded and those who have lost friends and family, and I know everyone in Britain will feel the same.

"These attacks are a stark reminder of the threat we all face from terrorism.

"I have called Prime Minister Stoltenberg this evening to express my sincere condolences and to let him know that our thoughts are with the Norwegian people at this tragic time.

"I have offered Britain's help, including through our close intelligence cooperation."

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Murdoch apology in press adverts

16 July 2011 Last updated at 09:11 GMT Rupert Murdoch's apology promises further steps "to make amends for the damage caused". National newspapers are running a full-page advert with a signed apology from Rupert Murdoch over "serious wrongdoing" by the News of the World.

The advert states: "We are sorry for the serious wrongdoing that occurred."

Rebekah Brooks, a former editor of the paper, and senior News Corporation executive Les Hinton both resigned on Friday over the phone-hacking scandal.

The printed apology expresses regret for not acting faster "to sort things out".

"I realise that simply apologising is not enough. Our business was founded on the idea that a free and open press should be a positive force in society. We need to live up to this.

"In the coming days, as we take further concrete steps to resolve these issues and make amends for the damage they have caused, you will hear more from us", says the statement, signed "sincerely, Rupert Murdoch".

In other developments:

Downing Street revealed that former News of the World editor Andy Coulson stayed at Mr Cameron's official residence Chequers in March, after he resigned from his job as Director of Communications in Downing Street. Mr Coulson was arrested last week as part of the police inquiry into phone-hacking.A list of Mr Cameron's guests at his country retreat showed that he was visited there twice by Mrs Brooks, in June and August last year, as well as once in November by News International chairman James Murdoch and his wife Kathryn.Former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott says Rupert Murdoch is "desperately" trying to save his company, and "ditching everybody else in the process". He said his apology changed nothing and only came about because he is going to be asked questions about his record by MPs next week.The actor Jude Law is suing The Sun newspaper for alleged phone hacking. He's launched legal proceedings over four articles published in 2005 and 2006. A spokesperson for News International called the news "a deeply cynical and deliberately mischievous attempt to draw The Sun into the phone-hacking issue." The apology letter appeared in several Murdoch papers and other titles

Mrs Brooks is expected to appear alongside Rupert and James Murdoch in front of the Commons media select committee on Tuesday to answer MPs questions on the hacking scandal.

She was editor of News of the World between 2000 and 2003, during which time the phone belonging to murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler was tampered with.

In a statement resigning as chief executive of News International, she said she felt a "deep responsibility for the people we have hurt".

She said she wanted to "reiterate how sorry I am for what we now know to have taken place".

Her statement went on: "I have believed that the right and responsible action has been to lead us through the heat of the crisis. However my desire to remain on the bridge has made me a focal point of the debate.

"This is now detracting attention from all our honest endeavours to fix the problems of the past."

Mrs Brooks, 43, who had been with News International for 22 years, bowed to the international pressure piling up on the company.

Prime Minister David Cameron said through a spokesman that her resignation was "the right decision".

She has been replaced by Tom Mockridge, who was in charge of News Corporation's Italian broadcasting arm.

Les Hinton, chief executive of the media group's Dow Jones, was head of News International from 1995 to 2007 and has worked with Rupert Murdoch for more than five decades.

Mr Hinton, the most senior executive to leave the conglomerate, said in a statement that he was "ignorant of what apparently happened" but felt it was proper to resign.

Also on Friday, Rupert Murdoch apologised to Milly Dowler's family at a meeting in London.

The family's solicitor Mark Lewis said the newspaper boss looked very shaken up and upset during the talks, which were arranged at short notice.

He said the Dowlers were surprised his son James Murdoch did not attend and called on the News International chairman to "take some responsibility" in the affair.

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Student soldiers

Gabriel Gatehouse
BBC News, Misrata

Libyan rebel forces on the front line outside Misrata have one powerful weapon in their fight against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's well-armed troops - self-confidence and high morale.

It's not often that you find yourself caught up in a real-life metaphor that seems so ludicrously appropriate as to become almost a cliche.

But that's exactly what happened when, on a recent trip to speak to the rebels about the stalemate on their front line, our car got stuck in the sand.

We had been bumping our way through the dunes just inland from the coast.

Our escort was a commander by the name of El Hadi, a softly spoken man with intelligent eyes and a bushy black beard. He was taking us to see his encampment, high on the brow of a hill, overlooking territory held by Colonel Gaddafi's forces.

Suddenly our 4x4 was stuck, its wheels spinning pointlessly in the sand, angrily throwing up dust and bits of buried shrapnel. The more the wheels chewed up the ground, the deeper our car sank.

This, I thought, was not a comfortable place to be. Col Gaddafi's men were dug in just over the brow of the hill.

After a month and half of stalemate, the front line has moved

The lull in the fighting we had so fortuitously stumbled upon was already coming to an end. The thuds of falling rockets sounded ever closer by. And from somewhere not far off, someone was loosing off rounds from a machine gun.

After much fruitless digging and cursing, we were finally rescued by a couple of teenagers in a pickup truck with an anti-aircraft gun welded to the back. They pulled us backwards out of our rut, and we were able to move forward again.

But we only drove another 50m or so, before our guide stopped again. This was as far as we could go, he said. Beyond lay hostile territory.

We parked on top of the hill, feeling exposed on all sides, and began to walk towards the camp.

Farmers and lawyers

Until last week, this position was held by Col Gaddafi's soldiers. For a month and a half the two sides had shelled and rocketed each other from fixed positions, neither managing to take any ground off the other.

Some fighters are quiet young men, others are brash daredevils

Then, at the beginning of last week, the rebels had made a co-ordinated dash forward, pushing Col Gaddafi's troops back. The rebels then dug in and held their ground.

It felt like the stalemate had been broken. Despite heavy losses, the fighters were ecstatic - finally things seemed to be moving again.

In actual fact though, the line had shifted only a short distance, and the momentum seems to have stalled.

We found El Hadi's fighters lounging up against a sandbank, sheltering from the sun and the bullets, eating spaghetti out of tin-foil containers.

Before the revolution started, El Hadi had been an importer of car tyres. Now he has around 600 men under his command.

These are not soldiers. They are farmers and lawyers, students and engineers. But what they lack in experience, they more than make up for in courage and commitment.

"Every day I am more determined to stand here and fight until the end," said Siddique, as he pointed to a ditch where less than 24 hours previously, four of his comrades had been killed when a mortar landed right on top of them.

Until last month, this shy 24-year-old maths student had never held a gun before in his life. And yet, he said, he wasn't scared.

"We will win eventually," he said, "But in order to achieve this, we have to make sacrifices."

Self-belief and determination have proved to be the rebels' most powerful weapons against Col Gaddafi's heavy artillery and long-range rockets.

Hugs and kisses

But what a job it must be for El Hadi, the commander, to try to instil military discipline in hundreds of young men, some quiet like Siddique, others brash and loud - daredevils who like to stand up above the defensive sand-banks and shout verbal abuse at Col Gaddafi's forces.

El Hadi looked embarrassed by the question. He pushed my microphone away and looked round at his men.

"I don't want to play the boss in front of them," he said. "We're all in this together as equals."

At Misrata's military HQ, fighters greet each other not with salutes, but with bear-hugs, kisses, and cries of "Allahu Akbar" - "God is Great".

There's a frantic atmosphere of energy and industry. Everyone is busy, but no-one seems to know what anyone else is up to.

And yet, somehow, it seems to be working. Close your eyes and you might almost imagine yourself in Petrograd during the Russian revolution, watching a new order struggling to establish itself.

But there is one crucial difference. This is a leaderless revolution, whose only ideology is a single common purpose - the overthrow of Col Gaddafi.

What kind of a country might emerge if and when that goal is attained?

At the moment, that is a question few have time to even ask themselves. But the reality is that the new Libya is likely to be a place of many competing factions, no clear leader, but awash with guns.

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Read more or explore the archive at the programme website .

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UK sends more warplanes to Libya

15 July 2011 Last updated at 10:51 GMT There will now be 16 British Tornados deployed to Libya The UK is sending four more Tornado warplanes to support the Nato mission in Libya, in addition to 12 aircraft it has already deployed.

Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt said the aircraft were well equipped for surveillance and reconnaissance.

"It is important to have this capability available," he said.

Earlier this week, Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen called on members to provide more aircraft to protect Libyan civilians.

Nato said its warplanes had conducted more than 5,000 air missions since the action began in March.

Meanwhile in Turkey, Arab and Nato diplomats are meeting to consider the next phase of their campaign in Libya. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and UK Foreign Secretary William Hague are part of the group of 15 gathering in Istanbul.

It is the fourth meeting of the Libya Contact Group since March.

The conflict in Libya began with protests against Col Muammar Gaddafi's regime and has escalated into a bloody battle for territory between government and rebel forces in the west and east of the oil-rich country.

The uprising, inspired by events in neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt and sparked by the arrest of a Libyan human rights campaigner, began in February. Many were killed as authorities tried to suppress the revolt.

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Los Angeles 'escapes carmageddon'

16 July 2011 Last updated at 23:01 GMT The 405 highway was closed so a section of the bridge could be demolished

Los Angeles residents appear to have escaped "carmageddon" - the severe traffic jams expected from the closure of a key stretch of highway during one of the city's busiest weekends.

Interstate 405, the main artery through the city, closed at midnight on Friday, for work expected to take 53 hours.

Workers plan to add more lanes to a 10-mile (16km) section of the freeway.

However, vehicles appeared to be moving freely through the nation's second-largest city on Saturday.

Transport officials say the highway is being closed to replace the 50-year-old Mulholland Bridge, as part of a $1bn (?600m) project to add additional lanes to a bottlenecked segment of the highway.

Continue reading the main story

The wildcard is if the engineers don't manage to open the freeway back up after two days”

End Quote Genevieve Giuliano Professor of urban planning, University of Southern California The Los Angeles authorities had recruited celebrities with large Twitter followings to warn residents of the closure.

Carmageddon 'averted'

The BBC's Alastair Leithead at the 405 highway says Carmageddon is in fact all going terribly well as the highway is empty.

With the impending chaos from the closure expected to grind traffic to a halt the authorities had warned motorists to stay off the road. Officials were optimistic that the public had got the message.

"The work is progressing, traffic is co-operating," said Mike Miles, a district director of the California Department of Transportation.

Workers will be adding additional lanes to some sections of Interstate 405

There is concern, however, that this apparent lack of gridlock might make the public complacent before the route reopens.

"We hope they still listen to what we're saying and not go out and try to drive through this area, because it is going to be congested if people do that," Mr Miles said.

During the days leading up to the closure, helicopter taxi rides were being sold for $150 to passengers hoping to get to Los Angeles International Airport during the weekend, and 10-minute flights between Burbank and Los Angeles were being offered by JetBlue for $4 per ticket.

City officials have been issuing bleak traffic warnings to Southern California residents for weeks, reminiscent of flood and wildfire warnings.

Some transport experts have compared the shutdown to other large planned events in the region, like the 1984 summer Olympics, Los Angeles Lakers championship parades and Michael Jackson's memorial service - events when Los Angeles residents stayed off the roads.

Just like now, "people had advanced notice to get off the roads during the Olympics", said Genevieve Giuliano, a professor of urban planning and policy at University of Southern California.

"The wildcard is that if the engineers don't manage to open up the freeway back up after two days," she added.

The city of Los Angeles asked several celebrities, like Tom Hanks and Ashton Kutcher, to warn Los Angeles residents about carmageddon through the micro-blogging website Twitter.

"This weekend, LA! Avoid Carmageddon, Gas-zilla, 405-enstein, Grid-lock-apalooza! STAY HOME. Eat & shop local," Hanks wrote.

Facebook also agreed to direct some 6.6 million Los Angeles area residents to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Facebook page for information on avoiding the traffic.

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Eight people rescued from cliffs

16 July 2011 Last updated at 21:53 GMT

Three adults and five children had to be rescued by helicopter after scaling cliffs in Somerset to escape the incoming tide.

The group were at Brean Down, near Burnham-On-Sea, when they were forced to climb up by the rising water.

A rescue helicopter from RAF Chivenor in Devon was sent to the scene with two RNLI lifeboats and the Burnham-On-Sea coastguard rescue team.

The alarm was raised at 1915 BST on Saturday and they were found at 1945.

The helicopter winched all eight on board taking them to a nearby field where they were met by the coastguard rescue team.

It is understood that nobody required hospital treatment.

Swansea Coastguard watch manager David Hughes said anyone going out for a walk along the coast should "always prepare by checking the tide times".

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Deadly prison breakout in Mexico

16 July 2011 Last updated at 02:09 GMT More than 400 inmates have escaped from jails in northern Mexico since January 2010 Seven prisoners have been killed and 59 others have escaped after a riot at a jail in northern Mexico near the US border, officials say.

Five guards are also missing and are believed to have aided the mass prison breakout in Nuevo Laredo town.

Mexican police say the majority of those on the run are drug traffickers and members of armed gangs.

The prison system is struggling to cope with an influx of offenders arrested in a campaign against drugs cartels.

Correspondents say prison breakouts are not uncommon in northern Mexico, where more than 400 inmates have escaped since January 2010.

Nuevo Laredo, in Tamaulipas state, lies just across the border from Laredo, Texas.

The largest jail break so far was last December when more than 140 prisoners escaped from the same prison.

According to a statement from the Tamaulipas state government, the riot began on Friday morning in Nuevo Laredo's Sanctions Enforcement Centre, which houses an estimated 1,200 prisoners.

After the breakout, soldiers surrounded the jail and calm was restored, the authorities said.

The northern border region is the scene of rising lawlessness as the cartels fight the security forces and each other for control of smuggling routes into the US.

The main battle in Tamaulipas is between the Zetas and the Gulf cartels, the AFP news agency reports.

Their capacity for violence and ability to pay huge bribes gives them considerable power to subvert the prison system and get their people out.

President Felipe Calderon came to power in 2006 promising a war on drugs.

More than 35,000 people have died in drug violence since he began his campaign, which has involved launching an army assault on drug gangs.

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Chavez goes to Cuba for treatment

17 July 2011 Last updated at 05:35 GMT Hugo Chavez announced he would temporarily delegate some of his powers Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is back in Cuba to undergo further treatment for cancer.

He said doctors had found no more malignant cells in his body after he had surgery to remove a tumour.

President Chavez said he was due to undergo chemotherapy on Sunday.

He delegated some of his powers to the vice-president and the finance minister but resisted calls from opposition politicians to hand over all presidential powers during his absence.

'Time to live'

Boarding his plane in Caracas, President Chavez said he was in fighting spirit.

"Tomorrow I begin chemotherapy treatment, and we're going to give it everything we've got," he said.

"It's not time to die, it's time to live," he added.

He did not clarify how long the treatment would take, or whether there would be more trips to Cuba in the future.

Earlier on Saturday, Venezuela's National Assembly had voted to allow Mr Chavez to return to Cuba to resume cancer treatment, including chemotherapy.

During a sometimes heated debate, opposition politicians had urged him to delegate the running of the country to his vice-president.

Mr Chavez dismissed the calls, saying he would "come back much better than I am right now".

But speaking during a televised cabinet meeting which followed, he announced he would - for the first time since he came to power 12 years ago - delegate some of his powers.

Vice-President Elias Jaua would oversee the expropriation of businesses and a number of budget-related duties while he was receiving treatment in Cuba, he announced.

He added that Finance Minister Jorge Giordani would also temporarily take on some additional duties.

The president said his decision had come as a result of "deep reflection" during his fight against cancer.

Continuing treatment

Since his return home on 4 July, the 56-year-old president has cut his workload on doctor's orders.

He has not given precise details of where the tumour was found, only that he was operated on in the pelvic region.

Some people will be surprised by the president opting to go back to Cuba instead of staying at home for treatment, says the BBC's Sarah Grainger in Caracas.

But the strong bond he has with Cuba's former leader Fidel Castro, who first noticed he was not looking well, and his ability to recover away from the public eye may make Cuba a more compelling place for treatment, adds our correspondent.

Despite his illness, Mr Chavez has kept up his public image; his Twitter account (in Spanish) has been active over the last two weeks, with several messages posted each day.

He has made several recent appearances on television - addressing troops, attending Mass and leading a Cabinet meeting - although his speeches have been shorter and he no longer makes them late into the night.

Officially, he still plans to run for re-election in late 2012.

During his 12 years in power, Mr Chavez has built up deep support among the poor by spending on social programmes. But there are growing problems, including high inflation, frequent electricity shortages and a lack of affordable housing.

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