Oslo killer 'had other targets'

30 July 2011 Last updated at 21:00 GMT The bomb ripped through central Oslo The man who admitted the bomb and gun attacks which rocked Norway has said under interrogation he had other targets, police say.

Anders Behring Breivik was questioned for 10 hours on Friday to verify details from previous sessions and answer new points.

Police would not confirm reports that he had also wanted to attack the palace and Labour Party headquarters.

Funerals have begun for the 77 people killed in the attacks.

Mr Breivik, an anti-Muslim extremist who blamed Labour for increased immigration, is believed to have single-handedly shot dead 69 people at a party summer camp on the island of Utoeya, hours after killing eight with a car bomb near government buildings in central Oslo.

The attacks on Friday 22 July traumatised Norway, one of the most politically stable and tolerant states in Europe.

'Several projects of different scale'

Police lawyer Paal-Fredrik Hjort Kraby said the suspect had talked about other targets.

"In general, I would say that he had in his plans other targets but on this day it was only these two which were successful," he told reporters on Saturday.

Police lawyer Paal-Fredrik Hjort Kraby

He described Mr Breivik as "more than willing to co-operate... more than willing to explain himself".

Without citing its sources, Norwegian tabloid Verdens Gang reported that the suspect had considered attacking the royal palace because of its symbolic value, and Labour HQ because of his loathing for the party.

On Friday, Mr Breivik's lawyer, Geir Lippestad, told Aftenposten newspaper that his client had harboured "several projects of different scale for that Friday".

"Things happened that day, which I don't want to go into, which meant events unfolded differently from what he had planned," he added.

He said his client continued to show no remorse, saying the killings were "a necessary act... a war against the rule by Muslims".

Police are believed to have been checking targets identified by Mr Breivik in his manifesto, which outlines both his extremist ideas and details his preparations for attacks.

Huge demand for flowers Flowers cover the ground around Oslo cathedral

Such has been the demand for roses to mourn the victims nationwide, that the government has suspended duty on foreign imports of the flower until Tuesday.

A memorial concert at Oslo's cathedral on Saturday featured the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation Symphony Orchestra and some of Norway's best-known recording artists.

Families of the victims, rescue personnel and health personnel were invited to the concert, which Crown Prince Haakon and his aunt Princess Astrid also attended.

Friday saw the first two funerals: of 18-year-old Bano Rashid, who was buried near Oslo, and of Ismail Haji Ahmed, 19, in the south-western town of Hamar.

Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere travelled to the Nesodden peninsula to attend the funeral of Ms Rashid, a Kurdish immigrant from Iraq.

Both victims were killed on Utoeya, where young members of the Labour Party had been attending an annual summer camp.

Memorial ceremonies were also held in churches and mosques and at non-religious gatherings around the country.

Norway plans to set up an independent "July 22 Commission" to examine the attacks, including investigating whether police reacted too slowly to the shootings at Utoeya.

A court has appointed two psychiatrists to try to examine Mr Breivik's actions, with a mandate to report back by 1 November. His lawyer has said he is probably insane.

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Iran man 'pardoned' from blinding

31 July 2011 Last updated at 08:37 GMT Ameneh Bahrami said she had reprieved the man "for my country" An Iranian man who was ordered to be blinded for carrying out an acid attack on a woman has been pardoned by his victim, state television has said.

Ameneh Bahrami had demanded qisas, a rarely used retributive justice under Sharia law, but the report said she had foregone that right at the last minute.

A court had backed Ms Bahrami's demand in 2008 that Majid Movahedi be blinded.

He attacked Ms Bahrami in 2004 after she had refused his offer of marriage, leaving her severely disfigured.

Rights group Amnesty International had lobbied against the sentence, calling it "cruel and inhuman punishment amounting to torture".

Mother's praise

The state television website reported: "With the request of Ameneh Bahrami, the acid attack victim, Majid (Movahedi) who was sentenced for 'qisas' was pardoned at the last minute."

The Isna news agency quoted Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi as saying: "Today in hospital the blinding of Majid Movahedi was to have been carried out in the presence of an eye specialist and judiciary representative, when Ameneh pardoned him."

Isna quoted Ms Bahrami as saying: "I struggled for seven years with this verdict to prove to people that the person who hurls acid should be punished through 'qisas', but today I pardoned him because it was my right.

"I did it for my country, since all other countries were looking to see what we would do."

Ms Bahrami was quoted on Iranian TV as saying: "I never wanted to have revenge on him. I just wanted the sentence to be issued for retribution. But I would not have carried it out. I had no intention of taking his eyes from him."

Mr Dolatabadi told Isna that Ms Bahrami had demanded "blood money", or compensation, for her injuries.

He praised her "courageous act" of pardon, adding: "The judiciary was serious about implementing the verdict."

Ms Bahrami said she had never received any money from the man's family, saying she was seeking only compensation for medical fees, which she put at 150,000 euros ($216,000: ?131,000).

She said: "He wont be freed. He has a sentence, which he has to serve for 10-12 years of which he has done seven. Unless the full compensation is paid, he won't be freed."

Isna quoted Ms Bahrami's mother as saying: "I am proud of my daughter... Ameneh had the strength to forgive Majid. This forgiveness will calm Ameneh and our family."

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Five drown in Moscow boat sinking

31 July 2011 Last updated at 06:58 GMT Seven of the 17 people on board were saved, officials say A pleasure boat has sunk on the Moscow river in Russia's capital, drowning five people and leaving five more missing, the emergency ministry has said.

Seven of the 17 people on board have been rescued, it said.

Reports say the boat, the Swallow, collided with a barge at 0058 on Sunday (2058 GMT Saturday).

The accident comes three weeks after a tourist boat sank on the Volga river in Tatarstan, killing more than 100.

Rules breached

A spokesman for Moscow's emergency ministry told Agence France-Presse the "bodies of five passengers have been pulled out" and that the rescue operation was continuing.

The accident took place close to the city's Luzhniki sports stadium.

Yury Besedin, an emergency ministry official, told local television the accident was "provisionally believed to have taken place because of breaches of shipping rules".

Three weeks ago the 80m (260ft) Bulgaria - a double-decker river cruiser built in 1955 - listed during a thunderstorm on the Volga river and sank in minutes, trapping many passengers inside.

About 80 people were rescued.

Officials said the boat was designed for 140 passengers and crew but it had been carrying 208 people. It also lacked the correct licences and one of its engines was not working, prosecutors said.

Russian police arrested the director of the company that rented the boat and a ship registrar who certified it.

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Judge approves Watergate release

29 July 2011 Last updated at 20:27 GMT Richard Nixon resigned following the Watergate political scandal The secret grand jury testimony given by former US President Richard Nixon over the Watergate scandal is set to be released after more than 36 years, following an order by a federal judge.

Judge Royce Lamberth granted a request by historian Stanley Kutler to release the transcript, citing of its historical significance.

But it will not be unsealed until the government has had a chance to appeal.

The political scandal prompted Nixon to resign in 1974.

Nixon, who died 17 years ago, was the only US president to resign.

He left office amid the fallout after a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington.

Nixon testified for two days in California in June 1975, 10 months after his resignation.

Judge Lamberth ruled that the historical interest in the 297-page transcript far outweighed the need to keep the records secret.

Watergate's "significance in American history cannot be overstated," Judge Lamberth wrote.

"The disclosure of President Nixon's grand jury testimony would likely enhance the existing historical record, foster scholarly discussion and improve the public's understanding of a significant historical event," he said.

Mr Kutler, a professor from the University of Wisconsin, has written several books about Nixon and Watergate and has previously successfully sued to force the release of audio recordings Nixon secretly made in the Oval Office.

"Nixon knew when you testified before a grand jury you exposed yourself to perjury, so I'm betting he told the truth," Mr Kutler said.

"Now, what did he tell the truth about? I don't know."

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Earthquake hits off Japan coast

30 July 2011 Last updated at 20:06 GMT A 6.4 magnitude earthquake has been felt in north-east Japan, shaking buildings in the capital Tokyo, reports say.

The quake's epicentre was off the east coast of Honshu.

It struck in the same area as the 11 March earthquake and tsunami but no abnormalities at Japanese nuclear plants were reported, Reuters says.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries and no tsunami warning was issued.

More than 20,000 people died or were reported missing as a result of the disaster in March, which also crippled nuclear reactors in the Fukushima area.

The quake occurred close to Iwaki, with its centre around 100km (60 miles) south-south-east of Fukushima city.

It occurred at 0354 local time on Sunday (1854 GMT Saturday), at a depth of 44km (27 miles).

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Arnie museum opens in his Austrian childhood home

30 July 2011 Last updated at 12:22 GMT By Bethany Bell BBC News, Graz Bethany Bell takes a look around the new museum in Arnold Schwarzenegger's childhood home

Arnold Schwarzenegger's childhood home in Austria has opened as a museum.

It came as the former Mr Universe, who went on to be a Hollywood star and governor of California, turned 64.

On display at the museum are his childhood bed, a motorbike from one of the Terminator films, some of his first dumb-bells, and a copy of the desk he used as governor of California.

The family lived in the first floor flat with no electricity or running water

Mr Schwarzenegger left the village of Thal, near the city of Graz, in 1966, but has given the project his blessing.

A plaque by the door reads "Arnold Schwarzenegger's Birth House Museum," although one of the locals later told me he was born in a nearby hospital.

He lived with his family in the modest first floor flat from his birth in 1947 until 1966 when he left to pursue his dreams of winning the Mr Universe competition.

Pit toilet

It was a humble beginning. The flat had no electricity and no running water.

The museum shows the house's original pit toilet, and a 1950s kitchen, with a washstand and jugs for collecting water.

In one of the rooms, the star's childhood bed is on display. "This is where he first started to dream of success," the curator, Peter Urdl told me.

It was while he was living in Thal, that he first started pumping iron.

Schwarzenegger found early success as a bodybuilder

As well as trophies and photographs from his early days of bodybuilding, the museum also has some of his first dumb-bells.

And it has his original home work-out machine, a pulley with weights attached which hung in a door frame inside the flat.

The museum charts his obsessive training routine and describes how his success at bodybuilding led him eventually to Hollywood.

And it has a collection of Schwarzenegger movie memorabilia, including a Harley Davidson motorbike from one of the Terminator films and a sword from Conan the Barbarian.

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He was a little farm boy and his career was so exciting... I think the Austrian people are really proud”

End Quote Helga Forstner Museum co-ordinator Visitors to the museum can pose next to a life-size model of Arnie as the Terminator.

Controversy

The museum also has a section dedicated to his time as governor of California, including a facsimile of his desk.

Although he lives half a world away, Schwarzenegger's exploits are closely followed in Austria.

A number of his policies as governor were controversial here, including his support for the death penalty.

His name was taken off a stadium in the neighbouring town of Graz in 2005, when he rejected pleas to spare the life of a California gang leader.

The museum bills itself as the world's only Schwarzenegger museum

But while Austrians are not always comfortable with his politics, many of them are nonetheless fascinated.

"He was a little farm boy and his career was so exciting and so special and I think the Austrian people are really proud," Helga Forstner, the museum co-ordinator told me.

"He always comes to visit Thal when he is in Austria," she said. "He came here on 21 June and he was really excited about the exhibits."

Thal continued to play a role in his life, years after he left home. One photograph shows the rowing boat in which he proposed to his now estranged wife, Maria Shriver, on a nearby lake.

But the exhibition does not touch on her recent filing for divorce. Mr Schwarzenegger recently admitted fathering a child with the couple's long-time housekeeper.

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Drivers get organ donor 'nudge'

31 July 2011 Last updated at 00:53 GMT Less than a third of people are registered as organ donors Drivers will have to state whether they want to be an organ donor when they apply for a new or replacement licence.

The move has been put forward by the government's "nudge unit", which has been set up to encourage changes in behaviour through gentle persuasion.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency already asks if applicants want to be donors - but from Monday an online form will require that the answer is stated.

Ministers hope it will help improve organ donation rates.

Less than a third of people are signed up to be organ donors - despite research suggesting that nine in 10 would he happy to be one.

Debate

The situation has prompted much debate in recent years about how best to improve rates.

Some have called for presumed consent, where it is assumed an individual wishes to be a donor unless he or she has opted out by registering their objection.

Continue reading the main story It is an idea based on a book by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein which advocates influencing behaviour by altering the context or environment in which people choose. It differs from traditional approaches to changing lifestyles which tend to be more overt.Conventional measures might include steps such as bans, using tax to increase price or promotional campaigns.But nudge tends to be more subtle, perhaps involving the provision of information about social norms or changing the environment, such as installing fewer lifts in a building to encourage people to use the stairs more.As well as working on organ donation, the Cabinet Office "nudge unit" will be looking at tax self-assessment and stop smoking services.The government has so far rejected presumed consent and instead the Cabinet Office's behavioural insight team has suggested the driving licence idea as part of its "nudge" drive.

The DVLA's existing scheme is already responsible for about half of the 1m new donor registrations each year.

As well as becoming compulsory to answer the question, the section will be moved from the end to the start of the DVLA process, so when applicants from England, Wales and Scotland apply for new or replacement licences they will have to say whether they want to become an organ donor or not.

When a similar scheme was introduced in the US state of Illinois, donor registration jumped from 38% to 60%.

Public health minister Anne Milton said the move was aimed at encouraging people to discuss the issue more and make it easier for them to sign up.

"Being an organ donor is a truly selfless act and a life-saving gift to someone in need," she added.

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