Smith drops in on Doctor Who show

16 July 2011 Last updated at 08:30 GMT Matt Smith popped up to thank the young adventurers for saving the Doctor and the world Doctor Who actor Matt Smith has made a surprise appearance in a highly acclaimed "immersive" theatre production based on the TV show.

Smith appeared in character in front of 25 fans aged 9-12 at a performance of The Crash of the Elysium at the Manchester International Festival.

The show puts the audience at the heart of a Doctor Who adventure and are told it is up to them to save the world.

Smith is normally seen on screens but appeared in person on Friday.

The Crash of the Elysium, created by theatre company Punchdrunk, has earned a series of five-star reviews in national newspapers.

The audience members are told to wear chemical decontamination suits as they are led through a series of rooms by actors dressed as soldiers, looking for clues and being chased by the Doctor's enemies.

Smith said the show was "a marriage made in creative space heaven".

"I've always watched Punchdrunk shows and marvelled at their inventiveness and individuality," he said.

"Put that together with Doctor Who and there is a wonderful template to tell unique stories in unique ways. The Doctor would definitely approve."

The Crash of the Elysium is one of the highlights of the Manchester International Festival, which ends on Sunday and also involves new works by Victoria Wood, Damon Albarn and Marina Abramovic.

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US drops Bin Laden terror charges

17 June 2011 Last updated at 20:11 GMT The bombs at US embassies in Kenya, shown above, and Tanzania, exploded just moments apart US prosecutors have asked a judge to drop terrorism charges against Osama Bin Laden, arguing his killing by US forces last month voids the case.

Bin Laden was indicted in federal court in 1998 in connection with the bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed 224 people in August 1998.

In court filings, officials said DNA and facial-recognition technology enabled the US to identify his body.

The al-Qaeda chief was killed in May in a US raid on his home in Pakistan.

Genetic match

In a court filing in New York City, federal prosecutors revealed new details about the process used to identify Bin Laden's body after he was shot dead in a night-time raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

According to the filings, following a firefight the US Navy Seal special forces team collected DNA samples from the body presumed to be Bin Laden's and transported them to a US military base in Afghanistan.

Prosecutors also cited videos seized from Bin Laden's compound as proof of his identity

There, military and CIA technicians matched the sample with DNA collected from "multiple members" of Bin Laden's family.

George Toscas, a counter-terrorism and counter-espionage official in the US justice department, wrote in a filing that the possibility of a mistaken identification stemming from the DNA tests was "approximately one in 11.8 quadrillion".

The US used facial recognition technology comparing facial bone structure, age spots, hair-growth patterns, and the size, shape and relative position of the eyes, ears and nose to known photographs of the al-Qaeda chief, Mr Toscas wrote.

One of Bin Laden's wives, who was present on the third floor of the compound when he was killed, also confirmed his identity.

And finally, Bin Laden's purported successor as al-Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, acknowledged he was dead in a recent video address to supporters, prosecutors said.

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Nasdaq drops bid for rival NYSE

16 May 2011 Last updated at 12:04 GMT NYSE Euronext is planning a future under Germany's Deutsche Boerse US stock exchanges Nasdaq and ICE are dropping their $11.3bn (?6.9bn, 7.8bn euros) bid for rival NYSE Euronext.

The two exchanges concluded the proposed takeover would not be approved by US regulators.

NYSE Euronext had already rejected the unsolicited bid for the same reasons last month.

It said it would concentrate instead on plans to merge with German exchange Deutsche Boerse in a deal worth $10.2bn.

Nasdaq and ICE, an Atlanta-based futures specialist, said they had spoken with the anti-trust division of the Department of Justice.

"While we are surprised and disappointed in the anti-trust division's conclusion, some of the uncertainty, at least as it relates to our joint proposal, has been resolved," said Nasdaq chief executive Bob Greifeld.

Under the Nasdaq-ICE bid, ICE would have taken over NYSE's derivatives business, while Nasdaq would have taken the stock exchanges and options businesses - thus combining two of the largest US stock exchanges.

The Deutsche Boerse bid itself is also likely to raise regulation issues anyway - a deal would create a massive presence in certain European financial products.

There is also some political opposition from those against the idea of a foreign company taking over a Wall Street brand.

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