Yemen opposition accepts stand-in

Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa - 25 May 2011Yemeni and Saudi officials say Mr Saleh will return to Yemen, but analysts say that is in doubt

Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh is recovering from surgery in Saudi Arabia to remove shrapnel from his chest, Saudi officials say.

He was flown to the country on a Saudi medical flight on Saturday, a day after being wounded in an attack on his presidential compound in Sanaa.

Thousands of people in Yemen have been celebrating his departure after weeks of anti-government protests.

It remains unclear whether Mr Saleh will return to Yemen.

There were reports he would remain in Saudi Arabia for two weeks; one week to recover and another for meetings, but it was not known what he planned to do after that.

Yemen’s deputy information minister, Abdu al-Janadi, said Mr Saleh would be returning.

“Saleh is in good health, and he may give up the authority one day but it has to be in a constitutional way,” he said.

Mr Saleh underwent two successful operations on Sunday on his chest and neck, Saudi officials said, suggesting he would seek to return to Sanaa after convalescing.

Analysis

There’s growing concern that an al-Qaeda group based in Yemen has been using the political instability in the country to re-arm.

The CIA reckons al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is now as dangerous as the al-Qaeda grouping based in Pakistan.

AQAP has been responsible for a number of attacks, including the attempt to bring down an airliner heading to Detroit on Christmas Day in 2009 and to blow up planes using bombs hidden in printer cartridges the following year.

The radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki is hiding somewhere in the country and he’s been highly effective at radicalising individuals in the West using modern media, including the woman who stabbed British MP Stephen Timms.

President Saleh worked with Washington in countering al-Qaeda, although not always publicly, and within limits.

He always claimed that those who opposed him at home were less likely to co-operate with the West.

Washington also invested heavily in personal relationships but in recent months it has feared that the chaos engulfing the country was only strengthening al-Qaeda’s hand.

Quite what is coming next in Yemen is unclear and what that means for dealing with al-Qaeda.

But even if President Saleh wants to return, it is unlikely Saudi Arabia will allow him, BBC Middle East correspondent Jon Leyne says.

Yemeni Vice-President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has replaced Mr Saleh in his absence, and is in command of the armed forces and security services.

He met US ambassador Gerald Michael Feierstein, state news agency Saba reported, to discuss “the importance of co-operation with the [opposition] Common Forum” alliance.

He may have little real power however, with Mr Saleh’s son and other relatives in charge of key units of the security forces.

Friday’s attack on Mr Saleh came after days of street battles in Sanaa between government forces and fighters loyal to Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar, head of the powerful Hashid tribal federation. The fighting has left more than 160 dead and brought the country to the brink of civil war.

Early on Monday a truce between the two sides appeared to be holding.

That power struggle overlaid widespread street protests that began earlier in the year, inspired by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, calling for democratic reforms and an end to Mr Saleh’s rule.

As word spread that Mr Saleh had left for Saudi Arabia, thousands of people in Yemen began celebrating.

In Sanaa, crowds gathered in University Square – the epicentre of the protest movement – singing and dancing and holding placards that celebrated the president’s departure.

Soldiers cheer in Yemen

The BBC’s Jon Leyne: ”You have to doubt Mr Saleh will ever go back to Yemen”

President Saleh – who at times used brute force to try to quell demonstrations – had agreed to a deal brokered by the Gulf Co-operation Council that would see him step down in return for an amnesty from prosecution.

However, he has so far refused to sign the deal.

Some analysts say Saudi Arabia will now use his presence in the country to pressure him to sign the agreement.

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‘Wrong question’ in AS-level exam

girl taking exam This is the second error in AS-level exam papers this summer
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Pupils taking an AS-level exam have been given a question that could not be answered – the second such problem this summer.

The latest unanswerable question was in a business studies paper set by the AQA exam board.

A teacher voiced fears that pupils had wasted so much time trying to answer the unanswerable question they had not had enough time for other questions.

The AQA exam board said it was “very sorry about the error in the paper”.

“However, we do have a robust process for ensuring that none of our students will be disadvantaged as a result our mistake,” said a statement from the exam board.

The paper was taken by pupils in England, Wales and Nothern Ireland.

A business teacher in Leceistershire contacted the BBC News website to complain about the difficulties faced by pupils who had taken the exam on 24 May.

The exam paper did not include the information needed to make the calculation to answer the question – which was about the profits of a chocolate company.

“Myself and my students are concerned as some recognised the error and left the answer blank and some spent far too long trying to figure it out and consequently ran out of time when doing the bigger mark questions towards the end of the exam,” wrote the teacher, who did not want to be identified.

The AQA board has said: “The examiners who will be marking the paper are aware of the problem and marks will be adjusted to ensure that all students get the right grade.”

The board said the question was worth three marks out of 80.

Last week it emerged students taking an AS-level maths paper set by the OCR exam board had also been set an unanswerable question.

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Lonely Boy singer Gold dies at 59

Andrew GoldGold is survived by his wife and three daughters

US singer-songwriter Andrew Gold, who enjoyed hits in the 1970s with Lonely Boy and Never Let Her Slip Away, has died in Los Angeles at the age of 59.

Another of his songs, Thank You for Being a Friend, was known to millions after being used as the theme for long-running sitcom The Golden Girls.

During the 1980s, Gold formed Wax UK with ex-10cc member Graham Gouldman.

His UK label, Dome Records, remembered him as “a hugely talented musician” with “a brilliant sense of humour”.

Gold, who died on Friday of a heart attack, was the son of Ernest Gold, Oscar-winning composer of films like Exodus and It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.

His mother, Marni Nixon, is a singer and actress best known for dubbing the stars of such Hollywood musicals as My Fair Lady and West Side Story.

Gold performed with Linda Ronstadt before his breakthrough as a solo artist with Asylum Records.

He went on to work with Art Garfunkel, Celine Dion, James Taylor, Sir Paul McCartney and nuumerous other artists.

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Mary Travers’ brother speaks out

Mary TraversMary Travers was murdered by the IRA in 1984
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The brother of murdered teacher Mary Travers has called on Sinn Fein special adviser Mary McArdle to resign.

Paul Travers, who now lives in Australia, backed his sister’s plea for Ms McArdle to stand down from her role

Ms McArdle was appointed as a special adviser to the culture minister. She was part of an IRA gang which murdered Mary Travers in south Belfast in 1984.

“On that day our family was shattered by the actions of this woman,” Mr Travers said.

Mr Travers said he fully supported his sister Ann Travers, who demanded Ms McArdle’s resignation.

Last week Ms McArdle told the Andersonstown News she did not believe anything she said could ease the family’s grief.

In her first interview since being appointed as special adviser to Culture Minister Caral Ni Chuilin, she told the newspaper: “I want to state clearly that the killing of Mary Travers was a tragic mistake and I regret that it happened.

“If I were to begin to describe the specific context of conflict I would be accused of trying to justify her death, and I have no wish to do that.”

Mr Travers said he did not believe Ms McArdle had “any interest in telling the truth”.

“She is not going to say sorry or reveal the details about what happened that day,” Mr Travers said.

“She should do the right thing and step aside, and if she won’t she should be removed.

“Her appointment should never have happened.

“If we don’t put some structure around how these appointments are made we are going to have foxes in the hen house and I just don’t know if it is something we, as a community, are able to stomach.”

Paul TraversPaul Travers said he wants Mary McArdle to step down from her role

On Monday a Sinn Fein spokesperson said the party was very conscious of the hurt experienced by all victims of the conflict, including the Travers family.

“The killing of Mary Travers was wrong and the party has publicly expressed its regret on a number of occasions. Mary McArdle has publicly expressed her regret also.

“Sinn Fein recognises that the Travers family has every right to express its grief and totally understandable anger at the loss of Mary. Nothing the party can say or do can bring her back to them, but hopes that this expression of regret will be accepted as genuine by her loved ones.

“Mary McArdle has been active and enthusiastic in her pursuit of a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ireland and as a member of the Sinn Fein’s Ard Comhairle, played an important role in the development of the party’s peace strategy.

“The recent conflict involved various armed groups, state forces and governments. With progress in the building of peace in Ireland, there are now many individuals from all of these groups working in their communities in the north and as one of them, Mary McArdle has taken up the position as a Special Adviser to the DCAL Minister.”

Last week Ann Travers said the news Ms McArdle had managed to secure such a well-paid job at taxpayers’ expense had reawakened “uncontrollable grief”.

Ms McArdle, 46, was part of an IRA gang who ambushed Catholic magistrate Tom Travers and his family as they left Mass in Belfast. Mary Travers, 22, was killed.

Ms McArdle was sentenced to to a life term for her role in the murder and was released under the Good Friday Agreement.

Mr Travers said he felt Ms McArdle had been rewarded for her actions.

“To have people who have committed dark deeds like murder, never explain to us why they did it, the details of what happened, who else was involved and who else they killed, is not right.

“To then have those people blithely say: ‘you wouldn’t understand it because you have to see it through the political ideas of the time’ just doesn’t make sense,” he added.

“You can’t have it both ways – they want us to pay for them to be part of the democratic system but we have to ignore their past and the effect it has had on the wider society, if this remains the case then we will never have reconciliation – there will always be suspicion.”

Mr Travers also said he was surprised by comments made by Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness in which he compared hiring Ms McArdle to the appointment of Nelson Mandela.

“The comparison is phenomenal, Nelson Mandela was a a statesman, he didn’t try and escape the truth, he wanted the truth to be out.”

Mr Travers said he would like to see a truth and reconciliation commission to deal with Northern Ireland’s past.

Last week the SDLP and Ulster Unionist Party backed a review into the way special advisers are appointed to Northern Ireland government departments.

First Minister Peter Robinson has asked Finance Minister Sammy Wilson to look at the appointment process.

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Royal wedding dress to go on display

Prince William and Kate Middleton at the Epsom Derby on Saturday The couple will move at some point in June or July, a spokesman said

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are to move into a home at Kensington Palace, St James’s Palace says.

The prince previously lived at the palace with Prince Harry and his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, after her divorce from the Prince of Wales.

But the apartment he will share with his new bride will not be the same property he used to live in.

William is currently working as an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot in north Wales, where the couple live.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Peru’s Humala claims election win

Peruvian presidential candidates, (from left) Ollanta Humala and Keiko FujimoriOn the left and right of the political spectrum – presidential hopefuls Ollanta Humala and Keiko Fujimori
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Voters in Peru are set to cast their ballots on Sunday in a closely fought presidential second-round run-off.

They face a choice of Keiko Fujimori, daughter of jailed ex-president Alberto Fujimori, and Ollanta Humala, one-time ally of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez.

The two candidates are at opposite ends of the political spectrum – a fact that has worried some Peruvians who say they will not vote for either of them.

Opinion polls indicate that the outcome is too close to call.

The two candidates led the field after the first round on 10 April, which saw the defeat of three centrist candidates. No-one gained more than the 50% needed to win the election outright.

Whoever wins Sunday’s vote will succeed Alan Garcia, who cannot stand for a second term.

Keiko Fujimori, 36, appeals to voters who still admire her father, president for a decade from 1990. He is now serving a 25-year jail sentence for corruption and organising death squads.

She has defended his record, saying by taming hyper-inflation and defeating Marxist Shining Path rebels, he laid the basis for Peru’s current economic boom.

Peruvian electionTen candidates stood for election on 10 AprilIn Peru’s two-round voting system, no candidate got more than 50% of the vote to avoid a run-offThree centrist candidates split the vote – leaving Humala and Fujimori leading the fieldPresidents serve five-year terms and are only eligible for non-consecutive re-electionVoting is compulsory for citizens 18-70 years oldA choice between wallets and consciences Peru election: Candidate profiles

She supports free-market economic policies, advocates a tough approach to crime and has promised to improve social programmes and infrastructure in poor areas.

Critics say her main aim is to secure a pardon for her father, a claim she denies.

If she wins, she would become Peru’s first woman president.

Ollanta Humala, 48, comes from a left-wing tradition of greater state intervention. He staged a short-lived rebellion against Alberto Fujimori in 2000 and narrowly lost to Alan Garcia in the last presidential election in 2006.

He has campaigned on a promise to increase the state’s role in the economy and redistribute wealth to Peru’s poor majority.

His critics fear he will embark on interventionist policies similar to those of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, although Mr Humala says he is more in sympathy with Brazil’s moderate left-wing approach.

He has also denied allegations that he committed human rights abuses during the fight against Shining Path rebels in the 1990s when he was an army captain.

Polls suggest that around 10% of Peru’s voters could abstain or spoil their ballots, Reuters news agency reports.

Peruvian painter Fernando de Szyszlo is one of those. “It really pains me not to vote, but I’m not voting,” he told the Associated Press.

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Drug companies cut vaccine prices

Health worker in West Africa takes a dose of a vaccineThe vaccines will be sold at a price that covers the drugmakers’ costs
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Several major drugs companies have announced big cuts to the amounts they charge for their vaccines in the developing world.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Merck, Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi-Aventis have agreed to cut prices through the international vaccine alliance Gavi.

GSK said it would cut the price of its vaccine for rotavirus by 67% to $2.50 (£1.50) a dose in poor countries.

Rotavirus-related diarrhoea kills more than 500,000 children a year.

The vaccine will be subsidised by higher prices being charged in richer countries.

The rotavirus vaccine, for example, would cost about $50 in the US.

“What we need is a return to invest in the next generation of new vaccines and drugs and that has to come from the profits of the medicines or the vaccines,” Andrew Witty, chief executive of GSK told the BBC.

“But it’s obvious that if you’re in Kenya or a slum in Malawi or somewhere like that there is no capacity for those people to contribute to it, so they have to be helped out by the contribution from the middle and the richer (countries).”

Gavi is an organisation that helps to fund mass vaccination programmes in developing countries.

It is committed to funding the introduction of rotavirus vaccinations in 40% of the poorest countries by 2015, but it faced a $3.7bn funding shortfall and so has been appealing for price cuts and donations.

It will be holding a pledging conference in London on 13 June.

Merck has said it will provide its own rotavirus vaccine for $5 a dose, coming down to $3.50 once more than 30 million doses have been sold.

The price Gavi pays for pentavalent vaccines, which protect against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type B will be cut by two Indian firms, Serum Institute and Panacea Biotec.

GSK also said it was very close to developing the world’s first malaria vaccine, which is unusual because there is no market for it in the West.

That means there is no opportunity for patients in richer countries to subsidise those in poorer countries.

As a result, GSK said that if the vaccine comes to market it would be sold at a price that provides a small return of 5%, which would be used to fund the next generation of malaria treatments.

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Five US soldiers killed in Iraq

US soldier in Iraq, file picThe US soldiers’ role is to advise and assist Iraq’s security forces in fighting insurgents

Five US soldiers have been killed in central Iraq, the US military has said.

Iraqi security sources said there had been a rocket attack, with other reports saying the target was on the outskirts of Baghdad.

The BBC’s Jim Muir says the US military has suffered its single most serious incident in Iraq in over two years.

Elsewhere in the country on Monday, at least 21 people were killed in twin bomb attacks, one on a mosque, in the northern city of Tikrit.

US fatalities in Iraq have been rare since Washington officially ended combat operations in the country last August, leaving about 45,000 troops.

The role of the US army, which is due to pull out of Iraq on 31 December, is to advise and help the security forces.

The military statement simply read: “Five US service members were killed Monday in central Iraq.”

The names of the deceased are being withheld until next of kin have been informed.

Agence France-Presse news agency quoted an interior ministry official and an Iraqi police officer as saying five rockets had struck the Camp Victory base on the edge of Baghdad.

map

The Iraqi officials also told AFP that two apparent insurgents were found dead outside the base, apparently killed by their own rockets exploding in their vehicle. Neither report has been confirmed.

However, Associated Press news agency said the Americans were killed in their living quarters on an Iraqi base, where they had been serving as advisers.

The independent icasualties count of US service member fatalities in Iraq now stands at 4,459.

A large number of the 45,000 US troops in Iraq are due to leave in the summer.

However, during a visit in April, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said American troops could, if required by Iraq, stay in the country beyond the withdrawal date of the year end.

Violence has reduced in Iraq over the past few years, but there are still regular attacks and bombings.

In Tikrit on Monday, a bomb exploded outside a mosque during Friday prayers, killing 16 people.

Hours later, a suicide bomber attacked the hospital where the injured had been taken, killing another five.

Our correspondent says Monday’s three attacks will again raise questions about how the Iraqi forces will cope once the Americans are gone.

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Cable warns against mass strike

Vince CableMr Cable will be delivering his first speech to a union conference as business secretary
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Business secretary Vince Cable is to warn delegates at the GMB union’s conference that co-ordinated strike action may lead to tougher union laws.

Union leaders have warned that there could be strike action taken by 750,000 public sector workers on 30 June.

Mr Cable is expected to say that while the level of strikes is low there is not a compelling case for tighter laws.

But he will warn that the pressure on him to act would ratchet up if there were to be widespread disruption.

Union sources have told the BBC it is an “extremely unhelpful threat”, at a time when ministers and union leaders are trying to broker a deal on changes to public sector pensions.

BBC political correspondent Laura Kuenssberg says unions could organise precisely the kind of industrial action that Vince Cable is warning against if no broad agreement is reached by the end of next month.

Addressing delegates in Brighton, Mr Cable is expected to say: “We are undoubtedly entering a difficult period. Cool heads will be required all round. Despite occasional blips, I know that strike levels remain historically low, especially in the private sector.

“On that basis, and assuming this pattern continues, the case for changing strike law is not compelling.

“However, should the position change, and should strikes impose serious damage to our economic and social fabric, the pressure on us to act would ratchet up. That is something which both you, and certainly I, would wish to avoid.”

Mr Cable is expected to concede that feelings are running high in the trade union movement as demonstrations in March showed.

But he will call for unions and the government to work together to deal with economic challenges.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson and employers’ organisation the CBI have already been calling for tougher trade union laws

Mr Johnson wants laws to prevent a strike taking place unless at least half of the union members in a workplace take part in a ballot. He has criticised the government as “lily-livered” for not taking firmer action.

The CBI has called for a minimum of 40% of union members balloted to be in favour of a strike before it can take place.

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Boy, eight, dies at laser party

An eight-year-old boy from Wrexham has died after suffering breathing problems at a party at a laser centre in Chester.

Police said the boy died after a party at Chester Quasar at Sunday lunchtime.

They said inquiries suggested he was was taken to hospital “after experiencing breathing difficulties”.

Officers have launched an investigation, and the Cheshire coroner had been informed.

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