Author: xaurav

The couple were seized while sailing from the Seychelles

A British couple held hostage by Somali pirates have urged UK Prime Minister David Cameron to clarify whether his government will seek their release.

Paul Chandler, 60, and Rachel Chandler, 56, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, were kidnapped while sailing in the Indian Ocean in October.

In an interview broadcast on ITV News, Mr Chandler said they "desperately needed" the PM to make a statement.

The Foreign Office said it had a policy of not negotiating with kidnappers.

The pair spoke to a Somali journalist at the weekend, ITV News reported, adding that no money for the interview had gone to the kidnappers.

Mr Chandler offered his congratulations to the new prime minister, but urged him to act.

Raised hopes

"As new prime minister, we desperately need him to make a definitive public statement of the government's attitude to us," Mr Chandler said.

"If the government is not prepared to help, then they must say so, because the gangsters' expectations and hopes have been raised at the thought of a new government and there might be a different approach."

The Foreign Office said the British government's policy of "not making or facilitating substantive concessions to hostage-takers, including the payment of ransoms, is long-standing and clear".

A spokesman said: "This has been the policy of successive governments and has not changed.Our thoughts are with their families on the release of this video, and our consular officials are in close touch with them.

"We again urge those holding Paul and Rachel to release them safely, immediately and unconditionally."

The Channel 4 News website reported that the couple had spent almost 100 days of their captivity apart from each other, in solitary confinement.

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BP says it has begun pumping mud into a breached Gulf of Mexico oil well to try to stem the flow of oil caused by a rig explosion last month.

Chief Executive Tony Hayward had earlier said the company would go ahead with the "top kill" measure, which has never been tried at such a depth.

BP is under intense pressure to succeed with its latest attempt to stem the leak, after previous measures failed.

Thousands of barrels of oil have been spewing into the Gulf every day.

The US government had earlier approved the move.

Company officials say it could be a couple of days before they know whether the top kill procedure is working.

Engineers hope to pump enough mud into the leaking well to subdue the oil flow, and then follow up with cement to permanently seal it.

Mr Hayward has put the top kill's chance of success at 60-70%.

Speaking in California, US President Barack Obama said his administration would commit all resources necessary to stop the flow of oil into the ocean.

"If it's successful – and there are no guarantees – it should greatly reduce or eliminate the flow of oil now streaming into the Gulf from the seafloor. And if it's not, there other approaches that may be viable."

Mr Obama said the "heartbreaking" oil spill underscored the need to find alternative energy sources.

"We will not rest until this well is shut, the environment is repaired and the clean-up is complete," he added.

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Vince Cable is to stand down as Liberal Democrat deputy leader to concentrate on his job as business secretary.

Mr Cable, who has held the party role since 2006 and served as acting party leader in 2007, is one of five Lib Dem MPs in the coalition cabinet.

He said he wanted to focus on the challenges of his government role and stressed the Lib Dems had a "real opportunity" to change Britain.

The party will elect a new deputy to leader Nick Clegg on 9 June.

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Tom Cruise is expected to attend the ceremony

The stars have started to arrive for this year's National Movie Awards, which are taking place at London's Royal Festival Hall.

The Twilight series of films lead the way with five nominations.

Hollywood actor Tom Cruise is expected to attend the ceremony as his new film, Knight and Day, is up for most anticipated film.

The awards are voted for by the public and the ceremony is being shown live on ITV1.

The ceremony was started by ITV in 2007 but took a break last year, thought to be due to cost-cutting.

Twilight stars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner have best performance nods, as do Harry Potter actors Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint.

Other actors nominated include Leonardo DiCaprio for Shutter Island, Aaron Johnson for Kick-Ass and Sherlock Holmes stars Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law.

Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince is nominated in the family film category against movies including Nanny McPhee And The Big Bang, and Up.

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French Open second round: Andy Murray v Juan Ignacio Chela Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Date: Wed, 26 May (Third match on Court One)Coverage: Live video streamed on BBC Sport website (UK only) and BBC red button; commentary on BBC 5 live sports extra; also live on Eurosport; live text commentary on BBC Sport website

British number one Andy Murray will hope to have recovered from his four-hour victory over Richard Gasquet when he takes on Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Chela in the second round of the French Open on Wednesday.

The 23-year-old Scot is due to play in the third match on Court One at around 1300 BST, although bad weather is expected to disrupt the schedule on day four.

And although Murray looked strong throughout his marathon five-set win against Gasquet, he may not be too upset if there were to be a delay as it would give him more time to rest his troublesome right knee.

Murray’s main weakness is his service. No doubt he knows that, but I can’t understand why he can’t sort it out

Murray admitted after Monday’s match that it had felt sore, and that the sliding required on clay is particularly unkind to the bipartite patella with which he suffers, but it is a long-term condition with which he seems resigned to coping.

"It hurts at different parts of the year," he said. "I can’t do anything about it. It’s just something I was born with, and I’m just going to have to deal with it for my whole career."

Chela is certainly an opponent he has grown used to, having played the 30-year-old from Buenos Aires on six occasions, winning the last five in a row.

Most recently, Murray swept Chela aside on the clay of Madrid earlier this month and he gave the Argentine just five games when they met in the first round of last year’s French Open.

Chela has only made it past the third round at Roland Garros on one occasion, and his run to the quarter-finals in 2004 came to an end with a straight-sets defeat by former British number one Tim Henman.

However, Murray insists he will be on his guard against the world number 58, who has one more tournament win than Murray this year after taking the clay title in Houston in April.

"He’s a very good player," said the Briton. "He’s obviously got a lot of experience. I just need to make sure I recover well. If I feel good going into the match then I’ll be confident that I can win.

"But he can’t be underestimated with the results he’s had, not only here but on a lot of clay courts during his career."

In other matches on Wednesday, defending champion Roger Federer takes on Alejandro Falla of Colombia in the second match on Court Philippe Chatrier after women’s second seed Venus Williams plays Spain’s Arantxa Parra Santonia.

Reigning women’s champion Svetlana Kuznetsova will face Germany’s Andrea Petkovic in the second match on Court One.

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Vince Cable is to stand down as Liberal Democrat deputy leader to concentrate on his job as business secretary.

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A British couple held hostage by Somali pirates plead for Prime Minister David Cameron to clarify his position on their case.

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Social network Facebook has said it will offer a “one simple control” privacy setting in response to user concerns.

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Almost a quarter of a million people applying for university this year wilk miss out on a place, university leaders forecast.

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A British soldier died when he was shot during fighting in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has said.

The soldier, from 4th Regiment Royal Artillery, had been on a joint foot patrol with Afghan National Army personnel near Nahr-e Saraj, Helmand.

The operation was to reassure the local population after a spate of insurgent aggression. His family have been told.

His death brings the total number of UK service personnel killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 287.

Task Force Helmand spokesman, Lt Col James Carr-Smith, said the soldier was part of 1 Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles Battle Group.

"He died doing his duty, alongside his mates, whilst seeking to reassure the local population and counter insurgent intimidation," he said.

"He will be greatly missed and we will always remember him."

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The Atlantis space shuttle touches down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida after what looks to have been its final mission.

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A man held after body parts were found in a river is questioned over the murders of three women who worked as prostitutes in Bradford.

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At least 44 people die in battles between Jamaican police and gunmen in an ongoing anti-drug offensive in Kingston, officials say.

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Ministers must stop arguing about a referendum on more law-making powers for Wales, the assembly’s presiding officer says.

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The body of a newborn baby boy has been discovered dumped in a bag at a railway station.

The infant was discovered by a cleaner on a platform at Fleet railway station in Hampshire, shortly after 1130 BST on Wednesday.

Hampshire Police have appealed for the mother to get in touch and said they are worried about her welfare.

The front of the station has been cordoned off but trains are not affected.

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