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A 22-year-old man is in hospital after being found in a Glasgow street with a life-threatening wound to his back.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The News of the World has issued an apology in this Sunday’s edition over the phone-hacking scandal.
The paper said of the victims: “Here today, we publicly and unreservedly apologise to all such individuals.”
It added: “What happened to them should not have happened. It was and remains unacceptable.”
The News of the World’s owner News International has admitted there were at least eight victims and has put aside £20m in compensation.
The paper said that a number of individuals had brought breach of privacy claims against it over wrongful voicemail interceptions between 2004 and 2006, and others were threatening to do so.
It continued: “Evidence has recently come to light which supports some of these claims.
“We have written to relevant individuals to admit liability in these civil cases and to apologise unreservedly, and will do the same to any other individuals where evidence shows their claims to be justifiable.
“We hope to be able to pay appropriate compensation to all these individuals, and have asked our lawyers to set up a compensation scheme to deal with genuine claims fairly and efficiently.”
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Official ceremonies to commemorate the plane crash a year ago that killed Poland’s President Lech Kaczynski are boycotted by his twin brother.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel wins an eventful Malaysian Grand Prix, as McLaren’s Jenson Button comes through to take second.
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Actress Elizabeth Taylor’s prized jewellery collection is to be sold at auction, Christie’s announces.
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Struggling Aston Villa take on Newcastle after Arsenal see off Blackpool to keep their title hopes alive in Sunday’s other Premier League match.
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Lord Elis Thomas says voters expect to get the election results on the night The assembly’s presiding office, Dafydd Elis Thomas, is calling for counting in the Welsh election to be carried out overnight in north Wales.
Counting in May’s 2011 vote is taking place overnight in most of the country.
But returning officers for assembly seats across the north Wales region have decided to start their counts in the morning.
Lord Elis Thomas, speaking as chair of the Assembly Commission, said overnight counting “makes politics interesting”.
“I think people who are interested in politics, and who have bothered to turn out to vote, expect to have the result in a timely fashion – which means as soon as possible,” he insisted.
“We expect to see results and this is what makes politics interesting.
“I think it is right that the people of Wales in a general election should know at least the result of the first-past-the-post election, the first round, as soon as possible.”
In his role as chair of the Assembly Commission – which ensures property, staff and services are provided for the assembly – Lord Elis Thomas has written to the north Wales regional returning officer, Mohammed Mehmet, to raise his concerns and those of all four party leaders in the assembly.
“We expect to see results and this is what makes politics interesting”
Lord Elis Thomas
“It is, however, clear from your reply that at no time was the national assembly or any of its committees or members prior to dissolution consulted on this matter,” he said in the letter to Mr Mehmet.
He asked that the count of the first-past-the-post seats in the election were counted overnight, “so that the results of the Welsh general election will be made known to the electorate on the same timescale throughout the country”.
Officials face the task of counting three different ballot papers following voting on 5 May, for individual assembly seats, regional list seats, and for the UK referendum on the alternative voting system to elect members of parliament.
A meeting is taking place on Sunday of all the returning officers in north Wales, at which final decisions on the counting arrangements are expected to be taken.
But in replying to the presiding officer’s letter, Mr Mehmet says changing the current timetable for counting ballots at this stage “carries high risk”.
He stated that he had consulted with the Electoral Commission on the issue, and was assured that the planning arrangements for counts in north Wales were “sound”.
He added: “The commission is actually concerned about the risks involved in counting throughout the night in some other areas.
“I assure the presiding officer that this region’s planning for the elections has been thorough and of course followed due process.”
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The trek aims to raise £2m for injured servicemen Prince Harry has arrived back in the UK after four days on a trek to the North Pole with wounded servicemen.
He spent three days training in Norway but the walk did not begin until Tuesday after dangerous winds delayed the team’s flight to the start point.
The group is aiming to raise £2m for the Walking With The Wounded charity.
The prince, who returned because of military commitments, said: “What an amazing experience… a lot harder and colder than any of us realised”.
He added: “I’m very pleased to be back, but all the credit here goes to the lads who have weeks more of trekking to get to the North Pole. Their strength, motivation and stamina is out of this world.”
The four servicemen were all injured in combat in Afghanistan, and hope to enter the record books as the first disabled team to walk unassisted to the North Pole.
They are raising money for Walking With The Wounded, which helps injured troops.
The delay meant Prince Harry spent an extra day on the trek Harry said: “They deserve to get that World Record, more than anybody else, and I’ll be watching them now every step of the way.”
The prince’s return home was also delayed. But it meant he was able to spend an extra 24 hours on the trek while repairs were made to the Borneo Ice Airfield, about 200 miles (320km) from the North Pole.
Harry, who is patron of Walking With The Wounded, is a training to be an Apache helicopter pilot and returns to his military studies next week, ahead of his brother’s wedding at the end of the month.
The servicemen men taking part in the four week mission are: Capt Martin Hewitt, 30, whose right arm is paralysed after being shot; Capt Guy Disney, 29, whose right leg was amputated below the knee after he was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG); Sgt Stephen Young, 28, who suffered a broken back in a roadside bombing; Pte Jaco Van Gass, 24, who had his left arm amputated and suffered significant tissue loss to his left leg after being hit by an RPG.
They are being joined by two of the charity’s founders, Edward Parker and Simon Dalglish, and polar guide Inge Solheim.
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Chris Evans said he forgot what time the show started Presenter Chris Evans has apologised after turning up almost half-an-hour late for his Radio 5 live show on Saturday night.
Evans was due to present live coverage of the third round of the US Masters Golf from Augusta, with the programme starting at 2100 BST.
But the show had to start without him, with Evans arriving 25 minutes later saying he had forgotten what time the show was due to start.
“I apologise profusely,” Evans said.
“I ran in from where I was – well, I did the Augusta shuffle.”
Asked by his co-presenters where he had been, Evans said: “I’ve been watching the golf. That’s what we came to do.
“I had no idea we started at 9pm. I was in the foyer having a water and a chat.”
A breathless Evans said he had run up the stairs to the studio after being alerted to his mistake.
“How’s it going anyway? I had such a great introduction written and everything. Oh well. I’m here now,” he added.
The former Radio 1 DJ became known during his two-year stint on the station’s breakfast show during the mid-1990s for his erratic time-keeping.
Evans’s main presenting role is on his Radio 2 breakfast show, which he took over from Sir Terry Wogan in January 2010.
Evans now also co-presents the Friday night edition of the One Show on BBC One.
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The BBC’s Robert Peston can reveal some of the proposals ahead of the announcement
An interim report from the Banking Commission due on Monday will not support the total break-up of Britain’s biggest banks, the BBC understands.
Instead it will favour ring-fencing their risky investment banking operations, so they do not jeopardise the savings of ordinary depositors.
The move will still cause anger at big banks like Barclays, according to BBC business editor Robert Peston.
It means their investment banking units will find it more expensive to borrow.
“I understand that the Commission will recommend that within megabanks like Barclays, HSBC, or Royal Bank of Scotland, new legal barriers – or ‘firewalls’ – should be constructed,” our correspondent said.
“So that if a crisis occurs in the investment bank it can’t hurt our savings in the retail bank.”
The Commission of five economists and bankers, chaired by former Bank of England chief economist John Vickers, was tasked with considering a full-scale break-up of banks – something Liberal Democrats had called for in their election manifesto.
The concern is that “universal” banks such as Barclays, which combine ordinary retail banking with investment banking, benefit from an unfair government guarantee.
Markets believe the government would never allow a big retail bank to go bust, because of the resulting losses to depositors and the disruption to the payments system.
But this guarantee means that the universal banks can borrow more cheaply, and use that money to fund their highly profitable, but more risky, investment banking businesses.
The new ‘firewall’ arrangement is intended to eliminate the possibility of losses at the investment banks being borne by the public purse.
It is expected that the Commission will recommend requiring the banks to put their investment banking operations into a separate subsidiary company that they own.
The subsidiary would have its own capital, which could be used by it to absorb losses, but which would be allowed to go bust if it became insolvent.
Barclays’ chief executive, Bob Diamond, was bitterly opposed to the move in evidence he gave to the Treasury Select Committee in January.
It would force the banks to raise more capital for their investment banks, something the banks see as expensive and painful.
And markets are likely to see the ring-fenced investment banks as riskier credits, making it more expensive for them to borrow and undercutting their profits.
Rating agencies will be looking carefully at the report to understand how it affects the chance of banks being rescued by the government in future financial crises.
One agency, Moody’s, said on Thursday that it will review ratings for 19 UK banks this year in light of the tougher regulatory environment, with many likely to face large downgrades.
The ring-fencing may mean that rating agencies give investment banks separate – and lower – credit ratings than their parent banks.
However, critics may question whether the move will achieve its intended purpose.
It is unclear how strictly a retail bank would be restricted from supporting its investment bank – for instance through loans, guarantees or capital injections during a financial crisis.
Moreover, some may query whether the government itself would refuse to rescue a big investment bank during a financial crisis.
Former US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson was heavily criticised for allowing the investment bank Lehman Brothers to fail, sparking the global financial crisis in September 2008.
The BBC’s Robert Peston can reveal some of the proposals ahead of the announcement
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Iceland’s three main banks folded in late 2008, sparking a national crisis Icelanders are set to vote in a referendum on the latest plan to repay the UK and Netherlands debts incurred when its banking system collapsed.
The country overwhelmingly rejected a previous repayment plan, which was put to a referendum last March.
The new deal offers less onerous repayment terms, but opinion polls suggest it will again be rejected.
Iceland’s Landsbanki bank collapsed in 2008, and British and Dutch investors lost some 4bn euros (£3.5bn; $5.8bn).
The bank had offered savings accounts in the UK and Netherlands under the name Icesave.
The British and Dutch governments had to reimburse 400,000 citizens who lost savings – and Iceland must now decide how to repay that debt.
Under the terms of the latest deal, Iceland would pay the money back with 3.3% interest between 2016 and 2046.
Under the previous proposals, the money was to be paid back with 5.5% interest between 2016 and 2024.
The actual cost to the state is expected to be much less than the 4bn euros owed, as the government says most of the repayment will come from selling the assets of Landsbanki.
The government has said it does not expect the cost to exceed 50bn crowns (£168m).
Analysts say the issue is vital to Iceland’s prospects for recovery because it would allow the country to return to the financial markets to fund itself.
Solving the dispute is also seen as key to Iceland’s chances of joining the EU.
Iceland’s three main banks collapsed within days of each other in October 2008.
The government compensated Icelandic savers, but overseas customers faced losing all of their money.
The issue sparked a diplomatic row between Iceland and the UK, and created uncertainty over Iceland’s economic recovery.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Iceland’s three main banks folded in late 2008, sparking a national crisis Icelanders are set to vote in a referendum on the latest plan to repay the UK and Netherlands debts incurred when its banking system collapsed.
The country overwhelmingly rejected a previous repayment plan, which was put to a referendum last March.
The new deal offers less onerous repayment terms, but opinion polls suggest it will again be rejected.
Iceland’s Landsbanki bank collapsed in 2008, and British and Dutch investors lost some 4bn euros (£3.5bn; $5.8bn).
The bank had offered savings accounts in the UK and Netherlands under the name Icesave.
The British and Dutch governments had to reimburse 400,000 citizens who lost savings – and Iceland must now decide how to repay that debt.
Under the terms of the latest deal, Iceland would pay the money back with 3.3% interest between 2016 and 2046.
Under the previous proposals, the money was to be paid back with 5.5% interest between 2016 and 2024.
The actual cost to the state is expected to be much less than the 4bn euros owed, as the government says most of the repayment will come from selling the assets of Landsbanki.
The government has said it does not expect the cost to exceed 50bn crowns (£168m).
Analysts say the issue is vital to Iceland’s prospects for recovery because it would allow the country to return to the financial markets to fund itself.
Solving the dispute is also seen as key to Iceland’s chances of joining the EU.
Iceland’s three main banks collapsed within days of each other in October 2008.
The government compensated Icelandic savers, but overseas customers faced losing all of their money.
The issue sparked a diplomatic row between Iceland and the UK, and created uncertainty over Iceland’s economic recovery.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Fines for residents who break the rules on rubbish collections in England are to be scrapped, the government is expected to announce.
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Remembering what happened, 30 years ago
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Amongst the rubble one month on, in sound and pictures
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