Posada Carriles’ acquittal ended a four-year prosecution
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Cuba and Venezuela have condemned a US court’s decision to acquit a veteran anti-communist militant and former CIA agent, Luis Posada Carriles.
A Cuban official called the outcome a “shameful farce”; Venezuela said the US was protecting a known terrorist.
Mr Posada Carriles was cleared of US immigration charges on Friday.
Cuba and Venezuela accuse him of staging bomb attacks and plotting to kill Fidel Castro, and have demanded his extradition.
Mr Posada Carriles, 83, spent decades fighting to overthrow the communist government in Cuba and stop the spread of left-wing influence throughout Latin America.
He was on trial in Texas on charges of lying to immigration officials about how he entered the US and about his alleged involvement in bomb attacks in Havana in 1997 in which an Italian tourist was killed.
But a jury found him not guilty, ending a four-year effort by US federal prosecutors to convict him.
The head of Cuba’s parliament, Ricardo Alarcon, told the Associated Press the federal judge in Texas had prevented jurors from seeing evidence that would have convinced them of his guilt.
“The US government is as much a liar as he is because it converted a killer who has been sought for decades into a simple old liar,” he said.
The Venezuelan government expressed “indignation” at “an act of theatre” designed to “protect the terrorist Luis Posada Carriles”.
It said it would renew its request to have Mr Posada Carriles extradited for his alleged role in the bombing of a Cuban airliner in 1973, which killed 73 people.
The US has previously refused to send Mr Posada Carriles to Cuba or Venezuela, saying he might face torture.
Cuba’s communist government regards Mr Posada Carriles as one of its most dangerous enemies.
In 1976 he was jailed in Venezuela over the airline bombing, but escaped from prison in 1985.
He was then jailed in Panama in 2000 for plotting the assassination of his arch-enemy, the Cuban leader Fidel Castro, but was pardoned and released four years later.
Mr Posada Carriles has always denied involvement in the airline bombing and the alleged plot against Castro in Panama, but admits fighting for “freedom” in Cuba.
Declassified US documents show that he worked for the CIA between 1965 and 1976.
He is also said to have worked for the intelligence agencies of Venezuela, Guatemala, El Salvador, Argentina and Chile, and to have supported Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
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Ceop was set up in 2006 to help find and convict paedophiles and keep young people safe online
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An investigation is under way after a web page – set up to protect children online – was found to be insecure.
A member of the public found a form on the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre’s website – to report alleged offenders – was unencrypted.
Security experts have described the breach of data as a serious error which could have put children at risk.
The agency told the BBC the risk was hypothetical and it has now been fixed so any crime can be reported safely.
There will now be a full investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office.
The unencrypted pages meant personal details entered on the site could have been visible to anyone with a sinister motive.
Ceop was set up in 2006 to help find and convict paedophiles, as well as working to keep young people safe from online predators.
It has run several campaigns and educational programmes for schools designed to alert children to such dangers.
A plan to merge Ceop with a new National Crime Agency in 2013 was announced in July by the Home Secretary Theresa May.
The decision prompted the resignation of its former head, Jim Gamble.
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Protests have been continuing for weeks
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Hundreds of anti-government protesters are reported to have been hurt in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, a day after similar clashes in the city of Taiz.
The BBC correspondent in Sanaa says the area has been blocked off by army trucks, and single gunshots echo through the city.
Doctors say at least a dozen people have gunshot wounds, and others were treated for the effects of tear gas.
The country has seen weeks of protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
President Saleh earlier recalled his ambassador to Qatar after dismissing a proposal by the Gulf states for him to step down.
Our correspondent says the sounds of single gunshots are consistent with the accounts from some protesters inside the area who say snipers are shooting at them from rooftops.
On Thursday, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassem Al Thani said the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) hoped “to reach a deal with the Yemeni president to step down”. In return, he and his family would be granted immunity from prosecution.
But Mr Saleh said: “Our power comes from the power of our great people, not from Qatar, not from anyone else. This is blatant interference in Yemeni affairs.”
He added: “We reject any coup against democracy, the constitution and our freedom… We reject this belligerent intervention.”
A BBC correspondent says Mr Saleh’s speech was brief but potentially very damaging to any prospect of resolving this crisis peacefully.
Diplomats and government sources in Sanaa say that the president’s family members, many of whom hold powerful positions, are putting a lot of pressure on him to stay, our correspondent adds.
More than 120 people have been killed since Yemenis began calling for the removal of President Saleh after 32 years in power, inspired by the popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.
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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.”
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Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy will take a four-shot lead into the final round of the Masters as he continues his quest to win a first major.
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Ministers want to change the way the NHS works in England
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Nurse leaders will this week warn that poor morale and job cuts threaten to derail the government’s reform programme of the NHS in England.
The issues, along with wider concerns about the overhaul, will be key themes of the Royal College of Nursing’s annual conference in Liverpool.
RCN leader Peter Carter has said nurses were being pushed to the limit, working extra hard to keep services going.
The health secretary is not expected to give a speech but will meet delegates.
It is understood Andrew Lansley is attending the conference as part of the government’s “listening exercise” over its shake-up of the health service.
Under the plans, GPs will be given control of much of the NHS budget, while greater competition will be encouraged with the private sector.
A bill is already going through Parliament to pave the way for the changes, but the government was forced last week to effectively re-open the consultation process after mounting criticism of its proposals.
The four-day conference, which will be attended by thousands of nurses, is likely to prove to be a testing moment for ministers battling to convince the medical profession and wider public that its reforms are right.
“The NHS is going through considerable upheaval at the moment… we are concerned at the NHS’s ability to cope”
Peter Carter Royal College of Nursing
The union has said it supports the basic principles, but was one of a number of organisations to raise concerns about the pace of change, lack of accountability and involvement of the private sector.
Ahead of the conference, the RCN released research showing that some nurses were being forced to go without breaks and work beyond their contracted hours because of the demands being placed on them.
The union e-mailed 100,000 nurses about their working conditions. The response rate was low – just over 2,000 took part – but the union said it still showed a service under strain.
Many raised concerns about staffing levels, with most respondents saying they were working extra hours.
Some said they missed meal times and breaks, with a number saying they sometimes did not even have time to get a drink of water.
The RCN has long been campaigning about what it sees as a cull of jobs in the NHS as trusts tighten their belts.
While the health service is getting small rises in its budget, many argue that costs from issues such as the ageing population and lifestyle factors including obesity outstrip these increases.
Mr Carter said the situation meant nurses were at risk of “burn out”, which would harm patient care and undermine attempts to reform the health service as nurses were the “oil in the engine” of the NHS.
He added: “The NHS is going through considerable upheaval at the moment. Coupled with increasing demands on the health service, including from a rise in people with long-term conditions, we are concerned at the NHS’s ability to cope.
“Trusts need to make sure they have the right numbers and balance of staff to deal with this.”
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Alassane Ouattara has set up his supporters and troops at the Golf Hotel
A hotel used by the internationally recognised president of Ivory Coast has come under attack by forces loyal to his rival Laurent Gbagbo, reports say.
Witnesses and a UN official told news agencies that the Golf Hotel in Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s main city, had come under mortar and small-arms fire.
Alassane Ouattara was judged to have won a presidential election in Ivory Coast, but Mr Gbagbo has refused to step down.
He has been surrounded in his residence for days by pro-Ouattara troops.
Reports suggested Saturday’s fighting flared at around 1700 GMT.
“The FDS [pro-Gbagbo Defence and Security Forces] are attacking us and we are trying to push them back,” one fighter with the pro-Ouattara forces told the AFP news agency.
“The firing is very very close. Snipers fired bursts from Kalashnikovs. The pro-Gbagbos are attacking us on all fronts,” a hotel resident added.
AFP also reported that UN peacekeepers – tasked by the Security Council with protecting civilians in Ivory Coast – had fired back.
“The Golf Hotel was attacked with mortars,” UN spokesman Hamadoun Toure said, adding that the attack had come from south of Abidjan’s lagoon, away from the presidential residence.
“In conformity with our mandate to protect the Golf Hotel where President Ouattara and his team are, the peacekeepers responded by targeting the origin of the firing coming from the other side of the lagoon. We intentionally avoided the residence of President Gbagbo.”
Mr Ouattara’s forces have swept down from the north of Ivory Coast over the past two weeks but much of Abidjan is dominated by Gbagbo supporters. Days of fighting have plunged the city into crisis.
The BBC’s Mark Doyle, in Abidjan, says an estimated one million people have been made homeless by the recent fighting, and there are growing concerns for public health.
“The situation is tragic in certain neighbourhoods” of Abidjan, Carlos Geha, of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) told AFP.
“It is not medicine or material aid that is missing but the means to get them to those who need them.”
Ivorian turmoil28 Nov 2010: Incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and challenger Alassane Ouattara in election run-off2 Dec: Electoral commission announces that Ouattara won 54% of vote3 Dec: Constitutional Council declaring Gbagbo the winner; UN says Ouattara was victor30 Mar 2011: Pro-Ouattara forces enter the capital, Yamoussoukro4 Apr: UN launches air strikes on Gbagbo in main city, Abidjan5 Apr: Three generals negotiate Gbagbo’s surrender6 Apr: Gbagbo denies he is ready to leave
Ouattara’s political tightrope Abidjan cathedral provides refugeIt had appeared several days ago that Mr Gbagbo was on the verge of defeat but the upscale Plateau and Cocody areas of Abidjan are now fully in the control of his forces.
UN peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy said late on Friday that Mr Gbagbo’s followers had in fact made strong gains, having used a pause for negotiations as an opportunity to regroup.
Earlier this week Mr Ouattara’s troops were reported to have isolated Mr Gbagbo in an underground bunker, but a pause in the fighting appears to have given his forces new resolve.
“They clearly used the lull of Tuesday as a trick to reinforce their position,” Mr Le Roy said, referring to a dip in the fighting after three of Mr Gbagbo’s generals requested talks.
Mr Le Roy said that there was evidence that his forces were still using weapons including tanks, M-21 rocket launchers, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and armoured personnel carriers.
Heavy weapons fire from Mr Gbagbo’s forces targeted the French ambassador’s residence in the city on Friday, the French embassy said, although this was denied by Mr Gbagbo’s supporters.
On Saturday the remaining British presence in Abidjan left the city. A skeleton staff of two diplomats and 16 local staff were evacuated in a convoy of UN armoured vehicles.
The decision to evacuate was taken after bullets started coming in through the window and mortars landed in the garden, our correspondent says.
The UN has certified Mr Ouattara as the winner of November’s run-off vote for president but Mr Gbagbo has refused to cede power.
Both men have been criticised for the actions of troops loyal to them during the crisis. Most recently Mr Ouattara’s forces were criticised by Human Right Watch, which alleged they killed or raped hundreds of people in villages as they advanced on Abidjan.
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Eight rebels were reported killed and several more injured in the fighting 
