Author: xaurav

The US state of Alabama has passed into law one of the most stringent immigration laws in the country.

The new legislation, similar to one passed last year in Arizona, requires schools to find out if students are there illegally.

The law, which takes effect on 1 September, also make it a crime to give an illegal immigrant a ride in a car.

Advocacy groups say they will challenge the measures, which they call racist and unconstitutional.

There are an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the US – and individual states have increasingly taken matters into their own hands in an attempt to tackle the problem.

Fear of deportation

But none has gone so far as Alabama, says the BBC’s Jane O’Brien in Washington.

As in Arizona, police will now be allowed to arrest anybody suspected of being an illegal immigrant – even if they are stopped for something else, says our correspondent.

But in addition, businesses and schools will be required to check the legal status of workers and students, while landlords will be committing a crime if they knowingly rent to illegal immigrants.

Republican Governor Robert Bentley, who signed the bill into law Thursday, said: “We have a real problem with illegal immigration in this country.

“I campaigned for the toughest immigration laws, and I’m proud of the legislature for working tirelessly to create the strongest immigration bill in the country.”

But an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union warned the move could deter some immigrant parents from sending their children to school, for fear of arrest or deportation.

A district judge blocked the most controversial parts of Arizona’s law – such as wider police stop-and-search powers – amid fears of racial profiling.

That case is expected to end up in the US Supreme Court.

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Areas of the Anglian region are now in a state of drought, with areas elsewhere also at imminent risk, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs says.

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are attending a charity dinner – their first official engagement since their wedding.

The duchess wore a shimmering nude gown by Jenny Packham at the Ark Gala in fields behind Kensington Palace.

Guests for the children’s charity event include Uma Thurman and the Crown Prince and Princess Pavlos of Greece.

Entertainment includes music by Mark Ronson and a high dive show.

Ark – Absolute Return for Kids – sponsors academy schools in the UK and programmes for disadvantaged children around the world and was set up by financier Arpad Busson.

The Duke and Duchess are attending on behalf of the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry.

A charity auction held by auctioneers from Christies will offer lots including a Kenyan safari for 10 people, a luxury tree house and a sailing regatta on the world’s biggest sailing yacht.

Artist Tracey Emin has also donated one of her works for the auction. Jemima Khan and Colin Firth are also expected to attend.

Each place setting at the dinner – for which tickets cost £10,000 – has a small touch-pad computer for the diners to make pledges and bids.

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Counting has begun in the West Belfast by-election to choose a new MP to replace Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams.

The by-election was called after Mr Adams resigned earlier this year to become a Sinn Fein TD in Louth.

Six candidates are vying for the post. Paul Maskey is running for Sinn Fein and Alex Attwood is the SDLP candidate.

Other candidates are Brian Kingston, DUP; Bill Manwaring, Ulster Unionists; Aaron McIntyre, Alliance Party; and Gerry Carroll, People Before Profit.

The polls closed at 2200 BST on Thursday and counting is taking place at Belfast’s King’s Hall.

The result should be known in the early hours of Friday morning.

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South Korea has raised the cost of borrowing in a surprise move as consumer prices continue to rise above government targets.

The Bank of Korea lifted its main interest rate on Friday by a quarter of a percentage point to 3.25%.

It follows quarter percentage point increases in January and March.

Analysts had been divided as to whether the central bank would raise rates, and the decision signals that inflation continues to be the top concern.

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Fire crews are battling to save homes and towns as flames rage through the state of Arizona.

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Hundreds of passengers have been left stuck for more than four hours on several South West Trains services outside London.

The trains stopped near Woking after leaving Waterloo on Thursday evening.

Network Rail said an attempted cable theft was likely to be the reason for the problem.

But it said further delays were caused when passengers on stationary trains went on the track, meaning power to the rails had to be turned off.

One passenger, who asked only to be named as Keith, said he took the 18.33 South West Trains service from Clapham, which ground to a halt near Woking.

He described how after about two hours, he and some other passengers decided to get off the train.

“There were constant announcements every five minutes from the train driver saying he did not know when we would be moving.

“There was a lady on the train who was eight months pregnant and a man who was diabetic and needed his insulin.

“There was about five of us and we decided to get off. We prised the door open and jumped. We then walked to the station where police helped us to cross the lines safely.

“When we got to the gates the police tried to get our names, saying we were trespassing and that South West Trains take this behaviour very seriously.

“They didn’t manage to get any of our names in the end. I got home at around 23.30.”

A passenger on another train, James Bilderbeck, 39, from Basingstoke, told BBC News that the service he was on was stuck for more than four hours.

“It’s a really miserable environment, stuck going nowhere. It’s a distressing situation for all.”

The company director described it as the worst delay he had ever known as a commuter.

Speaking at about 2330 BST, he said his train had finally got moving again and that he hoped to reach Basingstoke soon.

But he said that some passengers whose final destination was Weymouth could expect for their journeys to take up to seven hours.

A South West Trains spokeswoman said: “A major signalling problem in the Woking area is currently causing disruption to South West Trains services.

“As a result, there are lengthy delays of up to two hours on all services through Woking, which is causing severe disruption to mainline services in and out of Waterloo Station.

“We would like apologise to passengers for the significant disruption and the inconvenience this will have caused.”

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Western and Arab countries involved in the Libya campaign have pledged money to a new funding mechanism for the rebels, stepping up international pressure on Col Gaddafi’s regime.

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The organisers of the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix say they accept the decision that the race will not take place in their country later this year.

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Several senior aides have reisgned from the presidential campaign team of Republican former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, US media report.

The news will hit Mr Gingrich’s hopes of being the Republican nominee to challenge Barack Obama in 2012.

His campaign got off to a halting start when he criticised a plan popular among Republicans to slash and privatise a healthcare programme for the elderly.

Fox News reported staff were angry after he took a recent holiday cruise.

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Children from poorer homes could be denied the chance to go on school trips to outdoor education centres because of spending cuts.

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A woman who was sacked after posing in her underwear with the Donny Dog mascot costume has been offered her job back by Doncaster Rovers.

The football club chairman John Ryan confirmed to the BBC he had offered Tracy Chandler her job back as the club mascot.

Ms Chandler was dismissed by e-mail from the unpaid job after she appeared in the Sunday Sport in her underwear.

Mr Ryan said the situation was a “storm in a tea cup”.

He said: “The Sunday Sport and a mascot designed for children is not an ideal mix.”

After speaking with Ms Chandler, the chairman said he hoped that they could “sort things out”.

“As far as I’m concerned I’m going to put this whole thing to bed and let Tracy get on.”

Ms Chandler has been working as the mascot for more than three years.

She claims to be the only woman mascot in the country and was approached to pose for the photos after an article about her appeared in another newspaper.

Ms Chandler said: “The photos were tongue-in-cheek and not seedy.”

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A dedicated police operation set up to examine the activities of serial killer Peter Tobin is to be wound down.

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A west London council acted unlawfully by refusing to allow a 21-year-old autistic man to be placed in the care of his father, the High Court ruled.

Hillingdon Council detained Steven Neary, of Uxbridge, for almost a year after he was taken into a “positive behaviour unit” in December 2009.

Mr Neary was allowed back home to his father Mark, 52, following a court order in last December.

Mark Neary said he felt “helpless” when his son was kept in care.

He told the Court of Protection that he viewed the care by the council as a temporary move and expected his son to return home by January 2010.

But the council told the court that staff had concerns about Mr Neary’s “challenging” behaviour and weight, and argued that the care was intended to be for a longer period.

Mr Justice Peter Jackson had reserved judgment last month after hearing evidence in the case.

Ahead of the ruling Mark Neary said: “I had been ill and agreed for Steven to go to his normal respite place. It was only meant to be for three days.

“There and then the council decided to move him to this behaviour unit.

“Initially I was in a state of shock. Then in April they started to serve deprivation of liberty orders which meant he could not come home.

“I felt helpless. I felt I had let him down, lost my own son.”

Steven Neary has been staying with his father after leaving a local authority unit under an interim court order that allowed him to return home in December 2010.

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Computer hackers from Vietnam and China have launched campaigns against each other, targeting hundreds of websites including government sites, amid rising anger over a territorial dispute.

Chinese hackers posted Chinese flags on Vietnamese sites, and Vietnamese put images of armed men on Chinese sites.

Both sides claim ownership of islands in the South China Sea.

On the weekend, hundreds of Vietnamese protested against Chinese naval operations in disputed waters.

Relations between Vietnam and China have long been awkward, but public protests are extremely rare.

The demonstrations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City followed a confrontation between a Vietnamese ship and Chinese patrol boats last month.

Hanoi accused a Chinese patrol of cutting the cables of a Vietnamese ship conducting seismic research about 120km (80 miles) off Vietnam’s coast.

At the time of the incident, China had said that Vietnamese vessels were operating “illegally” and said the country should “refrain from creating trouble”.

On Thursday, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung made his first comments on the row, saying Vietnam’s sovereignty was incontestable in areas of the Paracel and Spratly island groups.

“We continue to affirm strongly and to manifest the strongest determination of all the party, of all the people and of all the army in protecting Vietnamese sovereignty in maritime zones and islands of the country,” Mr Dung said in comments reported by the Thanh Nien newspaper.

The Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also claim territory in the South China Sea.

The area includes important shipping routes and may contain oil and gas deposits.

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