Nepal police are accused of graft

Police in Nepal in May 2011Nepal has a long and distinguished record in supplying UN peacekeepers
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Thirty-four former and current high-ranking Nepali police officers have been ordered to appear in front of a court to face embezzlement charges.

They are accused of stealing more than $4m (£2.4m) during the procurement of obsolete and sub-standard armoured vehicles for Nepali UN peacekeepers.

It is one of the largest corruption cases to be brought in Nepal.

Nepal has a history of failing to prosecute high-ranking officials suspected of corruption.

Among those accused of fraud – which allegedly happened in the Darfur region of Sudan – are three former police chiefs and 24 serving officers. The serving officers were suspended from their posts when the case was filed on Tuesday.

They were told to appear before a special court within the next 15 days.

“We can’t comment on the investigation, but we are trying to manage the vacant posts as best as we can,” said Nepal police spokesman Navaraj Dhakal.

The corruption case took 19 months to prepare by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority.

However, Nepalis have criticised it for failing to charge the politicians who oversaw the procurement process, including three former home ministers.

“The political leaders who have abused their authority almost always escape the net of the anti-graft body,” wrote one editorial in a national newspaper.

The commission has also charged two contractors responsible for supplying the armoured personnel carriers (APCs).

One of them, Briton Michael Rider from the company Assured Risks, said that his company was not responsible for supplying faulty equipment. He said that it had been badly maintained.

“The problem in Sudan occurred because the vehicles were left unattended near the salty waters of Port Sudan and in extreme temperatures for a long time, without any daily, weekly and monthly service which is required on any APC,” he said.

The 34 officers charged are expected to appear in court within the next two weeks. The commission has asked for sentences up to 13 years for those found guilty.

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Syria ambassador denies resigning

Lamia Chakkour (file)Ms Chakkour said any damages she received would go to the families of dead Syrian security personnel

The Syrian ambassador in Paris has tried to clear up confusion over her status by appearing on French TV to deny that she had resigned in protest at the suppression of dissent.

In an interview from her embassy, Lamia Chakkour said an imposter had spoken to France 24 by telephone on Tuesday and that she intended to sue the channel.

A France 24 editor has said it appears that they were “the victims of a hoax”.

But the station has also insisted it rang a number provided by the embassy.

Though Syria has been beset by 11 weeks of nationwide anti-government protests and a brutal crackdown that has left at least 1,100 dead, President Bashar al-Assad’s government has remained united.

On Tuesday evening, France 24 spoke to a woman claiming to be Ms Chakkour. Asked about the violence, she announced she was resigning as ambassador, to the surprise of the interviewer.

“I can no longer continue to support the cycle of extreme violence against unarmed civilians,” the woman said. “I can no longer ignore the young men, women and children who have died.”

Ms Chakkour later spoke by telephone to Syrian state television and denied that she had quit.

“It was to our enormous surprise therefore that Ms Chakkour subsequently denied her comments”

France 24 statement

She appeared on camera for the first time on Wednesday morning, when she spoke to BFM television from inside the Syrian embassy in Paris, sitting – at her insistence – in front of a picture of Mr Assad.

“I am absolutely amazed and it turns out that France 24, which I accuse of misrepresentation, of falsification, of misinformation and outright impersonation of the Syrian ambassador, has been disseminating messages in my name.”

“I will remain in my post as long as President Bashar al-Assad, whom I represent in France, wishes me to be Syrian ambassador.”

Ms Chakkour told BBC Arabic that any damages she received would be “paid to the children of the martyrs who have offered their lives everyday, from the security forces and the officers from the great Syrian army”.

“Those imposters who faked the personality of the ambassador of the Syrian Arab Republic in Paris will pay a hefty price.”

Renee Kaplan, a deputy editor at France 24, told France Info radio: “It seems in all probability we were the victims of manipulation.”

But the channel also stressed that it had emailed the Syrian embassy’s press office to ask the ambassador to participate in a debate. It was then sent a telephone number to ring.

“Following the broadcast, the Reuters news agency received an email from the Syrian embassy in Paris confirming what she had announced,” a statement said.

“It was to our enormous surprise therefore that Ms Chakkour subsequently denied her comments.”

France 24 said it too would pursue legal action against any persons or government agencies responsible if it was a hoax.

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

‘Ten years’ for Fukushima lessons

Richard BlackBy Richard Black

Cooling towers at Gundremmingen power stationGermany plans to close its nuclear stations in just over a decade – which has brought Czech derision

Learning all lessons from the accident at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power station could take a decade, according to France’s top nuclear safety officer.

But all nuclear countries should carry out safety tests within a year, said Andre-Claude Lacoste.

The chairman of the French nuclear safety agency (ASN) was speaking at a forum in Paris organised by the OECD’s Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA).

Regulators said international control of nuclear safety would be “difficult”.

The forum follows a day of political discussions on nuclear safety organised by the French G8 presidency, and comes two weeks before ministers gather in Vienna for a week-long session at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that could set new international rules.

“Fukushima was a shock,” Mr Lacoste told reporters at a news conference.

“We have to draw lessons from it – and drawing lessons from Fukushima could take up to 10 years, referring to the time it took to draw lessons from Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.

Opera rehearsalGermany’s Metropolitan Opera stars pulled out of a Japan tour, citing radiation fears

“But this shouldn’t prevent us from doing what needs to be done as soon as possible.”

However, Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), said 10 years was too long.

“Ten years is a reasonable timeframe based on previous experience,” he said.

“But I think we need to challenge ourselves to learn in a faster timeframe – we should do better.”

Earlier this week, Japan’s nuclear regulator issued a report admitting that the country had been ill-prepared for an accident as serious as the one at Fukushima Daiichi.

It also doubled estimates of the amount of radiation released following the 11 March tsunami.

But Mike Weightman, the UK’s chief nuclear inspector, said the picture of what had happened inside the reactors was still far from complete.

“It’s very difficult to understand what the situation was inside the reactors in the early days,” he said.

“Now they’ve been able to do some theoretical modelling, but they still haven’t been able to go inside, and so the picture may change – with Three Mile Island, it took some time to find out what the real situation was inside.”

At the G8 meeting and the NEA forum, one of the issues under discussion has been how nuclear safety should be internationalised.

Switzerland’s Energy Minister Doris Leuthard, whose government has just voted to close its nuclear stations within 25 years, said countries should have the right to inspect their neighbours’ safety plans.

World’s worst nuclear incidentsLevel 7: Chernobyl, Ukraine, 1986 – explosion and fire in operational reactor, fallout over thousands of square kilometres, possible 4,000 cancer casesLevel 7: Fukushima, 2011 – tsunami and possibly earthquake damage from seismic activity beyond plant design. Long-term effects unknownLevel 6: Kyshtym, Russia, 1957 – explosion in waste tank leading to hundreds of cancer cases, contamination over hundreds of square kilometresLevel 5: Windscale, UK, 1957 – fire in operating reactor, release of contamination in local area, possible 240 cancer casesLevel 5: Three Mile Island, US, 1979 – instrument fault leading to large-scale meltdown, severe damage to reactor coreTimeline: nuclear accidents

“Why don’t we accept that peer reviews should be mandatory?” she asked earlier this week.

But the regulators at the NEA forum said this would be difficult.

“There’s a strong view in the US that it’s important for countries to participate in [existing international peer review] processes, that they’re valuable,” said Mr Jaczko.

“But I think making this mandatory is something that would take a long time and require some kind of international instrument, whether a treaty or some other kind of vehicle.”

In many other countries, the civilian nuclear industry began its life under military constraints, and it is likely that measures requiring complete transparency would be unnacceptable to a number of nations including the US, Russia and China.

For politicians in Switzerland and Germany – where nuclear reactors are likely to close by 2022 – the irony is that they will still be able to buy nuclear electricity from their neighbours, without having any jurisdiction over plants close to their borders.

Speaking in Germany on Tuesday, Czech President Vaclav Klaus described the nuclear exit as “absurd”, and said his government intended to expand its Temelin plant, situated about 60km from German territory.

As the situation at Fukushima continues to develop, Mr Weightman – who has just visited the site on an IAEA fact-finding mission – paid tribute to workers who had battled to gain control of the stricken plant in the days following the tsunami.

“The way in which they dealt with the aftermath of the incident was very impressive,” he said.

“It was dark, they’d lost all power, they’d lost instrumentation, they’d lost air with which to control valves, and they were having to control six reactors and spent fuel ponds with very little hope of external assistance.

“They did some remarkable things under very difficult circumstances, and I’d be surprised if others could do better.”

Swift government action to evacuate people around the plant and subsequent monitoring of their exposure had also been “superb”, he said.

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Methadone rubbed into baby’s gums

A court has heard the father of a baby girl rubbed methadone into the child’s gums just hours after she was born.

Caernarfon Crown Court heard Grant Yuill, 38, of Porthmadog, told his partner it was the only way to conceal the fact she was taking methadone.

The prosecution said the baby was addicted to methadone and is lucky to have survived.

Mr Yuill denies eight charges, including child cruelty and supplying drugs. The trial continues.

The court heard Mr Yuill is alleged to have rubbed the drug into his daughter’s mouth in hospital within hours of the birth.

Methadone was also added to the baby’s milk, the prosecution alleged.

“She is lucky to have survived”

Karl Scholz Prosecutor

Outlining the case prosecutor, Karl Scholz, said the baby was born addicted to methadone.

“This case will undoubtedly engender feelings of emotion. Try as far as possible to view this case dispassionately,” he told the jury.

Mr Scholz said the fact the mother took methadone during the pregnancy was concealed from doctors.

After the baby was born her parents continued to administer the drug, increasing the amount given, he said.

The barrister said the matter came to light when the baby was nearly seven months old.

“She is lucky to have survived,” he added.

In February last year the child’s mother, Nia Wyn Jones, was jailed for three years for supplying methadone and child cruelty.

Suspicious

Mr Scholz said Jones, 31, had the “misfortune” to meet Mr Yuill in 2006.

She used to take cannabis and dabbled with ecstasy.

Jones told the jury she became addicted to heroin after Mr Yuill pretended it was “hash oil”.

In 2009 she discovered she was four months pregnant and Mr Yuill is alleged to have told her she could do nothing but continue taking methadone.

The child was born in June 2009 and subsequently re-admitted to hospital.

It was on the third occasion that nursing staff became suspicious and police were alerted.

“The child had a high level of methadone in her blood,” council said.

In evidence Nia Wyn Jones said she had been too scared to leave Mr Yuill.

She also felt unable to talk to the midwife, the court heard.

“I was scared because Grant said if I went for help they would charge him for giving me the methadone and I would lose custody of my kids.”

After giving birth she told Mr Yuill that she was worried because the baby was “burning up.”

Jones said: “He gave me methadone in a bottle. He got his finger in it twice and rubbed it on the baby’s gum saying if she gets sick to rub it on the gum.”

When the baby went home, this method continued and methadone was mixed in her milk.

The trial heard the couple had also tried to squirt methadone in the mouth using a syringe. The dose increased.

Jones said methadone was given to the baby in hospital.

She would wait at a Caernarfon bus stop for a blue teddy bear which Mr Yuill used to send on a bus from Porthmadog.

It would have a bottle of methadone zipped in the mouth.

Mr Yuill denies two counts of supplying methadone to the baby and four offences of supplying heroin and methadone to Jones.

He also denies child cruelty and putting Jones in fear of violence.

The trial continues.

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

VIDEO: MPs mark Duke of Edinburgh’s 90th birthday

Prime Minister David Cameron has paid tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh ahead of his 90th birthday on Friday, praising his “unshakeable sense of duty” and describing him as “remarkable”.

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Elephants rampage in Indian city

Rampaging elephant in MysoreThe three-hour rampage caused panic in the streets of Mysore
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Two wild elephants have gone on a rampage in southern India, killing at least one person, officials say.

The elephants left a trail of destruction in a suburb of the city of Mysore, in the state of Karnataka.

Officials say the animals walked into the city from a nearby forest, leaving residents running for their lives.

Officials say that one elephant barged into a women’s college compound and wandered the grounds, while the other wreaked havoc in a residential area.

Forest rangers and officials from Mysore Zoo later captured and tranquilised the animals.

A 55-year-old man who left his house in the Bamboo Bazaar area of Mysore after hearing the commotion was trampled to death, Karnataka state Higher Education Minister SA Ramdas told AFP news agency.

Rampaging elephant in MysoreThe elephants are thought to have come from a nearby forest

Mr Ramdas said schools and colleges in the city were closed throughout Wednesday and extra police had been deployed as a precaution.

State forest department officials said the young elephants came from forest about 35km (22 miles) from the city.

They say that two other elephants remain at large on the outskirts of Mysore.

One official blamed the rampage on human encroachment into areas traditionally inhabited by elephants.

“Unregulated expansion of farm lands and increasing movement of people and vehicles through the elephant corridor are making the wild jumbos enter into villages and towns in search of food and shelter,” he told AFP.

Mr Ramdas said that the two captured elephants would be released back into the wild.

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

Fit or not?

Model wearing FitFlopsFitness flip-flops put a spring in your step, but your legs and bottom too?

A craze for flip-flops that supposedly help people lose weight and improve muscle tone has prompted Marks and Spencer to launch their own range. But is there evidence behind the fad?

It seems too good to be true. Footwear that started life on the beach has now been designed to help tone and trim your legs and bum every step you take.

High demand for the fitness flip-flops has prompted Marks and Spencer to jump on the bandwagon and launch its own version. It is the first High Street version, with a High Street price tag. But are they really an easy solution to toning up?

The original version, FitFlop, was launched in June 2007 and has sold over 10 million pairs. Sports footwear companies like Reebok soon followed suit and introduced their own ranges.

Makers say the sandals are designed to destabilise the foot slightly and force the legs to work harder by engaging muscles for a longer period of time with each step.

But there has been much discussion over the efficacy of the “gym in a shoe” everywhere from Facebook to the Mumsnet chat forum.

“You are not going to get fit wearing a pair of flip-flops”

David Castle, Running Fitness magazine

The company behind FitFlops points to its own research. It suggests the sandals help increase leg and bottom muscle activity by up to 30%, absorb more shock than a normal shoe (up to 22%) and help your joints. But while conducted by Salford University, the research was conducted on a sample of just 20 women. The company also points to 100-plus testimonials on its website.

Marks and Spencer says its own fitness flip-flops are based on independent research conducted by Dr Stefan Grau, an expert in biomechanics at the University of Turbingen in Germany, one of Europe’s leading sports science universities. While it was not conducted specifically for the retailer, Dr Grau has endorsed its new range.

According to the scientist, walking barefoot means the foot rolls more than in shoes, so wearing shoes which simulate this means the foot flexes more and in turn “works harder” and increases muscle activity. His study was based on 600 subjects.

Foot specialists say the fitness flip-flops are obviously better than the average flip-flop. This is because they are slightly elevated and are shock absorbent, says Michael O’Neill, consultant podiatrist at St Margaret’s Hospital in Windsor and spokesman for the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists.

Raised heartbeat

But he adds that they are “the best of a bad bunch” and not as good for you as a pair of trainers. Those with conditions such as flat feet should avoid them completely, he adds.

Podiatrist Lorraine Jones says she sees a lot of injuries from people who wear flat shoes, like flip-flops. She agrees that compared with them, fitness fit-flops are good because of the cushioning and the strap over the foot could help control excessive motion in the mid-foot.

“If someone has excessive motion in the mid-foot that isn’t controlled they could suffer tissue damage or heel or calf pain,” she says.

Diagram of FitFlop

But, she says she doesn’t know anyone who has worn them who would say they have given them a “gorgeous bum or legs”.

“It depends in which context you wear them. If it is a shortcut to getting a great bum and thighs, or if you are buying them with the aim of improving your muscle tone, then you are buying them for the wrong reasons.

“You might be better putting on a pair of trainers and striding out for a long walk, or getting on your bike. You have a better chance of toning up in a short space of time.”

Chunky sole

The whole idea that fitness can be meaningfully promoted by footwear choice rather than lifestyle change is also questioned by some sports experts.

David Castle, editor of Running Fitness magazine, says fitness flip-flops are not going to give you the endorphin high of exercise – or the results.

“I don’t doubt the claims, but people really shouldn’t consider these shoes as an alternative to a proper run or gym workout.

Flip-flopsTraditional flip-flops give the foot little support

“You are not going to get fit wearing a pair of flip-flops – not in the truest sense of the word. They aren’t going to raise your heartbeat because they won’t improve your aerobic fitness. If you wear a pair for four months and then try and run a marathon you are not going to have the fitness you need to run that marathon.”

While the boast cutting edge technology, when it comes to the style stakes they get the thumbs down from some – despite having appeared in Vogue.

“They are the comfiest ever sandal – think of wearing a sofa on your feet – but they can hardly be called cutting edge fashion,” says Angela Kennedy, style director of Woman and Home magazine and reluctant fitness flip-flop fan.

“By virtue of their chunky sole they focus on creating a much heavier look on the feet which makes it really hard to balance out clothes wise.

“I love them for comfort and wear them when I’m on my feet all day on a hard studio floor, or walking long distances, but do find them hard to style up and have to think carefully about what to wear with them.”

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

US jury out in Mumbai terror case

Tahawwur Rana, shown in a courtroom illustration in ChicagoProsecutors say Mr Rana (front left with white beard) used his immigration services firm as cover for the plot
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The jury is set to begin deliberations in the trial of Chicago businessman Tahawwur Rana who is accused of helping plan the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Prosecutors say Mr Rana, 50, gave cover to former friend David Headley’s missions to scout sites for the attacks that killed more than 160.

Mr Rana denies the charges and says Headley tricked him.

Headley, who admits helping to plan the attacks, testified that Pakistani intelligence officers aided the plot.

More than 160 people were killed in November 2008 when a group of 10 men stormed a train station, hotels and cafes and a Jewish centre, shooting and throwing bombs.

Mr Rana, a Pakistani-born Canadian, is also accused of plotting an attack – never carried out – on a Danish newspaper in revenge for its printing of an image of the Prophet Muhammad.

“When it’s all said and done, this is a simple case about awful things – two terror plots,” prosecutor Victoria Peters told jurors in closing arguments on Tuesday. “One that was carried out and one that was, mercifully, stopped.”

Prosecutors say that in 2006 Mr Rana allowed Headley to open an office of his Chicago-based immigration services firm in Mumbai, which Headley then used as cover to scout sites for the attacks.

Mr Rana is also accused of allowing Headley to pose as a representative of his firm in order to gain access to newspaper offices by feigning interest in purchasing advertising space.

Mr Rana’s defence team has said he was manipulated and mislead by Mr Headley, an old friend from their days in a Pakistani military school.

He is charged with one count of providing material support for the Mumbai attacks, one count of providing material support in the Denmark terrorism plot, and one count of providing material support to Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which planned and executed the Mumbai attack.

More than 160 people were killed in Mumbai in November 2008 when a group of 10 men stormed a train station, hotels and cafes and a Jewish centre, shooting and throwing bombs.

At the opening of Mr Rana’s trial last month, Headley testified that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) provided military and moral support to LeT.

Pakistan has denied the allegations.

In March 2010, Headley, a US citizen who spent much of his childhood in Pakistan, pleaded guilty to taking photographs and video of the targets. He could face up to life in prison and a $3m (£1.86m) fine.

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

Greece ‘needs further assistance’

German Finance Minister Wolfgang SchaeubleMr Schaeuble said he was confident new measures to help Greece would be agreed
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German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has said the current aid package for Greece is “insufficient”, adding there is a “real risk” of default if funds are not released soon.

In a letter to European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund leaders dated 6 June, Mr Schaeuble said a new package was needed.

He suggested a bond swap to give Athens more time to repay its debts.

A 110bn euro (£161bn; £98bn) Greece bail-out package was agreed last year.

“The situation is difficult,” Mr Schaeuble wrote.

“A return by Greece to the capital markets within 2012, as assumed by the current programme, seems more than unrealistic. This means the volume of the current programme is insufficient to cover Greece’s financial needs.

“Voters across Europe are being prepared, drip by drip, for the fact that Greece will probably need another 100bn euros”

Greek Bail-out II – the backlash

“Against this background, I see the need to agree on a new programme for Greece.”

The burden of any new aid package would need to be shared between taxpayers and private investors, Mr Schaeuble argued.

He said the best way to achieve this would be “through a bond swap leading to a prolongation of the outstanding Greek sovereign bonds by seven years, at the same time giving Greece the necessary time to implement fully the necessary reforms and regain market confidence”.

At the end of last week, European ministers and the International Monetary Fund said the next tranche of the 110bn euro bail-out package would be paid, most likely in July.

Reports also suggested a new, extended bail-out was being finalised.

Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the group of eurozone finance ministers, said he thought extra help was likely, in exchange for additional deficit-cutting measures implemented by Athens.

Finance ministers are meeting on 19 and 20 June, and Mr Schaeuble wrote in his letter he was “confident” further help for Greece could be agreed.

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Man murdered on birthday for £12

Krzysztos RusekKrzysztos Rusek had worked as a chef at the Ibis hotel in Lillie Road

A man has been stabbed to death on his birthday in west London by robbers who made off with £12.

Chef Krzysztos Rusek was in a park in Fulham, celebrating his 30th birthday early on Tuesday with his girlfriend and some other friends, when a group of people tried to rob them.

Police said the robbers then stabbed Mr Rusek. He was taken to hospital but later died there.

His friend was stabbed in the leg but was saved from injury by his wallet.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said Mr Rusek, who lived in Willesden, north-west London, left his work at the Ibis hotel in Lillie Road with three male colleagues at around midnight and met up with his girlfriend.

“What started out as good natured night out with his girlfriend and colleagues has ended horrifically for the sake of a small sum of money”

Det Ch Insp Nick Scola

The group brought some drinks and went to a quiet garden area, next to the Fulham Centre in Lillie Road, to celebrate his birthday. One of his friends then went home.

As the group of four sat in the garden four to five men entered the park area and tried to rob them and Mr Rusek was stabbed.

The spokesman said two of the robbers had the lower part of their faces covered and that just £12 in total had been taken.

Det Ch Insp Nick Scola said: “This is a tragic waste of a young life, especially as Krzysztos was out celebrating his 30th birthday at the time.

“What started out as good natured night out with his girlfriend and colleagues has ended horrifically for the sake of a small sum of money.”

Mr Rusek, a Polish national, had lived in the UK for the past eight years.

A post-mortem examination was due to be carried out on Wednesday.

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New elements for periodic table

Periodic TableDifferent teams have made claims for the discovery of new elements
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Two new elements have been added to the periodic table after a three-year review by the governing bodies of chemistry and physics.

The elements are currently unnamed, but they are both highly radioactive and exist for less than a second before decaying into lighter atoms.

The table is the official compedium of known elements, organised according to properties of their atomic structure.

Details have been published in the journal Pure and Applied Chemistry.

The review was conducted by a joint working party of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP).

In recent years, there have been several claims by laboratories for the discovery of new chemical elements at positions 113, 114, 115, 116 and 118 on the periodic table.

The working party concluded that elements 114 and 116 fulfilled criteria for official inclusion in the table. The others, as yet, do not.

The new elements have temporary titles of ununquadium and ununhexium, but final names have yet to be settled on.

The discovery of both elements has been credited to a collaborative team based at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, US.

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A clean cut?

ScalpelOne of the aims of the changes was to slice through bureaucracy

The government has given the clearest indication yet about the changes it is prepared to make to its overhaul of the NHS in England.

In April, amid mounting criticisms, ministers announced there would be a pause in the roll-out of the plans.

Now David Cameron has announced several concessions he is prepared to make.

These include relaxing the deadline for the new system to be up-and-running, and getting hospital doctors and nurses involved in managing the budget alongside GPs.

But his intervention has raised as many questions as it has answered.

Too many cooks?

In recent months, much of the criticism about the plans has focused on the risk of privatisation. But when the changes were first unveiled last summer it was the decision to put family doctors in charge of the budget through GP consortia that attracted most of the attention.

The prime minister now says GPs will be joined by hospital doctors and nurses to create clinical commissioning. This was something the House of Commons’ health committee had called for.

But there is now concern among those who originally supported the plans. The NHS Alliance, which represents staff working in the community – including many of the GPs who were piloting the changes – says involving other NHS staff too heavily could be damaging.

It says hospital doctors may have an interest in promoting the profitability of their hospital – even though it may not be in the best interests of patients. It also warns that decision-making and accountability could be diluted.

A two-tier system?

The NHS has been working on a deadline of 2013 for the creation of the consortia, but it now seems those areas that are not ready will not be compelled into adopting the new structures.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has warned that if some parts of the country are allowed to opt out – even for a short-time – there is a risk that a two-tier system will be created.

This happened in the 1990s, when half of GPs were given more responsibility under a system known as GP fundholding. It led to different standards of care in different areas.

More bureaucracy?

The plans were originally hailed as a way of getting rid of NHS bureaucrats. Facing the chop were two tiers of management – 151 primary care trusts and the 10 strategic authorities that keep an eye on them.

But if anything, the prime minister’s speech has opened the door to more layers of bureaucracy. At the top of the tree will be the national board to which consortia will be answerable.

However, with no fixed deadline for consortia to take responsibility for the budget, it is possible that primary care trusts in some slimmed-down form will remain in certain areas.

On top of that, there is now talk of “clinical senates”. As yet it is uncertain exactly what they will do and how they will work. The best bet is that they may take charge of complex care that can not be done locally by individual consortia, such as cancer or heart surgery.

So in theory all this could mean there will be as many as four levels of NHS management.

The end of competition?

Hardly. The independent regulator of NHS foundation trusts, Monitor, could now have the twin role of promoting competition as well as the integration of care to ensure the best interests of patients are served.

However, the British Medical Association has been quick to point out that the two things can sometimes be contradictory. BMA leader Dr Hamish Meldrum described the prime minister’s speech as “not a game-changer”, and added the situation was “muddy”.

Others were more positive. The NHS Confederation, which represents managers, said it was pleased with the clarification, pointing out that while competition should not trump all else, it was important in tackling poor practices.

How the regulator manages to balance the two – and what direction it is given – will undoubtedly be one of the key issues.

What about listening?

When Mr Cameron, Nick Clegg and Mr Lansley stood side-by-side at a hospital in April to announce the pause they all said they wanted to listen and reflect on their proposals.

To do this, they set up a panel of experts – known as the NHS Future Forum – to take a lead. More than 200 events were organised as the views of doctors, nurses and patients were sought.

The events have now finished, but the forum has yet to hand in its report, due to be given to the Cabinet next week. For many, the report’s conclusions will be the true test of whether they can support the plans.

Peter Carter, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing -one of the most vocal critics of the NHS changes – simply said: “We have to reserve judgement until we see more detail.”

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China aircraft carrier confirmed

China's aircraft carrier is seen under construction in Dalian, Liaoning province (April 2011)The 300m (990ft) carrier, under construction in Dalian, is thought to be nearly finished
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The head of China’s General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has confirmed that China’s first aircraft carrier is under construction.

Gen Chen Bingde refused to say when the carrier – a remodelled vessel from Ukraine, the Varyag – would be ready.

A member of his staff said the carrier would pose no threat to other nations.

The carrier, which is being built in the north-east port of Dalian, has been one of China’s worst-kept secrets, analysts say.

Gen Chen made his comments to the Chinese-language Hong Kong Commercial Daily newspaper.

The PLA – the largest army in the world – is hugely secretive about its defence programme.

The 300m (990ft) carrier is thought to be nearly finished, and is expected to begin sea trials later this year.

But the BBC’s Michael Bristow in Beijing says that does not mean it will then be ready to undertake operational duties.

Learning how to operate it – and fly planes off it – will take a few more years to master, our correspondent says.

Lt Gen Qi Jianguo, assistant chief of the general staff, told the Hong Kong Commercial Daily that even after the aircraft carrier was deployed, it would “definitely not sail to other countries’ territorial waters”.

“All of the great nations in the world own aircraft carriers – they are symbols of a great nation,” he was quoted as saying.

China is engaged in maritime border disputes with neighbouring nations. But Lt Gen Qi said China had always followed a “defensive” principle for its military strategy.

“It would have been better for us if we acted sooner in understanding the oceans and mapping out our blue-water capabilities earlier.

“We are now facing heavy pressure in the oceans whether in the South China Sea, East China Sea, Yellow Sea or the Taiwan Straits,” he said, referring to waters where China is engaged in disputes.

In another first, Gen Chen said citizens of Hong Kong, the former British colony, could join the PLA.

Lt Gen Qi added that allowing Hong Kong recruits to join the PLA would be feasible “if the Hong Kong government resolves the legal issues”.

The mainland’s Military Service Law is not part of the Basic Law, the mini-constitution agreed during the handover from British to Chinese rule.

Analysts doubted whether Hong Kong people would fit in with the PLA ethos; others suggested thought should be given to forming an auxiliary force.

The Chinese army provokes ambivalent reactions among people in Hong Kong. Some recall its role in crushing pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Others have welcomed its largely invisible presence in Hong Kong since it replaced British troops stationed in Hong Kong until 1997.

Map

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

Facebook sorry over tags launch

Facebook pageMore than 100 photographs are tagging daily on Facebook
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Facebook has apologised for the way it rolled-out a new system that recognises users’ faces.

The social network said that it should have done more to notify members about the global launch.

Its Tag Suggestions feature scans photos and automatically picks out existing friends.

Although users have the option to switch it off, some complained that they were not explicitly asked if they wanted it activated.

Facebook said that the system was intended to speed up the process of assigning a name to a picture, known as tagging.

It was introduced in the US in December 2010 but has only now been launched globally.

Graham Cluley, senior consultant with security firm Sophos, said that users’ annoyance was less about the product’s purpose than the manner in which it was made live.

“Once again Facebook seems to be sharing personal information by default,” said Mr Cluley.

“Many people feel distinctly uncomfortable about a site like Facebook learning what they look like and using that information without their permission.”

Mr Cluley explained that Tag Suggestions did not mean, as some have suggested, that users would be able to identify strangers from their photographs.

“If you’re worried about this and wish to turn the feature off, here’s how to do it”

BBC WebwiseFacebook’s face recognition technology (and how to turn it off)

“As your Facebook friends upload their albums, Facebook will try to determine if any of the pictures look like you. And if they find what they believe to be a match, they may well urge one of your Facebook friends to tag it with your name,” he explained in his blog.

“The tagging is still done by your friends, not by Facebook. But rather creepily Facebook is now pushing your friends to go ahead and tag you.”

Defending the technology, a Facebook spokesperson told the BBC that there had been “misconceptions” about what it does but apologised for not properly informing users.

“Tag Suggestions are only made to people when they add new photos to the site, and only friends are suggested.

“If for any reason someone doesn’t want their name to be suggested, they can disable the feature in their privacy settings.

“We should have been more clear with people during the roll-out process when this became available to them,” said the spokesperson.

Privacy experts have long argued that users should have more control over who is tagging them and have called for ‘privacy by default’ to be rolled out in all of Facebook’s settings.

The company has a chequered history when it comes to such matters. In 2009, there was an outcry about the complexity of its privacy policy – which at that point was longer than the US Constitution.

Subsequent simplifications went some way towards placating campaigners.

An investigation by the Canadian privacy commissioner Jenny Stoddard concluded that Facebook had made vast improvements but warned the company that it would be monitoring future changes.

Ms Stoddard said that there was room for improvement and recommended making default settings for photo albums more restrictive.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has made no secret of the fact that he believes life on the web should be social “by default”.

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