Author: xaurav

Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi is to team up with Speed director Jan de Bont to make an English-language version of the Chinese legend Mulan.

The ancient folk story of a woman who replaces her father in battle, was made famous worldwide by an animated Disney film in 1998.

A Chinese-language version of the tale was released last year.

Producer Christopher Brough told The Associated Press that filming will begin this year in eastern China.

Ziyi shot to stardom after starring in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and has since gone on to appear in several high profile Hollywood movies, including Rush Hour 2 and Memoirs of a Geisha.

The actress will undergo bow and arrow and combat training for her latest role.

Her manager Ling Lucas said: “She has complete trust in Jan de Bont to turn Mulan into a memorable screen legend.”

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A driver is found guilty of causing death by careless driving after his van rolled down a slope in the City of London and killed two people.

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David Cameron will miss prime minister’s questions on Wednesday after his father suffered a stroke.

“The Prime Minister was informed this morning that his father Ian is seriously ill after suffering a stroke and heart complications while on holiday in France,” No 10 said.

After talking to doctors at the hospital the PM has decided to fly to be with his father and mother Mary.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will deputise for Mr Cameron.

Wednesday’s session is the first time that prime minister’s has been held since the end of July when Parliament rose for the summer recess.

In Mr Cameron’s absence, it is likely that acting Labour leader Harriet Harman will also miss the half-hour session.

When Mr Clegg stood in for Mr Cameron in July – during the prime minister’s trip to the US – he was faced across the dispatch box by shadow justice secretary Jack Straw.

The BBC’s Political Correspondent Laura Kuenssberg said the prime minister had often spoken of the close bond between him and his parents and his father’s condition would be of real concern to him.

It had been expected that PM’s questions would be dominated by questions about No 10’s director of communications Andy Coulson following allegations of phone hacking by journalists while he was editor of the News of the World.

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Weeks of heavy rain have brought widespread flooding to wide swathes of eastern and southern Mexico.

Hundreds of thousands of people have seen rapidly rising rivers break their banks and inundate their communities.

Authorities have been trying to evacuate the worst-hit areas but some people are refusing to leave, seeking refuge on the roofs of their houses.

Among the most severely affected areas is Tlacotalpan, a colonial-era town declared a world heritage site.

Most of Tlacotalpan’s residents have left the town to seek shelter elsewhere in the state of Veracruz, Mexican officials said.

Over the past few weeks, some 200,000 people in Veracruz have been forced to abandon their homes.

The torrential rains and subsequent flooding have also affected the states of Tabasco, Chiapas and Oaxaca.

In Tabasco, more than 124,000 people have been affected but many have opted to stay.

“They are refusing to leave their homes and they don’t want to go to shelters because they have a culture of living with water,” said Tabasco Governor Andres Granier.

“What worries me is that the worst is yet to come for Tabasco. The state and these people cannot keep suffering these problems each year, or live in permanent uncertainty.”

Tabasco was the scene of devastating floods three years ago.

During a visit to the state on Tuesday Mexican President Felipe Calderon said the rains in the region during July and August were three and a half times more than usual.

The rainy season does not officially end until November.

The government has pursued flood-control measures in recent years. Mr Calderon said these had helped to avoid a wider disaster but he accepted that more needed to be done.

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All the action, reaction and analysis as Nick Clegg stood in for David Cameron at prime minister’s questions.

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A top rugby referee who took an overdose as he struggled with his sexuality is backing a campaign to reduce suicides amongst men.

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The Scottish FA apologises to Liechtenstein for the “disgraceful” booing of their national anthem before the Euro 2012 qualifier.

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Two oil workers are missing and more than 30 have been rescued from a rig off China’s north-east coast, which was damaged in a storm, state media says.

Helicopters and rescue boats are searching for two people who fell from the platform, which is listing at a 45-degree angle in the Shengli oil field.

The oil field, operated by Sinopec, is the second-largest in China.

Sinopec said no oil has been spilled, and said powerful waves generated by Typhoon Malou were the likely cause.

Rescue workers in helicopters saved 34 people from the rig about five nautical miles (9km) off Dongying in Shandong province, China’s transport ministry said.

The rescue took place at 0600 local time (2200 GMT Tuesday) after the incident was reported late on Tuesday,

The accident comes just weeks after China’s worst oil spill, after a fire at an oil depot caused crude oil to leak into the sea for several days.

A massive clean-up operation was launched in July in the area around the port of Dalian, one of China’s most important strategic oil reserves.

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The DUP MP for North Belfast Nigel Dodds is to step down from the assembly within days, the BBC has learned.

While the DUP is phasing out dual mandates for MPs, it has emerged the SDLP’s MP Alasdair McDonnell plans to contest next year’s assembly poll.

During the general election DUP leader Peter Robinson promised his party would end dual mandates, with one exception.

Sammy Wilson, the finance minister, is likely to remain at least until the Executive spending plans are in place.

Over the summer, five of the party’s MPs including William McCrea and Jeffrey Donaldson resigned their assembly posts.

Gregory Campbell, the DUP MP for East Londonderry, is expected to follow suit, though no date has been given.

Meanwhile, the SDLP MP for Foyle Mark Durkan will stand down from the assembly within weeks.

His successor will be chosen shortly from the candidates who have applied to stand in Foyle in next year’s assembly election.

Sinn Fein, which has five double jobbing MPs, has no intention of phasing out the dual mandates before 2015, the date recommended following a review at Westminster.

The Alliance Party’s East Belfast MP Naomi Long has already resigned as an assembly member.

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Health officials are trying to find the source of a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak which has been linked to the death of a 64-year-old woman.

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Six people have died in a US missile strike targeting militants in Pakistan’s tribal district on the Afghan border, security officials say.

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Sir Paul McCartney is to be presented with a Kennedy Center honour at the White House in Washington in December.

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As preparations are made for the eighth series of Strictly Come Dancing, Radio 1 Newsbeat’s Natalie Jamieson has a look behind the scenes.

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Gunmen armed with assault rifles stormed a shoe factory in Honduras, killing at least 15 people and wounding eight others, police said.

At least four men burst into the factory in the northern coastal city of San Pedro Sula and opened fire on workers, officers said.

Thirteen people died at the scene and two later died in hospital.

Police spokesman Leonel Sauceda said the motive was unclear but he did not rule out a link to drug trafficking.

San Pedro Sula has suffered frequent gunbattles between drug traffickers and also among the country’s notorious street gangs.

All the victims were said to be young men, aged between 17 and 24.

The factory is in the south-west of San Pedro Sula, which is about 245km (150 miles) north of the capital, Tegucigalpa.

“We hope that soon – tonight or in the early morning – we will have a clearer picture of what has happened,” said the city’s police chief, Hector Mejia.

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A post-mortem examination report into the death of a man at the G20 protests last year has been withheld from authorities, it has emerged.

It was carried out by a forensic pathologist on behalf of the policeman who pushed Ian Tomlinson.

The report was withheld from the Crown Prosecution Service, Independent Police Complaints Commission and the coroner.

The coroner said he had “doubts” about it being withheld and would pursue the matter.

The officer’s lawyers cited legal privilege in withholding it.

Mr Tomlinson died after he was pushed at the protests in April last year.

He had been on his way home from work and was not involved in the demonstrations.

Pc Simon Harwood, a member of Scotland Yard’s territorial support group, was filmed striking the 47-year-old newspaper seller with his baton and pushing him to the ground in the City of London.

No criminal proceedings were brought over Mr Tomlinson’s death because experts could not agree on how Mr Tomlinson had died.

In July, Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer said there was a “sharp disagreement between the medical experts” about the cause of death.

Pathologist Freddy Patel, who has since been suspended from the medical register over three other cases, concluded that Mr Tomlinson died of natural causes.

However, two other experts said he died from internal bleeding after falling to the ground.

Another pathologist, Ben Swift, jointly conducted the third post-mortem examination on behalf of Pc Harwood.

‘Defence’ material

On Tuesday, the coroner revealed that the officer’s lawyers had refused to disclose Dr Swift’s findings, citing legal privilege.

The coroner said he had “doubts” about that and would “pursue” it.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which investigated the case, and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which decided not to bring charges, have now confirmed that they have not seen Dr Swift’s report either.

The CPS said the report was “defence” material and it was not entitled to see it.

Last week, Dr Patel was suspended for three months by the General Medical Council.

It found that his fitness to practise was “impaired” because of the way he dealt with three other cases.

He had been already barred from carrying out Home Office forensic pathology work.

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