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BBC’s Gideon Long: “They look in remarkably good shape”
A newly-released video appears to show that 33 miners trapped deep underground in Chile are in good spirits.
The video was taken with a camera dropped down the narrow bore-hole that is the miners’ lifeline to the surface.
The miners are mostly shirtless, bearded and thin but are “reasonably” healthy, Chile’s health minister said.
They have been trapped since 5 August and were only discovered to be alive on Sunday. It could take as long as four months to rescue the men.
A shaft wide enough for the men to be lifted up must be drilled about 700m (765 yards) through the earth to the section of the San Jose mine where the men are trapped by a cave-in.
In the video, one of the miners explains their conditions.
“We’ve organised everything really well down here,” he says.
“This is where we entertain ourselves, where we have meeting every day, where we make plans. This is where we pray.”
The other miners can be seen waving at the camera. Most have beards and have taken off their shirts. They all appear to be sweating.
Against one wall can be seen cabinets with medical supplies.
One miner gives a speech praising his workmates and the others break into cheers and applause.
In one segment of the 45-minute video, broadcast on Chilean TV, a mining vehicle is being driven down a tunnel.
Health Minister Jaime Manalich said the miners had lost weight and were dehydrated but were “reasonably” healthy.
In the first 17 days of their confinement until contact was made with them they lost between 8kg-10kg (18-22lbs) each.
The miners seem to be well-organised, says the BBC’s Gideon Long in Copiapo, near the mine in northern Chile. They made emergency supplies meant for two or three days last for 17, he says.
They are now receiving supplies including rehydration drinks, games and anti-depressants through one of three bore holes from the surface. Another one provides a communications link and the third is to provide ventilation.
The miners were told on Wednesday that it could take up to four months to rescue them. Mr Manalich said they reacted calmly to the news.
A special exercise and recreation programme is being set up to keep the men mentally and physically fit during their long wait.
The family of one of the miners is suing the mine owners and government inspectors. They accuse the owners the San Jose mine of safety lapses and officials of negligently allowing it to reopen in 2008 following an accident.
Amid the lawsuit announcement, a judge ordered $1.8m (£1.2m) of the mine’s assets frozen to cover possible compensation costs.
Chile’s Congress is investigating the accident and President Sebastian Pinera has vowed to punish anyone found to be responsible for what happened.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
A deal to sell the Teesside Corus steel plant which was mothballed with the loss of more than 1,000 jobs is being discussed.
Teesside Cast Products was partially mothballed in February when a consortium pulled out of a deal.
Thai steel company SSI has now signed a memorandum of understanding to buy the Redcar site from Corus.
The news was welcomed by union leaders and politicians.
Geoff Waterfield, site multi-union chairman, said: “This is fabulous news. We are all over-joyed.
“It’s been a difficult time for everybody and we have been bound by confidentiality arrangements. Now we can meet and start talking to SSI and Corus.”
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Anthony Farley left an eight month old son, Ieuan Meek A motorist has admitted causing a sledger’s death by not being in possession of a driving licence or insurance.
However, Alwyn Smith has denied failing to stop at the scene of the fatal collision in Tredegar.
Anthony Farley, 19, of Bettws, Newport, was killed when a plastic sheet he was sledging on collided with a car in snow last February.
Smith, of Abergavenny, told a court he thought he had hit a pothole.
The case, which was heard at Newport Crown Court, will now be dealt with back at the magistrates’ court.
Mr Farley was enjoying Wales’ winter snowfall with his cousin David Roberts when the tragedy happened.
Anthony Farley’s cousin David Roberts, 24, described what happened and his own injuries
The pair were using a polythene sheet to slide down a roadside bank on Tredegar’s Ystad Deri Estate.
Mr Farley’s family are angry that the case still hasn’t reached a conclusion and staged a demonstration outside the court.
They lit candles in memory of the teenage father. His mother-in-law said the family has been ripped apart by the tragedy.
Mr Roberts suffered multiple injuries – and still needs regular physiotherapy following the collision.
He denies what they were doing on that day was dangerous.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Andrew Gibson died after the attack at the Escapade nightclub in Darlington A youth who killed a Scots soldier who was due to be sent to Afghanistan has been detained for two-and-a-half years.
John Flannigan, 17, punched 19-year-old Andrew Gibson in the back of the head during a drunken attack at Escapade nightclub in Darlington, County Durham.
He admitted manslaughter following the attack on 11 December 2009.
Teesside Crown Court heard the guardsman, from Cumbernauld, was hit as “pay back” for punching the teenager minutes before.
The court was shown CCTV footage of Flannigan lashing out with his fist and Mr Gibson falling to the ground.
He hit his head on the dance floor of the club, causing fatal injuries.
“We are extremely disappointed at the length of sentence handed down and plan on appealing this through the Crown appeal process”
Gibson family
Mr Gibson, from Cumbernauld, near Glasgow, was based at Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, and was due to return home for Christmas.
He was on a last night out with friends before heading home to his familyin Scotland.
The soldier had been due to be posted to Afghanistan in the New Year with his regiment and friends said he was “very happy and looking forward” to going.
Rachel Masters, prosecuting, said a witness saw Flannigan punch the soldier, causing his head to “bounce off the floor”.
Mr Gibson was taken to the James Cook Memorial Hospital, in Middlesbrough, but died six days later.
Flannigan told police that he punched Mr Gibson after he had hit him.
He said: “That’s him that’s hit me, so I hit him.”
Asked by detectives whether it was “pay back”, Flannigan replied: “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
Judge Peter Fox QC, told Flannigan: “I sentence you on the factual basis, which the prosecution have accepted, that you had minutes before been struck once to the face by Mr Gibson.
“When you recognised him as being the person responsible for having struck you, you believed there would be further trouble and you threw your punch.”
In a statement, Mr Gibson’s parents criticised the length of Flannigan’s sentence.
Describing their son as a “dedicated soldier”, Linda and Freddy Gibson said: “His dream of going to Afghanistan in the service of his Queen and country was taken away from him.
“The sentence delivered today is definitely not enough.
“We are extremely disappointed at the length of sentence handed down and plan on appealing this through the Crown appeal process.
“Andrew’s death has affected our lives and also those of his friends and family – we have been handed a life sentence of pain, grief and ‘what ifs’.”
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Cyclists on the UK’s roads travelled 3.1 billion miles last year and many will have done so with safety at the forefront of their minds. Lights and reflectors are a legal obligation after dark, and reflective jackets an increasingly common sight.
But it’s the cycle helmet that is undoubtedly the most debated piece of kit. Helmets are not compulsory in the UK, unlike in Australia and parts of the US, yet the government encourages cyclists to wear one.
But is it really safer to wear a helmet when cycling?
Just a brief look at the blogosphere shows you what a hotly contested question this is. Unfortunately, the published evidence doesn’t make the debate much clearer.
While many cyclists wouldn’t leave home without clamping on their helmet, Dr Ian Walker, a professor of traffic psychology, has long believed head protection can work against someone on a bicycle.
Dr Walker conducted a study looking into how cyclists wearing a helmet affect the behaviour of drivers. He found that for those wearing a helmet, motorists drove much closer when overtaking.
“In absolute terms they got 8-9cm closer than they did when I wasn’t wearing one,” he explains, “And the proportion of vehicles getting within a really close distance went up considerably.”
He also decided to don a long, flowing wig to disguise himself as a female and found that drivers left him more space when passing. He says this further proves that drivers react to cyclists’ appearance.
His findings have led Dr Walker to conclude that drivers use a cyclist’s physical appearance to judge the specific likelihood of the rider behaving predictably. They alter their overtaking space accordingly.
He suggests drivers think helmeted cyclists are more sensible, predicable and experienced, so therefore the driver doesn’t need to give them much space when overtaking. Non-helmeted cyclists, especially non helmeted “women” are less predictable and experienced, according to this study.
Skull protection
But it’s not only motorists who alter their behaviour. Other research has looked at how helmeted cyclists take more risks, believing their head protection will compensate for this.
“I’m not convinced I saw any evidence of that,” says Dr Walker. “I don’t take any more risks when wearing a helmet and I think other cyclists would say the same.”
A recent report commissioned by the Department for Transport rejected all behavioural research, including that of Dr Walker, saying that none of the studies was robust enough to prove that helmets affect behaviour.
“It’s plain and simple that helmets are effective”
Angela Lee Bike Helmets Trust
This Department for Transport report studied all the evidence available and concluded that “the effectiveness of helmets in single-vehicle collisions was estimated to be 50%”.
But the report’s authors admit that “it should be remembered that there was no specific evidence to support these estimates”.
They do include a study into 100 police fatality reports which led them to say that helmets could prevent 10-16% of cyclist fatalities. But this was also an estimate based on a small study.
The problem is that the data available about injured cyclists, from the police or hospital admissions, does not record whether they were wearing helmets or not. It is therefore difficult to draw definitive conclusions in favour of helmets.
But for many cyclists, any such evidence comes second place to first-hand experience.
Angela Lee, chief executive of the Bike Helmet Initiative Trust and a nurse consultant in paediatric trauma, says it’s clear that helmets make cycling safer.
“It’s plain and simple that helmets are effective,” Ms Lee continues. “If you think of people who have mobile phones, computers, I bet they all have covers on to protect them. You have a skull protecting your brain and if you know anything about computers you know that if you damage a computer you can’t load the programme. That’s exactly the same with your brain.”
Wearing a helmet does seem like common sense – if it doesn’t encourage you or other road users to take extra risks. But in the absence of really compelling evidence either way, it’s up to individuals to make their own choices.
Me? I wear a helmet, and I’ll continue to do so.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The Stig’s identity has kept viewers guessing for years The executive producer of Top Gear has launched an attack on publisher HarperCollins over a book that reveals the true identity of The Stig.
Andy Wilman wrote on the show’s website the BBC had a right to protect Stig’s anonymity “from a bunch of chancers” who were “hoping to cash in on it”.
Both sides appeared at the High Court earlier this week as the corporation tried to halt publication of the book.
The BBC said the planned book would breach confidentiality obligations.
However, HarperCollins said it would “vigorously defend” its right to publish the book, adding it was “disappointed that the BBC has chosen to spend licence fee payers’ money to suppress this book”.
In a blog post entitled “The Stig. He’s ours”, Mr Wilman wrote: “I feel the urge to add my ten penn’orth about how we see things down at the Top Gear office.”
Responding to HarperCollins’ comments, he said: “The BBC has the right to spend money on protecting the intellectual property it created.
“The truth is that all that stuff – the Stig, the Tardis, the Blue Peter dog – does belong to the licence payer, and not to some opportunists who think they can come along and take a slice when they feel like it.”
HarperCollins was not immediately available to respond to Mr Wilman’s blog post.
‘Issue of trust’
Mr Wilman argued that the reason why The Stig, who test drives the cars featured on the show, never removes his helmet was to protect the character’s mystique, which the audience finds entertaining.
“HarperCollins have decided none of that is as important as their profits,” he wrote.
“So if you get your Christmas ruined by one of the best and most harmless TV secrets being outed, you can rest easy in the knowledge that by contrast, HarperCollins’ executives will be enjoying a fantastic Christmas.”
He also made an apparent dig at the driver who wears Stig’s helmet, saying: “It’s an issue of trust. Everyone who’s ever worked on Top Gear has kept the Stig thing a secret, and the person who wears the suit has signed confidentiality agreements to do the same.
“So talk about what you like in your own life, but not the bit you agreed not to. Your word is supposed to mean something.”
He concluded by saying he would continue to fight the case because the Top Gear team had “worked bloody hard for many years to make the Stig something worth caring about, and that includes protecting it from a bunch of chancers”.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Labour “must challenge the economic consensus”, Ed Balls is expected to say Labour leadership contender, Ed Balls, is to warn that the government’s austerity programme could tip the country back into recession.
He will say that the coalition’s plans for drastic cuts are like “removing the foundations of the house, just as the hurricane is about to hit”.
Mr Balls is expected to say Labour must challenge the government’s claim there is no alternative to swingeing cuts.
The shadow education secretary is to speak in the City of London later.
He will use the keynote speech to accuse Chancellor George Osborne of pursuing an “economically-unsafe” austerity programme which risks tipping the country into a double-dip recession.
Labour must come up with a “more sensible timetable” to tackle the deficit, he is expected to say.
Mr Balls will argue that Labour must not be afraid to challenge the consensus that there is a need for fast, substantial cuts to public spending – even if it means contradicting the governor of the Bank of England.
“We need now to win the argument for an alternative economic plan that is rooted in economic history and analysis, as well as in Labour values and principles,” he is expected to say.
“By ripping away the foundations of growth and jobs in Britain, David Cameron, Nick Clegg and George Osborne are not only leaving us badly exposed to the new economic storm that is coming, but are undermining the very goals of market stability and deficit reduction which their policies are designed to achieve,” he will say.
“George Osborne was fond of saying – wrongly – that the Labour government had failed to fix the roof while the sun was shining.
“What he is now doing is the equivalent of ripping out the foundations of the house just as the hurricane is about to hit.”
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
A young musician, Liu Wei, has won acclaim after appearing on “China’s Got Talent” playing the piano with his feet.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
About 280 miles of roadworks are set to be completed in time for the bank holiday weekend More than two-thirds of traffic works on main roads will completed or suspended for the bank holiday weekend getaway, the Highways Agency had said.
The agency, responsible for motorways and major trunk roads in England, said the move would help traffic flows.
But there was a bad start for motorists heading to the South West with the M5 closed at Cullompton, near Exeter, after an eight-vehicle pile-up.
The bank holiday weather is set to be mostly fine over the UK, with showers.
The Highways Agency said about 280 miles of roadworks at 83 locations would be completed in time for the weekend.
A further 24 sets of roadworks and lane restrictions covering 64 miles will be removed by 0600 BST on Friday until at least midnight on Monday.
The agency said the measures would provide extra capacity for holiday traffic, and its traffic officers would be patrolling the network to help the smooth flow of vehicles.
However, lane restrictions or temporary speed limits will need to remain in place for safety reasons at 32 sites.
Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said: “The completion and lifting of these roadworks will help those planning to drive over a notoriously busy weekend for our roads.
“More than 98% of the network will be clear of roadworks, meaning more lanes will be open and many speed restrictions lifted.”
He added: “Traffic officers will also be patrolling the network to help clear up any incidents as quickly as possible. And the Highways Agency will continue to provide a range of traffic information services to help road users plan their journeys.”
The crash on the M5 happened on the northbound carriageway between junctions 29 and 28 shortly before 2100 BST on Thursday.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service sent six appliances to the scene and the road was closed in both directions as firefighters cut people from their vehicles.
Air ambulances and a helicopter from RAF Kinloss in Moray were involved in the emergency services’ operation as seven people were airlifted to hospital with serious injuries, but no fatalities have been reported.
Other people were treated at the scene by paramedics, and a respite centre was set up in Cullompton.
A Devon & Cornwall Police spokeswoman said a number of those injured remained in a serious condition.
BBC weather forecaster Simon King said there would be sunny spells for most people on Friday, with some showers.
Bank Holiday Monday is set to be mostly dry with sunny spells, with maximum temperatures of 20C (68F) in London and Cardiff, 18C (64.4F) in Belfast and 17C (62.6F) in Edinburgh.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Supporters of the new constitution say it will pave the way for real change Kenya is set to adopt a new constitution on Friday, more than three weeks after it was overwhelmingly approved in a national referendum.
President Mwai Kibaki will sign the document into law at a large ceremony in the capital, Nairobi.
The constitution is expected to bring significant changes, with political supporters hailing it as the birth of the second republic.
The debate over a new constitution has lasted 20 years.
The new constitution will bring a more decentralised political system which will limit the president’s powers and replace corrupt provincial governments with local counties.
It will also create a second chamber of parliament – the Senate – and set up a land commission to settle ownership disputes and review past abuses.
It is hoped that the changes will help bring an end to the tribal differences which have brought violence to the country in the past.
The BBC’s East Africa correspondent Peter Greste says the debate for a new constitution ebbed and flowed with each new political crisis until the elections of 2007, which were followed by the worst ethnic violence Kenya has yet seen.
In its wake, everyone acknowledged that something fundamental had to change if the country was to avoid yet more trouble, our correspondent says.
“The historic journey that we began over 20 years ago is now coming to a happy end,” Mr Kibaki said earlier this month after the results of the referendum were announced on 5 August.
“There will be challenges along the way. But it is important that we look forward with renewed optimism to better days ahead.”
Our correspondent says that the previous constitution allowed politicians to exploit tribal divisions, left courts weak, and concentrated power in the president’s hands.
While many Kenyans say that this is just a start – and that things could still go very wrong – most believe it is a fundamentally better document than the last.
President Kibaki won a landslide victory in 2002 promising to change the constitution within 100 days of taking office. In 2005, he held a referendum but it failed to pass.
The previous constitution was negotiated with the British at Lancaster House, in London, in the early 1960s.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
David Cameron met troops at the British Camp Bastion during his visit to Afghanistan in June Senior military figures have expressed concern about the security arrangements for a recent trip by David Cameron to Afghanistan.
The prime minister had to change his schedule at the last minute because of fears the Taliban might be planning to attack his helicopter.
It is reported that Number 10 has been asked to carry out a security review.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “We never comment on the prime minister’s security arrangements.”
BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt says military sources were concerned over the threat to Mr Cameron during his first visit as prime minister to Helmand province in southern Afghanistan in June.
Mr Cameron was forced to abandon a visit to British troops serving at the front-line patrol base at Shahzad because of fears the Taliban were planning a possible attempt to bring down his helicopter.
The RAF Chinook carrying the prime minister and his entourage was instead diverted to the main operating base in the capital of Helmand, Lashkar Gah, at the last minute.
Mr Cameron had visited Kabul first, holding a media conference with Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai, before going on to Helmand.
Military sources have expressed their concerns over a number of security issues, not least that Mr Cameron was seen on television in the Afghan capital ahead of a visit to a combat zone They want to avoid similar risks on future trips.
In the past, visits to war zones by senior politicians and officials have often been subject to news blackouts until nearer the end of the trip, as was the case with the recent journey by Defence Secretary Liam Fox.
Mr Cameron had been due to meet the 1st Battalion Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, but the Times newspaper reports Nato intelligence services intercepted telephone calls suggesting the Taliban were planning an attack.
The information was received within five minutes of the take-off of Mr Cameron’s Chinook, and the pilot was ordered to change course.
Earlier this year, police concerns about Mr Cameron’s security were reported over the prime minister’s insistence on walking around Whitehall and refusing motorcycle escorts.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The crash left a trail of cars and debris for 300m (984ft) along the motorway The M5 northbound carriageway remains closed after an eight vehicle pile-up which left a 21-year-old woman critically injured.
The woman was among seven people injured in the crash at Cullompton, near Exeter, between junctions 29 and 28 on Thursday.
Cars and debris were strewn along the carriageway for 300m (984ft).
Vehicles are being diverted at Exeter from the carriageway which is expected to re-open later.
A police and a military helicopter helped airlift injured passengers after the crash at about 2100 BST on Thursday.
A one-year-old girl was taken to hospital as a precaution.
Sgt Aaron Bevan of Devon and Cornwall Police said: “It was quite a major incident.
“At that time of night the M5 was very busy.”
He appealed for the driver of a blue articulated lorry which witnessed the crash but drove on to call the police because he could have “vital evidence”.
Firefighters using power-cutters and thermal imaging cameras released five people trapped in their vehicles.
Casualties were taken to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth where the critically injured woman is being treated, the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital and Musgrove Park Hospital in Somerset.
A number of less seriously injured people are believed to have been treated at the scene.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Investigators say no group has claimed that it carried out the attack A bomb explosion in the centre of the Thai capital, Bangkok, has seriously wounded a security guard.
The blast, at a duty-free store, was just metres from the site of a recent grenade attack.
It is the third such incident within the past month, despite heightened security.
Bangkok has been under emergency rule since anti-government protests were broken up by troops three months ago.
The target of the attack was the Kingpower duty-free store company – a large and lucrative business which secured a monopoly at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport.
Analysts say the company’s leadership is associated with a key partner in the current governing coalition.
A grenade exploded and seriously injured one man on 30 July in Bangkok, five days after a fatal blast at a bus stop in central Bangkok.
The explosions are occurring during a continued state of emergency in the capital, imposed since violent anti-government protests in April and May.
So far, no group has said it carried out any of the attacks.
Around 90 people died and 1,800 were injured during the confrontation between the anti-government “red shirts” and the security forces.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Police said Maoist rebels sabotaged the track, although the rebels denied this Police in India say they have killed a top Maoist guerrilla who was wanted in connection with a train crash in May that left 150 people dead.
The body of Umakanta Mahato was found in a jungle in West Bengal state after security forces clashed with rebels.
Police had announced a cash reward for his arrest. They have described his killing as “a major success”.
The train crash, said to be an act of sabotage, was blamed on the Maoists, but the rebels denied being involved.
Police say the PCPA activists, led by Umakanta Mahato and Bapi Mahato, sabotaged the train track that caused the derailment of the Calcutta-Mumbai express near Jhargram on 28 May.
The Maoists say they are fighting for the rights of the poor and the landless.
PM Manmohan Singh has described the Maoist insurgency as India’s biggest internal security challenge.
‘Major success’
Mahato, a leader of the pro-Maoist militia Peoples’ Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA), was found dead in the jungles of Lodhashuli in Jhargram district on Friday.
“This is a major success but it would have been better for the investigations if Umakanta Mahato was captured alive,” West Bengal police chief Bhupinder Singh said.
India’s federal police – the Central Bureau of Investigation which is investigating the train disaster – has announced cash rewards of 100,000 rupees ($2,135) for the arrest of the top suspects.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Boeing is delaying delivery of its first new-generation 787 Dreamliner aircraft until early 2011.
Japan’s All Nippon Airways was due to take delivery of the aircraft at the end of this year.
The 787 project has already been delayed for more than two years, following a series of hitches.
Boeing announced on Friday that the latest setback was due to the availability of an engine needed for the final phases of flight testing.
The company said that it now expected All Nippon to take delivery of the aircraft in the middle of the first quarter of 2011.
The 787, being built in Seattle, is Boeing’s most sophisticated plane yet. The company claims it will be lighter, faster and emit less CO2 than similar-sized planes currently flying.
It made its maiden flight in December 2009 and was a star feature at July’s international airshow at Farnborough in the UK.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.