Category: news

Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher has been penalised for overtaking Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso when it was not allowed at the end of the Monaco Grand Prix.

The decision adds 20 seconds to the German’s race time, demoting him to 12th place and putting Alonso sixth.

Schumacher passed Alonso on his way out of Rascasse and into Anthony Noghes, but the move came under a safety car.

The stewards, who included Schumacher’s old rival Damon Hill, ruled that the German had breached safety rules.

More to follow

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Thai protesters have stood their ground in Bangkok, defying a vow from PM Abhisit Vejjajiva to use the military to stop them toppling his government.

One protest leader said Thailand was close to "civil war" after clashes in Bangkok between protesters and soldiers that have left 24 people dead.

The fighting flared as the army moved to isolate a fortified protest camp.

Mr Abhisit said he was considering a curfew in Bangkok and has postponed the new school term in the city for a week.

Thousands of people who say Mr Abhisit came to power undemocratically remain behind makeshift barricades of rubber tyres, sandbags and bamboo stakes in the Ratchaprasong commercial district.

The protesters are known as red-shirts, after the colour they have adopted.

They want the prime minister to step down to make way for new elections.

Army ‘prepared’

In a televised address on Saturday, Mr Abhisit said the army would not back down in its operation to clear the protesters.

"We cannot leave the country in a situation where people who don’t obey the law are holding hostage the people of Bangkok, as well as the centre of the country," he said.

"We can’t allow a situation where people set up armed groups and overthrow the government because they don’t agree with it."

Mr Abhisit has said that a few armed "terrorists" are among the protesters.

An army spokesman said the military was planning to enter the protesters’ camp if they did not disperse, but gave no timetable.

"There is a plan to crack down on Ratchaprasong if the protest does not end," said the spokesman, Col Sunsern Kaewkumnerd.

"But authorities will not set a deadline because without effective planning there will be more loss of life."

The BBC’s Chris Hogg in Bangkok says the army’s actions are like squeezing a balloon full of water – they are just pushing protesters into a different part of the city.

Black smoke drifted into the air over Bangkok on Sunday morning but the streets were mostly quiet after three days of fierce battles that saw soldiers fire live rounds and rubber bullets at protesters who threw stones, petrol bombs and shot fireworks in return.

The army has declared live fire zones in some areas as it attempted to cut off the camp from supplies and reinforcements.

Some 170 people have been injured since the latest violence broke out on Thursday, and 27 people have been sent to jail, each given six-month sentences. All the fatalities have been civilians.

More than 50 people have been killed and at least 1,500 wounded in total since the protests began in mid-March, Thai officials have said.

Despite claims by the Thai government that the situation was under control and its soldiers had only fired in self-defence, army snipers have been accused of targeting protesters. Footage from Bangkok on Saturday showed red-shirts dragging gunshot victims to safety.

The violence escalated on Thursday after a renegade general who supports the protests was shot in the head by an unknown gunman.

Gen Khattiya Sawasdipol, better known as Seh Daeng (Commander Red), is in a critical condition.

National divisions

The latest clashes have raised questions about the stability of Thailand, South-East Asia’s second-largest economy.

"The current situation is almost full civil war," said one of the protest leaders, Jatuporn Prompan. "I am not sure how this conflict will end."

Many of the protesters are from poor rural areas in northern Thailand where support is still strong for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup.

They say Mr Abhisit was put into power in a parliamentary vote by an alliance of the Bangkok elite and the military and want him to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections.

He had offered polls in November – but the two sides failed to agree a deal because of divisions over who should be held accountable for a deadly crackdown on protests last month.

Mr Thaksin has called on the government to withdraw troops and restart negotiations. He is living abroad to avoid a jail term on a corruption conviction.

Are you in or close to the protest camp in Bangkok? What is the situation in the area? Are you worried there’ll be more violence? Send us your comments Click here to add comments..

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All flights in and out of Northern Ireland’s three airports have been cancelled until 1900 BST due to the return of the volcanic ash cloud.

The Irish Aviation Authority has closed airports in Sligo, Donegal and Knock.

Dublin and Shannon airports are expected to remain open until at least 1400 BST.

Passengers who are due to travel on Sunday should check with their airline or tour operator before travelling to the airport.

In a statement, Ryanair said it expected Dublin, Kerry, Shannon and Cork Airports to remain open until at least 1900 BST.

Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) Chief Executive Eamonn Brennan said there is a strong possibility of other airport closures in the Republic on Sunday.

"The IAA is currently carrying out observation flights at a number of altitudes and is in discussion with other aviation authorities, airlines and engine manufacturers to assess the results of the tests in the interest of passenger safety.

"The authority will continue to review analysis and observation results throughout the day."

Forecasts say the ash may extend over the UK on Monday and Tuesday.

Jonathan Astill, from the air traffic authority, Nats, said: "Unfortunately, yet again, a mixture of volcanic activity and weather systems have conspired to bring a cloud of ash down towards the UK.

"As a result we’ve now got a cloud of high density volcanic ash rapidly encroaching on Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man."

EasyJet said it has so far cancelled 11 Sunday flights from Belfast International Airport.

The cloud is expected to lie over the London area by Tuesday, but is likely to have drifted out of UK airspace by Wednesday, forecasters say.

Prof Brian Golding, head of forecasting research at the Met Office, said the cloud stemmed from an eruption on Thursday.

"The volcano has now dropped back in height. It did that yesterday, so the ash coming towards us for the future isn’t quite so deep as it was on Thursday.

"It isn’t going to turn into a huge area and it’s being blown eastwards, between south-east and east. "

Ash from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano has caused disruption to thousands of flights since April.

The Department of Transport, which is establishing five-day ash prediction charts, is warning there is a chance airports in south-east England may be also be affected in the next few days.

Five day forecasts

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said the situation was "fluid" but passenger safety was the top priority.

Ministers agreed on Saturday that the five-day forecasts, rather than 18-hour ones, would be made available on the Met Office website.

The Met Office said its charts would be updated every six hours. A spokeswoman said the ash plume was currently about 25,000ft (7,620m) high, with winds blowing from the north west.

But she said the wind was expected to change direction in the middle of next week, taking ash away from the UK.

In April, airspace across Europe was shut down for five days over concerns ash could turn to molten glass in high temperatures, crippling plane engines.

Scientists and engineers have since revised the safe-to-fly threshold, but clouds of volcanic ash have continued to drift over Europe, causing airport closures, flight delays and cancellations.

Airline fined

In the past week, several airports in southern Europe have been forced to close and flights have been re-routed.

Meanwhile, Italy has fined Ryanair 3m euros (£2.5m) for failing to help some passengers after cancelling their flights during the crisis.

Italy’s civil aviation authority fine on Ryanair comes after it said it knew of 178 cases of passengers who did not receive mandatory assistance, such as food – required under EU regulations – between 17 and 22 April. Ryanair called the allegation "complete rubbish".

Are your travel plans likely to be affected by the latest anticipated disruptions? Are you travelling from an airport in the south-east of England between Sunday and Tuesday? Will you make alternative travel plans? Send us your comments Click here to add comments..

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

Thai protesters have stood their ground in Bangkok, defying a vow from PM Abhisit Vejjajiva to use the military to stop them toppling his government.

One protest leader said Thailand was close to "civil war" after clashes in Bangkok between protesters and soldiers that have left 24 people dead.

The fighting flared as the army moved to isolate a fortified protest camp.

Mr Abhisit said he was considering a curfew in Bangkok and has postponed the new school term in the city for a week.

Thousands of people who say Mr Abhisit came to power undemocratically remain behind makeshift barricades of rubber tyres, sandbags and bamboo stakes in the Ratchaprasong commercial district.

The protesters are known as red-shirts, after the colour they have adopted.

They want the prime minister to step down to make way for new elections.

Army ‘prepared’

In a televised address on Saturday, Mr Abhisit said the army would not back down in its operation to clear the protesters.

"We cannot leave the country in a situation where people who don’t obey the law are holding hostage the people of Bangkok, as well as the centre of the country," he said.

"We can’t allow a situation where people set up armed groups and overthrow the government because they don’t agree with it."

Mr Abhisit has said that a few armed "terrorists" are among the protesters.

An army spokesman said the military was planning to enter the protesters’ camp if they did not disperse, but gave no timetable.

"There is a plan to crack down on Ratchaprasong if the protest does not end," said the spokesman, Col Sunsern Kaewkumnerd.

"But authorities will not set a deadline because without effective planning there will be more loss of life."

The BBC’s Chris Hogg in Bangkok says the army’s actions are like squeezing a balloon full of water – they are just pushing protesters into a different part of the city.

Black smoke drifted into the air over Bangkok on Sunday morning but the streets were mostly quiet after three days of fierce battles that saw soldiers fire live rounds and rubber bullets at protesters who threw stones, petrol bombs and shot fireworks in return.

The army has declared live fire zones in some areas as it attempted to cut off the camp from supplies and reinforcements.

Some 170 people have been injured since the latest violence broke out on Thursday, and 27 people have been sent to jail, each given six-month sentences. All the fatalities have been civilians.

More than 50 people have been killed and at least 1,500 wounded in total since the protests began in mid-March, Thai officials have said.

Despite claims by the Thai government that the situation was under control and its soldiers had only fired in self-defence, army snipers have been accused of targeting protesters. Footage from Bangkok on Saturday showed red-shirts dragging gunshot victims to safety.

The violence escalated on Thursday after a renegade general who supports the protests was shot in the head by an unknown gunman.

Gen Khattiya Sawasdipol, better known as Seh Daeng (Commander Red), is in a critical condition.

National divisions

The latest clashes have raised questions about the stability of Thailand, South-East Asia’s second-largest economy.

"The current situation is almost full civil war," said one of the protest leaders, Jatuporn Prompan. "I am not sure how this conflict will end."

Many of the protesters are from poor rural areas in northern Thailand where support is still strong for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup.

They say Mr Abhisit was put into power in a parliamentary vote by an alliance of the Bangkok elite and the military and want him to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections.

He had offered polls in November – but the two sides failed to agree a deal because of divisions over who should be held accountable for a deadly crackdown on protests last month.

Mr Thaksin has called on the government to withdraw troops and restart negotiations. He is living abroad to avoid a jail term on a corruption conviction.

Are you in or close to the protest camp in Bangkok? What is the situation in the area? Are you worried there’ll be more violence? Send us your comments Click here to add comments..

You can send your pictures to [email protected], text them to +44 7725 100 100 or you have a large file you can click here to upload.

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At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws.

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

The man who hoped to bring World Cup home

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

Flights are to be suspended at airports throughout the north of England, including Manchester and Liverpool, as volcanic ash drifts across the country.

A no-fly zone has been imposed by the Civil Aviation Authority from 1300 until 1900 BST.

East Midlands, Manchester, Liverpool, Doncaster, Humberside and Carlisle airports are all affected.

A spokesman for Liverpool John Lennon Airport said that 30 flights have been affected there.

He advised passengers to check with their airline before travelling.

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

Airports across much of the UK are to close between 1300 and 1900 BST as volcanic ash drifts across Europe, the air traffic authority Nats has said.

In England, East Midlands, Manchester, Liverpool, Doncaster, Humberside and Carlisle airports will be hit by the Civil Aviation Authority’s no-fly zone.

Airports in Northern Ireland, Prestwick near Glasgow, those on Scottish islands and the Isle of Man are also affected.

London airports are unaffected, while Dublin remains open on Sunday.

Planes have been grounded in other parts of the Irish Republic. Travellers are being advised to check with their airline before leaving home.

The UK no-fly zones are set out by the Civil Aviation Authority using Met Office data. Forecasts suggest the ash cloud could extend further over the UK during Monday and Tuesday.

Nats’ Jonathan Astill said: "Unfortunately, yet again, a mixture of volcanic activity and weather systems have conspired to bring a cloud of ash down towards the UK."

The cloud is expected to lie over the London area by Tuesday, but is likely to have drifted out of UK airspace by Wednesday, forecasters predict.

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said the situation was "fluid" but passenger safety was the top priority.

Prof Brian Golding, head of forecasting research at the Met Office, said the cloud stemmed from an eruption on Thursday.

"The volcano has now dropped back in height. It did that yesterday, so the ash coming towards us for the future isn’t quite so deep as it was on Thursday.

Airline fined

"It isn’t going to turn into a huge area and it’s being blown eastwards, between south-east and east. "

Ash from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano has caused disruption to thousands of flights since April.

Meanwhile, Italy has fined Irish airline Ryanair 3m euros (£2.5m) for failing to help some passengers after cancelling their flights during the crisis.

Ministers agreed on Saturday that the five-day forecasts, rather than 18-hour ones, would be made available on the Met Office website.

The Met Office said its charts would be updated every six hours but that the wind was expected to change direction in the middle of next week, taking ash away from the UK.

Scottish transport minister Stewart Stevenson called upon airlines to be "consistent" to "avoid unnecessary and unhelpful confusion".

He said he had written to BA chief executive Willie Walsh after the airline cancelled three flights to Scotland on Friday. BA said the flights were cancelled as a "precaution".

Molten glass

BA is facing industrial action in the coming days, potentially adding to travel disruption.

Meanwhile, Network Rail said it was boosting services to and from Scotland, and to Irish Sea ports, with engineering works postponed where necessary.

Dr Dougal Jerram, a volcanologist from Durham University, warned the last big eruption of Eyjafjallajokull – in the 1820s – went on for about two years, and its current eruption could last "several months".

But he said the continued eruptions would not necessarily cause more problems to air travel, as a number of factors – explosive eruptions, a concentrated plume and certain weather patterns – needed to be in place at the same time to create "the perfect storm".

In April, airspace across Europe was shut down for five days over concerns ash could turn to molten glass in high temperatures, crippling plane engines.

Scientists and engineers have since revised the safe-to-fly threshold, but clouds of volcanic ash have continued to drift over Europe, causing airport closures, flight delays and cancellations.

In the past week, several airports in southern Europe have been forced to close and flights have been re-routed.

Italy’s civil aviation authority fine on Ryanair comes after it said it knew of 178 cases of passengers who did not receive mandatory assistance, such as food – required under EU regulations – between 17 and 22 April. Ryanair called the allegation "complete rubbish".

Are your travel plans likely to be affected by the latest anticipated disruptions? Are you travelling from an airport in the south-east of England between Sunday and Tuesday? Will you make alternative travel plans? Send us your comments Click here to add comments..

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

Prime Minister David Cameron says his deputy Nick Clegg will be in the "inner core" of government.

On BBC One’s Andrew Marr show he hailed what he called a "progressive alliance" between the Conservatives and Lib Dems.

He said the coalition government was not just about grabbing power but was based on shared values, describing himself as a "Liberal Conservative".

He also confirmed left wing campaigner Will Hutton would lead an inquiry into cutting top public sector pay.

Mr Hutton, who is vice-chairman of the Work Foundation think tank, was the "right" person to lead such an inquiry, said Mr Cameron. Only recently he urged the Lib Dems to shun a Tory coalition, in an article for The Guardian.

End to large bonuses

Mr Cameron said NHS managers and other senior civil servants should not earn "more than 20 times the lowest paid" in their organisation and they should not be paid large bonuses, of the kind he said had been approved "in the the last days of the Labour government".

The same principles should apply to the BBC, he added, although the Corporation would not be included in the review as it was independent.

Labour MP Frank Field is also understood to have been offered a role with a new Poverty Commission.

Mr Field was minister for Welfare Reform in Tony Blair’s first government and last year led a successful campaign against the abolition of the 10p tax band.

Mr Cameron said he had considered trying to set up a Conservative minority government, with a basic Lib Dem agreement not to vote it down, rather than a full coalition, when his party failed to win an overall majority in last Thursday’s general election.

Although such a move would have been "easier and simpler" and was what people expected, Mr Cameron said he and Mr Clegg "both decided to take that risk" and go for a full coalition which he said was "in the national interest, had a majority and is strong and stable".

‘Inner core’

He said a document would be published shortly setting out in greater detail how the coalition will work together – but he insisted Mr Clegg would be in the "inner core" of the government, which meant he would chair cabinet committees, which guide policy formation, and be consulted on ministerial appointments and sackings.

"The deputy prime minister is clearly part of the inner core. When it comes to government appointments and, if I can put it this way, disappointments, of course that is the prime minister’s job.

"But this is going to be something that we try and do together".

Mr Clegg will stand in for Mr Cameron at prime minster’s questions, when the Conservative leader cannot attend, but Lib Dem MPs would continue to sit together in the Commons and the two parties would fight each other at by-elections.

But the prime minister made clear he expects the two parties to work closely together in government and hopes to avoid holding separate "political cabinets" made up only of Tory or Lib Dem ministers.

Like Mr Clegg, Mr Cameron acknowledged the coalition deal would upset some in his party, but he insisted it was more than a marriage of convenience, saying: "I have always described myself as a Liberal Conservative."

And he paid tribute to the "brave and courageous" actions of Mr Clegg, whose party is meeting later to discuss the coalition deal and who has faced criticism from one of his predecessors, Charles Kennedy.

In an article for the Observer, Mr Kennedy said he feared the coalition would he would wreck plans for a progressive centre-left alliance with Labour and he feared the Lib Dems would be swallowed by the Tories.

Mr Cameron described his deal with the Lib Dems as a "progressive alliance" based on shared values of "more freedom in our society" and the decentralisation of power. He insisted "this is not just about a group of people who have got together for power".

He also announced the new Office of Budget Responsibility would be launching a full audit of government spending on Monday, saying Labour had made "crazy" spending decisions over the past year that "no rational government would have done".

He refused to rule out an increase in VAT in Chancellor George Osborne’s forthcoming emergency budget, but said: "We believe that spending should bear the brunt of the burden in terms of cutting the deficit."

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

A French lecturer charged with spying in Iran after last June’s disputed election has left the country, the French president’s office has said.

President Nicolas Sarkozy’s office said Clotilde Reiss would arrive in Paris at about 1300 (1100 GMT).

She was sentenced to 10 years in jail but this was commuted to a fine of $285,000 (£190,000), her lawyer said.

The 25-year-old was accused of espionage and e-mailing photographs of anti-government protests.

"The president of the republic will receive her and her family at the Elysee Palace as soon as she arrives in Paris," AFP quoted the president’s office as saying.

Nuclear link?

Ms Reiss’s lawyer, Mohammad Ali Mahdavi, earlier said he had paid the fine on her behalf.

She has been staying at the French embassy in the capital Tehran since she was bailed six weeks after her arrest in July last year.

At that time, Ms Reiss had been on a six-month teaching and research assignment in the central city of Isfahan.

The BBC’s Hugh Schofield in the French capital says that with France at the forefront of efforts to punish Iran for its nuclear programme, there has been suspicion she was being held to put pressure on Paris.

Last week, France freed an Iranian engineer whom it detained for allegedly exporting electronic parts illegally to sell to Iran’s military.

The US had wanted to extradite Majid Kakavand, but a French court rejected the request last week and he was allowed return home.

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

Parts of the UK’s airspace are at risk of closure from Sunday because of volcanic activity in Iceland, the Department for Transport has said.

Disruption could affect some of the UK’s busiest airports in south-east England until Tuesday, it warned.

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said passenger safety was the government’s top priority.

Ash from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano caused disruption to thousands of flights during April.

Airspace across Europe was shut down for five days following concerns that ash could turn to molten glass in high temperatures, crippling plane engines.

Scientists and engineers have since revised the safe to fly threshold, but clouds of volcanic ash have continued to drift over Europe, causing airport closures, flight delays and cancellations.

Prediction charts

In the past week, several airports in southern Europe were forced to close and flights were re-routed.

Ministers have agreed on Saturday that five-day ash prediction charts would be made available on the Met Office website.

"Within this timeframe, different parts of UK airspace – including airspace in the South East – are likely to be closed at different times," the Department of Transport said in a statement.

Previous forecasts were only given for the following 18 hours.

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said the five-day forecasts would ensure "airlines, other transport providers and the public [had] the best possible information".

But he stressed the situation "remained fluid" and the forecasts – based on assumptions about future volcanic activity and prevailing weather conditions – were "always liable to change".

"Nats – the UK’s air traffic services provider – will advise of any airspace closures as and when they become necessary and I urge passengers to check with their airlines before taking any action," he added.

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

Thai protesters have stood their ground in Bangkok, defying a vow from PM Abhisit Vejjajiva to use the military to stop them toppling his government.

One protest leader said Thailand was close to "civil war" after clashes in Bangkok between protesters and soldiers that have left 24 people dead.

The fighting flared as the army moved to isolate a fortified protest camp.

Mr Abhisit said he was considering a curfew in Bangkok and has postponed the new school term in the city for a week.

Thousands of people who say Mr Abhisit came to power undemocratically remain behind makeshift barricades of rubber tyres, sandbags and bamboo stakes in the Ratchaprasong commercial district.

The protesters are known as red-shirts, after the colour they have adopted.

They want the prime minister to step down to make way for new elections.

Army ‘prepared’

In a televised address on Saturday, Mr Abhisit said the army would not back down in its operation to clear the protesters.

"We cannot leave the country in a situation where people who don’t obey the law are holding hostage the people of Bangkok, as well as the centre of the country," he said.

"We can’t allow a situation where people set up armed groups and overthrow the government because they don’t agree with it."

Mr Abhisit has said that a few armed "terrorists" are among the protesters.

An army spokesman said the military was planning to enter the protesters’ camp if they did not disperse, but gave no timetable.

"There is a plan to crack down on Ratchaprasong if the protest does not end," said the spokesman, Col Sunsern Kaewkumnerd.

"But authorities will not set a deadline because without effective planning there will be more loss of life."

The BBC’s Chris Hogg in Bangkok says the army’s actions are like squeezing a balloon full of water – they are just pushing protesters into a different part of the city.

Black smoke drifted into the air over Bangkok on Sunday morning but the streets were mostly quiet after three days of fierce battles that saw soldiers fire live rounds and rubber bullets at protesters who threw stones, petrol bombs and shot fireworks in return.

The army has declared live fire zones in some areas as it attempted to cut off the camp from supplies and reinforcements.

Some 170 people have been injured since the latest violence broke out on Thursday, and 27 people have been sent to jail, each given six-month sentences. All the fatalities have been civilians.

More than 50 people have been killed and at least 1,500 wounded in total since the protests began in mid-March, Thai officials have said.

Despite claims by the Thai government that the situation was under control and its soldiers had only fired in self-defence, army snipers have been accused of targeting protesters. Footage from Bangkok on Saturday showed red-shirts dragging gunshot victims to safety.

The violence escalated on Thursday after a renegade general who supports the protests was shot in the head by an unknown gunman.

Gen Khattiya Sawasdipol, better known as Seh Daeng (Commander Red), is in a critical condition.

National divisions

The latest clashes have raised questions about the stability of Thailand, South-East Asia’s second-largest economy.

"The current situation is almost full civil war," said one of the protest leaders, Jatuporn Prompan. "I am not sure how this conflict will end."

Many of the protesters are from poor rural areas in northern Thailand where support is still strong for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup.

They say Mr Abhisit was put into power in a parliamentary vote by an alliance of the Bangkok elite and the military and want him to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections.

He had offered polls in November – but the two sides failed to agree a deal because of divisions over who should be held accountable for a deadly crackdown on protests last month.

Mr Thaksin has called on the government to withdraw troops and restart negotiations. He is living abroad to avoid a jail term on a corruption conviction.

Are you in or close to the protest camp in Bangkok? What is the situation in the area? Are you worried there’ll be more violence? Send us your comments Click here to add comments..

You can send your pictures to [email protected], text them to +44 7725 100 100 or you have a large file you can click here to upload.

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At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws.

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

Former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy has admitted that he refused to back his party’s coalition deal with the Conservatives.

Writing in the Observer – ahead of a special Lib Dem conference – Mr Kennedy said he feared it would wreck plans for a progressive centre-left alliance.

His apprehension was shared by some grassroots party members too, he says.

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, who will address his party later, defended his decision as the only workable option.

The new deputy prime minister told the Guardian newspaper on Saturday that he knew the deal had caused "much surprise and some offence" but the coalition’s agenda was one of "liberalism".

He said he rejected a Labour-led alliance, as it was "unworkable" and would be seen by voters as "illegitimate".

But Mr Kennedy, who led the party from 1999 to 2006, said he could not bring himself to back Mr Clegg in the crucial vote on Tuesday night and now feared the Lib Dems would be swallowed up by the Tories.

"With uncharacteristic understatement Paddy Ashdown described last week’s events as ‘a rather unexpected moment’," he wrote.

"Certainly, they drive a strategic coach and horses through the long-nurtured ‘realignment of the centre-left’ to which leaders in the Liberal tradition, this one included, have all subscribed since the Jo Grimond era.

"It is hardly surprising that, for some of us at least, our political compass currently feels confused."

Replacing Trident

Lord Ashdown, another former party leader, has also expressed concerns about the pact.

On Saturday, Nich Starling, a Lib Dem councillor, said some people felt they had been turned into "liars and fools".

At the conference in Birmingham, party members will have the chance to question Mr Clegg, and fellow cabinet colleagues including the new Business Secretary Vince Cable and the Energy Secretary Chris Huhne over details of the coalition.

BBC political correspondent Louise Stewart said hostile motions were expected to be tabled on issues including tuition fees, the replacement of Trident and increasing VAT.

Members would have the right to vote on the coalition deal, but it was unlikely to have much impact, she added.

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

Amir Khan says he is looking forward to silencing Paulie Malignaggi when they meet in their WBA light-welterweight title fight in New York on Saturday.

Champion Khan is making his US debut on New Yorker Malignaggi’s home turf at Madison Square Garden.

"I’ve fought a lot of guys who talk a lot but he has to be the number one guy for talking," said Bolton’s Khan, 23.

"I just can’t wait to beat him and shut him up properly so he’s going to end up thinking about not coming back."

Malignaggi’s record is 27 wins and three losses with one of those losses coming against Ricky Hatton in 2008, since when he has changed his training team and rebuilt his game, describing this world title shot as "redemption" for what he has been through.

But Khan, whose record is 22-1, dismissed his opponent, saying: "He won’t be getting another chance after this."

Even Malignaggi’s own manager refers to his fighter as "the mouth that roared", but Khan made light of his taunts, saying it just showed how scared the American was.

"It’s quite funny really when you hear the remarks. I think when a fighter talks a lot of trash he’s probably scared or he’s trying to put something in my head to scare me," he said.

"Paulie’s not one of those fighters who talks trash to sell a fight. He’s doing it because I think he’s under a bit of pressure and he’s got a bit of fear in him.

"So he just wants to scare me so I’m on the same level as him but I’m nice and chilled out."

Khan’s build-up to the fight has been disrupted by visa complications which forced him to relocate his training camp to Canada, but Malignaggi said he wanted to beat Khan fair and square and without anyone making excuses.

"This is an opportunity to beat a champion that everybody is saying is so great and all this," said the former IBF light-welterweight champion.

"But after the fight on Saturday night I don’t want to hear anyone saying Khan was over-rated, or he got stuck in Vancouver, I don’t want to hear anything like that.

"He said he wants the biggest fights in America and he wants to fight Paulie Malignaggi. Well, be careful what you wish for."

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Sunday will witness a huge rush for weddings in India as a six-month drought of dates considered auspicious comes to an end.

Indian Hindus believe 16 May is one of the four most auspicious dates in their calendar.

Professional wedding planners claim that around 50,000 weddings are taking place in Mumbai and half that in Delhi.

However the mass weddings are causing shortages of priests, caterers and wedding halls.

Farmhouses

According to the Hindu calendar, Sunday is the Akshaya Tritiya day, the first of the four most auspicious days to start new ventures, including entering into wedlock.

Astrologer Premila Devi says Akshaya Tritiya is a day that "brings eternal good fortune".

"It’s the most auspicious time to start any good venture, like business, marriages or moving into new houses."

It is certainly bringing fortune to the caterers, jewellers and wedding planners.

But while cash registers are ringing the traditionally lavish Indian weddings are also creating shortages of marriage venues, flowers and Hindu priests.

There are reports of affluent Indians hiring farmhouses for wedding ceremonies.

Akshaya Tritiya ends a nearly six-month drought during which it was regarded as inauspicious to undertake a new enterprise.

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Brazil’s president is in Iran to hold talks with its leaders in what is seen as a last ditch attempt to find a compromise over the nuclear issue.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrived from Moscow, where he met Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

US officials have warned they are close to securing agreement on a new package of sanctions against Iran in the UN security council.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.

Diplomatic effort

President Lula’s visit to Tehran has been described by both senior American and Russian officials as the last chance for a compromise before new sanctions are imposed on Iran.

The Brazilian president will be trying to encourage Iran to agree to a deal under which its existing stocks of enriched uranium are shipped out of the country and converted to fuel for a research reactor.

This will prevent the material from being available to make a nuclear bomb.

Iran has given mixed messages about such a deal, suggesting that it is still open to the idea, but then imposing conditions the West feels are unacceptable.

For his part, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be hoping to persuade the Brazilians to use their seat on the UN Security Council to vote against new sanctions.

Mr Ahmadinejad had been hoping to have a similar conversation with the Turkish prime minister, but Turkey is now indicating that he probably will not travel to Tehran, possibly following pressure from Washington.

Iran has been mounting a big diplomatic effort to prevent the new sanctions – the foreign minister has been travelling to all 15 members of the security council.

But President Ahmadinejad is in a weak position following the dispute over his re-election last year.

It is not clear that he could deliver a compromise deal, even if he wanted to.

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