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Sri Lanka lose two early second-innings wickets after England declare on the final day of the weather-affected first Test in Cardiff, which is heading for a draw.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Suspicion has fallen on organic cucumbers from Spain Germans have been warned not to eat cucumbers until tests identify the source of a deadly E.coli outbreak that has killed 10 and spread across Europe.
It is thought contaminated organic cucumbers were imported from Spain, but further tests are being carried out.
The vegetables have left hundreds ill with Hemolytic-uremic Syndrome (HUS), which causes kidney problems.
Cases have also been recorded in Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK.
On Sunday, authorities in the Czech Republic and Austria took some Spanish-grown cucumbers off store shelves amid contamination fears.
Czech officials said affected cucumbers may also have been exported to Hungary and Luxembourg.
The suspicion has fallen on organic cucumbers from Spain imported by Germany but then re-exported to other European countries, or exported directly by Spain.
Two Spanish greenhouses identified as sources for the outbreak have been closed and are currently under investigation to see whether the outbreak originated there or elsewhere, said an EU spokesman.
The outbreak – which the Sweden-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has called “one of the largest described of HUS worldwide and the largest ever reported in Germany” – has been particularly severe in the Hamburg area.
It has baffled scientists because whereas HUS normally affects children under the age of five, in this outbreaks nearly 90% are adults and two-thirds are women, says the BBC’s Stephen Evans in Berlin.
One possibility is that they became infected after eating food for what they thought were health reasons, adds our correspondent.
The DNA of the bacterium is to be analysed later to try to find ways of catching it early in people infected by it.
The sickness is not directly contagious but it can be transferred between people if an infected person prepares food for others.
The German authorities warn that the source may still be active and that means there is a possibility of the outbreak getting worse.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Andy Murray Andy Murray looks set to take on Viktor Troicki at the French Open on Monday after coming through a practice session unscathed as he tested out his injured ankle.
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The rebels are insisting that Col Gaddafi steps down South African President Jacob Zuma is heading for Libya for what is being seen as a last attempt to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.
It is unclear if the visit, Mr Zuma’s second, will focus on exit strategies for leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.
Rebels fighting Col Gaddafi’s forces since February have refused to negotiate unless he steps down.
Meanwhile Mr Zuma’s ruling African National Congress has condemned the Nato bombing of Libya.
“We… join the continent and all peace loving people of the world in condemning the continuing aerial bombardments of Libya by Western forces,” the ANC said in a statement on the eve of the visit.
Nato imposed a no-fly zone in Libya in March as Col Gaddafi’s forces threatened to overrun rebel-held parts of the country.
International pressure on Col Gaddafi continues to grow, with the G8 calling for his departure on Friday and Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev saying on Saturday that he no longer had the right to lead Libya.
The rebels welcomed the G8 statement.
“The entire world has reached a consensus that Col Gaddafi and his regime have not only lost their legitimacy but also their credibility,” said rebel leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil in a statement.
Mr Zuma’s Monday visit was part of efforts by the African Union to persuade Libya to adopt political reforms needed to end the crisis, said his spokesman Zizi Kodwa.
One of Col Gaddafi’s advisers admits the South African president’s visit may be their last chance of a diplomatic way out, but says there’s no possibility of the man they call the brother leader stepping aside – as both Nato and the rebels are demanding.
There is support for the alliance though on the streets of Tripoli, even as life gets tougher. Petrol shortages are now so severe people report queuing for up to five days.
No-one likes being bombed, said one resident and anti Gaddafi campaigner, but we need Nato to get rid of him.
But his opponents are still too scared to protest openly in Tripoli.
But one source at his office, who refused to be named, told AFP news agency the purpose of the visit was to discuss an exit strategy for Col Gaddafi.
Mr Zuma’s visit comes days after the UK and France announced they were sending attack helicopters to join the Nato effort, as the alliance attempts to break the deadlock which has left the rebels in control of eastern Libya and the government running most of the west.
The UK has also said it could use “bunker busting” bombs, capable of penetrating reinforced buildings, in a matter of hours in Libya.
“We are not trying to physically target individuals in Gaddafi’s inner circle on whom he relies but we are certainly sending them increasingly loud messages,” said Defence Secretary Liam Fox.
UN Security Council Resolution 1973 authorised air strikes to protect Libyan civilians from attacks by forces loyal to Col Gaddafi.
The UN vote followed the violent suppression of protests against Col Gaddafi’s regime, and military strikes against his forces in support of the rebels, which began on 19 March.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Benedict Cumberbatch plays a modern day version of Sherlock Holmes The BBC One drama Sherlock has swept the board at the Bafta Cymru awards, winning five categories.
Sherlock, the modern-day retelling of Sherlock Holmes commissioned by BBC Cymru Wales, won best television drama and best director for Euros Lyn.
The best actor award went to Stuart Brennan for his role as the Welsh boxer Howard Winstone.
Meanwhile, Only Fools and Horses producer Gareth Gwenlan won a lifetime achievement award.
The 20th annual awards was held Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff on Sunday.
BBC Cymru Wales productions took 11 of the 26 awards, while independent production company Rondo Media won in four categories, closely followed by Fiction Factory with three awards.
Programmes on the Welsh language channel S4C claimed prizes in eight categories.
But it was Sherlock’s night.
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, it won awards for best television drama, best director (fiction), production design, hair and make-up and photography (fiction).
Sherlock won two prizes at the Bafta TV Awards ceremony in London last week.
The best actor award went to Stuart Brennan, who is said to have spent five years in training for his role in Risen: The Howard Winstone Story. Winstone, from Merthyr Tydfil, died in 2000.
Meanwhile, television producer Gareth Gwenlan, who worked on the BBC comedies Only Fools and Horses, The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin and To the Manor Born, received a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to the British and Welsh television industry.
The Hollywood actor from Cardiff, Matthew Rhys, was also honoured with The Sian Phillips Award, while BBC Wales’ Snowdonia 1890 was given the Gwyn Alf Williams Award.
Meanwhile, Mali Harries won best actress for her role in The Indian Doctor, which was made by Rondo for the BBC, and set in a Welsh mining village in 1963.
Angharad Mair, of Welsh language magazine programme Wedi 7 on S4C, was awarded best presenter, while comedian Rhod Gilbert’s Work Experience for BBC Wales won best factual series for his trials with the Bin Men.
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Suspended Fifa vice-president Jack Warner makes public an e-mail sent by general secretary Jerome Valcke that claims Mohamed Bin Hammam “bought” the 2022 World Cup finals for Qatar.
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Reading face Swansea in the Championship play-off final vying to secure promotion to the Premier League.
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Mohamed Abdi Farah and Amin Ahmed Ismail were both shot in the head Police investigating the fatal shooting of two teenagers in Milton Keyes are going through hundreds of hours of CCTV footage in the hope of finding clues.
Ahmed Ismail, 18, died in hospital after the shooting in an alleyway in Fishermead last Thursday night.
The other victim, Mohamed Abdi Farah, 19, of Birmingham, died from a single gunshot wound to the head.
Two men, aged 21 and 33, and a boy, 13, have now all been bailed pending further inquiries.
Police said three males from Bletchley had been arrested on Friday.
Both victims were from the Somali community and were known to police over low-level criminal activity.
Detectives have ruled out the killings being gang-related.
Det Supt Rob Mason said: “We have a large team of officers dedicated to this investigation and they are busy conducting house-to-house enquiries, speaking to witnesses and viewing hours of CCTV footage.
“I am convinced that we will find whoever was responsible for the deaths of these two young men.”
The victims are known to have visited the Xscape leisure complex in Milton Keynes and left at approximately 2141 BST.
They then walked back to the estate and were last sighted in the vicinity of the X-Trim barbers shop in Gurnards Avenue at about 2150 BST.
Mr Mason said: “We would be keen to hear from anyone who saw our victims in the last few hours leading up to their deaths and particularly as they walked back from the Xscape building.
“The response from the public and the local Fishermead community has been excellent and I would like to thank anyone who has contacted us with information.”
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Aaron Hogg, 21, was found dead in his cell at HMP Maghaberry A member of a new prison reform group set up in Northern Ireland has said the Prison Service has gone beyond the point of crisis.
Queen’s University professor Phil Scraton of Action Prison said the treatment of inmates with mental health issues is simply not good enough.
It follows the deaths of three people in prisons within the past month.
Professor Scraton says the prison service was not fit for purpose.
“I gave evidence to the prison review a few weeks back and I called it an institutionalised malaise,” he said.
“When something continues as long as the problems we have in our prisons have continued, it’s no longer a crisis, a crisis is something that comes to a head and you recover very quickly.”
The mother of one of the three prisoners who took their own life while on remand in a NI prison said she raised concerns about her son’s mental state with the Prison Service.
Aaron Hogg, 21, from North Belfast, was awaiting trial in Maghaberry Prison for attempted murder.
His mother, Lyn Edwards, said the system was failing in its duty of care towards her son.
“We had written a letter just saying how vulnerable he was, that he was in their care and it was up to them to look after him,” she said.
“There are a lot of people in there with mental health issues who are just put in there, locked up, forgotten about, and that’s it.
“The whole system let Aaron down.”
Earlier this month, a 19-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman were found dead in their cells in Hydebank Young Offenders Centre.
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The violence brought Kenya to the brink of civil war Officials from the International Criminal Court are in Kenya to discuss how to protect witnesses in the cases of six men accused of masterminding the violence following the 2007 elections.
On Sunday, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said the government was creating a “climate of fear”.
Kenyan officials dismissed the claim.
The accused, including Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, deny they committed crimes against humanity during the unrest in which some 1,000 people died.
The Kenyan government has contested the jurisdiction of the ICC on the matter, saying it could investigate and prosecute the cases itself.
On Monday, a team from Mr Moreno-Ocampo’s office began discussions with the Kenyan authorities about the protection of witnesses.
“Is the government of Kenya protecting witnesses or protecting the suspects from investigation?”
Luis Moreno-Ocampo ICC chief prosector
The ICC officials would “assess not just the specific protection program”, but would also want to “understand the current position of the government in relation with the post-electoral violence”, a statement said.
Mr Moreno-Ocampo complained on Sunday that high-ranking members of the government had misrepresented ICC efforts to do justice for the victims as an attack against Kenyan sovereignty.
“They are pursuing regional and political campaigns to stop the case. Not only is this sending the wrong signal, but it is also promoting a growing climate of fear that is intimidating potential witnesses and ultimately undermining national and international investigations,” he said.
“My question to the Kenyan government is this: does the government of Kenya want justice for the victims? We need an unequivocal answer, an answer that Kenyans and the world could understand,” he added.
“Is the government of Kenya protecting witnesses or protecting the suspects from investigation? That is the question.”
Supporters of Mwai Kibaki in 2007
Uhuru Kenyatta – deputy prime minister and finance minister and son of Kenya’s founding presidentFrancis Muthaura – head of civil service and cabinet secretaryHussein Ali – police chief during the violence
Supporters of Raila Odinga in 2007
William Ruto – former minister of higher education. Member of the Kalenjin communityHenry Kosgey – former minister of industrialisation – chairman of Odinga’s Orange Democratic MovementJoshua arap Sang – reporter and executive of radio station, Kass FM
Last year, the ICC warned that it would request arrest warrants for anyone who tried to threaten witnesses involved in the cases, or their families, and that it was taking steps to identify those responsible for intimidation.
In addition to Mr Kenyatta, the accused are Cabinet Secretary Francis Muthaura, Postal Corporation chief Hussein Ali, suspended government ministers William Ruto and Henry Kosgey, and radio executive Joshua Arap Sang.
The violence, which brought Kenya to the brink of civil war, broke out after supporters of President Mwai Kibaki were accused of trying to rig the presidential election in December 2007.
It ended when Mr Kibaki and the main opposition candidate, Raila Odinga, agreed to share power, with the latter becoming prime minister. They also agreed that those responsible would face justice in Kenya or at the ICC in The Hague.
ICC judges are to hold hearings in September to decide whether the men should stand trial. If convicted, they could face life imprisonment.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
A waterspout, spiralling hundreds of metres into the sky, has been filmed off the coast of New South Wales in Australia.
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The report says pay deals are too short term There is a weakening link between the total pay increases that top UK chief executives receive, and the performance of their firms, a report has claimed.
The study found that while the average remuneration of bosses of companies on the FTSE 100 index rose 32% last year, the index itself increased just 9%.
Report co-author, business consultancy MM&K, said remuneration committees were struggling to stay independent.
It added that pay deals for bosses were too short-term focused.
The report also found that over the past 12 years, some share prices had not increased, but pay deals for chief executives had quadrupled.
While the study welcomed a move towards Long Term Incentive Plans (LTIPS) – linking share bonuses to the long term performance of a company – it said the duration of such schemes had shortened extensively.
It said that many LTIPS schemes now lasted just three years, down from seven to 10 years a decade ago.
The report comes days after HSBC bosses had to face shareholder anger over high executive pay at the bank’s annual general meeting.
A fifth of the HSBC shareholders refused to back the bank’s remuneration plan for senior staff.
“Shareholders are increasingly looking for more aggressive strategic target setting,” said Sarah Wilson, founder of governance agency Manifest, which also co-authored the report.
“There is a level of frustration that remuneration committees are developing a tin ear and don’t see high levels of voting dissent as something to be concerned about.”
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Will India prove that it has the X factor?
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Germany saw mass anti-nuclear protests in the wake of the Fukushima disaster Germany’s ruling coalition says it has agreed a date of 2022 for the shutdown of all of its nuclear power plants.
Environment Minister Norbert Rottgen made the announcement after a meeting of the ruling coalition that lasted into the early hours of Monday.
Chancellor Angela Merkel had set up an ethics panel to look into nuclear power following the disaster at the Fukushima plant in Japan.
Germany saw mass anti-nuclear protests in the wake of the disaster.
Mr Rottgen said the seven oldest reactors, which were already subject to a moratorium, and the Kruemmel nuclear power plant, would not resume.
Six others would go offline by 2021 at the latest and the three newest by 2022, he said.
Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democrats had met with its junior partners on Sunday after the ethics panel had delivered its conclusions.
Before the meeting she said: “I think we’re on a good path but very, very many questions have to be considered.
“If you want to exit something, you also have to prove how the change will work and how we can enter into a durable and sustainable energy provision.”
The Fukushima plant was crippled by the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan, causing radioactive leaks that spurred anti-nuclear protests in Germany.
Mr Rottgen said a tax on spent fuel rods, expected to raise 2.3bn euros ($3.28bn) a year from this year, would remain despite the shutdown.
Germany’s nuclear industry has argued that an early shutdown would be hugely damaging to the country’s industrial base.
Before March’s moratorium on the older power plants, Germany relied on nuclear power for 23% of its energy.
The anti-nuclear drive boosted Germany’s Green party, which took control of the Christian Democrat stronghold of Baden-Wuerttemberg, in late March.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The jet has been at Filton since 2003 and was closed to the public in October 2010 for maintenance A bid for £2.9m towards building a museum to house the last Concorde to fly has failed.
But the Concorde Trust said it remained positive about the £9m project in Bristol despite being turned down by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
The museum was given a £840,000 cash boost by Airbus last week.
Trust chairman Mike Littleton said: “Although the HLF decision is a setback, we remain determined to make this project a reality.”
Plans for the museum at Cribbs Causeway were first submitted in 2007 but building work has never started because of a lack of funding.
Mr Littleton said he did not see the HLF failure as a blow to attracting other investors and that the vision was still to open the museum in 2014.
He said the trust was evaluating feedback from the HLF with a view to resubmitting its application in the near future.
It is also pursuing other major sources of funding.
“This is one of the cradles of aviation in the UK”
Mike Littleton Concorde Trust chairman
“We now need some time to review and decide our next steps, but remain confident,” Mr Littleton said.
“Our professional team delivered a first class bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund with a project that was exceptionally well researched, financially sustainable and, we believe, met the funding criteria.
“Given the overwhelming support we received from the general public, local government, industry and education, we are confident that we can deal with the issues and succeed with our ambitions.”
Mr Littleton said feedback from the HLF was that requests for funding had been three times greater than the amount available and that he did not think the plans were too ambitious.
“This is one of the cradles of aviation in the UK, the only one with a history of continuous industrial production and it remains a world-class centre of aerospace innovation,” he said.
“With the announced closure of Filton Airfield it is even more important that we have a major museum acting as a permanent legacy to celebrate a century of aviation heritage and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.”
The jet has been at Filton since 2003 and was closed to the public in October 2010 for maintenance.
BAE Systems, which owns Filton Airfield where the jet is based, is to close from the end of 2012, meaning a new home will soon have to be found for the jet.
The plane – called Concorde 216 or Alpha Foxtrot – was the last of the fleet to fly when Concorde was withdrawn from service by British Airways in 2003 due to increased running costs.
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