news – Page 177 – Blancer.com Tutorials and projects

Russia warns Libya over civilians

Col Gaddafi has pledged to fight to the end

Envoys of Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi are to hold talks in Moscow with Russian officials.

Separate talks with in Moscow with rebel officials had been expected a day later, but were put off “for technical reasons,” Russia said.

The Kremlin has refused to accept the rebels as the legitimate power, and still has formal ties with Col Gaddafi.

On Monday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor pressed for the arrest of Col Gaddafi.

Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Col Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanussi bore the greatest responsibility for “widespread and systematic attacks” on civilians.

ICC judges must still decide whether or not to issue warrants for their arrest.

The Libyan government has already said it will ignore the announcement.

In a separate development, explosions were heard near the residence of Col Gaddafi in Tripoli early on Tuesday.

Libyan officials later took reporters to the area and showed them the buildings, which were on fire after being hit in what appeared to be Nato air strikes.

A government spokesman said one of buildings was a security services office.

“We agreed on meetings in Moscow with representatives of both Tripoli and Benghazi (rebel officials),” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo: “Gaddafi committed the crimes with the goal of preserving his authority”

“Official envoys from Tripoli will be here tomorrow. Envoys from Benghazi were supposed to be here on Wednesday, but as they informed us, they were forced to ask us to postpone this visit for technical reasons,” Mr Lavrov added.

He did not specify what caused the delay, only saying that Moscow hopes the talks with the rebels “will take place in the foreseeable future”.

Mr Lavrov also stressed that Russia was “ready to conduct dialogue with all”, repeating Moscow’s call for an end to fighting in Libya.

Earlier on Monday, Mr Moreno-Ocampo said that after reviewing more than 1,200 documents and 50 interviews with key insiders and witnesses, his office had evidence showing that Col Gaddafi had “personally ordered attacks on unarmed Libyan civilians”.

“His forces attacked Libyan civilians in their homes and in public spaces, shot demonstrators with live ammunition, used heavy weaponry against participants in funeral processions, and placed snipers to kill those leaving mosques after prayers,” he told a news conference in The Hague.

“The evidence shows that such persecution is still ongoing as I speak today in the areas under Gaddafi control. Gaddafi forces have prepared a list with names of alleged dissidents, and they are being arrested, put into prisons in Tripoli, tortured and made to disappear,” he added.

Mr Moreno-Ocampo continued: “His [Col Gaddafi’s] second-oldest son, Saif al-Islam, is the de facto prime minister and Sanussi, Gaddafi’s brother-in-law, is his right-hand man – the executioner, the head of military intelligence. He commanded personally some of the attacks.”

The prosecutor insisted he was “almost ready” for a trial, based on the testimony, particularly of those who had escaped from Libya.

Libya’s opposition National Transitional Council praised the ICC move.

But its vice-president, Abdel Hafez Ghoga, said: “We would like him [Col Gaddafi] to be tried in Libya first before being put on trial in an international court.”

The charges cover the days following the start of anti-government protests on 15 February. Between 500 and 700 people are believed to have been killed in that month alone.

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

House prices falling, says survey

Most surveys suggest prices have been in decline in the past few months

UK house prices fell slightly in the first three months of the year, according to the Communities and Local Government department (DCLG).

Its survey shows prices over the first three months of the year prices were 0.5% down on the previous three months.

However, during March alone, prices rose by 1.2%, leaving them 0.9% higher than a year ago.

Prices in London have grown by 5.6% in the past year, far outstripping other areas of the UK.

Nicholas Ayre, director of UK buying agent Home Fusion, said: “The property market, very clearly, has fragmented into a series of micro-markets.

“It could be many years before we see the return of a property market that trends at a national level.”

The DCLG survey is based on a 60% sample of all completed house purchases involving a mortgage.

It shows that prices have risen in the past year in the south-east and east of England, as well as the East Midlands.

But they have dropped elsewhere, especially in Northern Ireland, where they have fallen by nearly 14% in the past 12 months.

“The DCLG data showing a marked rebound in house prices in March do not materially alter our view that house prices will lose ground over the coming months,” said Howard Archer of IHS Global Insight.

“House prices are notoriously volatile from month to month and from survey to survey.

“Furthermore, both the Halifax (by 1.4% month-on-month) and the Nationwide (by 0.2% month-on-month) reported falls in house prices in April,” 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.

Clegg unveils Lords reform plans

Nick Clegg sets out options for replacing the House of Lords with a mainly elected upper chamber, starting in 2015.

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

‘Record price’ for racing pigeon

The record breaking pigeon will be sent to a new home in China

A racing pigeon from East Yorkshire has been bought for a “record breaking” £16,000, despite being unable to fly.

It is believed the price paid for Champion Treble Six is the highest ever for a pigeon bred in the UK.

The six-year-old pigeon was retired in 2009 after breaking a wing, but Kerry Mellonby from Bridlington kept the bird for breeding before deciding to sell.

The winning bidder came from China, and the pigeon will be sent overseas within the next month.

Champion Treble Six was crowned Yorkshire Middle Route Performance Bird of the Year in 2007.

The sale was made through Pigeon Paradise, a specialist online site based in Belgium.

Owner of the site, Nikolaas Gyselbrecht, said: “I believe for a pigeon bred in the UK, this is a record price.

“I think there is a bright future for pigeon racing in the UK.”

On the Continent, pigeon racing is a popular sport and the birds can sell for up to a quarter of a million Euros.

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

VIDEO: Cockpit video of Tripoli attacks

Nato says overnight air strikes in Tripoli hit important Libyan government buildings.

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

Milly’s mother collapses in court

Notes by Milly in which she said she was unhappy, were read out in court

Milly Dowler’s mother has collapsed after giving evidence in the trial of the man accused of murdering her 13-year-old daughter.

Sally Dowler broke down and had to be helped out by two family liaison officers after taking the witness stand at the Old Bailey in London.

Levi Bellfield, 42, denies abducting and murdering Milly and attempting to kidnap another girl in March 2002.

On Monday notes were read out in court which said Milly was unhappy.

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

‘No concerns’ over 2009 crash jet

Airbus reportedly reassures airlines over the safety of its A330 jet after an early reading of data from the 2009 Air France crash in the Atlantic.

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

Queen lays wreath on Irish visit

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh flew into Baldonnel military airbase.

The Queen has been welcomed on her first visit to the Republic of Ireland by President Mary McAleese.

After flying into Baldonnel military airbase, outside Dublin, for the four-day visit, the Queen emerged wearing a green coat and hat.

One of the Republic’s biggest ever security operations is in place, amid a rise in dissident republican violence.

A pipe bomb found on a passenger bus bound for Dublin on Monday was made safe by an Irish army team.

At Baldonnel airbase, the royals were greeted by an Irish Air Corps guard of honour and presented with flowers by a south Dublin schoolgirl, eight-year-old Rachel Fox.

The Queen was then escorted to Aras an Uachtarain, the official residence of the Irish president in Dublin’s Phoenix Park. The visit is taking place following Mrs McAleese’s invitation.

King George V was the last reigning monarch to visit the country, in 1911, when what is now the Republic was then part of the UK.

Ahead of the visit, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said: “One hundred years on from the last time a British monarch visited Ireland, I think there is a great sense of history and occasion.”

“The relationship between the Crown and Ireland has been one of the longest and most difficult in the history of Britain’s monarchy”

Nicholas Witchell Royal correspondent, BBC NewsChequered history behind Queen’s Irish trip

He added: “I think the real effect… will be a marker that just as we are solving some of the problems there have been between us in the past, just as we are helping each other through these difficult economic times, now is a great moment for people in Britain and people in Ireland to remember what it is we share.”

Mr Cameron will join the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh for part of their trip on Wednesday, while Foreign Secretary William Hague will follow the usual practice of accompanying the royals throughout their visit.

The Queen will attend events at Trinity College Dublin, the National War Memorial Gardens in Islandbridge and Croke Park stadium.

What do the people of Dublin think about the royal visit?

Croke Park is the home of Gaelic games where in 1920, during the Irish War of Independence, British forces fired into the crowd at a football match, killing 14 spectators and players.

The Queen is also to make a speech at a state dinner at Dublin Castle.

There are plans for the Queen and Prince Philip to visit the Irish National Stud in County Kildare, as well as the Rock of Cashel in County Tipperary and a technology park in Cork.

The bomb on the bus was found in a holdall in the luggage compartment on Monday night during a check in Maynooth, County Kildare, to the west of Dublin.

“The Irish president’s dressed in pink. No clash. Must have checked in advance”

Peter Hunt Royal correspondent, BBC NewsFollow Peter Hunt’s coverage of the royal visit Follow BBC’s Mark Simpson on Twitter

About 30 people who were on board the bus were taken off and transported to Dublin in another vehicle.

The device was later made safe in a controlled explosion carried out by an Irish army bomb disposal team.

The coded bomb threat relating to London, which was received on Sunday, was the first issued by Irish dissidents outside Northern Ireland in 10 years, officials said.

However, the threat level for Northern Ireland-related terrorism in Britain remains unchanged at substantial. In Northern Ireland it is severe.

The cost of the security operation has been estimated at 30 million euros (£26m), with measures including:

Deployment of more than 6,000 Irish police and Defence Forces personnel onto the streets of DublinIncreased surveillance of known republican dissidentsA ring of steel, comprising 25 miles of crowd-control barriers, installed around the Irish capitalChecking of thousands of manhole covers and lamp-posts, and parking bans imposed on 30 city centre streets

Send your pictures and videos to [email protected] or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions

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

Hereditary Tory peer Onslow dies

Hereditary peer, the Earl of Onslow, has died, Lords speaker Baroness Hayman tells the House.

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

Burma begins releasing prisoners

Monks chanting as police block off a street in Yangon during pro-democracy demos, Burma, Sept 2007

It is unclear if Burma’s amnesty applies to political prisoners, such as those in the 2007 protests

Burma’s announcement of a prisoner release programme has been criticised as “pathetic”, falling far short of calls to release political prisoners.

The Burmese President, former general Thein Sein, said prisoners would be given a one-year sentence reduction.

However, the plan did not give any details, nor whether it would apply to the 2,200 political prisoners in Burma.

Separately the United States reimposed economic sanctions for actions “hostile to US interests”.

Burmese state media reported on Monday that President Thein Sein had signed a “general amnesty” on humanitarian grounds.

This would commute death sentences to life imprisonment and cut a year off other prison terms.

Neither eligibility of prisoners for early release, nor the timing of the amnesty, was detailed.

“I think this amnesty order is not intended for the political prisoners,” said Nyan Win, a spokesman for pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) group described the amnesty as a “pathetic response” to demands for the freedom of all political prisoners.

Given that some political prisoners have been given terms of 65 years in jail, a one-year reduction, even if applied to them, was a “sick joke”, HRW said.

Long-term political prisonersZargana, Burma’s most famous comedian, is serving a 35-year sentence for criticising the government’s slow response to Cyclone Nargis;U Gambira, a 30-year-old monk who helped lead the August-September 2007 protests is serving a 63-year sentence;Min Ko Naing, a former student leader, is serving a 65-year sentence;Nay Phone Latt, a 30-year-old blogger on the 2007 protests was sentenced to 12 years in prison;Su Su Nway, a female labour rights activist, is serving an eight-and-a-half-year sentence after raising a banner criticising Burma’s government at the hotel of a visiting UN special envoy

Burma’s last general amnesty, in 2009, saw the release of 7,114 prisoners, most of them petty criminals.

Alongside its political prisoners, Burma has more than 60,000 prisoners in 42 prisons and 109 labour camps.

Meanwhile, the United States has renewed its sanctions against economic ties with the military-backed Burmese government.

US President Barack Obama said in a statement to Congress that sanctions were required because of Burma’s “large-scale repression of the democratic opposition”.

Efforts to engage the Burmese military over the past two years, and the holding of elections last November, have not convinced the Obama administration that any real change is under way.

“We reiterate our call that all political prisoners be released immediately,” US state department spokesman Mark Toner said.

Last month, the European Union relaxed some sanctions against members of Burma’s government.

The Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) has welcomed the elections and suggested that sanctions should be dropped in order to help Burma progress.

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

VIDEO: Goalkeeper drops trophy under bus

Dutch football team goalkeeper drops the team’s league trophy off the top of a bus while celebrating their match win.

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

Rennie named new Lib Dem leader

Willie Rennie is expected to be appointed as the new Scottish Liberal Democrat leader

Willie Rennie is expected to be appointed as the new leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats later.

The politician is set to replace Tavish Scott in the role, despite having been elected as an MSP for the first time in the 5 May Holyrood election.

The Lib Dems lost 11 seats in the Holyrood election, down from 16 to 5, which saw the SNP win a majority.

Mr Rennie is not likely to face any leadership challengers when nominations close at noon.

The former MP and UK government adviser will have to re-build the party after Scottish voters decided to punish the Lib Dems for their role in the UK coalition government.

Willie Rennie – background

Willie Rennie burst onto the political scene when he won the safe Labour Westminster seat of Dunfermline and West Fife, in a 2006 by-election in Gordon Brown’s political backyard.

After failing to hold the seat at the general election, the former PR worker went on to a brief stint as an adviser in the Scotland Office.

Realising elected politics was more his thing, Mr Rennie set his sights on winning a seat at Holyrood, making it in as a Mid Scotland and Fife regional MSP.

The Fife-born politician is a former chief executive of the Scottish Liberal Democrats and served as the party’s chief of staff.

Mr Rennie, now an MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, said his party’s election performance was “bad” and is promising to rebuild trust and reconnect with voters.

He has also pledged to stand up against what he has called the “SNP bulldozer administration”.

The post of Scottish Lib Dem leader became vacant when Mr Scott, the MSP for Shetland, quit the post he had held since 2008.

The Lib Dems lost 25 deposits after failing to win 5% of the vote in some areas on election night.

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