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Uefa charges Real Madrid and Barcelona over incidents in their Champions League semi-final, including Jose Mourinho’s post-match outburst.
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A suicide bomber has blown himself up in the eastern Iraqi town of Baladruz, killing at least six people and injuring 15, officials say.
The bomber targeted a mosque in the town, 90km (55 miles) north-east of Baghdad in Diyala province, a security official told Reuters.
The attack took place soon after evening prayers at about 2015 local time (1715 GMT).
Violence has waned in recent years but attacks in Iraq continue almost daily.
The attack took place in the town’s Imam al-Hussein mosque.
At least 30 other worshippers were injured in the blast, officials said.
All the casualties were believed to be men.
Diyala remains restive, with a divided Shia-Sunni Muslim population.
In March, at least nine soldiers were killed in a suicide bomb attack on an Iraqi army base in Kanaan in Diyala.
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The PlayStation network remains offline while Sony investigates the hack Sony has revealed that credit card details held on its PlayStation Network were stored in securely encrypted files.
The news offers some hope to users worried about their personal data after the online system was hacked.
Sony had previously warned that card numbers and expiry dates may have been among the stolen data.
However, other information, including dates of birth and home addresses, did not have the same level of protection.
The full extent of the security breach was revealed on Monday, following a week-long investigation by Sony.
The company said that up to 77 million PlayStation Network members may have had their personal information taken during an “external intrusion”.
The FBI confirmed to BBC News that it was now involved and had been in contact with Sony in the United States.
One of the main concerns for users has been the issue of card security.
In a question and answer blog, posted on the PlayStation website, the company said: “The entire credit card table was encrypted and we have no evidence that credit card data was taken.
“The personal data table, which is a separate data set, was not encrypted, but was, of course, behind a very sophisticated security system that was breached in a malicious attack.”
The company has not revealed the type or strength of protection given to credit card information, and Graham Cluley from security firm Sophos warned that “encryption” could mean almost anything.
“Some are as weak as tissue paper, and others can take millions of years to crack,” he told BBC News.
“For instance, you could have an encryption that made every ‘A’ a ‘D’, every ‘B’ an ‘E’ etc, but that would be trivial to crack.”
Sony suggested that users should keep a close eye on their financial statements and alert their card issuer about any unusual transactions.
That advice was echoed by Visa Europe, the company behind the Visa payment system. It explained that if card data was found to have been stolen and used to make unauthorised payments, users would not have to pick up the bill.
“Cardholders who are innocent victims of fraud will get their money back, subject to the terms and conditions of their bank,” it said in a statement.
PlayStation Network members were urged not to cancel their cards at this stage.
A spokesman for Barclaycard said that such action was unnecessary until it was known if card numbers had fallen into the wrong hands.
If that proved to be the case, Sony would need to hand over the information to the UK Payments Administration – the umbrella body that oversees financial transactions including bank transfers and card payments.
The card numbers would then be identified and passed to relevant banks who could block them from use or elevate the level of monitoring for unusual activity.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The government wants the private sector to fill the gap left by the FSS The Home Office’s chief scientific adviser was not consulted over the closure of the UK Forensic Science Service (FSS), it has emerged.
Bernard Silverman said he was informed in advance but not consulted “as such”.
Dr Silverman was speaking at a hearing in the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee’s inquiry into the closure of the FSS.
But he said that he viewed the process as acceptable because it had been taken on legal and commercial grounds.
The government announced last year that the FSS would close, with as many of its operations as possible being transferred or sold off.
Experts have been critical of the decision, saying it could harm the UK’s position as a leader in forensic science.
The service analyses evidence from crime scenes in England and Wales, but has been losing about £2m a month. The FSS is a 100% government-owned company, which is expected to compete in the forensic marketplace.
Asked by the committee’s chair, Labour MP Andrew Miller, whether he had been consulted, Dr Silverman replied: “I was informed and so was [the government’s chief scientific adviser] John Beddington… but we weren’t consulted, as such, in advance of the decision being made.
“We were informed so that when the decision was [announced] we were tipped off in advance.
“My understanding at the time, and now, is that the decision was made on legal and commercial grounds. It isn’t within the chief scientific adviser’s remit to advise on those matters. Therefore, I didn’t see the process as unreasonable.”
In response to the same question, the UK Forensic Science Regulator, Andrew Rennison, commented: “I was aware, a couple of weeks beforehand, but was not consulted. But I am being consulted now.”
Speaking at the hearing, Crime Reduction Minister James Brokenshire MP said the government had been presented with a “difficult” situation, repeating a previous disclosure that the FSS was projected to have run out of money by early 2011.
Mr Brokenshire said he would consider statutory powers for the forensic regulator He said the decision to wind down the FSS was “largely commercially driven, but with the clear recognition of the impact and the overall role the FSS plays in forensics and the role that it plays for the police.”
Asked by Mr Miller what options had been considered prior to taking the decision, Mr Brokenshire replied that three possible courses of action had been discussed – including the eventual choice of closure.
The first of these options – allowing the FSS to go into an unmanaged administration – had been discounted because of what Mr Brokenshire said was “our fundamental desire to ensure there was integrity in the criminal justice system”.
The minister said that some form of restructuring – to enable the FSS to break even in future – had also been considered.
But this option had been rejected because of projections showing a shrinking forensic market and also past financial outcomes when the FSS had tendered for commercial work in the past.
The government wants private enterprise, which currently makes up 40% of the market, to fill the gap left behind by the FSS.
But some experts are concerned that an over-emphasis on profits could threaten the quality of science.
Mr Brokenshire has previously said that the Forensic Science Regulator should ensure that quality standards are maintained. This course is questioned by the Prospect union, which represents scientists and engineers, in their written evidence to the inquiry.
“Currently the forensic science regulator sits in the Home Office, but… Prospect understands that there are very limited powers and no statutory influence,” the union wrote.
“Additional regulatory powers will be needed to ensure that there is a level playing field between police forces and private contractors. It will also be essential to ensure that forensic science practitioners have recognisable and respected qualifications and a professional code of ethics.”
Asked whether it was time to give the Forensic Science Regulator statutory powers, Mr Brokenshire said: “It is something I am certainly willing to consider… if Mr Rennison feels he is coming up with issues in terms of his ability to deliver on standards and quality and giving the assurance that we want him to.”
Dr Silverman is conducting a review into the future of UK forensic research and development (R&D), which is set to conclude shortly.
Asked whether the UK’s international standing in forensic research would be affected by the winding down of the service, Mr Rennison responded: “I think it will be dented.”
But he added that commercial forensic providers were carrying out “very good research”.
He also commented: “My view is that [the FSS] don’t leave a vacuum behind them. There are a lot of people around the world doing equally good work that is held in equally high regard.”
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Uefa fines Rangers 40,000 euros and bans its fans from one away match following discriminatory chanting in a match at PSV Eindhoven.
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A radio phone-in caller to BBC Three Counties radio, Melvin from Milton Keynes, expresses his anger at the coverage devoted to the royal wedding.
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A second protest was held at the firm’s headquarters on Thursday
The joint administrators of Quinn Insurance have said all jobs, north and south of the border, will be retained.
Quinn Insurance business is being sold to a new company backed by US insurer Liberty Mutual and Anglo Irish Bank, it has been confirmed.
It is expected that Liberty Mutual will eventually take full control of the business. Quinn Insurance has been in administration since March 2010.
The firm employs 1,570 staff in Fermanagh, Cavan and Dublin.
The administrators said the company lost over 700m euros (£629m) in 2009 – the year before they were appointed.
Liberty will inject 102m euros (£91m) and Anglo will put in 98m euros (£87m) to recapitalise the new company, which will be known as Liberty Mutual Direct Insurance.
At a press conference on Thursday, administrator, Paul McCann said both he, and his colleague, Michael McAteer believed the “deal represents the best outcome for the Irish economy” and followed a “comprehensive bidding process”.
“Importantly all the jobs are preserved in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland,” he said.
Mr McCann said the takeover would maintain competition in the Irish insurance market place and ensure the continuation of value for money and service delivery for customers.
“It is very much business as usual for our customers,” he said.
“Myself and Mick would just like to say its been a long process, a very thorough process but we’re delighted that Liberty Mutual is taking the business forward, preserving the business, preserving the jobs and maintaining the business going forward.”
Earlier on Thursday, a second protest at the headquarters of the Quinn Group in Derrylin in County Fermanagh was held.
Several hundred people gathered at the site on Thursday morning to protest over new management at the firm.
Some of them met with middle managers and afterwards said it had been very worthwhile and informative.
They added it was heartening to see local faces who were absolutely committed to the future of the group.
However the demonstrators again called for the original Quinn management to be re-instated.
It is the second protest this week over Anglo Irish Bank’s decision to appoint an administrator to take control of the Quinn family shares.
A new management team has also been appointed, angering local people who praise Sean Quinn for creating jobs and remain loyal to him.
In response to questions from employees, management said on the company’s website that no jobs would be lost as a result of the appointment of the share receiver (who took control of the Quinn Family’s shares).
“In the longer term job security, as in any business, can be assured only by the continuing success of the businesses,” it added.
BBC Northern Ireland’s Julian Fowler, reporting from the scene, said the demonstration was smaller and the atmosphere more subdued than the protest on Tuesday.
Mr Quinn and his family owe Anglo-Irish Bank £2.5bn, a sum the bank’s chief executive described as “enormous” and said they were unable to repay.
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Wayne Rooney said he had been shown documents by police investigating newspaper phone hacking England footballer Wayne Rooney has been contacted by Scotland Yard detectives probing phone hacking in the wake of the News of the World scandal.
Rooney wrote on Twitter: “Scotland Yard detectives came to see me earlier and showed me some documents. Looks like a newspaper have hacked into my phone.”
Scotland Yard said it was unable to confirm a meeting had taken place but that it was “up to him” what he wrote.
The paper has admitted phone hacking celebrities between 2004 and 2006.
Rooney also tweeted: “Gonna get my lawyers to deal with phone hacking until end of season. So I can focus on helping MUFC win trophies. Thx for all ur support.”
Rooney’s wife Coleen said on Twitter: “Newspapers hacking into phones!! Desperate and Disgusting!!!!”
A source close to the Manchester United player said he was “angry at the intrusion of his privacy” after Scotland Yard detectives told him he may have been targeted by private investigator Glenn Mulcaire who worked for the News of the World.
BBC Sport’s Dan Roan said two detectives visited Rooney at the end of last week and showed him pages from Mulcaire’s notebooks which listed his mobile phone number and those of his close associates.
Rooney confirmed the police visit earlier on Thursday.
The footballer was the subject of several high-profile News of the World exclusives in 2005 and 2006.
Rooney’s agent Paul Stretford met Scotland Yard detectives three weeks ago and they told him he may also have been targeted by Mulcaire.
Mr Stretford is considering taking legal action but Rooney will wait until the end of the season before deciding on any potential case.
He has not been informed whether he will be asked to give evidence.
Rooney’s spokesman Ian Monk has declined to comment.
A News of the World spokeswoman said there were no imminent plans to comment.
Earlier this month the News of the World’s owner, News International, apologised over the phone-hacking scandal and said it would admit liability in some cases.
It set up a compensation fund understood to total £20m for the victims of phone hacking.
Those involved are believed to include actress Sienna Miller, former Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, designer Kelly Hoppen and sports broadcaster Andy Gray.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
A blast has hit a bus carrying navy officials in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, wounding several in the third such strike this week.
The attack took place in the early hours of the morning in the Karsaz area of the city.
Two days ago Taliban militants attacked two buses carrying Pakistani naval staff, leaving four people dead and 56 wounded.
The militants warned that further attacks would follow.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The Church in Wales said Colin Adams had abused his position of trust A verger has been given a 12-month suspended sentence for sex attacks on a teenage chorister at Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff 20 years ago.
Colin James Adams, 58, was at the cathedral in the 1990s when the 16-year-old boy became a server.
A Cardiff Crown Court jury found him guilty by majority verdicts of three indecent assaults but cleared him of five other charges.
Adams was a verger in Newcastle-upon-Tyne when arrested in January 2010.
“You deliberately abused your position of trust to the complainant, your rector and the Church In Wales itself”
Judge Patrick Curran QC Sentencing Adams
The court was told his victim, now in his 30s, came forward to say Adams first sexually assaulted him on a visit to Southwark Cathedral in London.
He told the jury: “He would put his arms around me to give me a thank you hug for all I did and started giving me little things – books and things to stimulate my interest.
“Every chance he had he would try to get closer – feeling and groping me.
“He asked me to go on trips, saying he could take children for £1 on his family railcard.
“He started to get more touchy-feely and then more physical.”
Adams was a verger at the Cathedral Church of Saint Nicholas in Newcastle when he was arrested for the offences.
The court heard that the victim had lived with “dreadful memories” for years before finally finding the courage to make a complaint to the police.
Adams was found guilty by majority verdicts of three indecent assaults, and cleared of four similar charges and one of a serious sexual offence.
“We deeply regret that someone employed as a verger abused his position of trust and caused such physical and mental harm to a young person”
Church in Wales
As well as the suspended prison sentence, he was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years.
Judge Patrick Curran QC told him: “You deliberately abused your position of trust to the complainant, your rector and the Church In Wales itself.
“You have lost your good character, your job, any prospect of employment and your home.
“You are in many ways a broken man facing a bleak future.”
A Church in Wales spokeswoman said later: “We deeply regret that someone employed as a verger abused his position of trust and caused such physical and mental harm to a young person.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all those involved.”
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Grace claimed £19,399.55 in benefits A woman who falsely claimed nearly £20,000 in disability benefits has been given a suspended jail sentence after she was filmed using a treadmill.
Grandmother Mary Grace, 60, from St Andrew’s Court, Aigburth, Liverpool, claimed she could hardly walk.
Investigators from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) secretly filmed her at her local gym after a tip-off.
She admitted two counts of false representation and was given a 12-week suspended jail sentence.
A judge at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court also ordered her to pay £75 costs.
Surveillance footage released by the DWP showed the mother of two using the treadmill for 55 minutes at the Spindles gym at Liverpool’s Adelphi Hotel.
She was also seen using the free weights, resistance machines and the swimming pool.
Grace began making claims in 1996 but her condition started to improve.
From 2004 to 2010 she told officials she could hardly walk and said her mobility was severely restricted, meaning she claimed £93 a week in benefits.
The total amount received in disability living allowance added up to £19,399.55.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Ivory Coast once enjoyed the highest living standards in West Africa Thousands of Ivorians have queued to withdraw money and receive delayed salaries as Ivory Coast’s banks reopen after a 10-week shutdown.
The closure of banks followed ex-President Laurent Gbagbo’s attempt to stay in power after disputed elections.
The reopening of the banking system is a step towards restarting the economy of the world’s biggest cocoa producer.
New President Alassane Ouattara’s government has promised two months-worth of public sector salaries.
Ivorians were given little warning when the banks closed in February, leaving thousands struggling to survive without salaries, pensions and savings.
One client queuing outside a bank in the main city, Abidjan, said he had been waiting since early morning to withdraw enough money to feed his household.
“I’ll take care of my family who have suffered for at least two months without much to eat. I’ll take care of the children and their return to school,” he said.
The formal business sector has also been unable to function and the country’s main export, cocoa, remains blocked.
Though sanctions have been lifted, exporters need access to their bank accounts before they can pay customs duties, says BBC’s John James in the city.
Ex-President Laurent Gbagbo’s refusal to step down after November’s elections prompted the West African central bank, which administers the currency union to which Ivory Coast belongs, to close its offices in the country.
International financial and trade sanctions were also put in place.
Earlier this week, the government attempted to reopen schools but most students and many teachers did not turn up.
On Wednesday, one of Ivory Coast’s most notorious militia leaders, Ibrahim “IB” Coulibaly was killed by pro-Ouattara forces in Abidjan.
He led the “Invisible Commandos” who had helped bring Mr Ouattara to power two weeks ago but who since refused to disarm.
Our correspondent says Mr Coulibaly’s death eliminates a potential cause of instability for the new government.
But he says the internal fighting among the coalition of former warlords that brought President Ouattara to power and over which he has limited control remains a worrying sign.
Thousands are believed to have been killed and wounded during the recent crisis.
An investigation has been opened into alleged human rights abuses committed by Mr Gbagbo and his forces during the four-month standoff.
The former president and his wife Simone have been put under house arrest in separate towns in the north of the country.
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Judd Trump secures a 5-3 lead over Ding Junhui after the opening session of their World Championship semi-final.
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Scotland’s largest teaching union said it had been a difficult decision Members of Scotland’s largest teachers’ union have voted to accept a controversial pay and conditions package.
The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) said it meant there would be some cuts in pay and changes to conditions in exchange for guarantees on jobs.
The union believed it was the best deal possible in the current economic climate.
But members of the smaller union, the SSTA, have rejected the package.
The EIS has about 50,000 teacher members. Of those who voted, 56.2% accepted the offer and 43.8% rejected it.
The Scottish Secondary Teachers Association (SSTA), which represents about 8,500 teachers, said the latest proposals would mean a cut in pay for supply teachers and that staff who gained qualifications would not get a pay rise.
“All teachers are affected by varying degrees and for many this has been a very difficult decision to take”
Ronnie Smith EIS
More than 90% of SSTA members who voted rejected the revised proposal.
EIS general secretary Ronnie Smith said: “While it is always difficult to recommend a package which represents an overall cut in funding for education, the EIS is clear that this offer was the best that could be achieved in the current financial climate while giving priority to protecting jobs.
“All teachers are affected by varying degrees and for many this has been a very difficult decision to take.
“By voting for a package which includes a two-year pay freeze in addition to other measures which will cut the annual overall teacher pay-bill by around £45m, Scotland’s teachers will be taking a significant hit for a financial crisis that is not of their making.”
SSTA general secretary Ann Ballinger, said: “The SSTA will continue to negotiate to reach a settlement but must point out that, had the government and Cosla approached the teacher unions in autumn 2010 as the scale of the financial problems became apparent, we might now have an agreement as to how the relevant savings could have been made.”
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Determined to get a good view and beat the rush, dedicated royal fans from across the world have pitched tents along the route of the wedding procession in central London – between Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace.
Many were there early enough to see the dawn rehearsal by hundreds of service personnel – while others have spent their time fielding questions from the media. Take a look at some of the sights and sounds.
Images courtesy PA, AP, AFP, Reuters and Getty Images and all subject to copyright. Music by David Guetta (featuring Kelly Rowland) and Train.
Slideshow production by Paul Kerley. Publication date 28 April 2011.
Related:
BBC Royal Wedding special reports
Audio slideshow: Royal wedding dresses from the past
Audio slideshow: Parade practice
More audio slideshows:
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