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Mourners gather for the funeral of a federal judge killed in Saturday’s Arizona shooting, the day after a girl killed in the attack was buried.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali has dismissed the country’s government and ordered elections for a new parliament within six months.The move comes after weeks of protests over corruption, unemployment and high food prices.
They culminated earlier in thousands of people protesting outside the interior ministry in the capital Tunis, urging the president to quit.
Police fired tear gas at the crowds outside the interior ministry.
On Thursday night, Mr Ben Ali, who has governed Tunisia since 1987, announced he would stand down in 2014 – but the protesters say he should go immediately.
Doctors say that 13 people were killed in overnight clashes in the capital, and there are unconfirmed reports that five people have been killed in protests on Friday outside the capital.
Human rights groups say more than 60 people have died in recent weeks as unrest swept the country and security forces cracked down on the protests.
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Rain is hampering Brazilian rescuers’ attempts to find survivors from deadly mudslides – the country’s worst natural disaster in decades.
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The Thomson tourists fell ill at a resort in Majorca in 2003 A judge has ruled that one of the UK’s largest tour operators should have warned holidaymakers about an outbreak of illness at a Spanish resort.
The judge said that Thomson, which is now part of the larger European Tui group, was liable for damages.
The case involved claims of personal injury by holidaymakers who stayed at the Son Baulo Hotel in Majorca in 2003.
Thomson said it had been “criticised for not meeting a standard that was impossible to meet”.
The legal action began in 2006.
The claimants contracted either salmonella or cryptosporidium during their stays at the hotel between 7 June and 19 September 2003.
Some of the claimants have suffered long-term health problems as a result.
The cryptosporidium bug was caught from water in the swimming pool and the salmonella from poorly prepared food.
Thomson accepted its liability in the salmonella cases, but argued that in the cases of cryptosporidium, it could not have done more to get rid of the illness from the resort.
In what may have wider implications for the travel industry, the judge also ruled that Thomson ought to have warned guests about the outbreak at the hotel before they travelled, in order to give them an opportunity to either rebook or cancel, but had failed to do so.
“There are obvious and foreseeable risks for guests, particularly for children. The attitude that the travel company knows best is (as this case demonstrates) misconceived… I formed the view that the decision was probably largely motivated by commercial considerations,” Judge Worcester at Birmingham County Court said in his ruling.
Those affected will be told how much compensation they will be offered next month.
Thomson said: “We are very disappointed with the decision as we sincerely believe that we did everything in our power to safeguard our customers’ wellbeing at the time.”
The company said the real winners would be “the ‘no win no fee’ solicitors involved”.
“We would like to reassure all customers that their health and safety is our primary concern when travelling with us.”
The company said it was considering its options for an appeal.
It went on to say that if no appeal was made it would move quickly to resolve the claims from its customers.
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The Scottish Football Association rejects Dundee’s appeal to have a 25-point penalty overturned.
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Prosecutors are to conduct a ‘comprehensive assessment’ of material held by the Metropolitan Police on phone hacking.
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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says US-China relations have reached a critical point and the two nations must work together more effectively.
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“Ruby” apparently attended parties held by Silvio Berlusconi Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is being investigated over his dealings with a teenage nightclub dancer, prosecutors say.
Mr Berlusconi is suspected of abusing his power by trying to have the Moroccan girl – known as Ruby – released from a police cell.
Some reports say the probe includes allegations of underage prostitution. The girl was 17 at the time.
Supporters of Mr Berlusconi, 74, say the claims are unfounded.
The prime minister has admitted calling the police on her behalf, but says he did nothing wrong.
His office has not yet commented on the prosecutors’ latest move.
The dancer, who reportedly attended parties held by Mr Berlusconi last year, has denied suggestions that she had sex with him.
Prosecutors have not given details of the underage prostitution allegations.
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JP Morgan did not make a loss even during the depths of the financial crisis JP Morgan Chase is expected to report a record annual profit of about $16.7bn (£10.5bn) when it kicks off the US banking season later.
Much speculation is turning to whether Wall Street banks will increase their dividends.
JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon has already said that he would like to raise its payments to shareholders.
Analysts are also keen to see what JP Morgan says about the US economy and how much it has been lending.
“I think JP Morgan are going to report a really strong number but the market is going to look for revenue growth to really drive the stock higher,” said David Konrad from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
“We think revenues will be down probably 2% this quarter, but this will be the trough quarter, and we expect growth thereafter for JP Morgan.”
JP Morgan is the only major Wall Street firm to have made profits in every quarter, even in the recession.
However, like other banks, it slashed its dividend from $1.52 a share before the financial crisis to 20 cents per share now.
But it has built up a lot of “excess capital”, according to Mr Dimon.
The bank put aside money to cover losses from the bad loans that fuelled the financial crisis, says the BBC’s Caroline Hepker in New York.
However the losses have not been as large as the contingency fund allowed for, so the money is being freed up.
But while the majority of concern in the UK about bank profits relates to the bonuses they pay their staff, this was not the case in the US, said Bill Cohan, a Wall Street banker of 17 years and a former managing director at JP Morgan.
“[Barclays chief executive] Bob Diamond is asking people in the UK to lay off the bankers. I think that in this country people have already decided to move on,” he told the BBC.
“For some reason the UK is quite ahead of the curve on this issue and the US seems to have retreated back into a comatose state on the issue of bankers’ pay and compensation.”
Mr Cohan also questioned who the banks really benefited.
“They’re public companies. They should be in business to make money for their shareholders. But my experience on Wall Street is that these firms exist more for the benefit of their employees than their shareholders,” he said.
“What other business on the face of the earth pays out between 40 and 50 cents on every dollar of revenue to employees in the form of compensation?”
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Blues legend Etta James is diagnosed with dementia and is undergoing treatment for leukaemia.
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Tunisia’s president made it clear his forces would no longer use lethal force against demonstrators Demonstrators are gathering for a march through the centre of the Tunisian capital, Tunis, as pressure mounts on President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
On Thursday night, Mr Ben Ali – who has governed Tunisia since 1987 – announced he would stand down in 2014.
His speech came after weeks of protests which have left at least 23 dead.
Opposition parties gave a cautious welcome to the news. Trade unions have called on people to observe a general strike on Friday.
Human rights groups say more than 60 people have died in weeks of unrest across the country, as security forces responded to people protesting over corruption, unemployment levels and high food prices.
The BBC’s Adam Mynott in Tunis says early indications are that many people in Tunis have heeded the unions’ call to protest.
In his speech on Thursday night, Mr Ben Ali said there was “no presidency for life” in Tunisia.
However, our correspondent says there is a degree of scepticism as to whether deeds will follow on from words.
Mr Ben Ali, 74, is only Tunisia’s second president since independence from France in 1956. He was last re-elected in 2009 with 89.62% of the vote.
In his speech, he said he did not intend to amend the constitution to remove the upper age limit for presidential candidates, which would have allowed him to stand for a further term in 2014.
The president, who earlier this week had blamed the unrest on “terrorists”, also said he felt “very, very deep and massive regret” over the deaths of civilians in the protests.
Mr Ben Ali pledged to take action on food prices and end internet censorship He said he had ordered troops to stop firing on protesters except in self defence, and pledged to take action on food prices, which have gone up fourfold in recent weeks.
Afterwards, Mr Ben Ali’s supporters took to the streets of Tunis, cheering and sounding car horns.
In a further overture, foreign minister Kamel Mourjane said it would be possible to form a government of national unity involving the opposition.
Speaking to France’s Europe 1 radio on Friday, he also held out the possibility of early parliamentary elections.
Tunisia’s main opposition leader, Najib Chebbi, called the president’s announcement “very good”, but said he was awaiting “concrete details”.
Mustapha Ben Jaafar, head of the Democratic Forum for Work and Liberties, said the speech “opens up possibilities”.
But human rights activist Mohamed Abbou said he believed President Ben Ali was “fooling the Tunisians with promises that have no tomorrow”.
The protests began in mid-December in the southern town of Sidi Bouzid, after an unemployed graduate set himself on fire when police tried to prevent him from selling vegetables without a permit. He died a few weeks later.
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England’s Fifa executive committee member Geoff Thompson says Qatar should honour its commitment to play the 2022 World Cup in the summer unless there is clear medical evidence which proved players are at risk.
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Hall’s wife Stephanie has been fighting to clear his name A man’s appeal against his conviction for murdering an elderly woman in Ipswich has been rejected.
Simon Hall, 33, of Ipswich, was found guilty in 2003 of stabbing Joan Albert, 79, after a jury heard fibres found at her home linked him to the scene.
A Court of Appeal hearing in December 2010 heard conflicting evidence over the reliability of key evidence.
Three appeal court judges rejected an appeal, adding there was “no reason” to doubt the conviction’s safety.
Lord Justice Pitchford, Mrs Justice Dobbs and Mr Justice Kenneth Parker had been urged to overturn the conviction as “unsafe” in the light of “fresh” scientific evidence relating to fibres.
Hall, a power company office worker from Ipswich, was 25 when he was jailed for life after a trial at Norwich Crown Court for killing Joan Albert. He denied murder and has continued to protest his innocence.
Joan Albert was found dead in the hallway of her home Mrs Albert’s blood-stained body was found in the hallway of her home in Capel St Mary, near Ipswich, in December 2001. She had been stabbed five times.
The appeal judges ruled: “We have no reason to doubt the safety of the jury’s verdict and the appeal is dismissed.”
The judges stated in a written ruling said they accepted the fibre evidence at the trial was “incomplete”.
But added they were still “quite satisfied that the scientific support for the assertion that the appellant was the source of the fibres found at the crime scene is compelling”.
Following the judgement Hall’s wife Stephanie said in a statement: “I am angry with the justice system.
“We will not rest until the whole truth of this case has been made public.”
Later Hall’s solicitor Correna Platt, of Stephensons Solicitors, said Mr Hall and his family were “devastated”.
“His legal team are concerned by the approach taken by the (appeal) court in coming to this decision,” she said.
“It was agreed by all that his conviction rested entirely on expert evidence relating to fibre evidence, and there is much other evidence that pointed away from Simon’s guilt.”
Ms Platt said the “right and proper” outcome would have been for the appeal judges to have sent the case back, with the new evidence to a jury “as the jury are the final arbiters of disputes of this kind and not the Court of Appeal”.
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Peter Sutcliffe is detained at Broadmoor psychiatric hospital Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe has lost his appeal over a ruling that he should never be released from prison.
Sutcliffe received 20 life sentences in 1981 for murdering 13 women and attempting to murder seven others in Yorkshire and Greater Manchester.
The 64-year-old applied for permission to challenge a High Court order in 2009 that he must serve a “whole life” tariff.
But it was rejected by three judges at the Court of Appeal on Friday.
The serial killer is detained at Broadmoor psychiatric hospital after being transferred from prison in 1984, suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.
When he was jailed, a judge recommended that he served a minimum of 30 years behind bars.
He used a hammer to attack his first victim on 5 July 1975.
Sutcliffe is said to have believed he was on a “mission from God” to kill prostitutes – although not all his victims were sex workers.
He was dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper because he mutilated his victims’ bodies using a hammer, a sharpened screwdriver and a knife.
“Each of the attempted murders, as well as each of the murder offences, taken on its own was a dreadful crime of utmost brutality”
Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge
During a hearing last year his QC argued that Sutcliffe’s mental disorder justified a minimum jail term of a “finite” number of years.
Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, one of the three Court of Appeal judges at Friday’s hearing, said an examination of the “entire catalogue of the offences as a whole demonstrates that this was criminal conduct at the extreme end of horror”.
He said: “We are not, of course, suggesting that the man who perpetrated these crimes was in any ordinary sense of the words ‘normal’ or ‘average’.”
The “sheer abnormality of his actions themselves suggest some element of mental disorder”, he said.
But he added: “There is, however, no reason to conclude that the appellant’s claim that he genuinely believed that he was acting under divine instruction to fulfil God’s will carries any greater conviction now than it did when it was rejected by the jury.”
Lord Judge, together with Mr Justice Calvert-Smith and Mr Justice Griffith Williams ruled that the interests of justice required “nothing less” than a whole life order.
Lord Judge said: “Each of the attempted murders, as well as each of the murder offences, taken on its own was a dreadful crime of utmost brutality: taking all the offences together, we have been considering an accumulation of criminality of exceptional magnitude which went far beyond the legislative criteria for a whole-life order.
“Even accepting that an element of mental disturbance was intrinsic to the commission of these crimes, the interests of justice require nothing less than a whole-life order.
“That is the only available punishment proportionate to these crimes.”
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Blackburn complete the signing of striker Roque Santa Cruz from Manchester City on loan until the end of the season.
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