Category: news

A school crossing patroller is in hospital after being hit by a bus in Ayrshire.

The woman, who is understood to be in her 70s, was knocked down on Hillfoot Road, near Ayr town centre, at about 0855 GMT.

Strathclyde Police said she was being treated for serious head injuries in hospital.

The force is currently interviewing pupils from nearby schools to establish how the accident happened.

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Speculation is increasing that Brian Cowen’s position as leader of Ireland’s ruling Fianna Fail party is threatened.

The Irish PM is being scrutinised over a meeting with the head of Anglo Irish Bank Sean Fitzpatrick shortly before a multi-million euro bank guarantee.

Anglo subsequently collapsed under bad debts and Mr Fitzpatrick has been questioned by police about his role.

Irish broadcaster RTE reported that one senior Fianna Fail source said a vote of confidence was possible on Thursday.

It is understood that if faced with such a motion, there is a possibility that Mr Cowen could resign the leadership before a vote.

The prime minister gave the Irish parliament his account of his dealings with Mr Fitzpatrick on Wednesday.

Mr Fitzpatrick has previously been arrested by police investigating the downfall of the bank and is still the subject of official scrutiny.

Denial

A book recently revealed that Mr Cowen met Mr Fitzptrick for dinner at a golf course in 2008.

However, the Taoiseach (prime minister) has denied that he discussed bank matters and insisted that he had not done political favours for any financial institution.

Mr Cowen, who took power in 2008, has faced severe criticism over his government’s handling of the banking crisis and the subsquent recession.

Last month, there were rumours of an internal push against him but his critics pulled back at the last moment.

He has been under pressure since Ireland was forced last year to seek an international financial bail-out.

His coalition government has only a slim minority in parliament and a general election is expected in the spring.

‘Vigorous debate’

Irish finance minister Brian Lenihan, who is visiting Belfast on Thursday, said he was not fully briefed on what was happening in Dublin.

“Naturally I have confidence in him but there is vigorous debate within the party, deputies are worried about the very existence of the party,” Mr Lenihan said.

BBC Ireland correspondent Mark Simpson said a successful motion of no confidence would not necessarily lead to the removal of Mr Cowen as prime minister.

“A snap election is possible, but not inevitable.

“A general election is due to be held in March and it is possible that Mr Cowen could stay in office while his party selects a new leader in advance of the election.”

Our correspondent explained that the government would be reluctant to call an immediate general election as a finance bill, implementing measures in last month’s budget, is not due to come into law until next month.

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The press watchdog is investigating the Daily Telegraph’s use of undercover reporters to record Lib Dem ministers’ thoughts on the coalition government.

It reported comments made by Business Secretary Vince Cable in a meeting with people he thought were constituents.

Lib Dem President Tim Farron asked the Press Complaints Commission to investigate. The PCC said 200 people contacted them over the story.

Mr Cable controversially claimed to have “declared war” on Rupert Murdoch.

The taped remarks led to him being stripped of his powers to rule on Mr Murdoch’s bid to take control of BSkyB.

Mr Cable later told his local newspaper the Telegraph had “completely undermined” the work of local MPs – the newspaper argued that its story was clearly in the public interest. Other Lib Dem ministers taped making unguarded remarks were Norman Baker, David Heath and Paul Burstow.

A PCC spokesman said: “We have now received a letter from the Liberal Democrats asking us formally to investigate. We will do so under clause 10 (Clandestine devices and subterfuge) of the Editors’ Code of Practice.”

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There are reports of further trouble overnight in Tunisia’s capital, Tunis, despite a dusk-to-dawn curfew.

Hundreds of youths took to the streets in various districts in the north of the city, Spanish agency Efe reports.

According to Reuters news agency, witnesses say one man was shot dead in the clashes with the police.

Officials say at least 23 people have died since nationwide unrest began last month over rising food and fuel prices, high unemployment and corruption.

Human rights and trade union activists believe the number of dead to be at least 50.

Witnesses say the man was killed in the Ettadhamen suburb of the city, where another resident told AFP news agency the protest could be heard throughout the night.

Firemen were attempting to put out fires on Thursday morning following the trouble, the agency reports.

Earlier on Wednesday, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali dismissed his interior minister in an attempt to stem the unrest.

Rafik Belhaj Kacem had been responsible for the police force, which many people say has used excessive force against protesters.

Violence in Tunis broke out on Wednesday afternoon, as protesters threw stones and police responded with volleys of tear gas.

It was the first time in weeks of unrest that the violence had reached the capital.

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A teacher sacked after writing a novel about her pupils tells a tribunal she was “utterly astonished” when she found out she was being suspended.

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By James Landale

The referendum on changing the way MPs are elected could be delayed beyond 5 May, the BBC has learned.

The vote on bringing in the alternative vote system could be postponed because Labour peers are holding up the progress of the bill which would enable it to happen.

Peers have spent eight days discussing the bill – with more scrutiny planned.

It would have to become a parliamentary act by mid-February for the referendum to take place on time.

MPs have backed plans for the public vote on 5 May, despite concerns that combining it with devolved and local elections would detract from these polls and potentially confuse the electorate.

Peers have spent eight days discussing the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill in its detailed “committee stage”, with two more days of meetings scheduled for next week.

Last Monday the Lords spent five-and-a-half hours debating – but not voting on – two Labour amendments, a debate conducted almost entirely by the party’s peers.

However, Labour peers deny they are trying to delay the bill, insisting they are instead trying to improve it.

They say ministers could get the parts of the legislation relating to the referendum through quickly if they separated that from the more controversial elements which pave the way for constituency boundary changes and a reduction in the number of MPs.

But the government has made it clear they are not prepared to do this because both issues relate to how MPs are elected to Parliament.

If the bill is delayed further there will not be enough time for it to get through its remaining legislative hurdles and become law by 16 February, the deadline set by the Electoral Commission watchdog which will oversee the referendum.

The commission has written to ministers to inform them that there will not be enough time to prepare for the ballot unless the legislation receives royal assent by this date.

Under the AV system – which would replace first-past-the post elections – voters rank candidates in their constituency in order of preference.

Anyone getting more than 50% of first-preference votes is elected. If no-one gets 50% of votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their backers’ second choices allocated to those remaining. This process continues until one candidate has at least 50% of all votes cast

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Some consultants are making more than £100,000 a year in overtime payments from the NHS, the BBC has learnt.

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Red dwarf stars have surprisingly frequent flare-ups, scientists say, and these solar flares’ effects could be deadly to life on nearby planets.

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The number of people killed by flooding and mudslides in south-east Brazil has reached 335, local officials have said.

In the mountain towns of Nova Friburgo, Teresopolis and Petropolis, the death tolls are reported at 155, 146 and 34 respectively, Brazilian media reported.

Rescuers are bringing helicopters in as the search for survivors continues in the region north of Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil has seen severe flooding in recent years, affecting thousands.

Heavy rain began falling again early on Thursday as rescuers sought to begin their search and is expected to continue throughout much of the day.

Brazil’s civil defence department has not yet confirmed the higher death toll, but officials there have said they believe there could be hundreds more bodies yet to be recovered in Teresopolis alone, the Globo media organisation reported.

Sixteen more bodies were found in the town early on Thursday, but the most dramatic rise was in Nova Friburgo, where 48 more people were reported to have died.

With many people still missing it is feared the death toll could rise even further and there is concern about water-borne diseases.

More than 800 rescue workers are conducting searches in the area. The Brazilian navy has offered helicopters to fly in equipment and personnel.

Witnesses said rescue teams were using heavy machinery, shovels and bare hands to dig through tonnes of mud and debris.

President Dilma Rousseff is due to fly over the area on Thursday to inspect the damage.

Earlier this week, torrential rains in neighbouring Sao Paulo state left 13 people dead and brought traffic chaos to Brazil’s biggest city.

In Teresopolis, a river burst its banks, submerging buildings, while the rainfall set off several mudslides.

“It’s a huge catastrophe, a major disaster,” Teresopolis Mayor Jorge Mario Sedlacek told Globo television.

TV footage showed homes destroyed and cars submerged.

“I saw six bodies on my street,” 53-year-old resident Antonio Venancio told Reuters news agency.

He said his house was inundated with mud but still standing.

“We just don’t know what to do in the face of something so horrible,” he added

Civil defence officials in Teresopolis said that in 24 hours it rained 144mm – more than the usual amount for the whole of January.

Power and telephone lines are down in the three towns, and there is no drinking water, officials say.

Major roads have been cut by floods and landslides, adding traffic chaos to the challenges facing state officials.

One resident described the situation just outside Petropolis as a “sea of mud”.

“I’ve lived here 25 years and never seen anything like it,” Manoel Candido da Rocha Sobrinho told Folha website.

“I live in a higher spot but when I look down I just see a sea of mud. Most people saved themselves by scrambling up trees or fleeing to higher ground.”

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About 2,000 jobs are to go at Manchester City Council because of government spending cuts, the authority has said.

The Labour-run council said it needed to reduce its workforce by about 17% after changes to local authority grants left a huge hole in its finances.

Officers need to find £110m of savings in 2011-12 – £60m more than they expected last year.

The council said it wanted to avoid compulsory redundancies.

However, it said it needed to reduce the workforce “quickly”.

All staff are being asked to consider voluntary redundancy or, for those aged over 55, early retirement.

When it announced changes to local government grants in December, the government said no council would face cuts of more than 8.9%.

But Manchester City Council said it was among the five worst-hit authorities in England, and in reality faced a 25% cut over the next two years.

Leader Sir Richard Leese said: “The unfairness of the government’s financial grant settlement for Manchester, one of the five worst in the country, has been widely reported.

“We now have to find £110m in savings next year – £60m more than expected – because of front-loading and the redistribution of money from Manchester to more affluent areas.

“The accelerated cuts mean we can no longer achieve the staffing reductions we have been forced into through natural turnover which is why we are proposing a time-limited offer of voluntary severance and voluntary early retirement.

“At the same time we will continue to invest through our M People employee programme to improve the skills and the productivity of the majority of our staff who will stay with us.”

The M People programme, developed in conjunction with the unions, aims to match the skills of the existing workforce to roles that can improve services.

The council hopes the scheme can help it make efficiencies while maintaining services.

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Police investigating violence at last year’s student protests in London have released new footage of people they want to question.

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The International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge would like the London 2012 Olympic Stadium running track to be retained after the Games .

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Why a British doctor is going back to south Sudan

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Italy’s Constitutional Court is due to give a ruling on whether the Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, can be tried on corruption and fraud charges.

Judges have to decide if legislation giving him temporary immunity from prosecution breaches the principle that all citizens are equal before the law.

Mr Berlusconi is a defendant in two trials, but they have in effect been suspended because of the law.

He has denied any wrongdoing and said he is indifferent to Thursday’s ruling.

“It really does not matter to me whether these trials are stopped or not,” he told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday. “I find the case laughable.”

The law granting members of the government immunity from prosecution for up to 18 months was passed in March in the face of bitter opposition.

If the court’s 15 judges throw out the “legitimate impediment” law on constitutional grounds, Mr Berlusconi faces two sets of proceedings.

He is accused of bribing British lawyer David Mills to give false testimony in 1997 to protect the media tycoon’s business interests.

He is also accused of tax fraud and false accounting in the acquisition of television rights by his Mediaset broadcasting empire.

The prime minister has argued he is the target of left-wing prosecutors.

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The severed thumb of a man was found after being dropped by a bird three days after he was kidnapped from his home and killed, a court is told.

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