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Prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh is sentenced to 11 years in jail, her husband says.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
An unbeaten century from Ian Bell leads England to a seven-wicket win in their one-day tour match against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Margaret Ford was stabbed to death by her son in May 2009 A report is to be published into the killing of a woman in Pembrokeshire by her paranoid schizophrenic son.
Jarvis Ford, then 48, was assessed by a mental health team hours before he killed Margaret Ford, 84, after she banned him from smoking at home.
He is detained indefinitely under the mental health act for her manslaughter.
The Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) report will considers Ford’s care by mental health services and how this had an impact on his mother’s death.
Mrs Ford, originally from Solihull, West Midlands, was stabbed nine times by her son at the bungalow they shared at Templeton near Narberth in May 2009.
Ford had a long-term history of mental health problems, with a tendency for unpredictable and aggressive behaviour.
He received treatment under the mental health system, but was later released into the care of his mother.
“Her death was violent and cruel after a life of love and caring”
Statement by Ford’s sister after he was sentenced in October, 2009
He was detained indefinitely in October 2009 at Swansea Crown Court after admitting manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility due to an abnormality of mind.
The court heard that on the day of the stabbing he had been seen by healthcare workers and was due to see a doctor the next day. He had not taken his medication.
Ford flew into a rage over the smoking ban after his mother cooked their evening meal and he stabbed her nine times.
Afterwards, he rang his sister to confess, saying: “I’ve got some bad news because I am going to prison, mum is dead, she wouldn’t let me smoke in the house so I killed her.”
When police arrived, Ford told them what he had done.
After Ford was sentenced, his sister issued a statement saying: “This crime against our gentle, much loved Margaret has devastated her relatives and friends across the world.
“Her death was violent and cruel after a life of love and caring.”
She said Ford knew he might endanger others by failing to take his medication and that the family would maintain “our enduring opposition” to him ever being released.
The HIW report will be published on Monday afternoon.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Another person has died from swine flu in Northern Ireland, bringing the total number to 14, the Public Health Agency (PHA) confirms.
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With up to 40 world premieres, the Detroit auto show marks a new beginning as US carmakers enjoy strong sales.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Appeals by four dissident republicans held liable for the 1998 Omagh bomb are to begin in Belfast on Monday.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
A man who had his leg amputated is suing a former out-of hours doctor who failed to diagnose a blood clot.
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Up to 50,000 people march through the streets of the southern Pakistani city of Karachi against a proposed softening of the strict blasphemy laws.
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Many papers speculate about the Arizona shootings.
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Why the man who played Joey has a meaner, darker side
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Can you REALLY be tone deaf?
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The vote on independence is being held over a week US President Barack Obama has hailed the start of a landmark referendum on independence in Southern Sudan.
He said the week-long vote – which is expected to result in Africa’s largest country being split in two – represented a “new chapter in history”.
The poll was agreed as part of the 2005 deal that ended a two-decade civil war.
The mainly Muslim north has promised to allow the potential new country, where most people are Christian or animists, to secede peacefully.
Mr Obama said in a statement: “After 50 years of civil wars that have killed two million people and turned millions more into refugees this is the opportunity before the people of Southern Sudan.”
He added that the action of Sudanese leaders would help determine whether Sudanese people move “toward peace and prosperity, or slide backward into bloodshed”.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has promised to respect the outcome, but warned an independent south would face instability.
Southern Sudanese voters are faced with two symbols on the ballot paper – a single hand for independence or two clasped hands to remain one country.
South Sudanese leader Salva Kiir, casting his ballot on Sunday, urged people to “be patient”, in case they were not able to vote on the first day of polling.
Turnout in the referendum will be important, as the 2005 peace agreement stipulates that for the vote to be valid, 60% of the 3.8 million registered voters must take part.
Veronica De Keyes, head of the the European Union observer team in Juba, said voting appeared to have started well.
“What I observed this morning was very moving in the sense that you can feel it, in the crowd, the expectation of the people is important,” she said on Sunday.
However the run-up to the vote was marred by clashes between the south Sudanese military and rebels in the oil-rich Unity state.
There are also reports of fighting between southerners and Arab nomads over grazing rights for their cattle in the disputed oil-rich region of Abyei, long seen as a potential flashpoint which could trigger wider violence.
Abyei was due to hold a separate referendum on whether to join north or south Sudan but this has been postponed indefinitely because of disagreements over eligibility.
North and south Sudan have suffered decades of conflict driven by religious and ethnic divides.
Southern Sudan is one of the least developed areas in the world and many of its people have have long complained of mistreatment at the hands of the Khartoum government.
Last week Mr Bashir said he understood why many southerners wanted independence, but he expressed concern at how the new nation would cope.
“The south suffers from many problems,” told the Arabic news channel al-Jazeera.
“It’s been at war since 1959. The south does not have the ability to provide for its citizens or create a state or authority.”
Mr Bashir said southerners living in the north would not be allowed dual citizenship, and floated the idea of the two nations joining in an EU-style bloc.
The official result of the referendum is not due to be announced for at least four weeks, partly because of the logistical difficulties gathering the ballot papers from across a region the size of France and Germany that has few paved roads.
The great divide across Sudan is visible even from space, as this Nasa satellite image shows. The northern states are a blanket of desert, broken only by the fertile Nile corridor. Southern Sudan is covered by green swathes of grassland, swamps and tropical forest.
Sudan’s arid northern regions are home mainly to Arabic-speaking Muslims. But in Southern Sudan there is no dominant culture. The Dinkas and the Nuers are the largest of more than 200 ethnic groups, each with its own traditional beliefs and languages.
The health inequalities in Sudan are illustrated by infant mortality rates. In Southern Sudan, one in 10 children die before their first birthday. Whereas in the more developed northern states, such as Gezira and White Nile, half of those children would be expected to survive.
The gulf in water resources between north and south is stark. In Khartoum, River Nile, and Gezira states, two-thirds of people have access to piped drinking water and pit latrines. In the south, boreholes and unprotected wells are the main drinking sources. More than 80% of southerners have no toilet facilities whatsoever.
Throughout Sudan, access to primary school education is strongly linked to household earnings. In the poorest parts of the south, less than 1% of children finish primary school. Whereas in the wealthier north, up to 50% of children complete primary level education.
Conflict and poverty are the main causes of food insecurity in Sudan. The residents of war-affected Darfur and Southern Sudan are still greatly dependent on food aid. Far more than in northern states, which tend to be wealthier, more urbanised and less reliant on agriculture.
Sudan exports billions of dollars of oil per year. Southern states produce more than 80% of it, but receive only 50% of the revenue, exacerbating tensions with the north. The oil-rich border region of Abyei is to hold a separate vote on whether to join the north or the south.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Sir Paul McCartney has never learned to read music The BBC is teaming up with researchers at Goldsmiths College in London to find out whether personality or practise creates great musicians.
The How Musical Are You? test is being launched to tie in with Radio 3’s celebration of the music of Mozart.
The aim is to establish the most basic musical skills shared by everyone and those achieved through years of training and practise.
The test can be accessed through the Radio 3 website.
Questionnaires and musical tests will be used to evaluate musical abilities such as picking out beats and memorising tunes.
Radio 3 controller Roger Wright said is presents “a chance for everyone who enjoys music of whatever genre to find out more about their own capacity for engaging with music.”
Many successful musicians, including The Beatles’ Sir Paul McCartney and John Lennon, claim never to have learned to read sheet music.
The team from Goldsmiths believe that people’s listening habits and their emotional connection with music could predict whether or not they have untapped musical ability.
Music psychologist Daniel Mullensiefen said: “We’re interested in finding out about the many different ways people can be musical, even without setting foot inside a music school.”
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
All of the major supermarkets say they will create many new jobs in 2011 David Cameron is due to meet the bosses of some of the UK’s biggest firms on Monday to discuss their plans to create thousands of new jobs.
John Lewis, Microsoft and all the major supermarkets are among those involved.
The prime minister, who will host the Downing Street meeting, said he was working on the “most pro-business, pro-growth, pro-jobs agenda ever unleashed by a government”.
But Labour leader Ed Miliband will warn cuts could create a “lost generation”.
The BBC’s deputy political editor James Landale said Mr Cameron wanted to show that his government was as focused on encouraging economic growth as it was on cutting public spending.
His meeting with business leaders will focus on what more the government can do to create jobs in the private sector.
For their part, the senior executives will promise to create thousands of jobs and apprenticeships in an attempt to generate some confidence in the economy.
Supermarket chain Morrisons says it will create 6,000 new jobs in 2011, with Tesco promising 9,000 and Sainsbury’s 6,500. Asda has pledged to create 15,000 retail apprenticeships.
John Lewis and Microsoft have promised 4,000 new jobs each and gas company Centrica, 2,600.
Mr Cameron said: “It’s time we looked forward to a positive, strong, confident Britain.
“This decision to betray young people is not just unfair, it is the wrong long-term economic judgment for our country”
Ed Miliband Labour leader
“By developing the right skills and jobs I am determined that the many, not the few, will share in the country’s prosperity.”
But shortly before the meeting Mr Miliband will use a press conference to accuse the PM of undermining many jobless youngsters’ life chances by ending Labour’s £1bn Future Jobs Fund initiative a year early.
Since 2008, the fund has paid for temporary jobs for 18 to 24-year-olds, who have been out of work for more than six months.
“This decision to betray young people is not just unfair, it is the wrong long-term economic judgment for our country,” Mr Miliband will say.
The government is also said to be considering ways to make the labour market more flexible, including making it easier for small firms to hire and fire staff.
It is expected to launch a consultation later this week to consider a range of reforms.
Among them is a potential doubling – to two years – of the length of time someone must be employed before they can bring an unfair dismissal claim.
Another possibility would be to require anyone bringing a case to an employment tribunal to pay a fee, returnable if they win, in an effort to discourage spurious claims.
The British Chambers of Commerce said employment tribunals were in “dire need” of reform.
But the TUC said the introduction of a fee would deter genuine claimants.
“Instead of a focus on the employment tribunal process, ministers’ time would be better spent looking at why so many companies, especially small employers, have such poor employment practices,” it said.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Jobling also worked on Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks The designer of TV show Bob The Builder has made the shortlist for the annual Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize.
Curtis Jobling, who also worked as an animator on Wallace & Gromit’s A Close Shave, is nominated for his debut novel about a teenager who learns he is a werewolf.
He is one of nine authors, including previous nominee Ruth Eastham, who are up for the £5,000 prize.
Children’s Laureate Anthony Browne will announce the winner on 9 February.
Now in its seventh year, the prize is open to authors writing for 7-13 year-olds who have written two fiction titles or less.
Artichoke Hearts by Sita Brahmachari
The Memory Cage by Ruth Eastham
Tall Story by Candy Gourlay
The Pain Merchants: The Healing Wars by Janice Hardy
Wereworld: Rise of the Wolf by Curtis Jobling
Fantastic Frankie and the Brain-Drain Machine by Anna Kemp
A Beautiful Lie by Irfan Master
Mortlock by Jon Mayhew
When you Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Past winners include The Diamond of Drury Lane by Julia Golding and last year’s winner, The Great Hamster Massacre by Katie Davies.
This year’s crop of nominees includes debut novelist Irfan Master’s A Beautiful Lie, set in the time of Partition in India and Tall Story by Candy Gourlay, which tells the culture clash tale of a half brother and sister reunited after almost a decade of being separated from one another.
Sarah Clarke, children’s buying manager at Waterstone’s, called the list “one of the strongest shortlists we’ve seen”.
She added: “From titles grounded in reality with complex plots and strong emotional narratives, to pure escapism with fantastical tales of werewolves and magician’s assistants, there is something for everyone on this list.”
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.