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Australia slide from 105-1 to 134-4 as England fight back on day one of the final Ashes Test in rainy Sydney.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak says the door to talks with the North remains open, if Pyongyang’s ‘military adventurism’ ends.
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Papers keep prison riot in focus
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The controversial control orders were introduced under the former Labour government in 2005 The government would not be forgiven if control orders on terror suspects were scrapped and there was another 7/7 style attack, Lord Carlile has warned.
The Liberal Democrat peer, the independent reviewer of UK counter-terrorism laws, told the Sun control orders were essential for security.
Lord Carlile said he agreed the orders need to be reformed.
It had been reported that a deal had been reached to scrap them but the Home Office said no decisions had been made.
Lord Carlile, who is stepping down as the government’s independent reviewer of anti-terrorism legislation, has long argued there is no alternative to control orders, which can include curfews, electronic tags, travel and mobile phone curbs.
He said that while he did not like the idea of the controversial orders, they were necessary.
“Security and police chiefs have made clear the necessity for the orders. We ignore their advice literally at our peril,” he said.
“The courage to protect public safety surely will be recognised. The failure to do so will not be forgiven if some terrible terrorism event happens.”
A review of counter-terrorism legislation was due to report before Christmas but has been delayed until early 2011 because of ongoing negotiations between ministers.
The issue has divided the coalition because the Lib Dems promised during the election to abolish control orders.
Introduced under the former Labour government in 2005, they have been strongly criticised by civil liberties campaigners.
The review, which is also looking at the 28-day limit on holding terrorism suspects before they are charged, was announced by Home Secretary Theresa May in July.
It is being overseen by former director of public prosecutions and Lib Dem peer Lord Macdonald.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Indian-administered Kashmir has been hardest hit by the cold weather An intense spell of cold weather has disrupted life across northern India, reportedly claiming two dozen lives.
The capital, Delhi, has been hit worst by the cold snap, along with Indian-administered Kashmir, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
In Leh in Kashmir, temperatures dropped to -23.6C – this winter’s lowest – on Sunday, weather officials said.
Delhi, which is experiencing one of its coldest winters in years, has been hit by thick fog which disrupted flights.
Sunday was Delhi’s coldest day this winter with temperatures dipping to 7.8C.
The cold wave is being felt most intensely in Kashmir with the summer capital, Srinagar, recording sub-zero temperatures.
The highway linking Kashmir with the rest of India has been shut due to snowfall, officials said.
Homeless people have taken to gathering around street fires to try to keep warm and the night shelters for the poor in Delhi are overflowing.
Five more people – including a 70-year-old man and a two year-old boy – suffered cold-related deaths in Uttar Pradesh, reports said.
The Press Trust of India news agency reported three more cold-related deaths in Indian-administered Kashmir.
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One of Russia’s most prominent opposition politicians, former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, is sentenced to fifteen days in jail.
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Angry Coptic Christians in Egypt clash with riot police for a second day after 21 worshippers were killed in a bomb attack on a church in the city of Alexandria.
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Wildlife officials are trying to determine what caused more than 1,000 blackbirds to fall dead from the sky over a small town in the US state of Arkansas.
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The prisons minister warns those involved in the disturbance at the Ford Prison in West Sussex they may face criminal charges.
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The UN says it has been blocked from investigating alleged abuses The UN official investigating alleged abuses in Ivory Coast after a disputed election says he has evidence of extra-judicial killings.
Simon Munzu told the BBC his staff had verified some cases, while others were reported by families.
But he said a campaign of intimidation by incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo’s supporters appeared to have receded.
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga is travelling to Abidjan to help try and resolve a post-election stalemate.
Mr Gbagbo has so far refused demands from the world community to stand down in favour of his rival in the 28 November presidential polls, Alassane Ouattara, who is internationally recognised as the victor.
Mr Odinga, the African Union’s representative, is due to travel from Nigeria – where he has held discussions with President Goodluck Jonathan – to meet Mr Gbagbo and Mr Ouattara along with delegates from the West African regional group, Ecowas.
Sierra Leone’s information minister, Ibrahim Ben-Kargbo, told the BBC the leaders will call on Mr Gbagbo to step down, and did not intend to negotiate with him.
Human rights groups claim allies of Mr Gbagbo have been abducting opponents.
The UN says some 200 people have been killed or have disappeared in the past month – mostly supporters of Mr Ouattara.
Peacekeepers from the UN mission (UNOCI) have been instructed to do all they can to investigate sites of alleged human rights violations, but say security forces loyal to Mr Gbagbo have twice blocked them from visiting the site of one of two alleged mass graves.
The Gbagbo government has repeatedly denied the existence of any mass graves.
The UN has also expressed concern that some of the homes of opponents to Mr Gbagbo have been marked to identify the ethnicity of their occupants, indicating signs the country could be heading for ethnic violence.
Almost 19,000 refugees have crossed into Liberia to escape the crisis, more than half of them children, says Ranjan Poudyal, Country Director for Save the Children in Liberia.
“Arriving in Kissiplay and Duoplay, we found whole families of up to 10-12 people sharing a room in public school buildings and churches. To feed themselves, many families, whether or not they are physically fit, have taken up work on farms. Liberian families hosting the refugees, meanwhile, are concerned that there will soon not be enough food to go around. Safe drinking water is also now becoming hard to find.
We came across multiple cases of diarrhoea, malaria, and skin infections. We also came across cases of physical wounds from beatings received in Ivory Coast needing medical attention. But many of these settlements are several hours walk from the nearest clinic.
As is found in all emergencies where there is a mass upheaval of communities, in the six villages where we carried out our assessment, we came across 39 children who had been separated from their parents during the move, 20 unaccompanied minors, and eight parents who were devastated at having lost their children”.
Speaking to the BBC World Service’s Newshour programme, Mr Munzu said the UN had received many reports of killings.
“In some cases the information has bee verified by our own staff of the human rights division right across Ivory Coast but for others we rely on information reported by family members,” he said.
He cited an example of a report from one person who said his uncle and another man disappeared before their bodies were found in a mortuary with signs of “foul play”.
Denials by Mr Gbagbo’s camp lacked credibility while the UN was not allowed to investigate, he said.
He condemned reports that ethnic groups were being targeted, but said it would be an exaggeration to suggest this indicated the start of a genocide.
The UN was “horrified” by reports about the marking of doors, he said, but added that “to jump from that to the extreme of saying that we are on the brink of civil war in [Ivory Coast] is an exaggeration.
He said a campaign of intimidation by supporters of Mr Gbagbo appeared to have been aimed at blocking Mr Ouattara’s side from taking control of the state’s institutions.
“The attempt by the Ouattara camp to take over those institutions having appeared to have receded if not failed, I suppose the Gbagbo camp is breathing more easily now and that is reflected in a lowering of the atrocities that are committed to intimidate the people.”
UN peacekeepers are protecting Mr Ouattara, who is holed up in a hotel in the main city, Abidjan.
Mr Gbagbo has called on them to leave the country.
The election was intended to reunify the country which has been divided since a 2002 conflict.
Mr Ouattara was initially proclaimed the winner by Ivory Coast’s election commission, but the Constitutional Council said Mr Gbagbo had won. Both men have been sworn in as president.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Australia reach 134-4 on a rain-hit opening day of the final Ashes Test against England in Sydney.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The Labour leader will say the government is moving “too far and too fast” The planned rise in VAT is the “wrong tax, at the wrong time”, Labour leader Ed Miliband is to warn.
Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s VAT increase from 17.5% to 20%, Mr Miliband will claim it will cost the average family £7.50 a week.
He will say the rise, considered but rejected by Labour, will hit “living standards, small businesses and jobs”.
But the Conservatives say Labour’s plans for the economy would cost businesses billions of pounds.
The government hopes the VAT increase will raise £13bn and insists it is necessary to help reduce the deficit.
The Labour leader is set to issue his warning on Monday during a visit to the constituency of Oldham East and Saddleworth, where a by-election is to take place on 13 January.
He will say the VAT rise on most goods and services will hinder economic growth, cost thousands of jobs and make it even harder for families to make ends meet when they are already feeling squeezed.
“Today we start to see the Tory-led agenda move from Downing Street to your street,” Mr Miliband will warn.
“At midnight VAT goes up, hitting people’s living standards, small businesses and jobs.
“The VAT rise is the most visible example of what we mean when we say the government is going too far and too fast, because it’s clear that it will slow growth and hit jobs.”
He will say the average family will have to find an extra £7.50 “each and every week”, adding up to an extra £389 a year.
Mr Miliband will say the figures are from a Liberal Democrat poster from May’s general election campaign and he will use them to highlight the “broken promises” of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and the wider government.
While the Oldham East and Saddleworth seat is seen as a three-way contest, Mr Miliband will say there is “only a two-way fight for the direction of the country” now the Lib Dems are in coalition with the Tories.
Lib Dems will also step up their campaign in Oldham East and Saddleworth with six ministers visiting this week, including Mr Clegg for the second time.
Lib Dem candidate Elwyn Watkins lost the seat by only 103 votes last May but the result was declared void by an election court which found winning Labour candidate Phil Woolas had lied about him in election literature.
BBC political correspondent Laura Kuenssberg said the new political year had started on familiar ground, with the coalition government and Labour locked in an argument over the economy.
She said their policies would be tested at this month’s by-election.
“It (VAT) will push inflation up and, along with National Insurance rises and public sector job losses, harm sales as the year continues”
Richard Lim British Retail Consortium
“Some voters will have a chance to judge whose economic solutions are more convincing as by-election campaigning in Oldham hots up,” she said.
“The vote, in 10 days time, will be an early test for the coalition and for Ed Miliband – the government and his leadership, both less than a year old.”
Meanwhile, the British Retail Consortium says the looming VAT rise gave a “modest boost” to sales of “big-ticket” goods in December and retailers were discounting to make up for missed sales during the snow.
“That may mean the impact of the VAT rise is lost among discounts but ultimately retailers can’t absorb the cost indefinitely,” said spokesman Richard Lim.
“It will push inflation up and, along with National Insurance rises and public sector job losses, harm sales as the year continues.
“But, we do accept the VAT rise, with substantial public spending cuts, is necessary as part of the government’s package to tackle the deficit.”
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake has hit off the central coast of Chile, the US Geological Survey says.
The epicentre was 95km (60 miles) northwest of Temuco with a depth of 17km, the USGS said.
It added that there was no current widespread tsunami threat, although there are reports of people fleeing the area.
An 8.8-magnitude earthquake in the same area last February caused widespread destruction and left dozens dead.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the quake, which hit at 1720 (2020 GMT).
It was centred about 600 kilometres (370 miles) southwest of the capital, Santiago.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Janie Thomas has battled cancer since 1980 and took part in a PARP inhibitor trial
“It is difficult to get your head around mortality,” says Janie Thomas, who has had cancer four times since the 1980s.
She has defied the odds – having had two mastectomies and being given just months to live with lung cancer in 1995.
Now aged 62 and suffering from ovarian cancer, Janie is thinking of future generations by taking part in the trial of a new cancer drug, run by Cancer Research UK in Birmingham.
The trial is specifically for those with hereditary forms of breast and ovarian cancer, like Janie.
When genetic tests in 2009 revealed a fault in her BRCA1 gene – which increases her risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer – she became eligible for a trial of a new PARP inhibitor drug.
PARP stands for poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase.
The new drug works by knocking out a key DNA repair mechanism in cancer cells.
Blocking the action of PARP enzymes, which were discovered over 40 years ago, is thought to be significant in the development of new cancer treatments.
Following several unsuccessful rounds of chemotherapy, Janie did not hesitate to take part.
“I didn’t feel in any way nervous about the trial. I hoped it was going to help me and that the doctors would get some information out of it,” she says.
She began the trial in November 2009 and underwent her second cycle in early 2010.
“Trial drugs should be part of the early chat you have with your nurse or doctor”
Janie Thomas
After a very promising start with few side-effects over five months, Janie’s cancer started worsening and she is now back on a traditional drug.
She is sanguine about it however.
“I am aware that cancer is going to kill me, so I was prepared that the drug would stop working for me eventually.
“But I feel very well at the moment.”
She feels strongly that the PARP trial is important for women like her who have an inherited risk of cancer.
“As someone with a scientific background I feel it’s important for people like me to volunteer for trials like this, so future generations can benefit.”
“Today’s trials are tomorrow’s breakthroughs.”
Dr Daniel Rea, a consultant in medical oncology at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, who is running the trial, explained that women who inherit faults in BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes have a 50-80% chance of developing breast cancer and an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer.
“Currently people with hereditary forms of breast and ovarian cancer are treated in the same way as every other patient who develops advanced stage disease. We hope this trial will show by using the PARP inhibitor we can offer them more targeted, effective treatment,” he said.
For Janie’s part, she would like to see more information on experimental drug trials being made available to cancer patients.
“It’s only after a few series of drugs that people tell you about trial drugs,” she says.
“It is essential that patients take part in these trials”
Dr Daniel Rea Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham
“This should be part of the early chat you have with your nurse or doctor so that they can put together a care pathway, a plan of what might happen next.
“In early discussions, trial drugs should be mentioned.”
Is she proud of having taken part?
“I can’t say I feel proud. It was definitely a good thing to do and I would be happy to take other trial drugs. I would really encourage people to take part in a trial.”
When Janie was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1980, she says she was not offered chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and did not even see an oncologist.
Cancer care has changed dramatically since then.
Dr Daniel Rea, who has been overseeing Janie’s treatment for 18 months, says cancer trials are now extremely important.
“We can’t move on without information on new drugs.
“There have been major successes over the past 10 years and we hope there will be more breakthroughs in the future,” he added.
“It is essential that patients take part in these trials so that we can learn how to use drugs more effectively.”
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Prime Minister Gilani has now lost his majority in parliament Pakistan’s MQM party says it is leaving Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani’s coalition to join the opposition.
The move will deprive Mr Gilani of his majority in parliament.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement, the second largest party in the coalition, withdrew two ministers from the federal cabinet last week.
Mr Gilani denied there his government was in danger of collapsing. “I don’t see any crisis,” he said, speaking on television after the announcement.
The BBC’s Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad says the government is now scrambling to find new partners, but that without them, new elections are likely.
Pakistan’s governing coalition held 181 seats – including the MQM’s 25 – in the 342-member parliament. The MQM’s departure leaves Mr Gilani well below the 172 seats needed to preserve its majority.
Issues such as rising petrol prices have led to what is seen as a surprise move, our correspondent says.
The MQM dominates politics in the city of Karachi.
The city, which the capital of Sindh province, has seen ethnic tension, with the MQM’s militant wing widely believed to be behind most ethnic and political killings in the city over the last few years.
A smaller coalition partner, the Jamiat-i-Ulema Islam party, withdrew from the government earlier in December after one of its ministers was sacked.
Many in Pakistan believe the two parties are acting at the behest of the security establishment to undermine the country’s political system.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.