Aerial view of New York’s snowy roads

Anger is mounting in New York and New Jersey over the slow pace of snow removal following major storms which brought the region to a halt. Aerial pictures show road conditions in Brooklyn, New York, and Neptune New Jersey.

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Trio to try new Ivorian peace bid

Cape Verde President Pedro Pires, Boni Yayi of Benin, and Alassane Ouattara

The BBC’s John James said talks may go on to avoid military action against Gbagbo.

Three West African leaders will return to Ivory Coast on Monday for more negotiations to end the impasse over last month’s disputed elections.

The announcement came a day after they failed to persuade incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo to stand down.

They had hoped Mr Gbagbo would agree to cede power to Alassane Ouattara, widely considered to be the true winner.

The regional body Ecowas has threatened to use force if he refuses to go.

“Whenever there is disagreement, it is dialogue that will solve issues”

Goodluck Jonathan Nigeria’s president

State-controlled TV has indicated that several million African nationals from other countries living in Ivory Coast might be at risk if threats from African countries of military intervention against Mr Gbagbo continue.

The presidents of Benin, Sierra Leone and Cape Verde had travelled to the main city, Abidjan, as representatives of Ecowas.

Afterwards the three men went on to Nigeria to brief the chairman of Ecowas, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.

“They are going back on 3 January and when they come back from this second visit, the outcome will determine the next action,” Mr Jonathan said after the briefing, Reuters news agency reports.

“Whenever there is a dispute, whenever there is disagreement, it is dialogue that will solve issues,” AP news agency quotes him as saying.

Tuesday’s visit was being seen as a final chance to urge Mr Gbagbo to peacefully cede to Mr Ouattara – who is currently holed up in a hotel in the city protected by around 800 UN peacekeepers.

Women take part in a prayer session in Plateau, in Abidjan, 27 December 2010There is tension in Abidjan over possible military intervention, and prayer sessions have been held

Few details of the separate talks with the two rivals have emerged.

But Mr Gbagbo appears to be reinforcing his position.

One of his advisers told the BBC Mr Gbagbo was still the democratically elected president and that the Ecowas intervention was part of an “international plot” against him.

The BBC’s John James in Abidjan says the three presidents that visited represent some of the smallest countries in West Africa, but they are seen as being on good terms with Mr Gbagbo, particularly Cape Verde, which has close ties to Angola, Mr Gbagbo’s strongest international ally.

Analysis

Ivory Coast is different from Liberia and Sierra Leone. It is a functioning wealthy country with a strong army, so a force will meet some credible resistance.

Furthermore, it doesn’t look as if Ecowas is capable of putting a credible force on the ground: Nigeria is heading towards elections and may not want to put in troops for that long a time; Ghana has elections in 2012 and Senegal has its own problems with dynastic succession. So the key countries that would have to contribute may not have the political stomach and the temerity.

I would have thought an emphasis on sanctions, bank accounts, no-fly zones, seizure of properties – total isolation on the continent – would have been a first step.

But it looks as if there has been a hastiness to demonstrate that “we can deal with Gbagbo” – and in doing so Ecowas, the African Union and the United Nations have actually closed too many doors that limit their options for engagement and manoeuvre.

Earlier on Tuesday, a UN peacekeeper was wounded in the arm with a machete when his convoy was attacked by a crowd in a Gbagbo stronghold.

Mr Gbagbo has accused the UN – which has some 9,500 peacekeepers in the country – of interfering in Ivorian affairs and has ordered it to leave.

The UN has refused to do so. It says at least 173 people have died in violence and scores of others have been tortured since the 28 November elections.

Violence broke out after Mr Ouattara’s victory was overturned by the Constitutional Council, a body headed by an ally of Mr Gbagbo, citing claims that results were rigged in the north.

Almost 20,000 people – mostly women and children – have fled Ivory Coast for neighbouring Liberia, fearing further unrest.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) says 15,120 people from villages in western Ivory Coast are known to have crossed the border and another 4,000 arrivals have been reported.

Our correspondent says Ivorians had hoped these elections would close the chapter on the country’s most difficult 10 years, but instead they have opened up a new period of instability.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Anger over slow blizzard clean-up

Aeroplanes snowed in at New York's JFK airport

Some passengers spent a second night stranded at airports

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Anger is mounting in New York and New Jersey over the slow pace of snow removal following the major storms which brought the region to a halt.

Major thoroughfares in Manhattan have been cleared, but large parts of the city have yet to be ploughed.

Many residents are stuck in their homes unable to get to work, and piles of snow are hindering ambulances.

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn called the clean-up operation the worst in memory.

“We’re hearing reports from all over of people not even having seen a plough by the afternoon of the day after,” Ms Quinn told reporters. “This is a level of lack of clean-up that I really can’t recall.”

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has defended his administration’s response to the blizzard, telling reporters that they are working as hard as they can and “doing everything we can think of”.

In New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie is under fire for taking a holiday at Disney World in central Florida while his state is reeling in the aftermath of the storm.

Meanwhile, most airlines have restored regular services but are struggling to cope with the volume of stranded passengers.

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Anger at NI water shortage crisis

The Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, Martin McGuinness

Martin McGuinness calls Northern Ireland’s lack of water a ‘grave crisis’

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Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister has said he feels “absolutely let down” by NI Water’s handling of a crisis in water supplies.

He was speaking as 36,000 people across NI struggled to cope without water – some for 11 days.

Information is being provided on the NI Water website on when water supplies will be switched on – and cut off

Meanwhile, the Scottish government is to provide 160,000 litres of bottled water.

Martin McGuinness said people had not been given enough information as to when water would be restored.

“My focus is on how NI Water can do things better over the course of the next number of days,” he said.

Northern Ireland Water has said an unprecedented number of leaks caused by the thaw following a long period of freezing weather have been putting “big pressure” on its systems.

Mr McGuinness said: “Our concern has to be around the difficulties experienced by elderly people and young people with very young babies,” he said.

Northern Ireland Water is a government-run company and is NI’s sole provider of water and sewerage services.

Liam Mulholland, NI Water

Historically, we have had an amount of underinvestment here.

We had the Troubles and that has led to a level of underinvestment in the network which is now manifesting some problems for us which we’re trying to deal with as fast as we can.

We’re under demand from three things.

We have bursts in our own network and we’re repairing those as fast as we can.

We have home usage, people are filling baths and that’s something we’re trying to deter because that just puts more strain on the system.

We know there are vacant premises where people are off for Christmas, we know that there are businesses that are being flooded, so we’re pleading with our business customers to visit their premises, if you’ve got a leak get it isolated – that’ll shut it off and will help to bring the reservoir levels up again.

Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy said: “The big problems have been communication and the lack of information on the ground.

“People want certainty that they are going to get accurate information as to what is happening and to get water restored.”

Northern Ireland Water has warned that the disruption could continue for several more days.

Executive ministers are to hold a meeting on Thursday to discuss the crisis.

Almost 80 towns and villages across NI have been affected.

The Scottish Executive has offered to supply bottled water if required.

Local councils are working to supply water and offer free showers to people without a mains supply.

Belfast City Council has opened an emergency call centre – Belfast residents can call 0800 707 6965 for information on where to get water and what other assistance the council can give.

Armagh Council has drinking water available from a number of recreation and community centres as is Craigavon Council.

NI Water said an unprecedented number of leaks caused by the thaw had put “big pressure” on its systems.

The company said it was alternating supplies from reservoirs in a bid to give every area a limited supply, causing more interruptions.

Liam Mulholland, head of customer services for NI Water, said the circumstances were unusual and unprecedented.

“It is understandable that people are angry,” he said.

“The level of contacts that we have had is unprecedented. In a normal day we would take about 1,000 calls. But that has risen by 600%. We are doing everything we can. We have more than 300 staff out seeking and fixing bursts.”

Asked why Scotland had not experienced similar cuts to supplies, he said: “Scotland has had investment, whereas we haven’t.”

He also appealed to people to report burst pipes.

waterPeople queued for water at leisure centres

“There is an immense drain on the system because of vacant premises,” he said. “We would appeal to business owners to please check their premises.”

Dame Joan Harbison, who speaks on behalf of older people, said many pensioners are struggling to cope.

“There are many older people throughout Northern Ireland who haven’t access to water, who can’t go to where the water is and certainly can’t stand in long queues for long periods of time to actually get water,” she said.

“I do think that the Public Health Agency and other health agencies need to get themselves organised to deal with what may actually become a health emergency as well as a water emergency.”

Dr Peter Maguire, a doctor from Newry, has been living for eight days without water.

“This is really now a public health emergency. NI Water has been shambolic. Young families have been left without drinking water and not able to flush toilets. This is unacceptable.

“There are too many vulnerable people who are now without a water supply for over a week,” he said.

“The situation is unprecedented but now it is getting out of control.”

Environment Minister Edwin Poots said NI Water was not properly prepared.

“Everybody knew that whenever the thaw came that there was going to be big problems with water, so I think that there was a lack of preparation by NI Water, particularly in the issue of communication,” he said.

“I think that it’s limited how much they can do, the engineers, the guys on the ground, they’re just going to have to work their way through all of the problems. But in terms of communicating those problems with the community, they failed and failed very miserably.”

Emergency centres have been set up across Northern Ireland to supply water. Leisure centres are also open to offer free bathing facilities.

Details are available from NI Water, telephone: 08457 440088, on Ceefax and BBC News Online.

The Fire Service and the Red Cross have stepped in to help.

Worried farmers have been among dozens of people contacting the BBC about their water supply problems.

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We have been without water for seven days. I have two young children, both under five, and it is proving exceptionally difficult to provide water for our family’s needs, especially during a time when the whole family are at home. We contacted the emergency number a couple of weeks ago, when our water was off for three days. The water service did send someone out, but told us that as the mains pipe was frozen it was not their responsibility. Alastair McFarland, Ballinamallard

I would like to comment that despite your report citing Belfast and surrounding areas having severe problems that there are many people in the Dungannon and Coalisland area who have been without water for coming onto a week. Why have you failed to report this and why is this not considered enough of an emergency situation so that action is taken to distribute water as is being undertaken today in Belfast? No one I know can get in touch with NI Water to ascertain the action being taken to address this matter. Leontia Doran, Dungannon, County Tyrone

We have had no water since Christmas Eve, starting with the bath taps. We thought it was a frozen pipe at first, but then the taps downstairs stopped working too. Now we have no water at all, no shower or bath, can’t even flush the toilets. Can’t get through to Northern Ireland water as the number has been engaged all day and the website has been down most of today too. Claire, Dromore, Northern Ireland

We live in Coleraine and have no water. Can’t get through on NI Water Helpline and their website keeps crashing. All local supermarkets and garages have sold out of bottled water and there doesn’t appear to be any supplies available here from NI Water like there is in other towns. Total chaos. Tricia Roulston, Coleraine

We have had no mains supply for over 48 hours. Calling the emergency line is futile. To make matters worse supply of bottled water in local supermarkets has dried up. Johnny Bottomley, Bushmills

Our home has been without water since Christmas eve. The Housing Executive were informed early that morning and as yet no one has been in contact. We have been on the phone to NI Water constantly with no avail as it is either engaged or you are left waiting for the next available advisor, after 20 mins you have to wonder is there anyone there and give up. Other houses close by lost supply Monday night and it returned within a few hours; ours has had no such luck. There seems to be a serious lack of co-ordination and accountability. Gerry Andrews, Belfast

We live in Edenderry, Belfast and have no water in the village. I have tried in excess of 100 times to phone the Waterboard number. It is constantly engaged. Drove to North Belfast to get water for ourselves and an elderly neighbour to be told they had run out 10 minutes before we arrived! Heather Taylor, Belfast

Our water supply failed yesterday (Monday), morning. I called NI Water. I held on for 30 minutes before getting into the queue and then waited 10 minutes to speak to someone. The water supply was restored by the evening. However, considering the huge problem of such a deep freeze over the whole country, I accepted that there would be hundreds (in fact thousands) of people calling in. I am sure the NI Water got some things wrong, but on the whole they have done as good a job as could be expected in this extreme situation. Dr Raymond Cox, Portadown, Co Armagh

We are a family in East Belfast and have been without water since approximately 8.30am this morning. I took us until after 12pm to get through on the emergency water line and all we were told was that there was a problem with a reservoir, repairs were underway but there was no timescale to fix it. We cannot cook, wash, go to the bathroom etc and have no idea how long this will last for! Lisa, Belfast, Co Antrim

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Hughes defends new education role

Students protested outside Simon Hughes' officeStudents protested outside Mr Hughes’ office earlier this month

The deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, Simon Hughes, is set to be appointed as a so-called “special advocate” for access to education.

The government wants him to explain its policies on higher and further education, especially to young people from poorer backgrounds.

Mr Hughes was one of the MPs who refused to support the government’s policy of raising tuition fees.

The government voted to almost treble university tuition fees this month.

Tuition fees for English universities will increase from £3,290 per year to a maximum of £9,000.

Announcing the unpaid appointment, the prime minister and his coalition deputy Nick Clegg renewed complaints that the true impact of the move had been “obscured” by the political row over the Lib Dems breaking a pre-election pledge to oppose rises.

In a letter to Mr Hughes, Messrs Cameron and Clegg said it would be a “tragedy for them” if young people from disadvantaged backgrounds were wrongly put off applying for a degree because of that “misinformation”.

During the six-month term, Mr Hughes will go into schools to canvass the concerns of less financially well-off teenagers and devise with them publicity campaigns to persuade as many as possible to consider higher education.

He will also contribute to work on finding a suitable replacement for the educational maintenance allowance – the axeing of which he has also criticised.

Accepting the role, he said: “It is a privilege to be asked to take on this role, and I will do so with urgency, enthusiasm and determination.

“Parliament has settled the maximum university fee level in England from 2012 and we now have a critically-important task to ensure that every potential student has access to all the facts about the costs, benefits and opportunities of further and higher education.

“I will work with every person of goodwill to ensure that from 2011 we have the best system of educational advice, information and support in place, designed to benefit all potential students and to ensure that disadvantaged young people increasingly gain access to further and higher education.”

Mr Clegg said Mr Hughes was “ideally suited” to the role as a champion of young people from deprived backgrounds.

“I know Simon will be tireless in seeking the best ways to communicate the opportunities open to young people, just as he will be a strong advocate for them to government.”

David Cameron said: “I am pleased that Simon is taking on this important role, listening to young people and working with them on how best to communicate and explain the opportunities open to them.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

‘Explosives fear’ in siege house

Police vehicles at siege in Kirkheaton, HuddersfieldForensic teams are now examining Mr Bell’s home after it was declared safe by a specialist team
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Forensic examination of the home of a man shot dead by police after a seven-hour siege was delayed over fears it may contain explosives.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said specialist teams had to be drafted in to search Alistair Bell’s house in Kirkheaton on Tuesday.

Mr Bell, 42, died after a night-long standoff. His home has now been declared safe.

The siege began after an officer who went to arrest Mr Bell was shot.

It has since emerged that the 29-year-old West Yorkshire Police officer was saved from serious injury by his body armour.

The IPCC started an investigation into the incident after it was referred to them by the force.

Pistol recovered

In a statement, the police watchdog said: “IPCC investigators were unable to enter the house to begin their examination on Tuesday due to fears it may contain an improvised explosive device.

“The property has been declared safe now following a search by specialist teams and a forensic examination is being undertaken.”

The IPCC added that a 9mm self-loading pistol had been recovered from the house.

The siege, which resulted in armed police surrounding Mr Bell’s home, took place in Cockley Hill Lane, near the centre of Kirkheaton.

The IPCC said West Yorkshire Police had received a 999 call at about 1800 GMT on Monday, alleging that Mr Bell had made threats towards a woman and her husband.

‘Weapon fired’

Police officers visited the woman and then went to Mr Bell’s home at about 2200 GMT.

“It is understood Mr Bell produced a weapon and fired at the unarmed officers,” the IPCC said.

“One bullet struck the body armour of one of the officers and he sustained bruising to his lower back.”

Firearms officers were deployed and negotiations began with Mr Bell.

However, at 0530 GMT on Tuesday, Mr Bell died after an officer fired a Heckler and Koch G36 carbine weapon.

A post-mortem examination was carried out on Tuesday evening. Police said Mr Bell’s next of kin had been notified.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Denmark holds ‘cartoon plotters’

A Danish policeman (file image)Danish police said they had been co-operating with Swedish colleagues
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Five suspected Islamist militants have been arrested for planning to attack a Danish newspaper that printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in 2005.

The men wanted to “kill as many people as possible” at the Copenhagen offices of Jyllands-Posten, officials said.

Denmark’s Justice Minister Lars Barfoed said it was the country’s most serious terrorist plot.

Four suspects – including three Swedes – were held in Denmark, and the fifth was detained in Sweden, police said.

The four held in Denmark were picked up in raids in Greve and Herlev, near Copenhagen, where police found an automatic weapon, a silencer and live ammunition, according to Denmark’s security agency, Pet.

The agency’s chief, Jakob Scharf, said the four held in Denmark had been planning to enter the building housing the Jyllands-Posten and “kill as many of the people present as possible”.

He said an “imminent terror attack” had been foiled and described some of the suspects as “militant Islamists”.

Mr Barfoed said in a statement that the plot was “outrageous” and described it as “the most serious attempt at terror so far in Denmark”.

The publication of the cartoons, one of which depicted Muhammad with a bomb-shaped turban, caused mass protests among Muslims across the world.

Muslims regard any visual representation of the Prophet as blasphemous.

Saudi Arabia recalled its Copenhagen ambassador, Danish firms were forced to scale back operations in some parts of the world, and gunmen raided an EU office in Gaza to demand an apology.

But many in the West have defended the media’s right to publish the caricatures, and several European newspapers have republished some of the drawings.

Kurt Westergaard, the cartoonist who drew the image of the turban bomb, has been honoured with awards by free-speech groups, but he now lives under police guard amid death threats from radical groups.

He was the subject of an attempted attack in January when a Somali man got into his home armed with a knife and an axe.

And police across Scandinavia have arrested several groups of people in raids linked to the cartoons.

Three men detained in Norway in July were suspected of planning attacks to avenge the cartoons.

In September, a Chechnya-born Belgian was arrested after a small explosion in Copenhagen, which police linked to the cartoons.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Poland’s Jaruzelski in hospital

Gen Wojciech Jaruzelski, photographed in Paris in September 2009Gen Jaruzelski recently underwent surgery for a tumour on his face
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Gen Wojciech Jaruzelski, Poland’s last Communist leader, has been taken to hospital suffering from pneumonia, Polish media say.

The 87-year-old, who has suffered frequent health problems in recent years, was admitted to a police clinic in the north-eastern city of Olsztyn.

He is conscious and can talk to nurses, the daily Gazeta Wyborcza reports.

The general was recently put on trial by Poland’s post-Communist authorities for imposing martial law in 1981.

Reports on Wednesday said he had been placed in the cardiology ward of the interior ministry hospital in Olsztyn, near his holiday home.

The Polish news agency PAP said he was in a stable condition and was expected to leave the hospital soon.

Last year, Gen Jaruzelski had surgery for a face tumour and the year before he was treated in hospital for pneumonia and heart problems.

From left: Gen Wojciech Jaruzelski, Aleksander Kwasniewski and Lech Walesa, at a meeting of Poland's National Security Council in Warsaw, 24 November 1989Gen Jaruzelski made a public appearance in November with other ex-leaders

The former leader maintains he imposed martial law in 1981 only to avert an invasion by Moscow, as the opposition Solidarity movement challenged Communist rule.

Dozens of people were killed during the crackdown and Gen Jaruzelski was put on trial along with eight other ex-officials in 2008 for the criminal use of martial law legislation.

Correspondents reported at the time that there seemed to be little public clamour in Poland to send the general to prison.

He made a public appearance in November when he was invited to a sitting of Poland’s National Security Council by the current President, Bronislaw Komorowski.

Former presidents Aleksander Kwasniewski and Lech Walesa – Gen Jaruzelski’s old foe from communist times – also attended the sitting.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Colleagues mourn BBC’s Hanrahan

Brian Hanrahan Brian Hanrahan reported from across the world for nearly 30 years
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The funeral of Brian Hanrahan, the BBC correspondent who recently died of cancer, has been taking place in north London.

Mr Hanrahan, who was best known for his coverage of the Falklands War, died at the age of 61 after a short illness.

Senior BBC reporters including Nicholas Witchell were among mourners at Saint Monica’s Catholic Church in Enfield.

Mr Hanrahan’s coffin was carried into the church under a bouquet of yellow roses amid foggy weather.

Former BBC colleagues who gathered at the church also included Jeremy Bowen and James Naughtie.

Mr Hanrahan’s reporting spanned the reshaping of Nato and the EU, as well as conflicts in Bosnia, Kosovo, and the Middle East.

As the BBC’s Far East, and then Moscow correspondent, he watched dramatic changes unfolding in China and Russia.

He covered Tiananmen Square and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

But it was the Falkands War in 1982 that made his reputation.

Mr Hanrahan famously counted the returning Harrier jets to ensure he could report the story and get round MoD restrictions.

Coffin arrivingMr Hanrahan’s funeral is being held in Enfield, north London

He said: “I’m not allowed to say how many planes joined the raid, but I counted them all out and I counted them all back. Their pilots were unhurt, cheerful and jubilant, giving thumbs-up signs.”

Speaking after his death on 20 December, former war reporter Martin Bell paid tribute to a “quiet, decent man” who was “very thorough and very good at his job”.

“I never heard an ill word said about Brian Hanrahan,” he added.

Former BBC war correspondent Kate Adie described him as an “extremely dogged and factual and intelligent reporter who saw things in front of him and described them graphically”.

“He was one of those voices you could rely on,” she added.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Foreign Secretary William Hague also paid tribute to Mr Hanrahan.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Iranian bomb ‘three years away’

Guard at Bushehr nuclear power plant, Iran - 21 August 2010Iran denies that the Stuxnet worm has damaged its nuclear programme

Iran’s nuclear programme has been hit by technical problems, and it could be still three years away from making a bomb, an Israeli minister has said.

The statement came a month after Iran said centrifuges used in uranium enrichment had been sabotaged.

There are suspicions, denied by Iran, that the centrifuges were targeted by the Stuxnet computer worm.

The West fears Iran’s goal is to build nuclear weapons but Iran says its programme is for peaceful energy use.

Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Yaalon said the programme had faced “a number of technological challenges and difficulties”.

“These difficulties have postponed the timetable,” he told Israeli radio.

“So we can’t talk about a point of no return. Iran does not have the ability to create nuclear weapons by itself at the moment.”

Iran said in September that the Stuxnet worm had attacked its computers but denied that it had damaged the nuclear programme.

However, experts say the worm has been specially configured to damage motors commonly used in uranium enrichment centrifuges by sending them spinning out of control.

The computer worm is a form of customised malware, written to attack a precise target.

Analysts say the complexity of the code suggests it was created by a “nation state” in the West, rather than an organised crime group.

Israel considers Iran the greatest threat to its security, because of the nuclear programme and anti-Israeli comments by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.