Category: news

Water supplies to 3,000 homes in Carmarthenshire have been affected by problems at a reservoir.

Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water said customers have been reporting loss of supply or low pressure caused by a burst main going to the reservoir.

The main areas affected include the postcodes SA31 and SA33 around St Clears.

Supplies to 2,000 properties in Llandrindod Wells (LD1) in Powys are also being hit by the weather.

Welsh Water is bring in waters in tankers there to help customers experiencing intermittent low pressure.

In Carmarthenshire, engineers have been working overnight to fix the problem with the supply to the reservoir.

Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water began giving out bottled water to customers on Wednesday morning.

Operations director Peter Perry said the company was working at “full stretch”.

“We are dealing with an unprecedented level of bursts not only on our system but also on the private supply side – on customers’ own pipes,” he said.

“Yesterday, we dealt with 250-plus bursts on our own system.

“I’ve been in the business for 30 years and the levels of bursts – we’ve never seen the like before,” he told BBC Radio Wales.

“Our biggest incident is in south Camarthenshire. There are about 3,000 properties without water. We are doing everything we can to get supplies restored.

“We’ve had a significant failure at a pumping station.”

There have also been reports of water problems in Rhiw, Gwynedd, and Miskin near Cardiff and Ynysybwl in Rhondda Cynon Taf.

Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water said it logged 5,000 calls from customers reporting problems on Boxing Day, compared with 50 on a typical busy day, and about 185 during a cold snap.

It is giving updates via its website to customers whose supplies are affected.

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

Looking grim-faced, Mr Putin called for more work and less whining

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has ordered officials to work over the New Year holiday so that Moscow’s struggling airports get back to normal.

Mr Putin castigated government officials at a televised meeting, pointing to transport chaos and power cuts triggered by icy weather.

More than 8,000 people got stuck at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport because they had not been warned, he said.

Hundreds of flights were cancelled at Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo airports.

“There will be no holidays until a special order is given. Everyone must be at work,” he told cabinet ministers and regional governors.

“The situation is difficult, but thankfully not catastrophic, and our task is to make sure it does not escalate to catastrophic levels,” he said.

Scuffles broke out at Sheremetyevo this week as desperate passengers raged at airport staff.

Freezing rain at the weekend led to many flight cancellations and Domodedovo suffered a power blackout. The national carrier Aeroflot was hit by a shortage of de-icing fluid.

President Dmitry Medvedev told prosecutors to investigate the delays.

Omon elite police were deployed at both airports following chaotic scenes on Monday.

“There is no need to whine. Everyone must work,” Mr Putin said on Wednesday.

“Entire villages remain without power, the situation is also difficult on the roads, and thousands of people are stranded in airports.”

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

A cash machine-giving scheme is already working in Colombia, ministers say

People could give to charity every time they use bank cards in shops or at cash machines, the government has said.

They could also be prompted to give money when they fill in tax returns, or apply for passports and driving licences, the Cabinet Office suggested.

Lottery winners would get thank-you letters from ministers if they donated large sums to good causes, it added.

The proposals are set out in a government paper calling for charitable giving to become a “social norm”.

Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said it was not an attempt to “compel” people but to encourage the “big society” agenda championed by Prime Minister David Cameron.

But opponents are likely to argue the scheme would be a way of providing public services “on the cheap” during a time of widespread cuts to public spending

The government’s consultation document calls on UK banks to look at copying a system used in Colombia which allows customers to make a donation each time they withdraw cash.

And it recommends a national “round-up-the-pound” scheme which would allow people to give donate “change” when paying by debit or credit card.

While the British are generous in charitable giving compared with people in most other countries, they rank 29th for volunteering – spending 17 times more hours watching TV, the document notes.

The government said there was evidence of a “latent demand to give” and that individuals and businesses needed to be reminded of the “warm glow” resulting from helping others.

Mr Maude said of the consultation, which runs until 9 March: “Giving is too often caricatured as worthy and selfless, a one-way street, but there’s nothing wrong with doing things for each other and repaying kindnesses.

“If we can agree as a society the values that underpin helping each other we can unlock huge potential for a stronger, bigger society.”

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

The search is from near the Menai suspension bridge, one of two bridges which links the mainland to Anglesey

Rescuers are searching the Menai Strait between Anglesey and the north Wales mainland after reports in the early hours of someone in the water.

Emergency services had the call at 0324 GMT and are searching eight miles between Menai Bridge and Caernarfon.

Holyhead coastguard said team members had heard shouting in the water.

Coastguard teams from Bangor and Penmon, Beaumaris RNLI lifeboat, North Wales Police and search and rescue dogs are all involved.

Barry Priddis, watch manager with Holyhead Coastguard, said the search was from the Swellies – the area of water between the Britannia and Menai Bridges – to Caernarfon.

“The tide has just turned and as the search was concentrated towards Caernarfon it is now in the other direction,” he said.

He said further inquiries were also being made about the possibility of a man who had gone missing before.

Gareth Parry, operations manager for Beaumaris Lifeboat, said the weather was not causing any problems for the search.

He said there was light rain but visibility was fine.

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

The body of Joanna Yeates, 25, was discovered on Christmas Day in Longwood Lane in Failand near Bristol. She had been strangled.

Police have confirmed they are investigating claims murder victim Joanna Yeates was outside her flat with two people on the night she vanished.

The landlord of the property in Bristol has told detectives he saw three people leaving and believes one of them was 25-year-old Ms Yeates.

Crimestoppers has offered a £10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of her killer.

Ms Yeates’ body was discovered on Christmas Day. She had been strangled.

The discovery was made in Longwood Lane, in Failand near Bristol, by a couple walking their dogs.

Detective Chief Inspector Phil Jones said: “There are a number of lines of enquiry we are following up.

“One of these concerns apparent reports that several people were seen or heard in or around Joanna’s flat on the night of her disappearance.”

Officers have also removed the front door to Ms Yeates’ flat in Canynge Road as part of the investigation.

A police spokeswoman said: “The door is being taken for forensic analysis.”

Ms Yeates’ was last seen alive on 17 December.

Joanna Yeates’ body was found on Christmas Day

She is believed to have returned to the flat she shared with her boyfriend Greg Reardon in the Clifton area of the city after an evening at the Ram pub, on Park Street.

Her keys, mobile phone, purse and coat had been left behind at their flat and forensic examiners have said there was no sign of a forced entry or a struggle at the property.

Mr Reardon reported her missing to police on 19 December when he returned home from a weekend visiting family in Sheffield.

Police have now issued CCTV images of Ms Yeates at a Bargain Booze shop in Clifton where she bought two bottles of cider on the night she disappeared.

The bottles – one of them half drunk – were found in her flat.

Images of her visiting a Waitrose store and a Tesco Express store in Clifton, after leaving the Ram have already been released.

Mr Jones said: “We know that there were a number of people in the Canynge Road area on the night of Joanna’s disappearance.

“We want to hear from any of these people or anyone else with information that can help the enquiry.

The front door of the flat was taken away for tests

“We have, of course, been keeping in contact with Joanna’s family and keeping them informed of our progress.

“Late last night, I received a message from Mr Yeates in which he stated he and his family had “total confidence”.

“Indeed, Mr Yeates said ‘we truly believe that you will identify the person who killed our daughter’.

“I am, of course, grateful to have the support of the family.

“They, and the general public, can rest assured that myself and my team will leave absolutely no stone un-turned in our attempts to find whoever killed Joanna and to bring them to justice.”

Police have said post-mortem results showed she had been dead for “several days before being discovered”.

They are now trying to fill in the gaps between her disappearance and Christmas Day when her body was discovered.

Officers particularly want to hear from anyone who saw anything suspicious around the entrance to Durnford Quarry, close to where she was found, between 17 and 19 December.

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

Burnley manager Brian Laws is sacked by the Championship club.

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

Mr Burns was airlifted to hospital from Helvellyn

A man has died of head injuries after falling from the summit of a mountain in the Lake District in Cumbria.

Alan Burns, of Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, had been walking with friends on Monday on Helvellyn when he fell from Swirral Edge.

The Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team found the 39-year-old and he was airlifted by an RAF Kinloss team to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.

He later died of his injuries, Cumbria Police confirmed.

A Cumbria Police spokeswoman said: “There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and the immediate family of Mr Burns has been informed.”

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

Citibank said the worker has been suspended

A Citibank employee in India has been accused of fraudulently stealing millions of dollars from wealthy individual and corporate clients.

The alleged fraud was discovered earlier this month in a branch of the global bank in Gurgaon, a wealthy suburb of the Indian capital, Delhi.

The employee solicited investment in a fictitious scheme, promising high returns in a short time, the bank said.

Police say the wanted staff member has now gone missing.

Earlier he was suspended after a complaint was lodged by the bank with the police.

“We recently initiated an investigation into a certain set of suspicious transactions based on documents forged by an employee involving a few accounts in our Gurgaon branch,” Citibank said in a statement.

“We immediately reported the matter to all the relevant law enforcement authorities.

“We are providing full assistance to the authorities in their investigations. This issue does not impact other accounts, transactions or customers of the bank,” the statement added.

Although the bank officials declined to say how much money could be involved, reports said it could be anywhere between $44.32m (£28.8m) and $88.64m (£57.6m).

A senior police officer investigating the case said that 18 accounts had been frozen, which had been opened using four different names.

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

Two young boys aged 12 and 13 have been assaulted in west Belfast.

Two men both thought to be aged about 19-years-old, punched and kicked the boys.

The incident happened at the junction of Andersonstown Park East and St Meryl Park on Tuesday.

The men also stole the children’s mobile phones.

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

Pit bull terriers are one of four “fighting” breeds banned under the 1991 act

A “dramatic” rise in the number of banned dogs subject to court orders has prompted an MP to call for a change in the law.

Owners of banned dogs can be forced by the courts to muzzle or neuter them.

Government figures show the number on the dangerous dogs index has increased from 141 in 2007 to 255 in 2008. Last year the figure rose again to 314.

Labour’s Willie Bain argued legislation should be toughened but the government said 63% opposed this.

The index registers dogs whose owners have inadvertently come into ownership of a banned dog. Dogs which are currently banned are the pit bull terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino and the Fila Brasileiro.

Dogs on the list are believed to be of little threat and courts may specify measures taken to keep the dog under control such as muzzling and being kept on a lead.

There are currently 1,245 dogs on the list.

The Glasgow East MP said the increase of dogs on the index was “dramatic” and that the government had to deal with the problem of “status” dogs in constituencies.

“Really, the major issue about dangerous dogs is that the main prescribed breeds are causing the biggest problem,” he said.

“We think it is necessary to move away from breed-specific legislation to anti-social pets, so dog protection notices can be applied to the owner as well as the dog.

“It’s about trying to nip this in the bud before there are any injuries or fatalities.”

Last week 52-year-old Barbara Williams was mauled to death by a Belgian mastiff in south London.

The dog, described as “distinctly large” by police, was shot dead by marksmen at the house.

Its owner has been bailed after being arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.

The Dangerous Dog Index figures were released after a written Parliamentary question from Mr Bain who said he believed the government were “not inclined to make the change [in law]”.

In response to his question, Animal Welfare Minister Jim Paice said a recent consultation found 63% were opposed to current legislation being extended to cover dogs on private land.

“The issue of dangerous dogs is not just a problem of dangerous breeds but also one of bad owners,” said Mr Paice.

“They need to be held to account and stopped from ruining people’s lives.”

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

The MQM’s power base in Karachi has been hit by ethnic and militant violence in recent months

The Pakistani president has met a senior member of the MQM party following its decision to withdraw two ministers from the federal cabinet.

President Asif Zardari met the governor of Sindh province, Dr Ishratul Ibad.

The meeting is part of the government’s efforts to appease the MQM, a coalition partner which withdrew its ministers from the cabinet on Monday.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) said corruption and rising prices were the main reasons behind its decision.

It said it would decide soon whether to leave the coalition altogether.

If the MQM – which dominates the political scene in the city of Karachi – leaves the coalition, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government of PM Yusuf Raza Gilani will lose its majority in parliament.

But so far that looks unlikely to happen, because the MQM has insisted that it will not cross over to the opposition benches.

Extorting money

The BBC’s M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says that President Zardari arrived for crisis talks with Dr Ibad in Karachi from Naudero – the ancestral town of his wife Benazir Bhutto, who was killed in a militant attack three years ago.

Prime Minister Gilani now risks losing his majority in parliament

Our correspondent says that the MQM is also unhappy over comments made in Sindh parliament by PPP provincial Home Minster Zulfiqar Mirza.

Without naming the MQM, Mr Mirza said that people were extorting money and killing people in Karachi – a city often blighted by militant and sectarian violence.

The MQM has threatened to quit the alliance altogether if Mr Mirza is not chastised.

But our correspondent says that is highly unlikely because such a move will spark further ethnic tensions in Karachi, capital of the Sindh province and MQM’s main support base.

It could also lead to police action against the MQM’s militant wing which is widely believed to be behind most ethnic and political killings in the city over the last few years.

Pakistan’s governing coalition currently holds 181 seats – including the MQM’s 25 – in the 342-member parliament. This is just nine more than the 172 needed to preserve its majority.

Earlier this month, Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), a smaller coalition partner, withdrew from the government after a minister belonging to the party was sacked.

Mr Gilani’s coalition faces a number of major challengers, including a growing Taliban insurgency.

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

The 4Chan homepage is available but the main discussion boards have been hit hard

The notorious message board 4Chan has been taken offline by an overwhelming web attack.

Thanks to the attack, the discussion boards of the site have been hard to reach or offline for almost 24 hours.

The attack might be retaliation for similar attacks that some 4Chan members, as part of the Anonymous group, mounted in support of Wikileaks.

It is not yet clear who is carrying out the attacks and no-one has come forward to claim responsibility.

News about the large-scale web attack, known as a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, came to light via a message posted on Twitter by Moot, the founder of 4Chan.

He wrote: “Site is down due to DDoS. We now join the ranks of Mastercard, Visa, Paypal, et al – an exclusive club!”

A DDoS attack involves bombarding a server behind a website with data in an attempt to knock it offline.

Many members of 4Chan work together in the guise of a group called Anonymous to carry out attacks on websites they deem to be enemies of freedom of speech.

Most recently, Anonymous members took action in support of whistle-blowing site Wikileaks. Anonymous used a DDoS tool to hit the corporate websites of Mastercard, Visa and Paypal because the firms had cut off payment connections to Wikileaks.

Paul Mutton, a security analyst at site watching firm Netcraft, said the attack on 4Chan was ongoing.

“For most of the past 24 hours, the site has either been very slow to respond or has been completely unreachable,” he said.

Statistics gathered by Netcraft show 4Chan was hit hard early on Wednesday but that it recovered towards the afternoon.

A blog showing the status of the various elements of 4Chan suggests the image boards, the most heavily used part of the site, have been down for hours.

Early reports suggested that a hacktivist known as the Jester was behind the attack. Before now, some members of Anonymous said they would target the Jester with DDoS attacks after he declared an ambition to knock Wikileaks offline.

However, in a Twitter message, the Jester denied any involvement in the attack.

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

Officials are urging patients in high-risk groups to get immunised

Flu cases have risen again in England and Wales, according to figures from GPs.

Levels of flu – including H1N1 swine flu – have gone up by almost 50% in the past week, says the Royal College of GPs.

The flu tally reached 124 per 100,000 people in the week to Christmas, up from 86 cases in the previous week.

Health officials in England define an epidemic as 200 cases per 100,000.

Wednesday’s figures come amid political debate over the decision not to give all young children a flu jab this winter.

Labour has criticised the lack of protection for healthy under-fives, but the government says they were excluded on medical and not cost grounds.

The latest figures show the highest rates are in children aged under five – at 184 cases per 100,000.

Professor Steve Field, a former chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said there was no indication in the current expert advice that across-the-board vaccination of young children is necessary.

He told the BBC: “Looking at the evidence – looking at where we are in this early epidemic, there doesn’t seem to be any indication.

“But we do need to do better in those children who have asthma, who’ve got heart disease or other diseases and particularly pregnant women.

“I’m worried about the number of sick pregnant women who haven’t been vaccinated. And we can prevent this illness by vaccination, which is safe.”

The latest figures give an indication of the extent of this winter’s flu outbreak, based on people visiting GP surgeries in England and Wales with flu-like symptoms.

Flu cases have risen steadily in England and Wales from 32.8 per 100,000 in week 49, to 85.8 in week 50, to 124.4 in week 51.

The latest figures for Scotland, released on 23 December, show a rate of GP consultations for flu of 45.8 per 100,000.

A Department of Health spokesperson said the figures for England and Wales were “in keeping with what we would expect during a winter flu season”.

The spokesperson added: “But everyone can do their bit to help keep well – simple measures like washing your hands help stop flu spreading.

“The Chief Medical Officer has issued clear advice to get the seasonal flu jab if you are in a vulnerable group, particularly pregnant women and people with underlying health conditions, as well as those aged 65 and over.”

The vaccine protects against H1N1, the same strain of flu behind last year’s swine flu pandemic, and also protects against the H3N2 and B strains.

Other European countries are also suffering the effects of flu.

French health experts said on Wednesday the country was officially in the grip of a flu epidemic, with 176,000 people sick, two of whom have died.

In the UK, 27 people have died from flu this season, of which nine were children. Among the fatalities, 24 had swine flu. Three suffered from another strain, flu type B.

According to the World Health Organisation, flu epidemics result globally in about three to five million cases of severe illness per year and 250,000-500,000 deaths.

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

A homeless man who squatted in a Belfast apartment over Christmas to escape the freezing weather has been jailed for six months.

Robert Lewandowski, 29, used keys he had stolen weeks earlier to move into the south Belfast flat once a woman who lived there left for the holidays.

The Polish national was said to have taken nothing during a four-day stay.

Belfast Magistrates Court heard the woman who lived in the flat and the police were sympathetic to his plight.

He used a stove, watched television and cleaned up after himself.

Lewandowski pleaded guilty to theft and wrongfully taking possession of the property at Tates Avenue between December 24 and 28.

Belfast Magistrates’ Court heard on Wednesday that he had been sleeping in apartment block communal areas after losing his home and job earlier this year.

‘Stole keys’

He stole the keys after spotting the door to the flat lying open and went in after a party on 5 December.

A lawyer for Lewandowski, of no fixed address, said he had left the property exactly as he found it.

He told the court that when the woman and her partner returned to find him there the defendant did not try to leave.

The solicitor said his client was apologetic, but had only gone in on Christmas Eve when temperatures were down to -10C.

“He let himself in to keep out of the cold. For four days he used the TV and stove to heat some food,” he said.

“He didn’t take anything, and he had four days and ample opportunity to effectively clean the place out,” the solicitor added.

But after Lewandowski waived his right to a pre-sentence report, the district judge said his theft and wrongful entry was without justification.

He was jailed for two terms of six months each to run cocurrently.

He also agreed to fix bail pending a planned appeal, although Lewandowski was not released as he had no suitable address.

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

The Togolese team was on its way to the tournament in January when the bus was attacked

An Angolan court has sentenced a man to 24 years in jail for the deadly attack on Togo’s football team in January.

Joao Antonio Puati’s lawyer told the AFP news agency he was found guilty for committing “armed rebellion”.

The bus carrying the team was attacked in the province of Cabinda as it arrived for the African Cup of Nations.

Mr Puati had pleaded not guilty at the opening of his trial and denied having links to a separatist group which said it was behind the shooting.

Another man, Daniel Simbai, was acquitted of the same charges.

Two Togolese officials were killed in the 30-minute gun attack which a faction of the Front for the Liberation of the State of Cabinda (Flec) said it carried out.

“Joao Antonio Puati was at the scene and his link with Flec was established during the trial,” Antonio Nito, Cabinda’s attorney general, told AFP.

The BBC’s former Angola correspondent Louise Redvers says the defence lawyers have put in an appeal to the Supreme Court.

They say the link to Flec was not established during the trial, but came from police statements taken from Puati during his time in custody.

Defence lawyer Arao Tempo told the BBC that his client, had been tortured in prison and forced to admit he was connected to Flec.

He added that the decision to sentence Mr Puati, who is from Congo-Brazzaville, while absolving his Angolan co-accused, was a highly political one.

It was about sending a message to Congo-Brazzaville, where many Flec members and supporters are known to live and operate, he said.

Last week, four human rights activists arrested over the January attack were released from prison.

Rights organisations have accused Angola of using the raid on the Togolese team to justify a crackdown on its critics in the province of Cabinda.

Flec has been fighting for three decades for independence in Cabinda, an area separated from Angola by a strip of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Despite being rich in oil, the region is one of the poorest in the country.

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