Category: news

A man dies in hospital after being shot in a Cheshire village in the early hours.

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Veteran goalkeeper David James says he likes England coach Fabio Capello’s stand-offish management style.

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The release of large numbers of Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mehdi army has renewed fears of violence in Iraq.

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Many protest groups are being hit by web attacks that effectively silence them, says research

Human rights groups and campaigners are being hit hard by huge web attacks launched by those opposed to their views, finds research.

Many web-based campaigning groups are being knocked offline for weeks by the attacks, it found.

The researchers expect the tempo of attacks to increase as the tools and techniques become more widespread.

It urged human rights groups and independent media groups to beef up their defences to avoid falling victim.

The research by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University tried to get a sense of how often human rights groups and independent media organisations are hit by what is known as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.

DDoS attacks try to knock a site offline by overwhelming it with data.

In the 12 months between August 2009 and September 2010 the research found evidence of 140 attacks against more than 280 different sites. The report acknowledged that these were likely to be the most high profile attacks and that many more had probably gone unreported.

“These attacks do seem to be increasingly common,” said Ethan Zuckerman, one of the authors of the report.

While some attacks were triggered by specific incidents such as elections others had no obvious cause, he said.

The report cites a sustained DDoS attack on Novaya Gazeta, the website of Russia’s most liberal indepedent newspaper.

Deputy executive editor Sergey Sokolov isn’t sure who attacked his website but suspects government-sponsored Kremlin Youth organisations.

The report finds that DDoS is increasingly being used as a political tool.

Attacks that recruit participants in so-called volunteer DDoS are proving popular

The report gives the example of the organisation ‘Help Israel Win’ which recently invited individuals to install a software package, dubbed Patriot DDos, on their computers so the machine could be used to launch attacks, on what the authors assume would be Palestinian targets.

The most recent example of a volunteer DDoS comes from Anonymous, a loose-knit group of activisits, who used the method to launch attacks on the websites of firms it perceived to be anti-Wikileaks.

DDoS attacks could hit small media groups and campaigners hard because the organisations have such limited resources, said Mr Zuckerman.

“If you are a human rights organisation or independent media organisation you might be using an account you are paying £20 a month for and its very hard at that level of hosting to fend off DDoS,” he told the BBC.

The attacks did not have to be prolonged, he said, to cause real problems for small campaigning groups.

“They just have to do it long enough to annoy their ISP and they will kick them off and then they have to find another place to host,” said Mr Zuckerman.

The work of some groups only appears on the web, said Mr Zuckerman, so knocking them offline effectively silences the campaigners. It can take a long time for some to find a new host, upload content and re-build a site.

He said: “We see sites that do not come back online for two to three weeks.”

The report also found that DDoS attacks are often only the most visible element of a much broader attack against a site or group.

“There’s a very good chance that if you are experiencing DDoS you are being filtered, sent targeted e-mail to get access to your system or to snatch your passwords,” he said.

Mr Zuckerman said some DDoS attacks logged in the report used hundreds or thousands of PCs in a botnet – networks of hijacked home computers – but others had just as big an effect with far fewer resources.

“There are certain attacks that seem to work if you have only one or two machines,” he said.

What might cause problems in the future, he suggested, would be easy-to-use tools like those employed by Anonymous activists in support of Wikileaks.

“It seems like DDoS has become easier for more people to engage in,” he said. “The threats do seem to be increasing.”

In response, he said, rights groups needed to work hard to understand the threats and prepare in case they were hit.

“This community needs to get much, much smarter and much more knowledgeable,” he said.

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Michael Moore, Steve Webb and Ed Davey were all recorded secretly

Liberal Democrat ministers have been recorded expressing private concern over coalition government policies on welfare reform and tuition fees.

The three politicians were secretly recorded by Daily Telegraph reporters.

Michael Moore, Ed Davey and Steve Webb all said they were unhappy over some government policies.

The newspaper had previously recorded Business Secretary Vince Cable saying that he had “declared war” on Rupert Murdoch.

The comments, captured by Telegraph reporters posing as constituents, caused a furore as Mr Cable was due to rule on Mr Murdoch’s bid to take control of BSkyB.

In these latest recordings to be made public, Scottish Secretary Michael Moore said cutting child benefit for higher-rate taxpayers was not “a fair thing to do”.

Business minister Ed Davey said he was “gobsmacked” by the child benefit decision, while Pensions Minister Steve Webb said he had complained about the policy.

Mr Moore, MP for Berwickshire, described the increase in tuition fees to a maximum £9,000 to undercover reporters as “the biggest, ugliest, most horrific thing in all of this… a car crash, a train wreck”.

He added: “I signed a pledge that promised not to do this. I’ve just done the worst crime a politician can commit, the reason most folk distrust us as a breed. I’ve had to break a pledge and very, very publicly.”

Mr Moore also said the coalition had “marginalised” the Conservative right wing, who, he said, “hate us with a passion – and I can’t say it’s unreciprocated”.

He insisted that Lib Dem ministers “remain passionately Liberal Democrat”, the Scottish Secretary said some Conservative ministers were “on a different planet”.

And Mr Moore said he and Defence Secretary Liam Fox “probably couldn’t stay in the same situation for very long” if they were discussing a wide range of policies.

During his conversation with the reporters posing as constituents, Mr Webb, MP for Thornbury & Yate, expressed worries about the child benefit cut.

This will hit couples where one partner earns just over the £42,000 higher-rate threshold but not those with two partners earning just below that level.

“I have written to the Treasury about this and, to be honest, the answer I got back wasn’t good enough,” he said.

“I don’t have a problem with the general principle but I don’t think the way we’re doing it is terribly clever.”

Mr Webb said Lib Dems had worked behind the scenes to stop many Tory proposals, but admitted the party risked looking “too cosy” with their coalition partners by masking their differences in public.

“There’s a lot of stuff that goes on behind you know. A lot of things that will never see the light of day because we stop them,” he said.

Mr Davey, the MP for Kingston and Surbiton, said plans to limit housing benefit would affect some of society’s poorest.

“Their housing benefit cuts are going to mean in my view, if they go through, that some people who are on the breadline will be put below the breadline. And that’s just deeply unacceptable,” he said.

And he said the cuts in child benefit had come “out of the blue” at the Conservative Party conference and could have been done in “a rather fairer way” with more consultation.

Vince Cable made comments about Rupert Murdoch to undercover reporters

“I had no knowledge of it and suddenly they announced it and I have to say I was as shocked as everyone else,” Mr Davey said.

“I mean, I’m going to lose about £1,000 a year. And I was, frankly, gobsmacked when it came.”

Downing Street has said Mr Cable will stay in cabinet despite his recorded comments in which he said he was “declaring war” on Rupert Murdoch.

But he will be stripped of his powers to rule on Mr Murdoch’s bid to take control of BSkyB, which will be handed to Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Downing Street said David Cameron believed Mr Cable’s comments about Mr Murdoch were “totally unacceptable and inappropriate”.

Mr Cable’s comments on Mr Murdoch, recorded by the Telegraph but not immediately published in the newspaper, were passed by a whistleblower to the BBC’s business editor Robert Peston, who then made them public on Tuesday.

The Telegraph said on Wednesday that this part of the recording had been leaked to the BBC “before publication” in the newspaper.

Meanwhile, the Telegraph also reported on Wednesday that a second Liberal Democrat minister spoke privately to undercover reporters about the party’s role in creating obstacles to the takeover of BSkyB.

Transport minister Norman Baker is reported as saying: “We’ve referred it and that’s another thing the Tories are furious about, you know. We’ve stopped Murdoch taking over BSkyB, or referred it to the competition authorities.

“That would have never happened under the Tories. They would have just said, ‘Here you are Mr Murdoch, how much do you want?'”

A Liberal Democrat spokesman said it was “obviously no surprise” that the coalition parties have different views and opinions.

He added: “We campaigned on two very different platforms in the election, but came together in the national interest to put Britain on a stable footing following the mistakes of the previous government.”

Douglas Alexander, Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary, said government ministers were “only saying in private what we have been saying in public – their changes to child benefit are ill thought out and unfair.

“It’s increasingly obvious just how little influence the Lib Dems have on this Tory-led government.”

SNP Work and Pensions spokesperson Dr Eilidh Whiteford said the comments were “devastating for the Lib Dems in Scotland”.

She added: “Michael Moore has shown them to be utterly devoid of principle.”

But Tim Farron, president of the Lib Dems, posted a message on twitter stating: “Congratulations to the Telegraph who’ve uncovered the shocking truth that Lib Dem ministers have… err…got minds of their own. Good work!”

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One of the world’s leading referees, Howard Webb, tells BBC Sport that he is in favour of seeing goal-line technology introduced.

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These aerial views of Calang in Aceh show the scale of rebuilding between 2005 (L) and 2007 (R)

Indonesia’s Aceh province has made a “remarkable” recovery after the devastating 2004 tsunami but many serious challenges remain, the UN says.

A UN Development Programme report said rebuilding had been impressive in Aceh.

But it added that more needed to be done to lessen the impact of natural disasters and to reduce poverty.

In December 2004, a quake off the coast of Aceh triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean, which killed a quarter of a million people in 13 countries.

Aceh sits on the volatile “ring of fire”, a belt of tectonic activity that triggers earthquakes and volcanoes.

The UNDP report, which was requested by the Aceh administration, said the region’s recovery was “beyond anything imaginable six years ago”.

“The people of Aceh have achieved remarkable progress in the physical rebuilding of their communities, yet similar advances in key human development indicators remain elusive,” the report said.

In terms of poverty, life expectancy and other quality of life measurements, Aceh lags behind the rest of Indonesia.

“Long years of military and political struggle, coupled with changing economic conditions and continuing natural disasters, have left Aceh today as one of the poorest provinces in Indonesia,” the report said.

The UN co-ordinator in Indonesia, El-Mostafa Benlamlih, told the BBC that communities in Aceh must be better protected.

“If you have schools that are stronger built, if you have hospitals which are not sitting in the most vulnerable areas, if you have roads that are actually better protected, better built that is one thing.

“And then you have to make sure that you do not invest in areas that are vulnerable to these kinds of disasters… you have to make sure that you don’t put all your assets next to the sea,” he said.

The tsunami killed 170,000 people in Aceh.

The disaster helped end a 30-year conflict between Acehnese separatists and the Indonesian military, which had also derailed development and economic growth.

A year after the tsunami, Aceh’s separatists signed a peace deal with Jakarta and now dominate local government.

The report said Aceh had made “impressive gains in participation in the political arena”.

However, it found that women were “still largely under-represented in decision-making at the community level” and that domestic violence was a “major concern”.

This first Aceh Human Development Report is based on data from 2008, the latest year for which figures are available.

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Sir Paul Stephenson said he is concerned about the Met’s budget restrictions

The Metropolitan Police force is facing the most “challenging” time in its history, according to its commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson.

Sir Paul told the BBC’s Today programme that the Met is being stretched by a combination of budget cuts, violent protests and security threats.

Police funding is being cut over the next four years.

The Metropolitan Police is biggest force in the UK, with 53,000 officers and staff and a £3.6bn budget.

The commissioner said the budget cuts will leave the Met with a “significant budget gap” and the force will shrink.

He also said the stretch on resources and the challenges the Met is facing are “not as we’ve known it for a long, long time”.

At the same time, Scotland Yard is planning a huge security operation for the Olympics, countering the day-to-day terrorist threat, maintaining neighbourhood policing – and dealing with what Sir Paul says is “unrestrained violence” at student protests.

“When you put all the various challenges that face me and my colleagues in the Metropolitan Police service together, this is as challenging a period as we’ve ever faced,” he said.

Sir Paul acknowledges the Met can make economies – but the “real” issue, he said, is how far the force can “stretch” the savings.

“These are not idle words. We can make significant economy savings, and we’re doing that. We’ve got a responsibility to do it.

“But how far we can stretch those savings is a real issue. So I am concerned about our current budgetary situation, but I’m determined to maintain the operational capability that Londoners want.”

Sir Paul said that about 18 months ago, the Met began to adopt a single patrol policy for police officers in many areas of London, resulting in 400 extra patrols in the capital every day.

“We are looking at those smart moves that can increase the benefits of our operational capabilities, our people, spreading them more effectively.

“And we’re looking for all of those operational decisions that make better use of what we’ve got. I’m determined to do that.”

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A man and a nine-year-old boy die following a house fire, caused by an unattended chip pan, in Coventry.

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The parents of a Londonderry man, who died when he was hit by a by speeding, drunk driver, say his killer never showed any remorse.

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Avatar grossed nearly $2.8bn at the worldwide box office

Sci-fi epic Avatar was the most pirated film of 2010, according to data released by a file-sharing blog.

James Cameron’s blockbuster was downloaded 16.6m times on one file-sharing site alone, TorrentFreak said.

Second on the list was comic book action film Kick-Ass, with 11.4m downloads, followed by Leonardo DiCaprio in Inception with 9.7m.

Last year’s top-pirated film was JJ Abrams’ Star Trek reboot, which was downloaded close to 11m times.

Cameron frequently touted 3D film making as the industry’s best hope for combating piracy, however, it did not stop millions from downloading it for free.

Despite topping the list, Avatar still took nearly $2.8bn (£1.8bn) at the worldwide box office to become the highest-grossing movie ever.

Oscar-winning film The Hurt Locker also featured in the top 10 list at number nine.

Although the film had already been available on file-sharing sites for most of 2009, its popularity increased online after it won six Oscars this year.

Notable absentees from the top 10 include two of the best grossing movies at the box office this year – Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland.

However, Kick-Ass and Matt Damon war film Green Zone were both hugely popular among the downloading public, while their box office figures were relatively modest.

TorrentFreak said the figures were collected from several sources, including reports from thousands of BitTorrent trackers.

All release formats, including versions filmed using cameras in cinemas were counted.

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High prices of essential commodities such as onions have previously sparked unrest in India

India has abolished import taxes on onions in the latest attempt to control prices of the staple food which have more than doubled in a week.

The customs duty would be cut from 5% to zero, Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla told reporters in Delhi.

The price of onions has risen to an eye-watering 85 rupees ($1.87; £1.20) per kg from 35 rupees only last week.

The rise has been blamed on unusually heavy rains in growing areas, as well as on hoarders and speculators.

On Monday, the government banned exports of the food, a basic ingredient in many Indian dishes, until 15 January.

The country has also begun importing onions from its neighbouring rival, Pakistan, to ease shortages.

High prices of essential commodities such as onions have previously sparked unrest and helped bring down the national government in 2004.

Indian onion crops have been damaged by unseasonal rains in the bulk producing western states of Maharashtra and Gujarat and in southern states.

In an editorial on Wednesday, the Times of India newspaper called for “tough punitive action” if claims that officials have colluded in the hoarding of onions in growing areas were found to be true.

NDTV reports that Bangalore hotel chefs are racking their brains for ways to serve up popular south Indian dishes such as onion dosas (pancakes) – without any onions.

The rising cost of living is a pressing concern for most Indians.

Food price inflation has retreated over recent months, but remains at a high of nearly 10%, a worry for the ruling Congress party ahead of a number of important state elections next year.

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A study of bumblebees by a group of Devon children becomes the first primary school project to be published in a scientific journal backed by the eminent Royal Society.

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Swansea Metropolitan University has agreed to merge with University of Wales Trinity Saint David

There should be no more than six universities in Wales by 2013, an assembly government sponsored body says.

The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) said the current 11 institutions should be reduced to make the sector sustainable.

Discussions on how to achieve it will take place in the new year, it said.

Education Minister Leighton Andrews recently warned universities in Wales they must “adapt or die”.

HEFCW’s Prof Philip Gummett said the reduction in numbers help Welsh universities compete in the 21st Century.

The body is responsible for administering funds from the Welsh Assembly Government for higher education institutions.

It said its report followed requests from the higher education sector for it to take the lead in reconfiguring Wales’ university structure.

The report called for the changes to take place by March 2013.

Their distribution should reflect regional needs with no more than two institutions per region, HEFCW recommended.

However, the report recognised the need for these institutions to retain a number of satellite bases.

Each region should focus on research, widened access and strong community links, with HEFCW’s funding being increasingly directed towards sustainable excellence and relevance to Welsh Assembly Government objectives.

No more than two universities should have an income below the UK median and neither of these should be located in south east Wales, the report suggested.

Prof Gummett, chief executive of HEFCW, said: “We have not until now been so explicit in our expectations for the structure of higher education in Wales, preferring the sector to come forward with proposals. But we have been asked to give a clearer lead.

“We believe that the approach that we have outlined will make the sector the strongest and most sustainable it can be in order to compete in the 21st Century for students, for research funding, for business contracts, and so on, and to provide the best possible service to Wales and the wider world.

There have been a number of university mergers in Wales in the past six years.

Cardiff University and University of Wales College of Medicine merged in 2004, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama joined the University of Glamorgan Group in 2007 and the University of Wales, Lampeter, and Trinity University College, Carmarthen, joined forces this year.

Earlier this month an agreement in principle to create a single new university for South West Wales (University of Wales Trinity Saint David and Swansea Metropolitan University) was announced.

Education Minister Leighton Andrews told the Institute of Welsh Affairs’ conference in December that their future funding, including being allowed to charge higher tuition fees, would depend on a willingness to “progress swiftly to merger and reconfiguration”.

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A band of heavy snow has moved across north Wales overnight, bringing more disruption

Heavy snow has fallen across north Wales overnight, closing more than 100 schools.

A Met Office warning for Gwynedd, Anglesey, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham until 0900 GMT

Up to 10 ins (25cms) of snow fell on higher ground and police say drivers should take care, especially on the A55.

Meanwhile, the assembly government has tried to allay concerns about grit as councils report dwindling supplies.

Some 8-10 ins (20-25cms) of snow has fallen on Anglesey overnight, with around 8in (20 cms) in Gwynedd and Conwy.

The A470 Crimea Pass between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Dolwyddelan and Pen-Y-Pass mountain pass in Gwynedd are closed.

The Arriva Trains Wales service between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Llandudno Junction is also suspended due to adverse weather conditions.

More than 90 schools are closed in Powys, with others shut in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, and Conwy.

Holyhead coastguard said its crews its are to take 10 nurses who live on Anglesey to Ysbyty Gwynedd on Wednesday.

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service are advising people to take extra care when using heaters to prevent pipes in sheds and other outbuildings from bursting in the current freezing temperatures.

Crews were called to incidents on Anglesey owhere a blower heater and bar heater being used to stop pipes freezing resulted in the outbuildings catching fire.

Royal Mail said two Gwynedd postcodes, LL55 and LL54, will have vehicles outside post offices between 1000 GMT and 1400 GMT for people to pick up parcels.

Vans will go to the villages of Bethel, Llanrug, Deiniolen, Llanberis, Cwm-y-glo, Bontnewydd, Groeslon and Penygroes.

Vehicles will also be stationed at Llandwrog, Maesincla, Lonybryn and Hendre post offices. Royal Mail said callers may be asked for identification.

A St John 4×4 ambulance clearing roads in the Claerwen Valley

The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) says, in all, Wales only has 12,000 tonnes in reserve with four or five days of grit left before more supplies were due to arrive.

Anglesey council has warned it has just 20% of its grit stock left, down to 700 tonnes from 3,800 tonnes in October.

Conwy had 10,500 tonnes of grit before the start of the winter season but that now stands at 4,500 tonnes, including an extra 130 tonnes which was delivered on Tuesday.

Gwynedd council said it had six days of supplies left – or two days if it had further snowy conditions.

WLGA bosses want Welsh ministers to ask the UK Government to release some of the 150,000 tonnes of grit English councils have in reserve.

An assembly spokesperson said they were in close contact with the WLGA and the UK Government’s Department of Transport to review the distribution of salt and “ensure that Wales receives adequate supplies”.

Volunteer crews from St John Ambulance Wales are using 13 specialist 4×4 vehicles to get to places deemed inaccessible for normal road ambulances.

They are on standby, responding to calls from Welsh Ambulances Service NHS Trust.

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