Category: news

By Richard Black

Genetic researchers may have resolved a long-standing dispute by proving there are two species of African elephant.

Savannah and forest elephants have been separated for at least three million years, they say, and are as distinct from each other as Asian elephants are from the extinct woolly mammoth.

The researchers also made what they say are the first sequences of nuclear DNA from the extinct American mastodon.

The study is reported in the journal Public Library of Science Biology.

The debate over whether the African elephant is one or two species has been going on for about a decade.

Weighing in at six or seven tonnes, the much larger elephants found on savannah are about twice as heavy as forest-dwellers.

This, along with other differences in size and shape, has led some researchers to conclude there are two species – the savannah (or bush) elephant, Loxodonta africana, and the forest species, Loxodonta Loxodonta cyclotis.

The scientists – from the US, UK and Germany – now say they have proved the case.

“The divergence of the two species took place around the time of the divergence of the Asian elephant and woolly mammoths,” said Michi Hofreiter, a specialist in ancient DNA at the UK’s York University.

“The split between African savannah and forest elephants is almost as old as the split between humans and chimpanzees. This result amazed us all.”

The researchers compared sequences of DNA from the nuclei of African and Asian elephants, and from woolly mammoths and the American mastodon.

All are members of the Proboscidae order of mammals.

The mastodon became extinct about 10,000 years ago – around the same time that mammoths disappeared from most of their range.

Although mastodon mitochondrial DNA has been sequenced before, the researchers say they were the first to do the analysis on DNA from the cell nucleus – in this case, using material from a tooth.

“Experimentally, we had a major challenge to extract DNA sequences from two fossils – mammoths and mastodons – and line them up with DNA from modern elephants over hundreds of sections of the genome,” said Nadin Rohland of Harvard Medical School.

The genetic “distance” between the Asian elephant and the woolly mammoth turned out to be about the same as between the two African elephant species – which, the researchers say, proves the case for two distinct species in Africa now.

The picture of elephant conservation across Africa is a mixed one.

In southern countries, the animals are thriving, with populations increasing so fast that governments have had to consider culls.

However, the picture is very different in Central and West Africa, where poaching, ivory smuggling and the bushmeat trade are fragmenting populations.

If there are indeed two species, the forest dwellers are the ones most under pressure, as they tend to be found in areas where poaching and smuggling are rife.

Potentially, confirming the separation could help direct conservation efforts where they are most needed, according to Simon Stuart, chair of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission (SSC).

“We’d have to review the evidence to see whether we need to split the African elephant into two entries on the Red List of Threatened Species,” he told BBC News.

“Currently the species is listed as Vulnerable but it’s possible that if there are two, one would come out in a more serious category and the other in a less serious one.

“This could be helpful for highlighting the Central African issue.”

However, he cautioned, other research groups may well challenge the conclusion of the latest study, and the debate may have some way to run.

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

A ban on young foreign spouses entering the UK has been condemned as “arbitrary and disruptive” by the Court of Appeal.

The home secretary banned non-European under-21s from living with British partners in the UK as a way of dealing with the problem of forced marriages.

Lord Justice Sedley, one of three judges to hear challenges from two young couples, said it was up to the home secretary to rewrite the rule.

But he said its impact on innocent lives made it “impossible to justify”.

The government said it would seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Lord Justice Sedley said the ban, contained in paragraph 277 of the immigration rules on entry for settlement of foreign spouses, could not lawfully be applied to Diego and Amber Aguilar or Shakira Bibi and Suhyal Mohammed, or “others like them”.

Diego Aguilar and Amber, a British girl, married in November 2008, when she was 17 and he was 18.

They had been dating while at school together in the UK but, when Diego’s student visa ran out, he was refused leave to remain in the UK as Amber’s spouse.

Amber, now 19, from London, left her UK life to live in Chile, her husband’s country of origin.

Under the policy Diego, now 20, cannot have a new visa to live in the UK with his wife until both reach 21.

The appeal judges recognised Amber’s right to be joined in the UK by her husband, even though they are both still under 21.

Their decision was welcomed by the Joint Council of the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) which brought the appeal on behalf of the two couples.

A JWCI spokesman said the Home Office accepted theirs was not a forced marriage but insisted on applying the under-21 rule.

“Like some 5,000 or so others, they were the innocent victims of a blanket policy designed to target a few cases of forced marriage.”

Shakira Bibi, a 20-year-old Pakistani national, married Suhayl Mohammed, a 20-year-old UK citiizen, two years ago.

Lord Justice Sedley described how their marriage was a traditional arranged marriage but there was “no suggestion that it was forced”.

In December 2008, Ms Bibi applied for entry clearance to join her husband in the UK, but was refused on the grounds that they were both under 21. The couple are still apart.

Immigration minister Damian Green said: “We are disappointed with the Court of Appeal’s decision and will be seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

“Forcing someone to marry is an intolerable act and for genuine couples, marriage is not something that should be taken lightly, especially when it involves moving to another country.

“I think it is reasonable to ask both parties to wait until they are 21.”

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

A diplomat at the Russian embassy in London has been sent home after the Foreign Office requested the withdrawal earlier this month.

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

Vince Cable told undercover reporters he had “declared war on Rupert Murdoch” and planned to block his efforts to take full control of BSkyB, according to the BBC’s Robert Peston.

The business secretary’s admission came in conversation with Daily Telegraph reporters posing as constituents.

Robert Peston said the Telegraph chose not to publish the “most explosive” part of its investigaton.

But a transcript was passed to him by a whistleblower.

According to the transcript seen by the BBC’s business editor, Mr Cable said: “I am picking my fights, some of which you may have seen, some of which you may haven’t seen.

“And I don’t know if you have been following what has been happening with the Murdoch press, where I have declared war on Mr Murdoch and I think we are going to win.”

News Corporation, which is run by Rupert Murdoch, already owns 39% of BSkyB but wants to buy up the remaining 61%.

The group also owns News International – whose publications The Sun, News of the World, The Times and The Sunday Times account for a third of the UK’s national newspaper circulation.

Mr Cable ordered Ofcom to investigate the proposal over concerns about press freedom and consumer choice – but he will have the final say and has stressed the need to be politically impartial.

The BBC News Channel’s chief political correspondent Laura Kuenssberg said the revelation would be “uncomfortable” for Mr Cable and could lead to questions about his future.

BSkyB has declined to comment on Mr Cable’s remarks.

In the transcript, Mr Cable tells the undercover reporter:

“Well I did not politicise it, because it is a legal question..but he (Mr Murdoch) is trying to take over BSkyB – you probably know that.”

The reporter says: “I know vaguely”.

Cable: “With considerably enhanced…”

Reporter: “I always thought that he had BSkyB with Sky anyway?”

Cable: “No, he has minority shares and he wants a majority – and a majority control would give them a massive stake.”

“I have blocked it using the powers that I have got and they are legal powers that I have got. I can’t politicise it but from the people that know what is happening this is a big, big thing.

His whole empire is now under attack…So there are things like that we do in government, that we can’t do…all we can do in opposition is protest”.

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

A health board has revised its emergency admissions policy after an 82-year-old cancer patient waited nearly four hours in the back of an ambulance.

Kathleen Clarke, from Criccieth, Gwynedd, arrived outside Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor at 1815 GMT on Tuesday.

Her family claimed 12 ambulances were waiting at one stage but the health board said it was no more than eight.

It apologised and blamed “severe pressures” in the bad weather.

According to her family Mrs Clarke was left waiting in an ambulance outside the hospital until 2200 GMT before being admitted to the accident and emergency department.

As a result, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board said it had revised its emergency admission policy in order to differentiate between medical and emergency department cases so that patients are processed more quickly.

Mrs Clarke’s son-in-law, Kevin Owen, claims that there were 12 ambulances carrying patients at one stage waiting outside.

According to the trust the most they had at any one time was eight.

A spokesman said the busy period lasted from the middle of the afternoon until around 2200 GMT.

In a statement the health board said: “We would like to apologise to Mrs Clarke and her family.

“The emergency department at Ysbyty Gwynedd experienced severe pressures yesterday due to the continuing adverse weather conditions.

“Whilst we make every effort to ensure that patients do not have to wait in ambulances outside hospitals for long periods.”

It was a matter of always ensuring that patients can be bought safely into the hospital and “that we have the capacity to care for them appropriately”.

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

A nine-year-old girl from Norfolk has had a life-saving transplant from a so-called saviour sibling.

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

Controversial new rules affecting the running of the internet are expected to be approved by US regulators today.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote on a principle known as net neutrality; a tenet that ensures all web traffic is treated equally.

The rules have been criticised for setting different standards for fixed line broadband and mobile operators.

Officials said the regulations are “the first time the Commission has adopted enforceable rules” to govern the web.

Tuesday’s vote is the culmination of five years of fighting over how best to ensure the free flow of information in all its forms over the internet.

The proposal also comes at a time when consumers are increasingly accessing the web via smart phones and turning to the internet to watch TV shows.

‘Rules of the road’

The Commission’s ability to regulate the internet was thrown into doubt following an appeals court decision earlier this year that said the agency lacked the authority to stop cable firm ComCast from blocking bandwidth-hogging applications.

The FCC’s agenda said the vote will address “basic rules of the road to preserve the open internet as a platform for innovation, investment, competition and free expression”.

That is a view backed by chairman Julius Genachowski.

“We’re adopting a framework that will increase certainty for businesses, investors and entrepreneurs,” Mr Genachowski said in remarks prepared for the meeting.

“We’re taking an approach that will help foster a cycle of massive investment, innovation and consumer demand both at the edge and in the core of our broadband networks.”

The five member Commission is expected to vote 3-2 along party lines.

Michael Copps, a Democrat, said in a written statement that he will not block the plan after weeks of what senior FCC officials called “robust engagement” with the Commission to toughen the rules.

“The item we will vote on is not the one I would have crafted but I believe we have been able to make the current iteration better than what was originally circulated,” said Mr Copps.

“If vigilantly and vigorously implemented by the commission, it could represent an important milestone in the ongoing struggle to safeguard the awesome opportunity-creating power of the open internet.”

Fellow Democrat Mignon Clyburn is also expected to concur on the rules, whilst Mr Genachowski’s vote is expected to push it through. Republicans Meredith Baker and Robert McDowell are expected to vote against the order.

The regulations are expected to be challenged in court.

‘Squandered’

A number of interested parties including internet providers, developers and companies like Google have said the rules will provide some regulatory certainty going forward. Many have acknowledged that the proposal could have been much worse.

The new regulations would prohibit telecommunications companies that provide high-speed internet service from blocking access by customers to any legal content, applications or service.

But, for the first time, there will be a policy that will allow for what has been termed “paid-prioritisation”, where companies will be able to pay for a faster service.

The FCC proposal would also place tougher restrictions on wired services from cable and phone companies than on wireless carriers, which have more limited bandwidth.

It comes at a time when an increasing number of people are using smart phones or tablet devices to access the web or watch TV shows.

The rules would allow mobile firms to block access to sites or applications that specifically compete with a carrier’s voice or video services.

Supporters of net neutrality feel the new regulations should have gone further and have slammed them as “fake net neutrality”.

“I think today is a tremendously important day in the fight to preserve a fee and open internet,” Aparna Sridhar of advocacy group the Free Press, told BBC News.

“Chairman Genachowski has completely squandered a golden opportunity to make this vote meaningful. Until now we have had a certain amount of regulatory uncertainty and the carriers have had an incentive to stay on their best behaviour.

“This rule will endorse bad practices in the wireless space and I think we will see the flood gates open from the blocking of applications to the slowing down of competitors’ apps to monetising every application that seeks to travel over their network,” added Ms Sridhar.

In an opinion piece for the Huffington Post, Al Franken, US Senator for Minnesota, called the FCC vote “the most important free speech issue of our time” and the draft order the FCC will vote on a “badly flawed proposal”.

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

ESB, the main electricity company in the Republic, has confirmed it has bought Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) for £1.2bn.

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

A US Congressional inquiry into the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbasset al-Megrahi says there was strong political pressure on the Scottish government to free him.

It also casts doubt on the competence of the doctors who examined Megrahi.

“Commercial and economic considerations trumped… our global fight against terrorism,” said Senator Bob Menendez.

The report comes on the 22nd anniversary of the bombing, in which 270 people died.

The Scottish government released Megrahi in August 2009 on compassionate grounds because he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. He returned to Libya and is still alive.

Senator Menendez undertook the investigation after officials from the Scotland, the UK and BP failed to testify at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.

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