Category: news

Ivory Coast troops have deployed around a hotel housing the Alassane Ouattara, the UN-backed winner of the disputed presidential elections.

The troops loyal to incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo are facing UN-forces and former rebel soldiers protecting Mr Ouattara’s headquarters in Abidjan.

Reports that there have been clashes could not immediately be verified.

More details to come.

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A man has been arrested after two people were found dead in a house in Oxfordshire.

Officers were called to Mold Crescent in Banbury at 0645 GMT where they found the bodies of a woman in her 40s and a man in his 20s.

Detectives who are conducting the double murder inquiry said they believed the victims knew their killer.

A 43-year-old man was arrested in Swindon and will be questioned later on suspicion of murder.

Another woman and a girl who were in the property at the time have been taken to safety.

Det Ch Insp Pete Vigurs said: “Firstly I would like to reassure the community.

“We do not believe this is a random attack and think the victims knew their killer.

“This is an ongoing investigation and at this time there is nothing more we can say, but we will look to provide updates as soon as possible.”

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The death of a young West Lothian mother has had a “devastating effect” on her family, her father says.

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Police forces in England and Wales face cuts in central funding in the next two years of 4% then 5%, the government has announced.

Policing minister Nick Herbert said the cuts would be “challenging” but the savings were possible “while protecting the front-line” police services.

Central funding will fall to £9.3bn in 2011-12, then £8.8bn the year after.

The minister announced separate funds for counter-terrorism, and until 2013 for neighbourhood policing.

Mr Herbert said the government would “play its part” in helping to achieve savings “through continuing work with authorities and forces on value for money”.

This work would cover “more effective procurement at national level, greater collaboration between force and other partners”, he said.

They would also work to remove “unnecessary bureaucracy which adds costs and impedes a sharp focus on front-line policing”, the minister said.

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The weekend’s episodes of Strictly Come Dancing and X Factor helped give the biggest Sunday night TV ratings for nearly 20 years.

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A bomb blast has hit a school bus in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing the driver and injuring a number of children.

The roadside bomb, of the type used against Nato troops in Afghanistan, was planted in a bin.

The device went off in the busy Bhana Marri area on the Kohut road, the scene of many blasts.

Last week a suicide bomb claimed by the Taliban killed more than 40 people in north-west Pakistan.

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

One of Tanzania’s most popular musicians, Remmy Ongala, has died at his home in Dar es Salaam.

Born in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo in 1947, he was known as “the Doctor” because he was seen as a defender of the people.

His songs often criticised Tanzania’s elite and at the height of his popularity the government tried to expel him on immigration grounds.

But as his international fame grew, he was granted Tanzanian nationality.

His mix of Congolese “soukous” music and Swahili rhythms made him popular across East Africa.

He was also a regular performer at the Womad music festival in the UK until he fell ill 10 years ago and was paralysed.

Despite his ill-health he had toured in Tanzania until recently, mainly performing gospel music.

The BBC’s Hassan Mhelela in Dar es Salaam says all radio stations in the country are playing his music and fans are phoning in with tributes.

By the time of his death, even President Jakaya Kikwete was a fan, recently visiting him in hospital.

Ongala often wrote about death – one of his most well-known tracks is Kifo, about the mercilessness of death, saying no matter how rich a person, bribery cannot postpone it.

The singer and guitarist moved to Tanzania in 1977 and joined the Orchestra Super Makassy, until he formed his own group Super Matimila.

He said his music was intended not only to make people dance but also to think.

“I am successful in Tanzania because I write songs about serious topics,” his music label, Real World Records, quoted him as saying.

Our reporter says there is even a suburb of Dar es Salaam called Sinza Kwa Remmy, named after the musician when he moved to the area in the 1980s.

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Three men have been remanded in custody charged in connection with a £1m drugs seizure in Belfast.

A court heard the suspects were detained after two cars and a lorry were stopped on Saturday.

Two large bags containing 26kg of suspected herbal cannabis with a street value of up to £520,000 were found.

Subsequent searches of a flat located quantities of cocaine, ecstasy tablets, amphetamines and cannabis resin with a similar value.

‘Mastermind’

Around £15,000 in cash was also seized from the property.

Belfast Magistrates Court heard Ryan Black, 27, of Winchester Road in Carryduff described as “mastermind” of the alleged gang.

He faces a total of 14 charges, including possession of Class A and Class B drugs with intent to supply, being concerned in the supply of cocaine and cannabis, and having criminal property.

His co-accused James Turley, 51, of Ballymore Road, Tandragee, and Mark Mulholland, 25, of Glenariff Crescent, Ballymena, are both charged with possessing cannabis with intent to supply.

Mr Turley faces a further count of possessing criminal property while Mr Mulholland is accused of transferring criminal property.

The court was told two people wanted in connection with the investigation are still at large.

A detective said that during the alleged handover in a city industrial estate Mulholland put two bags of cannabis in his Ford Mondeo after receiving them from Mr Turley, a lorry driver.

Turley was paid £2,000 to bring the drugs, the court was told.

Keys

Mr Black, a plumber, had circled the area in his own BMW car before the lorry driver arrived, it was claimed.

The keys to a flat were also found, leading to the follow-up seizure.

The detective said three hydraulic jacks were located in Mr Black’s car, one of which had white powder on its base.

He claimed dealers use similar devices as cocaine presses to bulk up drugs and make customers believe they are getting a high-quality produce.

“In Mr Black’s case we would say he’s the mastermind between this drugs gang,” the officer told the court.

Mr Black’s barrister, Denis Boyd, stressed no drugs were found in his client’s car. He also disputed claims that mr Black may flee if released.

‘Duress’

Referring to Mr Mulholland, the detective claimed he was “a mover of drugs, a courier”.

Defence solicitor Michael Madden said the height of the police case was that he was in possession of packages for a short period of time.

The court heard Mr Turley claimed to have acted under duress and said that he had co-operated with police.

But the officer questioned this account due to the payment he allegedly received.

District Judge Fiona Bagnall refused to grant bail to any of the accused due to the risks of either re-offending or interfering with the investigation.

All three accused were remanded in custody to appear again via video-link next month.

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A campaigning father planned to use bullets and explosives to shut down his home city, a court has heard.

Father-of-three Matthew Starmore, of Newport, was found with smokeless gunpowder, ammunition rounds and bullet heads when police raided his house.

Mr Starmore, branch secretary for New Fathers 4 Justice, had a list of targets in his diary, Cardiff Crown Court heard.

He denies possessing explosives, ammunition and handling stolen goods.

The court heard that Mr Starmore, 31, had promised “The most hard-hitting events since World War Two” for Newport.

Prosecutor Roger Griffiths said a diary entry read: “This will be the most dramatic, climatic and hard-hitting events since World War Two.

“This is just the start of a nationwide campaign.”

Mr Griffiths said Mr Starmore’s diary had a “to-do” list of targets that included sites key to the city’s infrastructure.

Mr Griffiths said: “He wanted to shut down the city and pull in police and emergency services from far and wide.

“Starmore wanted to escalate the activities of Fathers for Justice by using the bullets.

“He had these items and he was going to use them to carry out some kind of publicity for Fathers For Justice.”

Mr Starmore told police he and his housemate had found the items in a lane and taken them so they were not picked up by children.

He told police the entries in his diary were not written by him and that they were “hypothetical” thoughts.

The trial continues.

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Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is set to make a final address to parliament ahead of a vote of confidence on Tuesday.

Mr Berlusconi, who will speak to both houses of parliament, has said he is confident of victory.

His opponents claim that the scandals caused by Mr Berlusconi’s private life and his lack of policy direction make him a liability to Italy.

If he loses, Mr Berlusconi has said there will be early elections.

The immediate trigger to the crisis has been the defection of dozens of his own supporters to form a breakaway political party, thereby depriving the prime minister of his automatic majority in the lower house.

The new party is led by Gianfranco Fini, who says Mr Berlusconi’s personal scandals, gaffes and failed policy programme make his position untenable.

Mr Fini says he has enough votes to unseat Mr Berlusconi, but in truth the numbers are so close no credible observer of these dramatic events is predicting which way it will go.

Italian media are filled with speculation and rumour about the outcome of votes of confidence in both houses of parliament.

An investigation has been launched into claims that inducements have been offered to some members of parliament to secure their vote for Mr Berlusconi.

Meanwhile, Mr Berlusconi says that early elections could cause political instability which would lead to a Greek- or Irish-style economic crisis.

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Scotland’s murder rate has fallen to its lowest level for 31 years.

New figures show that 79 people were the victims of homicide in the year to the end of March – a drop of 20% compared with the previous year.

Figures from Scotland’s chief statistician show this is also the lowest number of killings since 1979.

Knives are still involved in almost half of murders but the proportion of those killed by blades has fallen significantly.

The justice secretary said there was no room for complacency and efforts to reduce the figures further would continue.

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An armed youth has taken several children hostage at a nursery school in the eastern French city of Besancon, police sources say.

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The Sri Lankan cabinet abolishes the Tamil version of the country’s national anthem.

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A South Korean deep sea trawler has sunk in the Southern Ocean, killing four crew members, officials say.

Rescue officials said 18 of the 42-man crew remain missing, while 20 have been rescued.

The ship is said to have gone down more than 2,000km (1,250 miles) south of New Zealand.

Eight of the crew were South Korean; eight Chinese, 11 Indonesians, three Filipinos and one Russian were also on board, Seoul’s Yonhap news agency said.

South Korea’s foreign ministry said the 614-tonne ship sunk at around 0430 South Korean time on Monday (1930 GMT on Sunday).

Seoul says it has asked New Zealand to help in the rescue effort.

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Iranian politicians call for Britain’s ambassador to Tehran to be expelled after he criticised the country’s human rights record.

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