Category: news

Files newly released by the Wikileaks website highlight what is described as the UK’s “paranoia” about its so-called special relationship with the US.

In one cable, a senior US diplomat describes “excessive UK speculation” after Barack Obama became president.

“This over-reading would often be humorous, if it were not so corrosive,” says the cable, reports the Guardian.

The cables detail efforts by leading Tories, who are now in government, to stress their pro-US credentials.

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Alassane Ouattara gets key international support as the winner of Ivory Coast’s presidential election, but incumbent Laurent Gbagbo prepares to be sworn in for a new term.

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Scotland’s ski centres are expecting a busy weekend – if the weather does not block the routes to them.

Nevis Range hoped to open on Saturday – its earliest start to a season for 13 years.

CairnGorm Mountain, Glencoe, Glenshee and the Lecht have also been gearing up for the weekend following heavy snowfalls.

On Friday, CairnGorm warned some visitors appeared to have ignored avalanche warnings at its site.

Yellow and black flags have been used to mark out areas of high avalanche risk.

Staff have urged people to use the Sportscotland Avalanche Information Service (SAIS).

The service has started providing weekend reports for Lochaber and Northern Cairngorms and will launch its full service from 16 December.

Bill Wilson, who runs a business selling sledges and hiring skis at Glenmore, near Aviemore, has bought a machine to make snow last 40% longer on forest tracks.

The cross country piste machine cuts parallel tracks for skiers to use on Forestry Commission Scotland land.

The vehicle packs down snow which should make it harder to melt in warmer temperatures.

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

People across northern Europe are still facing heavy snow and freezing temperatures, with more cold weather forecast for the weekend.

Up to 28 people are thought to have been killed by the cold or in weather-related accidents.

Thousands of people have been left stranded after roads and rail networks were disrupted and airports closed.

In the Balkans, heavy flooding has forced more than 1,000 people to evacuate their homes.

Temperatures in Poland have fallen to as low as -33C (-27F) in the past few days.

Police in the country say 18 people are now known to have have died from exposure, most of them homeless people who had been drinking alcohol outside.

Russian media reported three deaths in Moscow and at least two people were also reported to have been killed in Germany.

They included a 73-year-old man in Lower Saxony who was said to have been hit by a train while attempting to clear snow.

Thousands of railway passengers in Germany had to spend the night in their trains after the snow forced high-speed inter-city routes to a halt.

The authorities in Berlin kept underground stations, soup kitchens and heated buses open all night to provide shelter for the city’s homeless.

There has been widespread disruption to international travel, with several major airports forced to close.

Significant flight delays were reported at London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam Schiphol, Berlin Tegel and Duesseldorf airports.

London’s Gatwick airport re-opened on Friday morning after two days, but passengers have been warned to expect delays and cancellations. London City airport and Edinburgh airport in Scotland also suffered closures.

Eurostar says it expects to operate a significantly reduced service until Sunday, but that no more tickets will be available until Monday.

In other developments

Denmark mobilised its army to help emergency vehicles make their way through snow in the south-eastSnowfalls trapped hundreds of motorists in Brittany and NormandyIn Belgium, 650km (403 miles) of traffic jams were reported, with Flanders hit hard

Cold air moving down from Siberia has contributed to the wintry conditions in northern Europe.

Temperatures are an average 5-10C below average in some major cities.

Meanwhile, heavy rain has led to severe flooding in parts of Albania, Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro.

More than 1,000 people have fled their homes to escape rising waters and officials have declared a state of emergency in several affected areas.

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Striker Robbie Keane is likely to leave Tottenham in the January transfer window, his manager Harry Redknapp admits.

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The price of oil on both sides of the Atlantic has hit its highest level since the financial crisis.

In Europe, Brent crude futures rose to $91.58 per barrel, while in the US, West Texas Intermediate hit $89.35 – the highest levels since October 2008.

Despite the market rally, prices still remain 40% below their pre-crisis peak.

Among the factors driving prices higher are rising demand because of the global economic recovery and cold weather in Europe, as well as the weak US dollar.

Meanwhile, temperatures are also expected to fall in the eastern United States, according to the US National Weather Service.

The rising price was only briefly dented in early trading, after the release of weaker than expected US jobs data for November.

However, the data – and comments from US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke – raised expectations of further monetary easing by the US central bank.

Any increase in the Fed’s “quantitative easing” – printing new dollars to buy up US government debt – is likely to depress the dollar’s value further, raising the price of oil in dollars.

Many banks have recently raised their forecasts for the oil price over the next two years, with Goldman Sachs now saying it will rise to $100 in 2011.

The current oil price is already significantly above the levels experienced prior to 2007.

During 2007-08, oil and most other commodities were subject to a speculative bubble that pushed the price of Brent crude up to $147.50 at its peak in July 2008.

This time the rising oil price is also being shadowed by price rises in only a handful of other commodities – notably grain and cotton.

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Federal prosecutors in California have filed an eight-count indictment against a man accused of operating a bomb factory out of his home.

George Jakubec, who allegedly had the single largest horde of homemade explosives ever found in the US, is to be arraigned on charges involving the explosives and three bank robberies.

Investigators reportedly recovered nine detonators, 13 grenade casings and various quantities of high explosives.

State charges were dropped in the case.

Authorities say chemicals similar to those used in mid-air terror plots were found in the house in the southern California town of Escondido.

Police were first called to the 54-year-old’s home on 18 November when a gardener caused an explosion in Mr Jakubec’s backyard.

The house contained so many explosives that officials now plan to burn down the home in order to avoid the risk of incurring injury while transporting chemicals out of the residence.

Crews have begun building a 16ft (4.8m) wall around Mr Jakubec’s home in order to protect other houses in the neighbourhood during next week’s controlled fire.

Deputy District Attorney Terri Perez told a San Diego County judge on Friday that the case was being transferred to federal jurisdiction.

“A decision was made that the more appropriate venue would be federal court,” Mr Perez said.

Mr Jakubec also faces one count of attempted bank robbery. All the alleged bank robberies were committed in 2009 and 2010.

Marina Ivanova, Mr Jakubec’s estranged wife, told the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper he was obsessive about his “hobby”.

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England reach 198-2 at tea on day two of the second Test in Adelaide – only 47 behind Australia’s first-innings total.

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