Category: news

The Queen is completing a two-day state visit to Oman, a country she last visited three decades ago.

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Dan Carter becomes world rugby’s record points scorer as New Zealand continue an unbeaten run against Wales that stretches back to 1957.

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Police in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro have urged drug traffickers in a hillside slum to turn themselves in or face a determined assault.

Hundreds of police officers and soldiers, some in armoured vehicles, have surrounded the Alemao favela.

Authorities say the operation aims make the city safer ahead of the World Cup in 2014 and Olympic Games in 2016.

Drug gangs have fought back over the past week, firing on police and setting fire to cars and buses.

Dozens of people – many of them suspected drug traffickers – have died in the violence.

“There is not the slightest chance traffickers can win in this war in Alemao,” military police chief Sergio Duarte told reporters.

“We are in position to invade Alemao at any moment. It’s better they give themselves in now and bring their weapons while there’s still time, because when we invade, it’s going to be more difficult.”

The suspected traffickers fled to Alemao from the Vila Cruzeiro favela after police took control of it earlier this week.

Reuters news agency reports that police are now searching vehicles and pedestrians entering Alemao, and two men have been arrested after trying to flee the area.

There are reports of exchanges of gunfire between the two sides.

Human rights organisation Amnesty International accused police of being too heavy-handed.

“The police response has put communities at risk,” said Brazil researcher Patrick Wilcken.

“The authorities must ensure that the security and well-being of the broader population comes first and foremost in any operation carried out in residential areas.”

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Fishing nations have agreed to leave Atlantic bluefin tuna quotas virtually unchanged, after meeting in Paris.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) set the 2011 quota at 12,900 tonnes, down from 13,500 tonnes.

Conservationists say the bluefin tuna is threatened by overfishing, and much deeper cuts are needed.

They have criticised ICCAT in the past for failing to ensure that the species and others are fished sustainably.

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Images of the Queen’s five-day state visit to the Gulf

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Ed Miliband will launch a major review of Labour Party policy by telling his MPs the party has “lost its way”.

Signalling a break with New Labour’s focus on economic growth, the Labour leader will say voters were feeling “squeezed” even before the recession.

He will add they felt Labour lost touch with their aspirations and stopped offering a “route to a better life”.

The two-year review aims to give the party a fresh platform to fight the next election.

It will be headed by Cabinet Office Minister Liam Byrne and will draw on expertise from outside the party in an echo of a similar exercise carried out by David Cameron when he was elected leader of the Conservative Party in 2005.

Key issues that need to be resolved at an early stage include where the party stands on tax – with Mr Miliband still apparently at odds with shadow chancellor Alan Johnson over whether the 50p top tax rate should be permanent and what form a graduate tax should take.

The policy review is being launched on Saturday at a special meeting of Labour’s National Policy Forum, in Gillingham, Kent.

In his strongest criticism yet of the Blair-Brown era, Mr Miliband will say: “Over the last 13 years we saw a tremendous expansion in opportunity. But people’s ability to take advantage of those opportunities did not keep pace.

“And so, even before the financial crisis, people came to feel squeezed – by an economy that demanded more and more of them, by public services which didn’t keep pace with their rising expectations, by the pressures on family and community life outside of their control.”

And he will add: “The hard truth is that New Labour which set out to help people have a better life lost its way and people felt that we were no longer offering them a route to a better life.

“And it is our job now to learn the lessons of that defeat so we go into the next election with a new solution for the future that provides better answers to the questions people ask of us – how will we help them find security?

“How will we help them achieve their hopes and dreams.

“We need better answers to those questions. Because more of the same from us will not close the gap between what people want out of life and what they can achieve at the moment.

“That is why we need to move beyond New Labour.”

Mr Miliband has given few hints about the shape of the policy platform which may emerge from the review, beyond saying that he backs social mobility and fairness.

But his focus on the “squeezed middle” has been ridiculed by the Conservatives, who have claimed he does not know who they are.

They claim the Labour leader used six different definitions of the phrase in an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday.

These ranged from “people who are working hard” to “those not on six-figure salaries, who are in the middle of the income distribution”.

Tory chairman Baroness Warsi said it is no wonder that Labour’s policies are a “blank sheet of paper,” adding: “The only thing he knows for sure is that he is a socialist and will stick up for the trade unions.”

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A prominent Mexican politican kidnapped more than six months ago is free, according to a local paper – but some officials deny the press report.

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A farmer has been killed by a charging bull in Hampshire, the National Farmers Union (NFU) has said.

The 58-year-old, named locally as Ian Rook, was said to have been “tossed in the air” when his animal charged at him at Manor Farm in Clanfield on Friday.

He was taken to the hospital but died. The Health and Safety Executive has been informed of the incident.

William White, from the NFU, said Mr Rook was a “super chap” and played a major part in farming in the area.

The regional director for the South East added: “It is very rare for a bull to attack a farmer and I must admit I do not know what happened, but an investigation is taking place which will hopefully give some answers.

“He was a super chap. He was always interested in you as a person.

“He has been involved in the industry for many years and was county chairman for the NFU, a real stalwart.”

Landlord of the nearby Rising Sun Pub, Geoff Wilson, said Mr Rook was a well known and respected member of the community.

He added: “I came up yesterday and saw police had blocked the road.

“From what people were saying he was tossed in the air when the bull charged at him.

“A lot of people knew him around here and are shocked about the whole thing.”

Police have notified the coroner and a post-mortem examination will take place on Monday.

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Retailers in London’s West End said their “strongest trading day in three years” has seen one million shoppers visit stores on a traffic-free day.

Oxford Street and Regent Street were closed to all traffic from 1000 GMT on Saturday for seven hours.

The New West End Company, representing stores, said it expected up to two million shoppers to visit the area over the weekend, spending up to £250m.

More than 100 stores participated in the event, named Shop West End VIP Day.

Money raised by entertainers and fundraisers on the two streets will also be going to the Starlight Children’s Foundation charity, which grants the wishes of seriously ill children.

At least 1,000 buses were re-routed from Oxford Street and Regent Street.

Organiser Richard Dickinson, chief executive officer of New West End Company, said: “London’s West End welcomed over one million shoppers.

“Retailers are reporting that average transaction size is up today compared with the same day last year, creating stonking Saturday sales like no other day in the run up to Christmas.”

Dynasty Actress Emma Samms, founder of Starlight Children’s Foundation, said: “Thank you to every shopper that made a donation and to the retailers and the inspirational performers who today supported Starlight Children’s Foundation.

“Together, an amazing contribution has been made and it will help Starlight grant wishes and provide hospital entertainment to brighten the lives of many sick children this Christmas.”

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Heavy snow prevented an RAF helicopter landing two mountain casualties at three hospitals before it was finally able to touch down at a fourth.

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Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani hosts a house-warming party to show off his new 27-storey Mumbai residence, believed to be the world’s priciest home.

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World number one Rafael Nadal plays Britain’s Andy Murray in the opening semi-final of the ATP World Tour Finals at London’s O2 Arena.

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Thousands of people are expected to take to the streets of Dublin for a protest against the Irish Republic’s four-year austerity plan.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has promised a family-friendly march through the city centre.

However, police have warned that some groups may be looking to “exploit” the event and could cause trouble.

There was violence during a student protest against increased fees in Dublin earlier this month.

Irish police commissioner Fachtna Murphy has said he hopes Saturday’s march will be dignified and peaceful. However, he said police are prepared for the possibility of trouble.

ICTU general secretary David Begg insisted the protest would be good-humoured and very well organised.

The march has been organised as a response to the state’s austerity plan, which includes proposals to slash the number of public sector jobs and increase taxes in order to save 15bn euros (£12.7bn) over the next four years.

Under a bailout plan agreed with the EU and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Dublin government has accepted up to 90bn euros (£77bn; $124bn) in loans.

In return, the government is to unveil an austerity budget on 7 December.

It suffered a setback with a by-election defeat on Friday which leaves the coalition government with a majority of just two.

Mr Begg declined to estimate how many people are expected to attend Saturday’s demonstration but a large turn-out is expected.

Several union leaders and political figures are expected to speak, and artists including Christy Moore and Frances Black will perform.

The officer in charge of policing the event, Chief Superintendent Michael O’Sullivan, said: “While our policing plan is primarily focused on crowd safety, it will also aim to prevent any disruption”.

“In addition we will gather evidence of any unlawful or criminal behaviour which might occur with the intention of bringing those responsible before the courts.”

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Tony Blair defends the role of religion in global affairs, in a televised debate in Canada with atheist columnist Christopher Hitchens

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A pirate-hunting British frigate receives praise from the Queen on the monarch’s state visit to the Gulf.

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