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Gardens are able to sustain a greater number of bumblebee nests than farmed land, a study involving genetic analysis and modelling suggests.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
A teenager has been arrested on suspicion of inciting religious hatred after allegedly burning an English language version of the Koran.
The 15-year-old, who lives in the West Midlands, allegedly posted the video, filmed two weeks ago on her school premises, on Facebook.
The video was reported to the school and subsequently removed, police said.
A 14-year-old boy was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of making threats. Both have been released on police bail.
It is thought the girl was allegedly filmed setting the booklet alight while other pupils watched.
Two Facebook profiles have also been removed from the site, police added.
It is understood that the group who published the book have since been to the school to talk to pupils.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Police in India’s central Chhattisgarh state arrest an alleged witch doctor suspected of killing two children.
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Images of polar bears on melting sea ice have become symbols of the challenges facing the bears The US has designated a ‘critical habitat’ for polar bears living on Alaska’s disappearing sea ice.
The area – twice the size of the United Kingdom – has been set aside to help stave off the danger of extinction, the US Fish and Wildlife Service said.
The territory includes locations where oil and gas companies want to drill.
Environmentalists hope the designation will make it more difficult for companies to get permits to operate in the region.
“This critical habitat designation enables us to work with federal partners to ensure their actions within its boundaries do not harm polar bear populations,” said Tom Strickland, assistant secretary for fish and wildlife and parks.
Any proposed economic activity in the area, which covers 187,000 sq miles (almost 500,000 sq km) must now be weighed against its impact on the polar bear population, Mr Strickland said in a statement.
Most of the designated habitat is sea ice and includes some of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, where the oil company Shell wants to drill.
Shell was due to start drilling in the Arctic earlier this year, until the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico brought the plans to a temporary halt. It is now aiming to start drilling in 2011.
Environmentalists welcomed the move.
“Now we need the Obama administration to actually make it mean something so we can write the bear’s recovery plan – not its obituary,” said Kassie Siegel from the Center for Biological Diversity.
Ms Siegel urged the US government to impose a moratorium on oil and gas drilling in bear habitat areas.
Environmentalists also want the polar bear to be listed as an endangered species. Currently the US interior department describes them as “threatened” or likely to become endangered because the sea ice on which they live and hunt is melting.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Similar schemes in other countries have been viewed as a success People suspected of abusing a partner could be banned from their homes for up to four weeks under government plans to tackle domestic violence.
The proposed “go orders” could be used even if there was not enough evidence to charge a suspect.
Ministers say this would allow police to act when a victim was most vulnerable, potentially saving lives.
A year-long pilot scheme will start next summer in the Greater Manchester, Wiltshire and West Mercia police areas.
Home Secretary Theresa May, who will announce the proposals later, said: “Domestic violence is an appalling crime which sees two women a week die at the hands of their partners, while millions more suffer years of abuse in their own homes.
“The orders will assist police in doing all we can to protect victims of domestic abuse”
Carmel Napier Association of Chief Police Officers
“These new powers will allow the police to step in when the victims are most vulnerable to give them vital space and time, which could ultimately save their lives.”
Under the plans, the police would be able to stop suspects having contact with an alleged domestic violence victim for 48 hours – and that could be extended by a court to up to between 14 and 28 days.
The Home Office said similar initiatives in Austria, Germany, Poland and Switzerland had been a success.
British Crime Survey figures suggest more than one in four women in the UK will experience domestic abuse at some point in their life.
Deputy Chief Constable Carmel Napier, the lead on domestic abuse for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said domestic violence was an “enormous issue”.
She said: “The orders will assist police in doing all we can to protect victims of domestic abuse and give victims the necessary breathing space to make informed decisions about their long-term safety, and that of their children, without the immediate fear of threat or further harm.”
The idea was first put forward by the previous government and Labour welcomed the introduction of the initiative.
Shadow home secretary Ed Balls said: “These orders have been proven to work in other countries and would give the police the extra powers they need to protect the victims of domestic abuse.”
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North Korean shells destroyed houses on the island of Yeonpyeong South Korea says it will boost border security and be more flexible in response to threats from North Korea.
A presidential spokesman said Seoul was concerned it had “become too passive”.
North Korean shelling of a Southern island two days ago killed two civilians and two marines, and prompted an increase in regional tension.
Meanwhile, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has held talks in Russia amid calls for China to use its influence on the North to calm the situation.
A planned visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi to South Korea has also been postponed, it emerged on Thursday. The delay was put down to “scheduling” issues.
The North has threatened further military action if South Korea continues on what it called a “path of military provocation”, the North’s official KCNA news agency reported.
Pyongyang also blamed the new level of hostilities on the United States – saying the US helped draw up the “illegal” western maritime border between the two Koreas.
After holding an emergency cabinet meeting, South Korea announced it would dramatically increase its troop levels and overhaul the way it acts in the face of threats from the North.
“[The government] has decided to sharply increase military force, including ground troops, on the five islands in the Yellow Sea and allocate more of its budget towards dealing with North Korea’s asymmetrical threats,” the presidential senior public affairs secretary Hong Sang-pyo told reporters.
“The government has decided to make new rules of engagement to change the paradigm itself of responding to North Korea’s provocation,” Mr Hong said.
The BBC’s Chris Hogg says the cabinet had decided that in the existing rules of engagement there was too much emphasis on preventing a military incident escalating into something worse.
There is now an awareness that this thinking had to change, our correspondent says.
In future the South would implement different levels of response depending on whether the North Koreans attacked the military in the South or civilian targets, the spokesman said.
In the Chinese leadership’s first statement on the issue, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, speaking in Moscow, described the situation on the peninsula as “grim and complicated”.
“China is firmly committed to maintaining the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula and opposes any provocative military acts,” he said.
“Relevant sides should maintain the utmost restraint and the global community should do more to relax the tense situation,” he said, in a statement issued by the Chinese foreign ministry.
China has been under pressure to use its influence over the North to ease tensions.
Mr Wen repeated his view that six-nation talks on the North’s nuclear programme should be resumed as soon as possible, a position shared by North Korea.
South Korea, the US and Japan have said the six-nation talks should not re-start until the North stops building new nuclear enrichment plants, and apologises for its alleged torpedoing of a South Korean warship in March, at the cost of 46 lives.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
How much do you know about the American celebration?
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A range of payback schemes are in place around the country The government has been urged to overhaul community sentences in England and Wales to place the emphasis on intensive physical labour.
A survey by right-leaning think tank Policy Exchange found that 60% of 2,000 people polled thought the sentences were “soft” or “weak”.
The think tank said community sentences were flawed and should be replaced by more punitive “work orders”.
The Ministry of Justice said proposals would be published soon.
The Policy Exchange said in a report that the community payback scheme – the toughest type of order – often involved charity shop work and serving tea at luncheon clubs.
Report author Robert Kaye called for community sentences to be focused on punishment and to be “radically reformed to improve compliance and reduce reoffending”.
He said: “Evidence shows that orders with a clear punishment element have lower reoffending rates.”
Under his recommendations, offenders would be required to do hard, physical work that benefited the public such as cleaning off graffiti and building social housing.
And some offenders would be tagged and have to work five days a week, with benefits withdrawn if they did not comply.
His report comes ahead of a government announcement on plans for changes to rehabilitation which could see less jail time and more community orders for offenders.
Victims’ commissioner Louise Casey questioned whether making tea or costumes for the Notting Hill Carnival was sufficient punishment.
She said community sentences should be tough, intensive and visible to communities affected by the offenders’ actions.
“It’s as if the legal principle of punishment in sentencing is somehow unseemly – rather than a legitimate and correct response to those who step outside society’s agreed rules,” she said.
“To have the confidence of those who pass sentence, the public and of victims in particular, this must change.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “We are looking at how private and voluntary sector providers can be involved in running community sentences to make them more rigorous, ensure proper compliance, and deliver better value for the taxpayer.”
YouGov polled more than 2,000 adults online for the Policy Exchange survey.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Gabe Watson pleaded guilty last year to the manslaughter of his wife An American man known as the “honeymoon killer” has been deported from Australia and is heading for the US.
Gabe Watson, 33, was jailed in Australia for the manslaughter of his wife while scuba diving during their honeymoon on the Great Barrier Reef.
Australian officials said Watson had left on a flight accompanied by police.
The Australian government had been awaiting a guarantee from the US that he would not face the death penalty if he were re-tried at home in Alabama.
Australia’s Immigration Minister Chris Bowen told local media that the assurance had been received from the US.
Watson left the country at about noon local time on Thursday accompanied by immigration officials and police officers, Mr Bowen said.
Watson is thought likely to face murder charges in Alabama.
After his wife’s death in 2003, Watson was initially charged with murder in Queensland.
It was alleged he turned off his new bride’s air supply during a diving trip and held her underwater.
He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in 2009 and completed an 18-month term in prison 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.
Teenagers abused by a Derby paedophile gang should have been better protected by care professionals, a report finds.
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A jury convicts Republican former US House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on charges of illegally funnelling corporate money to Texas candidates in 2002.
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New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key promises an investigation into the deaths of 29 miners at the Pike River mine.
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No offer was made for the apartments at the auction An apartment block due to be sold at auction in Ballybofey, Donegal, on Wednesday, was withdrawn when it failed to attract a single serious bid.
Attempts to sell the 47-apartment building took place amid a protest by contractors who were owed money.
The apartments at Navenny Place, Trusk Road, were to be sold as a package with a guide price of 550,000 euro.
Their reserve price meant the dwellings would be valued at just under 11,700 euro each.
A shouted bid of 5,000 euro from the crowd was promptly dismissed by the auctioneer.
Disgrunted builders and sub-contractors staged a protest as potential buyers arrived at the unfinished site.
The one, two and three bedroom apartments had been placed in receivership and range in size from 63 square metres to 108 square metres.
The properties were marketed as “completed to at least first fix stage” and were being sold in one single lot “as is” at current stage of construction.
There are more than 2,800 so-called ghost estates in the Republic according to a survey carried out by the Irish government.
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Protesters are staging a fees demonstration in London Lines of police are holding back thousands of student protesters in central London, in a wave of protests against higher tuition fees and university budget cuts.
A police van, marooned in the protest on Whitehall, has been vandalised.
Students are staging occupations at universities including Royal Holloway, Plymouth, Birmingham, London South Bank, UCL and UWE Bristol.
Police have warned they will make arrests if protests become violent.
Marches, walkouts and protest events are also taking place at universities and colleges in Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Bristol, Southampton, Oxford, Cambridge, Leeds, Newcastle, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
School pupils have walked out of lessons in Winchester, Cambridge, Leeds and London.
Speaking ahead of the protests, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg called on students to reconsider the coalition’s tuition fees plans before they take part in a day of protests.
“Examine our proposals before taking to the streets. Listen and look before you march and shout,” said Mr Clegg.
Students are protesting against plans to increase tuition fees in England to £9,000 per year and to withdraw public funding for university teaching budgets for many subjects.
Students in London have been walking out to join a demonstration A student march two weeks ago ended in an attack on the Conservatives’ headquarters building – which has since been followed by 65 arrests.
The Metropolitan Police have warned they will not tolerate criminal activity, violence or disorder.
Protesters in London are planning to demonstrate outside the headquarters of the Liberal Democrat party, whose leaders have become a particular target for student protests.
Students have accused Liberal Democrat MPs of planning to break their pledge to vote against raising fees.
The demonstrations are not being organised by the National Union of Students – and there are uncertainties about the pattern of protests.
A “carnival of resistance” has been promised, with music and speeches.
Students at the University of Birmingham are staging a protest over tuition fees and budget cuts.
Mark Bergfeld, spokesman for the Education Activist Network, one of the groups organising the protests, said: “We have the right to protest, we have the right to civil disobedience, we have the right to occupy our lecture halls.”
And an anarchist group has also called for “roaming marches” to “disrupt business” across central London, rather than a static stand-off with police.
Protest leaders have claimed that an “unprecedented wave of student revolt is unfolding” – and they say they are following in the spirit of student protests of 1968.
Dominic Casciani, BBC News, central London
As some of the protesters began gathering outside the University of London Union, the atmosphere was fairly lively, with the students banging pots and drums and cowbells. One of the chants against Nick Clegg went “shame on you for turning blue” – and there are others that are unrepeatable, but the mood was jovial.
Some students are protesting against the removal of the education maintenance allowance for further education students and sixth formers on low incomes. Others are holding placards campaigning more generally about the rise in tuition fees – some from the Socialist Worker student society, some from the Education Activists Network.
One woman is holding a home-made placard calling for “rich parents for all”. There are significant numbers of police but they are standing well back and appear relaxed.
As well as the planned rise in tuition fees, students are also campaigning about wider budget cuts for higher education.
Further education students and sixth-formers are also protesting at plans to remove the education maintenance allowance, which gives low-income students up to £30 a week to help with the costs of staying in full-time education.
The fees protest held two weeks ago in Westminster was attended by an estimated 50,000 students – and ended with a breakaway group forcing their way into the Millbank office complex.
There had only been a thin line of police guarding the Millbank building – but the police have made clear that they will be better prepared for Wednesday’s protests.
“The Met has long respected and protected the right to protest and we will continue to do so, but anyone who plans to take to the streets of London intent on disorder, violence and crime should understand that it won’t be tolerated and they will be arrested,” said Commander Bob Broadhurst.
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Protests have been held at locations around the UK as students and school pupils voiced their objections to proposed rises in university tuition fees.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.