Category: news

world news,online new,us news,uk news

Man guilty of US intern’s murder

Chandra LevyChandra Levy’s disappearance made headlines around the world
Related stories

An immigrant from El Salvador has been convicted of the 2001 murder of US congressional intern Chandra Levy.

Ingmar Guandique had denied killing Ms Levy, 24, whose remains were found in Rock Creek Park in Washington DC more than a year after she disappeared.

The case claimed the career of a politician she was romantically linked with, Californian Democrat Gary Condit.

Mr Condit, once a suspect in the murder case, has always declined to discuss whether or not they had an affair.

The jury deliberated for four days before returning guilty verdicts on two counts of first-degree murder.

Guandique faces the possibility of life in prison.

Scandal

Earlier in the trial, prosecutors admitted they had no eyewitness or physical evidence tying Guandique to Ms Levy’s murder.

Defence lawyers said Guandique, 29, had become a scapegoat for a botched investigation and claimed that his DNA did not match samples found on Ms Levy’s clothing.

Ingmar Guandique, pictured in April 2009Guandique told cellmates he carried out the killing, prosecutors said

But the prosecution presented evidence that Guandique had told prison cellmates he had carried out the killing, and they argued the details of the case matched patterns from other attacks against women for which Guandique had been convicted.

Guandique was serving a 10-year prison sentence for those attacks when he was charged with Ms Levy’s murder.

Prosecutors said police were wrong to initially focus on Mr Condit.

The former California Representative testified during the course of Guandique’s trial, and said his decision to not discuss the nature of his relationship with Ms Levy was based “purely on principle”.

“I think we’re all entitled to some level of privacy,” he told the court.

“Seems like in this country we’ve lost a sense of decency. I didn’t commit any crime, I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong.”

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

Hopes fade for trapped NZ miners

Police Superintendent Gary Knowles (right)

Police Supt Gary Knowles: ”The longer it goes on, hopes fade”

Related stories

Hopes are dwindling for 29 men who remain missing four days after a mine explosion in New Zealand, police say.

“The longer it goes on, hopes fade and we have to be realistic,” said police superintendent Gary Knowles, who is co-ordinating rescue efforts.

An army robot sent inside a tunnel leading to the men broke down, he said.

Supt Knowles said rescuers were still assessing air quality in the mine in the country’s south island, to decide whether rescuers can attempt to go in.

“We will not go underground until the environment is safe,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

Dangerous levels of methane and carbon monoxide in the Pike River mine near Greymouth have hampered rescue efforts.

Probes are taking gas samples. A listening device is due to be lowered down a borehole, which is being drilled.

Supt Knowles said drilling team had hit “very hard rock” overnight.

The military remote-controlled robot sent into the main shaft broke down after being damaged by water.

“We’ve had a kick in the guts,” Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn told AFP news agency. “It’s history.”

The BBC’s Phil Mercer at the Pike River Mine says that for relatives of the 29 men, the wait is agonising.

There has been no contact with the miners – 24 New Zealanders, two Australians, two Britons and a South African – since the explosion on Friday.

The blast is believed to have been caused by methane.

Each miner carried 30 minutes of oxygen, enough to reach oxygen stores in the mine that would allow them to survive for several days.

Fresh air is also being pumped into the mine.

While the men would reportedly have been carrying flasks of water, there is no food underground. Their cap lamps were expected to run out after about 24 hours.

Graphic: Cross section of the Pike River Mine showing location of trapped miners 2km inside the main access tunnel
New Zealand’s largest coal mineEmploys some 150 peopleOperational since 2008Accesses Brunner and Paparoa coal seams via 2.3km tunnel under Paparoa Ranges5.5m-wide, 4.5m-high tunnel bisects Hawera fault, through which methane gas is known to leakBlast is believed to have happened at 1530 (0230 GMT) on FridayTwo injured miners emerged from the tunnel entrance on Friday evening

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

Two arrested over murder in city

House and police vehicleThe house at Upton Court where the seriously-injured man was found. He died later in hospital.
Related stories

Two men have been arrested following the murder of a 55-year-old man in west Belfast on Sunday.

Relatives found Seamus Holland lying on the floor of his home in Upton Court.

He had sustained injuries to his head and face. He was taken to hospital by ambulance, but died at 1325 GMT on Sunday.

Police said on Monday they had arrested a 29-year-old man and an 18-year-old man in west Belfast.

Earlier, senior investigating officer, detective chief inspector Debbie McMaster, said police were working on a “definite line of inquiry”.

“However, we are appealing for information that could help us to piece together Seamus’ last movements before he was killed,” she said.

“We want to speak to anyone who was in the area of Upton Court and Norfolk Grove in the early hours of Sunday morning and saw or heard anything untoward, perhaps an argument or a physical confrontation.”

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

Israel passes ‘withdrawal’ bill

Israeli activist backs Palestinians against Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem (file image)Talks with Palestinians have broken down over the issue of Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem

Israel’s parliament has passed a bill setting stringent new conditions before any withdrawal from the Golan Heights or East Jerusalem.

The bill requires a two-thirds majority in the Knesset before any withdrawal could be approved.

Failing that, the proposal would be subject to a national referendum.

Analysts say the move could complicate peace efforts by making it more difficult for any Israeli government to make territorial withdrawals.

The bill – passed by a 65-33 majority – was backed of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who said it would prevent “irresponsible agreements”.

Likud Party MP Yariv Levin, who proposed the bill, said it was of “the utmost national importance for retaining the unity of the people”.

Israel considers the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem to be under its sovereignty, although Syria claims the Golan Heights and the Palestinians claim East Jerusalem.

The Palestinian government in the West Bank condemned the move.

“With the passage of this bill, the Israeli leadership, yet again, is making a mockery of international law,” said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.

“Ending the occupation of our land is not and cannot be dependent on any sort of referendum.”

Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.

There was no immediate comment from Syria, which lost the Golan Heights to Israel in the 1967 war.

Damascus wants the land back in return for peace but many Israelis regard the heights – which overlook northern Israel – as a strategic asset.

Israel has occupied the West Bank – including East Jerusalem – since 1967, settling nearly 500,000 Jews in more than 100 settlements. They are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

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

Coalition agrees on migration cap

Theresa MayTheresa May’s announcement will follow weeks of tense discussions between Tories and Lib Dems
Related stories

The government will cap the number of non-EU skilled migrants allowed to enter the UK at 43,000 next year, Home Secretary Theresa May is to announce.

Staff transferred by their companies from another country will be exempt from the regulation if their salary is more than £40,000.

BBC political editor Nick Robinson said the figure had been agreed after tense talks between the Tories and Lib Dems.

The parties had promised different policies at the general election.

Tory leader David Cameron promised to cap levels, while his then Lib Dem rival Nick Clegg said the policy ignored the fact that most immigration came from the EU.

Our correspondent said that after weeks of behind-the-scenes tension, the coalition would produce its compromise when Ms May gives a statement to MPs on Tuesday.

The 43,000 cap from next April will be 13% lower than this year’s figure but the highest figure recommended by the independent migration advisory committee last week.

It recommended that the number of migrant workers coming to Britain from outside the EU should be cut by between 13% and 25% next year.

However, it added that even this would contribute only 20% to the government’s target of reducing UK immigration to “tens of thousands”.

The other 80% cut would have come from student and family migration, it added.

Committee chairman Professor David Metcalf said the number of visas for skilled workers issued under what is called Tier One and Tier Two needed to be between 37,400 and 43,700 for 2011/12.

This would represent a cut of up to 12,600 from the 50,000 in 2009, he said.

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

Germany ‘to suspend’ conscription

German Isaf soldiers trains with Afghan National Army soldiers, October 2010The German government wants the volunteer army to focus on missions abroad

Germany is to suspend conscription in July 2011 and switch to a volunteer military service, defence minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg has said.

Conscription of German men will end but will remain in the country’s constitution, Mr zu Guttenberg said.

The 250,000-strong German army, the Bundeswehr, is to be cut to around 185,000 soldiers, he added.

Currently all young German men are called to serve, but conscientious objectors can opt for social work.

Mr zu Guttenberg said the slimmed-down German army would focus on missions abroad.

Volunteers would serve between 12 to 23 months and be able to deploy abroad after six months of service.

Currently, around 7,000 troops are abroad at any one time.

The government hoped that the reforms would allow for at least 10,000 soldiers to be deployed in the future, the defence minister said.

Germany is one of the few Nato countries to retain the draft, which was introduced after World War II to ensure that the military would never again become an elitist force with its own political power.

The BBC’s Steven Evans in Berlin says that conscription remains popular, with opinion polls showing a majority of Germans in favour.

The government is suspending the measure to avoid rewriting the constitution, but nobody foresees the resumption of the draft, our correspondent says.

Parliament is expected to pass the reforms in December.

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

Armed forces chief defends cuts

Gen Sir David RichardsGen Sir David said economic strength underpinned a nation’s military strength
Related stories

The head of the UK’s armed forces has defended planned defence cuts, saying military planning has to adapt to the resources available.

Chief of the Defence Staff, Gen Sir David Richards, said the cuts meant trading the perfect for the acceptable.

He told the Policy Exchange think-tank in a speech that no general worth his salt based plans on wishful thinking.

Defence spending is to fall by 8% over four years under plans announced in last month’s strategic defence review.

Harrier jump jets, the Navy’s flagship HMS Ark Royal and planned Nimrod spy planes were also axed, with the loss of 42,000 Ministry of Defence and armed forces jobs by 2015.

In his speech in London, Gen Richards acknowledged that the review involved “calculated judgements” over which military capabilities should be axed.

But he warned the government that long-term plans depended on a return to real term spending rises once the cuts were over in 2015.

He said: “A plan is not a plan if it doesn’t take into account the resources available. It is a wish list and no general worth his salt bases his plan on wishful thinking.”

He said the strategic defence and security review had been no different “and builds on the reality of the position in which we find ourselves”.

That, of course, has required people to make judgements that trade the perfect for the acceptable, he added.

He said it was essential to understand that economic strength underpinned a nation’s military strength.

He cited the Soviet Union as an example of a country which had got the balance wrong when it went bankrupt trying to match US defence spending.

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

UK to continue deporting Iraqis

Alistair BurtAlistair Burt ‘s comments come ahead of a further court review of asylum policy
Related stories

The UK government will continue to deport Iraqis whose applications for asylum have been turned down, a minister has said.

The announcement comes despite the European Court of Human Rights effectively calling for a freeze on the practice.

Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt told the BBC Iraq was now considered safe enough for people to return to.

The UK first started returning Iraqis to Baghdad last year.

However, despite security improvements in Baghdad and elsewhere, explosions and shootings remain a daily occurrence in much of Iraq.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees has objected to the policy of returning failed asylum seekers to central Iraq – enforced by the UK as well as other European countries – as it maintains that it is still not safe to do so.

The majority are sent on from Baghdad to the relatively secure north of the country.

Last month, the European Court of Human Rights wrote to inform the UK government that it would apply “Rule 39” to any Iraqi challenging their deportation.

This rule means, in effect, that anyone from Iraq who takes their case to the European Court will automatically be allowed to remain in the UK, at least temporarily.

The letter said the court had taken the decision in view of what it called the deterioration in the security situation in Baghdad.

The decision, which is to be reviewed on Tuesday, places the government in a potential conflict with the Strasbourg-based court, as all asylum-seekers have the right to appeal under Rule 39.

But Mr Burt, speaking on a visit to Iraq, said it was the government’s view that it was no longer a war-torn country.

He added that the policy of forcibly deporting Iraqis whose application for asylum had been turned down would continue.

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

Hundreds die in Cambodia stampede

breaking news

At least 17 people have been killed in a stampede during Water Festival celebrations in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, reports say.

A hospital official told the Associated Press news agency that 17 bodies were brought in on Monday evening. Police sources reported “many dead”.

Dozens of ambulances were heard rushing to the scene of the stampede.

Large crowds have been celebrating on the final day of the festival, one of the main events in the Cambodian year.

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

‘Profound’ changes to Labour promised

Ed Miliband with second son SamuelMr Miliband has been on paternity leave for a fortnight, since second son Samuel arrived
Related stories

“Profound” changes to the Labour Party on the scale of Tony Blair’s New Labour reforms of the mid-1990s have been promised by leader Ed Miliband.

In a Guardian newspaper interview, as he returns from two weeks’ paternity leave, he warned his party that it faced a “long, hard road” ahead.

The party would review its policies and its organisation, including the rules for electing its leaders, he said.

A commission on Labour’s organisation will be launched at the weekend.

The aim is to turn the party into the “largest community organisation in the country”, Mr Miliband said.

Mr Miliband – elected in September – dismissed claims he had been too low-profile since winning the Labour leadership, saying he was not interested in “short-term fixes”.

“It’s about digging in, and it’s not about short-term fixes, nor shortcuts to success.

“There is a long, hard road for us to travel,” he told the Guardian. I am talking about change as profound as the change New Labour brought, because the world itself has changed massively, and we did not really change fundamentally as a party, or come to terms with the changes, and have not done so since 1994.”

“For some people the gap between the dreams that seem to be on offer and their ability to realise them is wider than it’s ever been”

Ed Miliband Labour leader

The commission due to be launched will cover the issue of leadership elections, including the influence of the unions.

During the Labour leadership campaign – in which MPs, party members and trade unionists were balloted – Mr Miliband secured the backing of three of Britain’s four biggest trade unions.

His older brother and leadership rival, David Miliband, won a majority of support from Labour’s MPs at Westminster and party members, but Ed was ahead among members of trade unions and affiliated organisations.

Ed Miliband appeared to reject the idea that union members should lose their role in choosing the Labour leader, said BBC political correspondent Gary O’Donoghue.

He said in the interview that unions paying levies to the party had a “link to working people in the country and we’ve got to be linked to them”.

In terms of Labour’s policies there will also be a review, starting with “a blank page”, said Ed Miliband, although “not in terms of values”.

In an indication of the tax policy he intends to pursue, he suggested that he would support the retention of the 50p top rate of income tax into the future.

Shadow chancellor Alan Johnson has said previously that Labour “might not see the need for a 50p tax rate in five years’ time”.

But Mr Miliband said the tax rate was not simply about cutting the deficit: “It’s about values and fairness and about the kind of society you believe in and it’s important to me.”

One of the things that got him out of bed in the morning was that Britain remained a “fundamentally unequal society”, he said.

The plan, said Mr Miliband, was to “move beyond New Labour”.

“Here’s the paradox of Britain today,” he said: “Is Britain materially better off than it was 20 to 30 years ago? Yes, absolutely it is. But for some people the gap between the dreams that seem to be on offer and their ability to realise them is wider than it’s ever been before, and it seems much more of a struggle and that’s what interests me.

“How do you close that gap between the dreams that are apparently on offer and people’s ability to realise them? And I think the [coalition] are widening that gap.”

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