Blancer.com Tutorials and projects
Freelance Projects, Design and Programming Tutorials
world news,online new,us news,uk news
New social housing tenants could have their finances checked after two years in the property, under planned reforms.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Take That, Cheryl Cole and a host of other celebrities were among the stars who helped raise millions during the BBC’s Children in Need TV appeal.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Mr Karzai believes Afghanistan will be ready to handle security by the end of 2014 Afghan President Hamid Karzai is preparing to meet Nato leaders in Lisbon for talks on withdrawing troops from his country by the end of 2014.
A spokesman for Mr Karzai said he and Nato shared the “same strategic interests” but that there were many issues still to be worked out.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is also due to address the summit.
On Friday, the military alliance agreed to develop a joint missile defence shield covering all member states.
The Portugal summit also backed the swift ratification of the Start treaty between the US and Russia, aimed at cutting the nuclear weapon stockpiles of both sides.
Nato’s International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) has some 130,000 soldiers based in Afghanistan, most of them from the US.
US President Barack Obama said the Isaf mission was “moving to a new phase”, and that the target for handing over the overall responsibility for security to the Afghans was still 2014.
Some Nato members have expressed concerns that Afghanistan may not be ready to manage its own security by that time, but Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said the goal is “realistic”.
Mr Rasmussen said there would still be a role for Isaf troops in the country in 2015 and onwards, but that would largely be in training Afghan forces.
Mr Karzai’s spokesman and advisor, Ashraf Ghani, said Nato and Kabul had “the same strategic objectives” for the withdrawal – they now needed “to work out a lot of implementation issues” and set milestones for the intervening years.
The missile defence plan is directed against the potential threat from the 30 or so countries that have or are developing weapons capable of reaching Nato soil.
In Washington’s view the primary threat comes from Iran. But you will not find any mention of Tehran’s missiles in Nato’s new plan.
Turkey – which may well be host to a crucial X-Band radar station – insisted it would not back the plan if there was any explicit mention of Iran.
This is only a pointer to some of the many problems that may lie ahead; issues of command and control, data exchange and cost.
Bringing Russia on board too will not be easy; Russia has so far rejected past US invitations, fearful that its own missile force might be compromised.
Any deal with Moscow is likely to involve coordination between separate Nato and Russian systems rather than the full integration of Russia’s air defences in the Nato scheme.
“A journey that has a clear sense of destination is a much easier journey than a journey into the unknown,” the Associated press quoted him as saying.
“We have now agreed on the destination, this becomes the question of aligning ends and means, together determining the pace and bringing about a common understanding of strategy.”
The two-day Lisbon summit has been billed as one of the most important in the alliance’s history as it seeks to update its strategy and structure to face new security threats.
On day one, the member states reached an agreement to develop and deploy defences against ballistic missile attack on its territories.
Mr Obama said the agreement “responds to the threats of our times” and shows Nato’s “determination to protect our citizens”.
Nato hopes Russia will also agree to join the project, and will speak about the issue with Mr Medvedev on Saturday.
But the BBC’s diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says that bringing Russia on board will not be easy – Moscow has rejected all previous invitations over fears its own missile force might be compromised.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
A man who was kidnapped from his north London home was found dead a few miles away, police have revealed.
The victim, who was in his 30s, was “forcibly removed” from his home in Edgware at 1700 GMT on 14 November.
He was found dead at a house in Burton Road, Kilburn, eight hours later having sustained a fatal head injury.
A 23-year-old man and a woman aged 21 were arrested on Tuesday in connection with the man’s murder. Both have been bailed while inquiries continue.
The dead man has not been formally identified but his next of kin have been informed.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Inquiries are under way by detectives from the Homicide and Serious Crime Command to establish the circumstances surrounding the death and what led up to it.
“The death is being treated as murder and it is believed this was an isolated and targeted incident.
“We do know that the victim was forcibly removed from his home address at approximately 5pm on Sunday 14 November in Edgware and he had been beaten prior to his death.
“Inquiries were under way to trace his whereabouts when we were alerted to the body.”
A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as a head injury.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Maria del Pilar Hurtado was director of Colombia’s Department of Administrative Security until 2008 Panama has granted political asylum to a former head of the Colombian secret police who is wanted in connection with illegal wiretapping operations that could implicate the country’s previous president, Alvaro Uribe.
Maria del Pilar Hurtado, formerly director of Colombia’s Department of Administrative Security, has already left the country, passing through immigration controls run by the DAS, without being challenged.
Panama’s move has caused outrage in Colombia.
She was granted asylum after “a careful analysis of the request… and the circumstances of reasonable fear for her personal security that prompted her to leave her country”, AP quoted the Panamanian foreign ministry as saying.
The president of Colombia’s Supreme Court, Jaime Arrubla – who was himself a victim of illegal wiretaps by the DAS – expressed surprise at the decision.
The concept of political asylum was to “protect those persecuted for their political ideas, not the persecutors”, he said.
As head of the DAS from 2007-2008, Ms Hurtado was one of the few people who could possibly directly implicate former president, Alvaro Uribe, in the illegal wiretapping of his political opponents and the judges who were seeking to block his actions and re-election prospects.
The DAS answers only to the president, but Mr Uribe has denied issuing any orders that violated the law or the constitution.
His private secretary, Bernardo Moreno, has already been banned from holding public office as investigations into the wiretapping scandal continue.
But no charges have been brought against the former president.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Lee Wallace died at the scene, while Jayson Hassan died in hospital A man has been arrested by police investigating a double shooting outside a tower block in north London.
Lee Wallace, 25, and Jayson Hassan, 28, were found outside Strang House in Britannia Row, Islington, on Tuesday.
Mr Wallace, of Broadway in Loughton, was pronounced dead at the scene and Mr Hassan died in the early hours of Wednesday in hospital.
A 27-year-old man is being questioned by detectives at an east London police station.
Officers believe the victims were approached by two men who opened fire before escaping on foot.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The Pope is to elevate 24 new cardinals in a ceremony on Saturday The Vatican has said it will issue guidelines on how to combat sexual abuse, which will be circulated to bishops around the world.
Work was being done for “guidelines to offer for a coordinated and efficient programme” against abuse, the Vatican said.
Pope Benedict has been taking part in a rare, closed-door meeting of about 150 cardinals from around the world.
He is due to elevate 24 new cardinals at a ceremony later on Saturday.
Twenty of the new “red hats” are under the age of 80 and would thus be eligible to elect his successor in a secret vote.
There has been a wave of cases in which Church authorities in Europe, Australia and North and South America failed to deal properly with priests accused of child abuse, sometimes just moving them to new parishes where more children were put at risk.
Cardinal William Levada, who led Friday’s discussion at the Vatican, spoke of the need to listen to victims, to work together with law enforcement and to make a careful selection of future priests.
But the US-based abuse victims group, Survivors’ Network of those Abused by Priests (Snap), said it was disappointed by the meeting, saying the Church should stop making “symbolic gestures”.
“We didn’t have high hopes for this meeting because these church officials are the same men who ignored and concealed,” Snap said in a statement.
The group also called on the Church to release files on the abuses and those who covered up for the crimes.
Some cardinals have criticised the attention given to the sex abuse scandal.
“I’m tired of talking about this topic,” Mexican Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan told reporters after the talks.
“I’ve had it up to here… It’s a real media storm.”
This is the third consistory – or assembly of cardinals – since Pope Benedict was elected Pope in April 2005.
All 179 living cardinals would only be expected to gather for a conclave – the meeting following the death or abdication of a pope to elect his successor.
But Pope Benedict has attempted to create more opportunities for the cardinals to discuss important issues, especially as those under 80 – 121 after Saturday’s consistory – would be tasked with choosing his successor.
The event has been described by analysts as a pre-conclave, enabling the cardinals to see who could potentially succeed the German Pope.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Rival soaps EastEnders and Coronation Street are to team up for Children in Need
Take That, JLS and Cheryl Cole are among the acts gearing up for the BBC’s annual Children in Need TV appeal.
A host of celebrities will take part in the seven-hour telethon, which raises money for disadvantaged children and young people in the UK.
Viewers will get a preview of the Doctor Who Christmas special during the show, which hopes to raise more than the £39m generated last year.
The show kicks off at 1900 GMT on BBC One and BBC One HD.
Sir Terry Wogan, Tess Daly and Fearne Cotton will host the programme, which will feature a joint appearance from the casts of EastEnders and Coronation Street.
Take That will perform their new single, The Flood, during the seven-hour telethon Elsewhere, Formula 1 drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button will go head to head in a go-karting challenge.
The presenters of Loose Women will perform a Girls Aloud song, while the stars of Dragons’ Den will take part in a Come Dine With Me special.
Doctor Who and Torchwood star John Barrowman will be presenting from Glasgow, where the cast of the Queen musical We Will Rock You will perform.
Over in Cardiff, The One Show’s Alex Jones will be seen at the Millennium Stadium during half-time in the Wales v Fiji international rugby match.
Meanwhile, viewers in Northern Ireland will see Radio One DJ Reggie Yates and John Daly host their part of the show from the Odyssey Arena in Belfast.
David Ramsden, chief executive of Children in Need, said the BBC was “humbled and inspired” by the money raised every year.
You can help the appeal by calling the donation line on 0345 7 33 22 33. A full list of ways to donate is available on the Children in Need website.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The US Senate approves a $4.6bn (£2.9bn) payment to Native Americans and black farmers who complained of government discrimination.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Some councils in England and Wales have lobbied the government for the right to increase the amount they can charge motorists in parking fines, the BBC learns.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Pop group Westlife give their take on the country’s economic crisis
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Thom Evans pictured ahead of the match with Wales in which he was injured The doctor who treated injured rugby player Thom Evans on the field has received the “ultimate recognition” from a top medical body.
Dr James Robson was awarded the Fellowship ad hominem from The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.
He was the first medic to treat Evans at the Millennium Stadium during Scotland’s defeat to Wales in the 2010 Six Nations in February.
Evans credited the doctor’s actions with preventing permanent paralysis.
Dr Robson has been involved with Scottish rugby for more than 20 years.
It is extremely rare for the Fellowship ad hominem to be presented to a non-surgeon.
The honour is given to those who are thought to have achieved distinction in their professional field, showing special service to the “art and science of surgery”.
Dr Robson, 52, said he was “flabbergasted” to be awarded such an honour.
He said: “It’s incredible. I’m not a surgeon and to be recognised by a college like this is just fantastic.
“In many ways it’s the ultimate recognition but I believe it’s a reflection on how seriously we treat player welfare and safety in Scottish and indeed British rugby.”
Dr Robson, who is originally from Whitehaven in Cumbria, has also served as doctor for the British and Irish Lions on their past five tours.
David Tolley, president of the college, said: “His dedication to the enhancement of medical care for rugby players at all levels of the game, and his tireless efforts in advancing the reputation and status of sports medicine have earned him the respect of all of our surgical fellows and members.”
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Study aims to uncover more about condition
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Why Jacques Cousteau inspired love of the oceans
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Moving house can be comical at times but is often stressful People looking for houses to rent in many parts of the UK are encountering a new hurdle in their hunt for a home.
Landlords, or more often their letting agents, are increasingly asking would-be tenants to compete by making “sealed bid” offers for the home they want.
The practice is relatively commonplace in the market to buy homes, but is seen as a new development in the rental sector.
The demand for rented property is rising during the mortgage drought.
Many more families and individuals find they cannot afford or get mortgages, so they are having to compete against each other to secure a tenancy.
Jacqueline Cooper and her fiancee James Fleming are a young professional couple who were suddenly faced with a move from Taplow in Berkshire when their landlord decided to sell up.
The couple count themselves as lucky, having just managed to rent a small terraced house with a garden in nearby Windsor.
They finally won the day after repeatedly losing out to other home-seekers, all chasing every available property in the area.
But to win, they first had to put down a deposit and make a sealed bid and all against a deadline set by the letting agents.
Jacqueline Cooper and James Fleming say they kept on losing out on properties Jacqueline had not even had time to see the house before they had to make the bid – she had to rely on her fiancee’s opinion.
She pointed out it was not just the price offered in the sealed bid that counted. The couple put in a bid close to the asking price, and have a small dog, which they were told was sometimes preferred by landlords to a couple with young children.
“We had seen a couple of properties we really liked, but lost out because others were quicker off the mark than we were,” she said.
“So this time we just acted. I had not even seen the property myself before we paid the deposit and put in our bid, of about the asking price. In retrospect, I suppose it was a bit risky – but we now have a house.”
Agents say sealed bids may only be asked for where there is intense competition for a limited supply of properties.
This is most likely to be in areas where first-time buyers or others cannot get mortgages and have to keep renting. It is also a market response to higher rental prices.
London has experienced the biggest rise in rents, but other regions are not immune. More than a third of landlords surveyed by the National Landlords Association said they were seeing higher rents in Wales, Scotland and the North West of England.
Research to be published on Monday by the property website RightMove is expected to find that 55% of renters were “trapped” – wanting to leave rented accommodation, but finding themselves unable to do so.
“The sealed bid has been seen as a fairer option”
Chris Norris National Landlords AssociationRental costs ‘continue to rise’
James Moss, a director of Curzon Investment Property, said that without access to finance, buyers could not purchase homes.
“Combine this with rising student fees and job losses across the public sector, and what we are left with is facing up to being a nation of renters as the home buying dream is eroded,” he said.
Richard Davies, head of lettings of Chesterton Humberts, said that there was no mystery in the sealed bid process.
“If we do have more than one offer for a property, what we do is give a deadline for people to submit their best and final offers. All those offers go to the landlord who will decide who to go with,” he said.
“But even if your offer is refused, do not be too despondent, because sometimes the winning bidder’s references do not check out, in which case you may be offered the property.”
Landlords insist sealed bids are not a device to get tenants to gazump each other and pay more.
Chris Norris, of the National Landlords Association (NLA), said they were mainly employed by managing or letting agents and used to ensure that once an offer is accepted it is final.
“The sealed bid has been seen as a fairer option, compared to a situation when a landlord may agree a tenancy in good faith, only for another would be renter to come along and say that they are prepared to pay 20% more,” he said.
“Many landlords might be tempted to take such an offer, but that is not fair on someone who thought they had found somewhere to live.”
As for Jacqueline Cooper and her fiancee James Fleming, happily unpacking books and groceries in their new Windsor home, they admit they have every sympathy for the families with young children that they saw at various viewings in the area – people who were frozen out in the bidding process.
It seems that with the current state of the housing market, sealed bids will be here to stay – as long as many would-be renters are chasing a dwindling supply of good rental homes.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
