Category: news

Several people have been injured in a blast in the centre of Istanbul.

The explosion in Taksim Square occurred on Sunday morning, not far from a point where police are stationed.

The AP news agency quotes a witness saying ambulances have arrived at the scene and medical staff are attending to the injured.

Turkish television is reporting that the blast targeted anti-riot police.

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A record number of people are taking part in the Athens marathon to mark the 2,500th anniversary of the run which inspired the modern event.

In 490BC, the Athenian army defeated the Persians at the Battle of Marathon. According to legend, a messenger called Pheidippides ran the 42km (26 miles) to Athens to announce the victory.

More than 12,000 people will run the same route as Pheidippides.

Despite the Greek financial crisis, the budget for the race has been increased.

1.5m euros (£1.3m) was raised for the event through sponsorship, compared with 900,000 euros (£780,000) last year.

Our correspondent in Athens, Malcolm Brabant, says this anniversary offers Greece a chance to bathe in the glow of its glorious past and temporarily escape the depressing strait jacket of economic misery.

Organisers also hope the increased number of international participants will earn the city 25m euros in tourist revenues.

It is a tough race – the first 32km of the course are mostly uphill. Legend has it that Pheidippides collapsed and died from exhaustion and dehydration after his run.

Jonathan Kosgei Kipkorir leads the field in the men’s race, while on the women’s side, Ethiopia’s Ashu Kasim is widely favoured, although Japan’s Mizuki Noguchi holds the course record.

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Home Secretary Theresa May pledges to review air freight security after bombs were found on two cargo jets in the UK and Dubai.

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A man, believed to be in his late teens or early 20s, is stabbed to death in a park in Bedfordshire.

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Assistant referee Steven Craven says he and other officials lied to Celtic manager Neil Lennon about the controversial penalty U-turn at Tannadice.

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More than 500 teenagers had to leave a nightclub in Cookstown, County Tyrone after a fire broke out close to the building on Saturday night.

It was reported at about 2200 BST in an alleyway beside the Clubland nightclub.

Six fire appliances were used to bring the blaze under control.

Station Commander Paul McCloskey said early indications are that the fire was started deliberately.

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Riot police are trying to disperse hundreds of revellers at a suspected illegal rave in central London.

The Metropolitan Police said members of its Territorial Support Group were called in after bottles were thrown at other officers late on Saturday.

They had been trying to move people inside and outside a disused building in High Holborn. Seven arrests have been made for public order offences.

Hundreds of revellers are still inside the building, police said.

Police said elements of the crowd, estimated to number about 500 people, became aggressive after police asked them to move on.

A force spokesman said: “Most of the people are still there. They have gone back inside the building and are going ahead with the rave.

“Officers at the scene have a watching brief.”

Several police officers have sustained minor injuries in the incident.

Users of the blogging site Twitter have reported road closures in the area.

Police were first called to the scene at 2320 BST.

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Many of Sunday’s papers focus on the man they believe to be ultimately behind the planting of bombs on two US-bound cargo planes.

A large image of Anwar al-Awlaki, “figurehead” of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, dominates the front page of the Independent on Sunday.

He is the first American citizen to feature on the CIA’s targeted killing list, the paper says.

The News of the World describes him as “the new Osama bin Laden”.

“The West can’t be lucky all the time,” says the Sunday Times grimly.

We face “an ingenious and tactically sophisticated enemy which is constantly probing our defences”, it warns, and we must accept that “constant vigilance is the price of our way of life”.

The Sunday Express agrees, and urges its readers to “stay vigilant and report any suspicions to the police”.

“The skill and dedication of our security forces saved the day and we should take this chance to thank them,” it adds.

Ahead of the US mid-term elections, the Observer’s leading article looks at President Obama’s first two years.

It says it is “a source of puzzlement and sadness that Obama has failed to rediscover the connection he made during 2008″.

Nevertheless, it feels he has “delivered historic breakthroughs” on health, education and financial re-regulation”.

Janet Daley, in the Sunday Telegraph, says many have observed his “baffling inability to connect with the people”.

The Mail on Sunday attacks firefighters who are planning to strike on Bonfire Night.

It calls them “brave men and women hobbled by self-interest”, and lays the blame with their union, the FBU, which it feels is “defending the indefensible” by trying to justify the strike.

The Sunday Mirror, meanwhile, is furious at Scottish and Southern Energy for raising its prices.

Calling the move “sickening”, it adds: “It’s going to be a long, hard winter – except for fuel company bosses.”

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Tanzanians are to vote in a presidential election that is expected to hand incumbent Jakaya Kikwete his second term in office.

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Ex-EastEnders actress Brooke Kinsella, now a government adviser on youth violence, says schools should teach pupils about the dangers of weapons.

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Some individuals at Jon Stewart’s Rally to Restore Sanity in Washington DC say the US is growing increasingly divided both culturally and politically.

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Brazilians are set to elect a president to replace Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, with the governing party’s Dilma Rousseff favoured to defeat rival Jose Serra.

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Ryanair is due to make its last flights out of Belfast after a row over delays to a proposed runway extension.

The airline announced in August it was pulling out of George Best Belfast City Airport after a public inquiry into the plans, which it supports, was delayed.

Ryanair has been operating from the airport since 2007, operating five routes: London Stansted, Bristol, East Midlands, Prestwick and Liverpool.

Rival Flybe is starting services to Bristol, East Midlands and Liverpool.

Ryanair flew about 800,000 passengers a year to and from the airport.

Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said in August he was disappointed that the inquiry into the runway extension plans had still not gone ahead three years after Ryanair opened its Belfast City base.

He said if planning permission was granted in the future, then Ryanair would come back.

Mr O’Leary claimed in August that Ryanair’s withdrawal could come at a cost of 1,000 jobs, either at the airport or in the local tourism industry.

Belfast City Airport has wanted to build a runway extension for some time, which would have allowed Ryanair to fly to destinations further afield.

The length of the runway currently at the airport limits the type of aircraft that can land there.

The public inquiry was delayed until the airport provides further information on its plans, amid environmental, social and economic objections.

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Gunmen kill at least 14 people as they gather to play football in Honduras, in a suspected gang attack.

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Druids are celebrating their first major festival since their beliefs were granted official status as a religion.

For them and other pagans, 31 October is not Halloween, but Samhain, and marks the turning of the year from light into dark.

Earlier this month, the Charities Commission ruled that the Druid Network should have the same status as other faiths such as Christianity and Islam.

Pagans do not worship one single god, but look for the spiritual in nature.

The number of pagans, including druids, witches and wiccans, has grown in recent years.

Many believe that the absence of rules, the focus on the environment and particular regard for the female have a strong resonance in contemporary society.

Druids worship the spirits they believe inhabit the earth. Among them are those embodied in forces of nature, such as thunder, and places, like mountains and rivers.

Their rituals, including Samhain, are focused particularly on the turning of the seasons.

After a four-year inquiry, the Charity Commission decided that druidry offered coherent practices for the worship of a supreme being, and provided a beneficial moral framework.

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