Category: news

Service and construction industries in the US grew much faster than expected in September, with employment also stabilising, according to a survey.

The purchasing managers’ index for the non-manufacturing sector registered a level of 53.2, up from 51.5 in August, and beating market expectations of 52.

The employment component of the index also rose to 50.2, suggesting hiring has stabilised after falling in August.

It is the ninth month the index has stayed above 50, indicating expansion.

The new orders subcomponent was also strong – rising 2.5 from last month to a reading of 54.9 – suggesting the outlook for the sector is also improving.

“Respondents’ comments continue to be mixed about business conditions, with a slight majority reflecting optimism,” said Anthony Nieves, chairman of the committee at the Institute of Supply Managers that produced the report.

Stocks were buoyed by the better-than-expected data. The Dow Jones industrial average was up about 1.3% at 1100 New York time.

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A British terror suspect killed in a drone attack was being groomed to head an al-Qaeda splinter group in the UK, the BBC’s Newsnight has learned.

The man, named in Pakistan as Abdul Jabbar, was killed in September by the attack in Pakistan.

Newsnight spoke to a “a trusted, senior security source” overseas who said Jabbar intended to lead a group called the Islamic Army of Great Britain.

Whitehall officials have declined to comment on the BBC’s report.

Europe plot

The programme also said the security source confirmed that Jabbar was a British citizen with a British wife. He was living in the Jhelum area of Punjab in Pakistan.

According to Newsnight, intelligence agencies monitored a meeting of 300 militants three months ago in the Ambarshaga area of North Waziristan, attended by Jabbar and militants from the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

The source said that Jabbar was put forward as the leader of the new terrorist group, which was tasked with preparing Mumbai-style commando attacks against targets in Britain, France and Germany.

Details of the plot first emerged in the US media, and the suspicions were confirmed by security sources to the BBC last month.

The revelations saw the US, UK, Sweden and Japan issue updated advice to citizens travelling in Europe to warn of the possibility of terror attacks there.

Newsnight’s source said the intelligence led to the drone attacks on 8 September, in which Jabbar and three other militants were killed.

Analysts say the US is the only force capable of deploying drone aircraft in the region but the American military does not routinely confirm such operations.

Western intelligence sources have said the plan in Europe was for small teams of militants to seize and kill hostages

They were to model their mission on the bloody attacks in the Indian city of Mubai on 26 November 2008, which left 166 people dead.

Ten gunmen attacked buildings including the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower and Oberoi-Trident hotels, the city’s historic Victoria Terminus train station, and the Jewish cultural center, Chabad House, during the three-day siege.

All but one were killed.

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A Welsh Conservative MP has criticised the UK government’s plan to cut child benefit for those earning more than £44,000 a year

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Police have started a double murder inquiry after the bodies of two men were found in a house in Lancashire.

Officers were called to a property in Waddington Avenue, Burnley, at 1230 BST and found the dead bodies inside.

The men have not yet been formally identified, a Lancashire Police spokeswoman said.

Police have been making door-to-door inquiries in Waddington Avenue – a large council estate on the eastern edge of the town.

A police spokeswoman said there were no further details as officers were still “in the very early stages of the inquiry”.

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Hungary counts the cost after toxic sludge bursts from a reservoir.

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Liverpool’s board receives two new bids to buy the club, BBC Sport understands.

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Prince Charles joined in a dance with locals while visiting a village during his trip to India.

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The historic Hastings Pier in East Sussex is at risk of collapsing into the sea following a major fire, the local council has warned.

Up to 95% of the pier was destroyed as emergency services struggled to get the blaze under control in the early hours.

Hastings Borough Council said the pier was in a “very dangerous state” and advised people to “stay well away”.

Two men, aged 18 and 19 and from St Leonards, were arrested on suspicion of arson and remain in custody.

Campaigners fighting to save the derelict pier have vowed not to give up hope that what remains of it may still be salvaged.

Earlier this year, the council agreed to buy the pier with a compulsory purchase order and hand it to the Hastings Pier and White Rock Trust.

Members of the trust have been in meetings with the council and emergency services to discuss carrying out a structural survey.

Jess Steele, the trust’s treasurer, said: “This tragedy has further galvanized public support for securing the future of this much-loved pier.

“If the survey shows that the substructure is reusable we will do our utmost to bring this great asset back to life.”

Councillor Jeremy Birch, the council leader, said: “The firefighters have worked heroically to try and contain the blaze but unfortunately because of the wind, the state of the pier and the danger of going on it, the fire really took hold.”

A passing police patrol and local people raised the alarm at 0100 BST after seeing a small fire, but the pier was rapidly engulfed in flames.

A fire crew was on the scene within five minutes of the first emergency call.

It was quickly joined by further crews, two RNLI lifeboats and the Sussex Police helicopter.

At its height some 55 firefighters with eight engines were fighting to extinguish the fire, East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said.

It was brought under control by 0800 BST. There were no reports of any injuries.

In a statement, the council said: “The pier remains in a very dangerous state and people are advised to stay well away from it as the risk of collapse is high.

“Under no circumstances should people attempt to gain access under the pier at this time.”

The pier opened in 1872 and was originally 910ft (280m) long. It closed in 2006 because of fears it had become unsafe.

It was owned by Panamanian-registered company Ravenclaw, which the council said it had been unable to contact.

Felix Robinson, outgoing chairman of the Hasting Pier and White Rock Trust, said it was a sad day for the town.

He said: “I always knew that the pier was at risk of fire, when it was closed and empty. But to actually see it go up in such a massive fire is very sad.”

He said many people – some in their dressing gowns – had come out along the seafront and stood watching the blaze.

“There was a sense of sadness,” he said. “People were talking about the experiences they’d had in the past – and of course the ballroom at the end, which is completely gutted, was quite important for Hastings in a cultural sense.”

Campaigners have also been writing about their shock and disbelief on the Facebook page, Save Hastings Pier, which has more than 1,600 members.

Long traffic delays were reported around the area after the A259 was closed in both directions.

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A teenager is detained for 16 weeks after he refused to give police the password to his computer.

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A life-size bronze sculpture by Henri Matisse could fetch up to $35m (£22m) when it goes up for auction later this year.

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Scottish Socialist Party members talked about changing minutes in which Tommy Sheridan allegedly admitted attending a swingers club, a court has heard.

Barbara Scott told the High Court in Glasgow that party members did not want to hand the document to police as it would have “dropped Tommy in it”.

Mr Sheridan and his wife Gail, both 46, are on trial accused of perjury.

They are accused of lying to help him successfully sue the News of the World in 2006. They deny the charges.

Mr Sheridan, who resigned as leader of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) days after the meeting in November 2004, won £200,000 in damages over claims that he was an adulterer who had visited a swingers club.

After a police investigation, Mr and Mrs Sheridan were charged with perjury.

In the second day of the new trial, Ms Scott, said a citation asking for the documents was sent to the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) headquarters ahead of Mr Sheridan’s civil defamation action.

The 40-year-old, who took the minutes at the 9 November 2004 meeting, said the party was reluctant to hand them over.

She previously told the court that the documents recorded Mr Sheridan admitting twice to visiting a swingers club in Manchester.

She said: “The party didn’t want to hand them over because they would have dropped Tommy in it.”

Ms Scott said she had not seen the minutes since late November 2004 when she had handed them in to the party.

However, she said there had been talk of changing minutes and she decided she wanted to get them back.

They were returned to her after she asked for them.

Ms Scott told the court: “I just thought I want to have them. I want to decide what I do with them because there was already talk in the party about whether or not to destroy minutes or change them.”

The court heard she was a witness in the earlier civil case and was cross-examined by Mr Sheridan.

She said: “He said I had fabricated the whole minutes after the fact as part of a conspiracy against him.”

Advocate depute Alex Prentice QC asked what she thought of the theory.

She replied: “It’s laughable and not true.”

It is alleged that Mr Sheridan made false statements as a witness in his defamation action against the News of the World on 21 July 2006.

He also denies another charge of attempting to persuade a witness to commit perjury shortly before the 23-day legal action got under way.

Mrs Sheridan denies making false statements on 31 July 2006, after being sworn in as a witness in the civil jury trial at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

The trial, before judge Lord Bracadale, is due to last between two and three months and is expected to become the longest perjury case in Scottish legal history.

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The man convicted of an attempted car bomb attack in New York’s Times Square is due to be sentenced at a court in Manhattan.

Faisal Shahzad faces a mandatory life sentence after pleading guilty in June to 10 weapons and terrorism charges.

Prosecutors say the Pakistani-born US citizen has not shown any remorse for his actions.

Explosives packed into the vehicle on 1 May failed to detonate and Shahzad was arrested two days later.