Category: news

Sweden’s economic recovery has helped boost the government’s popularity

Voters in Sweden are set to go to the polls, with the centre-right coalition expected to win re-election.

A far-right party is also tipped to win seats in parliament for the first time, on an anti-immigration ticket.

But analysts says a strong swing to the right could cost PM Fredrik Reinfeldt’s Alliance for Sweden its majority.

The government is riding high in opinion polls against the Social-Democrats and their allies, following tax cuts and a strong recovery.

Mr Reinfeldt has urged Swedes to vote tactically in Sunday’s election to keep out the far-right.

The prime minister said he did not want to speculate on how his Alliance for Sweden coalition would deal with the Sweden Democrats if they get into parliament.

Both main political blocs have said they would rather co-operate with each other than form a coalition with a party which they say is racist and xenophobic.

BBC regional reporter Damien McGuinness says the Sweden Democrats appear to have tapped into voter dissatisfaction over immigration.

Immigrants make up 14% of the country’s population of 9.4 million.

The largest immigrant group is from neighbouring Finland, followed by people from Iraq, the former Yugoslavia and Poland.

The centre-left Social Democrats have ruled Sweden for 65 of the past 78 years, and are credited with setting up the country’s generous welfare state.

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The Pope will beatify Cardinal Newman at an open-air service in Birmingham

The Pope will beatify 19th Century theologian Cardinal Newman in an open-air Mass on the final day of his four-day state visit to the UK.

The event, in Birmingham, will be the first beatification by the Pope himself.

After the Mass in Cofton Park, the Pope will meet men studying for the priesthood, before returning to Rome.

PM David Cameron will thank the Pope for challenging the UK to “sit up and think”.

Some 1,200 coaches will bring more than 60,000 people to the Mass, although the numbers expected are lower than the original estimates.

BBC correspondent James Robbins said John Henry Newman will be presented as a hero, a man of conscience and a model for Catholics to emulate – but he also predicted a tide of unbelief in British society.

His beatification sets him firmly on the road to sainthood, our correspondent added.

During the trip, Pope Benedict has spoken out about what he called the “marginalisation” of Christianity and the march of “aggressive secularism”.

But speaking in Birmingham, Mr Cameron will tell Benedict: “Faith is part of the fabric of our country.

“It always has been and it always will be.”

Mr Cameron will say that people did not have to share a faith to see the value of the “searching questions” that the Pope had posed about “society and how we treat ourselves and each other”.

“You have really challenged the whole country to sit up and think, and that can only be a good thing,” he will say.

“Because I believe we can all share in your message of working for the common good… and that we all have a social obligation to each other, to our families and our communities.”

The Pope will pay a visit the Catholic Seminary of Oscott, which struggles to find sufficient recruits to train as future priests.

And he will end his state visit with an address to the Bishops of England, Scotland and Wales, when he is expected to refer again to the abuse of children – an issue which has run through his trip to Britain.

Speaking on Saturday during a Mass at Westminster Cathedral, Pope Benedict expressed his “deep sorrow” for the “unspeakable crimes” of child abuse within the Catholic Church.

The pontiff also held a private 30-minute meeting at the Vatican ambassador’s home in Wimbledon with five abuse survivors, three of whom were from Yorkshire, one from London and another from Scotland.

The Pope then conducted a prayer vigil with thousands of people in Hyde Park.

The Pope asked the congregation to show concern for victims of child abuse

Other engagements on the third day of the first state visit by a pope included a meeting with Mr Cameron, his deputy Nick Clegg and acting Labour leader Harriet Harman. The former prime minister Tony Blair, a convert to Catholicism, attended the Mass at Westminster.

During Saturday afternoon a march and rally organised by Protest the Pope – an umbrella campaign group opposed to the Pope’s visit – took place in central London.

Meanwhile, six men who were being held in connection with an alleged threat to the Pope’s visit were released without charge.

Sources at Scotland Yard told the BBC that detectives who had interviewed the men believed there was “no credible threat” .

The street cleaners were arrested on Friday after being overheard in the works canteen apparently plotting an attack.

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At least two people are killed and one seriously injured in a shooting at a hospital in the south-western German town of Loerrach, reports say.

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Danny Alexander believes some trade unions are “spoiling for a fight” over planned cuts

The government does not want to pick a fight with the public sector as it cuts spending, a senior Lib Dem minister is to tell his party conference.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, will say he does not want to “take on” nurses, teachers and police over cuts, but “take them with us”.

Meanwhile, leader and deputy PM Nick Clegg has said he was impressed by the prime minister’s “flexibility”.

He told the Observer that decisions are taken jointly by him and David Cameron.

Amid concerns the party has been relegated to the role of junior partner in the coalition, Mr Clegg said of Mr Cameron: “He hasn’t been dogmatic. He hasn’t been doctrinaire.

“I think this government definitely has the capacity to be a great, great reforming government.”

He also told the newspaper he was wrong to call Mr Cameron a “fake” and a “con” during the election campaign.

The Lib Dems are meeting in Liverpool amid unease among some MPs and party members about their support for a £40bn reduction in public spending by 2015.

While the next few years will be “very tough”, Mr Alexander will say union opposition to budget cuts is wrong for the country.

Unions have pledged to resist what they say will be “savage” cutbacks.

As number two in the Treasury, Mr Alexander is responsible for negotiations with other ministers about the scale of departmental spending cuts due to be announced next month. Most departments have been asked to plan for cuts of between 25% and 40% over four years.

On the first full day of the Lib Dem conference, Mr Alexander will acknowledge concerns about the impact this will have on jobs and public services, but will make a plea to workers to recognise the need to take action to cut government borrowing to aid the recovery.

“I know that the next few years will be tough, very tough for some,” he will say.

“But I also believe that the changes we make – empowering you, trusting you, listening to you – will make the public services a more rewarding place to work.”

He will seek to counter the arguments of trade union leaders who vowed a co-ordinated campaign of industrial action last week and called for an alternative approach to support jobs.

“I know there are a minority in the trade unions who will deliberately misrepresent what this government stands for because they are spoiling for a fight,” he will add.

“Please don’t allow their political motivations to push you into doing the wrong thing for the country. We do not want to take you on. We want to take you with us.”

In a newspaper interview on Saturday, Mr Alexander hinted that cuts in welfare bills could be more far-reaching than already indicated.

Earlier this month, Chancellor George Osborne signalled he wanted to shave an extra £4bn from the welfare bill – on top of £11bn cuts made in June’s emergency Budget.

Telling the Scotsman that the coalition needed to look “searchingly” at welfare, Mr Alexander said a final figure had not been decided but it might not be limited to £4bn.

With spending cuts looming, Mr Clegg has acknowledged that the leadership could be in for a “rough ride” at the conference.

He told the Observer that the coalition can only work if his party accepts it is a full and willing participant that jointly “owns the government”.

The alternative, he said, was to operate in an atmosphere of “poison” as a competing faction “constantly trying to put little trophies on the mantelpiece to show we are winning victories”.

“In fact the truth is much more radical than that. All the big decisions are jointly taken by David Cameron and myself… that is why I didn’t want to have a department, why I am a hop and a skip from his office,” he told the Observer.

But Labour leadership contender Ed Miliband said Mr Clegg would be “punished” at the ballot box for aligning himself with the Conservatives.

“What the Lib Dems have supported in government bears little relation to what they promised before the election and no wonder people are feeling let down,” he said.

“Nick Clegg has taken the Lib Dems in a direction they may never recover from.”

An opinion poll published on Saturday suggested that more than half of people who voted Lib Dem at May’s election believed the party had “sold out” by joining a Conservative-led coalition.

According to a Sunday Mirror and Independent on Sunday poll, 40% of people who supported the Lib Dems would not have done so if they had known what the result would be.

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

The Script’s Danny O’Donoghue said their success has “humbled” them

Irish threesome The Script have entered the UK album chart at number one, repeating the success of their debut.

Their record Science and Faith beat a host of acts who released new albums this week, including Linkin Park, Robert Plant and Phil Collins.

The band’s 2008 self-titled album has sold two million copies worldwide, the Official Charts Company says.

Former X Factor winner Alexandra Burke secured a second week at number one with her single Start Without You.

The singer was followed by Taio Cruz, Katy Perry and The Script, who inched up one place to number four with For The First Time.

Their highest placing in the singles chart to date is with The Man Who Can’t Be Moved, which peaked at two in August 2008.

The only new entries inside the top 10 were from Usher at seven – a climber of seven places – and Impossible by Shontelle, straight in at number 10.

The Script’s leader singer Danny O’Donoghue said: “We believe soul is not just a genre of music it’s a human condition.

“We have put ours into this music and we are so humbled by the response this album has received.”

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Original handwritten manuscripts by Harry Potter author JK Rowling are going on display as part of a book festival in the south of Scotland.

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Genetic factors influence a woman’s risk of breast cancer

Women with a “high risk” breast cancer gene may find out more about their chances of developing the disease by having other parts of their DNA checked, say researchers.

Differences in a separate genetic “region” were found to raise or lower the risk for women with the BRCA1 gene.

In future, such results could help women decide on preventative treatment.

The DNA region, reports the journal Nature Genetics, could also have an impact on ovarian cancer risk.

Scientists have known for some time that certain genetic mutations are linked to a substantially higher risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer at some point in a woman’s lifetime.

Carrying a mutated BRCA1 gene, for example, means at least a 65% risk of breast cancer by the age of 70, and a 40% risk of ovarian cancer.

However, the remaining uncertainty can be damaging and distressing for women – some even elect to have their breasts or ovaries removed to reduce the chances of falling ill.

The latest find offers the prospect of “fine-tuning” genetic testing to offer a more personalised view of the likely risk.

Three groups of scientists at the University of Cambridge and University College London simultaneously published their research into DNA regions and cancer risk in the journal.

The first group searched the entire genetic code of 2,300 women with faulty BRCA1 genes. Some had developed breast cancer under the age of 40, and some were cancer-free.

They found a region of the 19th chromosome which, depending on its configuration, appeared to either slightly reduce or to increase the risk of developing cancer.

Dr Antonis Antoniou, who led this study, said: “We’ve found a DNA region that acts like a volume control – to turn up or turn down the risk of developing breast cancer from faults in the BRCA1 gene.

“Our discovery is the first step in a much larger study to identify genetic factors that modify breast cancer risk in women carrying BRCA1 mutations, and ultimately could help assess the risk for each woman and monitor for the disease.”

Only one in 20 breast cancer cases involve a faulty BRCA1 gene, but the researchers believe that the DNA region they’ve found may have wider significance.

They found some evidence that, for one form of breast cancer, the risk was raised and lowered by changes in the DNA region, even though the person did not have mutated BRCA1.

Another of the three studies found that the newly-identified region may play a role in ovarian cancer risk in women without the BRCA1 fault.

Scientists are hopeful that analysis of this DNA region and others yet to be identified will eventually offer the chance for a more accurate prediction of cancer risk for individual people.

Although the change in risk attributed to the single DNA region is modest, it is hoped that it can be combined with other regions to produce a clearer picture.

The third study revealed four other separate genetic regions which appeared to be linked with cancer risk in the general population.

Dr Lesley Walker, from Cancer Research UK, which part-funded the studies, said: “We’re dedicated to unravelling cancer risk so we can provide doctors with better tools to identify who is at risk and help select the best treatment.”

A spokesperson for Breakthrough Breast Cancer said the results were “very exciting”.

She said: “These findings show how another area of DNA can influence the BRCA1 gene and alter the risk of developing breast cancer.

“It adds another piece to the puzzle of understanding why some women are at higher risk of breast cancer.”

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A chimney in Halling is demolished in a controlled explosion, marking the end of 150 years of cement making at the site.

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Chelsea brush aside Blackpool to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to four points.

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A British man is being held at Schiphol airport on suspicion of being a terrorist

A British man of Somali origin has been arrested at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport on suspicion of being a terrorist, Dutch prosecutors say.

He had arrived from Liverpool en route to Entebbe in Uganda, they said.

A police spokesman said the man had been arrested before a flight took off from the airport, one of Europe’s busiest, on Sunday morning.

Two Yemenis arrested in Amsterdam on suspicion of planning a terror attack were released earlier this month.

Police were investigating whether the man arrested on Sunday had links to a foreign militant organisation, prosecutors said.

The tip-off to arrest the man came from the British authorities, a spokesman for the Dutch prosecutors’ office said.

Last week, the head of the UK’s domestic intelligence service MI5, Jonathan Evans, warned that the UK faced a continuing serious risk of a lethal terrorist attack taking place, with Somalia and Yemen being important concerns as a source of serious plots against the country.

Security review

In last month’s incident, two Yemeni men were arrested at Schiphol after flying in from Chicago.

The two were held for several days then released without charge, after an investigation found no evidence to link them to a terrorist plot.

At the beginning of this year, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab from Nigeria was charged with trying to blow up a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on 24 December 2009.

A device allegedly sewn into Mr Abdulmutallab’s underwear contained an explosive.

The case triggered a worldwide aviation security review.

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Spitfires and Hurricanes will form part of the Battle of Britain flypast

Senior members of the Royal Family will join RAF veterans for the annual commemoration of the Battle of Britain.

This year’s service at Westminster Abbey marks the 70th anniversary of the air campaign, which helped prevent a German invasion of Britain.

Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall and Prince William will attend the service before joining RAF veterans at a private reception.

There will then be a parade by serving members of the RAF, and a fly-past.

The Westminster Abbey service will be attended by veterans of the Battle of Britain and their families and members of the Ministry of Defence.

As well commemorating the achievements of those who fought in the 1940s, this year’s Battle of Britain service will celebrate the work of the men and women currently serving in the Royal Air Force.

The Prince of Wales is patron of the Battle of Britain Fighter Association, and his son, Prince William, has just graduated as an RAF helicopter pilot.

Other commemorations for the 70th anniversary have been held this year, including on 20 August to mark the date when then Prime Minister Winston Churchill spoke of the service personnel: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”.

The Battle of Britain began on 10 July 1940 and ended on 31 October when, despite the German advantage, the Luftwaffe were pushed back by the determination and preparedness of the RAF.

More than 2,900 British, Commonwealth and Allied aircrew took part.

Over 23,000 civilians were killed during the World War II battle, the first major one to be fought entirely in the air.

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Nick Clegg said the deficit could not be wished away

The government has not “relished” planning for spending cuts, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said.

But the Lib Dem leader, speaking at his party’s annual conference, argued there would be “nothing fair” about ignoring the budget deficit.

Mr Clegg also said it would be impossible to “build social justice on the sands of debt”.

The comments come ahead of October’s spending review, which will give details of the cuts faced by Whitehall.

Government departments have been told to prepare plans for making savings of between 25% and 40%.

The conference, in Liverpool, is opening amid reports of unrest among the Lib Dem rank and file over the coalition’s programme.

The Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, promised in a speech earlier to do more to tackle “morally indefensible” tax evasion, as part of efforts to balance the books.

In a question-and-answer session with party activists, Mr Clegg said the deficit had been created by the last government and “You and I can’t wish it away.

“You cannot build social justice on the sands of debt. It can’t be done.”

Party member Jill Hope told Mr Clegg the Lib Dems were “being blamed for some of the cuts while the Conservatives are being praised for policies we brought to the coalition”.

He responded that there were “totally understandable growing pains” over being in government.

Mr Clegg added: “I think it’s very clear, whether it’s our influence on stepping up aid and our commitment to the developing world, whether it’s our commitment to political reform, ending child detention, whether it’s our commitment to pensioners or the child tax credit, to getting people out of paying income tax altogether, I think our mark is very, very clear to see.

“What I think is taking some time is for the way that coalition politics is portrayed to catch up with the reality of coalition politics.”

The government says there is an urgent need to tackle the budget deficit, which was £155bn last year, but Labour says it is doing so too quickly, potentially damaging frontline services and the economic recovery.

Former Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy also questioned the cuts programme, telling BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show: “I do think that you have to scale back the extent of the public sector as a liberal principle, as a matter of fact.

“But the extent to which you accelerate that against the backdrop of do you have a double-dip recession or do you not, that remains to be seen. That’s a very legitimate argument to be had.”

The Lib Dem conference continues until Wednesday.

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Cork produce a second-half comeback to edge out Down by a single point in a thrilling All-Ireland Football Final at Croke Park.

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The oil leak has been the worst offshore spill in US history

The ruptured well that has spewed millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico has finally been sealed, US officials say.

Oil giant BP fired a final cement plug into the well on Sunday to permanently kill the leak.

The spill began after the Deepwater Horizon rig blew up on 20 April, killing 11 workers and later sinking.

A cap sealed the flow on 15 July, stemming what has been the worst offshore oil spill in US history.

The top US federal official overseeing the disaster, Coast Guard Adm Thad Allen, said the well was “effectively dead”.

“Additional regulatory steps will be undertaken but we can now state definitively that the Macondo Well poses no continuing threat to the Gulf of Mexico,” Adm Allen said.

A pressure test on cement that had been fired in on Friday and hardened on Saturday confirmed that the plug was holding.

The disaster has brought an environmental nightmare to hundreds of miles of US coast. It led to the resignation of BP chief executive Tony Hayward and the imposition of a moratorium on deepwater offshore drilling.

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Bobby Moffett was shot dead by two gunmen in May

The Justice Minister David Ford has denied that the police have turned a ‘blind eye’ to the killers of Bobby Moffett.

On Wednesday, the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) found that Mr Moffett’s murder on the Shankill Road in May was sanctioned by the leadership of the UVF.

The report said UVF bosses could have prevented the killing but did not.

No-one has been charged with his murder.

Some people from the Shankill Road claim the police in the area have turned a blind eye to Mr Moffett’s killers but Mr Ford denied this was the case.

“I don’t think there’s any question of the police turning a blind eye, as I understand it, the police are investigating the murder of Bobby Moffett as they investigate all serious crimes.

“I think the issue is, what is the UVF leadership up to?

“We’ve seen that the IMC has not yet recommended specifications by the Secretary of State of the UVF but it is absolutely clear the UVF now has to show that it is on the path that it claims to be on,” he added.

In their report, the Independent Monitoring Commission called Bobby Moffett’s murder a public execution.

They said it was ordered by UVF leaders who thought he had flouted their authority.

While the IMC report blamed the UVF, it did not recommend any sanction.

Instead they expressed the hope that the murder would be a one-off incident.

The DUP MP, Ian Paisley said Mr Moffett’s killing had caused revulsion in the wider community.

“Most people are aghast that a man can be murdered in broad daylight on the streets of Belfast and no witnesses, no-one is brought to book for that.”

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