Category: news

Officials praise Afghan voters who defied Taliban threats to turn out to vote in a key parliamentary election.

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Pope Benedict XVI has expressed his “deep sorrow” for the “unspeakable crimes” of child abuse within the Catholic Church.

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Mauritania has launched a military operation against militants linked to al-Qaeda along the border with Mali, officials in the two countries say.

Some unconfirmed reports say the fighting has moved across the border into Mali itself.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has been behind numerous attacks in north-west Africa.

France believes the group is behind the kidnapping of seven people, including five French citizens, in Niger.

Initial reports quoted Mauritanian security sources saying the clashes were taking place near the border with Mali’s Timbuktu region.

A Malian security source was later quoted by AFP as saying fighting was taking place in Mali, at Hassissidi, about 100km (60 miles) north of Timbuktu, but this could not be confirmed.

AQIM emerged in 2007 after an Algerian militant group aligned itself with Osama Bin Laden’s international terror network.

It has carried out suicide attacks and ambushes in Algeria, and in recent years become more active in the Sahara, where governments struggle to impose their authority.

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Security for the Pope has been tight during his state visit to Britain

Police sources say officers think there was “no credible threat” to the Pope after six arrested men were questioned.

Searches have finished without the discovery of anything significant.

The Metropolitan Police has refused to confirm reports that the men were joking, saying they had to investigate what might have been a genuine threat.

The six – who work as street cleaners in Westminster – were arrested after they were overheard in the works canteen apparently plotting an attack.

They are employed by Veolia Environment Services, a cleaning company contracted by Westminster Council.

At least five of the men are not British nationals. Most are thought to be Algerian.

The men, aged between 26 and 50, were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism on Friday.

Threat level

Armed officers arrested the first five men at the company’s Chiltern Street depot in west London as they were preparing to go on shift. A sixth man was later taken into custody.

In the statement, the Metropolitan Police said policing arrangements for the papal visit were reviewed following the arrests, and that police were satisfied that the current policing plan for the Pope’s visit remained appropriate.

“The itinerary has not changed. There is no change to the UK threat level,” the statement added.

The current official threat level in the UK is “severe”, which means that security chiefs believe a terror attack is “highly likely”.

In all, the policing bill for the visit is expected to top £1m.

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Pope Benedict will meet several politicians before heading to Westminster Cathedral

Pope Benedict is to meet the prime minister and senior politicians on the third day of his four-day state visit.

As well as seeing David Cameron, the Pope will meet Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and acting Labour leader Harriet Harman.

He will then celebrate Mass at Westminster Cathedral before visiting a home for older people in south London.

The day ends with a prayer vigil in Hyde Park. Opponents of the visit are to march and rally in central London.

During the Mass at Westminster, the Pope will send a message of greeting to the people of Wales, as he is unable to visit them “because of the pressures of time” according to a spokesman.

Afterwards he will greet an invited crowd of 2,500 young people in the Cathedral Piazza outside, who will include a representative from every parish in England and Wales, a contingent from Scotland, and a number of volunteers from Catholic youth organisations.

About 80,000 people are expected to attend the open-air vigil in London’s Hyde Park later.

But there will also be a march on Saturday afternoon organised by the Protest the Pope – and umbrella group opposed to the Pope’s visit – from Hyde Park Corner to Downing Street, where a rally will be held.

On Friday, in his keynote speech to MPs, senior members of British society and religious leaders at Westminster Hall, the Pope warned that religion – and Christianity in particular – is “being marginalised” around the world.

Pope Benedict XVI warned that there were some people who wanted to see “the voice of religion be silenced”.

He returned to the subject in a service at Westminster Abbey, asking Christians to speak out about their faith.

In his speech at Westminster Hall, the Pope called on those in attendance to seek ways to promote faith “at every level of national life”.

He added: “I cannot but voice my concern at the increasing marginalisation of religion, particularly of Christianity, that is taking place in some quarters, even in nations which place a great emphasis on tolerance.

The Pope says that religion is ‘marginalised’ during his speech in Westminster Hall

“There are those who would advocate that the voice of religion be silenced, or at least relegated to the purely private sphere.”

He also expressed concern over arguments that the public celebration of festivals such as Christmas should be discouraged, in the belief it may offend those “of other religions or none”.

Earlier on Friday, the Pope met Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams at Lambeth Palace – a meeting attended by Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops from different parts of the UK.

The Lambeth Palace meeting marked the first time a Pope has met the archbishop at his official residence.

It was viewed as an important event more than 40 years after official talks began about possible reunification of the two churches.

Divisions remain over Roman Catholic opposition to the ordination of women priests, while the Church of England’s General Synod left the way open for appointing women bishops at its meeting in July.

The Vatican angered many supporters of women’s ordination by describing it as a “grave crime” to be dealt with in the same process as sex abuse, though it denied it was equating the two.

Dr Williams said in his opening remarks that the Pope was “most welcome” at Lambeth Palace.

He then praised the pontiff’s “consistent and penetrating analysis of the state of European society”.

Meanwhile, six men remain in custody as counter-terrorism detectives investigate an alleged threat to Pope Benedict XVI’s visit.

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Pope Benedict will meet several politicians before heading to Westminster Cathedral

Pope Benedict is to meet the prime minister and senior politicians on the third day of his four-day state visit.

As well as seeing David Cameron, the Pope will meet Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and acting Labour leader Harriet Harman.

He will then celebrate Mass at Westminster Cathedral before visiting a home for older people in south London.

The day ends with a prayer vigil in Hyde Park. Opponents of the visit are to march and rally in central London.

During the Mass at Westminster, the Pope will send a message of greeting to the people of Wales, as he is unable to visit them “because of the pressures of time” according to a spokesman.

Afterwards he will greet an invited crowd of 2,500 young people in the Cathedral Piazza outside, who will include a representative from every parish in England and Wales, a contingent from Scotland, and a number of volunteers from Catholic youth organisations.

About 80,000 people are expected to attend the open-air vigil in London’s Hyde Park later.

But there will also be a march on Saturday afternoon organised by the Protest the Pope – and umbrella group opposed to the Pope’s visit – from Hyde Park Corner to Downing Street, where a rally will be held.

On Friday, in his keynote speech to MPs, senior members of British society and religious leaders at Westminster Hall, the Pope warned that religion – and Christianity in particular – is “being marginalised” around the world.

Pope Benedict XVI warned that there were some people who wanted to see “the voice of religion be silenced”.

He returned to the subject in a service at Westminster Abbey, asking Christians to speak out about their faith.

In his speech at Westminster Hall, the Pope called on those in attendance to seek ways to promote faith “at every level of national life”.

He added: “I cannot but voice my concern at the increasing marginalisation of religion, particularly of Christianity, that is taking place in some quarters, even in nations which place a great emphasis on tolerance.

The Pope says that religion is ‘marginalised’ during his speech in Westminster Hall

“There are those who would advocate that the voice of religion be silenced, or at least relegated to the purely private sphere.”

He also expressed concern over arguments that the public celebration of festivals such as Christmas should be discouraged, in the belief it may offend those “of other religions or none”.

Earlier on Friday, the Pope met Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams at Lambeth Palace – a meeting attended by Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops from different parts of the UK.

The Lambeth Palace meeting marked the first time a Pope has met the archbishop at his official residence.

It was viewed as an important event more than 40 years after official talks began about possible reunification of the two churches.

Divisions remain over Roman Catholic opposition to the ordination of women priests, while the Church of England’s General Synod left the way open for appointing women bishops at its meeting in July.

The Vatican angered many supporters of women’s ordination by describing it as a “grave crime” to be dealt with in the same process as sex abuse, though it denied it was equating the two.

Dr Williams said in his opening remarks that the Pope was “most welcome” at Lambeth Palace.

He then praised the pontiff’s “consistent and penetrating analysis of the state of European society”.

Meanwhile, six men remain in custody as counter-terrorism detectives investigate an alleged threat to Pope Benedict XVI’s visit.

Send your pictures and videos to [email protected] or text them to 61124 (UK) or 0044 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions

At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws. In most cases a selection of your comments will be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below. If you wish to remain anonymous, please say so in the box.

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

A child has died in a fire at a south east London flat in which four other people were rescued.

Fire crews pulled the family of five, who had been unconscious, from the two-bedroom first-floor flat in Arnould Avenue, Camberwell, at about 0440 BST.

The five people were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation but a child later died. Their age is not yet known.

Emergency crews said the flat was completely destroyed in the blaze.

A London Ambulance Service spokesman said all five people were taken to hospital in a “serious condition”.

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Protesters are gathering outside the Echo Arena in Liverpool ahead of the Liberal Democrat’s annual conference.

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A body found in the River Usk at Newport is named as a missing father-of-four aged 31 who was last seen a week ago.

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Mike Bushell takes a look at racing with electric cars.

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United States skipper Corey Pavin believes his team will be the underdogs against Europe in next month’s Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor.

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Security has been stepped up across the country ahead of the poll

Voters in Afghanistan are due to cast their ballots in key parliamentary elections, despite fears of violence and threats from Taliban militants.

More than 2,500 candidates are vying for 249 seats in the lower house of parliament, the Wolesi Jirga.

Some 280,000 soldiers and police are being deployed around the country.

The poll is seen as a test of credibility for Mr Karzai after last year’s presidential elections, which were marred by widespread fraud.

Mr Karzai – under strong diplomatic pressure – eventually accepted that irregularities had occurred but his main rival, Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew from a run-off saying the vote could not be free or fair.

Washington is watching Saturday’s poll closely, as US President Barack Obama prepares a war strategy review in December that is expected to consider the scale of plans to start withdrawing American troops from next year.

Nearly 6,000 polling stations in 34 provinces are due to open at 0700 local time (0230 GMT) and will close at 1600 local time (1130 GMT). But about 1,000 will not open because of security fears.

AFGHAN ELECTIONS

Date of voting: 18 SeptemberNumber of eligible voters: about 10.5 millionNumber of seats: 249Total number of candidates: 2,514, including 406 womenTotal number of polling centres: 6,835Polling centres closed because of security concerns: 1,019Estimated cost: $150m (£95.5m), paid by international partnersQ&A: Afghan elections

There are more than 10 million registered voters, but the UN says a turnout of five to seven million would be a success, given the difficulty of holding a poll in the middle of a war.

Afghan soldiers and army will be guarding the polls, backed up by nearly 150,000 foreign troops.

Ahead of the vote, President Karzai urged Afghans to cast their ballots, despite threats from the Taliban to attack voters and election officials.

“Tomorrow’s election is very important. I hope all our people in all corners of the country, in any village will go to the polling centres and to vote for their favourite candidate,” Mr Karzai told reporters on Friday.

The Taliban have warned voters to boycott the poll and “stick to jihad”.

In what correspondents say is a thinly veiled threat, the insurgents have said in a statement that they have “already chalked out certain measures… to frustrate this American process and will implement them on the day when the illegitimate process of elections is conducted”.

The Taliban has already claimed responsibility for kidnapping two parliamentary candidates and 18 poll officials and campaign workers in separate incidents in the run-up to the elections.

Another major concern for Afghan election officials and international observers is that the polls will not be free or fair.

Mr Karzai on Friday admitted that “under the circumstances we must expect that there’ll be irregularities, there’ll be problems and there’ll be allegations as well”.

The UN special envoy to Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura, also acknowledged earlier this week that the elections “will not be perfect”.

On Tuesday, officials from Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission (IEC) said 3,000 forged voter registration cards had been confiscated in the central province on Ghazni.

However, IEC officials stressed that they had taken a number of measures – including the usage of an indelible ink to avoid double voting – to prevent fraud.

Preliminary results are to be announced on 22 September, with the final results due on 31 October.

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The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Pope held a Celebration of Evening Prayer at Westminster Abbey

A Northern Ireland-born MP, whose London constituency hosts the Pope on Saturday, has said she hopes he talks directly about modern society.

Kate Hoey, the MP for Vauxhall, said many people feel there have been “enormous changes to our country and the way it works”.

“I hope he talks about the state of our society generally.

“I hope he doesn’t just talk in a more abstract sort of motherhood and apple pie way,” she said.

“I’m sure he won’t. So far he’s been very direct and I hope he will be direct and say something that we’re going to want to be discussing after he’s said it.”

The Pope will visit the Little Sisters of the Poor care home in the area on Saturday.

“I think he’s really wanting to meet residents and have a slightly different type of visit than he’s had doing some of the other things during the last three days,” Ms Hoey said.

The Pope held talks with David Cameron and senior politicians on Saturday morning.

Organisers of the Pope’s visit say his itinerary will remain unchanged despite the arrest of six men on suspicion of plotting an attack. The men are employed as street cleaners in London.

The second day of the Pope’s visit to Britain on Friday ended with a speech to an audience including four former prime ministers at Westminster Hall.

Pope Benedict passionately defended the role of religion in public life, saying that Christianity, in particular, was being marginalised.

“I cannot but voice my concern at the increasing marginalisation of religion, particularly of Christianity, that is taking place in some quarters, even in nations which place a great emphasis on tolerance.

“There are those who would advocate that the voice of religion be silenced, or at least relegated to the purely private sphere,” he said.

“There are those who argue that the public celebration of festivals such as Christmas should be discouraged, in the questionable belief that it might somehow offend those of other religions or none.”

SDLP South Belfast MP Alisdair McDonnell, who was there, said there was a great sense of reconciliation at the event.

“It was 475 years ago that Sir Thomas More, the speaker of the House of Commons, was tried there and executed for his religious convictions.

“Those ghosts were all around the place and there have been long periods of suspicion, distrust and hostility that were very destructive,” he said

“I had the sense that those ghosts were being laid to rest today and there was a great sense of history being made.”

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Mr Armstrong went missing on his way to Mass in 1981

The funeral takes place on Saturday of Crossmaglen man Charlie Armstrong, one of the so-called Disappeared.

Mr Armstrong, 57, is believed to have been abducted, murdered and secretly buried by the IRA, nearly 30 years ago.

His remains were found at the end of July in County Monaghan near the border with Northern Ireland.

This week the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains confirmed the remains were his after DNA testing was carried out.

Mr Armstong went missing on his way to mass in south Armagh in 1981.

In a statement earlier this week, the Armstrong family expressed their thanks to those who helped locate his body and said they now needed time to grieve.

Sixteen people were murdered by republican paramilitaries and secretly buried in isolated parts of Ireland during the troubles.

Seven bodies of the Disappeared have been recovered.

The commission set up to find the remains was established in 1999.

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Card payments will be available at the Severn tolls – but it will be quicker to pay with cash say officials

Ryder Cup visitors using the Severn tolls to get to Newport are being told it will be quicker to cross if they pay by cash.

Credit and debit card options are being installed in time for the event, with the cup’s practice days just over a week away.

The machines being used will be hand-held chip-and-pin devices, so motorists are being advised to pay in cash.

Officials are also urging visitors to give themselves plenty of travel time.

The Highways Agency is warning that major routes into Wales will see “significant” increases in traffic.

The busiest routes will be the M5 southbound and the M4 westbound, especially at the Severn Crossings.

The agency said it expected to see routes “very busy” from 0500 to 1000 BST right from the start of the opening week of practice starting from Monday 27 September, through to the end of the cup competition on 3 October.

“We would advise all people travelling into Wales while the event is ongoing to plan their journeys,” said Graham Bowskill, Highways Agency Regional.

“We know that it will increase people’s enjoyment of this popular event if they are able to make their way to and from it with minimal delays.”

One of the biggest concerns had been whether credit and debit card payments would be available for those paying tolls on the two Severn bridges on the M4 motorway.

It has been confirmed that the option will be available, however, it will be a temporary measure using hand-held chip-and-pin devices.

“The card payment system is being introduced in recognition of the large number of people from around the world who will be using the crossing for this event,” said Norman Baker, the UK government transport minister.

“However, as this will require road users to enter their pin number into a hand-held device, we strongly encourage crossing users to pay with cash for the quickest transit.

“I am grateful to the staff of the Highways Agency who have worked hard to ensure this card system is in place for the Ryder Cup.”

The minister said a permanent swipe card system is expected to be in place early next year.

Variable speed

Other concerns about transport arrangements around Newport involving barrier work on the M4 are also being addressed.

Motorists have been forced to divert off the M4 around the city at certain times while central safety fence work and widening improvements have been taking place on a stretch from Tredegar Park to Coldra.

Work is also being carried out on variable speed warning systems.

But the assembly government said all the road work restrictions will be lifted for the duration of the the Ryder Cup event, and the speed system work will have been completed.

However, a 50mph speed restriction in the area will remain enforce until later in the year when all the safety work is completed.

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