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A British soldier has been killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence says.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Disruption is expected on the Tube network until Tuesday evening because of the walkouts
The first in a series of Tube strikes begins later, with services expected to be disrupted until Tuesday night.
Up to 200 Jubilee and Northern Line maintenance staff will walk out for 24 hours from 1900 BST in a pay row.
Thousands of their colleagues across the network will stage a separate 24-hour strike at 1700 BST on Monday, with drivers, signallers and station staff walking out at 2100 BST.
They are unhappy about plans to scrap 800 jobs in Underground ticket offices.
The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) unions are fighting the prospect of having fewer employees at stations, saying security could be compromised for passengers.
But London Underground has insisted all stations will still be staffed and has pledged there will be no compulsory redundancies.
An extra 100 buses will be put into service on Monday and Tuesday, and there will be room for 10,000 more journeys on riverboat services on the Thames.
Certain taxi ranks will be marshalled and escorted bike rides will be provided for commuters using alternative methods of transport.
Mayor Boris Johnson said: “Londoners are a hardy bunch and I am sure a Tube strike will not deter us from getting around.
“I have asked Transport for London to pull out all the stops, but we must be clear that the RMT and TSSA plan to inconvenience Londoners for no good reason.”
But RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said: “Instead of meaningless PR gimmicks from the mayor he should start telling his officials to take this dispute seriously and he should also start putting Tube safety before the dash to slash budgets.
“He should get a grip on the lethal consequences that his officials’ Tube cuts will have for both staff and the travelling public.”
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Seven children in County Armagh have been infected with E. coli O157, the Public Health Agency has confirmed.
It is understood none of them are seriously ill. They all attend the same day nursery in the Lurgan area.
As a precaution the nursery school they are attending is closing temporarily until the source of the infection is identified.
Dr Neil Irvine from the Public Health Agency said, “All appropriate infection control measures are being taken.
“The nursery is co-operating fully with the PHA.”
Parents of children who attend the nursery have been contacted to advise them of the situation and what they should do. Parents are encouraged to contact their GP if their child develops diarrhoea.
“Locally, it is a surprise that an outbreak of E coli has taken place,” said SDLP councillor for the area, Mary McAlinden.
“I think it would be everybody’s priority to get to the bottom of what has happened.”
Symptoms normally develop after ingesting contaminated foods or liquids or having been in contact with infected animals.
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It is not clear on whether the ceasefire is permanent or temporary Armed Basque separatist group Eta says it will not “carry out armed actions” in its campaign for independence.
In a video obtained exclusively by the BBC, the group said it took the decision several months ago “to put in motion a democratic process”.
The Spanish government has not responded. In the past it has said it will only negotiate with Eta if it renounces violence and disarms.
Eta’s violent campaign has led to more than 820 deaths over the past 40 years.
It has called two ceasefires in the past, but abandoned them both.
It is unclear whether Eta is declaring a permanent or temporary ceasefire.
In the video obtained by the BBC, three hooded Eta fighters are shown sitting behind a desk with the Eta flag pinned up behind them.
The figure in the middle reads out a prepared statement defending Eta’s campaign of violence, but towards the end she says the group now wants to achieve its aims by peaceful, democratic means.
“Eta confirms its commitment to finding a democratic solution to the conflict,” the statement says.
“In its commitment to a democratic process to decide freely and democratically our future, through dialogue and negotiations, Eta is prepared today as yesterday to agree to the minimum democratic conditions necessary to put in motion a democratic process, if the Spanish government is willing,” it adds.
“We call on all Basque citizens to continue in the struggle, each in their own field, with whatever degree of commitment they have, so that we can all cast down the wall of denial and make irreversible moves forward on the road to freedom.”
Founded in 1959, Eta has since then waged a bloody campaign for independence for the seven regions in northern Spain and south-west France that Basque separatists claim as their own.
The video comes as Eta has been under pressure, says the BBC’s Sarah Rainsford in Madrid, with leading members of the group arrested, and growing calls from Basque political parties to declare a ceasefire.
This latest ceasefire declaration could mark the beginning of the end of four decades of conflict or just another pause in the violence, our correspondent says.
Controversial peace talks in 2006 collapsed after an Eta bomb killed two people at Madrid airport.
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Mr Gove said his school reform plans were progressing well despite criticism Education Secretary Michael Gove has said 16 so-called “free schools” will be set up over the next year – “well in excess” of the numbers he hoped for.
Mr Gove told the BBC he was “excited” by the interest in the government’s flagship schools reform programme.
Critics say demand for free schools, state funded institutions outside local authority control, is underwhelming.
Mr Gove also said he wanted a “English baccalaureate” enabling pupils to study a wider range of subjects.
The idea of a new diploma for 14-16 year olds will form part of an education white paper this autumn, Mr Gove said, focused on giving children a broader education and a “core body of knowledge”.
He told BBC One’s Andrew Marr show school standards in England had “fallen behind” those in other countries and introducing a baccalaureate – featuring a minimum of five subjects – was one of way of raising them.
Mr Gove said he was pleased with progress in the government’s two leading school reform policies – the expansion of Labour’s academy programme and the setting up of new, more autonomous, schools in the state sector.
Legislation to allow parents, charities and businesses to set up new schools – based on systems in the US and Sweden – was passed before the summer recess although Labour MPs said the proposals were “rushed through” and several Lib Dem MPs expressed misgivings about its impact on existing schools.
As part of the “first wave” of the free schools programme, the education secretary said he expected 16 new schools to open by September 2011.
“We need to look forward at other countries doing better than us and say what can we learn from them”
Michael Gove Education Secretary
He denied this was a disappointing number given more than 700 groups had initially expressed interest in the idea and about 100 had actually applied.
“I have been excited and flattered by the extent of interest and enthusiasm shown by these inspirational people,” he said of the applicants. “It is well in excess of my hopes”.
Many of those interested in the scheme were teachers at existing schools in deprived areas who wanted to transform educational standards, he said.
While it normally took between three to five years to set up a new school, the government was committed to “hacking through the bureaucracy” to ensure “high quality” schools could open their doors in a year’s time.
Critics claim niche schools will spring up in wealthy areas and, at a time when schools budgets are likely to come under severe pressure, drain resources from existing schools.
Mr Gove also said the academy programme was set to double in size this year, covering up to 140 schools, as part of his goal of getting “more and more schools taking advantage of a greater amount of autonomy”.
The education secretary also hinted at a new academic qualification for 14-16 year olds, saying he favoured a new diploma or English baccalaureate based on the French model.
Although pupils would be free to choose what they wanted to study at GCSE level they would get “recognition” if they chose a language, a science and a humanities discipline, like history or music, in addition to English and maths.
“We encourage people to follow the courses that stimulate them but broaden the mind. If you get five GCSE passes in each of those areas, I think you should be entitled to special recognition.”
A baccalaureate system would “signal” pupils have a “broad, rounded” education, he said.
“People’s options are narrowed too early. We need to learn from other countries. We need to look forward at other countries doing better than us and say what can we learn from them.”
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Armed police have been stationed outside the bank Armed police in pick-up trucks have been stationed outside the main branch of Kabul Bank as customers continue to withdraw money amid fears the Afghan bank may collapse.
Barbed wire has also been placed across the road to hold back the crowds.
The run on the bank began earlier this week after allegations of corruption and mismanagement, although officials have maintained the bank will not fail.
Meanwhile the US Treasury has denied it is preparing to bail out the bank.
“While we are providing technical assistance to the Afghan government, no American taxpayer funds will be used to support Kabul Bank,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin said.
The BBC’s Mark Dummett said that queues started forming outside the main branch before dawn.
Customers have been told that the branch is the only one that holds US dollars but they can only withdraw a maximum of $10,000.
“I am withdrawing my money because I am taking a trip and I also believe my money will not be safe in this bank,” said 26-year-old Waheed Shirzoi.
The governor of the Central Bank, Abdul Qadir Fitrat, told the BBC the queues were only slightly bigger than normal. Most people wanted to withdraw their salaries or take out money to pay for presents before the Eid festival, he said.
Kabul Bank, Afghanistan’s largest commercial bank, is reported to have run up huge debts that it cannot afford to pay.
Last week, newspaper reports said the bank’s two top executives – chairman Sherkhan Farnood and chief executive Khalilullah Ferozi, who each own 28% of the bank’s shares – had been replaced and Mr Farnood ordered to surrender $160m worth of property purchased in Dubai.
However, Mr Fitrat has said the men resigned voluntarily as new regulations did not permit shareholders to hold executive positions.
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How can Italy best commercialise its world-famous Colosseum?
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The family of a father and son killed in a motorbike crash say the tragedy will leave a huge hole in their lives.
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An eyewitness commended the pilot of the aircraft which managed to land The pilot of a badly-damaged plane has been praised for avoiding a village and landing safely, after a mid-air collision in which two people died.
The two planes collided as 19 aircraft took part in the Schneider Trophy races from Bembridge Airport, Isle of Wight, on Saturday.
One crashed in remote woodlands, killing both occupants. The other plane landed at the airfield.
Race organiser Tim Wassell said the two people killed were father and son.
Their bodies are to be recovered later, as investigations are carried out.
Experts from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch will sift through the wreckage to find clues to the cause of the collision.
An eyewitness, who did not want to be named, commended the pilot of the plane which managed to land.
“It was a remarkable piece of flying. He managed to belly land under control instead of coming down on Havenstreet village, a matter of only seconds at that speed.”
Police protected the scene overnight before investigators arrived Race organiser Mr Wassell, chairman of the Royal Aero Club Racing and Rally Association, organisers of the Schneider Trophy, said the crash happened at the end of the Merlin Trophy race, a precursor to Sunday’s main Schneider Trophy, which has now been cancelled.
He told BBC News the planes were in a “handicapped air race” in which participants can overtake each other.
He added: “We’ve lost two friends and colleagues and everyone is feeling very shocked and numb.
“The occurrence [collision] happened shortly before the race was due to finish.”
Officers said they were working to identify the victims.
Insp Paul Saville urged anyone who has recovered parts of the aircraft, which may be spread over a wide area, to take them to Newport police station.
The two occupants of the second aircraft were taken to hospital and later released.
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Pakistan High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan says the three cricketers accused of spot-fixing should receive life bans from cricket if found guilty.
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Two men and two women are due in court following a series of raids on suspected brothels in Belfast in a UK-wide operation.
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The Archbishop of Westminster, the Most Rev Vincent Nichols: “The Pope comes as the spiritual leader of one in five of all the people on this planet, so this is not a minor figure”
The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales has said it is right that UK taxpayers should help pay for the Pope’s trip to Britain.
Critics are angry that up to £12m is to come from the public purse.
But Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols told the BBC it would be a “sad day” when the UK “closes its doors and says we can’t afford state visits”.
He also hinted the Pope may meet victims of the Catholic abuse scandal during this month’s four-day visit.
Pope Benedict XVI will arrive in Scotland on 16 September for first papal visit since Pope John Paul II in 1982.
This trip, which will also include events in London and Birmingham, will be the first ever official state visit to Britain by a serving Pontiff.
“The pattern of his last five or six visits has been that he has met victims of abuse”
Vincent Nichols Archbishop of WestminsterSend us your comments
An online poll of 2,005 people, published this week, found 79% had “no personal interest” in the visit.
The survey, by think tank Theos, also found 77% thought taxpayers should not help pay for it.
But Archbishop Nichols told the BBC’s Andrew Marr programme it was right the taxpayer and the Church shared the bill because the Pope was coming at the invitation of the government.
“It is a state visit, and the day that this country closes its doors and says we can’t afford state visits is a very sad day because it would be a real gesture of isolationism,” he said.
“And I think we should remember that the Pope comes as the spiritual leader of one in five of all the people on this planet, so this is not a minor figure, as it were.
“This is the leader of probably the oldest international institution, that serves humanity in a tremendous way right around the globe.”
Asked whether the Pope would meet victims of abuse, Archbishop Nichols said: “The pattern of his last five or six visits has been that he has met victims of abuse.
“But the rules are very clear – that is done without any pre-announcement, it is done in private and it is done confidentially, which is quite right and proper. So I think we have to wait and see.”
Pope Benedict will be welcomed by the Queen when he arrives in Edinburgh on 16 September He said he did not think the abuse scandal would “overshadow everything else about this visit”, adding: “This is an issue we have to take seriously, but it’s not the whole story.”
Earlier this week, an aide to Archbishop Nichols, Edmund Adamus, told Catholic news agency Zenit that Britain had become a “selfish, hedonistic wasteland”.
But the Archbishop said he disagreed with that assessment.
“I think our society is characterised as much by generosity and genuine concern of one for another, and I think religious faith is taken quite seriously by probably a majority of people in this country.”
He said he accepted there would be protests during the Pope’s visit, but added: “I’m sure it will be done in a proper manner. After all, this country has a great tradition of hospitality towards its guests and this is a very important guest.”
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Andy Coulson told MPs last year that he did not “use or condone” phone tapping Allegations surrounding No 10 aide Andy Coulson and phone hacking at the News of the World are being “recycled”, a senior Cabinet minister has said.
Michael Gove said the police decided “there was no case to answer” over claims public figures had their phones tapped while Mr Coulson was editor.
Three leading Labour figures have urged further action on the issue but Mr Gove said this was politically driven.
Mr Coulson has said he never “used or condoned” phone hacking while editor.
Mr Coulson – who is David Cameron’s director of communications – has received strong backing from No 10 which says he “totally and utterly” rejects claims he was aware of any wrongdoing.
Mr Coulson came under fresh pressure last week after former journalists told the New York Times that the practice of phone hacking was far more extensive than the newspaper acknowledged at the time and one ex-reporter said he had been personally told by Mr Coulson to intercept phone messages.
But Mr Gove told the Andrew Marr programme “there seems to be a recycling of allegations we have heard before.”
He added that this seemed to be a product of newspaper “circulation wars” in the US.
Labour leadership contender Ed Balls has said home secretary Theresa May must assure MPs that the allegations would be properly investigated, arguing that Mr Coulson’s role at the heart of No 10 meant that the government’s “integrity” was under question.
Former Labour minister Tessa Jowell, who says her phone was hacked 28 times, and former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott, who also believes he was targeted, have also called for action.
The News of the World’s royal editor, Clive Goodman, was jailed for conspiracy to access phone messages in 2007, but the paper insists it was an isolated case.
In 2009, the Metropolitan Police chose not to launch an investigation into claims that News of the World journalists were involved in widespread phone hacking of several thousand celebrities, sports stars and politicians.
As well as the police investigation, Mr Gove said a House of Commons committee had found no evidence last year that Mr Coulson either authorised or was aware of any illegal activity by reporters in his time as editor.
He said it was often “overlooked” that Mr Coulson, by resigning as editor in 2007, had taken responsibility for what had happened over the Goodman case even though there “was no evidence he knew what was going on”.
Calls for fresh inquiries were all being made by Labour politicians, he stressed.
“There is an element of the party political about it,” he said.
The News of the World has said the latest allegations were “unsubstantiated” and the claims of “disgruntled” former employees should be treated with “extreme scepticism”.
The newspaper said it rejected absolutely suggestions “of a widespread culture of wrongdoing”.
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A woman is discharged from hospital after two riders fell from horses on a beach on the Llyn peninsula in Gwynedd.
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The Hubble space telescope returns to view one of its favourite subjects – a giant stellar explosion first seen from Earth in 1987.
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