Freelance Projects, Design and Programming Tutorials
World number two Novak Djokovic dispatches South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 6-3 6-4 6-2 to make the third round at Wimbledon.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
William Hague praised “progress” in parts of Afghanistan Foreign Secretary William Hague says the UK will work with the Afghan people “for many years to come”.
Mr Hague, in Afghanistan for a three-day visit, was speaking as US President Barack Obama is expected to announce troop withdrawals this year.
All UK troops will have been withdrawn from combat roles by 2015.
Mr Hague said there was more to do in security and reconciliation, as well as making economic progress and fighting corruption.
He said he had seen “positive changes” in Lashkar Gah, which he visited during a joint trip with the Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
“Undoubtedly there will be difficulties ahead, but the confident Afghan security leadership I was able to witness is greatly encouraging, not only for Afghanistan’s security but also for our own,” he said.
“The [Operational Command and Co-ordination Centre] leads on security in central Lashkar Gah with UK and international partners’ support, this role will continue to develop throughout transition,” he said.
Meanwhile, President Obama is due to make make a nationwide TV address to unveil plans to pull a reported 10,000 troops out of Afghanistan this year.
President Obama briefed Prime Minister David Cameron beforehand on the phone regarding his statement.
Speaking from the White House at 2000 local time (0100 BST Thursday), Mr Obama is expected to say 30,000 US “surge” troops will leave by 2013.
The US currently has about 100,000 troops in Afghanistan overall.
Divisions remain within the Obama administration over the size and speed of the pullout.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Nick Clegg has written to Chancellor George Osborne in support of the proposal Proposals to give the public shares in part-nationalised banks RBS and Lloyds have been backed by Nick Clegg.
The idea is that individual taxpayers would benefit from any long-term gains when shares in the banks are sold.
The deputy prime minister said it was important British people were not overlooked after their money was used to keep the banking system alive.
The Treasury said all options would be considered but some experts have warned the scheme would be difficult to run.
Speaking on a trip to Brazil, Mr Clegg said: “Psychologically it is immensely important that the British people feel they have not just been overlooked and ignored.
“Their money has been used to the tune of billions to keep the British banking system on a life-support machine and they have absolutely no say at all in what happens when normality is restored.
“I think, in a sense, as a society we are condemned to take an interest in our banking system.”
He added: “You are giving the Treasury an assurance that they will break even but you are not giving the Treasury the freedom to grab the windfall if there is one.
“This is something I have discussed a lot with [Business Secretary] Vince [Cable]. Vince and I feel it is something that we want officials to look at.”
Liberal Democrat leader Mr Clegg admitted there remained “a huge amount of detail still to be worked on”.
The idea for so-called people’s shareholdings, first suggested in March, was developed by City firm Portman Capital with the support of the Lib Dems’ Treasury Parliamentary Committee, chaired by backbencher Stephen Williams.
Mr Clegg has written to Chancellor George Osborne in support of the proposal.
Under the plan, the 45 million people on the electoral roll would be given free shares in the bailed-out banks, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group.
The shares would only have any value above a “floor price”, equivalent to what the government paid for the holdings, so the Treasury could cover the cost of its investment.
That price is estimated at 74p per share for Lloyds and 51p for RBS.
A Treasury spokesman said: “While the question hasn’t arisen at the moment, we’ve said we shall look at all options”.
The taxpayer owns 83% of RBS and 41% of Lloyds after the government invested about £65.8bn in 2008 at the height of the banking crisis.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The Irish Republic’s economy grows 1.3% in the first quarter as exports surge, but domestic demand remains weak.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Both countries say that they are eager to talk Senior diplomats from India and Pakistan are due to hold talks on peace and security in a bid to repair relations between the neighbours.
The two-day talks in Islamabad between the countries’ foreign secretaries come ahead of the Pakistani foreign minister’s visit to India in July.
Relations plummeted after Pakistan-based militants attacked the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008.
But earlier this year the countries’ leaders vowed to resume dialogue.
Gunmen killed 166 people when they attacked India’s commercial capital in 2008. After initial denials, Pakistan acknowledged that attacks had been partially planned on its territory and that the only gunman captured alive was one of its citizens.
Despite charging seven people in connection with the attacks, the Pakistani authorities have yet to convict anyone.
Relations between the nuclear-armed rivals have been slowly improving in recent months, although talks ended in acrimony last July with the two sides indulging in a public spat over Kashmir.
In March Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hosted his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani for the cricket World Cup semi-final between the two sides, held in the Indian city of Mohali.
At the time Mr Singh said cricket had been a “uniting factor” and that they should cast aside “ancient animosities”.
But correspondents say that no breakthrough is expected during the talks between the foreign secretaries.
Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna said all “issues concerning terrorism and various other issues between our two countries will be discussed”.
“Let not expectations be pitched too high because this is one of the relationships we are trying to cultivate in the last few months,” he said.
“We are making a determined bid to work out a cordial relationship.”
India’s Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao has said that India sought a “satisfactory closure” from Pakistan on the Mumbai attacks.
In 2009, Pakistan charged seven people in connection with the attacks, including the suspected mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who is alleged to head the outlawed militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
“There is an ongoing trial in Pakistan and it has moved rather slowly,” Ms Rao said.
“When we talk of closure, what we are implying is that justice should be done in this matter and those responsible for triggering this terror attack and also those who conspired to attack our people should be brought to justice,” she said.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua said the talks would also include the dispute over Kashmir.
Kashmir is claimed by both India and Pakistan in its entirety but has been divided since 1948. It has been the cause of two wars between the countries.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Tesco Bank, which operates in stores, online and by telephone, has 6.5 million customer accounts Some customers of Tesco Bank are still locked out of their online accounts, four days after a move of the bank’s computer systems during the weekend.
The banking system crashed, locking out customers, after Tesco moved the accounts from computers run by its former partner RBS.
Tesco says most people can access their accounts and has taken on extra staff at its call centres.
However, some BBC website readers say they still cannot get their money.
“I still cannot access my internet savings account,” said David, from London.
“If this wasn’t an internet bank it would be the equivalent of a High Street bank closing some of its branches.
“I am at boiling point. I have no access to my account”
Johan Sinclair Tesco Bank customer
“It’s been shut for four days but they advertise my money as being on instant demand,” he added.
No spokesman from Tesco Bank was available to comment on its continuing problems.
But the bank’s website carries an apology to customers.
“We want to apologise unreservedly to our savings customers who have experienced difficulties in accessing our online banking system in recent days,” the message on the Tesco website says.
“The problem has led to an increase in call volumes to our call centre and we have not been able to answer calls as quickly as you would expect, or we would like.
“The majority of customers are able to access their accounts. However, we know there are some customers that have not been able to log in,” the message adds.
The bank’s website carries advice on what customers should do, especially if they use the Internet Explorer 9 web browser, which was launched earlier this year.
Tesco believes that this has a compatibility problem with its system, which can be very easily fixed if customers follow some instructions to re-set their browsers.
Many customers have been frustrated at both the computer lock-out and the inability of Tesco’s call centre to deal with the big jump in calls.
“I spent four hours Tuesday 21st and a further three hours so far [on Wednesday] trying to contact their helpdesk – suffering the exasperation of a disembodied voice telling me how important my call is to them, so I don’t believe the issue has been fixed,” Johan Sinclair told the BBC on Wednesday.
“I am at boiling point as I have no other way to contact them and in the meantime I have no access to my account.”
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
A report by the Police Ombudsman into the Loughinisland massacre is expected to say there were failings in the police investigation.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The Pc posted the “deeply offensive” comments on Facebook on 18 June last year A police constable has been sacked for posting offensive messages about a colleague on Facebook and harassing a female colleague.
The 35-year-old Met officer, who was based in Islington, referred to another officer as a “grass” and a “liar” on the social networking site last year.
The officer was dismissed following an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
The IPCC said his behaviour had resembled a “nasty schoolyard bully”.
The Pc posted the “deeply offensive” comments on Facebook on 18 June last year.
The officer had also been involved in a brief, casual relationship with a colleague, which ended acrimoniously in April last year.
The constable then sent the woman a series of abusive text messages and subjected her to verbal abuse and threats.
On one occasion, when both officers were off-duty, a member of the public was so concerned about the male officer’s behaviour that he followed them off a bus and intervened when he saw him smashing a bin in the street.
The male officer then verbally threatened the member of the public.
The allegations were investigated by the Metropolitan Police’s Directorate of Professional Standards, under the management of the IPCC.
A report was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, which decided there should be no criminal proceedings.
The case then went before a gross misconduct hearing and the officer was found guilty of discreditable conduct and failing to meet police conduct standards of respect and courtesy.
He was dismissed without notice.
IPCC commissioner Rachel Cerfontyne said: “When I read what shocking things this police officer had written on Facebook about his colleague and the appalling way he had behaved, I felt completely dismayed.
“He worked in a job that demanded trust and respect and yet acted in a way that resembled a nasty schoolyard bully.
“I am pleased that the Met’s misconduct panel clearly shared our view that this sort of person does not belong in the police service.”
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Saab’s troubles have not stopped it unveiling new concept cars Swedish carmaker Saab has said it does not have enough money to pay its employees’ wages.
Owner Swedish Automobile said it was in discussions with lenders to try and obtain short-term funding.
Earlier this month, the company said it had reached a deal with two Chinese firms to invest a total of 245m euros ($350m; £218m) in the company.
Production at Saab’s main plant in Sweden is currently on hold after it was unable to pay suppliers.
“Swedish Automobile and Saab Automobile are in discussions with various parties to obtain short-term funding, including via the sale and lease-back of the real estate of Saab that was announced previously, and with their financiers in connection with current financing arrangements,” the company said in a statement.
However, it gave no assurances that it would be able to obtain the funding needed to pay wages.
Swedish Automobile, formerly known as Spyker Cars, bought Saab last year from General Motors following major restructuring at the US car giant.
The company is still struggling, however, selling only about 30,000 cars last year.
Saab is hoping that the provisional deal struck with the two Chinese investors will help solve its longer-term financial difficulties.
Under the non-binding deal, Zhejian Youngman Lotus Automobile would invest 136m euros for a 29.9% stake, while Pang Da Automobile would increase its investment to 109m euros, retaining its previously-agreed 24% stake.
However, the deal needs approval from Chinese and European regulators and the European Investment Bank.
If the agreement does go through, both Swedish carmakers would have Chinese ownership.
Volvo was bought by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in August 2010.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The tram project is behind schedule and over budget First Minister Alex Salmond has given his backing to a public inquiry into the handling of the Edinburgh trams project.
His comments came after it was revealed that it would cost about £750m to cancel the project – more than £200m over the original budget of £545m.
Mr Salmond said some parties would have more to fear from an inquiry than others.
SNP MSPs have always opposed the controversial project.
An Edinburgh City Council report on the trams is due to be revealed on Thursday afternoon, but some of the figures were leaked a day early.
It is understood that the report estimates it would cost £700m to build the line from Edinburgh Airport to Haymarket, west of the city centre, and £770m to complete the route to St Andrew Square in the city centre.
Councillors will decide the fate of the project at a meeting next week.
The original budget of £545m had been the figure for running the line through the city centre and on to Newhaven in the north of the city.
A contractual dispute between the tram company Tie and contractors Bilfinger Berger pushed the project over budget and behind schedule.
Mediation talks are understood to still be under way after the initial meetings between Tie and Bilfinger Berger were held in Glasgow in March.
In May, a report published by Edinburgh City Council said work so far had cost £440m – about 80% of the original budget – with huge sections of the line still to be completed.
Edinburgh councillors ordered a report to be written by officials into the estimated costs of scrapping the tram project.
A full council meeting will be held on Thursday 30 June to decide the future of the scheme.
When the news was leaked on Wednesday, Andrew Burns, Edinburgh City Council’s Labour leader, also called for a public inquiry into the tram project.
An Edinburgh City Council spokeswoman said: “The costs associated with the various options for phase one of the tram project are still subject to commercial negotiations and legal scrutiny.
“In accordance with the outcomes of the mediation process in March, we cannot publicly divulge these figures until both parties have agreed to do so.
“Members are, therefore, being given this confidential information to help them make informed decisions at next week’s council meeting and we will ask them not to disclose this to ensure we comply with the mediation process.”
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The US is to release 30 million barrels of oil from its strategic petroleum reserve as part of a global effort to reduce disruption to oil supplies.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the release of oil was in response to supply disruptions caused by unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.
Officials said the US reserve was currently at a historically high level.
US fuel prices have risen steeply during 2011, increasing domestic pressure on President Barack Obama.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Ministers have announced plans for the next generation of UK nuclear plants.
The government confirmed a list of eight sites deemed suitable for new power stations by 2025, all of which are adjacent to existing nuclear sites.
The sites are: Bradwell, Essex; Hartlepool; Heysham, Lancashire; Hinkley Point, Somerset; Oldbury, South Gloucestershire; Sellafield, Cumbria; Sizewell, Suffolk; and Wylfa, Anglesey.
The announcement comes three months after the Fukushima disaster in Japan.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The man was taken to hospital but later died A suspected burglar has been stabbed to death while apparently trying to break into a house in Greater Manchester.
It is understood the man was attempting to get into a house in Ethel Avenue, Salford, on Wednesday night when the householder tried to defend the house.
The man, 26, is believed to have been carried away by other members of a balaclava-clad gang as they fled.
Three people – the householder, his son and son’s girlfriend – have been arrested.
Police have put up a 100m cordon around the terrace house in Pendlebury, which backs on to open scrubland.
Greater Manchester Police said the investigation was still in its early stages and further details would be released later.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Western diplomats say a blast that seriously injured Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh was caused by a bomb planted in his palace.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Hundreds of Syrian refugees are fleeing across the border into Turkey to escape an assault by Syrian troops in the area, witnesses say.
Snipers and tanks have been spotted in the village of Khirbet al-Jouz, close to makeshift refugee camps.
Several hundred people broke through barbed wire to get into Turkish territory early on Thursday.
More than 1,300 people are estimated to have been killed in the government crackdown on the popular uprising.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.