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Nearly three million people are awaiting a court ruling which could have an impact on compensation for past loan insurance sales.
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Witness to Syria protests: “The shooting is hammering down on us like rain”
Syria’s government has lifted the country’s decades-old state of emergency as protests against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad continue.
The state security court, which handled the trials of political prisoners, has been abolished while a new law allowing peaceful protests has been approved.
The repeal of the emergency law was a key demand of protesters.
Earlier, unverified footage from the western city of Homs appeared to show security forces opening fire.
It was only a few days ago that Homs began to appear in media coverage of the ongoing protests in Syria, although it wasn’t far behind Deraa in joining the current wave of protests against President Assad’s regime.
The city of Homs lies in central Syria, approximately 180km (111 miles) north of Damascus. It is the main city in the province of Homs, the largest in Syria and the third most populous, with more than a million residents.
As in Deraa, the governor of Homs is very close to President Assad, and this has played a major role in fuelling protests in both cities.
The latest protests took place mainly in the city of Homs and also in the nearby cities of al-Rastan and Talbeesa.
In the beginning, the protesters had a number of specific demands, but the deadly reaction of the authorities fuelled their anger. Those taking part in the second wave of protests are calling for the fall of the regime.
The country’s interior minister has urged people to refrain from taking part in rallies in the interests of safety and stability.
Mohammed Ibrahim al-Shaar told people “to refrain from taking part in all marches, demonstrations or sit-ins under any banner whatsoever”, in remarks carried by the official news agency, Sana.
He warned that if demonstrations were held, “the laws in force in Syria will be applied in the interest of the safety of the people and the stability of the country”.
The BBC’s Owen Bennet-Jones says the apparently contradictory moves suggest that a major debate is going on at highest levels of Syrian politics.
The indications are that the lifting of the state of emergency will not be enough to satisfy the protesters, our correspondent adds.
Activists say about 200 Syrians have died in weeks of unrest challenging the rule of President Assad.
Witnesses in Homs, the country’s third-largest city, said security forces had opened fire early on Tuesday to disperse a mass anti-government protest there.
At least 5,000 demonstrators occupied Clock Square in Homs on Monday after mass funerals for about 12 protesters reportedly killed by security forces at the weekend.
Security forces swarmed into the main square before dawn. Witnesses said security forces told them through loudhailers to leave, before firing tear gas, then live ammunition.
A protester called Omar told BBC Arabic that he had seen one person shot dead.
“Listen to the shooting,” he said. “Can you hear it? It’s hammering on us like rain.
Another demonstrator in Homs told the Associated Press news agency by telephone: “I saw people on the ground, some shot in their feet, some in the stomach.”
On Saturday, Mr Assad promised an imminent end to the state of emergency, which has been in place for 48 years. The authorities have also been freeing political prisoners – another key demand of the protesters.
But Syria’s unprecedented wave of unrest shows no sign of abating.
The government has said an “armed insurrection” by Salafist groups is taking place in Homs and further north in Baniyas.
Salafism is a strict form of Sunni Islam which many Arab governments equate with militant groups like al-Qaeda.
Sana news agency has also been reporting on events in Homs.
It said three army officers, including a brigadier general, together with his two sons and a nephew, were killed on Sunday by “armed criminal gangs” which then mutilated the bodies.
State TV carried footage of large crowds expressing support for President Assad at their funerals.
Demonstrations against Mr Assad’s ruling Baath Party spread after breaking out in the southern city of Deraa in mid-March.
The unrest poses the gravest threat to his rule since he succeeded his father Hafez al-Assad 11 years ago.
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Pte Bradley Manning served in Iraq The US soldier accused of leaking a trove of secret government documents later published by the Wikileaks website is to be moved to a military prison in Kansas, officials have said.
Pte First Class Bradley Manning has been held pending court martial at a Marine Corps base in Virginia.
His transfer comes amid international concern over his treatment.
His supporters say he has been confined to a cell for 23 hours a day and forced regularly to undress.
Last week, UN special rapporteur on torture Juan Mendez said US officials had blocked his requests for unmonitored visits to Pte Manning, in part aimed at determining whether he had been mistreated.
‘Best interest’
Defence department general counsel Jeh Johnson: “Fort Leavenworth is the most appropriate facility for Private Manning”
At a press conference at the Pentagon on Tuesday, defence department general counsel Jeh Johnson said Pte Manning would be moved imminently to a pre-trial jail at Fort Leavenworth, in the Mid-western US state of Kansas.
Mr Johnson and other military officials said the Fort Leavenworth jail – which was opened in January – was better equipped to handle long-term pre-trial stays then the Marine Corps base at Quantico, Virginia.
Among other things, the Fort Leavenworth jail has better mental health support and, should officials permit it, better exercise facilities and more opportunities for interaction with other detainees, officials said.
“We have assessed this is in Pte Manning’s best interest to move him at this juncture in the case,” Mr Johnson said.
“All things considered, we concluded that going forward this is the best facility for him.”
Mr Johnson said the transfer should not be interpreted as a criticism of Pte Manning’s treatment at Quantico, though he acknowledged senior defence officials had been involved in the process.
Pte Manning’s civilian lawyer David Coombs has said the soldier has been under 24-hour surveillance and has been forced to relinquish his clothing before bedding down for the night, then forced to stand naked at roll call.
Officials have repeatedly denied Pte Manning has been mistreated, although last month a top US state department official, spokesman PJ Crowley, resigned after saying the military’s treatment of the Wikileaks suspect was “ridiculous and counterproductive”.
Pte Manning, an intelligence analyst who joined the US Army in 2007, is suspected of leaking 720,000 diplomatic and military documents, including a database of military records from the Iraq war, Afghan war records, classified diplomatic cables and other materials.
In the past year, Wikileaks has published troves of documents it titled the Iraq War Logs and the Afghan War Diary, and reams of secret US state department cables spanning five decades.
Pte Manning has been charged with using unauthorised software on government computers to download classified information and to make intelligence available to “the enemy”, and other counts related to leaking intelligence and theft of public records.
He is currently undergoing a mental health evaluation aimed at determining his competence to stand trial, officials have said.
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Ronnie O’Sullivan says he can win more world titles after his first-round victory over Dominic Dale but will quit if he stops enjoying snooker again.
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Elisabeth Sladen originally starred in Doctor Who for three years in the 1970s Doctor Who star Elisabeth Sladen, who was also in spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures, has died aged 63.
Sladen appeared as Doctor Who assistant Sarah Jane Smith in the BBC television sci-fi series between 1973 and 1976 opposite Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker.
In more recent times the Liverpool-born actress had appeared in four series of The Sarah Jane Adventures on children’s channel CBBC.
Sladen, who had a daughter, had been battling cancer for some time.
Sladen first appeared as Sarah Jane alongside the third Doctor, Jon Pertwee, and stayed for three-and-a-half seasons, also working with the fourth Doctor, Tom Baker.
Her character, a journalist, was renowned for being inquisitive and stronger than some of the Doctor’s other assistants.
After her time in the Tardis, Sladen returned to her native Liverpool where she worked in theatre.
She returned to the role on several occasions over the years and was given her own spin-off series on CBBC in 2007, in which she appeared with the most recent two Doctors, David Tennant and Matt Smith.
A BBC spokesman said: “It is with much sadness that we can announce Elisabeth Sladen, the much-loved actress best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who and CBBC’s The Sarah Jane Adventures, passed away this morning. She was 63.”
CBBC controller Damian Kavanagh said he was “deeply saddened and shocked by the news of Lis’s untimely death”.
“Lis brought joy, excitement and a sense of wonder to her many fans in her role as Sarah Jane Smith. She was adored by our young audience and I know all of them will miss her as much as I will,” he said.
Russell T Davies, the creator of The Sarah Jane Adventures, said: “I absolutely loved Lis. She was funny and cheeky and clever and just simply wonderful. The universe was lucky to have Sarah Jane Smith, the world was lucky to have Lis.”
Sladen leaves actor husband Brian Miller and daughter Sadie.
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Mr Kouzaris and his university friend Mr Cooper were found shot dead in an estate in northern Sarasota US police have released photos that two British tourists took of themselves while out drinking on the night they were shot dead in Florida.
University friends James Kouzaris, 24, from Northampton, and James Cooper, 25, of Warwick, were found dead in the city of Sarasota early on Saturday.
The photos of the victims were taken in bars in downtown Sarasota and police want to know what happened next.
A 16-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the double murders.
Sarasota Police named him as Shawn Tyson and said he had previously been arrested for allegedly firing shots into a car on 7 April.
No murder weapon has yet been found but both men, ex-Sheffield University students, were shot a number of times, the BBC understands.
BBC Washington reporter Steve Kingstone said contrary to some reports, no bullet casings were found at the scene.
He said the 16-year-old had not been formally charged and prosecutors had until 8 May to decide whether to charge him as a juvenile or as an adult.
He said the expectation was that he would be charged as an adult.
Officers said there was no known link between the holidaymakers and the boy.
Officers said there was no known link between the men and Shawn Tyson Sarasota Police Captain Paul Sutton said: “It is very unusual to find tourists or visitors in this area. It is a residential neighbourhood with no shops and no bars. We do not know what brought them here at 3am.”
He said the pair may have been given a lift to Newtown by someone they had befriended, or they may have walked there, or hired a cab which police had not yet traced.
They had been staying about 12 miles away on the island city of Longboat Key with Mr Cooper’s parents Sandra and Stanley, who have now returned to the UK to their home in Hampton Lucy, Warwickshire.
Mr Kouzaris and Mr Cooper were found lying about 50ft apart near a housing estate.
The two Britons were not carrying drugs and there is no evidence they were drug users, police said.
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Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas says a lack of a ‘winning mentality’ has led to the club’s trophy drought.
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Steven Whittaker scores two penalties but misses another as Rangers stretch their SPL lead to four points after Dundee United have three men sent off.
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An off-colour Manchester United miss the chance to open up a nine-point gap at the top of the Premier League as they are held to a draw by Newcastle.
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Toronto police hope to scour for clues the computer of a Chinese man who witnessed via webcam the final moments of a student found dead last week.
Hours before Qian Liu was found dead on Friday, a friend in China chatting with her online saw her struggle with an intruder who came to the door.
Detectives are investigating the 23-year-old’s death as a homicide.
They are searching for her laptop, webcam and phone, believed taken from her apartment by the intruder.
Detectives have interviewed a “person of interest” but declined to say whether he was the intruder seen online.
Police have yet to determine a cause of death.
“Liu’s death has not been classified as a homicide,” Toronto police Sgt Frank Skubic told reporters on Tuesday, describing the York University student as “hard-working”, with a small circle of friends.
“We are investigating this as a homicide and with the due diligence that’s required of a homicide investigation… with the expectation that at some point we will be able to come to a determination as to what led to her death.”
According to police, Ms Liu and a male friend were chatting at about 0100 local time (0500 GMT) when a man unknown to the friend knocked on the door asking to use Ms Liu’s cell phone.
She let him into her basement flat and a struggle ensued for several minutes while the friend watched in horror, police said. Then the intruder shut the IBM laptop, apparently taking it and the attached webcam with him when he fled the apartment.
The friend then sought frantically to alert authorities in Canada. Ms Liu was found dead on Friday morning after a Chinese consulate official contacted police.
The web video chat was streaming live between the computers in Canada and China, Sgt Skubic said, and investigators are working with computer experts to determine if any “artefacts or remnants” of the chat remained on the friend’s computer that could provide a clue.
Officers who found Ms Liu say no substantial trauma was evident. Ms Liu’s body was naked from the waist down, but investigators have seen no obvious signs of sexual assault.
A second cell phone found in the apartment was inactive and belonged to Ms Liu, Sgt Skubic said.
On Tuesday, Sgt Skubic sought to quell Canadian media reports Ms Liu had been stalked.
He said she had been asked out on dates and may have refused some, but none of the behaviour of her presumed suitors constituted criminal stalking.
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Mr Miliband said Labour did not fully appreciate the impact of migration on the wages of UK workers Past errors in immigration policy contributed to voters in the south of England “losing trust” in Labour, Ed Miliband has acknowledged.
The opposition leader told the BBC the last government had “got it wrong” on the issue in terms of underestimating migrant numbers and their impact on wages and housing in parts of the UK.
Mr Miliband is campaigning ahead of English council elections on 5 May.
David Cameron has argued immigration got “out of control” under Labour.
The prime minister has said it is the coalition’s “ambition” to reduce net migration levels from more than 200,000 right now to the “tens of thousands”, although his approach has been criticised by Lib Dem coalition colleague Vince Cable, who say the target is not official government policy.
During a campaign trip to Gravesend, Mr Miliband was asked by the BBC’s Political Editor Nick Robinson why Labour had suffered such a drop in support in southern England at last year’s general election.
“I think the problem is that we lost trust and we lost touch particularly in the south of England,” he said. “I think living standards is a big part of it, immigration is a big part of it. I think maybe a combination of those two issues – most importantly.”
Mr Miliband criticised Labour’s record during last year’s party leadership contest, saying it had not addressed people’s concerns about the social and economic impact of immigration on communities and did not appear to be “on the side” of those affected.
“The question is whether… promises of more training, apprenticeships and a living wage will re-connect Labour with the working class supporters who have abandoned it”
Lord Glasman, the Labour leader’s former speechwriter, argued recently that the Labour government lied to people about levels of economic migration and illegal immigration during its years in power and that this had resulted in a “massive rupture of trust” with sections of the electorate.
Responding to this accusation, Mr Miliband said: “I don’t think we lied but I do think we got it wrong in a number of respects”.
He added: “I think that, first of all, we clearly underestimated the number of people coming in from Poland and that had more of an effect therefore than we would otherwise have thought.
“And secondly, I think there is this really important issue about people coming into the country and the pressure on people’s wages.
“People are not prejudiced but people say to me ‘look I am worried about the pressure on my wages of people coming into this country. I am worried about what it does to housing supply, all of those issues. Now some of that is real and some of it is not but I think you have to address not just tough immigration policy but underlying issues as well.”
Mr Cameron has suggested Labour “helped inflame the debate” over the issue while in power by “talking tough” about reducing immigration but not doing anything about it – thereby giving the impression they were not heeding public concerns.
In a speech last week – the tone of which Business Secretary Vince Cable criticised as “very unwise” – Mr Cameron said a cap on non-EU migrants and other controls were working and the UK needed “good immigration rather than mass immigration”.
The prime minister rejected Mr Cable’s claim that he was electioneering in the speech, in which he said communities had been affected by incomers unable to speak English and unwilling to integrate, he argued, creating “a kind of discomfort and disjointedness in some neighbourhoods”.
Mr Miliband said Labour had introduced a new system to regulate the number of migrants entering the UK, while in office, but had failed to appreciate how the wages of low-skilled British workers would be squeezed as a result.
“We were still saying let’s have flexible labour markets, maximum flexibility at work, and that was causing problems for people and that’s why we need to rethink,” he told Nick Robinson.
Labour is reconsidering its approach on immigration as part of a root-and-branch review of policy launched soon after Mr Miliband’s election.
The opposition leader has called on the government to get young people into work and to build more homes – problems which he believes are helping to fuel concerns over levels of immigration.
“I think the thing this government is getting wrong on immigration is that they have got big promises which I do not think are going to be matched by reality,” he added.
“But they are not dealing with those underlying economic issues which I think caused a lot of the concern people had.”
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Fires were lit in an attempt to block the road to the construction site Crowds ransacked a hospital and set buses alight in a second day of violent protests against a planned nuclear power plant in western India.
Reports say at least 20 people were injured as police sought to quell the unrest in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra state.
On Monday one person died as protesters attacked a police station close to the proposed site at nearby Jaitapur.
Activists say the region is prone to earthquakes and fear a repeat of the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima plant.
Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has said extra safeguards will be taken in light of the crisis in Japan.
But local villagers also fear the $10bn (£6bn) plant – expected to be the biggest in the world – will ruin their traditional fishing grounds.
Towns around the Jaitapur site were brought to a standstill on Tuesday by a strike called by the Hindu nationalist Shiv Sena opposition party.
Reports said protesters attacked the hospital to stop a government autopsy taking place on the activist killed on Monday. Some fear the autopsy will not be impartial.
TV pictures also showed police wielding batons trying to disperse protesters who lit fires to block a road to the construction site.
Anger boiled over after Mr Ramesh last week ruled out a “rethink” on the planned six-reactor facility. Work is due to begin this year.
He accused opposition groups of whipping up trouble.
“They (Shiv Sena) have just made this a political issue,” he told the Times Now news channel.
“I have said it before and say it again, apart from nuclear energy we have no other choice.”
The proposed plant is to be build with help from the French energy giant Areva.
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Dame Beryl Bainbridge won the Whitbread novel award twice Dame Beryl Bainbridge fans have voted her book Master Georgie the winner of The Man Booker Best of Beryl prize.
Man Booker Prize organisers had asked readers to vote for their favourite of five Dame Beryl books shortlisted for the main prize – which she never won.
Master Georgie, shortlisted in 1998, beat Every Man For Himself in the running in 1996 by a handful of votes.
A bound copy of the book was presented to daughter Jojo Davies and grandson Charlie Russell at a party in London.
The prize’s literary director, Ion Trewin, said he was “delighted to be able finally to crown Master Georgie a Booker bride”.
Master Georgie, shortlisted in the year that Ian McEwan’s novel Amsterdam won the prize, is set during the Crimean War.
Dame Beryl’s other shortlisted books were The Dressmaker, nominated in 1973, The Bottle Factory Outing, recognised in 1974, and An Awfully Big Adventure, a contender in 1990 that was made into a film starring Alan Rickman and Hugh Grant.
Dame Beryl died in July at the age of 75.
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A woman from Donegal has died in a diving accident in Australia.
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin said the accident happened off the coast of Queensland.
The woman’s family have been contacted and consular assistance has been offered.
Her name has not yet been released.
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A British man has been deported from Australia after living there for more than 40 years.
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