Blancer.com Tutorials and projects

Tunisia’s interim president and prime minister quit the ruling RCD party, in an apparent bid to defuse anger over the make-up of a day-old government, reports say.

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

Former Haitian leader Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier is questioned by officials and later led out of his hotel by police.

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

The European Court of Human Rights rules that costs awarded against the Daily Mirror in a Naomi Campbell privacy case were disproportionate.

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

Labour’s Jack Straw is joining forces with Conservative David Davis in an attempt to block plans to give thousands of prisoners the vote.

The former home secretary and shadow home secretary are seeking to trigger a Commons vote on the issue.

The pair want the government to defy a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Ministers say if they do not change the law they will face compensation claims from prisoners costing well over £100m.

They plan to give any prisoner serving less than four years a vote in Westminster and European elections.

But Mr Straw and Mr Davis have made a Dragons’ Den-style pitch to the new Commons Backbench Business Committee at to ask for time to debate a motion calling for the planned change in the law to be scrapped, which could be voted on by MPs as early as next week.

The two men are making use of new Commons rules which give backbenchers control of parts of the parliamentary timetable.

They argue that the Commons should be given the chance to stand up to the ECHR and defy what they see as an illegitimate challenge to a democratically elected Parliament.

The move could pose a real problem for the coalition.

Many Tory MPs have threatened to rebel on the issue. They are angry not only at the idea of giving the vote to prisoners but at the power of the ECHR.

The Conservative manifesto promised to amend the Human Rights Act – a plan which has since been put on the back burner.

Labour has said that it may vote with Tory rebels so a parliamentary defeat for the government cannot be ruled out.

The Liberal Democrats have consistently argued for a change in the law.

The government’s proposals could involve giving the vote to many thousands of offenders in England and Wales.

More than 28,000 prisoners have sentences of less than four years including almost 6,000 jailed for violent crime, over 1,700 sex offenders, more than 4,000 burglars and 4,300 imprisoned for drug offences.

The precise number of prisoners eligible to vote may be lower since a small number of those serving four-year sentences may be concurrently in jail for longer terms and will still, therefore, be barred.

This argument was triggered by the legal victory of a prisoner called John Hirst who had been convicted of manslaughter and argued that the voting ban was incompatible with the Human Rights Act.

Last year the European Court of Human Rights set the government a deadline for a change in the law of August 2011.

Ministers said legislation would be passed before MPs’ summer break but rebels suspect that they are waiting until after May’s elections to introduce it. Mr Davis and Mr Straw are moving to ensure that that vote is held sooner rather than later.

Mr Straw was first home secretary and then Lord Chancellor in the last Labour government, which launched a consultation on granting votes to prisoners but never acted on it. Mr Davis was shadow home secretary when the Conservatives said they would oppose any such move.

Their motion reads: “This House… is of the opinion that A) legislative decisions of this nature should be a matter for democratically elected lawmakers and B) that on the merits of the issue the current policy… is confirmed.”

The Commons Backbench Business Committee controls the subject for debate on 35 days a year although the timing is up to the government.

Mr Straw and Mr Davis are competing with other proposals on the reform of Parliament and consumer credit regulation.

The committee is meant to choose a motion which have widespread cross-party support and which the government and opposition do not plan to debate in their allotted time.

The committee’s decision will be off camera and will be known later on Tuesday.

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

Something went “very wrong” in the case of an undercover Pc who infiltrated environmental protesters, policing minister Nick Herbert tells MPs.

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

A fourth man is detained in Mauritius in connection with the murder of Michaela McAreavey last week.

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

A 16-year-old French boy is rushed to hospital after setting himself on fire at his school, officials in Marseille say.

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

A Portuguese air stewardess was caught off guard when her boyfriend proposed mid-flight, after booking himself a seat on the plane.

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

Peers made a beeline for the exits as a marathon debate on voting changes got going again in the House of Lords.

Labour’s Lord Falconer said he was “profoundly disappointed people are not staying for the rest of this debate”.

His party objects to plans to cut the number of constituencies, part of a bill proposing a referendum on changing the voting system.

Labour has been accused of “time-wasting” tactics, after an epic all-night session, which started on Monday.

Just six amendments to the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill were debated in nearly 21 hours.

For the referendum on the introduction of the Alternative Vote (AV) for Westminster elections to take place as planned on 5 May, the Bill needs to be law by 16 February.

This is because the Electoral Commission needs a full 10 weeks, as set out in previous legislation, to fully prepare for a referendum.

Frustration spilled over into the Commons earlier, with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg accusing Labour of relying on its “dinosaurs” in the House of Lords to prevent the public from having a say on Britain’s voting system.

Mr Clegg conceded the battle with the Lords had meant the legislation had “somewhat stalled” but stressed: “It will be passed. We are determined that it shall be passed.”

During rowdy Commons exchanges, Mr Clegg rounded on Labour leader Ed Miliband, accusing him of “weak political leadership” for allowing his peers to behave in this way.

Opposition has focused on the part of the Bill that plans to cut the number of MPs from 650 to 600, which Labour believe would favour the Conservatives.

Lord Falconer warned the government that unless the measure was dropped the legislation would not become law in time for the May referendum.

But he said Labour would cooperate to ensure a 5 May referendum if the Bill was split to allow separate consideration of the constituency changes.

Lord Falconer said: “If the government insist on their timetabling arrangements, then we have no option but to do all in our power to ensure that the Bill does get proper scrutiny and therefore that it will not receive Royal Assent by February 16 if it still contains Part 1 and Part 2.”

Baroness Warsi, co-chairman of the Conservative Party, said: “These time-wasting tactics by former Labour MPs are preventing the public from having a say on a policy Ed Miliband claims he supports.

“His failure to act is either a sign he is weak and cannot control his own party or that he is being opportunistic and playing politics ahead of an important referendum.

“Ed Miliband needs to say clearly whether he supports these tactics or an AV vote.”

Liberal Democrat party president Tim Farron has written to party members asking them to call on Labour peers and MPs to end their “filibuster” of the Bill.

Mr Farron said: “Labour peers are holding the democratic process hostage by blocking any progress of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill.

“Ed Miliband has spoken of a new way of doing politics but the tricks employed by Labour peers are the worst example of petty party politics.”

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

Three ministers have withdrawn from the national unity government unveiled only a day ago in Tunisia, reports suggest.

They are reportedly from the General Union of Tunisian Workers (UGTT), which played a key role in protests which ousted the former president.

PM Mohammed Ghannouchi angered many protesters when he kept several ministers from the former ruling party in their jobs.

The government now admits 78 people died in a month of protests.

Mr Ghannouchi had hoped to placate protesters on Monday by announcing a government of national unity – which included members of the opposition but also retained members of the ruling RCD party in key ministerial positions.

But some protesters had denounced the new administration as a betrayal and now the junior transport minister has said he and two other ministers are leaving, AP news agency reported.

French news agency AFP named him as Anouar Ben Gueddour and the other two as Abdeljelil Bedoui and Houssine Dimassi. It said all three were members of the UGTT – which earlier reportedly decided not to recognise the new government.

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

The husband of US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head in an attack in Tucson, Arizona, has said she is making good progress, in an interview with ABC.

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