News of the World:::::: U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment

Steve Jobs led the way in pop culture

2011-10-06T21:24:00.000-03:00

(CNN) -- During a 1996 interview with television talk show host Charlie Rose, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs took exception to Rose's characterization of him as "a guy who founds high-tech companies and tries to make another billion."

"Yeah, well, I don't think of myself that way," Jobs said. "The things that I have done in my life, I think the things we do now at Pixar [the animation company he bought in 1986], these are team sports. They are not something one person does."

If pop culture were a team sport, Jobs would have certainly played quarterback.

From the invention of iTunes, which completely changed the business of music, to offering the world its first completely full-length computer-generated animated film with Pixar's "Toy Story" in 1995, Jobs left his indelible fingerprints on the entertainment industry.

We knew Steve Jobs best as the face of Apple -- the man who introduced the company's biggest products in front of cheering audiences filled with fans and journalists. He was in his element onstage in a black turtleneck and jeans, playing with the new iPod, iPhone or iPad. But Jobs also had a life offstage, one filled with celebrities, foreign leaders and, perhaps most importantly, his fans.

Steve Jobs's life offstage

HIDE CAPTION

The other "toys" he helped create like the iPod, iPhone and iPad not only changed the way the world consumed media, but also inserted both Jobs and Apple firmly into the entertainment zeitgeist. Even the commercials, from the 1984, George Orwell-inspired Super Bowl Macintosh ad to the more recent "Are you a Mac or a PC," were uber-cool.

While Jobs has been more well known and hailed for his innovation with high-tech, he also made some power moves which forever changed Hollywood. And in what sounds like a fantasy dreamed up by the geek gods, it all began with George Lucas.

As Jobs explained to the news program "60 Minutes" in 2003, when Lucas was creating "Star Wars" he reasoned that digital copy of his film would be clearer and cleaner than analog. The computer graphics division of his Lucasfilm company, which honed the technology behind the process, would go on to become Pixar Animation Studios after Jobs bought it for $10 million in 1986.

As chairman and chief executive officer of Pixar, Jobs led the way in marrying the endless possibilities of technology with the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry.

The world hadn't even heard of computer-generated imagery (CGI) in 1991 when Pixar struck a deal with Walt Disney Studios to develop and distribute three full-length animated films. The first of these, "Toy Story," captured audience's hearts with its tale of the adventures of a group of children's toys.

"Toy Story" went on to become the top-earning film of that year, grossing $192 million in domestic box office receipts and $362 million worldwide. It spurred two sequels, theme park attractions and an extensive line of merchandise.

It was followed by films like "A Bug's Life," "Monster's Inc.," "Finding Nemo," and "The Incredibles," the last two of which won Academy Awards for best animated feature. Jobs sold Pixar to Disney in 2006.
By then he was firmly back in the driver's seat as the chief executive officer of Apple, which was setting the world afire with its inventions.

One of his biggest launches was in 2003 with the iTunes Music Store, which revolutionized the world of music downloads.

"Other companies sold digital music before Apple," said Bill Werde, editorial director of Billboard, said in a statement. "Other companies made digital music available on computers and digital phones and used it in commercials. Apple's brilliance -- and I don't think anyone doubts that this was Steve Jobs' brilliance -- was that Apple made it exciting and simple and effortless and fun."

Jobs was a major influence on portable media, which paved the way for gamers to be able to engage in their favorite past time via handheld devices and film fans to be able to stream movies almost anywhere.

The introduction of the 99-cent single meant music lovers no longer had to purchase an entire album to selectively enjoy their favorite tunes. The ability of the iPod, and later the iPhone and iPad, to hold thousands of songs also meant that fans never had to be far from their tunes.

"Thanks for allowing me to put my whole CD collection in my pocket," Sebastian Bach, ex-frontman of the heavy metal band Skid Row tweeted after news of Jobs' death was made public. "You have made air travel a lot more fun among other things."

Innovation was not without some growing pains, however.

Some industry insiders worried that digital downloads were negatively affecting sales of music and the issue of piracy became a hot one. On Tuesday, Miramax chief executive officer Mike Lang in his keynote address at MIPCOM, a TV and entertainment event held in Cannes, France, pointed to digital monopolies like the one Apple has as potentially damaging to the industry.

"Apple is the strongest company in the music industry because there was not enough competition, and still to this day there is not enough competition," Lang said. "As an industry it can't then influence packaging, merchandising -- all the things that are vital."

Billboard's Werde also noted that "Today, the music business has a complex relationship with Apple, which has become yet another entity that built an enormous business atop the rights of music companies, much like radio and MTV before it."

"But I think you'd be hard-pressed to find one music executive worth his or her salt who wouldn't agree that Jobs' vision and tenacity blazed a trail for digital music as we know it today," Werde said. "Without a doubt, when you think of the Mount Rushmore of the music business -- pioneers like Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler, Clive Davis and Jimmy Iovine - Steve Jobs has earned his prominent place."

World tributes pour in for Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T21:22:00.000-03:00

Steve Jobs' cancer fight

(CNN) -- International leaders in politics and business are paying tribute Thursday to Apple visionary Steve Jobs, whose death at age 56 has saddened many around the world.
"Steve Jobs transformed the way we work and play; a creative genius who will be sorely missed. Our thoughts are with his family," British Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy wrote on his Facebook page that Jobs was a great entrepreneur, innovator and major player in the world's technological revolution.

"As inspired as he was inspiring, Steve Jobs will remain one of the great figures of our time," Sarkozy said, as he paid tribute to the American's courage in both his work and personal life.

Ireland's Prime Minister, or Taoiseach, Enda Kenny also gave his condolences in a statement paying tribute to the man who brought the world the iPod portable music player, the iPhone and the iPad tablet.

Jobs: 'You've got to find what you love'

Steve Jobs remembered in London

Steve Jobs' business legacy

"Steve Jobs was a creative genius who broke down walls in business and opened doors in people's minds," Kenny said.

"His innovative prowess in the area of technology has brought about a level of access to information for millions that few would have ever foreseen. His legacy will be not just his products and business achievements, but also the way in which he altered mindsets in the business world and in everyday life."
Apple has a large factory in Cork, in the Irish Republic, which opened in 1980 to manufacture the Mac computer. It employs about 1,400 people and has expanded into various aspects of the company's business.
In Russia, President Dmitry Medvedev wrote in his Twitter microblog: "People like Steve Jobs change our world. My sincere condolences to his relatives and all those who appreciated his intelligence and talent."
Medvedev met Jobs during a visit to California's Silicon Valley in June 2010, during which the Apple co-founder told Medvedev about his company and some of its future plans. At the end of their meeting, Jobs presented Medvedev with an iPhone4.

Medvedev's chief economic aide, Arkady Dvorkovich, tweeted: "Applause to Steve Jobs for everything that he did in his not so long life."

German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Jobs had "changed our life and work with his ideas and sense for business like few others."

In Egypt, Wael Ghonim -- a former Google executive who used social media to jump-start social change in Egypt -- also honored Jobs via Twitter, saying: "He was truly inspiring. His company helped change the world. Good bye Steve Jobs."

Masayoshi Son, a Japanese technology entrepreneur and CEO of Softbank, the main Japanese iPhone carrier, said he was saddened by the news of Jobs' death.

"Steve was truly a genius of our time, a man with a rare ability to fuse art and technology," he said in a statement. "In centuries from now, he will be remembered alongside Leonardo da Vinci. His achievements will continue to shine forever."

Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company in South Korea, offered his thoughts and prayers for Jobs' family.

Friends, colleagues remember Steve Jobs

How did Apple start?

2009: Jobs unveils new iPod

Jack Welch: Steve Jobs defined cool

"Steven Jobs was, and still is, an inspiration to many individuals and companies all over the world," he said.
"His passing is a loss to innovators and visionaries everywhere, even here in Korea, and the culture he fostered will be a benchmark for decades to come."
Taiwanese self-made billionaire Terry Gou, founder and chairman of Foxconn Technology Group, which makes many Apple products, said the world had lost a "true hero" and he had lost a friend whose dedication to his craft had been shown by his determination to continue working despite being seriously ill.
"True business leaders grow their companies by committing their innovation, creativity, and passion and, while Steve exemplified all of these qualities, he also committed his heart to building a company and products that enriched people's lives," Gou said in a statement.

"Steve's spirit will live on forever with those who, like me, had the honor to know and work with him. However, everyone has been touched by his genius and, because of this, he has left the world a better place. He will be missed, but never forgotten."

Foxconn said in a statement that it had lost "an industry visionary, a true partner to our company, and a great friend."

Jobs "had an immeasurable and positive impact on the lives of people around the world and the global electronics industry is all the better for the many contributions he made to ensuring that technology is understandable, beautiful, and, most importantly, accessible to people from all walks of life," the company said.
Working conditions at Foxconn came under scrutiny last year after a rash of suicides at a Foxconn factory in China that makes iPhones.

China mourns Jobs' death

Wozniak: Jobs 'a great visionary, leader'

Jobs 'one of the biggest icons'

News of Jobs' death prompted immediate tributes from business leaders in China, and Apple fans staged a vigil outside the Apple store in Hong Kong.

Yang Yuanqing, the CEO of China's computer powerhouse Lenovo, said: "As a competitor, he helped ensure all of us pushed even harder. I am confident his legacy will continue to energize the industry for many years to come."

"Jobs said, 'Remember that you will be dead soon'," said Lee Kaifu, venture capitalist and founding president of Google China, referring to Jobs' famous 2005 Stanford University commencement speech.

"It helped me through making the most important choices in my life. Because all the glory and pride, embarrassment and fear will all vanish when confronting death."

South Korean electronics maker Samsung also paid tribute to Jobs as a "great entrepreneur" in a statement sending condolences to the Jobs family and his colleagues at Apple.

"His innovative spirit and remarkable accomplishments will forever be remembered by people around the world," it said.

Israel cabinet votes to ease Gaza Strip blockade

2010-06-18T01:00:00.015-03:00

Page last updated at 19:34 GMT, Thursday, 17 June 2010 20:34 UK

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev on the easing of the blockade in Gaza

Israel has announced it will ease its blockade of the Gaza Strip and allow more civilian goods to enter the Palestinian territory.

The move comes amid international pressure on Israel, following its raid on aid ships bound for Gaza last month.

Both the Palestinian Authority and the Islamist group Hamas dismissed Israel's announcement, calling for a full lifting of restrictions.

Israel and Egypt tightened the blockade when Hamas took over Gaza in 2007.

The Israeli decision was agreed by Israel's security cabinet after a two-day meeting.

The move will see an expansion in the number of products Israel will allow into Gaza via border crossing points, although the naval blockade will remain in place.

The new Israeli-approved product list reportedly includes all food items, toys, stationery, kitchen utensils, mattresses and towels.
An Israeli government statement did not specify any items other than construction materials for civilian projects, which it said would be allowed in under international supervision.
Israel has until now blocked materials like cement and steel, arguing that Hamas could use them to build weapons and fortifications.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement that Israel would: "liberalise the system by which civilian goods enter Gaza"; "expand the inflow of materials for civilian projects that are under international supervision"; and "continue existing security procedures to prevent the inflow of weapons and war material".
It added: "The cabinet will decide in the coming days on additional steps to implement this policy."
It also said that Israel expected the international community to work toward the immediate release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas fighters on the Israel-Gaza border in 2006.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said some of the goods that would now be allowed in were "trivial and secondary", adding: "What is needed is a complete lifting of the blockade.

"Goods and people must be free to enter and leave. Gaza especially needs construction material, which must be allowed to come in without restrictions."

In the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority government of Mahmoud Abbas also said the blockade should be lifted in its entirety.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs called the easing of sanctions a "step in the right direction".
International Middle East envoy Tony Blair, who helped work out the deal with Israel, said it was a "good start".

"We need to make sure that people's lives in Gaza do improve," Mr Blair said. "That's the purpose of the change of policy that people like myself have argued for for the past two years."

He also called for the unconditional release of Sergeant Shalit, saying: "That would allow us to make even further progress.

"But I am absolutely determined to secure significant change over this coming period so that people in Gaza, ordinary people in Gaza, many of whom do not support Hamas, many of whom are young children, get the access to the basic necessities of life that they require and daily life and can start to return to normal."

Saeb Erekat, Palestinian negotiator: ''This siege must be totally lifted.''

The Israeli announcement came after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Israel's raid on the aid flotilla had increased the chances of war in the region.

He told the BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen that although Syria was working to prevent a war, there was no chance of a peace deal with the current Israeli administration, which he called a "pyromaniac government".

Israel says the blockade - which aims to put pressure on Hamas and secure the release of Sgt Shalit - prevents war material entering Gaza while allowing the entry of humanitarian aid.

It has been widely criticised as "collective punishment" of the 1.4 million residents of Gaza.

Nine Turkish activists died in the Israeli commando raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla in international waters on 31 May.

It was the ninth attempt since 2008 to break the blockade by sea, but the first that resulted in bloodshed.
KEY ENTRY POINTS INTO GAZA

• Rafah - under Egyptian control. Since flotilla deaths, opened indefinitely for people only. Has been closed for the vast majority of the time over the last three years. Makeshift tunnels in this area used to smuggle in goods, including weapons • Erez - under Israeli control. Crossing for pedestrians and cargo. Access restricted to Palestinians under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority and to Egyptians or international aid officials • Karni - main crossing point for commercial goods • Sufa - official crossing point for construction materials • Kerem Shalom - for commercial and humanitarian goods. These last three crossings have been frequently closed by Israeli army since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007 • Opening of seaport and bus routes to West Bank had been agreed in 2005 but plans since shelved • Airport - bombed by Israel in early years of the 2000 Intifada • 'Buffer zone' inside Gaza where it borders Israel. Gazan farmers forbidden to enter the zone

Canada's Air India probe highlights 'series of errors'

2010-06-18T01:00:00.014-03:00

John Major said relations between security agencies were "poor"

A "cascading series of errors" led to the bombing of an Air India airliner in June 1985, an inquiry in Canada has concluded.

Former Supreme Court Judge John Major, who led a four-year investigation, also called for better co-ordination between Canada's security agencies.

Air India flight 182, flying from Canada to India, plunged into the Atlantic killing all 329 on board.

Two Canadian men were tried in the case 20 years later and found not guilty.

Canadian police said the plane was bombed by Sikh militants fighting for an independent homeland in India.
"This was the largest mass murder in Canadian history," Mr Major said, delivering the investigation's final report.

"A cascading series of errors contributed to the failure of our police and our security forces to prevent this atrocity... various institutions and organisations did not fulfil their responsibilities."

'Better co-ordination' He highlighted what he said were the poor relations between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), adding that the prime minister's national security adviser should have greater powers.

"This is a crucial and fundamental requirement to achieve better co-ordination across the many agencies that have national security responsibilities," he said.

Mr Major said "error, incompetence, and inattention" occurred before the Air India flight and in the aftermath during the investigation and legal proceedings.

He said the CSIS and the RCMP were still focused on the threat of airline hijackings, not terrorism, and engaged in "turf wars" instead of sharing information.

Continue reading the main story Unravelling the investigation

Victims' relatives have long complained that police, as well as Canada's spy agency, ignored information about the plot that could have prevented the bombing, and then destroyed evidence in a botched investigation.

The report also criticises the Canadian government for claiming it has since fixed the security lapses.
"The commission rejects that position," Mr Major said.

The jet blew up in mid-air, plunging into the sea off the Irish coast and killing all on board - most of them Canadian citizens visiting relatives in India.

At about the same time, another bomb exploded prematurely in Japan, killing two baggage handlers.
Both explosions were linked to Canadian-based Sikhs retaliating for India's deadly 1984 storming of the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine in the Sikh religion.

It was not until 2005, after a series of setbacks in the investigation, that two Canadian men, Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, were charged with a number of offences - including first-degree murder - for the bombing.

But after a two-year trial, both were acquitted on all counts because of a lack of evidence.

Another Sikh, Inderjit Singh Reyat, was jailed in the UK for 10 years in 1991 for his involvement in the Japan bombing.

In 2003 he pleaded guilty in a Canadian court to manslaughter in connection with the Air India bombing, and was sentenced to another five years in prison.

Getty taps into Flickr snappers

2010-06-18T01:00:00.013-03:00

Shots taken by amateurs could become part of Getty's stock archive

Flickr's 40 million registered users are being given the chance to make money out of their snaps.

For the last year, Getty Images has tapped into more than 100,000 photos taken by professional and semi-pro photographers who post on the site.

Now the doors are being opened to all Flickr users as Getty takes advantage of a library of four billion pictures.

"Flickr users are the eyes of the world," Douglas Alexander, Flickr's general manager, told BBC news.

"We have contributors from over 100 counties and images are coming in from every corner of the globe. This deal broadens the horizons and the global marketplace for commercial photography and gives our users the chance to make some money."

Neither Getty nor Flickr were forthcoming about actual rates saying they vary from job to job but are industry standard. It is generally thought the average rate for an image is between $150-$240 (£100-£160).

'Eclectic'
The agreement extends one that has been in place for the last year with photo library Getty.
Under that deal, Getty built up its stock or archive photography base with pictures taken by pros or semi-pros posting on Flickr. These were then sold on to the firm's commercial clients and photographers were paid the industry commission rate when their images were used.

Getty's chief operating officer Nick Evans-Lombe said Flickr had been a great resource and inspiration.
"One of the great benefits of the Flickr collection is that it is truly eclectic and has this fantastic broad reach across the globe."

Hal Bergman has managed to turn a hobby into a job

Mr Evans-Lombe said the strength and diversity of what Flickr could offer was apparent during one call for photographs portraying the concept of families.

"We got over 17,000 pictures back from around the world very quickly. That gave us a very broad and deep illustration of the concepts to do with family and will resonate in countries around the world.

"In the past, one of the criticisms of the stock photography market is that it has been a mostly North American and European aesthetically dominated industry."

Mr Evans-Lombe also said another great asset of the collection was that it was "more gritty" because the photographs are not shot for commercial services and therefore have more authenticity.

"The extension of this partnership is a testament to the talent of our Flickr community and we want to provide a platform for our members so they can get their work out there to the largest possible audience," said Mr Alexander.

'Floodgates'
Hal Bergman dreamt for years of turning his passion from a side-line into a full-time career. He started posting his photos on Flickr in 2006 and said this partnership has been a fruitful one for him.

"I have been doing this for six years on the side and a year and a half ago I gave up my day job in website development."

And while staying mum about how much he actually earns, Mr Bergman told BBC News he makes a good living from photography.

"I am working as a freelance and getting a lot of commission work and I would say this deal brings in about a third of my income which is pretty good when you consider I have 200 images on the Getty site and a further 2,500 on another site."

This week he has been shooting photos at a frat house in Los Angeles and a Hollywood party.
Mr Bergman said while he is managing to get himself established, he is concerned about how the opening up of this partnership will affect him.

"This deal helped me get my foot in the door with Getty, something I had been trying to do for years. And while I am concerned about opening up the floodgates, I am going to take it as a challenge. But I am really not worried because I like to think I am good at what I do," said Mr Bergman.

Users wanting to take part in the project will be asked to opt-in to the scheme.

Blast at Colombia coalmine kills 16 and traps dozens

2010-06-18T01:00:00.012-03:00

A blast at a coalmine in Colombia has killed 16 miners and left about 70 trapped underground, officials say.

The explosion happened late on Wednesday at the San Fernando mine in Amaga, Antioquia province.

Officials say there is little likelihood of finding survivors as rescuers tried to get into the mine.

"To be honest there is not much [hope], very little, practically none," Luz Amanda Pulido, a national disaster official, told local radio.

The blast happened at 2200 local time on Wednesday when miners were changing shift, officials said.

For that reason, the exact number of people inside the mine was unclear, they said.
Rescuers were trying again to get inside the shaft on Thursday morning.

'Huge tragedy' It is not yet clear what caused the blast but officials said there may have been a build-up of gases. There are fears the death toll could rise further.

President Alvaro Uribe described the disaster as "a huge tragedy" and said "my heart goes out" to the families of the dead.

Colombia is one of the world's largest coal exporters.

COLOMBIA'S MINE DISASTERS

2009: Methane gas explosion kills eight, also in Antioquian
February 2007: Gas explosion in north east kills 32
October 2007: At least 24 gold prospectors killed in mine collapse
April 2001: 15 dead after gas explosion in northern Colombia
1997: 16 miners buried alive after blast at coal mine in same region

It has the second-largest reserves in South America, after Brazil. According to the US Energy Information Administration, it was the fourth largest coal exporter in the world in 2008.

Dozens of workers have been killed in explosions at mines, many of which are makeshift.

A methane gas explosion killed eight workers in a mine last year, also in Antioquia province.

In February 2007, a gas explosion at a mine in north-eastern Colombia killed more than 30 workers.
After the blast at the makeshift La Preciosa site, about 580km (360 miles) north of the capital, Bogota, authorities said they would step up their supervision of Colombia's mines.

EU leaders approve fresh sanctions against Iran

2010-06-18T01:00:00.009-03:00

Iran says its nuclear programme is aimed solely at peaceful energy use

European Union leaders have approved a new set of sanctions against Iran that go further than the latest United Nations measures.

The fresh EU sanctions include a ban on investments, technical assistance and technology transfers to Iran's key oil and gas industry.

On Wednesday, the US announced its own fresh sanctions,
implementing the UN measures approved last week.
Western powers suspect Iran is seeking nuclear weapons - which Tehran denies.

The new EU sanctions were approved on Thursday by a summit in Brussels.

In a statement, the leaders expressed regret "that Iran has not taken the many opportunities which have been offered to it to remove the concerns of the international community over the nature of the Iranian nuclear programme".

Iran's shipping and air cargo companies will also be banned from operating in EU territory, and new visa bans and asset freezes will target Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

Russian objections

The new EU sanctions will now be passed on to experts who will work out which companies and products would be targeted.

Sergei Ryabkov Russian Deputy Foreign Minister

Correspondents say the move will put strong pressure on Iran, which is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, but has limited refining capability.

On Thursday Russia criticised the EU's planned sanctions.

"We are extremely disappointed that neither the United States nor the European Union is heeding our calls to refrain from such steps," Russian news agencies quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying.
The US sanctions announced on Wednesday ban Americans from trading with a number of firms and individuals, including Iran's Post Bank, Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi and the air force and missile command of the Revolutionary Guard Corps.

On 10 June the Security Council endorsed a fourth round of UN sanctions on Iran, including tighter financial curbs and an expanded arms embargo.

The US has banned most trade with Iran since 1979, when Iranian student stormed the American embassy and took diplomats hostage.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the vote as "a used handkerchief" fit for the dustbin.
Tehran has rejected calls by the Security Council to halt uranium enrichment - which could have military as well as civilian uses.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is solely designed to produce energy.

Nelson Mandela attends great-granddaughter's funeral

2010-06-18T01:00:00.008-03:00

Page last updated at 13:15 GMT, Thursday, 17 June 2010 14:15 UK

Nelson Mandela and his wife, Graca Machel, joined mourners

Nelson Mandela has made a rare public appearance for the funeral of his great-granddaughter Zenani, who was killed in a car crash last week.

Zenani Mandela, 13, died after a World Cup concert in Soweto.

Following the tragedy, Mr Mandela cancelled plans to go to the opening ceremony of the football tournament.

The car's driver, a family friend, was arrested and initially charged with drink-driving, but is not due in court until after the World Cup ends.

The family held a private burial before going to the chapel service where the public were invited.
Hundreds of well wishers turned up, filling the chapel and a tent set up nearby.

Television pictures show him being taken from his limousine by a golf buggy and then, supported by his wife, Graca Machel, making his way to the front pew of the chapel at Zenani's Johannesburg school where the service is being held.

Mr Mandela's ex-wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela - Zenani's great-grandmother - is also present, along with key figures from the world of politics, entertainment and sport and some of Zenani's classmates.
The Soweto Gospel Choir performed as guests arrived, while later the classic soul song Lean on Me was played as images of Zenani were shown on a screen.

Zenani had celebrated her 13th birthday on 9 June. She was one of Mr Mandela's nine great-grandchildren.
An anguished message was read during the service from Zenani's mother, Zoleka Mandela-Seakamela, daughter of Mandela's daughter Zindzi Mandela.

Mrs Mandela-Seakamela said she wished she had indulged her daughter more, allowing her to sleep in late and wear make-up.

"I should have given you more hugs, more kisses," she said.

South Africa has one of the world's worst road safety records, and there is an average of 42 deaths each day on roads across the country.

Last Thursday's World Cup concert had drawn tens of thousands to Soweto's Orlando Stadium, and traffic in the area had been busy into the early hours of Friday.

The event featured a cast of international stars - including Colombian singer Shakira, the Black Eyed Peas and Alicia Keys, as well as African stars Amadou & Mariam and Hugh Masekela.

Pann-Starrs telescope begins operations to hunt asteroids

2010-06-18T01:00:00.007-03:00

Science reporter, BBC News The telescope is relatively small, but incorporates cutting edge technology

A new telescope facility in Hawaii designed to search for asteroids and comets which could threaten Earth has been made operational.

The Pan-STARRS 1 telescope will map large portions of the sky each night to track not only close space objects, but also exploding stars (supernovae).

The telescope has been taking science data for six months but is now operating from dusk-dawn each night.
Pan-STARRS 1 (PS1) is expected to map one-sixth of the sky every month.

The facility boasts a huge digital camera: a 1,400 megapixel (1.4 gigapixel) device that can photograph an area of the sky as large as 36 full Moons in a single exposure.

Prof Carlos Frenk Durham University

"Although modest in size, this telescope is on the cutting edge of technology," said Dr Nick Kaiser, head of the Pan-STARRS project.

The giant digital camera will take over 500 exposures each night, collecting about four terabytes of data (equivalent to what 1,000 DVDs can hold).

By casting a wide net, the telescope is expected to catch many moving objects within our Solar System.
Frequent follow-up observations will allow astronomers to track those objects and calculate their orbits, identifying any potential threats to Earth.

In January this year, a report by the US National Research Council said the country must do more to tackle the asteroid threat.

Professor Carlos Frenk, from Durham University, who is the UK's member on the Pan-STARRS board, said: "PS1 will generate the largest ever multi-colour survey of the cosmos.

"Alongside supercomputer simulations of the universe, these data will help us understand the life cycles of galaxies and, if we are very lucky, the nature of the mysterious dark matter and dark energy that control the evolution of our cosmos."

The 1.8m (60-inch) diameter telescope on Haleakala will also spot many small, faint bodies in the outer Solar System that hid from previous surveys.

PS1 is the experimental prototype for a larger telescope to be built called PS4, which will have four times the power of PS1 and is planned for Mauna Kea in Hawaii.

World Cup 2010: Tim Cahill receives one-match ban

2010-06-18T01:00:00.006-03:00

Cahill sees red against Germany

Australia's Tim Cahill can still play in the World Cup after receiving a one-match ban for being sent off during his team's opening defeat to Germany.

Cahill, 30, will miss the Socceroos' match against Ghana on Saturday but could return to play in their final Group D game against Serbia on 23 June.

The Everton midfielder was dismissed during the 4-0 loss for a late tackle on Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger.

But Fifa said the offence merited just the automatic one-match suspension.

The Australian Football Federation delivered a robust defence of their star midfielder to Fifa's disciplinary committee, and he was also backed by Schweinsteiger.

Cahill 'saddened' about red card

After the game the Bayern Munich midfielder told a distraught Cahill that the 56th-minute dismissal was undeserved, leading the Aussie to break down in tears.

Australia will have to avoid defeat against the Ghana, who beat Serbia 1-0 in their opening game, if they harbour any hopes of progressing.

But Australian forward Harry Kewell believes the team cope without one of their most prolific goalscorers.
"Tim is a great player and it's disappointing he won't be there against Ghana," said the former Liverpool player, who is expected to come into the side after not being used in the

"But we have got great players in our squad so we can cope with any players that we have or haven't got.

"I don't think it was a red card offence, and a lot of other Australians probably think the same thing. Probably most of the Germans don't think so as well, but it's a World Cup and these things can happen."
Australia's Dutch coach Pim Verbeek has drawn criticism in Australia for fielding a defensive team against the Germans, but although he had planned to use Kewell from the bench, he said Cahill's sending off changed his plans.

The Socceroos were 2-0 down when Cahill received his marching orders.

Massimiliano Allegri set to follow Leonardo at AC Milan

2010-06-18T01:00:00.005-03:00

Allegri is regarded as one of Italy's brightest young coaches

Serie A club Cagliari have paved the way for Massimiliano Allegri to succeed Leonardo as AC Milan coach after they released him from his contract.

"Following a request by AC Milan, president Massimo Cellino decided to release him" said a Cagliari statement.

"Cagliari have not requested any compensation, given the impossibility of quantifying the value of feelings."

Allegri, 42, has been Milan's long-term choice to succeed Leonardo, who was sacked after one season in charge.

The 40-year-old Brazilian stepped up from his role as Milan's technical director to succeed Carlo Ancelotti in May 2009 when the Italian left for Chelsea.

But Leonardo struggled to improve an ageing team, with Milan finishing third, 12 points behind city rivals Inter as they failed to win a first title since 2004.

World Cup 2010: Wayne Rooney jibe fires up Algeria

2010-06-18T01:00:00.004-03:00

Extended highlights - Algeria 0-1 Slovenia

Wayne Rooney's confident prediction of an England win over Algeria in Friday's Group C match has sparked an angry reaction from the north Africans.

Rooney has suggested even an under-par England can beat Algeria in Cape Town.

"Rooney can say what he wants," said Rangers defender Madjid Bougherra. "It's his problem. We will play to win this game. We want to qualify as well."

Algeria prop up the group having lost their opening game 1-0 to Slovenia, while England drew 1-1 with the USA.

Although Algeria are ranked 30th in the world - 22 places below England - they demonstrated their capability with a play-off victory over arch rivals and African Nations champions Egypt last November to book their place in South Africa.

"Algeria always react when we are under pressure. You saw that in the play-off against Egypt," added Bougherra.

Despite being a point better off than the north Africans, Algeria coach Rabah Saadane believes England will be the ones under the greater pressure, following their much-criticised display against the United States.

"England have their backs to the wall," suggested Saadane. "We have nothing to lose and have everything to win."

This was a theme echoed by the Desert Foxes' talented Sochaux midfielder Ryad Boudebouz, who said: "England are the team under pressure. They are the ones who claimed that they came here to win the World Cup."

Defender Nadir Belhadj, who plays in England for Portsmouth and was the only Algeria player Rooney claimed he was aware of, feels his side can capitalise on an England defence missing the injured Rio Ferdinand and Ledley King.

"The defence is one of England's weak points, it's easy to create chances against them," said Belhadj.
"As for strong points, I have to recognise that there are several. They have an excellent midfield and a phenomenal attack.

"But that doesn't mean we will just lie down. We will have our say in the outcome of the match."
On Wednesday, Manchester United striker Rooney expressed confidence that England would beat Algeria to move within touching distance of the last 16.

"Against Algeria we can not be at our best and win the game," said the 24-year-old.

When asked what he knew about England's opponents, Rooney replied: "Not much. Belhadj from Portsmouth, but I don't really know much more about them. I'm sure the manager will point out their strengths and weaknesses to us."

After Friday's match, both sides have one Group C game remaining, to be played on 23 June, with Algeria facing USA in Pretoria and England taking on Slovenia in Port Elizabeth.

Highlights - England 1-1 USA

Justine Henin reaches semi-finals of Unicef Open

2010-06-18T01:00:00.003-03:00

Henin is targeting a first Wimbledon title in the next month

Justine Henin continued her Wimbledon preparation with a battling win over Germany's Kristina Barrois in the Unicef Open semi-finals.

The Belgian top seed came through 7-5 6-3 to reach the semi-finals on the grass of Den Bosch.

Henin will next face Romania's Alexandra Dulgheru, who beat fourth seed Yaroslava Shvedova 3-6 6-3 6-4.

Fellow Belgian Kirsten Flipkens will take on German seventh seed Andrea Petkovic in the other semi-final.

Flipkens enjoyed a 6-2 6-3 win over Dominika Cibulkova, while Petkovic beat qualifier Sandra Zahlavova 6-2 7-6 (7-5).

In the men's event, Germany's defending champion Benjamin Becker saw off compatriot Simon Greul 6-3 6-1 and will face Serb Janko Tipsarevic in the last four.

Ukraine's world number 71 Sergiy Stakhovsky and experienced Belgian Xavier Malisse made it through to the last four on the other side of the draw.

Ireland squander great chance to beat Australia

2010-06-18T01:00:00.002-03:00

Australian skipper Ricky Ponting gets bat on ball with Irish wicketkeeper Gary Wilson in the background

Ireland squandered a great chance to beat Australia as the world champions clinched a 39-run victory in Dublin.

The Aussies posted only 231-9 with Tim Paine hitting 81 and Paul Stirling and Kevin O'Brien among the wicket takers.

Ireland raced to 49-0 after six overs and were 80 without loss before Ryan Harris bowled Paul Stirling (36).
William Porterfield (39) soon departed and while the hosts regrouped to 137-3, James Hope (5-14) took the game away from Ireland with a damaging spell.

Ireland collapsed to 156-9, and though John Mooney and Boyd Rankin produced some final-wicket heroics with a stand of 36, Mooney's top edge was coolly gathered by Aussie captain Ricky Ponting off Shane Watson to end the game.

The Irish, who lost the toss, had produced a suffocating bowling display before the capacity 4,500 crowd at Clontarf.

That was even though Aussie native Trent Johnston was unable to bowl for Ireland in the closing stages of the innings because of a bruised thumb.

The rusty Australians struggled to blow the cobwebs away in their first match of a two-month tour that continues with a five-match one-day series against England.

Gary Wilson celebrates after stumping Michael Clarke for a duck

Opening batsmen Paine battled to 81 from 122 balls on a slow-paced wicket.

Kevin O'Brien (3-43) and off-spinner Paul Stirling (2-34) were the stand-out home bowlers, who had been beaten by nine wickets in their only previously completed one-day international against Australia at the 2007 World Cup.

Shane Watson (13) was undone by Rankin's extra bounce as he feathered an angled guide through to wicketkeeper Gary Wilson.
Ponting quickly hit Peter Connell for a pair of fours but the introduction of Kevin O'Brien and off-spinner Stirling slowed Australia's rate after the initial powerplay.

The tourists managed just 29 runs from overs 15 to 25, and the Irish were rewarded with the crucial wickets of Ponting and Michael Clarke in successive overs.

Ponting holed out to Andrew White for 33 as he advanced down the wicket to Stirling while Clarke was stumped by Wilson off Alex Cusack for a duck although it looked a debatable decision.

Paine's stoic presence was temporarily offset by some big hitting from Cameron White before he fell to the economical Stirling, after a mistimed drive to Porterfield at mid-wicket.

The opener finally departed after miscuing Kevin O'Brien to his brother Niall, who had opted not to keep wicket due to a broken finger.

The O'Briens then teamed up to remove Mike Hussey (eight) and Nathan Hauritz (19) as an Australian late rally failed to materialise.

After the match, Australia all-rounder James Hopes admitted his side "got out of jail."

"We hadn't played any one-day cricket for a while, since New Zealand, and we got off to a sluggish start," said the Queenslander who took five wickets for 14 runs.

"Fortunately we brought it back in the middle overs."
Ireland skipper Porterfield said his side had been left disappointed after failing to grasp their chance to beat the world champions.

"We had them right on the back foot. It was ours to lose and we let it slip," he said.
"It is pretty disappointing from the position we were in, especially after the first 10-12 overs."

Premier League fixtures: West Brom first up for Chelsea

2010-06-18T01:00:00.000-03:00

Chelsea won the title last season for the first time in four years

Chelsea will begin the defence of their Premier League title with a home match against newly promoted West Bromwich Albion on Saturday 14 August.

Heavyweights Liverpool and Arsenal will meet at Anfield on the opening weekend.

Last season's runners-up Manchester United face a mouth-watering home match with top-flight new boys Newcastle.

Championship play-off winners Blackpool start at home to Wigan, while Tottenham host Manchester City, who they edged out for fourth place last term.

While Newcastle boss Chris Hughton believes his side can get a result at Old Trafford, elsewhere on the opening day of the 2010/11 season, Aston Villa face West Ham and Everton travel to Blackburn, while Steve Bruce's Sunderland are at home to his old club Birmingham, Stoke visit Wolves and Bolton welcome Europa League runners-up Fulham.

The Premier League season will end on 22 May, meaning it will finish after the FA Cup final for the first time since 2002.

The FA Cup final will be staged on 14 May as Wembley Stadium is hosting the Champions League final on 28 May.

Chelsea will come up against one of their former players in Baggies manager Roberto Di Matteo in their opener.

Next up for the champions will be a trip to Wigan, where they were beaten last season, before Stoke visit Stamford Bridge on 28 August.

Carlo Ancelotti's title holders have to wait until 2 October for their first match against one of last season's top four clubs, when they face Arsenal at home, with the return fixture on Boxing Day.

Chelsea host Manchester United on 18 December, with the two coming together at at Old Trafford on 7 May - the penultimate away fixture for the Blues.

Ian Holloway's Blackpool will know all about the rigours of the top flight by the time they travel to Old Trafford - the visit comes on the final day, giving them a tough end to the campaign on 22 May.

Before the season starts, Chelsea and Manchester United will meet in the FA Community Shield - the traditional curtain-raiser to the new season - at Wembley on Sunday, 8 August.

Times Square car bomb suspect Faisal Shahzad indicted

2010-06-17T20:51:00.001-03:00

Faisal Shazhad, 30, was arrested two days after the car bomb attempt

The main suspect in the alleged attempt to set of a car bomb in New York's Times Square last month has been indicted by a federal grand jury.

Faisal Shahzad, 30, is facing terror charges, including attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.

The explosives found in a car on Times Square on 1 May failed to detonate.

Mr Shahzad, a Pakistani-born US citizen, was later arrested at New York's JFK airport. He faces life in prison if convicted.

He did not enter a plea at a court appearance on 18 May, but officials said he was co-operating.

The SUV found on Times Square was loaded with fertiliser, fireworks, gasoline, propane and alarm clocks.
Investigators traced the vehicle back to Mr Shahzad.

US expands sanctions against Iran

2010-06-17T01:00:00.014-03:00

Iran says its nuclear programme is aimed solely at peaceful energy use

The United States is expanding its sanctions against Iran because of concerns about its nuclear ambitions.

Washington said the individuals and institutions targeted were helping Iran to develop its nuclear programme.

This is the first step in implementing sanctions adopted by the UN Security Council last week.

Those blacklisted include Iran's Post Bank, Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi and the air force and missile command of the Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Western powers accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons - a charge Iran strongly denies.
Front companies targeted

The US sanctions prohibit any American business or individual from trading with those named on the blacklist. The sanctions also freeze any assets they may have under US jurisdiction.

"We will continue to target Iran's support for terrorist organisations, we will continue to focus on Iran's Revolutionary Guard, and we will continue to expose Iran's efforts to evade international sanctions," US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told a White House news briefing.

Also on the list is a front company for the national shipping line, which is run by the Revolutionary Guards.
The Treasury has designated 27 new ships and has updated entries for 71 others whose names had been changed.

The designation of Post Bank brings to 16 the total number of Iranian banks under sanctions. The US Treasury says Post Bank is a front for Bank Sepah, which was designated in 2007 for providing financial services to the Iranian missile industry.

EU sanctions Last week, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the UN sanctions as "a used handkerchief" fit for the dustbin.

The European Union, which has been working closely with Washington, will decide on its own sanctions at a summit on Thursday.

The EU's proposed sanctions go further than the UN, targeting the oil and gas industry.

EU countries such as Germany and Italy have become important trading partners for Iran, but the EU is becoming increasingly concerned that Iran may be pursuing nuclear weapons.

Church bones 'belong to Caravaggio', researchers say

2010-06-17T01:00:00.013-03:00

Researchers used DNA and carbon dating to make their findings

Human remains found in a church in Tuscany almost certainly belong to Renaissance artist Caravaggio, Italian researchers said.

The team said they were 85% sure that the set of bones of a man who died in about 1610, aged between 38 and 40, were that of the painter.

The remains had been kept in an ossuary in a church crypt in Porto Ercole, after reportedly being exhumed in 1956.

Caravaggio was known for his "chiaroscuro" painting technique.
The method, in which light and shadow are sharply contrasted, revolutionised painting.
Mystery

The researchers, from four Italian universities, said they believed Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio died of sunstroke while weakened by syphilis.

The findings come after a year-long investigation using DNA, carbon dating and other analysis.

The cause of his death had been a mystery, with various theories put forward, including that he was assassinated for religious reasons, and that he collapsed with malaria on a deserted beach.
Some have said he was on his way to Rome to seek a pardon when he died.

Carravagio was famed for his wild lifestyle, including often starting fights and ending up in jail. He even killed a man.

He was born in either 1571 or 1573, according to varying scholars, and spent the last few years of his life fleeing justice in southern Italy.

His works include Bacchus, The Supper at Emmaus and Sacrifice of Isaac.

The remains are believed to have laid originally in an unmarked grave among around 200 others at the church cemetery, until they were exhumed in 1956 and placed in the ossuary.

Former boss of US lender accused of $1.9bn fraud

2010-06-17T01:00:00.012-03:00

It is alleged that Mr Farkas participated in a "massive" fraud

The former boss of the now bankrupt US lender Taylor, Bean & Whitaker (TBW) has been charged with 16 counts of fraud, worth more than $1.9bn (£1.3bn).

Lee Farkas, who was chief executive and then chairman of TBW, was accused of trying to misappropriate money from banks and federal institutions.

The indictment also accused Mr Farkas and other unnamed conspirators of trying to obtain money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (Tarp).

TBW ceased operating in August 2009.

Mr Farkas is charged with conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud and securities fraud.

TBW once oversaw some $30bn-worth of residential loans but filed for bankruptcy last August.
Bank failures

According to the indictment, the scheme began in 2002 when TBW began to experience cashflow problems, and relates to the misappropriation of funds from two institutions.

"Farkas and his co-conspirators allegedly engaged in a scheme to misappropriate more than $400m from Colonial Bank's Mortgage Warehouse Lending Division in Orlando, Florida, and approximately $1.5bn from Ocala Funding, a mortgage lending facility controlled by TBW," the indictment said.

Neil Barofsky Special inspector general for Tarp

"According to the government motion seeking Farkas's detention, the fraud scheme contributed to the failures of Colonial Bank and TBW."

It was also alleged that a "series of false press releases" were put out to suggest that TBW had invested in Colonial, which caused Colonial to misrepresent that it had satisfied a requirement to qualify for money from Tarp, the US's taxpayer-funded bail-out plan for banks.

"The indictment further alleges that Farkas and his co-conspirators committed wire and securities fraud in connection with their attempt to convince the United States government to provide Colonial Bank with approximately $553m in TARP funds."

However, no Tarp funds were ever obtained.
'Truly stunning'

Mr Farkas was arrested on Tuesday night as he left a gym he owns.

It is believed that the co-conspirators are made up of "some at TBW and some at Colonial".
The charges were announced by members of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.

Assistant attorney general Lanny A. Breuer, for the criminal division at the Department of Justice, said court documents allege that Mr Farkas and others participated in a "massive" fraud, that was "truly stunning in its scale and complexity".

Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for Tarp, added: "Today's indictment describes an unprecedented scheme by executives at two large financial institutions to steal more than $550m from the American taxpayer. Due to the efforts of SIGTARP agents, our law enforcement partners, and the SEC, this scheme was stopped dead in its tracks [and] taxpayers were protected."

Officials estimate that Mr Farkas personally gained "at least $20m" from these activities but "it's ongoing".
Members of the task force also included officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the financial watchdog the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Informants share $1.2m reward for hostage tip-off

2010-06-17T01:00:00.011-03:00

The rescued captives recevied a hero's welcome

Informants who aided the rescue of four members of the Colombian security forces from rebels will share a $1.2m (£800,000) reward, the army has said.

The three police officers and a soldier had been held captive by the Farc guerrillas for almost a decade.

They were rescued on Sunday in an army raid on a rebel camp in the jungle in southern Colombia.

The army did not say how many informants were involved, but said one was a rebel deserter.
valuable assistance

The head of the army, General Oscar Gonzalez, said information from a number of sources had led the army to the exact location where the captives were being held.

"We knew exactly where we were going, how the security was set up, and how many terrorists were guarding the hostages", he said.

He added that the army would do its utmost to protect a former guerrilla who gave "valuable assistance" to the rescue effort.

Police officers Gen Luis Mendieta, Col Enrique Murillo and Lt Col William Donato, and army Sgt Arbey Delgado, were given a hero's welcome when they arrived in Bogota after almost a decade in captivity.
The rescue operation was the highest-profile mission since July 2008, when French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and three Americans were freed from rebel hands.

It came just days before the second round of Colombia's presidential election.

Former Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos, who was credited with masterminding that operation, is favourite to win the 20 June second round of the presidential election, when he will face Green Party candidate Antanas Mockus.

It is believed the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) are still holding 19 members of the security forces whom they want to swap for some 500 jailed guerrillas.
Most of the hostages have been held for more than a decade.

Seattle police to review training after girl punched

2010-06-17T01:00:00.010-03:00

Page last updated at 21:30 GMT, Wednesday, 16 June 2010 22:30 UK

The incident was captured on camera

Seattle police are to review training procedures after video of an officer punching a teenage girl circulated widely on US television and online.

The officer struck the 17-year-old after she tried to intervene while he was scuffling with another teenage girl he had seen jaywalking, officials said.

The Seattle police union defended the officer, saying he was working alone amid a crowd and feared for his safety.

The girls, who were arrested, were not harmed in the incident, police said.

In the video, shot on Monday, the officer is shown struggling with a girl in black who police said had tried to leave the scene when he confronted her about jaywalking.

A girl in a pink top intervenes, apparently trying to free the other girl. The footage then shows the police officer punching her as onlookers watch.

The officer, Ian Walsh, has been transferred temporarily to the department's training unit, Seattle police said.
Police officials said the review of training procedures was not meant as a criticism of the officer's actions but would examine whether training could be improved.

Seattle police officers' guild president Richard O'Neill said officers were wary of crowds that could turn violent.

"This officer, if you see on the video, was surrounded by an ever-growing group," he said. "This could have been a tragedy."

A Seattle police spokesman said that use of force was within an individual officer's discretion.

Deadly flash floods hit southern France

2010-06-17T01:00:00.009-03:00

Page last updated at 21:55 GMT, Wednesday, 16 June 2010 22:55 UK

Heavy rains have caused havoc in France

At least 19 people have been killed by flash floods in south-eastern France, officials say.

Several others have been reported missing after torrential rain hit the mountains above the Cote D'Azur region on Tuesday.

A number of towns in the department of Var were affected, with hundreds of homes flooded.
Meteo France, the national weather service, said up to 40cm (15.7in) of rain had fallen since Tuesday.
Meterologists say the floods are the worst in the region since 1827.

About 2,000 rescue workers have been drafted into affected regions around Draguignan - the worst-hit area - near the Mediterranean coast to help those trapped in their vehicles or houses.
'Devastated'

Water levels were said to be falling slightly in Draguignan on Wednesday, though the rain was continuing in nearby Roquebrune and Frejus.

Meteo France has warned of further storms on Wednesday night.
"We have never seen so much rain in the month of June," Patrick Galois of Meteo France told the AFP news agency.

At least 1,000 people had to leave their homes and spend the night in schools or other temporary shelters, and some 175,000 houses were estimated to have been left without electricity.
Some reportedly sought shelter on the roofs of their homes, while helicopters were brought in to rescue people.

Rescue teams had to moved 436 inmates from a prison in Draguignan after two floors flooded.
The force of the water swept empty cars and other vehicles down streets in Draguignan.

"This morning, we woke up to find a town centre that was devastated, extremely battered with overturned cars floating in the streets, collapsed roads and gutted houses," said Corinne Orzechowski, the official leading the emergency operation.

Condolences The floods are believed to be the worst since 1827 The BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris says that many of those who died were caught in their cars.

Rail and air services in the region were interrupted, and about 300 passengers travelling on a high-speed train between Nice and Lille had been trapped by the flood waters, the AFP news agency reported.
The railway line between Toulon and Frejus will be closed until Thursday morning.

President Nicolas Sarkozy offered condolences to the families of the victims, and pledged his support to rescue workers "mobilising non-stop to provide aid and find those still missing".
He plans to visit the area early next week.

Aid arrives by air for victims of the Kyrgyz violence

2010-06-17T01:00:00.008-03:00

Planes have begun delivering foreign aid after the violence which engulfed south Kyrgyzstan's ethnic Uzbeks.

These have been the worst clashes in Kyrgyzstan since the days of the USSR

UN refugee agency planes are landing in neighbouring Uzbekistan where some 75,000 people fled to safety before the country closed its borders.

Russian government planes have been arriving in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek carrying food and blankets.

With at least 179 deaths reported, more than a quarter of a million people are said to have fled their homes.

The true number of casualties is unknown, as many of the dead were buried without relatives registering them as having been killed. A further 1,870 people are said to have been injured.

While there were no reports of heavy fighting between Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbeks on Wednesday, ethnic Uzbeks in Osh threatened to blow up a city oil depot if they did not get guarantees of protection.

Kyrgyzstan's interim leaders have been struggling to impose their authority since coming to power after President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was overthrown in April.

The agency believes about 200,000 people are displaced within Kyrgyzstan while some 75,000 have sought safety in Uzbekistan.

"What is happening is already a tragedy and it could become a catastrophe," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres told German radio.

Two Russian government cargo planes, each carrying 42 tonnes of aid including food and blankets, landed in Bishkek.

Pascale Meige Wagner, regional head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said there were people still trapped in their homes, including people in need of medical care, and food was running out.
The World Food Programme says it has 3,000 tonnes of food, mainly wheat flour and oil, already in Kyrgyzstan.

It would be enough to feed 87,000 people for two months, but road deliveries are hazardous amid the unrest.
Stand-off

Talks have been under way in Osh between Kyrgyz officials and ethnic Uzbeks holding the oil depot, which stores most of the petrol distributed in the region.

One of the Uzbeks' representatives told the BBC they no longer trusted the government and Kyrgyz military, and were hoping for UN peacekeepers to intervene.

Officials in Jalalabad, which also saw violence, say a suspected organiser of the clashes has been detained.
They say there is strong evidence that allies of Mr Bakiyev fomented the unrest.
The UN has said it believed the initial violence was "orchestrated, targeted and well-planned".
Ms Wagner of the Red Cross said her team on the ground was unable to judge whether ethnicity was at the root of the violence.

"What is striking us is the level of brutality, I mean the willingness to harm and to kill, and this is really something that is extremely worrying for us," she told the BBC.

The government believes allies of Mr Bakiyev, who now lives in exile in Belarus, want to derail a national referendum on constitutional reform scheduled for 27 June.

A Kyrgyz government appeal for Russia to send in peacekeeping troops was rejected by Moscow.
Washington is sending its top Central Asia diplomat, Robert Blake, for meetings with officials in Bishkek on Friday and Saturday.

The clashes are the worst ethnic violence to hit southern Kyrgyzstan since the dying days of the USSR when several hundred people were killed.

Global Fund freezes Zambia aid over corruption concern

2010-06-17T01:00:00.007-03:00

The suspension will be a big blow to a country that is dependent on aid

More than $300m (£200m) of health funding to Zambia's goverment is being suspended by the Global Fund to fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

It said it was concerned about alleged corruption in connection with one or more grants to the health ministry.

But some aid will be channelled through other groups, a spokesman told the BBC.

It is not the first time Zambia has lost aid amid corruption claims: Sweden and the Netherlands stopped health aid and the EU halted road-building funds.

'Slowness in action' The director of communications for the Global Fund, John Liden, told the BBC life-saving treatments would not be hit.

He said the health ministry had failed to take the necessary steps since the corruption was first detected.
"We have identified a set of individuals, we have alerted Zambian government authorities about this," he said.
"We have repeatedly asked for action, there has been slowness in action on the Zambian side.

"That's one of the reasons we feel we do not have confidence that the Ministry of Health, at this stage, can continue to channel funding of this magnitude for health in Zambia."

Correspondents say the decision will be a big blow to the government which depends on aid to treat HIV and Aids.

The Global Fund also suspended assistance to Uganda five years ago for "serious mismanagement of its funds".

The organisation was set up in 2002 under the direction of then-UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
It has distributed more than $19bn in aid targeted at tackling HIV/Aids, malaria and tuberculosis.

BBC world affairs correspondent Adam Mynott says the fund has undoubtedly had its successes and it is estimated that it has helped save more than five million lives.

Its funding, which comes from government and private sources, is directed at the world's poorest nations.
Many of them are in sub-Saharan Africa, where corruption is widespread and there is a tacit but reluctant acceptance that some money is bound to go missing, our correspondent says.

But in the case of Zambia, warnings to the government to get its house in order have been ignored, our correspondent says.

The European Union has withdrawn some funding to Zambia for road-building because of corruption.
And last year, the Netherlands and Sweden halted $30m of direct aid for the Zambian health ministry because money was disappearing into the pockets of officials.

World Cup 2010: Buffon World Cup future uncertain

2010-06-17T01:00:00.006-03:00

Italy v Paraguay - Match highlights

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has missed training for the second successive day amid fears that he may not play again in the 2010 World Cup.

The 32-year-old sat out Wednesday's session and tests on his injured back show a small herniated disc as well as a sciatic problem.

Italy team doctor Enrico Castellacci said the recovery would "not be brief".

Buffon was replaced by substitute Federico Marchetti at half-time in Monday's 1-1 draw against Paraguay.
Buffon initially said he hoped "to recover in two days" but the Azzurri may now have to defend their status as world champions without their experienced keeper.

Buffon's Italy and Juventus team-mate Giorgio Chiellini admitted losing the world's most expensive keeper would be a huge blow.

"A good goalkeeper is just as valuable as a striker who scores a lot of goals," stated Chiellini.
"It's obvious how much he's worth to the team."

Buffon could do little to stop Paraguay taking the lead on a rain-drenched night in Cape Town, with Antolin Alcaraz making the most of some hesitant defending from captain Fabio Cannavaro and Daniele De Rossi to head home the opener.

But De Rossi made amends after the break when some dreadful goalkeeping from Paraguay's Justo Villar allowed the midfielder to nip in and equalise from a corner.

"During the warm-up Buffon felt a pain in his back and after the first half he couldn't continue," commented Italy coach Marcelo Lippi.

"It was a big blow. We lost a substitution that we could have used.

Buffon is regarded as the one of the best goalkeepers in world football

Italy struggled to get going in what was their first World Cup match since winning the tournament in Germany in 2006.
The awful weather did not help their cause though, and Lippi, who masterminded the triumph in Berlin four years ago, insisted his team had made a satisfactory start to their title defence.

"Italy is right here. We're here tactically, physically, with our hearts, we're here full stop," Lippi added.

"I just regret that we did not get the points we deserved, but sometimes that's what happens, you get less than you deserve.

"The important thing is this was not a decisive game. What is important is that people now realise we are here and have got our act together."

"We deserved to win," De Rossi reflected. "We controlled the ball virtually the entire time, but it's not easy against these teams that dream simply of drawing with the world champions.
"And if you fall behind, it becomes even tougher."

De Rossi equalises for Italy

World Cup 2010: Veron ruled out of Argentina game

2010-06-17T01:00:00.005-03:00

Argentina midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron has been ruled out of Thursday's World Cup Group B game against South Korea because of a leg injury.

The former Manchester United player is being rested as a precaution after suffering a calf muscle strain.
Argentina coach Diego Maradona said he did not want to risk Veron aggravating the problem and ending his World Cup.

Maxi Rodriguez is set to deputise, in what is likely to be the only change from the side that beat Nigeria 1-0.
Maradona admitted it was a difficult decision to leave out Veron but said the 35-year-old playmaker could return for the final group game with Greece.

The coach told a press conference: "It was a difficult decision to leave Seba out, because he really wants to play and of course nobody wants to miss out on the World Cup, but we have to deal with the problem of risk.

"We don't want the injury to get worse, we don't want Veron's World Cup to end. I need him.

"He understood perfectly well that it was the best for the team. We'll just let Veron rest and recover and we hope he can play against Greece.

"Although we may be losing a very important player I think Maxi Rodriguez is going to do a wonderful job."
South Korea top the group on goal difference after the first round of matches, following their 2-0 victory over Greece.

The tournament has yielded fewer goals than expected so far with Germany's 4-0 thrashing of Australia and Brazil's 2-1 win over North Korea the only games to feature three or more goals.
But Maradona is confident the level of excitement will improve.

"I'm having a wonderful time to tell the truth, to me a World Cup is something that's quite amazing," said Maradona.

"I'm not worried by the fact there aren't many goals, I'm sure there will be goals, I'm sure the players will see to that.

"Of course in the first matches you are more careful, perhaps more careful than you should be."

Maverick Maradona's sideline exploits

Virender Sehwag helps India beat Bangladesh in Asia Cup

2010-06-17T01:00:00.004-03:00

Sehwag shone with the ball but only scored 11 with the bat

Virender Sehwag starred with the ball as India secured an emphatic six-wicket win over Bangladesh in the second match of the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka.

He took four wickets for only six runs with his off-spin to help India dismiss Bangladesh for 167 in 34.5 overs.

Bangladesh collapsed from 155-4 and lost their final four wickets in Dambulla without scoring any runs.

Sehwag scored only 11 with the bat, but Gautam Gambhir made a steady 82 as India sped to victory in the 31st over.

Bangladesh, having won the toss, got off to a flying start when openers Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes raced to 35 off 2.5 overs before Praveen Kumar made the breakthrough by getting Tamim caught in the covers for 22.

Bangladesh maintained a steady run rate of nearly six an over until Sehwag was brought into the attack in the 31st over.

The part-time bowler had Mushfiqur Rahim caught at the wicket, trapped Suhrawadi Shuvo and Shafiul Islam leg-before and then ended the innings by bowling Syed Rasel.

Gambhir, who had to deal with a brief interruption because of bad light, was dropped by Tamin on 48 before falling leg-before with only 10 runs needed for victory.

However, India skipper Mahendra Dhoni hit the winning runs to finish unbeaten on 38 and secure a bonus point for winning before the 40th over.

"The spinners won it for us," said Dhoni. "It was good we chased a low target because it is very difficult to bat under lights here."

Bangladesh will look to bounce back when they face champions Sri Lanka in the next match of the four-nation tournament on Friday.

Sri Lanka opened the tournament on Tuesday with a 16-run win over Pakistan.

Fernando Alonso backs Ferrari to battle for F1 title

2010-06-17T01:00:00.003-03:00

Fernando Alonso led race winner Lewis Hamilton during the Canadian Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso has warned rivals not to write off Ferrari ahead of the second half of the Formula 1 season.

The two-time world champion says that Ferrari's updates for next week's European Grand Prix in Valencia are only the start of a concerted push.

"We will have further developments for England and Germany," said Alonso. "Valencia is not a last-ditch effort."

The Spaniard lies just 15 points - the same as a third-place finish - behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton.

But Ferrari's pace has been disappointing this season since Alonso won the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on his debut for the team.

Last weekend, however, the Montreal circuit used for the Canadian GP, suited the Ferrari F10 far better, allowing Alonso to fight for the lead and eventually finish third.

The Valencia city circuit has some similarities to Montreal; it has long straights and relatively slow corners, playing to the Ferrari's existing strengths of mechanical grip.

But a major breakthrough on aerodynamics has excited the team, and is due to feature on the F10 for the first time in Valencia.

The new development uses exhaust gases to move the airflow around the diffuser and rear beam wing more effectively. The concept is believed to be the key to the Red Bull RB6's stunning pace in fast corners this season.

In his blog on Ferrari's website, Alonso said: "We will have major updates on the F10 which I hope will allow us to up our performance level.

"Following on from that, we have further developments in the pipeline which should arrive for England and Germany, which is to say that the European GP is simply the ninth round of the championship, not a last-ditch effort for Ferrari, which I heard some people saying.

"I don't see how they can say that given that we have not even reached the halfway point of the [19-race] season, and that after Valencia there will still be 10 Grands Prix to go.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again now: this is a stage event, and the final one of those stages will not come until November in Abu Dhabi. Things can change very quickly."

Alonso said the team's mood had changed since the disappointment of being beaten by McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button in Canada.

"The sense of disappointment that we missed out on a win has been replaced with the awareness that we did actually get a great result," he said.

"We have to look at it as a glass half-full because on the Thursday we would have been satisfied with the thought of a podium finish.

"We were competitive throughout the whole weekend, both in qualifying and the race, which is very positive.
"In the first eight races of the season all sorts of things happened - mistakes, reliability problems, bad luck - but we are still in the thick of the fight for both championships [drivers' and constructors']. The same can be said of McLaren and Red Bull, who have also missed out on points along the way."

Riders in Mark Cavendish protest at Tour of Switzerland

2010-06-17T01:00:00.001-03:00

Cavendish (bottom centre) has been accused of showing a lack of respect

Stage five of the Tour of Switzerland was delayed on Wednesday as riders expressed their anger at Mark Cavendish for causing Tuesday's mass crash.

The Briton was given a time penalty and docked 25 points for changing his line and putting his colleagues in danger in the final sprint in the fourth stage.

Riders from the Cervelo, AG2R and Caisse d'Epargne teams were forced to quit after suffering injuries.
The start of Wednesday's stage was held up for around two minutes.

Affected by heavy rain showers, it was won by BMC's Marcus Burghardt. Fellow German Tony Martin, of HTC-Columbia, finished with the main peloton 46 seconds behind to keep a hold of the race leader's yellow jersey going into the key mountain stage.

AG2R sporting director Gilles Mas said the protest was intended to "send a message to Cavendish to ask him for more respect".

In Tuesday's chaotic finish, Sebastien Hinault of AG2R was elbowed by the British rider, while Heinrich Haussler, Arnaud Coyot and Lloyd Mondory all picked up injuries and had to withdraw from the race.

Cavendish, riding for HTC-Columbia, was well positioned in the stage but touched wheels with Haussler, sparking a major pile-up. Alessandro Petacchi picked his way through fallen riders to win the stage.

A furious Haussler said after the race on Tuesday: "I didn't see Cavendish coming. He drove into my wheel and before I knew it, I went down and was lying on the ground. I could have won the stage."

The 25-year-old Briton, who joined Wednesday's stage with his right knee bandaged, said: "I'm not going to say that I'm not at fault but I don't think I should have been held as the sole person responsible.

"It's the worst fall of my career, the worst injuries that I've suffered. But there are riders who are in a worse state than me."

Andy Murray seeded fourth at Wimbledon

2010-06-17T01:00:00.000-03:00

Murray will look to improve on his semi-final defeat by Andy Roddick last year

British number one Andy Murray has been seeded fourth for Wimbledon, with defending champion and world number two Roger Federer handed the top seeding.

Defending champion Serena Williams is top seed for the women's singles with sister Venus at number two.
Federer, six-time Wimbledon champion, received the number one seeding despite being supplanted by Rafael Nadal at the top of the world rankings.

The grass-court Grand Slam starts on 21 June with the draw on Friday.

Spaniard Nadal, who was unable to defend his Wimbledon title last year because of a knee injury, overtook his Swiss rival after winning his fifth French Open crown in Paris earlier this month.

The 23-year-old Murray will be desperate for an improvement in fortune having been hampered by a knee injury and beaten by American Mardy Fish in the third round at Queen's.

The Scot has admitted he needs more grass-court action and will face former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt at London's Hurlingham club on Thursday.

Murray, Britain's number one, suffered a four-set loss to American Andy Roddick in last year's Wimbledon semi-final and will find out on Friday whether he is in line to face Federer or Nadal in the last four.

Three-time Wimbledon runner-up Roddick, who went on to lose a five-set thriller to Federer in the 2009 final, moves up to fifth seed because of his record on grass, despite being ranked world number seven.
Australia's Hewitt, ranked 26 in the world, rises to 15th seed after an impressive win over Federer on grass in the Halle final in Germany on Sunday - only Federer's second defeat on grass in 78 matches.

Murray wants Wimbledon improvement

Discretion is down to the All England Club which seeds the players based on their record on grass.
Wimbledon referee Andrew Jarrett said: "While the seeding positions of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are reversed from their current rankings, there is no practical effect since they remain the leading seeds in their respective halves of the draw."

The women's seedings stuck to the world rankings, with the possibility of a fifth all-Williams Wimbledon final following Serena's win over Venus last year for her third Wimbledon title.

Caroline Wozniacki is third seed and because of the withdrawal of the injured world number five Elena Dementieva, Jelena Jankovic is fourth seed ahead of French Open champion Francesca Schiavone.
Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, who are both returning to Wimbledon after coming out of

retirement, are seeded number eight and 17 respectively.

Archive - Federer wins 15th Grand Slam in 2009

Mexico targets 'dirty dollars'

2010-06-16T01:00:00.008-03:00

Mexico estimates $10bn of laundered money enters the country each year

Mexico has imposed limits on the use of US dollars in an attempt to limit money-laundering by drug traffickers.

Mexicans who don't have bank accounts will be able to exchange only up to $1,500 (£1,000) a month.

Those with accounts could change a maximum of $4,000.
The Mexican treasury estimates that $10bn of laundered money enters the country's banking system each year, fuelling drug-related violence.

The last few days have seen a surge in drug-related killings in the country.

In the latest bloodshed, at least 14 suspected drug cartel gunmen were killed in a clash with the army in the town of Taxco, south of Mexico City.

Dirty money "This measure is consistent with a strategy of fighting not just drug trafficking but also organised crime," said Treasury Secretary Ernesto Cordero.

"We have to close the way to dollars from sources that may be illegal."

The new law applies to currency exchange and cash deposits, but no limits will be placed on the purchase of dollars.

Businesses that work in tourism or close to the US border will be able to deposit up to $7,000 a month.
The illegal flow of billions of dollars from the US is fuelling Mexico's escalating drugs war, the government says.

Huge incomes allow the drugs gangs to buy advanced weaponry to fight the security forces and each other.
Further bloodshed

At least 23,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since December 2006, when President Calderon ordered the army and federal police to combat the cartels.

Mexico's police are sometimes outgunned by the cartels

In Tuesday's violence in Taxco, the army said soldiers returned fire when they were attacked by gunmen, and later seized guns and grenades.

Taxco in Guerrero state is a colonial-era silver mining town that is popular with tourists, but the region is a focus for turf wars between rival drugs gangs.

Last month a mass grave with 55 bodies was discovered in an abandoned mineshaft outside the town.
On Monday, 12 federal police officers were killed in an ambush in the western state of Michoacan, and at least 29 inmates died in fighting between rival gangs in a prison in the north-western state of Sinaloa.

And last Friday more than 40 people were killed in separate incidents.

Critics of President Felipe Calderon say his policy of using troops to fight the cartels has only worsened the violence, without stopping the flow of drugs.

But on Monday Mr Calderon defended his strategy in an article published on the presidency website and in several newspapers.

"I am convinced that we would be in a much worse situation if we had not decided to take on the criminals," Mr Calderon wrote.

"If we remain with our arms crossed, we will remain in the grip of organised crime, we will always live in fear, our children will have no future, there will be more violence and we will lose our freedom."

Mexico train crash 'kills at least 10'

2010-06-16T01:00:00.007-03:00

At least 10 people are reported to have been killed after two freight trains collided in Mexico.

Several more were injured, including illegal migrants hitching rides, said the state prosecutor's office in the western state of Sinaloa.
The crash early on Tuesday came after a faulty track change, reports said.

"Someone didn't change the tracks correctly," Martin Gastelum, spokesman for Sinaloa's public prosecutor's office, told Reuters news agency.

"Ten died. The majority are undocumented [migrant]) and the train operators are hurt. There are five people injured," said Mr Gastelum.

One of the trains was carrying a cargo of corn, which was scattered across the accident scene.

There were fears that the death toll could rise. "They are still searching to see if there are bodies buried under the corn," added Mr Gastelum.

Hundreds of migrants from Central America risk their lives to travel across Mexico by rail, hoping to cross illegally into the United States.

Many hitch rides on cargo trains, sometimes falling to their deaths.

UN warship hearing angers N Korea

2010-06-16T01:00:00.006-03:00

Seoul and Pyongyang have cut most cross-border ties after the sinking

North Korea says its military will respond if the UN Security Council rebukes it over an alleged torpedo attack on a Southern warship in March.

In a rare news conference, the North's UN envoy Sin Son-ho demanded that Pyongyang be allowed to send a team to investigate the sinking of the Cheonan.

His comments came a day after North and South gave their versions of events to the UN in separate hearings.

The US said the comments represented more "provocative behaviour".

"We're looking for North Korea to change its unacceptable behaviour, to cease belligerent actions," said White House spokesman Philip Crowley.

"The last thing we want to see is further tension in the Korean peninsula."

End of diplomacy The South is hoping for tough action from the UN, which has so far expressed "grave concern" but has not blamed either side.
North Korea's UN envoy Sin Son-ho rarely gives news conferences

Mr Sin said the Security Council had so far heard only one side of the story, because the South had turned down the North's requests to be allowed to investigate the incident.

"If the Security Council release any documents against us condemning or questioning us in any document then... [as a] diplomat, I can do nothing," he said.

"The follow-up measures will be carried out by our military forces."
Analysts say the Security Council still has not decided what to do, with China usually reluctant to sanction any move against its allies in Pyongyang.

The warship was sunk in March, killing 46 sailors on board.
Since the sinking, Seoul has suspended trade with its neighbour, to which Pyongyang responded by cutting all bilateral ties.

Iran 'vote riggers' must be tried, Mousavi says

2010-06-16T01:00:00.005-03:00

Scores were killed and thousands arrested in last year's protests

Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi has called for the trial of those he claimed "committed fraud" in last year's presidential election.

He made the demand in a statement issued on the anniversary of violent protests that followed the vote.

Mr Mousavi also said the police and the military should stay out of politics. He demanded an independent judiciary.

Last week, he urged his supporters not to take to the streets to mark the anniversary to avoid bloodshed.
Scores of people were killed and thousands arrested during the violence that followed the controversial re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on 12 June 2009.

"A fair trial of those who committed the election fraud, tortured and killed protesters must be held," Mr Mousavi said in the statement released on his website Kaleme.com.

He called for an "end to the involvement of police and military forces in politics, the independence of the judiciary, and prosecution of those in plainclothes," referring to the Basij militia, deployed in Tehran last year during opposition protests against Mr Ahmadinejad.

He urged authorities to release political prisoners and to lift restrictions on political parties and social movements.

Last week, Mr Mousavi and his reformist ally Mehdi Karroubi called off mass protests planned for the one-year anniversary of President Ahmadinejad's re-election, saying they did not want to cause the loss of innocent lives.

Only sporadic demonstrations in Tehran and other Iranian cities were reported, amid a massive security presence and warnings from the intelligence ministry that protesters would be "charged as criminals" for "any illegal action and contact with the foreign media".

Mr Mousavi has repeatedly vowed to continue his struggle against the government, even saying he is not afraid to die for the cause of reform.

World Cup 2010: Honduran Palacios brothers set history

2010-06-16T01:00:00.004-03:00

Midfielder Wilson Palacios is Honduras' star player

Honduras have become the first country in World Cup history to select three brothers in their squad after calling up Jerry Palacios on Tuesday.

He joins brothers Wilson and Johnny in South Africa after replacing injured Torino star Julio Cesar de Leon.

Striker Jerry, 29, plays for Chinese club Hangzhou Greentown, Johnny, 24, for Olimpia in Honduras and Wilson, 26, for Tottenham Hotspur.
Teams are allowed to replace players up to 24 hours before their opening match.

Honduras play their first match against Chile in Group H on Wednesday.
The Palacios brothers hail from the town of La Ceiba in Honduras.

Wilson, the best known of the trio, has had injury problems of his own to deal with after straining a leg muscle in the run-up to Wednesday's match but is expected to be fit.
"He is pretty much 100% and right now it seems he will be fine," said Honduras assistant Carlos Velasco.
The triple Palacios call-up will be a boost to the family three years after younger brother Edwin was kidnapped in the politically troubled Central American country.

Although a $150,000 ransom was paid, Edwin's body was discovered in a remote rural area.

"Everything I do in football is for Edwin. He is watching over me," Jerry told Honduran reporters upon his arrival in South Africa, where Honduras are preparing for only their second appearance in a World Cup.

World Cup 2010: Gianluigi Buffon's World Cup in doubt

2010-06-16T01:00:00.003-03:00

Italy v Paraguay - Match highlights

Italy's influential goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon may not play again in the 2010 World Cup as his back problem is more serious than initially feared.

Buffon, who was replaced at half-time in Monday's 1-1 draw in their World Cup Group F opener against Paraguay, has a problem with his sciatic nerve.

A team statement said: "[He] has a strong sciatic problem. It's impossible to estimate when he might return."
Italy's next match is against New Zealand on Sunday 20 June at 1500 BST.

Buffon, 32, was replaced by substitute Federico Marchetti at half-time in Cape Town as the World Cup holders began the defence of their title.

He initially said he hoped "to recover in two days".

But team doctor Enrico Castellacci stopped short of stating that Buffon would be fit.

Buffon could do little to stop Paraguay taking the lead on a

rain-drenched night in Cape Town, with Antolin Alcaraz making the most of some hesitant defending from captain Fabio Cannavaro and Daniele De Rossi to head home an unlikely opener.

But De Rossi made amends after the break when some dreadful goalkeeping from Paraguay's Justo Villar allowed the midfielder to nip in and equalise from a corner.

"During the warm-up Buffon felt a pain in his back and after the first half he couldn't continue," said Italy coach Marcelo Lippi.

"It was a big blow. We lost a substitution that we could have used.

Buffon is regarded as the one of the best goalkeepers in world football

Italy struggled to get going in what was their first World Cup match since winning the tournament in Germany four years ago.
The awful weather did not help their cause though, and Lippi, who masterminded the victory in Berlin, insisted his team had made a satisfactory start to their title defence.
"Italy is right here. We're here tactically, physically, with our hearts, we're here full stop.
"I just regret that we did not get the points we deserved, but sometimes that's what happens, you get less than you deserve.
"The important thing is this was not a decisive game. What is important is that people now realise we are here and have got our act together."
"We deserved to win," De Rossi said. "We controlled the ball virtually the entire time, but it's not easy against these teams that dream simply of drawing with the world champions.
"And if you fall behind, it becomes even tougher."

De Rossi equalises for Italy

Zoran Tosic leaves Manchester United for CSKA Moscow

2010-06-16T01:00:00.002-03:00

Tosic netted five times at Cologne

Serbian international Zoran Tosic has left Manchester United for CSKA Moscow for an undisclosed fee.

The winger arrived at United for £7m from Partizan Belgrade in January 2009.

However, he made just five first-team appearances before being loaned to Bundesliga side FC Cologne for the second half of the 2009-10 season.

The German outfit said they could not afford to keep the 23-year-old, who was an unused substitute in Serbia's 1-0 World Cup defeat to Ghana on Sunday.

Despite never scoring for United, Tosic managed five goals for Cologne in their successful battle to avoid relegation.

Tosic's move to Old Trafford 18 months ago was initially intended to be part of a £16.5 double-swoop involving then-17-year-old Partizan midfielder Adem Ljajic.

United, though, eventually decided against signing Ljajic - now at Fiorentina - citing difficulties in acquiring a work permit for the youngster as the main reason for pulling the plug on the deal.

Tiger Woods insists it is business as usual for US Open

2010-06-16T01:00:00.001-03:00

Woods will attempt to win his 15th major when he tees off at Pebble Beach

Tiger Woods heads into this week's US Open insisting his career is finally returning to normal after seven turbulent months in his personal life.

The 34-year-old will be playing just his fifth tournament since returning to competition after a well-publicised leave of absence.

"Things are certainly getting better," the world number one said.

"Getting back into the competitive atmosphere...has certainly become much more normal."
Woods abandoned the golf course at the end of last year following numerous revelations about his extra-marital affairs.

In a bid to rebuild his marriage to Elin, the mother of his two young children, he went into therapy and only returned to competition at the Masters in April, tieing fourth.
He missed the cut at the Quail Hollow Championship in May and withdrew during The Players Championship the following week with a neck injury.

The American will attempt to win his 15th major when he tees off at Pebble Beach Golf Links on Thursday.

He added: "I'm starting to find out how much I can and can't push myself each and every day as far as practice [is concerned].

"I overdid it, overcooked it right before Augusta, trying to get ready, and certainly I learned my lesson there."
Woods's personal life was firmly off-limits during his press conference. When asked about the status of his marriage, he replied: "That's none of your business."

Woods was happier to discuss his return to Pebble Beach, the scene of his record 15-shot US Open victory in 2000, but much-changed following redevelopment overseen by Arnold Palmer.

The course has been lengthened by 194 yards and toughened up with new greens, changes to 11 bunkers and the reshaping of fairways and rough.

"I haven't been here in I believe about eight years now, so it's great to be back," Woods reflected.
"It's interesting to see the golf course, how much it has changed, some of the redesigns that they have had.
"Different strategies, different shots, and obviously it's playing a lot firmer than it does here in February [for the annual PGA Tour event].

"So the greens are starting to get a little bit more springy, starting to come to life now, and it's probably going to get more springy as the days go on."

Woods is "very close" to his best form as he prepares for Pebble Beach, according to his practice partner Arjun Atwal.

The pair are neighbours in Florida and often play together and Atwal is amazed at the improvement in Woods's game.

"His practices have been really good the last couple of weeks at home. Every day it has got better," Atwal commented.

"He feels he is very close. It is just a matter of when the bell goes off if he can do it then. I think he will."
Indian Atwal, who has won seven Asian Tour titles and three events on the European Tour, feels Woods is in the right frame of mind to add to his 14 major victories.

yacare

"He is close, very close," Atwal continued. "In fact Sunday was a lot better and then Monday got a lot better than yesterday. It's amazing the improvement."

Woods will need a decent showing at the coastal Pebble Beach course in California if he is to extend his spell as world number one beyond his current five-year run.

He spent five unbroken years as the leading golfer in the world between August 1999 and September 2004 before swapping the title with Fiji's Vijay Singh several times over the following six months.

Woods took over the mantle again on 12 June, 2005 but in recent months Phil Mickelson has been closing in.
Left-handed Mickelson, who won a third Masters title this year, will usurp Woods if he wins the US Open.
Mickelson, who turns 40 on the eve of Thursday's opening round, has never won the year's second major, but has finished second on five occasions.

And second place on his own this year would be enough to catapult him to the top of the world rankings if Woods finishes outside the top four.

Should Woods make the cut but finish outside the top 18, Mickelson would need to finish no worse than third on his own, and if Woods misses the cut, his fellow American would need to finish no worse than a two-way tie for third to lead the rankings.

Woods has been grouped with the in-form world number three Lee Westwood and two-time US Open champion Ernie Els for his opening two rounds.

"We'll have a lot of people watching us and a lot of attention," Els said. "If we get a bit of momentum going in the group as a whole, it could really pull along the others.

"We'll be watching each other but you can only take care of your own game and hopefully we can have two good days and be in contention by Saturday."

Rafael Benitez targets success at new club Inter Milan

2010-06-16T01:00:00.000-03:00

Rafa Benitez replaces Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan

Former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez says he is targeting a huge trophy haul at his new club Inter Milan.

The 50-year-old, who spent six years at Liverpool, was presented to the Italian media for the first time on Tuesday.

"Inter are coming off an almost perfect year. I want the footballers not to lose the desire to win. I want to keep that winning mentality," said Benitez.

"After this excellent season, Inter has the chance to win six trophies and we will do all we can to win them."
Benitez has signed a two-year deal with the Italian and European champions following predecessor Jose Mourinho's switch to Spanish giants Real Madrid.

Benitez promised that Inter's style of football would become more attractive under him.
"I don't think I am the anti-Mourinho, but I am different," he said.
"I am a coach who likes winning, who likes playing good football, though, so I don't think we are different in that.

"The mentality is always to win playing well and playing well depends on the players you have. I have the mentality of winning playing good football. I think the players are good and they like playing good football.
"We'll try to win playing good football but what's most important is winning."

There has been speculation that Benitez may now return to Liverpool to try and strengthen Inter's squad, with right-back Glen Johnson the latest name linked with a move to Italy.

But the Spaniard remained tight lipped on possible transfer targets, insisting his first aim was to get to know the players already at the San Siro.

"I've only been here two days," said Benitez.
"I will try to buy good players, of a good level who will suit a top level club but I can't say their names. Good players.

Rafa Benitez

"I don't talk about players of other teams. We have to analyse the future and then we will decide what player we want. It's always difficult to improve something that has worked so well.

"We are analysing everything, I think we can do it but I prefer to work calmly now in the club and then think of other things. I'm very happy to be here. Very happy and very proud."

Rumours of dressing room unrest among Liverpool's senior players overshadowed the final days of his tenure at Anfield but Benitez said he has made peace the players.

"I have had contact with 95% of the players and the relationship with them is good.

"It was a sad day when I had to go but things changed so I had to do it. I have been in contact with most of the players and they told me 'thank you for everything' and I told them the same," he added.

Uzbek refugees flee Kyrgyzstan violence

2010-06-15T01:00:00.014-03:00

The UN refugee agency is co-ordinating a humanitarian response to the crisis

Thousands of ethnic Uzbeks have massed at the Uzbekistan border in an attempt to escape violence in Kyrgyzstan which has left at least 138 dead.

Reports suggest that Uzbekistan is considering closing its borders as the build-up continues, despite requests by the UN to keep it open.

The United States has called for a "co-ordinated international response" to the violence.
At least 1,761 people have been injured in four days of clashes.

The unrest - which broke out overnight Thursday between Kyrgyz and minority Uzbeks in the southern cities of Osh and Jalalabad - is the worst ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan in 20 years.

The south of Kyrgyzstan, an ex-Soviet Central Asian state of 5.5 million people, is home to an ethnic Uzbek minority of almost one million.

It is unclear what has sparked the violence, which comes two months after ex-President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted in a violent uprising.

Kyrgyzstan has appealed to Russia for military support, and the UN Security Council is also being briefed on the situation, according to officials.

British authorities have meanwhile arrested Mr Bakiyev's son, who is wanted by the Kyrgyz interim government for alleged corruption.
Refugee camps

The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) earlier said that an estimated 80,000 Uzbeks have crossed into Uzbekistan from Kyrgyzstan, while about 15,000 are waiting on the border.
Camps have been set up in Uzbekistan to cope with the influx of refugees.

Most were women, children and the elderly, many of whom reportedly had gunshot wounds.
The UN refugee agency says it is providing aid to about 75,000 people.

Earlier on Monday, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a regional grouping of former Soviet states, reached an outline agreement on measures to take as a response to the crisis.

I've overheard them say that they will burn the buildings and shoot us when we flee

Gulnara, Osh Eyewitness reports Fear and shock as Uzbeks flee Q&A: Kyrgyzstan's ethnic violence

No details have been released of the plans, but a Russian official has told the BBC that Moscow would not rule out sending peacekeeping troops.

Kyrgyzstan has asked Russia for troops, but it has so far refused. Correspondents say Moscow is reluctant to act unilaterally, although it has sent at least 150 paratroopers to protect its military facilities in the north of Kyrgyzstan.

Both the US and Russia have military bases in the north of Kyrgyzstan, and the country is also an important transit point for Nato troops en route to Afghanistan.
Mr Bakiyev, who was ousted in April, has called on the CSTO to send forces, claiming that Kyrgyzstan's interim government had been ineffective.
Separately, the ousted president's son, Maxim Bakiyev, has reportedly been arrested in the UK on an Interpol warrant, the AFP news agency cited Kyrgyz officials as saying.

Keneshbek Duyichebayev, the chief of Kyrgyzstan national security council, told local TV that Maxim Bakiyev was detained on his arrival at Farnborough airport.

The Home Office in London has declined to comment.
Deaths 'under-estimated'

In Kyrgyzstan, sporadic attacks continued on Monday in the southern cities of Osh and Jalalabad, amid further accusations that Kyrgyzstan troops in some areas had supported anti-Uzbek mobs over the weekend.
Several planes containing medical supplies from the World Health Organisation have begun to arrive at Osh's airport.

The BBC's Rayhan Demytrie in Osh says that many ethnic Uzbeks in the city are trapped in their homes - fearing attacks from mobs on the streets if they leave - and are in urgent need of food and supplies.
There were reports of bodies lying in the streets and in smouldering buildings, and of mass burials being carried out. Whole streets had been burned down.

Osh Police Chief Kursan Asanov said that 950 foreigners - mostly Russians, Pakistanis, Indians and Africans - had been evacuated, according to AP news agency.

UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay has called on the Kyrgyz authorities to end the fighting, adding that there was evidence of indiscriminate killings - including of children - and of rapes.
Uzbek refugees allege that, during the clashes, armoured vehicles in Osh drove through Uzbek streets shooting at civilians and clearing the way for gangs following behind.

Pascale Meige Wagner, from the International Committee for the Red Cross, said the death toll was an underestimate.

"We hear about bodies not being recovered in Osh and Jalalabad. We do believe that once the situation is bit quieter in those two towns we'll have a better idea of the dimension of this crisis," she said.

Footage posted on YouTube appears to show the unrest in Osh

Mr Bakiyev, living in exile in Belarus, still has supporters in the south of the country, and there have been concerns that his overthrow might have exacerbated historical tensions between the ethnic groups.
Kubatbek Baibolov, commandant in Jalalabad, said the unrest was "nothing other than an attempt by Bakiyev's supporters and relatives to seize power".
Mr Bakiyev denies any involvement.

The interim government said a "well-known person" was arrested in Jalalabad on Monday on suspicion of being behind the unrest, Reuters reported. No further details on the alleged arrest were available.

Paul Gascoigne in hospital after car crash in Newcastle

2010-06-15T01:00:00.013-03:00

The car is thought to have left the road and hit a signpost

Ex-footballer Paul Gascoigne is recovering in hospital after a car crash in Newcastle upon Tyne.

The incident, involving a Vauxhall Astra, happened on Sunday at 2145 BST at Sandhill, on the city's Quayside.

The car, in which the former England and Newcastle United star was a passenger, is thought to have left the road and hit a signpost.

A 36-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of drinking and driving, and later bailed.
A Newcastle General Hospital spokesman described Mr Gascoigne's condition as "comfortable".
He said: "He's not badly hurt, he's sitting up in bed and chatting and laughing with visitors.
"He's in a comfortable condition and I expect he will be with us for a few more days."

Joyce Wemyss, witness

The crash happened next to Newcastle's Guildhall and close to the Tyne Bridge.
Joyce Wemyss, manager of the nearby Bob Trollopes and Red House bars, was working a late shift.
She said: "I just heard the sounds of tyres screeching very loud and saw a dark blue car come pelting round the corner from under the Tyne Bridge.

"The driver lost control and went smack into the side of the Guildhall, hitting the taxi rank sign as it went.
"There was a lot of smoke coming from the car and all the cabbies from the rank outside the pub went running over.

"They pulled out the driver, a woman, and got on the phone to the emergency services."
1990 World Cup

She added: "I had no idea Gazza was a passenger. It had been dead quiet on the Quayside that night and he had not been drinking in here.

"I hope he's all right."
A former player with Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio, Glasgow Rangers and Middlesbrough, Mr Gascoigne was a star of England's 1990 World Cup team in Italy.

He tried his hand at management at Kettering Town in 2005, but was sacked after 39 days.
The 43-year-old, of Jesmond Park, Newcastle, has faced a long battle with alcohol and drugs.

'Much more water' found in lunar rocks

2010-06-15T01:00:00.012-03:00

Science reporter, BBC News Some of the water on the Moon may have been delivered by comets

The Moon might be much wetter than previously thought, a group of scientists has said.

A US-led team analysed the mineral apatite in lunar rocks picked up by the Apollo space missions and in a lunar meteorite found in North Africa.
The scientists found that there was at least 100 times more water in the Moon's minerals than they had previously believed.

The new study has been published in the journal PNAS.
This group is one of several different teams of researchers hunting for evidence of water on the Moon - and clues to how it got there.
Lead author Francis McCubbin from the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington DC told BBC News that the water content on the Moon ranges from 64 parts per billion to five parts per million.
"It would be about 2.5 times the volume of the Great Lakes," he said.

"Or another way of looking at it - if you took all of the water that was locked up inside the rocks of the Moon and put them on the surface, it would make a metre-thick layer covering the Moon."

The scientist explained that the Moon most probably formed after a Mars-sized space body collided with the young Earth, some 4.5 billion years ago.

The high-energy impact produced molten debris, which eventually cooled to form our planet's only natural satellite.

Back then, he said, there was a magma ocean on the Moon. Magma contained water, which eventually erupted via "fire fountains" on to the lunar surface.

Most of this water evaporated during the volcanic activity - but some of it stayed, said Dr McCubbin.
"I like to use the analogy of someone who's trying to make non-alcoholic beer. There's always going to be some alcohol left," he explained.

Quest for water After the US Apollo space missions of the late 1960s and early 1970s returned to Earth with numerous samples of lunar rocks, scientists spent years examining them in search of water.

So maybe there was a lot of cometary debris going by and as these 'dirty icebergs' hit the Moon, they provided a lot of water input

Lawrence Taylor University of Tennessee in Knoxville

At first, they declared that the Moon was dry - but this theory was challenged in 2008, when a US team used the method of secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and found evidence of water in lunar volcanic glasses - pebble-like rocks that ended up on the Moon's surface after the volcanic outpouring.
It was a breakthrough discovery, even though the quantity of water was only of the order of 46 parts per million.

Nevertheless, the scientists said that their research shed light on the origins of lunar water, asserting that it was "native" to the Moon.

Earlier in 2010, a radar experiment aboard India's Chandrayaan-1 lunar spacecraft found thick deposits of water-ice near the Moon's north pole.

In the recent study, Dr McCubbin and his colleagues used SIMS to look at the Apollo samples once more - but this time, they analysed the only water-bearing mineral of the rocks - apatite.
Apollo missions brought many lunar rocks back to Earth This mineral happens to be a major component of tooth enamel and bones and, as Dr McCubbin explained, "has a better chance of retaining water than volcanic glass".

The team specifically studied hydroxyl (OH) - a chemical compound in apatite that contains one atom of oxygen and one atom of hydrogen.

The researchers combined their measurements with models that analyse how the material crystallised as the Moon cooled.

The team found that the Moon's interior contains at least 100 times more water than was previously believed, stored in lunar minerals.
Other researchers have called the results important for future studies.

"It is gratifying to see this proof of the OH contents in lunar apatite," commented lunar scientist Bradley Jolliff from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
"The concentrations are very low and, accordingly, they have been until recently nearly impossible to detect. We can now finally begin to consider the implications—and the origin - of water in the interior of the Moon."
Other theories

Dr Lawrence Taylor from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, US has been involved in a separate, but similar research.

He told BBC News that besides finding water in the apatite, he and Jim Greenwood from Wesleyan University in Connecticut have come up with an additional theory about the origins of lunar water.
"We're thinking now that there might have been a cometary input as well," said Dr Taylor.
He explained that there were a lot of comets flying around at the time of the Moon's formation, "hitting the little, nascent, early Moon some 4.5 billion years ago".

Some scientists call comets "dirty icebergs" as they mostly contain ice, as well as other rocky material, soil and gases.

"So maybe there was a lot of cometary debris going by and as these 'dirty icebergs' hit the Moon, they provided a lot of water input," Dr Taylor said.

"Back then, the outer portion of the Moon was molten, it was all a lunar magma ocean, so the comets were incorporated into the chemistry of the [Earth's satellite]".

Israel Gaza probe criticised by Turkey and Palestinians

2010-06-15T01:00:00.011-03:00

Israel's cabinet approved the inquiry plan on Monday

Israel's plans to hold an inquiry into its deadly raid on a convoy of Gaza-bound aid ships have been dismissed by Turkey and the Palestinians.

Turkey said Israel could not run an impartial probe into the deaths of nine Turkish activists during a 31 May raid.
And Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said the inquiry would not meet demands made by the UN Security Council.
Meanwhile, Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair says he hopes Israel will allow more humanitarian items into Gaza.

Speaking to the BBC before briefing European Union foreign ministers, Mr Blair said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed in principle to a "significant change" in the way the blockade was organised.
At the meeting, EU foreign affairs chief Cathy Ashton said the bloc was ready to send monitors to support the opening of border crossings as soon as they saw signs of movement from Israel.
'No trust in Israel' Israel announced its plans to hold an inquiry - including two foreign observers - having earlier rejected a UN proposal for an international probe.

The activists were killed when Israeli commandos stormed a flotilla of ships in international waters. The boats were heading to Gaza on a mission to deliver humanitarian aid, in defiance of Israel's blockade, when they were boarded.

In a statement released following an emergency session held after the raid on 31 May, the Security Council called for a "prompt, impartial, credible and transparent" investigation.

The three-man panel will be led by former Israeli Supreme Court judge Yaakov Tirkel. The other members are Amos Horev, a retired major-general in the Israeli military and a former president of the Israel Institute of Technology, and Shabtai Rosen, a 93-year-old professor of international law.
The two foreign experts will take part in the hearings and subsequent discussions, but will not vote on the conclusions of the inquiry.

Whatever happens in the commission of inquiry, Israel is under immense pressure - from allies as well as enemies - to lift the Gaza blockade.

In a statement, the ICRC described the situation in Gaza as dire, saying the only sustainable solution was a lifting of the blockade.

Last month's clashes came after six ships carrying campaigners and 10,000 tonnes of aid sailed from Cyprus in an attempt to break Israel's three-year blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
Israel says its troops acted in self-defence when activists attacked commandos trying to board the main vessel in the flotilla. The campaigners say the soldiers opened fire without any provocation.
The proposal for an Israeli inquiry into the Gaza convoy raid was approved by the country's cabinet on Monday.

"The government decision will make it clear to the world that Israel is acting legally, responsibly, and with complete transparency," Mr Netanyahu told the cabinet, according to Haaretz newspaper.
The two foreign experts on the inquiry will be former Northern Ireland first minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner David Trimble and retired Canadian military prosecutor Ken Watkin.

Lord Trimble, the former Ulster Unionist leader, won the Nobel prize for his role in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which brought an end to the worst of the political violence in Northern Ireland.
Since stepping aside from politics there, he has travelled to the Middle East to speak about conflict resolution.

Bank tax must go ahead, say Merkel and Sarkozy

2010-06-15T01:00:00.010-03:00

The two leaders are looking to reignite interest in a global bank tax

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have renewed calls for a global bank levy and a financial transaction tax.

The two leaders said they would call for the measures in a joint letter to the president of the G20 ahead of a summit later this month.
G20 finance ministers had distanced themselves from bank taxes at a meeting earlier this month.

A bank tax would protect taxpayers from having to bail-out banks in the future.

Proceeds from the taxes would go into a fund that could be accessed during any future financial crises.
A number of countries have been calling for taxes on banks since governments spent billions of dollars bailing out banks across the world following the financial crisis that began in 2008.
However, so far there has been no agreement.

'Not satisfied'

Many governments are concerned that if they unilaterally impose a tax, banks will simply move to countries that have not introduced such measures.

Following a meeting of finance ministers earlier this month, many commentators thought the resolve for bank taxes was weakening.

The French and German leaders are looking to strengthen this resolve once again ahead of the next G20 meeting in Toronto on 26-27 June.

"We are not yet satisfied with what's been achieved since the first G20 and we think we need to forge ahead on regulation," said Mrs Merkel.

According to the Reuters news agency, European Union leaders will agree in principle on Thursday to introduce a levy on financial institutions, after which the details will be worked out by the European Commission.

"The European Council agrees that a levy on financial institutions should be introduced to ensure that they contribute to the cost of crises," draft conclusions of a council meeting said, Reuters reported.

Drug will save lives of accident victims, says study

2010-06-15T01:00:00.009-03:00

Early treatment with TXA could combat the effects of serious bleeding

Up to 100,000 lives could be saved every year if a known drug were given to seriously bleeding trauma patients, says a report from a global trial.

The research reported in The Lancet shows that tranexamic acid (TXA), which helps blood to clot, could lower the risk of dying by 15%.

Developing countries would benefit most from this treatment, say researchers after studying 20,000 patients.

Each year 600,000 injured patients bleed to death worldwide.

World Health Organisation figures show that nearly six million people die each year from injuries, which accounts for 10% of the world's deaths.

Most of those injury deaths occur in developing countries, where deaths from road traffic crashes and homicide have been steadily increasing. Almost half of those deaths are caused by bleeding.
Although previous smaller trials had shown that TXA reduced bleeding in patients undergoing major surgery, this was the first trial to test its effect on injured patients with severe bleeding.

Drug injection

The trial involved patients from 274 hospitals across 40 countries.
These included victims of traffic accidents, shootings, stabbings or land mine injuries.
The patients were injected with 1g of TXA within a few hours of being injured, followed by another 1g in a drip over the next eight hours, or a matching placebo.

Tranexamic acid is one of the cheapest ways to save a life there is

Professor Ian Roberts London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

After studying the numbers of deaths in hospital within four weeks of injury, researchers found that TXA reduced the chances of death, due to massive blood loss, by one sixth.

Ian Roberts, professor of epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, led the CRASH-2 international trial. He said it showed a "highly significant reduction in risk of dying".

"The large number of patients treated in very different healthcare settings around the world means we can be sure that prompt use of TXA will be of benefit to trauma patients in all kinds of facilities," he said.
The trial also showed no evidence of complications or unwanted clotting, which doctors had feared.

Researchers estimate that TXA could prevent up to 100,000 deaths every year across the world. In countries like India and China it could save about 12,000 lives each year, they predict.

Two thousand deaths a year could be saved in the United States and more in Europe. In the UK, where about 1,800 people die from bleeding after injury each year, researchers say TXA could cut this figure by about 280.
Addressing the practicalities of making the drug available worldwide, Professor Roberts said: "TXA is one of the cheapest ways to save a life there is".
The poverty problem

TXA costs about £3 per gram; it is easily administered and does not need to be refrigerated, he says. It can also be manufactured by a number of different companies.

The authors of the trial report recommend that tranexamic acid, should be available to doctors treating trauma patients in all countries, and should be considered for inclusion on the WHO List of Essential Medicines.
Dr Etienne Krug, director of violence and injury prevention and disability at the World Health Organisation, said that doctors needed to be aware of the trial results.

"We want to avoid injuries happening in the first place but we also need to strengthen the trauma response. Death and serious injury throw families into poverty, so the problem affects hundreds of millions every year worldwide."

The trial was jointly funded by the National Institute for Health Research, part of the Department of Health, the drug company Pfizer, the BUPA Foundation and the JP Moulton Charitable Foundation.

UK health minister Earl Howe said: "This is a great example of how important research can help the NHS save more lives and spread best practice around the world."

FBI releases secret Kennedy files

2010-06-15T01:00:00.008-03:00

First taking office in 1962, Senator Kennedy was re-elected nine times

The FBI has released some of its secret files on the late Senator Edward

Kennedy, who died in August 2009.

Most of the documents relate to the numerous, and at times specific, death threats made against Mr Kennedy.
The files contain little about the

senator's controversial car accident on Chappaquiddick Island in 1969, in which a female passenger was killed.
The documents show that the FBI learned of the crash early on but kept the senator's identity secret.

Senator Kennedy was the last surviving brother of the famous political family.

President John F Kennedy was killed in Dallas, Texas, in November 1963, while Senator Robert F Kennedy was shot in a California hotel in June 1968 while campaigning for the presidency.

One letter in the FBI files warned that Ted Kennedy would be next, calling him "number three to be assassinated on Oct. 25, 1968. The Kennedy residence must be well protected on that date."

Many of the death threats against Ted Kennedy were made during his unsuccessful attempt to beat incumbent President Jimmy Carter for the Democratic nomination for president in 1980.

Others were traced to radical groups including the Ku Klux Klan.

One letter warns the senator to stay out of private planes and keep his bodyguards close, ominously concluding "your kids need a father".

The threats continued into 1985, the date of the latest files released by the FBI.

Ted Kennedy was the fourth-longest serving senator in US history, holding a seat for 47 years.
He died at the famed Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, after battling brain cancer. He was 77.

A highly effective lawmaker, his power and reputation earned him the nickname "the lion of the Senate".

Palaeontologists have discovered two mammal hairs encased in 100 million-year-old amber.

2010-06-15T01:00:00.007-03:00

While older 2D fossilised hairs are known, those preserved in the amber are the oldest 3D specimens known.

The hairs, found alongside a fly pupa in amber uncovered in southwest France, are remarkably similar to hair found on modern mammals.
That implies that the shape and structure of mammal hair has remained unchanged over a vast period of time.

"We have 2D hair imprints as early as the Middle Jurassic," says Dr Romain Vullo of the University of Rennes, France, who discovered the hair.

The Jurassic Period lasted from 200 to 145 millions of years ago, followed by the Cretaceous Period which lasted to 65 million years ago.

"However, carbonised hair provides much less information about the structure than a 3D hair preserved in amber," says Dr Vullo.

"Our specimens are the oldest known hair specimens in which we can observe the cuticular structure."

Dr Vullo and Professor Didier Neraudeau identified the hairs, which were initially found by colleague Dr Vincent Girard in amber he was examining for microorganisms.

Details are published in the journal Naturwissenschaften.
The piece of amber, which is fossilised tree resin, was found in the Font-de-Benon quarry at Archingeay-Les Nouillers in Charente-Maritime, southwest France.

Dead or hungry?
The first hair fragment is 2.4mm long and 32 to 48 micrometres wide, while the second is just 0.6mm long and 49 to 78 micrometres wide.
A close analysis of the hairs showed they have a very similar cuticular structure to those of hair or fur carried by modern mammals.

The quarry in which the amber was found

The identity of the animal that shed the hair is not known.

Four teeth of a primitive marsupial called Arcantiodelphys have been found in the quarry, above the layer in which the amber was found.
"The more parsimonious hypothesis is to consider that the hair from the amber belong to this animal, or a closely related form," Dr Vullo told the BBC.

As to how the hair became encased in amber, the researchers say there are three possibilities.

Either amber swamped part of an animal's corpse, an idea that is supported by the fly pupa found alongside the mammal hairs, as a fly may have laid its eggs into the carcass of the dead animal.

Or the hair was lost by a living animal which brushed past the resin, perhaps by a tree-living (arboreal) species.

Or the hair was lost in a similar manner by a mammal that came to feed on insects trapped in the resin, which later fossilised into amber.

World Cup 2010: Didier Drogba to wait on Fifa decision

2010-06-15T01:00:00.006-03:00

Injured Drogba attends training

Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba is set to discover whether he will be allowed wear a protective cast on his broken arm in Tuesday's game against Portugal.

Football's world governing body Fifa will make the decision prior to the first Group G game of the World Cup.

Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said on Monday: "There has been a Fifa meeting - we will know later."
Chelsea striker Drogba needed surgery after breaking his arm in a friendly against Japan on 4 June.
The 32-year-old suffered the injury in Sion, Switzerland, in a collision with Japan defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka - three minutes after the forward had opened the scoring with a 13th-minute deflected free-kick.

The Elephants, for whom Drogba has scored 44 goals in 69 appearances, went on to clinch victory with Manchester City defender Kolo Toure netting their second goal.
Afterwards, Eriksson refused to blame Tanaka for the incident.

"It was unlucky," the 62-year-old Ivory Coast boss said at the time. "It wasn't bad or stupid. He didn't want to hurt anyone. Football is a game of contact."

Eriksson uncertain on Drogba fitness

Last week, Eriksson said he was hopeful that Drogba could take part in the World Cup after initial reports suggested the injury would rule him out of the tournament.

Drogba is the current African Player of the Year and scored 37 goals in all competitions for Chelsea last season as the west Londoners won the Premier League and FA Cup Double.

World Cup 2010: England's King out for next three weeks

2010-06-15T01:00:00.005-03:00

Highlights - England 1-1 USA

England's Ledley King is expected to be out for three weeks because of the groin strain he suffered against the United States, BBC Sport understands.

That would rule the Tottenham defender out of England's remaining group matches and a potential last-16 clash.

However, England still hope he will play some part in the tournament and he will not be flown home early.
The 29-year-old had to be substituted at half-time in England's 1-1 draw with the US in Rustenburg on Saturday.

King underwent a scan on Sunday, which revealed that his injury was a "groin muscle strain".
The Football Association then forwarded the scan on to Spurs for a second opinion.

The centre-back joined his team-mates for the start of England's training session at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus on Monday, before departing to continue his rehabilitation work in the swimming pool.

England's coaching staff will be relieved that King's injury did not turn out to be more serious, says BBC Radio 5 live football reporter Ian Dennis.

"As a general rule, if it is a grade one groin tear it would mean he is out for three weeks. If it's a grade two then it is four to six weeks and if it's a complete rupture it would mean surgery," he stated.
Dennis also revealed that King suffered his injury "in the third or fourth minute of the match so he could easily have aggravated it in that period".

Meanwhile, midfielder Gareth Barry insists he will be "spot on" for England's World Cup clash with Algeria on Friday.

The Manchester City player revealed his ankle, which he injured against Tottenham in early May, is fully recovered.

"The ankle has been fine for 10 days," he told BBC Sport. "Another week's training in the lead-up to the Algeria game and I should be spot on.

"If the manager had asked me if I was ready to play against the United States at the weekend, I would have bitten his hand off to try and make the starting team.

"I was desperate for us to go two or three goals up and then he might have thrown me on."
Barry admitted it had been "touch and go" as to whether he would make the squad at one point.
"It was a really tough few weeks sitting at home every day, and I couldn't do much," he said. "Eventually I was happy to make it (the squad)."

After this week's game against Algeria, England face Slovenia in their final group match on 23 June.
If England make it through the group stages, their last-16 clash would be on either the 26 or 27 June - depending on whether Capello's men were winners or runners-up in the table.

King was replaced by Jamie Carragher in Saturday's match but the Liverpool defender looked rusty after being outpaced by US striker Jozy Altidore, who then hit the post in the second half.

Gerrard 'shocked' by USA goal

England can also call upon Matthew Upson or Michael Dawson to partner former captain John Terry in the heart of their defence.

However, the news about King has further exposed the limitations at centre-back after Rio Ferdinand was ruled out of the World Cup when injuring his knee only a few days before the tournament started.
England cannot now call upon another player to join their squad because any replacements could only be made up to 24 hours before a nation's first game.

King has had long-standing problems with his knee, limiting his ability to train as often as other members of the squad and play back-to-back matches.

But those fears were allayed after the Londoner came through three games in a week for Spurs towards the conclusion of the 2009/2010 Premier League season.

Striker Wayne Rooney did not take part in the session because of an ankle knock.

The Manchester United player and left-back Ashley Cole appeared for training with the rest of the squad but after an initial address by Capello, they and King headed back indoors to work in the swimming pool.
Rooney's injury is not thought to be serious, while Cole has been missing full training after a game to help his recovery from a broken ankle he suffered in February.

World Cup 2010: Organisers will not ban vuvuzelas

2010-06-15T01:00:00.004-03:00

Vuvuzelas set to remain at World Cup

World Cup organisers say they will not ban vuvuzelas from stadiums in South Africa, despite numerous complaints.

The sound of the plastic horn has been likened to the drone of a thousand bees or a herd of stampeding elephants.

Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo says the noise affects player concentration, while some fans watching on television claim they cannot hear the commentary.

But a World Cup spokesman insisted vuvuzelas are "ingrained in the history of South Africa" and will remain.
Rich Mkhondo also said vuvuzelas had worldwide appeal.

"Let us not make this a South Africa instrument alone," he said. "A vuvuzela is now an international instrument. People buy them and stuff them in their suitcase to go home.

"Only a minority are against vuvuzelas. You either love them or hate. We in South Africa love them."
England defender Jamie Carragher said the noise did not bother him when he came on as a half-time substitute during the 1-1 draw with the United States and he said he had already bought two to take home to his children in Liverpool.

"When I came on I didn't notice it too much. I think you notice it more when you are watching on TV," he said.

"But my kids have been on the phone and asked for two so I'll have to take two home for them. I've got two in my bag already.

"Anyone who watches me play at Anfield will know that I am louder than the vuvuzelas!"
Fifa president Sepp Blatter also weighed into the debate and believes vuvuzelas are part and parcel of football in South Africa.

"I have always said that Africa has a different rhythm, a different sound," he commented on social networking site Twitter.

"I don't see banning the music traditions of fans in their own country. Would you want to see a ban on the fan traditions in your country?"
A recent survey found that the sound emitted by a vuvuzela was the equivalent to 127 decibels - louder than a drum's 122 decibels or a referee's whistle at 121.8 decibels.

Carragher admits vuvuzelas purchase

Portugal star Ronaldo is the latest World Cup star to voice unease about the instrument.
"It is difficult for anyone on the pitch to concentrate," said the Real Madrid forward. "A lot of players don't like them but they are going to have to get used to them."

France captain Patrice Evra blamed the noise generated by the vuvuzelas for his side's poor showing in their opening group game against Uruguay, which finished goalless.
He added: "We can't sleep at night because of the vuvuzelas. People start playing them from 6am.
"We can't hear one another out on the pitch because of them."

Backing for the under-fire vuvuzela has come from the England Supporters' Band, which has not missed an England game - home or away - since 1996.
Trumpeter John Hemmingham, who is leading an eight-man team in South Africa, said the plastic instruments were part of the local culture and should not be banned from stadiums.

"It's the way the South Africans express their joy and pleasure at the tournament being here," said Hemmingham. "It's certainly a challenge for us but there's no point whinging about it."

Some people have complained the noise from the vuvuzelas has stopped fans from generating chants around the ground.

But Hemmingham, who was at Saturday's game between England and the United States in Rustenburg, revealed: "We didn't have any problem.

"The fans around us were all singing along and a lot of our fans were joining in with us using their vuvuzelas. It all added to the atmosphere.

"There was definitely a different vibe about the place - the South Africans are loving it - and when in Rome, you just have to go along with it.

"I bet there is not a single South African player complaining about the vuvuzela. They see it as more than just a noise, it's about the whole spirit of the thing."

Contador is Tour de France favourite - Armstrong

2010-06-15T01:00:00.003-03:00

Armstrong's first Le Tour win came in 1999

Lance Armstrong believes former team-mate Alberto Contador will pose the biggest threat to his ambition of winning an eighth Tour de France title.

Reigning champion Contador looks in top form after coming second in the Criterium du Dauphine last week and winning March's Paris-Nice race.

"He goes in as the clear favourite, he'll be difficult to beat," admitted the 38-year-old RadioShack rider.

"Alberto's a complete rider with very few weaknesses."
Armstrong was Contador's team-mate at Astana last year, but the pair struggled to keep a lid on their strained relationship with the Spaniard admitting to a "tense and delicate" situation throughout the three-week Tour.

"On this Tour, the days in the hotel were harder than those on the road," said Contador last year.
"He is a great rider but it is another thing on a personal level, where I have never had great admiration for him and I never will."

The American eventually finished third, more than five minutes behind his rival and Armstrong believes the knowledge of Contador that he gleaned from that experience will give him "an advantage" in this year's race.
Armstrong is well aware of the 27-year-old's ominous display in Dauphine, which included a prologue and penultimate stage win in the mountains.

"He climbs better [than anybody else] and he time-trials with the best," said Armstrong after finishing seven seconds behind stage three winner Frank Schleck in the Tour of Switzerland - the American's final race before Le Tour.

The Tour de France begins on 3 July in the Dutch city of Rotterdam, before moving through Belgium and into France.

And Armstrong, whose last Tour win came in 2005, fears that first week could be unusually testing.
"It's very windy there, we already saw that in the Tour of Italy," he said. "Then there are the stages around Brussels and in the Ardennes, as well as the cobbled sections in the north of France.
"It's going to be a nervous and dangerous first week."

Armstrong's RadioShack team, meanwhile, were dealt an embarrassing blow when they were omitted from the entries for the Tour of Spain, which begins on 28 August.

Sixteen teams were preselected under an agreement between the race's organisers and the International Cycling Union (UCI), while another six, including Britain's Team Sky but not RadioShack, received invitations to one of the sport's three Grand Tours.

"They told us we were not selected because other teams were better in their eyes. We are not happy about it," said team spokesman Philippe Maertens.

RadioShack sports director Alain Gallopin revealed, though, that Armstrong was not on their list of 15 riders for the race "because it would have been silly to ask a 38-year-old to ride two big tours like the Tour de France and the Vuelta".

Gallopin added: "But with Andreas Kloeden, Levi Leipheimer, Janez Brajkovic, Haimar Zubeldia and Chris Horner, our team would have been very competitive."

There was better news for RadioShack on the road in Switzerland, though, as Armstrong gained ground in the general classification.

Armstrong finished 15th in the 197-km (122-mile) stage from Sierre to Schwarzenburg to move up nine places to 21st in the overall standings, 30 seconds behind leader Tony Martin, of Team HTC-Columbia.
Swiss Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) is a mere second behind Germany's Martin, with Team Sky's Swedish rider Thomas Lovkvist another nine seconds back in third.

Tuesday's fourth stage takes the riders the 192km from Schwarzenburg to Wettingen. The race ends in Liestal on Sunday.

Springbok captain John Smit out of first Italy Test

2010-06-15T01:00:00.002-03:00

Smit has captained the Springboks 69 times

South Africa will be without injured captain John Smit for the first Test against Italy in Witbank on Saturday.

The hooker, 32, tore a hamstring in the warm-up for his team's 42-17 win over France, although he did play the first half of that one-off Cape Town Test.

Lock Victor Matfield takes over as captain, Chiliboy Ralepelle deputises at number two while Bandise Maku is called up to the squad as cover.

Smit could return for the second and final Test in East London on 26 June.
Leinster prop CJ van der Linde, who played in the world champions' thrilling 34-31 win over Wales in Cardiff on 5 June, is also recalled to the squad by coach Peter de Villiers.

Lock Danie Rossouw, centres Wynand Olivier and Jaque Fourie are all rested ahead of the Tri-Nations which begins when the Springboks take on New Zealand in Auckland on 10 July.

"Danie has played a lot of rugby in recent weeks and this is an opportunity to give him some recovery time," explained de Villiers.

"He is the first-choice lock at the moment but are we lucky to have Bakkies Botha available among the three locks that we can consider for the Test.

"Jaque and Wynand have also played a lot of rugby and we are so fortunate to have so many top centres to choose from too."

Flanker Schalk Burger is a minor doubt with an ankle problem he picked up against Les Bleus but is expected to be named in De Villiers' starting XV on Tuesday.

Italy flanker Mauro Bergamasco, meanwhile, has been ruled out of the tour after failing to recover fully from finger surgery.

Coach Nick Mallett has called up Simone Favaro as a replacement.

McLaren's success could be key - Martin Whitmarsh

2010-06-15T01:00:00.001-03:00

Canadian Grand Prix in 90 seconds

McLaren's past success could give them the edge in this year's championship, team boss Martin Whitmarsh has said.

After securing a second straight one-two finish in Canada, McLaren top the Formula 1 driver and team standings.

And Whitmarsh feels the pressure could particularly tell on a Red Bull team lacking experience in title fights.
"Overall this team is pretty battle hardened. We've been through a lot of fights, so have our drivers and they know how tough it is," he stated.

McLaren have won 12 driver and eight team F1 titles, were involved in battles that went down to the final race in 2007 and 2008 and, in Jenson Button and Sunday's race winner Lewis Hamilton, have the last two champions.

Hamilton delighted after 'sensational' win

In contrast, Red Bull are in their sixth season and have only once come close to winning a title - Sebastian Vettel finishing as runner-up to Button last year.

And in Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix, McLaren won the strategic battle, with Hamilton and Button stopping early and ultimately taking a one-two that saw Hamilton head the drivers' standings on 109 points, three ahead of Button, with Red Bull's Mark Webber a further three points back.

And Whitmarsh added that McLaren can continue to win the small battles, saying: "A lot of titles are won by making the most of opportunities, and we have won championships on that basis, and lost them by not doing so as well.

"We probably have a bit more experience in our team than Red Bull Racing, and the drivers and this team are very determined to make sure we carry on winning races.

"But we don't underestimate Red Bull. They are going to come back strongly because they have not won a championship, and they are determined to do so.

"Ferrari is there as well, and at the moment you cannot rule out Mercedes, even though they have slipped back a little.

"We have to make sure we continue to develop the car.

"We have an underlying development programme where we are trying

to save 0.15 to 0.25 seconds every race, and if you do that in four races then that is one second.
"We have a reasonably big upgrade we are fighting to have for Silverstone [the British Grand Prix on July 11], and if that is there I would be disappointed if it is not a much bigger step than that.

"If we fail to develop the car we will get overhauled and beaten by more than just Red Bull.
"It is a classic case if we don't develop the car at a quick enough pace, we will not win races and we will not win this championship."

However, Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali has insisted his own team's upgrades can keep them in the hunt.
The team are 54 points behind McLaren in the constructors' championship, while Fernando Alonso is 15 points behind Hamilton in the drivers' standings, but Domenicali believes Alonso's third-place finish in Canada points towards an improvement.

"The result does not match up to the potential we had shown during the weekend," he said.
"But the fact we had a car virtually identical to the one in Turkey where we were definitely not competitive, is cause for thought.

"Now we must push as hard as possible on the development of the car.
"The drivers' championship is very open, and if the constructors' one looks a bit trickier, the situation can change really quickly."

Top seed Justine Henin wins first round game

2010-06-15T01:00:00.000-03:00

Henin was twice a beaten finalist on the grass at Wimbledon in 2001 and 2006

Justine Henin's first match on grass since 2007 ended with a 6-4 6-2 victory over Angelique Kerber in the Unicef Open at 's-Hertogenbosch in Holland.

The 28-year-old Belgian, who ended a two-year retirement earlier this year, is the top seed for the event and easily defeated the unseeded German.

Another former world number one, Ana Ivanovic, overcame a slow start to oust Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden 4-6 6-0 6-1.
The 22-year-old, unseeded for the tournament, won in one hour 12 minutes.

Henin has enjoyed previous success in this event, winning in 2001 and finishing runner-up two years later.
Her last appearance on grass was in the Wimbledon semi-finals of 2007 when she was beaten in three sets by Marion Bartoli.

Meanwhile in the men's event Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands defeated compatriot and sixth seed Thiemo de Bakker 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-4) and Belgian Xavier Malisse beat American lucky loser Rajeev Ram 6-3 6-2.

Exoplanet spotted in motion around its 'sun'

2010-06-12T01:00:00.003-03:00

Science reporter, BBC News About 450 exoplanets have been detected so far

Astronomers say they have followed, for the first time, an extra-solar planet in orbit around a young white star.

The team used the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile to track the motion of a gas giant Beta Pictoris b.

The planet's "sun" is also believed to be the youngest star to host a planet.
The find shows that Jupiter-like giants can form near stars in much shorter time-spans than previously thought, the scientists report in Science journal.

Astronomers have so far spotted some 450 extra-solar planets (exoplanets).

But Beta Pictoris b, a gas giant about nine times the mass of Jupiter, is one of only a few to be detected by direct imaging.

It is also the youngest of them, a co-author of the study, Dr Markus Kasper from the European Southern Observatory, told BBC News.

Its host star, which has a similar name, Beta Pictoris, is very young as well, he said.
It is believed to be around 12 million years old, less than three-thousandths of the age of our Sun.

The recent direct images of exoplanets illustrate the diversity of planetary systems

Dr Anne-Marie Lagrange Universite Joseph Fourier

The new find has the smallest orbit of all known exoplanets and is located at a distance of 8-15 AU (Astronomical Units) from its parent star - equivalent to the distance of Saturn from the Sun.
This means the scientists should be able to record its full orbit within 15-20 years, said a co-author of the study Mickael Bonnefoy, a student researcher from the University Joseph Fourier in Grenoble, France.
"Further studies of Beta Pictoris b will provide invaluable insights into the physics and chemistry of a young giant planet's atmosphere."

The exoplanet's star is some 60 light-years from Earth, in the constellation of Pictar.
Surrounding it is a debris disk - a dusty gas-rich disk composed of tiny particles that mainly come from collisions of comets with the star.

The team leader Dr Anne-Maris Lagrange from the University Joseph Fourier said astronomers had suspected there was a planet in the disk long before she set out to produce the proof.

She and her team noticed a warp in the disk, a secondary inclined disk and comets close to the star.
Astronomers observed the planet with the Very Large Telescope in Chile "Those were indirect, but tell-tale signs that strongly suggested the presence of a massive planet, and our new observations now definitively prove this," she said.

The latest results also show that debris disks around young stars disappear within just a few million years - meaning that giant planets can form within these disks a lot faster that previously assumed.

"The presence of an exoplanet around Beta Pic proves that [gas giants] of about nine Jupiter masses form on a time scale of 10 to 12 million years - very early in the formation of the stars themselves," said Dr Kasper.
The first images of a point-like source in the star's debris disk were obtained back in 2003, but the data was not sufficient to confirm that it was indeed a planet.

The astronomers used the ultra-precise NaCo instrument of the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile to take more pictures of the disk in 2008 and early 2009 - only to find that the source had disappeared.
It "re-emerged" several months later - on the other side of the disk.
The astronomers then concluded that the "source" was indeed a new giant gas planet bound to Beta Pictoris.

It was not visible during the earlier observations simply because of its constant orbital movement - it was hiding either behind its "sun" or in its glare in front of it.
Important results

Dr Lagrange said the results of the research give vital clues about the formation of gas giants, both in our Solar System and beyond.
"The recent direct images of exoplanets… illustrate the diversity of planetary systems," she said.

"Among those, Beta Pictoris b is the most promising case of a planet that could have formed in the same way as the giant planets in our Solar System."

Gulfs remain after UN climate change talks in Bonn

2010-06-12T01:00:00.002-03:00

Environment correspondent, BBC News, Bonn Protesters could be seen outside the talks venue in Bonn

UN climate talks have ended, with delegates speaking of an improved mood but with major gulfs remaining between various blocs.

A last-minute spat between Russia and Japan and the G77 bloc of developing countries showed the differing goals in play at the talks in Bonn.

But six months after the fractured Copenhagen summit, some were relieved that the process remained alive.

Many delegates played down prospects of a new UN deal by the end of this year.

The last day saw publication of a new document covering many of the most contentious issues, which may eventually form the basis of a negotiating text going forward to the next UN climate summit, to be held in Cancun, Mexico, at the end of the year.

"Fifty-fifty is what I'd give this last week," said Grenada's delegation chief, Dessima Williams, chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).

Even as the BP oil disaster continued... some oil-exporting countries were so desperate to protect the oil industry that they blocked efforts to expand studies of the climate change problem

Annie Petsonk International counsel for the Environmental Defense Fund

"We really revived a spirit here of wanting to work, of rebuilding confidence and trust," she told BBC News.
"But the [new] text did not accommodate sufficient views, and is very imbalanced in favour of developed countries."

Many other developing country delegates agreed; while on the other side of the coin, the US said some elements were "unnacceptable".

Yvo de Boer, the outgoing executive secretary of the UN climate convention (UNFCCC), made one last plea to Western nations to raise their game.

"The fact remains that industrial country pledges fall well short of the 25-40% range [from 1990 levels by 2020] that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said gives a 50% chance to keep the global temperature rise below 2C," he said.

"It's essential that current pledges grow over the next few years, otherwise the 2C world will be in danger, and the door to a 1.5C world will be slammed shut."
Public disagreement The meeting was prolonged many hours by a dispute concerning a proposed workshop to examine further emission cuts under the Kyoto Protocol, which involves all developed countries except the US.

Russia, with Japanese support, argued that the workshop should cover emission cuts by all countries.
What might appear a minor issue became a major sticking-point, with developing countries insisting that the rich countries had a historical duty to review and increase their emission pledges.

Such issues have dogged the UN climate process for years, and led Artur Runge-Metzger, the European Commission's chief negotiator, to ruminate on what might transpire in Cancun.

"The worst case is we would not see an outcome, we would not be able to conclude on the many items we are discussing," he said.
"What the chances are of this is hard to say, but there many be things that are pointing not to convergence [between blocs] but to divergence.

"We heard demands for example that 6% of our GDP should be transferred from rich countries to poor - these are extreme demands and... we only have two weeks negotiating time left before we meet in Cancun."
On Wednesday, there was an unusually public disagreement between developing countries over whether to commission a technical review of options for meeting the AOSIS-favoured target of keeping the global average temperature rise below 1.5C - a move that the Gulf states blocked.

"The discouraging news is that even as the BP oil disaster continued to unfold in the Gulf of Mexico, some oil-exporting countries - including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar - were so desperate to protect the oil industry that they blocked efforts to expand studies of the climate change problem," said Annie Petsonk, international counsel for the Environmental Defense Fund.

Mystery surrounded a subsequent incident in which Saudi Arabia's nameplate was apparently broken and placed inside a toilet bowl.

The Saudis demanded an investigation, a request to which the UNFCCC agreed, with delegations of all flavours condemning a serious breach of diplomatic etiquette.

But who was behind it remains unclear; and photos that are heavily rumoured to exist were kept under wraps.
The UN process reconvenes in August for a week-long meeting in Bonn; there is likely then to be another preparatory meeting in China in October before eyes turn to the Cancun summit.

World Cup 2010: Maradona calls for fair play

2010-06-12T01:00:00.001-03:00

Maradona played in two World Cup finals

Diego Maradona, scorer of the infamous 'Hand of God' goal against England in 1986, has made a plea for fair play at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

"Let there really be fair play, let the referees understand what the words fair play mean," said the Argentina coach.

The Fifa fair play banner will be carried on to the pitch before every match by a quartet of boys.

"Let's not abandon the little boys," said Maradona, whose side open their campaign against Nigeria on Saturday.
Maradona described the Super Eagles as "rough and hard", adding that his players were "prepared for that".

World Cup 1986 - 'Hand of God' beats England

Maradona, who led Argentina to World Cup glory 24 years ago and to the final four years later, claimed to have experienced the unsporting side of the tournament in the opening game of the 1990 event.
"When the fair play [slogan] was introduced in 1990 I was kicked so hard they almost knocked my head off against Cameroon," Maradona said.
Cameroon beat Argentina 1-0 but had two players sent off in a bruising encounter.
"And we had to swallow the yellow card of [Claudio] Caniggia's hand ball and compared with the kick I got from Cameroon, he was Heidi," said Maradona, alluding to the young girl protagonist of Swiss children's books.

Striker Caniggia was suspended for that second yellow in the tournament and missed the Rome final in which Argentina were defeated 1-0 by West Germany.
Maradona went on to predict that his star performer Lionel Messi could come to be regarded as the greatest player in football history.

"I wish with all my heart for Lio to have a superb tournament and be the best of all time definitively," he said.
"I'd love Lio to have the same impact (in this World Cup) that I had in '86.

"But behind Lio there's a team that supports him. He should be the cherry on the cake."
Argentina have faced Nigeria twice before in the group stage at the World Cup, beating them 2-1 in the United States in 1994 and 1-0 in Japan in 2002.

South Korea and Greece are the other teams in Group B.
"Tomorrow we start to build the dream that we've had in us for a long time," Maradona said.

World Cup 2010: England is 'easiest match' for US

2010-06-12T01:00:00.000-03:00

World Cup guide - USA

United States defender Jonathan Spector believes his country's opening World Cup game against England will be their easiest in Group C.

The US are in the same group as Slovenia, Algeria and England.

And Spector told BBC World Service's Sportsworld programme. "It's our easiest match because there is no pressure on us to win.

"There will be some great bragging rights in England next season if we manage to win."
The US play their opening Group C game against England on 12 June at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg.

"We are not expected to get anything from it where as the other two games there will be [pressure]," added Spector.

Following their match with England, the US then play Slovenia in Johannesburg on 18 July before their final group game against Algeria in Pretoria five days later.

US coach Bob Bradley has stated that his side do not fear England, who are ranked six places above his team in eighth in the official Fifa rankings.

In addition, US defender Oguchi Onyewu has insisted his team, who reached the final of the Confederations Cup last summer, expect to beat England on Saturday.

"With our performances and results last summer, we gained a little bit more respect in the world," said Onyewu.
"It gives you a confidence and the realisation we are playing at the highest level and can compete with the best teams in the world.
"The Confederations Cup was last year. This Saturday is the World Cup and it is a completely different monster.

"It is a different entity. But the experience we picked up can only help us going into this tournament.

We don't fear England - USA boss

"England are a very good team with very good players but it is about how those players play together and that is going to be the important deciding factor. Our expectations are to get a win."

The US squad are riding high after unexpectedly reaching the final of last year's Confederations Cup before squandering a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 to Brazil.

En route to that final - the country's first in international football - the US caused one of the biggest shocks in recent international competition history when they won 2-0 against European Champions Spain.
That success has given the US the confidence to expect big things in South Africa.

"There is a quiet confidence in the US team," stated Spector.
"There are no expectations in the US so the only pressure comes from ourselves.
"We have captured the attention of the general public in the United States and we would like to keep their attention by doing well at the World Cup."

Rich countries accused of carbon 'cheating'

2010-06-11T01:00:00.015-03:00

Environment correspondent, BBC News, Bonn Not cutting down trees could earn rich nations carbon credits, say campaigners

Some rich countries are seeking new rules under the UN climate convention that campaigners say would allow them to gain credit for "business as usual".

Russia, Australia, Canada and some EU countries are among the accused.

The rules relate to land-use change, which can either release or absorb carbon, depending mainly on whether forests are planted or chopped down.
Rich countries, apart from the US, could account for about 5% of their annual emissions through this loophole.

The US is not involved in these negotiations because the proposals fall under the Kyoto Protocol, of which it - alone among developed countries - is not a part.

By way of comparison, 5% is roughly equal to the total emissions reduction that developed countries pledged to make between 1990 and 2012 under the Kyoto Protocol.

The benefit for some countries, notably Russia, would be much greater.

"This would allow developed countries to circumvent their obligations on reducing emissions," said Melanie Coath, climate change policy office with the UK's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), who has conducted analytical work on the draft text currently being negotiated.

"These are double standards that make us question the legitimacy of the whole process," added Kevin Conrad, lead negotiator for Papua New Guinea and chairman of the Coalition for Rainforest Nations.
"If rich states tell us we have to adopt robust standards (for REDD) and then use forestry as their biggest get-out clause - it's double standards, it's climate fraud."

Diplomats from developing countries have also criticised the proposals, which are under discussion during a fortnight of talks in Bonn under the UN climate convention (UNFCCC).

Some have suggested that rich countries would operate their forestry sectors under looser accounting rules than developing nations would face under the REDD mechanism (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation).

'Fudge' packet Several different "fudges" are up for discussion in the draft text that would create the 5% (or 500 megatonnes of CO2) loophole.

Certainly from the EU side, what we want to see is a system where we have the highest environmental integrity that is possible

Artur Runge-Metzger EU chief negotiator

One would allow countries to measure emission reductions or increases against a "forward-looking baseline".
In other words, a country would decide how its land-use carbon emission or absorption would be likely to change in future, and then to measure actual performance against that baseline.
By contrast, developed nations have to measure emissions from every other sector of their economies simply for what they are - against a zero baseline.

- A second proposal, from Russia, would mean that countries would not have to count emissions from land-use change until land-use changes across the entire country resulted in net emissions.
Currently, Russia's land-use sector is a big net absorber.

In addition, each governments could decide which aspects of land use change to include in its emission reports - which it would then compile and submit to the UN.

Delegates from some EU countries have suggested that others with large areas of forest - such as Austria, Finland and Sweden - are pushing for lax regulation, along with Russia and Australia.

But the European Commission's chief negotiator, Artur Runge-Metzger, said the EU favoured tighter rules.
"Certainly from the EU side, what we want to see is a system where we have the highest environmental integrity that is possible," he told BBC News.

"And also we don't want to have rules tighter for developing countries than for developed countries."
The UN talks here are due to conclude on Friday, and to set out some goalposts as governments look to the next UN climate summit in Cancun, Mexico, at the end of the year.

Small island states and many of the world's poorest nations are demanding that Cancun must see agreement of a legally binding global treaty, but many others are pushing for a "bottom-up" approach that would seek small but concrete agreements in key areas such as REDD.

Some rich countries are seeking new rules under the UN climate convention, which campaigners say would allow them to gain credit for "business as usual".

SocGen trader Kerviel slammed for 'stratospheric' risks

2010-06-11T01:00:00.014-03:00

Alleged Societe Generale "rogue trader" Jerome Kerviel took "stratospheric" risks that almost brought down the bank, an ex-colleague told a court.

Mr Kerviel, 33, is blamed for losses of 4.9bn euros (then worth £4.3bn).

He has been under investigation since SocGen unveiled the losses in 2008, which it said were caused by unauthorised deals carried out by him.
On trial in Paris, he denies accusations of forgery, breach of trust and unauthorised computer use.
'Disappointed' Salim Nemouchi, who worked on the SocGen trading desks, said Mr Kerviel "put in danger" the bank by making trades "for stratospheric amounts".
"I can't explain his actions. I am disappointed by his behaviour," Mr Nemouchi said. "All traders have limits they must respect."

Mr Kerviel has always maintained the bank knew about the risky deals, but turned a blind eye to them.
He admitted frequently passing trading limits and logging fake transactions to cover his gambles.
Mr Nemouchi told the court he was not aware such practices were common - causing Mr Kerviel to interject, saying: "I am very surprised. It was obvious."

The trial in Paris is expected to last three weeks. Mr Kerviel could face five years in prison as well as a fine of 375,000 euros if convicted.

SocGen is also expected to submit a symbolic claim against its former employee for the recovery of the full 4.9bn euros that his trading position cost them.

The revelation about the unauthorised deals shook the financial markets, but was soon overtaken by the global sub-prime mortgage crisis, the collapse of Lehman Brothers and Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme.
SocGen was fined 4m euros by the French regulator for weaknesses in its internal controls and has since spent about 130m euros on tightening its systems.

Mr Kerviel's lawyer, Olivier Metzner, is expected to argue that high-risk trades at SocGen were normal and that his client's managers knew what he was doing.

He may also claim that the bank decided to turn against Mr Kerviel in order to divert attention away from SocGen's large losses in the US sub-prime mortgage market.

Societe Generale's lawyer, Jean Veil, has accused Mr Kerviel of "duplicity" for reassuring his bosses that nothing was wrong.

On Wednesday, Mr Kerviel's former boss had told the court the accused was "not Robin Hood".
"Jerome Kerviel is the trader who lost the largest amount of money in the world," Jean-Pierre Mustier said, who also turned on the accused for lying to him.

The police investigation into Mr Kerviel concluded early on that he had not personally profited from his activities and had not committed fraud.

Nato-led Kandahar operation 'to go slower than planned'

2010-06-11T01:00:00.013-03:00

A Nato-led operation in Helmand lasted longer than expected

The Nato commander in Afghanistan says a military operation to drive militants out of Kandahar will move at a slower pace than planned.

General Stanley McChrystal said the operation would happen "more slowly" in order to ensure local support.

President Hamid Karzai has said that no operation will begin without the support of tribal elders.

Meanwhile, officials are seeking to confirm reports that a seven-year-old was hanged by the Taliban for spying.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that if the report of the boy's public hanging was true, "I don't think there is a crime bigger than that that even the most inhuman forces on Earth can commit".

General McChrystal: "It will play out over many months"

"A seven-year-old boy can't be a spy. A seven-year-old boy can't be anything but a seven-year-old boy," he said. "Hanging or shooting to kill a seven-year-old boy is a crime against humanity."

The hanging is reported to have taken place in Sangin district in Helmand province on Tuesday.
The Taliban deny killing the boy. A militant spokesman accused provincial officials of propaganda.
The Taliban have also denied involvement in an apparent suicide attack on a wedding party in Kandahar province on Wednesday evening, in which 40 people were killed.

Reports said many of the guests had links to local police or an anti-Taliban militia and that is why they were targeted.
Continued violence Nato has said that taking control of Kandahar will be the key to reversing the momentum of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Unlike an anti-Taliban offensive in neighbouring Helmand province which began with a military push, the campaign in Kandahar is being led by a major emphasis on politics.

Gen McChrystal did not specify any timeframe for the offensive, but US forces had planned to start the Kandahar operation this summer.
"It's more important we get it right than we get it fast," Gen McChrystal told reporters.
"I think it will take a number of months to play out," he added.

A meeting of 1,500 tribesmen in Kandahar in April told Gen McChrystal and Mr Karzai that they were not ready for any major military operation.

Nato has hailed as a success the campaign in Helmand, but locals report continued violence.
The Taliban have been waging a battle to overthrow the US-backed government and expel the 130,000 foreign troops there.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron is in Afghanistan for talks with President Karzai, in a week in which nearly 20 Western soldiers have been killed fighting the militants.

Last week, Afghanistan held a national peace council. Delegates invited by the president endorsed a plan to seek peace with the Taliban, who did not attend.

China currency stance 'impeding reforms', says Geithner

2010-06-11T01:00:00.012-03:00

The value of the Chinese yuan has been pegged to the dollar since 2008

US politicians have repeated threats to impose trade sanctions on China if it continues to refuse to revalue its currency, the yuan.
Both Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee warned US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that their patience was wearing thin.

Mr Geithner said China's stance was impeding global economic reforms.
The US has long complained that Beijing keeps the yuan undervalued against the US dollar to gain a trade advantage.

Some analysts argue the yuan is undervalued by as much as 40%.

Senator Charles Schumer, a leading Democrat, said he was confident a bill imposing sanctions on China would be passed successfully if needed.

"The issue here is not US protectionism but China's flouting of the rules of free trade," he said
'Flexibility needed'

Mr Geithner told the committee that distortions caused by China's stance were "an impediment to the global rebalancing we need".
China pegged the value of the yuan to the US dollar in 2008 in order to keep its exporters competitive amid falling demand in the global recession.

Mr Geithner said that Beijing's shackling of its currency, also known as the Renminbi (RMB), to the dollar was causing other Asian countries to intervene in foreign exchange markets at record levels.

"A more flexible RMB will allow market forces to play a more active role over time in facilitating strong, balanced and sustainable growth globally," Mr Geithner said.

Last month, at high level trade talks with the US, China said it would seek "gradual progress" on reforming the exchange rate of the yuan, but set no timetable for doing so.

Turkey denies break with Europe

2010-06-11T01:00:00.011-03:00

Mr Erdogan accused some of trying to keep Turkey out of the EU

Turkey has denied that it is shifting its allegiances to favour the Middle East rather than the European Union.

PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey was still committed to EU entry - though he accused some European countries of a "secret agenda" to keep it out.

On Wednesday the US defence secretary said Turkey might have been "pushed by some in Europe" away from the EU and closer to states like Iran.

Turkey this week voted against new UN sanctions on Iran.

Turkey's once-close alliance with Israel has also come under severe strain.

Their relations were already deteriorating before Israeli troops stormed a ship carrying aid to Gaza last month, killing nine Turks.

'We carry on' But Mr Erdogan denied Turkey was turning away from Europe.

He said: "There are those within the European Union who are trying to slow down the negotiating process, those who want to prevent the process. They are trying to curb our enthusiasm.
"We are aware of their secret agenda, but we carry on [with reforms] nevertheless."

The issue of whether Turkey should join the EU strongly divides European governments.
It started formal membership talks in 2005, but has only been allowed to open 12 of the 35 chapters that candidate countries must complete.

Some, like Britain, firmly believe Turkey should be encouraged to modernise and westernise, and that welcoming a big Muslim country would strengthen Muslim moderates. The US has also supported this view.
But other countries, like Germany and France, fear Turkey could destabilise the EU, not least with mass migration, and think it should be offered no more than a "privileged partnership".

US sex-for-tickets woman sentenced to year's probation

2010-06-11T01:00:00.010-03:00

The judge described Finkelstein's crime as "incredibly stupid"

A US woman convicted of offering sex for baseball World Series tickets has been sentenced to one year's probation.

Susan Finkelstein, 44, was convicted in March of attempted prostitution. She was also sentenced to 100 hours of community service.

Last year, she placed an online ad on Craigslist seeking tickets for a Philadelphia Phillies game.

She was caught after meeting an undercover policeman who responded to the ad.
Judge Albert Cepparulo called Finkelstein's crime "incredibly stupid", saying her ad could have left her vulnerable to a predator, the Associated Press news agency reported.

The judge suggested she spent her community service speaking to groups of women about the dangers of the internet.

Finkelstein said she had wanted to get tickets to take her husband to the opening game of the World Series - in which the Phillies beat the New York Yankees 6-1.

Libya 'frees Swiss businessman Max Goeldi'

2010-06-11T01:00:00.009-03:00

Max Goeldi was taken to jail from the Swiss embassy in Tripoli

A Swiss businessman at the centre of a long-running diplomatic row between Libya and Switzerland has been released from jail in Tripoli, his lawyer says.

Max Goeldi was sentenced in February to four months in prison for violating Libyan immigration rules.
He and another Swiss businessman were held after the son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was arrested in Switzerland in 2008.
Libya also took other measures, widely regarded as retalition for the arrest.
Correspondents say Mr Goeldi's release may allow a line to be drawn under the row.
"Goeldi has been freed," his lawyer, Salah Zahaf, said.

"He is in good condition. He is in a hotel in Tripoli right now and on Saturday we will start making arrangements for an exit visa so he can return home."

An unnamed prison official confirmed the release to AFP news agency.
Mr Goeldi was due to be released on 12 June.
Charges dropped

The row began when Hannibal Gaddafi and his wife were arrested in Geneva in July 2008 accused of assaulting two servants while staying at a luxury hotel.

Although the charges were later dropped, Libya cancelled oil supplies, withdrew billions of dollars from Swiss banks, refused visas to Swiss citizens and recalled some of its diplomats.

Mr Goeldi, the manager of an engineering firm, was held along with Rachid Hamdani, who works for a construction company.

They were later released on bail and then convicted in absentia while sheltering in the Swiss embassy in Tripoli.

Mr Hamdani was later cleared but Mr Goeldi was taken to prison in February after a tense stand-off outside the Swiss embassy.

Rafael Benitez named as new coach of Inter Milan

2010-06-11T01:00:00.008-03:00

Benitez won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005

Former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has been confirmed as the new manager of Italian giants Inter Milan.

The Spaniard, 50, has signed a two-year contract to take charge at the reigning European and Serie A champions.

"Inter welcome Rafael Benitez," the club said in a statement, adding the new coach would be introduced at a news conference on Tuesday, 22 June.

Benitez left Liverpool last week after six years in charge, and replaces Jose Mourinho who has joined Real Madrid.

He won the two La Liga titles and a Uefa Cup with Valencia before moving to Anfield and winning the Champions League the following year in 2005. He also took Liverpool to the 2007 final.
But Benitez faces a tough task following the flamboyant Mourinho at the San Siro.

Under the Portuguese, Inter won the Italian league twice, as well as the Champions League and Italian Cup last season.

And even before Mourinho took charge, Inter had won three consecutive titles under Manchester City's current manager Roberto Mancini.

Towards the end of last season, when it looked likely that Benitez could be leaving Liverpool, he was strongly linked with Inter's rivals Juventus, before they appointed Luigi del Neri.

However Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano, one of Benitez's former players at Liverpool, has previously backed the Spaniard to be successful in Serie A.

"Only Benitez could take the place of a coach like Mourinho," said Mascherano. "He is a great coach. He has charisma, personality, a winning mentality.

"Moreover, he will find himself brilliantly in Italy because of the tactical game. Rafa studies everything on the table and directs the team from the bench like an orchestra conductor.
"After Mourinho, he is the only man capable of continuing Inter's winning run."

World Cup 2010: South Africa set for historic event

2010-06-11T01:00:00.007-03:00

BBC World Cup coverage kicks off

South Africa is preparing for the start of the biggest football tournament on earth, the World Cup, which gets under way on Friday in Johannesburg.

It is the 19th staging of the showpiece event and will be the first time it has taken place in the continent of Africa.

Johannesburg's 94,000-capacity Soccer City hosts the opening ceremony, with the first game getting under way at 1500 BST when South Africa face Mexico.

Former president Nelson Mandela, 91, is set to attend part of the festivities.
He will be present on Friday, but will not attend the entire opening game as his family are worried about the state of his health.

The World Cup kicks off with a 40-minute opening ceremony at Soccer City starting at 1300 BST.

American R'n'B star R Kelly is one of 1,581 performers ahead of the game between the hosts and Mexico at 1500 BST.

The global TV audience for the tournament will be made up of viewers in more than 215 countries and will run into hundreds of millions.

South Africa president Jacob Zuma and Archbishop Desmond Tutu are also expected to be at Soccer City, the newly refurbished stadium designed to look like a calabash, an African cooking pot.

"South Africa has come alive, and will never be the same after this World Cup," said Zuma, who hailed Mandela's role in securing the right to host the finals back in May 2004.

"Nelson Mandela worked hard so that we could win the right to host this tournament. We dedicate the World Cup to him.

"There are a few moments that define a nation's history. We stand on the threshold of one as we draw closer and closer to Friday, 11 June, when the World Cup officially begins."

The festivities began in earnest on Thursday, with Shakira among the artists at a vast pre-tournament concert in Soweto.

Mandela's World Cup message

The Colombian pop star performed the official World Cup song Waka Waka and was joined by a cast of international stars, including the Black Eyed Peas and Alicia Keys, along with African stars Amadou & Mariam and Hugh Masekela.

Since it was chosen as the first African host of the World Cup in 2004, South Africa has spent about 40bn rand (£3.55bn) on stadiums, transport infrastructure and upgrading airports.

The tournament, which is made up of 32 nations, could add as much as 0.5% to the country's GDP in 2010 and will bring in an estimated 370,000 foreign visitors.

Danny Jordaan, chief executive of the local organising committee, said: "For me it will be a dream come true. It's a great moment in the World Cup's 80-year history.

"People said no African country could ever deliver this event. But we are showing that we can't just match what others have done but that we can do even better. Now the doubters are the believers."

As well as the iconic Soccer City - the biggest stadium in Africa - nine other venues will stage World Cup matches across the country, including Ellis Park, which is also in Johannesburg.

Cape Town, Pretoria, Polokwane, Rustenburg, Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth, Durban and Nelspruit will host matches, too.

There are 64 games in total, with the final taking place at Soccer City on Sunday, 11 July.
There have been concerns about ticketing policy and security in the run-up to the tournament.
Fifa has come under fire for the way tickets have been distributed, with critics claiming its preferred method of making tickets available online excluded many locals who did not have an internet connection.

However, football's world governing body has made a number of tickets exclusively available to South Africans and announced on Wednesday that 97% of the 3.1m tickets had been sold, allaying fears of empty stadiums.

As for security, there have been concerns about the safety of fans, media and players travelling to South Africa.

Sixteen people - including two police officers - were injured at a stampede ahead of a World Cup warm-up match on Sunday between Nigeria and North Korea outside Makhulong Stadium in the township of Tembisa near Johannesburg.

And journalists from China, Spain and Portugal were targeted in two separate armed robberies in and around Johannesburg on Monday and Wednesday.

However, Fifa president Sepp Blatter insists the World Cup will be a success.

"Everywhere, one can feel, I hope, that this World Cup is very special, the first on African soil," he said. "We find ourselves in a position of indescribable anticipation.
"More importantly, this competition will prove that South Africa, and the African continent in general, is capable of organising an event of this magnitude."

England are among the favourites in South Africa and Fabio Capello's men get their Group C campaign under way against the United States in Rustenburg on Saturday.

Defending champions Italy start on Monday with a match against Paraguay, Brazil face North Korea in their first game on Tuesday and Euro 2008 winners Spain start their bid for a first World Cup win by taking on Switzerland on Wednesday.

South Africa have never progressed beyond the group stage at the World Cup, though they have only taken part in two previous tournaments, in 1998 and 2002.

They are managed by Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira, who led his home nation to victory at the 1994 World Cup in the United States and will be coaching at a record sixth tournament.

Some of the world's best players will be on display in South Africa,

among them Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.
But some big names will be missing because of injury, such as England duo Rio Ferdinand and David Beckham, Germany skipper Michael Ballack and Ghana midfielder Michael Essien.

Didier Drogba - an icon in African sport - fractured his elbow in a recent friendly against Japan, but is hopeful of playing a part in the Ivory Coast's campaign.

World Cup 2010: Fabio Capello settled on England team

2010-06-11T01:00:00.006-03:00

World Cup guide: England

International users can view England guide here
ENGLAND v UNITED STATES

Fabio Capello says he has decided on his starting XI for England's 2010 World Cup opener against the United States in Rustenburg on Saturday.

Much speculation has surrounded his selection, with an ankle injury to midfielder Gareth Barry prompting a reshuffle to Capello's plans.

It is also unclear who the Italian will pick in goal, with David James, Rob Green and Joe Hart vying to start.
But Capello said: "I know my keeper and I know my XI to start against the US."

He added, possibly referring to Barry's recovery: "After the first game, I hope every player in my squad will be fit and ready to play."

Capello is desperate for his squad to come through the match against the US unscathed, especially having already lost skipper Rio Ferdinand to a knee ligament injury sustained during training last week.

But the Italian insists he is relaxed as England approach their tournament opener on Saturday.
"I can understand the pressure because in every moment we walk around you can see the security, the journalists, you can see when you move to golf, to safari, you need to police a lot of this," he told BBC Radio 5 live.

"I understand that this is a really, really important moment for the country, but I am relaxed."
And Capello believes his England side can impress in South Africa having "improved a lot" during his time in charge, a spell that has so far yielded 18 wins in 24 matches.

"Yes, the team has improved a lot," he said. "We found a spirit, different systems to play during games and a lot of players know me better. I think everything is different for us now."

In Ferdinand's absence, Capello's captain on the field will be Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard, who is expected to partner Frank Lampard in the centre of midfield with Barry unavailable.

James Milner could also miss out as he struggles to shake off a virus, while some reports suggest goalkeeper James is carrying a knee injury.

Gerrard stresses need for England discipline

But Liverpool captain Gerrard has insisted that leading the national side will not adversely affect his own game, saying: "I won't change my style of captaincy or the way I play.

"I'm in this position because managers see I'm a good captain - how I am about the place as well as what I do on the pitch. I feel like I have the respect of the players and they know I'm here for them if they need it.
"I'm going to use the captaincy as a positive because I have a fantastic team around me - Stuart Pearce, who has been there and done it, David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand is still here, I have John Terry - a captain - alongside me on the pitch… this is a team and a squad full of leaders."

And the 30-year-old admits he has allowed himself a thought as to what it would be like to lead England all the way in South Africa.

"To lift the trophy as captain of England… it's the stuff dreams are made of," he said.
"All the players are aware of what's happening back home, the excitement that's building, and we know everyone is behind us.

"The days are getting longer because we're all so desperate to get started and so desperate to win. It's time for the players to deliver."

World Cup 2010: Didier Drogba 'could play in opener'

2010-06-11T01:00:00.004-03:00

It was initially feared Drogba would be completely ruled out of the World Cup

Didier Drogba could play in Ivory Coast's World Cup opener despite breaking his arm against Japan on 4 June, says coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Chelsea striker Drogba, 32, needed surgery after sustaining the injury and his arm was in a sling on arrival in Johannesburg on Thursday.

"If it had been today or tomorrow, he wouldn't play," said Eriksson ahead of the 15 June clash against Portugal.
"But there are still some days - he might play against them."

Ivory Coast take on Portugal in Group G in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth.

Their tough pool also includes five-time winners Brazil and North Korea.
"It is a difficult group, but we will be well prepared and we will do everything to play well against the other teams," added the former England coach.

Drogba suffered the injury in Sion, Switzerland, in a collision with Japan defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka - three minutes after the Chelsea forward had opened the scoring with a 13th-minute deflected free-kick.
The Elephants, for whom Drogba has scored 44 goals in 69 appearances, went on to clinch victory with Manchester City defender Kolo Toure netting their second goal.

Afterwards, Eriksson refused to blame Tanaka for the incident.
"It was unlucky," the 62-year-old Ivory Coast boss said at the time. "It wasn't bad or stupid. He didn't want to hurt anyone. Football is a game of contact."

Drogba is the current African Player of the Year and scored 37 goals in all competitions for Chelsea last season as the west Londoners won the Premier League and FA Cup Double.

Australia drops out of race to host 2018 World Cup

2010-06-11T01:00:00.003-03:00

Australia have switched their attention to winning the bid for the 2022 World Cup

England's chances of hosting the 2018 World Cup have been handed a boost after Australia dropped out of the race to focus on the 2022 tournament.

The United States is now the only non-European bidder still involved.
Russia and joint bids from Holland and Belgium, and Spain and Portugal are the other possible locations for the event.

"It became apparent that there was a growing movement to stage the 2018 World Cup in Europe," said Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke.

"The FFA [Football Federation Australia] has displayed an exemplary level of solidarity with Europe and the European bidding nations.

"Their announcement, therefore, to henceforth focus solely on bidding for the 2022 Fifa World Cup is a welcome gesture that is much appreciated by Fifa's leadership and executive committee. We wish to thank the FFA and the Australian Government."

FFA chairman Frank Lowy confirmed the decision to concentrate on 2022, again strongly hinting that the tournament will head to Europe in 2018.

"We have been in discussion with Fifa for months and it is that trusting relationship with the leadership of the governing body that has caused us to focus on 2022 and decide to leave the field for 2018 to European contenders," he said.

England's bid to host the tournament was thrown into disarray last month when Lord Triesman was forced to resign after being caught up in a tabloid sting.

The FA chairman, who was was promptly replaced by Geoff Thompson, was taped suggesting Spain could drop its bid if rival bidder Russia helped bribe referees at this summer's World Cup.

However, England are still favourites to host the event, with those odds likely to be cut further still after Australia's decision to pull out.

The previous World Cup in 2006 was held in Germany, while France won the tournament on home soil in 1998. Following this year's tournament in South Africa, the 2014 competition will be in Brazil.

Australia will certainly be up against Japan, Qatar and South Korea to host the 2022 event, plus US if, as expected, they follow the FFA's lead and withdraw to concentrate on a bid in four years.

The countries who miss out on winning the 2018 bid will also be back in contention.
Fifa's 24-man executive committee will decide the host of both events in December.

McLaren pair Hamilton and Button vow to battle for wins

2010-06-11T01:00:00.002-03:00

Hamilton pipped Button in a McLaren one-two in Turkey

McLaren team-mates Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button are ready to go wheel-to-wheel again as they both chase victory in Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix.

The pair fought for position in the latter stages last time out in Turkey on 30 May as Hamilton re-passed Button to head an all-British one-two.

"We had a good battle," said Button. "And it will be exactly the same here if we both have a good weekend.
"You don't think, I'm going to drive differently as he's my team-mate.'"
Button, who is second in the championship to Red Bull's Mark Webber, added: "It doesn't change anything that you're racing your team-mate - and it shouldn't.

"You race for yourself initially and then you race for your team.

"It's just if you crash with your team-mate there's a bigger issue after the races, as we've seen."

Potential tension between team-mates is still the hot topic in Montreal after Red Bull pair Webber and Sebastian Vettel came together at Istanbul Park, resulting in Webber losing the lead and Vettel crashing out, before Hamilton and Button engaged in a thrillingly close battle for the lead just eight laps later.
Both McLaren drivers had been told to slow down to conserve fuel after the Red Bull clash and so Hamilton was surprised to find himself overtaken by Button after being told by chief engineer Phil Prew that Button would not do so.

Hamilton re-passed Button at the start of the next lap and the 2008 world champion is expecting more on-track tussles with his team-mate.

"We don't have team orders and, of course, we always want to support the team in getting the most points but clearly both drivers want to win," stated Hamilton, who won his first grand prix in Montreal three years ago.

"So if there is an opportunity [to pass a team-mate] you take it."
McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh conceded that there had been mistakes communicating exactly what was going on with both their drivers in Turkey.

Hamilton, who is four points behind third-placed Button in the standings, agreed that is an area that needs resolving if McLaren are to build on their 2010 title challenge.

"We have to work on the communication and make sure we are always and understanding one another and getting the point across" Hamilton reflected.

"But what we've also done [since Turkey] is reflect on a great result, our second one-two of the year."
McLaren are confident they can deliver another competitive performance as racing returns to Montreal after a one-year absence.

High-speed is crucial on the man-made island circuit and McLaren expect to have an advantage with their effective f-duct which improves straight-line speed while a lack of high-speed corners will not suit the Red Bulls.

"This is a circuit where perhaps there is less opportunity for the advantage of the Red Bull," continued Hamilton.

"There are a couple of corners, Turn Four, Turn Seven, Turn Nine maybe where the Red Bull will be quite strong on those exits but otherwise we should be strong on the straights.

"We have the very long straight here which suits our car more. I am hoping we are going to be more on a par with Red Bull this weekend and maybe we can be a little bit closer."

Button added: "You can't forget about Red Bull but this is a circuit that should work for us quite well, there are long straights, we're very efficient and braking for us is reasonably strong.
"But I don't think we'll be alone out front, Red Bull will be quick, Mercedes will be competitive and you never know about Ferrari."

Bad light stops Andy Murray's clash with Mardy Fish

2010-06-11T01:00:00.001-03:00

Angry Murray rants at umpire

An angry Andy Murray must resume his third-round clash with America's Mardy Fish on Friday as play at Queen's was suspended due to bad light on Thursday.

Murray came back from a set down and was then trailing 3-0 in the third before breaking back to level at 3-3 with the momentum swinging his way.

The defending champion had wanted to continue playing but Fish complained of bad light and play was suspended.

Murray had lost the first set 6-4 before winning the second 6-1.
Fish took the opening set after breaking an out of sorts Murray in his first service game before the British number one found his form to break his opponent from the United States early in the second.
Murray then broke Fish again in the fourth game of the set, eventually winning 6-1.

At 3-0 in the third and final set the American looked as if he would be heading into the quarter-finals but a missed forehand smash saw him fail to go 4-0 up and Murray took his opportunity to get back into the game.

The winner will play Michael Llodra in the quarters after the French 12th seed beat Croatia's Marin Cilic 7-6 (7-2) 6-2.

The score was locked at 4-6 6-1 3-3 when Fish appealed to umpire Cedric Mourier to stop the match because of the gloomy conditions at Queen's.

Mourier agreed and Fish gathered his equipment and walked off without a word, leaving a bemused Murray standing on the baseline ready to continue.

When the Scottish third seed realised what had happened, he approached Mourier to complain about the decision before also confronting supervisor Tom Barnes.

"Mardy says he doesn't want to play so we stop playing. The referee didn't consult anyone," Murray said on Centre Court.

"That came out of nowhere. The weather was absolutely fine. It's ridiculous.
"The only reason he wanted to stop was because it was 3-3."
Murray's clash with Fish is due to resume at 1230 BST on centre court.

Djokovic & Roddick exit Queen's

2010-06-11T01:00:00.000-03:00

Roddick fails in his bid to win a fifth title at Queen's Club

Three of the top five seeds tumbled out at Queen's on Thursday with second-ranked Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick and Marin Cilic all third-round casualties.

World number three Djokovic lost 6-3 4-6 6-2 to Xavier Malisse, while Roddick, the four-time champion, fell to Israel's Dudi Sela in straight sets.

Marin Cilic, Croatia's fifth seed, was defeated by France's Michael Llodra.

French Open champion Rafael Nadal endured a minor hamstring injury before defeating Denis Istomin in three sets.
The Spaniard, world number one and 2008 Queen's champion, was given an almighty scare by Istomin with Uzbekistan's rising star taking the second set and pushing him close in the decider.

Nadal survives Queen's scare

After needing a medical time-out to have a massage on his right leg, Nadal had to save two break points in the seventh game before needing three match points to finally come through 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-4 against an opponent ranked 72nd in the world.

Nadal, who faces Feliciano Lopez in the quarter-finals at the Aegon Championships, said: "I'm going to have the leg tested. The pain started slowly and then I felt it more.

"I'm not thinking about pulling out of the tournament. I'm sure I'll play Friday. I'll be very careful but should be OK."
On a day of big shocks, Djokovic fought his way back to one-set all before crashing out to Belgium's Malisse, who next plays Sam Querrey of the United States, a 6-4 7-6 (7-5) winner over Marcel Granollers.
Serbia's Djokovic, who had his match shifted from Centre Court at the end of another rain-affected day in London, was unhappy at being forced to play on a damp court.
"The conditions were impossible," the 23-year-old said. "Under these conditions, to be able to play a professional tennis match, this is ridiculous.
"A couple of times I could have injured myself, to stretch the muscle or something like that."

Israeli Sela caused the first upset of the day with a 6-4 7-6 (10-8) win over fourth seed Roddick.

Roddick pulls off odd drop-shot

Sela broke the famous American serve once to take the first set and then saved two set points in a gripping second-set tie-break before securing victory with a spectacular diving volley.

Roddick's defeat marks the first time he has failed to reach at least the semi-finals at Queen's Club since his first appearance in 2001.

"He outplayed me", Roddick admitted. "He played a pretty perfect match."
Since 2001, he has won the title four times and lost in the semi-finals three times.

It was a disappointing way to begin his preparations for Wimbledon, where he lost in the final for the third time last year.

But the 27-year-old insisted: "I'm not super concerned about the way I'm hitting the ball, I'm not stressing out about any one part of my game too much."

Cilic suffered a shock 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 defeat to Llodra of France, who will play the winner of Andy Murray and Mardy Fish for a semi-final spot.
Sela's next opponent, German Rainer Schuettler, was handed a walkover into the last eight when 11th seed Richard Gasquet pulled out with a back injury.

Ahmadinejad: New UN Iran sanctions 'fit for dustbin'

2010-06-10T01:00:00.011-03:00

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad refuses to halt Iran's enrichment programme

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has dismissed the new UN sanctions over Iran's nuclear programme as a "used handkerchief" fit for the dustbin.

Earlier, the UN Security Council voted to impose a fourth round of sanctions on Tehran for failing to halt its nuclear enrichment programme.

They include tighter finance curbs and an expanded arms embargo, but not the crippling sanctions the US had wanted.
Iran denies building nuclear weapons, insisting it seeks only atomic energy.

US President Barack Obama said the sanctions sent an unmistakable message about the determination to stop the spread of nuclear arms.
Fourth round

At a meeting at the UN in New York on Wednesday, the Security Council voted by 12 votes to two in favour of a fourth round of coercive measures.
Brazil and Turkey voted against the sanctions, while Lebanon abstained. They argued that the sanctions were counter-productive and endangered a diplomatic solution.

Later, Mr Ahmadinejad was quoted by Iran's Isna news agency as saying: "I gave one of the [world powers] a message that the resolutions you issue are like a used handkerchief which should be thrown in the dustbin.
"They are not capable of hurting Iranians," he added.

The most significant parts of the resolution create a legal basis to restrict the supply of goods that Iran wants for its nuclear missile programmes, says the BBC's Middle East editor, Jeremy Bowen.

Out correspondent says the resolution singles out the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, who run much of the economy - including the national shipping line which Western diplomats say is trying to evade sanctions by setting up front companies.

The sanctions also prohibit Iran from buying heavy weapons such as attack helicopters and missiles.
They toughen rules on financial transactions with Iranian banks, and increase the number of Iranian individuals and companies that are targeted by asset freezes and travel bans.
But the sanctions were passed after being watered down during negotiations with Russia and China on Tuesday.

In the end there were no crippling economic sanctions and no oil embargo.
'Little effect'

The vote for sanctions came almost 18 months after US President Barack Obama promised a new strategy of engagement with Iran when he took office.

Yet the US eventually pushed for tougher sanctions.
Mr Obama said the sanctions did "not close the door on diplomacy" and he urged Iran to "choose a different and better path".

[Sanctions] will most probably lead to the suffering of the people of Iran

Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, Brazilian envoy to UN New sanctions 'not the last' New Iran bodies under sanction Send us your comments

China's UN ambassador Zhang Yesui said the sanctions were trying to prevent nuclear proliferation and would not hurt "the normal life of the Iranian people".
However, both Turkey and Brazil spoke out in opposition.

They insisted Iran had made concessions in a recent nuclear fuel exchange agreement they brokered, which they see as a pathway to negotiations.
"[The sanctions] will most probably lead to the suffering of the people of Iran and will play into the hands of people on all sides who do not want dialogue to prevail," said the Brazilian ambassador to the UN, Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti.

The two "no" votes were the strongest opposition yet in four rounds of sanctions, weakening the international unity the Americans have tried to build to isolate Iran.

The BBC News website's world affairs correspondent, Paul Reynolds, says this fourth round of sanctions is unlikely to have any more effect on Iranian policy than the first three.
Iran's vital economic interests have not been targeted and Tehran has already developed systems of evasion, he says.
Three earlier rounds of UN sanctions blocked trade of "sensitive nuclear material", froze the financial assets of those involved in Iran's nuclear activities, banned all of Iran's arms exports and encouraged scrutiny of the dealings of Iranian banks.