Texas murderer spared execution

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16 September 2011 Last updated at 02:34 GMT Buck told officials he felt "good" after hearing the decision The US Supreme Court has granted a last-minute stay of execution to a double killer whose lawyers argue the case was tainted by race issues.

Duane Buck, 48, shot and killed his ex-girlfriend Debra Gardner and Kenneth Butler at her home in Texas in 1995.

His legal team said a psychologist who testified that black men were more likely to pose a future public threat could have influenced the sentencing.

Buck had been scheduled to face a lethal injection on Thursday evening.

His guilt is not being questioned, but his lawyers appealed on the basis that a new sentencing hearing was necessary because the jury was unfairly influenced.

Buck praised God upon hearing of the stay of execution, according to Texas Department of Justice spokesman Jason Clark.

"Praise the Lord, God is worthy to be praised. God's mercy triumphs over judgment. I feel good," he told Mr Clark.

New execution date?

Mr Clark said Buck had been praying in his cell in Huntsville, Texas, when he arrived to tell him the news.

Hours earlier, Buck ate what he thought would be his last meal of fried chicken, salad, french fries, fried fish, hot sauce, jalapeno peppers, apples, iced tea and water.

Buck's lawyers also appealed to Texas Governor Rick Perry, who is the current frontrunner in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

The Supreme Court's decision means Gov Perry is no longer required to take action.

The decision came two hours into a six-hour window in which Buck could have been executed. Texas officials had refused to act until the Supreme Court had made its decision.

The Supreme Court received two appeals for the case. They denied one and granted the other.

In a decision with no other details, the court said it was stopping the execution so it could continue to consider the request.

If the justices decide against the request, Buck would become eligible for a new execution date.

"No-one should be put to death based on the colour of his or her skin," Kate Black, one of Buck's attorneys said after the decision.

"We are confident that the court will agree that our client is entitled to a fair sentencing hearing that is untainted by considerations of his race."

Buck's lawyers say that during their client's sentencing, a psychologist was asked leading questions by prosecutors in court. Dr Walter Quijano testified that black men were more likely than others to commit acts of violence.

Children witnessed murders

The case is one of six that the Texas attorney general reviewed in 2000, and said needed to be reopened because of racially charged statements made during the trial.

More people have been executed under Rick Perry than any other Texas governor in modern US history

In July 1995, a week after breaking up with 32-year-old Ms Gardner, Buck shot her and Mr Butler at her home outside Houston.

Under the influence of drugs, he accused Mr Butler, 33, of sleeping with Ms Gardner.

Buck used a shotgun to kill Mr Butler inside the house, then chased Ms Gardner outside and shot her in the street.

A third person, Phyllis Taylor, was also shot, but survived. Ms Gardner's 14-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son witnessed the murders.

Officers said Buck was laughing at the time of his arrest, saying Ms Gardner deserved her fate.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles - all appointed by Gov Perry - denied Buck's request for clemency on Wednesday. The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals also rejected his appeal.

Gov Perry is a staunch advocate of capital punishment - a view he aired in his first nationally televised presidential debate last week.

During Gov Perry's 11 years in office, 235 convicted killers have been executed in Texas, more than under any other governor in modern US history.

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VIDEO: Floods swamp villages in Pakistan

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14 September 2011 Last updated at 13:22 GMT Help

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UBS trader 'told bank of error'

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16 September 2011 Last updated at 08:44 GMT Cdr Ian Dyson of City of London Police says they arrested a man at 03:30 on Thursday. Photo shows Kweku Adoboli on Facebook

The BBC has learned that the UBS trader being questioned on suspicion of unauthorised trading alerted the bank himself.

The BBC's business editor, Robert Peston, says UBS's internal controls did not pick up the huge loss allegedly generated by its trader Kweku Adoboli.

He says Mr Adoboli told UBS that he had engaged in unauthorised trades.

UBS then examined his trading positions and informed the Financial Services Authority and the police.

Mr Adoboli was arrested by the police at 03:30 yesterday.

Our correspondent says: "The disclosure that it was Mr Adoboli's decision to inform his colleagues of his actions that set alarm bells ringing at UBS, rather than its own monitoring system, will add to concerns that investment banks simply aren't capable of controlling the huge risks that their traders take."

The Financial Services Authority, the City's regulator, is investigating why UBS failed to identify the unauthorised transactions.

Chris Roebuck, visiting professor at the Cass Business School said: "Why did the systems not spot this before it got totally out of control ? This is a key question the risk systems managers must answer - but he must have found a way round the systems to get this far into debt."

UBS would not comment on the matter.

Ratings review

Meanwhile, the credit rating agency Moody's says it is reviewing UBS's rating after the unauthorised trading led to a $2bn (￡1.3bn) loss.

Moody's said its review would focus on "ongoing weaknesses" in the Swiss bank's risk management.

On Thursday, police arrested a 31-year-old man in London in connection with allegations of unauthorised trading.

Kweku Adoboli, believed to work in the European equities division, was still being held for questioning on Friday.

Continue reading the main story

If Mr Adoboli had not revealed his activities on Wednesday, in theory the final bill for UBS could have been even bigger.”

End Quote Robert Peston Business editor, BBC News Moody's said that although UBS was strong enough financially to absorb the loss, it had concerns about its risk controls.

"We have continued to express concerns with regards to the ability of management to develop a robust risk culture and effective control framework," the agency said.

UBS was rescued by the Swiss state in 2008, following huge losses on toxic assets held by its investment bank.

It then became embroiled in a serious tax evasion dispute with US authorities and was forced to hand over 300 client names and pay a $780m fine. There was then a second case in which it agreed to hand over data on 4,450 US clients.

Currency moves

UBS said no customer accounts had been affected by the rogue trades, but in a letter to its 65,000 staff it warned that they could hit profits.

"The matter is still being investigated. It is possible that this could lead UBS to report a loss for the third quarter of 2011. No client positions were affected," the bank said.

Mr Adoboli is believed to have worked as a director of Exchange Traded Funds in the equities department.

ETFs are a type of tradeable share that track movements in other indexes or commodities, and can be affected by short-term volatility in prices.

UBS declined to say in which department, or country, the rogue trader operated. However, there is speculation that the losses may have occurred in foreign exchange trades.

Louise Cooper, markets analyst at BGC Partners, said they could be linked to last week's sudden sharp fall in the Swiss franc after the Swiss National Bank said it would intervene to hold down its value.

Mr Adoboli's father, John, a retired United Nations employee, said he hoped his son would be freed on bail soon so he could talk to him.

He said he believed in his son's integrity: "From what the reports are saying it could be that he made a mistake or wrongful judgement," he said.

Shares fall

The UBS news has echoes of other rogue trades, including at Societe Generale, where former trader Jerome Kerviel was arrested in 2008 over unauthorised trades which cost the bank 4.9bn euros.

That topped the losses involved in the infamous case in 1995, which saw Briton Nick Leeson cause the collapse of Barings bank after costing the group ￡800m.

Banks such as UBS have tightened their compliance and rules, but this latest breach "is a staggering demonstration that all the clever systems that the banks now have still cannot stop a determined individual getting round them if they want to," said Professor Chris Roebuck, visiting professor at Cass Business School.

Last month the bank announced 3,500 jobs cuts. Of the 65,000 staff worldwide about 6,000 are in the UK, with the bulk of UBS's investment banking operations based in London and New York.

UBS shares closed 11% lower on Thursday after it announced it was investigating the rogue trades.

On Friday, UBS shares were trading unchanged.

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'Target young companies' MPs told

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15 September 2011 Last updated at 12:08 GMT Admiral's chief said Wales should target businesses which could move 'lock, stock and barrel' Wales should attract young businesses instead of chasing big international companies, one of the most successful businesses in the country has said.

Car insurers Admiral told MPs that start-up enterprises were more valuable.

The company's chief operating officer was speaking to a parliamentary inquiry on inward investment.

MPs were also told that the Welsh Government intended to set up enterprise zones.

Admiral chief operating officer and executive director David Stevens told the Commons' Welsh Affairs Committee that Wales should target businesses that could move "lock stock and barrel".

He said companies with their headquarters and senior management teams in Wales were more valuable than "off-shoots of big companies based elsewhere".

"Businesses with only 'muscle' in Wales are more likely to withdraw in hard times or if cheaper location options emerge," he said.

Aiming "glossy" adverts at attracting "sexy sectors" of industry was not the best strategy for boosting investment, he said.

He pointed out that Admiral set up home Cardiff in the early 90s around the same time as one of Wales' biggest inward investment projects to bring electronics giant LG to Newport.

LG has since left the site, while Admiral, which received a start-up grant of ￡1 million, has grown from 50 staff to employ just over 4,000 people in Cardiff, Swansea and Newport.

"In my view the right strategy is finding 25 Admirals," Mr Stevens said.

Start-up companies that establish their headquarters in Wales "tend to be cheap to move and when they come they bring the whole kit and caboodle".

But he said the company encounters some barriers when trying to recruit highly-skilled staff. There was a perception that Wales was "further away than it really is" and was "grimmer than it really is".

He highlighted the importance of good infrastructure, including railways, saying he supported the electrification of the Great Western rail line to Swansea. The UK government is currently only planning to electrify the line as far as Cardiff.

MPs took evidence at the assembly in Cardiff Bay, despite the absence of the Welsh Government minister for economic policy.

Businesses Minister Edwina Hart refused to accept an invitation to give evidence, saying the economy was "my responsibility".

'Enterprise'

MPs heard from backbench Labour AM Mark Drakeford, who said the Welsh Government would "deploy" enterprise zones - where businesses are offered financial and regulatory incentives - to help the economy.

First Minister Carwyn Jones has previously pledged ￡10m to create themed Welsh zones while officials looked at options.

Prof Drakeford said the Welsh Government was taking its time "so they (zones) do the job we want them to do".

He said there was anxiety in case zones merely "suck activity from one area to another".

Conservative shadow business minister Nick Ramsay said: "It's good to hear this movement from the Welsh government's perspective.

"While I don't think enterprise zones are a panacea that will solve everything - if you are going to have zones just across the border, we need something similar here, even if it's not the English model."

Liberal Democrat business spokeswoman Eluned Parrott said she was "disappointed" that Mrs Hart did not attend the meeting.

She welcomed the creation of enterprise zones in Wales, saying there was a danger of zones near the border in England "leeching" investment.

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The ins and outs of rhino reproduction

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15 September 2011 Last updated at 00:26 GMT By Rebecca Morelle Science reporter, BBC News How to artificially inseminate a rhino - vet Tim Bouts reveals all

An assortment of specialist scanners, probes and other paraphernalia are carefully laid out, ready for action.

But unlike the kit used for most medical procedures, everything here is on a supersized scale.

The reason? Scientists are about to examine two southern white rhinos at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire.

Their job today is to help them conceive through artificial insemination, a procedure that entails collecting the semen from the male rhino and then inserting it into the female.

Tim Bouts, the zoo's veterinary officer, explains that natural conception is not an option for the female rhino.

She has sustained an injury to her foot, and if a male attempts to mount her, it could cause her serious damage.

The researchers carrying out the procedure are the world experts in rhino reproduction

But Dr Bouts explains that the zoo is keen to boost numbers of this species.

In the wild, southern white rhinos have suffered devastating hits to their population thanks to a recent surge in poaching.

In South Africa, once a stronghold for this species, hundreds of rhinos have been slaughtered by organised gangs, their horns sold in Asia and the Middle East where they are used for medicine and ornaments.

Dr Bouts says that trying to ensure that there is a healthy population in captivity is key.

"There are not that many southern white rhinos in our zoos, and at this point, the population is not yet self-sustaining, so every rhino baby is actually very important," he explains.

Assisted reproduction in rhinos is a relatively new technique - it first took place in Hungary in 2006 - but is now being used more and more.

And the team from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) in Germany that pioneered the procedure are here to help with this rhino pair.

Thomas Hildebrandt, Robert Hermes and Joseph Saragusty are something of a reproductive hit squad - flying all around the world to help animals conceive.

It is an unusual job, but it has taken a great deal of research to work out how to successfully perform artificial insemination on animals like rhinos.

Dr Hermes explains: "There are lots of aspects that we need to get a conception, and the access we have to these wild animals is so limited, so we needed a long time to put all the different pieces of the puzzle together.

"So we now know when the ovulation takes place, we know how to obtain the semen, and on top of that, we know the anatomy and the tools necessary to do an insemination, which is very specific for rhinos."

'Electro-ejaculator'

The procedure at Whipsnade takes place over a few hours. The scientists are kitted out in plastic overalls - it is a messy job.

First of all, the male is anaesthetised, and after various checks are carried out, the team uses an "electro-ejaculator", which is inserted into the rhino's rectum to cause it to produce semen that the researchers can then collect.

After the sperm is checked under the microscope to ensure it is healthy, the female, which has been on hormone treatment to make sure she is ovulating, is then sedated too.

The team uses sophisticated 3D-ultrasounds to monitor her reproductive system, and then - when everything is ready - inserts the sperm using a probe.

As well as perfecting this method, the German team has now also taken rhino reproduction even further: they have used frozen sperm in artificial insemination and at Western Plains Zoo in Australia, they have created a rhino embryo using in vitro fertilization (IVF), although the embryo has not been transferred back into a female.

The northern white rhino is one of the world's most endangered species with only seven alive

And the technology is also developing apace around the world.

A recent paper in Nature Methods reported that scientists had created stem cells from northern white rhinos - the most endangered rhino in the world, with just a handful left in existence. The researchers say that one day these cells could be turned into sperm and egg cells to bring the species back from the brink.

And projects like Ibream are also looking at the possibility of cloning rhinos, as a weapon of last resort if this species plummets further.

While this technology is still a long way off, Dr Hermes says that for now, assisted reproduction is increasingly being looked at as a conservation strategy.

"What you can see with the [poaching] development in South Africa is situations may change very quickly, from where you think you have saved a species and they are in a safe haven to a few years later where they are being taken out by the hundreds," he says.

"And if that is the case, it is always good to have all the necessary tools in hand and that is why we think assisted reproduction does make sense.

"Because if you do need to use it, it doesn't just fall out of the sky, it needs preparation, development and a lot of knowledge."

With the procedure complete, and the rhinos waking up sleepy from the anaesthetic - the scientists are now in for a tense wait.

For the next few weeks, the female's hormones will be carefully monitored to see if she is pregnant.

And if she is, and all goes to plan, in 16 months' time these researchers can say they have successfully played a part in adding another rhino to this endangered population.

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S Lanka monks raze Muslim shrine

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15 September 2011 Last updated at 08:03 GMT By Charles Haviland BBC News, Colombo The demolition has been denounced by both Muslims and Sinhalese (Photo courtesy: Sri Lanka Mirror) A group of Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka led a crowd that demolished a Muslim shrine last week, the BBC has learned.

This incident took place on Saturday in Anuradhapura, an ancient Buddhist city and Unesco world heritage site.

The monk who led the group told the BBC he did it because the shrine was on land that was given to Sinhalese Buddhists 2,000 years ago.

But a prominent Muslim in the area said he was very sad and the sentiment was shared by many Sinhalese too.

A Sri Lankan news website showed photographs of a crowd including monks apparently reducing a small structure to a pile of rubble.

The mob waved Buddhist flags and - in one picture - burnt a green Muslim flag.

There have been no other reports of what happened.

But the BBC has spoken to the monk, Amatha Dhamma Thero, who admits masterminding the demolition of the Muslim shrine.

He said he arranged a gathering of 100 or so monks, including some from other Asian countries, to take action because - he alleged - local Muslims were trying to convert the shrine into a mosque despite new constructions being illegal on this site with its many Buddhist temples.

He said local government officials arrived and said they would remove the shrine within three days, but the crowd said "we cannot wait" and proceeded to tear down the structure.

The demolition has been denounced by a local senior Muslim and a local Sinhalese politician.

'Concerned'

The Muslim, Abdul Razack, denied that a mosque was planned and said the demolished shrine was about 300 years old and had attracted visitors of other faiths too.

He said local Muslims and Buddhists alike were concerned at what happened but Muslims had avoided the site on Saturday, fearing sectarian disharmony.

The politician, Aruna Dissanayake, said the government should act against those who had attacked the shrine.

A minority was trying to create sectarian problems in a place where most Muslims and Sinhalese Buddhists co-existed well, he added.

Most of Sri Lanka's majority Sinhalese are Buddhist, and Muslims are regarded as a separate ethnic group.

In a recent newspaper column, a veteran Muslim journalist said there was a growing fear among his community that some people were running a campaign to incite the Sinhalese against them, including through Sinhalese websites and print media.

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Women's cancers reach two million

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14 September 2011 Last updated at 21:43 GMT By Helen Briggs Health editor, BBC News website There have been steady increases in breast cancer deaths in the developed and developing world Two million women were diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer last year, according to global figures.

A sharp rise in cases was seen in women under 50 in low-income nations, say US experts.

Women in richer countries fared better due in part to screening, medicines, anti-smoking policies and vaccines, they report in the Lancet.

The research backs calls for world leaders to make cancer prevention a priority in the developing world.

The new global statistics from hundreds of cancer registries worldwide found there were about 2 million new cases of breast and cervical cancer in 2010, and 625,000 deaths.

The analysis, by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, Seattle, highlighted a sharp rise in breast and cervical cancer among younger women in developing countries.

Cancer charities and scientists are calling for these diseases to be given a similar global priority to maternal mortality.

Continue reading the main story

Worldwide figures on breast cancer show cases are rising every year at a rate of about 3%, while death rates are also rising - at about 2% a year.

According to experts, this is driven partly by the ageing population and partly by a host of other factors, including diet, obesity, genetics, economics and the availability of national screening programmes.

Research evidence shows that some of these deaths are preventable, through early screening and treatment for breast cancer, HPV vaccination for cervical cancer, cervical cancer screening and anti-smoking measures.

The question for policy-makers is how to make such programmes available to more women around the world.

Vaccines against the virus linked to cervical cancer, for example, will only be used more widely when the cost falls.

Broad actions are warranted, supported by global funds, say public health experts.

In the past, complications during childbirth and pregnancy were among the leading causes of death in women of reproductive age in the developing world.

However, current trends suggest breast and cervical cancer deaths are starting to overtake, in poorer countries.

Study co-author, Dr Alan Lopez, of the University of Queensland, Australia, said: "We have poured an enormous amount of resources into addressing the serious concern of maternal mortality worldwide, and we've seen a great deal of progress.

"To expand that commitment, breast and cervical cancer need to become a standard part of the efforts aimed at saving more mothers' lives."

Mixed picture

The research in 187 countries for the period 1980-2010 highlighted stark differences in a woman's chances of developing, and surviving, cancer.

In the UK, a woman's risk of dying from breast cancer has fallen from 1 in 32 in 1980, to 1 in 47 by 2010. In countries such as Rwanda, however, the trend has reversed, with 1 in 60 women now at risk, compared with 1 in 97 in 1980.

Dr Rafael Lozano, professor of global health at IHME, another co-author of the paper, said the world used to think of breast cancer as a problem for high-income countries but as the world has become more globalised, this is starting to change.

"The main known risk factors for breast cancer - poor diet and obesity - are now becoming more commonplace in poor countries," he said.

"We have found that while countries such as the United States and United Kingdom have been able to lower the risks of women dying from breast cancer, through better screening and treatment, countries with fewer resources are seeing the risks go up."

With cervical cancer, the number of cases and deaths are rising more slowly than breast cancer, he added, with the number of deaths from cervical cancer going down in high-income countries.

"Our concern is that this is a disease that is almost entirely preventable through safe sex practices and early detection, yet it continues to kill nearly a half a million women every year.

"With the right investments and targeted policies, like the ones we have seen in places such as the UK, we can reverse this trend."

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Taiwan sweat the US decision to sell weapons

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16 September 2011 last updated at 01: 35 GMT by Cindy sui BBC News, Taipei Taiwan wants 66 F - 16 C / D fighter jets to upgrade its ageing F-5 fleet Sherry Huang, a retired accountant and grandmother, is not someone you would expect to get worked up over international arms sales, but ask her why Taiwan needs advanced fighter jets from the United States and she will give you an earful.

"Without them, people are worried." If China gets stronger, we won't even have the strength to protect ourselves. "It's like you have a thug living next door, with guns pointed at you, threatening you not to speak or he'll shoot you," she says.

Has provided weapons to Taiwan since World War II the US.

But in the past year there has been growing concern that the US resolve to help Taiwan defend itself may have weakened, as Washington increasingly needs good relations with China.

What Taiwan wants in particular are 66 F - 16 C / D fighter jets to upgrade its ageing fleet.

This week, three air force personnel were killed when two older generation aircraft crashed into a mountain.

An investigation is under way, but officials told the BBC that problems caused by ageing equipment are one of the main causes of accidents involving fighter jets.

Pressured by some US politicians, the Obama administration has agreed to announce its decision on the sale by 1 October.

It is not a topic that comes up in casual conversation, but most Taiwanese people agree that the island needs more weapons to defend itself in case of an attack by China.

That is not to say they expect a was to break out between Taipei and Beijing--who have enjoyed warm relations in recent years.

But China still has 1,500 missiles targeting Taiwan, and has not renounced the threat of force to take back the island, which it still claims as its province.

Taiwanese people know they must be prepared.

Foot-dragging

Critics have blamed US President Barack Obama and Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou for not agreeing a new package of arms.

China has made arms sales to Taiwan the number one irritant of the US-China bilateral relationship

Some critics say Mr. Obama has been dragging his feet and that Mr MA has not actively sought the weapons.

But the last a significant time package of weapons was approved in 2001 - including Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters and equipment for Taiwan's existing F-16 fleet, but no undersea or new fighter jets.

Some have occurred every year, according to analysts, but most sort training personnel of weapons sales and military of the weapons are parts replacements and not more advanced weaponry.

Alexander Huang, a professor at Taipei's Tamkang University specialising in China Taiwan defence issues, says the US changed its handling of weapons sales to Taiwan after the 11 September attacks.

At that time, President George W Bush scrapped annual weapons talks between Taipei and Washington.

"After 9 / 11, and [with] the rise of Chinese influence and the lack of the annual talks vehicle, it gave Washington a way to postpone Taiwan's [weapons] requests," he said.

"When China exerted pressure over the US government, there were times asked Taiwan not to file a request when the US."

Mr. Huang believes the Obama administration's hands are tied.

"The US does China not want to antagonise." "China has made arms sales to Taiwan the number one irritant of the US-China bilateral relationship," he says.

"This kind of dilemma is bothering the Obama administration." You can cite various reasons: China's large holdings of US treasury bonds, collaboration on North Korea, Iran; "there are a lot of issues over which the US does not want to antagonise China."

In recent days, China has issued a stern warning to the US, through the Communist Party's people's daily newspaper, that US-China relations will be damaged if Mr. Obama proceeds with an arms sale to Taiwan.

However, analysts say China's reaction is not likely to be as severe as its threats.

In the past, the most react China has done is angrily and cancel military exchanges between Washington and Beijing, as well as not allowing US ships to make calls at the Hong Kong port.

It did just that after a $6.4bn (￡ 4bn) weapons deal authorised by Mr. Bush what approved by Mr. Obama in 2010, but Beijing has since resumed high-level military exchanges with the US.

Analysts say they do not believe Beijing wants to cancel economic contracts, as a worsening U.S. economy will also hurt China.

'Wrong message'

Taiwan's air fleet currently consists of two-decade-old F 16A / B fighters (there are few countries still flying them), French Mirage 2000-5 fighters that are also about 20 years old, and 35-year-old F5 fighters that it wants to retire soon.

Since the 1950s, Taiwan has patrolled the region, sharing information it collects with the US

The fighters Taiwan seeks - F-16 C / DS - can carry more bombs for each sortie and conduct more efficient attacks against ground targets.

Taiwan's deputy defence secretary Andrew Yang says a US refusal to sell advanced weapons to Taiwan could the wrong send message to China, and affect regional security.

"It encourages China to stop Taiwan's self-defence activity," he says.

Since the 1950s, Taiwan has patrolled the region, including areas of the East China Sea and South China Sea bordering China and shared information it collects with the US, Mr. Yang said, adding that this role is little known and often taken for granted.

"We're not just protecting the island itself, we conduct daily patrols of a much bigger region, beyond Taiwanese territory," Mr. Yang says.

"If we don't get replacement or new aircraft we don't of TV these areas." They will see there's a vacuum here. Of course it give more wants to leverage to whoever wants to cause problems. "Then the US will have to make extra effort to fill the gap."

In recent days, local and international media have reported that the US is more likely to help Taiwan upgrade its fleet of F 16A / B fighter jets, rather than selling the more advanced F-16 C / D fighters.

This week, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez and John Cornyn introduced a bill in an attempt to force Mr. Obama to approve the deal on the argument that the US is bound by a 1979 law to sell the island sufficient weapons for its defence.

They argue that the sale would benefit the US economy and save jobs. The deal is estimated to cost $8bn.

Another politician, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, has introduced similar legislation in the House of representatives, arguing China must not be allowed to dictate US policy in the Pacific.

Earlier this year, American titionwhichhas including 45 senators and 181 members of the House of representatives wrote to Mr. Obama to support a sale of F-16 c/DS.

Sherry Huang is hopeful the US will come through for Taiwan, but she cannot contain her scepticism.

"We believe Americans have a sense of public welfare, but that often loose in the face of economic considerations," she says.

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Third gender on new passports

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15 September 2011 Last updated at 06:26 GMT The reform aims to curb gender discrimination Australians have been given a third choice when describing their gender on passport applications, under new guidelines aimed at removing discrimination.

Transgender people and those of ambiguous sex will be able to list their gender as indeterminate, which will be shown on passports as an X.

People whose gender was different from that of their birth were previously required to have reassignment surgery before they could change their passport to their preferred sex.

An Australian senator, Louise Pratt - whose partner was born female and is now identified as a man - said the reform was a huge step forward.

"There have been very many cases of people being detained at airports by immigration in foreign countries simply because their passports don't reflect what they look like," she told Australian radio.

"It's very distressing, highly inconvenient and frankly sometimes dangerous."

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Web pirates, providing block-buster

15 September 2011 booth 11: 32 GMT when you sign up, Newzbin was sold to new owners, who resurrected it Usenet indexing website Newzbin2 is software that they are supposedly providing attempts to people they visit defeat.

In July of BT contributes access to Newzbin2 after legal action to block the motion picture Association (MPA).

The MPA said that limited Newzbin2 site members pirated movies and music, which brings together forums on Usenet.

The block is about BT Cleanfeed system are enforced, the people visit sites that images of child abuse sex peddle is mostly used.

Before the block in place mid-October, programmers, working for Newzbin2 software, which they claim to have worked to defeat the blocking system.

September 14 was released the first version of Windows, members of the Newzbin2 program used to get on the site. Versions for Apple OS X and Linux are planned.

File sharing news site TorrentFreak is Newzbin2 not ready to show how the code tries to obtain the Cleanfeed block.

However, TorrentFreak ran some tests, that with wireless network sniffing software and found that the program depending on the encryption to hide the communication between users and Newzbin2.

Another technique used is to route all traffic through an established system, known as TOR, which hides to view the identity of users and what they are trying.

A spokesman for BT rejected an opinion about the development. He added that the specifics of the block court-ordered still were discussed.

Sites like Newzbin2 have will move increasingly popular as people like to get content on pirated from well-known file-sharing technologies.

The original Newzbin about a previous court case has shut down, but his successor, avoided that sanction by setting up shop outside the UK.

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VIDEO: Could the Drachma return to Greece?

September 16, 2011 to help stand 06: 43 GMT

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VIDEO: Flash floods hit Thailand

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14 September 2011 Last updated at 05:57 GMT Help

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Libya: Who's in charge?

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13 September 2011 Last updated at 13:08 GMT By Aidan Lewis BBC News The security structure is fragmented, with NTC fighters camped in Tripoli With remnants of the Gaddafi regime restricted to a few last outposts, Libya's transitional authorities now face the challenge of running a country emerging from war.

The National Transitional Council (NTC), formed in the eastern city of Benghazi to lead the uprising, is gradually establishing itself in the capital, Tripoli, with ambitious plans.

It wants to form a new interim government by the end of September, and hold elections for a 200-strong national congress within eight months. The congress will then draft a constitution, paving the way for multi-party polls.

But power structures within Libya remain fractured, creating the potential for conflict as a wide range of groups, interests and allegiances jostle for position.

Competing for credit

The NTC will have to secure the co-operation of these groups to achieve its goals.

"They have a lot of challenges to overcome before they can get the wheels of government running smoothly," says Ahmad Fawzi, spokesman for the UN special adviser for Libya, Ian Martin.

"They are conscious of the fact that they need to be seen to be running the country from the capital, and we haven't seen that yet."

Most immediately, this may be a question of asserting authority over those who accumulated power on the ground during six months of conflict.

NTC chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil and acting prime minister Mahmoud Jibril have now arrived in Tripoli but the brigades who conducted the military campaign were there weeks before.

Continue reading the main story New government within 10 daysElect national congress in eight monthsReferendum on new constitution within 90 days of congress meetingMulti-party polls in 2013An uprising within Tripoli was carefully planned to coincide with the assault led by seasoned Berber fighters from the Nafousa mountains and Misrata, but brigades from different regions have begun competing for credit for liberating the capital.

It is not clear when the brigades will disband, and some weapons have already gone missing.

The brigades are meant to answer to a Supreme Security Committee (SSC), a sprawling new body led by interim oil and finance minister Ali Tarhouni that also includes the police, the interior and defence ministries, and neighbourhood committees.

But the security structure is fragmented - cities have been running their own military affairs, volunteers soldiers are said to be reluctant to obey the national liberation army, and in some neighbourhoods, competing committees have sprung up.

Factions may also be divided. There were reports on Sunday that at least 12 people had been killed when two groups of anti-Gaddafi fighters clashed in the west in a dispute over the ownership of heavy weapons.

Fighters from Misrata, which suffered a brutal and lengthy siege by pro-Gaddafi forces, have begun to challenge NTC authority, reportedly refusing to turn over abandoned tanks.

Regional rivalries

The Misratans will be seeking recognition for their recent ordeal, while those in the far east and west will be seeking recognition for more long-running discrimination at the hands of the Gaddafi regime.

This could contribute to regional rivalries in the longer term, particularly once Libya's oil economy recovers and billions of dollars in revenue start to flow.

The uprising began in the east, and easterners have so far been over-represented in the NTC. Benghazi has nine members to Tripoli's five, and residents of the eastern city dominate the council's executive committee.

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The top echelon is being asked to stay at home - those who were responsible for gross violations of human rights have either disappeared or been killed ”

End Quote Ahmad Fawzi UN spokesman They have been criticised for being slow to come to Tripoli, though this was at least partly due to security concerns.

Mr Jibril has promised that east, west "and even the cities still under siege, will be part of a new government", and the NTC says it could double in size to nearly 100 members once national liberation is achieved.

But even redressing the balance could cause tensions. In recent days there have been protests in Benghazi by people who say they are worried too much power will go to the capital.

Competition between regions is expected to eclipse any tribal, ethnic or cultural splits.

Tribal identities were at times played up by Col Gaddafi, but while they can be socially important, many analysts and transitional officials say they are unlikely to impact politically.

A transitional "covenant" published in August promises in its first article to protect the language rights and culture of the "Amazigh, Toubou and Touareg and other constituents of Libyan society".

But another potential source of tension is the division between "insiders" who remained in Libya during the Gaddafi era and the conflict, and "outsiders" who have come back from abroad.

"If there's going to be large proportion of outsiders I can see that could create a lot of resentment - the outsiders tend to be relatively rich," says Mohamed El-Doufani, an analyst at BBC Monitoring.

The close involvement of the West in the military campaign could reinforce this resentment, he adds.

"There will be suspicions as to whether they're talking on behalf of another country, or whether they are for the national interest."

Islamists and secularists

There could also be an ideological dimension, with growing talk of a divide between secular technocrats who studied and worked overseas, and Islamists who opposed Col Gaddafi's rule from within Libya.

Abdel Hakim Belhaj, head of Tripoli's military council, has pledged to lay down arms

Most prominent among the secularists is Mr Jibril, who has studied and taught in the US and spent much of the conflict abroad, lobbying for the NTC.

Most prominent among the Islamists is Abdel Hakim Belhaj, a former leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, who was elected as head of Tripoli's military council against Benghazi's wishes.

Mr Jibril has denied any rift between him and Mr Belhaj, while Mr Belhaj has pledged to work for "a civil state that respects the law and rights", and to lay down his arms.

Yet despite all the possible faultlines, observers note a relative lack of infrastructural damage, an abundance of goodwill and the potential for Libyans to guide the transition themselves.

The UN's Ahmad Fawzi said he was "cautiously optimistic" and did not expect the kind of violent retribution seen in Iraq.

"The top echelon is being asked to stay at home," he said, while "those who were responsible for gross violations of human rights have either disappeared or been killed."

But others will be allowed to work for the NTC's goals of elections, security and justice.

"It's a very mature approach to revolution," said Mr Fawzi.

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Going underground once more

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14 September 2011 Last updated at 00:37 GMT Returning to work after a summer break is always tough. There's the mound of post to wade through and an inbox crammed with thousands of emails to check but when I arrived back in the office a couple of weeks ago I had a treat in store, as on my desk was a new book, Subway by Bruce Davidson.

Now, many among you are probably saying it's not a new book at all but a re-print of an old one, and indeed it is, or to be more accurate an updated version of one first published in 1986.

The book comprises more than 100 pictures taken by Davidson while riding the subway in New York in the first half of the 80s, a time when it was notorious for crime and some wild graffiti.

Initially he worked in black and white but thankfully soon switched to colour and the result is spellbinding.

Grey caverns lit up by splashes of colour, spaces populated by startled passengers and always a feeling of unease.

Some of those captured are smiling for the camera, others are caught off guard, and some carry the expression you only see on public transport - a vacant stare as eye contact is avoided and they dream of a happier place.

Though Davidson's photographs can't record the sounds, heat and smell of the place, they somehow allow you to feel the intensity of the space.

It is as though you can hear the squeal of metal on metal.

Those perfect yellows captured on Kodachrome film

The front of the book contains an essay by Bruce, fascinating it is too.

He notes the practical aspects of the project, including his hard work to get fit before entering the underground maze to ensure he could cope with the daily pressures, through to anecdotes of his encounters.

Each day he'd pack his cameras, film, flash, notebooks and most importantly a book containing pictures he'd already shot, something he could show to potential subjects.

He was aware of the dangers of working in such an enclosed space and writes: "Passengers on the platform looked at me, with my expensive camera around my neck, in a way that made me feel like a tourist or deranged person."

Bruce Davidson: "The subway interior was defaced with a secret handwriting that covered the walls, windows and maps. I began to imagine the signatures surrounding the passengers were ancient hieroglyphics."

He had a number of ways to approach a subject, but the key point was that he had to act on impulse and not linger, as that created a barrier that was hard to overcome.

Working with a large flash, there was no hiding what he was doing and so in some cases he would seek permission, and in others hope that the subject would react favourably if he shot first.

He also made a point to send a print to as many of those he photographed he could.

The pictures are now more than 25 years old and capture a unique time and place, yet the project is one that all students of documentary work should study deeply.

The underground network provided a tight framework and acts as a stage upon which he could cast the players to fill his world.

It's good honest photography, no tricks, just hard work, all captured by one of the great photographers of the 20th Century.

Subway by Bruce Davidson is published by Steidl. You can see more of his work on the Magnum Photos website, his book of pictures of East 100th Street being another work worth a detailed look.

Guardian Angels first made an appearance on the New York subway in 1979 in an attempt to quell rising levels of violence.

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Risk list for Earth's rare metals

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13 September 2011 Last updated at 17:50 GMT By Leila Battison Science reporter, Bradford Rare earth metals are vital for production of a range of electronic items The relative risks to the supply of some of Earth's rarest elements have been detailed in a new list published by the British Geological Survey (BGS).

So-called "technology metals" like indium and niobium are extracted from the Earth and are used in a wide range of modern digital devices and green technologies.

They are therefore increasingly in demand from global industries.

The list highlights 52 elements most at risk from "supply disruption".

Incorporating information about each metal's abundance in the Earth, the distribution of its deposits, and the political stability of the country in which it is found, the list ranks these highly desired elements on a relative scale.

Speaking at the British Science Festival in Bradford, Andrew Bloodworth from the BGS explained that "while we won't run out of these metals any time soon, the risks to supply are mostly human".

Geopolitics, resource nationalism, accidents, and the lengthy delay between the discovery of a resource and its efficient extraction are all factors that could threaten the supply of the metals on which our modern technology has come to rely.

This is an especially important factor, given the notable monopoly that certain countries have on supply.

For example, 97% of all rare earth elements (REEs), including neodynium and scandium, are produced in China.

Pace of demand

Antimony, the element most "at risk", is used extensively for fire proofing, but is deposited by hot fluids inside the Earth's crust and extracted mostly in China.

In fact, China dominates global production of all the elements on the BGS list, being responsible for extraction of over 50% of them.

Mr Bloodworth said that he hoped this new list would help to inform policy makers of the need to diversify supply sources, as well as making manufacturers and the public aware of where these critical metals come from.

There are many more locations on Earth where these critical metals can be mined, including varied geological deposits from Southern Africa, Australia, Brazil, and the US. Professor Frances Wall of the Camborne School of Mines said that mining these alternative deposits would "take away the monopoly of current suppliers of these metals".

In the move towards a more low-carbon economy, digital and renewable energy technologies rely heavily on metals which, just 10 years ago, would have been of little interest to industry.

Today, these elements are ubiquitous, being used widely in smart mobile devices, flat screens, wind turbines, electric cars, rechargeable batteries and many others.

Mobile phones embrace the use of these technology metals, with lithium batteries, indium in the screen, and REEs in the circuitry.

With over 50 million new phones being made every year, the "volume of technology metals required is astonishing and the pace of demand is not letting up" said Alan McLelland of the National Metals Technology Centre.

Recycling of the metals used in phones is currently too expensive and energy-intensive, but Mr McLelland hopes that the risks outlined in the BGS list will alert the manufacturers to the need to make the embedded metals more accessible for recycling.

As the supply and demand of the elements change, the BGS anticipates the list being updated annually.

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VIDEO: Argentina bus and trains collide

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14 September 2011 Last updated at 02:41 GMT Help

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Floods chaos worsens in Pakistan

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12 September 2011 Last updated at 13:10 GMT Karachi has also been hit by heavy rain but the worst of the damage is in Sindh's rural areas More than 200 people have died and millions remain affected after two weeks of flooding in Pakistan's southern Sindh province, officials say.

The situation is worsening each day as water levels are rising because of poor drainage, the head of Pakistan's disaster management body said.

The UN has begun relief work but more rain has been forecast for the area.

Meanwhile, in India's eastern Orissa state more than one million have been displaced and 16 killed in floods.

About 2,600 villages have been submerged across 19 districts. The army and navy have been called in to help as many villagers are still stranded and dependent on food drops from helicopters.

'Huge' crop losses

Heavy monsoon rains have been battering South Asia for days but southern Pakistan has borne the brunt of the bad weather in recent weeks.

Almost one million houses there have been destroyed or damaged and floods have affected nearly 4.2m acres of land, the UN says.

The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan in Karachi says that the rain is heaping misery on the hundreds of thousands living out in the open. Many people remain stranded on high ground and rooftops surrounded by flood waters, our correspondent says.

The United Nations Children's Fund, Unicef, said up to 2.5 million children had been affected.

One official said children and families, many of them still recovering from last year's devastating floods, are in urgent need of help before the situation worsens.

More rain has been forecast for the coming days.

"The situation in Sindh is already serious and there will be more flooding and more problems because of these rains," Arif Mehmood, a meteorology official, is quoted as saying by the Reuters news agency.

In other developments:

Officials in Badin district are said to have issued a warning to people to vacate their homes and breaches in several canals have forced evacuations in Mirpurkhas townAfter Pakistan's leaders appealed for international help, China pledged $4.7m (￡2.96) for urgent humanitarian assistance Pakistan's disaster management authority said it was working to quantify what it called the "huge" losses in cash crops such as sugar cane and cotton

Officials in Orissa, India, said at least 61,000 people had been evacuated to safety and relief and rescue operations had begun.

Several rivers, including the Mahanadi, are overflowing and flood waters have severed a number of key road links.

Some areas had been cut off due to breaches in river banks and embankments and helicopters were the only way to bring food and water to people stranded there, Mr Mohapatra said.

Orissa's Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said that the authorities were taking all measures to bring aid to those affected, adding that the state might seek help from central government.

Officials said the situation was expected to get better soon as rains had stopped and the water level in the Mahanadi and other rivers had begun to recede.

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

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VIDEO: Taliban 'wanted to prove a point'

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13 September 2011 Last updated at 21:38 GMT Help

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Skynet seeks idle computer power

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13 September 2011 Last updated at 09:19 GMT Huge amounts of data gathered by telescopes will be analysed in home computers around the world Idle home computers are being sought to help search through mountains of astronomical data.

The Skynet project involves using the spare processing capacity of computers as a giant, distributed supercomputer.

PCs joining Skynet will scour the data for sources of radiation that reveal stars, galaxies and other cosmic structures.

People who process the most data could win a visit to one of the observatories gathering data for the project.

Star searchers

The Skynet project is being run by the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) and it is seeking the help of thousands of PCs to analyse data.

One of the sources of data will be the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) that will use thousands of dish antennas to create the most sensitive sky watching instrument ever made.

A decision about where to build the ￡1.5bn SKA will be made in February 2012 and it will be sited in either Australia or South Africa.

While it will have its own cadre of supercomputers to analyse data, the SKA is expected to produce so much information that a system to filter this down to the most interesting samples will be needed. Skynet will be part of that large-scale filtering system.

"As we design, develop and switch on the next generation of radio telescopes, the supercomputing resources processing this deluge of data will be in increasingly high demand," said Professor Peter Quinn, director of ICRAR in a statement.

"SkyNet aims to complement the work already being done by creating a citizen science computing resource that radio astronomers can tap into and process data in ways and for purposes that otherwise might not be possible," he added.

Prior to the SKA being built and switched on, the computers joining ICRAR's Skynet will crunch data from current radio astronomy research projects.

Those signing up to help will download a small program that will get a computer looking through data when that PC is not being used for anything else.

ICRAR said the Skynet program was small and should not slow down any PC it is running on. Also, it said, data would be split into small packets to ensure it did not swamp a participant's net connection.

Distributed computing projects that harness idle machines are a well-established way of scouring through research data. One of the earliest looked through radio signals for evidence of extra-terrestrial intelligence.

More recent projects simulate protein folding and help physicists search for the Higgs boson - the missing piece of what is known as the Standard Model, the most widely accepted theory of particle physics.

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VIDEO: Germany disputes WWII reparations

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13 September 2011 Last updated at 12:09 GMT Help

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Menem cleared of arms smuggling

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13 September 2011 Last updated at 21:41 GMT Carlos Menem insisted the arms shipments were legal Former Argentine President Carlos Menem has been cleared of involvement in arms trafficking in the 1990s.

Mr Menem, who was president from 1989 to 1999 and is now a senator, had been charged with illegally selling weapons to Croatia and Ecuador.

Seventeen other senior figures charged with him were also acquitted.

Mr Menem, 81, admitted signing the export papers but said he had no idea the arms would end up in Ecuador and Croatia.

Both countries were under international arms embargoes at the time.

"Carlos Saul Menem has been acquitted," said the judge in the courtroom at Comodoro Py, Buenos Aires.

Those also cleared included former government ministers, retired military personnel and arms makers.

Prosecutor Mariano Borinsky said he would appeal against Tuesday's ruling.

Mr Menem maintained that the shipments of rifles, anti-tank rockets and ammunition were bound for Panama and Venezuela when Mr Menem authorised them.

"My acts as president were limited to signing the decrees to export the arms to Venezuela and Panama," he said during the trial.

"From then on, all the documents escaped the (control of the) president. I couldn't go to the customs service to see what the destination of the arms was."

Border war

Evidence about the true destinations first came to light in 1995. Mr Menem was formally charged in October 2008.

The weapons that ended up in Croatia were sent in seven shipments between 1991 and 1995 when much of the Balkans was under a UN arms embargo.

Weapons arrived in Ecuador aboard three flights in February 1995 at a time when Ecuador was engaged in a border war with Peru.

Argentina - as one of the guarantors of a peace agreement between the two nations - was banned for selling arms to either side.

Mr Menem had faced up to eight years in prison if found guilty. As a senator he would have been immune to imprisonment but could have been jailed after his mandate ended in 2014.

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Search resumes for missing woman

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14 September 2011 Last updated at 05:33 GMT The family and friends of Karen Coyles are searching for her The search for County Antrim woman Karen Coyles, missing since the weekend, is due to resume in Ballycastle later.

Ms Coyles, 47, has been missing since Sunday. A prayer service was held at McQuillan GAA club in Ballycastle on Tuesday evening.

Family and friends are becoming increasingly concerned for her safety.

Her friends and relatives first realised there was something wrong when she did not turn up for work on Monday.

The alarm was raised and the coastguard, police helicopter and the local community joined in the hunt.

Her car, a silver Volkswagen Golf, was found outside the camogie club in Ballycastle at about 07:45 BST on Monday.

At the weekend Ms Coyles, who worked in the Biomedical Sciences Research Institute at the University of Ulster in Coleraine, captained the winning team in the all-Ireland camogie 7s tournament in Dublin.

Una Kelly said Karen's disappearance was "totally out of character"

Those who know her in the club said for her to disappear like this was completely out of character.

"Karen was on a high after captaining the team. She was in great form. This is totally out of character," said her friend, Una Kelly.

"She was really one of the things that bound everybody here together. That is why there has been such a big response from the club members.

"We know what she has done for us and everybody wants to find her safe and well."

They have appealed for people in the Ballycastle area to come forward with any information that might help find her.

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Venezuela sets 2012 election date

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14 September 2011 Last updated at 00:56 GMT Mr Chavez - here wearing an indigenous head dress - says cancer will not stop his reelection Venezuela's presidential election will be held on 7 October 2012, the electoral authorities have announced.

The date is earlier than expected, as Venezuela's presidential polls are usually held in December.

President Hugo Chavez has said he will seek another term to continue his left-wing "revolution", despite undergoing treatment for cancer.

The main opposition coalition will choose a candidate to stand against him in a primary on 12 February.

Mr Chavez immediately expressed his confidence that he would win a third six-year term.

He wrote on Twitter: "7 October 2012: your destiny is written! We will write another revolutionary victory on your page! We will live and we will conquer!"

The left-wing leader, who has governed Venezuela since 1999, has said he wants to serve at least two more terms, which would take him through until 2025.

Mr Chavez, 57, says he is now convalescing after having surgery for cancer in June and subsequent chemotherapy, but the exact nature and extent of his illness has not been made public.

Speaking before the election date was announced, he promised an energetic campaign despite his ill health.

"You won't see Chavez hiding," he said.

"You'll see a recuperated Chavez touring the country as a candidate, touring the streets at a rhythm set by circumstances."

Challengers

As well as giving Mr Chavez time to recuperate, the October election date gives the opposition Table of Democratic Unity (MUD) plenty of time to campaign.

The favourites to win the opposition nomination in February's primary are the governor of Miranda state, Henrique Capriles Radonski, and the governor of Zulia state, Pablo Perez.

Opposition leaders have welcomed the announcement of the election date, while expressing concern at the long transition period it will leave before the start of the next presidential term in February 2013.

"This election date, two months earlier than is traditional, has an advantage in that we now have a date," MUD executive secretary Ramon Guillermo Aveledo said.

"But the disadvantage is that it extends the lapse between the presidential election and the taking of office," he added.

President Chavez retains strong support, particularly among the poor

The opposition alliance says Venezuelans have had enough of what they say is Mr Chavez's poor economic management and dictatorial style.

They are also hoping that dissatisfaction with high crime rates, inflation and electricity shortages will boost their support.

But Mr Chavez still has strong support, particularly among the poor who have benefited most from his socialist policies, which have seen Venezuela's oil riches spent on services including health and education.

Mr Chavez's personal charisma and promise of revolutionary change have helped him secure repeated election victories since he first won the presidency in 1999.

Parliamentary elections last year showed Venezuelan voters evenly divided between support for Mr Chavez's socialists and the opposition.

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Man jailed for dead girl insults

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13 September 2011 Last updated at 21:02 GMT Natasha MacBryde threw herself under a train after being bullied

A Berkshire man has been jailed for posting abusive messages online about a schoolgirl after she committed suicide.

Sean Duffy, 25, of Reading, was handed an 18-week sentence for posts on social networking sites about Worcestershire teenager Natasha MacBryde.

He previously pleaded guilty at Reading Magistrates' Court to sending indecent or offensive communications.

Police said Duffy also posted abuse about dead teenagers in Northumberland, Gloucestershire and Staffordshire.

Duffy, of Grovelands Road, admitted two offences of "trolling" a term used to describe the trend of anonymously seeking to provoke outrage by posting insults and abuse online.

Being bullied

They related to Facebook and YouTube posts about Miss MacBryde, 15, from Bromsgrove, who Duffy had never met.

He was traced by police through information from his internet service provider and arrested.

Miss MacBryde had thrown herself under a train in February after being bullied.

Duffy subsequently posted anonymous messages on a remembrance page - "Monday 14th February will always be remembered as Tasha MacBryde day" - set up by her 17-year-old brother James to allow friends and family to pay their respects to the teenager.

In one of the posts he called her a slut. He also posted a video on YouTube, entitled Tasha the Tank Engine, showing the children's character Thomas the Tank Engine with Miss MacBryde's face.

Jo Belsey, prosecuting, said the family were "understandably outraged, disgusted and hurt".

In a statement read to the court, her father Andrew MacBryde said he "could not believe anyone could stoop to such depths" after his son told him of the online posts.

He added that Duffy's actions had "added to the horror of dealing with the death of their beautiful daughter".

The magistrates were also asked to consider three other cases when sentencing Duffy, who the court heard suffers with alcohol problems and has Asperger's syndrome.

Given Asbo

He had also posted offensive messages about Lauren Drew, 14, of Gloucestershire, who was found dead after suffering a suspected epileptic seizure, Hayley Bates, 16, of Staffordshire, who died in a car crash, and Jordan Cooper, 14, who was stabbed to death in Northumberland.

On Mother's Day he posted a message on an online memorial page to Lauren reading: "Help me mummy, it's hot in hell".

Duffy also produced an image of Hayley with crosses on her eyes and red marks on her face. He also wrote explicit messages to Hayley's sister Heather.

The family of stabbing victim Jordan had also seen abusive messages directed at the youngster on an online memorial and a YouTube video defacing an image of the teenager.

Sean Duffy had never met the teenagers he posted messages about

Magistrates also gave Duffy an Asbo, banning him from using social networking sites for five years.

Outside court, Lauren's father Mark Drew said: "Lauren didn't deserve this.

"Seeing him in court was really hard. I was so angry.

"Lauren was my only daughter and I worshipped the ground she walked on.

"This person hid behind the computer screen with no feeling."

Mr Drew urged Facebook to do more to prevent the website being misused, adding that it was "a wonderful thing if used right".

Carol Gelder, Lauren's mother, told the BBC: "It was quite frustrating because we couldn't stop it. We didn't know how to stop this person.

"With the pain we were going through anyway we didn't anticipate that we'd have to deal with this as well.

"I remember going up lying next to her and just crying and thinking I can't protect her from this."

Lance Whiteford, mitigating, said Duffy had been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome at an early age and one of the characteristics was an inability to judge the reaction of others.

He said Duffy had also struggled with alcohol problems and lived "a miserable existence".

Duffy had no previous convictions but had received one caution for a similar offence.

Paul Warren, chairman of the magistrates' bench, said: "This case serves to illustrate the harm and damage done by the malicious misuse of social networking sites."

Sherry Adhami, of the charity Beatbullying, said: "Today's ruling is a monumental move towards bullying and cyberbullying being taken more seriously and sends a strong message to society that bullying, whether online or offline, is not going to be tolerated.

"It's time that stopping bullying at the source is placed higher on the government's agenda."

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VIDEO: Inside Japan's exclusion zone

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13 September 2011 Last updated at 12:02 GMT Help

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UN warns of Yemen civil war risk

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13 September 2011 Last updated at 15:47 GMT Demonstrations on Monday in Sanaa demanding the resignation of President Saleh A United Nations report says Yemen risks sliding into civil war unless political unrest is resolved swiftly.

The UN Human Rights Council says hundreds of Yemenis have been killed and thousands injured.

It said security forces had responded with excessive and lethal force against peaceful demonstrations opposing the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The UN report also called for an independent inquiry into human rights violations.

'Growing frustration'

Inspired by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, anti-government protests began in January, calling for the end to President Saleh's 30-year rule.

In the most violent incident, police snipers opened fire on a pro-democracy demonstration in the capital, Sanaa, killing more than 50 people.

Following months of unrest, the UN Human Rights Council sent a team of three investigators to Yemen in July.

It found a wide range of human rights violations and abuses had taken place throughout the country.

The report said that children were among those subjected to killings, injury, torture and arbitrary detention.

It called on Yemen's government to take immediate action to end attacks against civilians by security forces, including the use of live ammunition on crowds.

But it also blamed armed opposition tribesmen and Islamists for abusing the civilian population in the increasingly violent power struggle.

"Clearly the country is teetering on the brink of civil war," the team leader, Hanny Megally said.

President Saleh vowed to return to Yemen when he spoke on national television in mid-August

"Frustrations are growing and people don't see the light at the end of the tunnel because nobody is willing to take a step forward."

President Saleh remains in Saudi Arabia, where he is convalescing after being injured in a rocket attack.

But he has vowed to return to Yemen, in spite of opposition from both his hosts and the United States.

They are concerned renewed conflict will bolster the power of the Yemen-based wing of al-Qaeda.

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Republicans clinch Weiner NY poll

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14 September 2011 Last updated at 06:05 GMT Bob Turner said the result sent a "loud and clear" message to Washington Republicans have won a key New York City election billed as a referendum on President Obama's economic policies.

Retired media executive Bob Turner defeated Democratic state assemblyman David Weprin to succeed Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner.

Mr Weiner, who served in the House for seven terms, resigned in June after a sex texting scandal.

Mr Turner becomes the first Republican to take office in New York's ninth district since the 1920s.

Backed by former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani, the 70-year-old had called the vote a "referendum" on President Obama.

Addressing jubilant supporters after his win, Mr Turner - who has called for deep cuts in the federal budget - said people had voted against the president's "irresponsible" fiscal policy.

Correspondents say losing the election will be a symbolic blow to the White House at a moment when President Obama is beginning his bid for re-election amid low approval ratings.

Anthony Weiner resigned in June after it emerged he had sent a series of images to a number of different women via Twitter.

'Wrong track'

With three quarters of ballots counted, Mr Turner won 53% of votes compared to Mr Weprin's 47%, NY1 television reported.

Mr Turner said the result sent a "loud and clear" message to Washington.

"We've been told this is a referendum. Mr President, we are on the wrong track. We have had it with an irresponsible fiscal policy which endangers the entire economy," Mr Turner told supporters, according to AP.

The ninth district, encompassing parts of southern Brooklyn and south-central Queens, has long been a traditional Democratic stronghold.

Registered Republican voters are outnumbered in the traditionally blue-collar, Catholic and Orthodox Jewish district by a margin of three to one.

During the current campaign, the president has been the focus of Republican attacks at least as much as David Weprin, a member of the New York state assembly and the actual Democratic candidate.

In response, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had reportedly spent more than $500,000 (￡320,000) on TV advertisements.

Former President Bill Clinton and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo have recorded phone messages for registered Democrats in an effort to win over undecided voters.

Meanwhile in Nevada, Republican Mark Amodei won the election to fill a vacant seat in the House of Representatives.

Mr Amodei beat Democrat Kate Marshall in the rural northern Nevada district that has never elected a Democrat.

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'Wi-fi refugees' shelter in West Virginia mountains

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13 September 2011 Last updated at 02:45 GMT By Jane O'Brien & Matt Danzico BBC News, Green Bank Dozens of Americans who claim to have been made ill by wi-fi and mobile phones have flocked to the town of Green Bank, West Virginia

There are five billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide and advances in wireless technology make it increasingly difficult to escape the influence of mobile devices. But while most Americans seem to embrace continuous connectivity, some believe it's making them physically ill.

Diane Schou is unable to hold back the tears as she describes how she once lived in a shielded cage to protect her from the electromagnetic radiation caused by waves from wireless communication.

"It's a horrible thing to have to be a prisoner," she says. "You become a technological leper because you can't be around people.

"It's not that you would be contagious to them - it's what they're carrying that is harmful to you."

Ms Schou is one of an estimated 5% of Americans who believe they suffer from Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS), which they say is caused by exposure to electromagnetic fields typically created by mobile phones, wi-fi and other electronic equipment.

Hiding in a cage

Symptoms range from acute headaches, skin burning, muscle twitching and chronic pain.

Diane Schou says she was forced to live in a shielded cage in Iowa, prior to moving to West Virginia

"My face turns red, I get a headache, my vision changes, and it hurts to think. Last time [I was exposed] I started getting chest pains - and to me that's becoming life-threatening," Ms Schou says.

To alleviate the pain, her husband built an insulated living space known as a Faraday Cage.

He covered a wooden frame with two layers of wire mesh and a door that could be sealed shut to prevent radio waves from entering.

Diane spent much of her time inside it, sleeping on a twin mattress on a plywood base.

"At least I could see my husband on the outside, I could talk to him," she says.

Diane believes her illness was triggered by emissions from a mobile phone mast.

Her symptoms were so severe that she abandoned her family farm in the state of Iowa and moved to Green Bank, West Virginia - a tiny village of 143 residents in the heart of the Allegheny Mountains.

Outlawed wireless technology

Green Bank is part of the US Radio Quiet Zone, where wireless is banned across 13,000 sq miles (33,000 sq km) to prevent transmissions interfering with a number of radio telescopes in the area.

The largest is owned by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and enables scientists to listen to low-level signals from different places in the universe.

Others are operated by the US military and are a critical part of the government's spy network.

As a result of the radio blackout, the Quiet Zone has become a haven for people like Diane, desperate to get away from wireless technology.

The world's largest, fully steerable radio telescope is operated in the town of Green Bank

"Living here allows me to be more of a normal person. I can be outdoors. I don't have to stay hidden in a Faraday Cage," she says.

"I can see the sunrise, I can see the stars at night, and I can be in the rain.

"Here in Green Bank allows me to be with people. People here do not carry cell phones so I can socialise.

"I can go to church, I can attend some celebrations, I can be with people. I couldn't do that when I had to remain in the Faraday Cage."

But EHS is not medically recognised in the US.

Debated 'condition'

The wireless association, CTIA, says that scientific evidence overwhelmingly shows that wireless devices, with the limits established by government regulators, do not pose a public health risk or cause any adverse health effects.

And the World Health Organization, while acknowledging that the symptoms are genuine and can be severe, says: "EHS has no clear diagnostic criteria and there is no scientific basis to link EHS symptoms to EMF (electromagnetic field) exposure. Further, EHS is not a medical diagnosis, nor is it clear that it represents a single medical problem."

However, new research by scientists at Louisiana State University and published by the International Journal of Neuroscience, claims to show that EHS can be caused by low frequency electromagnetic fields found in the environment.

Continue reading the main story

Towards the end of my normal life when I still could watch television I could actually cut my pain off and on with the remote control device”

End Quote Nichols Fox West Virginia resident "The study provides direct evidence that linking human symptoms with environmental factors, in this case EMF," says Dr Andrew Marino, a neurology professor who led the study.

"It's a watershed in that regard. There have been no previous studies that scientifically assess whether electromagnetic fields in the environment could produce human symptoms.

"And the symptoms matter because they are the first steps that show how EMFs produce human disease."

Scientists conducted a number of tests on a 35-year-old physician who had diagnosed herself with EHS.

She was seated on a wooden chair while voltage was applied to metal plates for pulses of 90 seconds to create a series of magnetic fields. The woman was asked to describe her symptoms after each exposure and after random sham exposures when, unknown to her, there was no voltage.

She reported headaches, pain and muscle twitching during the genuine exposures and no symptoms for the majority of the sham exposures.

The scientists concluded that such consistency could not be attributed to chance.

But other experts still disagree that a link exists.

Technological 'ignorance'

Bob Park is a physics professor at the University of Maryland.

He says that the radiation emitted by wi-fi is simply too weak to cause the type of changes in the body's chemistry that could make people sick.

Nichols Fox lives alone in a home powered primarily by gas just outside the Quiet Zone

"The bigger problem that we face is that in our society, driven by technological change, people have very little education," he says.

"There are lots of things people need to learn and they're not learning it. The thing that's going to kill them is ignorance."

Seventy-year-old Nichols Fox says she understands such scepticism - it took several years before she became convinced that her debilitating pain and fatigue were caused by electromagnetic radiation emitted by her computer.

"Towards the end of my normal life when I still could watch television I could actually cut my pain off and on with the remote control device," she says. "It was such an enormously clear association there was just no denying it."

Her symptoms are so severe that she has isolated herself almost entirely, living in a remote house surrounded by fields and woods just outside the Quiet Zone. She says even the low-level electromagnetic fields generated there affect her health.

She uses hardly any electricity - her refrigerator operates on gas, light comes from kerosene lamps and a wood-burning stove provides most of her heat.

A thermostat is set to switch on electric heaters if the temperature drops to a level where she is in danger of hypothermia.

"It's so important that people understand that this is a very serious disability, it's a life-changing disability. It leads to an earlier death - I have absolutely no doubt about that and I think it's just unfortunate that this is not recognised," she says.

But even in this secluded part of America, the incursion of wireless technology is relentless. Planning permission has been granted for a cell tower a few miles from her home, and Nichols says she'll have to move.

"I'm getting older and I really don't know where I'm going to go or what I'm going to do," she says. "It's really quite frightening."

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Spain police in sickness protest

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13 September 2011 Last updated at 23:02 GMT By Sarah Rainsford BBC News, Madrid Spain's economic crisis has hit hard many public workers, including police Almost the entire police force of a small town in southern Spain have gone on sick leave in a dispute over payments.

Fourteen policemen from Valverde del Camino say they are psychologically unfit for work after not receiving their salaries for four months.

They spent the day staging a sit-in protest at the town hall, instead of working.

However, they deny they are on strike, as that is illegal for police.

It is the latest manifestation of a major problem in Spain, where the economic crisis has left many town councils and local governments with debts they say they are unable to pay.

Plea for help Continue reading the main story

We're living on credit - getting help from our mothers, fathers, brothers... whoever”

End Quote Jose Manuel Gozales police officer Finally, the the patience of policemen in Valverde del Camino has worn out: 14 out of a total force of 16 officers have signed off sick, producing doctors' notes saying they are in no psychological state to work.

Instead of catching criminals, they staged the sit-in on Tuesday.

"We're living on credit - getting help from our mothers, fathers, brothers... whoever," Jose Manuel Gonzales, one of the protesters, told the BBC.

"But it's impossible to go on like this any longer. We have to ask for help now, because our families can't stand this anymore."

There are only 13,000 residents in the town, in far south-western Spain.

But successive mayors there have run up a staggering $74m (￡??m) in debt: that's the most in the country per capita.

The true scale of the problem only emerged after local elections in spring, when power shifted to the opposition Popular Party for the first time in decades.

It is a pattern that is being repeated across the country, making investors fear that these hidden, regional debts, will mean Spain misses its target - of cutting the budget deficit to 6% of GDP by the end of the year.

'Sudden' illness

In Valverde, the new mayor has taken away staff cars and credit cards - even lunch vouchers - to cut costs.

But she says the town urgently needs more money from central government to start paying the back wages it owes. And not only to the police, but to 130 workers, who have not seen their salaries since May.

Until then, the sudden illness that's overtaken the town's police force, is unlikely to be cured.

The ratings agency Moody's has warned that Spain's regions - which account for half of all public spending - will not meet their deficit reduction targets for this year.

This could put the central government's own targets in doubt - and also worry investors, who fear Spain may follow Greece, Ireland and Portugal in needing a bailout.

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VIDEO: People-power to the rescue

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13 September 2011 Last updated at 11:32 GMT Help

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Ten killed in India train crash

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14 September 2011 Last updated at 04:10 GMT Eight carriages were derailed by the impact Ten people have been killed and more than 70 injured in a train collision in southern India, police said.

Officials said the crash happened when a passenger train hit a stationary train in Tamil Nadu near Arakkonam in Vellore district late on Tuesday.

Eight coaches were derailed and three were completely damaged in the incident, reports said.

Accidents are common on the state-owned Indian railways, an immense network connecting every corner of the country.

It operates 9,000 passenger trains and carries some 18 million passengers every day.

It was not immediately known how many people were on board the two trains. Emergency teams have been sent to the accident site.

Investigations are on to find out whether the incident was caused by a signalling error or whether the driver of the suburban train had ignored a signal.

Officials said that a suburban train travelling between Chennai (Madras) Beach and Vellore collided into a stationary passenger train that was waiting for signal at the Chitheri station.

Some people are still believed to be trapped in the carriages, officials say.

This is the fourth serious rail accident in India since July.

Last month, at least three people were killed and 200 injured in a train collision in West Bengal.

In July, at least 69 people were killed and almost 250 injured when a passenger train derailed in Uttar Pradesh.

A week before the derailment, 38 people died in Uttar Pradesh when a train hit a bus carrying a wedding party.

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Argentina bus and trains collide

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13 September 2011 Last updated at 23:56 GMT The impact derailed the train

At least 11 people have died in Argentina after a train slammed into a bus crossing the tracks and then hit a second train coming into a station.

More than 200 people were injured, some seriously, a police spokesman said.

The crash happened during the morning rush hour as hundreds of commuters were waiting at the station in Flores, a Buenos Aires suburb.

Officials are investigating reports the bus driver, who is among the dead, failed to heed a stop signal.

Fire chief Omar Bravo said the collision was "one of the worst and saddest accidents of recent years" in Argentina.

Many rail lines go through residential areas of Buenos Aires, and it is not unusual to see drivers or pedestrians ignoring the warning signs of an oncoming train, says the BBC's Vladimir Hernandez in Buenos Aires.

Children injured

The accident happened at about 06:00 local time (09:00 GMT) on the Sarmiento line, which connects the centre of Buenos Aires with the western suburbs.

The impact smashed the bus into the train station where it was crushed against a platform by the locomotive.

The front of the train was derailed and hit another train that was leaving the station in the opposite direction.

The accident happened during the morning rush hour

Transport Secretary Juan Pablo Schiavi said most of the fatalities had been on board the bus. He also said children were among the injured as many parents use public transport to take them to school.

Mr Bravo said those rescued included a two-year-old child who was found under the platform.

Nine people died at the scene and two others in hospital, officials said. About 20 of the injured are said to be in a critical condition.

Officials are investigating reports that the bus driver did not stop and went through lowered barriers in an attempt to cross the railway line.

Train company spokesman Gustavo Gago said it believed the bus had "crossed on to the level-crossing when the barriers were low, but we await the results of the investigation to see if this is what happened".

A total of 100 ambulances and 10 fire engines were sent to the scene. Some of the injured were taken to local hospitals, some by helicopter.

According to the Argentine newspaper Clarin, firefighters took two hours to remove one of the train drivers who was trapped in the wreckage.

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Scotland first to map green space

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13 September 2011 Last updated at 23:34 GMT Users can search the map and zoom in to find out about green spaces in their area A new map has been published showing all the green spaces in urban Scotland.

Greenspace Scotland has gathered data about parks, play areas, playing fields, gardens and allotments dotted up and down the country.

The information has now been made available online. No other country in the world is thought to have mapped its green space in this way.

The results show Scotland has 1,112 sq km (429 sq mile) of urban green space - the area of 160,000 football pitches.

Greenspace Scotland, a charitable organisation, led the project with funding support from the Scottish government, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and Forestry Commission Scotland.

Data was provided by Scotland's 32 local authorities.

Members of the public can search the interactive map using place names or postcodes and use simple navigation and zoom tools to find out about green space in their area.

The tool may also help councils develop planning and environmental policy.

Those who produced the map said it would provide a baseline for future updates, allowing them to track changes in the amount and type of green space in Scotland's towns and cities.

Julie Procter, chief executive of Greenspace Scotland, said: "The map is a significant achievement for Scotland and a powerful demonstration of how effectively national and local Scottish organisations can work together on projects of national importance.

"Nowhere else in the world can people check out their local green space at the click of a button.

"Behind that simple action lies several years of work with local authorities to develop consistent data and collaboration with partners to collate the information and develop ways of making the data widely accessible."

The map will be officially launched by Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, Stewart Stevenson.

Susan Davies, SNH director of policy and advice, said: "We have an amazing variety of parks and public gardens in Scotland - and with Scotland's Greenspace Map, anyone can now easily find every single one of them.

"Getting out and enjoying nature, even if it is just popping across to a small park across the road, is so important to our health and well-being."

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