Wildfires in Texas destroy hundreds of homes

6 September 2011 Last updated at 00:58 GMT HelpFirefighters in the US state of Texas are struggling to contain a huge wildfire that has already destroyed nearly 500 homes.Forestry officials say the fire is moving so quickly that it can't be tackled from the ground and aircraft are being scrambled to drop water onto it.Texas Governor Rick Perry has urged people to heed evacuation orders and not to stay in their homes if they had lost pow...

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Haiti anger over alleged Uruguay UN rape

Haitian President Michel Martelly has condemned the alleged abuse of an 18-year-old man by Uruguayan peacekeepers, and demanded a full investigation.Mr Martelly said the Haitian man had been subjected to a "collective rape".Five Uruguayan marines were detained after a video clip of the alleged abuse appeared on the internet, and their commanding officer was sacked.The Uruguayan government has said it will open a criminal case against the marines in a Uruguayan court.The UN mission in Haiti (Minustah) and the Haitian authorities are also investigating.RevulsionThe case has provoked widespread public anger in Haiti, and there have been protests outside the UN base."The presidency vigorously condemns this act, which revolts the conscience...

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Al-Qaeda chief Younis al-Mauritani held, says Pakistan

Pakistan's army says it has arrested a man it describes as a senior al-Qaeda leader and two of his accomplices.Younis al-Mauritani planned and executed international operations for the global terror network, the military said in a statement.The White House praised the capture - reportedly the result of co-operation between US and Pakistani intelligence.The army said the men were seized in the suburbs of the south-western Pakistani city of Quetta.It did not say when the arrests were made."Mauritani was tasked personally by Osama Bin Laden to focus on hitting targets of economical importance in United States of America, Europe and Australia," said the Pakistani statement.The two other men arrested were named as Abdul Ghaffar al-Shami and...

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Texas fires: Bastrop blaze prompts Rick Perry warning

Dozens of other wildfires are burning in Texas, which has had its worst drought in half a centuryFirefighters in drought-stricken Texas are struggling to contain a 16-mile-wide (26-km) wildfire that has destroyed almost 500 homes.Officials said the fire had "grown considerably" on Monday and was now burning on 25,000 acres (10,000 ha).Texas Governor Rick Perry cut short presidential campaigning, and said the next 48 to 72 hours would be "crucial".Scores of fires are burning across Texas, which has been hit by high winds generated by Tropical Storm Lee.Recent fires across Texas have burned 3.5 million acres, Mr Perry said, adding: "That's roughly the size of Connecticut."He urged people to heed evacuation orders and not to stay in their...

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Up Snowdon in 4x4 'on 50 things to do list' - driver

A man who drove his 4x4 up Snowdon said he did it because it was top of his "50 things to do before he dies" list.Craig Williams, 39, from Gloucestershire, said it was not a publicity stunt and something he did on the spur of the moment.He added he understood criticism that his actions had been irresponsible.Mr Williams has been charged with driving on common land and will appear in court on 16 September."There's no plan of action as we speak, there wasn't to begin with," he told the BBC."Out of a list of 50 things to do before you die, this was one of them."If you think that was on top of the list, the other 49 are now not going to be done," he added.'Drive down'He said he appreciated that people were saying he had been irresponsible.Now...

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Ruins of Roman gladiator school found in Austria

Archaeologists in Austria say they have discovered a large, well-preserved school for Roman gladiators.The remains of the school, at a site east of the modern capital, Vienna, were found using radar imagery.The school was part of a Roman city which was an important military and trade outpost 17 centuries ago.Though excavations have yet to begin, the radar images show thick walls surrounding the compound which contained 40 small cells for fighters.There is also a training area and a large bathing area in the Carnuntum ruins.Outside the walls, radar scans show what archaeologists believe was a cemetery for those killed during training.'Barracks and prison'"[This is] a world sensation, in the true meaning of the word," said Lower Austrian provincial...

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'Pavarotti's heir' Licitra dies after crash, aged 43

Italian tenor Salvatore Licitra has died from head and chest injuries suffered in a road accident. He was 43.Licitra - who was seen as the heir to Luciano Pavarotti in Italy - crashed his scooter into a wall in southern Sicily last month.He was not wearing a helmet when he crashed in the town of Modica.The singer made his international breakthrough in 2002, when he stepped in for Pavarotti in Puccini's Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.Licitra died on Monday morning in the hospital in Catania, where he had been flown after the accident on 27 August, a statement on the the Swiss-born singer's website said.He had been in a coma since the crash and never regained consciousness.Doctors at the hospital said Licitra's family had...

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Labor Day: Barack Obama rallies Detroit crowds on jobs

US President Barack Obama has used a Labor Day address to a lively, sympathetic crowd to call on his rivals to back his plans for job creation."We just need to get Congress on board," he told supporters in Detroit, Michigan, saying labour and business were already behind his plans.On Thursday, Mr Obama will use an address to a joint session of Congress to set out job-growth strategy.The US economy has stalled recently, with no new jobs created in August.The news was a gloomy prelude to the annual Labor Day holiday, which celebrates the role of the worker in American life.'Tune in'Speaking in Detroit, the president said his forthcoming plan would enable construction workers "to get dirty" building roads and bridges, and called for the...

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Edinburgh University students could pay £36,000

Edinburgh University could become the most expensive place to study in the UK for students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland.The Scottish university said it would charge £9,000 a year in tuition fees.The National Union of Students Scotland said £36,000 for a standard four-year degree at Edinburgh was "both staggering and ridiculous".Edinburgh is the third Scots university to set its fees for rest of UK (RUK) residents at the maximum level.However, Aberdeen and Heriot-Watt universities said they intended to cap their fees at a maximum of £27,000 for the course, even if it was four years, the standard length of Scottish courses.The University of Edinburgh said it would not do this but it would offer "the most generous bursary...

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9/11: How New York's twin towers were built

The 110-storey landmarks that dominated the Manhattan skyline for nearly 30 years were reduced to rubble in the 9/11 suicide attacks of 2001. Thousands of people in the World Trade Center, and on the planes that crashed into them, lost their lives.Designed by architect Minoru Yamasaki the giant towers were conceived as part of an urban renewal project for Lower Manhattan - and when completed in the early 1970s, for a short time at least, were the world's tallest buildings.Now - a decade since they were lost, and with new construction on the site well-advanced - take a look back at the life of the Twin Towers.Continue reading the main storyPlease allow several seconds for the slideshow to load.Leslie E Roberston was structural engineer...

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Man 'seizes child hostage' outside Sydney court

A man with a suspicious backpack - possibly a bomb - is holding a child outside a court a suburb of Sydney in Australia, local media say.Police have sealed off the area in Parramatta, with one official saying that there is "a hostage situation".Some reports say the man is holding his 11-year-old daugther. Details of the incident remain sketchy.This comes a month after a fake bomb was strapped to a teenager at her home in Sydn...

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Obama touts new stimulus

As the world's economy looks ever more precarious, all eyes will be on Obama this week. He's making his big pitch to Congress on Thursday. He'll be setting out how to get America back to work. My guess is that there'll be a lot more politics than economics. He may well believe the measures he'll suggest are the right ones. But it's a dime to a dollar the Republican House will reject most of them.Why ? The president made it pretty clear in a Labor Day speech in Detroit that he's looking for some sort of new stimulus package. He said:"We've got roads and bridges across this country that need rebuilding. We've got private companies with the equipment and the manpower to do the building. We've got more than 1 million unemployed construction...

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Electric motor made from a single molecule

Researchers have created the smallest electric motor ever devised.The motor, made from a single molecule just a billionth of a metre across, is reported in Nature Nanotechnology.The minuscule motor could have applications in both nanotechnology and in medicine, where tiny amounts of work can be put to efficient use.Tiny rotors based on single molecules have been shown before, but this is the first that can be individually driven by an electric current."People have found before that they can make motors driven by light or by chemical reactions, but the issue there is that you're driving billions of them at a time - every single motor in your beaker," said Charles Sykes, a chemist at Tufts University in Massachusetts, US."The exciting...

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US Open 2011: Novak Djokovic beats Alexandr Dolgopolov

US Open Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 29 August - 11 September Session start times: 1600 & 0000 BST Tournament coverage: Scores and reports on BBC website plus live text commentaries including all Andy Murray matches; updates and commentaries on BBC Radio 5 live and 5 live sports extra; TV coverage on Sky Sports & EurosportNovak Djokovic Djokovic recovered from 4-0 down in the opening tie-breakNovak Djokovic came through a stunning first set tie-break to beat Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov and secure a place in the US Open quarter-finals.Djokovic saved four set points in the tie-break and needed six of his own on his way to a 7-6 (16-14) 6-4 6-2 win.The Serbian world number one will next face comaptriot Janko Tipsarevic,...

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Torture claims raise questions over Libya-Britain ties

For years, Libyan and British intelligence were enemies. The legacy of Lockerbie and the supply of Semtex and weapons to the IRA ensured that. But 9/11 - as it did in so many areas - changed the calculus.At issue was the role of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) - an Islamist body which opposed Gaddafi and had support networks and members in the UK.In the 1990s, a blind eye - at the very least - was turned to the LIFG, perhaps on the "my enemy's enemy is my friend" principle.But after 9/11 the relationship of the LIFG to al-Qaeda meant that it began to be seen as a potential threat.At the same time, the Gaddafi regime - which had been seeking a way of removing sanctions and improving relations - realised that it had valuable...

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Wikileaks: Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe 'has cancer'

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has prostate cancer which has spread to other organs, according to a leaked US diplomatic cable.The cable, published by whistle-blower site Wikileaks, cites central bank governor Gideon Gono as saying Mr Mugabe's doctors had urged him to quit.The cable, written in 2008 by the US embassy in Harare, also says 87-year-old Mr Mugabe could die by 2013.Mr Gono, a staunch ally of Mr Mugabe, dismissed the cable as "fiction".The cable cites Mr Gono as saying the cancer had "metastasized and, according to doctors, will cause his death in three to five years."In an interview with Reuters news agency last September, Mr Mugabe - who has been in power since 1980 - dismissed rumours that he was dying of cancer and...

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International Red Cross visits Syrian prison

The International Red Cross (ICRC) has been allowed to visit a Syrian prison for the first time since concerns emerged over the treatment of inmates.The ICRC said it had visited Damascus central prison in Adra suburb on Sunday.ICRC President Jakob Kellenberger said he also held talks with President Bashar al-Assad on Monday.Amnesty International said last week it believed at least 88 Syrian detainees had died in the past five months."The Syrian authorities have granted the ICRC access to a place of detention for the first time," said Mr Kellenberger at the end of a two-day visit to Damascus."Initially, we will have access to persons detained by the ministry of the interior and we are hopeful that we will soon be able to visit all detainees."During...

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News International to sell Wapping site, publisher says

News International is to sell its Wapping site in east London, the newspaper publisher has said.Its stable of titles - which includes the Sun, the Times and the Sunday Times - will be entirely relocated to its nearby Thomas More Square base.The Wapping site was also where the News of the World was based until its closure amid the phone-hacking scandal.The company said "current market conditions" led to a decision "not to proceed with remodelling" Wapping.It said: "The decision to sell the 15-acre site follows a review of News International's London property portfolio."The majority of News International's Wapping-based editorial and commercial staff have now relocated into Thomas More Square, with the remainder to be relocated by the end...

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6,000 Sertai Marathon Malam Putrajaya 2011

KUALA LUMPUR – Seramai 6,000 peserta termasuk dari negara luar telah membuat pendaftaran menyertai Marathon Malam Putrajaya (PNM) 2011 yang akan berlangsung di Putrajaya pada 15 Oktober ini. Pengarah Perlumbaan PNM 2011, V.Nithiaseelan berkata, meskipun pelancaran PNM 2011 baru saja diadakan pada 28 Julai lalu tetapi sambutan yang diterima daripada orang ramai setakat ini cukup menggalakkan. “Kita telah menerima penyertaan seramai 6,000 pelari marathon termasuk dari Australia, Kenya dan Singapura dan kita hanya membuka pendaftaran untuk 10,000 peserta. “Oleh itu kami mengesa orang ramai supaya membuat pendaftaran dengan segera sebelum kuota ini dipenuhi,” katanya melalui satu kenyataan media hari ini. Nithiaseelan berkata, PNM 2011...

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Jacques Chirac trial due to open in Paris

Former French President Jacques Chirac is due to go on trial charged with illegal party funding during his time as mayor of Paris.However, there are doubts whether the trial can go ahead as planned after a medical report found that Mr Chirac, 78, is suffering memory lapses.Mr Chirac, who denies the charges, has asked the Paris court for his lawyers to be allowed to represent him.He is the first French former leader to stand trial since World War II.The BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris says that if the trial goes ahead it will almost certainly be in Mr Chirac's absence.Mr Chirac, who was mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995, is accused on two counts of paying members of his Rally for the Republic (RPR) party for municipal jobs that did not exist.If...

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Hurricane Irene: Obama pledges help to storm-hit states

US President Barack Obama has promised federal aid to east coast areas struck by Hurricane Irene, during a tour of the badly-hit state of New Jersey.Mr Obama said the government would "meet our federal obligations" by doing everything necessary to help communities rebuild.Hurricane Irene caused an estimated $10bn (£6bn) worth of damage.Meanwhile, there are warnings that another tropical storm may cause flooding as it moves slowly inland.The National Hurricane Centre said Storm Lee, which made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday, was expected to move over southern parts of the state during the evening.Road-side debrisSpeaking in Paterson, New Jersey's third-biggest city, Mr Obama said the "whole country was behind" communities affected by Irene."We...

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Germany's Merkel suffers loss in home state election

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party has suffered a loss in elections in her home state, provisional results show.The Christian Democrats (CDU) won 23.1% of the vote in the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, down from 28.8% in 2006.The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) came ahead with 35.7% support.Correspondents say the eurozone crisis, and Germany's role propping up indebted countries like Greece, figured largely in the election campaign.Mrs Merkel faces national elections in 2013.'Bitter taste'State elections this year are seen as a key test of support for the governing coalition between the CDU and the liberal Free Democrat Party (FDP). The SPD is Germany's largest opposition party."The CDU is, of course, disappointed...

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Libya media: Gaddafi mouthpieces fall silent

For Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the loss of Tripoli also meant that he lost his media outlets - a main driver of his personality cult and his authoritarian rule up until a week ago.An extensive media group of dozens of domestic and satellite radio and TV channels, newspapers and magazines vanished, leaving Col Gaddafi with severely limited choices.After National Transitional Council (NTC) forces went into Tripoli on 21 August, dozens of Col Gaddafi's TV and radio stations swiftly went off the air and the publication of state press ceased.Some media workers were arrested and paraded on YouTube videos.Flying new flagSince the fall of Tripoli, Col Gaddafi has not appeared on television in person. Instead, his audio statements have been broadcast...

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Passengers safe in Ottawa airport mishap

No injuries as plane goes off runway, Ottawa Fire Services official saysAll 44 passengers are safe after an American passenger plane went off the runway at Ottawa International Airport, officials say.Marc Messier, an official with Ottawa Fire Services, tweeted late Sunday afternoon that the passengers on United Airlines flight 3363 were safe and on a city bus."No injuries, everybody is absolutely fine," said Krista Kealey, director of communications for the airport.The plane, which had arrived from Chicago, appeared to have suffered damage to a wing, the CBC's Alistair Steele reported.A passenger tweeted that people screamed as the plane skidded and a wing went into the dirt.Fire crews were controlling a fuel leak, and hazardous material...

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Former Iceland PM Geir Haarde due in court

Former Icelandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde is due in a special court on charges of "failures of ministerial responsibility" in his handling of the 2008 financial crisis.The country's three main banks collapsed amid economic turmoil.The failure of Icebank, which hit thousands of savers in the UK and Netherlands, led to a dispute over compensation, which remains unresolved.Mr Haarde has called the case a "farce" and wants the court to throw it out.The Landsdomur court, a special body to try cabinet ministers, has never before heard a case.Public opinion is divided, with some people seeing the trial of Mr Haarde as scapegoating, and others arguing that public accountability is essential following the country's financial collapse.'Right...

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Noramfaizul Terselamat Dari Nahas Helikopter

KUALA LUMPUR – Jurukamera BernamaTV Noramfaizul Mohd Nor, 39, yang maut akibat terkena tembakan peluru sesat semasa membuat liputan misi kemanusiaan di Mogadishu, Somalia, semalam, pernah terselamat dari nahas helikopter 13 tahun lepas apabila tempatnya digantikan dua jurukamera lain. Dalam kejadian pada 2 Mac 1997 itu dua jurukamera Filem Negara dan seorang juruterbang terbunuh apabila pesawat ringan Cessna 172 milik Mofaz Air yang ditugaskan membuat tinjauan udara untuk kejohanan lumba basikal Le tour De Langkawi 1997 terhempas di kawasan belukar berpaya di Kampung Bakau, Kelibang, Langkawi. Rakan baik Allahyarham, Mazalan Rafji berkata peristiwa itu adalah antara pengalaman yang tidak dapat dilupakannya bersama arwah yang ketika...

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Meet Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy in Austria on 11 September 2011

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Youth Messengers​-Register to vote for a bright future

Sunday, September 04, 2011By Mu Sochua Printed on their shirts: "Youth-Register to vote for a bright future"The Sam Rainsy Party Youth Movement is taking the party message to youth voters by walking door-to-door.Target of the "Go get the votes campaign" : marginalyzed youth.We went to market places, restaurants, construction sites where youth work with just less than US$1 a day.Youth talk to youth. Power to the youth!Mu Sochua,...

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Libya conflict: Fear for civilians in Bani Walid siege

Libyan interim government forces who have surrounded the Gaddafi-held desert town of Bani Walid say they hope it can be captured peacefully.One key anti-Gaddafi negotiator told the BBC civilians in the town could not move and he feared they may be shot in revenge or used as human shields.He said he hoped the standoff could be resolved by Monday morning.The interim government says it is now sure Col Gaddafi's son, Khamis, has been killed.The National Transitional Council (NTC) said he had died in fighting close to Tripoli and was buried near Bani Walid. Muhammad, the son of former spy chief Abdullah Senussi, was also killed, it said.No further details of the deaths were provided and Khamis's death has been reported on at least two other...

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Endangered species set for stem cell rescue

In a novel marriage of conservation and modern biology, scientists have created stem cells from two endangered species, which could help ensure their survival.The northern white rhino is one of the most endangered animals on Earth, while the drill - a west African monkey - is threatened by habitat loss and hunting.The scientists report in Nature Methods that their stem cells could be made to turn into different types of body cell.If they could turn into eggs and sperm, "test-tube babies" could be created.Such applications are a long way off, but research team chief Jeanne Loring said she had been encouraged by the results on the rhino cells, which they had not really expected to be successful.The stem cells were made from skin by a process...

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Mountain mystery over vehicle near Snowdon summit

Walkers were surprised to see the vehicle on their way up the mountain on SundayPolice are investigating how a vehicle ended up on a footpath close to the summit of Snowdon.It is believed the 4x4 was driven up on Saturday morning but may have become stuck on the descent about 400 yards (365m) from the top.North Wales Police confirmed they were called to the incident but currently have no more details.Snowdon is Wales's highest mountain at 1,085m (3,560 ft).Walkers passing the Vauxhall Frontera have taken photographs of the vehicle on the Llanberis side of the summit, close to the train track.It is unclear exactly when it was driven up there. Jonathan Tyler, who has worked for the Snowdon Railway for the last seven years, said it was just...

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Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant connected to national grid

Iran's first nuclear power station has been connected to the country's electricity grid, state news reports.Bushehr was supplying 60 megawatts of its 1,000 megawatt capacity to the national grid, officials said.The reactor's generating unit began operating at a low level in May, prompting Israel and other nations to express fears the reactor could help Iran develop nuclear weapons.Tehran says its intentions are purely peaceful.But the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said it is "increasingly concerned" that Iran is also secretly working on components for a nuclear weapons programme.Dogged by delaysIran's Atomic Energy Organisation said the plant in the country's south was connected to the national grid at 23:30 (19:00 GMT)...

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Syrian soldiers 'killed in ambush' near Hama

Six Syrian soldiers and three civilians have been killed in an ambush by an armed group in central Syria, state media says.A further 17 people were wounded as gunmen ambushed the bus near Hama, Sana reported, adding that three gunmen were killed in an ensuing gunfight.Syria blames foreign-backed armed groups for the ongoing protests against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.Meanwhile, activists said Syrian forces killed 12 in raids on restive areas.The Local Coordination Committees (LCC), which coordinates anti-regime protests, reported 12 deaths in the north-western province of Idlib and the city of Hama.The area has seen more arrests and bloodshed since Hama governorate Attorney-General Adnan Bakkour resigned last week in protest...

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Noramfaizul Dilindungi Insurans

KUALA LUMPUR – Noramfaizul Mohd Nor, jurukamera BernamaTV yang terkorban di Somalia pada Jumaat lepas, dilindungi dua polisi insurans yang diambil oleh Bernama, kata pengerusi Bernama Datuk Abdul Rahman Sulaiman, Ahad. “Semua petugas Bernama dilindungi dua polisi insurans — insurans hayat dan dan insurans kemalangan diri yang terpakai di seluruh dunia,” kata beliau sebagai respons kepada spekulasi yang tersebar dalam internet bahawa Allahyarham Noramfaizul tidak dilindungi insurans semasa menjalankan tugasan terakhirnya itu. Selain itu, Kelab Putra 1Malaysia turut mengambil polisi insurans kelompok kepada kesemua 55 anggota misi bantuan kemanusiaan ke Somalia. Abdul Rahman berkata Bernama akan turut menghulurkan segala sokongan dan...

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NPC Sampai Ucapan Takziah Kepada Keluarga

KUALA LUMPUR – Kelab Akhbar Kebangsaan (NPC) hari ini menyampaikan ucapan takziah kepada keluarga jurukamera BernamaTV Noramfaizul Mohd Nor yang terkorban akibat terkena tembakan curi semasa membuat liputan misi kemanusiaan di Mogadishu, Somalia, Jumaat lepas, dan menggesa supaya satu prosedur operasi standard ditampilkan untuk diguna pakai oleh anggota media yang ditugaskan membuat liputan di zon perang. Presidennya Mokhtar Hussain dalam satu kenyataan berkata satu prosedur operasi standard perlu ditampilkan segera bagi memelihara keselamatan para wartawan yang membuat liputan di zon perang atau di kawasan-kawasan tidak selamat. Beliau berkata contohnya mereka perlu dibekalkan dengan pelbagai alat perlindungan dan diberi taklimat...

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