Daily News, Around the World

Amanda Knox appeal: Prosecutors call for life sentences - BBC News

2011-09-24T14:37:00.000-07:00

Prosecutors have called for an appeals court to extend the sentences given to two convicted murderers of British student Meredith Kercher to life terms.

American Amanda Knox and Italian Raffaele Sollecito were found guilty in 2009 of murder in Italy and jailed for 26 years and 25 years respectively.

The pair, who deny any wrongdoing, are appealing against their convictions.

In summing up, prosecutors said evidence pointed to the pair's guilt and defended the original DNA evidence.

Independent experts had questioned the reliability of evidence - used in the original trial - from a knife and Miss Kercher's bra clasp.

Manuela Comodi, one of the prosecutors making closing statements, showed the jury how she believed the bra had been cut from Miss Kercher. She also showed jurors photographs from the scene.

The prosecution told the court the independent experts, appointed by a judge, did not have sufficient qualifications to be described as experts.

'Bungled sex game'

They also said the DNA was only one part of the original case against Knox and Sollecito.

There was also considerable circumstantial evidence which put the defendants in the flat on the night of Miss Kercher's death, they said.

Prosecutors told the court that their evidence showed the pair should not be acquitted but given life sentences - something which they had argued during the original trial.

The BBC's Daniel Sandford, who is in Perugia, said the prosecution's demand was something Knox and Sollecito's teams would have been expecting.

Closing arguments from the Kercher family's lawyer and the defence are due to be heard next week.

Knox, 24, and her former boyfriend Sollecito, 26, were convicted of the 2007 murder of Miss Kercher in her bedroom after a bungled sex game. Miss Kercher's throat had been cut.

Year-long appeal

Miss Kercher, from Coulsdon, south London, had been sharing a flat with Knox in Perugia while on an exchange year abroad from the University of Leeds.

Knox and Sollecito have spent almost a year appealing against their convictions.

Earlier in the appeal, independent experts suggested that the original DNA evidence fell short of international standards, with police failing to wear the correct protective equipment and wrapping evidence in plastic bags instead of paper.

They also said the genetic profile on the knife's blade, which was attributed to Miss Kercher, could not be attributed with certainty.

The original testing did not follow recommendations of the international scientific community for dealing with DNA testing, they added.

The review did support original tests which found the genetic profile on the knife's plastic handle could be attributed to Knox, they said.

A third person, 21-year-old Rudy Guede, was also convicted of Miss Kercher's murder in a separate trial and is serving a 16-year term.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15046562

Tuition fees: Labour pledges maximum cap of £6,000 - BBC News

2011-09-24T14:35:00.000-07:00

Ed Miliband says Labour would reduce the cap on student tuition fees.

He told the Sunday Mirror that a Labour government would limit university fees to £6,000 a year - down from the current £9,000 maximum.

It would be partly funded by graduates earning over £65,000 a year paying higher interest on student loans and by axing the government's planned cut in corporation tax for financial services.

Ministers have said the current system is "fairer and affordable".

The announcement comes on the eve of the Labour conference in Liverpool, with Mr Miliband set to speak on Tuesday.

'Burdened by debt'

The move is part of Mr Miliband's bid to present his party as being on the side of hard-pressed families struggling to maintain their standard of living amidst the global economic downturn.

He told the Sunday Mirror: "Parents up and down the country are incredibly worried about their sons and daughters.

"We want to take action to make it easier for people to go to university and not feel burdened down by debt. If we were in government now, we would cut the maximum tuition fee from £9,000 to £6,000 a year."

The BBC's political correspondent Vicky Young said the announcement of this proposal had come as a "bit of a surprise".

She said policy reviews were being carried out across all areas for Labour so policy announcements were not expected until further into the next parliament.

Our correspondent added that it was important for Labour that these sums added up as polls suggest people trust the Conservatives and the coalition government far more with the economy.

She added: "It was incredibly difficult for the Liberal Democrats - they had a promise not to introduce tuition fees which they went back on.

"Many people feel they have lost the student vote which gave them a number of seats at the general election so clearly that is what Ed Miliband is trying to do there.

By saying how he'd pay for it, partly by not bringing in this cut in corporation tax for financial services, he can say he's making the wealthy pay more."

Tuition fees were introduced by the last Labour government.

The current £9,000 maximum was introduced by the coalition government.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15050334

Mother and five children killed in Neasden house fire - BBC News

2011-09-24T14:31:00.000-07:00

The fire started in the early hours of Saturday, spreading quickly through the family's home

A mother and five of her children have been killed in a house fire in north-west London.

Muna Elmufatish, 41, and her daughters Hanin Kua, 14, Basma, 13 and Amal, nine, died in the blaze with her sons Mustafa, five, and Yehya, aged two.

Her husband, Bassam Kua, 51, and another daughter Nur, 16, are in a critical condition following the fire in Neasden early on Saturday morning.

Police said they are not treating the deaths as suspicious.

Flames tore through the semi-detached house in Sonia Gardens as six fire engines and 30 firefighters tackled the blaze at about 01:00 BST.

'Like a bomb'

One neighbour said he heard a loud bang from the home of the family who are thought to be Palestinian, which sounded "like an explosion, almost like a bomb".

He added: "We all went outside and we saw firemen looking out the window and shouting, 'there's people in there'. It was horrific."

LFB station manager Glen Gorman, who was at the scene, said: "There's no doubt this is an absolute tragedy.

"My thoughts, and those of my colleagues at the London Fire Brigade, are with the friends, family and loved ones of those affected at this extremely sad and difficult time."

He added: "Crews worked extremely hard in some very, very, difficult conditions and were able to prevent fire spreading to adjoining properties and causing further injuries or even further tragedy."

Chief Supt Matthew Gardner said: "Our thoughts and sympathies go out to the friends and family of the victims, who are now having to come to terms with this terrible loss of life."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15045798

In pictures: Greeks strike over new austerity - BBC News

2011-09-24T14:29:00.000-07:00

Thousands have taken to the streets of the Greek capital, Athens, to protest against the government's latest series of stringent austerity cuts. Some 7,000 gathered in front of the parliament building.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15022648

Day in pictures: 23 September 2011 - BBC News

2011-09-24T14:27:00.000-07:00

Folk dancers rehearse for the upcoming Festival of Nine Nights in Ahmedabad, India.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-15035823

Week in pictures: 17-23 September - BBC News

2011-09-24T14:23:00.000-07:00

The world's biggest beer festival, the Oktoberfest at Theresienwiese in Munich got under way. The festival attracts six million visitors from around the world each year.

IMF promises decisive action for eurozone debt crisis

2011-09-24T14:20:00.000-07:00

The IMF says it will take decisive action to tackle the eurozone debt crisis and support the global economy.

In a communique on Saturday, the global lender said it would review the resources it had available to tackle the crisis.

The statement added that eurozone nations would do "whatever necessary" to resolve Europe's debt crisis.

Following the statement, UK chancellor George Osborne said there was "no plan" for a Greek default.

However, the communique, issued during a meeting between G20 finance ministers, the IMF and the World Bank, did not give specifics on whether extra funds would be available to the global fund.

"Our lending capacity of almost $400 billion looks comfortable today but that pales in comparison with the potential financing needs of vulnerable countries and crisis bystanders," said IMF managing director Christine Lagarde in an action plan presented to the fund's policy steering panel.

The IMF's statement also called for governments to take steps to shore up the banking system.

Banks holding large amounts of European sovereign debt have come under pressure from investors concerned about losses if those debts are not repaid.

"Advanced economies will ensure that banks have strong capital positions and access to adequate funding," said the communique.

The IMF, it said, would develop mechanisms to assist troubled financial institutions working across national borders.

Mr Osborne said eurozone members had agreed on the need to take decisive action to tackle the crisis.

Speaking in Washington, the chancellor said allowing Greece to default on its debts was not one of the proposals.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15049780

Yemen unrest: 'Dozens dead' in Sanaa clashes

2011-09-24T14:16:00.000-07:00

US journalist Laura Kasinof says protesters spoke of "panic and choas"

Many people have been killed in clashes in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, as protests continue against President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Demonstrators camped out on Change Square - the focus of protests - have been caught in fighting between the army and dissident soldiers, a journalist in the city told the BBC.

Some unconfirmed reports say as many as 40 people have died across the city.

The violence follows Mr Saleh's return from three months in Saudi Arabia.

He received treatment there following an assassination attempt. Correspondents say his return raises the risk of all-out civil war.

Clashes in Sanaa have recently intensified as elite Republican Guards, led by President Saleh's son Ahmed, fight running battles with army units that have defected to the opposition and tribal fighters who support the protesters.

After Saturday's fighting, Mohammed al-Qabati, a doctor at a field hospital in the square, told AP news agency that 28 protesters and one soldier guarding them had been killed.

He said ambulances had been forced to leave bodies in the streets because of the fighting, and many injured were reaching the hospital by motorcycle.

Tents and buildings were set on fire, witnesses said.

A resident near the camp told Reuters news agency that government forces had used armoured vehicles and rifles.

"It was an intense fight. My house was shaking like crazy. There are no protesters there now - it's just armed people," the witness said.

Activists have been camped out in Change Square since January, demanding an end to Mr Saleh's decades-long rule.

Clashes were also reported in the north-west Sanaa, where a spokesman for the dissident soldiers told AP that 11 rebel troops had been killed.

'Olive branch'

Gulf monarchies renewed their so far unsuccessful call for President Saleh to sign a power transfer deal "immediately", on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Friday, AFP reported.

In a statement carried by a Saudi state news agency, they "condemned... the use of weapons, especially heavy weapons, against unarmed protesters".

After his surprise return to Sanaa, President Saleh called for a ceasefire to stop violence which has already claimed about 100 lives this week, mainly of unarmed anti-government protesters.

He was quoted by the state news agency Saba as saying he was "carrying the dove of peace and an olive branch".

He flew back after having treatment in Saudi Arabia for injuries sustained in a rocket attack on the grounds of his presidential palace.

Mr Saleh was greeted by thousands of enthusiastic supporters, who staged a rally in Sanaa.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15044857

Russia's Putin set to return as president in 2012

2011-09-24T14:12:00.000-07:00

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says he has accepted a proposal to stand for president in March 2012.

Addressing the ruling United Russia party's annual congress, Mr Putin and current President Dmitry Medvedev backed one another to switch roles.

The announcements end speculation over which man should run for the top job.

United Russia, which Mr Putin leads, dominates the country's politics and observers say his return to the Kremlin is now all but guaranteed.

He had already served two terms as president before Mr Medvedev took over in 2008. Mr Putin was barred by the constitution from running for a third consecutive term.

News of Mr Putin's candidacy, which had been widely expected, was greeted with dismay by the country's small liberal opposition.

Boris Nemtsov, a deputy prime minister under Boris Yeltsin, likened Mr Putin to Alexander Lukashenko, the long-serving autocratic president of Belarus.

'Great honour'

"I want to thank you for the positive reaction to the proposal for me to stand for Russian president," Mr Putin told delegates after Mr Medvedev suggested he should be a candidate.

"For me this is a great honour."

Mr Putin also indicated that Mr Medvedev could become prime minister following the 4 December parliamentary vote, introducing a "new, effective, young, energetic management team".

Mr Medvedev had earlier accepted a proposal that he head the party's list of candidates in the elections and spoke of his "readiness to assume practical work in the government" in the future.

Backing Mr Putin for president, he said: "I think it would be correct for the congress to support the candidacy of the party chairman, Vladimir Putin, to the post of president of the country."

The congress must formally nominate Mr Putin as its presidential candidate - but that appears all but certain given the cheering and applause that greeted Mr Medvedev's proposal.

There have been months of speculation that Mr Putin planned to return to the Kremlin when elections are held in March.

Correspondents say most Russians believe he has greater influence in the country and far more power than Mr Medvedev.

Mr Putin told delegates that the two men had reached agreement on who should hold which post "a long time ago, several years back".

He also warned of possible, unpopular measures to cope with the global financial turmoil.

"The task of the government is not only to pour honey into a cup, but sometimes to give bitter medicine," Mr Putin said.

"But this should always be done openly and honestly, and then the overwhelming majority of people will understand their government."

Mr Medvedev has spearheaded a drive to modernise Russia during his term in office.

Some economists say the return of the more conservative Mr Putin could counter this. Others say the two men vary in their styles but differ little on policy.

Under recent constitutional amendments, the new president will have a six-year mandate rather than four years as before. He or she will be able to serve no more than two consecutive terms, meaning Mr Putin could be in office until 2024.

Mr Nemtsov, who co-founded the unregistered People's Freedom Party, predicted "increased migration, capital flight and even more dependence on raw materials" under Mr Putin.

"We're in for a giant corruption component in politics, which will be incomparable with the current one," he told Russian radio station Ekho Moskvy.

News of the candidacy generated a wave of Russian-language traffic on Twitter, much of it enthusiastic, such as a tweet by @xurinlev which read "The man who pulled Russia out of the crash is coming back!"

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15045816

Space shuttle Atlantis makes final landing

2011-09-24T14:09:00.000-07:00

By Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News

Space shuttle Atlantis has landed back on Earth, bringing to a close America's 30-year orbiter programme.

The vehicle swept into the Kennedy Space Center, its wheels touching the runway just before local sunrise.

Nasa's shuttles were instrumental in building the space station, and were used to maintain the Hubble telescope.

"The space shuttle changed the way we view the world and it changed the way we view the Universe," said commander Chris Ferguson on landing.

"There's a lot of emotion today but one thing's indisputable: America's not going to stop exploring," he radioed to mission control.

Retirement of Nasa's iconic shuttle fleet was ordered by the US government, in part due to the high cost of maintaining the ships.

The decision leaves the country with no means of putting astronauts in orbit.

The US space agency's intention is to invite the private sector to provide it with space transport services, and a number of commercial ventures already have crew ships in development.

These are unlikely to be ready to fly for at least three or four years, however.

In the interim, Nasa will rely on the Russians to ferry its people to and from the International Space Station (ISS).

Despite the dark skies over Florida's Space Coast, large crowds came out to try to glimpse Atlantis as it made its historic return from orbit. Two thousand people were gathered at Kennedy's landing strip itself, but even in at the Johnson Space Center in Texas, where mission control is sited, they came in huge numbers.

The de-orbit track brought Atlantis across central Florida and the Titusville-Mims area before a hard bank to the left put the vehicle on a line to Runway 15 at Kennedy.

A remarkable view of Atlantis captured by astronauts on the space station. The shuttle’s plasma trail appears as a bean sprout against clouds and city lights.

Commander Ferguson, a veteran of two previous shuttle missions was at the controls, with his pilot Doug Hurley alongside him. Mission specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim were sitting directly behind on the flightdeck.

Their ship's rear wheels touched the ground at 0556 local time (0956 GMT; 1056 BST), and the vehicle was stationary under a minute later.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14220423

England riots: Prison population rising by 100 a day - Libiya Crisis

2011-09-24T14:02:00.000-07:00

The prison population is rising by more than 100 people a day as courts deal with cases of rioting and looting, Ministry of Justice figures show.

Jail numbers in England and Wales have increased to a record high of 86,654, beating last week's total of 85,931.

The Prison Governors Association warned jails would run out of space if they continued to fill up at the current rate but there was no immediate crisis.

The Prison Service said it was developingcontingency plans.

'Enough places'

A Prison Service spokesman said: "We are managing an unprecedented situation and all the staff involved should be commended for their dedication and hard work during this difficult time.

"We currently have enough prison places for those being remanded and sentenced to custody as a result of public disorder.

"We are developing contingencies to increase useable capacity should further pressure be placed on the prison estate."

The service said these contingencies included introducing new facilities early and reopening mothballed accommodation.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures are for the number of prisoners in jails, young offender institutions and immigration removal centres.

They do not include juveniles and children held in secure training centres and secure children's homes.

The increase means there has been a rise of 723 in the prison population in England and Wales over the past seven days.

The number of spare prison places is about 1,200 and there are also about 200 free spaces in immigration removal centres.

The MoJ said the "useable operational capacity" was 88,093. Two weeks ago the prison population in England and Wales was 85,523.

Prison Governors Association president Eoin McLennan-Murray said: "What is worrying is if the landscape of sentencing has changed.

"If the courts continue to be heavy-handed and use custody more readily than they have done previously then that would be problematic longer-term."

Howard League for Penal Reform campaigns director Andrew Neilson said the desire to send out a message was leading to "some very bad sentences which will be overturned on appeal".

A spokesman for the Law Society said justice should be administered promptly but also "effectively and fairly and with calm heads".

Shadow prisons minister Helen Goodman said: "I am becoming increasingly concerned about the level of capacity that we have remaining in the prison estate."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14583562

Anti-Gaddafi graffiti on the walls of Libya - Libiya Crisis

2011-09-24T13:59:00.000-07:00

During the four decades that Col Muammar Gaddafi ruled Libya, his official portraits were everywhere. Now that he has been overthrown, artists are revelling in their new-found freedom and turning this tradition on its head. Caricatures of the vilified leader have been painted on walls throughout the country.

Benghazi, the epicentre of the uprising that swept Libya, has become the hub for this new form of street art. Among the city's artists is 22-year-old Ibrahim Humaid, an engineering student, who started painting caricatures of Col Gaddafi while he was manning a checkpoint during the revolution.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-14883637