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[John]

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At least 25 people have been killed in a suicide car bombing in a town north of Baghdad, police say.



The blast targeted a police station in the commercial district of the mainly Shia town of Dujail.

At least 40 others were injured in the explosion, which happened around 1800 (1500 GMT), police said.

The attack comes a day after the outgoing US troop commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, said recent security gains were "not irreversible".

Violence in Iraq has declined steadily in recent months and is currently at a four-year low. But attacks attributed to Sunni militants have continued in some areas north of Baghdad.

Three weeks ago, 25 people were killed in Jalawla when a suicide bomber targeted a police recruiting centre.

Saddam attack

According to police, the blast in Dujail took place just before dusk, when many people were on the streets.

A suicide bomber drove a vehicle filled with explosives at a police station, security officials said. A nearby medical clinic was also reportedly damaged.

The casualties included both civilians and police, reports said.

Dujail, some 40 km (25 miles) north of the Iraqi capital, was the site of an assassination attempt against former leader Saddam Hussein in 1982.

He was executed in December 2006 after a court found him guilty of ordering the deaths of more than 140 Shias in response to the attack.

BBC News

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Executives at Lehman Brothers are racing to meet a deadline of Sunday night to find a new owner for the troubled bank, the BBC has learned.



The BBC's business editor Robert Peston says that Bank of America is the main candidate to buy Lehman but Barclays may also play a role in the rescue.

Bankers close to Lehman warned that failure to conclude a deal by then would be devastating for firm.

Investors sent Lehman shares tumbling again in New York trading.

"If a solution isn't found by the time Asia opens for business on Monday, well the consequences would be disastrous," a senior banker told the BBC.

Our correspondent says that the US Treasury is working assiduously behind the scenes to facilitate a takeover of the bank.

He says that Barclays is taking part in the negotiations to buy all or part of Lehman but a US solution, led by Bank of America, is still the most likely outcome.

Lehman's fund management business, which is in relatively good shape, may be sold separately, he adds.

Losses mount

Lehman announced the biggest loss in its history on Wednesday and investors remain unconvinced by the bank's plans to strengthen its finances.

Lehman shares fell 12% to $3.71 in trade in New York after falling around 40% on Thursday.

The company has lost 80% of its market value since Monday. Six months ago the stock was trading at $48.65.

The Financial Times reported that Bank of America is considering a joint bid for Lehman with with private equity firm JC Flowers and China Investment Co, the Chinese sovereign wealth fund.

Concerns over the fate of Lehman follow the bail-out on Sunday of mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The lenders were thrown into financial difficulty after the collapse of the US sub-prime mortgage market.

Our correspondent says that Wall Street has lost confidence in Lehman's capacity to survive as an independent entity.

But he questions whether any company would take the plunge and take over Lehman without some government support.

"The US Treasury may... have to provide some backstop underwriting for Lehman, so that an orderly resolution of Lehman's woes can be achieved," our correspondent says.

"When confidence in a bank erodes, it ebbs at first and then is gone in a great whoosh. Lehman will be lucky to end the day as independent bank."

White House spokesman Tony Fratto said the US Treasury "is closely monitoring the markets and they stay in contact with market participants"

BBC News

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A body found in a Tel Aviv river is that of missing four-year-old Rose Pizem, Israeli police have confirmed.



Flowers, candles and messages have already been placed on the site near where the tiny body was discovered in a suitcase by police on Thursday.

The hunt for Rose has been widely publicised across Israel.

Her grandfather, Ronny Ron, initially confessed that he had killed her, but later withdrew the statement, saying he had been coerced into making it.

Two divers retrieved a red suitcase that fitted the description given by the French-born girl's Israeli grandfather from the Yarkon river on Thursday.

Inside, police found human remains.

The remains were sent for identification, and on Friday police confirmed that they were those of the missing girl.

"Final confirmation of the DNA tests show that the body is that of Rose," said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.

"Samples were taken from both the mother and the father," he said.

Touching tributes

Near the scene of the discovery on Friday, touching tributes were being left to Rose.

One message, in what appeared to be a child's handwriting, said in French: "Rose, I love you, I miss you. God Bless you".

Nearby, flowers, chocolates and small dolls were laid out in memory of the girl.

Rose had been missing since May.

Ronny Ron, a 45-year-old taxi driver, lived near Tel Aviv with Rose's French-born mother Marie-Charlotte Renaud, 23.

Ms Renaud had previously been married to Mr Ron's son Benjamin Pizem, who is Rose's father.

Ms Renaud and her husband had travelled to Israel when Rose was very young in search of the father Mr Pizem had never met.

However, Ms Renaud and Mr Ron became lovers and she decided to stay in Israel with Mr Ron. Mr Pizem took Rose back to France.

A long custody battle ended with Rose moving to live with her mother and grandfather in Israel in 2007.

On Tuesday, a Tel Aviv court remanded Mr Ron and Ms Renaud in custody for 10 days.

Israeli media has published an emotional message, written by Ms Renaud and delivered by her lawyer, to be placed on her daughter's grave.

"I'm sorry, so sorry I couldn't understand you, understand your suffering. Sorry I couldn't hug you and tell you how much I love you," the message said.

"I'm sorry I couldn't show you the past few months how much I love you. You went away from me, you're my daughter, my child. You must know now how sorry I am and how much I love you."

Rose's maternal grandmother, Betty Sghaier, says she wants the little girl's remains to be flown to France.

"I want her body to be repatriated - she has no reason to be out there," she told AFP news agency.

BBC News

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Thailand's ruling party has abandoned its attempt to get embattled leader Samak Sundaravej reappointed as prime minister.



The People Power Party (PPP) had initially backed Mr Samak, who was stripped of office earlier this week.

But it became clear that coalition partners and some PPP lawmakers opposed the decision, and a planned vote to re-elect him could not go ahead.

The move could pave the way for an end to Thailand's political crisis.

Protesters have been demanding Mr Samak step down for weeks. They say he is a puppet for Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister who the military accused of corruption and ousted in 2006.

Mr Samak had vowed not to bow to the protesters' demands, but was eventually forced out earlier this week over an appearance in a TV cookery show that a court said breached the constitution.

'Done his best'

The PPP initially said it would renominate him as prime minister, but early on Friday the vote to re-elect him had to be abandoned because too few MPs turned up.

It became apparent that partners in the ruling coalition and some members of his own party opposed his nomination.

A spokesman later confirmed that Mr Samak was no longer trying to win back his job.

"Prime Minister Samak asked me to deliver the message that he has done his best as the party leader to preserve democracy," his personal secretary Theeraphol Noprampha told journalists.

"Now his role has come to an end, and everything is now up to the party," he said.

Parliament is now scheduled to vote on a new prime minister on Wednesday.

So far no clear front-runner has emerged and the protesters, who are occupying government buildings in Bangkok, say they will not accept another leader perceived as close to Mr Thaksin.

But the choice of a compromise candidate could persuade the demonstrators to abandon the protests that have paralysed the government and driven tourists away, analysts say.

The PPP is expected to hold talks with the five other parties that make up the ruling coalition in the next few days.

The BBC's Jonathan Head, in Bangkok, says that whoever gets the job will face the unenviable task of calming the fevered political temperature and helping the governing party overcome some formidable challenges.

Over the next few months it must face the possibility of being dissolved by the increasingly assertive courts over allegations of vote-buying in the last election.

BBC News

[John]

Thanks for the news!

[John]

Thank you for the news Eel!

[John]

KATE McCann has revealed entries from her diary today written as she and her husband Gerry struggled to cope with the disappearance of their daughter.
The moving extracts released in the News of the World expose a smear campaign against the McCann's by Portuguese cops to make them out cold and unmoved by Maddy's disappearance.
According to Kate carefully selected extracts of her diary were leaked to Portuguese press by the police to paint them in a bad light.
Dark thoughts, frustration at the police and the daily struggle of life in the spotlight and having to protect the rest of her family are all revealed in the heartfelt extracts written between April and July 2007.
The diary shows the depth of the heartache felt by Kate and Gerry as they searched for their daughter.

Normal

The notes start on the day of Maddy's disappearance and document a chillingly normal family evening.
Kate reveals how she gave her kids milk and biscuits before reading them a bedtime story on the night of her abduction.
She then goes on to say: "Kisses goodnight for M (Madeleine). Pulled the door to as far as possible without shutting it. Silence. Dry hair. Put make-up on. Glass of wine. Restaurant."
Hours later Maddie had been snatched and a frantic search was started.
The next day's entry is painful to read: "No sleep, Gerry and I started looking through the streets around 06.00 as it was starting to get light. Nobody around. Why not? Desperate.
"Nobody from the police introduced themselves. Nobody offered us a drink or food. All the police dressed informally and smoking. No sympathy was shown and far from inspiring.
"We left the police station around 7.30pm to 8pm.
"After 15 minutes we received a call from the PJ saying we had to go back but they didn’t tell us why.
We arrived—they showed us a photo of a girl they’d forgotten to show us from the close circuit TV footage. Not M. Devastating."
In the following days Kate talks about her desperation and fight to remain strong for her two other children, twins Sean and Amelie.
In the diary Kate also tells who phoned her to offer encouragement: "Cherie Blair (then the Premier’s wife) phoned to find out how we were.
"We talked about everything in general, including about them leaving Number 10.
She agreed as well to make a 20-second video clip for our broadcast on YouTube about Madeleine and children who have disappeared.
"I also had the chance to speak to Tony (then Prime Minister) who told me that we weren’t to hesitate to ask him if there was something he could do to help."
In her last entry on July 31 before her diary was taken by cops she said: 'My sweetheart, my darling, my love, my companion. I love you more than anything. I'm going to dream that I'm lying by your side - moments I'll always cherish and I long to have again.

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Source-Sun.com

Why cant the police just stop following them around? Its not them!

[John]

Two teenagers will be quizzed by police today about their role in the murder of a football-mad "gentle giant".

Oliver Kingonzila was the 26th teenager to be killed in London this year after he was stabbed to death in Croydon early Saturday.

The 19-year-old, known as Ollie to his friends and family, was knifed following a "fracas" outside E Bar in south London.

He was taken to a local hospital but was pronounced dead in the early hours of the morning.

Two 18-year-olds have been arrested in connection with his killing.

Family friend Dorothy Wadley described Oliver as "a gentle giant, a really lovely boy".

She said: "He had a huge grin on his face most of the time, it's just so sad this has happened.

"His family are devastated obviously. He'd only just celebrated his 19th birthday."

Mr Kingonzila's best friend was in the club with him on Friday evening.

The teenager, who didn't want to be named, said: "There was no reason for what happened last night.

"He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was unprovoked."

Det Chief Insp Damian Allain, leading the investigation, said: "We now know there was a fracas outside the E Bar involving three people one of whom is the deceased and we need to hear from anyone that saw that incident.

"It may be that one of them could also have been injured and may need hospital treatment.

"Either way they hold vital information to our ongoing investigation."

The two youths are being kept at separate police stations in south London, a Met spokesman said.

Source-Yahoo.com

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Scientists have uncovered evidence for an inbuilt "sat-nav" system in the brains of London taxi drivers.



They used magnetic scanners to explore the brain activity of taxi drivers as they navigated their way through a virtual simulation of London's streets.

Different brain regions were activated as they considered route options, spotted familiar landmarks or thought about their customers.

The research was presented at this week's BA Science Festival.

Earlier studies had shown that taxi drivers have a larger hippocampus - a region of the brain that plays an important role in navigation.

Their brains even "grow on the job" as they build up detailed information needed to find their way around London's labyrinth of streets - information famously referred to as "The Knowledge".

"We were keen to go beyond brain structure - and see what activity is going on inside the brains of taxi drivers while they are doing their job," said Dr Hugo Spiers from University College London.

The scientists used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to obtain "minute by minute" brain images from 20 taxi drivers as they delivered customers to destinations on "virtual jobs".

The scientists adapted the Playstation2 game "Getaway" to bring the streets of London into the scanner.

After the scan - and without prior warning - the drivers watched a replay of their performance and reported what they had been thinking at each stage.

"We tried to peel out the common thoughts that taxi drivers tend to have as they drive through the city, and then tie them down to a particular time and place," said Dr Spiers.

The series of scans revealed a complex choreography of brain activity as the taxi drivers responded to different scenarios.

The hippocampus was only active when the taxi drivers initially planned their route, or if they had to completely change their destination during the course of the journey.

The scientists saw activity in a different brain region when the drivers came across an unexpected situation - for example, a blocked-off junction.

Another part of the brain helped taxi drivers to track how close they were to the endpoint of their journey; like a metal detector, its activity increased when they were closer to their goal.

Changes also occurred in brain regions that are important in social behaviour.

Taxi driving is not just about navigation: "Drivers do obsess occasionally about what their customers are thinking," said Dr Spiers.

Animals use a number of different mechanisms to navigate - the Sun's polarized light rays, the Earth's magnetic fields and the position of the stars.

This research provides new information about the specific roles of areas within the brains of expert human navigators.

BBC News

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A Chinese firm accused of selling milk powder that has made babies unwell was warned in August over the safety of its product, its partner and co-owner says.



New Zealand-based dairy giant Fonterra said it had urged China's Sanlu Group to recall the tainted powder six weeks before Sanlu took adequate action.

The Fonterra farmers' co-operative owns a 43% stake in Sanlu.

More than 400 babies in China have been taken ill after using milk contaminated with the industrial chemical, melamine.

Melamine is used to make plastics and is banned from food. Ingesting it can lead to the development of kidney stones.

At least one child has reportedly died in China as a result of using the contaminated milk, which the firm recalled from sale on Thursday.

'Severe punishment'

In a statement released on Sunday, Fonterra said it had urged Sanlu's board to recall the milk powder as soon as it learnt of the contamination - on 2 August.

"From the day that we were advised of the product contamination issue in August, Fonterra called for a full public recall of all affected product and we have continued to push for this all along," the statement said.

Chinese officials have complained that they were only alerted last Monday of the dangers posed by the milk. They said Sanlu's customers had been complaining about the milk since March.

China's Health Minister, Gao Qiang, said on Saturday that Sanlu "should shoulder major responsibility for this".

He said those responsible for the contamination "would be dealt with severely". Nineteen arrests have so far been made over the scandal, Chinese authorities say.

Some of the tainted milk had been sent to Taiwan but none had been sold to other foreign markets, Mr Gao said.

Melamine has been used by Chinese suppliers of animal feed components to make them appear to have more protein.

It was linked to the formation of kidney stones and kidney failure in pets in the United States last year, leading to thousands of deaths and illnesses.

A fake milk powder scandal in 2004 killed at least 13 babies in China's eastern province of Anhui.

Investigators found that the milk given to these babies had no nutritional value, and the resulting scandal triggered widespread investigations into food safety.

BBC News

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Russia's foreign minister has said on a visit to the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia that Moscow's actions were the only way to guarantee security.



Sergei Lavrov was in the Abkhaz capital Sukhumi less than a week after Russia established diplomatic ties with both it and the South Ossetia region.

Only Russia and Nicaragua recognise the two regions as independent states.

Mr Lavrov also attacked Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer's stance on Moscow's conflict with Georgia.

Mr Scheffer is due to visit the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Monday for the first meeting of a new commission to assess the conflict and Georgia's Nato's membership prospects.

Mr Lavrov is expected in the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali on Monday.

Diplomatic challenge

The Russian foreign minister said Russia's actions were the only way to ensure Abkhazia's security as well as that of South Ossetia.

Russia has wasted little time in underlining its recognition of Abkhaz independence with Mr Lavrov's high-level visit, the BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse reports from Tbilisi.

Mr Lavrov threw down a challenge to the international community by saying that discussions on security in the Caucasus were impossible without the two breakaway regions, our correspondent adds.

This raises the prospect that Russia may insist on their participation in future talks including Georgia, the EU and US - all of which are fundamentally opposed to their secession from Georgia.

Speaking about Mr Scheffer, the Russian foreign minister accused him of making statements about Georgia which were "inappropriate for the leader of such a serious organisation [as Nato]".

The Nato secretary general has said the organisation stands by its aim of eventually admitting Georgia and Ukraine as members.

BBC News

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Emergency talks have been held up between Italy's government, investors and trade unions over attempts to save the airline Alitalia from collapse.



The government has been trying to broker a rescue package with investors, which would involve a sell-off of profitable parts of the airline.

A meeting originally convened for 1800 Italian time (1600GMT) has been pushed back to 2200 Italian time (2000 GMT).

If no deal is reached, Alitalia, could go into liquidation next week.

With the airline saying it is running out of money to buy aviation fuel, the government needs to persuade unions to back a deal that involves job cuts.

The only offer on the table is from Italian consortium CAI, which only wants Alitalia's profitable operations.

Unions have so far rejected this deal as it would mean major job losses.

The BBC's Frances Kennedy, in Rome, says informal discussions throughout the day were meant to iron out enough of the obstacles to get the parties back to the table for a final do or die negotiating marathon.

However the meeting at the Labour Ministry has been twice delayed.

This is a sign that the nine unions and the cartel of Italian investors wanting to buy part of Alitalia are still far apart on key issues, like job losses, salary cuts and industrial strategy, our correspondent says.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has pledged to do all he can to save Alitalia.

Securing the airline's future was one of his main election pledges before he returned to power in May.

Failed French takeover

Back in April, plans for Alitalia to be bought by Air France-KLM collapsed due to union opposition to planned job cuts.

Italy's civil aviation authority said on Saturday that Alitalia's operating licence was at risk due to the airline's admission that it was running out of funds to buy fuel.

Alitalia is currently being run by administrators after seeking bankruptcy protection on 29 August.

The Italian government owns a 49.9% stake in Alitalia, but it cannot simply pump public funds into the airline as there are strict European Union rules preventing state support for airlines.

BBC News

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The International Atomic Energy Agency says it has not resolved questions about a possible military dimension to Iran's nuclear programme.



In its latest report, the UN nuclear watchdog said it had failed to make meaningful progress in assessing Iran's past nuclear activities.

Iran was also continuing to enrich uranium in defiance of a UN Security Council resolution, it said.

The US said Iran could face further sanctions unless it changed course.

Iran says its nuclear programme is aimed solely at civilian atomic energy, but Western nations accuse Iran of seeking to develop a nuclear weapon.

'No credible assurances'

In its report, the IAEA said that Iran was failing to co-operate with its investigators.

In May, the UN watchdog said Tehran was withholding information about projects to develop a nuclear warhead, convert uranium and test high explosives.

It called for access to key sites, documents and officials so that investigators could assess Iran's position that its nuclear work was for peaceful purposes.

But, said the IAEA, no such access had been granted.

"Regrettably the agency has not been able to make any substantial progress on the alleged studies and other associated key remaining issues which remain of serious concern," the report said.

Without greater transparency from Iran, the IAEA would "not be able to provide credible assurances about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran", it added.

Iran says documentation on its alleged projects has been fabricated.

The IAEA also said that Iran was continuing to install new cascades of centrifuges to enrich uranium in defiance of a UN Security Council order.

Around 3,800 centrifuges were now in operation at Iran's enrichment plant in Natanz, an increase of 300 since May, the report said.

Responding to the report, the US said Iran could face more punitive measures.

"The Iranian regime's continued defiance only further isolates the Iranian people," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

Iran should suspend uranium enrichment or "face further implementation of the existing United Nations Security Council sanctions and the possibility of new sanctions", Reuters news agency quoted him as saying.

The report will be discussed by the IAEA's board of governors next week.

BBC News

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Pakistani troops have fired shots into the air to stop US troops crossing into the South Waziristan region of Pakistan, local officials say.



Reports say nine US helicopters landed on the Afghan side of the border and US troops then tried to cross the border.

South Waziristan is one of the main areas from which Islamist militants launch attacks into Afghanistan.

The incident comes amid growing anger in Pakistan over increasingly aggressive US attacks along the border.

The latest confrontation began at around midnight, local people say.

They say seven US helicopter gunships and two troop-carrying Chinook helicopters landed in the Afghan province of Paktika near the Zohba mountain range.

US troops from the Chinooks then tried to cross the border. As they did so, Pakistani paramilitary soldiers at a checkpoint opened fire into the air and the US troops decided not to continue forward, local Pakistani officials say.

Reports say the firing lasted for several hours. Local people evacuated their homes and tribesmen took up defensive positions in the mountains.

The incident happened close to the town of Angoor Adda, some 30km (20 miles) from Wana, the main town of South Waziristan.

A Pakistani military spokesman in Islamabad confirmed that there was firing but denied that Pakistani troops were involved.

Diplomatic fury

It emerged last week that US President George W Bush has in recent months authorised military raids against militants inside Pakistan without prior approval from Islamabad.

The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says there is a growing American conviction that Pakistan is either unwilling or unable to eliminate militant sanctuaries in its border area.

There have been a number of missile attacks aimed at militants in Pakistan territory in recent weeks.

Pakistan reacted with diplomatic fury when US helicopters landed troops in South Waziristan on 3 September. It was the first ground assault by US troops in Pakistan.

Locals in the Musa Nikeh area said American soldiers attacked a target with gunfire and bombs, and said women and children were among some 20 civilians who died in the attack.

In the latest incident, the tribesmen say they grabbed their guns and took up defensive positions after placing their women and children out of harm's way.

Pakistan's army has warned that the aggressive US policy will widen the insurgency by uniting the tribesmen with the Taleban.

Last week the army chief declared that Pakistan would defend the country's territorial integrity at all cost, although the prime minister has since said this would have to be through diplomatic channels rather than military retaliation.

BBC News

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Nato's secretary general has said he hopes for Georgia's "accelerated" integration with Nato, and condemned Russia's conduct in August's conflict.



However Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, speaking in Tbilisi at the first meeting of the Nato-Georgia Commission, did not say when Georgia might join the alliance.

And he emphasised that the country still had to make democratic progress.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili welcomed the visit as a "powerful signal" of solidarity.

"Your presence sends a... signal to the world that Georgia, together with its friends and allies, does not stand alone," Mr Saakashvili told Mr de Hoop Scheffer and the ambassadors of the 26 Nato countries gathered in Tbilisi.

"Russia's use of force was disproportionate and Russia must now comply with all elements of the six-point plan," Mr de Hoop Scheffer said, referring to the EU-brokered ceasefire deal that calls for all forces to withdraw to positions occupied before the conflict.

"At the same time, despite the difficult situation, we expect Georgia to firmly stay the course of democracy and reform," the Nato chief added.

Nato divisions

Earlier he said the post-conflict situation was "difficult to swallow", since Russia appeared intent on maintaining troops in Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

"If the Russians are staying in South Ossetia with so many forces, I do not consider this as a return to the status quo," he told the Financial Times.

Mr de Hoop Scheffer did not say whether Georgia would be given a Membership Action Plan - a roadmap for accession - when Nato meets for a summit in December.

Nato countries are divided, says the BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus.

While they are keen to offer Georgia fulsome support, he says, Nato rules say that ethnic disputes or external territorial disputes must be resolved before membership can be offered.

The conflict in the region began on 7 August when Georgia tried to retake South Ossetia by force after a series of lower-level clashes.

Russia launched a counter-attack and the Georgian troops were ejected from both South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Also on Monday, the EU announced 500m euros (£397m, $712m) in aid to help Georgia's recovery.

European Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said the funds would go to assisting internally displaced people, post-conflict rehabilitation and economic recovery, and towards new infrastructure.

In Brussels, European Union foreign ministers were set to clear the way for at least 200 ceasefire monitors to deploy to buffer zones around South Ossetia and Abkhazia, ahead of an expected Russian troop withdrawal by 10 October.

It is unclear whether the monitors will actually be allowed to enter the breakaway regions, which are full of Russian troops.

Russia has recognised the two regions' independence, and President Dmitry Medvedev said he would sign agreements this week formalising diplomatic relations and establishing military links.

Moscow has already announced that it intends to base 3,800 troops in each of the two regions.

BBC News