World News joined 0011

[JohnCenaFan28]

Nigeria's main militant group says it has blown up a major oil pipeline owned by Shell in the oil-rich Niger Delta.



The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) said it had used explosives to attack a "major pipeline" in the Asari Toru region.

Mend declared "war" on Nigeria's oil industry last Sunday after a fierce military raid on one of its bases.

If confirmed, the latest attack would be the sixth since Mend launched what it has called Hurricane Barbarossa.

In the past week, militants have attacked gas plants, oil installations and pipelines in some of the worst violence for two years.

Shell, which has only confirmed the first two of the claimed attacks, said it was investigating the latest claim.

The oil giant also declared a force majeure - which frees it from contractual obligations - on crude oil shipments from its Niger Delta facilities.

Disrupt exports

Mend vowed to "continue to nibble every day at the oil infrastructure in Nigeria until the oil exports reach zero".

"The military and the government of Nigeria whose unprovoked attack on our position prompted this oil war are no match for a guerrilla insurgency of this kind," it said in a statement.

Groups such as Mend claim to be fighting for greater control over oil wealth in the impoverished Niger Delta, but they are accused of making money from criminal rackets and trade in stolen oil.

Critics say the militants are simply criminal gangs out to extort money from oil companies.

Nigeria's oil production has been cut by 20% because of unrest in the region over the past few years.

BBC NEws

[JohnCenaFan28]

A 93-year-old veteran of the Dunkirk evacuation has been reunited with war medals after they were recovered by scuba divers from the River Thames.



Charles Brown lost two rows of medals last Sunday as he boarded a boat during the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships cruise from Kingston to Weybridge.

Mr Brown said he was "emotional" about the medals which included an OBE, a Dunkirk and Normandy campaign medal.

Divers from Teddington Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) found them.

Scuba divers began their fingertip search near Kingston Bridge at about 1100 BST on Saturday.

Last week attempts to recover the medals with magnets proved unsuccessful.

Mr Brown lost the medals from the breast pocket of his jacket as he used his walking frame to board a boat near Kingston Bridge.

On hearing about the recovery Mr Brown, who is originally from Southwark in south London, came to the riverside from his care home in Woking, Surrey.

He said: "I do get a bit emotional because these medals meant so much to me. I wasn't a celebrity, a pop singer or a cricketer, these medals were what I was proud of.

"I'm not going to be celebrating with cream cakes or anything like that, just having the medals back is enough for me."

Poor visibility

Malcolm Miatt, operations manager at Teddington RNLI, said: "It was a fingertip search on a grid pattern. I wasn't sure that we'd find the medals because they have been down there all week.

RNLI's helmsman and experienced scuba diver Jean-Pierre Trenque, who led the dive, said: "It was quite dark but surprisingly we had probably half a metre visibility in there.

"I literally just went in the water, straight down the wall, we had good datum where the medals had been dropped and I didn't think they would have drifted too much."

Mr Brown, who joined the army as a volunteer in 1939, was a tank transporter and fought a rear guard defence at Dunkirk.

He was one of the last off the beach during the evacuation.

BBC News

[JohnCenaFan28]

A huge campaign of marches, vigils, speeches and art is being held in Argentina, aimed at ensuring that a retired builder is not forgotten.



Julio Lopez, 78, is a name that everyone in Argentina recognises.

He disappeared two years ago after appearing as a witness in a major human rights trial.

Mr Lopez has become a symbol in the fight for justice for the atrocities committed by Argentina's military government in the 1970s and 80s.

He was a victim twice over. He was kidnapped and tortured by the authorities working for the Argentine military which governed between 1976 and 1983.

Then two years ago, he gave evidence in the trial of police chief Miguel Etchecolatz.

But the day before the policeman was sentenced to life in prison for human rights atrocities, Mr Lopez disappeared.

Unlikely hero

His family and human rights activists believe he was taken by police officers or ex-police officers as a warning to others considering testifying in subsequent human rights trials against former members of the military government.

Mr Lopez has not been seen since, despite a massive campaign of marches, rallies, media coverage and appeals from his family and the president.

To mark the second anniversary of his disappearance, a fresh round of protests has been organised in Buenos Aires and in Mr Lopez's home city of La Plata.

A large silhouette of the former building worker is being unveiled on a wall in the capital, candles are being lit and thousands are marching from the Argentine Congress to the presidential palace.

The demand is simply that Mr Lopez be found alive.

The frail, quietly spoken man has become an unlikely hero in the continuing fight in Argentina to bring to justice those responsible for the tens of thousands of people kidnapped, tortured and killed during a period that become known as the Dirty War.

BBC News

[JohnCenaFan28]

The Mexican military have confiscated $26m (£14m) in cash believed to belong to the notorious Sinaloa drugs cartel, officials say.



It is thought to be Mexico's second-highest cash seizure ever.

A defence ministry spokesman said soldiers had found the money stuffed inside cardboard boxes at a house in Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa state.

They also confiscated more than 2kg(4lb) of marijuana and two guns with ammunition during a raid on the house.

Three people fled the scene and no-one has been arrested, officials say.

Transit route

Sinaloa state, in the north-west of the country, is part of a key transit route for drugs from Latin America into the US.

Defence ministry official Gen Luis Oliver said documents found in the house named a member of a gang allegedly led by an associate of fugitive Sinaloa cartel chief Joaquin Guzman.

Gen Oliver said the cash seizure was dwarfed only by one other in Mexico - when police seized $207m (£115m) in March 2007 linked to a drug-trafficking ring.

In the last two years, Mexican President Felipe Calderon has deployed more than 40,000 troops, along with federal police, in a crackdown on drug gangs in the country.

Despite a string of seizures of money, drugs and arms, increasing cartel violence has claimed more than 2,700 lives this year.

BBC News

[John]

Thanks for the news!

[JohnCenaFan28]

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has submitted his resignation letter to the country's President, Shimon Peres.

Mr Olmert may remain as interim prime minister for several weeks while his successor as leader of the Kadima Party tries to form a new government.

He is to be replaced by Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who has six weeks to gather a fresh coalition.

Mr Olmert announced he would step down in July after facing growing pressure over multiple corruption inquiries.

The BBC's Wyre Davies in Jerusalem says that forming a coalition will not be an easy task as Kadima does not have a majority in the Israeli parliament, known as the Knesset.

The same parties, particularly religious parties from the right, who joined the Olmert government will not necessarily support Ms Livni, our correspondent says.

It is a complicated process that may end in general elections at the start of next year, until when Ehud Olmert may remain as prime minister, our correspondent adds.

Corruption investigations

Ms Livni, who is regarded as a moderate, won the leadership of the governing Kadima party on Thursday, beating Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz by just 431 votes, or 1.1%.

According to the president's office, Ms Livni will have up to 42 days to attempt to form a coalition representing at least 61 of the Knesset's 120 seats from Israel's mosaic of political parties.

If she fails, the president may give another member of the Knesset up to 42 days to try to form a government.

If still no government is formed, the president may mandate yet another member to try, or call elections, which must then take place within 90 days.

Mr Olmert has faced growing pressure over multiple corruption investigations during his less than three years in office. He denies any wrongdoing in all cases.

Police have recommended he be indicted over two of the probes - allegations that he misused cash payments from a US businessman, and accusations that he double-billed government agencies for trips abroad.

BBC News

[JohnCenaFan28]

The inquest into the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes by police hunting a suicide bomber is due to begin.

The Brazilian electrician was shot at Stockwell Tube station in south London the day after the botched 21 July 2005 London suicide attacks.

A jury will hear from two officers who fired the fatal shots - the first time their accounts will have been heard.

Former High Court judge Sir Michael Wright has been appointed coroner for the hearing, set to last three months.

Sir Michael, assistant deputy coroner for Inner South London, will swear in the jury and deliver an opening statement.

Mr de Menezes was shot dead on 22 July 2005 by specially trained Metropolitan Police firearms officers.

Teams of undercover officers had trailed the 27-year-old across south London after he left flats being watched for one of the 21/7 bombing suspects.

In 2007, an Old Bailey jury found the Metropolitan Police guilty of breaching health and safety laws, after hearing about the events leading up to Mr de Menezes being shot seven times at close range on a tube carriage.

Key question

The inquest jury will consider whether or not Mr de Menezes was unlawfully killed.

They will hear from some 75 witnesses over three months, including 40 serving police officers who have been granted anonymity, and Tube passengers.

Among those who will be speaking for the first time will be policemen codenamed C2 and C12, the two specialist firearms officers who shot the Brazilian.

Some of the other officers giving evidence appeared at the Old Bailey trial, including surveillance officers accused of failing to establish whether or not the man they were following matched the description of suicide bomber Hussain Osman.

The proceedings are likely to be watched closely to see if they raise questions about the leadership of Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner.

The inquest is being held at John Major conference room at the Oval Cricket Ground because of the scale of the proceedings and level of public interest.

Relatives of Mr de Menezes, who have campaigned for police officers to be prosecuted, will hold a protest at the venue.

Mr de Menezes' mother, Maria, and brother Giovani, are expected to fly from Brazil to attend the later stages of the inquest, including evidence given by the two shooters.

There have been five inquiries relating to the death and its aftermath, including the criminal trial.

BBC News

[JohnCenaFan28]

Members of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) are preparing to vote for a new leader to replace outgoing Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.



The winner will become the country's third prime minister in two years - and is expected to call a general election almost immediately.

There are five candidates in the race, but former Foreign Minister Taro Aso is the favourite to win.

The LDP has governed Japan almost continuously since 1955.

But the main opposition Democratic Party (DPJ) made big gains in recent elections and controls the upper house of parliament.

The political deadlock caused by the opposition's popularity eventually forced Mr Fukuda to resign after less than a year in the job.

Economy worries

He had become prime minister after his predecessor, Shinzo Abe, abruptly resigned citing health reasons.

The BBC's Chris Hogg, in Tokyo, says the resignations have led critics to complain that the party is out of touch and lacks a proper mandate to govern.

The LDP's recent slump in popularity has led some to suggest that the party could be on the verge of losing power - an almost unthinkable prospect for most of the past 50 years.

Our correspondent says there is little doubt that the LDP will select Mr Aso as its leader.

Mr Aso pledged to a crowd of supporters in Tokyo that he would sort out Japan's economy.

"America is facing a financial crisis... we must not allow that to bring us down as well," he said.

The bad old days?

The 68-year-old veteran is promising greater public spending to try to stimulate the economy - particularly in rural areas, where the party is traditionally strong.

But one of his rivals for the leadership, Kaoru Yosano, accused him of risking Japan's long-term interests through wasteful spending.

Other colleagues fear higher spending could mark a return to the old profligate ways of the LDP, where expensive public works projects were used to try to create jobs, hollowing out the public finances.

Mr Aso, a brash straight-talker, is seen as an antidote to the reserved style of Mr Fukuda. If selected, Mr Aso would become Japan's first Catholic prime minister.

The other candidates include Yuriko Koike, who is seeking to be Japan's first female leader.

Former defence chief Shigeru Ishiba and young reformist Nobuteru Ishihara are also in the running.

A total of 527 LDP members can vote - 386 MPs and 141 members of regional chapters. Polling begins at 1400 (0500 GMT).

BBC News

[Black Widow]

AN anguished mum frantically dialled 999 to report her ex's threat to kill their young daughters — but it was too late.

Cops arrived at the man’s caravan home within minutes last night but found the girls, aged one and three, smothered inside.

A family friend today claimed 33-year-old David Cass phoned their mother to say “the children have gone to sleep forever” – before killing his two young daughters and committing suicide.

Cass is thought to have suffocated three-year-old Ellie and 14-month-old Isobel in the caravan parked at the garage where he had worked in Southampton.

He then went inside Paynes Road Car Sales garage and hanged himself.

Family friend Val Frasier said the children’s mother, Kerry Hughes, had called police after receiving the call from her former lover.

Cass, who had custody of the youngsters for the weekend, made the chilling threat, saying: “I can’t live without them.”

“She had a phone call from her boyfriend. He apparently said to her ‘the children have gone to sleep forever and I’m going to hang myself’,” Mrs Frasier said.

Miss Hughes’ best friend Emma Timberlake said told Miss Hughes he was going to kill himself on Friday.

And she added that he had offered her £250 to have sex with him one last time but she refused.

Cass had been an employee at Paynes Road Car Sales in Southampton, for the past four years, his boss, John Martin, said.

Mr Martin said Cass had seemed depressed over the last few weeks because of relationship problems with a woman, who lived in the Fair Oak area of Eastleigh, Hampshire.

He told reporters that Cass handed in his notice on Friday, adding: “He said to me he was going away and he had a plan. I said ’Don’t do anything stupid'.”

Police sources said the man had phoned the children's mum threatening to kill them before she dialled 999.

Officers launched an immediate search.

The bodies were found at 6.51 last night.

A source added: “It is an appalling tragedy. They (the children) were suffocated.”

A friend of Cass, Paul Timberlake, said he was stunned about what had happened.

“You would never have thought this of him,” he said. “He was such a nice bloke, he’d do anything for anyone and was very helpful and he absolutely loved his children.

“I saw him two weeks ago and he was fine but I know he was having wife trouble.

“I’ve spoken to my daughter who is friends with the mother and she told me that this was the first weekend he’d been allowed to have them (the children) since the split.

“Everyone is stunned and no-one can believe it.”

The garage, in the Shirley area of Southampton, was sealed off as police and forensics teams examined the scenes.

Horrified George Taylor, 55, who lives just yards from Paynes Road Car Sales, said: “It is just a sad world we live in. It is just terrible.”

A police spokesman said: “Officers attended the car sales garage where they discovered the bodies.

“They are not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths and are now tracing and informing next of kin.”

Late last night three bunches of flowers had been left at the garage entrance.

Post mortems are expected to be held today.

The weekend horror was the latest a tragic string of killings of children by their fathers.

Brian Philcox, 52, gassed himself, daughter Amy, seven, and three-year-old son Owen on Father’s Day this year.

In April 2007 Dafydd Field, 52, was found dead in his prison cell days after killing his son Jethro, six.


the sun

[Swinny]

Pathetic... just absolutely pathetic. There's just nothing else to say.