SpicyTricks

Christine Lagarde warned a threat of global recession remained and called for coordinated policy action.
She said this should include the mandatory recapitalisation of European banks.
Ms Lagarde was speaking at a US Federal Reserve meeting at Jackson Hole, US.
"Developments this summer have indicated we are in a dangerous new phase," she said.
"The stakes are clear; we risk seeing the fragile recovery derailed - so we must act now."
Recession risk Following on from the financial crisis of 2008/09, growth in the US and Europe remains patchy, while debt worries in both continues to shake market confidence.
"The global economy continues to grow, yet not enough. Some of the main causes of the 2008 crisis have been addressed, yet not adequately," Ms Lagarde said.
"There remains a path to recovery, but we do not have the luxury of time."
She said the advanced economies which are struggling must ditch long-term plans for now to bring their debt under control, yet at the same time not introduce austerity measures so fast that it imperils recovery,
"Put simply, macroeconomic policies must support growth," Ms Lagarde said in her first major policy speech since taking the IMF reins in July.
"Monetary policy also should remain highly accommodative, as the risk of recession outweighs the risk of inflation," she added.

His spokesman said Sir Tom, 71, was suffering from severe dehydration, but denied earlier press reports of a heart scare.
He spent the night in hospital in Princess Grace Hospital in Monte Carlo, where he was said to be well.
The Welsh star's performance on Saturday in Monte Carlo was due to be the last of a three-month tour.
"Sir Tom was ordered by doctors not to perform in Monte Carlo yesterday evening, due to severe dehydration.
"This was extremely disappointing for Tom, the band and all connected with the tour," said the statement.
"There are no heart problems, as has been reported in the press."
Weight loss In an interview in June on BBC Radio 2's Chris Evans Breakfast Show Sir Tom told how he had lost 2st (12.7kg) after going to see a dietician.
He put his weight loss success down to cutting out alcohol for two months and eating healthy food.
The veteran performer talked about a busy summer schedule, performing at a number of festivals.
Born Thomas Jones Woodward on 7 June 1940 in Treforest in the south Wales valleys, Sir Tom began singing at an young age at family gatherings, weddings and his mother's Women's Guild meetings.
At the age of 16 he left school, working nights in a paper mill and became the leather-clad lead singer of Tommy Scott and the Senators but they failed to gain much success.
Then he was spotted by London-based manager Gordon Mills who recognised his potential, seeing his second single, It's Not Unusual, becoming a major hit.

Addressing the High Court in Kuala Lumpur, Mr Anwar denied
accusations that he had had sexual relations with a former male aide.


The 64-year-old called the allegations "a vile and desperate attempt at character assassination".


Mr Anwar faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted.


In defiant mood, Mr Anwar read for more than an hour from a
prepared text, as the defence began presenting its case in the
often-delayed trial.


The charge that he sodomised Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan was
"a blatant and vicious lie" orchestrated by his political enemies, he
told the court.


"This entire process is nothing but a conspiracy by Prime
Minister Najib Razak to send me into political oblivion by attempting
once again to put me behind bars," he said.


'Charade'
Mr Anwar was charged shortly after he led the opposition coalition to significant gains in the 2008 election.


His lawyers will call witnesses over the next few weeks, including the prime minister. The government has denied any conspiracy.


Mr Anwar's legal team wants to prove that this sodomy trial
is a "charade " to push him out of politics, says the BBC's Jennifer
Pak, who was at the court.


But that will not be easy, she adds.


The judge has already stated that the testimony by Mr Anwar's
accuser and key DNA evidence linking him to the crime are both
"credible" and "reliable".


Mr Anwar says this is a pre-judgement of his case and accuses the judge of denying him a fair trial.


That is why he has refused to testify on the stand, choosing
instead to read out a statement so that he cannot be cross-examined by
the prosecution, our correspondent says.


Mr Anwar was imprisoned on separate sex and corruption charges in 1998, and freed on appeal in 2004.


Sodomy is illegal in Malaysia, even among consenting adults.

Brent crude futures fell 2.9% to $105.5 a barrel, while US sweet, light crude fell 1.3% to $81.3 in trading in Asia.


Markets are hoping that an end to the conflict will see Libya's oil exports restored, increasing global supplies.


Libya is the world's 12th-largest oil exporter.


Analysts said prices were likely to fall further as the political situation in the country unfolds.


"As the world wakes up to the news, we will see more momentum
in the decline of oil prices," Jonathan Barratt of Commodity Broking
told the BBC.


Broader negative sentiment about the outlook for the global economy also weighed on the oil market.


The bearish tone, carried over from last week, also led to
modest losses on Asian stockmarkets and the price of gold hit yet
another record high.


Increased supplies?
Before the start of the conflict, Libya produced 1.6 million barrels a day of crude oil, or about 2% of the world's output.




Analysts say that if the conflict ends, production numbers are likely to rise again.


"Once they get back to recovery mode, a million barrels per
day are expected to enter the global supply," said Commodity Broking's
Mr Barratt.


"This will add weight to the decline in oil prices that we have seen recently." he added.


However, some analysts said that even though the Libyan
conflict seemed to be heading towards an end, there was still
uncertainty about how fast the country's oil production could be
restored to the pre-conflict levels.

Last Updated at 22 Aug 2011, 07:00 GMT


*Chart shows local time






"What we are seeing today is more of a psychological selling," he added.


Macroeconomic factors
Oil prices have also been hit by concerns that demand may be hurt by a slowdown in the global economy.


There have been growing concerns that the US may be slipping
back into a recession and that Europe's debt crisis will hurt growth in
the region.


"We can count on slower economic growth in US and Europe, and
that is going to impact demand for oil." Victor Shum of Purvin and
Gertz told the BBC.


Analysts said that, with two of the world's biggest economic zones struggling to boost growth, oil prices are likely to slide.


"Until the US and Europe can come up with a long-term
solution for sustainable growth, markets are likely to be subdued,"
Phillip Futures's Mr Sandhu said.


"In the long run, macroeconomic issues will play a huge role in determining which way the oil prices are headed," he added.


Japan threat
Worries about the weak recovery continued to scare investors away from riskier assets.


Asian stock markets fell in afternoon trading, with Hong
Kong's Hang Seng down 1.5% in late trading, while Tokyo's Nikkei ended
the day 1% lower.


Meanwhile haven investments continued to rise, with the price
of gold rising 2.3% to hit a record high yet again of $1,894.5 per troy
ounce.


The Japanese yen was close to its record level of 76.1 yen to the dollar set on Friday.


The country's finance minister Yoshihiko Noda reiterated the
government's readiness to intervene if the currency strengthened
further.


"We will watch markets even more closely than before to see whether there is any speculative activity," he said.


"We won't rule out any measures and will take decisive action when necessary."


The Swiss franc - another popular haven currency - held
steady at about 1.13 euros. The Swiss authorities intervened last week
to curtail the strength of their currency.

It has given South Koreans 72 hours to quit the resort at Mount Kumgang, which lies just inside North Korea.


Officials said they were legally disposing of South Korean
assets such as real estate, equipment and vehicles, considering them
abandoned.


Joint operations were suspended in 2008 after a South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier.


The announcement came via the North's state news agency that
as of Monday morning no materials or property could be taken from the
South side of the resort, and all personnel should leave within 72
hours.


"We consider that the South has completely given up all
rights on properties owned by South Korean companies and now start legal
disposal of them," KCNA said in a statement.


North Korea has been threatening to seize South Korean assets at Mount Kumgang for months.


It recently invited South Korean representatives for talks on
reopening the site, but both sides remain divided over how to deal with
the fatal shooting of a South Korean tourist who had strayed into a
military area, which led to the South suspending its activities there.



North Korea is keen to boost its economy, in the face of dwindling aid and reportedly severe food shortages inside the country.


Tens of thousands of tourists used to visit the Mount Kumgang
site every year, paying in dollars, providing a significant source of
hard currency for North Korea.

The 60-year-old's body was found in the city early on Saturday, with police believing he was the victim of a serious assault.




A 19-year-old man has been released on police bail after being arrested on suspicion of murder.




Two other people, a man of 25 and a woman of 23, from Newport, remain in custody, said police.




Gwent Police believe the man who died may have been hit by a
vehicle while lying in the road, in Broad Street in the Pill area of the
city.




A further four people, two men, aged 22 and 44, and two women, 18 and 46, are still being held over suspected driving offences.




They have been arrested on suspicion of causing death by
careless and inconsiderate driving and failure to report a road traffic
collision.




A spokeswoman said on Sunday: "We continue to appeal for
witnesses to the incident, which happened between 02:00 and 04:00 BST in
the Broad Street area of Pill. Please contact 101 with any
information."




Broad Street will continue to be closed to traffic while investigations continue.




The area has been cordoned off and house-to-house and forensic inquiries are being carried out.

Four of the so-called friendly-fire incidents resulted in
casualties, although none fatal, it was disclosed after a Freedom of
Information request.




Between January 2008 and June 2009, Afghan personnel came under friendly-fire by UK troops at least 10 times.




Also, 21 Afghan interpreters for UK forces have been killed since 2006.




British forces mistakenly firing at Afghan soldiers, police and security service officials, resulted in seven deaths.



Incidents investigated

The most serious incident, in the Lashkar Gah district of
Helmand in October 2008, saw three Afghan National Police officers
killed and one seriously injured when British troops opened fire on
them.




None of the extracts from official files, released by the
Ministry of Defence, record any UK personnel being killed or seriously
injured during the friendly-fire incidents.




These details were released by the military's Permanent Joint
Headquarters (PJHQ) based at Northwood in Middlesex, after the FoI
request by the Press Association.




PJHQ stressed that the information released was incomplete,
saying: "It includes only those events which were raised by the UK task
force as significant incidents and categorised correctly.




"It is entirely possible that the detail reported may
subsequently have been subject to change or clarification, or that
additional incidents will have occurred which have not been captured
here."




A Ministry of Defence said: "Any friendly-fire incident is
one too many and thankfully such events are isolated and extremely rare -
particularly as the vast majority of UK and Afghan forces operate
alongside each other on a daily basis and in many cases live and work
together.




"When such an incident is suspected to have taken place it is thoroughly investigated by commanders on the ground."



Interpreter deaths

Meanwhile, as the result of another FoI request, it has been
revealed that three Afghan interpreters have died and 19 been wounded in
the course of their duties for British forces this year.




British forces in Afghanistan employed 650 local interpreters in mid-July, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.




A spokesman added: "The death of any individual working in
the service of the country is a matter of deep regret and we are
grateful to those individuals and their families for their sacrifice.




"In the event of the death of an interpreter, a payment is
made to their next-of-kin in addition to any outstanding wages and
annual leave payment, which is also paid."

Organisers of the Janmashtami Festival, being staged near
Watford, say it is one of the largest festivals of its kind outside of
India.




The festival at Bhaktivedanta Manor is organised by 1,500 volunteers.




It will include dancing, music and drama performances, as well as 65,000 plates of free vegetarian food.




The festival will also see the launch of the not-for-profit
Ahimsa Dairy Foundation, which sells milk from cows who will be retired
when their milking days are over.




In the Hindu faith, Krishna was the guardian of cows.




Srutidharma Das, president of the Bhaktivedanta Manor Temple, said: "This is a festival of peace in what are troubled times.




"Krishna protected cows as sacred animals and we are delighted to be celebrating the cow at this year's festival."




The Bhaktivedanta Manor at Aldenham was donated to the Hare Krishna movement by George Harrison in 1973.

Flt Lt Jon Egging, 33, from Rutland, died when his Hawk T1
aircraft crashed near Bournemouth Airport after a display on Saturday
afternoon.




Witnesses described seeing his plane hit the ground in a field by the River Stour near the village of Throop.




Books of condolence are to be opened in Bournemouth later for public tributes.




Dorset Police said Flt Lt Egging, known as 'Eggman', was thrown from the aircraft and was pronounced dead at the scene.





Shortly before the crash, his wife, Dr Emma Egging, had watched him take part in a display at the Bournemouth Air Festival.




She said later: "Watching him today, I was the proudest I've ever been. I loved everything about him, and he will be missed."




Gp Capt Simon Blake, the commandant of the RAF Central Flying
School, said the Ministry of Defence had begun an investigation into
the cause of the crash and all Red Arrows Hawk T1 aircraft, based at RAF
Scampton in Lincolnshire, had been grounded as a standard safety
measure.




He said: "At this juncture it is too early to speculate as to the cause of the accident.




"In accordance with normal policy the Ministry of Defence has
appointed a service inquiry to investigate the circumstances
surrounding the accident and... have grounded the Hawk T1 temporarily
until its safety can be assured.




"As for the rest of the season it is too early to speculate
as to when the Red Arrows will be back on the public circuit but suffice
to say for the short term they will not be able to perform in public."



'Heard a crack'

The crash site was cordoned off by police soon after the
incident and only people living inside the zone were being allowed
access.




The Military Air Accident Investigation Branch has started an inquiry.




Flt Lt Egging's aircraft was one of nine Red Arrows planes to take part in the display over the seafront.





The RAF said he joined the team in the autumn of 2010 and flew on the right hand outside of the famous Diamond Nine formation.




Nicholas Gore, 22, was walking with a friend close to the river when he saw all nine Red Arrows overhead.




"There were quite a few people watching and we saw them go over but one seemed quite low," he said.




"They then disappeared behind trees and I heard a crack, not
an explosion, just a crack and we got further down and I saw the plane
with its red tail in the air and its nose in the river."




Another witness, who did not want to be named, said the plane
had skidded for several hundred metres along the riverbank after it
crashed.



Messages for family

Bournemouth Borough Council leader Peter Charon said he had
arranged for the authority to open two books of condolence on Sunday
"for people to express their sympathy and record memories".




"The mayor of Bournemouth and myself will be opening these
books... at Bournemouth Town Hall, recording our sympathies on behalf of
the town and the council respectively," he said.





The council said it would hand the books to Flt Lt Egging's
family, along with any donations given by members of the public for the
family's chosen charity.




In a statement, the borough council asked anyone wishing to
leave floral tributes to place them on the grass banks around the Town
Hall.




Bournemouth Air Festival organisers said the event would go ahead on Sunday, with other RAF displays among the attractions.




All nine Red Arrows display pilots are fast jet pilots from frontline Royal Air Force squadrons.




Flt Lt Egging joined the RAF in 2000 and served with IV(AC)
Squadron based at RAF Cottesmore, flying the Harrier GR9 in support of
coalition forces in Afghanistan.




The Red Arrows have used the dual control BAE Systems Hawk T1 aircraft since 1979.

The 48-year-old award-winning artist, who was invited last
year by David Cameron to create an artwork, reportedly installed it last
week.




The Sunday Telegraph said the sign was hanging outside the Terracotta Room, on the first floor of Downing Street.




Miss Emin is said to have donated the work to the Government Art Collection.




The artist's last neon entitled I Never Stopped Loving You,
which was installed on the seafront in Margate, sold for almost £59,000
when it went for auction in October.



Listed building

The Telegraph says the Terracotta Room is often used for
hospitality purposes and will be visible to those who climb Number 10's
main staircase - famous for its adjacent wall of pictures of former
prime ministers.





Rooms leading off of it include the White Room and a study used by Margaret Thatcher.




Emin, who won the Turner Prize with her unmade bed exhibit,
said in February, she said she would be installing the neon in a newer
room and on plastic, rather than screwed to the wall, as it was a listed
building.




She said the Downing Street piece would not feature any X-rated slogans, which have appeared in past works.




He neon light installations usually spell out heartfelt messages.




"It has to relate to different people on different levels
because of all the dignitaries and world leaders and religious groups
who go to Number 10," she said.

The Colombians became suspicious when they detected an
unregistered light aircraft, which had not filed a flight plan, leaving
for Central America.




They alerted their Honduran counterparts, and were able to follow it all the way to Honduras.




The Honduran air force boarded the craft and seized the drugs.




The Colombian Air Force said the new intelligence-sharing
deal, which came into force in July, helped them co-ordinate the
operation with their Honduran colleagues and allowed them to act
quickly.




The two forces carried out joint operations last month in an effort to "close the Caribbean airspace to drug traffickers".




Honduras is a main gateway for cocaine smuggled from Colombia.

The Pope has returned to an air base just outside Madrid
where he delivered a homily to a million-strong crowd on Saturday
evening.




After a scorching day, his speech was disrupted by a violent thunderstorm, which blew off his skullcap.




World Youth Day is a Catholic event which has drawn hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world.




Many of the young people camped at the Cuatro Vientos air
base overnight, and many had waited for hours in the open air to see him
for the prayer vigil on Saturday.




Madrid is in the middle of a heatwave and even though fire
engines doused the crowds with water, hundreds of fainting pilgrims were
treated by medics.




But the Pope's arrival coincided with a massive downpour and forced him to stop in the middle of a welcome address.




Sheltering under an umbrella, the 84-year-old commended the crowd for having faith "stronger than the rain".




There have been several protests against the cost of the
Pope's four-day visit, which comes at a time of high unemployment and
spending cuts.




The event's organisers say most costs will be met by the pilgrims themselves.




Protests have also been staged by gay men and lesbians
against his visit and the Catholic Church's opposition to same-sex
marriages.




The pontiff's four-day visit began on Thursday and his
engagements have included celebrating Mass with thousands of future
priests, meeting young nuns and taking part in a Way of the Cross
procession.




He has also met King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia, and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero.

In a speech on the last day of his visit, he reiterated that China's large holdings of dollar assets were safe.




His trip comes amid mounting tension between the two over America's debt.




Chinese officials have criticised the political row in the US
over raising its borrowing ceiling, and expressed concern over the
recent downgrade of the country's credit rating.




"You're safe," Mr Biden told university students in the
south-western town of Chengdua, in answer to a question about
Washington's ability to repay its debt.




"Please understand that no-one cares more about this than we do, since Americans own 87% of all our financial assets."




"We have an overarching interest in protecting the
investment, while the United States has never defaulted and never will
default."




China is the American government's biggest foreign creditor -
holding $1tn (£608bn) of US debt - and has called on the country to do
more to reduce its budget deficit.




Earlier this month, the US suffered a historic credit downgrade by rating agency Standard & Poor's.




Analysts say China is clearly worried about its holding, and
about criticism at home for having so much of the country's savings in
US investments.




In his Sunday's speech to , Mr Biden also called the rise of
China as a global power a positive development for the US and the world
as a whole.




And in a reference to human rights, he remarked that Beijing
should cherish an exchange between citizens, students and their
government.




Mr Biden's five-day visit was overshadowed by a brawl at an exhibition basketball game between a US and a Chinese team.

One demonstrator climbed the building, took down the Israeli flag and replaced it with an Egyptian flag.




Israel earlier expressed "regrets" over the incident on Thursday.




It happened on the Israeli-Egyptian border as Israeli troops
pursued suspected militants who had fired rockets into Israel, killing
eight.




In response, Israel has carried out a series of air strikes on targets in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 15 people.




Palestinian militants have fired more than 20 rockets into Israel since Thursday.




The Cairo-based Arab League is to hold a meeting on Sunday to discuss the crisis.




In the latest violence, a rocket killed one person and injured at least four in the Israeli city of Beersheba on Saturday.




Israeli sources identified it as a Grad rocket, adding that
two children were slightly injured when Grads hit another town, Ofakim.





Hamas militants confirmed they had fired Grad missiles at
Ofakim, in retaliation for Israeli attacks, AFP news agency reports.
There was no immediate comment on the Beersheba attack.






They demanded the immediate expulsion of the Israeli envoy from the country.




Military police stood outside the embassy, but did not intervene when one protester pulled down the Israeli flag.




The protests continued as Cairo was considering its ambassador from Israel.




Earlier on Saturday, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said
he "regrets" the deaths of police officers on the Sinai Peninsula.




Without confirming Israeli forces had killed the policemen,
Mr Barak said he had ordered a joint inquiry to be held with the
Egyptian army.




But the Egyptian government said Israel's response so far had not been enough.




The violence began on Thursday when gunmen attacked Israeli
civilian buses near the Red Sea resort of Eilat, killing eight people.




Egyptian officials say Israeli forces chased the suspected
militants across the border, and a number of people were killed -
including the policemen.




Tensions between Israel and Egypt have escalated sharply, the BBC's Yolande Knell reports from Jerusalem.




Their 30-year-old peace treaty was already being tested after
the long-time Egyptian leader, Hosni Mubarak, was forced from office
earlier this year, our correspondent says.




Under Mr Mubarak, ties between the two nations had been stable after a history of conflict.




But Mr Mubarak's removal has sparked fears among Israeli officials that a less amenable government could take charge in Cairo.




And correspondents say the Sinai desert region of Egypt has
become increasingly lawless since Mr Mubarak was ousted, with a rise in
militant activity inspired by al-Qaeda.

Reports tell of four loud explosions in Tripoli on Sunday morning.




Earlier Col Gaddafi spoke on state TV, where his son Saif al-Islam appeared, vowing to "resist... and win".




On Saturday rebels took Zlitan, 160km (100 miles) east of Tripoli, and Zawiya 30km to the west.




A rebel official said the uprising had begun in Tripoli.




However, pro-Gaddafi forces have been fighting back at the
oil port of Brega, with the rebels admitting that they had fallen back
from the eastern town's industrial zone under heavy bombardment.



Clerics 'call to rise up'

Four loud explosions were heard in Tripoli on Sunday morning following hours of sustained gunfire in the city.


Explosions could also be heard. The disturbances seemed to be
coming from pockets to the north and east of the city centre, and to
the south-west. A government spokesman blamed small groups of armed
gangs. He said pro-Gaddafi forces would be "victorious".



Our correspondent says that the overnight fighting is almost
certainly opponents of Colonel Gaddafi already in scattered parts of
Tripoli rising up against pro-Gaddafi forces, rather than rebel forces
advancing into the capital.




Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice-chairman of the rebel National
Transition Council (NTC), was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency:
"The zero hour has started. The rebels in Tripoli have risen up."




"There is co-ordination with the rebels in Tripoli. This was a pre-set plan," said Mr Ghoga.




But Col Gaddafi's Information Minister Moussa Ibrahim later put the trouble down to "small armed gangs".




"Tripoli is safe, and completely under the control of the
armed people committees and the volunteers and the honourable people of
Tripoli," the minister said.




"Some gunmen entered two or three areas of Tripoli. They were confronted and everything ended within half an hour."




In an audio broadcast shortly afterwards, Col Gaddafi congratulated his supporters for repelling the rebels.











"Those rats were attacked by the masses tonight and we eliminated them," he said.




"I know you are happy and I saw the fireworks in Green
Square, I know that there are air strikes but the fireworks were louder
than the air bombing."




His son, Saif al-Islam, ruled out any possibility of surrender.




"I see ourselves as victorious, I see our position is strong," he said in a speech on state TV.




He did, however, urge the rebels to open talks.




"If you want peace, we are ready," he said.




The Libyan leader certainly has support in Tripoli, our correspondent says.




Pro-Gaddafi men and women have received weapons training in recent weeks, while checkpoints have sprung up across the city.




A Tripoli resident told Reuters that Muslim clerics had called for people to rise up in parts of the Libyan capital.




The resident said the imams made the call as Muslims were
breaking their daytime fast during the holy month of Ramadan on Saturday
evening.




In his audio message, Col Gaddafi condemned "traitors" who were "defiling mosques" in the mainly Muslim country.



'Rebel momentum'

The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Zawiya says that rebel
forces are preparing to advance along the road to the capital on Sunday
after securing the town.




He says they advanced into the countryside on Saturday before pulling back to allow Nato to carry out air strikes.











Our correspondent says this rebel advance seems to have more momentum than previous ones and has more support from Nato forces.




They have also seized most of the town of Zlitan and are advancing from the south.




Nato, enforcing a UN-mandated no-fly zone to protect civilians since March, controls sea access to the Libyan capital.




However, rebel military spokesman Col Ahmed Bani confirmed that rebel forces had fallen back in the eastern oil port of Brega.




Brega, home to Libya's second-largest hydrocarbon complex and
where oil from the country's main fields is refined, has repeatedly
changed hands during the six-month-old conflict.




"Yesterday, the industrial zone was under our complete
control, but the truth is that today the situation has changed due to
heavy artillery shelling," Col Bani said on Saturday.




"We withdrew to the eastern part of the industrial zone."




Meanwhile, reports suggest fresh senior figures in the Gaddafi camp may have defected:

• Abdel Salam Jalloud, who helped Col Gaddafi come to power in
  1969 but fell out with him in the 1990s, is believed to be making his
  way to Europe from neighbouring Tunisia

• Libyan Oil Minister Omran Abukraa failed to return to Libya on
  Thursday after a visit to Italy and went to Tunisia instead, Tunisian
  sources said

Libya's conflict broke out in February, inspired by
uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt which toppled the presidents of those
countries.




Rebels in the east rapidly consolidated their gains, but a
stalemate developed in the west as rebels there faced overwhelming
military force.

Writing in the Observer, he warned that "muddle-headed analysis" of the riots may result in wrong policy responses.




Mr Blair also dismissed claims the UK was in the grip of a "moral decline".




In the Sunday Express, PM David Cameron pledged a fightback against the "bureaucratic nonsense and destructive culture" which led to current problems.



'No moral decline'

In rare comments on British politics since standing down as
prime minister in 2007, Mr Blair said the riots were "an absolutely
specific problem that requires a deeply specific solution" by
politicians.




He pointed to a group of people "outside the social
mainstream and who live in a culture at odds with any canons of proper
behaviour".




"Focus on the specific problem and we can begin on a proper solution," he wrote.




"Elevate this into a highfalutin wail about a Britain that
has lost its way morally and we will depress ourselves unnecessarily,
trash our own reputation abroad, and worst of all, miss the chance to
deal with the problem in the only way that will work."






He went on to say: "The key is to understand that they aren't
symptomatic of society at large. Failure to get this leads to a
completely muddle-headed analysis of what has gone wrong. Britain as a
whole is not in the grip of some general 'moral decline'.




"The truth is that many of these people are from families
that are profoundly dysfunctional, operating on completely different
terms from the rest of society, either middle class or poor.




"This is a phenomenon of the late 20th Century. You find it in virtually every developed nation."



Bulger case

He also said that, following the murder of two-year-old Jamie
Bulger in 1993, he had "made a case in very similar terms to the one
being heard today about moral breakdown in Britain.




"I now believe that speech was good politics but bad policy."




Mr Blair said that, in relation to the rioting and looting,
it was essential that the police felt they had the backing of the
government.




"The police need to know they have strong support. They need to feel it from politicians and public alike."




He also said that towards the end of his term in office he
realised that society needed an "intervention family by family, a reform
of criminal justice around anti-social behaviour, organised crime,
persistent offenders and gangs".




He said those ideas were not carried out after he left office.




Mr Blair said: "The agenda that came out of this was
conceived in my last years of office, but it had to be attempted against
a constant backdrop of opposition, left and right, on civil liberty
grounds and on the basis we were 'stigmatising' young people.




"After I'd left the agenda lost momentum. But the papers and the work are all there."



Police presence

But in the Sunday Express, Mr Cameron bemoans the culture that has led to the "twisting and misrepresenting of human rights".






"So though it won't be easy, though it will mean taking on
parts of the establishment, I am determined we get a grip on the
misrepresentation of human rights."




Mr Cameron said the government was looking at creating a
British Bill of Rights and would attempt to change the way the European
Court functions.




He said a planned scheme for National Citizen Service, a
non-military and voluntary scheme available for teenagers after they
finish their GCSE exams, would be expanded in the wake of the riots.




This would see youths involved in projects that benefit the community such as sports coaching or helping the elderly.




The prime minister also said that his commitment to tackling
the "greed and thuggery" seen during the riots and episodes of looting
would be backed up by "the full force of the law".




"We need a stronger police presence on the streets, deterring
crime and catching criminals instead of filling in forms or wasting
time on phoney targets," he said.

The First Air flight was travelling from Yellowknife to Resolute Bay, when it came down not far from its destination.




The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said 15 people had been on board the flight, including four crew members.




Canadian troops are currently in the area on operational exercises and were able to assist in the rescue effort.




The plane crashed shortly before 1300 local time (1800 GMT) on Saturday, local police said.




Witnesses said the plane crashed into a small hill near Resolute Bay's airport, according to the Associated Press news agency.




Police did not provide any details on the condition of the three survivors. The cause of the crash is being investigated.




On its website, First Air says it serves the cargo and travel needs of remote communities in Canada's Arctic.

Ucas head Mary Curnock-Cook said 13,000 students had been
placed in clearing, where they hoped to enter a course which still had
vacancies.


About 64,000 students were waiting to hear if their places had been confirmed.


She said the Ucas website received 644 hits per second on Thursday.


The unprecedented demand on the website prompted Ucas to take
down some parts of it, but Mrs Curnock-Cook said "critical systems were
100% available all the time".


These included the clearing vacancy search and the
application service for clearing which opened as expected at 18:00 BST
on Thursday.


The Ucas telephone helpline reopened at 09:00 BST.


Record applicants
Clearing is the system whereby those who fail to achieve the
necessary grades or did not get offered a place, can request one of the
remaining places.


However, there are fewer clearing places available this year as universities accept more applicants directly.


This year's university applications are the highest ever, at
682,000 (including international students), in the last year before many
UK universities raise tuition fees nearly threefold.


The number of applicants is about 1% higher than last year, Mrs Curnock-Cook said.


But the total number of places available is the same as last year.


Mrs Curnock-Cook said some students may need to consider reapplying next year.


"I think everyone knows that clearing places tend not to be
abundant for the very competitive and very selective courses, so the
places that are still be advertised - and we have 29,000 courses still
advertising vacancies - are a particular type of course.


"So, some students who have very good grades would be making the right decision if they decided to apply again next year."


A record 195,000 people - 10,000 more than this time last year - are eligible to compete for clearing places this year.


Record numbers - nearly 220,000 - would remain unplaced, she
said, although historically, nearly half of those either turn down
places or withdraw their applications.


Universities Minister David Willetts said students who failed
to get on courses could also look at the other options such as studying
part-time, with other organisations offering degrees, or by looking for
an apprenticeship.


He added: "You can also choose to reapply next year.


"Under our new reforms, graduates will have to make a greater
contribution towards the cost for their degree, but there will be more
generous financial support available while you study and fairer
repayment arrangements when you leave university."


Fee rise
From next year, universities in England will be charging
tuition fees of up to three times the present level of just over £3,000 a
year.


Welsh universities are also raising their fees to as much as
£9,000, although Welsh students will have the increase subsidised and
will pay little more than they do now, wherever they study in the UK.


Scottish students studying in Scotland pay no fees, but
Scottish universities plan to charge up to £9,000 a year for students
from other parts of the UK from 2012.


However, students studying there - and in Wales - from areas
of the EU outside of the UK will be treated the same as "local" students
and will not face the higher fees. This is because of European
legislation.


Northern Ireland's ministers have said there will be no major rise in fees in its universities in 2012.

Haroon Jahan, 21, and brothers Shahzad Ali, 30, and Abdul
Musavir, 31, died while protecting homes and businesses in the area on
10 August.


The man was arrested at his Smethwick home on Friday and police have been granted extra time to question him.


He is the eighth person to be arrested in connection with the murders.


Ian Beckford, 30, from Quinton; Joshua Donald, 26, of Kelsall
Croft, Ladywood; Adam King, 23, of no fixed address and a 17-year-old
who cannot be named for legal reasons, have already been charged with
murder.


Three other men aged 17, 23, and 32 have been arrested and bailed pending further inquiries.

The body of Darren Williams, 45, who was from Cwmbran, was discovered in Brynglas woods on Friday night.


He was being sought after shooting his ex-partner who works in Carol-Ann's salon in Malpas Road.


Two customers suffered minor injuries. Police are looking at CCTV to piece together events before the shooting.


Two of the injured women were taken to the Royal Gwent
Hospital in Newport where Mr Williams' ex-partner, who was shot in the
knee, remains in a stable condition.


Police had been hunting the man after the incident, at about 14:20 BST.


Supporting relatives



Officers later confirmed his body was found in Brynglas Woods in the city at about 20:15 BST, about a mile away.


Police said they were not treating the death as suspicious or looking for anyone in connection with it.


Family liaison officers from Gwent police are supporting relatives of those involved.


Supt Dave Johnson, local commander for Newport, paid tribute
to armed response officers, who searched for Mr Williams for more than
five hours.


'Shocked and upset'








He also thanked the member of the public who reported seeing his car at a canalside location close to the shooting.


He said: "We have family liaison officers working with
relatives involved in the shooting at Carol-Ann's hair salon yesterday,
and neighbourhood officers working with the community in that area,
where I know people have been shocked and upset.


"We understand those feelings and share them.


"We have a greatly increased police presence in Newport at the moment."


Shells found
Gwent Police said they had recovered the gun used in the attack as well as shell casings.


Two elderly customers were seen running from the salon with towels on their heads and screaming for help after the shooting.


A section of Malpas Road near the salon was cordoned off overnight but reopened on Saturday morning.



Kataru Reddy, who works at the Shell petrol station opposite the salon, heard the shooting.


He said Malpas Road north of the city centre was closed after
police vehicles arrived about 10 minutes later with a team which
included five police marksmen.


Anwar Ul Haq, 60, who lives above and works at Malpas
Convenience Store, two doors from Carol-Ann's Salon, said he heard about
three shots and a woman in her 50s ran into his shop asking for help.



'Frightened'
"Yesterday near about 2.20 we hear the noise of shooting...a
woman came out shouting 'help, help'...she went to another shop and
asked for help, in the mean time the police vans came," he said.


"That woman was frightened, scared, she was when she came out.


"The police said to go inside and close the doors. We didn't
go outside then as the police blocked the road and after four o'clock
the police said to us close the shops and so we closed the shop."


Labour councillor Paul Cockeram, who represents the Shaftsbury ward where the incident happened, said he was shocked.


"The shop is obliterated apparently. It's amazing nobody died.


Antisocial behaviour


"The salon is predominantly a more senior sort of
hairdresser's salon. There would have been a lot of elderly people in
there, I would have thought. They would have been extremely frightened.


"It's not an area known for violence - I just can't believe it.


"I don't have any problems with antisocial behaviour in the
ward - I know of areas where something like this is more likely to
happen."


The Gwent force have appealed for anyone with information
about the incident, and in particular relating to the shotgun, to
contact them by dialling 101 or via Crimestoppers.