Singer Robert Palmer dies
Singer Robert Palmer has died of a heart attack in Paris aged 54.
The British star is best known for his hits Addicted to Love, Some Guys Have All the Luck and Didn't Mean to Turn You On.
He had been in the French capital on a two-day break with partner Mary Ambrose, after recording a TV appearance in the UK. (Palmer died in Paris while taking a break with his partner)
His manager said he suffered the heart attack in the early hours of Friday morning.
The Yorkshire-born singer had recently been on tour of Europe to promote his latest album Drive.
CJD drug gamble 'helps teenager'
Doctors believe a last-ditch attempt to save a 19-year-old with vCJD may have slowed the disease's progress.
Kidnap Briton returns home
A British backpacker who escaped armed kidnappers in the Colombian jungle flies back to the UK.
Londoner Matthew Scott, 19, who fled his captors by leaping from a cliff into a river and spent 12 days alone in the jungle, flew into London at about 1355 BST on Friday.
The legacy of the Hutton Inquiry By Andy Tighe
BBC home affairs correspondent So, after more than 22 days, 110 hours of evidence and 74 witnesses, what have we learned from the Hutton Inquiry?
Without doubt, it has offered an unusual insight into the inner workings of Whitehall.
From the prime minister downwards, some of the most powerful figures in the land have submitted themselves to interrogation by a battery of hand-picked, eagle-eyed lawyers......
For More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3138902.stm
New Lindh suspect remanded
Mr Mijailovic's lawyer said he denied involvement in the killing
A Swedish court has ruled that a new suspect in the Anna Lindh murder case can be held for two weeks while police gather more evidence.
Fourth Maldives prisoner dies
The death of another victim of the jail clashes that sparked last week's riots is announced after the president removes his police chief.
Suu Kyi to face 'house arrest'
Aung San Suu Kyi is to leave hospital on Friday and be placed under effective house arrest, her doctor says.
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Strong quake hits north Japan
The quake sparked a fire at an oil depot
A strong earthquake has struck the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido injuring over 230 people.
The quake, which hit at about 0450 local time on Friday (1950GMT Thursday), sparked a fire at an oil depot, shook buildings and derailed a train.
The main tremor was of force eight, making it the most powerful quake in the world this year, and was followed by two slightly smaller aftershocks.
However, experts said the damage was slight relative to its intensity, because it struck far offshore and was strongest in underpopulated areas.
As most people were asleep when the quake hit, almost all the injuries were caused by falling objects or broken glass in their homes, and so far only two people are said to be seriously hurt.
"Everything was falling over in the house," one man told NHK television. "Something hit my wife on the back."
One 70-year-old woman broke her leg as she tried to flee her house through a window.
The only death related to the quake came when a car hit a man sweeping up broken bottles in the street.
Tsunami alert
Many people were surprised at the strength of the tremor, which was centred 100 kilometres (60 miles) off the eastern coast of Hokkaido.
"We have small quakes here from time to time, but this was completely different," said Eri Takizawa, a local official In Kushiro.
"We felt it shake for a very long time," said Hiroaki Tanaka, a fire official in the town.
The earthquake prompted an automatic shutdown of the Tomato-Atsuma thermal power station in Atsuma and caused a blackout in nearby communities, Kyodo news agency reports.
A fire started at an oil storage depot in Tomakomai, but no one was injured and the fire was brought under control within three hours.
A local train carrying 39 people was derailed, but only one person was injured.
A number of roads were blocked by landslides, and Kushiro airport was temporarily closed after the ceiling of the control tower fell in.
The Japanese authorities have warned local residents to avoid coastal areas due to the possibility of tsunami.
The warning was later down-graded to an alert, a risk which could continue for several days.
Waves of up to 1.2 metres (four feet) were observed in some coastal cities, NHK television network reported.
Hokkaido is Japan's northernmost island, with a population of more than five million and is home to a nuclear reactor and active volcanoes.
The capital, Sapporo, hosted the Winter Olympics in 1972.
In January 1995, an earthquake struck the western city of Kobe, killing more than 6,000 people.
Most died of exposure or asphyxiation after being trapped under rubble.
Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries.
It lies across four slabs of rock, known as tectonic plates, which, when they rub against each other, cause earthquakes.
Experts believe Tokyo, which sits on a different fault line to Hokkaido, is overdue a strong earthquake.
Did you witness any aspect of the Hokkaido earthquake? Send us your comments using the form below. If you have any photos send them to [email protected]
Typhoon Choi-Wan - Latest News
updated 1600GMT 19 September next update 0900GMT 22 September
Choi-Wan's Track
Latest details:
Developing Typhoon Choi-Wan is currently forecast to affect Japan by 22 September. The storm was just south of Okinawa at 1500GMT on 19 September, with winds of 80mph and higher gusts. The outer rain bands and strong winds of Choi-Wan should arrive into Kyusu by Sunday 21 September.
On 19 September, the official forecast brought the centre of the storm and its damaging winds dangerously close to Tokyo. Fluctuations in the typhoon's intensity are expected over the coming days and meteorologists will be keeping a close eye on the storm as it nears land. Choi-Wan could match the intensity of Hurricane Isabel as it made landfall on the eastern seaboard of the USA on 18 September 2003.
For the latest information see the Joint Typhoon Warning Center or see the latest BBC World weather forecast which can be accessed through the homepage.
Historical Facts
In October 2002, Typhoon Higos hit Tokyo with wind gusting to 120mph, bringing down powerlines and damaging buildings. It was one of the most powerful typhoons to come near Tokyo in 50 years.
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上網搵唔到o個單球迷騷亂o既新聞 ... 不過有單好開心o既 就係十四年前發射o既 Galileo 太空探測器終於到達木星 ... 作最後一次任務
Galileo's dive to destruction
The Galileo space craft will finally end its 14-year mission to Jupiter and its moons on Sunday.
The probe has been instructed to destroy itself in the atmosphere of the gas-giant planet.
The impact has been timed for 1857 GMT. A last call from Galileo will be received on Earth about 52 minutes later - the time it takes for the radio signal to reach Earth at the speed of light.
The destruction of the space craft brings to an end one of the most successful voyages of planetary exploration ever.
The US space agency (Nasa) probe has returned a treasure trove of data on Jupiter since it was launched in 1989.
Dr Claudia Alexander, Galileo project manager at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, said: "It has been a fabulous mission for planetary science, and it is hard to see it come to an end.
"After traversing almost three billion miles and being our watchful eyes and ears around Jupiter, we're keeping our fingers crossed that, even in its final hour, Galileo will still give us new information about Jupiter's environment."
'Fantastic database'
Galileo's genesis was marked by several set-backs. Its launch from the space shuttle Atlantis was delayed by the Challenger disaster and there were several technical glitches along the way.
In the end, though, it surpassed all expectations, sending back remarkable images and data of Jupiter and its many moons, over the course of seven years.
"Galileo has provided a fantastic database that will be a rich source of progress in the planetary sciences for years or decades to come," said Fred Taylor, professor of physics at Oxford University, UK, who has worked on the mission for 30 years.
"The mission has provided key information about Jupiter and its place in the Solar System."
"The mission has provided key information about Jupiter and its place in the Solar System" ~ Prof Fred Taylor, Oxford University
Fiery end
The mission team decided last year that Galileo should end its days in a blaze of glory.
With the space craft almost out of fuel and power, Nasa does not want to risk it colliding with one of Jupiter's moons.
There is a slim chance that a microbe from Earth could have hitched a ride on the probe.
If it crashed into the Jovian moon Europa this could jeopardise future attempts to search for life there.
Before Galileo bows out, it will send back final data for a few hours on the stormy atmosphere around the largest planet in the Solar System.
The likelihood of getting anything back is unknown but, whatever happens, Galileo will sign off having revealed a completely new view of Jupiter and its mysterious moons.
GALILEO'S LEGACY
Spectacular findings about Jupiter and its moons
Images of giant volcanoes on the Jovian moon Io
Data on the icy worlds of Ganymede, Callisto and Europa
Evidence of salty oceans under the icy surface of the moon Europa
不過都有單好傷心o既新聞 ... Aids 'threatens African security'
Africa has more than 11 million Aids orphans
A senior UN official has warned that if more is not done to combat HIV/Aids then the security of African nations could be at stake, with the prospects of rising crime and more civil wars.
The comments of the UN Aids Programme director Michel Sidibe came at the opening of a major Aids conference in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
Thousands of doctors, politicians and Aids activists have gathered for what is seen as an important opportunity for Aids experts to exchange ideas about best practice in combating the epidemic.
Mr Sidibe, painted a picture of a looming social catastrophe, says the BBC's Ishbel Matheson, in Nairobi.
Eleven million children have lost one or both parents to HIV/Aids and many of those, Mr Sidibe said, would either end up on the streets or become child soldiers - thus fuelling wars on an already turbulent continent.
He also predicted that Africa's security services would not be able to cope with the increased threat because they too have been seriously weakened by the epidemic.
In some places four out of every 10 soldiers are infected with the virus.
Flicker of hope
A new United Nations report, released at the start of the conference, said the Aids epidemic is the biggest challenge to improving the lives of people in Africa.
Some 15 million people are believed to have died from Aids in Africa.
But the disease can be contained with the right programmes and resources, the report said.
"After two hard, painful decades of experience and accumulated knowledge - much of it gained in Africa - African governments and the international community are beginning to understand what is required."
The latest update gave praise to some countries on Sunday but warned others who were floundering in the face of the rampaging pandemic.
"They now need to apply this experience and knowledge more extensively. There are key gaps in most African national responses that deserve special attention as action against Aids in Africa is brought to scale."
The main headlines in the report are as follows:
~The biggest concern about HIV/Aids is in Southern Africa. In Botswana for example nearly 40% of the adult population is HIV positive.
~It sounds alarm for pregnant women in southern Africa.The World Health Organisation found that more than one in five tested at the end of 2002 had the Aids virus.
~The situation in East Africa is improving. The overall prevalence of HIV/Aids there "is slowly declining," the report said.
~Praise was also lavished on several countries in West Africa, which has the lowest prevalence rate of Africa's subregions.
New challenge
Despite this gloomy backdrop, the report - and Mr Sidibe - did see some positive signs.
There is growing awareness of the scale of the problem
There is more money than ever available for combating HIV/Aids and the price of anti-Aids drugs is dropping.
The challenge now is to make sure those gains help the people really in need: Africa's poor and destitute who find themselves at the sharp end of this disease, our corrspondent says.
The International Conference on Aids and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) is held every two years.
Drugs known as anti-retrovirals do not cure HIV - the virus which causes Aids - but they can delay its progress, giving sufferers the hope of a longer life.
At present, only a tiny number of Africans have access to the drugs, but recent changes in global trade rules mean the costs have fallen dramatically.
Kenya's health ministry this week launched a programme to supply subsidised anti-retrovirals to 6,000 people infected with HIV.
On Saturday, thousands of women took part in a 10-kilometre charity run through Nairobi to raise awareness about the role of women in caring for Aids sufferers.
Facts and figures on the impact of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa
"African governments and the international community are beginning to understand what is required" ~ UNAIDS report
CJD drug gamble 'helps teenager'
Kidnap Briton returns home
The legacy of the Hutton Inquiry By Andy Tighe
New Lindh suspect remanded
Fourth Maldives prisoner dies
Suu Kyi to face 'house arrest'
Strong quake hits north Japan
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Facts and figures on the impact of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa
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