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Welcome to Newslip. Today is Sunday, 26th July 2009. I'm Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week's news.

David Beckham got involved in an ugly confrontation with fans at his first home game for the Los Angeles Galaxy after returning from Italy. The former England captain attempted to jump over a barrier as he left the field at half-time into a section of the crowd that had been jeering him. He was held back by security staff, members of whom were also needed to restrain an angry fan who left his seat and rushed towards the footballer. The 34-year-old explained afterwards in comments broadcast on Sky Sports News: "I tried to shake one of the guy's hands but he didn't want any of it. That's the way it is." Beckham received a less than friendly welcome at his first home game after returning from a five-month loan spell at AC Milan - the team the Galaxy faced. Earlier this year, Beckham indicated he wanted to stay in Milan rather than return to America, stating that the standard of play was far higher in Italy.

36 children and four adults have been rescued from the sea at Tenby in Pembrokeshire. Lifeguards who rescued them after a sandbank they were on collapsed into the sea say the group could have drowned. All of the youngsters, from Brynaman, Carmarthenshire, are safe and well, but they said it had been "very scary". Two of the group who were on an activity holiday at a nearby caravan park were taken to hospital at Haverfordwest after the dramatic rescue. Jon Johnstone, lifeguard, said: "It was at low tide. The tide was turning, which is the strongest current on the beach. It's only soft sand around here, so basically the sand beneath them all just shifted with the tide which caused a rip current which was dragging them back out to sea.” The lifeguards were straight out to rescue the stranded fully-clothed swimmers and cleverly relayed them all to shore safely, providing immediate first aid prior to the arrival of ambulance teams.

A Russian warship preparing for a holiday celebration accidentally fired a dummy artillery shell into the courtyard of an apartment building in Vladivostok, a port city on Russia's Pacific Ocean coast close to China and Japan on Friday. Nobody was hurt but the shell's impact broke windows and left a small crater outside the nine-storey apartment building. "There were no explosives in the dummy shell," said Roman Martov, a spokesman for Russia's Vladivostok-based Pacific Fleet. He added, “"The reasons why the rocket-assisted projectile flew a greater distance than it had been assigned are unknown," The warship that fired the shell was taking part in rehearsals for Sunday's planned celebrations of the annual Navy Day holiday, which traditionally include a ceremonial procession of warships and mock naval battles.

The United States has urged Syria to co-operate with a peace plan for the Middle East. Speaking after talks in Damascus, Barack Obama's envoy George Mitchell said discussions with Syria's president had been "candid and positive". Mr Mitchell said he had told Syrian President Bashar Assad that Barack Obama was "determined to facilitate a truly comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace". Damascus is a major player in the region, because of its support for the Palestinian militant group Hamas, its backing for Hezbollah in Lebanon, and its close links with Iran. The move brings an end to Syria’s pariah status as it was under the Bush administration. Presently, US-Israeli relations are unusually strained and the diplomat flew on to Israel to try to revive Israeli-Palestinian talks.

England cricket team are 1-0 up in the Ashes series against Australia after chalking up their first win at Lords over their fiercest rivals, for 75 years. They wrapped up the second test before lunch on the final day, to win by 115 runs. Andrew Flintoff was the hero of the hour. Battling against injury he took 3 wickets out of an innings total of five, just the target required to take England into a series lead. The news wasn’t all good for England this week as Kevin Pietersen was ruled out of the remainder of the Ashes after having surgery on an ongoing Achilles’ heel injury. The Third Test begins on Thursday and Australia will be battling against the odds if they do not wish to return home in disgrace, without the hallowed Ashes trophy.

The BBC’s Newsnight program made a freedom of information request to local authorities across the UK about the CCTV cameras they operate. One of the most dramatic revelations is that both the Shetland Islands Council and Corby Borough Council - among the smallest local authorities in the UK - have more CCTV cameras than the San Francisco Police Department. The borough of Wandsworth has the highest number of CCTV cameras in London, with just under four cameras per 1,000 people. Its total number of cameras - 1,113 - is more than the police departments of Boston [USA], Johannesburg and Dublin City Council combined. Although experts estimate the total number of cameras in the country at about 3.5 million which is about a million fewer than previously believed, The statistics confirm the British as the most watched nation on earth. There are that many cameras in this country that it is actually impossible to count them all.

German tourists can now reserve their poolside recliners before they have even left home. The German arm of Thomas Cook, Europe's second largest travel company, has been deluged with inquiries since announcing that holidaymakers at nine hotels in Turkey, Egypt and the Canary Islands can book recliners in advance for a fee. Germans are famous around Europe for rising early to reserve recliners near the pool with their towels, and then going back to bed or eating a lengthy breakfast. The offer is only applicable to applicants booking from within Germany.

Thousands of Chinese steel workers rioted at news of a takeover deal, beating one manager to death, a Hong Kong human rights group has said. About 100 people were hurt in violence in the north-eastern city of Tonghua after workers heard that Jianlong Steel would buy a majority share. They were reportedly frustrated at financial problems during Jianlong Steel's temporary control last year. Jianlong general manager Chen Guojun was beaten to death, the group said. The Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said 30,000 steel workers clashed with riot police on Friday in the north-east province of Jilin. The South China Morning Post quoted a police officer as saying the workers would not allow emergency medical staff to enter the building to help Mr Chen.

Firefighters in several parts of the Mediterranean are still fighting wildfires which began days ago and have left eight dead. Thousands of acres of woodland in Spain, France, Greece and Sardinia were destroyed by fires fuelled by high temperatures and strong winds. In Spain, where six firefighters died, two major fires were still burning, but seven were under control, reports said. Arsonists are suspected to be behind many of the blazes and there have been widespread arrests. Temperatures in southern Europe are expected to remain very high and firefighters are watching for new outbreaks.

And this week’s top story…

Liverpool captain and England midfielder, Steven Gerrard, has been cleared of charges of affray after a lengthy court case at Liverpool Crown Court. Liverpool crown court heard that Marcus McGee, 34, was punched in the face by the footballer in a brawl at a bar in Southport last December. Gerrard admitted hitting McGee three times but denied affray, saying he had been acting in self-defence as he thought the other man was about to strike him. During the court case, CCTV evidence from the bar was used to show the incident. Gerrard welled up with tears whilst hearing Liverpool legend, Kenny Dalgleish’s character reference. He described him as "quiet" and "very private". Despite his wealth, Dalgleish said, Gerrard had "never forgotten his roots"."He is a very respectful man who has always behaved to senior players in a respectful way," Dalgleish said. "He is a very humble man." Gerrard left the court to cries of ‘Rocky’ and told reporters how he was glad it was all over and how he wanted to focus on the forthcoming football season.

That's all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again soon. Goodbye.

Welcome to Newslip. Today's date is Sunday, 19th July 2009. I'm Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week's news.

British backpacker Jamie Neale who was travelling around Australia on a gap year, got lost in the Australian Bush and had a twelve day ordeal in which his survival skills were tested to the limit. He had to strip bark from trees to use as a makeshift mattress to protect against the night-time cold. He dried his damp clothes in the fierce daytime sun and kept close to creeks to be near a fresh water supply. Luckily, though he believed rescue teams had given up their search, Mr Neale was eventually recovered. Mr Neale told police it was "vastly different hiking in the UK than it is bush walking in the Australian bush." Doctors ruled he was healthy enough to be discharged and he walked out of the Blue Mountains Hospital accompanied by his father and newly hired agent. He then threw a party for his rescuers with some of the earnings, reputed to be between £50,000 and £100,000, which he made by selling his story to the Australian media.

First World War veteran Henry Allingham – who last month officially became the world's oldest man – has died at the age of 113. Mr Allingham died in his sleep at 3.10am on Saturday at his care home near Brighton. He had lived a full life, experiencing the rule of six monarchs and saw three different centuries. He was the last surviving founder member of the RAF and had volunteered for service in the first world war. There are two remaining British servicemen who saw action in that war. When receiving official recognition as the world’s oldest man by the Guiness Book of Records, Mr Allingham jokingly attributed his longevity to "cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women". Right up until the end of his life he had been active and was well known in local schools where he gave many speeches about World War I. A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said: "The Queen was saddened to hear of the death of Henry Allingham.

The United States and Colombia are poised to sign an agreement to transfer anti-drug flight operations from Ecuador to at least three Colombian air bases, a move that has drawn criticism in Bogota that it will leave the country even more dependent on Washington. Colombia annually receives more than $500 million in mostly military aid under Plan Colombia, the U.S. program to combat terrorism and drugs. Since 1999, the U.S. aircraft based in Manta, Ecuador, have flown an average 800 missions a year and assisted in nearly two-thirds of all cocaine seizures in the Pacific. The Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa declined to extend the U.S. lease at Manta beyond this year. Colombia is by far the strongest ally of the USA in the region with most other governments leaning too much to the left. There is fear in Washington that in setting up the main base of operations in wartorn Colombia, they may become easy targets for the FARC, who are opposed to imperialism in Colombia.

A 16-year-old girl from Wales who made history when she had a donor heart grafted onto her own as a baby has made a full recovery. Doctors say Hannah Clark's own heart is now in perfect working order three-and-a-half years after her "piggy-back" donor heart was removed. The donor heart had taken over the bulk of blood pumping duties in her body but due to the massive amount of immunosuppressant drugs she was taking to prevent rejection of the donor organ, it was decided that it was time to remove the donor heart. Hannah, from Mountain Ash in Rhondda Cynon Taf, has recovered well say her surgeons Sir Magdi and Mr Victor Tsang. Hannah said she felt lucky to be alive. "I would not have been here today if it wasn't for the donor and the surgeons who did my operation. I'm really grateful.”

Riot police raided a 30th birthday barbecue in a Devon because they thought the organiser, who had invited his friends via Facebook, was staging a rave. Coach driver, Andrew Poole, had invited 17 guests to an 'event' on his social networking page by private invitation and was about to light the barbecue when the gazebo suddenly started flapping wildly and the sound of chopper blades filled the air. A police helicopter circled the field several times before four police cars and a riot van stormed into the field in a small village near Sowton, Devon. Eight officers wearing camouflage trousers and body armour then jumped out and ordered the party to be shut down or everyone would be arrested. Andrew said 'I told them it was my 30th birthday. I said "this is a once in a lifetime event for me, please don't ruin it". But they kept on insisting I had been advertising it as an all-night rave on the internet. Apparently illegal raves had been causing disturbances in the area. It is nice to know that police resources are being spent appropriately and that they are monitoring potentially disruptive social gatherings on social networks.

An Iranian passenger aircraft flying from Tehran to Yerevan in Armenia crashed with the loss of all 168 passengers and crew on board. Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation said it was looking into the causes of the incident without giving any indication of possible mechanical problems. There were no reports of sabotage. The aircraft was a Russian-built Tupolev, which belonged to the semi-private Caspian Airlines. It took off at 11.33am local time on Wednesday from Imam Khomeini airport and crashed 16 minutes later. Iran's national youth judo team, which had been set to take part in the World Cup next month in Hungary, was on board along with tens of Iranian Armenians, the religious minority. Ilna, a semi-official news agency, quoted witnesses as saying that the tail of the aircraft was on fire before the crash happened, indicating that technical reasons could have caused the disaster.

The interim government in Honduras has reimposed a night-time curfew after accusing opponents of seeking to provoke disturbances. Supporters of the ousted President, Manuel Zelaya, had earlier said they would call strikes and block roads. Mr Zelaya, who is recognised internationally, says his backers have "the right to insurrection". Roberto Micheletti took over at the head of a military-backed interim Honduran government after Mr Zelaya was bundled out of the country on 28 June. Micheletti said he was willing to step down, but only if Mr Zelaya did not return. Costa Rican President Oscar Arias is the chief mediator between the rival factions and is a Nobel Prize laureate.

Jemaah Islamiyah, a Southeast Asian militant group inspired by Al-Qaeda, stands accused of suicide bombings in the Indonesian capital where it has mounted a string of attacks in recent years. JI's ultimate goal is to unite Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and the southern Philippines into a fundamentalist Islamic state, using terrorist attacks to destabilise governments across Southeast Asia. In its latest handiwork, two suicide bombers posed as guests before detonating powerful devices in crowded public areas at the JW Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton hotels in an upmarket business district of Jakarta. The blasts killed at least eight people and wounded more than 50 — and broke a four-year lull in terrorism in the world's most populous Muslim nation.

A man found naked at a casino claimed he was a Terminator sent from the future. 19-year-old Sean Stanley Smith was arrested on the Nevada border after he was spotted by a motorist wandering around the highway nude. He was ordered by police to stop but proceeded into a nearby casino - where he was then tasered in front of a group of children. Smith claims he was a Terminator sent back in time from the future - a reference to the film character made popular by Arnold Schwarznegger in the sci-fi franchise. The films usually start with a naked man being transported to the past. However, it turned out that Smith was not a time-travelling Terminator but was in fact suffering from the effects of LSD and marijuana. He was charged with indecent exposure and resisting a police officer.

And this week's top story...

Dozens of British schoolchildren and teachers were in quarantine in a hotel in Beijing on Saturday night after four of their group were struck down with swine flu. Three of the infected four, who are aged 14 to 15, were found to have high temperatures when they arrived in the Chinese capital earlier in the week. They were taken direct from the airport to the Ditan Infectious Diseases Hospital where it was confirmed they had swine flu. A fourth classmate fell ill later in the week. The four remain at the hospital, where they have been described as "comfortable and making a speedy recovery". On Wednesday, following the diagnosis, 52 other members of their group who had been in contact with the children were told to gather at the four star Yanxiang Hotel, where they were placed in quarantine. The party is mostly made up of 14-year-olds from schools across England on a visit organised by the Confucius Institute, which promotes Chinese language and culture.

That's all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again next week. Goodbye.

Welcome to Newslip. Today is Sunday, 12th July 2009. I'm Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week's news...

The News of the World paper has apparently been employing private detectives to hack into and monitor the mobile phones of many celebrities. Among the targeted were John Prescott, Max Clifford, Tessa Jowell and Gordon Taylor, Chief Executive of the PFA. It is believed that in order not to expose the methods used, the parent company of the newspaper, News Group Newspapers, has made three bumper out of court settlement payments exceeding £1 million. Apparently the police were well aware of who was being monitored by the newspaper yet failed to inform the victims of the breach of their privacy or prosecuting anyone, leading John Prescott to question the police’s actions. The story was revealed in the Guardian newspaper based on information from police sources.

President Obama returned to the continent of his ancestors for a presidential visit Saturday, praising Africa's democratic successes but also challenging leaders to fight corruption and violence. In Accra, addressing the Ghanaian Parliament he said that history would favour leaders who "respect the will of their own people, like those who have opposed violence in Kenya and promoted free elections in Ghana, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Rather than visiting his father's home of Kenya, which saw intense postelection violence, Obama decided to visit Ghana -- saying he wanted to draw attention to the country's history of free elections and peaceful transfer of power between opposition parties. After a sombre tour of a former slave market, Obama concluded a weeklong foreign trip with a promise that he will make Africa a central part of his approach to foreign policy.

A science teacher at All Saints’ Roman Catholic School in Mansfield has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to murder a pupil in front of a packed class. Peter Harvey - affectionately dubbed "The Nutty Professor" - allegedly used a heavy metal weight to attack 14-year-old Jack Waterhouse, leaving him fighting for life. Apparently Mr Harvey lost his cool after a girl swore at him. When Jack tried intervening in the dispute the violent incident erupted. As Jack lay with blood pouring from his wounds, a boy and girl - both also 14 - reportedly dragged Harvey from his victim and restrained him. The teacher was apparently off work with stress earlier this year and although known as an eccentric, has no history of violence. Internet sites were set up in support of both pupil and teacher.

Michael Jackson's family have held a private funeral ceremony for the deceased pop singer in Los Angeles. Nearby, thousands of fans gathered to say their goodbyes to the pop star at a star-studded memorial service held at the Staples Center. It is uncertain what will happen to the body… A hearse removed the gold coffin containing the star but didn’t go to the cemetery… It is thought that the family are trying to arrange for Michael to be buried at Neverland. Jackson’s sister La Toya has been busy talking up her theories to the press. She says that Michael was murdered for his money. His father has been busy using the event’s publicity to promote his own music company. Sales of Michael Jackson albums are doublie the normal weekly amounts. Compilation Number Ones was the best-selling album followed by 1982 album Thriller.

A man has been jailed for life for murdering a father-of-two and trying to kill his 14-year-old son who were going to watch an Everton football match. Former Army corporal Graham McKenna, 45, was stabbed to death near his home in Wirral, Merseyside. His son Michael was stabbed but survived. At Liverpool Crown Court Gary Finlay, 46, pleaded guilty to the murder and attempted murder in January. He was sentenced this week to a minimum of twenty-five years in jail. Finlay was angry after his marriage to Mr McKenna’s wife sister broke down and after losing access to his children in a custody battle in which his inlaws gave evidence, he had vowed revenge. After the incident he went on the run and police launched a massive manhunt which lasted six weeks.

The fourth anniversary of the July 7th London bombings passed with a memorial service held in Hyde Park to commemorate the 52 victims of the suicide bombers who attacked the London Underground and a bus. Prince Charles paid tribute to the families who had lost loved ones saying that their bravery "offered us hope for the future". The victims' relatives at the unveiling said the permanent memorial, between the park's Lover's Walk and Park Lane, was a "fitting tribute". The launch of this memorial was attended by many major politicians and also members of the emergency services who were forced to deal with the crisis on that terrible day. The lives of London commuters has forever been scarred by the incident.

The number of British dead in Afghanistan has exceeded the amount killed during the second Gulf War after a particularly brutal period for the armed forces in which, during ten days, fifteen soldiers were killed. UK troops have spent recent weeks on an offensive - codenamed Panther's Claw – in order to ensure security ahead of the forthcoming Afghanistan elections. The extra deaths have been blamed on the use of improvised roadside bombs which are responsible for most of the casualties. Commanders spend a lot of time asking for more troops and better supplies and their voices are often overlooked by politicians. Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth rejected claims UK troops in Afghanistan are ill-equipped, saying more helicopters could not remove risk. Prime Minister Gordon Brown insists the mission is showing "signs of success".

Daniel Jimeno Romero, a 27-year-old from Madrid, was gored to death during the annual running of the bulls in Pamplona and nine others were injured in what became the bloodiest run in decades. Mr Romero died after a bull's horn pierced his neck and lungs during the half mile sprint through the cobbled streets of the northern Spanish town. He is the first man to be gored to death during the run for 14 years. Each morning at 8 o'clock during the eight-day fiesta six fighting bulls are released to stampede through the winding streets to the bullring. Fuelled by alcohol during what has become one of Europe's biggest street parties, participants test their bravado and sprint alongside the bulls while attempting to dodge their horns. Friday's run, the fourth of this year's San Fermin festival was described as the bloodiest in decades and raised the death toll to 15 since record-keeping began in 1911.

World leaders gathered together in Italy for the G8 summit at the earthquake city of L'Aquila. Top of the agenda was climate change and the economic crisis. Gordon Brown was suave at the meeting and sat perched next to Obama throughout, looking good for the media back home. It was agreed to cut emissions by 80% by 2050. This was criticised by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon who said that not enough was being done by the world’s eight most industrious nations. The leaders went on to discuss how to deal with the possibility that a fragile global economy could suffer a double-dip recession. Also, there was talk on the prevention of nuclear weapons getting into the hands of North Korea and Iran.

And this week's top story...

Groups of ethnic Han Chinese have marched through the city of Urumqi carrying clubs and machetes, as tension grows between ethnic groups and police. Security forces imposed a curfew and fired tear gas to disperse the crowds, who said they were angry at violence carried out by ethnic Muslim Uighurs. The Uighurs are Muslims who are predominantly based in north-western China's Xinjiang region. Officials say 156 people - mostly ethnic Han Chinese - died in the violence. One official described Sunday's unrest as the "deadliest riot since New China was founded in 1949". President Obama joined other world leaders in urging the Chinese governement to exercise restraint when dealing with the incident.

That's all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again soon. Goodbye.

Welcome to Newslip. Today’s date is Sunday, 5th July 2009. I’m Wesley Gerrard. Here are the stories making this week’s news.

At least 13 people died in a horrible accident in Northern Italy when a train carrying liquid petroleum gas derailed and exploded. At least 36 people were injured, 15 of those are in a critical condition. Most of those affected lived in local houses. The accident happened near the train station in the Tuscan seaside town of Viareggio, about 350 kilometres north of Rome. Eyewitness Gianfranco Bini said, "We saw a ball of fire rising up to the sky. We heard three big rumbles, like bombs. It looked like war had broken out." Firefighters battled overnight to contain blazes started by at least three explosions. Over a thousand people were evacuated from their homes.

Former England soccer star, Michael Owen, has committed one of football’s cardinal sins. The former Liverpool schoolboy who went on to carve worldwide fame for himself while at Liverpool, caused massive upset when he left the Merseysiders for Real Madrid. After a relatively unsuccessful period at the Bernabeu, Owen returned to England, to Newcastle United. Newcastle have just been relegated and out of contract Owen signed for Manchester United. The rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester means that there is very little movement of players between the clubs. Owen, a former winner of the Ballon D’Or, and once regarded as one of the best strikers on the planet, has in recent years had a loss of form, with many nasty injuries and has also lost his place in the national team. Maybe the new European Champions believe that they can reignite this once great player’s career?

Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs, 79 and in poor health, was denied parole after Justice Secretary Jack Straw vetoed the decision which was supposed to have released him. In 1963 Biggs was part of a gang which robbed a Glasgow to London mail train and escaped with £2.6m in used bank notes, the biggest haul of an era when many criminals became celebrities. In 1964 Biggs escaped from Wandsworth prison and began a life on the run which ended in 2001 when he left his refuge in Brazil and returned to Britain where he began a jail sentence. Throughout his years on the run, Biggs regularly courted the media and even appeared as a guest vocalist on a Sex Pistols song. In recent years his health has declined and he is currently being treated at a Norwich hospital. He son spoke of the heartlessness of the Justice Secretary, not to release a man on compassionate grounds. It is Biggs’ dream to die a free Englishman in his own country and he has appointed lawyers who are questioning the legality of Jack Straw’s decision.

Two German Shepherd police dogs have died after being left in a hot car by their handler. The dogs were found dead in a police car parked outside Nottinghamshire's force headquarters in Arnold at 2.15pm on Wednesday. The Independent Police Complaints Commission is deciding on whether or not to allow the RSPCA to investigate the matter. The maximum sentence for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal is six months in prison and a £20,000 fine. Nottinghamshire Police said the handler has not been suspended. It can take just 20 minutes for a dog to die and temperatures reach over 40 degrees in some vehicles. On the day of the incident temperatures hit 29.4 degrees centigrade in Nottingham. It is believed the dogs' handler was not on duty at the time and had called in to the force's headquarters at Sherwood Lodge, leaving the dogs to over-heat in the parked car.

The National Express franchise of the East Coast mainline announced that it had run out of money for the year and the government stepped in and nationalised the stricken rail service. The rail economy, although private, is heavily dependent on the state of the economy as user figures are very closely correlated with it. The economic conditions of three years ago when National Express made a successful bid were soon to change and what was considered a medium risk venture has now collapsed. The Transport Secretary threatened to also immediately take two other National Express franchises into state ownership. Lord Adonis went on to say, “It is simply unacceptable to reap the benefits of contracts when times are good, only to walk away from them when times become more challenging.” There were reports that National Express offered the government £100 million in cash in order to end the contract. National Express are better known for their ventures in national coach travel.

Mourning for the dead pop singer Michael Jackson continued. The family announced that there would be no public showing of the body. There was a scramble for lottery won tickets to the Michael Jackson memorial with 8500 lucky ‘winners’ instantly putting their tickets up for auction. Jackson’s will made preparations for the care of his children. He stated that if his mother were unable to look after the three kids then they should be handed over to Diana Ross’ care. It is believed that his ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, intends to fight a custody battle. Recent video footage of the star’s gruelling preparations for his forthcoming tour were released. Fellow superstar Madonna gave a special tribute to Michael Jackson, fittingly at the O2 Arena in London where Jackson had intended to begin his final farewell concerts…

British police have called off their 45-year search for the last missing Moors murder victim Keith Bennett. Bennett was just 12 when he became the third victim of notorious killers Myra Hindley and Ian Brady in June 1964. Hindley and Brady killed a total of five youngsters between 1963 and 1965 before burying them on Saddleworth Moor, Greater Manchester. Bennett was the only victim whose remains were never found. Bennett's mother Winnie Johnson, 75, was devastated by the police decision to end the search for her son. Brady, 71, remains in Ashworth high security hospital in Liverpool. Hindley died aged 60 of a heart attack while in jail in 2002.

The sole survivor of Yemenia Flight 626 could barely swim and didn't have a life jacket. When Bahia Bakari's airplane crashed into the stormy Indian Ocean this week, killing 152 other passengers and crew, the 12-year-old girl suddenly found herself in the watery darkness. She could hear the voices of other passengers, but couldn't see anyone, including her mother who perished. For 13 hours, Bahia clung to debris until she was rescued. Back now in France with her father Kassim, he commented, "I would never have thought she would have survived like this. I can't say that it's a miracle, I can say that it is God's will." Research has been produced that apparently sitting towards the rear of an aircraft encourages your chances of surviving a crash so the advantages of flying first class and business class do have certain drawbacks…

A tower block fire in South London left six people dead including a three week old baby and two children. About 30 people were rescued from the fire at the 12-storey Lakanal House on the Sceaux Gardens Estate, Camberwell. The blaze started on the ninth floor, at 1620 BST on Friday. Of the 30 people rescued, 15 were taken to hospital for treatment, including three who died. Fire bosses believe it will take "weeks if not months" to establish how the blaze, in south-east London, happened and the whole area was being treated as a crime scene so many people weren’t allowed to return to their homes. Harriet Harman MP, whose constituency includes the tower block, said it was "clearly a very tragic situation".

And this week’s top story…

The lawn tennis championships at Wimbledon have concluded for yet another year. The weather throughout the tournament was surprisingly good with Britain experiencing an early summer heatwave. Serena Williams upstaged her big sister, Venus, in a closely fought Ladies Singles final. Serena turned on the heat in the final set, winning four games in a row to finish with a score of 7-6, 6-2. Her victory makes a mockery of the world rankings system which states that Dinara Safina is the best player in the world despite having not won a grand slam. In the men’s tennis, Britain’s great hope did as well as Tim Henman had done previously, by making it to a semifinal. But unfortunately for the excited strawberry eating, cream-slurping fans, Murray got knocked out by Andy Roddick. Federer went on to win the final after a prolonged battle with Roddick which never seemed to want to end. 5-7 7-6 7-6 3-6 16-14 were the final scores. The victory was the Fed Express’ 15th Grand Slam title, helping him take an onlooking Pete Sampras’ record. The win means that Roger Federer reclaims the No1 world ranking spot ahead of injured Rafael Nadal.

That’s all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again next week. Goodbye.

Welcome to Newslip. Today is Sunday, 28th June 2009. I’m Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week’s news…

The world of football had one of its biggest ever shocks this week when underdogs, USA, beat tournament favourites, Spain, in the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup in South Africa. Spain had a world record of 15 consecutive wins and had been unbeaten in 35 matches. The USA had been comprehensively beaten by Italy and Brazil earlier in the tournament. Goalkeeper Tim Howard kept them in the game. Goals came from Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey. The winning scoreline was 2-0. Their win makes it the first time that they will appear in the final of a major international tournament. The USA face Brazil in the final who promise that their own weak semifinal performance against South Africa will be bettered.

Nine people were killed and about 70 injured in a subway train crash in Washington DC. Carriages of one of the trains came to rest on top of the other after a moving train hit a stationary vehicle above ground near a station. The crash which was the worst in the 33 years of the Metro system, happened above ground between Fort Totten and Takoma at 1700 local time on Monday. Two men and seven women died, including Jeanice McMillan, 42, who was the driver of the moving train. The train that crashed was part of a fleet of older carriages and the ongoing investigation into the crash is gathering details from the black box recorders to try to find out what caused it.

Australian wallabies are eating opium poppies and creating crop circles as they hop around "as high as a kite". The kangaroo-like marsupials have been getting into poppy fields grown for medicine in Tasmania. Australia supplies about 50% of the world's legally-grown opium used to make morphine and other painkillers. Apparently the effect of stoned animals grazing on opium and then walking around in circles till they fall over in a heap was first noticed in sheep. The circle hopping wallabies are the latest revelation in the global crop circle mystery which often blames aliens for the strange designs in fields. The evidence on the phenomenon was presented to the Australian government as part of a report on the security for poppy crops.

The row over MPs expenses has spilled over to other areas of the public sector. The BBC’s director general Mark Thompson has said £350,000 in expenses claims paid out to the corporation's top executives was "reasonable and justified". He defended his decision to publish the salaries of executives but not of BBC talent. Claims included luxury hotels, vintage champagne, parties and a private aeroplane. There was public demand to discover what amounts were being paid to the BBC’s so-called ‘stars’ but Thompson said that in such a competitive industry as that of entertainment, where there was no history of such disclosure, in publishing salary information the BBC could potentially face a talent drain.

A bomb killed at least 72 people on Wednesday at a busy market in eastern Baghdad's Sadr City slum. About 127 people were wounded by the blast in the poor, mostly Shi'ite Muslim area. A witness said the explosion tore through a part of the Mraidi Market where birds are sold, setting stalls ablaze. Bloodshed has dropped sharply across Iraq in the past year, but militants including Sunni Islamist al Qaeda continue to launch car and suicide bombings aimed at undermining the government and reigniting sectarian conflict. Wednesday's market bombing came four days after the U.S. military formally handed control to local forces in Sadr City, where U.S. and Iraqi forces fought fierce battles against Shi'ite militiamen in the spring of 2008.

The Swine Flu endemic continues to engulf the globe. Statistics show that there are now more than 1 million cases in the US. In Britain. There are 3600 confirmed cases with only one death so far. The worst hit areas in the UK are the West Midlands, London and Glasgow. The West Midlands has about twice as many cases (more than a thousand) than each of the other two areas. Two university students and a ten year old have showed signs of the disease at the Glastonbury music festival. Due to the rapid spread of the disease, UK officials have dismissed the possibility of containment exercises by closing schools . 29 schools where cases of the disease have been found are indeed staying open. Officials have remarked how surprised they are at the unexpected low death levels that the pandemic has induced so far across the world.

Popular BBC television series Top Gear has pulled a remarkable publicity coup. The hit series for car lovers, presented by Jeremy Clarkson, has a cult driver, The Stig, whose white suit and crash helmet keep his identity disguised as he performs driving feats. He has a massive following and to mark the start of a new series, presenter Clarkson promised a moment in television history to ‘rival the moon landings and JR’s shooting.’ The Stig was unveiled, to everyone’s surprise, as former German formula 1 world champion, Michael Schumacher. Doubters of the veracity of this mystery solution were immediate and the internet was full of conspiracy theories. At the end of the show doubt was cast on Michael Schumacher’s Stig as he made a terrible mess of a test drive. Publicity stunt or not, does the Stig’s identity remain a mystery? It is certainly no mystery that viewing figures rose substantially.

A gunman opened fire in a packed restaurant in West London on Friday night. A man and a fifteen year old boy are suffering from non life threatening bullet wounds. The incident occurred at Harry Morgan's restaurant in St John's Wood High Street, a relatively affluent area of the capital. Pop star Rachel Stevens was dining at the venue at the time. A spokeswoman for the former S Club 7 member said: "Rachel and her family were in a restaurant where there was gunfire. It was very frightening for everyone there but none of the diners were hurt." A man in a motorbike helmet brandishing two automatic pistols chased the two victims into the restaurant and opened fire, sending diners scurrying to the floor to hide beneath their tables. Harry Morgan's was established in 1948 by a London butcher and has been shortlisted in the Evening Standard Restaurant Awards. Fortunately none of the diners were hurt.

Britain has expelled two Iranian diplomats from the country in a clear sign of ever-worsening relations with the Middle Eastern country. The decision was made by the Prime Minister as a tit-for-tat response after two British diplomats were expelled from Tehran. As the post-election crisis continues further foreign influence carries on. President Obama said Mir Hossein Mousavi, the head of the opposition, had captured the imagination of groups in Iran that were interested in opening up to the world. Dr Arash Hejazi, who is studying at a university in the south of England, has spoken of the moments when he tended to the shot female protestor, Neda Agha-Soltan, who bled to death. President Ahmadinejad accuses foreign governments of stirring up the current troubles and his paranoia is not without reason as the history of Iran is full of foreign intelligence inspired coups, in particular coups provoked by the CIA and SIS or British MI6.

And this week’s top story…

‘King of Pop’ Michael Jackson has died suddenly after suffering a cardiac arrest at his Los Angeles home. After collapsing, his personal physician failed to revive him and ambulance crews rushed the singer to the UCLA medical centre where he was pronounced dead. The star was fifty years old and was in preparations for a heavily scheduled farewell world tour, commencing with a series of gigs at London’s O2 Arena. Fans immediately began congregating outside the hospital and rumours flew across the media. It was the biggest ever single news event on twitter and all major web services reported carrying capacity problems, including Google who thought that they were under attack by spammers. Michael Jackson was one of the most famous people on the planet and not since the death of Elvis Presley has such a death devastated the entertainment world. His album, Thriller is the biggest selling album of all time. Jackson’s life was surrounded by a media circus and his death appears no different. He is often mocked for his extensive plastic surgery and the controversial child abuse court case severely affected his reputation in recent years. However, I am sure that the annals of history will remember this star, who has died before his time, for his remarkable catalogue of hit pop music. Rest in Peace, Michael Jackson.

That’s all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again soon. Goodbye.

Welcome to Newslip. I'm Wesley Gerrard. Today is the summer solstice, 21st June 2009. here are the stories making the news this week.

647 workers at the Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire were sacked after they called wildcat strikes. Their unsympathetic employers, French oil giant Total, had been in a bitter dispute with the union who claimed that promises not to make further job cuts had been broken. The refinery had been subject to strikes against the use of foreign labour back in January. The latest row began after Total sacked 51 employees working on a construction project at the plant. Workers who joined the wildcat action included those at the Staythorpe power station in Nottinghamshire, Ferrybridge power station in Yorkshire and around 1,100 construction workers building a bio-fuel plant on Teesside. Total apparently didn't turn up to a meeting with the union and the leader of the GMB Union, Paul Kenny, said: "Total has not even had the decency or courtesy to turn up at the meeting that they themselves arranged... Bullying and intimidation is not the way to bring about peace."

A truck bomb killed 64 people near the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk on Saturday, the country's bloodiest attack in 15 months. The attack, which also wounded 202 people, struck near a mosque in Taza Kharmatu, a predominantly Turkmen Shiite town south of Kirkuk, at around 1:00 pm on Saturday and claimed women and children among its victims, officials said. More than one ton of explosives was used in the bombing. Kirkuk, north of Baghdad, is plagued with intercommunal tensions among its Kurdish, Turkmen and Arab communities.

Scotland Yard has decided to launch an investigation into MPs' misuse of expenses. Its economic and specialist crime command will investigate several MPs, Labour's Elliot Morley and David Chaytor have admitted that they are among those under scrutiny. Both apparently claimed interest payments on mortgages they had already paid off. They have been barred by Labour in standing at the next election. Scotland Yard have previously made parliamentary investigations which have ended in no criminal prosecutions. In addition to this new leaf in the ongoing saga, it has been revealed that over 50 MPs had been guilty of overclaiming their council tax expenses. After checking data with local town halls it was discovered that these MPs had falsely inflated the amount that they were actually being charged.

The British and Irish Lions played the first test in their tour of South Africa and were unfortunate to lose. A disappointing first half left them trailing to the hosts by about twenty points. The Lions forwards were letting them down with Phil Vickery performing badly in the scrummage and the Lions lacking the Southern Hemisphere ferocity at the breakdown. Changes were made and the Lions started a comeback which left South Africa shellshocked but it was too little too late and the match was abruptly ended by an under-the-cosh South Africa with them pipping the legendary tourists to a 26-21 defeat and condemning the Lions to the necessity of another comeback if they wish to gain victory in the overall series.

A record crowd has gathered at Stonehenge to witness the summer solstice. 36,500 people gathered at the prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain to watch the sun rise, putting massive pressure on local transport infrastructure. By 3AM revellers were struggling to lift their beer cans to their mouths. Sensibly, the druids held their ceremony beside the heel stone, a leaning monolithic a few dozen yards from the main stone circle. They were joined by a group of Papuans who made the pilgrimage in an effort to draw attention to their struggle with the Indonesian authorities in their homeland. The record crowds were lucky enough in that the sun was shining. The high numbers are due to the solstice falling on a weekend this year.

A row has erupted in Formula 1, threatening to end the sport as we know it. The eight Fota teams - McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, Brawn, Toro Rosso, Renault and Toyota - released a statement declaring their intention to quit Formula 1 and set up a breakaway group. Their move is as a protest to the planned budget caps which would limit the amount of money each team could spend. Also they are discontented with FIA President Max Mosley who they see as having an autocratic grip on the sport. He allowed the Concorde agreement to lapse which gave the teams rights in determining the rules and regulations of the sport. Mosley described the breakaway threat as "posing and posturing", adding: "Always with these things in the end there's a compromise."

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Spacecraft are on their way to the moon atop the same Atlas V rocket. LRO will go into orbit around the moon, turning its suite of instruments towards the moon for thorough studies. The spacecraft also will be looking for potential landing sites for astronauts. NASA plan on landing humans on the moon again some time before 2020. In addition to the probing, the current mission, which is due to reach lunar orbit on Thursday, will be seeking to find sources of water on the Moon.

Pressure on the Labour government continued with Hazel Blears, the former communities secretary, narrowly escaping deselection in her Salford constituency. Her decision to quit the cabinet prior to the European elections was said to have been within a hair's breadth of bringing down Gordon Brown. The Prime Minister, this week, spoke of not enjoying the pressures of office and how he could quite easily walk away from his position. The trappings of power continue to haunt him at cabinet level as he faced a hostile pack regarding his plans for taking on the Tories at the next election.

The Islamic Shiite Resistance in Iraq have handed over two dead bodies to British government officials in Iraq. The dead men have been identified as security guards, Jason Swindlehurst, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, and Jason Creswell, from Glasgow. They were part of the hostage party seized by militants in 2007. They had been guarding computer expert Peter Moores, who remains hostage with two other guards. It is believed that the release of the bodies was a goodwill gesture after Laith al-Khazali was released by the Americans last week. The British government has a policy of not paying extortionate ransoms for kidnapped Brits, which has been criticised and also praised.

And this week's top story...

The aftermath of the controversial Iranian election has been the principal headline of the week. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke out against foreign nations and claimed that the UK was the most evil of all these governments. the Iranians have criticised international media bias in its reporting and believes that the current unrest is a result of foreign stirrings. Riots between police and opposition protestors has left at least ten people dead. Authorities are firing into crowds of demonstrators with live ammo. The BBC, whose Persian language channel is very popular in Iran, has evacuated its main Tehran correspondent. There has been a general media blackout in the Pariah state and people there have turned to social networks in their droves to push information out. President Obama has begun to criticise the events after initially maintaining silence.

That's all for Newslip this week. Thanks for tuning in. See you all again soon. Goodbye.

Welcome to Newslip. I'm Wesley Gerrard. Today's date is Sunday, 14th June 2009. Here are the stories making this week's news.

The fugitive Bosnian Serb army commander, Ratko Mladic, has caused controversy after a documentary was aired on Sarajevo television showing the perpetuator of genocide enjoying himself at a wedding, holidaying at a ski resort and openly cavorting with other renegade former army officers, who are also wanted for their crimes against humanity. Serbia, as one of its conditions for joining the EU, is under international pressure to capture Mladic and hand him over to international authorities. A former bodyguard revealed that until 2002 Mladic roamed freely in Belgrade. He is wanted primarily for causing the massacre of 8000 Bosnian Muslims at Srebenica. Last year the high profile Radovan Karadzic was extradicted to The Hague and it is hoped that Mladic will follow.

The close season in football has begun with a bang. Fresh from his double medal tally, Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo has shattered the world transfer record with a much anticipated move to Real Madrid. £80 million was the tag for the deal which apparently was agreed last summer, Real have been blowing a huge budget, reigniting the famed 'Galactico' era. In addition to the purchase of former world player of the year, Ronaldo, Los Blancos have spent £60 million on AC Milan's Kaka and another £100 million on five other players. They have not yet closed the chequebook either, as Florentino Perez, in his second time as president, is upping the chase for Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso. Ronaldo was his club's top scorer last season with 26 goals and his presence in the Premiership may well be sorely missed.

North Korea has done little to improve its international relations this week as it sentenced two American journalists to 12 years hard labour. The country has recently received widespread criticism for its militaristic shimmies to the outside world as it tests nuclear bombs and long range missiles, launches satellites and has a bellicose attitude to its regional neighbours. Laura Ling and Euna Lee were reporting at the Chinese-North Korea border, on the issue of illegal immigrants seeking refuge in China. South Korean news agencies claim that North Korean guards crossed into China to arrest the women but Pyongyang claims that they were caught illegally acting within the secretive state's territory. It is anticipated that the women will be used as bargaining chips in the high stakes diplomatic poker game so that North Korea can secure direct talks with US government officials. The USA has no diplomatic presence in North Korea and relies on representation by the Swedish embassy.

A man and two teenagers have been found guilty of murdering 16-year-old Ben Kinsella who was stabbed 11 times after a row in a north London bar. The brother of Eastenders star Brooke Kinsella was out celebrating the end of his GCSE exams when he apparently gave a look out of turn at the armed gang. There was a confrontation outside the pub and Michael Alleyne, 18, Juress Kika, 19 and Jade Braithwaite, 20, all from London, stabbed Kinsella eleven times in five seconds. The murderers were all given life sentences for their crime and their lawyers presented letters from prison authorities saying that all were at risk of retribution inside prison.

Hopes are rising for the release of five British hostages who have been held in Iraq since May 2007. The Americans this week released an Iraqi militiaman who had been held for the murder of US soldiers. This gesture of goodwill may pave the way for some concessions by the captors of the Britons who were snatched from the Finance Ministry. US and UK officials, however, claim that the release of Shia leader Laith al-Khazali was not done in anticipation of a hostage exchange program. Computer expert Peter Moore and his four bodyguards may have longer to wait till they achieve their freedom though now Britain has reduced its miltary efforts in Iraq, maybe the wait will not be too prolonged.

American Amanda Knox has spent two days in court, giving evidence at her trial for the murder of British housemate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy. The trial has been underway since January. Knox is co-accused with her Italian boyfriend, Rafaelle Sollecito, of the murder of the Leeds University language exchange student. In her evidence Knox revealed that she had been heavily smoking cannabis on the day of the incident and that when she was arrested she spent her time at the police station throwing cartwheels to ease the tension. She did little to change her pleas of innocence. It is alleged that the attack had sexual motives. The worldwide media have been drawn to the case and the American is known by her nickname, 'Foxy Knoxy'.

Terrorist attacks still continue to disrupt Pakistan with several bomb attacks being launched this week. Four soldiers were killed and fifty injured at an army mosque in Nowshera. At least seven died at a market in Dera Ismail Khan and another fifty were injured. Another bombing also hit Peshawar, the eighth there in a month, following on from last week's hotel attack where two UN workers died. The internal struggle in Pakistan continues with Islamic militants trying to do all they can to counter the government offensive against the Taliban in the Swat Valley.

BNP leader, Nick Griffin, in jubilant mood after his victory in the European elections last week, went to Parliament where angry anti-fascist protestors demonstrated and attacked him with eggs. The BNP publicly complained that the Metropolitan Police had not done enough to stop protesters disrupting its Westminster news conference. Later in the week, Griffin mocked the incident as he convened on more familiar territory at the Ace of Diamonds pub in Manchester near the contituency in which he was elected. Extremist views are a challenge to Britain's democratic rights.

A Swedish art project using carrots as explosives has caused a scare after the imitation bombs were mistaken to be the real thing. Artist Conny Blom set up The Bunny Project: Bombs, at 15 locations near the southern Swedish city of Orebro. He taped bunches of carrots together with black tape and attached blue and red wires and a clock to them. The art was removed and Blom may face charges. He described his work as a harmless stunt.

And this week's top story...

The Iranian Presidential elections took place and President Ahmadinejad was successfully re-elected, contrary to many Western observers' hopes. The election had a very high turnout of more than 85%. After the results were announced, trouble flared up in Tehran. Defeated candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi called for the results to be annulled. Rather than the standard 'Death to America' chants that normally emit from Iranians who gather en masse, the angry mobs shouted 'death to the dictator' and were beaten back by baton wielding police. Official results gave Mr Ahmadinejad a landslide victory. His final share of the vote was almost 63%. The result was quickly endorsed by Ayatollah Khamenei despite claims of massive electoral fraud.

That's all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again next week. Goodbye.

Welcome to Newslip. I'm Wesley Gerrard.Today's date is Sunday, 7th June 2009 and here are the stories making this week's news...

The twentieth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre passed this week with no official recognition from China other than the mass deployment of security forces in Beijing where they outnumbered tourists and ensured that no protestors would gather in a country where to even speak of Tiananmen is illegal. On June 4th 1989, angry students, who sought more political rights, were confronted by Chinese army tanks. Scores of peaceful protestors were massacred that day in an event which shocked the world and presented the ruling communist party of China in a very unfavourable light. The past twenty years have seen China truly rise to the world stage as a superpower. However, as protestors gathered to commemorate the event in international cities, the general consensus was that despite the economic leap forward, political rights in China had hardly changed at all. Today’s student generation are in general politically apathetic.

One of Britain’s Got Talent’s stars has been admitted to a mental hospital suffering from exhaustion. Susan Boyle was runner up on the TV talent contest and her dowdy and unglamorous appearance captivated the imagination of global viewers. After coming second in the contest’s final when she lost out to dance troupe, Diversity, from London, the visibly shaken unemployed church volunteer, broke down and was admitted to the Priory clinic suffering from mental exhaustion. The singer had been born with slight brain damage after suffering from lack of oxygen at birth. Despite her loss in the final of the show, Boyle is undoubtedly the show’s star. Her performances have received over 200 million Youtube downloads and she has been invited to appear on Oprah Winfrey and Larry King’s US show. It is expected that Simon Cowell is likely to cash in on her success by signing her up in a music deal. After spending less than a week in the celebrity clinic, Boyle left for home in a central London flat where it is hoped that the press will cease camping out on her doorstep and allow her to recover.

Actor David Carradine has been found dead in his Bangkok hotel room. The star of Kill Bill made his name as Caine in the cult 1970s TV series Kung Fu. The Thai Police say that he was found naked in his wardrobe with a cord tied around his neck. They have initially said that they believe the death was a suicide and cctv footage suggests that he was alone in his hotel room at the time of death. However, foul play has not been ruled out and close friends of the actor have stated that he was suffering from no form of depression. The FBI have been asked to investigate. Controversial photos of the death scene were printed in the Thai press and Carradine’s family have threatened to sue any news outlet that reprints the pictures.

Eating a curry once or twice a week can, according to American research, prevent the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The key ingredient is curcumin, a component of the spice turmeric. Curcumin appears to prevent the spread of amyloid protein plaques - thought to cause dementia - in the brain. It is known that Turmeric is a very useful anti-cancer spice. Some sceptics at the Royal College of Psychiatrists have poured scorn on the findings and the incomplete research is set to be put to the test by studying the effects of curry bingeing when they analyse the effects of people eating curries all week long. Apparently eating a curry could not counter-balance the increased risk of dementia associated with a poor diet. As curry is now the national dish of Britain, there is hope for the future.

Violent clashes between security forces and indigenous people in Peru have led to 31 deaths. In the most intense fighting since trouble began to flare in the Amazon region in April, 22 tribesmen and 9 police died. The natives are incensed by government supported attempts to exploit oil reserves in their territory. New laws that have been passed by Peru’s President, Alan Garcia, also offer up the exploitation of communal land to foreign logging companies, large-scale farming and mining. Most of the trouble occurred six hundred miles to the north of Lima near the town of Bagua. Indigenous leaders say police using helicopters opened fire on demonstrators in the latest incident though the government counter-claimed, equating the locals to criminals and by saying that they were first to open fire.

Neil and Kazumi Puttick were so overcome with grief at their loss of their son, Sam, that they drove to the cliffs in East Sussex and jumped 400ft to their deaths, holding his body in one rucksack and his toys in another. Sam who had as a toddler been paralysed in a car crash, had just died from Meningitis. It has been suggested that his loving parents made a Japanese suicide pact before ending their lives at the notorious Beachy Head blackspot. In the hours after his death they had refused visits from friends. Their devotion to their son during his life was intense and they revealed their anguish in a typewritten note before the final tragic event unfolded.

The 20-20 cricket world cup is underway in Britain with some amazing results captivating the willow world. There was a massive shock on the first day when England lost to cricketing minnows, The Netherlands. Australia also suffered a surprise defeat when they were soundly beaten by the West Indies after an impressive performance by the islanders in which batsman Chris Gayle scored six sixes, resulting in a seven wicket defeat for the world champions with four overs to spare. England managed to salvage a place in the last eight after recovering from the Dutch and beating Pakistan by 48 runs. The tournament continues for the next few weeks and the success of the shortform of cricket looks set to blossom with the exotic nature of results.

Barack Obama made a tour of the Middle East in which he gave speeches reaching out to the Muslim world. He stated that the "cycle of suspicion and discord" between the US and Muslims must end. He gave a keynote speech in Cairo, calling for a ‘new beginning’. In his speech he made key references to the Koran. His father is a Muslim and Obama spent part of his early life growing up in the Muslim country of Indonesia. He spoke of hopes for peace between Israel and the Palestinians and also emphasized that Islam had a been a major part of US history and had an important role to play within the USA’s borders. He tried to convey the feeling that he didn’t associate the Islamic militants and their violence with the entire Islamic community. He equated the plight of the Palestinians with that of slaves in America. His addresses were condemned for their inconsistencies by Hamas and the Ayatollah in Iran made a prior speech stating that America was still very much hated in the region.

Voters across Europe went to the polls this week and turned up some surprises in the European elections. On the whole, socialist parties lost out and right-wing parties came out on top. In Britiain the ruling Labour party suffered catastrophic defeat, with many calling for Gordon Brown to resign. Conservatives made good of the voters’ disillusionment with Labour but there were also shock elections to the European parliament for the controversial BNP with them gaining two seats in Brussels due to the proportional representation aspect to the vote. Although the British government felt the worst effects of defeat in Europe, Germany’s ruling Social Democrats and France’s Socialist Party were also heading for historic defeats. Some British Labour MPs stated that they were not concerned too much as they had previously done badly in European polls yet gone on to win in general elections.

And this week's top story...

An Air France plane travelling from Rio Di Janeiro to Paris went missing over the Atlantic and initial attempts at locating the plane were unsuccessful. There were 216 passengers aboard flight 447. Relatives fears for the worst looked substantiated when body parts and plane debris were located in the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha. There has however been no confirmation of a crash and location of flight recorders hasn’t succeeded. Experts are baffled as to what may have caused a plane in perfectly good condition to plunge from the sky on a routine flight. 17 bodies have been recovered in total. Among the lost passengers were three Irish doctors of a mainly French and Brazilian populace. It is the second serious plane tragedy in Brazil in the last two years after a major crash in Sao Paolo in 2007 when199 people perished.

That's all for Newslip this week. Thanks for tuning in. See you again soon. Goodbye.

Welcome to Newslip. Today is Sunday, 31st May 2009. I’m Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week’s news…

A 61-year old Briton has been killed in a hot air balloon crash in central Turkey. Ten others were injured in the incident, including nine other British tourists and the balloon operator. The balloon was conducting a tour of the Cappadocia region which is popular with tourists for its cone-shaped rock formations, rock-carved underground cities and early Christian churches. The balloon fell from a height of 200m and an investigation is under way to determine the cause of the crash.

Manchester United has lost the Champions League Final against Barcelona. Samuel Eto’o’s early goal in Rome was enough to keep the United team well subdued for the game in which Barcelona dominated. Lionel Messi scored later to seal the win with a two-nil score line. The victory meant that Barcelona won a treble. The FA cup final between Chelsea and Everton was won by Chelsea after they came from a goal behind to win 2-1 and was the icing on the cake for Gus Hiddink in his last game in charge of the club before he returns to manage the Russian national team.

Gay marriage has been outlawed in America’s most populous state, California. In demonstration against the Proposition 8 vote, 3000 gays and lesbians marched across California to their support base in Fresno. They are comparing their plight to that of US Civil Rights activists in the 1960s. Despite the outcry against the amendment, Proposition 8 was democratically decided with more than 70% voting to ban homosexual wedding ceremonies. Those wedded prior to the introduction of the law will be able to retain their statuses.

A one-armed multi-millionaire is currently standing trial in Moscow accused of a botched murder attempt on a rival in his silver Rolls-Royce. Vladimir Barsukov is reputed to be the last gangster at large in Russia out of those criminals that benefitted from the collapse of communism to extend vast organised crime networks that penetrated every Russian institution. Indeed Barsukov has business links to Vladimir Putin from his time as deputy mayor of St. Petersburg. He has been compared to Al Capone for his actions during Russia’s mafia wars. Barsukov, at the height of his power, had 2000 armed foot soldiers. He lost his arm in an assassination attempt on him in 1994. At his trial, the 53 year old gangster is protected by a bulletproof glass cage. He stands flanked by his lieutenants and is claiming that he is a high level political victim. He stated that he has no-one to answer to but God.

A mother has been reunited with her son, Gavin, after 27 years due to him appearing on facebook. Avril Grube of Poole, Dorset, claimed that her son was kidnapped when his Hungarian father, who had visiting rights, said he was taking him to the zoo, then disappeared back to Hungary with him. Grube’s sister was surprised when doing a Google search for her nephew’s name, discovered he had a facebook profile. Initial emails went unresponded as Mr Paros hadn’t logged into his site since October. But after his Auntie started contacting his children, he replied, and has been reunited with his estranged mother. His father died in 2006 and is mother is now in poor health. After years of protest involving contacting Margaret Thatcher and the Hungarian embassy to no avail, the social network site has produced a success story for this family.

The Pakistan defence secretary, Syed Athar Ali, has declared that government forces are successful in their operations against Taliban insurgents in the Swat valley with only about 5-10% of their job left before they have successfully cleared the risk of Taliban fighters in the region. The army had recaptured Mingora, the main city in Swat, and say that only a hardcore element of Taliban fighters remain. Out of revenge for the Swat offensive, the Pakistani Taliban bombed Lahore, the two bomb blasts killing 5 and injuring 30. Also in Lahore a suicide bomber killed 24 people and injured 300 a day prior to the Taliban bomb blasts.

The British Lion rugby tour of South Africa has gotten underway with a hard fought 37-25 victory over a Royals XV, who led 18-3 at halftime. Irish fly half Ronan O’Gara, paved the way to victory with a try and seventeen points from his boot. The Lions have a total tour schedule of ten matches, including three tests against South Africa. Their shaky start bodes badly for the tour outcome. Injury losses to the squad, including Welsh centre Tom Shanklin; mean that their stiff challenge to succeed will be more difficult. The 1997 tour to South Africa resulted in a 2-1 test victory and after the whitewash on the last tour to New Zealand; the Lions will be hoping to satisfy their multitude of travelling supporters with flowing rugby and healthy victories.

A manhunt for British Tycoon, Alan Griffin, is underway after his Polish girlfriend, Kinga Legg, was found murdered in their suite at the Hotel Le Bristol in Paris. Her bloodstained body lay amid a wreck of furniture and the crimson-coated hotel room was said to be due to a fisticuffs following a big champagne binge. Griffin, who made his money as a tan salon and mobile phone ringtone entrepreneur, made haste from Paris in his black Porsche, which was later recovered from near his parents’ home in Cheshire. He had been planning a seaborne getaway. He turned up at Shepperton Marina in Surrey and demanded that repairs on his speedboat were hurried up. When it became apparent that this would not be possible he inquired about making a quick purchase of a cabin cruiser. Apparently he also purchased a satellite navigation system and maritime charts for the waters of Britain, Ireland and Europe. The search for the murderer of the high flying Polish vegetable seller continues.

A British mother has gone to the European Court of Human Rights after she was branded ‘not clever enough’ to look after her three year old daughter. The woman has been certified by a psychiatrist to have no learning difficulties and ‘good literacy and numeracy and that her general intellectual abilities appear to be within the normal range’. However, it has been felt by social services that the complex medical care needs of her daughter cannot be addressed by the mother who is known as Rachel. The twenty-four year old can at the moment visit her daughter at the foster carers', but plans are for the visits to reduce in frequency and eventually stop. Social services allowed the parents of Baby P to continue looking after their child, which eventually led to his death. Yet at the same time, they are prepared to go to lengths to break up the family unit and give into adoption a baby whose mother has been certified capable of care. John Hemming, the liberal democrat MP, has taken up Rachel’s cause and is hoping that the system sees sense.

And this week’s top story…

North Korea has added to the controversy surrounding its satellite launch last month by claiming to have successfully detonated a nuclear bomb. The underground test was detected by seismologists after it triggered an earthquake in the region. It is believed to be on the same scale as the American bomb dropped on Hiroshima at the end of World War 2 and is significantly larger than the one previously tested in 2006. In addition to the tests, it was reported that several ballistic missiles were also launched from a base on North Korea’s east coast. China, a staunch ally of North Korea, and who supply up to 90% of the isolated country’s electricity and 40% of its food, condemned the tests along with most of the international community. Pyongyang made a declaration that its troops were prepared for war, a situation that bids ominously for its South Korea neighbour, as well as other countries in Southeast Asia.

That’s all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again next week… Goodbye.

Welcome to Newslip. Today's date is Sunday, 24th May 2009. I'm Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week's news.

17 alleged Al Qaeda members have been arrested in Bilbao, northern Spain. Mostly Moroccan and Algerian nationals formed the Islamic Maghreb cell. Spain suffered a major Al-Qaeda-inspired terror attack in the capital Madrid in 2004, when a total of 191 people were killed and 2,000 were injured when 10 rucksack bombs exploded in four crowded commuter trains. Twenty-one people, including a number of North Africans, were sentenced to over 40,000 years in jail for their roles in the attack.

Justice was meted out to those responsible in the death of Baby P who we now know as Baby Peter. He died in a bloodstained cot at the age of seventeen months at his north London home in August 2007. His mother received a minimum sentence of ten years, though that makes her eligible for parole in three and a half years time. The male lodger, Jason Owen, who lived in the house received a minimum sentence of six years and the boyfriend of the mother, who was recently handed a life sentence for the rape of a two year old girl, was given an additional twelve years. The NSPCC have been among the numerous campaigners to have condemned the leniency of the sentences. At a time when Peter should be attending school, his mother could be potentially free, having been responsible for the horrific death of a toddler which has shocked the nation. Already there have been numerous complaints of how the parents have managed to legally disguise their identity. Home Secretary Jack Straw has been busy defending the sentences.

The English Premiership season has concluded with an exciting showdown for clubs at the bottom. Showcased as ‘Survival Sunday’ Two out of four clubs faced joining West Brom in the drop zone. All four teams involved lost their games, meaning that Sunderland and Hull City survived but Newcastle United and Middleborough took the plunge. Manchester United were making the headlines last week for winning the premiership but at the end of the season all the media attention has been drawn to Newcastle who are the biggest side to be relegated since Leeds United. New boss and Tyneside Messiah, Alan Shearer, is unsure whether he will be heading the Magpies as they attempt the arduous task of escaping from the Championship next season.

Iran celebrated the beginning of its official election campaign period with the launch of a missile capable of reaching Israel and American bases in the Gulf. The surface-to-surface Sejil 2 missile with range of 2000km compliments the even more far-reaching Shahab 3 missiles already in the arsenal. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has criticised the launch saying that combined with Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the launch threatens the very existence of Israel. Saudi Arabia also feel threatened as due to the fall of the Iraqi regime, there is a power struggle in regional hegemony and the Shia government in Iran are potentially hostile to the Saudis. However, when we constantly hear of Iran in the Western media in terms of its military hostility, we ignore some of the facts. Iran only actually spends 2.5% of its GDP on its military whereas Israel spends 7.5%, Saudi Arabia 10% and the USA 4.5%. Iran has also hit the headlines after suspending facebook in the runup to their elections.

The MPs expenses row continued to plague the media. More resignations have been forced upon politicians with the most high profile casualty being the speaker of parliament, Michael Martin, whose position became untenable after leading politicians blamed him for protecting MPs from previous scrutiny to their requisitioning of public funds. Michael Martin has been the first speaker in 300 years to be removed from his position. He receives automatic entitlement to a peerage which is being hotly contested by members of the House of Lords who feel that he has let parliamentary democracy down and don’t want him corrupting the upper tier of British government.

An Egyptian judge ordered contruction tycoon Hisham Talaat Mustafa and retired policeman Mohsen al-Sukkari hanged for respectively ordering and carrying out the brutal slaying of the Lebanese pop star, Suzanne Tamim, in a luxury Dubai apartment in July. The singer, whose throat was slit, was the lover of the businessman, who has strong links to Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party. The brutal slaying was ordered after Tamim tied the knot with Iraqi kick-boxing champion Riyad al-Azzawi, whom she met at London's renowned Harrods department store. The police officer who arrested the hitman testified that the assassin said in interrogation that Mustafa asked for Tamim's severed head to be delivered before he paid for the killing.

A Royal chauffeur has been suspended after giving two undercover journalists a tour of Queen Elizabeth II's official cars at Buckingham Palace. The News of the World reporters were posing as wealthy Middle Eastern businessmen and made contact with the chauffeur through his Lithuanian prostitute girlfriend. They published photos of them sat in the Queen’s Bentley and also a video of the car pool tour. The chauffeur, who is originally Trinidadian, is responsible for the latest in a long line of security gaffes, which have involved other reporters getting jobs as footmen and Osama Bin Laden impersonators gaining access to royal property. At the time of the car tour the Queen was officially in residence and police chiefs have expressed their dismay at how easily security was breached.

An Indonesian military Hercules aircraft has crashed while attempting to land at a base in East Java. 107 people were on board and including two people on the ground, 101 people died in the accident. Eyewitnesses reported hearing thunder-like explosions as the plane plunged from the sky, smashing into houses before finally bursting into flames in it resting place in a rice paddy. Fourteen children died and many soldiers and airmen. This is the latest in a string of incidents that have plagued Indonesian aircraft since 2007. The lack of investment in military hardware has been blamed. Indonesian aircraft are banned from European airspace due to their extensive crash history.

English adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who suffers from vertigo, has scaled Everest at the age of sixty-five. He becomes the first man to cross both polar ice caps in addition to climbing the world’s highest peak. During his previous attempt at reaching the summit of Everest, Fiennes suffered a heart attack. He is the oldest Briton to reach the summit. At the top he declared "This is the closest you can get to the moon by walking." He said that he felt dreadful. His achievement was done to support the Marie Curie cancer care charity.

And this week's top story...

The Roman Catholic church has been hit by scandal after an inquiry into child abuse at Catholic institutions in Ireland has found church leaders knew that sexual abuse was "endemic". More than 2,000 told the Commission they suffered physical and sexual abuse while at institutions during the sixty year period of investigation. The five-volume study concluded that church officials encouraged ritual beatings and consistently shielded their orders' paedophiles from arrest amid a "culture of self-serving secrecy". There will be no legal proceedings as a result of the inquiry as the Christian Brothers successfully sued the commission in 2004 to keep the identities of all of its members, dead or alive, unnamed in the report.

That's all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again next week. Goodbye.

Welcome to Newslip. Today's date is Sunday, 17th May 2009. I'm Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week's news.

Pope Bendict XVI has made a tour of the Holy Land, visiting sites of importance to all three of the monotheistic faiths. He addressed Jews though they felt that he wasn’t apologetic enough for the holocaust. The Pope is a German and was part of the Hitler Youth movement in Bavaria during the war. He has previously made controversial remarks about Islam though as he met Muslim leaders in Jerusalem he spoke of the need for good multifaith relationships and made strong calls for the creation of a separate Palestinian nation. Christians are flocking out of the troubled holy land, feeling persecuted by bolh sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Pope gave a mass at the Kidron valley where most Jews and Christians believe to be the location of the Final Judgement.

The American/Iranian journalist who was jailed for eight years on spying charges has been released after an Iranian court upheld an appeal to reduce her sentence. Roxana Saberi flew out of Iran four days after the successful appeal and is now recuperating in Vienna. During her stay at Evin prison near Tehran she went on hunger strike for two weeks and was hospitalised. Originally Miss Saberi had been arrested for purchasing a bottle of wine which is illegal under Sharia law. It is not known whether the former Miss North Dakota was used as a makeweight in any political deal between Iran and the USA.

Manchester United have won the English Premier League with a game to spare after they drew with Arsenal at Old Trafford, putting them a point clear of second place Liverpool who cannot mathematically catch up any more. The season has been a close race and draws Man United level with Liverpool with 18 league titles. United have already won the Carling Cup and World Club Championship and go on to face Barcelona in Rome for the European Cup final.

Burmese pro-democracy leader, Aung Sun Suu Kyi, has been arrested and put in prison for breaching the conditions of her house arrest. An American man, John Yettaw, swam the lake surrounding her home and spent two days in her house where she has been held for about nineteen years. Burma’s military junta are allegedly looking for a pretext to continue holding the dissident nobel peace laureate during the forthcoming 2010 elections. Her house arrest was due to expire at the end of May. Human rights activists are constantly putting pressure on Burma for Aung Sun Suu Kyi’s continuing detention and she is one of the most famous political prisoners in the world. Her lawyers are arguing that as she did not invite the man to her house ( he was an uninvited guest), she had not broken the strict laws governing her detention.

A 27 year old woman has been arrested after a hit and run incident in Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol. Eleven year old Sam Riddall was killed after a white Ford Focus Estate car mounted the kerb and ploughed into him as he walked home from youth club with a group of friends. The boy’s parents appealed for the driver to come forward after the car failed to stop after the incident. After Avon and Somerset police released an image of the driver, Hannah Saaf was arrested and denied bail until she appears before Bristol Magistrates Court, charged with death by dangerous driving, failing to stop and driving without insurance.

There has been controversy in Guatemala after the murder of lawyer, Rodrigo Rosenberg. The dead man left a Youtube video alleging that Guatemala’s president, his wife and his staff, were responsible for the crime. Groups have taken to the streets to demand the removal of Alvaro Colom, who denied responsibility for the crime, saying that it was just an effort to destabilise the government. He went on to claim that it was just a video and that there was no evidence for the crime. The lawyer was gunned down in the street whilst riding his bicycle. Guatemala has one of the highest murder rates in the world and as a key route for drug smuggling into the USA, it is notoriously corrupt and drugs money taints the highest of officials.

The commander in charge of the American military in Afghanistan, General David D. McKiernan, has been fired by the Obama administration. The general was seen to be too conventional in his methods and his policies are seen as having failed in the ongoing insurgency against Taliban and Al Qaeda forces. Counterinsurgency methods have been advocated and the man who replaces McKiernan is a veteran special operations officer, Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal . It is envisaged that in order to break the military stalemate, more future support will be offered to US-backed local militias. War in Afghanistan is notoriously difficult and throughout history many superior fighting forces have been defeated during prolonged guerrilla style campaigns in the difficult terrain.

Catherine Masters, a 109 year old woman from Oxfordshire, wrote a letter of complaint to the Queen after she noticed that in five of the least nine birthday cards she has received from Buckingham Palace, HRH Elizabeth II was wearing the same dress. To respond to one of the eldest of her subjects, the Queen sent around a special surprise to the Grange Care Centre. There was a knock on the door and it was the Queen’s grandson, Prince William, sent to offer a personal apology. The shocked Mrs Masters spent the day teaching the future King how to make shepherd’s pie. It is a tradition for the Queen to send birthday cards to those who reach their one hundredth birthday. William invited his new friend to a garden party at the Queen’s home where the lady can discuss a change to the card she expects to receive for her 110th birthday in November.

The row over MPs second home allowances continues to rage after the Daily Telegraph went on publishing expenses claims. Tory MPs and Liberal Democrats were included and readers have been horrified to hear of taxpayers’ money being used to pay for the repair of moats and maintenance of swimming pools. There have been resignations and vows of repayments as transparency sent MPs on the retreat as public outcry demanded that their abuse of power ceases. There has been pressure on parliamentary speaker Michael Martin to resign and public disillusionment with parliament looks likely to produce some shock results in forthcoming European elections with minority parties such as the BNP likely to benefit from the people’ fallout with the major parties.

And this week's top story...

The 26 year old civil war in Sri Lanka has finished as the surrounded Tamil Tiger separatists declared a ceasefire from their tiny enclave in the north of the island. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has already declared victory though his army claim that there are no civilians left in the enclave and see no need for them to accept the ceasefire. They want to continue and annihilate the remaining fighters who want peace to preserve the life and dignity of the Tamil people. Mass graves have been discovered this week and the final fighting has been brutal. On the streets of Colombo, people are rejoicing and an official government announcement of the conclusion of hostilities is expected early next week.

That's all for Newslip. Thanks for watching. See you again next week. Goodbye.

Welcome to Newslip. Today’s date is Sunday, 10th May 2009. I’m Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week’s news.

An engagement party in Turkey was interrupted by gunmen and 44 people, including the future bride and groom, were mown down. The shootings occurred after a longstanding blood feud boiled over. As well as arguing over clan land, the assassination party believed that the bride had been promised to their clan as payment for a previous rape, but instead had been given over to an enemy family. To avenge the dishonour, with their government weapons, as they formed part of a government militia to control violence in the Kurdish region, they turned a day of family happiness into one of pure tragedy. There were three pregnant women among the murdered guests. Abdulkadir Celebi , his four sons and three other relatives have been arrested over the incident. It was the biggest single attack on civilians Turkey has ever seen.

A right wing American shock jock has appeared on the British home secretary’s list of undesirable American citizens and has been banned from travelling to the UK. Michael Savage broadcasts a talk show from San Francisco to 10 million people nationwide across the USA. In his show he regularly stirs up controversial debates on ‘Anal rights’, ‘Islamo-Fascism’ and other liberal causes. He has promised to sue Jacqui Smith for defamation and feels that being included on the list alongside Hamas bus bombers and Nazi skinheads is unjustified. Critics of the UK government’s decision have said that by Savage’s inclusion unnecessary publicity is being brought to his cause.

Scotland’s biggest paedophile network has been thwarted. Eight people faced charges in an Edinburgh court after an indecent picture of a child on a work computer led police to discover 125000 images. They traced the ring who used to discuss their sick fantasies on the internet. Neil Strachan, 41, who is HIV positive, was found guilty of the attempted rape of an 18 month old boy. James Rennie, 38, was found guilty of sexually assaulting a three month old. The other men were found guilty of an array of perverted charges. The family of a victim talked of how Strachan befriended their family and unknown to them over a period of fifteen years abused their children and made them available to other members of his network. All eight men will be sentenced at a later date.

The Champions League Final in Rome on 27th May will be between Barcelona and Manchester United after both teams were successful this week in their respective semi-finals. Cup holders Man United had a comprehensive 4-1 aggregate victory over Arsenal. Barcelona secured their place in a much narrower way, going through on away goals after a 1-1 aggregate score against Chelsea. It was in the last couple minutes of the match that Andrés Iniesta scored the decisive goal at Stamford Bridge. The match was marred with controversy after the game when Chelsea players, most notably Didier Drogba, harassed the referee, blaming him for his poor decisions. Chelsea had three penalty claims throughout the match which weren’t awarded. Chelsea players and supporters believe that there was a UEFA conspiracy to not allow two English teams in the final again. Match referee, Tom Henning Ovrebo, was smuggled out of Britain and now has round the clock police protection at his Norwegian home.

The government will be deleting the DNA profiles of 850 000 innocent people from their database. However, civil liberties groups claim that new data retention measures do not go far enough. Currently the government holds details of 4.5 million people on their database. The profiles of those arrested but not charged for minor offences will be retained for a period of six years or twelve years in the case of serious violent or sexual crimes. It is likely that the government will face further court action despite the European Court forcing them to make this current climbdown. The Home Secretary suggested that the DNA database was worthwhile as it had helped solve 390 000 crimes since 1998.

A senior White House Aide has resigned after he clandestinely arranged for the President’s jet, Air Force 1, to make a low pass over New York City, in a publicity stunt. During the flyby, where the jet was accompanied by a fighter jet escort, the workers of New York fled in panic as the presence of the low-flying jet rekindled memories of September 11th. Panic spread across the city and the stunt, which cost about $300 000 to arrange, brought embarrassment to Barack Obama who was only made aware of the incident through the media. His White House Military Director Louis Caldera felt that his irresponsible actions made his position untenable.

Actress Joanna Lumley’s campaign for justice for the Gurkhas has continued with her high profile campaign leading her to a meeting with the Prime Minister. Gordon Brown. He is under pressure after a commons defeat for the government over the issue and promised he would reassess the situation by the end of May. The actress leads the fight for Gurkha resettlement rights after the Gurkhas protected her father from the Japanese army during the Second World War. The Nepalese regiment, it appears, has other high profile support after Lumley revealed that a senior member of the Royal family had written to her, supporting the cause.

The row over MPs expenses has continued with the Daily Telegraph serialising a series of articles detailing individual MP’s expense bills. The biggest hitting headline included the £6000 paid by Gordon Brown to his brother to arrange for a cleaner for his second home. John Prescott had charged the taxpayer to install some mock Tudor beams on his country home. The expenses detail show that MPs have been keen to claim taxpayers money for some really bizarre expenses including nappies and the needlework repairs of Chinese rugs. Some are threatening legal action against the Telegraph for inaccuracies in its articles. Overall it is widely perceived that the whole expenses row has damaged the government.

The worldwide Swine Flu pandemic continues. Mexico relaxed its shutdown policy and schools and workplaces reopened this week. The worldwide spread of the virus continues and the WHO state that the USA has more cases than any other country. There are 2254 cases reported there and there have been three American deaths due to the disease. There have been 48 deaths out of 1626 infections in Mexico. There is approximately 50 infected people in the UK. The panic of a mass spread of the disease has died down a little though the imminent danger has not yet completely passed.

And this week’s top story…

Afghanistan President Karzai and Pakistani President Zardari had trilateral talks in Washington with President Obama about the ongoing conflict with the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the Asian region. Karzai criticised US air attacks which have killed many Afghan civilians. Pakistan, which has been accused of providing a safe haven to terrorists, beefed up its actions against the Taliban, which are threatening to overthrow the Pakistani regime. Pakistani government forces are fighting a prolonged battle against Taliban insurgents in the northwest Swat Valley region, a Taliban stronghold. The situation here has caused a mass exodus of refugees. It Is feared that should the Pakistani Taliban succeed in their goals of gaining control of the country, a powerful cache of nuclear weapons will fall into some very dangerous hands. Pakistan and Afghanistan have strained relations though it is hoped that the trilateral talks will help bring the countries closer together.

That’s all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again soon. Goodbye.

Welcome to Newslip. I'm Wesley Gerrard and today's date is Sunday, 3rd May 2009. Here are the stories making this week's news.

A five day shutdown of parts of the Mexican economy is in operation to help prevent the spread of the Swine Flu which originated there. Non-essential public services have halted and many public buildings like restaurants and cinemas have also closed their doors. There are over 300 cases of Swine Flu in Mexico. It is believed that the epidemic is on the decline in Mexico now though it is feared that it could resurface during a cold spell. Mexico’s economy is already ailing and will be badly hit by the outbreak of this virulent disease.

The six year British military mission to Iraq has ended in an official ceremony at Basra. The 20th Armoured Brigade lowered the Union Jack and handed over the reins to the US Army. There was a total of 179 British deaths during the conflict and subsequent occupation. Prime Minister Gordon Brown hailed the UK troops' efforts as a ‘success story’. Opposition called for an immediate postwar inquiry to be held into why British troops were there in the first place. Other voices of criticism included the Stop the War Coalition who have always regarded British troop presence in Iraq as pointless. The BBC's John Simpson says many ordinary Iraqis in Basra are worried that the Americans who will replace the British will be much more aggressive.

A Royal parade for Holland’s ruling family ended in chaos when an assassination attempt was made resulting in the deaths of five people. A 38 year old man driving a black Suzuki Swift went at high speed through police barriers, narrowly missed the royal family’s open top bus and crashed into a memorial column, having taken out several spectators during his efforts. The Royal family looked on in shock as the incident unfolded. The incident occurred at Apeldoorn, a small town 90km south-east of Amsterdam. The event marked celebrations of Queen’s Day, for Queen Beatrix’s birthday. Queen Beatrix addressed the nation to express her dismay. The driver was badly injured but survived and faces a life sentence in jail for the attempted assassination.

The good news is that we can, according to weather forecasters, expect a British summer heatwave this year with temperatures soaring to 40 degrees centigrade. The bad news is that as many of 10000 deaths are predicted due to the intense heat and the government are preparing to put people on high alert. Up to 35000 people were killed across Europe during the 2003 heatwave, 2000 from Britain. The erratic climatic conditions look set to heat things up though as ever with long range forecasts there is a high degree of speculation at work. A hot one this year would certainly make up for last year’s non-event of a summer.

The McCann family marked the second anniversary of the loss of their daughter, Madeline, who went missing during a family holiday at Praia da Luz in the Portuguese Algarve. They published a photo of how she might now look two years on from when the four year old was taken from her parents. They also made a high profile appeal on the Oprah Winfrey show in America. Detectives in Portugal are now concentrating their efforts on the immediate vicinity of the town where Maddy disappeared after corroborated reports suggest a man was seen carrying a small girl similar in appearance to Madeleine near the McCann’s holiday apartment.

The government has won a series of votes on planned MPs' expenses reforms, after it agreed to delay a decision on controversial second homes allowances. Gordon Brown backed down on his original decision made during his episode on Youtube which claimed that he would be scrapping the second homes allowance in favour of a non-receipted attendance allowance. There has been much controversy recently over MPs claiming taxpayers’ money for silly expenses such as for adult films or patio heaters. The proposed changes are believed by the PM to be the most significant changes to expenses in 25 years. His opposition see his climbdown as another sign of weakness.

The trial of a pregnant Briton in Laos has been brought forward. Samantha Orobator, 20, faces charges of heroin trafficking which carries a potential sentence of death by firing squad. The woman who is originally Nigerian but who lived in Britain for twelve years and is a British citizen was found last August at Wattay Airport allegedly with 600g of the drug after a holiday in Thailand and the Netherlands. She became pregnant in December during her stay at the notoriously harsh prison. Her lawyers claim that the bringing forward of legal proceedings makes her defence difficult to arrange.

Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton fought Filipino, Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas. Before the fight Hatton commented ‘This fat, beer-drinking Englishman is going to shock the world again’. Shock the world he did. He was downed twice in the first round, displaying a lack of defence. In the second round, the hard, fast-hitting Filipino caught the celebrity Brit with a perfect left hand knockout punch which sent Hatton unconscious to the ground where he lay dazed for a good couple of minutes. He spent the night mourning the loss of his world title in the local hospital and it is predicted tthat he will be forced into retirement after the worst defeat in a 45 and 2 professional career.

The family of Baby P who we now know as ‘Peter’ have hit headlines again. Baby P was the baby that social services critically failed to protect when he died of neglect at the hands of his mother and stepfather. His stepfather, Steven Barker, was found guilty in court over the rape of a two year old girl. The girl, who is now four, gave evidence to the Old Bailey becoming the youngest ever witness before the court. Her video evidence confirmed the sickening incident to the jury as she used a teddy bear and a doll to demonstrate the trauma she had been forced to endure. The jury were unaware of the man’s relation to the Baby P case. The results of the trial draw into question again the activities of social services who failed to protect the youngster in a similar way to how they failed to protect Baby Peter. It is believed that either Steven Barker or his paedophile brother are being held at Belmarsh prison where they are given round the clock protection from vigilantes.

And this week's top story...

The World Health Organisation announced that it was no longer possible to contain the spread of Swine Flu. Emitting from Mexico the disease has spread to sixteen countries across the world as travellers returning home have started to affect local people with human to human transmission of the deadly virus. The H1N1 strain known as Swine Flu has emerged previously in recent history. The worst medical holocaust since the Black Death killed between 20 and 100 million people in 1918-1919. This was twice as many who died during the First World War. At that time half of the world’s two billion people were infected. In Western Samoa 90% of the population was wiped out. The flu at this time was called Spanish flu but an alternative name was the Swine Flu with which it is now being tagged. Governments across the world have been put on high alert and are stocking up on medical supplies should the crisis worsen.

That's all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again next week. Goodbye.

Welcome to Newslip. Today is Sunday, 26th April 2009. I'm Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week's news.

President Ahmadinejad of Iran has caused a stir at the UN Racism summit in Geneva. He took to the stage declaring about the state of Israel that "They sent migrants from Europe, the United States... in order to establish a racist government in occupied Palestine." At this point, UN delegates from many Western countries including Britain, walked out of the conference in protest. The conference had been already boycotted by the United States, Israel, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. High on the agenda was the relationship with the Islamic world and in an era where Nazi ideas and Apartheid have died out, Israeli-Palestinian issues are still an area where racial ideas divide.

A Devon farmer has introduced a breed of cattle to the UK that hasn’t been seen on these shores for 4000 years. The Heck cow was during the Second World War, part of Nazi plans to rule the world. The cow was seen as symbolic of Teutonic ambition and satisfied the genetic aspirations of Himmler and Hitler’s obsession with idyllic rural agriculture. The aim was that these Iron Age cattle would fill a primeval Aryan wilderness in conquered Nazi Europe. Hitler may never have arrived here but in the Twenty-First century it seems that we are inheriting part of his Nazi legacy.

The Sunday Times Rich List has been published, revealing that the top 1000 earners in the UK have lost a fortune in the economic downturn. The total value of their assets is £258 billion compared with last year’s record £413 billion. The number of billionaires has fallen from 75 to 43. Heading the
list are Indian Steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, Russian Roman Abramovich and the Duke of Westminster. Never in the 21 year history of the rich list has the affluence of the richest people fallen so much.

The Home Office has issued new rules about the right of Gurkha soldiers to resettle in the UK. Gurkha veterans and their supporters are up in arms about the decision which doesn’t give them automatic rights to resettlement but means that they have to satisfy certain criteria such as, for example, serving twenty years as a soldier when the maximum amount of time a Gurkha rifleman can serve is only fifteen years. Gurkhas who signed up after 1997 when the Gurkha base was moved from Hong Kong to the UK are guaranteed automatic rights. Joanna Lumley is a long time supporter of this 200 year old British regiment and she has led the way in condemning the government for not recognising the bravery and commitment to British Empire that the Nepalese division has achieved.

A Somali teenager has appeared in a US federal court after being captured during a US Navy raid on pirates in the Indian Ocean. Abde Wale Abdul Kadhir Muse’s mother initially claimed that he was a juvenile but a US judge decided that he could stand trial as an adult. The youth is the first person in over a century to be tried for piracy and at court he was crying. He had been captured during the rescue raid of the Maersk Alabama container ship captain where three of his pirate colleagues died. He had apparently been on board a US warship demanding a ransom.

The ruling ANC party have been victorious in the South African elections, falling just short of a two thirds majority. It showed a 4% decline in its share of votes compared with the previous elections. In a sign of things to come opposition parties were pleased with their results. In five years time, the next general election will include for the first time voters who were born since the end of apartheid and who have no direct experience of the fight against it. ANC leader Jacob Zuma is likely to be the next South African President.

Chancellor Allister Darling revealed his new budget this week. In it he introduced a 50% tax rate for earners above a £150 000 threshold. People in this bracket such as Michael Caine have claimed that it forces them out of the country. The economy is forecast to shrink by 3.5% in 2009. Public borrowing is to increase to £175 billion. A series of schemes and investment for the unemployed is to be introduced. There were also increases to duty on fuel, alcohol and cigarettes. The budget has been condemned by some as an act of class war and city analysts have criticised the chancellor’s figures claiming that he has made gross miscalculations.

Barack Obama has turned his attention towards some of the controversial torture techniques introduced to the CIA by the former Bush administration. He has published some of the legal guidelines of his predecessors but has drawn the line at prosecuting some of those involved. It was revealed that as early as 2002 Condoleezza Rice authorised the CIA to use waterboarding techniques on suspected Al Qaeda prisoners. This drowning form of torture was used 266 times on Abu Zubaydah and Khalid Sheikh Mohammad though it is claimed that the excesses revealed useful information. Other interrogation methods mentioned in released memos include week-long sleep deprivation, forced nudity and the use of painful positions.

The final stages of the Sri Lankan civil war which has raged since 1983 are apparent. The Sri Lankan government forces have the remaining Tamil Tiger insurgents trapped in a 5 square mile area in the northeast of the Indian Ocean island. The Tamils have declared a ceasefire as they struggle to survive but the government have denounced this saying that they will only accept surrender. The last gasps of civil strife have resulted in a mass exodus of civilians in the area, many tens of thousands evacuating their homes and traversing swamps and lagoons to get to safety. About 15000 civilians are still trapped in the final resistance pocket. The Tamils have been fighting for an independent state though their cause looks likely to imminently fail thus bringing an end to one of the bloodiest and prolonged conflicts of modern times.

And this week's top story...

An epidemic of swine flu has broken out in Mexico leading to the deaths of over 80 people. Many public offices have closed in Mexico City and people are being urged not to shake hands or kiss for fear of spreading the disease. Tourists from Mexico have returned home carrying the disease and there have been cases identified in the USA, New Zealand, France, Spain and Israel. The disease is similar to seasonal human flu but contains genetic material which is usually found in flu outbreaks in birds and pigs. It is particularly resistant to conventional flu treatment and most of the dead have been young adults. Mexico's President Felipe Calderon has announced emergency measures to deal with the situation and the World Health Organisation is doing as much as it can to control the disease.

That's all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again soon. Goodbye.

Welcome to Newslip. Today is Sunday, 19th April 2009. I'm Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week's news.

A fire in a hostel for homeless people in the northwestern Polish town of Kamien Pomorski left 21 people dead and more than 20 injured. The blaze started at 12:40 a.m. local time in the three-story building, which housed 77 people, said Daniel Kopalinski, a spokesman for the fire department. President Lech Kaczynski declared a three-day period of national mourning.

Music Legend Phil Spector has been jailed for second degree murder in Los Angeles following the death of B-Movie actress Lana Clarkson six years ago. Spector has a distinguished career as a music producer and has worked with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. He had a history of pulling guns when in a drunken state and when a woman refused to sleep with him. This was the second time he had stood trial for the 2003 murder, this time with a successful conviction which leaves the 69 year old facing a mandatory fifteen year sentence.

A court in Sweden has jailed four people who are behind the world’s most high profile file sharing website, the Pirate Bay. In a landmark ruling the four founders were found guilty of breaching copyright laws. They were each jailed for a year and ordered to pay about £3 million in damages to a series of film and music companies. The damages awarded were far less than those actually sought. The jailed men have vowed to fight on, to overturn the ruling, and state that they will refuse to pay the fine. In the meantime Pirate Bay continues to operate.

After 28 years together, actor Mel Gibson’s marriage to Robyn Moore is on the rocks and in the divorce courts. It could prove to be the most expensive divorce in Hollywood history with Gibson’s $640 million fortune expected to be halved. Russian singer, Oksana Porchepa is apparently Mel Gibson’s mistress and is the cause of his parting with his wife.

Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi has been found guilty in a Tehran court of espionage and sentenced to eight years in jail. The 31 year old was originally arrested in January for purchasing a bottle of wine which is an offence in the Islamic state. The charges brought against her mutated to those of being an American spy. She had travelled to the area to research the country’s history and culture. She is attempting to appeal against the charges. It is thought that she will be used by the Iranian government as a bargaining chip for Iranian people being held in US custody.

An Australian airline was grounded after four baby pythons escaped from their container and were wild in the hold. The Qantas flight between Alice Springs and Melbourne was carrying twelve Stimson’s pythons, four of which, only six inches long, made an escape. It was initially thought that the missing four had been eaten by the other snakes but after weighing them it was decided that this couldn’t be true. Passengers were evacuated from the craft and it was fumigated leaving no hope for the snakes to survive.

Colombian’s most wanted drugs baron, Daniel Rendon Herrera, was surrounded by armed police in an area of jungle and captured. Known as ‘Don Mario’, the drugs boss believed to be responsible for 3000 murders in the last eighteen months, was found cowering beneath a palm tree. He has been arrested and brought to Bogota, to await possible extradition to the US where his trafficking activities have been most worstly felt. His links with Mexican drugs lords and his control of the exporting corridor from Colombia has meant that with his private army he has shipped about 100 tons of cocaine to the USA.

While battles with Somali pirates continue off the coast, the Somali government introduced Sharia law across the region. It is hoped that the introduction of strict Islamic holy law will reduce tensions between the government and the Islamic militias who are fighting an insurgency. Large areas of the South are already being governed by Sharia. Although the introduction is being widely seen as a popular move, some people are worried about the fact they will no longer be able to play music or chew the narcotic plant, Khat.

The Americas summit has been taking place in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago. It has been the first chance for Obama to address his immediate continental neighbours. There has been controversy as Cuba was not invited and Obama has vowed to change US policy regarding the communist island. Photo opportunities arose when controversial Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chavez, warmly welcomed Obama. The Bolivian President Morales asked Obama to repudiate a recently discovered plot to assassinate him. He says that since Obama has come to power there has been no change in US hostility.

And this week's top story...

The twentieth anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster has been commemorated with calls for Justice for the 96 dead Liverpool supporters. At Anfield for the official service for the dead of the April 15th 1989 disaster, Andy Burnham, the culture secretary, was barracked with cries of ‘Justice’. He has pressured home secretary Jacqui Smith, to press for secret files about the tragedy to be released to the public domain. Although the official government inquiry, the Taylor report, found that police lack of control was officially responsible for the tragedy, no charges against David Duckenfield, the policeman in charge of the event, were ever successfully brought. Twenty years on and the families of loved ones lost that day are a step closer to achieving justice.

That's all for this week's Newslip. thanks for tuning in. See you again soon. Goodbye.

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