Thursday, December 31, 2009

Your daily e-mail from the BBC

Thursday, 31 December, 2009, 20:00 GMT 01:00 +05:00:Asia/Calcutta
TOP STORIES
Freed hostage tells of captivity
Freed Briton Peter Moore says he was roughly treated after being kidnapped in Iraq but conditions improved in the last few months.
  CIA chief confirms Afghan deaths
The CIA chief confirms seven officers - reportedly including a mother-of-three who was station chief - were killed in Afghanistan.
  Straw sparks row over police work
Justice Secretary Jack Straw says he is "sceptical" about police claims they are overworked saying some prefer staying "in the warm".
  Finland shootings leave six dead
Police in Finland find the body of a man who killed five people in a shooting rampage in the southern city of Espoo.
  Teachers among avalanche victims
Two teachers were the victims of an avalanche which swept them to their deaths on Ben Nevis, it is confirmed.
WORLD
CIA chief confirms Afghan deaths
The CIA chief confirms seven officers - reportedly including a mother-of-three who was station chief - were killed in Afghanistan.
  Finland shootings leave six dead
Police in Finland find the body of a man who killed five people in a shooting rampage in the southern city of Espoo.
  New Year seen in around the world
Thousands of people around the world hold celebrations and fireworks displays to welcome the 2010 new year.
AFRICA
Ethiopia rejects hunger warning
An Ethiopian minister denies reports that millions of people need urgent food aid after years of drought.
  Nigeria doctor 'sold own babies'
Police in south-eastern Nigeria arrest a doctor suspected of impregnating girls and selling their babies.
  Senegal apology for Christ 'slur'
Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade apologises after comparing a controversial statue to Jesus Christ.
AMERICAS
CIA chief confirms Afghan deaths
The CIA chief confirms seven officers - reportedly including a mother-of-three who was station chief - were killed in Afghanistan.
  Obama awaits plane bomb reports
US President Obama is to receive reports into security lapses that allegedly allowed a Nigerian man to smuggle a bomb onto a plane.
  'DNA raid' for Argentina heirs
Police allegedly seize DNA samples from heirs to an Argentine media empire, in a probe into forced adoption.
ASIA-PACIFIC
Ex-Indonesia leader Wahid mourned
Thousands of Indonesians gather to pay their respects to former President Abdurrahman Wahid, as his funeral is held.
  New Year seen in around the world
Thousands of people around the world hold celebrations and fireworks displays to welcome the 2010 new year.
  Landmark Malaysian 'Allah' ruling
A Malaysia court overturns a ban on the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims, in a case filed by the Roman Catholic Church.
EUROPE
Finland shootings leave six dead
Police in Finland find the body of a man who killed five people in a shooting rampage in the southern city of Espoo.
  Lithuania shuts nuclear generator
Lithuania prepares to shut down its only nuclear power station by midnight on 31 December - a condition of its EU membership.
  Degas painting stolen from museum
An artwork by Impressionist painter Edgar Degas is stolen from a museum in Marseilles, local authorities have said.
MIDDLE EAST
Freed hostage tells of captivity
Freed Briton Peter Moore says he was roughly treated after being kidnapped in Iraq but conditions improved in the last few months.
  Protests against blockade of Gaza
Several hundred people join protests in Gaza, Israel and Egypt against the blockade of the Gaza Strip.
  Attacks on Israelis fall in 2009
The number of attacks on Israelis in 2009 fell sharply to its lowest level since 2000, says the country's intelligence agency.
SOUTH ASIA
CIA chief confirms Afghan deaths
The CIA chief confirms seven officers - reportedly including a mother-of-three who was station chief - were killed in Afghanistan.
  Pakistan soldiers raid hospital
Pakistani soldiers have raided a hospital in South Waziristan, killing at least four suspected militants, the military says.
  Delhi resumes Pakistan sport ties
India sends its first sports team to Pakistan since the November 2008 Mumbai (Bombay) bombings which killed 174 people.
UK
Freed hostage tells of captivity
Freed Briton Peter Moore says he was roughly treated after being kidnapped in Iraq but conditions improved in the last few months.
  Major rescue after trawler fire
Four crewmen from a Cornish trawler are airlifted to hospital after their fishing boat caught fire off the Isles of Scilly.
  Thousands prepare to see in 2010
Hundreds of thousands of revellers around the UK are expected to gather in temperatures close to freezing to see in the new year.
ENGLAND
Major rescue after trawler fire
Four crewmen from a Cornish trawler are airlifted to hospital after their fishing boat caught fire off the Isles of Scilly.
  'Gunman' served two years in jail
A man thought to have shot his daughter and ex-partner had been in jail for threatening a former wife with a crossbow.
  Fire crews rescue medieval window
A medieval stained glass window is rescued from a fire at a stonemasons' yard which carries out work for York Minster.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Irish cardinal Cahal Daly dies
Cardinal Cahal Daly, the former Primate of All Ireland, has died in Belfast.
  Shots are fired at police station
A number of shots are fired at Crossmaglen police station in south Armagh on Wednesday night.
  Medical staff 'at breaking point'
Medical staff at Antrim Area Hospital are at breaking point because of a lack of resources, a doctor there claims.
SCOTLAND
City's Hogmanay event cancelled
Heavy snow cancels the Inverness New Year party, but other Hogmanay events are expected to go ahead.
  Murder leaves family 'devastated'
The family of a 63-year-old grandmother murdered in her own flat speak of the devastation they feel at her death.
  Air passengers stranded by snow
Hundreds of air passengers are spending the night in Inverness after the weather conditions closed the city's airport.
WALES
Police warn revellers to behave
New year revellers are urged to behave during one of the busiest nights of the year for emergency services.
  Welsh swine flu cases declining
Health chiefs say swine flu cases in Wales are falling although one death has been reported in the past week.
  Crater in car park investigated
Engineers assess a 10ft (3m) wide hole which appeared after a road collapsed in a car park forcing flat evacuations.
POLITICS
Straw sparks row over police work
Justice Secretary Jack Straw says he is "sceptical" about police claims they are overworked saying some prefer staying "in the warm".
  Government website ad to cost £1m
The government is to spend £1m buying airtime for a TV ad promoting its public services website Directgov.
  DNA data 'a lottery' for innocent
Innocent people trying to get their records taken off police DNA databases face a postcode lottery, say the Tories.
BUSINESS
Stock markets recover in 2009
Stock markets recover in 2009, with Shanghai among the best performers as the index rises 80% over the course of the year.
  Tiger Woods loses AT&T as sponsor
Golf star Tiger Woods' fall from grace continues as the US phone giant becomes the latest to end its sponsorship.
  House prices rise by 5.9% in 2009
UK house prices rose by 5.9% in 2009, making some recovery from the massive falls seen last year, the Nationwide says.
ENTERTAINMENT
Parfitt and Rossi appointed OBEs
Status Quo rockers Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi are appointed OBEs for services to music and charity.
  Singer Morrison denies baby story
Veteran singer Van Morrison denies reports he has become a father again, saying they are "utterly without foundation".
  U2 tour hottest US ticket of 2009
Irish rock band U2 had the most successful North American tour of 2009, according to music trade publication Pollstar.
SCIENCE/NATURE
Honour for top science educator
Science and technology educator John Holman is among several eminent scientists awarded New Year Honours.
  Russia 'plans to stop asteroid'
The Russian space agency has said it will hammer out plans to divert an asteroid that will pass near the Earth in 20 years' time.
  Nasa picks three in space contest
Nasa has chosen three front runners among proposals for the next space mission in its New Frontiers programme.
TECHNOLOGY
New Year Honours for game makers
Four veterans of the UK's computer game industry have been given New Year Honours.
  'Start-up' visas to boost US tech
Plans to create "start-up" visas in the US for foreign entrepreneurs with hi-tech business ideas will be debated in 2010.
  Spinvox bought by Nuance for £64m
Voice-to-text company Spinvox has been bought by speech recognition firm Nuance in a cash and stock deal worth £64m.
HEALTH
Home drinkers 'over-pour spirits'
Most people who drink spirits at home pour well over what they would get in a single pub measure, figures suggest.
  Swine flu 'more likely in young'
Children are twice as likely as adults to catch swine flu, a study says, while dismissing suggestions they are "super-spreaders".
  Another anthrax case confirmed
Another heroin user in Glasgow has tested positive for Anthrax, but is said to be responding well to treatment.
EDUCATION
Assaults by young pupils 'rising'
Assaults by children aged five or under led to 2,600 suspensions from schools in England in 2007-8, figures show.
  Student visas 'a big improvement'
Immigration Minister Phil Woolas defends a new student visa system against claims it is being abused.
  Secondary schools get free books
England's secondary schools are each being given at least 15 free books in an attempt to get more pupils reading.
ON THIS DAY NEWS FROM THE BBC ARCHIVES
  1964: Campbell speeds to double record
Donald Campbell breaks the world water speed record, the only man to break both land and water speed records in the same year.
  1999: Putin takes over as Yeltsin resigns
Boris Yeltsin has resigned as Russian president and says Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will take over immediately.
  1987: Zeebrugge heroes honoured
People who displayed heroism during the Zeebrugge ferry disaster are recognised in the New Year's Honours List.
DON'T MISS
Money Box Christmas quiz
Pit your wits against Paul Lewis and team and tackle their twenty ticklish teasers
ONLINE now

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