http://www.bbcx365.com BBCx365 Wed, 07 Sep 2011 15:02:35 +0000 http://www.bbcx365.com en http://bbcx365.com/Somalia-pirates-free-Danish-family-seized-in-February http://bbcx365.com/following/bbcx365.com/Somalia-pirates-free-Danish-family-seized-in-February Wed, 07 Sep 2011 15:02:35 +0000 BBCx365 1968556 <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/77011/1968556/09_07_2011.jpg" width="600" height="900" width_o="600" height_o="900" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/77011/1968556/09_07_2011_o.jpg" data-mid="9771030" border="0" align="left"/>September 7, 2011 Somalia pirates free Danish family seized in February A Danish family of five and two crew members captured by Somali pirates in February have been freed and brought to safety, Denmark’s government says. Jan Quist Johansen, his wife, their three children, and two other adults were taken hostage on 24 February. The foreign ministry said they were in relatively good condition and expected back in Denmark shortly. In March, soldiers from the semi-autonomous Puntland region were killed during a failed attempt to rescue them. “The foreign ministry confirms that the Danish sailors from the sailing ship ING — the two parents, their three children and two crewmembers — held hostage by Somali pirates since the 24 February 2011, have now been released,” said the ministry in a statement. A ransom of $3m (£1.9m) was paid for their release, reports the BBC’s East Africa correspondent Will Ross. read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14823454 http://bbcx365.com/Texas-battles-monster-wildfire http://bbcx365.com/following/bbcx365.com/Texas-battles-monster-wildfire Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:16:39 +0000 BBCx365 1962385 <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/77011/1962385/09_06_2011_1.jpg" width="600" height="900" width_o="600" height_o="900" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/77011/1962385/09_06_2011_1_o.jpg" data-mid="9770884" border="0" align="left"/>September 6, 2011 Texas battles ‘monster’ wildfire Firefighters in drought-stricken Texas are struggling to contain a 16-mile-wide (26-km) wildfire that has destroyed almost 500 homes. Officials said the fire had “grown considerably” on Monday and was now burning on 25,000 acres (10,000 ha). Texas Governor Rick Perry cut short presidential campaigning, and said the next 48-72 hours would be “crucial”. Scores of fires are burning across Texas, which has been hit by high winds generated by Tropical Storm Lee. Since December, fires across the state have burned 3.5m acres, Mr Perry said, adding: “That’s roughly the size of Connecticut.” He urged people to heed evacuation orders and not to stay in their homes if they had lost power. “I understand that losing your home or lifetime possessions is incredibly difficult, but do not put your life in jeopardy,” Mr Perry said. Powerful winds from Tropical Storm Lee, hundreds of miles to the east, have been fanning the flames. read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14793914 http://bbcx365.com/Somalia-famine-UN-warns-of-750-000-deaths http://bbcx365.com/following/bbcx365.com/Somalia-famine-UN-warns-of-750-000-deaths Mon, 05 Sep 2011 14:34:12 +0000 BBCx365 1957598 <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/77011/1957598/09_05_2011.jpg" width="600" height="900" width_o="600" height_o="900" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/77011/1957598/09_05_2011_o.jpg" data-mid="9709683" border="0" align="left"/>September 5, 2011 Somalia famine: UN warns of 750,000 deaths As many as 750,000 people could die as Somalia’s drought worsens in the coming months, the UN has warned, declaring a famine in a new area. The UN says tens of thousands of people have died after what is said to be East Africa’s worst drought for 60 years. Bay becomes the sixth area to be officially declared a famine zone - mostly in parts of southern Somalia controlled by the Islamist al-Shabab. Some 12 million people across the region need food aid, the UN says. The situation in the Bay region was worse than anything previously recorded, said senior UN’s technical adviser Grainne Moloney “The rate of malnutrition [among children] in Bay region is 58%. This is a record rate of acute malnutrition,” she told journalists in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. This is almost double the rate at which a famine is declared. “In total, 4 million people are in crisis in Somalia, with 750,000 people at risk of death in the coming four months in the absence of adequate response,” the UN’s Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) says. Half of those who have already died are children, it says. read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14785304 http://bbcx365.com/Iran-s-Bushehr-nuclear-plant-connected-to-national-grid http://bbcx365.com/following/bbcx365.com/Iran-s-Bushehr-nuclear-plant-connected-to-national-grid Sun, 04 Sep 2011 14:19:33 +0000 BBCx365 1953722 <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/77011/1953722/09_04_2011.jpg" width="600" height="900" width_o="600" height_o="900" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/77011/1953722/09_04_2011_o.jpg" data-mid="9710286" border="0" align="left"/>September 4, 2011 Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant connected to national grid Iran’s first nuclear power station has been connected to the country’s electricity grid, state news reports. Bushehr was supplying 60 megawatts of its 1,000 megawatt capacity to the national grid, officials said. The reactor’s generating unit began operating at a low level in May, prompting Israel and other nations to express fears the reactor could help Iran develop nuclear weapons. Tehran says its intentions are purely peaceful. But the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said it is “increasingly concerned” that Iran is also secretly working on components for a nuclear weapons programme. read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14779227 http://bbcx365.com/Turkey-expels-Israeli-ambassador-over-Gaza-flotilla-row http://bbcx365.com/following/bbcx365.com/Turkey-expels-Israeli-ambassador-over-Gaza-flotilla-row Sun, 04 Sep 2011 03:33:30 +0000 BBCx365 1952680 <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/77011/1952680/09_03_2011.jpg" width="600" height="900" width_o="600" height_o="900" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/77011/1952680/09_03_2011_o.jpg" data-mid="9681413" border="0" align="left"/>September 3, 2011 Turkey expels Israeli ambassador over Gaza flotilla row Turkey has expelled Israel’s ambassador and suspended all military agreements over its refusal to apologise for last year’s raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla. It comes a day after a leaked UN report said Israeli commandos used excessive force when they boarded an aid ship, killing nine Turkish activists. The Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, said it was “time Israel pays a price for its illegal actions”, but Israel says its troops acted in self-defence. read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-14765176 http://bbcx365.com/EU-steps-up-Syria-sanctions-with-ban-on-oil-imports http://bbcx365.com/following/bbcx365.com/EU-steps-up-Syria-sanctions-with-ban-on-oil-imports Fri, 02 Sep 2011 19:32:16 +0000 BBCx365 1947715 <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/77011/1947715/09_02_2011.1.jpg" width="600" height="900" width_o="600" height_o="900" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/77011/1947715/09_02_2011.1_o.jpg" data-mid="9657574" border="0" align="left"/>September 2, 2011 EU steps up Syria sanctions with ban on oil imports The EU has stepped up sanctions on Syria by banning imports of its oil, as protests again broke out against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad. Oil accounts for about 25% of Syria’s income and the EU takes about 95% of its oil exports. Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal said the sanctions would “go straight to the heart of the regime”. Activists say protesters on Friday again poured on to the streets all over the country. At least 13 more people have been killed by security forces, they said. The United Nations says more than 2,200 people have been killed in six months of protests. read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14759416 http://bbcx365.com/Iraq-US-troops-first-fatality-free-month-since-2003 http://bbcx365.com/following/bbcx365.com/Iraq-US-troops-first-fatality-free-month-since-2003 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 22:43:49 +0000 BBCx365 1944056 <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/77011/1944056/09_01_2011.1.jpg" width="600" height="900" width_o="600" height_o="900" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/77011/1944056/09_01_2011.1_o.jpg" data-mid="12846900" border="0" align="left"/>September 1, 2011 Iraq: US troops’ first fatality-free month since 2003 August was the first month since the US-led invasion in 2003 that no US soldiers were killed in Iraq. An independent group, icasualties.org, has displayed the statistics for August on its website, which tracks US fatalities in Iraq every month. US Col Douglas Crissman said it showed how far Iraqi security forces had come. Figures for Iraqi civilian and security forces deaths in August are not yet available, but the month has seen major attacks with substantial loss of life. On 28 August a suicide bombing at a major Sunni mosque that killed 32 people in Baghdad and a series of coordinated assaults on 15 August killed at least 60 people. read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-14745907 http://bbcx365.com/Dozens-tortured-and-killed-in-Syria-detention-centres http://bbcx365.com/following/bbcx365.com/Dozens-tortured-and-killed-in-Syria-detention-centres Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:19:52 +0000 BBCx365 1939907 <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/77011/1939907/08_31_2011.jpg" width="600" height="900" width_o="600" height_o="900" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/77011/1939907/08_31_2011_o.jpg" data-mid="9616949" border="0" align="left"/>August 31, 2011 Dozens ‘tortured and killed in Syria detention centres’ Amnesty International has said it believes that at least 88 people have died in detention in Syria during the past five months. It says those who died, including 10 children, were subjected to beatings, burns, electric shocks and other abuse. The group says it believes all of those who died were arrested after taking part in anti-government protests. Foreign journalists have been blocked from entering Syria and the reports could not immediately be verified. The allegations, published in a report, come shortly after the Syrian government denied persistent reports of at least one mass grave being uncovered in the restive southern city of Deraa. “These deaths behind bars are reaching massive proportions, and appear to be an extension of the same brutal disdain for life that we are seeing daily on the streets of Syria,” said Neil Sammonds, Amnesty’s researcher on Syria. Mr Sammonds told the BBC that they have the names of at least 3,000 people who are currently in detention. read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14726294 http://bbcx365.com/Director-of-the-ATF-and-the-US-attorney-in-Arizona-resign-over-gun http://bbcx365.com/following/bbcx365.com/Director-of-the-ATF-and-the-US-attorney-in-Arizona-resign-over-gun Wed, 31 Aug 2011 03:48:30 +0000 BBCx365 1934259 <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/77011/1934259/08_30_2011.jpg" width="600" height="900" width_o="600" height_o="900" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/77011/1934259/08_30_2011_o.jpg" data-mid="9587378" border="0" align="left"/>August 30, 2011 Director of the ATF and the US attorney in Arizona resign over gun sting The acting director of the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and the US attorney in Arizona are resigning over a botched operation to track the flow of guns to Mexico. The ATF’s Kenneth Melson had recently faced pressure by Congress to resign. Operation Fast and Furious saw US agents allowing thousands of guns into Mexico illegally with the hope of tracing them to major arms dealers. But hundreds of guns went missing and dozens have turned up at crime scenes. The operation never led to any arrests. read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14725364 http://bbcx365.com/Colombia-s-long-task-to-identify-conflict-victims http://bbcx365.com/following/bbcx365.com/Colombia-s-long-task-to-identify-conflict-victims Tue, 30 Aug 2011 03:14:31 +0000 BBCx365 1928049 <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/77011/1928049/08_29_2011.jpg" width="600" height="900" width_o="600" height_o="900" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/2/77011/1928049/08_29_2011_o.jpg" data-mid="9557412" border="0" align="left"/>August 29, 2011 Colombia’s long task to identify conflict victims By Imogen Foulkes Colombia is home to one of the world’s longest running internal conflicts. For 47 years, government forces, rebel groups, paramilitaries and drug cartels have battled for control of large parts of the country. Atrocities have been committed by all sides, and tens of thousands of people have simply disappeared. Now, although the conflict continues, the Colombian authorities are beginning the work to find out what happened to those missing, to identify bodies found in mass graves, and to let families know. To date, some 10,000 people have been identified but the process can be painfully slow, and many families may never get an answer. read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-14215672