David Cameron says Libyan regime is 'falling apart'

David Cameron: ''The Libyan people deserve to shape their own future''

 

David Cameron: ''The Libyan people deserve to shape their own future''

Libya Crisis

• Battle for Tripoli Live
• Watching the regime crumble
• The Gaddafi story
• Libya conflict: Q&A

David Cameron has said the regime of Col Muammar Gaddafi is "falling apart and in full retreat".

The prime minister said there would "undoubtedly be difficult days ahead", but the Libyan people were "closer to their dream of a better future".

He said the UK could be "proud" of the part it had played, but stressed the future of the country - and Col Gaddafi himself - was up to Libyans themselves.

Rebel forces have taken control of large parts of Libya's capital Tripoli.

However, the Ministry of Defence stressed that fighting was still going on in the Libyan capital and Nato operations - including those by UK forces on strategic targets controlled by the regime - were continuing.

Mr Cameron interrupted his holiday to return to London to chair an hour-long meeting of the National Security Council, attended by Defence Secretary Liam Fox and International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell among other ministers.

It is the second time his holiday plans have been disrupted this summer, having abandoned a break in Tuscany earlier this month due to the riots across England.
 
'No complacency'
The prime minister committed British forces to conduct aerial and naval missions in Libya in March, enforcing the terms of a UN mandate to protect Libyan civilians from attacks.

The decision was overwhelmingly endorsed by Parliament, and in a statement in Downing Street on Monday morning, Mr Cameron again said it was "necessary, legal and right".

Insisting that Nato's mission in Libya would continue as long as it was needed, the PM went on: "The situation in Tripoli is clearly very fluid and there is absolutely no room for complacency.

"Our task now is to do all we can to support the will of the Libyan people which is for an effective transition to a free, democratic and inclusive Libya.

 

Some civilians have cheered rebels as they advanced on Tripoli

 

"This will be and must be and should be Libyan-led and a Libyan-owned process with broad international support co-ordinated by the United Nations."

The UK, France and the US have long called for Col Gaddafi to leave power and Mr Cameron again repeated that call, urging him to "stop fighting without conditions".

He said he wanted "to see Gaddafi face justice for his crimes" but insisted that his future would be up to the Libyan people, led by the interim political authority, the National Transitional Council.

Mr Cameron said he planned to speak to the council's leader Abdul Jalil later on Monday and would stress to him "the importance of respecting human rights, avoiding reprisals, and making sure all parts of Libya can share in the country's future".

He said Libyan assets in the UK would soon be unfrozen in order to help with post-conflict reconstruction, and the UK would be offering help with medical supplies, food provision and communications and utilities services.

He also said the UK would establish a diplomatic presence in Tripoli as soon as it was safe to do so.
 
Post-conflict planning
Libya's most senior diplomat in London has said rebel forces control more than 90% of Tripoli after they appeared to meet little resistance during a rapid advance on Sunday.

The International Criminal Court has confirmed the capture of Col Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam.

 

“The best way for Libya to move forward is through a transition led and enforced by the Libyan people” - Ed Miliband, Labour leader

• Battle rages at Gaddafi compound
• Oil prices decline on Libya hopes

But fighting is continuing in a number of areas and Col Gaddafi is believed to still have thousands of armed followers in the capital. Mr Cameron said the leader's whereabouts were still unknown.

The BBC's political correspondent Ben Wright said there would be some satisfaction in Downing Street about the apparent collapse of the Gaddafi regime, given that Mr Cameron was among the most vocal supporters of foreign intervention in Libya.

However, he said No 10 would be mindful of uncertainty over how events could develop and be aware that a lot of work would be needed to stabilise the country.

Labour leader Ed Miliband welcomed developments in Libya, but also stressed the need to ensure a orderly transition "from popular revolt against Colonel Gaddafi to stable government without him".

"The best way for Libya to move forward is through a transition led and enforced by the Libyan people that learns the lessons of the past, including Iraq," he said in a statement.

"The priorities are public order, improved lives for the people of Libya and an inclusive, peaceful settlement led by the Libyan people. "
 
'Degree of humility'
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has given a speech in London about the wider Arab Spring, which has seen uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa.

He said such countries were "on the right side of history" and the UK would do all it could to help them - for example, offering practical support to create new political parties, prevent corruption, promote a plural press and register voters.

He also said countries would be given help to access to global financial markets, but only if they could prove their commitment to domestic reform.

The deputy PM said the UK should show "a degree of humility" about its failure in the past to speak out against repressive regimes like that of Col Gaddafi or President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

"We attended to these autocrats in the name of stability, accepting their corruption and economic mismanagement as its necessary price and satisfying ourselves with false promises and cosmetic reform," he said.

"We have learned from those mistakes."

Human rights groups believe about 2,000 people have been killed by Syrian security forces in recent months, and Mr Clegg again urged President Assad to step down, calling him "as irrelevant to Syria's future as Gaddafi is to Libya's".

The Lib Dem leader added that the decision to support military intervention in Libya "was not one the UK took lightly", particularly his party and others who opposed the Iraq invasion, but the country was now "on the cusp of freedom".
BBC News

During a period that spanned six decades, the Libyan leader Gaddafi paraded on the world stage with a style so unique and unpredictable that the words "maverick" or "eccentric" scarcely do him justice.

Brawl mars #Georgetown goodwill tour in #China: Coach Thompson pulls team off court

By Nathan Fenno

The Washington Times

 

Georgetown was involved in a brawl with the Bayi Rockets in an exhibition game in China on Thursday. Head coach John Thompson III had to pull his team from the court with 10 minutes to play. (Associated Press)

The goodwill tour of China by Georgetown’s basketball team turned ugly Thursday, after an exhibition game with the Bayi Rockets ended with an on-court brawl.

The game in Beijing ended in a 64-64 tie as coach John Thompson III pulled his team off the court because of the melee.

A two-minute video of the fracas posted on SportsGrid.com showed a physical contest quickly spiral out of hand. Shoves turned to punches in a wild, confused scene as both benches cleared. Chairs were thrown. When Georgetown’s players were rushed off the court by the coaching staff, the video showed a barrage of bottles heaved at them.

Georgetown spokesman Mex Carey, traveling with the team, told The Times via email no members of the Hoyas’ travel party were injured and the tour will continue as scheduled.

In an emailed statement, Thompson expressed sadness over the situation on a trip he hoped would bring his young team together.

“Tonight, two great teams played a very competitive game that unfortunately ended after heated exchanges with both teams,” Thompson’s statement said. “We sincerely regret that this situation occurred.

“We remain grateful for the opportunity our student-athletes are having to engage in a sport they love here in China, while strengthening their understanding of a nation we respect and admire at Georgetown University.”

The Rockets are a military team in the professional Chinese Basketball Association, with their players serving in the People’s Liberation Army.

Georgetown’s trip was off to a promising start after the Hoyas opened with 98-91 win over the Shanxi Dragons in front of Vice President Joe Biden.

Two more games are planned in Shanghai before Georgetown returns home Aug. 27.

WashingtonTimes.com
© Copyright 2011 The Washington Times, LLC.

3 #ABC #TV crew feared Dead in Helicopter Crash

Helicopter crash scene, remains

ABC director of News Kate Torney paid tribute to the three men...

Three members of a TV news team - including a veteran reporter - are feared dead after a helicopter crash in South Australia, police say.

Reporter Paul Lockyer, cameraman John Bean and pilot Gary Ticehurst are all employed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

The helicopter went down in the Lake Eyre region. The cause of the crash is being investigated.

ABC described the men as "news gatherers at the peak of their craft".

 

Paul Lockyer is one of ABC's most experienced journalists

 

"This has been the longest of nights and we fear it will be the saddest of days,'' ABC managing director Mark Scott said.

"Paul, Gary and John have each given decades of service to the ABC. They are passionate about their work and finding great stories from all over Australia to bring to the public."

It is believed the aircraft crashed on Thursday evening local time.

Three bodies were later found at the scene of the crash - however, the victims' names have not been officially released.

The news crew was working on news and feature projects in the region.

ABC described Lockyer as one of its most experienced reporters, who had worked in Washington,
Singapore and throughout Asia in a career spanning more than 40 years.

BBC News 

Some #London riot sentences 'too severe' ??!

MPs and justice campaigners say some of the sentences given to those involved in the riots in England are too harsh.

On Tuesday two men were jailed for four years for using Facebook to incite riots and another was given 18 months for having a stolen TV in his car.

The former chair of the Criminal Bar Association, Paul Mendelle QC, said sentences were too long and harsh.

But Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said tougher sentences would show there were consequences to disorder.

More than 2,770 people have been arrested in connection with last week's riots in a number of English cities.
By Tuesday afternoon, 1,277 suspects had appeared in court and 64% had been remanded in custody. In 2010 the remand rate at magistrates for serious offences was 10%.

On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Police announced that it has charged 1,005 people after 1,733 arrests over the rioting that swept through the capital. The force has a target of 3,000 convictions.

The force's Acting Commissioner Tim Godwin said the investigation was "far from over".

The courts and tribunals service says legal advisers in court have been advising magistrates to "consider whether their powers of punishment are sufficient in dealing with some cases arising from the recent disorder". Magistrates are able to refer cases to crown courts which have tougher sentencing powers.

A spokeswoman from the service said magistrates were independent and did not have to take direction from their legal advisors who are themselves independent of government.
 
'Wild panic measures'
 The former chair of the Criminal Bar Association, Paul Mendelle QC, told BBC 5 live: "When people get caught up and act out of character, in a similar way, there is a danger that the courts themselves may get caught up in a different kind of collective hysteria - I'm not suggesting violence or anything like that - but in purporting to reflect the public mood actually go over the top and hand out sentences which are too long and too harsh."

  

Riot sentences

• Anderson Fernandes, 22, was warned by a judge at Manchester Magistrates' Court that he may face jail after he admitted stealing two scoops of ice cream. He will be sentenced next week.
• Nicolas Robinson, 23, of Borough, south-east London, was jailed for six months for stealing a £3.50 case of water from Lidl supermarket
• Mother-of-two Ursula Nevin, from Manchester, was jailed for five months for receiving a pair of shorts given to her after they had been looted from a city centre store.

• 2012 ambassador in riot charges

But Mr Pickles told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We need to understand that people for a while thought that this was a crime without consequence - we cannot have people being frightened in their beds, frightened in their own homes for their public safety.

"That is why these kind of exemplary sentences are necessary. I think people would be rightly alarmed if that incitement to riot got off with just a slap on the wrist."

Lord McNally, Liberal Democrat Justice Minister, said the courts must operate independently and warned "it's dangerous when politicians try to do the sentencing".

He said politicians make the laws, police do the arresting and judges do the judging and sentencing.

Cheshire men Jordan Blackshaw, 21, of Marston, and Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan, 22, of Warrington, were jailed for four years each after admitting using Facebook to incite disorder, although none actually resulted.

Defence solicitor Chris Johnson said Mr Blackshaw and his family "are somewhat shocked by the sentence and he will be appealing".

The Recorder of Chester, Judge Elgan Edwards, said he hoped the sentences would act as a deterrent to others.

Assistant Chief Constable of Cheshire Police Phil Thompson said it was "easy to understand" the sentence when you consider the impact technology had on the riots.

The Crown Prosecution Service said the offences committed carried maximum sentences of 10 years, but the four-year sentences were the lengthiest related to rioting so far.

Meanwhile a 17-year-old from Suffolk has been banned from using social networking sites for 12 months and ordered to observe a three month overnight curfew for using Facebook to encourage people to riot during last week's disorder.

Labour MP Paul Flynn wrote on his blog that the government was "throwing away sentencing rules".

 

Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan and Jordan Blackshaw were jailed at Chester Crown Court

"How can this make sense? How does it compare with other crimes? What will it do to prison numbers? This is not government. It's a series of wild panic measures seeking to claw back popularity."

Andrew Neilson, of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: "A four-year sentence would normally be associated with offences such as holding someone up at knife point, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault, and I'm not sure that the offence in question was really related to those types of offences."

He added that over-sentencing would see more appeals and that the courts and prisons would struggle to cope.
 
'Sentencing discrepancy'
Leading criminal barrister John Cooper QC said he believed the sentences were "over the top" and were likely to be overturned by the Court of Appeal.

"What we need to remember here is that there's a protocol for sentencing, and there are rules and procedures in sentencing which make them effective and make them fair.

"What we can't do, in my view, in situations like this, is suddenly throw the rule book away simply because there's a groundswell of opinion."

BBC legal correspondent Clive Coleman said what people were going to find troubling was the discrepancy in sentencing.

 

Croydon MP Gavin Barwell said his constituents wanted to see the courts get tough on rioters

He said an 18-year-old was imprisoned for one day for stealing two Burberry t-shirts while in another court, a 23-year-old man was sentenced to six months in prison for stealing £3.50 worth of water.

"There is always a discrepancy in sentencing around the country, although we try to make it as consistent as possible. I think this intense, feverish atmosphere that we've seen has magnified that somewhat," he said.

In another case, three men were jailed for up to two years in relation to the disorder in Manchester and Salford on 9 August. David Beswick, 31, Stephen Carter, 26, both from Salford, and Michael Gillespie-Doyle, 18, from Tameside, all pleaded guilty at earlier hearings.

Sitting at Manchester Crown Court, sentencing Judge Andrew Gilbart QC said: "I have no doubt at all that the principal purpose is that the courts should show that outbursts of criminal behaviour like this will be and must be met with sentences longer than they would be if the offences had been committed in isolation."

Beswick was sentenced to 18 months in prison for handling stolen goods.

Our legal correspondent said under normal circumstances Beswick would have been given a mid-range community sentence.

His friend Tony Whitaker said the punishment was disproportionate, given that he had pleaded guilty straight away.

BBC News UK 

London riots: More than 1,000 arrested over disorder

This footage shows a police raid that took place in London on Friday

England riots

• Tottenham's return to normality
• The LA model Cameron is copying
• How courts deal with rioters
• Dangers behind riot rumour mill

More than 1,000 arrests have been made and about 600 people charged over three days of rioting and looting in London.

Police said among those held was a man aged 19, in Haringey, east London, who posted a picture of himself on Twitter, posing with suspected stolen goods.

An increased police presence of 16,000 will remain on the streets throughout the weekend, the prime minister said.

The death toll from London's riots rose to two with the death of a 68-year-old man who was attacked in Ealing.

Richard Mannington Bowes, of Haven Green, Ealing, suffered head injuries and went into a coma when he was attacked on Monday night after remonstrating with some teenagers who were setting fire to two industrial bins on Spring Bridge Road.

Previously Trevor Ellis, 26, of Brixton Hill, was found shot in a car in Croydon. Police believe he was shot during a car chase on Monday night following an altercation with a group of people.

On Thursday, the Metropolitan Police said they had been granted about 100 warrants to search homes across London, and they will be executed over the coming days.
 
'Not enough police'
On Friday morning, a number of addresses were raided, while magistrates' courts sat through the night again to process those charged.

The Met said the 19-year-old man who posted a picture of himself with "a haul of suspected stolen goods" on the micro-blogging site Twitter was detained on suspicion of violent disorder and theft.

Among those charged was a 16-year-old girl accused of two counts of robbery, attempted robbery, possession of a knife, threatening violence and assault on police in Lewisham.

 

Several shops in Ealing which were attacked have opened for business

A 15-year-old girl was also charged with attempted robbery and threatening violence over the same incident. The girls were identified by officers, the Met said.

Five males, including two 17-year-olds and one 18-year-old, who were arrested on suspicion of an arson attack on the Sony distribution centre in Solar Way, Enfield, on Monday night, have been bailed until September.

The Met's Deputy Assistant Commissioner Steve Kavanagh has admitted there were not enough police to deal with the three days of rioting.

But Sir Hugh Orde, the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said the police's decision to change their tactics helped control the disorder.

On Friday, London Mayor Boris Johnson said the police were doing a "fantastic job" and praised them for the important arrests they have made over the past few days.

He also praised the "heroism" of firefighters who battled the fires across the capital and described the action of rioters who stopped London Fire Brigade crews from reaching the burning buildings as "demented".
 
'The best commanders'
Acting Met Police Commissioner Tim Godwin praised his officers saying he had some of the "best commanders in the world" who showed "great courage as well as restraint" during the disturbances.

Trouble first flared on Saturday in Tottenham, north London, after a peaceful protest over the fatal shooting of 29-year-old Mark Duggan in a police operation on 4 August.

By Monday night the situation had worsened with disorder spreading to Hackney, Croydon, Clapham, Camden, Lewisham, Peckham, Newham, East Ham, Enfield, Woolwich, Ealing and Colliers Wood.

Officials from the Independent Police Complaints Commission were in Tottenham on Thursday to gather more information about Mr Duggan's shooting, a week on from his death.

His family will hold a wake for him later.

Do you live in any of the areas where rioting and looting took place? How were you affected? How is the community coming together? What is the mood like where you are? Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International)

BBC News London 

Germany marks 50 years since Berlin Wall

Germany is marking 50 years since the building of the Berlin Wall when the communist East closed its border, dividing the city for 28 years.

Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit told a ceremony on Bernauer Street: "The Wall is history but we must not forget it."

President Christian Wulff said Germany had been securely established as a reunified country.
The city observed a minute's silence at noon (10:00 GMT) in memory of those who died trying to escape.

  

“Many still bear the psychological scars”

  -Stephen Evans BBC News, Berlin

• Wall sickness: Berlin's unique illness

Soldiers from the East began construction on the morning of 13 August 1961

• Initially a barbed wire fence, it became a wall which spread for nearly 160km (100 miles)

• More than 300 watchtowers were erected to spot escapees

• Minefields were laid in some sectors

The BBC's Stephen Evans in Berlin says the East German authorities portrayed the Wall as a barrier to keep the fascist West out - what came to be known as the Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart.

But he says the accepted view now is that it was to keep East German potential migrants in.
 
'Saddest day'

 

Germany's leaders attended the Berlin Wall commemoration

Addressing the ceremony on Bernauer, a street famously divided by the Wall and now site of a memorial, Mayor Wowereit said the capital was remembering the "saddest day in its recent history".

"It is our common responsibility to keep alive the memories and pass them on to the next generation, to maintain freedom and democracy and to do everything so that such injustices may never happen again," he said.

Earlier, Mr Wulff told Die Welt newspaper that the modern Germany could take pride in "East Germans' irrepressible desire for freedom and West Germans' solidarity with them".

Chancellor Angela Merkel, who also attended the event, was herself raised in the East.

The number of people who died trying to cross the Wall is disputed - at least 136 are known to have been killed but victims' groups say the true number is more than 700.

 

Find Out More

• BBC History explains why the Berlin Wall went up, and why it came down - in excerpts from BBC television documentaries

• The Berlin Wall

The first victim was thought to be Guenter Liftin on 24 August 1961 and the last Chris Gueffroy on 6 February 1989.

 A list of names of the victims was read out overnight.

Although the Wall came down in 1989, it remains for some a symbol of continuing economic division between the richer west and poorer east.
 

Invisible barrier
Brigitta Heinrich, a schoolteacher by profession, grew up in Klein-Glienicke, which was unusual in that it was an East German enclave on the territory of West Berlin.

 

“I cannot name a single West German with whom I socialise now - really, I can't” 

  -Brigitta Heinrich Fomer East German teacher

 

Speaking to Russian news agency Ria-Novosti, she said one of her own pupils had escaped across the Wall in the early days, using a ladder.

The schoolboy's parents were forced to move out of Klein-Glienicke as a result, and the mother was sacked from her job in a company, she said.

Recalling the hardships and broken illusions of the communist state, Ms Heinrich, who still lives in the East, also talked of the difficulty of readjusting to a unified country.

She said she had made friends with other Europeans such as Italians and Finns since the fall of the Wall but some West Germans, especially in regions further away from Berlin, seemed indifferent to people from the former East, as if an invisible barrier remained.

"I cannot name a single West German with whom I socialise now - really, I can't," she said.

Few parts of the Wall remain, though city authorities have laid down an 8km row of cobblestones to mark its path.

Tourists often struggle to find original sections.

BBC News Europe

@JayZ, @KanyeWest's Throne Defies Radio Rules While lacking conventional single: Watch the Throne tracks 'Lift Off,' 'No Church in the Wild' and 'N---as in Paris' trend on Twitter.

Kanye West

Photo: Flanigan/ FilmMagic

Nothing Jay-Z and Kanye West have done leading up to Monday's release of Watch the Throne has been conventional. While most rap artists look to impact radio with a big crossover single before they drop their album, the Throne handled things a bit differently. 

Yes, there was the release of the Lex Luger-produced "H.A.M.," which now stands as a bonus track on the deluxe version of WTT. Then there was "Otis" of course, but with no catchy chorus, the Redding-sampled track hardly screams crossover. Shade 45 DJ Statik Selektah said he doesn't think Jay and Kanye still need to conform to radio — he actually believes the opposite: "I think Jay and Kanye could put out an a cappella song and it'll get played," the DJ told MTV News.

Check out our photos of Jay and Kanye recording Watch the Throne.

Sucker Free and Power 105.1's DJ Envy agrees. While "Otis" doesn't fit the exact formula for a hit, Envy said radio has picked it up for one simple reason: It's a good record. "The first single, 'Otis,' if you wanna call it a single, it's not a radio record but it's been added on so many different radio stations, which I think is dope," he said. "You still play it in the club, and it's a hot record."

Because of their respective musical accomplishments, Hot 97's DJ Kast One said the Throne are the exceptions to the radio rule. "They're in a different type of space: It's Jay-Z and Kanye — they're arguably two of the biggest rappers, I wanna say, ever," he said.

Shade 45's DJ Wonder echoed that sentiment: "With Jay-Z and Kanye, they're so iconic that it's not going to make a difference what they decided to do; people are gonna want it."

It's not that Watch the Throne has a shortage of likeable records. Since its release Monday, songs like "Lift Off," "No Church in the Wild" and "N---as in Paris" have all become trending topics on Twitter.

Conventional wisdom says that Watch the Throne will eventually produce a number of records for radio, but it doesn't seem that Hov and Yeezy necessarily planned for that while recording the album. DJ Khaled argues that when artists go in with the aim of recording for radio, they end up losing authenticity. "I think people that go in the studio saying, 'I'm making a radio record' is when they start goin' in the wrong direction. It's called, make a great record," he said. "When you start thinking, 'Oh, I should put a little sprinkle and make it radio,' sometimes that hurts you because it's not authentic."

Share your review of Watch the Throne in the comments below.
By Rob Markman
MTV.com

Parliament recalled to tackle London riots

Click to play

UK Riots

• Live: England riots Live
• England riots: Timeline and map
• How could police stop riots?
• Timeline: Parliament recalled

Parliament is being recalled on Thursday in response to rioting in England, the prime minister has said.

The government's emergency committee Cobra met on Tuesday after rioting spread across London, with violence flaring in other major cities.

"We will do everything necessary to restore order to Britain's streets and make them safe for the law-abiding," David Cameron said in Downing Street.

More than 16,000 officers will be on London streets on Wednesday, he said.

All Metropolitan Police leave has been cancelled, with reinforcements called in from other forces, meaning three times as many officers as before will patrol London's streets on Tuesday night, Mr Cameron said.

 

David Cameron described the scenes of violence as "sickening"

Meanwhile, Scotland Yard said a 26-year-old man shot in a car during riots in Croydon has died in hospital.
Mr Cameron said at least 450 people have been arrested so far, in what he condemned as "sickening scenes of people looting, vandalising, thieving, robbing".

He told rioters: "You will feel the full force of the law. And if you are old enough to commit these crimes, you are old enough to face the punishment."

The recall of Parliament will allow MPs to "stand together in condemnation of these crimes and to stand together in determination to rebuild these communities", he said.

The prime minister returned early from his holiday in Tuscany to discuss the unrest, which first flared on Saturday after a peaceful protest in Tottenham over the fatal shooting of a man by police.
 
'Copycat crime'
London has seen a wave of "copycat criminal activity" over the past three days, the Met Police said. More than 69 people have been charged with various offences following hundreds of arrests.
Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham and Bristol are among the other cities where violence broke out.

 

Shops have been looted across the capital

Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Steven Kavanagh said it was a "shocking and appalling morning for London to wake up to".

"The Met was stretched beyond belief in a way that it has never experienced before," he told BBC Breakfast.
Acting Commissioner Tim Godwin ruled out bringing in the Army to help police tackle the violence, but said: "We will be out there in ever greater numbers tonight."

In other developments:

• Three people are being questioned on suspicion of attempted murder after a police officer was injured by a car in Wembley, north-west London, while trying to stop suspected looters
• Tube stations closed during the riots have now reopened, apart from Ealing Broadway
• Part of London's Tramlink between has been suspended as a result of a fire
• Elsewhere, 100 people have been arrested in Birmingham after scores of youths smashed windows and looted shops in the shopping area
• West Midlands Police said a police station in Holyhead Road in Handsworth, Birmingham, was set alight
• Up to 200 youths with masks roamed through Toxteth in Liverpool, while Bristol police said they dealt with outbreaks of disorder involving about 150 people
• A Nottinghamshire police station was attacked in the St Ann's area and 200 tyres were set alight in the street
• Police dealt with "small pockets of disorder" in the Chapeltown area of Leeds

Monday's violence started in Hackney, north London, after a man was stopped and searched by police, who found nothing.

Groups of people there began attacking officers in Hackney at about 16:20 BST, throwing stones and a bin.
 
Police cars were wrecked by youths armed with wooden poles and metal bars, while looters smashed their way into shops before police dispersed them.

Nine other forces are supporting the Metropolitan Police, as well as the City of London Police and British Transport Police.

Some people had complained there were too few police to deal with the violence.

• The Met said Monday was "the worst" disorder in "current memory", with several fires breaking out in Croydon, including one at a sofa factory which spread to neighbouring buildings and tram lines
• Hackney MP Diane Abbott said a London-wide curfew should be considered after 200 riot officers with dogs and mounted police were needed to deal with violence there
• Looters raided shops in Stratford High Street and Clapham Junction, where police used armoured vehicles to push back more than 150 people
• A Sony warehouse in Enfield, a shopping centre in Woolwich New Road and a timber yard in East Ham were all on fire
• Police said two officers were injured when more than 100 people looted a Tesco store in Bethnal Green, while vehicles were set alight in Lewisham and Peckham
• There were reports of looting of phone shops in Woolwich High Street, in south-east London, and set a police car on fire
• Shops and restaurants were damaged in Ealing, west London
• Tuesday's Carling Cup matches at Charlton, West Ham, Crystal Palace and Bristol City have been postponed at the police's request
• England and Holland's friendly at Wembley on Wednesday was also called off has also been called off

Hackney resident Catherine Holmes said: "Our community has been hurt and damaged by causeless violence. We spoke to looters trying to get home - the only explanation they gave for their behaviour was that they had no money."
 
'War zone'
Christian Potts, 29, described Ealing as "like a war zone".

"There were about 25 to 30 masked youths on Haven Green and they just started tearing into a florist with bricks. It's a local family-run business so I can't see why they are doing this."

London's mayor Boris Johnson cut short his holiday to return to the city, while Home Secretary Theresa May did the same to meet Met chiefs.

Click to play

Clapham resident Nick Shaw escaped unhurt from his home which was set ablaze

"These have been the worst scenes of violence and disturbance on our streets for many, many years, and this sort of violence, this level of criminality, this thuggery, this looting, this theft, is completely unacceptable," Ms May told BBC Breakfast.

However, she said the authorities could deal with the situation through robust policing, good use of intelligence and with the support of local communities.

She called on anyone involved in the violence to speak to police.
The trouble follows two nights of violence over the weekend which started after police shot a man dead in Tottenham.

A peaceful protest in Tottenham on Saturday over the death of Mark Duggan, 29, was followed by violence which spread into this week.
BBC News

US debt limit: Obama unveils deal with Congress leaders

President Barack Obama says Republican and Democratic leaders have struck a deal to raise the US debt limit.

Under the proposal, which is set for debate and votes in Congress on Monday, the US debt ceiling would rise by up to $2.4tn from the current $14.3tn.

The US government deficit will be cut by a similar amount over 10 years, and a special bipartisan committee will also be set up to agree spending cuts.

Without a deal the US would face the prospect of defaulting on its debts.

Party leaders in the House of Representatives and Senate still have to present the deal to their members on Monday, before the package goes to a vote.

The BBC's Jane O'Brien says the package is still likely to be a tough sell, with some Republicans and Democrats in the House remaining opposed to different aspects.

A number of conservative Republicans, including first-time congressmen, are likely to vote against the plan, while some liberals in the Democratic party will be disappointed by the prospect of cuts to benefits.

But Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi is expected to ensure enough Democrats vote for the bill to help smooth its passage, analysts say.
 
The US faces a Tuesday deadline to raise its $14.3tn (£8.7tn) debt limit or risk the first full-scale default in its history, a possibility that has spread mounting unease through international markets.

Speaking on Sunday night, the US president said it was not the deal he would have preferred, but noted that the compromise plan would make a "serious downpayment" on the US deficit.

  

Analysis

Jane O'Brien BBC News, Washington

The president says it's not the perfect deal. But he and the leaders of both parties now believe they have the framework for something they can put to their party rank and file.

It's still likely to be a tough sell. The Republican Tea Party members are unlikely to support it because the cuts don't go far enough, and many Democrats will be furious that it doesn't include tax hikes.

Both sides will hold further discussions on Monday before the agreement is drafted into legislation that can be put to a vote.

America's credit rating may still be downgraded, but it now looks more likely that the world's most powerful economy will be spared the humiliation of not being able to pay its bills on Tuesday.

"I want to announce that the leaders of both parties in both chambers have reached an agreement that will reduce the deficit and avoid default, a default that would have had a devastating effect on our economy," Mr Obama said.

Democrats and Republicans in Washington have been deadlocked over finding a way to cut spending and raise the debt limit as the Tuesday deadline approached.

The US limits by law the total amount of debt its government can issue, and the Obama administration has been under mounting pressure over how it would continue to pay bills and costs like salaries if the limit was reached.

News of the proposed deal was welcomed by financial markets, with shares in Tokyo, London and Paris all gaining more than 1%.

"We welcome the US debt deal and hopefully this will stabilise markets," Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said.
 
'Not the greatest deal'
Republican House leader John Boehner said he hoped to hold Congressional votes on the plan "as soon as possible".

"This isn't the greatest deal in the world. But it shows how much we've changed the terms of the debate in this town," he said.

The proposed deal calls for:
• At least $2.4tn deficit reduction over 10 years
• New Congressional committee to recommend a deficit-reduction proposal by November

 

 

The focus now shifts back to Congress with votes expected on Monday

• A two-stage increase in the debt ceiling.

The recommendations of the new, bipartisan committee tasked with identifying further savings would also be put to a vote in Congress, Mr Obama said.

According to Mr Boehner, those savings would amount to at least $1.5tn, bringing the total spending cuts under the plan to about $2.4tn.

In recent days, Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, and Democrats, who control the Senate, have rejected plans drawn up by the rival party in a mounting political battle.

BBC News

#AmyWinehouse funeral in #London #UK

•  
• Flowers and messages are seen outside the home of Amy Winehouse in London
• Winehouse arriving at Westminster Magistrates Court

LONDON (Reuters) - The funeral of British singer Amy Winehouse (was) being held Tuesday after an autopsy failed to pinpoint the cause of her death.

A spokesperson for the late Amy Winehouse has said a small, private funeral will be held for the five-time-Grammy Award winning UK singer who died Saturday for unknown reasons.

The spokesperson said that only friends and family would be attending the ceremony Tuesday and declined to say exactly when or where it would take place.

The family is known to be eager to prevent the notorious UK tabloid press from harassing guests arriving at or leaving the funeral.

Early indications show her music is set to dominate the British singles and albums charts this weekend, mirroring what happened in the weeks following the death of Michael Jackson.

The 27-year-old Winehouse, who had long battled drug and alcohol problems, was found dead in bed at her home in London on Saturday. Her funeral was being attended only by family and close friends, a spokesman said.

An inquest opened Monday and was adjourned until October, with police describing the death as unexplained. More tests are being carried out, with the results expected next month.

Her family was quoted in newspapers as saying they thought she died of a heart attack or seizure. Her boyfriend, Reg Traviss, denied rumors that she died in a drug-fueled haze.

"She had been full of life and so upbeat recently, exercising every day and doing yoga," he told the Sun. "This terrible thing that happened is like an accident."

Record industry body the Official Charts Company said on Tuesday that the singer's music was expected to dominate the British charts.

She is on course to have seven singles in the Top 40 and 14 in the Top 200, with the biggest selling track currently "Back To Black" followed by "Rehab," "Tears Dry On Their Own," "You Know I'm No Good" and "Valerie."

In the year following his death in June 2009 Jackson sold more records in Britain than any other artist.

As she fought drugs and alcohol, Winehouse slid from being a chirpy teenage singer to someone who could barely walk at her final concert performance in Belgrade, Serbia.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported Monday that material recorded before Winehouse's death could be released as a posthumous album. They cited sources who said Winehouse had recorded "a lot of material" and that her parents would have the final say on whether a new album was to be released.

Winehouse's spokesman told Reuters there was no news about the release of a third album. "I know there's material about, but no one's talked about it," he said.

(Reporting by Stephen Addison; editing by Robert Woodward)
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CalcuttaNews.net

The 27 Club: The age that marked death for so many great musicians

From Amy Winehouse to Jimi Hendrix, there are many great musicians who had one tragic thing in common:

Dying at age 27.

As most people know by now, incredibly talented singer Amy Winehouse was found dead in her London apartment over the weekend. She joins an unfortunate club of singers who led troubled lives, some who struggled with drugs, and died at age 27.

Amy Winehouse

The so-called "27s" is part of the title of a book published a few years ago that examines the deaths of many of these young musicians and the tragic number they have in common.

Considered the greatest electric guitarist of all time and an icon of his generation, Jimi Hendrix died in London in 1970 at age 27. He was well known for boozing and drugs, though according to the London Telegraph, the autopsy on him found that he died due to choking on his own vomit but there was little alcohol in his system.

Janis Joplin

Jim Morrison

 Janis Joplin died of a heroin overdose at the same age in the same year.  Jim Morrison, at age 27, died in 1971. He would be considered a pioneer not just for his music but poetry.

Robert Johnson

An earlier guitar great, a man regarded as the one of the best blues performers of all time, Robert Johnson died in 1938 at 27. It's unclear how he died but reports have circled that a lover poisoned him.

Brian Jones

The Rolling Stones founder and guitarist Brian Jones died at 27 of what a coroner reportedly termed "misadventure" in 1969. He was a musician with many talents, playing the harmonica, sitar and marimba. Jones left the band shortly before his death. He was replaced by Mick Taylor.

Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain died at 27 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in Seattle, Washington, in 1994. The frontman for the hit making, grunge-generation defining Nirvana is the stuff of legend.

In 1995, Freaky Tah of the emerging rap group The Lost Boyz passed away at 27. He was shot in the head as he left a party in New York.

CNN Music
Post by: CNN's Ashley Fantz

Family: Winehouse's death leaves 'gaping hole': Singer's mother believes daughter's early death was 'only a matter of time'

Akira Suemori  /  AP

Amy Winehouse's family issued a statement saying they have been left bereft by her death.

 

 

One day after Amy Winehouse's tragic death, her family has issued a statement regarding the 27-year-old singer's untimely passing.VIDEO: Remembering Amy Winehouse (1983-2011)

"Our family has been left bereft by the loss of Amy, a wonderful daughter, sister, niece. She leaves a gaping hole in our lives," the Winehouse family tells Us Weekly in a statement. "We are coming together to remember her and we would appreciate some privacy and space at this terrible time."

PHOTOS: Amy and other stars who died at 27

The "You Know I'm No Good" singer is survived by her father, Mitch, her mother, Janis, and her older brother, Alex. Winehouse's father was in New York City when he learned of her death. "I'm getting on the next plane back. I'm coming home. I have to be with Amy," he reportedly said. "I can't crack up for her sake. My family needs me. I'm devastated; it's such a shock."

PHOTOS: Amy Winehouse's tumultuous life

Janis believed her daughter's death had been "only a matter of time" when they met just 24 hours earlier. "She seemed out of it," Janis said. "But her passing so suddenly still hasn't hit me."
 
Story: Singer Amy Winehouse found dead in London home

When their visit was over, Winehouse said: "I love you, mum."
 
Story: Celebrities express grief at Winehouse's death

"They are the words I will always treasure," Janis now says. "I'm glad I saw her when I did."

TODAY Music
Copyright 2011 Us Weekly

Remembering AMY < #AmyWinehouse > 1983-2011 #RIP

Amy Winehouse

1983-2011

Amy Winehouse found dead, aged 27

 Singer Amy Winehouse, 27, has been found dead at her home, the Press Association has reported.

Last month, the north Londoner pulled out of her European tour after she was jeered at her comeback gig in Serbia for appearing too drunk to perform.

For 90 minutes, she mumbled through parts of songs and at times left the stage - leaving her band to fill in.
The troubled singer had a long battle with drink and drugs which overshadowed her musical career in recent years.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed that a 27-year-old woman had died in Camden and that the cause of death was as yet unexplained.

London Ambulance Service had been called to the flat at 1554 BST and sent two ambulances but the woman died, it said.

BBC News 

Scores killed in Norway attacks

Click to play

Adrian Pracon says he played dead to try to avoid the gunman on Utoeya

At least 85 people died when a gunman opened fire at an island youth camp in Norway, hours after a bombing in the capital Oslo killed seven, police say.

Police have charged a 32-year-old Norwegian man over both attacks.

The man dressed as a police officer was arrested on tiny Utoeya island after an hour-long shooting spree.
Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said many people were still looking for their children and had not so far been able to locate them.

He was speaking after meeting victims and relatives with Norway's King Harald, Queen Sonja and Crown Prince Haakon in the town of Sundvollen near the island.

 

"He first shot people on the island - afterward he started shooting people in the water” - Youth delegate

Mr Stoltenberg said he was "deeply touched" by the meetings. "We will do whatever we can to give them as much support as possible," he said.

Earlier he said that he was due to have been on Utoeya - "a youth paradise turned into a hell" - a few hours after the attack took place.

The suspect is reported by local media to have had links with right-wing extremists. He has been named as Anders Behring Breivik. Police searched his Oslo apartment overnight and are questioning him.

The BBC's Richard Galpin, near the island which is currently cordoned off by police, says that Norway has had problems with neo-Nazi groups in the past but the assumption was that such groups had been largely eliminated and did not pose a significant threat.

Police say they are investigating whether the attacks were the work of one man or whether others helped.
"At Utoeya, the water is still being searched for more victims," deputy police chief Roger Andresen told reporters.

"We have no more information than... what has been found on [his] own websites, which is that it goes towards the right and that it is, so to speak, Christian fundamentalist."

  

At the scene

Richard Galpin BBC News, near Utoeya

A search is going on not just on the island itself, but also in the waters around it because a lot of people tried to escape by jumping in the water and trying to swim away. Even as they did that, eyewitnesses say, the gunman opened fire on them.

The chatter now is that it took the police an hour, if not an hour and a half, to actually get to the island. Of course that gave the gunman so much time to kill so many people.

Also crucially, the police were throwing all their resources at the huge bomb attack which had just taken place in the centre of Oslo.

But still, the question will be asked: Were there not police nearer to this area who could have moved in much more quickly?

Local media report that police are investigating claims by witnesses that a second person was involved, apparently not disguised in a police uniform.

A farm supply firm has confirmed selling six tonnes of fertiliser to Mr Breivik who is reported to have run a farming company. Speculation has been rife that fertiliser could have been used in the Oslo bomb.
 
'Posed as policeman':
The number killed in the island shooting spree, which is among the world's most deadly, had been put at 10 on Friday - but soared overnight. Hundreds of young people had been attending the summer camp organised by the governing Labour Party on Utoeya island.

Eyewitnesses described how a tall, blond man dressed as a policeman opened fire indiscriminately, prompting camp attendees to jump into the water to try to escape the hail of bullets.

Some of the teenagers were shot at as they tried to swim to safety.

Armed police were deployed to the island but details of the operation to capture the suspect remain unclear. After his arrest he was charged with committing acts of terrorism.

  

Island shooting suspect

• Describes himself as a Christian and conservative on Facebook page attributed to him
• Grew up in Oslo and attended Oslo School of Management
• Set up farm through which he would have had access to fertiliser - which can also be used to make a bomb

• Profile: Anders Behring Breivik

Police say they discovered many more victims after searching the area around the island. They have warned the death toll may rise further as rescue teams continue to scour the waters around the island.

The gunman is reported to have been armed with a handgun, an automatic weapon and a shotgun.

"He travelled on the ferry boat from the mainland over to that little inland island posing as a police officer, saying he was there to do research in connection with the bomb blasts," NRK journalist Ole Torp told the BBC.

"He asked people to gather round and then he started shooting, so these young people fled into the bushes and woods and some even swam off the island to get to safety."

One 15-year-old eyewitness described how she saw what she thought was a police officer open fire.

"He first shot people on the island. Afterward he started shooting people in the water," youth camp delegate Elise told Associated Press.

Click to play

Witness Daniel Cherubini says it was "absolute chaos" in Oslo following Friday's bombing

'Despicable violence'

Continue reading the main story

Deadly shootings worldwide

• July 2011: At least 84 killed at a summer camp on the Norwegian island of Utoeya, hours after bomb blast in capital Oslo
• April 2007: Seung-Hui Cho, 23, kills 32 people and himself on Virginia Tech campus in the US
• April 2002: Robert Steinhaeuser, 19, kills 16 people before killing himself in Erfurt, Germany
• April 1999: Students Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, open fire at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado killing 13 people before taking their own lives
• April 1996: Martin Bryant, 29, kills 35 people in the seaside resort of Port Arthur in Tasmania, Australia
• March 1996: Thomas Hamilton, 43, kills 16 children and their teacher in a school in Dunblane, Scotland - before killing himself

The attacks sparked strong international condemnation, with US President Barack Obama expressing his condolences and offering support.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II spoke of her shock and sadness in a letter to King Harald.

In Oslo, government officials urged people to stay at home and avoid central areas of the city.

Shards of twisted metal, rubble and glass littered the streets of central Oslo left devastated by Friday's enormous explosion.

Windows in the buildings of the government quarter were shattered and witnesses described how smoke filled the atmosphere around the blast site.

The BBC's John Sopel in Oslo says there is a heavy military presence, with checkpoints around the quarter.

Mr Stoltenberg said civil servants were among the dead in Oslo and he knew some of those killed.

There are also concerns that more victims may still be inside buildings hit by the initial massive explosion.

BBC News EUROPE