Obama: Russia must pull back troops

28 March 2014 Last updated at 12:48

US President Obama has urged Russia to stop "intimidating" Ukraine and cut the number of troops it has on its border.

Russia is believed to have massed a force of several thousand troops close to Ukraine's eastern frontier.

Mr Obama told CBS News it may "be an effort to intimidate Ukraine, or it may be that [Russia has] additional plans."

Meanwhile, a Russian security official has said intelligence measures are being stepped up to counter Western threats to Moscow's influence.

"There has been a sharp increase in external threats to the state. The lawful desire of the peoples of Crimea and eastern Ukrainian regions is causing hysteria in the United States and its allies," Interfax quoted Alexander Malevany, deputy head of the Federal Security Service (FSB), as saying.

He said Russia was taking "offensive intelligence measures" to counter Western efforts to "weaken Russian influence in a region that is of vital importance to [Moscow]," Interfax reported.

Earlier, ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych called for a national referendum to determine each region's "status within Ukraine".

He fled to Russia last month after massive demonstrations against him and clashes between protesters and police in which more than 100 people died. The Kremlin says the new government in Kiev came to power illegally.

President Obama, in the CBS interview recorded before he left Italy on Thursday, said President Vladimir Putin had been "willing to show a deeply-held grievance about what he considers to be the loss of the Soviet Union".

But he warned that the Russian leader should not "revert back to the kinds of practices that were so prevalent during the Cold War".

"I think there's a strong sense of Russian nationalism and a sense that somehow the West has taken advantage of Russia in the past, " Mr Obama said. "What I have repeatedly said is that he may be entirely misreading the West. He's certainly misreading American foreign policy."

Mr Obama said the US has "no interest in circling Russia" and "no interest in Ukraine beyond letting Ukrainian people make their own decisions about their own lives."

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Two firefighters killed in Boston

27 March 2014 Last updated at 01:03

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Boston fire chief Richard Paris described the blaze as "a sad day" for the city

Two firefighters were killed and 13 injured in the US city of Boston in a wind-whipped blaze that destroyed a three-storey residential building.

The fire in the city's Back Bay neighbourhood broke out about 14:45 local time (18:45 GMT).

Lt Edward Walsh and Firefighter Michael Kennedy were overcome by flames in the basement in minutes, officials said.

A number of residents were rescued from the upper floors, and none were reported injured.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

"Today's a sad day for the city of Boston," Mayor Marty Walsh told reporters in an evening news conference. "We lost two heroes here today."

The first fire crews responding to the scene spotted smoke blowing from the brick apartment building and called for back-up.

As the inferno grew rapidly, firefighters rushed into the building to rescue residents from the upper floors, while Lt Walsh, 43, and Firefighter Kennedy, 33, ran with a hose down to the basement, where the fire is believed to have originated, Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Finn told reporters.

"In 30 years I've never seen a fire escalate that quickly," he said.

He said he believed a basement window broke and air rushed into the building, driving the fire at the two men and scorching them. They called mayday about two to three minutes after they entered the building.

Meanwhile, several firefighters suffered burns, broken bones and other bodily injuries.

Firefighter Kennedy was rescued about 30 minutes into the fire and was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he died.

Lt Walsh's body was only recovered about 20:00 local time, when an honour guard of comrades from his firehouse carried him from the burnt shell of the building, a fire official said.

"Citizens were saved and that's what we do, we sacrifice our lives for the city of Boston," said Rich Paris, president of Boston Firefighters Local 718, a labour union.

"That's what Firefighter Michael Kennedy and Lt Eddie Walsh did today."

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Judge rejects Oklahoma execution law

26 March 2014 Last updated at 23:42

A judge in the US state of Oklahoma has ruled its execution law improperly prevents death row inmates learning the source of the drugs used to kill them.

The finding potentially delays at least two executions and could influence court challenges in other states.

It comes as US states are having increasing trouble obtaining drugs used in executions, amid an embargo from European pharmaceutical firms.

Critics say the states risk botching executions with impure drugs.

In January, an execution in Ohio took 25 minutes to complete, as the inmate reportedly gasped and made choking noises in the moments before he was pronounced dead.

The state used two untried drugs to kill convicted murderer and rapist Dennis McGuire after the maker of the previous execution drug refused to allow its use.

The challenge to Oklahoma's law was brought by convicted murderers Clayton Lockett and Charles Warner, who sought to learn the source of the drugs to be used in their executions scheduled for 22 April and 29 April, respectively.

But Oklahoma state law blocks officials from revealing - even during court proceedings - the identities of the companies supplying the drugs used to sedate the inmates, paralyse their respiratory systems, and stop their hearts.

Executions in decline

On Wednesday, Oklahoma County district court Judge Patricia Parrish ruled the secrecy provision unconstitutional, though her ruling did not affect Lockett's and Warner's death sentences.

"I think that the secrecy statute is a violation of due process because access to the courts has been denied," Ms Parrish ruled, according to local media reports.

It's getting harder for US states to source the drugs used in lethal injections because many European companies don't want their drugs used for this purpose, the BBC's Beth McLeod in Washington reports.

State governments have turned to other suppliers, but lawyers for death row inmates argue that these less regulated drugs can lack purity and cause unnecessary suffering, our correspondent reports.

Capital punishment experts say the Oklahoma decision could affect the several other states where corrections officials are barred by law from disclosing the source of the drugs.

Thirty-two US states have death penalty laws and 18, plus the District of Columbia, have abolished capital punishment.

But in recent years only a handful of states have actually carried out executions - nine in 2013 and seven in 2012.

The annual number of executions has fallen dramatically, from a high of 98 in 1999 to 39 last year.

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Bank of America in $9.5bn settlement

27 March 2014 Last updated at 11:17

Bank of America agreed to pay $9.5bn (£5.7bn) to settle charges it misled US mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before the housing crisis in 2008.

The bank will pay $6.3bn in cash and buy back $3.2bn in mortgage securities.

The settlement resolves four lawsuits filed in 2011 by US regulatory agency, the Federal Housing Finance Authority (FHFA).

Those suits were filed against Bank of America as well as Countrywide and Merrill Lynch.

Bank of America bought Countrywide and Merrill Lynch in 2008 and 2009 respectively, during the height of the financial crisis.

The bank said the agreement resolved "one of the most significant remaining pieces" of housing market-related litigation against the firm.

"This settlement... represents an important step in helping restore stability to our broader mortgage market and moving to bring back the role of private firms in providing mortgage credit," said FHFA director Melvin Watt in a statement.

Banned from business

Separately, Bank of America settled a lawsuit brought by New York's attorney general in 2010.

That suit, which was filed against Bank of America as well as the bank's former chief executive Kenneth Lewis, alleged that Bank of America failed to disclose losses at Merrill Lynch prior to the bank's acquisition of the firm.

In hiding these losses, New York's attorney general alleged that Bank of America misled shareholders about the purchase.

To settle the suit, Bank of America agreed to pay $15m and adopt certain corporate governance changes.

Additionally, Mr Lewis agreed to pay $10m, and said he will accept a three-year ban from working at any public company as part of the settlement.

The firm said that it has now resolved around 88% of the total cost of pending litigation relating to the bank's conduct during the housing crisis.

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Qatar jails US 'organ death' pair

27 March 2014 Last updated at 11:29

A court in Qatar has sentenced an American couple to three years in prison over the death of their eight-year-old adopted daughter.

The judge did not specify the exact charges of which they were convicted.

But prosecutors had accused Matthew and Grace Huang of fatally starving their daughter Gloria, originally from Ghana, so that they could harvest her organs.

The couple said it was "ridiculous" and that Gloria died from complications related to an eating disorder.

"We have just been wrongfully convicted and we feel as if we are being kidnapped by the Qatar judicial system," Mr Huang told reporters outside the court.

"This verdict is wrong and appears to be nothing more than an effort to save face," he added.

They were also ordered to pay a fine of 15,000 Qatari riyals ($4,100; £2,490) each and will be deported after serving their sentences. The prosecution had demanded the death penalty.

Post-mortem questioned

The couple and their three young children - Gloria and two boys - moved to Qatar in 2012 when Mr Huang, an engineer, got a job working on a construction project for the 2022 Fifa World Cup.

He and his wife were arrested in January 2013 after Gloria died in hospital after having not eaten for four days.

They attributed this to "an eating disorder, a legacy of her impoverished childhood in Ghana, in which she would sometimes fast, binge-eat or steal food", according to their website.

However, the police concluded that the Huangs, who are of Asian descent, were child traffickers and accused them of depriving Gloria of food and water "in order to harvest their organs, or perhaps to perform medical experiments on them", the website adds.

The other two children were placed in government custody but were eventually permitted to return to the US with Mrs Huang's mother. The couple were meanwhile remanded in custody until November, when they were granted bail but ordered to remain in the emirate.

Gloria's death certificate states that she died of "dehydration and cachexia", a disorder that results in dramatic weight loss and muscle atrophy.

However, according to the New York Times, a second post-mortem conducted by a pathologist in California in March found no evidence that tissue from the brain or other organs had been sectioned or cut for analysis - a standard procedure.

Qatari prosecutors asserted that chunks of organs had been examined microscopically, but provided no samples or photographs.

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Obama urges NSA phone data reform

27 March 2014 Last updated at 17:26

President Barack Obama has asked Congress to end bulk collection of US phone records by the National Security Agency (NSA).

The proposal requires the government to receive a court order to access telecom companies' records.

The NSA is understood to collect daily call records from specific telecom firms and to keep them for five years.

The plan follows widespread anger after leaks revealed the full extent of US surveillance operations.

"I believe this approach will best ensure that we have the information we need to meet our intelligence needs while enhancing public confidence in the manner in which the information is collected and held," Mr Obama said in a statement on Thursday.

Reasonable suspicion

Under the new proposal, the government will reportedly only seek specific records that telecom companies possess.

Continue reading the main story

• Accessing internet company data
• Tapping fibre optic cables
• Eavesdropping on phones
• Targeted spying

The government must gain approval from a secret surveillance court - proving there is a reasonable suspicion that a phone number is connected to a terrorist - in order to access the record.

An agency may conduct a search without prior approval in cases of emergency, though it remains unclear what constitutes an emergency under the proposal.

The telecom companies will be required to search for specific numbers of a limited time period.

The government previously had the ability to search for numbers only distantly linked to a suspicious number, but would now be limited to accessing only a specific number and direct contacts.

Documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden have revealed the US collects massive amounts of electronic data from communications of private individuals around the world, and has snooped on foreign leaders.

In a speech in January, President Obama said it was necessary for the US to continue collecting large amounts of data, but that civil liberties must be respected.

The Obama administration has said it plans to renew the current NSA programme for at least another 90 days until Congress passes the new bill.

New legislation has also been developed separately by leaders of the House intelligence committee that would allow the NSA to issue subpoenas for specific phone records without prior judicial approval, the New York Times reports.

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Wife sentenced in 'cliff push' death

27 March 2014 Last updated at 19:58

A woman in the US state of Montana who admitted shoving her husband off a cliff eight days into their marriage has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Jordan Linn Graham, 22, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in December and faced up to a life sentence.

Cody Johnson, 25, fell to his death in Glacier National Park on 7 July.

Prosecutors alleged Graham was having second thoughts about her marriage when she lured Johnson to the cliff.

Graham had insisted Johnson's death was accidental but later pleaded guilty during her jury trial.

In exchange for Graham's plea, prosecutors agreed to drop a charge of premeditated first-degree murder as well as one count of making a false statement to authorities.

Graham told a court in December she was unhappy just days after her wedding. When she and her new husband went for a hike on a narrow ledge over a ravine, they argued, and he grabbed her by the arm.

"I just pushed... I wasn't thinking about where we were," she said.

Reported missing

Graham said she later drove home and did not call for help because she was afraid.

Johnson was reported missing on 8 July.

According to an FBI affidavit, in an initial interview on 9 July, Graham told police she had received a text message from her husband saying he was going for a drive with a friend.

But she told investigators both she and her husband usually deleted their texts so she could not show police the message in question.

Two days later she was the first to report finding her husband's dead body.

A park ranger told her it was unusual that she had found the body, according to the affidavit.

"It was a place he wanted to see before he died," she allegedly replied.

His family called for an investigation after his body was recovered by helicopter below a steep viewpoint known as the Loop, in Glacier National Park on 12 July.

Graham subsequently admitted having lied to police about her husband's death on 16 July.

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US nuclear commanders sacked in row

27 March 2014 Last updated at 20:40

The US Air Force has sacked nine mid-level nuclear commanders and will discipline dozens more in a test cheating scandal, officials have said.

Nearly one in five of the Air Force's nuclear missile officers have been implicated in a ring of cheating on monthly proficiency tests.

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James has said the nuclear force is suffering from "systemic problems".

A series of programmes to improve leadership are also said to be planned.

None of the fired commanders is directly involved in the alleged cheating. Each was instead determined to have failed in leadership responsibility.

Continue reading the main story

• October 2013 - Maj Gen Michael Carey, a two-star general in the 20th Air Force, is sacked after accusations of drunken misconduct
• October 2013 - US Navy Vice-Adm Tim Giardina is removed as deputy head of US Strategic Command and investigated for illegal gambling
• August 2013 - the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base fails a safety test, and its commander is relieved of duty
• May 2013 - The US Air Force temporarily strips 17 officers at Minot base in North Dakota of their nuclear watch authority following a poor grade in a missile launch test.
• October 2007 - The air force relieves several officers of their duties after a B-52 bomber was mistakenly flown across the US loaded with nuclear-armed missiles

In addition to the nine officers sacked, the senior commander of Malmstrom Air Force Base's 341st Missile Wing, Col Robert Stanley, was allowed to resign.

Commanders of the 341st Wing's three missile squadrons - each of whom is responsible for three nuclear missiles - were also fired, the Associated Press news agency reports.

Ninety-one missile launch crew members at Malmstrom have thus far been implicated in the cheating scandal, including more than 40 who face disciplinary action that may include dismissal.

Cheating allegations first emerged during investigations into alleged drug use by personnel at other bases.

In the wake of the revelations, the Air Force announced the entire team at the base would be re-tested.

It is the latest scandal to hit the US Air Force and nuclear missile force.

Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel had previously ordered a high-level review of the US nuclear forces, saying he was "deeply concerned" about morale and discipline among nuclear officers, while insisting that US nuclear arms were safe.

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US mudslide toll expected to leap

27 March 2014 Last updated at 23:55

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Snohomish County Fire Battalion Chief Steve Mason explains what is happening at the site

The number of fatalities in a mudslide in Washington state will rise "substantially" in the next two days, authorities say.

Sixteen bodies have been recovered and another nine bodies have been found but not yet retrieved.

Some 90 people remain missing after the 177ft (54m) wall of mud hit the town of Oso, north of Seattle.

Hopes of discovering any more survivors have faded as the search entered day six on Thursday.

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David Willis reports from the edge of the cordon on the grim task for mudslide volunteers

Workers have been scouring the area for victims, using search dogs and heavy excavation equipment.

Local fire chief Travis Hots said the death toll would increase substantially within the next 24-28 hours as the medical examiner catches up with the recovery effort.

Authorities have so far identified one victim, 45-year-old Christina Jefferds.

Ms Jefferds, who the Seattle Times reports was a dental office manager, died of blunt impact injuries, says the medical examiner.

But on Thursday, family members confirmed to local media that searchers had discovered the body of Ms Jefferds's four-month-old granddaughter, Sanoah Violet Huestis, whom she had been babysitting at the time of the mudslide.

Died together

Nichole Webb Rivera, 39, told the BBC the search continued for her family members who have not been heard from since Saturday.

Ms Rivera's daughter Delaney Webb, 20, and her fiance Alan Bejvl were visiting Ms Rivera's parents for the weekend when disaster truck.

Webb and Bejvl planned to wed on 16 August at Ms Rivera's parents home on the river, Ms Rivera said.

Her parents, Thom and Marcy Satterlee, were married 41 years and had lived in the area for three decades.

"If they could choose a way to go out, it would be like that, really fast and in the place they loved. Together," she said.

The mudslide on Saturday destroyed about 30 houses, temporarily damming a river and leaving a square mile field of muck and debris in its wake.

"This disaster is so enormous, I sometimes think even the pictures don't always do it justice," said Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, who represents the area.

"The number of families that have been impacted, the number of people that they've lost, the number of people who are still missing. It's truly, truly heartbreaking."

'No bodies'

The mile debris field is pocked with deep pits of water and strewn with sharp and dangerous wreckage, including fallen trees, propane and septic tanks, destroyed vehicles and smashed timber.

Survivors were last pulled alive from the mud on Saturday.

Another one of those watching the recovery effort in the hope of a miracle is Becky Bach, whose brother and wife are unaccounted for.

"Realistically I honestly don't think they're going to find them alive," she said.

"But as a family, we're trying to figure out what to do if they find no bodies."

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'Obamacare' sign-ups top six million

28 March 2014 Last updated at 12:50

US President Barack Obama says six million people have signed up for medical insurance under his healthcare law, meeting the administration's goal.

He announced the figure in a conference call with supporters days before the application period ends for enrolees.

The White House's initial goal was seven million, but this was revised amid last autumn's disastrous launch.

Public support for the law is at its lowest - 26% of Americans back it - found a new Associated Press-GfK poll.

'No stone unturned'

The first "open enrolment" period during which Americans can sign up for a health insurance plan ends on 31 March, though the Obama administration has extended the deadline for some people who continue to have trouble applying.

On Thursday, Mr Obama spoke on the phone from Italy with several thousand volunteers and workers who are guiding Americans through the often confusing process of signing up for insurance online.

"The president thanked the group for all their hard work to date and discussed the importance of building on this progress over the last four days of open enrolment," the White House said in a statement.

"The president encouraged the navigators and volunteers to redouble their efforts over the next four days and leave no stone unturned in trying to bring affordable health coverage to as many Americans as possible by the March 31 deadline."

The programme, widely known as Obamacare, was crippled at its October rollout by technical glitches, but it seems to have largely overcome those problems.

The 2010 law, known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is intended to extend health insurance to the roughly 48 million Americans who do not receive it through their employers, the government, or a privately purchased plan.

It also aims to slow the growth in the cost of healthcare.

Among its central provisions are online marketplaces called exchanges run by the states and by the federal government on which individuals can purchase health insurance plans, sometimes with generous subsidies.

Under the law, Americans who go without health insurance in 2014 and beyond pay a penalty.

The health law has been vigorously opposed by the Republican Party and by conservatives in the private sector who see it as an inappropriate government intrusion into the massive healthcare industry and an affront to personal liberty.

Conservatives are expected to try to tap into popular discontent with the law during November's midterm elections, which will determine the shape of Congress for Mr Obama's last two years in office.

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Canada 'webcam killer' in plea offer

21 March 2014 Last updated at 22:19

A Toronto man accused of killing a Chinese student whose last moments were witnessed via webcam by her boyfriend has offered to admit manslaughter.

Brian Dickson, 32, denied a charge of first-degree murder in the killing of Qian Liu, 23, from China.

But prosecutors rejected his offer to admit a lesser charge.

The accused lived in the same building where Ms Liu was found dead on 15 April 2011, hours after an intruder interrupted her web chat.

Justice Anne Molloy told jurors in the Toronto courtroom on Friday that the prosecution intends to prove the suspect guilty of the more serious charge of first-degree murder.

Ms Liu - who had attended Beijing City University before moving to Toronto to study English - and her boyfriend were chatting when a man knocked on the door asking to use her mobile phone.

She let him into her basement flat and a struggle ensued for several minutes while the boyfriend watched helplessly.

The web chat was shut down, and Ms Liu's laptop and webcam were taken from the flat.

Ms Liu was found dead the next morning.

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Game of Thrones author hints at film

By Amelia Butterly
Newsbeat reporter

Game of Thrones author George RR Martin has said the TV adaptation of his novels may end with a feature film.

At the series four premiere in New York, the writer said: "It all depends on how long the main series runs.

"Do we run for seven years? Do we run for eight? Do we run for 10?

"The books get bigger and bigger. It might need a feature to tie things up, something with a feature budget, like $100m (£60.7m) for two hours," he told the Hollywood Reporter.

"Those dragons get real big, you know."

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Lena Headey as Jaime Lannister and Cersei Lannister

Martin also revealed other ideas he has for movie adaptations for his work.

Continue reading the main story

We don't want to become a show that outstays its welcome and tries to turn each book into three seasons

David Benioff Game of Thrones showrunner

One of the possibilities being considered centres around Tales of Dunk and Egg, three prequels which feature characters including Ser Duncan the Tall.

According to the stories, he lived 90 years earlier in Westeros, the setting for A Song of Ice and Fire, the series on which Game of Thrones is based.

"They could be the basis for [a film]. I have written these three stories and I have about a dozen more," said the 65-year-old author.

Martin said the characters in Tales of Dunk and Egg are direct ancestors of some of those in Game of Thrones but did not reveal how they are related.

Emilia Clarke plays Daenerys Targaryen in the series, made by HBO

Previously it has taken up to six years for Martin to release the next book in the series and there have been concerns the HBO show may overtake the author's output.

Last year, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, co-creator and showrunner David Benioff said there was a chance the programme may end before the last book is released and that producers were aware of the general ending of Martin's story.

Continue reading the main story

It might need a feature to tie things up, something with a feature budget, like $100m (£60.7m) for two hours

George RR Martin A Song of Ice and Fire author

"Ideally, the books come out first," said Benioff.

"We don't want to become a show that outstays its welcome and tries to turn each book into three seasons.

"Part of what we love about these books, and this show, is this sense of momentum and building toward something.

"If we tried to turn this into a 10-season show we'd strangle the golden goose. There is a ticking clock here."

John Bradley-West plays Samwell Tarly in the series, which is shown on Sky

Game Of Thrones was the most pirated TV show ever in 2013, according to TorrentFreak, with nearly six million people using file-sharing sites to download last season's finale.

Directors for the upcoming fourth series include Michelle MacLaren, who worked on Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead and The X-Files.

Sherlock co-creator Mark Gatiss, Gangs of New York's Roger Ashton-Griffiths and Homeland's Pedro Pascal are some of the names joining the cast for this season.

Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter

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Captive migrants freed from US house

20 March 2014 Last updated at 14:28

More than 100 suspected illegal immigrants have been rescued from a Texas "stash" house where smugglers had allegedly held them pending payment.

On Wednesday police found people ranging in age from five to 47 after hearing a report from a distressed relative of missing migrants.

Conditions in the house were squalid, and the people were stripped of clothes and shoes to hinder their escape.

The former captives face deportation at the conclusion of the police inquiry.

"The smell and conditions were just awful," Houston Police Department spokesman John Cannon told the Houston Chronicle.

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The BBC travelled to California and Tijuana, Mexico, to report on US deportees' grim prospects

He said investigators found rooms littered with trash and said the house had no hot water and just a single toilet.

Federal agents and local authorities found the roughly 110 people hungry and thirsty after being locked in the house, some for weeks, with windows boarded from the inside.

A tipster is said to have contacted authorities on Tuesday, saying he was being extorted by migrant smugglers and that a scheduled "coyote" drop of a mother and her two children had not occurred as planned.

Police have not yet indicated what led them to the house, which was raided on Wednesday morning. Five suspects are believed to have been arrested.

The raid is the biggest in the region in seven years, and many in the home are believed to hail from Central America.

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Anti-gay church founder Phelps dies

20 March 2014 Last updated at 19:40

The former leader of a US church that was widely known for its inflammatory anti-gay protests has died, his family has said.

The Reverend Fred Phelps Sr, founder of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas, died on Wednesday evening at 84.

The church, made up mostly of his family, rose to international notoriety with its practice of picketing funerals of fallen US troops.

It claimed their deaths were punishment for America's tolerance of gay people.

'Diabolical'

Their signs read "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "Thank God for 9/11" and the like, and bore messages offensive to gay and lesbian people.

Born in Mississippi in 1929, Mr Phelps was raised a Methodist and was selected to attend the US Military Academy.

He was ordained a Baptist minister, though Westboro was not attached to any mainstream denomination.

Mr Phelps earned a law degree from Washburn University in 1964, but was stripped of his licence to practise in Kansas in 1979.

The Kansas Supreme Court said Mr Phelps made false statements in documents and "showed little regard" for professional ethics.

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Louis Theroux met Fred Waldron Phelps Snr in a BBC documentary in 2007

Later, he and his small congregation - founded in 1955 and later dubbed "the most hated family in America" by the BBC's Louis Theroux - aimed their vitriol at many groups, including immigrants and Jews. But their signature slogan was "God hates fags".

"You're not going to get nowhere with that slop that 'God loves you,'" Mr Phelps once told the Religion News Service. "That's a diabolical lie from hell without biblical warrant."

In 2009, Mr Phelps and his daughter were barred from entering the United Kingdom due to their anti-gay preaching.

The church's actions inspired a federal law and numerous state laws limiting picketing at funerals.

In 2011 the church won a major legal victory when the US Supreme Court ruled it could not be sued for monetary damages for inflicting pain on grieving families.

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US general avoids jail in sex case

20 March 2014 Last updated at 21:33

A US Army general who pleaded guilty to having inappropriate relationships with subordinates has avoided jail time.

Brig Gen Jeffrey Sinclair, 51, was fined $20,000 (£12,122).

Charges he raped an officer and threatened to kill her family were dropped amid questions about the accuser's credibility.

The US military has been under increasing pressure to curb what the Pentagon has called an epidemic of sexual misconduct within its ranks.

"The system worked. I've always been proud of my Army," Gen Sinclair said following his sentencing. "All I want to do now is go north and hug my kids and my wife."

'Failed' leader

The Army general, who announced his retirement from service on Thursday, will reportedly face a disciplinary board which could later reduce his pension.

He was also found to have had two other inappropriate relationships with subordinates.

On Monday, the former deputy commander of the elite 82nd Airborne division pleaded guilty to charges including abusing a government credit card while travelling to visit his mistress.

Earlier in the month, he pleaded guilty to adultery - a crime in the military - and admitted having an affair with a female captain.

"I failed her as a leader and as a mentor and caused her harm to her emotional state," Gen Sinclair reportedly told the court last week.

Prosecutors had alleged Gen Sinclair twice forced the female captain to perform oral sex and threatened her family with death if she ever told anyone about their affair.

But the prosecution's case fell apart after the defence raised questions about the accuser's credibility.

And Judge Col James Pohl said he had found evidence that senior military officers had improperly influenced the prosecutors' decision to reject a lenient plea deal earlier in the case.

It was not the only high-profile military trial to reach an outcome on Thursday.

A judge found a Naval Academy football player, Joshua Tate, not guilty in the alleged sexual assault of a female midshipman at an alcohol-fuelled, off-campus party in April 2012.

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Hawaii weighs 'undercover' sex law

21 March 2014 Last updated at 14:36

Police officials in the US state of Hawaii have asked the state's legislature to keep a measure in the law allowing undercover investigators to have sex with prostitutes.

The authorities say it enables them to catch criminals in the act. Critics say it could hurt women who are already victims of sex trafficking.

Local police have not said how often the provision has been used.

The measure has already passed the state House of Representatives.

It is expected to be heard in a Senate committee on Friday.

'Further trauma'

"It's a really murky area," Democratic state Representative Karl Rhoads told local media.

"This is one area where I did defer to [authorities] and say, 'I hope you're not having sex with prostitutes.'"

An anti-prostitution bill introduced this legislative session was originally written to close the police exemption. But following police testimony, the exemption was restored.

Honolulu Police Maj Jerry Inouye told the state House judiciary committee that the rules governing the conduct of undercover officers must remain confidential "because if prostitution suspects, pimps and other people are privy to that information, they're going to know exactly how far the undercover officer can and cannot go".

But human trafficking experts argue the exemption is unnecessary and could erode trust between police and victims of sex trafficking.

"It doesn't help your case, and at worst you further traumatise someone," Derek Marsh, who trains California police on human trafficking cases, told the Associated Press news agency.

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FBI agent cleared in Chechen's death

21 March 2014 Last updated at 18:56

A Florida prosecutor has cleared an FBI agent in the May shooting death of a Chechen immigrant linked to one of the men accused of carrying out the Boston Marathon bombing, US media report.

State Attorney Jeff Ashton will not charge the agent in the death of Ibragim Todashev.

The FBI has said Todashev, 27, attacked the agent with a metal pole during an interview in his Orlando apartment.

Todashev had been a friend of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of the suspected bombers.

On 27 May, a team of FBI agents were questioning Todashev about his relationship with Tsarnaev when the altercation occurred.

An unnamed agent fired several shots at Todashev, a mixed martial arts fighter, after reportedly suffering a head injury which required stitches. Todashev was killed.

The agent was also cleared of wrong-doing in an internal FBI inquiry, the New York Times reports.

US officials say Todashev had just admitted a role in a September 2011 triple murder near Boston that was unrelated to the bombing, and implicated Tsarnaev in those killings.

Authorities say Tsarnaev, 26, and his younger brother Dzhokhar, 20, plotted and carried out the 15 April bombing at the finish line of the Boston Marathon which killed three and injured 264 others.

The two ethnic Chechen Muslims immigrated to the US from Russia as children.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed days after the bombing during an attempt to evade capture. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was shot by police but caught and charged with terrorism in connection with the bombing.

Currently jailed in Massachusetts, he faces the death penalty if convicted.

No evidence has emerged linking Todashev to the bombings.

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NYC boy 'shot dead bus bystander'

21 March 2014 Last updated at 20:56

A 14-year-old boy has been arrested after allegedly firing a gun on a New York City bus in a suspected gang dispute, killing an innocent bystander.

Angel Rojas, 39, reportedly a Dominican immigrant and married father of two, was shot in the head.

Authorities have not located the intended target of the shooting, but have detained a teenager and the weapon he allegedly used.

New York City's homicide rate fell to a record low last year.

The shooting occurred on a bus in Brooklyn on Thursday evening.

Woodlyn Fenelus, a volunteer ambulance worker, told CBS News: "There was a lot of blood everywhere, and I saw the patient leaning against the window of the bus, holding his neck because of the injury. He was still alive."

As passengers fled, the suspect got off the bus, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant district, and fired five more shots at a person running away.

Mr Rojas was taken to hospital, but died a short time later.

The New York Daily News reports that Mr Rojas' wife fell to her knees and wept when she was told of his death, at their apartment in Brownsville, east Brooklyn.

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Michigan gay-marriage ban quashed

22 March 2014 Last updated at 01:28

A US federal judge has struck down a ban on gay marriage in the state of Michigan.

Two Detroit-area nurses successfully argued that the ban violated their rights under the US constitution.

One local official said she would start issuing marriage licences to same-sex couples from Monday, but the state is planning to lodge an appeal.

Seventeen states and the District of Columbia currently issue licences for same-sex marriage.

'Equal protection'

The case was brought two years ago by partners Jayne Rowse, 49, and April DeBoer, 42, who want to get married.

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A retirement project for elderly members of the gay community in Minneapolis

"Many Michigan residents have religious convictions whose principles govern the conduct of their daily lives and inform their own viewpoints about marriage," US District Judge Bernard Friedman wrote in Friday's decision.

"Nonetheless, these views cannot strip other citizens of the guarantees of equal protection under the law."

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette promptly moved for an appeal to uphold the state's ban on gay marriage, which was approved by voters in 2004.

Bans on gay marriage have been quashed in recent months in Texas, Utah, Oklahoma and Virginia, though appeals have put those cases on hold.

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New Jersey motel fire kills four

22 March 2014 Last updated at 02:01

Four men have been killed by a blaze that devoured a New Jersey motel which was housing people displaced by 2012 storm Sandy.

Eight people were injured, three critically, in the fire at the Mariner's Cove Motor Inn.

It is not yet known what caused the blaze at the two-storey wooden motel by the seaside.

A fire last September destroyed about a third of the resort's boardwalk, which had only just been restored from Sandy.

Those caught in Friday's blaze described chaos and screaming as dozens of people inside the motel scrambled to escape the flames.

Joe Frystock was among those who were staying at the inn because their homes were deluged by the huge storm, Sandy, two years ago.

"I lost everything again, but I'm alive," Mr Frystock, a diabetic, told the Associated Press news agency.

"I only got out with my insulin kit, but this is what keeps me alive, so I guess I'm lucky."

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Anti-gay church founder Phelps dies

20 March 2014 Last updated at 19:40

The former leader of a US church that was widely known for its inflammatory anti-gay protests has died, his family has said.

The Reverend Fred Phelps Sr, founder of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas, died on Wednesday evening at 84.

The church, made up mostly of his family, rose to international notoriety with its practice of picketing funerals of fallen US troops.

It claimed their deaths were punishment for America's tolerance of gay people.

'Diabolical'

Their signs read "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "Thank God for 9/11" and the like, and bore messages offensive to gay and lesbian people.

Born in Mississippi in 1929, Mr Phelps was raised a Methodist and was selected to attend the US Military Academy.

He was ordained a Baptist minister, though Westboro was not attached to any mainstream denomination.

Mr Phelps earned a law degree from Washburn University in 1964, but was stripped of his licence to practise in Kansas in 1979.

The Kansas Supreme Court said Mr Phelps made false statements in documents and "showed little regard" for professional ethics.

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Louis Theroux met Fred Waldron Phelps Snr in a BBC documentary in 2007

Later, he and his small congregation - founded in 1955 and later dubbed "the most hated family in America" by the BBC's Louis Theroux - aimed their vitriol at many groups, including immigrants and Jews. But their signature slogan was "God hates fags".

"You're not going to get nowhere with that slop that 'God loves you,'" Mr Phelps once told the Religion News Service. "That's a diabolical lie from hell without biblical warrant."

In 2009, Mr Phelps and his daughter were barred from entering the United Kingdom due to their anti-gay preaching.

The church's actions inspired a federal law and numerous state laws limiting picketing at funerals.

In 2011 the church won a major legal victory when the US Supreme Court ruled it could not be sued for monetary damages for inflicting pain on grieving families.

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Starbucks to expand alcohol sales

20 March 2014 Last updated at 21:19

Coffee retailer Starbucks has announced plans to turn more of its cafes into beer and wine purveyors in the evenings.

Thousands of stores are expected to adopt alcohol sales over the next several years, the company said.

Starbucks first offered alcohol after 16:00 at one Seattle location in 2010.

The endeavour, branded Starbucks Evenings, proved successful and was later rolled out to 26 locations.

Forty stores are expected to offer beer and wine by the end of 2014, while also serving a variety of small dishes including flatbreads and bacon-wrapped dates.

The effort is said to be part of the company's push to boost sales throughout the day after the morning rush hour.

Starbucks - which counts about 11,000 stores in the US - has also recently introduced new salads and sandwiches to its menus to boost afternoon sales.

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Canada gets new finance minister

19 March 2014 Last updated at 19:37

Former natural resources minister and investment banker Joe Oliver has been sworn in as Canada's finance minister, a day after Jim Flaherty resigned.

Mr Oliver was chosen by PM Stephen Harper to assume the role on Wednesday.

Mr Flaherty, 64, said he planned to return to the private sector after eight years as finance minister.

Mr Oliver, 73, served as the government's point man on the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline, currently under review in the US.

"I'm honored that Prime Minister Harper has appointed me to continue on our low-tax plan for jobs and growth," Mr Oliver wrote in a statement.

Mr Harper wrote on Twitter that Mr Oliver, a Conservative MP from Ontario, "will continue to strengthen the economy and balance the budget by 2015".

But the Canadian prime minister, also a Conservative, is said to have accepted Mr Flaherty's resignation "with great reluctance".

He had been the third-longest serving finance minister in Canada's history.

Mr Flaherty has said his decision is not related to his health - he has been treated for a rare skin disease over the past year.

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Canadian Alberta premier resigns

20 March 2014 Last updated at 01:06

The premier of the Canadian province of Alberta has announced she will resign her post following an expenses scandal and unrest within her political party.

Alison Redford, 49, leader of the ruling Progressive Conservative party, will step down on Sunday.

Recent reports allege lavish spending by Ms Redford and her party, including first-class air travel.

Several members of her government have also resigned in recent weeks, citing issues with Ms Redford and the party.

"Quite simply I am not prepared to allow party and caucus infighting to get in the way of building a better future for our province and for all Albertans," Ms Redford said.

Ms Redford had allegedly spent $45,000 (£27,200) to travel to South Africa to attend events after Nelson Mandela's death in December.

She subsequently agreed to pay the money back after weeks of reportedly refusing to do so.

Her resignation is said to have come as Progressive Conservative riding association presidents in Calgary planned to vote on whether Ms Redford had lost their confidence and should be asked to step down.

She became Alberta's first female premier in October 2011 upon winning the leadership of her party, and later won a majority in the April 2012 provincial election.

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US Fed hints at rate rise in 2015

20 March 2014 Last updated at 05:53

The US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has hinted that interest rates in the US could start to rise in early 2015.

Ms Yellen said the Fed could begin raising rates six months after it halts its monthly bond-buying programme.

She made the remarks after the Fed said it will scale back bond purchases by a further $10bn (£6bn) per month.

This is the third time in a row that the central bank has tightened its stimulus efforts.

The latest reduction brings the Fed's monthly bond-buying down to $55bn from $85bn last year.

"This is the kind of term it's hard to define," Ms Yellen said at a press conference. "Probably means something on the order of six months, or that type of thing."

If bond purchases end - as expected - later this year, this would imply rate increases around April 2015.

Broader indicators

The Fed lowered its overnight interest rate to 0% in December 2008 as part of the steps it took to trigger growth in the economy amid the global financial crisis.

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Hints that the Federal Reserve might raise rates spooked markets, reports Michelle Fleury

That crisis hurt the US economic growth and resulted in high levels of unemployment.

Along with lowering the interest rates, the central bank also started buying bonds in an attempt to keep long-term borrowing costs low.

The idea was to encourage businesses to borrow and spend more, to try and spur growth in the economy and create more jobs.

The stimulus efforts appear to have had an impact, with the US economy showing signs of recovery of late.

Continue reading the main story

No one knows what will trigger further tapering, a pause in tapering or an increase in asset purchase. It's a major change in policy"

End Quote David Molar Hightower

That has seen the central bank scale back its key stimulus measure - the bond-buying programme also known as quantitative easing - for three months in a row.

However in its latest policy decision, the Fed said it would look at multiple factors before approving any rise in interest rates.

It had previously hinted at doing so once the jobless rate fell to 6.5%.

"This assessment will take into account a wide range of information, including measures of labour market conditions, indicators of inflation pressures and inflation expectations, and readings on financial developments," it said.

Nervous markets?

US stock markets fell on the news.

Some analysts are saying the change in the Fed's guidance led to worries that interest rates may rise sooner than expected.

"The Fed moved the goal post again," said David Molar, managing director at Hightower.

"It goes from a 6.5% unemployment threshold to a qualitative approach which is nebulous for the market.

"No one knows what will trigger further tapering, a pause in tapering or an increase in asset purchase. It's a major change in policy."

Mark Grant, managing director at Southwest Securities added: "What seems to be troubling the market is that even though it reiterated that it wouldn't be raising rates this year, people were put on notice that a hike is coming."

"We'll likely see some rise in short rates as a result of this, if not out across the whole curve."

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Captive migrants freed from US house

20 March 2014 Last updated at 14:28

More than 100 suspected illegal immigrants have been rescued from a Texas "stash" house where smugglers had allegedly held them pending payment.

On Wednesday police found people ranging in age from five to 47 after hearing a report from a distressed relative of missing migrants.

Conditions in the house were squalid, and the people were stripped of clothes and shoes to hinder their escape.

The former captives face deportation at the conclusion of the police inquiry.

"The smell and conditions were just awful," Houston Police Department spokesman John Cannon told the Houston Chronicle.

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The BBC travelled to California and Tijuana, Mexico, to report on US deportees' grim prospects

He said investigators found rooms littered with trash and said the house had no hot water and just a single toilet.

Federal agents and local authorities found the roughly 110 people hungry and thirsty after being locked in the house, some for weeks, with windows boarded from the inside.

A tipster is said to have contacted authorities on Tuesday, saying he was being extorted by migrant smugglers and that a scheduled "coyote" drop of a mother and her two children had not occurred as planned.

Police have not yet indicated what led them to the house, which was raided on Wednesday morning. Five suspects are believed to have been arrested.

The raid is the biggest in the region in seven years, and many in the home are believed to hail from Central America.

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Alibaba invests $215m in US chat app

20 March 2014 Last updated at 20:01

Chinese internet giant Alibaba has invested $215m (£130m) in US-based free mobile messaging service Tango.

Tango has 200 million users and the deal is expected to help Alibaba strengthen its presence in the sector.

Mobile messaging services have seen robust growth in recent years with many leading firms keen to tap into its potential.

Last month, Facebook bought WhatsApp, one of the biggest players in the sector, in a deal worth $19bn.

"The sheer power of free communication has changed the way we connect with others," Uri Raz and Eric Setton, founders of Tango said in a blog post.

"Today, the amount of texting from over-the-top messaging apps surpasses carrier SMS."

Looking for growth

The deal also comes just days after Alibaba announced plans to sell shares and list the firm in the US.

It is expected to be the biggest share offering by a tech firm since Facebook's flotation in 2012, with many predicting that the listing will raise up to $15bn.

Alibaba is one of the biggest e-commerce firms in China but it has been facing increased competition from rival Tencent.

An increasing number of Chinese internet users have been carrying out e-commerce transactions on their smartphones.

That has benefitted Tencent, who's messaging service WeChat has more than 270 million users.

Tencent has rolled out a number of services for the app users that has boosted its popularity.

For its part, Alibaba launched its own messaging service Laiwang in 2013, but it has fallen short of its rivals.

The firms did not disclose the size of the stake Alibaba has picked up in Tango.

However, some reports indicated that the investment valued the messaging service at close to $1bn.

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NSA may release transparency reports

20 March 2014 Last updated at 21:02 By Jane Wakefield Technology reporter, Vancouver

The National Security Agency may release transparency reports on the amount of surveillance it is doing, according to its deputy director.

Speaking at the Ted conference, where leaker Edward Snowden spoke earlier in the week, NSA deputy director Richard Ledgett said Mr Snowden had put people's lives at risk.

He said letting "the bad guys" know NSA's methods made them harder to find.

But he said the agency should do more to reassure people about its work.

He defended the Prism surveillance system, saying it was "hugely relevant" in disrupting terrorist plots.

Mr Ledgett was beamed in to the Ted (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference taking place in Vancouver via video link, in a similar manner to how Mr Snowden had appeared.

More transparency

He told the audience that he wanted to "inform the discussion with facts" rather than the "half-truths and distortions" he accused Mr Snowden of using.

But, he added, the ex-NSA agent's exposure of its programs and practices had opened up a global debate about the "balance between secrecy and transparency", that the agency wanted to fully engage with.

"There is a proposal to release transparency reports in the same way as the internet companies are doing," said Mr Ledgett.

He admitted that the NSA needed to be more transparent about its processes, authorities and oversight.

"We haven't done a good job on that," he said.

But he emphasised that all the work the agency does has been rubberstamped by the president, federal judges and Congress.

Of Mr Snowden he said: "It shows amazing arrogance that he knows better than the framework of the constitution."

His release of vast amounts of top secret documents outlining the work at the NSA had been hugely damaging, said Mr Ledgett.

"He put people's lives at risk.

"If our adversaries see our methods they will move away from using them. We have evidence that terrorists, smugglers and nation states have moved away. We are losing visibility into what our adversaries are doing," he said.

He said that the agency needed access to the global telecommunications system to monitor the activities of terrorists, traffickers and enemy states.

"It would be great if the bad guys used a corner of the internet. If they had a domain badguys.com, that would be awesome," he said.

"But we are all on the same network. I use the same email service as the terrorists. We need to be able to pick that apart to find what we need."

Along the way it is inevitable that agents will "encounter people going about their business" but the NSA uses what he called "minimisation procedures" to ensure little information is read.

And on the collection of meta-data, which shows when, where and who someone is communicating with, he said: "If you aren't connected to a meta-data target you are not of interest to us."

Possible deal?

The debate about mass surveillance has proved a hit at Ted, with packed audiences for both the Edward Snowden and NSA interviews.

Mr Ledgett received a standing ovation from some but far more stood up at the end of Mr Snowden's interview.

While most of delegates saw the leaks made by Mr Snowden as a positive thing, some questioned making him into a hero.

"By doing that we encourage other young Americans to steal secrets," said one delegate.

Astronaut Chris Hadfield, also a speaker at Ted, tweeted after the debate: "Thought-provoking" while Google co-founder Sergey Brin was seen in deep conversation with Mr Snowden, via the video screen, after his appearance.

As to the fate of Mr Snowden, who said that he has been offered a deal by the US government, Mr Ledgett suggested this may be possible.

"There is a tradition in American jurisprudence of having discussions with people who have committed crimes. There is always room for discussion."

The tagline of Ted is "ideas worth spreading". At the end of the interview, Ted curator Chris Anderson asked Mr Ledgett what his would be.

"Look at the data," replied Mr Ledgett.

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US general avoids jail in sex case

20 March 2014 Last updated at 21:33

A US Army general who pleaded guilty to having inappropriate relationships with subordinates has avoided jail time.

Brig Gen Jeffrey Sinclair, 51, was fined $20,000 (£12,122).

Charges he raped an officer and threatened to kill her family were dropped amid questions about the accuser's credibility.

The US military has been under increasing pressure to curb what the Pentagon has called an epidemic of sexual misconduct within its ranks.

"The system worked. I've always been proud of my Army," Gen Sinclair said following his sentencing. "All I want to do now is go north and hug my kids and my wife."

'Failed' leader

The Army general, who announced his retirement from service on Thursday, will reportedly face a disciplinary board which could later reduce his pension.

He was also found to have had two other inappropriate relationships with subordinates.

On Monday, the former deputy commander of the elite 82nd Airborne division pleaded guilty to charges including abusing a government credit card while travelling to visit his mistress.

Earlier in the month, he pleaded guilty to adultery - a crime in the military - and admitted having an affair with a female captain.

"I failed her as a leader and as a mentor and caused her harm to her emotional state," Gen Sinclair reportedly told the court last week.

Prosecutors had alleged Gen Sinclair twice forced the female captain to perform oral sex and threatened her family with death if she ever told anyone about their affair.

But the prosecution's case fell apart after the defence raised questions about the accuser's credibility.

And Judge Col James Pohl said he had found evidence that senior military officers had improperly influenced the prosecutors' decision to reject a lenient plea deal earlier in the case.

It was not the only high-profile military trial to reach an outcome on Thursday.

A judge found a Naval Academy football player, Joshua Tate, not guilty in the alleged sexual assault of a female midshipman at an alcohol-fuelled, off-campus party in April 2012.

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VIDEO: Heroin addict's descent into hell

Photographer Chuck Jines has spent the past year documenting the human cost of Chicago's worsening heroin crisis.

In the heart of the city's bustling downtown - in an underpass close to the Chicago River - he met and photographed an addict called Kevin.

Addicted at first to pain medication, Kevin moved on to other illegal drugs and saw his life fall apart as his habit cost him his business, his home and finally his family.

He has not been seen or heard from since he gave this interview.

You can find out more about Ian Pannell's investigation into the heroin crisis here.

Chuck Jines worked with the BBC's Ian Pannell on his investigation into the heroin epidemic in Chicago.

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US seeks curbs on high-speed trading

18 March 2014 Last updated at 20:16

New York's attorney general has called for curbs on services provided to high-frequency traders.

In particular Eric Schneiderman highlighted services that allow traders to get faster access to information.

He said traders can make "rapid and often risk-free trades before the rest of the market can react".

High frequency trading is where firms create sophisticated computer programs to buy and sell stocks in milliseconds, faster than any human.

It has grown in popularity in recent years, but it has also come under scrutiny.

"Rather than curbing the worst threats posed by high-frequency traders, our markets are becoming too focused on catering to them," said Mr Schneiderman.

'Fundamentally unfair'

Continue reading the main story

I am committed to cracking down on fundamentally unfair - and potentially illegal - arrangements"

End Quote Eric Schneiderman Attorney General, New York

On Tuesday, Mr Schneiderman raised concerns that firms specialising in high-frequency trading were benefitting from the special services provided by stock exchanges.

He said the services allowed such firm to gain access to key data - including pricing, volume, trade and order confirmation - before other investors, allowing them to take positions in the market accordingly.

"For instance, high-frequency traders look for arbitrage opportunities between and among the various exchanges, moving on price and order information before the rest of the market is even able to digest it," he said.

He added that allowing firms to place their servers on location helped them "to continuously monitor all the exchanges for large incoming orders".

"If a firm can detect a large order from an institutional investor - like a pension fund - it can instantaneously position itself on the other side of the trade, driving up the prices artificially," he said.

"I am committed to cracking down on fundamentally unfair - and potentially illegal - arrangements that give elite groups of traders early access to market-moving information at the expense of the rest of the market."

Growth industry

The call for curbs comes as Virtu, a high-frequency trading firm in New York, is planning to sell shares and become a publicly listed company.

The firm is looking to raise $100m (£60m) via the share sale. Virtu reported profits of $184m in 2013, a 108% increase from 2012.

In its filing with the US regulators, the firm said it has recorded only a single day of trading losses in the past five years.

However, not all firms in the sector have had a smooth ride and there have been concerns over risks associated with such trades.

In 2012, Knight Capital, a New Jersey-based trading firm, lost close to $440m and almost had to file for bankruptcy after a computer glitch caused the firm to execute 150 mistaken orders to the New York Stock Exchange.

In May 2010, computerized trading was blamed for the "flash crash" which briefly sent US markets down 5% before the error was discovered.

The US Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently said it was looking into regulating trading practices at firms, after publishing a report on the industry in September.

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Snowden in new US surveillance claim

18 March 2014 Last updated at 22:49

The US government has reportedly built a system that can record every phone call made over a month in an undisclosed foreign country.

The National Security Agency (NSA) programme was created in 2009, the Washington Post reported.

Fugitive intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who leaked details of the system, promised more revelations.

Civil liberties groups called the report "chilling", but US officials would not comment.

An NSA cover slide used for an internal briefing on the system, known as Mystic, shows a cartoon wizard wielding a staff with a mobile phone at the top.

'Time machine'

Mystic is the only known US surveillance programme to capture every single call across a nation's telephone network, according to the Washington Post.

The newspaper said that, at the request of US authorities, it would not name the foreign country, or others where the system's use was envisaged.

It reported that a classified summary of the system suggested billions of conversations were being captured in a 30-day rolling buffer that clears out the oldest calls as new ones are made.

When asked about the report at his daily briefing, White House spokesman Jay Carney said: "We don't, as a general rule, comment on every specific allegation or report."

But civil liberties activists said it was "a truly chilling revelation".

"It's one that underscores how high the stakes are in the debate we're now having about bulk surveillance," Jameel Jaffer, of the American Civil Liberties Union, told Reuters news agency.

Meanwhile, Mr Snowden appeared on Tuesday in the form of a remotely controlled robot at the influential TED conference in Vancouver, Canada.

"There are absolutely more revelations to come," said the former NSA contractor, who fled to Russia last year.

"Some of the most important reporting to be done is yet to come."

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Obama awards 24 Medals of Honor

19 March 2014 Last updated at 00:48

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Vietnam War veteran Melvin Morris spoke to the BBC about what it will be like to receive the Medal of Honor

President Barack Obama is awarding America's highest military honour to 24 men previously denied the decoration because of discrimination.

Only three veterans receiving the Medal of Honor on Tuesday are still alive, all of whom served in Vietnam. The rest will be decorated posthumously.

The honours follow a 12-year Pentagon review of veterans affected by bias.

The recipients include Hispanic, African-American and Jewish veterans of World War Two, Korea and Vietnam.

On Tuesday afternoon Mr Obama welcomed the living veterans and family and friends of the deceased in a ceremony at the White House.

Climate of bias

"This ceremony reminds us of one of the enduring qualities that makes America great," said the president. "That makes us exceptional.

"No nation is perfect, but here in America, we confront our imperfections and face a sometimes painful past, including the truth that some of these soldiers fought and died for a country that did not always see them as equal."

Retired Sgt First Class Melvin Morris, who was wounded in Vietnam, told the BBC beforehand that it would be "a nervous moment" standing next to the president.

"I can't be nothing but proud," he said. "Even though it may come late, better late than never."

Sgt Morris, 72, is being honoured for his courage as a strike force commander in combat near Chi Lang, Vietnam, in 1969.

During a fire fight near a minefield, Sgt Morris rallied his comrades to retrieve the body of another commander who had been killed near an enemy bunker.

In the first go, two men alongside Sgt Morris were wounded. He rescued them, then returned under fire, destroying a machine gun position and three bunkers.

As he brought the commander's body back to the US position, he was wounded three times.

In addition to Sgt Morris, Specialist Santiago Erevia and Sgt First Class Jose Rodela will be given the Medal of Honor for their valour in combat in Tam Ky and Phuoc Long, Vietnam, respectively.

A further five Vietnam veterans, nine Korean War veterans, and seven World War Two veterans will be honoured with the award posthumously.

The Medal of Honor is usually awarded within three years of the action described in the citation.

But a 2002 law mandated a search for Jewish and Hispanic soldiers who might have been passed over for the award in the 20th Century's climate of anti-Semitic and ethnic bias among the military brass.

The law was later amended after the review found other soldiers whose actions merited the medal.

The three-year time limit has been waived in recent years for Capt Emil Kapaun, an Army chaplain and Catholic priest who saved the lives of fellow US soldiers before perishing in a North Korean prison camp in 1951.

The widow of Specialist Leslie Sabo was given the honour by Mr Obama in 2012, four decades after his original recommendation was lost.

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Toyota in deal over US safety probe

19 March 2014 Last updated at 15:12

Japanese carmaker Toyota has reached a $1.2bn (£720m) settlement with US regulators after a four-year inquiry into its reporting of safety issues.

The criminal investigation came after Toyota recalled more than 10 million vehicles over issues with brakes, accelerator pedals and floor mats.

Attorney General Eric Holder said Toyota had "intentionally concealed information" about the problems.

It is the largest criminal penalty yet imposed on a carmaker in the US.

Mr Holder told a news conference in Washington: "Rather than promptly disclosing and correcting safety issues about which they were aware, Toyota made misleading public statements to consumers and gave inaccurate facts to members of Congress.

"And they concealed from federal regulators the extent of problems that some consumers encountered with sticking gas pedals and unsecured or incompatible floor mats that could cause these unintended acceleration episodes."

'Blatant disregard'

Toyota issued a series of recalls in 2009 and 2010 affecting various models including the Camry, one of its best selling cars.

Continue reading the main story

By the company's own admission, it protected its brand ahead of its own customers"

End Quote Eric Holder US Attorney General

The problems dented Toyota's reputation for reliability and hurt its sales in the US, one of its biggest markets.

It was also criticised for its handling of the issue, with allegations that it did not respond quickly and tried to protect its brand image.

The firm has already paid millions of dollars in fines over delays in its reporting and handling of the safety problems.

On Wednesday, Mr Holder said that Toyota would "fully admit" wrongdoing and described the firm's behaviour as "shameful".

"It showed a blatant disregard for systems and laws designed to look after the safety of consumers," he said.

"By the company's own admission, it protected its brand ahead of its own customers. This constitutes a clear and reprehensible abuse of the public trust."

Rebuilding trust

Toyota said it had changed the way it handled such issues and had been working towards rebuilding its relationship with customers.

"At the time of these recalls, we took full responsibility for any concerns our actions may have caused customers and we rededicated ourselves to earning their trust," said Christopher Reynolds, chief legal officer Toyota Motor North America, in a statement.

"We have made fundamental changes across our global operations to become a more responsive company - listening better to our customers' needs and proactively taking action to serve them."

The deal was announced by Mr Holder, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara.

Mr Holder said the settlement should also serve as warning to other firms on how to handle such issues.

"Other car companies should not repeat Toyota's mistake: a recall may damage a company's reputation, but deceiving your customers makes that damage far more lasting."

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Canada gets new finance minister

19 March 2014 Last updated at 19:37

Former natural resources minister and investment banker Joe Oliver has been sworn in as Canada's finance minister, a day after Jim Flaherty resigned.

Mr Oliver was chosen by PM Stephen Harper to assume the role on Wednesday.

Mr Flaherty, 64, said he planned to return to the private sector after eight years as finance minister.

Mr Oliver, 73, served as the government's point man on the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline, currently under review in the US.

"I'm honored that Prime Minister Harper has appointed me to continue on our low-tax plan for jobs and growth," Mr Oliver wrote in a statement.

Mr Harper wrote on Twitter that Mr Oliver, a Conservative MP from Ontario, "will continue to strengthen the economy and balance the budget by 2015".

But the Canadian prime minister, also a Conservative, is said to have accepted Mr Flaherty's resignation "with great reluctance".

He had been the third-longest serving finance minister in Canada's history.

Mr Flaherty has said his decision is not related to his health - he has been treated for a rare skin disease over the past year.

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Bin Laden spokesman speaks at trial

19 March 2014 Last updated at 20:16

A man US prosecutors say was al-Qaeda's spokesman after 9/11 has testified Osama Bin Laden wanted him "to deliver a message to the world".

Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, 48, took the stand in his own defence at his terrorism trial in New York City on Wednesday.

He has pleaded not guilty to charges he conspired to kill Americans, and his defence lawyers say he had no advance knowledge of the attacks.

The case is one of the highest-profile terror trials in a US civilian court.

On Wednesday, Mr Abu Ghaith told the court he arrived in Afghanistan in June 2001 because he had a "serious desire to get to know the new Islamic government" there.

At the time, Afghanistan was nominally controlled by the Taliban Islamist militia.

Speaking through an interpreter, Mr Abu Ghaith testified that on the night of 11 September 2001, Bin Laden despatched an aide to drive him into a mountainous area of Afghanistan for a meeting.

"I wanted to see what he had, what is it he wanted," Mr Abu Ghaith testified of the man who would later become his father-in-law.

When they met Bin Laden said, "Did you learn what happened? We are the ones who did it," Mr Abu Ghaith testified.

'Murderous power'

Bin Laden then asked what Mr Abu Ghaith thought would happen next.

Mr Abu Ghaith testified that he responded with a prediction America "will not settle until it kills you and topples the state of Taliban".

"I want to deliver a message to the world," Bin Laden then told him, Mr Abu Ghaith testified. "I want you to deliver the message."

Prosecutors have argued Mr Abu Ghaith used the "murderous power of his words" to rally militants against America after the 11 September 2001 attacks.

Assistant US Attorney Nicholas Lewin has previously said Mr Abu Ghaith spent time at the al-Qaeda camps inspiring the recruits to kill.

Prosecutors also allege that he agreed to appear in the group's propaganda videos after 11 September 2001 to call for further violence "while our buildings still burned".

The Kuwaiti preacher testified on Wednesday that those videos were based on "quotes and points by Sheikh Osama" and were intended to be religious sermons, encouraging Muslims to fight oppression.

Mr Abu Ghaith also denied allegations he had prior knowledge of the failed shoe-bomb airline attack by Richard Reid in December 2001.

Mr Abu Ghaith's remarks came a day after a judge ruled jurors would not hear testimony from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-described mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.

Mr Mohammed had previously written in a statement that Mr Abu Ghaith had no military role in al-Qaeda.

Mr Abu Ghaith was arrested last year in Turkey and brought to New York to face trial. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of the charges against him.

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L'Wren Scott death ruled suicide

19 March 2014 Last updated at 23:47

The death of fashion designer L'Wren Scott has been ruled suicide by hanging, New York City authorities say.

The cause of death was announced by the office of the medical examiner after Scott's body was discovered in her flat by her assistant on Monday.

Police earlier said there was no sign of foul play and no note was found.

Scott's long-term boyfriend, Sir Mick Jagger, postponed forthcoming Rolling Stones tour dates in Australia and New Zealand after her death was announced.

Sir Mick earlier said he failed "to understand how my lover and best friend could end her life in this tragic way".

He said they had spent "many wonderful years together".

On Wednesday, Jagger's bandmates also expressed their shock at the news of Scott's death.

Drummer Charlie Watts said supporting Jagger was the band's priority.

"Needless to say we are all completely shocked but our first thought is to support Mick at this awful time," he said.

"We intend to come back to Australia and New Zealand as soon as it proves possible."

Keith Richards said "no-one saw this coming" and that Jagger had "always been my soul brother and we love him".

"We're thick as thieves and we're all feeling for the man," he added.

Ronnie Wood said: "This is such terrible news and right now the important thing is that we are all pulling together to offer Mick our support and help him through this sad time.

"Without a doubt we intend to be back out on that stage as soon as we can."

'Total perfectionist'

Tributes have poured in for Scott, 49, with fans including supermodel Naomi Campbell, Vogue editor Anna Wintour and singer Madonna eulogising the fashion designer.

Wintour described Scott as "a total perfectionist... always unbelievably generous, gracious, kind and so much fun."

Scott was found in her Manhattan apartment by her assistant at 10:00 local time (14:00 GMT) on Monday.

She had sent her assistant a text message 90 minutes earlier asking her to come to the apartment, without specifying the reason why, the Associated Press news agency reported.

It has since emerged that the fashion label founded by Scott had been heavily in debt.

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