Turkey to seek cleric's extradition

29 April 2014 Last updated at 12:34

Turkey is to start extradition proceedings against US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.

Mr Gulen, a former ally of the prime minister, has been accused by Mr Erdogan of using his supporters to try to topple him.

The cleric denies mounting a campaign against him.

Turkey's government has faced a string of corruption scandals and rights groups accuse it of authoritarianism.

Speaking at parliament after meeting with deputies from his Justice and Development Party (AKP) party on Tuesday, Mr Erdogan confirmed the extradition process "will begin", reports say.

'Model partner'

The Turkish PM was speaking hours after an interview with US broadcaster PBS, in which he said he hoped the US would deport Mr Gulen and send him back to Turkey.

It was his first interview with foreign media since his party claimed victory in local elections last month.

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• Hizmet ("service") is the Turkish name of what is commonly known as the Gulen movement
• The movement is inspired by the teachings of Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, who lives in exile in the US
• Gulen is a mainstream Sunni Hanafi Muslim scholar, influenced by Anatolian Sufism
• There is no formal structure but Hizmet followers are numbered in the millions, spread across more than 150 countries
• First expanded into Central Asia after the USSR's demise in 1991

In the interview, Mr Erdogan said he hoped Washington, as a "model partner", would deliver on the issue.

"At least they should deport him," he added.

Mr Gulen, 74, has lived in self-imposed exile in the US state of Pennsylvania since 1997.

He has many supporters in the police and judiciary, and has denounced moves to shut down an investigation into corruption allegations levelled against several of the prime minister's allies.

His teachings have inspired the Hizmet ("Service") movement, which is believed to have millions of followers spread across over 150 countries.

Hizmet promotes a tolerant form of Islam, emphasising education, altruism and hard work.

Mr Erdogan has accused the movement of being behind a series of wiretaps and social media leaks allegedly exposing major corruption of figures with ties to the government.

Thousands of alleged Hizmet sympathisers in the police and judiciary have since been demoted or reassigned to other jobs.

Over the past year, Turkey has been convulsed by mass protests against Mr Erdogan's ten-year rule and the corruption allegations.

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Clippers owner race row ban welcomed

30 April 2014 Last updated at 05:03

The ban imposed on the LA Clippers basketball team owner over racist remarks has received widespread praise.

Team coach Doc Rivers said the lifetime ban and fine for Donald Sterling was the "start of a healing process".

Several civil rights organisations and stars of the game, past and present, have applauded the National Basketball Association for taking swift action.

Mr Sterling was recorded asking a woman not to associate in public with black people or bring them to games.

His remarks have earned him a lifetime ban from the NBA, whose commissioner Adam Silver urged the Board of Governors - the other team owners - to force Mr Sterling into selling.

Continue reading the main story

• "Way to go, Commissioner Silver! The NBA stands for everybody!" - retired star Shaquille O'Neal
• "Commissioner Silver thank you for protecting our beautiful and powerful league!! Great leader!!" - Miami Heat star LeBron James (pictured)
• "Current and former NBA players now know that in Commissioner Adam Silver we have a great leader leading our league" - Magic Johnson
• "We are a single team here today, a team not only speaking out for what we're against - racism, hatred, bigotry, intolerance - but what we're for" - LA Mayor Eric Garcetti
• "Next up for Silver? Putin" - comedian and Clippers fan Billy Crystal

Mr Silver told reporters that Mr Sterling's "hateful opinions... simply have no place in the NBA".

The league has also fined Mr Sterling $2.5m (£1.5m), the maximum allowed, in a package of measures that have been described as the harshest punishment in the history of the NBA.

Mr Rivers said: "I thought Adam Silver today was fantastic.

"He made a decision that really was the right one, that had to be made. I don't think this is something that we rejoice in or anything like that."

The players were happy that there was a resolution, he said, adding: "I think we're all in a better place because of this."

In a joint statement, the National Urban League, the National Action Network, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation supported Mr Silver's announcement.

That decision, the statement said, was "a bold, courageous and resolute message".

Some sponsors had dumped the team as the race row deepened but following the ban, electronics company Samsung said it would resume advertising, starting with Tuesday evening's play-off game against the Golden State Warriors.

Former players also commended the swift action.

"I believe that today stands as one of those great moments where sports, once again, transcends, where sports provides a place for fundamental change on how our country should think and act," said Kevin Johnson, former NBA star and mayor of Sacramento, who has acted as an adviser to the NBA players' union.

But others said they believed the punishment was too harsh, given the fact it was a private conversation.

The ban means Mr Sterling will be unable to participate in all team business or attend any NBA practices or games.

Boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather has expressed an interest in buying the team, according to ESPN, as has another boxer, Oscar De La Hoya.

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A US sports writer considers the wider implications

The row erupted on Friday when celebrity news website TMZ published a 10-minute audio recording in which Mr Sterling criticised a woman, believed to be his girlfriend, for posting photographs of herself with black friends at Clippers games.

"It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you are associating with black people. Do you have to?" the man says.

The remarks caused an immediate uproar among basketball fans across the country, and drew condemnation from President Barack Obama.

The players staged a silent protest, going through a pre-match warm-up with shirts on inside-out to hide the team's logo.

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VIDEO: 'Racist' NBA owner banned for life

The owner of the LA Clippers basketball team in America has been fined $2.5m and banned from the sport for life for allegedly making racist remarks.

Billionaire Donald Sterling has been at the centre of a storm of controversy since his comments in a private telephone conversation were leaked to the media.

David Willis reports.

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Simon and Brickell appear in court

29 April 2014 Last updated at 08:57

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Paul Simon and his wife Edie Brickell held hands during their brief court appearance

Paul Simon and his wife Edie Brickell have appeared in court after being arrested over a domestic dispute.

Simon told a Superior Court judge in Norwalk, Connecticut, he had a rare argument with his wife on Saturday night at their home.

The couple, who have been married for 22 years, held hands and said they did not feel threatened by each other.

"We're fine. We love each other. We're fine. We had an argument. It's over," Simon said as he left the courthouse.

Continue reading the main story

These people have had a wonderful life together and they've never had these types of problems"

End Quote Alan Cramer, lawyer for Paul Simon and Edie Brickell

"We're going to go back home today. We're going to watch our son play baseball," he added.

"Neither one of us has any fear or any reason to feel threatened."

'Wonderful life'

The arrest came on Saturday night after a caller from the singers' home phoned the emergency services and hung up, police chief Leon Krolikowski said at a news conference on Monday.

Officers who responded found minor injuries and believed it was a case of domestic violence, he continued. He did not confirm who was injured.

"There was aggressiveness on both sides," he said. "They're both victims and they have children involved and we're trying to be very cautious of that."

Simon and Brickell were each given a misdemeanour summons. One of them - again unspecified - agreed to leave and go to another location.

The singers' lawyer, Alan Cramer, dismissed the severity of the argument, calling it a "one on a scale of one to 10".

"They are here together, they get along fine with each other," Cramer told reporters before the court hearing.

"If it were Joe Blow we wouldn't be here. You certainly wouldn't be here. These people have had a wonderful life together and they've never had these types of problems."

Simon, 72, first found fame as one half of folk duo Simon and Garfunkel, while Brickell, 48, was the lead singer of Edie Brickell & New Bohemians.

The band scored an international hit with their debut single What I Am in 1988, a track subsequently covered by former Spice Girl Emma Bunton in 1999.

Earlier this year, Brickell won a Grammy award with comedian Steve Martin for best American roots song, Love Has Come For You.

She is due to start touring in May with Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers.

Simon is a 12-time Grammy winner and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - both as part of Simon and Garfunkel and as a solo artist.

He recently finished a joint tour with British musician Sting and last year performed a benefit concert in the couple's hometown of New Canaan, performing songs including The Sound of Silence and Mrs Robinson.

According to local media, the couple have lived in the Connecticut town with their three children for a number of years.

They have been asked to return to court on 16 May.

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US high court weighs phone searches

29 April 2014 Last updated at 15:13

The US Supreme Court is hearing arguments over whether police may search a suspect's mobile phone without a warrant during an arrest.

The high court is weighing appeals by two people convicted based on evidence found on their phones.

The defendants argue their constitutional protections against unreasonable searches were violated.

But the government argues phones are no more shielded from searches than other articles police find during an arrest.

The Supreme Court has previously ruled that during an arrest, police do not need a warrant to empty a suspect's pockets and examine whatever they find in order to ensure officers' safety and prevent the destruction of evidence.

12 million arrested

In one case before the court on Tuesday, prosecutors used video and photographs found on David Riley's smartphone to persuade a jury to convict him of attempted murder and other charges.

Riley had been driving on a suspended licence, and police found guns in his car and charged him with carrying a concealed weapon, then searched his phone.

In the second case, Brima Wurie was arrested on suspicion of selling crack cocaine. On the "officer safety" grounds police examined the call log on his mobile phone and used that information to determine where he lived.

When they searched that residence, with a warrant, they found crack cocaine, marijuana, a gun and ammunition.

Under the fourth amendment to the US constitution, police and other government officials generally need to obtain a warrant from a judge before they can conduct a search. A warrant requires evidence that a crime has been committed by the suspect.

Lawyers for Riley and Wurie argue that allowing police to search mobile phones during the initial arrest would radically broaden police powers, because many arrests occur for minor violations and never end in conviction.

Same as papers

They say a phone's contents cannot be used as a weapon and that police could seize the phone without searching it to avoid the destruction of evidence.

The defendants are also backed by privacy advocates who say mobile phones, especially smartphones, contain enormous quantities of sensitive personal information that have no bearing on the arrest.

More than 90% of Americans own at least one mobile, according to the Pew Research Center. More than 12 million people were arrested in the US in 2012, according to FBI statistics.

On the government side, the state of California and the US justice department argue that mobile phones are often used in crime and that suspects could destroy evidence if the phones are not searched immediately.

They argue a person who is arrested has a lower expectation of privacy.

Regardless of how much information is carried on a phone, California argues in Riley's case that it is "not different in kind from wallets, address books, personal paper or other items that have long been subject to examination by police".

In Wurie's case, the First Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a similar argument from the government lawyers.

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Six hurt in Georgia FedEx shooting

29 April 2014 Last updated at 17:02

A gunman shot and injured six people inside a parcel sorting plant in suburban Atlanta before killing himself, police have said.

The shooting at a FedEx centre in Kennesaw, Georgia, was reported at about 06:00 local time (11:00 GMT).

Officers found the suspect dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot.

Two victims had "life threatening" injuries and were in surgery, a hospital spokesman said.

The identity of the suspected gunman was not immediately released.

A witness told the Associated Press news agency the gunman had an assault-style rifle, knife and bullets strapped across his chest "like Rambo".

David Titus, a FedEx lorry driver, said he was just arriving at work when he saw someone shoot a security guard in the abdomen outside the building, then he heard more shots inside.

"It was chaos," Mr Titus said. "Everyone was running ducking and hiding, trying to get out of there."

Dr Michael Nitzken of Wellstar Kennestone Hospital told reporters two people hit by gunfire were in surgery in critical condition. One additional victim was in critical condition, one was in stable condition and two were treated and expected to be released from hospital.

All had multiple gunshot wounds.

FedEx said the company was co-operating with police but had no details to release about the shootings.

"Our primary concern is the safety and wellbeing of our team members, first responders and others affected," said spokesman Scott Fiedler.

Last week, Georgia's governor signed into law a sweeping new gun bill that allows people to carry guns into bars, airports, some government buildings and places of worship.

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Canada whale corpse explosion feared

29 April 2014 Last updated at 18:04

The residents of a town on Canada's Newfoundland island fear a blue whale carcass that washed up on its boardwalk last week could explode at any time.

The 25m (81ft) whale on Trout River's rocky beach is one of several believed to have died in heavy ice weeks ago.

Town Clerk Emily Butler says the body is bloated with methane gas caused by decomposition and will soon reek, regardless of whether it explodes.

Local and federal authorities disagree which are responsible for its disposal.

Ms Butler said the town of 600 people did not have the resources to deal safely with the carcass, though Canadian officials say it is their responsibility.

She told broadcaster NTV that if the town were to push the whale out to sea, it could pose a hazard to passing ships.

The whale appears to have bloated beyond twice its normal size

The town, a tourist destination inside Gros Morne National Park on the Canadian island's west coast, has seen a new type of visitor since the whale carcass came ashore.

"It's very difficult to keep people away, simply because it's not too often that you see a blue whale," Ms Butler told broadcaster CBC.

Last year a sperm whale carcass that washed up on the Faroe Islands exploded as a biologist attempted to dissect it.

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Severe weather threatens eastern US

30 April 2014 Last updated at 02:57

Severe weather is threatening as many as 73 million Americans in the eastern states, after two days of powerful storms killed up to 34 people.

Alabama had flash flooding and tornadoes were reported in North Carolina on Tuesday.

Thunderstorms and severe weather are expected along the east coast on Wednesday as the storm shifts.

Tornadoes cut a broad track of death and destruction through the southern US states on Sunday and Monday.

The storms flattened buildings, overturned cars, and left thousands of residents without power.

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Aerial footage captured by a drone shows emergency vehicles and debris on a highway south of Mayflower, Arkansas

"Widespread thunderstorms are forecast across the central Gulf Coast region, with several severe [or] supercell storms possible," the National Weather Service wrote in a morning forecast.

More than two million people are said to be at risk of tornadoes and high winds in parts of Alabama and Mississippi on Tuesday.

As the storm moves further east, parts of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina are expected to be under threat of severe weather, forecasters say.

Meanwhile, the search for survivors continues in the southern US states that were smashed by huge tornadoes on Monday and Tuesday.

In Mississippi, officials reported 12 dead, including nine near Louisville and three in separate traffic accidents.

Early on Tuesday, residents of Louisville crept from their shelters to find their homes demolished by a tornado that punched holes in the roof of a local hospital.

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A fierce storm blew a freight train off its tracks in Illinois

'Start all over'

Giles Ward huddled in a bathroom with his wife and four other relatives as a tornado destroyed his brick house and overturned his son-in-law's four-wheel-drive parked outside his home in Louisville.

"For about 30 seconds, it was unbelievable,'' said Mr Ward, a Republican state senator. "It's about as awful as anything we've gone through."

Three people were reported dead in Alabama, including a University of Alabama student who perished when he took shelter in a basement and a retaining wall collapsed on him.

As many as 16 people were killed on Sunday, including 14 in the towns surrounding Little Rock, Arkansas, with Mayflower and Vilonia bearing the brunt of the damage.

Many homes and businesses, including a new secondary school worth $14m (£8.3m), were left in ruins in Vilonia after the storm.

President Barack Obama promised assistance to those affected by the storms, saying federal emergency officials would be on the ground to help.

"Your country will be there to help you recover and rebuild, as long as it takes," he said earlier.

Are you in the US? Are you affected by the tornadoes? Get in touch by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with the subject title 'US tornadoes'. Or send your photos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

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Inmate dies in 'botched' execution

30 April 2014 Last updated at 11:53

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Execution of Clayton Lockett (pictured): Journalist and witness Courtney Francisco describes what she saw - some may find this audio distressing.

A US death row inmate in Oklahoma died of a heart attack after his execution was halted because the lethal injection of three drugs failed to work properly.

The execution of Clayton Lockett, 38, was stopped after 20 minutes, when one of his veins ruptured, preventing the drugs from taking full effect.

The execution of a fellow inmate, due two hours later, was postponed.

Both men had unsuccessfully challenged a state law that shields the identities of companies supplying the drugs.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

Since it was first used in Texas in 1982, "the triple-drug cocktail" has become the standard execution method in US states that have the death penalty. It was designed by anaesthesiologist Stanley Deutsch as an "extremely humane" way to end life.

The first drug, a barbiturate, "shuts down" the central nervous system, rendering the prisoner unconscious. The second paralyses the muscles and stops the person breathing. The third, potassium chloride, stops the heart.

But critics suggest that the method may well be painful. One suggestion is that people could be too sedated by the first drug to cry out, or that they might be in pain but paralysed by the second drug.

Another complication, as appears to have been the case with Clayton Lockett, is that intravenous drug use is common among death row inmates, meaning many prisoners have damaged veins that are difficult to inject.

Problems sourcing some of the drugs in the official protocol have also led to claims that states are using untested drugs in their executions.

The problems surrounding Lockett's execution come amid a wider debate over the legality of the three-drug method and whether its use violates guarantees in the US constitution "against cruel and unusual punishment".

Lockett was sentenced to death for the 1999 shooting of a 19-year-old woman.

'Botched'

Lockett writhed and shook uncontrollably after the drugs were administered, witnesses said.

"We believe that a vein was blown and the drugs weren't working as they were designed to. The director ordered a halt to the execution," Oklahoma Department of Corrections spokesman Jerry Massie said.

But Lockett's lawyer, David Autry, questioned the remarks, insisting his client "had large arms and very prominent veins," according to the Associated Press.

The prisoner was moving his arms and legs and straining his head, mumbling "as if he was trying to talk", Courtney Francisco, a local journalist present at the execution, told the BBC.

Prison officials pulled a curtain across the view of witnesses when it became apparent that something had gone wrong.

"It was a horrible thing to witness. This was totally botched," Mr Autry said.

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said in a statement that she had ordered a full review of the state's execution procedures.

Calls for investigation

Fellow inmate Charles Warner, 46, had been scheduled to be put to death in the same room two hours later in a rare double execution.

Warner's lawyer, Madeline Cohen, who witnessed Lockett's execution, said he had been "tortured to death" and called for an investigation.

"The state must disclose complete information about the drugs, including their purity, efficacy, source and the results of any testing," she said.‏

Warner was convicted of the 1997 murder and rape of an 11-month-old girl.

Continue reading the main story

Lockett's last moments

• 18:23 - Sedative administered
• 18:33 - Doctor declares Lockett unconscious
• 18:36 - Lockett is restless and a doctor discovers a ruptured vein
• Curtain drawn
• Execution halted
• 19:06 - Lockett dies from a heart attack

All times local - Central Time

He and Lockett had unsuccessfully challenged an Oklahoma state law that blocks officials from revealing - even in court - the identities of the companies supplying the drugs.

The state maintains the law is necessary to protect the suppliers from legal action and harassment.

Lockett and Warner argued they needed to know the names of the suppliers in order to ensure the quality of the drugs that would be used to kill them and to be certain that they had been obtained legally.

In March, a trial court ruled in their favour, but the state's highest court reversed that decision last week, ruling that "the plaintiffs have no more right to the information they requested than if they were being executed in the electric chair".

US states have encountered increasing problems in obtaining the drugs for lethal injections, amid an embargo by European pharmaceutical firms.

Some have turned to untried combinations of drugs or have sought to obtain the drugs custom-made from compounding pharmacies.

The triple-drug cocktail, first used in Texas in 1982, has become the standard execution method in the US.

It was presented as a more humane replacement for lethal gas and the electric chair, but critics of the three-drug protocol say it could cause unnecessary suffering.

Several US states that still have the death penalty have since switched to a single-drug method.

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US economic growth falls sharply

30 April 2014 Last updated at 14:22

US economic growth slowed sharply in the first quarter of the year, growing at an annual rate of 0.1%.

The rate is the slowest for a year and a large fall on the 2.6% increase in gross domestic product (GDP) in the final quarter of last year.

An unusually cold and disruptive winter, coupled with tumbling exports, contributed to the decline, the US Commerce Department said.

But it said economic activity already appeared to be bouncing back.

Business investment fell by 2.1%, with spending on equipment plunging by 5.5% at an annual rate compared with a year earlier.

Residential construction, which was inevitably hit by the unusually cold winter fell by 5.7% although it was also hit by higher house prices and a shortage of available homes for sale.

The US trade trade deficit deficit widened, thanks to a sharp fall in exports which shaved growth by 0.8 percentage points in the first quarter. Businesses also slowed their restocking, with a slowdown in inventory rebuilding reducing growth by nearly 0.6 percentage points.

But consumer spending grew by 3%, although the increase was dominated by a 4.4% rise in spending on services, reflecting higher utility bills during the bitterly cold winter.

Rebound

A cutback in spending by state and local governments also helped offset a rebound in federal activity after the 16-day partial government shutdown last year.

But most economists expect a strong rebound in growth in the April-June quarter. The consensus view is the economy will expand by 3% in the second quarter.

Analysts say the stronger growth will endure through the rest of the year as the economy derives help from improved job growth, rising consumer spending and a rebound in business investment.

In fact, many analysts believe 2014 will be the year the recovery from recession finally achieves the robust growth that's needed to accelerate hiring and reduce still-high unemployment.

If the economy rebounds as strongly as they suggest, it will have experienced the fastest annual expansion in the economy in nine years.

The last time growth was as strong was in 2005, when GDP grew 3.4%, two years before the nation fell into the worst recession since the 1930s.

Unemployment is expected to fall to 6.2% by the end of this year from 6.7% in March.

Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors, said he expected job growth to average above 200,000 a month for the rest of the year - starting with the April jobs report, which will be released Friday.

"Those are the types of job gains which will generate incomes and consumer confidence going forward," Mr Naroff said.

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Ohio increases execution drug levels

28 April 2014 Last updated at 23:53

The US state of Ohio plans to increase its dosage of death-penalty drugs after a convicted murderer took nearly half an hour to die from a new injection.

Lawyers for Dennis McGuire, 53, have argued he suffered an "agonising" death violating his constitutional rights.

But an official review determined he was asleep and did not experience pain.

The state will increase the amount of sedative and painkiller used in the two-drug injection, however, to "allay any remaining concerns".

'Constitutional manner'

McGuire "did not experience pain, distress or air hunger after the drugs were administered or when the bodily movements and sounds occurred," according to a Department of Rehabilitation and Correction review.

"His execution was conducted in a constitutional manner consistent with the policy."

Witnesses said McGuire - who raped and killed a pregnant woman in 1989 - gasped for up to 26 minutes on 16 January before he died from the sedative midazolam and painkiller hydromorphone.

It is the longest execution since Ohio resumed the practice in 1999.

The state was forced to change its lethal injection to a new two-drug cocktail after the Danish maker of the previous execution drug refused to allow its use in capital punishment.

The planned drug increase comes 30 days before the state's next scheduled execution - of a man convicted of the 1983 killing of a produce vendor - on 28 May.

On Tuesday, two death row inmates who lost a case in the Oklahoma Supreme Court are due to be put to death.

The court ruled they had no right to know the source of the drugs that will be used to kill them.

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Simon and Brickell appear in court

29 April 2014 Last updated at 08:57

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Paul Simon and his wife Edie Brickell held hands during their brief court appearance

Paul Simon and his wife Edie Brickell have appeared in court after being arrested over a domestic dispute.

Simon told a Superior Court judge in Norwalk, Connecticut, he had a rare argument with his wife on Saturday night at their home.

The couple, who have been married for 22 years, held hands and said they did not feel threatened by each other.

"We're fine. We love each other. We're fine. We had an argument. It's over," Simon said as he left the courthouse.

Continue reading the main story

These people have had a wonderful life together and they've never had these types of problems"

End Quote Alan Cramer, lawyer for Paul Simon and Edie Brickell

"We're going to go back home today. We're going to watch our son play baseball," he added.

"Neither one of us has any fear or any reason to feel threatened."

'Wonderful life'

The arrest came on Saturday night after a caller from the singers' home phoned the emergency services and hung up, police chief Leon Krolikowski said at a news conference on Monday.

Officers who responded found minor injuries and believed it was a case of domestic violence, he continued. He did not confirm who was injured.

"There was aggressiveness on both sides," he said. "They're both victims and they have children involved and we're trying to be very cautious of that."

Simon and Brickell were each given a misdemeanour summons. One of them - again unspecified - agreed to leave and go to another location.

The singers' lawyer, Alan Cramer, dismissed the severity of the argument, calling it a "one on a scale of one to 10".

"They are here together, they get along fine with each other," Cramer told reporters before the court hearing.

"If it were Joe Blow we wouldn't be here. You certainly wouldn't be here. These people have had a wonderful life together and they've never had these types of problems."

Simon, 72, first found fame as one half of folk duo Simon and Garfunkel, while Brickell, 48, was the lead singer of Edie Brickell & New Bohemians.

The band scored an international hit with their debut single What I Am in 1988, a track subsequently covered by former Spice Girl Emma Bunton in 1999.

Earlier this year, Brickell won a Grammy award with comedian Steve Martin for best American roots song, Love Has Come For You.

She is due to start touring in May with Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers.

Simon is a 12-time Grammy winner and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - both as part of Simon and Garfunkel and as a solo artist.

He recently finished a joint tour with British musician Sting and last year performed a benefit concert in the couple's hometown of New Canaan, performing songs including The Sound of Silence and Mrs Robinson.

According to local media, the couple have lived in the Connecticut town with their three children for a number of years.

They have been asked to return to court on 16 May.

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Guilty plea in salon mass shooting

29 April 2014 Last updated at 01:51

A man who allegedly went on a 2011 shooting rampage in a hair salon in Seal Beach, California, has agreed to plead guilty, his lawyer said.

Scott Dekraai, 44, was charged with the deaths of eight people and was set to face trial on 9 June.

He is said to have been engaged in a child custody fight with his ex-wife, Michelle Fournier, a hairdresser.

Seven people inside the salon were killed, along with a man sitting in his car in the parking lot.

Mr Dekraai had reportedly previously offered to plead guilty to charges in exchange for multiple life sentences but prosecutors had earlier declined to drop the death penalty.

His defence lawyer, Scott Sanders, told an Orange County court on Monday that his client would enter the plea.

Those killed in the attack included Ms Fournier, friend Christy Wilson, salon owner Randy Fannin, stylist Victoria Buzzo, and Laura Elody, Lucia Kondas, Michele Fast and David Caouette.

Another woman received gunshot wounds but survived the attack.

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Clooney engaged, says fiancee's firm

28 April 2014 Last updated at 16:28

Reports that George Clooney is to wed his girlfriend, lawyer Amal Alamuddin, have been confirmed by her law firm.

"The barristers and staff of Doughty Street Chambers offer their best wishes and congratulations... on their engagement to be married," the London firm said in a statement.

The 52-year-old actor and his 36-year-old fiancee have been dating since last October, according to reports.

Clooney was previously married to Talia Balsam, whom he divorced in 1993.

Since then, the Oscar-winning star has been seen as one of Hollywood's most eligible bachelors.

Alamuddin was educated at Oxford and New York University and was recruited by her current firm in 2010.

The British human rights lawyer has represented Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in extradition proceedings and advised United Nations former secretary-general Kofi Annan on the Syrian crisis.

Doughty Street chief executive Robin Jackson said Alamuddin had been "utterly wonderful" since she joined the firm in 2010,

"She brings a bright light to everything she is involved in and I am so delighted at her happy news," he said.

A fluent French and Arabic speaker, Alamuddin is said to have spent time with the Ocean's Eleven star in New York, Tanzania and the Seychelles.

Speculation that Clooney was planning to remarry escalated over the weekend after his girlfriend was seen wearing a ring on her wedding finger at a Los Angeles restaurant.

The actor has been linked to a number of women in recent years, among them model and DJ Lisa Snowdon, Italian model Elisabetta Canalis and former professional wrestler Stacy Keibler.

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E-Z Rock, hip-hop pioneer, dies at 46

28 April 2014 Last updated at 12:37

E-Z Rock, the Harlem DJ who found fame with rapper Rob Base with 1988 hip-hop track It Takes Two, has died aged 46.

According to Rolling Stone magazine, the artist also known as Rodney "Skip" Bryce died on Sunday. The cause of his death has yet to be revealed.

It Takes Two enjoyed modest success on its first release but was later sampled by Snoop Dogg, Chris Brown, UK rapper Maxsta and many others.

Base paid tribute to Bryce on Twitter, calling him his "friend" and "brother".

Rapper Biz Markie also took to the social media platform to mourn his death, saying he would "truly be missed".

Bryce and Base - real name Robert Ginyard - became friends at school and released their first single, DJ Interview, in 1986.

It Takes Two followed two years later, accompanied by a video in which E-Z Rock made a memorable dancing cameo.

Built around a "wooh-yeah!" vocal sample from Lyn Collins' 1972 song Think (About It), the track is known for its iconic couplet: "It takes two to make a thing go right / It takes two to make it outta sight."

The song initially peaked at 36 in the Billboard Hot 100 but went on to sell more than a million copies.

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US congressman accused of tax fraud

28 April 2014 Last updated at 18:43

A US congressman has pleaded not guilty to charges he defrauded tax collectors while running a health food restaurant before he was elected to office.

New York Republican Michael Grimm was arrested and charged with 20 counts of fraud and other crimes.

Prosecutors allege he concealed from tax authorities more than $1m (£595,000) in sales and hired undocumented immigrants.

Mr Grimm is also accused of lying under oath about his business practices.

A lawyer for the congressman, a former FBI agent and marine, has said the case against Mr Grimm was "politically driven".

"Congressman Grimm asserts his innocence of any wrongdoing," William McGinley said.

The New York congressman, who was elected in 2010, was caught on camera in January threatening to throw a reporter who questioned him about an investigation into his campaign funding off a balcony in the US capitol building. He later apologised.

Breaking the law

According to an indictment released on Monday, in 2007-10 Mr Grimm was running the day-to-day operations of Healthalicious, a restaurant in New York city's Manhattan borough, when he under-reported more than $1m in sales, reducing his tax costs.

He paid workers in untracked cash and hired workers who were in the US illegally, further reducing the business' tax burden, the indictment alleges.

Prosecutors said Mr Grimm lied about these practices under oath during a deposition for a lawsuit filed by workers at the restaurant.

"In 2007, Michael Grimm, former Marine, former FBI agent, accountant and attorney, was poised for success as a small business owner," US Attorney Loretta Lynch said on Monday. "Instead, as alleged, Grimm made the choice to go from upholding the law to breaking it. In so doing he turned his back on every oath he had ever taken."

Mr Grimm had expected federal charges, his lawyer said on Friday, but the US justice department had previously said it was also investigating Mr Grimm for possible campaign finance violations.

No campaign finance charges were levelled against Mr Grimm on Monday.

He has previously acknowledged receiving $250,000 to $300,000 in contributions from followers of an Israeli rabbi, Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, some of whom later said they made illegal contributions. Mr Grimm has denied knowledge of any illegal action.

On Friday, a woman who had been romantically involved with Mr Grimm was charged with using fake donors to make illegal contributions to his campaign.

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Search ends for US mudslide victims

28 April 2014 Last updated at 22:03

Authorities are ending the search for victims in the US state of Washington five weeks after a mudslide claimed at least 41 lives.

Two people are still unaccounted for in the community of Oso, about 55 miles (90km) north of Seattle.

Hundreds of searchers combed a debris field containing downed trees and nearly 30 destroyed homes.

Officials say it could take three months to clear a stretch of highway buried in the disaster.

US President Barack Obama took an aerial tour of the town last week before speaking to rescue workers and locals.

"The country is thinking about all of you," he said. "We are not going anywhere."

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AstraZeneca shares soar on bid talks

29 April 2014 Last updated at 01:00

Shares in pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca rose by more than 14% on Monday, after US giant Pfizer confirmed its interest in a takeover bid.

The firm said it had contacted AstraZeneca over a multi-billion pound bid for the UK-based drug maker.

If successful, the deal would be the biggest ever takeover of a UK firm by a foreign company.

Pfizer said it approached AstraZeneca on Saturday, after an initial offer in January, worth £58.8bn, was rebuffed.

AstraZeneca said the original offer "significantly undervalued" the firm, which employs more than 51,000 staff.

However, AstraZeneca said it was "confident" its strategy would create "significant value" for shareholders on its own.

"The Board remains confident in the ongoing execution of AstraZeneca's strategy as an independent company," it added.

Continue reading the main story

Pfizer's statement this morning is a love letter to AstraZeneca's shareholders.

It talks of "a highly compelling opportunity to realise a significant premium" and offers a "substantial cash payment".

Pfizer also pledges that AstraZeneca shareholders would be able to take up significant rights in any combined company.

Judged by other pharmaceutical deals, any bid of this size would come at a premium of around 30%, presumably on AstraZeneca's undisturbed 17 April share price of £37.81.

With a present market value above £50bn, AstraZeneca would cost Pfizer around £65bn.

Pfizer has the cash, with a multi-billion dollar war chest held off-shore to shield it from American tax laws.

If AstraZeneca does not engage, and it hasn't so far, this bid could turn hostile.

It will be quite a battle.

Pfizer said in a statement that AstraZeneca's refusal to engage meant it was currently "considering its options".

Global player

AstraZeneca manufactures drugs in 16 countries focusing on treatments for diabetes, cancer and asthma as well as antibiotics.

It reported £25.7bn in sales last year, with £3.3bn in pre-tax profit.

In the UK it has eight sites and about 6,700 employees.

Recently it posted a drop in first quarter profits - and laid off thousands of staff in an effort to reduce its costs to compensate for a fall in sales - due to patent losses on blockbuster medicines.

In April, it posted a drop in first quarter profits after its earnings were by hit by patents expiring on some of its older medicines.

'Compelling opportunity'

Pfizer said its initial offer in January was a combination of cash and shares worth £46.61 per AstraZeneca share, worth £58.8bn in total.

At the time, it represented a 30% premium to AstraZeneca's share price, although AstraZeneca's share price has since increased and on Monday morning it jumped nearly 15% to £46.88p.

Pfizer said the deal was "a highly compelling opportunity" for AstraZeneca's shareholders.

It said if the takeover went through, the combined firm would have management in both the US and the UK, but would list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

"We have great respect for AstraZeneca and its proud heritage," said Pfizer chairman and chief executive Ian Read.

Pfizer said it would only make a firm offer if AstraZeneca directors voted unanimously in favour of the deal.

Continue reading the main story

"The strategic, business and financial rationale for a transaction is compelling," it added.

Hostile move?

Buying AstraZeneca would give Pfizer, whose drugs include Viagra, access to a number of cancer and diabetes drugs.

However, Justin Urquhart Stewart, head of corporate development at Seven Investment Management, told the BBC the price Pfizer is offering was still too low to secure a deal.

"It's too close to what it is priced at in the market," he said.

"They've tried to talk to the management and gain agreement but that's not happened so they are considering now going directly to the shareholders".

Citi analyst Andrew Baum said he believed there was now a 90% chance that Pfizer would acquire AstraZeneca for at least around £49 a share.

Continue reading the main story

AstraZeneca's £7bn of drugs sold every year accounts for a whopping 2.3% of British goods exports."

End Quote

Linda Yueh, the BBC's chief business correspondent, notes that AstraZeneca is a key UK firm in the area of research and development (R&D) and also in exports.

"AstraZeneca's £7bn of drugs sold every year accounts for a whopping 2.3% of British goods exports," she added.

Pfizer has made other major acquisitions, its most recent being the $68bn (£40.4bn) purchase of Wyeth in 2009.

However, this would mark its biggest foreign acquisition.

It would also be the largest foreign takeover of a British firm, beating some of the more recent deals which include:

• O2 bought by Spain's Telefonica for £18bn in 2005
• Cadbury bought by US-based Kraft for £11.5bn in 2010
• Alliance Boots bought by US investment firm KKR for £11.1bn in 2007
• BAA bought by Spain's Ferrovial for £10.3bn in 2006
• Powergen bought by Germany's E.on for £9.6bn in 2002

However, the BBC's business editor, Kamal Ahmed, warned Pfizer's takeover approach could turn into a lengthy battle.

"If AstraZeneca does not engage, and it hasn't so far, this bid could turn hostile," he said.

Reacting to news of the bid, Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "My priority is to ensure that the objectives of this government's life sciences industrial strategy are fulfilled. This means ensuring there are high-skilled jobs and long term investment in research and development in the UK.

"On the potential merger, the CEO of Pfizer has made contact and informed me of his intentions and I have emphasised the importance of these points."

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Tornadoes claim more lives in US

29 April 2014 Last updated at 07:09

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One man described Monday's tornadoes like "a roaring freight train"

Powerful storms are barrelling down on the southern US for a second night, raising the death toll above 20.

Six deaths were reported in Alabama and seven in Mississippi after tornadoes struck on Monday evening, although not all these fatalities were confirmed.

Several tornadoes flattened buildings, overturned vehicles and brought down utility lines on a second consecutive night of devastation.

At least 16 people died in Arkansas, Iowa and Oklahoma on Sunday night.

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Aerial footage captured by a drone shows emergency vehicles and debris on a highway south of Mayflower, Arkansas

In Limestone County, Alabama, two deaths were confirmed by the coroner's office and four deaths were reported, although unconfirmed, elsewhere in the county.

In Mississippi, a woman died when driving her car during the storm in Verona, south of Tupelo. Officials said seven people were killed in total across the state but coroners had yet to confirm that number.

The mayor of Tupelo, Jason Shelton, told CNN the damage from the storms was widespread and "devastating". A 21:00 local time curfew was in place on Monday.

Power went out in much of the city as lines went down and trees were torn up by the storm, the US National Weather Service reported.

Giles Ward huddled in a bathroom with his wife and four other relatives as a tornado destroyed his brick house and overturned his son-in-law's four-wheel-drive parked outside his home in Louisville, Winston County, Mississippi.

"For about 30 seconds, it was unbelievable,'' said Mr Ward, a Republican state senator. "It's about as awful as anything we've gone through."

Meanwhile, emergency crews are continuing to search through rubble for survivors of the severe storms which struck one day earlier.

Of the 16 people who died on Sunday night, 14 of them were in the towns surrounding Little Rock, Arkansas. A preliminary death toll there was 16 but it was later amended.

But the number may yet rise as crews search the wreckage of destroyed buildings.

"We're trying to make sure everyone is accounted for," Brandon Morris, spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, told the Associated Press news agency.

Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe said the storm "may be one of the strongest we have seen".

President Barack Obama, on a trip to the Philippines, offered his deepest condolences to those affected on Sunday and said federal emergency officials would be on the ground to help.

"Your country will be there to help you recover and rebuild, as long as it takes," he said.

Mayflower and Vilonia, two small towns in Faulkner County, appear to have borne the brunt of the damage on Sunday.

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Scientists in Oklahoma are working on implementing new technologies to study tornadoes

The Arkansas tornado touched down about 10 miles (16km) west of the city of Little Rock and left a 40-mile (65km) path of destruction.

It is said to have passed through several northern suburbs - including Mayflower where a witness described a twister half a mile wide crossing Interstate 40 on Sunday evening, the National Weather Service said.

Congressman Tim Griffin told Reuters news agency an "entire neighbourhood of 50 homes or so" in Faulkner County had been destroyed, with many "completely gone except the foundation".

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A fierce storm blew a freight train off its tracks in Illinois

Many homes and businesses, including a new secondary school worth $14m (£8.3m), were left in ruins in Vilonia after the storm.

"There's just really nothing there anymore. We're probably going to have to start all over again," said Vilonia schools chief Frank Mitchell after inspecting the wreckage of the school.

Are you in the US? Are you affected by the tornadoes? Get in touch by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with the subject title 'US tornadoes'. Or send your photos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

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Backers withdraw LA Clippers support

Financial backers of the Los Angeles Clippers have been withdrawing their support after the basketball club's owner allegedly made racist comments.

The National Basketball Association is investigating remarks reportedly made by Donald Sterling, 80.

Sterling has owned the Clippers since 1981

Four firms, including Mercedes Benz USA, have cut sponsorship, while energy drink maker Red Bull is among companies to have suspended advertising.

The NBA has called a news conference for 18:30 BST on Tuesday.

In a 10-minute taped recording posted online by celebrity news website TMZ,  a man, alleged to be Sterling, can be heard criticising a woman for posting photographs of herself with black friends attending Clippers' matches on a social media website.

Sterling, who has owned the Clippers since 1981, has told TMZ the recording "does not reflect his views".

"This is a man in a powerful position and a man who should be embracing minorities not discriminating against them"

Magic Johnson

On Sunday, Clippers players staged a silent protest, going through their pre-match routine for their NBA play-off game against Golden State Warriors with shirts on inside-out to hide the team's logo.

The players also wore black wristbands or armbands and all wore black socks with their normal jerseys.

The Clippers, who lost the game 118-97, play their first home game on Tuesday since the racist remarks became public.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers says he has declined to speak to Sterling and urged fans to support the players.

"We need unbelievable support and I hope that's what we are going to get from our fans," he said.

"I was asked if I needed to talk to Donald. I passed. I don't think now is the right time, for me at least.

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NBA rocked by LA Clippers race row

"I believe he said those things but I want to make sure it hasn't been doctored.

"I heard what he said. Until someone tells me differently, you usually believe what people say. I will wait for that further judgment."

NBA star Magic Johnson urged NBA commissioner Adam Silver to act quickly over the allegation.

"There's no room for racism and discrimination," he said.

"Unfortunately, this is a man in a powerful position and a man who should be embracing minorities not discriminating against them."

San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks players wear black socks in support of Clippers colleagues

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Pentagon staff 'to leave Ecuador'

25 April 2014 Last updated at 21:04

The United States says about 20 of its military personnel will leave Ecuador by the end of April, to comply with an order from the government.

Earlier this month, President Rafael Correa told the US Department of Defense to leave amid concerns of meddling in Ecuador's internal affairs.

The order does not affect the US military attache in Ecuador.

A US spokesman in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito, said the US regretted Mr Correa's decision.

"Our close military cooperation over the past four decades has produced major advances in the fight against drug trafficking, human trafficking, terrorism and other transnational crimes," Jeffrey Weinshenker, spokesman for the US Embassy, told BBC Mundo.

He said that the US respected the "sovereign decision of the government of Ecuador", adding it could affect bilateral relations.

'Too many officers'

The expulsions make good on a months-old threat by Mr Correa to drastically reduce the number of Pentagon personnel in his country.

Last December, the left-wing president complained that the US had "a very high number" of military officers in Ecuador.

Relations between Quito and Washington have been strained ever since Mr Correa came to office in 2007.

In 2009, Ecuador refused to renew an agreement with the US that allowed its drug-interdiction flights to be based at an Ecuadorean airfield.

That same year, the Andean nation expelled two US diplomats, accusing them of meddling in its internal affairs - charges Washington rejected.

In 2012, it provided asylum in its London embassy to the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, whose organisation published leaked US military documents and diplomatic cables.

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Somali shock over 'lost' stowaway

25 April 2014 Last updated at 20:29

The mother of a Somali teenager who survived a US flight in a wheel well has told the BBC of her shock and relief to discover he is alive.

Ubah Mohamed Abdullahi, who lives in a refugee camp in Ethiopia, says it was the first news she had heard about her "lost son" for six years.

Divorced from his father, she has not been in contact with the family since they moved to the US in 2008.

The boy's father said the 16-year-old had been trying to return to Somalia.

Yahya Abdi survived lack of oxygen and freezing temperatures on a five-hour flight from California to Hawaii.

'Uncontrollable sobbing'

Ms Abdullahi said that both her brother and father who live in Europe had phoned to tell her about her son Yahya's lucky escape.

Continue reading the main story

I want to hear the voice of my children, I want to see them, please help me"

End Quote Ubah Mohamed Abdullahi

"My father watched the news from the TV and saw the pictures of my son, and then he called me and told me that he had seen my son on news channels," she told the BBC Somali service.

"Thank God, now he is safe and in a good condition."

Talking on the phone from a refugee camp in Sheed Dheer where she has lived since 2008, Ms Abdullahi said she was shocked that her son could have put himself in such danger.

BBC Somali's Abdifitah Ibrahim Cagayare says in the middle of the interview Ms Abdullahi broke down and sobbed uncontrollably.

She said that since her two sons and daughter went to the US in 2008 with her ex-husband she had been desperately trying to get in touch with them.

"We are divorced… I called him [her ex-husband] several times through his relatives and he refused to talk to me," she said.

"I want to hear the voice of my children, I want to see them, please help me and guide me to that, please," the mother wept.

After Yahya Abdi was found disorientated on the runway in Maui on Sunday, he reportedly told investigators he had been in an argument at home and then went to the airport, choosing the aircraft nearest to the fence.

In an interview with US broadcaster Voice of America, the boy's father, Abdilahi Yusuf Abdi, said "Allah had saved" his son.

He said his son was "always talking about going back to Africa" and since the family came to the US, the boy had been bothered by "education problems".

Since 1991 Somalia has seen clan-based warlords, rival politicians and Islamist militants battle for control - a situation that has allowed lawlessness and piracy to flourish.

The years of anarchy and drought have forced many Somalis to seek sanctuary elsewhere but since a UN-backed government was installed in 2012, a small measure of stability has returned to some areas of the country.

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Dead cats found hung from NY trees

25 April 2014 Last updated at 16:54

Authorities in a suburb of New York are investigating dozens of dead cats found hanging from trees in plastic bags in a small, rubbish-strewn wood.

The cats may have been killed with blows to the head, an animal protection worker in Yonkers said.

Some of the cats had been reduced to skeletons, while others had been killed within the last several days.

The 25-30 cats were discovered on Thursday by a sanitation crew. Some spilled to the ground.

Ernest Lungaro, of the Westchester County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, told the Associated Press that investigators had found a baseball bat, two shovels and a metal pipe near the scene.

It is unclear whether the cats were feral or kidnapped pets.

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Canada court rejects Senate reform

25 April 2014 Last updated at 22:23

The Canadian Supreme Court has rejected the Harper government's plan to reform or abolish the Canadian Senate.

In a unanimous decision, the high court said most major changes suggested must be approved by seven provinces and half of Canada's population.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he was disappointed in the decision and said reform was now "off the table".

Senators are appointed on the advice of the prime minister and can serve until 75 years old.

The chamber has been recently embroiled in an expenses row.

Four senators in total have faced audits over their claims for living and travel expenses. An internal Senate panel has demanded repayment of large sums from the senators.

'Heart' of Canada federation

The plan by the ruling Conservatives sought to remake the Senate into an elected body, seeking limited, elected terms as well as other changes.

Mr Harper had sought the ruling from the Canadian high court after provinces rejected possible attempts to reform the Senate through voting in Parliament.

But the court said in its decision the Senate was "one of Canada's foundational political institutions".

"It lies at the heart of the agreements that gave birth to the Canadian federation," and therefore any change would be a constitutional question.

Specifically the court ruled that changes making the Senate an elected body would required the agreement of seven provinces and 50% of Canada's population. The abolition of the chamber would require the agreement of all 10 provinces.

Speaking at a separate event in Kitchener, Mr Harper said the government will abide by the decision.

But without any consensus among the provinces on Senate changes, the ruling was "for the status quo, a status quo that is supported by virtually no Canadian".

The prime minister added there was no desire "among anyone" to have "a bunch of constitutional negotiations".

But New Democratic Party leader Tom Mulcair said he will continue fighting to end the Senate, telling Canadian broadcaster CBC he has been talking to provincial premiers on the subject.

"We're not going to raise the white flag on this one," he said, accusing Mr Harper of being like former prime ministers who have "[realised] the Senate's a great place to name your bagmen, your henchmen, your political cronies".

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Canada orders sex misconduct review

25 April 2014 Last updated at 23:16

Canada's military has ordered an internal review after publication of a report suggested sexual assault "plagues" the country's armed forces.

An investigation by Canadian magazines Maclean's and L'actualite found five alleged assaults per day within the military community.

The report says those who reported rape or assault faced reprisals.

In a statement, Defence Minister Rob Nicholson said he was "deeply angered upon learning of the alleged assaults".

"Sexual misconduct of all kinds will not be tolerated within the Canadian Armed Forces," Mr Nicholson said, adding he had asked Chief of Defence Staff General Tom Lawson "to get to the bottom of these serious matters".

Gen Lawson said he said he had "directed an immediate internal review" of workplace programmes and policies.

"Further to this, I will consider options for external review."

The two magazines interviewed 12 alleged victims of rape or sexual assault and obtained records through access to information laws to develop the months-long investigation.

According to a preview video by Maclean's, the alleged assaults took place in a variety of locations, including postings in Afghanistan, and occurred to both women and men.

One the reporters told broadcaster CTV the military's culture discourages victims from reporting sexual assaults, as there is no way superior officers will not be informed of complaints.

"The fact that they are a military family, they are obliged to band together and be one team," Alex Castonguay said.

"It [breaks] all the unity inside the Canadian military so people are not complaining a lot, they are fearing retaliations."

The report follows a similar extensive investigation by MacLean's in 1998.

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Chicago's DJ Rashad found dead

27 April 2014 Last updated at 13:50

DJ Rashad, a pioneer of Chicago's footwork and juke music scenes, has been found dead. He was in his mid-30s.

The Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times quoted police as saying he died of a suspected drug overdose.

Tributes have been paid on Twitter by friends and collaborators including DJ Godfather and Chance The Rapper, who wrote that "music lost a legend today".

DJ Rashad's latest album Double Cup was ranked eighth in Rolling Stone's list of the best dance albums of 2013.

The magazine said it was "one of the year's freshest-sounding dance LPs, ominous and decidedly futuristic" and noted its "deep ties to early house and Detroit techno and echoes of '70s R&B and soul-jazz".

Released by respected British label Hyperdub, the album was also among the top 30 best albums of 2013 according to both The Guardian and Pitchfork.

DJ Rashad's real name was Rashad Harden and his age was reported to be 34 or 35. He was at the forefront of juke and its offshoot footwork, ground-breaking sub-genres that evolved from house music.

They are dominated by frenetic beats and fractured samples and accompanied by athletic dance moves.

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US basketball team in silent protest

27 April 2014 Last updated at 22:05

US basketball players have staged a silent protest following reports that their team's owner had been secretly recorded making racist remarks.

The Los Angeles Clippers went through a pre-match routine on Sunday with shirts on inside-out to hide the team's logo.

The National Basketball Association is investigating a report on celebrity news website TMZ that Clippers owner Donald Sterling made the remarks.

Mr Sterling has told TMZ the recording "does not reflect his views".

The Clippers were playing the Golden State Warriors in Oakland on Sunday in a crucial NBA play-off but the clash was overshadowed by the recorded comments allegedly made by the 80-year-old tycoon.

The players also wore black wristbands or armbands and all wore black socks with their normal jerseys.

Mr Sterling did not attend the game.

In the 10-minute audio recording posted online by TMZ, a man, alleged to be Mr Sterling, can be heard criticising a woman for posting photographs of herself with black friends attending Clippers' matches on a social media site.

"It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you are associating with black people. Do you have to?" the man says.

"The little I ask is not to promote it on that... and not to bring them to my games."

US President Barack Obama, currently on a four-nation tour of South-east Asia, condemned the "ignorant" and "incredibly offensive" remarks.

"When ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance, you don't really have to do anything, you just let them talk," he said.

In a joint statement published on TMZ Sports on Saturday, Mr Sterling and the Clippers said: "We have heard the tape on TMZ. We do not know if it is legitimate or it has been altered."

"We do know that the woman on the tape - who we believe released it to TMZ - is the defendant in a lawsuit brought by the Sterling family.

"Mr Sterling is emphatic that what is reflected on that recording is not consistent with, nor does it reflect his views, beliefs or feelings. It is the antithesis of who he is, what he believes and how he has lived his life."

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Deadly tornadoes devastate US states

28 April 2014 Last updated at 10:58

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Building were destroyed while vehicles and caravans were thrown into the air

At least 17 people have been killed by tornadoes as a huge storm system swept across the central and southern United States.

Sixteen of the victims were in several suburbs of Little Rock in Arkansas, officials said.

Continue reading the main story

There's just really nothing there anymore. We're probably going to have to start all over again"

End Quote Frank Mitchell Vilonia schools chief

One other person was killed in the town of Quapaw in the north-east of Oklahoma where officials said many buildings were badly damaged.

Tornadoes also struck in Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Missouri.

President Barack Obama, on a trip to the Philippines, offered his deepest condolences to those affected and said federal emergency officials would be on the ground to help: "Your country will be there to help you recover and rebuild, as long as it takes."

'Mass casualty situation'

Most of the casualties were in suburbs west and north of Little Rock. The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management said 10 people died in Faulkner County, five in Pulaski County and one in White County.

Mayflower and Vilonia, two small towns in Faulkner County, appear to have borne the brunt of the damage. In Vilonia, the County Sheriff's office spoke of a "mass casualty situation".

The Arkansas tornado touched down about 10 miles (16km) west of the city of Little Rock and left a 40 mile (65km) path of destruction.

It is said to have passed through several northern suburbs - including Mayflower where a witness described a twister half a mile wide crossing Interstate 40 on Sunday evening, the National Weather Service said.

Congressman Tim Griffin told Reuters news agency an "entire neighbourhood of 50 homes or so" in Faulkner County had been destroyed, with many "completely gone except the foundation".

Many homes and businesses, including a new secondary school worth $14m (£8.3m), were left in ruins in Vilonia after the storm.

"There's just really nothing there anymore. We're probably going to have to start all over again," said Vilonia schools chief Frank Mitchell after inspecting the wreckage of the school.

First reports from Oklahoma said two people had died in Quapaw but officials later revised the figure down to one. Another six people were injured.

Quapaw, which has a population of about 900, was badly hit by the tornado, Ottawa County Emergency Management director Joe Dan Morgan said.

"Looks like about half of town got extensive damage as well as the fire department," he said.

The tornado then headed northwards into the state of Kansas where it struck Baxter Springs, injuring several people and causing further damage.

Over the weekend, storms struck the eastern part of the US, killing a child in North Carolina.

Are you in the US? Are you affected by the tornados? Get in touch by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with the subject title 'US tornados'. Or send your photos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

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Pfizer confirms AstraZeneca bid move

28 April 2014 Last updated at 11:34

US drugs giant Pfizer has confirmed it has contacted AstraZeneca over a possible multi-billion pound takeover.

Pfizer said it made an initial approach in January in an offer worth £58.8bn, but on Saturday had approached AstraZeneca for a second time.

AstraZeneca said the original offer "significantly undervalued" the firm, which employs more than 51,000 staff.

If Pfizer comes up with a successful bid it would be the biggest takeover of a UK firm by a foreign company.

However, AstraZeneca said it was "confident" its strategy would create "significant value" for shareholders on its own.

"The Board remains confident in the ongoing execution of AstraZeneca's strategy as an independent company," it added.

Continue reading the main story

Pfizer's statement this morning is a love letter to AstraZeneca's shareholders.

It talks of "a highly compelling opportunity to realise a significant premium" and offers a "substantial cash payment".

Pfizer also pledges that AstraZeneca shareholders would be able to take up significant rights in any combined company.

Judged by other pharmaceutical deals, any bid of this size would come at a premium of around 30%, presumably on AstraZeneca's undisturbed 17 April share price of £37.81.

With a present market value above £50bn, AstraZeneca would cost Pfizer around £65bn.

Pfizer has the cash, with a multi-billion dollar war chest held off-shore to shield it from American tax laws.

If AstraZeneca does not engage, and it hasn't so far, this bid could turn hostile.

It will be quite a battle.

Pfizer said in a statement that AstraZeneca's refusal to engage meant it was currently "considering its options".

Global player

AstraZeneca manufactures drugs in 16 countries focusing on treatments for diabetes, cancer and asthma as well as antibiotics.

It reported £25.7bn in sales last year, with £3.3bn in pre-tax profit.

It has eight sites in the UK and around 6,700 employees.

Recently it has laid off thousands of staff in an effort to reduce its costs to compensate for a fall in sales due to patent losses on blockbuster medicines.

In April, it posted a drop in first quarter profits after its earnings were by hit by patents expiring on some of its older medicines.

'Compelling opportunity'

Pfizer said its initial offer in January was a combination of cash and shares worth £46.61 per AstraZeneca share, worth £58.8bn in total.

At the time, it represented a 30% premium to AstraZeneca's share price, although AstraZeneca's share price has since increased and on Monday morning it jumped nearly 15% to £46.88p

Pfizer said the deal was "a highly compelling opportunity" for AstraZeneca's shareholders.

It said if the takeover went through, the combined firm would have management in both the US and the UK, but would list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

"We have great respect for AstraZeneca and its proud heritage," said Pfizer chairman and chief executive Ian Read.

Pfizer said it would only make a firm offer if AstraZeneca directors voted unanimously in favour of the deal.

Continue reading the main story

"The strategic, business and financial rationale for a transaction is compelling," it added.

Hostile move?

Buying AstraZeneca would give Pfizer, which makes Viagra among other drugs, access to a number of cancer and diabetes drugs.

However, Justin Urquhart Stewart, head of corporate development at Seven Investment Management, told the BBC the price Pfizer is offering was still too low to secure a deal.

"It's too close to what it is priced at in the market," he said.

"They've tried to talk to the management and gain agreement but that's not happened so they are considering now going directly to the shareholders".

Citi analyst Andrew Baum said he believed there was now a 90% chance that Pfizer would acquire AstraZeneca for at least around £49 a share.

Continue reading the main story

AstraZeneca's £7bn of drugs sold every year accounts for a whopping 2.3% of British goods exports."

End Quote

Linda Yueh, the BBC's chief business correspondent, notes that AstraZeneca is a key UK firm in the area of research and development (R&D) and also in exports.

"AstraZeneca's £7bn of drugs sold every year accounts for a whopping 2.3% of British goods exports," she added.

Pfizer has made other major acquisitions, its most recent being the $68bn (£40.4bn) purchase of Wyeth in 2009.

However, this would mark its biggest foreign acquisition.

It would also be the largest foreign takeover of a British firm, beating some of the more recent deals which include:

• O2 bought by Spain's Telefonica for £18bn in 2005
• Cadbury bought by US-based Kraft for £11.5bn in 2010
• Alliance Boots bought by US investment firm KKR for £11.1bn in 2007
• BAA bought by Spain's Ferrovial for £10.3bn in 2006
• Powergen bought by Germany's E.on for £9.6bn in 2002

However, the BBC's business editor, Kamal Ahmed, warned Pfizer's takeover approach could turn into a lengthy battle.

"If AstraZeneca does not engage, and it hasn't so far, this bid could turn hostile," he said.

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AUDIO: Sandy Hook mother on safety campaign

A mother of a child killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting has called on schools to plan better responses to threatening situations.

Michelle Gay, who lost her youngest daughter Josephine (pictured) in the Newtown shooting, said schools should prepare "basic" emergency measures until authorities arrive.

The former teacher, who has since moved to Massachusetts, told BBC Radio 5 live's Up All Night: "I don't think we need to put bars on the windows and I don't think we need to have or armed guards."

"But some basic common sense types of practices and measures and some very basic education goes a really long way in making folks safer."

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NBA probes racist remarks claim

27 April 2014 Last updated at 10:01

The US National Basketball Association (NBA) is investigating a report alleging that the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers made racist remarks.

In a recording posted on celebrity news website TMZ, a man it says is Donald Sterling is heard asking a woman not to broadcast her association with black people nor bring them to games.

The NBA described the remarks as "disturbing and offensive".

Mr Sterling later told TMZ the recording "does not reflect his views".

On Sunday, US President Barack Obama said the alleged comments were "incredibly offensive racist statements".

"When ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance you don't really have to do anything, you just let them talk," Mr Obama said.

'Black eye for the NBA'

TMZ published the 10-minute audio recording on its website on Friday.

Continue reading the main story

Mr Sterling is emphatic that what is reflected on that recording is not consistent with, nor does it reflect his views, beliefs or feelings"

End Quote Joint statement from Donald Sterling and the Clippers

The conversation is alleged to have taken place after the woman posted a photo of herself online with the basketball legend, Magic Johnson.

The man specifically mentions Magic Johnson on the recording, saying: "Don't bring him to my games, OK?"'

It was not clear how or when the conversation was recorded.

"We are in the process of conducting a full investigation into the audio recording obtained by TMZ," NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement.

"The remarks heard on the recording are disturbing and offensive, but at this time we have no further information."

Magic Johnson later responded on Twitter, saying: "I will never go to a Clippers game again as long as Donald Sterling is the owner."

He also said the alleged comments were "a black eye for the NBA".

In a joint statement later published on TMZ Sports, Mr Sterling and the Clippers said: "We have heard the tape on TMZ. We do not know if it is legitimate or it has been altered."

"We do know that the woman on the tape - who we believe released it to TMZ - is the defendant in a lawsuit brought by the Sterling family.

"Mr Sterling is emphatic that what is reflected on that recording is not consistent with, nor does it reflect his views, beliefs or feelings. It is the antithesis of who he is, what he believes and how he has lived his life."

The statement adds: "He feels terrible that such sentiments are being attributed to him and apologises to anyone who might have been hurt by them."

Mr Sterling bought the Clippers in 1981.

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