UN holds Gaza crisis discussion
 The Hamas PM's offices were again attacked early on Wednesday |
The UN Security Council is meeting to discuss the crisis in the Gaza Strip as international calls grow for a halt to the Israeli-Palestinian violence.
France's President Sarkozy also said he would visit the region in a bid to end the crisis, which has seen five days of Israeli raids and Hamas rocket fire.
Earlier, Israeli PM Ehud Olmert rejected calls for a 48-hour truce to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has threatened to pull out of peace talks.
He called the Israeli bombardment of Gaza "barbaric and criminal aggression" and said he "would not hesitate to stop" peace talks with the Israelis "if they go against our interests and offer a support to aggression".
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After meeting his cabinet, Prime Minister Olmert said conditions were not right for a ceasefire, but he did not rule one out in the future.
"If conditions will ripen, and we think there can be a diplomatic solution that will ensure a better security reality in the south, we will consider it. But at the moment, it's not there," he was quoted by aides as telling the cabinet.
"We did not launch the Gaza operation only to end it with the same rocket firing that we had at its start," Mr Olmert said.
In the last five days, Israeli jets and attack helicopters have hit Hamas targets, including security compounds, government buildings, smuggling tunnels under the border with Egypt and homes belonging to militant leaders.
Palestinian officials say 391 Palestinians have died in the Israeli air strikes; four Israelis have been killed by rockets fired from Gaza, which is under Hamas control.
Gaza wakes up to another day of air strikes
The southern Israeli town of Beersheba was hit, the deepest penetration by rockets so far.
International calls have been mounting for both sides to call off the attacks as hospitals in Gaza struggle to cope with the scale of the casualties and supplies of food and fuel run low.
The UN Security Council was meeting at the request of the Arab League to discuss the crisis.
Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Cairo want a binding UN resolution to ensure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a lifting of the Israeli blockade of the territory.
France's President Sarkozy said he would travel to the Middle East on Monday because "France's duty was to look everywhere for the roadmap towards peace".
He will first meet Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Paris on Thursday.
Hamas conditions
Israel has massed forces along the boundary with Gaza and has declared the area around it a "closed military zone" leading to speculation a ground offensive into the tiny coastal strip could be imminent.
"Our people will defeat those tanks," said the Hamas leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniya, adding that Hamas would only discuss a ceasefire if Israel first stopped its bombing.
"If the aggression is halted unconditionally and the blockade is lifted and the [border] passages are opened, we then can discuss all issues in a positive manner," he said in a televised address.
US President George W Bush repeated his earlier statement that the onus was on Hamas to take the first step to ending hostilities by halting rocket fire into Israel.
Australia celebrates the New Year
Australia celebrates the New Year
Australia welcomes in New Year
Celebrations are beginning around the world to usher in 2009.
A record crowd of up to 1.5 million people watched a huge, multi-million dollar fireworks display centred around Sydney's iconic Harbour Bridge.
Not to be outdone, New Zealand staged a pyrotechnics display from Auckland's Sky Tower.
Kiritimati, or Christmas Island, in the Pacific Ocean became the first inhabited place on Earth to celebrate the new year at 1000 GMT.
Organisers of the Sydney festivities - the biggest New Year event the city has yet staged - said they were hoping it would offer revellers a brief respite from the economic gloom of 2008.
"There's so much misery around," fireworks director Fortunato Foti told reporters.
"If we can get people to forget all that and think just about the fireworks for 15 to 20 minutes, we will have done our job."
Obama rejects Senate replacement
Obama rejects Senate replacement
 Mr Burris (L) ran unsuccessfully for the US Senate in 1984 |
Barack Obama says he agrees with Senate Democrats that they should not accept the man chosen by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to replace him as senator.
Mr Blagojevich is the subject of a criminal inquiry and has been charged with attempting to "sell" Mr Obama's now-vacant seat to the highest bidder.
The governor defied pressure and picked Roland Burris, the state's former attorney general, to fill the position.
The controversy is set to hang over the Senate when it convenes on 6 January.
Democratic senators have vowed to veto anyone appointed by Mr Blagojevich.
The president-elect said he agreed the Senate "cannot accept" a new senator chosen by Mr Blagojevich, adding that Mr Blagojevich himself should resign.
Mr Blagojevich, himself a Democrat, denies wrongdoing and has rejected calls for his resignation.
'Fine public servant'
Mr Burris, 71, became the first African-American to be elected to statewide office in Illinois when he won the 1978 election to be state comptroller.
|  The Senate Democrats made it clear weeks ago that they cannot accept an appointment made by a governor who is accused of selling this very Senate seat  Barack Obama |
He was state attorney general from 1991 to 1995 and made unsuccessful bids for the US Senate and the Illinois governorship, including in 2002, when he lost in the Democratic primary to Mr Blagojevich.
"Roland Burris is a good man and a fine public servant," said Mr Obama.
"But the Senate Democrats made it clear weeks ago that they cannot accept an appointment made by a governor who is accused of selling this very Senate seat. I agree with their decision."
Appearing with Mr Burris to announce his choice, Mr Blagojevich said: "Please don't allow the allegations against me to taint a good and honest man."
But Harry Reid, the leader of the Democrats in the Senate was not impressed.
"It is truly regrettable that... Governor Blagojevich would take the imprudent step of appointing someone to the United States Senate who would serve under a shadow and be plagued by questions of impropriety," said Mr Reid.
"Anyone appointed by Governor Blagojevich cannot be an effective representative of the people of Illinois and ... will not be seated by the Democratic Caucus."
However comments by Illinois Representative Bobby Rush indicated that charges of racism may hang over the Senate if it does not allow Mr Burris to take his seat.
"There are no African-Americans in the Senate. And I don't think anyone, any US senator who's sitting in the Senate right now, wants to go on record to deny one African-American from being seated in the US Senate," Mr Rush said.
The Constitution gives the Senate wide powers to determine who can be seated in the chamber, but the authority is not absolute.
In 1969, the Supreme Court ruled that the House of Representatives had acted unconstitutionally when it excluded a congressman, Adam Clayton Powell, who had been accused of financial impropriety.
Adding to the complications, the Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White, has said he will refuse to certify the paperwork Mr Blagojevich must present to the Senate regarding Mr Burris's appointment.
'Pay-to-play' deals
An internal review conducted by the Obama team concluded last week that neither the president-elect, nor his staff, had had any "inappropriate discussions" with Mr Blagojevich about who should fill the seat.
Mr Blagojevich has vowed to "fight the false accusations" made by what he has termed a "political lynch mob".
| CHARGES AGAINST BLAGOJEVICH Federal agents say Mr Blagojevich: Tried to obtain campaign contributions in exchange for official actions Tried to use state funds for the private purpose of inducing the Tribune Company to fire Chicago Tribune editorial board members critical of him Tried to obtain personal financial benefits for himself in return for his appointment of a US senator |
There have been calls from many politicians, including Mr Obama, for the governor to step down.
He was charged on 9 December with a number of offences including soliciting a bribe.
The charges relate to a variety of corruption schemes in which the governor was allegedly involved, including so-called "pay to play" deals - the doling out of jobs, contracts and appointments in return for campaign contributions.
On the day of his arrest, investigators released transcripts of conversations between Mr Blagojevich and others intercepted by court-authorised wiretaps.
In the conversations, the Democratic governor allegedly discussed offering Mr Obama's Senate seat in return for a well-paid position at a non-profit organisation or a group affiliated with trades unions, according to the affidavit.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Grim details of Columbia disaster
Grim details of Columbia disaster
 The space shuttle disintegrated as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere |
Nasa has released a detailed report into what happened to the space shuttle Columbia and its crew.
It comes almost six years after the orbiter disintegrated when re-entering the Earth's atmosphere.
The report includes grim details of the crew's final moments as the shuttle broke up over the state of Texas.
It also concluded that the astronaut's seat restraints, suits and helmets did not work well, leading to "lethal trauma".
"This report confirms that although the valiant Columbia crew tried every possible way to maintain control of their vehicle, the accident was not ultimately survivable," said Nasa's deputy associate administrator, Wayne Hale.
The accident happened on 1 February 2003.
Forty-one seconds
When the space shuttle Columbia blasted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida, the orbiter's left wing was damaged by a piece of insulating foam.
| COLUMBIA'S FATAL FOAM Piece of insulating foam falls during launch, piercing one of shuttle's wings On re-entry, hot atmospheric gases blast inside the breach and melt ship's structure Crew cabin breaks away from ship and starts spinning rapidly Astronauts try to regain control of craft, flipping cockpit switches as alarms sound Rapid depressurization causes crew to lose consciousness Lack of safety restraints cause crew traumatic injuries |
That proved fatal for the seven astronauts when they re-entered the Earth's atmosphere days later, says the BBC's Andy Gallacher in Washington.
The world watched as the shuttle disintegrated, its vital heat shield pierced by hot gasses, and its crew lost.
Nasa's extensive 400-page report into their last moments found that the crew knew for as long as 41 seconds that they did not have control of the orbiter before, investigators think, they were knocked unconscious.
Nasa also found that the astronauts did not have the necessary training that may have increased their chances of survival.
The tragedy happened on the 28th mission for Columbia and the report is thought to be the most comprehensive investigation into a shuttle incident ever carried out.
Mr Hale, who oversaw the shuttle programme during its return to flight after the accident, urged spacecraft designers in the US and overseas to read the report and apply the "hard lessons which have been paid for so dearly".
Paramedics held over man's death
Paramedics held over man's death
Two paramedics have been arrested on suspicion of neglecting to perform a public duty following the death of a man in Brighton.
South East Coast Ambulance Service said the men, aged 35 and 44, and both from Brighton, had been questioned and bailed to a date in January.
The pair have been suspended from the ambulance service pending the Sussex Police investigation.
Barry Baker, 58, died at his home in Braybon Avenue on 29 November.
'Full co-operation'
A spokesman for South East Ambulance said: "South East Coast Ambulance Service has suspended two male members of staff from duty as police conduct an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the sudden death of a man at his home.
"The men were arrested by Sussex Police on 5 December on suspicion of wilfully neglecting to perform duty in a public office.
"We are giving the police our full co-operation in this matter and are not in a position to comment further at this time due to the police investigation taking place."
An inquest into the death of Mr Baker was opened and adjourned on 17 December by Her Majesty's Coroner for the City of Brighton and Hove.
'Tidy and clean'
Mr Baker's neighbour Ralph Virgo said: "It was so sudden, there he was going to work one day but we woke up on the Saturday morning to see the ambulance and the police car, then the coroner's car.
"We just couldn't believe it."
Mr Virgo said Mr Baker had lived alone following the deaths of his parents, worked as a civil servant and had experienced trouble with his hips, which left him walking with a stick.
"He went to work looking as smart as a button, always tidy and clean," he said.
Mr Virgo said he had spoken to Mr Baker's relatives when the property was cleared before Christmas and understood a remembrance service was due to take place at All Saints Church in Patcham in January.
Ghana knife-edge result delayed
Ghana knife-edge result delayed
 Hundreds of people have mobbed the electoral commission headquarters |
The electoral commissioner of Ghana has delayed the result of Sunday's knife-edge presidential run-off until Friday.
Results in the Ashanti and Volta regions have been disputed and the Tain region, where the poll did not go ahead, will vote on Friday.
Officials have been stuck in behind-closed-doors wrangling with both parties in the capital Accra.
Opposition leader John Atta Mills has claimed victory, but the governing NPP party said it was too close to call.
New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate Nana Akufo-Addo gained the most votes in the first round earlier this month but did not pass the 50% threshold needed for outright victory.
Ice cream
Shops closed early on Tuesday, with businessmen fearing that there could be looting once the result is announced.
| RIVALS AT A GLANCE  JOHN ATTA MILLS (left) Age: 64 Party: National Democratic Congress Executive posts: Vice-president 1997-2000 Profession: University professor Hobbies: Hockey, swimming Family: Married with one child NANA AKUFO-ADDO (right) Age: 64 Party: New Patriotic Party Executive posts: Attorney general 2001-03; foreign affairs minister 2003-07 Profession: Lawyer Family: Married with five children |
The electoral commission headquarters has been besieged by thousands of opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) supporters demanding their candidate be declared the winner.
Ahead of a news conference originally scheduled for 1200GMT to release the official results, armed police and soldiers backed by water cannon trucks and an armoured personnel carrier kept the protesters behind barricades.
As tensions rose, party officials handed out ice cream and water to the crowds to calm them down.
The BBC's David Amanor in Accra says the opposition has been disputing results awarded to the governing party from five constituencies in the Ashanti region.
He says tensions remain high and there are fears violence could break out if no result is declared before nightfall.
It is understood turnout in one of the disputed constituencies was recorded at 99%, said by election experts to be unheard of.
There were also complaints that dead people, children and foreign nationals had been listed among voters.
Earlier, NPP chairman Peter Mac Manu said there was widespread intimidation of its election agents in the Volta region and results from these areas would be challenged.
Confusion
International observers have given the poll a preliminary clean bill of health and urged both candidates to accept the results.
 The ruling party says opposition celebrations are premature |
Mr Atta Mills earlier told his supporters: "The figures show clearly that I have won the election. I am only waiting for the electoral commissioner to declare me winner."
But Mr Mac Manu said projections by local media that Mr Atta Mills had won were "highly speculative and premature".
The Electoral Commission on Monday declared results from 200 of the 230 constituencies, which showed Mr Atta Mills leading with 52% of the vote, against 48% for Mr Akufo-Addo.
Unofficial results from privately owned radio station Joy FM say Mr Atta Mills had an unassailable lead with just one constituency still to declare its results.
There was confusion earlier as the website of state broadcaster Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) reported that Mr Akufo-Addo had overtaken Mr Atta Mills, only to later change it.
Some 12.5 million people were eligible to vote in the election - the fifth since Ghana's return to democracy in 1992.
President John Kufuor is standing down having served two consecutive terms.
In the two previous elections he defeated Mr Atta Mills.
Mr Atta Mills served as vice-president under former leader Jerry Rawlings.
Monitors hope Ghana's poll can help salvage the tarnished image of constitutional democracy in Africa, after flawed elections in Kenya and Zimbabwe and military coups in Mauritania in August and in Guinea last week.
The stakes have been raised in these elections because Ghana has just found oil, which is expected to start generating revenue in 2010.
Gaza air campaign 'a first stage'
Gaza air campaign 'a first stage'
Devastation in the Gaza Strip as Israeli forces gather on boundary
Israel's air assault on Gaza is "the first in several stages" of operations aimed at ending militant rocket fire, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said.
As the bombing continued for a fourth day, another top official said Israel was ready for "long weeks of action".
Palestinian officials say 10 people died in the latest attacks, taking the death toll to over 360 since Saturday. Four Israelis have died in rocket fire.
A BBC reporter says Israeli tanks and troops are massed along Gaza's border.
Correspondents say this could be a prelude to ground operations, but could also be intended to build pressure on the militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza.
"The army is concentrating troops near the Gaza Strip, but I don't want to give any details over what we are planning in the future," Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said.
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana called for an immediate ceasefire and the opening of crossings to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
His comments came ahead of a meeting in Paris of EU foreign ministers to discuss the escalating crisis.
'Defenceless population'
On Tuesday, Israeli jets attacked more targets linked to Hamas, hitting a number of government buildings and security installations.
Forty people were said to have been wounded in the raids.
One air strike killed two sisters, the eldest aged 11, riding in a donkey cart in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza, Palestinian medical sources said.
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The UN has called for an investigation into the attacks, which are causing heavy civilian casualties. It says at least 62 of the Palestinians killed so far were women and children.
Richard Falk - the UN special rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian territories - said the international community must put more pressure on Israel to end its assault.
"Israel is committing a shocking series of atrocities by using modern weaponry against a defenceless population - attacking a population that has been enduring a severe blockade for many months," Mr Falk said in a BBC interview.
But Israeli officials said there was more to come.
The Israeli military "has made preparations for long weeks of action", deputy defence minister Matan Vilnai said.
Mr Olmert's statement that the bombardment was "the first of several stages approved by the security cabinet" was quoted from a briefing he gave to President Shimon Peres on Tuesday.
Sea clash
Separately, Israeli naval vessels confronted pro-Palestinian activists seeking to break the Gaza blockade by boat about 45 miles (70km) off the Israeli coast in international waters.
The damaged boat arrives at a Lebanese port
The activists said one vessel had rammed them without warning during the confrontation. Their boat put into port in Lebanon with heavy damage on one side.
The Egyptian-Gaza border was due to be opened to permit more trucks carrying aid to enter the territory, and for wounded Palestinians to be transported to Egyptian hospitals.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, under popular pressure to open the crossing fully, said that could not happen while Hamas, rather than the Palestinian Authority, led by its rival Fatah, controlled the border.
Demonstrators in Yemen, angered by Egypt's co-operation with the blockade on Gaza, briefly stormed the country's consulate in Aden, where they burned an Egyptian flag and hoisted a Palestinian one.
There have been angry protests against the Israeli offensive in many other cities across the Arab world and in several European capitals.
Ceasefire expiry
Hamas has pressed on with rocket and mortar assaults, killing three Israeli civilians and a soldier in areas that have not previously suffered such fatalities.
Israeli military officials said rocket attacks landing more than 25 miles (40km) from Gaza put nearly 10% of Israel's population of seven million within range.
Israeli political leaders have been under pressure to act against rocket fire with a general election looming in early February.
Opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu has backed the offensive, telling the BBC that "Israel is using a fraction of its power to try to target surgically the terrorists".
The strikes began less than a week after the expiry of a six-month-long ceasefire deal with Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since 2007.
Correspondents say short of a full-scale invasion of Gaza, it is unlikely Israel will be able to prevent rocket fire permanently.
Israel dismantled its strategic settlements and military bases in Gaza in 2005 but has kept tight control over access in and out of the narrow coastal strip and its airspace.
| GAZA VIOLENCE 27-30 DECEMBER  1. Ashdod: First attack so far north, Sunday. Woman killed in second rocket attack, Tuesday 2. Ashkelon: One man killed, several injured in rocket attack, Monday3. Sderot: rocket attacks4. Nevitot: One man killed, several injured in rocket attack, Saturday5. Civilian family reported killed in attack on Yabna refugee camp, Sunday 6. Israeli warplanes strike tunnels under Gaza/Egypt border, Sunday7. Three brothers reported killed in attack on Rafah, Sunday8. Khan Younis: Four members of Islamic Jihad and a child reported killed, Sunday. Security officer killed in air strike on Hamas police station, Tuesday 9. Deir al-Balah: Palestinians injured, houses and buildings destroyed, Sunday 10. Tel al-Hawa - Interior ministry and Islamic University badly damaged, Monday. At least three buildings in ministry compound hit, Tuesday11. Gaza City port: naval vessels targeted, Sunday 12. Shati refugee camp: Home of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya targeted, Monday 13. Intelligence building attacked, Sunday14. Jebaliya refugee camp: several people killed in attack on mosque, Sunday 15. Beit Hanoun - two girls killed in air strike, Tuesday16. Israeli soldier killed at unspecified military base near Nahal Oz border crossing - five other soldiers wounded in same rocket attack, Monday night. |
Ethiopia's pardoned critic jailed
Ethiopia's pardoned critic jailed
 Birtukan Medeksa was regarded as a heroine during her trial |
Ethiopia's main opposition leader has been sent to prison to serve a life sentence, after a pardon granted to her last year was revoked.
Birtukan Medeksa was among more than 100 people jailed for offences after controversial polls in 2005.
A dispute over the terms of her release caused her re-arrest.
Her colleague Berhanu Nega, who was also pardoned and now lives in exile, told the BBC it showed the government "was hell-bent on staying in power".
The BBC's Elizabeth Blunt in the capital, Addis Ababa, says Ms Birtukan was a former judge and one of the younger and more charismatic leaders of the coalition which did so astonishingly well against the ruling party in the 2005 elections.
Our reporter says that while in jail facing charges of treason, she became even more of a heroine, attracting widespread sympathy as a single mother separated from her baby daughter.
After the opposition leaders were pardoned and released last year, she emerged as the leader of a new coalition, the Union for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), painstakingly stitched together from various opposition groupings to contest elections in 2010.
Mistakes
The government news agency, quoting the ministry of justice, said her pardon had been revoked, since she had denied requesting her pardon.
Ms Birtukan's problems started when she spoke to journalists abroad about the way the opposition leaders were released, our correspondent says.
She talked about negotiations which had taken place between the opposition and government, with the help of a panel of elders, before their pardon was granted.
The government prefers to lay emphasis on a document signed by the prisoners, regretting any mistakes they had committed and asking for pardon.
This implies that their release was part of a normal judicial process, rather than in any way part of a negotiated political deal.
Mr Berhanu, who was elected mayor of Addis Ababa in 2005 and now lives in the United States, says the aim of the government is to "humiliate" any opposition to its rule.
"What this is doing is to change the nature of the struggle," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
"There is no other way to freedom and liberty in that country without getting rid of this government."
Hasina wins Bangladesh landslide
Hasina wins Bangladesh landslide
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Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League has won a landslide victory in Bangladesh's election, with almost all results declared.
Election officials say the Awami League alliance has won more than 250 of the 300 seats in parliament.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party alliance of Ms Hasina's arch-rival Khaleda Zia has won just 30.
Turnout was high in the first election for seven years, which came after two years of army-backed rule.
The win for the Awami League is a dramatic reversal in fortunes for the two parties, says the BBC's Mark Dummett in Dhaka. In 2001, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party won the election overwhelmingly.
Tight security
The Awami League "has a clear majority to govern without any other party", Election Commission official SM Asaduzzaman told the AFP news agency.
A leader of Khaleda Zia's BNP said its supporters were kept from voting in various parts of the country, and it planned to file a complaint.
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He said there were incidents of fraud and forgery at more than 200 polling stations.
But the Election Commission said the vote was "a very free and fair election".
The BNP's ally, Jamaat-e-Islami, lost most of its seats.
Election officials say more than 70% of Bangladesh's 81 million voters are thought to have cast their ballots in a poll intended to return the country to democracy after two years of rule by a military-backed government.
Security was tight throughout polling day, with about 50,000 soldiers and 600,000 police deployed to guard against election fraud and violence.
Chief election commissioner Shamsul Huda said he had complete confidence in the election process and there was "no scope for fraud of vote rigging".
He added: "So it will be difficult to reject the election result this time. We expect people will elect a parliament, which even if not a dream parliament, it will be a good one."
Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia - both former prime ministers - were jailed for suspected corruption but released to contest the vote.
During campaigning, the two rivals pledged to lower food prices, and to tackle corruption and terrorism in the nation of 144 million people.
They also both promised to end the confrontation, strikes and violent street rallies that have marked Bangladeshi politics for years. The two women alternated in power for 15 years until 2006.
Anti-corruption drive
No serious violence was reported during the election, and our correspondent says the mood at a polling station he visited was festive.
Some 200,000 electoral observers, including 2,500 from abroad, monitored the national vote.
 Strikes and violent protests have marked Bangladeshi politics |
The army cancelled elections due in January 2007 after months of street protests and battles between gangs of rival party supporters spiralled out of control.
The army-backed caretaker government then tried to root out corruption from the country's elites.
Our correspondent says the newly-empowered Anti-Corruption Commission sought to prosecute the top politicians and businessmen who had earned Bangladesh its reputation as one of the world's most corrupt countries.
More than 11 million false names were purged from the voter roll.
"This time we feel that there is an opportunity to proceed towards democracy," one voter told the BBC.
"I'm feeling very happy that there is this peaceful atmosphere for casting votes."
Monday, December 29, 2008
Thai protesters maintain vigil
Thai protesters maintain vigil
 Protesters have blocked parliament for a second day |
Crowds opposed to Thailand's new Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva are rallying outside parliament for a second day.
Mr Abhisit was due to make his first policy speech on Monday, but had to abandon the attempt.
Demonstrators loyal to the ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra blockaded the building.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said the police had been ordered not to use violence to clear the protesters and allow Mr Abhisit access.
"We don't want to start our government's work with violence," he said.
But one of the leaders of the protest said that Mr Abhisit was free to enter the building.
"We still insist that the PM and parliament members should walk through us to get in. We guarantee their safety. By walking in, we can have a talk with him," Chakrapob Penkhair told the Associated Press news agency.
Constitutional requirement
Protesters say Mr Abhisit - the third prime minister in four months - has no mandate to lead and should resign.
 Abhisit must make his speech before parliament can start work |
He now faces crowds of red-clad opponents on the streets who say they object to his route to power.
Some reports suggest that if the protests continue the speech - which was expected to outline measures to try to boost Thailand's ailing economy - could even be put off until the new year.
Under the constitution, a new Thai government cannot start work officially until it delivers its policy statement to a joint sitting of the House of Representatives and Senate.
Mr Thaksin was ousted from the prime minister's job in a military coup in 2006, but elections in December 2007 under a new constitution returned his loyalists to power.
Several governments led by his supporters collapsed under the weight of court rulings against them.
Now his supporters are on the streets in moves to blockade parliament reminiscent of the protests mounted against them when they were in power.
Germans pioneer hotel heaven
Germans pioneer hotel heaven
| By Steve Rosenberg BBC News, Berlin |
Steve Rosenberg gets a taste of 21st-Century creature comforts
I love travelling. I enjoy the thrill of discovering new places. But there is something about hotel rooms which often makes me want to turn around, rush home and lock away my suitcases forever.
Over the years I have stayed in some real "shoeboxes" around the world - rooms which have lacked not only size, but also character and comfort.
But thanks to German scientists, the hotel experience is about to be transformed.
At the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering and Organisation, they have developed a "hotel room of the future".
The experimental room has been assembled in a giant laboratory. The idea is to show hotels how new technology can help guests relax.
Flying saucer
To be honest, it looks more like a flying saucer than a hotel room - it is round, white and filled with glass and gadgets.
 Our reporter relaxes in blue light and tells his TV to rock him to sleep |
"There are no straight lines here, everything is curvy," says my guide, scientist Nikolay Dreharov, pointing at the chairs, tables and walls.
According to Mr Dreharov, research has shown that straight lines and corners in hotel rooms are guaranteed to leave guests feeling depressed.
You won't be depressed in this room. Although, perhaps, a little dazed.
Mr Dreharov presses a button. Suddenly, everything in the room turns red... then green... and then blue.
"We have integrated light-changing sequences," he explains. "You can programme your favourite colour - any colour of the spectrum."
The bed looks like a normal double bed, but it isn't.
On my guide's suggestion, I lie down and tell the computer screen on the wall to "turn on the energy bed".
"Yes, Mr Rosenberg," replies the screen, sounding a little like a cyber-man. "The energy bed is now on."
It certainly is - the bed has started moving and is rocking me gently from side to side like a baby in a cradle. Now that's service!
Future bathroom
There are plenty of other innovations in this futuristic hotel room.
 Steve Rosenberg prepares to check his e-mail on the bathroom mirror |
There is an "intelligent floor", with sensors that work out where you are heading and automatically turn on the lights to help you get there.
In the hotel bathroom of the future, you can relax in the jacuzzi and, with the help of a remote control, check your e-mails in the bathroom mirror... which doubles as a screen.
There is also a vapour pot pumping out steam filled with the scent of lemons.
Like many hotel rooms, there is also mini-bar. But this one is a mini-robot which brings the drinks to you.
And remember the talking computer screen which switched on the bed?
Well, you can also ask it questions like, "What is for dinner?" or "What time is breakfast served?" and it will speak the answer.
All very clever. But is there a serious point to all these innovations?
"The point of the room," Mr Dreharov assures me, "is to evaluate new technologies and let the service industry improve the service for their guests."
At the end of my short stay, at the touch of a button I turn the window from transparent to translucent and it suddenly becomes a giant video screen.
I climb back onto the moving bed, settle down under the changing soft lights, and watch a film on the window.
Now that's what I call hi-tech hotel heaven.
Firms to pipe Burma oil to China
Firms to pipe Burma oil to China
 Burma's energy-poor neighbours are keen to buy its gas and oil reserves |
Burma's military government has signed a deal with a consortium of four foreign firms to pipe natural gas into neighbouring China, state media report.
The firms - from South Korea and India - will pipe the gas from fields off Burma's north-western coast.
The deal was signed in a ceremony in Rangoon on 24 December, the New Light of Myanmar state newspaper reported.
Campaigners complain that the deals will threaten local people's human rights and enrich Burma's ruling junta.
The US and Europe maintain economic sanctions against Burma - also known as Myanmar - for its human rights record and long detention of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
But their impact has been diluted by energy investments from nearby countries, including China, India and Thailand, all hungry for its reserves of oil and gas.
30-year deal
Now Burma's state energy firm has signed a deal with South Korea's Daewoo and Korea Gas Corporation, and India's ONGC Videsh and GAIL. Daewoo holds the leading 51% stake in the deal.
The deal will see gas from Shwe reserves in waters off the Burmese state of Rakhine piped to China to supply China's National United Oil Corporation. China's Xinhua state news agency says it is a 30-year deal.
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It gave few further details of the deal, but earlier reports from Beijing suggest construction will start in the new year.
Last week the campaign group EarthRights International reported that the Korean government had rejected a complaint it filed on behalf of Burmese and Korean activists.
The complaint alleged that the Korean firms involved in this deal had breached corporate responsibility guidelines on human rights and environmental protection laid down by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The companies involved, and the Korean government, were "now on notice that negative social and environmental impacts from this project have begun, and are likely to continue and accelerate if this project moves forward", Matthew Smith at EarthRights International was quoted as saying.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Guinean junta warns mining sector
Guinean junta warns mining sector
 Capt Camara (R) came to the meeting alongside Bishop Vincent Colibaly |
The leader of Guinea's coup has said contracts for the country's vital mining industry will be reviewed and pledged to stamp out corruption.
Without naming firms, Capt Moussa Dadis Camara told a public meeting in Conakry that any contracts found to be "defective" would be revised.
Capt Camara took power after the death of President Lansana Conte on Monday.
A meeting between the junta and foreign envoys planned for Saturday has been postponed until next week.
The junta, which took over in a bloodless coup, has said it wishes to "reassure the international community" of its commitment to stamping out corruption and holding elections in 2010.
Its seizure of power was condemned internationally but Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade has urged the world community to recognise the new leadership.
'No more looting'
Capt Camara addressed hundreds of public representatives, including trade unionists, politicians and clergy, at a meeting in his barracks, Camp Alpha Yaya Diallo, in what correspondents say was a charm offensive.
|  This group of military men deserves support - we should not throw stones at them Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade |
He outlined his view of the mining sector, which has attracted billions of dollars in investment from international firms.
"We have blocked the mining sector," he said. "There will be a renegotiation of contracts."
According to AFP news agency, he also suspended all gold extraction until further notice.
More than a third of the world's bauxite reserves are located in Guinea which also has large reserves of gold, diamonds, iron and nickel, and some uranium deposits.
Without naming names, Capt Camara vowed to eradicate corruption, saying: "It was the government officials who surrounded the [late] head of state who looted the country."
"Anyone found guilty of corruption will be punished," he added. "Anyone who has misappropriated state assets for his benefit, if caught, will be judged and punished before the people."
He also told those present that he was open to their "best ideas", including the choice of a new prime minister.
Meeting postponed
The coup leaders had been due to meet representatives from the UN, G8, European Union and African Union at 1200 GMT on Saturday but they postponed the meeting until Tuesday without explanation.
The international powers should keep talking to the military to restore Guinea to civilian rule.
The US embassy in Conakry has called for an immediate return to civilian rule in Guinea, while France, which currently holds the EU presidency, also said a vote should be held soon.
South Africa's President Kgalema Motlanthe has said the junta must step down and hold elections immediately.
President Wade, however, publicly backed the coup, telling French radio: "My feeling is that this group of military men deserves support. We should not throw stones at them."
The coup appears to have been welcomed by many within the country, the BBC's West Africa correspondent Will Ross says.
Sick and tired of despotic rule under the former president and his hugely corrupt government, Guineans are pinning their hopes on the military, our correspondent says.
On Friday, tens of thousands of Guineans and presidents from the neighbouring states of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast attended the funeral of President Conte in Conakry.
Conte, who died aged 74, was later buried in front of his mansion in the village of Lansanaya, some 120km (75 miles) north-west of the capital.
Australia father 'taken by shark'
Australia father 'taken by shark'
 Locals said a pointer shark had been seen off the coast in recent days |
An Australian father is missing, feared dead, after reportedly being attacked by a shark while swimming with his son.
Brian Guest, 51, was in the ocean south of Perth, Western Australia, when locals reported "something pretty violent" out in the water.
His 24-year-old son raised the alarm as rescuers began a search for Mr Guest, described as an experienced swimmer and diver who knew the area well.
Australia has had one other fatal shark attack in 2008, off the eastern coast.
Surfer Peter Edmonds, 16, was taken by a shark off the coast of New South Wales at Ballina in April.
'Respect for nature'
Witnesses and officials admitted that the latest incident, which happened near Rockingham, to the south of Perth, bore the hallmarks of a shark attack.
Mr Guest and his son were reportedly snorkelling for crabs in familiar waters when they were attacked.
"There was lots of talk among witnesses at the incident location about seeing fins in the water but we can't yet say whether there was definitely a shark out there, though in all probability that's what it is," Mark Valentine, a local police inspector, told the Australian Associated Press.
"Something very traumatic and pretty violent has happened there and we are treating it as a probable shark attack," he added.
Other witnesses reported that a shark had been spotted in the area during the search.
A family friend said Mr Guest's son had been swimming close to his father at the time of the attack although he did not see it happen. He quickly ran ashore to raise the alarm.
He said the family was assuming the worst.
''It's a shock loss for the family," Steve Kent told Australian reporters. "He was a loving father and husband who appears to have been taken by a shark.''
He added that Mr Guest, who worked in the banking industry, would not have wanted the shark to be hunted and destroyed.
"[He's spent] many, many years diving and fishing and [has] a very deep respect for the water and he knows the dangers of being in the water," Mr Kent said.
"It's nature and we should pay respects to nature and nature's ways."
Police are warning those using beaches around Perth to be careful when swimming.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Conjoined twin dies in hospital
Conjoined twin dies in hospital
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Conjoined twin Faith Williams has died on Christmas Day, 23 days after the death of her sister.
Faith and sister Hope were joined at the chest when they were born on 26 November. Hope died in an operation to separate them on 2 December.
Faith's mother Laura, 18, from Shrewsbury, Shropshire, and father Aled, from Anglesey, were at her bedside when she died.
Great Ormond Street Hospital said it was a sad but not unexpected outcome.
Further procedures
A hospital spokesman said: "We were always clear that Faith was very sick.
"She required the full range of skills of our intensive care staff, and underwent a number of further procedures. However, she succumbed to the complexities of her condition."
Mrs Williams is believed to be the youngest mother of conjoined twins in Britain.
She underwent a caesarean section at University College Hospital, London.
Troop changes after India tension
Troop changes after India tension
 Pakistan is under intense pressure to act against militants |
The Pakistani military has scaled down its operations against Islamist militants in the north-west following tensions with India, officials say.
Some "unannounced changes" have been made in the deployment of troops after Indian jets violated Pakistani air space on 12 December, they said.
India blames Pakistan for last month's Mumbai attacks which killed 173 people.
Pakistani officials deny the charge. But Indo-Pakistani relations have been badly strained since the attacks.
'Redeployed'
Air strikes against militants in the restive Swat and Bajaur regions have been scaled down as some of the airpower had to be redeployed to the country's eastern border, a senior Pakistani military official told Asif Farooqi, the Islamabad-based correspondent of the BBC Urdu service.
The official said the redeployment was ordered after Indian fighter jets violated Pakistani air space earlier this month amid reports of possible "surgical" strikes by India on the headquarters and camps of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant group which India has blamed for Mumbai attacks.
 India has blamed Mumbai attacks on Pakistan-based militants |
Pakistan has banned the group as well as its parent organisation, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, and arrested some of its leaders.
The ban came a day after the United Nations declared the organisation as a front for "terrorists" soon after the Mumbai attacks.
The Pakistani military has also decided to postpone an impending ground operation against militants in the Khyber tribal region due to the repositioning of troops on the eastern border with India, the official said.
Militants based in Khyber have destroyed dozens of trucks carrying supplies for Nato troops in Afghanistan during the last few weeks.
The official, who requested anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media, said that international powers, including the United States, were aware of these measures.
It has been reported that Pakistan's army chief Gen Kayani told chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen in a meeting earlier this week that "according to Pakistani military reports, the Indians have finalised plans for surgical strikes at some locations inside Pakistan".
Strained relations
Army spokesman, Maj-Gen Athar Abbas, was not available for comments.
But another army official, who has knowledge of deployments in the Khyber region, confirmed that some reshuffling has taken place in the area.
Relations between Pakistan and India have touched a new low since the 26 November attacks on multiple locations in Mumbai.
India has put peace moves on hold.
Delhi has called for decisive steps taken against militants operating from Pakistan.
The government in Islamabad says it has yet to be given solid evidence upon which to act.
On Wednesday, Pakistan's parliament urged India to respond positively to offers from Islamabad to help in the investigation into the attacks.
In a resolution, the National Assembly also condemned what it called "war hype" between the two neighbours.