UK recovery subdued for two years, says OECD

UK high street The OECD said the UK economy has become out of balance partly thanks to too much borrowing. Continue reading the main story UK Economy * Jobless total hits 17-year high * Further fall in Scottish jobless * Report warns of housing shortage * Rate rise 'could derail recovery' The UK economic recovery will remain subdued for two years, with government spending cuts and slowing world trade weighing down growth, a report says. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimated growth this year of 1.5%, rising to 2% in 2012. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility's forecast is for 1.9% growth this year. The OECD called the government's cuts "ambitious and necessary". It said they were needed in order to achieve a sustainable...

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US urges tough United Nations resolution

Pro-Gaddafi forces west of Ajdabiya, 16 March Pro-Gaddafi forces have been gaining ground eastwards along the coast Continue reading the main story Libya Revolt * No-fly zone options * Gaddafi's limited options * Uprising in maps * Eyewitness: Tripoli in fear The US has said the UN should consider more than just a no-fly zone over Libya, amid Security Council division on a draft resolution. US ambassador Susan Rice said a no-fly zone would only bring limited help. She hoped for an early vote on a draft. Russia expressed concern at some of the implications of the proposals and put forward a counter-resolution. Forces loyal to Col Gaddafi are taking ground from rebels, who say they fear "genocide" without swift UN action. On Wednesday, the International Committee of the...

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Yen hits record-high against US dollar as Nikkei falls

American and Japanese flags beside trading board A stronger currency makes Japanese exports less competitive and potentially hurts the economy Continue reading the main story Japan Earthquake * Japan quake Live * Q&A: Fukushima alert * Shares rebound * In pictures The Japanese yen has hit its highest level against the US dollar since the end of the Second World War. The yen climbed as high as 76.25 against the dollar in US trading on Wednesday. In Asia on Thursday, it was closer to 79.42. The Nikkei 225 index shed 2.7% to 8,845.49 on concerns about the impact of a strong yen on exporters' profits. G7 finance ministers have called a...

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Japan steps up cooling operation

apan says it is stepping up efforts to cool reactors at the tsunami-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Army helicopters dumped tonnes of water to try to prevent a meltdown of fuel rods. Water cannon will join the operation shortly and it is hoped electricity will be restored soon. Increasing alarm has been expressed in the US at the crisis. The confirmed death toll from Friday's 9.0 magnitude quake, which triggered a tsunami, has risen above 5,000. Police say 5,178 are confirmed dead and another 8,606 people are still missing. 'Deep condolences' Japan's military CH-47 Chinook helicopters began spraying tonnes of water on reactors three and four at Fukushima, 220km (137 miles) from Tokyo, at 0948 local time (0048 GMT), officials said. Continue reading the main story Analysis image...

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US cyber war defences 'very thin', Pentagon warns

Battle map on screen US officials say government and private systems are attacked millions of times per day Continue reading the main story Related Stories * Cyber war exaggerated says expert * Is cyber-warfare a genuine threat? * Oil and gas firms hit by hackers The US military lacks the people and resources to defend the country adequately from concerted cyber attacks, the head of the Pentagon's cyber command has warned. "We are very thin, and a crisis would quickly stress our cyber forces," Gen Keith Alexander told Congress. The US says government systems are attacked millions of times a day. Disputes over budgets are holding...

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CIA contractor Ray Davis freed over Pakistan killings

Raymond Davis (file photo) CIA contractor Raymond Davis has reportedly already left prison Continue reading the main story Related Stories * Lahore shootings fuel US-Pakistan row * Behind the scenes of Pakistan's 'spy' shootings * Raymond Davis and Lahore shootings - unanswered questions A Pakistani court has freed a US CIA contractor after acquitting him of two counts of murder at a hearing held at a prison in Lahore, officials say. Raymond Davis, 36, was alleged to have shot dead two men in the eastern city of Lahore in January following what he said was an attempted armed robbery. The acquittal came when relatives of the dead...

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Japan Devastated: Video of fires, landslides, stranded people

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Japan Earthquake: Helicopter aerial view video of giant tsunami waves

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Japan's Nikkei 225 rebounds as economic concerns ease

A investor gazes at a share prices board in Tokyo Japanese companies saw their valuations drop over the past two days because of the massive sell-off Continue reading the main story Japan Earthquake * Japan quake Live * Q&A: Health effects * In pictures * Q&A: Fukushima explained Japanese stocks rebounded on Wednesday as concerns over the long-term economic impact of Friday's earthquake and tsunami eased. The Nikkei 225 gained 5.7% to close at 9,093.72 points. The index had dropped more than 16% on Monday and Tuesday in its biggest two-day fall for 23 years. European markets also held steady at the start of trading, with companies previously hit by nuclear or supply chain fears rebounding. Bargain-hunting Germany's Dax index was Europe's best performer, rising...

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Japan's Emperor Akihito has said he is "deeply worried"

Japan's Emperor Akihito has said he is "deeply worried" about the crisis his country is facing following last Friday's earthquake and tsunami. In an extremely rare appearance, the emperor went on live TV to make his first public comments on the disaster, and said he was praying for the people. He spoke after technicians temporarily abandoned a quake-crippled nuclear plant as radiation briefly surged. The 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami has killed thousands of people. Continue reading the main story Analysis image of Richard Black Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News The latest spike of radiation measured at Fukushima Daiichi is consistent with reports suggesting damage to the containment system around reactor 3. It appears similar to Tuesday's incident in reactor 2, thought...

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Washington concerned over torture allegations in Zimbabwe

he United States expressed concern Thursday about recent arrests in Zimbabwe of political and civil society activists and allegations by their lawyer that some of them were tortured. On February 19, former Movement for Democratic Change Member of Parliament Munyaradzi Gwisai and 45 other labor union and student activists "who had gathered peacefully to discuss recent events in Egypt" were arrested and charged with treason, State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley said in a statement. Other political and civil society activists have also been arrested, he said. "Gwisai's defense attorney has reported that several of the 46 people were tortured while in custody, and we understand that the magistrate has ordered physical examinations to substantiate those claims," he said. "We call on...

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Japan's suicide rate for job seekers jumps

The number of people in Japan who killed themselves last year because they couldn't find a job jumped 20%, the National Police Agency reported Thursday. The figures were released as part of the agency's annual study of suicides. In 2010, 424 people killed themselves because they failed to find a job, according to the NPA. In 2009, the number was 354. Police said the greatest growth in the category came among students. In 2009, 23 students killed themselves. In 2010, the number grew to 53 -- a 130% increase. The stark figures stood in contrast to the overall decrease in the number of suicides in Japan, down 3.5% to 31,690. About 127 million people live in the island nation. Police figures also showed an increase in the number of child caretakers who killed themselves. The number in 2010...

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15 people killed in attacks in Pakistan

A vehicle packed with explosives rammed into a police checkpoint in northwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing nine people, police said. Thirty-one others were hurt in the attack outside Hangu district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said police official Aslam Khan. The province was formerly known as the North West Frontier Province. Meanwhile, six tribal policemen were killed and three others injured Thursday when unknown gunmen opened fire on a patrol in Khyber Agency in Pakistan's tribal region, a senior government official said. The police van was on a routine patrol when more than five gunmen opened fire, said Shafeerullah Khan, the...

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Eurozone interest rates could rise in April, ECB says

ECB HQ The European Central Bank has kept interest rates in the eurozone unchanged at a record low 1% Continue reading the main story Global Economy * Global food prices hit new record * Oil rise 'to hit airline profits' * India economy to sustain growth * China lowers growth rate target The president of the European Central Bank has said that a rise in eurozone interest rates was "possible" at its next policy meeting in April. Jean-Claude Trichet said the ECB was "in a posture of strong vigilance" against rising inflation. He said the rate-setting committee may have to act in the light of recent "price shocks" due to the...

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Oil wealth 'must be shared' with citizens says Soros

George Soros Mr Soros says the US and the West must back revolutions in the Middle East Citizens of oil producing nations must see more benefit from their country's national resources, billionaire investor George Soros has told the BBC. Revolts in Libya were partly the result of "revulsion against a corruption" fed by the misuse of oil money, he added. More "transparency and accountability" was needed from other producers such as Russia and Saudi Arabia he said. Mr Soros also predicted the Iranian regime would be overthrown in the "bloodiest of the revolutions". 'Rebelled' Libya produces 1.6 million barrels of oil per day and is the 17th largest producer in the world. And Colonel Gaddafi's hold on power has been dependent on the billions of dollars in oil revenue that pour into the country. Talking...

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Residents flee Bolivia's mega-mudslide By Mattia Cabitza

"This does not look like a landslide, but a massive earthquake." Jose Joaquin Mamani is carrying on his back a few of his belongings, wrapped in a dirty white sheet. "There is nothing that can be saved," he cries out. He is among thousands of other residents evacuating Irpavi II, one of the many neighbourhoods in La Paz affected by last Sunday's landslide which destroyed or damaged more than 1,500 houses. Mr Mamani pleads for help. "We do not know where to go. We are just leaving this area. "My house and cattle were buried under mud. But we are alive - that is the most important thing." His eyes get watery as he talks about his children. 'Help...

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Wikileaks: Suspect Bradley Manning faces 22 new charges

Bradley Manning, US military handout Intelligence analyst Bradley Manning served in Iraq Continue reading the main story Wikileaks Revelations * Q&A: Arrest of Wikileaks' founder * Cables at a glance * Wikileaks activists go analogue * A world after Wikileaks The US Army has charged a soldier held in connection with the leak of US government documents published by the Wikileaks website with 22 extra counts. The new charges against Private First Class Bradley Manning include aiding the enemy, a capital offence, but prosecutors have said they will not seek the death penalty. The intelligence analyst is being held at a...

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Nearly two months after President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali fled the country he ruled for 23 years

Nearly two months after President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali fled the country he ruled for 23 years, some Tunisians are asking whether the authoritarian system he created is really being dismantled. Protesters are camping beside the prime minister's office in central Tunis. Hundreds of people from all over the country are now living in the tented city, singing protest songs and asking passers-by to sign petitions. "Nothing has changed," said a student standing by one of the tents. A young bearded man standing beside her, his head swathed in a chequered red-and-white scarf, nodded in agreement: "We don't trust the new government." Last weekend...

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Rebels in Libya have been celebrating after fighting off an attempt by troops loyal to Col Muammar Gaddafi to retake the eastern oil port of Brega.

The town was full of jubilant people, who fired their guns in the air, the BBC's John Simpson in Brega reports. Well-armed Gaddafi forces had arrived in large numbers, and at one stage appeared to hold the upper hand. But they were later forced to retreat. Meanwhile, Col Gaddafi warned he would "fight until the last man and woman". In a televised speech, Col Gaddafi also said that thousands of Libyans would die if Western forces intervened. Discussions continue at the UN about the idea of implementing a no-fly to stop pro-Gaddafi forces launching air attacks on rebel forces. But the BBC's Barbara Plett in New York says Russia, among others, is unlikely to support any no-fly zone proposal unless there are air raids by Colonel Gaddafi's forces on civilians. Meanwhile, Venezuela's President...

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Pakistan Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti shot dead

Pakistani Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti has been shot dead by gunmen who ambushed his car in broad daylight in the capital, Islamabad. He was travelling to work through a residential district when his vehicle was sprayed with bullets, police said. Mr Bhatti, the cabinet's only Christian minister, had received death threats for urging reform to blasphemy laws. In January, Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, who had also opposed the law, was shot dead by one of his bodyguards. The blasphemy law carries a death sentence for anyone who insults Islam. Critics say it has been used to persecute minority faiths. No security escort Mr Bhatti, 42,...

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