Man charged with 'terror' murder

22 July 2013 Last updated at 17:41 GMT Mohammed Saleem was stabbed after leaving the Green Lane Mosque A 25-year-old Ukrainian man has been charged with the "terrorist-related" murder of Birmingham grandfather Mohammed Saleem, police have said.

Mr Saleem, 75, was stabbed as he walked home after prayers from a mosque in Green Lane, Small Heath, on 29 April.

Pavlo Lapshyn, a student from Dnipropetrovsk, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

He was arrested following two explosions near West Midlands mosques.

The 25-year-old is still being questioned by detectives investigating the blasts near the mosques in Walsall and Tipton, and a third in Wolverhampton, between 22 June and 12 July.

Mr Lapshyn, who has been in the UK on a temporary work placement since 24 April, was initially arrested on Thursday. He was arrested again on suspicion of the murder of Mr Saleem on Saturday.

'Anxiety and distress'

Police said a post-mortem examination showed Mr Saleem had been stabbed three times in the back in April.

The grandfather of 22 had been taken to Heartlands Hospital but was confirmed dead shortly after arriving there.

Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale, from West Midlands Police, urged anyone with any information to contact the force.

Mr Beale said: "We understand that these incidents have caused a great deal of anxiety and distress within local communities and I want to thank them for the way they have dealt with the developments and the assistance they have given my officers.

"For the family who lost a beloved grandfather it has been a particularly difficult time and we will continue to support them."

In a statement issued after Mr Lapshyn was charged, West Midlands Police called the killing of Mr Saleem a "terrorist-related murder".

The force also said officers would be travelling to Ukraine in the next few days to learn more about Mr Lapshyn's past history.

Louise Gray, a lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service Counter Terrorism Division, said she had been considering the evidence gathered following an investigation by West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit.

"I have concluded that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to charge Pavlo Lapshyn with one count of murder," she said.

View the original article here

Bankers guilty in Greek arson deaths

22 July 2013 Last updated at 16:07 GMT Three people in their thirties died in the attack Three bank officials in Greece have been given jail sentences of up to 10 years for failing to protect the lives of staff during a fatal arson attack by anti-austerity protesters in May 2010.

Three Marfin Bank staff members died in the attack on a central Athens branch, including a pregnant woman.

No-one has yet been convicted of causing the fire.

The Marfin branch had refused to allow staff to leave early, unlike other banks in the area.

The arson attack remains one of the most tragic moments of Greece's financial crisis, BBC Athens correspondent Mark Lowen reports.

Youths threw firebombs into the bank during a protest, starting the fatal fire.

The prime minister at the time, George Papandreou said it was a "raw, murderous act" while President Carolos Papoulias declared his country had "reached the edge of the abyss".

Suspended terms

The trial in Athens heard that the defendants had failed to take adequate measures to protect their staff, especially given that the branch had been attacked before. The defendants could have "predicted and prevented the outcome," the court heard.

The managing director of the Cyprus-based bank, Constantinos Vasilakopoulos, and the security head of the Stadiou street branch, Emmanouil Velonakis, were sentenced to 10 years in prison for manslaughter and causing bodily harm through negligence.

But the court ruled that the officials would have their terms suspended pending an appeal.

Branch manager Anna Vakalopoulou was given a five-year term while a fourth defendant, the deputy manager, was acquitted.

The court also asked for the case to be re-examined to see if other senior staff were responsible for ''negligent homicide''.

Arson attacks against public and private institutions in Greece have been frequent since the start of the financial crisis.

But street protests in Athens have calmed somewhat, with violent clashes no longer so common, our correspondent says.

Marfin Bank was later rebranded as Cyprus Popular Bank which nearly collapsed during the island's financial crisis in March.

View the original article here

Turkish ship with Indian crew freed

23 July 2013 Last updated at 04:37 GMT By Subir Bhaumik Calcutta It is not clear whether the pirates made a demand for ransom Pirates have released a Turkish cargo ship with a crew of 24 Indians which they hijacked near Port Gentil off the coast of Gabon in West Africa last week.

The Indian crew of MT Cotton is safe and many of them have called home after their release, family members say.

It is unclear if a ransom demand was made by the pirates.

The region has so far been considered safe with no previous hijacking or piracy incident recorded there.

"They are all safe but they have been robbed by the pirates," said Preeti Wahi, wife of MT Cotton's captain, Sishir Wahi.

She said her husband told her the ship was released on Monday. The crew will reach India next week.

Officials at Geden Lines, the Turkish company owning the ship, say the captain has been asked to move the ship at "fullest possible speed" from its present location at the Gulf of Guinea to a "safe port" in West Africa.

"The crew on board the ship are safe and nobody is in need of urgent medical attention. But they have been looted of everything," said Gautam Chatterjee, India's director-general of shipping.

Mr Chatterjee said the pirates had also taken away nearly a third of the ship's cargo.

View the original article here

Crowds celebrate royal baby at palace

23 July 2013 Last updated at 06:12 GMT A formal bulletin confirming the birth was displayed at Buckingham Palace

Thousands of well-wishers descended on Buckingham Palace on Monday night to celebrate the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's baby boy.

Many tried to glimpse a formal bulletin announcing the 16:24 BST delivery of the baby, who weighed 8lb 6oz.

The birth will be marked later with a series of gun salutes and the ringing of Westminster Abbey's bells.

Prince William said the couple "could not be happier". Kensington Palace said the baby would be named in due course.

The duke stayed with Catherine and the new arrival - the third in line to the throne - overnight at the private Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital, west London.

BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt said it was unclear how long the baby would be kept in.

Continue reading the main story The world now awaits the couple's choice of names for their son, who will be known as the Prince of Cambridge.

George is the bookmakers' favourite, followed by James and Alexander.

At 14:00 BST, the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery will stage a 41-gun salute in Green Park, after riding past Buckingham Palace.

At the same time, the Honourable Artillery Company - the City of London's army reserve regiment - will fire a 62-gun salute from Gun Wharf at the Tower of London.

And the church bells of Westminster Abbey, where William and Catherine were married in April 2011, are expected to ring out for three hours from 14:00.

'Doing well'

After the new arrival was announced in a statement issued by Kensington Palace, a large cheer went up from well-wishers and journalists outside the hospital.

Continue reading the main story

It is an incredibly special moment for William and Catherine and we are so thrilled for them on the birth of their baby boy”

End Quote Prince Charles A bulletin - signed by the Queen's gynaecologist Marcus Setchell, who led the medical team that delivered the baby - was taken by a royal aide from St Mary's to Buckingham Palace under police escort.

It was then displayed on an easel in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace in line with tradition.

The notice announced the delivery of the baby, adding: "Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well."

Kensington Palace said the Duke of Cambridge was present for the birth of his son.

"The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Harry and members of both families have been informed and are delighted with the news," a statement said.

The Prince of Wales, in a separate statement, said he and the Duchess of Cornwall were "overjoyed at the arrival of my first grandchild".

"It is an incredibly special moment for William and Catherine and we are so thrilled for them on the birth of their baby boy," he added.

"Grandparenthood is a unique moment in anyone's life, as countless kind people have told me in recent months, so I am enormously proud and happy to be a grandfather for the first time and we are eagerly looking forward to seeing the baby in the near future."

David Cameron: "A wonderful moment"

Royal doctor Mr Setchell described the new arrival as a "wonderful baby, beautiful baby", our correspondent added.

Prime Minister David Cameron, speaking outside Downing Street, hailed the "wonderful news".

"It is an important moment in the life of our nation but I suppose, above all, it's a wonderful moment for a warm and loving couple who've got a brand new baby boy," he added.

He said the Royal Family could "know that a proud nation is celebrating with a very proud and happy couple tonight".

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said: "I am sure that people across Scotland will be absolutely thrilled to hear the news of the birth of a baby boy to the Royal couple and will want to join me in wishing the proud parents many congratulations."

And Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones congratulated the couple "on behalf of the people of Wales" as "they enter their journey into parenthood".

The Archbishop of Canterbury, meanwhile, said he was "delighted to congratulate the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the arrival of their baby boy".

"Along with millions here and around the world, I share in their joy at this special time," added the Most Reverend Justin Welby.

"May God bless this family with love, health and happiness in their shared life ahead."

And US president Barack Obama was among foreign leaders to send their good wishes, saying of the duke and duchess: "We wish them all the happiness and blessings parenthood brings. The child enters the world at a time of promise and opportunity for our two nations."

View the original article here

EU agrees Hezbollah blacklisting

22 July 2013 Last updated at 22:46 GMT Jim Muir hears from people in Beirut who tell him Hezbollah is "everything to us... It is not a terrorist organisation"

European Union foreign ministers have agreed to list the military wing of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation.

The move required the agreement of all 28 of the EU's member states.

It makes it illegal for Hezbollah sympathisers in Europe to send the group money, and enables the freezing of the group's assets there.

In a statement, Hezbollah said the EU decision "was written by American hands with Israeli ink".

The group said the move "has no justification and is not based on any proof".

Some EU member states had been wary of the measure, saying it could further destabilise the situation in Lebanon.

The BBC's Chris Morris in Brussels says some states had also argued it would be difficult to distinguish fully between the group's military and political wings.

Continue reading the main story Jim Muir BBC News, Beirut

Given the magnitude of on-the-ground developments in which it is involved, the EU's move to blacklist Hezbollah as a terrorist group will likely be shrugged off by the militant movement as part of the Israeli-backed conspiracy against "resistance" that it sees behind much of what is happening in the region.

In practical terms, it would be more of a political slap on the wrist than a stunning body-blow. Hezbollah is not known to have substantial identifiable assets in EU countries which could be frozen, and it does not depend on donations from supporters there.

Hezbollah is the most powerful military force in Lebanon but also the dominant behind-the-scenes political mover. Diplomats may find it hard to differentiate between its military and political wings.

It's ironic that Hezbollah's open involvement alongside regime forces in the Syrian conflict may have helped harden EU opinion against it. One of its main stated reasons for doing so is the need to combat extremist Sunni Salafi rebels such as the Nusra Front, which has also been designated a terrorist group by the US and others.

The US, which has blacklisted Hezbollah for many years, welcomed the EU move.

"A growing number of governments are recognising Hezbollah as the dangerous and destabilising terrorist organisation that it is," said US Secretary of State John Kerry.

'Essential component'

Hezbollah has a powerful political organisation and, along with its allies, dominated the last Lebanese cabinet, which resigned in March.

EU officials had reportedly been proposing a compromise to satisfy more sceptical members - a statement that the bloc "should continue dialogue with all political parties in Lebanon".

The Lebanese government had on Friday urged Brussels not to move against Hezbollah, describing the militant group as an "essential component of Lebanese society".

But the group's involvement in the war across the border in Syria, in support of President Bashar al-Assad, has hardened European opinion, our correspondent says.

Countries that support the EU move say there is compelling evidence that Hezbollah was responsible for a bomb attack against Israeli tourists in Bulgaria last year in which six people died. The group denies any involvement.

In February, Bulgaria handed the EU's police agency the names of two people it suspected of involvement in the attack. Bulgarian officials said they believed the two men were Hezbollah members.

Hezbollah's involvement in the Syrian conflict has hardened EU opinion

EU diplomats also point to a court case in Cyprus, where a Hezbollah operative was found guilty of planning attacks against Israeli citizens.

Hossam Taleb Yaccoub, 24, said he had been asked to record information about Israeli flights arriving on the island and registration plates of buses carrying tourists from Israel. He said he did not know what the information was intended for.

Hezbollah has already been blacklisted by the United States, Canada, Australia, the UK and the Netherlands.

View the original article here

Can Nazi symbols be art?

19 July 2013 Last updated at 16:19 GMT By Stephen Evans BBC News, Berlin German artist Jonathan Meese claims he has the right to artistic freedom Performance art is all very well - but Jonathan Meese may have taken it too far.

When the artist and theatre director appeared in court in Kassel in Germany, accused of making Nazi salutes, he treated the court as a stage.

He was dressed completely in black, including dark glasses and long dark hair and beard.

He told the magistrate: "You just don't understand the 'discourse of art'. You need to read up if you want to evaluate if something is art."

He has held exhibitions of his paintings and sculpture on both sides of the Atlantic, to some acclaim.

Continue reading the main story

He didn't get the audience on his side when he referred to them as 'human clones of flesh' and 'slaves to democracy'”

End Quote Audience member He also directs stage performances and has been hired by the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth to produce Parsifal there in 2016.

It promises to be - or threatens to be, depending on your point of view - highly controversial.

Poking fun

In Mannheim earlier in the year, members of the audience walked out of a performance he produced - an "experimental drama", as it was termed - where he simulated oral sex on an alien which was daubed with a swastika. During the performance, he made the Hitler salute.

According to some reports, the whole audience left.

One member of the public was reported as saying afterwards: "He didn't get the audience on his side when he referred to them as 'human clones of flesh' and 'slaves to democracy'."

Under the German constitution, there is both freedom of speech and a ban on Nazi speech. Article 5, Paragraph 3 says: "Art and science, research and teaching shall be free", but Section 86a of the Criminal Code forbids "the use of symbols of unconstitutional organisations" - and the Hitler salute comes at the top of that list.

The caveat is that works of art are exempt. After all, Brecht depicts Hitler and those depictions are often performed to acclaim in Berlin theatres.

In 2009, the artist Ottmar Hoerl caused a stir when he produced garden gnomes with their arms raised in the Nazi salute.

Ottmar Hoerl's work 'Dance of/with the Devil' offended some people

A gallery tried to ban one, but he responded by making 1,250 of them and standing them in a square of a Bavarian town near Munich.

His defence was that his work was satirical - the gnomes were poking fun at the Nazis. It was a defence that worked in court - though there was then a big rise in demand for his creations.

The difficulty for the court considering Jonathan Meese's case is that he is accused of making the salute twice at an arts event.

In June, he appeared in Kassel - where his trial is now taking place - at an event called "Megalomania in the Art World".

He had, said the organisers, been invited as an expert on both aspects of the title.

They asked him there knowing he was provocative, and he did not disappoint.

His defence of making the salutes is that it was all art. As he told Der Spiegel magazine: "Of course I am innocent. What I do on stage and in the name of art is protected by the artistic freedom clause in the German constitution."

Enfant terrible

But that is no defence in the eyes of his critics. They say that if making the Hitler salute becomes too acceptable on stage, then it will become more acceptable off stage.

As one Jewish magazine put it: "Loaded words lose their punch once they become commonly used".

Meanwhile, there may be some thinking to be done in Bayreuth. It has hired Mr Meese to direct Parsifal in the festival of Wagner operas there in the Summer of 2016.

Wagner and Nazi symbolism are difficult territory, held at the opera house the composer himself designed for his works, because of Hitler's frequent visits and the adoration of him by Wagner's descendants during the war.

Certain performances of Richard Wagner's works have caused upset in Germany

Last year, one star singer withdrew when it was learnt that he had had a swastika tattooed on his chest when he was a youth, playing in a Russian heavy metal band. It had been tattooed over in adulthood, but the damage remained.

So Mr Meese's production has already got the antennae twitching.

One of the current directors of the Bayreuth Festival is Katharina Wagner, the composer's great-granddaughter. Over the years, she has tried to distance Bayreuth from its unfortunate past, and nobody identifies her with the poisonous views of previous generations of her family.

But she does now have a difficult managing act with Mr Meese, the current enfant terrible, on his way.

She described him as "one of the greatest German artists" in the newspaper Die Welt.

In the interview she was asked: "Should one play with swastikas?" She replied: "No. And I don't think Jonathan Meese plays in a bad way with such symbols." She thought he used them ironically, to say things about German history and identity.

She was asked whether there was a clause in his contract prohibiting him from using Nazi symbols.

"Naturally not," she said. "There is still no contract, but a verbal assurance that we made public with his permission."

The public is sensitive to these matters. Earlier this year, a production of Wagner's Tannhauser closed to a chorus of boos shortly after opening in Duesseldorf. Its violent depictions of a Nazi concentration camp were too much for the audience.

So Jonathan Meese's production in Bayreuth will be interesting. So will the remainder of the court case in which he stars in Kassel.

View the original article here

Greek treasures plundered in downturn

20 July 2013 Last updated at 01:20 GMT By Theopi Skarlatos BBC Fast Track, Athens Greek police are trying to stem the rise in illegal antiquity trading

The financial crisis in Greece has already had far-reaching consequences for many people, but now it is claiming a new casualty as some of the country's ancient treasures become a target for thieves.

Detective Gergios Tsoukalis puffs nervously on his cigar. In the passenger's seat of a taxi, he grapples with four different mobile phones as he tries to co-ordinate the arrest of yet another antiquities smuggler.

As the driver pulls into the port, he sees ahead of him that plainclothes police officers have already pounced on the unassuming man, who is completely shocked by the early-morning operation.

Continue reading the main story

We've tracked down ancient Greek antiquities as far away as Columbia - in the hands of drug dealers”

End Quote Detective Gergios Tsoukalis As he is being bundled into a van, one of the officers shouts at him: "How many of you are there? Don't mess me around. How many?"

Mr Tsoukalis is less concerned with the accused. He is following the trail of the treasure. He heads straight to the back of the suspect's vehicle and pulls out a bag to confirm that these are the stolen artefacts.

"These are them, here are the coins," he says with relief, immediately lighting up another cigar.

These moments are what the detective lives for.

Vulnerable artefacts

Hunting down illegal traders and saving timeless ancient objects does not just provide him with a rush of adrenaline or a satisfying buzz.

First and foremost, he does this job because he is Greek and cannot stand to see his country's most valuable and vulnerable artefacts in the wrong hands.

There has been a rise in the last three years in illegal trading. According to police reports, there has been a 30% increase since the crisis took hold in 2009.

Mr Tsoukalis believes the most popular buyers are Russians, Chinese and Latin Americans.

"In the last few years with the crisis, people who have reached their limits have become more easily tempted," he says.

Continue reading the main story Fast Track is broadcast on BBC World News and each week has the latest news about travel, destinations, flights and holidays, for people travelling on business or for leisure.The programme is broadcast at 03.30, 13.30 and 18.30 GMT on Saturdays and 06.30 GMT on Sundays."They are more likely to either sell antiquities in their possession or search for them in abandoned excavation sites, in order to sell what they find to dealers who take them abroad.

"We've tracked down ancient Greek antiquities as far away as Columbia - in the hands of drug dealers".

In February, he received a call from one man determined to do the right thing.

Yiannis Dendrinellis, from the coastal town of Derveni in Corinthia, came across what he has now been told could be the site of an ancient temple.

He found a bag left at the side of the road where someone had been digging.

"Inside there were some old coins and parts of small statues. You read stories about people finding treasure, but it can't be compared to finding it yourself with your own hands. It was amazing, just something else."

Yiannis will receive a small share of the value of his find because he contacted the authorities. He is still waiting to hear more about its worth.

Inadequate protection There has been a 30% rise in illegal trading of antiquities since 2009

From the onset of the financial crisis in Greece, it became easier for people to steal and sell on artefacts because many sites, including those still being excavated are not adequately protected.

"Some islands only have one guard to protect and maintain all of the ancient sites," says Despina Koutsoumba, of the Association of Greek Archaeologists.

"How can he do his job properly? Things are being stolen all the time. Only recently a man was arrested and caught with a Macedonian tomb - and inside the entire warrior's outfit. We didn't even know it existed until the man who took it was arrested."

Her main worry is ensuring the maintenance and security of the already registered artefacts in Greece's museums.

In December 2012, the finance ministry took control of the archaeological fund containing all the profits from museum ticket sales - a budget of 2m euros (£1.72m).

"We have not seen this money since December last year and this money is needed to keep our museums running properly. Not only can we not afford toilet paper and petrol for our drivers, but we haven't been able to pay our electricity, water and phone bills, since last year.

"So you can imagine what this means for a museum, to be threatened and have its electricity cut off, what that means for its operations and what that means for its alarms," she said.

The Ministry of Culture stresses it is doing all it can to protect Greece's most important sites and museums.

Despina Koutsoumba says museums cannot even afford toilet roll

Maria Vlazaki, General Director of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage says: "There are a lot of people employed to guard Greece's most important sites, but of course there are less than before.

"As there are fewer employees in all other sectors, we have the same problem with this one. But we have done all the work we can to protect our museums and archaeological sites and keep them safe. I know it is a difficult situation, but we try hard".

Last week the government secured another bailout instalment from the troika of international creditors, the EU, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank (ECB). In return, a further 25,000 public sector workers will be dismissed and all ministries will be affected.

Those working for the Ministry of Culture are waiting nervously to find out not only if their jobs will be protected, but also the ancient antiquities behind glass cases - and those yet to be discovered.

Fast Track can be seen on BBC World News at 03.30, 13.30 and 18.30 GMT on Saturdays and 06.30 GMT on Sundays.

View the original article here