09/27/14 ~ CROSS RIVER UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Saturday, 27 September 2014

WORLD NEWS: India's Modi jabs at Pakistan, encourages yoga in U.N. address

By Jonathan Allen

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday he wants to hold bilateral talks with neighboring Pakistan "without a shadow of terrorism," a day after Pakistan's prime minister expressed frustration with stalled talks over Kashmir.

In his first address to the U.N. General Assembly since his resounding election victory in May, Modi also invoked India's Hindu and ascetic traditions, saying they might provide answers to climate change and called for an International Yoga Day.

Modi appeared to chastise Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who had used his own General Assembly address on Friday to blame India for the collapse of the latest talks over Kashmir, the Himalayan region claimed in full by both countries.

"By raising this issue in this forum," Modi said in Hindi, "I don't know how serious our efforts will be, and some people are doubtful about it."

Last month, India announced it was withdrawing from the planned peace talks between the two nuclear-armed neighbors because of plans by Pakistan to consult Kashmiri separatists beforehand.

India was willing to discuss Kashmir with Pakistan, Modi said, so long as those talks are in "an atmosphere of peace, without a shadow of terrorism."

India says Pakistan supports separatist militants that cross from the Pakistan-controlled side of Kashmir to attack Indian forces. Pakistan denies this, saying India's military abuses the human rights of Kashmiris, most of whom are Muslim.

Modi, India's first Hindu-nationalist prime minister in a decade, embraces a strain of politics that maintains India's culture is essentially Hindu, although his Bharatiya Janata Party says such a culture is welcoming to other religions.

He has said fears that he will favor India's Hindu majority over its large religious minorities, including some 170 million Muslims, are unfounded, and his comments on spirituality in his address are likely to be scrutinized for evidence of this.

Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat when days of religious riots raged across the northwestern state in 2002 after a Muslim mob set alight a train carrying Hindu pilgrims, killing 59 people. More than 1,000 people were killed in the riots, most of them Muslims.

Critics have accused Modi of allowing the riots to happen, but courts have found no evidence to indict him.

In his address on Saturday, Modi invoked the "ancient wisdom" of India's Vedic era, during which Hinduism's most sacred texts were written.

He also encouraged more people to take up yoga, the spiritual practice that predates the Islam's arrival in India.

"Yoga should not be just an exercise for us, but it should be a means to get connected with the world and with nature," Modi said as he called on the United Nations to adopt an International Yoga Day.

"It should bring a change in our lifestyle and create awareness in us, and it can help fighting against climate change."

After his address, Modi met privately with the prime ministers of Nepal and Bangladesh and the president of Sri Lanka at his hotel. No talks were planned with Sharif or other Pakistani officials because they did not ask to meet, according to the Indian delegation.

While in New York, Modi is scheduled to receive visits from a parade of powerful political and business figures, including Bill and Hillary Clinton, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as the chief executive officers of Boeing Co (BA.N), BlackRock Inc (BLK.N), IBM (IBM.N) and General Electric Co (GE.N), among others.

Next week, less than a decade after the United States banned him from visiting the country in 2005 under a law barring entry to foreigners who have severely violated religious freedoms, Modi is due to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House.

Modi will not eat at the state dinner, however, as he will be fasting for the Hindu festival of Navratri, his delegation has said.

(Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols, Editing by Jason Neely and G Crosse)

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WORLD NEWS: No breakthrough in Iran nuclear talks, sides agree to keep talking

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By Louis Charbonneau and Parisa Hafezi

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iran and six world powers made little progress in overcoming significant disagreements in the most recent round of nuclear talks, including on uranium enrichment, Iranian and Western diplomats close to the negotiations said on Friday.

Officials from Iran and the six countries had cautioned ahead of the talks in New York that a breakthrough was unlikely to end sanctions on Tehran, although they had hoped substantial progress could be made in narrowing disagreements.

A senior State Department official said gaps "are still serious" with just eight weeks to go before a Nov. 24 deadline.

"We do not have an understanding on all major issues, we have some understandings that are helpful to move this process forward and we have an enormous number of details still to work through," the official told reporters.

"We still have some very, very difficult understandings yet to reach, and everyone has to make difficult decisions and we continue to look to Iran to make some of the ones necessary for getting to a comprehensive agreement," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Another diplomat said Iran and the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China would likely meet again in the coming weeks, but no date and venue have been set.

Iran President Hassan Rouhani said at a news conference on in New York that the "progress we have witnessed in recent days has been extremely slow."

"We must look forward to the future and make the courageous decisions vis-a-vis this problem," he said, adding that any deal without lifting all sanctions against Tehran was "unacceptable."

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters that an interim deal approved in Geneva last November under which Iran had halted higher-level enrichment in exchange for limited sanctions relief "has made the world safer."

On a long-term deal, Kerry said "it remains our fervent hope that Iran" and the six powers "can in the next weeks come to an agreement that would benefit the world."

Iran and the six hope that a resolution of the more-than-decade-long nuclear standoff with Iran will reduce regional tensions and remove the risk of another war in the Middle East.

At the General Assembly earlier in the week, Rouhani said a deal that ends sanctions will open the door to deeper cooperation on regional peace and stability and the fight against militants such as Islamic State, a group that has seized parts of Iraq and Syria. The United States has made clear it will not link the two issues.

Israel has repeatedly threatened to use military force against Iranian atomic sites if diplomacy fails to defuse what it sees as the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.

Iran rejects allegations from Western powers and their allies that it is seeking a nuclear weapons capability but has refused to halt uranium enrichment, inviting multiple rounds of U.S., European Union and U.N. Security Council sanctions. Enrichment is a process of purifying uranium for use as fuel for power plants or, if enriched to a very high purity, for bombs.

MISTRUST

Senior foreign ministry officials from the six countries and Iran began meeting in New York last week. Despite a generally positive atmosphere in the negotiations, the Western diplomat said neither side has much confidence in the other.

"The level of mistrust is still pretty high," the Western diplomat said.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters there had been "no significant advances" in the latest talks, prompting the parties to cancel a scheduled negotiating session on Friday.

Kerry and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif late on Thursday and again on Friday to discuss next steps in the deadlocked negotiations, the Western diplomat said.

In addition to enrichment, diplomats said the speed of lifting sanctions is a difficult issue, one on which Iranian and Western delegations have sharp differences.

The Western diplomat said the United States and Europeans were prepared to lift their unilateral sanctions very quickly in the event of an acceptable agreement, but U.N. measures would be ended gradually based on Iran's compliance with any future deal.

"What they would like to see is to get rid of the Security Council sanctions very quickly, immediately," he said. "But this is not exactly how we think." He added, however, that Iran was underestimating the speed at which the Western powers were prepared to move on sanctions relief if an agreement is reached.

The diplomat said Iran's President Rouhani, who held bilateral meetings with top European officials in New York, had nothing to offer to move the talks forward.

"There was nothing really new from him," the diplomat said. "He said we should not miss this historic opportunity over a couple of centrifuges. And by the way, we think the same way."

Iran's enrichment program, above all the number of enrichment centrifuges Tehran would be permitted to keep for the duration of any deal, is one of the major sticking points.

Rouhani, widely seen as a pragmatist, was elected last year on a platform of improving foreign relations. Rouhani and his government have adopted a more conciliatory stance compared to his hard-line predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, raising hopes there might be avenues to reach an agreement.

The head of the U.S. delegation, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, said in an interview with Voice of America that "I believe we are making progress." But she added that there are "still some very crucial decisions that need to be made."

The Western diplomat echoed those remarks, saying: "We are expecting significant moves on the Iranian side" if there is to be an agreement over the next two months.

(Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed and Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Grant McCool, Jonathan Oatis and Nick Macfie)

WORLD NEWS: Zambia's President Sata leaves NY amid reports of ill health

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UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Zambian President Michael Sata left New York on Saturday - amid reports he was unwell - after thanking several of his ministers for representing him at the U.N. General Assembly and sideline meetings, Zambia's mission to the United Nations said.

Sata missed his scheduled U.N. speech on Wednesday and instead his foreign minister addressed the world body on Friday. A diplomat at the United Nations told Reuters that Sata had been treated by doctors in his hotel room during his visit.

Zambia's mission to the United Nations on Saturday released three photos of Sata. The mission said in a statement the president had left New York, but did not disclose his destination.

"Before departure President Sata held a meeting with his ministers," the statement said. "President Sata commended the Ministers for competently representing him and Zambia at the meetings."

Vice President Guy Scott told the Zambian parliament on Friday that the health of the 77-year-old Sata was "entirely normal."

Concern about Sata's health has been mounting since June, when he disappeared from the public eye without explanation and was then reported to be getting medical treatment in Israel.

At the opening of parliament last week, his first major public appearance in three months, Sata joked with lawmakers, telling them: "I am not dead."

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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TOP NEWS Prospect of tighter White House security touches nerve in Washington

23:34 No comments

By Ian Simpson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The prospect of more of the U.S. capital being closed off after an intruder got into the White House has struck a nerve in Washington over public space being eroded by barricades and bollards.

The possible tightening of security around the president's residence, a highly visible symbol of democracy and a prime draw for tourists and protesters alike, raises questions like whether safety trumps openness or whether a capital city can ever be entirely safe, analysts said.

The week after a 42-year-old Iraq war veteran climbed the 7-foot (2.1-meter) wrought-iron fence, sprinted across the lawn with a knife in his pocket and entered the executive mansion through an open door, law enforcement officials erected a second fence around parts of the White House.

They are considering further measures including closing more sidewalks to pedestrians, setting up additional barriers and possibly searching the bags of people approaching the building, the Washington Post and the New York Times said, citing unnamed sources.

"So you're going to further isolate the White House. Why don't we just move the White House out to West Virginia or something?" said Steven Bucci, a national security expert at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

Increased security measures have shut off large parts of the capital in the last 20 years, especially after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York, Washington and Pennsylvania that killed almost 3,000 people.

They have include the closing off of traffic on Pennsylvania Avenue and a second street around the White House, and the shutting off of the West Terrace of the Capitol, which offers a sweeping view of the National Mall's museums and monuments.

The Supreme Court's front doors are sealed off. The former head of the Capitol Police, which oversees security at the white-domed landmark, has advocated making a dozen blocks around it a no-drive zone to block potential car bombs.

FREEDOM AND OPENNESS

Judy Scott Feldman, president of the National Coalition to Save Our Mall, said more closings would only erode Washington's democratic symbolism.

"We are the capital of a nation dedicated to freedom and openness," she said. "Fear can't be our dominant planning principle."

Safeguarding the president and his family, other top U.S. officials and visiting foreign leaders is the responsibility of the U.S. Secret Service, which has been battered by drinking and prostitution scandals in recent years.

The agency began reviewing White House security after veteran Omar Gonzalez made it into the White House on Sept. 19, at a time when President Barack Obama and his family was not present.

Gonzalez, who faces an unlawful entry charge, told an agent he needed to get information to the president about the atmosphere collapsing, according to court documents. A House of Representatives oversight committee has scheduled a hearing on the breach for Tuesday.

The Secret Service declined to say if it had settled on permanent measures to raise White House security.

"The U.S. Secret Service is not aware of any definitive plans to add increased permanent security measures around the White House," spokesman Brian Leary said in an email.

'HOW FAR?'

Washington Mayor Vincent Gray said the security of the president and the White House was paramount but noted that people need to feel comfortable in the city, especially tourists who are vital to the local economy.

Last year, Washington had a record 19 million visitors who spent $6.7 billion, according to the tourism bureau.

Bucci, of the Heritage Foundation, said hundreds of millions of dollars had been poured into physical security in Washington since the 2001 attacks. Every government building had set-back areas and such features as concrete barriers, street-blocking bollards and its own security force, he said.

Thomas Luebke, secretary of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, which advises on design matters in the capital, said his panel's top task since 2001 had been dealing with security features.

Luebke said there was no way to create a risk-free capital, adding, "How far do we push the need for a sense of security versus the damage to the public realm?"

(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Scott Malone and Mohammad Zargham)

WORLD NEWS: Catalonian leader orders referendum on independence from Spain

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By Elena Gyldenkerne

BARCELONA Spain (Reuters) - The president of Spain's Catalonia region signed a decree on Saturday calling for a referendum on independence to be held on on Nov. 9, putting the local government on a collision course with Madrid, which says such a vote is illegal.

The wealthy northeastern region, which accounts for around a fifth of Spain's economy, has its own language and distinct culture and has long fought for self-rule.

A large majority of Catalans want to hold a referendum on independence, polls show, and have been encouraged by the close result in this month's binding referendum in Scotland.

The region's president, Artur Mas, signed the decree in a solemn ceremony in the Catalan regional government's offices in Barcelona - the gothic Generalitat Palace - surrounded by his government and political allies in his campaign for independence.

"Catalonia wants to speak. Wants to be heard. Wants to vote. Now is the right time and we have the right legal framework to do so," Mas said in a speech in Catalan, Spanish and English immediately after the signing ceremony.

In a section of his speech in English, Mas said he wanted to convey a message to European leaders and people.

"As all the nations in the world, Catalonia has the right to decide its political future ... We believe that political issues must be resolved by negotiation and civilized attitudes. And we know that democracy is the most civilized way to resolve difficulties between nations."

Hundreds of people waving the Catalan flag and chanting pro-independence slogans greeted a smiling Mas in the plaza outside the palace after his speech.

"I never voted for him, but he is behaving just perfectly in this process we are going through. It is superb," a supporter of the separatist movement, Isabel Roca Puig, said in Catalan.

MADRID TO BLOCK VOTE

Spanish deputy prime minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said in a news conference after Mas signed the decree that the albeit non-binding vote would violate the country's 1978 constitution, drawn up on Spain's transition to democracy, and vowed to block it.

The cabinet will meet on Monday to formalize the appeal, then the objection will be handed to the Constitutional Court which is expected to suspend the vote until a final ruling is made on its legality, which could take years.

"No government, nobody, is above the law because nobody is above the sovereign will of all the Spanish people," Saenz de Santamaria said.

"We deeply regret this, and believe the Catalan president's initiative is a mistake. It fractures the Catalan society, divides the Catalan people and distances them from Europe and the spirit of the times."

Mas has been under pressure from separatist coalition partners to go ahead with the referendum even if it is declared illegal, although he has himself said he would not do anything that is against the law.

Political analysts expect the Catalan leader to call early elections after Madrid blocks the vote. He would then use the elections as a way to give Catalans a chance to vote on independence from Spain.

Madrid's refusal to allow a vote has angered many Catalans, even those who favor continued union with Spain. Hundreds of thousands of people marched in the streets of Barcelona earlier this month for the right to hold a referendum. [ID:nL5N0RC2N7]

(Additional reporting and writing by Paul Day; Editing by Pravin Char and Greg Mahlich)

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TOP NEWS U.S. flight woes linger after Chicago air traffic center fire

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By Laila Kearney

(Reuters) - U.S. airports reported hundreds of residual flight cancellations on Saturday, a day after an employee apparently set a Chicago-area air traffic control center on fire and tried to take his own life.

The incident forced the evacuation of the Federal Aviation Administration control center in Aurora, Illinois, and severely snarled air traffic on Friday, when an estimated 2,100 flights were canceled at major airports across the country.

The impact stretched into Saturday with another 748 flight cancellations nationwide, more than double the number of cancellations for the entire day before the fire, according to tracking website FlightAware.

About 28 percent of the cancellations took place at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, near where the fire was started, FlightAware reported.

O'Hare is the largest hub of United Airlines and a major hub for American Airlines. The airport averaged about 2,700 flights a day in August with a daily average of about 220,000 passengers in the month, according data posted on its website.

Brian Howard, 36, who lives in the nearby suburb of Naperville, was charged in connection with the fire on Friday in U.S. District Court in Chicago with one felony count of destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities, prosecutors said.

Howard, who has worked at the control center facility near Chicago, for eight years, is suspected to have started the fire in the basement of the facility just at about 5:40 a.m. local time (1040 GMT), according to an affidavit attached to the complaint.

Howard had recently been told he was being transferred to Hawaii, according to the complaint.

Shortly before the fire broke out, a private message was posted to Howard's Facebook account that said he was "about to take out" the control center and take his own life, the affidavit said. A relative forwarded the message to police.

Arriving at the scene of the fire, which was quickly extinguished but not before causing damage, paramedics followed a trail of blood and encountered Howard shirtless with cut wounds on his arms and saw him slicing at his own throat, the affidavit said.

Howard remains hospitalized and no court date has been set, prosecutors said. He would face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

The FAA was assessing the damage caused by the blaze, which may be significant, but hoped to restore air traffic to relatively normal levels over the next few days, they said.

Air traffic was being handled by other control centers in the region, including Minneapolis, Indianapolis and Cleveland, according to the latest statement by the FAA.

TOP NEWS Thousands rally in Hong Kong as democracy campaign heats up

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By Yimou Lee and James Pomfret

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people massed in the heart of Hong Kong late on Saturday to demand more democracy, as tensions grew over Beijing's decision to rule out free elections in the former British colony.

The crowds swelled less than 24 hours after riot police used pepper spray to disperse protesters around government headquarters, arresting more than 60 people opposed to the Chinese government's tightening grip on the city.

The unrest underscores the obstacles China faces in Hong Kong as a restive younger generation challenges its influence over the densely-populated financial hub.

One protester said she had joined the protests to secure a better future for her five-year-old son, who was by her side wearing swimming goggles to protect him if the police fired more pepper spray.

"If we don't stand up, we will be worried about his future," said the 33-year-old woman named Li. "He can't choose his own future."

The demonstrators broke through a cordon late on Friday and scaled perimeter fences to invade the city's main government compound in the culmination of a week-long rally to demand free elections.

The Hospital Authority said 34 people had been treated in hospital by Saturday evening as a result of the clashes.

The protesters were removed one by one on Saturday afternoon, some of them carried away.

"The police have used disproportionate force to stop the legitimate actions of the students and that should be condemned," said Benny Tai, one of the three main organizers of the pro-democracy Occupy Central movement.

Hong Kong returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997 under a formula known as "one country, two systems", with a high degree of autonomy and freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China. Universal suffrage was set as an eventual goal.

But Beijing last month rejected demands for people to freely choose the city's next leader in 2017, prompting threats from activists to shut down the Central financial district in a so-called Occupy Central campaign. China wants to limit elections to a handful of candidates loyal to Beijing.

BATTLE HEATS UP

Tempers flared and there were scenes of chaos before dawn on Saturday when protesters used umbrellas to shield themselves from the pepper spray. Those who got hit used water to rinse their eyes.

"I paid my highest respect to every soldier who defends till the last moment... Civil disobedience - it continues to happen," said student leader Lester Shum on his Facebook page.

Hong Kong's Education Bureau appealed to parents and teachers on Saturday not to allow underage children and students to take part in unlawful activities to avoid risking their safety.

Leaders of the local Occupy movement arrived to show their support for the protests. They plan to blockade the financial district on Oct. 1, a holiday, hoping it will escalate into one of most disruptive protests in Hong Kong for decades.

The latest clashes were the most heated in a series of anti-Beijing protests. Police arrested six people overnight, including teenage student leader Joshua Wong, who was dragged away by police, kicking, screaming and bleeding from his arm, after he called on the protesters to charge the government premises.

"Hong Kong's future belongs to you, you and you," Wong, a thin 17-year-old with dark-rimmed glasses and bowl-cut hair, told cheering supporters before he was taken away.

(Additional reporting by Stefanie McIntyre, Venus Wu, Diana Chan, Kinling Lo, Donny Kwok, Farah Master and Charlie Zhu; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by)

TOP NEWS Defying air strikes, Islamic State shells Syrian Kurdish town

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By Mariam Karouny and Jonny Hogg

BEIRUT/MURSITPINAR Turkey (Reuters) - New U.S.-led air strikes against Islamic State fighters failed to stop them from pressing their assault on a strategic Syrian town near the Turkish border on Saturday, hitting it with shell fire for the first time.

The U.S. Central Command said the air strikes destroyed an IS building and two armed vehicles near the border town of Kobani, which the insurgents have been besieging for the past 10 days.

It said an airfield, garrison and training camp near the IS stronghold of Raqqa were also among the targets damaged in seven air strikes conducted by the United States, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, using fighter planes and remotely piloted aircraft.

Three air strikes in Iraq destroyed four IS armed vehicles and a "fighting position" southwest of Arbil, Centcom said.

The United States has been carrying out strikes in Iraq since Aug. 8 and in Syria, with the help of Arab allies, since Tuesday, in a campaign it says is aimed at "degrading and destroying" the Islamist militants who have captured swathes of both countries.

A day after the UK parliament voted to allow British warplanes to attack IS in Iraq, two British fighter jets flew a mission over the country, the Ministry of Defence said, adding they had gathered intelligence but did not carry out air strikes.

IS, which swept across northern Iraq in June, has proclaimed an Islamic "caliphate", beheaded Western hostages and ordered Shi'ites and non-Muslims to convert or die. Its rise has prompted President Barack Obama to order U.S. forces back into Iraq, which they left in 2011, and to go into action over Syria for the first time.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group that supports opposition forces fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said Saturday's air strikes set off more than 30 explosions in Raqqa.

Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the British-based Observatory, said 23 Islamic State fighters were killed. He said the heaviest casualties were inflicted in attacks on an airport.

But the monitoring group said IS was still able to shell eastern parts of Kobani, wounding several people. It said that IS fighters had killed 40 Kurdish militia in the past five days in their battle for Kobani, including some who were killed by a suicide bomber who drove into the town's outskirts in a vehicle disguised to look as though it was carrying humanitarian aid.

The insurgents' offensive against the Kurdish town, also known as Ayn al-Arab, has prompted around 150,000 refugees to pour across the border into Turkey since last week.

ERDOGAN SHIFT

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan signaled a shift in Ankara's position by saying for the first time that Turkish troops could be used to help set up a secure zone in Syria, if there was international agreement to establish one as a haven for those fleeing the fighting.

Turkey has so far declined to take a frontline role in the U.S.-led coalition against IS, but Erdogan told the Hurriyet newspaper: "The logic that assumes Turkey would not take a position militarily is wrong."

He said negotiations were under way to determine how and by which countries the air strikes and a potential ground operation would be undertaken, and that Turkey was ready to take part.

"You can't finish off such a terrorist organization only with air strikes. Ground forces are complementary ... You have to look at it as a whole. Obviously I'm not a soldier but the air (operations) are logistical. If there's no ground force, it would not be permanent," he said.

Turkish officials near the Syrian border said IS fighters battling Kurdish forces for Kobani sent four mortar shells into Turkish territory, wounding two people.

One of the shells hit a minibus near Tavsanli, a Turkish village within sight of Kobani. A large hole was visible in the rear of the vehicle.

"Two people were injured in the face when the minibus was hit. If they'd been 3 meters (10 feet) closer to the car, many people would have died," said Abuzer Kelepce, a provincial official from the pro-Kurdish party HDP.

Heavy weapons fire was audible, and authorities blocked off the road towards the border.

"The situation has intensified since the morning. We are not letting anyone through right now because it is not secure at all. There is constant fighting, you can hear it," the official said.

Kobani sits on a road linking north and northwestern Syria. IS militants were repulsed by local forces, backed by Kurdish fighters from Turkey, when they tried to take it in July, and that failure has so far prevented them from consolidating their gains in the region.

COALITION WIDENS

Syria's government, which in the past accused its opponents of being Western agents trying to topple Assad, has not objected to the U.S.-led air strikes, saying it was informed by Washington before they began.

It too has carried out air strikes across the country, including in the east, and its ground forces have recaptured the town of Adra, northeast of Damascus, tightening Assad's grip on territory around the capital.

But Russia has questioned the legality of U.S. and Arab state air strikes in Syria because they were carried out without the approval of Damascus, Moscow's ally.

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Friday that this week's strikes in Syria had disrupted Islamic State's command, control and logistics capabilities. But he said a Western-backed opposition force of 12,000 to 15,000 would be needed to retake areas of eastern Syria controlled by the militants.

(Reporting by Mariam Karouny; Additional reporting by Michele Kambas; Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Jason Neely)

RELIGIOUS NEWS: Unfaithful' Bishop of Arundel and Brighton resigns

21:18 No comments

Bishop Kieran Conry said he had been "unfaithful" to his promises as a Catholic priest.

The Catholic Bishop of Arundel and Brighton has resigned, saying he has brought "shame" on the diocese.

The Rt Rev Kieran Conry, whose diocese covers Sussex and Surrey, said he had been "unfaithful" to his promises as a Catholic priest.

He said his actions "were not illegal and did not involve minors".

He apologised to those "hurt by my actions and then to all of those inside and outside the diocese who will be shocked, hurt and saddened".

He said his resignation would take immediate effect, and he would now take time to consider his future.

Bishop Kieran's statement did not specify in what way he had been "unfaithful" to his promises but it will be read in all Catholic churches over the weekend.

His statement ended: "I am sorry for the shame that I have brought on the diocese and the Church and I ask for your prayers and forgiveness."

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, said: "This is a sad and painful moment.

"It makes clear that we are always a Church of sinners called to repentance and conversion and in need of God's mercy.

"All involved in this situation are much in my prayers today."

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CONGRATULATIONS: Film star George Clooney marries in Venice

21:18 No comments

Europe (BBC) - Hollywood star George Clooney has married human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin in Venice, in one of the most eagerly anticipated events of the showbusiness year.

A host of fellow stars descended on the Italian city's canals for the union between the film world's most eligible bachelor, 53, and Ms Alamuddin, 36.

The ceremony was celebrated in a hotel overlooking the famous Grand Canal.
Clooney's agent broke the news to journalists in a brief statement.
According to AP news agency, that will be the only communication on the wedding.

Amal Alamuddin arriving in Venice on Friday

Clooney with his then-fiancee on Friday in Venice

Clooney and his friends had sipped champagne before gliding up the Grand Canal on Saturday evening to the luxury Aman Hotel, waving to hundreds of well-wishers.

Guests include Cindy Crawford, Bill Murray, Matt Damon and the U2 singer Bono.

Clooney's boat was momentarily blocked by a passing cruise liner and then by a water bus, giving time for dozens of boats carrying photographers to catch up, AP writes.

Bill Murray was among the guests

So was Matt Damon

A wave from US model Cindy Crawford (L), flanked by her husband, businessman Rande Gerber

Bono (in dark glasses) joked with a concierge as he boarded his taxi boat
A police boat swerved in vain to try to keep the paparazzi away.

Ms Alamuddin was last seen publicly on Friday riding in a water taxi down the Grand Canal with Clooney's arm round her.

Assange defender
The couple were engaged in April.
Clooney was previously married to Talia Balsam, who he divorced in 1993.

One of the world's most recognisable actors, the American has two Oscars to his name: for best supporting actor in Syriana (2006) and for best picture as producer of Argo (2013).

Other than his film work, he has embraced human rights causes such as the Darfur crisis in Sudan.

Lebanese-born British lawyer Amal Alamuddin has defended Julian Assange of Wikileaks and former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko among others.

She met Clooney through her work.
People in her native village in Lebanon, Baakline in the Chouf district, welcomed news of her impending marriage, AP reports.

"We congratulate them and we hope that the happiness will be international," said shopkeeper Ghassan Bou Hatoum.

The couple's choice of Venice for the wedding is apt as Clooney is a frequent visitor to its film festival. He also owns a villa on Lake Como, north of Milan.

Despite the long build-up to the wedding, interest still abounded on social media at news of the knot being tied.

"George Clooney is married," wrote one tweeter. "Heterosexual men of earth release a collective sigh of relief. Everyone else mourns."

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WORLD NEWS: McGinley hails great show as Europe surge 10-6 clear

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By Tony Jimenez

GLENEAGLES Scotland (Reuters) - Captain Fantastic Paul McGinley hailed "a great team performance" after Europe crushed the U.S. in the Ryder Cup foursomes for the second day running to gallop into a commanding 10-6 lead on Saturday.

The U.S., who trailed 5-3 overnight, edged a record-breaking fourballs by 2 1/2 points to 1 1/2 but the holders administered a blow to the solar plexus by taking 3 1/2 points in the afternoon on another extraordinary day in golf's biggest grudge match.

Wildcard selection Lee Westwood, sent out in the opening foursomes with rookie Jamie Donaldson for the second successive day, repaid McGinley's faith as the pair eased past Zach Johnson and Matt Kuchar 2 & 1.

Westwood's win helped him join the great Arnold Palmer on 23 Ryder Cup points, with only Nick Faldo (25), Bernhard Langer (24), Billy Casper (23 1/2) and Colin Montgomerie (23 1/2) ahead of him.

"I get a huge amount of satisfaction out of that," a tearful Westwood told reporters. "There are no easy games out there and we only made one bogey which is pretty good going in foursomes."

Graeme McDowell and debutant Victor Dubuisson also made it two victories out of two in the alternate-shot format as they romped to a 5 & 4 triumph over Jimmy Walker and Rickie Fowler.

World numbers one and three Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia posted five birdies in 16 holes as they dismissed Jim Furyk and Hunter Mahan 3 & 2 while Justin Rose combined with Martin Kaymer to halve their match with unbeaten rookies Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed.

The American misery was summed up when Reed experienced the agony of missing a two-foot putt on the 16th green.

VERY LUCKY

McGinley described his side's two 3 1/2-point hauls this week from the foursomes as "really unusual".

"We have been very lucky to have some wonderful partnerships," said the Irishman. "We have a partnership in Jamie and Lee that has been very strong and another one in Victor and Graeme.

"That was a great team performance and I'm a very happy captain with a four-point lead going into the singles...but obviously among the big words is complacency, not conceding momentum...that's the most important thing.

"This job is far from finished. We're in a great position but we've got a lot of work to do tomorrow."

McGinley's battle-weary counterpart Tom Watson saluted the foursomes performance of the Europeans.

"In the infamous words of our President (Barack Obama) we got shellacked this afternoon," said the U.S. skipper. "My team fought their guts out, they just didn't live up to the standards that the Europeans did.

"They did it yesterday afternoon to us and they did it again this afternoon. It's disappointing but when all is said and done it's 10-6.

"As I recall there's been a little bit of history with 10-6 comebacks, most recently the Europeans in 2012 and of course in 1999 at Brookline. The players are already talking about that," said Watson.

REMARKABLE FOURBALLS

Earlier, a 45,000 crowd was treated to a remarkable exhibition of fourballs golf.

Rose and Henrik Stenson, rested for the foursomes due to a back problem, were a record 12-under-par as they sank Watson and Kuchar 3 & 2 after carding an amazing 10 successive birdies.

Watson and Kuchar also lit up a crackerjack tussle that featured 21 birdies, another Ryder Cup record.

Ian Poulter produced a couple of trademark moments of eye-popping magic as he and McIlroy halved with Walker and Fowler.

Mahan and Furyk beat Westwood and Donaldson 4 & 3 while American rookie sensations Reed and Spieth battered Kaymer and Thomas Bjorn 5 & 3.

Overall, though, it is the Europeans who have one hand on the trophy as they bid for an eighth victory in 10 Ryder Cups.

"We've got a lot of really strong images in our team room, photos that have messages on the bottom of them and have been kind of doctored in a way to highlight it," said McGinley.

"One particular one that comes to mind is right outside our team room, it's a huge big one, probably two meters by three meters and it's a picture of a European rock in the middle of a raging storm in the ocean.

"The message underneath is: 'We will be the rock when the storm arrives' and that storm arrived this morning."

(Editing by Ed Osmond)

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TOP NEWS Russia at U.N. accuses U.S., allies of bossing world around

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UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia used its annual appearance at the U.N. General Assembly on Saturday to accuse the United States and its Western allies of bossing the world around, complaining they were attempting to dictate to everyone "what is good and evil."

The speech by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to the 193-nation assembly was the latest example of the deteriorating relations between Moscow and Western powers, which have imposed sanctions on Russia over the conflict in neighboring Ukraine.

"The U.S.-led Western alliance that portrays itself as a champion of democracy, rule of law and human rights within individual countries ... (is) rejecting the democratic principle of sovereign equality of states enshrined in the U.N. Charter and trying to decide for everyone what is good or evil," he said.

"Washington has openly declared its right to unilateral use of force anywhere to uphold its own interests," Lavrov added. "Military interference has become a norm - even despite the dismal outcome of all power operations that the U.S. has carried out over the recent years."

Lavrov cited the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo war, the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, and the 2011 NATO intervention in Libya that led to the toppling and death of longtime Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi as examples of U.S. failures.

Moscow has also criticized the United States over airstrikes against Islamic State, an Islamist militant group often referred that has taken over large areas of Syria and Iraq and is blamed for brutal slayings of civilians.

Russia on Friday questioned the legality of U.S. and Arab airstrikes in Syria to target Islamic State because the action was taken without the formal approval and cooperation of Moscow's ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

He reiterated Moscow's view that the United States and European Union "supported the coup d'etat in Ukraine" and that they were therefore responsible for the current conflict there.

A war involving pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine has killed more than 3,000 people. Kiev and Western governments say Russia has been arming, training and encouraging the militants, and had sent its own troops to Ukraine to tip the balance against Kiev.

Russia, which opposes the pro-Western course of leadership in the ex-Soviet republic, has denied that its troops have participated in the war or provided arms to rebels.

Separately, Lavrov demanded information about the state of Libya's chemical weapons arsenals after the Libyan government asked the global chemical weapons watchdog to draw up plans to ship a stockpile of 850 metric tons of chemicals overseas because of deteriorating security.

"We understand that our NATO colleagues after they bombed out this country in violation of (U.N. Security Council) resolution would not like to stir up the mayhem they created," Lavrov said. "However, the problem of uncontrolled Libyan chemical arsenals is too serious to turn a blind eye."

Western countries reject Russia's allegations they violated the 2011 U.N. resolution.

(Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Peter Cooney)

POLITICAL NEWS: Money talks: Obamacare initiative makes headway in Republican states

19:56 No comments

By David Morgan

HARRISBURG Pennsylvania (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's plan to extend health coverage to millions of poor Americans remains highly contentious, yet it is gaining momentum among several initially reluctant states where financial pragmatism is trumping ideology.

Up to a dozen states, including several led by Republicans, could move forward with plans to expand coverage under Medicaid after the November elections. They take their cue from Pennsylvania and other states that have won Washington's approval to add commercial innovations to the 50-year-old government program to make it more palatable to conservatives.

Obama's original idea of using tax money to expand Medicaid has long been a hot button for Republicans who portray the whole Obamacare healthcare overhaul as a form of socialism encroaching on American values of free enterprise and self-reliance. Texas Governor Rick Perry once said expanding Medicaid would be similar to "adding a thousand people to the Titanic."

But two things have led to a change of heart for some Republican politicians.

Most of the 27 states that are already expanding the program have begun to reap billions in federal subsidies for insurers, hospitals and healthcare providers, putting politicians elsewhere under intense pressure to follow suit.

As demonstrated by Pennsylvania's deal with Washington, the Obama administration has also proved willing to accept tweaks that give the private sector a greater role in providing healthcare and place new responsibilities on beneficiaries.

All of that has got as many as nine states talking to the administration about potential expansion terms, with the possibility of up to three more joining the fray depending on November's election outcomes. As a result, there could be even more pressure on Republican states that have opted out, providing critical mass for an initiative central to Obamacare.

Heading into the final two years of his presidency, Obama wants to cement his legacy, a big part of which is his pledge to reduce the number of uninsured Americans.

NEW WAVE

"Pennsylvania's the leading edge of what could be a new wave of expanding states," said Deborah Bachrach, a Medicaid expert at the law and consulting firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips.

"This would marginalize the non-expansion states to the considerable detriment of their citizens and put pressure on those who oppose expansion," she said.

Some states with Republican governors, such as Indiana, are negotiating with Washington for agreements that could pass political muster with conservatives back home. Others such as North Carolina, South Dakota and Wyoming are exploring options.

In Florida, Wisconsin and Maine, the outcome of the Nov. 4 election could bring a shift on Medicaid if Democrats win gubernatorial races there.

Administration officials have said they are committed to working with all states to expand the scheme and noted that the number of the uninsured has declined much more in states that have expanded Medicaid coverage.

A possible new wave of expansion comes as prospects for the broad Obamacare reform are also looking up. After a rocky start a year ago, research suggests that more than 10 million people have gained health coverage under the law.

But that momentum could get lost if Republicans win control of the U.S. Senate and begin pressuring Obama to scale back the reform.

Pennsylvania's turbulent journey into the Medicaid fold offers a possible template for others, including the possibility of a political reversal if Republican Governor Tom Corbett loses his reelection bid. In polls, he is well behind Democratic challenger Tom Wolf, who favors expanding Medicaid and keeping its traditional structure intact.

Corbett, who took part in a Supreme Court challenge to the Medicaid expansion, had opposed enlarging a government program without substantial change. A pro-Medicaid coalition of more than 100 groups responded with intense lobbying during the budget approval process in early 2013.

"We had advocacy days, drive-ins, invited lawmakers in to talk about what's important, encouraged people to talk to their local chambers of commerce and organized educational opportunities," said Paula Bussard, policy chief at the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, which represents 250 institutions.

A study by the RAND Corp predicted a $3 billion economic boost and the creation of 35,000 jobs – big advantages for a state that has struggled for decades to make up for jobs lost from the decline of the coal and steel industries.Corbett met in Washington with former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in April 2013 and a year of intensive talks followed.

Pennsylvania won approval for only a handful of the two dozen innovations it sought, such as permission to offer benefits through private insurers and impose premium charges on beneficiaries who earn more than the federal poverty level.

The program will also include incentives for beneficiaries to practice healthy behavior including screenings and set benefit packages according to commercial standards.

Pennsylvania officials say that while a compromise proved possible, that did not mean convergence in political positions.

"The administration comes from a different philosophical background," said Jennifer Branstetter, Corbett's policy chief. "They want to make sure that the program's there for everybody. And we want to make sure it's there if you need it."

Other Republican-led states hope the Obama administration will allow even greater flexibility.

"The hope is that they'll be less interested in the purity of their original vision and be more interested in cutting deals to get some of these things done," said Tony Venhuizen, spokesman for South Dakota's Republican Governor Dennis Daugaard, who has been open to a Medicaid expansion.

In some states, pro-expansion politicians are trying to win conservative support by pushing market-based innovations that over time could trim the cost of traditional Medicaid.

"Eventually, they could meld together," said Nebraska Senator Kathy Campbell, a Republican who has helped lead discussions with Washington.

But while the turning tide on Medicaid bodes well for Obamacare, Republicans refuse to concede any points in the ideological battle around the healthcare model.

(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Caren Bohan and Tomasz Janowski)

BUSINESS Gross begins second act as bond guru at tiny Janus fund

19:56 No comments

By Richard Leong

NEW YORK (Reuters) - For Bill Gross, quitting Pimco's $222 billion Total Return Fund to take over a $13 million fund at Janus Capital is like resigning the U.S. presidency to become city manager of Ashtabula, Ohio, population 18,800.

Gross stunned the investing world on Friday with his abrupt departure from Pimco, the $2 trillion asset manager he co-founded in 1971 and where he had run the Total Return Fund, the world's biggest bond fund, for more than 27 years.

Come Monday morning, Gross will join Denver-based Janus and next month will take over its Unconstrained Bond Fund, which was only organized in May. Janus is an asset management firm once known for picking hot Internet stocks.

"For Gross, this is a new slate albeit a small one," said Jeff Tjornehoj, senior analyst at Lipper Inc, a unit of Thomson Reuters.

Small may be overstating the Janus fund, at least in comparison with the Total Return behemoth. The relationship between the Janus Fund and the Total Return fund is the same as that of the population of Ashtabula with the population of the U.S.: 314 million.

At end of August, the Janus Unconstrained fund held only 45 debt issues with 70 percent of its assets in U.S. government debt. One Treasury issue due June 2016 alone was worth 43 percent of the fund's total assets. Most of the bonds have short durations, with the average maturity of just over three years, indicating a generally defensive posture.

The current managers of the Janus fund are head of fixed income Gibson Smith and portfolio manager Darrell Walters. It's billed to follow a strategy of "all-weather, credit-driven fixed income investing," according to Janus' website. (https://www.janus.com)

By comparison, the Pimco Total Return fund holds more than 6,000 securities, ranging from plain-vanilla Treasuries to complex credit derivatives. Forty-one percent of its holdings were in U.S. government-related securities with the rest spread among riskier debt, including mortgage-backed securities and corporate bonds.

LAGGARDS

The two funds do have something in common: weak performance.

While Gross more than earned his "Bond King" moniker by outperforming rivals and the broader bond market by a wide margin for most his career, his reputation as a shrewd bond picker has taken a hit in the past year or so.

Last year, Pimco's Total Return Fund suffered its biggest annual loss in almost 20 years, declining by a wider margin than the bond market as a whole, which was buffeted by the U.S. Federal Reserve's plans to dial back on its stimulus program.

This year, it has delivered a total return so far of 3.59 percent. Still, that lags the wider market as measured by the benchmark Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond index, which is up 4.19 percent. The fund is trailing 73 percent of its peers.

The Janus fund is doing even more poorly, however, stumbling out of the gate since its debut this spring. It lost 0.76 percent in the past three months compared with a 0.48 percent gain for the Barclays Agg, and lags 74 percent of its peers.

Getting this fund to grow will be a good measure of Gross's ability to attract money, analysts said. Gross' former Pimco colleague and Janus' chief executive Richard Weil said on Friday he'll look to Gross to build Janus' new global macro fixed income business. Until now, Janus is best remembered for its focus on technology stocks during the late 1990s dot-com boom.

"He could pull in a lot of money on reputation alone," said Tjornehoj, referring to Gross's long-term record and his widely read monthly investment newsletter at Pimco.

At Janus, Gross will also be free of the recent distractions that have beset him and his old firm.

A public falling out between Gross, 70, and former heir-apparent Mohamed El-Erian earlier this year is credited with intensifying investors' flight from the Total Return Fund. They have pulled $70 billion from the fund since last May.

On Wednesday, news surfaced that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Pimco inflated the returns of its $3.6 billion Total Return exchange-traded fund.

Turning around a nascent fund might not be too tall an order, analysts said. For instance, the ETF Gross ran at Pimco had performed much better than the far-larger mutual fund, gaining 6.38 percent over the last 12 months versus 5.19 percent for the mutual fund.

Fellow bond maven Jeffrey Gundlach, head of rival firm DoubleLine Capital, often called the "King of Bonds" as opposed to Gross' nickname of "Bond King," told Reuters he expects Gross to perform well at Janus because he "isn't managing a lot of money."

Still, if the move to Janus doesn't pan out, analysts are doubtful there's room for yet another reincarnation for Gross.

"I don't know if there's a third act for him," Lipper's Tjornehoj said.

(Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Dan Burns and John Pickering)

ENVIRONMENT NEWS: Japanese volcano kills one, over 30 seriously injured

19:56 No comments

By Antoni Slodkowski and Mari Saito

TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese volcano popular with hikers erupted on Saturday, killing one woman and seriously injuring more than 30 people, officials and media said.

The mountain draws walkers who come to admire the autumn colors on the trees.

"It was like thunder," a woman told public broadcaster NHK of the first eruption at the volcano in seven years. "I heard boom, boom, then everything went dark."

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the volcano, Mount Ontake, which straddles Nagano and Gifu prefectures 200 km (125 miles) west of Tokyo, erupted just before midday and sent ash pouring down the mountain's south slope for more than three km (two miles).

Tokyo's Haneda airport said incoming domestic flights were experiencing delays of about 40 to 50 minutes because they were forced to change routes. International flights to and from Haneda were not affected by the eruption, the airport said.

NHK, citing the local fire brigade, reported that one woman had been confirmed dead. More than 30 people were seriously injured and 10 of them were unconscious, it said.

According to police, more than 250 hikers at one stage had been stranded on the mountain, which is 3,067 meters (10,062 feet) high and last erupted in 2007. No nuclear power plants are located nearby.

NHK said about 230 hikers had made their way down the mountain, while 41 people remained stranded and were expected to try descending the next day.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who returned from the United States on Saturday, said he had ordered the military to help in rescue efforts.

"I instructed to do all we can to rescue the people affected and secure the safety of the trekkers," Abe told reporters.

Nagano police sent a team of 80 to the mountain to assist the climbers, while Kiso Prefectural Hospital, near the mountain, said it had dispatched a medical emergency team.

"We expect a lot of injured people so we are now getting ready for their arrival," said an official at the hospital.

As of 8:30 p.m. local time, the eruption was continuing, NHK said.

"It's all white outside, looks like it has snowed. There is very bad visibility and we can't see the top of the mountain," Mari Tezuka, who works at a mountain hut for trekkers, told Reuters.

"All we can do now is shut up the hut and then we are planning on coming down... This is a busy season because of the changing autumn leaves. It's one of our busiest seasons."

(Reporting by Antoni Slodkowski, Mari Saito and Kiyoshi Takenaka; Writing by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Additional reporting by Chris Gallagher; Editing by Nick Macfie and Stephen Powell)

EXCLUSIVE NEWS: How to get the best deal on a new mobile phone

15:49 No comments

Huge numbers of mobile phones are now being used in the UK
There are 83 million mobile phone contracts in the UK. In other words, there are a lot more mobiles than there are people.

And with two-thirds of UK residents now using a smartphone, what is the smartest way to get the best deal on a new mobile?
In just a few years, mobile phone makers have become household names, from Apple to Google, Samsung to Sony, and HTC to Motorola

They all launch their latest models with huge fanfare and glitzy advertising. But Gareth Beavis, from website TechRadar, who reviews phones and tablets for a living, says it is best for phone owners to avoid the hype if they want to save money.

Mobile phone manufacturers have slipped into a cycle of launching new phones in February or March and September, in time for the Christmas rush. He suggests that avoiding the purchase of a new phone when it is launched is sensible financially.

But he believes there is now very little to choose between the most popular makes, so he says picking a mobile really is about the best deal rather than brand loyalty.
Adding it up

Gareth Beavis says timing is important when buying and selling a phone
The experts' top tip for buying a mobile is to consider going "SIM-only". This just means buying the phone upfront and paying for a bundle of calls, texts and data on top of that each month.

This means an initial outlay of cash, but over the long-run it can save money and offer greater flexibility.

Mr Beavis advises doing the sums carefully. A two-year contract on the new Apple iPhone 6 with a major provider costs about £1,170, which is broken down into monthly instalments.

On a SIM-only deal, shoppers can pay for the new iPhone upfront for £539 and, over the two years, save £40.

But not every manufacturer is the same. Choose a Samsung Galaxy S5 or HTC One M8, and there are better deals with a contract than without.

Belinda Parmar, from creative agency Lady Geek, says it is not just contract versus SIM-only that should be considered. Customers should look at the network they pick, she says.

Although the UK is dominated by four big providers, there are others.

"There are some smaller networks like Giffgaff, where you get the same service. It is an O2 subsidiary, and you can get a better deal," she says.

Many customers routinely continue paying the same monthly tariff even after their contract has ended and they have paid off their phone. Again, that is a good time to drop down to a cheaper SIM-only deal, she says.

Text costs

Belinda Parmar says that family deals might be worth considering
Some 16% of households in the UK now only use a mobile phone rather than having a fixed landline, according to Ofcom research. Experts say these mobile users should pay close attention to their wi-fi.

Wi-fi can be used for free calls via web apps such as Skype, Facetime and Tango, but it is also useful for text messages. Users send an average of 170 text messages each per month in the UK and they usually cost money, according to Ms Parmer.

She suggests switching to an instant messenger service to start contacting friends and family for free.

It is also worth watching out for new group deals, she says. This is a fairly recent innovation in the UK that offers families one package with multiple phones.

Ms Parmer says that, as a mother, she loves the idea of having one bill and one provider. This is value for money and gives each member of the family their own bundle of texts, calls and data, she says.

A snazzy smartphone is also worth looking after. There is now a lucrative second-hand market online, and through major retailers, for old smartphones. Mr Beavis suggests the best time to sell an old handset is just before the launch of a new model.

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FOOTBALL UPDATE: Chelsea 3-0 Aston Villa

14:54 No comments

FT 90' +4
HT 1-0

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Date: Saturday, 27th September
Kick off: 15:00
Venue: Stamford Bridge

Key events
Chelsea
Goal Oscar 7'
Chelsea
Goal Diego Costa 59'
Chelsea
Goal Willian 79'

Match details

27 September 2014 Updated 17:43
By Saj Chowdhury - BBC Sport

Diego Costa was rested for the League Cup tie but returned with a goal and assist

Chelsea remain three points clear at the top

Costa returns to score his eighth this season

Villa concede their first away goals of 2014-15

Diego Costa's outstanding start to his career at Chelsea continued as he grabbed his eighth goal to help the leaders to victory against Aston Villa.
The Spain striker then created another as Jose Mourinho's side secured their fifth win of the season.

Oscar was first on the scoresheet when he tapped in after Willian's shot was saved by Brad Guzan.

Costa added a second with a header before his jinking run and shot led to Willian's goal from close range.

Although the scoreline suggests it was a stroll for Chelsea, for long periods the attack had been suppressed by a disciplined Villa defence.

Nevertheless, even against a stingy backline, the Blues added another three goals to this season's tally to remain the league's leading scorers with 19 in six matches.

The win also means Mourinho's team are one of four unbeaten sides across all the four divisions with 16 points from a possible 18.

They took a while to insert their dominance against Villa, so would have been grateful for the breakthrough in the seventh minute.

Jose Mourinho's (right) team have yet to lose in eight matches in all competitions this season
On that occasion, full-back Branislav Ivanovic slipped a pass down the left into the path of Willian, whose initial shot was saved by American Guzan.

However, the ball returned to the former Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder who found Oscar, with the 23-year-old adding the final touch from close range.

Up until the second goal, Villa had kept up with Chelsea's attack and restricted them for space. Costa, in particular, looked a frustrated figure in attack.

Doubts still surround whether he has fully recovered from a hamstring injury, although he showed how effective he can be with careful management.

He should have scored in the first half, when he headed Willian's brilliant delivery straight at Guzan. However, he beat the Villa keeper with a similar effort just before the hour mark.

With his tail up, Costa appeared to move with more purpose and a dazzling run in the area led to the third.

Cesc Fabregas, who had a quiet game playing in a deeper midfield position, delivered a sumptuous cross-field pass for his Spain team-mate.

The former Atletico Madrid striker confused Philippe Senderos with his footwork before firing a low shot that was saved by Guzan, but then poked in by Willian.

Costa was brought off to a standing ovation. He is already proving to be an integral figure in Chelsea's title challenge.

Villa, whose best chance came in the first half when Aly Cissokho hooked wide, face another stiff test next week - at home to Manchester City.

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert:
"We were well in that game. I couldn't fault my own team. We gave it a right good go.

"When you come to places like this, when you get a chance, you've got to score.

"With Nathan's [Baker] header, Fabian's [Delph] couple of shots, [Aly] Cissokho at the back post, you've got to score.

"If you get beat, you've got to leave here with your confidence intact, which we certainly are.

"Performance-wise, other than trying to get a goal, I couldn't ask for any more."
Actors David Walliams (left) and Samuel L Jackson (right) take their places for Saturday match

Villa had suffered only one league defeat coming to Stamford Bridge
Oscar began the scoring in the first half at Stamford Bridge

Diego Costa scored the second before Willian, who helped set up the first, taps in the third for Chelsea

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FOOTBALL UPDATE: Arsenal fight back to earn draw with Tottenham Hotspur

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Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham
FT 90' +6
HT 0-0

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Date: Saturday, 27th September
Kick off: 17:30
Venue: Emirates Stadium

Key events
Tottenham Hotspur
Goal Chadli 56'

Arsenal
Goal Oxlade-Chamberlain 74'

Close Match details
By Phil McNulty - Chief football writer

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's strike kept Arsenal above Tottenham in the table
Oxlade-Chamberlain scores first goal of the season

Ramsey and Arteta go off injured
Arsenal enjoy 69% possession
Spurs have six shots to Arsenal's 16
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ensured honours were even as Arsenal and Tottenham fought out an entertaining north London derby at Emirates.

Nacer Chadli's fourth goal in five Premier League appearances this season gave Spurs the lead early in the second half, but Oxlade-Chamberlain hit back with 15 minutes to go.

Arsenal, disrupted by first-half injuries to Mikel Arteta and Aaron Ramsey, pressed for a winner but Mauricio Pochettino's side stood strong in defence and ultimately a draw was the right result.

The result moves Arsenal into the top four behind predictable pace-setters Chelsea and Manchester City, as well as Southampton, who continue their excellent start to the season.

Spurs boss Pochettino confessed his disappointment at the manner of his side's display in the home defeat to West Bromwich Albion last weekend but there was plenty on show here to satisfy the Argentine.

And Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger, while perhaps wanting more than a draw at home, will also have been pleased at the resilience they showed in the face of the enforced changes that had an impact on their rhythm.

Alexis Sanchez's relegation to the bench was surprising, given his early influence on Arsenal's season, but the Chilean has had a busy schedule following his £32m summer move from Barcelona.

Nacer Chadli scored his fourth goal in five Premier League appearances this season for Spurs

The main feature of the first half was Pochettino's constant technical area exhortations for his players to press Arsenal in possession, a demand that led to very visible rebukes for Christian Eriksen and Emmanuel Adebayor within seconds in the opening half.

Adebayor will have further drawn his manager's disapproval when he dawdled over a clear chance with time and space inside Arsenal's area, while Chadli was also wasteful when in a good position.

Arsenal's were hit by those injuries to Arteta and Ramsey, which necessitated their replacement by Mathieu Flamini and Santi Cazorla before half-time. Jack Wilshere also required lengthy treatment after turning his right ankle.

Aaron Ramsey had to be substituted due to a hamstring problem just before the break

The main moment of danger to Spurs came when clever footwork from Ramsey to set up Oxlade-Chamberlain, but his shot from the edge of the area was well saved by keeper Hugo Lloris.

Pochettino's message to Eriksen about putting Arsenal under pressure was understood and it played a key role as Spurs went ahead 11 minutes after the interval. The Dane pinched possession from Flamini and played in Chadli to finish cooly.

Arsenal's response was instant and Lloris pulled off a magnificent save low down to keep out Per Mertesacker's header - but Spurs were unable to survive renewed pressure from the Gunners and the equaliser came after 75 minutes.

Sanchez - on for Wilshere - crossed and Danny Welbeck's wild air shot in front of goal wrong-footed the Spurs defence, leaving Oxlade-Chamberlain to lash high past Lloris.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger: "I am frustrated because we dropped two points and I am frustrated because we didn't make enough of our set-pieces. You want to be rewarded for the work you put in.

When asked if Ramsey and Arteta would be fit for the Champions League game on Wednesday, Wenger said: "No chance. If it is a muscular problem I don' t see how they can be fit in five or six days time."

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino: "I think it is a good result for us. Maybe Arsenal controlled the game and had the ball more than us but we played well and defended well.

"We scored a great goal. This is our philosophy, which is difficult to keep for 90 minutes at the moment, but we are on our way."

There was plenty of action but little quality in the first half at the Emirates

Tottenham scored the opening goal but had only four shots on target during the match

Younes Kaboul was excellent at the heart of Tottenham's busy defence

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain earned Arsenal a point with his first goal of the season

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