Obama and China's Hu discuss nuclear Iran in phone call

President Obama has made a direct appeal to Chinese President Hu Jintao for the two countries to co-operate on the Iranian nuclear issue.

In an hour-long phone call Mr Obama stressed "the importance of working together to ensure that Iran lives up to its... obligations," the US said.
Their talks came as Iran's top nuclear official, Saeed Jalili, was in China for talks.
Beijing agreed that sanctions were "not effective", Mr Jalili said.
"In our talks with China it was agreed that tools such as sanctions have lost their effectiveness,"
International sanctions would not prevent Iran from pursuing its nuclear activities, he told reporters in Beijing.
Chinese officials have not commented after the talks.

China's foreign minister has said he still hopes the nuclear issue can be resolved through negotiations.
Serious talks
China's President Hu called for "healthy and stable" relations with the US during the telephone call with Mr Obama.
The two leaders also discussed Taiwan and the importance of implementing G20 agreements to boost economic growth.
The exchange capped a week of easing tensions between the two big powers who have recently had high-profile disagreements over Tibet, trade and Taiwan.

But in the brewing confrontation between the west and Iran over its nuclear programme, China is now key to what happens next, says a local news channel, in Beijing.
Earlier this week President Obama said he wanted to see new UN sanctions on Iran "within weeks".
China, a veto-wielding UN Security Council member with strong ties to Iran, has in the past expressed reluctance to see new sanctions imposed.
However the US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, said on Thursday that China had indicated it was ready to hold "serious" talks with Western powers on a new UN resolution.
Western powers claim Iran seeks nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.
Strained ties
The US and China have disagreed recently over Tibet and Taiwan.
Mr Hu warned Mr Obama not to antagonise Beijing on the issues, China's foreign ministry said.

"Hu stressed the Taiwan and Tibet issues concern China's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and China's core interests, and properly dealing with these issues is key to ensuring the healthy and stable development of Sino-US relations," said a ministry statement.
China was upset when Mr Obama met Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, in February. It was also angered by Taiwan securing a weapons deal from the US.
The US has supported the internet search company Google in its concerns over censorship in China, and other trade rows persist.
However, Beijing did allow the visit of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz to Hong Kong in February.
One issue where China and US are in agreement is the need to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table over plans to end its nuclear programmes.

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Facebook claimants vow to continue legal action

The two Americans who were awarded millions of dollars after claiming they had come up with the idea for Facebook say their legal battle isn't over.

Cameron and Tyler Winkelvoss studied at Harvard University alongside Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, where they started a site called ConnectU.
In 2008 a protracted legal battle between the two sides ended with the payment of an undisclosed sum.
Facebook said that that it now considers "the matter concluded".
The Winkelvoss twins spoke to the a TV channel on the eve of the Boat Race, in which they will both row for Oxford.
Cameron Winkelvoss refused to confirm the extent of the 2008 settlement - thought to be $65m - but said: "I think it is safe to say the chapter is not closed on the matter."
Social network shock
His brother Tyler said: "It's our duty to stand for principles. We're willing to wait around and make sure that's what right has been made right."

The two brothers started work on ConnectU in 2003. They thought that computer science student Mark Zuckerberg was working with them, until he launched a similar site called thefacebook.com.
Mr Zuckerberg's site became hugely popular on the Harvard campus and then, under the name Facebook, turned into a global success.
"It was really just a sense of shock, " said Tyler Winkelvoss. "It turned into how can we right this wrong."
The settlement of the battle between Facebook and ConnectU involved the award of Facebook shares to the Winkelvoss twins.
The continuing dispute appears to centre on the value of those shares in a company which has not been publicly floated.
In a statement about the dispute Facebook told the local news channel:
"The settlement has been enforced by the courts and attempts to delay that decision have been denied twice.
"We hope that discussion of spurious and false allegations and other matters that were concluded years ago are not distracting anyone from their preparations for the race. We consider the matter concluded."
The brothers also revealed that after years of avoiding the social network they themselves have joined Facebook.
"We weren't on it for a long period of time," said Cameron Winkelvoss. "But it's a utility and we're deserving to take part in that. It's a great way to keep in touch with people back home."

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US manufacturing output hits a six-year high

The US manufacturing sector expanded in March at its fastest rate for six years, a report has said.

The Institute for Supply Management's purchasing managers index rose to 59.6 points last month, up from 56.5 in February.
A figure of 50 or above represents growth, and March was the eighth month in succession that US manufacturers have increased their output.
It comes after China and European nations also saw higher factory output.
UK manufacturing activity grew at its fastest for 15 years in March, according to a survey by Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply.

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Afghan president Karzai accuses UN over election fraud

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has accused foreign election observers of fraud during last year's disputed vote.

Fraud had been widespread, Mr Karzai conceded, but he blamed foreigners for it, saying the UN was its focal point.
Mr Karzai singled out Peter Galbraith, the then deputy head of the UN mission, who he said had organised the fraud.
He accused Mr Galbraith of feeding details to the international media in an attempt to blacken his name. Mr Galbraith called the claim incredible.
"There was fraud in the presidential and provincial election, with no doubt there was massive fraud," he said.
"This wasn't fraud by Afghans but the fraud of foreigners, the fraud of Galbraith, or (head of the EU's observers Philippe) Morillon, and the votes of the Afghan nation were in the control of an embassy."
He told a news channel the suggestion that the UN had stolen votes also served as a sharp reminder of the fraud that dogged the election.
Mr Galbraith, a former US diplomat, was dismissed last year after alleging that the UN was not doing enough to combat fraud in the election.
He told a news channel the charges against him were "absurd".
"At first I thought it was an April Fool's joke but I realised I don't have that kind of warm, personal relationship with President Karzai that he would do that," he said.

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Russian president makes surprise visit to Dagestan

Russia's president has made a surprise visit to Dagestan, a day after 12 people were killed in a double suicide attack in the North Caucasus republic.

Dmitry Medvedev called for "tough, severe and preventative" anti-terrorism tactics at talks with regional leaders.
Funerals are meanwhile being held in Moscow for most of the 39 people killed on Monday when two suicide bombers blew themselves up on the city's Metro.
A rebel Chechen leader, Doku Umarov, has said he ordered the attack.
In a video message posted on a rebel website, he purportedly said they were carried out to avenge the killings of Chechens by federal security forces in February, and warned Russians to prepare for more.
Investigators had already said they believed the women who blew themselves up in Moscow were linked to North Caucasus militants

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Guinea-Bissau army head 'seized'

A group of army officers in Guinea-Bissau is reported to have detained the chief of staff and the prime minister.

After several hours, Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior was freed after hundreds of people gathered in front of his office, calling for his release.
The whereabouts of President Malam Bacai Sanha are unknown but a TV channel  says his office is quiet.
The situation is extremely unclear and telephone lines are not working. The country has had several previous coups.
Guinea-Bissau has also become a major centre for trafficking cocaine from Latin America to Europe.
National radio interrupted its programmes to play military music, which correspondent say is code for a coup.
Heavily armed troops attempted to gain access to the UN headquarters, where a former head of the navy had fled.
Former President Nino Viera was killed in March 2009 by a group of soldiers just hours after the army chief of staff was blown up by a bomb.
President Sanha won elections held three months later.

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Iran nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri 'defects to US'

An Iranian nuclear scientist who has been missing since June has defected to the US, according to a US media report.

ABC News said Shahram Amiri had been resettled in the US and was helping the CIA in its efforts to block Iran's nuclear programme.
Mr Amiri disappeared in Saudi Arabia while on a Muslim pilgrimage.
Iran accused the US of abducting him but Washington denied any knowledge of the scientist. The CIA has declined to comment on the latest report.
Mr Amiri worked as a researcher at Tehran's Malek Ashtar University, according to Iran's state-run Press TV channel.
However, some reports said he had also been employed by Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, and had wanted to seek asylum abroad.
CIA operation?
The US and its Western allies suspect Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons - a claim denied by Tehran.
According to ABC, the scientist has been extensively debriefed, and has helped to confirm US intelligence assessments about the Iranian nuclear programme.
His defection was apparently the result of a wider operation, under which the US has been approaching Iranian scientists, sometimes through relatives living in America, to try to persuade them to defect.
By making this defection public, it appears the Americans are putting more psychological pressure on the Iranian authorities, says the a news channel in Tehran correspondent Jon Leyne, who is in London.
Iran's nuclear programme is the subject of extensive intelligence work in the West with the aims of gathering information on it, preventing Iran buying equipment for it and, reportedly, sabotaging the programme by selling Iran defective parts on the black market, our correspondent says.
Quite how important Mr Amiri is, or what information he can provide, has not emerged, our correspondent adds.

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Kapoor designs 2012 Orbit tower

A spiralling sculpture designed by Turner Prize-winning artist Anish Kapoor has been chosen as the monument to mark the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The 115m tall piece, named the ArcelorMittal Orbit, will be placed in the Olympic Park and will be 22m higher than New York's Statue of Liberty.
The £19.1m design incorporates the five Olympic rings and will offer visitors panoramic views of London.
London Mayor Boris Johnson revealed plans for the tower on Wednesday.
"I am deeply honoured to be invited to undertake this challenging commission," Kapoor said.
"I am particularly attracted to it because of the opportunity to involve members of the public in a particularly close and personal way. It is the commission of a lifetime."
The artist will work with leading structural designer, Cecil Balmond of engineering firm Arup.
Organisers said Balmond had worked on "some of the greatest contemporary buildings in the world", including the CCTV building in Beijing, as well as numerous Serpentine Gallery pavilion commissions.
''Long after the Games are over, our aim is to have a stunning spectacle in east London that will be recognised around the world," Mr Johnson said.
"Anish Kapoor's inspired art work will truly encapsulate the energy and spirit of London during the Games and, as such, will become the perfect iconic cultural legacy."
Steel company ArcelorMittal - owned by steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal - will fund up to £16m of the project with £3.1m provided by the London Development Agency.

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BT flood knocks out broadband and phone services

A major flood at a BT exchange in Paddington, London has affected broadband and telephone services across the UK.

In a statement BT said it could not predict when either service would be restored.
"Tens of thousands" of customers have been affected, said the firm, with the majority in north and west London.
London Fire Brigade attended the incident at 7.30am on 31 March. The flood was caused by an electric fault.
The fault also caused a fire.
The BBC was alerted to the fault by IT consultant Jerry Sanders, who said customers as far afield as Potters Bar, Hertfordshire and Nottingham were reporting problems with Pipex UK broadband coverage.
Pipex UK's parent company TalkTalk said that its service had been affected by the incident.
Some mobile phone services may also be affected, a BT spokesperson said.

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Meningitis vaccine gives travellers immunity

A new meningitis vaccine which protects against four major strains of the disease is available in Europe for the first time.

The vaccine, called Menveo, is likely to be used as a travel vaccine to protect people from contracting meningitis in sub-Saharan Africa.
A large section of Africa is known as the Meningitis Belt because of the severity of meningitis epidemics there.
The vaccine will offer longer lasting protection against the disease.
The new vaccine is a conjugate vaccine which can bring about herd immunity - that is, it can protect people who have not been vaccinated by cutting circulating levels of the bacteria in the community.
It also offers better protection in infants and young children.
Widespread cases
The predominant strains of meningitis vary across the world.
In certain parts of Africa the A strain causes a huge toll of illness and death. Cases of W-135, once considered rare, are also increasing.
 The Y-strain is common in the US and is increasingly being seen in South America.
Researchers have begun to warn that epidemics are occurring in countries like Tanzania, Kenya and Namibia too.
Widespread cases have also been seen in some parts of South Africa.
The next step
Dr Jane Zuckerman is director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Travel Medicine at the University College London Medical School.
She said: "Travellers should consider visiting a specialist travel health centre where they can be advised and provided with expert knowledge on the diseases they might be exposed to and the vaccines and medicines they require to keep well."
Children in the UK have been routinely vaccinated against meningitis C since 2000, but there is no routine vaccination in the UK against the other strains.
Linda Glennie, who is head of research at the Meningitis Research Foundation, welcomed the new vaccine.
She said the next step was to find out "if this vaccine has a potential wider use than just travel".
Menveo is made by Novartis Vaccine and Diagnostics and has a licence for use in people aged 11 years and over.
At least one other drug company is expected to launch a similar vaccine soon.

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