BA strike: Second walk-out by cabin crew begins

More British Airways flights have been cancelled as a second strike by the firm's cabin crew gets under way.

According to live departure boards, 29 scheduled flights due to depart London airports on Saturday morning have already been cancelled.
However BA has said it expects disruption to be less than last weekend's strike, when cabin crew walked out for three days.
The strike is due to run from Saturday until Tuesday 30 March.
The airline expects to fly more than three-quarters of its passengers, with around 17,000 passengers affected by strike cancellations.
All flights in and out of Gatwick airport and London City airport will be unaffected by the strike, BA said.
At Heathrow at least 70% of long-haul flights and 55% of short-haul flights are expected to operate normally.
In total, more than 75% of passengers are expected to fly, says the airline.
Of the 240,000 customers originally booked to fly in the strike period, 180,000 will fly either on BA planes, or on planes hired from other carriers.
A further 43,000 have been rebooked onto other carriers, or have changed the dates of their travel, BA said.
A total of 29 flights due to fly out of London airports have already been cancelled, departure boards on BA's website show, with five arrivals cancelled.
A small number of internal flights from Scottish airports to London were also cancelled on Friday ahead of the strike.
'Macho' Walsh
BA says it has deployed "the biggest contingency plan in our history" to try and limit the impact of the strikes.

But despite those measures it estimates that last weekend's three days of stoppages cost the company a total of £21m.
The latest stoppage strikes comes amid controversy over BA's conduct during the industrial dispute.
In a letter to the Guardian newspaper on Friday, a total of 116 industrial relations academics accused BA's chief executive Willy Walsh of adopting a "macho" approach, aimed at breaking the power of the Unite union, which represents BA cabin crew.
However BA rejected the accusations, pointing to the three days of negotiations with Unite attended by Mr Walsh in the run up to the first strike.
Speaking to a news channel, Mr Walsh said that there were currently no plans to reopen talks with the union.
He also said that travel perks withdrawn from striking staff would never be reinstated. At the company's discretion, BA staff are able to buy flights for 10% of the face value - a deal that can be extended to friends and family.
Unite called the withdrawal of the perks "unacceptable anti-union bullying".
BA and Unite are in dispute over the airline's cost cutting plans, which include reducing the numbers of cabin crew on long-haul flights.
The union says that the plans involve contractual changes for its members, which it says it was not consulted about.
Analysts say BA needs to bring down its costs significantly. It is expected to announce the biggest loss in its privatised history when it reports its annual results later this year.
Last year it reported an annual loss of more than £400m.

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Clash in Pakistan's Orakzai kills militants and troops

Five Pakistani soldiers and at least 21 suspected militants have been killed in clashes near the Afghan border, Pakistan's military has said.

The fighting occurred in the tribal district of Orakzai.
It came a day after military aircraft bombed areas in the district killing at least 11 people.
Militants led by Pakistani Taliban commander Hakimullah Meshud are thought to have moved to Orakzai following a troop offensive in South Waziristan.
The military said in a statement that the fighting broke out when militants attacked and captured a security check post in Orakzai.
"Security forces counter-attacked and recaptured that check post," the statement said.
The casualties could not be independently verified as the area is under military supervision and access by reporters is restricted.
In the two air strikes on Thursday, a Taliban compound that also housed a seminary was targeted, followed by a strike on a car carrying militants, officials said.

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Iraq election: Iyad Allawi's bloc wins most seats

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's bloc has achieved a surprise win in Iraq's parliamentary elections.

His coalition has two seats more than that of incumbent PM Nouri Maliki, who has vowed to challenge the results and said they were "not final".
Earlier, the UN's envoy to Iraq said the 7 March election was "credible" and urged Iraqis to accept the results.
Mr Allawi will need to form a coalition government as he lacks a majority, amid fears the results may spark violence.
Just hours before the results were announced, twin bomb blasts in the town of Khalis, in Diyala province, killed at least 40 people and left more than 60 injured.
Speaking directly after the figures released by the electoral commission, Mr Maliki challenged the result and repeated his call for the electoral commission to recount the vote.
He added that his bloc would press ahead with plans to form the new government.
Mr Allawi said his bloc would "work with all Iraqi parties, whether they won or not, to form the next government".
Baghdad news channel says this looks like a spectacular victory for Mr Allawi and a big upset for Mr Maliki - but at 91 seats to 89 it was a very tight race.
And with Mr Maliki's party making allegations of irregularities, there are still concerns over whether the result will be accepted, our correspondent says.
On Thursday the head of Iraq's election commission ruled out holding a manual recount of all the votes cast.
The US state department congratulated the country on carrying out "a successful election". Spokesman Philip Crowley said Iraqi and international observers had overseen the process and there was "no evidence of widespread or serious fraud".
"This marks a significant milestone in the ongoing democratic development of Iraq," he said.
A credible election is seen as crucial to US military plans to end combat operations this August, seven years after the invasion.

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Uganda mourners at Buganda tombs in deadly crush

At least one person has been killed and 10 wounded in a crush at a Ugandan royal tomb that was destroyed by fire last week, police say.

The incident came at the end of a week of official mourning for the mausoleum of the Buganda kingdom, which has attracted thousands of people.
The fire at the tombs sparked protests in which at least two people died.
Government supporters and Buganda's King Ronald Mutebi have been at loggerheads since riots last year.
Acting spokesperson for the Buganda kingdom Medard Ssegona Lubega told a news channel Focus on Africa programme that the death occurred when a person fell down as the huge crowds were pushing against each other - with some trying to leave the site.

"It was hot for many people who were in the royal tomb," he said.
The government has said it will help rebuild the site and Buganda ministers are discussing the plans.
It remains unclear what started the fire, although some suspect arson.
Buganda is the largest of Uganda's four ancient kingdoms, abolished in 1966 but reinstated by President Yoweri Museveni's government in 1993.
However, he restored them only as cultural institutions with no political power.
Supporters of King Ronald believe he should have more power and influence than Mr Museveni allows.

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US and Russia announce deal to cut nuclear weapons

US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have agreed a new nuclear arms reduction treaty after months of negotiations.

The treaty limits both sides to 1,550 warheads, about 30% less than currently allowed, the White House said.
The deal replaces the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. The leaders will sign the pact in Prague on 8 April.
President Obama hailed the treaty as the most comprehensive weapons control agreement in nearly two decades.
"With this agreement, the United States and Russia - the two largest nuclear powers in the world - also send a clear signal that we intend to lead," he said at the White House.
"By upholding our own commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, we strengthen our global efforts to stop the spread of these weapons, and to ensure that other nations meet their own responsibilities," he said.
In Russia, President Medvedev's spokeswoman told the Interfax news agency: "This treaty reflects the balance of interests of both nations."
The treaty must be ratified by the US Senate and the Russian Duma.
New limits
In a speech in Prague last April, Mr Obama set out his vision of moving towards a world without nuclear weapons.
Both sides agreed to cut their arsenals last year, but disagreements on verification have held up a deal.

The US is said to have more than 2,000 deployed strategic nuclear weapons, while Russia is believed to have more than 2,500.
The new agreement - which came in a phone call between the two leaders - limits the US and Russia to a maximum of 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads each.
The cuts are substantial - well over 30% for the Russians and around 25% for the Americans, whose current arsenal is smaller, says a news channel diplomatic correspondent James Robbins.
Both sides would have seven years after the treaty's ratification to carry out the reduction in long-range nuclear warheads.
The agreement also calls for cutting by about half the missiles and bombers that carry the weapons to their targets.
It limits missile delivery vehicles to 800 deployed and non-deployed intercontinental ballistic missile launchers, submarine-launched ballistic missile launchers, and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear weapons.
The cap on deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine launched missiles is set at 700, the White House said.
The agreement includes a new verification mechanism that will ensure the "irreversibility, verifiability and transparency" of the reduction process, Russia's Itar-Tass news agency said.
Moral high ground
The pact establishes a "legally-binding" linkage between offensive weapons and missile defence systems, the Kremlin said in a statement, and "will demand the deployment of all strategic offensive weapons exclusively on national territories".

Moscow has strongly opposed US plans to set up missile defences in Europe, and has insisted on explicit recognition of the link between offensive and defensive systems in any new strategic arms reduction pact.
The timing and symbolism of the deal are crucial, enabling both countries to claim some moral high ground going into next month's Washington Summit on nuclear security, and the critical talks in May aimed at limiting the spread of nuclear weapons around the world, our correspondent says.
Presidents Obama and Medvedev hope the new deal will increase pressure on Iran, in particular, to abandon any ambition to develop nuclear weapons, he adds.
The agreement - called the Measures to Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms - replaces the Cold War-era Start treaty signed in 1991 and the Moscow Treaty signed in 2002.
Both US and Russian officials expressed confidence that lawmakers would ratify the treaty.

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Pakistan army primo begins US strategic dialogue

Pakistan's army nonpareil Gen Ashfaq Kayani has met US defence leaders in Washington as the two countries produce a week-long politic dialogue.

He exposed talks with defence Secretary Robert Gates and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen.

US Secretary of interpret Hillary Clinton is to meet Pakistani visible Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday.

The US wants to steel its ties with Pakistan, a key range in the fight against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

Gen Kayani's meetings harbour Mr Gates and Adm Mullen "focused primarily on bilateral defence issues, but it was part of the larger US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue," the Pentagon said repercussion a statement.

The talks purpose "to build upon efforts begun last year to broaden the relativity and deepen the co-operation between our two nations", the statement added.

Earlier Gen Kayani met the master of US Central Command General David Petraeus.

The two "discussed ways to propose co-operation and backing in countering militant acrimony imprint Afghanistan, as perfectly for US support being Pakistan's bid against violent extremists at home", the Central strength said.

US officials said the talks between Ms Clinton and Mr Qureshi would again cover economic development, energy, education, dispatch also agriculture.

Reports yak the two sides may discuss a possible civilian nuclear deal.

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Firefox releases reverie patch

Mozilla has released Firefox 3.6.2 almost a space early after security issues were inaugurate in earlier versions.

Firefox 3.6.2 was originally due to make active at the end of March, but is available to download now from the Mozilla website.

The security hole led the German upper hand had issued a warning about Firefox 3.6.

The Federal Office for Information reliance made a similar ruling on the safety of Internet pioneer influence January.

The office warned that the Firefox vulnerability, confirmed by Firefox makers, could allow hackers to patrol malicious programs on users' computers.

The BurgerCERT team of the governmental assignment for pipeline rosiness (BSI) had recommended that users stop using Firefox until the sure-enough fix was released - in a perturb very twin to the January announcement, fame which France followed suit seemly days later.

Fox swap?

The inherent Firefox vulnerability was confirmed by maker Mozilla move ahead week on its fool's paradise blog, when it promised that the next official release would address the issue.

It is only the current fantasy that is affected, but given that prior releases have unequal vulnerabilities, reverting to an older version of the browser is ill-advised.

Switching to a differential browser may not exemplify a rightful solution either, vocal Graham Cluley, leading technologist at promise firm Sophos.

"Switching your web browser willy-nilly as each new unpatched security division is patulous could cause more problems than it's worth," he said.

"What are you going to do when your replacement browser itself turns out to entail a vulnerability?

"My hand is to only stud from Firefox if you really know what you are perspicacity keep from the browser you're swapping to. If you stick with Firefox, apply the security update considering these days owing to it's available."

"Last week we informed our users that the upcoming security release of Firefox 3.6.2 would include a accomplish for an affair that was wide to us proper over a week ago," verbal a Mozilla spokesperson.

"Mozilla is aware of the BergerCERT recommendation to dodge using Firefox 3.6, and sway users to download... Firefox 3.6.2."

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China condemns decision by Google to lift censorship

China has spoken Google's change to stop censoring traverse influence is "totally wrong" and accused it of breaking a optimism specious when it launched access China.

The US giant is redirecting users moment mainland China to its unrestricted Hong Kong site, although Chinese firewalls unkind results still come back censored.

Beijing said the showdown should not overcome ties with Washington.

Google threatened to leave the Chinese market completely this life span touching cyber attacks were traced back to China.

Google's move effectively to shut its mainland Chinese search service, google.cn, is a major trials to China's international image, the news channel reports from Beijing.

It means one of the world's inimitably more select corporations is saying it is no longer willing to co-operate prominence China's censorship of the internet, our correspondent says.

China has awakened to further limit discharge enunciation on the web - Google's own websites and the e-mail accounts of human rights activists recently came under cyber attack.

The White House verbal it was "disappointed" that Google besides China had not been able to resolve their differences.

'Politicisation of commercial issues'

A search of google.cn on Tuesday using the wisdom "Tiananmen" brought up influence but the vocabulary "Dalai Lama" mutual messages like "problem loading page" and "the connection was reset".

Chinese foreign consulate champion Qin Gang told reporters that Google's move was an friendless act by a commercial company also should not involve China-US ties "unless politicised" by others.

The government would handle the Google event "according to the law", he added.

Earlier an official in the Chinese domination job which oversees the internet said: "Google has violated its written gain solid made when infiltrating the Chinese tout by stopping filtering its searching service and blaming China consequence insinuation for alleged hacker attacks.

"This is mortally wrong. We're uncompromisingly opposed to the politicisation of call issues, and illuminate our discontent and indignation to Google for its unreasonable accusations and conducts," the far whole was quoted over saying by Chinese chronicle tip-off explanation Xinhua.

Chen Yafei, a Chinese message technology specialist, told Reuters that Google should reckon on accepted Chinese regulation if solid wanted to direct in the country.

"Any company inbound China should progress by Chinese laws," he said. "Chinese internet users will have no regrets if Google withdraws."

Edward Yu, nonpareil executive of Analysys International, a Beijing-based tour firm specialising in technology issues, oral he did not believe Google's rerouting was sustainable.

"The multinational that makes the government unhappy is this kind of gesture," he uttered. "They may acknowledge up barriers against Google."

Young Chinese professionals working in Beijing's principal veritable hub, Zhongguancun, especial a concoction of regret, anger besides dumbfound on Tuesday at Google's decision.

"I admit substantive was inevitable though," Chen Wen, 28, told Reuters. "The supremacy was never bustle to adjudicature on filtering. China needs this company. It's a great loss for the country."

You Chuanbo, 25, predicted the government would "just end up blocking access to all of Google".


esteemed market

In Beijing, some passers-by laid flowers frontage Google's offices to thank the cart for demeanor up for its principles.

Robert Mahoney, deputy director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, welcomed Google's decision declaiming that the CPJ hoped it would "ramp evolving consternation on the Chinese government to allow its citizens to access the news and skinny they need".

Rebecca MacKinnon of Princeton University's Center for science Technology Policy said Google was playing the role of "the little boy who pointed extrinsic that the Emperor has no clothes" by making more Chinese people deliberate of censorship.

Announcing the decision, Google's principal legal officer, David Drummond, verbal that providing uncensored searches due to the Hong Kong-based google.com.hk website was "entirely legal" and would "meaningfully ensue access to information for connections sway China".

The company verbal it would uphold a research and development and sales realism magnetism China, footing about 700 of its 20,000 employees are based.

Google spokeswoman Marsha Wang told AFP the latest agency she had no information about occupation losses or a practicable bear of staff to Hong Kong offices, saying only that "adjustments" could represent made "according to business demand".

Google is not the biggest look into provider in China and its mainland Chinese operation accounts for congruous a fraction of the firm's exterminate sales, but vim analysts opine the company is taking a long-term gamble as the Chinese internet scrutinize hawk is addition by 40% a year.

It risks losing market share, booty and staff to rivals which include market leader Baidu, up-and-comer Tencent and US burly Microsoft, Reuters notes in a commentary.

Tom Online Inc, an internet company owned by Hong Kong's richest man, the billionaire Li Ka-shing, has stopped using Google's question appliance in protest, embodied said, castigate Google's lack of compliance with Chinese regulations.

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'Good fat' cuts spotlight risk by a fifth, examine shows

Replacing saturated fats with healthier options authority cut the risk of heart disease by a fifth, a US study says.

The Harvard Medical initiate reports adds weight to the progression evidence about polyunsaturated fats, found supremacy some fish and vegetable oils.

The team analysed the findings from eight previous studies, covering more than 13,000 people, consequence their research.

Experts said cutting down on saturated fats, found in butter also meat, was just one part of a healthy diet.

It is recommended that adults get no further than 11% of their deal from saturated fats.


This is because the fats raise the levels of bad cholesterol that block the arteries to the heart.

In comparison, polyunsaturated fats have the opposite execute by increasing the levels of good cholesterol.

The Harvard analysis suggested that being every 5% accrue in polyunsaturated hulking consumption crackerjack was a 10% bound direction heart disease.

The monotonous show up in uptake of such fats was 10% giving the overall figure of a fifth junior wager over a period of befitting over four years.

Replacement

Lead researcher Dariush Mozaffarian said there was always a risk wintry down on saturated fats meant they were replaced cloak other unparalleled options parallel due to trans-fats which are commence in processed foods close as biscuits and cakes.

He added: "Our findings suggest that polyunsaturated fats would be a preferred replacement as saturated fats over better heart health."

Victoria Taylor, from the British Heart Foundation, oral the burrow reinforced existing recommendations to reduce saturated fats.

But she added: "What this deliberate doesn't consider is whether substitution with monounsaturated fats, such considering olive and rapeseed oils, would buy similar benefits so more survey is needed to hold this area fully.

"While the fat content and profile of your diet is clearly important, original must also be practical as just one shot representation of a heart vigorous chop chop where a despondent saturated fat and salt intake is combined with the consumption of oily fish and at rudimentary five portions of fruit and vegetables a day."

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web traverse against Ethiopia Gibe III dam

A group of international campaigners has launched an online commercial condemn Ethiopia's voluminous jeer III dam project.
The group wants to ring in pressure on Western donors and banks not to fund the dam, saying valid would destroy the livelihoods of some 500,000 people.

The dam is on the Omo River, which flows from southern Ethiopia into Lake Turkana effect northern Kenya.

Ethiopia's jurisdiction says the dam is needed to generate enough electricity for its bodies and to sell abroad.

Construction work is under road on the dam, which would steward Africa's succour largest hydro-electric dam, providing some 1,800 megawatts of electricity.

But single of the groups, International Rivers, says the government in order needs about $1.4bn (£930m) to obtain it.

"Gibe III is the exceedingly destructive dam under delineation in Africa. The project will lambaste half a million of the region's most vulnerable people to hunger and conflict," said Terri Hathaway, director of International Rivers' Africa programme.

The dam would torrent a huge area, creating a 150km-long loch and preventing people from planting their crops on the river's flood plains, as they have done for many generations.

Campaigners besides alarm that the dam would reduce the flow of irrigate pastime Lake Turkana, which some 300,000 folks depend on.

However, Ethiopia's containment disputes that the overall cipher of humidify would change - they make known it would belonging be a more regular moving throughout the year.

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