General News

Is fat the great evil of our time responsible for seducing us into an early, extra-wide, grave with its delicious succulence?

Or is it as misunderstood as it is mouth-watering? And in need of a welcome return to our plates?

As the campaign against sugar has ratcheted up over the past year or two, there have been growing voices trying to redeem fat.

For decades it has been labelled public enemy number one and a "low-fat" food label is used to convince us that what we're buying is healthy.

The problem is low-fat can mean vegetables or just clever marketing for "we took out all the fat and then pumped it full of sugar".

So there I was having a moment in the supermarket - a tub of low-fat yoghurt in one hand and a full-fat one in other - pondering which was actually better for me.

If I had a third hand, it would have been scratching my head. And I'm not alone.

"When there's a huge wall of yoghurt, even I find it paralysing," said Susan Jebb, a nutrition professor at the University of Oxford.

When you take the fat out of products, particularly dry ones like cake or biscuits, then something has to replace it.

"It tends to be sugar - the calories in digestives and low-fat digestives are almost the same," Prof Jebb continued.

"Lots of yoghurts are rammed with sugar, that is the thing that annoys me about yoghurt."

There is a simple answer with yoghurt - a few brands are both low in fat and sugar, although I need to chuck in a bit of fruit to make it palatable.

But what about the case that we should be eating more fat?

Some have argued that the message about cutting all fats when discussing bad saturated fats from processed foods was oversimplified.

While others have made the case that favouring carbohydrates in our diet - particularly refined carbs like white bread and pasta, is playing havoc with our hormones to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and making us pile on the pounds.

More from our Diet Debate series:

Read: Is breakfast a waste of time?

Watch: How healthy is your breakfast?

Fatty joy?

We do all need fat in our diet - it contains essential fatty acids and is important for absorbing fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D and E.

The question has always been: "How much fat should we eat?" And the mantra has been low-fat, high-carb.

The World Health Organization advises that between 30% and 35% of our calories should come from fat arguing there is "no probable or convincing evidence" that the total amount of fat in our diet is altering the risk of cancer or cardiovascular disease.

So when it comes to the total amount of fat (and there is a separate argument when we come to consider different types of fat) it's really a question of how it affects our waistlines.

And fat is certainly calorific.

A gram of fat is worth around nine calories - twice the amount as carbohydrate or protein at four calories per gram.

Too much fat, like too much of anything, will make you put on weight and it is incredibly easy to overeat calorie dense foods.

So it appears to be an easy target for people trying to lose weight.

"There is very good evidence that if you cut down on total fat it causes a small reduction in weight, but it's not big," said Dr Lee Hooper from the University of East Anglia in the UK.

She conducted a large review of 32 separate trials, involving around 54,000 people.

It showed people who shifted between 5% and 10% of their calories away from fats lost around 2kg during the studies.

However, she is not convinced the weight-loss is actually down to fat but more a result of people thinking more about what they eat and avoiding burgers, ready meals and other processed foods.

"I suspect they'd do exactly the same thing if they targeted sugar," she concluded.

So how do diets compare when we target carbs?

Doctors at the Harvard School of Public Health in the United States reviewed 53 weight loss trials involving 68,128 people.

The results, published in the Lancet medical journal, showed that both low-carb and low-fat approaches led to decent weight-loss.

But those eating relatively more fat actually lost marginally more weight.

Dr Deirdre Tobias, who led that study, told me: "If you're trying to reduce your calories and you take out the fat then you get a lot of bang for your buck, but that strategy clearly doesn't play out.

"Fat has been villainised because there's a mentality that 'fat makes you fat'. I think our evidence pretty much puts a nail in that coffin."

She is not saying that carbs are the villain instead, but that the best diet is the one you can actually stick to - some people would find it pretty easy to give up on white bread and pasta while others would find it impossible.

But she did warn that focusing on simply avoiding fat risked missing out on known beneficial foods - such as nuts, oily fish and olive oil - or convincing yourself that a low-fat muffin is healthy.

Cutting carbohydrates rather than the fat has also shown some benefit in patients with type-2 diabetes, at least for a short while.

When refined carbs are digested they rapidly lead to a spike in blood sugar levels and in turn of the hormone insulin. People with type 2 have difficulty controlling their blood sugar levels so preventing the spike could help in theory.

Although studies show the advantage of cutting carbs was not sustained in the long-term.

Rethink required?

In the UK the total amount of fat being eaten is broadly in line with recommendations, but with slightly more saturated fat than advised.

Dr Hooper concluded: "I would be saying we don't need to be cutting down on fat, but we do need to think of the type of fat."

That's an issue we'll consider on Wednesday when we ask: "Is butter back?"

But clearly there is never going to be health advice to just pour cream down our throats and polish off all the pies and biscuits we can.

Even drowning a salad in olive oil could lead to weight gain.

Going overboard on fat, just as having too much sugar or refined carbohydrate, is a bad thing. Sugar is just stealing the headlines at the moment.

"The reality is that nutrition comes and goes in waves, we've had a fat wave and we're for sure in a sugar frenzy," says Prof Jebb.

She says she worries "enormously" when people reduce all the nation's health problems to being "all about fat or all about sugar".

We need to think about both.

Source: bbc.com

Denmark has tightened its border controls with Germany, hours after Sweden imposed similar measures to deter migrants entering from Denmark.

Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said the decision was "not a happy moment" but Denmark "must respond" to Sweden's restrictions.

Danish police will carry out border spot checks for the next 10 days.

The two countries are the latest to impose controls in Europe's Schengen passport-free travel area.

In a letter to the European Commission, Inger Stojberg, Denmark's integration minister, said the controls would focus initially on the border with Germany but may be extended to all of Denmark's borders.

She said the measures taken by Sweden meant Denmark was "faced with a serious risk to public order and internal security because a very large number of illegal immigrants may be stranded in the Copenhagen area".

The new controls would not cause a problem for "ordinary" Danes and Germans, Mr Rasmussen said.

"We are introducing temporary border controls, but in a balanced way," he said. "If the European Union cannot protect the external border you will see more and more countries forced to introduce temporary border controls."

Sweden's decision means all travellers wanting to cross the Oresund bridge from Denmark will be refused entry without the necessary documents.

Rail commuters heading to Sweden will have to change trains at Copenhagen Airport and go through ID checkpoints. The move is expected to cause serious disruption to traffic flows from Denmark.

An estimated 20,000 commuters daily cross the Oresund bridge, which connects the Swedish cities of Malmo and Lund with the Danish capital, Copenhagen.

Direct journeys from Copenhagen's main railway station to Sweden will no longer be available and the changes are expected to add around 30 minutes to the current 40-minute commute.

Danish Transport Minister Hans Christian Schmidt called the checks "extremely annoying".

'Not a deterrent'

Holly Snaith, a British academic who commutes from Malmo to her job at Copenhagen University, told the BBC that the changes had added at least half an hour to her journey.

"We are all on tenterhooks hoping that the Swedish government will resolve things soon," she said.

Nicholas Bean, who commutes from Malmo to his marketing job in Copenhagen, said: "Travellers aren't happy about the Swedish government's action. There has to be a better way to handle the problem."

Sweden is trying to reduce the number of migrants entering the country. Some 160,000 people applied for asylum in Sweden last year, the highest number in Europe except for Germany. Most were from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Responding to the developments, Martin Schaefer, a spokesman for Germany's foreign ministry told the AFP news agency: "Freedom of movement is an important principle, one of the biggest achievements [in the EU] in recent years. Schengen is very important but it is in danger."

Germany introduced border controls of its own on the Austrian frontier in September, and last week Norway, which is not an EU member but belongs to the Schengen area, said refugees coming from other Schengen countries without visas would be turned back.

A similar set of border closures in eastern Europe in October left thousands of migrants stranded in poor weather conditions.

Source: bbc.com

A Ghanaian Christian group is to launch a "holy" social network alternative to Facebook which will be free of "un-Christian" content. 

"Social networks these days are filled with nude content and violence," the group LoveRealm said in a statement. 

"The site will be launched on 9 January and will ensure a holy social network experience by censoring and removing "un-Christian content," its CEO Yaw Ansong Jnr said.

Hundreds of Christians are being invited to use the app in a pre-launch event at the Pentecost Convention Center in the capital, Accra, to enable them make inputs and accommodate necessary modifications, the statement added.

Founders of the site hope that it will allow those struggling to keep the Christian faith to share weaknesses and confess their sins to one another.

Source: bbc.com

Comments by a white South African woman calling black people "monkeys" have sparked widespread outrage.

On Facebook, Penny Sparrow used the word to describe New Year's revellers on Durban's beach because of the mess she said they made.

She was condemned by many on social media and the hashtag #RacistsMustFall was trending on Twitter.

The South African Human Rights Commission is now investigating the comments, the News24 website reports.

Ms Sparrow took down the original post and replaced it with an apology saying that "everyone makes mistakes".

She tried to clarify her remarks in an interview with News24 saying: "I made the mistake of comparing them [black people] with monkeys. Monkeys are cute and they're naughty, but they [black people] don't see it that way, but I do because I love animals."

Leading politicians have also got involved in the row.

It emerged that Ms Sparrow is a member of the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) and its leader Mmusi Maimane tweeted that the "comments are racist. They are an insult to me and to our party."

The DA said in a statement that it has laid criminal charges against her "for infringing the dignity of all South Africans and for dehumanising black South Africans".

Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula tweeted that Ms Sparrow was "an unrepentant racist".

Spokesperson for the South African Human Rights Commission Isaac Mangena said that its own investigation could lead to legal steps, News24 reports.

"It is very concerning to the Commission that 22 years into democracy there are still comments and actions that incite and promote racism.

"These utterances have gone viral and angered many. They open the wounds of millions who were formerly oppressed by the apartheid government."

Apartheid, which legally enforced a racial hierarchy privileging white South Africans, ended in 1994 with the election of the country's first democratic government.

Source: bbc.com

Islamic State (IS) fighters have clashed with guards as they tried to enter Libya's oil port of Sidra.

Two members of the Petrol Facilities Guard militia, which is defending Sidra, were reportedly killed.

The militants are said to have been pushed back, but IS says it now controls Bin Jawad, 30km (19 miles) west of Sidra on the road from its stronghold in Sirte.

In December, France said IS was aiming to control Libya's oil wells.

IS, which has been operating in Libya for about a year, failed to take Sidra in an attack last October.

Suicide attack

In Monday's attack, IS fighters first launched a suicide bomb attack at a checkpoint at the entrance to the town, the AFP news agency reports, and that was when the guards were killed.

• Africa Live: BBC news updates

• Islamic State gains Libya foothold

AFP quotes a colonel from the Libyan army saying that the port entrance was then attacked by a convoy of 12 vehicles.

Libyan news website Libya's Channel is tweeting that seven people have been killed in all: The two guards, four IS members and one civilian.

Libya has descended into chaos since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

In December, Libya's rival politicians signed a UN-brokered deal to form a unity government, but that has not yet been implemented.

Libya's rival power bases (as of August 2015)

Source: bbc.com

Some senior staff of the Ridge Hospital in Accra have called on the Ghana Health Service to probe the appointment of the new Medical Director of the facility, Dr Thomas Anaba.

A senior staff who spoke to Joy News on condition of anonymity cites breach of the selection process for Dr Anaba's position as reason for their disapproval of him.

Notices posted at parts of the hospital read “imposition of Anaba is recipe for chaos”.

The anonymous senior staff told Joy News "we the staff think that somebody somewhere has manipulated the process and the right thing must be done. In the first place they should go strictly by the appointment criteria and asking certain key people to recuse themselves from the interview process."

The agigated staff believes going by the appropriate selection criteria would ensure that the appointments do oot become a family-and-friends affair.

“There is no way my intimate friend will mark me down in an interview,” the anonymous staff said.

The Ridge Hospital staff are calling on the Ghana Health Service and the Ghana Health Services Council to act immediately on the matter.

They say the hospital is a very important and strategic hospital and its management should not be left in the hands of inexperienced people.

Director General of Ghana Health Service Dr Appiah Denkyira has told Joy News he has received a petition from the staff and would look into it.

Source: myjoyonline.com

One of the lower court judges named in the Anas Aremeyaw Anas corruption scandal is challenging his removal from office.

Samuel Ahiabor is part of 20 lower court judges who were sanctioned following a probe by a committee set up by Chief Justice, Georgina Wood.

In a letter stating his misconduct, the former Adidome District Magistrate, Samuel Ahiabor is accused of receiving GHC600 from a petitioner.

According to the document, this was to influence him to cause the arrest of a man who allegedly defrauded the said petitioner

Mr Ahiabor however says the Committees’ decision to remove him from office is a breach of his rights.

First he says he never collected, received or accepted any money although the evidence presented by Anas shows him taking the money.

Mr Ahiabor adds that, aside Anas Aremeyaw Anas, he never had the opportunity to cross examine the petitioner who purportedly bribed him at any of the disciplinary committee sittings

The former Adidome magistrate also maintains that since the matter of bribery allegation did not concern a case pending before him, he cannot be said to have misconducted himself.

Mr Samuel Ahiabor is therefore asking the high court to quash the committees verdict as quote, ‘’the decision is contrary to law, rules of natural justice and the 1992 constitution.’’

So far, 20 Magistrates and Circuit Court judges implicated in the judicial corruption scandal have been sacked.

The judges, who were part of the 32 implicated in the exposé done by ace investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas, were dismissed for violating provisions of the 1992 Constitution, according to the Committee set up to investigate Anas's claims.

Some of them have been sacked with benefits while others got dismissed without their benefits.

Source: myjoyonline.com

Armed protesters have occupied a US government building in Oregon to support father and son ranchers who have been ordered to return to jail.

Dwight Hammond, 73, and his son Steven, 46, were convicted of arson in 2012 but a court ruled their original sentences were too short.

They said they lit fires on federal land to combat invasive species and protect their land from wildfires.

The case has riled right-wing activists who resent government interference.

Those occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge centre in Burns say they plan to stay for years and may use violence if police try to evict them.

Local police said "outside militants" had seized the building, and that multiple agencies were working on a solution, the Oregonian reported.

'Alternative motives'

Among those there is Ammon Bundy, whose father Cliven was involved in a stand-off with the government over grazing rights in 2014.

Speaking to CNN, Mr Ammon gave no specific demands but said the action was aimed at helping locals "claim back their lands and resources".

He said that the wildlife refuge had expanded at the expense of ranchers and miners.

The incident is part of a decades-old conflict between ranchers and the federal government over the use of public land.

Critics of the federal government say it often oversteps its authority over land use.

In an interview with the Associated Press news agency, Ammon Bundy's brother, Ryan Bundy, said the protesters' ultimate goal was to turn the land over to local authorities so that people can use it free of federal oversight.

"I understand the land needs to be used wisely, but that's what we as stewards need to do. A rancher is going to take care of his own ranch," he added.

But despite the protest Dwight Hammond says he and his son plan to report peacefully to prison on Monday.

His lawyers told Associated Press "neither Ammon Bundy nor anyone within his group/organisation speak for the Hammond Family".

Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward was critical of the protesters and their motives.

"These men came to Harney County claiming to be part of militia groups supporting local ranchers, when in reality these men had alternative motives to attempt to overthrow the county and federal government in hopes to spark a movement across the United States," Mr Ward said in a statement.

Source: bbc.com

An earthquake measuring 6.7 magnitude has hit northeast India, near its borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh, killing at least nine people.

The quake hit at 04:35 local time (23:05 GMT Sunday) about 29km (18 miles) northwest of Imphal, the capital of Manipur state, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Strong tremors have been felt across the region.

The earthquake was originally reported to have measured 6.8 magnitude.

India's Meteorological Department said it struck at a depth of 17km (about 10 miles).

The tremor cracked walls and a newly-built six-storey building in Imphal collapsed, police said. Other buildings were also reported to have been damaged.

At least six people have been killed in Manipur and more than 30 injured, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

In the neighbouring Bangladesh, three people were reported dead while dozens were being treated in hospital for injuries sustained during the quake.

The BBC's Salman Saeed in Dhaka said panicked residents fled into the streets.

A 23-year-old man died when he suffered a stroke after the quake while two others died of heart attacks, news agency AFP quoted police as saying.

A university student, who jumped from a fourth-floor balcony to escape, was among the critically wounded, the agency added.

At the scene, Paojel Chaoba, Journalist

I was woken up by a terrible jolt and felt my building shake. We ran out into the street below.

It was a complete scene of panic: people were fleeing their homes, and shouting.

Several buildings have collapsed in Imphal, and many others have suffered structural damages.

The worst affected appears to be the Mother's Market or the 'Ima Keithel' area. It is home to lots of buildings, private houses, a hospital and the city's press club.

Many of them have been damaged in the quake and the entire area has been cordoned off. A number of buildings there have been evacuated.

A number of electricity lines have been damaged and many areas are without power.

At the main regional hospital in Imphal, 37 people have been admitted with injuries.

This, in my experience, is the worst quake to hit Imphal.

Deepak Shijagurumayum, a resident of Imphal, told AFP by phone that his house was severely damaged by the quake.

"Almost everyone was asleep when it struck and were thrown out of their beds," Mr Shijagurumayum said.

"People were crying and praying in the streets and in open spaces. Hundreds remained outdoors for several hours fearing aftershocks."

Shaking was felt as far away as Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), 600km (370 miles) away. "Many people were seen coming out of their homes in panic," local resident Rabin Dev told AFP news agency.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that he had spoken to the region's chief ministers and federal Home Minister Rajnath Singh "on the situation arising in the wake of the earthquake".

Casualties have not yet been reported on the Myanmar side of the border, which is sparsely populated.

The region has a history of powerful earthquakes caused by the northward collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates. They are moving towards each other at a rate of 4-5cm per year.

In 2005, a magnitude 7.6 quake in Pakistan-administered Kashmir left more than 75,000 people dead.

In April 2015, Nepal suffered its worst earthquake on record with 9,000 people killed and about 900,000 homes damaged or destroyed.

Source: bbc.com

Saudi Arabia has given Iranian diplomats 48 hours to leave the country, amid a row over the Saudi execution of a top Shia Muslim cleric.

The Saudi government announced on Sunday that it had broken off diplomatic ties with Iran.

Iran has accused Saudi Arabia of stoking tension in the region.

Saudi Arabia and Iran are the major Sunni and Shia powers in the region respectively and back opposing sides in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.

The US has appealed for calm, calling for continued diplomatic engagement.

Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and 46 others were executed on Saturday after being convicted of terror-related offences.

Sunnis and Shia: Islam's ancient schism

Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr: Leading Saudi Shia cleric

Late on Sunday, police came under heavy gunfire in his home town of Awamiya in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, leaving one civilian dead and a child injured, the Saudi Press Agency said.

Security forces are still hunting the attackers, calling the incident a "terrorist" act, a police spokesman was quoted as saying.

Shia Muslims have complained of marginalisation in Eastern Province.

'Interference'

Saudi Arabia announced that it would sever diplomatic relations with Iran after demonstrators stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran. It has also recalled its diplomats from Tehran.

Analysis: Lyse Doucet, BBC chief international correspondent

A diplomatic rupture between the major Sunni and Shia powers in the region will resonate across the Middle East, where they back opposing sides in many destructive wars and simmering conflicts.

Players are already lining up along sectarian lines to support either Tehran or Riyadh.

Last year had ended with a bit of hope that talks on ending Yemen's strife had, at least, begun. Syria was to follow this month. It looks an awful lot harder now.

In October Saudi sources told me they only dropped their opposition to Iran's presence at Syria talks after the US persuaded them to test Tehran's commitment. But they doubt Iran will do a deal, and see it as key source of regional instability.

On the other side, Iranian officials don't hide their contempt for the Saudi system and its support for Islamist groups. There's been barely-concealed anger for months. Now it's boiled over.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Saudi Arabia would not let Iran undermine its security, accusing it of having "distributed weapons and planted terrorist cells in the region".

"Iran's history is full of negative interference and hostility in Arab issues, and it is always accompanied by destruction," he told a news conference.

US state department spokesman John Kirby said: "We will continue to urge leaders across the region to take affirmative steps to calm tensions".

"We believe that diplomatic engagement and direct conversations remain essential," he said.

'Martyr'

Earlier, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that the Sunni Muslim kingdom would face "divine revenge" for the execution - an act which also angered Shia Muslims elsewhere in the Middle East.

Ayatollah Khamenei called Sheikh Nimr a "martyr" who had acted peacefully.

Protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran late on Saturday, setting fire to the building before being driven back by police. The Saudi foreign ministry said none of its diplomats had been harmed in the incident.

Iran on Monday accused Saudi Arabia of using the embassy incident to provoke further regional tension, Iranian state TV reported.

It quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying: "Saudi Arabia sees its life in pursuit of crises and confrontations and attempts to resolve all of its internal problems by exporting them to the outside."

Relations between the countries have been strained over various issues in recent decades, including Iran's nuclear programme and deaths of Iranians at the Hajj pilgrimage in 1987 and again in 2015.

Diplomatic ties were severed between 1988 and 1991.

Most of the 47 people executed by Saudi Arabia were Sunnis convicted of involvement in al-Qaeda-linked terror attacks over the last decade.

Sheikh Nimr was involved in anti-government protests that erupted in Saudi Arabia in the wake of the Arab Spring, up to his arrest in 2012.

The execution also sparked protests in Iraq, Bahrain and several other countries.

Source: bbc.com

Donald Trump has again defended his call for a ban on Muslims entering the US after it was used in a propaganda video by Somali militant group al-Shabab.

The Republican presidential hopeful said people had praised his courage in truthfully highlighting a "problem" that others preferred to ignore.

"Now people are getting involved" in the issue, he told CBS News.

Mr Trump's call, after a shooting in the US, has been widely condemned.

Other Republicans, the White House, and the British Prime Minister David Cameron were highly critical of the comments, which followed the San Bernardino massacre, in which 14 people died.

Democratic presidential candidate and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Mr Trump's rhetoric was turning him into the "best recruiter" for the Islamic State militant group.

A propaganda video by Al-Shabab, al-Qaeda's Somali affiliate, used a clip of Mr Trump repeating his call at a campaign rally last month.

During an appearance on CBS News' Face the Nation programme, to be shown on Sunday, Mr Trump was questioned over how his comments had been framed by al-Shabab as an incentive for Muslims to join holy war.

"Look, there's a problem," he said. "I bring it up. Other people have called and say you have guts to bring it up because frankly it's true and nobody wants to get involved.

"People that are on different persuasions than me right now are saying, you know, maybe Trump isn't wrong. We want to examine it."

The video, released by al-Shabab's media wing, also urges African-Americans to convert to Islam and take part in holy war. It says racism, police brutality and anti-Muslim sentiment are rife in the US.

In recent years, several Somali-Americans from Minnesota have gone to fight for al-Shabab in Somalia.

Al-Shabab, which seeks to overthrow Somalia's Western-backed government and impose a strict version of Sharia (Islamic law), has carried out attacks in Kenya and Ethiopia.

Last month's campaign statement from Mr Trump called for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims" entering the US until the authorities could "figure out what is going on".

The call was issued after a deadly gun attack in San Bernardino, California, by a husband and wife who are thought to have been radicalised.

Source: bbc.com

Islamic State militants have released a video, featuring a man and young boy speaking with British accents, purportedly showing the killing of five men who it says were spying for the UK.

In the 10-minute film, the man threatens attacks in the UK and says this is a message for David Cameron.

A young boy wearing military fatigues also appears, talking about killing "unbelievers".

The propaganda video has not been independently verified.

IS has repeatedly used children in its videos.

'Extraordinary duress'

In the new video, the masked jihadi militant, who is holding a gun, mocks Mr Cameron for daring to "challenge the might" of the extremist group before he makes a threat to British people to "invade your land".

The five men, wearing jumpsuits, are seen purportedly being shot dead in a desert location after making what is claimed to be their confessions.

But BBC World Service Middle East editor Alan Johnston says they appear to be "speaking under the most extraordinary duress" and "may be entirely innocent".

One of the men says he had been asked to provide information about the location of IS militants, including two Britons, apparently to help target them with air strikes, he added.

Some of the five men say that they are from Raqqa in Syria while another says he is from Benghazi, Libya, but none that they are from the UK.

After the apparent killings, the young boy, who seems to be aged around six or seven years old, is seen pointing into the distance.

Our correspondent says the release of the video comes in the aftermath of a "major military setback for IS," after it recently lost control of much of the Iraqi city of Ramadi.

He adds: "It's possible this is aimed at distracting attention from that defeat - an effort to shock watching Westerners and shift their focus."

Source: bbc.com

Saudi Arabia will face "divine revenge" for its execution of a prominent Shia cleric, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned.

Ayatollah Khamenei described Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr as a "martyr" who acted peacefully.

Protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran late on Saturday, setting fire to the building before being driven back by police.

Several hundred people gathered outside the building again on Sunday afternoon.

The authorities have changed the name of the street on which the Saudi embassy stands, naming it after the executed Sheikh Nimr, one of 47 people executed for terrorism offences on Saturday.

But Ayatollah Khamenei said the cleric had been executed for his opposition to Saudi Arabia's Sunni rulers.

"This oppressed scholar had neither invited people to armed movement, nor was involved in covert plots," the ayatollah tweeted.

"The only act of #SheikhNimr was outspoken criticism," he added, saying the "unfairly-spilled blood of oppressed martyr #SheikhNimr will affect rapidly & Divine revenge will seize Saudi politicians".

Sheikh Nimr had been a figurehead in the anti-government protests that erupted in the wake of the Arab Spring up to his arrest in 2012.

Fury in Iranian press, by BBC Monitoring

Newspapers in Iran have reacted with anger to the killing of the Shia cleric, warning it could bring down the Saudi ruling family but Saudi papers insist the authorities have the right to mete out punishment to those who do not obey the rules.

The killing "has brought the weak foundations of the bloodthirsty government of Saudi Arabia closer to collapse", says Iran's hard-line Vatan-e Emruz.

The authorities in Riyadh must now accept that the supporters of the cleric in the region "will take revenge", warns conservative Hemayat.

But reformist Sharq fears the "irresponsible" act could exacerbate sectarian tensions in the region and warns Tehran not to get drawn into Riyadh's "dangerous game".

In Saudi Arabia, Al-Riyadh is adamant that "the homeland's security, unity and prestige are non-negotiable" and no "incitement of harm or sedition" should be tolerated irrespective of the culprit's affiliations.

Finally, Al-Jazirah, says the "firm, strong verdict" has made the country "safer and more stable".

Iran - Saudi Arabia's main regional rival - has led condemnation among Shia communities over the execution.

The foreign ministry in Tehran said the Sunni kingdom would pay a high price for its action, and it summoned the Saudi charge d'affaires in Tehran in protest.

Some of the protesters at the Saudi embassy in Tehran hurled petrol bombs and rocks. Forty people have been arrested, officials said.

There have also been demonstrations in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, where Shia Muslims complain of marginalisation, as well as in Iraq, Bahrain and several other countries.

The top Shia cleric in Iraq, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani described the execution as an "unjust aggression".

The leader of Lebanon's Shia Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, launched his sharpest attack yet on the Saudi ruling family, accusing them of seeking to ignite a civil war between Sunni and Shia Muslims across the world.

He said the blood of Sheikh Nimr would "plague the Al Saud [family] until the Day of Resurrection", prompting cries of "Death to the Al Saud!" among an audience watching his address.

For its part, Saudi Arabia complained to the Iranian envoy in Riyadh about what it called "blatant interference" in its internal affairs.

Clashes between protesters and police were also reported for a second day in Indian-administered Kashmir and in Bahrain, where a Shia majority have complained of marginalisation at the hands of the Sunni royal family.

The execution has worsened long-running tensions between the two Middle Eastern nations, which support opposite sides in the Syrian and Yemen conflicts.

The US and UN have both called for restraint.

In a statement after the executions, US state spokesman John Kirby appealed to Saudi Arabia's government to respect and protect human rights, and to ensure fair and transparent judicial proceedings.

Mr Kirby also urged the Saudi government to permit peaceful expression of dissent and, along with other leaders in the region, to redouble efforts to reduce regional tensions.

Who was Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr?

• In his 50s when he was executed, he has been a persistent critic of Saudi Arabia's Sunni royal family
• Arrested several times over the past decade, alleging he was beaten by Saudi secret police during one detention
• Met US officials in 2008, Wikileaks revealed, seeking to distance himself from anti-American and pro-Iranian statements
• Said to have a particularly strong following among Saudi Shia youth

Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr: Figurehead Shia cleric

Most of the 47 executed by Saudi Arabia were Sunnis convicted of involvement in al-Qaeda-linked terror attacks last decade.

Saudi Arabia carried out more than 150 executions last year, the highest figure recorded by human rights groups for 20 years.

Source: bbc.com

The plunge in oil prices has given a needed break to drivers this holiday season, but it’s causing some real pain in states that rely on oil revenue to fuel their economies and shore up their budgets.

Perhaps nowhere is the impact more pronounced than in Alaska, where Gov. Bill Walker is proposing a raft of new taxes, including the first personal income tax in over three decades, along with budget cuts to offset the damage from the price drop for the oil-reliant state.

“This is a major paradigm shift in how the state of Alaska conducts business,” Walker said in a statement as he announced the plan in December. “That’s because we cannot continue with business as usual and live solely off of our natural resource revenues.”

The price of Brent crude in the United States has fallen below $40 a barrel – more than $30 lower than in May of 2015.

Alaska is a state so reliant on, and accustomed to, big oil revenue that residents share in the profits. In a sign of changing times, Walker’s plan would redirect some of that money to the government itself, making for smaller dividend checks for residents.  

According to the Walker administration, the income tax component of the New Sustainable Alaska Plan could generate up to $200 million in revenue a year. Under the plan, the average Alaskan family would pay a rate of roughly 1 percent of their gross income. This would coincide with cuts for everything from obesity-focused education programs to grants for emergency communication.

“Never before has the state faced a deficit so large that we’re draining more than $9 million from savings every day,” Walker said in a statement. “Fortunately those who came before us had the wisdom to set aside money for a rainy day. Well, it’s raining now.”

Given the financial straits of the government, Walker, an independent, has garnered bipartisan support from lawmakers – but still faces reluctance on pursuing an income tax. 

In a statement, House Operating Budget Chairman Mark Neuman, a Republican, said Walker “deserves credit for proposing some difficult options for filling our income gap.” Still, he said the plan could use more budget cuts. House Capital Budget Chairman Steve Thompson, also a Republican, echoed that critique and said he doesn’t want residents to pay an income tax “unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

Under the plan, taxes on the oil and other industries also would increase, as would alcohol and tobacco taxes. 

Alaska is in a more vulnerable position than a big oil state like Texas, which enjoys a more diverse economy.

Chris Bryan, a spokesman for the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, told Fox News that while the state is projecting lower oil-and-gas tax revenue, “the state’s diverse economy coupled with a large beginning balance and a conservative budget from the 2015 Texas Legislature should allow the state to absorb this reduction in projected revenues.” He said the government is still predicting economic growth in Texas north of 2 percent for fiscal 2016 and 2017.

Yet in North Dakota, where an oil and gas revolution has transformed the state, the drop in prices also threatens to do significant damage.

A recent Moody’s Analytics study reportedly said the state could be nearing a “full-blown recession,” citing the $27 oil price in North Dakota, the lowest since 2008.

According to a Watchdog.org report, North Dakota’s general fund tax revenue was about $152 million, or 8.9 percent, less than forecasted by lawmakers.

“It doesn’t seem like the revenues are going to rebound in the very near term,” state Sen. Gary Lee, a Republican, told Watchdog.org.

But according to Sheila Peterson, director of the Fiscal Management Division of North Dakota’s Office of Management and Budget, the falling oil prices are not crunching the budget as much as they are in Alaska. 

“The only direct oil revenue that goes into our general fund is about $300 million out of a $6 billion budget,” Peterson told Fox News. “We still expect to get the $300 million from direct oil taxes.”

According to North Dakota’s OMB, the oil tax composes only 5 percent of North Dakota’s general fund revenue.

North Dakota runs on a 24-month budget, which will be re-evaluated for updated revenue forecasts by mid-to-late January 2016.

“Although revenues are indeed running below forecast right now, it’s not as though we’ve run out of money,” Peterson said. “Depending on what the next forecast shows, we’ll decide if we need to take action, and if so, what those actions will be.”

Source: foxnews.com

CLEVELAND –  Protesters upset by a decision not to indict two white police officers in the shooting death of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old black boy who had a pellet gun, marched to the home of the prosecutor Friday and repeated calls for him to resign.

More than 100 people stood outside the home of Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty during the peaceful protest, which also included demands for a federal investigation into the shooting.

A march leader told protesters not to vandalize McGinty's home, which is in a neighborhood on the west side of Cleveland. Police officers accompanied the marchers and stood in McGinty's driveway but did not intervene.

The protesters chanted, "New year, no more!" and "McGinty has got to go!"

Through a spokesman, McGinty declined to comment.

Protesters have called for McGinty's resignation since he announced Monday that the officers would not face criminal charges in Tamir's death. But criticism of him dates back months as frustration grew over the length of time it took to reach a decision concerning the November 2014 shooting.

Joseph Frolik, director of communications and public policy at the prosecutor's office, called Tamir's death "clearly a monumental tragedy caused by a series of mistakes by the Cleveland Police Department."

"But we would hope that people will also respect the decision made (by) another group of citizens — the members of the grand jury," Frolik said in a statement. "They personally see, hear and question witnesses, and they reach a decision based on their oath. If you don't trust the grand jury, you don't trust your neighbors."

Dozens of marchers lay down on the sidewalk running past McGinty's house for four minutes, the time they say it took medical responders to reach Tamir after he was shot outside a recreation center.

In announcing that charges would not be brought, McGinty said it was "indisputable" that Tamir was drawing the pistol from his waistband when he was gunned down.

The prosecutor said Tamir was trying to either hand the pellet gun over to police or show them it was not real, but the officer who shot him, Timothy Loehmann, and his partner, Frank Garmback, had no way of knowing that.

Tamir was shot by Loehmann within two seconds of the officers' police cruiser skidding to a stop near the boy.

McGinty said police radio personnel contributed to the tragedy by failing to pass along the "all-important fact" that a 911 caller said the gunman was probably a juvenile and the gun probably was not real.

On Thursday, Mayor Frank Jackson and Police Chief Calvin Williams said that as protests continue, they plan to balance public safety with protesters' First Amendment rights.

Source: foxnews.com

Countries around the world are marking the New Year, with festivities under way in the US and Canada.

In New York, a million people converged on Times Square, amid tight security, to watch the famous ball descend.

In Brazil, crowds packed Rio's de Janeiro's famous Copacabana beach to watch a spectacular firework display.

Earlier, European cities ushered in 2016 - despite heightened security measures in some countries.

In Japan, people released balloons by Tokyo Tower, while South Koreans celebrated with traditional bell-ringing.

Revellers in Australia and New Zealand were among the first to welcome 2016.

Crowds counted down at Auckland's Sky Tower in New Zealand, with a laser show and fireworks display. Fireworks also lit up Sydney harbour in Australia.

People in Toronto flocked to Nathan Phillips Square

Copacabana beach in Rio's de Janeiro was packed with revellers

Celebrations were held in Paris despite the terror attacks of 2015

Celebrations in Berlin went ahead as police warned of a terror attack in Munich

In London, more than 100,000 people watched the fireworks display by the River Thames with thousands of extra police officers on duty.

In the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, the traditional Hogmanay party received a New Year message from British astronaut Tim Peake who was broadcasting live from the International Space Station.

In Berlin, fireworks were held at the Brandenburg Gate, with one million people estimated to have attended the countdown. The celebrations took place as police in Munich warned of a planned terror attack and asked people to avoid crowds.

In Paris, the traditional fireworks display was cancelled to be replaced by a five-minute video performance at the Arc de Triomphe just before midnight. The screening was relayed on screens along the Champs-Elysees.

The city's mayor, Anne Hidalgo, said the video was intended to send "the world the message that Paris is standing, proud of its lifestyle and living together''.

Earlier, President Hollande in a New Year's Eve address to the nation said that his country "has not finished with terrorism yet", six weeks after gunmen and suicide bombers killed 130 people in Paris.

In one of the more innovative celebrations, four divers equipped with musical instruments and breathing apparatus performed an underwater "concert" in a fish tank in Yantai, east China.

Festivities went ahead in Dubai despite a fire at the city's Address Hotel. A fireworks display was held near the Burj Khalifa skyscraper.

Egypt celebrated with fireworks staged in front of the pyramids near Cairo, as the government works to revive its tourist industry.

The pyramids were illuminated ahead of celebrations in Giza, near Cairo

Revellers in Japan released balloons in front of Tokyo Tower

Auckland marked New Year with fireworks at the Sky Tower

A special New Year artwork in Amritsar, India

Russia - the first major European city to welcome 2016 - held a fireworks display over Red Square in Moscow.

Despite security fears across the continent, many major public events are going ahead, though with heightened security restrictions.

Only 25,000 people in Madrid were allowed into the Puerta del Sol square.

Over in Sierra Leone, the declared end of Ebola was marked by a return to New Year festivities, after Freetown, the capital, was left deserted a year ago due to the disease's outbreak.

Source: bbc.com

A South African king who is a nephew of the late Nelson Mandela has begun a 12-year prison sentence for kidnapping, assault and arson.

King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo reported to prison after his legal attempts to overturn his conviction failed.

The case against King Dalindyebo was related to a dispute he had with some of his subjects about two decades ago.

He comes from the Thembu clan, to which Mr Mandela, South Africa's first black president, belonged.

He is the first monarch to be jailed in South Africa since minority rule ended in 1994.

King Dalindyebo, 51, ascended to the throne in 1989, and has about 700,000 subjects.

South Africa has 10 officially recognised monarchs representing different ethnic groups and clans.

They play a largely ceremonial role, and attend to minor disputes within their communities.

King Dalindyebo was accused of kidnapping a woman and her six children, setting their home on fire and beating up four youths, one of whom died, because one of their relatives had failed to present himself before the king's traditional court.

He handed himself to prison authorities in the eastern city of Mthatha in compliance with a court order after a judge refused to extend his bail on Wednesday, the justice ministry said in a statement.

Earlier, Justice Minister Michael Masutha turned down his request for a retrial, saying there was no legal justification for doing so.

King Dalindyebo had maintained his innocence, saying he disciplined his subjects under customary law.

Analysis: Milton Nkosi, BBC Africa, Johannesburg

Many of the king's subjects feel that he has sullied the reputation of the Thembu royal household.

His father, Sabata, was a revered monarch who fought against minority rule, and campaigned for the unity of South Africa's ethnic groups.

In contrast, his son turned out to be a disgrace, and has paid the ultimate price.

More significantly, South Africa has once again demonstrated that, despite its leadership problems, it upholds the rule of law, even if it means locking up a king and alienating some of his subjects ahead of crucial local elections next year.

It is also to the monarch's credit that after exhausting all his legal options, he reported to prison rather than daring the police to come and arrest him at his palace in South Africa's Eastern Cape province.

Sentencing the king in October, the Supreme Court of Appeal said: "His behaviour was all the more deplorable because the victims of his reign of terror were the vulnerable rural poor, who were dependent upon him. Our constitution does not countenance such behaviour.

"We are a constitutional democracy in which everyone is accountable and where the most vulnerable are entitled to protection."

There are conflicting reports on whether King Dalindyebo would remain the monarch of the Thembu people.

One royal family spokesman was quoted in the South African media as saying that its elders would meet on Monday to choose a successor, while another spokesman said that he would remain the king despite his imprisonment.

King Dalindyebo defected from the governing African National Congress (ANC) to the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party during his legal battles.

The DA revoked his membership following the ruling of the Supreme Court of Appeal.

Source: bbc.com

Police in the German city of Munich have warned of a planned terror attack and asked people to avoid crowds.

The police tweeted that the city's main station and Pasing station had been evacuated and said trains were no longer stopping there.

In a Facebook post, authorities said they had "serious information" that the attack had been planned for New Year's Eve. They gave no further details.

Cities across Europe are already on a heightened state of alert.

"Current indications show that a terror attack is being planned in Munich. Please avoid gatherings of people and the Munich and Pasing train stations," police said in the tweet.

Munich newspaper TZ reported that police believed several groups of attackers could strike at different locations in the city.

Police said they had two pieces of information about a possible attack, German media reported.

"We have concrete information that we cannot sweep under the carpet," Bild newspaper quoted a police spokesperson as saying.

Local media reports say the information had come from French authorities.

Armed police have cordoned off the main station and asked people nearby to leave the area, TZ reported.

The newspaper quoted a spokesperson as saying the situation was "comparable to that in Hannover" in November, when a football match between Germany and the Netherlands was called off after what Hannover police called a "concrete security threat".

"We want to minimise the risk as much as possible," the spokesperson told the newspaper.

The city's police said they had called in reinforcements from southern Bavaria while special police units were already operating in the city.

Belgium arrests

Security concerns had already caused New Year celebrations to be cancelled or limited in other European cities.

The authorities in Brussels called off all official events after three people were detained on Thursday in connection with an alleged New Year's Eve plot.

They are being held for a further 24 hours, prosecutors said. Two other terror suspects were arrested earlier this week.

New Year: Celebrations mark start of 2016

But the apparent plots to target New Year celebrations in Brussels were not related to the suspected network behind the Paris attacks, the authorities said.

Police seized material during Thursday's raids including computers, phones and materials for playing airsoft - a military simulation game in which players fire replica weapons loaded with plastic pellets.

Separately, Belgian police arrested a 10th suspect over the 13 November attacks in Paris, in which 130 people were killed.

The Belgian national, identified as Ayoub B, was detained on Wednesday during a raid in the Brussels district of Molenbeek. He has been charged with terrorist murder and participation in the activities of a terrorist group.

Paris attacks: Is Molenbeek a hotbed of extremism?

In Paris, the traditional fireworks display has been called off but thousands of people partied on the Champs Elysees in the biggest public gathering since last month's attacks.

Extra measures

Security was stepped up in other major European cities too, including Moscow, London and Berlin.

Earlier this week, Austrian police claimed a "friendly intelligence service" had tipped them off that major European capitals were at risk of being attacked over the holiday period.

In Moscow, the fireworks were delayed by five minutes and, for the first time, the police closed Red Square - a traditional place for crowds to gather.

London's Metropolitan Police deployed 3,000 officers in the inner city, including extra armed officers.

In Berlin, officials said the security situation remained unchanged despite the alert in Munich.

Backpacks and fireworks were banned and bags searched on the "party mile" leading up to the Brandenburg Gate.

Ankara 'plot'

On Wednesday, Turkish police arrested two suspected IS members over an alleged plot to attack celebrations in Ankara.

State media said they were planning two separate attacks on crowded areas. Suicide vests and explosives were found during police raids.

Source: bbc.com

Rwanda's High Court has sentenced a pastor to life in prison for his role in the 1994 genocide.

Jean Uwinkindi organised and participated in attacks on the minority Tutsi ethnic group, the court ruled.

Some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by militias from the majority Hutu ethnic group.

The 64-year-old Hutu pastor was the first genocide suspect to be sent back to Rwanda for trial by the Tanzanian-based UN tribunal.

The tribunal shut down this month after sentencing 61 individuals and acquitting 14 others.

Uwinkindi - the former head of a Pentecostal church on the outskirts of the capital, Kigali - had opposed his transfer.

• Rwanda genocide: 100 days of slaughter
• Rwanda: How the genocide happened
• Rwanda's mystery that won't go away

He said he would not get a fair trial in Rwanda, where there is now a Tutsi-led government.

His lawyers said he would appeal against the High Court's ruling.

"The court finds that there were killings of the Tutsi at Rwankeri and Kanzenze hills and that the attacks were led by Uwinkindi," said Judge Kanyegeri Timothee, Reuters news agency reports.

The prosecution alleged that in investigations after the genocide, some 2,000 bodies were found near the church in Kanzenze, just outside Kigali, where Uwinkindi was pastor.

He was indicted in 2011 after he was arrested in 2010 in neighbouring Uganda.

Another key suspect, Ladislas Ntaganzwa, who has a $5m (£3.2m) US bounty on him, was arrested two weeks ago in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

Source: bbc.com

Police in Chicago are to receive new equipment and training on how to defuse tensions following a spate of fatal shootings of African-Americans by officers, the city's mayor has said.

Rahm Emanuel says every patrol car in Chicago would be equipped with a Taser gun, which is usually non-lethal.

He said police must learn when they can use a gun and when not to do so.

Protesters have urged Mr Emanuel to step down over a case in which an officer fatally shot a black teenager.

Laquan McDonald's death led to the city's police chief being fired and days of protests.

"Just because you train that you can use force doesn't mean you should," said Mr Emanuel. "Helping officers make that distinction - and the training that goes with it - is essential."

Mr Emanuel said the department would make 1,400 Tasers available to officers, up from 700.

On the night Mr McDonald was killed, several officers were heard asking for a Taser before officer Jason Van Dyke opened fire, shooting the teenager 16 times.

Mr Van Dyke has since been charged with murder.

However, the shootings have continued.

Just after Christmas, Chicago police shot and killed two people.

Bettie Jones, a 55-year-old mother-of-five was shot "accidentally", police said, as officers opened fire on, and killed, 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier, who they said was being "combative" toward officers.

About 15% of Chicago's police officers have so far received training aimed at resolving incidents without violence, officials say.

Source: bbc.com