Musharraf arrives in Pakistan

24 March 2013 Last updated at 05:37 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

The BBC's Orla Guerin: "The flight turned into a mini campaign rally"

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has arrived back in Pakistan, ending four years of self-imposed exile and defying death threats.

A protection detail of heavily armed commandos met him after his plane from Dubai touched down in Karachi airport. A mass rally in the city was cancelled.

General Musharraf plans to lead his party in the May general election.

Meanwhile, 17 soldiers were killed by a suicide bomber in the north-west of Pakistan overnight.

They were attacked at a security checkpoint in the tribal region of North Waziristan, close to the Afghan border and a known stronghold of the Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked militants.

A recent Taliban video threatened Gen Musharraf with snipers and suicide bombers.

Continue reading the main story

Gen Musharraf moved through the aisles of the plane - greeting supporters, shaking hands and having his photo taken to the bemusement of regular passengers.

There were chaotic scenes with journalists scrambling over seats as the journey became a mini campaign rally.

Gen Musharraf told the BBC he felt emotional about returning to Pakistan, but he said he had mixed feelings because of the risk to himself and his supporters.

When the plane landed, his supporters on board cheered and shouted "Long live Pervez Musharraf".

He faces a string of charges including conspiracy to murder, but on Friday the Pakistani authorities granted him protective bail in several outstanding cases, freeing him from immediate arrest once he sets foot in Pakistan.

One of the charges is that he failed to provide adequate security for opposition leader Benazir Bhutto after she returned from exile in 2007.

Two deadly explosions, in which nearly 140 people died, greeted her arrival in Karachi on 19 October. She was killed that December at a rally in Rawalpindi.

'Like a wedding party'

A few hundred supporters have gathered near the airport, the BBC's Orla Guerin reports.

Earlier, the former leader, 69, tweeted a photo of himself aboard the plane, writing: "Settled in my seat on the plane to begin my journey home. Pakistan First!"

In Dubai, the smiling general told our correspondent the event felt like a wedding party.

A group of about 200 supporters and journalists saw off the former military ruler - including party members from the UK, Canada, Switzerland and the US.

Some of the general's supporters wore white armbands saying they were ready to give their lives for him.

The planned mass rally in Karachi was called off because the authorities had withdrawn permission.

The former military leader has lived in London and Dubai since stepping down five years ago. He left Pakistan in 2009.

He has vowed to return several times in the past, but those previous attempts have been abandoned.

'Tanker blaze'

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack in North Waziristan, in which 34 soldiers were reportedly also injured.

A car packed with explosives blew up next to a pair of fuel tankers at the check post, intelligence officials told AP news agency on condition of anonymity.

The blast set the tankers on fire and nearby military living areas were destroyed, they said.

Janan Dawar, an eyewitness who lives about 14km (nine miles) away from the checkpoint, said he had heard a huge explosion and had seen flames leap into the air.

Three civilians were also injured.

It appears that most of the soldiers targeted had been working in road construction, part of the army's strategy for winning hearts and minds locally.

18.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cypriot president flies to Brussels

24 March 2013 Last updated at 05:52 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

The BBC's Mark Lowen on the "unbelievable amount of pressure" on Cyprus

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades is on his way to Brussels as his country continues to seek a last-minute deal to avoid possible bankruptcy.

The trip comes after a day of talks between Cyprus and the EU and IMF.

Cyprus needs to raise 5.8bn euros (£5bn) to qualify for a 10bn-euro EU bailout.

The EU's commissioner for economic affairs Olli Rehn said the island had only "hard choices left" and must agree terms on Sunday.

Cypriot leaders are struggling to agree how to raise the money.

'Very tight'

Parliament rejected a bank levy on small and large deposits earlier this week, but a levy limited to large deposits is said to be back in consideration following pressure from Brussels and Berlin.

Cyprus needs the approval of the "troika" - the IMF, European Central Bank and European Commission - in order to present a rescue plan to eurozone ministers in Brussels.

Continue reading the main story

The stakes are very high for Cyprus. If there is no agreement, the European Central Bank says emergency loans keeping the Cypriot banks afloat will be cut off after Monday.

They would be unable to operate. If it really came to that, Cyprus would probably have to issue its own currency - and not the euro - to maintain a functioning banking system. But it won't come to that if Cyprus can convince the rest of the eurozone that it will implement a package that's capable of raising the money they - the eurozone - think is needed.

There are some voices saying Cyprus should give up the euro. But the government is pulling out the stops to avoid that. Will it be enough to convince Germany, Finland and the other countries with voters weary of bailouts? It looks as though a long night beckons in Brussels.

If a deal on an alternative agreement fails, the European Central Bank (ECB) says it will cut off funds to the banks, meaning they would collapse, possibly pushing the country out of the eurozone.

"The negotiations are at a very delicate stage," said government spokesman Christos Stylianides. "The situation is very difficult and the time limits are very tight."

Mr Rehn said: "It is essential that an agreement is reached by the eurogroup on Sunday evening. This agreement then needs to be swiftly implemented by Cyprus and its eurozone partners.

"Unfortunately the events of recent days have led to a situation where there are no longer any optimal solutions available," he added.

He said it was clear that the near future for Cyprus would be "very difficult" but that the EU stood ready to help.

Media reports said Cyprus was considering a 20% levy on deposits of more than 100,000 euros (£85,000) in its biggest lender, Bank of Cyprus, and a 4% levy on deposits above the same level at other banks.

German pressure

The bank levy that was rejected last week would have taken 6.75% from small savers and 9.9% from larger investors.

It caused widespread anger among among ordinary savers in Cyprus.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Olli Rehn: "The European Commission is working hard to facilitate a solution to help Cyprus"

There is concern on the island that a levy on large-scale foreign investors, many of whom are Russian, would damage its financial sector.

But leading Cypriot bankers have urged parliament to accept a levy, with small savers exempted.

Correspondents say Germany has pushed hard for a levy on investors who have benefited from high interest rates in recent years, rejecting a Cypriot plan to use money from pension funds.

Cypriot Finance Minister Michael Sarris travelled to Moscow this week in an unsuccessful attempt to get Russian help.

Banks in Cyprus have been closed since Monday and many businesses are only taking payment in cash.

On Saturday afternoon more than 1,000 bank employees marched to the Cypriot finance ministry, stopping briefly at the presidential palace.

18.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

CAR rebels 'take presidential palace'

24 March 2013 Last updated at 06:43 ET

Rebels in the Central African Republic say they have seized the presidential palace after President Francois Bozize reportedly fled the capital.

The Seleka rebels advanced into Bangui after an overnight lull in fighting.

One report said Mr Bozize had fled into neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

The rebels, who have been involved in an on-off rebellion since December, accuse the president of failing to honour a peace deal.

One of the rebel leaders on the ground, Colonel Djouma Narkoyo, was quoted by AFP as saying: "We have taken the presidential palace. Bozize was not there."

He said the rebels were planning to move on to the national radio station in Bangui where rebel leader Michel Djotodia planned to make a speech.

Intense gunfire was reported as rebels advanced through Bangui.

"The rebels control the town," said a spokesman for the presidency, Gaston Mackouzangba. "I hope there will not be any reprisals."

A Paris-based rebel spokesman said the rebel leadership was telling its fighters to restrain from "looting or score-settling".

An unnamed presidential advisor told Reuters news agency that Mr Bozize had crossed the Oubangi River into DR Congo on Sunday morning.

Former colonial power France has called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, and reportedly sent troops to secure the airport.

On Saturday, French officials warned their nationals in the country to stay at home.

France has some 1,250 troops in CAR.

Mineral resources

The rebels joined a power-sharing government in January after talks brokered by regional leaders to end a rebellion they launched last year.

But the deal quickly collapsed, with the rebels saying their demands, including the release of political prisoners, had not been met.

BBC Africa editor Richard Hamilton says government soldiers have been unable to fend off the rebels because Mr Bozize fears being overthrown in a coup and is therefore wary of having a strong army.

He came to power himself in a military coup in 2003.

CAR, which has a population of about 4.5 million, has been hit by a series of rebellions since independence from France in 1960.

It is one of the poorest countries in Africa, despite its considerable mineral resources.

18.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Berezovsky house given all-clear

24 March 2013 Last updated at 07:16 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Mr Berezovsky told a journalist from Forbes magazine that his life had lost its meaning

The home of the late exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky has been given the all-clear after it was searched by police with expertise in environments contaminated with chemical, biological and nuclear material.

Mr Berezovsky, 67, was found dead on Saturday and police are currently treating his death as unexplained.

The majority of a cordon around his Berkshire house has now been lifted.

He emigrated to the UK in 2000 after falling out with Russia's president.

Mr Berezovsky's body remained at the property while the search - described by police as a precaution - was carried out.

'Nothing of concern'

Supt Simon Bowden, of Thames Valley Police, thanked residents for their patience and apologised for inconvenience.

"However we needed to ensure that all precautions were taken prior to entering the property.

"I am pleased to say the CBRN officers found nothing of concern in the property and we are now progressing the investigation as normal," he said.

Boris Berezovsky amassed a fortune in the 1990s after the privatisation of state assets following the collapse of Soviet Communism.

He survived numerous assassination attempts, including a bomb that decapitated his chauffeur.

In 2003 he won political asylum to stay in Britain on the grounds that his life would be in danger in Russia.

The tycoon's wealth is thought to have considerably diminished in recent years, leaving him struggling to pay debts in the wake of costly court cases.

Litvinenko's friend

In 2011, Mr Berezovsky reportedly lost more than £100m in a divorce settlement. And, last year, he lost a £3bn ($4.7bn) damages claim against Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich.

In an interview with a Forbes magazine journalist Mr Berezovsky gave on the eve of his death, he said his life no longer made sense and he wished he could return to Russia.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Steve Rosenberg: "The Russian media has been describing him as 'the great schemer' and 'an evil genius'"

On Saturday a Kremlin spokesman said that Mr Berezovsky had recently written to Mr Putin, saying he wanted to go home.

Mr Berezovsky's body was reportedly found in a bath on Saturday afternoon. An ambulance was called to his Ascot house at 15:18 GMT.

Thames Valley police said: "Specially trained officers are currently at the scene, including CBRN [chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear] trained officers, who are conducting a number of searches as a precaution."

Supt Stuart Greenfield said: "We are aware the cordon is causing disruption to local residents and we apologise for any inconvenience, but it is important we take all necessary measures to ensure a full and thorough investigation can be carried out.

"I would like to reassure residents that we are confident there is no risk to the wider community."

He said the property was part of a large estate, so a number of roads were closed "and will remain so for the time being".

Mr Berezovsky was a close friend of murdered Russian emigre and former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko, who died in 2006 after he was poisoned with the radioactive material polonium-210 while drinking tea at a London meeting.

Without naming Mr Berezovsky, the Kremlin has accused its foreign-based opponents of organising the assassination. It was thought that Russia was, in part referring, to Mr Berezovsky.

He denied the allegation and accused Mr Putin of personally being behind Mr Litvinenko's death.

Russian media have described Mr Berezovsky's death as "the end of an era".

On its website, the pro-Kremlin paper Komsomolskaya Pravda describes Mr Berezovsky as having been "clever, cunning, resourceful... a master of chaos".

Meanwhile, Novaya Gazeta - which is normally critical of the Kremlin - described him as someone who "viewed Russia as a chess board", albeit one on which "only he would be allowed to move the pieces".

18.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Obama visits ancient ruins of Petra

23 March 2013 Last updated at 06:11 ET

US President Barack Obama is ending his visit to the Middle East with a trip to the famous ruins of the ancient city of Petra in Jordan.

The diplomatic part of his visit ended on Friday when he met King Abdullah and pledged an additional $200m (£131m) to help Syrian refugees in Jordan.

Correspondents say his four-day visit has yielded mixed results.

He brokered an Israeli rapprochement with Turkey but there was little progress on the Palestinian issue.

The BBC's North America editor, Mark Mardell, says the American leader's clear warmth towards Israel comes at a price, and many in the Arab world will feel let down.

Yet, our editor adds, he brought a subtle message to young Israelis that every people deserves freedom and a land of its own.

Israeli apology

Mr Obama's Marine One helicopter touched down near Petra after an hour-long flight from the Jordanian capital, Amman.

Continue reading the main story

Neither cynics nor partisans fully understand the magnitude of Mr Obama's ambition - nor the length of his game"

End Quote

The site of the ancient city, which is carved into rose-red stone, dates back 2,000 years and is Jordan's top tourist attraction, drawing more than half a million visitors each year.

Most of the president's time in the Middle East was spent in Israel where he held several meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

A highlight of the visit came when Mr Netanyahu apologised to Turkey for "any errors that could have led to loss of life" during the 2010 commando raid on an aid flotilla that tried to breach the Gaza blockade.

He also agreed to compensate the families of the nine Turkish activists who were killed.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office said he had accepted the apology, "in the name of the Turkish people".

Mr Obama also briefly visited Ramallah in the West Bank to meet Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority.

He urged Palestinians to drop their demands for a freeze in Israeli settlement-building as a precondition for peace talks.

However, a spokesman for Mr Abbas said the Palestinian leader had told Mr Obama the precondition remained in place.

Speaking to an audience of young Israelis in Jerusalem, Mr Obama praised Jewish nationhood before turning the argument around by stressing the need for Palestinians to share these same values of self-determination and justice.

"It is not fair that a Palestinian child cannot grow up in a state of her own living their entire lives with the presence of a foreign army that controls the movements of her parents every single day," Mr Obama said.

The US leader is due to return to Washington later on Saturday.

18.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Abu Sayyaf release Australia hostage

22 March 2013 Last updated at 22:17 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

An emaciated-looking Warren Rodwell was freed on Saturday after 15 months in captivity

An Australian man kidnapped 15 months ago by an al-Qaeda-linked group in the Philippines has been released.

An emaciated-looking Warren Rodwell was freed on Saturday near Pagadian city in the southern Philippines, police said.

He was kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf militants in 2011, and had last been shown alive in a video posted on social media websites in December.

Abu Sayyaf is considered the smallest and most radical of the extremist movements in the southern Philippines.

Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr welcomed the news, saying the release had been the result of a joint effort by authorities in both countries.

"The Philippines government had the lead role in this case and deserve congratulations for their tireless efforts on Mr Rodwell's behalf," said Mr Carr.

He added that Mr Rodwell was being moved to a safe location and that the focus now was on his recovery.

'No payments'

Mr Rodwell - who runs a shop with his wife in the Philippines' seaside town of Ipil, close to Zamboanga in south-western Mindanao - was abducted in December 2011.

A number of foreigners have been kidnapped for ransom in the southern Philippines. The Australian government has a longstanding policy of refusing to pay ransom for its citizens.

Areas within the region are used as bases by Islamist militants and rebel groups.

Abu Sayyaf militants remain a security threat in the impoverished region, where minority Muslims have been fighting for self-rule for decades.

The main Muslim separatist group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, last year signed a peace accord with the government in exchange for broad autonomy.

But Abu Sayyaf were among the rebel groups who refused to sign up to the peace deal.

18.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pope Francis to meet predecessor

23 March 2013 Last updated at 00:51 ET

The newly-elected Pope Francis is set to have lunch with his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict, in a first for the modern day Catholic Church.

Pope Francis will be flown by helicopter to his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo for the private lunch.

Benedict has lived at the lakeside castle south of Rome since last month, when he became the first pope in 600 years to resign, citing ill health.

Cardinal Jorge Maria Bergoglio was elected to succeed him on 13 March.

No known precedent

There is no public record of any previous meeting between a Pope and a former Pope as usually a new head of the Catholic Church is only elected upon the death of his predecessor, says the BBC's David Willey in Rome.

Although there were periods in the middle ages when there was more than one pope, after disputed elections, there is no precedent in modern times for a sitting Pope sitting down for lunch with the pontiff he succeeded.

In 1294, former hermit Celestine V resigned after five months as Pope. He is said to have consulted Cardinal Benedetto Gaetani on the decision, but it is not clear whether the two men dined together after Cardinal Gaetani was elected Pope 10 days later: Boniface VIII had his predecessor imprisoned and Celestine was dead within a year.

In contrast, Pope Francis has spoken warmly of his predecessor: One of his first acts as Pope was to call him at Castel Gandolfo, where the former pontiff had been following proceedings on television.

The pope emeritus is expected to stay on at the papal summer residence until new accommodation being prepared for him inside the walls of Vatican City is ready at the end of April.

For his part, Pope Francis will begin the Church's most important liturgical season on Sunday with a Palm Sunday Mass in St Peter's Square.

He will then lead six more liturgies during the week, culminating with the Easter Sunday Mass and Urbi et Orbi ("To the city [of Rome] and the world") blessing.

New style

The new Pope chose the name Francis in honour of St Francis of Assisi - the 13th century Italian saint who spurned a life of luxury to work with the poor.

Continue reading the main story

• Picturesque lakeside "castle town" in the Alban hills, 15 miles (24km) south-east of Rome
• Dates back to the 17th Century; its gardens occupy the site of a residence of the Roman Emperor Domitian
• Benedict is staying at the palace while a permanent residence is readied inside the Vatican City walls
• He has a staff of two secretaries and four women helpers, and is guarded by Vatican police officers

He has called for the Roman Catholic Church to be closer to ordinary people, especially the poor and disadvantaged.

And, only 10 days into his pontificate, he has made some subtle but significant changes in the lifestyle of the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, says our correspondent.

He dresses very simply, preferring to wear plain black shoes under a simple white habit rather than the specially-made red leather loafers and ermine-trimmed cape worn by his predecessor.

The first Latin American Pope spurned a special car to take a bus with his cardinals after he was elected, and insisted on returning to his Rome hotel the next day to pay his own bill.

And Pope Francis places himself on the same level as his guests, rather than greeting them from a throne on an elevated platform - which is seen as a powerful gesture after centuries of Vatican pomp.

The former archbishop of Buenos Aires has also started inviting guests to his early morning Mass - including Vatican gardeners, street sweepers, kitchen staff and maids working at the hotel where he is currently staying.

18.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

EU to hold crunch talks with Cyprus

23 March 2013 Last updated at 06:09 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and party leaders are due in Brussels for last-ditch talks on how to secure crucial EU funding.

Cyprus has to raise 5.8bn euros (£4.9bn; $7.5bn) before Monday to qualify for a 10bn-euro bailout.

Parliament voted on Friday to restructure the island's banks, set up a "national solidarity fund", and establish capital controls.

But it has yet to vote on other key measures, including a bank levy.

The Cypriot parliament is not expected to reconvene until after European finance ministers meet on Sunday, Reuters news agency reported.

The European Central Bank has given Cyprus until Monday to raise the bailout money, or it says it will cut off funds to the banks, meaning they would collapse, possibly pushing the country out of the eurozone.

Cyprus now needs to find out what money-raising measures the EU will accept before putting them to a vote, the BBC's Chris Morris reports from Nicosia.

Continue reading the main story

The eurozone is really turning the screw on Cyprus, and it's being led by Germany.

The message is crystal clear - your economic model has to change. They will no longer accept the idea of a national economy within the eurozone that is dependent on its reputation as an offshore tax haven.

There is huge irritation with the way the Cypriots have handled things, and that has led to the imposition of deadlines which mean big decisions need to be taken very quickly.

The cost of cleaning up the Cypriot banking system must be borne by investors in the Cypriot banking system - like it or lump it.

He says Germany is essentially writing the rules for the eurozone, and the message coming from Brussels and Berlin is that the money has to come from the banking sector.

Germany has said it opposes one other measure under consideration - nationalising some pensions to pay into a solidarity fund along with other assets.

It has also made it clear that it will no longer accept an economy within the eurozone that is dominated by its status as an economic tax haven, our correspondent adds.

A bank levy for account holders with deposits of more than 100,000 euros is therefore back on the table.

Leading Cypriot bankers have urged parliament to accept a levy, with small savers exempted.

On Tuesday, parliament overwhelmingly rejected a levy that would have made small savers pay 6.75%, while larger investors would have paid 9.9%.

The proposal provoked widespread anger among both ordinary savers and large-scale foreign investors, many of them Russian. Russia is a key investor in Cyprus.

The government fears a levy would prompt foreign investors to withdraw their money, destroying one of the island's biggest industries.

Cypriot Finance Minister Michael Sarris travelled to Moscow this week to seek Russian support for alternative funding methods, but Russia said it would only act after the EU reached a deal with Cyprus.

Among nine bills approved on Friday, Cyprus's parliament voted to restructure of the banking sector, starting with the country's second largest and most troubled bank, Laiki (Popular) Bank.

Under the restructuring, Cyprus' troubled lenders will be split into so-called good and bad banks.

Parliament also voted for capital controls to prevent large withdrawals from Cyprus.

Banks in Cyprus have been closed since Monday and many businesses are only taking payment in cash.

18.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Stunning new view of 'oldest light'

By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News, Paris

A spectacular new map of the "oldest light" in the sky has just been released by the European Space Agency.

Scientists say its mottled pattern is an exquisite confirmation of our Big-Bang model for the origin and evolution of the Universe.

But there are features in the picture, they add, that are unexpected and will require ideas to be refined.

The map was assembled from 15 months' worth of data acquired by the 600m-euro (£515m) Planck space telescope.

It details what is known as the cosmic microwave background, or CMB - a faint glow of microwave radiation that pervades all of space.

Its precise configuration, visible in the new Planck data, is suggestive of a cosmos that is slightly older than previously thought - one that came into existence 13.82 billion years ago.

This is an increase of about 50 million years on earlier calculations.

Cosmic recipe

The map's pattern also indicates a subtle adjustment is needed to the Universe's inventory of contents.

It seems there is slightly more matter out there (31.7%) and slightly less "dark energy" (68.3%), the mysterious component thought to be driving the cosmos apart at an accelerating rate.

Continue reading the main story

How Planck's view hints at new physics

• The CMB's temperature fluctuations are put through a number of statistical analyses
• Deviations can be studied as a function of their size on the sky - their angular scale
• When compared to best-fit Big Bang models, some anomalies are evident
• One shows the fluctuations on the biggest scales to be weaker than expected
• Theorists will need to adjust their ideas to account for these features

Planck is the third western satellite to study the CMB. The two previous efforts - COBE and WMAP - were led by the US space agency (Nasa). The Soviets also had an experiment in space in the 1980s that they called Relikt-1.

The CMB is the light that was finally allowed to spread out across space once the Universe had cooled sufficiently to permit the formation of hydrogen atoms - about 380,000 years into the life of the cosmos.

It still bathes the Earth in a near-uniform glow at microwave frequencies, and has a temperature profile that is just 2.7 degrees above absolute zero.

But it is possible to detect minute deviations in this signal, and these fluctuations - seen as mottling in the map - are understood to reflect the differences in the density of matter when the light parted company and set out on its journey all those years ago.

The fluctuations can be thought of as the seeds for all the structure that later developed in the cosmos - all the stars and galaxies.

Scientists subject the temperature deviations to a range of statistical analyses, which can then be matched against theoretical expectations.

This allows them to rule in some models to explain the origin and evolution of the cosmos, while ruling out a host of others.

The team that has done this for Planck's data says the map is an elegant fit for the standard model of cosmology - the idea that the Universe started in a hot, dense state in an incredibly small space, and then expanded and cooled.

At a fundamental level, it also supports an "add-on" to this Big Bang theory known as inflation, which postulates that in the very first moments of its existence the Universe opened up in an exponential manner - faster than light itself.

But because Planck's map is so much more detailed than anything previously obtained, it is also possible to see some anomalies in it.

One is the finding that the temperature fluctuations, when viewed across the biggest scales, do not match those predicted by the standard model. Their signal is a bit weaker than expected.

There appears also to be an asymmetry in the average temperatures across the sky; the southern hemisphere is slightly warmer than the north.

A third significant anomaly is a cold spot in the map, centred on the constellation Eridanus, which is much bigger than would be predicted.

These features have been hinted at before by Planck's most recent predecessor - Nasa's WMAP satellite - but are now seen with greater clarity and their significance cemented.

A consequence will be the binning of many ideas for how inflation propagated, as the process was first introduced in the 1980s as a way to iron out such phenomena.

The fact that these delicate features are real will force theorists to finesse their inflationary solutions and possibly even lead them to some novel physics on the way.

Continue reading the main story

CMB - The 'oldest light' in the Universe

• Theory holds that 380,000 years after Big Bang, matter and light "decoupled"
• Matter went on to form stars and galaxies; the light spread out and cooled
• The light - the CMB - now washes over the Earth at microwave frequencies
• COBE/WMAP measured tiny temperature fluctuations (mottling above)
• These fluctuations reflect density differences in the early distribution of matter
• Their pattern betrays the age, shape and contents of the Universe, and more

Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos

18.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Obama meets Palestinian leader

21 March 2013 Last updated at 06:35 ET

US President Barack Obama has arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah for talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Meeting Mr Obama off his helicopter, Mr Abbas took him to his presidential compound for talks likely to focus on the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

The American leader is spending a few hours in Ramallah and Palestinian expectations are low, analysts say.

On his first visit as US president, Mr Obama vowed strong support for Israel.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Mr Obama has gone out of his way to make Israel feel loved, and he may just expect something in return"

End Quote

At talks on Wednesday, the US leader and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed their commitment to a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict

Speaking in Jerusalem, Mr Obama said a central element of securing a lasting peace in the Middle East "must be a strong and secure Jewish state where its security concerns are met, alongside a sovereign and independent Palestinian state".

Two rockets were fired from Gaza into southern Israel on Thursday morning, Israeli officials say, but there were no reports of anyone being hurt. A further two rockets fired from Gaza reportedly fell inside Gaza itself.

Mr Abbas condemned "violence against civilians, whatever its source, including the firing of rockets", according to a Palestinian spokesperson.

Continue reading the main story 'Intolerable'

The US leader is being accompanied in Ramallah by his Secretary of State, John Kerry.

Mr Obama was met in Ramallah by Palestinian officials as about 150 protesters were kept away from the Palestinian president's compound by police.

A banner hung out at the Bab al Shams Palestinian protest camp in Jerusalem read: "Obama: you promised hope and change, you gave us Colonies and Apartheid."

The BBC's Jon Donnison in Ramallah says the West Bank meeting could prove a difficult corner to turn, after Mr Obama also declared that the US was Israel's strongest ally.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

President Obama is coming to Ramallah by helicopter for meetings with Palestinian leaders in the West Bank at the presidential headquarters, the Muqata. The prisoners' minister will hand him a letter from Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails. Mr Obama will then briefly visit a youth centre here to see a project funded by USAID.

There is deep disappointment among Palestinians that Mr Obama has not done more to support their bid for an independent state. PLO official Nabil Shaath suggests he "won the hearts of Palestinians" in his 2009 Cairo speech when he said "the only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states" but laments the president's "lack of determination" to bring about negotiations.

Palestinians want to show Mr Obama how the rapid expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank threatens to fatally undermine a two-state solution to the conflict with Israel. However they do not expect to achieve much during his few hours here.

Palestinians have been disappointed with the American leader and expectations are low, our correspondent says.

In a 2009 speech in Cairo, Mr Obama called the situation for Palestinians "intolerable" and spoke of their undeniable suffering in pursuit of a homeland.

Since then, however, little has changed on the ground as the Middle East's most intractable conflict has been sidelined by the Arab Spring, and US-Israeli concern over Syria and Iran, our correspondent says.

Following the talks in Jerusalem, Mr Netanyahu said his new government, sworn in earlier this week, remained "fully committed to peace and the solution of two states".

"We extend our hands in peace and friendship to the Palestinian people," he said, adding that he hoped Mr Obama's visit would "turn a page" in relations with the Palestinians.

But the two leaders also said they agreed that Israel had the right to "defend itself by itself".

After his trip to the West Bank, Mr Obama is expected to deliver a speech to Israeli students in Jerusalem. He will leave for Jordan on Friday.

Continue reading the main story

Barack Obama in Middle East

• Wednesday: Meets Benjamin Netanyahu
• Thursday: Meets Mahmoud Abbas, addresses Israeli students
• Friday: Visits Bethlehem's Church of Nativity and later departs for Jordan

Earlier on Thursday, the US leader visited the Israel Museum in Jerusalem with Mr Netanyahu to see the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Security for his three-day visit is tight, with thousands of Israeli and Palestinian security officers on duty in Jerusalem and Ramallah, the Palestinians' de facto capital.

Both Israeli and Palestinian groups have staged protests in the run-up to Mr Obama's visit.

There were clashes in Hebron in the West Bank between Israeli settlers and pro-Palestinian protesters, and in Gaza City protesters burned US flags outside UN offices.

Meanwhile, Israelis have staged protests in Jerusalem demanding Mr Obama free Jonathan Pollard, imprisoned in the US in 1987 for spying for Israel.

18.19 | 0 komentar | Read More