Spanish princess to face fraud trial

22 December 2014 Last updated at 10:40

The Spanish king's sister, Princess Cristina, is to face a tax fraud trial over alleged links to her husband's business dealings.

It is the first time for modern Spain to put a royal in the dock to face trial.

Her husband Inaki Urdangarin is accused of embezzling millions in public funds with a former business partner.

The couple deny wrongdoing. Prosecutors in Palma, Majorca, say Mr Urdangarin's sports foundation misused public money.

It is alleged that €5.6m (£4.6m; $7.5m) of public money went missing from the Noos Institute, a charitable sports foundation, when Mr Urdangarin was in charge of it.

Princess Cristina, 49, is under suspicion over €2.6m of that money. She is the sister of King Felipe VI, and youngest daughter of the former king, Juan Carlos.

The allegations relate to business affairs in 2007-2008. The affair has cast a long shadow over the Spanish royal family since the investigation was launched in 2010.

Mr Urdangarin and his then business partner, Diego Torres, allegedly used the Noos Institute to organise events for the regional governments of Valencia and the Balearic Islands at hugely inflated prices.

The princess is expected to sit in the dock with 16 other suspects. With her husband she co-owned a company called Aizoon.

A far-right trade union called Manos Limpias ("Clean Hands") brought a civil action over the affair and wants an eight-year prison sentence for the princess and 26.5 years for her husband.

Princess Cristina is sixth in line to the throne. Her wedding in 1997 to the then Spanish professional handball player Inaki Urdangarin was celebrated in a fairy-tale atmosphere.

But in recent years opposition to the monarchy has grown. Juan Carlos abdicated on 18 June, after months of poor health.

Juan Carlos was widely admired for the way he steered Spain's difficult transition to democracy after the death of the dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.

But before his abdication Juan Carlos was criticised over controversial hunting trips, at a time when the Noos scandal was regularly making headlines. Republican feelings have also grown in Catalonia's strong pro-independence movement.

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IMF cuts blamed for Ebola spread

22 December 2014 Last updated at 11:09

Spending cuts imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may have contributed to the rapid spread of Ebola in three West African states, UK-based researchers say.

It had led to "under-funded, insufficiently staffed, and poorly prepared health systems" in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, they said.

The IMF denied the allegation.

The deadliest Ebola outbreak ever has so far killed more than 7,300 people, mostly in the three states.

"A major reason why the Ebola outbreak spread so rapidly was the weakness of healthcare systems in the region, and it would be unfortunate if underlying causes were overlooked," said Cambridge University sociologist and lead study author Alexander Kentikelenis.

Policies requiring that government spending be slashed were "extremely strict, absorbing funds that could be directed to meeting pressing health challenges", the study said.

Mr Kentikelenis told the BBC's Newsday programme that caps on wage bills meant countries could not hire heath staff and pay them adequately.

The IMF's emphasis on decentralised healthcare systems had also made it difficult to mobilise a co-ordinated response to health emergencies such as the Ebola outbreak, he said.

'Completely untrue'

Study co-author Lawrence King said study Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone had met the IMF's directives in 2013, just before the Ebola outbreak.

However, they all "failed to raise their social spending despite pressing health needs", he said.

The IMF said in a statement that health spending in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone had, in fact, increased in the 2010-2013 period.

It was "completely untrue" that IMF policies had caused Ebola to spread, a spokesman is quoted by AFP news agency as saying

"Such claims are based on a misunderstanding, and, in some cases, a misrepresentation, of IMF policies," he said.

The three poor West African states are heavily dependent on donor funding.

Conflict in Liberia and Sierra Leone in the 1990s also contributed to the destruction of their health systems.

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New York killer boasted to onlookers

22 December 2014 Last updated at 11:09

The man who shot dead two New York police officers told members of the public to "watch what I'm going to do" shortly before the attack, police say.

Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, had a history of violence and mental instability.

Candlelit vigils have been held in New York in memory of officers Wenjian Liu, 32, and Rafael Ramos, 40.

Brinsley shot them as they sat in their patrol car in Brooklyn on Saturday before running into a subway station and shooting himself.

Hours earlier, he had shot and wounded his 29-year-old ex-girlfriend, Shaneka Thompson, at her home in Baltimore, Maryland, police said.

'Self-despair'

The New York Police Department's Chief of Detectives, Robert Boyce, said that for weeks before the shooting, Brinsley had posted anti-police and anti-government messages on his Instagram account referring to the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner.

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Crowds gathered in New York at candlelit vigils

Protests erupted across the US last month after grand juries in Missouri and then New York declined to charge the white police officers who killed the two unarmed black men.

Chief Boyce said Brinsley had also shared his feelings of "self-despair and anger at himself and where his life was" in recent posts.

When he arrived in New York on Saturday - hours after shooting Ms Thompson in the stomach - Brinsley threatened on Instagram to kill police officers.

"They Take 1 of Ours... Let's Take 2 of Theirs #ShootThePolice #RIPEricGarner #RIPMike Brown," he continued before adding: "This May Be My Final Post."

Minutes before the attack, Brinsley struck up a conversation with two men, Chief Boyce said.

"He asked them for their gang affiliation; he asked them to follow him on Instagram; and then he says: 'Watch what I'm going to do.'"

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Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said Brinsley had "no history of radicalisation" but that he was "often violent"

He then walked past the patrol car with officers Liu and Ramos inside, circled it and, crossed the street and came up behind the car, Chief Boyce said.

He walked along the pavement before firing four bullets through the front passenger window, hitting both officers, and then ran.

Brinsley fled to a nearby subway station, where police said he shot himself in the head using his semi-automatic handgun.

Threats

Police departments in New York and several other cities were said to be operating on "high alert", fearful of copy-cat attacks.

The NYPD has suspended all auxiliary patrols for the time being, and police unions have told officers to respond to every radio call with two cars and to not make arrests "unless absolutely necessary", according to CBS News.

Forces are also monitoring social media for threats. In Memphis, Tennessee, a man was taken into custody after writing in a post that he was "driving to New York to kill more cops".

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Lucy Ramos, aunt of Rafael: "I hope and pray that we can reflect on this tragic loss... so that we can move forward and find an amicable path to a peaceful co-existence"

Meanwhile, the family of officer Ramos joined community leaders near their home in Brooklyn for a prayer vigil on Sunday.

His 13-year-old son, Jaden, wrote on Facebook: "It's horrible that someone gets shot dead just for being a police officer. Everyone says they hate cops but they are the people that they call for help."

Officer Ramos's cousin, Ronnie Gonzalez, said the family had already forgiven his killer.

Mr Gonzalez also said the family would not object to New York Mayor Bill de Blasio attending the funeral, adding: "We're not disrespectful. We're not going to throw him out and say: 'Don't be here.'"

The mayor has been criticised by unions over what they perceive as his lack of support and respect for the police amid the recent protests over the deaths of Mr Brown and Mr Garner.

Last week, the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association asked officers to sign a petition calling for Mr de Blasio to be barred from attending their funerals if they were killed in the line of duty.

And on Saturday night, several officers turned their back on Mr de Blasio as he entered a news conference about the shooting.

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North Korea threatens US over Sony

22 December 2014 Last updated at 11:15

North Korea has threatened unspecified attacks on the US in an escalation of a war of words following the Sony Pictures cyber-attacks.

In a fiery statement, the North warned of strikes against the White House, Pentagon and "the whole US mainland".

North Korea denies US claims it is behind cyber-attacks linked to a film that features the fictional killing of its leader Kim Jong-un.

North Korea has a long history of issuing threats against the US.

The latest statement comes days after the US formally accused the North of orchestrating a massive cyber attack on Sony Pictures.

"The army and people of the DPRK [North Korea] are fully ready to stand in confrontation with the US in all war spaces including cyber warfare space," a long statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency said.

"Our toughest counteraction will be boldly taken against the White House, the Pentagon and the whole US mainland, the cesspool of terrorism, by far surpassing the 'symmetric counteraction' declared by Obama."

It accused President Obama of "recklessly making the rumour" that North Korea was behind the Sony attack.

It also said it "estimates highly the righteous action" taken by the hackers of Sony, although it is "not aware of where they are".

Analysis by Stephen Evans, BBC Korea correspondent

North Korea frequently uses fierce rhetoric against both South Korea and the United States so there's no great step-up in fierceness. And it is for domestic consumption as well as for outsiders.

The statement has weight because it comes from the most powerful body in North Korea, the National Defence Commission, which is chaired by Kim Jong-un.

It has two arguments - essentially "we didn't do it" and "whoever did do it was right".

The statement goes into some detail about the FBI argument that there were signs in the computer code that North Korea was behind the Sony attack. it said such lines of code are commonplace and do not prove any North Korean involvement.

Sony details leaked

The hack resulted in unreleased films and the script for the next James Bond film being leaked online.

Details of corporate finances and private emails between producers and Hollywood figures were also released.

The eventual fallout from the attack saw Sony cancel the Christmas release of a comedy called The Interview, a film depicting the assassination of the North Korean leader.

That decision followed threats made by a group that hacked into Sony's servers and leaked sensitive information and emails.

The North has denied being behind the attacks, and offered to hold a joint inquiry with the US.

But the US turned down the offer, and President Barack Obama said it was considering putting North Korea back on its list of terrorism sponsors, a move that further angered Pyongyang.

North Korea had been on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism for two decades until the White House removed it in 2008, as part of now-stalled negotiations relating to Pyongyang's nuclear programme.

In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Mr Obama promised to respond "proportionately" to the cyber-attack.

"I'll wait to review what the findings are," he said, adding that he did not think the attack "was an act of war".

The US has reportedly also asked China to curb cyber-attacks by North Korea.

China is North Korea's close ally and is seen as the nation with the most influence over Pyongyang.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a telephone conversation with his US counterpart John Kerry on Sunday in which they discussed the Sony row.

Mr Wang said China was "against all forms of cyber-attacks and cyber-terrorism" but did not refer directly to North Korea.

In a statement posted on China's foreign ministry's website (in Chinese) on Monday, he said that China "opposes any country or person using infrastructure from another country to launch a cyber attack on a third-party country".

Correspondents say the issue of hacking is a sensitive one in Sino-US relations, with the two sides frequently trading accusations of cyber-espionage.

The Interview saga

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Sony has pledged to find a way to get the film out, as Catharina Moh reports

The Interview features James Franco and Seth Rogen as two journalists granted an audience with Mr Kim. The CIA then enlists the pair to assassinate him.

Sony says it made the decision to cancel its release after most US cinemas chose not to screen the film, following terrorism threats.

• 22 November: Sony computer systems hacked, exposing embarrassing emails and personal details about stars
• 7 December: North Korea denies accusations that it is behind the cyber-attack, but praises it as a "righteous deed"
• 16 December: "Guardians of Peace" hacker group threatens 9/11-type attack on cinemas showing film; New York premiere cancelled
• 17 December: Leading US cinema groups say they will not screen film; Sony cancels Christmas-day release
• 19 December: FBI concludes North Korea orchestrated hack; President Obama calls Sony cancellation "a mistake"
• 20 December: North Korea proposes joint inquiry with US into hacks, rejected by the US.

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Mother charged with Cairns murders

21 December 2014 Last updated at 06:04

Australian authorities have charged a woman in the northern city of Cairns with the murder of seven of her children and her niece.

Mersane Warria, 37, was charged while in hospital where she is being treated under guard for self-inflicted knife wounds, police say.

Post-mortem examinations are being carried out to determine the exact cause of the eight victims' deaths.

The four boys and four girls were aged between 18 months and 14 years.

Police found a number of weapons at the scene, including knives, which are being examined.

Officers said they were looking at various possibilities for the deaths, including suffocation.

The bodies were reportedly discovered by the mother's 20-year-old son arriving at the home on Friday morning.

Police have dismissed reports the family had been investigated by social services saying it was "not a problem house".

Memorials have sprung up outside the home in the Manoora district of Cairns.

A church service was held on Sunday morning to remember the children.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in a statement it was an "unspeakable crime".

These were "trying days for our country", he added.

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US insists North Korea behind hack

21 December 2014 Last updated at 08:27

The US has rejected North Korea's claim that it was not responsible for a cyber-attack on Sony Pictures.

North Korea strongly denies carrying out the attack and invited the US to take part in a joint investigation.

A senior US security official said North Korea should instead "admit culpability and compensate Sony".

North Korea strongly objects to Sony Pictures' satirical film, The Interview, which portrays the fictional killing of its leader, Kim Jong-Un.

After the attack and threats, Sony cancelled the Christmas Day release of the film.

Responding to anonymous threats against cinemas, Sony said it was considering releasing it "on a different platform".

The FBI said on Friday that North Korea had carried out last month's cyber-attack, in which script details and private emails were leaked.

The US defended its findings on Saturday, with US National Security spokesman Mark Stroh saying: "We are confident the North Korean government is responsible for this destructive attack."

"If the North Korean government wants to help, they can admit their culpability and compensate Sony for the damages this attack caused," he said.

On Saturday, the North Korean foreign ministry said: "As the United States is spreading groundless allegations and slandering us, we propose a joint investigation with it into this incident."

"We have means to prove that this incident has nothing to do with us."

The statement said there would be "grave consequences" if the Americans rejected their inquiry proposal.

The Interview saga

• 22 November: Sony computer systems hacked, exposing embarrassing emails and personal details about stars
• 7 December: North Korea denies accusations that it is behind the cyber-attack, but praises it as a "righteous deed"
• 16 December: "Guardians of Peace" hacker group threatens 9/11-type attack on cinemas showing film; New York premiere cancelled
• 17 December: Leading US cinema groups say they will not screen film; Sony cancels Christmas-day release
• 19 December: FBI concludes North Korea orchestrated hack; President Obama calls Sony cancellation "a mistake"
• 20 December: North Korea proposes join inquiry with US into hacks.

The Interview features James Franco and Seth Rogen as two journalists who are granted an audience with Mr Kim. The CIA then enlists the pair to assassinate him.

The film's cancelled release drew criticism in Hollywood, with some calling it an attack on the freedom of expression.

Sony says it made the decision after most US cinemas chose not to screen the film, following the threats.

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Tunisia holds landmark election

21 December 2014 Last updated at 10:05

Voters in Tunisia are choosing their first freely elected president in a run-off election seen as a landmark in the country's move to democracy.

Beji Caid Essebsi, who won the first round with 39% of the vote, is challenging interim leader Moncef Marzouki.

Mr Essebsi represents the secular-leaning Nidaa Tounes party.

Tunisia was the first country to depose its leader in the Arab Spring and inspired other uprisings in the region.

Mr Essebsi, who turned 88 this week, held office under both deposed President Zine el-Abedine Ben Ali and Tunisia's first post-independence leader, Habib Bourguiba.

He is popular in the wealthy, coastal regions, and has based his appeal to voters on stability and experience.

His opponent, Moncef Marzouki, is a 67-year-old human rights activists forced into exile by the Ben Ali government.

He has been interim president since 2011 and is more popular in the conservative, poorer south.

Mr Marzouki is likely to attract support from the Islamist Ennahda party, which has paid a key role in Tunisian politics since the Arab Spring but has not fielded a candidate.

At the scene: Naveena Kottoor, BBC Tunis

Voting is well under way at a school-turned-polling station in the Tunis suburb of Kram, not too far from the presidential palace in Carthage.

At least 10 members of the Tunisian security forces are deployed here, checking bags and ID before people are allowed to enter.

Many voters have brought their children, who are playing in the courtyard while the parents are queuing. Slightly more than two hours after voting started turnout here was under 20%.

The process is being scrutinised not just by international election observers, but also by thousands of Tunisian observers, who are walking around in blue vests and filling in forms.

"I am not just proud, I am very, very proud," said a 65-year-old man who has just arrived. "I never voted under dictatorship, this is the first time for me."

Presidential powers

Whoever wins faces restricted powers under a constitution passed earlier this year.

The president will be commander-in-chief of the armed forces but can appoint or sack senior officers only in consultation with the prime minister.

The president will also set foreign policy in consultation with the prime minister, represent the state and ratify treaties.

Tunisia has boosted security for the elections and closed border posts with Libya, which has been plagued by unrest.

In the build-up to the vote, a video emerged of Islamic State militants claiming responsibility for the 2013 killings of two Tunisian politicians.

The men in the video also condemned the election and threatened more killings.

An interior ministry spokesman dismissed the video, saying the group "mean nothing to us".

About 5.2 million Tunisians are eligible to vote in the run-off poll. At least 88,000 observers are overseeing the election, according to Tunisian state media.

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Obama condemns killings of NY police

21 December 2014 Last updated at 11:00

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The BBC's Alpa Patel: "This attack comes at a tense time in the US"

US President Barack Obama has strongly condemned the killings of two New York City police officers shot by a man who then killed himself on Saturday.

Mr Obama said the officers would not be going home to their loved ones "and for that, there is no justification".

The two were killed while on patrol in Brooklyn. New York's police chief says they were "targeted for their uniform".

The gunman had posted anti-police messages online, amid continuing tensions over police tactics.

In a statement issued by the White House on Sunday, President Obama said: "I unconditionally condemn today's murder of two police officers in New York City."

"Officers who serve and protect our communities risk their own safety for ours every single day and they deserve our respect and gratitude every single day," said Mr Obama, who is on holiday in Hawaii.

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Police commissioner: "They were quite simply assassinated"

The gunman - named as Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28 - was a black man while the two officers, Liu Wenjin and Raphael Ramos, were Asian and Hispanic respectively.

Before shooting them, Brinsley suggested on social media that he was planning to kill police in retaliation for the death of Eric Garner, a black man who died when white officers tried to arrest him for selling cigarettes in New York.

Earlier this month, a grand jury decided not to indict an officer over his death. Last month, another grand jury also cleared a white officer in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old, in Ferguson, Missouri.

Both decisions triggered nationwide protests.

Instagram post

New York City police commissioner Bill Bratton said the officers had been killed in their patrol car with "no provocation" and that they were "quite simply assassinated".

After the shooting in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area, the gunman ran into a subway station where he killed himself.

Mr Bratton also said Brinsley had wounded a former girlfriend earlier on Saturday in Baltimore, Maryland, and had made posts from her Instagram account.

"This may be my final post," said one that included an image of a silver handgun.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said anyone seeing postings indicating a threat to the police should report them.

The Rev Al Sharpton, a prominent civil rights activist, said Mr Garner's family had had no connection to the gunman and he denounced the violence.

"Any use of the names of Eric Garner and Michael Brown in connection with any violence or killing of police, is reprehensible and against the pursuit of justice in both cases," Rev Sharpton said.

The last fatal shooting of a New York police officer was in 2011.

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Cairns children's mother arrested

20 December 2014 Last updated at 06:30

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Detective Inspector Bruno Asnicar told a news conference the mother had been arrested

The mother of seven of eight children found dead at a house in Cairns, Australia, has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Police say the 37-year-old is talking to officers. She has not been charged.

She was found at her home with stab wounds, alongside the bodies of the eight children. A coroner is due to conduct post-mortem examinations.

The victims were aged 18 months to 14 years. Police have not said how they died. The eighth child was her niece.

Confirming the arrest, Cairns Detective Inspector Bruno Asnicar said: "The 37-year-old mother of several of the children involved in this incident has been arrested for murder overnight and is currently under police guard at the Cairns Base Hospital."

"At this stage we're not looking for anybody else - we're comfortable that the community at large is safe," he added.

'Unspeakable crime'

Police found a number of weapons at the scene , including knives, which are being examined.

The woman's name has not been released. Her age was first given as 34 but has since been corrected to 37.

The bodies were reportedly discovered by the mother's 20-year-old son arriving at the home on Friday morning.

Police have dismissed reports the family had been investigated by social services saying it was "not a problem house".

A candlelight vigil and church service were held on Friday evening for the children.

Memorials have sprung up outside the home in the Manoora district of Cairns.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in a statement it was an "unspeakable crime".

These were "trying days for our country", he added.

The deaths come just days after the siege of a cafe in Sydney which ended with the gunman and two hostages dead.

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Obama orders ban on Crimea trade

20 December 2014 Last updated at 07:22

US President Barack Obama has ordered a ban on the export of goods, technology and services to Crimea.

The executive order also imposes new sanctions on Russian and Ukrainian individuals and companies.

Mr Obama said the move showed the US would never accept Russia's annexation of Crimea in March.

Similar measures agreed by the European Union earlier this week came into effect on Saturday. Canada announced its own sanction on Crimea on Friday.

After the peninsula was annexed, pro-Russian separatists took control of parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine in April, and later declared independence.

Some 4,700 people have died and another million have been displaced by fighting in recent months.

On Friday, five Ukrainian soldiers were killed in fighting - the highest death toll since the latest attempt at a ceasefire began on 9 December.

Night Wolves

Mr Obama said in a statement: "The executive order is intended to provide clarity to US corporations doing business in the region and reaffirm that the United States will not accept Russia's occupation and attempted annexation of Crimea."

In addition to the goods, technology and services ban, US individuals or companies cannot now buy any real estate or businesses in Crimea or fund Crimean firms.

The new measures also include sanctions on 24 Ukrainian and Russian individuals and on a number of companies deemed to be destabilising Ukraine.

They include the Russian equity investment group, Marshall Capital Partners, and the Night Wolves biker group, over its involvement in Crimean military action.

The European Union announced its own sanctions against the region on Thursday. All investment in Crimea is banned, as is participation in Russian oil and gas exploration in the Black Sea. European cruise ships will not be able to visit the peninsula's ports.

But like the EU, Mr Obama said he would not yet impose new sanctions on Russia itself, urging it again to de-escalate the tension in eastern Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that "threatening new sanctions against Russia could undermine the possibility of normal cooperation between our countries for a long time".

Mr Obama said: "I again call on Russia to end its occupation and attempted annexation of Crimea, cease its support to separatists in eastern Ukraine, and fulfil its commitments under the Minsk agreement."

The agreement signed by Ukraine and the rebels in Minsk, in Belarus, in September, put in place a ceasefire and set out the terms for a peace process.

However, fighting has continued, with more than 1,000 people killed since then.

The Ukraine crisis began a year ago, when pro-Moscow leader Viktor Yanukovych abandoned an agreement on closer trade ties with EU in favour of closer co-operation with Russia.

This decision sparked pro-EU protests in the capital Kiev, eventually toppling Mr Yanukovych in February. Russia annexed Crimea after his removal.

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