Obama leads Leonard Nimoy tributes

28 February 2015 Last updated at 10:55

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The BBC's David Sillito looks back at the life of Leonard Nimoy

President Obama has led tributes to Leonard Nimoy, the US actor who played Mr Spock in the cult sci-fi series Star Trek, who has died aged 83.

"I loved Spock," said Mr Obama.

Nimoy died in Los Angeles on Friday. His son Adam said he died of end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which is often caused by smoking.

His career took in acting, directing, writing and photography, but he was best known for portraying the half-human, half-Vulcan character Spock.

Obama said in a statement: "Long before being nerdy was cool, there was Leonard Nimoy.

"Leonard was a lifelong lover of the arts and humanities, a supporter of the sciences, generous with his time and talents.

"And of course, Leonard was Spock. Cool, logical, big-eared and level-headed, the centre of Star Trek's optimistic, inclusive vision of humanity's future."

Obama's approach to politics has been described as Spock-like. He greeted Nimoy with a four fingered Vulcan salute when the pair met in 2007.

Among the torrent of tributes on Twitter was a message from Nasa crediting Nimoy and Star Trek as an inspiration.

Other Star Trek cast members gave their praise too. William Shatner, who as Captain Kirk acted alongside Nimoy for years in Star Trek, said he loved the actor "like a brother".

George Takei, who played Hikaru Sulu said "he was an extraordinarily talented man but he was also a very decent human being."

Zachary Quinto, who played Spock in a Star Trek prequel, said: "My heart is broken."

More than a Vulcan

Nimoy played the Spock in all three of the original series of the programme and later in several big-screen spin offs.

He did have success outside of his Spock costume, in both acting and directing, and he pursued music, painting, and photography.

After the end of Star Trek's initial run, he played master of disguise Paris in the hit adventure series Mission Impossible.

Later he directed two of the Star Trek films, The Search for Spock and The Voyage Home, and in 1987 helmed the hit comedy Three Men and a Baby, one of the highest-grossing films of that year.

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US avoids homeland security shutdown

28 February 2015 Last updated at 05:53

The US Homeland Security Department has avoided a partial shutdown as Congress passed a one-week funding extension, hours before a midnight deadline.

The House of Representatives voted 357-60 in favour of the short-term bill after it had been passed in the Senate.

President Barack Obama, who said he would back a short-term deal to avert a shutdown, signed it shortly afterwards.

It ensures the department's 250,000 employees will be paid while a longer-term funding agreement is discussed.

The two-thirds majority vote was reached about two hours before the midnight (05:00 GMT Saturday) deadline.

Earlier, Republicans had rejected a similar three-week extension after provisions against President Obama's immigration plan were dropped.

The one-week deal was backed by a majority of Democrats despite many of them voting against the earlier bill in the hope that a longer-term deal could be agreed.

The move came shortly after President Obama had spoken by phone to Democratic leaders in a bid to avert the partial department closure.

The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for securing US borders, airports and coastal waters.

About 200,000 "essential" department employees would have continued to work without pay if the agency's funding had not been secured.

Effects of a Homeland Security shutdown

• Airport security agents required to work without pay
• Employers would not have the ability to use a programme called E-Verify to check if new employees are authorised to work legally in the US
• No grants made to local and state authorities, including for training and new equipment
• Secret Service will not be able to hire agents to protect 2016 presidential candidates
• Civil rights and civil liberties complaint lines and investigations will be shut down

Some Republicans had wanted to use the funding of the department, which includes immigration officials, as a bargaining chip to force President Obama to end policies on immigration.

Last November, Mr Obama used his executive powers to protect about five million undocumented immigrants from deportation. Republicans say Mr Obama overstepped his powers in doing so.

A separate ruling by a federal judge has blocked those policies from starting while a lawsuit by more than two dozen states goes forward.

Some Republicans senators had expressed a desire to fight the executive actions in the courts, rather than threaten the department's funding.

The BBC's Naomi Grimley in Washington says many on Capitol Hill feared a public backlash if the funding had been thrown into doubt at a time of fears about "lone wolf" terrorists.

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Will undocumented people come forward amid uncertainty?

On Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson urged Congress to pass full funding.

"A short-term continuing resolution exacerbates the uncertainty for my workforce and puts us back in the same position, on the brink of a shutdown just days from now," Mr Johnson said.

Last week, the White House said Mr Obama would prefer a full funding bill but would sign a short-term measure to prevent a shutdown.

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UN laments IS statue 'war crimes'

27 February 2015 Last updated at 19:16

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Professor Eleanor Robson, from University College London, says she has no doubt the "heartbreaking" statue destruction footage is genuine

The destruction of historic artefacts in Iraq by Islamic State (IS) militants is a war crime, the head of the UN agency for culture, Unesco, has said.

Irina Bokova said she was appalled by an act of "cultural cleansing", calling for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the issue.

IS posted a video on Thursday appearing to show militants with sledgehammers smashing statues in a museum in Mosul.

Some of the artefacts date back to the 9th Century BC.

The militants said the statues were "false idols" that had to be smashed.

'Humanity's memory targeted'

At a news conference in Paris, Ms Bokova described the video as "a real shock", saying she was simply unable to finish watching the footage.

"I was filled with dismay by images of the attack on the Mosul Museum," she said.

In a statement, Unesco stressed that under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the deliberate destruction of cultural heritage is a war crime.

The statement added that Ms Bokova had already called on the ICC to launch an investigation.

She also announced the creation of a "global coalition against the illegal trafficking of cultural goods", adding that it would meet in coming weeks.

Meanwhile, the Louvre Museum in Paris said in a statement: "This destruction marks a new stage in the violence and horror, because all of humanity's memory is being targeted in this region that was the cradle of civilisation, the written word, and history.''

In the video released via IS social media sites, black-clad men push over statues, smash them with sledgehammers and use a pneumatic drill to destroy the rubble.

The video shows one man drilling through and pulling apart what appears to be a stone winged-bull, an Assyrian protective deity dating to the 7th Century BC.

One of the militants in the video seeks to justify their destruction in religious terms.

Analysts say the artefacts are unique and priceless, although the museum does also house copies of some items.

IS have controlled Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, since June 2014. The US military have said that an assault on the city by the Iraqi army could happen within months.

The region under IS control in Iraq has nearly 1,800 of Iraq's 12,000 registered archaeological sites.

The reported destruction of the statues follows recent reports that IS burnt down Mosul Library, which housed over 8,000 ancient manuscripts.

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Greek PM vows 'no third bailout'

27 February 2015 Last updated at 21:37

Greece will not need a third international debt bailout when its current programme ends in four months, the country's prime minister has said.

Alexis Tsipras vowed his government would "start working hard" to change the country, which is saddled with a debt 175% of its GDP.

Greece has already received two bailouts since 2010, totalling 240bn euros (£188bn; $272bn).

Germany's parliament ratified a four-month extension on Friday.

While some MPs had expressed doubts about the deal and there was substantial public scepticism in the EU's leading economic power, the vote passed easily.

Parliaments in all 19 eurozone states must approve the extension for it to be granted, but Germany's vote is seen as significant because of its key role as a creditor nation.

Reacting to the Bundestag vote, Mr Tsipras told the Euronews TV channel: "The German parliament gave Europe a vote of confidence today.

"Europe has now recognised that Greece has turned a new page... We start working hard, in order to change Greece within a Europe that changes direction."

'Bets off'

Greece remains frozen out of international debt markets, prompting speculation about a new bailout request.

However, in a televised speech to his cabinet, Mr Tsipras said Greece's bailout agreements were "over both in form and in essence".

"Some people are betting on a third bailout in July... but we will disappoint them," he said.

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Damien McGuinness reports from Berlin: ''Both Athens and Berlin have compromised''

In order to secure the extension his government, a coalition of anti-austerity parties led by the radical left-wing Syriza alliance, pledged to raise revenue by cracking down on tax evasion and reviewing government spending.

At the same time, Mr Tsipras is committed to easing the hardship endured by Greeks, many of whom have seen their standard of living plummet since the financial crisis of 2008.

He told the cabinet in Athens that the government's first bill on Monday would be aimed at addressing what he called the "humanitarian crisis".

Measures to be tabled, he said, would include supplying free electricity to poor families, as well as housing for 30,000 people and debt relief for some individuals and companies.

'Creative ambiguity'

As Mr Tsipras spoke, communist opposition supporters protested outside to condemn the extension deal reached with Greece's creditors, including the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

A demonstration by the radical-left party Antarsya on Thursday led to clashes between around 50 protesters and riot police.

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Police and protesters clashed in Athens on Thursday night

Several cars were set alight and shops and banks were damaged.

Even if the bailout extension is ratified by the entire eurozone, Greece still faces the formidable task of trying to service its debt obligations.

It will need to flesh out its reform programme in detail by April and prove that reforms are bedding in before receiving a final disbursement of 7.2bn euros.

In the meantime, it has to repay several billion euros in maturing debts, including about 2bn euros to the IMF in March. Some 6.7bn in ECB bonds is due to mature in July and August.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis suggested in an interview broadcast on Friday that his negotiating team had been deliberately vague in order to clinch the bailout extension.

"We're proud of the degree of ambiguity," he told Antenna TV in a pre-recorded TV interview. "I'm using a term here, creative ambiguity."

Suspicion about the Greek government's intentions persists in Germany despite approval for the bailout extension.

"Look at Tsipras, look at Varoufakis: would you buy a used car from them?" Klaus-Peter Willsch, a dissident MP from Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc, said in parliament.

Greek proposals

• Combat tax evasion
• Tackle corruption
• Commit not to roll back already introduced privatisations, but review privatisations not yet implemented
• Introduce collective bargaining, stopping short of raising the minimum wage immediately
• Tackle Greece's "humanitarian crisis" with housing guarantees and free medical care for the uninsured unemployed, with no overall public spending increase
• Reform public sector wages to avoid further wage cuts, without increasing overall wage bill
• Achieve pensions savings by consolidating funds and eliminating incentives for early retirement - not cutting payments
• Reduce the number of ministries from 16 to 10, cutting special advisers and fringe benefits for officials

Greek pledges: Key points

Pressure still on despite deal

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Most-wanted Mexico drug lord held

28 February 2015 Last updated at 06:55

Mexican police have captured the country's most wanted drug lord, Servando "La Tuta" Gomez.

Mr Gomez, leader of the Knights Templar drug cartel, was arrested in Morelia in Michoacan state without a shot fired.

He was taken to Mexico City, where he was paraded before television cameras, before being flown by helicopter to a maximum security prison.

President Enrique Pena Nieto wrote on Twitter that the rule of law had been strengthened because of the arrest.

Police said they located him by following one of his messengers, part of a close network providing him with food and clothing.

He was captured when he stepped outside his house, wearing a hat and scarf to try to hide his identity.

Eight of his associates and several weapons, including a grenade launcher, were captured too. His brother, Flavio Gomez, who was in charge of the family's finances, was also arrested.

Police spent months gathering intelligence for the operation and reportedly seized nearby properties in the weeks leading up Mr Gomez's capture.

Analysis: Katy Watson, BBC News, Mexico City

For a man who reportedly said he would rather die than be captured, this must be a humiliating end. Paraded in front of millions of Mexicans on live television, he kept his head down as he was marched from a prison van to a police helicopter and flown to a high security prison.

While La Tuta's capture may be a coup for the administration of Enrique Pena Nieto, the fallout in the state of Michoacan is not clear. It is a poor and violent part of the country, the battleground between drugs cartels and vigilantes trying to oust them.

As one security expert told me, this was a man who was not just in charge of a drugs empire - he wanted political power too and in politics you gain as many enemies as you do friends.

Perhaps that is what led to the net closing in in the end?

Meth trade

Previously a school teacher, Mr Gomez became one of Mexico's most powerful drug lords and took control of Michoacan.

Known by his nicknames "La Tuta" and "El Profe", referring to his former job, Mr Gomez ruled over much of Michoacan state as head of the Knights Templar cartel.

Mr Gomez evaded capture for years while other senior members of the gang and rival drug lords were captured or killed.

By the time of his arrest, he had a $2 million (£1.3 million) bounty on his head.

"With this arrest, the rule of law is strengthened in the country and [we] continue moving toward Mexico in Peace," President Pena Nieto tweeted.

The arrest come as the president strives to assuage public anger over the abduction and apparent murder in September of 43 trainee teachers by police accused of being corrupt in concert with criminal gangs.

Knights Templar was primarily a drug cartel and it controlled a large part of the lucrative methamphetamine trade in western Mexico.

But it was also known for mixing in business and politics in the region and even took effective control over the state's international port, Lazaro Cardenas, making millions of dollars from illegal mining of iron ore.

A federal government offensive in 2013 saw the Pena Nieto administration wrest back control of Michoacan state from the Knights Templar and rival gangs.

As leader of the biggest cartel in the region, Mr Gomez became the prime target of Mr Pena Nieto's crackdown.

The administration has been criticised for failing to tackle the drug gangs, with vigilante groups forming to take on the dealers illegally.

Mr Gomez's arrest comes just over a year after the capture of the country's most notorious drug lord, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, head of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Shortly after Guzman's capture, Mexican security forces killed two of Mr Gomez's senior deputies, Enrique "Kike" Plancarte and Nazario Moreno, known as "The Craziest One".

Unlike many rival gang leaders who carefully avoided the limelight, Mr Gomez regularly gave media interviews and railed against the government in Youtube videos.

Mr Gomez began life in the drug trade as an small-time marijuana dealer, before joining a Michoacan gang called La Familia and rising to a senior level. A split in La Familia led him to form Knights Templar.

A father of at least seven, Mr Gomez was also wanted by US authorities in connection with the 2009 murder of 12 Mexican federal police officers.

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Nyong'o stolen dress 'recovered'

28 February 2015 Last updated at 08:02

A dress "resembling" the $150,000 (£97,000) outfit worn by actress Lupita Nyong'o at this year's Oscars that was stolen this week has been recovered, Los Angeles police have said.

It was found in a bathroom of the same Hollywood hotel where it was taken.

Police were tipped off by gossip site TMZ, who said they were contacted by a man claiming to be the thief.

He said he had returned the dress after learning the pearls studding the dress were fake.

The custom Calvin Klein-designed gown is coated with 6,000 natural pearls, but the purported thief said he took two of them for testing and were told they were not real.

Detectives are working with the owners of the dress to confirm if it is the dress.

But Michael White of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said he believed it was. No arrests have been made.

''Whether the jewels on the dress are fake or real... we still have a burglary and we still have a grand theft,'' Mr White said.

Nyong'o won best supporting actress in 2014 for 12 Years a Slave and was a presenter at Sunday's ceremony.

Speaking about the dress's design, the 31-year-old said: "We talked about it being fluid and liquid. I wanted it to be an homage to the sea."

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India budget to boost investment

28 February 2015 Last updated at 08:25

Indian PM Narendra Modi's government has unveiled a business-friendly budget aimed at attracting greater investment for the economy.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced an unprecedented corporate tax cut, in the government's first full budget.

But he also proposed major benefits for the poor, introducing a universal social security scheme.

India will grow at a rate of more than 8% during 2015-16, a key economic report said ahead of the budget.

The growth forecast follows the country's new way of calculating GDP which has caused some confusion.

Presenting the budget in parliament Mr Jaitley said the country was growing at a strong rate, inflation was down and foreign exchange reserves were high.

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Justin Rowlatt asks if India will overtake China's economy

"We inherited a sentiment of doom and gloom. The investment community had almost written us off. We have come a long way since then," he said.

"We have turned around the economy, dramatically restoring macroeconomic stability and creating the conditions for sustainable poverty elimination, job creation, durable double digit economic growth."

Among the major announcements made by Mr Jaitley are:

• Five "ultra mega" power projects of 4,000 megawatts (MW) will be built to ease the energy crisis
• Spending on infrastructure will be raised by $11.3bn (£7.32bn) to boost growth
• Creating a "universal social security" that would give poor Indians access to subsidised insurance and pensions
• Implementation of a uniform countrywide goods and services tax (GST) by April 2016
• Welfare money to be paid directly into people's bank accounts to eliminate corruption and wastage
• Wealth tax to be abolished and replaced by a surcharge on the super rich
• Corporate tax to be cut by 25% over next four years

Radhika Rao, an economist with DBS in Singapore told Reuters news agency that Saturday's budget was "pragmatic, wide-ranging and inclusive given the emphasis on social safety nets".

Analysts say the government's challenge will be to balance its spending with the need for fiscal restraint.

Mr Jaitley said the government would achieve its goal of cutting the fiscal deficit to 4.1% of gross domestic product (GDP) for 2014-15 from 4.5% the year before.

Budget analysis: Simon Atkinson, Editor, India Business Report

Some had billed this budget as being the most significant since 1991 - which effectively liberalised India's economy.

But Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's closing lines were basically admitting this was a budget lacking "Big Bang" reforms.

The devil will be in the detail as we plough through the small print.

A firm start date for a much-needed goods and services tax, billions of dollars for infrastructure and a "no surprises" lower corporate tax, strike me as the big business announcements.

Not using the low oil price as a chance to make more sweeping cuts to the vast subsidy bill could well prove to be a missed opportunity.

But if the proposals for a universal social security system ever reach fruition - offering a safety net for the hundreds of millions of India's poorest - history will surely judge that as the stand-out announcement of this much-hyped budget.

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West seeks full Nemtsov murder probe

28 February 2015 Last updated at 12:03

Western leaders have called on the Russian authorities to get to the truth behind the killing of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov.

The US president urged a "transparent investigation". The German chancellor said the killing must be explained and the perpetrators brought to justice.

Mr Nemtsov was shot four times in the back on a bridge near the Kremlin.

President Putin quickly condemned the killing and has taken personal control of the investigation.

Investigators say the murder may have been aimed at "destabilising" Russia.

Russian investigative committee head Vladimir Markin said in a statement that several motives for the killing were being considered including "Islamic extremism" and the victim's alleged links with Ukraine.

"Mr Nemtsov may have been sacrificed by those who do not shun anything to reach their political gains," the statement said.

It added that the attack was meticulously planned and the killers - who fled in a car - had been tracking Mr Nemtsov's movements around the city.

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Speaking to radio station Ekho Moskvy hours before he was killed, Mr Nemtsov called for "honest elections"

Boris Nemtsov died hours after appealing for support for a march on Sunday in Moscow against the war in Ukraine.

'Bridge destroyed'

Amid widespread global outrage, US President Barack Obama condemned the killing of Mr Nemtsov as a "brutal murder".

Russian government must conduct a "prompt, impartial and transparent investigation", the US president urged.

"I admired Nemtsov's courageous dedication to the struggle against corruption in Russia and appreciated his willingness to share his candid views with me when we met in Moscow in 2009," Mr Obama said in a statement.

A statement from the office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned spoke of Mr Nemtsov's "courage" for his frequent criticism of Russian government policy.

Mrs Merkel "calls on President Vladimir Putin to ensure that the murder is cleared up and the perpetrators brought to justice," her spokesman Steffen Seibert said.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron echoed the calls for an inquiry, saying he was "shocked and sickened" by the news.

Analysis: Artyom Liss, BBC News, Moscow

Russia woke up in shock on Saturday. The press, the social media, the politicians - all describe the killing of Boris Nemtsov, one of the leaders of the country's opposition, as something that was - until Friday night - completely unthinkable.

He was gunned down a stone's throw away from the Kremlin, in an area which is always tightly policed, and where security cameras are everywhere you look. He was, it appears, tracked for hours as he travelled around central Moscow.

The investigation will probably take a very long time. From experience, few in Moscow believe that it will name those who ordered the killing. The Russian police have a long history of catching people who pull triggers - but they are much less successful when it comes to identifying their masterminds.

Who was Boris Nemtsov?

Russian and world reaction

Mr Nemtsov was a firm opponent of Russian involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, and Ukrainian politicians reacted with dismay to the news.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko described Mr Nemtsov as a "bridge between Ukraine and Russia".

"The murderers' shot has destroyed it. I think it is not by accident," he said in a statement published on his administration's Facebook page.

In a recent interview, Mr Nemtsov had said he feared Mr Putin would have him killed because of his opposition to the war.

Mr Nemtsov, 55, served as first deputy prime minister under President Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s.

He had earned a reputation as an economic reformer while governor of one of Russia's biggest cities, Nizhny Novgorod.

Falling out of favour with Yeltsin's successor, Mr Putin, he became an outspoken opposition politician.

He was shot at around 23:40 (20:40 GMT) on Friday while crossing Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge accompanied by a woman, Russia's interior ministry said.

He was shot with a pistol from a white car which fled the scene, police said.

Hundreds of people came with flowers to the site of his death throughout the night and on Saturday.

Violent deaths of Putin opponents

April 2003 - Liberal politician Sergey Yushenkov assassinated near his Moscow home

July 2003 - Investigative journalist Yuri Shchekochikhin died after 16-day mysterious illness

July 2004 - Forbes magazine Russian editor Paul Klebnikov shot from moving car on Moscow street, died later in hospital

October 2006 - Investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya shot dead outside her Moscow apartment

November 2006 - Former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko died nearly three weeks after drinking tea laced with polonium in London hotel

March 2013 -Boris Berezovsky, former Kremlin power broker turned Putin critic, found dead in his UK home

Mr Putin has been widely accused of fomenting the bloody rebellion in east Ukraine - an accusation he denies. Fighting there followed Russia's annexation of Crimea in March last year.

Almost 5,800 people have died and at least 1.25 million have fled their homes, according to the UN.

The Ukrainian government, Western leaders and Nato say there is clear evidence that Russia is helping the rebels with heavy weapons and soldiers.

Independent experts echo that accusation while Moscow denies it, insisting that any Russians serving with the rebels are "volunteers".

Are you in Russia? What is your reaction to the death of Boris Nemtsov? You can email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Have your say

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Actress's $150,000 Oscar dress stolen

26 February 2015 Last updated at 22:41

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The dress is studded with 6,000 natural white pearls, as the BBC's Alastair Leithead reports

A $150,000 (£97,000) custom-made Calvin Klein dress, worn by actress Lupita Nyong'o at this year's Oscars, has been stolen in Hollywood.

The dress, studded with 6,000 natural white pearls, was taken from the London Hotel in West Hollywood while Nyong'o was out of the room.

Nyong'o won best supporting actress in 2014 for 12 Years a Slave and was a presenter at Sunday's ceremony.

A statement from the hotel said they were "working with law enforcement".

Lieutenant William Nash, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, said officers were checking CCTV footage.

Conflicting reports suggested the dress was stolen either on Tuesday night or during the day on Wednesday.

"Ms Nyong'o was not in the room at the time of the theft," Deputy John Mitchell told Reuters.

'Homage'

The dress, designed by Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein, took 25 people 10 weeks to hand-sew the 6,000 Akoya pearls.

On the red carpet on Sunday, the Kenyan-born actress told Associated Press she was "just wearing my diamonds and pearls. My homage to (musician) Prince".

Speaking about the dress's design, the 31-year-old said: "We talked about it being fluid and liquid. I wanted it to be an homage to the sea."

No arrests have been made.

Representatives for Calvin Klein declined to comment.

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Virginia eugenics victims win payout

27 February 2015 Last updated at 05:50

Lawmakers in the US state of Virginia have agreed to pay compensation to people who were forcibly sterilised by the authorities decades ago.

Victims will be paid $25,000 (£16,000) following a legal fight by campaigners.

Along with more than 30 other US states, Virginia once operated a sterilisation programme for individuals deemed undesirable or mentally unsound.

More than 8,000 Virginians were operated on between the 1920s and 1970s.

The state's programme was said to be the model for the Nazi eugenics policies introduced by Adolf Hitler when he aspired to create a master race.

Several countries practised forced sterilisation during the 20th Century, including Sweden, Canada and Japan.

'They took my rights away'

In the US, about 65,000 Americans were sterilised in 33 states.

More than a fifth of those sterilised in Virginia were African Americans.

Two-thirds were women, many of whom went in for other procedures and were unaware of what was happening to them, reports the BBC's Rajini Vaidyanathan.

In 1927 the US Supreme Court upheld Virginia's Eugenical Sterilisation Act law. It remained in force until 1979.

The state issued an apology over the policy in 2001. Campaigners say there are only 11 known surviving victims of the programme.

The compensation deal was welcomed by 87-year-old victim Lewis Reynolds. "I couldn't have a family like everybody else does," he told the Associated Press news agency. "They took my rights away."

Virginia is the second state, after North Carolina, to approve a compensation package for victims who are still alive.

In 2013, North Carolina legislators agreed to pay $50,000 to surviving victims - thought to number about 1,800.

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Iraq minorities 'wipeout threat'

27 February 2015 Last updated at 09:22

Islamic State militants are trying to eradicate Iraqi minority groups from large parts of the country, human rights organisations have warned.

A report details summary executions, forced conversions, rape and other abuses suffered by minorities.

Such acts are tantamount to war crimes, and in some cases, genocide, it argues.

Iraqi minorities face a "threat to their existence", said the Institute of International Law and Human Rights (IILHR), one of the groups involved.

Focusing on Iraq's Christian, Kaka'i, Shabak, Turkmen and Yazidi populations, the report looks at their plight after the fall of Mosul to IS in June 2014, a key point in the rise of a group that now controls swathes of the country.

Minorities were soon targeted, the report details. Christians were told to leave Mosul or face execution.

At least 160 Shabak were killed. Others were forced out and left their belongings behind, which turned them "into beggars", one Iraqi MP is quoted as saying.

Testimony: Mother of an abducted woman

How could they do this to her? They cut her hair and beat her.

She still has a lot of bruises on her body and I don't want to think about how she got the scratches on her back. Look at her... She doesn't say a word.

Her children are with their father and his family because we do not want the children to see her like this.

She was a happy person and a good mother before ISIS [IS] took her away.

Source: "Between the Millstones: The State of Iraq's Minorities Since the Fall of Mosul"

Elsewhere, after their assault on Sinjar, IS reportedly used Yazidis as human shields. Others were abducted or killed.

Across the country, minorities are facing "a systematic strategy to remove them permanently from large areas of Iraq", the report concludes.

"Minorities were first caught by wholesale discrimination and violence well before the arrival of ISIS," said the IILHR director, William Spencer.

"Now they face a new threat to their existence from ISIS attacks."

"The research done for this report shows very clearly that IS has committed war crimes, crimes against humanity and possibly even genocide," said Alison Smith from No Peace Without Justice, another of the organisations involved.

The report makes a number of suggestions, including additional help for the large numbers displaced by the conflict, prosecution of crimes by the International Criminal Court, and better planning for the post-IS era.

It comes after IS seized more than 200 Christians from north-eastern Syria.

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Widow wants 'Jihadi John' alive

27 February 2015 Last updated at 10:49

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The masked militant first appeared in numerous gruesome videos put out by Islamic State, as Lucy Manning reports

The widow of a man killed by a masked Islamic State militant known as "Jihadi John" says she wants him caught alive.

Dragana Haines said the "last thing" she wanted for the man who had killed her husband, British aid worker David Haines, was an "honourable death".

The militant, pictured in the videos of the beheadings of Western hostages, has been named as Mohammed Emwazi, a Kuwaiti-born Briton from west London.

Mr Haines' daughter said she wanted to see "a bullet between his eyes".

Emwazi, who is in his mid-20s and was previously known to British security services, first appeared in a video last August, when he apparently killed the US journalist James Foley.

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Dragana Haines, wife of slain hostage David: "I hope he will be caught alive... He needs to be put to justice"

He was later thought to have been pictured in the videos of the beheadings of Mr Haines, US journalist Steven Sotloff, British taxi driver Alan Henning, and American aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known as Peter.

Mrs Haines told the BBC she wanted him to be caught alive and not have an "honourable death" by being killed in action.

She added: "I think he needs to be put to justice, but not in that way."

However Mr Haines' daughter, Bethany, told ITV News: "I think all the families will feel closure and relief once there's a bullet between his eyes."

There have been questions about how Emwazi was able to travel to Syria and how he may have been radicalised.

Emwazi graduated from the University of Westminster in 2009 and it has been suggested he may have come into contact with extremists while he was a student there.

Student Rights, a group tackling extremism on university campuses, told BBC News it had found a number of events at the university that featured extremist Islamist preachers, and large amounts of extremist material had been shared with students.

Rupert Sutton, the group's director, said: "Given that he travelled so soon after graduating, it's entirely possible he picked up the views that led him to travel whilst he was studying."

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

As a mum I forgive him"

End Quote Diane Foley Mother of IS murder victim James Foley

A spokesman from the University of Westminster said it "condemned the promotion of radicalisation, terrorism and violence or threats against any member of our community".

It said the Education Act placed two competing responsibilities on universities to promote free speech and a duty to protect students from harm, but it was working with the government's Prevent strategy to tackle extremism.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner told Radio 4's Today programme there were questions for the security services about how "someone on a terror watch list, somebody of real concern, was able to slip out of this country and turn up in Syria like that unhindered".

While Chris Phillips, former head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, said the case demonstrated the need for security services to have increased powers, including access to phone records, proposed in the so-called "snoopers' charter".

He said: "It's clear also that TPIMs (Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures) and control orders just don't work. We need to have a way of dealing with people in this kind of situation.

"The numbers are growing and the police resources are not."

Analysis: Frank Gardner, BBC News

US and British counter-terrorism officials discovered the identity of "Jihadi John" as far back as last September. The FBI, Britain's MI5 and other intelligence agencies used a combination of voice-recognition software, interviews with former hostages and on-the-ground research in London to build up a profile of the man now revealed to be Mohammed Emwazi.

They have always declined to reveal the name for "operational reasons". Now that it's out in the public domain, it's emerged that Emwazi was well known to MI5 and that it even tried to recruit him as an informer, years before he went off to Syria to eventually join Islamic State.

The practice by intelligence agencies of approaching jihadist sympathisers to work for them is likely to continue. It's believed both Britain and the US have informers inside the Islamic State "capital" of Raqqa. Yet this seems to have been little help in stopping the actions of Mohammed Emwazi, or bringing him to justice.

Profile: Mohammed Emwazi

Jihadist's 'typical trajectory'

Dr Afzal Ashraf, a counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency expert who advised the government on the Prevent strategy between 2009 and 2011, said people were more likely to be radicalised by groups they believed could be successful.

"One of the reasons we don't have Nazis and right-wing extremists in great numbers doing what they do is because Nazism and right-wing extremism has been discredited.

"Not many people believe they are going to change the world into that format.

"The problem is that al-Qaeda, and now IS, has demonstrated a degree of success as far as these people are concerned and they actually believe there is a possibility of success."

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

These people are inhumane dogs"

End Quote Kasim Jameel Friend of IS murder victim Alan Henning

In each of the videos Emwazi appeared in, the militant was dressed in a black robe with a black balaclava covering all but his eyes and top of his nose.

Speaking with a British accent, he taunted Western powers before holding his knife to the hostages' necks, appearing to start cutting before the film stopped. The victims' decapitated bodies were then shown.

Earlier this month, a video in which the Japanese journalist Kenji Goto appeared to be beheaded featured the militant.

Hostages released by IS said he was one of three British jihadists guarding Westerners abducted by the group in Syria. They were known collectively as "the Beatles".

A spokesman for the family of Steven Sotloff said: "We want to sit in a courtroom, watch him sentenced and see him sent to a super-max prison."

Mr Foley's mother Diane told the Times that she forgave her son's killer.

"It saddens me, [Emwazi's] continued hatred," she said. "He felt wronged, now we hate him - now that just prolongs the hatred. We need to end it.

"As a mum I forgive him. You know, the whole thing is tragic - an ongoing tragedy."

Kasim Jameel, a friend of Mr Henning, told The Times he wanted Emwazi dead.

Mr Jameel, who led an aid convoy that was joined by Mr Henning, said: "He needs to be annihilated. I wouldn't believe in an eye for an eye but he murdered my best friend and he should be eradicated."

He added: "These people are inhumane dogs, they are worse than any other terrorist group and I don't care how he's killed, whether it's by the security services or a US drone, it might finally bring some closure."

Mohammed Emwazi's movements before heading to Syria

• 1. Aug 2009, refused entry to Tanzania: travels to Tanzania with two friends, but is refused entry at Dar es Salaam. Tanzanian police have denied Emwazi's name is on their database of suspected foreign criminals detained and deported in 2009, as he had claimed. Emwazi and his friends are put on flight to Amsterdam, where they are questioned. They return to Dover and are questioned again.
• 2. Sept 2009, travels to Kuwait for work: leaves the UK for Kuwait for work.
• 3. May/June 2010, returns to UK for holiday: he returns to the UK for an eight-day visit.
• 4. July 2010, refused re-entry to Kuwait: Emwazi returns to the UK once more for a couple of days. He is stopped at Heathrow on his return to Kuwait and told he cannot travel as his visa has expired.
• 5. 2013, travels to Syria: Emwazi changes his name to Mohammed al-Ayan and attempts to travel to Kuwait but is stopped and questioned. Three days later, he heads abroad. Police later inform his family he has travelled to Syria.

Source: Cage

'Jihadi John' movement mapped

In a news conference on Thursday, Asim Qureshi, the research director of the London-based lobby group Cage, which had been in contact with Emwazi over a number of years, detailed the difficulties Emwazi had faced with security services in the UK and overseas.

Mr Qureshi said Emwazi, who is understood to be about 27, had been "extremely kind, gentle and soft-spoken, the most humble young person I knew".

But Cage was told by Emwazi that he was "harassed" by security services, with later emails suggesting he was "witnessing perceived injustices everywhere", Mr Qureshi said.

However, Rafaello Pantucci, author of We Love Life As You Love Death, said the suggestion the security services may have driven Emwazi to carry out his killings was "disproportionate".

He said: "Security services asking questions and making your life a little bit difficult and ending up murdering people in this very cold-blooded way seems a very disproportionate causal link."

Profile: Cage

Cage, formerly known as Cageprisoners, is an advocacy group set up by former Guantanamo detainee Moazzem Begg.

It describes itself as "an independent organisation working to empower communities impacted by the War on Terror".

Cage has spoken out against the UK's anti-terrorism laws, describing them as draconian and targeting Muslims.

Cage campaigned for the release of the Salford taxi driver Alan Henning, before he was murdered by Islamic State militants in Syria last October.

Cage has also worked with family of Michael Adebolajo, who was convicted of killing Fusilier Lee Rigby in Woolwich in 2013.

Emwazi 'claimed harassment'

According to Cage, Emwazi had travelled to Tanzania in May 2009 following his graduation in computer programming from the University of Westminster.

Mr Qureshi said Emwazi and two friends had planned to go on a safari but once they landed in Dar es Salaam they were detained by police and held overnight.

Tanzanian police appeared to contradict this account and said Mohammed Emwazi's name was not in their database of suspected foreign criminals detained and deported in 2009, though they said he might have been using another identity or forged travel

Emwazi then ended up flying to Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, where he claimed to be met by British intelligence agents from MI5 who accused him of trying to travel to Somalia, where the jihadist group al-Shabab operates. He denied the accusation and said the agents had tried to recruit him before allowing him to return to the UK.

In early 2013, at his father's suggestion, Emwazi changed his name by deed poll to Mohammed al-Ayan, Cage said.

Emwazi was believed to have travelled to Syria around 2013 and later joined IS, which has declared the creation of a "caliphate" in the large swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq it controls.

A spokeswoman for Prime Minister David Cameron would not confirm or deny the latest reports, adding that the police and security services were working hard to find those responsible for the murder of the British hostages.

British police have not commented on the identity of the militant known as "Jihadi John", citing ongoing inquiries.

Jihadi John sightings

• August 2014: Video in which US journalist James Foley is apparently beheaded
• 2 September 2014: Video in which US journalist Steve Sotloff is apparently beheaded
• 13 September 2014: Video in which British aid worker David Haines is apparently beheaded
• October 2014: Video in which British aid worker Alan Henning is apparently beheaded
• November 2014: Video in which Jihadi John is shown killing a Syrian soldier in a mass beheading, which also shows body of US aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known as Peter Kassig
• 20 January 2015: Video in which Jihadi John is seen standing alongside two Japanese hostages and demanding a ransom in exchange for their release
• 31 January 2015: Video released appearing to show Jihadi John beheading Japanese hostage Kenji Goto

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German MPs back Greek loan extension

27 February 2015 Last updated at 10:51

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Police and protesters clashed in Athens on Thursday night

The German parliament has voted to extend financial aid to Greece by another four months.

The extension - approved by creditors last week in exchange for a series of Greek government reforms - needs to be ratified by eurozone members.

Some MPs had expressed doubts about the deal and there is substantial public scepticism but the vote passed easily.

It comes after police and protesters clashed during anti-government demonstrations in Athens on Thursday.

They were the first such disturbances since Greece's leftist Syriza was sworn in as the main government party exactly a month ago.

Dozens of activists hurled petrol bombs and stones at police and set cars alight after a march involving hundreds of protesters.

Syriza swept to power in January by promising to renegotiate the country's debt and end austerity.

'Keep Europe together'

Eurozone finance ministers on Tuesday approved a set of reform proposals submitted by Greece.

As the dominant economic power in the EU, Germany's approval was regarded as crucial - and on Friday the overwhelming majority of MPs granted it. A total of 542 voted for the proposals, with 32 voting against and 13 abstentions.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble spoke in favour of the deal, telling parliament: "We Germans should do everything possible to keep Europe together as much as we can."

"We're not talking about new billions for Greece... rather it's about providing or granting extra time to successfully end this programme," he insisted.

There has been a chorus of scepticism about the deal inside Germany - with Thursday's edition of the largest tabloid, Bild, emblazoned with the word "No!", adding "No more billions for the greedy Greeks!''

Hawkish elements within Mrs Merkel's CDU (Christian Democratic Union) and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU (Christian Social Union), have portrayed the extension deal as leniency for Greece.

Mr Schaeuble himself has expressed doubt about the Greek government's commitment to reform.

Debt mountain

But German legislators felt they had no choice but to pass the vote, as a eurozone breakup could prove even more expensive than the bailouts and potentially undermine the credibility of the euro, reports the BBC's Berlin correspondent Damien McGuinness.

In Greece, the proposed bailout extension has also triggered dissent within the governing party.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has defended it, but some on the hard left have accused Syriza of going back on pre-election pledges.

Meanwhile, even if the bailout extension goes through Greece still faces the formidable task of trying to service its debt obligations.

It will need to flesh out its reform programme in detail by April and prove that reforms are bedding in before receiving a final disbursement of 7.2bn euros.

But in the meantime Greece has to repay several billion euros in maturing debts, including about 2bn euros to the IMF in March, and 6.7bn in European Central Bank bonds maturing in July and August.

Greek proposals

• Combat tax evasion
• Tackle corruption
• Commit not to roll back already introduced privatisations, but review privatisations not yet implemented
• Introduce collective bargaining, stopping short of raising the minimum wage immediately
• Tackle Greece's "humanitarian crisis" with housing guarantees and free medical care for the uninsured unemployed, with no overall public spending increase
• Reform public sector wages to avoid further wage cuts, without increasing overall wage bill
• Achieve pensions savings by consolidating funds and eliminating incentives for early retirement - not cutting payments
• Reduce the number of ministries from 16 to 10, cutting special advisers and fringe benefits for officials

Greek pledges: Key points

Pressure still on despite deal

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US-Bangladesh writer hacked to death

27 February 2015 Last updated at 11:01

A knife-wielding mob has hacked to death a US-Bangladeshi blogger whose writing on religion had brought threats from Islamist hardliners.

Avijit Roy, an atheist who advocated secularism, was attacked in Dhaka as he walked back from a book fair with his wife, who was hurt in the attack.

No-one has been arrested but police say they are investigating a local Islamist group that praised the killing.

Hundreds of students gathered in Dhaka to mourn the blogger's death.

Mr Roy's family say he had received threats after publishing articles promoting secular views, science and social issues on his Bengali-language blog, Mukto-mona, or Free Mind.

The website was inaccessible on Friday.

He defended atheism in a recent Facebook post, calling it "a rational concept to oppose any unscientific and irrational belief".

The killing of another secular blogger in early 2013, which was blamed on religious hardliners, sparked protests from free-speech supports and counter-protests from Islamists.

The police said the attack on Mr Roy was similar to the 2013 murder.

A group of men ambushed the couple, who live in the US and were visiting Dhaka only to attend the book festival, as they walked toward a roadside tea stall.

At least two of the attackers hit them with meat cleavers, police chief Sirajul Islam told the AP news agency.

The attackers dropped their weapons and ran away, disappearing into the crowds.

The police told the BBC they were investigating a local hard-line religious group that had praised the killing in an online message.

Death threats against atheist writers and bloggers are nothing new in Bangladesh.

Prominent writer Taslima Nasreen had to leave Bangladesh after she received death threats from hard-line Islamists in the mid-1990s.

She wrote on her blog: "Avijit Roy has been killed the way other free thinker writers were killed in Bangladesh. No freethinker is safe in Bangladesh.

"Islamic terrorists can do whatever they like. They can kill people with no qualms whatsoever."

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Third arrest in Copenhagen shootings

27 February 2015 Last updated at 11:27

A third man suspected of helping a gunman who killed two people in Copenhagen earlier this month has been arrested, Danish police have said.

Police gave few details, but said the "young man" would face a custody hearing on Saturday.

Two other men were charged shortly after the attacks with helping the gunman, Omar El-Hussein.

El-Hussein was shot dead by police after targeting a free speech debate and a synagogue.

The shootings left a film director and a Jewish man dead and five police injured.

The two men charged earlier this month were accused of providing and disposing of the weapon used in the shootings, as well as with helping the gunman to hide.

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'Ukraine's eastern threat to stay'

27 February 2015 Last updated at 11:48

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has said a "military threat from the east" will remain even if a ceasefire holds between government troops and pro-Russian rebels in the east.

Mr Poroshenko's warning is widely seen as an indirect reference to Russia.

Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of helping the rebels with weapons and soldiers - a claim denied by Moscow.

Ukraine's military said on Friday that three soldiers had been killed in the past 24 hours despite the truce.

Another seven soldiers were wounded, Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said at a news briefing.

That followed 48 hours during which the Ukrainian military said it had suffered no deaths, boosting hopes that the ceasefire might hold.

Both Ukraine and the rebels say they are now withdrawing their heavy weapons from the front line under the terms of the ceasefire agreed in Minsk, Belarus.

The process is yet to be officially confirmed by international monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

The ceasefire came into effect on 15 February but the rebels seized the key town of Debaltseve just days later.

Fighting began in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions - known as Donbas - last April, a month after Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula.

Almost 5,800 people have died since then, the UN has estimated, although it believes the real figure could be considerably higher.

In other developments on Friday:

• Spanish police announced the arrest of eight Spaniards suspected of fighting alongside pro-Russian rebels
• the UN Security Council is to hold an emergency session on the Ukraine crisis
• Russian President Vladimir Putin cut the salaries of his administration employees by 10% as Moscow seeks to tackle a big fall in revenues caused by lower oil prices and Western sanctions

'Ready any time'

Speaking at Ukraine's National Defence University in Kiev on Friday, Mr Poroshenko said: "Even under the most optimistic scenario in Donbas... the military threat from the east would unfortunately remain."

He said this would require Ukraine to constantly strengthen the country's defensive capabilities.

The president also said the rebels were still violating the Minsk agreement, warning that the Ukrainian military was "ready any time" to bring back heavy weapons to the front line if the deal failed.

On Thursday, Ukraine said it began the pullout of 100mm calibre artillery from the front line, after none of its soldiers were killed for two days.

The separatist rebels in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic say they have pulled out hundreds of pieces of artillery and other weapons over the past several days.

The OSCE special monitoring mission has said it observed movement of trucks and howitzers in several rebel-held areas.

However, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva on Wednesday said he was "profoundly disturbed by the illegal separatists' continuing refusal to grant unlimited, safe access to OSCE monitors on the ground in Ukraine and their violations of the Minsk Package of Measures".

Under terms agreed in Minsk, both Ukraine's government forces and the rebels must pull out their heavy weapons, creating a buffer zone of at least 50km (30 miles).

The Ukrainian government, Western leaders and Nato say there is clear evidence that Russia is helping the rebels with heavy weapons and soldiers.

Independent experts echo that accusation while Moscow denies it, insisting that any Russians serving with the rebels are "volunteers".

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'Jihadi John' named as London man

26 February 2015 Last updated at 11:46

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The masked militant first appeared in numerous gruesome videos put out by Islamic State, as Lucy Manning reports

The masked Islamic State militant known as "Jihadi John", who has been pictured in the videos of the beheadings of Western hostages, has been named.

The BBC understands he is Mohammed Emwazi, a Kuwaiti-born British man in his mid-20s from West London, who was known to UK security services.

They chose not to disclose his name earlier for operational reasons.

Emwazi first appeared in a video last August, when he apparently killed the American journalist James Foley.

He was later thought to have been pictured in the videos of the beheadings of US journalist Steven Sotloff, British aid worker David Haines, British taxi driver Alan Henning, and American aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known as Peter.

In each of the videos, the militant appeared dressed in a black robe with a black balaclava covering all but his eyes and top of his nose.

Analysis: Dominic Casciani, BBC News

We don't know when the British or the American security services worked out that the masked man in the killing videos was Londoner Mohammed Emwazi.

But we do know that he was a "person of interest" to MI5 going back to at least 2011 because he features in semi-secret court cases relating to extremism overseas and back in the UK.

Nobody in official security circles is going to comment on what they know and why they know it.

Emwazi has been previously described as a member of a network involving at least 13 men from London - and at least two of them were subjected to house arrest control orders or T-Pims. One absconded. The chances of Emwazi ever returning to the UK are vanishingly small.

@BBCDomC

Speaking with a British accent, he taunted and threatened Western powers before holding his knife to the hostages' necks, appearing to start to cutting before the film stops.

Last month, the militant appeared in a video with the Japanese hostages Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto, shortly before they were killed.

BBC News special correspondent Lucy Manning says Emwazi is understood to be around 27 years of age.

Friends of Emzawi told the Washington Post that he was raised in a middle class area of West London and studied computer programming at the University of Westminster.

Our correspondent says it is believed he was known to security services in the UK and the US before leaving for Syria and was linked to a man with connections to the jihadist militant group al-Shabab, in Somalia.

The Washington Post said he was believed to have travelled to Syria around 2012 and later joined Islamic State, which has declared the creation of a "caliphate" in the large swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq it controls.

British police declined to comment on the reports.

Commander Richard Walton, head of the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command, said: "We have previously asked media outlets not to speculate about the details of our investigation on the basis that life is at risk.

"We are not going to confirm the identity of anyone at this stage or give an update on the progress of this live counter-terrorism investigation."

Jihadi John sightings

• August 2014: Video in which US journalist James Foley is beheaded
• September 2014: Video in which US journalist Steve Sotloff is apparently beheaded
• September 2014: Video in which British aid worker David Haines is apparently beheaded
• October 2014: Video in which British aid worker Alan Henning is apparently beheaded
• November 2014: Video in which Emwazi is shown killing a Syrian soldier in a mass beheading, which also shows body of US aid worker, Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known as Peter Kassig
• January 2015: Video in which Jihadi John is seen standing alongside two Japanese hostages and demanding a ransom in exchange for their release
• February 2015: Video released appearing to show Jihadi John beheading Japanese hostage Kenji Goto

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Washington DC legalises marijuana

26 February 2015 Last updated at 07:11

Washington DC has become the latest place in the United States to legalise the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

As of midnight on Thursday (05:00 GMT), people who use the drug in private no longer face prosecution.

The change has created tension between the city's mayor and Congress.

Washington DC joins Alaska, Colorado, and Washington state as the only places in the US that allow the use of the drug for recreational purposes.

Residents and visitors to the city over the age of 21 can possess as much as 2oz (56g) of cannabis, and may grow a few plants at home.

Buying and selling the drug remains illegal, as does smoking it in public.

The plan was overwhelmingly agreed in a referendum last November.

But the vote revived tensions between local officials and Congress.

Washington DC - a federal district, not a state - is required to seek congressional approval for much of its legislation.

In a letter sent on Tuesday, two members of Congress warned Mayor Muriel Bowser that she would be breaking US law by proceeding.

They said that a national budget bill passed in December prevents the legalisation of marijuana in Washington.

But Ms Bowser and other officials believe that the legalisation is still valid since it was approved by voters before Congress passed the budget bill.

In the letter, the congressmen warned her that by enacting the new rules she would "be doing so in knowing and wilful violation of the law".

Speaking to the Washington Post newspaper, Representative Jason Chaffetz, one of the letter's signatories, warned that she could face "very severe consequences", adding: "You can go to prison for this."

Ms Bowser said: "We do disagree on a matter of law. There are reasonable ways to resolve that without us threatening him or he us."

While any criminal prosecution would have to come from the US Department of Justice, Congress could withhold Washington DC's funding for other initiatives to pressure Ms Bowser.

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Argentina scraps intelligence body

26 February 2015 Last updated at 10:08

Argentina's Congress has approved a bill to scrap the country's intelligence agency.

The Intelligence Secretariat will be replaced with a new federal agency that will be accountable to Congress.

The proposal was drafted last month by President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, following the death of special prosecutor Alberto Nisman.

She accused a rogue agent of feeding misleading information to Mr Nisman, who was investigating the government.

The lower house of Congress voted 131 to 71 in favour of the bill. It had already been passed by the Senate.

Marathon session

During a six-hour debate, opposition lawmakers repeatedly expressed their discontent with the fact that, under the new law, oversight of all wiretaps will be moved from the intelligence services to the general attorney's office.

They said they felt uneasy about the close ties between the government and the current general attorney.

They also said they were worried about the role army chief Cesar Milani would play in intelligence gathering under the new law.

The new agency is expected to be set up within 90 days of the bill being signed into law by Ms Fernandez.

Argentina's Intelligence Secretariat (SI, also known by its previous name Side)

• Founded in 1946 by General Juan Peron as a civilian intelligence agency
• Mission was to provide both internal and foreign intelligence
• Evolved into a secret police force during Argentina's Dirty War (1974-1983)
• Used by military junta to track down opponents and spy on "subversives", including trade union and other left-wing activists
• Survived the transition to democracy in 1983
• Critics allege SI has since been used to monitor the activities of critical journalists, politicians, judges and prosecutors
• No official staffing figures available - but analysts believe it has grown in influence and size in the past decade
• Led since December 2014 by Oscar Parrilli following the resignation of Hector Icazuriaga after 11 years

Why SI is feared and loathed

Ms Fernandez had argued a reform of Argentina's intelligence services was overdue.

She said that the agency had kept much of the same structure it had during the military government, which ended in 1983, and needed to become more accountable.

"We need to make the intelligence services more transparent because they have not served the interests of the country," the president said in a televised speech in January.

Kicking off the debate in the lower chamber on Wednesday evening, governing party lawmaker Diana Conti described the vote as "a fight for the democratisation of the country's intelligence services".

She said it was time to put an end "to the perverse links between the intelligence services, the judiciary and some political sectors".

One of the main criticisms of the SI had been a lack of control of its funding.

The new law creates "control mechanisms" to oversee the new agency's finances, although critics said details of how these mechanisms would work were lacking.

Opposition congressman Manuel Garrido also warned that there were no safeguards to prevent the new agency from committing serious irregularities.

"What worries us is that there has not been, nor will there be proper control," he told Reuters news agency.

Mr Garrido also said the law was a smokescreen to divert attention from the death under mysterious circumstances of federal prosecutor Alberto Nisman.

Mr Nisman, who was 51, was found dead in his flat on 18 January with a gunshot wound to his head hours before he was due to testify to a congressional committee.

He had been investigating the bombing of the Amia Jewish centre in the capital, Buenos Aires, in 1994 which left 85 people dead.

Mr Nisman had accused President Fernandez and Foreign Minister Hector Timerman of involvement in a plot to cover up Iran's alleged role in the bombing.

Ms Fernandez rejected the allegations and said a former secret agent had misled the prosecutor in order to discredit her government.

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Russian navy to use Cyprus ports

26 February 2015 Last updated at 04:23

Russia has signed an agreement with Cyprus to give Russian navy ships access to Cypriot ports.

Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed the deal after talks with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades.

The deal comes as tensions between Russia and Western countries over the Ukrainian conflict continue.

President Putin said that other countries should not be concerned and that the port's main use would be for counter-terrorism and anti-piracy.

The island already hosts British military bases. Britain announced on Tuesday that it would be deploying troops to Ukraine as trainers.

Tensions remain high between Russia and other European countries but the Russian leader was not concerned that the deal could be misconstrued.

"Our friendly ties aren't aimed against anyone," President Putin said. "I don't think it should cause worries anywhere."

Russia has sought to strengthen ties with a number of individual EU members - including Cyprus, Hungary and Greece, after the bloc, along with the US, imposed sanctions on Moscow over its role in Ukraine.

President Anastasiades also revealed that the two countries were discussing the possibility of Russia using an air base on Cyprus for humanitarian relief missions.

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Netanyahu 'not correct' on Iran

26 February 2015 Last updated at 07:52

US Secretary of State John Kerry has questioned the judgement of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu over his stance on Iran's nuclear programme.

Mr Netanyahu has criticised the US and others for "giving up" on trying to stop Iran obtaining nuclear weapons.

The Israeli PM "may not be correct", Mr Kerry said after attending the latest Iran nuclear talks in Geneva.

Mr Netanyahu will address Congress next week, after an invitation by Republican leaders criticised by the White House.

Mr Kerry was reacting to a speech in which Mr Netanyahu had said the US and others were "accepting that Iran will gradually, within a few years, develop capabilities to produce material for many nuclear weapons".

"I respect the White House and the president of the United States but on such a fateful matter, that can determine whether or not we survive, I must do everything to prevent such a great danger for Israel," he said in a speech in Israel.

Having just concluded the latest round of nuclear talks with Iran in Geneva, Mr Kerry told senators President Obama had made it clear the policy was not to let Iran get nuclear weapons and Mr Netanyahu's might therefore not be correct.

The invitation for Mr Netanyahu to speak before Congress has angered Democrats.

A spokesman for the White House warned against reducing US-Israeli relations to a party-political issue.

Earlier, US National Security Adviser Susan Rice had gone further and said Mr Netanyahu's visit was "destructive to the fabric of the relationship".

Analysis - Barbara Plett Usher, BBC News, Washington

Administration officials have been hitting back at Mr Netanyahu's aggressive opposition to the nuclear deal they're negotiating with Iran - they're unhappy his speech to Congress will give him a platform to make his case as talks reach a critical juncture.

Susan Rice's comments highlight that strain and are the most direct reference by a senior official to the damage caused by the controversy over the visit. It was arranged by Republican congressional leaders without consulting the Democrats or the White House, just two weeks before Mr Netanyahu faces an election.

That has angered Democrats, some of whom feel they'll be forced to choose between President Obama and their desire not to upset Israel. More than a dozen have said they plan to skip the speech, opening an unprecedented breach in the usual show of bipartisan support for Israel.

Mr Netanyahu was invited by House Speaker John Boehner in what is seen as a rebuke to US President Barack Obama's Iran policy.

Mr Netanyahu is expected to discuss Iran, as well as Islamist militant groups, in his address.

The current tensions took root over a decade ago when Iran's nuclear programme first came to light.

In 2005, Iran was referred to the UN Security Council, leading to a series of sanctions and UN resolutions requiring Tehran to stop enriching uranium.

The US and other powers - the so-called P5+1 - are negotiating with Iran on its nuclear programme. They want to agree a deal by March this year, but Mr Netanyahu is opposed to any agreement which might allow Tehran to retain the future capacity to build a nuclear weapon.

Tough election

The Israeli leader has turned down an invitation to meet Senate Democrats privately, saying this "could compound the misperception of partisanship" surrounding his trip.

Several Democratic members of Congress including Vice-President Joe Biden have said they will not attend the speech.

Republican leaders did not consult the Obama administration before inviting Mr Netanyahu, which the White House has called a breach of protocol.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Wednesday: "The president has said the relationship between the US and Israel can't just be reduced to a relationship between the Republican party and the Likud party."

Mr Obama does not plan to meet Mr Netanyahu next week. The White House cited the "long-standing practice" of not meeting government leaders close to elections, which Israel will hold in mid-March.

Mr Netanyahu is fighting a tough election against the Labour Party's Yitzhak Herzog, who has focused on the prime minister's cooler relations with Mr Obama.

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Afghans in frantic avalanche search

26 February 2015 Last updated at 10:24

Afghan rescuers are searching for dozens of people believed to be trapped under snow after a series of deadly avalanches north of the capital, Kabul.

Officials said at least 187 people had been killed and 129 injured after homes were deluged with snow.

Funerals for the victims, mostly from Panjshir province, have been delayed because of the snow.

The extreme weather came after a relatively dry and mild winter, and took locals by surprise.

Although avalanches are quite common, this year's disaster is the most deadly in years.

Some 20 avalanches hit the Salang area in 2010, killing at least 165.

Acting provincial governor Abdul Rahman Kabiri said Panjshir had not seen avalanches on this level for three decades.

Civilians and rescue teams were having to battle through snow-blocked roads to try to reach remote areas.

Afghan cricket officials dedicated their first ever world cup victory to the victims of the avalanches.

Other parts of Afghanistan have also been battling severe weather.

In the far north-eastern province of Badakhshan, at least 11 people died in avalanches, officials told the BBC.

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Kabul bomb hits Turkish embassy car

26 February 2015 Last updated at 10:38

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Footage shows aftermath of a suicide attack in Kabul

A suicide attack on a Turkish embassy vehicle in Kabul has killed at least one person, Afghan officials say.

The bomber rammed a vehicle carrying explosives into the car in the Afghan capital's diplomatic quarter, killing a Turkish soldier. The bomber also died.

The Taliban later said it carried out the attack, with a spokesman saying the target was "a convoy of US troops".

There have been sporadic attacks in Kabul recently. In November, a British embassy car was targeted by a bomber.

Five people were killed in that attack, including one British national.

Another attack took place in January, when a suicide bomber hit a European Union police vehicle, killing a passer-by.

'Big bang'

Thursday's attack happened at about 08:00 local time (03:30 GMT) outside the Iranian embassy, which is next to the Turkish mission.

Eyewitness Mohammad Yousuf told the AFP news agency that the suicide bomber was in a Toyota sedan.

"He detonated himself causing a big bang, soon after the explosion there was black smoke everywhere," he added.

It is believed the convoy was picking up Nato ambassador Ismail Aramaz, who was staying at the Turkish embassy. He was waiting to be picked up.

However, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid later tweeted: "the purpose of today's attack in Kabul was a convoy of US troops - the embassy or any other country nationals were not objective [sic]".

This looks like a carefully planned attack, the BBC's defence correspondent Jonathan Beale reports.

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Merkel MPs back help for Greece

26 February 2015 Last updated at 12:00

A clear majority of MPs from German Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right bloc has backed an extension of financial help for Greece.

In a test ballot before the full vote on Friday, 311 MPs from the CDU/CSU voted in favour with 22 voting against.

The centre-left Social Democrats, junior partners in Mrs Merkel's coalition, voted unanimously in favour.

As the dominant economic power in the EU, Germany's approval for the bailout extension is crucial.

European leaders want to extend help for Greece until the end of June, subject to parliamentary approval.

After the ballot, CDU parliamentary leader Volker Kauder spoke of an "overwhelming majority" in favour of extending the 240bn euro (£176bn; $272bn) bailout for Greece which is currently due to run out on 28 February.

Eurozone finance ministers had suggested prolonging the deal by four months after approving Greece's reform proposals on Tuesday, with parliamentary votes in several countries needed for final approval.

Mrs Merkel's grand coalition of centre-right and centre-left has a commanding majority in the Bundestag and the test ballot indicates that German backing for an extra four months is in no real doubt.

Analysis: Damian McGuinness, BBC News, Berlin

German parliamentarians are expected to vote in favour of the extension of a bailout for Greece on Friday. And Chancellor Merkel has broad cross-party support:

Opposition left-wing politicians, thrilled at seeing Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's Syriza party cheekily standing up to Germany's political establishment, claim this marks the beginning of the end for austerity, while centrist Merkel allies hope that Berlin has finally locked Athens into pushing through economic reforms.

But this doesn't mean everyone is happy. This latest deal is seen as the least bad option: Germany is nervous that a Eurozone breakup could cost even more than more bailouts and could undermine the whole euro project.

The rebellion of 22 MPs in Mrs Merkel's governing coalition shows how much trust has been undermined during the increasingly acrimonious debate over the last few weeks.

Syriza's negotiating tactics have been widely interpreted here as macho, dishonest and inconsistent - cardinal sins in a political culture of consensus - and although Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble is seen in the rest of Europe as the continent's bulldog of austerity, he is passionately pro-European. So in many ways he is in fact quite moderate compared to some of his more conservative colleagues, who would jettison Greece tomorrow given the chance.

Although in a minority, opponents to more help for Greece are vocal and their concerns are widely reflected in German media.

"We say 'No!' to more billions for Greece" reads the headline in Germany's largest tabloid, Bild. It shows readers who followed its call to print out the headline, take a selfie with it and send it in.

And the daily Die Welt says: "What's the bet the Greeks will be back in four months?"

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who has backed an extension and called for the parliamentary vote on Friday, also remains sceptical of the new Greek government's reform efforts.

"The question is whether one can believe the Greek government's assurances or not," he reiterated in an interview with German radio on Thursday.

"There is a lot of doubt in Germany, that has to be understood. Only when we see that they have fulfilled [their promises] will any money be paid."

Greek proposals

• Combat tax evasion
• Tackle corruption
• Commit not to roll back already introduced privatisations, but review privatisations not yet implemented
• Introduce collective bargaining, stopping short of raising the minimum wage immediately
• Tackle Greece's "humanitarian crisis" with housing guarantees and free medical care for the uninsured unemployed, with no overall public spending increase
• Reform public sector wages to avoid further wage cuts, without increasing overall wage bill
• Achieve pensions savings by consolidating funds and eliminating incentives for early retirement - not cutting payments
• Reduce the number of ministries from 16 to 10, cutting special advisers and fringe benefits for officials

Greek pledges: Key points

Pressure still on despite deal

Eurosceptic elements within Mrs Merkel's CDU (Christian Democratic Union) and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU (Christian Social Union), have portrayed the extension deal as leniency for Greece.

Kurt Lauk, the head of the CDU's right-wing Business Council, wrote to lawmakers urging them not to back the deal.

But government MPs hold 504 of the Bundestag's 631 seats and some opposition parties, such as the pro-European Greens, are also expected to vote in favour of the four-month extension.

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