Operatic tenor Bergonzi dies aged 90

27 July 2014 Last updated at 12:13

Italian opera singer Carlo Bergonzi, considered a leading performer of Verdi's work, has died aged 90.

During a career spanning 40 years, Bergonzi performed a string of stage roles, making his debut as a tenor at Milan's La Scala in 1953.

His voice was captured on numerous recordings, including one of every major Verdi operatic aria, which was made in 1976.

After his retirement, he continued to work as a teacher.

He also ran a Verdi singing competition and managed a hotel.

He was regularly performing well into his 60s, and at the age of 75 undertook the demanding title role in Verdi's Othello at New York's Carnegie Hall, amongst a roster of stars including Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras.

But the role was too challenging and Bergonzi withdrew part way into the performance and was replaced by his understudy.

Gramophone magazine praised the performer's "power and longevity" but added it was "never at the expense of a sweet legato line, near-perfect diction and beauty of sound".

His vocal prowess extended across a whole range of recorded operatic material, including La Boheme, Madame Butterfly and Lucia di Lammermoor.

However, he made his debut in 1948 as a baritone but soon came to realise that he was more suited to tenor roles. No recordings of his brief spell in that range exist.

He was careful not to push his voice beyond its natural confines, which extended his performing career.

Bergonzi was the first to admit that his physique and stage presence were less than ideal for the operatic stage, telling the New York Times in 1981: "I know I don't look like Rudolph Valentino."

He added: "I know what a proper physique should be for the parts I sing, but I have tried to learn to act through the voice. The proper, pure expression of the line is the most important thing."

During World War Two, Bergonzi was held in a Nazi prisoner of war camp for three years, and returned to resume his singing career which had begun as a youth in the church choir.

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Naked body art enlivens New York

27 July 2014 Last updated at 11:05

A group of artists in New York have painted a group of 40 nude models in public to celebrate the human form.

The bodypainting session in Central Park was followed by a march along Broadway and a photo shoot in the city's Times Square.

Artist Andy Golub claimed New York was the only US city where the bodypainting day would be allowed.

However, he and a model were arrested in 2011 after a naked body art session in the city.

The brush with the authorities led model Zoe West to take legal action which led to the payment of a $15,000 (£8,835) settlement.

Public nudity as part of a performance or a show is permitted in New York. As the organiser, Golub was granted a licence to hold Saturday's event which had the agreement of police.

Golub says on his website that "art shouldn't be limited to canvases or bound to be in only indoor spaces. To me, art is about self-discovery and sharing it with people".

Organisers also offered members of the public a chance to have their bodies painted at an evening event to celebrate the day of nude body art.

Earlier this month, the World Bodypainting Festival was held in the Austrian town of Poertschach am Woerthersee, which was a display of vibrant designs created by artists from 47 countries.

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Sierra Leone Ebola escapee dies

27 July 2014 Last updated at 03:39

A Sierra Leone woman who fled hospital after testing positive for the Ebola virus has died after turning herself in, health officials have told the BBC.

Her family had forcibly removed her from a public hospital on Thursday.

Saudatu Koroma's is the first case of Ebola to be confirmed in the country's capital Freetown, where there are no facilities to treat the virus.

Since February, more than 660 people have died of Ebola in West Africa - the world's deadliest outbreak to date.

Nigeria has put all its entry points on red alert after confirming the death there of a Liberian man who was carrying the highly contagious virus.

The man died after arriving at Lagos airport on Tuesday, in the first Ebola case in Africa's most populous country.

The outbreak began in southern Guinea and spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Reports on Saturday said that a prominent Liberian doctor, Samuel Brisbane, had died after a three-week battle with the virus.

And later it emerged that a US doctor working with Ebola patients, Kent Brantly, was being treated for the virus in a hospital in the capital Monrovia.

Street protest

The virus, which kills up to 90% of those infected, spreads through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids.

Patients have a better chance of survival if they receive treatment early.

Ms Koroma was the first registered Ebola case in the capital Freetown.

Both she and her parents - who are suspected of having the virus - had been taken to Ebola treatment centres in the east of the country, health ministry spokesman Sidi Yahya Tunis told the BBC.

Ebola virus disease (EVD)

• Symptoms include high fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage
• Fatality rate can reach 90%
• Incubation period is two to 21 days
• There is no vaccine or cure
• Supportive care such as rehydrating patients who have diarrhoea and vomiting can help recovery
• Fruit bats are considered to be the natural host of the virus

The woman had been one of dozens of people who tested positive but were unaccounted for, the BBC's Umaru Fofana reports from the capital, Freetown.

Her case highlights Sierra Leone's lack of preparedness in responding to the outbreak, our correspondent says, with no laboratory or treatment centre in Freetown.

The Ebola cases in Sierra Leone are centred in the country's eastern districts of Kenema and Kailahun, just over the border from the Guekedou region of Guinea where the outbreak started.

Police said thousands of people joined a street protest in Kenema on Friday over the government's handling of the outbreak.

Earlier this week, it was announced that the doctor leading Sierra Leone's fight against Ebola was being treated for the virus.

On Thursday, the World Health Organization said that 219 people had died of Ebola in Sierra Leone.

Meanwhile, in Nigeria, the health minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said that all other passengers on board the flight with the infected man had been traced and were being monitored.

The patient had "avoided contact with the general public" between the airport and the hospital, he said.

"All ports of entry to Nigeria, including airports, sea ports and land borders have been placed on red alert," he added.

WHO: West Africa Ebola outbreak figures as of 24 July

• Guinea - 314 deaths, 415 cases
• Liberia - 127 deaths, 224 cases
• Sierra Leone - 219 deaths, 454 cases

WHO update

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'Miners' grave' found in Bolivia

27 July 2014 Last updated at 06:17

A grave containing at least 400 people has been unearthed in the Bolivian city of Potosi, with the remains thought to be those of colonial-era miners.

The grave was found by workers carrying out excavations for the construction of a new building.

The mine at Potosi became the world's biggest after silver was discovered there by the Spanish in 1545.

African and indigenous slaves worked the mines - it is estimated as many as eight million may have died.

The mines at Potosi were a source of huge riches for Spain until the end of colonial rule in the 19th Century.

"We are talking about a common grave found at about 1.8 metres (5.9 ft), and the human remains are scattered over an area of four by four metres," Sergio Fidel, a researcher at a museum belonging to Potosi's Tomas Frias University, told AFP.

The university intervened when it learnt that construction workers were piling the bones in a heap while work continued.

Last month the UN's cultural body Unesco put Potosi on its list of World Heritage Sites in danger because of "uncontrolled mining operations in the Cerro Rico Mountain that risk degrading the site".

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Costa Concordia ends final voyage

27 July 2014 Last updated at 10:55

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The operation to recover the Costa Concordia is ending at a specially constructed wharf near Genoa, as Alan Johnston reports

The wrecked Italian cruise ship, the Costa Concordia, has entered the port of Genoa for scrapping after a two-year salvage operation.

Its removal was one of the biggest ever maritime salvage operations.

The Concordia struck a reef off the Italian island of Giglio in January 2012 and capsized, killing 32 people.

Captain Francesco Schettino has denied charges of multiple manslaughter and abandoning ship, which could see him jailed for up to 20 years.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is expected in Genoa in the afternoon to see the end of the complex docking procedure, which is expected to take several hours.

Genoa is where the Costa Concordia was built and launched amid fanfare and celebration nine years ago but now she is limping home to be scrapped, says the BBC's Alan Johnston.

"The operation to recover the Concordia was not easy. Italy carried it out, the Italy that, when it sets out to, is capable of doing anything, even of surprising us," Mr Renzi said.

Antonio Benvenuti, the head of Genoa's harbour workers' union, told AP that there was no "precise schedule" for each stage of dealing with the wreck.

Tests will be carried out first to monitor for potential pollution problems, Mr Benvenuti said, before the first stage of the operation would begin, reducing the weight of the ship in order to lift it.

The Costa Concordia was re-floated nine days ago and was kept above the surface by giant buoyancy chambers. More than a dozen vessels helped to tow the ship after it was pulled away from Giglio on Wednesday.

A huge net was dragged behind the vessel aimed at catching things that might spill out of the wreck, such as furniture or passengers' belongings, our correspondent says.

The wreck was hauled upright in September last year but was still partially submerged, resting on six steel platforms.

Investigators are still looking for the body of Indian waiter Russel Rebello, whose body is the only one not to have been found.

The Costa Concordia's owners, Costa Crociere, estimate the operation to remove the wreck from the reef and tow it for scrapping will cost 1.5bn euros (£1.2bn; $2bn) in total.

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Benghazi clashes kill 'at least 36'

27 July 2014 Last updated at 12:19

At least 36 people have been killed in clashes between Libyan government troops and Islamist militants in the city of Benghazi, reports say.

The attack came as the militants attacked troops in the city centre.

Intense fighting near Tripoli airport killed another 23 people, reports say.

Militias controlling large parts of the country are responsible for Libya's worst violence since the 2011 uprising that toppled Col Muammar Gaddafi, correspondents say.

The US and the UK have advised their nationals not to travel to Libya.

On Saturday, the US evacuated its embassy in the capital, Tripoli, citing a "real risk" because of the fighting.

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Secretary of State John Kerry says violence in Libya presents a "very real risk" to US embassy staff

Turkey has also withdrawn some 700 members of staff from Libya.

Earlier this week, the UN also announced it was withdrawing all its staff from Libya.

With no army, Libya's central government has increasingly lost control over the country to rogue and powerful militias in the last two years, says the BBC's Rana Jawad in Tripoli.

Analysis: Rana Jawad, BBC News, Tripoli

The distribution of armed groups across the country means the weapons are evenly spread out - and most battles achieve little beyond a trail of destruction.

It is tricky territory for Western players, and recent efforts by the UN mission in Libya to bring political and militarised sides to a negotiating table failed.

It is common for rival groups to accuse each other of being tied to Col Gaddafi's regime.

Will Libya's militias defeat democracy?

Stark warning

US ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed in an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi in September 2012.

Libyan government officials warned of the possibility of a break-up of the country if clashes over Tripoli airport continue.

Rival Libyan militias have been locked in battle at Libya's main airport in the south of Tripoli since last week, forcing the airport to shut.

Members of the Islamist Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room (LROR) are trying to seize control of the airport, which has been in the hands of the Zintan militia since the overthrow of Col Gaddafi.

Egyptian news agency Mena said 23 Egyptian workers were killed Saturday when a rocket hit their residence in Tripoli.

Our correspondent in the capital says both militia groups are believed to be on the official payroll.

The government has been unable to disarm the numerous armed groups that took part in the 2011 uprising and which have divided the country.

The eastern city of Benghazi has also been wracked by fighting between a rogue general, Khalifa Haftar, and Islamist groups, while many oil fields remain in the hands of separatist groups.

Dozens of government officials and high-profile military figures have been the target of assassination attempts in the city over the last two years.

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Hamas announces new Gaza ceasefire

27 July 2014 Last updated at 12:44

Palestinian militant group Hamas has announced a 24-hour ceasefire after Israel ended an earlier truce amid continuing rocket fire from Gaza.

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, said the ceasefire would start from 14:00 local time (11:00 GMT).

A spokesman for the Israel military said the announcement was "an opportunity perhaps".

Some 1,060 Palestinians and 46 Israelis have died in recent hostilities.

Most of those killed in Gaza are civilians, Palestinian health officials say, while 43 soldiers and three civilians have died on the Israeli side.

'Incessant rocket fire'

On Saturday, Israel accepted a UN request for a 24-hour ceasefire until the end of Sunday, although it said ground forces would continue to destroy tunnels used by Hamas during the pause.

The Israeli ceasefire followed a 12-hour truce, observed by both sides on Saturday, which enabled Gaza residents to gather supplies and retrieve bodies buried under the rubble.

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Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan, speaking from Beirut, confirmed the ceasefire. (We apologise for the poor sound quality.)

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The Hamas ceasefire would be "an opportunity perhaps" according to Col Peter Lerner from the Israel Defense Forces

However, the Israeli military announced on Sunday morning it had decided to resume its air, ground and naval raids on Gaza in response to "incessant rocket fire" from Hamas.

The militant group had initially rejected the Israeli offer, saying it would only halt rocket attacks once Israeli troops left Gaza and the displaced were allowed to return home.

But shortly after Israeli raids resumed, Hamas said it had decided to agree to a humanitarian truce.

"As a preparation for the end of Ramadan and in response to the UN mediation and also regarding our people's living circumstances, we have agreed with all Palestinian factions to give a 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire starting from 14:00 on Sunday," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement.

Correspondents in Gaza said loud explosions could be heard in several districts as Israeli forces resumed their air strikes. Palestinian eyewitnesses reported heavy shelling to the east of Gaza City.

Eight Palestinians have died in Sunday's attacks, according to Gazan health officials.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) earlier said at least 20 rockets had been launched toward Israel since Saturday night, despite the truce.

It added that a soldier was killed by mortar shell fired from Gaza early on Sunday morning.

Israel launched its military offensive on 8 July with the declared objective of stopping Hamas firing rockets from Gaza into Israel.

On 18 July, it extended operations with a ground offensive, saying it was necessary to destroy tunnels dug by militants to infiltrate Israel.

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Dutch cancel MH17 crash site visit

27 July 2014 Last updated at 12:49

Dutch experts have cancelled plans to head to the site of the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine, international officials say.

Fighting between pro-Russia separatists and government troops in the area has prevented access to the site, they add.

Earlier, Malaysia said it had struck a deal with the rebels to allow international police at the site.

MH17 crashed on 17 July, killing all 298 people on board. The rebels have been accused of shooting it down.

Russia has suggested the plane could have been shot down by the Ukrainian military - an allegation Ukraine denies.

'Unacceptable risk'

The investigators, who are currently in Donetsk, have struggled to gain access to the rebel-controlled crash site, despite a truce between Ukrainian troops and separatist forces.

"There is fighting going on. We can't take the risk," said Alexander Hug, of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

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Jan Tuinder, leader of the Dutch investigation team: "We need Ukrainian support"

"The security situation on the way to the site and on the site itself is unacceptable for our unarmed observer mission," he added.

The eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk have been gripped by heavy fighting as government forces try to retake rebel strongholds.

Shelling was reported close to the MH17 crash site, near the town of Grabove, on Sunday.

Rebels have prevented journalists going to the site and Ukrainian government forces are said to be nearby, says the BBC's Tom Burridge, in eastern Ukraine.

A total of 227 coffins containing the remains of the victims have been sent for identification to the Netherlands, which is leading the crash investigation.

The first MH17 victim has been identified, though officials did not reveal any details.

Officials say the exact number of bodies already collected will be determined only after forensic experts have completed their examination.

Parliamentary vote

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Sunday that he had reached an agreement with Ukrainian separatist leader Aleksander Borodai to allow international police access to the site in order to "provide protection for international crash investigators".

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said that Australian police officers would also be deployed as part of the Dutch-led mission.

"Our objective is to get in, get cracking and to get out... This is a risky mission, no doubt about that," he added.

Dutch officials have signalled that they will wait until Ukraine holds a parliamentary vote to approve the presence of an international police force in Grabove before deploying their own officers, our correspondent says.

The US says it believes rebels shot down the passenger jet with a Russian-provided SA-11 Buk surface-to-air missile, probably by mistake.

Russia has frequently denied sending heavy weapons into Ukraine but rebel leaders have given conflicting accounts of whether they had control of a Buk launcher at the time the plane was downed.

In a new development, Russia says it has set up its own team of experts to investigate the plane crash, according to RIA Novosti agency.

Malaysia Airlines commercial director Hugh Dunleavy has called for the formation of "one body to be the arbiter of where we can fly" in the wake of the MH17 disaster.

Writing for the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Dunleavy says "this tragedy has taught us that despite following the guidelines and advice set out by the governing bodies, the skies above certain territories are simply not safe".

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Russia angry at US 'smear campaign'

26 July 2014 Last updated at 02:00

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The US has toughened its rhetoric towards Russia since flight MH17 was downed

Russia has accused the US of launching a "smear campaign" over its alleged involvement in the conflict in Ukraine.

The foreign ministry in Moscow said on Friday it rejects "unfounded public insinuations" from the US government.

But the Pentagon says it believes the movement of Russian heavy-calibre artillery systems across the border into Ukraine is "imminent."

The row comes as more bodies of victims from flight MH17, which crashed in Ukraine, arrived in the Netherlands.

Separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine have been accused of shooting down the Malaysia Airlines plane.

The US says it believes rebels shot down the passenger jet with a Russian-provided SA-11 Buk surface-to-air missile, probably by mistake.

Russia has frequently denied sending heavy weapons into Ukraine but rebel leaders have given conflicting accounts of whether they had control of a Buk launcher at the time the plane was downed.

'Anti-Russian cliches'

The Pentagon said on Friday that it had evidence to suggest Russia is preparing to transfer more rocket launcher systems to the rebels.

"We have indications that the Russians intend to supply heavier and more sophisticated multiple-launch rocket systems in the very near future," Col Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said on Friday.

On Thursday, a US state department spokesperson said there was also evidence Russian troops were firing on Ukrainian soldiers from within Russia.

But in a statement, Russia's foreign ministry said the US was pushing "anti-Russian cliches" to protect their allies in Kiev by obscuring the "real reasons for events in Ukraine".

The BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Moscow says that amid all the accusations of war-mongering, it seems Russia is keen to stress that so far, it has actually shown restraint.

Meanwhile, the EU has formally announced that it is strengthening sanctions against Russia, adding "15 further persons and 18 entities" to an asset freeze and a visa ban.

A statement released on Friday said that those targeted are "responsible for action against Ukraine's territorial integrity".

The Russian officials targeted include Federal Security Service head Alexander Bortnikov and foreign intelligence head Mikhail Fradkov.

The fighting in eastern Ukraine erupted in April and is believed to have claimed more than 1,000 lives.

On Friday, the Ukrainian army said its troops had come under artillery fire from the Russian side of the border overnight and were attacked by rebels in several areas in the east.

The US has repeatedly accused Russia of fuelling separatist sentiment in eastern Ukraine and has toughened its rhetoric since flight MH17 was downed.

'Spy or a big one?'

Ukraine officials published the latest in a series of audio recordings on Friday that appears to be a conversation between rebels, minutes before MH17 crashed.

In the recording, which has not been independently verified, a rebel tells a commander that a "bird had flown" in his direction.

When the commander asks if it was a "spy or a big one?" the rebel says that he cannot tell because it is flying too high.

All 298 people on board the flight died in the crash on 17 July, including 193 Dutch citizens, 43 Malaysians and 27 Australians.

About 200 bodies were recovered from the crash site in eastern Ukraine and are being flown to the Netherlands, where forensic experts are working on identifying them.

The Dutch and Australian foreign ministers are negotiating with Ukrainian officials in Kiev to send police to the crash site, which is controlled by the rebels.

They hope that such a deployment would allow experts, who have faced difficulties gaining access to the site, to proceed with the investigation amid continuing fighting in the region.

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Peru to auction Montesinos jewels

26 July 2014 Last updated at 00:18

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The jewellery on sale includes diamond-encrusted cufflinks and watches

The Peruvian government says it will auction gold watches and other jewellery seized from ex-intelligence chief Vladimiro Montesinos.

He is serving a long jail sentence for corruption and human rights abuses.

The authorities say they expect to raise at least $1m (£600,000) from the sale of 152 items next month.

Montesinos, 69, fled Peru in 2000, amid a corruption scandal that led to the fall of President Alberto Fujimori, but was captured a year later.

The jewellery on sale includes diamond-encrusted cufflinks and gold rings.

"The money will be used to tackle organised crime in Peru," said the head of the government's commission for confiscated assets, Maria del Pilar Sosa San Miguel.

The auction will take place on 18 and 19 August at the Justice and Human Rights Ministry building in the capital, Lima.

"With this we will be able to close a chapter in our fight against corruption and, most importantly, use the assets in the interest of the state," Ms Sosa said.

The Andean nation was engulfed in a brutal internal conflict from 1980 to 2000.

In the fight against the left-wing Shining Path rebel group, thousands of innocent people were killed and tortured.

Montesinos was the de facto chief of police, appointed by Fujimori.

He is linked to the formation of the notorious anti-communist Grupo Colina death squad.

Montesinos fled to Panama in a yacht in September 2000 after he appeared in a leaked video trying to bribe a congressman. He was detained in Venezuela in 2001 and flown back to Peru.

After the scandal broke, the opposition gained control of Congress for the first time in eight years and dismissed Fujimori on grounds of "moral incapacity".

The former president is serving a 25-year prison sentence for human rights abuses and corruption during his 10-year mandate (1990-2000).

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