Senna seals F1 drive with Campos
October 31, 2009
Brazil’s Bruno Senna, nephew of the late triple world champion Ayrton, will make his Formula 1 race debut with new team Campos Meta next season.
The 26-year-old had said he was talking with the Spanish team at the Brazilian Grand Prix a fortnight ago.
Obama to lift HIV entry ban soon
October 31, 2009
The US is to end its 22-year ban on people with HIV entering the country, President Barack Obama has confirmed.
Mr Obama made the announcement as he extended funding for an act that provides HIV/Aids related health care.
“If we want to be the global leader in combating HIV/Aids, we need to act like it,” Mr Obama said.
Ransom demanded for yacht couple
October 31, 2009
Somali pirates who have kidnapped a couple from Kent have issued a ransom demand of $7m (£4.3m) in a call to the BBC.
Paul and Rachel Chandler, aged 59 and 55, from Tunbridge Wells, were taken hostage by gunmen in the Indian Ocean in the early hours of 23 October.
They had been travelling to Tanzania from the Seychelles and their yacht was later found in international waters.
US in new push for Mid-East peace
October 31, 2009
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in the Middle East for talks aimed at unblocking the peace process.
She will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the United Arab Emirates before heading to Jerusalem to see Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
Abdullah ‘may quit Afghan poll’
October 31, 2009
Abdullah Abdullah, President Hamid Karzai’s rival in the second round of Afghanistan’s presidential election, is reportedly close to quitting the poll.
Mr Abdullah called for the resignation of key election officials, cabinet ministers and provincial governors as a way to mitigate fraud and corruption.
Google opens OneBox music service
October 29, 2009
Search giant Google has entered the online music market with a new service for finding and buying music online.
OneBox is an alliance with music sites Lala and MySpace-owned iLike.
The US-only service allows people to search using song titles, artists or using snippets of lyrics and will also stream sought-after tracks.
Obama honours Afghanistan killed
October 29, 2009
US President Barack Obama has paid his respects to 18 Americans killed in Afghanistan, the first time he has honoured the fallen in this way.
The bodies of 15 US soldiers and three Drug Enforcement Agency agents were transferred to a mortuary on the base.
Anger at Zimbabwe UN envoy snub
October 29, 2009
The UN’s torture investigator has made an angry return to South Africa after being refused entry to Zimbabwe.
Manfred Nowak was detained by officials in Harare who said he had no clearance to visit, despite his insistence he had an invite from the prime minister.
“I have never in any other country been treated in such a manner,” Mr Nowak, who had planned a week-long fact-finding mission, told the BBC.
Hull chairman Duffen steps down
October 29, 2009
Hull City chairman Paul Duffen has resigned from his position at the struggling Premier League club.
There had been growing speculation about Duffen’s future and that of manager Phil Brown.
The Tigers were forced to deny this week that Brown had been sacked following a run of poor results.
Iran ‘reply’ on nuclear fuel deal
October 29, 2009
Iran has delivered a response on a UN-backed proposal seen as crucial to easing diplomatic tensions over its nuclear programme, Iranian media say.
Under the plan, most of Iran’s enriched uranium would be sent abroad to be turned into fuel rods for research use.
Iran’s president said earlier his country was ready to co-operate with the proposal.
Iran says it is enriching uranium for fuel, but the US and its allies have accused it of seeking nuclear weapons.
A report on Al-Alam TV on Thursday said Iran had given its response on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) plan, but gave no details.