Iraq crash kills 14 US soldiers

Fourteen US soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash overnight in northern Iraq, the US military has said.
The Black Hawk helicopter, carrying 10 soldiers and four crew members, crashed after experiencing a mechanical malfunction, a US statement said.
There were reportedly no indications of hostile fire, but the cause of the crash is still under investigation.
Later, at least 15 people died when a suicide bomber drove a fuel tanker into a police station in Baiji, police said.
The head of the local hospital in the oil city, 180km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, said both police and civilians were among the victims. At least 40 people were wounded.
The police had only just moved into the building after a similar attack in June destroyed the old station and killed at least 10 people.
MAJOR US LOSSES IN IRAQ

2 Nov 03: Chinook helicopter downed near Falluja, killing 16
15 Nov 03: Two Black Hawk helicopters collide avoiding ground fire in Mosul, killing 17
21 Dec 04: Suicide bomb at military base in Mosul kills 19
26 Jan 05: CH-53E helicopter crashes in West Iraq, killing 31
3 Aug 05: Roadside blast near Haditha kills 14 marines
1 Dec 05: Ten marines killed by roadside bomb near Falluja
20 Jan 07: Black Hawk crashes near Tal Afar, killing 12
24 Apr 07: Suicide bombing of base near Baquba kills nine
22 Aug 07: Black Hawk helicopter crashes in northern Iraq, killing 14 soldiers
The 14 US soldiers killed on Wednesday were part of Task Force Lightning, a division responsible for a large area of northern Iraq, including the cities of Balad, Kirkuk, Tikrit, Mosul and Samarra.
A second Black Hawk helicopter had been flying alongside at the time.
It is not clear precisely where the helicopter came down.
It was the deadliest such incident since January, when another Black Hawk went down in Diyala province.
The worst US helicopter crash in Iraq was in January 2005. Thirty marines and a sailor were killed when a Super Stallion came down in bad weather near the Jordanian border.
The BBC's Mike Wooldridge in Baghdad says the fairly frequent loss of helicopters over the past four years has demonstrated the dependence of US forces on them - and their vulnerability.

Rescuers in the US state of Utah have drilled through to a mine cavity where six miners are believed trapped, but have not yet detected any sound.
The rescue crew drilled a narrow hole and lowered a microphone into the collapsed Crandall Canyon coal mine.
No contact has been made with the miners, who have been trapped 1,500ft (457m) underground since Monday.
Tests carried out at the site showed the air quality was good, the mine's co-owner told reporters.
"That means if they're alive, they're going to stay alive in that atmosphere," said Bob Murray, chairman of Murray Energy Corporation.
CRANDALL CANYON MINE
Located in Manti-La Sal National Forest, 16 miles (25km) from Huntington
Uses the "retreat mining" method, which experts say is one of most dangerous
Coal pillars hold up area of mine's roof. When completely mined, pillars are pulled, causing intentional roof collapse
Mine layout and location

He said a 2.5-inch (6.4cm) drill had pierced through the cavity on Thursday night.
But asked if the miners were definitely in the chamber, Mr Murray said: "No, we can't be sure but we think so. We think that's where they are... They didn't move far, I'm sure, from that area".
Rescuers are still working on drilling a wider 9-inch (23cm) hole through which a camera could be passed to check for signs of life, and water and food could be delivered.
Mr Murray said it could take at least another four or five days to bring the men out.
Rescue teams have been drilling round-the-clock through a mountain above the mine to reach the men, who include three Mexican citizens.
The group is thought to be 3.4 miles (5.5km) from the mine entrance, 140 miles (225km) from Salt Lake City.
Cause unclear
Initially the collapse was blamed on an earthquake, but experts have since suggested the shafts might have caved in with enough force to register on seismographs.

The drilling is still continuing on a wider holeThis has led to speculation mining procedures could have triggered the incident.
It has been claimed the workers were using a risky technique known as "retreat mining", where the last standing pillars of coal are pulled down and the roof is allowed to fall in.
But Mr Murray has rejected this, saying an earthquake caused the collapse.
US federal mining inspectors have issued 325 citations for alleged safety violations at the mine since January 2004. Of those, 116 were considered "significant and substantial" and likely to cause injury.
Experts have said the number of citations is not unusual, and the mine's owners say they run a safe mine.

World shares fall on credit fears

Markets have faltered in Friday trading, a day after markets in the US and Europe suffered heavy losses amid fears of a global credit crunch.
In morning trade the London FTSE 100 was 2.42% lower, the French Cac was down 2.20%, and German Dax down 1.61%.
The European Central Bank injected cash into the money market for a second day, a move echoed by other central banks across the world.
The ECB move was to "assure orderly conditions in the euro money markets".
The bank injected 61.05 bn euros (£41.65bn; $84.2bn) into the eurozone money markets on Friday.
Japan's central bank had earlier pumped one trillion yen ($8.5bn; £4.2bn) into the financial system to boost liquidity.
At close of trade in Japan, the Nikkei share index was down 2.4%, at 16,764.1.
Sub-prime fall-out
The jitters come a day after the FTSE closed down nearly 2%, and following an overnight decline of close to 3% on the Dow Jones index in New York.
Many more financial institutions may come out in the future to say they have been making losses on the back of the sub-prime problems
Martin Arnold, CommSec
Q&A: Sub-prime lending
Global markets have been rattled by worries over financial institutions' exposure to bad credit in the US sub-prime mortgage market.
In Hong Kong the Hang Seng index ended the day down 2.88% at 21,799.96, after trade was suspended early because of a tropical cyclone warning.
South Korea's central bank said it would also intervene if necessary in financial markets to counter the international turmoil.
Central banks in several countries have been intervening in the money markets to prevent a continuing problem with US housing loans turning into a global financial crisis.
The Reserve Bank of Australia on Friday added more than twice the usual amount of money into the banking system, injecting A$4.95bn ($4.19bn; £2.08bn) in its regular morning money market operation.
Investors have bought the financial equivalent of poisoned mutton dressed as prime lamb
Read the BBC's Robert Peston on US 'toxic' sub-prime loans
Central banks in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines intervened to sell dollars to support their currencies.
On Thursday the US's main Dow Jones index fell 387.18 points, or 2.8%, to 13,270.68. The S&P 500 shed 3% and the Nasdaq lost 2.2%.
European indexes had slumped earlier after BNP Paribas froze three funds, saying the market for some of the assets they contained had disappeared.
The European Central Bank injected a record $130.6bn (£64.6bn) into Europe's money markets on Thursday to prevent a financial system seizure.

Traders are trying to work out if the current problems will continue
In the US, the Federal Reserve was reported to have taken similar action, pumping about $24bn into the US banking system.
Analysts said that the markets would remain volatile in the near future.
"The nervousness has been brought on by the perception that many more financial institutions may come out in the future to say they have been making losses on the back of the sub-prime problems," said Martin Arnold, equities economist at CommSec.
Housing market wobble
BNP Paribas announced on Thursday that it was suspending three investment funds worth 2bn euros because of problems with the US sub-prime mortgage sector.
Sub-prime lenders offer loans to consumers with a poor credit history.
You're looking at the foundation of a marketplace that has imploded somewhat
Steve Goldman, Weeden & Co
In recent months, the number of loan defaults has increased because of higher interest rates, raising concerns that the wobble in the housing market will affect other parts of the economy and then start hurting other nations.
The worry is that should banks make losses, it would hurt their earnings and their profitability, making them less willing to fund the takeovers and buyouts that have underpinned much of the stock markets' recent gains.
The recent collapse of American Home Mortgage, the 10th largest lender in the US, has intensified those concerns.
At the same time, banks have suddenly started charging significantly more for the money they lend to each other, signalling that they are looking to limit their risks, analysts said.
Analysts say that a credit crunch - when it becomes harder for banks, companies and consumers to get access to loans and cash to run their operations - is a serious occurrence that could lead to a recession.
The declines in the US markets came despite attempts by President George W Bush to calm market fears

Profile: President Pervez Musharraf

General Pervez Musharraf seized power from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif promising to bring "true" democracy, law and order and economic revival to Pakistan.
The early years of his rule were also dominated by questions of foreign policy, particularly tensions with India over Kashmir.
But, it was the events of 11 September 2001 that have become the defining feature of his presidency, leading to a dramatic change in Pakistan's relations with the rest of the world.
The man who had been shunned as a dictator by many in the West after his bloodless coup became, almost overnight, a pivotal player on the world stage as Washington realised it needed the cooperation of Pakistan in order to defeat the Taleban in Afghanistan.
Islamist constituency
President Musharraf was thrown into a marriage of convenience.
He argued that for strategic reasons he had little choice but to join the American "war on terror", even though it meant abandoning support for the Taleban.

Pakistan has sent troops into its unruly tribal areas
Pakistan had previously been one of only three countries to recognise the Taleban diplomatically.
The president has often been described as walking a tightrope as he has sought to balance demands from the US to crack down on extremism in Pakistan and the demands from an increasingly vocal, and anti-American, Islamist constituency.
Some suggested that this has suited the president, allowing him to minimise the expectations of both sides.
Relations with nuclear rival India worsened after an attack on the Indian parliament in Delhi in December 2001. India blamed terrorists sponsored by Pakistan - an allegation denied by Pakistan.
President Musharraf's actions against the two groups India blamed for the attacks - Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Toiba were not enough to satisfy Delhi and by the summer of 2002 the two countries appeared again to be on the brink of war with over a million troops massed along both sides of the Line of Control that divides the disputed territory of Kashmir.
Tensions have since lowered after the two countries began peace talks in early 2004.
Some Indian officials still see the president as the cunning mastermind of the Kargil conflict in the summer of 1999 when he was the army chief.

The president likes to convey a non-military image
Pakistani regular soldiers and some militants infiltrated the Indian side of the Line of Control in Kashmir bringing the two countries to the brink of all-out war.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif withdrew his troops, but not before India had launched an air and land campaign against the infiltrators.
Mr Sharif's subsequent attempt to dismiss General Musharraf as chief of army staff led instead to the army's dismissal of Nawaz Sharif.
General Musharraf was on an aircraft coming back from Sri Lanka when he heard news of his dismissal, yet was still organised enough to rally troops to his cause soon after landing and to seize power.
His belligerent record on Kashmir was seen at that time as a potential strength, providing him with authority to undertake peace talks with India.
Deteriorating relations
But from the outset of his presidency, he has been constrained by strong domestic support for Kashmiri militancy in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, relations with Pakistan's northern neighbour Afghanistan have deteriorated since the fall of the Taleban and coming to power of President Hamid Karzai.

There have been at least two attempts on Musharraf's life
Afghan officials have increasingly accused Pakistan of not doing enough to stem the movement of militants sympathetic to al-Qaeda and the Taleban across the border into Afghanistan.
Pakistan counters that it has sent its troops into the tribal regions of Waziristan to target al -Qaeda and Taleban fighters for the first time in the history of Pakistan.
However, recent developments suggest that the home-grown fighters now known as the Pakistani Taleban control substantial areas of the border regions of North and South Waziristan.
Humanitarian tragedy
The military is also engaged on another front against nationalists in the province of Balochistan who accuse the government of exploiting the region's natural resources but neglecting its development.
Pakistan's human rights commission has accused security forces of serious violations of human rights during the campaign, and expressed concern more generally about the growing militarisation of the country.
A humanitarian tragedy tested the leadership of Pakistan in October 2005 as a massive earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale hit Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
More than 73,000 people died and three million were made homeless as a result of the quake.
The aftermath re-emphasised the pressing development challenges in Pakistan.

The president says he has clamped down on Kashmiri militants
Beyond the logistical challenges of reaching the remote mountain villages affected by the quake, the country also faced the task of providing for the earthquake's victims.
Poverty in Pakistan, particularly in rural areas, rose during the 1990s after declining in the 1970s and 1980s. This was accompanied by tumbling economic growth.
Turning around the decline in economic growth in this period was part of President Musharraf's promise on assuming power. And he has overseen an improvement in economic growth, receiving praise from international institutions for the introduction of economic reforms. Poverty has also fallen somewhat.
He has moved ahead with plans to build the massive Kalabagh dam, despite widespread protests, because he says it will help poor farmers.
Democracy roadmap
But there are still major questions ahead, not least about how the country is governed. Another of President Musharraf's promises on assuming office was to devolve power to the grassroots and improve accountability.
Early on he announced a 'roadmap to democracy'.
Elections to the national assembly were held in 2002 following a presidential referendum, with only one choice of presidential candidate, in which voters agreed to extend his rule for five years.
Former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif were banned from taking part in the polls.
And for the first time in Pakistan's history, an alliance of Islamic religious parties gained a strong showing in the assembly, and gained control of two of Pakistan's four provincial assemblies.
Local elections have also been held.
But the issue of the president's continued occupation of the top military and civil posts has not been resolved.

Musharraf: Feted by George Bush
He broke an earlier pledge to give up his military uniform by January 2005 and there is now some uncertainty about whether he will do so before 2007, when fresh elections to the national assembly and the presidency are scheduled.
The Delhi-born son of an Urdu-speaking family that migrated to Pakistan after the partition of the Indian sub-continent in 1947 has survived numerous assassination attempts and plots - the latest in December 2003.
But he is facing an increasing number of challenges on the domestic front - especially rising prices of fuel and food - as well as continuing extremism.
Sectarian violence between Sunni and Shia Muslims also simmers on.
General Musharraf will also be only too aware of Pakistan's old complaint of being picked up and then rapidly forgotten by the US once its strategic interests shift.
Pakistan today sits in the shadow of an increasingly blossoming relationship between the US and India, its battle against militancy continues unabated and it was recently labelled in an American study as a "failed state".
President Musharraf may reflect that while he may have made progress in economic growth, the country's many problems show no signs of disappearing.

Pakistan considers emergency rule

Pakistan's government is considering imposing emergency rule, the country's information minister has said.
Tariq Azeem said the issue was being discussed, given external and internal threats to the country.
It came hours after Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf called off plans to attend a US-backed tribal peace conference in Afghanistan.
Emergency rule would limit the role of the courts, restrict civil liberties and curb freedom of expression.
The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says opposition and media figures believe such a drastic move would be related more to domestic politics, particularly Gen Musharraf's desire to be re-elected for another term as both president and head of the army.
This would almost certainly trigger legal challenges and a state of emergency would limit the role of the courts, she says.
'Difficult circumstances'
Gen Musharraf faces a volatile political and security situation after a siege at a radical Islamabad mosque and protests by lawyers angry at the sacking of the country's chief justice.
The possibility of an emergency cannot be ruled out
Tariq AzeemPakistan Information Minister
"The possibility of the enforcement of emergency, like other possibilities, is under discussion," Mr Azeem said, although he stressed that the measure might not be necessary.
"I cannot say that it will be tonight, tomorrow or later. We hope that it does not happen.
"But we are going through difficult circumstances so the possibility of an emergency cannot be ruled out," the Associated Press news agency quoted him as saying.
He said US threats to launch an operation in the tribal areas and the recent targeting of Chinese nationals by Islamic militants had played a role in the issue being discussed.
"In addition, the situation on the borders and the suicide attacks are also a concern," Mr Azeem added.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reportedly spoke at length with Gen Musharraf early on Thursday, amid widespread reports of the possibility of an emergency.
A meeting of senior government officials headed by President Musharraf is expected to be held on Thursday to decide the issue.
Elections threat
Under a state of emergency, powers to detain citizens would be extended and parliament could extend its tenure by a year.
The emergency is a big step and the government should think twice before enforcing it
Benazir BhuttoOpposition leaderIt would also allow the president to postpone national elections due to be held later in 2007.
This could enable him to continue in his role as chief of Pakistan's powerful military.
Opposition political parties, like Pakistan's largest party, the PPP, want Gen Musharraf to give up the role.
"The emergency is a big step and the government should think twice before enforcing it," said former Prime Minister and PPP leader Benazir Bhutto.
"I hope such a drastic step will not take place.
"It will be a retrogressive step taking the country backwards."
Gen Musharraf pulled out of the three-day Afghan council, or jirga, on combating the Taleban, citing commitments in Islamabad.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will attend in his place.
Up to 700 tribal elders, Islamic clerics and leaders of both countries are invited to the council, starting on Thursday, which will discuss terrorism.
The Taleban have not been included, and are calling for a boycott of the event.

Metal claw crushes man to death

A 24-year-old man has been crushed to death by a mechanical claw while in a van at a Southampton scrapyard.
Barry Collins, of Millbrook, Southampton, died after the accident at James Huntley and Sons Scrap Metal and Merchants in Sholing, on Thursday.
Hampshire Constabulary and the Health and Safety Executive have launched a joint investigation and will prepare a report for the coroner.
A criminal investigation into the death is not being carried out.
Mr Collins had taken a vehicle to the site to be scrapped.
It is believed he then returned to get something from a van after the crushing process began.
A crane with pincers designed to break vehicles picked up the van and crushed it before he could get out.
The emergency services were called to the site at 1100 BST on Thursday but Mr Collins died at the scene.
Family and friends have been leaving floral tributes at the scrapyard since the accident.
A post-mortem examination at Southampton General Hospital on Friday revealed Mr Collins died of head and shoulder injuries.

Farm infected with foot-and-mouth

Cattle at a farm in Surrey have been found to be infected with foot-and-mouth disease.
Some 60 animals on the farm near Guildford have tested positive for the disease which wreaked havoc in 2001.

A 3km protection zone has been put in place around the premises and a UK ban imposed on movement of all livestock.

Gordon Brown has cancelled his holiday in Dorset and taken part in a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee by telephone about the issue.

Even the words 'foot-and-mouth' will send a chill through the spine of every farmer in the country

Tim Bonner, Countryside Alliance

Very few human cases of foot-and-mouth disease have ever been recorded. The last human case reported in the UK occurred in 1966.

In accordance with legislation, all cattle on the Surrey premises will be culled, said a government spokesman.

The farm has been under restrictions since late on Thursday when symptoms were reported.

Debby Reynolds, UK Chief Veterinary Officer, confirmed the outbreak after samples were taken from the farm.

FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE
Foot-and-mouth is a highly contagious viral disease which affects animals such as cattle and sheep
Symptoms include fever, lesions in the mouth and lameness, but it is not normally fatal in adult animals
The disease can result in a huge decrease in the amount of milk produced in affected animals

She said: "We are trying to form a picture of where the infection may have come from but at the moment it's very early stages."

Gordon Brown is returning to London on Saturday and Environment Secretary Hilary Benn is to break off from his holiday in Italy.

The Cobra committee is to reconvene on Saturday morning to review latest developments.

Ms Reynolds advised farmers across the UK to examine their animals carefully and immediately report anything suspicious.

As well as the 3km protection zone, there is also a 10km surveillance zone where nearby animals are monitored.

The outbreak in 2001 led to between 6.5 million and 10 million animals being destroyed and cost as much as £8.5bn. Many farms and other rural businesses were ruined.

National Farmers' Union President Peter Kendall said of the latest incident: "This is a matter of grave concern. We have an industry still depressed from low prices.

HAVE YOUR SAY
The outbreak is not the problem. It is the reaction (and response) to it that matters.

MB, Edgware


Send us your comments

"We have to ensure this is a small isolated incident. We are working with the government to ensure the right steps are taken."

Hugh Pennington, emeritus professor of microbiology at Aberdeen University, said: "Speed is of the essence here.

"We have got to really stop this virus spreading, obviously first of all to stamp it out in the locality where it has been identified and then see whether the virus has got anywhere else."

Tim Bonner, from the Countryside Alliance, said: "Even the words 'foot-and-mouth' will send a chill through the spine of every farmer in the country.

"We hope for a better response this time from the government - the last time it was chaos."