Several deaths in huge Texas blast
By Anonymous on Apr 18, 2013 03:24 am 17 April 2013 Last updated at 22:45 ET 
The explosion happened early on Wednesday evening
Many people are reported to be injured and others are trapped in burning buildings after an explosion at a fertilizer plant near Waco in the US state of Texas.
Firefighters, ambulances and six helicopters have been mobilised to deal with the situation.
Several buildings are reported to be on fire, some of them in neighbouring residential areas, KWTX-TV reported.
The blast at the West Fertilizer plant was reported at 19:50 (00:50 GMT).
One local resident told KWTX-TV that she heard several explosions from 13 miles (20km) away.
"It sounded like three bombs going off very close to us,'' said Lydia Zimmerman.
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Court orders Musharraf's arrest
By Anonymous on Apr 18, 2013 02:57 am 18 April 2013 Last updated at 02:04 ET 
A court in Pakistan has ordered the arrest of Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf over the house arrest of judges in March 2007.
Mr Musharraf was present at the Islamabad High Court when the judges issued the order. He had been seeking bail in the case.
Police present at the court did not arrest him when the order was made.
The retired general immediately left the court and drove away escorted by his security detail.
The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says that when judges issue arrest warrants in court, the suspect is normally handcuffed within the court premises.
Mr Musharraf can file an appeal against this court order in Pakistan's Supreme Court.
Read in browser » Man takes up fight for right to die
By Anonymous on Apr 18, 2013 03:14 am 17 April 2013 Last updated at 22:04 ET 
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
Paul Lamb: "I want to choose to call it a day"
A man paralysed from the neck down is taking up the legal challenge previously mounted by the late Tony Nicklinson for the right-to-die with the help of a doctor.
Paul Lamb, 58, from Leeds, has joined forces with the family of Mr Nicklinson, who died in August 2012, a week after his legal bid had failed.
Earlier this year, his widow Jane won permission to appeal against the High Court ruling in her own right.
Mr Lamb says he is "worn out, trapped".
The two cases will now be heard in the Court of Appeal on 14 and 15 May.
In England and Wales, it is an offence to encourage or assist a suicide or a suicide attempt. The law is almost identical in Northern Ireland.
In Scotland there is no specific law on assisted suicide, although in theory someone could be prosecuted under homicide legislation.
'Pointless life' In March, the Court of Appeal granted an order allowing Mr Lamb, who has waived his right to anonymity, to take over Mr Nicklinson's claims.
Continue reading the main story Analysis
Clive Coleman BBC News legal correspondent
Paul Lamb's case goes far beyond assisted suicide. His paralysis is so severe that he could not take the final steps to kill himself.
For example, if someone filled a syringe full of lethal drugs and gave it to him, he could not inject himself.
So, like Tony Nicklinson, he would need a doctor to kill him. Under the current law that would amount to murder.
For that reason he is seeking a declaration that any doctor who kills him would have a defence to a charge of murder.
The defence is known as "necessity", meaning it was necessary for the doctor to act to stop intolerable suffering.
The defence was used in the case of conjoined twins where doctors ended one life in order to save another.
A declaration that the defence would protect a doctor who ends a single life goes far beyond that and represents the most ambitious challenge yet to the law governing the right to die.
He is seeking a court declaration that any doctor who killed him would have a defence against such a charge.
The defence is known as "necessity", meaning it was necessary for the doctor to act to stop intolerable suffering.
Mr Lamb, who was severely injured in a car accident in 1990, has no function in any of his limbs apart from a little movement in his right hand. He says he has been in pain for 23 years, needs 24-hour care and his life consists of "being fed and watered".
In a statement to the courts, the father-of two said: "I am in pain every single hour of every single day. I have lived with these conditions for a lot of years and have given it my best shot.
"Now I feel worn out and I am genuinely fed up with my life. I feel I cannot and do not want to keep living. I feel trapped by the situation and have no way out.
"I spend my day sitting in my wheelchair. My daily routine is tedious, monotonous and pointless. I often go to bed at 5pm - such is the pointlessness of it all.
"I am fed up of going through the motions of life rather than living it. I feel enough is enough."
Mr Lamb, who is divorced from his wife, said he was not depressed and just wanted to end his life in a dignified way, with his loved ones around him.
'Family's distress' "I would like a doctor to help me die, without pain and suffering, preferably by a lethal injection with my family around me in my own home," he said.
His solicitor Saimo Chahal said it was an "important moment" when he was allowed to join the proceedings started by the Nicklinsons.
"The fact the court has agreed to this is a recognition of the very wide significance of the issues and the public interest in having a decision on the right to die with dignity issue," she said.
In January, Mrs Nicklinson won permission to continue her husband's campaign and appeal against the High Court ruling that refused to grant him permission to seek medical assistance to die.
Tony Nicklinson was paralysed by a stroke in 2005
The Court of Appeal ruled she was able to pursue a claim in her own right under Article 8 (the right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
She says she suffered pain, distress and injury as a result of her having to witness the distressing life that her husband suffered.
Mr Nicklinson was paralysed from the neck down after a stroke in 2005 and suffered from locked-in syndrome. After refusing food and fluids, the father-of-two died from pneumonia at his home in Melksham, Wiltshire, on 22 August 2012.
He was one of several people to challenge the current laws on assisted dying. Diane Pretty, who was terminally ill with motor neurone disease and died in 2002, wanted the courts to give her husband immunity from prosecution.
Debbie Purdy, who has severe multiple sclerosis, challenged the lack of clarity on the law on assisted suicide. She wanted to understand how prosecutors would make a decision on whether or not to prosecute her husband if he was to assist her to get to Switzerland to be helped to die.
Ms Purdy won her case and guidance was issued in 2010, but the law did not change.
Read in browser » Cyclist Hoy poised for 'retirement'
By Anonymous on Apr 18, 2013 02:34 am 18 April 2013 Last updated at 02:34 ET 
Sir Chris would be leaving on a high, having won six Olympic golds
Britain's most successful Olympian, cyclist Sir Chris Hoy, is expected to announce his retirement from active competition later.
Sir Chris is thought to be preparing to confirm the move at a media conference in his home city, Edinburgh.
It would mean the cyclist will not compete at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014.
He leaves the sport on a high, after winning a sixth gold medal during the London 2012 Olympics.
Sir Chris is 37 and had left open the question of whether he would compete at Glasgow 2014.
If it is confirmed that he will not be on the track at the stadium in Glasgow named after him, he will still have a role as an ambassador for the games.
Read in browser » Boston 'bombs suspect' seen on film
By Anonymous on Apr 18, 2013 02:33 am 17 April 2013 Last updated at 13:54 ET
Investigators are preparing to arrest a suspect in relation to Monday's Boston marathon bombings, officials have told US media.
The breakthrough reportedly came from security video of a man dropping off a bag on the street near the race's finish line, before walking away.
The twin blasts killed an eight-year-old boy, a woman aged 29 and a postgraduate student from China.
Officials are due to hold a press conference at 17:00 ET (21:00 GMT).
Investigators have been sifting through thousands of pieces of evidence, ranging from video recorded on mobile phones to fragments of shrapnel removed from the victims' legs. More than 170 people were wounded in the attack.
The image of the suspect came from surveillance video recorded at a department store across the street from the site of the second blast, CNN reported.
Read in browser » Alps crash driver's bravery praised
By Anonymous on Apr 18, 2013 12:06 am 18 April 2013 Last updated at 00:06 ET 
The coach had been taking ski resort staff back to the UK
A British man who died when the coach he was driving crashed in the French Alps has been praised for his bravery.
French transport minister Frederic Cuvillier visited the scene near Alpe d'Huez and said Maurice Wrightson, 64, had displayed "remarkable courage".
He suggested the County Durham driver had saved lives by trying to slow down his vehicle by hitting rocks rather than risk it going over a precipice.
Three seriously injured Britons remain in hospital after Tuesday's crash.
They were among more than 50 people who were on the coach when it crashed and burst into flames.
The chartered coach had been transporting ski resort staff back to the UK at the end of the ski season.
Mr Cuvillier said: "The actions of some people were instrumental in avoiding what could have been a much worse situation.
"The position the coach was in shows a great effort to control it... the coach was able to slow down rather than continue on its course and go off the edge into the ravine, which would have led to far more casualties."
Facebook tributes The coach crashed as it travelled down a steep mountain road, which features 21 hairpin bends. The road regularly features in the Tour de France cycling race.
Police suspect there was a problem with the vehicle's brakes, causing it to veer off its intended path.
Several passengers escaped from the burning wreckage by jumping from the windows. A helicopter was scrambled to the scene where firefighters battled to put out the flames.
Mr Wrightson worked for County Durham-based Classic Coaches and the coach had been hired by Brighton company Skibound.
Family and friends paid tribute to Mr Wrightson using a Facebook page.
Wendy Wrightson described him as "a good man who lost his life far too soon, but lost it a hero doing what he did best".
She wrote: "We lit all our candles last night and chatted fondly about you. You will be a huge miss to many people, but I wish you peace and sleep well, you deserve it. I am sure your star will be shining brightly for all to see and see it we all will."
Steve Wardlaw said: "Everyone who new Maurice liked him. Everyone who met him had a Maurice story to tell. And every Maurice story left you smiling... RIP a legend to us all."
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