Obama not ruling out Libya arms

US President Barack Obama has said he does not rule out arming the rebels seeking to overthrow Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

He said in an interview that Col Gaddafi had been greatly weakened and would ultimately step down.

Pro-Gaddafi forces have driven the rebels back tens of kilometres over ground they took in recent days after coalition air strikes.

The rebels have now retreated eastwards past the town of Ras Lanuf.

News of the rebel withdrawal came as an international conference on Libya in London agreed to set up a contact group involving Arab governments to co-ordinate help for a post-Gaddafi Libya.

At least several thousand people have been killed and thousands wounded since the uprising against Col Gaddafi's rule began more than six weeks ago, with the rebels now controlling much of the east and pro-Gaddafi forces holding the capital Tripoli and other western cities.

Ivory Coast: Laurent Gbagbo calls for ceasefire

Forces loyal to Alassane Ouattara have been making rapid advances

 

Ivorian incumbent Laurent Gbagbo has appealed for an immediate ceasefire after advances by forces loyal to President-elect Alassane Ouattara.

A spokesman for Mr Gbagbo said the army had adopted a strategy of tactical withdrawal but warned it could use its "legitimate right of defence".

In the town of Doekoue, up to 30,000 people took refuge in a church compound to escape the fighting.

Mr Gbagbo refuses to stand down despite the UN saying he lost November's poll.

Yemeni arms factory blast toll rises amid protests

The death toll from the blasts on Monday has almost doubled

 

The death toll from explosions at an ammunition plant in southern Yemen has risen to 150.

Initial reports said 78 had died, but more bodies have since been pulled out of the factory in the town of Jaar.

The explosion has caused great anger among locals, who accuse the authorities of planning it to try to win further support from the US.

Yemeni officials have blamed al-Qaeda for the blasts.

'Fake bomb' UPS flight from UK to Turkey investigated

Details of which UK airport the flight took off from have not been released at this stage.

 

An investigation has been launched into how a fake bomb was put on a cargo plane and flown from the UK to Turkey without being detected.

The UPS flight travelled to Istanbul with the package, reportedly containing a timer, wires and a detonator.

The UK Department for Transport said it was taking the matter "very seriously".

Qantas says natural disasters will dent profits

Reduced travel demand to Japan and New Zealand is forcing Qantas to suspend some flights.

 

Qantas Airways has warned that profits at the company will be hurt by the recent natural disasters in Japan, New Zealand and Australia.

The company has announced that it is suspending some flights and downsizing capacity on others from Australia to Japan and New Zealand.

Demand for travel to Japan has fallen following the earthquake on 11 March and the fear of radiation leaks.

George Clooney named as Berlusconi 'defence witness'

 

Hollywood star George Clooney is one of 78 witnesses named by Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi for his trial on charges of sex with an under-age prostitute.

George Clooney's girlfriend is believed to have denied attending the February 2010 party

 

Mr Clooney's girlfriend, Italian model and TV star Elisabetta Canalis, is also on the list as are MPs and ministers.

The couple were said to have been seen at one of Mr Berlusconi's parties by Karima el-Mahroug, the teenager whom he is alleged to have paid for sex.

Sleep patterns affect weight loss

Is shedding weight harder while stressed or missing sleep?

 

Managing sleep and stress levels can help in the battle against obesity, according to scientists in the US.

People getting too little or too much sleep were less likely to lose weight in a six month study of 472 obese people.

Their report in the International Journal of Obesity showed that lower stress levels also predicted greater weight loss.

A UK sleep expert said people need to "eat less, move more and sleep well".

Blood flow monitor 'could save NHS £400m a year'

The monitor was pioneered at University College Hospital, London.

 

The NHS could save £400m a year if a blood flow monitor was used more during surgery, the health watchdog says.

In its guidance for England, NICE says the device, which was developed in Britain and uses ultrasound, reduces complications and speeds up recovery.

It says the CardioQ-ODM cuts the length of time patients spend in hospital following major or high-risk surgery by an average of two days.

Use of the device saves £1,000 each time, the watchdog adds.

Glenrothes, Kirkcaldy, Livingston: insolvency hot spots

Three Scottish towns had insolvency rates twice that of the UK average

 

Three Scottish towns have recorded the highest concentration of people going broke in the UK in 2010, according to information company Experian.

It said that in Glenrothes and Kirkcaldy in Fife and Livingston, in West Lothian, more than 80 people in every 10,000 became insolvent.

That was about double the average rate of the UK as a whole.

In Kirkcaldy, the rate was up 12% on 2009. In Glenrothes it increased by 20% and in Livingston it was up by 32%.

Education in Wales warned of risk of 'downward spiral'

The report says some schools lack the capacity for improvement

 

The performance of the education system in Wales could enter a "downward spiral" without urgent action, according to a report.

Too many schools are "coasting", it says, and standards of literacy and numeracy are too low.

Education Minister Leighton Andrews said the study, from a group he commissioned, had some "hard messages".

It says that some local authorities "lack the capacity" to improve the performance of their schools.