Newslip Episode 26 05.07.09

Welcome to Newslip. Today’s date is Sunday, 5th July 2009. I’m Wesley Gerrard. Here are the stories making this week’s news.

At least 13 people died in a horrible accident in Northern Italy when a train carrying liquid petroleum gas derailed and exploded. At least 36 people were injured, 15 of those are in a critical condition. Most of those affected lived in local houses. The accident happened near the train station in the Tuscan seaside town of Viareggio, about 350 kilometres north of Rome. Eyewitness Gianfranco Bini said, "We saw a ball of fire rising up to the sky. We heard three big rumbles, like bombs. It looked like war had broken out." Firefighters battled overnight to contain blazes started by at least three explosions. Over a thousand people were evacuated from their homes.

Former England soccer star, Michael Owen, has committed one of football’s cardinal sins. The former Liverpool schoolboy who went on to carve worldwide fame for himself while at Liverpool, caused massive upset when he left the Merseysiders for Real Madrid. After a relatively unsuccessful period at the Bernabeu, Owen returned to England, to Newcastle United. Newcastle have just been relegated and out of contract Owen signed for Manchester United. The rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester means that there is very little movement of players between the clubs. Owen, a former winner of the Ballon D’Or, and once regarded as one of the best strikers on the planet, has in recent years had a loss of form, with many nasty injuries and has also lost his place in the national team. Maybe the new European Champions believe that they can reignite this once great player’s career?

Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs, 79 and in poor health, was denied parole after Justice Secretary Jack Straw vetoed the decision which was supposed to have released him. In 1963 Biggs was part of a gang which robbed a Glasgow to London mail train and escaped with £2.6m in used bank notes, the biggest haul of an era when many criminals became celebrities. In 1964 Biggs escaped from Wandsworth prison and began a life on the run which ended in 2001 when he left his refuge in Brazil and returned to Britain where he began a jail sentence. Throughout his years on the run, Biggs regularly courted the media and even appeared as a guest vocalist on a Sex Pistols song. In recent years his health has declined and he is currently being treated at a Norwich hospital. He son spoke of the heartlessness of the Justice Secretary, not to release a man on compassionate grounds. It is Biggs’ dream to die a free Englishman in his own country and he has appointed lawyers who are questioning the legality of Jack Straw’s decision.

Two German Shepherd police dogs have died after being left in a hot car by their handler. The dogs were found dead in a police car parked outside Nottinghamshire's force headquarters in Arnold at 2.15pm on Wednesday. The Independent Police Complaints Commission is deciding on whether or not to allow the RSPCA to investigate the matter. The maximum sentence for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal is six months in prison and a £20,000 fine. Nottinghamshire Police said the handler has not been suspended. It can take just 20 minutes for a dog to die and temperatures reach over 40 degrees in some vehicles. On the day of the incident temperatures hit 29.4 degrees centigrade in Nottingham. It is believed the dogs' handler was not on duty at the time and had called in to the force's headquarters at Sherwood Lodge, leaving the dogs to over-heat in the parked car.

The National Express franchise of the East Coast mainline announced that it had run out of money for the year and the government stepped in and nationalised the stricken rail service. The rail economy, although private, is heavily dependent on the state of the economy as user figures are very closely correlated with it. The economic conditions of three years ago when National Express made a successful bid were soon to change and what was considered a medium risk venture has now collapsed. The Transport Secretary threatened to also immediately take two other National Express franchises into state ownership. Lord Adonis went on to say, “It is simply unacceptable to reap the benefits of contracts when times are good, only to walk away from them when times become more challenging.” There were reports that National Express offered the government £100 million in cash in order to end the contract. National Express are better known for their ventures in national coach travel.

Mourning for the dead pop singer Michael Jackson continued. The family announced that there would be no public showing of the body. There was a scramble for lottery won tickets to the Michael Jackson memorial with 8500 lucky ‘winners’ instantly putting their tickets up for auction. Jackson’s will made preparations for the care of his children. He stated that if his mother were unable to look after the three kids then they should be handed over to Diana Ross’ care. It is believed that his ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, intends to fight a custody battle. Recent video footage of the star’s gruelling preparations for his forthcoming tour were released. Fellow superstar Madonna gave a special tribute to Michael Jackson, fittingly at the O2 Arena in London where Jackson had intended to begin his final farewell concerts…

British police have called off their 45-year search for the last missing Moors murder victim Keith Bennett. Bennett was just 12 when he became the third victim of notorious killers Myra Hindley and Ian Brady in June 1964. Hindley and Brady killed a total of five youngsters between 1963 and 1965 before burying them on Saddleworth Moor, Greater Manchester. Bennett was the only victim whose remains were never found. Bennett's mother Winnie Johnson, 75, was devastated by the police decision to end the search for her son. Brady, 71, remains in Ashworth high security hospital in Liverpool. Hindley died aged 60 of a heart attack while in jail in 2002.

The sole survivor of Yemenia Flight 626 could barely swim and didn't have a life jacket. When Bahia Bakari's airplane crashed into the stormy Indian Ocean this week, killing 152 other passengers and crew, the 12-year-old girl suddenly found herself in the watery darkness. She could hear the voices of other passengers, but couldn't see anyone, including her mother who perished. For 13 hours, Bahia clung to debris until she was rescued. Back now in France with her father Kassim, he commented, "I would never have thought she would have survived like this. I can't say that it's a miracle, I can say that it is God's will." Research has been produced that apparently sitting towards the rear of an aircraft encourages your chances of surviving a crash so the advantages of flying first class and business class do have certain drawbacks…

A tower block fire in South London left six people dead including a three week old baby and two children. About 30 people were rescued from the fire at the 12-storey Lakanal House on the Sceaux Gardens Estate, Camberwell. The blaze started on the ninth floor, at 1620 BST on Friday. Of the 30 people rescued, 15 were taken to hospital for treatment, including three who died. Fire bosses believe it will take "weeks if not months" to establish how the blaze, in south-east London, happened and the whole area was being treated as a crime scene so many people weren’t allowed to return to their homes. Harriet Harman MP, whose constituency includes the tower block, said it was "clearly a very tragic situation".

And this week’s top story…

The lawn tennis championships at Wimbledon have concluded for yet another year. The weather throughout the tournament was surprisingly good with Britain experiencing an early summer heatwave. Serena Williams upstaged her big sister, Venus, in a closely fought Ladies Singles final. Serena turned on the heat in the final set, winning four games in a row to finish with a score of 7-6, 6-2. Her victory makes a mockery of the world rankings system which states that Dinara Safina is the best player in the world despite having not won a grand slam. In the men’s tennis, Britain’s great hope did as well as Tim Henman had done previously, by making it to a semifinal. But unfortunately for the excited strawberry eating, cream-slurping fans, Murray got knocked out by Andy Roddick. Federer went on to win the final after a prolonged battle with Roddick which never seemed to want to end. 5-7 7-6 7-6 3-6 16-14 were the final scores. The victory was the Fed Express’ 15th Grand Slam title, helping him take an onlooking Pete Sampras’ record. The win means that Roger Federer reclaims the No1 world ranking spot ahead of injured Rafael Nadal.

That’s all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again next week. Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 23 14.06.09

Welcome to Newslip. I'm Wesley Gerrard. Today's date is Sunday, 14th June 2009. Here are the stories making this week's news.

The fugitive Bosnian Serb army commander, Ratko Mladic, has caused controversy after a documentary was aired on Sarajevo television showing the perpetuator of genocide enjoying himself at a wedding, holidaying at a ski resort and openly cavorting with other renegade former army officers, who are also wanted for their crimes against humanity. Serbia, as one of its conditions for joining the EU, is under international pressure to capture Mladic and hand him over to international authorities. A former bodyguard revealed that until 2002 Mladic roamed freely in Belgrade. He is wanted primarily for causing the massacre of 8000 Bosnian Muslims at Srebenica. Last year the high profile Radovan Karadzic was extradicted to The Hague and it is hoped that Mladic will follow.

The close season in football has begun with a bang. Fresh from his double medal tally, Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo has shattered the world transfer record with a much anticipated move to Real Madrid. £80 million was the tag for the deal which apparently was agreed last summer, Real have been blowing a huge budget, reigniting the famed 'Galactico' era. In addition to the purchase of former world player of the year, Ronaldo, Los Blancos have spent £60 million on AC Milan's Kaka and another £100 million on five other players. They have not yet closed the chequebook either, as Florentino Perez, in his second time as president, is upping the chase for Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso. Ronaldo was his club's top scorer last season with 26 goals and his presence in the Premiership may well be sorely missed.

North Korea has done little to improve its international relations this week as it sentenced two American journalists to 12 years hard labour. The country has recently received widespread criticism for its militaristic shimmies to the outside world as it tests nuclear bombs and long range missiles, launches satellites and has a bellicose attitude to its regional neighbours. Laura Ling and Euna Lee were reporting at the Chinese-North Korea border, on the issue of illegal immigrants seeking refuge in China. South Korean news agencies claim that North Korean guards crossed into China to arrest the women but Pyongyang claims that they were caught illegally acting within the secretive state's territory. It is anticipated that the women will be used as bargaining chips in the high stakes diplomatic poker game so that North Korea can secure direct talks with US government officials. The USA has no diplomatic presence in North Korea and relies on representation by the Swedish embassy.

A man and two teenagers have been found guilty of murdering 16-year-old Ben Kinsella who was stabbed 11 times after a row in a north London bar. The brother of Eastenders star Brooke Kinsella was out celebrating the end of his GCSE exams when he apparently gave a look out of turn at the armed gang. There was a confrontation outside the pub and Michael Alleyne, 18, Juress Kika, 19 and Jade Braithwaite, 20, all from London, stabbed Kinsella eleven times in five seconds. The murderers were all given life sentences for their crime and their lawyers presented letters from prison authorities saying that all were at risk of retribution inside prison.

Hopes are rising for the release of five British hostages who have been held in Iraq since May 2007. The Americans this week released an Iraqi militiaman who had been held for the murder of US soldiers. This gesture of goodwill may pave the way for some concessions by the captors of the Britons who were snatched from the Finance Ministry. US and UK officials, however, claim that the release of Shia leader Laith al-Khazali was not done in anticipation of a hostage exchange program. Computer expert Peter Moore and his four bodyguards may have longer to wait till they achieve their freedom though now Britain has reduced its miltary efforts in Iraq, maybe the wait will not be too prolonged.

American Amanda Knox has spent two days in court, giving evidence at her trial for the murder of British housemate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy. The trial has been underway since January. Knox is co-accused with her Italian boyfriend, Rafaelle Sollecito, of the murder of the Leeds University language exchange student. In her evidence Knox revealed that she had been heavily smoking cannabis on the day of the incident and that when she was arrested she spent her time at the police station throwing cartwheels to ease the tension. She did little to change her pleas of innocence. It is alleged that the attack had sexual motives. The worldwide media have been drawn to the case and the American is known by her nickname, 'Foxy Knoxy'.

Terrorist attacks still continue to disrupt Pakistan with several bomb attacks being launched this week. Four soldiers were killed and fifty injured at an army mosque in Nowshera. At least seven died at a market in Dera Ismail Khan and another fifty were injured. Another bombing also hit Peshawar, the eighth there in a month, following on from last week's hotel attack where two UN workers died. The internal struggle in Pakistan continues with Islamic militants trying to do all they can to counter the government offensive against the Taliban in the Swat Valley.

BNP leader, Nick Griffin, in jubilant mood after his victory in the European elections last week, went to Parliament where angry anti-fascist protestors demonstrated and attacked him with eggs. The BNP publicly complained that the Metropolitan Police had not done enough to stop protesters disrupting its Westminster news conference. Later in the week, Griffin mocked the incident as he convened on more familiar territory at the Ace of Diamonds pub in Manchester near the contituency in which he was elected. Extremist views are a challenge to Britain's democratic rights.

A Swedish art project using carrots as explosives has caused a scare after the imitation bombs were mistaken to be the real thing. Artist Conny Blom set up The Bunny Project: Bombs, at 15 locations near the southern Swedish city of Orebro. He taped bunches of carrots together with black tape and attached blue and red wires and a clock to them. The art was removed and Blom may face charges. He described his work as a harmless stunt.

And this week's top story...

The Iranian Presidential elections took place and President Ahmadinejad was successfully re-elected, contrary to many Western observers' hopes. The election had a very high turnout of more than 85%. After the results were announced, trouble flared up in Tehran. Defeated candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi called for the results to be annulled. Rather than the standard 'Death to America' chants that normally emit from Iranians who gather en masse, the angry mobs shouted 'death to the dictator' and were beaten back by baton wielding police. Official results gave Mr Ahmadinejad a landslide victory. His final share of the vote was almost 63%. The result was quickly endorsed by Ayatollah Khamenei despite claims of massive electoral fraud.

That's all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again next week. Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 21 31.05.09

Welcome to Newslip. Today is Sunday, 31st May 2009. I’m Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week’s news…

A 61-year old Briton has been killed in a hot air balloon crash in central Turkey. Ten others were injured in the incident, including nine other British tourists and the balloon operator. The balloon was conducting a tour of the Cappadocia region which is popular with tourists for its cone-shaped rock formations, rock-carved underground cities and early Christian churches. The balloon fell from a height of 200m and an investigation is under way to determine the cause of the crash.

Manchester United has lost the Champions League Final against Barcelona. Samuel Eto’o’s early goal in Rome was enough to keep the United team well subdued for the game in which Barcelona dominated. Lionel Messi scored later to seal the win with a two-nil score line. The victory meant that Barcelona won a treble. The FA cup final between Chelsea and Everton was won by Chelsea after they came from a goal behind to win 2-1 and was the icing on the cake for Gus Hiddink in his last game in charge of the club before he returns to manage the Russian national team.

Gay marriage has been outlawed in America’s most populous state, California. In demonstration against the Proposition 8 vote, 3000 gays and lesbians marched across California to their support base in Fresno. They are comparing their plight to that of US Civil Rights activists in the 1960s. Despite the outcry against the amendment, Proposition 8 was democratically decided with more than 70% voting to ban homosexual wedding ceremonies. Those wedded prior to the introduction of the law will be able to retain their statuses.

A one-armed multi-millionaire is currently standing trial in Moscow accused of a botched murder attempt on a rival in his silver Rolls-Royce. Vladimir Barsukov is reputed to be the last gangster at large in Russia out of those criminals that benefitted from the collapse of communism to extend vast organised crime networks that penetrated every Russian institution. Indeed Barsukov has business links to Vladimir Putin from his time as deputy mayor of St. Petersburg. He has been compared to Al Capone for his actions during Russia’s mafia wars. Barsukov, at the height of his power, had 2000 armed foot soldiers. He lost his arm in an assassination attempt on him in 1994. At his trial, the 53 year old gangster is protected by a bulletproof glass cage. He stands flanked by his lieutenants and is claiming that he is a high level political victim. He stated that he has no-one to answer to but God.

A mother has been reunited with her son, Gavin, after 27 years due to him appearing on facebook. Avril Grube of Poole, Dorset, claimed that her son was kidnapped when his Hungarian father, who had visiting rights, said he was taking him to the zoo, then disappeared back to Hungary with him. Grube’s sister was surprised when doing a Google search for her nephew’s name, discovered he had a facebook profile. Initial emails went unresponded as Mr Paros hadn’t logged into his site since October. But after his Auntie started contacting his children, he replied, and has been reunited with his estranged mother. His father died in 2006 and is mother is now in poor health. After years of protest involving contacting Margaret Thatcher and the Hungarian embassy to no avail, the social network site has produced a success story for this family.

The Pakistan defence secretary, Syed Athar Ali, has declared that government forces are successful in their operations against Taliban insurgents in the Swat valley with only about 5-10% of their job left before they have successfully cleared the risk of Taliban fighters in the region. The army had recaptured Mingora, the main city in Swat, and say that only a hardcore element of Taliban fighters remain. Out of revenge for the Swat offensive, the Pakistani Taliban bombed Lahore, the two bomb blasts killing 5 and injuring 30. Also in Lahore a suicide bomber killed 24 people and injured 300 a day prior to the Taliban bomb blasts.

The British Lion rugby tour of South Africa has gotten underway with a hard fought 37-25 victory over a Royals XV, who led 18-3 at halftime. Irish fly half Ronan O’Gara, paved the way to victory with a try and seventeen points from his boot. The Lions have a total tour schedule of ten matches, including three tests against South Africa. Their shaky start bodes badly for the tour outcome. Injury losses to the squad, including Welsh centre Tom Shanklin; mean that their stiff challenge to succeed will be more difficult. The 1997 tour to South Africa resulted in a 2-1 test victory and after the whitewash on the last tour to New Zealand; the Lions will be hoping to satisfy their multitude of travelling supporters with flowing rugby and healthy victories.

A manhunt for British Tycoon, Alan Griffin, is underway after his Polish girlfriend, Kinga Legg, was found murdered in their suite at the Hotel Le Bristol in Paris. Her bloodstained body lay amid a wreck of furniture and the crimson-coated hotel room was said to be due to a fisticuffs following a big champagne binge. Griffin, who made his money as a tan salon and mobile phone ringtone entrepreneur, made haste from Paris in his black Porsche, which was later recovered from near his parents’ home in Cheshire. He had been planning a seaborne getaway. He turned up at Shepperton Marina in Surrey and demanded that repairs on his speedboat were hurried up. When it became apparent that this would not be possible he inquired about making a quick purchase of a cabin cruiser. Apparently he also purchased a satellite navigation system and maritime charts for the waters of Britain, Ireland and Europe. The search for the murderer of the high flying Polish vegetable seller continues.

A British mother has gone to the European Court of Human Rights after she was branded ‘not clever enough’ to look after her three year old daughter. The woman has been certified by a psychiatrist to have no learning difficulties and ‘good literacy and numeracy and that her general intellectual abilities appear to be within the normal range’. However, it has been felt by social services that the complex medical care needs of her daughter cannot be addressed by the mother who is known as Rachel. The twenty-four year old can at the moment visit her daughter at the foster carers', but plans are for the visits to reduce in frequency and eventually stop. Social services allowed the parents of Baby P to continue looking after their child, which eventually led to his death. Yet at the same time, they are prepared to go to lengths to break up the family unit and give into adoption a baby whose mother has been certified capable of care. John Hemming, the liberal democrat MP, has taken up Rachel’s cause and is hoping that the system sees sense.

And this week’s top story…

North Korea has added to the controversy surrounding its satellite launch last month by claiming to have successfully detonated a nuclear bomb. The underground test was detected by seismologists after it triggered an earthquake in the region. It is believed to be on the same scale as the American bomb dropped on Hiroshima at the end of World War 2 and is significantly larger than the one previously tested in 2006. In addition to the tests, it was reported that several ballistic missiles were also launched from a base on North Korea’s east coast. China, a staunch ally of North Korea, and who supply up to 90% of the isolated country’s electricity and 40% of its food, condemned the tests along with most of the international community. Pyongyang made a declaration that its troops were prepared for war, a situation that bids ominously for its South Korea neighbour, as well as other countries in Southeast Asia.

That’s all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again next week… Goodbye.

Newslip Episode 19 17.05.09

Welcome to Newslip. Today's date is Sunday, 17th May 2009. I'm Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week's news.

Pope Bendict XVI has made a tour of the Holy Land, visiting sites of importance to all three of the monotheistic faiths. He addressed Jews though they felt that he wasn’t apologetic enough for the holocaust. The Pope is a German and was part of the Hitler Youth movement in Bavaria during the war. He has previously made controversial remarks about Islam though as he met Muslim leaders in Jerusalem he spoke of the need for good multifaith relationships and made strong calls for the creation of a separate Palestinian nation. Christians are flocking out of the troubled holy land, feeling persecuted by bolh sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Pope gave a mass at the Kidron valley where most Jews and Christians believe to be the location of the Final Judgement.

The American/Iranian journalist who was jailed for eight years on spying charges has been released after an Iranian court upheld an appeal to reduce her sentence. Roxana Saberi flew out of Iran four days after the successful appeal and is now recuperating in Vienna. During her stay at Evin prison near Tehran she went on hunger strike for two weeks and was hospitalised. Originally Miss Saberi had been arrested for purchasing a bottle of wine which is illegal under Sharia law. It is not known whether the former Miss North Dakota was used as a makeweight in any political deal between Iran and the USA.

Manchester United have won the English Premier League with a game to spare after they drew with Arsenal at Old Trafford, putting them a point clear of second place Liverpool who cannot mathematically catch up any more. The season has been a close race and draws Man United level with Liverpool with 18 league titles. United have already won the Carling Cup and World Club Championship and go on to face Barcelona in Rome for the European Cup final.

Burmese pro-democracy leader, Aung Sun Suu Kyi, has been arrested and put in prison for breaching the conditions of her house arrest. An American man, John Yettaw, swam the lake surrounding her home and spent two days in her house where she has been held for about nineteen years. Burma’s military junta are allegedly looking for a pretext to continue holding the dissident nobel peace laureate during the forthcoming 2010 elections. Her house arrest was due to expire at the end of May. Human rights activists are constantly putting pressure on Burma for Aung Sun Suu Kyi’s continuing detention and she is one of the most famous political prisoners in the world. Her lawyers are arguing that as she did not invite the man to her house ( he was an uninvited guest), she had not broken the strict laws governing her detention.

A 27 year old woman has been arrested after a hit and run incident in Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol. Eleven year old Sam Riddall was killed after a white Ford Focus Estate car mounted the kerb and ploughed into him as he walked home from youth club with a group of friends. The boy’s parents appealed for the driver to come forward after the car failed to stop after the incident. After Avon and Somerset police released an image of the driver, Hannah Saaf was arrested and denied bail until she appears before Bristol Magistrates Court, charged with death by dangerous driving, failing to stop and driving without insurance.

There has been controversy in Guatemala after the murder of lawyer, Rodrigo Rosenberg. The dead man left a Youtube video alleging that Guatemala’s president, his wife and his staff, were responsible for the crime. Groups have taken to the streets to demand the removal of Alvaro Colom, who denied responsibility for the crime, saying that it was just an effort to destabilise the government. He went on to claim that it was just a video and that there was no evidence for the crime. The lawyer was gunned down in the street whilst riding his bicycle. Guatemala has one of the highest murder rates in the world and as a key route for drug smuggling into the USA, it is notoriously corrupt and drugs money taints the highest of officials.

The commander in charge of the American military in Afghanistan, General David D. McKiernan, has been fired by the Obama administration. The general was seen to be too conventional in his methods and his policies are seen as having failed in the ongoing insurgency against Taliban and Al Qaeda forces. Counterinsurgency methods have been advocated and the man who replaces McKiernan is a veteran special operations officer, Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal . It is envisaged that in order to break the military stalemate, more future support will be offered to US-backed local militias. War in Afghanistan is notoriously difficult and throughout history many superior fighting forces have been defeated during prolonged guerrilla style campaigns in the difficult terrain.

Catherine Masters, a 109 year old woman from Oxfordshire, wrote a letter of complaint to the Queen after she noticed that in five of the least nine birthday cards she has received from Buckingham Palace, HRH Elizabeth II was wearing the same dress. To respond to one of the eldest of her subjects, the Queen sent around a special surprise to the Grange Care Centre. There was a knock on the door and it was the Queen’s grandson, Prince William, sent to offer a personal apology. The shocked Mrs Masters spent the day teaching the future King how to make shepherd’s pie. It is a tradition for the Queen to send birthday cards to those who reach their one hundredth birthday. William invited his new friend to a garden party at the Queen’s home where the lady can discuss a change to the card she expects to receive for her 110th birthday in November.

The row over MPs second home allowances continues to rage after the Daily Telegraph went on publishing expenses claims. Tory MPs and Liberal Democrats were included and readers have been horrified to hear of taxpayers’ money being used to pay for the repair of moats and maintenance of swimming pools. There have been resignations and vows of repayments as transparency sent MPs on the retreat as public outcry demanded that their abuse of power ceases. There has been pressure on parliamentary speaker Michael Martin to resign and public disillusionment with parliament looks likely to produce some shock results in forthcoming European elections with minority parties such as the BNP likely to benefit from the people’ fallout with the major parties.

And this week's top story...

The 26 year old civil war in Sri Lanka has finished as the surrounded Tamil Tiger separatists declared a ceasefire from their tiny enclave in the north of the island. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has already declared victory though his army claim that there are no civilians left in the enclave and see no need for them to accept the ceasefire. They want to continue and annihilate the remaining fighters who want peace to preserve the life and dignity of the Tamil people. Mass graves have been discovered this week and the final fighting has been brutal. On the streets of Colombo, people are rejoicing and an official government announcement of the conclusion of hostilities is expected early next week.

That's all for Newslip. Thanks for watching. See you again next week. Goodbye.