2010-05-15 BBC
BBC News with Sue Montgomery.
President Barack Obama has angrily accused oil companies of trying to duck the blame over the Gulf of Mexico oil slick and said he would act to change the relationship between the industry and regulators.
“For too long, for a decade or more, there has been a cozy relationship between the oil companies and the federal agency that permits them to drill. It seems as if permits were too often issued based on no more than assurances of safety from the oil companies. That cannot and will not happen anymore.”
Speaking after discussing the huge oil spill with senior advisers, Mr. Obama said the system to prevent such disasters had failed badly. Efforts to stop the oil leak are continuing, but forecasters say the weather could drive the oil slick ashore this weekend.
At least eight people are known to have died in the latest bout of violence that's engulfed the Thai capital Bangkok. More than 100 others have been wounded. Explosions and gunfire echoed across the city centre late into the night as soldiers fought protesters around their fortified camp. The exiled Thai leader Thaksin Shinawat who retains the loyalty of many of the Red Shirt protesters has urged the authorities to pull back the troops. Rachel Harvey is in Bangkok.
The government spokesman has gone on television to try and reassure people; he said that the security forces had only fired when they themselves came under attack. And he said that it would be safe soon, that the whole thing was under control. And that the aim was just to contain the area, not to clear it of protesters while even that is proving a very tough task for the security forces.
Police in Iraq say a suicide bombing at a football stadium has killed at least ten people and injured more than 100. It happened in the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar, near the city of Mosul. From Baghdad, here is Gabriel Gatehouse.
Police in Tal Afar say that a suicide bomber detonated explosives hidden inside his vehicle near the local stadium where a football match was underway. A crowd of people standing at the entrance to the ground bore the brunt of the blast. Witnesses said that the first bombing was then followed by at least one other explosion. Earlier on Friday, a website linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq announced that it would replace the senior militant who'd been killed last month in a joint operation by Iraqi and US forces. The statement warned of what it called "dark days of blood to come".
Share prices and the value of the euro have fallen sharply as investors become concerned that economic measures designed to tackle big debts in Greece, Spain and Portugal will stifle growth in the eurozone. The euro hit its lowest level against the dollar for 18 months. Stock markets closed more than 3% down in London and Frankfort and 4.6% down in Paris. The Spanish stock market index closed more than 6% lower.
World News from the BBC.
Tens of thousands of protesters have gathered in the Albanian capital, calling for a recount of last year's parliamentary elections which they claim were rigged. They have come out in support of hunger strikers who have been camped outside the prime minister's office in Tirana for the past two weeks. Our Balkan's correspondent Mark Lowan reports.
This is the second huge demonstration in Tirana in the space of two weeks. The last protest drew tens of thousands and this one appears to be of a similar scale. Socialist led opposition activists marched through the streets of the capital with banners and slogans calling for the government to reopen the ballot boxes from last June's general election which they believed was fraudulent won by the Democratic Party. But the government says tampering with the ballot boxes would be unconstitutional and is standing firm.
Greece and Turkey have spoken of a big step forward in the relations during a visit to Greece by the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A joint statement by the two leaders said they would strengthen peace and stability in the region. There was a joint meeting of cabinet ministers which will become an annual event and a range of agreements covering illegal immigration, the environment, tourism and energy.
The new British Foreign Secretary William Hague has held what he called very productive talks with the American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington -- his first foreign trip since taking office. At a news conference afterwards, both leaders stressed their country's unity of approach on the war in Afghanistan and the need for further sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.
A British member of parliament has been stabbed. The Labour MP Stephen Timms who was a Treasury minister until the change of government this week was attacked while holding an advice session for constituents in east London. He was taken to hospital with abdominal injuries, but his condition is said not to be life threatening. A young woman has been arrested.
And that's the latest bulletin from BBC News.