Palestinian UN status vote more than symbolic?

29 November 2012 Last updated at 10:37 GMT Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian application for full UN membership faced US opposition last year The UN General Assembly is set to upgrade the Palestinians' status to that of "non-member observer state". The BBC's Barbara Plett at the UN headquarters in New York asks whether the move is more than symbolic.

With Hamas claiming a victory for its military strategy during this month's eight-day conflict with Israel in Gaza, the Palestinian president is hoping for a diplomatic victory at the United Nations.

It is the second time around - last year Mahmoud Abbas applied for full UN membership, but that got bogged down at the Security Council amid opposition from the United States.

This time he is asking the General Assembly for a lesser upgrade, from "observer" to "non-member observer" state, like the Vatican.

This is a largely symbolic move. But the Palestinian leadership argues that at least it will define the territory it wants for a state, which is being eroded by aggressive Israeli settlement building, and grant it formal recognition.

The Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour described the move as "a very important step to save the two-state solution".

Raised stakes

There is no doubt the Palestinian Authority has enough support to win the vote, because of strong sympathy from the post-colonial nations which dominate the General Assembly.

But it faces significant opposition from Israel and its powerful US ally - they say a Palestinian state should emerge only out of direct negotiations, without reference to the UN.

The Israelis have branded the move a violation of the Oslo Peace Accords, which charts a bilateral route to peace, and the Americans fear the bid will severely complicate any attempt to return to peace talks despite Palestinian vows to do just that.

Continue reading the main story Nations in favour of or likely to support the bid: France, Spain, Norway, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Turkey, China, Russia, India, Brazil, South Africa, NigeriaNations against or likely to oppose the bid: Israel, USNations set to abstain: UK (needs assurances that the Palestinians would seek negotiations with Israel "without pre-conditions"), Germany, Australia, Belgium, ColombiaPerhaps the greater fear is that the Palestinians will use their new status as observer state to join the International Criminal Court and try to prosecute Israel for alleged war crimes in the Occupied Territories.

Alongside the US, European countries, especially the UK, have been pressing the Palestinian Authority for assurances that it will not take this path.

The PA has made clear this approach will not be its priority but has so far refused to relinquish the option.

It would have been difficult for Mr Abbas to make such a concession to the West under any circumstances, but events back home have raised the stakes.

Hamas has gained in Palestinian eyes by confronting Israel (and its Western backers) in the recent Gaza offensive aimed at stopping Palestinian rocket-fire - and not losing. It even achieved some dividends.

Arab foreign ministers flocked to Gaza to demonstrate solidarity, while Egypt mediated a ceasefire that included provisions to ease Israel's blockade of Gaza.

Meanwhile, Mahmoud Abbas remained side-lined in Ramallah, with nothing to show for his moderate policies.

But the Arabs insist their support for the Palestinian president and his UN bid is just as strong, and they stand ready to provide him with material help should he need it.

That "includes financial and economic assistance to mitigate any negative economic effects of the decision", said Egypt's UN ambassador Mootaz Ahmadein Khalil, noting Israeli and US threats to cut finances to the PA.

Reality on the ground

Israeli foreign ministry documents had warned that Israel might go further by nullifying the Oslo Accords - they even suggested toppling Mr Abbas.

Continue reading the main story Palestinians currently have permanent observer entity status at the UNThey are represented by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO)PLO officials now want an upgrade so that a state of Palestine has full member status at the UNThey seek recognition on 1967 boundaries - in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and GazaEnhanced observer member status could be an interim optionBut as the vote approaches Israel has moderated its tone - officials now say they'll wait to see how the Palestinians use their new status.

"If they use this resolution as a platform for confrontation, we will have to act accordingly," a spokeswoman told the French news agency AFP.

Strong European support could also help temper reactions. It would certainly strengthen the diplomatic clout of the bid.

The European Union is split but so far more than a dozen countries have said they will vote yes, some partly motivated by the desire to give Mr Abbas a diplomatic achievement to counter the rise of Hamas.

He will need more than that.

Regardless of what the Palestinian president achieves on paper at the UN, when the celebrations are over he will have to revise a political strategy that has so far failed to translate the Palestinian dream of statehood into a reality on the ground.

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Women excel in Sundance line-up

29 November 2012 Last updated at 11:15 GMT Jerusha Hess's Austenland stars Keri Russell as a woman obsessed with Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice A record number of female directors are to compete for the top honour at next year's Sundance Film Festival.

Eight of the 16 films in the dramatic category are directed by women.

Among those shortlisted are Lynn Shelton's Touchy Feely, starring Ellen Page, and Liz W Garcia's The Lifeguard, starring Kristen Bell.

The competition also includes the premiere of Kill Your Darlings, featuring Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe as poet Allen Ginsberg.

The previous best showing for female filmmakers in the dramatic category was in 2000, when six of the competing films were directed by women.

Sundance director John Cooper said it was a sign of a "coming-up-through-the-ranks situation", as female directors graduate from short films to feature-length stories.

Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win best director at the Academy Awards in 2010.

Female stories

As well as female directors gaining ground in the main competition at Sundance, more than half the shortlisted films centre on women.

Juno Temple and Kathryn Hahn star in dark comedy Afternoon Delight

Touchy Feely tells the story of a massage therapist unable to do her job when she suddenly has an aversion to bodily contact, while Jill Soloway's Afternoon Delight is a dark comedy about a lost LA housewife who takes in a young stripper as a live-in nanny.

"There are a lot of women's stories, and interestingly enough, a lot of those stories exploring sexual relationships," programme director Trevor Groth said.

"We have had some over the years that have been from a male gaze looking at sexual politics and sexual relationships, but this year we have got a wave of films doing that from a female perspective, which is intriguing and exciting."

Other films shortlisted include Kyle Patrick Alvarez's C.O.G, about a man travelling to Oregon to work on an apple farm and Jerusha Hess's Austenland, about a woman obsessed with Pride and Prejudice.

Stacie Passon's Concussion, about a woman in a lesbian relationship who becomes a call girl, and Jordan Vogt-Roberts's Toy's House, about three unhappy teenage boys who flee to the wilderness, are also in the running.

In total, 113 feature length movies from 32 countries will be shown at the festival, which runs from 17-27 January in Utah.

Earlier this year hotly-tipped Oscar contender Beasts of the Southern Wild won the grand jury prize for best drama.

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The man who exposed China's sex tape scandal

28 November 2012 Last updated at 18:50 GMT The BBC Beijing bureau interviews Zhu Ruifeng, the investigative journalist credited with exposing a Chinese official in the midst of a sex-tape scandal.

Zhu Ruifeng might be forgiven for seeming overtired or stressed - but he is jubilant, his voice full of energy.

"I am very happy when I battle corrupt officials," Mr Zhu told the BBC in a phone interview.

Earlier this month, Mr Zhu released a videotape shot in 2007 of a 57-year-old Communist Party local boss having sex with an 18-year-old girl.

Mr Lei's sacking has been a popular topic on China's microblogs

Seven days later, the official, Lei Zhengfu, a district-level party secretary from the grimy city of Chongqing, was fired.

"In the past, I was at my happiest when they threatened me and blocked my website," said Mr Zhu.

"Because then I know my reports have attacked their hearts, and my reports are genuine."

Blackmail videos

Mr Zhu has a lot to look forward to. He is preparing to release four more sex tapes, also shot inside hotel rooms, clearly showing Chongqing officials having relations with young girls.

All five videos were recorded as part of a blackmailing scheme by a crooked property developer in Chongqing.

The developer recruited attractive, young women between the ages of 18 and 20, paying them 300 yuan ($48, £30) each time the girls secretly recorded themselves having sex with prominent Chongqing officials.

Continue reading the main story

Maybe our new generation of leaders is really determined to fight corruption - maybe the sky is really changing”

End Quote Zhu Ruifeng Journalist If the girls failed to get a clear view of the officials' faces on camera, they would be forced to record more sex acts until the developer had the material he needed to blackmail the city's bigwigs into giving him better deals.

The honeytrap scheme went belly-up when Lei Zhengfu, star of the first sex video, appealed to the Chongqing police for help.

The city's then-police chief, Wang Lijun, came to Mr Lei's rescue, raiding the developer's home and confiscating the videos. The property developer was jailed for a year and the young women were each detained for a month.

This year, Wang Lijun later starred in his own, separate corruption scandal, after offering US diplomats information on the Chongqing murder of British businessman Neil Heywood.

Gu Kailai, the wife of the city's disgraced former party chief, Bo Xilai, was later convicted of that murder. Wang's related misdeeds landed him 15 years in prison.

'Real journalist'

Throughout that time, the developer's secret sex tapes sat in a police vault until early November, when a mystery figure inside the Chongqing police force leaked them to Mr Zhu.

The yet-to-be-released videos all feature prominent Chongqing party bosses, Mr Zhu says.

"My source told me the developers will only target officials who have real power over construction projects. They needed to invest money and time to train these pretty girls."

Former police chief, Wang Lijun, raided the developer's home

Still, Mr Zhu says he wants to be absolutely sure of the identities of the people in the videos before releasing them.

"If you go ahead and spread things that could be fabricated, asking the public to check whether they are real or not, then you are not a real journalist," he said.

It is possible the Communist Party's own anti-corruption team will beat Mr Zhu to the punch, releasing information about the tapes on their own.

Chongqing's Disciplinary Committee seized the videos a long time ago, Mr Zhu recently learned, but they were reluctant to make waves inside the Communist Party by punishing any of the officials involved.

Now that the first video has been splashed all over the internet, Mr Zhu thinks the committee has no choice but to conduct an open investigation pointed at the four remaining officials.

"Some people think the Party's attempt to deal with its own corruption problems is like beating your right arm with your left arm," Mr Zhu said.

"In our system, anti-corruption measures have to involve the participation of the people. You cannot do it behind closed-doors using illegal procedures."

'Changing' sky

Originally from Henan province, Zhu Ruifeng now lives with his family in Beijing, mostly working alone on his anti-corruption website, Supervision by the People.

A property developer in Chongqing allegedly organised the sex tape recordings

Starting in 2000, he worked as a print journalist, filing stories for Fang Yuan, a state-run magazine sponsored by the People's Supreme Court.

But in 2006, Mr Zhu struck out on his own, realising he would be more content to publish his own scoops.

Well before the Chongqing sex scandal, Mr Zhu's site registered some big wins. In 2007, he posted articles highlighting problems with the administration of vaccines in China's central Shanxi province.

Slowly, other Chinese media outlets picked up on the story, linking the vaccines to deaths and illnesses in children living in the northern part of the province.

In 2010, the country's Health Ministry released the results of its own investigation, disputing multiple reports that improperly stored vaccinations had resulted in adverse reactions in children.

However, the investigation uncovered some irregularities in the way in which vaccines were labelled in the province, and one Shanxi health official was also caught embezzling 270,000 yuan from the vaccine supplier.

Other Chinese media outlets picked up on the story and six months later, China's Health Ministry confirmed that three children had been made sick by vaccines in Shanxi.

The Chinese government has refused to blame the vaccines for the other children's deaths and illnesses.

Since then, Mr Zhu's site has also exposed corrupt officials in Liaoning and Shanxi provinces, resulting in at least two firings.

In each of those scandals, Mr Zhu received anonymous threats and his website was temporarily blocked.

During this sex tape scandal, though, his site has been left untouched.

Mr Zhu believes that it is a sign that China's new government, led by Xi Jinping, might be different from their predecessors.

"Maybe our new generation of leaders is really determined to fight corruption," he said. "Maybe the sky is really changing."

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Rwanda 'wanted new Congo front'

29 November 2012 Last updated at 15:02 GMT Ex-rebel Bestfriend Ndozi said their orders were to 'demoralise the government' Rwandan support for rebels in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo may be more widespread than previously believed, the BBC has found.

Kigali has already rejected UN accusations that it is backing the M23 rebel group which recently captured the strategic eastern city of Goma.

Two ex-rebel fighters told the BBC they were offered money from Rwanda to set up a new front further south.

More than 500,000 people have fled seven months of fighting in the east.

Rwanda has previously backed armed groups in eastern DR Congo as a way of fighting Hutu militias who fled there after Rwanda's 1994 genocide, in which some 800,000 people died.

The M23, who like Rwanda's leaders are mostly ethnic Tutsis, has also denied it is funded by Rwanda.

'Co-ordination order'

BBC East Africa correspondent Gabriel Gatehouse spoke to two former rebel fighters in Bukavu, which lies on the southern tip of Lake Kivu, some 200km (125 miles) from Goma.

They were from DR Congo's minority Tutsi ethnic group and said they had joined the rebel Congolese Movement for Change in July to fight for a better life for the people of the east.

They had spent several months in the bush fighting the army, thinking they were part of a home-grown movement.

"Then our chairman of this movement came with a delegation of the government of Rwanda, saying that the movement has been changed, we have to follow the instructions of the Rwanda government," Capt Okra Rudahirwa told the BBC.

He said he and his men were given monthly supplies of cash - sometimes as much as $20,000 (£12,500) dollars, with which they bought food, uniforms and medicines.

His commander, Col Besftriend Ndozi, told the BBC they were also put in contact with a senior M23 commander, a Col Manzi, who urged them to co-ordinate their efforts.

M23 rebels are due to withdraw from recently captured towns

"Manzi told us that the Rwandan army had given him the authority to support us and to command us. He ordered us to continue our fight, just as M23 were doing in the north, so that together we would demoralise the government," Col Ndozi said.

The men said they decided to abandon the fight once they realised the scale of Rwandan involvement.

The Rwandan government has declined to comment on the allegations.

But many of the details of this account, including dates and names of intermediaries, tally with separate research carried out by the UN, our correspondent says.

A recent report by UN experts said the M23's de facto chain of command culminated with Rwanda's defence minister.

It also accused neighbouring Uganda of aiding the rebels.

Kampala has denied the allegations and has been mediating over the last week following the M23's capture of Goma.

Its military commander, Sultani Makenga, has said he will withdraw his forces to a 20km (12-mile) buffer zone around Goma in the coming days.

The group mutinied from the army in April, saying it was because a 2009 deal to end a previous uprising by a Tutsi militia had not been fulfilled.

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Colombia pulls out of world court

28 November 2012 Last updated at 18:09 GMT Juan Manuel Santos said the court's decision was riddled with mistakes and inconsistencies Colombia has announced it no longer recognises the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, in The Hague.

The decision comes nine days after the ICJ redrew Colombia's maritime border in the Caribbean in favour of Nicaragua.

The court's ruling ended a decades-long dispute over the San Andres islands.

President Juan Manuel Santos said individual countries, and not courts of law, should fix their borders.

The ICJ ruled that the islands and a group of islets near the Nicaraguan coast in the western Caribbean belonged to Colombia.

But it set up new maritime borders in the potentially oil-rich area, extending Nicaragua's territory by some 70,000 square km (19,000 square miles).

The judgment, which is binding, was welcomed by Nicaragua but greeted with anger by President Santos.

'Peaceful means'

Mr Santos has now announced that Colombia is pulling out of the Bogota Treaty, signed in 1948, that recognises the court's rulings.

The region is rich in fishing resources, and potentially gas and oil

"The borders between nations cannot be in the hands of a court of law," he said. "They must be drawn by agreement between the countries involved."

Mr Santos reaffirmed he would only be using "peaceful means" to solve dispute.

The competing claims date from the early 19th Century, when the nations of Latin America were gaining their independence from Spain.

Nicaragua and Colombia signed a treaty in 1928 to settle the border and sovereignty of islands in the Caribbean.

But in 1980, Nicaragua's Sandinista government unilaterally annulled the agreement, arguing that it had been signed under US pressure.

In 2007, the ICJ ruled that the treaty was valid and that the sovereignty of three islands, San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina, remained with Colombia.

The archipelago lies some 775km (480 miles) from the Colombian coast and 230km from Nicaragua.

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Chavez in Cuba to begin treatment

29 November 2012 Last updated at 01:08 GMT Hugo Chavez has travelled to Cuba many times since he was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has arrived in Cuba, where he had months of cancer therapy, for further medical treatment.

Mr Chavez, who was re-elected in October, is due to be sworn in for a third term in January.

In a letter to the National Assembly, Mr Chavez said he needed further therapy to recover from this year's "tough electoral campaign".

In May he declared himself free of cancer.

There is no indication in his letter that the cancer has returned.

But the opposition has called for transparency about his health and the nature of his treatment in Cuba.

"This secrecy always leaves doubts about how much truth there is in the government's statements," said opposition politician Ramon Guillermo Aveledo.

No photos or footage of the president's departure or arrival have been released.

Continue reading the main story 30 Jun 2011: Announces he underwent operation in Cuba to remove cancerous tumourJul-Sep 2011: Has four rounds of chemotherapyFeb 2012: Flies to Cuba for surgery on "malignant" lesion in the pelvic regionApr-May 2012: Undergoes radiotherapy in Cuba 11 May 2012: Returns to Venezuela, hails treatment "success"Mr Chavez, 58, was first diagnosed with an undisclosed cancer in June 2011.

He has since had repeated surgery in Cuba, but finished his treatment there earlier this year.

In his letter to the National Assembly on Tuesday, Mr Chavez said he was returning to Havana following medical advice.

"Six months after I had the last session of radiotherapy, I have been advised to begin a new special treatment, with several sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy and physiotherapy," says the letter.

The treatment is aimed at continuing to "consolidate recent health improvements," he added.

The left-wing president was first elected in 1998.

During the electoral campaign, he dismissed rumours that he had not been cured of his cancer, and vowed to serve out his six-year term.

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Tornado damages Italy steel mill

29 November 2012 Last updated at 13:05 GMT A number of cars and buildings were damaged by Wednesday's tornado

A tornado has damaged a chimney stack and other parts of a vast steel mill in Taranto, southern Italy, where workers are protesting against pollution.

About 20 people were injured at the Ilva plant and one is missing after Wednesday's tornado.

It is Europe's biggest steel mill - a major employer in Taranto.

The mill has been blamed for unusually high rates of cancer in the area, but the firm denies any link. Workers are staging a sit-in there.

Divers are searching for the missing man, who was working on a crane believed to have been swept out to sea.

Pollution threat The storm sparked a fire, and smoke billowed from the Ilva plant

There have long been concerns about pollution from the mill, but the firm denies that there is any link to cancer rates, the BBC's Alan Johnston reports from Rome.

On Monday, after a court investigating the pollution issue ordered the seizure of the plant's steel output, the management said that it would have to close.

In response, workers at the site have gone on strike and started a sit-in.

The dispute poses a major challenge for the government, which is now trying to find a way to tackle the pollution threat posed by the plant and keep it open, our correspondent reports.

If it were to close, thousands of jobs would disappear in what is already an economically depressed area. In addition, the plant supplies so much steel that there are fears about the impact its closure would have in many areas of Italian industry, he says.

The government had said it hoped to be able to put forward a plan to resolve the problems on Thursday, but it is not clear if this will now happen.

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Concorde crash: Airline cleared

29 November 2012 Last updated at 14:58 GMT The Concorde caught fire as it took off from Charles de Gaulle airport A French appeals court has cleared US airline Continental of blame for the July 2000 crash of a Concorde jet shortly after take-off from Paris.

The ruling comes two years after another French court fined the airline and held it criminally responsible for the crash in which 113 people died.

Investigators had said a piece of metal left on the runway after falling from a Continental jet had caused the crash.

Continental labelled the initial court decision absurd and launched an appeal.

The Air France Concorde burst into flames and crashed into nearby buildings after it took off from Charles de Gaulle airport, killing all 109 people on board and four hotel workers.

Most of the passengers were German tourists heading to New York to join a cruise to the Caribbean.

In 2010, a French court decided that the crash had been caused by a titanium strip that had fallen from a Continental airliner.

The US operator was fined 200,000 euros (£160,000) and ordered to pay 1m euros in damages to Air France.

In addition, a Continental mechanic, John Taylor, was given a 15-month suspended prison sentence over the crash.

But Thursday's ruling overturned those decisions.

The US airline had consistently argued that the Concorde caught fire before it hit the metal strip, and that they were being used as a scapegoat to protect France's airline industry.

Continental merged with United Airlines earlier this year.

Megan McCarthy, a spokeswoman for Chicago-based United Continental Holdings, said the firm supported the court's decision that Continental was not to blame.

"We have long maintained that neither Continental nor its employees were responsible for this tragic event and are satisfied that this verdict was overturned," she said in a written statement.

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Is public nudity a form of free speech?

22 November 2012 Last updated at 01:18 GMT By Jon Kelly BBC News Magazine, Washington Civil liberties campaigners are preparing to legally fight San Francisco's ban on public nudity. Does the US Constitution guarantee the right to walk the streets naked?

No sooner had San Francisco's lawmakers voted to ban nakedness in public places than a lawsuit was filed. It argued that the free speech of nudists was being restricted.

It's a dispute that typifies the famously liberal city, but it also reveals much about the importance of freedom of expression to Americans.

Opponents of the move say that, by limiting the ability to express themselves, the law violates their rights. They cite the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which forbids the government from "abridging the freedom of speech".

But legal experts say previous court rulings suggest that being nude does not, in itself, constitute an act of expression.

"It's taken as a given by the Supreme Court that a general restriction on public nudity is constitutional," says Frederick Schauer, professor of law at the University of Virginia.

Continue reading the main story The US Supreme Court does not regard public nakedness as a right under the First AmendmentNudity in the form of artistic expression is protectedBut authorities can ban nude performances for "secondary" reasonsSan Francisco's Board of Supervisors voted 6-5 in favour of banning anyone over five from exposing "his or her genitals, perineum or anal region" in most public locations.

It came after a growing number of naked men gathered regularly in a plaza in in the city's Castro district, an area well known for its large gay community.

Ken Paulson, president of the First Amendment Center, which promotes the study of free-speech issues, says he does not believe the legal bid on behalf of the Castro nudes is likely to succeed.

A nude backpacker walks the street of San Francisco last year. Such an act is now illegal.

"There's no First Amendment right to be naked in a public place because you are not saying anything," he adds.

But while the Supreme Court has been consistent that nudity is not in itself a form of expression, that does not mean that nudity cannot be expressive.

"Being naked in the Castro could be seen as expressing a point of view about LGBT rights," says Amy Adler, professor of law at New York University.

"I'm not sure a court would buy it but that's the argument I would expect them to make."

It's possible that the nudists could argue their nakedness was a political act.

Continue reading the main story

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble.”

End Quote From the First Amendment to the United States Consitution The Supreme Court has, in fact, held that nude dancing, as practiced in strip clubs, is a form of free speech, Schauer says.

However, it ruled that establishments which offer displays of erotic dancing can be regulated.

As long as the regulations are intended to deal with the side effects of such establishments - if they are causing a rise in crime, for instance - it is legal to impose a public nudity ban. It was a principle established in law in the 2000 case Erie v Pap's AM, which set a Pennsylvania city council against a nude dancing establishment.

Of course, strip bars operate indoors, on private property, while San Francisco's nudists express themselves in full view of the public.

San Francisco supervisor Scott Wiener, one of the lawmakers who passed the nudity ban, said it was "appropriate to have some minimal standards of behaviour" in the city and "our public spaces are for everyone".

According to law professor Adler, case law suggests the city was acting within its rights.

"Even if the nudists could prove they were engaging in nudity for expressive purposes, the state has the right to regulate it," she says, as long as the regulation is not about what's being expressed, but the side effects that expression has on the rest of the city - for instance, heavy traffic or lowered property values.

But all may not be lost for the naked men of the Castro.

One option open to them would be to move somewhere such as Oregon, where public nudity is legal so long as there is no "intent to arouse".

"There's nothing in the constitution that requires a state to regulate against nudity," says Schauer.

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Curfew over after Bolivian census

22 November 2012 Last updated at 02:57 GMT In rural areas the census will go on until Friday The Bolivian authorities say its first national census in 11 years went ahead without any major incidents.

The South American country came to a halt, with shops closed and virtually no traffic, following government orders for all Bolivians to go home and wait to be counted.

Police detained some 300 people for ignoring the curfew.

But the vast majority of Bolivia's population of almost 11 million people followed the rules.

Interior Minister Carlos Romero said some 35,000 policemen had been deployed to enforce the National Census Day regulations.

More than 200,000 canvassers collected data throughout the day, and restrictions began to be lifted in parts of the country in the afternoon.

In rural areas, canvassers were expected to continue working until Friday.

More than 300 vehicles were intercepted during the night without a permit.

"It is the first time I've seen a city practically empty, with most people respecting the restrictions," said Denis Racicot, from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Bolivia.

"It is a very positive sign of the maturity of the population."

'Dividing Bolivia'

Most private car traffic was banned in La Paz and other Bolivian cities

President Evo Morales said the census would "bring surprises" and could lead to changes in many municipal boundaries, especially in the Amazon region.

He also defended the controversial decision not to allow people to describe themselves as "mestizos" (mixed race) in the census.

"This would be like dividing Bolivia," said Mr Morales.

Bolivians - most of them of indigenous descent - have to choose between one of 40 ethnic groups.

"Without knowing how many we are, what we need, how will we be able to plan for the new generations?" said Mr Morales.

Estimates say the population in the Andean country has grown from 8.3 million in 2001 to nearly 11 million now.

Many residents questioned what they believed to be draconic and unnecessary measures imposed by the government.

Some said they were threatened with having their holiday homes confiscated if canvassers had found the properties empty.

Consumption of alcohol was also banned throughout the day.

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Rice defiant on Benghazi remarks

22 November 2012 Last updated at 01:47 GMT Rice is tipped to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

The US ambassador to the United Nations has defended comments she made days after a deadly attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Susan Rice said her remarks in a series of TV interviews on 14 September were based on information provided by the US intelligence community.

Ms Rice has faced Republican criticism after saying the attacks stemmed from protests over an anti-Islamic film.

She is tipped to be President Obama's next choice as secretary of state.

Current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is not expected to continue in the role for a second four-year term.

Ms Rice, 48, is a long-term ally and supporter of Mr Obama, and he recently defended her in public against a growing tide of criticism from political opponents.

Leading Republicans believe that the Obama administration was not frank with the public over al-Qaeda involvement in the Benghazi attack.

Congressional hearings have sought to piece together what happened, focusing on whether the CIA knew the attack involved al-Qaeda, or whether the state department failed to provide adequate protection for those in Benghazi.

The attack killed four Americans, including the US ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, on the anniversary of the 11 September strikes on New York and Washington DC.

'Best assessment'

The US now accepts that it was a planned terror attack and not a spontaneous demonstration that turned violent.

Continue reading the main story

None of us will rest, none of us will be satisfied, until we have the answers and the terrorists responsible for this attack are brought to justice”

End Quote Susan Rice But in her remarks just days after the violence in Benghazi, Ms Rice appeared to stick by the explanation that protests against a low-budget US film had sparked the violence in Benghazi.

Speaking at the UN on Wednesday, Ms Rice defended her initial position, and described some of the comments about her - including those by Senator John McCain, a leading critic - as "unfounded".

"As a senior US diplomat, I agreed to a White House request to appear on the Sunday shows to talk about the full range of national security issues of the day," she said.

At that time, she added, those concerns were "primarily and particularly the protests that were enveloping and threatening many diplomatic facilities, American diplomatic facilities around the world, and Iran's nuclear program".

"When discussing the attack against our facilities in Benghazi, I relied solely and squarely on the information provided to me by the intelligence community.

"I made clear that the information was preliminary, and that our investigations would give us the definitive answers," she added.

Republican Peter King said last week that the CIA knew Benghazi was a terror attack from the outset

"Everyone, particularly the intelligence community, has worked in good faith to provide the best assessment based on the information available."

She said a "definitive accounting" would not be possible until FBI and state department reviews were finished, and described the Benghazi incident as a "heinous terrorist attack".

She praised Mr Stevens, adding: "None of us will rest, none of us will be satisfied until we have the answers, and the terrorists responsible for this attack are brought to justice."

In a post-election news conference a week ago, Mr Obama defended Ms Rice, saying her critics should "go after me" instead of launching "outrageous" attacks on the UN ambassador.

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Australia ends East Timor mission

22 November 2012 Last updated at 05:18 GMT PM Xanana Gusmao thanked ISF troops for their support, saying the future looked bright Australia is ending its security mission in East Timor, six years after sending troops to restore stability.

The Australian-led International Stabilisation Force (ISF) was deployed in 2006 amid violence that forced thousands of people from their homes.

Some 460 Australian and New Zealand ISF troops currently remain in East Timor.

They ceased operations on Thursday and will be fully withdrawn by April 2013 after closing down bases and returning equipment.

East Timor had seen its economy grow and institutions strengthened, the Australian defence and foreign ministers said in a joint statement. Elections had been held this year and a new government formed.

"Timorese security services have risen to the challenge and served their nation well throughout these events," the statement said.

Engagement would continue through continued support for the local police force, the ministers added.

UN peacekeepers will also draw down their mission by the end of the year. Last month, they formally returned full policing duties to the country's national force.

Both the ISF and UN missions were brought in after the sacking of several hundred soldiers in March 2006 sparked violent clashes that threatened to push the country into civil unrest.

Several dozen people were killed and large numbers were displaced. Since then, stability has been restored and, earlier this year, general elections passed off peacefully.

At a ceremony in Dili late on Wednesday to mark the end of the ISF mission, Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao thanked Australia and New Zealand for their help. "As a result we now look to the future with optimism and hope," he said.

East Timor gained independence in 2002 after three years of UN administration, which followed more than two decades of bloody guerrilla warfare during Indonesian rule.

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China manufacturing picks up pace

22 November 2012 Last updated at 04:09 GMT China's manufacturing sector has been hurt lately by slowing global demand China's manufacturing activity expanded in November, according to a report by HSBC, the latest sign that its growth may be rebounding.

The bank's purchasing managers index (PMI) rose to 50.4.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion. This is the first time in 13 months the HSBC index has been above that level.

The latest data follows a rise in fixed asset investment, industrial production and retail sales in October, announced before China's leadership transition.

Qu Hongbin, chief China economist at HSBC said the expansion in manufacturing "confirms that the economic recovery continues to gain momentum towards the year-end".

Government response

China's manufacturing sector has been a key driver of its economic growth over the past few years.

However, the sector has been hit by a slowdown in demand for Chinese exports from its major markets - the US, eurozone and Japan.

That has hurt China's overall economic growth, which fell to a three-year low in the July-to-September quarter.

In response, the Chinese authorities have introduced various measures to revive growth.

The central bank has cut the amount of money that banks need to keep in reserve three times in the past few months to try and boost lending. It has also cut interest rates twice since June, to ease the burden of consumers and businesses.

The measures have had a positive impact, and there have been recent signs of a pick-up in China's economy.

However, some analysts warned that global economic conditions are still volatile and that China's policymakers need to continue to ease policies to support growth.

"It is still the early stage of recovery and global economic growth remains fragile," said Mr Qu of HSBC. "This calls for a continuation of policy easing to strengthen the recovery."

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Prison vote plan to be outlined

22 November 2012 Last updated at 08:00 GMT Convicted killer John Hirst, who took the government to court over the issue, spoke to the BBC in 2010

Ministers are to set out plans for legislation on the issue of whether prisoners should be allowed the vote.

The government is responding to a European Court of Human Rights ruling that a blanket ban on prisoners serving custodial sentences voting is unlawful.

MPs voted in February to uphold the ban, and David Cameron has said his government will not extend the vote.

But ministers are said to be trying to find ways to head off a confrontation with the court.

By announcing an intention to legislate that potentially could end up watering down the blanket ban, ministers hoped the move would satisfy the ECHR, the BBC's deputy political editor James Landale says.

At the moment, only prisoners on remand are entitled to vote.

The prime minister has said the prospect of enfranchising others makes him "physically ill", and the vast majority of MPs from all parties want to see the blanket ban maintained.

The UK has been on a collision course with Strasbourg since 2005, when the ECHR ruled that the ban was a breach of human rights, following a challenge by John Hirst, who is serving a life sentence in the UK.

'Consequences'

As part of its obligation as a signatory of the European Convention on Human Rights, the government must make clear by 16:00 GMT on Friday how it intends to comply with the judgement.

The Council of Europe - which oversees the ECHR - has said the UK is obliged "to introduce legislative proposals to amend the electoral law imposing a blanket restriction on voting rights of convicted prisoners in prison and achieve compliance with the court's judgement".

In February, MPs voted by 234 to 22 to keep the blanket ban, in response to a government proposal to give the vote to offenders sentenced to a custodial sentence of less than four years.

The coalition subsequently indicated it would respect Parliament's wishes by doing the minimum needed to comply with the ECHR ruling.

Last month, Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said Parliament had a "clear right" not to accept the ECHR's ruling but there would be "consequences" for the UK's position in Europe if MPs chose to defy the judgement.

Updating MPs on Thursday, Mr Grayling is expected to announce plans for draft legislation consisting of three options - keeping the existing blanket ban, giving the vote to convicted prisoners serving up to six months, or giving it to those serving up to four years.

Our correspondent said a draft bill would take a long time to consider and was unlikely to be presented to Parliament as part of a government legislative programme until May 2014 when the proximity of an election - scheduled for May 2015 - could cast doubt on its future.

Meanwhile, the BBC's legal affairs correspondent, Clive Coleman, said not complying with the EHCR could lead to thousands of compensation claims by prisoners.

"That would be hugely politically embarrassing for the government, but it may feel that that's a price worth paying for standing firm in the face of the European courts' ruling.

"Those claims could go on in perpetuity - it could literally be the tap that never stops running. We've got 86,000 prisoners in the UK, it could be a lot of public money in legal payments and legal fees."

'Rule of law'

He added that an option for the UK government would be to leave the Council of Europe, but that neither party wanted that to happen.

"Leaving [the council] would put the UK in a human rights club with Belarus.

"The damage [to the UK] is reputational. Around the world we might be seen as a government that doesn't respect the rule of law," our legal correspondent said.

The draft bill is expected to refer not just to prisoners' voting rights in general and local elections in the UK but also to elections to the European Parliament.

This is because ministers are understood to be mindful of a case before the Supreme Court of England and Wales.

George McGeoch, who is serving a life sentence for murder, is arguing that his rights as an EU citizen are being infringed because he will not be able to vote in the 2014 European parliamentary elections.

Should the Supreme Court decide to enfranchise Mr McGeoch, that would automatically allow thousands of other convicted prisoners around the UK to vote in European and municipal elections and open the door to retrospective compensation claims.

Our political correspondent said the government hoped the draft bill would delay - and ultimately sway - any decision by the Supreme Court.

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Kettle Chips ex-boss repays bonus

22 November 2012 Last updated at 01:12 GMT Diamond Foods manufactures Kettle Chips, Emerald nuts and Pop Secret popcorn The ex-boss of the US maker of Kettle Chips has agreed to repay two years' bonuses after an accounting scandal.

Michael Mendes was suspended as chief executive of Diamond Foods in February, as was the head of finance Steven Neil.

An internal investigation uncovered irregularities, prompting the firm to restate its finances for 2010 and 2011.

Mr Mendes has formally left the firm on no severance pay and will repay bonuses from the two years worth $2.7m (£1.7m) along with 6,665 shares in the company.

The clawed-back bonuses will be deducted from a $5.4m payment that Diamond Foods is contractually required to make to Mr Mendes' pension fund.

The shares were worth $86,500 based on Diamond Foods' closing share price on Wednesday.

Continue reading the main story However, the company's share price has fallen by 85% since its peak in September last year, just before claims first began to circulate that payments to walnut farmers were not being booked correctly.

At their peak, Mr Mendes' shares would have been worth $600,000.

An audit team brought in by Diamond's interim management found that certain payments to farmers and other items had been accounted for in the wrong years, artificially inflating the company's bottom line in 2010 and 2011.

Correcting the mistakes forced it to knock $17m off its 2010 pre-tax profits, and $39.5m off its 2011 figure, halving its reported profits over the two-year period.

It also lost Diamond a potentially lucrative agreement to buy the Pringles brand from Procter & Gamble.

As well as Kettle Chips, Diamond Foods also manufactures Emerald nuts and Pop Secret popcorn.

Mr Neil was also dismissed with no severance pay.

Brian Driscoll, the former head of Hostess Brands, took over as chief executive in May.

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Did the Lomo camera save film photography?

22 November 2012 Last updated at 01:12 GMT By Stephen Dowling BBC News It was a nervous time for film photography when digital cameras took off in the 1990s, and seemed set to take over entirely. But with some help from Vladimir Putin - then deputy mayor of St Petersburg - the little Lomo camera became a retro cult classic, and showed film had a bright future.

In 1991, a group of Austrian art students on a trip to nearby Prague found, in a photographic shop, a curious little camera.

Black, compact and heavy, the camera was rudimentary. The lens was protected by a sliding cover. Loading, focusing and rewinding were all done by hand.

After developing the shots, the students found it produced pictures unlike anything they had seen before.

The colours were rich and saturated, an effect heightened by the lens's tendency to darken the corners of the frame to create a tunnel-like vignetting effect, and there were dramatic contrasts between light and dark. The Austrians were hooked, and so were their friends when they showed them the results back home in Vienna.

Continue reading the main story Vignettes - the Lomo's shots show a characteristic vignette at the edges, like tunnel visionBold colours - a Lomo hallmark, especially with cross-processed slide filmLong shutter speed - the Lomo LC-A's shutter stays open for as long as it needs to expose a photo, which can lead to interesting light trailsExpired film - the LC-A's lens suits the warped coloured shifts found on cheap, expired filmSmall size - the best camera is the one you have with you, and the LC-A fits in a jacket pocketThe little camera was the Lomo LC-A - Lomo Kompact Automat, built in Soviet-era Leningrad by Leningrad Optics and Mechanics Association (Lomo) - and very soon a craze was born. It was an analogue Instagram in the days before digital photography.

This Lomo craze may have ended up helping save film photography from an untimely end.

In 1992, the students set up Lomographic Society International, exhibiting shots taken on unwanted Lomos they had bought up from all over Eastern Europe.

Then, in the mid-90s, having exhausted the supply of left-over Lomos gathering dust in Budapest, Bucharest or East Berlin, they went to the camera's manufacturers - still making optics in St Petersburg - and persuaded them to restart production. The negotiations were helped along by the support of the city's then deputy mayor, Vladimir Putin.

On Thursday 22 November, Lomography is celebrating its 20th anniversary, by starting a series of parties in some of its 36 stores around the world.

The movement's art-school ethos is enshrined in 10 golden rules of Lomography, with an emphasis on spontaneity and experimentation - and a rejection of some of photography's basic laws of composition and focusing. It's common for Lomographers to "cross-process" slide film in negative chemicals, which gives an additional boost to colours and contrast, and to play around with colour filters.

The original LC-A has been joined by a range of other cameras, some of which are redesigns of the LC-A, but there are also various models of plastic-lensed "toy" cameras, the Sprocket Rocket, which exposes the film around the winding sprockets, and the Spinner, which revolves as it shoots, taking a 360-degree picture. The most recent addition is a retro medium-format bellows camera, the Belair.

Continue reading the main story

The world around us is not air-brushed, and we would all do well to marvel at the quirks of everyday scenes and chance sightings”

End Quote Toby Mason Photographer As former giants like Kodak and Agfa's film ranges have dwindled, Lomography has also rescued old emulsions from extinction or created new ones. There has been much speculation that Lomography may buy the rights to some of Kodak's extinct emulsions if the photography giant - now in bankruptcy protection and likely to focus in future on its printer business - sells off its film division.

It's not the biggest player in the film market, but it's the most vibrant, and it's been there all along - unlike Ilford, which went under, and was resurrected.

Photographer Toby Mason from Brighton in the UK, says the foibles of Lomography - the things that conventional photographers might regard as its aberrations - are what make it attractive. Photography all too often becomes a sterile, technical pursuit, in his view.

"I can't help feeling that the emphasis is more on the quality (and cost) of the equipment, the zoom lens and the rest of the kit as well as the photographer's ability to manipulate an image in Photoshop or Lightroom, than the act of taking photographs that evoke a sense of feeling," he says.

Continue reading the main story 1. Take your camera everywhere you go2. Use it any time - day and night3. Lomography is not an interference in your life, but part of it4. Try the shot from the hip5. Approach the objects of your Lomographic desire as close as possible6. Don't think7. Be fast8. You don't have to know beforehand what you captured on film...9. ... or afterwards either10. Don't worry about any rules"The world around us is not air-brushed, and we would all do well to marvel at the quirks of everyday scenes and chance sightings. I like to use film because I feel this gives photographs more character, in the same way that while listening to music on vinyl isn't as 'perfect' as CD or digital, it does have more soul."

Photographer Kevin Meredith was attracted to the LC-A because he wanted a camera that would fit into his pocket "and take decent pictures at night".

He bought his first Lomo camera in the late 1990s, before compact digital cameras came into existence. "A decent 35mm film compact could cost upwards of £300 so £90 for an LCA was a steal," he says.

His affinity with the Lomo kickstarted his career as a teacher and writer.

"The reason why I developed as photographer is that I had this little camera on me all times, which meant I never missed a photo opportunity. Also I shot with an LC-A using cross-processing - these images can look unique which made my photographs stand out from the crowd."

The rise of digital photography is widely supposed to have made film photography redundant. Rather than burn through rolls of film, digital photographers can instantly review and tweak their pics. Lomo cameras have also been derided by some as a fashion accessory, bought by people more concerned with trends than any real love for the art of photography.

Lomography has its celebrity fans, too, from Lord of the Rings actor Elijah Wood to garage rock band The White Stripes.

It has even bled into the wedding photography market. British photographer Emma Case uses Lomography cameras - including toy cameras - for her wedding shoots.

"I mainly shoot digital for weddings and have a collection of Lomography cameras that get used at certain parts of the day. I tend to use my [plastic lens] Diana, my LCA+ and a Polaroid for the more creative parts such as couple portraits… you tend to have more time to play, find the right light."

Lomography's devotees seem unconcerned with the rise of digital Lomo imitators such as Instagram and Hipstamatic.

"When all around us other people are looking for an instant fix, instant results, and images that you just take, look at and delete in a flash, then Lomography is doing something great by going against the grain," says Mason.

There is also one kind of excitement that most digital photographers have forgotten, or will never experience - the wait for the film to come back from the lab.

Stephen Dowling has been shooting on Lomo cameras since 2000

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EU leaders set for budget battle

22 November 2012 Last updated at 00:01 GMT Commission President Barroso: His team manages the budget - but the politicians decide EU leaders are to begin talks on the bloc's seven-year budget, with many of them calling for cuts in line with the savings they are making nationally.

Countries that rely heavily on EU funding, including Poland and its ex-communist neighbours, want current spending levels maintained or raised.

The UK and some other net contributors say cuts have to be made. At stake are 973bn euros (£782.5bn; $1,245bn).

The bargaining in Brussels will continue on Friday, or even longer.

The draft budget - officially called the 2014-2020 Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF) - was drawn up by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, who made cuts to the European Commission's original plan.

France objects to the proposed cuts in agriculture, while countries in Central and Eastern Europe oppose cuts to cohesion spending - that is, EU money that helps to improve infrastructure in poorer regions.

They are the biggest budget items. The Van Rompuy plan envisages 309.5bn euros for cohesion (32% of total spending) and 364.5bn euros for agriculture (37.5%).

The EU budget is a small fraction of what the 27 member states' governments spend in total.

Many hurdles

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says another summit may be necessary early next year if no deal can be reached in Brussels now.

In a speech to the European Parliament on Wednesday, the EU Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, complained, "No one is discussing the quality of investments, it's all cut, cut, cut."

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has warned that he may use his veto if other EU countries call for any rise in EU spending. The Netherlands and Sweden back his call for a freeze in spending, allowing for inflation.

Any of the 27 countries can veto a deal, and the European Parliament will also have to vote on the MFF even if a deal is reached.

Failure to agree would mean rolling over the 2013 budget into 2014 on a month-by-month basis, putting some long-term projects at risk.

If that were to happen it could leave Mr Cameron in a worse position, because the 2013 budget is bigger than the preceding years of the 2007-2013 MFF. So the UK government could end up with an EU budget higher than what it will accept now.

The European Commission says that the EU budget accounts for less than 2% of public spending EU-wide and that for every euro spent by the EU the national governments collectively spend 50 euros.

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Sarkozy to face scandal inquiry

22 November 2012 Last updated at 08:01 GMT The allegations relate to the financing of Mr Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign Former president Nicolas Sarkozy is due to be questioned about claims that France's richest woman illegally helped finance his 2007 electoral campaign.

Mr Sarkozy faces allegations of accepting thousands of euros from L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt when he ran for office five years ago.

Police raided his home and offices in July as part of an inquiry ordered by investigating judge Jean-Michel Gentil.

Mr Sarkozy, who lost presidential immunity in May, denies all wrongdoing.

He will appear before the judge in the southwestern city of Bordeaux.

Although he has stepped back from frontline politics since his defeat by Socialist challenger Francois Hollande, Mr Sarkozy is rumoured still to harbour ambitions of running for re-election in 2017, the BBC's Christian Fraser in Paris reports.

The outcome of the investigation could determine whether the former president will make his widely anticipated return, our correspondent says.

Cash envelopes Continue reading the main story November 2012: Nicolas Sarkozy to be questioned about claims Mrs Bettencourt illegally helped finance his 2007 electoral campaign.July 2012: Police raid Sarkozy home and offices after he lost immunity as presidentSeptember 2010: French financial police searches the main offices of President Sarkozy's party July 2010: Mrs Bettencourt's former accountant, Claire Thibout, alleges Nicolas Sarkozy was one of a number of centre-right politicians to receive regular envelopes of cashJudge Gentil is leading the investigation into allegations that staff acting for Mrs Bettencourt gave 150,000 euros (£120,600) in cash to Mr Sarkozy's aides during his successful 2007 campaign to become president.

Individual campaign contributions in France are limited to 4,600 euros ($5,800).

Mrs Bettencourt's former accountant, Claire Thibout, alleges Mr Sarkozy's campaign treasurer at the time - Eric Woerth, who later became budget minister, collected the cash in person.

She also revealed in a leaked police interview that Mr Sarkozy, while mayor of Neuilly from 1983 to 2002, paid "regular" visits to the Bettencourt house, our correspondent says.

The former president has dismissed as mere gossip claims that he took envelopes stuffed with cash.

Mr Woerth, who was forced to resign as UMP party treasurer in July as a result of the scandal, is already under formal investigation over the 150,000 euro payment allegations.

The allegations surrounding Mr Sarkozy and Mr Woerth first surfaced in connection with a trial over the estimated 17bn euro fortune of Mrs Bettencourt, 87, whose father founded the L'Oreal cosmetics giant.

Both Mr Woerth and Mr Sarkozy deny any wrongdoing, as does Mrs Bettencourt.

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Sudan 'disrupts sabotage plot'

22 November 2012 Last updated at 05:03 GMT A dispute with South Sudan over oil revenues has triggered protests Sudanese security officials say they have foiled an opposition plot aimed at creating "security disturbances" in the capital, Khartoum.

Witnesses described seeing tanks and troops in the centre of the city in the early hours of Thursday.

Sudan has seen demonstrations in recent months over economic hardship, triggered by a dispute over oil revenues with South Sudan.

A deal forged in September on ending the dispute has been delayed.

Armoured vehicles and tanks were seen in the early hours of Thursday in a main street in central Khartoum, although news agencies said there was no increase in security later on.

"This plot is led by some opposition party leaders," the Sudanese Media Centre reported on its Arabic-language website.

Military and civilian figures had been arrested in connection with a plot to destabilise the country, the report said.

Although Sudan has witnessed protests in recent months calling for the end of President Omar al-Bashir's 23-year regime, they have since died out after a number of arrests of opposition figures.

In September, Sudan agreed with South Sudan to halt fighting and resume oil exports from the South via Sudan.

However, the two neighbours have failed to implement the terms of the accord and South Sudan has accused Sudan of carrying out air strikes over the border, an accusation denied by Khartoum.

The Sudanese army said it was targeting rebels from the Darfur region well inside its territory and accused the South of supporting the rebels.

Earlier this month, another rebel group - the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North - said it had shot down a government military aircraft on the disputed border between Sudan and South Sudan.

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US hits the road for Thanksgiving

22 November 2012 Last updated at 00:57 GMT President Obama pardons Cobbler the turkey

An estimated 43 million Americans are travelling on Thanksgiving eve, amid bad weather and transport union action.

Fog in Chicago grounded 200 flights, heavy rainfall drenched the US Pacific Northwest, and train services were disrupted in New York City.

In Los Angeles, union workers staged a protest near the city's main airports, with some arrests reported.

Thanksgiving, a hugely popular holiday, celebrates the Pilgrims' first harvest in what is now Massachusetts state.

For the 39 million Americans travelling in vehicles, heavy traffic was expected in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

But there was some good news for motorists: the national average price for petrol was down $0.28 (£0.18) cents per gallon from a month ago, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).

Workers at Los Angeles International Airport marched in a dispute over contracts and health insurance benefits.

A sit-down protest staged at about 13:15 local time (21:15 GMT) prompted several arrests, the Los Angeles Times reported.

BBC Weather's Thanksgiving forecast for the US

Picketing was also reportedly planned by airport workers at Chicago's O'Hare, New York's JFK and Florida's Fort Lauderdale.

In New York, a switch failure caused a break in train services at the city's Penn Station on Wednesday evening, with nobody allowed to enter the station as officials battled to manage crowds.

After being hit by the recession, Thanksgiving travel returned to 2007 levels last year, according to the AAA.

In 2012, the number of Americans travelling at least 50 miles (80km) between Wednesday and Sunday was expected to increase to 43.6 million, which would be up 0.7% from last year.

Obama turkey pardoning

Those heading out over the holiday are flying less, driving more and covering shorter distances, says the AAA.

Continue reading the main story Americans will gobble 46m of the poultry at Thanksgiving, almost 3lb (1.4kg) per personAt an average weight of 16lb each, last year's Thanksgiving turkeys weighed 736m lb in total. Americans spend about $875m (£550m) buying turkeys for Thanksgiving About 31% of turkeys scoffed during the year in the US will be consumed on the holiday

Source: National Turkey Federation

At the White House, President Barack Obama carried out the traditional US presidential duty for Thanksgiving: pardoning a turkey.

"Tomorrow, in the company of friends and loved ones, we will celebrate a uniquely American holiday," Mr Obama said.

"And it's a chance for us to spend time with the people we care about and to give thanks for the blessings that we enjoy; and to think about just how lucky we are to live in the greatest nation on Earth."

Since taking office, he has created his own custom of sparing an extra turkey.

This year, Mr Obama showed mercy on Cobbler and Gobbler, who will live out their days on George Washington's estate in Mount Vernon, Virginia.

Forty-six million other turkeys will not be so lucky - that is how many of the poultry are expected to be consumed across the US on Thursday.

Thanksgiving will be a more low-key affair for those New Yorkers still recovering from the effects of the recent super storm, Sandy.

Mr Obama touched on the storm's impact in his remarks, saying Thanksgiving is "also a time to remember those who are less fortunate - and this year, that's particularly true for our neighbours in the North-East who have lost their homes and their possessions, and even their loved ones to Hurricane Sandy".

Macy's department store has set aside 5,000 seats along its Thanksgiving Day Parade route for families affected by the deadly cyclone.

And Occupy Sandy, the storm-relief offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement, will host a Thanksgiving dinner in lower Manhattan.

Retailers are also preparing for Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving that is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year.

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ADHD treatment 'may reduce crime'

22 November 2012 Last updated at 02:20 GMT Giving medication to people with ADHD in the criminal justice system may reduce crime People with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder who are involved in crime are less likely to reoffend when on treatment than not, a Swedish study shows.

Earlier studies suggest people with ADHD are more likely to commit offences than the general population.

Providing better access to medication may reduce crime and save money, experts and support groups say.

Researchers say the benefits of the drugs must be weighed against harms.

In the UK 3% of children have a diagnosis of ADHD, with half of them continuing to have the condition in adult life.

People with the disorder have to deal with problems with concentration, hyperactivity and impulsiveness.

Estimates suggest between 7-40% of people in the criminal justice system may have ADHD and other similar disorders, though in many cases the condition is not formally recognised.

Continue reading the main story

We want people to have personal choice...no one is trying to force people to take drugs”

End Quote Prof Philip Asherson Psychiatrist Researchers from the Karolinska Institute looked at data from over 25,000 people with ADHD in Sweden.

Less impulsiveness

They found people with ADHD were more likely to commit crime (37% of men and 15% of women) than adults without the condition (9% of men and 2% women).

The study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found when people took their medication they were 32-41% less likely to be convicted of a crime than when they were off medication for a period of six months or more.

Dr Seena Fazel, an author of the study, says medication may reduce impulsive choices and may enable people to better organise their lives - allowing them to stay in employment and maintain relationships.

Co-author Prof Paul Lichtenstein says: "It is said that roughly 30 to 40% of long-serving criminals have ADHD. If their chances of recidivism can be reduced by 30%, it would clearly effect the total crime numbers in many societies."

'Personal responsibility'

Professor Philip Asherson, a psychiatrist and president of the UK Adult ADHD network, who was not involved in the study says: "We want people to have personal choice and personal responsibility - no-one is trying to force people to take drugs."

He points out it costs £100-£300 a month to provide medication for someone with ADHD, and taking into account the costs of unemployment and the criminal justice system, these would "vastly outweigh" the costs of medication, he says.

But he cautions that the side effects of the drugs used, such as Ritalin, must be taken into account.

"There are of course a lot of people with ADHD in the population who are not involved in crime.

"But for some people with the condition - if you don't treat them, they will try to treat themselves with street drugs," says Andrea Bilbow, founder of the National Attention Deficit Disorder Information and Support Service, Addis.

"A referral to specialist adult services can cost £1,500 - compare this with the amount of money you can save if you keep people out of prison - it's a no brainer."

'Better support'

The researchers looked at a variety of crimes - from petty crime to violent crime, finding a reduction in all of these when people took medication.

They acknowledge when offered medication, individuals may also get more attention from other support services - this could contribute to the reduction in criminal behaviour.

Prof Sue Bailey, president of the Royal College of Psychiatry, welcomes the study saying it "reminds us in an era of psychological therapies that medication can have a positive impact too".

The authors of the study point out ADHD can exist alongside other conditions such as conduct disorders, calling for further work to untangle the contribution these may make to criminal behaviour.

They feel the Swedish findings are applicable to the UK and much of Western Europe where rates of ADHD in children and the medication prescribed are broadly similar.

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CS Lewis honour in Poets' Corner

22 November 2012 Last updated at 02:33 GMT Clive Staples Lewis was a fellow and tutor of Magdalen College, Oxford A memorial stone to writer and scholar CS Lewis is to be placed in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey in 2013.

A service will take place on 22 November 2013 to mark the 50th anniversary of his death.

Lewis will join such greats as John Keats, William Blake and TS Eliot in a tradition going back 600 years.

Vernon White, Canon Theologian at Westminster Abbey, said Lewis was an "extraordinarily imaginative and rigorous thinker and writer".

Lewis, he continued, "was able to convey the Christian faith in a way that made it both credible and attractive to a wide range of people".

The author, he said, had "had an enduring and growing influence in our national life".

Lewis (1898-1963) is best remembered for writing The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of books that has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first instalment in the saga, was published in 1950 and has been adapted since for stage, TV and film.

Other works by the Belfast-born novelist, essayist and literary critic include The Screwtape Letters, The Space Trilogy and the non-fiction titles Mere Christianity and Miracles.

Former poet laureate Ted Hughes was the most recent writer to be commemorated at the Abbey with a posthumous memorial stone.

His memorial was unveiled by Seamus Heaney at a service held in December last year.

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Cameron set for EU budget battle

22 November 2012 Last updated at 07:29 GMT Herman van Rompuy will oversee the negotiations and meet leaders on a one-by-one basis David Cameron is set to press for a minimum real-terms freeze in the EU's budget as European leaders gather ahead of a crunch summit to determine its spending between 2014 and 2020.

The UK PM is seeking to build alliances in Brussels ahead of what is expected to be two days of intense negotiations.

Germany is among the UK's main allies but other nations support the European Commission's call for higher spending.

The UK Parliament recently urged the EU to cut its total expenditure.

Ahead of the special budget summit, UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the government's position was "tough but realistic".

He said most people would think it was "perfectly reasonable" for the EU to tighten its belt.

Spending ceiling

The EU's 27 member states must set a ceiling for what they are prepared to spend in total over the 2014-2020 period, as well as discuss how much will be set aside for specific areas such as business, agriculture and security.

The European Commission has proposed a ceiling of 1,033 billion euros (£831bn), which would be 5% higher than the current 2007-2013 period. The UK, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands are among those who have said such a rise would be unacceptable at a time of austerity across the continent.

Continue reading the main story

Both the prime minister and I have spent, whatever our other differences on Europe, a lot of time working together to make sure the British voice is heard”

End Quote Nick Clegg Deputy Prime Minister The UK has described a separate proposal from European Council President Herman van Rompuy for a 973 billion euro (£782bn) threshold as a step in the right direction.

But the UK believes that further cuts, potentially of up to 80bn euros, can be achieved as Mr van Rompuy's plan anticipates substantial increases in certain areas such as infrastructure spending.

Mr Cameron has said he is prepared to veto any budget deal that is bad for the UK and argued that any above-inflation rise would be unjustified when many countries are cutting spending at home.

MPs voted last month to back a real-terms cut in spending, saying it would strengthen the UK's negotiating position.

But UK officials have acknowledged this will be difficult to achieve given many of the EU's poorer nations - unlike the UK, Germany and France - are net beneficiaries of the budget and unlikely to countenance any cuts.

'British voice'

Although countries' individual contributions are not up for discussion at the summit, Mr Cameron has also vowed to defend the UK's multi-billion pound rebate first secured by the Thatcher government in the 1980s.

Who wants what from the EU budget deal?

Mr van Rompuy is expected to hold one-on-one meetings with EU leaders on Thursday to establish what their "red lines" are ahead of general negotiations, which officials admit could slip into Saturday or even Sunday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she is not sure the summit will come up with a "definitive deal" and EU leaders may have to reconvene early in the new year.

Mr Clegg said the UK was looking for "just common sense".

"A common sense approach, which says look there's not enough money to go around at the moment... let's make sure that's reflected in the European Union budget and that's why we're saying that it shouldn't increase by more than inflation."

If the opportunity arose to cut the budget, the UK would seize it, he added.

"We have had to cut out many budgets here at home. We've got a tough approach but it's a realistic approach and both the prime minister and I have spent, whatever our other differences on Europe, a lot of time working together to make sure the British voice is heard."

But UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage said Mr Cameron would be unable to get a "good deal" for the UK and that the European Commission and MEPs believed the state could "create wealth".

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Sharp jump in Sao Paulo murders

22 November 2012 Last updated at 08:18 GMT The latest violence erupted in May Brazil's biggest city, Sao Paulo, saw 176 killings in October, more than double the number in the same period last year, official figures show.

The data were released just hours after Sao Paulo's security chief, Antonio Ferreira Pinto, resigned amid a wave of violence in the city.

Analysts say the upsurge in killings indicates an "undeclared war" between police and a criminal faction.

So far this year, 95 officers have been killed, compared with 47 in 2011.

According to figures from Sao Paulo's public security ministry, 176 people were killed last month, compared with 82 in October last year.

Across the entire state of Sao Paulo, there were 571 murders - a rise of 48% on October 2011.

The violence erupted in May when police from a unit known as "the Rota" shot dead six men.

Since then, there appears to have been a wave of retaliation from a gang known as the PCC, or First Command of the Capital.

Many attacks on officers are believed to be arranged from inside prison by jailed gang members.

Rogue police officers have also been accused of carrying out revenge attacks.

Mr Ferreira Pinto had been under increasing pressure as the casualties rose.

He has been replaced by a former attorney general, Fernando Grella Vieira.

"This wave of violence is a major problem and we will have to work hard to reverse his situation," he told the G1 news website.

There were several more murders in the greater Sao Paulo area on Wednesday night.

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Gaza ceasefire agreement holds

22 November 2012 Last updated at 07:34 GMT The BBC's Jon Donnison says Gaza is quiet after a night of celebration

A ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist Hamas movement that runs the Gaza Strip appeared to be holding on Thursday.

Israel radio said some rockets had been fired from Gaza, but there was no sign of an Israeli response.

Overnight, thousands of Gaza residents poured on to the streets to celebrate, waving flags and setting off fireworks.

The UN Security Council has called on Israel and Hamas to uphold the agreement, brokered by Egypt.

Overnight, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said it had arrested 55 "terror operatives" in the West Bank, including some at a senior level, in an effort to "restore calm".

There have been a number of protests in the West Bank in the past week against Israel's Pillar of Defence operation, with some protesters clashing with Israeli soldiers.

'Underlying issues'

In its first statement since the current flare-up began, the Security Council also commended Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi and others involved in the diplomatic effort.

Continue reading the main story Israel to end all hostilities on Gaza Strip by sea, land and air, including incursions and the targeting of individualsAll Palestinian factions in Gaza to stop all hostilities against Israel, including rocket and border attacksWithin 24 hours of ceasefire, Gaza Strip crossings to be opened allowing free movement of people and goodsEgypt to receive assurances from both sides that they will abide by the deal, and will follow up any reports its has been brokenUN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who has been meeting regional leaders during the conflict, welcomed the ceasefire and said it was urgent that humanitarian aid be delivered to Gaza.

"We are all aware that there are many details that must be solidified for a broad, durable ceasefire to take firm hold over the longer term," he said.

"It is imperative that both sides stick to the ceasefire in order to allow these underlying issues to be addressed."

Five Israelis and more than 150 Palestinians have died since the outbreak of violence began last week.

The Israeli military said three rockets had been fired from Gaza since the ceasefire came into effect, two of which were shot down by the Iron Dome defence system. It said there had been no fire in either direction since midnight.

The BBC's Kevin Connolly in Jerusalem says that in the early stages of the ceasefire, success will be measured from minute to minute.

The more time that passes without rocket fire from Gaza or an air raid from Israel, the more confident civilians on both sides will feel, he adds.

Under the deal, Israel has agreed to end all hostilities and targeted killings, while all Palestinian factions will have to stop firing rockets into Israel and staging border attacks.

Israel must also begin talks about opening Gaza's border crossings and easing restrictions on the movement of people and goods.

Ecstatic celebrations

The truce was announced in Cairo on Wednesday by Egyptian Foreign Minister Kamel Amr.

Ban Ki-moon: "Our focus must be on ensuring the ceasefire holds"

Alongside him was US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who had taken part in the negotiations, first in Jerusalem and later in Cairo.

The announcement set off ecstatic celebrations in Gaza, where residents who had spent days sheltering from air strikes took to the streets.

The BBC's Jon Donnison in Gaza City says the city was transformed as people flooded into the streets, many of them firing weapons into the air.

But the truce is essentially a maintaining of the status quo, our correspondent adds, and it is hard to see either side sticking to it unless there are further talks and a broader peace plans.

Hamas's exiled political leader Khaled Meshaal said Israel's offensive had "failed" and that the deal met Hamas's main demands.

All the crossings into Gaza would re-open, including those with Egypt, Mr Meshaal said.

In Gaza itself, Hamas spokesman Ihab Hussein hailed the truce as a victory.

"These people made this victory by their patience, by the blood of our people," he said.

"They (the Israelis) will open the borders, they will stop assassinating and killing our people. We will live in calm and in a peace[ful] situation."

Some residents in the southern Israeli town of Kiryat Malachi denounced the truce

In Israel, however, small protests were held in communities such as the southern town of Kiryat Malachi, where three people were killed by a Gaza rocket during the conflict, army radio said.

Protesters said the military should have hit Hamas harder and some banners denounced "agreements with terrorists".

Despite the ceasefire, Israeli schools within 40km of the Gaza Strip were being kept closed on Thursday as a precaution, the military said.

Israel says it targeted 1,500 "terror sites" during Operation Pillar of Defence.

It says its targets included 30 senior militants, 980 underground rocket launchers and 140 smuggling tunnels.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that, for the first time, militants in Gaza had fired long-range rockets, such as the Fajr-5, toward Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

A statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had agreed to a US suggestion "to give a chance to Egypt's proposal for a ceasefire and so give an opportunity to stabilise the situation and calm it before there will be need to apply greater force".

Violence continued right up to the 21:00 (19:00 GMT) ceasefire deadline. During the day, a bomb exploded on a bus in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, wounding several people. At least 13 people died in Gaza on Wednesday.

Israel launched its offensive, which it says was aimed at ending rocket fire from Gaza, with the killing of a Hamas military leader.

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Blast hits Pakistan Shia march

22 November 2012 Last updated at 07:53 GMT The late-night blast in Rawalpindi hit a procession of Shia Muslims A Taliban suicide bomber killed at least 23 people at a Shia Muslim procession in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi, police say.

The bomber targeted marchers as they approached a mosque near the city centre. Another 62 people were hurt.

Blasts earlier on Wednesday outside a Shia mosque in the southern city of Karachi killed at least two people, and a bomb in Quetta left five dead.

The bombings come as Shias mark the holy month of Muharram.

First reports from Rawalpindi said 10 people had died in the attack late on Wednesday night, but officials raised the figure on Thursday morning.

Police rescue spokeswoman Deeba Shehnaz said several people who were critically wounded had died in hospital.

Police say they attempted to stop and search the bomber who then blew himself up. The force of the blast ripped a hole in the wall of the mosque.

"It was like the world was ending," one of the victims, Nasir Shah, was quoted as saying by Associated Press.

The Pakistani Taliban said they carried out the attacks in Rawalpindi and Karachi. Attacks on Shia by hardline Sunnis have increased in recent months in Pakistan.

BBC's Aleem Maqbool: "Karachi really has a sense, right now, of a city on high alert"

Karachi, where the mosque was apparently targeted, has a long history of sectarian tensions. A second blast there left at least seven people wounded, police official Javed Odho said.

Correspondents say the authorities are braced for more violence as Muharram reaches its climax this weekend.

The attack in Quetta did not have a sectarian motive. Police say the remote-controlled bomb exploded near a security vehicle escorting schoolchildren.

Three of those killed were soldiers. Two civilians also died. About 30 people were wounded, some of them critically.

"The target was an army vehicle which was escorting a school bus carrying children of local army officers from different schools," Quetta city police chief Hamid Shakeel told the AFP news agency.

Quetta is the capital of the south-western province of Balochistan, where a separatist insurgency is being waged by ethnic militants demanding more autonomy and a greater share of natural resources.

Pakistan's military also has troops in the province engaged in a long-running battle against militants in tribal areas near the Afghan border, including the Taliban and armed groups who support them.

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Apple told to disclose HTC deal

22 November 2012 Last updated at 06:30 GMT Patent disputes with Apple have resulted in a ban on some of Samsung's gadgets being sold in the US A US judge has ordered Apple to disclose details of its patent-sharing deal with HTC to its rival, Samsung.

Apple and HTC signed a 10-year licence agreement earlier this month, but did not make the details public.

Samsung, which is also involved in various patent disputes with Apple, asked the courts to tell Apple to furnish the information.

It said it was "almost certain" the deal covered some of the patents at the centre of its dispute with Apple.

The court ordered Apple to produce a full copy of the settlement agreement "without delay", subject to an "attorneys' eyes only" designation, meaning it will not be made public.

The deal between Apple and HTC saw the two firms settle all their outstanding disputes over patents, ending a fight that began in March 2010.

According to some reports, the two companies were fighting almost 20 cases across the globe.

Legal advantage

While that fight has ended, Apple is still involved in legal tussles with Samsung.

The two rivals have filed cases against each other in more than 10 countries, each accusing the other of violating its patents.

Earlier this year, a Californian court awarded Apple $1.05bn (£652m) in damages against Samsung, after ruling that several of its software and design technologies had been infringed.

However, the South Korean firm has appealed against the ruling and has called for a retrial.

Some analysts said that the latest decision by the court, giving Samsung access to Apple's deal with HTC, may have a big impact on Samsung's legal battle with Apple.

"It is clearly a very smart move from Samsung - because the general feeling is that a lot of its patent disputes with Apple are very likely to be similar to those between HTC and Apple," Andrew Milroy of consultancy Frost & Sullivan told the BBC.

"And if there are similarities, it gives Samsung an advantage in any future legal issues and negotiations with Apple."

'Bad time'

The decision is the latest setback for Apple in its various legal clashes with rivals.

Last month, Apple lost its appeal against a UK ruling that Samsung had not infringed its design rights.

A UK judge ruled Samsung's product did not infringe Apple's design rights

In a further blow, the US technology firm was asked by a UK High Court to publish a statement on its website admitting that Samsung had not infringed its designs.

Sales bans sought by Apple against Samsung's Galaxy Nexus phone and Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer in the US were also lifted in October.

Then, earlier this month, a judge in the US dismissed a case brought by Apple alleging that Google's Motorola unit was seeking excessive royalty payments for patents.

"Apple has been having a really bad time of late in its legal battles," said Mr Milroy. "They are going to have to re-examine the legal approach they take from here on."

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Jesse Jackson Jr. resigns from House, citing health

Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) waves on U.S. Capitol steps in Washington December 2, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Yuri Gripas

By Richard Cowan and James B. Kelleher

WASHINGTON/CHICAGO | Wed Nov 21, 2012 11:03pm EST

WASHINGTON/CHICAGO (Reuters) - Representative Jesse Jackson Jr., who has been treated for bipolar disorder and is reportedly under investigation for possible misuse of campaign funds, resigned his seat on Wednesday, citing health reasons.

"My health issues and treatment regimen have become incompatible with service in the House of Representatives. Therefore, it is with great regret that I hereby resign ... effective today, in order to focus on restoring my health," the Chicago Democrat said in a letter to U.S. House Speaker John Boehner.

Jackson, the 47-year-old son of civil rights leader and former presidential candidate Reverend Jesse Jackson, also admitted to "my share of mistakes," in his two-page letter to Boehner, an Ohio Republican.

"I am aware of the ongoing federal investigation into my activities and I am doing my best to address the situation responsibly, cooperate with the investigators and accept responsibility for my mistakes, for they are my mistakes and mine alone," Jackson wrote.

Jackson has been in Congress since 1995 and easily won re-election in a heavily Democratic district earlier this month despite his ailment and the ethics questions hanging over him.

His resignation was not expected to result in any changes in the political balance of power of the U.S. House, which is controlled by Republicans. Voters in Jackson's district will now have to hold a special election to fill the vacancy.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn said he would propose a date for the election within five days.

"We know that Congressman Jackson is confronting health challenges, and our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family during this difficult time," Quinn said.

Jackson was treated for at least six weeks this summer at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for bipolar disorder, a psychological condition marked by extreme mood swings, and has been on medical leave since June.

He has also been the subject of a House ethics committee probe over an alleged bribe offered by a Jackson supporter in 2008 to then Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

The bribe was said to be intended to entice Blagojevich to appoint Jackson to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama. Jackson has admitted to lobbying for the seat, but denied knowing about any money offered to Blagojevich, who has since been convicted on corruption charges and imprisoned.

INVESTIGATION

According to news reports citing unnamed sources, Jackson is also being investigated by the FBI over possible misuse of campaign money. The FBI has not confirmed the reports.

In his letter to Boehner on Wednesday, Jackson acknowledged a probe was underway and said he hoped it would not overshadow his years of public service.

"None of us is immune from our share of shortcomings or human frailties and I pray I will be remembered for what I did right," Jackson wrote.

Emails and calls seeking comment on his resignation made to Jackson's Washington, D.C., and Chicago offices, as well as to the office of Jackson's father, were not immediately returned.

Ironically, Jackson was sent to Congress in 1995 after winning a special election triggered by the resignation of Representative Mel Reynolds, a Democrat convicted of sexual assault, obstruction of justice and solicitation of child pornography.

Jackson, during his 17-year career in the House, was a reliable liberal vote, supporting increases in the minimum wage, the expansion of environmental regulations and gay rights and, in 2008, the bailout of the country's teetering financial system. He was also an early advocate of a strict timeline to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.

Reacting to Jackson's resignation, most fellow Democrats sidestepped his ethics problems and focused on his years of service in Congress.

Representative Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader, said Jackson had "presented a fresh perspective on how we work together" during his years on Capitol Hill.

Representative Bobby Rush, a former Black Panther who said he remembered Jackson when he was a "child crawling on the floor" of his parents' house, urged patience.

"He hasn't been charged, indicted or convicted of any breach of the law," Rush told reporters at an afternoon press conference in Chicago.

"Give the man a chance to go through his process."

(Additional reporting by David Bailey, Nick Carey and Thomas Ferraro; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Todd Eastham)

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