Blog #44 / The BBC

1.

The UK is to help free 5,000 migrants trapped by fighting in western Libya, the UK's international development secretary has said.

Andrew Mitchell said funds of £1.5m would pay to charter ships to get people out of the rebel-held town of Misrata and provide medical supplies.medical supplies.
The minister is in New York attending a UN meeting to discuss the humanitarian situation in Libya.
They have reported shortages of food, power, water and medicine, as forces loyal to Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi intensify their shelling of the city.The most desperate were thousands of migrant workers from the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.


2.

A 16-year-old boy charged with the murders of two British holidaymakers in Florida has been named by detectives.

Shawn Tyson is charged with murdering James Kouzaris, 24, from Northampton, and James Cooper, 25, of Warwick.The friends, ex-Sheffield University students, were found shot dead 50ft from each other in a street in the city of Sarasota early on Saturday.Police said the boy had previously been arrested for aggravated assault with a handgun on 7 April.
Officers said there was no known link between him and the two victims.Police said they were called to the Newtown area of northern Sarasota at about 0300 local time.

3.

Director of Public Prosecutions Kier Starmer QC has told 20 people to appeal against convictions over planned protests at a power station.His letter comes after revelations that the Ratcliffe-on-Soar protesters had been infiltrated by an undercover police officer.Mr Starmer said the CPS had reviewed the 2010 convictions amid allegations about former Pc Mark Kennedy.The 20 protesters contacted by Mr Starmer were convicted in December 2010 of conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass at the Nottinghamshire power station the year before.They were given a mixture of community service orders and conditional discharges - and the judge accepted they were "decent men and women" motivated by their concern for the environment.

4.

A woolpacker from Porthmadog has been sentenced to life in jail and must serve a minimum 25 years before parole for the murder of Ffion Wyn Roberts.Iestyn Davies, 54, was convicted by a 10 to 2 majority verdict after he denied killing the 22-year-old care worker.The judge at Caernarfon Crown Court described Davies as "very dangerous" and "calculating and devious".Sentencing Davies, Mr Justice Lloyd-Jones said: "I'm sure this murder has a sexual motive which must have increased Ffion's ordeal.

5.

David Cameron and Ed Miliband have both joined forces with political opponents as the battle over the way Britain elects its MPs stepped up a gear.Mr Cameron shared a platform with Labour former home secretary John Reid to make the case for keeping the current first-past-the-post system.At a rival event, Labour leader Mr Miliband joined forces with Lib Dem Vince Cable to argue for a change.The battle between the Yes and No to AV campaigns has become increasingly bitter and hard-fought in recent weeks - as some polls suggest the result could be a close call.Mr Cable, who has found himself at odds with his Conservative coalition colleagues.