EU election: France's Hollande calls for reform of 'remote' EU

French President Francois Hollande has said the EU must reform and scale back its power, amid a surge in support for Eurosceptic and far-right parties.

Mr Hollande, whose party was beaten by the far right in last week's European Parliament election, said the EU had become too complex and remote.

In response, he will tell EU leaders at a meeting in Brussels later that they must focus on boosting the economy.

The three big pro-EU centrist blocs are still on course for a majority.

But they have lost seats in the European Parliament to parties seeking to curb EU powers or abolish the union, among them the UK Independence Party which came first in the domestic vote with 27% according to provisional results.

In France, the far-right National Front stormed to victory with a preliminary 25% of the vote, pushing Mr Hollande's Socialists into third place.Speaking on French TV, Mr Hollande - a leading champion of the EU - said the project had become "remote and incomprehensible", and that that had to change.

"Europe has to be simple, clear, to be effective where it is needed and to withdraw from where it is not necessary," he said. 

He said the union had overcome the crisis in the eurozone "but at what price? An austerity that has ended up disheartening the people".

When European Union leaders meet on Tuesday he would "reaffirm that the priority is growth, jobs and investment", he said.

Mrs Merkel - whose conservative Christian Democratic Union won a comfortable 35% of the vote in Germany - said it was now up to the established parties of Europe to win voters back by focusing on "improving competitiveness, on growth and creating jobs".

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Thailand army continues crackdown after coup

Thailand's military has ordered 35 more people, including prominent academics, to report to them by Saturday afternoon as the post-coup crackdown continues.

The move comes a day after the army ordered more than 100 politicians, including ex-PM Yingluck Shinawatra, to come to the military council.

Ms Yingluck was detained in Bangkok on Friday and spent the night in custody.

Meanwhile, the US has suspended $3.5m (£2.1m) in military aid to Thailand and told the army to restore civilian rule.

Washington also urged tourists to cancel trips and halted non-essential visits by US government officials, following Thursday's coup.

Officials said Ms Yingluck would not be held for more than a week but insisted that her detention was necessary while matters in the country were organised.

Ms Yingluck, who had been PM until being removed by the judiciary this month, was ordered to report to the military along with more than 100 other politicians, including acting PM Niwatthamrong Boonsongphaisan.Thai military spokesman Col Werachon Sukhondhadhpatipak said Saturday that the politicians were detained to give them "time to think".

He refused to reveal where the detained were being held and said that their mobile phones had been confiscated.

Those listed on Friday who are yet to hand themselves into the military had until 16:00 local time (09:00 GMT) otherwise the "law enforcement will be decisive," he added.

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If the situation is peaceful, we are ready to return power to the people”

Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha

Head of Thailand's army

He said those named on the military's new list had until 13:00 local time (06:00 GMT) to report to the army.

Col Werachon said the detainees were being encouraged "to find common ground" and that the army wanted "to change their perception."

On Friday. army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha met key officials and told them that reform must come before any elections.

Gen Prayuth summoned governors, business leaders and civil servants to the Bangkok Army Club.

Six of Thailand's most senior military officers have now been appointed to run the country, with provincial commanders supervising local government.

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Tanks and hunks bring chaos to Cannes Croisette

What do you get if you park two tanks carrying some of the world's biggest action leads in the middle of the Cannes Film Festival?

Answer: a muscle-bound recipe for complete and utter chaos.

There was little improvement inside Cannes' Carlton Hotel as hundreds of journalists squeezed into its ornately pillared ballroom for a raucous press conference.

Sylvester Stallone took the mayhem in his stride with practised aplomb, though other members of The Expendables 3 cast looked as if they had been caught in the eye of a hurricane.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford completed the quartet of Hollywood stalwarts, with Spain's Antonio Banderas, Sweden's Dolph Lundgren and Britain's Jason Statham fleshing out the film's middle-aged contingent.

Indeed, such was the ratio of hunk to microphone that Wesley Snipes - the Blade actor who recently served a three-year prison term to tax evasion - could barely get a word in.

The atmosphere was one of back-slapping camaraderie, with Gibson describing the Bulgaria shoot as "a blast" and Ford calling his co-stars "a great bunch of guys to work with".

"It's a very unique project," said Lundgren, who famously made his name playing Stallone's antagonist in 1985's Rocky IV. "The audience feels like the characters are friendly for real."

"I'm a big fan of action movies," said Terminator star Schwarzenegger, who shot his contribution to the first Expendables film in 2009 while still serving as Governor of California.

"They are always a great way of entertaining people," the 66-year-old went on. "They have a universal language."According to Twilight actor Kellan Lutz, one of the younger members of the cast, being on set was like "winning an action sweepstakes - running around shooting guns with all my favourite heroes."

"All these guys have worked on so many films," said Patrick Hughes, the sequel's Australian director. "To have that wisdom on set was like [being in] film school all over again."

Jokes were freely exchanged between the actors, with Stallone and Schwarzenegger swapping jibes about their less successful, more comedic ventures.

Inevitably, though, talk soon turned to how long the mercenary-based series can continue in the light of the various injuries sustained and mishaps endured during filming.

One of them - an accident that saw a truck plunge into a dock with Statham at the wheel - featured in a montage of behind-the-scenes footage shown before to journalists before Sunday's press conference.

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Ann Maguire: Funeral to be held for stabbed teacher

The funeral of teacher Ann Maguire, who was stabbed to death in front of her pupils at a school in Leeds last month, is due to take place later.

Mrs Maguire, 61, was fatally stabbed at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Halton Moor, Leeds, on Monday 28 April.

The service for family and close friends will begin at midday at the Catholic Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in Moortown, Leeds. 

A 15-year-old boy has been charged with Mrs Maguire's murder.

The boy, who cannot be named, is expected to stand trial in November.
Severed vein

An inquest earlier this week heard Mrs Maguire died from "shock and haemorrhage" after being stabbed in the neck.

Leeds Coroner's Court heard her jugular vein was severed in the attack. The inquest has been adjourned to a later date.
Mrs Maguire, who taught Spanish, had worked at Corpus Christi for more than 40 years and was due to retire in September.

She lived in Moortown with her husband, Donald. The couple had two daughters, Emma and Kerry.

She also raised her nephews Andrew and Daniel following the death of her sister, Eileen Poole, when the boys were young.After her death, hundreds of floral tributes were laid outside the college by current and former pupils.

A book of condolence for Mrs Maguire was also opened at Leeds Cathedral for the public to offer their messages of sympathy.

The Pope, Prime Minister David Cameron and opposition leader Ed Miliband all paid tribute to Mrs Maguire.

Speaking before the funeral, Ian Murch, from the National Union of Teachers said it was an opportunity to celebrate Mrs Maguire's life and achievements.

"This is someone who gave a whole life to one community and to one school, so you are sad but you are also celebrating the wonderful things Ann has done," he added.

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Sugar Man director Malik Bendjelloul dies aged 36

Oscar-winning Swedish director Malik Bendjelloul has died at the age of 36.

His body was found late on Tuesday in the Stockholm area, police say. They could not confirm the cause of death but said no crime was suspected.

He was best known for Searching for Sugar Man which won the Oscar and Bafta prizes for best documentary in 2013.

The low-budget film told the story of two South Africans searching for their music hero, 1970s American singer Sixto Rodriguez.

Bootleg copies of the singer's album Cold Fact had been an unofficial soundtrack to youth protests against apartheid in the 70s and 80s, but it was believed he had died in a bizarre onstage accident. 

He was eventually found in Detroit, working on a building site, and persuaded to play a series of triumphant gigs in South Africa, where he was treated like a hero.

Speaking to the BBC in 2012, Bendjelloul said the reaction to his film was "beautiful".

"People stand up screaming and crying and it's so, so overwhelming. It's hard to find words actually."But the documentary was almost abandoned mid-production, when Bendjelloul ran out of funds.

He persevered and pieced the film together over five years, even shooting some sequences on an iPhone.

"It was an extremely primitive production," he said. "It was done on my kitchen table in my apartment in Stockholm without any money at all."

He was determined to complete the project, he added, because "it is the best story I have ever heard in my life, and I think I ever will hear".

The film went on to make $3.6m (£2.7m) at the US box office.

Child actor

Michael Barker and Tom Bernard at Sony Pictures Classics, which distributed Searching for Sugar Man said: "We are so sad to hear of Malik Bendjelloul's passing."

"Much like Rodriguez himself, Malik was a genuine person who chased the world for stories to tell," the distributor added.

"He didn't chase fame, fortune or awards, although those accolades still found him as many others recognised his storytelling."

Bendjelloul was born in the town of Ystad in southern Sweden, about 35 miles east of Malmo.

As a child, he acted in the TV series Ebba and Didrik, before studying journalism and media production at the Linnaeus University of Kalmar.

He later worked as a reporter for Swedish public broadcaster SVT, but resigned to travel the world. During that trip, he stumbled across the story for Searching for Sugar Man.

He had also directed television documentaries about singers Elton John, Rod Stewart, Bjork and German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk, according to the Swedish Film Institute.

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Turkey coal mine disaster: Desperate search at Soma pit

Rescuers are hunting desperately for scores of Turkish coal miners still missing after an explosion caused a pit to collapse, killing at least 232.

Dozens escaped the pit in Soma, 450km (280 miles) from Ankara, but officials say more than 200 are unaccounted for.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived at the mine after announcing three days of mourning for what will be Turkey's most deadly mining disaster. 

Frantic relatives have gathered at the mine, waiting for news of loved ones.As ambulances took away an increasing number of bodies, some of the bereaved wailed uncontrollably and were carried away by their families.

The BBC's James Reynolds in Soma says family members of missing miners are gathered at the hospital. They told him they would not move from there until they got information about their loved ones.

Meanwhile, protesters angry at the disaster took to the streets of Istanbul and Ankara on Wednesday.

Police fired tear gas and water cannon at about 800 protesters as they tried to march from a university in Ankara to the energy ministry. There were also reports of clashes in Istanbul.

Far below ground

Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said 787 people had been inside the mine when an electrical fault triggered the blast.

More than 200 are still thought to be in the mine, but he said hopes were fading of finding any more survivors.

He added that carbon monoxide poisoning had claimed many lives. Oxygen was being pumped into the mine to help those still trapped.

The electrical fault triggered a power cut, making the mine cages unusable. Those trapped are reported to be 2km (1.2 miles) below the surface and 4km from the mine entrance.

The blast happened at about 12:30 GMT on Tuesday.

Miner rescued from Soma mine. 14 May 2014

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US Navy releases 'stealth' e-reader for sailors

The US Navy is to provide custom e-readers, dubbed the Navy eReader Device (NeRD), to some of its sailors.

For security reasons, they will have no ports, wi-fi or roaming data capabilities as these features could be exploited by the enemy.

Five devices will be distributed among each US Navy active submarine fleet.

A broad range of books will be available from classics to best-sellers.

"At this time only submarines will receive devices," explained Nellie Moffitt, manager of the Navy General Library Program.

"[There will be] five per submarine, with a total of 355 for the submarine force. Eventually, we will send NeRDs to all vessels in the active fleet - it will take time as each collection will be tailored for specific audiences," Ms Moffitt told the BBC.

Features and restrictions

Traditional e-readers are not permitted on many Navy vessels as their GPS, wi-fi and roaming data features can give away their position to the enemy.NeRD is said to overcome these issues thanks to its portability and lack of inputs and internet connectivity. 

Unfortunately the absence of features means new books cannot be added to or removed from the device.

As a result, the e-readers come pre-loaded with 300 books, selected from the General Library Program's 108,000 titles.

Confirmed authors featured on the device include Jane Austen, Shakespeare and James Joyce.

However, there are also popular classics such as The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones.

Storage restrictions, particularly in submarines, have meant keeping a well-stocked library in the Navy can sometimes prove challenging.

The NeRD is the brainchild of the US Navy General Library Program in partnership with Findaway World.

Sailors will not be charged for the device.

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Who, What, Why: Could Boris Johnson be UK PM and then US president?

Boris Johnson has renewed his US passport. It might seem fanciful but could he possibly become UK prime minister and then US president, asks Tom de Castella.

Boris Johnson renewed his US passport in November 2012, the London Mayor's aides have confirmed. The news came as a surprise to some. In a column for the Spectator in 2006 he said he was renouncing his US citizenship after being barred from using his British passport to change planes in Texas. But it appears he didn't follow through.

There has been speculation Johnson might eventually succeed David Cameron as Tory leader. Having dual citizenship is no bar to becoming prime minister. The only requirements are to be able to command the confidence of the House of Commons and be invited by the Crown to form a government, says John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University. You don't even need to have British citizenship to be an MP. The rules say only that you have to be a citizen of the UK, the Republic of Ireland or the Commonwealth, and over 18. 

The US passport revelation leaves an intriguing question floating in the air. Could Johnson be prime minister and then US president? He was born in New York and is thus a "natural-born citizen", a constitutional requirement for any presidential candidate. He told David Letterman in 2012 that he could "technically speaking" be US president. In Johnson's 2006 Spectator piece he wrote: "When the going has got tough in England it has sometimes crossed my mind that I could yet activate the Schwarzenegger option and flee to the land of opportunity, perhaps beginning as a short-order chef in Miami before winding up as Colorado senator and, inevitably, president." Tongue was firmly in cheek. Or was it?

Arnold Schwarzenegger - at one point a popular governor of California - cannot become president because he was born in Austria. Rumour has it he has in the past lobbied to get the rule changed. But Johnson has no such impediment. Article II, section 1 of the US Constitution has just three eligibility criteria for being president - being "a natural born American", aged over 35 and living in the US for 14 years. Johnson falls down on the last - but in theory he could leave Downing Street and move to the US and 14 years later enter the race for the White House.

There is nothing in the constitution to stop a foreign leader becoming US head of state, says Dr Joshua Simon, lecturer in American politics at King's College London.

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Eurovision voting figures show juries and public clash

he latest Eurovision figures have revealed the differences between the public phone vote and the jury vote at Saturday night's competition.

The UK phone vote gave Poland's Donatan and Cleo top marks but the jury thought they were the worst act of the night.

Their combined score meant Poland ended up with nil points from the British.

Every country's voting power is split 50/50 between a jury and the public. Austria's Conchita Wurst won the contest in Copenhagen on Saturday.

Other discrepancies included Germany, whose public vote put Greece in fourth place but whose jury ranked it fourth from bottom at 22nd. Again, this resulted in nil points overall.

Ireland also gave Poland top marks in the telephone vote but the song We are Slavs was given bottom marks by the jury panel. 

Poland's act was accompanied by a number of attractive female performers who suggestively churned butter and washed laundry on stage.Malta was voted as the sixth favourite by France although the public vote only ranked it 20th, so it received no votes. 

There was more consensus in some countries however, including Belarus, which gave Russia top marks - 12 points - after it was ranked first by both the public telephone vote and the jury.

The five-person juries from each country are made up of music professionals.

In two of the 37 countries eligible to vote - Albania and San Marino - the vote was based just on the jury decision as there was either insufficient votes or a breach of the rules regarding the televote.

In Georgia, the vote was based purely on the public vote, due to technical issues or a breach of the rules surrounding the jury vote.

Russia, which is facing opposition to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, received nil points from more than half the countries at Eurovision.

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Against the odds – the quadruplets born to refugees fleeing their home

Having quadruplets is never easy - but imagine trying to look after four new-born babies in a refugee camp.

In January 2013, Massaya Ag Iliyass, a farmer from Mole in central Mali, and his wife Taghri Walet Tokeye, gathered up their six children and a few blankets, and fled. Three of the children could walk - the others had to be carried. A friend had lent them a donkey and the younger children took turns sitting on its back.

They walked for five days and five nights. "It was a very long way and exhausting," says Massaya. "We had to walk slowly so we wouldn't tire them out, and we rested as much as we could."
Half the village fled at the same time. "There was no food - all the shops and markets were empty," says Taghri.

They were fleeing both soldiers and Tuareg rebels. "Among them there are a lot of bad people, who rob people of their possessions and attack them," she says. "If they wanted to have one of our animals and we refused, they might kill us." Their destination was Mbera refugee camp, just across the border in Mauritania. They were part of a wave of 15,000 refugees that arrived in the camp that month alone.

When they first arrived, conditions were harsh. Some 60,000 refugees were trying to survive in 50C (122F) heat in the middle of the desert. There were shortages of water and food.  

The medical staff in the camp were very excited. "In my whole life I have never come across quadruplets," says Dr Kasonga Cheride, the surgeon from the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) who looked after the family.

Despite the tough conditions, being a refugee probably saved Taghri's life. "If we hadn't been there, she would definitely have died, and the children too," says Cheride. Two of the babies were in the breech position so they had to be delivered by caesarean section at the MSF operating theatre in Bassikounou, 17km away.
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If we hadn't been there, she would definitely have died, and the children too”

Dr Cheride, surgeon Medecins Sans Frontieres

A quadruplet pregnancy is always high-risk and requires careful planning. Early delivery by elective caesarean is common practice to prevent an emergency situation - such as the mother going into labour far from medical help. 

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Nigeria abductions: Michelle Obama 'outraged'

US First Lady Michelle Obama has said the mass kidnap of Nigerian schoolgirls is part of a wider pattern of threats and intimidation facing girls around the world who pursue an education.

She said she and her husband Barack Obama were "outraged and heartbroken" over the abduction on 14 April of more than 200 girls from their school.

She was speaking instead of her husband in the weekly presidential address.
 

The Islamist militant group Boko Haram has claimed the abductions. Mrs Obama, who was speaking ahead of Mother's Day in the US on Sunday, said the girls reminded her and her husband of their own daughters.
 

"What happened in Nigeria was not an isolated incident. It's a story we see every day as girls around the world risk their lives to pursue their ambitions," she said.

She cited the Pakistani schoolgirl and campaigner Malala Yousafzai, who was shot and wounded by the Taliban for speaking out for girls' education.

"The courage and hope embodied by Malala and girls like her around the world should serve as a call to action," Mrs Obama said.

It is unusual for a US first lady to make outspoken foreign policy remarks, but Mrs Obama has campaigned for the girls' release.

Michelle Obama has often appeared alongside her husband during the weekly address, which is broadcast on radio with a video version available online. This is the first time she has delivered the speech alone.

Earlier this week, she tweeted a picture of herself in the White House holding a sign with the message "#BringBackOurGirls".

The UN Security Council expressed outrage over the abductions, saying it would consider "appropriate measures" against Boko Haram. The US is seeking to have UN sanctions imposed on the group.

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Ukraine crisis: Vladimir Putin visits annexed Crimea

President Vladimir Putin is making his first visit to Crimea since Russia annexed it from Ukraine in March.

He told crowds marking the 1945 Soviet victory over the Nazis that Crimea had shown loyalty to a "historical truth" in choosing to be part of Russia.

The Kiev government protested at the visit, calling it a "gross violation of Ukraine's sovereignty".
Kiev also reported that more than 20 people had died in a security operation against separatists in Mariupol.

Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said that about 20 pro-Russian protesters and one Ukrainian security officer had been killed in the southern port.

Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists had clashed at the police HQ, which was set on fire.

Soviet 'iron will'

In the Crimean port of Sevastopol, Mr Putin thanked the armed forces for their role in World War Two and hailed the incorporation of the peninsula into the Russian Federation.

He watched a fly-by of Russian aircraft and addressed seamen on naval vessels, as crowds gathered on cliffs overlooking the harbour.

He said: "I am sure that 2014 will go into the annals of our whole country as the year when the nations living here firmly decided to be together with Russia, affirming fidelity to the historical truth and the memory of our ancestors."

The BBC's Daniel Sandford in Sevastopol says Mr Putin was treated as a conquering hero as he walked through the main square and shook hands with Crimeans.

Mr Putin earlier addressed thousands during a huge, hour-long military parade in Moscow's Red Square, vowing to defend the "motherland".

He told the crowd that 9 May, known as Victory Day in Russia, was a "day of grief and eternal memory" and stressed how the "iron will of the Soviet people" had saved Europe from slavery.

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