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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Start Quote

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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