New Turkey presidency row looms

Abdullah Gul's candidacy causes continuing controversyTurkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has confirmed he plans to stand again as a presidential candidate.
His previous presidential bid sparked huge protests in May because of his Islamist roots. Secular institutions, including the army, opposed him.
Mr Gul said his ruling AK Party, which won a convincing victory in elections last month, was backing his bid.
Opponents dislike the fact that Mr Gul's wife wears the Muslim headscarf, which is banned in state institutions.
The failure of his first presidential bid led to an early general election.
Mr Gul is meeting opposition party leaders in an attempt to gather support for his election bid.
Under parliamentary rules, candidates must put themselves forward before midnight on 19 August, with the first ballot scheduled for 20 August.
Lingering opposition
One of the main opposition parties, the MHP, has previously said it would not boycott the latest election, a move likely to ensure a quorum of two-thirds of MPs to make a valid vote.
Mr Gul's previous bid for the presidency failed because opposition parties boycotted the two votes in April and May.
PARTIES IN PARLIAMENT

AKP 341 seats
CHP 99 seats
MHP 70 seats
Kurdish MPs (DTP) 22 seats
Democratic Left Party 13 seats
Independents 4 seats
Total 550 seats
In the first and second round of voting a candidate must win a two-thirds majority to be elected - 367 votes out of the total of 550 deputies.
The AKP does not have 367 deputies sitting in parliament.
But in the third and fourth round only an absolute majority of 276 is required.
The governing party has 341 MPs, so the AKP's candidate would be highly likely to win any contest in a third or fourth round.
The largest opposition party, the secular centre-left Republican People's Party (CHP), has stated its continued opposition to Mr Gul's candidacy.
"Gul is a conscious member of an ideological circle," CHP leader Deniz Baykal told CNN Turk television.
"Turkey would become a country in which the political balances were changing very fast, in which the Middle East identity would become more pronounced."
The job of president is largely ceremonial, but the incumbent has the power to veto legislative bills and government appointments.
The current president, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, often frustrated the government by blocking its initiatives.

Photo tool could fix bad images

By Mark Ward Technology correspondent, BBC News website

This is the original image with a roof spoiling the view...Digital photographers could soon be able to erase unwanted elements in photos by using tools that scan for similar images in online libraries.
Research teams have developed an algorithm that uses sites like Flickr to help discover light sources, camera position and composition in a photo.
Using this data the tools then search for objects, such as landscapes or cars, that match the original.
The teams aim to create image libraries that anyone can use to edit snaps.

Stage one: The roof is isolated and the algorithm searches for similar scenes
James Hays and Alexei Efros from Carnegie Mellon University have developed an algorithm to help people who want to remove bits of photographs.
The parts being removed could be unsightly lorries in the snaps of the rural idyll where they took a holiday or even an old boyfriend or girlfriend they want to rub out from a photograph.
To find suitable matching elements, the research duo's algorithm looks through a database of 2.3 million images culled from Flickr.
"We search for other scenes that share as closely as possible the same semantic scene data," said Mr Hays, who has been showing off the project at the computer graphics conference Siggraph, in San Diego.
In this sense "semantic" means composition. So a snap of a lake in the foreground, hills in a band in the middle and sunset above has, as far as the algorithm is concerned, very different "semantics" to one of a city with a river running through it.

Stage two: It compares photos online to find a matching scene
The broad-based analysis cuts out more than 99.9% of the images in the database, said Mr Hays. The algorithm then picks the closest 200 for further analysis.
Next the algorithm searches the 200 to see if they have elements, such as hillsides or even buildings, the right size and colours for the hole to be filled.
The useful parts of the 20 best scenes are then cropped, added to the image being edited so the best fit can be chosen.
Early tests of the algorithm show that only 30% of the images altered with it could be spotted, said Mr Hays.
The other approach aims to use net-based image libraries to create a clip-art of objects that, once inserted into a photograph, look convincing.

Stage three: The finished picture has the roof removed and boats in a bay added
"We want to generate objects of high realism while keeping the ease of use of a clip art library," said Jean-Francois Lalonde of Carnegie Mellon University who led the research.
To generate its clip art for photographs the team has drawn on the net's Label Me library of images which has many objects, such as people, trees and cars, cut out and tagged by its users.
The challenge, said Mr Lalonde, was working out which images in the Label Me database will be useful and convincing when inserted into photographs.
The algorithm developed by Mr Lalonde and his colleagues at Carnegie Mellon and Microsoft Research analyses scenes to find out the orientation of objects and the sources of light in a scene.
"We use the height of the people in the image to estimate the height of the camera used to take the picture," he said.
The light sources in a scene are worked out by looking at the distribution of colour shades within three broad regions, ground, vertical planes and sky, in the image.
With knowledge about the position, pitch and height of the camera and light sources the algorithm then looks for images in the clip art database that were taken from similar positions and with similar pixel heights.
The group has created an interface for the database of photo clipart so people can pick which elements they want to add to a scene.

Russian hostages freed in Nigeria

Six Russians kidnapped by gunmen more than two months ago from an aluminium firm in southern Nigeria have been freed, government officials say.
The four men and two women are reportedly in good health.
They were seized on 3 June in the south-eastern town of Ikot Abasi, and their Nigerian driver was shot dead.
Kidnappings - more often of oil workers - have become a common occurrence in the south of Nigeria. Victims tend to be released after a ransom is paid.
The Russians were working at an aluminium-smelting plant controlled by Russia Aluminium (Rusal), the world's largest aluminium producer.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has welcomed their release: "If the reports are true, we are satisfied with the outcome of the affair," a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Andrei Krivtsov, told RIA Novosti news agency.
"The work for the liberation of the Russians has been long and painstaking. We are satisfied that the matter was resolved in a positive way," he said.
It was not clear which group kidnapped the Russians.
President Umaru Yar'Adua has said tackling the unrest in the south is one of his top priorities.

Koreas announce historic summit

Mr Roh (L) will travel to Pyongyang for talks with Kim Jong-ilLeaders from North and South Korea are to hold their second-ever summit, officials have announced.
President Roh Moo-hyun will meet North Korea's Kim Jong-il in the North's capital, Pyongyang, from 28-30 August.
The summit comes amid an improvement in North Korea's ties with the outside world, and has been warmly welcomed by the international community.
But South Korea's main opposition party rejected the move as an election stunt ahead of December's presidential polls.
'Weighty significance'
The new summit comes seven years after the first one, when Mr Kim met then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung.
That meeting ushered in improved ties and reconciliation between the two sides, who remain technically at war.
The new summit was finally agreed after senior South Korean intelligence personnel made two trips to the North, officials said.
THE TWO KOREAS

1910: Korean Peninsula colonised by Japan
1945: Divided into US-backed South and Soviet-backed North
1950-1953: Korean War, no peace deal signed
1987: North Korea bombs a South airliner, killing 115
1990s: South Korea introduces conciliatory Sunshine Policy
2000: Kim Jong-il and Kim Dae-jung hold first leaders' summit

The two Koreas have agreed to formalise an agenda at preparatory meetings in the border city of Kaesong, where they jointly run an industrial park.
South Korea's presidential office said that the summit would "contribute to substantially opening the era of peace and prosperity between the two Koreas".
North Korean state news agency KCNA said it would be "of weighty significance in opening a new phase of peace on the Korean Peninsula".
Analysts say the summit is another sign of Mr Kim's increasing willingness to co-operate with the international community.
Last month, North Korea finally shut down its main Yongbyon reactor as part of an international aid-for-disarmament deal aimed at ending its nuclear programme.
The motivation for Mr Roh could well be the fact that it is likely to be his last chance to influence his nation's political future.
The increasingly unpopular South Korean president is approaching the end of his term, and both Mr Roh and Mr Kim are well aware that the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) - which advocates a tougher line towards North Korea - looks likely to win presidential elections on 19 December.
The GNP accused Mr Roh of using the summit to give his preferred candidate a boost in the polls.
"We oppose the inter-Korean summit, which is taking place at an inappropriate time and venue and through opaque procedures," the party said in a statement.
Worldwide welcome
The international community hailed the news of the summit.
"We... hope that this meeting will help promote peace and security on the Korean Peninsula," US State Department spokesperson Joanne Moore said.
"China expects positive results can be achieved in the second South-North summit," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said in statement.
The two Koreas have not signed a formal peace agreement since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
But after the landmark summit in 2000, ties between the two Koreas warmed. Joint economic projects began and reunion meetings for families divided by the partitioning of the Korean Peninsula in 1953 were initiated.
Kim Dae-jung won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to engage with Pyongyang, but he was forced to apologise when it emerged that large amounts of cash were sent to North Korea ahead of the talks.
The former president welcomed the news of a second summit as "a great step forward for peace".

News Corp's Dow bid now faltering

The Bancroft family has controlled Dow Jones for more than 100 years

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has admitted it is now "highly unlikely" it will proceed with its $5bn (£2.5bn) offer for the Dow Jones media group.

It said this was because of the reported present level of opposition from the Bancroft family, which owns 64% of Dow Jones' voting shares.

With the Bancrofts expected to make a statement later on Tuesday, reports say less than a third are backing the deal.

The news came as Brad Greenspan said he had financial support for a rival bid.

Mr Greenspan, the founder of the MySpace social network, said he had now gained the backing of five investor groups interested in buying a stake in Dow Jones to thwart News Corp's bid.

Editorial assurances

The Bancroft family said last week that it had held "very productive" talks with News Corp, and the bid had also gained the backing of the Dow Jones' board.

News Corp first tabled its bid for Dow Jones on 1 May.

The Dow Jones' main newspaper title is the Wall Street Journal.

Rupert Murdoch has promised to maintain the Wall Street Journal's editorial independence if News Corp's bid is successful.

Garnett Appears Headed to Boston to Try for a Title

Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press

Kevin Garnett has been the centerpiece of the Minnesota Timberwolves for the past decade after being drafted out of high school.

By CLIFTON BROWN

After 12 seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kevin Garnett seemed close last night to joining the Boston Celtics in a multi-player trade.

The Timberwolves and the Celtics were trying to complete a deal that would send Garnett, a 31-year-old perennial All-Star forward, to Boston in exchange for multiple players from a list that included forward Al Jefferson, guard Sebastian Telfair, swingman Gerald Green and center Theo Ratliff. Minnesota was also expected to receive at least one draft choice.

Andy Miller, Garnett’s agent, did not return telephone messages, nor did Danny Ainge, the Celtics’ executive director of basketball operations. Both The Boston Globe and The Associated Press reported that Garnett would be traded to Boston.

Garnett, one of the league’s best and most versatile players, has averaged at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists the past nine seasons. The addition of Garnett would give Boston three proven scorers — Garnett, guard Ray Allen and swingman Paul Pierce — making the Celtics instant contenders in the Eastern Conference.

The Celtics tried to acquire Garnett in June, but he blocked the trade because he did not want to play in Boston. Garnett has apparently had a change of heart, and his presence in Boston could help resurrect one of the league’s most storied franchises. Boston has won an N.B.A.-record 16 championships, but none since 1986, and the Celtics have only won three playoffs series in the past nine years.

Garnett has been the centerpiece of Minnesota’s franchise for a decade, but he has been frustrated in his attempts to win a championship. His best season was 2003-4, when he was named the league’s most valuable player and led Minnesota to the Western Conference finals. However, the Timberwolves have not made the playoffs since, and Garnett may realize that a change of scenery could be his only chance to win a title.

If the deal is completed, Garnett was expected to receive a one-year extension on a contract that has one guaranteed year, plus an option year remaining.

It has been an active off-season for the Celtics, who acquired Allen last month in a draft-day deal for guards Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West, and forward Jeff Green of Georgetown, whom Boston drafted with the No. 5 pick. Allen will be 32 when the season begins, but he averaged a career-high 26.4 points last season.

Many Celtics fans seemed disappointed after the draft lottery in which Boston did not get the No. 1 or No. 2 pick and missed the chance to draft Greg Oden or Kevin Durant. But if the Garnett deal is completed, the Celtics will have a superstar in his prime.

Web child fight videos criticised

Many of the attacks are worse because the cameras are there

Police chiefs have urged websites to remove violent video footage of children fighting, following an investigation by the BBC.

Panorama found that films showing brutal fights between children are regularly uploaded to sharing websites.

Police say the companies should monitor what is posted on their sites and remove any violent or criminal content.

But YouTube, one of the sites found with footage, says it relies on users to "flag up" inappropriate films.

The investigation found films showing children as young as 11 and 12 punching and kicking other youngsters.

Brandishing handgun

One showed a youth brandishing a handgun and smashing it against a police car.

Another shows a laughing teenager jumping on a police car and shattering its windscreen.

Deputy Chief Constable Brian Moore, of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said it was the responsibility of internet companies to search their sites for videos of violence and crime.

Look all this is happening, this is real life, this is going on, we're going to show it Hayden Hewitt Liveleak

They should then pass the details to police.

He said: "They are responsible for what is on their products - they are making a profit from this.

"We would question who is in a financially better position to police the likes of YouTube - those in the private sector, who are earning huge amounts of money, or police forces which are currently having to stretch budgets."

But YouTube, said it did not employ anyone to police what is posted. The site, which is owned by Google, claims pre-screening content is a form of censorship which is not the role of a private company.

A spokesman said the website takes down videos but only if they are flagged by users and subsequently found to breach their guidelines.

Rule breakers

"Sadly as with any form of communication, there is a tiny minority of people who try to break the rules," the spokesman said.

"On YouTube these rules prohibit content like pornography or gratuitous violence. We don't want that sort of material on our site, and nor does our community."

HAVE YOUR SAY Videos should not be policed by the website itself, it is a collective issue and we should all be involved Mark, Basingstoke

The YouTube spokesman added the website would help police if they were approached for information.

Another website which features in the programme, Liveleak, said it checks all videos before hosting them.

Hayden Hewitt, co-founder of the website, defended the inclusion of such fights including one in which a girl had to go to hospital with a detached retina.

He said: "Of course it's horrible. It's not about me morally defending anything here.

"We have to take a stance of saying 'look all this is happening, this is real life, this is going on, we're going to show it."'

Panorama: Children's Fight Club will be shown on BBC One on Monday, 30 July at 2030 BST.