Arnold Schwarzenegger museum opens in Austrian hometown

Bethany Bell takes a look around the new museum in Arnold Schwarzenegger's childhood home Arnold Schwarzenegger's childhood home in Austria has opened as a museum.It came as the former Mr Universe, who went on to be a Hollywood star and governor of California, turned 64. On display at the museum are his childhood bed, a motorbike from one of the Terminator films, some of his first dumb-bells, and a copy of the desk he used as governor of California.  The family lived in the first...

Read More

Italian committee approves face veil ban bill

An Italian parliamentary committee has passed a draft law which will ban women from wearing veils which cover their faces in public.The bill, which has the backing of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's central-right coalition, would prohibit the wearing of a burka, niqab or any headwear which covers the face. The bill will go to a parliamentary vote after the summer recess. Belgium and France have already banned the full-face veil in public. 'Annihilates dignity' If passed, those who...

Read More

Norway attacks: Breivik makes 'unrealistic' demands

The man who has confessed to killing 77 people in Norway has made a list of "unrealistic" demands, his lawyer says. Anders Behring Breivik wanted the government to resign and Japanese specialists to assess his mental health, Geir Lippestad told reporters. The far-right extremist admits killing eight people with a bomb in Oslo and shooting dead 69 on Utoeya island. Meanwhile, the leader of the right-wing Progress Party has warned that Norway still faces a serious Islamist threat. "All the debates...

Read More

Four Ethiopian UN peacekeeping troops have been killed by a landmine in Sudan's disputed region of Abyei.A UN spokesman said seven other peacekeepers were injured by the blast in Mabok, south-east of Abyei town, which was occupied by northern forces. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was "saddened" by the deaths, he added. The deaths come less than a week after the 4,200-strong Ethiopian peacekeeping force arrived in Abyei, claimed by the governments of Sudan and South Sudan. UN spokesman Martin...

Read More

Armed forces cuts prompt defence committee concerns

Cuts to the UK's armed forces may leave them unable to fulfil required tasks after 2015, a report by MPs has warned.The Commons defence committee rejected the prime minister's assurance of a "full spectrum" defence capability. The committee warned that without firm commitments to improved funding in the very near future, politicians risked "failing" the country's military. Defence Secretary Liam Fox said the idea that the military was not being funded for its role was "not true". 'Wish list' ...

Read More

Oxygen finally spotted in space

"Hidden" oxygen may be released from dust grains and ice in star-forming regions One of astronomy's longest-running "missing persons" investigations has concluded: astronomers have found molecular oxygen in space.While single atoms of oxygen have been found alone or incorporated into other molecules, the oxygen molecule - the one we breathe - had never been seen. The Herschel space telescope spotted the molecules in a star-forming region in the constellation of Orion. The find will be...

Read More

Data of Sun website users stolen

Thousands of people who entered competitions on The Sun website have been warned that their personal information may have been stolen.The paper's publisher, News Group, said the data was taken when the site was hacked on 19 July. Some of the details, including applications for the Miss Scotland contest, have been posted online. The company said it had reported the matter to the police and the Information Commissioner. News International, News Group's parent company, issued a statement that said:...

Read More

Legal change for personal CD ripping

Soon it will no longer be illegal to rip CDs or DVDs for personal use.The government is poised to announce the change as it accepts some of the recommendations of the wide-ranging Hargreaves Review of UK copyright law. The review was intended to identify legislation that has been outdated by technological change. As well as legalising "format shifting", it also suggested relaxing rules on parody and creating an agency to licence copyrighted content. Business secretary Vince Cable is set to...

Read More

Plastic heart gives dad Matthew Green new lease of life

A 40-year-old father who was dying from heart failure is set to leave hospital after receiving an artificial heart. Matthew Green is ready to go home and await a transplant after surgeons at Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire replaced his heart with an implant. His new plastic heart is powered by a portable driver in a backpack, which he said had "revolutionised" his life. It is thought to be the first time a UK patient has been able to go home with an entirely artificial heart. Around 900...

Read More

Kings of Leon cancel US tour amid 'problems'

Caleb Followill (centre) said he could not sing because of exhaustion and heat Kings of Leon have cancelled their US tour amid reports of problems within the band.The cancellation comes three days after frontman Caleb Followill left the stage during a show in Dallas, Texas. He said he was no longer able to sing because of "heat exhaustion and dehydration". But his brother, bassist Jared Followill, said in a tweet that the band has "internal sicknesses & problems" that go beyond dehydration. "I...

Read More

Gaddafi forces launch counter-assault near Zlitan

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi have launched a counter-offensive against rebels near the key western town of Zlitan.At least seven rebels were killed after pro-Gaddafi forces attacked their positions on the outskirts of the city, east of Tripoli. Meanwhile, Col Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, vowed that fighting would continue until Libya was "liberated". Rebels have been fighting government forces with Nato's support since March. Over recent weeks, they have been slowly advancing...

Read More

Syria forces in Hama push as crackdown continues

Unverified amateur footage purportedly shows newly-dug graves in Syria Syrian security forces have continued their siege of the central city of Hama as they maintain an offensive in which scores of people have died.Residents told the BBC that many people were fleeing to nearby villages, fearing a full-scale assault. The government does not control Hama, and its attack on the city is part of a nationwide crackdown on dissent that began on Sunday. The UN Security Council has resumed discussions...

Read More

David Hicks memoir: Australian court freezes proceeds

An Australian court has frozen proceeds from a memoir written by former Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks.The case is being brought by the Australian government under a law banning profits from crime. Hicks's legal team says the law does not apply because his conviction by a US military commission at Guantanamo Bay was invalid. Hicks spent five years at the facility before pleading guilty to providing material support for terrorism. His book Guantanamo, My Journey, tells the story of his incarceration...

Read More

Trial of Egypt's ex-leader Hosni Mubarak trial to open

The trial of Egypt's ex-President Hosni Mubarak, who was forced from office by mass demonstrations in February, is due to start in the capital, Cairo.He is charged with corruption and ordering the killing of protesters - a charge that carries the death penalty. His sons Alaa and Gamal, ex-Interior Minister Habib al-Adly and six former other officials will also be in court. Some 3,000 soldiers and police have been drafted in to maintain order at Cairo's police academy for the trial. It was originally...

Read More

US avoids default as Obama signs debt bill into law

President Barack Obama has signed legislation to increase the US debt ceiling and avert a financial default, after Congress voted in favour of a bipartisan compromise deal.The bill cleared its final hurdle in the Senate by 74 votes to 26, after negotiations went down to the wire. It raises the debt limit by up to $2.4tn (£1.5tn) from $14.3tn, and makes savings of at least $2.1tn in 10 years. But the bill's passage failed to lift financial markets. On Wall Street stocks ended Tuesday down by more...

Read More

China rail crash families reject compensation offer

Relatives of some of those killed in a major train crash in China are refusing to accept an offer of compensation from the government. The 915,000 yuan ($142,000; £87,000) total is double the initial offer made to the families of the 40 victims. There has been widespread anger at the official response to the disaster. The crash happened when one train came to a standstill on a viaduct near the eastern city of Wenzhou, and another ploughed into it. State media say that 10 families have accepted...

Read More

Organ donated 'nudge' for drivers in new DVLA process

Drivers will have to state whether they want to be an organ donor when they apply for a new or replacement licence.The move has been put forward by the government's "nudge unit", which has been set up to encourage changes in behaviour through gentle persuasion. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency already asks if applicants want to be donors - but from Monday an online form will require that the answer is stated. Ministers hope it will help improve organ donation rates. Less than a third...

Read More

NHS funds moved to richer areas, Labour says

Labour is accusing the government of moving NHS spending in England away from poorer areas towards richer parts of the country. It says this is because of changes to the funding for primary care trusts. For years, areas which have higher incidences of poor health have been given a higher per-capita funding but this weighting is set to be reduced. But the government said Labour would have devoted fewer overall resources to the NHS if it had been elected. Labour says the changes mean less well-off...

Read More

slamist militia 'shot Libya rebel Abdel Fattah Younes'

Libyan rebel commander Gen Abdel Fattah Younes was shot dead by a militia linked to his own side, a rebel minister has said. Ali Tarhouni said Gen Younes was killed by members of the Obaida Ibn Jarrah Brigade, which is an Islamist group. Gen Younes defected to the rebels in February after serving in the Libyan leadership since the 1969 coup which brought Col Muammar Gaddafi to power. Meanwhile Nato says it bombed Libyan state TV transmitters overnight. The Libyan Broadcasting Authority said three...

Read More

Nigeria plans talks with Islamist group Boko Haram

Nigeria's government says it wants to start negotiating with Islamist group Boko Haram, which has been blamed for a series of recent attacks.The government said a panel would open talks with the group and report back by 16 August. There was no immediate reaction to the statement from Boko Haram. The group, whose name roughly translates as "Western education is forbidden", is fighting to topple the government and create an Islamic state. It led an uprising across a number of states in northern...

Read More

Gamer Chris Staniforth's death blamed on DVT

A man whose son died after playing video games for long periods is campaigning for greater awareness of the risk posed by their excessive use.Chris Staniforth, 20, who would play his console for up to 12 hours, died in May from deep vein thrombosis (DVT). His father David believes the condition may have been triggered by long gaming sessions. DVT can form during long periods of immobility and can kill if the clots travel to the lungs. Computer records showed his son would sometimes play online...

Read More

Egypt changes Mubarak trial venue

Egyptian authorities say the trial of deposed President Hosni Mubarak's trial will be moved from a Cairo convention centre, for security reasons.The trial, due to open on Wednesday, will now be held at a police academy further from the city centre. Mr Mubarak, 83, has been under arrest at a hospital in the coastal resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh since April. He is charged with corruption and ordering the killing of protesters before he was toppled in February. Appeals court president Abdel Aziz...

Read More

Plane from New York crashes at Guyana airport

Zulficar Mohamed of Guyana's Civil Aviation Authority describes the accident A plane has crashed and broken in two on landing at Guyana's main airport in the capital, Georgetown, causing injuries but no deaths.The Caribbean Airlines Boeing 737-800 flight BW-523 from New York had 163 people aboard. The plane apparently overshot the runway at Cheddi Jagan International Airport during wet weather. "It's an absolute miracle that took place today," said Caribbean Airlines chairman George Nicholas. A...

Read More

US parties hopeful for deal on US debt limit

Democrats and Republicans have expressed cautious optimism about the chances of raising the US debt limit by Tuesday and averting possible default.Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell said there was "a level of seriousness with the right people at the table" as talks continued. Senior Senate Democrat Richard Durban spoke of "a more positive feeling". In a sign of the level of anxiety over the issue, troops in Afghanistan asked Adm Mike Mullen if they would be paid. The admiral, who as chairman...

Read More

Knife pair kill six in China's Xinjiang region

Two knife-wielding men have killed at least six people in an attack in China's western Xinjiang region, official media say.The assailants reportedly stabbed a truck driver before attacking a crowd late on Saturday in Kashgar city. Media said there were also two blasts and that 28 people had been injured. This is the second attack in a month in Xinjiang, which is home to a Muslim Uighur minority and has seen periods of ethnic tension. A local official was quoted as saying that both attackers were...

Read More

"Syria: Army tanks move into Hama"

The Syrian army has begun an operation in the city of Hama, one of the main centres of anti-government protests. Troops started moving into the city from several directions at dawn and residents told the BBC there was intense gunfire. At least three tanks were seen near a mosque and there were reports of some residents putting up street barricades. Syria has seen several months of protests against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad. Centre of protests A doctor in Hama told Reuters news...

Read More