News

Gavin Hill has been jailed for 17 months after using his bus 'like a weapon' to ram cyclist Philip Mead off the road in Bristol.

Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Stephen King, chief economist at HSBC Holdings Plc, talks about the economic outlook for Greece and rest of the euro zone. King also discusses the impact of the European debt crisis on emerging economies. He speaks with Mark Barton and David Tweed on Bloomberg Television's "On the Move."

Friday is the final deadline for exchanging francs, France's currency until a decade ago, into euros at the central bank. Reports say up to 500 million euros worth of old franc notes have never been converted into euros. Duration: 01:20

Shells land near this mosque in Homs, Syria - framing it in a plume of black smoke. This amateur video footage - which Reuters cannot independently verify - shows heavy shelling near the Juri mosque as the sounds of explosions ring out through the neighbourhood. Homs is the heart of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's 11-year rule. Assad's crackdown on the opposition was condemned by a United Nations General Assembly resolution on Thursday which called for Syrian troops to withdraw from towns and cities. The resolution was opposed by China, amongst others, which has so far been left out of a special meeting of international powers in Tunis next week to discuss the crisis. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said Beijing had not yet received an invitation to the February 24 meeting. But Beijing is sending a special envoy to Damascus to step up talks to end the crisis. (SOUNDBITE)(Mandarin) CHINESE VICE FOREIGN MINISTER AND SPECIAL ENVOY TO SYRIA SAYING: "We call on the Syrian government to listen to the people's legitimate desire for reforms and development. We also call on all the political parties in Syria to express their political wills through legal and non-violent means." The UN resolution, also blocked by Russia, was drafted by Saudi Arabia and submitted by Egypt on behalf of Arab states. Sunita Rappai, Reuters

Despite months of discussions, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has surprised the Vatican by announcing an end to tax breaks previously enjoyed by the Roman Catholic Church.  This move could bring in up to an estimated one billion euros to help with Italy's budget deficit.  ...http://www.euronews.net/

Syrian forces unleash their heaviest pounding of Homs in two weeks after the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly backs an Arab initiative calling on President Bashar al-Assad to stand down. A year of revolt in the Arab world.

Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of News Corporation, has arrived at the headquarters of his company's Sun newspaper amid rumours it would be closed down....http://www.euronews.net/

A magazine programme on French political and social questions with prestigious guests from the French government, the political parties or the media. FRANCE 24 INTERNATIONAL NEWS 24/7http://www.france24.com

The Fourth Annual Revolver Golden Gods awards were announced at press conference featuring Black Veil Brides, Alice Cooper, Vinnie Paul, and others, while announcing Gene Simmons of Kiss was this year's Golden God recipient among other music categories.

STORY: HONDURAS PRISON FIREDATELINE: Feb. 17, 2012LENGTH: 0:01:20 LOCATION: TEGUCIGALPACATEGORY: POLITICS PKGINTROMore than 350 inmates have died in a prison fire in Honduras.According to media reports, survivors have accused guards of leaving prisoners to die trapped inside their cells. World News reports.PKGThe cause of the fire is still unclear.Some suspect the blaze was started deliberately by an inmate or was caused by an electrical fault.But media reports say most relatives didn't believe that a prisoner set a mattress on fire, saying that the other prisoners wouldn't have allowed that to happen in a crowded cell. The prison, with a capacity to house 400, held over 800 prisoners at the time of the fire, a significant overload.The fire on Tuesday night burnt and suffocated inmates in their locked cells.According to foreign media reports, only six guards were on duty, one of them held all the keys to the prison doors.Reports say that survivors said the guard who had the keys fled Powered by NewsLook.com Producer : Xinhua News Agency

Live from the newsroom, Elena Casas Montanez provides an overview of France's newspapers headlines, from Monday to Friday at 6.20 am and 7.10 am. All shows: http://www.france24.com/en/list/emission/18006FRANCE 24 INTERNATIONAL NEWS 24/7http://www.france24.com

Nicki Minaj is set to release her new single "Starships," and for the third effort from her forthcoming Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded she worked with RedOne, famous for his producing duties with Lady Gaga, and see what he has to say about Minaj, here!

You are watching the latest business report from FRANCE 24.More business news on FRANCE 24:http://www.france24.com/en/businessFRANCE 24 INTERNATIONAL NEWS 24/7http://www.france24.com

Live from the newsroom, Elena Casas Montanez provides an overview of the world's newspaper headlines, from Monday to Friday at 9.10 am. All shows: http://www.france24.com/en/list/emission/18006FRANCE 24 INTERNATIONAL NEWS 24/7http://www.france24.com

A Nigerian man who tried to blow up a US plane with a bomb hidden in his underwear has been sentenced to life in prison. A federal judge in Detroit handed down the punishment to 25-year old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, noting he had shown no remorse for the attempted attack on a Delta Airlines flight to Amsterdam on Christmas Day 2009.http://www.euronews.net/