Obama's support for gay marriage splits US

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Barack Obama has been praised and criticised a day after he became the first sitting US president to publicly support gay marriage.

Social conservatives and religious leaders condemned his remarks.

Baby did not fall from ferry into Belfast Lough say police

A 37-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of wasting police time, after reports of a baby falling from a ferry turned out not to be true.

Testosterone supplements may help male weight loss

Older obese men could shift excess weight by taking testosterone supplements, suggest findings announced at the European Congress on Obesity.

In a study, hormone-deficient men were given testosterone supplements in a similar way to HRT for older women.

Men lost an average of 16kg over five years when testosterone levels were increased back to normal.

Sony reports record loss amid disasters and strong yen

Japanese electronics maker Sony has reported a record annual loss as natural disasters last year and a strong yen hurt its earnings.

The firm reported a net loss of 456.7bn yen ($5.7bn; £3.5bn) for the year to the end of March, compared with a 259.6bn yen loss last year.

Life after Firefox: Can Mozilla regain its mojo?

Mozilla Foundation president Mitchell Baker is sitting on a ticking time bomb.

The survival of her company, which pledges to make the web a better place, is at the mercy of one of its main competitors, Google.

If you haven't heard of Mozilla, you almost certainly know - and perhaps use - its most famous product: the Firefox browser.

Facebook criticised over data download tool

Facebook has updated a tool that lets users look at some of the data the social network holds on them.

The update gives people an "expanded archive" of their activity on Facebook letting them see friend requests and login locations.

Facebook said other categories of data would be added in the future.

Trayvon Martin: George Zimmerman appears in court

George Zimmerman, the Florida neighbourhood watchman accused over the death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, has appeared in court.

During the brief hearing, a date of 29 May was set for a formal reading of the charges and a bail hearing.

Madonna album suffers record sales slump in US

Madonna's MDNA has suffered the biggest second-week drop in sales for a number one album in US chart history.

Shift workers 'risking' Type 2 diabetes and obesity

Shift workers getting too little sleep at the wrong time of day may be increasing their risk of diabetes and obesity, according to researchers.

The team is calling for more measures to reduce the impact of shift working following the results of its study.

Icann's internet suffix application deadline looms

Organisations wishing to buy web addresses ending in their brand names have until the end of Thursday to submit applications.

For example, drinks giant Pepsi can apply for .pepsi, .gatorade or .tropicana as an alternative to existing suffixes such as .org or .com.

Parties are able to request up to 50 web address endings.

JK Rowling announces title of first adult novel

Author JK Rowling has announced her first adult novel will be called The Casual Vacancy.

The Harry Potter writer revealed in February that she was working on the book, and said it would be "very different" from her previous material.

Man in underwear crawls over frozen river to rescue dog

A man who stripped down to his underwear and crawled across a frozen river to rescue his trapped dog has been condemned by firefighters.

According to an eyewitness, the man fell into the River Stour, in Dedham, Essex, at about 10:00 GMT on Sunday but managed to climb out with the animal.

Fellow dog walker Paul Wenborne, who witnessed the incident, described it as a "foolish act of bravery".

An Essex Fire Service spokesman said: "This was extremely dangerous."

Fish porter Mr Wenborne, 52, of Rayleigh, Essex, said he was amazed at the man's actions.

'Stripped down'

"I was with two friends and we couldn't believe what we were seeing," he said.

"He stripped down to his pants and started crawling across the ice.

"About a yard or so from the dog, he fell in but managed to get hold of the dog and put it on the ice.

"He then had to swim two or three yards and then crawl back on the ice to dry land.

"He put his clothes back on and carried on. It was a foolish act of bravery."

Essex Fire Service confirmed it was not called to the incident.

Last week, Essex assistant divisional officer Stuart McMillan issued a warning about icy lakes and ponds.

"Even though this ice appears to be strong it can be eggshell thin and anyone who falls through into the water below could get trapped under the ice and would only be able to survive for minutes in the freezing water," he said.

"The most common cause is people chasing their dogs out on to the ice, and I urge people not to do this.

"It isn't worth the risk. Dogs will normally make it safely off the ice and back to the shore - the same cannot be said for people."

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Syria rejects new Arab League peace mission proposal

Syria has "categorically rejected" an Arab League resolution calling for a joint Arab-UN peacekeeping mission to end the country's 11-month conflict.

Yusuf Ahmed, Syria's envoy in Cairo, said the plan "reflected the hysteria of these governments".

Russia said it was studying the proposal but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said violence must end before peacekeepers could be sent.

The UN General Assembly is set for a key debate on the crisis in Syria.

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay, who has been sharply critical of the actions of President Bashar al-Assad's government, is expected to address the assembly.

Earlier, the Arab League said it was ending all diplomatic co-operation with Syria, and promised to give "political and material support" to the opposition.

he league's moves come a week after a UN Security Council resolution on Syria, which would have endorsed a previous Arab League peace initiative, was vetoed by Russia and China.

The BBC's Jeremy Bowen in Cairo says the new resolution contains the toughest language on Syria by the Arab League so far and makes it much more likely that the issue will return to the Security Council.

The fact that they are considering these moves shows the extent of the Syrian regime's isolation, our correspondent adds.

But, he says, it remains to be seen whether Moscow will continue to lend its support to its old allies and trading partners.

The League's resolution also formally ends the observer mission it sent to Syria in December. It was suspended in January amid criticism that it was ineffective in the face of continuing violence.

The head of that mission, the controversial Sudanese General Mohammed al-Dabi, had submitted his resignation on Sunday.

Earlier, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri backed the Syrian uprising in a video message, telling the opposition not to rely on the West or Arab countries for support.

There have been reports that US officials suspect al-Qaeda involvement in two deadly blasts in the second city of Aleppo last week.

Meanwhile, fresh violence in the Syrian city of Homs was reported on Monday.

"Tank shelling has been non-stop on Baba Amr and the bombardment on al-Waer [district] began overnight," activist Mohammad al-Hassan told Reuters.

Following a brief lull in fighting, at least four people were killed in Baba Amr on Sunday, the Syrian Observatory on Human Rights said.

At least 35 were reported dead on Saturday.

Activists say more than 400 people have been killed since security forces launched an assault on opposition-held areas on the city this month.

Human rights groups say more than 7,000 have died throughout Syria since last March. The government says at least 2,000 members of the security forces have been killed combating "armed gangs and terrorists".

Syria restricts access to foreign media and it is not possible to verify casualty figures.

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Immune cells use 'starvation tactics' on HIV

Scientists have shown how some cells in the body can repel attacks from HIV by starving the virus of the building blocks of life.

Viruses cannot replicate on their own; they must hijack other cells and turn them into virus production factories.

A study, published in Nature Immunology, showed how some parts of the immune system destroy their own raw materials, stopping HIV.

It is uncertain whether this could be used in therapy, experts caution.

HIV attacks the immune system and can weaken the body's defences to the point that everyday infections become fatal.

However, not all parts of the immune system become subverted to the virus' cause. Macrophages and dendritic cells, which have important roles in orchestrating the immune response, seem to be more resistant.

Raw materials

Last year researchers identified the protein SAMHD1 as being a critical part of this resistance. Now scientists believe they know how it works.

They have shown that SAMHD1 breaks down the building blocks of DNA. So if a cell needs to make a copy of itself it will have a pool of these building blocks - deoxynucleoside triphosphates or dNTPs - which make the new copies of the DNA. However, they can also be used by viruses.

The study, by an international team of researchers, showed that SAMHD1 lowered the levels of dNTPs below that needed to build viral DNA and prevented infection. When they removed SAMHD1 then those cells had higher levels of dNTPs and were infected by HIV.

The report said: "By depleting the pool of available dNTPs, SAMHD1 effectively starves the virus of a building block that is central to its replication strategy."

It is possible for macrophages and dendritic cells to produce SAMHD1 as they are "mature cells" which do not go on to produce new cells.

Prof Baek Kim, one of the researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center, said: "It makes sense that a mechanism like this is active in macrophages.

"Macrophages literally eat up dangerous organisms, and you don't want those organisms to have available the cellular machinery needed to replicate and macrophages themselves don't need it, because they don't replicate.

"So macrophages have SAMHD1 to get rid of the raw material those organisms need to copy themselves. It's a great host defence."

Dr Jonathan Stoye, virologist at the Medical Research Council National Institute of Medical Research, was part of the team which determined the chemical structure of SAMHD1 last year and predicted that it would attack the dNTPs.

"We hypothesised that it works in this fashion and the paper tells us we were right. It is depleting cells of these dNTPs, in cells which are not proliferating (dividing)."

However, some cells do need to divide to boost numbers as part of the immune defence. Such as CD4 cells which are the prime target for HIV infection.

"Cells which are proliferating would be in trouble if we took dNTPs away," Dr Stoye said.

He added: "How we can use the anti-retroviral action of this protein is not clear to me."

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Grammy glory for returning Adele

Singer Adele was the big winner at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, winning six prizes including record, song and album of the year.

She also made her live comeback at the ceremony, performing for the first time since having throat surgery last year.

Rock band Foo Fighters won five prizes, while rapper Kanye West scooped four.

The event saw heartfelt tributes to pop star Whitney Houston, who died on Saturday, while Amy Winehouse received a posthumous award.

Winehouse's parents accepted her prize for best pop duo/group performance for Body and Soul, her duet with Tony Bennett, which was the last recording Winehouse made before she died in July.

Adele won every award she was nominated for, including record of the year, song of the year and best short form music video for Rolling in the Deep. Her second album, 21, was named album of the year.

"This record is inspired by something that is really normal and everyone's been through it, just a rubbish relationship," she said.

"It's gone on to do things I can't tell you how I feel about it, it's been the most life-changing year."

The London singer was forced to cancel all live dates last year but earned a standing ovation after her return to the stage with Rolling in the Deep.

Accepting the trophy for best pop solo performance for her song Someone Like You, she said: "Seeing as it's a vocal performance, I need to thank my doctors, I suppose, who brought my voice back."

Her producer Paul Epworth, who also worked with Foster the People, Florence and the Machine and Cee Lo Green, was named best non-classical producer.

'Special record'

Foo Fighters' awards included best rock album, best rock song, best rock performance and best hard rock/metal performance.

"This is a great honour because this record was a special record for our band," frontman Dave Grohl told the crowd.

"Rather than go to the best studio, we made this one in my garage with some microphones and a tape machine. It shows that the human element of making music is what's most important."

Kanye West's solo album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy earned three awards, including best rap song and best rap album.

The track Otis - from Watch the Throne, his collaboration with Jay-Z - was named best rap performance.

The prize takes West's total Grammy haul to 18. Neither he nor Jay-Z were present to pick up their awards.

Bon Iver, fronted by US singer-songwriter Justin Vernon, were named best new act, five years after their acclaimed debut album was released.

Their self-titled second LP also won best alternative album.

Other British victors included soul singer Corinne Bailey Rae, who scooped best R&B performance for Is This Love.

There was also success for Sir Paul McCartney, whose deluxe reissue of Wings' Band on the Run was named best historial album.

US dance DJ Skrillex won three prizes, while double winners included folk duo The Civil Wars, country star Taylor Swift and gospel singer Kirk Franklin.

Chris Brown - returning to the event for the first time since 2009 - won the trophy for best R&B album for F.A.M.E.

returning to the event for the first time since assaulting his then-girlfriend Rihanna before the 2009 ceremony.

Rihanna - the ex-girlfriend Brown assaulted before the ceremony three years ago - was also present, taking to the stage with British band Coldplay.

Also playing live were Bruce Springsteen, McCartney, the Beach Boys and Kelly Clarkson.

Jennifer Hudson gave a rendition of Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You in a tribute to the late singer.

The ceremony also saw Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt sang a duet of A Sunday Kind of Love in tribute to Etta James, who died last month.

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Greece MPs pass austerity plan amid violent protests

Greek MPs have approved a controversial package of austerity measures, demanded by the eurozone and IMF in return for a 130bn euro ($170bn; £110bn) bailout.

The vote was carried by 199 in favour to 74 against.

Coalition parties expelled more than 40 deputies for failing to back the bill.

Tens of thousands protested in Athens, where there were widespread clashes and buildings were set on fire. Violent protests were reported in cities across the country.

Protesters outside parliament threw stones and petrol bombs, and police responded with tear gas. Scores of police and protesters were injured.

Prime Minister Lucas Papademos urged calm, insisting that the austerity package would "set the foundations for the reform and recovery of the economy".

"Vandalism, violence and destruction have no place in a democratic country and won't be tolerated," he said in a speech in parliament before the vote.

The bill passed parliament easily as the two largest parties in the coalition - Pasok and New Democracy - account for more than two-thirds of the deputies.

The austerity measures include:

• 15,000 public-sector job cuts
• liberalisation of labour laws
• lowering the minimum wage by 20% from 751 euros a month to 600 euros

Eurozone ministers must now ratify the measures at a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday before bailout funds can be released.

The ministers rejected proposals put forward by the Greeks last week, which they said fell 325m euros short of the cuts needed.

The BBC's Mark Lowen in Athens says the public are increasingly angry with the austerity measures and feel that the impact is beyond the value of the bailout.

At least 80,000 people were reported to have joined demonstrations in Athens, with another 20,000 protesting in Thessaloniki.

Running battles with police continued in the capital until late on Sunday, although no new clashes were reported after the vote.

Protesters hurled flares and chunks of marble torn up from the square. Some had tried to break through a cordon of riot police around the parliament.

Several historic buildings, including cafes and cinemas, were set alight.

Ioannis Simantiras, 34, said the protesters were boxed in by police.

"Nobody could get away from the gas," he told the BBC.

"When it engulfed everybody, and everybody was choking the police drew back and opened up a corridor for us away from the parliament - that's when everybody made a run for it."

Violent protests also spread to other Greek towns and cities, including the islands of Corfu and Crete, according to state TV.

Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said the question was not "whether some salaries and pensions will be curtailed, but whether we will be able to pay even these reduced wages and pensions".

"When you have to choose between bad and worse, you will pick what is bad to avoid what is worse," he said.

Greece needs the bailout the make its next repayment on its huge sovereign debt.

If it cannot make the payment, it will default and in effect become bankrupt.

Analysts say such a "chaotic default" could endanger Europe's financial stability and possibly even leading to a break-up of the eurozone.

As part of the deal with international lenders, Greece will also be able to write off 100bn euros of privately held debt.

Earlier this week several ministers from the coalition government, including two from Pasok, quit in protest at the measures.

The leader of the far-right Laos party, the junior coalition member, announced his 15 deputies would not back the austerity measures.

George Karatzaferis complained that the measures amounted to Greeks being "humiliated" by Germany.

The eurozone bloc has demanded "strong political assurances" that the packages will be implemented regardless of which party wins a general election due in April.

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Pop queen Whitney Houston dies at 48

American singer and actress Whitney Houston has died in Los Angeles at the age of 48.

Police said she died in her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where she had been staying as a guest.

Houston was one of the most celebrated female singers of all time, with hits including I Will Always Love You and Saving All My Love For You.

But her later career was overshadowed by substance abuse and her turbulent marriage to singer Bobby Brown.

Ms Houston died on the eve of the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. She had been due to attend a pre-awards party in the Beverly Hilton Hotel organised by her long-time mentor and record industry executive Clive Davis on Saturday evening.

He went ahead with the party, holding a minute's silence and telling the audience he was "personally devastated by the loss of someone who has meant so much to me for so many years".

The hotel was already teeming with reporters and celebrities when police received an emergency call from hotel security at 15.43 local time (23:43 GMT), Beverly Hills police spokesman Mark Rosen told the BBC.

Police were despatched, but paramedics who were already at the hotel because of the party attempted to resuscitate her, without success. She was pronounced dead at 15:55.

Mr Rosen said Ms Houston's entourage - comprising family members, friends and co-workers - had taken over much of the fourth floor of the hotel.

At the scene

"There were a number of people on scene who were able to positively identify Ms Houston for us," he said, adding that her next of kin have been informed of her death.

Police investigators inspected the scene before Ms Houston's body was moved from the hotel to the coroner's office for an autopsy.

While the cause of death is unclear, Mr Rosen said there were "no obvious signs of criminal intent".

The US celebrity website TMZ.com reported that Ms Houston had been partying heavily on both Thursday and Friday nights.

She briefly took the microphone and performed a song while out in Hollywood on Thursday, and was seen drinking and chatting loudly with friends in the hotel bar on Friday, according to TMZ.

'Finest voice'

Houston's background was steeped in soul and gospel music.

Her mother was gospel singer Cissy Houston, she was cousin to singer Dionne Warwick and goddaughter to Aretha Franklin.

"I just can't talk about it now," Ms Franklin said in a short statement. "It's so stunning and unbelievable. I couldn't believe what I was reading coming across the TV screen."

Having grown up in New Jersey, Houston began singing in church and then in the night clubs of New York, and was a model before being signed by Arista Records.

At the height of her career in the 1980s and 90s she won many awards and enjoyed several number one singles and albums.

Artists from Mariah Carey to Christina Aguilera have tried to emulate her bravura performances, but none of them were as good as the original, music critic Paul Gambaccini told the BBC.

Houston also enjoyed success acting in blockbuster films such as The Bodyguard and Waiting to Exhale.

In recent years drug use took its toll on the star and her voice - once acknowledged as one of the finest in pop music - was badly damaged.

"She did have it all, but the record is there of the decline into drug use and the damage done from drug use," said Gambaccini.

Her marriage to Brown, with whom she had a daughter, Bobbi Kristina, ended in divorce in 2007. The marriage had been a tempestuous one, with allegations of domestic abuse as well as drug addiction.

"The biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy,'' Houston told ABC's Diane Sawyer in a 2002 interview.

Ms Houston was strongly linked to the Grammys - having won six awards herself over the years. Organisers of Sunday's ceremony said she would be remembered in a special tribute by singer Jennifer Hudson.

Civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton said that on the morning of the Grammys, "the world should pause and pray for the memory of a gifted songbird".

Country singer Dolly Parton - who wrote one one of her most memorable hits, I Will Always Love You - said in a statement: "Mine is only one of the millions of hearts broken over the death of Whitney Houston."

"I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song, and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, 'Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed'."

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Euro zone jobless hits highest level since birth of euro

Euro zone unemployment has risen to its highest level since before the euro was introduced, data showed on Tuesday, a day after EU leaders promised to focus on creating millions of new jobs to try to kickstart Europe's floundering economy.
Joblessness among the 17 countries sharing the single currency rose to 10.4 percent in December, on a par with an upwardly revised November figure, the EU's statistics office Eurostat said in its release of seasonally-adjusted data.

London 2012: Isles of Wonder is Olympic ceremony theme

London 2012's opening ceremony is to be themed Isles of Wonder, organisers have revealed six months ahead of the Games.

The ceremony's artistic director, Danny Boyle, revealed the name at a press briefing alongside creative director Stephen Daldry.
Boyle said it would be about a land that has been poisoned by industrial legacy and the recovery of that land.