Scores dead in Libya plane crash..David Cameron hails 'new era' as coalition sets to work

Scores dead in Libya plane crash

Up to 103 people have been killed in a plane crash at the airport in the Libyan capital, Tripoli. The Libyan transport minister said an eight-year-old Dutch national was the sole survivor after Afriqiyah Airways' Airbus-330 arriving from South Africa crashed on Wednesday morning. Mohamed Ali Zidan said the boy was being treated in hospital but did not have life-threatening injuries. "There were 104 people on board - 93 passengers and 11 crew members," Zidan told a news conference, adding that the remains of 96 victims had already been recovered. He said Libyans, Africans and Europeans had been on board. "We have definitely ruled out the theory that the crash was the result of an act of terrorism," Zidan said. Libya's Afriqiyah Airways said the aircraft was coming in to land when it crashed just one metre off the runway. Libyan state television showed footage of a large field scattered with small and large pieces of plane debris and dozens of police and rescue workers with surgical masks and gloves. Jan Peter Balkenende, the Dutch prime minister, said "several dozen" Dutch citizens died in the accident. The Dutch tourism federation said 61 Dutch nationals had been on board the plane. Afriqiyah has posted a telephone number on its website for anyone seeking information about passengers. Al Jazeera's Haru Mutasa, reporting from Johannesburg, where the aircraft departed from, said several South Africans appeared to have been on the plane. "The airport authority is struggling to get a call centre in place but right now information is sketchy." Amr El-Kahky, in Al Jazeera's Cairo office, said the weather conditions had been perfect when the aircraft tried to touch down, with little wind and good visibility. "[The plane] did not explode. There was no fire when it came into pieces. It just came down and crashed," he said. He also said Afriqiyah had a new fleet of aircraft which was said to be maintained "very well". Daniel Hoeltgen, a spokesman for the European Aviation Safety Agency, said Afriqiyah had undergone 10 recent safety inspections at European airports, with no significant safety findings. French investigators travelled to Tripoli on Wednesday to take part in the probe of the accident, the BEA air accident investigation agency said. European plane-maker Airbus, which built the aircraft, also said it would dispatch experts as part of the French investigating team, the French-based firm said. "Airbus will provide full technical assistance to the authorities responsible for the investigation into the accident through the BEA," the company said in a statement.

Source: Al Jazeera

David Cameron hails 'new era' as coalition sets to work

The new UK Prime Minister David Cameron is shaping his government, after his Conservative Party formed an historic coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg is to be the new deputy prime minister, with four colleagues also getting cabinet jobs. George Osborne is chancellor, William Hague is foreign secretary and Theresa May is the new home secretary.

In a message to supporters, Mr Cameron said it marked a "new era for Britain" adding: "Now let's get to work." The coalition is the first time the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have had a power-sharing deal at Westminster and the first coalition in the UK since the Second World War. Mr Cameron's arrival in Downing Street marks the end of 13 years of Labour rule. The Conservative leader, who is six months younger than Tony Blair was when he won power in 1997, is the youngest prime minister since 1812 and the first Old Etonian to hold the office since the early 1960s. The Conservatives won the most seats in last week's general election, but not enough to secure an overall Commons majority, resulting in a hung Parliament. The Lib Dems, the UK's third biggest party, held days of talks with the Conservatives and the Labour Party - who won the second highest number of seats. A deal with the Tories was reached on Tuesday that resulted in Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown resigning. Mr Cameron has begun appointing his first cabinet, with appointments also including Ken Clarke as Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Mrs May as minister for women, as well as being home secretary, Liam Fox as Defence Secretary and Andrew Lansley as Health Secretary. Mr Clegg's chief of staff, Danny Alexander, who was part of the party's negotiating team, is to be Scottish Secretary, the BBC understands. Lib Dem Treasury spokesman Vince Cable has been given responsibility for "business and banks" but it is not known if his title will be chief secretary to the Treasury, a senior Lib Dem source said. There are expected to be about 20 Lib Dems - more than a third of their MPs - in government jobs in total. Meanwhile, details have been emerging about the new government's programme:

• There will be a "significant acceleration" of efforts to reduce the budget deficit - including £6bn of spending reductions this year. An emergency Budget will take place within 50 days
• Plans for five-year, fixed-term parliaments, meaning the next election would not take place until May 2015. The coalition would last for a full parliament.
• The Lib Dems have agreed to drop plans for a "mansion tax" on properties costing more than £2m, while the Conservatives have ditched their pledge to raise the inheritance tax threshold to £1m
• The BBC's Robert Peston says the Lib Dem policy of taxing planes, rather than passengers, has been adopted and there will be a commitment to a new tax or levy on banks. He also says there will be a "significant move" towards raising the income tax threshold to £10,000 in the first budget,
• The new administration will scrap part of Labour's planned rise in National Insurance
• A pledge to have a referendum on any further transfer of powers to the EU and a commitment from the Lib Dems not to adopt the euro for the lifetime of the next Parliament
• The Lib Dems have agreed to Tory proposals for a cap on non-EU migration
• The Conservatives will recognise marriage in the tax system, but Lib Dems will abstain in Commons vote
• The Lib Dems will drop opposition to a replacement for Britain's Trident nuclear missiles but the programme will be scrutinised for value for money
• There will be a referendum on moving to the Alternative Vote system and enhanced "pupil premium" for deprived children as Lib Dems demanded

In a message to Conservative supporters, Mr Cameron said there would be "compromise" but "key elements" of the Conservative manifesto were part of the deal - including cutting £6bn of "government waste" in this financial year and protecting the Trident nuclear missile system. Key Lib Dem aims on reforming education funding, fairer taxes and political reform were also included, he said. "But the past few days have not just been about compromise. What was clear as talks progressed is the common ground between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. And that is displayed in this agreement, with our commitment to building a green economy, decentralising power and protecting civil liberties - including scrapping ID cards." He added: "I am confident that the coming together of two political parties to form one strong government marks a new era for Britain and for British politics. Now, let's get down to work." The Lib Dem parliamentary party and its federal executive endorsed the coalition agreement by the required three-quarters majority shortly after midnight. Mr Clegg said: "I hope this is the start of the new politics I have always believed in - diverse, plural, where politicians of different persuasions come together, overcome their differences in order to deliver good government for the sake of the whole country." He acknowledged there would be "glitches" and acknowledged Lib Dem voters would have "many questions, maybe many doubts". "But I want to assure you that I wouldn't have entered into this agreement unless I was genuinely convinced that it offers a unique opportunity to deliver the kind of changes you and I believe in." Mr Hague told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the coalition amounted to "an important realignment of politics with a practical programme". Asked whether it could provide stable government, he said, by introducing a five-year fixed-term parliament: "We have done everything possible to lock ourselves together to avoid the dangers of instability and haggling that are of course present in any hung parliament." US President Barack Obama was the first foreign leader to congratulate Mr Cameron in a brief telephone call while German Chancellor Angela Merkel also offered her congratulations. After it became clear Labour's talks with the Lib Dems had failed, Mr Brown tendered his resignation, saying it had been a privilege to serve "this country I love". He stepped down as Labour leader with immediate effect - deputy leader Harriet Harman will take over until a leadership contest is held. Former home secretary Alan Johnson has already ruled himself out and said he will support David Miliband, who he described as Labour's "greatest talent".

Source: BBC