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US plan to deport undocumented families angers Democratic candidates Activists join in condemnation of planned raids by Department of Homeland Security to round up recently arrived immigrants ‘wherever they can Follow Amanda Holpuch Immigrants from El Salvador and Guatemala who entered the country illegally board a bus after they were released from a family detention center in San Antonio. Hundreds of undocumented families in the US could be rounded up and deported as soon as January, according to a report that has shocked immigrants rights’ advocates and provoked condemnation from Democratic presidential hopefuls. The Department of Homeland Security is preparing for raids that would see hundreds of recently arrived immigrants deported, according to a report according to a report according to a report according to a report according to a report according to a report according to a report in the Washington Post. Citing anonymous sources, the report said that adults and children “w

Migrant wins stake in Spain lottery A migrant from Senegal who travelled to Europe by boat has won a stake of some €400,000 (£294,000; $436,000) in Spain's Christmas lottery. The man, named Ngagne, travelled from Morocco to Spain in 2007. Ticket-holders in his coastal town of Roquetas de Mar won first prize, and a share of €640m (£470m), in the "El Gordo" (The Fat One) lottery. Ngagne told one Spanish newspaper that he and his wife often did not have even €5 to last the day. The 35-year-old and his wife were rescued when they made the journey by boat in 2007, and taken to the island of Tenerife. They now live in Roquetas de Mar, which is on Spain's south coast. "There were 65 people on that boat," he told the La Voz de Almeria newspaper (in Spanish). "I want to give thanks to Spaniards and the Spanish government for rescuing me when I was in the sea." Read more on Roquetas de Mar's win Ngagne told reporters he had recently lost his job as a v

Japan nuclear reactors get green light A Japanese court has paved the way for two more of the country's nuclear reactors to be restarted. The Fukui District Court lifted an injunction that had blocked the reopening of two reactors operated by Kansai Electric Power in the western city of Takahama. The injunction was issued after locals argued the reactors could not withstand a strong earthquake. Japan closed all its nuclear reactors after the Fukushima disaster in 2011. The Takahama plants had already obtained approval from the country's nuclear watchdog. "Today's two rulings show a recognition that safety has been ensured at Talahama Nuclear Power Station," Kansai said. It aims to restart the reactors next month. The vast majority of Japan's nuclear reactors remain closed - according to the Nuclear Energy Institute, the country's nuclear generating capacity is running at less than 5% of its full potential. The government is keen to restart more reactors

Restoring the 'forests of the sea' By Mark Kinver Environment reporter, BBC News Australian researchers are encouraging people to buy "underwater Christmas trees" to help restore seaweed that suddenly disappeared in the 1980s. Poor water quality was blamed for the loss of crayweed from 43 miles (70km) of coastline around Sydney. But as the water quality has improved, scientists are now replanting the seaweed that provides a vital habitat and food for marine life. Scientists expect the replanted seaweed to recolonise the shallow, rocky reefs. "These forests of seaweed are very important, not only because they provide important habitats and food for many little creatures, some of which are commercially very important, they can also sequester a significant amount of carbon," explained project leader Ezequiel Marzinelli, a senior research associate at the University of New South Wales. He added that the species Phyllospora comosa was abundant in the area'

Exiled Russian tycoon, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, has given an exclusive interview to the BBC Former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, says he is considering applying for political asylum in the UK and feels safe in London. He was speaking in a BBC interview after a Russian court declared him "under arrest in absentia" over the 1990s murder of a Siberian mayor. "Definitely I'm considering asking for asylum in the UK," he said. Mr Putin "sees me - it's obvious now - as a serious threat", he said. Once Russia's richest man, the former head of the now defunct Yukos oil firm spent 10 years in a Siberian prison on fraud charges, which he says were politically motivated. Mr Putin pardoned him in 2013 and he now lives abroad, mainly in Switzerland. "I'm considered by President Putin as a threat, economically, because of the possible seizure of Russian assets abroad, and politically, as someone

Savers warned about 1 January Millions of savers are being reminded that they may need to move some of their cash, to guarantee it will be fully protected in the event of their bank going bust. New rules come in on 1 January, which will reduce compensation to £75,000 per person, per institution. Previously the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protected savings of up to £85,000 per account. Joint accounts will see protection cut from £170,000 to £150,000. The maximum compensation across the European Union is set at €100,000, and the British level was reduced as a result of the pound gaining strength against the euro. The precise rate was set on 3 July 2015. At the time, one senior Tory MP described the change as "defective". 'Complicated' Although 95% of savers will still be protected, as many as 2.5 million people may not be, according to the FSCS. It is advising savers who have more than £75,000 in one account, or in one institution, to move their mone

Panama orders arrest of ex-leader Panama's Supreme Court has ordered the arrest of former President Ricardo Martinelli, who governed the Central American country from 2009 to 2014. Mr Martinelli is accused of using public funds to illegally spy on more than 150 prominent people. Among those he allegedly spied on are trade union activists, politicians, lawyers, doctors and business people. Mr Martinelli denied the allegations, saying they were part of a vendetta by current President Juan Carlos Varela. Illegal wiretaps The court ordered the arrest because Mr Martinelli failed to appear at a hearing earlier this month. He left Panama in January days before the Supreme Court voted in favour of having him investigated over separate corruption allegations. He is believed to be living in Miami, Florida. The court did not give any details about how his detention would be sought. On Monday, Mr Martinelli tweeted [in Spanish]: "First round of the political trial: without having been

Colombia legalises medical Colombia's president has admitted smoking cannabis while astudent Colombia's president has signed a decree fully legalising medical marijuana in a shift away from preventing drug crop production. Juan Manuel Santos said the move put Colombia "in the group of countries that are at the forefront...in the use of natural resources to fight disease". But, he said, the country would still fight illegal drug production. Up until now, marijuana production in Colombia had fallen into a legal grey area. While a 1986 law allowed for the manufacture, export, sale and medical and scientific use of marijuana, the practice was, until Tuesday, never formally regulated. Anyone wishing to grow marijuana must now apply to the National Narcotics Council for a licence. Medical marijuana is used for medical ailments such as Crohn's disease, seizures, HIV and nausea. Last year, Mr Santos, who has admitted smoking cannabis while a student in Kansas in the 19

Christian refugees 'bypassed by UK Christian refugees fleeing Syria are being bypassed by the UK government, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has said. Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols said Christians were the most persecuted people, but few of them would receive sanctuary in the UK. The government has said 20,000 refugees will be brought to Britain directly from refugee camps around Syria. But Cardinal Nichols said most Christians did not go into the camps. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today, Archbishop Nichols said: "I can see the point in going directly to the refugee camps, but in fact I think its unintended consequence will be that there will be few, if any, Christians coming to this country. "That is because for the most part Christian refugees do not go into the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) camps. They go to fellow Christian organisations." He added: "If we are going to deal purely with UNHCR

Belgian police seize Paris suspect Police in Belgium have arrested a ninth suspect in connection with last month's Paris attacks, which killed 130 people. Prosecutors say Abdoullah C was contacted by the cousin of suspected ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud soon after the 13 November attacks. Both Abaaoud, a Belgian national, and his cousin Hasna Aitboulahcen died five days later when police raided a flat near Paris where they were barricaded. The suicide bombings and mass shootings were France's deadliest-ever attacks. Few details have been released about the alleged role played by Abdoullah C, who is reported to have been arrested in a low-key operation in Brussels on Tuesday. Police did not immediately announce his arrest in order to avoid alerting potential accomplices, a spokesman said. He appeared before a Brussels court on Thursday but his case was postponed, local media say. Several phone calls were made between the suspect and Hasna Aitboulahcen "after the terrorist

Westerners warned of Beijing threat The UK and US governments have issued a warning about possible threats against Westerners in the Chinese capital Beijing on or around Christmas Day. British and US officials say they have received information of possible threats in Sanlitun, which is a busy bar and shopping district. The Australian and French governments have also urged their citizens to remain vigilant. Beijing police have issued a yellow security alert in the city. A yellow alert is the second lowest level in China's four-level security alert system. The alert means there will be increased security checks in shopping areas, and rubbish bins in public areas will be checked every 30 minutes, state news agency Xinhua reports. There was an increased police presence in Sanlitun on Thursday, with armed police deployed outside shopping malls. There were no further details from French, Australian, US and UK officials. Beijing police said in a microblog post (in Chinese) that they ha

Boko Haram 'technically defeated' Nigeria has "technically won the war" against Islamist Boko Haram militants, President Muhammadu Buhari says. He told the BBC that the militant group could no longer mount "conventional attacks" against security forces or population centres. It had been reduced to fighting with improvised explosives devices (IED) and remained a force only in its heartland of Borno state, he said. Boko Haram has been described as one of the world's deadliest terror groups. Critics of the government argue that it has exaggerated the scale of its success against the militants, and that each time the army claims to have wiped out Boko Haram, the militants have quietly rebuilt. • Who are Boko Haram? The group's six-year insurgency in north-eastern Nigeria has led to the deaths of some 17,000 people, destroyed more than 1,000 schools and displaced more than 1.5 million people. The president says that key to the defeat of Boko Haram is r

Saudi Arabia 'spares Sri Lankan Saudi Arabia's initial decision to convict the woman was met with protests in Colombo The life of a Sri Lankan maid due to be stoned to death in Saudi Arabia for adultery has been spared, Sri Lanka's foreign ministry says. She will instead be imprisoned, Sri Lankan Deputy Foreign Minister Dr Harsha de Silva announced. An appeal by Sri Lanka was considered by Saudi Arabia and the execution order was withdrawn, he said. The woman was convicted in August, along with an unmarried Sri Lankan man. She was sentenced to death by stoning, while the man was sentenced to 100 lashes. Saudi Arabia agreed to reopen the case of the woman - a 45-year-old mother of two - earlier this month. There was no immediate comment in Saudi state media on the news the woman had been spared. Sri Lankan indignation Saudi Arabia's initial decision to stone the woman was condemned in Sri Lanka. Government official Ranjan Ramanayake said the Sri Lankan government had

Russia brushes off Syria allegations Russia has dismissed as "total lies" a report by Amnesty International accusing it of indiscriminate air strikes in Syria. A Defence Ministry spokesman said he saw "nothing specific and nothing new" in the report. He also denied the Russian military used cluster munitions in Syria. The human rights group said it had evidence that the first two months of Russian air strikes in Syria had killed at least 200 civilians. Some of the attacks "may amount to war crimes", one Amnesty official said. Amnesty is also researching concerns about the US-led coalition air strikes in Syria, its report said. The US has rarely acknowledged civilian deaths in its air bombardment of the so-called Islamic State (IS), which began in September 2014, although some monitoring groups say the toll could run into hundreds. 'Russian strikes kill scores' in Syria Activists criticise Raqqa air strikes Russia began air strikes in September 20