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The founder of Peru's Shining Path Maoist guerrillas has been found guilty of terrorism at a retrial and been sentenced to life imprisonment. Former philosophy professor Abimael Guzman led a 12-year rebellion in the 1980s which around 70,000 people died. Abimael Guzman was tried after his capture in 1992 by a secret military court, but the verdict and life sentence were thrown out in 2003. Guzman's partner Elena Iparraguirre, was also found guilty and given life. The Shining Path, a Maoist  ...

Reports that child-killer Ian Huntley has been attacked in jail by a fellow inmate are being investigated. The Sun newspaper said former caretaker Huntley, 32, was ambushed by a man with a sharpened plastic knife as he walked to his cell in Wakefield prison. The Prison Service confirmed it would be investigating an incident after an inmate who had "seemingly sustained no injuries" reported an attack. Huntley murdered Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells in Soham, Cambs in 2002. He was given two l ...

An open letter to the Pope from 38 top Muslim clerics in various countries accepts his expressions of regret for his controversial speech on Islam. But the lengthy letter carried on the website of Islamica magazine also points out "errors" and "mistakes" in the Pope's speech. The clerics' letter is due to be passed to the Vatican on Sunday. Pope Benedict sparked an uproar in September by quoting a mediaeval text which linked Islam to violence. He has not apologised for the speech delivered i ...

It is the biggest question for teachers and parents: what sort of minds should we be trying to develop in our children? Is it the traditional educated mind, able to master an academic discipline? Or should we be nurturing the "creating mind", encouraging young people to "think out of the box"? According to the world-renowned psychologist, Professor Howard Gardner of Harvard University, there are at least five kinds of minds that we should be developing. Gardner has already had a hug ...

Europe's heavy-lift Ariane 5-ECA rocket has put three satellites in orbit. Two of the boosted spacecraft will transmit TV services to America and Australia. The third is a test platform for the Japanese space agency. The flight from Kourou in French Guiana was the fourth mission of the year for Arianespace, the company charged with operating Europe's launchers. The ECA has the power to push payloads of 10 tonnes towards a geostationary orbit, 36,000km above the Earth. The total payload at l ...

The US Pentagon has ordered an inquiry into alleged abuses at Guantanamo Bay after reports that camp guards boasted of beating and mistreating detainees. A marine sergeant who visited the camp has said she understood "striking detainees was a common practice". The sergeant's sworn statement said she had overheard a guard describe slamming a detainee's head into a cell door. The US has meanwhile rejected a call by British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett to close Guantanamo Bay. Ms Beckett  ...

The ability to obtain advanced rheumatoid arthritis drugs on the NHS is still determined by where patients live, a study has suggested. The disparity exists despite National Institute for health and Clinical Excellence approval for anti-TNF drugs, the Rheumatology journal research said. Such drugs help block the inflammation which causes pain to people with RA. But local health groups said funding shortages meant limits on prescribing them had to be imposed. The head of the body which repres ...

Mr Blair said the general had set "in proper context" what he was saying during the Today programme interview. "What he is saying about wanting the British forces out of Iraq is precisely the same as we're all saying. Our strategy is to withdraw from Iraq when the job is done." Mr Blair said when Sir Richard talked about the troops' presence exacerbating problems in Iraq, he thought he was "absolutely right". "I've said the same myself, in circumstances where the Iraqis are ready to take ove ...

The way boys are taught in schools is to be reviewed to try to narrow the academic gap between the sexes, Chancellor Gordon Brown is to announce. A generation of boys could be left behind unless the matter is addressed, he will tell an audience. Some 61% of girls gain high GCSE passes in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, compared with 51% of boys. Mr Brown and Education Secretary Alan Johnson are to conduct the assessment of the way the curriculum is tailored. Parents will also be urged t ...

Controversial plans to scrap former US naval vessels at a Teesside yard have been thrown out by councillors. Able UK, which had won a contract to dismantle up to 13 so-called ghost ships at its facility in Graythorp, Hartlepool, said it would appeal. The plan has been dogged by debate over the environmental impact it will have on the surrounding area and wildlife. Councillor Edna Wright told the meeting she did not want the town to become the toxic waste dumping ground of Britain. Three plan ...