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24 May 2014 Last updated at 23:07

Ed Miliband has said his party's local election performance shows it can win at Westminster in 2015.

The Labour leader insisted the party was ahead in its target seats.

The claim came despite complaints from some Labour figures about him personally, and its local election campaign.

While it won more than 330 extra councillors in Thursday's poll, projections suggested Labour only secured a 2% lead over its Tory rivals.

Mr Miliband is due to visit Thurrock where his party lost control of the council after a surge in support for UKIP.

He had hailed the Essex town as evidence Labour was "winning back trust" when it took the town hall last year.

But it was left with no one party in control after UKIP took two Labour and three Tory seats on Thursday.

'Desire for change'

The Thurrock constituency is one of Labour's top target seats for 2015.

Polling data compiled by Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft on the voting intentions of 26,000 people in 26 Conservative-Labour battlegrounds suggested there could be an average 6.5% swing from the Conservatives to Labour in these marginal seats.

This would be enough to oust 83 Conservative MPs and secure Labour a healthy Commons majority.

Mr Miliband said he was determined to attract voters "from every walk of life".

"The local elections show Labour can win because it is our party which is winning where it matters in dozens of our target seats for the next election," he said.

"From Cambridge to Redbridge, from Crawley to Amber Valley, people are electing Labour councils to meet their desire for change."

Day in pictures: 21 May 2014

2:48 PM

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Neighbours from hell - with style

9:49 AM

kasunone

25 May 2014 Last updated at 01:03 By Joanna Robertson Paris Apartments in Paris

Neighbours' Day happens every May across France. It is a time for people to make peace with the people next door. But in the apartment blocks of Paris, bitterness and hostility are thriving.

The people upstairs are having breakfast. I know because there is a particular scraping of chairs and the blunt thud of slippered feet crossing to and fro from kitchen to dining room. He talks, she hums. A pause. They must be pouring the coffee.

Our apartment building, like many in Paris, dates from the late 19th Century. The floors are echoing, antique parquet and there is absolutely no sound insulation.

A sneeze on the fourth floor can be heard on the second.

My neighbour, Madame Joliot, an unabashed television addict, is bemused.

"It is strange," she says. "In all those American soaps, the neighbours are lovely. Helpful, chatty, kind, romantic. But when I watch Nos Chers Voisins - well, that's France!"

Actors from a scene of the hit French sitcom Nos Chers Voisins.

The sitcom Nos Chers Voisins, or Our Dear Neighbours, reflects the real-life tensions of apartment living

Madame Joliot and several million other French tune in each evening to watch Our Dear Neighbours, the cult TV comedy series of everyday life in a fictional apartment block.

It gives the perfect "front-door spy hole" view of what goes on amongst the neighbours.

Continue reading the main story Apartment buzzers

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Brief encounters in the hallway, conversations in the lift, little incidents in the courtyard - all the tensions, intrigues, scheming rivalries and absurd pettiness of communal French living are revealed.

Madame Joliot herself is caught in the usual tangled web of inter-neighbour dispute.

There is the woman on the floor below who cannot abide Madame Joliot's flowering terraces because, from time to time, leaves blow onto her balcony.

Complaints ensue - formal letters are sent by registered post, threatening legal action unless Madame Joliot personally vacuums the few leaves, with her own vacuum cleaner, whenever they might fall.

On the second floor, the daughter of the building's owner throws deafening all-night parties with dismaying regularity but no-one dares complain lest there be trouble with the lease.

If, however, Madame Joliot's pet dog barks even once in the courtyard in the middle of a weekday, there is hell to pay.

Just above, there is a lady with stilettos - extraordinarily loud when heard through the ceiling. Madame Joliot complained, fountain pen on elegant visiting card duly slipped under doorway.

Apartments in Paris overlooking the River Seine.

Continue reading the main story

My first baby's pram was slashed so I had to lug it down the cellar steps each night and up again each morning”

End Quote Madame Grelois Parisian The reply, a typed letter, sent by registered post, copied to a solicitor, read: "Madame, I have restored and polished my parquet and I have no intention of ruining the effect with rugs just for your benefit."

Leaves, heels and parties are one thing. Vandalism as revenge is quite another and yet, it is relatively common.

Madame Grelois, 72, has lived in the same building in Saint Germain for the last 50 years and raised her children and now her grandchildren there.

"Pushchairs, prams, there is always a problem," she says. "There are mountains of rules but it makes no difference.

"The number of pushchairs that are vandalised - deliberately ruined - when they are left neatly and correctly in the hallway!

"My first baby's pram was slashed so I had to lug it down the cellar steps each night and up again each morning."

With much of Paris living between 19th century walls and floors, it is clear that disturbances between neighbours cannot be anything new.

The writer, Marcel Proust, had his bedroom lined with cork to deaden the noise but it was not entirely successful as a new volume of letters, just published, reveals.

Letters to His Neighbour is a collection of notes written by Proust to his upstairs neighbour, Madame Williams - an accomplished harpist - and her husband, an American dentist whose consulting room was directly above Proust's bedroom.

An extract of a letter written by Marcel Proust to his neighbour.

This note from Proust reads: "Allow me to thank you Madame, from the bottom of my heart and ask you to convey my regards to the doctor while laying my respectful homage at your feet"

The dental drill with its rudimentary electric motor sent an unfortunate din through the cork-lined ceiling and into Proust's head - which was trying to concentrate as he composed his complex masterpiece, In Search of Lost Time.

The letters are, of course, exquisitely written and elevate the form of notes-between-neighbours from the depths of the rude and banal to the heights of poetry, wit and grace.

Proust and Madame Williams became intimate friends through their correspondence and Proust's polite requests for silence on certain days and at certain times are put with a delicacy and charm that even the most heartless neighbour could not refuse.

The letters have caused some reflection amongst residents of the more self-consciously intellectual areas of the city and - if the local gossips are to be believed - neighbourly correspondence is once again aspiring to literary art amongst the streets of Montparnasse.

"Veuillez agreer, Madame, ma reconnaissance pour votre charitable souci de mon repos…"

"Madame, with my grateful recognition of your charitable concern for my repose and my greatest respectful gratitude, I am yours, very faithfully, Marcel Proust."

Ah, those were the days.

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Bahraini rights activist released

5:38 AM

kasunone

24 May 2014 Last updated at 20:50 Young protesters hold up a picture of Nabeel Rajab in Malkiya, Bahrain, (3 October 2013)

Nabeel Rajab is a fierce critic of the Bahraini authorities Prominent Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab has been freed after serving two years in prison for his involvement in illegal protests.

Rajab, who heads the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), was convicted in 2012 of taking part in illegal gatherings and disturbing public order.

An appeals court later reduced his original three-year term by a year.

He was one of several leading activists arrested by the authorities after pro-democracy protests erupted in 2011.

Appeal

Soon after his release on Saturday, Rajab told the Associated Press news agency that he was happy to be out after spending more than 600 days in prison.

He also appealed for the release of all political prisoners, the agency added.

Rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights First, have campaigned on behalf of Rajab throughout his prison sentence, calling on the authorities to release him.

In December 2013, a Bahraini court rejected a request by Rajab's lawyers for early release. They argued that he was eligible because he had already served three-quarters of a two-year sentence.

In addition to his role with the BCHR, Mr Rajab is deputy secretary general of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).

Before his imprisonment in July 2012, Mr Rajab was repeatedly detained in connection with the pro-democracy protests that erupted in the Gulf kingdom the previous year.

Protesters hold banners with photo of Nabeel Rajab asking for their release in Al A"ali south of Manama, on 18 April2014.

The Bahraini authorities have come under international pressure to release Mr Rajab

Amnesty said that he was punched in the face several times by riot police as he led a demonstration in February 2012, and in May 2012 was charged with "insulting a national institution" in comments about the interior ministry he posted on Twitter.

In June 2012, Rajab was sentenced to three months in jail over different tweets he wrote about the prime minister. The conviction was eventually overturned on appeal, but only after he had begun his two-year sentence for taking part in unauthorised protests.

At his trial, Mr Rajab told the court that he had been held in dire conditions and subjected to ill treatment, including being placed in solitary confinement with a dead animal and kept almost naked.

BCHR's founder, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, is serving a life sentence for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government. He was convicted on evidence that was widely accepted as having been secured under torture.

Art school library destroyed in fire

12:59 AM

kasunone

24 May 2014 Last updated at 18:54 Mackintosh library

The library was recognised as being one of the finest examples of art nouveau in the world The iconic library at Glasgow School of Art has been lost in the fire which swept through the Charles Rennie Mackintosh building on Friday.

The library was recognised as being one of the finest examples of art nouveau in the world.

Broadcaster Muriel Gray, who is the art school's chairwoman, said: "This is an enormous blow and we are understandably devastated."

However, she revealed that the art school's archives were safe.

Ms Gray, a former student at the school, confirmed that most of the building was still standing.

"The most amazing, almost miraculous news is that the majority of the building is still intact," she said.

"Due to one of the most astonishingly intelligent and professional pieces of strategy by the fire services, they succeeded in protecting the vast majority of the building, apparently by forming a human wall of firefighters up the west end of the main staircase and containing the fire."

She added: "Also, after ensuring no lives were in peril, they displayed an impressive understanding of the precious nature of the building, and due to their careful and meticulous handling of each developing situation the damage is considerably less than we dreaded.

"We have run out of words with which to thank them, but the school has most certainly gained a new gallery of heroes."

Ms Gray, who had burst into tears when she saw the building on fire, also confirmed that many students had lost some, or all, of their work, but other work had been preserved.

She said curators and academic staff were hoping to be allowed into the building in the next few days to assess what could be salvaged.

"The joy that our archives are safe combines with the delight in seeing most of our beloved building bruised and battered, but most certainly not destroyed," she added.

Speaking about the loss of the library, Ms Gray said: "Mackintosh was not famous for working in precious materials. It was his vision that was precious and we are confident that we can recreate what was lost as faithfully as possible.

"Our main concern right now is the welfare of the students and the impending graduation and everyone is working hard together to achieve the best outcome for all."

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said more than 90% of the structure was viable and they had protected up to 70% of the contents.

The fire service has yet to confirm the cause of the blaze, which some students have suggested could have started in the basement when a spark from a projector caught a piece of foam.

The UK government has said it would make a significant contribution towards the costs of restoring the building.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said it would contribute "in the millions, if necessary" to restore a "priceless gem".

Mr Alexander, who was visiting the site on Saturday afternoon, said: "We've seen the appalling damage to the Glasgow School of Art. It's a hugely important building not just for Glasgow and Scotland but for the whole of the United Kingdom.

"The UK government will be willing to make a significant financial contribution towards the cost of rebuilding.

"Obviously at the moment we don't know the precise extent of the damage or what the costs will be, so I can't put a figure on it, but the chancellor and I have spoken this morning and we both think it is appropriate."

He added: "This is going to be a costly business but it's a very important landmark for the whole of the UK so we stand ready to provide an appropriate share of the funds that will be necessary to bring this hugely important building back to life."

Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop, who also visited the site, said , Ms Hyslop said: "It was truly heartbreaking to see the Mackintosh Building in flames.

"We are all thankful that no-one has been hurt and for the heroic efforts of firefighters to safely evacuate the site and save the building and as much as possible of the work it contains.

"I know from speaking to Professor Tom Inns [director] that GSA is determined that the school will recover, and rebuild and renew the Mackintosh building and what it stands for.

"He can count on support from friends of the GSA in Scotland and around the world, including the Scottish government.

"We have already invested heavily in the School in recent years, contributing around £55m to the new Reid building and to conservation of the Mackintosh building.

"We know the restoration will run into millions of pounds, and we are committed to strongly supporting the funding effort required."

She added that the Scottish Cabinet would discuss the issue on Tuesday and would then make an announcement on the restoration plans."

An ecumenical church service was held at Renfield St Stephens in Bath Street for those affected by the fire.

Fire broke out at the listed building at about 12:30 on Friday.

Eyewitnesses said the fire appeared to have started when a projector exploded in the basement of the building on Renfrew Street in the city centre.

Chief Fire Officer Alasdair Hay: "We took a roll call and we are as confident as we can be that nobody has been injured in this fire"

Everyone who had been in the packed building was said to have escaped safely.

Final year students had been preparing for their end-of-year degree show in the building when the blaze broke out.

The main fire was extinguished by about 17:00.

The Mackintosh building, completed in 1909, is "unique" in that it is a working art school as well as a work of art.

Mackintosh was a 28-year-old junior draughtsman when he drew up plans for the building

It has an A list rating, meaning it has been classified by Historic Scotland for its age and rarity.

From the facade to the fixtures and fittings every detail shows the craft of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Scotland's most-lauded designer.

In a statement issued at 21:30, Assistant Chief Officer Dave Boyle said crews had been working "absolutely flat out" in an effort to save "this treasured building and many of the items it housed".

He said: "While the priority from the outset was to save life we have also been working closely with Glasgow School of Art staff to ensure firefighters conducted an effective salvage operation.

"We are of course very conscious the Mackintosh is a world-renowned building that is a key feature of this great city, and that the artworks it stores are not only valuable but also cherished."

ACO Boyle added: "We are acutely aware this period is the culmination of years of endeavour for students and that their irreplaceable work is inside the Mackintosh.

"Work to save everything that can be saved is ongoing and we will continue to work closely with GSA staff and students throughout this operation."

fireman pouring water on Glasgow School of Art

Fire crews arrived on the scene within four minutes of the alarm being raised.

Search and rescue teams led a number of people to safety. There were no reports of any casualties.

Police cordoned off Renfrew Street, and smoke was also drifting across the M8. Large crowds of students and onlookers gathered near the scene, with several people in tears as they watched the events unfold.

Students watched on in horror as the iconic building went up in flames

Austin Yuill, who works as a chef at the art school, told the BBC: "I'm told it started in the basement and it's worked its way all the way up through the five floors.

"As far as I know it started from a spark which has gone on to foam, expanding foam."

Charles Rennie Mackintosh is lauded as Scotland's most influential architect and designer, with the art school building which bears his name considered by many to be his greatest masterpiece.

Mackintosh was a 28-year-old junior draughtsman at a Glasgow architecture firm when he drew up the designs for the building, which features distinctive heavy sandstone walls and large windows.

The dramatic art nouveau design took about 12 years to be completed, opening in 1909, but it signalled the birth of a new style in 20th Century European architecture.

The president of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, Iain Connelly, said the value of the building "goes well beyond Glasgow or even Scotland".

In recent years, Glasgow School of Art has produced many of the UK's leading contemporary artists such as Douglas Gordon and David Shrigley and three recent Turner Prize winners: Simon Starling in 2005, Richard Wright in 2009 and Martin Boyce in 2011.

Other former students include actors Robbie Coltrane and Peter Capaldi and artist Peter Howson.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

House prices 'soar' in seaside towns

8:19 PM

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