Chris Christie, New Jersey governor, enjoys beach he closed to public


New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is facing heavy criticism after he was photographed relaxing on a state beach he had ordered closed to the public.
The Republican gave the go-ahead for non-essential services to be shut down - including the Island State Beach Park - over the 4 July holiday weekend because of a budget impasse.
"I didn't get any sun today," he said, before the aerial photos emerged.
The pictures show Mr Christie and his family on an otherwise empty beach.
Other visitors were turned away by police.
The governor defended his actions on Monday morning, telling Fox News that he had said earlier in the week he intended to spend time with his family at his beach property.
"The governor is allowed to go to his residences," he said.
Mr Christie said his family was spending the weekend at the governor's residence there and he was commuting to work by state helicopter.
"That's just the way it goes. Run for governor, and you have can have a residence there," he said at a news conference on Sunday.
"I didn't get any sun today," he added.
After being told of the photographs, his spokesman Brian Murray admitted Mr Christie had "briefly" been on the beach "talking to his wife and family before heading into the office", NJ.com reported.
"He did not get any sun. He had a baseball hat on," Mr Murray added, NJ.com said.
The partial government shutdown in New Jersey arose because state legislators had not passed a health insurance bill that Mr Christie said had to be passed alongside the state's budget.
The shutdown included the closure of Island State Beach Park, one of New Jersey's few free public beaches, and all other state parks.
Mr Christie had been trying to get the state's largest health insurer, Horizon Cross Blue Shield, to hand over $300m (£230m), some of which Mr Christie wanted to use to battle drug addiction in the state, the New York Times reported.
New Jersey is one of at least nine states that were unable to meet their budget deadlines at the beginning of the month.

Other Christie moments

  • stunning the political world by announcing his backing of Donald Trump as president, before anyone else from the Republican establishment
  • denying he had any knowledge of the politically motivated traffic jams known as Bridgegate
  • a hug with President Obama during Hurricane Sandy that sparked accusations of betrayal from hardline Republicans
  • telling a heckler to "Sit down and shut up" at a press conference in 2014
  • photographed cheering on his beloved Dallas Cowboys with the owner in 2015 prompted a barrage of criticism from people in New Jersey who thought him disloyal
  • demolished rival Marco Rubio on the debate stage by teasing him as robotic
  • BBC NEWS
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When a photographer became a volunteer firefighter


Cam Neville looked out from the truck and caught a glimpse of burning red lines leading to a location called Hellfire Pass.
It was his first night volunteering with the local fire brigade, and the Australian photographer felt anxious. What was he about to encounter?
"Certainly I had a flutter of nervousness," he told the BBC. "Growing up in England, I'd never seen anything quite like that."
He did not get near the blaze that night, but since then he has encountered others.
Australia depends an army of volunteers to protect its sprawling country from devastating bushfires.
Mr Neville signed up to join them on Queensland's Gold Coast hinterland, believing it was the only way he could take photographs from the front line.
The inspiration behind his award-nominated picture series Into the Fire was simple: to capture first-hand experiences of men and women fighting fires. This was something TV news rarely offered, he thought.
"I really wanted to know who these people were," Mr Neville said. "I think I really needed to experience what they all went through as well."
Mr Neville grew up in Brighton before moving to Australia and settling in south-east Queensland.
"Where we live there are houses that back onto very dense bush," he said. "The fire threat is very real."

Initially he carried two DSLR cameras with bulky lenses, but it quickly proved impractical. Now Mr Neville uses a single camera with a 25mm lens.
He takes shots in quiet moments between fighting fires.
The photographer says the project has also brought him practical skills and new friendships.
"I've learned that it's an incredibly complicated and dangerous business - fighting fires of any type or size - because it's unpredictable," he said.
His admiration for his colleagues has only grown.
"The call goes out and people answer," Mr Neville said. "They never know what they're going to."
Photographs by Cam Neville
BBC NEWS

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Nigeria's Igbo leaders reject call for Biafra state

Powerful Igbo leaders in Nigeria have rejected calls for the breakaway state of Biafra to be created for their ethnic group in the south-east.
Their intervention is seen as an attempt to defuse escalating tensions between rival communities in Nigeria.
However, a pro-secessionist group says it will press ahead with its campaign.
Security forces have killed at least 150 people since August 2015 to quell pro-independence protests, Amnesty International says.
The campaign has also fuelled tension in northern Nigeria, where some youth groups have retaliated by threatening to expels Igbos who live there.
So, the statement by Igbo leaders pledging loyalty to Nigeria could help ease tension in the north, says the BBC's Naziru Mikailu in the capital, Abuja.
Following a specially convened meeting in the Igbo heartland of Enugu city to discuss the crisis, state governors, lawmakers, traditional and religious leaders issued a statement on Sunday to give their "full support" to a "united Nigeria".
However, the statement called for the vast and oil-rich West African state to be "restructured" to achieve a "a just and equitable society".
Many people in the south-east accuse successive governments of failing to develop their areas.
The pro-independence Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (Massob) said the meeting failed to reflect the views of the Igbo people.
"We want Biafra and nothing but Biafra. Nigeria must disintegrate. Her faulty foundation has broken beyond repair," Massob said in a statement.
Massob is one of the main groups leading the independence campaign.
On 30 May, many people in cities and towns across the south-east stayed at home to mark the 50th anniversary of the declaration of the breakaway state of Biafra.
The 1967 declaration led to a brutal civil war, which claimed the lives of up to a million people, before the secessionist rebellion was defeated by government forces.
  • First republic of Biafra was declared by Nigerian military officer Odumegwu-Ojukwu in 1967
  • He led his mainly ethnic Igbo forces into a deadly three-year civil war that ended in 1970
  • More than one million people lost their lives, mostly because of hunger
  • Decades after Biafra uprising was quelled by the military, secessionist groups have attracted the support of many young people
  • They feel Nigeria's central government is not investing in the region
  • The government says their complaints are not particular to the south-east

    BBC NEWS
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Zimbabweans donate cattle to AU after Robert Mugabe appeal

Zimbabwe has auctioned cattle worth $1m (£770,000) to raise money for the African Union (AU) Foundation to help end the "donor dependency syndrome", President Robert Mugabe has said.
He added that he had donated 300 cattle from his herd, and other Zimbabweans doubled the number as they wanted to contribute towards a "noble cause".
Mr Mugabe handed the $1m cheque to the AU at its leaders' summit in Ethiopia.
The donation comes amid a severe cash and food crisis in Zimbabwe.
Last year, more than four million people were in need of food aid in the southern African state after rains failed.
However, there has been a bumper harvest this year, with the country expected to be self-sufficient for the first time in years.
The opposition blames the government for food shortages, saying its controversial land reform programme has ruined the farming sector.
Zimbabwe has also been forced to introduce so-called bond notes after running out of the US dollar, the main currency people use.
Hyperinflation forced the government to abandon the Zimbabwe dollar in 2009.
Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said the cattle had been donated mostly by farmers who had benefited from the land reform programme, the state-run Herald newspaper reported.
Their donation was an "expansion" of a 2015 pledge by Mr Mugabe to donate 300 cattle, he added.

Speaking at the summit, Mr Mugabe said it was a "modest contribution" and a "symbolic step" towards helping to end the "donor dependency syndrome" in Africa.
On its website, the AU Foundation says it focuses on development programmes for youth and women, and promoting gender equality.
Mr Mumbengegwi said the donation was significant as it showed that the AU could find innovative ways to raise money for its projects.
Mr Mugabe, during his term as AU chairman in 2015 and 2016, campaigned for the AU to be self-financed as about 60% of its budget came from foreign donors, the Herald reported.
Cows are a prized asset in many rural parts of Africa, where families measure their wealth by the size of their herd
BBC NEWS
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Portuguese president speaks out over stolen weapons arsenal


Days after weapons and explosives were taken from a military warehouse in Portugal, the scale of the theft is becoming clear.
A Spanish website has revealed an extensive list of grenades, ammunition and explosives seized from the Tancos site, north-east of Lisbon.
President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has called for a no-holds-barred investigation into the raid.
Links to arms thefts in other Nato states should be looked at, he added.
There was no mention of which other countries he had in mind.
The theft was discovered on 28 June and details were passed on to Portugal's Nato allies.
The burglary is thought to have taken place at night at a part of the security perimeter where closed-circuit cameras had been broken for over two years.
The Portuguese defence minister initially described the raid as "serious", but the size of the missing arsenal only emerged when El Español (in Spanish) published what it said was a list of the stolen armaments. Among the weapons taken were:
  • 1,450 9mm ammunition cartridges
  • 150 hand grenades
  • 44 anti-tank grenades
  • 18 tear gas grenades
  • 102 explosive charges
  • 264 pieces of plastic explosive
El Español said it had seen the list after it was handed to Spain's anti-terror forces.
President de Sousa said a far-reaching investigation should look into the "facts and responsibilities" and called for measures to be taken to prevent such a theft "of increasing seriousness" from happening again.
Five military commanders have been suspended while an internal investigation takes place, the BBC's Lisbon correspondent reports.
There was no indication they were directly involved in the raid, chief of staff Gen Frederico Rovisco Duarte said on Sunday. However, their units were thought to be in charge of securing and monitoring the storage area.
Shots were fired close to Tancos military base, which is home to an engineering regiment, late on Sunday night. No-one was hurt. The regiment's commander was one of the five individuals suspended.
A Nato spokesman made no comment on the theft, referring the BBC to the Portuguese authorities.
Senior military figures were reportedly investigating whether the thieves had acted on inside information. The armed forces' top brass were due to meet on Monday to discuss the case.
BBC NEWS
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Tencent: Gaming app rations child access to hour per day


Chinese internet giant Tencent has limited the hours that children can play several of its most popular games.
It said the measures, restricting gaming depending on the player's age, were "to dispel parents' worries".
According to state media, there has been rising concern over Chinese children's excessive gaming habits.
Parents reportedly worry in particular about both the time and money spent playing Tencent's popular King of Glory mobile game.
From Monday, players aged under 12 will be allowed to log in for only one hour a day, and not after 2100. Older children will be allowed to play for two hours.
Tencent claims the measures are the most strict in the country's booming online gaming industry.

Age verification

Chinese state media quoted a company spokesperson saying that "even though as of now, China has not yet passed clear regulations dealing with gaming addiction, we have decided to take the lead".


The firm said it was also working on better implementation of its identity verification, so that those who had not yet completed the verification would not be able to play.
King of Glory is thought to have about 50 million daily active users, and there are numerous reports of parents and teachers expressing concern and frustration about children's gaming habits.
Reports range from a 17-year old gamer in Guangzhou diagnosed with cerebral infarction after playing for 40 hours straight, to children using their parent's credit cards to spend thousands of dollars on the game.
Excessive online gaming has been recognised as a problem in several countries, with authorities introducing different measures to tackle the challenge.
South Korea in 2011 launched a law to ban access for children under 16 from playing online games between midnight and 0600. In Japan, players get alerted by pop-up windows when they spend more than a certain threshold amount in a month.
Enforcement and reliable age verification remain the main obstacles to successfully addressing the problem, however.
BBC NEWS
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Swedish music festival is cancelled in 2018 after rape and sexual assault claims


Sweden's biggest music festival is being cancelled in 2018 after one rape and multiple reports of sexual assault at this year's event.
Bravalla was headlined by System of a Down, Linkin Park, Alesso and The Killers at the weekend.
But police in the Swedish town of Norrkoping say they received 11 reports of sexual assault this year.
Officers say the rape victim was attacked while Swedish group Håkan Hellström performed on Friday night.
Organisers have released a statement announcing that next year's event won't be taking place.
NEWS BEAT(BBC)
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Apple to scan iPhones for child sex abuse images

  Apple has announced details of a system to find child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on customers' devices. Before an image is stored on...