World News from the BBC.
The American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said the Obama Administration will do what he can to block further progress of a bill describing as genocide the killing by Turks of hundreds of thousands of Armenians. A congressional committee narrowly approved the resolution on Thursday. The Turkish Foreign Minister urge President Obama to block a full congressional vote, describing the issue as one of the honour for Turkey.
An aide to Pope Benedict and a Vatican chorister have been removed from their posts because of allegations that they were involved with a homosexual prostitution ring. The Vatican confirmed that it has suspended Angelo Balducci whose title was Gentlemen to His Holiness and whose duties included greeting important papal visitors.
The Prime Minister of Iceland Johanna Sigurdardottir has urged Britain to apologize for using anti-terror laws to seize Icelandic assets in 2008. She was speaking ahead of a public vote on Saturday over the payment of billions of dollars to Britain and Netherlands. The money is owed after the two governments were forced to reimburse investors in the collapsed Icelandic bank, Icesave. From Reykjavik our correspondent Johnny Diamond.
Since the collapse of its banks a year and a half ago, Iceland's economy has contracted sharply, and unemployment has risen dramatically and its currency has lost half of its value. But talked to people here time and time again they come back to the use by the British government in 2008 of anti-terrorism legislation to seize Iceland’s assets following the collapse of Icesave. On Friday, grim-faced, Iceland's Prime Minister went out of her way to criticize Britain's actions.