Burkina Faso army mutiny spreads

18 April 2011 Last updated at 11:01 GMT The disturbances started last week in the capital Ouagadougou and have spread An army mutiny which erupted last week in the West African state of Burkina Faso has spread to a fourth city.

Protests have now broken out in Kaya in the north of the country, following disturbances in Po and Tenkodogo.

The trouble started last Thursday when soldiers and presidential guards in the capital Ouagadougou protested about unpaid housing allowances.

Hours before the revolt broke out, tens of thousands of people had demonstrated against high food prices.

'Police join mutiny'

President Blaise Compaore, a former coup leader in power since 1987, has sacked his government and appointed a new head of the armed forces to try to quell the unrest.

His government warned on Sunday that mutinous soldiers would face "the full force of the law".

BBC Ouagadougou correspondent Mathieu Bonkongou confirmed that the unrest had now reached Kaya.

Soldiers and police reportedly took to the city's streets late on Sunday and began firing guns into the air until the early hours of Monday.

It is said to be the first time that police have taken part in the mutiny.

The violence in the capital had seen at least 45 injured people admitted to hospital.

In March, some soldiers went on the rampage and managed to free a number of colleagues arrested for rape.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Tate spreads art around Britain

11 February 2011 Last updated at 09:11 GMT By Ian Youngs Arts reporter, BBC News David Hockney's Bigger Trees Near Warter has been moved from the Tate to York Art Gallery Art lovers will be able to see more works from the Tate's collection in galleries across the UK, its director Sir Nicholas Serota has promised.

The Tate has lent more than 100 works to a group of 19 Yorkshire galleries, marking the first time it has joined forces with an entire region.

Sir Nicholas said the Tate's art was "held in trust for the whole nation, not just a metropolitan audience".

He spoke as a David Hockney painting held by the Tate was installed in York.

Hockney's Bigger Trees Near Warter, a grid of 50 canvases, was unveiled at York Art Gallery

The work, which stretches a total of 12m (40ft) across, will move to Bradford and Hull later this year.

Sir Nicholas's approach marks a departure from the Tate's strategy of expansion in the 1990s, when it opened galleries in Liverpool and St Ives in Cornwall.

"We now see our role in rather different terms from establishing satellite museums across the country," he said.

"What we want to do is to support the extraordinary collections and initiatives that are growing out of communities across the United Kingdom."

Speaking to assembled curators, Sir Nicholas said: "There is no need for the Tate to establish further branches.

"There is a need for the Tate to use its collections to support everything that you are doing."

Large loans

The Hockney work is the first to go on show as part of a year-long Art in Yorkshire series, to which the Tate has contributed exhibits.

The events include a Henry Moore show in Leeds, the opening of a gallery celebrating Barbara Hepworth in Wakefield and the first major exhibition of Damien Hirst in Leeds, where the artist grew up.

"We're trying to help in every way possible," Sir Nicholas continued. "We're lending large numbers of works.

"We're giving support in other ways. We see ourselves as a resource to be used by all of you.

"I assure you this is a beginning and not an end."

The Tate has already launched the Plus Tate scheme, through which it is collaborating with 18 galleries across the UK.

Another project, Artist Rooms, saw the Tate take an extensive selection of art donated by collector Anthony d'Offay on tour.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.