BBC NEWS | In Depth | Pick of the week

15-21 July 2002

BBC News Online presents a round-up of some of the week's more remarkable stories covered by BBC correspondents.

Britain's wost serial killer

Dr Harold Shipman
Shipman was well-respected and highly regarded by his patients.

Doctor Harold Shipman killed at least 215 of his patients over a 24 year period according to the public inquiry. Shipman is already in prison convicted of killing 15 of his patients with lethal heroin injections. He ran a one-man doctor's practice in the Manchester suburb of Hyde.

The BBC's Jake Lynch reports

Saddam scorns US threats

Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein
President Bush has made Saddam's removal a major objective.

The Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has told his people that he and his government will never be defeated. The US wants Saddam Hussein removed from power but in a televised address, the Iraqi leader said that "evil tyrants and oppressors" will not be able to unseat him and his government.

The BBC's Paul Adams reports

World Trade Center plans

One of the designs for redeveloping the World Trade Center
An eight-acre plaza with sites for memorials and buildings features in one of the designs

The first official plans for redeveloping the site where the World Trade Center stood have been made public by authorities in New York. Six proposals were unveiled, each of which include a memorial to the victims of the 11 September attacks. The plans are rough drafts and will be narrowed down to one final design by December.

The BBC's Stephen Evans reports

Spying comes in from the cold

Equipment from Christies' James Bond sale
James Bond's suitcase adapted for a special mission

A lethal umbrella, a poison dart newspaper and a spying tree stump are among the exhibits at a new museum of spying in Washington. Some of the most unlikely equipment developed by the CIA and the KGB for their agents in the field was inspired by the James Bond movies.

The BBC's David Sillito reports

Ancient chocolate love affair

Three earthenware pots had traces of cocoa.
Analysis of the 2,600 year old pottery confirms that ancient Mayans made cocoa drinks

Chocolate was discovered and was being enjoyed more than 2,000 years ago. Traces of cocoa have been found on pottery from an archaeological site in central America showing early Mayan civilisation developed cocoa drinks as long ago as 600BC. The discovery was made in Belize in an area known as "the cradle of chocolate".

The BBC's Christine McGourty reports