02/11/2013 BBC Weekend News

Good afternoon. Security forces in Pakistan have

been put on high alert following a suspected American drone strike

yesterday which killed the Taliban leader, Hakimullah Mehsud. Pakistani

government ministers say the attack has destroyed their attempts to hold

peace talks with the militants. Mehsud was killed in north-west

Pakistan, near the Afghan border. From Islamabad, Richard Galpin

reports. The security forces in the capital

and across the country now on high alert. Everyone here where Taliban

militants may try to retaliate for the killing of their leader --

everyone here is aware. Thavisha Peiris died in a drone strike in the

compound yesterday -- Hakimullah Mehsud died. Just a day before

negotiators were due to meet him to discuss peace talks. News of the

death, welcomed by many, has caused condemnation of the Americans given

the highly sensitive timing. TRANSLATION: Talks were about to be

held between the government and Taliban, so to attack another this

time was very wrong. America wants Pakistan and the Taliban to keep

fighting. America has done a terrible thing.

Thousands of people have been killed and injured in attacks like this by

the Pakistan Taliban and Hakimullah Mehsud. The bombings and shootings

hitting almost all major cities here. It is this relentless violence

that the government had hoped to bring to an end to negotiations. In

a recent BBC interview, Mehsud indicated he was potentially

interested in talks. TRANSLATION: We believe in talks,

but the government has taken no serious steps to approach us. The

government needs to sit with us, then we present our conditions. This

is one of the men now being discussed by the Pakistan Taliban as

a potential new leader. He is thought to be less hardline

than Mehsud. But the death of Mehsud is a big blow for the militant

movement, and right now they are unlikely to be interested in talking

about peace. With me now is our world affairs

correspondent, Rajesh Mirchandani. Rajesh, where does this leave talks

with the Pakistan and Taliban? The timing couldn't be worse.

Pakistan officials were due to meet with the Taliban today, now the

Taliban is saying that Hakimullah Mehsud martyred himself and they

will continue their activities. So any belief or trust that had been

built up has been shattered. Pakistan's interior Minister said

this attack was an attempt to sabotage the peace process. Why

would the Americans want to do that? Firstly, they considered

Hakimullah Mehsud to be a dangerous terrorist they put a

5,000,000-dollar bounty on his head. They don't want the Taliban anywhere

near a legitimate political process because the country has nuclear

weapons. That is the geopolitical backdrop of this position. That

said, taking over from Mehsud in the Pakistani Taliban, the people seem

to be more in favour of talking to the government, the government wants

to talk to the Taliban and Pakistanis desperately want an end

to the bloodshed. Two people have been remanded in

custody after appearing before magistrates in Sheffield charged

with the murder of a Sri Lankan graduate. Thavisha Peiris, seen here

on the right with his parents and brother, was killed as he made his

final delivery for Domino's Pizza. He'd been due to start a new job as

an IT consultant. Let's go live to Sheffield

magistrates court and join Gerry Jackson, who's there. Gerry, what

more can you tell us? 25 year-old -- a 25 year-old and a

17 year-old stood together in the dock for the brief hearing. They

spoke only to confirm their names and addresses, both were remanded in

custody. They will appear before Sheffield Crown Court in a

fortnight. They are both accused of the murder of Thavisha Peiris. He

graduated in information technology at Sheffield Hallam University two

years ago and had worked and then for the Domino's Pizza chain. It was

his last shift with the company and he was found stabbed to death in his

car later that night. His family is due to fly in from Shri Lanka to the

UK in the next couple of days. -- from Sri Lanka. They said they had

sent their son to the UK for a better life and now they are left

with broken hearts. The daughter and son-in-law of an

elderly Nottinghamshire couple who went missing in 1998 have appeared

before magistrates charged with murder. The remains of two people,

believed to be William and Patricia Wycherley, were found buried in the

garden of a house in Mansfield three weeks ago.They had both been shot.

Susan and Christopher Edwards are each charged with two counts of

murder. Now, the Samaritans charity is

celebrating its 60th anniversary. The organisation, which provides

emotional support to people in distress, received its first call in

1953 and now has over 20,000 volunteers. Richard Foster reports.

The Samaritans' message hasn't changed in 60 years, it is via to

try to stop people taking their own lives. It started in nature which in

the City of London in 1953. -- it started in a church.

The first call was answered by this man, Chad Varah. He founded the

organisation because he wanted to help people struggling to cope. From

phone call, the Samaritans group, and now has 21,000 volunteers in 201

branches across the UK. It has the support of celebrities

and its patron is the Prince of Wales. It is most impressive, I

think, to see the work they do to Wales. It is most impressive, I

support those living in rural isolation, especially farmers at the

high risk of suicide nowadays. But, equally, to support those who

are subjected to such stress and pressure within the urban

environment. The charity answers a phone call, e-mail or text every six

seconds, that is 115 million calls for help in 60 years.

You can see more on those stories on the BBC News Channel.

There will be more from the