Mexico: Riot Police Break Up Teacher Protest

Riot police have fired tear gas and water cannon at thousands of angry teachers to end their weeks-long occupation of Mexico City's Zocalo Square.

They swept into the historic heart of the capital city to re-take control of the iconic plaza and its surrounding streets, the culmination of weeks of demonstrations where the teachers had set up a massive protest camp.

Although many teachers had acted upon an eviction notice calling for the removal of their camp in time for Independence Day celebrations, a group of protesters vowed to stay on.

Armed with metal pipes and wooden clubs, they tried to defend themselves but were quickly overwhelmed by the police.

Protesters accused the authorities of using excessive force to clear their camp.

"With a lot of viciousness, they grabbed me and (put me) on the ground, holding my feet. They caused injury on my septum and hit my body," said one teacher called Alejandro.

President Nieto is due to deliver a speech to the nation

In keeping with tradition, President Enrique Pena Nieto is scheduled to deliver Mexico's Cry of Independence from a balcony of the National Palace that looks over Zocalo Sqaure.

The striking teachers are angry at Mr Nieto's reforms to introduce a universal evaluation system which would change the way they are hired, evaluated and promoted.

They have marched through the capital at least 15 times over the last two months.

Mexico's record on student achievement is one of the worst among countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development despite dedicating more than a fifth of its budget to education.

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Argentina: Teen Hacker 'Stole £30,000-A-Month'

Argentine police have arrested a 19-year-old "super-hacker" suspected of breaching numerous websites to divert more than £30,000 ($50,000) a month into his bank account.

Police believe the suspect was part of a six-strong gang which planted viruses on a gaming site which infected the computers of website visitors.

The viruses allowed the attacker to remotely intercept online banking money transfers and steal payments to gaming sites.

To complete the attack the teen is suspected of ordering an army of pre-infected 'zombie' computers to overload the sites, taking them offline so users could not access their accounts while their money was taken.

The youth is reportedly the son of an IT engineer and was detained at his home in Buenos Aires in July as part of Operation Zombie, which included five raids in the capital and the city of Rosario in Santa Fe province.

Police raided the teenager's Buenos Aires home and seized sophisticated computers and other technological equipment.

Operation Zombie began in 2012 after a businessman offering web-hosting services noticed a hacker was remotely breaking into his servers to intercept money transfers.

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Genoa Coach Caught Spying On Rivals Sampdoria

A coach from Italy's Serie A side Genoa has been caught spying on local rivals Sampdoria dressed in Rambo-style camouflage ahead of their derby clash on Sunday.

Luca De Pra was reportedly spotted hiding in a wood next to Sampdoria's training ground Bogliasco by fans who alerted staff.

Team manager Giorgio Ajazzone and communications director Alberto Marangon chased after Mr De Pra, who tried to flee the scene.

However, he was caught hiding behind a tree dressed in full military attire and, as a popular figure in the city, was instantly recognised.

The Genoa youth team coach and nephew of Giovanni De Pra, the club's finest ever goalkeeper, was suspended by the club, which said it had nothing to do with Friday's undercover operation.

"No director or member of the coaching staff sent Luca De Pra, goalkeeper coach for the youth team, to watch the training session at Bogliasco. It was a personal initiative," Genoa said in a statement on their website.

"This has never been done before and is not part of the club's modus operandi. The club makes it known that De Pra has been suspended with immediate effect pending further explanations."

Sampdoria posted a picture of Mr De Pra caught in the act on their website.

"That the derby is a question of nerve, tactics and strategy we already knew, but that it could turn into a case of espionage - frankly we could never expect that," the club statement said.

It described the move as a "real secret mission ... a military action undertaken with appropriate outfit and equipment, camouflage outfit and mountain boots".

The statement continued: "Like Rambo hidden among the branches on the hill, Luca De Pra, Genoa goalkeeping coach and man of noble footballing ancestry, failed to overcome Sampdoria's intelligence and counter intelligence operations.

"However, no prisoners were taken, and no blood was shed. Once he was tracked down and caught red-handed, the opposing side's soldier was let free to return to base.

"One should always forgive one's enemies, as nothing annoys them more."

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Syria Has One Week To Detail Chemical Weapons

Syria: How The Crisis Has Developed

Updated: 2:33pm UK, Saturday 14 September 2013

:: March 2011 - Protesters stage demonstrations in Damascus and security forces in Daraa shoot dead several campaigners, leading to unrest and violence.

:: May - The Syrian military deploys tanks in a bid to quash demonstrations.

:: July 19 - The UK freezes £100m of Syrian assets.

:: August 18 - US President Barack Obama calls on Bashar al Assad to step down. The US freezes all assets of the Syrian government.

:: November 16 - The Free Syrian Army attacks a military base near Damascus.

:: February 4, 2012 - A UN Security Council resolution on Syria is rejected for a second time by Russia and China.

:: March 1 - Government troops seize the Baba Amr district of Homs after an intense battle lasting for several weeks.

:: April 12 - A UN-brokered ceasefire comes into force after fierce fighting in the country.

:: May 23 - Dozens of people, many of them women and children, die in Houla, near Homs. Foreign Secretary William Hague says they were "massacred at the hands of Syrian forces". The UN later accuses the Syrian military of committing war crimes.

:: August - Barack Obama says the use of chemical weapons against civilians would represent the crossing of a "red line".

:: March 6, 2013 - Foreign Secretary William Hague says Britain will provide opposition forces with "non-lethal equipment for the protection of civilians".

:: April-May - Britain says there is credible evidence to suggest Syrian forces have used chemical weapons in Adra, Darayya and Saraqiq and calls for an investigation by the UN.

:: April 29 - Syrian prime minister Wael Nader al Halqi survives an assassination attempt as a car bomb explodes in Damascus.

:: May 14 - Footage of a Syrian rebel commander apparently cutting out a soldier's heart is condemned by the country's National Coalition.

:: June 6 - Syrian forces, backed by Hizbollah fighters, recapture the strategic border town of Qusair.

:: June 6 - Human Rights Watch releases footage which it claims shows Syrian troops shelling school buildings.

:: July 25 - The UN says the number of people killed in the civil war has reached 100,000.

:: August 21 - An alleged chemical attack in Damascus kills 1,300 people, according to the opposition. Doctors Without Borders says 335 people died from "neurotoxic" symptoms.

:: August 25 - Foreign Secretary William Hague says a chemical attack by the Syrian government is the only "plausible explanation" for the deaths.

:: August 26 - UN inspectors brave sniper fire to gather "valuable" evidence from one site of the alleged chemical attack, as the US Secretary of State John Kerry says the Assad regime would face action over the "moral obscenity".

:: August 27 - The UK recalls Parliament to hold a vote on August 29 on the use of chemical weapons in Syria. David Cameron and Barack Obama agree there is "no doubt" the Assad regime is responsible for the alleged attack.

:: August 28 - Britain tables a draft UN resolution condemning the alleged attack and "authorising all necessary measures".

:: August 29 - David Cameron is forced to rule out military action after narrowly losing a Commons vote on the principle of intervention.

:: August 31 - President Obama says the US "should take military action" in Syria but confirms he will seek authorisation from Congress before launching any strikes against the Assad regime. He says the US is "prepared to strike whenever we choose".

:: September 2 - a French intelligence reports claims the Assad regime was responsible for a "massive and coordinated" chemical attack in Damascus.

:: September 3 - Israel says it has carried out a joint missile test with the US in the Mediterranean.

:: September 4 - The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approve a draft US resolution authorising the use of military force in Syria. Meanwhile, MPs in France debate whether to join any possible military intervention, although they do not vote on the subject.

:: September 5 - World leaders meet at the G20 summit in Russia, with the crisis in Syria high on the agenda.

:: September 6 - Britain pledges £52m in aid to Syria, as David Cameron hits back at a reported jibe from Russia that Britain is a "small island".

:: September 8 - The RAF sends up two Typhoon jets in Cyprus as warplanes, thought to have come from Syria, enter international airspace. Meanwhile John Kerry says more nations than his country can use are prepared to join military action against Syria.

:: September 9 - Russia urges Syrian President Bashar al Assad to hand over his chemical weapons to avert a US-led military strike on Damascus.

:: September 10 - President Barack Obama delays a Congress vote on air strikes as Russia gives the US its plan for putting Syria's chemical weapons under international contral.

:: September 11 - A UN report confirms at least eight massacres were carried by the Assad regime and one by rebels over the past 18 months.

:: September 12 - Syria formally applies to join the Chemical Weapons Convention. Russia and US hold two days of talks on the issue.

:: September 14 - The US and Russia agree on a giving Syria a deadline of one week to produce a list of chemical weapons they possess. 

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Jeweller Charged After Shooting Robber In Back

A French jeweller who shot dead a teenager after being held at gunpoint during a robbery is under house arrest at a secret location after being charged with murder.

Stephan Turk, 67, shot the 18-year-old victim in the back as he and another robber were fleeing on a scooter with gems stolen from Turk's shop in the centre of Nice on the French Riviera.

The thieves had punched and kicked the jeweller before forcing him to open his safe at gunpoint.

He ran after them and fired three shots as they sped away.

Stephan Turk (L) who shot the 18-year-old robber as he fled

After a court hearing on Friday, Turk was charged with murder and released from custody on condition that he stays at an agreed residence and wears an electronic tag.

"Armed, aggressive thugs attacked me," Turk said in a brief statement to French television.

Stephan Turk's defence lawyer Franck de Vita

"I regret what happened, I regret that he is dead. But it is him who decided to do what he did. It is normal that I would defend myself."

If convicted of voluntary homicide, the jeweller could spend the rest of his life in prison, and his fate has triggered a national debate over what constitutes reasonable self-defence.

By Saturday morning, a Facebook page set up in Turk's support had attracted nearly a million "likes".

French law allows for killers to escape conviction for murder if they can show they acted in "legitimate defence".

The jeweller reportedly told magistrates that he had fired his first two shots with the intention of demobilising the scooter and a third one in response to his victim threatening to shoot at him with a rifle.

The dead youth, identified only by his first name, Anthony, had a string of convictions for theft, assault and driving offences.

The scene of the killing in Nice

"It is true that he did a lot of stupid things," his father told local newspaper Nice Matin. "He was a little delinquent, a scooter thief. But he had the face of a child and no child should have to die like that.

"I'm not defending what my son did, but, there, he has been shot like a pigeon."

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Damascus: Syria's Urban Warfare At Its Worst

US Rejects Syria's Weapons Deadline

Updated: 10:55pm UK, Thursday 12 September 2013

US Secretary of State John Kerry has rejected Syria's pledge to hand over information on its chemical weapons in 30 days.

Speaking at a news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, he noted that it was standard procedure for a country to submit its weapons data a month after signing an international chemical weapons ban.

But he said: "There is nothing standard about this process. The words of the Syrian regime in our judgement are simply not enough."

He warned that the US could still launch a military strike if Syria's President Bashar al Assad reneged on his promises, and said the US was wary of any stalling process.

"There ought to be consequences if it doesn't take place," he warned.

Mr Lavrov, who addressed the briefing first, said: "The solution of this problem makes unnecessary any strikes on Syria. I am sure that our American partners ... are strongly in favour of a peaceful way to regulate chemical weapons in Syria."

Earlier, Mr Assad agreed to sign up to an international agreement that would put his weapons under UN supervision - and said he would hand over information on them in 30 days.

"Syria is placing its chemical weapons under international control because of Russia. The US threats did not influence the decision," he said in the interview with Russian state TV.

Mr Kerry is in Geneva for high-stakes talks with Mr Lavrov to discuss Russia's four-point plan to place Syria's chemical stockpile under international control.

He arrived some hours ago before Mr Lavrov.

Sky's Robert Nisbet, in Geneva, said Mr Lavrov's delay was "embarrassing" for the US and showed Russia has the diplomatic upper hand in the talks.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the plan faced "immense practical difficulties", although obstacles could be overcome "with sufficient international unity and goodwill".

He warned the initiative would require a "complete change of approach" by the Assad regime.

The Russian plan was met with a "definitive rejection" by Salim Idriss, head of the rebel Supreme Military Council, while Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said the Syrian regime had "won time for new massacres".

The first stage of the four-point plan has already been fulfilled - with Syria sending a letter to the UN signing up to the Chemical Weapons Convention, which bans the development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons.

The second stage is for Syria to declare what chemical weapons it has. The third is for UN inspectors to visit the country and verify Mr Assad's declaration, and the last stage is for the weapons to be destroyed - either in Syria or abroad.

Meanwhile, Russia's Moskva missile cruiser has reportedly passed through the Straits of Gibraltar and is now heading toward the eastern Mediterranean to assume command of the seven-strong Russian naval force there.

Another two vessels, the landing ship Nikolay Filchenkov and the guard ship Smetlivy, will join the naval unit later, Russia Today added.

The recent deployments are aimed at "complex monitoring" of the situation around Syria, military sources told the Interfax news agency.

The talks between Mr Kerry and Mr Lavrov follow Russian President Vladimir Putin's warning that a US attack on Syria without UN approval would result in more innocent victims and an escalation in violence in the Middle East.

Writing in the New York Times, he said there is "every reason to believe" it was rebel forces, not the Assad regime, who used sarin nerve gas in an attack that killed more than 1,000 people in Damascus on August 21.

He said a strike would "increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism" and claimed America would increasingly be seen "not as a model for democracy but as relying solely on brute force".

White House spokesman Jay Carney said there was "great irony" in Mr Putin placing his opinion piece in the New York Times. He said it reflected a freedom of speech in the US that Russia lacks.

Dr Anna Neistat, an associate director of Human Rights Watch, said: "There is not a single mention in Mr Putin's article ... of the egregious crimes committed by the Syrian government ... (including) deliberate and indiscriminate killings of tens of thousands of civilians, executions, torture, enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests."

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China Threatens Jail Over 'Online Rumours'

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent, in Beijing

The Chinese government is significantly intensifying its efforts to crack down on those who speak out against it.

The expansion of an existing law, which gives authorities the power to arrest those who spread "online rumours", is a "major blow to freedom of expression in China", according to Human Rights Watch.

"Although China's cyberspace has always been tightly controlled and censored, the new criminal penalties for online expression are a direct assault on the relatively freer space generated by social media," said Sophie Richardson, China director at the organisation.

The Chinese government claims the tighter online restrictions are in place to "drain toxic lies from the internet" and to rid social networks of "malicious" and "libellous" content.

But there is growing evidence that they are simply rounding up critics of the communist leadership at an unprecedented pace.

Authorities have the power to arrest those who spread "online rumours"

When President Xi Jinping took office in March, he promised to "uphold the constitution and the rule of law [and] always listen to the voice of the people".

Various public statements by him had prompted hope within China and beyond that he was a reformer.

However, Mr Xi's more recent statements, which coincide with the crackdown, point to an increasingly hard-line form of governance.

In one speech, published by China's state-run news agency Xinhua, Mr Xi calls for a "strong army to seize the ground of new media".

Under a new law, introduced this week, anyone who uses Chinese online social networks to "send out false information that is defamatory or harms the national interest" could face three years in jail.

If an offending online post is seen more than 5,000 times or gets more than 500 re-posts, the source of the post faces prosecution.

The Chinese Government is the master of censorship. However, the growing power of the internet is presenting the leadership with a challenge.

Mr Xi wants a 'strong army to seize the ground of new media'

The country's Twitter-like microblog, Weibo, has 400 million users, according to the latest statistics.

Some of its most high-profile users - called Big Vs because they have a "verified" status on Weibo - have tens of millions of followers.

Their views and the content of their posts therefore carries huge weight.

One Big V, Xue Manzi, was arrested last month and accused of soliciting a prostitute.

He was paraded on state television apparently confessing to his crime.

He is now awaiting trial and has been silenced from expressing his often outspoken views to his millions of followers.

And on Friday billionaire investor Wang Gongquan, a well-known figure in China, was arrested at his Beijing home by 20 policemen.

Mr Wang - who has often spoken out against the government - was told he was being arrested for "gathering a crowd to disturb order in a public place", the same charge used to round up many dissidents.

Over the past few months, police forces across China have announced the detention of hundreds of people for posting "online rumours".

Weibo has 400 million users, according to the latest statistics

In Shanghai, police say they have arrested 170 people this year.

"In this never-ending cat-and-mouse game between the government and 'netizens' for real freedom of expression on China's internet, the authorities are setting new traps," Ms Richardson from Human Rights Watch said.

"At stake is one of the few mechanisms people in China have to hold authorities to account."

In a Beijing suburb Sky News met one man who is not afraid to speak out.

Hu Jia has already spent three years in jail and many more under house arrest for his criticism of the government. He knows many of those who are currently locked up.

"This country has a regime which rules by fear," he said in a soft voice.

"Citizens are surrounded by a wall of fear - unable to express themselves: one big prison. I don't want to be inside a prison, I want to be a free man. I will express myself freely. Nothing should stop me from expressing my opinions.

"We pay our freedom, personal freedom; we pay our health, because sometimes we will be tortured, sometimes we on hunger strikes as we fight back; I have liver problem, it's all due to long term battles. It also brings pain to our families."

In November, China hopes to be elected to the United Nations Council on Human Rights.

Mr Hu said: "We have to stop it, we must stop it. I think the Chinese communist government are the same as the former Soviet Union, even the German Nazi Party.

"Allowing China to become a member of the UN Human Rights Council is like a making an executioner a judge, that's ridiculous."

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Russia: Luka Hospital Fire Leaves 37 Dead

A fire has swept through a psychiatric hospital in northwest Russia, killing 37 people.

The blaze in the village of Luka in the country's Novgorod region broke out just before dawn.

Officials are investigating whether a male patient allegedly seen smoking inside the building started the fire deliberately by setting his bed alight.

The 19th century building had been due to close next year

The man, who was one of about 60 people inside the building at the time, survived, according to state television channel Rossiya 24.

The blaze engulfed the majority of the hospital's mostly wooden structure, which dates back to the 1800s.

The charred remains of the hospital, where 37 people died

Officials had warned the facility was unsafe and had called for it to be closed but hospital administrators won permission to use it until 2014.

It is the second fatal fire at a Russian psychiatric hospital this year.

Luka is a small town in the Novgorod region of northwest Russia

In April, a fire at a facility outside Moscow killed 38 people and prompted criticism of the state over the care of mentally ill patients.

There have been many fires at state institutions such as hospitals, schools, drug treatment centres and homes for the disabled in the past decade, raising questions about safety measures, conditions and escape routes.

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Syria: Russia And US Push For New Peace Talks

Syria: How Crisis Has Developed

Updated: 2:13pm UK, Friday 13 September 2013

:: March 2011 - Protesters stage demonstrations in Damascus and security forces in Daraa shoot dead several campaigners, leading to unrest and violence.

:: May - The Syrian military deploys tanks in a bid to quash demonstrations.

:: July 19 - The UK freezes £100m of Syrian assets.

:: August 18 - US President Barack Obama calls on Bashar al Assad to step down. The US freezes all assets of the Syrian government.

:: November 16 - The Free Syrian Army attacks a military base near Damascus.

:: February 4, 2012 - A UN Security Council resolution on Syria is rejected for a second time by Russia and China.

:: March 1 - Government troops seize the Baba Amr district of Homs after an intense battle lasting for several weeks.

:: April 12 - A UN-brokered ceasefire comes into force after fierce fighting in the country.

:: May 23 - Dozens of people, many of them women and children, die in Houla, near Homs. Foreign Secretary William Hague says they were "massacred at the hands of Syrian forces". The UN later accuses the Syrian military of committing war crimes.

:: August - Barack Obama says the use of chemical weapons against civilians would represent the crossing of a "red line".

:: March 6, 2013 - Foreign Secretary William Hague says Britain will provide opposition forces with "non-lethal equipment for the protection of civilians".

:: April-May - Britain says there is credible evidence to suggest Syrian forces have used chemical weapons in Adra, Darayya and Saraqiq and calls for an investigation by the UN.

:: April 29 - Syrian prime minister Wael Nader al Halqi survives an assassination attempt as a car bomb explodes in Damascus.

:: May 14 - Footage of a Syrian rebel commander apparently cutting out a soldier's heart is condemned by the country's National Coalition.

:: June 6 - Syrian forces, backed by Hizbollah fighters, recapture the strategic border town of Qusair.

:: June 6 - Human Rights Watch releases footage which it claims shows Syrian troops shelling school buildings.

:: July 25 - The UN says the number of people killed in the civil war has reached 100,000.

:: August 21 - An alleged chemical attack in Damascus kills 1,300 people, according to the opposition. Doctors Without Borders says 335 people died from "neurotoxic" symptoms.

:: August 25 - Foreign Secretary William Hague says a chemical attack by the Syrian government is the only "plausible explanation" for the deaths.

:: August 26 - UN inspectors brave sniper fire to gather "valuable" evidence from one site of the alleged chemical attack, as the US Secretary of State John Kerry says the Assad regime would face action over the "moral obscenity".

:: August 27 - The UK recalls Parliament to hold a vote on August 29 on the use of chemical weapons in Syria. David Cameron and Barack Obama agree there is "no doubt" the Assad regime is responsible for the alleged attack.

:: August 28 - Britain tables a draft UN resolution condemning the alleged attack and "authorising all necessary measures".

:: August 29 - David Cameron is forced to rule out military action after narrowly losing a Commons vote on the principle of intervention.

:: August 31 - President Obama says the US "should take military action" in Syria but confirms he will seek authorisation from Congress before launching any strikes against the Assad regime. He says the US is "prepared to strike whenever we choose".

:: September 2 - a French intelligence reports claims the Assad regime was responsible for a "massive and coordinated" chemical attack in Damascus.

:: September 3 - Israel says it has carried out a joint missile test with the US in the Mediterranean.

:: September 4 - The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approve a draft US resolution authorising the use of military force in Syria. Meanwhile, MPs in France debate whether to join any possible military intervention, although they do not vote on the subject.

:: September 5 - World leaders meet at the G20 summit in Russia, with the crisis in Syria high on the agenda.

:: September 6 - Britain pledges £52m in aid to Syria, as David Cameron hits back at a reported jibe from Russia that Britain is a "small island".

:: September 8 - The RAF sends up two Typhoon jets in Cyprus as warplanes, thought to have come from Syria, enter international airspace. Meanwhile John Kerry says more nations than his country can use are prepared to join military action against Syria.

:: September 9 - Russia urges Syrian President Bashar al Assad to hand over his chemical weapons to avert a US-led military strike on Damascus.

:: September 10 - President Barack Obama delays a Congress vote on air strikes as Russia gives the US its plan for putting Syria's chemical weapons under international contral.

:: September 11 - A UN report confirms at least eight massacres were carried by the Assad regime and one by rebels over the past 18 months.

:: September 12 - Syria formally applies to join the Chemical Weapons Convention. Russia and US hold two days of talks on the issue.

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China Finds Ancient Female 'Prime Minister' Tomb

Archaeologists have unearthed the 1,300-year-old tomb of one of ancient China's most powerful women.

The entrance to the 36-metre-long tomb near Xianyang airport

However, the tomb of Shangguan Wan'er, which was discovered near an airport in Xianyang in China's northeastern Shaanxi province, was empty of a coffin or any relics.

It was around 36 metres long and 10 metres deep and contained skylights, a corridor and several vaults.

Archaeologists dug down more than 10 metres to uncover the tomb

A carved epitaph inside the tomb described in detail Shangguan's family background and achievements.

Archaeologists believe the rest of the chamber's contents were lost during co-ordinated, intentional "tomb destroying", according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Shangguan Wan'er was one of the Tang dynasty's most powerful women

Shangguan, who lived between 664 and 710, was a close aide of Wu Zetian, the country's only female empress.

She is celebrated in Chinese literature and poetry and is commonly referred to as a prime minister, such was her standing within the Tang dynasty.

Three skylights were among the tomb's most distinctive features

Yu Gengzhe, a professor of history and humanities at Shaanxi Normal University, said: "Shangguan Wan'er's life had two key characteristics.

"One is that she was highly talented, her poetry and writings were widely respected.

Archaeologists found bricks but no coffin or any ancient relics

"The other is that she was powerful. She was a confidential secretary of Wu Zetian and because of this, whatever the empress did had great influence upon her.

"After Zetian, there were a large number of women who yearned for power. Shangguan Wan'er was one of them."

Experts believe the contents of the tomb were deliberately destroyed

The rapid urbanisation of China in recent decades has revealed countless new artefacts and tombs.

Previous discoveries have included a fossilised mammoth's skull, paved surfaces dating back 200,000 years and the vast Liuzhuang ruins in Henan province, where hundreds of tombs have been excavated.

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Marikana Massacre Survivors On Justice March

By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent

Hundreds of survivors of South Africa's worst post-apartheid tragedy marched through Pretoria today to the seat of government to demand justice over the Marikana mine shootings.

The demonstrators want the state to pay their legal fees for the Presidential Commission of Inquiry which is trying to determine what went wrong last year.

At the moment, the inquiry is continuing without the miners' representatives.

Forty-four people, including two policemen and two security guards, died in a series of violent incidents last year.

Thirty-four of them were miners who were shot dead when police opened fire on strikers last August 16.

The Bishop of Pretoria has called on all South Africans to take part in the march to ensure justice is served at the Commission.

Mine workers taking part in a march last year

The miners insist they will not be represented by lawyers provided by the state - while the government says it will not pay for private lawyers for the miners at the inquiry.

One injured miner who was shot eight times by police told Sky News how he was virtually crippled in the shootings.

Mzoxolo Magidwana said he could no longer walk without a crutch, he had lost a testicle in the shootings and he would never be able to father any children.

"I will never know the joy of having a child now," he said.

More than a year after the massacre he still lives in a shack at Marikana and receives sick pay every month from Lonmin Platinum Mines of just over 2,000 South African rand a month (£133).

"We went through all of that last year and we still got nothing. We are just treated like slaves," he told us.

"All those fat cats (politicians) don't care about the blood spilled. This land is also ours, not just the ANC's, Jacob Zuma's. What has happened to us is an insult."

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Pastor Terry Jones: 'Koran-Burning BBQ Plans'

A Florida pastor has been arrested before he planned to burn almost 3,000 copies of the Koran on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Terry Jones, 61, was detained in the town of Mulberry, near Tampa, and faces charges of transporting fuel illegally and openly carrying a firearm.

Deputies said Jones had been riding in a pickup truck that was towing a trailer carrying a large barbecue-like grill filled with kerosene-soaked Korans.

Terry Jones soaked the Korans in kerosene

He also had extra bottles of the fuel inside the truck bed, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Jones' planned public burning of the Muslim holy book came with tensions high in the Middle East, especially over Syria.

According to Jones' website, he had planned to burn 2,998 Korans in the Tampa Bay area on Wednesday, in recognition of victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Jones was arrested alongside Associate Pastor Marvin Sapp minutes before the scheduled burning, the Sentinel said.

As pastor of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, Jones in 2010 threatened to burn copies of the Koran, drawing widespread outrage.

He eventually called off the stunt.

In 2011, however, his congregation did burn the Muslim holy book and the following year he promoted an anti-Islam film.

All three incidents sparked violence in the Middle East and in Afghanistan.

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China: Animal Campaigners Expose Puppy Trade

British animal welfare investigators have uncovered new evidence exposing China's trade in stolen pets.

A trader in Shandong offered investigators this puppy for 200 yuan (£20)

Animal Equality and Last Chance for Animals visited the country's notorious meat markets and abattoirs where they witnessed dogs, cats and rabbits kept in appalling conditions before being clubbed to death.

Working undercover with Chinese investigators they secretly filmed puppies a few weeks old crushed into wire cages at a breeding farm in Shandong.

Stolen to order: CCTV shows how gangs snare and snatch dogs on the streets

CCTV pictures the group obtained reveal how dog thieves snatch pets off the streets and steal them from owner's homes.

They also uncovered video of cats being made into Dragon, Tiger and Phoenix stew which "fortifies the body," according to tradition.

Over three weeks investigators put themselves at huge risk posing as meat traders to covertly film the route animals take from breeding farms to restaurants via China's back-street abattoirs.

These puppies were filmed at a 'fattening' farm in Shandong

Breeders at a farm in Jining allegedly told investigators that if necessary they would "hunt the streets" to secure enough dogs for them.

Gangs drive around in broad daylight looking for dogs to snatch. It takes a few seconds to snare an animal and drag it into their van.

Video secretly shot in the market reveals animals thrown around by handlers

Many puppies investigators were offered reportedly still wore collars, suggesting they were once family pets. Once fattened, they are sold to abattoirs for around 200 yuan (£20) each.

Campaigners also travelled to China's Nanhai market in Guangdong province where dogs, cats and rabbits are traded and sold to local restaurants after journeys of hundreds of miles in cramped cages.

Many of the cats are captured by gangs who set traps in public parks and residential areas where they are likely to be kept as pets.

Cats in FuXing market await their fate

Investigators entered the market at night and secretly filmed cages being unloaded from provinces all over China.

Though the cages were being thrown to the ground, investigators noted none of the dogs barked, leading them to suspect their vocal chords had been removed.

Despite campaigners' outrage, eating dogs and cats remains a delicacy in China where it is said to "warm the blood" and provide "vitality".

At this back-street abattoir investigators saw dogs being clubbed to death

The groups are working with local welfare groups like China's Guangzhou Volunteer Centre to campaign for an end to China's trade in dog meat.

Animal Equality says more than 10 million dogs are killed every year in China, although other estimates put the number at closer to 16 million.

Nanhai market where dogs and cats in cages are sold to local restaurants

According to Chinese media, a 2011 study by Guo Peng, a professor at the School of Philosophy and Social Development of Shandong University, found 88% of households in one rural village suspected their dogs had been taken.

The group intends lobbying Chinese embassies around the world to raise awareness about what they say is international outrage at China's lack of animal welfare laws.

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Rapping Jihadist And Briton 'Killed In Somalia'

Two Islamist militants - a Briton and a notorious American rapper - have been killed after falling out with their al Qaeda leaders in Somalia, say reports.

Osama al Britani, a British citizen of Pakistani origin and Omar Hammami, known as al Amriki, are said to have died in an early-morning attack near Mogadishu.

The pair were gunned down during an ambush after being on the run from the leaders of Somalia's al Qaeda-linked al Shabab organisation, for several months.

Al Amriki, originally from Alabama, was famed for posting rapping songs on YouTube - hoping to recruit young Islamist radicals.

He moved from the US to Somalia in 2006, ascending up the ranks of al Shabab.

He was eventually placed on America's Most Wanted terrorist list in March with a $5m (£3.16m) reward for information leading to his capture.

Al Amriki gives a news conference in Somalia

Little is known about Osama al Britani, though the Foreign Office said they were "aware of reports of the death of a British national in Somalia".

Al Amriki grew up in Daphne, Alabama, where friends said he was popular at school, quick-witted, charismatic and elected president of his school year.

Reports of al Amriki's death crop up every few months in Somalia, only for him to resurface alive and well a short while later.

However, a US terrorism expert who closely follows the inner workings of al Shabab, says he thinks that the current reports of the death are accurate.

"I think it's very likely true based on the sources I am seeing," said J.M. Berger, who runs the website Intelwire.com.

A member of al Shabab told The Associated Press that al Amriki was killed, with another man, in an ambush in Somalia's southern Bay region.

Al Amriki had a falling out with al Shabab and engaged in a long public fight with the group over the last year amid signs of increasing tension between Somali and foreign fighters in the group.

He first expressed fear for his life in a web video in March 2012 that publicised his rift with al Shabab.

He said he received another death threat earlier this year that was not carried out.

"Just been shot in neck by shabab assassin. not critical yet," al Amriki tweeted in April.

He later wrote on Twitter that the leader of al Shabab was sending in forces from multiple directions.

"We are few but we might get back up. abu zubayr has gone mad. he's starting a civil war," al Amriki posted.

Al Amriki has been a thorn in the side of al Shabab after accusing the group's leaders of living extravagant lifestyles with the taxes fighters collect from Somali residents.

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Syria To Give Weapons Details In A Month

Between The Lines Of Putin's Letter

Updated: 3:04pm UK, Thursday 12 September 2013

By Tim Marshall, Foreign Affairs Editor

The Russian President has again seized the initiative with his opinion piece in the New York Times in which he speaks "directly to the American people and their political leaders".

By the latter I assume he means members of Congress and not President Barack Obama.

He makes a tightly argued, albeit debatable, case against US air strikes on Syria and pushes several buttons designed to resonate with the American people and political class:

(Text of Putin article in italics, comments by Tim Marshall in bold):

"The potential strike by the United States against Syria ... will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syria's borders."

He then says the pre-Second World War version of the UN became irrelevant and collapsed, hinting that unless everything Syria related goes through the UN, it will suffer the same fate.

This is a riposte to the White House view that unless the UN signs up to action against Syria, it too will become irrelevant:

"No one wants the United Nations to suffer the fate of the League of Nations, which collapsed because it lacked real leverage. This is possible if influential countries bypass the United Nations and take military action without Security Council authorisation."

There follows a long section listing the dangers of a military intervention:

"The potential strike by the United States against Syria, despite strong opposition from many countries and major political and religious leaders, including the Pope, will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syria's borders.

"A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism. It could undermine multilateral efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and further destabilise the Middle East and North Africa. It could throw the entire system of international law and order out of balance."

There are references to the al Qaeda-inspired groups operating in Syria made up of thousands of foreign fighters, and then a sentence which will sit uncomfortably with many Americans:

"Millions around the world increasingly see America not as a model of democracy but as relying solely on brute force, cobbling coalitions together under the slogan 'you're either with us or against us'."

He backs that up with references to three countries in the following paragraph - Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq - saying that intervention there has made things worse:

"But force has proved ineffective and pointless."

There is a hint that if the USA restrains itself in Syria, then Russia might cooperate elsewhere:

"If we can avoid force against Syria, this will improve the atmosphere in international affairs and strengthen mutual trust. It will be our shared success and open the door to cooperation on other critical issues. My working and personal relationship with President Obama is marked by growing trust."

That might come as a surprise anyone who has seen the body language between the two men recently.

Finally, he takes on the argument made by President Obama about American "exceptionalism" - the idea that the US is the indispensable nation or, in layman's terms, the world's policeman:

"I would rather disagree with a case he made on American exceptionalism, stating that the United States' policy is 'what makes America different. It's what makes us exceptional'. It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation."

The article ends by telling us that Vladimir V. Putin is the president of Russia. The V? It stands for Vladimirovich.

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