US Child Killings: Police Search Nanny's Home

Police are searching the US home of a nanny suspected of murdering two children in her care.

Yoselyn Ortega remains in a critical condition in hospital after apparently slitting her own throat, moments after stabbing Leo Krim and his sister, six-year-old Lucia.

Police are investigating whether Ortega had sought psychiatric support in the weeks leading up to the tragedy.

Leo and Lucia were found by their distraught mother, Marina, dying of knife wounds in the bathtub of their luxurious Upper West Side apartment near Central Park.

Mrs Krim had returned to the flat with her three-year-old daughter Nessie, whom she had taken for a swimming lesson.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the investigation has yet to reveal anything amiss in the household before the slayings.

Detectives were searching Ortega's home in Washington Heights, a working-class neighbourhood north of where she worked and near Harlem.

It emerged that Ortega had worked for the Krims as a nanny for two years and there did not appear to be any problems.

A Web journal kept by the children's mother spoke lovingly about travelling to the Dominican Republic last February to stay at the home of Ortega's sister.

"We met Josie's amazing familia!!! And the Dominican Republic is a wonderful country!!" she wrote.

Pictures posted on the blog showed the two families posing together for a happy photo, with Ortega hugging Nessie, their cheeks pressed together.

Mrs Krim's husband, Kevin Krim, a CNBC digital media executive, wrote that Ortega's family had nicknamed Nessie "Rapida y Furiosa," (or Fast and Furious), for her energy.

There are tens of thousands of nannies working in New York City, but reports of serious violence by caregivers against children are exceedingly rare.

Across the street from the building where the Krims lived, several nannies with children in pushchairs stood as if stricken, watching police officers milling around the entrance.

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British Banker Dies In Hurricane Sandy

The British boss of an investment bank has been killed in a hurricane which has been sweeping across the Caribbean.

Timothy Fraser-Smith, 66, chief executive of Deltec Bank & Trust, fell from the roof of his home in wealthy Lyford Cay a private gated community on the western tip of New Providence Island in the Bahamas as he tried to repair a window shutter.

His death, on Thursday night, was one of 43 across the Caribbean caused by the hurricane that was briefly downgraded to a tropical storm on Saturday before being upgraded to a hurricane again.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: "We can confirm the death of a British national in the Bahamas on October 25."

Mr Fraser-Smith joined Deltec in June 2000 as chief executive, according to the company's website, having worked in many countries. Deltec said he studied law at the University of Edinburgh before gaining an MBA from Cranfield Business School, Bedfordshire.

On Saturday, Sandy spun away from the Bahamas, churning northward towards the US East Coast, where it threatens to join with winter weather fronts to create a superstorm.

In Haiti, the number of people who have died reached 26 on Friday.

With the storm projected to hit the US Atlantic Coast early on Tuesday, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned it could merge with two other systems to become a hybrid, monster storm dubbed "Frankenstorm".

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Burma: Satellite Images Show 'Destruction'

Human rights campaigners have called for action to end the violence in Burma after a week of sectarian unrest that has shaken the country.

Muslims trying to escape the clashes have taken to rickety wooden boats in an attempt to reach refugee camps but some have still not made it to land.

As nine boats remained unaccounted for, Human Rights Watch called on Burma's reformist government to protect Muslims from "vicious" attacks.

The New York-based group has released satellite images of what it claims is the "near total destruction" of a coastal community around Kyaukpyu.

It identified more than 811 destroyed buildings and houseboats across an area measuring 35 acres after alleged arson attacks on October 24.

Kyaukpyu before this week's violence (Pic: Human Rights Watch)

Kyaukpyu, which is around 75 miles (120km) south of Sittwe, is crucial to China's most strategic investment in Burma - twin pipelines that will carry oil and natural gas to western provinces.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said: "Burma's government urgently needs to provide security for the Rohingya in Arakan State, who are under vicious attack.

"Unless the authorities also start addressing the root causes of the violence, it is only likely to get worse."

The UN has warned that Burma's fledgling democracy could be "irreparably damaged" by a week of communal violence.

It comes five months after machete and arson attacks killed more than 80 people and displaced at least 75,000 in the same region.

Calm does now appear to have been restored after the Home Minister warned the government could declare martial law and impose emergency rule.

Kyaukpyu pictured on October 25 (Pic: Human Rights Watch)

A committee of lawmakers led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has called for security reinforcements and swift legal action against those behind the fighting in which at least 67 people were killed.

Another 95 are believed to have been injured and 2,818 houses burned down.

The chaos suggests the quasi-civilian government is struggling to contain historic ethnic and religious tensions between Rohingyas and ethnic Rakhines that were suppressed during five decades of military rule that ended last year.         

Burma's estimated 800,000 Rohingyas are officially stateless, and regarded by the government of the majority Buddhist country as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Bangladesh does not recognise them either, and the United Nations has referred to them as "virtually friendless".

It is still unclear what set off the latest arson and killing that started last Sunday.

In June, tension flared after the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman that was blamed on Muslims, but there was no obvious trigger this time.

Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific deputy director, Isabelle Arradon, said: "These latest incidents between Muslim Rohingyas and Buddhists demonstrate how urgent it is that the authorities intervene to protect everyone, and break the cycle of discrimination and violence."

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Tiger Cubs Found In Truck In Thailand

Police have found 16 tiger cubs in the back of a pickup truck in Thailand – a smuggling hub for protected animals.

Officers made the discovery after chasing the vehicle which was trying to avoid a road checkpoint.

They said the driver told them he was paid 15,000 baht (£303) to deliver the cubs from a Bangkok suburb to northeastern Udon Thani province on the border with Laos.

Police believe the tigers, packed in eight cages, were being sent outside Thailand which sees the illegal trade of protected animals and widlife parts, often used for traditional East Asian medicines.

The driver faces a possible four-year jail term and 40,000 baht (£808) fine on wildlife smuggling-related charges.

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Indonesia: Eleven Terror Suspects Arrested

Indonesian police have arrested 11 terrorist suspects who were allegedly planning attacks on the country's US embassy.

"The group's objectives were to attack the US embassy in Jakarta and consulate-general in the eastern Javanese city of Surabaya," according to police spokesman Suhardi Alius.

Mr Alius said the group had also been targeting a building in the capital near the Australian embassy where US mining giant Freeport-McMoRan has an office.

"We also confiscated an explosive device from the town of Madiun in eastern Java, as well as explosive materials and a bomb-making manual," Mr Alius said.

Anti-terror police Detachment 88 made the arrests in four cities, including Jakarta, in a sweep on the island of Java, saying those detained belonged to a new network known as Hasmi.

Explosive materials were also secured from a location in Solo, central Java, and in Bogor on the outskirts of the capital.

Indonesia has previously been rocked by a series of deadly attacks blamed on the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

The region has not seen a major attack since 2009 and authorities say a long crackdown on terrorism has debilitated JI.

But smaller terror cells aspiring to an Islamic state through violent means have emerged, though none have carried out any serious attacks.

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Syria: 'Dozens' Dead Or Wounded In Blast

Five people have been killed and thirty-two wounded in a car bomb attack in southern Damascus, according to state television.

The blast comes on the first day of a ceasefire brokered by UN and Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi.

The regime and the main rebel force, the Free Syrian Army, had both agreed to temporarily lay down their arms.

"The explosion of a booby-trapped car outside the Omar bin Khattab mosque in the Daf Shawk district killed and wounded dozens of people," the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The attack comes hours after three people were reported to have been killed by tank and sniper fire in Syria's capital the Damascus suburb of Harasta, which was apparently targeted in a violation of the temporary truce agreed to mark the four-day Muslim holiday of Eid Al Adha.

President Assad pictured at a prayer service on Friday

The Syrian army said it had been responding to attacks by armed rebels that were in violation of the ceasefire.

"Armed terrorist groups attacked military positions, thereby clearly violating the halt to military operations agreed by the army command.

"Our valiant armed forces are responding to these violations and pursuing these groups," the military said in a statement, adding that rebel attacks had taken place against its positions in Deir Ezzor, Daraa, Idlib and in the Damascus region.

The Syrian army had said it would cease military operations from Friday to Monday for the Eid al-Adha holiday, but warned it would react if "armed terrorist groups" carry out attacks or reinforce their positions, or if fighters cross into the country.

Rebels in a northern town close to the Turkish border also reported one of their fighters was shot dead by a sniper, and a Reuters journalist in the town heard what sounded like four rounds of tank fire.

In a statement read on state television after the deal, the Syrian army said it would still respond to gunfire or roadside bombs and keep rebels from bolstering their positions or getting supplies.

A Free Syrian Army commander also said rebels would retaliate if they were attacked.

On Friday morning, Syrian state television showed President Bashar al Assad attending morning prayers for the start of Eid at a mosque in Damascus.

He was pictured smiling and looking relaxed as he spoke to other worshippers, in his first television appearance for more than a month.

During prayers, Imam Walid Abdel Haq called on Syrians to "stop quarrelling because you are all brothers".

"Do you not see what has been happening for two years in the country, the destruction and death? Stop this," he said.

Protests were reported to have taken place in Raqa in the north east, where security forces fired tear gas, and in the southern Deraa province, where three people were injured as police fired live rounds to disperse demonstrators.

Activists said protests also took place in Damascus and Aleppo.

In the Idlib village of Al-Habit protesters chanted against Mr Assad, saying: "Traitor, give up, you have destroyed Syria."

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Afghanistan Suicide Bomber Kills Worshippers

A suicide bomber has attacked a mosque in Afghanistan as people gathered to celebrate the Eid al Adha holiday.

Between 36 and 41 people, including at least five children, died in the attack in the town of Maymana, capital of northern Faryab province.

Top provincial officials, including the governor and the police chief, were inside the building when the bomber set off his explosives outside the packed Eid Gah mosque.

The officials were not hurt, but the dead included police officers, soldiers, intelligence agents and civilians. Dozens were wounded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suicide bombings are a favourite weapon of Taliban Islamists trying to topple the Western-backed government of President Hamid Karzai.

One eyewitness, Sayed Moqeed, described the bomber as appearing to be in his early teens.

"Suddenly I heard a very big explosion," he said. "Everywhere were pieces of bodies, hands and limbs. The suicide attacker was in police uniform, he looked to be around 14 or 15 years old."

Deputy Governor Abdul Satar Barez said: "The targets of the bomber were all the officials inside the mosque."

It appeared to be the deadliest suicide attack in recent months.

On September 4, 25 civilians were killed and more than 35 wounded in Nanghar province, and on September 1, 12 people were killed and 47 wounded in a suicide attack in Wardak province.

Mr Karzai strongly condemned the attack, saying that those who carried it out were "enemies of Islam and humanity."

The attack came as Mr Karzai was urging Taliban insurgents "to stop killing other Afghans".

In his Eid al Adha message to the nation, Mr Karzai called on the insurgents to "stop the destruction of our mosques, hospitals and schools".

The United Nations says that Taliban attacks account for the vast majority of civilian casualties in the 11-year war. The insurgents routinely deny that they are responsible for attacks on civilians, saying they target only foreign troops or members of the Afghan security forces.

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Russia: Udaltsov Charged With Plotting Riots

Russian Activists In Legal Trouble

Updated: 3:26pm UK, Friday 26 October 2012

A number of public figures openly critical of President Vladimir Putin's regime have faced legal action in Russia.

Sergei Udaltsov:

One of Russia's most prominent activists and leader of opposition party the Left Front, Udaltsov was charged with plotting riots with Georgian officials.

Political analyst Andrei Piontkovsky said: "The charges are completely made up - the evidence wouldn't be sufficient in any normal country with a healthy rule of law. Modern Russia is completely different."

Alexander Lebedev:

The owner of the Evening Standard and The Independent faces up to five years in jail if found guilty of hooliganism over a fight he had on live TV in Russia.

Lebedev has also been openly critical of the Kremlin and claims he is being targeted by President Vladimir Putin.

Pussy Riot:

Three members of the female band were jailed in August after storming Moscow's main cathedral and performing a "punk prayer" mocking Mr Putin, just before he won a new term as president.

One of the trio, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was later released, when she described the court that sentenced her as "the theatre of the absurd".

"For some reason the government decided to take it to the maximum level of absurd," she said.

"We were treated as if we killed hundreds of people."

Alexei Navalny:

Russia's State Investigative Committee opened a criminal probe in July against opposition leader Alexei Navalny on allegations of theft. He described the charges as "very strange".

The corruption-fighting lawyer and popular blogger was charged with organising large-scale theft and ordered to stay in Moscow.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky:

The former oil mogul was jailed in 2003 and again in 2010, on charges including embezzlement and money laundering. He is due to be released in 2017.

He has been publicly critical of what he has referred to as "managed democracy" in Russia. Observers have insisted his trials were politically motivated and Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience.

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No Winner For Tour De France Races

The Tour de France races which took place between 1999 and 2005 will have no official winner, cycling's governing body has said.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) decided not to reallocate the seven yellow jerseys won by Lance Armstrong, after the American was stripped of his titles in the wake of a doping scandal.

It also ordered Armstrong to pay back prize money dating back to August 1, 1998.

The UCI justified its decision in a statement, saying that "a cloud of suspicion would remain hanging over this dark period".

"While this might appear harsh for those who rode clean, they would understand there was little honour to be gained in reallocating places," it said.

More follows...

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Berlusconi Sentenced To Four Years In Jail

Berlusconi's Memorable Quotes

Updated: 3:46pm UK, Friday 26 October 2012

Some see Silvio Berlusconi as a man with a great sense of humour - others say he has illusions of grandeur. Here are some of his most memorable quotes from recent years...

:: He once compared himself to Jesus Christ. "I am the Jesus Christ of politics," he apparently told supporters in Rome. Why? Because "I am a patient victim, I put up with everyone, I sacrifice myself for everyone".

:: Berlusconi is on record as saying only Napoleon has surpassed him as a leader. He said of the French emperor: "Only Napoleon did more," he said. But there was one difference... "I am definitely taller," he quipped.

:: In 2005 the then-66-year-old told The Spectator magazine: "Mussolini never killed anyone. Mussolini sent people on holiday in (internal) confinement." When asked if he thought the WWII dictator was "benign" Berlusconi said: "Yes."

:: While standing for re-election a few years ago, he promised to give up sex for a while. "Thank you dear Father Massimiliano," he told a TV preacher who praised him for defending family values. "I'll try not to let you down and I promise you two-and-a-half months of complete sexual abstinence."

:: His sexual innuendoes have often got him into hot water... "Rasmussen is not only a great colleague, he's also the best-looking prime minister in Europe," Berlusconi said of his Danish counterpart, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, in 2002. "He's so good looking, I'm even thinking of introducing him to my wife," he added, referring to press speculation that his wife was having an affair.

:: During an appearance at his corruption trial in Milan in June 2003, he said: "One citizen is equal to another (in the eyes of the law) but perhaps this one is slightly more equal than the others, given that 50% of Italians have given him the responsibility of governing the country."

:: In December 2002 the media tycoon encouraged laid-off Fiat workers to find employment on the black market, saying: "The most keen can certainly find a second job, maybe unofficial."

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