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US faces Ebola quarantine test case

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 30 Oktober 2014 | 18.20

30 October 2014 Last updated at 05:10
Kaci Hickox

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Ebola nurse Kaci Hickox : 'I don't think this is an acceptable line to be drawn'

A nurse who cared for Ebola patients in Sierra Leone is fighting the US state of Maine over its right to quarantine her against her will.

In a test case for returning US health workers, Kaci Hickox has vowed to leave her home on Thursday if the state does not lift the restrictions.

President Barack Obama has been sharply critical of isolation being forced on people he says are "American heroes".

Almost 5,000 people have died from the Ebola virus, mostly in West Africa.

On Thursday, US ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power is expected to call for a stronger international response when she meets EU officials in Brussels.

She has been visiting the countries most affected - Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia - to show US support, as well as Ghana, where the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response is based.

In other developments:

The infection last week of a doctor in New York who had returned from Guinea has sparked a debate in the US over isolation policies for people coming back from West Africa.

Dr Craig Spencer had travelled on the subway and been bowling the night before he developed a fever, which is the point when people become contagious.

The governors of New York and New Jersey introduced mandatory quarantines as a result, and Ms Hickox was outraged to be put in a tent in Newark on returning from Sierra Leone last Friday.

Officials said she had a temperature - which she denies - but she was released from Newark on Monday and flown back to Maine to be monitored at her boyfriend's house in Fort Kent.

"I am not going to sit around and be bullied around by politicians and be forced to stay in my home when I am not a risk to the American public," said Ms Hickox, who has tested negative for Ebola twice and has no symptoms.

She appeared briefly outside the house on Wednesday night to speak to reporters and express her continued frustration.

"I'm not willing to stand here and let my civil rights be violated when it's not science-based,'" she said.

But Maine Governor Paul LePage has said he would seek legal authority to keep her isolated at home until 10 November.

"While we certainly respect the rights of one individual, we must be vigilant in protecting 1.3 million Mainers, as well as anyone who visits our great state," he said in a statement.

California became the latest US state to announce tough rules for people returning from the Ebola-hit region.

These states are in defiance of the updated federal guidelines issued on Monday that call for active monitoring but not quarantine.

Twice this week, President Obama has condemned quarantine as a policy based on fear, not science, while praising the work of US aid workers.

"We need to call them what they are, which is American heroes," he said.

"They deserve our gratitude, and they deserve to be treated with dignity and with respect.''

But he has faced questions why the Pentagon is imposing a 21-day isolation on returning military personnel, despite them not coming into contact with Ebola patients while working to build clinics in West Africa.

Ebola virus disease (EVD)
  • Symptoms include high fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage
  • Spread by body fluids, such as blood and saliva
  • Fatality rate can reach 90% - but current outbreak has mortality rate of about 70%
  • No proven vaccine or cure
  • Fruit bats, a delicacy for some West Africans, are considered to be virus's natural host

Ebola special report

Have you been affected by the issues raised in this article? You can share your experience by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk


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Groups condemn Singapore gay ruling

30 October 2014 Last updated at 08:23

Human rights groups have condemned a Singapore court's decision that a law banning gay sex is constitutional.

The Court of Appeal on Wednesday rejected two legal challenges arguing that the law, Section 377A, infringes on gay citizens' rights.

Under Section 377A, men who engage in "gross indecency" privately or publicly can be jailed for up to two years.

Singapore, which largely remains conservative, has seen intense debate in recent years over gay rights.

Human Rights Watch called the decision "a major setback for equal rights", adding that it "tramples upon basic rights to privacy, equality and non-discrimination".

On Thursday, 14 local rights groups released a statement saying the court had missed an opportunity to show that Singapore was "a truly accepting, open and inclusive society".

The groups said Section 377A "gives carte blanche for discrimination and reinforces prejudice".

"To be viewed as equal in the eyes of the law... is a right to which every Singaporean should be entitled, and not denied on the basis of whom they love," they added.

Jean Chong, spokesman for lesbian group Sayoni, told the BBC that the ruling effectively made homosexual, bisexual and transgender Singaporeans "second-class citizens".

Government leaders have pledged not to enforce Section 377A, first introduced in 1938 by British colonial rulers. But they have also refused to remove it, saying it reflects the conservative mores of Singapore society.

Lawyers involved in the legal challenges, mounted separately by a gay couple and a gay man, argued that the law went against the constitution guaranteeing "life and liberty" and equal protection.

But the court rejected these claims, and said it was up to legislators to decide on the law.

Though surveys have shown most Singaporeans do not accept homosexuality, there is widespread tolerance. Since 2009 rights groups have held an annual rally known as Pink Dot, which this year drew its largest-ever crowd of 26,000.

But conservatives have pushed back against gay activism and campaigned vigorously for Section 377A to remain.

In July, library authorities withdrew copies of two children's books featuring same-sex couples including gay penguins, prompting a national debate. The books, slated for pulping, were eventually placed in the adult section.


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Jerusalem tense after shooting

30 October 2014 Last updated at 10:29

Israeli police have killed a Palestinian suspected of shooting a prominent right-wing Jewish activist hours earlier in Jerusalem.

The man was shot after opening fire when police surrounded his home.

Rabbi Yehuda Glick was seriously hurt after a meeting where he urged greater Jewish access at a disputed holy site.

Police have taken the unusual step of closing the site to all worshippers and visitors until further notice. The Palestinian leader condemned the move.

"Jerusalem, including its Islamic and Christian holy places, is a red line and touching it is is unacceptable," Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement, quoted by the Associated Press news agency.

Rabbi Glick is a well-known American-born campaigner for greater Jewish rights to pray at the site, which is known to Jews as the Temple Mount, and to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif.

It is the holiest site in Judaism, and also contains the al-Aqsa Mosque - the third holiest site in Islam.

In other developments:

  • Sweden has become the first major Western European country to officially recognise Palestine as a state. Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said she hoped more countries would follow Sweden's lead - Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was quoted as saying it was a "deplorable" decision
  • There has been strong criticism of Israel at the UN Security Council over plans to build new homes for Jewish settlers in occupied East Jerusalem. The US said it was "deeply concerned" by the plans.
Micky Rosenfeld

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Micky Rosenfeld, Israeli police spokesman: ''There was an attempted assassination on a known right-wing activist''

The shooting of Mr Glick is the latest in a series of incidents which have led to an escalation of tensions in Jerusalem.

A website of the Islamist group Hamas identified the Palestinian as 32-year-old Moataz Hejazi, Reuters news agency reported.

Police said the suspect had served time in jail in Israel and was released in 2012, adding that he belonged to the Islamic Jihad militant group.

Israeli officials said that the police anti-terrorist unit along with the Israeli internal security service Shin Bet received information that Mr Glick's attacker was located in the Abu Tor neighbourhood.

Police say they were fired at after surrounding the house and shot back, hitting the suspect.

Rabbi Glick has had surgery for gunshot wounds to his chest and abdomen.

He had just attended a conference where delegates discussed Jewish claims to the compound, one of the most contentious areas of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Israel argues that it protects freedom of worship at the site, but Palestinians claim it is unilaterally taking steps to allow larger numbers of Jewish visitors.

The site is administered by an Islamic body called the Waqf, while Israeli police are in charge of security.

Jews are allowed on to the compound but are forbidden from praying or performing religious rites there under Israeli law.


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Burkina Faso parliament set ablaze

30 October 2014 Last updated at 11:09

Protesters angry at plans to allow Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaore to extend his 27-year-rule have set fire to parliament.

The BBC's Laeila Adjovi in the capital, Ouagadougou, say the city hall and ruling party headquarters are also in flames.

Earlier, the military reportedly fired at protesters who stormed parliament.

Parliament was due to consider changing the constitution so that Mr Compaore can run for office again next year.

He first took power in a coup in 1987, and has won four disputed elections since then.

The opposition has called for a campaign of civil disobedience to demand that he steps down in next year's elections.

State television has gone off air after protesters stormed the building housing it and ransacked it, Reuters news agency quotes a witness as saying.

Smoke could be seen billowing from parliament.

Police had earlier fired tear gas to prevent protesters from moving in on the parliamentary building.

But about 1,500 people managed to breach the security cordon and were ransacking parliament, AFP news agency reports.

Protesters were setting fire to documents and stealing computer equipment; cars outside the building are also on fire, it reports.

Are you in Ouagadougou? You can email your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

If you are willing to be contacted by BBC journalists please include a telephone number.


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'Sweeping change' narrows gender gap

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 28 Oktober 2014 | 18.19

27 October 2014 Last updated at 23:12

Increased access for women to politics and the workforce has narrowed the global gender gap in the past 10 years, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said.

The WEF's annual gender survey confirmed "sweeping changes" in many countries, with 105 becoming more equal since 2005, said its author.

Iceland tops the list for the sixth year running, with Yemen placed last.

The WEF looked at economic factors, health, education and political participation in 142 countries.

Just six nations - Sri Lanka, Mali, Croatia, Macedonia, Jordan and Tunisia - have seen their gender gap grow overall since 2005, the WEF said.

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One of the reasons for Iceland's success is its relatively small population while Yemen struggles due to high mortality rates and high rates of girls aged six to 14 not in school.

Rwanda's rise

The Nordic states all topped the list, with Finland, Norway and Sweden following Iceland in the top five.

The UK fell eight spots down the global rankings to 26. Rwanda came into the rankings for the first time and took seventh place, making it the highest-ranking African economy.

Changes in women's income were behind Britain's fall, said the WEF. The recession has caused the gender pay gap to widen in the UK.

On the other side of the Atlantic, the US inched up three places to 20 as wage gaps have narrowed and the percentage of women in political and ministerial-level positions improved, it said.

Social forces

Report author Saadia Zahidi said Rwanda's success was because there are almost as many women as men at work - and in the country's ministerial offices - rather than because of improved access to health and education services.

Nicaragua rose to become the sixth-best place for women (up from 10 last year). The Philippines remained the highest-ranking Asian state, but fell from fifth to ninth place.

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The outcomes of these scores are influenced by social forces.

India, for example, fell 13 places to 114th this year and is the lowest out of the so-called Brics countries.

But politically, India, at 15, is higher in the rankings than the US, at 54 and the UK, at 33. The WEF said this is as India generally has a lot of women leaders in politics, including senior leaders such as Sonia Gandhi.

Ms Zahidi said women's participation in public life in India had been adversely affected by questions around whether it is safe to use public transport.

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Globally, much of the progress on gender equality has come from more women entering politics and the workforce, she said.

She added: "While more women and more men have joined the workforce over the last decade, in 49 countries, more women than men entered the labour force.

"And in the case of politics, globally, there are now 26% more female parliamentarians and 50% more female ministers than 10 years ago. These are sweeping changes - for economies and national cultures."

Ms Zahidi said countries often reach an improved status due to quotas and targets, for example imposing quotas at the stage of choosing candidates for election.

How the WEF measures the gender gap:
  • Can women work and do they get the same pay for the same job?
  • Do they have access to education?
  • Are they allowed to exercise political power?
  • What about health - not just the life expectancy of women, but the ratio of women to men within society?

18.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

US advises against Ebola isolation

28 October 2014 Last updated at 08:26

US medics returning from treating Ebola patients in West Africa will be actively monitored but not placed in quarantine under new US health rules.

The federal guidelines came after a nurse was put in isolation in a tent in New Jersey, a decision condemned by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Meanwhile, Australia has been criticised for a West Africa visa ban.

The current Ebola outbreak in West Africa has infected more than 10,000 people and killed almost 5,000.

People are not contagious until they develop Ebola symptoms and the UN Secretary-General's spokesman said "returning health workers are exceptional people who are giving of themselves for humanity".

"They should not be subjected to restrictions that are not based on science."

Quarantine decisions in the US are made in each state, and the new guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were immediately rejected by the governor of New Jersey.

The CDC said it was "concerned about some policies" being put into place.

New Jersey is one of three states with a 21-day quarantine for all health workers who have had contact with Ebola patients.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie defended the mandatory isolation imposed on US nurse Kaci Hickox, who was quarantined when she returned home from Sierra Leone. He added: "That's what we will continue to do."

Annie, an Ebola patient, is carried on a stretcher to hospital in Liberia

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The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse reports from Monrovia in Liberia: ''Ebola robs its victims of their dignity''

Ms Hickox, who had no symptoms, has now left hospital in New Jersey for her home in Maine, where health officials say she'll be quarantined for 21 days.

She said she was made to feel like a criminal when she arrived back in the US last Friday.

Separately, Australia, which has had several scares but no recorded case of Ebola, has been criticised by Amnesty International for taking a "narrow approach".

A spokesman told Reuters that the ban made no sense from a health perspective but ensured that vulnerable people were trapped in a crisis area.

Analysis: Anthony Zurcher, BBC News

The decisions in New York, New Jersey and elsewhere aren't about proper policy, says the Washington Post's Daniel W Drezner, they're about politics.

"Let's be clear - Cuomo and Christie acted in the interest of being perceived as 'doing something' highly visible even though those actions will not make anyone safer," he writes. "It's the definition of security theatre."

Moreover, given US political realities, it's theatre that will play itself out again and again in states across the country as long as new Ebola cases continue to appear.

US Ebola weakness: Politics is policy

In other developments:

  • The US Army Chief of Staff has imposed a 21-day monitoring period for all soldiers returning from the region
  • The husband of a Spanish nurse who recovered from Ebola has been sharply critical of Spain's government
  • The UN's chief of Ebola mission has told the BBC that the outbreak is likely to get worse
  • A five-year-old boy has tested negative for Ebola in New York after visiting West Africa and developing a fever
  • In the US, the Pentagon says about a dozen US troops returning from West Africa are being isolated at a base in Italy.

The CDC's guidance for travellers and health workers returning from West Africa sets out four risk categories, and puts most healthcare workers returning from the epidemic-hit region as at "some risk" of infection.

Anthony Banbury

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Anthony Banbury, UN Ebola mission: "We need more and we need it fast"

CDC director Dr Tom Frieden said workers considered to be at high risk or some risk would be required to be "actively" monitored for symptoms for 21 days.

Those at highest risk are anyone who's had direct contact with an Ebola patient's body fluids.

Even if they have no symptoms, they should avoid commercial travel and large public events, Dr Frieden said, adding that voluntary quarantine was enough.

More than 10,000 people have contracted the Ebola virus, with 4,922 deaths, according to the World Health Organization's latest figures.

All but 27 of the cases have occurred inside Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.

The virus spreads through close contact and health officials say stopping the spread of the disease in the areas hardest hit by the outbreak will prevent Ebola's spread to other countries.

Ebola virus disease (EVD)
The ebola virus

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How Ebola survivors' blood is saving lives

  • Symptoms include high fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage
  • Spread by body fluids, such as blood and saliva
  • Fatality rate can reach 90% - but current outbreak has mortality rate of about 70%
  • No proven vaccine or cure
  • Fruit bats, a delicacy for some West Africans, are considered to be virus's natural host

Ebola special report

Have you been affected by the issues raised in this article? You can share your experience by emailinghaveyoursay@bbc.co.uk

Read the terms and condition


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Mexico unearths 'new mass grave'

28 October 2014 Last updated at 09:00
Poster of some of the missing students

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The BBC's Will Grant: "Still no sign of the 43 missing students"

Mexican authorities searching for 43 students who disappeared after clashing with police last month are investigating a suspected mass grave.

Mexico's attorney general said the testimony of two arrested members of a drug gang had led them to the site.

He said police officers had confessed to handing the students over to the drugs gang in southern Guerrero state.

The disappearance has shocked Mexico and has sparked nationwide demonstrations.

Earlier this month, another mass grave was found, but DNA tests suggest the bodies were not those of the students.

So far, 56 people have been arrested in connection with the disappearance, among them police officers, local officials and alleged members of the drugs gang. The state governor has also resigned over the case.

Arrest warrants have been issued for the mayor of the town of Iguala, where the abductions took place, his wife and the police chief, all of whom are on the run from the authorities.

The mayor, Jose Luis Abarca, allegedly ordered police to intercept the students to prevent them from interrupting a speech his wife was giving in Iguala.

Eyewitnesses say they saw the students being bundled into police cars after the police shot at buses carrying the students, killing three of them and three other people in nearby vehicles.

The latest grave site is in the town of Cocula, about 17km (10 miles) from where the students last were seen.

Attorney general Jesus Murillo Karam said that two of the four suspects arrested on Monday may have provided some valuable information.

He said that they had admitted to "having received a large group of people" on the night of 26 September, when the 43 students were last seen.

"We have the people who carried out the abduction of these individuals," Mr Murillo Karam told reporters.

He said the other two suspects detained on Monday apparently worked as lookouts for the gang. The suspects have not so far been identified.

The four men arrested are all believed to be members of the group behind the abductions, called Guerreros Unidos (United Warriors).


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Russia supports Ukraine rebel vote

28 October 2014 Last updated at 11:04

Russia says it will recognise the results of controversial separatist elections in eastern Ukraine, which the rebels plan to hold on 2 November.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said elections in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions "will be important to legitimise the authorities there".

But Ukraine and Western governments say the elections should not go ahead. They accuse Russia of arming the rebels.

Ukrainian troops have been battling the pro-Russian rebels in the east.

A shaky truce took effect on 5 September, but there have been many violations and the situation remains very volatile.

In Kiev pro-Western parties are leading after Ukraine's national parliamentary elections on Sunday.

Ukraine has urged Russia to put pressure on the separatists not to hold rival elections in the east.

But Mr Lavrov said "we expect the elections will go ahead as agreed, and we will of course recognise the results".

'People's republics'

A Ukrainian diplomat told the AFP news agency that Moscow's support for the rebel vote would "undermine the peace process".

The 2 November vote is much earlier than was agreed by Ukrainian legislation granting the breakaway regions limited self-rule.

"We are reckoning that the vote will be free and that nobody from outside will try to wreck it, " Mr Lavrov said.

The armed separatists who took over government buildings in Donetsk and Luhansk in April have declared "people's republics" in both regions, loyal to Moscow instead of Kiev. The two regions are commonly called "Donbass".

At least 3,700 people have been killed in the fighting and many more have fled to other parts of Ukraine or to Russia.

In 2008 Russia also backed pro-Russian separatists in Georgia and later recognised the breakaway regions as independent.

Under the truce deal the Ukrainian authorities pledged not to prosecute the leaders of the eastern rebellion - yet many Ukrainian politicians want prosecutions, denouncing the rebels as "terrorists".

The deal also called for a withdrawal of "illegal militant groups" from Ukraine, but the rebels remain heavily armed and it is not clear how many Russian "volunteer" soldiers are still there helping them.

Moscow says any Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine are freelance "volunteers", although Ukraine and Western governments said Russia had earlier sent in regular army units.

'War from the east'

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Russia would support the separatists' election, saying "Russia does not have unlimited levers of influence, and it is not worth exaggerating them.

"In this case, the main factor is not Russia's influence but the decision taken by the leadership of these republics and these peoples," he said.

A senior Ukrainian foreign ministry official, Dmytro Kuleba, told AFP that Moscow was jeopardising the ceasefire deal signed in Minsk.

"Russia's intentions directly contradict the Minsk accord, undermine the agreed process on de-escalation and peaceful resolution, and continue to weaken trust in it (Russia) as a reliable international partner," he said.

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko drew a parallel between the Donbass conflict and World War Two on Tuesday, saying "this time it (war) appeared not from the west but from the east".

"For the first time in 70 years, we again must defend Ukraine, its territorial integrity and freedom."


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Google boss sets new skydive record

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 25 Oktober 2014 | 18.20

24 October 2014 Last updated at 23:35
Alan Eustace, Google senior Vice-President as he is lifted by a helium balloon from an abandoned airfield near Roswell, New Mexico

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Alan Eustace exceeded the speed of sound, reaching more than 1,300km/h

A senior Google vice president, Alan Eustace, has broken the world altitude record for a parachute jump set in 2012 by Austrian Felix Baumgartner.

Mr Eustace was carried by a large helium balloon from New Mexico to over 40km (25 miles) above the earth.

The 57-year-old leapt out in a specially-designed space suit, reaching speeds of more than 1,300km/h.

He exceeded the speed of sound, setting off a small sonic boom, and set several skydiving records in the process.

The dive was part of a project led by Paragon Space Development Corporation, aimed at the exploration of the stratosphere above 100,000 feet (30,480 metres).

Years of preparation

Mr Eustace successfully jumped from near the top of the stratosphere at an altitude of 135,890 feet at 09:09 local time (16:00 GMT), the World Air Sports Federation (FAI) confirmed on Friday.

The previous record was set by Mr Baumgartner two years ago, after he jumped from a height of nearly 128,000 feet.

Mr Eustace also broke the world records for vertical speed reached during freefall with a peak velocity of 1,321km/h (822 mph) and total freefall distance of 123,414 feet - lasting four minutes and 27 seconds.

He set off from a runway in Roswell, New Mexico, at 07:00 connected to a balloon module, which carried him for two hours and seven minutes to his target altitude.

The Google executive - who is also a veteran pilot and parachutist - had been planning this jump for several years, working in secret with a small group of people trained in parachute and balloon technology, says the BBC's David Willis in Los Angeles.

But, our correspondent adds, Mr Eustace completed it without the aid of sponsorship, and with considerably less fanfare than the previous record holder, Felix Baumgartner, whose jump from the edge of space was streamed live over the internet two years ago.

"It was amazing," Mr Eustace was quoted by the New York Times as saying.

"It was beautiful. You could see the darkness of space and you could see the layers of atmosphere, which I had never seen before."

He told the newspaper that he did not feel or hear the sonic boom as he passed the speed of sound, although it was heard by observers on the ground.


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State of emergency imposed in Sinai

25 October 2014 Last updated at 01:58

Egypt has declared a three-month state of emergency in parts of the Sinai Peninsula after at least 31 soldiers were killed in two attacks there.

President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has declared three days of mourning in the wake of the suspected jihadist attacks.

Egypt's Rafah crossing into the Gaza Strip was also closed, state TV said.

It was the biggest loss of life in decades for Egypt's army, which has been carrying out an offensive against jihadists in northern Sinai.

The area has become increasingly lawless since President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in 2011. Militants have stepped up attacks since Islamist President Mohammed Morsi was ousted by the army last year.

Egypt in mourning
BBC reporter Orla Guerin

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The bomb blast was one of the deadliest attacks in Sinai for months

There has been no claim of responsibility for Friday's suicide blast at an army checkpoint that killed 28 soldiers.

At least 28 others were injured in the attack near El Arish, the main town in the north of the restive peninsula.

Three more soldiers died in a separate shooting at a checkpoint in the town itself.

A state of emergency was declared in the north and centre of the peninsula in the wake of the attack, starting from 03:00 GMT on Saturday, a presidential statement said.

The decision was made after Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi called a meeting of the National Defence Council to discuss the security situation.

"The army and the police will take all necessary measures to tackle the dangers of terrorism and its financing, to preserve the security of the region... and protect the lives of citizens," the statement said.

Egypt is in mourning with state television carrying black ribbons on screen, after the latest heavy losses in the lawless Sinai peninsula, says the BBC's Orla Guerin in Cairo.

Communications have been cut, and helicopters and special forces are now searching for militant hideouts, she adds.

Security forces have been carrying out an offensive in northern Sinai, killing and capturing dozens of suspected members of jihadist groups.

In September at least 11 policemen were killed in a bomb attack on a convoy in the peninsula as it travelled through the village of Wefaq, near the Gaza border.

That bombing was claimed by Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, the most active militant group in Egypt. It attempted to kill the interior minister in Cairo in 2013 in a car bomb attack and has issued videos of the beheading of captives.

The group professes backing for Islamic State (IS) group jihadists in Iraq and Syria, although it has not formally pledged its support.

Are you in the Sinai Peninsula? Has the recent violence affected you? You can share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk


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Iran hangs woman despite campaign

25 October 2014 Last updated at 11:49

Iran has gone ahead with an execution of a woman despite an international campaign urging a reprieve.

Reyhaneh Jabbari, 26, was hanged in a Tehran prison on Saturday morning. She had been convicted of killing a man she said was trying to sexually abuse her.

Jabbari was arrested in 2007 for the murder of Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi, a former intelligence ministry worker.

Human rights group Amnesty International said her execution was "deeply disappointing in the extreme".

A campaign calling for a halt to the execution was launched on Facebook and Twitter last month and appeared to have brought a temporary stay in execution.

However, government news agency Tasnim said on Saturday that Jabbari had been executed after her relatives failed to gain consent from the victim's family for a reprieve.

It said her claims of self-defence had not been proved in court.

A Facebook page set up to campaign for a stay now says simply: "Rest in peace".

'True intentions'

Jabbari's mother, Shole Pakravan, confirmed the execution in an interview with BBC Persian, saying she was going to the cemetery to see her daughter's body.

Ms Pakravan had been allowed to see her daughter for an hour on Friday.

After her arrest, Jabbari had been placed in solitary confinement for two months, where she reportedly did not have access to a lawyer or her family.

She was sentenced to death by a criminal court in Tehran in 2009.

Amnesty International said she was convicted after a deeply flawed investigation.

Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty's Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa Programme said: "This is another bloody stain on Iran's human rights record."

"Tragically, this case is far from uncommon. Once again Iran has insisted on applying the death penalty despite serious concerns over the fairness of the trial."

Amnesty said that although Jabbari admitted to stabbing Abdolali Sarbandi once in the back, she alleged that there was someone else in the house who actually killed him.

Jalal Sarbandi, the victim's eldest son, said Jabbari had refused to identify the man.

He told Iranian media in April: "Only when her true intentions are exposed and she tells the truth about her accomplice and what really went down will we be prepared to grant mercy,"

The United Nations says Iran has executed about 250 people this year.

Global executions for 2013

  • China: 1,000+
  • Iran: 369+
  • Iraq: 169+
  • Saudi Arabia: 79+
  • United States: 39
  • Somalia: 34+
  • Sudan: 21+
  • Yemen: 13+
  • Japan: 8
  • Others: 42+ (in 12 countries)

Source: Amnesty International

Rise in number of global executions


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Ebola outbreak cases pass 10,000

25 October 2014 Last updated at 12:13

The number of cases in the Ebola outbreak has exceeded 10,000, with 4,922 deaths, the World Health Organization says in its latest report.

Only 27 of the cases have occurred outside the three worst-hit countries, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.

Those three countries account for all but 10 of the fatalities.

Mali became the latest nation to record a death, a two-year-old girl. More than 40 people known to have come into contact with her have been quarantined.

The latest WHO situation report says that Liberia remains the worst affected country, with 2,705 deaths. Sierra Leone has had 1,281 fatalities and there have been 926 in Guinea.

Nigeria has recorded eight deaths and there has been one in Mali and one in the United States.

President Obama in White House video

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Obama: "Patients can beat this disease, and we can beat this disease"

The WHO said the number of cases was now 10,141 but that the figure could be much higher, as many families were keeping relatives at home rather than taking them to treatment centres. It said many of the centres were overcrowded.

And the latest report also shows no change in the number of cases and deaths in Liberia from the WHO's previous report, three days ago.

'Facts, not fear'

In the US, the governors of the states of New York and New Jersey have ordered a mandatory 21-day quarantine period for all doctors and other travellers who have had contact with Ebola victims in West Africa.

Anyone arriving from affected West African countries without having had confirmed contact with Ebola victims will be subject to monitoring by public health officials.

The move follows the diagnosis in New York of Dr Craig Spencer, who had been working in Guinea.

The first person to be quarantined under the rules was a female health worker who arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport on Friday.

She had no symptoms then but has since developed a fever and is being monitored.

Also in the US, two nurses infected while caring for dying Dallas patient Thomas Eric Duncan have been declared free of the virus.

One, Nina Pham, 26, met President Barack Obama at the White House, hours after being discharged.

Ebola patient

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The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse travels with an ambulance worker in Liberia

In his weekly radio and online address, Mr Obama repeated that people cannot contract Ebola unless they have come into direct contact with an infected patient's bodily fluids.

He said the disease had to be stopped at source in Africa.

Mr Obama added: "Patients can beat this disease, and we can beat this disease. But we have to stay vigilant... And we have to be guided by the science, we have to be guided by the facts - not fear."

'High-risk exposure'

In Mali, authorities continue to try to trace anyone who may have had contact with the victim there.

The child had travelled more than 1,000 km (600 miles) from Guinea through the capital, Bamako, to Kayes.

"The child's symptomatic state during the bus journey is especially concerning, as it presented multiple opportunities for exposures, including high-risk exposures, involving many people," the WHO said.

The girl's mother died in Guinea a few weeks ago and the child was then brought by relatives to Mali.

Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita told French radio on Saturday: "We are doing everything to prevent panic and psychosis.

"Since the start of this epidemic, we in Mali took all measures to be safe, but we never hermetically sealed ourselves from this."

He said the border with Guinea would remain open.

Ebola virus disease (EVD)
The ebola virus

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How Ebola survivors' blood is saving lives

  • Symptoms include high fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage
  • Spread by body fluids, such as blood and saliva
  • Fatality rate can reach 90% - but current outbreak has mortality rate of about 70%
  • No proven vaccine or cure
  • Fruit bats, a delicacy for some West Africans, are considered to be virus's natural host

Ebola special report

Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? You can email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk


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Mayor 'ordered attack on students'

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 23 Oktober 2014 | 18.20

23 October 2014 Last updated at 11:19

Mexico's attorney general has ordered the arrest of Jose Luis Abarca, Mayor of the town of Iguala, where 43 students went missing after clashing with police on 26 September.

The prosecutor accused Mr Abarca of ordering police to confront the students to prevent them from disrupting a public speech by his wife.

Six people were killed in the clashes and 43 students disappeared.

Eyewitnesses described seeing them being bundled into police cars.

Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said that arrest warrants had been issued for Mr Abarca and his wife, Maria de los Angeles Pineda, as well as the town's police chief, Felipe Flores.

Mr Abarca requested leave from his post following the incident on 26 September and neither he nor his wife or Mr Flores have been seen since.

They are now considered fugitives.

'Criminal mastermind'

On 26 September, a group of students from a teacher training college in Ayotzinapa had travelled to nearby Iguala to protest against what they said were discriminatory hiring practices, and to collect funds for their college.

The college has a history of left-wing activism and according to Mr Murillo Karam, Mayor Abarca had been angered by a previous protest they had held in his town.

On the same day, Ms Pineda was giving a report to local officials about a programme offering social services to families, which she heads.

Local media have long speculated that the ensuing police crackdown on the students may have been related to Ms Pineda's public appearance.

In a news conference on Wednesday, Mr Murillo Karam said police officers testified that they had been told to intercept the students "on the mayor's orders" to prevent them from disrupting his wife's event.

Police then opened fire on the buses the students were travelling in, killing three of them and three more people in nearby vehicles.

One busload of students tried to flee but was stopped by the police and taken to Iguala police station.

Mr Murillo Karam also backed up claims that Ms Pineda and her husband had ties to a local drug gang calling itself Guerreros Unidos (United Warriors).

He said that the alleged leader of the gang, Sidronio Casarrubias Salgado, had accused Ms Pineda of being "the main operator of criminal activities in Iguala".

Bribes

Mr Casarrubias, who was arrested last week in Acapulco, said the mayor had bribed local police to let the gang act with impunity and had even allowed gang members to infiltrate the force.

Mr Murillo Karam said the gang leader had described how the police turned the students over to the gang and how, upon receiving a message from one of his men describing them as members of a rival gang, he had ordered their disappearance.

The prosecutor said gang members then loaded them onto a pick-up truck and took them to Pueblo Viejo, where a number of mass graves have been found.

Forensic tests suggested 28 bodies found there were not those of the students, but Mr Murillo Karam said they "may have been flawed".

Mr Murillo Karam said two more bodies had been discovered since and Argentine forensic experts flown in to help with the investigation were carrying out further tests on all the bodies.

A total of 52 people, including police officers, local officials and gang members have been arrested in the case.


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Nato jets 'intercept Russian plane'

23 October 2014 Last updated at 09:08

A Russian spy plane has been intercepted by Nato jets over the Baltic Sea, the alliance says, amid heightened tensions in the region.

Estonia summoned Russia's ambassador on Wednesday after its military said the Ilyushin-20 plane had entered its airspace for about a minute.

But Russia said the plane had been on a training flight and had not violated Estonian airspace.

Russia has been accused of several recent border violations in the region.

The conflict in eastern Ukraine, which the West says Russia has stoked by supporting the rebels, has prompted sanctions against senior figures in Moscow and bans on EU goods in response.

In the past week, non-Nato member Sweden has been searching for a submarine reportedly sighted in its waters in the southern Stockholm archipelago some 48km (30 miles) from the capital. The suspected submarine is widely assumed to be Russian.

Last month, Estonia accused Russia of abducting one of its security officials on the border.

Nato said the Ilyushin plane had taken off from the Russian Baltic coast enclave of Kaliningrad on Tuesday and was "first intercepted by Danish F-16 jets when it approached Denmark", before flying north towards Sweden.

Intercepted by Swedish planes, the Ilyushin entered Estonian airspace for less than a minute and was escorted out by Portuguese F16s, the alliance said.

A Russian defence ministry spokesman said the military plane had taken off from Khrabrovo airfield in Kaliningrad and flown "over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea".

The flight was carried out "in strict adherence to the international regulations on the use of airspace", a spokesman told Interfax news agency.


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Coalition Syria strikes 'kill 553'

23 October 2014 Last updated at 12:01
Kurds near Kobane

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The BBC's Kasra Naji reports from the Turkey-Syria border

US-led air strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria have killed 553 people since September, UK-based activists say.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says 464 IS fighters, 57 other militants and 32 civilians have died.

Meanwhile, fierce fighting resumed in the town of Kobane, where militants and Kurdish forces battling for control.

Kurdish sources told BBC Arabic that IS had retaken a strategically important hilltop 4km west of the town.

Kurdish forces fighting IS in Kobane took Tal Shair nine days ago.

Reports also suggest IS fighters have been shelling Kurdish positions and attacking the town centre.

Syrian Kurdish sources told the BBC that IS fighters launched intensive attacks on Wednesday night from the southern and eastern parts of the town, in an apparent attempt to get access to the town centre.

The fighting resumed on Thursday morning after a brief period of calm, the sources added.

Control of Tal Shair has flipped between Syrian Kurdish fighters and IS militants in recent days. Kurds last captured the hill - close to the border with Turkey - from IS on 14 October.

Analysts say whoever controls the hill has a much better chance of controlling Kobane, a Syrian Kurdish town right up against the border.

Seizing Kobane would give IS full control of a long stretch of Syrian territory along the border.

Kurdish fighters and their Free Syrian Army allies told the BBC that they had launched a counter-attack against IS west of Kobane in an attempt to decrease the pressure on fellow fighters south and east of the town.

A medical source inside the town reported casualties but could not give a number.

Omar Alloush, a Kurdish official in Kobane, told the BBC over the telephone that "the fighting is the heaviest in couple of weeks".

Separately the US envoy tasked by President Obama with building a coalition against IS told the BBC that Turkey - which has been criticised over its inaction regarding Kobane - has done "quite a lot" to help deal with the crisis in Syria.

Gen John Allen said that Turkey had accepted the "enormous burden" of 1.5 million refugees. He said that the US was in discussions with the Turkish government which will result in "other commitments".

Gen Allen also said that the US was working with other governments to cut off the "self-sufficient" funding of IS by targeting its "illicit oil smuggling", its "trafficking of antiquities" and other "criminal activities".

The IS advance in Syria takes place against the backdrop of the civil war there.

US-led air strikes are being conducted without the explicit permission of President Bashar al-Assad, who the West wants to relinquish power.

Who are Islamic State (IS)?

Fighters belonging to Sunni-led militant group Isis

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In 60 seconds: What does Islamic State want?

  • Formed out of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in 2013, IS first captured Raqqa in eastern Syria
  • It captured broad swathes of Iraq in June, including Mosul, and declared a "caliphate" in areas it controls in Syria and Iraq
  • Pursuing an extreme form of Sunni Islam, IS has persecuted non-Muslims such as Yazidis and Christians, as well as Shia Muslims, whom it regards as heretics
  • Known for its brutal tactics, including beheadings of soldiers, journalists and aid workers
  • The CIA says the group could have as many as 31,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria

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Canada 'will never be intimidated'

23 October 2014 Last updated at 12:09
Bullets being fired inside the Canadian parliament building

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Footage from the Toronto Globe and Mail show a hail of bullets being fired inside the Canadian parliament building

Canada's prime minister has insisted his country will not be intimidated, after a gunman rampaged through parliament before being shot dead.

Stephen Harper described the attacker as a terrorist and promised to "redouble" anti-terror efforts.

The gunman, reportedly a Muslim convert named Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, shot and killed a soldier at an Ottawa war memorial before entering parliament.

It came a day after a Muslim convert killed a soldier in Quebec.

Mr Harper described that earlier attack as a plot inspired by the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

Earlier this month, Canada announced plans to join the US-led campaign of air strikes against IS militants in Iraq.

However, there is no official confirmation that any of this week's attacks are directly linked to IS or the new military campaign.

The shooting suspect
  • Named as 32-year-old Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, a petty criminal with a history of convictions for minor drug offences and theft
  • Officials believe he recently converted to Islam; a friend he met at a mosque described him as unstable
  • His mother is thought to be an immigration official, his father a Libyan who once ran a cafe in Montreal

The suspect: A trail of petty crime

In a televised address late on Wednesday, Mr Harper said: "We will not be intimidated. Canada will never be intimidated.

"In fact, this will lead us to strengthen our resolve and redouble our efforts... to take all necessary steps to identify and counter threats and keep Canada safe."

Mr Harper stressed that the perpetrators "will have no safe haven" in Canada, but admitted the attacks showed that the country was "not immune to terrorist attacks".

Mr Harper has been meeting MPs at the time of the shooting, but was safely evacuated.

The attack began on Wednesday morning, as two soldiers guarding the memorial came under fire from a man carrying a rifle.

One soldier, Cpl Nathan Cirillo, died of his injuries. Three other people were treated in hospital and released by evening.

Minutes after the attack at the memorial, dozens of shots were fired inside the parliament building.

Police officers near Parliament Hill

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Eyewitness Alain Merizier: "You don't have time to be afraid, just surprised"

The gunman was shot dead by Sergeant-at-arms Kevin Vickers, 58.

"MPs and [Parliament] Hill staff owe their safety, even lives, to Sergeant at Arms Kevin Vickers who shot attacker just outside the MPs' caucus rooms," New Democrat MP Craig Scott tweeted.

Zehaf-Bibeau, 32, had apparently been designated a high-risk traveller and had his passport taken away because of suspected jihadist sympathies.

A Twitter user who posted an image purporting to show Zehaf-Bibeau said it had come from an IS-linked account.

Extremism in Canada
  • Canadian Momin Khawaja involved in al-Qaeda-inspired plot to strike British targets with fertiliser bombs in 2004; jailed in 2009 in the first conviction under Canada's 2008 anti-terror law
  • So-called "Toronto 18" planned in 2006 to detonate truck bombs around Toronto and take hostages including the prime minister in al-Qaeda-inspired plot; 11 convicted of terror-related offences
  • Hiva Alizadeh jailed in September 2014 for attempting to organise a militant jihadist cell in Ottawa
  • Tunisian Chiheb Esseghaier and Palestinian Raed Jaser charged in 2013 over a plot to derail a Toronto-New York train, with alleged support from an Iran-based al-Qaeda cell; both awaiting trial

Canada's growing extremism

Zehaf-Bibeau had a police record for petty crime, including possession of drugs and robbery.

In his evening address, Mr Harper described him as a terrorist.

"In the days to come we will learn more about the terrorist and any accomplices he may have had," Mr Harper said.

Parliamentary official who stopped the gunman
  • Witnesses identified the parliamentary Sergeant-at-Arms, Kevin Vickers, as the man who shot dead the attacker
  • Mr Vickers, 58, took up his role in 2006 after 29 years in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
  • He last made headlines in 2011 when he supported the right of Sikhs to wear ceremonial daggers in the House of Commons
John McKay MP

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John McKay MP: ''I hear this pop, pop, pop''

Several buildings in the city went into lockdown during the incident, as police told those in the vicinity of central Ottawa to stay away from windows and roofs as they searched for potential additional suspects.

Parliament Hill is still closed to the public.

In a telephone conversation with Mr Harper, US President Barack Obama condemned the attacks and reaffirmed the two nations' close friendship.

Are you in Ottawa? Were you affected by the events yesterday? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.


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MEPs back Juncker EU Commission team

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 22 Oktober 2014 | 18.19

22 October 2014 Last updated at 11:48

MEPs have voted by a large majority in support of the new European Commission led by Jean-Claude Juncker.

The vote went 423 for, 209 against and there were 67 abstentions. It means the Commission can take office next month.

The commissioners underwent gruelling cross-examination at individual hearings in the European Parliament.

Mr Juncker reshuffled some appointments after objections from MEPs. The Commission drafts EU laws, oversees national budgets and enforces EU rules.

UK Conservatives abstained from the vote. Other Eurosceptics, including UKIP, opposed the Commission, as did the Greens and leftists. But the main party blocs voted for the new team.

The 28-strong team has one official from each EU nation.

Speaking in French before the vote, Mr Juncker said it was "pathetic" that he had been unable to appoint more than nine women to the Commission, despite having urged national governments to put forward more women. MEPs applauded him for making that point.

He asked MEPs to lobby their national parties to raise awareness about gender equality.

For many years he was prime minister of Luxembourg and is a veteran of EU integration efforts.

"I'm a bit embarrassed about this because Luxembourg didn't appoint a woman," he said, adding in English: "in the short term I won't be able to change my sex".

New structure

Mr Juncker is from the main centre-right bloc, the European People's Party (EPP), which won the May European elections.

He has created the new post of first vice-president, appointing Frans Timmermans from the Netherlands, another EU veteran, with whom he has worked for many years.

One of Mr Timmermans's key tasks is to look at the question of subsidiarity - that is, issues that can best be addressed at national rather than pan-European level.

The UK and some other countries have urged the Commission to cut red tape and devolve more power to national governments.

Mr Timmermans will also be responsible for sustainable development - something that MEPs had demanded during the hearings.

Other vice-presidents will oversee some other key areas, such as the EU budget, jobs and growth, and energy.

The UK's Lord Hill will be commissioner for financial services, overseeing banking - a post welcomed by the UK government. However, he had a rough ride in the hearings, as MEPs recalled him for a second round of questioning.

More overlap

Mr Juncker regretted that only two eurozone countries had retained triple-A credit ratings - Germany and Luxembourg.

"I'd like the EU to equip itself with a social triple-A rating - that's just as important as an economic and financial triple A," he said.

He also vowed to break down "silos" in the Commission, to end "commissioners working in their corner behind closed doors, which is a rather provincial approach".

"The big loser of this new structure is me. I have delegated a lot of my presidential powers to the vice-presidents," he said.

Under pressure from MEPs Mr Juncker nominated a different candidate from Slovenia - Violeta Bulc - to the post of transport commissioner. Slovenia's ex-PM Alenka Bratusek was the only candidate to be rejected by MEPs.

He also named Slovakia's Maros Sefcovic as vice-president responsible for energy union, in another concession to MEPs.

Structure of the European Commission

Vytenis Andriukaitis (Lithuania) Health and food safety

Miguel Arias Canete (Spain) Climate action and energy

Dimitris Avramopoulos (Greece) Migration and home affairs

Elzbieta Bienkowska (Poland) Internal market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs (small and medium-sized businesses)

Corina Cretu (Romania) Regional policy

Johannes Hahn (Austria) European neighbourhood policy and enlargement negotiations

Jonathan Hill (UK) Financial stability, financial services and capital markets union

Phil Hogan (Ireland) Agriculture and rural development

Vera Jourova (Czech Republic) Justice, consumers and gender equality

Cecilia Malmstroem (Sweden) Trade

Neven Mimica (Croatia) International co-operation and development

Carlos Moedas (Portugal) Research, science and innovation

Pierre Moscovici (France) Economic and financial affairs, taxation and customs

Tibor Navracsics (Hungary) Education, culture, youth

Guenther Oettinger (Germany) Digital economy and society

Violeta Bulc (Slovenia) Transport and space

Christos Stylianides (Cyprus) Humanitarian aid and crisis management

Marianne Thyssen (Belgium) Employment, social affairs, skills and labour mobility

Karmenu Vella (Malta) Environment, maritime affairs and fisheries

Margrethe Vestager (Denmark) Competition


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Protests at HK leader's residence

22 October 2014 Last updated at 11:09

Pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong have marched to the residence of the territory's leader, criticising his stance on democratic reform.

The protesters were also angered by CY Leung's recent comments, where he argued that poorer residents should not be given too much political influence.

Pro-democracy protesters have been on Hong Kong's streets for three weeks, paralysing some key roads.

Activists and government officials held talks for the first time on Tuesday.

However, the first round of talks showed little signs of ending the impasse.

'Numbers game'

Correspondents say about 200 protesters marched to Mr Leung's official residence, Government House, on Wednesday.

Many were angered by Mr Leung's comments in an interview on Monday, where he said fully democratic elections would lead to populist policies, as poorer residents would have a dominant voice in politics.

"If it's entirely a numbers game and numeric representation, then obviously you would be talking to half of the people in Hong Kong who earn less than $1,800 (£1,110) a month," he said.

These startlingly frank remarks have not gone down well with many demonstrators, who see it as proof that the political system is rigged on behalf of the rich, the BBC's Juliana Liu in Hong Kong reports.

It tallies with the narrative of the city as a place where the gap between rich and poor - which is one of the highest in Asia - is rising, our correspondent adds.

On Wednesday, the government issued a statement saying that Mr Leung was required to "take into account the needs of all sectors with equal importance... instead of just the needs of the largest community".

It added that he attached "great importance to the livelihood of the grassroots".

The pro-democracy demonstrators are angered by a Chinese government ruling that said all candidates for Hong Kong's 2017 chief executive elections must be vetted by a nominating committee dominated by pro-Beijing groups.

They have described this as a "fake democracy".

The protests, known as the Occupy Central movement, drew tens of thousands to the streets at their peak.

Numbers have dwindled since then, but hundreds remained at protest camps in the districts of Mong Kok, Admiralty and Causeway Bay.

Local businesses and residents have criticised the disruption caused by the protests.

On Wednesday, there were brief scuffles as a group of men tried to dismantle the barricades set up by protesters in Mong Kok, prompting the police to separate the two sides.

A poll has suggested that public opinion on Occupy Central is split, with 38% supporting the protests, and 36% opposed, local media report (in Chinese).

On Tuesday, government representatives met student leaders who were representing the protests for two hours of televised talks.

Government negotiators said the protesters' demands were impossible, while student activists accused the government of being "vague".

Hong Kong's Chief Secretary Carrie Lam told the students that the government would send a report to Chinese government officials reflecting the protesters' views, and set up a platform to facilitate dialogue on future constitutional changes.

However, she stressed that Hong Kong could not "decide on its own its political development" because it was a special administrative region within China.

The student leaders, meanwhile, argued that the public should be able to nominate candidates for Hong Kong's elections, and that the nominating committee outlined by the Chinese government was not representative enough.

Student leader Alex Chow said after the meeting: "The government has to come up with some way to solve this problem, but what they are offering does not have any practical content."


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Syria air force steps up strikes

22 October 2014 Last updated at 11:47

The Syrian military has stepped up air strikes on rebel areas dramatically, carrying out more than 200 in recent days, opposition activists say.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the raids took place mostly in western areas between midnight on Sunday and noon on Tuesday.

The UK-based group said there were many casualties, but did not give a figure.

The intensified strikes come as US-led forces continue to bomb Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria and Iraq.

US and Arab jets have been attacking IS positions in around the northern Syrian town of Kobane, where Kurdish fighters are under siege.

Overnight, US officials said they were examining a video that appeared to show IS fighters in possession of a bundle of military aid dropped by aircraft near Kobane on Sunday.

A Pentagon spokesman said the vast majority of the bundles had ended up in the Kurds' hands but he was aware of one that had not.

Rapid increase

The Syrian air force's strikes targeted rebel-held areas in Quneitra, Deraa, the Damascus countryside, Hama, Idlib and Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory said.

The provinces stretch from the country's south-west through the capital, Damascus, to the far north-west.

The eastern province of Deir al-Zour, where government forces have been battling IS militants, was also bombed over the same period.

At least eight people were also reportedly killed on Tuesday in an air raid on a rebel-held town along Syria's southern border with Jordan.

The Local Co-ordination Committees, an opposition activist network, said government planes had dropped explosives-laden canisters on Nassib.

The number of casualties was likely to rise as victims were trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings, it added.

The Syrian Observatory says the air force carries out 12 to 20 strikes a day on average so the 210 that took place over 36 hours represent a rapid increase.

Analysts said the military might be stepping up its air campaign in an effort to weaken rebel groups before they began receiving training and equipment from the US and its allies so that they can take the fight to IS on the ground in Syria.

More than 191,000 people have been killed since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad erupted in March 2011. Another nine million people have been driven from their homes.


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