Luis Suarez hat trick gives Liverpool win

By Press Association

Luis Suarez scored his second hat trick at Carrow Road in the space of five months as Liverpool crushed a sorry Norwich 5-2 to record its first Barclays Premier League win under Brendan Rodgers.
Suarez scored a memorable treble on his last visit to Carrow in April and he took just 67 seconds to open his account in Norfolk this season, scoring from the edge of the box to make it 1-0.
He then capitalized on a terrible mistake by Michael Turner to make it 2-0 before laying on Nuri Sahin, who made it 3-0 just after the break.

no_source / Julian Finney/Getty ImagesLuis Suarez celebrates after scoring Liverpool's first goal Saturday. He went on to score two more in the Reds' rout of Norwich.

Suarez then took his tally for the season to six when he curled home from the edge of the box and Steven Gerrard scored Liverpool's fifth after Steve Morison had pulled one back for Norwich.
Substitute Grant Holt overpowered his marker to score another consolation for Norwich with three minutes to go, but there was no doubt who bossed the game at the final whistle, as the home fans booed their team off following a poor display.
A lot had been made of Liverpool's poor start to the season under Rodgers before Saturday's game, but the Merseysiders were a class apart at Carrow Road.
Teenage trio Raheem Sterling, Suso and Andre Wisdom all performed brilliantly and Sahin proved the perfect foil to Suarez's penetrating runs through the Norwich defense.
They played with fluency, pace and brutal finishing that will give Rodgers hope that he can deliver success at Anfield during his first term in charge.
A Liverpool rout seemed on the cards from the start. With just over a minute on the clock, Glen Johnson's through ball was cleared only as far as Suarez and he drove home from 18 yards.
Daniel Agger headed over a free kick as Liverpool searched for a quick second, but Norwich then stormed forward through Simeon Jackson, who drew a top-drawer reaction save from Pepe Reina at his near post.
Sterling then knocked Suarez's pinpoint ball across the box but Norwich cleared just before the unmarked Sahin could pull the trigger.
Suarez was at the center of controversy in the 23rd minute when the Uruguayan raced through after a long ball over the top and broke in to the box.
Just as the forward was about to shoot Leon Barnett barged in to back of Uruguayan and brought an elbow down on his shoulder, but referee Mike Jones waved play on despite the please of the Reds players, who were infuriated at the decision.
Suarez was involved in the action again minutes later when he played Gerrard through with a wonderful 40-yard pass but John Ruddy palmed the skipper's header away from close range.
Jackson blazed over a good chance to put Norwich back in the game and Suarez made the hosts pay.
Barely 30 seconds after shooting wide while one on one with Ruddy, the Uruguayan pinched the ball off a lazy Turner, nutmegged the defender and finished from 12 yards before goading the home supporters in his celebration.
After seeing his team booed off at halftime, Chris Hughton brought on Holt and the Canaries started playing much better.
Hughton's team should have pulled one back in the 46th minute when Jackson fired a cross the box with a volley but the ball cannoned off Robert Snodgrass' knee and flew over the bar from barely two yards.
Once again Norwich was made to pay for its miss as Suarez came in off the flank and unselfishly squared to Sahin, who made it 3-0. Some Norwich fans had seen enough and left even though the game was only 56 minutes old.
Andrew Surman blazed a terrible shot wide and almost predictably Liverpool went down the other end and scored.
Norwich foolishly stood off Suarez and he curled a brilliant finished wide of the outstretched Ruddy to complete his hat trick.
The Canaries restored some pride soon after when Reina spilled Russell Martin's shot in to the path of Morison and he calmly swept home.
Liverpool underlined its dominance with little over 20 minutes left when Sterling took advantage of a slip by Javier Garrido to square for Gerrard, who scored thanks to a big deflection off Barnett that wrong-footed Ruddy.
Suarez almost bagged his fourth four minutes later when he latched on to Gerrard's pass down the left wing, but the forward could only find the side-netting.
The away fans sung the names of Suarez and Rodgers in the dying minutes, clearly delighted at their team's first win of the season.
The home fans, meanwhile, vented their frustration by booing their team off as their winless run under Hughton continued.

Iran claims right to retaliate, after Israel UN speech

Mr Netanyahu showed a drawing illustrating Iran's alleged progress towards nuclear weapons

Iran has warned it is ready to retaliate against attack after Israel's prime minister urged a red line to be drawn to stop its nuclear programme.

Benjamin Netanyahu told the UN time was running out to stop Iran having enough enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb.
In response, Iran's deputy UN ambassador said his country was strong enough to defend itself.
Israel and Western countries suspect Iran is seeking nuclear weapons capability, a charge Iran denies.
Tehran says its nuclear programme is for purely peaceful purposes, such as energy and producing medical isotopes.
Iranian deputy UN ambassador Eshagh al-Habib said his country was: "strong enough to defend itself and reserves its full right to retaliate with full force against any attack".
He accused Mr Netanyahu of making "baseless allegations" in his address to the UN General Assembly in New York.
Mr Netanyahu told delegates at the annual meeting of the assembly that Iran could have enough material to make a nuclear bomb by the middle of next year, and a clear message needed to be sent to stop Tehran in its tracks.

Analysis

Jonathan Marcus BBC Diplomatic Correspondent

Mr Netanyahu is a man at home in US politics and his message was more attuned to that audience. It was a message of grand simplifications: "the great battle between the modern and the medieval" - in other words between modernity and the forces of radical Islam.
This was the cue for Mr Netanyahu to move to his main focus, the potential threat from a nuclear armed Iran. The "hour was getting very late" he said.
The Israeli prime minister also twice made positive reference to US President Barack Obama's own comments and actions.
It was perhaps a realisation that the antipathy between the two leaders was reaching damaging proportions and also maybe a hint that, while still favouring Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney, Mr Netanyahu has sampled the political mood in the US and is re-balancing himself ahead of a possible second Obama victory.
 

 

"Red lines don't lead to war, red lines prevent war," he said. "Nothing could imperil the world more than a nuclear-armed Iran."

He said sanctions passed over the past seven years had not affected Tehran's programme. "The hour is very late," he told delegates. "The Iranian nuclear calendar does not take time out."
He said he was convinced that faced with a "clear red line, Iran will back down" and added that he was confident the US and Israel could chart a common path on the issue.
On Tuesday, in his own address to the General Assembly, US President Barack Obama stressed the US would "do what we must" to stop Tehran acquiring nuclear arms.
However, while the Obama administration has not ruled out a military option, it says sanctions and multilateral negotiations with Iran must still be given time to work.
Earlier this month, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the US was not prepared to commit to drawing "red lines".
On Wednesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused Western countries of nuclear "intimidation".
"Continued threat by the uncivilised Zionists [Israel] to resort to military action is a clear example of this bitter reality," he told the General Assembly.
'Ethnic cleansing' Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas highlighted the Palestinians' UN status, saying he would continue to seek full membership.

President Mahmoud Abbas says a Palestinian state must be realised

But he said negotiations had begun with "regional organisations and member states" aimed at adopting a resolution making Palestine "a non-member state of the United Nations during this session".
"In our endeavour," he added, "we do not seek to delegitimise an existing state - that is Israel - but rather to assert the state that must be realised - that is Palestine."
Currently, the Palestine Liberation Organisation only has "permanent observer" status. Last year, a bid for full-member status failed because of a lack of support at the UN Security Council.
The change would allow Palestinians to participate in General Assembly debates. It would also improve their chances of joining UN agencies and the International Criminal Court.
Last year, Palestinians joined the UN cultural agency Unesco, despite Israeli and US opposition.
Mr Abbas also denounced Israeli construction in and around East Jerusalem. "It is a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people via the demolition of their homes," he said.

Clashes in Aleppo after rebels launch 'decisive' battle

 

Rebels said the offensive in Aleppo involved hundreds of fighters

Fierce fighting has been reported in Syria's second city of Aleppo, a day after the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) said a "decisive" battle had begun.

Both residents and activists described the clashes as "unprecedented", and said rebel fighters were attacking government positions on several fronts.
The fighting had spread to previously peaceful districts, they added.
On Thursday, the UN said the number of Syrians fleeing to other states could exceed 700,000 by the end of the year.
More than half a million are believed to have already crossed into Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq, but only 294,000 have registered with the UN.
UN agencies and other humanitarian groups have issued a funding appeal for $488m (£300m) to help them meet the needs of the refugees.
'Regain control' Activists said the start of the rebel offensive in Aleppo was announced in calls from mosques at about 16:00 (13:00 GMT) on Thursday.
In interviews with foreign media and videos posted online, members of the Tawhid Brigade said a "decisive" battle for control of the city had begun. The offensive involved hundreds of rebel fighters attacking government positions on several fronts, they added.
"We wanted to surprise the Syrian army which had started to creep forward towards the southern neighbourhoods," Bashir al-Haji, the Tawhid Brigade's commander, told the Guardian newspaper.
"There are 6,000 fighters of the Tawhid Brigade taking part in the battle now, in addition to a few other brigades like al-Fatah and Ahfad al-Fatihin for the Turkmen."
He denied the FSA had declared "decisive" battles for Aleppo before.
"We are not aiming to liberate the whole of Aleppo with this battle but to regain control of most of the city and get back as many neighbourhoods as we can."
The rebel claims could not be immediately verified, but activists and residents reported heavy clashes and shelling in the districts of Izaa, Saif al-Dawla, Sulaimaniya, on Thursday night and Friday morning.
"The fighting is unprecedented and has not stopped since Thursday," said Rami Abdul Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based activist group, told AFP news agency.
"The clashes used to be limited to one or two blocks of a district, but now the fighting is on several fronts."

China's Bo Xilai 'expelled from party to face charges'

 

Bo Xilai (C) with convicted wife Gu Kailai and son Bo Guagua

Top Chinese politician Bo Xilai is to be expelled from the Communist Party and will face prosecution, state media have said.

Mr Bo was the former Communist Party leader in the city of Chongqing.
His wife, Gu Kailai, was convicted in August of killing UK national Neil Heywood and given a suspended death sentence.
Mr Bo has not been seen in public since the scandal erupted and was said to be under investigation.
Mr Bo was suspended from his party posts in April.
The state media, Xinhua, said Mr Bo would face charges relating to alleged corruption, abuse of power, bribetaking and improper relations with women, Associated Press reported.
In addition to the sentence passed on Gu Kailai, former police chief Wang Lijun has been sentenced to 15 years in jail for ''bending the law, defection, abuse of power and bribetaking".
Xinhua has also announced the party congress that will herald a once-in-a-decade change of China's leadership will begin on 8 November.

Pakistani families count cost of anti-Islam film protests

 

Sipah-e-Sahaba is thought to have carried out scores of mainly sectarian attacks over the years, but the video is the focus of its latest rallying cry

Protests in Pakistan against an anti-Islam film made in the US began peacefully. But last week, after Friday prayers, at least 21 people were killed in demonstrations across the country. Aleem Maqbool reports from Karachi, the city which saw the worst of the violence, and where more protests are planned.

Women from the Karachi neighbourhood of Usmanabad have been gathering every day since policeman Muhammed Tufail died.
They have been trying to comfort his mother, Mariam, and praying.
"Weren't the policemen Muslims too?" asks Mariam. "My son had been upset by the video too.
"They were just doing their job, and the protesters treated them like enemies."
'So proud' The family had been watching the news channels when it all happened.

"Even if the whole world is destroyed, we will not stop our demonstrations for this noble cause”

         Aurangzeb Farooqi Cleric and Karachi head of Sipah-e-Sihaba

They knew the protests had been planned and saw coverage of the crowds growing in the centre of Karachi.

They watched with horror as the demonstrators became more violent and confronted the police.
Ultimately on live television they saw footage of their son lying on the ground then being carried, limp, from the scene.
They rushed to the hospital to find his body already in the morgue.
"We were so proud of him," says Mariam. "He was bright and cared about educating his four children and teaching them about Islam.
"Now they will grow up without a father. Why?" she cries.
As we leave, Tufail's youngest brother, Amir approaches us.
"He died defending the American consulate," he says.
"He took a bullet for them, not in his back, but in his chest. I hope the Americans appreciate what he did. It would be nice if they at least said 'thank you' to my parents."
Biggest demonstrations The traffic is flowing again over the spot where police tried to hold back the protesters and where Muhammed Tufail fell.

 

 Police came under sustained attack during the 21 September protests in Karachi

There are few signs of the battle that raged just across the carriageway and close to the American consulate.
But the turmoil led to 15 lives being lost that day in Karachi, most of them protesters.
Eight belonged to the Sipah-e-Sahaba extremist group that had organised one of the biggest demonstrations.
"It was for the honour of the Prophet," says cleric Aurangzeb Farooqi, the head of the Karachi branch of this supposedly banned organisation.
He talks of the anger felt around the Muslim world because of the anti-Islam video.
Sipah-e-Sahaba is thought to have carried out scores of mainly sectarian attacks over the years, but it is the video that has become the focus of its latest rallying cry.
'Martyrs' "We wanted a peaceful demonstration, but they forced us to fight," Mr Farooqi said.

"I hope the Americans appreciate what he did. It would be nice if they at least said 'thank you' to my parents”

          Amir Muhammed Tufail's youngest brother

"The violence was a conspiracy aimed at making us stop our protests, but we won't."

He demands the expulsion of the American ambassador, and tells us the protests will continue until the video maker is arrested and prosecuted.
He says more protest gatherings are planned for the coming days.
"Even if the whole world is destroyed, we will not stop our demonstrations for this noble cause."
The cleric said that those who died last week, including the police, were "martyrs".
But it is hard for Noor Jehan to accept. We find her rocking back and forth on her bed, telling herself that her son Bashir, 17, is in heaven.
Bashir was a Sipah-e-Sihaba recruit, and was shot dead at the protest.
"Everyone is telling me to be strong, and I know he died for a good cause, but I can't stop my tears," she says.
Cleric Aurangzeb Farooqi says she should be proud of her son and of the "success he had in his mission".
He is urging other young men to join the demonstrations, saying it is the only way to send the right message to the world.
But Noor Jehan suddenly seems oblivious to his words and our presence as she starts to hold a conversation with the image of her son in a photograph.

Hillary Clinton seeks Syria action from 'paralysed' UN

 

The UN has been unable to stop the violence in Syria

Hillary Clinton has called on the United Nations Security Council to make a renewed effort to deal with the conflict in Syria.

The US secretary of state said the council was "paralysed".
China and Russia have vetoed two attempts by Western members to impose tougher measures on the regime.
UK-based activist group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 305 people died on Wednesday, the bloodiest day of the conflict so far.
The observatory's Rami Abdel Rahman said the figure included only those whose names had been documented.
"If we count the unidentified bodies, the figure will be much higher," he said.
The observatory (SOHR) said 199 of Wednesday's dead were civilians.
The SOHR is one of the most prominent organisations documenting and reporting incidents and casualties in the Syrian conflict. The group says its reports are impartial, though its information cannot be independently verified.
Other groups estimated Wednesday's death toll to be considerably higher.
Most of the deaths were in and around the capital Damascus, where activists accused pro-government militiamen of murdering women and children in their homes.
The observatory also said 40 bodies were found in the town of al-Dhiyabiyeh near Damascus.
The deaths came on the same day that the military's main headquarters was badly damaged in an apparent suicide car-bombing.

Phil Goodwin describes the scene in Damascus as CCTV shows the moment of attack

'Reign of terror' France, Britain and the United States have argued for months in favour of taking stronger action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
But Russia and China have blocked their proposed resolutions.
Mrs Clinton said that the Security Council must end the violence and urged the members to "try once again to find a path forward".
The UK's David Cameron also called on the UN to act, telling the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly that recent evidence of crimes against children in Syria is "a terrible stain on the reputation of this United Nations".
He singled out those countries that "failed to stand up to these atrocities and in some cases aided and abetted Assad's reign of terror" for particular criticism.
The five permanent members of the council, who all hold vetoes, have so far been unable to agree on a course of action regarding the conflict in Syria, which has claimed some 27,000 lives over the last 18 months.
In Damascus, the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) and an Islamist group called Ansar al-Islam both said they carried out the attack on the military headquarters.
State TV broadcast footage of a minibus slowing before exploding at the military compound near one of the capital's main road junctions.
Gunfire reverberated around the city for hours after the bombings, as rebels fought with soldiers at the compound.
The FSA announced earlier that it had moved its command from Turkey to Syria in an apparent attempt to bolster its fight against regime forces.

Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe hints at March election

 

 President Robert Mugabe has always denied rigging previous elections

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe wants to hold elections in March 2013 with a referendum on a new constitution in November, court papers reveal.

His long-time rivals in the Movement for Democratic Change have condemned this timetable as "unrealistic".
The two sides are unable to agree on a draft constitution, which is supposed to be in place before the new election.
Until now, Mr Mugabe has always insisted that the elections should be held this year.
The MDC, led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, backed by South African mediators, insists that a new constitution is in place before the new polls to ensure they are free and fair.
President Mugabe has always denied accusations that previous elections were rigged in his favour.
Mr Tsvangirai pulled out of the previous election, in 2008, citing systematic attacks on his supporters by the army and pro-Mugabe militias.
With the uncertainty pushing Zimbabwe's economy into freefall, the pair then agreed to form a power-sharing government.
Mr Mugabe's proposed election timetable was included in court papers in a case about when to hold by-elections.
BBC Africa correspondent Andrew Harding says this is by no means a fixed date for Zimbabwe's long awaited elections but it is a sign of growing urgency.
But it was immediately rejected by MDC spokesman Douglas Mwonzora.
"The date for the election, especially, is unilateral, unrealistic and has no scientific or legal basis," he told the AFP news agency.
Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai would be expected to face each other in the poll, which is supposed to be held by next year.

Mexico Zetas drug lord Ivan Velazquez Caballero (El Taliban) captured, police say

 

 Mexico's security forces have made a number of arrests in recent weeks

One of Mexico's most wanted drugs traffickers has been arrested, security forces say.

Police say Ivan Velazquez Caballero, known both as El Taliban and as Z-50, is a commander of the violent criminal network, the Zetas.
However, the identity of the man in custody has yet to be confirmed.
The arrest in the city of San Luis Potosi comes days after it was reported that Velazquez had split from the Zetas and joined the rival Gulf Cartel.
He is believed to have controlled some of the most important drug routes into the United States and ruled them with cold brutality.

He had a reward of 30m pesos ($2.3m, £1.5m) on his head.

Police say he was the Zetas' main leader in the states of Zacatecas, Nuevo Leon and San Luis Potosi.
He is said to have been at war with another leader of the gang, Miguel Angel Trevino, known as Z-40, a former member of the Gulf Cartel.
In-fighting Police believe a recent surge in mass killings was due to a split within the Zetas.
 

Mexican marines announced on Sunday (September 9) that a suspected Zeta drug gang boss had been captured in the northern state of

In August, a man survived a mass shooting near the city of San Luis Potosi by playing dead.
He let the attackers - from his own cartel, the Zetas - pile him into a van alongside the bodies 14 others who had been shot dead.
As a result of the survivor's account, it became clear that the Zetas had split into two factions.
One faction is said to be led by one of the founders of Los Zetas, Heriberto Lazcano alias "El Lazca" or "Z-3"; the other is led by Miguel Angel Trevino.
More recently, notices have been displayed saying Ivan Velazquez had joined forces with the Gulf Cartel.
The Zetas were enforcers for the Gulf Cartel in the 1990s.
By 2005, they had broken away and started to run criminal enterprises themselves, and now control whole swathes of north-eastern Mexico.
On Monday, 35 police officers were arrested in operations in the states of San Luis Potosi and Veracruz, accused of having links to the Zetas.

Analysis

Will Grant BBC News, Mexico

For the outgoing administration of President Felipe Calderon, the capture of Ivan Velazquez, alias "El Taliban, is a significant scalp.
Infighting within such a large and multi-faceted organisation like the Zetas is to be expected, analysts say, with so many competing groups jostling for overall control.
While the government may point to the arrest as an example that its military strategy against the drug cartels has worked, critics say the Zetas were allowed to become too powerful under the current administration.
The incoming administration, of President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto, say their approach to the drugs war will be different.
But they face a daunting task in trying to bring the now-warring factions of the Zetas under control.

Army General Charged with Forcible Sodomy During Tour in Afghanistan

By Luis Martinez | ABC OTUS News 

An Army brigadier general has been charged with forcible sodomy, inappropriate relationships, and possessing alcohol and pornography while serving as a senior commander in Afghanistan earlier this year.

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair, a deputy commanding general of the 82 nd Airborne Division, faces a possible court martial over the charges handed down Wednesday.

In May, Sinclair was sent home to the United States in the middle of his combat tour in Afghanistan, where he was serving in the southern Afghanistan province of Kandahar as the deputy commander of logistics and support for the 82 nd Airborne.

 

• Brigadier General Jeffrey Sinclair, …

Sinclair was sent to the division's home base of Fort Bragg, N.C., so allegations of potential misconduct could be investigated. At the time of his return, base spokesmen confirmed that Sinclair was under criminal investigation.

A news release by the Fort Bragg Public Affairs Office listed the charges presented against Sinclair as including "forcible sodomy, wrongful sexual conduct, attempted violation of an order, violations of regulations by wrongfully engaging in inappropriate relationships and misusing a government travel charge card, violating general orders by possessing alcohol and pornography while deployed, maltreatment of subordinates, filing fraudulent claims, engaging in conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman and engaging in conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline, or of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces."

Few specifics about the allegations against Sinclair were released Wednesday, but a Defense Department official said "several women were the subject of Sinclair's alleged misconduct."

A former U.S. official who worked with Sinclair during his deployment in Kandahar said he and other officials who knew Sinclair were shocked by the news of the charges. He described Sinclair as being "very proactive" and a "gregarious individual."

Sinclair remains at Fort Bragg, where he has been serving in a placeholder position as a special assistant to the commanding general of the 18 th Airborne Corps. A Defense Department official said Sinclair was read the charges against him on Monday. Another official added that Sinclair is not under detention at the base.

Sinclair will now face an Article 32 hearing, at which evidence will be presented to a presiding officer to determine if his case should proceed to a court martial. No date has been set for that hearing.

This past decade, Sinclair has served two tours in Iraq and was on his second deployment to Afghanistan. He had also deployed as part of Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

Army spokesman George Wright says that in the past decade there have been only two Army general officers who have undergone courts martial.

In June, Brig. Gen. Roger B. Duff, a former commander of the 95th Training Division, pleaded guilty to two charges of false statements, two charges of conduct unbecoming, and seven charges of wearing unauthorized badges, awards or ribbons. Duff was sentenced to two months confinement and dismissal but, because of a pre-trial agreement, only the dismissal could be imposed. Duff's sentence has not been finalized.

Prior to Duff's case, the only other court martial involving an Army general officer was in 1999, when Maj. Gen. R.E. Hale pled guilty to seven counts of conduct unbecoming an officer and one count of making a false statement about an adulterous relationship. He was reprimanded, fined $10,000, ordered to forfeit $1,000 a month in pay and retired as a brigadier general.

Air Force mystery plane set for next mission

ABC News' Taylor Hom reports:

The U.S. military's mysterious X-37B space plane is headed back into the great beyond to do… whatever it does up there.

The X-37B is slated for its third launch in October, the Air Force said, but like its two orbital predecessors, the mission of the unmanned spacecraft remains shrouded in secrecy. The exact timing of the October spaceflight, dubbed Orbital Test Vechicle-3 or OTV-3, is also tentative.

"We are on track for the launch of the X-37B to occur next month, but the exact date of the launch is dependent on a number of factors including range conditions and weather," Air Force spokesperson Lt. Col . John Dorrian told ABC News. The 29-foot-long vehicle is set to launch aboard an Atlas 5 rocket from the Florida station of Cape Canaveral.

The pioneer voyage of the X-37B, called OTV-1, began in April of 2010 and lasted 225 days, eventually landing in December of the same year at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The second orbit, OTV-2, touched down on the same base this past June following a record-breaking 469 day travel.

"For this third launch, while the vehicle is the same… we are considering landing it at NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida instead of the previous base," said Dorrian. "We are looking to save money and make use of previous investments and infrastructure already available."
The mission for this small shuttle-like machine, developed by the U.S. Air Force and based on NASA's original X-37 design, remains largely classified. The secrecy surrounding the program, which is overseen by the Air Force's Rapid Capabilities Office, has attracted international attention from nations like China who have speculated a more aggressive intent.

"Industry analysts said the spacecraft could be a precursor to an orbiting weapon, capable of dropping bombs or disabling enemy satellites as it circles the globe," China's state-run Xinhua news agency wrote in June after OTV-2 concluded its mission.

 

ABC News - Air Force Mystery Space Plane Set for Next Secret Mission (ABC News)

Since the 2010 maiden flight, U.S. officials have continuously assured the world that the mission of the OTV series is non-nefarious "testing." For instance, the coming October mission will focus on testing the vehicle's capabilities as well the cost-effectiveness of the aircraft, Air Force spokesperson Maj. Tracy Bunko told SPACE.com, which first reported on the new mission

"One of the most promising aspects of the X-37B is it enables us to examine a payload system or technology in the environment in which it will perform its mission and inspect them when we bring them back to Earth," Bunko said. "Returning an experiment via the X-37B OTV enables detailed inspection and significantly better learning than can be achieved by remote telemetry alone."

Rented computers secretly photographed users having sex

 

 Users should be extra careful when using machines that do not belong to them, experts said

Rented computers from seven different companies secretly took photographs of their users, US authorities have said.

The companies used software made by US company Designerware which could track key strokes and other personal data.
The software, called PC Rental Agent, captured people engaging in "intimate acts", including sex.
The settlement means the companies are banned from using the software which invaded the users' privacy.
However, some software - such as location tracking - could still be used as long as the companies involved made it explicitly clear to the users.
It is believed that PC Rental Agent has been installed in approximately 420,000 computers worldwide.
The Federal Trade Commission ruling concerned a feature in the software, called Detective Mode, which would typically become activated if the user was late in returning equipment, or failed to pay for use.
Detective Mode would assist the rental store in locating the overdue computer in order to pursue its return.
Part of the process involved a pop-up window designed to look like a software registration screen.
It would request personal information such as email addresses and telephone numbers that could then be used to pursue the users for payment and/or the return of equipment.
'Partially undressed' In addition, the FTC said the software had access to much more sensitive information, including: usernames and passwords for email accounts, social media websites, and financial institutions.
Among the other data collected were social security numbers; medical records; private emails to doctors; bank and credit card statements.
Webcam pictures of children, partially undressed individuals, and intimate activities at home were also found.
In the FTC's formal complaint document, it said the software had captured "couples engaged in sexual activities".
Graham Cluley, from UK-based computer security firm Sophos, said the case highlighted the need for people to be especially cautious on machines they do not own.
"Whenever you're using someone else's computer, whether it's borrowed or rented, you can't always know all of the software on it and what it might be doing," he told the BBC.
"If you are entering an agreement to rent a computer, read the small print, and maybe think twice about doing anything too personal on them."
Designerware could not be reached for comment.

Hong Kong tycoon recruits husband for lesbian daughter

 

Business tycoon Cecil Chao said his offer has already generated much interest among male suitors

A well-known Hong Kong billionaire has offered $65m (£40m) to any man able to woo and marry his lesbian daughter.

Property and shipping tycoon Cecil Chao publicly promised the "marriage bounty" after reports emerged that his daughter had wed her long-term girlfriend.
Mr Chao, who has never married himself, told the BBC his daughter was still single and needed a "good husband".
Same-sex unions are not recognised in Hong Kong, although homosexuality was decriminalised in 1991.
Gigi Chao, a businesswoman and graduate from the University of Manchester, is said to have married her female partner of seven years, Sean Eav, in a ceremony in France earlier this year.
But her flamboyant father rejected the claims as false, adding that his generous offer had already generated many replies from potential suitors.
"It is an inducement to attract someone who has the talent but not the capital to start his own business," Mr Chao said.
"I don't mind whether he is rich or poor. The important thing is that he is generous and kind-hearted.
"Gigi is a very good woman with both talents and looks. She is devoted to her parents, is generous and does volunteer work."
His public hunt for a husband notwithstanding, Mr Chao insisted he would not force his daughter to marry a man against her will.
Ms Chao said she found her father's plan entertaining and would not worry about it until an actual suitor had been found.

Andy Williams, Moon River singer, dies aged 84

 

David Sillito looks back at Andy Williams' career

Singer Andy Williams, 84, has died at his home in Branson, Missouri, a year after being diagnosed with bladder cancer.

He was best known for the song Moon River, the Oscar-winning song featured in the film Breakfast at Tiffany's.
In 1962, he started The Andy Williams Show, which was broadcast around the world and went on to win three Emmys.
Since the 1990s, he had run the Andy Williams Moon River Theater in his home town.
The singer was one of the most enduring stars of the 1960s and '70s, whose easy style and mellow voice led President Ronald Reagan to call him "a national treasure".
A new generation discovered Williams' music when Music to Watch Girls Go By made the Top 10 in 1999 after being used in an advert.

 

Williams started singing professionally with his three brothers

He described Moon River as his "signature song" which had a "wonderful" melody and "timeless" lyrics.
"I never tried to sing like anybody else, fortunately I didn't sound like anybody else. It just happened," said Williams.
"I was very lucky that I had a voice that sounded different to almost anybody else's and it's recognisable."
Fellow crooner Tony Christie, who achieved chart success with Is This The Way To Amarillo, described Williams as "a very charming man" who had "perfect pitch".
The singer was "one of the old school," he added, "and there aren't many left".
Williams died on Tuesday night and is survived by his wife, Debbie, and his three children, Robert, Noelle and Christian.
Global fame Howard Andrew Williams was born in Iowa and started singing professionally with his three brothers as the Williams Brothers Quartet.
They worked in night clubs and on radio and backed Bing Crosby on his number one record Swinging on a Star in 1944.

Jimmy Osmond said that without Williams the Osmonds "probably wouldn't have been around"

Williams' TV show made him an international star and launched a recording career that spawned such hits as Butterfly, Love Story, Can't Get Used to Losing You and Almost There.
The weekly show lasted nine years and will be remembered by many for introducing the Osmond family to the world.
In a statement, Donny Osmond described Williams as inspiring in music and in life, and said the "warmth and grace of his singing" had shaped his own love of music.
Donny later joined his brothers to tour with Williams as his opening act and as back-up singers.
"He truly was a great singer and I will ever be indebted to Andy for giving me the opportunity to fulfil my dreams and the opportunity to be personally inspired by such a generous talent," he said.
Williams became a major star in 1956, the same year that Elvis Presley shot to fame, and was well loved in the 1960s.
"The old cliche says that if you can remember the 1960s, you weren't there," said the singer.
"Well, I was there all right, but my memory of them is blurred - not by any drugs I took but by the relentless pace of the schedule I set myself."
Cancer battle In 1962 he married Claudine Longet, a French actress and singer, with whom he had three children before their divorce in 1975.
Williams continued to play live into his 80s. During a 2007 tour of the UK, he said that performing kept him vital.

"Perhaps that two hours out onstage is the medicine that everybody should have," he told a reporter.
In November 2011, he revealed he had been diagnosed with bladder cancer but said he planned to continue performing at his own theatre.
He said at the time that bladder cancer was "no longer a death sentence" and that "people with cancer are getting through this thing".
"They're kicking it, and they're winning more and more every year. And I'm going to be one of them," he went on.
Williams left hospital in July to spend his final days at home with his family.
In lieu of flowers, his family has asked that donations be made to the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network.

Syria unrest: Four guards killed in Damascus suicide attack

Four military guards were killed after suicide attackers drove vehicle bombs into the military HQ in the heart of Damascus, Syrian officials say.

State TV contradicted earlier official accounts that no-one had died. It quoted army sources saying that 14 others were hurt in the attacks.
The rebel Free Syrian Army and an Islamist group called Ansar al-Islam both said they carried out the attack.
State TV broadcast footage of a minibus slowing before exploding at the HQ.
Gunfire reverberated around the city for hours after the bombings, as rebels fought with soldiers at the compound.
Official media said "terrorist attackers" had opened fire inside the perimeter of the compound and in nearby streets, and security forces had confronted them.
As well as this attack, Ansar al-Islam has also said it was behind another assault on a school on Tuesday it said was being used by security forces and militiamen.
State TV said those killed were guards at the compound, and both civilian and military personnel had been wounded.

Syria: The story of the conflict

Witnesses said the blasts ignited a fire that engulfed much of the main building that houses the army's General Staff.

State media insisted earlier that no senior officers were hurt.
The blasts happened early in the morning close to one of the city's busiest areas, Umayyad Square, which is dominated by government buildings.
Roads leading to the area were blocked off as the authorities dealt with the aftermath.
Diplomats living close to the area said the blasts were the biggest they had heard for months.
Buildings more than 1km (half a mile) away shook violently under the force of the explosions.
Shattered windows The BBC's Rafid Jabboori in Damascus says the target and timing are very significant.
The staff command compound represents the heart of the Syrian army, he says.
And the attack comes days after the Free Syrian Army announced it had moved its command from Turkey to Syria in an apparent attempt to bolster its fight against regime forces.
BBC cameraman Phil Goodwin was in a hotel nearby when the attack struck.
"The first blast shook the entire building I was in and sent a huge plume of smoke in the sky," he said.
Damascus resident Jean-Pierre Duthion told the BBC that his building also shook and windows were shattered.

Iran unveils 'indigenous' drone with 2,000km range

 

There are heightened tensions between the West and Iran over its nuclear programme

Iran has unveiled what it says is a new "indigenous" long-range unmanned drone capable of flying over most of the Middle East, state media report.

The Shahed (Witness) 129 had a range of 2,000km (1,240 miles) and could be equipped with bombs and missiles, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps said.
It is reportedly capable of carrying out reconnaissance and combat missions.
Last year, the Iranian authorities displayed a US drone which they claimed to have brought down electronically.
The US insisted that Iran neither shot down the the RQ-170 Sentinel nor used electronic warfare or cyber-technology to force it from the sky. They blamed a malfunction.
Later, the head of the IRGC's aerospace programme, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, said it was trying to build a copy of the drone. It is not clear whether the Shahed 129 bears any resemblance.
Defences 'ready' The unveiling of the drone follows a major naval exercise in the Gulf by the US and its allies.

 

Iran refused to return the US RQ-170 Sentinel drone it captured in December 2011

Thirty countries participated in the manoeuvres designed to test the international community's capacity to deal with mines that could hamper shipping in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil supply is transported.
The exercises took place amid heightened tensions between the West and Iran over the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme.
On Monday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he was not concerned by the threat that Israel could launch a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
"Fundamentally we do not take seriously the threats of the Zionists," he told reporters in New York. "We have all the defensive means at our disposal and we are ready to defend ourselves."
He also ignored a plea by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for both sides to avoid "incendiary rhetoric" by saying the modern state of Israel had "no roots" in the Middle East and would eventually be "eliminated".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently warned that Iran was only six or seven months from having "90%" of what it needed to make a nuclear bomb, and urged the US to draw a "red line" which if crossed would lead to military intervention.
Iran insists its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes.

South Africa's Julius Malema "unshaken" by court charge

 

Mr Malema waved to his supporters inside court

South Africa's firebrand politician Julius Malema has told supporters he is "unshaken" after being charged in court with money laundering.

Addressing an enthusiastic crowd of hundreds outside the court in Polokwane, Mr Malema vowed to continue his fight for "economic freedom".
The case against him relates to a government tender awarded to a company partly owned by his family trust.
Mr Malema, who has been granted bail, says the case is politically motivated.
There was a heavy police presence outside the court from early in the morning, and long stretches of barbed wire fencing were put in place.
Hundreds of supporters danced and sang songs denouncing President Zuma as they awaited Mr Malema's appearance.
Many held up placards saying "Hands off our leader".
He is accused of using his former position as the leader of the ANC's Youth League to enrich himself and his business partners.
"What you see is what you get" The BBC's Andrew Harding, outside court, says it had been widely anticipated that Mr Malema would face a broader raft of charges - including corruption and fraud.

Who is Julius Malema?

• Born 3 March 1981 in Limpopo province
• Mother was domestic worker and single parent
• Joined ANC aged nine and elected leader of its youth wing in April 2008
• Convicted of hate speech in March 2010 and September 2011
• Expelled from ANC in April 2012 for sowing divisions in party
• Toured mines following the shooting of 34 miners in Marikana by police in August 2012, urging workers to make the sector "ungovernable"

The single charge came as a surprise to his supporters, and adds weight to the view of some that the case against him has been rushed, our correspondent says.

The court appearance comes less than a week after a warrant for his arrest was issued.
Bail was set at 10,000 rand (£750). He is next due in court on November 30 in order to give the prosecution time to prepare their case.
Nine others have been charged alongside Mr Malema.
Emerging from court, Mr Malema said "what you see is what you get".
He then announced that he intended to visit a mine on Thursday in order to push for a wage strike.
He has been vocal in urging workers to make the mining sector "ungovernable" following the shooting of 34 miners in Marikana province by police in August.
Julius Malema is well-known in South Africa for his fiery populist rhetoric and lavish lifestyle, describing himself as an economic freedom fighter.
The 31-year-old politician was thrown out of the ANC in April, accused of sowing divisions in the party.
He is a fierce critic of his former ally, Jacob Zuma, recently attacking the president over his handling of the Marikana miners' strikes.
Mr Malema is also the subject of a separate tax investigation.

Makers unite - the revolution will be home-made

By Jane Wakefield Technology reporter

 

What would Karl Marx have made of the Maker Movement?

When Karl Marx predicted a revolution putting the means of production in the hands of the workers, he probably didn't imagine it to be fought by an army of DIYers.

But increasingly tinkerers and hobbyists are proving they are more than equal to the corporate world, and their efforts are challenging the traditional methods of manufacturing.
From the 15-year-old high school student who created a pancreatic cancer test using Google to people making money from home-made electronic devices, citizens are most definitely doing it for themselves.
The availability of cheap components, from microcontrollers such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi, coupled with the plethora of crowdsourcing models to allow the sharing of everything from ideas to funding, means that production can move out of the factory and into the home.
Garage band

 

 

Firms such as HP famously began life in garages

"Things that 10 years ago you needed to be in a big company to make are now possible from individuals," said Dale Dougherty, founding editor of Maker Magazine and the Maker Faire.
Maker Magazine has become the Das Kapital of the maker movement showcasing what people are making while the fair offers a real-life meeting point for what is often a very diverse community - "from embroidery to robotics" as Mr Dougherty puts it.
Started in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2006, the Maker Faire has now grown to 60 events around the world each year in locations as diverse as India, Tokyo and Newcastle.
There is also an independent African Maker Faire, and this is a continent where the maker movement can have real impact thinks Mr Dougherty.
"They are realising that they don't need things that a large Western company has. In the past they have got hand-me-downs from the West which are difficult for them to maintain or repair," he said.
Instead they can make their own devices, custom-made for medical, communication, farming or other needs.
Laser cutters Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired magazine, is so convinced that the maker movement will bring about the next industrial revolution, that he has written a book about it.
The parallels between the current phenomenon and the beginnings of the digital revolution are remarkable, he told the BBC ahead of the launch of his book: Makers, The New Industrial Revolution.

3D printers are the killer app of the maker movement

"There is a sense that this is the PC movement over again. All the ingredients that led to the digital revolution out of the west coast of the US in the 70s and 80s are coming together in manufacturing," he told the BBC.
"The difference is it is not going to take 20 years because unlike 1977 we already have the web," he added.
If the garages in which the computer revolution was born was all about computers and code then the makers' garages are filled with laser cutters and 3D printers.
And this time you don't need a computer science or business degree.
For those starting out there is a huge web community of amateur experts waiting with tips and advices. For those with ideas but no clue how to turn it into a product, there is cloud manufacturing sites on hand to help with pretty much every part of the process from making to marketing.
And for those with neither tools nor ideas there are physical hackerspaces where they can go to get both.
The evidence of the revolution is in "just about everything you see on Kickstarter", said Mr Anderson.
Take the Pebble smart watch which received huge amounts of interest and money on the crowd-funding website, grabbing the limelight from a very similar product designed by Sony.
"In the public perception it outcompeted one of the biggest electronic companies in the world," said Mr Anderson.

 

Makers have been around for a long time

Despite the gathering media circus around makers, Mr Dougherty urges caution when predicting how they will change the world.
"Makers have always been out there, they just didn't have a name for themselves. People often tell me proudly how they had a family member who was a maker, they see it as a tradition rather than a trend," he said.
Democratising design He agrees that there is some sort of revolution in the air though.
"We are undergoing a creative rather than an industrial revolution," he said.
"It is not replacing large scale manufacturing but people can go quickly from an idea to realised design so it means that people are thinking differently," he added.

 

 People are setting up their own factories to make a variety of things, including home-made drones

What is new, argues Mr Anderson is the way that corporations are facing a new threat to the old ways of doing things from what he calls "an army of micro-manufacturers".
Large-scale organisations are definitely sitting up and taking notice of the Maker movement. Intel is one of the sponsors of the Maker Faire and big tech corporation are beginning to hire makers for their research and development teams, according to Mr Dougherty.
Autodesk, a leading CAD (computer aided design) software firm makes the majority of money from clients in the building, construction and aerospace industries but increasingly it is keen to adapt its industrial products for consumer use.
Cash creators It is what Autodesk describes as the "democratisation of design software".
The firm has recently bought Instructables, a website which offers blueprints for a whole range of products. It is also an investor in TechShop, a physical workshop which gives people access to tools and equipment.
It is little wonder that corporates are sniffing around at the edges of the maker movement because is making one very important thing - money.
Etsy, an online marketplace for handmade items, has already surpassed $500m (£307m) in sales this year while 3D printer manufacturer Makerbot has sold 13,000 units of its affordable 3D printers.

 

 Chris Anderson became a maker with a little help from his grandfather

3D printing may be the killer app of the maker movement and Mr Anderson envisages it spreading its influence into a diverse range of industries, from robotics, computer electronics and even jewellery.
For the time being though 3D printers are largely being bought by parents "for their kids as a tool to inspire them", he said.
His own children love theirs.
"The boys make boardgame figures and the girls dolls' house furniture. Dolls' house furniture may not seem like a major industry but it feeds into the idea that it is all about kids playing with something and hoping to become the next Mark Zuckerberg.
"Regular people are designing extraordinary things and some may even be able to build a company around it," he said.
If Karl Marx had been born in the web age, he might have had to adapt his famous call to arm slightly - "Makers of the world unite".

Damascus bombers attack Syria military HQ

The BBC's Jim Muir says President Assad would have been able to hear the blasts from his nearby palace

Rebels have targeted Syria's army headquarters with two large bomb blasts in the centre of Damascus.

Military officials said one of the bombs had caused damage to the main building of the General Staff.
The anti-regime Free Syrian Army said they had carried out the attack and claimed dozens had been killed. The army said no-one had died.
A BBC reporter in the city said gunfire could still be heard, amid reports that a fierce gun battle had broken out.
Syrian state TV quoted a military source saying no senior personnel were harmed by the explosions, but some of the building's guards were wounded.
It said "terrorist attackers" had opened fire inside the perimeter of the compound and in nearby streets, and security forces had confronted them.
The blasts happened just before 07:00 local time (04:00 GMT) in an area dominated by government buildings.
Diplomats living close to the area said the blasts were the biggest they had heard for months.
Buildings more than 1km (half a mile) away shook violently under the force of the explosions.
Shattered windows The BBC's Rafid Jabboori in Damascus says the apparent target and timing are very significant.

Syria: The story of the conflict

The staff command compound represents the heart of the Syrian army, he says.

And the attack comes days after the Free Syrian Army announced it had moved its command from Turkey to Syria in an apparent attempt to bolster its fight against regime forces.
State television described the blasts, close to one of the city's busiest areas at Umayyad Square, as a terrorist attack.
Roads leading to the area were blocked off as the authorities dealt with the aftermath.
Damascus resident Jean-Pierre Duthion told the BBC that his entire building shook and windows were shattered.
"We all ran into the corridor, in the place without windows or anything, and we were just waiting until it stopped," he said.
In other developments

• Anti-regime group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says pro-government militiamen murdered 16 civilians in their Damascus homes in the early hours of Wednesday
• Iranian news channel Press TV says one of its reporters, named as Maya Naser, was shot dead by snipers in Damascus

FA on John Terry: '2 separate processes'

The Football Association on Monday denied making John Terry's position with England "untenable" following the Chelsea captain's shocking decision to quit international football.

GettyImagesJohn Terry says his position has been made 'untenable.'

"I don't see how we've made it 'untenable' -- they're two very separate processes," FA general secretary Alex Horne told Sky Sports News on Monday outside Wembley.
"It's something that happened in a match between QPR and Chelsea -- it shouldn't be taking a year to resolve but we feel we're reaching a conclusion on that."
The disciplinary hearing got under way Monday with Anton Ferdinand giving testimony to the independent panel in Terry's presence.
Terry on Sunday announced his retirement from international football, less than 24 hours before the FA hearing into his alleged racial abuse of Ferdinand.
"I am making this statement today in advance of the hearing of the FA disciplinary charge because I feel the FA, in pursuing charges against me where I have already been cleared in a court of law, have made my position with the national team untenable," Terry said.
England coach Roy Hodgson said he "reluctantly accepted" Terry's retirement.
"I am of course disappointed to lose a player of John's international experience and exceptional ability.
"I have enjoyed a good relationship with John during my time as England manager," he said.
"I can also confirm that he had the courtesy to call me prior to the announcement of his retirement from the England team. I'd like to wish John well for the future with Chelsea.''
The Chelsea captain effectively accused the FA of forcing his hand after charges stemming from last October's altercation with QPR defender Ferdinand, despite the decision of the Westminster Magistrates Court to clear Terry of a racially-aggravated public order offense over the same incident.
"That's a very different process, from my perspective, from our England procedures," said Horne.
"They sit in different compartments and I could separate the two in my mind. But, unfortunately it doesn't look like he could."
Former England captain Gary Lineker, who earned 80 England caps during his career, said Terry's decision is understandable given the circumstances.
"He says FA have made his position 'untenable.' [It was] probably a sensible decision," Lineker said via Twitter.
"Whatever you think about John Terry, he always gave his absolute all on the field for England. A strong leader and great defender."
Jimmy Armfield, another former England captain, said Terry's absence will be a difficult challenge for Hodgson to overcome.
"I was surprised to hear the news," Armfield told BBC Radio 5 live. "He has had a pretty strong run of England matches and it has come at a pretty difficult time for Roy Hodgson.
"We are in the middle of the World Cup qualifiers and I think he needs all the good players he has got. It looks at this moment as though there is a question of loyalty here somewhere."
Former Chelsea manager Avram Grant blasted the FA for its probe.
"Nobody thinks that John Terry is a racist so the FA need to leave it. He's a good man," Grant told BBC Radio 5 live.
"He respects everybody, he's good with people and I was very surprised that people thought bad things about him. If [the FA] think JT is racist they need to do something but I think nobody thinks he is a guy like this."
Terry could face a lengthy ban if found guilty by the FA of using racist language during Chelsea's Barclays Premier League defeat at QPR on Oct. 23, 2011. Terry denies the charges.
The 31-year-old was found not guilty in court in July, with the prosecution unable to prove he had made a racist slur against Ferdinand.
Terry admitted using a racial slur, but insisted he had only been repeating words he thought Ferdinand had accused him of saying.
Chelsea and England teammate Ashley Cole gave evidence that helped exonerate Terry, telling the court: "We shouldn't be sitting here."
The panel, who handed Liverpool striker Luis Suarez an eight-match ban when they found him guilty of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra last season, declared at that time that simply using racist language was enough to constitute a breach of FA rules.
Hodgson controversially picked Terry for this summer's European Championship, while his court case was still pending.
Horne added of Terry's decision: "It's obviously disappointing. He played well for us at the Euros, but it's his decision and we respect that."
Club England managing director Adrian Bevington said the 78-cap Terry had "always given his all" and had been a "great servant" for his country.
"Representing and captaining my country is what I dreamed of as a boy and it has been a truly great honour," Terry said in his statement Sunday.
"I have always given my all and it breaks my heart to make this decision. I want to wish Roy and the team every success for the future."

Syria and Iran to overshadow UN General Assembly

 

 

 President Obama's brief appearance comes six weeks before the presidential election

World leaders are gathering in New York for a UN General Assembly likely to be dominated by Syria, although it is not formally on the agenda.

Discussions are also expected to centre on Iran's nuclear programme and the video that has prompted anti-US protests across the Muslim world.
President Barack Obama is due to focus on the Middle East when he gives one of the opening speeches on Tuesday.
His address comes six weeks before the US presidential election.
But it is not to be seen as a campaign speech, according to White House spokesman Jay Carney.
"I would expect the president to address the recent unrest in the Muslim world and the broader context of the democratic transitions of the Arab World."
'Extremely bad' Syria's 18-month conflict is not formally on the UN General Assembly's agenda but it is likely to be addressed by several speakers on the opening day, including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, French President Francois Hollande and Qatari emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani.
Mr Hollande, in his first appearance at the assembly, is also expected to call for backing for an international force to be sent to the West African state of Mali to help dislodge Islamist militants who have taken over the north of the country.

 

Mr Brahimi has just visited Damascus and refugee camps in Jordan and Turkey

The UN Security Council has been unable to reach agreement on the Syria crisis and on Monday UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi warned that the situation was "extremely bad and getting worse".
While he did not have a full plan, he said he had "a few ideas". Mr Brahimi has just visited Damascus as well as refugee camps in neighbouring Jordan and Turkey.
The BBC's Barbara Plett says that diplomats have played down expectations for Mr Brahimi's mission, with no sign of fundamental divisions on the council being bridged.
'Fake regime' In his speech, President Obama is also set to repeat a warning that Iran will not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons.
But he has rejected calls from Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu for Washington to set Tehran "red lines". Tehran says its programme is for civilian purposes.
On the eve of the assembly, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a UN meeting that Israel was a "fake regime", prompting Israel's UN ambassador, Ron Prosor, to walk out.
Mr Netanyahu has recently appeared on US television to press for a tougher line on Iran, and he will take the same message to the General Assembly on Thursday.
While Syria is not considered an issue for the US presidential election, Iran is, our correspondent says.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney castigated his rival on Monday for not taking time out to meet the Israeli PM.
Mr Romney also criticised President Obama's description of the murder of US ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three other Americans as "bumps in the road".

Abu Hamza concerns raised by Queen

 

The BBC's Frank Gardner talks about the concerns raised by the Queen

The Queen voiced concerns to the previous government about the inability of UK authorities to arrest Abu Hamza al-Masri, the BBC has learned.

The BBC's Frank Gardner says the Queen told him she had spoken to a home secretary about the issue.
On Monday, a European Court of Human Rights ruling paved the way for the radical cleric to be extradited to the US after an eight-year battle.
The Home Office said the extradition would happen "as quickly as possible".
Our correspondent said the Queen had been upset that there was no way to arrest the radical cleric and spoke to the then home secretary to ask why somebody who appeared to be inciting violence and hatred was still at large.
"Like anybody, she was upset that her country and its subjects were being denigrated by this man," said our correspondent, who stressed that the monarch was not lobbying but "merely voicing the views that many have".
It is rare for the Queen to express opinions on such matters.
On Monday, a panel of the European court's highest judges declined to refer the case of Abu Hamza and four other terrorism suspects to the European Court's Grand Chamber - the last avenue of appeal open to them in their fight against extradition to the US.
The men have argued that they will face inhumane treatment in the US if they are sent there.
But the US authorities, supported by British officials, are now working on arrangements to transfer the men to America to face terrorism charges. It is believed extraditions could happen within three weeks.

Analysis Dominic Casciani Home affairs correspondent

The legal and political importance of this final decision by the European court cannot be overestimated. In the wake of 9/11, Washington and London developed extradition and counter-terrorism strategies designed to make sure that suspects, wherever they were, would face justice.
Now that Strasbourg has stepped aside, there is no other legal avenue open for three of the five.
But there is a question mark over the fate of Babar Ahmad and his co-accused, Syed Talha Ahsan. Campaigners have raised serious questions about the fairness of what has happened to them.
There has been an 11th-hour attempt to privately prosecute the pair because their alleged offences occurred in London.
That may lead to a last attempt to delay their transfer - but many legal experts doubt that it could stop these extraditions, which are so important to both governments.

Abu Hamza is wanted over allegations he plotted to set up a terrorist training camp in the US and was involved in kidnapping Western hostages in Yemen. If convicted, he faces life imprisonment.

Abu Hamza has argued he would face inhumane and degrading treatment if imprisoned for life without possibility of parole.
His legal battle has lasted more than eight years and cost millions of pounds.
The case of Babar Ahmad - who, with co-accused Syed Talha Ahsan, is alleged to have run a jihadist website in London that provided support to terrorists - is not as clear cut, according to BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw.
Campaigners for Mr Ahmad say the battle to keep him in the UK will continue.
His supporters say he should stand trial in Britain and have begun the process of launching a private prosecution against him in an attempt to halt his extradition.
Adel Abdul Bary and Khaled al-Fawwaz are accused of being aides to former al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in London.
They said that they faced an inhumane regime of solitary confinement in a special "supermax" prison.
'Prosecuted in the UK' The five men were indicted on terrorism charges by the US between 1999 and 2006.
Abu Hamza and Mr Ahmad have been in custody since 2004, and Mr Ahsan since 2006; the arrests of Mr Bary and Mr al-Fawwaz date back to 1998, making them the longest-held detainees without trial in the UK.
Abu Hamza was convicted in 2006 in the UK of charges including soliciting to murder and stirring up racial hatred, and given a seven-year jail sentence.
Following the European ruling on Monday, US Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said: "We are pleased that the litigation before the European Court of Human Rights in these cases has come to an end, and we will be working with the UK authorities on the arrangements to bring these subjects to the United States for prosecution."

Fahad Ansari: "The fight will never be over until Babar (Ahmad) is back home with his family"

Mr Ahmad's family said: "The decision of the Grand Chamber is largely irrelevant to us as this matter should never have come to this stage had the British police done their job almost nine years ago and provided the material seized from Babar's home to the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service), rather than secretly passing it to their US counterparts."
They said the CPS had all the information that was the basis for the US accusations and Mr Ahmad should immediately be prosecuted in the UK for conduct allegedly committed in the country.
"Moreover, a British businessman, Karl Watkins, has recently commenced his own private prosecution of Babar based on the principle of the matter.
"We now call on the home secretary to immediately undertake to halt any extradition until the director of public prosecutions makes a decision on this material that been in his possession for several months."

China carrier a show of force as Japan tension festers

By Kiyoshi Takenaka and Terril Yue Jones | Reuters

TOKYO/BEIJING (Reuters) - China sent its first aircraft carrier into formal service on Tuesday amid a tense maritime dispute with Japan in a show of force that could worry its neighbors.

China's Ministry of Defense said the newly named Liaoning aircraft carrier would "raise the overall operational strength of the Chinese navy" and help Beijing to "effectively protect national sovereignty, security and development interests".

In fact, the aircraft carrier, refitted from a ship bought from Ukraine, will have a limited role, mostly for training and testing ahead of the possible launch of China's first domestically built carriers after 2015, analysts say.

 

China's first aircraft carrier

China cast the formal handing over of the carrier to its navy -- attended by President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao -- as a triumphant show of national strength at a time of tensions with Japan over islands claimed by both sides.

"The smooth commissioning of the first aircraft carrier has important and profound meaning for modernizing our navy and for enhancing national defensive power and the country's overall strength," Xinhua news agency cited Wen as saying at the commissioning ceremony in the northern port of Dalian.

Sino-Japanese relations deteriorated sharply this month after Japan bought the East China Sea islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, from their private owner, sparking anti-Japan protests across China.
"China will never tolerate any bilateral actions by Japan that harm Chinese territorial sovereignty," Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun told his Japanese counterpart on Tuesday as the two met in a bid to ease tensions.
"Japan must banish illusions, undertake searching reflection and use concrete actions to amend its errors, returning to the consensus and understandings reached between our two countries' leaders."

In a sign of the tensions, China has postponed a ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the resumption of diplomatic ties with Japan. But an official at the Japan-China Economic Association said Toyota Motor Corp Chairman Fujio Cho and Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman of Japanese business lobby Keidanren, and other representatives of Japan-China friendship groups would attend an event on Thursday in Beijing.

The risks of military confrontation are scant, but political tensions between Asia's two biggest economies could fester and worries persist about an unintended incident at sea.

"If blood is shed, people would become irrational," Koichi Kato, an opposition lawmaker who heads the Japan-China Friendship Association and will travel to Beijing, told Reuters.

"NOT CUTTING EDGE"
For the Chinese navy, the addition of carriers has been a priority as it builds a force capable of deploying far from the Chinese mainland.

China this month warned the United States, with President Barack Obama's "pivot" to Asia, not to get involved in separate territorial disputes in the South China Sea between China and U.S. allies such as the Philippines.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in turn urged China and its Southeast Asian neighbors to resolve disputes "without coercion, without intimidation, without threats and certainly without the use of force".
Narushige Michishita, a security expert at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo, said he thought the timing of the launch was unrelated to the islands dispute.
Rather, experts said it might be associated with China's efforts to build up patriotic unity ahead of a Communist Party congress that will install a new generation of top leaders as early as next month.
"China is taking another step to boost its strategic naval capability," Michishita said. "If they come to have an operational aircraft carrier, for the time being we are not super-concerned about the direct implications for the military balance between the U.S. and Japan on the one hand, and China on the other. This is still not cutting edge."

The East China Sea tensions with Japan were complicated on Tuesday by the entry of Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing calls an illegitimate breakaway, which also lays claim to the islands.

Japanese Coast Guard vessels fired water cannon to turn away about 40 Taiwan fishing boats and 12 Taiwan Coast Guard vessels. Six Chinese patrol ships were also near the islands but four left, leaving two nearby but not in waters Japan considers its own.

Japan protested to Taiwan, a day after lodging a complaint with China over what it called a similar intrusion by Chinese vessels.

Taiwan has friendly ties with Japan, but the two sides have long squabbled over fishing rights in the area. China and Taiwan both argue they have inherited China's historic sovereignty over the islands.

The flare-up in tension comes at a time when both China and Japan confront domestic political pressures. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's government faces an election in months, adding pressure on him not to look weak on China. China's Communist Party is preoccupied with the leadership turnover, with President Hu Jintao due to step down.

(Additional reporting by Linda Sieg in Tokyo and Sui-Lee Wee, Ben Blanchard and Chris Buckley in Beijing; Editing by Nick Macfie and Jeremy Laurence)