Parasite 'resistant to malaria drug'

28 April 2013 Last updated at 20:03 ET By Rebecca Morelle Science reporter, BBC World Service

New drug-resistant strains of the parasite that causes malaria have been identified by scientists.

Researchers found parasites in western Cambodia that are genetically different from other strains around the world.

These organisms are able to withstand treatment by artemisinin - a frontline drug in the fight against malaria.

Reports of drug resistance in the area first emerged in 2008. The problem has since spread to other parts of South East Asia.

The study is published in the journal Nature Genetics.

The lead author, Dr Olivo Miotto, of the University of Oxford and Mahidol University in Thailand, said: "All the most effective drugs that we have had in the last few decades have been one by one rendered useless by the remarkable ability of this parasite to mutate and develop resistance.

"Artemisinin right now works very well. It is the best weapon we have against the disease, and we need to keep it."

Genetic fingerprint

Western Cambodia has been described by scientists as a hotspot for malaria resistance.

Continue reading the main story

It could be a tool for detecting in real time the emergence of drug resistance"

End Quote Dr Olivo Miotto University of Oxford

They do not understand why, but since the 1950s parasites there have developed a resistance to a succession of malaria drugs. The problem has spread to other parts of Asia and Africa.

Now scientists are worried the same thing will happen with artemisinin. This drug is used widely around the world against the mosquito-borne disease and can treat an infection in a few days when it is used in combination with other drugs.

To investigate, scientists sequenced the genomes of 800 malaria-causing parasites (Plasmodium falciparum) collected from around the world.

"When we compared the DNA of the parasites in Cambodia, they seem to have formed some new populations that we have not really seen elsewhere," Dr Miotto said.

The international team found three distinct groups of drug-resistant parasites present in the area.

The researchers said they did not yet understand what genetic mutations had occurred that enabled the parasites to withstand artemisinin treatment.

But they said that understanding their genetic fingerprint would help them to quickly spot and track these strains if they spread further.

Dr Miotto said: "It could be a tool for detecting in real time the emergence of drug resistance."

The World Health Organization has stated that a major objective is to stop the spread of malaria parasites resistant to drugs.

According to its latest estimates, there were about 219 million cases of malaria in 2010 and 660,000 deaths.

Africa is the most affected continent: about 90% of all malaria deaths occur there.

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Last S Koreans 'to leave Kaesong'

29 April 2013 Last updated at 05:09 ET

South Korea is set to pull the last of its workers out of a joint industrial zone in North Korea, as Seoul announced moves to help affected firms.

A total of 125 South Koreans left the Kaesong complex on Saturday, and the remaining 50 were expected to leave on Monday, officials said.

They had been due out at 17:00 (08:00 GMT) but were delayed by "details" that needed "ironing out", officials said.

The move came after North Korea rejected talks on the industrial park.

Tensions are high following Pyongyang's third nuclear test in February.

Pyongyang has been angered by tightened UN sanctions imposed after its 12 February nuclear test and by joint US-South Korea military drills, which are scheduled to end on Tuesday.

Kaesong Industrial Complex, which was launched in 2003 to boost inter-Korean ties, is a factory park situated just inside North Korea.

It is home to 123 South Korean companies which employ North Korean workers, and provides the North with much-needed hard currency.

Awaiting approval

Earlier this month, North Korea blocked South Korean workers from entering the zone. It withdrew its 53,000 workers from the industrial park a few days later.

Continue reading the main story

• 12 Dec: North launches a rocket, claiming to have put a satellite into orbit
• 12 Feb: North conducts underground nuclear test
• 11 Mar: US-South Korea annual military drills begin
• 30 Mar: North says it is entering a "state of war" with South
• 2 Apr: North says it is restarting Yongbyon reactor
• 3 Apr: North blocks South workers from Kaesong industrial zone, then on 9 Apr pulls its workers out
• 10 Apr: North moves two mid-range Musudan missiles to its east coast
• 26 Apr: Seoul announces withdrawal of all remaining South Korean workers from Kaesong

Although the North has restricted entry to Kaesong Industrial Complex in the past, this would be the first time that all South Korean workers had withdrawn.

The remaining 50 workers had been expected to cross the border back into South Korea at 17:00.

"The two sides are currently in the process of ironing out some details, with most of the outstanding issues having been worked out," a spokesman at South Korea's Unification Ministry said.

He still expected the workers to return on Monday, South Korean news agency Yonhap quoted him as saying.

Earlier on Monday, the Ministry told reporters that North Korea had not yet approved the passage of the workers across the border. Pyongyang said last week it would not hinder those leaving the Kaesong complex.

Some of the workers were reportedly reluctant to leave Kaesong, fearing that company assets would be seized.

Han Jae-kwon, chairman of the Association of Kaesong companies, said: "Those remaining workers are there to take charge of products owned by our customers and raw materials, so we want detailed measures to protect them after the workers have been pulled out."

The South Korean government said it had set up a taskforce to help companies who had been forced to halt operations at Kaesong.

The taskforce would "assess damages suffered by the firms with factories at Kaesong and... devise comprehensive and practical supportive measures," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

The government had discussed a variety of support measures, including the possibility of offering businesses loans from the inter-Korean co-operation fund, the statement added.

Meanwhile, North Korea seems to be gearing up for a major land and air military exercise, Yonhap said on Sunday, citing a government source.

A US citizen is also due to be tried soon on charges of attempting to overthrow the North Korean government, according to the North's official news agency KCNA.

Pae Jun-ho, who is known in the US as Kenneth Bae, was held last year after entering North Korea as a tourist.

No date for the verdict has been confirmed, and it is not clear what sort of sanction Mr Pae might face, although North Korea's criminal code provides for life imprisonment or the death penalty for similar offences.

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Climbers and guides fight on Everest

29 April 2013 Last updated at 06:32 ET

Police in Nepal are investigating an alleged fight between two famous European climbers and their Nepalese mountain guides on Mount Everest.

Switzerland's Ueli Steck and Simone Moro from Italy were nearing Camp Three at 7,470m (24,500ft) when the incident occurred.

The fight allegedly broke out after the pair ignored orders to hold their climb while the Sherpas were rigging ropes.

The guides reportedly attacked the pair after they returned to their tents.

Following the incident, the climbers packed "bare essentials" and made their way back down to Mount Everest base camp, "feeling that this was the safest place to be", said Mr Moro, an experienced Everest climber.

'Terrifying to watch'

One version of events is that the guides asked the climbers to wait while they went ahead and secured ropes, but the climbers continued and dislodged ice which fell on the guides.

Mr Moro said in a statement that "getting hit by chunks of ice is a very natural occurrence" on an ice face. "As it stands, no Sherpa has come forward to show any injury."

"The climbers believe that the lead Sherpa felt that his pride had been damaged as the climbers were moving unroped and much faster," the statement added.

When they returned to their tents, Mr Moro said a large mob of guides had grouped together to attack him, Mr Steck and a third climber in their expedition, Briton Jonathan Griffith.

"[The guides] became instantly aggressive and not only punched and kicked the climbers, but threw many rocks as well," said Mr Moro.

An unnamed eyewitness told the AFP news agency the incident had been "terrifying to watch - they nearly got killed".

More than 3,000 people have scaled Mount Everest since it was first conquered by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953.

Straddling Nepal and China, the world's highest mountain has an altitude of 8,848m (29,029ft).

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Syrian PM 'survives car bombing'

29 April 2013 Last updated at 06:38 ET

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The BBC's Wyre Davis reports from Beirut: "It shows really the ability of the armed opposition groups to strike at the heart of the regime"

Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi has survived a car bomb attack in the capital, Damascus, state media say.

The blast in the capital's western Mazzeh district targeted Mr Halqi's convoy, state TV said, reportedly causing a number of casualties.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based activist group, said Mr Halqi's bodyguard had been killed, AFP news agency reported.

It is unclear whether the blast was a suicide bombing or a planted device.

State television carried a brief interview with Mr Halqi, saying that it was filmed after the attack.

He appears assured but somewhat shaken in the interview, in which he talks about a meeting he has just attended on the economy.

State TV said the blast happened at a busy intersection, near a public garden and a school. The upmarket neighbourhood is home to government buildings, the residences of several political figures and a military airport vital to the regime's defences.

"I was walking in the street when suddenly there was a very powerful explosion and I saw a car burning and people running," a witness told AFP.

An unnamed Syrian official said the explosion was caused by a bomb placed underneath a parked car in the area, the Associated Press news agency reported.

An earlier report said it had been a suicide attack.

Footage from the scene showed the charred remains of several vehicles, and a badly damaged bus. Debris and glass were strewn around a wide area, where onlookers had gathered.

A picture that activists said was of the site just after the attack showed a large plume of black smoke rising into the air near a road and a high-rise building.

Syrian forces and rebels have been fighting around Damascus for months but with neither side gaining the upper hand.

Continue reading the main story

• 8 April 2013: Car bomb in Damascus kills at least 15 people and wounds 53
• 21 March: Sheikh Mohammed al-Bouti, leading cleric and supporter of President Bashar al-Assad, killed in blast in Damascus along with 41 others
• 12 December 2012: Car bombing hits interior ministry in Damascus, killing several people and wounding more than 20, including Interior Minister Mohammed al-Shaar
• 18 July: Syrian national security building in Damascus bombed, killing defence minister and deputy, and wounding interior minister

The attack is the latest bombing inside government-controlled areas of the capital.

In December a suicide bombing struck the interior ministry. State media said top officials had escaped unhurt, but it later emerged that the interior minister himself had been badly injured.

So far there has been no claim of responsibility for Monday's attack. Similar bombings in the past have been linked to the jihadist al-Nusra Front, one of the most prominent rebel groups fighting the regime.

Mr Halqi, a senior member of the ruling Baath party, became prime minister last year after Riad Hijab defected to Jordan. He was previously health minister.

More than 70,000 people have been killed since fighting between Syrian forces and rebels erupted in March 2011.

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Bangladesh rescuers' hopes fade

29 April 2013 Last updated at 06:58 ET

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The BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan in Dhaka: "Rescue teams went inside last night and there was a fire... they had to pull out and they could not save a young woman"

Rescue work on a collapsed building in Bangladesh has entered a sixth day, but officials say they no longer expect to find any survivors.

Heavy lifting gear is now being used to raise slabs of concrete at the Rana Plaza garment factory, where at least 380 died after Wednesday's collapse.

PM Sheikh Hasina visited the site and some of the victims on Monday.

Several people, including the owner of the building, have been arrested in connection with the disaster.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

How am I going to feed and raise my daughters?"

End Quote Victim's widow

At least 3,000 are estimated to have been in the Rana Plaza building when it collapsed. About 2,430 are now known to have survived but hundreds are dead or missing.

Some relatives of those missing complained that the prime minister had not spoken to them during her visit to the site.

"We could have talked to her, and she also could have listened to us," said Monowara Begum, the mother of one missing worker.

Sheikh Hasina also visited some of the survivors in hospital. Bangladesh news site BDNews24 said she had assured them they would receive help from the government.

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What Bangladesh's media are saying

An editorial in the Daily Star says it is "unfortunate" that Bangladeshi garment manufacturers "have convoluted the idea of 'competitive' and 'cheap'," and that workers are "bearing the brunt of this in terms of poor wages and through their lives".

Also in the Daily Star, Hameeda Hossain writes: "Even as we mourn the dead, whose poorly paid labour contributed to profits from Bangladesh' export garments, it is time to question why the state has repeatedly ignored violation of laws, why regulatory mechanisms fail to monitor systemic failures, why political patronage confers impunity for corporate crimes."

Muhammad Q Islam writes for bdnews24: "We still have a 47 million strong army of very poor people who will be willing to take all the risks that culminate in injury and death, both at home and abroad, to improve their lot. Our economic policies explicitly rely on continued availability of this work force to fuel our economic growth."

Fariha Sarawat says in the Dhaka Tribune that while buyers should take some moral responsibility for such disasters "the state aids and abates this hostile environment by repeatedly siding with the interests of the manufacturers, instead of the workers - it has failed to punish a single manufacturer whose negligence and greed have resulted in the death of workers".

Rubble fire

On Sunday night, rescuers working deep inside the rubble were told to leave, as cranes were brought in to begin lifting the heavy blocks of fallen concrete.

"We are proceeding cautiously. If there is still a soul alive, we will try to rescue that person,'' army spokesman Shahinul Islam told reporters.

"We are giving the highest priority to saving people, but there is little hope of finding anyone alive."

Fire brigade chief Brig Gen Ali Ahmed Khan said crews had seen bodies lying on the ground inside, but that "no-one was seen alive".

Rescue co-ordinators said that work with heavy-lifting gear would be done carefully to avoid further collapses and to protect bodies trapped under the debris as much as possible.

Continue reading the main story

Bangladesh's economy

• A total population of some 150.4m, 88% under the age of 55.
• GDP in 2012 was around $110bn - the ready-made garment (RMG) industry makes up 80% of all exports, totalling more than $15bn in 2012-13 financial year.
• About four million people are directly employed in the RMG industry, most of them women, earning an average monthly salary of roughly $40.

On Sunday afternoon, the operation was halted when a fire broke out as sparks from a metal-cutter ignited scraps of fabric in the rubble.

Four firefighters were taken to hospital.

The BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan says rescuers had been trying to free a trapped woman for a number of hours when the fire began, but they later reported she had not survived the fire.

Also on Sunday, the building's owner, Mohammed Sohel Rana, was arrested, close to the Indian border.

He had been on the run since his eight-storey collapsed.

Bangladeshi TV later showed Mr Rana - a local leader of the youth wing of prime minister's Awami League party - in handcuffs after being flown back to Dhaka by helicopter.

He is accused of illegally adding three extra floors to the building and of telling workers to enter despite concerns being raised about cracks which had appeared in the walls.

At least seven people, including three owners of factories operating in the building, have now been arrested.

Bangladeshi media reports say the Mr Rana's father, Abdul Khalek, has also now been detained in connection with the collapse.

Anger at the building's collapse has triggered days of violent protests in Dhaka demanding those responsible be punished and for an improvement in factory conditions.

Garment industry workers across the country were given the weekend off, in the hope that the anger would fade.

But on Monday, thousands of workers walked out of factories in the Ashulia and Gazipur industrial districts shortly after they opened, and staged a protest march, reportedly setting fire to an ambulance.

Bangladesh has one of the largest garment industries in the world, providing cheap clothing for major Western retailers that benefit from its widespread low-cost labour.

But the industry has been widely criticised for its low pay and limited rights given to workers and for the often dangerous working conditions in garment factories.

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Rakhine report backs security boost

29 April 2013 Last updated at 07:12 ET

A government commission in Burma has recommended doubling the number of security forces in Rakhine state, which saw deadly ethnic clashes last year.

It also said that the segregation of Muslim Rohingyas and Buddhists should continue, but acknowledged that was not a suitable long-term solution.

More than 190 people were killed and 100,000 displaced in deadly clashes between Buddhists and Muslims.

The Rohingyas are a stateless group who are not recognised as Burmese citizens.

Burma's Prime Minister Thein Sein appointed a panel last year to investigate the origins of the conflict and suggest measures to prevent more violence, but its findings have been delayed several times.

"While keeping the two communities apart is not a long-term solution, it must be enforced at least until the overt emotions subside," the Associated Press quoted the report as saying.

Rohingya camps

Human Rights Watch last week accused Burmese security forces of taking part in "ethnic cleansing" in Rakhine.

Two waves of violence between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims engulfed parts of the state in June and October. The security forces at the time were accused of taking the side of the Rakhine Buddhists.

The Rohingya camps are now, with the rainy season approaching, in dire condition and this report calls for greater efforts to tackle overcrowding and provide water and sanitation, reports the BBC's Jonah Fisher in Bangkok.

While calling for the deployment of twice as many soldiers, policemen, and border guards, it also wants to see them better trained and equipped.

Throughout the report, the Rohinghya Muslim community is referred to as Bengalis - a reflection of the widespread belief that this community of some 800,000 people belong in neighbouring Bangladesh, notes our correspondent.

The report also suggests family planning education to address what it describes as the rapid growth of the Muslim population.

It does say, however, that Rohingya citizenship claims should be addressed - but provides no new solutions saying they should only be allowed normal rights when they become citizens.

The United Nations describes Rohingya as a religious and linguistic minority from western Burma. It says the Rohingya are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world.

The Rohingyas say they have lived in Burma for generations and feel they are part of the country.

The violence that swept across Rakhine last year and more recent attacks against Muslims in central Burma have posed a serious challenge to Burma's government three years after military rule ended.

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Car bombs hit Iraq Shia provinces

29 April 2013 Last updated at 07:26 ET

At least 18 people have been killed and dozens injured by five car bombs in Shia-majority provinces of southern Iraq, officials say.

In the deadliest attack, two bombs went off in the town of Amara, killing at least nine people and wounding dozens.

An army raid on a Sunni anti-government protest camp last week has sparked a wave of violence.

On Saturday Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki said "evil" sectarian conflict was returning to Iraq.

Mr Maliki said sectarianism was again plaguing Iraq "because it began in another place in this region" - an apparent reference to Syria.

The blasts in Amara struck a market and a place where labourers had gathered to look for work.

Other bombs went off at markets in Diwaniyah and Karbala, and in a Shia neighbourhood of the Sunni-dominated town of Mahmoudiya.

"I was preparing to go to work when a big explosion shook my house and broke the glass in all the windows," Woody Jasim, a resident of Diwaniyah, told Reuters news agency.

"I ran outside, the explosion was near my house and bodies were everywhere."

The past seven days have seen clashes in several towns and cities, sparked by the raid on the protest camp near the northern town of Hawija on Tuesday that left 50 people dead.

The protesters were calling for the resignation of Mr Maliki, a Shia, and denouncing the authorities for allegedly targeting the Sunni community.

More than 200 people have died in the recent violence between Sunnis and Shia, which is at its most intensive since the withdrawal of US troops at the end of 2011.

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EU to ban pesticides in bee scare

29 April 2013 Last updated at 08:00 ET

A majority of EU states have backed a proposal to restrict the use of pesticides linked to bee deaths in scientific studies.

There is great concern across Europe about the collapse of bee populations.

Neonicotinoid chemicals in pesticides are believed to harm bees and the European Commission says they should be restricted to crops not attractive to bees and other pollinators.

But many farmers and crop experts argue that there is insufficient data.

The Commission now has the go-ahead to impose a two-year restriction on neonicotinoids.

Wild species such as honey bees are said by researchers to be responsible for pollinating around one-third of the world's crop production.

Greenpeace EU agriculture policy director Marco Contiero said Monday's vote "makes it crystal clear that there is overwhelming scientific, political and public support for a ban.

"Those countries opposing a ban have failed."

An EU vote last month was inconclusive, so the Commission proposal went to an appeals committee on Monday.

Some restrictions are already in place for neonicotinoids in France, Germany, Italy and Slovenia.

But the idea of a two-year moratorium did not attract enough support last month, under the EU's weighted voting system, after the UK and Germany both abstained.

Continue reading the main story

• Nicotine is not just lethal to humans in the form of cigarettes, but the chemical is also extremely toxic to insects
• Neonicotinoid pesticides are new nicotine-like chemicals and act on the nervous systems of insects, with a lower threat to mammals and the environment than many older sprays
• Pesticides made in this way are water soluble, which means they can be applied to the soil and taken up by the whole plant - they are called "systemic", meaning they turn the plant itself into a poison factory, with toxins coming from roots, leaves, stems and pollen
• Neonicotinoids are often applied as seed treatments, which means coating the seeds before planting.

The three neonicotinoids are clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiametoxam.

A report published by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) in January concluded that the pesticides posed a "high acute risk" to pollinators, including honeybees.

However, it added that in some cases it was "unable to finalise the assessments due to shortcomings in the available data".

Intensive lobbying

There was ferocious lobbying both for and against in the run-up to Monday's vote, the BBC's Chris Morris reports from Brussels.

Nearly three million signatures were collected in support of a ban. Protesters against neonicotinoids rallied in Westminster on Friday.

Campaign organiser Andrew Pendleton of the environmental group Friends of the Earth said "leading retailers have already taken action by removing these pesticides from their shelves and supply chains - the UK government must act too".

"Pesticides aren't the only threat bees face - that's why David Cameron must urgently introduce a Bee Action Plan," he said.

Chemical companies and pesticide manufacturers have been lobbying just as hard - they argue that the science is inconclusive, and that a ban would harm food production.

The UK government seems to agree with the industry lobby. It says it cannot support the proposed ban in its current form. The chief scientific adviser, Sir Mark Walport, has said restrictions on the use of pesticides should not be introduced lightly, and the idea of a ban should be dropped.

The EU moratorium would not apply to crops non-attractive to bees, or to winter cereals.

It would prohibit the sale and use of seeds treated with neonicotinoid pesticides.

The deadline for implementation would be 1 July this year, not affecting the forthcoming sowing season for maize.

There would be a ban on the sale of neonicotinoids to amateur growers.

There have been a number of studies showing that the chemicals, made by Bayer and Syngenta, do have negative impacts on bees.

One study suggested that neonicotinoids affected the abilities of hives to produce queen bees. More recent research indicated that the pesticides damaged their brains.

But the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) argues that these studies were mainly conducted in the laboratory and do not accurately reflect field conditions.

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Boston bomb suspect moved to prison

26 April 2013 Last updated at 14:59 ET

Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been transferred from hospital to prison, US police say.

The US Marshals Service said the 19-year-old had been moved from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to a facility at Fort Devens, Massachusetts.

He has been in hospital since his capture following a huge police operation a week ago.

Meanwhile, a driver allegedly carjacked by the suspects at gunpoint has told how he thought he was going to die.

The US Marshals Service said the accused, whose condition has been described as fair, was taken overnight to the Federal Medical Center Devens some 40 miles (65km) west of Boston.

Momentary distraction

The facility, on the decommissioned Fort Devens US Army base, treats federal prisoners who require specialised long-term medical or mental healthcare.

Continue reading the main story

If I didn't make it, he would kill me right out"

End Quote "Danny" Carjack victim on his escape

Many of those injured in the marathon blasts were also being treated at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and were reportedly unhappy at having the suspect in the same building.

In an interview with the Boston Globe, a 26-year-old Chinese businessman has told how he was carjacked by Dzhokhar's older brother, several days after the attack on marathon.

He said Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was brandishing a handgun and had warned him if he did not co-operate: "I will kill you."

The man, identified only as Danny, told how the three of them discussed everyday topics such as girls, cars and smartphones during the 90-minute journey.

While Dzhokhar Tsarnaev went into the petrol station to pay and Tamerlan Tsarnaev was distracted with a navigation device, Danny says he chose his moment to flee and alert police.

'Lies and hypocrisy'

"I was thinking I must do two things: unfasten my seatbelt and open the door and jump out as quick as I can," Danny told the Boston Globe. "If I didn't make it, he would kill me right out, he would kill me right away.

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Ballroom dancer Adrianne Haslet, who lost her left foot in the attack, vows to dance again

"I just did it. I did it very fast, using my left hand and right hand simultaneously to open the door, unfasten my seatbelt, jump out... and go."

His bravery allowed police to intercept the stolen car, prompting a shootout and manhunt that led to the death of the elder brother and the capture of the younger, possibly also averting a follow-up attack on New York, say the authorities.

New York police said on Thursday the Tsarnaev brothers had concocted a spur-of-the-moment plan to drive the hijacked car to Times Square and detonate their remaining explosives: a pressure cooker device and five pipe bombs.

Meanwhile, it is understood that the ethnic Chechen suspects' father, Anzor Tsarnaev, has not yet left for the US from the Russian republic of Dagestan, despite earlier saying he would do so.

He had said he planned if possible to bring his older son's body back to Russia for burial and defend his hospitalised son, who could face a death sentence if convicted for his alleged role in the bombings.

Meanwhile the Associated Press news agency reports the suspects' mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, was added at the CIA's request to a US terrorist watch list 18 months ago.

The news agency reported earlier this week that her older son, Tamerlan, had also been added to the list, after Russian officials warned the US authorities he may have become radicalised.

"It's all lies and hypocrisy," Mrs Tsarnaeva told the Associated Press from Dagestan.

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Syria chemical arms 'a game changer'

26 April 2013 Last updated at 16:16 ET

US President Barack Obama has vowed a "vigorous investigation" into reports that Syria has used chemical weapons, warning they will be a "game changer" for US policy if proven true.

Both the US and UK have pointed to emerging evidence that Syria has used weapons such as the nerve gas sarin.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron earlier told the BBC it appeared a war crime was being committed by Syria.

Syrian officials have denounced the allegations as "lies".

According to the UN, at least 70,000 people have been killed in the two-year uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

'Not airtight'

Mr Obama was speaking as he met King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

The US, Britain, Israel and others have been collecting evidence to try and determine whether chemical weapons have been used in Syria.

The signs so far are that they have been, but politicians are being cautious of over-selling their level of certainty.

This is partly because of the lesson of Iraq, when too much was based on too little hard information and all the caveats and cautions surrounding intelligence were lost. And also partly because this time the political context is different.

With Iraq a decision had been made to go to war and the intelligence was brought into the public domain to make the case for it. This time political leaders - especially in Washington - seem much more reluctant to intervene and so the emphasis is precisely on the caveats and cautions.

Given the problems of getting access to a warzone to gain conclusive evidence, finding absolutely definitive evidence may be hard and take time. This may buy politicians in Washington and London time to work out what they do if something is found.

The US president said there was "some evidence that chemical weapons have been used on the population in Syria, these are preliminary assessments, they're based on our intelligence gathering.

"We have varying degrees of confidence about the actual use, there's a range of questions about how, when, where these weapons have been used," he said.

Mr Obama insisted more evidence was still needed and that there would be a "vigorous investigation".

But proof of their use would be a "game changer", he said.

"Horrific as it is when mortars are being fired on civilians and people are being indiscriminately killed, to use potential weapons of mass destruction on civilian populations crosses another line with respect to international norms and international law.

"All of us, not just the United States, but around the world, have to recognise how we cannot stand by and permit the systematic use of weapons like chemical weapons on civilian populations," he said.

White House spokesman Jay Carney insisted there was no timeline on how long it would take to corroborate the evidence on the use of chemical weapons and admitted that the case was "not airtight".

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President Obama: "To use potential weapons of mass destruction on civilian populations crosses another line"

He said all options remained on the table.

Mr Obama had earlier said the use of chemical weapons by Syria would cross a "red line".

More direct action against Syria could include a no-fly zone and arming rebels.

However, Western governments fear the weapons could fall into the hands of extremists, while a no-fly zone would require nullifying Syrian air defences - a major military operation.

The Syrian government has dismissed claims that its forces have used chemical weapons.

Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi, quoted by the state news agency Sana, said the Western accusations "do not have any credibility".

Damascus fighting

Earlier Mr Cameron told the BBC's political editor Nick Robinson: "I choose my words carefully, but what I see does look very much like a war crime is being committed in our world, at this time, by the Syrian government."

Continue reading the main story

What is Sarin?

• One of a group of nerve gas agents invented by German scientists as part of Hitler's preparations for World War II
• Huge secret stockpiles built up by superpowers during Cold War
• 20 times more deadly than cyanide: A drop the size of a pin-head can kill a person
• Called "the poor man's atomic bomb" due to large number of people that can be killed by a small amount
• Kills by crippling the nervous system through blocking the action of an enzyme that removes acetylcholine - a chemical that transmits signals down the nervous system
• Can only be manufactured in a laboratory, but does not require very sophisticated equipment
• Very dangerous to manufacture. Contains four main ingredients, including phosphorus trichloride

The prime minister addressed concerns about the quality of the UK's intelligence and fears that unreliable evidence could again be used as a justification for the West to become involved in a Middle Eastern conflict.

But Mr Cameron expressed concern that international action in Syria may be being held back because of fears of a repeat of the Iraq war.

"I do worry about that," he said. "Let me absolutely clear, I think the Iraq lesson must be about how we marshal and use information and intelligence and I think that lesson has been learnt.

"But I think it is very important for politicians and leaders of this generation to look at what is happening in Syria and ask ourselves what more we can do."

Meanwhile, opposition activists and Syrian state media reported fierce fighting between government troops and rebels in a number of suburbs of the capital, Damascus.

Activists reported clashes in the Barzeh district of northern Damascus, saying that the army and pro-government militiamen had pushed into the area backed by tank fire.

Sana news agency said troops had killed a number of rebels in the Jobar and Zamalka districts of the capital.

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Karachi party meeting blast kills 10

26 April 2013 Last updated at 16:27 ET

At least 10 people have been killed in a bomb attack on an election meeting in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi.

Police said a device had exploded near the office of the Awami National Party (ANP) in the western area of Mominabad.

The apparent target was an ANP National Assembly candidate scheduled to address the meeting, Bashir Jan, who survived.

The Taliban said it carried out the attack as part of the group's policy to target secular political parties who have spoken of fighting against it.

It is the third bombing by the Taliban in Karachi since Wednesday.

The previous two, which targeted the election offices of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), left 11 people dead.

Twenty-five people were also injured in Friday's attack on the ANP.

The bomb blast was heard several kilometres away and damaged nearby shops and houses, witnesses told the AFP news agency.

The BBC's Shahzeb Jillani in Karachi says security fears are growing in many parts of Pakistan in the run-up to a general election due on 11 May.

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'9/11 jet debris' found in New York

27 April 2013 Last updated at 02:37 ET

New York police say what appears to be part of the landing gear of one of the jets flown into the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001 has been found.

The 5ft (1.52m) piece of metal, which bears a Boeing label and serial number, was wedged between two New York City buildings, police said.

It was found on Wednesday by surveyors inspecting a lower Manhattan building.

Nearly 3,000 people died in the terror attacks as planes were brought down in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

Five suspected al-Qaeda militants are awaiting trial for the attacks at a military tribunal at the US detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"It's a manifestation of a horrific terrorist act a block and a half away from where we stand," New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told reporters outside the secured site. "It brings back terrible memories to anyone who was here, who was involved in that event."

The piece was found in a narrow, rubbish-filled space 18in (0.45m) wide.

Broken pulley

Mr Kelly told reporters after inspecting it that a length of rope was looped around the piece of steel and that no marks were visible on the walls overhead.

What appears to be the remains of a broken pulley can be seen with the wreckage and the New York Times reports that Mr Kelly did not completely exclude the idea that the aircraft debris may have been lowered into the gap.

The New York Police Department has secured the area behind 51 Park Place and 50 Murray Street as a crime scene.

The location is at the site where a mosque and community centre has been proposed, three streets away from "Ground Zero" - the site of the twin towers.

Police have taken photographs and are keeping it off-limits until a health assessment has been made by the medical examiner's office.

Mr Kelly said investigators will scour the space for possible human remains.

He said the landing gear was found at about 11:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Wednesday by surveyors hired by the owner of 51 Park Place.

At 08:46 on 11 September 2001, American Airlines flight 11 hit the World Trade Center's north tower. Seventeen minutes later, United flight 175 hit the south tower.

Although rubble from the attack was cleared in 2002, other debris has been found scattered across the area in the years since.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is accused of masterminding the attacks while the other four men being held at Guantanamo Bay are implicated for providing support for the co-ordinated hijacking.

They are charged with conspiring with al-Qaeda, terrorism, and one count of murder for each known victim of the 11 September attacks at the time the charges were filed - 2,976 in total.

The five face a possible death sentence if convicted.

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Iceland votes in general election

27 April 2013 Last updated at 05:10 ET

Voters in Iceland are going to the polls in elections expected to oust the governing centre-left coalition.

Analysts predict that two centre-right parties will be able to form a new cabinet, pledging to soften unpopular austerity policies.

This would mark a dramatic comeback for the centre-right, which was widely blamed for Iceland's near-economic collapse in 2008.

Their victory could also halt the island nation's EU membership talks.

Polls opened at 09:00 GMT and are due to close at 22:00 GMT, with more than 230,000 voters eligible to cast their ballots.

The conservative Independence Party and their traditional coalition partners the Progressives are expected to secure a majority in the 63-strong parliament.

The parties' leaders, Bjarni Benediktsson and Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, are then predicted to compete in a race to succeed the Social Democrat Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir, who is retiring from politics.

Opinion polls suggest the main governing Social Democratic Alliance will suffer a heavy defeat.

Many Icelanders are frustrated with the current government, saying that its austerity policies are too painful.

This is despite the fact that Iceland has seen steady growth in recent years amid falling unemployment rates.

The centre-right camp is promising debt relief and a cut in taxes.

The two parties are also seen as Eurosceptic, and their poll success could slow down Iceland's efforts to become a member of the EU.

The Eurosceptics argue that Iceland already gets most of the benefits of full membership through existing free trade arrangements with the EU and by being part the Schengen visa-free travel zone.

First election results are expected shortly after the polls close.

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American faces trial in North Korea

27 April 2013 Last updated at 05:49 ET

A US citizen will be tried soon on charges including attempting to overthrow North Korea's government, the North's official news agency says.

KCNA says that Pae Jun-Ho has admitted the charges, without specifying when the verdict will be handed down.

Pae Jun-Ho, who is known in the US as Kenneth Bae, was held last year after entering North Korea as a tourist.

His case comes at a time of high tension between Pyongyang and Washington.

This follows North Korea's third nuclear test in February.

'Proved by evidence'

"The preliminary inquiry into crimes committed by American citizen Pae Jun-Ho closed," the KCNA said in a report on Saturday.

"In the process of investigation he admitted that he committed crimes aimed to topple the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) with hostility toward it.

"His crimes were proved by evidence," the report added. "He will soon be taken to the Supreme Court of the DPRK to face judgement."

Continue reading the main story

For North Korea, Bae is a bargaining chip in dealing with the US "

End Quote Koh Yu-hwan Dongguk University, Seoul

It is not clear what sort of sanction Mr Pae, 44, might face, although North Korea's criminal code provides for life imprisonment or the death penalty for similar offences.

North Korea has arrested several US citizens in recent years, including journalists and Christians accused of proselytism. They have been released after intervention by senior American public figures.

Mr Pae, believed to be a tour operator of Korean descent, is the sixth American detained in North Korea since 2009.

Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter as well as former UN Ambassador Bill Richardson have all been involved in mediation efforts to gain the release of previous American detainees.

Industrial complex

In one of the most high-profile cases, Mr Clinton negotiated the release in 2009 of two US journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who had been found guilty of entering North Korea illegally.

"For North Korea, Bae is a bargaining chip in dealing with the US," Koh Yu-hwan, a professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University in Seoul told Associated Press news agency.

"The North will use him in a way that helps bring the US to talks when the mood slowly turns toward dialogue,'' he said.

Mr Pae was reportedly arrested in November after arriving in Rason - a special economic zone in the north-east of the country near the Russian border.

Washington has so far not publicly commented on the latest development.

The US and North Korea do not have diplomatic relations. The Swedish embassy in Pyongyang represents the US.

In a further sign of the continuing tension on the Korean peninsula, South Korea has begun withdrawing its remaining workers from the Kaesong joint industrial zone in North Korea.

The complex, once considered a symbol of reconciliation, lies just north of the military demarcation line dividing the two Koreas.

South Korean officials said 126 people had left, with the final 48 expected home by Monday.

North Korea has already withdrawn its 53,000 workers and blocked access to the zone in response to joint South Korean and US military exercises.

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First Dreamliner flight lands safely

27 April 2013 Last updated at 05:57 ET

An Ethiopian Airlines 787 Dreamliner has flown from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, the first commercial flight by the Boeing aircraft since all 787s were grounded in January.

The 50 planes around the world were grounded due to battery malfunctions that saw one 787 catch fire in the US.

Over the past week teams of Boeing engineers have been fitting new batteries to the aircraft.

This was after aviation authorities approved the revamped battery design.

The Ethiopian Airlines plane took off at 09:45 local time (07:45 GMT) and landed in Nairobi, Kenya, some two hours later.

Engineering team

Each 787 has two of the lithium-ion batteries which caused problems.

In addition to new versions of the batteries which run at a much cooler temperature, the batteries are now enclosed in stainless steel boxes.

These boxes have a ventilation pipe that goes directly to the outside of the plane. Boeing says this means than in the unlikely event of any future fire or smoke, it would not affect the rest of the aircraft.

Continue reading the main story

The two-hour flight from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia to Nairobi in Kenya is not normally a flight that would make headline news around the world.

But this journey is special, because it should mark the end of an incredibly damaging chapter for Boeing's flagship airliner.

I'll be talking to passengers on board the flight, and it'll be fascinating to see how they feel about flying on a plane that was grounded across the globe only last January after one battery caught fire and another overheated, forcing an emergency landing.

Boeing and its customers, who include British Airways, Virgin and Thomson, will be desperate to put the whole episode behind them.

Boeing said it put 200,000 engineer hours into fixing the problem, with staff working round the clock.

On Thursday, the US Federal Aviation Administration issued a formal "air worthiness" directive allowing revamped 787s to fly.

Japanese airlines, which have been the biggest customers for the new-generation aircraft, are expected to begin test flights on Sunday.

A total of 300 Boeing engineers, pooled into 10 teams, have in the past week been fitting the new batteries and their containment systems around the world.

Boeing is expected to complete repairs on all 50 of the grounded Dreamliners by the middle of May.

In addition to the Dreamliners in service with airlines, Boeing has upgraded the 787s it has continued to make at its factory in Seattle since January.

The Dreamliner entered service in 2011. Half of the plane is made from lightweight composite materials, making it more fuel efficient than other planes of the same size.

The two lithium-ion batteries are not used when the 787 is in flight.

They are operational when the plane is on the ground and its engines are not turned on, and are used to power the aircraft's brakes and lights.

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Boeing engineer Rich Horigan explains how the battery problem was fixed

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Arrests over Dhaka building collapse

27 April 2013 Last updated at 07:44 ET

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The BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan in Dhaka says rescuers and volunteers worked through the night

Two owners of garment factories in the building that collapsed on the outskirts of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka have surrendered to police.

Mahbubur Rahman Tapas and Balzul Samad Adnan are suspected of forcing staff to work in the eight-storey building, ignoring warnings about cracks.

At least 336 people are known to have died after the Rana Plaza in the suburb of Savar collapsed on Wednesday.

On Saturday morning, at least 24 more people were rescued from the rubble.

Rescuers and volunteers, who worked through the night, cheered as they were brought to safety.

Continue reading the main story

I have just seen a woman pulled alive from deep inside the rubble of the Rana Plaza, four days since this huge garment factory complex collapsed.

She was crying as she emerged into the light on what was once the roof of the building. Rescuers shouted Allahu Akbar (God is great) as she was brought up on a rope and then carried away on a stretcher.

Emergency personnel say up to 14 more people are still trapped on what was the fifth floor of the building and work is under way to free them.

Hundreds of volunteers are still helping army and emergency services. Bodies are also still being retrieved from this massive tangle of concrete and metal.

There have been more clashes with police and protesters near the site as anger simmers over the disaster.

We passed dozens of riot police on the drive here, some were guarding other nearby garment factories following attacks on several others.

Earlier, rescue teams said they had located about 40 survivors on the collapsed third and fifth floors of the building.

Officials said they were working to extricate the remaining survivors and had passed oxygen cylinders and water to those still trapped.

More bodies of victims were also retrieved overnight and on Saturday morning.

Some 3,000 people are believed to have been working in the building at the time of the collapse and about 600 are still missing.

Watching the operation are hundreds of relatives of those still missing, many clutching photographs of their loved ones.

Abul Basar wept as he awaited news of his wife who worked in one of the garment factories.

"My son says that his mother will come back some day, she must return," he cried.

'Negligence'

Mr Tapas and Mr Adnan, the owners of the New Wave Buttons and New Wave Style factories, turned themselves in to police in the early hours of Saturday.

Deputy chief of Dhaka police Shyami Mukherjee said the two were accused of causing "death due to negligence", according the AFP news agency.

The owners reportedly told their employees to return to work on Wednesday, even though cracks were visible in the building a day earlier.

Three other clothing factories were reportedly operating in the building.

Police are also questioning two municipal engineers who are reported to have approved the safety of the building a day before it collapsed.

The owner of Rana Plaza, Mohammed Sohel Rana, is said to have gone into hiding.

"Those who're involved, especially the owner who forced the workers to work there, will be punished," Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told lawmakers on Friday.

"Wherever he is, he will be found and brought to justice," the prime minister added.

There is widespread anger in Bangladesh over the disaster and fresh clashes between police and protesters erupted again on Saturday.

On Friday, police used tear-gas and rubber bullets to break up crowds that had blocked roads, set fire to buses and attacked textile factories.

Protesters are demanding that the government arrests all those responsible for the disaster and improves conditions for garment workers.

Police are guarding other garment factories in the area.

Bangladesh has one of the largest garment industries in the world, providing cheap clothing for major Western retailers that benefit from its widespread low-cost labour.

But the industry has been widely criticised for its low pay and limited rights given to workers and for the often dangerous working conditions in garment factories.

Primark, a clothes retailer with a large presence in Britain, confirmed that one of its suppliers was on the second floor of the Rana Plaza, and said it would work with other retailers to review standards.

Labour rights groups say the companies have a moral duty to ensure their suppliers are providing safe conditions for their employees.

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Facebook 'must remove memorial page'

24 April 2013 Last updated at 18:03 ET By Jefferson Puff BBC Brasil, Sao Paulo

A Brazilian judge has ordered Facebook to delete the profile of a 24-year-old journalist who died in May last year.

The mother of Juliana Ribeiro Campos filed a case arguing that messages, songs and photos posted by friends and family caused her extreme distress.

Ms Campos worked as a press officer in Campo Grande, central Brazil, and died from complications following surgery.

Her mother, sociology professor Dolores Pereira Coutinho, 50, campaigned for months before taking legal action.

The page has still not been removed and Facebook told the BBC it "does not comment on specific cases".

The company did not clarify whether it had already been officially notified by the court, in Mato Grosso do Sul state.

Judge Vania de Paula Arantes ruled on 19 March and again on 10 April that the page should be immediately shut down.

A further ruling was issued this week warning Facebook that it has 48 hours to completely remove the profile.

The penalty for disobeying the court was set as imprisonment.

Mrs Coutinho tried to delete the profile on her own for seven months, without success, receiving only automatic replies.

After some time Facebook withdrew public access to the profile.

The page was left as a memorial wall only available to friends, who could continue to post tributes.

However, Mrs Coutinho kept up her campaign pressing the social network's office in Sao Paulo for a decision over several months.

Late last year she decided she had had enough.

"This 'wailing wall' just makes me suffer too much," she told the BBC.

"On Christmas Eve many of her 200 friends posted pictures they had taken with her and recalled their memories. She was very charismatic, very popular. I cried for days," she said.

Judge Arantes said making the girl's profile into a "memorial wall" went against "the right of personal dignity and inflicted great suffering on the mother, due to the premature death of her only child".

Facebook guidelines include a right to remove a deceased user's timeline and all content associated with it upon request by a verified family member.

However, the social network also set out the idea of a memorial wall in the company's blog in October 2009.

"I suppose they won't totally exclude someone's presence on the website because they do not want the chain to be broken," Mrs Coutinho said.

"It's a network, and each person connects dozens of others. That's the only reason I can find for their resistance," she added, insisting that she is not seeking any form of compensation.

"I just want them to do what the judge ordered, that's all. I have the right to delete this page."

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Teachers on rampage in Mexican state

24 April 2013 Last updated at 21:37 ET

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Protesting teachers started fires and attacked buildings with pickaxes

Teachers incensed by sweeping education reforms have attacked the buildings of political parties in Mexico's south-western Guerrero state.

For several hours, masked protesters started fires and attacked the offices with pickaxes and sticks, spraying slogans on the walls.

The state governor has called for support from the federal government.

The reforms impose centralised teacher assessment and seek to end corrupt practices in the education system.

Those practices include the buying and selling of teaching positions.

But unions say the reforms could lead to big lay-offs, and critics also suggest they may be paving the way for the privatisation of Mexico's education system.

Wednesday's protests came a day after the Guerrero state legislature refused to amend the educational bill, which includes constitutional changes which must be passed by each state.

Continue reading the main story

The unrest is reminiscent of protests held by the same union in the state of Oaxaca in 2006 during a strike which lasted several months.

However, it is thought that in this case the gangs wreaking havoc in the city also include members of recently formed civilian self-defence groups which are operating in the state.

Comprised of members of local peasant and indigenous communities, the armed groups have started to take justice into their own hands by setting up roadblocks and arresting people they suspect of being involved with organised crime.

The combination of the two groups, and their shared sense of indignation at the local and national government, could prove difficult for the authorities to bring under control.

Any action by the police or security forces is likely to be met with an equally forceful response from the protesters who show little sign of backing down.

Police stood by during Wednesday's rampage in the state capital, Chilpancingo - though hundreds are guarding the state legislature.

Dozens of protesters targeted the local headquarters of the governing party, the PRI, as well as the offices of the opposition PAN and PRD, which have supported the reforms.

'Traitors'

A senator's office and state education department building were also attacked by the demonstrators, who broke windows and tossed computer equipment, desks and chairs out of the windows.

They burned papers inside the offices, some of which still had frightened workers inside when the masked men broke in, and sprayed slogans including "traitors of the people" on the walls.

The teachers are part of the country's smaller, more radical union, the National Co-ordinator of Education Workers.

Union spokesman Minervo Moran said the violent protests were "a reaction to the aggressive policies that are being imposed by the reforms and that's why there was this sort of action against the parties" that voted against the protesters' proposals.

But state Governor Angel Aguirre called for federal back-up and the PRI chairman Cesar Camacho pledged to investigate the unrest.

"We need to avoid the law of the jungle imposing itself, chaos and the breakdown of public order," Mr Camacho was quoted as saying.

Recently formed civilian self-defence groups are thought to have joined the demonstrators wreaking havoc on Wednesday, reports the BBC's Will Grant in Mexico City.

President Enrique Pena Nieto signed the education law in February, but parliamentarians need to draw up separate legislation to implement it.

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S Korea proposes factory zone talks

24 April 2013 Last updated at 23:43 ET

South Korea is proposing formal talks with the North over restarting operations at the jointly-run Kaesong Industrial Complex.

Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-suk warned of "grave measures" if the North did not agree to the talks.

Pyongyang blocked South Korean access to the site and pulled out its 53,000 workers earlier this month.

Tensions between the Koreas are high following the North's third nuclear test in February.

"The government today officially proposes to hold working-level talks between the authorities of the South and North to resolve humanitarian issues affecting Kaesong workers and to normalise Kaesong industrial zone," Mr Kim said.

He said Pyongyang should respond to the offer by Friday, and said it would face "grave measures" if it rejected the offer.

He did not elaborate on what the measures would be, although some analysts believe the South would withdraw the 176 South Koreans still at the complex, which is located inside North Korea.

Continue reading the main story

• 12 Dec: North launches a rocket, claiming to have put a satellite into orbit
• 12 Feb: North conducts underground nuclear test
• 11 Mar: US-South Korea annual military drills begin
• 30 Mar: North says it is entering a "state of war" with South
• 2 Apr: North says it is restarting Yongbyon reactor
• 3 Apr: North blocks South workers from Kaesong industrial zone
• 9 Apr: North pulls its workers from Kaesong zone
• 10 Apr: North moves two mid-range Musudan missiles to its east coast

The remaining South Korean nationals in the park were "suffering serious difficulties due to the shortage of food and medicines", Mr Kim said.

South Korean companies were also "suffering big damages and pains", he added.

Financial measures

On Wednesday, South Korea announced government measures to help firms affected by North Korea's closure of the industrial zone.

Companies would be given tax relief, special loans and work training for those who lost jobs, AFP news agency reported.

North Korea has been angered by tightened UN sanctions following its third nuclear test, and joint military drills between the US and South Korea.

In recent weeks, it has threatened to attack South Korea, Japan and US military bases in the region.

It has prevented South Koreans from entering the industrial zone since 3 April, and pulled out the 53,000 North Korean workers at the park on 9 April.

Kaesong Industrial Complex was launched in 2003 as a sign of North-South co-operation, and is considered a key indicator of relations between the two Koreas.

It was the biggest contributor to inter-Korean trade and provided the North with much-needed hard currency.

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CIA 'tracked Boston bomb suspect'

24 April 2013 Last updated at 23:56 ET

One of the Boston bomb suspects was added to a terrorism database 18 months ago at the request of the CIA, officials have told US media.

The FBI has already said it investigated Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, but had found no evidence of a threat.

Tsarnaev was killed during a police chase last week. His brother Dzhokhar, 19, is in custody over the bombs.

Three people were killed and more than 260 wounded when two devices exploded at the Boston Marathon on 15 April.

A US politician earlier confirmed the bombs were set off by remote control.

But the devices were not sophisticated and apparently had to be triggered from a few streets away.

FBI 'not at fault'

Officials said Tamerlan Tsarnaev had been added to the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (Tide) on the request of the CIA.

The database contains as many as 745,000 entries, and individuals on that list are not necessarily on the so-called terrorist watch list.

Continue reading the main story

• Sons of Chechen refugees from the troubled Caucasus region of southern Russia
• Family is thought to have moved to the US in 2002 from Russian republic of Dagestan
• They lived in the Massachusetts town of Cambridge, home to Harvard University
• Dzhokhar, 19, was awarded a scholarship to pursue further education; he wanted to become a brain surgeon, according to his father
• Tamerlan, 26, was an amateur boxer who had reportedly taken time off college to train for a competition; he described himself as a "very religious" non-drinker and non-smoker

The Russian authorities had alerted US counterparts to the activities of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, whose family has its origins in the war-torn Russian republic of Chechnya.

About six months before the CIA requested his name be added to Tide, the FBI asked the Russians for more information about Tamerlan Tsarnaev but received none, and closed its investigation.

The authorities earlier said the US intelligence community had no information about threats to the marathon ahead of the 15 April attacks.

After a classified briefing in the House intelligence committee on Wednesday, Democratic Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger said he believed the FBI was not at fault.

"I feel, based on the testimony today, that the FBI did exactly what they would do and they followed through the protocols that were necessary once they got that information," Mr Ruppersberger told reporters.

He also said he had been told the bombs were detonated with a "garage door opener-type of device".

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was injured during the police manhunt and remains in hospital in a fair condition.

Suspects' parents arriving

Officers captured him as he hid in a boat covered by a tarpaulin in a garden in Watertown, Massachusetts.

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Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger: ''The FBI... followed through the protocols"

Officials initially had said he exchanged gunfire with police for more than an hour before he was captured on Friday.

But the Associated Press quoted two unnamed officials as saying Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had been unarmed when he was captured.

The younger brother has been charged in hospital with using a weapon of mass destruction and malicious destruction of property resulting in death.

He could be sentenced to death if convicted on either count.

In bedside questioning, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has said he and his brother were angry about the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But the brothers are not believed to have had direct contact with a militant organisation, politicians said after closed-door briefings.

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Russia's rebellious Caucasus republics have been spawned war and insurgency for the past 20 years

It is suspected the brothers became radicalised online.

The suspects' parents, Anzor Tsarnaev and Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, are due to arrive in the US on Thursday, Russian media reported.

The Tsarnaev family has origins in the predominantly Muslim republic of Chechnya in southern Russia.

The brothers had been living in the US for about a decade at the time of the attack.

In 2012, Tamerlan Tsarnaev spent six months with relatives in Dagestan, another Russian republic, which has an Islamist militant insurgency.

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Tibetan monks die after immolations

25 April 2013 Last updated at 03:23 ET

Two Tibetan monks have died after setting themselves alight in southern China's Sichuan province, reports say.

The monks, aged 20 and 23, set themselves on fire at the Kirti monastery in Aba county, said Radio Free Asia and Free Tibet.

The monastery has been a focal point of protests in recent months.

More than 100 Tibetans, mostly young monks, have set themselves on fire since 2011 - many fatally - in apparent protest against Chinese rule.

The monks, who reports identify as Lobsang Dawa, 20, and Konchog Woeser, 23, set themselves on fire on Wednesday, US-based Radio Free Asia and London-based Free Tibet said.

Continue reading the main story

• China says Tibet has always been part of its territory
• Tibet had long periods of autonomy
• China launched a military assault in 1950
• Opposition to Chinese rule led to a bloody uprising in 1959
• Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fled to India
• Dalai Lama now advocates a "middle way" with Beijing, seeking autonomy but not independence

The monks at the monastery held prayers for the two who died and their bodies were to be cremated on Thursday, Radio Free Asia added.

The majority of the self-immolations since 2011 have taken place in ethnic Tibetan areas outside Tibet, many in Aba county.

Most involved Buddhist monks or nuns calling, Tibetan activist groups say, for greater religious freedom and the return of their exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

The Chinese government accuses the Dalai Lama of orchestrating the protests, a charge he strongly rejects.

Foreign media are banned from the region, making verifying the self-immolation cases difficult. Chinese state media have confirmed some but not all.

In January, China found two men guilty of inciting immolations in Sichuan, believed to be the first cases since a legal ruling stipulating that anyone aiding immolations would be charged with murder.

Tibetan activists said the men, one of whom received a commuted death sentence and the other 10 years in jail, were forced to confess to the charges.

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Spain unemployment hits record high

25 April 2013 Last updated at 04:43 ET

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The total number of people out of work has now passed the six million figure

Spain's unemployment rate soared to a new record of 27.2% of the workforce in the first quarter of 2013, according to official figures.

The total number of unemployed people in Spain has now passed the six million figure, although the rate of the increase has slowed.

The figures underline Spain's struggle to emerge from an economic crisis which began five years ago.

A big demonstration in Madrid is being planned against the austerity measures.

On Friday, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will unveil fiscal and policy measures aimed at halting recession in the eurozone's fourth-largest economy.

"These figures are worse than expected and highlight the serious situation of the Spanish economy as well as the shocking decoupling between the real and the financial economy," said Jose Luis Martinez, strategist at Citi.

Continue reading the main story

Next year we will have growth and jobs will be created in our country"

End Quote Mariano Rajoy Spanish prime minister

Last week, the International Monetary Fund cut its 2013 forecast for Spain's growth to a 1.6% contraction from 1.5% and said the unemployment rate would peak at 27% this year.

Peak reached?

The unemployment figure is the highest since at least 1976, the year after dictator Francisco Franco's death began Spain's transition to democracy.

The jobless rate, which stood at 7.9% in mid-2007, has risen relentlessly since the collapse in 2008 of a Spain's labour-intensive property boom.

On Wednesday, Mr Rajoy told parliament that the job situation for the entire year "will not be good, but it will be less bad than in the preceding years".

"Next year we will have growth and jobs will be created in our country," he said.

Meanwhile, in France, the second biggest eurozone economy, official figures to be released later on Thursday are also expected to show a record number of jobless workers.

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Frantic search for Dhaka survivors

25 April 2013 Last updated at 07:45 ET

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A man trapped in the rubble of the collapsed building in Dhaka

A search for survivors is continuing at a building which collapsed in a suburb of the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, killing at least 200 people.

Rescue workers are working with volunteers to free survivors trapped inside the remains of the building.

Tens of thousands of weeping family members have gathered at the site.

Police said the factory owners had ignored warnings not to allow their workers into the building after cracks were noticed on Tuesday.

The High Court has summoned the building owner and senior management staff of the factories to appear before judges on 30 April, local media report.

The factory owners are said to have gone into hiding.

Police earlier confirmed that cases had been filed against the building owner and the owners of the factories for causing unlawful death.

The exact number of those trapped is not clear, but accounts from survivors and eyewitnesses suggest there may be hundreds still unaccounted for.

The disaster has prompted questions over Bangladesh's chronically poor safety standards.

Bangladesh has one of the largest garment industries in the world, providing cheap clothing for major Western retailers which benefit from its widespread low-cost labour.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced a national day of mourning on Thursday in memory of the victims.

Thousands of garment workers in other areas of Dhaka have taken to the streets and blocked roads to protest at the deaths of the workers in Savar.

'Like a pancake'

Some 2,000 people were in the Rana Plaza building in Savar, some 30km (20 miles) outside Dhaka, when it collapsed suddenly on Wednesday morning.

Firefighters and soldiers joined volunteers in the effort to locate survivors in the mangled wreckage of concrete and steel.

Rescue workers and volunteers have been using heavy machinery and their bare hands to free survivors.

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• Nov 2012 - More than 100 workers die in a fire at a factory in Dhaka suburb of Tazreen
• March 2012 - More than 100 people die as a ferry collides with an oil tanker and sinks
• June 2010 - Four-storey building in Dhaka caves in, killing at least 25 people
• April 2005 A garment factory collapses in Savar, killing 73 people
• May 2002 - Up to 500 people die when a river ferry sinks during a storm

Trapped workers can be heard inside the rubble, screaming for help. Food and water is being passed to survivors through gaps in the the rubble.

Lengths of textile that were earlier being cut into garments - many destined for Western consumers - were now being used as makeshift slides to evacuate survivors and corpses.

Mosammat Khursida told the Associated Press (AP) news agency she was looking for her husband.

"He came to work in the morning. I can't find him," she said. "I don't know where he is. He does not pick up his phone."

Lines of relatives filed by numbered bodies of victims, looking for their family members.

"Save us brother. I beg you brother. I want to live... It's so painful here ... I have two little children," Mohammad Altab, a garment worker trapped in the building told rescuers, according to AP.

Only the ground floor of the building remained intact, officials said.

"The whole building collapsed like a pancake within minutes. Most workers did not have any chance to escape," national fire department chief Ahmed Ali told AFP news agency.

Local hospitals were overwhelmed with the arrival of more than 1,000 injured people.

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Bangladeshi factory worker: "In one minute everything collapsed"

Speaking at the scene, Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir said the building had violated construction codes and "the culprits would be punished".

There are reports that the building owner had illegally added three extra stories to the building.

'Catch-22'

In November, a fire at a garment factory in the Dhaka suburb of Tazreen drew international attention to working conditions in Bangladesh's textile industry.

Primark, a clothes retailer with a large presence in Britain, confirmed that one of its suppliers was on the second floor of the Rana Plaza.

It said it was "shocked and deeply saddened by the appalling incident" and that it would work with other retailers to review standards.

Discount giant Wal-Mart - which was found to be sourcing products from the Tazreen factory - said it was still trying to establish whether its goods were being produced at the Rana Plaza.

"We remain committed and are actively engaged in promoting stronger safety measures, and that work continues,'' said Wal-Mart spokesman Kevin Gardner.

A company called New Wave, with two factories in the building, supplies firms from around Europe, the US and Canada.

Meanwhile, Spanish retailer Mango said it had not been using any of the suppliers in the building but had been in talks with one of them to produce a batch of test products.

Edward Hertzman, a textiles broker based in New York, told Reuters news agency that pressure from US retailers to keep costs down was in part responsible for unsafe conditions.

"Bangladesh is the longest lead-time country and a difficult country to work in, so the only way it becomes competitive is by offering the lowest [cost]. That's the catch-22," he said.

"If the factories want to raise prices to make up for rising wages and costs, the buyers say: 'Oh why do we want to go to Bangladesh if I could go to China, Pakistan, Cambodia etc for a similar price?"

He said if Western companies really wanted safety standards to improve, they would have to accept that they needed to start paying higher prices.

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Russia fines first NGO under new law

25 April 2013 Last updated at 08:13 ET

Election watchdog Golos has become the first non-governmental organisation (NGO) to be fined in Russia under a controversial new law.

A Moscow court ruled Golos had failed to declare itself as a "foreign agent" after receiving funds from abroad after the law took effect in November.

It was fined the sum of 300,000 roubles (£6,200; $9,500; 6,300 euros).

The NGO said it had returned the money - a prize for its human rights work - as soon as it entered its account.

It also denied being involved in political activity.

It says it will appeal against the verdict.

Golos, which received assistance in the past from the US government development agency USAID, insists it no longer accepts foreign funding.

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When Golos became the first Russian NGO to be fined under the controversial "foreign agent" law, nobody was very surprised.

From the start many in the Russian opposition felt that Golos was the main target of the law. The NGO's election monitoring in the last two years has caused huge embarrassment to the government, as they exposed the huge level of electoral fraud in Russia.

The organisation always admitted receiving funding from the US and the EU but when the new law came in, saying that any organisation involved in politics that received foreign funding should register as a "foreign agent", Golos said it had walked away from its foreign funding.

Even after today's judgment Golos insisted it was not involved in political activities and it did not receive money from overseas.

Now in its 13th year, the NGO did much to expose fraud at the 2011 parliamentary election, when it charted abuses across Russia, notably through its online "map of violations".

'Rushing to conclusions'

The accusation concerned a sum of 7,728.4 euros awarded by the Norwegian Helsinki Committee as part of its Andrei Sakharov Freedom prize.

Golos says the money entered one of its accounts in December before it had time to decline it, and the sum was later returned unused.

It accused the Russian justice ministry of "rushing to conclusions".

"The Golos association receives no foreign funding and is funded solely by Russian resources," it said in a recent statement.

Under the new law, NGOs involved in political activity which are funded from abroad must register as "foreign agents".

Presenting the case on Thursday, the justice ministry's representative did not specify what political activity Golos was suspected of conducting, the Russian news website lenta.ru reports.

"We are convinced of our innocence," Golos said before the verdict. "This is the first court hearing bringing to responsibility an organisation that is purportedly a foreign agent. The fate of many other NGOs will depend on the decision."

Tax inspectors have been scrutinising the finances of other Russian NGOs in recent months.

USAID was expelled from Russia in September after being accused of attempting to "influence political processes through its grants", which had totalled $3bn.

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Canada pair challenge 'train plot'

23 April 2013 Last updated at 21:16 ET

Two suspects in an alleged al-Qaeda-backed plot to derail a Canadian passenger train have challenged the case against them.

In a Montreal court, Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, said the case against him was based only on "appearances".

A lawyer for Raed Jaser, 35, said he would "defend himself vigorously", outside his hearing in Toronto.

Officials said the alleged plot had support from al-Qaeda in Iran, although there was no sign of state sponsorship.

Canadian authorities said the two suspects were arrested in Montreal and Toronto on Monday.

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Raed Jaser's lawyer, John Norris, said his client's reaction was one of ''shock and disbelief''

Mr Jaser is understood to be a United Arab Emirates national of Palestinian origin, though his lawyer points out he is a permanent Canadian resident who has lived there 20 years.

Mr Esseghaier is thought to be of Tunisian origin.

'Imam's tip-off'

The charges against the pair include conspiring to interfere with transport facilities on behalf of a terrorist organisation and conspiring to commit murder.

Neither suspect entered a plea in Tuesday's hearings.

But Mr Esseghaier said the charges against him were unfair.

"The conclusions were made based on acts and words which are only appearances," he said in French after receiving permission to speak.

He declined representation by a court-appointed lawyer.

Continue reading the main story

Kasra Naji BBC News

---

By all accounts, there are still a number of senior al-Qaeda figures in Iran today. Their story goes back to 2001, when American forces and their Afghan allies, the Northern Alliance, were heading towards Kabul to overthrow the Taliban government.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was worried about having American troops on his country's doorstep - so he opened communication with the Taliban and agreed to provide them a safe way out of the country. In Iran, restrictions were imposed on them by the Revolutionary Guards and Iran's myriad intelligence agencies. But some may still have been active in establishing contacts with the al-Qaeda network, even helping to raise funds abroad and provide assistance and guidance to members, without the knowledge of the Iranian authorities.

What is clear is that the presence of senior al-Qaeda figures has now turned into a huge liability for the government of Iran.

Family members of Mr Jaser attended his hearing, where the court banned the publication of evidence and testimony in the case.

His father, Mohammed Jaser, told reporters outside court: "I don't know nothing. Let the police do their job."

The accused face charges of conspiracy to carry out an attack and kill people in association with a terrorist group.

Mr Jaser's lawyer Mr Norris questioned the timing of the arrests, which came as the Canadian parliament debates an anti-terrorism bill that would reintroduce "preventative detention" and investigative hearings.

"I don't know what their purposes were but their timing was notable to say the least," Mr Norris was quoted by the Globe and Mail newspaper as saying.

Mr Esseghaier was studying for a doctorate at National Institute for Scientific Research near Montreal, while Mr Jaser reportedly worked as a customer service agent at a removal firm.

Canadian media have reported the investigation was launched after a tip-off by a concerned imam in the Toronto Muslim community.

The imam was worried that young people in the city were being corrupted by an extremist.

Authorities say the two accused had planned to derail a passenger train in the Greater Toronto area.

The alleged attack was "definitely in the planning stage but not imminent", Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Chief Superintendent Jennifer Strachan said on Monday.

The Globe and Mail newspaper reported a Toronto-New York City train was to be the target.

But VIA Rail, which operates passenger rail services across Canada and carries nearly four million passengers annually, said the public was never in danger.

The RCMP said the investigation was a collaborative effort with FBI agents from the US.

Iran has denied any links with the two suspects.

'Hilarious'

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said it was "ridiculous" to suggest any connection between al-Qaeda and Tehran.

"This is the most hilarious thing I've heard in my 64 years," Mr Salehi told the Iranian Isna news agency.

Al-Qaeda - a militant Salafist Islamic movement - preaches a radical anti-Shia ideology that is seen as placing it firmly at odds with Shia Iran.

A US justice department official said there was no connection between the alleged Canada plot and last week's Boston Marathon bombings.

Analysts say Iran's links with al-Qaeda are shadowy and complex.

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Assistant Commissioner James Malizia: "Innocent people would have been killed or seriously injured"

Some of the group's senior figures - including Osama Bin Laden's son, Saad Bin Laden, and former security chief Saif al-Adel - are said to have fled to Iran after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

They were allegedly held under house arrest by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard, although Tehran never acknowledged their presence.

According to the US, Saif al-Adel's father-in-law, Mustafa Hamid, is the link between al-Qaeda and the Iranian government.

After the fall of the Taliban, he is said to have negotiated the safe relocation of several senior al-Qaeda members and their families to Iran. In mid-2003, he was arrested by the Iranian authorities.

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Australia hacking 'leader' charged

23 April 2013 Last updated at 23:23 ET

Australian police say they have arrested a "self-proclaimed leader" of the hacking group LulzSec.

The 24-year-old from New South Wales is accused of attacking and defacing a government website earlier this month, a police statement said.

Lulzsec has claimed responsibility for several high profile cyber-attacks, including against Sony Pictures and the CIA.

It emerged as a splinter-group of hacking collective Anonymous in 2011.

In the statement, the Australian Federal Police said that the arrested man was an IT professional who used his position in an IT company to access sensitive information from clients, including government agencies.

He has been charged with two counts of unauthorised modification of data to cause impairment, and one count of unauthorised access to restricted data. He faces a maximum of 12 years in jail.

"Those thinking of engaging in such activities should be warned that hacking, creating or propagating malicious viruses or participating in Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are not harmless fun," Cyber Crimes Commander Glen McEwen said.

LulzSec gained international attention when they hacked the Sony website in 2011, taking down the company's PlayStation network for weeks and accessing millions of users' accounts.

It was estimated to have cost the company over $100 million (£65m) and was part of a 50-day rampage which targeted organisations ranging from the FBI to Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency.

The name stood for Lulz Security - in which "Lulz" is derived from the popular internet term "lol", meaning "laugh out loud".

The group's members employed techniques to flood websites with high traffic - known as DDoS attacks - in order to render them unusable.

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'Many Europeans' fighting in Syria

23 April 2013 Last updated at 23:45 ET

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'Many Europeans' are fighting in Syria, the EU's anti-terror chief claims

The EU's anti-terror chief has told the BBC that hundreds of Europeans are now fighting with rebel forces in Syria against Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Gilles de Kerchove estimated the number in Syria at about 500.

Intelligence agencies are concerned some could join groups linked to al-Qaeda and later return to Europe to launch terrorist attacks.

The UK, Ireland and France are among the EU countries estimated to have the highest numbers of fighters in Syria.

"Not all of them are radical when they leave, but most likely many of them will be radicalised there, will be trained," Mr de Kerchove told the BBC.

"And as we've seen this might lead to a serious threat when they get back."

Across Europe, intelligence agencies have stepped up investigations, says the BBC's Europe correspondent Duncan Crawford.

In Britain and Belgium they have increased efforts to track how people are recruited.

In the Netherlands, officials have raised the terror threat level there to "substantial" - partly over concerns about radicalised citizens returning from Syria.

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Trial of Russian activist resumes

24 April 2013 Last updated at 06:09 ET

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Alexei Navalny's legal team is challenging every detail of the trial

The trial on embezzlement charges of one of Russia's leading opposition figures, Alexei Navalny, has resumed.

Mr Navalny is accused of involvement in the misappropriation of 16m roubles (£300,000; $500,000) from a state timber firm he advised while working for the governor of the Kirov region.

The 36-year-old, who is known for his blogs denouncing President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party as corrupt, could face up to 10 years in prison.

He has called the charges "absurd".

In a recent interview with the BBC, Mr Navalny accused Mr Putin of personally ordering his prosecution in an effort to discredit him.

'Tendentious'

Mr Navalny's trial in the city of Kirov, about 900km (560 miles) north-east of Moscow, began a week ago but was quickly adjourned after his lawyers said they needed more time to read the case files.

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Turning occasionally to the phalanx of cameras behind him, Alexei Navalny sat at the front of the court in his trademark open-necked shirt. His lawyers are challenging every aspect of the case - the venue, the length of time they have had to read the documentation, and the "self-contradictory" charges.

Alexei Navalny has been quite clear - he says this is a political trial.

Many of those who have followed his rise tend to agree with him. He has become a threat to the Russian political establishment. He has hit them where it hurts, by exposing the extraordinary levels of corruption in their ranks. He has written about it with savage ferocity laced with poisonous sarcasm.

Many of the tens of thousands who took to the streets last year were there because of him. He has become one of the Putin government's most successful opponents.

Eventually he attracted the attention of Russia's equivalent of the FBI - the Investigative Committee - which has become an increasingly politicised force. Now, in front of a judge who has not acquitted anyone in more than 130 cases, it seems likely that he is going to prison.

The trial resumed on Wednesday but was twice adjourned as the judge withdrew to consider requests by the defence to send the case back to prosecutors, citing violations by the investigators.

Speaking to reporters after the judge ordered the second recess, Mr Navalny denounced the case against him.

"It's raw, it's tendentious, there are different numbers cited everywhere, different amounts of timber are mentioned, and so on," he said.

He also insisted his innocence would be apparent even if he was convicted.

"At the end of the trial, we will certainly win. I'm sure that a lack of guilt will be established. Even if it is not formally acknowledged by the court, it will be clear for everyone who attends the trial."

Outside, a Navalny supporter put up a large sign saying: "Putin is a thief."

Aside from the embezzlement charges, three other criminal cases have been opened against Mr Navalny.

Last Thursday, the federal Investigative Committee announced that he and his brother were suspected of organising a 3.8m-rouble (£79,000; $121,000) fraud involving mail deliveries in 2008.

A spokeswoman for the activist said the latest allegations were the authorities' "reaction to the massive public support that we're receiving".

Mr Navalny is the most high-profile opposition figure to be tried since anti-Putin protests 16 months ago, which saw the biggest demonstrations in Moscow since the fall of the USSR.

Since Mr Putin's re-election in March 2011, legal action against opposition figures has increased markedly. Tough laws have been passed on public order offences and tight curbs placed on non-governmental organisations.

Analysts say Mr Navalny's conviction would be a major blow to an opposition which for years suffered the lack of a central figure or platform.

Mr Navalny's case is highlighted in a report published by Human Rights Watch, which warns that Russia is violating its international human rights commitments.

"The new laws and government harassment are pushing civil society activists to the margins of the law," said Hugh Williamson, the group's Europe and Central Asia director. "The government crackdown is hurting Russian society and harming Russia's international standing."

"Russia's international partners should leave no doubt about the seriousness with which they view the crackdown underway in Russia, and impress upon Moscow the urgent need to stop abuses," he added.

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