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Nun guilty of nuclear site break-in

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 09 Mei 2013 | 19.15

8 May 2013 Last updated at 20:42 ET

An elderly Catholic nun and two peace activists have been convicted for damage they caused while breaking into a US nuclear defence site.

Sister Megan Rice, 83, Michael Walli, 64, and Greg Boertje-Obed, 56, admitted cutting fences and entering the Y-12 site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which processes and stores uranium.

The incident last July prompted security changes.

Sister Megan said she only regretted having waited 70 years to take action.

A jury deliberated for two and a half hours before reaching its verdict. The three face up to 20 years in prison after their conviction for sabotaging the plant, which was first constructed during the Manhattan Project that developed the first nuclear bomb.

The three, who belong to the group Transform Now Plowshares, were also found guilty of causing more than $1,000 (£643) of damage to government property, for which they could face up to 10 years in prison.

Walli and Boertje-Obed, a house painter, testified in their own defence, telling jurors they had no remorse for their actions.

Sister Megan stood and smiled as the verdict was read out at a court in Knoxville, Tennessee. Supporters in the courtroom gasped and wept and sang a hymn as the judge left.

The break-in disrupted operations at Oak Ridge and reportedly caused more than $8,500 of damage.

Continue reading the main story

Our actions were providing real security and exposing false security"

End Quote Greg Boertje-Obed

"We are a nation of laws," prosecutor Jeffrey Theodore said during closing arguments. "You can't take the law into your own hands and force your views on other people."

But defence lawyers said the break-in was symbolic and was not intended to hurt the facility, and officials have acknowledged the protesters never got near nuclear material.

"The shortcomings in security at one of the most dangerous places on the planet have embarrassed a lot of people," said lawyer Francis Lloyd.

"You're looking at three scapegoats behind me."

'Ineptitude'

Sister Megan said her only regret was waiting so long to stage her protest. "It is manufacturing that which can only cause death," she said.

In a statement to the court, Boertje-Obed said: "Nuclear weapons do not provide security. Our actions were providing real security and exposing false security."

The three activists admitted cutting the fence to get into the site, walking around, spray-painting words, stringing out crime scene tape and chipping a wall with hammers. They spent two hours inside.

They also sprayed the exterior of the complex with baby bottles containing human blood.

When a guard approached, they offered him food and started singing.

After the activists' action, Congress and the energy department investigated the facility and found "troubling displays of ineptitude" there.

Top officials were reassigned, including at the National Nuclear Security Administration.

WSI, the company providing security at the site, was dismissed and other officers were sacked, demoted or suspended.


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Dhaka's collapse death toll tops 900

9 May 2013 Last updated at 04:45 ET

At least 912 people are now known to have died in last month's collapse of a building near the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, officials say.

They say rescuers pulled 94 bodies early on Thursday from the eight-storey Rana Plaza in Savar. Most of the victims were garment factory workers.

The death toll from Bangladesh's worst industrial accident on 24 April has been steadily rising in recent days.

Overnight, a fire at a clothing factory in Dhaka killed at least eight people.

Halima Akhtar

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Halima Akhtar, 14, was trapped with her sister when the building collapsed

'Like skeletons'

The collapse of the Rana Plaza has sparked mass protests, as many garment workers allege they were forced to work by the owners despite huge cracks appearing in the building.

The authorities say about 2,500 people were injured in the accident and 2,437 people were rescued.

Rescuers say they are planning to wrap up their work on Friday, and the rubble will then be shifted by bulldozers.

"We've only still got to search the basement," Brg Gen Siddiqul Alam Sikder, who is heading the recovery efforts, told the AFP news agency.

"We've only still got to search the basement. Most of the bodies are now like skeletons as they are so badly decomposed," he added.

The building housed a number of garment factories. A number of officials - including the Rana Plaza's owner - have since been arrested and charged with causing deaths by negligence.

In a separate development, the overnight fire at the 11-storey garment factory in Dhaka's Mirpur district killed at least eight people.

Reports suggest that a police officer and the owner of the factory were amongst the victims.

Clothes, produced in a factory belonging to Tung Hai Group, a large garment exporter, are seen after a fire in Dhaka

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The BBC's Richard Galpin: "The victims included the managing director"

They are believed to be holding a meeting in the building, which belongs to garment exporter Tung Hai Group, when the blaze started.

Earlier on Wednesday, Bangladesh announced a shut down of 18 garment factories for safety reasons, amid growing concerns over the issue of industrial safety across the country.

Bangladesh has one of the largest garment industries in the world, and some of the clothes produced in the Rana Plaza building were made for Western retailers.

The industry employs about four million people and makes up almost 80% of the country's annual exports. However, it has faced criticism over low pay and for the often dangerous working conditions in factories.


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Nazi-themed Wagner opera cancelled

9 May 2013 Last updated at 05:03 ET

A controversial production of a Wagner opera at one of the major German opera houses has been cancelled because of harrowing scenes involving Nazis.

The Rheinoper, based in Dusseldorf, said some of the audience had to seek medical help following early performances of Tannhauser.

But the producer "refused" to tone down the staging, set in a concentration camp during the Holocaust.

The production has now been cancelled with only concert performances planned.

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Wagner was a rabid anti-Semite and one of the biggest fans of his music was Hitler - so productions of his operas in Germany often cause a row.

Last year, the Russian baritone, Evgeny Nikitin, was forced to withdraw from the title role in the Flying Dutchman when it was learnt that, as a youth in a heavy-metal band, he had had a very large swastika tattooed on his chest.

The current production of Tristan and Isolde, at the Deutscheoper in Berlin, features naked 'junkies' walking across the stage.

When the Welsh National Opera recently did Die Meistersinger in Cardiff (with Bryn Terfel) some German visitors congratulated the company on doing a traditional production celebrating German culture. It would not, they thought, be easy to do in their own country.

The 200th anniversary of Wagner's birth is about to be celebrated and every German opera house seems to be planning new productions. Expect more rows.

"After considering all the arguments, we have come to the conclusion that we cannot justify such an extreme impact of our artistic work," said a statement from Deutsche Oper am Rhein.

"With paramount concern, we note that some scenes (especially the shooting scene) were depicted very realistically," the statement continued, causing "psychological and physical stress" to some audience members.

Despite "intensive conversation" with German theatre director and actor Burkhard C Kosminski about possible changes to the production, "he refused to do this for artistic reasons", according to the statement.

"Of course, we have to respect - and also for legal reasons - the artistic freedom of the director," the opera house said.

A production of Wagner's Tannhauser in Dusseldorf

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Management at the Rheinoper said they were aware that the "concept and implementation" of the Kosminski's production would be "controversial".

The production, which opened last weekend, provoked "violent protests" on its opening night, according to local newspaper reports.

Head of Dusseldorf's Jewish community Michael Szentei-Heise told the Associated Press news agency: "Members of the audience booed and banged the doors when they left the opera house in protest".

He called the adaptation "tasteless and not legitimate".

The original Tannhauser, set in Germany in the Middle Ages, was first performed in Dresden in 1845.

It was based on a traditional ballad about the bard Tannhauser and features a singing contest at the Wartburg Castle.

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Nigeria cult ambush 'kills police'

9 May 2013 Last updated at 05:43 ET

At least 23 police officers in Nigeria have been killed in an ambush by a local militia in the central Nasarawa state, officials have said.

They were on their way to arrest the leader of the outlawed Ombatse "cult" when gunmen opened fire, a state spokesman told the BBC.

Sani Musa Mairiga said they were forcing local villagers to swear an oath of allegiance to the group.

The state police chief said that 17 officers were still missing.

Nasarawa police chief Abayomi Akeremale said about 60 police officers came under attack.

"We decided to send our men to the area to arrest members of Ombatse, including their priest," he told the AFP news agency.

"[They] have been going to churches and mosques initiating people into their cult by forcefully administering an allegiance oath to unwilling people."

The police were attacked on Tuesday near the shrine to the traditional deity of the Eggon people, in the village of Alakyo, near the state capital, Lafia.

Ombatse means "the time has come" in the Eggon language.

The Eggon community are a microcosm of Nigeria - they are said to be evenly divided between Christians and Muslims but many people continue to follow traditional religions.

There are about 250 different ethnic groups in Nigeria, some with their own traditional belief systems.


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Cleveland 'kidnapper' due in court

9 May 2013 Last updated at 06:36 ET
Ariel Castro (l) covers his face as he's led into custody

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Footage shows Ariel Castro being led away by police, as Paul Adams reports

The man suspected of imprisoning three women for several years in the US city of Cleveland is due to make his first court appearance.

Ariel Castro, 52, has been charged with kidnap and rape.

The women were abducted at different times and held in a house in a suburban street for about a decade. One woman escaped on Monday and raised the alarm.

The police detained two of Mr Castro's brothers, but later said they appeared to have no involvement in the crime.

Ariel Castro owned the house from which Amanda Berry, 27, Gina DeJesus, 23, and Michelle Knight, 32, were rescued.

Police said the women could only remember being outside twice during their time in captivity, and were then only allowed into the garage.

Continue reading the main story
  • Commenting on the media coverage of the case, the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes: "If there is a bigger story here that can lead to systematic improvements in how the Cleveland police handle cases of missing teens and young adults, that deserves coverage as well."
  • Slate questions the testimony of Ariel Castro's neighbours: "One possible explanation is that the neighbours are simply caught up in the excitement over a national story unfolding in their backyard, and they're misremembering their pasts because of it."
  • Referring to the Facebook account of Ariel Castro, the New York Times' Lede blog says: "None of the posts or photos on his profile hint at the horrifying secret he kept since 2002 in his dilapidated Cleveland home. Nor do they reveal a disturbed mind."

Deputy police chief Ed Tomba said the women were not held in one room "but they did know each other and they did know each other was there".

Emotional homecoming

Ms Berry escaped on Monday along with her six-year-old daughter Jocelyn, who was born in captivity.

A source told the BBC that one of the women was forced to help Ms Berry deliver her daughter, and was threatened with death if the child did not survive.

In a news conference late on Wednesday, authorities said Mr Castro would be charged with four counts of kidnapping.

The charges covered the three initial abduction victims and Jocelyn.

Mr Castro was also charged with three counts of rape, one against each woman.

Police said more than 200 pieces of evidence had been taken from the home where the three women were held captive.

They said interviews with the women had yielded enough information to charge Ariel Castro, and that further charges could be added.

Police say Mr Castro has been co-operating with them, waiving his right to silence and agreeing to a test to establish Jocelyn's paternity.

Ms Knight remains in hospital, while the other two women have been released to their families.

On Wednesday hundreds of people gathered around the DeJesus family home, cheering as Gina DeJesus was brought from hospital.

Ms DeJesus, wearing a bright yellow hooded shirt, was escorted into her home by a woman with her arm around her, giving the well-wishers a brief wave.

The house in Ohio, Cleveland, where three missing women were found on Monday

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Listen to the moment an officer radioed "we found them, we found them" from the house in Cleveland

Ms Berry and her daughter arrived at her sister's home shortly before midday on Wednesday.

She disappeared in 2003 aged 16, but escaped on Monday with the help of a neighbour who heard her screaming and kicking a door while her alleged captor was out of the house.

When police arrived, they also found Ms DeJesus and Ms Knight in the house.

Ms DeJesus had gone missing aged 14 in 2004, while Ms Knight had disappeared in 2002, aged 20.

Ariel Castro reportedly fled the neighbourhood and was arrested at a nearby McDonald's restaurant, according to local media.


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Court condemns Bangladesh Islamist

9 May 2013 Last updated at 06:45 ET
Muhammad Kamaruzzaman deputy head of the Jamaat-e-Isami Political Party

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The BBC's Sabir Mustafa details the significance of the ruling

The deputy head of Bangladesh's opposition Jamaat-e-Islami party has been sentenced to death by the country's war crimes tribunal.

Muhammad Kamaruzzaman was found guilty on five out of seven counts of torture and mass murder committed during the 1971 war of independence.

The tribunal was set up in 2010 to try people accused of collaboration.

Kamaruzzaman, who denied the charges and said his trial was politically motivated, is set to appeal.

Jamaat says the government is using the trials to curb opposition activities ahead of elections due next year.

International rights groups, meanwhile, say the tribunal falls short of international standards.

Street battles

In a packed Dhaka court room, Kamaruzzaman was convicted of mass killings, rape, torture and kidnapping, said Attorney General Mahbubey Alam.

Continue reading the main story
  • Civil war erupts in Pakistan, pitting the West Pakistan army against East Pakistanis demanding autonomy and later independence
  • Fighting forces an estimated 10 million East Pakistani civilians to flee to India
  • In December, India invades East Pakistan in support of the East Pakistani people
  • Pakistani army surrenders at Dhaka and its army of more than 90,000 become Indian prisoners of war
  • East Pakistan becomes the independent country of Bangladesh on 16 December 1971
  • Exact number of people killed is unclear - Bangladesh says it is three million but independent researchers say it is up to 500,000 fatalities

He was found guilty of masterminding what the prosecution described as one of the bloodiest single episodes in the independence war - the killing of at least 120 unarmed farmers in the remote northern village of Sohagpur which subsequently became known as the "Village of the Widows".

Three women widowed as a result of the killings testified against Kamaruzzaman during his trial. They described how he led Pakistani troops to the village and helped them to line up and execute the farmers.

Thursday's announcement of the verdict and death sentence prompted cheers of celebration from crowds gathered outside, says the BBC's Masud Khan in Dhaka.

Kamaruzzaman, who would have been about 18 during Bangladesh's secession war, was charged in August 2010, a month after being arrested in a separate criminal case.

He was accused of being a key organiser of the al-Badr, an auxiliary force of the Pakistani army which killed Bangladeshi intellectuals during the 1971 conflict.

His conviction comes at a testing time for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has made prosecution of 1971 war crimes one of her government's key goals.

Analysts say the death sentence will only exacerbate an already febrile situation in a country where police and Islamist protesters have this week been fighting deadly battles on the streets of the capital Dhaka.

The umbrella organisation behind the protests - of which Jamaat is a part - is calling for the introduction of more Islamic laws, and has shown it can easily mobilise vast numbers onto the streets.

Allegations denied

Nine senior figures from Jamaat have been among 12 people charged with war crimes by the tribunal.

Jamaat, the country's largest Islamist party, was opposed to Bangladeshi independence but denies any role in war crimes committed by pro-Pakistan militias.

All those accused of war crimes have denied the charges against them. The convictions of three leading Islamists - including Jamaat leader Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, who was sentenced to death in February - sparked protests in which dozens of people were killed.

The tribunal was established by the government in 2010 to try Bangladeshis accused of collaborating with Pakistani forces who attempted to stop the former East Pakistan from gaining independence.

The exact number of people killed during the nine-month war of secession is unclear: official Bangladeshi figures suggest as many as three million people died, but independent researchers suggest the death-toll was around 500,000.


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Gunmen abduct Pakistan ex-PM's son

9 May 2013 Last updated at 07:24 ET
Ali Haider Gilani. File Photo

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The BBC's Mike Wooldridge: "One of his aides, his secretary, was killed"

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani says his son has been kidnapped by unidentified gunmen during an election rally.

Mr Gilani told the BBC his son Ali Haider - a candidate for the Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) - was seized in the central city of Multan.

He accused his political opponents of being behind the attack, which came ahead of Saturday's elections.

One person was reportedly killed when the attackers opened fire at the rally.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack.

Taliban threats

Eyewitnesses say the gunmen arrived at the gathering in a black Honda car and a motorbike.

"A couple of them started shooting," a teenager at the rally told Pakistan's Geo TV.

Musa Gilani, brother of Ali Haider

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Musa Gilani: "If we don't get my brother by this evening, I will not let the election happen"

"A man standing in front of Gilani was hit and fell down. Then they grabbed Gilani, put him in the car and sped away."

Reports say the person who died in the shooting could have been Ali Haider Gilani's bodyguard or secretary. Another five people were injured.

Eyewitnesses say a bullet also hit Ali Haider and he was bleeding when the kidnappers put him in the car, Pakistan's Express Tribune newspaper reports.

Ali Haider - the youngest son of the ex-prime minister - is contesting a seat in the Punjab provincial assembly.

"We want our brother back tonight. If we don't get him, we will not allow elections to be held in our area," his elder brother Ali Musa - who was in tears - later told reporters.

Police have now sealed off all entry and exit point in Multan, and a massive search operation is under way, local media report.

Yousuf Raza Gilani served as prime minister until June 2012, when he was forced out of office by the Supreme Court over his refusal to pursue a corruption case against President Asif Ali Zardari.

But it is still a powerful political family, with Mr Gilani's sons standing in the elections to the provincial and national assemblies, the BBC's Mike Wooldridge in Islamabad says.

Sharif's pledge

The run-up to the 11 May elections has been marred by a series of attacks across the country in which more than 100 people have been killed.

The Pakistani Taliban have threatened to prevent the PPP, the Awami National Party (ANP) as well the MQM party, from conducting their election campaigns because they are considered by the militants to be too secular.

The military has pledged to deploy tens of thousands of troops to polling stations on Saturday to prevent further attacks.

Continue reading the main story
  • Polling stations open from 8am to 5pm local time. There are 86,189,802 registered voters - 48,592,387 men and 37,597,415 women
  • Five thousand candidates will be standing for 342-seat National Assembly, 272 of which are directly elected. There are 11,692 Provincial Assembly candidates
  • Fifty-one candidates are vying for the NA-48 constituency seat in Islamabad, the highest number in the country.
  • More than 600,000 security personnel including 50,000 troops will be deployed to guard against militant attacks
  • There are more than 73,000 polling stations - 20,000 of which have been earmarked as a security risk
  • Five security personnel will be stationed at each polling station, with up to double that number at those facing the gravest security threats
  • Polls will mark the first time that a civilian government has completed a full five-year term and handed over to an elected successor

In a separate development, Nawaz Sharif - the man tipped to be Pakistan's next prime minister - promised to end the country's involvement in the US-led war on terror if elected.

Mr Sharif - who leads the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) - told the BBC the move was necessary for there to be peace in Pakistan and elsewhere in the world.

Pakistan has been part of the US-led fight against Islamist militancy in the region since the 11 September attacks in the US in 2001.

Mr Sharif's remarks may cause concern among Western leaders, the BBC's Orla Guerin reports from Islamabad.

However, Mr Sharif - who served as prime minister twice in the 1990s - declined to say whether he would stop military operations against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

Meanwhile, Imran Khan - another leading Pakistani politician - is continuing to recover in hospital after falling off a makeshift lift at an election rally earlier this week.

Doctors say that the former cricketer who leads the Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) party - received stitches in the head and treatment for injuries to his spine.


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'No post-war role' for Syria's Assad

9 May 2013 Last updated at 07:33 ET

US Secretary of State John Kerry has said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would have no role in a political settlement to Syria's conflict.

The comments followed reports that the US was softening its insistence on Mr Assad's departure as a precondition for any deal - as demanded by rebels.

That had been opposed by Russia, which this week agreed to convene an international conference on Syria.

Meanwhile, Jordan said Syrian refugees now make up 10% of its population.

Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said that by the end of the year that figure could reach 25%, and 40% by mid-2014.

Mr Kerry announced a further $100m (£64m) in aid for Syrian refugees, $43m of which would go to Jordan.

'Very positive response'

Speaking to reporters in Rome, Mr Kerry said Mr Nasser would work with the US to "effect a transition government by mutual consent of both sides, which clearly means that in our judgement President Assad will not be a component of that transitional government".

Mr Kerry also said there had been a "very positive response" to the US-Russian proposal for an international conference on Syria, announced after Mr Kerry held talks in Moscow with President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The forum will try to persuade both the Syrian government and opposition to accept a solution based on the core elements of the final communique issued after the UN-backed Action Group for Syria meeting in Geneva last June.

The communique called for an immediate cessation of violence and the establishment of a transitional government that could include officials serving under President Bashar al-Assad and members of the opposition.

"We are going to forge ahead very, very directly to work with all of the parties to bring that conference together," Mr Kerry said on Thursday.

The UN-Arab League envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, said the deal was "the first hopeful news" on Syria for a long time, but cautioned that it was "only a first step".

More than 70,000 people are estimated to have been killed since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011.


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China's trade growth accelerates

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 08 Mei 2013 | 19.15

8 May 2013 Last updated at 00:34 ET

China's trade growth accelerated in April, beating analyst expectations, a positive sign for the country's fragile economic recovery.

Exports surged by 14.7% compared with a year earlier. That is up from 10% in March. Imports also rose by 16.8% up from 14.1%.

The data meant a trade surplus for China, reversing a surprise deficit in March.

However, some analysts raised questions about the accuracy of the data.

"I have no strong conviction whether the data reflect reality," said Zhiwei Zhang, chief China economist at Nomura in Hong Kong.

China had a bigger-than-expected trade surplus in April of $18.2bn, after a surprise deficit of $884m in March.

'Crack down'

In recent months Chinese export data has shown positive signs of a gradual recovery in external demand.

Continue reading the main story

With Beijing tightening checks on hot money inflows disguised as trade transactions, I think the export figures in the coming months will more reflect the real underlying momentum of external demand"

End Quote Shen Lan Standard Chartered Bank

But that is not in line with other Asian exporter countries, such as South Korea and Taiwan, which have seen their export growth weaken amid slowing global demand.

Some analysts said they suspected that some Chinese exporters may be overstating their business to avoid capital restrictions on funds they are bringing into the country.

China, which keeps a tight grip on capital flows in and out of country, has announced fresh moves to control any illegal flows.

On Sunday, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), China foreign exchange regulator, said it would increase its scrutiny of export invoices and impose tougher penalties on firms providing false data.

Analysts said the move indicated that the practice had become a concern for them.

"China's SAFE recently launched new rules to crack down against capital inflows disguised as trade payments. I'm suspicious about the trade data," said Mr Zhang.

Delayed recovery?

Chins has been trying to boost its economy, after the recent slowdown in its growth rate.

The world's second-largest economy saw its annual growth rate slow to 7.7% in the January to March quarter, compared with 7.9% in the last three months of 2012.

However, analysts said that while there had been some signs of a recovery, it continues to remain a fragile one.

They pointed out to the purchasing managers' index (PMI) survey released last week, which showed that growth in China's huge factory sector slowed in April as new export orders shrank.

At the same time there have been doubts that growth numbers in the first quarter may have been inflated by the over-invoicing by exporters.

Some analysts said the data over the next few months will be a more accurate indicator of China's trade growth, and the overall health of its economy.

"With Beijing tightening checks on hot money inflows disguised as trade transactions, I think the export figures in the coming months will more reflect the real underlying momentum of external demand," said Shen Lan, an economist with Standard Chartered Bank in Shanghai.


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Police to quiz Cleveland suspects

8 May 2013 Last updated at 05:22 ET
A neighbour of Ariel Castro

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Neighbours of Ariel Castro speak to the BBC

Police investigating the abduction of three women for about a decade in Cleveland, Ohio, are due to carry out in-depth interviews of three male suspects.

A judge granted them an extra 12 hours to file charges, and they now have until Wednesday evening local time.

Correspondents say police have been put on the defensive by questions over their handling of the case.

All three women are said to be in good health and have left hospital.

Amanda Berry, who disappeared in 2003 aged 16, escaped with a neighbour's help on Monday while her alleged captor was away.

Gina DeJesus, who went missing aged 14 a year later, and Michelle Knight, who vanished in 2002 aged about 19, were also rescued from the property.

A school bus driver, Ariel Castro, and his two brothers - Pedro, 54, and Onil, 50 - have been arrested.

Ariel Castro reportedly fled the neighbourhood after neighbours kicked in the door of his house to help the women escape.

He was arrested at a nearby McDonald's restaurant, according to local media.

It is unclear when Castro's brothers were arrested.

The reappearance of the women astounded residents of the neighbourhood in which they had been held, but some have claimed police failed to act on their tip-offs.

Continue reading the main story

It is difficult to believe that Seymour Avenue could be home to such a crime: a quiet tree lined street with houses knocked about and sometimes boarded up, a red-brick church and traffic humming back and forth at either end.

But it is the residents and neighbours who are most surprised. Aurora Marti, 75, has lived across from 2207 Seymour Avenue for 27 years. Ariel Castro used to come and sit on her porch and chat with her. He took her granddaughter out for bike rides at a nearby park.

When the nearby area was being dug up in the search for Amanda Berry's remains, he talked to her about it. All the while he is alleged to have held Amanda and two other women just across the road.

Police have confirmed a six-year-old girl, Jocelyn, who was discovered along with the women is Amanda Berry's daughter.

Properties searched

Police say they are planning to conduct in-depth interviews with the suspects on Wednesday, and charges are expected to be filed by Wednesday evening - 48 hours after the men were arrested.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg. This investigation will take a very long time," Cleveland police spokeswoman Jennifer Ciaccia told CNN.

Police are carrying out an inch-by-inch inspection of the house at 2207 Seymour Ave and say they are also searching other properties.

Monday's rescue unfolded with a frenzied call to the emergency services by Ms Berry, now 27, who escaped with the help of a neighbour who heard her screaming while her alleged captor was out of the house.

Amanda Berry pictured in an undated handout photo released by the FBI

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911 call: "Help me I'm Amanda Berry... I've been missing for 10 years"

Rescuer Charles Ramsey said he had helped kick in a metal door so that Ms Berry could climb outside, with her daughter, and phone police.

In a recording of Monday's emergency call, she says: "I've been kidnapped, and I've been missing for 10 years. And I'm here. I'm free now."

She begged for police to come soon, "before he gets back".

Police then arrived to find the two other abductees.

The women were taken to hospital and reunited with their families.

Medical officials said they appeared to be in good health and were discharged from hospital shortly

Jocelyn was smiling and eating ice lollies, police said, adding that she had been surreptitiously home-schooled by her mother in the house.

FBI Special Agent Stephen Anthony said: "The nightmare is over. These three young ladies have provided us with the ultimate definition of survival and perseverance. The healing can now begin."

Jaycee Dugard, who was 11 years old when she was kidnapped and held captive for 18 years before being rescued in 2009, released a statement saying: "As simple as it sounds, these women need the opportunity to have the privacy to heal and reconnect.

Continue reading the main story
  • Elisabeth Fritzl: Held by her father for 24 years in Amstetten, Austria; freed after her daughter was taken to hospital and doctors noticed irregularities in her medical record
  • Natascha Kampusch: Escaped from a windowless basement in Vienna after being held for eight years; captor killed himself shortly afterwards
  • Jaycee Dugard: Held for 18 years in Antioch, California; freed after suspicions were raised about the erratic behaviour of captor Phillip Garrido

"I know individuals are strong in spirit and can be resilient in crisis. I wish them the best in their journey."

Startling details about the close connections between the alleged abductors and the families of the abducted have emerged.

Tito DeJesus, an uncle of Georgina (or Gina) DeJesus, played in bands with Ariel Castro and had even visited the house while the women were being held there.

Ariel Castro's son - also called Ariel, although he goes by his middle name Anthony - wrote an article about the disappearance of Gina DeJesus for his local newspaper in 2004.

He has been quoted as saying that it was "unspeakable" to discover the suspected perpetrators were in the family.

'Only two calls'

Neighbours told news organisations they had made multiple calls to police regarding suspicious activity at the house, including sightings of women crying for help and of Ariel Castro allegedly taking a small girl for early-morning walks.

Another neighbour claimed to have alerted police to the sound of pounding on the doors.

In a statement, Cleveland police insisted they had not been alerted to reports also emerging from neighbours concerning sightings of "naked women and women in chains" at the property.

"Upon researching our call intake system extensively, only two calls for service from police are shown at that address.

Elsie Cintron

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Elsie Cintron told the BBC her granddaughter saw a "naked lady crawling in the backyard"

"One call was from the resident, Ariel Castro, reporting a fight in the street. The second call was in relation to an incident regarding Ariel Castro and his duties as a bus driver. Police investigated the possibility that Castro had left a child unattended on a school bus.

"The investigation included an interview with Castro; however, officers did not enter the home. No charges were filed in that incident."

But one resident, Lupe Collins, described as close to relatives of the women said the police had failed the women.

"Everyone in the neighbourhood did what they had to do. The police didn't do their job."

Cleveland police were heavily criticised in 2009 after officers discovered a home in a poor district in which Anthony Sowell had killed 11 women.

Victims' families allege police did not take neighbours' reported suspicions seriously enough.


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Cold case sparks China petition rush

8 May 2013 Last updated at 06:14 ET

A 19-year-old poisoning case has sparked a rush of interest in the US White House petitions site from Chinese internet users.

Over 130,000 users have signed a petition demanding the US investigate a woman they call a suspect in the 1994 poisoning incident.

A number of other petitions have since been posted by Chinese users, on topics ranging from pollution to tofu.

The online platform is designed to help Americans to petition their government.

As of 0900 GMT on Wednesday, five of the six latest petitions on the White House petitions website related to China.

The petition that led to the interest concerned the a case of a Chinese student, Zhu Ling, who was poisoned by thallium in 1994.

The petition demanded the deportation to China of a woman - described in the petition as having powerful political connections - who was investigated but not charged in connection with the case.

Since it was posted on Friday, it has gained over 135,000 signatures, surpassing the 100,000 signature threshold needed for a US government response.

The US government has not yet made any comment about the petition.

'Wishing well'

Another petition asking the US government to "remonstrate with [the] Chinese government" over a proposed factory producing paraxylene (PX) in Kunming had over 9,500 signatories.

The petitioners said they feared the plant would "jeopardise human health" because reliable "scientific assessments" had not been made, and PX was potentially carcinogenic.

The petition follows protests against the plant in Kunming, that bloggers said attracted up to 2,000 people.

The interest in online petitions comes at a time when China's internet users are increasingly turning to social media to right perceived wrongs, often using microblogs to expose what they see as corruption in officials and their family members.

One petition was more tongue-in-cheek, asking the US government to set the official taste of tofu as sweet - an apparent reference to a debate in China over which flavour of tofu is best, while another asked the US to send troops to "liberate Chinese people".

The petitions have become a hot topic for discussion on weibo, China's version of Twitter, with several users describing the website as a "wishing well".

There were reports that weibo users had set up a new account for US President Barack Obama, referring to him as the director of the Central Petitions Office.

Many users expressed amusement at the petitions, saying they would take part in the petition to support their side in the "tofu debate".

"The White House petition site has been played to death by Chinese netizens," weibo user Sleeping Facedown noted.

Continue reading the main story

This is an outlet for the public's long-term dissatisfaction at the government's internal policies"

End Quote Buqihan Weibo user

However, user Buqihan said that the petition site's popularity was significant.

"An opaque judicial system and a lack of credibility is a terrible thing. No wonder everyone is petitioning the White House. The situation has already gone beyond the case [of Zhu Ling], this is an outlet for the public's long-term dissatisfaction at the government's internal policies," Buqihan said.

There was also criticism of some of the frivolous petitions. "The original petition on the #WhiteHousePetitionSite was for Zhu Ling's case to be reopened, yet now it's gone crazy!" Cat from Wang Planet complained.

The petitions have caught the attention of Chinese media, with state-run China Daily featuring the petition on Zhu Ling's case on its front page.

Activists were relying on increasingly creative means to have their voices heard, China's state-run Global Times reported.

However Zhang Yiwu, a professor of Chinese literature at Peking University, said "lodging complaints to foreign entities is off limits", Global Times reported.

In China, millions of people petition government offices every year. However, they are often treated as a nuisance and many are rounded up by police to stop them complaining.


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Arrests over $50m diamond heist

8 May 2013 Last updated at 06:37 ET

Police in Belgium, Switzerland and France have arrested 31 people in connection with one of the world's largest robberies of diamonds.

Belgian prosecutors say they have recovered large sums of money and some of the diamonds that were taken in a raid at Brussels airport in February.

A gang cut through the airport's perimeter fence and broke into the cargo hold of a Swiss aeroplane as it waited for take off.

They took $50m (£32m) of diamonds.

The diamonds were "rough stones" being transported from Antwerp to Zurich.

Prosecutors described the thieves as "professionals".

They had dressed as police, wore masks and were well armed.

They forced their way through security barriers and drove towards the Helvetic Airways plane, forcing open the cargo hold to reach gems that had already been loaded.

They snatched 120 packages before escaping through the same hole in the fence.

Prosecutors said the whole operation took only about five minutes, no shots were fired and no-one was hurt.

One suspect was arrested in France and six in Switzerland on Tuesday, Belgian prosecutors said.

The other 24 were rounded up near Brussels early on Wednesday.


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PKK rebels 'begin leaving Turkey'

8 May 2013 Last updated at 07:34 ET

Kurdish rebel fighters have begun leaving south-eastern Turkey for their safe havens in Iraq under a ceasefire, Kurdish sources say.

"We know that they have started moving," Selahattin Demirtas, a pro-Kurdish politician involved in the peace process, told AFP news agency.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) announced last month a phased withdrawal to start early in May.

More than 40,000 people have died in their 30-year fight against Turkey.

Gultan Kisinak, who co-chairs the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) along with Mr Demirtas, told the Associated Press news agency that a first group of fighters had started to move toward the border with northern Iraq.

The PKK is believed to have up to 2,000 fighters inside Turkey and their full withdrawal may take up to four months.

Turkish nationalists chant slogans

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They are expected to cross the border on foot, heading for their bases in the Qandil Mountains of Iraq.

Abdullah Ocalan, the veteran PKK leader in prison in Turkey, ordered the withdrawal in March as part of peace negotiations with Ankara.

Withdrawal nerves

A PKK spokesman, Bakhtiyar Dogan, told the Kurdish newspaper Hawlati that between 200 and 500 fighters would withdraw on Wednesday.

They would, he said, leave from the Semdinli and Sirnak areas of Turkey "on three fronts".

According to AFP, PKK fighters complained on the eve of the withdrawal that the Turkish state had increased its forces in the border area and was carrying out surveillance flights.

Such actions, they said, were "delaying the peace process" and paving the way for "provocations and clashes".

The Turkish army did not confirm any extra measures but said their "fight against any terrorism" continued.

The PKK's acting leader, Murat Karayilan, warned in April that the fighters would strike back and the withdrawal would halt "immediately" if they were attacked.

"We have no doubt about the state but fear provocation from dark forces," Mr Demirtas said.

During a 1999 withdrawal, the Turkish military attacked the rebels, killing some 500.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly pledged the army will not attack any PKK fighters who withdrew.

On Tuesday, he said that "laying down weapons" should be the group's top priority in order for the peace process to succeed.


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Imran Khan 'recovering' in hospital

8 May 2013 Last updated at 07:37 ET
Imran Khan being stretchered off after his fall

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Doctors say that Imran Khan is not seriously hurt and is in good spirits

Leading Pakistani politician Imran Khan is recuperating in hospital after falling off a makeshift lift that was taking him onto a stage at an election rally in Lahore.

Doctors say that the former cricketer received stitches in the head and treatment for injuries to his spine.

But they say that his spinal cord has not been seriously damaged and he has been moved out of intensive care.

Meanwhile there has been more violence ahead of the elections.

At least three people have been killed and about 25 injured - including six policemen - in a suicide bombing outside a police station in the Bannu region of north-western Pakistan.

Police said that it was not clear if the target was the police station itself or a nearby rally being held by the Awami National Party (ANP).

The Pakistani Taliban have threatened to prevent the ANP, as well the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the MQM party, from conducting their election campaigns because they are considered by the militants to be too liberal.

Continue reading the main story
  • Polling stations open from 8am to 5pm local time. There are 86,189,802 registered voters - 48,592,387 men and 37,597,415 women
  • Five thousand candidates will be standing for 342-seat National Assembly, 272 of which are directly elected. There are 11,692 Provincial Assembly candidates
  • Fifty-one candidates are vying for the NA-48 constituency seat in Islamabad, the highest number in the country.
  • More than 600,000 security personnel including 50,000 troops will be deployed to guard against militant attacks
  • There are more than 73,000 polling stations - 20,000 of which have been earmarked as a security risk
  • Five security personnel will be stationed at each polling station, with up to double that number at those facing the gravest security threats
  • Polls will mark the first time that a civilian government has completed a full five-year term and handed over to an elected successor
Bed rest

Mr Khan - who had a total of 15 stitches in his head and suffered two minor back fractures - was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time of fall which may have helped protect him from more serious injury, his family said on Wednesday.

Shaukat Khanum Memorial hospital Director Shaukat Sultan said that Mr Khan suffered minor fractures in the left third rib and three vertebrae of the backbone - one near the neck and two near the middle of the backbone.

Medics say that the fractures can easily heal, but require complete bed rest and minimum movement for between three to six weeks.

"The important thing is that the spinal canal is intact and Mr Khan is in full control of his limbs and his body functions." Dr Sultan said.

He said that it was only by the "grace of God" that Mr Khan - who has now been transferred from intensive care to a private room - had not suffered any "neurological compromises".

Dr Sultan did not say when it would be possible for Mr Khan to resume his normal life - only that he would "definitely" require bed rest for the next couple of days and several scans.

"After that we'll review the situation: We may carry out some scans again to reassess the situation and make a decision about the duration of his rest," he said.

"If Mr Khan wishes to address a rally, it is up to him but we will make sure that his treatment team will have given him permission."

In a televised statement from his hospital bed on Tuesday night, Mr Khan told his supporters that the election was their fight, not his. He urged voters to decide on polling day this Saturday whether they wanted to make a "new Pakistan".

"The people should exert full force on 11 May to get their lives changed," he said.

Nawaz Sharif, the man widely seen as the frontrunner to be the next prime minister, has sent his sympathies to Mr Khan and cancelled his election appearances for Wednesday.

Mr Khan is being treated at the cancer hospital in Lahore he arranged to be built after his mother's death.

Punishing schedule

The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says that it is unclear whether the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party leader will take the advice to rest.

His plan had been to keep up his punishing schedule of election rallies in these final two days of official campaigning.

Dramatic television pictures from Tuesday's campaign rally showed Mr Khan falling about 5m (15ft) from the lift platform together with several others, some of whom appeared to land on top of him.

A dazed and bloodied Mr Khan was later seen being carried away by supporters to a vehicle which drove him to hospital.

Hundreds of people remain outside the hospital awaiting more news of his condition. Many chanted "Long live Imran Khan".

Former Pakistan cricketers Shahid Afridi and Inzamam-ul-Haq were among those who visited him in hospital on Wednesday.

The PTI leader has been campaigning relentlessly in the run-up to Saturday's poll and briefly collapsed on stage earlier this week.

Mr Khan is one of the key candidates in the election, and the PTI appears to have been gaining momentum.


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Deaths as ship rams Genoa tower

8 May 2013 Last updated at 07:46 ET

At least six people have died and four are missing after a container ship crashed into a control tower in the Italian port of Genoa, officials say.

The Jolly Nero smashed into the 50m (164ft) concrete and glass tower late at night, reducing it to rubble.

Three of those who died are believed to have been trapped inside a lift as the tower collapsed.

Rescue workers have been searching in the rubble for survivors while divers scoured the water around the dock.

The accident occurred at about 23:00 on Tuesday night (21:00 GMT), when a shift change was taking place in the control tower and about 13 people were thought to be inside.

The ship was manoeuvring out of the port with the help of tugboats in calm conditions, on its way to Naples, reports said.

'Utterly shocked'

The cause of the crash was not immediately clear, but Genoa's Il Secolo XIX newspaper quoted the Jolly Nero's captain as saying that two engines appeared to have failed and "we lost control of the ship".

The head of the Genoa Port Authority, Luigi Merlo, told the newspaper: "It's very difficult to explain how this could have happened because the ship should not have been where it was."

He described conditions in the port at the time of the crash as "perfect".

"It's a terrible tragedy. We're in turmoil, speechless," Mr Merlo told local TV.

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The ship's owner, Stefano Messina, who arrived at the port soon after the crash, had tears in his eyes as he told journalists: "We are all utterly shocked. Nothing like this has ever happened before, we are desperate."

Genoa is Italy's busiest port. Mayor Marco Doria said there were an average of 14 accidents a year, but that the incident late on Tuesday was unprecedented.

All that was left of the control tower after the crash was a buckled metal exterior staircase.

"It was an incredible sight: the control tower was leaning perilously," the port's nightwatchman told La Repubblica newspaper.

Three of the victims were coast guard or port workers in their early 30s, while the other bodies had yet to be identified.

Four people were being treated for injuries, two of whom were in critical condition, Italian news agency Ansa reported.

Genoa's prosecutor is investigating the incident, Corriere Della Sera newspaper says. The ship has been impounded and the captain is being questioned.

The Jolly Nero is almost 240 metres (787 feet) long and has a gross tonnage of nearly 40,600 tonnes. It is owned by the Italian firm Ignazio Messina & Co.

The crash revived memories of the crash involving the Costa Concordia cruise ship off the Italian island of Giglio in January 2012, which left 32 people dead.

The toppled control tower in the port of Genoa, northern Italy, after a cargo ship slammed into it killing at least three people (May 8 2013)

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Footage from the scene shows the aftermath of the crash

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Envoy hails US-Russia deal on Syria

8 May 2013 Last updated at 07:54 ET

The UN-Arab League envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, has hailed a US-Russia commitment to work together to end the conflict in the country.

He said it was "the first hopeful news" on Syria for a long time, but cautioned that it was "only a first step".

On Tuesday, the US and Russia agreed to convene an international conference to find a political solution on Syria.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said they would encourage both Damascus and the opposition to negotiate.

The deal came after Mr Kerry's talks in Moscow with President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

'Wake-up call'

"This is the first hopeful news concerning that unhappy country in a very long time," Mr Brahimi said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The statements made in Moscow constitute a very significant first step forward. It is nevertheless only a first step."

Speaking to the BBC shortly afterwards, Mr Brahimi said he hoped the Moscow announcements would be a wake-up call for all concerned, and that they would now think only of the Syrian people and how Syria could be saved.

More than 70,000 people are estimated to have been killed since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011.

Mr Brahimi also stressed that the US-Russian accord meant that the UN Security Council would now be able to function again.

The council has so far failed to act on the Syria issue amid differences between the five veto-wielding nations - including Russia.

Russia, which supports Mr Assad, has refused to back US pressure designed to force him to step down.

Many Syrian opposition groups balk at the idea of negotiating while Mr Assad and his associates remain in power, though that is what the Americans now seem to be proposing, the BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut reports.

Mr Kerry and Mr Lavrov had announced in Moscow that they would try to organise the international conference - if possible before the end of May.

The forum will try to convince both the Syrian government and opposition to accept a solution based on the core elements of the final communique issued on 30 June 2012, after the UN-backed Action Group for Syria meeting in Geneva.

Before the Moscow announcements, Mr Brahimi himself had been on the brink of resignation as the special envoy for Syria, but that now seems no longer to be the case, our correspondent adds.


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N Korea 'moves missiles from coast'

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 07 Mei 2013 | 19.15

6 May 2013 Last updated at 23:26 ET

North Korea has removed two medium-range missiles from a coastal launch site, indicating a lowering of tension on the peninsula, a US official said.

Pyongyang was believed to be preparing for a launch last month, having threatened attacks in the region.

The threats followed tough new UN sanctions imposed on North Korea in March after its third nuclear test.

It had also been angered by wide-ranging annual US-South Korea military drills, which ended a week ago.

The news that the missiles had been removed from the site on the east coast came on the eve of a summit in Washington between the US and South Korean presidents.

Continue reading the main story

Musudan missile

  • The Musudan, also known as the Nodong-B or the Taepodong-X, is an intermediate-range ballistic missile. Its likely targets are Okinawa, Japan, and US bases in the Pacific
  • Range estimates differ dramatically. Israeli intelligence suggests 2,500km, while the US Missile Defense Agency estimates 3,200km; other sources put the upper limit at 4,000km
  • These differences are due in large part to the fact that the missile has never been tested publicly, according to the Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Its payload is also unknown

Park Geun-hye is to hold talks with Barack Obama later on Tuesday, with the two expected to reiterate a commitment to strong ties. Ms Park, who took office in February, will also address the US Congress on Wednesday.

'Provocation pause'

The Musudan missiles had been ready to launch at any moment but North Korea had now "moved them", a unnamed US defence official told AFP news agency.

A report from South Korea's Yonhap news agency, citing an unnamed senior government source, backed that up, saying Pyongyang appeared to have lifted its highest combat alert and moved the missiles, although their current location was not confirmed.

The move is the most tangible sign yet that North Korea has stepped back from its threats to launch missiles, the BBC's Jane Little in Washington reports.

But a senior US official from the National Security Council warned that, given the North's unpredictable behaviour, it was "premature to celebrate it as good news".

Pentagon spokesman George Little, who declined to comment directly on the missiles' reported removal, told reporters "what we have seen recently is a provocation pause".

Continue reading the main story

Timeline: Korean tensions

  • 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
  • 2 May: North Korea jails US man for 15 years

"And we think that's obviously beneficial to efforts to ensure we have peace and stability on the Korean peninsula."

North Korea unveiled medium-range Musudan missiles during a military parade in 2010 but had not yet tested them.

Last month, South Korea raised its alert level to "vital threat" amid indications that Pyongyang was preparing for a launch.

At least one ballistic missile with an estimated 3,000km (2,000-mile) range had been fuelled and ready for launch, according to US and South Korean sources.

A test launch would be a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1718, passed in 2006, which states the North "must not conduct any further nuclear test or launch of a ballistic missile".

Pyongyang had issued a series of threats in apparent response to the expanded UN sanctions and the US-South Korea drills - which saw nuclear-capable B2 and B52 bombers flown over the Korean peninsula.

These included warnings of attacks on Japan, South Korea and US military bases in the region, and a pledge to restart a mothballed nuclear reactor that produced plutonium for its weapons programme.

In addition, it shut down an emergency military hotline between Seoul and Pyongyang, and later withdrew some 53,000 workers in April from the Kaesong factory zone on the border with South Korea.

The industrial complex, which was launched in 2003, employed people from both countries and was seen as one of the last remaining symbols of inter-Korean co-operation.

The final South Korean workers left the factory last week - the first time they have done so since the zone began operating 10 years ago.

However the tone of the rhetoric from North Korea has softened somewhat in recent days, observers say.


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Kerry meets Putin for Syria talks

7 May 2013 Last updated at 03:22 ET

US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Russia to try to bridge the divide with Washington over the Syria conflict.

He is to have talks with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow but the two disagree on the future of President Bashar al-Assad.

Russia, which supports Mr Assad, refuses to back US pressure designed to force him to step down.

The US recently said it does not rule out providing arms for the Syrian opposition.

"Arming the rebels - that's an option," US Defence Secretary, Chuck Hagel said last week.

Mr Kerry's visit comes days after Israel launched air strikes in southern Syria.

Russia condemned the attacks - which Israeli sources said targeted missiles destined for Hezbollah in Lebanon - as a threat to regional stability.

President Putin had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Kremlin said.

Chemical weapons

Ahead of Mr Kerry's visit, Russia's foreign ministry called on the West to stop politicising the issue of chemical weapons in Syria, BBC Moscow correspondent Steven Rosenberg reports.

It expressed concern that world public opinion was being prepared for possible military intervention, he adds.

Continue reading the main story

The US has tried and failed many times before to get Russia to change its position on Syria. So will John Kerry be able to convince Moscow that now is the time to get tougher with President Assad?

Convincing the Kremlin leader will not be easy. Not only because Russia has been a staunch ally of the Syrian leadership. Moscow genuinely fears that a bad situation could be made even worse if Assad is forced from power and worries that Islamic extremists may fill the void.

The signs are that Moscow will not be swayed by Western claims that chemical weapons have been used in Syria. This week, the Russian foreign ministry called on the West to stop politicising the issue of chemical weapons. It expressed concern that world public opinion was being prepared for possible military intervention in the Syrian conflict.

In recent months, US-Russian relations have grown decidedly frosty; some of the rhetoric emerging from Washington and Moscow has been reminiscent of the Cold War. That will not help John Kerry persuade the Kremlin to see things America's way.

And yet there are signs that both countries are keen to improve ties and boost cooperation - for example in the area of counter-terrorism. In Moscow last month, President Obama's national security advisor delivered a letter from Obama to Putin about improving relations. If a new detente results, that could help the US and Russia find common ground on the Syrian conflict, too.

The United Nations has played down claims by one of its experts that there was evidence rebels had used nerve gas.

Investigator Carla Del Ponte earlier said testimony from victims and doctors had given rise to "strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof" that opposition forces had used sarin.

But the Commission of Inquiry on Syria stressed on Monday it had not reached any "conclusive findings".

The colourless, odourless gas is classed as a weapon of mass destruction and is banned under international law.

In Washington, White House spokesman Jay Carney said it was "highly likely" that any use of chemical weapons that had taken place had been carried out by government forces.

Both the US and Israel have described the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict as a "game-changer", which could trigger international military intervention.

'Particular alarm'

Correspondents say it is unlikely that Mr Kerry will be able to change President Putin's stance on Syria.

Moscow genuinely fears that a bad situation will get even worse if President Bashar al-Assad is pushed from power, and that Islamists will fill the void, reports the BBC's Steven Rosenberg in Moscow.

Officials said Israel's air strikes on Syrian army bases at the weekend had "caused particular alarm".

Unconfirmed reports from activists said as many as 42 soldiers had been killed in the attacks near Damascus.

"The further escalation of armed confrontation sharply increases the risk of creating new areas of tension and the destabilisation of the so-far relatively calm atmosphere on the Lebanese-Israeli border," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Israeli security sources said attacks on targets in southern Syria on Sunday were aimed at preventing the transfer of advanced Iranian-made missiles to the Shia Islamist movement, Hezbollah, in neighbouring Lebanon.

But observers say the latest developments indicate a significant escalation in Israel's involvement in the conflict.

The Syrian government called the attacks a "flagrant violation of international law", which had made the Middle East "more dangerous" and opened "the door wide to all possibilities".

After his visit to Russia, Mr Kerry will travel to Rome to meet Italian, Israeli and Jordanian officials to discuss Middle East issues, including the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.


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Bangladesh collapse toll passes 700

7 May 2013 Last updated at 04:14 ET

The death toll from the collapse of an eight-storey factory building near the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, has passed 700, officials say.

The announcement came after workers pulled dozens more bodies from the rubble. Many people are still missing.

Several people, including the building's owner, have been arrested.

The collapse of the Rana Plaza on 24 April stands as Bangladesh's worst industrial disaster. It sparked outrage among workers in the country.

The previous most deadly structural failure in modern times - excluding the 9/11 terror attacks in New York - was the Sampoong department store in Seoul, South Korea, in 1995, in which 502 people died.

The death toll from Bangladesh now stands at 705. Officials say about 2,500 people were injured in the collapse and that 2,437 people have been rescued.

Rescue officials also say they do not know exactly how many people are still missing as factory owners have not given them precise figures.

Working conditions

It came as hundreds of garment workers who survived the collapse protested by blocking a highway close to the accident site demanding unpaid wages and benefits.

Reports say many of them were working in some of the factories housed in the illegally constructed building.

Local government administrator Yousuf Harun told the Associated Press news agency that they are working with a garment industry body to ensure the workers are paid.

The disaster put the spotlight on conditions in the country's garment sector.

Bangladesh has one of the largest garment industries in the world, and some of the clothes produced in the building were made for Western retailers.

The EU has said it is considering "appropriate action" to encourage an improvement in working conditions in Bangladesh factories.

This includes the use of its trade preference system, which gives Bangladesh duty- and quota-free access to markets in member states.

On Monday the government announced a panel that would inspect garment factories for building flaws.


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DR Congo 'worst place for mothers'

7 May 2013 Last updated at 05:17 ET

The Democratic Republic of Congo is the world's toughest place to raise children, Save the Children reports.

Finland was named the best place to be a mother, with Sweden and Norway following in second and third places.

The charity compared factors such as maternal health, child mortality, education and income in 176 countries.

In India, over 300,000 babies die within 24 hours of being born, accounting for 29% of all newborn deaths worldwide, the report says.

The 10 bottom-ranked countries were all from sub-Saharan Africa, with one woman in 30 dying from pregnancy-related causes on average and one child in seven dying before his or her fifth birthday.

In DR Congo, war and poverty have left mothers malnourished and unsupported at the most vulnerable time of their lives.

The next worst countries listed were Somalia, Sierra Leone, Mali, Niger, Central African Republic, The Gambia, Nigeria, Chad and Ivory Coast.

Continue reading the main story
  • Save the Children's Mother's Index ranked 176 countries
  • Indicators include maternal health, under-five mortality, and women's education, income and political status
  • Sub-Saharan Africa takes the bottom ten spots, with DR Congo deemed the "worst"
  • Nordic countries take the top spots, with Finland, Sweden and Norway first, second, and third respectively
  • In DR Congo, one in 30 women die from pregnancy-related causes, whereas in Finland it is one in 12,200
  • South Asia, which accounts for 24% of the world's population, recorded 40% of the world's newborn deaths

The charity says that lack of nutrition is key to high mother and infant mortality rates in sub-Saharan Africa, with 10-20% of mothers underweight.

In contrast, the results show that Finland is the best place to be a mother, with the risk of death through pregnancy one in 12,200 and Finnish children getting almost 17 years of formal education.

Sweden, Norway, Iceland and The Netherlands were also in the top 10, with the US trailing at 30.

Surprisingly, the report found that the US has the highest death rate in newborns in the industrialised world, with 11,300 babies dying on the day they are born each year.

The charity says this is due in part to the US's large population, as well as the high number of babies born too early. The US has one of the highest preterm birth rates in the world at a rate of one in eight.

The report also found that mothers and babies die in greater numbers in South Asia than in any other region with an estimated 423,000 babies dying on the day they are born each year.

India also has more maternal deaths than in any other country with 56,000 per year.

"In India... economic growth has been impressive but the benefits have been shared unequally," the report says.


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Pakistan bomb targets poll candidate

7 May 2013 Last updated at 06:01 ET

At least five people have been killed and many wounded in a bomb attack aimed at an Islamic party candidate in north-west Pakistan, officials say.

The attack took place in the town of Hangu while Sayed Janan was campaigning for the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl party. It is unclear if he was hurt.

The attack comes just one day after a deadly blast at a rally for the same party in the tribal region of Kurram.

On Tuesday officials said the number of dead in that blast had climbed to 25.

That attack is thought to have been the deadliest in a series on parties and candidates in the run-up to Saturday's election. The Taliban said they carried out the attack.

The candidate whose rally was targeted on Monday, Munir Khan Orakzai, is considered close to President Zardari. Mr Orakzai was unhurt by the blast.

Mr Zardari's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) is one of those being targeted by the Taliban and Mr Orakzai was previously part of the ruling alliance led by the PPP, which completed its term in office in March.

In the latest attack, Syed Janan as well as several members of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) party were reported to be meeting shopkeepers in a market when the bomb went off.

Both Hangu and Kurram where the latest attacks took place have been flashpoints for violence between the country's Sunni Muslim majority and the Shia minority.

Correspondents say these elections are being called the bloodiest ever in Pakistan's history, with daily reports of bloodshed at the hands of militants determined to derail the campaign.


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US accuses China of cyber-spying

7 May 2013 Last updated at 06:04 ET

China's government and military have targeted US government computers as part of a cyber espionage campaign, a US report on China says.

Intrusions were focused on collecting intelligence on US diplomatic, economic and defence sectors which could benefit China's own defence programme, it says.

This is the first time the Pentagon's annual report has directly linked such attacks to the Beijing government.

China called the report "groundless", saying it represented "US distrust".

A report from state news agency Xinhua cited Sr Col Wang Xinjun, a People's Liberation Army (PLA) researcher, describing the report as "irresponsible and harmful to the mutual trust between the two countries".

Both China and the US were victims of cybercrimes and should work together to tackle the problems, the agency quoted him as saying.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

This is the most explicit US statement so far charging that it is the Chinese government and military that are behind at least some of the many intrusions into US government computer systems.

It marks a general toughening of the US position over the course of this year. President Barack Obama raised the cyber-security threat in a telephone call to Chinese President Xi Jinping in March. The issue figured prominently when US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew visited Beijing a few days later.

There have long been fears about China's ability to steal technical and industrial secrets But this latest Pentagon report warns that China's activities go well beyond this "building a picture of US defence networks, logistics and related military capabilities that could be exploited during a crisis."

US experts believe that China's "area denial" strategy - its effort to push US naval forces well away from its shores - could have a significant cyber dimension.

Of course the United States is also rapidly developing capabilities to counter-cyber attacks and to go on the offensive itself. Indeed this is a field where the boundaries between offence and defence are blurred. US Cyber Command is expanding rapidly. The US and others are thought to be behind a number of computer virus attacks against elements of Iran's nuclear programme; a small glimpse of what the future of warfare may look like.

The Pentagon report also criticises a "lack of transparency" in China's military modernisation programme and defence spending.

'Exfiltrating information'

"In 2012, numerous computer systems around the world, including those owned by the US government, continued to be targeted for intrusions, some of which appear to be attributable directly to the Chinese government and military," the report from the US Department of Defense said.

The attacks were focused on "exfiltrating information" that "could potentially be used to benefit China's defence industry, high technology industries... and military planners," it said.

It added that this was particularly concerning because the "skills required for these intrusions are similar to those necessary to conduct computer network attacks".

While China has long been suspected of a role in cyber attacks, the US has generally avoided publicly attributing attacks to the Chinese government, or confirming that US government computers have been targeted.

But the issue has come under increased scrutiny in recent months.

In February, US cyber security firm Mandiant said that it had linked hundreds of data breaches since 2004 to a Chinese hacking team traced to the site of a military unit in Shanghai.

China called the Mandiant report flawed, and said it was opposed to cyber-crime.

'Increased assertiveness'
Continue reading the main story

What is Unit 61398?

  • A unit of China's People's Liberation Army, to whose Shanghai address US cyber security firm Mandiant says it traced a prolific hacking team
  • The team was said to have hacked into 141 computers across 20 industries, stealing hundreds of terabytes of data
  • Mandiant says the team would have been staffed by hundreds, possibly thousands of proficient English speakers
  • China said Mandiant's report was flawed and lacked proof

The report also analyses China's progress in modernising its military and says that a "lack of transparency" about its military capabilities has heightened regional tensions.

China announced in March that its annual defence budget was $114bn (£73bn), an increase of 10.4%.

However, the Pentagon estimated that China's total military expenditure in 2012 was higher, between $135bn (£83bn) and $215bn (£138bn).

China launched its first aircraft carrier in 2012, and is also investing in ballistic missiles, counter-space weapons and military cyberspace systems, the report said.

Defense Department official David Helvey said that while none of the individual weapons systems were an issue, the "integration and overlapping nature" of the systems left the department "concerned".

They could boost China's ability to restrict access to, and military operations in, the Western Pacific, he said.

Mr Helvey said the report also found that China had "increased assertiveness with respect to its maritime territorial claims" over the past year.

China has territorial disputes with many of its neighbours, including in both the South China Sea and East China Sea.


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Libyan minister quits over siege

7 May 2013 Last updated at 07:38 ET

Libya's Defence Minister Mohammed al-Barghathi has resigned in protest over a siege by gunmen on the ministries of justice and foreign affairs.

The militiamen had been demanding the introduction of a law banning Gaddafi-era officials from holding office.

On Sunday, a week after the siege began, parliament passed the law.

"I will never be able to accept that politics [can] be practised by the power of weapons," Reuters news agency quotes the defence minister as saying.

The gunmen had said they would not leave the ministries before the passage of the bill banning those who had held positions under former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi from holding office.

"This is an assault against the democracy I have sworn to protect," said Mr Barghathi, who was the commander of the Benghazi air force before he retired on a government pension in 1994.

The BBC's Rana Jawad reports from the capital, Tripoli, that the Political Isolation Law would apply to Mr Barghathi when it comes into effect.

It appears he resigned before his expected dismissal, she says.

The law could affect other senior members of the government, including Prime Minister Ali Zeidan.

Our correspondent says that since the law was passed a number of gunmen have withdrawn from the ministries, but some groups of heavily armed fighters still remain.

Those at the foreign ministry - the first to be targeted on Sunday 28 April - said they were prepared to go but have not done so as yet, our reporter says.

The gunmen outside the justice ministry, which was surrounded last Tuesday, have said they are waiting to be replaced by official security forces, our correspondent says.

Gaddafi was toppled and killed in an uprising in 2011, after ruling Libya for more than 40 years.


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Missing US women found after decade

7 May 2013 Last updated at 08:08 ET
Members of the FBI evidence team remove items from a house on in Cleveland

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A neighbour, Charles Ramsey, tells reporters: "We had to kick open the bottom of the door"

Three young women who vanished in separate incidents about a decade ago in the US state of Ohio have been found alive in a house in Cleveland.

Amanda Berry disappeared aged 16 in 2003, Gina DeJesus went missing aged 14 a year later, and Michelle Knight disappeared in 2002 aged around 19.

Their discovery followed a dramatic bid for freedom by Amanda Berry on Monday, helped by a neighbour.

Three brothers have been arrested in connection with the case.

City officials are to hold a news conference on Tuesday morning.

Cleveland police said the suspects are Hispanic, aged 50, 52 and 54, and one of them had lived at the house on Seymour Avenue.

Amanda Berry pictured in an undated handout photo released by the FBI

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One was named as Ariel Castro, who has worked as a school bus driver.

Police have said a six-year-old was also found at the home. They have not revealed any further details, although a relative of Amanda Berry said she told him she had a daughter.

The women's families reacted with shock and delight at news of their discovery, and many people gathered outside the home where they had allegedly been imprisoned.

"It's been a whirlwind kind of day. It's surreal," said Gina DeJesus' relative, Sylvia Colon. She said the family had never given up hope, holding vigils every year and keeping memorials outside the house.

"We were living every day in the hope she would come home - and she did," she told the BBC.

Ms Colon said the women would now "need to be given some space. They have been away from us for a very long time."

A doctor said the three women were in a fair condition and were being kept in hospital for observation.

To cheers from spectators, Dr Gerald Maloney told reporters outside Metro Health hospital in Cleveland that the women were able to speak to hospital staff, but he declined to give further details.

The disappearances of Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus had been big news in Cleveland, and many had assumed them to be dead.

Little was made of the disappearance of Michelle Knight, who was older than the other two girls.

Sandra Ruiz, aunt of Gina DeJesus

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Gina DeJesus' aunt Sandra Ruiz: "She knew we were looking for her"

Her grandmother, Deborah Knight, was quoted by the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper on Monday as saying that the authorities concluded she had run away.

'Here a long time'

The dramatic events unfolded after Amanda Berry attempted to flee the house when her alleged captor went out.

Neighbour Charles Ramsey said he heard screaming.

"I see this girl going nuts trying to get outside," he told reporters.

He said he suggested the woman open the door and exit, but she told him it was locked.

"We had to kick open the bottom," he said. "Lucky on that door it was aluminium. It was cheap. She climbed out with her daughter."

Both Mr Ramsey and Ms Berry called 911.

In her frantic call, released to the news media, Ms Berry told the operator: "I'm Amanda Berry. I've been kidnapped. I've been missing for 10 years. I'm free. I'm here now."

She identified her kidnapper as Ariel Castro and said other women were in the house.

Continue reading the main story

Mr Ramsey said he was stunned by the developments. He said he had shared barbecues with Mr Castro and never suspected a thing. "There was nothing exciting about him... well, until today," he said.

An uncle, Julio Castro, who has a shop nearby, confirmed his nephew had been arrested, and said Ariel Castro had worked as a school bus driver. The Cleveland school district confirmed he worked for them, but did not give specifics.

In an extraordinary twist, it emerged that Ariel Castro's son - also called Ariel although he now goes by his middle name Anthony - wrote an article about the disappearance of Gina DeJesus for his local newspaper in 2004.

Anthony confirmed to a journalist that he had written about the neighbourhood's heightened concern for safety in the Cleveland Plain Press, and told her that Monday's developments were "beyond comprehension".

Charles Ramsey

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Charles Ramsey's 911 call after he helped free Amanda Berry

"He was stunned that something like this could possible happen," WKYC reporter Sara Shookman told CNN.

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson has said an investigation into the "many unanswered questions regarding this case" will be held.

High-profile cases

Ms Berry was last heard from when she called her sister on 21 April 2003 to say she would get a lift home from work at a Burger King restaurant.

In 2004, Ms DeJesus was said to be on her way home from school when she went missing.

Their cases were re-opened last year when a prison inmate tipped off authorities that Ms Berry may have been buried in Cleveland. He received a four-and-a-half-year sentence in prison for the false information.

Amanda Berry's mother, Louwana, died in March 2006, three years after her daughter's disappearance.

Although much is still not yet known about this case, it recalled a series of recent high-profile child abduction cases.

Jaycee Lee Dugard was 11 years old when she was dragged into a car as she walked to a bus stop near her home in South Lake Tahoe, California in 1991.

She was discovered in August 2009, having spent 18 years held captive in the backyard of Phillip and Nancy Garrido in Antioch, some 170 miles from South Lake Tahoe. She had two children.

In Austria, Natascha Kampusch was abducted on her way to school at the age of 10. She was held for eight years by Wolfgang Priklopil in the windowless basement of a house in a quiet suburb of Vienna.

She managed to escape in 2006 while Priklopil was making a phone call. He committed suicide hours after she had fled.

Elizabeth Smart was 14 when she was taken from the bedroom of her Utah home in June 2002 and repeatedly raped during nine months of captivity.

She was rescued in March 2003 less than 20 miles from her home. Her abductor, Brian David Mitchell, was jailed for life in 2011.


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World’s first 3D-printer gun fired

Written By Unknown on Senin, 06 Mei 2013 | 19.15

6 May 2013 Last updated at 02:38 ET By Rebecca Morelle Science reporter, BBC World Service, Texas
 3D gun being fired

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The BBC's Rebecca Morelle saw the 3D-printed gun's first test in Austin, Texas

The world's first gun made with 3D printer technology has been successfully fired in the US.

The controversial group which created the firearm, Defense Distributed, plans to make the blueprints available online.

The group has spent a year trying to create the firearm, which was successfully tested on Saturday at a firing range south of Austin, Texas.

Anti-gun campaigners have criticised the project.

Europe's law enforcement agency said it was monitoring developments.

Victoria Baines, from Europol's cybercrime centre, said that at present criminals were more likely to pursue traditional routes to obtain firearms.

She added, however: "But as time goes on and as this technology becomes more user friendly and more cost effective, it is possible that some of these risks will emerge."

Defense Distributed is headed by Cody Wilson, a 25-year-old law student at the University of Texas.

Mr Wilson said: "I think a lot of people weren't expecting that this could be done."

3D printing has been hailed as the future of manufacturing.

The technology works by building up layer upon layer of material - typically plastic - to build complex solid objects.

The idea is that as the printers become cheaper, instead of buying goods from shops, consumers will instead be able to download designs and print out the items at home.

But as with all new technologies, there are risks as well as benefits.

Personal liberties

The gun was made on a 3D printer that cost $8,000 (£5,140) from the online auction site eBay.

It was assembled from separate printed components made from ABS plastic - only the firing pin was made from metal.

Mr Wilson, who describes himself as a crypto-anarchist, said his plans to make the design available were "about liberty".

He told the BBC: "There is a demand of guns - there just is. There are states all over the world that say you can't own firearms - and that's not true anymore.

"I'm seeing a world where technology says you can pretty much be able to have whatever you want. It's not up to the political players any more."

Asked if he felt any sense of responsibility about whose hands the gun might fall into, he told the BBC: "I recognise the tool might be used to harm other people - that's what the tool is - it's a gun.

"But I don't think that's a reason to not do it - or a reason not to put it out there."

Gun control

To make the gun, Mr Wilson received a manufacturing and seller's licence from the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Donna Sellers, from the ATF, told BBC News that the 3D-printed gun, as long as it was not a National Firearms Act weapon (an automatic gun, for example), was legal in the US.

She said: "[In the US] a person can manufacture a firearm for their own use. However, if they engage in the business of manufacture to sell a gun, they need a licence."

Amid America's ongoing gun debate in the wake of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, US congressman Steve Israel recently called for a ban on 3D guns under the Undetectable Firearms Act.

Groups looking to tighten US gun laws have also expressed concern.

Leah Gunn Barrett, from New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, has said: "These guns could fall into the hands of people who should not have guns - criminals, people who are seriously mentally ill, people who are convicted of domestic violence, even children."

3D printing technology has already been used by some criminal organisations to create card readers - "skimmers" - that are inserted into bank machines.

Many law enforcement agencies around the world now have people dedicated to monitoring cybercrime and emerging technologies such as 3D printers.

Ms Baines from Europol said: "What we know is that technology proceeds much more quickly than we expect it to. So by getting one step ahead of the technological developments, we hope and believe we will be able to get one step ahead of the criminals as well."


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Neo-Nazi trial opens in Germany

6 May 2013 Last updated at 06:02 ET
Beate Zschaepe arrives at court in Munich to begin her trial where she stands accused of being part of a Neo-Nazi cell

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The BBC's Stephen Evans: "The authorities have admitted that things went wrong"

An alleged member of a German neo-Nazi cell has gone on trial in Munich in connection with a series of racially motivated murders.

Beate Zschaepe, 38, is accused of being part of the National Socialist Underground (NSU), which killed 10 people, mostly of Turkish background.

She denies the murder charges. After entering court, she stood with folded arms and turned her back on the camera.

The case sparked controversy as police wrongly blamed the Turkish mafia.

The head of Germany's domestic intelligence service was eventually forced to resign over the scandal. It also emerged that intelligence files on far-right extremists were destroyed after the cell's activities came to light.

Four male defendants are also on trial with Ms Zschaepe, facing lesser charges of having helped the NSU.

She faces life in prison if convicted.

Beate Zschaepe

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This police video shows alleged Neo-Nazi Beate Zschaepe in an identity parade.

Critics have accused authorities of turning a blind eye to the crimes of right-wing extremists, the BBC'S Steve Evans reports from Munich.

Officials deny this, saying mistakes occurred because the murders were spread across different regions, each with different police and security agencies.

The killings took place over a seven-year period, and none of the victims or locations was high-profile.

Execution-style killings

Ethnic Turkish community groups and anti-racism campaigners demonstrated outside the courthouse on Monday demanding justice. Some suspect the police of institutional racism, which may have helped the neo-Nazis to act with impunity, our correspondent says.

Before the trial got under way a large crowd of journalists had gathered outside, along with dozens of people hoping to get seats in the court. About 500 police officers were deployed and nearby streets were cordoned off.

Ms Zschaepe is charged with complicity in the murders of eight ethnic Turks, a Greek immigrant and a German policewoman between 2000 and 2007, as a founding member of the NSU.

She is also accused of involvement in 15 armed robberies, of arson, and of attempted murder via two bomb attacks.

Prosecutors say the aim of the execution-style killings was to spread fear among immigrants and prompt them to leave Germany.

Her lawyers say she is refusing to speak in court. Only the trial opening was broadcast, in line with German legal restrictions.

The four male defendants are:

  • Ralf Wohlleben, 38, and Carsten Schultze, 33, accused of being accessories to murder in the killing of the nine men - they allegedly supplied weapons and silencers
  • Andre Eminger, 33, accused of being an accessory in two of the bank robberies, in the 2004 nail-bombing in Cologne's old town that injured 22 people, and two counts of supporting a terrorist organisation
  • Holger Gerlach, 39, faces three counts of supporting a terrorist organisation.

The NSU cell remained undetected until Ms Zschaepe gave herself up in November 2011, after police discovered the bodies of two of her alleged accomplices.

Uwe Mundlos, 38, and Uwe Boenhardt, 34, appeared to have shot themselves after a botched bank robbery.

After their deaths, the gun used in the murders of the 10 people was discovered.

Ms Zschaepe shared a flat in Zwickau, in the old East Germany, with the two men who were found shot dead.

The arson charge against her relates to a fire which she is alleged to have started in the flat before giving herself up. She told police she was the one they were looking for.

In addition, a video emerged showing pictures of the corpses of the victims and identifying the "organisation" behind the murders as the NSU. The video had a cartoon Pink Panther totting up the number of dead.

Only then did the authorities conclude that the killings were the work of neo-Nazis.

They had previously treated some of the families of the victims as suspects in their murders.

As a result, the trial has taken on a meaning beyond the charges in court, as it is also puts the spotlight on attitudes towards the murder of members of ethnic minority groups, our correspondent says.

An earlier start date had been set for the trial, but it was delayed for weeks amid a dispute about the seat allocations, as Turkish media were not guaranteed places.

Turkish media have now been given four seats, but several leading German newspapers missed out in the lottery, AFP news agency reports.


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