Indonesia: Prisoners Escape Amid Jail Riot

Security forces have retaken control of a crowded prison in western Indonesia where inmates started a massive riot that left five people dead and hundreds of prisoners, including convicted terrorists, on the loose.

About 500 policemen and 300 soldiers have been deployed around Tanjung Gusta prison in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra, where the riot broke out on Thursday night.

Fire brigades have also been battling fires started by prisoners which had engulfed the jail.

Prison directorate spokesman Akbar Hadi said the situation is now under control after soldiers entered the prison without resistance.

Prisoners stand inside the Tanjung Gusta prison amid the riot

Hundreds of policemen have blocked roads linking Medan to the provinces of Aceh, Jambi and West Sumatra while searching for inmates who escaped during the riot, which began after a protest over a lack of water and electricity turned violent.

Indonesian authorities said security forces had recaptured 64 out of 240 prisoners who fled the facility in the nation's third-largest city.

Inmates had been in control of the jail until early on Friday morning, casually chatting outside their cells while heavily armed security forces formed a cordon round the building.

Five people, three prisoners and two prison staff, were killed in the riots. Ten civilian guards had briefly been held hostage but were later released.

The jail was set ablaze by inmates

Prisoners still on the loose included five of the 14 terror convicts that were being held at the institution.

The terrorists are believed to have links to Toni Togar, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence in a separate prison for a series of church bombings in Sumatra in 2000, according to the Jakarta Post.

A spokesman for the justice and human rights ministry, Goncang Raharjo, said that, like many jails in Indonesia, Tanjung Gusta was overcrowded - holding more than double its official capacity.

"The prison capacity is only 1,054 but it now holds about 2,600 convicts and suspects on trials.

"Most prisons across the country have this problem," he said.

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Egypt: US Calls For Release Of Detained Morsi

The US has called for the release of Mohamed Morsi as tens of thousands of supporters of the ousted Egyptian president staged protests across the country.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the US agrees with the German Foreign Ministry, which had called for an "end to all restrictive measures considering Morsi".

Mr Morsi, an Islamist who became the country's first freely elected leader, was ousted on July 3 by the military.

His removal followed a wave of protests calling on him to step down.

He has been kept at an undisclosed Defence Ministry facility since then, but no formal charges have been filed.

Mohamed Morsi was ousted by the Army in what many called a coup

Supporters vowed to continue their campaign of street rallies as long as necessary to force Mr Morsi's reinstitution.

At the main Islamist rally in Cairo, the crowd poured into a large boulevard in front of a main mosque where his supporters have been camped out for two weeks.

Some held up photos of Mr Morsi, others carried posters depicting army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sissi with blood coming out of his mouth and emblazoned with the word "traitor".

"We are ready to stay for a month, two months, a year or even two years," an ultraconservative Salafi cleric, Safwat Hegazi, told protesters.

Friday prayers on the third day of Ramadan

The day of protests marked the first Friday of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset, which usually cuts down on activity during the day - particularly outdoors in warm summer temperatures.

During the daytime fast, some at the rally rested in their tents, reading the Quran or sleeping.

Similar rallies were held across the Nile River in Cairo's sister city Giza, in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and several other cities.

Clashes have broken out between Mr Morsi's supporters and his critics

A week of violence in a bitterly divided nation has left dozens of Mr Morsi's Islamist supporters dead.

The new military-backed administration has intensified its crackdown on the leadership of Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, issuing several arrest warrants.

The administration is pushing ahead quickly with its transition plans, which the military said would include new elections.

However, the new prime minister Hazem el Beblawi said members of the Muslim Brotherhood would be offered cabinet posts.

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Schoolgirl Malala Defies Taliban At UN

The Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot in the head by the Taliban has told the United Nations that she will not be silenced by terrorists.

Malala Yousafzai has spent her 16th birthday addressing the UN in New York, where she called on governments across the world to provide compulsory education for every child.

In her first major public speech, Malala had a message for the terrorists who shot her.

"They thought that the bullet would silence us, but they failed," she said.

"The terrorists thought that they would change my aims and stop my ambitions, but nothing changed in life, except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died.

"Strength, courage and fervour was born."

Young people from 80 different countries were at the UN to hear Malala's speech and to support her education cause.

"Let us pick up our books and our pens," Malala said.

"They are our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world. Education is the only solution."

Malala leaving Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham

July 12 is being marked as Malala Day, but the 16-year-old said the day is not just for her.

"Today is for every woman, boy and girl raising their voice for human rights," she said in the speech.

Three million people have already signed a petition which Malala has presented to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.

Mr Ban said: "In far too many places, students like Malala and their teachers are threatened, assaulted, even killed.

"Through hate-filled actions, extremists have shown what frightens them the most: a girl with a book."

The schoolgirl was shot by the Taliban in 2012 while on her way to school in Swat Valley.

Her remarkable recovery has seen her become a high profile campaigner with her face being recognised all over the world.

She was transferred to Birmingham in the UK and underwent extensive surgery to rebuild her skull at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

The UN event has been organised by former prime minister Gordon Brown, now the UN Special Envoy for Global Education.

"This frail young girl who was seriously injured has become such a powerful symbol not just for the girls' right to education, but for the demand that we do something about it immediately," Mr Brown told CBS News.

"There will be no compromise with any religious extremist who says girls should not go to school or stop going to school at 10."

Youth campaigner Markson Mwanza from Zambia told Sky News: "There are a lot of myths in terms of persons with disabilities...that they can never achieve anything.

"Looking what Malala has said it really brings hope to our lives, it brings hope to Zambia and all of us as people with disabilities."

The Malala Day petition can be found here.

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Asiana Plane Crash: Child Is The Third Victim

A child has died following the Asiana flight crash, officials have said, becoming the third victim of the San Francisco disaster.

The girl, a Chinese national, had been in a critical condition, according to a statement from doctors at San Francisco General Hospital.

Asiana Airlines Flight 214 collided with a rocky seawall just short of its intended airport runway last week. Investigators have said the plane came in too low and slow.

Two Chinese teenage girls also died in the crash and 180 people were injured.

Ye Mengyuan

One of the teenagers, 16-year-old Ye Mengyuan, was struck by a fire truck while she was covered in foam sprayed to douse the jet's fire, police said earlier.

It was not clear whether she was already dead or whether she was alive after the accident.

Authorities were still trying to determine the cause of death.

Police officials confirmed she was hit after responding emergency personnel failed to see her on the ground near the downed airliner.

Wang Linija

"When the fire truck repositioned itself to continue battling flames from the fuselage, the victim passenger was found in the tyre track of the fire truck," police spokesman Albie Esparza said.

San Francisco fire officials said the other victim of the crash, 16-year-old Wang Linjia, was already dead when airport staff found her near the runway.

Nearly a week after the crash, investigators have pieced together an outline of the event.

With each new bit of information, the picture emerging is of pilots who were supposed to be closely monitoring the plane's airspeed, but who did not realise until too late that the aircraft was dangerously low and slow.

Nothing disclosed so far by the National Transportation Safety Board investigators indicates any problems with the Boeing 777's engines or the functioning of its computers and automated systems.

The flight's four pilots have been interviewed, as have passengers and dozens of witnesses.

Air traffic control recordings and video of the flight's last moments, including the crash itself, also have been examined.

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Firing Attractive Woman Legal, Court Rules

A court has decided that an Iowa dentist did not discriminate against a female assistant when he fired her for being "too attractive".

The case began when Dr James Knight sacked dental hygienist Melissa Nelson after more than 10 years' service because he found her too attractive and his wife saw her as a threat.

In December, the all-male  the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that Dr Knight did not discriminate against Ms Nelson.

She had argued she would not have been fired if she were a man, and her lawyer, Paige Fiedler, argued in seeking a second hearing that their decision was a setback for gender equality in the workplace.

In late June, the justices decided to reconsider the case.

"We ultimately conclude the conduct does not amount to unlawful sex discrimination in violation of the Iowa Civil Rights Act," Justice Edward Mansfield wrote.

Dr Knight had hired Nelson in 1999 and on several occasions in the 18 months before he fired her in early 2010, he complained that her clothing was too tight, revealing and distracting, the decision said.

She denied wearing anything inappropriate.

Ms Nelson and Dr Knight began texting each other in 2009, the opinion said.

Most messages were work-related or otherwise innocuous, but some were more suggestive, including one in which the dentist asked his hygienist how often she had an orgasm, the opinion said.

Ms Nelson did not answer that text.

"The fact of the matter is Nelson was terminated because of the activities of her consensual personal relationship with her employer, not because of her gender," Chief Justice Mark Cady wrote in a separate 'special concurrence'.

In late 2009, Dr Knight's wife, Jeanne Knight, learned that her husband had been exchanging texts with Ms Nelson while he was on an out-of-state vacation with their children.

She insisted that he dismiss her, saying "she was a big threat to our marriage", the opinion said.

Dr Knight read Ms Nelson a statement when he fired her that said in part that their relationship had become a detriment to both of their families.

Ms Nelson's lawyer said on Friday she was "beyond distressed at the lack of awareness and understanding this decision demonstrates".

Ms Fiedler said in a statement: "Women already have to balance on the very fine line of being respected, professional and well-liked in the workplace without having their perceived charm or attractiveness garner unwanted sexual advances, harassment and discrimination."

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Paris Train Crash: Faulty Track Likely Cause

A loose component connecting rails may have triggered the derailment of a packed train outside Paris that left at least six people dead and dozens injured.

Pierre Izard, a general manager of the SNCF national rail company, said a joint bar, a kind of steel clip that links two rails on a switch, broke away, became detached and came out of its housing.

The detached joint "lodged itself at the centre of the switch, prevented the normal progression of the train's wheels and seems to have caused the train's derailment," he said, adding that checks had been ordered on some 5,000 similar devices on the network.

Carriages came off the tracks and smashed into Bretigny-sur-Orge station

The head of the SNCF, Guillaume Pepy, said the "detachment of this joint bar" was the focus of investigations.

He said the third and fourth carriages initially came off the track, then knocked the others off. He called the accident a "catastrophe", adding that "some cars simply derailed, others are leaning, others fell over".

Earlier, transport minister Frederic Cuvillier had said that human error was unlikely to have caused the tragedy, and that authorities were looking into a possible mechanical error in the switching system as well as other possibilities.

Rescuers pull survivors from the wreckage. Pic: @aishakurdish

The crash was France's deadliest in years, but Mr Cuvillier said it could have been worse and praised the driver who sent out an alert quickly, preventing a pile up.

Responding to criticism that France had not invested enough in maintaining infrastructure, he added: "For the moment we have no information that allows us to confirm that the dilapidation of the network was the cause of this derailment."

The seven-carriage service with 385 passengers on board was about 20 minutes into a three-hour journey to Limoges when it crashed 12 miles south of the capital at about 5.15pm local time on Friday.

Part of the metal roof over the platform was crushed as carriages came off the tracks and smashed into Bretigny-sur-Orge station.

Up to 200 passengers are said to have been injured in the smash

Interior minister Manuel Valls said at least six people had been killed. He added that nine people were gravely injured, and warned the number of dead could rise. In all, nearly 200 people were hurt.

A large, heavyweight crane is expected to be brought in later to try to lift one of the carriages which toppled over.

Sky's Ian Woods, who was at the scene, said: "They don't know for certain, but there may well still be people underneath that carriage they haven't been able to get to.

The French interior minister has called the crash a "catastrophe"

"It's unclear whether anyone at the station was hurt by the impact of the train and flying debris, or whether all of those injured were on the train."

Footage from the scene showed crushed metal on the platform and debris from the crash clogging up the stairs.

Emergency services went on red alert with 300 firefighters, 20 paramedic teams and eight helicopters deployed to the area.

All Paris regional hospitals were put on standby to deal with casualties.

Firefighters rescue passengers trapped in a carraige

Within hours French President Francois Hollande was at the scene and said: "I want to express our solidarity to all the families.

"It will take a long time to identify the victims. Investigations are under way and as soon as possible we will name them and inform their families - I understand their anxiety and pain."

Briton Graham Hope, a passenger in the third carriage, told Sky News: "The carriage I was in was bouncing for several seconds before we came to a halt.

"Everyone was very calm. A couple of people were quite concerned, but we worked together to get out of the carriage.

People at the station look on from across another platform

"When I got out we could see the rest of the train was further up the line ... I would be very surprised if people got out of the front carriage unscathed."

A witness in a nearby train, 19-year-old Bazgua El Mehdi told Le Parisien newspaper: "I heard a loud noise. A cloud of sand covered everything. Then the dust dissipated.

"I thought it was a freight train, but then we saw the first casualties ... many passengers on the (train) were crying."

The passenger train crashed into the platform and some cars tipped over

A police source said: "The train arrived at the station at high speed. It split in two for an unknown reason. Part of the train continued to roll while the other was left on its side on the platform."

But a passenger speaking on France's BFM television said the train was going at a normal speed and was not meant to stop at Bretigny-sur-Orge.

The station is expected to remain closed for several days during the investigation and clear-up operation.

French President Francois Hollande speaks to some of the injured

The crash comes as France prepares to celebrate its most important national holiday, Bastille Day, on Sunday.

Many people have been heading out of Paris and other big cities to see their families or to go on holiday.

Earlier, passengers observed a minute's silence at Austerlitz railway station in Paris as a mark of respect.

The train derailed at Bretigny-sur-Orge, just south of Paris

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Russia: No Official Approach From Snowden

Russia says it has still not received a formal request for asylum from CIA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Snowden broke three weeks of silence on Friday and said he would be seeking temporary asylum in the country.

He told a group of human rights activists he hoped to stay in Russia until he had won "safe passage" to Latin America.

Snowden, who has been stranded at a Moscow airport since June 23, said he would be making an asylum request later that day.

However, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying: "We are not in contact with Snowden "

Snowden flanked by members of Human Rights Watch

Mr Lavrov said that under Russian law asylum seekers must first make an official appeal to the Federal Migration Service (FMS).

FMS director Konstantin Romodanovsky said on Saturday it had not received an approach from Snowden.

Washington has urged Moscow to return the 30-year-old to the US, where he is wanted on espionage charges after revealing details of secret surveillance programmes.

His leaks about US spying, including eavesdropping on global email traffic, have caused a furore in the US, which has revoked his passport.

There is worldwide support for Snowden among human rights activists

Snowden, who worked for the National Security Agency (NSA), revealed that the body has access to vast amounts of data from companies including Facebook and Google under a government programme called Prism.

He fled to Hong Kong and then flew to Moscow where he and Russian officials say he has remained in the transit zone of the city's Sheremetyevo airport. He has no visa to enter Russia.

Mr Snowden has asked some 20 countries for asylum and received offers from Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia.

But he said on Friday that Western states had made it "impossible for me to travel to Latin America and enjoy the asylum granted there".

Last week a plane carrying Bolivian President Evo Morales home from Russia was denied access to the airspace of several European countries on suspicion that Snowden was on board.

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Texas Votes To Bans Abortions Beyond 20 Weeks

The Republican-controlled Senate in Texas has voted to ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, ending a high-profile political battle that stirred debate over women's rights.

Already approved by the House, the sweeping bill to restrict abortions now goes to Republican Governor Rick Perry, who is certain to sign it and had called a second special session of the legislature to get it through.

Democrat Senator Wendy Davis had tried to block the bill

It makes Texas the 13th US state to pass a 20-week provision based on disputed research suggesting foetuses feel pain at that point in a pregnancy. Current limits are 26 weeks in Texas.

The Senate passed the measure late on Friday by a vote of 19 to 11 in front of a full public gallery while protesters yelled and chanted outside the chamber.

The Texas Department of Public Safety increased security for the debate, searching bags of everyone who entered the Senate gallery.

The department said officers found 18 jars containing what appeared to be faeces, one jar suspected of containing urine and three bottles of what they thought was paint.

"All of these items - as well as significant quantities of feminine hygiene products, glitter and confetti possessed by individuals - were required to be discarded; otherwise those individuals were denied entry into the gallery," the department said in a statement.

The confiscation of feminine hygiene products sparked an outcry on social media about "tampongate".

The issue has stirred huge attention well beyond the Texas borders, in part because of an 11-hour filibuster in June against the bill by Democrat state Senator Wendy Davis.

Anti-abortion activists rally after the vote in Austin, Texas

Despite political support in Texas for the bill, there could still be legal hurdles. Courts have blocked the ban in three of the 12 states that passed it, and opponents of the Texas bill vowed to challenge the decision in court.

Thousands of activists for and against the bill gathered at the state capitol this summer for rallies and marches and to testify at public hearings.

"Let's draw the line and not torture these babies that are aborted," bill supporter Senator Bob Deuell, a Republican and a family physician, said during Friday's nine-hour debate.

The Texas measure would change standards for abortion clinics in ways that opponents say would cause dozens of the facilities to shut down, forcing Texans to turn to illegal, unsafe means.

Bill supporters disagree that clinics would have to close.

A protester is removed from the Senate gallery during the debate

"This bill is creating a situation where women in Texas today not only will not be made safer but they will absolutely be at risk of their health," said Ms Davis.

The pink granite statehouse was packed, with Texans opposed to the bill wearing orange and holding signs that said: "My body, my choice," some of them jumping, chanting and loudly shouting outside the Senate chamber.

Those supporting the bill wore blue, some carrying Bibles and crosses and holding signs that said things like: "Unborn babies feel pain".

"What happened here tonight is going to fast-forward change in Texas in the long run, but unfortunately a lot of women will suffer in the process," said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

"Today the Texas legislature took its final step in our historic effort to protect life," Governor Perry said in a statement.

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Moscow Bus Crash: 'At Least 18 Dead'

Eighteen people have been killed and at least 40 injured in a road crash outside Moscow, according to Russian officials.

A truck, a bus and several other vehicles were involved and the dead includes a young girl, said the interior ministry.

The accident took place when a truck carrying gravel turned onto a main road and ploughed into the bus, which was broken in two by the force of the collision.

Helicopter teams and 30 ambulance crews were sent to the scene. The number of dead was revised upwards after several of the injured died in hospital.

The crash occurred near Oznobishino, about 25 miles south of Moscow city centre.

Officials said that injuries were particularly serious as bus passengers were also hit with gravel being carried on the truck.

Twenty people remain remain in hospital, with 16 of them said to be in a serious condition.

Moscow deputy mayor Pyotr Birukov said that the truck's driver, a 46-year-old Armenian who survived the crash, had been fined for traffic offences six times over the last year.

Russia has one of the world's worst road safety records with some 25,000 people losing their lives in traffic accidents every year, although the government is trying to improve the situation with measures including a zero-tolerance ban on drink driving.

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Pamplona Bulls Trample Trapped Runners

Dozens of people have been trampled at the famous Pamplona bull run after becoming trapped at the entrance to the bullring.

A 19-year-old Spanish man is in a "very serious" condition and a 28-year-old man from Ireland has suffered chest trauma, authorities said.

At least 23 other people are being treated in hospital after Saturday's event in the Spanish city.

Runners and bulls became trapped together in the bottleneck for almost two minutes when the weight of people forced shut a door normally kept open.

Goring injuries are not uncommon, but injuries from stampedes are rare.

Other injuries on the festival's penultimate day included a 35-year-old American gored in the buttocks, and an 18-year-old from Spain gored in the armpit.

The popular tourist event, which ends on Sunday, sees runners tearing frantically through the city's cobbled streets pursued by the bulls.

Fourteen people have died in the last 100 years of the San Fermin festival, an event that dates from the 13th century.

The bull run takes place at 8am every morning for one week in July. Saturday's run lasted just four minutes and 15 seconds.

The bulls are usually killed in the ring by bullfighters.

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