Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 13 Desember 2014 | 23.18
By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent, in Mexico City
A Mexican hitman, who claims to have killed as many as 900 people, has told Sky News how the police and the military are often involved in the planning and execution of his murders.
"Carlos" has been a paid killer for more than 25 years - working for drug cartels, politicians and the military.
We met the hitman in Tepito market - one of the most dangerous places in the whole of Mexico City, despite being at the heart of its smartest district.
The assassin said the network of cartel power is so entrenched in society and powered by so much money that it is unstoppable.
"On some occasions, we have to go to places where weapons are not allowed and then they (police) meet us.
Video:Narco State: Mexico's Drugs War
"They take us to a hotel and they provide all the weapons that we may need, money and everything so that one can do the job one has to do."
The abduction of 43 students last September has forced Mexico into confronting its crime problems.
Carlos believes that the students are already dead, and uses a chilling example from his own experience to explain why he is so certain.
Video:Sky News Talks To A Mexican Hitman
"Let me tell you a story. Some protestors came. We let them in and then we closed the road, we closed the entrance, we closed the exit. When they were stuck in the middle we killed them all," he recounted.
"Then a (rubbish) truck from the army came and collected them all. Then street sweeper machines went past. They opened the road again, as if nothing had happened.
"The students are dead, it is more convenient. For kidnapping you get 160 years, for killing its 35. It's a huge difference, don't you think?"
Video:Where The Cartels Get Their Guns
Mexico is described by many as a "Narco State", where government and civil society appear powerless against drug money, cartels, corruption and terrible violence - committed on an almost daily basis.
This country bordering the United States and Central America has become a transit point for drugs across the world.
The revenues are mind-blowing - tens of billions of dollars a year.
Video:Mexico City's Tepito Market
The demand for what it can deliver to affluent societies is insatiable.
It is the root of the problem of course, and widespread poverty, combined with the need to make a living, are the crumbling foundations of a state teetering on the edge of disaster.
Mexico is in trouble. It is failing. A black market culture where anything can be bought is all-pervading. Nobody is above this. Absolutely nobody.
A Palestinian has thrown acid at an Israeli family, including children, after being given a lift in their car in the West Bank, the army has said.
The man attacked them near a checkpoint outside Bethlehem and close to the Gush Etzion settlement, the military said in a statement to AFP news agency.
A man and four children were hurt, Israeli police and the military told Reuters.
The suspect was shot in the leg by a civilian after getting out of the car and he has since been arrested, AFP reported.
The family was attacked near the Gush Etzion settlement
"A vehicle carrying a family with four girls picked up a hitchhiker," the statement from the army said.
"The hitchhiker threw acid on the passengers, injuring them lightly."
Video:10 Dec: Palestinian Minister Killed
The attack comes after Palestinian minister Ziad Abu Ein died in a confrontation with Israeli troops in the West Bank on Wednesday.
He was taking part in a tree-planting demonstration in Turmus Aya when he was confronted by Israeli soldiers and tear gas was fired.
Witnesses also said the cabinet member was involved in a scuffle with an Israeli soldier and there were claims he was hit on the chest by an Israeli soldier's helmet and a rifle butt.
He then began to experience breathing problems, and died while he was being taken to hospital by ambulance.
Video:Soldier Row: What Footage Shows
The Palestinian leadership blamed Israel for Ziad Abu Ein's death and threatened to retaliate.
"We are open to taking up any option against the other side," Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said.
Israeli ministers called for calm and US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday as part of attempts to defuse tensions.
Mexico's drug trade is worth between $19 and $29bn (£12.1 and £18.5bn) a year in cash - but takes an immeasurably greater toll in human lives and misery.
Some 90% of the cocaine bound for the US goes through the country, which shares a long border with its northern neighbour.
The narcotics industry makes up between 3-4% of the country's GDP, and employs half a million people.
Murder - even mass murder - is relatively commonplace. On average, someone dies a drugs-related death every half an hour.
There have been more than 132,000 kidnappings since 2006, and the government lists a total of 22,322 people as missing.
Video:Where The Gangs Get Their Guns
There are 10 firearms deaths per 100,000 people - more than twice the rate of the US - despite the fact there is just one legal firearms dealer in the entire country.
Even amid this carnage, the recent abduction of 43 college students made headlines not just nationwide but around the world.
The victims were attacked by officers in the southern city of Iguala after demonstrations there.
Prosecutors say they were handed over by corrupt police officers to a drugs gang that killed them and burnt their bodies.
Police believe a mobile phone belonging to a Mississippi teenager who was burned to death is the "key to everything".
A Facebook campaign to find Jessica Chambers' killer has now been supported by more than 108,000 people - as police trawl through phone records.
It is understood that Miss Chambers received a call on her phone shortly before leaving to buy fuel in Courtland, Mississippi, on Saturday.
Investigators also say the 19-year-old was spotted at a party on the night before her death.
Miss Chambers graduated from South Panola High School
She had returned home and her mother said she had slept for most of Saturday.
When she left the house in the evening she was dressed in pyjama bottoms and so was not expected to stay out long.
Video:Mississippi Teen Burned Alive
CCTV images show Miss Chambers at a petrol station two hours before she was doused in flammable liquid and set alight by the roadside.
She was barely alive when she was found with severe burns and died in hospital shortly afterwards.
Reports suggested her attacker even poured flammable liquid down her throat and nose.
The US Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $10,000 (£6,360) for information leading to an arrest.
Police have obtained warrants to search Miss Chambers' phone and social media network records, John Champion, district attorney for Mississippi's 17th Circuit, said.
Mr Champion said officers were "following up on leads" and that her phone records were "the key to everything".
The prosecutor said that when firefighters arrived at the scene, Miss Chambers approached one of them and spoke.
She was not on fire, as has been widely reported, the prosecutor said.
Mr Champion did not divulge the teenager's words but said: "It has certainly given us a lead we're following up on."
Amanda Prince said her younger sister Jessica had called their mother from the petrol station and told her she would be home after cleaning her car.
Miss Chambers graduated from South Panola High School last year and recently started a job at a nearby department store, her sister said.
The CIA's spymaster has disavowed abusive techniques used by his agency in interrogating suspects after 9/11, while staunchly defending his officers.
During a rare news conference at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, John Brennan said: "In a limited number of cases, agency officers used interrogation techniques that had not been authorised, were abhorrent and rightly should be repudiated by all.
"And we fell short when it came to holding some officers accountable for their mistakes."
But he said the "overwhelming majority" of his interrogators acted appropriately and "did what they were asked to do in the service of our nation".
Mr Brennan was addressing a Senate report that detailed the US intelligence agency's "brutal" treatment of al Qaeda suspects in a network of secret prisons around the world.
Video:Dick Cheney Slams Torture Report
He told Thursday's news conference the programme was ordered at a time when the US feared more terrorist attacks.
"There were no easy answers," he said.
"And whatever your views are on EITs (enhanced interrogation techniques)… the agency did a lot of things right during this difficult time to keep this country safe and secure."
Sky News' Dominic Waghorn in Washington says the spymaster chose his words carefully, but they will sound mealy-mouthed and disingenuous to CIA critics.
For instance, Mr Brennan said it was "unknowable" whether EITs managed to extract useful intelligence from terrorism suspects.
But he also said the interrogations did help locate Osama bin Laden, while arguing it was unclear if such intelligence could have been gleaned without such methods.
Mr Brennan said that as far as he was aware only three detainees were waterboarded, though the Senate report asserted the number could have been higher.
As he spoke, Senator Dianne Feinstein went online to issue a point-by-point rebuttal of his arguments.
Video:Torture Produces Bad Intelligence
"No evidence that terror attacks were stopped, terrorists captured or lives saved through use of EITs. #ReadTheReport," she tweeted.
Under the programme, detainees were beaten, repeatedly waterboarded and subjected to medically unnecessary "rectal feeding" and "rectal rehydration". One detainee froze to death.
President Barack Obama, who halted his predecessor George W Bush's programme when he came to office, has said the practices were contrary to US values.
But Mr Bush's Vice President Dick Cheney robustly defended the programme on Wednesday night.
"The report's full of crap," he told Fox News, while conceding he had not read it.
The Senate intelligence committee concluded in Tuesday's report that the CIA deliberately misled Congress and the White House about the value of the information its interrogators were gathering.
China and Iran, whose own human rights records have often been criticised by Washington, denounced the abuses, but so did some close US friends like Germany.
The mother of a feared gang leader has survived an apparent murder attempt after she was shot through the front door of her home.
Paramedics treated Lola Hamzy for stomach wounds at the house before taking her to hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery.
The 57-year-old is the mother of Brothers 4 Life gang founder and al Qaeda devotee Bassam Hamzy, who was jailed for life in 2002 for shooting dead an 18-year-old following a nightclub row.
He was also convicted for conspiring to kill a witness due to give evidence against him.
Since being imprisoned he has found himself targeted by criminals from rival gangs.
Mother-of-five Mrs Hamzy, whose home is in Sydney's Auburn suburb, is the second female in the family to be shot through their front door in the last two years.
Another member of the family, Maha Hamzy, Bassam Hamzy's aunt, is now wheelchair-bound after being shot in the legs at her house in March.
Bassam Hamzy's cousin Mahmoud was shot and killed in October last year in an attack thought to have been carried out by gangland rivals.
Inspector Alan Janson from New South Wales Police said: "The family and the home is known to us and all those lines of inquiries we will look at and explore those.
"But until we speak to the victim and obtain some further information, we don't have a lot to go on."
He could not say what type of gun was used in the shooting.
Mrs Hamzy lived at the home alone, but it was unclear whether she was the intended target.
A US Senate report examining the CIA's use of torture on suspected terrorists has caused a political storm on both sides of the Atlantic. Here's what you need to know.
What do we learn from the report?
The US Senate report details the CIA's use of torture on suspected terrorists captured after the September 11 attacks and makes for grisly reading.
Prisoners were subjected to waterboarding and "rectal feeding". They were forced to stand on broken limbs, kept in darkness and made to go without sleep for prolonged periods.
One prisoner died of hypothermia after being forced to sit on a bare concrete floor without pants.
Video:Brennan Admits 'Abhorrent' Actions
Even the head of the CIA, John Brennan, was forced to admit that torture methods used on detainees were "abhorrent".
Who is criticised in the report?
The report concluded that the CIA had deceived the White House, Congress and the public about its interrogation programme and that the information gathered from torture had not helped to thwart terrorist plots.
The executive summary recognises the context of public fear and outrage post 9/11, but it states: "Such pressure, fear, and expectation of further terrorist plots do not justify, temper, or excuse improper actions taken by individuals or organisations in the name of national security.
"The major lesson of this report is that regardless of the pressures and the need to act, the Intelligence Community's actions must always reflect who we are as a nation, and adhere to our laws and standards."
How reliable and balanced is the Senate report?
It is a Democrat-led report that has been criticised by Republicans who were in administration at the time.
There is no doubt the bare facts about torture is reliable, as it has not been contested, but the conclusions about the effectiveness of torture and whether the administration was kept in the dark, have been challenged.
What objections have been raised to its findings?
Former vice president Dick Cheney said it was "full of crap" and a "terrible piece of work" that was "deeply flawed", although he didn't deny some of the techniques were used.
Video:Dick Cheney Slams Torture Report
Mr Brennan, head of the CIA, insisted the interrogation programme as a whole produced "useful intelligence that helped the United States thwart attack plans, capture terrorists and save lives". He said it was "unknowable" whether the specific torture techniques had been key to this.
How significant are the political ramifications in the US?
Clearly many Democrats feel this shows the Bush administration lost control of the CIA and brought the US into disrepute for its techniques.
Bush allies say the president "knew everything he wanted and needed to know". They also argue what happened was necessary.
The Republicans are under fire but it was also a political risk for current President Barack Obama to allow this information to be released. Many Americans will not find themselves conflicted about the use of torture against terrorists and worry the report could lead to a backlash against the US.
How significant are the political ramifications in the UK?
MI5 and MI6 are not implicated in the report, although it has emerged British agencies asked for some redactions; not to cover up involvement in torture but "on national security grounds".
However, in the past the UK has been accused of helping to fly people to countries where they would be put at risk of torture.
The two main cases involving alleged co-operation between British security agencies and the CIA include that of Binyam Mohamed, a UK citizen, who was tortured and secretly flown to Guantanamo Bay and the abduction of two prominent Libyan dissidents - Abdul Hakim Belhaj and Sami al Saadi - who were flown in secret to Tripoli in 2004.
Other considerations are whether the British asked for certain questions to be put to detainees who were subjected to torture, or whether British personnel were present during "enhanced interrogation".
Video:UK Wanted CIA Report Changes
Because of the timeframe (2001-2009), it is Tony Blair's Labour administration that would most likely face questions.
An investigation is being conducted by the Intelligence and Security Committee, led by Conservative Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP.
However, several back-bench MPs led by another Conservative, Andrew Tyrie MP, have called for a judge-led inquiry.
How have allies/enemies of Western powers reacted to the report?
The condemnation of CIA practices has been universal.
Is there any evidence that terror attacks were stopped as a result of enhanced interrogation techniques(EITs)?
Aside from public feeling about the use of torture, this is the big contentious issue. The report says there is not.
At a news conference at the agency's Virginia headquarters, Mr Brennan said: "Let me be clear. We have not concluded that it was the use of EITs within that programme that allowed us to obtain useful information from detainees subjected to them."
But he added: "The cause-and-effect relationship between the use of EITs and useful information subsequently provided by the detainee is, in my view, unknowable."
In a contentious footnote the Senate report says that while in custody in Guantanamo Bay British citizen Moazzam Begg provided background information and descriptions of a number of his past associates that have helped shed light on the extent of the Islamic extremist network in the United Kingdom and its ties to al Qaeda.
Video:Experts In CIA Torture Debate
This information helped thwart a notorious bomb plotter called Dhiren Barot.
Mr Begg's lawyers refute suggestions that he "volunteered" information. He insists his treatment amounted to torture. If true, that would mean torture did potentially help thwart a plot in the UK.
What happens next?
Human rights groups and some MPs would like to see a judge-led inquiry into the UK's involvement.
There is, however, an ongoing Intelligence and Security Committee investigation.
Both David Cameron and Nick Clegg have indicated that a judge-led inquiry would only happen if the first investigation proved unsatisfactory.
Sir Malcolm Rifkind, leading that investigation, says he has full access to MI5 and MI6 files and is confident he will get to the truth.
It's uncertain when this will be complete; one Downing Street spokesperson told Sky News they expected it by "the end of 2015".
A rare Siberian tiger released into the wild by Russian President Vladimir Putin has been caught on infrared camera eating a domestic dog in China.
Kuzya, seen wearing a GPS tracking device around his neck, was filmed for two hours devouring the dog on Heixiazi island linking China and Russia.
After eating his fill, the animal disappeared from the camera's view at dawn on Wednesday, according to China Central Television.
Mr Putin tagging a Siberian tiger in 2010
He is now believed to have crossed back into his homeland.
Kuzya has also been blamed for killing goats and other livestock during night-time raids on farms in China.
1/10
Gallery: Putin Meets Big Wigs And Big Cats (February 2014)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Sochi ahead of the Winter Games, kicking off his presence on the Olympic stage by taking top officials to a leopard sanctuary.
Russia is working to reintroduce the Persian leopard to the nearby mountains as part of measures aimed at showing that the Olympic Games will benefit and not hurt the environment.
A remote village in Indonesia has been destroyed in a landslide which has left 17 people confirmed dead and scores more missing.
Rescuers searched through mud with their bare hands to try and find the lost villagers until light faded.
Jemblung village, which had 46 houses, was destroyed when a flood of orange coloured mud and water cascaded down a wooded mountainside.
Hundreds of people have been evacuated from around the village in the Banjarnegara regency of central Java, about 280 miles (450 km) from the capital, Jakarta.
Large swathes of forest land, power lines and houses were buried in the disaster which struck on Friday night.
"There was a roaring sound like thunder," Imam, who lives in a neighbouring village, told television crews. "Then I saw trees were flying and then the landslides. People here also panicked and fled."
Rescuers work to remove bodies from the scene of the landslide
A second resident said there had been no warnings of the likelihood of a landslide.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said 17 people had been killed, 15 rescued, 91 were missing and 423 people from the surrounding areas had been taken to temporary shelters.
Eleven of the 15 rescued were receiving hospital treatment, he said.
"Jemblung village was the most affected," Mr Nugroho said. "The challenge is that the evacuation route is also damaged by the landslide."
A government agency official added that the rescue effort had been suspended as light faded and would resume on Sunday.
A trapped cow is rescued from the mud.
Local reports said five of the dead were found in one car. Rescuers were pictured using bamboo stretchers to carry bodies away.
A rescue team of about 400 people, which included police, military and local volunteers, used their bare hands and makeshift tools to search for people and clear the area.
A lack of a telephone signal and heavy-lifting equipment had hampered the rescue effort along with crowds of onlookers, Mr Nugroho added.
Jemblung had a history of similar disasters, he added.
Mudslides are common in Indonesia during the monsoon season, which usually runs from October until April.
Two US soldiers were killed by Taliban forces in Afghanistan on Friday, an American military official said.
They died during a bomb attack on a Nato convoy near America's Bagram Airfield base in the east of the country.
Meanwhile, at least six Afghan troops were killed after a suicide bomber destroyed a bus in the capital Kabul on Saturday.
A senior court official was also assassinated and 12 Afghan workers were gunned down in the south.
Taliban fighters claimed responsibility for all the attacks and vowed more bloodshed ahead of the official end of Nato's combat mission on December 31.
The scene of the bus bombing in Kabul
It has wrecked claims the insurgency is weakening and highlighted fears Afghanistan could descend into a spiral of violence as the US-led military presence declines.
Nato's force will change at the end of the month from a combat mission to a support role, with troop numbers cut to about 12,500 - down from a peak of 130,000 in 2010.
Earlier on Saturday, Taliban gunmen shot dead a senior Supreme Court official as he left his home in the capital.
Taliban fighters also killed 12 workers clearing mines in southern Helmand province.
Soldiers at the site of the suicide bomb attack
"Taliban gunmen suddenly attacked the deminers with machinegun fire and rockets as they were busy clearing a minefield," said Omar Zwak, a spokesman for the Helmand provincial government.
Afghan troops fought with the attackers, killing two insurgents and capturing four others.
Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 06 Desember 2014 | 23.17
A legal challenge by players who say staging the Women's World Cup on artificial grass is discriminatory threatens to overshadow the draw for the tournament's group stage this evening.
FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke has described the claim as "a nonsense" as the teams competing in Canada 2015 await their fate.
The lawsuit against FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association has been filed by players, including American star forward Abby Wambach.
It cites gender discrimination - pointing out that every men's World Cup has been played on grass.
Mr Valcke says FIFA is working hard to develop women's football
But speaking at a news conference in Ottawa, Mr Valcke said: "I'm amazed by the size, or the scale, of the discussion and where we are when it's about artificial pitches.
"Why? Because we have decided at FIFA - and it's part of our statutes and regulations - that artificial pitches can be used as natural grass to make sure we can play football everywhere around the world.
Video:US The Place For Women Footballers
"If anyone is saying the use of the artificial pitch is a question of discrimination, it's a nonsense.
"It's completely crazy to say that. It has nothing to do with discrimination."
Mr Valcke said FIFA was "working every day to develop women's football around the world" - but that artificial pitches were commonplace in Canada.
He added that tournament prize money would increase to $15m (£9.6m) - a 50% rise from the 2011 tournament.
The prize pot for the 2014 men's World Cup was $576m (£370m).
Video:Footballer Reveals American Dream
The lawsuit has been filed under Ontario's Human Rights Code.
FIFA has come under attack in recent months over the bidding process for the men's World Cups in 2018 and 2022, won by Russia and Qatar respectively.
Both countries, along with England, have been accused of breaking FIFA rules.
One of al Qaeda's senior operatives, who was charged in the US with plotting to bomb the New York and British underground rail systems, has been killed by Pakistani soldiers.
The military announced that Adnan Shukrijumah died along with two other suspected militants in the South Waziristan tribal area.
The region is part of the mountainous territory bordering Afghanistan that is home to various militant groups fighting both in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"The al Qaeda leader, who was killed by the Pakistan army in a successful operation, is the same person who had been indicted in the United States," said a senior Pakistani army officer.
As al Qaeda's head of external operations, the 39-year-old occupied a position once held by 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
The FBI lists Shukrijumah, a Saudi national, as a "most wanted" terrorist and the US State Department had offered a $5m reward for his capture.
Shukrijumah occupied a position once held by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
After the 11 September terror attacks, Shukrijumah was seen as one of al Qaeda's best chances to attack inside the US or Europe, captured terrorist Abu Zubaydah told US authorities.
Shukrijumah studied at a community college in Florida but when the FBI showed up to arrest him as a material witness to a terrorism case in 2003, he had already left the country.
Federal prosecutors in the US allege Shukrijumah recruited three men in 2008 to receive training in Pakistan for the subway system attack.
The New York indictment links him to the Manhattan plot and a similar never-executed scheme to attack the London Underground network.
Attorney General Eric Holder has called that plot one of the most dangerous since the terror attacks of 11 September, 2001.
The Pakistani military said that Shukrijumah had recently moved from the North Waziristan tribal area to South Waziristan to avoid a military operation the Pakistanis launched in June.
The military said he was hiding in a compound when he was killed but gave few other details about the raid. One Pakistani soldier was killed and another seriously wounded during the assault, the military said.
Pakistan's army spokesman, Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa, said on Twitter that five "terrorists" were also detained in the raid.
A New York City district attorney has announced he will convene a grand jury to consider charges against a rookie cop who fatally shot a black man.
The news came just hours before a memorial service for Akai Gurley, 28, who died on 20 November after he was shot once in the chest.
Probationary Officer Peter Liang's gun fired accidentally on the dimly lit stairwell of a housing project, police officials have said.
It is the latest case in a debate about policing, racial profiling and criminal justice, which has spawned a third night of nationwide protests.
Announcing the grand jury plan, Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson said in a statement: "It is important to get to the bottom of what happened."
Video:Protests Spread Across US
He added: "I pledge to conduct a full and fair investigation and to give the grand jury all of the information necessary to do its job."
The prosecutor, who is black, said there was no timeline for the jurors to be impanelled.
The New York Daily News reported on Friday that the officer involved texted his union representative as Mr Gurley lay dying.
After Officer Liang discharged the bullet that struck Mr Gurley, he and partner Shaun Landau did not respond to radio contact for more than six and a half minutes, according to the newspaper.
A neighbour phoned for the ambulance that took Mr Gurley to hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival, reports the Daily News.
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Gallery: Chokehold Protesters On March Across US
An NYPD policeman stands next to protesters on a second night of nationwide demonstrations over the death of a black man and the clearing of a white cop who restrained him in an alleged chokehold
A demonstrator restrains another as protesters clash with police in Times Square
The families of two young Britons murdered in Thailand say they are "confident" in the work being carried out to solve the "atrocious crimes".
Students David Miller, 24, from Jersey, and 23-year-old Hannah Witheridge, from Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, were found dead on a beach on the holiday island of Ko Tao in September.
Two Burmese bar workers are accused of the murders, but claim they were tortured by the Thai police to secure a confession.
The two Burmese suspects claim their confessions were made under torture
Amnesty International has called for an investigation into the allegations.
The families of Mr Miller and Ms Witheridge have issued statements thanking Metropolitan Police detectives for reviewing the case, and calling for the investigation to be allowed to take its course.
Video:Charges Over Thailand Beach Murders
Ms Witheridge's family said: "We would like to thank the officers who travelled to Thailand to review the case and the Royal Thai Police for facilitating their visit."
They added: "We would like to stress that as a family we are confident in the work that has been carried out into these atrocious crimes and want to remind both press and public that they do not have the full facts to report and make comment on at this stage.
"Our thoughts, as always, are with the Miller family. Together we stand united and focused on seeing a fair and transparent trial process to bring about justice for our beautiful children."
Video:Parents Visit Thai Murder Suspects
Mr Miller's family said: "We would like to express our relief that progress is being made in Thailand and this case is finally coming to court.
"We would like to reiterate our gratitude to the UK Metropolitan Police, who received the co-operation of the Royal Thai Police in undertaking an independent review into the investigation."
And while "support for the Myanmar suspects has been strong and vocal" they urged the public not to "jump to conclusions" and said the "suspects have a difficult case to answer".
Video:Oct 3: Thai Murder Suspects Paraded
They added: "The evidence against them appears to be powerful and convincing. They must respond to these charges, and their arguments must be considered with the same scrutiny as those of the prosecution.
"Please remember that this is above all a story of two wonderful young people, David and Hannah, killed in the prime of their lives in a senseless and brutal way."
Police in the US have begun an investigation into claims the comedian Bill Cosby molested a woman when she was 15 years old.
The investigation was opened after Judy Huth, who is suing Cosby for sexual battery, met Los Angeles police detectives for 90 minutes.
LAPD officer Jane Kim confirmed the department had opened its investigation after the meeting.
Ms Huth's civil suit claims Cosby forced her to perform a sex act on him in a bedroom of the Playboy Mansion in LA in 1974.
His lawyers have dismissed the claim as "patently false".
Video:Cosby's Star Daubed With 'Rapist'
Celebrity women's rights lawyer Gloria Allred said Ms Huth met two special victim unit detectives on Friday, three days after her lawsuit was filed.
"We are going to provide any and all evidence that she has," Ms Allred said.
Police did not give any additional details about the investigation.
Cosby's lawyer, Martin Singer, has accused Ms Huth and another lawyer of extortion and said she attempted to sell her story to a tabloid newspaper a decade earlier.
Mr Singer's filing states the other lawyer, Marc Strecker, first demanded $100,000 for Ms Huth to remain silent, then raised the demand to $250,000 as more women came forward accusing Cosby of sexual misconduct.
Cosby, 77, has been accused by more than 15 women in recent weeks of sexual misconduct, ranging from incidents of groping to incidents of drugging and raping.
Video:More Women Make Cosby Claims
He has never been charged with a crime, and his lawyers have denied many of the allegations, calling them discredited and defamatory.
On Thursday, Los Angeles police chief Charlie Beck said the force would be willing to investigate sexual abuse allegations against Cosby if someone files a complaint.
He said: "We don't turn people away because things are out of statute. You come to us, especially with a sexual allegation, and we will work with you.
"The remedies may be limited but it's important to recognise that in many cases going through the process for a victim is very therapeutic so we address these things seriously and it's not just because it's Mr Cosby."
Cosby has yet to respond himself to the allegations but has cancelled a number of public appearances in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, vandals have daubed the word "rapist" on the star dedicated to Cosby on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
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Gallery: A Profile Of Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby was born in Philadelphia in 1937, one of four children
He followed his father into the US Navy before securing an athletics scholarship to Temple University in Philadelphia
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Video:More Protests Over Police Behaviour
Protesters have rallied in US cities for a third night to denounce police treatment of black Americans.
The wave of largely peaceful demonstrations across the country including New York, New Jersey, Colorado and Florida, follow the decision by a grand jury not to indict a white policeman in the chokehold death of a black man, Eric Garner.
In one protest a group of more than 100 people stormed into a Manhattan Apple Store chanting slogans before staging a "die-in" as shoppers and employees looked on.
There was no looting or vandalism, and the group left, with no arrests, after about five minutes.
Nationally, tensions were already running high after a white policeman was cleared in the fatal shooting of the unarmed black 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
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Gallery: Protests After Chokehold Jury Decision
Protesters took to the streets in the US for a third night to voice their anger at police treatment of black Americans after a series of fatalities
The wave of largely peaceful demonstrations across the country, included one group storming the Apple store in Manhattan
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Protesters took to the streets after a grand jury decision not to charge a white policeman over the chokehold death of an unarmed black man
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Protesters blocked traffic in New York over the verdict
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Father-of-six Eric Garner, 43, died after he was restrained by police while being arrested on suspicion of selling untaxed cigarettes on Staten Island in July
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The latest fatal shooting of a black man, Akai Gurley, 28, by a rookie cop on a housing project stairwell in Brooklyn has only served to fuel public outrage, and stoke the debate about race, policing and the justice system.
A New York City prosecutor has said he would convene a grand jury to consider charges against the officer.
There have also been protests in Phoenix, Arizona, after a white police officer shot dead an unarmed black drug suspect during a scuffle.
Video:'Who's Going To Play Santa Claus?'
And in Ohio, the family of a 12-year-old boy who was carrying a pellet gun when he was shot dead by a police officer has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit.
Mr Garner, a father-of-six, died after he was restrained with an apparent chokehold while being arrested on suspicion of selling untaxed cigarettes on Staten Island in July.
A viral video shot by an onlooker showed the 43-year-old, who had asthma and a heart condition, repeatedly gasping "I can't breathe!". He later died in hospital.
Video:Mother Of Victim Of Police Shooting
President Barack Obama has also weighed into the debate, saying "too many Americans feel deep unfairness when it comes to the gap between our professed ideals and how laws are applied on a day to day basis".
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Third Night Of Protests Over Police Killings
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Video:More Protests Over Police Behaviour
Protesters have rallied in US cities for a third night to denounce police treatment of black Americans.
The wave of largely peaceful demonstrations across the country including New York, New Jersey, Colorado and Florida, follow the decision by a grand jury not to indict a white policeman in the chokehold death of a black man, Eric Garner.
In one protest a group of more than 100 people stormed into a Manhattan Apple Store chanting slogans before staging a "die-in" as shoppers and employees looked on.
There was no looting or vandalism, and the group left, with no arrests, after about five minutes.
Nationally, tensions were already running high after a white policeman was cleared in the fatal shooting of the unarmed black 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
1/14
Gallery: Protests After Chokehold Jury Decision
Protesters took to the streets in the US for a third night to voice their anger at police treatment of black Americans after a series of fatalities
The wave of largely peaceful demonstrations across the country, included one group storming the Apple store in Manhattan
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Protesters took to the streets after a grand jury decision not to charge a white policeman over the chokehold death of an unarmed black man
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Protesters blocked traffic in New York over the verdict
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Father-of-six Eric Garner, 43, died after he was restrained by police while being arrested on suspicion of selling untaxed cigarettes on Staten Island in July
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The latest fatal shooting of a black man, Akai Gurley, 28, by a rookie cop on a housing project stairwell in Brooklyn has only served to fuel public outrage, and stoke the debate about race, policing and the justice system.
A New York City prosecutor has said he would convene a grand jury to consider charges against the officer.
There have also been protests in Phoenix, Arizona, after a white police officer shot dead an unarmed black drug suspect during a scuffle.
Video:'Who's Going To Play Santa Claus?'
And in Ohio, the family of a 12-year-old boy who was carrying a pellet gun when he was shot dead by a police officer has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit.
Mr Garner, a father-of-six, died after he was restrained with an apparent chokehold while being arrested on suspicion of selling untaxed cigarettes on Staten Island in July.
A viral video shot by an onlooker showed the 43-year-old, who had asthma and a heart condition, repeatedly gasping "I can't breathe!". He later died in hospital.
Video:Mother Of Victim Of Police Shooting
President Barack Obama has also weighed into the debate, saying "too many Americans feel deep unfairness when it comes to the gap between our professed ideals and how laws are applied on a day to day basis".
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Hostages Killed By Captors During Rescue
Breaking News: Typhoon Hagupit Slams Into Philippines
A Swiss wildlife photographer captured by Islamist rebels in the Philippines over two years ago has escaped after killing his guard with a machete.
Members of the Abu Sayyaf group kidnapped Lorenzo Vinciguerra, 49, in the southern Philippines more than two years ago.
But Colonel Allan Arrojado, commander of the army's Joint Task Group on the island of Sulu, said he made a break for freedom during fighting between his captors and the Philippines military.
The Swiss man was wounded on his left cheek as he wrestled for the machete, finally getting hold of it and slashing the guard on the neck, Mr Arrojado said.
"He dashed while other bandits were shooting at him," he added.
Mr Vinciguerra was being held with Dutch national Elwold Horn, 52, and shouted at him to run but the Dutch man had been "very sick and very weak" and was unable to escape, Mr Arrojado said, adding there was no word on Mr Horn's whereabouts.
Tawi-Tawi is a province in the far south of the country
Speaking from a military hospital Mr Vinciguerra said he was happy that he would be able to spend Christmas with his family.
He added that he felt the extremists would treat Mr Horn well and urged the militants to surrender and start a new life.
Video:Hostage Recovers After Fleeing
"My final message to everybody: Put the gun down and come out from the forest," he told a reporter. "It's a nice life out here."
The military said five militants were killed and seven wounded in the firefight.
The two European wildlife photographers were captured in Tawi-Tawi province as they were sailing on a birdwatching trip in February 2012.
The Abu Sayyaf is holding several other foreign and Filipino hostages.
The military launched an offensive against the group in October after rebels released two German nationals they seized in April.
The Abu Sayyaf are the most notorious of several rebels factions in the Muslim south of the largely Christian Philippines.
US photojournalist Luke Somers and South Africa teacher Pierre Korkie have been killed during a rescue attempt by US and Yemeni forces.
The pair were murdered by their al Qaeda captors - 10 of whom were also killed - during the raid in the Shabwah region of Yemen, the US said.
There are reports the South African hostage was due to be released tomorrow - but President Barack Obama authorised the raid because information "indicated that Luke's life was in imminent danger".
"Based on this assessment, and as soon as there was reliable intelligence and an operational plan, I authorised a rescue attempt," Mr Obama said.
"I also authorised the rescue of any other hostages held in the same location as Luke."
Pierre Korkie was captured in Yemen in May 2013
Yemen's national security chief, Ali al-Ahmadi, said the militants planned to "execute" Mr Somers - who was born in Britain - on Saturday.
The death of Mr Korkie was confirmed by the disaster relief group Gift of the Givers.
Video:Sister's Appeal For Hostage Release
"The psychological and emotional devastation to [his wife] Yolande and her family will be compounded by the knowledge that Pierre was to be released by al Qaeda tomorrow," the organisation said.
"It is even more tragic that the words we used in a conversation with Yolande at 5.59 this morning was 'the wait is almost over'.
"Three days ago we told her Pierre will be home for Christmas."
Mr and Mrs Korkie were taken hostage by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in May 2013 - though Yolande was released at the start of this year.
Mr Somers, meanwhile, was captured in September last year.
Militants released a video on Wednesday threatening to kill him within three days if their demands were not met.
The 33-year-old appeared in the footage saying he feared for his life.
Following the rescue attempt US troops took Mr Somers to a naval ship but he was reportedly dead upon arrival.
His sister, Lucy Somers, has asked that "all of Luke's family members be allowed to mourn in peace".
Video:Ex-SAS Member On Hostage Recues
Ms Somers had posted a YouTube video pleading for her brother's release just hours before his death.
The raid was the second attempt to free Mr Somers.
Mr Obama condemned his murder as "barbaric".
"Luke was a photojournalist who sought through his images to convey the lives of Yemenis to the outside world," he said.
"The callous disregard for Luke's life is more proof of the depths of AQAP's depravity, and further reason why the world must never cease in seeking to defeat their evil ideology."
British Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond "utterly condemned" al Qaeda.
"Luke had close links with the UK and his family have spoken about Luke's life and his work, and that is how he should be remembered," he said.
"I salute the forces involved, who showed great courage in carrying out this mission. We continue to work with our international and Yemeni partners to counter the threat from al Qaeda and other terrorist groups."
News of the failed rescue comes after a suspected US drone strike killed nine alleged al Qaeda militants in Shabwah overnight.
A powerful typhoon has slammed into eastern Philippines, where 650,000 people have fled to safety.
Gusts of 130mph have been recorded alongside sustained winds of 109mph.
The typhoon made landfall on Saturday night in central Eastern Samar province - but the centre of the storm remains several hours away.
The winds, as well as pounding rain, has knocked out power lines and toppled trees in the town of Dolores.
The military is on full alert as the centre of the storm sweeps in
Senior Inspector Alex Robin said: "We are totally in the dark here. The only light comes from flashlights."
The Philippines' 120,000-strong military is on alert to respond to a possible catastrophe.
1/11
Gallery: Philippines Braces For Huge Typhoon
People take shelter inside a church after evacuating their homes due to super-typhoon Hagupit in Tacloban city, central Philippines
Ports are shut, leaving thousands of travelers stranded, and some local authorities ordered forced evacuations as super-typhoon Hagupit swept towards eastern coasts of the island nation
Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 08 November 2014 | 23.17
Young Woman's Berlin Wall Diary Revealed
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Video:Remembered: The Day The Wall Fell
Anke Domscheit Berg saw a world of opportunity open when the Berlin Wall fell. In these extracts from her diary 25 years ago, when she was 21, she describes the emotional celebrations that took place across the city.
9 November, 1989
Hours ago, the news came in - the border of the German Democratic Republic has been opened.
Unbelievable. Every hour, 3,500 people are leaving the country. The Democratic Awakening (a political group formed in October 1989) stood in front of the crossing point and tried to persuade people to stay. To so many people, everything is falling apart. There are resignations all the time; everything has been turned upside down.
To America in the summer? Can I pay for the ticket? Visiting France? The Mediterranean Sea, Holland, Tunisia, Luanda? How can I have a holiday, where can I find the money? I am longing for everywhere, only to return.
Anke.
Anke Domscheit Berg described the fall of the Berlin Wall as 'unfathomable'
13 November, 1989
My friend walks into the bathroom and beams. He asks: "What do you think about our victory?"
1/55
Gallery: 25 Years Since The Berlin Wall Fell
West Berlin policemen and East German Volkspolizei face each other across the border in Berlin, circa 1955
1961: Soldiers build the Berlin Wall, as instructed by the East German authorities, in order to strengthen the existing barriers dividing East and West Berlin
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Border guards on opposite sides of the wall, viewed from the western side
]]>
Families and friends, once neighbours, wave across to each other over the wall
]]>
I knew nothing. He is talking about wall depletion.
I run to the radio and hear it for myself, everyone can cross over as they like.
Unbelievable. I go with Gundi straight to the police and we had the visa within an hour.
Video:Sound And Vision: Berlin Wall Fall
Set off early on Saturday by car to the new crossing at Bernauerstrasse-Brunnenstrasse. Dad pushed his way through. We were standing for an hour, the queue was endless, it was moving forwards all the time. We only needed to raise up our ID. All around were broken walls, construction workers and border patrols. I beamed at one of them - even they are happy now, despite the stress.
Youths from West Berlin were sitting on the wall, clapping and waving. I had tears in my eyes. Everywhere West Berliners, laughing and waving, surrounded by innumerable camera crews. One woman handed out sweets, others red and white roses.
We arrived at midday. It was a frenzy, there were so many people. Even the buses are nicer.
Video:Sky Reports The Fall Of Berlin Wall
That evening, we ate at an Italian place. The food was heavenly. I thought I was going to burst, and I felt bad about the leftovers. Everyone had a bit of everything, and the pasta was the best. The waiters rushed and beamed. At one time we were moved to another table, it was so busy. Everything was unforgettable. Tonight, we want to celebrate.
Anke.
Video:Gorbachev's Interpreter On Wall
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Young Woman's Berlin Wall Diary Revealed
We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.
Video:Remembered: The Day The Wall Fell
Anke Domscheit Berg saw a world of opportunity open when the Berlin Wall fell. In these extracts from her diary 25 years ago, when she was 21, she describes the emotional celebrations that took place across the city.
9 November, 1989
Hours ago, the news came in - the border of the German Democratic Republic has been opened.
Unbelievable. Every hour, 3,500 people are leaving the country. The Democratic Awakening (a political group formed in October 1989) stood in front of the crossing point and tried to persuade people to stay. To so many people, everything is falling apart. There are resignations all the time; everything has been turned upside down.
To America in the summer? Can I pay for the ticket? Visiting France? The Mediterranean Sea, Holland, Tunisia, Luanda? How can I have a holiday, where can I find the money? I am longing for everywhere, only to return.
Anke.
Anke Domscheit Berg described the fall of the Berlin Wall as 'unfathomable'
13 November, 1989
My friend walks into the bathroom and beams. He asks: "What do you think about our victory?"
1/55
Gallery: 25 Years Since The Berlin Wall Fell
West Berlin policemen and East German Volkspolizei face each other across the border in Berlin, circa 1955
1961: Soldiers build the Berlin Wall, as instructed by the East German authorities, in order to strengthen the existing barriers dividing East and West Berlin
]]>
Border guards on opposite sides of the wall, viewed from the western side
]]>
Families and friends, once neighbours, wave across to each other over the wall
]]>
I knew nothing. He is talking about wall depletion.
I run to the radio and hear it for myself, everyone can cross over as they like.
Unbelievable. I go with Gundi straight to the police and we had the visa within an hour.
Video:Sound And Vision: Berlin Wall Fall
Set off early on Saturday by car to the new crossing at Bernauerstrasse-Brunnenstrasse. Dad pushed his way through. We were standing for an hour, the queue was endless, it was moving forwards all the time. We only needed to raise up our ID. All around were broken walls, construction workers and border patrols. I beamed at one of them - even they are happy now, despite the stress.
Youths from West Berlin were sitting on the wall, clapping and waving. I had tears in my eyes. Everywhere West Berliners, laughing and waving, surrounded by innumerable camera crews. One woman handed out sweets, others red and white roses.
We arrived at midday. It was a frenzy, there were so many people. Even the buses are nicer.
Video:Sky Reports The Fall Of Berlin Wall
That evening, we ate at an Italian place. The food was heavenly. I thought I was going to burst, and I felt bad about the leftovers. Everyone had a bit of everything, and the pasta was the best. The waiters rushed and beamed. At one time we were moved to another table, it was so busy. Everything was unforgettable. Tonight, we want to celebrate.
We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.
Video:Mexico Murders Reconstruction
Three suspected gang members have confessed to murdering 43 missing students at a landfill site before burning them beyond recognition and dumping them in a river, Mexican authorities have said.
In a sombre and lengthy news conference detailing the investigation, Attorney General Jesus Murillo said the suspects, caught a week ago, set about removing all the evidence.
"They didn't just burn the bodies with their clothes, they also burned the clothes of those who participated. They tried to erase every possible trace."
Video of the suspects' alleged confessions and footage showing hundreds of charred fragments of bone and teeth fished from the river where the bodies were dumped was played during the news conference.
Photos of the suspects were shown on a TV screen during the news conference
Mr Murillo said it would be very difficult to extract DNA to confirm that they are the remains of the students who went missing six weeks ago after clashing with police in Iguala in the southern state of Guerrero.
The government would continue to view the students as missing until their identities are confirmed, he added.
1/13
Gallery: Public Anger Continues Over Lack Of News On Students' Fate
Protests have continued over the fate of 43 missing students despite the news three suspects claim to have killed them on behalf of a drug gang
The students, from a teaching college, went missing after a protest in Guerrero state
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"I know the enormous pain the information we've obtained causes the family members, a pain we all share," Mr Murillo said.
Testimony from investigators suggests that the students, from an all-male leftist college, had clashed with the mayor of Iguala and that the city police had handed them over to a local drugs gang who murdered them.
This week, police arrested the former mayor and his wife, who the government suspects of being the probable masterminds of the abductions.
The kidnappings triggered mass protests across the country and have been the toughest challenge yet to President Enrique Pena Nieto, who vowed to restore order in Mexico after taking office two years ago.
Video:Mexicans March For Missing Students
Since 2007 around 100,000 people have died in violence linked to organised crime.
President Nieto said the findings had "shocked and offended" Mexico and pledged to round up everyone involved.
"The investigations will be carried out to the full, all those responsible will be punished under the law," he said.
Dozens of police are among 74 people held in the case.
1/15
Gallery: Protest Blaze Over Mexico Massacre
A firefighter uses a hose to put out a blaze in Chilpancingo City Hall after it was set on fire by demonstrators, in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero
The demonstrators are demanding the government find 43 college students, missing since last month's deadly clashes
]]>
The case has forced Mr Nieto to cut short a planned visit to China next week.
Angry relatives of the missing students accused the government of announcing the suspects' confession to clear the path for the president to leave for his trip.
"Pena Nieto should think hard about his trip," said Felipe de la Cruz, father of one of the missing students.
"As long as there is no proof, our children are alive."
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'Gang Massacred' Missing Mexico Students
We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.
Video:Mexico Murders Reconstruction
Three suspected gang members have confessed to murdering 43 missing students at a landfill site before burning them beyond recognition and dumping them in a river, Mexican authorities have said.
In a sombre and lengthy news conference detailing the investigation, Attorney General Jesus Murillo said the suspects, caught a week ago, set about removing all the evidence.
"They didn't just burn the bodies with their clothes, they also burned the clothes of those who participated. They tried to erase every possible trace."
Video of the suspects' alleged confessions and footage showing hundreds of charred fragments of bone and teeth fished from the river where the bodies were dumped was played during the news conference.
Photos of the suspects were shown on a TV screen during the news conference
Mr Murillo said it would be very difficult to extract DNA to confirm that they are the remains of the students who went missing six weeks ago after clashing with police in Iguala in the southern state of Guerrero.
The government would continue to view the students as missing until their identities are confirmed, he added.
1/13
Gallery: Public Anger Continues Over Lack Of News On Students' Fate
Protests have continued over the fate of 43 missing students despite the news three suspects claim to have killed them on behalf of a drug gang
The students, from a teaching college, went missing after a protest in Guerrero state
]]>
]]>
]]>
"I know the enormous pain the information we've obtained causes the family members, a pain we all share," Mr Murillo said.
Testimony from investigators suggests that the students, from an all-male leftist college, had clashed with the mayor of Iguala and that the city police had handed them over to a local drugs gang who murdered them.
This week, police arrested the former mayor and his wife, who the government suspects of being the probable masterminds of the abductions.
The kidnappings triggered mass protests across the country and have been the toughest challenge yet to President Enrique Pena Nieto, who vowed to restore order in Mexico after taking office two years ago.
Video:Mexicans March For Missing Students
Since 2007 around 100,000 people have died in violence linked to organised crime.
President Nieto said the findings had "shocked and offended" Mexico and pledged to round up everyone involved.
"The investigations will be carried out to the full, all those responsible will be punished under the law," he said.
Dozens of police are among 74 people held in the case.
1/15
Gallery: Protest Blaze Over Mexico Massacre
A firefighter uses a hose to put out a blaze in Chilpancingo City Hall after it was set on fire by demonstrators, in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero
The demonstrators are demanding the government find 43 college students, missing since last month's deadly clashes
]]>
The case has forced Mr Nieto to cut short a planned visit to China next week.
Angry relatives of the missing students accused the government of announcing the suspects' confession to clear the path for the president to leave for his trip.
"Pena Nieto should think hard about his trip," said Felipe de la Cruz, father of one of the missing students.
"As long as there is no proof, our children are alive."
