Gunmen kill nine tourists in Kashmir
By Anonymous on Jun 23, 2013 03:36 am 23 June 2013 Last updated at 00:15 ET 
Gunmen have killed at least 10 foreign tourists after storming a hotel in northern Pakistan, reports say.
The attack happened in the Gilgit district, local media report citing police.
It is not yet clear where the tourists are from or what the reason for the attack could have been.
Pakistan's Geo News quoted a local official as saying the area had been sealed off and police were hunting for the killers.
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UK economy 'leaving intensive care'
By Anonymous on Jun 22, 2013 08:13 pm 22 June 2013 Last updated at 20:13 ET 
The chancellor will use fines on errant bankers to benefit military families
The UK economy is "leaving intensive care", Chancellor George Osborne will say as he unveils his spending plans for 2015-16.
Mr Osborne will outline £11.5bn of Whitehall cuts when he delivers his spending review on Wednesday.
But Mr Osborne will announce investment in infrastructure projects, including roads, railways, education and science.
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has said the government should do more to boost the economy to avoid the need to make cuts.
'Rescue to recovery' Mr Osborne will announce an infrastructure plan to "power Britain back into the economic premier league".
The chancellor is expected to tell MPs: "Britain is moving from rescue to recovery. But while the British economy is leaving intensive care; now we need to secure that recovery.
"Full recovery won't be easy, but I won't let up in my determination to put right what went so badly wrong.
"We are already making progress; the economy is growing, more than a million new jobs have been created by British businesses and the amount the government has to borrow each year - the deficit - is down by one third.
"But there's more we have to do - it's time for the next stage of our economic plan."
Scale of cuts And he will launch an attack on the opposition, saying: "Three years ago Labour tried to scare the country about the pain to come if any government actually dared to cut spending and borrowing. But their predictions haven't come true."
Mr Osborne will use fines from the Libor bank interest rate-fixing scandal to benefit war veterans and their families.
The chancellor is still in negotiations with some government departments over the scale of cuts required.
Labour leader Ed Miliband has announced that he would not be able afford to reverse Mr Osborne's cuts should his party come to power at the next election in 2015.
Writing in the Sunday Mirror, Mr Balls said: "Instead of planning more cuts two years ahead, they should use this week's spending review to boost growth and living standards this year and next year.
"More growth now would bring in more tax revenues and mean our public services would not face such deep cuts in 2015."
Read in browser » US seeks Snowden's HK extradition
By Anonymous on Jun 22, 2013 11:27 pm 22 June 2013 Last updated at 15:54 ET 
Edward Snowden fled to Hong Kong before the scandal broke
The White House has contacted Hong Kong for the extradition of US intelligence fugitive Edward Snowden, who leaked details of secret surveillance.
The Obama administration confirmed to the BBC that it had asked for his transfer under an agreement between the US and the Chinese territory.
A senior administration official was quoted as saying failure to act soon could "complicate relations".
In May, Mr Snowden fled to Hong Kong after leaking details of the operation.
The US justice department has filed criminal charges against the former National Security Agency (NSA) analyst, including espionage and theft of government property.
His leaks revealed that US agencies had systematically gathered vast amounts of phone and web data.
Continue reading the main story Who is Edward Snowden?
- Age 30, grew up in North Carolina
- Joined army reserves in 2004, discharged four months later, says the Guardian
- First job at National Security Agency was as security guard
- Worked on IT security at the CIA
- Left CIA in 2009 for contract work at NSA for various firms including Booz Allen
- Called himself Verax, Latin for "speaking the truth", in exchanges with the Washington Post
The criminal complaint was lodged with a federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia, court documents show, and a provisional arrest warrant had been issued, officials said.
On Saturday, the senior US administration official said: "If Hong Kong doesn't act soon, it will complicate our bilateral relations and raise questions about Hong Kong's commitment to the rule of law."
Beijing influence Mr Snowden left a hotel in Hong Kong on 10 June after allowing newspapers to name him as the source of the leaks. His current whereabouts are unknown.
Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of China, signed an extradition treaty with the US in 1998.
It has a separate legal system from the Chinese mainland, and Mr Snowden's right of appeal could drag out any future extradition proceedings for several years.
Some Hong Kong politicians have voiced support for Mr Snowden.
Left-wing MP Leung Kwok-hung said Beijing should tell the authorities to protect him from extradition, and the people of the territory should "take to the streets" to shelter him.
The BBC's Juliana Liu in Hong Kong says Beijing is highly unlikely to interfere in the early stages of what could be a long legal battle.
The leaks have led to revelations that the US is systematically seizing vast amounts of phone and web data under an NSA programme known as Prism.
Mr Snowden also alleged that US intelligence had been hacking into Chinese computer networks.
He said he had decided to speak out after observing "a continuing litany of lies" from senior officials to Congress.
US officials have since defended the practice of gathering telephone and internet data from private users around the world.
They say Prism cannot be used to intentionally target any Americans or anyone in the US, and that it is supervised by judges.
'Treasonous act' Mr Snowden is charged with theft of government property, unauthorised communication of national defence information and wilful communication of classified communications intelligence.
Each of the charges carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence. The complaint is dated 14 June although it was made public only on Friday.
In the US, the charges were welcomed by Democratic Senator Bill Nelson, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"I've always thought this was a treasonous act,'' he said in a statement. "I hope Hong Kong's government will take him into custody and extradite him to the US."
Julian Assange, founder of the Wikileaks organisation, issued a statement supporting Mr Snowden.
"The US government is spying on each and every one of us, but it is Edward Snowden who is charged with espionage for tipping us off," said Mr Assange, who has been living in Ecuador's London embassy for the past year, fighting extradition to Sweden for questioning on alleged sex offences.
Read in browser » Brazil clashes despite Rousseff plea
By Anonymous on Jun 22, 2013 08:17 pm 22 June 2013 Last updated at 20:17 ET 
Clashes began with pockets of protesters trying to break through a police perimeter
New clashes have taken place in Brazil despite President Dilma Rousseff's attempt to respond to protesters' demands and halt the violence.
Trouble was reported in Belo Horizonte and Salvador, the two cities hosting Confederations Cup matches on Saturday.
Largely peaceful protests continued in dozens of Brazilian cities on Saturday, including Sao Paulo.
President Rousseff announced several reforms on Friday as she tried to bring an end to days of demonstrations.
The demonstrations began over transport fare rises in Sao Paulo, but quickly grew into nationwide rallies encompassing a raft of issues, from corruption and the poor quality of public services to the cost of hosting the current Confederations Cup and next year's Fifa World Cup.
Rubber bullets A crowd gathered in the centre of Belo Horizonte on Saturday and marched towards the Mineirao stadium, where Mexico were playing Japan in the Confederations Cup, the eight-team football tournament seen as a curtain-raiser for next year's main event.
Police put the number of protesters at more than 60,000 people.
The clashes began when a group tried to break through a perimeter set by the police and the National Guard around the stadium. Riot police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.
The trouble escalated after dark when car dealers had windows broken, some shops were looted and protesters set fire to a car and several other objects on the streets.
Authorities sent in mounted police officers and fired more tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Thousands of fans had to wait to leave the stadium because of the clashes, local reports said.
Clashes were also reported in Salvador, the north-eastern city hosting Brazil's Confederations Cup match against Italy.
In Sao Paulo, tens of thousands of people joined a march blocking one of the city's most important roads, Avenida Paulista, in a protest against a proposed change to the law.
The change could limit the powers of the Federal Attorney's office to investigate corruption and abuse of power cases, critics say.
It was federal prosecutors who were behind Brazil's biggest-ever corruption case into an illegal scheme that used public funds to pay coalition parties for political support.
Several smaller demonstrations also took place elsewhere.
One of the biggest was in the southern city of Santa Maria where some 30,000 people took to the streets. Amongst the issues angering demonstrators there was the slow pace of a trial of those accused over a nightclub fire that killed 242 people in January.
Oil money Another mass demonstration is expected in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. The BBC's correspondent there, Alastair Leithead, says people appear determined that the protests will go on despite the president's televised address.
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Dilma Rousseff spoke on national television
President Dilma Rousseff said on Friday she wanted to talk to those organising the rallies in the hope of tackling their grievances.
She said she would draft a new plan to benefit public transport and that all oil royalties would be used in education.
She also said that thousands of doctors would be drafted in from overseas to improve the national health service.
She had earlier held an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the protests.
On Thursday night more than a million people took to the streets and there was violence in various cities in which dozens were injured and two people died.
One of the biggest source of grievance is the Confederations Cup currently taking place in a number of Brazilian cities and the 2014 World Cup that follows it.
Demonstrators have expressed their anger at steep ticket prices and the money spent on both tournaments, as well as the 2016 Olympic Games, which Rio de Janeiro is hosting.
Football's world governing body, Fifa, has strongly rejected Brazilian media speculation that the remainder of the Confederations Cup could be cancelled.
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Read in browser » India flood toll 'could reach 1,000'
By Anonymous on Jun 22, 2013 11:48 pm 22 June 2013 Last updated at 23:48 ET 
Indian troops are helping to rescue people trapped by the floods
The death toll in flash floods and landslides in northern India could climb to 1,000, officials have warned.
More than 600 people are confirmed dead with more than 40,000 still said to be stranded in the mountains of Uttarakhand state.
Survivors are being airlifted from the worst-hit areas and special trains are also carrying people to safety.
Search and rescue efforts have been stepped up as more downpours are expected.
Early monsoon rains in India this year are believed to be the heaviest in 60 years.
Vijay Bahuguna, chief minister of Uttarakhand state, told the BBC he feared at least 1,000 people had died.
He has also denied a claim by Indian Home Minister Sushil Shinde that the rescue effort had lacked co-ordination.
Meanwhile, officials said that the severely damaged Hindu temple town of Kedarnath had now been cleared of survivors and teams were searching for the bodies of victims.
The BBC's Nitin Srivastava in the city of Rishikesh says the biggest problem for rescue workers is the difficult mountainous terrain and the continuing poor weather.
Tourists and pilgrims were among those caught up in the floods, which washed away homes, roads and bridges.
Many of those affected by the floods are accusing the government of neglect. Friends and relatives of those still missing have been protesting outside government offices, our correspondent adds.
One woman who was rescued by army helicopter said she had walked at least 25km (15 miles) trying to escape the floods.
"The army was fabulous, they helped us so much. They even carried people across in their arms and they are helping us out till now, but the government did not do anything to mitigate our problems," said Malika Devi, quoted by Reuters.
Government officials say more than 33,000 people have already been rescued from the worst-hit areas over recent days.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the situation as "distressing" and announced a 10bn rupee ($170m; £127m) aid package for Uttarakhand.
Many survivors have been evacuated to the state capital Dehradun, where relatives of those still missing are awaiting news.
Dehradun is also the base for the relief effort, from where rescue workers, medicines and food are being flown to the affected areas.
The rainy season generally lasts from June to September, bringing rain which is critical to farming.
Read in browser » Alberta braced for fresh flooding
By Anonymous on Jun 22, 2013 09:39 pm 22 June 2013 Last updated at 21:39 ET 
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The site of the Calgary Stampede, due to take place in 2 weeks, is badly hit
More communities in the Canadian province of Alberta have been placed on flood alert as high water levels move downstream from the city of Calgary.
About 10,000 residents in low-lying areas of the city of Medicine Hat have been ordered to leave their homes.
In Calgary, river levels have receded but the city remains under a state of emergency.
The floods, triggered by torrential rain, have killed at least three people and displaced more than 100,000 others.
Calgary's emergency management agency chief Bruce Burrell said on Saturday they were seeing improvements in the city's two rivers - the Bow and Elbow.
The news prompted Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi to Tweet: "It's morning in Calgary! Sunny, water levels are down, and our spirit remains strong. We're not out of this, but maybe have turned corner."
However, he later warned that a state of emergency was still in effect.
More than 20 neighbourhoods in Calgary have been evacuated with an estimated 75,000 residents ordered from their homes.
Large areas of Calgary are still under water
The town of High River, south-west of Calgary, has been one of the hardest-hit areas and remained under an evacuation order. Police said they had recovered three bodies in the area.
Alberta Premier Alison Redford Tweeted: "A very emotional day so far. The destruction in High River is indescribable. The town is resilient and we will rebuild."
She also warned on Saturday that towns and cities downstream of Calgary had not yet felt the full force of the floodwaters.
The focus of the emergency is now shifting to the southeast, Canadian broadcaster CBC reported, towards the cities of Lethbridge and Medicine Hat.
In Medicine Hat, the South Saskatchewan River is not expected to peak until Monday and many residents are being evacuated to a local college, CBC said, citing officials.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who is from Calgary, said he never imagined the city could suffer a flood of such magnitude.
"This is incredible. I've seen a little bit of flooding in Calgary before. I don't think any of us have seen anything like this before. The magnitude is just extraordinary," he said.
The floods come after torrential rain swept Alberta, capped by a 4in (10cm) downpour on Thursday.
The deluge washed away roads and bridges, cut power lines and submerged hundreds of homes.
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