South African police shoot dead striking miners
More than 30 people killed at Lonmin platinum mine where strike over pay has escalated into alleged turf war between unions
Police have been accused of a massacre after opening fire on mine workers in one of the deadliest days of protest in South Africa since the end of apartheid.
In scenes that evoked memories of some of the country's darkest days, national television showed pictures of police in helmets and body armour shooting at workers on Thursday amid shouting, panic and clouds of dust at Lonmin's Marikana platinum mine. After three minutes of gunfire, bodies littered the ground in pools of blood. The South African police ministry said more than 30 striking miners had been killed.
Dad's accused of boiling people alive – but Googoosha just wants to be a star
Aspiring pop singer revealed as daughter of brutal Uzbek dictator with links to regime
She is described as an "exotic Uzbek beauty" in the posters adorned with her face that have sprung up across US cities, and the biography on her website describes the aspiring pop star Googoosha as a "poet and mezzo-soprano". She even placed a cover advert on a leading US music magazine to promote her recent dance single, "Round Run".
But there is one thing that all the publicity for Googoosha, usually pictured with layers of make-up and lips suggestively parted, fails to mention: her real name is Gulnara Karimova, and she is the daughter of one of the world's most brutal dictators, Uzbekistan's Islam Karimov.
Pussy Riot hooliganism verdict due in Russia
A verdict in the trial of three members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot is due shortly.
17 August 2012 Last updated at 11:06 GMT
The three women are charged with hooliganism after performing a protest song in Moscow's Christ the Saviour cathedral in February.
They say their "punk prayer" was a political act in protest against the Russian Orthodox Church leader's support of President Vladimir Putin.
Prosecutors have asked for them to be given three years in prison.
Judge Marina Syrova will begin reading the ruling at 15:00 local time (11:00 GMT), in what is expected to be a lengthy process.
Supporters of the women are planning to stage protests in dozens of cities around the world.
A Saudi overture to Iran
By M K Bhadrakumar
The narrative could not have been simpler - Saudi Arabia has taken its cold war with Iran, which is being fought on the beaches, in the air and in the hills of the Middle East, to the great arena of the Muslim ummah. And Iran has badly lost in the tournament.
However, the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Mecca this week had a subtle subtext, and anyone who knows Muslim politics would sense that on such occasions the subtexts are invariably more significant than the manifest narrative.
The narrative itself is that Syria has been banished from the Sunni world and Iran could do nothing to stop it from happening. It is posted all over the Western media.
However, the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Mecca this week had a subtle subtext, and anyone who knows Muslim politics would sense that on such occasions the subtexts are invariably more significant than the manifest narrative.
The narrative itself is that Syria has been banished from the Sunni world and Iran could do nothing to stop it from happening. It is posted all over the Western media.
Syria has 'chosen the path of war', says U.N.
Without a peace to monitor, U.N. peacekeepers will leave Syria by August 24. Diplomats will meet at the United Nations in New York on Friday to discuss next steps.
Two weeks after former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan quit as mediator in frustration with the failure of a four-month-old truce, military observers have no peace on the ground to monitor and U.N. officials said on Thursday the last of the few dozen remaining team members would quit Damascus by Aug. 24.
"It is clear that both sides have chosen the path of war, open conflict, and the space for political dialogue and cessation of hostilities and mediation is very, very reduced at this point," said deputy U.N. peacekeeping chief Edmond Mulet.
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