Six In The Morning

China sentences former police chief for hiding murder by Bo Xilai’s wife


By Keith B. Richburg, Monday, September 24, 12:0
Wang Lijun, a flashy former police chief who helped derail the career of one of China’s most prominent Communist Party figures, was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison on charges including covering up a murder and then attempting to defect to the United States. The defection charge alone could have brought Wang a death penalty. But prosecutors asked for a more lenient sentence, saying Wang cooperated with investigators in exposing how Gu Kailai, the wife of Chongqing Party boss Bo Xilai, poisoned British businessman Neil Heywood in November. The swift trial and sentence suggested China’s Communist rulers are eager to move beyond the high-level scandal in time to hold a Party Congress to usher in China’s most wide-ranging leadership change in a decade.

CNN slammed for report on ambassador’s diary
US TV network reported on diary of Christopher Stevens days after he was killed at the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Last Modified: 24 Sep 2012 07:48
A US government spokesperson sharply criticized CNN, saying the network had reported on the diary of ambassador Christopher Stevens after his death at the US consulate in Libya despite the objections of his family. State Department spokesperson Philippe Reines said on Saturday that CNN took Stevens' personal journal from the site where he and three other Americans were killed in an armed attack in Benghazi on September 11 and used it in reporting on the story despite the express wishes of his family members. "Whose first instinct is to remove from a crime scene the diary of a man killed along with three other Americans serving our country, read it, transcribe it, email it around your newsroom for others to read, and only when their curiosity is fully satisfied thinks to call the family or notify the authorities?" Reines said in a statement.

Foxconn closes China factory after brawl
Reports suggest as many as 2,000 workers involved in fight in dormitory at Taiyuan plant, which makes Apple's iPhone 5

Charles Arthur and agencies guardian.co.uk, Monday 24 September 2012 07.46 BST
A brawl involving as many as 2,000 workers forced Foxconn to close its Taiyuan plant in northern China late on Sunday, and left a number of people needing hospital treatment. "The fight is over now … we're still investigating the cause of the fight and the number of workers involved," said Foxconn spokesman Louis Woo, adding it was possible it involved "a couple of thousand workers". A police statement reported by the official Xinhua news agency said 5,000 officers were dispatched to the scene.

Marseille: Europe's most dangerous place to be young
Away from its glamorous tourist centre, 15 men have died this year as the city's drug war spirals out of control. John Lichfield reports

Monday 24 September 2012
To understand Marseille catch a bus – bus number 30 from the Bougainville metro station. The route starts at the northern terminus of the metro system, five kilometres from the city centre. It winds past motorways, factories, unofficial rubbish tips and a 10th-century monastery. France's second city sprawls for another 10 kilometres over ridge after ridge of limestone hills. Each is crowned by a white citadel gleaming in the Mediterranean sunshine which, as the bus approaches, turns into a group of shabby tower blocks.

Hopes mount for deal as Sudan, South Sudan leaders meet
In Summary Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and his Southern counterpart Salva Kiir meet to kickstart face-to-face talks, following efforts by rival delegations to bring negotiating positions closer Key issues include the ownership of contested regions along their frontier -- especially the flashpoint Abyei region -- and the setting up of a demilitarised border zone after bloody clashes It was hoped the summit would settle the details of last month's deal to fix the oil export fees that landlocked Juba will pay to ship crude through Khartoum's pipelines to the Red Sea

By AFP Posted Monday, September 24 2012 at 05:38
The leaders of Sudan and South Sudan met late Sunday as international pressure grew to end long-running disputes that have brought the former civil war foes to the brink of renewed conflict. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and his Southern counterpart Salva Kiir met for almost two hours to kickstart face-to-face talks, following efforts by rival delegations to bring negotiating positions closer. The drawn-out talks in the Ethiopian capital began several months before South Sudan split in July 2011 from what was Africa's biggest nation, following a landslide independence vote after decades of war.

Ireland's gaelic football final: playing for glory, but not a paycheck
On Sunday, Ireland's attention will be focused on the final match of its most popular sport, gaelic football. But not one of the men on the field will earn wages for playing – it's all amateur.

By Jason Walsh, Correspondent
Tomorrow, 80,000 people will pile into a sports stadium in Dublin to watch the annual culmination of the national football league. But regardless of which team wins, one thing is certain: Neither will get paid. Despite being Ireland's most popular sport, gaelic football remains a completely amateur affair. So when County Donegal plays County Mayo in the annual All-Ireland Football Championship on September 23 at Dublin's Croke Park, it will be purely for glory and the Sam Maguire Cup. Gaelic football's amateur status is the lifeblood of the sport and – according to its organizing body, the Gaelic Athletic Association – the country.