13 August 2013 Last updated at 07:49 GMT
Xinjiang violence: Two sentenced to death in China
Two men have been sentenced to death and three more jailed over a clash in China's far-west Xinjiang region that left 21 people dead.
The incident happened on 23 April in a town in Kashgar prefecture. Fifteen officials or security personnel were among those killed.
China said it was a planned attack by a "violent terrorist group".
But other accounts dispute this, attributing the confrontation to ethnic tensions in the restive region.
Xinjiang is home to the Muslim Uighur minority, who make up about 45% of the region's population but say an influx of Han Chinese residents has marginalised their traditional culture.
WikiLeaks hopes to turn international interest into extra backing
Julian Assange's political party looks at creating 'supporter class' membership for people outside Australia
Julian Assange's WikiLeaks party is investigating ways to harness international backers and mobilise support in the lead-up to the Australian election.
The party is running seven candidates in the election, including Assange, who remains in the Ecuadorean embassy in London.
A spokeswoman, Sam Castro, said while the party's key obligation was to its Australian members, it was looking at creating a "supporter class" for people outside Australia.
"Australian people don't realise how much interest there is in this election," she said.
Muslim leader denounces 'Islamophobic' France as air force sergeant accused of planning mosque attack
23-year-old arrested over plot, as violent incidents rise
A Muslim religious leader has denounced France’s “climate of Islamophobia” after an air force sergeant with alleged links to the extreme right was placed under investigation for attempting to carry out a terrorist attack against a mosque near Lyon.
The 23-year-old, who was arrested at a military base last week, has been placed under investigation on charges including possessing a weapon with terrorist intent.
Islamophobic attacks have risen by between 35 and 50 per cent in France this year according to data from Muslim associations. The country is home to five million Muslims.
Malaysia mulls return of detention without trial amid crimewave
August 13, 2013 - 12:24PM
Manirajan Ramasamy
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Malaysia may restore its ability to detain people without trial following a wave of violent gun crime, two years after the practice was abolished to prevent political abuses, Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says.
The government may designate a panel of police officers, judges and lawyers to determine who gets detained rather than leave the decision to the home minister as in the past, Mr Hamidi told the Mingguan Malaysia newspaper Sunday. The interview was posted on Mr Hamidi's web site and the remarks were confirmed by a spokesman who was not authorised to be named.
The decision would be aimed at fulfilling Prime Minister Najib Razak's vow to introduce new legislation to tackle the surge in crime, which included the July 29 slaying of AMMB Holdings Bhd. founder Hussain Ahmad Najadi. Mr Hamidi said the decision in 2011 to abolish Malaysia's 1969 Emergency Ordinance, which led to the release of 2600 people from detention, was partly to blame for the crime wave.
Mali elections: Keita is 'well ahead' of Cissé
Sources say Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has surged ahead of Soumaila Cissé after two thirds of votes in Mali's second round of elections were counted.
Former Malian finance minister Soumaila Cissé on Monday conceded defeat against ex-prime minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in Mali's presidential election.
"I went to see him to congratulate him and wish him good luck for Mali," Cissé told Agence France-Presse (AFP) before official results were announced.
Electoral and security sources earlier said Keita had pushed ahead with two thirds of votes counted after Sunday's second round of the election.
Mali's government has until Friday to make public the result of the run-off, called after none of the 27 candidates secured an outright majority in the first round, held July 28.
North Korea's Kim Jong Un praises country's new smartphone
August 13, 2013 -- Updated 0753 GMT (1553 HKT)
North Korea has begun producing its own smartphones, the country's state-run news agency KCNA has reported, even though most residents' access to the Internet and telephone networks is severely limited.
Pictures of the smartphone emerged after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the factory where the devices are made.
Branded "Arirang" after a Korean folk song, the phones feature a touch screen and a "high pixel" camera.
Kim said it was "nice" to see phones being made with local technology, adding that the mass-production of goods with a North Korean trademark would instill national pride.
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