UN chemical inspectors submit Syria report |
Ban Ki-moon to present report to UN Security Council on Monday after it was submitted to him by UN team.
Last Modified: 16 Sep 2013 09:27
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UN chemical weapons inspectors have handed their report into an alleged gas attack in Syria to Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general.
The report into the incident, in which more than 1,400 people are reported to have died last month on the outskirts of Damascus, will be unveiled later on Monday.
UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said the secretary-general will brief a closed session of the UN Security Council on its contents on Monday morning. He will also brief the 193-member General Assembly later that day.
The inspection team led by Swedish expert, Ake Sellstrom, was mandated to report on whether chemical weapons were used in the Damascus suburbs and, if so, which chemical agents were used - not on who was responsible.
Ban has accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of multiple crimes against humanity and said the UN inspectors' report would provide "overwhelming" confirmation chemical weapons were used.
Costa Concordia salvage operation finally under way
Once upright, the ill-fated vessel will be towed away for scrap
Paddy Agnew
The massive operation to right the huge luxury cruise liner, the Costa Concordia, has got off to a predictably slow start on the island of Giglio this morning, with the “rotation” of the stricken ship starting almost three hours behind schedule.
A violent thunderstorm during the night halted last minute preparations for today’s complicated operation which will see the ship move through 65 degrees over a 10-12 hour period as she is lifted off the shallow sea-bed where she now lies and is returned to a vertical position.
It had been hoped to start the salvage at about 6.00 am. Accordingly, the last ferry out of the port of Giglio left at 4.45 am in order to leave the entire area around the ship free of traffic, for safety reasons.
AFGHANISTAN
Gunmen kill senior Afghan policewoman
A senior Afghan policewoman who had spoken of the need for more female police officers has died in hospital after being shot by gunmen on a motorcycle. Her female predecessor in Helmand province was murdered in July.
Afghanistan's restive province of Helmand lost its second high-profile female police officer on Monday. Sub-Inspector Negar died of neck wounds a day after being shot by unknown assailants while walking along a street near police headquarters.
Negar, 36, who like many Afghans used only one name, was severely wounded by two gunmen riding a motorcycle in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand, where insurgent attacks remain commonplace.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the shooting.
Negar and her predecessor, Islam Bibi (pictured above), who was murdered in Lashkar Gah in July, were both portrayed as examples of how opportunities for women had improved in Afghanistan since the Taliban regime was ousted in 2001.
Nigeria's property boom is only for the brave
There are huge returns to be had in Nigeria where around 16-million homes are needed just to meet current demand.
On one of the most exclusive streets in Nigeria's capital sits a crumbling mansion with an unwelcoming message painted at its entrance: "BEWARE! THIS HOUSE IS NOT FOR SALE".
The warning refers to a popular property scam. In the most elaborate version, robbers break into your house while you are away, change the locks, and then produce multiple copies of fake title deeds. Posing as estate agents, they show buyers around your house and sell as many copies of the deeds as possible. When you get back, your house belongs to six people.
This sort of deception epitomises the tricky nature of Nigeria's real estate business, but despite the risks, there are huge returns to be had in a market where around 16-million homes are needed just to meet current demand.
After concessions, Brazil's giant goes back to sleep
Protests rocked Brazil in June. But since, the government has made concessions that have quieted the streets.
Thainá Barbosa, is rolling up her protest banner which says: "Give us doctors! Give us a better health system!" The 26-year-old dental nurse, who lives in Rio de Janeiro, was one of thousands who joined anti-government demonstrations back in June.
She says her protesting days are over for now as she believes the government has begun to meet some of the protesters’ demands. “I really believe we made a difference. We put pressure on the state government to put the bus prices down and they’ve done it here in Rio de Janeiro. It’s cheaper for me to travel now,” Ms. Barbosa says.
Over a hundred cities have lowered their bus fares by an average of seven percent, achieving a significant victory even though the original "clamor of the streets" was for free public transport.
Beam me up: Bits of information teleported across computer chip
Quantum mechanics allows for some very strange things, like the teleportation of information and computers that can break even the toughest codes.
Recently, scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich made a step toward building a working quantum computer by teleporting bits of information across a computer chip. The results of the study were detailed Aug. 15 in the journal Nature.
Creating such a circuit is an important milestone, said Benjamin Schumacher, a professor of physics at Kenyon College in Ohio. "Everybody really knows if you are ever going to make a real quantum computer, it must be solid state," said Schumacher, who was not involved in the new research.
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