SATURDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 2013 NEW YORK
The authenticity of Syria’s offer to relinquish its chemical weapons arsenal was being tested today as the top envoys of Russia and the US, Sergei Lavrov and John Kerry, held a second day of talks in Geneva aimed at getting the process started.
As the Syrian regime formally asked for technical assistance to help it meet the treaty’s obligations, scepticism about its real intentions was deepened by reports that an elite group fiercely loyal to President Bashar al-Assad known as Unit 450 has been dispersing his chemical weapons stockpile to as many as 50 different sites all across the country, just one day after the regime said it would join the Chemical Weapons Convention. This would present new difficulties in both implementing the plan now under discussion in Geneva or, were it to fall apart, launching a US bombing campaign that could be effective.
Philippines fighting dents hopes of rebel truce
Rebels holding more than 100 hostages clash with government troops, after vice-president said truce had been agreed
Muslim rebels holding more than 100 people hostage in the southernPhilippines exchanged gunfire with government troops Saturday despite efforts by the country's vice-president to arrange a ceasefire and end the six-day standoff.
The standoff began on Monday when about 200 fighters from a Moro National Liberation Front rebel faction stormed several coastal communities in Zamboanga city and seized residents. The military says 22 people, including 15 rebels, have since been killed in sporadic clashes between the guerrillas and troops who have surrounded them.
The vice-president, Jejomar Binay, said rebel leader Nur Misuari agreed to a truce late on Friday by telephone, and he relayed the news to the defence secretary, Voltaire Gazmin, who has been helping deal with the crisis in Zamboanga city, a major port. Binay said he planned to fly to Zamboanga on Saturday to help the negotiations.
EGYPT
Conflict on rise in Egypt as protesters take to the streets
Tensions have risen further in Egypt as supporters and opponents of ex-president Mohammed Morsi clashed. Protests staged around the country have come a day after a nationwide state of emergency was extended.
Unrest in Egypt has heightened since the July coup that toppled the elected government, with the military-backed interim regime targeting members of the pro-Morsi Muslim Brotherhood.
In response, thousands of Morsi supporters have taken to the streets. There, they have met resistance from the military and anti-Morsi demonstrators.
According to state media, one person was killed and five injured when supporters and opponents of Morsi clashed in Alexandria, while police reportedly used tear gas to control fighting in the Nile Delta towns of Tanta and Mahalla.
Throttled by Tourists: Death Prompts Venice to Ponder Limits
The recent accidental death of a German tourist along the Grand Canal has fed-up Venetians asking whether tourism has finally gotten out of hand. But they fear that the city has already sold out, and that politicians can do nothing to hold back the crowds.
On the day criminal law professor Joachim Vogel was carried to his grave at a cemetery in the southern German city of Tübingen, his daughter's pink shoe was still lying on the ground next to the Grand Canal in Venice. It was precisely the spot where Vogel was crushed and fatally injured on Aug. 17 while trying to save his daughter after the gondola they were in had collided with a water bus. His 3-year-old daughter survived. Her shoe, now decorated with flowers, has been left behind as a memorial.
Uruguay marijuana bill slowly gains public support
The bill is far from majority approval, but if support continues to grow and it passes, this could provide an important look at how marijuana legalization impacts organized crime.
While public opinion remains largely opposed to marijuana regulation in Uruguay, a new poll shows support for the bill is growing, especially among likely voters for the ruling Frente Amplio (FA) coalition, which could be good news for countries hoping to follow Uruguay's drug policy example.On Sept. 2, leading Uruguayan pollster Cifra published the results of a new survey on marijuana regulation carried out from Aug. 15 – 24, which brought good news for supporters of the bill. The polling firm found that 61 percent of the country was opposed to the measure, a five-point drop since it was first proposed by President Jose Mujica in July 2012. The latest poll confirms that there has been a definite, albeit slight, downward trend in disapproval of the law in the past year.
13 September 2013 Last updated at 19:33 GMT
Saudis join Twitter campaign for higher pay
A social media campaign demanding better pay in Saudi Arabia has gained a massive following among citizens of the Gulf kingdom, many of whom are facing an increasing struggle to meet their daily living costs.
Supporters of the campaign on Twitter - which uses the Arabic hashtag #our_salary_does_not_meet_our_needs - have been very active over the past two months.
More than 17 million tweets carrying the hashtag were posted in the campaign's first two weeks in July, which led to it becoming the 16th most popular hashtag in any language.
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