11 September 2013 Last updated at 09:25 GMT
The success of anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny in the Moscow mayoral election may have ushered in a new era. Could Russia's rigid party system finally be forced to make room for real political opposition?
Alexei Navalny's voice is calm but combative as he speaks from the stage. Inspired by the robust 27 percent that voted for him the day before in the Moscow mayoral elections, he is at his rhetorical best. "Russia deserves a real and strong opposition! That is us," Navalny cries out. He is now the uncontested leader of Kremlin opponents, even if Mayor Sergei Sobyanin will remain in office after officially receiving 51 percent of the vote. Navalny raises his fist: "We are the power!" he cries. The masses join him in celebration.
Syria crisis: Barack Obama calls off Congress vote
US President Barack Obama has postponed a Congress vote on military action in Syria, vowing to pursue diplomacy to remove the regime's chemical weapons.
Damascus has admitted for the first time that it has chemical weapons, and has agreed to abide by a Russian plan to hand over its arsenal.
The US threatened strikes after a gas attack killed hundreds last month.
Mr Obama blames the regime and said the military would respond if talks failed. Syria blames rebels for the attack.
More than 100,000 people have died since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in 2011.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
North and South Korea agree date to reopen Kaesong joint industrial zone
North and South Korea have agreed to reopen the Kaesong joint industrial zone on a trial basis on Monday. The site, a rare symbol of inter-Korean cooperation, was shut five months ago amid heightened military tensions.
Following marathon negotiations, South Korea's Unification Ministry confirmed Wednesday that the shuttered Kaesong industrial complex would be reopened on September 16.
South Korean firms will be able to resume operations following a trial on Monday, the ministry said.
Established in 2004 , the jointly run complex is located roughly 10 kilometers (six miles) inside the North Korean border.
It had been shut down since April when Pyongyang pulled its 53,000 workers out following two months of military tensions sparked by North Korea's third nuclear test in February. Tensions were further raised by a fresh batch of United Nations sanctions against North Korea and joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States. Pyongyang said the excercises were deliberate provocation.
Navalny's Success: The Birth of a New Russian Opposition
The success of anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny in the Moscow mayoral election may have ushered in a new era. Could Russia's rigid party system finally be forced to make room for real political opposition?
Alexei Navalny's voice is calm but combative as he speaks from the stage. Inspired by the robust 27 percent that voted for him the day before in the Moscow mayoral elections, he is at his rhetorical best. "Russia deserves a real and strong opposition! That is us," Navalny cries out. He is now the uncontested leader of Kremlin opponents, even if Mayor Sergei Sobyanin will remain in office after officially receiving 51 percent of the vote. Navalny raises his fist: "We are the power!" he cries. The masses join him in celebration.
Pakistan set to release Taliban commander
September 11, 2013 - 12:58PM
Pakistan is ready to release Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, an imprisoned senior Taliban commander, in a bid to bolster the faltering peace process in Afghanistan, officials in Islamabad said on Tuesday.
The release of Baradar, a former deputy leader of the Taliban who was captured with CIA help in 2010, would meet long-standing demands from American and Afghan officials, who hope he can help draw other Taliban commanders into peace talks.
Even as Pakistani officials released several waves of Taliban prisoners over the past year, including a new group of seven on Sunday, they resisted setting Baradar free. And on Tuesday, it was unclear exactly when Baradar was to be released, and what had led to the government's shift.
Central African army chief sacked after clashes kill 100
The president of Central African Republic dismissed the head of the armed forces after days of fighting with gunmen loyal to ousted leader Francois Bozize that left 100 people dead, a government spokesman said.
Calm returned on Tuesday after fierce clashes between government forces and pro-Bozize fighters in Bossangoa, Bozize’s home region, about 300 km (185 miles) north of the capital Bangui.
The fighting was the latest sign of instability since the Seleka rebel group seized power in March in the landlocked former French colony, plunging the nation of 4.5 million people into chaos and a deepening humanitarian crisis.
El Salvador: buried treasure or fool's gold?
Latin America's mixed feelings about its mineral wealth.
Walking through a sea of businessmen and information booths at a Toronto trade show, mining executive Tom Shrake saw gold.
The poster board that caught the eye of Mr. Shrake, president of Canada-based Pacific Rim, detailed core samples from a deposit in northern El Salvador – fittingly called El Dorado, or the golden one. It's a name that conjures up images of fabled lands brimming with riches that have lured European explorers to Latin America for centuries.
By Shrake's calculations, the geologist's company should have sampled deeper into the earth. "My gut, my geologic gut tells me there are over 5 million ounces [of gold] there," says Shrake, who immediately booked a flight to El Salvador to take a look for himself. He paced the property, gauging surface-level geologic formations that might give an indication of what lay thousands of feet beneath him. "By the second day, I was ready to acquire the district."
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