India braces for cyclone Phailin
Thousands take shelter as severe tropical storm bears down on east coast, bringing destructive winds and torrential rain
It's been a symbol of Russia for centuries, yet many of us know very little about the Kremlin. Catherine Merridale reveals the secrets contained within the vast Moscow complex
12 October 2013 Last updated at 01:04 GMT
Thousands take shelter as severe tropical storm bears down on east coast, bringing destructive winds and torrential rain
Rain and wind lashed India's east coast and nearly 400,000 people fled to cyclone shelters after the government issued a red alert and warned of severe damage when one of the largest storms the country has ever seen makes landfall.
People gathered at mosques and temples in Odisha state praying cyclone Phailin would not be as devastating as a similar storm that killed 10,000 people 14 years ago. Heavy rain pounded coastal villages in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
Phailin had winds of at least 137mph (220km/h) on Saturday morning and was expected to cause a 3.4 metre surge in sea levels as well as potential widespread damage when it hit the coast late in the evening, the Indian meteorological department said.
Behind closed doors: The secrets contained within the imposing walls of the Kremlin
It's been a symbol of Russia for centuries, yet many of us know very little about the Kremlin. Catherine Merridale reveals the secrets contained within the vast Moscow complex
Everyone has some idea of what the Kremlin is. The red stars and the ring of Gothic-looking walls and towers have represented Russia and its government so many times that they are like a trademark.
Today, it is the flag of the Russian Federation that flutters from a handsome cupola inside the walls; the implication is that Putin's Russia is as mighty and immutable as any historic empire. But that is not the only message written in the stone and brick. The secret is to look behind the dazzling facades.
In the eight centuries of its existence, the Kremlin has been used to symbolise everything from Soviet dictatorship and proletarian revolution to imperial tsarism and even an inscrutable theocracy.
US balances fear and security as it pursues perceived enemies within
A new book details the vast surveillance operation the NYPD developed after 9/11
Simon Carswell
“Does the fear justify the security or the security justify the fear?” was how a defence lawyer for one of the men accused of the 9/11 attacks on New York put it on my recent trip to Guantánamo Bay.
Over a burger and chips in the US naval base’s Irish pub, the lawyer was discussing the aggressive security measures taken by law enforcement agencies since 2001 to prevent further attacks and whether they have gone too far in encroaching on the rights and privacy of US citizens. From a lawyer representing a man locked up for more than a decade in maximum security in a US prison in Cuba, it was hardly a surprising question. However, it raises an important point about US society.
Africans tell ICC: Heads of state should not be tried
African nations have agreed that sitting heads of state should not be put on trial by the International Criminal Court.
African nations have agreed that sitting heads of state should not be put on trial by the International Criminal Court where Kenya's leaders are in the dock, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom said at a ministerial meeting.
The ministers of the 54-member African Union (AU) also called for deferring the cases of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, the minister said after a meeting to discuss Africa's relations with the court based in The Hague.
"We have rejected the double standard that the ICC is applying in dispensing international justice," Tedros told the delegates before Saturday's summit where African leaders are expected to endorse the ministerial recommendations.
Panama: Cuban weapons aboard North Korean ship part of 'major deal'
New evidence shows the Cuban fighter jets found on a North Korean ship this summer were not obsolete and in need of repair as Cuba claimed.
Two Cuban MiG-21 jet fighters found aboard a seized North Korean cargo ship three months ago were in good repair, had been recently flown and were accompanied by “brand-new” jet engines, Panamanian officials say.
The assertions deepen the mystery around the Cuban military materiel that was found aboard the 508-foot North Korean freighter Chong Chon Gang, which Panamanian authorities intercepted July 10 off the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal.
“They had jet fuel still inside their tanks,” Foreign Minister Fernando Nunez Fabrega told McClatchy in an interview earlier this month. “They were not obsolete and in need of repair.”
One of the MiG-21s contained manuals and maintenance records that indicated it was flying just a few months earlier, said prosecutor Javier Caraballo, who’s handling an arms trafficking case against the 35 North Korean crew members. Mr. Caraballo declined a reporter’s request to see the records.
12 October 2013 Last updated at 01:04 GMT
Mashrou' Leila: The band out to occupy Arabic pop
Music has long been a vehicle for protest and dissent, but the Middle East's popular music scene has been accused of being staid and formulaic.
Now a Lebanese band with an eclectic sound, an openly gay frontman and politically charged lyrics is trying to tear up the conventions of Arabic pop culture.
"This next song is about really good sex," lead singer and lyricist Hamed Sinno announces part way through the debut London gig for Lebanese indie outfit Mashrou' Leila.
It is hard to imagine many other contemporary Arab musicians introducing a track with quite this frankness.
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