29 October 2013 Last updated at 05:26 GMT
Emanuela Delibsi wants to quickly return the things to the cupboard, otherwise Nikos will start crying again. Her little 12-year-old brother has been upset and not sleeping well since Maria was taken away -- along with their parents. Sometimes he starts sobbing for no apparent reason. But Maria's things are still lying on the bed with the turquoise sheets: a Barbie and a baby doll, two stuffed animals, coloring pens and a small plastic dragon. Delibsi -- 17 years old, yet already married -- sits down on the bed's pillow. She is wearing a scrunchie on her ring finger.
Delibsi is Maria's sister, the small blond girl whose picture was disseminated by media around the world last week. She's not the biological sister, though, because Delibsi's mother, Eleftheria Dimopoulou, is not Maria's biological mother, as a DNA comparison with the parents has shown. "But does that give them the right to just take her away from us?" asks Delibsi. It's Maria's scrunchie that she has wrapped around her finger.
Mr. González Rodriguez points toward dozens of teens dribbling and shooting hoops in a gym at a sports complex here in the border state of Sonora. At a special basketball clinic, the youngsters share the court with former Phoenix Suns players Tom Chambers, Steven Hunter, Tim Kempton, and Horacio Llamas, the National Basketball Association's (NBA) first Mexico-born player.
US NSA spying: Pressure mounts on White House
Pressure is growing on the White House to explain US intelligence gathering and why President Barack Obama appeared not to know the extent of operations.
The intelligence agency head and other officials are to testify before the House of Representatives later.
The chair of the Senate's intelligence committee said there would be a "total review" of US spying programmes.
The president has spoken publicly of his intent to probe spying activities amid claims of eavesdropping on allies.
An EU delegate in Washington has described the row over intelligence gathering as "a breakdown of trust".
Turkey set to inaugurate Bosporus tunnel
Turkey is about to unveil a railway tunnel linking its European and Asian sides under the Bosporus for the first time. Its completion marks the realization of a long-cherished plan.
The three-billion-euro ($4.13-billion) rail tunnel is 13.6 kilometers (8.5 miles) long, 1.4 kilometers of which lie under the Bosporus, the strait dividing Istanbul between Asia and Europe.
Its name, the Marmaray Tunnel, combines that of the Sea of Marmara, which lies just south of the site, with the Turkish word for rail, "ray."
The tunnel is designed to accommodate 1.5 million passengers per day, thus easing traffic problems in Turkey's largest city, particularly over the two bridges that currently connect the two sides of the city.
Two million people cross the Bosporus each day on the bridges, often creating massive congestion.
Turkish officials say that the rail tunnel is more than 60 meters (nearly 200 feet) under water, making it the deepest of its kind in the world.
Roma Stereotypes: How Racist Assumptions Fueled 'Maria' Fiasco
When Greek police stumbled upon a blond, blue-eyed girl when raiding a Roma settlement two weeks ago, it triggered a wave of worries fed by long-held stereotypes. The fears proved unfounded, but the family remains divided.Emanuela Delibsi wants to quickly return the things to the cupboard, otherwise Nikos will start crying again. Her little 12-year-old brother has been upset and not sleeping well since Maria was taken away -- along with their parents. Sometimes he starts sobbing for no apparent reason. But Maria's things are still lying on the bed with the turquoise sheets: a Barbie and a baby doll, two stuffed animals, coloring pens and a small plastic dragon. Delibsi -- 17 years old, yet already married -- sits down on the bed's pillow. She is wearing a scrunchie on her ring finger.
Delibsi is Maria's sister, the small blond girl whose picture was disseminated by media around the world last week. She's not the biological sister, though, because Delibsi's mother, Eleftheria Dimopoulou, is not Maria's biological mother, as a DNA comparison with the parents has shown. "But does that give them the right to just take her away from us?" asks Delibsi. It's Maria's scrunchie that she has wrapped around her finger.
Two Syria chemical sites inaccessible
October 29, 2013 - 6:45AM
The Hague: The security situation in war-torn Syria has prevented international inspectors from visiting two remaining chemical weapons sites, the global watchdog says.
Inspectors had by Sunday visited 21 of 23 chemical sites, but "the two remaining sites have not been visited due to security reasons", The Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said in a statement.
Efforts by the joint OPCW-United Nations mission charged with destroying Syria's chemical arsenal by mid-2014 "to ensure the conditions necessary for safe access to those sites will continue", said the OPCW, which won this year's Nobel Peace Prize.
Syria has submitted a formal declaration of its chemical weapons program ahead of an October 27 deadline, together with a general plan of destruction.
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Inspectors on the unprecedented mission in a war zone were supposed to have visited all sites declared by Syria by the same deadline of Sunday.
Mursi rejects authority of Egypt court due to try him
Egypt’s ousted president Mohamed Mursi has rejected the authority of the court that is due to try him next week for incitement to murder, his supporters said Monday.
Mursi, an Islamist hailing from the Muslim Brotherhood who was Egypt’s first freely elected leader, was ousted by the military on July 3 amid massive protests against his year-long rule.
He is due to stand trial with 14 others on November 4 for incitement to murder in connection with deadly clashes between his supporters and opponents outside the presidential palace in December 2012.
“No lawyers will be defending president Mohamed Mursi, neither Egyptians nor foreigners, because the president does not recognise the trial or any action and processes that result from the coup,” the Anti-Coup Alliance, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, said in a statement.
Is basketball now a rising star in soccer-loving Mexico?
The NBA is working to extend its reach into Mexico and its push couldn't have come at a better time. The national soccer team is suffering and a barefoot basketball victory has won many hearts.
Soccer may be king of sports in Mexico, but the rising popularity of basketball is giving fútbol a kick in the shin.
"We're seeing a new wave of young people showing great interest in basketball," says Jaime González Rodriguez, director of the municipal sports institute in Nogales.
"We're seeing a new wave of young people showing great interest in basketball," says Jaime González Rodriguez, director of the municipal sports institute in Nogales.
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