2 November 2013 Last updated at 08:51 GMT
CBC channel stops broadcast of comedian's show after he mocked Egypt's widespread pro-army sentiment
Singapore has become an increasingly popular haven for money laundering and tax evasion. But now it faces calls for reform and a difficult dilemma: Can it be both a home for fortune hunters and a bastion of integrity?
Local critics see the haze as a symbol of how nearby filth has dirtied the city-state's business model. The city-state has made itself dependent on global trade, the growth of Asia's rising economies and on the patronage of wealthy people from around the world, who use the discreet financial center as a hub and storage site for their riches.
Hakimullah Mehsud: Pakistan forces on alert after death
Pakistan's security forces have been put on high alert following the US drone strike on Friday which is believed to have killed Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud.
A spokesman told the BBC all security measures were now being taken.
Pakistan media say Mehsud's funeral has taken place at an unknown location in the tribal area of North Waziristan.
A Pakistan government minister said the drone strike had destroyed attempts to hold peace talks with the militants.
Mehsud was killed along with four other people - including two of his bodyguards - when four missiles struck their vehicle in the north-western region of North Waziristan, a senior Taliban official told the BBC.
Taliban commander Khan Said Sajna is tipped to become the new leader.
Egyptian TV station suspends satirist Bassem Youssef's show
CBC channel stops broadcast of comedian's show after he mocked Egypt's widespread pro-army sentiment
An Egyptian television station has refused to air the latest episode of its star satirist's comedy series, after his show drew criticism for mocking the current fervour for Egypt's army.
Private channel CBC stopped the Friday night broadcast of Bassem Youssef's show minutes before its 10pm airtime. Instead, a broadcaster read out a statement explaining that Youssef's production team was involved in a dispute with the channel's board over contractual and content issues.
The channel did not give further details. But earlier this week a CBC newscaster read a statement distancing the channel from Youssef's criticism of Egypt's widespread pro-army sentiment, censuring him for using "phrases and innuendos that may lead to mocking national sentiment or symbols of the Egyptian state."
How Madrid lost its mojo
A great capital with fine museums and a lively vibe is grippedby an identity crisis
Guy Hedgecoe
It sits, grey and unpainted, just outside central Madrid, on the city’s northeastern industrial outskirts. With one side of its semi-circular roof tilting skywards, it could be a massive, unfinished concrete spaceship.
La Peineta stadium was supposed to be at the heart of Madrid’s drive towards economic recovery and renewed global recognition. But since the International Olympic Committee’s decision last month that Tokyo should host the 2020 Games, it has become just another symbol of the city’s faded lustre.
The building will, one day, be home to Atlético Madrid football team. But it was also meant to be Madrid’s Olympic Stadium. It stands opposite the uncompleted skeleton of the Centro Acuático, which would have hosted the games’ swimming competitions.
Dirty Money: Will Singapore Clean Up Its Act?
Singapore has become an increasingly popular haven for money laundering and tax evasion. But now it faces calls for reform and a difficult dilemma: Can it be both a home for fortune hunters and a bastion of integrity?
A yellowish-brown fog has settled in the urban canyons of Singapore's financial district. From a skyscraper high above the harbor, you can hardly make out the endless rows of containers in the port terminals. A cloud of smog locally referred to as the "haze" -- caused by the slash-and-burn farming methods of the palm oil barons in neighboring Indonesia -- regularly darkens the skies of the wealthy city-state of Singapore, at the southern tip of the Malaysian Peninsula. But the air has never been as bad as it is now.
Japan PM urged to take control as Fukushima operator struggles
November 2, 2013Yuriy Humber
More than 30 months after an earthquake triggered the world's worst nuclear disaster in a quarter of a century, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is being told by his own party that Japan's response is failing.
The atomic station's operator - Tokyo Electric Power - is not up to the task of managing the clean-up and decommissioning of the Fukushima plant by itself, said Tadamori Oshima, head of a task force in charge of Fukushima's recovery and former vice-president of Mr Abe's Liberal Democratic Party.
''I'd like them to form a strong, unified authority'' to deal with the nuclear disaster, Mr Oshima said in Tokyo after releasing a report on the recovery effort which suggests the government should take over the task and shoulder the bulk of the costs by treating the clean-up as a public works project.
Antarctic reserve talks falter, delaying conservation efforts
Countries with major fishing industries, led by Russia, scuttled talks about the creation of a massive new marine preserve in the Antarctic.
Efforts to create the world’s largest marine sanctuary in the Antarctic Ocean have failed for the second time in two years after nations with major fishing industries, led by Russia, blocked any consensus, according tonews reports Friday.
The failure by the 25-member Commission for Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources to reach an agreement after a 10-day meeting in Hobart, Australia, freezes the effort to protect millions of square miles of ocean in the Ross Sea and theEast Antarctic Coast until October 2014, when delegates will try again.
"It's very frustrating for most members," Swedish delegate Bo Fernholm told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "I think most members were here and thought that we would be able to get the [marine protected areas], at least one this time."
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