Six In The Morning Tuesday November 19

19 November 2013 Last updated at 09:16 GMT

Lebanon blasts target Iran's embassy in Beirut

Seven people are reported to have been killed in explosions which targeted the Iranian embassy in the Lebanese capital Beirut.

TV images showed flames rising from several vehicles, charred bodies on the streets and rubble from buildings.

It is not yet clear whether the blasts were caused by rockets or car bombs.

Iran is a major backer of the Lebanaese Shia militant group Hezbollah, which has sent fighters to Syria to back the government of Bashar al-Assad.

The Syrian conflict has increased sectarian tensions in Lebanon.

South Beirut, including the area around the Iranian embassy, is considered a Hezbollah stronghold. It has been hit with several attacks in recent months.

US and Israel's come to blows over Iran nuclear programme

MATTHEW LEE

 

 

Tuesday 19 November 2013

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “every right” to voice his opposition to a potential nuclear deal with Iran but his fear that a deal would leave Israel vulnerable is unfounded, Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday.

Amid an unusual and highly vocal spat between the Obama administration and Israel over Iran, Kerry said he had great respect for Netanyahu and his concerns. But Kerry maintained that instead of making Israel less safe, an accord with Iran would actually reduce the country's risk.

“I have great respect for his concerns about his country,” Kerry told reporters at a State Department news conference with visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. “The prime minister should express his concerns and he has every right in the world to publicly state his position and defend what he believes is his interest.”

POLITICS

Denmark's populists on the rise

The latest surveys indicate that Denmark's far-right Danish People's Party is poised to do well in local elections. This could be a boost for similar parties across Europe, which aim to join forces.

Gwyn Nissen is relaxed. The importance of the Danish People's Party (DF) should not be overestimated, he says. "Compared with other right-wing populist parties in Europe, DF is a light version." The editor of the German-language Danish newspaper "Nordschleswiger" says the DF appears more moderate than similar parties elsewhere and is therefore a special case when it comes to the modern European right, he said.

Nevertheless, the performance of the euroskeptic party in municipal polls on Tuesday (19.11.2013) will be watched from far beyond Scandinavia. A successful result for the DF would be a small, but strong, signal for rising far right parties in other European countries.

Chinese tax official Tao Yi shamed over his contract for adultery

November 19, 2013 - 11:44AM

Tom Phillips in Shanghai

A Chinese official has become an online laughing stock after the publication of a bizarre "love-affair contract" which he had obliged his mistress to sign.

The six-clause code of conduct, which was published by the Beijing News, set out the ground rules for a secretive affair between Tao Yi, a senior tax officer from Guangxi province, and a married woman who was named only as "Ms Fan".

The six clauses - drawn up on a lined piece of A4 paper and dated March 2013 - stipulated:

19 November 2013 Last updated at 02:49 GMT

CAR communal violence spiralling out control - UN chief

Communal violence in the Central African Republic risks spiralling out of control, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said.

He warned the Security Council that armed groups were inciting Christians and Muslims against each other.

Mr Ban also backed the establishment of a UN peacekeeping force before the crisis leads to widespread atrocities.

The impoverished country has been in a state of chaos since rebels seized power in March.

Will Chile's next president bring a new constitution? (+video)

Former President Bachelet just missed an all out win in Chile's presidential election after about 8 percent of voters chose to 'spoil' their ballots by writing in for a constitutional assembly.

By Steven Bodzin, Correspondent

In a country where demonstrations often end with masked teens hurling steel bars or riot cops spraying down neighborhoods with tear gas, a protest during yesterday’s presidential election was notable for its silence.

In elections that sent former President Michelle Bachelet and former labor minister Evelyn Matthei to a runoff, about 8 percent of voters quietly wrote “AC” on their paper ballot, adding their voices to a nationwide 

call for a constitutional assembly to replace the country’s dictatorship-era political system.

How the Constitution might be changed proved a hot topic during the election campaign. Supporters of a constitutional congress, for which there is no provision in Chilean law, say their campaign succeeded even if it did not persuade many to spoil their ballots.