Egypt Protests: US Citizen Among Three Dead

Violent clashes across the Egyptian cities of Alexandria and Port Said have left three people dead and more than 70 others injured.

Two people were killed in Alexandria. One of them was an American citizen, the US State Department confirmed.

He has been identified as Andrew Pochter, 21, from Maryland, who was a student at Kenyon College in Ohio.

He had been working as an intern at Amideast, an American non-profit organisation, a statement from the college said.

Mr Pochter died from a stab wound to the chest after violence erupted between supporters and opponents of President Mohamed Morsi.

A protester hurls a rock towards riot police in Alexandria

The unrest is seen by many as a prelude to mass anti-Morsi protests planned for Sunday to mark his first year in office.

General Amin Ezzeddin, a senior Alexandria security official, said the American was using a mobile phone camera near an office of Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood in the city's Sidi Gaber neighbourhood when it was being attacked by protesters.

He was rushed to a military hospital, where he died.

A second victim was shot dead during clashes in the city, while a third person died as protests also turned violent in Port Said.

The deaths come as leading clerics warned of "civil war" in Egypt after violence in the last week has left several dead and hundreds wounded.

A supporter of Mr Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo

They backed Mr Morsi's offer to talk to opposition groups ahead of mass protests scheduled for Sunday.

State news agency MENA said 70 people had been injured.

TV footage showed protesters running from the scene as gunshots were heard.

The offices of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the political arm of Mr Morsi's party, were also set on fire during the confrontations.

A Brotherhood member was also killed overnight in an attack on a party office at Zagazig, in the heavily populated Nile Delta, where much of the recent violence has been concentrated.

Anti-government protesters start a fire outside an FJP office in Alexandria

Mr Morsi's movement said five supporters in all had died this week - three in Mansura and two in Zagazig.

The June 30 protest was called by Tamarod, a grassroots movement which says it has more than 22 million signatures for a petition demanding Mr Morsi's resignation and a snap election.

It alleges that Mr Morsi reneged on his promise to be a president for all Egyptians and has failed to deliver on the uprising's aspirations for freedom and social justice. Mr Morsi's supporters have questioned the authenticity of the signatures.

The president himself warned in a televised speech on Wednesday that the growing polarisation threatens to "paralyse" Egypt.

The army, which oversaw the transition from former president Hosni Mubarak's autocratic rule but has been on the sidelines since Mr Morsi's election, warned it would intervene if violence erupts.

It has brought in reinforcements to key cities, security officials said.

In an updated travel warning, the State Department cautioned US citizens "to defer non-essential travel to Egypt at this time due to the continuing possibility of political and social unrest".

President Barack Obama said during a visit to South Africa that the "most immediate concern" was to protect US embassies and consulates in Egypt.

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Bowling Ball: Boy, 5, Beaten To Death By Teen

A 13-year-old boy has apparently confessed to killing a five-year-old by hitting him in the head with a bowling ball after becoming irritated.

Sida Osman's body was found on Wednesday by police in North Texas, 18 hours after he was last seen riding his bike.

The teenager made the statement after people found him crying, according to a summary of the case read out during a detention hearing, reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Police claim the older boy who cannot be named because of his age, and Sida went into the fenced back garden of a vacant house close to where they lived.

The teenager became irritated with Sida "and hit him multiple times in the head, causing his death".

Several Somali families, many who have spent time in Kenyan refugee camps after fleeing unrest in their native country, live in the complex.

Although Sida's parents are Somali refugees, he was born in the US and was due to start kindergarten later this year, according to the local newspaper.

The suspect faces a capital murder charge but is not eligible to stand trial as an adult as he is a juvenile.

Sida's mother, Dahabo Abdi, told Dallas-Fort Worth television station KTVT that she did not know the suspect.

As the family gathered outside the apartment on Thursday, children from the area gave Sida's mother handwritten notes expressing their affection for him.

Some read the notes aloud, including one that read, "you were just an innocent kid".

Muhammad Elmi, the child's uncle, told Dallas-Fort Worth television station KXAS that the family never expected such a tragic outcome.

"We expected to see him alive - you know, coming back to the house smiling, happy," he said.

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Western US Set To Swelter In Record Heatwave

A dangerous heatwave is set to scorch the western United States, with record temperatures possible in parts of the country.

Baking sun will see California's notoriously hot Death Valley reach as high as 54C (129F), not far off the world-record high of 57C (134F) recorded there exactly a century ago.

A series of safety precautions are being put in place, with temporary cooling stations being set up for the homeless and elderly as airlines monitor the soaring temperatures to ensure it remains safe to fly.

In Las Vegas and Phoenix - where tigers at the city's zoo are being fed frozen fish snacks - the strong high-pressure system settling over the region is expected to see the mercury hit up to 48C (118F).

Extreme temperatures are expected in California

Temperatures are expected to be only slightly lower in Utah - marketed as having "the greatest snow on Earth" - parts of Wyoming and Idaho.

And cities in Washington state, which is better known for cool, rainy weather, should get into the mid-30s early next week.

In Albuquerque, New Mexico, the mercury hit 41C (105F) on Thursday afternoon, the hottest it has been in the state's most populous city in 19 years.

National Weather Service meteorologist Mark O'Malley said: "This is the hottest time of the year but the temperatures that we'll be looking at for Friday through Sunday, they'll be toward the top.

A tourist protects herself from the sun on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

"We'll be at or above record levels in the Phoenix area and throughout a lot of the southwestern United States. It's going to be baking hot across much of the entire west."

Scientists say that the jet stream, the river of air that dictates weather patterns, has been more erratic in the past few years.

It is responsible for weather systems getting stuck, like the current heatwave. Scientists disagree on whether global warming is the cause of the jet stream's behaviour.

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Barack Obama Meets Nelson Mandela's Family

Barack Obama called Nelson Mandela a "personal inspiration" ahead of a meeting with the ailing anti-apartheid leader's family.

The US President and his wife Michelle attended the private meeting at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory in Johannesburg.

They will not see the 94-year-old former South African leader, who is critically ill in hospital.

"Out of deference to Nelson Mandela's peace and comfort and the family's wishes, they will not be visiting the hospital," the White House said in a statement.

Mr Obama is in Pretoria as part of a three-nation Africa tour, which saw him hold bilateral talks with South Africa's president Jacob Zuma.

After the meeting, Mr Obama told reporters: "Our thoughts and those of Americans and people around the world are with Nelson Mandela and his family and all of South Africans.

Mr Mandela is critically ill in hospital

"The struggle here against apartheid, for freedom, Madiba's moral courage, this country's historic transition to a free and democratic nation has been a personal inspiration to me, has been an inspiration to the world."

What has happened in South Africa shows the "power of principle" and people standing up for what's right continues to shine as a beacon, he said.

Mr Zuma said Mr Mandela's condition remains "critical but stable" but the government hopes he will be out of hospital soon.

Earlier, Mr Obama told reporters in Senegal that he "did not need a photo op" with the anti-apartheid icon and would not be pushing for a visit with him.

"I think the main message we'll want to deliver, if not directly to him, but to his family, is simply profound gratitude for his leadership," Mr Obama said.

The prospect of a public encounter between the first black presidents of South Africa and the US had been eagerly awaited for years, but has now been scuppered by Mr Mandela's failing health.

Scenes outside the hospital where Mr Mandela is being treated

The president, who has previously called Mr Mandela a "personal hero", is due to make a tour on Sunday of Robben Island, the former prison where the anti-apartheid leader passed 18 of the 27 years he spent in jail.

It comes after Mr Mandela's ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela said the former South African president's condition has shown "great improvement" over recent days.

Speaking outside the Pretoria hospital on Friday where Mr Mandela is being treated for a recurring lung infection, she said he remained "unwell".

She said: "It becomes very difficult to understand the seeming impatience and statements like: 'It is time for the family to let go'.

"And statements like: 'We are praying for the family not to pull the tubes'.

"Those are insensitive statements that none of you would want made about your parents and grandparents."

Mr Mandela, South Africa's first black president, was taken to hospital three weeks ago with recurrent lung problems.

He turns 95 next month.

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Ancient Tomb Of Wari Women Found In Peru

Archaeologists have unearthed a massive royal tomb full of mummified women in Peru, providing clues about an enigmatic empire.

Researchers say the discovery will help piece together life of the Wari, who were in the Andes centuries before the rise of the Incan empire.

The tomb was filled with female mummies about 1,300 years old

The Incans are much better known as they were written about in detail by the conquering Spaniards.

"For the first time in the history of archeology in Peru we have found an imperial tomb that belongs to the Wari empire and culture," lead archeologist Milosz Giersz said.

The site was kept secret for fear of grave robbers

The mausoleum was unearthed a few months ago at a coastal pyramid site called El Castillo de Huarmey 185 miles (299km) north of Lima.

It contains gold pieces, ceramics and 63 skeletons that are about 1,300 years old.

The skeletons are of Wari people, who ruled between 600 and 1100 AD

Archaeologists told National Geographic that they kept their work quiet for fear grave robbers would pick the site clean.

Researchers said most of the bodies found in the burial chamber were mummified women sitting upright.

The tomb is at a coastal pyramid site

The sitting position of the mummies indicates royalty and suggests Wari women held more power than previously thought.

"The women were buried with finely engraved ear pieces made of precious metals that once were believed to be used only by men," archaeologist Patrycja Przadk said.

Most of the skeletons were sitting upright when they were found

Historians believe the Wari, who ruled between 600 and 1100 AD, were the first people to unite diverse tribes into a sophisticated network across most of today's Peruvian Andes.

Bioarchaeologist Wieslaw Wieckowski said six skeletons were not wrapped in textiles and appear to have been human sacrifices for the mummified elite.

The find sheds light on the position of women in Wari society

"They were people thrown into the grave before the grave was sealed," he said.

"They were lying on their bellies, in an extended position and their limbs went in different directions."

The Wari empire ruled long before the Incas

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Obama's Homage To Mandela On Africa Tour

Barack Obama flies to South Africa today hoping to pay homage to the legacy of his critically-ill hero, Nelson Mandela.

Mr Mandela's poor health means the two men are not expected to have a long-anticipated meeting for the cameras.

South Africa's first black president - who turns 95 next month - was taken to hospital three weeks ago with recurrent lung problems.

On the eve of Mr Obama's visit, Mr Mandela was said to be in a critical condition, but had stabilised since a scare forced President Jacob Zuma to cancel a trip to neighbouring Mozambique.

"He is much better today," said Mr Zuma after seeing Mr Mandela late on Thursday for the second time in less than 24 hours.

Yet South Africans, including Mr Mandela's family, remain braced for the worst.

Mandela pictures are hung up at a prayer meeting at a Cape Town school

"I won't lie. It doesn't look good," daughter Makaziwe Mandela said. She added that "if we speak to him he responds and tries to open his eyes - he's still there".

"Anything is imminent, but I want to emphasise again that it is only God who knows when the time to go is," she told local radio.

Mr Obama, who is currently on a three-nation Africa tour, has led a chorus of support for the man he has dubbed a "hero for the world".

"The President will be speaking to the legacy of Nelson Mandela and that will be a significant part of our time in South Africa," said deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes.

"The President will treasure any opportunity he has to celebrate that legacy."

Mr Obama has described Mr Mandela as "a hero for the world"

The US President's tour of Africa could yet be upended by sudden developments in Madiba's condition.

The White House says it is in the hands of the Mandela family and the South African authorities on any aspect of the visit.

"We will obviously be very deferential to the developments that take place and the wishes of the family and the South African government," Mr Rhodes said.

A visit by Mr Obama to Mr Mandela's former jail cell on Robben Island, off Cape Town, on Sunday would now take on extra "profundity", he added.

Mr Obama also visited the site in 2006 when he was the senator for Illinois.

Speaking in Senegal on the first leg of his long-awaited Africa trip, Mr Obama described Mandela as "a personal hero."

"I think he is a hero for the world, and if and when he passes from this place, one thing I think we all know is that his legacy is one that will linger on throughout the ages," he said.

Mr Obama landed in the Senegalese capital of Dakar on Wednesday night for the first leg of his three-country visit.

On his first day he visited the Senegalese island of Goree, from which Africans were shipped across the Atlantic into slavery.

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Russia Meteor Shock 'Went Twice Around Earth'

The shockwaves from the meteor which exploded over Russia in February travelled twice around the Earth, according to scientists.

More than 1,000 people were injured when the 10,000 ton object - larger than a double-decker bus - burnt up in the skies above Chelyabinsk in Siberia.

The tremors from the meteor were recorded at 20 'infrasonic' monitoring stations, which are designed to detect nuclear weapon tests, across the world.

Writing in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, scientists said it was the first time the stations had detected "multiple arrivals involving waves that travelled twice round the globe".

Skies lit up as the meteor burned up over Chelyabinsk

"It generated infrasound returns, after circling the globe, at distances up to (approximately) 85,000 km, and was detected at 20 infrasonic stations of the global International Monitoring System (IMS)," said researchers.

The explosive energy of the blast is estimated to be equivalent to 460 kilotons of TNT. The force of the Hiroshima bomb dropped during the Second World War was about 16 kilotons.

"This extraordinary event is, together with the 1908 Tunguska fireball, among the most energetic events ever instrumentally recorded," scientists concluded.

The 1908 event, which occurred over a more remote area of Siberia, decimated tens of millions of trees over hundreds of square miles.

The meteor's force was detected by nuclear test monitoring stations

A far larger comet or meteor, in the region of 100 metres, is thought to have been responsible.

The Chelyabinsk meteor blazed across Russian skies on February 15 this year and saw a number of people injured by flying glass after windows were blown in.

Witnesses in the city, which has a population of more than one million, described feeling a pressure wave and hearing explosions overhead as the object hurtled towards Earth.

The meteor entered the Earth's atmosphere at 33,000mph (54,000kph) - 15 times the speed of a rifle bullet, according to the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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Turkey: Stabbed UK Teenager 'Recovering Well'

A British teenager left critically ill in Turkey after being stabbed repeatedly while on holiday with his family is recovering well, his aunt said.

Seventeen-year-old Dwayne Ward, from Middlesbrough, was discovered in a garden in the Tepe district of the popular holiday resort of Marmaris.

He was taken to hospital after reportedly being stabbed up to 20 times, and Mrs Ward said: "We have been told he is recovering well, thankfully."

Maramis state hospital, where he is being treated, said the teenager's condition was "stable" and he was out of intensive care.

It added: "He continues to be treated in a normal ward in our hospital. He is progressing well. It is not certain when the patient will be discharged."

The attack on the teenager happened in the Tepe district of Marmaris

Two men have been arrested over the attack.

Turkey Daily News said one of the suspects, a 31-year-old identified only as A.D., was held on charges of "looting, injuring intentionally and depriving of freedom".

Dwayne's school, Macmillan Academy in Middlesbrough, said staff and students were deeply saddened by the attack.

The academy said its thoughts and prayers were with him and it hoped he would make a full recovery.

Marmaris is a popular holiday resort

The Foreign Office said it was providing consular assistance.

Local residents reportedly spotted the teenager's bloody body lying in a garden at around 7.30am on Tuesday.

A doctor was said to have stabilised him at the scene before paramedics took him to hospital, where he was placed in the intensive care unit.

Dwayne was staying at the Ali Baba Hotel with his brother and mother while on holiday.

His mother said: "Dwayne's facing another operation this morning. His dad's flying out from the UK to be with him."

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Brazil Protesters Clash With Police Near Stadium

Brazil: Inequality Cause Of Tension

Updated: 9:26am UK, Monday 24 June 2013

By Jason Farrell, Sky Correspondent in Rio de Janeiro

Some 40,000 people live in the Favela Dos Prazeres; just one of a thousand slums in Rio that cling to the hillsides looking down on the yachts and hotels of the iconic city.

Those who want to build a house here simply get some bricks and cement them on top of someone else's shack.

Then they attach bulbs to a web of wires that tap free electricity from the grid. The cables drape over a maze of narrow passageways that weave down a steep hillside of precarious structures, some held up by narrow concrete stilts that are prone to give way in mudslides during the heavy rains.

Below, in downtown Rio, the latest monument to Brazil's wealth for the people of Prazeres to admire is the Maracana Stadium. It has had a billion dollar revamp for the Confederation Cup and World Cup and, as with Brazil's wealth, those perched in shantytowns have the perfect view but are completely cut off from it.

"The amount spent on the stadium has caused a lot of concern," says Fabio Vinelli, a former director of Flamengo Football club. He has been working on projects in Prazeres and had hoped the World Cup bring some investment to the neighbouring favela.

"People in this favela love the game but the World Cup has brought them nothing, " he said, "The legacy of the cup should be education, training and jobs, but all they have is a new stadium that no one here can afford to go to."

Brazil is the world's seventh largest economy but it has one of the most unbalanced social divides and this lies at the heart of many of the protests across the South American country in recent weeks.

The richest 1% (2 million people) own 13% of the nation's wealth, about the same as poorest 50% (80 million people). To many, the billions spent on World Cup stadiums and Olympic projects is just another reminder of the country's inequality.

Alexandre Lopes Silva, a community leader, said: "The legacy of the World Cup is a joke. Personally, I find it a disgrace. The state are pocketing millions and the poor see no benefit. Look at the kids paying football barefoot - at least give them a pair of trainers."

British consultant Mike Halligan runs security for Manchester United and his company Controlled Solutions Group has been trying to encourage work training projects in the favelas for the World Cup.

He said: "If FIFA want to promote football in places like Brazil, they should be willing to provide greater assistance to help create a legacy.

"People in Brazil would be less focused on the expense of the World Cup if Fifa were contributing. They should do it because they walk away with all the money from the TV rights."

A recent survey by Ernst and Young predicted that 3.6 million jobs would be created by the World Cup and the 2016 Olympics in Brazil with 0.4% added to GDP. But the fifth of Brazil's population who live in poverty have yet to see how this will help them.

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Snowden: Obama Rules Out Whistleblower Deal

US President Barack Obama says he will not do any "wheeling, dealing and trading" to secure whistleblower Edward Snowden's extradition.

He also said he was not considering sending jets to intercept Mr Snowden when he eventually leaves Russia.

The former National Security Agency contractor is understood to still be in a transit area of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.

The 30-year-old fled the US after leaking details of American telephone and internet surveillance programmes and has been charged with spying offences.

Speaking from Senegal, where he is starting a three-country tour of Africa, President Obama said: "I have not called President Xi personally or President Putin personally and the reason is ... number one, I shouldn't have to.

"Number two, we've got a whole lot of business that we do with China and Russia, and I'm not going to have one case of a suspect who we're trying to extradite suddenly being elevated to the point where I've got to start doing wheeling and dealing and trading on a whole host of other issues."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said his country will not extradite Mr Snowden, who flew into the country from Hong Kong on June 23.

The former CIA technician is seeking asylum in Ecuador but the country's government said it has not yet processed his request because he has still to reach one of its diplomatic premises.

Another flight left Moscow for Havana today without the whistleblower on board.

A connecting flight from Cuba is thought to be his likely route to Ecuador.

Mr Snowden revealed the existence of a surveillance system called Prism that was set up by the US National Security Agency (NSA) to track the use of the internet directly from ISP servers.

The NSA and FBI have said that the secret programme provided "critical leads" in preventing "dozens of terrorist events" - although some terror experts dispute the claims.

The Prism revelations sparked outcry in the UK when The Guardian reported that the GCHQ eavesdropping agency had been accessing information about British citizens through Prism.

Mr Snowden originally fled to Hong Kong on May 20 after copying the last set of documents he intended to disclose at the NSA's office in Hawaii.

More follows...

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India Floods: Journo Fired Over 'Inhuman' Report

A TV journalist in India has been sacked after delivering his report on floods in the north of the country while sitting on the shoulders of a man who had lost everything.

Narayan Pargaien's behaviour was "inhuman" his former employer News Express said in a statement, and he was guilty of "grave misconduct".

What he had done was "not just inhuman but was also against the culture" of the channel.

"You cannot ride on someone's back for a story. We terminated him on Tuesday," the head of News Express said later.

While the video was not broadcast by the TV station, it was anonymously uploaded onto YouTube where it has been viewed thousands of times.

Mr Pargaien insisted the man had been paid and had wanted him to show the damage to his home.

And while the journalist admitted his part in the filming, he was also keen to pass some of the blame onto his cameraman.

He said the cameraman had not done his job properly because the report was only supposed to show him from the chest up. The villager was not meant to be in shot.

More than 1,000 people are believed to have lost their lives in the heavy flooding in Uttarakhand state.

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Mandela 'Stable' And 'Trying To Open Eyes'

Nelson Mandela's daughter has hit out at "racists" and "vultures" in the media, as the presidency says the anti-apartheid icon has improved overnight.

After visiting him in his Pretoria hospital, Makaziwe Mandela said her father - who is reportedly no longer able to breathe unassisted - is still "very critical".

"Anything is imminent, but I want to emphasise again that it is only God who knows when the time to go is," she told the public broadcaster SABC.

"I won't lie, it doesn't look good. But as I say, if we speak to him, he responds and tries to open his eyes.

South Africans have gathered outside the Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital

"He's still there. He might be waning off, but he's still there."

She also criticised the "crass" media frenzy, likening the foreign press to vultures.

"It's like truly vultures waiting when a lion has devoured a buffalo, waiting there you know for the last carcasses, that's the image that we have as a family," she said.

"And we don't mind the interest but I just think that it has gone overboard."

Balloons were released outside the hospital

She also accused the foreign media of "a racist element" by crossing cultural boundaries.

"They violate all boundaries," she said.

"Is it because we're an African country that people just feel they can't respect any laws of this country, they can violate everything in the book? I just think it's in bad taste, it's crass."

Her comments come as South African President Jacob Zuma also visited Mr Mandela, saying the ailing former leader remained critical but stable.

"He is much better today than he was when I saw him last night. The medical team continues to do a sterling job," Mr Zuma said in a statement.

Crowds have been singing and dancing outside the Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital

The President abruptly cancelled a trip to Mozambique after making a late night visit to the revered former leader.

It is the first time Mr Zuma has scrapped a public engagement since Mr Mandela entered hospital on June 8.

South Africans have been praying, singing and dancing outside the Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital, where the 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader was taken with a recurring lung infection.

Sky News Correspondent Alex Crawford, who is outside the hospital, said the mood is celebratory.

Michelle Obama and her daughters met Mr Mandela during a trip in 2011

A group of children released 95 white balloons after praying for the Nobel Peace Prize winner.

"There seems to be a determined effort to actually celebrate what Nelson Mandela has achieved throughout his life and pay homage to the fact that he is engaged in yet another fight  right to the end," Crawford said.

US President Barack Obama, who is in Senegal for his first significant tour of Africa, has paid tribute to Mr Mandela, saying he is a "hero for the world"  whose legacy will live on throughout the ages.

Mr Obama is planning to visit South Africa on Friday as part of his African tour.

The White House has said that it will defer to Mr Mandela's family over whether the President would visit his political hero in hospital.

The two men met in 2005 when Mr Obama was a newly elected senator and  the former South African president was in Washington and have spoken by telephone since.

They have not met in person since then, although Michelle Obama met with Mr Mandela during a trip in 2011.

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China: US Factory Boss Describes 'Insane' Dispute

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent in Qiaozi, China

An American businessman who has been held hostage in his Chinese factory for six days over an industrial dispute has described his situation as "absolutely insane".

Chip Starnes spoke to Sky News through a barred window from his medical supply plant on the outskirts of Beijing.

He said: "I keep telling myself that I am in a movie or a book.

"But it's playing out live. It's real and it's surreal."

Workers at the plant have been blocking exits around the clock and initially deprived him of sleep by shining bright lights on his office.

According to Chinese Union officials, Mr Starnes, 42, has failed to pay wages for two months, and staff at the factory fear the business is about to close without any promise of severance packages.

Sky's Mark Stone talks to Chip Starnes through a window in the factory

Mr Starnes denied the workers' allegations of unpaid wages and put it down to a "miscommunication".

He said: "The issue is this. People who already had jobs also wanted to be paid severance."

Mr Starnes explained that he is downsizing the factory and moving some work to a cheaper labour market in India.

"We were downsizing it. That was no secret." he explained.

He said that the workers knew about these plans and that those who will be made redundant would receive severance packages.

But he said that even those workers who were not being laid off were demanding a pay-off.

"Having to pay to rebuild confidence in them for a job that they already have. It just doesn't add up." he told Sky News.

Workers block journalists from entering the compound in Qiaozi

Looking relatively relaxed through the bars of his office window, Mr Starnes said that his treatment was now "fine".

He said: "The first few nights were very, very hectic. Since then, no. They are making me wait it out; wear me down.

"For the past three days, no issues at all but I am still not allowed to leave.

"It is classified as a civil dispute. This is how they can hold you up until you come to some sort of common bond."

Mr Starnes, who manages the Florida-based firm Speciality Medical Supplies, said the dispute was disappointing but that he was keen to resolve it internally.

One worker, Gao Ping, speaking to reporters on Tuesday said she wanted to quit because she had not been paid for two months.

Chu Lixiang, a local union official representing the workers, said they were demanding the portion of their salaries yet to be paid and a "reasonable" level of compensation before leaving their jobs.

The dispute is over unpaid wages and fears of factory closure

Similar disputes have happened at other businesses in China after a history of workers sometimes being unprotected when factories close.

There is increasing evidence of a trend of foreign-owned factories across China closing as workers demanded ever higher salaries.

Foreign companies are re-locating their operations to cheaper markets in South-East Asia.

Last month, Sky News visited a clothing factory in Burma. The factory, owned by Japanese firm Famoso, was once located in China.

That company is closing its three factories near Shanghai and Ningbo and moving their entire operation to Burma.

Experts acknowledge that the trend is a worry for the Chinese market but say that China is still more attractive than other Asian markets because of its better infrastructure and domestic sales market.

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Gibraltar Jetski Shooting: UK Protests To Spain

A diplomatic row has broken out after a Spanish police patrol boat apparently fired shots at a British jetskier off Gibraltar.

Minister for Europe David Lidington said he had protested to Spain after the Guardia Civil boat reportedly made an "illegal incursion" into Gibraltar's territorial waters.

The jetskier said he was left "shaken" by the shooting.

"There were three policemen on the boat and I actually saw one of them with a gun in his hand," Dale Villa, 32, told English language news website the Olive Press.

Jetskier Dale Villa

"I was just about to drop my friend off at West Beach when I heard the first shot. I don't really think we took it seriously or believed it could be a gun, but clearly it was.

"Anyway I jumped back on again and whizzed off before realising the boat was chasing after me and had soon fired three more shots at me.

"I was very shaken and furious. When a huge boat is hurtling after you and you hear gunshots it is very scary."

Onlookers claimed to have seen large rubber or plastic baton rounds being fired from the Guardia Civil boat and splashing into the water.

In a statement, Mr Lidington said: "I spoke today with Spanish minister for the European Union, Inigo Mendez de Vigo, in order to protest in the strongest terms following an incident on Sunday in British Gibraltar territorial waters.

"During an illegal incursion by a Guardia Civil vessel, a Guardia Civil officer fired a weapon. I made clear that the discharge of a weapon in or near Gibraltar is completely unacceptable.

"I urged Senor Mendez de Vigo to investigate urgently and to take action to ensure that this will not happen again."

A Guardia boat like the one from which shots were fired pic: David Merrett

Mr Lidington said he has also instructed the British charge d'affaires in Madrid to protest in person to the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and to demand a full explanation.

Gibraltar has been a British colony since 1713, but Spain publicly disputes Gibraltar's sovereignty and insists it has the right to fish in Gibraltan waters.

The confrontation is the latest skirmish between Britain and Spain involving the territory.

In May 2012, four police vessels and Royal Navy patrol boat intercepted a Spanish trawler which was fishing off the rock after it ignored warnings to stop.

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Nelson Mandela: Tribal Leaders Prepare For End

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent

Nelson Mandela's tribal leaders have been told to prepare for the death of the former president, who remains in hospital on life support.

The advice comes after meetings with the family over the past two days.

Senior tribal leaders - including Mr Mandela's tribal heir, grandson Mandla Mandela - are expected to visit the hospital for further talks with family members.

Nelson Mandela remains in critical condition, according to the South African government, and multiple sources have confirmed to Sky News that he is no longer able to breathe unassisted.

In the Eastern Cape, where Mr Mandela will be buried, a member of the tribal authority confirmed that the clan had been told that he is extremely ill and although it is against Xhosa tradition to even discuss the death of a living person, they should prepare for the worst.

There are a series of tribal rituals that will be observed by the family and the nation throughout this period and during the funeral,  although Mr Mandela, a Methodist, will be given a Christian burial.

A car carrying Mandela family elders arrives at the ex-leader's Qunu home

Outside the Pretoria hospital where Mr Mandela has been treated for the past 19 days, well-wishers continue to lay flowers and cards supporting this national and world icon.

Police have increased security and blocked the road to traffic outside the rear entrance to the hospital.

An officer said this was to allow the free passage of family and VIPs who have been visiting the hospital throughout Mr Mandela's stay.

For the first time the South African people appear to be accepting that the end of this remarkable life is approaching.

"He has done so much for this country, it is terribly sad but we have to accept it however hard it may seem," said a lady reading messages pinned to the hospital wall.

The office of President Jacob Zuma says that Mr Mandela remains critical but the President, asking the nation to pray, added that  South Africa had to accept that "Madiba is old".

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Australia: PM Gillard Forced Out By Rudd

Julia Gillard is to step down as Australia's first female prime minister after losing a leadership fight with Kevin Rudd.

Mr Rudd faces becoming the country's new leader with months until a general election after he won a Labor Party ballot by 57 votes to 45.

The defeated leader made no comment to reporters as she left the voting chamber flanked by supporters, but in a statement later she congratulated Mr Rudd and confirmed an earlier pledge to quit politics after the elections if she lost the ballot.

She said it had been a "humbling" privilege to be appointed prime minister, adding: "I thank the Australian Labor Party for that privilege and I thank the Australian people for their support."

Welsh-born Ms Gillard, who ousted former diplomat Mr Rudd as leader in 2010 in a similar showdown, called the vote earlier amid reports that her bitter rival's supporters were gearing up for a fresh challenge.

Opinion polls had shown that the party could face huge losses in the September elections but that Mr Rudd would be the more popular leader.

Mr Rudd must now demonstrate that he can command a majority of the House of Representatives before the governor-general makes him prime minister.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott

If he cannot, opposition leader Tony Abbott could be asked to form a government, or the elections could be moved from September to August.

It was the latest in a series of power struggles between the pair over the past three years.

In March, Ms Gillard managed to retain the leadership of the party after she was urged to hold a ballot and Mr Rudd admitted he did not have enough support to defeat her.

During a similar battle in 2012, a video emerged of the Mandarin-speaking former diplomat Mr Rudd slamming his fist in an expletive-ridden tirade about a Chinese interpreter.

Ms Gillard's office was forced to deny leaking the footage.

As Ms Gillard called the latest ballot with just hours of notice, she appeared frustrated over the petition for a vote that was circulating within the party.

She said: "Call me old-fashioned, but the way in which these things are normally done is a challenger approaches the leader of the Labor Party and asks them to call a ballot for the leadership, who shake hands and then a ballot is held.

"That hasn't happened but in these circumstances I do think it is in the best interests of the nation and in the best interests of the Labor Party for this matter to be resolved ... "

Mr Rudd, who first swept to power in 2007, had said Labor was facing a "catastrophic defeat" at the next election unless there was "change".

The 55-year-old has promised tighter control of public spending, a speedier return to surplus budgets, and stronger economic growth.

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Transgender Girl Coy Mathis Wins Toilets Case

A six-year-old transgender girl will be able to return to school after winning the right to use the female bathroom.

Coy Mathis was discriminated against when staff at Eagleside Elementary School in suburban Colorado Springs told her she could not use the girls' toilets, a civil rights panel ruled.

Her parents raised the issue after school officials said the youngster could use the bathroom in either the teachers' lounge or the nurse's office.

Kathryn and Jeremy Mathis said the decision would end up stigmatising their daughter, who they said had come out of her shell when they began to allow her to live as a girl.

Since they filed their complaint, Mr and Mrs Mathis have moved to the Denver suburb of Aurora, and Coy has been educated at home.

It was not immediately clear whether the family would enrol her in the new district.

Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8 has declined to discuss the case.

School districts in many states, including Colorado, allow transgender students to use the bathroom of the gender with which they identify.

Coy Mathis (bottom left) with family at the GLAAD Media Awards in March

Sixteen states, including Colorado, have anti-discrimination laws that include transgender people.

In Maine, the state's highest court heard arguments this month about whether school officials violated the rights of Nicole Maines, now 15, by requiring her to use a staff bathroom after there was a complaint about her using the girls' bathroom.

The Mathises said Coy, a triplet, showed an early preference for things associated with girls.

At five months, she took a pink blanket meant for her sister, and she later showed little interest in toy cars and refused to leave the house if she had to wear boys' clothes.

Her parents also said she became depressed and withdrawn, telling them that she wanted to get "fixed" by a doctor.

They later learned she had gender identity disorder - a condition in which someone identifies as the opposite gender.

The Mathises said they decided to help Coy live as a girl and she came out of her shell.

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Syria: Rebel Leader Warns Of Weapons Delays

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent in Baba al Hawa, Syria

The leader of Syria's biggest rebel alliance has told Sky News that delays in promised weapons deliveries from abroad is causing dissent and resentment in his ranks that will drive fighters into the ranks of al Qaeda.

General Salim Idris, the chairman of the Supreme Military Council, said that reports that he had received lethal aid from the US but was not delivering it to the front line were "very difficult for me".

He is the channel through whom all lethal aid from the US is supposed to be delivered to the rebels following Washington's decision to send weapons to support the rebellion against Syrian president Bashar al Assad.

"I have not received a single thing. So this is very difficult for me," said the rebel chief who was visibly angered by a meeting with top commanders from across Syria.

They had converged on his headquarters in the border town of Baba al Hawa, which nestles relatively safely under the anti-aircraft umbrella of neighbouring Turkey.

General Idris: 'Frustrations are growing, we need help now'

He sat incredulous as one after another, and often all at once, the loose coalition of guerrilla fighters unloaded their frustrations.

Colonel Abdul al Aygedi, the commander of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo resigned his seat on its Supreme Military Council officially to "focus on the defence of the city".

But he candidly told Sky News that the council "is a waste of time and has no role to play here [in Syria]".

Offers of American assistance through the council was "just talk, just promises, nothing will happen. The Americans never deliver".

This level of resigned cynicism was matched by anger from others at the meeting with General Idris as commanders tried to drive home the desperation of their situation.

A Syrian rebels' weapons factory

"I have had no resupply for 42 days - how can I expect to take ... we are running out of ammunition just to hold our own positions," said a commander from the east of the rebel held swathe of territory in northern Syria.

"Why can't you put it on TV when you have got a delivery of weapons? Then we will all know what there is and be able to know that it is being distributed fairly?" demanded the eastern commander.

Some rebel 'brigades' are led by defectors from Mr Assad's army, like General Idris, but many are run by untrained fighters who have won their spurs in battle but have little understanding of wider military affairs.

They do know, or believe, that the US has delivered substantial stockpiles of small arms to Syria - and that Qatar and Saudi Arabia have also stepped in, the latter with anti-tank and even possibly anti-aircraft missiles.

Free Syrian Army fighters launch a rocket

General Idris' problem is that the Saudi weapons have only been delivered to selected small groups with close links to the Saudi royal family - and the US weapons haven't been delivered at all.

Indeed, he doesn't even know what weapons to expect, he said.

"It seems that every person who has a Kalashnikov feels that he is entitled to come to me personally and ask for arms and ammunition. They don't seem to want to accept that they should go through their unit commanders, that we have structures.

"And they can't understand why I won't advertise what weapons we have on TV. They won't accept that there have to be secrets, that in a military organisation you have to keep secrets.

"They just don't understand," said the general after bellowing these truths into the ears of unimpressed ground commanders.

A Free Syrian Army fighter in the Ain Tarma neighbourhood of Damascus

But it is the threat posed by al Qaeda-related groups, who have funding from networks outside Syria, that he warned would get greater the longer the non-Jihadist rebels waited for arms and ammunition supplies.

"This is very serious. If we don't get help for the rebels who are secular and non-Jihadi religious, then al Qaeda will grow in strength," he said.

"They will attract people from your countries people who we have no idea about their ideology will come here and then maybe go home and cause problems. In Syria people are being driven into the hands of al Qaeda because they can't get help anywhere else.

"If we get weapons we can keep them out of the hands of al Qaeda because we have no relationship with them whatsoever and they don't have anything to do with us."

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Qatar: Influential Emir Hands Power To Son

One of the richest and most influential leaders in the world, the Emir of Qatar, has abdicated his crown in favour of his son.

Dozens congratulated the Emir (l) and his son after the abdication ceremony

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani handed power to his 33-year-old son, Sheikh Tamim, in a televised ceremony on Tuesday, in a first for the Arab world.

"I announce handing the rule over to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani," the 61-year-old Emir said, adding the decision opened the way for a "young leadership".

Sheikh Hamad handed to his son power over a state that owns one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, which itself owns major property holdings in London.

The move had been rumoured for months. Qatar has given no official explanation, but it is widely believed that Sheikh Hamad is suffering from health problems.

British-educated Sheikh Tamim is expected to begin the process of putting together a new government that may be in direct contrast to the old guard leaders in other Gulf Arab states.

Qatar, an ally of the West, is an absolute monarchy under the leadership of the al Thani family, which have been in power since 1825. It has no parliament and political parties are banned.

Qatar's abdicating Emir Sheikh Hamad and new Emir Sheikh Tamim

Sheikh Hamad is listed on Muslim500, an independent internet-based list of major Islamic figures, as the fifth most influential Muslim in the world.

In 1995, soon after taking over from his father, he provided a loan to set up and subsequently bankrolled the satellite news channel Al Jazeera, which has increasingly significant influence in the Middle East and Asia

Sheikh Hamad's personal wealth was listed at £2.5bn, but the amount of assets possessed by his country is considerably greater.

The new Emir will head up a country which, according to Global Finance, has the highest per capita income in the world at an average of £66,000 each. Other lists put Qatar only behind Luxembourg, Monaco and Liechtenstein.

Qatar has the world's third largest gas reserves

Its vast wealth comes from huge supplies of gas. It is the world's largest exporter of liquified natural gas and sits on the world's third largest gas resource, after Iran and Russia.

Qatar's £115bn sovereign wealth fund has made huge investments in industry, finance and property around the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East.

The Qatar Investment Authority owns Harrods, is the largest shareholder in Sainsbury's, owns 15% of the London Stock Exchange, and 12% of Barclays.

Despite its riches, Qatar is surrounded by much bigger oil states

The fund possesses considerable property holdings, including London's The Shard and major shares in the owners of Heathrow Airport and Canary Wharf.

At the point it invested in Heathrow operator BAA, now known as Heathrow Airport Holdings, Qatar Holding said the UK was an "attractive investment destination".

It also owns a stake in Royal Dutch Shell, around 6% of Swiss bank Credit Suisse and in 2012, bought the football club Paris St-Germain for £110m, making an investment that led to David Beckham coming on board.

Qatar is the majority owner of London's The Shard skyscraper

Its investments in world football led to Qatar being award the 2022 Fifa World Cup, despite the fact that matches will be played in 40C plus heat if it takes place in the summer.

In 2010, Qatar brought a 110-year tradition to an end by brokering an agreement to sponsor Barcelona Football Club, with Qatar Airways replacing the Qatar Foundation on shirts in 2013.

Despite being an ally of the US, Qatar is a supporter of Hamas and in 2012, Sheikh Hamad became the first world leader to visit Gaza where the Palestinian nationalist party is in power.

Lionel Messi plays in a Qatar Foundation sponsored Barcelona FC shirt

Qatar was the second country to pledge support for Libya's transitional government and is thought to have spent millions supplying weapons to rebels.

It is also believed to be funding militant rebels in war torn Syria and hosts that country's transitional government.

In the last few days, it has also allowed the Afghanistan Taliban to set up an embassy in Doha, the capital, designed to allow negotiations to take place.

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Russian Minister Says Snowden Not On Its Soil

Snowden Affair: The Who And The Why

Updated: 5:06pm UK, Monday 24 June 2013

By Tim Marshall, Foreign Affairs Editor

A look at the different players in the Edward Snowden controversy as the whistleblower tries to evade US justice.

China

There's no hard evidence that China has played a role in this affair but it's difficult to argue against the idea.

Beijing had a man and had a problem. The problem was that hanging on to Mr Snowden could damage its relationship with Washington DC which is its biggest foreign policy challenge.

If it had done, a long-running dispute over the issue would mean that relationship would be complicated.

Now it doesn't have a man, it doesn't have problem, and has been able to poke the US in the eye without leaving much of a fingerprint.

It can also claim the somewhat dubious moral high ground, arguing that Mr Snowden's revelations proved that the Americans, who have long complained about Chinese hacking, was in fact spying on China.

China may have granted Hong Kong more autonomy than most of its regions, but foreign policy remains in Beijing's hands.

And it is almost certain China and Hong Kong liaised to smooth the path of Mr Snowden out of their jurisdiction.

Hong Kong

The only quandary for the Hong Kong authorities was how to keep up appearances.

This was a legal matter which quickly turned into a geo political struggle.

It had to preserve its dignity and the rule of law, but also make sure that what Beijing wanted, Beijing got.

Hence the repeated response to the Americans that the case was 'under review' and that more paperwork was needed.

In fact, very little paperwork was required, not even a valid passport. Mr Snowden travelled out of Hong Kong with a revoked passport.

Russia

The Kremlin says it is 'unaware' of any contact with the Russian authorities and Mr Snowden.

However, the idea that Aeroflot would allow a former American spy, whose name was making global headlines, onto one of their flights bound for Moscow, on a revoked passport, without a Russian visa, does not tally with the way the world works.

That Ecuador may have given him a 'travel document' is just part of the pretence.

Moscow is also busy poking Washington DC in the eye, whilst maintaining a modicum of 'not me guv'.

Mr Snowden did not leave Moscow's airport, thus allowing the pretence of him not passing through a border.

Cuba

If Mr Snowden was passing through Cuba, it does not present Havana with a dilemma.

A transit trip would not sour Washington-Havana relations any more than they already are.

Were he to stay there, that would be a different matter. He was checked in for a flight from Moscow to Havana, had a seat, but the plane left, apparently without him.

Venezuela

Hugo Chavez may be gone but the spirit of his 'Bolivarian Revolution' lives on.

Just last month the successor to Chavez, President Nicolas Maduro, referred to Barack Obama as 'the grand chief of devils'. 

Venezuela is part of the Bolivarian Alliance which includes Cuba, and Bolivia, the country named after the 18th century revolutionary Simon Bolivar.

Members tend to be 'anti-imperialist' and take a delight in tweaking the nose of the US and its perceived global arrogance.

Venezuela can handle the heat of allowing Snowden to transit through its territory; after all, despite the rhetoric between Caracas and Washington DC, the US buys 900,000 barrels of Venezuelan oil every day.

Ecuador

Ecuador is also in the Bolivarian Alliance and President Rafael Correa has impeccable 'anti-imperialist' credentials having granted Wikileaks founder Julian Assange asylum in his country and refuge in the London embassy until Mr Assange can get there.

So far Ecuador is assessing Mr Snowden's asylum request.

As he is an American citizen this case if even more sensitive than the Assange affair, and Ecuador, a poverty stricken country has fewer cards to play than Venezuela.

The signs are it will stay within the spirit of the Bolivarian bloc, and keep quiet about its own trampling over the basic tenets of free speech.

The US

Fail.

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Five-Year-Old Girl Shoots Herself In The Head

A five-year-old girl accidentally shot herself dead after her mother left her at home and went shopping, police have said.

Officers responded to reports of gun shots around 10.50am on Sunday morning in New Orleans and found the girl in a bedroom.

She was suffering from a gunshot wound to the head and was rushed to hospital.

The youngster was put on life support for several hours but was later pronounced dead.

A spokesman for the New Orleans police department said: "A preliminary investigation indicates the child was home alone and had somehow come into contact with .38 revolver and accidentally shot herself in the head."

The girl was discovered injured by her mother on her return to their home in North Galvez Street in the 7th Ward.

A neighbour told the New Orleans newspaper The Advocate she came out screaming: "Lord help me, my child is dying."

Another neighbour told The Advocate the mother called him over as he was cleaning his shoes on the porch and he saw the girl gasping for air.

He told the paper: "I seen it. She was next to a pillow, on her back, a hole in her head.

"I ain't touch her. I just look at her. I said, 'Who shot your daughter?' She said, 'I don't know'."

According to The Advocate, a third neighbour, ex-marine Charles Pelton, heard the gun go off. "It was one shot, small calibre," he told the newspaper.

The street where the shooting took place

The girl's mother, 28-year-old Laderika Smith, was arrested and police initially said they would be charging her with second-degree murder.

It was not initially clear who owned the gun, although a man who lives at the property told the Advocate he was keeping it for someone else.

Police have yet to release the name of the dead five-year-old, with relatives still to be informed of her death.

The youngster's cousin, Danielle Carter, told the Advocate: "I'm a strong person. It's a lot to deal with. Kids don't ask for this. Kids don't deserve this."

A post mortem was due to take place on Monday morning.

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Nelson Mandela's Condition Becomes Critical

Nelson Mandela remains in a critical condition in hospital, South Africa's President Jacob Zuma said.

Mr Zuma and ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa visited Mr Mandela in hospital on Sunday evening after the former president's health deteriorated.

They were briefed by Mr Mandela's medical team and told the 94-year-old's condition had become critical over the past 24 hours".

Mr Zuma said in a statement: "The doctors are doing everything possible to get his condition to improve and are ensuring that Madiba is well-looked after and is comfortable. He is in good hands."

Mr Zuma visited Mr Mandela in hospital in Pretoria on Monday evening

The pair also met Mr Mandela's wife, Graca Machel, who has been by her husband's bedside since he was taken ill.

On Monday, Mr Zuma told a news conference in Johannesburg that he had no further updates on Mr Mandela's condition.

Mr Mandela has suffered repeated bouts of illness in recent months and has been admitted to hospital four times since December.

The anti-apartheid leader has been in intensive care since he was last admitted to hospital on June 8 for a recurring lung infection.

Children have been sending "get well soon" messages to Mr Mandela

Mr Zuma appealed to South Africans and to the world to pray for Mr Mandela, his family and the medical team attending him.

In Sunday's statement, Mr Zuma also discussed the government's acknowledgement a day earlier that an ambulance carrying Mr Mandela to the hospital two weeks ago had broken down.

"There were seven doctors in the convoy who were in full control of the situation throughout the period. He had expert medical care," Mr Zuma said.

"The fully equipped military ICU ambulance had a full complement of specialist medical staff including intensive care specialists and ICU nurses.

"The doctors also dismissed the media reports that Madiba suffered cardiac arrest. There is no truth at all in that report."

Mr Mandela is seen by many around the world as a symbol of reconciliation.

He played a leading role in steering South Africa from the apartheid era to democracy, becoming the country's first black president in all-race elections in 1994.

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James Gandolfini: Actor's Body Flown Home Early

Funeral services for Sopranos actor James Gandolfini will be held on Thursday in New York.

An HBO spokeswoman speaking on behalf of the family said he funeral would take place at 10am local time at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine.

Fifty-one-year-old Gandolfini died last Wednesday while he was on holiday in Rome.

A Signature Airlines flight carrying his body arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport from Rome on Sunday night, several days earlier than anticipated.

The hotel where Gandolfini was staying

The body was taken from the airport at around 11.20pm, but the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey did not say where.

Family spokesman Michael Kobold thanked Italian and US authorities - including US Secretary of State John Kerry - his predecessor Hilary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton - for helping with the repatriation arrangements.

He said: "We are fully aware that this process normally takes seven days and we are extremely grateful for their (the authorities') efficiency in dealing with this matter."

New Jersey-born Gandolfini died after collapsing in the bathroom of his Rome hotel. He was found by his 13-year-old son Michael, who called for help. Doctors battled for 40 minutes to try to save his life.

Michael Kobold

A post-mortem revealed the cause of death was a heart attack.

The Zero Dark Thirty actor had been en route to Sicily for an appearance at the Taormina Film Festival, which paid tribute to him on Saturday.

Gandolfini became a household name thanks to his portrayal of mob boss Tony Soprano in the hit TV show.

He had been working on a new HBO series, Criminal Justice, and has two films due out in 2014.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has ordered flags to be flown at half mast today in memory of the actor.

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Whistleblower: Snowden Whereabouts A Mystery

Snowden Affair: The Who And The Why

Updated: 11:45am UK, Monday 24 June 2013

By Tim Marshall, Foreign Affairs Editor

A look at the different players in the Edward Snowden controversy as the whistleblower tries to evade US justice.

China

There's no hard evidence that China has played a role in this affair but it's difficult to argue against the idea.

Beijing had a man and had a problem. The problem was that hanging on to Mr Snowden could damage its relationship with Washington DC which is its biggest foreign policy challenge.

If it had done, a long-running dispute over the issue would mean that relationship would be complicated.

Now it doesn't have a man, it doesn't have problem, and has been able to poke the US in the eye without leaving much of a fingerprint.

It can also claim the somewhat dubious moral high ground, arguing that Mr Snowden's revelations proved that the Americans, who have long complained about Chinese hacking, was in fact spying on China.

China may have granted Hong Kong more autonomy than most of its regions, but foreign policy remains in Beijing's hands.

And it is almost certain China and Hong Kong liaised to smooth the path of Mr Snowden out of their jurisdiction.

Hong Kong

The only quandary for the Hong Kong authorities was how to keep up appearances.

This was a legal matter which quickly turned into a geo political struggle.

It had to preserve its dignity and the rule of law, but also make sure that what Beijing wanted, Beijing got.

Hence the repeated response to the Americans that the case was 'under review' and that more paperwork was needed.

In fact, very little paperwork was required, not even a valid passport. Mr Snowden travelled out of Hong Kong with a revoked passport.

Russia

The Kremlin says it is 'unaware' of any contact with the Russian authorities and Mr Snowden.

However, the idea that Aeroflot would allow a former American spy, whose name was making global headlines, onto one of their flights bound for Moscow, on a revoked passport, without a Russian visa, does not tally with the way the world works.

That Ecuador may have given him a 'travel document' is just part of the pretence.

Moscow is also busy poking Washington DC in the eye, whilst maintaining a modicum of 'not me guv'.

Mr Snowden did not leave Moscow's airport, thus allowing the pretence of him not passing through a border.

Cuba

If Mr Snowden was passing through Cuba, it does not present Havana with a dilemma.

A transit trip would not sour Washington-Havana relations any more than they already are.

Were he to stay there, that would be a different matter. He was checked in for a flight from Moscow to Havana, had a seat, but the plane left, apparently without him.

Venezuela

Hugo Chavez may be gone but the spirit of his 'Bolivarian Revolution' lives on.

Just last month the successor to Chavez, President Nicolas Maduro, referred to Barack Obama as 'the grand chief of devils'. 

Venezuela is part of the Bolivarian Alliance which includes Cuba, and Bolivia, the country named after the 18th century revolutionary Simon Bolivar.

Members tend to be 'anti-imperialist' and take a delight in tweaking the nose of the US and its perceived global arrogance. 

Venezuela can handle the heat of allowing Snowden to transit through its territory; after all, despite the rhetoric between Caracas and Washington DC, the US buys 900,000 barrels of Venezuelan oil every day.

Ecuador

Ecuador is also in the Bolivarian Alliance and President Rafael Correa has impeccable 'anti-imperialist' credentials having granted Wikileaks founder Julian Assange asylum in his country and refuge in the London embassy until Mr Assange can get there.

So far Ecuador is assessing Mr Snowden's asylum request.

As he is an American citizen this case if even more sensitive than the Assange affair, and Ecuador, a poverty stricken country has fewer cards to play than Venezuela.

The signs are it will stay within the spirit of the Bolivarian bloc, and keep quiet about its own trampling over the basic tenets of free speech.

The US

Fail.

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Syria: 'Friends' Agree Urgent Rebel Support

Western and Arab countries opposed to Syrian President Bashar al Assad have agreed to give urgent military support to rebels fighting for his overthrow.

Ministers from the 11 main countries which form the Friends of Syria group agreed "to provide urgently all the necessary material and equipment to the opposition on the ground".

They also condemned "the intervention of Hizbollah militias and fighters from Iran and Iraq," demanding that they withdraw immediately.

Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague a the meeting in Doha

The support will be channelled through a Western-backed rebel military command, the ministers agreed during talks in Doha.

Guerrillas from Lebanon's Shiite pro-Iranian Hizbollah organisation spearheaded the recapture of the strategic border town of Qusair from mainly Sunni Muslim rebels two weeks ago.

Hizbollah and Shiite Iraqi gunmen have also been fighting around the shrine of Sayyid Zainab, south of Damascus, while Iranian military commanders are believed to be advising Mr Assad's officers on their counter-offensives against the rebels.

The ministers said the growing sectarian nature of the conflict and the foreign interventions "threaten the unity of Syria (and) broaden the conflict" across the region.

They also expressed strong concern at the increasing presence of "terrorist elements" and growing radicalisation in Syria.

Ministers from Britain, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United States attended the talks in Doha.

Speaking at the meeting, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the support for the rebels would help change the balance on the battlefield, where regime forces have scored recent victories.

Mr Kerry expressed concern about Iran and Hizbollah fighters in Syria.

"That is a very, very dangerous development. Hizbollah is a proxy for Iran ... Hizbollah in addition to that is a terrorist organisation."

Mr Kerry blamed Hizbollah and Mr Assad with thwarting efforts to diffuse sectarian rebels and to negotiate a settlement.

The two-year-long civil war in Syria has so far left 93,000 people dead.

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