Turkey: Police And Protesters In New Clashes

Riot police fired rubber bullets and water cannon at thousands of anti-government protesters overnight in two Turkish cities.

In the Kadikoy district of Istanbul a rally began peacefully with a series of concerts, but as night fell chaos erupted when police charged at protesters who wanted to march to the ruling AK Party's headquarters.

Protesters set fire to barricades in the street while police tried to control the crowd by firing plastic bullets and tear gas.

Several demonstrators were arrested and an elderly man was taken to hospital.

Meanwhile, demonstrators and riot police faced off for a sixth straight night in the southern city of Antakya in Hatay Province, near the border with Syria.

Police used gas canisters on the protesters, who had blocked off a street with barricades that were set on fire.

Thousands took to the streets in downtown Istanbul

They later moved in with water cannon to extinguish the flames.

There have been ongoing but relatively minor protests across Turkey since the major clashes of three to four months ago.

But anger intensified again last week after a 22-year-old man, Ahmet Atakan, died during clashes between demonstrators and the police in Antakya.

Mr Atakan died after falling from a building, but investigations are ongoing.

His family claim he was hit by a gas canister while police deny responsibility for his death.

The latest unrest comes six months before local elections, the start of a voting cycle which also includes a presidential election next August - in which Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan is expected to run - and parliamentary polls in 2015.

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Costa Concordia: Ship Heaved Off Rocky Seabed

By Tom Kington, in Giglio

Crews attempting to right the Costa Concordia have successfully detached the wrecked cruise liner from the rocks on which it was impaled.

The salvage operation got under way this morning, after a three-hour delay due to bad weather.

Engineer Sergio Girotto said the crippled vessel would not budge for some three hours after the operation began.

After 6,000 tons of pressure was applied, the vessel was pulled free from the rocks.

Mr Girotto said: "We saw the detachment." The officials are following the operation thanks to undersea cameras.

The rescue effort will see the giant ship gradually rotated and hauled 65 degrees back to upright position for eventual towing.

The operation just outside the small Italian island of Giglio, off the Tuscan coast, is expected to last up to 12 hours, taking it into Monday evening.

Engineers say the lifting can continue after darkness falls.

So far, the ship has been raised three degrees, said Mr Girotto.

The Costa Concordia hit granite outcrops on the night of January 13, 2012

As it rose, an ever wider strip of rusted hull has emerged from the sea.

The cruise liner capsized in shallow water 20 months ago after smashing into rock, prompting the chaotic evacuation of 4,200 passengers and crew, and causing the deaths of 32 people.

Two bodies are still missing, and officials said they saw no sign of them as the ship was detached from the rocks.

The first two hours were considered critical in the €600m (£503m) "parbuckling" operation.

"Images show the lifting is happening as planned," said Italian Civil Protection Agency chief Franco Gabrielli, who added that no pollutants had been seen escaping from the vessel as it rose.

"There is significant deformation of the side of the vessel, showing the parbuckling operation needed to happen as soon as possible," he said.

Parbuckling is a proven method to raise capsized vessels, notably used by the US military to right the USS Oklahoma in 1943 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

But the 114,000-ton Concordia has been described as the largest cruise ship ever to require the rotation, making this one most complex and costly maritime salvage operations ever attempted.

A storm hit Giglio on Sunday night, delaying the start of the operation

Engineers are using remote controls to guide a synchronised leverage system of pulleys, counterweights and huge chains looped under the Concordia's carcass to delicately lift the ship upright.

They started the operation by applying bursts of pressure on the pulleys, which are attached to the underwater platform and to towers on the landward side of the ship.

The ship will continue to be pulled upright by the pulleys, Mr Girotto said, "but we will get to a point when we need less pressure".

Soon, massive tanks attached to the exposed side of the ship will touch the water, providing buoyancy.

About 29,000 tons of water will pour out of the ship as it is pulled upright, and an even greater amount, 43,000 tons, will enter the ship.

What does come out will be polluted water that has swilled inside the ship for months in a mix of residual fuels, heavy metals and rotten food, including more than three tons of melon, 500 litres of olive oil, 14,000 packets of cigarettes, 18,000 bottles of wine, eight tons of beef and over 11 tons of fish.

But officials say the risk of an environmental damage is limited.

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Syria: UN Probing 14 Alleged Gas Attacks

The head of a UN panel on war crimes in Syria has revealed it is investigating 14 suspected chemical attacks, as a report appeared to show "clear evidence" of their use.

UN Commission chairman Paulo Sergio Pinheiro said the Geneva-based probe had not yet determined the exact materials used but was awaiting evidence from a separate team of chemical weapons inspectors whose findings are expected to be made public later.

The announcement came as close examination of a photograph of that report being handed over to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon revealed a page from the findings which revealed "clear and convincing evidence that surface-to-surface rockets containing the nerve agent Sarin were used".

Ban Ki-moon receiving the report from Swedish expert Ake Sellstrom

Sky's Foreign Affairs Editor Tim Marshall said: "I assume that the UN report will go on talk about the type of weapon that was used.

"Other people will say, 'well only one side had the ability to do that draw a conclusion."

The inspection team, led by Swedish expert Ake Sellstrom, was tasked with determining whether chemical weapons were used in an attack in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21, which the US says killed at least 1,400 people.

Their report will reveal which chemical agents were used, but will not make a judgement on who was responsible.

Details of the report in its entirety are due to be presented in New York by the Secretary-General.

Mr Pinheiro stressed that the "vast majority" of casualties of the conflict had been killed by conventional weapons such as guns and mortars.

He added that the Commission believed that President Bashar al Assad's government had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, while rebel groups had perpetrated war crimes but not crimes against humanity because there was "not a clear chain of command".

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Shots Fired Inside US Navy Base In Washington

Authorities say they are looking for a gunman after shots were fired inside a building at the Washington Navy Yard.

An FBI spokeswoman said there was at least one victim in the attack.

The US. Navy said on Twitter three shots were fired inside their Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters.

The Washington Navy Yard says on its website it is the Navy's oldest shore establishment.

It is home to the chief of Naval Operations and is headquarters for numerous naval commands.

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Syria: Nervous Children Return To School

By Sky Arthy, Sky News Producer, in Damascus

Five million pupils were due back in school today in Syria at the start of the new year.

It is a scene that is played out across the world and it looks no different in Damascus.

Excited five-year-olds with new backpacks clutching their parents' hands not knowing what to expect on their first day.

Teenage girls wearing the latest fashions walking arm in arm catching up on gossip after the long summer break. Young boys playing football before the bell goes for the start of classes.

The Assad regime watches over Syria's returning pupils

But it is different here.

Before  the conflict that has left 100,000 people dead, many children used to walk to school. Now most are dropped off by their parents. 

In a city where fighting is raging in the outer suburbs and the boom of shelling is heard in the background it is not hard to fathom why.

More than 2,000 of Syria's 22,000 schools have been destroyed in the war, according to the government. Unicef puts the figure at nearer 3,000.

One father, who lives six miles (10km) from Damascus said he had taught his children at home for a year because their school had been shelled.

This morning he arrived at the Dar es Salaam school in the centre of the capital with his two daughters. 

"This is the first time they have come to this school," he said.

"There is new hope now (following the deal in Geneva) ... American military strikes are not the solution. Dialogue is the only way."

Another father, who has been trying to emigrate to France, said: "There is some hope now. Last year the situation was bad. Now there is progress."

At least most children in Damascus still have the chance to go to school.

For the one million Syrian youngsters that are now refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt their education is far more precarious.

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Syria: Chemical Weapons Deal 'A Victory'

The Syrian government has welcomed the international agreement struck on chemical weapons disarmament as "a victory" for the regime.

"On one hand, it helps the Syrians emerge from the crisis and on the other it has allowed for averting war against Syria," Syrian minister of state for national reconciliation Ali Haidar said in an interview with Russian news agency Ria Novosti.

"It's a victory for Syria that was achieved thanks to our Russian friends."

He gave Syria's first reaction to the newly-brokered US and Russian plan as warplanes and artillery bombarded rebel-held areas of Damascus.

Mr Haidar said the agreement would prepare the ground for peace talks between President Bashar al Assad's forces and the rebels.

But the rebels have called the international focus on poison gas a sideshow, and dismissed talk the plan might herald peace talks. They said Mr Assad had stepped up an offensive with ordinary weaponry now the threat of US air strikes had receded.

US President Barack Obama welcomed the nine-month disarmament plan, calling it an "important, concrete step", but warned that "if diplomacy fails, the United States remains prepared to act".

The US and Russia have given Syria seven days to submit a "comprehensive list" of its chemical weapons - otherwise, the US will seek a UN resolution that could still authorise strikes.

On their final day of talks in Geneva, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that once the details had been handed over the Assad regime would have until November to allow UN inspectors access to the sites.

Destruction of the regime's chemical weapons must then be complete by mid-2014. Syria has previously said it would need a month to hand over initial details of its weapons stash.

Mr Lavrov and Mr Kerry also told journalists their teams of experts had reached "a shared assessment" of President Bashar al Assad's existing stockpile.

The US has estimated that Syria possesses around 1,000 metric tonnes of various chemical agents, including mustard and sarin gas, sulfur and VX.

The Russian estimates were initially much lower, according to US officials, but Mr Kerry said the two countries had reconciled their different assessments.

A US official told reporters that Washington believed there were 45 sites across Syria linked to the country's chemical weapons programme.

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Drug Suspects Face Harsh Reality In Peru

The harsh reality for those caught trying to smuggle cocaine out of Peru is that sooner or later the penny drops: plead guilty and get a reduced sentence or fight the case and risk decades behind bars - often up to 20 years.

It's a bit like that in many legal systems, including our own in Britain, where early guilty pleas are often rewarded with shorter sentences.

But in Peru, where they see a steady flow of young women from around the globe caught with cocaine at the airport, there is very little sympathy for the story of how they ended up there.

Michaella McCollum, from Dungannon, and Melissa Reid, from Lenzie near Glasgow, who are both 20, are accused of trying to smuggle some 11kg (24lb) of cocaine out of the country.

They say they were forced to by a Columbian gang who threatened their families if they didn't go through with it, but the Peruvian legal system seems to show little interest.

There is no trial by jury in Peru, no witnesses will be sought other than the arresting officers and there's very little opportunity for the defence's case to be scrutinised.

"All the girls (caught smuggling drugs) have the same story," a senior prison official told me as we walked around the recreation area of Ancon 2, one of Peru's most notorious prisons last month.

Ms Reid has reportedly chosen to plead guilty

"Many are naive to the system we have in this country. If you are caught with drugs then the system views it as a rather straightforward case.

"Why they did it, who made them do it, who threatened who - that's a wider issue. The fact remains, they still had drugs in their bag and they didn't tell anyone until they were caught by the drugs officers at the airport."

They talk tough in Peru.

According to the United Nations, Peru is now the number one producer of cocaine in the world.

A kilo of pure, refined cocaine is worth around $1,000 in Peru, by the time it reaches Europe that price has soared to around £80,000 while in Asia it can be worth $100,000 (£63,000) and in Australia that same $1,000 kilo bar is worth $120,000 (£69,900).

Mellissa Reid is now facing what the Peruvian system calls the 'six-and-eight'.

Six years and eight months for drug smuggling - a specific length because sentences under seven years entitle the prisoner to early release and transfer to their home nation.

The newspapers make it sound very simple today suggesting a release could happen as early as three years.

Police weigh some of the packets of cocaine found on the girls

When I filmed inside Ancon 2 prison in the desert north of Lima last month, I spoke to the prison's only British prisoner.

Sarah, a mother-of-two from Croydon in south London, was caught trying to smuggle two kilos of cocaine stuffed in a guitar.

"When I was caught, I couldn't believe it," said the 23-year-old.

"I was told a lawyer was coming to see me - a nun - and that she would fight my case.

"When she visited me in the Dirango police station she said I needed to find $7,000 (£4,400) and she would secure my release.

"My family back home raised the money and paid it to the lawyer. The next day she brought me a blanket and a pillow. I never saw her again."

It's impossible to confirm this ever happened, but Sarah's story is repeated throughout Peru.

Sarah got six-and-eight - she's already served three and a half years.

"They say you could be released after three years. But they string you along. They say 'you'll be out in two weeks' and the two weeks pass and nothing happens. It's torture."

It's expected Michaella McCollum will follow Mellissa Reid in admitting everything for the shorter sentence. The penny's dropped. But talk of early release is dangerous and premature because in Peru nothing is certain and nothing is promised.

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Peru Drugs: Melissa Reid 'To Plead Guilty'

Peru Drugs Girl Plea

Updated: 2:15pm UK, Sunday 15 September 2013

The harsh reality for those caught trying to smuggle cocaine out of Peru is that sooner or later the penny drops: plead guilty and get a reduced sentence or fight the case and risk decades behind bars - often up to 20 years.

It's a bit like that in many legal systems, including our own in Britain, where early guilty pleas are often rewarded with shorter sentences.

But in Peru, where they see a steady flow of young women from around the globe caught with cocaine at the airport, there is very little sympathy for the story of how they ended up there.

Michaella McCollum, from Dungannon, and Melissa Reid, from Lenzie near Glasgow, who are both 20, are accused of trying to smuggle some 11kg (24lb) of cocaine out of the country.

They say they were forced to by a Columbian gang who threatened their families if they didn't go through with it, but the Peruvian legal system seems to show little interest.

There is no trial by jury in Peru, no witnesses will be sought other than the arresting officers and there's very little opportunity for the defence's case to be scrutinised.

"All the girls (caught smuggling drugs) have the same story," a senior prison official told me as we walked around the recreation area of Ancon 2, one of Peru's most notorious prisons last month.

"Many are naive to the system we have in this country. If you are caught with drugs then the system views it as a rather straightforward case.

"Why they did it, who made them do it, who threatened who - that's a wider issue. The fact remains, they still had drugs in their bag and they didn't tell anyone until they were caught by the drugs officers at the airport."

They talk tough in Peru.

According to the United Nations, Peru is now the number one producer of cocaine in the world.

A kilo of pure, refined cocaine is worth around $1,000 in Peru, by the time it reaches Europe that price has soared to around £80,000 while in Asia it can be worth $100,000 (£63,000) and in Australia that same $1,000 kilo bar is worth $120,000 (£69,900).

Mellissa Reid is now facing what the Peruvian system calls the 'six-and-eight'.

Six years and eight months for drug smuggling - a specific length because sentences under seven years entitle the prisoner to early release and transfer to their home nation.

The newspapers make it sound very simple today suggesting a release could happen as early as three years.

When I filmed inside Ancon 2 prison in the desert north of Lima last month, I spoke to the prison's only British prisoner.

Sarah, a mother-of-two from Croydon in south London, was caught trying to smuggle two kilos of cocaine stuffed in a guitar.

"When I was caught, I couldn't believe it," said the 23-year-old.

"I was told a lawyer was coming to see me - a nun - and that she would fight my case.

"When she visited me in the Dirango police station she said I needed to find $7,000 (£4,400) and she would secure my release.

"My family back home raised the money and paid it to the lawyer. The next day she brought me a blanket and a pillow. I never saw her again."

It's impossible to confirm this ever happened, but Sarah's story is repeated throughout Peru.

Sarah got six-and-eight - she's already served three and a half years.

"They say you could be released after three years. But they string you along. They say 'you'll be out in two weeks' and the two weeks pass and nothing happens. It's torture."

It's expected Michaella McCollum will follow Mellissa Reid in admitting everything for the shorter sentence. The penny's dropped. But talk of early release is dangerous and premature because in Peru nothing is certain and nothing is promised.

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Mexico: Riot Police Break Up Teacher Protest

Riot police have fired tear gas and water cannon at thousands of angry teachers to end their weeks-long occupation of Mexico City's Zocalo Square.

They swept into the historic heart of the capital city to re-take control of the iconic plaza and its surrounding streets, the culmination of weeks of demonstrations where the teachers had set up a massive protest camp.

Although many teachers had acted upon an eviction notice calling for the removal of their camp in time for Independence Day celebrations, a group of protesters vowed to stay on.

Armed with metal pipes and wooden clubs, they tried to defend themselves but were quickly overwhelmed by the police.

Protesters accused the authorities of using excessive force to clear their camp.

"With a lot of viciousness, they grabbed me and (put me) on the ground, holding my feet. They caused injury on my septum and hit my body," said one teacher called Alejandro.

President Nieto is due to deliver a speech to the nation

In keeping with tradition, President Enrique Pena Nieto is scheduled to deliver Mexico's Cry of Independence from a balcony of the National Palace that looks over Zocalo Sqaure.

The striking teachers are angry at Mr Nieto's reforms to introduce a universal evaluation system which would change the way they are hired, evaluated and promoted.

They have marched through the capital at least 15 times over the last two months.

Mexico's record on student achievement is one of the worst among countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development despite dedicating more than a fifth of its budget to education.

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Argentina: Teen Hacker 'Stole £30,000-A-Month'

Argentine police have arrested a 19-year-old "super-hacker" suspected of breaching numerous websites to divert more than £30,000 ($50,000) a month into his bank account.

Police believe the suspect was part of a six-strong gang which planted viruses on a gaming site which infected the computers of website visitors.

The viruses allowed the attacker to remotely intercept online banking money transfers and steal payments to gaming sites.

To complete the attack the teen is suspected of ordering an army of pre-infected 'zombie' computers to overload the sites, taking them offline so users could not access their accounts while their money was taken.

The youth is reportedly the son of an IT engineer and was detained at his home in Buenos Aires in July as part of Operation Zombie, which included five raids in the capital and the city of Rosario in Santa Fe province.

Police raided the teenager's Buenos Aires home and seized sophisticated computers and other technological equipment.

Operation Zombie began in 2012 after a businessman offering web-hosting services noticed a hacker was remotely breaking into his servers to intercept money transfers.

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