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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